Paulette Hamilton MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Jul 2025 · NHS 10-Year Plan · Hansard source

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  As the acting Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, I am delighted that the 10-year plan was finally launched today. I thank the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for presenting it to the House. The plan represents a major opportunity for constructive reform of the health and social care system, and I am delighted that the Secretary of State will come to the Committee on 14 July to be scrutinised on it. Many organisations have waited patiently for the 10-year plan to be published. Will the Secretary of State explain how the plan will help restore the promise of a first-class service in the NHS?

• 24 Jun 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman has made a valuable point. The problem is that we in the Committee are waiting for the workforce plan, and we are not sure what is being planned. What the hon. Gentleman has suggested is desirable, but at this moment we do not know what the workforce plan will throw up. It is possible that what he has suggested is already in the plan; let us just wait and see. The current position is both morally unacceptable and economically short-sighted, fuelling the workforce crisis. What concrete progress has been made in establishing the fair pay agreement? Can the Minister give the House an update? Will she also tell us whether the funding that is required to pay for this essential agreement will come out of the £4 billion that has been announced for social care? While both the main estimate and the spending review present a vision of reform, it is clearly a vision built on some highly optimistic assumptions. We need to see robust, detailed plans to deliver the digital transformation and the unprecedented scale of efficiency savings that the Minister is counting on. Without such plans, and without realistic assessments of the challenges, the risk is not just that these reforms will fall short, but that they will do so at the expense of frontline services, patient care, and the morale of our dedicated health and social care workforce. I urge the Minister to address the specific questions that I have raised today.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

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  I thank all right hon. and hon. Members who have spoken. The Health and Social Care Committee will continue to scrutinise the health and social care sectors. The Committee remains united in the view that we need a programme in place to reform social care. The spending review and the funding tells us the scale of the challenge. On 5 July, the NHS will be 77 years old. I want to pay tribute to and thank all the healthcare staff and workers in the NHS and say a big happy birthday to the NHS. Question deferred until tomorrow at Seven o’clock (Standing Order No. 54).

• 24 Jun 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

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  I am delighted to open this debate on the Department of Health and Social Care’s main estimate. My remarks will focus on the recent spending review, which includes some welcome funding increases and sets out some ambitious reform objectives. However, it also raises questions about deliverability, particularly of objectives to do with capital investment, efficiency savings and the role of social care. Let me begin with capital investment. The Government have rightly emphasised the need to shift from analogue to digital systems across the NHS. The increase of nearly 50% in technology and transformation funding will mean that it reaches up to £10 billion by 2028-29, which is a welcome and substantial commitment. However, the NHS has a poor track record on digital transformation. The National Audit Office has highlighted the risks around fragmented delivery, unclear governance and unrealistic timelines, and those lessons remain highly relevant. Its 2020 report on digital transformation in the NHS found that despite £4.7 billion in national funding, many trusts were still reliant on systems that were outdated and not integrated. The capital budget is being asked to do a great deal more than achieve digital transformation. The Government have committed to the new hospital programme, and to addressing critical infrastructure risks, such as those posed by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. Over five years, £30 billion is allocated for maintenance and repair, and £5 billion is allocated for critical risk. However, by the end of the decade, there will be no real-terms uplift in the capital allocations, compared with this year. In fact, in 2027-28, the funding settlement actually falls to £13.5 billion from £14 billion the previous year, meaning that inflation in construction costs and materials will significantly erode its purchasing power. The British Medical Association has warned that current funding cannot cover both the new hospital programme and essential maintenance, and now that programme must also compete for funding with the vital digital transformation. Can the Minister explain how the Department will choose its priorities from those competing essential demands on the capital budget? Turning to resource spending, the Department’s day-to-day budget will grow by an average of 2.7% per year in real terms. That funding will be used to deliver several welcome commitments, including investment in elective recovery and urgent and emergency care; a £4 billion increase in adult social care funding; 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments annually; 8,500 more mental health staff; and £80 million a year for tobacco cessation programmes. Those are all positive steps.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for that deep and thoughtful point. He is absolutely right. Timescales are an issue, and that is why, as a Select Committee, we are asking the Government a number of questions so that we can scrutinise what is happening and get the information. My Committee considered the better care fund in our inquiry into adult social care. It was introduced with the aim of driving better integration between health and social care, and shifts resources upstream from NHS acute services. However, the evidence we heard was stark. These resources have been overwhelmingly focused on hospital discharge. While timely discharge is important, that does not match the fund’s original objectives. How will the Government ensure that this increase in funding leads to a greater focus on prevention? The Chancellor referred to the Government’s plan for an adult social care fair pay agreement. Reaching such an agreement is not just desirable but essential. Staff working in care homes are far more likely to live in poverty and deprivation than the average British worker.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

