Oral Answers to Questions

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

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

Respiratory syncytial virus—RSV—is a common reason for attendance at A&E and admission to hospital among older people, and I have raised this repeatedly. Last week, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that the RSV vaccine programme should be extended to the over-80s and those living in adult residential care homes. Can the Minister confirm that these vaccines will be available in time for this winter season?

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[Karin Smyth]

The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point about the important need to share the learning across the United Kingdom, and I will make sure that we do indeed make efforts to do that.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

Over the weekend, The Guardian reported that the number of women dying in the perinatal period had risen sharply since 2015. Families that have been failed, and health professionals feel that whether it is perinatal depression or unsafe births, lessons are not being learned and the same errors are repeated in review after review. Alongside the inquiry that the Secretary of State has launched, will the Government immediately implement every action from the Ockenden review and put an end to this national scandal in maternity service?

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[Mr Speaker]

The question is on Long Crendon, so we will see how Josh Fenton-Glynn does.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

Before I start, I pay tribute to the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Melton and Syston (Edward Argar), who faces his last set of Health questions. He is an incredibly kind man—we spoke after the loss of my brother—and a fantastic shadow Secretary of State. I am not sure how they will replace him.

One of the key shifts we need to see in the 10-year plan is from hospital to the community. Key to keeping people out of hospital is tackling the dental deserts, with dental problems being the biggest cause of children aged five to nine going to A&E. Will the Minister assure me that the new neighbourhood health centres will include dentistry—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. That is not linked to the question. That is why I was really bothered when I called the hon. Gentleman.

[Mr Richard Quigley (Isle of Wight West) (Lab)]

5. What recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of mental health research funding allocated to eating disorders.

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[Ashley Dalton]

There is nothing covert about the decisions on the Fleming Fund. It has been perfectly open and clear that the existing funding has been cut. Having said that, the work and partnerships that have been developed on AMR continue. The UK continues to be a global leader on this issue, and our ambassador, Dame Sally, continues to do sterling work on it.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

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

Last month, the Government published their 10-year plan. It took a year to write, and it contains promises to make even more plans—a cancer plan, a maternity and neonatal plan, a workforce plan and an HIV plan—which we are still waiting for. Careful planning is important, but taking too long will delay improvements in care, so when do the Government expect to publish those plans and to start delivering?

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[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

The driving force behind this Government’s approach to health is the principle that whoever a person is and whatever their background, they should receive the same world-class services as everyone else, based on need and not the ability to pay. That is why at its core, our 10-year plan for health looks to stamp out health inequalities, freeing up billions to move critical resources such as medicines and equipment to the regions and patients that need them most. Only a Labour Government will protect the NHS as a service free at the point of use, rebuild it, and make it fit for the future for everyone in our country.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Perran Moon.

[Perran Moon]

Meur ras, Mr Speaker. Carn to Coast runs GP surgeries across my Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency, including the surgery where my father practised for over 30 years. It is struggling under intense pressure, with deep-rooted health inequalities linked to the surrounding areas of deprivation. While I welcome the review of the Carr-Hill formula as part of the 10-year health plan, will the Secretary of State come to Cornwall and visit a Carn to Coast health centre with me, to see the innovative work that is already being undertaken and to discuss how the reforms will support health outcomes in the most deprived areas?

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[Wes Streeting]

I can certainly give the hon. Gentleman reassurance that the work we are doing to streamline and rationalise the amount of money we are spending on NHS bureaucracy means that we will free up resources that can be spent on the frontline, improving patient care and public health. Thanks to the decisions taken by my Department, the Deputy Prime Minister and, of course, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, investment in public health is rising and the spending power of local authorities is improving. That is all good news for public health.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

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[Wes Streeting]

I should declare that I am a member of Unison. The issue that my hon. Friend raises is a serious one. We obviously do not want to see strike action impacting on her local constituents, and my Department will do everything we can to help bring an end to the dispute.

