(6 days, 7 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
David Chadwick (Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe) (LD)
John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Preet Kaur Gill)
The Government are committed to ensuring patients can access timely, high-quality care wherever they live in the United Kingdom, while recognising ongoing challenges. We are working with the NHS and devolved Governments to improve digital interoperability, streamline cross-border billing and support more joined-up care.
David Chadwick
Powys has no general hospital, so my constituents are dependent on access to English hospitals for the treatment and operations they need. However, last July, Powys teaching health board made the decision to extend waiting times for Powys patients awaiting operations, with the result that many have now been waiting years, often in agonising pain. Will the Minister meet me, Powys teaching health board and the new Welsh Health Minister to ensure Powys patients get the funding and treatment they need?
Preet Kaur Gill
I would welcome a meeting with the hon. Member. As he knows, decisions about waiting list management in Wales are matters for the Welsh Government, but I agree that patients in border communities should be able to access care as quickly and conveniently as possible.
John Lamont
For my constituents in the Scottish Borders, accessing NHS treatment can sometimes be more complicated than it should be. Some residents in the Scottish Borders are registered with GP practices in Northumberland, but their medical records are not always shared properly between NHS services in England and Scotland. The SNP Government refuse to allow reciprocal care, so will the Minister urgently work with the Scottish Government to ensure my constituents can be properly treated as close to home as possible?
Preet Kaur Gill
I am aware of the concerns that the hon. Member raises. NHS organisations on both sides of the border are working together to improve access for patients. NHS England is working closely with NHS Scotland to improve the compatibility of patient records. I believe that they must do much more and I would be happy to meet him to discuss that further.
Dr Kieran Mullan (Bexhill and Battle) (Con)
The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)
We know that some patients prefer not to use online services. Online tools complement rather than replace existing routes, such as telephone or walk-in access. The GP contract requires online access to be available during core hours, which eases pressure on phone lines and reception staff as non-digital routes to access care. Under this Government, patient satisfaction with GP access has risen from 61% to 75%.
Dr Mullan
I understand why making use of the NHS app and online appointments is sensible and works well for many patients, but I cannot be the only MP to have heard from constituents—you may even have heard from your constituents, Mr Speaker—who struggle with that. They may not have a smartphone. I have met many elderly patients who simply cannot make use of online forms and too often GP practices do not make it easy for them to make appointments by telephone or by walking in. It is important that the Government make it crystal clear to all our GP providers, who I know are doing their best, that no matter how far we go with digital innovation, our patients must always be able to access primary care through traditional routes, such as making an appointment by telephone or by walking in.
Stephen Kinnock
I am in violent agreement with the hon. Gentleman, which is quite unusual. We are clear that patients should not be digitally excluded. The contract is clear that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person. All online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a GP. In the past year, since April 2025, some 11.5 million more GP appointments have been delivered.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
I thank the staff at Princess Alexandra hospital in Harlow, particularly in the older persons assessment and liaison ward, where elderly patients are transferred from A&E and supported to either return home or transfer to different wards, another example of where Harlow is leading the way. How can we work together to support patients, like those on the OPAL ward, to access primary care if they are not confident in using some of the online tools that have been mentioned?
Stephen Kinnock
Once again, my hon. Friend has done a great job promoting Harlow, as we are all familiar with him doing in the House. We are improving GP access across the board. We have over 2,000 more GPs since July 2024 and we are launching a £102 million fund to build more clinical space in over 1,000 GP practices across England. A lot has been achieved, but a lot more needs to be done.
Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)
Will Stone (Swindon North) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (James Murray)
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
This Labour Government were elected to build an NHS fit for the future. As Secretary of State, I am accelerating modernisation, but health inequalities start long before people access the NHS, so our focus on prevention in the 10-year health strategy is crucial, as is the work of this Government to address wider inequalities, including in housing, air quality and getting more people into work.
Perran Moon
I warmly welcome the Secretary of State to his place. Oversimplified indices of multiple deprivation scores do not reflect the difficulties in caring for people in rural and remote coastal areas such as Cornwall. The Government are committed to neighbourhood health, but funding is getting caught up in integrated care board management structures and not flowing to GP practices, which should be delivering the care. How can the Government ensure that neighbourhood funding does not get held up by ICBs and flows to where it has the highest impact?
James Murray
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Funding must not be held up; it must get to the frontline to help patients, his constituents and people across the country. We are supporting ICBs to work differently with providers to identify and meet the needs of their communities on a new population-based approach. We are also reviewing the outdated GP formula for the distribution of funding to ensure that, for the first time in two decades, it will accurately reflect need and ensure that deprived communities get their fair share.
Will Stone
I represent some of the most deprived parts of Swindon, yet residents are having to travel across town to get access to healthcare. What is the Secretary of State doing to address that?
James Murray
My hon. Friend is right to point to the fact that the current model of care works least well for some of those experiencing the greatest disadvantage. I am pleased that we have joint commissioning arrangements of more than £28 million in place between the NHS and Swindon borough council, which will help to tackle issues for those most at risk. As I mentioned in response to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon), we are reviewing the funding formula for the resources of GP practices for the first time in two decades. That is a crucial step to ensuring that we have a fairer distribution of resources across the country.
Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)
The Health and Social Care Committee’s most recent report into healthy ageing highlights the unacceptable 20-year gap in healthy life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas of the country. It also points out that physical activity can be as effective, if not more effective, in treating the ailments of older life than pharmaceutical intervention. That is why we recommend that the Government target the least active groups to narrow that gap and embed activity into clinical practice.
I welcome the Secretary of State to his place. We are yet to have our first conversation, so let us have our first meeting, in which we might discuss this issue and more, as well as how to embed tackling inequalities into the whole of the national health service.
James Murray
I look forward to working constructively with the hon. Lady in her role as the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee. She is absolutely right to point to the importance of embedding prevention and healthier lifestyles in the way that we approach healthcare in this country. Although we talk a lot and passionately about the NHS, health is not just about the NHS; so many determinants of health start long before people access the NHS. In our 10-year health plan, there is a huge focus on tackling obesity, smoking and ensuring that people have more active and healthier lifestyles, because that is the way to reduce pressure on the NHS and ensure that people across the country live healthier lives.
Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)
West Sussex county council’s health and adult social care scrutiny committee has concluded that the closure of Zachary Merton hospital in Rustington “constituted a significant variation” in services. Given the statutory requirements for consultation—promised, but never delivered—when can residents expect a decision on my call-in request?
James Murray
I thank the hon. Lady for raising the situation in her constituency. For all of us as MPs, our first job is to raise matters that pertain to our constituents, and healthcare is among the most important services that they receive. I will ask my team to look further into the points that she raises and get back to her.
Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
Does the Secretary of State agree that state-funded healthcare should be provided to all children based on clinical need, not economic or educational status?
James Murray
It is an essential part of our NHS and its founding principles that the NHS is available to all on the basis of need, not their ability to pay. That is a fundamental principle that we in the Labour party support. I know that some Opposition parties have been moving away from that recently and seeking to privatise the provision of our health service and move to an insurance-based model, but Labour Members believe that all people, including children, must get healthcare based on their need rather than their ability to pay.
Dr Caroline Johnson
I thank the Secretary of State for his answer. Does he therefore share my concern at reports that some children are being turned away from state-funded healthcare because they are not attending a state school? Will he look into those reports and ensure that he makes provision for children who are not attending state schools to receive the healthcare they need?
James Murray
I am surprised by the hon. Lady’s remarks, because where a child goes to school should have no bearing on their ability to access NHS services. If she would like to write to me with further details, I would be happy to look into that matter.
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
The former Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), recognised an appalling culture of medical misogyny and basic, everyday sexism within the NHS. As such, it was extremely disappointing to see that the new women’s health strategy was inferior to the men’s health strategy. The men’s health strategy received 60% more funding for new initiatives and has a named academic network, a formal research mandate aligned with the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and a commitment to publish a one-year accountability report with named, responsible organisations and formal timeframes for every action. It also commits specific funding to trials and pathfinders. As it stands, the women’s health strategy has none of those things. It contains no specific, measurable, time-bound target to reduce the backlogs in endometriosis care, nor does the NHS 10-year plan include endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome or fibroids in its prevention agenda. Can the Secretary of State explain why?
James Murray
The renewed women’s health strategy was a really important achievement under the previous Secretary of State, which updated the approach of this Government and reflected the differences in healthcare that women too often receive. If I might offer a personal reflection, since I have become Secretary of State, one issue that many women have raised with me is that they do not feel the health service adequately listens to them, takes their pain seriously, or gives them the right pathways to get the treatment they need. That must change, and this Government will change it.
Liz Twist (Blaydon and Consett) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Preet Kaur Gill)
This Government are committed to delivering the five-year, cross-Government suicide prevention strategy, and have published NHS England’s “Staying safe from suicide” guidance. Although progress has been made, we recognise that there is more to do and will continue to drive delivery of the strategy.
Liz Twist
The strategy said that it would
“reduce the suicide rate over the next 5 years—with initial reductions observed within half this time or sooner”.
However, we have now passed the halfway point, and sadly, those initial reductions have not been achieved. What is the Government’s plan to ensure that target is achieved by the end of the strategy?
Preet Kaur Gill
First, I commend my hon. Friend for her tireless campaigning to improve mental health and prevent suicides—I know this is personal for her. We have made progress on implementing the strategy, including launching the near to real-time suspected suicide surveillance system to detect trends earlier. We have also committed £3.6 million in support for middle-aged men for areas that need it, ensuring that it is co-produced with families and local partners so that it is accessible. We plan to update the strategy, which will consider the evidence, the progress so far, and where there are opportunities to go further, but I would welcome my hon. Friend’s input into this very important work.
Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)
Early intervention saves lives, yet far too often support arrives only at the point of crisis, especially for young people in our education system. Will the Minister support the Liberal Democrats’ calls for a dedicated mental health professional in every primary and secondary school as well as mental health hubs in our communities, so that fewer young people reach that point of crisis?
Preet Kaur Gill
Yes. This Government have already recruited 8,500 mental health support workers, and more than 10,000 schools already have a mental health support worker. There is much more to do—we have to ensure young people are not left on a waiting list. We know that many face crisis before they can access care, and I would be keen to hear a bit more from the hon. Gentleman about the work he is doing locally on this issue.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
Further to the last question, my constituent Emma Webb’s 16-year-old daughter Brodie tragically took her own life in 2020. Since then, Emma has worked tirelessly to raise thousands of pounds for charity, raising awareness of suicide prevention and launching DoItForBrodie, a project that aims to break down barriers. Can I invite the Minister to pay tribute to the work that Emma is doing, and to say more about suicide prevention among young people and children?
Preet Kaur Gill
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important question, and I pay tribute to Emma. In the renewed women’s health strategy, we have committed to improving mental health support for women and girls. We must help women and girls to access mental health support in ways that work for them. We are promoting collaboration to improve women’s knowledge and healthcare professionals’ understanding of many women’s relationships and the barriers they face. There is much more to do, and I would be keen to work with my hon. Friend and to hear from Emma about what more we can do in this space.
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
In rural areas such as South Devon, agricultural workers and isolated young people often face distinct acute mental health crises, yet local mental health provision is stretched to breaking point. What specific targeted support is the Department providing to rural health boards to ensure that suicide intervention services reach isolated rural workers who cannot easily access standard workplace mental health schemes?
Preet Kaur Gill
The hon. Lady raises some important challenges, and the women’s mental health strategy will deal with some of them. Work is under way to develop a more comprehensive offer to address the critical issues that many young people transitioning to adult services face, including bespoke guidance in the revised Mental Health Act code of practice. The Government are also funding early support hubs, which provide free, open access to mental health support for young people up to the age of 25. Under the new developmental service specification, children and young people’s services will no longer be required to transfer or discharge a young person on their 18th birthday, where clinically appropriate.
Lloyd Hatton (South Dorset) (Lab)
The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)
For 2026-27, NHS mental health spending is forecast to reach a record £16.1 billion, representing a real-terms increase compared with the previous year. That is supported by £473 million in capital funding over the next four years, including investment in new mental health emergency departments and community-based mental health centres. Dorset is one of the places across England to benefit from an expanded urgent and emergency mental health offer, with new mental health emergency departments planned.
