Category Archives: steve barclay

NHS Strikes: Mishal Husain Roasts Steve Barclay By Noting Obvious Contradiction In Government’s Stance

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BBC Radio 4′s Mishal Husain suggested the government has no choice but to resolve NHS strikes in a tense interview with the health secretary this morning.

The Today programme host pointed out that – just as junior doctors and consultants are about to go on strike simultaneously – the impact on NHS patients is getting worse.

Husain said the latest figures show the waiting lists to be at record levels at 7.6 million people waiting to start routine treatment.

But, she noted that prime minister Rishi Sunak made it one of his five pledges to voters to bring the number down.

The presenter asked: “How can you do that without resolving doctors’ strikes?”

Barclay replied: “There’s no question that the strikes are having an impact in terms of harming patients.

“Now, we have been making progress through our recovery plan, backed with £8 billion of investment.”

He said they had eliminated the two-year wait for treatment, and “virtually” eliminated the 18-month wait.

Husain pointed out: “The overall figure is at a record number!”

Barclay replied: “No, no, I’m accepting that the overall number on the waiting lists has increased.”

He went on to say that the government has boosted the NHS’s capacity with community diagnostic centres.

But Husain just asked again: “What’s your plan to end the doctors’ strike?”

The health secretary insisted that the government has offered a “fair and final” resolution, accepted the pay review bodies’ suggestion for a pay increase and implemented the BMA union’s “number one ask” to change pension and taxation.

“But the strikes are going on,” Husain cut in. “I think most people would probably look at this and think that your plan is basically based around hoping that the doctors give up. There’s absolutely no sign of that.

“How can you possibly meet your waiting list pledge, the PM’s waiting list pledge, without resolving this strike?”

Barclay said the government had also promised to bring down inflation, and that was another pledge Sunak made in January.

He also claimed that the strikers’ pay rise request was too high, and he had stay fair to other public sector workers.

Husain then tried once more, pointing out: “You’ve got a specific pledge on waiting lists to bring them down – and they’re going up.”

But, the health secretary just suggested once again the pay rise request from junior doctors is not “fair” for others.

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Sophy Ridge Leaves Steve Barclay Squirming Over Tories’ NHS Spending Plans

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Steve Barclay was left squirming by Sophy Ridge as he failed to explain how the Tories will pay for a major NHS spending boost.

The Sky News presenter repeatedly asked the health secretary where the £2.4 billion to recruit thousands more doctors and nurses will come from.

Rishi Sunak unveiled the long-awaited NHS workforce plan on Friday.

Asked by Ridge how the government would find the money, Barclay would only say it would be “through the Treasury” but refused to give any specifics.

Ridge responded: “What does that mean though? Is that more money for your department or are you going to have to find it from existing NHS budgets or is it borrowing? Where is it coming from?”

In a rambling answer, Barclay said: “This is additional money, it will be announced in the usual way through fiscal events.”

Ridge hit back: “I haven’t heard any new tax rises or spending cuts so I’m assuming it sounds like it must be extra borrowing.

″A hundred per cent of GDP – that the current level of debt. Interest rates rising, so the cost of servicing debt is going up – is that really responsible?

“If Labour announced a policy of £2.4 billion without saying where that money was coming from you would be after them like a rocket.”

Barclay said the policy would also improve the retention of NHS staff, thereby saving money on hiring agency workers.

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Exclusive: Anger As Nadine Dorries Dismisses Steve Barclay Bullying Claims As ‘Politically Motivated’

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Nadine Dorries has been condemned after she claimed bullying allegations against Steve Barclay were “politically-motivated”.

The former culture secretary made the accusation on her Talk TV chat show.

Barclay, the health secretary, is facing allegations about his treatment of staff just days after the resignation of Dominic Raab following a report into bullying claims against him.

The Guardian reported that civil servants informally complained to the Department of Health’s top mandarin about how they were treated by Barclay, while senior officials privately spoke of “bullying” and other “bad behaviour”.

A source close to the minister told HuffPost UK: “No complaint has been made and the allegations are untrue.”

