Amanda Hack MP: speeches

Speeches

• 23 Mar 2026 · Rail Connections to London: Rural Towns · Hansard source

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  Electrification of that line is long overdue, and it is something that I worked on as a county councillor before I came to this place. It really will be important to the east midlands. My constituents tell me that if they are getting into their car to drive to the nearest station, they may as well just keep driving, and that is what happens. It is therefore unsurprising that roughly 80% of east midlands commuters drive and that the average number of rail journeys per resident is just seven per year, which is half the rate of the west midlands and a third of that of the east of England. I would welcome the Minister’s views not only on the economic impacts of connecting rural towns to London but on the added advantage of connecting rural towns to each other, which was a point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury. At my Ivanhoe line debate in Westminster Hall at the start of the year, the Minister told me to keep holding the Department’s feet to the fire, and I will continue to do that.

• 23 Mar 2026 · Rail Connections to London: Rural Towns · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) for securing this incredibly important debate. I will never miss an opportunity to talk about how isolated my community is in terms of public transport. The ability to get to London by train would be transformational for North West Leicestershire, but as my two main towns of Coalville and Ashby-de-la-Zouch, based in a semirural constituency, have not had passenger rail since the Beeching cuts closed the Ivanhoe line, getting a train anywhere would be a massive step forward. I would welcome the Minister setting out what assessment the Department for Transport has made of the economic benefits of connecting rural towns like mine to the rail network and on to London.

• 23 Mar 2026 · Rail Connections to London: Rural Towns · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree. Economic growth and getting people to where they need to go are the most important parts of this debate.

• 23 Mar 2026 · Rail Connections to London: Rural Towns · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I think the Minister will be incredibly busy after this debate. The tourism connection my hon. Friend identifies is so important. My constituency is home to the heart of the national forest—I think it is an absolute travesty that people have to travel by car to get there. That is something we have to look at. Coalville is the largest town in the country not connected to the rail network. For someone in Coalville wanting to catch a train to London using public transport, the most suitable route is via Leicester. The longest part of their journey would be from their home in Coalville to the station in Leicester—it is quicker to get from Leicester to London. It takes three hours to get from Ashby-de-la-Zouch to London by public transport; more than half of that time would be spent getting from Ashby to Loughborough to catch the train. Since the Ivanhoe line closed in the ’60s, it is fair to say that my constituents have been left at a clear disadvantage by the ridiculous and inefficient journeys they now have to make.

• 18 Mar 2026 · Flooding: Rural Communities · Hansard source

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  As in the constituency of the hon. Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns), one of the impacts in Leicestershire has been the sheer volume of water, and the villages in rural parts of Leicestershire have just felt left behind when it comes to money. I am grateful that Diseworth was selected this time round, but I would be really grateful to hear the Minister’s view about the impact on rural communities and how work can be done to make sure that rural communities do not feel left behind by flood works.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Productivity and Economic Growth: East Midlands · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank my hon. Friend and neighbour the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing this incredibly important debate. My colleagues will all agree that the east midlands is a region with so much to offer. We have two local mayoral authorities, which are fantastic for their areas, but we do not have one for Leicestershire. We do not have the strategic single voice or the powers that devolution brings. The only way to ensure that our constituents thrive in the long term is to ensure that the east midlands thrives together. Historically, the region had some formal structures such as the regional development agency and regional assemblies. Those have long gone, but we need to consider where we go from here to get a single organisation that focuses on growth for the east midlands. Today we have a much more fragmented approach, and I cannot help worrying that that is a barrier to long-term productivity and growth. My North West Leicestershire constituency alone employs 20,000 people in the logistics sector, partly because we have the second-largest freight airport in the UK: East Midlands airport, which operates like a 24/7 logistics hub. I am proud to say that exports through the airport, predominantly in sectors such as advanced manufacturing and aerospace, are nearly double the UK airport average. Alongside that hub, we have the only inland freeport, with a freeport site across Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The plan for freeports was to have high-quality advanced manufacturing, which is key to building new jobs in the growth sectors identified in the industrial strategy, aligning with the demand for export growth. However, what has been proposed for the Leicestershire site has created considerable concern for my community. To maximise growth and opportunity, we have to take our communities with us. One of the barriers to growth in the east midlands, as has been mentioned, is transport. Spending per head is 54% of the UK average. What does that mean for my constituency? It means that our bus provision is unreliable, and we do not have passenger rail anywhere. In January, I led a debate on the Ivanhoe line, a disused passenger rail line that is completely intact from Burton to Coalville, and would connect two of the largest towns in the country to the rail network of Coalville and Castle Gresley on the edge of Swadlincote. Just imagine what that could do. It feels as though North West Leicestershire, in the centre of the east midlands, is sitting on a bundle of incredible possibility. My constituency is the heart of the national forest, which is today celebrating the planting of its 10-millionth tree. This year also marks the 30th year of the National Forest Company, which has been working with North West Leicestershire district council to transform the industrial landscape for nature, people and enterprise. North West Leicestershire and the east midlands are not short of ambition or opportunity. We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with the Minister to ensure that the east midlands is talked about not simply as a place for opportunity, but as a powerhouse for growth.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Productivity and Economic Growth: East Midlands · Hansard source

