Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Thursday 7th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

The hon. Gentleman is right that the issue applies to all parties, which is why we fund Love Food Hate Waste and the Food Waste Action Week campaigns to raise awareness. Food waste is down 17% since 2007 and we have doubled the amount of food redistributed since 2019, so significant progress has been made, but there is more to do and those information campaigns play a key role in getting that message across.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Question 2 is in the name of Bob Blackman, but I see that he is not present. Will the Minister answer Question 7, which is grouped with it?

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[Steve Barclay]

Obviously, I am happy to give a commitment to meet my hon. Friend to discuss those important issues. He will be interested to know that just this week I had a series of meetings with fishing leaders to discuss some of the issues, including not only the 2026 negotiation, but the interaction with other areas of Government, not least in respect of the offshore wind sector and the pressure on space. We also discussed the work going on in our marine protection zones and how that interacts with the fishing industry, which I am absolutely committed to supporting.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

I, too, welcome the new Minister, the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Keighley (Robbie Moore), and the new Secretary of State—I believe he is the fifth during my time in the shadow Environment team. The fish our fishers catch is vital to our food security, but the recent antics of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is, in the name of safety, implementing new medical rules, are leaving many inshore fishers at their wits’ end. Can it really be right that a fisherman in the prime of his working life risks losing his livelihood because he was brave enough a few months ago to admit to a doctor that he felt anxious? I do not think it is, so will the Secretary of State corner his colleague the Transport Secretary in order to get him to do better than a temporary pause on this and to look urgently at exemptions for smaller boats, as other countries have sensibly done?

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[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Steve Barclay)]

The Government are investing £5.2 billion in flood protection between 2021 and 2027. This builds on the previous six-year investment of £2.6 billion, showing the increased investment that the Government are making in flood protection.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Mr Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)]

I am grateful for your generosity, Madam Deputy Speaker. We are just grateful that at least some Conservative Members have turned up.

On 20 October over 500 homes in Chesterfield, like hundreds across the UK, were flooded, leading to the tragic death of Mrs Gilbert on Tapton Terrace. Less than a month later, with the impeccable timing that only this accident-prone Government are capable of, the National Audit Office announced that the Government had cut by 40% the number of homes that will be protected from floods by 2027. Will the Secretary of State at least promise the House that he will never again say to a flood victim that the Government are doing all they can?

Countess of Chester Hospital Inquiry

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Monday 4th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the content of his response and the manner in which he delivered it. I think it underscores the unity of this House in our condemnation of these crimes, and our focus on putting the families at the centre of getting answers to the questions that arise from this case. I join him in paying tribute to those consultants who spoke up to trigger the police investigation and to prevent further harm to babies. I note the further work that the police are doing in this case, and also pay tribute to the police team, which I had the privilege of meeting. They have worked incredibly hard in very difficult circumstances in the course of this investigation.

As the hon. Gentleman said, the families are absolutely central to the approach that we are taking. That is why I felt that it was very important to discuss with them the relative merits of different types of inquiry, but their response was very clear in terms of their preference for a statutory inquiry. I have certainly surfaced to Lady Justice Thirlwall some of the comments from the families in terms of the potential to phase it. Of course, those will be issues for the judge to determine.

On the hon. Gentleman’s concerns around the revolving door, clearly a number of measures have already been taken, but I share his desire to ensure that there is accountability for decisions. As Members will know, I have been vocal about that in previous roles, and it is central to many of the families’ questions on wider regulation within the NHS.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the importance of good management. I am extremely interested in how, through this review and the steps we can take ahead of it, we give further support to managers within the NHS and to non-exec directors. The Government accepted in full the seven recommendations of the Messenger review. The Kark review was largely accepted. There was the issue of recommendation 5, which is why it is right that we look again at that in the light of the further evidence.

It is clear that a significant amount of work has already gone in. A number of figures, including Aidan Fowler and Henrietta Hughes, have focused on safeguarding patient safety, but in the wake of this case we need to look again at where we can go further, which the statutory inquiry will do with the full weight of the law. I am keen, however, that we also consider what further, quicker measures can be taken. Indeed, I have been in regular contact with NHS England to take that work forward.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

I place on record my sympathy to the families, who have conducted themselves with the utmost dignity throughout this process and who remain in my thoughts and prayers as well. I welcome the judge-led statutory inquiry that my right hon. Friend has announced. It is the right thing to do, as are the phases of the inquiry, which prevent stuff from taking too long to move fast. As that work moves forward, and the debate rightly continues to touch on how we regulate managers working in the NHS, and remove them, I ask that Ministers remain alert to any “us and them” thinking between managers and clinicians. Surely any successful hospital trust is one team working together, so that defensive medicine is all but impossible.

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[Steve Barclay]

Just to reassure the right hon. Gentleman, it is not that we are waiting. Having discussed it with NHS England, not least in last week’s meeting looking at the Kark recommendations that were accepted and why recommendation 5 was not accepted, the view at the time was that the accepted recommendations were sufficient in addressing the concern about the revolving door. It is right that we test that, but it is also right that we get the balance right.

The right hon. Gentleman mentions concerns that certain trusts may be seen as more difficult to manage. We do not want to create an environment where people are unwilling to go to those more difficult trusts because they fear the risk that they carry. It is important that we get the right support for managers, particularly around some of the more difficult trusts to manage, alongside having the accountability. Getting that detail right requires us to work closely with NHS England and the wider NHS family. [Interruption.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. There is a lot of noise in the Chamber. People who have come in for the next piece of business are forgetting just how very serious and sombre this piece of business is. Have some thought for others.

[Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

The Secretary of State has rightly spoken of the enormous pain and suffering of the parents in this horrific case. He will appreciate, however, that during the course of the Lucy Letby trial, they have had to relive all that pain and suffering. As the statutory inquiry progresses, that pain will be continuing for weeks and months ahead. Will the Secretary of State give an assurance to the House that in the period ahead—during the course of the inquiry and beyond—these parents will receive all the support they need to get through this ordeal?

Mental Health In-patient Services: Improving Safety

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Wednesday 28th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

I commend my hon. Friend for the service he gives as a community first responder. Through that, I know he takes a huge interest in these matters. As with the point about data, I am extremely keen that where there is good practice, we are socialising that across the country as a whole, rather than having it in pockets. I would be extremely keen to work with him on the lessons coming out of north Lincolnshire and on how we scale that across the country, so that good practice can be adopted more widely. Indeed, the statement today is about how we will ensure that the lessons from Essex can be applied more widely, so that best practice is socialised across the country.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement, which will be welcomed by everyone across Essex.

Lung Cancer Screening

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Monday 26th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Steve Barclay)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I first address the remarks you made on behalf of Mr Speaker? Of course, any disappointment expressed by Mr Speaker is a matter of concern. No discourtesy was wished on the part of the Government. It may be helpful to clarify that no change of policy is being announced in the statement; it is an expansion of an existing policy, which I hope the House will regard as good news. However, we very much take on board any concerns that Mr Speaker has expressed.

With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement on our national lung cancer screening programme for England. About a quarter of patients who develop lung cancer are non-smokers. We all remember our much-missed friend and colleague, the former Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup, James Brokenshire. He campaigned tirelessly to promote lung cancer screening and was the first MP to raise a debate on that in Parliament. His wife Cathy is continuing the brilliant work that he started in partnership with the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

In 2018, after returning to work following his initial diagnosis and treatment, James told this House that the Government should commit to a national screening programme and use the pilot to support its implementation. I am sure many colleagues in the Chamber will recall him saying:

“If we want to see a step change in survival rates—to see people living through rather than dying from lung cancer—now is the time to be bold.”—[Official Report, 26 April 2018; Vol. 639, c. 1136.]

Despite being a non-smoker, James knew that the biggest cause of lung cancer was smoking and that the most deprived communities had the highest number of smokers. That is why I am delighted that today the Prime Minister and I have announced a national lung cancer screening programme, building on our pilot programme, which will target those who smoke or have smoked in the past.

Lung cancer takes almost 35,000 lives across the UK every year—more than any other cancer. Often, patients do not have any discernible symptoms of lung cancer until it is well advanced; in fact, 40% of cases present at A&E. Since its launch in 2019, and even with the pandemic making screening more difficult, our pilot programme has already given 2,000 lung cancer patients in deprived English areas an earlier diagnosis. That matters because NHS England states that when cancer is caught at an early stage, patients are nearly 20 times more likely to get at least five years to spend with their families.

