• Borrowing and debt figures: Burden must not fall on hard working households
• Water Commission: More urgency needed to reform industry
• Over one million 12 hour A&E waits this year as Lib Dems call on Chancellor to “winterproof” the NHS at the Budget
• Braverman: Conservative leadership candidates must rule out shadow cabinet role
• Jardine Introduces Bill to Improve Support for Bereaved Children
• Cole-Hamilton: A&E in crisis as winter looms

Borrowing and debt figures: Burden must not fall on hard working households

Commenting on the latest figures on the public sector’s level of borrowing and debt, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

Today’s figures highlight the difficult position of our public finances after years of mismanagement under the previous Conservative Government – but this can’t be an excuse for the Chancellor to make the wrong decisions at the Budget.

We need to see urgent investment in our NHS and public services which have been reduced to their knees and bold action to fix our crumbling schools and hospitals.

The burden of fixing the Conservatives’ mess mustn’t fall on hard working households, but on the big banks, social media companies and oil and gas giants that can afford to pay a small amount of their soaring profits to get our public services back on their feet.

Water Commission: More urgency needed to reform industry

Responding to the government announcing a new Independent Water Commission, Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

Far more urgency is needed from the government on tackling the disgraced water industry, which has been allowed to get away with endless environmental scandals for too long.

Even before this Commission begins, the government should be getting on with introducing a new regulator with real teeth and power to get hold of these profiteering firms.

Whilst a review of the industry is welcome, it should not be used as a tool to kick the can down the road on immediate reforms.

Sadly, the government’s approach is still a job half done. It is time to put an end to profit before the environment in the water industry, and an end to this national scandal.

Over one million 12 hour A&E waits this year as Lib Dems call on Chancellor to “winterproof” the NHS at the Budget

• NHS braced for another winter crisis as figures reveal a 20% rise in 12 hour A&E waits so far this year

• Worst hit areas have seen a six-fold increase in 12 hour A&E waits compared to last year

• Lib Dems warn this is a “life or death” issue and call on government to announce new ring-fenced fund in the Budget to end winter crises in the health service

Over one million patients have faced waits of 12 hours or more in A&E in England so far this year, up a fifth compared to the same period last year, new data uncovered by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

The House of Commons Library research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, shows there were a staggering 1.09 million 12 hour A&E waits between February and September this year. This is up 181,000 from 913,000 in the same period in 2023, or a rise of 20%, meaning the NHS is on course for even higher levels of A&E delays this year as it braces for yet another winter crisis.

Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said the figures show the Chancellor needs to “winterproof” the NHS at the Budget, warning this is an issue of “life and death” for patients. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has previously estimated that long A&E delays led to around 14,000 excess deaths last year, or 268 a week.

The data shows that overall one in 10 A&E attendances in England this year have seen a wait of 12 hours or more. However, in some areas the situation is even more stark. Blackpool Teaching Hospitals saw more than a quarter of A&E attendances this year experiencing a wait of 12 hours or more, higher than anywhere else in the country. This was followed by the Countess of Chester Trust with 24.1% of attendances taking longer than 12 hours, and United Lincolnshire with 21.1%.

Royal Berkshire Foundation Trust saw a shocking six-fold increase in the number of 12 hour waits, the largest annual increase in the country. North Bristol also saw a huge increase in 12 hour waits, with a three-fold rise from 1,595 to 4,895. This was followed by Harrogate and District and Surrey and Sussex Trusts which each experienced increases of over 175%.

The Liberal Democrats have called on the Chancellor to launch a new fund at the Budget, to put an end to the annual winter crises in the health service. The £1.5 billion ring-fenced fund would be allocated over the next four years, to build resilience in hospital wards, A&E departments, ambulance services and patient discharging. The Party is also calling for a wider funding boost for the NHS in the Budget, including funding to increase the number of GPs, boost the number of NHS dentist appointments and fix crumbling hospitals.

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Treasury spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP said:

These statistics lay bare just how stretched our NHS is as it braces for yet another winter crisis. Fixing these shockingly long A&E delays is literally a matter of life and death.

The Conservative Party has left an appalling legacy of A&E departments struggling at both ends: overwhelmed with patients forced into A&E because they can’t access community care, as well as patients who are well enough to leave hospital but can’t because the social care doesn’t exist.

The government must take urgent action to break the cycle of the annual winter crisis and that starts by making the NHS and social care their top priorities in the Budget. We need to see urgent action to winterproof the NHS, alongside reforms to shore up social care, so our health and care services no longer lurch from crisis to crisis.

Braverman: Conservative leadership candidates must rule out shadow cabinet role

Responding to the revelations that Suella Braverman forwarded government documents to her private email accounts while she was Attorney General in a potential breach of the ministerial code, Liberal Democrat Shadow Attorney General Ben Maguire MP said:

Same old Conservatives, same old sleaze. Suella Braverman has undermined trust in politics time and time again, this revelation is yet more of the same.

Both Conservative leadership candidates must rule her out of serving in their shadow cabinet.

Anything less will just be a continuation of the integrity-breaking, trust-breaking party that was kicked out of office in July.

Jardine Introduces Bill to Improve Support for Bereaved Children

Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine has introduced legislation calling for improved mechanisms of support for children who suffer a bereavement.

Leading charities such as Winston’s Wish offer individual or group counselling sessions and other online services, but there is currently no process for notifying a bereaved child of where they can access support. This has left charities unable to get in touch with children who could benefit from their services.

Ms. Jardine’s Bill would provide clear guidance to councils, schools, and other public bodies on how to ensure every bereaved child knows where to find bespoke support.

Despite Ms. Jardine presenting this Bill in previous sessions of Parliament, past Governments have been too slow to implement a system that would help charities connect with young people dealing with loss and grief.

Jardine also chairs the APPG for Child Bereavement, where she works with Parliamentary colleagues to bring this issue to the public agenda.

Christine Jardine said:

This Bill is a vital step towards ensuring that grieving children have access to support following the tragic loss of a loved one.

By creating a protocol through which children dealing with grief are signposted to support, charities like Winston’s Wish can more effectively deliver counselling services to those who need it most.

No child enduring a personal loss should have to rely on word of mouth or search engines to find help – it should be explicitly offered to all of them. I am determined to make sure that the appropriate authorities pay attention to this problem and do more to support bereaved children.

I hope this Government will support my Bill and make this simple, but vital change, to offer a shoulder for the thousands of children who are grieving across the country.

Cole-Hamilton: A&E in crisis as winter looms

Responding to new figures showing only 62.3% of people attending A&E were seen within the 4 hour target in October, while 3,518 people waited over 8 hours and 1,634 waited over 12 hours, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

Under the SNP emergency care is locked in a state of crisis. As the days grow colder and darker, waiting times at A&E are only getting longer.

Patients and staff alike are suffering as a result of this Government’s mismanagement of our health service. We need to see urgent action from the government to stop this crisis getting even worse as winter hits.

Scottish Liberal Democrats would overhaul the SNP’s failed NHS Recovery Plan, get you fast access to GPs and help people leave hospital on time through a new UK-wide minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher.