Oral Answers to Questions

Lillian Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd July 2025 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Lillian Jones (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab)]

1. What steps he is taking to help reduce waiting times at A&E departments.

[Sojan Joseph (Ashford) (Lab)]

2. What steps he is taking to help reduce waiting times at A&E departments

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

This Government inherited an intolerable situation in A&E, where over a decade of Tory failures left patients waiting in pain. We are doing the hard work needed to start repairing that damage. Our new urgent and emergency care plan is backed by nearly £450 million, which will mean 800,000 fewer A&E patients waiting more than four hours this year, new urgent treatment centres, mental health crisis centres and almost 400 replacement ambulances. Those are just some of the steps that we are taking to rebuild our national health service.

[Lillian Jones]

I welcome the progress this UK Labour Government have made in reducing A&E waits in England. That sadly contrasts with a crisis in Scotland, where recent figures revealed 2,472 Scots waited over eight hours to be seen. Jackie Baillie rightly warned that

“Lives are being put at risk”

under the SNP, and it has been years since the Scottish Government last met any of their targets. Does the Secretary of State agree that only Labour in Westminster and in Holyrood has a serious plan to back NHS staff and cut waiting times?

[Wes Streeting]

I agree with my hon. Friend. There is no sign of the SNP Members this morning. They have obviously clocked off for the summer—or maybe they are just sparing their blushes, because the party has been in power for close to two decades in Scotland and has been steadily driving the NHS into the ground. The chair of BMA Scotland has said,

“the NHS is dying before our eyes”

with the SNP. It is on its fifth NHS recovery plan in less than four years. Scotland needs a new direction with a Scottish Labour Government. Working in partnership, we will fix the NHS across the United Kingdom and make it fit for the future.