The Prime
Minister opened cabinet by saying his government would focus
relentlessly on the issues that were uppermost in people’s minds,
helping them get their services promptly, ensuring we cut the
cost of government and spend money wisely. He asked all Cabinet
members to find further ways to cut some of the costs the public
and businesses are facing.
He
highlighted the new support being provided to the public this
year to deal with global inflationary pressures, including £1,200
to eight million of the most vulnerable households in the UK. He
said the government’s core mission of uniting and levelling up
was morally, socially and economically the right thing to
do.
Moving to
health delivery he said the government was rightly investing
massive sums into the NHS and social care system and that the
public will want to see further improvements in the service they
receive as a result.
The Health
and Social Care Secretary updated cabinet on the scale of the
challenge post pandemic – saying we had a Blockbuster healthcare
system in the age of Netflix. He said it was no longer simply an
option to stick with the status quo. He said large-scale changes
were needed in areas such as the use of technology and data to
help frontline workers deliver the high-quality service the
public expects. He said government investment was delivering some
early successes, with one million checks delivered with the help
of 90 new diagnostic centres created since July, with 70 more due
to open within two years allowing for nine million extra checks
and tests per year.
He said the
government had set the NHS a target of dramatically improving
productivity to save £4.5 billion a year and outlined how the use
of AI and technology could help free up clinicians to spend more
time to patients.
The Foreign
Secretary then provided an update on Ukraine. She said the
Ukrainians continued to fight a valiant battle and had achieved
some recent success but that Russia were also making slow
advances. She said the UK would not back down in its support,
with further sanctions in the pipeline and continued work with
global allies on how to help Ukraine rebuild in the
future.
The Prime
Minister concluded cabinet by saying the UK would remain at the
forefront of supporting Ukraine. He said it was vital that
President Zelenskyy was not pressured into accepting a bad peace,
noting that bad peace deals do not last. He said the world must
avoid any outcome where Putin’s unwarranted aggression appears to
have paid off.