Lloyd Hatton
This summer, two new state-of-the-art mental health facilities are opening in Dorset: Chaddesley House in Poole and Seastone in Bournemouth. That is thanks to continued investment from this Labour Government. However, the Forston clinic in the west of the county requires fresh investment to upgrade worn-out hospital buildings. Will the Minister meet local NHS bosses, the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) and me to discuss securing the investment needed to finally upgrade the Forston clinic?
Stephen Kinnock
My hon. Friend is right that his constituents will be able to access care at the new facilities in Poole and Bournemouth thanks to the Government’s investment in the new hospitals programme, but there is more to do. We are committed to addressing poor-quality NHS infrastructure and ensuring that facilities such as Forston clinic are safe, comfortable and capable of high-quality care. That is why we are investing £30 billion over five years for the maintenance and repair of the NHS estate. We would be delighted to meet the hon. Members and local NHS leaders to discuss the issue further.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
I thank the Minister for his comments about Forston, which some of my residents use. Evidence suggests that half of mental health conditions are established by age 14, and three quarters by age 24. In Dorset, our rates of hospitalisation for self-harm are almost twice the national average for 15 to 19-year-olds. I recently met Anya, a student at Lytchett school and deputy Member of Youth Parliament for Dorset. She has launched her “Health in Mind” campaign to ease young people back into school following periods of mental or physical health issues. It is so inspiring to see the work that she is doing, but will the Minister meet me and Anya to hear more about her campaign and to see how we can reintegrate children more successfully back into school after ill health, particularly mental ill health?
Stephen Kinnock
I pay tribute to Anya for the outstanding work she is doing. We are providing early intervention for children’s mental health and wellbeing by rolling out mental health support teams to every school by 2029. We are also investing £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more support to young people with complex needs such as trauma, neurodivergence and disordered eating. If the hon. Lady writes to me with further details of Anya’s work, I am sure that we can continue that conversation.
Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (James Murray)
This Government’s focus on shifting from hospital to community will benefit millions of people and increase access to care. This shift is underpinned by new community diagnostic centres that now deliver faster, more accessible care at 109 sites, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. By 2030, we will have opened 120 new neighbourhood health centres. This expansion will transform community access for those who most need it.
Robbie Moore
Back in 2023, the Conservative Government signed off £3.4 million for Keighley to build a new health and wellbeing hub to improve care in the community. We have plenty of brownfield sites and funding is secured, but we are progressing at a snail’s pace, with progress being made incredibly slowly. We are now in mid-2026, and no planning application has yet been submitted. Will the Secretary of State meet me so that we can unlock the project and get it delivered?
James Murray
This may not be the first project initiated under the last Government that has not exactly run ahead at the fastest pace possible. We need to ensure that neighbourhood health provision is delivered as quickly as possible across the country. Our plans to increase the number of neighbourhood health centres will focus on areas with below-average healthy life expectancy, ensuring that rural towns and deprived areas receive help most rapidly. Part of that will involve the shift from hospital to the community to prevent ill health before it occurs, as I mentioned in an earlier response.
Cat Eccles (Stourbridge) (Lab)
Last year I campaigned with the community and local councillors to save the Crystal dementia centre in Stourbridge. The centre provides community support for dementia patients and their carers, employs dementia advisers and assessors, and offers day services to many local people. Sadly, however, since we saved the centre Dudley council has sought to close it by stealth, preventing new assessments and preventing new users from joining. Does the Secretary of State agree that this is a disgraceful way for the council to act, which goes against the Government’s mission to provide quality care close to home, and will he meet me to discuss the matter further?
James Murray
It does sound concerning that that decision has been taken. I urge all councils to work with their local integrated care boards and other parts of the NHS system to ensure that healthcare of that kind is provided in areas where people can access it, as part of our plan to make certain that healthcare is available throughout the country.
David Reed (Exmouth and Exeter East) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (James Murray)
Too many men lead too much of their lives in poor health and face barriers to access to health services. We have published England’s first ever men’s health strategy to get men speaking about their physical and mental health, and we are getting on with implementing it. From partnering with the Premier League to investing in the men’s health community fund, we are meeting men where they are, and helping them to lead longer, healthier lives.
David Reed
The NHS itself says that prostate cancer often has no symptoms at first, and Prostate Cancer UK says most men with early prostate cancer have no symptoms at all. The Government’s TRANSFORM trial exists because current detection methods are recognised as inadequate. Why does Government messaging still point men towards early symptoms that they are unlikely to have, while cancers that could be cured are becoming cancers that cannot?
James Murray
Let me be really clear in my advice to any man who is worried about prostate cancer, whether he has symptoms or not: go and discuss it with your GP. Testing is available when GPs recommend it, and I would recommend to no man that he should worry about it in silence, sit at home and fret about what might be going on.
The wider, targeted screening programme to which the Government have agreed is based on the evidence from weighing up the benefits of screening versus the harm that it can cause. We know that, at present, if cancerous cells are identified and treatment follows—for example, removal of the prostate—it leads to permanent urinary incontinence in 20% of cases and in two thirds of cases to permanent erectile dysfunction.
Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)
Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
We inherited a decades-old system whereby patient voice was divorced from decision makers, with more than 20 organisations offering a place for patients and users to share feedback. The Health Bill will put the views of patients and users at the heart of decision making, ensuring that that directly informs those responsible for commissioning locally, and we will create a new patient experience directorate in the Department to ensure that patient and user insight directly shapes national policymaking.
Steve Darling
The abolition of Healthwatch will see the NHS and the Government effectively marking their own homework. Can the Minister please give some assurances about how the Government will ensure that the voice of those with learning disabilities, complex needs and dementia is heard?
Karin Smyth
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the variety of needs that local commissioners need to take account of. That is exactly what the Health Bill will try to do, not by outsourcing that role to an outside body but by putting those views at the heart of what all commissioners do, which includes making sure that under-represented or often unheard voices do have a voice.
Munira Wilson
When Boots decided to close two pharmacies in Hampton, leaving a large number of elderly and vulnerable residents without local pharmacy provision, Healthwatch Richmond played a crucial role in ensuring that we got a new community pharmacy in the area. That locally led patient voice cannot be replaced by officials in Whitehall or our local ICB, which is about to suffer cuts of over 50% in its operating budget. If the Minister is really serious about championing patients, will she think again?