I will make a more general point: these sorts of choices and trade-offs about resources are precisely why the BMA resident doctors, having received a 28.9% pay rise from this Government in the last year, ought to remember the responsibility that I and they have to some of their lower-paid colleagues. Resources are finite, and it is important that I act in the interests of all NHS staff and have particular concern for those who work extremely hard but are not properly rewarded.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Edward Argar (Melton and Syston) (Con)]

The resident doctors’ strike is unnecessary, irresponsible and wrong. Recently, and again today from the Dispatch Box, the Secretary of State has been resolute in not giving in to the BMA resident doctors committee’s demands. Although I do not know the details of the current status of his discussions with the committee, may I encourage him to remain firm in his stance and, while being fair to doctors, to always ensure that he puts the interests of patients and taxpayers first?

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[Wes Streeting]

I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. The number of drug-related deaths remains far too high, and we are committed to saving lives through access to high-quality treatment. For 2025-26, my Department is providing £310 million in addition to the public health grant to deliver the recommendations from Dame Carol Black’s independent review, but there is much more to do. We look forward to working with my hon. Friend to achieve success.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Edward Argar (Melton and Syston) (Con)]

Dementia is one of the greatest health challenges that we as a society face today and in the future, but too many people with dementia end up in hospital, rather than being treated in more appropriate community settings. The 10-year NHS plan offers a real opportunity to shift care into the community and away from acute settings, including for dementia. Will the Secretary of State commit to working with Dementia UK, the Alzheimer’s Society and other fantastic charities as he develops the implementation of his 10-year NHS plan to ensure that it truly delivers for people with dementia and those who care for them?

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[Wes Streeting]

I deplore Israel’s attacks on healthcare workers, as well as those on innocent civilians trying to access healthcare or vital aid. These actions go well beyond legitimate self-defence and undermine the prospects for peace. I will be in touch with the World Health Organisation to offer my support following the intolerable incident yesterday. I sincerely hope that the international community can come together, as my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has been driving for, to ensure that we see an end to this war, but also the recognition of the state of Palestine while there is still a state of Palestine left to recognise.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

Carers across the country have launched a protest from home today, with the Carers Trust. Their faces are projected on screens around Parliament Square because they are unable to leave their loved ones to protest in person. The Government’s pledge for the carer’s allowance review to report by early summer looks set to be broken. Can the Secretary of State today commit to ending the cliff edge for carer’s allowance and to introducing a statutory guarantee for respite care so that carers know that he is listening?

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[Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)]

Many carers have told me how much they rely on respite care to protect their own physical and mental health so that they can continue to care for their loved ones day in, day out. The wonderful Chesil Lodge day centre in Winchester has recently been threatened with closure, and I have been fighting alongside constituents to keep it open. How will the Department ensure that respite services such as those at Chesil Lodge are consistently available and are not subject to a postcode lottery? Can I also—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I call the Minister.

[Stephen Kinnock]

Our 10-year plan will boost support for family carers via digital tools such as My Carer and include them in care planning and shared decision-making processes. We have raised the carer’s allowance earnings limit to £196 a week—the biggest increase since 1976—and we have launched the independent commission into adult social care, which will look at unpaid carers’ needs. The hon. Member raises an important point about respite care; I am chairing a cross-ministerial group on our carers strategy, and I would be happy to update him outside the Chamber.

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[Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Lab)]

The report, “Barriers for adults with Cerebral Palsy on achieving full life participation”, published by the former all-party parliamentary group on cerebral palsy, highlighted the cliff-edge in support for those with cerebral palsy when they transition at the age of 18 and the need to end the separation of neuro and musculoskeletal knowledge within the NHS, given that cerebral palsy is a neuromusculoskeletal condition, and that those living with it need easy and ready access to both areas. I would therefore be grateful if I could understand—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Let me help the hon. Gentleman. If you have a main question and I call you in topicals, you really need to shorten your question in order to let other Members in.

[Ashley Dalton]

NHS England has worked with key stakeholders to develop a framework to aid integrated care systems to commission high-quality services for children and young people with cerebral palsy, including as they transition to adult services. Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on cerebral palsy in the under-25s also sets out key considerations in transition planning.