Aged individuals who fall received’t be capable of get ambulance throughout strikes, says Steve Barclay
Good morning. Steve Barclay, the well being secretary, has been doing the morning interview spherical this morning, largely taking questions concerning the strikes which are about to hit the NHS. Mark Harper, the transport secretary, might be giving proof to the Commons transport committee quickly, and he’ll face a grilling concerning the rail strikes. And at 12pm Rishi Sunak might be up for PMQs the place it’s virtually sure that strikes might be on the agenda too. This can be the sample for a lot of winter.
Barclay was requested what providers might be working when ambulance employees in England and Wales go on strike on Wednesday 21 December, and he confirmed the message within the Every day Telegraph’s splash – that aged individuals who have a fall will most likely should get to hospital on their very own.
Barclay stated that, whereas the strike was on, ambulance employees would reply to life-threatening incidents – often known as a class (cat) one calls. And he stated that tomorrow there can be a gathering to debate how ambulance employees would reply to class two callouts, which cowl coronary heart assaults, strokes, epilepsy and burns. He advised Instances Radio:
We’ve obtained additional talks with the officers tomorrow on what are known as the derogations – which bits of the service that they are going to provide.
They’ve stated that they are going to proceed to supply life-threatening service, in order that’s the cat ones.
There’s a query by way of whether or not they are going to cowl all of the cat twos – these are the emergency responses to issues like coronary heart assaults and stroke – so it’s vastly vital that these are additionally lined.
However when requested if aged individuals who suffered a fall would be capable of get an ambulance, Barclay indicated that they wouldn’t. Falls have been normally class three calls, and “in the meanwhile the commerce unions are saying these issues wouldn’t be lined,” he stated.
Barclay admitted this could put the system beneath “large stress”. He stated:
After all, we are able to have a look at what contingency plans we are able to put in place, however they’re by no means going to cowl the identical quantity as having 3,000 ambulances on the day, which is roughly what we’ve on a typical day. There’s a danger if we are able to’t get ambulances to folks.
I’ll put up extra from his interviews shortly.
Right here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Mark Harper, the transport secretary, offers proof to the Commons transport committee.
9.45am: Qirjako Qirko, the Albanian ambassador to the UK, offers proof to the Commons residence affairs committee.
12pm: Rishi Sunak faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.
After 12.45pm: MPs debate the remaining phases of the monetary providers and markets invoice.
I attempt to monitor the feedback under the road (BTL) however it’s inconceivable to learn all of them. If in case you have a direct query, do embrace “Andrew” in it someplace and I’m extra prone to discover it. I do attempt to reply questions and, if they’re of common curiosity, I’ll put up the query and reply above the road (ATL), though I can’t promise to do that for everybody.
If you wish to appeal to my consideration shortly, it’s most likely higher to make use of Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you possibly can e-mail me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com
Key occasions
Filters BETA
Grahame Morris (Lab) is asking the questions now. He says legislating for minimal rail requirements throughout strikes can be “vastly controversial”.
Earlier within the listening to Harper stated there can be no laws on issues like pavement parking and e-scooters on this session of parliament. But the federal government intends to legislate on one thing far more controversial, Morris says.
Harper says Morris’s query has highlighted the purpose he made earlier, about there being no cross-party assist for this transfer. (See 10.12am.)
Harper says Community Rail is contemplating whether or not to postpone engineering work deliberate for the Christmas interval due to the RMT strike motion. He says work price £120m was deliberate.
Harper says legislating for minimal rail providers on strike days ‘not an answer’ to present dispute
Again on the transport committee, Mark Harper, the transport secretary, is now being requested about rail strikes.
Chris Loder (Con) asks when the federal government will move the laws it has promised to require the rail unions to keep up a minimal service when they’re on strike.
Harper says he can not say when MPs will vote on it.
However he additionally says the invoice is “not an answer to coping with the economic motion we’re seeing in the meanwhile”.
And he says it could not enhance rail providers on non-strike days. He needs a brand new settlement that does enhance the service typically.
Q: Are you saying the invoice wouldn’t be worthwhile?
Harper says it could be worthwhile sooner or later. However he repeats the purpose about how it could not assist with the present strike.
Q: Do you not intend to move the invoice quickly?
Harper says the federal government usually passes laws shortly when there’s cross-party settlement. That isn’t the case right here, he says.
Barclay rejects calls for presidency to enhance pay provide to NHS employees
Listed below are some extra strains from Steve Barclay’s morning interview spherical.
