Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

A new 10-year plan for England's health services was unveiled by Prime Minister Keir Starmer today, a plan that he says will "rewire and futureproof" the NHS.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves remained in the spotlight following her teary appearance in the Commons on Wednesday - we have more on how her day unfolded in our previous post.

And before we end our coverage, here are the key things to know:

The NHS 10-year plan: From a hospital in east London, Starmer set out the next decade for the NHS. The plan involves digitalising the health service, moving from treatment to prevention, and creating more community care health services to move away from reliance on hospitals.

Reaction: It's drawn mixed reviews. Many MPs and healthcare professionals welcome aspects of it such as the digitalisation, but an overarching worry seems to be over how it will be funded.

In Parliament: After Starmer's speech, Health Secretary Wes Streeting headed to the Commons to give a statement. He addressed some worries, and said “We’re not going to get everything right. We’ll make mistakes along the way".

What's next?: The plans were launched, and started to take effect, today. "Some of it is starting already" but some will take longer, Starmer said, explaining how neighbourhood services will need to be put together. His determination is that in 30 years, people will look at his government as reforming the NHS through these plans.

Joe Pike
Political & investigations correspondent

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We'll shortly be bringing our live coverage to a close, but before we go here's a look back at how the day played out for Rachel Reeves.

Rachel Reeves’s unexpected appearance at today’s NHS 10 year plan announcement suggests the chancellor’s team wanted to show very publicly that she was OK.

In a sweltering meeting room above a pharmacy in East London, she gave a short speech about the health service and economy.

But as nurses and doctors stood behind her watching on, Reeves completely avoided any mention of her tears in the Commons yesterday.

That decision to ignore the elephant in the room meant the chancellor then had to awkwardly sit and watch as journalists asked Keir Starmer - who had also made a speech - if his colleague was alright.

Soon after, in a hastily arranged TV interview, Reeves explained she’d had a “tough day” and was now “cracking on with the job”.

It is still unclear, however, what “personal reasons” may have been behind her unhappiness at PMQs.

For many months colleagues of the chancellor have told the BBC about the pressure and stress she is under.

Whatever the truth about the events of recent days, Keir Starmer has now said Reeves will remain at number 11 until the next election and beyond.

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For the Conservatives, Shadow health secretary Edward Argar described the plans as "right", but suggested the plans are "sketchy on some of the details of delivery", including staffing. He adds that Labour's plans build on work from the previous Tory government.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey was less positive. He said it could be “the most expensive sticking plaster in history”. He criticised the plans for "ignoring the social care crisis".

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was particularly pleased about bringing back family doctors, but said it's crucial that the quality of care in hospital is rated correctly and concerns are addressed if the ratings fall short.

Adrian Ramsay, co-leader of the Green Party, welcomes the plans but asks when people will be able to get easier access to a doctor or dentist. This plan "actually" needs to deliver, he said.

We've just spent a little time looking over the ins and outs of the government's 10-year NHS plan, which has been receiving plenty of reaction.

Here's how some health charities and campaign groups have responded:

The National Children's Bureau, which campaigns for better childhoods, says the plan has "huge potential" but "the devil will be in the delivery". They also want more detail on how to address "health inequalities faced by black and global majority children", as well as disabled children and those with special educational needs.

Diabetes UK says the plan could transform diabetes care - if it is fully implemented. They say there is "an urgent need to address the diabetes crisis", adding they look forward to working with the government.

The MS Society, which campaigns for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), warns that "how the plan will work in reality, given the current pressures on the NHS, is a real concern". They say that bringing care close to home, as is the case under the new plans, would be helpful.

And Dementia UK, a specialist dementia nursing charity, says the dementia framework must “meet the needs of those who have slipped through cracks in the system for too long."

The government's ten year plan for the NHS includes policies to "end the obesity epidemic."

The proposals include restricting junk food advertising targeted at children and banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to the under 16s.

The government also want to reform the soft drinks industry levy - also known as the "sugar tax."

Setting out the plans, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said there were plans to "roll out obesity jabs on the NHS" and "update school food standards" so kids get healthier meals.

There will also be mandatory health food sales reporting for all large companies in the food sector.

AI is a key focus in the government's new NHS plan.