Karin Smyth
The hon. Lady raises an interesting example of somewhere where local commissioners have failed to provide a service or recognise when a service disappears. They can do that by using very different voices, rather than outsourcing that responsibility. Through the Health Bill, we have to make sure that commissioners do their job properly, which includes taking account of patient voice at a very local level.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
Replacing Healthwatch will mean that, ultimately, patients will not have confidence in the commissioners. We have just heard one example, and I can offer many examples from York. Healthwatch York, which is phenomenal and is led by Siân Balsom, has produced reports that have brought about change. I plead with the Government to review clauses 64 and 65 of the Health Bill to maintain Healthwatch. It should not be an either/or. We need commissioners to engage with the patient voice, but we also need Healthwatch to have the independence to advocate for patients.
Karin Smyth
I thank my hon. Friend for her comments about her local healthwatch. There are certainly examples of where this approach works well in local communities, and we need to understand those. However, it does not work well everywhere, and it means that local commissioners are not empowered and are not held accountable for their job of making sure that the patient voice and experience is held locally. There is also nothing to stop ICBs undertaking that role as they see fit in their local communities in the future, rather than our dictating how they should do it through one particular body.
Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab)
While I support the Government’s desire to drive out bureaucracy from the NHS and simplify systems for patients, Healthwatch Hartlepool has done an outstanding job in ensuring that patients’ voices are heard as systems and services are improved. What can the Minister do to ensure that local expertise is retained in any new system?
Karin Smyth
I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. If that works well for his local system, there is nothing to stop it. How the ICB undertakes its role has to be determined locally to make it most effective for local circumstances, and it can undertake that role as it sees fit.
Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
Over 85% of waiting list removals are made as a result of patient care, and since the end of the pandemic, unreported removals have been below pre-pandemic levels. Record levels of elective activity are being delivered by NHS staff, enabling us to cut waiting lists and meet our interim target of 65% of patients being seen within 18 weeks—the highest performance in over four years.
Graham Stuart
People in Beverley and Holderness want high-quality and speedy care, not massaged waiting list numbers that suit Labour narratives. Of course, Mr Speaker, you will remember that the last Labour Government had form on this as well, because the National Audit Office repeatedly found that the numbers were manipulated when waiting lists were similarly put on a pedestal. The Minister has the new Secretary of State by her side. Can she reassure people in Beverley and Holderness that we will have genuinely improved healthcare, rather than widespread manipulation and the cleansing of waiting lists to suit political purposes?
Karin Smyth
If anyone has forgotten, the last Labour Government left the NHS in a better state than it was in under successive Governments. That is not in dispute in terms of waiting list targets or, indeed, patient satisfaction. The right hon. Gentleman might want to look again at the record.
The point that the Conservatives seem to be intent on following up forever is an important one. Some 85% of the activity is a result of direct patient care. Validation, both clinical and clerical, is a long-standing routine practice of waiting list management. At roughly 15%—it was slightly higher before the pandemic—the rate is no different now from what it has been before, so it is not the case that something different is going on here. What we are doing is making sure that the right hon. Gentleman’s constituents—I appreciate that there are many other local problems in his system at the moment—can be clear that we have the right people on the right list for the right care in the right place by the right clinicians. That is what we are determined to do.
Lewis Atkinson (Sunderland Central) (Lab)
I commend the Minister for her work in reducing waiting lists for GP referral to first treatment, and they are genuinely coming down. She will be aware, however, that that statistic does not capture the entire picture, particularly for people who require subsequent follow-up care—for example, women with endometriosis or women waiting for breast reconstruction following mastectomies. Could she say a little about any plans she has to capture those waiting lists?
Karin Smyth
My hon. Friend is someone who does understand the way waiting lists are managed and so on. We do not have any plans to add any new targets to those to which we have already committed to give confidence to the British public that we can fix the NHS and get waiting lists down. However, he raises an important point about how we support patients to understand where they are in the system and where their care will be provided. Part of our commitment in the elective reform plan, which we outlined last year, is that patients are kept up to date about where they are being treated and why they are being referred to perhaps a more local service, and we will continue to try to do that.
Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)
Last month, the Health Service Journal reported that the elective waiting list target was met largely—largely—because a record number of patients were removed from waiting lists in March without receiving treatment. Can the Minister tell the House how many patients were removed in March and what happened to them, and whether she is satisfied that they definitely did not need treatment?
Karin Smyth
As I have said, I am still a bit perplexed about why the Conservatives are perpetually highlighting their inadequate management of the health service, and the idea that patients are simply referred to a waiting list and then left there for a couple of years, which is what happened on their watch. It is important that patients know why they are on a waiting list, and obviously that they get the best clinical care as quickly as possible.
I do not have to hand the exact figure for March, which will be published as part of the normal process of publishing the waiting list figures. However, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that completed pathways were 5.9% higher in the 21 months from July 2024, when we took office, to March 2025 than in the previous 21 months. Patients, as they deserve, are getting the right care in the right place under this Government.
Dr Evans
It is not just the Conservatives who are raising this issue; it is patients and the Health Service Journal. The answer is that 350,000 people—a city the size of Coventry—were wiped off the waiting list with no treatment, and that is 100,000 more than the month before. If there is genuinely nothing to hide, the Government should not worry about putting out the figures. Will the Minister commit to a review to find out what has happened to those 350,000 patients, or does she believe that waiting list targets should be met by removing patients from the figures rather than actually treating them?
Karin Smyth
This is an established way of managing waiting lists and waiting times. We are making sure that there is adequate clerical and clinical validation of the lists, and that patients are treated where they need to be, which may often be closer to home and in more local circumstances. Of course, we have committed to greater transparency than there was under the previous Government, and we will continue to provide that. I did not quite follow the hon. Gentleman’s question, but I am obviously very happy to look at anything arising from it. We are confident in the data that is coming out—as I have said, this is standard practice—and the figure is roughly 15%, as it has been over many years.
Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mrs Sharon Hodgson)
Health visitors play a vital role in supporting babies, children and families. Under the previous Government, the number of health visitors fell significantly, which is why this Government have taken action. The upcoming professional strategy for nursing and midwifery will set out a bold direction of travel to strengthen health visiting across England. We have already made improvements with all post-birth health and development reviews now completed for over 80% of children nationally, which is the highest level since recording began.
