Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
Mr Speaker, on behalf of the Government and Labour Members, may I associate myself with your remarks? Members from right across this House will share those sentiments. As the Prime Minister made clear at Cabinet this morning, and as the Foreign Secretary is making clear in Kyiv, we will stand with Ukraine, whatever is thrown at it, until it has the freedom and security that it deserves.
This Government are restoring the founding promise of the national health service: to bring quality healthcare to all, regardless of how much they earn or where they live. New funding for GPs is being prioritised for areas where the need is greatest, and we are sending more cancer specialists to rural hospitals. As we modernise the health service, the NHS app and NHS Online will bring world-class healthcare to the most remote corners of our country at the touch of a button—lots done, and lots more to do.
Torcuil Crichton
In places like Na h-Eileanan an Iar, going the extra mile to provide care is part of the job, and I pay tribute to the carers in my constituency who travel miles in darkness and bad weather to deliver support for the elderly. In some parts of the Western Isles, and indeed across rural Scotland, there simply is not the working-age population to provide that care, and immigration cannot solve that problem entirely. Does the Minister agree that it is only by increasing wages and paying social care staff properly—something for which Scottish Labour has been calling for some time—that we will increase the number of carers in rural areas, and provide a proper care service?
Wes Streeting
I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. This Labour Government are introducing the first ever fair pay agreement for care workers. That is better pay and conditions for care workers, and more people recruited into the profession. It is backed by £500 million, and Scotland will receive extra funding through the Barnett formula. The question for the SNP is: where is the money going, and why is it not going into the pockets of Scottish care workers, as Jackie Baillie has demanded?
Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)
On Friday, I visited Young Devon, an early support centre in the heart of rural North Devon, where I met young people who told me heartbreaking stories of how they felt left out and let down by the system. Young Devon was quite literally a lifeline for them. It has an open-door, person-centred approach. I am delighted that its funding has been continued for one more year, but it is only one year, and those who run the centre told me that this makes it incredibly difficult for them to plan. Can the Secretary of State clarify what the longer-term plan is for these early support hubs, how they sit alongside Young Futures hubs, and how he can help organisations like Young Devon thrive into the future?
Wes Streeting
I join the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee in paying tribute to Young Devon and the work it is doing. As she will know, I have enormous sympathy for the challenge she raises about medium-term certainty on funding. As was demonstrated on the Floor of the House yesterday by the Education Secretary, my Department and the Department for Education are working closely together to make sure we are better joining up education, health provision and support for young people. There is more to do. I accept the challenge that she sets down around medium-term certainty on funding; that is why we are doing more through, for example, the medium-term planning framework. I accept, in the spirit of this exchange, that there is lots done, but lots more to do.
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
Last year in Shropshire, which is a fairly typical rural area, 158,000 patients waited more than a month for a GP appointment. That is not surprising, given that, like many other rural areas, we have 50 fewer qualified GPs than we did a decade ago. Meanwhile, already busy GPs are trying to develop integrated neighbourhood teams, but they report that they have not received any dedicated Government funding, and still do not have the model neighbourhood framework. Will the Secretary of State act to ensure that GPs have the resources and guidance that they need to develop those neighbourhood health teams, and ensure that everyone can access an appointment within seven days, or 24 hours if it is urgent, particularly in rural areas, where provision is poor?
Wes Streeting
We have 2,000 more GPs now than when Labour came into office, but the hon. Lady is right to say that we need to ensure that that provision and increased capacity are reflected throughout the country. Because general practices serving more deprived areas receive 10% less funding per needs-adjusted patient than those in wealthier parts of the country, we are reviewing and reforming the Carr-Hill formula to ensure that we can direct the right funding to the areas in greatest need, recognising that amid our rural communities, there is obviously not just plenty of affluence, but enormous pockets of disadvantage and deprivation. Whoever people are and whatever their background, the support and care that they need must be received in the right place and at the right time.
Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
The national cancer plan, which I launched about two weeks ago, will end the postcode lottery. Wherever people live, they will receive high-quality cancer treatment. We have already invested £70 million in 28 new cutting-edge radiotherapy machines, reducing waiting times and providing 15% more treatments. This allows 27,500 more patients to be treated every year, which means more equal access and better outcomes for cancer patients across England.
Grahame Morris
I applaud the ambitions in the cancer plan, but my question was about improving access to advanced therapeutic radiotherapy. Almost half the cancer centres in more urban areas in England have experienced a staff recruitment freeze, and the figure rises to 60% in more rural and deprived areas such as mine in east Durham. What steps is the Minister taking to end such recruitment freezes and ensure that cancer patients, irrespective of where they live, have access to the lifesaving care that they require?
Ashley Dalton
I commend my hon. Friend’s continued advocacy for radiotherapy. I have met the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) and the other members of the all-party parliamentary group on radiotherapy to discuss how the Government will improve outcomes for cancer patients. While trusts retain responsibility for recruitment, we are continuing to increase our cancer workforce: between November 2024 and 2025, it grew by more than 4%. In the cancer plan, we have committed to ensuring that we have the staff where and when we need them, and we are rebalancing cancer training places targeted at trusts in rural and coastal areas—such as east Durham—to improve patient outcomes.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
I welcome what the Minister has just said, but we start a long way behind. In OECD countries, the average proportion of people with cancer with access to radiotherapy is 53%. In England the proportion is 36%, and in Lancashire and South Cumbria it is the worst in the country, at just 29%. There is no doubt in our communities in South Cumbria that that is because patients must take three-hour round trips every day to obtain treatment in Preston. Will the Minister support our new plans to bring a satellite radiotherapy unit to Kendal, so that people in our communities can experience shorter journeys and longer lives?
