Ashley Dalton MP: speeches

Speeches

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  I am coming to all of that. Since coming into office, the Government have made choices. We have ended the resident doctors strike. We have published our elective reform plan, which will cut maximum waiting times from 18 months today to 18 weeks by the end of this Parliament. We have introduced investment and reform in general practice to fix the front door to the NHS and bring back the family doctor. We have started to get waiting lists falling, and we have kept the promise in our manifesto to deliver an extra 2 million appointments in our first year, a target that we have actually smashed in the first seven months. Anyone who thinks the Chancellor was wrong to make the necessary decisions and trade-offs must explain what they would cut from that list. Anyone who thinks they could have achieved everything we have done in less than a year without the autumn Budget is living in cloud cuckoo land. Today we are setting out our supplementary estimates to the House. Funding will help the NHS to deliver 40,000 extra elective appointments a week, and to make progress on reducing the number of patients who wait longer than 18 weeks between referral and consultant-led treatment. We will publish our departmental budgets for the next financial year in the spring through phase 2 of the spending review.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  I can confirm that, as has already been stated, those interim reports will take place, with a view to informing spending reviews. I want to pick up on the point made by the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) about the cross-party talks. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to colleagues from all the UK-wide parties to invite them to joint cross-party talks in February. Not everybody was able to take part—a significant number of people were not—and we think it is really important to have a wide range of views at such talks. We have taken the decision to reschedule them, but we will make sure that they take place. We are seeking to reorganise those talks at the earliest opportunity, and I can confirm that the intention is to go ahead with them. We have committed to look at how we can further expand the role of pharmacies and better utilise the clinical skills of pharmacists, and we have now resumed our consultation with Community Pharmacy England regarding the funding arrangements for 2024-25 and 2025-26. I am unable to say any more on that until the consultation has finished. To wrap up, we are undertaking the largest capital investment in our national health service since Labour was last in office, but if we are to deliver our promises to the British people, we must deliver faster improvement than even the last Labour Government achieved. Investment and reform are what we promised before the election, and investment and reform are what we are delivering. We will ensure that the NHS is there for people when they need it; we will tackle the big killers, such as cancer; and we will create a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer, while making sure that every penny of taxpayer money is well spent. I commend the estimates to the House.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

  More

  Let me begin by thanking the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, the hon. Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown), for opening the debate. As a Public Accounts Committee alumna, it is my pleasure to have my first outing at the Dispatch Box for this debate. I also thank all other colleagues for taking part. The number of right hon. and hon. Members who have contributed today speaks to the significant interest in our health and social care services not only in this House but in the country. The wide range of issues raised shows how broad and overarching our NHS and social care services are. I will try to cover as many of those issues as I can, and if I miss anything, I will happily pick it up with hon. Members afterwards. I will also attempt to respond to all hon. Members who have spoken, but if I miss anyone, I hope they will forgive me, because we have had so many contributions. The Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, as well as the hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George), my hon. Friends the Member for Poole (Neil Duncan-Jordan) and for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) and many other Members, talked about social care. Productivity was a key point mentioned by the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, as well as by the right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen), the hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) and my hon. Friend the Member for Barking (Nesil Caliskan). Prevention in public health was raised by many Members—as the Minister responsible for those areas, I am delighted to discuss that. My hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales) talked about dentistry, and shifts were mentioned by many hon. Members. My hon. Friend the Member for Barking talked about the work not only of public health but of local government, and the role of ICBs. It was great to hear my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Alex McIntyre) talk about his pride in the NHS. This Government will always stand by our NHS and will always keep it free at the point of use. In her autumn Budget, the Chancellor took the necessary decisions to put our NHS on the road to recovery, with an increase of more than £22.5 billion in day-to-day health spending and over £3 billion more in the capital budget over this year and the next. Thanks to her, we are taking the first steps towards fixing the foundations of our NHS and making it fit for the future. I say to the shadow Minister that yes, this will make a difference, because it is not just about the money but about making the right choices.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Type 1 Diabetes and Disordered Eating Services · Hansard source