We all know that smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. It is responsible for almost three quarters of cases, and in deprived areas people are four times more likely to have smoked. We have deployed mobile lung trucks equipped with scanners to busy car parks in 43 deprived areas across England. Before the pandemic, patients from those areas had poor early diagnosis rates, with only a third of cases caught at stage one or two. To put that in context, while a majority of patients diagnosed at stage one and two get to spend at least five more years with their children and grandchildren, less than one in 20 of those diagnosed at stage four are as fortunate. Thanks to our targeted programme, three quarters of lung cancer cases in those communities are now caught at stage one and two.

Targeted lung cancer checks work. They provide a lifeline for thousands of families.

We need to build on that progress, which is why we will expand the programme so that anyone in England between the ages of 55 and 74 who is at high risk of developing lung cancer will be eligible for free screening, following the UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation that it will save lives. It will be the UK’s first and Europe’s second national lung cancer screening programme. If results match our existing screening—there is no reason to think that they will not—when fully implemented the programme will catch 8,000 to 9,000 people’s lung cancer at an earlier stage each year. That means that each and every year around 16 people in every English constituency will be alive five years after their diagnosis who would not have been without the steps we are taking today. That means more Christmases or religious festivals with the whole family sitting around the table.

Alongside screening to detect conditions earlier, we are investing in technology to speed up diagnosis. We are investing £123 million in artificial intelligence tools such as Veye Chest, which allows radiologists to review lung X-rays 40% faster. That means that suspicious X-rays are followed up sooner and patients begin treatment more quickly.

How will our lung cancer screening programme work? It will use GP records to identify current or ex-smokers between the ages of 55 and 74 at a high risk of developing lung cancer, assessed through telephone interviews. Anyone deemed high risk will be referred for a scan, and will be invited for further scans every two years until they are 75.

Even if they are not deemed at high risk of lung cancer, every smoker who is assessed will be directed towards support for quitting because, despite smoking in England being at its lowest rate on record, tobacco remains the single largest cause of preventable death. By 2030, we want fewer than 5% of the population to smoke. That is why in April we announced a robust set of measures to help people ditch smoking for good, with 1 million smokers being encouraged to swap cigarettes for vapes in a world-first national scheme. All pregnant women will be offered financial incentives to stop smoking, and HMRC is cracking down on criminals who profit from selling counterfeit cigarettes on the black market.

The lung cancer screening programme has been a game changer for many patients: delivering earlier diagnoses, tackling health inequalities and saving lives. We are taking a similar approach to tackle obesity, the second biggest cause of cancer across the UK. The pilot we announced earlier this month will ensure that patients in England are at the front of the queue for innovative treatments by delivering them away from hospital in community settings. Together, this shows our direction of travel on prevention, which is focused on early detection of conditions through screening and better use of technology to speed up diagnosis and then treatment, because identifying and treating conditions early is best for patient outcomes and for ensuring a more sustainable NHS for the future, for the next 75 years. I commend this statement to the House.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

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[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. Before I call the Secretary of State, let me say to the hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) that I think the whole House will join him, and me, in sending condolences to the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh).

[Steve Barclay]

On behalf of His Majesty’s Government, Madam Deputy Speaker, I echo your sentiments and those of the shadow Health Secretary in sending the House’s condolences to the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh), and also our fond remembrances of Margaret McDonagh. She played a pivotal role in the 1997 landmark election for the Labour party, and her loss will be keenly felt on the Labour Benches, but also much more widely across the political spectrum.

The hon. Gentleman raised a number of issues relating to screening, on which there is much consensus in the House, but one issue that he did not particularly note is the importance of this programme in closing the health inequality gap. The detection of stage 1 and stage 2 cancers, which has had such a remarkable impact on survival rates, has been targeted at the areas with the highest smoking rates and, therefore, the most deprived communities. I hope there will be a fairly wide consensus across the House that that is a real benefit of the programme. We aim to take the proportion of lung cancer survivors from 15% to 40% over the next 18 months, and to 100% in the years ahead, and we are talking today about a series of measures that have proved to be effective: there is remarkable evidence of the survival rates that they generate.

The hon. Gentleman raised a number of wider issues related to the Government’s record on cancer. The NHS has seen and treated record numbers of cancer patients over the last two years, with cancer being diagnosed at an earlier stage more often and survival rates improving across almost all types of cancer. Indeed, the expansion of the screening programme is a good illustration of the clear progress that the Government are making.

The hon. Gentleman raised the issue of junior doctors—an issue that we have debated a number of times across the House. He says that he does not support the junior doctors in their demand for a 35% pay rise. They have, of course, offered to spread it over an extra year to take 2024-25 into account, but for that they want a 49% pay rise. This is slightly esoteric: the hon. Gentleman says he does not support their demands, but he also criticises the Government for not meeting those demands.

The hon. Gentleman raised the subject of research funding, and I was grateful to him for doing so, because the Government are spending more than £1 billion on research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. I have met the president of Moderna, with which the Government have signed up to one of our landmark partnerships with the life sciences sector. There is huge potential for us to work with life science partners as part of our health commitment. It is clear that those within the industry see the Government’s commitment and are responding to it, even if Labour Members fail to do so.

We are expanding our programme because it demonstrably works. It is tackling health inequalities and significantly increasing survival rates. It is part of our wider commitment, through our work with Genomics England and our work on the national screening programmes to screen 100,000 babies. The programmes cover not just lung cancer but, for instance, breast cancer. My hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Steve Brine), the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, raised the issue of HIV screening with me last week. That is one of the areas in which early detection is having clear results. We are diagnosing more cases, which is why survival rates are improving in almost all types of cancer.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call the Chairman of the Health and Social Care Committee.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

I remember dear James Brokenshire saying the words that the Secretary of State repeated today in the House. James made this happen—this is a fantastic prevention announcement. Although this nationally expanded programme cannot prevent lung cancer, will the Secretary of State confirm that we will stick by the principle of making every contact count? When people come forward for a lung risk assessment, we can offer emotional support where a problem has been detected, provide smoking cessation services to those who are still smoking, or just put our arms around people where there are comorbidities. When people come into contact with the health service, will we make every contact count for them?

Patient Choice

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Thursday 25th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

Not since the famous 1p on income tax from the Lib Dems, which was to be spent on every issue going past like a passing bus, have we heard of money being spent in as many different ways as the non-dom money. No wonder the hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) said it with a smile; the whole House could see how credible that proposal is.

The theme of the hon. Gentleman’s response was comparison, so I think we should compare the substance of the announcement on patient choice with the situation where Labour is in office. In Wales, patients do not have the ability to choose where they receive treatment; that right is not offered to patients. In NHS Wales, patients registered with a GP in Wales do not have a statutory right to choose at which hospital they receive treatment. We can compare what a Government in England are doing—empowering patients, giving them that choice as well as the information and technology they need to make it—with NHS Wales, run by the Labour party, which deprives patients of their choice.

I hesitate to draw the comparison with Wales, however, because another Labour Front Bencher, the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne), says that he does not want Labour to be judged on its record in Wales. That is slightly confusing because the leader of the Labour party, no less, says that he wants Labour in Wales to be

“a blueprint for what Labour can do across the UK”.

So they cannot even compare among themselves, never mind compare between England and Wales.

The hon. Member for Ilford North talked about strike action but seemed to skirt around the fact that the Government have reached a deal with the NHS Staff Council in relation to Agenda for Change staff—a deal that his own union, Unison, voted 74% in favour of. His own union—the union that gives him money—supported the deal. He chides us about junior doctors, but those of us who were present in the Chamber the last time heard him say that he did not support the junior doctors’ demand for 35%. When we did negotiate with them, they even increased their demand to 49%, when next year is added in, further confusing the position.

It will come as no surprise to the House to discover that people in Wales are almost twice as likely to be waiting for treatment as people in England. That is the true comparison that we are addressing. We can see that situation play through to people waiting more than 18 months. In England, we have virtually eliminated 78-week waits—at the end of March, it was under 11,000—but in Wales, it will come as no surprise to Members, the number was closer to 75,000, and of course Wales has a smaller population. So we can compare waiting times, which we in England are bringing down. We have an electives plan, we cleared virtually all the two-year waits in the summer and over 90% of the 18-month waits at the end of March, which contrasts with the situation in Wales. We are giving patients choice, enabling them to move if they want to in order to get quicker treatment elsewhere. We are on the side of patients. We can see what the Labour party is doing by its disastrous performance in Wales.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call the Chair of the Select Committee.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

This form of patient choice has of course been available for at least 15 years; it just has not been made available to patients. Can the Secretary of State confirm that the referral management centres sitting at integrated care board level will be compelled, not asked, either to change that or to get out of the way altogether? Given that the vast majority of people on the waiting lists are already there with a specific trust, how exactly will they be given the option either to stick where they are, or to twist and exercise that choice to receive treatment sooner?

