Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Jarvis Excerpts

Tuesday 19th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

I part with my hon. Friend on his point about the state taking control through presumed consent. We are talking about a register from which people could physically opt out, rather than opt in. The issues about end-of-life consent will continue to be the same, and the next of kin will be a full consultee. As for live donation, the issues are complex, but one reason why we are seeing a decline is that the waiting lists for receiving an organ are coming down, which is reducing the need for live donors. We should keep a watching brief on that.

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

Part of the evidence base relates to the fact that hundreds of people die each year because we do not have enough organ donors, so I thank the Minister for her work in bringing forward this consultation. What more can be done to widen public participation?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support and for his hard work in this space. Through him, I can perhaps thank the Daily Mirror for its public displays of education through the Max’s law campaign, but we all need to make an effort. There is no doubt that the public are hugely in favour of donation and want to be able to support it as best they can, but the matter has rather fallen from public consciousness. Everyone in the House has an opportunity to raise public awareness, get involved in the consultation and have a real debate, because we need to ensure that people are willing to donate their organs so that we can save more lives.

Organ Donation: Opt-out System

Dan Jarvis Excerpts

Thursday 13th July 2017 Westminster Hall

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the matter of the introduction of an opt-out system for organ donation in England.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Buck. I want to begin by sharing with the House my reasons for tabling my debate and by telling the stories of Max Johnson and Joe Dale. Yesterday, I had the privilege of meeting Emma and Harry Johnson—Max Johnson’s mother and brother. Max is nine years old and has cardiomyopathy—a condition that enlarges the heart and can be life-threatening if left untreated. Max is kept alive by a tiny metal pump in his chest, and has been waiting for a heart transplant for six months. He is one of 6,388 people in the UK waiting for an organ donation. Last year, 457 people died while still waiting.

Joe Dale was a constituent of mine. He died last month after a sudden asthma attack, which caused devastating brain damage. He was just 16 years old. After his death, his family made the selfless decision to donate some of his organs so others might have the chance to live. Because of their decision, Joe became one of the hundreds of deceased donors who save and improve lives every year in the UK. I know that right hon. and hon. Members will want to take the opportunity to join with me in passing our condolences to Joe’s family and giving our thanks for their brave determination to help others in spite of their personal tragedy.

The stories of Joe and Max, the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn) and the very important Daily Mirror campaign have re-energised my long-held belief that as a country, as politicians and as a legislature we can do more to help those in need of organ transplants.

[Mr Geoffrey Robinson (Coventry North West) (Lab)]

I will be very brief. My hon. Friend mentioned the Daily Mirror campaign and the private Member’s Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn) and other supporters, which failed due to the prorogation of Parliament and the general election. Luckily, I have position No. 6 in the ballot, and I want to inform my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis)—I compliment him most sincerely on conducting today’s debate—that I intend to reintroduce the Bill pretty much as it stands. I will be presenting it next Wednesday in the House of Commons, and I hope I can count on my hon. Friends’ support. That also applies to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon).

[Dan Jarvis]

I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the Daily Mirror, which ran a very important campaign for some time, and thanking it for the work it has done. I also thank him for confirming, I think for the first time, that he intends to use his private Member’s Bill as an opportunity to introduce a legislative mechanism for the Government to change the law in England, should they wish to use it. I hope that will provide a forum where this matter can be further debated constructively in Parliament. I am very grateful to him for taking that decision, and I look forward to supporting his Bill and working with him and, I hope, the Government to make it a great success.

Four hundred and fifty seven unnecessary deaths a year is too many, and I believe it is our duty to reduce that number and save the lives of people such as Max. By changing the law to an opt-out rather than an opt-in system we in Parliament can do that.

The truth is that there is a common misconception about how organ donation works. Only a very small number of people die in a way that allows for organ donation. The vast majority of people on the organ donor register will never actually donate their organs. The figures are startling: about half a million people die every year in the UK, yet last year, out of that half a million, only 5,681 people died in circumstances that made donation possible—about 1%. Although there are hundreds of thousands of people across the country who are registered as potential donors, only a handful will ever be in a situation that allows donation to take place. The reality is that there are simply not enough registered organ donors. People in the UK—specifically in England—are dying as a result.

Accompanying those alarming facts are some more positive recent statistics, as reported in this week’s “Organ Donation and Transplantation Activity Report for 2016-17”. Last year, there was a 4% increase in the number of deceased donors to 1,413—the highest number ever in the UK. Coupled with more than 1,000 living donors, that has resulted in 4,753 life-transforming transplants this year—a 3% rise from last year. The number of patients whose lives were saved or improved by an organ transplant has increased by 3% to 4,753. All that means that more than 50,000 people are alive today thanks to a transplant.