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Barclay, the well being secretary, rejected requires the federal government to enhance the pay provide to NHS employees. When he was requested on the As we speak programme repeatedly if he was prepared to supply extra, he replied: “No. We’ve an unbiased pay evaluate physique that appears at that. That’s the place that we’ve by way of pay.” When pressed once more on this, he simply careworn his dedication to the unbiased pay evaluate course of – even thought it was identified to him that the federal government might provide greater than the pay evaluate our bodies advocate. As HuffPost UK experiences in its story on this, Barclay additionally insisted the dispute was not nearly pay.
You may see, really, the truth that the prime minister has taken a really sturdy stand by way of the precedence of getting inflation down.
I believe it’s vital that we hearken to colleagues, that’s our parliamentary course of. It’s vital that we do these items with native consent.
Ex-Tory donor scathing about social gathering’s response to Michelle Mone allegations
Gareth Quarry, a former Conservative donor who not too long ago defected to Labour, has launched a scathing assault on his former social gathering, saying their response to the allegations concerning the Tory peer Michelle Mone has solely strengthened his dedication to assist oust them from workplace. My colleague Kiran Stacey has the story right here.
Transport secretary Mark Harper tells MPs he was ‘disenchanted’ RMT turned down ‘improved provide’
Mark Harper, the transport secretary, is giving proof to the Commons transport committee.
He begins with a press release concerning the rail strikes. The RMT was given an “improved provide”, he says. He’s “disenchanted” they turned it down.
He says it’s not only a pay dispute; it’s about reform.
He says over the previous two years the general public has put £31bn into the rail business.
Rail employees weren’t furloughed, and didn’t lose pay throughout Covid, he says.
However he says passengers numbers are solely 80% of what they have been earlier than the pandemic.
He says he would nonetheless urge the unions to maintain speaking, and to name off their strikes.
The federal government will “do what we are able to” to encourage employers and unions to maintain speaking, he says.
Aged individuals who fall received’t be capable of get ambulance throughout strikes, says Steve Barclay
Good morning. Steve Barclay, the well being secretary, has been doing the morning interview spherical this morning, largely taking questions concerning the strikes which are about to hit the NHS. Mark Harper, the transport secretary, might be giving proof to the Commons transport committee quickly, and he’ll face a grilling concerning the rail strikes. And at 12pm Rishi Sunak might be up for PMQs the place it’s virtually sure that strikes might be on the agenda too. This can be the sample for a lot of winter.
Barclay was requested what providers might be working when ambulance employees in England and Wales go on strike on Wednesday 21 December, and he confirmed the message within the Every day Telegraph’s splash – that aged individuals who have a fall will most likely should get to hospital on their very own.
Barclay stated that, whereas the strike was on, ambulance employees would reply to life-threatening incidents – often known as a class (cat) one calls. And he stated that tomorrow there can be a gathering to debate how ambulance employees would reply to class two callouts, which cowl coronary heart assaults, strokes, epilepsy and burns. He advised Instances Radio:
We’ve obtained additional talks with the officers tomorrow on what are known as the derogations – which bits of the service that they are going to provide.
They’ve stated that they are going to proceed to supply life-threatening service, in order that’s the cat ones.
There’s a query by way of whether or not they are going to cowl all of the cat twos – these are the emergency responses to issues like coronary heart assaults and stroke – so it’s vastly vital that these are additionally lined.
However when requested if aged individuals who suffered a fall would be capable of get an ambulance, Barclay indicated that they wouldn’t. Falls have been normally class three calls, and “in the meanwhile the commerce unions are saying these issues wouldn’t be lined,” he stated.
Barclay admitted this could put the system beneath “large stress”. He stated:
After all, we are able to have a look at what contingency plans we are able to put in place, however they’re by no means going to cowl the identical quantity as having 3,000 ambulances on the day, which is roughly what we’ve on a typical day. There’s a danger if we are able to’t get ambulances to folks.
I’ll put up extra from his interviews shortly.
Right here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Mark Harper, the transport secretary, offers proof to the Commons transport committee.
9.45am: Qirjako Qirko, the Albanian ambassador to the UK, offers proof to the Commons residence affairs committee.
12pm: Rishi Sunak faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.
After 12.45pm: MPs debate the remaining phases of the monetary providers and markets invoice.
I attempt to monitor the feedback under the road (BTL) however it’s inconceivable to learn all of them. If in case you have a direct query, do embrace “Andrew” in it someplace and I’m extra prone to discover it. I do attempt to reply questions and, if they’re of common curiosity, I’ll put up the query and reply above the road (ATL), though I can’t promise to do that for everybody.
If you wish to appeal to my consideration shortly, it’s most likely higher to make use of Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you possibly can e-mail me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com