Health secretary ‘open to requests’ for Scotland and Wales patients to be treated in England

Published

2 years ago

August 13, 2023

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The health secretary is said to be “open to requests” for patients from other UK nations to be treated in England to help tackle waiting lists.

Steve Barclay has invited the health ministers for Scotland and Wales to discuss what can be learned from their varying approaches.

He suggested he would consider appeals for people who have been waiting a long time to come to England for treatment.

Health has been a devolved matter since 1999, with nations able to largely decide how to run their own systems.

Mr Barclay said he wanted to “share best practices, improve transparency and provide better accountability for patients”.

He added: “This will help to ensure we are joined up when it comes to cutting waiting lists – one of the government’s top five priorities – and will allow us to better work together to improve performance and get patients seen more quickly.”

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said “significant variations” existed between waiting times.

“In Wales, more than 73,000 people are waiting over 77 weeks for treatment, and at least 21,600 people are waiting over 78 weeks for an outpatient, day case or inpatient appointment in Scotland,” said the DHSC.

“In England, waiting times for patients over 78 weeks have been virtually eliminated.”

Mr Barclay’s invitation for talks has not had an enthusiastic reception.

Scottish health secretary Michael Matheson suggested Westminster should concentrate on the “many issues south of the border”, such as doctors’ strikes.

A Welsh government spokesperson defended its record and said long waiting times had “more than halved in the past year” – and that its figures include more referrals.

They added: “The overall growth in waiting lists in Wales has been smaller in Wales than in England over the last 12 months – it grew by 3.6% in Wales and by 12.1% in England.

“Wales has also outperformed England in major emergency department performance in nine out of the last 10 months.”

Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting also hit out at Mr Barclay, saying: “The only advice the Tories are qualified to offer is how to wreck the NHS and cause the biggest strikes in its history.”

Junior doctors began a fifth walkout on Friday – which is due to finish on Tuesday morning.

The government says 778,000 appointments have been disrupted during the strikes, but the British Medical Association says doctors have no choice due to dwindling pay.

Politics

Senator Tim Scott pushes for December vote on crypto market bill

Published

3 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Senator Tim Scott pushes for December vote on crypto market bill

Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott says he’s looking to mark up a crypto market structure bill next month to have it on President Donald Trump’s desk by early next year.

Scott told Fox Business on Tuesday that the committee has been negotiating with Democrats to reach a deal, but accused the party’s senators of stalling.

“Next month, we believe we can mark up in both committees and get this to the floor of the Senate early next year so that President Trump will sign the legislation making America the crypto capital of the world,” Scott said.

Law, Senate, US Government, Bills — *Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott says a vote on the market structure bill could occur in December. Source:* *YouTube*

The House passed the CLARITY Act in July, which outlines the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s power to regulate crypto, and the Senate has been working on its own version of the bill.

Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee released a discussion draft on their section of the bill in July and suggested it would marry up with the CLARITY Act, and the Senate Agriculture Committee released its discussion draft on Nov. 10, which left much of the bill up for change.

The Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over the CFTC, while the Banking Committee oversees the SEC and is leading parts of the bill relating to securities laws.

Bill will create clear rules and unlock crypto: Armstrong

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a video posted to X on Tuesday that he was in Washington, DC, “pushing for market structure legislation,” and noted there had been “a lot of progress.”

“Senate banking is also working nights and weekends to get the next iteration of their text out, so we’ve got a good chance, I think, of a markup for this bill in December, hopefully get it to the president’s desk shortly thereafter,” Armstrong said.

“This would be a big milestone to get crypto unlocked with clear rules in the US, which would benefit all companies,” he added.

Where the bill will go from here

The CLARITY Act was one of three major crypto bills the House passed in July after a 10-hour voting session alongside the GENIUS Act, which aims to regulate stablecoins and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act, which outlaws central bank digital currencies.

As the Senate is working on its own version, the CLARITY Act will return to the House for final approval if it’s passed by the Senate. It would then be sent to Trump to be signed into law.