Al Pinkerton MP: speeches

Speeches

• 11 Feb 2025 · Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Travel Advice · Hansard source

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  As I was saying, one of the greatest challenges that Cathy and campaign groups face in their advocacy for carbon monoxide awareness is the lack of accurate data on carbon monoxide-related deaths overseas. We know that fatalities have occurred over the past 25 years in the likes of Spain, Egypt, France and Ecuador, with many more cases of travellers being hospitalised worldwide. The data remains fragmented, however, and it drastically under-records and under-represents the true scale of carbon monoxide deaths. In many countries, post-mortem toxicology reports are not required, meaning that carbon monoxide often goes undetected and unrecorded. Ultimately, deaths caused by carbon monoxide may be attributed to generic pulmonary conditions, as happened with Hudson. The silent killer remains silent. The UK charity CO-Gas Safety has recorded 34 deaths of British citizens overseas by carbon monoxide poisoning since 1999, but it stresses that that is a vast under-recording. How many more have gone undocumented? Many families lack the resources or ability to do what Cathy did, leaving them without the truth that they deserve. It is crucial to understand that the dangers of carbon monoxide extend far beyond sudden fatal poisoning. Since taking up this cause, I have met survivors who suffer from the long-term health implications, including severe cognitive impairments that affect memory, language, mood and behaviour, all of which are caused by prolonged CO exposure. The risk is not limited to home stays such as the one Hudson was in when he died, nor is it confined to low-budget backpacker accommodation, as some might assume. In May 2022, three American tourists were found dead in their villas at the Sandals resort in the Bahamas, having all perished from the effects of carbon monoxide. Let me be clear: this can happen to anyone anywhere, at any age, in a luxury hotel or a backpacker hostel. Faults can develop even in well-maintained appliances, meaning that all travellers, regardless of where they stay, would be well advised to take precautions. The most heart-wrenching reality of this particular tragedy is that it was entirely preventable. If only Hudson had been aware of the high levels of carbon monoxide in his home stay—if only he had carried a £20 portable carbon monoxide alarm. Since Hudson’s death, Cathy and her family, who are here today, have dedicated themselves to raising awareness of the risks of CO poisoning through Hudson’s Pack Safe appeal—a campaign that encourages travellers, particularly young backpackers, to carry and use a carbon monoxide alarm. Working in collaboration with the Safer Tourism Foundation, Cathy’s campaign pushes for greater responsibility across the travel industry to ensure that all accommodation providers, from chain hotels to Airbnb hosts, pay attention to carbon monoxide safety. Hudson’s Pack Safe appeal has already made significant progress in educating about these potential dangers. Through the sheer force of her character—I can attest to that force—Cathy has taken Hudson’s message on to radio and television, and even into the match day programme at Chelsea football club, the team Hudson had supported all his life. It is fair to say that this debate would not be happening today had it not been for the constituency surgery I had with Cathy last November. That conversation opened my eyes to the devastating effect that carbon monoxide poisoning can have. Although I had heard of the odourless, colourless gas before and was aware of the “silent killer” label, I had no understanding of CO’s deadly consequences, not just for travellers such as Hudson but for people in homes here in the UK. That brings me to what I ask the Government to do on behalf of Hudson’s family and all the campaign groups I have been working with, many of whom are in the Gallery. The root cause of these preventable deaths is the fact that travellers are simply unaware that the accommodation they are staying in could pose a potential carbon monoxide risk. They do not even realise that the danger exists. Although the risk of carbon monoxide is undoubtedly everywhere, even here in the UK, education about its risk is not at the same level as, say, education about the risk of fire. Unlike fire, people cannot see it, smell it or sense it. They would not even know if they were suffering from its effects. That is the fundamental issue. Shockingly, many major travel companies, such as the one that Hudson used to organise his kit list for his trip to South America, are completely unaware of those risks. But there is a devastatingly simple way to put the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning on to the radar of the UK travel industry, and into the minds and plans of British people travelling overseas. The UK travel sector closely monitors and indexes itself against the travel advice provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. From school trips abroad to travel companies, the travel industry uses information from the gov.uk website and feeds it into corporate and institutional risk assessments and travel guides. I know, because I have done it myself when organising field trips and coursework overseas in the university sector. The FCDO has a huge amount of influence in the UK travel sector, even if it does not always realise it, and the risks faced by travellers are clearly reflected in the travel advice and kit lists that the FCDO provides. In correspondence with me on 22 January, the Minister of State for Development stated that the British embassy in Quito had recently reviewed carbon monoxide poisoning incidents in Ecuador, and as a result had determined not to update travel advice to add the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Given Cathy’s experience in securing an accurate post-mortem assessment in Hudson’s case, the reliability of the data on which that assessment was made is certainly open to question. Some may ask: why focus this debate on risk to travellers overseas? The answer is simple. Because carbon monoxide has no smell or taste, it is not an obvious danger, so it can happen anywhere in the world. Someone such as Hudson, who only felt faint in the days leading up to his death, would not necessarily have realised that he was in any imminent danger. People instinctively flee when they see fire, but the same instinctive response does not apply to carbon monoxide poisoning.

