Reeves rejects plea for £1bn of extra cash to cover NHS redundancy payouts
Rachel Reeves has rebuffed a plea from Wes Streeting for an emergency injection of £1bn into the NHS’s budget to cover the cost of mass redundancies,The chancellor’s decision is a setback for the health secretary, who had been lobbying behind the scenes in Whitehall for extra money to pay off 18,000 personnel who are losing their jobs,The Treasury has instead allowed the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to overspend its allotted budget by about £1bn this financial year,But this is on the understanding that it will have less money in 2026-27 – and no new cash overall,Streeting had spent months trying to persuade the Treasury to grant additional funding to enable the NHS’s 42 integrated care boards to start slimming down their role.
They have been asked to make about half their 25,000 staff redundant,The £1bn is needed to let the boards finally shrink their workforces – a process that had been due to finish by the end of December,It also covers payoffs to an unknown number of employees at NHS England, which is being abolished and merged with the DHSC in 2027,The process had ground to a halt amid disagreement over who should foot the bill for the redundancies,The job losses are part of a radical restructuring of the health service in England which Streeting had ruled out when Labour was in opposition.
NHS bosses in England last month told ministers they needed £3bn more this year to cover the cost of redundancies, strikes by resident doctors – five days of industrial action start this Friday – and rises in drug prices,All three were unforeseen when the NHS’s budget for this year was set, they argued,Sources say the Treasury offered to make a deal with the DHSC in which it would provide extra money for redundancies if the department agreed to absorb the cost of higher drug prices,However, no agreement was reached, with the extra costs of medicines likely to prove significant,Streeting will confirm that the care board redundancy programme is at last beginning when he addresses the annual conference of NHS Providers in Manchester on Wednesday.
He will tell the hospitals group that the abolition of “18,000 administrative posts” in care boards is part of a process of “stripping away endless red tape and bureaucracy” that will save the NHS £1bn a year by 2029.The DHSC confirmed that “funding arrangements have been agreed with HM Treasury and will be from within the existing funding settlement”.Sign up to Headlines UKGet the day’s headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morningafter newsletter promotionNHS services would be protected, it added, saying: “We will not be cutting any investment to the NHS, frontline or backroom.”Jim Mackey, NHS England’s chief executive, said: “This is good news for NHS staff and patients, allowing our organisations to move forward and provide greater certainty about the future for all our staff and leaders.”Jon Restell of Managers in Partnership, a union that represents many NHS bosses, said: “Today’s redundancy funding announcement ends months of inaction by the government which have caused avoidable distress to our members as working people and placed care board leaders in an intolerable position.
“The fate of important care board functions, such as continuing healthcare, remains uncertain and managers with digital and planning expertise will be sacked, undermining the government’s own 10-year health plan.”
Reform UK pulls out of BBC film amid Trump speech edit row
Reform UK has pulled out of a BBC documentary about the party amid a row over the broadcaster’s editing of a Donald Trump speech.The film, which was due to be called the Rise of Reform and would have been presented by Laura Kuenssberg, was being made by the independent production company October Films.The company was involved in a Panorama documentary that led to the resignation of two of the most senior executives at the BBC, the director general, Tim Davie, and Deborah Turness, the chief executive of news.The US president has since said the BBC “defrauded the public” and that he had an “obligation” to take legal action over the misleading editing of the speech, which appeared to show Trump inciting violence before the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.October Films was not responsible for this edit, which was done by BBC staff
Thin majorities and chaotic strategy push Labour MPs toward regime change
For an operation that used to pride itself on its political instinct, Keir Starmer’s No 10 has been repeatedly caught off-guard.There was the plunge in popularity in the immediate aftermath of the winter fuel decision, the decimation of loyalty among Labour MPs that led to the welfare vote catastrophe and the audacity of Andy Burnham’s open campaign for the leadership leading up to Labour conference.Now the operation sees threats everywhere and is determined to put potential rebels in the spotlight and flush out rivals.There has been a dedicated operation in recent weeks to smoke out a potential leadership challenge, with some convinced that one may come as soon as the budget is announced. The plan is to try to show up those who plot potential coups and give MPs pause about where such a dangerous road would lead
Starmer allies issue warning to PM’s rivals as fears grow over leadership challenge
Downing Street has launched an extraordinary operation to protect Keir Starmer amid fears among the prime minister’s closest allies that he is vulnerable to a leadership challenge in the wake of the budget.Starmer’s most senior political aides warned that any attempt to oust the prime minister over tanking poll ratings would be a “reckless” and “dangerous” move that could destabilise the markets, international relationships and the Labour party.They insisted that Starmer would fight to retain the leadership in any contest that followed a challenge, either immediately after the budget or, more plausibly, following defeat at the May local elections.A bitter row broke out after No 10 sources said they had grown increasingly concerned over speculation among MPs that Wes Streeting could be planning an imminent coup against the prime minister – a move fiercely denied by the health secretary.In a sign of how anxious some in No 10 have become over Starmer’s position, senior figures said they had been told that Streeting had 50 frontbenchers willing to stand down if the budget landed badly and the prime minister did not go
Nandy rules out taking action to remove Robbie Gibb from BBC board – as it happened
Sarah Owen, the Labour MP, says the BBC did make an editing mistake in its Panorama documentary. But, she says, the only people who are enjoying this are those politicians who do not want a free press.She asks if Nandy will review the influence of Robbie Gibb, the former Tory spin doctor, on the BBC board.Nandy says there is a strict legal threshold for the dismissal of a board member. So she cannot do what Owen is proposing, she says
UK cuts contribution to Aids, tuberculosis and malaria fund by £150m
The UK has cut by 15% its contribution to a leading fund combating preventable diseases, a decision which has dismayed aid groups who said it would lead to hundreds of thousands more otherwise preventable deaths.The UK will commit £850m to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the 2027-29 period, against the £1bn pledged by the Conservative government for the last funding round.While the sum, announced in a written government statement, is slightly higher than the figure of £800m previously being discussed by senior officials, aid groups called it a serious setback in global efforts to combat the diseases.The total amount given by all countries to the global fund will be announced later this month at an event co-hosted by the UK on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa, which Keir Starmer is due to attend.Aid groups had warned that a significant cut to UK money, on top of a 30% reduction in the UK contribution at the previous funding round three years ago, would be a further blow after Donald Trump slashed US aid
Racism returning to UK politics – and people are very scared, says Starmer
Decades-old racism is returning to British politics, and “it makes people feel very scared” Keir Starmer has said, warning that divisive hard-right politics was “tearing our country apart”.Speaking to the GP and TV personality Amir Khan, the prime minister accused Nigel Farage’s Reform UK of overseeing a return of the racist and divisive politics “that frankly I thought we had dealt with decades ago”.In the interview, which aired on ITV’s Lorraine show on Tuesday, Starmer also gave his strongest signal that the two-child benefit cap would be lifted in the budget later this month.Asked whether he would scrap the limit, which charities have said is the biggest driver of child poverty in the UK, Starmer said: “I can tell you in no uncertain terms I am determined to drive child poverty down.”He listed measures ministers have already introduced including free school meals, breakfast clubs, and childcare but added: “We need to do more than that, and I can look you in the eye and tell you I am personally committed to driving down child poverty
‘Sobering’ study reveals extent of bullying and mental health problems for children in Wales
Reeves rejects plea for £1bn of extra cash to cover NHS redundancy payouts
Domestic violence victims at risk under bill aimed at easing prison overcrowding, watchdog warns
Children being ‘sedated’ by algorithmic YouTube content, MPs hear
NHS trust fined £565,000 after woman killed herself on ‘death trap’ ward
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