Gen Kitchen

I acknowledge that those with long-term health conditions such as arthritis will rightly be very worried about what is happening, considering that only a Green Paper, rather than a Bill, has been published. I assure my hon. Friend that the Department of Health and Social Care and the DWP are committed to supporting disabled people and those with long-term health conditions. There is already a range of support that is online and working, but we want those who are in work and can stay there to do so, and we want people to get back to work. Those measures include joining up the health and employment support around the individual through employment advisers, NHS talking therapies, individual placements, support in primary care and WorkWell, as well as work coaches and disability employment advisers at the jobcentre. That will get people back to work if they can, and keep working people in work. We have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals. Things currently online include WorkWell, and Connect to Work is coming online as we speak. We are also mobilising eight place-based trailblazers to reduce economic inactivity in places where we can see that it is really key. On elective care, our plan for change is clear that our immediate priority on health is to reduce elective waiting lists to meet the NHS constitutional standard that 92% should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment. We have hit that pledge already—more than 2 million more elective care appointments have happened early—and we have now exceeded it by delivering over 3.5 million more appointments.