  More

  As I am sure the hon. Member knows, health is obviously a devolved matter. However, I am more than happy to look at the issues he has raised and come back to him. The data from the pilot areas will also be shared with all the integrated care boards, so that we can build up the case for more investment in T1DE from ICB budgets while looking at ways in which NHS England can support ICBs in commissioning their services. While those pilot sites are doing critical work, the NHS is supporting people with diabetes to live well. Central to that is making sure that patients have access to annual reviews that cover eight processes recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. We know that people who attend annual diabetes reviews have much better outcomes for emergency hospital admissions, amputations, retinopathy and mortality. That is why it is right that the NHS is investing £14.5 million over the next two years, supporting up to 140,000 people between the ages of 18 and 39 to receive additional tailored health checks by healthcare staff. That support will include vital support to break down any stigma associated with diabetes while helping those people to manage their condition, from blood sugar level control and weight management to minimising the risk of heart disease. As has been touched on, technology plays a critical role in helping people with diabetes to live healthier lives, and there is great potential to do the same for people with T1DE. NICE has made positive recommendations on offering real-time continuous glucose monitoring and hybrid closed loop technology to adults and children with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, meaning that those treatments are now offered on the NHS. Over two thirds of people with type 1 diabetes currently use glucose monitoring to help manage their condition, and following NICE’s recommendations on hybrid closed loop systems, NHS England has developed a five-year national strategy that began in April last year. I know that five years will seem like a long time to many of those young people struggling with this condition here and now, but the NHS does need an implementation period to ensure we have all the right people with the right skills within specialist adult services. We cannot compromise an inch on safety, and NHS trusts should only ever provide hybrid closed loop if specialist trained clinical staff, experienced in using insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, are in place.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Type 1 Diabetes and Disordered Eating Services · Hansard source

  More

  I am more than happy to meet the APPG to discuss those matters. I was really moved to read Lynsey’s story on the Diabetes UK website. One thing that really stood out to me was her experience of turning 18 and moving to an adult clinic. She said: “I became a number in a system, rather than a patient. Every time I went, I saw a different team, and would have to explain my entire medical history. It felt like it wasn’t worth my time, and I certainly wasn’t going to have a conversation about what was going on with people I didn’t know.” After just a few appointments, Lynsey stopped going. T1DE cuts across diabetes and mental healthcare, and Lynsey’s interactions with the NHS show that we must never treat patients like interchangeable statistics, bouncing around a cold system that does not seem to care for them. Instead, each patient should benefit from a unique, joined-up approach. To its credit, NHS England has recognised that there is an unmet need for better treatment of T1DE. As my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase has recognised, it has begun piloting type 1 diabetes and disordered eating services, two of which came online in 2019. The aim of those pilots was to develop the evidence base around how best to manage T1DE by testing an integrated pathway, which means that patients such as Lynsey would not be obliged to recount their medical history on every visit. In the past five years, NHS England has expanded on the original pilots, with funding extended for five T1DE pilot sites until March 2026 to ensure that there are sufficient patient numbers for us to get a full picture of what is happening on the ground. I thank my hon. Friend for his contribution to those pilots. While those pilots are gathering evidence, NHS England is looking carefully at the findings, with a view to developing a future national strategy. Each of the five new pilot areas is submitting quarterly data to the evaluation, and it intends to publish its analysis of the data by September.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Type 1 Diabetes and Disordered Eating Services · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) for securing the debate and all hon. Members who have contributed. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who appears to be quickly making an exit but remains in his place, spoke about mental health. The hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Sarah Bool) spoke about destigmatisation for disordered eating and for type 1 diabetes. By sharing her diagnosis in this place, she is making a huge contribution towards destigmatisation, and I thank her for that. My hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Alex McIntyre) shared his family’s story, which is heartbreaking and shows the impact that these issues have on people. My hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Tom Collins) talked about technological advancement and support. As my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase outlined in his remarks, type 1 diabetes and disordered eating—T1DE—is not a widely known condition, yet it potentially affects up to a third of people with type 1 diabetes. People with T1DE find themselves trapped in a battle between needing to control their diabetes with insulin and trying to control their weight in an unhealthy way. It is a vicious cycle. People with T1DE experience increased ill health and, sadly, an increased chance of early death. Studies have shown that people with T1DE who restrict insulin have a mortality rate more than three times higher than those who do not. We should pay tribute to the diabetes charities that are doing so much for people living with diabetes across the UK and tackling this problem head on, such as Beat, which has dedicated helplines for people struggling with this condition; Breakthrough T1D, which funds international research to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes and its complications; and Diabetes UK, which does a fantastic job of articulating the community’s needs to Government.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Type 1 Diabetes and Disordered Eating Services · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and for sharing his lived experience. I am more than happy to consider his suggestions and discuss them further. Finally, I will touch on the encouraging work of the early surveillance for autoimmune diabetes—ELSA—programme. Type 1 diabetes is not preventable, but the sooner we reach people, the sooner we can care for them. ELSA is a children’s screening programme that can detect type 1 diabetes through a simple fingerstick blood test by looking for four antibodies associated with a higher risk of developing diabetes. ELSA launched in November 2022, and over 20,000 children have already taken part. The study has made a huge effort to screen all of those children by February, and we are still waiting to hear whether that ambitious target has been reached. I would be pleased to keep my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase and the House updated on that programme. It is clear that T1DE is a serious and often overlooked condition that requires a more integrated and compassionate approach to care. The work being done through NHS pilot programmes, investment in diabetes management, and advances in technology all represent meaningful progress, but there is still much more to do. It is vital that we continue to build on the evidence gathered through these initiatives to ensure that people with T1DE receive the tailored, consistent and supportive care they deserve. No patient should feel like a number in the system, or be forced to navigate a fragmented approach to their health. By working together through Government, the NHS and charities, we can ensure that people with T1DE receive the right support at the right time. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend to get this done. Question put and agreed to.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Draft Food and Feed (Regulated Products) (Amendment, Revocation, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

