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…
Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked John Healey: “Just finally, I mean Andy Burnham has been very clear he wants Britain back in the European Union in his lifetime. Do you?”
The Chancellor replied: “I’m older than Andy Burnham. I don’t expect to see that.”