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  One of the things that is problematic about the hon. Gentleman’s line of questioning is that one in 10 people in Leicestershire are on an NHS waiting list. In order to increase economic productivity, we need to make sure that people of working age are well enough to work. Does he agree that investment in health is also key to economic productivity?

• 16 Mar 2026 · Heating Oil Support · Hansard source

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  I welcome the speed with which this Government have listened and responded to those households whose homes are heated by heating oil. I also thank the ministerial team for their engagement with MPs across the House. As many people on heating oil in North West Leicestershire may not previously have accessed support via the household support fund, how will the Minister ensure that the support gets to the individuals who need it?

• 16 Mar 2026 · Grenfell Tower Memorial (Expenditure) Bill · Hansard source

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  The way in which the Secretary of State has spoken so far reflects the way we all felt post-Grenfell. We must ensure that the communities feel they have somewhere to go, somewhere to grieve. Does the Secretary of State agree that the work relating to who was responsible for the tragedy needs to continue, alongside the work on the memorial?

• 10 Mar 2026 · Courts and Tribunals Bill · Hansard source

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  We have heard many moving speeches today. I pay tribute to my hon. Friends the Members for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols), and for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet), for sharing their personal experiences. Jury trials are a really important mechanism in the British legal system, and should not be taken for granted, so I want to share my experience. A number of years ago, I was asked to be a witness in a trial in which somebody I knew was being prosecuted for harassment. Just a couple of years ago, I was the victim of harassment myself. The detail of these cases are not needed, but the premise is. In the earlier case, the trial was led by a judge. While I was inexperienced, I felt that the judge and legal representatives worked hard to ensure that both sides of the case were examined and presented as openly as possible. Fast-forward some years, and I found myself in a different situation. I was a victim, alongside a number of individuals, of direct harassment. In that case, the perpetrator wanted to proceed with a jury trial, and they got that choice. The trial was postponed repeatedly and went forward after the third rescheduled date. Each postponement meant more delay, more cost to the public purse, and more stress for the victims. The delays were extremely frustrating and meant that justice—whatever the jury may have decided—was delayed for a long time. Those of us who were victims were unable to move on, and that is what it is like for so many victims. I would be grateful if the Minister could elaborate on how victims will be supported by the proposed changes. In the first trial, as a witness, I was cross-examined by the opposing counsel. In the second trial, I was cross-examined by the person who committed the crime against me. I could see that the jurors were uncomfortable with the perpetrator’s line of questioning. We should spare a thought for those jurors—people from across society doing a really important job for the public by serving on a jury. Many of them would have had to rearrange work commitments; would have lost money, if they were self-employed; and would have had to catch up on work in the evenings, just to make justice happen. In my view, the defendant should not have been able to delay the case in the way that they did, and the jurors should not have had to sit through a trial that could have been managed effectively with just a judge. Finally, we should spare a thought for taxpayers, including those in North West Leicestershire who have been in touch. I understand their concerns. They do not want to see the loss of jury trials, and they will not; we will see a restriction of jury trials. We should recognise that there are too many cases in which perpetrators can choose to go for a jury trial, and that is being used by people simply to delay justice. As we have already heard, justice delayed is justice denied, and victims deserve so much better.

