Valdo Calocane: NHS England Report

Debate between Baroness Merron and Lord Balfe

Thursday 6th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Balfe]

To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to publish a full version of NHS England’s report regarding Valdo Calocane.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

My Lords, I offer my sincere condolences and, I am sure, those of all in your Lordships’ House, to the bereaved families of Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates. Our thoughts are also with the three survivors who sustained serious injuries in the horrendous attacks that took place in Nottingham. Yesterday, NHS England published in full the report of the independent investigation into the care and treatment provided to Valdo Calocane.

[Lord Balfe (Con)]

I thank the Minister for her reply and associate myself with her condolences to the families and the other injured persons. This is a thorough report of 300 pages. Short of naming any names, I do not think there is anything more to be said. However, I have three points. First, the report indicates the difference in the balance between patient rights and community safety, and I would like the department to take that point firmly on board. Secondly, it appears that some of the treatment decisions were taken by individuals but could probably have been better taken by multidisciplinary teams to test the individual judgment against a wider group of experts. Thirdly, the report mentions equality, diversity and inclusion factors and the extent to which they cut across medical decisions. Will the Minister come back to this House, perhaps in six months’ time, having asked her services to look at these three points and any others because there are far too many lessons-to-be-learned reports from which lessons never seem to be learned?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I assure the noble Lord that officials are working with NHS England and partners to set out the next steps regarding how future mental health homicide reports should be published and to ensure that we act as transparently as possible in line with our legal obligations and with engagement for families. That is very important for the future. The three points the noble Lord raises are very relevant and are being dealt with thoroughly in Committee as we take the Mental Health Bill through this House. I am confident that your Lordships’ House is on top of this matter, as are the department and all concerned. There has already been progress on the CQC report published previously, and all the recommendations in this report have been accepted in full.

Hospice Funding

Debate between Baroness Merron and Lord Balfe

Monday 6th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My noble friend makes a very helpful point that I will certainly follow up. The fact that the majority of hospice care is provided through the NHS suggests that there is room for further co-operation between the independent hospice sector and the NHS. I am grateful for her comments and will follow that up.

[Lord Balfe (Con)]

My Lords, I remind the House that I am joint chair of Together for Short Lives, the hospice movement for babies and young persons. We greatly welcome the decision and announcement by the Government. Our only hope, as has been alluded to, is that there will be a development to get some forward perspective. One of the problems I addressed in my meeting with Minister Kinnock was the short-termism there has been. Can we use this gap to try to get a longer-term perspective for funding?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

We would certainly like to do that. As I mentioned, we will talk with Together for Short Lives and others to achieve that. It is very important to make sure that there are no delays to funding and that it promptly gets to where it needs to be. That is the other area we will attend to.

NHS Continuing Healthcare

Debate between Baroness Merron and Lord Balfe

Monday 2nd September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I do understand the concerns raised by the noble Lord and agree that we need to take a close look at all these areas. I have already raised that with officials and with Minister Kinnock, who is the responsible Minister in this area. On the second question, there is indeed a relatively low conversion rate, and I understand that the decision was originally made to ensure that everyone who might be eligible is actually assessed. The assessment acts as a gateway to other NHS-funded care but, having looked at it, this could perhaps be made somewhat clearer. On the first question, the noble Lord will understand that I cannot give a definitive answer, and he will be aware that legislation does not limit the number of hours or the cost of nursing care that a local authority may provide. However, the Care Act 2014 sets out that local authorities can provide nursing care only in very limited circumstances—for example, where it is a minor part of overall care, such as basic wound care.

[Lord Balfe (Con)]

What action are the Government taking to hold integrated care boards to account to ensure that the National Framework for Children and Young Persons’ Continuing Care is implemented equitably and consistently across all local areas? I declare my interest as the joint chair of the all-party group for children with short lives.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

It is crucial that we provide the right support to children and young people. NHS England’s regional teams are working with local systems to explore the delivery of continuing care to that younger group. It is important to say to your Lordships’ House that we do not currently collect data on, for example, children and young people, but we will be doing so from April next year. That will help us capture evidence, which will enable us to improve things in the way the noble Lord and his all-party group want to do. We continue to welcome views from stakeholders and partners in this regard.

Status of Workers Bill [HL]

Debate between Baroness Merron and Lord Balfe

3rd reading
Friday 28th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My Lords, I speak in place of my noble friend Lord Bassam, who cannot be here today.

We on these Benches support my noble friend Lord Hendy and his Bill, which will create a single status of worker. I express my thanks to my noble friend for introducing the Bill and for his amendment, along with his great honesty about the need for it.

The Bill elegantly replaces existing employment categories, thereby removing qualifying periods for basic rights and protections. It gives workers rights in the job from day one, so all workers would receive rights and protections, such as statutory sick pay, national minimum wage entitlement, holiday pay, paid parental leave and protection against unfair dismissal, while the genuinely self-employed would retain their status. It is of course a shame that parliamentary time limits mean that the Bill may be going no further. I therefore hope to see it as a government Bill before too long.

[Lord Balfe (Con)]

My Lords, I have made this speech on a number of occasions. There are roughly 6 million trade unionists in Britain, and a third of them—2 million—vote for the party on these Benches. I am pleased, on their behalf, to welcome the Bill. It is a good step forward, because we always need to keep in mind the balance between the rights of the workers and those of the employers. This is a good Bill that rights an anomaly, and I hope that it will go further. I know that is difficult, but it is certainly in the right place and it has my personal full support.