Wes Streeting: Rishi Sunak cannot 'pat himself on the back' over NHS backlog progress

It comes after the Prime Minister insisted that “good progress” was being made in improving the state of dental care in the UK despite warnings from opposition parties and health groups that the sector is in “near terminal decline”.

Analysis by Labour found that 84 per cent of dentists in Yorkshire have shut their doors to new patients as it unveiled its plan to get the public back into NHS dental practices.

However Mr Sunak told MPs during his appearance before the Liaison Committee that £3 billion of funding was making a difference.

“So progress has been made. But, of course, as I’ve acknowledged, there are still things that need addressing, which is why it’s important that we do get the dentistry recovery plan published,” he said, adding that the plan is due to be published in the new year.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Mr Streeting said that the Prime Minister has “failed” in his promise to bring down waiting lists as one of his five pledges made at the beginning of the year.

“Waiting lists are higher now than they were 12 months ago, they are at record levels, and they were at record levels before the pandemic,” he said.

“Instead of patting himself on the back and telling everyone he's doing a good job, the Prime Minister should get a grip and take some responsibility and honour his pledges.”

He added that the UK could see a situation across the NHS where those who can afford to pay go private, and everyone else is left “in a poor service for poor people” pointing to the situation in Cornwall where there is a trial of restricting NHS dental care to only the over-80s and children.

“I think that's an appalling situation,” he said.

Labour has come under repeated scrutiny over its spending plans as it looks set to form a government at the next election, with the Conservatives yesterday claiming that its plans to scrap the non-dom status of those who live in Britain but do not have to pay UK taxes will not be able to pay for its proposed reforms.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Labour’s sums simply don’t add up – they have spent the same money on six other policies.”

Mr Streeting said: “I think Yorkshire Post readers know that Rachel Reeves is extremely prudent and she has taken the most small-c conservative estimates of how much the non-dom money will raise and she's using that revenue to fund £1.6 billion worth of investment in the NHS”

“I think that says a lot about Labour's priorities. We think that non-doms who make Britain their home and earn their living here should pay their taxes here too.

“We will use that money prudently and wisely to deliver the investment that the NHS needs to be there for people when they need it.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​