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NHS leaders warn Rishi Sunak not to ‘watch while health service crumbles’
NHS leaders have written to new prime minister Rishi Sunak warning him not to “watch while the health service crumbles”, urging him to avoid spending cuts from health budgets which have “no fat left to trim.” The NHS Confederation, which represents trusts and GPs across the country, warned the prime minister that patient safety will be “at real risk” if more cuts are introduced.
The letter, sent by chief executive Matthew Taylor and chair Lord Victor Adebowale warned that the challenges facing the NHS are only “intensifying” and that the PM must begin his new role with his “eyes wide open”. They said: “Without proper funding and support for the NHS and social care, and the communities they serve, NHS leaders are concerned that your ambition for a more prosperous country will not come to fruition.”
The NHS Confederation has called on the prime minister to commit to a fully funded long-term workforce plan for the NHS - something that the Treasury had reportedly fought against when Mr Sunak was chancellor.
Sunak enters Downing Street ahead of looming NHS staff strike action, with nursing unions set to make their decision following a ballot next week. NHS Confederation has warned staff are “exhausted” and told the PM his tenure could be defined by his response to the threat of industrial action.
Source: Independent, 26 October 2022
See also: NHS Confederation - Letter to new Prime Minister : Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP
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Public health bosses launch plan to make London smokefree by 2030
Plans have been launched by MPs and public health bosses to make London smokefree by 2030. The NHS has joined forces with MPs, academics and the Greater London Authority to form the London Tobacco Alliance (LTA), which will coordinate efforts to highlight the harms caused by smoking and promote quitting as well as smokefree environments.
According to the LTA, almost one million Londoners smoke and tobacco is still killing one in two of its users in the UK, meaning 5,939 Londoners die each year due to smoking. While smoking prevalence is lower in London than the UK average, the rate is significantly higher in poorer boroughs, as a fifth of residents (20%) in the capital’s most deprived boroughs smoke compared to just 4% in more wealthy areas.
Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow and Chair of the APPG on Smoking and Health said: “My parents died when I was 23. They both died of cancer. Both died because of smoking. We had two years prior to their death of terrible experiences, in terms of health and me seeing my parents die literally in front of me. I don’t want any family to go through that and so therefore for me, it’s not just a health-related issue or a community issue. For me it’s personal. If we can actually make this work then we reduce the terrible impact that tobacco has on society.”
Professor Kevin Fenton, Regional Director for London Office for Health Improvement and Disparities said: “Regional Tobacco Alliances work. We have great examples of where they’ve been highly effective in other parts of the country and we’re now keen to bring the learning and expertise from that to bear here in London. Through the alliance we’ll be able to understand what’s being delivered in the city at this time, where the gaps are and how working together we can help to fill those gaps and ensure we are more than the sum of our parts.”
Tracy Parr, Programme Director, LTA and Stop Smoking London said: “The London Tobacco Alliance will act as a regional voice to make London smokefree by 2030 and will focus on the inequalities around smoking. We already have a number of key partners including OHID, ASH, NHS England, the GLA as well as Directors for Public Health and London Trading Standards.”
Source: Yahoo News, 26 October 2022
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UK’s Rishi Sunak eases off on taking Brexit axe to EU laws
Rishi Sunak, the new British prime minister, has toned down his zeal for the speedy axing of EU legislation, amid warnings that such an exercise could tie up hundreds of civil servants at a time of national crisis.
Sunak promised in August, during his first bid for the Conservative leadership, that he would create a new “Brexit delivery unit”, but Sunak’s aides admitted on Wednesday that the new unit would not be created. The video also stated that: “In his first 100 days as prime minister, Rishi Sunak will review or repeal post-Brexit EU laws. All 2,400 of them.” That target will also not be met, government officials confirmed.
Meanwhile Sunak has not named a dedicated “Brexit opportunities minister”, a title handed by Boris Johnson to Jacob Rees-Mogg, former business secretary under Liz Truss. Downing Street said the job of overseeing Brexit opportunities would now be given to another minister in the business department, but it would not be a “standalone” job. Sunak is also said by government officials to be considering whether to press ahead with a 2023 “sunset clause” for EU regulation, which would see all EU law that still exists in the UK revoked or reformed by the end of next year.
Ministers have been warned that hundreds of civil servants would have to be deployed to assess all 2,400 pieces of retained EU law and to decide whether they should be repealed or transferred into UK legislation. Rees-Mogg was warned that his business department alone would need to deploy 400 staff to review or repeal the 300 pieces of EU law for which it was responsible. The Department of Health estimated it would need 100 staff to carry out the same exercise, according to officials briefed on the process.
Government officials said Sunak and Grant Shapps, the new business secretary, had yet to decide whether to stick to the 2023 deadline, though the Retained EU Law Bill does contain “a power of extension” that could allow the deadline to be pushed back to 2026. Rees-Mogg believed that some ministers would drag their feet, according to his allies, but that others such as Steve Barclay, the new health secretary, would accelerate work and repeal unwanted EU laws.
Ahead of the second reading, a coalition of bodies including the Trades Union Congress, the RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts urged Sunak to kill the legislation outright. In a joint statement they said: “We are concerned that if passed into law, it could cause significant confusion and disruption for businesses, working people and those seeking to protect the natural environment.”
One senior MP from the pro-Brexit European Research Group said Sunak had assured the group that he was committed to the Retained EU Law Bill and also to legislation to overturn the Northern Ireland protocol, part of Johnson’s Brexit deal.
Source: Financial Times, 27 October 2022
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Ministerial appointments
Will Quince MP (Colchester) has been re-appointed as health minister, having only been first appointed last month. Helen Whately MP (Faversham and Mid Kent) has also been appointed health minister.
Whately was appointed minister for care just before the pandemic in February 2020 and left the role in September last year. She then served as exchequer secretary to the Treasury when Rishi Sunak was chancellor.
A Public Health Minister has not yet been appointed.
To see the full list of ministerial appointments, follow here.
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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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