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[Steve Barclay]

I share my hon. Friend’s desire. As part of this announcement, payment will follow patients to incentivise trusts to take on more, which further underpins patient choice. We are actively engaged on accelerating the diagnostic centres and, as a result of ministerial intervention, we have speeded up the diagnostic centre programme. I look forward to updating the House on how many additional scans and tests will now be done this year, as opposed to the original plan for those tests to be done in 2024. I am very happy to have further discussion with him.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I normally allow a bit of movement between statements, but it seems that a change of scene and personnel is not necessary as everyone is already in place.

New Hospitals

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Thursday 25th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Steve Barclay)]

It is like a two-for-one offer.

With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on the new hospital programme.

As we celebrate 75 years of the NHS this summer, we must continue to set up its success for the 75 years to come. At the heart of this is our new hospital programme, the biggest hospital building programme in a generation, which will help us to deliver on our manifesto commitment to build 40 new hospitals by 2030. Today, I reconfirm to the House our commitment for 40 new hospitals to be built by 2030.

We made our manifesto commitment in 2019, and in 2020 we listed 40 schemes as part of the new hospital programme. Since we formally launched the schemes, we have learned more about the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, more commonly known as RAAC. RAAC is a lightweight form of concrete that, between the mid-1950s and the mid-1980s, was commonly used in the construction of a number of public buildings, including hospitals—often on roofs and occasionally in walls and floors.

We now know that RAAC has a limited lifespan, with difficult and dangerous consequences for the people who rely on or work in those hospitals. I know this has caused considerable concern to colleagues in this House, to NHS staff in those hospitals and to constituents who are treated in them.

We remain committed to eradicating RAAC from the wider NHS estate. As part of the spending review allocation up to 2024-25, we allocated £685 million in immediate support to the affected trusts, but in some cases we must go much further. Seven hospitals in England were constructed, either wholly or in major part, with RAAC, and an independent assessment shows they are not safe to operate beyond 2030. Two of the hospitals are already part of the new hospital programme, namely the West Suffolk Hospital and James Paget University Hospital. The five remaining hospitals have submitted expressions of interest to join the programme but are not yet part of it. Those are Airedale General Hospital in Keighley, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Hinchingbrooke Hospital near Huntingdon, Mid Cheshire’s Leighton Hospital, and Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey.

We accept in full the independent assessment that these hospitals are not safe to operate beyond 2030. Today, I confirm to the House that we will expand our new hospital programme to include those five further hospitals built with significant amounts of RAAC. With the two RAAC hospitals already in the programme, the seven RAAC hospitals will be rebuilt completely using a standardised design known as Hospital 2.0, with the aim of completing all seven by 2030. I can confirm to the House today that these new hospitals will be fully funded.

I want to take a moment to thank all those who have campaigned so tirelessly for new hospitals to be built to replace the existing RAAC hospitals, including my hon. Friends the Members for Keighley (Robbie Moore) and for Shipley (Philip Davies), who have championed Airedale vociferously; my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), who has campaigned so strongly for Frimley; my hon. Friend the Member for Huntingdon (Mr Djanogly), who lobbied hard for Hinchingbrooke; my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Edward Timpson) and my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Dr Mullan), who led the campaign on Leighton Hospital; and my hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild), my hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Duncan Baker), who is my Parliamentary Private Secretary, and my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss), who all campaigned so assiduously for the hospital in King’s Lynn.

Taken together, the new hospital programme represents a huge commitment to strengthening the NHS estate. Since 2020, we have committed to invest £3.7 billion by the financial year 2024-25, and we expect the total investment to now be more than £20 billion for the programme as a whole. Resolving the uncertainty over the RAAC hospitals, which today’s announcement achieves, in turn allows much-needed clarity for the rest of the new hospital programme. The programme has been divided into cohorts 1 to 4, and construction in cohort 1 has already started. Cohort 1 contains eight schemes. Two hospitals are already open to patients, with the new Louisa Martindale Building at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton due to open later this year. Work at Moorfields Eye Hospital is due to start imminently, having cleared its final business case.

Cohort 2 comprises 10 schemes. The following schemes will now be ready to proceed, in line with plans set out by the respective trusts: the National Rehabilitation Centre; Derriford emergency care hospital in Plymouth; Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital; Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester; and St Ann’s Hospital, Christchurch Hospital, the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Poole Hospital, all of which are in Dorset. A further two schemes within cohort 2, Shotley Bridge Community Hospital and the women and children’s hospital in Cornwall, will also be approved to proceed, but in line with the standardised design elements we are promoting through Hospital 2.0, on which I will set out further details in a moment. As such, with the uncertainty that surrounded the RAAC hospitals now addressed, all the cohort 2 schemes can proceed, and they will be fully funded.

The cohort 3 schemes include major hospital new builds at Sutton, Whipps Cross, Hillingdon, Watford, Harlow, Leeds and Leicester. Today’s announcement confirms that those schemes will now proceed and be fully funded. They will be constructed using the Hospital 2.0 standardised approach. It is worth reminding the House of the merits of using that methodology. First, although longer will be taken on the initial design, the current approach of each scheme constructing its own bespoke design has meant that the average time from design to completion of a major hospital has been about 11 and a half years. By embracing modern methods of construction, we will massively speed up the construction phase and, in addition, accelerate Treasury and other government assurance processes. There has been much debate to date on when hospitals start, but the more important issue is when schemes are completed. A standardised modular design has been shown to work in other sectors—for example, when building schools and prisons—and is widespread across the private sector.

Today’s announcement confirms that all cohort 3 schemes can now proceed. In turn, enabling works that had been held up due to the uncertainty about the RAAC hospitals can now progress. I pay tribute to right hon. and hon. Members who have campaigned strongly for the cohort 3 hospitals to proceed. They include my right hon. Friends the Members for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), for Harlow (Robert Halfon) and for Epping Forest (Dame Eleanor Laing), and my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Julie Marson). I know that not all of them can raise points during this statement, but the latter three have all championed Harlow and its case. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Elliot Colburn), to name just some of those who have raised these issues. [Interruption.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order.

[Steve Barclay]

Opposition Members have asked for the update and called for the programme, but they do not want to hear about it when the announcement is being made.

Turning to the hospitals in cohort 4, two of the schemes —West Suffolk Hospital and James Paget University Hospital—are RAAC hospitals. As I touched on a moment ago, they have been confirmed as part of the seven RAAC schemes. They will therefore be funded for completion by 2030. Four more hospitals in cohort 4 remain on track for completion by 2030: Milton Keynes University Hospital, Kettering General Hospital, Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton and Torbay Hospital. Again, I pay tribute to the Members for those constituencies, including my hon. Friends the Members for Milton Keynes South (Iain Stewart), for Milton Keynes North (Ben Everitt), for Kettering (Mr Hollobone), for Taunton Deane (Rebecca Pow) and for Torbay (Kevin Foster).

The remaining seven hospitals within that cohort will also proceed as part of the new hospital programme. The work will start on those schemes over the next two years, but they will be part of a rolling programme where not all work will be completed by 2030. That is a reflection of the disruption that two years of the covid pandemic caused, as well as the pressure from construction inflation.

Some work within cohort 4 will start next year. That includes a new surgical hub at Eastbourne, alongside the discharge lounge already under construction. We will discuss key worker accommodation on the site with the trust, as part of engagement with the local housing association. At Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, work will begin on temporary ward capacity to enable the floor-by-floor refurbishment to proceed. In Nottingham, work will begin on a new surgical hub and three new operating theatres will begin as part of the wider redesign, taking forward the Ockenden report recommendations. In Lancashire, a new surgical hub will be opened at the Royal Preston Hospital, which is due to be completed this year. We will reconfigure services across two trusts. I am sure that one of those sites will be of interest to Mr Speaker, as it is expected to be near Chorley. We are in active discussion with the Royal Berkshire Hospital, given the problems with the existing site, which had already made a 2030 completion date very stretching. In addition, we are building three new mental health hospitals in the Surrey and Borders, Derbyshire and Mersey Care areas.