Dorries, who is standing down as a Tory MP at the next election, said: “I have known Steve Barclay for 18 years and I would defend him with my dying breath. Professional, respectful, courteous, kind, compassionate are the words which jump to mind to describe him if I were ever to be asked.”

On the bullying claims, she said: “It is without doubt politically-motivated by the unions and they have shot themselves in the foot and exposed their true intentions trying to claim the scalp of another cabinet minister who so many respect – but they have chosen the wrong man. This accusation is beyond absurd.”

She added: “If anyone brings forward a genuine bullying claim in the future they are going to find it difficult to be believed because those lefties who are trying to bring down the government by any false means possible will have cried wolf once too often.”

Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union, which represents senior civil servants, told HuffPost UK: “Nadine Dorries actively demonstrates two key factors.

“Firstly, she doesn’t understand what bullying is – it’s an abuse of power. The relationship she would have had with a fellow minister has a very different power dynamic to that between a minister and their civil servants.

“Secondly, her entire world view is based on political conspiracies and imagined enemies. She cannot fathom that civil servants might simply be complaining about how they are treated in the workplace.”

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‘Life And Limb Must Come First’ – Grant Shapps Defends Controversial Anti-Strikes Bill

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Grant Shapps today said “life and limb must come first” as he defended a controversial new anti-strike bill.

The Business Secretary was promoting the new law aimed at ensuring a minimum level of service in crucial sectors during industrial action.

Shapps said the government want to end “forever strikes” and argued that the government’s legislation would bring the UK “into line” with other European countries.

The move has sparked threats of legal challenges, while Labour has said it would likely repeal the legislation.

The bill will be introduced to parliament on Tuesday afternoon, a day after crisis talks between ministers and unions failed to resolve industrial disputes involving nurses, teachers and rail workers.

Shapps told GB News: “I’ll be introducing a minimum safety level bill, which will sort of say, ‘look, we will never withdraw the right to strike from people but when there are strikes on life and limb must come first, and there has to be a minimum safety standard put in place for that’.”

He added: “We don’t really ever want to have to use that legislation.

“In those most recent strikes, the Royal College of Nursing, the nurses, agreed a set national level of support.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t get there with ambulances across the country, meaning there was a bit of a postcode lottery as to whether an ambulance would turn up in the case of something serious, like a heart attack or a stroke.

“We can’t have that, so common sense tells us that we need to have minimum safety levels.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay is considering backdating next year’s NHS staff pay increase to prevent further strikes.

He suggested that improvements in efficiency could “unlock additional funding”, leading to an increased offer for the 2023/24 pay settlement in the spring.

Sara Gorton, from Unison, said there had been an “acknowledgement” that avoiding strikes would “involve a reach-back” into the current pay year.

It raises the prospect that the pay deal for 2023/24, which is due to be agreed in time for April, could be backdated and applied to the final quarter of the 2022/23 financial year.

Ministers have previously refused to discuss wages for nurses and other public-sector workers, insisting those were matters for the independent pay review bodies.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak will chair his first Cabinet meeting of in 2023 on Tuesday morning.

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Nurses Reveal December Strike Dates In Dispute Over Pay

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The Royal College of Nursing has revealed the first dates of their strike action this winter.

Hundreds of thousands of nurses will take industrial action over pay and safety on December 15 and 20.

The RCN said nurses have had “enough of being taken for granted” as well as low pay and “unsafe” staffing levels.

They said they were taking strike action after the government turned down their offer of formal negotiations as an alternative to industrial action.

Health secretary Steve Barclay said he was “hugely grateful” for the hard work of nurses but “deeply regrets” some taking action.

He claimed the RCN’s demands equated to a 19.2 per cent pay rise, costing £10 billion a year.

Pat Cullen, from the Royal College of Nursing, said: "Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted."
Pat Cullen, from the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted.”

Aaron Chown – PA Images via Getty Images

The strikes will take place in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The RCN will announce which particular NHS employers will see action next week when formal notifications are submitted.

In Scotland, the RCN has paused announcing strike action after the Scottish government reopened NHS pay negotiations.

The RCN say that despite this year’s pay award, experienced nurses are worse off by 20 per cent in real terms due to successive below-inflation awards since 2010.