The “Organ Donation and Transplantation Activity Report” is a good news story, but I believe we can make it an even better news story. Behind every statistic there are people, and, as Lorna Mason and Gary Masterson wrote this week in the annual transplant activity report:

“Every transplant is the result of a complex collaboration between donors and their families, a host of clinicians working in different parts of the NHS and finally in transplant recipients and their family.”

They went on to say that

“opportunities for donation continue to be missed...While we cannot quantify every missed opportunity precisely, we need to work collaboratively to make sure that these are as few as possible.”

Despite the excellent campaign run by the NHS to encourage organ donation—details of which can be found at www.organdonation.nhs.uk—the UK still has one of the lowest rates of consent in Europe for organ donation.

The “Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020” strategy, published in 2013, set the target of increasing the donation consent rate from 57% to 80% by 2020, in line with the better-performing countries in the world. That is the rate at which families who are approached by NHS Blood and Transplant actually go on to become donors afterwards. Although the consent rate has increased to 63%, it is still too far below this year’s target of 70% and the 2020 target of 80%. Now is the time for us to do something about that.

I believe that the best way for us to increase the number of lives saved through organ donation is to adopt the so-called opt-out system—sometimes known as a system of deemed consent. Under the current law in England there is an opt-in system of organ donation. In other words, people must proactively state that on their death they would like their organs to be donated to someone else. And yet surveys consistently show that there are many more people who would like their organs to be donated when they die, but they are not registered. Polling conducted by the British Medical Association supports this and has shown that 66% of people in England would donate their organs after death, but only 39% have signed the organ donor register. That means millions of people here in England are willing to donate their organs, but are not registered to do so.

I am sure we all understand that people lead busy lives and that organ donation is not something most people think about on a day-to-day basis, but the reliance of the opt-in system on our not only thinking about it but finding the time to sign up is reducing the number of organs available and the number of lives saved. That is why many other countries use a different system.

Wales has had an opt-out system since December 2015 and only last month the Scottish Government announced plans for a similar system of organ donation in Scotland. In a statement, the Scottish Health Minister said:

“Moving to an opt-out system of organ and tissue donation will be part of the long-term cultural change in attitudes to encourage people to support donation.”

That view is increasingly shared by countries around the world and by many of our European neighbours such as Austria, Belgium and Spain, which all use variations of the opt-out model. It is time that we in England joined them, modelling our system on that in Wales where they offer three clear options: first, to register someone’s wish to be a donor by opting in to the system; secondly, to register their wish not to be a donor by opting out; and thirdly, to have their consent to donation deemed by taking no action.

It was argued when the law was passed that the availability of the three options would increase the number of organs available for donation, and that that in turn would save lives. I am pleased to say that the evidence from Wales suggests that such assertions were correct and that the new law is working. Indeed, the potential pool of organ donors has almost trebled since 2014-15, and the opt-out system does not appear to have deterred individuals from proactively opting in. It is right, of course, that we strike a note of caution with that data, but the initial signs are encouraging.

I now want to address some of the concerns that people have about an opt-out system of donation. This is undoubtedly an emotive issue and there are strong feelings on both sides of the debate. I would not want to question anybody’s motives in deciding whether they wish to be a donor. It is, after all, a deeply personal matter. Under an opt-out system, people would not be required to give a reason for choosing not to be a donor, as the system is not about trying to shame people into becoming donors. Also, similar to what is happening in Wales, any new law would need to be accompanied by an active public awareness campaign: first, to ensure that people understand the new system; secondly, to encourage more people to make the positive decision to become an organ donor; and thirdly, to give people who may want to opt out the information they need to do so.

1 understand that some people have concerns that an opt-out process raises the risk that a person will have their organs taken against their will and against their families’ wishes, which in turn could cause unnecessary distress to the families of the deceased. I also understand that such concerns may be more prevalent within some ethnic and religious groups and that some members of our Muslim and Jewish communities have different interpretations of the religious legitimacy of deceased donation. I completely get that. I understand their views and have the utmost respect and sympathy for them. However, I firmly and wholeheartedly believe that not only do the benefits of an opt-out system far outweigh the risks, but that the risks can be mitigated through a public awareness campaign tailored to different ethnic and religious communities and through the use of in-hospital safeguarding measures. Any new system would have to ensure there were safeguards in place to ensure that no one’s organs were donated against their wishes; that the opt-out system applied only to those over the age of 18; and that for those under 18 it continued to be the case, as it was with my constituent Joe Dale, that the family have the final decision, because it is vital that nobody feels as though they are being coerced.

I also accept that changing the law is not the only change we need to make. It would need to be part of a wider package of measures to increase organ donation. We need to redouble our commitment to the “Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020” goal of increasing the consent rate to 80%, and to consider carefully whether the strategy needs strengthening in the light of the progress so far.