Turning to Devon, I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Selaine Saxby) and my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Torridge and West Devon (Sir Geoffrey Cox), who have secured new community diagnostics centres at North Devon. The discharge hub there is near completion, and we will take forward discussions with the trust and the local housing association on key worker accommodation over the next two years, as the first part of the North Devon new hospital build. We will discuss the original refurbishment proposal alongside the new build Hospital 2.0 option.

In summary, the cohort schemes will all proceed, but the commitment to completion by 2030 applies to the 40 schemes set out today, which meets our manifesto commitment to build 40 hospitals by 2030.

Finally, let me set out the merits of the Hospital 2.0 approach. Building new hospitals in this way has clear advantages. Construction experts estimate that with modular design, the efficiency saving will be in the region of 25% per square foot. That is essential in addressing the pressure of construction inflation and unlocking the additional schemes that are being absorbed as a result of the RAAC announcement.

There is one key risk to today’s announcement: the plan announced by the Labour party. As we speed things up, it is determined to grind them to a halt. The plan Labour set out on Monday said:

“as a first step, before we commit to any more money, we’d make an assessment of all NHS capital projects to make sure money is getting allocated efficiently”.

So the risk to these schemes is from those on the Benches opposite.

Today’s announcement confirms more than £20 billion of investment for the NHS estate. It confirms that all seven RAAC hospitals, which NHS leaders have called on the Government to prioritise, will be prioritised, with complete rebuilds using modern methods of construction. It allows all cohort 2 schemes to proceed once business cases have been agreed, and modular build will be used for two of those schemes. It gives trusts the certainty to begin enabling works on major schemes in cohort 3 and a package of early work for schemes in cohort 4, two of which will be accelerated as part of the RAAC programme.

In 2019 we committed to the biggest hospital building programme in a generation, and today we confirm the funding to build 40 hospitals by 2030. I commend this statement to the House.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

--- Later in debate ---

[Steve Barclay]

It is a very strange approach to complain about Members coming to the Chamber. The hon. Gentleman almost sinks his own point with his opening gambit. We are here because of the campaigning of Conservative Members for new hospitals. That is why, when they see that there is a statement on new hospitals as part of that campaign, it is no surprise that they are in the Chamber. It is pretty odd to complain about Members coming to the Chamber because they are interested in what is happening in their own constituencies.

It is equally strange for the Opposition to appear to be complaining about a plan that they have been calling for over recent weeks. The shadow Secretary of State has repeatedly said that he wants to see the new hospitals programme plan. We have set that out in the statement today, to which he says he is concerned that we only have a plan. A plan on the Government side beats no plan on the Opposition side.

The hon. Gentleman also seems, slightly oddly, not to welcome a commitment to over £20 billion of investment in the NHS estate. He seems to have an objection to me giving a commitment to address the issues of RAAC hospitals, which NHS leaders themselves have said should be prioritised and which independent reports have said create a risk beyond 2030, and coming to the Chamber after discussions with Treasury colleagues and others across Government to confirm that we now have funding to address the seven RAAC hospitals that he has called for action on.

The shadow Secretary of State then seems to have an objection about speed, yet the whole thrust of my statement was about how we are changing our methodology through the use of modern methods of construction, learning from what has been done in the education sector, the justice sector and the private sector about delivering construction schemes at pace. That gives more confidence on cost; it stops local chief executives changing the specifications once designs are under way; it allows things to be built more quickly; it allows us to benefit from technology, with construction in factories as opposed to more conventional construction; and it allows us to deliver schemes more quickly.

It is for that reason that Conservative Members campaigned so strongly for it, none more so than my right hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Andrew Stephenson), who has been an assiduous champion of the case for Airedale General Hospital. As the statement sets out, we are committed to addressing the RAAC hospitals, and fixing them has in turn unblocked something that was causing delay to the programme for the enabling works for cohort 3, in particular.

Cohort 2, where schemes are well advanced, will also now be able to proceed. We also updated the House on the more bespoke approach being taken to some of cohort 4. The shadow Secretary of State is right to talk about a sense of jeopardy, because those on the Opposition Front Bench have said they want to pause, review and stop the schemes we will be proceeding with. That is the real risk to the new hospitals programme. We have a new approach. We have a clear plan. It is the Labour party that wants to stop it.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

I am grateful for the statement; the Select Committee will want to have a good look at it, and we will start when the Secretary of State comes to see us next month. At the last election, I promised my constituents significant investment in Winchester Hospital. That is already happening, and now with early work in cohort 4 we have the promise of the elective hub to scale the orthopaedic list. Can the Secretary of State be clear with my constituents that, as the new Hampshire hospital comes together as part of the wider cohort 4, it will be for clinicians to make the clinical case on what safe and sustainable services look like in the long term for those people?

--- Later in debate ---

[Steve Barclay]

St Mary’s is part of three aspects of the Imperial NHS trust: there is the work at Charing Cross in Hammersmith, where we are building the temporary ward to unblock the refurbishment, which will be floor by floor, and the work in Hammersmith with the cardiac—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter) may want to chunter, but I am trying to explain the investment we are placing into the constituencies, so we have funding going into—[Interruption.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. I have asked the hon. Gentleman politely to stop shouting. I hope he will do so.

[Steve Barclay]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. We recognise the importance of the Imperial bid; that is why we are starting to build the temporary ward capacity at Charing Cross and the first phase of work is under way on the cardiac elective recovery hub, to bring cardiac work on to the Hammersmith site. On St Mary’s Hospital, we have already put in some initial funding to explore the new site with Transport for London and Network Rail. That will go into the rolling programme, of which St Mary’s will be part, alongside the redesign that is needed, taking on board the changes at Charing Cross and Hammersmith.

Women’s Health Strategy for England

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Wednesday 20th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call Sajid Javid.

[Steve Barclay]

rose—

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Oh, I beg your pardon! It is probably a good idea if I allow the Secretary of State to answer the shadow Secretary of State. I am too many steps ahead.

[Steve Barclay]

I do not want those on the Opposition Front Bench thinking that their points have not been addressed.

I think there is much common ground on both sides of the House on the importance of this strategy and the need for a culture and system change in the NHS to address many of the concerns raised in past debates in the House on issues such as mesh, Paterson and Ockenden. I also think there are a lot of areas where colleagues on both sides of the House will work together to encourage commissioners in our constituencies to reshape services in a way that better reflects the needs set out in this strategy.

The hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) is right to highlight the fact that many respondents felt they had not been heard in the past. That is why we have taken the first step of appointing a women’s health ambassador—Professor Dame Lesley Regan, who is an extremely respected figure in women’s health—to better champion women. It is also why I signalled in my statement the importance of data and of breaking it down by sex by default to better target our research on conditions that impact women differently from men or that affect only women and that are often not as well researched as they should be. Again, I think there is common ground on both sides of the House on the issue of research.

I agree with the hon. Gentleman about the need to improve training for existing clinicians as well as for those new to the profession. That is why I signalled in my statement our desire to work with the royal colleges and others to make sure that that continuing professional development is there.

The hon. Gentleman raised the issue of access to HRT. He will be aware that we have put prepayment certificates in place from April next year so that someone will pay only the equivalent of two prescription charges for their HRT supply. Officials in the Department have done considerable work on supply chain issues to tackle some of the difficulties that were there in the past.

On the hon. Gentleman’s point about how we address outcomes for patients, I saw a good illustration this morning at Homerton. Redesigning services avoids the need for invasive and more expensive theatre treatment, and the use of new equipment allows a better service to the patient. In the strategy, Professor Dame Lesley Regan makes the point that the irony is that we could deliver services that are far better for the patient but also cheaper for the taxpayer if we embraced a women’s hub model of the sort we see in Homerton. I very much look forward to taking the data we have forward in conversations with other commissioners around the country.

I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman recognised and welcomed the removal of barriers to IVF, as will Members on both sides of the House who have seen the challenges that that issue presents in constituency cases.

On speed of service, community diagnostic centres have an important role to play. The hon. Gentleman also raised the issue of ethnic minorities. We have put in place a maternity disparities taskforce, and ministerial colleagues have already met three times as part of that taskforce, so the characterisation that Ministers are not engaging on the issue is, I am afraid, wide of the mark.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned breast cancer. He will have noted from my statement that an additional £10 million has been targeted specifically at that issue, with a further 25 mobile units. Again, that is about addressing the disparity in women’s health data in different parts of the country.

Overall this is an important strategy. We have listened to the very large number of responses to the consultation, and that is reflected in the strategy. I think this is an area on which there is much common ground on both sides of the House.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

And now I call Sajid Javid.

[Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

There was a time when I would follow right after the shadow Secretary of State, but not any more. However, I am very pleased to follow my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, and I welcome him to his new role. He has the privilege of running a fantastic Department that is so important to the British people. He has excelled in every role he has held in Government so far, and I know he will do so again.

I strongly welcome the women’s health strategy—as we heard, it is the first published by any Government. I congratulate everyone involved, including all the officials and especially the excellent Minister of State, Department for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Maria Caulfield), who is sitting on the Treasury Bench, and the previous Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Ms Dorries).

Does the Secretary of State agree that, when it comes to women’s health, early diagnosis is essential? I absolutely welcome the commitment in the strategy on mandatory training in women’s health issues for new doctors, but will my right hon. Friend say a little more about what can be done on training for existing doctors and clinicians?

--- Later in debate ---

[Steve Barclay]

Part of the reason this is a 10-year strategy is that we do need a change of culture as well as a change of systems, and that is what the strategy maps out. A key component of that is how we empower patients through areas such as the NHS website, working with trusted partners who provide health information. The hon. Lady is also right about training, not just for new entrants into the medical profession but for existing clinicians. We will be working with the royal colleges and others to drive that forward.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

And finally, Jim Shannon.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have the strongest legs in the Chamber.

I very much welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement of additional moneys for women’s health training. He referred to one-stop clinics. I coincidentally spoke to a medical student who graduated in Cardiff today, who feels that more is needed for the specialty of women’s health, and specifically the menopause, which the hon. Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) mentioned. What training will be extended to GPs, in the context of one-stop clinics, to ensure that each surgery has a trained GP available to advise and to help?

[Steve Barclay]

One of the key issues highlighted in the response to the call for evidence was how areas such as the menopause were being dealt with by the NHS. That is why we have a menopause taskforce looking at specific recommendations, one of which concerns the training of clinicians.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I thank the Secretary of State and everyone who took part in the statement.

Economy Update

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Wednesday 16th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

I do not accept that. Looking at the vaccine programme that the UK has had thanks to the huge efforts of our NHS, volunteers and so many people in communities up and down the country, I would not characterise it as an abject failure. Actually, our deployment of vaccines is the envy of many countries, and it is key to the road map.

For Tip Top Linen Services, and businesses across the United Kingdom, we have provided a comprehensive package of support, as I set out in a number of responses. That is key to those important businesses being able to bounce back as the road map moves to step 4.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call Dame Andrea, whom I congratulate on her extremely well deserved honour.

[Dame Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. My right hon. Friend will be aware that some people who have been furloughed during lockdown have taken on other jobs. A big hotel and golf complex—a family-owned business in South Northamptonshire—furloughed about 300 staff. When it came to unlocking and it called back all those staff, around half of them resigned because they already had other jobs at supermarkets, delivery companies and so on. What can my right hon. Friend do, first, to protect the taxpayer from people effectively earning double pay, and also to stop that happening to the huge detriment of this family-run business?

--- Later in debate ---

[Steve Barclay]

We have already covered the point that furlough has been extended until the end of September. As I said in my answer only a moment ago, there are specific sectoral support packages in addition to that. At the same time, we need to get the balance right between that and the very considerable cost to the Exchequer—borrowing £200 billion last year and with significant further borrowing this year and next. We need to get the balance right between that level of borrowing and the wider package of support offered.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I appreciate that these are complex issues and that the Chief Secretary is being most assiduous in giving full answers, but I wonder if we could go just a little faster now. We have a lot of business to get through, which means people have to ask questions, not make statements.

[Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con)]

Nobody in this House, or indeed in Blackpool South, wanted to see a pause in our road map of easing restrictions. Does my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury agree that this short delay is necessary so that we can proceed irreversibly out of lockdown, build back better from covid and, finally, begin to get our public finances back in order?

--- Later in debate ---

[Steve Barclay]

I absolutely agree, and I think that the importance of securing private investment is a very good note on which to end. My hon. Friend will know that in May, on the consumer prices index, inflation rose to 2.1% and the Monetary Policy Committee judged:

“Inflation expectations remained well anchored.”

However, with debt at nearly 100% of GDP, we need to pay close attention. To finish on a more sobering note, perhaps, a sustained increase in inflation by one percentage point would increase debt interest spending by £6.9 billion in ’25-26, so my hon. Friend raises—as did the hon. Member for Leeds West (Rachel Reeves)—an important point that the House needs to keep under review.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I thank the Chief Secretary and everyone who took part in the statement for getting through it in 58 and a half minutes. That always keeps the occupant of the Chair happy.

I would like to take a second to thank Sir Roy Stone for his extraordinary, long and patient service to this House; I cannot imagine this place without him. I know that we all wish him well.

We come to the result of today’s deferred Division on the Draft Climate Change Act 2008 (Credit Limit) Order 2021. The Ayes were 363 and the Noes were 263, so the Ayes have it.

[The Division list is published at the end of today’s debates.]

We now come to the exciting annual event of the presentation of Bills, which have arisen as a result of the private Members’ Bills ballot. We have 20 such Bills. Contrary to the normal procedure when Members queue up behind the Chair, I hope that all 20 Members are either now in their places, or ready to participate virtually.

Bills Presented

Education (Careers Guidance in Schools) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Mark Jenkinson presented a Bill to extend the duty to provide careers guidance in schools.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 10 September, and to be printed (Bill 14).

Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Barry Gardiner, supported by Robert Halfon, Gavin Newlands, Christine Jardine, Caroline Lucas, Sammy Wilson, Ben Lake, Andy McDonald, Dawn Butler, Darren Jones and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, presented a Bill to amend the law relating to workplace information and consultation, employment protection and trade union rights to provide safeguards for workers against dismissal and re-engagement on inferior terms and conditions; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 22 October, and to be printed (Bill 15).

Menopause (Support and Services) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Carolyn Harris, supported by Judith Cummins, Peter Dowd, Rosie Duffield, Nick Smith, Karin Smyth, Jim Shannon, Tracey Crouch, Jackie Doyle-Price, Tim Loughton and Caroline Nokes, presented a Bill to make provision about menopause support and services; to exempt hormone replacement therapy from National Health Service prescription charges; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 29 October, and to be printed (Bill 16).

Down Syndrome Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Dr Liam Fox, supported by Ben Lake, Ian Paisley, Dr Lisa Cameron, Mark Logan, Nick Fletcher, Layla Moran, Darren Jones, James Daly, Mrs Flick Drummond and Elliot Colburn presented a Bill to make provision about meeting the needs of persons with Down syndrome; to place a duty on local authorities to assess the likely social care needs of persons with Down syndrome and plan provision accordingly; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 26 November, and to be printed (Bill 17).

Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Sajid Javid, supported by Mrs Pauline Latham, Robert Halfon, Sir Graham Brady,

Philip Davies, Sarah Champion, Mrs Maria Miller, Alun Cairns, Fiona Bruce, Siobhan Baillie, Mr Virendra Sharma and Ms Nusrat Ghani, presented a Bill to make provision about the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 19 November, and to be printed (Bill 18).

Copyright (Rights and Remuneration of Musicians, Etc.) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Kevin Brennan, supported by Ms Karen Buck, Damian Green, Alex Davies-Jones,

Claire Hanna, Sir Greg Knight, Ben Lake, Esther McVey, Abena Oppong-Asare, Jim Shannon, David Warburton and Pete Wishart, presented a Bill to make provision about the rights and remuneration of musicians and other rights holders; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 3 December, and to be printed (Bill 19).

Medical Cannabis (Access) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Jeff Smith presented a Bill to make provision about access to cannabis for medical reasons; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 10 December, and to be printed (Bill 20).

Climate Change Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Colum Eastwood, supported by Clare Hanna, presented a Bill to place a duty on the government to declare a climate emergency; to amend the Climate Change Act 2008 to bring forward the date by which the United Kingdom is required to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions; to place a duty on the Government to create and implement a strategy to achieve objectives related to climate change, including for the creation of environmentally-friendly jobs; to require the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on proposals for increased taxation of large companies to generate revenue to be spent to further those objectives; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 10 December and to be printed (Bill 21).

Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Peter Gibson, supported by Daniel Zeichner, Caroline Nokes, Mr Robert Goodwill, Sarah Champion, Sir John Hayes, Ms Nusrat Ghani, Esther McVey, Ms Harriet Harman and Lee Anderson, presented a Bill to make provision about licensing in relation to taxis and private hire vehicles for purposes relating to the safeguarding of passengers and road safety; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 10 September, and to be printed (Bill 22).

