Caroline Johnson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 19 Nov 2024 · Health and Care Staffing Costs: Employer NI Contributions · Hansard source

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  I have tried repeatedly through written parliamentary questions to get an answer to this without success, so I will try asking it face to face: will the Secretary of State tell the House how much his Chancellor’s changes to national insurance contributions will cost the NHS?

• 13 Nov 2024 · Environmental Protection · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 13 Nov 2024 · Environmental Protection · Hansard source

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  I understand the hon. Member’s point, but the party responsible for putting an item in the bin is not the council, but the person who has it in their hand. People who drop litter should take responsibility. They should not be doing so in the first place. When I worked with the River Slea clean-up project a year ago, we picked up a lot of these devices from the riverside and the river itself. They are clearly a danger to the environment and should not be discarded. My hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Dr Hudson) talked about his dog Poppy. He has recounted that story to me before, and it horrified me, as a dog owner, that any animal could hurt themselves so badly with a vape. We also heard the Minister talk about tyres exploding; goodness knows what would happen if a poor dog or another animal crushed one of these things in their mouth, so I am pleased that they are being banned. One of the challenges with this legislation was defining disposable vapes. The Government have defined them as ones that are not refillable and rechargeable. In an ideal world, the industry would accept that, produce the refillable vapes it currently produces and move on. However, there is a great financial interest in these products, and I am concerned that the industry will try to find workarounds and get-arounds to create a nominally reusable, but practically not terribly reusable, product at a price point that means it will be discarded. That would continue the problem, so I ask the Minister to keep these products under review, look carefully for signs of these issues in the way that vapes are manufactured, and legislate if necessary. The Minister talked about those involved in enforcement being given the resources they need, so will she tell us how much has been budgeted and allocated for enforcement of the new rules?

• 13 Nov 2024 · Environmental Protection · Hansard source

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  My point was that there have been examples of supermarkets unknowingly selling vapes that did not meet requirements, and it is difficult for a consumer who puts a disposable vape in each hand to identify which is allowed and which is not. As a result of the new regulations, they will be able to tell, because both will not be allowed.

• 13 Nov 2024 · Environmental Protection · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is referring to an important issue. I know that he is concerned about personal responsibility and people’s ability to make their own choices. The Government face something of a choice between the protection of an adult—a former smoker who is now vaping, who will be presented with a choice of going back to smoking, stopping vaping or using a reusable vape—and the protection of children. Surely the protection of children is more important, as adults are free to make their own choices about what they wish to do, as long as it is an informed choice.

• 13 Nov 2024 · Environmental Protection · Hansard source

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  I am interested to know: is my hon. Friend trying to argue that the Government should have gone further and banned all vapes, including those that can be refilled?

• 13 Nov 2024 · Environmental Protection · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to follow the maiden speech of the hon. Member for South Dorset (Lloyd Hatton). It was an excellent maiden speech—very interesting—and his constituency sounds lovely. Indeed, it sounds almost as lovely as Sleaford and North Hykeham, but not quite. I welcome him to his place, and hope he enjoys his time in the House. I also welcome the regulations. Some people say that ten-minute rule Bills never become legislation, but today, mine will. On 8 February 2023, I introduced the Disposable Electronic Cigarettes (Prohibition of Sale) Bill. I put on record my thanks for the support of my hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Alberto Costa), and the hon. Members for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney), for Barnsley North (Dan Jarvis), for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) and for Blaydon and Consett (Liz Twist), as well as many former Members who supported that Bill. There was then a consultation that showed that the measures in the Bill had broad support in the country. It showed that at that point, 70% of the public supported those measures—a high figure. The Conservative Government then introduced the Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (England) Regulations 2024, which sadly did not pass through wash-up before the general election and therefore did not become law. I am delighted that the current Government are bringing these measures forward, but disappointed that they will not come into effect until June, although I understand the reasons that the Minister has given. There are essentially two reasons why this legislation is very important: the protection of children, and the protection of our natural environment. When it comes to protecting children, I declare an interest—well, three interests as the mother of three children, but also an interest as a children’s doctor in the NHS. As has been said, when vapes were introduced, it was claimed that they were a “stop smoking” device. I would argue that they were introduced as an alternative addiction, but they certainly are not suitable for children. The chief medical officer has clearly stated on a number of occasions that vapes may be better than smoking, but those who are not smokers should avoid using them at all. Unfortunately, children have been attracted to these devices. It is my view that in some cases, the vaping industry has made them deliberately more attractive to children. I do not see why a middle-aged smoker wishing to quit would need a unicorn-flavoured vape, or one shaped like SpongeBob SquarePants or a teddy bear. They are cheap, disposable, and in my view clearly designed to attract children, which they certainly have done. This risks creating a whole generation of nicotine addicts, and the long-term effects of these devices are unknown. They are causing disruption in schools—eight children at a Sleaford school in my constituency have collapsed following the inhalation of certain vapes. The protection of the natural environment is important. When I introduced my ten-minute rule Bill, I mentioned in my speech that 1.3 million of these devices were being discarded a week. The latest figure is 5 million, and even that figure is becoming slightly out of date. They are very difficult to recycle, and if they are discarded as litter, they create toxic waste that pollutes our soil, rivers and streams. If they are crushed in a bin lorry, they can cause fires, and have indeed done so.

