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Streeting will ‘blame Tories for NHS failures this winter’
Wes Streeting is being “realistic” about recovering NHS performance, and failures this winter will be attributable to the previous government, he has told NHS chief executives.
The health and social care secretary met with trust and integrated care board CEOs and NHS England officials on Tuesday, to discuss issues including performance, funding and his plans.
CEOs present told HSJ that Mr Streeting had accepted the scale of problems in the service – which are due to be outlined in a report by eminent surgeon Lord Darzi in coming days – mean it will be impossible to show much improvement this winter.
But he also put bosses on notice that he expects key targets to be on an upward trajectory next year. One CEO said Mr Streeting made it clear he will “still be blaming [the] Tories if we have a bad winter”, but “thereafter it’s our fault”.
Several of those present said Mr Streeting told them he was under no illusions about the severity of the issues facing the NHS and understood a proper recovery would take time.
One hospital CEO who attended said Mr Streeting and NHSE officials gave “credible, realistic, and supportive statements” on the coming winter and beyond.
But several attendees said speakers – including Mr Streeting and NHSE officials – underlined the message there would be “no more money” for the NHS in this financial year, despite widely anticipated deficits, and Labour having promised around £1bn extra annual funding.
CEOs were told they would be fully funded for the impact of this year’s pay award from central budgets, although this may only put further pressure on central NHSE and Department of Health and Social Care pots.
“There was a ‘no more money’ vibe,” said one, and another hospital CEO said: “The message in the room was that there was no more money.”
Several CEOs said Mr Streeting emphasised he wanted a much better relationship between the DHSC and NHSE than under the previous government.
Mr Streeting’s meeting with trust chiefs, hosted by NHSE, comes ahead of the publication of an independent report into NHS performance by crossbench peer Lord Ara Darzi, the surgeon and academic who served as a health minister in the 2000s. It is due to be published in the next fortnight and expected to cement the view the NHS is in a parlous state, and is likely to need a lengthy recovery period.
CEOs were told the stark picture which will be set out by Lord Darzi will feed into the new government’s long term plan, due next spring.
Source: HSJ, 5 September 2024
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The Telegraph Letters: Alcohol pricing
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance writes: “The idea of a ban on smoking in pub gardens has been met with exaggerated claims that this spells the end of hospitality. Similar outcry accompanies talk of minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol. However, MUP could be a lifeline for pubs.
Cheap alcohol from supermarkets has turned us into a nation of home-drinkers, reducing foot traffic to local pubs and bars and threatening the closure of important social spaces. By setting a minimum price, the Government can level the playing field, making pubs a more attractive option for those who might otherwise choose to drink cheaply at home.
Publicans recognise this. A survey from the Institute of Alcohol Studies showed that 47 per cent of publicans see cheap supermarket alcohol as the greatest threat to the success of pubs, compared with the introduction of the indoor smoking ban on 14 per cent.
Given the degree of harm done by alcohol, now is the time for the Government to follow the evidence of what works. MUP has saved lives in Scotland without damaging the hospitality trade. By aligning the price of alcohol more closely across different outlets, MUP offers a rare dual benefit, supporting both the survival of pubs and the health of the public.”
Source: The Telegraph, 5 September 2024
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Would Britons support an outdoor smoking ban?
The government is currently considering bringing in a ban on smoking in outdoor public areas, including in pub gardens, outside hospitals and in sports grounds. It is the latest in a series of policies designed to tackle smoking and tobacco use, which remains the UK’s largest preventable cause of death.
Labour’s proposals have received support from public health experts, while drawing concerns from those in the hospitality industry, particularly publicans who believe they would noticeably suffer. But what do the British public think about the proposals?
In general, the public tend to support a ban on smoking in outdoor public areas, but they also make distinctions between where the ban applies.
Banning smoking outside hospitals, for instance, would be supported by three-quarters of Britons (76%), including being strongly supported by six in ten (58%), while facing opposition from only one-fifth of the public (21%). Stopping smoking in sports grounds holds a similar level of endorsement, supported by seven in ten Britons (72%) and opposed by 22%.
A ban on smoking in pub gardens, though, is more divisive. For the half of Britons (51%) who say they would support such a ban, there are 43% of the public who are opposed to such a restriction.
Of course, support for these bans are not uniform across the public; some groups are more in favour, while others – particularly Reform UK voters and, unsurprisingly, smokers – are less supportive.
Nonetheless, in some cases, it’s largely just strength of support that differs. Smoking outside hospitals holds clear support among almost all groups of the public – including eight in ten Labour and Lib Dem voters (80-82%), three-quarters of Conservatives (74%) and two-thirds of Reform UK voters (64%). Even among smokers themselves, there is a near-even split between the 47% who favour such a ban and the 49% who are opposed.
It is with pubs where the divide is more meaningful. While a clear majority of non-smokers (57%) favour a ban on smoking in pub gardens, only one in ten smokers (10%) agree. And different voting groups come down on different sides of the divide. More than half of Conservative (54%), Labour (62%) and Lib Dem (61%) voters would support pub gardens going smoke free, but only three in ten (30%) Reform UK voters feel the same, with two-thirds (68%) opposed to the idea.
Source: YouGov, 4 September 2024
See also: YouGov – Survey Results
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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