Lansley defends health reforms
Andrew Lansley has launched a defence of his planned reforms of the NHS and warned that unless changes are made there will be a crisis in health care.
He said that while he was prepared to make “substantial and significant” changes to his Health and Social Care Bill “doing nothing is not an option”.
“We will never privatise our NHS,” he said. “But if we choose to ignore the pressures on it. the health service will face a financial crisis within a matter of years that will threaten the very values we hold so dear – of a comprehensive health service, available to all, free at the point of use and based on need and not the ability to pay.”
Writing in the Daily Telegraph the health secretary said: “Our health service is facing huge challenges that, if not dealt with today, will almost certainly mean a crisis tomorrow.
“This is why doing nothing is not an option. I will not leave the NHS to neglect. Enormous financial pressures loom large on the horizon, threatening to undermine our health service unless we act now.”
“Put simply, if things carry on unchanged, this would mean real terms health spending more than doubling to £230billion. That is more than £7,000 a second – twice as much as we are spending today. This is something we simply cannot afford.”
Nick Clegg has used apparent differences between the coalition partners over the reforms to flex Lib Dem muscle in the wake of his party's election defeats in May.
The battle has placed a question mark over Lansley's future in the cabinet as many think he would be unable to continue as health secretary if he is forced to make significant changes to his treasured reforms.
A change in guidance for border officials created an "amnesty" for asylum seekers, MPs have said.
In a report published today home affairs committee said the UK Border Agency's target of clearing the historic backlog of 450,000 cases by this summer "seems to have been achieved largely through increasing resort to grants of permission to stay".
Keith Vaz, chairman of the committee, said it was clear the agency was "still not fit for purpose".
Also today the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority publishes MPs expenses claims processed in January and February. Expenses claims are published every two months.
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