Ashley Dalton
The hon. Gentleman and I share part of that integrated care board area. In the cancer plan, we committed to ensuring that coastal and rural areas receive the services that they need. We are investing more in radiotherapy machines, and we are working with ICBs to ensure that they are providing the services that their communities need, and that we are supporting the recruitment of the cancer workforce who will be able to go into those rural areas.
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
Cancer is the canary in the coalmine for the NHS. For far too many cancer patients, under the Tories, the NHS was not there when they needed it. Under Labour, an extra 213,000 patients have been diagnosed, or have received the all-clear on time. Much has been done, but there is much more to do. I pay tribute to the leadership of the Minister for primary care and prevention, my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton), and to her national cancer plan. She has poured her heart and soul into that plan, all while living with and being treated for cancer. We are investing an extra £2.3 billion in diagnostic capacity to deliver 9.5 million more tests by the end of this Parliament. Catching cancer earlier, treating it faster and preventing it is how we will save more lives.
Douglas McAllister
I welcome the focus of the national cancer plan on diagnosing cancer faster. That is needed across all cancers, but particularly for leukaemia. Research by Leukaemia UK has found that one in four patients face an avoidable delay in their diagnosis, and that 37% of patients are diagnosed in an emergency setting. How will the implementation of the plan address delays in leukaemia diagnosis, and what steps will the Department take to reduce the proportion of patients who are diagnosed through an emergency route?
Wes Streeting
My hon. Friend is right that leukaemia patients are disproportionately diagnosed too late. We are working with GPs to ensure that they are better prepared to spot symptoms or concerning blood test results, so that we can cut out avoidable delays. The real difference, however, will come with the introduction of genomic testing at birth. That will allow the NHS to leapfrog rare cancers such as leukaemia, so that they can be caught early, or even prevented. Lots done, certainly lots more to do.
James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)
When I met Big C in King’s Lynn recently, I heard about the anxiety caused; only 52% of local patients are treated within two months, whereas the national average is 71.9%. What action is the Department taking to support the Queen Elizabeth hospital trust in improving its performance for patients?
Wes Streeting
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right; this is about not just diagnosis but faster access to treatment. We are meeting the faster diagnosis standard; performance was at 77.4% in December 2025, and we aim to improve that to 80% by the end of March this year. We have to go a lot further, a lot faster, on the commencement of treatment. Although I will be forthcoming about, and proud of, the progress that we are making and the targets that we are hitting, where we fall short—we are still falling far too short, when it comes to access to cancer treatment—we will acknowledge that, address it and make sure that we make more progress, more quickly.
Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dr Zubir Ahmed)
Mental health issues affect all ages, and the support is not always there. We are determined to change that. We have hired almost 8,000 extra mental health workers since we came into office and increased investment in mental health by an additional £688 million this year. We are also transforming services through community-based 24/7 mental health centres, providing open access to treatment and support for adults with severe mental health needs, expanding NHS talking therapies, and rolling out mental health support teams in more schools.
Dame Meg Hillier
The NHS’s work on this is vital, but I also draw the Minister’s attention to Mind in Hackney, which is pioneering a new approach to make sure that people get two sessions of mental health support within two weeks. They can get more later on, but that is what they get, rather than waiting in a queue for six months for long-term support. For many people, that, along with a long-term treatment plan, is enough. May I urge the Minister to come and visit? It is only half an hour up the road from Westminster; he could fit it in before Prime Minister’s questions.
Dr Ahmed
I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s invitation. She is right: we need to think of innovative ways of attacking the mental health issues that face our country, and particularly our young people. Those include digital and face-to-face therapies, both of which we are expanding at a rapid pace. I am delighted to pass on her invitation to the Minister for Mental Health.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
Has the Minister had any opportunity to form conclusions about whether excessive involvement with social media and other online potential harms has contributed to an apparent significant increase in the levels of mental health disorders?
Dr Ahmed
The right hon. Gentleman is right to highlight this very live issue. As a doctor, a parent and a Minister, it is live in my mind, as it is in the minds of hon. Members across the House. It is important that we follow the evidence, and act safely and proportionately in response to that evidence. The right hon. Gentleman will know this Government’s ambition, and the direction that we want to set to ensure that young people are kept safe online.
Lewis Atkinson (Sunderland Central) (Lab)
Analysis by Rethink Mental Illness of the latest NHS waiting time statistics shows that people are eight times more likely to wait over 18 months for mental health treatment than physical health treatment. Does the Minister agree that waiting 18 months for such treatment is totally unacceptable? What steps will the Government take to cut adult mental health waiting times?
Dr Ahmed
Absolutely; it is unacceptable that there is still a disparity between mental and physical health when it comes to investigation, diagnosis and treatment. That is why this Government are proud to put record amounts of funding for mental health into the NHS. We are also making available £473 million of capital funding for encouraging and establishing 24/7 mental health centres, alongside other capital priorities, so that people can get the right support at the right time, closer to home.
Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)
After my young constituent was left in limbo between child and adolescent mental health services, health services and neurodevelopment pathways, with nobody claiming responsibility for her healthcare needs, her mum called 111 to get some advice. The advice she was given was, “If you’re not happy with the service, contact your MP.” With all mental health and emergency services stretched to breaking point, what tangible action are this Government taking to address the mental health crisis in our neurodiverse population, so that nobody else in my constituency is failed like this young lady?
