Building Societies Act 1986 (Amendment) Bill

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Lisa Cameron

Report stage
Friday 19th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (Con)]

I place on record my thanks to the hon. Member for Sunderland Central (Julie Elliott) for bringing a pragmatic and important Bill to the House, and I give it my full support today. As always, she works assiduously in making lives better for people across the United Kingdom and in her constituency, and she works in an extremely positive manner across parties to achieve her aims, and I thank her for that, too.

As others have mentioned, building societies are extremely important to the fabric of the financial institutions in our constituencies. I make regular visits to the Nationwide Building Society branch in East Kilbride, as I did just a few months ago. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North (Ben Everitt), I was reassured to find out that my local branch had no plans to close and was thriving in the community. Many people were coming in to speak and to chat, as well as for socialisation and reassurance regarding finance and debt and how to engage with the new digital banking sector. The reach-out into the community is second to none.

I was impressed by that, particularly as I have had terrible news from East Kilbride just this week that the Royal Bank of Scotland is closing its branch there. That follows on from the bad news just last month that the Bank of Scotland is closing in Strathaven and Lesmahagow, leaving those communities without essential banking, particularly as those branches are the last banks in those local communities. It is distressing for the residents. I am pleased to be able to raise their concerns today and to praise Nationwide for the work it is doing and its assurance that it wants to be at the heart of our community for the foreseeable future.

I declare a personal interest, as my first mortgage was with that building society. I did not know an awful lot about finance or mortgages at the time, but Nationwide took the time to go through the different options with me, and I felt reassured by the manager. Having that face-to-face contact is so important. For first-time buyers who are not sure about the steps to take in getting their first mortgage—it is such a pivotal part of our life journey—these institutions play such an important role in our local communities.

I also place on record my thanks for the work that Nationwide is doing on mental health. I am part of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, chaired by Martin Lewis. We know that there is a huge link between mental health and finance. Debt, in particular, correlates with people’s mental health spiralling downwards, and we need to make sure we address those issues through all our banking institutions.

As has already been said, this is an important Bill, which places building societies on par with banks for corporate governance and solvency, and will keep them competitive and at the heart of our communities for the future.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call the shadow Minister.

Cancer Strategy

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Lisa Cameron

Thursday 22nd February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dr Cameron]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman. It is essential that the target be met and that resources be put in to ensure that it is.

The all-party group also found that access to detailed and timely data is critical for the strategy’s success, particularly in relation to data for rare and less common cancers. Strong concerns were also raised about how future data protection regulations might affect surveys, such as the cancer patient experience survey. The value of the cancer patient experience survey should be emphasised, along with outcomes from patients. We must hear from those who are experiencing services; they know how to improve things. In addition, the ageing UK population cannot be left out of the conversation. The cancer patient experience survey suggests that older people are less likely to have access to a clinical nurse specialist. Additionally, older patients are less likely to know the full extent of their illness. Age discrimination must come to an end, especially in cancer care.

The all-party group recommends that the NHS and Public Health England’s data team work to produce more timely cancer data and make them publicly available. It advocates that the Government ensure that the cancer patient experience survey and other such surveys can continue in a way that allows patient experience to be considered on a par with clinical effectiveness, rather than leaving patients without sufficient information regarding their cancer and care.

Furthermore, for specific cancers such as breast cancer, there are key priorities for delivery in the cancer strategy. It must ensure that data are collected for people living with incurable secondary cancer; that everyone with secondary breast cancer has a specialist nurse with the right skills and expertise; and that everyone has access to the right support after finishing treatment for primary cancer, so that they are able to live well after breast cancer. We should not ignore the fact that the strategy has had positive effects. In the last year, 16 cancer alliances and three vanguards have been established, and £200 million has been made available to them for earlier diagnosis and post-diagnosis support. In addition, 23 NHS trusts have now received new and upgraded radiotherapy machines. However, as the report makes clear, much more work still needs to be done.

In the few minutes that I have left, I want to speak a bit more about less survivable cancers. The Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce was in touch with me prior to today’s debate. It is made up of Pancreatic Cancer UK, the British Liver Trust, the Brain Tumour Charity and Action Against Heartburn, covering oesophageal cancer, and Core, covering all digestive diseases. The staggering 55% gap in morbidity is absolutely unacceptable. Much, much more must be done. Recently, I lost a very dear uncle to pancreatic cancer. As a family going through that experience, we know that we need much more research and much more specialist understanding. We need investment in those areas—it is absolutely crucial. I want to ensure that other families have a better chance of an improved survival rate, and I pay tribute to my own uncle for his courage in coping with that condition right to the end.

Hospice care is also absolutely essential. We must ensure that families and patients have dignity at the end of life. That is imperative. I have watched far too many family members die in hospital beds, surrounded by other patients with the curtain screens drawn, to know that that is not dignified and that where possible, we must improve services and access to hospice care.