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  Hear, hear. My hon. Friend makes some valuable points, and I agree with every one of them. Underpinning the settlement I have described, however, is the Government’s pledge to generate £17 billion in efficiency savings over three years, with a staggering £9.1 billion expected in the final year of this Parliament. Critically, those savings have already been factored into the settlement—in effect, they have been spent before they have been delivered. In the light of that, we need absolute confidence that there is a clear and robust plan to generate those savings. The Government are assuming an annual productivity improvement in the NHS of 2%, more than triple the long-term average of 0.6%. They appear to be relying on digital transformation to unlock the bulk of those savings, which is risky, given the history of digital change programmes in the NHS. Another source of savings is the plan to cut reliance on temporary staff by reducing sickness absence and overhauling staff policies, including limits on agency spending and eliminating the use of agencies for entry-level roles. Again, this is a welcome ambition, but delivering it will be a significant challenge, one that will require meaningful, sustained improvements to staff wellbeing and working conditions. We cannot build a sustainable workforce on good will alone. Therefore, will the Minister say when we can expect an updated and fully costed workforce plan to deliver on these ambitions? Delivering the reforming elective care for patients plan is also central to achieving those efficiencies. It proposes reforms such as optimising surgical pathways through hubs, streamlining referrals, expanding remote monitoring and reducing unnecessary procedures. The plan assumes a rapid transformation of services, with significant improvements in productivity and patient flow expected within just a few years. That is ambitious, especially given the context of ongoing workforce shortages, ageing infrastructure and rising demand. Reform is essential, but it must be realistic, properly resourced and paced to succeed. We cannot afford to set targets that look good on paper but falter in practice, damaging morale and patient care. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the projected £17 billion in savings will materialise and be delivered on time? What happens to those additional resources for frontline delivery if those savings are delayed or fall short? I will also touch on adult social care, which is in desperate need of reform. The Casey commission has an important job to do, but the terms of reference for the first phase of Casey’s work state clearly: “The commission’s recommendations must remain affordable, operating within the fiscal constraints of Spending Review settlements for the remainder of this Parliament.” Now that those settlements have been reached, can the Minister provide clarity to the House about precisely what fiscal constraints Baroness Casey’s recommendations will have to conform to? The £4 billion for adult social care announced in the spending review includes an increase to the NHS minimum contributions to the better care fund.

• 17 Jun 2025 · Cancer Diagnoses · Hansard source

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  Early diagnosis of less survivable cancers is vital if survival rates are to improve. What assessment has the Department made of the report by the all-party parliamentary group on less survivable cancers that looks at earlier detection and faster diagnosis, and what steps are the Department taking to deliver on this?

• 17 Jun 2025 · Cancer Diagnoses · Hansard source

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  20. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken for cancer diagnoses.

• 12 Jun 2025 · SEND Funding · Hansard source

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  I was contacted by a parent in my constituency who was forced to navigate a complex and lengthy tribunal process simply to challenge the decision to place her autistic son in a mainstream school, only to have the hearing cancelled at the last moment, and a place at a special school offered. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that education, health and care plans are not a silver bullet, that we should not need complex legal processes to ensure that young people can access good early support, that support must meet the young person’s needs, and that the money must follow the child or young person?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Police Presence on High Streets · Hansard source

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  Your chairing today has been excellent, Ms Furniss, and I hope to take part in many more debates with you in the Chair. I thank all the hon. and right hon. Members for taking part in this debate. I also thank the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers), and give thanks to the Minister, who I felt gave a strong response. The clear message highlighted today is that high streets are the beating hearts of our communities, and that constituents want to feel safe on them. It is also key that the police are funded to do the job. I join Members in paying tribute to the police and their partners, who work so tirelessly to keep our high streets clean and safe. Finally, this is a very special debate because it is about people’s lives. Members have to work together—hon. Members, right hon. Members, the Opposition and Ministers—to ensure that our residents feel that we not only care but are listening and will answer the cry for help. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered police presence on high streets.