Dr Ahmed
I think we are all distressed to hear stories like that. It is what motivates us to keep going and ensure that the NHS becomes a match-fit service for the 21st century. To reassure the hon. Lady, in addition to the investments I have already highlighted, we are also investing £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff, so that they can offer more support to young people with complex needs, such as those she has described.
Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
It should not be so difficult for women to get a diagnosis for a condition that every single one of us goes through. That is why this Government took a landmark step forward by including menopause in the NHS health checks for the first time ever. It is assessed that this will benefit around 5 million women. We are going further next year, when menopause will be one of the first conditions treated through our revolutionary new digital hospital, NHS Online.
Ruth Cadbury
Women in my constituency experiencing symptoms of perimenopause and menopause tell me of very varied experiences of going to their GP—some excellent, and some, frankly, alarmingly poor. I have been particularly concerned to hear about the experiences of south Asian women with perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that all GPs receive thorough and regular training that is appropriate for all London’s communities?
Karin Smyth
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point that many of us will, unfortunately, recognise. We need to address variability in training, through the NHS health checks and training that is being rolled out by both the General Medical Council and the royal colleges. We need to go further. There are some great examples, both in London and across the country, of multidisciplinary teams helping with training for specialist services, and of initiatives like menopause cafés to support women. We need to take those best examples to the rest of the NHS.
Freddie van Mierlo (Henley and Thame) (LD)
Hormone replacement therapy is a godsend for many women experiencing menopause, but there is a dire shortage of HRT implants. These are unlicensed medicines, but they are absolutely essential for treatment, particularly for women for whom other treatments do not work. There are women in my constituency who are suffering very badly with poor mental and physical health impacts as a result. I have submitted a number of written questions and received responses from Ministers, in particular the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed). We really want to know when action will be taken on this, and when we can get the implants that these women so desperately need.
Karin Smyth
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about supply and availability across the country, which is something we monitor regularly to ensure that if there is a shortage of a medicine in an area, there are alternatives available. We will continue to keep that under review, to ensure that women have the services and the medication that they need.
Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)
Natalie Fleet (Bolsover) (Lab)
The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)
We know that dentistry was left in crisis by the Conservatives, but this Government are determined to ensure that everyone can access a dentist when they need one. We have recently broadened access to dental appointments, so that patients who need more serious and ongoing treatment no longer miss out. Between April and October 2025, we delivered 1.8 million more treatments than in the same period before the general election.
Callum Anderson
I have a constituent who is awaiting a root canal and crown treatment to save her tooth. She has been quoted £400 for NHS treatment with a 60% chance of success, and £1,300 for private healthcare with a 90% success rate. Hopefully the Minister agrees that this mismatch risks undermining confidence in NHS dentistry. What steps is he taking to reform the NHS dental contract, so that constituents like mine can receive timely and high-quality care that is within financial reach?
Stephen Kinnock
I am very sorry to hear about the plight of my hon. Friend’s constituent, and I would be more than happy to look into the specifics of her case. The sad reality is that after 14 years of Tory neglect and incompetence, we have ended up with a two-tier dentistry system. This Government are determined to ensure that high-quality NHS dentistry is available to everyone who needs it. The 2026 reforms that I announced on 16 December will help patients who have complex needs by creating a new care pathway, backed by tariffs for dentists of between £250 and £700, which could save patients up to £225 in fees. Our 2026 measures, combined with long-term contract reform, will indeed enable timely, high-quality treatment that is within financial reach.
Natalie Fleet
Fourteen years of Conservative rule has consequences for the children in my constituency. A quarter of them have tooth decay—[Interruption.] Conservative Members can shake their heads as much as they like, but this is the real-world impact of the decisions that they made. Those children are some of the most deprived in Derbyshire, and the integrated care board has found that they are more likely than wealthier constituents 3 miles up the road to have tooth decay. I am pleased that we are fixing dentistry. We are getting more urgent dentist appointments and we have the roll-out of supervised toothbrushing in schools, but we need to do more. What more are this Government doing to address this inequality and help the children in my constituency who are in pain?
Stephen Kinnock
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Conservatives failed our children’s health; tooth decay is the most common reason for hospital admissions for five to nine-year-olds. That is a truly shameful, Dickensian state of affairs. We have provided Derbyshire county council with £82,000 for this year’s supervised toothbrushing programme, with further funding agreed till 2028-29. I am delighted that, of the 42,000 increase in the number of treatments in the Derby and Derbyshire ICB area, 19,000 were for children, and by extending the soft drinks industry levy we will protect kids’ teeth from decay—a policy that is emblematic of the shift from treatment to prevention that is at the heart of our 10-year plan.
Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)
My constituents continue to find it very difficult to get an appointment with an NHS dentist. What steps is the Minister taking to encourage dentists in rural areas, so that my constituents can have access to an NHS dentist?
Stephen Kinnock
We come to this Chamber month in, month out for these oral questions but we never hear an apology from those on the Opposition Benches for the mess in which they left NHS dentistry. For the Conservatives, sorry really does seem to be the hardest word.
With regard to the hon. Gentleman’s question, we have delivered 1.8 million additional appointments between April and October 2025, compared with the same period before the general election. I would be happy to furnish him with the precise numbers of how many more have been provided in his constituency and his ICB area. He can watch his post box for that information.
Adrian Ramsay (Waveney Valley) (Green)
The Daily Mirror reports that of the nearly 1 million urgent dental appointments that have been commissioned by integrated care boards since April, 900,000 have not been taken up because of strict rules around the scope of treatment. Meanwhile, in my constituency and around the country, too many people are going without the treatment that they need. Will the Minister update us on when the Government expect to meet their targets on urgent appointments?