Here’s a quick look at how the government says it wants to use the technology:

• For note taking during appointments and writing discharge summaries
• To generate analytics with AI to offer health advice to people
• To help prevent health problems by giving insight into individual health risks
• To make sure NHS complaints are collected and responded to more quickly

The government’s new NHS plan will also see a big change in the role of pharmacies over the next five years.

Community pharmacies will move away from mainly handing out medicines and instead become a key part of neighbourhood health services.

They’ll take on a bigger role in helping people manage long-term conditions and complex medication regimes, as well as treating obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Pharmacies will also support vaccine delivery and help screen for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Over time, community pharmacies will be securely linked to the single patient record - making it easier to share information with GPs.

Image source, PA Media

Key reforms to England's health services, announced by the government today,, external include an improved NHS app - but how will it differ?

• The app will let patients search for health service providers using data such as waiting times, patient ratings and clinical outcomes
• Patients will be able to book appointments, message professionals, see who their care team are, get advice and self-refer for tests
• "My NHS GP" is set to be introduced by 2028 - a new AI tool in the app to help patients navigate the health service and get instant advice for non-urgent care

The government says these changes will give patients a "doctor in their pocket", providing more control over their own care as well as freeing up staff from the "burden of bureaucracy and administration".

As we've been reporting, part of the government's 10-year NHS plan is for neighbourhood health centres to operate in every community.

Here’s a quick summary of how these centres will work:

• They will combine NHS, local authority and voluntary sector services together in one place
• These services will include diagnostics, post-operative care and mental health support - as well as debt advice and employment support
• When in operation, they will be open six days a week, for 12 hours each day
• Centres will be run by neighbourhood teams made up of nurses, doctors, social care workers, pharmacists, health visitors, palliative care staff, and paramedics

The government has published its Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, external, focusing on three main changes - shifting from treatment to prevention, analogue to digital health services and from hospitals to more community care.

Here’s a snapshot of what's included:

Neighbourhood health services will operate across the country - 12 hours a day, six days a week. They will offer tests, post-operation care, nursing and mental health support

Thousands more GPs will be trained to "bring back the family doctor" system.

Technology will be used to help speed up answering calls to surgeries and there will be a push for GPs to use artificial intelligence to take notes.

Newly qualified dentists will need to work in the NHS for at least three years.

Our health reporters are continuing to look through the document in detail and we will bring you more as soon as we spot any key points.

Jim Reed
Health reporter

The government’s full 167-page plan for the NHS has been published, external and we’re going through the details.

One area that hasn’t really been talked about this morning is alcohol regulation.

In the plan, the government says it will introduce mandatory health warning labels on cans and bottles.

Plus it will consult on changing the rules so that very low alcohol drinks, up to 0.5% Alcohol by Volume (ABV), can still be sold as “alcohol free”.

That hasn’t impressed the Institute of Alcohol Studies which describes the plan as “frankly embarrassing”. It is calling for a minimum price for alcohol to be imposed in England, as is already the case in Scotland and Wales.

The government has outlined plans to move the NHS from "analogue" to a "truly digital health service".

In light of this, Guy Dickie, head of healthcare for data management company Iron Mountain UK, says "a unified approach to digitisation across all NHS trusts and regions is necessary".

He says paper records - which the NHS has long-relied on - slow down decisions, complicate collaboration and create barriers.

By switching to a digital system, Dickie says it will speed up diagnosis and treatment, and it "also minimises the risk of lost or damaged records and delivers substantial savings by reducing the need for vast physical storage".

Image source, Getty Images

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has responded to the government's NHS announcement, saying it could be “the most expensive sticking plaster in history”.

Davey criticises the government plans for "ignoring the social care crisis because it's too hard", claiming that "Labour are borrowing from the Conservative playbook".

Instead, he says a "truly bold" plan for the NHS would have had "care at its heart".

"If care and family carers are only ever an afterthought, the government will never fix the NHS," he adds.

Image source, Getty Images

The health secretary tells BBC Radio 4's World at One that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is "here to stay".

Wes Streeting adds that "she will bounce back" following her tearful appearance at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.

