Oral Answers to Questions

Heidi Alexander Excerpts

Tuesday 5th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I can reassure the right hon. Gentleman that we are incredibly aware of the brilliant work that EU nationals do, not just in the NHS but in the social care system, which he was responsible for, in care homes up and down the country. We recognise that, and I hope that he will be reassured by statements made by the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary yesterday that we want to find a way of allowing those people to stay in the UK for as long as they wish to. We recognise the incredibly valuable contribution that they make, and we are confident in the negotiations ahead that we will be able to secure the outcome that they and we all want.

[Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

The last time the Secretary of State and I had an exchange in this Chamber, I suggested to him that it might be the final time we would face each other over the Dispatch Box. Although I was clearly prescient, it has not quite turned out the way I thought it would.

Following the results of the referendum, will the Secretary of State say whether he still intends to introduce an NHS charges Bill as outlined in the Queen’s Speech? Does he agree that migrants give more to the NHS than they take, that their contribution should be welcomed and that our NHS simply could not survive without them?

[Mr Hunt]

I enjoyed our many exchanges in this House, and it is a loss on our side as well that they will not continue. I would like to welcome the hon. Lady’s successor to her post, and I hope that I will have a chance to do so again when she asks a question later.

I agree with the hon. Member for Lewisham East (Heidi Alexander). Migrants, or the people who work in the NHS who come from different countries, make an extraordinary contribution. It is fair to say that the NHS would fall over without the incredible work that they do. It is also true that the British people voted to control migration on 23 June, and we have to accept that verdict. In terms of the NHS and social care system, I did not hear, and I have not heard in my time as Health Secretary, enormous amounts of worry about the pressure of migration on NHS services, because on the whole migrants tend to be younger and fitter people. While accepting the verdict of the British people and what they said on 23 June, the important reassurance that we now need to give is to the many people from outside the UK who make a fantastic contribution to the running of our health and care system.