  More

  Businesses in Northern Ireland that develop new regulated products and wish to place them on the market in the EU must apply to the EU for authorisation—that is all within the Windsor framework, and the reforms in this SI do not affect the operation of the Windsor framework in any way. Regulated products that are approved in Great Britain can be placed on the Northern Ireland market if moved via the Northern Ireland retail movement scheme. I think that that answers the question. To return to the safety concerns, by carrying out horizon scanning and risk assessment, the FSA and the FSS will consistently provide insights into whether already authorised products are safe to remain on the market, instead of working arbitrarily to renew authorisations on fixed timetables. The burden on industry and the public sector of having a comprehensive review for all products, even if there is no evidence to suggest that a review is needed, will be removed. We are looking for an evidence-based review system to help focus resources on new and innovative products and on where there may be problems. The reforms build on existing powers under which the FSA and the FSS can request information for review, and it is in the interests of businesses to proactively provide it. The reforms ensure that the regulatory framework remains comprehensive and adaptive, and enables regulators to respond swiftly and effectively to the emerging risks we have discussed. Where necessary, approvals can be modified, suspended or revoked if a safety concern is identified. The FSA and FSS, along with the independent scientific advisory committees, have the expertise to assess all applications for authorisation. Ministers must provide reasoning if they disagree with the advice from the FSA and FSS when making authorisation decisions. So there are appropriate tools and resources to allow hon. Members and the public to scrutinise regulated product applications and authorisations. The reforms will speed up the process, use resources more productively, efficiently and effectively, and align with other UK regulatory systems. In summary, the reforms will remove requirements for the periodic renewal of authorisations for the three regulated product regimes I mentioned, and will allow authorisations to come into effect following ministerial decisions. The changes will streamline the process, allow regulators to keep pace with innovation, and support economic growth without compromising consumer safety. I am grateful for all the contributions today. Question put and agreed to.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Draft Food and Feed (Regulated Products) (Amendment, Revocation, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