Turning his attention to the government's 10-year plan announced this morning, Streeting suggests the NHS looks "remarkably similar" to when it was set up in 1948. He adds that the health service needs to keep pace with change in areas, like retail, which have become localised.

When pressed on why doctors are continuing to threaten strikes despite the reforms, Streeting sends a message to medics that "the government has changed".

He adds that the government is willing to work with healthcare professionals on issues like pay and working conditions.

Dr Becks Fisher, director of research and policy for health think-tank Nuffield Trust, says there are "lots of bold ambitions in this plan that we welcome".

If they are delivered, they could be "game-changers", she tells BBC Radio 4's World at One.

"Our big question is: Is this plan going to be deliverable?"

Fisher references the chancellor's announcement of a £29bn down payment on the NHS, she says Nuffield Trust analysis suggests that this equates to about 2.8% extra spending year-on-year.

It will be "incredibly ambitious" to deliver the scale of transformation on that financial commitment, she says, adding that savings need to be made.

Lisa Summers
BBC Scotland health correspondent

Because health is devolved, Scotland is not directly affected by today’s announcement.

But the Scottish government is also promising to make it easier to see a GP, move care out of hospitals and make better use of digital technology.

An expansion of community health centres means more patients can have tests and minor procedures locally, or speak to a Community Link Worker about things like welfare payments or housing.

There are also plans to increase "virtual" wards through initiatives like Hospital at Home.

But patients in Scotland continue to experience an NHS that is struggling.

Record numbers of people are waiting over a year to start treatment; plans for National Treatment Centres to reduce waits have been shelved; and the numbers of patients who can’t get out of hospital because of social care pressures is also at its highest level.

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

We've now had some time to digest what's been happening this morning, so let's briefly run through what we've heard.

Today's agenda has been dominated by two main topics: the government's announcement of a ten-year plan for the NHS, and Rachel Reeves's tearful appearance at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday.

Keir Starmer, speaking from a London hospital, suggested he had been "the last to appreciate" Reeves's tears in the Commons while he took questions at PMQs.

For her part, Rachel Reeves said that she was having a "tough day", but stressed that she and the prime minister would continue to work "lockstep together".

New plans for the NHS announced today are comprised of three key changes - we've outlined them here.

Starmer says the overall idea is to deliver a so-called "Neighbourhood Health Service" - open 12 hours a day, six days a week.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting emphasised the importance of the reform, arguing it is "change or bust" for the NHS - before suggesting only a Labour government can keep it running.

The Conservatives have largely welcomed the plans, though shadow health secretary Edward Argar warned that the plans are "sketchy on some of the details of delivery".

As our correspondents work through the full 167-page plan, external, we'll bring you plenty of analysis and updates throughout the afternoon. Stay with us.

A bit more now from Reeves - who, when asked about Keir Starmer's response to questions he faced about the chancellor's future doing PMQs, says: "I think that people can see that Keir and me are a team.

"We fought the election together, we changed the Labour Party together... and over the last year, we've worked lockstep together, whether that's on the Budget, the Spending Review or indeed on our measures to improve public services."

She also says she's "totally" still up for the job and repeats that she, like anyone else, was having a tough day.

"I think all your viewers have had tough days, for personal reasons, for whatever reasons. I happened to be on the camera when I had a tough day.

"Today is a new day and I'm just getting on with the job."

We're hearing from Rachel Reeves herself now.

Asked to explain what was wrong in the Commons, Reeves says: "Clearly I was upset yesterday and everyone could see that."

Continuing, she says her job as chancellor is to be at PMQs at midday on a Wednesday, next to the prime minister, and that's what she tried to do.

"The thing that maybe is a bit different between my job and many of your viewers' is that, when I'm having a tough day, it's on the telly and most people don't have to deal with that."

Watch the clip in full here:

Image source, UK Parliament

Here's that Tory response we mentioned in our last post.

Shadow health secretary Edward Argar says these plans for the NHS are "right" - and that they build on what the Conservative Party had been doing while in government.

But, he goes on to say the health service needs reform - "not just more cash" - and suggests the plans are "sketchy on some of the details of delivery", including how all this will be staffed.

Argar also accuses Labour of failing to seize the opportunity to tackle issues around the social care sector at the same time.