• 10 Mar 2026 · Courts and Tribunals Bill · Hansard source

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  This is the crux of the issue that we are discussing today: how do make sure that justice is given to victims as quickly as possible? Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill enables us to do that?

• 9 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I recently met my constituent Dean, who is in his 60s and wants to return to full-time work after a bit of ill health. With more than 15 years’ experience in human resources, he is struggling to get over the line and get that next job. He feels he is being turned away not just because of his age, but because of his medical condition, which means he needs a cane to walk. What is the Minister doing to support people with health conditions, such as Dean, back into work?

• 9 Mar 2026 · Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I thank John, Lyla’s father, for starting the petition. It was signed by 227 of my constituents in North West Leicestershire, and I would like to share as many of their experiences as I can in the time available. Throughout these stories, I heard over and over again the four Ts —“toilet”, “thirsty”, “tired” and “thinning”. In all the emails I have received on the matter, the one consistency has been families having to advocate for their children to get the care that they so obviously needed. Jade, mum of Harry, said: “Harry is not your ordinary child, he has a long list of disabilities, and he is nonverbal autistic. Harry could not tell me how he was feeling…but he lost so much weight.” After weeks of trying to see a GP, she finally managed to get a doctor to take his blood sugar levels. Harry’s blood sugar was at 30 millimoles and he was in DKA, with ketones so high that he was on the verge of cardiac arrest. Jade said that day will haunt her forever. Mark’s story with his daughter Katrina is similar. Katrina was diagnosed at two and a half years old. Although, unlike Harry, she did not suffer from DKA, it was a traumatic experience. Katrina was a healthy child, and when she started having night terrors, waking up drenched in sweat with heavy nappies and craving pasta at 11 pm, they knew that something was desperately wrong. The nurse recommended a urine test, and Mark got a phone call while his daughter was in nursery asking him to take her to the hospital immediately. She was admitted for 10 days in hospital. A third constituent shared that her son was diagnosed with type 1 in May last year, just weeks before his seventh birthday. Fortunately, he was diagnosed early, and it was a non-emergency situation. It should not be a life-threatening situation just to get a diagnosis. Too often, healthcare professionals miss the key symptoms. When symptoms are missed, sadly, children like Lyla have their lives cut short. Screening for type 1 is crucial in infants so that we can help save lives.

• 5 Mar 2026 · World Book Day · Hansard source

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  I want to celebrate our local libraries and how much they give to our communities. Castle Donington library hosts not only a uniform swap but a dress-up swap, which is so important for affordability. Libraries are also working hard to tackle the literacy crisis that we face, as just one in three children aged eight to 18 say that they enjoy reading in their spare time. Will my hon. Friend join me in thanking libraries in North West Leicestershire, many of which are run by volunteers, for their dedication and the abundance of good that they give back to our communities, not just on World Book Day but week in, week out?

• 5 Mar 2026 · Energy Markets · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. Households, businesses and charities in North West Leicestershire have highlighted some immediate pressures on the cost of heating oil and fuel costs in recent days. Does the Secretary of State agree that energy security across our country is vital and that cheap, clean power is key to delivering that security, so will he a share what additional work he will be doing to secure that for families and businesses in North West Leicestershire and beyond?

