The latest statistics show that a record 7 million people are waiting for hospital treatment with the NHS and more people are having to wait longer for services across the board.  

In terms of cancer therapy, the number of patients waiting longer than the 62-day target for treatment has reached 69,000 across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, twice as many as the same period in 2017-18.

In Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, 16% of cancer patients are waiting longer than the target for treatment. 

It is also striking that 12% fewer operations and treatments are being carried out now than before the pandemic started.  

It is clear to me that over a decade of understaffing and underfunding has left the NHS unable to recover from the impact of COVID-19 and deal with the current caseload.

This is why my Opposition Colleagues and I are proposing that the non-dom tax status be abolished, and the money raised be used to oversee the biggest expansion of the NHS workforce in its history. Quite simply, the NHS needs more money and more staff. 

I have written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, and raised this issue with him. I have posted a copy of the letter below for you to see.