Stephen Kinnock
Our manifesto commitment was about improving access to urgent dental care, and that is precisely what we have done by commissioning hundreds of thousands of additional urgent treatments. It became clear as we were working through that process that the clinical definition was too narrow and out of step with the common-sense interpretation, so we acted on the advice of the chief dental officer and broadened the definition. From this April, urgent care will be embedded in the contract, and of course we continue to work with the sector on long-term contract reform.
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
Everyone in this House knows that NHS dentistry was allowed to fall apart under the Conservatives, resulting in DIY tooth extractions, people being forced to go to A&E because they are in pain, and children suffering in every corner of the country. Last year, 38,000 children in Shropshire did not see a dentist. In Surrey, that number was 100,000 and in Sussex it was 133,000. That is a disgrace. The Government promised an extra 700,000 urgent appointments to fight this crisis, but that promise looks set to have been broken in the previous year. Will the Minister today highlight in black and white how many extra urgent appointments were actually delivered last year, rather than simply commissioned?
Stephen Kinnock
As I have just pointed out to the hon. Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay), we have broadened the definition, because the clinical definition of “urgent” was simply not in line with the common-sense interpretation. People removing their own teeth in DIY dentistry were not fitting into the classification of “urgent”. We have changed that categorisation. As a result of that, I am pleased to confirm that we have delivered 1.8 million additional appointments and treatments this year compared with the same period last year—April to October 2025. We will continue to work on that basis of embedding urgent care into the contract, as I announced on 16 December, in the 2026 reforms that we are carrying out.
Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
We now have ambulances arriving faster, but we know there is much more to do. We have taken action to reduce handover delays by introducing release-to-rescue 45-minute handovers, supporting ambulances back on to the road to respond to patients faster. We have invested in an extra 500 ambulances. I am pleased to announce that as a result of this Government’s investment and modernisation, West Midlands ambulances are reaching patients with conditions such as suspected heart attacks and strokes almost seven minutes faster this winter than last winter.
Sureena Brackenridge
I thank the Minister for her update. I welcome the progress made on ambulance response times and handovers. I recently visited Willenhall ambulance hub to thank the incredible staff and to hear about winter pressures, local handover delays and the strain of late finishes on their family life and childcare. What action is being taken to tackle systemic bottlenecks in A&E departments, high bed occupancy and pharmacy delays to protect staff wellbeing and ensure high-quality patient care?
Karin Smyth
I commend my hon. Friend for visiting her ambulance service, as many hon. Members do, to understand the pressures they are working under. It is a useful visit to understand those wider issues, as she says. She raised an important point about handover delays impacting staff as well as patients. Reducing these delays will ensure that staff are no longer stuck outside emergency departments. On the wider issue about the front door, NHS England’s model emergency department will set out core principles and pathways for high-performing emergency departments, which will improve patient experience and flow with lower waiting times and less overcrowding. We are committed to improving rest facilities to support staff wellbeing.
Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)
In November, I joined a local ambulance crew and saw at first hand the great work they do for our community, but services are under huge strain. Will the Minister designate ambulance stations as critical infrastructure to protect them from closure and set up an emergency fund to support them?
Karin Smyth
I commend the hon. Member for going out with her crews. One of the reasons we have been so successful this year in improving the services is by looking at things such as where ambulances are located and how they operationalise their services. We will continue to work with NHS England on the best model for local constituencies.
Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Lab)
The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)
We inherited a broken NHS dental system in which many people were unable to access a dentist when they need one, including in my hon. Friend’s constituency, but we are making real progress, having increased the number of NHS treatments by 1.8 million between April and October 2025 compared with the same period before the general election. As a result of this nationwide increase, I am pleased to report that 89,000 more NHS dental treatments were delivered between April and October last year in the Lancashire and South Cumbria integrated care board area, which of course includes my hon. Friend’s constituency.
Lizzi Collinge
One of my constituents contacted me because their spouse is bedbound and cannot get dental care at home, so he gets no routine care. He recently waited three months for an emergency extraction—something he could have had on the same day if he was not disabled. What work is going on to help my constituents access the care they need?
Stephen Kinnock
I am sorry to hear about the plight of my hon. Friend’s constituent. I will, of course, be more than happy to meet her and look into the specifics of the case. Specialised dental services have a vital role to play in providing dental treatment to vulnerable people in settings such as care homes. In many cases, this is about teamwork and integration, ensuring that primary dental care is working in lockstep with adult social care. There is clearly some room for improvement in some areas. I would be happy to work with her to ensure that this issue gets resolved.
Naz Shah (Bradford West) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
The 10-year health plan announced ambitious measures to make the healthy choice the easy choice. They include tackling the obesity epidemic through mandatory healthy food sales reporting, business targets to increase the healthiness of products sold and restrictions on junk food advertising.
Naz Shah
In Bradford West, more than one in five children begins primary school overweight or obese. By the time they leave primary school, that figure rises to one in three children. Will the Minister set out how this Government’s world-leading new ban on junk food advertising will help parents to give every child the best and healthiest start in life?
Ashley Dalton
I thank my hon. Friend for outlining the very real crisis of childhood obesity. It is a problem that robs children of the best possible start in life and sets them up for a whole lifetime of health problems. It is why this Government have come down hard and delivered our commitment to restrict advertisements for junk food on TV and online. That action will remove around 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets every single year.
Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)
As the House will know, pharmacies are an important part of the system to prevent ill health. Last week, I raised the challenges that pharmacies in my constituency of South West Hertfordshire and across the country are facing due to rising costs and a lack of funding support. I wrote to the Minister for Care last April and have followed up several times since. How can I arrange a meeting with him to discuss these concerns further?
