Access to Orkambi

Debate between Lord Austin of Dudley and Mike Penning

Tuesday 17th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Ian Austin]

I am very grateful. This is a really frustrating process, and the Government have to find a way of bringing it to a conclusion. I agree that NHS England and Vertex have to get back into negotiations, which should not stop until this is resolved. Does my hon. Friend agree that it might be an idea for the Secretary of State to get Sir Simon Stevens and Jeff Leiden, the chief executive of Vertex, in a room—

[Sir Mike Penning]

And lock the door.

[Ian Austin]

The right hon. Gentleman could lock the door, but first he has to get them in there so that negotiations resume and are not concluded until they resolve this issue, because it really does have to be sorted out.

On that point, does my hon. Friend agree that it was worrying to read the word “final” in NHS England’s response to Vertex yesterday? It cannot be final. I really hope the Minister is listening to this. [Interruption.] The word “final” was in there. [Interruption.] Well, he is the Minister. The word “final” cannot be used until it is finally resolved. That is when it will be final.

 Orkambi and Cystic Fibrosis

Debate between Lord Austin of Dudley and Mike Penning

Monday 19th March 2018 Westminster Hall

[Sir Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to take part in this debate. Like everybody in this room, I have constituents who suffer from this terrible genetic disease. We live in a society where sometimes those who shout loudest get heard more, but interestingly, it is not possible for those who suffer from this terrible disease and their families and loved-ones to have orchestrated the petition. Members of the general public who have no contact with someone who has CF have signed it and decided that the process is fundamentally unfair. Like the hon. Member for Dudley South—

[Ian Austin]

North.

[Sir Mike Penning]

My apologies—don’t forget I am a southerner.

The hon. Member for Dudley North (Ian Austin) and I had a good meeting at the roundtable. All of us learned things. For colleagues who were not there, there are some good notes to come around.

We thought we would not have a decision by tonight from NHS England on the Vertex proposals—it usually takes much longer—so I was very disappointed when I saw not only what NHS England put out, but the press release from Vertex. As the hon. Gentleman said, it is not so much because the Department, NICE or the companies are bad—our constituents could not have any of their drugs without the R&D done by those companies. NICE is not capable, under its guidelines, of properly analysing the benefits of the drug, or the other drugs coming down the line. The Republic of Ireland must have sat in exactly the same position that we are now in. It had difficult negotiations with Vertex about a plan for not just one or two drugs, but the drugs coming down the line.

Let us not beat about the bush: this drug is not a cure. It helps some people. At the end of the day, they will either have a transplant or their lungs will give way. It is wonderful that we will have an opt-out transplant system. People are dying in this country today because the organs are being wasted. Lung transplants are vitally important. We should all campaign in our constituencies to give people the confidence to tell their loved-ones what they want done with their organs, rather than just relying on the legislation. At the end of the day, to help people today and future sufferers of this terrible disease—we know they are coming, because it is genetically in the system—we need not only drugs that slow it down and stop the lungs filling with fluid, but to get a cure. I hope we get to that position in my lifetime. Those of us who have been in the House for some time will remember taking the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 through. It was very controversial when we started using that sort of technology, research and work, but I am pleased that we passed that Act because many people are around today who have better lives and who, without us using that technology, would have been very worried.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully) said, this is not about individuals. When an individual gets CF, the whole family and all their loved ones get it. If the family is not there, what happens? The NHS and social services. Several colleagues have asked about the overall cost. If we do not give people these drugs—not just this one, but the others coming down the pipeline—the cost to the NHS is greater. If we take away the moral and ethical position that we have something that will improve and extend someone’s life and look just at what NICE looks at—the cost implications—it is plainly obvious that we need to have a better system for NICE to assess the costs.

My hon. Friend called it “physiotherapy”, but someone who suffers with CF has to have a pummelling. People have to do an amazing thing to their loved ones to get the fluid out their lungs and to stop them drowning internally. Instead of saying that drug companies are bad and NICE is good, we need to bang some heads. Frankly, the only people within Government who will do that are the Ministers. That was said to me time and again when I was a Minister. Time and again I tried, and time and again I got pushed back, but I kept going.

