Speeches by Streeting.

“I think gambling is a bit like alcohol in that I do not want to stop people having a flutter, just as I do not want to stop people enjoying a pint, but in both alcohol harms and gambling harms what you see is a minority, but not insignificant number, of people who experience severe harm, and that is where we have to fo…”

“Yes, it is very good.”

“The best examples of improved productivity in electives, for example, have come from frontline clinical leadership. Obviously that includes resident doctors and other NHS staff. That is what gives me hope, actually, about the future. I think they are up for the challenge. They want us to take the brakes off.”

“Oh no—the answers I’m least good at.”

“We will come back to you on that.”

“We need to look at all the training routes to make sure that they are relevant to what modern clinical practice will look like and the way in which these roles are going to evolve with medical science and technology. Part of the challenge with general practice and district nursing, for example, is that they have not ha…”

“Yes, I think we need to look at that. We also need to make sure that training for all parts of the NHS workforce, in all cases, is valuable. There is a lot of complaining from NHS staff who feel they are subjected to a whole load of training that they feel is pointless. That brings to life why the idea that NHS staff a…”

“Without reeling off the list I gave earlier, I think the things we have done in the first year of this Labour Government have been significant and substantial on social care, but I recognise it is against the backdrop of much wider challenge and crisis in the social care system. What you will see next year from Casey i…”

“I think you are right. We have our workforce plan, which we are currently developing in the light of the 10 year plan. The previous workforce plan was just not in the right place. A number of its assumptions were flawed. If we continue the rate of growth that the long-term workforce plan had assumed, then by the end of…”

“Yes. I was thinking back to the big row that Jeremy Hunt had with the BMA over seven-day working. That argument looks so dated now because lots of people—not just in the NHS but particularly in the NHS—would like more flexible working. One of the reasons we have seen agency costs shoot up is because people have seen ag…”

“We do need to make it easier and simpler. Again, that is something we will look at in the context of the workforce plan. We also need to look carefully at the diversity of the medical workforce. I do not just mean doctors. If we take medicine specifically, it is still the case that too many people who are signing on to…”

“You are tempting me to pre-empt the workforce plan. Those are exactly the sorts of questions that we need to address—the size, shape, capacity and capability of the future workforce.”

“Yes. If I can go further, I would like to. Notwithstanding the fact that I do not agree with the BMA about the timing or the necessity of its proposed strike action, I absolutely share not just the concern but the anger and frustration I hear from resident doctors. As I have said to many of them, the best pay rise they…”

“That is the thing that unites the employers, the trade unions and the local authorities. Unless we pay our care staff better, and build a genuine social care profession, we will fail to recruit and retain the brilliant people we need. That is why fair pay agreements were introduced in the Employment Rights Bill in our …”

“I will say a few things and then bring in Jim and Sally as well. First, when it comes to thinking about quality and safety, Mid Staffs looms large in my mind, as do the lessons of that inquiry. As do the conversations that I have had with a significant number of families over the last 12 months, which have been far and…”

“Yes, that is right. I am anxious about this. I do not think that our nursing profession has received the level of respect and support to which it is entitled. Unless we give nurses better job security and job satisfaction, and unless they feel genuinely recognised and rewarded for their work, we end up in the worst of …”

“There are lots of people who are presenting in emergency care who do not require emergency care. I do not criticise those patients, because often it is the only place that they feel they can access. But there are lots of things that the NHS is doing that, if rolled out consistently, would make a massive difference. For…”

“The two problems you have described are inextricably linked. Over time, we will drive the left shift in terms of not just transfer of resources, but transfer of responsibilities. Lots of things, from diagnostic tests and scans to minor injuries and urgent treatment, can and should be done in primary and community care,…”

“I would not anticipate staff in this area being cut dramatically in the way that you suggest. Jim is absolutely right: in terms of the design of the new organisation, we want to reduce overall headcount by 50%, but that is not the same as taking 50% out of every team and function. This area is absolutely critical from …”

“Some £10 billion has been allocated specifically to tech in the spending review.”