The evidence from Wales and from countries across Europe gives us the confidence to say that an opt-out system would be an important step forward. For that reason, I very much hope that we can proceed on a cross-party basis. I respect anyone who takes a different view on an issue of conscience such as this, but it is clear that the principle of deemed consent has support from Members of all parties across the House.

The Health Secretary recently told the House that an opt-out system has “a lot of merit”. Only yesterday at Prime Minister’s questions, the First Secretary of State told me that

“organ donation is clearly a hugely important part of our system, and the Department of Health is looking at the impact of those changes to see if those can give rise to further improvements in the number of available organs.”—[Official Report, 12 July 2017; Vol. 627, c. 290.]

I welcome such statements because I know that an opt-out system has merit. When the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Health, the hon Member for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price), winds up the debate, will she tell us what work is taking place in her Department and when it will report?

Before I conclude, I want to take a moment to say how much my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland Central (Julie Elliott) wanted to be here today. About a year ago, her daughter, Rebecca, a fit young marathon-running mother of one, had blood tests that indicated kidney failure. Three weeks ago she had surgery at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle to enable her to start dialysis. Today, she joins the 6,000 other people on a waiting list for an organ donation. The average wait for a kidney on the transplant list is two years. I know that all hon. Members will want to join me in wishing Julie, Rebecca and their entire family all the very best. Also, I want to take this opportunity to thank charities such as Kidney Care UK for their work. Because of these stories we should move forward as quickly as possible; children such as Max and mothers such as Rebecca do not have the luxury of time to wait. Anything that we can do to help them get a new organ is a step worth taking so that they can join the thousands of people in our country who have benefited from organ donation.

We have a duty of care to those in our society who need help, and that includes those who need transplants. We can and must do more to help them. We cannot save the 457 lives lost last year, but who knows how many we could save in future? As an old friend once told me, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” I very much hope that the Government will act.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dan Jarvis]

This has been a constructive and useful debate, and I am grateful that we have had contributions from Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. The reality, as the Minister said, is that this is a serious, sensitive and complex subject, but ultimately it is about saving lives.

It was a great privilege to meet Max Johnson’s mother yesterday, and I pay tribute to the Johnson family for their stoicism and the fact that they are prepared to talk about their experiences. Speaking as a parent, I can only imagine how difficult it must be for them. Today, Max Johnson sits in hospital in Newcastle, waiting and urgently hoping that an organ donation will be made available to him.

As I said in my opening remarks, we all have a responsibility to do everything we can. We have a duty of care to people more generally, and that particularly includes those who require some form of donation. We can learn a lot from what is happening across Europe and in Wales. I am delighted that there are moves afoot to move to a similar system in Scotland.

I was obviously very pleased to hear that my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry North West (Mr Robinson) will be introducing a private Member’s Bill, which will have its First Reading next week and its Second Reading at some point in the autumn. That provides a valuable opportunity for us in this House to have a further discussion.

As the Minister again rightly said, there is no silver bullet solution. If the Government were to be persuaded that moving to an opt-out system was the right thing to do, that would have to be accompanied by a range of other measures, not least further publicity to raise awareness so that, collectively, we can all encourage people to sign up and be organ donors.

I am not prone to making predictions, but I will say, in conclusion, that I think that at some point we will move to an opt-out system in England. It is my strong belief and hope that we do that sooner rather than later, because I am confident that to do so would save countless lives.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the matter of the introduction of an opt-out system for organ donation in England.

Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Jarvis Excerpts

Tuesday 15th November 2016 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

1. What plans he has to prevent excess deaths in the winter of 2016-17.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr Philip Dunne)]

Last week, NHS England and Public Health England launched the Stay Well This Winter campaign, which last year reached 98% of the over 65s. This year, for the first time, children in year 3 will be offered free flu vaccine, which means that an additional 600,000 children will be protected this winter, making this the largest children’s flu vaccination programme to date. The Government also provide practical support for those most at risk, including winter fuel payments and the warm home discount scheme. We are also working with the NHS and local authorities to implement our cold weather plan, which is poised to respond to pressures on vital health and social care services this winter.

[Dan Jarvis]

It is a national disgrace that so many people die needlessly in this country as a result of the cold each year—43,900 people died over the winter of 2014-15. When will somebody in Government accept some responsibility, show some leadership and act decisively to reduce the appalling number of people who die each winter as a result of the cold?

[Mr Dunne]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on the interest that he takes in this subject. I know that he has a petition currently running in his local area. We do take very seriously the additional pressures placed on the NHS primarily by the winter weather but also by disease prevalence, particularly flu. We started winter planning for this coming winter early in the summer. We have regular updates, which I run, and I report to the Secretary of State on how those plans are going. I can assure him that we are taking as many steps as we can to ensure that we are on top of this issue this winter.