• 4 Mar 2026 · Healthcare in Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson) for giving us the opportunity to talk about how living in a rural area can impact our access to healthcare. As time is short, I will focus on two things. When I became an MP, one of the first things I was contacted about was the experience of getting a service on a Sunday. A resident of Ashby was given an appointment at an out-of-hours service in Leicester city. The taxi just one way cost about 40 quid. That is just one example of how the rural penalty is creating real problems in healthcare. I am glad to see the Minister in his place, because I want to focus specifically on pharmacy and that is his area of responsibility. I have met many of my local pharmacists over the time that I have been a Member of Parliament. Our community pharmacies are often our lifelines, yet access to them is not equal, and certainly not simple, for many of my constituents. North West Leicestershire is not just a semi-rural constituency, but a proud post-industrial one with a strong coalmining past. However, that means that we have our own unique health issues, particularly respiratory ones. For example, 8% of my constituents are living with asthma—higher than the average for the east midlands and the whole of England. Many residents rely on regular inhalers, medication reviews and preventive advice delivered via their local pharmacy, which is a vital service. If the local pharmacy is facing a shortage, or a rural pharmacy does not open as frequently, that can have detrimental impacts. In a city, people can pop along the road to the next nearest pharmacy. Castle Donington, which has the highest rate of asthma in my constituency, has just one pharmacy. It does an amazing job for my constituents, but the next nearest pharmacy is more than 5 miles away. With 62% of our bus services cut under the previous Government, it is not easy to just hop on the bus to the nearest town. The isolation of our pharmacies has a detrimental impact in a rural area, because there is simply nowhere else to go. When patients cannot access their medicines promptly, their conditions can worsen. They will turn to a GP for urgent appointments or to their nearest A&E. Pharmacy provision can provide us with an invaluable capacity for our entire healthcare system, the rural services of which have been hit the hardest.

• 24 Feb 2026 · Banking Hubs: Rural and Post-Industrial Communities · Hansard source

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  My constituency, including the main town of Coalville, has a strong industrial past. Coalville is not entirely rural, so it does not qualify for a banking hub. Lloyds is abandoning my community and will close a branch in Coalville in June, despite how busy and well used that branch, on a main high street, is. Does she agree that we need to ensure that gaps in bank provision are filled as soon as possible with banking hubs, and that banking hub assessment should include access to business banking, because that is what we really lose when a main high street bank goes off the high street?

• 24 Feb 2026 · Local Transport: Planning Developments · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted (Victoria Collins) for giving me the opportunity to talk about one of my favourite topics—public transport, or the lack thereof. As other rural MPs in the room will know, improving local transport links is a never-ending discussion, particularly in a constituency such as North West Leicestershire that only has a bus service to rely on. We have no passenger rail at all, so everybody needs to travel by road. Off the back off 14 years of austerity forced upon us by the coalition and then the previous Conservative Government, we need to consider the context that our community has been growing throughout that time. Alongside the destruction of our public services, libraries, Sure Starts and day services, our public transport was cut by 62%. Planning developments and local transport are about understanding the population we have, as well as the future population. When talking about planning, we have to consider the impact, particularly in my constituency, of huge shed expansion in the industrial sector. I speak to local residents in Heather regularly, a village in North West Leicestershire. They are just a stone’s throw away from Ibstock, a developing town. Many have told me that when they first moved to Heather, they did not need to use public transport regularly, but knowing they could get a bus meant they had a service they could rely on. Now, as they are getting older, their needs have changed, but the public transport in Heather is long gone. Demand fluctuates, but we are not evaluating that quickly enough or planning for the long term, so when the demography of a town or an estate changes, we are reliant on the community fighting for themselves to get services in place, rather than bus services reflecting the needs of that changing community. When we talk about connecting new housing developments to leisure, jobs, education, medical and other services, the context is that we have so many fewer services than we had 15 years ago. Context is important in these transport conversations. Planning for change and growth is at the very core of what we are discussing. In fact, planning a new housing estate feels so much more straightforward when the numbers needed to create a new school or doctor’s surgery are taken into consideration. It might not be easy, but we understand the maths that sits behind it. However, when it comes to public transport, it is much less cohesive. It seems a complete waste that public transport is lagging behind in a much more piecemeal discussion. We are not planning for change; we are responding to it, and that is very frustrating for our local communities. We had a newish development in my community that already involved the enhancement of a new school and the opportunity to extend the doctor’s surgery. As part of the planning conditions, residents were given a six-month bus pass, but it is of little use: there are no buses, so what is the point? We are not getting true, seamless connection between our new developments and our towns. Our towns need those new communities to survive and thrive. Any building in existing town centres does not create good connectivity and extra footfall. It actually means an impairment to growth. Quite often, the bus network does not serve newer estates that sit just outside our town centres, which means that residents are cut off from the town centre, and the town centre is cut off from them. They simply never visit. Therefore, the opportunity to help our town centres is lost. I was proud to sit on the Bus Services Bill Committee, and the Government’s commitment to get more money to local authorities for public transport is clear. However, the difficult part of that is trying to ensure that the money is actually being best utilised, as we are not planning for change; we are reacting to it. There needs to be a better link between where people live and where services are required. We are never going to be able to plan for everything, but I would like to hear the Minister’s view on how bus services in the long term can be a vehicle for growth and create clearer community connections.

