New Hospital Programme Review

Calvin Bailey Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I can reassure the hon. Member that the hospital is due to start construction from 2032 to 2034 —although my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) had other ideas. On cutting waiting times, just earlier this month the Prime Minister and I published this Government’s elective reform plan so that we can deliver the 18-week standard for referral to treatment, which has not been met for a decade. Had the hon. Member been here during the last Parliament, she would have been absolutely shocked at where the Conservatives led us: from the shortest waiting times and the highest patient satisfaction under Labour to the highest waiting lists and lowest patient satisfaction on record.

[Mr Calvin Bailey (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

Trust in the delivery of healthcare for my constituents has been damaged by 14 years of failed NHS policies and fake Tory promises for new hospitals—the Tories knew full well that they did not have the money to deliver them. They visited Whipps Cross five times for announcements but delivered nothing—not a brick, not a penny, and certainly no hospital. Although the delay confirmed today is disappointing, we welcome the honesty and the work to mitigate the impacts of Tory failure.

The campaign for Whipps Cross hospital is not over, however. As the Secretary of State’s team knows, we will continue to make other Departments aware of the impact on their housing programmes and continue to seek their support on his behalf. I am grateful for his remarks earlier about meeting to look at alternative funding methods. Will the Secretary of State confirm that funding for remediation and maintenance works will be made available to get our hospital to its wave 2 start line?

[Wes Streeting]

I am grateful to my parliamentary neighbour for his representation and reassure him and his constituents—and mine, for that matter—that thanks to the capital allocation at the Budget provided by the Chancellor and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who is in his place, we will be investing more in capital than at any point since Labour was last in office, because we recognise the capital funding pressures right across the NHS estate. We are determined to meet those pressures and clear up the mess that the Conservatives left behind.

I know that across the House and the country there will be real anger at the promises made by the Conservatives when people see that the timetable was a work of fiction and the money was not there. I hope it is of some reassurance to know that this Secretary of State represents a community that is also feeling let down by the actions of the Conservatives, as does the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The way in which we have phased this scheme, and the fact that both our schemes are in wave 2, should reassure people that we are doing as much as we can as fast as we can within the constraints. I hope that people will take some comfort from the honesty, credibility and affordability of the timetable we are setting out today. As long as there is a Labour Government, the new hospital programme will be delivered.

Health and Adult Social Care Reform

Calvin Bailey Excerpts

Monday 6th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

Thanks to the decisions taken by the Chancellor in the Budget, we are boosting the spending power of local authorities significantly, and £880 million has been ringfenced specifically for social care. I appreciate that a single Budget cannot undo 14 years of Conservative failure, but this is an important start, and of course we want year-on-year improvement in the delivery of social care. Baroness Casey will consider all these issues, and also how we can improve ease of access and care quality across the public and private sectors.

[Mr Calvin Bailey (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

I strongly welcome the Government’s action to help my constituents in Leyton and Wanstead get the care that they need faster. Our local hospital, Whipps Cross, continues to struggle, despite the hard work of its staff and leaders, NHS workers and carers, who continued to provide services to our community over Christmas. In November, 36% of patients at Whipps waited more than four hours for emergency care. In recent weeks, 16% have waited longer than 12 hours. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this welcome package of long-term reforms will address both elective care and emergency care for our constituents by moving the effort from hospital to the community?

[Wes Streeting]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about that. If we improve the service at Whipps Cross hospital for his constituents, it will have the added benefit of improving the service at Whipps Cross Hospital for my constituents, too.

Oral Answers to Questions

Calvin Bailey Excerpts

Tuesday 15th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his question. Those practical considerations are very much part of the review. I say to the poor project managers across the country who have had to deal with the previous Government’s stop-start approach that we are not going to make that mistake. We are going to come forward with a credible plan that is also funded, not the work of fiction or the £22 billion black hole that the shadow Secretary of State left in her wake.

[Mr Calvin Bailey (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

Whipps Cross hospital is in my constituency and it is my constituents who have had to endure five years of the previous Government organising photo opportunity after photo opportunity, not putting the contracts in place for the project to be up and running and ready to go. Does my right hon. Friend agree that only a fully costed, long-term approach from this Labour Government can deliver the modern healthcare that my constituents need?

[Wes Streeting]

My hon. Friend, my constituency neighbour, is absolutely right. He has been doing an outstanding job of representing the people of Leyton and Wanstead since his arrival. What our constituents, and indeed constituents right across the country, deserve is honesty, clarity and consistency. That is how we will turn the new hospitals programme from a press release into reality and how, in doing so, we will restore trust in politics and, for businesses, the construction industry and the supply chain, restore confidence in public sector procurement.

NHS: Independent Investigation

Calvin Bailey Excerpts

Thursday 12th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I am delighted to see my hon. Friend in her place representing the people of Bournemouth. The great thing about where we are at this moment is that, for the first time in a long time, there is a feeling of hope and optimism about what the future could be. We are determined to build on that and give staff and patients the confidence of knowing that the best days for the NHS lie ahead.

[Mr Calvin Bailey (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

Lord Darzi’s report highlights the use of capital expenditure to cover in-year spending by successive Tory Governments. Money intended for long-term investment has been redirected over and over, and that has exacerbated the extremely serious and urgent problems that the Secretary of State so rightly raises today. Does he agree that that has stopped us making progress on capital projects that would enable big productivity improvements and improve access to care for all, particularly those in my constituency of Leyton and Wanstead?

[Wes Streeting]

I am delighted to see my parliamentary neighbour in his place; he has big shoes to fill and he will certainly do that. The Chancellor and I are determined to break the vicious cycle in which ballooning costs and overspends in day-to-day spending see raids on capital and tech budgets to fund the shortfall. The £22 billion black hole that we have inherited is a direct example of exactly where Conservative short-termism leads. That is why, in respect of the spending review, I assure my hon. Friend that productivity, tech and capital will be my focus in my representations to the Chancellor and in the work we will do together to fix the mess that the Conservatives left behind.