• 5 Jun 2025 · Police Presence on High Streets · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered police presence on high streets. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss, for a debate on such an important issue. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting me this debate, and I thank the Members from all parties who supported my application. My constituency, which covers Erdington, Kingstanding, Castle Vale and south Oscott, routinely suffers from one of the highest crime rates in Birmingham, but let me be clear: crime is not inevitable. It is the result of choices to cut policing and to neglect communities—choices made in the corridors of power. The previous Government made the choice to slash 21,000 officers, the choice to hollow out neighbourhood policing, and the choice to tell communities, “You’re on your own.” When crime tears through families and destroys lives, it is not just the victims who are affected but the entire community. Our high streets are not immune; they become battle- grounds where livelihoods are stolen. We owe it to every parent, every shop worker and every pensioner who just wants to walk their high street without fear to end this blight. When I was elected in March 2022, Erdington High Street was a symbol of neglect—a place where crime had festered, where shopkeepers feared for their stock, and where families no longer felt safe to walk. The statistics were stark: antisocial behaviour, drug dealing and violent crime had cost our economy an estimated £7 million annually. Our high streets are the beating heart of our communities, yet for too long they have been treated as an afterthought, so I made it my mission—a promise to my community—that we would take back Erdington High Street from the crime and antisocial behaviour that had plagued it for too long. Here is the truth: change is possible. It does not come easily, but it comes when good people stand up and fight for their community. As a nurse, I learned that prevention is always better than cure, and as an MP I have seen the cost of ignoring that lesson. We took action, working with residents, community groups and traders, and launched a relentless campaign to take the challenges of Erdington High Street head on. We organised, mobilised and made our voices impossible to ignore. In meeting after meeting, we stood shoulder to shoulder with local businesses, community groups and fed-up residents who delivered one clear message to those in power: Erdington deserves better. And do you know what? They heard us. Working with West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster and Chief Constable Craig Guildford, we secured £880,000 from the proceeds of crime fund, and in January this year Operation Fearless was launched under the incredible leadership of Detective Superintendent Jim Munro and Inspector Shameem Ahmed. The results speak for themselves: over 140 arrests, including drug dealers, violent offenders and those carrying zombie knives, and even a live firearm; 124 stop and searches in two months, with 45 positive outcomes, getting weapons off the streets; a 25-year-old jailed for four years for class A drug supply—proof that justice works when we fund it. Operation Fearless was not just about enforcement; it was about partnerships.

• 5 Jun 2025 · Police Presence on High Streets · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member makes an absolutely brilliant point and hits the nail on the head. Funding is key and if it is not given, we cannot get the same results. We cannot get the same results if we do not have the resources to achieve them. We worked with Birmingham city council, the Erdington business improvement district, trading standards and local businesses to remove graffiti, clean shutters and restore pride to our high street. I extend especial thanks to Caroline Anson Earp, the community safety partnership manager, for her incredible work on our high street. Today, traders report fewer thefts, shoppers feel safer and the buzz of community life has returned. Traders who once feared for their safety say that the difference is night and day. As Operation Fearless takes its proven model to the next struggling community, a new era begins for Erdington High Street. Thanks to our new dedicated high street team, six officers and a sergeant maintain visible patrols. We are not just preserving progress; we are securing lasting change.

• 5 Jun 2025 · Police Presence on High Streets · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes an excellent point and I absolutely agree with the use of facial recognition where we can get it. In Erdington, we did not have facial recognition, but I do think that it is a good thing. We cannot stop here; although Labour’s pledge of 13,000 more police officers is welcome, we must go further. Every high street deserves a named and contactable police officer, so that communities know who is fighting for them. We need to be bolder to establish partnerships with councils, communities, schools, youth services and those who serve them, because policing alone will not fix systemic failure. I also pay tribute to our retail workers, such as the heroes of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers’ Freedom From Fear campaign, who fought abuse for 20 years. These workers, who are often women and often young, should not have had to endure threats just for doing their job. Operation Fearless has shown that with the right resources, we can protect them. The lesson of Operation Fearless is clear: when we invest, listen and act, change happens. But this is not just Erdington’s fight. From Bristol to Bolton, high streets are crying out for the same type of hope. Erdington’s story proves that change is possible. Let us be clear that this issue is not just about one high street. It is about every community fighting for safety and pride; it is about recognising that policing must be visible, proactive and rooted in partnership; and it is about whether we believe every community deserves safety, dignity and a future. I believe they do. To the Minister I say, let us build on the success of actions like Operation Fearless. Let us make sure the 13,000 new officers actually reach the frontline and that every high street has a named, contactable officer. Let us fund real partnerships, not just patrols. Let us stand firmly with retail workers and let us never forget that safe high streets are the foundation of strong communities. I end with the words of a shopkeeper in Erdington: “For the first time in years, I feel hopeful.” That hope, that belief in better, is what we must deliver for every high street in Britain.

