Oral Answers to Questions

Jeremy Hunt Excerpts

Tuesday 8th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mike Gapes (Ilford South) (Lab/Co-op)]

1. What steps he is taking to improve access to social care for people living with unmet social care needs.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

The health and social care systems are inextricably linked, which is why we need to improve access to the social care system, and we will be setting out plans to do so in a Green Paper.

[Mike Gapes]

Age UK says that 1.2 million older people have unmet social care needs. Is it not time that we thought about integration in a practical way, and where we have acute hospitals with land next to them, such as King George Hospital in my constituency, we start to build sheltered accommodation or intermediate care on those sites so that people can easily be transferred into and out of the beds, freeing them up for other people who need them?

[Mr Hunt]

That is a wise suggestion, and it is exactly the direction of our thinking in the social care Green Paper, which will have a significant chapter on housing. Integration is not just about integrating health and social care; it is also about other services offered by local authorities. I commend, too, the hon. Gentleman’s local authority of Redbridge: it is No. 1 in the country for user satisfaction with the social care system and No. 4 for carer satisfaction.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

One of the most pressing issues for those who depend on social care is resolution of the back-pay issue for sleep-in shifts. Will the Secretary of State update the House with his own estimate of the liability? The independent sector puts this liability collectively at around £400 million. Will he also update us on the progress being made, because he will know that many sectors are handing back their contracts and withdrawing?

[Mr Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this serious issue, and I can reassure her that a lot of work has been going on inside the Government to work out how to resolve the issue. A court case is due that may have a material impact on those numbers, but we are continuing to work very hard and fully understand the fragility of the current market situation.

[Laura Smith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)]

In December, the health survey for England revealed that older people in more deprived areas are twice as likely as average to have unmet social care needs. Is this not yet another example of Tory cuts reducing councils’ abilities to meet the requirements of people with care needs?

[Mr Hunt]

I welcome the question, but let me also gently tell the hon. Lady what the actual story is with respect to cuts. Yes, the social care budget was cut after the 2008 financial recession, but she may remember that a different party was in power when that happened. Under this Prime Minister, those cuts have been reversed and the social care budget is going up by £9.4 billion in this spending review period.

[Julia Lopez (Hornchurch and Upminster) (Con)]

Inadequate social and primary care provision lies at the root of a great deal of pressure on hospital A&Es, so we need to plan much better for the demand for services at that level. Will the Secretary of State press the Treasury to ensure that receipts from NHS property transactions are retained by local healthcare trusts, so that they can build much larger primary care facilities than those currently planned?

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend makes an important point: unless we make it easier for trusts to retain the receipts of property transactions, they will be likely to sit on these properties and we will not get the positive ideas such as that suggested earlier by the hon. Member for Ilford South (Mike Gapes), so we do need to find a way to make sure that local areas benefit when they do these deals.

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

The Alzheimer’s Society estimates that at least 10,000 people with dementia have been stuck in hospital in the last year despite being ready to leave, and many of the delays were caused by a lack of care in the community for them. There can be no more disorientating thing for a person with dementia than being stuck in hospital when they do not need to be there. So with dementia awareness week approaching, is it not time for the Secretary of State to meet the social care needs of people with dementia fully by meeting the funding gap for social care in this Parliament?

[Mr Hunt]

Let me explain what is happening on that front. In the first five years after 2010, social care funding went down by 1.3% a year—we had a terrible financial crisis that we were trying to deal with—but since then, in the current spending review period, it is going up by 2.2% a year, which is an 8% real-terms increase over this spending review period. I completely agree with the hon. Lady that we need to do a much better job. [Interruption.] Opposition Members talk from a sedentary position about priorities; our priority has been to get this economy on its feet so that we can put more money into the NHS and social care system, and that is what will continue to happen under a Conservative Government.

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[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling) (Con)]

11. What steps he is taking to increase the capacity and availability of GP services.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

We want all NHS patients to be able to access appointments in the evenings and at weekends. Thanks to our programme, 40% of the population currently do so, and that will rise to 100% next October.

[Tom Tugendhat]

Forgive me for rushing in; I was tied up with Committee matters.

My right hon. Friend has set out a great vision for the national health service over recent years, and I very much welcome it, but does he agree that, in local areas, some of the GP provision could do with a little more work? I am particularly thinking of West Malling in my own constituency where a large element of the community is finding it harder to get access, and there is a danger that the GP surgery may leave the high street.

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to that issue. He does have, I think, 28 more GPs in the west Kent clinical commissioning group area than in 2010, but there is a particular issue over premises. The need to invest in premises is deterring younger GPs from becoming partners, and sometimes making GP surgeries unviable. We are looking at that problem now.

