 Thank you. Thank you for that welcome. It's great to be back together in Manchester When we were last here, I talked about how proud my mother was To see me go from living in a small flat above the shop to living on Downing Street But I can tell you now that she's even prouder because the thing is She always wanted me to be a GP like many Asian mothers and When I told her that I got this job she said Well son, you didn't quite make it to GP, but at least you're working in health care But it really is an honor to serve my country again and to be entrusted with such a critical task at this essential moment I've been in this job for a hundred days and I can tell you that it's my toughest job yet But I've been inspired each and every day by the commitment and the dedication of all those on the front line of health and social care The porters the paramedics the drivers the doctors the nurses the care workers the cleaners the scientists the Vaccinators it's because of their efforts and so many others like them thousands of lives and millions of livelihoods have been saved You know, they've brought a new meaning to the words public service So to all those across the nation who stood up and serve their country in this time of peril We stand and salute you Thank you. Thank you. But my priorities are simple COVID recovery reform Covid getting us and keeping us out of this pandemic recovery tackling the huge backlog of appointments that it has caused and reform of our health and social care systems for the long term Today, I'm going to look forward We can all be here at this conference and talk about the future because of the success of our vaccine program An amazing example of what public private collaboration can do Of course, we cannot afford a single dose of complacency This virus has shown itself to be unpredictable But so far our vaccine wall of defense has held firm and we will keep strengthening it brick by brick jab by jab With one of the only national booster programs in the world We took the difficult decision before the summer to put our faith in that vaccine wall Before that was possible as a country We sacrificed our freedoms and our way of life to protect our elderly and vulnerable But as conservatives, we will never see state control as the default We know the impact that lockdowns have on jobs life chances education mental health and everything else and Just as we know that government money is taxpayers money We know that freedoms ultimately belong to the citizens Because we will always be the party of freeing things up not locking things down And the challenge for us now is this Getting past the peak of the pandemic It won't mean that we're suddenly immune from all the effects on our society and our economy When I came in I said I was not just the covid secretary I'm the health and social care secretary There was no doubt about the biggest item that was spilling out of my intray an NHS waiting list that will get worse before it gets better That was projected to grow as high as 13 million No government no health secretary no society can accept that That's why we have prioritized elective recovery check-ups scans surgeries with the biggest catch-up fund in the history of the NHS and We are already delivering Including rolling out surgical hubs and 40 new community diagnostic hubs right across the country and as we recover We must recognize that not everyone or everywhere has been affected in the same way The pandemic has been described by some as a great leveler That's just not true Health disparities in our society whether they are regional Racial or socio-economic They have deepened under covid That's why one of my first visits as health secretary was to blackpool Remember one of the nurses there She told me that you know you can trace back the entrenched health problems in blackpool going back over a century Let me ask you this Do you know what the healthy life expectancy gap is between blackpool and Richmond upon Thames? It's almost 20 years It's time to level up on health The state was needed in this pandemic more than any time in peacetime But government shouldn't own all risks and responsibilities in life We as citizens have to take some responsibility for our health too We should always go first to the state What kind of society would that be? Health and social care it begins at home It should be family first Then community then the state If you do need support We're lucky. We live in a compassionate society in a developed country that can afford to help you There are a few higher callings for anyone than to care for another person Now some of you may know That I got up to some antics when I was a student. I got thrown out of party conference I did for campaigning against the ERM. Do you remember that the European exchange rate mechanism? But what you might not know is that at the same time when I was a student at Exeter That Almost every Saturday. I would visit a care home as a volunteer to keep the residents company and I especially became very fond of I remember a great lady called Margaret Not the one you're thinking of Now that experience it left a real impression on me of the importance of dignity in our later years and of the dedication of care workers and Now as we all approach at some point will approach our later years We can plan with confidence that we and our families will be protected from catastrophic costs This has been a long-term challenge That frankly has been ducked for far too long And I tell you what that I am proud to work for a prime minister that is willing finally to take it on so Our values as a party as a government and as a country they're clear Time and again we choose to prioritize the health of our citizens. We have absolutely nothing to prove on that But it's also true that if you value something or someone You want them to be the best they can be The NHS may have the best principle behind it Is staffed by some of the best people our country has to offer But that of course it doesn't mean that as an organization it is the best at everything It wouldn't help anyone to pretend otherwise Our undeniable commitment to the NHS is what should drive us to make it as effective as it can be Because ultimately it is our national health service And it is only as good as the service it provides our citizens The public rightly and proudly expect a service that is free at the point of use But they also expect a service to deliver for them Wherever they live in the country They expect to be able to see their GP in the way that they choose And to have a relationship with that service that goes beyond picking up the pieces when things go wrong In the past, you know some governments they've chosen between cash And others have chosen reform Cash or reform I think that's a false choice You can't have one without the other So yes, we will continue to prioritize funding for the NHS in the wake of this global pandemic But I also promise you this That 2022 will be a year of renewal and reform And at a time like this You know, business as usual It cannot be good enough I've worked with some of the largest organizations in the world And two factors stand out on whether they succeed Leadership and innovation So I want the NHS to embrace innovation and to build a truly modern digitized system That's the only way we can drive down that backlog and build a sustainable service for the future Of course, there are some bright spots But there is also a lot of levelling up to do within the NHS That's not just about tech It's about management and a focus on outcomes Not just inputs And so to help with that mission I've asked retired general Sir Gordon Messenger to lead a review of leadership and management in health and social care This will be the most far-reaching review since Roy Griffith's report to Margaret Thatcher in 1983 It will shine a light on the outstanding leaders who can drive efficiency and innovation And it will see how we can replicate that leadership throughout the country No reform is easy We know that Otherwise it would have been done already But if we get this right Now when we get this right We won't build back the way things were We'll build a future where our health and social care systems are integrated seamlessly together Where British life sciences lead the world on new treatments Where we have not only the best surgeons But the best robots performing life-saving surgeries And where we don't just treat diseases and ill health But prevent more of them from happening in the first place You know this last year It will be remembered for decades to come Perhaps even for centuries People locked in their own homes Schools closed and empty streets Intensive care units Struggling to cope We are emerging now Taking the first steps in a new era As we go from Covid to recovery to reform This is a time for head and heart Of compassion but also firmness of purpose So let's be sure that in generations to come That people say they fought the virus Won the peace and owned the future Let's make this the era of reform Let's make this the era of recovery Let's make this the era in which we truly build back better Thank you all very much, thank you