NHS: Winter Preparedness

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

Regardless of the result today, I think that the BMA is finding that I am not a soft touch and that we will not accede to a completely unreasonable and unaffordable demand. The reason we made that pay award within weeks of coming into government was that we did not think that the BMA’s treatment at the hands of our predecessors had been fair, and we recognised the issues that it was raising on pay. Indeed, the irony of this round of strikes, and previous rounds of strikes under this Government, is that I recognise that whether it is about pay, jobs or working conditions, resident doctors make a whole series of fair and reasonable points, and we are doing our best to address those.

I think that 28.9% is a meaningful step in the right direction on pay. Our offer of emergency legislation, which is unusual in this House, would make a real difference, reducing competition for jobs from 4:1 to less than 2:1—but the BMA has rejected that course of action. In the end, I think that people will judge the BMA’s actions to be unreasonable. Of course the issues that it raises are serious and substantial, but we see similar issues raised not just across the NHS but across the entire public sector.

We cannot fix everything for everyone everywhere all at once. Most reasonable people accept that; for reasons I cannot understand, the BMA does not.

[Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State is rightly proud of the work that has been done to vaccinate people, and he will be acutely aware that we are heading into the super-spreader festive season. There are parents across the country who want to protect their own parents by getting their children vaccinated, but right now there is a gap in the system: 16 and 17-year-olds are not covered. Even if people try to pay for a vaccine at a wholly private provider, they cannot get a vaccine for that cohort, and NHS pharmacists are turning away parents who want to pay for a vaccine. Can I press the Secretary of State to correct that gap, so that families who want to protect their loved ones can do so and 16 and 17-year-olds do not give their grandparents the worst Christmas present ever?

[Wes Streeting]

We will review eligibility, distribution and means of accessing the vaccine in the usual way. People should enjoy themselves over the Christmas period. It is a time for family and seeing loved ones and friends, but people should be mindful of the risks posed by this most virulent strain of flu. If people are symptomatic and likely to give someone they love something they would rather not have this Christmas, they may want to hold off for a week until they have recovered.