Excess Winter Deaths

Dan Jarvis Excerpts

Monday 6th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

I am grateful to have secured this opportunity to raise the important subject of excess winter deaths again in this House. I first raised the issue with the Prime Minister some four years ago. Since then, tragically, 117,000 people have died unnecessarily because of the cold—43,000 in the winter of 2014-15 alone. I think we can all agree that it is simply unacceptable that each year tens of thousands of people are dying unnecessarily. I am not going to pretend that this is an easy problem to solve or that any one Government are to blame. Tonight I intend to outline where I believe the Government’s approach can be improved and, in a constructive manner, offer suggestions of steps that I believe should be taken to address this national scandal, because while today was a very warm day, now—during the summer months—is precisely the time when we should be preparing for the winter.

The majority of those who are dying are elderly. We know that the demographic group most affected by excess winter deaths is women aged over 85, yet we also know from the evidence across Europe that more people are dying unnecessarily here than is the case elsewhere. Scandinavian countries including Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden all have significantly lower rates of excess winter deaths than the UK, despite all of those countries being considerably colder. One of the reasons for that is that, in policy terms, Scandinavian countries tend to be better prepared. As former director general of Age UK Michelle Mitchell put it,

“excess winter deaths are much lower because they take staying warm seriously and prepare for the cold weather.”

We know that that preparation is key, and I will outline several areas where preparation in our country could be improved.

The first is public health. The Office for National Statistics analysis of the most recent excess winter deaths figures highlights flu as an important factor in mortality levels, so I have to say to the Minister that I was concerned to be left waiting this spring for the Government’s flu plan for the upcoming winter. It was published just before recess, but that was some two months later than last year. Will the Minister say why the Government’s flu preparations are behind compared with a year ago?

Secondly, we know that cold homes are a major cause of excess winter deaths. They are also a burden on our public finances. Former chief medical officer Liam Donaldson has estimated that cold homes cost the NHS £850 million each year. Unfortunately, many elderly people live in fuel poverty—people like Lynne from Cumbria, who to keep warm in winter has to put on several layers of clothing and heat a hot water bottle, because she cannot afford to have the heating on when she needs to. For people like Lynne energy prices are a big issue. I welcome the fact that energy prices are falling, but they are not falling in line with wholesale prices, and too many energy customers find themselves on tariffs that lead to them paying more than they should. What discussions has the Minister had with her colleagues at the Department of Energy and Climate Change about alleviating fuel poverty to help to prevent excess winter deaths?

In addition, more can and should be done about home insulation. Although neither programme was perfect, I thought the green deal and energy company obligation were steps in the right direction. However, the green deal has now expired and the energy company obligation expires next year. We have been told that it will be reformed and renewed but, as yet, no timeline has been set out by the Government for doing so. May I ask the Minister what discussions she has had with fellow Ministers at the Department of Energy and Climate Change about ensuring that home insulation is increased?

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for bringing an important issue to the House in this Adjournment debate. In the period from July 2014 to August 2015, there were 870 excess winter deaths in Northern Ireland—the highest figure since 2009-10. It is unbelievable that the figure is so high in a developed nation such as ours. Does he agree that we need to do more to eradicate winter deaths, not just reduce them? In other words, it should be target zero.

[Dan Jarvis]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. He is absolutely right to draw attention to the heavy costs that his part of the world has borne. He is right to point out that in a prosperous, wealthy nation—yes, of course we have challenges—it is simply unacceptable that anyone should die as a result of the cold. The numbers that he has outlined in Northern Ireland and the national numbers that I outlined are simply unacceptable. As I said, this not the fault of any single Government—this is an issue that has challenged successive Governments. The Prime Minister recently said to me that these figures act as a standing rebuke to all Governments. The issue for us in the House tonight is what practical measures and action the Government can take to reduce the numbers and get to the point, as the hon. Gentleman suggested, where no one dies in this country as a result of the cold.

I was outlining some of those practical measures and was asking the Minister about the conversations that I hoped she would have with her colleagues at DECC on home insulation. Any measures that the Government seek to take should be targeted at those groups such as the elderly who are the most vulnerable to the cold. That brings me to a crucial point about the importance of cross-government working. Excess winter deaths are clearly an issue that requires a cross-government approach, but despite the fact that nearly 44,000 people died unnecessarily in the most recent winter for which we have figures, there is not a joined-up cross-government plan to reduce excess winter deaths.

