NHS funding could be linked to patient feedback under new plans, with poorly performing services that “don’t listen” penalised with less money.

As part of the “10 Year Health Plan” to be unveiled next week, a new scheme will be trialled that will see patients asked to rate the service they received – and if they feel it should get a funding boost or not.

It will be introduced first for services that have a track record of very poor performance and where there is evidence of patients “not being listened to”, the government said.

This will create a “powerful incentive for services to listen to feedback and improve patients’ experience”, it added.

Sky News understands that it will not mean bonuses or pay increases for the best performing staff.

NHS payment mechanisms will also be reformed to reward services that keep patients out of hospital as part of a new ‘Year of Care Payments’ initiative and the government’s wider plan for change.

Speaking to The Times, chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor expressed concerns about the trial.

He told the newspaper: “Patient experience is determined by far more than their individual interaction with the clinician and so, unless this is very carefully designed and evaluated, there is a risk that providers could be penalised for more systemic issues, such as constraints around staffing or estates, that are beyond their immediate control to fix.”

He said that NHS leaders would be keen to “understand more about the proposal”, because elements were “concerning”.

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Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We will reward great patient care, so patient experience and clinical excellence are met with extra cash. These reforms are key to keeping people healthy and out of hospital, and to making the NHS sustainable for the long-term as part of the Plan for Change.”

In the raft of announcements in the 10 Year Health Plan, the government has said 201 bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England – known as quangos – will be scrapped.

These include Healthwatch England, set up in 2012 to speak out on behalf of NHS and social care patients, the National Guardian’s Office, created in 2015 to support NHS whistleblowers, and the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB).

The head of the Royal College of Nursing described the move as “so unsafe for patients right now”.

Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Today, in hospitals across the NHS, we know one nurse can be left caring for 10, 15 or more patients at a time. It’s not safe. It’s not effective. And it’s not acceptable.

“For these proposed changes to be effective, government must take ownership of the real issue, the staffing crisis on our wards, and not just shuffle people into new roles. Protecting patients has to be the priority and not just a drive for efficiency.”

Elsewhere, the new head of NHS England Sir Jim Mackey said key parts of the NHS appear “built to keep the public away because it’s an inconvenience”.

“We’ve made it really hard, and we’ve probably all been on the end of it,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

“The ward clerk only works nine to five, or they’re busy doing other stuff; the GP practice scrambles every morning.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said fixing the UK’s welfare system is a “moral imperative” after the government’s U-turn.

The prime minister faced a significant rebellion over plans to cut sickness and disability benefits as part of a package he said would shave £5bn off the welfare bill and get more people into work.

The government has since offered concessions ahead of a vote in the Commons on Tuesday, including exempting existing Personal Independence Payment claimants (PIP) from the stricter new criteria, while the universal credit health top-up will only be cut and frozen for new applications.

Speaking at Welsh Labour’s annual conference in Llandudno, North Wales, on Saturday, Sir Keir said: “Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken, failing people every day.

“Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way, conference, and we will.”

Sir Keir also warned of a “backroom stitch up” between the Conservatives, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru ahead of next year’s Senedd elections.

He said such a deal would mark a “return to the chaos and division of the last decade”.

But opposition parties have hit back at the prime minister’s “imaginary coalitions”, with Plaid Cymru accusing Labour of “scraping the barrel”.

Reform UK said the NHS “isn’t safe in Labour’s hands” and people are “left waiting in pain” while ministers “make excuses”.

Voters in Wales will head to the polls next May and recent polls suggest Labour are in third place, behind Reform and Plaid.

Labour have been the largest party at every Senedd election since devolution began in 1999.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out making deals with Plaid Cymru or Reform at the Senedd election.

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At the conference, the prime minister was joined on stage by Wales Secretary Jo Stevens, First Minister Eluned Morgan and deputy leader of Welsh Labour Carolyn Harries.

He described Baroness Morgan as a “fierce champion for Wales” and “the best person to lead Wales into the future”.