• 3 Jun 2025 · Dementia Care · Hansard source

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  I share the hon. Member’s deep commitment to ensuring quality care within our communities—something I saw at first hand last year during my visit to Warren Farm Lodge care home in Kingstanding. The dedication of the staff left a lasting impression. Does she agree that we need to work with the Government to urgently develop a blueprint for transforming dementia diagnosis?

• 22 May 2025 · Access to NHS Dentistry · Hansard source

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  The Government have an historic commitment to prevention. Birmingham Erdington is one of the youngest constituencies in the country. Does my hon. Friend agree that we must continue to build on supervised brushing and targeted fluoride applications in early years settings to protect the youngsters?

• 22 May 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The unchecked proliferation of houses in multiple occupation and exempt accommodation is devastating communities across my constituency of Birmingham Erdington. Birmingham has the highest number of exempt accommodation claims in the country. Wards in my constituency rank among those worst affected by HMOs in the city, crippling neighbourhoods and overwhelming local services. Given the urgency of the crisis, will the Leader of the House commit to scheduling a debate in Government time to discuss how to ensure that no community is left behind while this issue is left in limbo?

• 19 May 2025 · NHS and Care Volunteer Responders Service · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree with me that as we rebuild our NHS, volunteers at NHS trusts will not be used to plug gaps in service and staff will be allowed to focus on clinical matters?

• 31 Mar 2025 · Birmingham City Council · Hansard source

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  This bin dispute is causing chaos in the city, including in Birmingham Erdington. What discussions have the Government had with Birmingham city council regarding not just the bin collections, but the impact on public health and the environment? It is so important that we look at the health and safety of local residents in Birmingham.

• 25 Mar 2025 · Women’s Health Services · Hansard source

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  What assessment has the Minister made of the adequacy of research into and the provision of fibroid treatment for women, taking into consideration that fibroids are three times more likely to appear in black women than in white women?

• 25 Mar 2025 · Women’s Health Services · Hansard source

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  3. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of health services for women.

• 20 Mar 2025 · Knife Crime: Children and Young People · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty) for securing this important debate. Knife crime continues to cast a dark shadow over our communities, claiming young lives, shattering families and leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Last year, 10 people were stabbed every week in Birmingham—a statistic that is both alarming and unacceptable. Within my constituency covering Erdington, Kingstanding, Castle Vale and south Oscott, the B23 postcode has been particularly affected. In 2023, it recorded the highest number of knife-related incidents in the entire city, but behind those statistics are real lives, real families and real pain. When knife crime tears through families, it destroys lives and devastates entire communities. Just weeks ago, this crisis struck my family, turning our world upside down. My nephew—a kind-hearted, wonderful young man—was brutally attacked in an act of senseless knife violence. His crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. While his wounds are healing, it will take months for him to fully recover. The emotional trauma inflicted on him and our family, however, is immeasurable. This is a pain no family should ever have to endure, yet it is a pain that far too many are forced to bear. Knife crime thrives in the shadows of neglect. Fourteen years of austerity under the last Government gutted our communities, stripping away 70% of the support systems that once guided and protected young people. In Erdington, the closure of the Malcolm Locker youth centre in 2014 marked the end of the last council-run youth service in my constituency. The cuts have left a void that is too often filled by despair and violence. I am glad that this Government have recognised the problem of knife crime and included provisions to address it in the Crime and Policing Bill, but we can and must do more. I have always said that prevention is better than cure, and while the police play a vital role in tackling crime, a sustainable solution requires a preventive, community-led and partnership-driven approach. In Birmingham, we have inspiring examples in organisations like Bringing Hope, which I have worked with for many years, which works relentlessly to tackle knife crime among children and young people. Similarly, the YMCA in Erdington is unwavering in its dedication to our young people. On my recent visit, I celebrated with them the purchase of 83 flats, ensuring that young people have safe places to live and access to the support they need. Initiatives like those show us the way forward. We must create greater aspirations and opportunities for young people, offering them a future beyond a life of crime. That requires long-term investment in our communities, our youth services and the organisations already making a difference, saying that we can always go even further upstream to support families and end deprivation in communities like mine. My nephew did not deserve what happened to him—nobody does. Yet too many families are still left to feel this pain, and too many young people are still becoming victims. We can no longer afford to be complacent. Every moment of inaction puts another young life at risk. We must come together across the House and within our communities to break this cycle of violence.

