Alison McGovern MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I also respect my hon. Friend and, though it was not a point of order, the House will have heard what she said. I am attempting to address the points that have been raised in the debate, particularly on procedural matters, on social care and palliative care, which I turn to now. Palliative care is extremely important and has been raised many times within the debate. As the Chair of the Select Committee set out, we are developing a modern service framework for palliative and end-of-life care. The framework is clinically led and evidence-based, to support sustained improvements in outcomes for patients and carers, including by systematically identifying, measuring and reducing health inequalities and reducing unwarranted variation in access, in experience and in outcomes. As part of that work, we expect all integrated care boards to complete a needs assessment so that we can get a detailed understanding of their current and future population, including people of all ages with palliative care and end-of-life needs. That is vital in order to commission services that best meet the need while providing value for money. Many hon. Members raised the importance of doing that, and particularly of reducing unwanted variation. I acknowledge that and I will be working with Members across the House to deliver that modern service framework. Members quite rightly mentioned the hospice sector. We provided a £125 million capital boost to funding for adult and children and young people’s hospices. I say to hon. Members that I have heard the points that they have made, and I know we have more to do. Many hon. Members and friends will know that in July, I lost my own mum, so I had a very practical education in this topic, and that experience will shape how I take this work forward. To conclude, I thank all hon. Members once again for all they have said. They will understand how difficult it is when we are sharing personal experience, as many of them have done today, and I am really proud of everybody who has done so, difficult and challenging though this issue is. I thank all Members who have given me their sympathy over recent months and weeks. It has been so appreciated. The Government remain neutral on whether the Bill should become law, but it is our serious responsibility, should Parliament pass it, to ensure effective implementation within the framework provided by the legislation. On that basis, we would provide technical support to the promoter if Parliament chooses to progress the Bill. That said, I will repeat the comments made by the right hon. Member for East Hampshire from the Opposition Dispatch Box, which I now say on behalf of the Government. This is a deeply challenging issue for us all, for the public and for the constituents we represent. In discussing this issue, we must model the best behaviour of this House—having respectful, thoughtful, careful debate, listening to one another and understanding our very different perspectives. I think that we have done that today. I hope that, whatever happens in the Division, we will be able to continue to show those behaviours and give this serious subject the deep respect it deserves.

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Not for the first time this week, I find myself wholeheartedly agreeing with the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds). He and I agree that we will all act according to our conscience and respect others if they come to a different conclusion. I thank Members on both sides of the debate across the House for their consideration of this legislation and their thoughtful contributions to the debate. By my count, 40 Members have spoken in the debate; I have listened to all that they have said with great interest, and I thank each and every one of them. It has been a difficult debate to speak in at times. We have heard of people’s own family and private experiences, and that is hard to bring to this House. I really thank all colleagues across every corner of this House for doing so. The issue of assisted dying has been subject to extensive and detailed consideration over a number of years, most recently in this House and the other place in the previous Session, as well as outside Parliament. We think today of all those who feel strongly on both sides of this debate and what they are thinking about as they listen to our discussions. We send our care to all those who are struggling with grief. Let me reiterate that the Government are neutral on the question of assisted dying and on the passage of the Bill. As the Prime Minister has said, this is an incredibly important and personal debate, and it is right that it is a matter for Parliament, not Government, to decide whether the Bill should become law. However, the Government have a duty to the statute book. It is on that basis that I am speaking at the Dispatch Box today as the Minister responsible for helping to ensure that the Bill, if passed, is workable and effective. I must explain to Members that in the interests of time, I am going to keep my remarks purposefully brief, and I will not be taking any interventions; I apologise to Members wholeheartedly for that, as I would normally take interventions. I am happy to discuss with Members any issues that they have. I have listened to the entire debate today and heard Members’ views, questions and many interventions, and I want to turn briefly to a couple of important issues. On procedure, like any private Member’s Bill, this Bill will proceed through the usual parliamentary stages, subject to Parliament’s will. With respect to questions to the Government on the Parliament Acts, I refer Members to the Acts themselves, which set out conditions under which legislation may pass without requiring the consent of the House of Lords. That is a matter for Parliament, and it is not for the Government to decide whether to pass this Bill. As is usual with any constitutional questions, Members may approach the Clerks for further advice, as I am sure you would agree, Madam Deputy Speaker.

