Baroness Merron (Lab)

I absolutely agree with a number of the points made by the noble Baroness, particularly her last one: people must seek the help they need. I assure your Lordships’ House that the entire focus of the department and the NHS will be on getting the health service through this double whammy of flu and strikes. Despite the huge extra numbers, there will still be people who are not vaccinated. Therefore, in addition to seeking help when needed, I also make a plea to those who have not yet been vaccinated please to do so; that will help immensely. It is probably worth saying that the next round of strikes will bring the total number of days of strike action to 59, over 14 rounds of industrial action, since March 2023. So I remind your Lordships’ House that this did not start with this government but has preceded it for some time. To the noble Baroness’s point about performance, I pay huge tribute—as I am sure we all do—to the dedication of NHS staff at this time. During the November round of strike action, the NHS set an ambitious goal to maintain 95% of planned care. It succeeded in doing that, which is totally down to the NHS workforce pulling round. We also proved last time that we could maintain a near full programme of elective care. Our immediate plan, which the noble Baroness asked about, is to replicate this over the upcoming five days of industrial action in December. There is no reason for these strikes, and I know the effect they have and the concern they create for the general public. The noble Baroness allows me to remind us that these strikes are not supported by the general public.