[Mrs Madeleine Moon (Bridgend) (Lab)]

So many GP practices—no matter what salaries or what terms and conditions they offer—are reporting a reluctance by newly qualified GPs to go into GP practice. What will the Minister do about the hours of work—the time given to consult with constituents—to make it easier for people to see GP practice as a viable opportunity to serve their community?

[Mr Hunt]

I do very much agree with the hon. Lady, which is why we are working hard to recruit 5,000 extra GPs into general practice in England. I gently point out to her that the Royal College of General Practitioners says that, while we spend 9.2% of the NHS budget in England on general practice, it is only 7.3% in Wales.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Has my right hon. Friend had time to consider the recent Professional Standards Authority report, “Untapped Resources”, of which the principal recommendation is that practitioners on PSA-accredited registers should have powers to make direct NHS referrals, which would reduce the burden on GP surgeries?

[Mr Hunt]

I always look forward to the multiple interesting ways in which my hon. Friend returns to the same subject. We are always open to ideas that reduce pressures on GP surgeries, and I will look carefully at his latest idea.

[Helen Jones (Warrington North) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State knows—because I keep telling him—that Warrington has fewer GPs than its population warrants. What concrete steps will he take to attract GPs to areas that are under-doctored?

[Mr Hunt]

Most parts of the country would say that they need more GPs, which is why we are trying to improve the capacity across the country. So, what have we done? Well, very recently we announced six new medical schools, which will have a specific focus on attracting new students into general practice. That is one of a number of measures.

[Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)]

12. What recent discussions he has had with Public Health England on the potential merits of introducing minimum unit pricing for alcohol in England.

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[Victoria Prentis (Banbury) (Con)]

13. What steps the Government are taking to tackle obesity.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

Childhood obesity is one of the biggest public health challenges we face, which is why we are committed to reducing the sugar in products consumed by children by 20% over four years.

[Victoria Prentis]

I recently met my constituent, Professor John Wass, at an Obesity Health Alliance tea, where—the Secretary of State will be pleased to know—no cake was served. Professor Wass shares my concerns about the availability of hospital services for those with established obesity. Will my right hon. Friend set out what plans his Department has to treat those who are already obese?

[Mr Hunt]

We recognise the value of bariatric surgery, which is of course subject to the normal waiting time standards for those for whom it is appropriate. However, prevention is better than cure. That is why we are hoping to bring forward shortly further measures to tackle childhood obesity, which is one of our biggest concerns.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Obesity- related hospital admissions in York have more than doubled in the last three years. As part of NHS70, we in York are launching a city-wide public health initiative to ensure that we address issues around obesity, diet and exercise. Will the Secretary of State support such work and ensure that we get the funding that we need to run this initiative for the whole constituency and the city?

[Mr Hunt]

I am happy to give the project my wholehearted support. If we are going to tackle obesity, we need an approach that goes across all Departments of Government, including local government, and this initiative sounds excellent. The Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Steve Brine), will be looking into the funding.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Lambert Hospital in Thirsk was bequeathed to the town by Sara Lambert in 1890, and was closed via the back door by South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust last year. NHS Property Services is planning a sell-off to the highest bidder, despite the fair offer that is on the table from the local authority which could include provision for community use such as public health advice. Does my right hon. Friend agree that there are times when value to the public might outweigh the requirement to maximise a price?

[Mr Hunt]

I have spoken to my hon. Friend about this matter, and he speaks powerfully about the community interest in this particular transaction. We have listened carefully to what he has said, and will continue to do so before a decision is made.

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)]

This August marks two years since the world’s first childhood obesity plan was published, but the Government’s plan, at just 13 pages, left a lot to be desired. More than 5.5 million children in this country are now officially classed as overweight or obese, with 140,000 classed as morbidly obese, as the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) mentioned. This is now an epidemic. Will the Secretary of State confirm whether the Government’s second childhood obesity plan—due this summer, we have heard—will include meaningful policies such as restricting junk food advertising and the sale of energy drinks to children?

[Mr Hunt]

I agree with the hon. Lady that we need to do more, because this is a very serious issue. I think that she is being slightly unfair on our first initiative. The sugary drinks tax has been responsible for 45 million kg of sugar being removed from the market, which is enormously important for children. There is more to be done and I hope that we will be able to announce plans soon.

[Tom Pursglove (Corby) (Con)]

The Daily Mile initiative in schools has huge potential in reducing childhood obesity, improving academic attainment, and improving the mental wellbeing of our young people. Will my right hon. Friend look closely at that and have conversations across Government about the benefits it could bring?

