So what are peoples thoughts and any potential impact on yourself

[Rhossydd]

Have you not walked up a highstreet and seen all the boarded up shops ? None of that was due to labour, it is 100% due to the tories destruction of our economy

Much as I hate what the tories have done to the UK, that's one thing that can't be fully laid at their feet. Maybe they could have helped a bit, but the death of the high st has been under way for decades.
Big supermarkets > out of town retail parks > internet shopping > online banking all have reduced people's need for high st shopping.

 

[Sachakins]

Change the Goalposts fallacy.
I asked specifically about the Contaminated Blood Scandal, for one (and also Post Office by extension) - these were not realistically within the realms of "choice" and were explicitly not budgeted for by Tory when the commitment was made. Amongst the other deliberately concealed unknown unfunded spending commitments were the cost of Public Sector pay rises - and NO, I'm not referring to any pay dispute settlements - that's just a common misinformation piece - I'm referring to just the normal 12 month-cycle pay review body reports. Most of the Pay Review Body reports were already published and simply placed in a drawer and not released or disclosed by Tory to the OBR. So the content of the Pay Review reports were an unknown unfunded commitment. Labour did "chose" to honour the recommendations of the Pay Review Body reports, but realistically, there is no precedent for not doing so - and whichever way they had chosen they would've been bummed relentlessly in the news rounds by the likely suspects either way... misinformation rules, right?

It was those kinds of things that really had to be honoured and brought into the costed budget instead of being left unfunded to be paid for out of the non-existent contingency fund. Like I said before - this is a mature and reasonable budget.

No change of goal posts, I was simply pointing out that they had choices. They chose to act, that's fine, but don't blame others for choices made by Labour yesterday.

 

[Hypnotic Chimera]

No change of goal posts, I was simply pointing out that they had choices. They chose to act, that's fine, but don't blame others for choices made by Labour yesterday.

When is a choice not a choice? Often there is no choice, so I absolutely don't agree that there was much of a choice in some of the budget. Some of it comes down to necessity, and that means no choice was possible, or even desirable (eg. Blood Scandal)

 

[niemeyjt]

2019-2024 Tory govt put £80b of tax raises in place.

How does that fit with your trope

It is totally irrelevant - "my trope" concerns Labour, not the Tories, who have historically been a party of tax and spend.

 

[woodieallen]

Even James Smith, research director at the Resolution Foundation think tank which aims to improve living standards for low-to-middle income families, agreed that Reeves lied when she said that Labour would not tax working people.

"Even if it doesn't show up in pay packets from day one, it will eventually feed through to lower wages," he said.
"This is definitely a tax on working people, let's be very clear about that."

And BBC Verify have concluded that the £22bn black hole is 'creative'.

It was an appalling budget. This time next year, we will be in recession, inflation will be rampant again and a lot more unemployment.

The Tories ran the country into the ground. Labour supplied the coup de grace. Hell. Handbasket.

 

[niemeyjt]

NHS compares well against the leading health services like France Germany, Italy.

Are you sure about that - Italy, Switzerland, France and Spain seem to top the longevity tables ahead of UK by a couple of years plus - assuming you use "not dying" as a measure of how good a health service is.

 

[Ozi]

And if you live rural? Where it’s a 30 mile or more round trip to the supermarket and no public transport. I see you live in Rugby and so guess it’s a case of “I’m alright, Jack”

where I live it's a 12 mile round trip to town but still find your comment offensive

 

[Croolis]

There's a possibility that the NI employers hike might impact the profit share bonus my company runs. If it's no bonus at all this year (and we're a bit quiet this year so dunno) that'll be around 500 quid I've lost out on. But I still could get all of it, don't know. My MD has said nothing about that specifically to me but we did talk and his position on the NI was a shrug and "could have been worse".

He's less sanguine about the inheritance pensions bit but that's cos he's relatively wealthy so I've got a shrug about that one myself.

Bottom line is, yeah will take a hit but it's not the collecting of taxes that bothers me, it's how they're spent, and the jury's out on that one until election day. Not going to raise my blood pressure about anything I can't affect.

 

[Billy_wizz]

Amusing to read all the bleating from people with more money to live on than they need, wailing that they'll get taxed after they die. Wish I was in that position.

Yes, it's nice to have some grownups in charge of the finances again.

A large number of these people have worked harder than they needed to to enable them to help there relatives after they die! It's funny how many people are jealous and spiteful about this!

 

[Jake]

A large number of these people have worked harder than they needed to to enable them to help there relatives after they die! It's funny how many people are jealous and spiteful about this!

They can (I do) do that, then as now. The issue isn't that, it is whether the incentive for people to save into a pension for old age in the form of allowing them not to pay income tax on such savings should be allowed to become a way of passing on those savings (still with no income tax ever having been paid on them) to their relatives free of inheritance tax too.