Ashley Dalton
The Minister responsible runs a regular ministerial surgery and would be more than happy to meet the hon. Member.
Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
I declare an interest as a consultant paediatrician in the NHS. Prevention of ill health is crucial. It is particularly important in children, perhaps most especially when one is trying to prevent ill health in children caused by doctors. I have expressed concerns previously about the puberty blockers trial, as have many in both Houses. The trial has now been paused due to a Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency letter. When were Ministers first aware of that letter and when were they first aware of the concerns described within it?
Ashley Dalton
The regulators are doing their job. This is a perfectly ordinary occurrence in certain research trials. As the hon. Member has made the House aware—I am sure it was already aware—the trial has been paused. We will leave the regulators and the clinicians to do their jobs to ensure that all the trials, including this one, are done in an appropriate fashion.
Dr Johnson
That is a very interesting answer. Before Christmas, the Secretary of State had confidence in an allegedly vigorous and rigorous process. Fertility preservation techniques have not deteriorated over the last few months. The ages at which children reach the Tanner stages of puberty have not changed over the last few months, but the MHRA’s view has. Why? Given that this is such a scrutinised trial, does that not call into question the MHRA’s wider competence and due diligence? Will the Minister publish the MHRA’s letter from November referred to in the more recent correspondence published on Friday?
Ashley Dalton
What the hon. Member highlights is part of this rigorous process. That is what happens. Why the MHRA has changed its view is a question for the MHRA, but it is up to the MHRA to raise these issues through the process. That is why we run such trials. [Interruption.] It is an independent regulator.
Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
The Prime Minister has made tackling violence against women and girls a priority across the Government and every public service must play its part. In the NHS, we will be supporting GPs to identify, support and refer victims and survivors to specialist services. That will include a specialist support worker for every GP practice to draw on and training GPs to spot the signs of domestic abuse and sexual violence. As part of the Government’s VAWG strategy, the Department will provide an additional £5 million for victim support services and up to £50 million to roll out specialist services for child sexual abuse victims.
Calum Miller
I recently had the opportunity to visit the dedicated staff at Survivor Space, a centre for victims of sexual violence in Oxford that serves my constituents. I was shocked to learn that victims and survivors of sexual violence may wait up to two years for a counselling session. I was further appalled to learn that at least one survivor had been advised that they could not access NHS mental health services until they had first had counselling from Survivor Space. Does the Secretary of State agree that no survivor should have to wait two years for treatment, and would he or one of his Ministers meet me and representatives of Survivor Space to discuss how to get dedicated healthcare funding to the frontline in order to support such services?
Wes Streeting
I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Member. The voluntary and community sector provides, and should continue to provide, support for victims. The voluntary sector does a brilliant job, in an environment that often feels safer and more inclusive, and we should welcome that. However, the existence of voluntary sector provision does not excuse the NHS from performing its duties. One change that I have led in the leadership culture of my Department is the recognition that investment in services for victims and survivors is a responsibility of the NHS and the DHSC, not of the Home Office, Ministry of Justice or others. We must take responsibility for meeting the needs of everyone. There is of course more to do on waiting times. I would be delighted to ensure that the hon. Gentleman gets the meeting that he asks for.
Dr Beccy Cooper (Worthing West) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
We are revolutionising our country’s health and wellbeing through our 10-year health plan, which will deliver the three major shifts, boost life expectancy and improve mental health for everyone, everywhere. We are shifting from prioritising the tackling of sickness to prevention, including through action in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create a smoke-free generation.
Dr Cooper
It is great to hear that wellbeing is being built in through the shift to prevention in our national health strategy. Does the Minister agree that we should now champion health in all policies, starting with the mandatory use of the wellbeing indicators available for the Treasury Green Book, which are currently used sporadically at best?
Ashley Dalton
My hon. Friend will know that that is a question for Treasury colleagues. However, we are a mission-led Government committed to healthy outcomes across Government, not just in the DHSC.
Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has compared GPs’ salaries to that of the Prime Minister. I can understand why he is taking a keen interest in how much a Prime Minister is paid, but can the Government assure the House that the GP contract will include an increase in GP funding over and above inflationary pressures? [Interruption.] They are on the frontline of ensuring that national wellbeing indicators in this country improve.
Ashley Dalton
I am not entirely sure what any of that has to do with wellbeing indicators—
Mr Speaker
Order. Let me do my job and I will let the Minister do hers. Try to answer the question—I did add a caveat to it.
Ashley Dalton
Sorry, Mr Speaker; I did not hear you. I can confirm that a written ministerial statement will be tabled at 4 pm in which the contract for 2026-27 will be laid out.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dr Zubir Ahmed)
Every child with a disability should have the opportunity to reap the health and wellbeing benefits of being active. We are working across health, education and sports to break down barriers to physical activity, including for children with Down’s syndrome. That includes ensuring that they have access to inclusive, sensory-rich activities that they can enjoy with friends, families and carers.
Dr Pinkerton
I recently had a meeting with British Gymnastics, the charity Stepping Stones, and Prime Acrobatics, a wonderful and inclusive gymnastics centre in my Surrey Heath constituency. They told me that young people with Down’s syndrome are routinely prevented from taking part in physical activity and sport because of concerns about neck stability. Might the Minister be willing to take this case on, work with GPs, the NHS and other relevant bodies to review guidance in that area, and remove the barriers that can all too often prevent young people from engaging with the physical and sporting activities that are so vital to their physical and mental wellbeing?
Dr Ahmed
The hon. Member is not the first colleague to raise that issue. Clearly, the safety of patients and children is paramount, but it must be proportionate and led by evidence. I would be very happy to explore this further with him.
