NHS (Charitable Trusts Etc.) Bill

Debate between Bob Stewart and Maggie Throup

Friday 6th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con)]

I am delighted to contribute to today’s debate on such an important issue, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton) on deciding to raise it in this place and to make these changes, which I am pleased to support.

Our nation would be a poorer place without the thousands of charities and their trustees who contribute their time and their expertise without fear or favour. As we have heard, this is trustees’ week, so it is appropriate to debate this issue today. Close to my heart are the many hospital-related charities that play such an important role in supporting our free-at-the-point-of-care national health service that has served us so well. It is vital that such charities are allowed to conduct their good work with as few barriers as possible.

The current structure of NHS charitable trust status has three main disadvantages. First, potential donors may perceive that the charities lack independence from government. Secondly, being bound by legislation prevents the charities from adopting different legal forms specific to their needs, particularly those offering limited liability. Thirdly, the Charity Commission believes that dual regulation under both NHS and charity legislation makes it difficult for NHS charities to achieve and demonstrate independence. It is therefore vital that NHS charities have the opportunity to move to independent charity status.

In my constituency, I have many charities that support the work of the NHS in some way, but today I want to highlight just two of them. First, Ilkeston community hospital league of friends is a dedicated group of people who do everything from making cups of tea for visitors and taking the newspaper trolley around the wards to holding extremely successful spring, summer and Christmas fairs. A recent bed push up Ilkeston’s main street, Bath street—and when I say up, I mean up the hill—raised over £1,400. These events raise valuable additional funding providing for those added extras that make such a difference to my community hospital. This has included a scanner for the Val Jackson scanner suite at Ilkeston hospital, and the list goes on and on.

Secondly, I have an amazing hospice, Treetops Hospice Care, located at Risley, but serving the wider community across Derbyshire and parts of Nottinghamshire. Only the other day, we heard a very powerful speech in this place by my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Maria Caulfield)about the importance of palliative care. Treetops Hospice Care is a bit unusual as it does not have any beds, but provides all its end-of-life care and support in the community. As we heard on Wednesday, up to 70% of people want to die in their own homes, yet only 30% manage to have their wishes fulfilled. The invaluable care in the community that Treetops provides is helping my constituents to fulfil their wishes, which must be comforting for their families at such a difficult time. Treetops is innovative in its fund raising, too, holding everything from dog shows and vintage fairs to car boot sales and a sponsored bike ride taking in all the different charity shops that make a contribution—and I am pleased to say that I took part on a tandem.

My constituents and the wider population give generously and freely to both Ilkeston community hospital league of friends and to Treetops Hospice Care. These two charities are not bound by the legislation that the NHS charities in question are today.

As previously mentioned, the Bill takes away one of the barriers to maximising donations for the NHS charities in question. It removes the Government’s involvement, as it removes the role of the Secretary of State in appointing trustees. This move will enable potential donors to know that the NHS charity is truly independent from the Government.

I now wish to talk specifically about Great Ormond Street hospital. I have visited this amazing hospital on numerous occasions in a professional capacity, so I felt touched by the descriptions that my hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills and the hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) provided of their visits to this amazing hospital. Like them, I felt very privileged to have seen a small part of its ground-breaking work and the care that is given there. Only yesterday, we heard about the one-year old girl, Layla Richards, now in remission from leukaemia as the result of innovative gene editing, creating designer white blood cell treatment. That really was fantastic news—both for Layla and her family.

[Bob Stewart]

I have to declare an interest, as my wonderful daughter-in-law, Nicola Stewart, is a nurse at Great Ormond Street. I just want to confirm and support everything my hon. Friend is saying about the dedication of the nurses and doctors at Great Ormond Street hospital.

[Maggie Throup]

I thank my hon. Friend, and I completely agree that every doctor and nurse, and every NHS worker goes beyond the call of duty—not just at Great Ormond Street, but in hospitals throughout the country. We owe a great debt of gratitude to them for the work they do.

J. M. Barrie made a very generous and powerful donation when he gifted the rights from “Peter Pan” to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. I am sure the renowned author would be cheering from the Gallery, if he could, to hear that his wishes are to be continued through the mechanisms of this Bill.