Karin Smyth MP: speeches

Speeches

• 16 Jul 2026 · Health Bill (Seventeenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  We largely agree with new clauses 96 and 97 and the comments of the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East. He cited some organisations: Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK and Dementia UK; hon. Members across the House have worked with them, and many other organisations in this field, and value the work that they do. The hon. Member rightly notes the work that they do to support the friends, families and carers of people with this disease, which is increasing in prevalence. He also commented on the importance of getting diagnosis earlier, and we are moving forward but we need to do so as fast as we can; I think we would all recognise that. I completely understand the rationale behind the new clauses and the urgency with which people want to have sight of the sort of information outlined in them, but we do not think that the new clauses are necessary. I will highlight why. Some of the data that would be requested by new clause 96, such as details of research in the NHS and reports of lived experience, is already available and often provided by our charity partners, as well as by others. The new clause would therefore lead to a duplication of work. Provision of the other pieces of requested information and the data collection required to produce the report required by the new clause would likely be very onerous, placing additional stress on an already overstretched sector, and would distract from the core task of improving dementia care. It would be especially difficult to get consistent and comparable information from across the adult social care sector, where data can sometimes be fragmented. Instead, we think that the modern service framework for dementia and frailty is a more helpful vehicle for setting national standards of dementia diagnosis and care, and will serve to hold the sector to account. Additional reports, such as those requested by the new clause, would distract from that and result in duplication. The framework is still in development and work is ongoing to review the relevant data, metrics and targets to inform it. The framework will also set new national standards, which will help to inform meaningful analysis in the future—something that we are all very keen to see. For those reasons, I ask the hon. Member to withdraw the clause.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Health Bill (Seventeenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. As the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham, said before the break, technology is a game changer. It is a key enabler of our 10-year health plan and a modern NHS. This new clause follows the plan’s five big bets, the transformative technologies key to NHS improvement: data to deliver impact; AI to drive patient power and productivity; genomics and predictive analytics for pre-emptive personalised care; wearables to make care real-time; and robotics to support precision. To require those diverse areas to be subject to a cohort of plans to be laid before Parliament, and to make them subject to perpetual monitoring by Parliament, would be to legislate for micromanagement. One of the priorities of tech delivery is that it needs to be agile. The new clause would inhibit that. Parliament does not usually have a role in overseeing delivery plans for specific elements of NHS technology. Adding in new reporting structures is unnecessary bureaucracy that would slow down delivery of the technologies and their impact on patients. In some areas, we already have arrangements in place to underpin delivery, via legislation approved by Parliament. The Health and Care Act 2022, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and related legislation have established a framework for mandatory information standards, which can set the technical and data requirements to ensure interoperability. Along with our 10-year plan, our ambition to be the most artificial intelligence-enabled healthcare system in the world by 2035 and our commitment to an AI road map, that means that the new clause is unnecessary. I therefore ask the hon. Member to withdraw the motion. Question put, That the clause be read a Second time.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Health Bill (Thirteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  No. There will be no barrier to investigating whether CQC inspections are causing unintended harm. If they are, and the investigator feels that a recommendation for change should be made, they will make it. The insight gained from investigations will continue to inform recommendations concerning the CQC’s regulatory functions, and the Bill allows for the investigation function to make recommendations to the CQC in its report. The CQC would be legally required to respond to such recommendations. There will be no need for litigation through the courts. That is an important point. Again, I am addressing the points made by Opposition Members. We will continue to set this out more clearly for Members. I am happy to find different ways to do that. I now turn to the wider point about whether both an investigatory and a regulatory function can reside in the same body. Many organisations have different functions and responsibilities that they have to discharge simultaneously; we have also heard a lot about the safety body, which of course is part of the Department for Transport. It happens across a lot of bodies. I totally accept that it would be helpful for the debate if we were clearer on what some of those bodies are, and we will come forward with more information on that.