Minimally Invasive Cancer Therapies
Debate between Baroness Blake of Leeds and Baroness Winterton of Doncaster
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for sharing his personal experience with us. It makes the debate so much more real when we hear about the circumstances. The emphasis on shifting services to the community is to enable local places to recognise that there are hotspots for different cancers or diseases that can be picked up. The promotion of public health initiatives, such as screening, needs to be done at a very local level. From experience, I know that that promotion then passes on through word of mouth, which is often the most powerful way that we can get the message across.
Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)
My Lords, my noble friend the Minister mentioned research. Is she aware that the White Rose Cancer Report from Yorkshire Cancer Research showed big regional inequalities in diagnosis and research investment? Can she confirm that the national cancer plan will look at the recommendations from that report and at how we can tackle those regional inequalities, especially in areas such as Yorkshire, where I know she will have an interest?
Social Care
Debate between Baroness Blake of Leeds and Baroness Winterton of Doncaster
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
It will come as no surprise to the noble Baroness that I cannot give her the detail on that question, but I will be very happy to get back to her with an update on where we have got to. Obviously, the whole area of digitalisation is another of the pillars in moving the health service forward. So many people collect data but do not use it. We are very good at harvesting it but not actually analysing it and working out how we can use it to best effect. But it is one of the commitments.
Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)
My Lords, what discussions are being held with private sector care companies to require them, in exchange for the often considerable amount of money they receive from the public purse, to work with education institutions to provide high-quality training for social care staff in their local area?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
My noble friend raises an important point. If we are moving to a neighbourhood health service, we need to engage with local social care providers and make sure that they are part of the mix. This is where the noble Baroness, Lady Casey, is starting. She is bringing everyone together to talk about how to deliver this. We need to make sure that our training institutions are engaged and that everyone who can contribute is around the table to move things forward.
EU-UK Summit: Visa Waiver Agreement
Debate between Baroness Blake of Leeds and Baroness Winterton of Doncaster
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I thank the noble Earl for his continued interest and for putting us all under pressure on this important issue. I emphasise that supporting touring artists was a manifesto commitment for the Government a year ago. As such, it is a priority for the Government. We remain in constructive dialogue with the EU on tackling the challenges facing cultural and creative professionals and their support staff when touring in the EU, along with many other issues. It is a very important date in the diary, and we will provide details of the agenda in due course.
Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)
My Lords, as part of our inquiry into the EU-UK reset, the European Affairs Committee of this House took evidence from the Independent Society of Musicians recently and was told that, since the Brexit agreement, there has been a very unlevel playing field for our UK musicians. It is not just an unlevel playing field: it seems a number of own goals were scored in the drawing up of the agreement, not just on cabotage but on carnets and musical instrument certificates. So can my noble friend the Minister assure me that there will be full discussions with the music industry and creative artists before 19 May so that there is a thorough grasp of the problems facing them?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I can reassure my noble friend. She raises very important points about some of the failings and inadequacies of the arrangements that came through the original discussions, which are absolutely critical. I reassure my noble friend that, as well as Minister Bryant visiting counterparts in Europe, officials are engaging on a regular basis. Obviously, consultation with the sector is paramount. We need to make sure that, in moving forward and achieving the reset and rebalance, we put the needs of everyone on the table and make sure that we do not leave anyone out of the future discussions.
London Underground
Debate between Baroness Blake of Leeds and Baroness Winterton of Doncaster
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
The noble Lord is well aware that it would be above my pay grade to make commitments that will be subject to future discussions. We obviously have the Budget coming up and the spending review, and I look forward to those discussions.
Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)
My Lords, I am sure that the Minister, as a great advocate for Yorkshire and the Humber, will join me in advocating for the many opportunities that there are in our region for train manufacture and repair, such as in Doncaster in South Yorkshire, which has a long history in that respect.
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I thank my noble friend for her comments. I remember fondly our many discussions about achieving more investment into Yorkshire and the Humber. The truth is that our economy is grossly imbalanced. The potential and talent that exist within those regions is immense. This is a very important statement of intent to make sure that investment and jobs can be spread around the country, and I welcome it. I particularly welcome any discussions that we have in the future about Doncaster.