• 10 Feb 2025 · Minority Groups in the Armed Forces · Hansard source

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  11. What steps he is taking to support minority groups in the armed forces.

• 10 Feb 2025 · Minority Groups in the Armed Forces · Hansard source

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  In 2019, the Wigston review identified that serving personnel from ethnic minority backgrounds are subject to higher levels of harassment and bullying than their white British counterparts. Given the recent success of the Atherton review, which cast light on the structural challenges faced by women in the armed forces, and given that 16% of the British Army workforce comes from ethnic minority groups, does the ministerial team think it might be time to have an Atherton-style review, independent of the MOD, into the challenges faced by ethnic minority groups to ensure and enhance recruitment, retention and promotional opportunities?

• 5 Feb 2025 · English Devolution and Local Government · Hansard source

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  I am very grateful to the Secretary of State for her statement. One of the points of detail in the statement is that Surrey, where my constituency of Surrey Heath is located, is excluded from the devolution priority programme, yet elections in Surrey have been cancelled none the less. My residents face the prospect of having none of the advantages of being in the priority programme and all of the disadvantages of losing their elections. Can the Secretary of State explain to me and my residents why Surrey has been added on as a kind of addendum to the list that she has provided, and why did it not qualify for the priority programme in the first place?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Chagos Islands · Hansard source

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  A few weeks ago I had the privilege of meeting a large group of Chagossians who had come from, in some cases, as far away as France to discuss with Members of Parliament their feelings about this deal. I was one of only three MPs who turned up, and the Chagossians were devastated by that turnout. They told us that they had not been in any way meaningfully consulted about the deal, so the Minister has a challenge on his hands. He told the House that meaningful negotiations and discussions had taken place. He has a choice today: he can either tell us precisely what those consultations and negotiations were, or correct the record.

• 22 Jan 2025 · Education, Health and Care Plans · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Marie Goldman) for securing the debate. Parents in my constituency of Surrey Heath will know all too well the failures of Surrey county council to deliver an effective SEND system. In 2023, only 16.2% of EHCPs were issued in the statutory 22-week period. Even though Surrey county council now celebrates a frankly miraculous rise to 70% issuance of EHCPs in the statutory 22 weeks in the latter half of 2024, parents tell me that those EHCPs are coming back with the wrong name or date of birth, describing the wrong conditions and offering inappropriate packages of support. It is, of course, parents, families and children who suffer the consequences of that. My constituents tell me that some of their children have attempted to take their own lives. Other parents have had to leave full-time employment in order to become permanent carers for their children, which is bad for them, their family, their family finances and the economy. Timeliness and quality are not mutually exclusive, and they are essential components of good EHCPs. Our children deserve better, as do the families, the educators and the professionals who are becoming permanent advocates on their behalf.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  Residents living in Mytchett Heath, a retirement community in my constituency, have reported the regular and repeated withholding of invoices, excessive insurance charges and £107,000-worth of maintenance without any supporting rationale. All of this adds up to a 70% increase in service charges since 2020. What is the Minister doing to ensure that not-for-profit companies such as Cognatum Estates, which is, to be very clear, not a social landlord, are held to account? Will he accede to a meeting with me and residents of Mytchett Heath and other Cognatum leaseholders to understand the challenges and anxieties they face?