It is obvious—to echo what I said at the start of my comments—that those who shout the loudest should not always win. In this case, we need to shout for them. That is what we were sent here for, and that is what we should do today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Austin of Dudley and Mike Penning

Monday 13th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mike Penning]

With the Policing and Crime Bill that is going through the House at the moment, we intend to instil that confidence in the IPCC not just by changing its name, but by strengthening its role. It is absolutely imperative that the public have confidence in the police, as the vast majority of them do a fantastic job.

[Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)]

Will these reforms help solve unsolved crimes? Nobody who grew up in Dudley will forget the shocking murder of 13-year-old paperboy Carl Bridgewater, and no one who watched last night’s documentary on the case will believe that the new evidence it revealed should not be looked at. Will the Minister and the Home Secretary ask the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to review the new evidence to see whether this case can finally be solved and whoever was responsible be brought to justice?

[Mike Penning]

No one will forget that terrible case, no matter how long ago it was, and our thoughts are still with the parents. It is not the role of the IPCC to instruct the police how to investigate, but we will look at the case and at the ongoing evidence. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman and I could meet to discuss it further.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Austin of Dudley and Mike Penning

Monday 17th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)]

T5. Magistrates in Dudley tell me that as a result of the reduction in the number of police officers people accused of quite serious crimes such as burglary, assault, domestic violence and even rape are no longer being taken to court in the black country. The number of cases taken to court by the police is down by a third. Why do the Government not understand that my constituents want to see police on the streets, offenders in court and criminals in jail?

[The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Mike Penning)]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will be pleased to know that there are now more police on the streets, not in back rooms. In my Ministry of Justice role, we have looked very carefully at cautions, which we feel were being used inappropriately. There are now pilots, and there will be a deferred prosecution, and if people do not abide by that, they will be in court. It is for the Crown Prosecution Service, not politicians, to decide who goes to court and who does not.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Austin of Dudley and Mike Penning

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mike Penning]

I am aware of this case, but at the time of the offences, this man was serving in the armed forces on a military base abroad, and it is right and proper that such a case be held in a military court.

[Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)]

T9. Official figures show that courts in the black country spend more than half their time dealing with people already convicted on 10 occasions. I think that decent, law-abiding people in Dudley will be appalled at that and will want a zero-tolerance approach adopted so that these people can be locked up and kept off the streets. At the same time as the courts are full of such people, magistrates in Dudley tell me that some offenders, including those accused of assault, robbery, domestic violence and even sexual assault and rape, are being dealt with by these so-called out-of-court disposals.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Austin of Dudley and Mike Penning

Monday 14th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)]

Every single week, constituents tell me that Atos claims that it has not received the forms that they have completed. Last week, a young disabled constituent told me that that had happened on several occasions, leaving him penniless for weeks at a time. Why can the Secretary of State not sort this shambles out?

[Mike Penning]

The personal circumstances that the hon. Gentleman has described are completely unacceptable. If he gives me the details of the case, I will look at it. The performance of Atos is ever so important and it was an issue for the previous Administration. We are working on it, but those circumstances are not acceptable and I will look at the matter.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Austin of Dudley and Mike Penning

Thursday 19th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mike Penning]

Utility companies have the powers to carry out roadworks, but it is very important that they work with local authorities and finish on time. We intend to increase the fine for not finishing on time to £5,000 a day for the first three days, and to £10,000 a day for every day thereafter. I fully understand my hon. Friend’s frustration about works being briefly started and then stopped before being resumed again a few days later. We need to address that.

[Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Lab)]

Is not the best way to tackle congestion both at roadworks and everywhere else simply to get more people on their bikes? As a result of The Times campaign, we now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to boost cycling in Britain. There is now media support, cross-party support in this House and huge public support. Instead of just being given a list of all the measures on cycling that the Government are taking, we need fresh thinking and new ideas, and investment shifted to cycling from other areas of transport spending. We must take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to boost cycling in Britain.