Mr Charters
I recently gave evidence to Baroness Amos’s national maternity inquiry, sharing the trauma that my wife and I endured. Even as she carried her own burden after the birth, she was my rock, but the NHS was not. I was invisible. No one asked about me and I was left to carry it alone for months. Will the Minister please ensure that health visitors recognise dads and other non-birthing partners, check in on their mental health, and help them to access support so that no more dads are forgotten when families need them the most?
Mrs Hodgson
I thank my hon. Friend for being so brave and willing to share his and his wife’s birth trauma, and to talk about the lack of support afterwards, not just with Baroness Amos and her review but with the House today. I know personally how hard it is to do that, but I also know the huge difference it can make to Government policy. I am happy to commit to him today that the Government will absolutely look closely at all the findings in Baroness Amos’s review, and work with the national maternity taskforce to translate the recommendations into action. I am also pleased to confirm that we have recently updated our national health visiting guidance to include a high impact area on family mental health, with a clear focus on supporting both mothers and fathers.
Freddie van Mierlo (Henley and Thame) (LD)
It is not just the number of health visitors that needs to be improved. Women report to me that they have skipped appointments due to negative experiences with health visitors, especially around breastfeeding. Will the Minister commit to improving the training of health visitors, so that women receive the best quality care?
Mrs Hodgson
Yes, I will. We are busy working on the 10-year workforce plan. The training of all the NHS workforce, including health visitors, is a big part of that. In my new position as public health and prevention Minister, I am particularly interested in the work of health visitors, especially with regard to supporting rates of breastfeeding. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the results of the breastfeeding survey were released last week and they showed substantial improvement.
Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)
The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)
This Government are rebuilding England’s broken NHS dentistry system. The dental recruitment incentive scheme encourages dentists to work in underserved areas. Data on the scheme’s effectiveness will be published later this year. We are taking steps to increase the supply of dentists. For example, last week I was very proud to announce the first sustained expansion of dental school places since 2007, backed by £11 million a year. A total of 50 dental school places a year have been allocated.
Lisa Smart
My constituent John, who is from Bredbury, has been in touch because like so many others his local dentist is going private and for many families in my constituency, private dentistry simply is not an affordable option. Research by the British Dental Association found that 96% of practices are not accepting new NHS patients and the golden hello, worth £20,000 over three years, is not adequately compensating for a contract that loses them money every day. The scheme just is not working. It has recruited two dentists—two!—in the whole of Greater Manchester, neither of whom is in my constituency. What more can the Minister do to ensure that my constituents get the dentists they need, where they need them?
Stephen Kinnock
I thank the hon. Lady for that question, and she is absolutely right to raise the issue of the contract. The fundamental problem is that the units of dental activity system is a contractual system that does not work for NHS dentistry. That is why we had the absurd situation when we came into office in July 2024 of a £392 million underspend on NHS dentistry, because dentists were not incentivised. We are changing that. I have got the underspend down to £36 million. There is still a very long way to go and we need to reform the long-term contract to incentivise dentists to do NHS dentistry.
Anna Gelderd (South East Cornwall) (Lab)
Access to NHS dentistry remains too difficult in rural and coastal communities such as South East Cornwall, where residents face long travel times and limited provision. Will the Minister meet me to discuss what next steps we can take to improve local access?
Stephen Kinnock
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that, as we know, there are areas in the country that are known as dental deserts. We have to fix that. It comes back to the fundamental issue of how we incentivise dentists to do NHS dentistry regardless of where they are in the country. There are particularly acute pressures in constituencies such as the one she so brilliantly represents, and I would be happy to meet her to discuss them further.
Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Preet Kaur Gill)
We know that men are less likely to seek mental health support and that suicide rates are higher in men, and we are taking action to address that. Through our men’s health strategy, we have launched a partnership with the Premier League to improve mental health literacy. The suicide prevention support pathfinders programme will invest up to £3.6 million in areas where middle-aged men face the greatest risk of suicide—the north-west being one area with some of the highest rates.
Mrs Blundell
I welcome the publication of the men’s health strategy, especially the measures in it designed to improve mental health outcomes. In a report that I recently sent to the ministerial team following an event I held with local charities and mental health service users, it became clear that the recommendations of the strategy need to be implemented quickly. What practical steps are being taken to implement those measures, especially in areas such as mine, where deprivation continues to affect the health of men and boys?
Preet Kaur Gill
I warmly welcome my hon. Friend’s report and thank her for all her work on behalf of her constituents. Locally, NHS and council partners are supporting delivery through services such as Thrive, Think Ahead and talking therapies, alongside community initiatives such as Male Health Survivors @ The Dale, and Andy’s Man Club Rochdale, supporting men’s mental health. We also have a mental health call for evidence, which is live until 12 July, seeking practical examples to tangibly improve outcomes and inform our mental health strategy. I would be keen to work with my hon. Friend on what more we can do.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
The suicide rate among men in Cumbria is twice the national average. There are a whole range of reasons why that is so, but one of them is clearly bound up in isolation and rurality. Would the Minister be willing to meet me and the Farmer Network as we seek to deliver mental health answers for people struggling? Some 25% of farmers are below the poverty line, often isolated and dealing with transition at times of enormous stress and anxiety with nowhere to turn. Would the Minister agree to meet so that we can address this particular cause of the appalling tragedy in our county?
Preet Kaur Gill
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that important issue. We of course must not overlook the needs of farmers. Our men’s health strategy has invested an extra £3.6 million in suicide prevention work in the most deprived parts of England, where men face the greatest risk of suicide. We are partnering with the Premier League’s Together Against Suicide initiative, to meet men where they are on their terms, so that they do not suffer in silence. I look forward to meeting the hon. Gentleman to hear more about the issue.
Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
The NHS modernisation Bill will clarify and strengthen accountability in the NHS. It ends the fragmented accountability that we inherited on coming into government, and the reforms will restore clear democratic accountability, with the Secretary of State directly accountable to Parliament and the public. We will enhance local autonomy, ensuring NHS organisations are good partners and deliver for their local populations.
