Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Gareth Thomas

Tuesday 21st October 2014 Commons Chamber

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

Of the 21.7 million attendances at all A and E departments in England in 2013-14, 939,000 were not seen and treated within four hours, meaning that 95.7%—0.7% above the national target—were. I am pleased to inform the House that hospitals will have an extra 260 A and E doctors this winter, bringing emergency medics in the NHS to a record high.

[Mr Thomas]

The reason for the big rise in A and E admissions in my area is the weekday closure of the hugely popular Alexandra Avenue polyclinic. Will the Secretary of State look again at Harrow’s NHS funding formula to determine whether that popular service could be reopened?

[Mr Hunt]

I am happy to look at the point that the hon. Gentleman raises. I have visited the Northwick Park A and E department, where the clinicians on the front line are working incredibly hard. As he knows, the funding formula is decided independently—at arm’s length from politicians—but we have ensured that everyone gets a real-terms rise.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Gareth Thomas

Monday 21st June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)]

8. What steps he is taking to maximise the sporting legacy of the London 2012 Olympics.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

We have restored lottery funding to 20% of good causes money for sport, which will be of enormous benefit to community sports projects and the encouragement of competitive sport in schools.

[Mr Thomas]

Given that the Olympic stadium was built in substantial part with the taxes of Londoners, can the Secretary of State assure me that as part of negotiations with any London premiership team over its future use, as a key part of the sporting legacy of the Olympics, he will ensure that a representative of the football supporters trust will be on the board of any such team using the stadium in the future?

[Mr Hunt]

We are strongly in favour of supporters’ trusts being set up and represented on the boards of football teams, and of the presence of a football element in the legacy of the 2012 stadium. Most of all, however, we want to ensure that there is a sporting legacy that touches every school in the country, whether or not it is within travelling distance of the big Olympic venues.