A number of Departments, including the Department of Health, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Cabinet Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government, have policies which could contribute to reducing excess winter deaths. As yet, there is no overarching cross-government strategy to join up those policies and ensure that they contribute in the best possible way to reducing excess winter deaths. It is often left to local authorities to develop their own approach to reducing excess winter deaths. In Barnsley, we are fortunate that our local authority takes this issue very seriously. The council is making a concerted effort to ensure that vulnerable and elderly people live in heated homes.

[Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) (Con)]

The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful speech. Does he agree that it is not just about the responsibility of Government or of local authorities? Fuel companies have a duty to ensure that as wholesale prices come down so too do the bills that people, including the most vulnerable people in our society, pay.

[Dan Jarvis]

I agree, and it is important that we seek to have a debate with the energy companies about what practical measures they would be prepared to take to reduce fuel poverty, particularly for the most elderly and vulnerable members of the community. I recently had the great privilege of engaging in a webchat on Mumsnet, and this was an issue that many people raised. What practical measures are energy and utility companies prepared to take? That is partly a matter for the regulator, and it is partly a matter for Government, but it is also, as the hon. Gentleman pointed out, a matter for the energy companies. I hope that they will look and listen carefully to the content of our debate. It is not in their interests for elderly people to freeze to death, and I look forward to having a constructive dialogue with them ahead of the winter months to see what measures can be taken to reduce the number of deaths this winter.

I was talking about the work that is taking place locally. My local authority is making a concerted effort to ensure that the vulnerable and the elderly live in warmer homes. The most recent practical example was the council securing funding for a warm homes programme, which offers free central heating replacements for people on low incomes who have no gas central heating system. I recently met one of my constituents, John Key, who had benefited from the scheme. At 84 years old, he had never had gas central heating and had never been able to heat the top floor of his home. Now, thanks to Barnsley Council, he is able to do that.

However, as I frequently say, not everyone is lucky enough to live in Barnsley, and I fear that what we have developing across the country is a patchwork approach to preventing excess winter deaths. That may well explain why there is substantial regional variation in the national figures, with the excess winter death rate in the south-west almost 20% higher than the rate in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Tonight, therefore, I am calling for the Government to bring forward a national strategy to reduce excess winter deaths. The strategy should be cross-government and should incorporate the following elements: a clear plan for reducing the number of excess winter deaths, with regular assessments to review the plan’s success; an independent assessment of what additional policies would help to reduce excess winter deaths; and a cross-departmental working group to co-ordinate current policy efforts to reduce excess winter deaths.

[Jim Shannon]

The hon. Gentleman is outlining a plan of action. Does he feel that there is a role that the Salvation Army and church groups, whose congregations are normally elderly people, could play in the Government’s strategy?

[Dan Jarvis]

I absolutely do believe that there is a role for the charitable sector and for a range of organisations that make hugely significant contributions. However, the point I am trying to make concerns the means by which we draw those contributions together—the practical co-ordination measures that can be taken at a local level, led by directors of public health, to ensure that we have the most effective response and bring together all the different agencies locally, including the local authority, the clinical commissioning group, the local hospital, the GPs practices and the organisations the hon. Gentleman rightly referred to.

Before drawing to a conclusion, I want to take the opportunity to tell the House that I have started a petition today on Parliament’s petition website so that people across the country can join me in calling for a national strategy. I am pleased to say that, despite the fact that the petition launched only a few hours ago, it has already received a signature from one of the Minister’s own constituents—I hope she will welcome that contribution.

To conclude, the way in which a society cares for the most vulnerable is an important metric by which any society should seek to be judged. At the moment, given the numbers of people who are dying each year, we as a country are failing that test. Reducing excess winter deaths is an issue Members on both sides of the House can work together on. I look forward to the Minister’s response. I know she treats these matters with the concern they rightly deserve. I hope that tonight will not be the end of the discussion but the beginning and that she will go away and consult colleagues across the Government to see what more can be done so that, this winter and in winters to come, we can prevent people from dying unnecessarily.

Tobacco Packaging

Dan Jarvis Excerpts

Thursday 7th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

Although I disagree with much of what we have just heard, it is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr Evans). I am grateful that we, once again, have a chance to speak about the merits of standardised packaging. I also spoke on the subject in the debate that took place earlier in the year. Like many other right hon. and hon. Members, I spoke of the devastating effects that smoking-related illnesses have on families and individuals throughout our country. In the 10 months after the Government closed the consultation on this matter, no meaningful action was taken. During that time, 150,000 children will have started to smoke and, as we have heard, addiction results in the death of half its long-term users. Fifteen months have now passed, so we have had another five months during which we have had the opportunity to reduce significantly the 100,000 smoking-related deaths that take place each year. Sadly, yet again, no action has been taken by this Government.

