00:00 Labour are absolutely committed to reverting back to long-standing asylum accommodation,
00:05 the like of which we used when we were last in government over 13 years ago, and ending the use
00:10 of hotels, which is costing the taxpayer an inordinate amount of money on a daily basis,
00:16 and also obviously the use of schemes like barges and anything else that the Conservatives
00:20 dream up having over the next period until the general election. The way we have said we will
00:27 do this is by reducing the enormous backlog that has been created over the last few years,
00:33 and indeed the government are processing 9,000 fewer cases every year than they were just in
00:40 2015. So we've set out firm plans to demonstrate how we would do this and move away as quickly as
00:46 possible from the use of hotels or any other type of alternative accommodation. Well look, I think
00:52 this came from the story that was broken a few days ago about these lawyers that were advising
00:57 their clients to lie and to exploit potential loopholes or to navigate the system in an
01:02 unscrupulous way. That was obviously completely disgraceful and our shadow Attorney General
01:07 called for those solicitors to be referred to the solicitors regulatory authority,
01:11 but I think it's absolutely fair to say that they represent a tiny minority in their profession, and
01:18 when the current Home Secretary says that the asylum system is broken, she's right, and there's
01:23 only one party to blame for that, and it's the Conservative Party. And what we've seen over the
01:28 last few days, weeks, and months is desperate attempts to deflect and to pass responsibility
01:34 and the buck onto anybody but themselves when they've been in power for over 13 years.
01:40 Well, it's been very welcome that many unions have accepted pay deals and have got back to work,
01:49 and that we've avoided further strike action, but it's really important that any further strike
01:55 action is avoided in the NHS because it is having a profound impact on patients and on patient
02:02 delivery. But look, what consultants and nurses and junior doctors tell me all the time is that
02:09 a big part of the reason that they're taking industrial action is because they're unable to
02:12 deliver the service that they really want to, and that's not because of industrial action,
02:17 that's because of a lack of funding into the NHS and serious recruitment and retention problems
02:23 that have really impeded their ability to deliver the service that patients deserve.
02:27 So I think until the Conservatives come forward with a proper plan that demonstrates that they
02:32 can tackle this, then we're going to continue to see a disruption like this.
02:38 We don't ever want to see strike action take place and we always want to see
02:41 all steps, measures and action taken to avoid it happening, and that's why we would want to
02:47 see politicians, the ministers responsible and the unions around the negotiating table
02:52 until the very last possible minute to avoid any possible strike action.
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