Stephen Kinnock MP: speeches 2024

Speeches

• 23 Jul 2024 · Access to NHS Dentists · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question and welcome him to his place. Thanks to what the Conservative party has done to NHS dentistry over the past 14 years, a staggering 13 million people are unable to see a dentist. I know that the hon. Gentleman represents the constituency that has the lowest number of dentists per head in the entire country. Our rescue plan will provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit dentists to areas that need them. We will rebuild the service for the longer term by reforming the dental contract.

• 23 Jul 2024 · NHS Dentistry: Work Requirement · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman and congratulate him on his survival instincts in getting re-elected to this place. NHS dentistry needs urgent action thanks to 14 years of chaos, failure and neglect. Our rescue plan will get NHS dentistry back on its feet, followed by contract reform to make NHS dentistry more attractive. A consultation for a tie-in to NHS dentistry for graduate dentists closed on 18 July and we are now considering the responses. The Government position on this proposal will be set out in due course and I will keep the House updated on this matter.

• 23 Jul 2024 · NHS Dentistry: Work Requirement · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend on her re-election; it is wonderful to see her back in her place. She is absolutely right that the tie-in consultation deadline was 18 July. We are considering those responses with an open mind. On the broader issues that she mentions, our rescue plan is 700,000 more appointments, incentives for new graduates to go to under-served areas, reform of the dental contract and making work pay for dentists. That plan is at the heart of the reforms that she mentioned and that is what we will be doing.

• 23 Jul 2024 · NHS Dentistry: Work Requirement · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman was doing so well at the start, and then he kind of blew it a bit towards the end. It is absolutely right that we put country before party, and we will work with whoever has the best interests of rebuilding our public services at heart. The issue that he raises specifically sounds interesting. What I would say is that unless we get the bigger picture sorted, and unless we make NHS work pay for dentists, we will not be able to rebuild the NHS dentistry system that we should be cherishing and seeking to reform. I am of course always open to conversations with him.

• 23 Jul 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that question and welcome him to his place. This issue is personal for me, and I am sure it is for many others across this House. A number of potential new disease-modifying drugs for Alzheimer’s are in the pipeline, including lecanemab and donanemab. We are committed to ensuring that clinically effective and cost-effective medicines reach patients in a timely and safe way. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is appraising lecanemab and donanemab to determine whether they will be made available in the NHS.

• 23 Jul 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I welcome the hon. Lady to her place. She raises a vital issue. We have a plan for improving mental health services, including 8,500 more mental health workers. Autism is, of course, a vital part of that, and I will be more than happy to meet her to discuss further how we might be able to take it forward.

• 23 Jul 2024 · NHS Mental Health Services · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for raising that extremely important question. We are indeed looking at that issue through our 10-year plan for the future vision of our health service. Issues around isolation and the huge pressure on what are often family businesses are creating tremendous strains for that community. We take that seriously and will of course work with our colleagues in DEFRA to address it.

• 23 Jul 2024 · NHS Mental Health Services · Hansard source

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  I welcome my hon. Friend warmly to his place. I hope he will not mind if I use this analogy, which is that you cannot make a prescription unless you have the diagnosis, and you cannot make policy on the hoof. We cannot have the chaos, neglect and failure that we have seen from the Conservatives for the past 14 years because they have not made policy based on evidence and data. I am absolutely on board with what my hon. Friend says, and I would be more than happy to discuss it with him further at his convenience.

• 23 Jul 2024 · NHS Mental Health Services · Hansard source

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  I know that my hon. Friend has been campaigning with great passion and conviction on this issue for some time, and I am in no doubt that his integrated care board will have listened carefully to every word that he has said today. I would be pleased to meet him so that we can discuss this matter in greater detail.

• 23 Jul 2024 · NHS Mental Health Services · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Mohammad Yasin) on his re-election and my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Tim Roca) on his election. More than a million people with mental health issues are not getting the support they need. This Government will fix our broken NHS. That will include recruiting 8,500 mental health workers, including specialist mental health professionals in every school and rolling out young futures hubs in every community. As announced in the Gracious Speech, we are bringing forward legislation to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983, which is a hugely significant step that has been warmly welcomed by service users, campaigners and, indeed, the former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May.

• 23 Jul 2024 · NHS Mental Health Services · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question, but he appears to be living in a parallel universe. We are in the midst of a mental health crisis as a result of 14 years of Tory chaos, neglect and failure. We have a plan, with 8,500 more mental health workers, young futures walk-in hubs, specialist mental health support for young people and mental health specialists dealing with talking therapies. Of course, we will also introduce legislation following the Gracious Speech to deal with helping people who have more severe conditions. That is a plan of action with which I hope we can once again make our country proud of how we deal with this extremely serious issue.

• 23 Jul 2024 · NHS Mental Health Services · Hansard source

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  I welcome the shadow Minister to his place and congratulate him on his appointment. It is a little bit rich to receive a question like that, given that the Conservatives had 14 years to address the issue; I have been in this position for 16 days. If he looks at the plan that we are bringing forward, he will see that we have more ambition and more boldness in our plans than what we have seen in the last 14 years. We will introduce legislation that will address those extremely important issues for people who have some of the more severe conditions. To the shadow Minister’s specific point on a code of practice, the first step will be to see the legislative process moving forward. But, of course, we remain open to looking at any solution or reform that will help to address this extremely important issue.