I pay tribute to the Teenage Cancer Trust—we often think of cancer as an illness that affects older people, but young people are also diagnosed with cancer—which does fantastic work. Vanessa Todd in my constituency is an absolute advocate for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Although GPs may not expect a young person to come with such symptoms, which are perhaps not easily identifiable, it is something that we can increase awareness of to make sure that diagnosis is very quick and timely for young people to improve their prognosis.

I thank everybody and, again, I thank the all-party group. It has been a privilege to open the debate for the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay, who leads the group on these issues so well.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

Before I call the next speaker, I say to hon. Members that I am going to try to continue my experiment of seeing whether people will self-regulate and behave in a decent, honourable fashion. That means taking eight to nine minutes, and not 13, 14 or 15 minutes. I trust the well experienced Mr David Tredinnick to do so first.

Disabled People and Economic Growth

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Lisa Cameron

Thursday 22nd February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dr Cameron]

I thank all Members, from across the House, who have taken part in this extremely important debate. We have done it justice, but this is just a starting point for the work ahead that we take together. I am extremely keen that people become Disability Confident employers. I encourage MPs to do that and to hold Disability Confident events in their constituencies to encourage local employers. I pay particular tribute to Mr Speaker, who has created an internship scheme, to run over the next five years, for people with disabilities to come and work in Parliament with MPs. It is extremely important that Parliament is a role model that leads the way and that we do not just talk the talk but walk the walk. He is a shining example in that regard. We are, as we have heard today, in politics to make a difference to enable. Together we can create the inclusive society that everyone deserves.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House recognises the potential talent pool within the disabled community; notes that there will be an employment gap after the UK leaves the EU and that there is ample opportunity to include disabled workers in economic growth; calls on the Government to act immediately on its commitment to get one million more disabled people into employment by 2027; and further calls on the Government to increase awareness within the business community of the benefits of employing an inclusive workforce.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

We now come to the Back-Bench debate on cancer strategy. Before we begin, I remind hon. Members—some of the offenders have just left the Chamber—that we do not have unlimited time in this place. I did not impose a time limit in the last debate because I thought it would run naturally to finish about 15 minutes ago. It did not; it overran. The mover of the motion, all three Front-Bench speakers and two other Members significantly exceeded the time they ought to have taken. I was hoping that in a good-natured debate we might have some self-regulation, but that did not happen. In the next debate, therefore, I may have to impose time limits. Members in the next debate will have less time to speak because their colleagues in the last debate took longer than they ought to have. I will leave it to hon. Members—some of the offenders have left the Chamber, but I will find them later—to act honourably. As I call Dr Lisa Cameron, who is working very hard this afternoon, to move the next motion, I hope that she will do so in 15 minutes or less.

Autism Community: Mental Health and Suicide

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Lisa Cameron

Thursday 30th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Dr Cameron]

This has been a wonderful debate. It has been truly cross-party and collegiate, and we must work together to improve the lives of people across the autistic spectrum and the services that we provide for them. This is about lifespan, so it involves a number of services for all aspects of the lifespan. It is also about streamlining the transfer from child to adult services. This is a multi-departmental matter, and I urge the Minister to speak to other Departments to ensure that the autism strategy is embedded in all their policies. As has been said, we need more early diagnosis, awareness and support in schools, and treatments that can be adapted. There is also vital research to be done, and we could be world leaders in that regard. That is a key aspiration that we should endeavour to meet. People with autism need support from school to the workplace, and carers and families also need support. We also desperately need to provide crisis services. Parliament must be inclusive, and I am keen to hear more about what we can do as individual MPs, both in our surgeries and through Parliament, to take these issues forward. We need to make our surgeries autism-friendly places, to ensure that we are role models in service development.

The Minister has many issues to take forward, and I am thankful for her response. I am glad that her door is open, because I might be coming through it on numerous occasions. I am also keen to visit the projects that she has described, which are going to pave the way for progress. It is vital that we take this forward and save lives. Let us work together and do this right across the United Kingdom. Finally, I would like to wish everyone a happy St Andrew’s day.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

Happy St Andrew’s day.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the support available for autistic people experiencing mental health problems; calls on the Government to ensure that the NICE-recommended indicator for autism in GP registers is included in the Quality and Outcomes Framework; and further calls on the Government to ensure NHS England works closely with the autism community to develop effective and research-based mental health pathways.

Mental Health (Armed Forces Veterans)

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Lisa Cameron

Wednesday 14th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Dr Cameron]

I do indeed support awareness month, and I very much like the hon. Gentleman’s wee badge.

To conclude, veterans are individuals who would have put their lives on the line for their country. The least we can do is prioritise their care and treatment to support them in their recovery. I welcome the Prime Minister’s comments today regarding prioritisation of this issue, and I welcome the Minister’s reply.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

I call the Minister, Alistair Burt.