Queens Speech debate: Waiting lists, social care and other claims fact-checked

The government’s plans and priorities for the coming years – as set out in the Queen’s Speech – have been debated in the House of Commons and elsewhere: both what was in the speech, including proposals to “level up” parts of the UK, changes to planning and voter ID – and what was not, specifically a long-awaited plan to reform social care.

We’ve looked at some of the claims made.

The Labour leader made this claim while calling for “a long-term recovery plan” for the NHS.

This is correct. Figures from NHS England show that around 4.7 million people were waiting for routine operations and procedures in England in February – the highest since records began in 2007.

But context is needed as, clearly, at that time the health service was dealing with the Covid pandemic.

In April, Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England, said…