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I have said that I am not going to take any interventions. I am sorry to be discourteous to the hon. Member, but I am going to stick to that. I want to make a few comments on the matter of social care and palliative care, having recently taken over responsibility for these most important issues. In my opinion, social care has been ignored for far too long—both the 1.5 million people, mainly women, who work in it and the families who need it. We have heard that across the House today. The Prime Minister has made social care a personal priority, and I am working with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to deliver changes now, alongside the work being done by the Casey commission, which we have expedited by a year. Building a national care service will mean that people know where to turn when they need help and that care workers are given the status and the respect they deserve. We are pushing ahead with workforce changes, including career progression, training and job security, and we have made £4.6 billion of additional funding available for adult social care by the end of this Parliament, including £500 million for the first fair pay agreement for care workers. We will strengthen social care now—we are not just waiting for the Casey commission—and provide greater choice and independence as we do so. Turning to palliative care—

• 8 Sept 2026 · World Suicide Prevention Day · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon and Consett (Liz Twist), whose leadership on the issue since she joined the House has been second to none. We are all extremely grateful to her. As colleagues will understand, this debate must conclude at 11.30 am. I will do my best to make some remarks today on behalf of the Government, but I assure hon. Members that I have taken a note of all their contributions today and will relay them to the teams working on the mental health strategy. I hope that colleagues know that my door is always open to those who want to influence the forthcoming mental health strategy, particularly on this issue. I look forward to working with them all. Every life lost to suicide is one life too many. That is why ensuring that fewer lives are lost to suicide is a priority, as my hon. Friend says. As we come together to discuss World Suicide Prevention Day, I reaffirm the Government’s commitment to delivering the suicide prevention strategy for England. We have already made important progress, from improving our ability to detect emerging trends through near real-time surveillance to strengthening suicide prevention practice across services and investing in targeted support for those groups that are most at risk, which several hon. Members have mentioned and which is clearly very important. The theme of World Suicide Prevention Day is changing the narrative. That provides us with the opportunity to reflect on how to approach suicide prevention, and it challenges us to do more to prevent suicide. We want a society in which people feel able and safe to discuss their mental health, as hon. Members have done—particularly my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Mr Charters), who made an important contribution about his own mental health. We want people to be supported to express their experience of suicidal thoughts and to seek help. Mental health support has a vital role to play in that. The 10-year health plan set out a bold ambition—to reform the NHS and to change the way mental health support is provided, investing £343 million in capital funding to make that change—but we need to go further. That is why we are developing a cross-Government mental health strategy for England. As my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon and Consett mentioned, I am relatively new to this role. It is good to be the Minister of State for mental health; although I am new to the Department of Health and Social Care, hon. Members will know that I am not new to this issue, and particularly not to the impact of mental health on getting people into work and moving on, so I am looking forward to hitting the ground running with colleagues. The strategy will aim to transform mental health care into a system that responds earlier and helps people to stay active and participating, which we know is so important preventively and for good mental health. Like the suicide prevention strategy, it will look beyond the NHS and will consider the role of schools, workplaces and the voluntary sector, for all the reasons that colleagues have mentioned. We need to meet people where they are. Suicide is complicated. There are a range of factors outside the mental health system that we also need to address. The suicide prevention strategy identifies evidence-based factors, including financial difficulty, substance misuse, harmful gambling—a topic that I personally feel very passionate about—domestic abuse, physical illness, social isolation and loneliness. Many of those risk factors are closely linked to wider health inequalities. This is a complicated subject. Opportunities to prevent suicide do not exist solely within mental health services. Three quarters of people who die by suicide are not in contact with NHS mental health services, but are in contact with other services and other support systems. We must make the most of those opportunities. Earlier this year, for example, my ministerial colleague Baroness Merron, alongside the brilliant charity Money and Mental Health, convened senior stakeholders from financial services to discuss the role that they can play in supporting people—both customers and employees—who are at risk of suicide. That is the kind of approach that we need to model. We will identify and maximise opportunities to make sure that every person who requires support can readily get help in their community, as colleagues have asked, as a principle that should underpin our approach. Colleagues have mentioned the impact on men. It is so important that we recognise that, particularly with middle-aged men at risk of suicide, who might need support from multiple services; colleagues will be aware of the men’s health strategy that we announced recently. I will end by briefly mentioning the work of the Premier League. I know only too well that football gets men talking. I am so proud that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Riverside (Kim Johnson) mentioned, we have taken the opportunity to make the national game a place that helps people to open up and talk. I say: more of that! Question put and agreed to.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I will take away that point and endeavour to give the hon. Gentleman that information as soon as we can.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I am now aware of the opinion poll because the right hon. Member mentioned it to me a few moments ago, for which I am grateful. He has mentioned a meeting, which I certainly did not attend. I am sure that if he forwards the details, the Department will be able to look at them, but I certainly was not present at any such meeting.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  Yes, we will consider representations from all stakeholders through this process.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  As a fellow north-west MP and fan of Blackpool, I say to my hon. Friend that he is absolutely right. We need to stick to the timetable and get on with this, so that we can invest in Lancashire, in Blackpool and in everywhere else.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  Obviously, like all politicians, I pay close attention to opinion polls.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I am sorry to say that I have not seen that report in The Times , but I would be very happy to write the right hon. Gentleman with a response to his question.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  As I mentioned earlier, there is evidence from the Milburn review of child poverty that fragmented services are very bad for vulnerable people living in poverty. There are other examples as well, and I have heard from my hon. Friend about his worries for his city. Dealing with that is the real purpose behind these reforms.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. He said I was desperate to avoid scrutiny—