Lewis Cocking
We need more local accountability in the NHS. In Broxbourne we have seen thousands of new houses built, but when I and local Conservative councillors have pushed for new healthcare facilities to cope with the new demand, we have been refused. Can the Minister explain who will be accountable for that under the Government’s new system?
Karin Smyth
The hon. Gentleman highlights a situation familiar to many of us. One of the many problems that we inherited from the last Government was the fragmented landscape, so I thank him for his question. A key part of the responsibility of integrated care boards is commissioning for their populations to improve access to healthcare and reduce inequalities. For the first time, ICBs will be held accountable through the outcomes framework.
Helena Dollimore (Hastings and Rye) (Lab/Co-op)
Jules Fielder from Hastings was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal lung cancer after doctors missed her symptoms, mistaking them for tennis elbow. As a non-smoking young woman, she did not meet the stereotype of what lung cancer patients often present with, but she was determined to channel her own tragedy into change. She campaigned for better, earlier awareness of symptoms among clinicians and members of the public, and she took that message to everyone she could. Together, we convinced Boots to roll out on-shelf awareness labels in the cold and flu medicine section to raise better awareness. Sadly, Jules passed away last month. Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to all of Jules’s campaigning, and commit to continuing her vision in the Department of Health and Social Care by ensuring we use every possible avenue to raise better awareness and catch cancer earlier?
Karin Smyth
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that example of tremendous public service in the face of adversity. We are sorry to hear of Jules’s passing, and our thoughts are with her friends and family. My hon. Friend highlights the way in which people can access and determine outcomes and the fact that it is the responsibility of those working in local health services—in this case, the ICB in particular—to involve people and use their experience to drive the change that we want to see as part of the Health Bill.
Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (James Murray)
The NHS matters deeply to me, to every one of my colleagues and to people right across the country. That is why we are not wasting a second in driving delivery and pushing forward with extending prostate cancer screening to protect men at most risk, appointing a new national maternity adviser to give every woman and baby a safe birth, and accepting the Mann review recommendations to rid the NHS of antisemitism and all forms of racism. Last week, with my hon. Friend the Minister for Secondary Care, I took the NHS modernisation Bill through its Second Reading. As Secretary of State, I am determined to accelerate modernisation and build an NHS that is fit for the future.
Josh Babarinde
Following power outages at Eastbourne district general hospital that left operations and birth services suspended, hospital bosses submitted a strategic bid for more than £10 million to the estates safety fund to urgently fix the problem, which was rejected. How does the Secretary of State expect our hospital to provide consistent and safe care to patients if the power goes out?
James Murray
I am aware of the issues at Eastbourne district general hospital. Patients, staff and visitors deserve better than power cuts and electrical failures, which is why this Government have set out a credible and deliverable plan to deliver the new hospitals programme. I would gently remind the hon. Gentleman and his constituents that many of the problems that the NHS estate faces today stem from its being starved of £37 billion of capital investment in the 2010s, when the Lib Dems were in government.
Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)
The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
The single patient record will give clinicians timely access to a single trusted record so that decisions can be made more efficiently, avoiding duplication, allowing them to spend more time with patients. The system makes all information on a patient accessible in a single place and will allow the sharing of patient data among different settings, as my hon. Friend outlines, and provide more flexibility in where services are made available.
Stuart Andrew (Daventry) (Con)
I begin by welcoming the Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the hon. Member for Birmingham Edgbaston (Preet Kaur Gill), to their places.
The Secretary of State was in the Treasury when it imposed VAT on compassionate access medicine programmes, which provide some patients—especially children with cancer—with a vital last chance to access treatment. The policy has already led to the closure of one scheme. Will he now commit to abolishing this tax before any more follow suit?
James Murray
One thing I learned when I was in the Treasury is that decisions about tax are taken by the Chancellor at fiscal events, so I am certainly not going to start taking decisions about taxation in my new role at the Dispatch Box today. The broader point is how important it is to ensure that we have the medicines that we need for the future. That is why this Government are investing so much in research, development and innovation, to ensure that we have the drugs and medicines we need for the healthiest possible population in the future.
Stuart Andrew
I am sorry, but that was simply waffle. This matter needs decisive action now; these drugs are absolutely critical to some children. This cancer drugs tax has already closed one scheme, and companies are making real-time decisions now about whether to continue programmes in the United Kingdom. The Secretary of State must urgently get the Treasury to exempt compassionate use medicines permanently, so that the patients in most need can get these vital drugs, which, in some cases, are simply their only hope.
James Murray
I have explained the position about decisions on tax. More broadly, it is critical that we have the medicines of the future that we need. One of my very first visits as Secretary of State for Health was to a company that is using AI to determine new opportunities for medicines and drugs to tackle cancers and some of the other illnesses that people face. Making sure that we are investing in businesses—British businesses—to drive that innovation is crucial, not just to the future health of our country but to economic growth.
Mary Glindon (Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mrs Sharon Hodgson)
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that very important matter. My sympathy is with the Lake family, and I commend them for their advocacy on this issue. I am acutely aware of the matter, having met the hon. Member for Upper Bann (Carla Lockhart) and her constituents about this issue last week, in a very moving meeting. I assure my hon. Friend that the Department is working with partners to see whether it is possible to set up a multi-condition evaluation, so that not only MLD but other rare conditions can be assessed alongside the existing screening programmes.
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
A damning report by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has estimated that more than 15,800 deaths were associated with long waits in emergency departments in 2025—I think we all agree that figure is an outrage—but the Government still have not published reliable data on long waits and corridor care despite promising to do so by the end of May. Will the Secretary of State tell the House what the Government are trying to hide? Will they adopt Liberal Democrat calls to end corridor care within a year by freeing up beds throughout hospitals and in social care to end the blight of excess deaths in overcrowded accident and emergency departments?
James Murray
Let me be clear that corridor care is unacceptable and undignified and we are committed to eradicating it. We have begun by getting specialist teams to go into the worst offending trusts to ensure that we are getting rid of corridor care in those places. The NHS now has a national definition of corridor care for the first time ever. We will publish data on that shortly, because the first step in getting a grip of the problem is to be open and transparent about its scale.
Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)
The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work she did formerly as a care worker. The Government inherited a social care system in desperate need of reform. We are taking action, including by providing over £4.6 billion of extra funding for adult social care by 2028-29 and developing the first ever fair pay agreement for care workers. Baroness Casey will submit her first report this year with recommendations on the further action we should take to move towards a national care service.
Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)
Stephen Kinnock
As I said earlier to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), the fundamental long-term reform of the dental contract is vital to incentivising dentists to do NHS dentistry. I am pleased by how we have really put downward pressure on the underspend. As a result of that, we are on track to deliver more than 2.5 million extra dental treatments than in the same period before the general election.
Lloyd Hatton (South Dorset) (Lab)
Mrs Hodgson
People with Parkinson’s disease should receive support tailored to their individual needs, as symptoms and progression vary. The NHS provides specialist multidisciplinary NHS care informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and improvement programmes such as Getting It Right First Time. People with Parkinson’s will benefit from our wider work to strengthen community services, reduce waiting times and improve co-ordinated, person-centred care closer to home. I assure my hon. Friend that the Department will continue to meet regularly with Parkinson’s UK to ensure that their voices are heard.
Mr Will Forster (Woking) (LD)
Stephen Kinnock
Importantly, we have the £102 million utilisation and modernisation fund to enable more GP primary care estate. We have also committed to delivering 120 more neighbourhood health centres by the end of this Parliament, so I hope that the hon. Gentleman’s integrated care board has put in an expression of interest for that scheme. I am, of course, prepared to discuss that with him further.
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
Karin Smyth
I commend my hon. Friend for her experience in this area. She tempts me to look at amendments in that space, but we do not have plans for that at the moment. The changes we made to NHS England placed the responsibility regarding health inequalities in all our policies firmly at the Secretary of State’s door. I am happy to talk to my hon. Friend about her other ideas on that. The Bill transfers that responsibility to the Secretary of State and we have no plans to make any changes in that area.
Alison Griffiths (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) (Con)
Stephen Kinnock
As I have said to hon. Members across the House today, there is a fundamental challenge around the dental contract. Units of dental activity do not work as a way of incentivising dentists to do NHS dentistry, so that, fundamentally, has to be fixed. I am proud that, thanks to the measures that we have put in place, 2.5 million additional courses of treatment have been delivered, compared with the same period before the general election.
Gill Furniss (Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab)
Last year I had the opportunity to witness a transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedure, which is a groundbreaking procedure for people who require valve changes. What I saw was quite incredible, and I recommend that all hon. Members go and see the procedure in St Thomas’ hospital. The patient, who was 82, had been bedbound for weeks, but after that 20-minute surgery they were fit enough to be discharged later that day and to look after themselves. That has a massive impact, not just on the patient’s life but for our NHS and the wider economy, as illustrated by Heart Valve Voice’s optimal pathway report. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that NHS systems identify patients and treat them?
Mrs Hodgson
I am aware of my hon. Friend’s significant work in this policy area, and she is absolutely right about the huge potential of TAVIs. Rising national TAVI activity and improved “Getting it right first time” pathways are part of our approach to reduce health inequalities and support more timely, equitable care. Through that work, the Government are committed to strengthening consistency in the diagnosis and treatment of heart valve disease, building on progress already made.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
The relocation of Frimley Park hospital in my constituency is a £1.8 billion project, but none of the costs of the essential infrastructure to enable the new site to go ahead have been costed or budgeted for. The chief executives of the hospital simply have said that those costs will have to come from the new hospital programme contingency fund. Does the Secretary of State agree that that is no way to start a project of such size, scale and significance, and will he meet me to address those concerns?
James Murray
The hon. Gentleman is persistent in raising this issue—he has also raised it with me in the lunch queue. It clearly matters to him, and indeed to hon. Friends on my side of the House—
Mr Speaker
Order. I say to the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) that he should not walk in front of the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) when the Secretary of State is answering him. Please show each other respect.
James Murray
The hon. Member for Surrey Heath can rest assured that this Government are focused on the new hospitals programme, which is now credible and deliverable after what we inherited from the previous Government, and that we will get those hospitals in place.
Kirsteen Sullivan (Bathgate and Linlithgow) (Lab/Co-op)
On Thursday I will chair the all-party parliamentary group on endometriosis’s first evidence session of our inquiry into endometriosis in the workplace. We will look at the experiences of women living with the condition and at the lack of timely treatment for chronic symptoms and how this impacts them in the workplace. Will the Secretary of State commit to reviewing our recommendations, once they are published later this year?
Mrs Hodgson
I commend my hon. Friend for her great work and that of the APPG in highlighting the importance of endometriosis and the impact it can have. We would be delighted to continue our close engagement with her and the APPG on this topic. We will consider the APPG’s findings carefully when they are published, as part of our ongoing work to improve diagnosis, treatment and support for women with endometriosis.
Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)
Epsom and St Helier hospitals need urgent funding now, not just patchwork repairs. In 2024, 600 operations were cancelled due to ventilation issues and the situation is only going to get worse, so will the Minister address the backlog of hospital repairs now to ensure that patients and staff have safe and modern facilities in Epsom and Saint Helier hospitals?
James Murray
Under this Government, we have increased capital investment in our NHS estates, including hospitals. Under the previous Government, that was sorely lacking, which stored up the problems we are experiencing today. There is a huge amount that we need to invest in, to ensure that the NHS is fit for the future, but we also need to reform the service, which is why modernising the NHS is a key priority for me and this Government.
Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)
At the beginning of the year, Blackpool had the worst 12-hour A&E waiting times in the country, but thanks to the tireless work of local NHS staff, that has been reduced by 43%. However, we face some of the biggest challenges in the country with health inequalities, deprivation and the 21 million visitors that come every year, so will the Secretary of State agree to meet me and the chief executive officer of our hospital to talk about what support we can get to bring these numbers down, so that residents in Blackpool can get the care they need?
James Murray
I am very happy to work with my hon. Friend to tackle health inequalities in his area. As he rightly highlights, our investment in the NHS and in the wider health of the nation is specifically about tackling health inequalities such as those that he raises, which affect the life chances of his constituents.
Joe Robertson (Isle of Wight East) (Con)
The crisis in social care is particularly bad in my constituency on the Isle of Wight, partly because of our unique geography but also because the Government have reduced funding to our local authority. Our council is now looking at discharging patients to the mainland, away from family and friends, which is completely unacceptable. Will the Government recognise our unique challenges as an English island and help provide a social care solution that recognises the challenges that we face?