“Ministers have had more than two weeks since we confirmed that our members felt such injustice that they would strike for the first time,” RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said.

“My offer of formal negotiations was declined and instead ministers have chosen strike action. They have the power and the means to stop this by opening serious talks that address our dispute.

“Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted, enough of low pay and unsafe staffing levels, enough of not being able to give our patients the care they deserve.”

The RCN said the economic argument for paying nurses fairly is clear when billions of pounds is being spent on agency staff to plug workforce gaps.

In the last year, 25,000 nursing staff around the UK left the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register. There are 47,000 unfilled registered nurse posts in England’s NHS alone, the RCN said.

Barclay said: “These are challenging times for everyone and the economic circumstances mean the RCN’s demands, which on current figures are a 19.2 per cent pay rise, costing £10 billion a year, are not affordable.

“We have prioritised the NHS with an extra £6.6 billion, on top of previous record funding, and accepted the recommendations of the independent NHS pay review body to give nurses a fair pay rise of at least £1,400 this year.

“This means a newly qualified nurse will typically earn over £31,000 a year – with more senior nurses earning much more than that – they will also receive a pension contribution worth 20 per cent of their salary.

“Our priority is keeping patients safe. The NHS has tried and tested plans in place to minimise disruption and ensure emergency services continue to operate.”

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Nurses Issue Government With Ultimatum Or Risk Strike Action

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Nurses have called for “detailed negotiations” on pay in the next five days or it will announce strike dates for December.

In a letter to health secretary Steve Barclay following the autumn statement, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen said the chancellor demonstrated that “the government remains unprepared to give my members the support they need at work and at home”.

She said that recent meetings with the minister had been “cordial in tone”, but had not resolved the issues at the heart of proposed strike action.

Last week, the RCN announced that nursing staff at the majority of NHS employers across the UK had voted to take strike action over pay and patient safety.

In the letter, she added: “It is with regret that I write to say that unless our next meeting is formal pay negotiations, beginning within the next five days, we will be announcing the dates and locations of our December strike action.”

The RCN is calling for a pay rise of 5% above inflation, saying that despite a pay rise earlier this year, experienced nurses were worse off by 20% due to successive below-inflation awards since 2010.

Cullen said recent meetings with Barclay were welcome, but added: “I must not let my members nor the public confuse these meetings for serious discussions on the issues of NHS pay and patient safety.

“You have again asked to meet in the coming days and for this third occasion I must be clearer in my expectation.

“There is only value in meeting if you wish to discuss – in formal, detailed negotiations – the issues that have caused our members to vote for strike action.

“It is now more than a week since we announced our ballot outcome and your department has dedicated more time to publicly criticising our members’ expectations than finding common ground and a satisfactory conclusion.

“I also point out that this stands in contrast to the approach taken by governments and executives in other parts of the United Kingdom.”

Health secretary Barclay said: “We are all hugely grateful for the hard work and dedication of healthcare staff, including nurses, and we have prioritised the NHS in the autumn statement with an additional £6.6 billion over the next two years, alongside a commitment to publish a comprehensive workforce strategy next year with independently verified forecasts.

“We deeply regret some union members have voted for industrial action.

“These are challenging times, which is why we accepted the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body in full and have given over one million NHS workers a pay rise of at least £1,400 this year.

“This is on top of a 3% pay increase last year when public sector pay was frozen, and wider government support with the cost of living.”

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Brutal Hospital Heckle Gives Health Secretary Steve Barclay A Taste Of Public Anger

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Health secretary Steve Barclay has been confronted with public fury over the crumbling NHS – as an angry member of the public heckled the minister upset about ambulance delays.

The cabinet minister was speaking to media outside Moorfields Eye Hospital in Old Street, central London, when a woman suggested the Tory government has done “bugger all” during 12 years in power.

During his interviews, a woman passing by approached Barclay and asked him: “Are you going to do anything about the ambulances waiting, and the people dying out?”

Barclay replied: “Of course we are,” but the woman continued: “Don’t you think 12 years is long enough?

“Twelve years – you’ve done bugger all about it.

“People have died, and all you’ve done is nothing.”