We cannot neglect our duty to give all children and young people the best start in all areas of life. Health, education, decent housing and physical and emotional security are some of the very basics we should strive to achieve. Without them, children do not have an equal chance in life. By failing to protect children from the dangers of smoking when they are too young to make a truly informed choice, we are failing to provide each child with their very basic rights. The reform is simple and the potential gains are immense. There is a reason why smoking-related deaths are labelled as “preventable”. The question is how long, and how many lives will it take, before the Government act.

One thing is clear: standardised cigarette packaging will be introduced. This country has historically taken a strong line on the regulation of harmful products consumed by young people: in 2005, we tightened regulations on the advertising of alcohol, ensuring that advertising did not link to youth culture or irresponsible behaviour; to prevent passive smoking, we banned smoking in public places; to prevent children from taking up smoking at a young age, we made it illegal for shops to sell cigarettes to under-18s; and to prevent cigarettes from being glamorised, we ended sports sponsorship and billboard advertising.

We have put legislation in place to make adult consumers fully aware of the risks associated with smoking, launching nationwide health campaigns and offering tailored support for those who want to quit. Evidence and public support has helped successive Governments strive to improve the health of our nation. We must continue that tradition and strive to give young people every opportunity to live a healthy life. If we are to improve public health, cut preventable deaths and prevent young people from taking up a habit that could cause them significant harm, the course of action that is open to us is clear: standardised cigarette packaging, which can and would improve the health of future generations.

The evidence is clear: advertising works. If it did not, tobacco companies throughout the world would not spend huge amounts of money to reach out to new and existing consumers. Last year. Cancer Research UK released a report on the influence that marketing has on young people. It stated:

“All 19 quantitative studies found standard packs less attractive than branded equivalents, to both adults and children”

and that

“13 qualitative studies found that standard packs consistently received lower ratings on projected personality attributes (such as ‘popular’ and ‘cool’) than branded packs”.

All that reinforces the World Health Organisation’s conclusion:

“Marketing of tobacco products encourages current smokers to smoke more, decreases their motivation to quit and urges young people to start”.

Over half of long-term smokers die from a smoking-related disease, and that amounts to more than 100,000 people each year. In my constituency, 283 people per 100,000 die each year from smoking-related diseases. An estimated 1,110 young people aged between 10 and 14 are classified as regular smokers. Given that nationally each year more than 200,000 young people under 16 are beginning to smoke, inaction amounts to nothing less than neglect. For Barnsley alone, smoking creates a bill amounting to £75.3 million each year; financially, and socially, the costs of smoking are high.

The evidence is clear, and the only thing lacking clarity in this debate is the reason behind the Government’s failure to act. By introducing standardised packaging, Britain would send an important message that we are a country that prioritises our children’s health and well-being. By failing to act, the Government are prioritising business interest over the health of young people and future generations.

[Alex Cunningham]

My hon. Friend used the word “neglect” and said that we could be neglecting our young people by failing to act. Does he agree that this is a genuine child protection issue?

[Dan Jarvis]

I agree with my hon. Friend. We are in this place to make judgments about what is in the interests of our constituents, and it is my judgment, as it is his and, I believe, that of the majority of hon. Members, that it is in the short-term, medium-term and long-term public interest of our constituents to introduce standardised cigarette packaging.

I therefore strongly believe that the arguments against plain packaging—standardised packaging—and the justification for the Government’s “wait and see” approach are inconsistent. First, introducing standardised packaging is not aimed at stigmatising adults who already smoke. This is not about limiting choice for adult consumers; standardised packaging does not change what is inside the packet, but is a measure to protect children who are more easily influenced by marketing. Secondly, some hon. Members have argued that introducing such a measure would limit the tobacco industry’s right to advertise. Instead, we should be asking ourselves whether, by allowing the continuation of the status quo, we are infringing on the right of every young person to have a healthy childhood, and increasing their chances of taking up a habit that could have significant health implications for them for the rest of their life.

It is regrettable that I, along with many other hon. Members, must persist in relaying the facts to a Government who, as of yet, seek to ignore the evidence in front of them. This country has been an international leader in public health policy and we should continue to be so. We will have standardised packaging at some point in the future—it is just a question of when. Fundamentally, standardised cigarette packaging is about improving the nation’s health and giving each child the best possible chance of living a healthy life. The choice is theirs when they are an adult, but the responsibility is ours now. I urge the Government to act.

Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Jarvis Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

Given that at least a quarter of a million children aged 11 to 15 take up smoking across the country each year, does the Minister accept that if we wait for two to three years for evidence to emerge from Australia about the impact of standardised cigarette packaging, hundreds of thousands of children will have started to smoke in the meantime?