  More

  I thank hon. Members for their valuable contributions to the debate. Removing renewals and statutory instrument requirements will not lower food and feed safety or standards. On scrutiny, removing SI requirements for authorisations will not change the FSA’s or the FSS’s robust risk analysis and public consultation process. Public consultations will remain open to all for scrutiny, and recommendations to Ministers for all authorisations of products will take those responses into account. The shadow Minister asked how Ministers will be able to keep track of decisions. Of course, whether decisions come under this new proposal or the existing process, they will need to be assessed. Under this new process, Ministers can take advice from the FSA and the FSS, and we will then lay those decisions in the public register. If we did not bring this proposal forward, everybody would be involved in multiple SIs, which I am sure the shadow Minister will agree is a far more onerous process. In response to concerns about divergence with Northern Ireland, our priority is to ensure that Northern Irish consumers benefit from the same robust public health protections as the rest of the UK, while also facilitating the smooth movement of goods to consumers. The robust system of controls that applies across the UK enables all consumers to trust that the food they buy and eat is safe and is what it says it is. Any differences in approach are managed through the relevant common frameworks. As has been stated, the current requirement for renewals applies only to three regulated product regimes: feed additives, food or feed containing, consisting of or produced from genetically modified organisms, and smoke flavourings. No other regulated products, including novel foods and food additives, have this requirement at the moment. These reforms introduce a consistent, proportionate and evidence-based approach. The FSA and FSS will focus on horizon scanning and risk assessment so that they can respond to new safety evidence as it emerges. We are not going to ask businesses to bring their products routinely for review. However, if there are any changes in a product’s make-up, or it comes to light that the product has any new impacts, that will trigger the FSA and the FSS to look into those.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Draft Food and Feed (Regulated Products) (Amendment, Revocation, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

  More

  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Food and Feed (Regulated Products) (Amendment, Revocation, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. The statutory instrument, which was laid before the House on 29 January, uses powers conferred by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 to propose two reforms to existing regulations for the market authorisation process for regulated food and feed products in Great Britain. First, it removes the requirements for the periodic renewal of authorisations for three regulated product regimes. Secondly, it allows authorisations to come into effect following a ministerial decision based on evidence-based safety assessment advice. Those authorisations will then be published in an official register or list, rather than being prescribed by statutory instrument. These reforms form part of the Government’s mission to kick-start economic growth by increasing investment, driving up productivity and tackling regulatory barriers. The UK food industry is worth £245 billion in consumer spending, and exports over £20 billion annually. The industry is driving innovation, and nowhere is that truer than for regulated products. Regulated products are food and feed products that need to be assessed for safety before they can be lawfully sold. They include novel foods at the cutting edge of research—for example, in the UK’s growing engineering biology sector, where emerging technology is being used to produce new and innovative foods. That innovation and growth across the food sector will drive increasing demand for regulated product authorisations, and we therefore need to modernise the market authorisation service. As the regulators, the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland assess applications for regulated products and provide recommendations to Ministers across Great Britain on whether those products should be authorised. We need proportionate and effective regulation to support innovation and investment in the UK food industry, while continuing to maintain safety and consumer trust. This SI will help to modernise the food and feed regulatory process by removing requirements that are unnecessary for food safety. Currently, certain products that have already been authorised for sale must be reauthorised every 10 years. The SI will remove that requirement; instead, the regulators will carry out safety reviews when new evidence emerges, and most of these products have many years of safe use. The reforms will result in a more efficient regulatory service, where the FSA and FSS are able to focus on detailed reviews of products that potentially pose the most risk, instead of continually reassessing products that have consistently demonstrated safe use. The reforms build on the regulators’ existing powers to request information from businesses for review. The regulatory framework will remain comprehensive and adaptive, enabling the regulators to respond swiftly and effectively to emerging risks. Where necessary, approvals can be modified, suspended or revoked. The FSA and FSS have earned the trust of the public through their rigorous approach to risk analysis, and food safety will continue to be a priority. The reforms will improve efficiency, while maintaining robust safety standards. There are 481 applications currently in the service. Around 100 are renewals, and almost 500 additional renewals are expected in the next three years. It is essential that we modernise the system. Removing set renewal periods will allow a more targeted approach to regulation. The second part of the reforms will allow authorisations to come into force following ministerial decision and to be published in an official public register or list, rather than being prescribed by statutory instrument. That will enable new products to be brought to market more quickly, without compromising consumer safety. That approach aligns with other UK regulators’ authorisation processes for similarly regulated products, such as veterinary medicines and pesticides. The FSA and FSS provide technical and scientific scrutiny through skilled and experienced staff and expert independent scientific advisory committees. They assess individual applications and provide safety assessments, which they use to develop risk management advice and recommendations for subsequent ministerial decisions. That process squarely aligns with internationally recognised principles. The FSA and FSS will continue to publish authorisation decisions and risk assessments in line with their commitments to transparency. The FSA has a statutory obligation to consult, and the reforms do not change the consultation mechanisms that are used as part of the authorisation process for regulated products. Authorisations will continue to be subject to public scrutiny. When developing these proposals, the FSA and FSS engaged extensively with industry and consumer stakeholder groups. That included a public consultation, and the reforms have received substantial support. This is an opportunity to deliver reforms that prioritise both efficiency and safety in the market authorisation service. The FSA and FSS will be able to focus resources on new and innovative products, which may require more input when seeking access to the market. I therefore ask hon. Members to support the reforms in this instrument, which will create a more efficient service that manages the level of risk in a proportionate way, without compromising the UK’s high food and feed safety standards. I commend the regulations to the Committee.

