New letter confirms Kingston Health Cuts "come from Whitehall"

10.44.58am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 7th Feb 2007

Questioning by Kingston & Surbiton Lib Dem MP, Edward Davey, has brought confirmation that Kingston's health budget crisis has been created by Labour Ministers and London health bureaucrats.

In an astonishing reply to Edward Davey's letter questioning the validity of top-slicing[1][1] Kingston's budget to help out elsewhere in London and a £2 million interest rate payment being demanded from Kingston's PCT, Labour Health Minister, Andy Burnham confirmed that PCTs like Kingston would be hit with a penalty 10% charge and with a clawback now estimated at £7 million. Edward Davey said:

"While Kingston's NHS has reduced spending by £8 million this year - partly through cuts affecting local patient care - Labour in Whitehall is taking £9 million from local health budgets.

"Labour Ministers have created huge uncertainty with its management of health budgets, and have made a difficult situation in Kingston almost impossible. This is a blatant attack on our local NHS.

"When a Minister describes a 10% penalty charge as a "Secretary of State allocation adjustment", it's clear we've entered a 1984 Big Brother world of "Newspeak". Labour are simply desperate to avoid the word "cuts", in case it seems as if we are going back to the bad old Tory days.

"The truth is, these are damaging cuts to Kingston's NHS, and they come from Whitehall. I hope local people will back my campaign to stop the NHS cuts."