Patient Safety Commissioner

Debate between Lord Alton of Liverpool and Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

Thursday 2nd December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)]

I think that that will all become obvious when we have set out exactly how this is going to work. The fact that the commissioner has to report to Parliament annually is one way. How patients themselves will get in touch with the commissioner will be laid out in the regulations when that has all been sorted out.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords, the important inquiry of the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, shone a light on the consequences of the dangerous drug, Primodos. Is the Minister aware that within the last 18 months, 19 parents of children severely damaged by Primodos have died, while still worrying that their children would be left financially dependent on the state? They died in despair. What can the Minister do to ensure that others do not also die without hope, knowing that justice has not been served and that the request for redress, recommended in First Do No Harm, the report from the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, has also been refused?

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen (Con)]

It is upsetting to hear of these deaths, and we offer our deepest sympathy, obviously, to the children and families. Our priority remains improving the future safety of all medicines and devices. This means we will continue to focus our work on direct support for future safety, and on improving how the system listens to patients and supports and monitors safety and clinical practice in respect of medicines and devices. This is very much what the patient safety commissioner will be concentrating on.

Gambling: Fixed-odds Betting Terminals

Debate between Lord Alton of Liverpool and Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

Thursday 22nd March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

We must remember that the Gambling Commission said that it wanted it to be £30 or below. We are looking at all the responses, and I cannot stand here and say what level we will make it. It is not set in stone that it is going to be £30; it might be much lower than that. We have to wait until we have taken all relevant decisions and looked at all the responses before we come to a final decision.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords, does the noble Baroness recall that, in the debate in your Lordships’ House initiated by the noble Lord, Lord Browne, right across the House there was agreement that the stake should be at around £2, not 15 times higher, as recommended by the Gambling Commission? Will the Minister confirm that half of the £1.8 billion revenue last year came from these fixed-odds machines and that the Gambling Commission found that last year 43% of users were from problem or high-risk households, many along the lines that were just described by the noble Lord?

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

Yes, I agree with the noble Lord. I feel that I am not being very helpful, because I cannot really give any definite answers because we have not come to a decision yet. As I said earlier, we are taking all the responses into account. We have had 7,000 responses to the review, and we are looking at them. The department takes this issue very seriously, and we will come out with a decision soon.

Parliament and Central Government: Relocation

Debate between Lord Alton of Liverpool and Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

Tuesday 29th November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

The second part of the noble Lord’s question was about the northern powerhouse. The northern powerhouse is absolutely going ahead and is very important to this Government, but it is about private sector growth, not public sector growth.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords, although the people of Dunsop Bridge, which is at the geographical centre of the country in Lancashire, might be perturbed to find that the capital would be moved to that part of the country, nevertheless is the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, not making a good point? Does the Minister not agree with the maxim of Benjamin Disraeli that centralisation is the death blow of democracy, and that in the rust-belt towns and cities of the north of England, where there is considerable disaffection, it is crucial to ensure more subsidiarity, not least to the elected mayors and councils?

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

That is why we have taken great care to make sure that the Civil Service is placed in various hubs all round this country, including the north. It is also why in central London we have moved from having 181 offices in 2010 to only 54 now, which has contributed £2.8 billion in workforce savings. We are supporting departments in moving to smarter working and encouraging them to have regional hubs outside central London.