• 13 Nov 2024 · Environmental Protection · Hansard source

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  The impact assessment has been referred to repeatedly during the debate. I understand that it refers to this piece of legislation only, and not to the wider impact of other measures that the Government have proposed, or that have not completed their parliamentary process. Is that correct? Will an assessment of the effects not need to be done in the round, rather than applying to a specific piece of legislation that is only part of a wider plan to tackle youth vaping?

• 13 Nov 2024 · Environmental Protection · Hansard source

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  I certainly do. One benefit of the ban on disposable vapes is that regardless of whether or not a disposable vape is currently illegal on the basis of its constitution and content, it will now be illegal. It will be much easier to identify illegal vapes, because all disposable versions will be illegal. I also agree that we must get the money to councils to do these things, but employing a new enforcement officer will of course now cost more money. The Government’s raising of national insurance contributions and lowering of the threshold at which they are paid will affect councils up and down the country. I do not think the Government have really considered the direct cost to public sector employers, or the knock-on effects where services are contracted out and provided by a third party—a private company or a charity. That third party will, no doubt, pass the costs on to the councils. That is a huge concern. This legislation is the start of creating an overall package to control vaping and protect our children and our natural environment. I welcome it, and I will support it today.

• 13 Nov 2024 · Environmental Protection · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend accept that it is quite difficult for the consumer to establish which vapes are illegal and which are not? One may have thought that going into a reputable supermarket to buy such a product was a surefire way of ensuring that it was safe, but we have heard examples of major supermarkets selling a well known brand of vapes that had more in them than was legally allowed. If we ban disposable vapes, it will become very clear: all disposable ones will be illegal.

• 13 Nov 2024 · Representation of the People · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady says that people have arrived to vote in somebody’s name and have been turned away and did not return when asked for ID. How can she be certain that they were the person they said they were?

• 12 Nov 2024 · NHS Dentistry: South-west · Hansard source

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  The Minister has iterated the problem, and he has spoken warm words about listening, talking and working with people. However, he has said little that is concrete, except about things that were happening already, either locally or as a result of the previous Government. With a minute left to answer all the questions he has been asked, can he commit to answering in writing those he does not have time to answer in the remaining minutes?

• 12 Nov 2024 · NHS Dentistry: South-west · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I congratulate the hon. Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord) on securing a debate on this important subject, starting at the significant time of two-thirty—I thought that was particularly skilled of him. [ Laughter. ] I thought you would like that one, Mr Vickers. Nobody should have painful teeth and nobody should have difficulty accessing an NHS dentist. Lincolnshire, which is home to my constituency, suffers similar challenges with access to NHS dentistry; indeed, I led an Adjournment debate on the topic in October 2021. It has been pointed out that the number of dentists is not the issue; in fact, we have more dentists per capita than we did 10 years ago. Rather, dentists are either in the wrong place—concentrated in urban rather than rural and coastal areas—or they do not perform NHS work, for a variety of reasons. That leads to the underspend that has been described. There has been some progress, with 500 more practices accepting NHS patients as a result of the dental recovery plan, and 6 million more dental treatment processes completed in 2023 than in 2021-22. One thing that helped with that was the patient premium for new patients, who are more likely than repeat patients to have a problem with their teeth that requires treatment. They are also more expensive for dentists to treat, so the current contract disincentivises the seeing of new patients. The patient premium is funded until April 2025. Will the Minister say whether he plans to continue it beyond that date? Another help has been the golden hello of up to £20,000 for dentists working in underserved areas, including the south-west, the midlands and East Anglia. Will the Minister say whether that scheme will continue? A number of hon. Members have mentioned a long-term workforce plan. There are already additional dental training places in the south-west, but, as my hon. Friend the Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) pointed out, there can be challenges in the way the training is organised, which means that people do not stay in the local area—although more do stay than if they had been trained elsewhere. Will the Minister look in detail at the problems my hon. Friend raised? Ultimately, we have more dentists than ever before, but private dentistry is much more lucrative than NHS dentistry, and the NHS contract is complicated, offers disincentives and needs reform. The previous Government began reforming the 2006 contract by increasing the UDA rate to £28 as a minimum. The Labour party had a manifesto promise to negotiate with the BDA. Will the Minister confirm if negotiations have started and, if they have not, when he expects them to start?