There is nothing jealous and spiteful about thinking that if the money isn't needed for the pension, it should end up being subjected to normal taxation.

 

[selectortone]

It's funny how many people are jealous and spiteful about this!

And a very good evening to you too.

 

[Fergie 307]

How would you suggest this should be better done?

Logically by running procurement on a national basis, rather than by individual trusts. So next year the NHS needs in total 5000 new hospital beds, 50,000 uniforms etc etc.
Invite tenders and make sure the prices are reasonable by employing people who understand these things, and can arrive at an accurate specification and estimate of cost.
Several years ago I knew a chap who ran a number of care homes. He showed me some of the prices for equipment. A standard hospital bed, with foot operated lifts, not an electric one £7000 ffs.
One was selling the exact same engine crane I have as a lift for patients. Painted red with a hook and chain as a garage hoist that I had recently bought £500. Painted white and with a canvas sling instead of the hook, £1500!
This guy hadn't got the purchasing clout to tell the suppliers where to get off, the NHS do.
The level of procurement is so great that the NHS should be dictating prices to the supplier rather than the other way around.

 

[Jake]

Logically by running procurement on a national basis, rather than by individual trusts.

That is a very good idea. You could call it NHS Supply Chain (if that's available)

 

[Blackswanwood]

That is a very good idea. You could call it NHS Supply Chain (if that's available)

Looks like in part it already happens … and it’s called NHS Supply Chain …

https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/

 

[RobinBHM]

Robin, it's nonsense. But people will continue to believe in things anyway. For some politics is similar to religion and equally delusional.

What is nonsense?

 

[Jake]

Well, fancy that.

 

[RobinBHM]

What metric are you using ? Wishful thinking ?

Evidence, data, facts from quality sources, below is OECD and Kings fund

People who claim NHS is far too expensive and a bottomless pit, aren’t looking at the facts.

People who claim NHS is top heavy and all managers…aren’t looking at the facts


NHS spend per capita

NHS admin cost

 

[RobinBHM]

Are you sure about that - Italy, Switzerland, France and Spain seem to top the longevity tables ahead of UK by a couple of years plus - assuming you use "not dying" as a measure of how good a health service is.

I was responding to the claim NHS is too expensive and too top heavy….it’s not.

Outcomes are poor, but that’s expected given its underfunded and lacked capital investment since last Labour govt (who did it with PFIs)

I would like to see Wes Streeting reform it like he claims but I fear he could fail.

 

[RobinBHM]

I suggest you red this report by the Kings Fund comparing costs, funding methods and outcomes of 19 advanced economies Kings fund. In summary:

• NHS funding as a share of GDP sits lower than average
• It makes little difference how health care is funded (with the exception of the US). Most countries prioritise health care improvement within their existing funding model
• NHS outcomes are overall about average - some things better, some worse

Having worked in middle/senior management positions in the public and private sectors, I am firmly of the view that the public sector is relatively inefficient due largely to cultural issues:

• public sector is concerned with risk avoidance. Media attention on any deficient public sector actions (procurement, projects etc) tend to be high profile, damaging to both departments and individuals. Excessive bureaucracy is a defence against criticism.
• many (or most) public sector staff have limited external experience. They are house trained in culture and behaviours from the outset. New ideas are only reluctantly embraced. There tends to be a very positive identification with organisational goals
• private sector is concerned with profit and value. They accept risk as an inherent part of business. This can have negative consequences.
• personal rewards (promotion, bonus, pay) come through success. Get it wrong too often and you get fired. Public sector find it very difficult to deal with poor performance - employment tribunals etc risk attracting negative attention

Both public and private sectors have deficiencies and strengths. A far more helpful debate and positive outcome is likely by avoiding the dogma driven, and recognise the best each has to offer .

I agree with much of that.

 

[Fergie 307]

That is a very good idea. You could call it NHS Supply Chain (if that's available)

Indeed, very droll.
But what do the prices look like? You have to be a registered user to see them.
I hear stories from people who work within the NHS that the sort of ridiculous prices I referred to are commonplace, like £250 for a four legged wheeled stand for a drip bag.
So, if that is true, then it looks like whoever determines value for money needs to get a grip.
Purely anecdotal I know, so make of it what you will, but when my dad was in hospital a couple of years ago there weren't enough Zimmer frames for each patient who needed one. If he wanted to go to the toilet he had to ask for a member of staff to get him one. When I queried this with the ward sister I was told it was down to cost.
They could only buy them from an approved supplier, and, whilst I can't recall the actual price, it was a lot more than I had paid for the one he had at home. She had a real bee in her bonnet about it, and maintained that this was true of many things. She was clearly very frustrated by it.
When he passed away I left his own one on the ward.