Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health
Secretary, responding to Jeremy Hunt’s claim in the House of
Commons that the NHS pay cap has been lifted, said:

“The Secretary of State tells the Commons
the NHS pay cap’s been lifted but he cannot say whether this is going to come
from existing budgets or not. It looks like hospitals will be forced to cut
other services to find the funds.

“Jeremy Hunt is trying to face both ways on
NHS pay and it just means even more uncertainty. While the Government dithers,
staff continue to leave the NHS and patients continue to be at risk from short
staffed services. 

“There has still been no confirmation of
any of this from the Treasury. The Government need to immediately confirm that
extra funding will be provided to lift the NHS pay cap so that all staff can
benefit from a long overdue pay rise.”

Ends

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow
Chancellor,
commenting on the OBR’s Forecast evaluation report out today, said:

“Today’s report by the OBR is a
damning indictment of the last seven years of Tory economic failure. We need no
more proof that their austerity approach has failed to boost living standards
or improve the long-term potential of the UK economy.

“Next month’s Budget cannot be
another exercise in kicking the can down the road by Philip Hammond, we need to
see substantial action.

“On a day when figures on
construction published by the ONS show warning signs ahead for our economy, the
mounting evidence for a change of direction from the Chancellor couldn’t be
clearer.

“This OBR report supports Labour’s
argument that weak investment is at the centre of our economy’s problems and
has damaged productivity growth.

“The next Labour government will
provide the proper investment our country needs. Our industrial strategy,
National Transformation Fund and £10ph Real Living Wage stand in stark contrast
to the Tories’ inactivity, and will help Labour build a high wage, high skill
economy for the many not the few.”

Nia
Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to the announcement
that BAE Systems will be cutting 1,915 jobs in the UK, said:

“This
is truly appalling news for BAE’s workers and for communities across the UK.

“The
jobs that BAE are cutting are highly-skilled and their loss will be felt in
areas that have a strong tradition of defence manufacturing.

“It
is time for the Government to address the clear uncertainty that is felt by the
industry and come forward with an urgent plan to save these jobs. This must
include the possibility of bringing forward orders to provide additional work
for BAE’s employees, such as replacing the Red Arrows’ fleet of Hawk aircraft
that are approaching the end of their service life.”

Dawn Butler MP,
Shadow Secretary for Women and Equalities, commenting on the release of the
government’s Race Disparity Audit, said:

“The real ‘uncomfortable truth’ is
that Theresa May knew that cuts to services would disproportionately affect
groups with protected characteristics. So much so that she wrote to the then
Prime Minister in 2010 warning that ‘there are real risks’ that women, ethnic
minorities, disabled people and older people will be ‘disproportionately
affected’ by proposed cuts.

“But as Prime Minister, knowing full
well the damage that would be caused by the Conservative cuts, Theresa May has
done nothing but exacerbate the problem. Far from tackling burning injustices,
she has added fuel to the fire.

“If the Prime Minister really feels
so strongly about this issue, why did she sit on this report and refuse to
share it with parliament – despite Labour asking her to publish it three months
ago? This Government’s report is not enough. What we need are solutions and a
sustained effort to really tackle burning injustices.“

Ends

Notes to editors

At the last election, Labour issued
a race and faith manifesto to tackle problems of discrimination. Policy
proposals included:

• introducing equal pay audit requirements
  on large employers

• launching an inquiry into
  names-based discrimination and consider rolling out name-blind recruitment
  practices if necessary

• implementing the Parker Review
  recommendations to increase ethnic diversity on the boards of Britain’s largest
  companies

• enhancing the powers and functions
  of the Equality and Human Rights Commission

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow
Minister for Mental Health,
commenting on the findings of the CQC’s State of Care Report 2017, said:

“It is unacceptable that over a
third of NHS core mental health services require improvement on safety.

“Tory cuts have led directly to
the problems mental health services are experiencing, including falls in nurse
numbers, poor physical environments and long waiting times for child and
adolescent mental health services.

“Labour will invest in mental
health services and ring-fence budgets so that funding reaches the front line.

Ends