Health secretary said he is not doing ‘victory laps’ as Labour says it has met its manifesto promise early

Health secretary Wes Streeting has said he remains open to “serious proposals” for private investment in the NHS.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Streeting said:

I certainly want more patient choice, more patient power, more patient control over where they’re seen, how they’re treated, the nature of their appointments. The NHS should be as responsive as any other organisation that we use.

I think there is a role for private investment, but the terms of those arrangements, that’s where you’ve got to tread really carefully. But I’m open to serious proposals from the NHS, or indeed anyone else.

The prime minister has welcomed new figures published by NHS England which reveal that between July and November last year, the NHS delivered almost 2.2 million more elective care appointments compared to the same period the previous year – delivering on the government’s mission to fix the NHS as part of the plan for change.

The new data confirms the government reached the target seven months earlier than promised – with 100,000 more treatments, tests, and scans for patients each week, and more than half a million extra diagnostic tests delivered.

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Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/feb/17/wes-streeting-labour-keir-starmer-nhs-appointment-pledge-uk-politics-live