[Mr Hunt]

That is an excellent initiative from Scotland, and it shows why we all benefit from being in the United Kingdom together. Yes, we will look at it very closely.

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

In tackling childhood obesity, will the Health Secretary declare his support for Jamie Oliver’s AdEnough campaign and get rid of pre-watershed television advertising of junk food to our children?

[Mr Hunt]

That is one of a number of measures that we are looking at. We are absolutely determined to do something about this. One in 10 children starts school obese, and by the time they leave primary school the figure is one in five. We cannot wait any longer.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

14. What steps he is taking to improve health outcomes for stroke patients.

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[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

16. What steps he is taking to protect children’s mental wellbeing from the harmful effects of social media.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

We are worried about the effects of social media on children and young people, which is why we have asked the chief medical officer to undertake a systematic review of all the international literature, to help us understand what further steps to take.

[James Morris]

I recently met a group of headteachers in Halesowen, who expressed real concern about the effects of social media on the health of their pupils. Does the Secretary of State agree that peer-to-peer support among young people in the classroom and in our communities is a vital way of benefiting young people through the positive aspects of social media and combating the negative effects on their mental health?

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is very knowledgeable about mental health, and I totally agree with him. That is why we have given £700,000 to the Anna Freud Centre to train teachers in how to make possible peer support for children having mental health issues.

[Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

Durham police tell me that when there is a problem on social media, particularly Facebook, it can take six months between their asking for action and the social media company tackling it. Will the Secretary of State speak to the Home Office to get the system changed and speed it up?

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. I have spoken to the social media companies. They are brilliant technologists, and they have a duty to their customers to make themselves part of the solution, not part of the problem, when these things happen.

[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that some of this is about ensuring that parents use appropriate techniques—for example, having specific screen times and engaging with their children about what they see on social media—and giving them the tools to do so?

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Parents play a vital role, but social media companies can make it easier for parents like us to do the right thing, and sometimes the tools that parents need to use are not readily available.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Speak to any young person about what is causing child mental health issues, and the No. 1 issue is not social media, but exam and test pressure in schools, as we have found in the joint inquiry by the Health and Education Committees. Will the Secretary of State be as harsh on his colleagues in the Department for Education as he is on the social media companies when it comes to child mental health?

[Mr Hunt]

What we actually now have is a record number of children in good or outstanding schools—nearly 2 million more children. That is something we all want for our children, but when it comes to mental health, the NHS has very specific responsibilities, and we of course look into every possible cause.

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

17. What assessment he has made of the potential merits of flour fortified with folic acid for children and pregnant women.

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[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

I would like to give an update on the breast cancer screening failure. I met the Public Health England chief executive this afternoon, and I am informed that 65,000 letters were sent out last week, and the helpline has taken nearly 14,000 calls to date. Further letters are going out this week, and the first invitations to catch-up screenings will go out next week. Due to the lack of clinical consensus about the effectiveness of screening for older women, we will provide advice and support for all who missed scans and support them in making their own decision as to whether to proceed. We will also publish the terms of reference for the independent inquiry shortly, and I can assure the House that no stone will be left unturned in uncovering the truth.

[Ian Murray]

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for that update, but I would like to ask him about the Brexit transition agreement, which cuts the UK out of the European Medicines Agency. Can he give this House a cast-iron guarantee that that will not stop the regulation of new drugs in the UK to help patients, and will not prevent our world-class pharmaceutical companies from basing themselves here to do world-class research and development?

[Mr Hunt]

Yes, I can.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

T2. The Secretary of State has visited Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow on a number of occasions and he will recognise that, despite excellent staff, the hospital is not fit for purpose. Will he confirm that Harlow is at the top of the list for capital funding, and that we will get the new hospital our town desperately needs?

[Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his update on breast cancer screening. I welcome his letter this morning with respect to patient safety in the private sector, but is not the truth that the best quality of care is provided by a public national health service? Is it not time to legislate to ensure that private hospitals improve their patient safety standards, and if he accepts that levels of safety are not acceptable in the private sector, why is the NHS still referring patients to the unsafe private sector? Should there not be a moratorium on those referrals until these issues are sorted out?

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Gentleman should be very careful in making generalisations about the independent sector, just as he is about the NHS sector, because the truth is that there is too much poor care in both sectors, but both sectors also have outstanding care. I have always said that there will be no special favours for the independent sector, which we will hold to the same high standard of care, through the Care Quality Commission regime, as we do with NHS hospitals. Let me just say to him that if we stopped referring people to the independent sector, 140,000 people would wait longer for their operations, and that is not good care.