• 20 Mar 2025 · Disabled People’s Access to Transport · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for such a brilliant report. I welcome the commitment to an accessible road map as part of Labour’s transformational Great British Railways reform. What positive role does my hon. Friend see this road map playing in improving accessible travel across the country?

• 14 Mar 2025 · Rare Cancers Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) for bringing forward this important Bill and for his tireless work in championing the need for a greater focus on research into rarer cancers. Having worked as a district nurse for over 25 years, I have seen time and again the devastation cancer brings, not just to those diagnosed but to their families, friends and communities. The harsh reality is that one in two of us will face cancer at some point in our lives; it is an issue that touches all of us in some way. While we have made significant strides in cancer treatment and survival rates, progress has not been equal. Some cancers, like the rarer, less survivable cancers, have been unjustly left behind. Cancers such as pancreatic, oesophageal, liver, brain and stomach still face staggeringly low survival rates. Currently, the least survivable cancers have a five-year survival rate of just 16%, compared with 55% for all other cancers. This disparity is not just a statistic; it is a failure in our services and the way these cancers are researched, which has cost lives, shattered families and left too many of us without hope. A key driver of this has been the chronic underfunding and lack of focus on research into these cancers, which has meant that we lack tests and the tools and treatments needed to give people a fighting chance. The consequences of this neglect are devastating. This issue is deeply personal to me. I have lost loved ones to pancreatic cancer, a disease that steals lives with ruthless efficiency. I lost my best friend, a woman full of life and love, to this cruel illness. She endured months of uncertainty before finally receiving a diagnosis in August, only to pass away shortly after. Her story is of delayed diagnosis, missed opportunities and a system that failed her. Sadly, her story is not unique. I find it truly shocking that in 2025, more than half of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will die within three months and only 7% will survive. Pancreatic cancer is the fifth biggest cancer killer in the UK but receives only 3% of the UK cancer research budget. This lack of investment has meant we are not seeing the treatment breakthroughs that have transformed outcomes for other types of cancer. It does not have to be this way. We know that sustained research funding and strategic focus from the Government can dramatically improve survival rates—we have seen it work for other cancers. I particularly welcome the Bill’s proposal to nominate a named lead to focus on these rarer cancers, ensuring that they are no longer overlooked, as well as its provisions to give people a better opportunity to take part in innovative, cutting-edge trials. That is why I support the Bill. The Rare Cancers Bill offers a road map to bring real-life, lifesaving changes to those diagnosed with life-threatening diseases. It is not just about policy, but about people; it is about giving hope to those who have been left behind. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the less survivable cancers and vice-chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, I firmly believe that through the provisions of this Bill, we can start—I say start—to bring forward access to innovative treatments that could turn the tide. I say to Members of this House, “Let us be bold. Let us make a difference. Let us ensure that future generations have a better chance of survival than those who came before them. Let us send a clear message to patients and their families that they are not forgotten. This is our moment to make a lasting impact—let us make it count. Let us support this Bill.”

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The B23 postcode in my constituency has experienced a troubling surge in knife-related offences. The west midlands violence reduction unit has been instrumental in addressing the issue, engaging with over 8,000 young people and contributing to a 18% reduction in youth violence involving knives between April and September 2024. However, the violence reduction unit depends on short-term annual funding, which restricts its capacity for long-term strategic planning. Will the Leader of the House schedule a debate in this Chamber to discuss the incredible work of violence reduction units and explore the long-term funding arrangements for these organisations?

• 6 Mar 2025 · International Women’s Day · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and for securing this debate. As we mark International Women’s Day, I have to say that I am proud—absolutely honoured— to stand here not only as a black woman, but as a former nurse. However, black people are four times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. Does she agree that we can only truly say that we have honoured International Women’s Day when this glaring disparity is addressed?