Speeches by Streeting.

“It is subject to discussion with Treasury, whose servant I am.”

“We will not know the numbers until we have confirmed the ultimate size and shape of the organisation, the impact of the headcount and how much it will cost to treat fairly people whose jobs are at risk and may not be carried forward. However, that is not an unreasonable ballpark figure. I justify that cost on the basis…”

“A couple of things: first—and this is not a criticism of your question, by the way—it makes my blood boil when people say, “Oh, but it is only hundreds of millions of pounds of savings. Is it really worth it?” I think that one of the cultural problems with the NHS and a Department that has a budget of the size it has—n…”

“That is exactly the right framework and is exactly how we are thinking. If we can free up hundreds of millions of pounds and deploy that resource to the frontline, investing in more frontline staff, and making sure we have the right care in the right places at the right time, we will deliver not only better care for pa…”

“In what sense?”

“Yes. And we have been very clear that we want to reduce the size of the centre by 50%. I am not so dogmatic that if we ended up with just below or above 50%, I would feel we had failed. However, that direction is important. It is also important in the context of financial savings. I make no bones about that. One of the…”

“We know that there is duplication across NHS England and the Department. We have taken a few things into account. One is where we think there are duplications of function. Secondly, we intend to devolve more power and responsibility and therefore, in the spirit of what I said to NHS Providers, if you are giving power a…”

“I am tempted to suggest that you should invite my predecessors to account for that episode. However, I think there were a number of reasons. Thinking about the two organisations, there has been a lot of what I would call man-marking going on between the Department and NHS England. For example, there are two elective te…”

“Bearing in mind that there will be people working in these teams, I do not want any examples I give to be seen as a reflection on the quality of their work or their dedication to their jobs. That is not the case. However, there are some obvious examples. There are two HR departments, two finance departments and two com…”

“As people will see when the 10-year plan is published in June, it emphasises not just the devolution of power from national leaders to system or provider leaders, but devolution of power so that clinicians feel more empowered to innovate and do things differently, and, crucially, also put power in the hands of patients…”

“Cases like that are why integrating mental health and employment support pathways is a good thing. It makes sure that people are receiving the holistic support that they need. Just because someone is suffering from mental ill health does not mean that they should be written off. It does not mean that we should assume t…”

“No, not at this stage. It is partly on us, as Government and parliamentarians, to make sure that the detail of welfare reform is properly understood. For example, I met a constituent at the weekend who was very concerned about what the welfare reforms would mean for her. She is on universal credit, not PIP. I completel…”

“First, not a day goes by when a colleague in Government doesn’t knock on my door and suggest something that the Department of Health and Social Care should be paying for, to help them with their goals and priorities, and vice versa. It is partly the nature of government. It is also true that some areas of health activi…”

“I will say a couple of things. First, my Department and the Department for Work and Pensions have a good working relationship, including a joint health and work team, doing some innovative things—the WorkWell initiative and some of the work that we are developing together in the context of the forthcoming spending revi…”

“There will be a bit of both. Against the backdrop of the challenges, we cannot afford the luxury of double-running things all over the shop. That is part of the reason why we are going after unnecessary duplication. In different parts of the country—you will have seen the front pages in recent days—we are beginning to …”

“I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the local trust on the work it is doing and the impact it is having, and I would be delighted to pay a visit as soon as my diary allows.”

“I am well aware of the challenges at Stepping Hill hospital and the need for support and investment in services in Stockport, not least thanks to the representations of my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Navendu Mishra). We are looking carefully at this situation and are committed to working with leaders locally …”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the innovation and the impact of virtual wards. I have seen at first hand the impact they can have—not just in providing better value for taxpayers and freeing up hospital beds for those who genuinely need to be in hospital, but in providing what everyone wants, which is to rece…”

“I am very sympathetic to the argument that the right hon. Gentleman makes about the importance of neighbourhood health services in Borehamwood, and indeed in towns and communities across the country. What I am not sympathetic to is a former Deputy Prime Minister complaining about the state of the NHS, which he played a…”

“The big thrust of our 10-year plan will be to deliver on the three shifts: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. We believe that by moving services closer to people’s homes—and, indeed, into their homes—we will be able to provide faster diagnosis and faster access to tre…”