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Independent Sector Treatment Centres

I will not, because I want my right hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley to have some time to comment. The ISTC programme has changed the nature of the relationship between the NHS and the private sector. No longer is the private sector trading off the back of what might be called the inadequacies of the NHS by telling people that they have no option but to go private. There is a better relationship that works for both parties and we combine efforts for the benefit of NHS patients and the country overall by providing a cost-effective health care system. The long-term benefits will be felt in all parts of the country. It is true that there is still emerging evidence of the precise contribution to the reduction in waiting lists, but the figures speak for themselves. A significant contribution is being made towards the achievement of the 18-week target. The hon. Member for Westbury tempted me with a reference to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s King’s Fund speech. I refer him to the headline of the article in the Health Service Journal, which summarised the speech with the words, ““It was a difficult journey, but under Blair the NHS was saved.”” Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will take that article home, read it over the weekend and let me know what he thinks.