Labour

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Social Care, commenting on a report from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has found that the current system for providing social care is not sustainable without additional funding, said:

“The Tory Government needs to act on the resounding verdict of the Competition and Markets Authority and end their swingeing cuts to local authority budgets, which have caused underfunding and instability in the social care sector since 2010.

“Due to these cuts, £6.3 billion will have been lost from social care budgets by March next year. This has meant less publicly funded care for those in need, increased pressure on unpaid family carers and worse conditions for hard-pressed care staff. 

“The Tory Government must now make clear how they will enact the will of the House of Commons to meet the funding gap for social care and act on the recommendations of the CMA so that the rights of self-funders are protected.

Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to NHS England’s Board Meeting confirming waiting times standards will not be met next year, said:

“NHS England’s unprecedented confirmation that NHS constitution waiting times standards ‘will not be fully funded and met next year’ is the direct result of Philip Hammond’s failure to give the NHS the funding it needed in the recent Budget.

“Today NHS bosses have effectively conceded that the 18 week target for treatment can’t be met given continued underfunding of the NHS.

“This will mean more and more patients waiting longer and longer in pain, discomfort and distress for elective operations. This is the real debilitating impact on patients’ quality of life as a result of Tory austerity.

“What’s more, there are serious questions about the legality of effectively abandoning a standard of care enshrined in the NHS constitution. As a matter of urgency Jeremy Hunt must now tell us whether he intends to amend the law and the NHS Constitution through legislation and publicly accept his Government’s funding squeeze is jeopardizing legally guaranteed standards of patient care.”

Ends

Labour today launches a major initiative to work with people and businesses in our seaside towns on a plan to revive jobs, industry and local economies.

Leader Jeremy Corbyn will join Shadow Minister for Coastal Communities Holly Lynch at the first of a series of visits across Britain’s coastal communities.

They will meet civic and business leaders to discuss how best to support coastal industries and services post-Brexit. Other Shadow Cabinet members will hold similar events around the country in the coming months, each focusing on a key theme, such as healthcare, transport, jobs and industry.

Labour is today also launching an online consultation ahead of the Government’s Fisheries Bill, to gather views and evidence from industry experts, consumers and environmental experts.

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, said:

“Seaside towns hold a special place in our country’s history but they have been left behind by the Conservatives. Instead of being neglected and starved of investment, our coastal communities have enormous potential as centres for creative, digital and offshore industries.

“Labour will invest in all communities around the thousand of miles of our coastline and will work with them as we transform our economy so it serves the interests of the many, not the few.”

Holly Lynch MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Coastal Communities, said:

“Well-managed fisheries and sustainable fishing practices mean more fish, more jobs, and a greater contribution to the UK economy in the long term. There is a unique opportunity as we leave the EU to transform the way we manage our fisheries to drive economic prosperity, tourism and environmental benefits to our beautiful and unique British coast.

“Labour believes the unique position of coastal communities should not be confined to the past, but should be part of an innovative, thriving and sustainable future.”

Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the Government’s plans for disabled people, said:

“The Tories’ cuts to social security support are pushing more and more disabled people into poverty. Last week’s Budget failed to do anything for disabled people even though the recent Equality and Human Rights Commission report showed a disabled adult is over £2,000 a year worse off since 2010. Even the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities condemned this Government for causing a ‘human catastrophe’ in their failure to uphold the rights of disabled people.  

“This ‘plan’ from the Government looks like nothing more than a guise for more cuts. The Tories have already hit disabled people who are not fit for work but who may be in the future in the Work Related Activity Group. I hope they are not going to now target the most disabled people in the support group, as their Green Paper hinted at.

“At the 2015 General Election, the Tories promised to halve the disability employment gap. Since then they have dropped this commitment.

“If this Government really cared about disabled people they would end austerity now which is disproportionately impacting upon disabled people and reform and extend Access to Work for those disabled people who are able to work.“

Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, commenting on testimonies from PCS Union and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration at the Home Affairs Select Committee, expressing concerns about the Home Office being under-prepared for Brexit, said:

“Those working on the frontline of immigration, visas and border security paint a grim picture of the current chaos at the Home Office. They say it is directionless and unprepared for the challenges of Brexit.

“Amber Rudd needs to get a grip. The Tories have axed 1,000 members of the Border Force and have added new burdens to visa and immigration staff.  An efficient immigration system and secure borders can’t be done on the cheap.  Tory cuts have serious consequences.”