[Jane Ellison]

On the Government Benches, we are interested in all measures that might stop children smoking. I do not recognise at all the time scales that the hon. Gentleman mentions. We are looking now at what is emerging in Australia and around the world so that we have more information on which to base an informed decision.

Health and Social Care

Dan Jarvis Excerpts

Monday 13th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Queen’s Speech debate on health and social care. Protecting the health of young people, reducing preventable deaths and safeguarding the health of Britain’s population are three important goals, but the absence of a Bill to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes undermines the Government’s commitment to those goals.

Cancer is an illness that touches many people’s lives. Although research is key to finding new ways to treat cancer, the Government can take simple and practical measures to avoid preventable deaths. Last week, the Government failed to introduce one such measure that could help to reduce cancer and other forms of smoking-related disease.

The introduction of standardised, plain packaging had been heralded as a good idea by a number of members of the Government. The Under-Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter), a member of the medical profession, had previously shown his support for plain packaging. He said that plain packaging

“could certainly help to reduce the brand marketing appeal of cigarettes to teenagers, and most importantly, help to stop young people from developing a smoking habit that can only shorten their lives.”

I agree with him. The Under-Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), has stated that the evidence she has

“seen suggests that it is the attractiveness of the packets that leads young people to decide to take up smoking.”—[Official Report, 16 April 2013; Vol. 156, c. 561.]

I agree with her, too, and yet, three years into this Parliament, no action has been taken by the Government.

According to Cancer Research UK, more than 100,000 deaths are caused by tobacco each year in the UK. That could be much reduced if the Government took meaningful action. Between 2006 and 2007, the Labour Government took action to curb the harmful effects of smoking by banning smoking in public places. As the shadow Secretary of State for Health has said, the introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes is a natural progression, and as the Leader of the Opposition said in his response to the Queen’s Speech, plain packaging is the right thing for public health and the right thing for the country. I agree with him.

Since the Government consultation on plain packaging closed some nine months ago in August 2012, more than 150,000 children will have started an addiction to a substance that results in the death of half its long-term users. I accept that the introduction of plain packaging is not a silver bullet, but neither is it the nanny state, as some have described it. Plain packaging is a means of preventing young people from taking up a habit that, in the long run, could cost them their lives. Some 257,000 11 to 15-year-olds become smokers each year, and that number is unacceptable. We already have legislation to prevent children below the age of 18 from buying cigarettes. We banned smoking in public places, but more needs to be done.

[Mrs Moon]

The allegation is that it would be a nanny state if we introduced plain packaging. Is that not a contradiction, given that we know that state intervention often saves lives? If we had been worried about the nanny state, we would never have introduced seat belts or drink-driving laws, yet we would never move back from those. Is it not time we moved forward on plain packaging as well?

[Dan Jarvis]

I completely agree. The term “nanny state” has been used, but we want to prevent young people from taking up a habit that in the long term could cost them their lives. In 2013, Labour Members are on the correct side of the debate, which is also where the public are.

We should pause to consider the financial costs of smoking, which can be seen in its impact in towns such as the one I am proud to represent. The financial costs encompass much more than heightened NHS expenses; lost output and lost productivity both increase the price associated with smoking. For Barnsley alone, smoking creates a bill amounting to £75.3 million each year.

Yet the financial cost is small compared with the human cost. In Barnsley, there are 485 adult deaths from smoking each year. Despite that, nearly 1,000 children in Barnsley aged between 11 and 15 take up smoking each year and approximately 1,100 10 to 14-year-olds there are regular smokers. Like the rest of the UK, Barnsley has paid too high a price. It is time that action was taken to prevent the costs of smoking from stretching further and further into the future.

Let us be clear: advertising works. If it did not, the tobacco industry would not spend such vast amounts of time, money and effort on packaging presentation and it would not be opposing plain packaging with such vigour. For the tobacco industry, packaging is a form of advertising that helps to keep existing customers loyal and attracts new ones. On that point, the World Health Organisation is clear:

“Marketing of tobacco products encourages current smokers to smoke more, decreases their motivation to quit, and urges”

young people to start.

Of course children will be attracted to sophisticated and glamorous packaging. When he was Health Secretary, the Leader of the House echoed that view, stating:

“It’s wrong that children are being attracted to smoke by glitzy designs on packets…children should be protected from the start.”

Unusually, I agree with him.

A lack of evidence cannot be used as an excuse for delaying the essential legislation. Advertising does impact on young people’s decisions, and in the context of smoking that means that children’s health is put at risk. The trade-off between the tobacco industry and children’s health has been in favour of the industry for too long. It is time that something was done to redress the balance.

There is also clear support for plain packaging from the public. Last year, 63% of the UK public supported standardised, plain packaging and only 16% of people opposed it. A lack of public support is not holding the Government back from introducing the legislation; in fact, 85% of people back Government action to reduce the number of young people who start smoking.