Planning (Enforcement) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Dr Ben Spencer presented a Bill to create offences relating to repeat breaches of planning controls; to make provision about penalties for planning offences; to establish a national register of persons who have committed planning offences or breached planning controls and make associated provision about planning applications; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 19 November, and to be printed (Bill 23).

Cultural Objects (Protection from Seizure) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Mel Stride presented a Bill to extend the protection from seizure or forfeiture given to cultural objects.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 10 September, and to be printed (Bill 24).

Pension Schemes (Conversion of Guaranteed Minimum Pensions) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Margaret Ferrier presented a Bill to make provision about the amendment of pension schemes so as to provide for the conversion of rights to a guaranteed minimum pension.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 26 November, and to be printed (Bill 25).

Childcare Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Matt Rodda presented a Bill to enable provision to be made for appeals relating to free childcare for young children of working parents to be settled by agreement; to make further provision designed to increase efficiency in the administration of free childcare schemes; to make provision about the promotion of the availability of free childcare, including to disadvantaged groups; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 29 October, and to be printed (Bill 26).

Glue Traps (Offences) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Jane Stevenson presented a Bill to make certain uses of glue traps an offence; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 19 November, and to be printed (Bill 27).

Acquired Brain Injury Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Chris Bryant presented a Bill to make provision about meeting the needs of adults and children with an acquired brain injury; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 3 December, and to be printed (Bill 28).

Local Government (Disqualification) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Sir Paul Beresford presented a Bill to make provision about the grounds on which a person is disqualified from being elected to, or holding, certain positions in local government in England.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 22 October, and to be printed (Bill 29).

Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Jeremy Wright presented a Bill to make provision relating to the carrying of disabled persons by taxis and private hire vehicles.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 14 January 2022, and to be printed (Bill 30).

Hare Coursing Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Richard Fuller presented a Bill to make provision about hare coursing offences; to increase penalties for such offences; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 21 January 2022, and to be printed (Bill 31).

Animals (Penalty Notices) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Andrew Rosindell, supported by Sir David Amess, Tom Hunt, Mrs Sheryll Murray, Bob Stewart, Alexander Stafford, Theresa Villiers, Chris Grayling, Miss Sarah Dines, Henry Smith, Bill Wiggin and Joy Morrissey, presented a Bill to make provision for and in connection with the giving of penalty notices for certain offences in relation to animals and animal products.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 29 October, and to be printed (Bill 32).

British Sign Language Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Rosie Cooper presented a Bill to declare British Sign Language (BSL) an official language of the United Kingdom; to provide for a British Sign Language Council to promote and advise on the use of BSL; to establish principles for the use of BSL in public services; to require public bodies to have regard to those principles and to guidance issued by the Council; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 28 January 2022, and to be printed (Bill 33).

Lockdown: Economic Support

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Tuesday 3rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

That is simply not correct because the Department of Health, to which we have allocated funding for Track and Trace, is subject to managing public money rules in the same way as any other Department. It is subject to the decisions of its accounting officer and its Ministers in the usual way, so the normal managing public money rules would apply.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I am terribly sorry, but I missed out the hon. Member for St Ives—Derek Thomas.

[Derek Thomas (St Ives) (Con)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I hope it is worth waiting for.

Can I thank the Chief Secretary for all that is being done to help my constituents in west Cornwall and on Scilly? One of the great successes of recent years is the job growth across Cornwall, and that is because small businesses have been set up by entrepreneurs—individuals who know they cannot get a big job in big business, because they do not exist in Cornwall, so they have set up their business. The problem is that they are very early in their business, and they are growing, maturing and flourishing, but this year has been a disaster for them. They are at a point now where they just do not know if it is worth continuing, because of his second lockdown being announced, and they just do not know what the future holds. Will the Chief Secretary look very carefully at how we can encourage these people to stick with it, but also look at, as we have discussed already this afternoon many times, the support that is available to these fledgling businesses so they really have the finances to sustain these jobs? We must make sure these businesses can be part of the recovery that we will so badly need next year and beyond.

--- Later in debate ---

[Steve Barclay]

I know that my right hon. Friend is a strong supporter of the Union and part of the strength of the furlough scheme has been its ability to provide support across the United Kingdom; it is a UK-wide scheme. Thanks to the Treasury’s ability to operate a UK-wide scheme, we have been able to put in place more than £200 billion of support—the comprehensive package that I mentioned a moment ago—which is why it stands international comparison in terms of its scale and speed. That was recognised by the IMF director just last week, and the furlough will continue to be a UK-wide scheme.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

In order to allow the safe exit of hon. Members participating in this item of business and the safe arrival of those anticipating the next item of business, we will suspend the House for three minutes.

Income tax (charge)

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Steve Barclay)]

I thank the hon. Member for Bootle (Peter Dowd) for his warm welcome to me in my new role. I join him in paying tribute to the number of excellent maiden speeches that we have heard today. The first was by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Mohindra). It was fitting that he paid tribute to his predecessor David Gauke, who was not only respected across the House but very much liked and respected within the Treasury as an institution.

In an excellent speech, my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth Valley (Ian Levy) spoke about his personal experience of working for two decades in our NHS. He must be particularly proud of everything that the NHS is now doing as we face the challenges ahead.

The hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Ian Byrne) gave a strong speech about the need for bold action on covid-19. I assure him that the Chancellor will be true to his word when he says that we will do everything needed in response to the situation. The hon. Gentleman’s speech shows that he will be a valuable colleague representing Liverpool, together with his Front-Bench colleagues.

In a first-class speech, my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton North East (Mark Logan) said that this great House exists exactly for times like these. I could not agree with him more. He will be a fantastic addition to the House, and in particular his experience from his time in the Foreign Office will be valuable in the weeks and months ahead.

My hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Miss Dines) pointed out that she is the first woman to represent her constituency, just as you, Madam Deputy Speaker, were the first woman to chair a Budget. My hon. Friend invited my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to join in with the Shrovetide football next year. I appreciate that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has quite a lot on, but knowing my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) as I do, I am sure that there will be colleagues in the House keen to partake of any football with my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales.

The hon. Member for Luton South (Rachel Hopkins) gave an excellent speech about her commitment to her constituency and highlighted issues such as housing, railway electrification, bus routes and the climate emergency. It is clear from the range of contributions from new Members that they will all contribute considerably to the House in the weeks and months ahead.

It is no surprise to me, in closing the debate on the Budget, that many of the contributions from Members from all parties have focused less on the text from last week and more on the national challenge of our economic response to coronavirus. Both my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport and the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald), struck a constructive tone in their opening remarks, recognising their collaboration in meeting the challenge. Many other Secretaries of State have been similarly collaborating with their counterparts. On behalf of the Government, I should say that their approach has been much appreciated.

I very much agree with the hon. Member for Middlesbrough that our focus today is, as he said, primarily on the challenge, nationally and internationally, of fighting the virus. He was also right to recognise that it is no fault of the Chancellor that much has happened since last week and that since the Budget we have needed to move further. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor will update the House shortly and will respond to the legitimate point that the hon. Gentleman raised in his opening remarks.

At the Budget, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor said that he would do

“everything we can to keep this country, and our people, healthy and financially secure.”—[Official Report, 11 March 2020; Vol. 673, c. 278.]

At that time, less than a week ago, that involved a £12 billion temporary and targeted set of measures to respond to coronavirus, supporting public services, individuals and businesses. My right hon. Friend will shortly update the House on the further measures required to provide a comprehensive, co-ordinated and coherent response to the serious and evolving situation that we face.

As my right hon. Friend has said, we will do whatever it takes to give the British people the tools to get through this challenge. I can also announce that the Government are postponing the reforms to the off-payroll working rules IR35 from April 2020 to 6 April 2021. The Government will therefore not move the original resolution tonight, but will shortly table an additional resolution confirming that we will reintroduce the off-payroll working rules provisions by amending the Bill, with a commencement date of the 6 April 2021. This is a deferral in response to the ongoing spread of covid-19 to help businesses and individuals. This is a deferral, not a cancellation, and the Government remain committed to reintroducing this policy to ensure that people who are working like employees, but through their own limited company, pay broadly the same tax as those employed directly.