• 27 Feb 2025 · Women’s Health · Hansard source

  More

  I am getting there.

• 27 Feb 2025 · Women’s Health · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for her intervention, and I will get there and mention her. I am more than happy to have that conversation with her. For the benefit of the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans), I would like to clear something up and dispel some misinformation. We have not scrapped the women’s health strategy, nor have we abandoned women’s health hubs—far from it. We are using women’s health hubs to beat the backlog. The future funding decisions around those health hubs will be taken in due course. I can also confirm for the shadow Minister that Baroness Merron is the Minister with responsibility for women’s health, and she regularly meets Dame Lesley, the women’s health ambassador. Dame Lesley attended the 10-year plan round- table in January, which was chaired by Baroness Merron. I can reassure the hon. Gentleman on that. When we came into government, we inherited an appalling legacy of nearly 600,000 women on gynaecology waiting lists. That is why the Prime Minister kicked off 2025 with our elective reform plan. The plan states our commitment to offer women gynaecological care closer to home, an approach that has been pioneered by those women’s health hubs. As of December, nine in 10 integrated care boards had at least one women’s health hub, and some have more.

• 27 Feb 2025 · Women’s Health · Hansard source

  More

  That is something that we will take on board and consider as we move forward. We have heard a lot about menopause and peri- menopause from many Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Juliet Campbell). We are supporting women through the whole menopause process. Menopause and perimenopause symptoms can be wide-ranging and debilitating. NHS England is developing a range of tools and interventions to help upskill more GPs in menopause care, including awareness of mental health symptoms during menopause, and developing a menopause workforce support package for employees. I can also confirm that we are using community diagnostic centres to pilot pathways for women who suffer from post-menopausal bleeding.

