Opening Cabinet, the Prime Minister looked ahead to today's
welfare reforms, which are designed to help those who can work
into employment and ensure dignity and security for those who
can't work. He then reflected on the last year in office, saying
we could all rightly look back with a real sense of pride and
achievement. The Prime Minister said that because of tough
decisions the government had taken, it had a platform to build
on, with three trade deals, a spending review that was received
well by the public and an industrial strategy received well by
businesses both large and small. He pointed to a cut in NHS
waiting lists, more than four million extra appointments,
investment in transport, major infrastructure decisions, funding
for social and affordable housing, extending free school meals
and introducing free breakfast clubs. The Prime Minister said
there had been four interest rate cuts in a row, while global
firms were choosing to back Britain, including a £40 billion
Amazon investment. He said business confidence was the highest it
had been in years and the US trade deal was now implemented on
autos and aero - something that he knew meant the world to Jaguar
Land Rover workers. He said the government's work is all designed
and focused on improving the lives of working people and giving
them the chance to thrive, not just survive - and the government
should be proud of those achievements as a team.
The Prime Minister then turned to the leaders of the Commons and
the Lords to set out business in both houses. This included the
Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill's second
reading later today.
The Prime Minister then invited the Work and Pensions Secretary
to update colleagues. She set out the reforms and details of the
Timms Review, saying these are positive changes that will ensure
this vital benefit is fit for the future, taking account of
changes in society since it was first introduced. The Work and
Pensions Secretary added that welfare reform is not easy, but
equally not a challenge that can be ducked by the
government.
The Prime Minister asked the Health Secretary to update Cabinet
on the 10 Year Health Plan. The Health Secretary said the plan
would provide the prescription to the diagnosis that Lord Darzi
had given in his report last year and provide optimism for the
years ahead if the size of the opportunities available were
seized and the NHS was made fit for the future. The Health
Secretary said there were defining moments in a country's
national story - and that's where we are with the 10 Year Health
Plan, with the chance to make the same values-driven argument for
the NHS' future as its founders had once done.