• 12 Nov 2024 · NHS Dentistry: South-west · Hansard source

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  It is unfair to say that there was no meaningful reform. There was reform, but it has not been enough to ensure that everyone gets a dental appointment, and we need further negotiation and reform. We can relitigate the election, but the Labour party won a majority for this term and it needs to use it to do what it promised. One of those things is reforming the contract, and that is why I am asking the Minister to tell us whether he has entered negotiations to do so. One thing the Government have done—this was brought up by the hon. Members for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade) and for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett)—is increase national insurance contributions and lower the thresholds at which they are paid, which presents a challenge for dentists across the country. I know the BDA has written to the Chancellor to ask for an exemption, and I wonder whether the Minister can comment on that. I have tabled a number of written questions, and the answers I have received have been less than satisfactory; they are really not proper answers at all. The Government do not seem to have worked out how much they intend to mitigate the increase in national insurance contributions, for whom they might do so, or how much it might cost. That is clearly a great worry. The Health Service Journal published a leaked letter suggesting that the cost of the 700,000 extra appointments —and presumably, in many cases, the national insurance contributions—will have to be found within the current budget. The Department of Health and Social Care has suggested that the letter was never sent and therefore may be inaccurate. Will the Minister put on the record the reality of the situation? Will the funding be expected to come from the current budget, or will there be extra money—and, if so, how much? The Minister has said himself that water fluoridation is safe and effective and reduces tooth decay, so will he be adding fluoride to our water? He said in answer to a parliamentary question that he would do so “in due course”. Will he tell us what that means and how quickly he expects to do it? The Government have talked the talk on prevention; now they need to take action. The previous Government conducted a consultation on whether newly qualified dentists could be tied into working for the NHS for a period of time. What is the Government’s assessment of that consultation, and what do they intend to do about the issue? Supervised toothbrushing is an interesting plan, but what about children of other ages? What is being done to encourage parents to take responsibility for ensuring that their children’s teeth are cleaned? Armed forces families move around the country a huge amount, and our forces do an excellent job keeping us safe. The Conservative Government brought in the armed forces covenant to protect our armed forces and their families. What plans does the Minister have to ensure that families can access NHS dental care as they move around the country, and that they do not have to wait for a place only to not get one, and then move again and have the same problem? I think it was the hon. Member for Honiton and Sidmouth who brought up international dentists. An international dentist with equivalent qualifications can work in the UK privately, but they need to go through an additional process to work for the NHS and be on the performers list, which is unnecessarily complicated. What will the Minister do to ensure that, if a dentist is able to practise privately in the UK, they can also practise on the NHS—or does he think that is not the right thing to do? Other Members have mentioned fluoride varnish. Does the Minister have a plan to ensure that young children have access to that treatment? Finally, the Secretary of State for Wales has said that Labour will “take inspiration from Wales”. Given that dental activity is at 58% of pre-pandemic levels in Wales, compared with 85% in England, and that 93% of practices in Wales—a greater proportion than in the rest of the UK—are not taking on new adult NHS patients, will the Minister reassure us that that is definitely not the case?