• 20 Jan 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  19. What steps she is taking to ensure that not-for-profit freeholders are accountable for their management practices.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Public Services · Hansard source

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  A&E waiting times in Northern Ireland now exceed 12 hours in some hospitals, patients are being treated in the back of ambulances because of a lack of beds, and Dr Alan Stout, the chair of the British Medical Association’s Northern Ireland council, has told the Northern Ireland Committee today that Northern Ireland is in a particularly bad place when it comes to health services. What conversations have the Secretary of State and Minister had with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that they have the resources that they need to cope with this immediate crisis? Are Ministers convinced that the 124% fiscal floor is adequate for addressing this issue in the long term?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  Residents in Surrey Heath face the prospect of cancelled elections, forced unitarisation and then forced amalgamation into a new western Surrey unitary authority, if the leader of Surrey county council gets his way. That western unitary authority would inherit £5 billion of debt. I am sure the Minister will agree that in seeking a new sense of identity for west surrey, a shared sense of bankruptcy was not what we were looking for, but that is the prospect we face. What would the Minister say to my residents, who played no part in accumulating that debt but who may in the future play a part in paying it off?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Hospice and Palliative Care · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Gentleman join me in paying tribute to the Phyllis Tuckwell hospice, which does great work in his constituency and mine? I have been speaking to the hospice over the last few days, and it requires £25,000 a day to maintain its services. The hospice has told me that it desperately needs multi-year funding settlements to offer a guarantee of future financial security, as well as a clearly articulated workforce plan to ensure continuity of high-quality staff.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way, especially during such a powerful and meaningful speech. One of my constituents, whom I shall refer to as Claire in order to protect her identity, is only 16 years old and has attempted to take her own life 12 times. Her desperate mother has had to take Surrey county council to a tribunal 10 times to try to secure the appropriate educational, therapeutic and social care that she needs. Does my hon. Friend agree that, while we welcome the tightening of legislation presented in the Bill, it is only as good as the willingness and ability of schools and councils to implement it?

• 16 Dec 2024 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I commend the hon. Lady on her excellent speech, and her celebration of local campaigners. In my constituency, Thames Water is responsible for numerous sewage leaks and a great stink that lingered over our market town of Camberley last summer. Does she agree that the Bill needs to provide for tougher regulation, and greater transparency and accountability, to ensure that water companies put health and safety and water quality over shareholder dividends?

• 11 Dec 2024 · Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects and Local Road Networks · Hansard source

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  The Government’s target for 1.5 million more houses will have a transformative impact on the UK, particularly in terms of our national strategic infrastructure, such as motorways and motorway junctions. That will have a major impact in constituencies such as mine, which is bisected by the M3 motorway and is expected to have a 250% increase in housing over the next few years, despite our already overcrowded roads. Does my hon. Friend agree that local communities need to be put at the heart of decision making, and that national strategic infrastructure must be upgraded in advance of development, rather than long after?

• 9 Dec 2024 · SEND Pupils: Support · Hansard source

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  22. What steps her Department is taking to improve support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

• 9 Dec 2024 · SEND Pupils: Support · Hansard source

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  Across Surrey last year, more than 1,800 children with special educational needs were absent from school for more than a third of the time. Special educational needs co-ordinators are incredibly frustrated that EHCPs are coming back from our local council with the wrong names, describing the wrong conditions and offering the wrong packages of care. Teachers are stretched, headteachers cannot stretch their budgets any further, and one or both parents are having to give up employment to look after their children, yet the leadership of Surrey county council has said that there is not a problem with special educational needs, but that there are parents who are too articulate. Would the Minister please meet me and SENCOs to discuss this very serious—

