The Prime Minister updated Cabinet on his visit to the US last
week and the international leaders' summit in London over the
weekend. The US is an indispensable ally of the UK, and our two
countries are deeply intertwined when it comes to security,
intelligence and defence, as well as trade and investment, and he
was pleased to have agreed with President Trump to work at pace
on a new economic deal focused on AI and tech. He had spoken to
President Trump twice over the weekend and again last night, in
addition to the conversations he had had with President Zelensky,
President Macron and other leaders in recent days. The Prime
Minister emphasised that everyone was aligned in pursuit of a
plan that will bring lasting and durable peace to Ukraine. The
Prime Minister was clear that such a peace would need to be
backed by strong security guarantees, including a “coalition of
the willing” of those ready to defend and guarantee the peace,
with US backing to deter Putin from returning. And any deal must
be based on a strong, sovereign, and secure Ukraine. He said he
would continue to have conversations at pace and reiterated the
importance of this work for British security.
The leaders of the House of Commons and Lords updated on the
government's ambitious legislative agenda which has twenty-seven
bills in front of parliament, with upcoming business including
the second reading of the Crime & Policing Bill, the
remaining stages of the Employment Rights Bill and Children's
Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and the introduction of the Planning
& Infrastructure Bill.
The Work and Pensions Secretary then provided an update on the
government's work to get more people into better jobs across the
country to drive growth and higher living standards, including
getting NHS waiting lists down, strengthened workers rights, and
the Get Britain Working White Paper. But she outlined the
challenge with the welfare system inherited from the previous
government, with 2.8 million people not in work due to ill-health
and one in eight young people not in education, training or
employment. This is holding back the economy, it's bad for
people's wellbeing and health, and it has seen the sickness and
disability bill for working age people rise by £20 billion since
the pandemic and forecast to rise to £70 billion over the next
five years. She outlined that the government would be bringing a
Health and Disability Green Paper that delivers a system that is
there for people who cannot work, but supports those who can work
back into work, rather than write them off with no support.
The Cabinet finished with a conversation on the Plan for Change,
noting key progress in key areas such as NHS waiting lists which
have now fallen for four months in a row, the delivery of two
million NHS appointments seven months early, falling interest
rates and mortgage rates, the rollout of 750 breakfast clubs
announced last week, and the radical planning reforms that will
drive growth and opportunity across the country.
