Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Tuesday 16th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Anna Soubry]

What I know is that the cancer drugs fund is delivering in a way that, if I may say so, was not delivered under the last Administration.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

What discussions have taken place with Health ministerial colleagues in devolved Administrations on the need to share best practice in diagnosis, analysis of biopsies and future treatments and care for those suffering from different forms and types of cancer?

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Tuesday 26th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

The last month has seen the Government take two radical steps that will fundamentally improve the quality of health care in this country. First, in our response to the Francis report on the appalling tragedy at Mid Staffs, we announced the setting up of a chief inspectorate of hospitals based at the Care Quality Commission. That will introduce compassionate care, patient feedback and expert peer review into a system that has been too long dominated by targets and box-ticking. Secondly, in response to the Dilnot report, the Government announced a long-term solution to the funding of social care, which will both help thousands of low-income pensioners avoid having to sell their homes and make us one of the first countries in the world where it is as normal to save for social care costs as it is to save for a pension.

[Ms Ritchie]

This week I will meet my constituents Neal and Rita Denvir, whose son, Fionn, made a miraculous recovery from meningitis. Many are not so fortunate, however, so will the Secretary of State pledge his support to the Meningitis UK “Beat it now” campaign, and include the newly licensed vaccine for meningitis B in the NHS childhood immunisation programme, so that no family has to live with the terror of that terrifying disease?

[Mr Hunt]

As the father of two young children, I completely share the hon. Lady’s passion for this issue and I am happy to give my support to Meningitis UK. The decision on whether to include a meningitis jab in the immunisation campaign is made by an independent expert panel, and I will always follow its advice.

Regional Pay (NHS)

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Wednesday 7th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

The motion in the name of my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband), the Leader of the Opposition, comes at a time when public sector workers face a continued pay freeze, an increased pension age and increased pension contributions throughout their careers. It would seem that some are “all in this together” more than others. This Government’s flirtation with regional pay is merely the latest ill-advised policy that undermines the valuable work done by front-line staff in the health service and across the public sector.

A good starting point would be for the Government to clarify their position on the issue, because the current indecision will do little more than breed further uncertainty and bad feeling. Today’s debate should bring a greater degree of clarity from Ministers, but I say that more in hope than in expectation.

Although the focus of this debate is on NHS pay levels in England, it is important to point out that this could have serious ramifications for the public sector in Northern Ireland. Make no mistake: any movement in this direction will put extreme pressure for similar measures to be implemented in Northern Ireland by way of both principle and precedent and as a result of any possible corresponding decrease in block-grant consequentials.

The suggestion that the measure is being considered as a means of equalising pay between the public and private sectors is fundamentally disingenuous. What seems to lie at the centre of the argument is the misplaced notion that public sector workers are paid too much. That contention is rife with misleading comparisons between the public and private sectors, which, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies notes, often ignore factors such as age and levels of qualification, and compare highly selective samples for the purpose of making a political argument. Indeed, any move towards regional pay in Northern Ireland will likely bring the worst aspects of the private sector to our public service, while removing the social guarantees that are the bedrock of a fair system. It will be a case of equalising down rather than levelling up.

In standing up for the public sector, we should not ignore the severe problem of low pay in parts of the private sector. This is a particularly pressing problem in Northern Ireland, where in 2010-11 the pay of private sector employees was 21% below the UK average for private sector workers. The recent discussion of introducing a living wage is much more instructional and productive than any cut to public sector pay. Put simply, low private sector pay in Northern Ireland will not be helped by decreasing public sector pay through the introduction of regional pay scales.

The likely effects of such a move on our public services and our regional economy are clear. There is a strong possibility that it would lead to skills shortages in the NHS and across public services, and to a shortage of much-needed front-line staff in areas where pay is kept low, as I fear it would be in Northern Ireland. That could result in a scenario whereby regions invest in educating and training staff only to lose them to an area with higher pay. The Government have offered no explanation of how they would guard against that. Any such proposal would also remove much-needed money from our local economy. The cost has been put at about £10 billion and the corresponding cut in the Northern Ireland block, at a time when families and businesses are already struggling, would be, frankly, a step too far.

In the Income Data Services report, “Crowding out: fact or fiction?”, researchers found absolutely no relationship between public sector pay levels and private sector job creation, and that regional pay would have a greater impact on women than men. Indeed, they state that most private companies employ national pay scales.

In essence, the Government seem to be attacking a problem that does not exist, while ignoring the problem that does, namely the lack of jobs and the low growth in the economy. This can be seen as nothing more than an ideologically motivated attack on the public sector and we will oppose it. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) has said, this is important, and we in the Social Democratic and Labour party will uphold the principle of national pay agreements.

Induced Abortion

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Wednesday 31st October 2012 Westminster Hall

[Ms Abbott]

I have to make progress. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare support that position. There is no medical and scientific case for the position that some Government Members are trying to prosecute.

Everyone is entitled to their ethical and religious views on this issue. For Labour Members, abortion has traditionally been a conscience matter, and I respect other people’s consciences on this issue. However, it is not right to denigrate doctors, scientists, nurses and other medical practitioners. It is not right to say, as some hon. Members have said, that the royal colleges are saying these things because they make their money out of abortions. It is not right to denigrate medical practitioners. It is not right to talk about women being coerced into having abortions. It ought to be possible to have a serious argument about the ethical issues without denigrating nurses, doctors and other medical practitioners who have devoted their lives to the reproductive welfare of women.

The question of Northern Ireland has come up. The issues in relation to Northern Ireland are entirely a matter for the people of Northern Ireland, but let me just say this. I congratulate Marie Stopes on opening the clinic in Belfast. I want to give my personal support to brave women, such as Dawn Purvis, who have campaigned on this issue. I give my personal support to those women in Northern Ireland who continue to believe that it cannot be right that women in one part of the British isles do not have the human rights that other women in the Union have.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Ms Abbott]

I have to make progress.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Tuesday 17th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Paul Burstow]

Indeed we do. We identify in the White Paper the fact that there has been a postcode lottery for many years when it comes to access to primary care in our care home sector. The White Paper sets out how to ensure that we begin to eradicate that postcode lottery. By establishing a national commissioning board to commission primary care, we can ensure greater consistency in the future.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

What conversations has the Minister had with his counterpart in Northern Ireland in respect of protecting the high standards of residential and nursing care that already exist for the people in Northern Ireland?

[Paul Burstow]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question. Indeed, officials in my Department are in close contact with officials in all the devolved Administrations to make sure that we share best practice across the nations so that we drive up the quality of care for all.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Tuesday 12th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I simply reiterate to my hon. Friend the point that I have already made. We are not proposing to cut anybody’s pay; we are proposing to give NHS organisations a greater mechanism through the “Agenda for Change” framework so that they can secure the recruitment and retention of staff. That is precisely the issue. Whatever their needs may be in terms of the recruitment and retention of staff, their pay should be better able to adjust to that.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

Given the extent of social deprivation and the fact that £450 billion will be taken out of the pockets of people in Northern Ireland, particularly those on low incomes, will the Secretary of State confirm that there are no plans to introduce regional pay into the national health service in Northern Ireland during this parliamentary term or in future, as this would have a detrimental impact on the economy?

[Mr Lansley]

Clearly, that is a matter for the devolved Administration in Northern Ireland, not for me.