Let me turn in the remaining time to a number of key measures within the Budget, which, for understandable reasons, have perhaps received less focus in the course of the debate in light of recent events. [Interruption.] In particular, infrastructure links people to jobs, delivers products to markets and underpins supply chains and, indeed, supports domestic and international trade. Better roads, better rail and better internet connections enable businesses and individuals to work more quickly, cheaply and efficiently. While more quality infrastructure boosts social well-being, it means less time stuck on motorways—[Interruption.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. The House is too noisy. As I said with regard to Mr Dowd, the House must listen to the Minister.

[Steve Barclay]

Infrastructure is an issue that concerns all Members of the House. We are committed in this Budget to boosting productivity and to levelling up opportunity across all regions within our United Kingdom. Indeed, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out half a trillion pounds of investment in our public sector, and the Government will bring those plans together in the forthcoming national infrastructure strategy. We already know a lot of the details. For example, there is the commitment to the Northern Powerhouse Rail to enable faster more frequent services between northern cities. In February, the Prime Minister announced that we will proceed with High Speed 2, and last Wednesday, the Chancellor confirmed a £27 billion investment in strategic roads and motorways, the UK’s biggest ever outlay.

At the same time, we are investing £5 billion to support the roll-out of gigabit-capable broadband, starting with rural communities that have felt excluded up to now, binding all parts of the country closer together in the virtual realm and connecting global Britain to the global marketplace.

Alongside the big ticket eye-catching projects, the Budget also focused on meeting the most pressing local needs, whether that is the £2.5 billion for potholes, the £1.2 billion to support local transport infrastructures or, indeed, the funding for bus routes, trunk roads, cycle paths, trams, and park-and-ride schemes that all have the potential to make a transformative difference at a local level. Together it represents an infrastructure transformation that brings faster speeds and greater capacity and that would breathe new life into communities across our United Kingdom.

This transformation is not only about making every town and city more productive, but about recognising their uniqueness of character. Each place in this country has its own quirks and curiosities, traditions and traits that people depend on and draw strength from. Levelling up is about respecting and retaining those brilliant characteristics and making sure that each town keeps hold of its civic soul, while helping every region and nation of the United Kingdom make of its best. The Government know that civic pride and regional identity matter, and we want to bring about a strong and vibrant connected community where people choose to live and work. It is for that reason that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out in the Budget the largest affordable homes programme in a decade, with £12 billion in additional funding to support home ownership. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has already laid out our proposals to bring Britain’s planning system into the 21st century.

Although this is the end of the Budget debate from last week, many of the speeches have looked forward to the challenges ahead posed by covid-19 and its impact on our health, our businesses and our resolve. Much has changed over the past week and people are worried and their livelihoods are at risk. That is why my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will update the House shortly on the further measures that we intend to take. I commend this Budget to the House.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That income tax is charged for the tax year 2020-21.

And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.

The Deputy Speaker put forthwith the Questions necessary to dispose of the motions made in the name of the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Standing Order No. 51(3))

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I must inform the House that for the purposes of Standing Order 83U and on the basis of material put before him, Mr Speaker has certified that in his opinion motion No. 2 on income tax main rates relates to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and is within devolved legislative competence. If the House should decide to divide on this motion, it will be subject to double majority voting.



2. Income tax (main rates)

Resolved,

That for the tax year 2020-21 the main rates of income tax are as follows—

(a) the basic rate is 20%,

(b) the higher rate is 40%, and

(c) the additional rate is 45%.

And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.

3. Income tax (default and savings rates)

Resolved,

That—

(1) For the tax year 2020-21 the default rates of income tax are as follows—

(a) the default basic rate is 20%,

(b) the default higher rate is 40%, and

(c) the default additional rate is 45%.

(2) For the tax year 2020-21 the savings rates of income tax are as follows—

(a) the savings basic rate is 20%,

(b) the savings higher rate is 40%, and

(c) the savings additional rate is 45%.

And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.

4. Income tax (starting rate limit for savings)

Resolved,

That section 21 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (indexation) does not apply in relation to the starting rate limit for savings for the tax year 2020-21 (so that the starting rate limit for savings remains at £5,000 for that tax year).

And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.

5. Main rate of corporation tax for financial year 2020

Resolved,

That—

(1) For the financial year 2020 the main rate of corporation tax is 19%.

(2) Accordingly, omit section 7(2) of the Finance (No.2) Act 2015 (which is superseded by the provision made by paragraph (1) of this Resolution).

And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.

6. Corporation tax (charge and main rate for financial year 2021)

Resolved,

That (notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the practice of the House relating to the matters that may be included in Finance Bills) provision may be made—

(a) for corporation tax to be charged for the financial year 2021, and

(b) for the main rate of corporation tax for that year to be 19%.

8. Taxable benefits (appropriate percentage for a car: tax year 2020-21 onwards)

Resolved,

That—

(1) Chapter 6 of Part 3 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (taxable benefits: cars etc) is amended as follows.

(2) In section 136 (car with a CO2 emissions figure: post- September 1999 registration)—

(a) in subsection (2A)—

(i) after “figure” insert “in a case where the car is first registered before 6 April 2020”,

(ii) for “light-duty” substitute “light”, and

(iii) for “an EC certificate of conformity” substitute “the EC certificate of conformity or UK approval certificate”, and

(b) after subsection (2A) insert—

“(2B) For the purpose of determining the car’s CO2 emissions figure in a case where the car is first registered on or after 6 April 2020, ignore any values specified in the EC certificate of conformity or UK approval certificate that are not WLTP (worldwide harmonised light vehicle test procedures) values.”

(3) In section 137 (car with a CO2 emissions figure: bi-fuel cars)—

(a) in subsection (2A)—

(i) after “figure” insert “in a case where the car is first registered before 6 April 2020”,

(ii) for “light-duty” substitute “light”, and

(iii) for “an EC certificate of conformity” substitute “the EC certificate of conformity or UK approval certificate”, and

(b) after subsection (2A) insert—

“(2B) For the purpose of determining the car’s CO2 emissions figure in a case where the car is first registered on or after 6 April 2020, ignore any values specified in the EC certificate of conformity or UK approval certificate that are not WLTP (worldwide harmonised light vehicle test procedures) values.”

(4) In section 139 (car with a CO2 emissions figure)—

(a) for subsection (2) substitute—

“(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) and the table—

(a) if a CO2 emissions figure is not a whole number, round it down to the nearest whole number, and

(b) if an electric range figure is not a whole number, round it up to the nearest whole number.”, and

(b) after subsection (5) insert—

“(5A) For the purpose of determining the electric range figure for a car first registered before 6 April 2020, ignore any WLTP (worldwide harmonised light vehicle test procedures) values specified in an EC certificate of conformity, an EC type approval certificate or a UK approval certificate.

(5B) For the purpose of determining the electric range figure for a car first registered on or after 6 April 2020, ignore any values specified in an EC certificate of conformity, an EC type approval certificate or a UK approval certificate that are not WLTP (worldwide harmonised light vehicle test procedures) values.”

(5) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect for the tax year 2020-21 and subsequent tax years.

And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.

9. Taxable benefits (appropriate percentage for a car: tax year 2020-21 only)

Resolved,

That—

(1) For the tax year 2020-21, Chapter 6 of Part 3 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (taxable benefits: cars etc) has effect with the following modifications.

(2) In section 139 (car with a CO2 emissions figure: the appropriate percentage)—

(a) in the table in subsection (1), in the second column of the entry for a car with a CO2 emissions figure of 0, for “2%” substitute “0%”, and (b) in subsection (7) before paragraph (a) insert—

“(za) section 139A (recently registered cars),”.

(3) After section 139 insert—

“139A Section 139: recently registered car with CO2 emissions figure

In its application in relation to a car that is first registered on or after 6 April 2020, section 139 has effect as if—

for the table in subsection (1) there were substituted—

EU Withdrawal Agreement

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Tuesday 18th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. [Interruption.] Order. We will have no more on this subject. The fact is that there are different interpretations of the actions of people in a Parliament other than this. I am satisfied that both sides have been heard, and that the facts are on the record. We will leave aside that point of order and allow the Secretary of State to continue with his speech.

[Stephen Barclay]

One could be forgiven perhaps for being confused over the SNP’s position on these matters, because no doubt the electorate are also confused. They were told in 2014 that there was a vote to listen to the Scottish people. The Scottish people duly spoke and said that they wanted to be a part of the United Kingdom, and now the position appears to be to no longer listen to the Scottish people and to ignore their views.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ian Blackford]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I ask for your guidance, because I think it is important that we are all honest in this place. If anyone looks at the record, they will see that what I did say was that we are wasting money on no deal that should be invested in frontline services. The Secretary of State has a duty to make sure that he is correct.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. Again, I am not the adjudicator of whether what any Member says here is correct as far as other Members are concerned, but it is my duty and my intention to make sure that the facts and the truth are always on the record. I am quite sure that the Secretary of State will deal with that point.