• 24 Feb 2026 · Local Transport: Planning Developments · Hansard source

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  I am a neighbouring constituency MP, and one of the things that has always been a huge frustration is that Leicestershire is in the top ten of held-on-to 106 money. There definitely needs to be a conversation about how we get that 106 money spent—and spent quickly.

• 23 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We need to improve the infrastructure surrounding new developments and existing developments while ensuring that highways in local government, which felt the full impact of austerity, have the resources to deliver. What conversations has the Minister had about expanding capacity in local government to ensure that highways have the appropriate resources to deliver the infrastructure that we need?

• 10 Feb 2026 · Independent Water Commission: Final Report · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy, and I thank the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) for giving us this opportunity to speak about water today. My constituents have written to me pretty consistently since I came to this place about the water industry with concerns about sewage discharges, bonuses paid to water bosses, flooding and their bills. I do feel that their concerns—in emails and conversations through casework, surgeries and a specific roundtable—have been heard and fed into this this consultation. Our White Paper, published as a response to the Independent Water Commission’s final report, will tackle some of these issues head-on, by bringing forward, strengthening and streamlining regulation. I will focus my speech on sewage discharges and flooding, and the impact they have on my constituency. Leicestershire has again had significant rainfall, and a flood warning is still in place today on the northern edge of my constituency. Coupled with that, sewage has poured into our waterways in North West Leicestershire for 15,000 hours. That is not just physically, but mentally challenging for my constituents. I have spoken about residents in Whitwick before, but today I will speak about another set of residents who were flooded just before Christmas. The desperation that people experience when sewage water enters their property is really difficult for them to bear; indeed, it is visible on their faces. We must do better for them, and the water industry really needs to clean up its act. I visited Mary, who has a smallholding in Donington le Heath. She became so frustrated by the outflow release on her smallholding that she collected a bag of sewer debris from a recent release and popped it on the table during a meeting we had with representatives from Severn Trent Water. They were left with no doubt about her feeling that the company consistently drops sewage on to her land. Such is the frustration of local people. Sir Jon Cunliffe’s report recommends a review into key legislation about urban waste water treatment, reducing pollutants and tackling sewage releases that went unaddressed for 15 long years under the previous Government. My constituents will be reassured that our White Paper will set out ambitions to tackle sewage misuse, prevent sewer blockages, help maximise sewer capacity, and reduce pollution incidents and therefore sewage flooding. That is a core example of constituents raising concerns, a direct report being commissioned to find solutions, and a Government listening to people. On a separate note, it is encouraging to see water companies finally investing in ageing infrastructure. However, constituents are often frustrated by their water bills going up and about how, for example, the long-awaited improvements in Coalville, which could address the issue in Donington le Heath, are still four years away. I would welcome the Minister firmly reassuring my constituents that they will see improvements, and the necessary re-establishing of trust between consumers and water companies off the back of the final report. Since being elected, I have engaged whenever and wherever possible with efforts to strengthen the water sector, and I was proud to sit on the Water (Special Measures) Bill Committee. Building on our work here in Parliament, I was pleased to see the Environment Secretary confirm that the water White Paper will be followed by a transition plan and a water reform Bill, and I look forward to hearing the Minister’s remarks on that. I also thank Sir Jon Cunliffe. I do not think anybody could be as passionate about the water sector as he is. It is quite clear from the things he has said, and from the way that he has addressed this real problem for the UK, that he has a passion and indeed a vision for change, which matches our Government’s ambition. I will just take this opportunity to thank Sir Jon for his work.