• 6 Nov 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I do. As a farmer’s wife, I particularly recognise the effort of families to work together on farms. It is not the most profitable work, but is a labour of true love. Those who need a pint after listening to all the increases in taxation across the generations may be pleased to hear that pints are going to be a penny cheaper—woo-hoo—but with business rates relief for pubs and other hospitality having gone from 75% to 40%, and the rise in the minimum wage and in national insurance contributions, the likelihood is that prices will not go down at all, leading to further disappointment. The Budget is bad for business, bad for growth, bad for the young and bad for the old. But most of all it is a break of trust. It is a litany of broken promises from the Labour Government to the public. Labour voters, like the Prime Minister’s favourite singer, may be saying to themselves, “Did you have to do this? I was thinking that you could be trusted.”

• 6 Nov 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend is making a characteristically excellent speech, and he mentions the transport projects that have been scrapped. We have not heard about what is happening to the North Hykeham relief road in my constituency. Does he agree that investing in roads in this way creates growth?

• 6 Nov 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  Is the reality not that the Labour Government also do not know how they will balance the books? I asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in a written parliamentary question how much the rise in employer national insurance contributions will cost the Department. The Government said that they did not know.

• 6 Nov 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I declare that I have a financial interest in some of the Budget measures. The Budget is one of broken promises and poorly thought out measures for every generation. For children who attend private schools, their schools will face VAT. Quite apart from the disruption that will cause, it is unlikely to raise the money the Government suggest, because the wealthier parents have already paid, more students will need to be looked after in the state sector, there will be greater demand on SEND services and there will be a reduction in employment among staff who previously worked at such schools. The Prime Minister told those who go to university that he wanted to abolish tuition fees. I wonder whether they are surprised that he has put them up. Young people wanting to buy their first home will see stamp duty thresholds fall, and many more will pay stamp duty on their first home. What of those working people the Labour party has found it so difficult to define? First, they have to get to work. Those who use the bus will find that the fare has increased by 50%. Those who have commercial pick-up trucks will see that the tax on them has gone up too. What about the national insurance rise? It is a tax on every single working person and it has not been thought through, as public sector workers will also need to pay the national insurance. The Government said to The Times that they were going to provide mitigation, but the Department of Health and Social Care does not seem to know how much it is going to cost to start with. I asked a written parliamentary question and was told it will take longer to prepare an answer. The Department does not seem to know how much it will cost directly or indirectly. Many right hon. and hon. Members have talked today about the indirect costs that will face air ambulances, hospices, general practices, opticians, care homes, mental health services and outsourced laundry, catering and human resources. What about the private hospitals delivering waiting list initiative work for the NHS? They will also need to put up prices. Will the nurse who works at a private hospital doing a proportion of her or his work for the NHS and a proportion for private enterprise be partly recompensed, or not? It has not been properly thought through. We will need the NHS for all those old people, cold and vulnerable in their homes, who have had the winter fuel allowance snatched from them—people the Labour Government have let down. If they die, they have the prospect of further taxation on their pensions, business assets and family farms.

• 6 Nov 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for the speech that he is making. Does he agree that many of those people will now feel betrayed?

• 4 Nov 2024 · Budget: Implications for Farming Communities · Hansard source

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  I declare that my husband is in agriculture and farming, and therefore I have an indirect financial interest in the topic. This Government promised that they would not raise national insurance contributions, but they have. They promised that they would not reduce agricultural property relief, but they have. They have also added a fertiliser tax and a tax on pick-up trucks as a way of compounding the misery. Has the Minister done an impact assessment on food security and food prices following the Budget, and will he publish it?