Dr Marie Tidball (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dr Zubir Ahmed)
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her work on raising the profile of this underserved area. It is simply unacceptable that disabled women are at higher risk of neonatal and perinatal mortality and stillbirth, and that they continue to experience adverse outcomes relative to the general population. That is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has launched an independent maternity investigation, which will help us to understand the systemic issues behind why so many families, including disabled women, experience unacceptable care.
Dr Tidball
Too often, disabled women’s bodies are deemed not to count. In the last year, I have met two incredible disabled women: Carly, a Paralympian, and Sarah, an occupational therapist. Neither found out that they were pregnant until their second and third trimesters respectively because none of their clinicians considered that they might be pregnant. But we are making babies, we are having babies—against the odds; we have a 44% higher likelihood of stillbirth—and we are being brilliant mothers. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss ensuring that inclusive maternity care for disabled women is at the heart of our women’s health strategy so that our womanhood is no longer invisible?
Dr Ahmed
We are so lucky to have my hon. Friend in this place, challenging us to be better—and we can be better. We need to be bolder, and we need to take decisive action to close the gap on inequalities to ensure that all women receive safe, personalised and compassionate care. We know how important inclusive maternity care is for disabled women. I note that my hon. Friend has previously had meetings with the Minister for maternity, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State would be delighted to meet her.
Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
A matter of weeks ago, a power cut plunged parts of Eastbourne district general hospital, where I was born, into darkness and forced our maternity unit to temporarily close, particularly affecting disabled women. People had to use their iPhone torches to see. Despite that power infrastructure failure, we are way at the back of the queue for new hospital funding. Will the Minister commit to accelerating the unlocking of that cash, so that women can have the services they deserve—
Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Seven months ago, the NHS 10-year plan promised a maternity taskforce. May I ask the Minister how many times it has met?
Dr Ahmed
I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place. I am informed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State that it has not met yet, but we are establishing it and it will be meeting soon.
Gregory Stafford
The fact that the taskforce has not even met, seven months later, tells us everything we need to know about how urgent and important the Government consider this issue. In Leeds, families are losing faith in the failing maternity services. The Secretary of State said that he takes the matter “extremely seriously”, yet Donna Ockenden—who exposed the failings in Nottingham, has the support of families, and has said that she is ready and willing to lead the inquiry—has not been appointed. If the Minister and the Secretary of State take this issue extremely seriously, why have they not appointed a chair yet?
Dr Ahmed
I see that the brass neck of the hon. Gentlemen’s predecessor has been transplanted to him. He talks about seven months, but what about the last 14 years, through which the Conservatives presided over the decay and decline of our NHS? They failed our patients and the clinicians who serve them. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is in regular contact with maternity families and, like me, he takes the matter extremely seriously. He will report to this House on the outcome of his deliberations on a regular basis.
Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)
The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)
Through our 10-year health plan and the shift from hospital to community, our new neighbourhood health service will benefit millions. It is underpinned by 120 new neighbourhood health centres by 2030, alongside the supercharging of community diagnostic centres, which will deliver faster, more accessible care, with over 100 sites open 12 hours a day, seven days a week. This massive expansion will transform community access for millions of patients, regardless of postcode.
Alison Griffiths
I am delighted to hear the Minister’s response. Zachary Merton hospital in Rustington was closed temporarily, but that closure became permanent and the site is being progressed for disposal. More than half of residents in Rustington are elderly, and rely on intermediate and step-down care. They have not been consulted on the permanent closure, despite assurances from Sussex community NHS foundation trust and NHS Sussex integrated care board. Will the Minister confirm whether he considers that a substantial variation in NHS services? Will he consider exercising his call-in powers before the site is irreversibly sold?
Stephen Kinnock
I am not familiar with the details of that case, but if the hon. Lady writes to me I would be more than happy to take the issue up. These matters are determined by the ICBs and trusts, and the Government are not in the business of micromanaging what is happening out there in the field. We believe that people who are closest to our citizens are the best people to take those decisions, but we do expect the right outcomes. I would be happy to work with the hon. Lady on that basis.
Ms Abena Oppong-Asare (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)
Women with the painful and incurable condition of endometriosis have suffered stigma and ill health for far too long, and despite the condition impacting one in 10 women, a diagnosis takes over eight years on average. Will the Minister make sure that the new women’s health strategy includes stronger training, better awareness, and faster support for women?
Stephen Kinnock
This is a vital issue. Endometriosis is a serious challenge for so many women across our country, and I confirm that it is an integral part of the strategy. I am sure she will be pleased to see the outcome of that strategy as it moves forward.
Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby) (Lab)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
The health PFI programme between 1992 and 2015 delivered 126 new acute facilities for the NHS, and over £12 billion of investment in the estate. NHS PFI contracts are held by individual trusts, and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority publishes annual data on them, including the costs of all those PFI projects. The last PFI contract was signed in 2015. We are not bringing back PFI; we are bringing forward a new public-private partnership model that will draw on lessons learned from the past, to ensure that we deliver the commitments of our 10-year plan.
Ian Byrne
Alder Hey children’s hospital NHS foundation trust in my constituency faces significant financial pressure due to its private finance initiative deal. That is because over 50% of its total PFI payment is going towards interest charges, with Alder Hey still owing £380 million by 2045 for the PFI investment of £189 million. That is nearly £200 million being drained out of Alder Hey over the next two decades, because of the now discredited PFI system. That money should be spent on making sick children better. What assessment has the Department made of the potential impacts of the use of PFI to fund the recently announced neighbourhood health centres?
