Agenda item

NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans (1)

11.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Paul Scriven, and formally seconded by Councillor Richard Shaw, that this Council:-

(a)       notes the publication of the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Sustainability and Transformation Plan;

(b)       notes with concern that the Plan estimates a shortfall in NHS and social care funding in our area of £571 million by 2020/21, including £107million for social care, a proportion of which will be relating to this Council’s budget;

(c)        is concerned by the reply given by Councillor Cate McDonald, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, at the Full Council meeting in September, when she stated “I have not received a copy of the initial SYB submission to the NHS Executive”, when at the same time senior figures within Sheffield City Council have been at the top table in this process;

(d)       believes that it is vital the people and their elected representatives have their say on changes made to local NHS and Social Care services and are not presented with plans made behind closed doors without any public or patient involvement;

(e)       believes that the bottom line is that the Government is not spending enough on the NHS, and that there will be serious failures of care in our area unless we see more investment in our health service;

(f)        condemns the Chancellor of the Exchequer for neglecting to mention the NHS and social care in his Autumn Statement document; and

(g)       notes the Liberal Democrat policy, established at its 2016 autumn conference, for the establishment of an independent, cross-party commission to reform the funding settlement across health and care and to look into the possibility of a new Health and Care Tax, which would amount to a 1p rise in income tax per pound, to help guarantee the future of the NHS and vital care services.

11.2

Whereupon it was formally moved by Councillor Cate McDonald, and formally seconded by the Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Anne Murphy), as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)       is appalled that at a time when the NHS is facing the biggest financial squeeze in its history, when waiting lists are at four million, and when Accident & Emergency Units are in crisis, the Autumn Statement contained not a single penny of extra investment for social care and the NHS;

(b)       regrets that instead of putting extra investment into the NHS and social care to address the financial crisis it faces, the Government are attempting to force through cuts to the NHS through Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs);

(c)        notes that the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw STP was published on Friday 11th November 2016 by the NHS;

(d)       recognises that the NHS should always be striving to improve services, however, believes that the way that Sustainability and Transformation Plans have been developed has led to them becoming a mechanism for implementing the Five Year Forward View, which includes £22 billion of efficiency savings or cuts;

(e)       believes that the STP process has lacked transparency and should have been conducted in a more transparent manner with a broad conversation with the public about the challenges facing the NHS and how to tackle them; and

(f)        resolves to continue to oppose the Government’s cuts to NHS and local government funding, which are already leading to a crisis for adult social care, and to make the case for the extra investment that is desperately needed for these vital public services and resist further cuts to the NHS and social care on the back of STPs.

11.3

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

11.4

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)       is appalled that at a time when the NHS is facing the biggest financial squeeze in its history, when waiting lists are at four million, and when Accident & Emergency Units are in crisis, the Autumn Statement contained not a single penny of extra investment for social care and the NHS;

(b)       regrets that instead of putting extra investment into the NHS and social care to address the financial crisis it faces, the Government are attempting to force through cuts to the NHS through Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs);

(c)        notes that the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw STP was published on Friday 11th November 2016 by the NHS;

(d)       recognises that the NHS should always be striving to improve services, however, believes that the way that Sustainability and Transformation Plans have been developed has led to them becoming a mechanism for implementing the Five Year Forward View, which includes £22 billion of efficiency savings or cuts;

(e)       believes that the STP process has lacked transparency and should have been conducted in a more transparent manner with a broad conversation with the public about the challenges facing the NHS and how to tackle them; and

(f)        resolves to continue to oppose the Government’s cuts to NHS and local government funding, which are already leading to a crisis for adult social care, and to make the case for the extra investment that is desperately needed for these vital public services and resist further cuts to the NHS and social care on the back of STPs.