Government Policy on Health

Lord Kamall Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My Lords, the Minister will know that there have been concerns over Labour’s appointment of donors and party apparatchiks with little or no experience to senior Civil Service positions, which have led the Civil Service regulator to launch a review into Labour appointments.

I accept that this case is different. We understand that the Secretary of State is new to the role and inexperienced. We also know that Alan Milburn brings a huge wealth of experience in healthcare both in government and from personal consultancy, advising one of the largest providers of residential care for older people. I have also seen reports that he is a senior adviser on health for a major consultancy firm. I want to be clear, this is valuable experience and I applaud the Government for seeking such experience in the same way that noble Lords welcomed the appointment of the noble Lord, Lord Robertson, to review defence capabilities.

However, I am sure the Minister will also recognise the issue of real or perceived conflicts of interest—something that Labour Peers rightly questioned Ministers on when we were in government. So, in that spirit, I will ask the Minister a few questions about how the Government can look at potential perceived conflicts of interest and how they will be managed. Given Mr Milburn’s consultancy interests, can the Minister tell us what his formal role is? Is it a paid role and, if so, how much does he earn? Which meetings does he attend? Does he attend meetings without Ministers being present? Are notes taken for these meetings? How do the department and the Government ensure that he does not have access to commercially sensitive documents that could be of interest to his clients?

If the Minister cannot answer all these questions, I ask her to write to me and other noble Lords with answers and place a copy in the Library. Let me be clear, I completely understand why the Secretary of State appointed Mr Milburn—due to his experience in government and the private sector. It is valuable experience, from which a new Government could learn. I hope the Minister will accept my questions in the spirit of ensuring that the conflicts of interest are managed and there is real accountability, so that the Government can get the best out of Mr Milburn in his new role.

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

Before the Minister responds, I make it clear that these should be questions, not speeches.

NHS Blood and Transplant Service: Blood Stocks

Lord Kamall Excerpts

Tuesday 30th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I assure the noble Lord that it is indeed a temporary problem. However, it is likely the alert will go on for a little while yet, not least because, as I mentioned, we can benefit from keeping it in place. I absolutely associate myself with the assessment that it is so much better to be self-sufficient within the United Kingdom, and that will be of great benefit. It is important to realise that this is a situation that we must live with but not be at the mercy of. I also assure the noble Lord and the House that this is because of external factors and not internal factors to do with the service, as was the case in 2022.

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, for raising this important issue and for his supplementary question. I also thank the Minister for her answers so far. Can she tell your Lordships whether the department has found an obvious reason why these stocks were low, and whether it was a confluence of factors or an unusual occurrence? I was speaking to a noble Lord who is an existing blood donor; he told me that when he read about the shortage he had not yet been contacted. What have the Government and the NHS learned from this experience about what does and does not work, both in the UK and in other countries, when it comes to encouraging the public to come forward to donate blood to avoid future shortages?

Black, Asian and Minority-Ethnic Women: Maternal Mortality Rates

Lord Kamall Excerpts

Monday 29th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I will indeed be very pleased to report back to your Lordships’ House on this matter. It is something that greatly concerns me, because it cannot be acceptable that women go into childbirth, which should be a happy and safe occasion, and perhaps come away with trauma, and in some cases families experience death as well. We cannot have a situation like that. I have been very moved by the stories I have heard and will commit to working to put improvements in place, and to sharing that with noble Lords.

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome the Minister to her place. I look forward to working constructively with her as we did when our roles were reversed. Has she read the report by Sands, the baby loss charity? It gave examples of Asian parents being dismissed as either being too anxious or exaggerating their claims, while black parents were stereotyped as feisty or dramatic by some NHS staff. When I was a Minister, a young female civil servant told me about her friend, a young Afro-Caribbean lady whose baby died during birth. When she tried to get the records for what happened that evening, she was told that they had somehow magically disappeared. She was being gaslighted. We know that the majority of NHS staff are highly dedicated but, when we hear stories such as this, what does the Minister believe should be done to tackle the culture of cover-up and gaslighting by that small minority of NHS staff?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for his kind remarks; I am very pleased to see him again across the Dispatch Box. The duty of candour is extremely important in all this. Racism in this area is not just towards mothers and families; as the noble Lord said, it is also towards staff. Clearly, we need to tackle this for both patients and staff. The patient’s voice is key. Even at this early stage, it is quite clear to me that women, and people of black, Asian and minority-ethnic heritage, are not being listened to. We will bring forward plans to put this right. As part of the report to which I referred earlier, I will be glad to update the House in this regard.