Karin Smyth
My hon. Friend highlights an important example, where something is clearly not going well. The Department is working with the team at Alder Hey to help rectify some of those problems. That is why we will not be using that PFI model in future. We have learned those lessons and we will take forward a new PPP model for our neighbourhood health service that will transform care for people in his constituency and across the country.
Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
Today we are publishing a new GP contract. Backed by new funding, it will recruit more GPs and cut waiting times for appointments. The changes and modernisation will diagnose thousands more cases of lung cancer, protect children by boosting vaccination rates, and provide more people with weight-loss jabs on the NHS. That follows an extra £1.1 billion that we have invested in general practice this year, and builds on the 2,000 more GPs that we have recruited since the general election. After 14 years of decline, the Government are fixing the front door to the NHS, bringing back the family doctor, and ending the 8am scramble. Lots done, lots more to do.
Harriet Cross
Inverurie medical practice in my constituency saw its national insurance bill rise by £75,000 thanks to this Government. That has put huge pressure on the practice, which was already operating with one GP for 3,000 patients, which is three times higher than the British Medical Association recommends. When did the Secretary of State last meet the Chancellor to discuss the impact of the NICs rise on GP practices, and what are he and his Department doing about the pressure—
Wes Streeting
I see the Chancellor most weeks. That is why record investment is going into our NHS, which is improving patient satisfaction with access to general practice, cutting waiting lists, and improving ambulance response times—all to fix the mess that the Conservatives left behind. And people should be in no doubt: given the chance, they would do it again. They opposed the investment, they opposed the reform, and they can never be trusted with our NHS.
Alex Ballinger (Halesowen) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
We acknowledge the important issue of the potential negative impact that gambling advertising may have on children and young people’s health. My officials continue to work closely with officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and I will be discussing the issue with the Minister for Gambling, who is responsible for gambling advertising policy. We continue to keep the public health evidence under review, and to consider suitable action to protect individuals and communities from gambling harms.
Stuart Andrew (Daventry) (Con)
In the plan for change, the Government committed to meet the 18-week standard for routine operations, but the latest data suggests that the Government are not on track to meet that commitment by the end of the Parliament. In December, fewer people were treated within 18 weeks than in the previous month. Will the Secretary of State now accept the reality that patients are experiencing and, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned, that the Government will not deliver their commitment on their key milestone to deliver the 18-week standard?
Wes Streeting
I will never surrender to the tyranny of the low expectations of the Conservative party. We have cut waiting lists by 330,000 since we came to office; they are now at their lowest level in three years. We made progress despite strikes, we made progress despite winter pressures, and we have made progress despite every bit of investment and modernisation being opposed by the Conservatives. Instead of criticising our record, the shadow Secretary of State should apologise for his.
Stuart Andrew
Another leadership ambition, I see.
On 29 September, I wrote to the Secretary of State regarding the late Dr Susan Michaelis’s campaign for better research into lobular breast cancer, but sadly I still have not had a reply. She established the Lobular Moon Shot Project and the last Government committed to support its aims. However, despite meeting the Secretary of State, representatives from the project say that they still have no clarity on how the project and research will be expedited. Will the Secretary of State confirm now Government approval for the funding required for this research, which is critical for so many women in this country?
Wes Streeting
I apologise to the shadow Secretary of State for not having replied to his letter—let me make sure that I do that. There is no disagreement across the House on the substance of the issue. I am absolutely supportive of the project and I want to fund the research, but we have to make sure that the research proposal meets the standards and has the confidence of our funders. We are working with the team to try to get the proposal over the line, but that is the only obstacle here—it is certainly not a political decision.
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dr Zubir Ahmed)
This UK Labour Government, at least, are spending billions of pounds upgrading the digital architecture of the NHS in England. That means that over 90% of GPs now offer appointments online, and by 2029 we will have a single patient record for patients and their clinicians to access all their information. That is in contrast with the digital desert that exists in Scotland, which is why it is time for Analogue John to move over and make way for Anas Sarwar as First Minster to save Scotland’s NHS.
Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)
Wes Streeting
The hon. Member highlights a real challenge that we have inherited: the disconnection between undergraduate education and training, and the jobs that are available. We are addressing that through our workforce plan. I want to place on the record my thanks to South Western Ambulance Service, which in December improved ambulance response times by just under 30 minutes for category 2 calls. There are still big challenges in the south-west, but the team deserve real credit for the improvement they have led.
Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
My hon. Friend highlights an important point about the need to have further roll-outs of CDCs, particularly for communities such as hers. We are expanding those and expanding the time available for them. We are also expanding access through the front door through the NHS app and digital. Our new online hospital service will improve the sorts of issues that she mentions so that we bring services closer to her patients and do not expect them to have to travel.
Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)
Karin Smyth
I understand the issues that the hon. Gentleman and many other Members, such as my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), have raised in Grimsby and the Lincolnshire area. It is important that the clinical mapping for their new services is supported by clinicians and local people, and I am happy to continue to talk to the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) and others about progress with that. I am in touch with the NHS England team, and it assures me that it is continuing to do that. I also understand the additional difficulties—
Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)
Karin Smyth
My hon. Friend makes a really important point about how important DEXA scans are for osteoporosis, particularly for women. We have already expanded DEXA scans across the country this year; we have also allocated more capital funding for such capital investment, and we will announce the allocations in due course.
Luke Taylor (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)
Ashley Dalton
As the hon. Gentleman is probably aware, this Government’s cancer plan, which I launched just over a week ago, is the first ever cancer plan to have a section on children and young people with cancer and to commit to supporting children holistically throughout their cancer journey. I am more than happy to have a conversation with him about the issues that he has raised.
Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)
Dr Ahmed
Glasgow is a great place to get medical care—I can attest to that—but people should not have to travel 200 miles to get medical care. My hon. Friend and I have had many discussions on this topic, and I am very glad to continue those discussions. She knows that treatment along the border is subject to service-level agreements in both English trusts and Scottish health boards, but it should be much more porous and accommodating than it is. I am happy to take these discussions with her further later.
Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)
Catherine from Redbourn has shared that she has to wait weeks for a GP appointment, yet her village faces an increase in residents of up to 70%, which means thousands of new patients. Some of that is through speculative developments. Does the Minister agree that councils should have the powers to ensure that planning approvals are dependent on first securing healthcare to serve those new residents? Will he commit to ensuring that NHS planning cycles are aligned with housing developments to ensure that communities do not have to wait for weeks, months or years?
The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)
On the subject of GP access, I am delighted that 75% of patients now say it is easy to contact their GP, which is a sizeable increase of 14 percentage points since July 2024—that is a really positive development that I am sure the hon. Lady welcomes. Turning to planning, it is very important that the integrated care board, the council and the developers are joined up together, and we need to ensure that happens. There is also the primary care utilisation and modernisation fund, which the hon. Lady’s constituents may be interested in.
Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)
Dr Ahmed
Mental health support teams provide innovative early support for children and young people in schools and colleges, and I am pleased that these are working well in Bracknell Forest, too. Up to 900,000 additional pupils will have access to that support by the spring, and we are accelerating the roll-out to reach full national coverage by 2029.
Bradley Thomas (Bromsgrove) (Con)
Several weeks ago, I received a jaw-dropping email from a local Bromsgrove GP, who told me that a 10-month-old child nearly died after ambulance delays. Worse, the same day, another patient—a 66-year-old driving instructor—suffered a cardiac arrest during a driving lesson and died while being driven to the hospital by his wife. My constituents demand a better service and better response times. What are the Government going to do about this, and will the Secretary of State meet me and the concerned GP who wrote to me to address this issue?
Wes Streeting
Nothing is more sobering than hearing experiences of the life-and-death difference between the NHS being there for people when they need it and it not being there when they need it. People will be aware of a tragic case over the weekend involving a woman in her 90s in the Isle of Wight, which we are looking into. Ambulance response times are improving, but I do not pretend that they are good enough; we have done a lot, but there is a lot more to do, and the hon. Gentleman has painfully and powerfully underscored what happens when the NHS is not there for people when they need it. That is the NHS we inherited, and it is the NHS I am determined to change.
Peter Lamb (Crawley) (Lab)
Crawley A&E’s closure was accompanied by a commitment to a 24-hour urgent treatment centre, a commitment that the trust is now breaking. Can the Minister meet me to discuss how local services can be preserved and improved?
Karin Smyth
I am happy to discuss that issue with my hon. Friend. We are determined to have co-located UTCs; I know that that is a matter for the local commissioner, but I am happy to talk about it further.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
Vista is a 160-year-old charity serving people in Leicester and Leicestershire who are suffering from visual disabilities. Last year alone, it served 21,000 people, but sadly, it faces imminent closure if it cannot raise £2 million by the end of March. If that happens, the devastating effect on the national health service and the social care service will be unimaginable, so will the Minister meet me and other local MPs, as well as representatives of University Hospitals of Leicester, to discuss what we can do to save Vista?
Stephen Kinnock
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question, and pay tribute to Vista for the outstanding work it is doing. Improving IT connectivity is a vital part of what we are doing, and the single point of access project is of relevance in that context. I would be more than happy if the hon. Gentleman wrote to me so that we can look at the issue he has raised.
Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
In Rochdale, we need more midwives to provide the safe staffing levels that our mums-to-be rightly expect, but newly qualified student midwives often find it difficult to find jobs when they qualify. Can the Minister explain exactly when the NHS workforce plan is due so that they can give reassurance to those newly qualified midwives that they will have a career in the NHS?
Wes Streeting
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this issue. The NHS workforce plan will be published in the spring. I recognise the challenge he has set out, and we are determined to address it—we desperately need more midwives, and we certainly need good clinical leadership in this area. That is what the Government are working towards.
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
Minor injuries units are being phased out in urgent treatment centres such as the brilliant one at West Cornwall hospital in my constituency—its hours were cut under the Conservatives, and have not been restored. Those units clearly help to take the pressure off ambulance and emergency services, so what will Ministers do to ensure that those services are reinforced rather than reduced?
Wes Streeting
One rationale for both the 10-year plan and the medium-term planning we are doing across the NHS is to ensure better integration, with the principle of people receiving the right care in the right place at the right time. Decisions about local configurations are matters for local leaders, but we keep these things under review, and if the hon. Gentleman has concerns, he should certainly write to us.
Lola McEvoy (Darlington) (Lab)
As the Secretary of State knows, Darlington Memorial hospital is part of the County Durham and Darlington NHS foundation trust, which has recently been marred by the scandal of over-operation in breast services. We know that many women came to harm as a result of those failures, but we are yet to find out how many and the full extent of the harm because the trust has not completed the comprehensive look-back. Will the Minister meet me to ensure that our trust has all the resources it needs to learn the lessons necessary to ensure that no women—whether in my area or across the country—have invasive and painful clinical procedures that they do not need?
Dr Ahmed
My hon. Friend and I have had discussions regarding this matter before. Patient safety is of paramount importance, especially when it comes to surgery, including breast surgery. I am happy to meet her to discuss this further at a ministerial surgery.