[Jonathan Ashworth]

We have seen the private sector fail—the NHS is sued by Virgin Care, patient transport contracts have to come back in-house, and Carillion collapses and cleaning contracts have to come back in-house—and now we learn that the hotline for women affected by the breast cancer screening failures is provided by Serco and staffed by call handlers who, far from having medical or counselling training, have had one hour’s training. Do not the women affected deserve better than that? Will the Secretary of State provide the resources for that phone line to be brought back in-house and staffed by medical professionals?

[Mr Hunt]

I normally have so much respect for the hon. Gentleman, but I think those women deserve a lot better than that posturing. The helpline was set up at very short notice because, obviously, the call handlers could not do all their training until I had made a statement to Parliament, which I judged was the most important thing to do first. It is not the only help that the women affected will be getting—on the basis of the advice received, they will be referred back for help at their local hospital, with Macmillan Cancer Support or through specialist clinicians at Public Health England—but we thought it was right that that number was made available as quickly as possible.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

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[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

T5. On 21 March, the Secretary of State told the House that he would look at the impact of private finance initiative deals on NHS hospital budgets. What has he done since then? How many meetings has he had about the issue? Will he commit not to use PF2 deals, given the concerns?

[Mr Hunt]

I can absolutely commit that we are very conscious of the failings of PFI when we have any discussion about NHS capital funding, including the previous question. We are very conscious of the need not to make the mistakes that saddled the NHS with £71 billion of PFI debt.

[Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)]

Dispensing practices are a lifeline in rural constituencies such as Sleaford and North Hykeham. Does my right hon. Friend agree that patients who live far from a pharmacy and attend their local dispensing practice should all have access to that dispensing service?

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[Alan Mak (Havant) (Con)]

Healthcare delivered by app and other new technologies is increasingly popular with patients. Will my right hon. Friend undertake to ensure that the NHS fully explores the possibilities of new technologies when delivering front-line services?

[Mr Hunt]

I will absolutely do that. I congratulate my hon. Friend on the excellent report that he published last week on that very topic. We want to be the first country in the world where all patients can access their own medical record through an app.

[John Grogan (Keighley) (Lab)]

T7. Does the Secretary of State share my concern that, according to the Royal College of Physicians, 43% of advertised consultant vacancies were left unfilled in 2016-17? Will Ministers be brave and argue publicly that there should be more visas for overseas doctors?

[Mr Hunt]

Last year we gave more than 4,000 visas for overseas doctors and since I have been Health Secretary we have had nearly 10,000 more doctors, so we absolutely want to address that problem.

[Paul Masterton (East Renfrewshire) (Con)]

My constituent Susan is desperately waiting for the Government to bring forward the remedial order for single parent surrogates. The Joint Committee on Human Rights published its response to the original draft in March. Is there any update on when we will get the next version?

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[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

Five years on from the Francis report, how does my right hon. Friend assess patient safety in the NHS?

[Mr Hunt]

There are still many things to tackle when it comes to patient safety, but I think the NHS has risen magnificently to the challenges in the report. There are nearly 45,000 more doctors and nurses across the system. Although there is more to be done, much credit should go to the NHS.

[Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab)]

This week marks two and a half months since the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse recommended that compensation be paid urgently to children sent abroad by their Government and subjected to the most appalling child abuse. In that time, the Secretary of State’s Department, despite repeated requests for action, has made not a single statement. Many former child migrants have died and others are dying. How many more will have to wait, and die waiting, for justice before this Government get their act together and pay them the compensation that is owed?

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[Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)]

The European health insurance card enables British citizens to get medical treatment in the EU, including kidney patients who need dialysis. Without it, many of them simply could not go on holiday at all. Will the Secretary of State tell the House whether it remains the Government’s objective to keep the EHIC in place after we have left the EU, and, if so, what progress is being made to ensure that that happens?

[Mr Hunt]

It is absolutely our intention. We think it is beneficial for Brits and beneficial for Europeans. We are very confident that we will be able to negotiate reciprocal healthcare arrangements to protect those benefits, but our first preference would be a continuation of the current scheme.

[Bim Afolami (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con)]

Will the Minister explain how and when the community pharmacy sector will gain access to the pharmacy integration fund? Millions have been promised. When will it be delivered?

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[Mr Hunt]

I would be delighted to do so.

[Mr Speaker]

Splendid. I call Chris Skidmore.

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[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Will the Secretary of State commit to publishing the progress report on sugar reduction and the next steps strategy on the reformulation programme, so that the Health Committee can examine that when Public Health England appears before us on 22 May?

[Mr Hunt]

I had a conversation with Public Health England before questions this afternoon, and it committed to publishing that before that hearing.