"Does the Minister agree that money can be spent only once? Labours say it wants to invest £2.5 billion from the mansion tax in the NHS, but it has already promised that to deficit reduction and introducing a 10p tax rate. That is nonsense...." Stephen Gilbert - View Speech
"The Minister missed one thing from the list. A written parliamentary question revealed to me in 2010 that the Labour party spent £250 million paying private providers to do precisely nothing...." Stephen Gilbert - View Speech
"It is a pleasure to open this debate and to serve under your chairmanship, Sir David. May I be one of the first to congratulate you on your recent knighthood? “Sir David Amess” looks very good on the name plate. I welcome the many hon. and right hon. Members who …..." Stephen Gilbert - View Speech
"The hon. Lady is absolutely right. It is a testament to the value of the House being made up of people from all walks of life and with different experiences that she can bring personal experience to the debate. She underlines many of the points that I will go on …..." Stephen Gilbert - View Speech
"There is a huge danger that we will move away from the improved patient experience that we have seen during the past year while national commissioning has been in place for specialised services towards more of a patchwork quilt approach in which patients may not get the same care in …..." Stephen Gilbert - View Speech
"The hon. Lady is entirely right. I will continue to set out the case that she so powerfully makes from personal experience.
In a board paper last November, NHS England published its next steps on specialised commissioning. Frankly, that was to the dismay of patient organisations, some of whom have …..." Stephen Gilbert - View Speech
"I thank my hon. Friend for his remarks, which are exactly on the money. Every organisation that I engaged with expressed real concern about the proposals. He puts on the record a further organisation that shares concerns on the direction in which NHS England is taking specialised health services.
"As my right hon. Friend will be aware, the taskforce has just suggested that renal dialysis and morbid obesity should come off the list of prescribed specialised services. The decision has been taken over a short period and is due for implementation before the general election, on 1 April. Will …..." Stephen Gilbert - View Speech
"I remain grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way, and to other colleagues; this is the last time that I will intervene. I hear what my right hon. Friend is saying. It is reassuring that he is using language about improvements to patient care and the benefits that …..." Stephen Gilbert - View Speech
"I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. He is making a powerful point about funding. Demand for beds at Little Harbour, run by the Children’s Hospice South West in my constituency, has doubled recently. Since 2006, we have seen a 30% increase in NHS funding, but …..." Stephen Gilbert - View Speech