• 4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that reluctant acceptance, and I congratulate him on his speech. Does he agree with me, and with those in Lightwater surgery in my constituency, that in an average general practice such as Lightwater the national insurance rise equates to the salary of a fully qualified nurse, and that, whether by accident or design, it will have a significant impact on our constituents and their receipt of healthcare?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Northern Ireland: Legacy of the Troubles · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. It has long been recognised that it is neither wise nor sustainable to simply draw a line under the past in Northern Ireland; there is too much hurt and there are too many demands for truth and justice. The Liberal Democrats believe that Northern Ireland must be able to deal with its past in a manner that promotes reconciliation and is consistent with a shared future. The approach of the previous Government was wrong. We opposed the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act, as did every political party in Northern Ireland. Just as working closely with Northern Ireland political parties is crucial to helping Northern Ireland deal with its past, so too is having a constructive relationship with the Republic of Ireland. To that end, we welcome the Government’s new and constructive approach and the announcement of new legislation. I welcome the Northern Ireland Secretary’s meeting with Micheál Martin earlier this week. Does the Secretary of State believe that we might be making progress towards the Irish Government withdrawing their legal case? He said that legislation will be introduced when parliamentary time allows. Will he offer further insight on when that might be? On the ICRIR, I think we all agree that it is vital to have a body that has the faith and trust of victims and their families, and I pay tribute to Sir Declan Morgan and his colleagues for the work that they have done in hugely challenging circumstances. I heard what the Secretary of State said regarding reforming the ICRIR, but will he keep on the table the option of replacing it entirely, should it turn out that such reforms do not deliver what we all want to see, which is families getting the answers they need in a manner that promotes reconciliation and an institution that commands widespread public trust?

• 13 Nov 2024 · Chagos Islands · Hansard source

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  Many Chagossians from all over the country gathered at a rally yesterday, where they expressed their concerns about the UK-Mauritius agreement. We reiterate our concerns here today. The exclusion of the voice of the Chagossians is wrong. It cannot be right, and surely no Member of this House could think it acceptable that the Chagossians are denied the opportunity for self-determination. Will the Minister update the House to confirm the timescales by which Parliament will have oversight of the final treaty? Will he look again at injecting the voice of Chagossians into the process, even at this late stage? May I also raise the case of the Tamils stranded on Diego Garcia? We welcome recent news reports that they will be airlifted to the UK, but will the Minister update the House on whether that will take place and whether they will be permitted a permanent right to resettlement in the UK?

• 12 Nov 2024 · Transport Infrastructure Projects: Elizabeth Line · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure, Mr Vickers, to serve under your chairmanship, and I extend my congratulations to the hon. Member for Reading Central (Matt Rodda) on securing this crucial debate. I would like to focus on two pressing issues relating to the current and future state of transport infrastructure in my constituency of Surrey Heath. First, and keeping it local, there are fragmented internal transport links between towns and villages in my infrastructurally left-behind constituency. Bus services, which are vital to some of my most vulnerable constituents, including children and the elderly, are thin on the ground and poorly scheduled. As a result, many people miss rail connections, arrive late at work or school, and struggle to make hospital appointments. Residents report having to spend more than £50 to make it on time for a 9 am hospital appointment, due to the lack of a public transport option. For residents in villages such as Chobham, the problem is particularly acute. They lack any bus services at all. There is no direct bus route connecting railway stations in Sunningdale or Blackwater to key hubs such as Camberley or Frimley. That lack of integrated public transport has made car dependency the norm in Surrey Heath. Over 56% of households own two or more cars, and 60% of trips under 10 km are made by private vehicles. That is not, I would contend, out of choice but out of necessity. There is simply no viable alternative. That dependency creates severe congestion on major roads such as the A322. If anyone listens to the traffic reports in the morning, they will have heard that letter and those numbers mentioned all too often. With the national planning policy framework placing a 250% increase on new housing targets in Surrey Heath, that infrastructural challenge will only become more severe, but it is one that our current transport funding and planning mechanisms seem inadequate to address. If we want new homes, which we surely do, and if we want business and economic growth, we simply cannot react to transport deserts and congestion after the fact. We need to anticipate better, look ahead and think proactively. That brings me to my second point, which concerns transport links between Surrey Heath and London. Frankly, in Surrey Heath we pray for something like the Elizabeth line. Camberley, the largest market town in my constituency, is hugely underutilised by commuters, despite being only 28 miles from the centre of the capital. Camberley station served just 789 passengers daily in 2022-23—not, I would argue, because of a lack of demand for a high-quality commuter service, but because the slow, fragmented service on offer forces residents to access the rail system from outside our borough altogether. It is a sad reality that, in 2024, the journey to central London from Camberley now takes one hour and 15 minutes, involving at least one change. That is longer than the same journey in the 1920s, a century ago. Most residents, including me, find it more practical to drive many miles to rail stations outside Surrey Heath, such as Farnborough, Brookwood or Woking, to access the faster, more direct routes to the city. Surrey Heath’s transport system is failing its residents, keeping children out of school, and stifling local economic growth, and it is now unable to keep up with the demands placed on it by new house building targets. Like many other infrastructurally left-behind places in the UK, Surrey Heath urgently needs investment in fast, efficient and direct rail links to London, synchronised bus schedules and better rural transport options. Those improvements have the potential to tackle congestion, lower emissions and support sustainable development, while enhancing the environment and the quality of life for residents. Just as importantly for a Government with a focus on economic growth, improved infrastructure can act as the oil in the engine of economic growth, and I hope this Government see that as an investment worth making for our shared future prosperity. Surrey Heath businesses want and deserve access to game-changing infrastructure such as the Elizabeth line, and Surrey Heath residents would, I am certain, make for hugely vocal converts and give the hon. Member for Reading Central a run for his money.

