Lack of winter fuel payment ‘might be unpopular’ as snow falls, Streeting admits January 5, 2025 Wes Streeting has acknowledged withdrawing winter fuel payments from pensioners “might be unpopular” following health service advice to keep home heated during this weekend’s cold snap. The Health Secretary faced questions on Sunday about his advice to “turn the heating on”, after heavy overnight snowfall of up to 12cm in parts of the country. Conservative [...]
Why we don’t know how much a ‘National Care Service’ could cost UK January 3, 2025 Health secretary Wes Streeting has unveiled the government’s latest move towards reform of the UK’s social care system. Taking the form of an independent commission into the issue, led by Baroness Louise Casey, the review – reporting in 2026 and 2028 – will aim to build “cross-party consensus” for the creation of a new National [...]
Can you match the quote to the MP who said it in 2024? December 30, 2024 From election campaigning, to Labour’s first months in office, 2024 has been chock-full of memorable political moments. And for our politicians, the past 12 months have seen some memorable quotes enter the record books too. Take a look back at our 2024 quotes quiz and test your political memory.
From porridge to pizza: Junk food ban will have ‘inevitable impact on growth’ – advertisers warn December 3, 2024 A pre-watershed ban on advertising junk food will have an “inevitable impact” on the UK’s “wider economic growth”, an advertising industry body has warned. The government claims the new policy, which will come into force from October 2025, will prevent an estimated 20,000 cases of childhood obesity. Legislation published on Tuesday afternoon reveals the broad [...]
MPs to vote on smoking ban bill and ‘harmful’ vape sales aimed at children November 26, 2024 MPs are to vote on a landmark smoking bill which would raise the legal tobacco purchasing age and clamp down on “harmful” childhood vaping. Parliament will have its first debate on the measures in the proposed new law, followed by a vote in the House of Commons later today, in what’s known as the ‘second [...]
Streeting rolls out health service league tables to boost efficiency November 13, 2024 NHS trusts should be “turned into businesses”, a free market think tank has argued, amid Wes Streeting’s announcement of health service league tables in a bid to boost efficiency. The health secretary has confirmed failing hospitals will be named and shamed in league tables and managers sacked if they don’t improve patient care and take [...]
NHS must be weaned off ‘more, more, more’ culture, warns Alan Milburn November 9, 2024 Alan Milburn, who ran the department under Tony Blair, warned that the NHS was “drinking in the last-chance saloon” .
Olympic hero Hoy reveals his cancer diagnosis has already saved a life November 5, 2024 Sir Chris Hoy has urged more men to seek free tests for prostate cancer in the hope that his terminal diagnosis can at least save others’ lives. The six-time Olympic champion cyclist announced last month that his cancer is incurable, seven months after he first revealed he was undergoing chemotherapy. Hoy’s illness has already helped [...]
‘Wasteful’ disposable vapes to be banned by next June October 24, 2024 Disposable vape sales will be banned by next summer, the government has said, branding the e-cigarette products “wasteful”. Fresh legislation to ban the sale of single-use vaping devices from June 2025 was introduced before Parliament on Wednesday. The government says an estimated five million single-use vapes were littered or thrown away each week last year [...]
Health minister says NHS set for technology transformation October 21, 2024 Health secretary Wes Streeting has announced plans for digital patient records which will make health data available to all NHS hospitals, GPs and ambulance services in England. It came as he launched a major consultation on the government’s plans to transform the NHS from“analogue to digital” in the next decade amid privacy fears over data [...]