---

Health and Education

I am not sure what point the hon. Gentleman is trying to make. The latest figures—hospital by hospital and area by area—as he knows, show that whereas thousands of people used to wait more than 18 months, then more than 12 months and then more than six months for their operations, almost nobody now waits more than six months for an operation. I readily acknowledge that much more remains to be done. There are new challenges to face and people’s expectations are rising. People want public services to give them more personal services. Education and health services should be built on the needs of different individuals instead of people having to fit around the needs of the system.