By delaying the next step in smoking prevention, the Government are not only putting a future generation’s health at risk, but ignoring a key issue that British people want and need Parliament to address. There is the evidence, the public support and the moral imperative to act, yet the Government have so far failed to take the definitive action needed to save lives, reduce health care costs and prevent children’s health from being put at risk.

Madam Deputy Speaker, please accept my apologies for not being able to attend the winding-up speeches. Let me conclude by saying that I am in no doubt that plain packaging is the right thing for public health and the right thing for the country. I am in no doubt we will have plain packaging. When we get there, we will wonder why it took so long to protect children against the harmful impacts of smoking and about the lives that could have been saved if we had acted sooner. We can stop that wondering if we act sooner rather than later. We know that advertising works and that smoking kills. It is time to do something about it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Jarvis Excerpts

Tuesday 16th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Dr Poulter]

The hon. Lady will be aware that it is important not to rush the roll-out of any service. That is why we kept in place the NHS Direct service in areas where rolling out the 111 service has been slower. A lot of good work is going on in early intervention; it focuses on giving local authorities the budget and the powers to make a difference to local communities. The Labour party should get behind that and do much more to support it. It is this Government who are making a difference in early years, and I hope that the Opposition can support us on that.

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

10. When the Government plan to respond to the consultation on standardised packaging for tobacco products; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals on standardised packaging.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Anna Soubry)]

I am afraid that I cannot give a timetable, and I make no apology for the fact that this Government are taking a careful look at all the evidence that has come out of the consultation.

[Dan Jarvis]

Figures from Cancer Research UK show that more than 1,100 of the 10 to 14-year-olds in Barnsley are regular smokers. Given that countries such as Australia and New Zealand have now committed to standardised packaging, I ask the Minister again: are the Government planning to legislate to give millions of children one less reason to start smoking?

[Anna Soubry]

I find it most bizarre that the advice I am given by my officials—and I absolutely accept their advice—is that, as the hon. Gentleman will understand, because of judicial reviews of consultations, I am not allowed to have an opinion, so I do not give any opinion, notwithstanding the fact that many people would say that he advances a number of important arguments. I will say, however, that it is important to look at all the emerging evidence, including that coming out of Australia. As he will no doubt know, Australia continues to face a legal challenge that is yet to be resolved. It is also important to be aware of that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Jarvis Excerpts

Tuesday 15th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his campaigning on cancer issues through the all-party group. The NHS Commissioning Board is held to account through the mandate, which clearly states that we must make tangible progress towards having the lowest mortality rates in Europe for cancer and a number of other major diseases. I will expect the board to clamp down hard on CCGs who fail to deliver on what needs to happen for them to deliver on that promise.

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

Cancer Research UK has expressed deep concern about the fragmentation of cancer services and the climate of uncertainty that makes it harder to improve them due to the Government’s NHS reorganisation. I appreciate that that is not the fault of the Secretary of State, but he has the power to do something about it. Will he listen to Cancer Research UK and stop the fragmentation of cancer services?

[Mr Hunt]

Of course, I understand the concerns of Cancer Research, and I know that the hon. Gentleman understands the personal tragedy that cancer can cause. The change in the clinical networks is happening because we want them to cover dementia, which we were talking about earlier, mental health services and maternity and paediatric services. It is right that they should do so, but I want to make absolutely sure that as we go through the restructuring the benefits of the cancer clinical networks remain as strong as ever.

Oral Answers to Questions

Dan Jarvis Excerpts

Tuesday 21st February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

10. What progress he has made on tackling inequalities in cancer care.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Paul Burstow)]

Through the national cancer equality initiative, we are working in partnership with patients, professionals, academics and the voluntary sector to take forward a range of projects, such as working with Macmillan Cancer Support and Age UK to tackle the under-treatment of older people, our launching of the “Cancer does not discriminate” campaign with black and minority ethnic groups and our funding of work to target lesbian and bisexual women with cervical screening.

[Dan Jarvis]

I am sure the Secretary of State and the Minister will acknowledge that cancer mortality rates are higher in my constituency than in his. Can he therefore justify to my constituents why Barnsley primary care trust is being forced to spend £17 million not on addressing issues surrounding the inequality of cancer care but on delivering an undemocratic, unwanted and unnecessary top-down reorganisation of our NHS?

[Paul Burstow]

I say two things to the hon. Gentleman: first, that the reforms will actually release resources from back-office costs and put them back into the front line, which I hope all hon. Members want to happen; and, secondly, that when it comes to our cancer strategy, we committed additional resources in the spending review to invest in cancer services. If he wants to raise specific issues with me, I will be only too happy to address them.