• 30 Oct 2024 · Children’s Hospices: Funding · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I congratulate the hon. Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne) on securing this important debate and on his work to raise funds for this important cause. I will look on YouTube later to see whether I can find the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) playing the trombone; I am sure it will be a great rendition. Losing a child is every parent’s very worst nightmare, but every day parents throughout the country are caring for children with life-limiting diseases. There are now 99,000 seriously ill children and their families in the UK. For those families the children’s hospices are, as we have heard today, a necessary lifeline. As an NHS consultant paediatrician, children’s palliative care is an issue close to my heart and I have cared for many children with life-limiting illnesses. I have also been the person who has delivered that bad news and been there through families’ journeys, and also in those final moments. My role as a politician now gives me the opportunity to stand here and advocate for those families and those children, and to use this platform as a vehicle for positive change to make the treatment and care for those children much better. It is an opportunity I have taken before. I was pleased to hear my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton) talk about Acorns hospice. In 2019, the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) and I co-chaired the all-party parliamentary group for children who need palliative care, and heard of the financial difficulties faced by Acorns and other hospices. Our campaign, and an Adjournment debate held in July 2019, led to an announcement from the Minister at the time, my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage), that the hospice grant would be doubled from £12 million to £25 million. That certainly helped the hospices then, but time has moved on. Demand is increasing; there are more children affected, sadly; those children are living longer, which means they need the services for longer; and the complexity of the care they require has increased. In fact, on average, children’s hospices in England spent 15% more in 2023-24 compared with 2021-22. Charities have raised money to fill the gap, but we have heard that they find it more difficult to raise funds in some areas than others, depending on the relative affluence of the people who live in the area surrounding the hospice. That relates not to their generosity but simply to their means to provide extra funding. It is important that we ensure that all children have access to such services, regardless of where they live. Progress was made in the previous Parliament on improving access to palliative care for children. As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to those that must be commissioned by the ICB. As part of that, £1.5 billion of extra funding was provided at national level to support ICBs with inflationary pressures, and a further £25 million was allocated in grant funding for the 2024-25 period. However, it is important to say that we still have increasing demand and we still need more funding. We also need certainty, as hospices cannot plan from year to year. They need the Government to give them the sort of certainty of financial support that they were given previously. I am concerned about the Budget this afternoon, because we have been briefed that national insurance contributions for employers will rise. We have also been briefed that NHS direct employers will be protected, but that will not necessarily protect hospices and others who deliver healthcare services. We will look carefully at that this afternoon. As I said, the ICBs are now responsible for allocating funding for children’s hospices, but Together for Short Lives has highlighted the variation in how they have allocated that grant. Some have paid the allocation in full, some are paying it quarterly and others have not paid at all. What steps will the Minister take to hold the ICBs to account for allocating the grant and supporting hospices? I recognise that there is great value in the ICBs providing local services, locally commissioned, to best target local services at the population they serve, but there is also a recognition that some services are low volume but high complexity and best commissioned nationally. I urge the Minister to consider carefully whether the balance is right for children’s hospices, which are certainly relatively low-volume, high-complexity services, and whether they should be nationally commissioned. In either case, it is wrong that ICBs do not have access to the statistics showing the number of children they have to care for, because without them they cannot plan their funding. I ask the Minister to do what he can to ensure that he has the right information to make the right decision. Many children with life-limiting conditions have cancer. The children and young people cancer taskforce was set up earlier this year to drive improvements in how we detect, treat and care for children with cancer. What is the Government’s alternative to the cancer taskforce, which has been paused, and how quickly can we expect it to be put in place? I appreciate that it is difficult for the Minister to make commitments, given that the Budget is just a few hours away, but will he commit to reviewing the locations of children’s hospices? A report produced by the APPG for children who need palliative care—including the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh)—in conjunction with Together for Short Lives demonstrated that because children’s hospices are often set up charitably, their locations are not always spread evenly across the country, so particularly in rural areas people find it difficult to access one. Given that all children must have access to hospices, will the Minister commit to at least looking at how to ensure that access? Will the Minister restate the Government’s commitment to the provision of short breaks? Children’s hospices provide excellent palliative care at the end of life, but they also provide significant care during life. Part of that is short break respite care, which is so valuable to many families. Will the Minister commit his Department to ensuring that is funded?

• 30 Oct 2024 · Children’s Hospices: Funding · Hansard source

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  The Minister talked about maintaining the grant, but does he recognise that many hon. Members have also raised the increasing costs that hospices are facing? Will he look to not just maintain the grant but increase it?

• 22 Oct 2024 · Draft Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Amendment) Regulations 2024 · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. The Opposition will not object to the draft regulations, particularly because they were drafted by the Conservative Government and introduced by my former colleague, Maria Caulfield, who was then the Minister. They were announced last year and were laid earlier this year. However, I have a couple of questions. The draft regulations mention donations from family members. Given that we know that infants conceived where both biological parents have close family relations are at higher risk of genetic and other medical conditions, will the Minister update us on any specific guidance on the use of the word “family” in relation to who can donate? Will he confirm that the NHS will still screen all donations for HIV? The Minister said that there are no implications for the NHS. Does that mean that shared motherhood will not be provided for by the NHS or that the NHS will not provide services to those who are HIV positive, or does he expect the numbers to be so small that it will not make any difference? Finally, he said that the provisions are being brought forward in Northern Ireland under the Windsor framework and the EU withdrawal Act. Does that mean that he considers the ability to bring in these regulations to be a benefit of Brexit?

