Figure is up from 7.1m in September and is the highest number since records began in August 2007
The number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a new record high, PA Media reports. PA says:
An estimated 7.2 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of October, NHS England said.
This is up from 7.1 million in September and is the highest number since records began in August 2007.
It’s very disappointing that Border Force will be striking over Christmas.
We are doing our best to mitigate as far as possible. So in the case of Border Force, we’ve got 2,000 military personnel who are trained who are going to try and mitigate and try and help with some of those roles at the border.
Senior members of the Armed Forces are understood to have also warned ministers that the plan risks weakening the “operational capability” of the military to respond to threats.
One senior defence source said: “You’ve only got to look at a private soldier on £22,000 a year and whose pay scales have not kept up with inflation for the last decade having to give up Christmas, or come straight off operations, to cover for people who want 19 per cent and are already paid in excess of what he or she would be, and it’s just not right.