Sir Keir said the £80m transition board to support Port Talbot steelworkers after the closure of the plant’s blast furnaces was a result of “two Labour governments working together for the people of Wales”.

He described Nigel Farage as a “wolf in Wall Street clothing” who has “no idea what he’s talking about” on the issue.

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The PM said the Reform UK leader “isn’t interested in Wales” and has no viable plan for the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.

“When you ask him about Clacton, he thinks he’s running in the 2.10 at Ascot,” Sir Keir joked.

“He’s a wolf in Wall Street clothing.”

Mr Farage has said his party wants to restart the blast furnaces at Port Talbot.

Around 20 tractors were parked on the promenade in Llandudno ahead of the speech, as farmers gathered outside the conference to stage a protest.

It was later followed by a pro-Palestine demonstration of around 200 people, with around a dozen counter-protestors also in attendance.

Prince William has had a lot to say this week, attending three events about the environment as part of London Climate Action Week and giving three speeches.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t really heard what he had to say. The eyes of the world have, understandably, been elsewhere.

Conflict, not the climate crisis, has been the primary focus of world leaders and continues to be – a problem you could say for William and all those trying to whip up momentum ahead of COP30 in Brazil, with only four months to go until the UN’s climate conference in November.

It was William and his team who specifically convened a meeting at St James’s Palace on Thursday with the Brazilian ministers in charge of the summit and indigenous leaders from other parts of the world.

With Ed Miliband, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, just a few seats away, William made a call to action, saying: “We’ve made bold commitments: to halt deforestation, restore ecosystems, and protect 30% of land, sea, and water by 2030.

“But these goals will remain out of reach unless we move from promises to action – grounded in respect, equity, and shared responsibility.

“Looking ahead to COP30 in Belem and beyond, we must act with greater ambition and deeper collaboration. This is a moment for courage.”

When I put it to a palace source that maybe it all feels a bit futile in the current climate, with attentions firmly elsewhere, I was told there is “no change in course” – the prince always has and will continue “to use his platform to spotlight the need to restore the planet”.

In the past, we’ve been more used to his father being more vocal.

The King’s involvement in London Climate Week was more fleeting, albeit involving a handshake with a giant gorilla puppet, and a discussion with the Brazil delegation in which he hinted that he would love to attend the summit in November, saying: “It’s fitting it all in.”

Attendance by either the King or the Prince of Wales hasn’t been confirmed yet, although it’s looking likely William will go. He told one person this week: “I’ll be in the area”, with his Earthshot Prize being held in Rio in the days running up to the climate conference.

But in the coming months, we do now know that father and son will be meeting with one key player, who has certainly voiced very different views on the severity of the climate crisis.

This week, it was confirmed that Donald Trump’s full state visit to the UK will go ahead later this year, likely in September.

His potentially disruptive presence when it came to the climate debate was hinted at on Tuesday, in front of Prince William, during a speech by former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Mr Bloomberg, a global adviser to Earthshot Prize, said: “There’s a good reason to be optimistic, lots of problems around the world, America has not been doing its share lately to make things better, I don’t think. Nevertheless, I’m very optimistic about the future.”

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The King and Prince William have worked in this environmental sphere long enough to weather the frustrations of other distractions, a lack of interest or momentum.

I’ll never forget in 2015 ahead of COP21, when Islamic State and Syria were dominating the news agenda, Prince Charles told me very firmly that of course there was a link between the civil war in Syria and climate change.

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He said there was “very good evidence indeed that one of the major reasons for this horror in Syria was a drought that lasted for about five or six years, which meant that huge numbers of people in the end had to leave the land”.

“It’s only in the last few years that the Pentagon have actually started to pay attention to this,” he added at the time. “I mean, it has a huge impact on what is happening.”

But as a family, they know how much their global profile and ability to get people in the room can help attract attention that others simply can’t.

It’s easy to be sniffy about that convening power, but as one delegate at an Earthshot event put it, they have an ability to “bring people together not around politics but purpose”. And in a currently noisy, fractured world, it feels like that is needed more than ever.