The incident drew comparisons to an infamous scene from BBC comedy The Thick Of It, when fictional minister Hugh Abbot is confronted by an angry worker who asks: “Do you know what it’s like to clean up your own mother’s piss?”

Last week, many were shocked after an 87-year-old man had to wait 15 hours for an ambulance in a makeshift shelter made out of a garden football goal.

A recent report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) showed that patients were facing “frequent and prolonged” waits for ambulances.

The report exposed several cases, such as that of an elderly patient who died after waiting 14 hours for assistance from South Central Ambulance Service.

On Thursday, Barclay was given a tour of an operating theatre by surgeons at Moorfields Eye Hospital, before speaking to press on the street outside.

Following the heated interaction, Barclay said that reducing ambulance waiting times is an “absolute priority” for the government.

He told the PA news agency: “There’s a range of measures that we’re taking.

“We’re looking at conveyance rates in ambulances, we’re looking at how we address variation in performance, we’re looking at funding – an extra £150 million to the ambulance service, a further £50 million into call centres, for 111 and 999, in terms of call handling, a further £30 million into St John Ambulance around the auxiliary ambulance performance.

“We’re also then looking at what happens with the ambulance handovers, so emergency departments, how we triage those, how we look at the allocation of this within the system.

“Of course, that is all connected to delayed discharge and people being ready to leave hospital who are not doing so, and that’s about the integration of care between social care and hospitals.

“So there’s a range of issues within how we deliver on ambulances, but it’s an absolute priority both for the Government and for NHS England.”

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Sky’s Kay Burley Rips Into Boris Johnson Ally Over ‘Duty’ To Attend Staff Leaving Dos

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Boris Johnson’s chief of staff has insisted the prime minister had a “duty” to attend staff leaving parties during the pandemic — even when people were unable to say goodbye to dying relatives.

The PM repeatedly stood by his decision to thank departing staff in person following the publication of Sue Gray’s damning report into the partygate scandal that has rocked No.10.

The report contained salacious details of excessive drinking and socialising inside No.10, where staff drank until they were sick and red wine was spilled up the walls.

In her report, the senior civil servant noted how Johnson attended a series of events himself, including a now infamous gathering for his departing director of communications Lee Cain where he is pictured raising a glass of alcohol.

But speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the prime minister insisted he felt it was his “duty” to make an appearance at the leaving-dos of departing colleagues.

“When I was speaking to colleagues about the departure of another spad [special adviser], or government adviser or official, it didn’t occur to me that this was anything except what it was my duty to do as prime minister during a pandemic.

“That’s why I did it, and that’s why I spoke as I did in the House of Commons. And, yes, as Sue has found and everybody can see and the evidence has shown, after I had been there things did not go well.”

Johnson’s words were immediately seized on by Sky Presenter Kay Burley, who asked Barclay: “So he could say goodbye to a work colleague, but people watching this programme this morning couldn’t say goodbye to a dying relative?”

Barclay replied: “I know from my own families in the constituency that that was heartbreaking for people that weren’t able to say goodbye, I think it was probably one of the worst features of the pandemic that people didn’t get that moment of being able to say goodbye.

“I think as was covered at the time in the rules, people working in Downing Street, because of the nature of their jobs working for the prime minister, they’re working in our vaccine rollout, ensuring we have the PPE, working very long hours in tight-knit situations, and there was a work exemption for them to be able to work together.

“It was in that context that the prime minster was very briefly, usually for a matter of minutes, to meet people.”

Burley interjected: “Why would he feel that he could say goodbye to a work colleague but people couldn’t go to a graveside?”

“Because they were already in the building,” Barclay said. “They were already working in tiny groups, they were already there.”

“Six bottles of wine, two bottles of champagne and a bottle of gin on the table…what sort of workplace is that?”

Barclay replied: “The Met has looked at these issues, these were very brief periods of time, the nature of the prime minster’s job is to go from meeting to meeting to meeting.

“But at the same time he has recognised the need for changes, he’s made those changes, and Sue Gray herself has recognised there’s been significant change with a permanent secretary, with a change of leadership team as a result of the lessons we’ve learned.”

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