MAYOR'S RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT'S 10 YEAR HEALTH PLAN

Published 4 July 2025 at 9:20am

Responding to the publication of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said:

“A baby born in some parts of SY today is likely to get to just fifty two years of age before getting too sick to continue working. People in wealthier parts of the country don’t face that same challenge, often working into their mid-seventies. On average, in South Yorkshire we live shorter lives than people elsewhere in the UK. 

“The NHS was founded on a set of enduring ideas; that healthcare should be free at the point of use, and a commitment to caring for anyone that needs it. But if those principles are going to continue to be made real, and if we are going to seriously tackle the stark health inequalities we face in South Yorkshire, the NHS needs urgent reform.

“The NHS 10 Year Plan launched by the government lays out a set of ideas designed to drive that reform over the next decade; a focus on prevention rather than just helping us when we get ill, a modernised NHS that embraces technology, and perhaps most importantly for me, a reimagining of the NHS as a neighbourhood health service not just a national health service. 

“Those are all ambitions that we are already embracing here in South Yorkshire, as we continue our drive to make this place we call home the healthiest region in the country. 

“From Health on the High Street in Barnsley, which is cutting waiting times and improving attendance for medical appointments, to our Beds for Babies scheme that’s helped nearly 2,000 children, we’re putting people first. Our Pathways to Work programme is supporting those with long-term conditions back into employment, and our Health is Wealth report sets out a clear blueprint for longer, healthier lives.

“If everyone in South Yorkshire is going to have the chance to live longer, healthier, happier lives, we urgently need a reformed and renewed NHS that responds more effectively to our challenges here. I look forward to working with the government to make that vision a reality.”