Business of the House Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: Leader of the House

Business of the House

Tessa Munt Excerpts
Thursday 30th January 2014

(10 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Lansley Portrait Mr Lansley
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

The hon. Gentleman might like to initiate an Adjournment debate on that subject, although I suspect we have just heard the speech.

Tessa Munt Portrait Tessa Munt (Wells) (LD)
- Hansard - -

May we have a debate on why the lobbyist John Murray, chief executive of the Specialised Healthcare Alliance—an organisation totally funded by powerful drug companies—has been allowed to co-author NHS policy on £12 billion of specialised services, including cancer radiotherapy treatment, with James Palmer, clinical director of NHS England?

Lord Lansley Portrait Mr Lansley
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

Over many years I have known John Murray to be, in personal terms, somebody who is very expert on specialised health care issues. Whoever happened to be party to the authorship of the policy, the responsibility lies within NHS England. Its job is to ensure that it exercises a dispassionate and impartial approach to the making of policy.