• 10 Feb 2026 · Household Energy Bills · Hansard source

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  My constituents in North West Leicestershire will soon benefit from an average £150 cut per household to energy bills, and a number will be able to access energy efficiency schemes. Can the Secretary of State outline in more detail the expected changes to the fixed elements of our bills, such as the standing charges, which impact those in fuel poverty so much more than the rest of us?

• 10 Feb 2026 · Sherwood Forest: Tourism · Hansard source

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  Our green space is vital, not just for our environment and mental health but for the economic benefits that it brings to our communities. Having rail access to our communities is very important. My constituency of North West Leicestershire is not far away from Sherwood Forest. It is home to the national forest. It is easily accessible, like Sherwood, to about 10 million people. Does my hon. Friend agree that the east midlands must capitalise on the tourism potential of all its forests, including in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire?

• 10 Feb 2026 · Place-based Employment Support Programmes · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Patrick Hurley) for giving us the opportunity to speak in this debate. In my career before being elected, I was involved in a number of successful place-based employment schemes, including having direct responsibility for delivering some of this work within a housing association. I am therefore a strong advocate for the approach, and I will come on to that later in my speech. As a member of the Work and Pensions Committee, I visited Durham last week to speak to participants and employers on the Connect to Work programme run by DurhamEnable and Triage. It offers voluntary supported employment initiatives designed to help people with learning disabilities, autism, health conditions and complex barriers to employment to find and sustain meaningful work. Such programmes offer a great example of why and how place-based employment really works. Durham uses the supported employment model, “place, train, maintain”, which focuses on finding the right job first, and then offering training and ongoing support, and I will break that down a little further. Stage one is place: finding the right job for an individual and emphasising that employers are key to delivery and engaging with future employees. Working with the person, as well as the local job market, to discover who they are is a key principle. Stage two is training. DurhamEnable ensures that future employees are benefiting from the right support. It was also clear that that support inspired confidence. One person we spoke to had recently been made redundant from a long-term job. DurhamEnable had helped them to navigate the more complicated process nowadays of job applications that they had never needed to do before. Stage three is maintain, which includes offering ongoing support to participants and employers to navigate reasonable adjustments in the workplace while applying for such things as Access to Work. I will briefly mention JobsPlus, which has already been mentioned, and information from the Learning and Work Institute. The latter found that in 2003, social housing tenants were nearly twice as likely to be out of work and more than twice as likely to be disabled. When in work, social housing tenants are twice as likely to be in lower skilled work on average and are paid a third less than people who live in other housing tenures. JobsPlus, which is being piloted in 10 sites across England, is a key initiative. It brings together tenants, landlords and key agencies to provide targeted support to those who need it. It works because of that joint commitment and the targeted support that is provided. In fact, it is the simplicity of the scheme that works overall. The non-reliance on system-based referrals sets JobsPlus apart from most other employment programmes. All the programme needs to know is where somebody lives, and then it simply helps them. It will be no surprise to Members that as a long-standing housing professional, I advocate the work done by housing associations. East Midlands Housing, based in North West Leicestershire, is not only a great local employer, but part of the Placeshapers initiative, which is about creating place. That is another important part of employer-based support, because it means putting support right at the centre of the community. Above all, it is the community that knows how best to boost engagement and to support one another. I conclude by emphasising that the key point to take away from today is that we do not need to reinvent the wheel to be successful; we just need to look at what is being done already. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Southport about limited contracting. My experience over two decades is that we have great schemes, but they are often reinvented, which means we then lack consistency. Consistency develops our communities and the long-term commitment from employers that we need to see real change in place-based support. When schemes come and go, momentum is lost. Can the Minister tell us how we will breed that consistency to ensure that place-based schemes have a seat at the employment support table for the long term, and not just the short term?

• 5 Feb 2026 · National Cancer Plan · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her powerful statement. There are clearly differences in cancer treatment depending on where someone lives, whether a rural or coastal community. My semi-rural constituency sits on the edge of three hospital trusts, leading to difficulties such as those highlighted by a constituent who attended my coffee morning earlier this week. She spoke of the difficulties she faces in getting consistency in her cancer treatment, as she sees a Leicestershire GP but gets care from the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS foundation trust. Will the Minister set out more on the neighbourhood element of the treatments addressed in the national cancer plan?