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

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  As a doctor myself, I wish to start by recognising the substantial work ethic and expertise of my primary care colleagues and thank them for all that they do. Saying what is wrong with the NHS is very easy; solving problems takes much longer and is far more difficult. Rather than the next few hours being filled with constructive ideas, I expect that we will simply hear complaints about the challenges faced by the NHS, perhaps some party political jibes and a wish list of promises and the things that people want to see, but no concrete plans on how to deliver them beyond more money. I hope that I am wrong about that, but I suspect that I am not. Our NHS is facing significant challenges. We have an ageing population with more complex health needs, a rising demand for services and a rapidly growing population. We also have the legacy from the pandemic, which many are quick to forget. Although we were the first country to deliver a vaccine, there are many persistent problems stemming from the pandemic. Let me give the House an example. Before the pandemic, in 2019, there were 54 women who had been waiting more than a year to see a gynaecologist, but due to the reduction in elective activity during the lockdown, by the time the pandemic was over that number was more than 40,000. This is, of course, replicated across other medical specialties. Although my secondary care colleagues have been working extremely hard to reduce those numbers—and, indeed, they have fallen—the individuals concerned will, on average, visit their GPs more while they are waiting and that inevitably puts more pressure on primary care services. The simple truth is that we gave the NHS more money than it has ever had and, as a result, it has delivered more clinical activity than ever before, but the ageing population, the rising demand for services and the legacy of the pandemic have meant that, in places, that has not been enough. Many people are not being seen as quickly as we would want them to be. The previous Labour Administration did not do enough to train new doctors, and the reality is that we cannot train one overnight. The Conservative Government built five new medical schools, and the graduates of those medical schools have recently started work. The Secretary of State says that he will double the number of medical students. That is an item on his wish list with which I agree, but I do have a few questions. Will he build new medical schools, expand the old ones, or do both? If he is going to build new ones, where will he build them? [Interruption.] The Minister for Secondary Care is talking about primary care. I believe that doctors are a part of primary care. The UCAS deadline to apply for most medical school places to start next autumn was yesterday, so when does the Secretary of State expect these new places to be available and those new students to start? On the broader primary care workforce, we expanded the number of primary care professionals in GP practices, such as dietitians and physiotherapists, and we delivered 50 million more GP appointments last year than in 2019. We also saw the launch of Pharmacy First, which delivered more care in the community while easing pressure on GP appointments. I was pleased to hear the Liberal Democrat spokesman acknowledge the success and the benefits of that programme. I have a few questions for the Secretary of State. The Conservatives produced the first NHS workforce plan. Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether he will proceed with those plans or write a new one? What are the timescales for his plan? In the spring Budget, we had the NHS productivity plan, with £3.4 billion to improve NHS productivity. Does the right hon. Gentleman still intend to follow that? The Minister for Secondary Care said that she was recruiting 1,000 GPs. Can the Secretary of State tell us how many have been recruited so far? The Secretary of State and I also agree on the ability of technology to improve NHS services.

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

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I have talked about the challenges the NHS faces. I will come shortly to the achievements of the Labour Government so far in the Department of Health and Social Care. Turning back to technology, I was saying that I agree with the Secretary of State on how technology can improve NHS services. Over the last few years, in my professional capacity, I have seen improvements in making communication between primary and secondary care and within secondary care much more efficient. As a patient, I have used the askmyGP service, which is an excellent way to communicate with a GP, particularly for working people. I have also used the NHS app, which millions of people have downloaded and which has huge potential. I hope he intends to build on that potential and harness the benefit of AI for diagnostics in particular. The Secretary of State and I also agree on the importance of prevention. It is vital to make the NHS accessible to those who need it, but it is even better if people stay healthy in the first place. Before the election, he was supportive of measures to protect children from the dangers of vaping—measures I campaigned for actively. In fact, he was quite critical that it had not been done sooner, as in some respects was I. Given that the legislation has already been written and that it passed both Second Reading and Committee stage with the support of his friends on the Labour Benches, why is it taking him so long to produce a tobacco and vapes Bill? Can he guarantee that he will deliver it, like a present, in time for Christmas—for clarity, I am hoping for this Christmas?