James Murray MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Jul 2026 · NHS Workforce: Sickness Absence · Hansard source

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  The 10-year health plan committed to our ambition to reduce sickness absence from 5.1%, which it was in July 2025, to the lowest recorded level in the NHS, at approximately 4.1%. As I set out in my earlier remarks, staff standards cover health and wellbeing, line management, flexible working, tackling violence and racism, and championing sexual safety. The staff treatment hubs that I mentioned, which will be rolled out in 2027, will focus on mental health and back conditions, which are the main reasons for absence.

• 14 Jul 2026 · NHS Workforce: Sickness Absence · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. He is absolutely right to point to the record investment that this Labour Government are putting in, not just for the day-to-day running of the health service, but the critical capital investment, after the capital budget was starved for so many years under the Conservative party.

• 14 Jul 2026 · NHS Trusts: Digital Infrastructure · Hansard source

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  I put it on the record that my hon. Friend has been a most determined advocate for patients and staff at the North West Anglia NHS foundation trust, who clearly deserve better IT systems. We have agreed plans to replace the trust’s electronic patient record system and supporting infrastructure. We will go on to provide practical support and guidance, including help with costs, and we will pair the trust with other NHS organisations that have overcome similar issues in the past.

• 14 Jul 2026 · NHS Trusts: Digital Infrastructure · Hansard source

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  This Government will invest up to £10 billion in NHS technology and transformation by 2028-29. That includes ambient voice technology, which supports doctors to write up notes more quickly so that they can focus on patient care, and the single patient record, which will bring a patient’s health data into one secure system, limiting repetition across services. We will use technologies like these to free up staff time, so that they can spend more time on care and less on administration.

• 14 Jul 2026 · NHS Trusts: Digital Infrastructure · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady makes a very compelling case for the investment that we are putting in to transform digital infrastructure in the NHS, because the single patient record—introduced through the Health Bill that is currently going through Parliament—will enable systems across the NHS to be linked up so that people will no longer have to repeat their stories time and again to different clinicians or people from whom they seek care. It also means that people will have their health records linked up when clinicians decide how to treat them. It is a win-win for patients and for clinicians when they are looking at the opportunities that the new technology provides.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Officials at the Department of Health and Social Care are looking closely at that matter, and will publish the Government response in due course.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We want to improve the NHS estate across the country, and that is why we are increasing capital investment to £15 billion a year by 2028-29. I am happy to write to the hon. Lady with further details on the specific investment in her constituency.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising the situation. Clearly, we should ensure that NHS rooms are being used for the benefit of patients. On that specific case, I understand that Central East ICB is developing a plan to reoccupy the Houghton Regis health centre this month, but I am happy to discuss the detail with her.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As the hon. Lady will know, I have committed to introducing a maternity and neonatal commissioner. I will meet the national taskforce, which I chair, later this afternoon to discuss the scope of the role to ensure that the taskforce has discussed it and is content with it. We will then ensure that we get that on a statutory footing as quickly as possible—I hope through the Health Bill, though that will be subject to discussions with the Commons and Lords authorities. But I want to ensure that the role is statutory and in place and can help us drive change through maternity services across the country.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for raising that important point and drawing attention to the impacts that iodine deficiency can have. I am happy to look into the matter further and respond to her in writing.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am proud of the fact that the waiting list for NHS services is more than 340,000 less than when we took office two years ago. People are being treated faster than ever before, satisfaction with GP services is increasing and we are making progress for people across this country. There is a lot more work to do, but we have laid the right foundations and are moving in the right direction.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As you know, Mr Speaker, the Minister for Secondary Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth), is not here this morning as she is attending the graduation of her son Will. I am sure that the whole House will join me in congratulating Will on his achievement. Since I last updated the House, we have opened a new meningitis B vaccination programme for 1 million young people, committed to extending Martha’s rule across all maternity services and resolved a long-running dispute with resident doctors. We have not wasted a second in strengthening and improving our health and social care system for people across the country, and in building an NHS that is fit for the future.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We want to ensure that hospitals in our new hospitals programme across the country are built as quickly as possible. We inherited a programme where there was no funding to deliver that, or funding that was completely unreasonable and with unrealistic delivery timescales. We have changed that to ensure that we have a clear programme with waves of delivery over the coming years. I am happy to look into the particular situation raised by the hon. Lady, but I emphasise that the lack of capital funding that our health service has had for so long began with funding being cut back under a Government of whom her party was a part.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this long-standing campaign, which I know is of great interest to many people in the Chamber. I welcome the fact that the trust, as I understand it, has now completed a feasibility study, which concluded that there is an evidence-based case to explore extending to a 24-hour emergency department. This work is now being developed with the ICB, and I look forward very much to seeing those proposals progress.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman raises an important point about the loneliness often faced by people who are being treated for cancer—particularly for young people, whose loneliness can be acute when they are separated from their friendship groups and peers as they undergo treatment. I pay tribute to the work of the Teenage Cancer Trust. The Government want to ensure that we are working with that charity to provide a comprehensive service, not just on diagnosis and treatment but on the important emotional support that people across the board, particularly young people, need.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The National Screening Committee plays a vital role in providing clinical and evidence-based advice on how to target screening programmes. In my time as Secretary of State over the past few months, the committee has made a number of recommendations, but the benefits of greater screening must be balanced with the risks of doing so, and I know that the National Screening Committee takes that responsibility seriously. I have clearly made the point that the committee must continue to keep its advice up to date and, as new diagnostic and treatment methods become available, it must ensure that its advice keeps pace with those.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The vast majority of people who come off the waiting list do so because they are receiving the care they need. I am confused: is the right hon. Gentleman advocating that people should stay on the waiting lists when they no longer need NHS care? Are the Opposition advocating that we should spend NHS resources chasing people who no longer need care, or should we keep the waiting lists up to date, as previous Governments have done, and ensure that everyone who needs care gets it?