• 6 Nov 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I congratulate all of today’s maiden speakers on their excellent contributions. In her Budget statement last week, the Chancellor announced a £1 billion increase for special educational needs and disabilities. Any additional funding is of course very welcome, especially in Surrey, where the SEND system is in crisis, but it is important to put that figure in context. Estimates suggests that the national SEND budget is running an annual deficit of £4 billion, rising to nearly £6 billion in 2025. The whole system is being saved from complete collapse thanks only to a statutory override—an accountancy trick that allows councils to keep these deficits off their books until March 2026. What happens after that no one yet knows, but the National Audit Office has warned that the UK’s SEND system teeters on the brink of collapse. Surrey county council alone is carrying an eye-watering £118 million SEND deficit, so while the Chancellor’s additional £1 billion investment may sound promising, it really only buys a little time. A few weeks ago, I spent a morning with a group of nearly 70 parents, each of whom has a child or children with special educational needs. Many of those children have been unable to attend school for months, and in some cases years, due to the lack of an appropriate setting or support. Parents are being forced into becoming full-time carers, with one or both parents giving up paid employment to take on caring responsibilities. Each year, thousands of private and public sector workers are lost from the economy because SEND provision is failing children and parents alike. Parents tell me that when they are not educating their children, they work late into the night administering appeals processes, gathering evidence for tribunals, and seeking help from charities and agencies that might just help to unlock the broken SEND system for them. That is the daily pattern for many thousands of households across the country, yet the experience can feel crushingly lonely. The SEND system pulls working people out of their careers and out of the workforce, while permanently limiting the life and career chances of children with incredible potential. Those human and economic costs are barely accounted for in the Government’s budget-setting. If this is indeed a Government who prioritise economic growth and seek to invest in working people, I encourage them to see reform and proper funding of special educational needs as a vital component of their national mission.

• 28 Oct 2024 · Remembrance and Veterans · Hansard source

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  My constituency has a deep historic connection with the UK armed forces. Today it is home to Army Training Centre Pirbright and a substantial part of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. This evening, though, I want to draw attention to two veterans I have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know in Surrey Heath over the past few years. Their stories speak of the unevenness of veterans’ experiences, and of those in communities in the wider armed forces family whose courage and sacrifice may be equal to others’, but who have had to fight for justice and recognition. Carol Morgan wanted to be in the Army since she was a little girl. It was a commitment, a conviction and a vocation, yet when she was only 24, she was unceremoniously discharged from the Women’s Royal Army Corps solely because of who she loved. Although homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967, those who were gay in the UK armed forces prior to the year 2000 had to keep their identity and feelings hidden. After being reported on by a colleague, Carol recalls relentless interrogations about the most intimate details of her life, and countless humiliations that left her feeling like a criminal. For LGBT veterans, being found to be gay meant being discharged and the loss of their career, livelihood, medals and pension. In some cases, it meant imprisonment. Tragically, the trauma of those experiences led many to take their own life, and thousands of LGBT veterans suffered long-term harm under this atrocious policy. While I acknowledge that progress has undoubtedly been made—there has been an apology from the former Prime Minister, an LGBT veterans independent review and a £50-million compensation fund—true justice remains elusive. For the approximately 4,000 veterans whose lives were irreparably altered, £12,500 is a meagre offering. I hope that the Government will use this Budget and remembrance season to reconsider the scale of that scheme, and to give those veterans the recognition that they truly deserve. I also note the furore around the Royal British Legion’s poppy badge that has the LGBT flag alongside it. The outrage might be reserved to fringe television stations in the UK, but it is a reminder that the injustices endured by many LGBT veterans are still far from resolved or reconciled, even now in 2024. I pay tribute to the Gurkha community, whose regimental headquarters are in Surrey Heath. For over two centuries, soldiers from Nepal have fought bravely for the British Army in the UK’s most pivotal conflicts, from both world wars to the Falklands, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their loyalty, their courage and their sacrifice. I particularly want to honour Kaji Sherpa, who I met just a few months ago, a former Gurkha officer and the first serving Gurkha to be granted UK citizenship. As we approach another Remembrance Day, we should commit ourselves to remembering that, for some, the fight for justice continues.

• 23 Oct 2024 · Budget Sustainability Plan · Hansard source

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  The budget sustainability plan highlights that Northern Ireland has been systemically underfunded, with the fiscal council estimating an annual shortfall of between £300 million and £400 million since 2022. Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Executive reported a £559 million overspend between 2022 and 2024. What measures are the Government taking to address Northern Ireland’s immediate budgetary pressures, ensure long-term financial stability and equitable funding, and, crucially, guarantee sustainable public services?

• 16 Oct 2024 · Access to Primary Healthcare · Hansard source

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  For my constituents in Surrey Heath, access to primary care—whether GPs, dentists, pharmacies or optometrists—has increasingly become a postcode lottery. Vast dentistry deserts—maybe not of Saharan scale—have opened up across Surrey Heath, with residents simply unable to find an NHS dentist with an open list for them or their families. When a list does open up, it almost immediately closes again due to the overwhelming demand. Today, families are being forced to seek private provision for their dental care—if they are able to stretch their finances that far—or they simply forgo dental care altogether. During the recent election, I even met a constituent who had resorted to an amateur tooth extraction because of the lack of affordable dental treatment locally. The postcode lottery extends to GP services too, although the issue of access takes on a slightly different form. Surrey Heath has some excellent and much-loved GP practices that are working hard to put the experiences of users first, but others have booking systems, triage mechanisms and approaches to communication that leave patients feeling anxious and frustrated. I pay particular tribute to the surgery in Lightwater, a village in my constituency. Residents regale me routinely with stories about the fast, efficient and friendly telephone service it provides, the availability of on-the-day appointments and the generally high quality of the service. It is little wonder that residents from miles beyond Lightwater are so desperate to move their registration to that particular well-run surgery. Some other surgeries, however, are not so highly praised. They are criticised for their impersonal online booking systems and inappropriately long waiting times for appointments, sometimes requiring patients to wait a month or so to see a GP. This is not just poor practice; it has real-life implications for the health outcomes of patients and for the economy, as residents take longer to be seen, longer to be treated, longer to recover, and longer to get back to work than if they had been seen earlier. Online booking systems risk creating a digital barrier to entry for our most vulnerable residents. It cannot be right that those requiring healthcare might be dissuaded from seeking it because of the complexity of approaching their GP, or because they do not have, cannot afford or cannot operate the technologies required to book an appointment. Our local pharmacies, too, are under huge strain, and I commend the incredible local independent pharmacies who look after communities across Surrey Heath so well. I am incredibly pleased that we are having this debate today, not only to talk about the challenges of primary healthcare but to highlight some of the great practice that we can see within our communities. We need to support our local pharmacies, which deliver so much care and support, and we need, as the Liberal Democrat manifesto proposed, to enshrine the commitment that patients can see a GP within seven days—a commitment underpinned by an associated commitment to train and recruit thousands of GPs every year.