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her important and serious point. I have been working very closely with my colleagues in the Department for Education on this issue. A big change process is under way, and I would be happy to speak to the hon. Lady further about it.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chair of the Select Committee for her very important contribution. I meet regularly with the leadership of the LGA for all the reasons that she mentions. These reforms matter so much because councils do very important things. Both the child poverty strategy and the Milburn review made clear the cost of fragmented services to some of the most vulnerable children and young people in this country, so getting this right really matters. As I have said, we have already allocated £63 million to supporting councils, and I will have more to say on that very shortly.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his important question, especially given the state of public transport in many parts of this country. I will take his question as a request that I include certain things in the statement later this week.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  The Liberal Democrat spokesperson asks me what conversations I have had with my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield; I am afraid that they have been mainly about Everton and Liverpool football club. [Hon. Members: “Resign!”] Indeed. The work of this Government to secure devolution and reshape local government, so that we can grow our economy, build homes and serve our constituents properly, has been thought through carefully and is proceeding in line with the timetable. I am sure that all of us in this House, whatever our views, want that to succeed.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I could spend all my time at this Dispatch Box confirming or denying rumours, but I think I would be here until Thursday if I did that. I am sure that we will have further interactions when I make the statement shortly.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  As the hon. Member has indicated, we have set out a process and are sticking to it.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady has made her points very clear and they are on the record. The one thing that I do not want to do is delay, because the longer this takes, the less our ability to get on with the problems that councils face in looking after our children and our older people and in growing our economy.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I am a Minister, too, and I can answer. I am sure that the Secretary of State would agree with me that I have answered a number of Westminster Hall debates on this subject, and we have also had debates upstairs on statutory instruments, as is absolutely right. Members of this House will have an opportunity to question the Government and put their views forward, as they already have done in Westminster Hall debates and on other occasions. I do not know whether the right hon. Gentleman missed what I said, which was that we will make announcements on the remaining areas this week. [ Interruption. ] The day will be decided by the usual channels; I will not presume to say what the usual channels and Mr Speaker will decide. If the right hon. Gentleman has a little patience, he can give me another go at this when I make the announcement very soon.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for the many exchanges we have had. I know that he just wants the best for his constituents, as we all do. It might help the House if I explain the process we go through. We provide Members of Parliament in affected areas with a short briefing before the announcement is made. That is done for all Members of Parliament; it is what has happened to date, and what I anticipate will happen as and when I am able to make the statement. We will be able to talk more openly once that decision is in the public domain.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  Yes, I can confirm that. Let me add, as somebody whose area was reorganised in 1974, that there is yet to be a campaign to undo the creation of the Wirral.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  There is obviously a limit to what I can say, given that the decision will be reported to Parliament later in the week. Perhaps we can come back to this issue then, but I am very happy to say that I have met with Lord Vallance and work very closely with him.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I have set out the process by which this House will be updated on the decisions, but if my hon. Friend has evidence of anything else that he is concerned about, he may well want to write to me to share that information directly.

• 13 Jul 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that really important point. This is not just about constitutional niceties or the importance of councils to government in this country, crucial though they are; it is about having the right-sized authority to grow our towns and cities, and to give young people and everybody else in this country the opportunities they deserve.