[Stephen Barclay]

I am grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for your clarification. I am very happy to stand by that clarification. I thought that the substance of what the right hon. Gentleman was saying—I realise that there was a lot of confusion over his speech—was that he was not in favour of spending money on no deal preparations. I thought that was the kernel of his point. Perhaps he is in favour of spending money on no deal preparation.

Healthcare in Essex

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Monday 5th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Health (Stephen Barclay)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) on securing the debate and on securing an early visit from the Secretary of State. As the whole House knows, he is passionate about the future of the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and he has raised this issue assiduously in a number of debates and interventions in the House. As he referred to, we had a very productive meeting with the hospital chief executive in June, when we discussed a range of issues, including the workforce and services offered at the hospital. That is in addition to an earlier Adjournment debate, as well as an Adjournment debate with my predecessor a year ago and exchanges at Health questions. On behalf of his constituents, he has brought these issues to the attention of the House extremely effectively.

I also place on record that I very much recognise that these issues are extremely important to Epping Forest as well, Madam Deputy Speaker. I know how assiduously you have campaigned on behalf of your constituents. Indeed, this is an issue that Members across Essex and Hertfordshire have spoken up on. That was reflected in previous debates and was reflected in the contribution from my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford). As we all recall, she was instrumental, as were other Essex MPs, including my right hon. Friend, in securing the new medical school, which, as she said, will help us to deliver the extra doctors to go with the buildings and capital spend, which we are discussing today.

As my right hon. Friend is aware, but for the benefit of the House, we have the sustainability and transformation fund as part of the Government’s commitment to upgrading the NHS estate. This investment will modernise and transform the NHS’s buildings and services, with the money going towards a range of programmes. This is part of the Government’s commitment to spending £3.9 billion on capital investment in buildings and facilities by 2022-23 and alongside the £20.5 billion a year extra that my right hon. Friend referred to. This investment—the biggest ever in the NHS—reflects the fact that the NHS is the public’s No. 1 priority, as indeed it is the Government’s No. 1 priority, and is an indication of the Prime Minister’s personal commitment to funding the NHS and ensuring it is fit for the future.

My right hon. Friend will be aware that the application window has now closed. I know that considerable work was done following the earlier application when a bid of between £500 million and £600 million was submitted. I am sure he will recognise that this was a significant sum but that the further work has brought it closer to the £330 million, and officials in NHS England and NHS Improvement are working closely with the Department to evaluate that bid alongside the other bids. As I mentioned in the previous debate, all bids will be assessed against standard criteria, including their value for money and contribution to transforming services and managing demand sustainably, as well as demonstrating their fit within a wider STP level estate strategy.

My right hon. Friend asked about timescales. The timescales are as previously referred to, with the commitment to decisions being made in the autumn. That position has not changed.

It is worth remembering that STP funding is only one element of support available to trusts. In 2017-18, the trust was successful in securing £2 million of emergency department capital funding to support the redesign of the emergency department. This funding was targeted to improve facilities and support improvements, including investment in paediatrics and the emergency department. In this financial year, capital funding to support winter pressures is also available to the trust, and this funding is part of the £145 million given to 80 NHS trusts across the country ahead of winter to improve emergency care. I understand that this money is earmarked for increasing bed capacity.

As we discussed in the summer, the trust recently exited special measures, with two thirds of services moving to a good or outstanding rating. This is a big achievement, and I know that the focus for 2018-19 is to achieve a good rating from the Care Quality Commission. My right hon. Friend has spoken about this in previous debates, and I join him once again in paying tribute to the staff who worked so hard to take the trust out of special measures.

It is clear that the hospital is a vital element of the local economy. I know that the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust has been working hard to improve recruitment and retention, and I am pleased that this is still a focus for it. The hospital is one of Health Education England’s nursing associate pilot sites through its lead partner, Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, and I am aware of plans for a huge expansion in the numbers of nursing associates through the apprentice route, which will positively impact on the work of the trust.

As I am sure the House is well aware, my right hon. Friend, like me, is a keen supporter of apprenticeships. I know that the hospital has taken on apprentices in the last year but that the number of apprentices is well below the target. It should be noted that any nursing associates in training as part of the scheme I just mentioned will not be included in the apprentice figures. As of April 2018, we know of 18 apprentices starting at the hospital, against a target of 76. I am keen to work with my right hon. Friend to continue the work that he has done in the House to ensure that the hospital meets that apprenticeship target. Both he and I are strongly committed to bringing more apprentices into the workforce.

My right hon. Friend referred to the Harlow science hub campus programme. Partly as a result of his campaigning, there will be a new public health campus in Harlow, at a cost of about £400 million. Not only are the Government making a significant contribution to the NHS, but the fact that the project is still on schedule—and by 2024, following a phased opening from 2021, approximately 2,700 staff will be based there—is a significant tribute to the work that my right hon. Friend has done, along with others, in securing a much-sought-after commitment to Harlow. I know that Public Health England and the Princess Alexandra Hospital have been discussing the opportunities that will arise as a result of the move to Harlow, and I hope to hear more about that soon.

I commend the work that my right hon. Friend is doing to raise support for the STP bid by the Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust. He has raised the estate issues faced by the trust on more than one occasion in the House, and in meetings with the Secretary of State and me, and I know that he raised them with my predecessor as well. We recognise that the hospital estate is in poor condition, which is why I am pleased that the trust has submitted the revised STP bid. I am also pleased that money was made available last year, and will be made available again this year, to make improvements to the hospital in the interim.

I look forward to continuing to work on this issue with my right hon. Friend, and to working on the future of the NHS in Harlow as well as the surrounding region. As has been made clear again this evening, Madam Deputy Speaker—alongside your own work—the patients and staff of the hospital can be confident that they could have no better champion than my right hon. Friend, who has campaigned to secure this much-needed investment.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

What an excellent, meaningful, well-targeted debate.

Question put and agreed to.

RBS Rural Branch Closures

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Barclay]

My hon. Friend refers to the true figures. The banking market is changing. As he will know, the use of cash has fallen by a fifth in the past decade. The number of branch visits has fallen by a third since 2011. More than a third of UK adults regularly use banking apps. Three fifths of customers are interacting with their current accounts via mobile apps, and more than 600,000 customers over 80 are registered with internet banking. The House must address the reality that the way people bank is changing, and that trend will accelerate as Open Banking comes on stream in January and FinTech progresses. I know from my recent visit to Edinburgh that a number of additional FinTech jobs will be created. The issue is not whether it is possible to prevent changes in the banking market, but how the impact on RBS customers can be mitigated.

As for the representations made by Members, RBS has given six months’ notice—more than the three months required by the access to banking standard—to hold discussions, in which I urge Members in all parts of the House to engage, about how facilities such as mobile banking can be used to mitigate some of the impacts. One of the key sources of mitigation is the post office network, in which the Government have invested significantly: 7,000 more branches have been modernised in the past three years alone. There are more post office branches than there are branches in the entire network of all the banks combined, and 99% of retail customers and 95% of commercial customers now have access to banking services at post offices. One form of mitigation will be for customers to vote with their feet—[Interruption.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

Order. Members must stop shouting. The Minister is just finishing his speech.

Food Banks

Debate between Steve Barclay and Eleanor Laing

Wednesday 17th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Barclay (North East Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I understand from the Table Office that it has had notice that the Government intend to publish tomorrow their much-delayed anti-corruption plan, which was due in June, and that the plan has been shared with third parties outside the House, but not with Members. Given the Christmas recess and the fact that Members might be leaving this evening, could you give any direction as to why Members are receiving the document after those outside the House?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his very reasonable point. Of course, I have no responsibility for the actions of the Government, but I am quite sure that those on the Treasury Bench will have heard what he has said. If it is indeed the case that something that should have been reported first to the House has been published elsewhere, I am sure that Mr Speaker will take a very dim view of that. [Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman says from a sedentary position that it has not been published, but sent to others. If Mr Speaker has an opportunity to make a ruling on the matter, I am quite sure that he will say that matters that ought to be reported to the House ought to be reported first to the House, as a matter of courtesy not only to the House, but to the people we are elected to represent.