Railways: East Coast Main Line
Debate between Lord Grocott and Baroness Blake of Leeds
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
Specifically dedicated to improving rail services in this country—that is the sadness of my life over the last however long.
Of course, I understand exactly the point that the noble Lord is making, and it would be churlish of me to say that there have not been any improvements. But we have to have a step change. Too many people are suffering as a result of not having the connectivity we need. Given the noble Lord’s previous role at Transport for the North, he well knows how much investment in public services would mean to the economy and, most of all, to the people across the north of England.
Lord Grocott (Lab)
My Lords, it is great to hear my noble friend’s tributes to the railway engineers, who keep the trains going at the same time that they are trying to build in many places new rail developments—which is a much harder job than building a new railway on a completely open tract of land. We may be very good, as we are, with those kinds of engineers. However, on the project for HS2 and similar proposals, particularly the line to Manchester, can my noble friend say whether the department has learned any lessons from the failed attempt to build a high-speed rail network? Virtually every other country in Europe is doing it, as are many in Asia, but we seem to lack the capacity. We really ought to be able to learn some lessons from this.
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
My noble friend makes an excellent point. I pay tribute to everyone who is working on the trans-Pennine upgrade. That project is phenomenal and demonstrates that we can deliver on time and on budget when all the key people pull together and work together. As my noble friend says, the performance that we have had in the past is simply unacceptable. Of course we need to look at that, learn lessons and make sure that we do not repeat the same mistakes in the future.
NHS England: Staff Costs
Debate between Lord Grocott and Baroness Blake of Leeds
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
We made a Statement just last week on the situation with resident doctors, and we make absolutely no bones about saying that we do not approve of the action they are taking. We have to work together to make sure that NHS England moves forward and merges with the Department of Health and Social Care. The 50% is not a definitive decision; it will be done based on need and delivery of services.
Lord Grocott (Lab)
My Lords, I was very taken with my noble friend Lord Hunt’s forensic analysis of the coalition Government’s performance on health. He mentioned the £3.5 billion figure. I know that my noble friend the Minister is not able to respond to that now, but would it not be very useful and enlightening for us all if we knew precisely how much money was wasted by the coalition Government at that time?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I can only say that the ongoing forensic work will uncover what has happened over the past few years, but I think we all know that, at the moment, the NHS is not fit for purpose; there needs to be radical change. This Government are absolutely committed to that, and we will make sure that it happens at pace and safely, putting patients front and centre in the delivery of health services in this country.