• 27 Feb 2025 · Women’s Health · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore) on securing this really important debate on women’s health. She and all Members who have participated today have raised a number of important points. Let me begin by agreeing that reading the Ockenden review is harrowing, and progress on women’s health has been far too slow. I want to address some of the key issues that Members have raised; I will attempt to cover as many as I can, but if I miss anything, please get in touch, and I will endeavour to fill any gaps after the debate. My hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye raised the story of our very good friend Margaret McDonagh and how her experience feeds into the medical misogyny that has been highlighted on a number of occasions. In addition, it was very powerful to listen to my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson), who put an important focus on women’s voices and said how important it is that those are heard in this space. Those voices can lead to the important cultural shift that my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) raised and that underpins all of this. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch (Katrina Murray) spoke about the devolved Governments. We are committed to ensuring that we have closer working between the UK and devolved Governments so that we can share insight and best practice and cut waiting lists right across the UK. My hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch and the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler) raised issues relating to eating disorders and women in online content. The Government inherited a broken NHS, in which patients wait too long for eating disorder treatment. The 10-year plan will overhaul the NHS, and the Online Safety Act 2023 will prevent children from accessing harmful online content on eating disorders. The hon. Member for Canterbury (Rosie Duffield) raised the differences in heart attack symptoms between men and women. NHS staff can now access guidance through the British Heart Foundation, and there are learning sessions available to support training. NHS England ensures that there is clear messaging on atypical symptoms in women in all public campaigns, and training on heart attacks and the identification of gender and sex are a core part of the cardiology curriculum. The hon. Lady will be aware that the National Institute for Health and Care Research has a very clear definition of sex and gender, which has an important impact on delivering the right healthcare to everybody. I was really interested to hear from my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley (Sonia Kumar), who has expert knowledge of perinatal pelvic health services, which are being rolled out across England to ensure that women have access to physiotherapy for pelvic health issues during pregnancy and for at least one year after birth. Those services incorporate a range of interventions aimed at improving the prevention and identification of perinatal tears and other perinatal conditions. The Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen), spoke about the Committee’s recent report, which we welcome and take extremely seriously. We are grateful to everyone who gave their time and expertise to the inquiry, and to the Committee for its thoughtful recommendations. My Department has looked closely at the findings, however chunky they are, and has worked with NHS England to consider the recommendations and develop a Government response. I assure her that it will be published very soon. The hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) spoke about contraception. Let me make one thing really clear: we are committed to ensuring that the public receive the best possible contraceptive services, which are vital in helping women to manage their gynaecological health. Since 2023, the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service has allowed pharmacists to issue ongoing supplies of contraception that have been prescribed by GPs and sexual health services. That service was relaunched in December 2023 and will be continued. We have also talked about fertility issues. Access to fertility treatment across the NHS has been varied across England, and funding decisions are made by integrated care boards, based on the clinical needs of the people they serve. We expect those organisations to commission fertility services in line with the guidelines set by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. We recognise that provision is variable across England, and we intend to support ICBs to implement the updated evidence in the revised guidelines to benefit all affected groups. We recognise the significant physical and psychological consequences of birth trauma and the devastating impact it has on women. I thank hon. Members for their contributions to the report of the APPG on birth trauma—the hon. Member for Canterbury was intrinsic to it. The Government will ensure that lessons are learned from the recent inquiries and investigations, including the APPG report, and that the experiences of women and their families are listened to and woven into our efforts to improve services. For too long, women have been let down by their healthcare. The system is broken—it does not work for them. This Government are committed to fixing women’s health as a key part of building an NHS fit for the future. As a first step, we have delivered 2 million more appointments since July, in line with our manifesto commitment of delivering 2 million more appointments in the first year. We have achieved that seven months early. That includes appointments for breast cancer care, for gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis and for many other conditions. However, we are still nowhere near satisfied with the state of women’s healthcare. Kate’s story, which my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye shared, is testament to that state.

• 27 Feb 2025 · Women’s Health · Hansard source

  More

  I will come back to the hon. Gentleman on that, but I thank him for raising the issue. We have also talked a lot about what underpins this topic: research and innovation, and my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford raised that point in particular. We are taking strides in vital research. By the spring, the NIHR expects to launch its sex and gender policy, which will ensure that research is designed, conducted and reported in a way that accounts for sex and gender—a point raised by the hon. Member for Canterbury. That will support our understanding of how women might be impacted differently by health conditions. The hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) talked about eating disorders and also about breast cancer, which a number of people raised. As I am sure the hon. Lady appreciates, that issue is important to me, as I was diagnosed with a breast cancer when I was under the age of 42. It is an important issue. Health in the workplace continues to be an important issue for us, and we are dealing with that through our make work pay strategy and the Employment Rights Bill, which will set out some of those steps, including support for women experiencing menopause in the workplace. On sodium valproate and pelvic mesh, the Cumberlege review made nine recommendations, of which the then Government accepted seven. I can confirm that the national pause remains in place.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Parkinson’s: Patient Care in Newcastle-under-Lyme · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for his continued support for people with Parkinson’s disease, a condition that I know is close to his family. This Government inherited long waits for neurology services, with only 53.4% of patients, including those with Parkinson’s, waiting less than 18 weeks for a referral in June. Our elective reform plan will free up over 1 million appointments each year for those who really need them, including patients with Parkinson’s, and NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time programme continues to work with 27 specialised centres in England, including at University Hospitals of North Midlands.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Parkinson’s: Patient Care in Newcastle-under-Lyme · Hansard source

