James Murray

I thank my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for opening the debate. Of course, today’s debate follows yesterday’s publication of the OBR’s report into the early release of the “Economic and fiscal outlook” and the subsequent resignation of Richard Hughes. Let me be clear that what happened last week with the EFO should never have happened, and nor should it ever happen again. We take the report’s findings very seriously. As I informed the House yesterday, we will work with the National Cyber Security Centre to take forward a forensic examination of potential premature access at previous fiscal events. The OBR is a key part of our fiscal framework, and the OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee continues under the experienced leadership of Tom Josephs and Professor David Miles. In the coming weeks, the Treasury will launch a competitive external recruitment process to appoint a new chair. As with all appointments to the Budget Responsibility Committee, the appointment of the new chair will be made by the Chancellor and will be subject to the consent of the Treasury Committee. This Government put the utmost weight on Budget security, including the prevention of leaks of information, and a leak inquiry is under way. The Treasury will work closely with the OBR to ensure that robust security arrangements are in place before the spring forecast and for all future forecasts, and the permanent secretary to the Treasury will conduct a review of the Treasury’s security processes to inform future fiscal events. As the Health Secretary so powerfully set out when he opened today’s debate, cutting NHS waiting lists is a top priority for this Government. We prioritised the NHS at the Budget because a strong health service where people can get the treatment they need is a priority for the British people. Our determination to get the national health service back on its feet and invest in the future of our country stands in stark contrast to the Conservatives, who offer nothing but decline. They offer cuts to funding for public services that are equivalent to firing every police officer in the country twice. After 14 years in power and one year in opposition, the Conservatives still refuse to take responsibility for the state they left the country in, and offer no apology for the damage they did to our public services and our economy when they were in power—and on top of that, they boast that they would do it all again. The Government are taking the fair and necessary choices to renew our country. Last year at our first Budget, we fixed the foundations by funding the largest ever capital settlement for health, introduced fiscal rules to ensure that the books are always balanced, and chose to invest in roads, rail, energy and homes across the UK.