One year on from Labour’s announcement that NHS England (NHSE) would be scrapped, new transparency data reveals the quango’s monthly wage bill has somehow increased from £101 million to £104 million. Or an extra £35 million annually, despite Starmer’s promise to “cut bureaucracy”…
As Guido previously reported, efforts to cut the headcount have also gone down the plumbing. Streeting claimed at the despatch box that he expected to halve the combined NHSE and DHSC headcount in two years. Today’s combined headcount is 18,997, down just 849 on last year’s 19,846. At this rate he’ll need to bin close to 9,000 staff this year to hit his own promise…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”