  More

  Yes, I would be more than happy to support that. That is part and parcel of this Government’s aim to shift the NHS from hospitals to community.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Parkinson’s: Patient Care in Newcastle-under-Lyme · Hansard source

  More

  I am happy to meet my hon. Friend and his constituent to discuss all of those matters of concern—I look forward to doing so as soon as my diary will allow.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Reducing Healthcare Inequalities · Hansard source

  More

  The Darzi review highlighted that there were too many targets set for the NHS, which made it hard for local systems to prioritise actions. There has been no reduction in women’s health services. The Government are committed to prioritising women’s health as we build an NHS that is fit for the future, and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions. Women’s health hubs, which provide integrated women’s health services in the community, have a key role in tackling the inequalities faced by women. The Department has invested £25 million over 2023-24 and 2024-25 to support the establishment of at least one pilot women’s health hub in every integrated care system.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Reducing Healthcare Inequalities · Hansard source

  More

  Lord Darzi’s report laid bare the shocking health inequalities in our country. It is completely unacceptable that in Britain in 2025, maternal mortality rates for black women are more than double those of white women and life expectancy at birth for females in Blackpool is eight years less than in Kensington and Chelsea. Reducing inequalities in elective care was identified as a key priority in the planning guidance and mandate that the NHS published last month, and further measures to address these inequalities in our country will be at the heart of our 10-year health plan, which will be published in the spring.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Reducing Healthcare Inequalities · Hansard source

  More

  The Government mandate to NHS England was published on 30 January and makes the importance of tackling health inequalities clear. NHS England has an existing programme that targets the most deprived 20% of the population, with the aim of reducing health inequalities. I can reassure my hon. Friend, who has been a determined campaigner on inequalities, that the health inequalities weighting has not been withdrawn. The funding in question, which amounted to £200 million, has been incorporated into the main integrated care board allocation. The weighting of that health inequalities adjustment has been increased from 10% to 10.2%, so that the ICBs still benefit from that extra investment, with funding redistributed to areas with the poorest health outcomes, based on measures of avoidable mortality provided by the Office for National Statistics.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  Increasing HIV testing is a vital step towards meeting our goal, and it will be a core element of our new HIV action plan, which will be published later in the year. We are investing more than £4.5 million in delivering a national prevention programme, and, with backing of an extra £1.5 million, we will extend the programme for a further year, until March 2026.

• 3 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T5. As we have heard today, the Government have recently launched their “Keep Britain Working” review. Developments in treatment for incurable cancers such as the one I have mean that many of us with incurable cancer might live, and live reasonably well, for many years. How do the Government plan to engage with people with incurable cancers as part of that review, to ensure we are enabled to continue to thrive in our careers and our workplaces?

• 6 Jan 2025 · Flooding · Hansard source

  More

  I also echo the words of many across the House about the work of the statutory services, particularly all those who worked in West Lancashire. Our community spirit has been exceptional; I particularly note the work of my constituent Laura Caunce from the Ormskirk community group, who has co-ordinated volunteers on the ground, and has run a crowdfunder and raised over £5,000 already to support local people affected by floods. I welcome the Minister’s statement and many of the announcements, particularly the £50 million for internal drainage boards. My hon. Friend will be aware that there are some parts of the country, such as mine in West Lancashire, that cannot get an IDB, because legislation prevents the creation of a new one. What timeline are we looking at for bringing forward legislation so that we can really move forward on flood prevention and water management in West Lancashire?

• 9 Dec 2024 · Pimping websites and paying for sex · Hansard source

  More

  I rise on the 15th day of the 16 days of activism against violence against women and girls. Sexual exploitation for commercial gain is a form of violence and abuse. Pimping websites provide a platform for abusers to sell women for sex, and our current legislation is inadequate to tackle it. The petition states: The petition of residents of the constituency of West Lancashire, Declares that demand from the minority of men who pay for sex is driving the prostitution and sex trafficking trade, and this sexual exploitation is being facilitated by pimping websites that operate with impunity. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to outlaw pimping websites and paying for sex, and provide support, not sanctions, to victims of sexual exploitation. And the petitioners remain, etc. [P003027]