Stephen Kinnock
The hon. Member and I have discussed this issue, and I absolutely recognise the need to ensure that social care is provided in the most convenient way possible to his constituents and as close as possible to home. Obviously we are fixing a broken system, but we have delivered £4.6 billion more in funding, we are delivering the fair pay agreement, and we are working hard to ensure that we get adult social care back on its feet and fit for the future.
Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Bromborough) (Lab)
My constituents were delighted to see the opening of the Great Sutton medical centre, but it has brought into sharp focus the need for an urgent upgrade of GP practices in Ellesmere Port town centre. I have submitted an expression of interest to the neighbourhood centre programme, and I wonder whether the Minister would agree to meet me to discuss that further.
Stephen Kinnock
I am delighted that my hon. Friend has submitted that expression of interest. We are now assessing proposals against criteria that include: a fit with our national neighbourhood health strategy; sound estate planning; deliverability; sustainability; and, critically, local need. We will be prioritising areas where there is low life expectancy and higher deprivation. I would be delighted to meet him to talk about his expression of interest and about our programme for revolutionising care in our country through the shift from hospital to community.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
Unpaid carers play a crucial role in supporting so many people who need to draw on social care, thereby supporting our health service and our formal social care system, but they tell me that they are under immense strain and need more support. They are, of course, more likely to be women and to be older. Does the Minister recognise the urgent need for more respite care for unpaid carers, and will he take action to provide it now, rather than waiting a few years for the Casey commission?
Stephen Kinnock
The hon. Lady is absolutely right that unpaid carers are the lifeblood of our care system, and we pay tribute to them for the compassion that they show. I was very pleased yesterday to accompany the Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade, my hon. Friend the Member for Halifax (Kate Dearden), to the launch of the new paid carer’s leave consultation document. I am also pleased to chair the cross-ministerial group that will produce an action plan for unpaid carers, addressing exactly the issues that the hon. Lady mentioned about respite care.
Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)
Last week the Supreme Court overturned the previous Cheshire West judgment on the Mental Capacity Act 2005, throwing the sector that cares for people with learning disabilities and/or autism into what it has called “chaos”. There is significant concern that, without further clarification as to whether someone who does not have mental capacity can consent to deprivation of liberty, vulnerable people will be put at significant risk. Will the Secretary of State listen to calls for—
Mr Speaker
Order. I have to get through the questions from others, so Members have to help me by asking shorter questions.
James Murray
I can reassure my hon. Friend that the Government respect the Supreme Court decision. We are considering it carefully, and will set out updated guidance shortly.
Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley) (Con)
Waiting times for cataract operations in my constituency are rising hugely because the local ICB and its AI system have stopped offering services through all the advertised providers, and the ICB has scrapped its contract with Specsavers, meaning that only GPs can diagnose the problem. Will the Minister have a look at the local problem and intervene so that we have the widest and best range of providers to reduce those waiting lists?
Stephen Kinnock
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that getting the link between high street optometrists and secondary care working more effectively is vital. That is why I was pleased to announce the £20 million e-referral investment earlier this week. We are also working on a single point of access, to get the digital interface working far more effectively. He is right that we should be focusing on that more; there is a lot more to do.
Adam Thompson (Erewash) (Lab)
Particularly for people with a very low body mass index or an eating disorder, the use of app-based fitness classes for hours of ultra-high-intensity exercise every day can lead to addiction. When I wrote to one brand to ask about implementing access limitation tools in its app, it was dismissive. Will the Secretary of State consider reviewing whether such tools could be mandated to support those with eating disorders?
James Murray
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that issue—it is an important angle on a problem of which we are all aware, but in a slightly different context, given some of the modern features that are available on the devices in our pockets. I will look into it further and pick it up with him in due course.
Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)
Many Members in this place will be all too familiar with the trauma of a miscarriage; for some, the tragedy occurs more than once. Scotland is the first nation in the UK to implement a miscarriage patient charter, based on the so-called Tommy’s graded model of miscarriage care. Will the new Secretary of State—I welcome him to his place—outline whether the Westminster Government are considering replicating that system in the rest of the UK?
James Murray
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that incredibly sensitive and important issue. As a Government, we want to ensure that, through the NHS, we are supporting women who suffer miscarriages and their families. We will make sure that we have the right provision to support them, and that the NHS and wider health system are there for them when they need that help.
Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)
Dudley has high levels of deprivation and health inequality. That is why I am campaigning to bring healthcare to Dudley town high street. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can leverage the 10-year plan to reduce health inequalities in Dudley, and does he agree that we need a healthcare hub?
James Murray
I definitely agree that my hon. Friend is a formidable champion for her constituency. She is absolutely right to raise the importance of easily accessible healthcare in places such as high streets. I am keen to ensure that the 250 neighbourhood health centres we have announced—with 120 by 2030—are delivered as quickly as possible. That is part of our plan to ensure that healthcare gets right into every local neighbourhood and community. I look forward to discussing that further with my hon. Friend.
Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)
May I have a meeting to discuss my parents, carers and babies Bill, which affords support to the Best Start family hubs and healthy babies programme?
Mrs Hodgson
We know that the earliest stages of a child’s life are critical for their development, and the Government are committed to supporting families to give babies the best start in life. We are investing over £900 million in the Best Start family hubs and healthy babies programme to create an integrated, accessible system of support for families. I particularly look forward to considering the merits of the private Member’s Bill that the right hon. Gentleman will present to Parliament, and I do indeed look forward to meeting him to discuss that further.
Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
There are half a million coeliac sufferers in the UK, but there is little understanding of the condition, which is massively underdiagnosed. Can I invite everyone here—even you, Mr Speaker—to the drop-in session that I am doing on Tuesday 16 June with the campaign? In particular, can the campaign have a follow-up meeting with the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson), as she has been a long-standing advocate for the campaign and gets it?
James Murray
It is welcome that my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour has raised this matter in the Chamber, drawing it to the attention of many Members on both sides of the House. I do not want to speak on behalf of my fellow Minister, but I am getting a nod from her—we will be happy to pick this up with my hon. Friend in future.