The Prime Minister began Cabinet
by noting that the funeral of former Chancellor would be held today. He
said he found Lord Darling’s advice on the union very valuable
during his time as Chancellor and that he would be much missed by
friends, family and colleagues.
The Prime Minister then updated
Cabinet on the situation in the Red Sea. He said malign actors
were seeking to exploit the situation in the Middle East for
their own ends, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacking
commercial shipping in recent weeks. This had led to several
companies suspending passage through the area. He said the UK has
always stepped up to protect free trade and HMS Diamond and HMS
Lancaster were in the region to provide necessary
deterrence.
The Defence Secretary confirmed
the UK had also joined a US-led collation, Operation Prosperity
Guardian, and would continue to discuss joint efforts to deter
attacks and mitigate any impact on consumers.
Cabinet then discussed their
collective and individual efforts to deliver on the priorities of
the British people.
The Prime Minister said it is right to recognise the Government’s
successes, from halving inflation to reducing small boat
crossings by a third, but that there is still much work to do
that will require continued dedication.
On the economy, he said that three of the five priorities set out
in January were economic. Since then, inflation has halved, the
economy has recovered more quickly from the pandemic than many
first thought, and debt is on track to fall.
The Chancellor reminded Cabinet
that at the start of the year inflation was at 11.1%, debt was
predicted to be 100% of GDP and the Bank of England had predicted
the longest recession for 100 years. He said that thanks to the
difficult long-term decisions taken by Government, inflation had
more than halved and the UK economy is forecast to grow while
other countries have gone into a recession.
On cutting NHS waiting lists, the Prime Minister and Health and
Care Secretary reflected on efforts to recover the performance of
the NHS after the unprecedented pressures of the pandemic,
despite the challenges of industrial action.
The Health and Care Secretary
said waiting lists had been reduced by around 60,000 people in
October alone and that the Government’s fair and constructive
approach to pay disputes had led to agreements being reached with
all but one profession. The Prime Minister highlighted the
delivery of the first ever long-term NHS workforce plan, the new
ability for patients to choose where they received care and the
expansion of pharmacy services as additional benefits the public
would now see thanks to Government action.
On stopping the boats, the Prime
Minister and Home Secretary said that the Government’s approach
is working. Small boat arrivals are down by a third this year,
bucking the trend seen internationally, and we are on track to
clear the asylum legacy backlog by the end of this year.
The Prime Minister said stopping
the boats spoke to the Government’s values – that it should be
the British people and not criminal gangs who decide who comes to
our country and that jumping the queue ahead of those who may be
more deserving of our support was not fair or right.
Cabinet discussed other
achievements this year, including changes to our approach to net
zero to protect the public from extra costs and creating Network
North to ensure the £26 billion earmarked for the additional leg
of HS2 would now be spent in a way that benefitted more people,
more places, more quickly.
The Prime Minister concluded by
thanking Ministers and their departments for their hard work
during the year and emphasised the need to go further next year
in tackling the issues that matter most to the
public.