• 14 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We are determined to reduce waiting times across the country. Where there are cases of individual hospitals or trusts like the case my hon. Friend mentioned, we will send in teams from the national health service to help improve the service provided in local areas. It is also important that where trusts or hospitals have done well and have solved problems, their expertise goes to help other trusts and hospitals who need their support, because we want to ensure that the improvement in the NHS happens right across the country.

• 14 Jul 2026 · NHS Accountability · Hansard source

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  I think it is fair to say that while Healthwatch has in some areas played an important role, it has fundamentally separated those listening to patients from those who have the power to make changes. Our reforms in the Health Bill will put patient voice at the heart of shaping services. Those responsible for commissioning services will hear directly from patients, service users and local people. ICBs will be required to publish an annual statement of how they have gathered feedback and what actions they have taken, while the new patient experience directorate in the Department of Health and Social Care will ensure that patient insight directly shapes national policymaking.

• 14 Jul 2026 · NHS Accountability · Hansard source

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  The Health Bill, which is going through Parliament now, will restore clear accountability to the NHS. By abolishing NHS England, we are ending the confusion created by having two separate centres. Responsibility for national decision making will be brought back to Government, while local leaders will be empowered to deliver for their local communities.

• 14 Jul 2026 · NHS Accountability · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising that important point. While I understand that the amendments he tabled will not be voted on today, they raise an important issue that I will continue to look further into. With the Hillsborough law now due to have its Commons stages completed today and then go over to the Lords, I very much hope that it will be in law as soon as possible, which means that we can apply the duty of candour to future maternity services reviews such as those in Leeds and Sussex. The situation that we had in Nottingham, where senior leadership refused to take part in the inquiry under way, was totally unacceptable and must never happen again.

• 30 Jun 2026 · National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his emphasis on the need for us to tackle the deep-rooted cultural problems in maternity services. He talks about how the only ideology that we should follow should be based on science and evidence. I agree with him on the importance of science and evidence, and of making sure that women are aware of the risks and benefits of the different options available to them, so that they can make informed choices. I add that the only ideology I would be comfortable signing up to is one that says that women must be listened to. That is a principle that I think we can all agree on, and we should make sure that it is embedded in our maternity services. My hon. Friend mentions investment in technology, including the single patient record. The single patient record can be of real benefit and make a difference, particularly in maternity services, and it will be enabled by the NHS modernisation Bill that is going through Parliament. I want to make sure that the single patient record is available to maternity services as quickly as possible. I am happy to share a copy of the report with the Scottish Government.

• 30 Jun 2026 · National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is right to draw attention to the impact that bullying and a poor working culture can have on maternity services. That focus on culture and on what we can do to change it will be a key part of the national action plan that the taskforce will develop. We want to make sure not only that staffing levels are correct and that staff have the right training, but that different members of staff work together across different disciplines and roles, because that is one way to make sure that the service improves.

• 30 Jun 2026 · National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend asks about the timing, and the process for establishing a commissioner. As a first step, in the next two weeks, I will meet members of the taskforce to agree the scope, and a detailed role for the commissioner, because I want that scope and role to be agreed with them, given that they will be developing the national action plan. We then need to get the commissioner on a statutory basis, and I want to do that as quickly as possible. I am keen to look for options to do that through the Health Bill, but that will obviously be subject to discussions with the usual channels. Once that is in place, we can appoint the commissioner as quickly as possible. It is worth emphasising that the role of the commissioner will be to implement the national action plan, so work on developing the plan and on establishing the commissioner will begin immediately. When the commissioner is appointed, they will have a role in implementing the national action plan. The issue is not simply about developing a national plan; it is about ensuring that it gets implemented, and that we hold trusts and other organisations across the system to account.

• 30 Jun 2026 · National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation · Hansard source

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  I will take away the right hon. Gentleman’s suggestion and think on it, because it is critical that we have accountability. As I said in response to earlier questions, I find the decision of senior clinicians not to take part in the Nottingham inquiry utterly unacceptable, and incomprehensible on a personal level. We must ensure that that never happens again.