Thank you for writing to me about the Labour Party’s petition on funding the NHS.
Let me be very clear: contrary to Labour claims, current waiting times in the NHS have been primarily caused by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated measures.
Routine and urgent treatment was disrupted and postponed across the country so that the NHS could prioritise supporting patients affected by the virus.
That has led to many more people waiting longer for NHS treatment, which I agree is unacceptable.
As a result, the Government has made it a clear priority to reduce the time patients are waiting for treatment. In September 2021, the Government set out a clear plan - backed by £8 billion funding - to reduce waiting times significantly over four years.
The launch of Community Diagnostic Centres across England - supported by £2.3 billion of funding - has delivered an extra 2 million vital tests, scans and checks for patients, with more Centres to follow.
The Government is also on track to meet its target of recruiting 50,000 more nurses by 2024 to offset the number of staff retiring or leaving the workforce.
Over the next year, further steps will be taken to ensure the NHS has the staff it needs to deliver treatment and care into the future. The Government will be developing an NHS workforce plan, backed by an independent assessment of how many staff the NHS will need over the next 5, 10 and 15 years.
Additionally, the Government is proposing changes to the NHS Pension Scheme to ensure the NHS can retain experienced staff and remove barriers to staff returning from retirement.
These measures will help the NHS to deliver additional appointments and care to patients, as well as easing Winter pressures.
Labour’s policies would simply not provide the NHS the support it needs.
To be clear, non-dom residents who live in the UK have to pay UK taxes on their UK income and gains, just like everybody else. This raised £7.9 billion last year. That said, the Chancellor wants to make sure that non-dom residents pay as much tax in this country as possible.
However, non-doms are highly mobile and it is important that we do not inadvertently lose the public purse more money than is currently raised, and that is why the Treasury is looking into this point in detail.
Thank you once again for taking the time to contact me.
Craig Whittaker MP
December 2022