Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Stephen Mosley

Thursday 5th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman will know that registration of notice of manorial rights at the Land Registry is not related to rights relating to shale gas or oil. The Petroleum Act 1988 vests all rights to the nation’s petroleum resources in the Crown. Manorial rights have a distinct legal history, but can be legitimately bought and sold in the same way as other property rights. The registration of notice of manorial rights records existing rights so that people know they exist; it does not create new rights although it does, of course, help prospective buyers avoid what would otherwise be hidden rights. The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that property owners who were unaware of existing mining rights when the notices arrived may have been alarmed by that, but I recommend they obtain legal advice, which should reassure them. If Members of the House have evidence of problems, my hon. Friends at the Ministry of Justice will be happy to help.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the effectiveness of the shadow Chancellor? After all, he claimed we are entering a triple-dip recession, that we should model our economy on that of France, and that we can reduce debt by borrowing more.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. It was in fact not just the shadow Chancellor but the Leader of the Opposition who, as I recall, said that what President Hollande is going to do for France, Labour would do for Britain. We are looking forward to a demonstration of the increasingly disappearing shadow Chancellor and his plan B.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Stephen Mosley

Thursday 16th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

May we have a debate on community football clubs? That would allow me to highlight the success of Chester football club, which since being resurrected as a community-owned club in 2010 has won three successive league titles, regularly attracts over 3,000 fans to home games, has recently been promoted to the Blue Square premier league, and we hope will march on into the Football League next year.

[Mr Lansley]

I am glad my hon. Friend has asked that question, as it gives us an opportunity to celebrate the success of Chester FC and all the other supporter-owned or part supporter-owned clubs, such as Portsmouth, Brentford and Exeter City. That shows the loyalty and stability that can be brought to clubs by that happening. In particular, however, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Chester once again.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Stephen Mosley

Thursday 14th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I know David Green, of course, and I suspect that he would not subscribe to the Labour party’s view of how these things should be tackled. None the less, we are determined to support small and medium-sized enterprises. We will push to ensure that small businesses can get access to the finance they need, as we did through Project Merlin, and we are supporting that through the funding for lending scheme and the finance guarantees. The tax measures that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has put in place, including an exceptional tenfold increase in investment allowances, will support that. If the hon. Gentleman were at the conference being held by my old friends at the British Chambers of Commerce over the road today—I know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills will be there—he would hear their ideas. I know that many of them support what the Government are doing, including not only the deficit reduction but our infrastructure support and the business bank being set up by my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

I know that my right hon. Friend has enjoyed many visits to the welcoming, historic and vibrant city of Chester. May we have a debate that will allow us to champion Chester as a stand-out candidate for city of culture in 2017?

[Mr Lansley]

I am delighted to hear my hon. Friend be the first in this House to make a bid in business questions for city of culture status on behalf of his constituents. He is right to say that I have enjoyed visits to Chester many times and I look forward to more. Chester has a fantastic history and a vibrant artistic and cultural life, both now and in the future. I look forward to those visits, and perhaps we will share some of that entertainment when we are there.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Stephen Mosley

Thursday 7th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman shares my belief that if we are to be competent and create wealth, we must be prepared to understand that we do so in a global marketplace and there are capital and investment consequences from which we will benefit. But he should not confuse that with a belief that competition and rigorous competition authorities are essential to make that happen. I will take no lessons in relation to that because as a Back Bencher I wrote, together with the noble Lord Puttnam, the provisions that were put into the Communications Bill to apply a public interest test to media mergers.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

May we have a statement on the repeated Spanish military incursions into British waters off Gibraltar, and an opportunity for us to pass on our thoughts to the Government on how robust the British response should be?

[Mr Lansley]

I will of course be glad to see if there is anything further that needs to be said to my hon. Friend in relation to these matters. I answered questions in the latter part of November, I believe, relating to Spanish incursions and made it very clear that we would not allow those to impinge in any way on the integrity of the position of Gibraltar.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Stephen Mosley

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is right that the House of Commons Commission and the House Committee in the other place considered the internal study group report. In this House, we took the clear view that we know our responsibilities are to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of the business of this House while protecting a building that is vital, historically and otherwise, and protecting value for money. We have asked collectively for further challenging work to be done on those options. Part of that challenge will be to ensure that the House of Commons Commission and the House Committee know well and fully the views of members of both Houses about the options.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

Last year my constituent Rebecca Coriam went missing from a Bahamian-registered Disney cruise ship off the coast of Mexico. The Bahamas authorities have apparently conducted an investigation and provided a summary to Cheshire police but, despite assurances given to me personally by the high commissioner, they have not granted the police permission to release it to Rebecca’s family. May we have a debate on the appalling record of some Governments to investigate thoroughly and openly incidents on ships flying flags of convenience?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to pursue the interests of his constituents as fully and rigorously as he can. As the ship in question was off the Mexican coast, Foreign and Commonwealth Office consular staff have been actively pursuing the initial police report from the Mexican authorities and, as he knows, are in contact with the family, Cheshire police and relevant local authorities. He also raises the issue of ships flying flags of convenience, and I will raise that with colleagues at the Department for Transport and ask them to get in touch with him about it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lansley and Stephen Mosley

Tuesday 17th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

1. What assessment he has made of the effect on patients of clinically led commissioning.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

Clinical leadership in the design of services for patients will deliver better outcomes and improve patient experience of care. In the last year, for example, NHS Dorset clinical commissioning group has worked to improve outcomes in cardiology, dermatology and muscular-skeletal services, and NHS Nene CCG has admitted more than 3,000 patients on to a proactive care scheme, which I have had the privilege of seeing for myself, to identify and reduce the risks of people needing an emergency admission. That is one reason why the number of emergency admissions to hospital in the NHS fell by 1%.

[Stephen Mosley]

The Secretary of State will be aware of Chester’s location on the border with Wales and of the issues with cross-border health care commissioning. In order to ensure that there will be no financial shortfall for the West Cheshire CCG in relation to the treatment of patients who are registered with general practitioners in Wales but who receive treatment in England, will he confirm that the cross-border commissioning funding protocol between England and Wales will be fully implemented?

[Mr Lansley]

I would be grateful if my hon. Friend could convey my best wishes to the Countess of Chester hospital, which I visited just before Christmas, and my appreciation of the work of the West Cheshire CCG. I can confirm that discussions between officials in the Welsh Government, my Department and the NHS Commissioning Board are under way to extend and renew the protocol for cross-border commissioning for 2013-14 and beyond.

Health and Social Care Bill

Debate between Lord Lansley and Stephen Mosley

Tuesday 28th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, because there are a number of ways in which I think this issue will be important. First, for the first time, how we improve patient safety will be published in a consistent way, as one of the five domains of the outcomes framework. Secondly, that will be demonstrated by achievement—for example, we have the lowest ever levels of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and clostridium difficile infection. Thirdly, the NHS Commissioning Board, which will be established under the legislation, will take national responsibility for the delivery of patient safety, linking it directly to commissioning, whereas in the past the National Patient Safety Agency was an organisation on its own and was not directly linked to the exercise of commissioning responsibility.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

In Chester, we are seeing the effects of tens of thousands of patients fleeing the NHS in Wales to seek better treatment in England. Will my right hon. Friend reassure my constituents that there is nothing in the Bill that will cause the English NHS to be as bad as what we see over the border in north Wales?

[Mr Lansley]

Not only are the Labour Government in Wales cutting the budget of the NHS, where we are increasing it, but the situation is as my hon. Friend describes, with 91.6% of patients in England being seen and treated within 18 weeks, whereas in Wales the comparable figure is just 68%.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lansley and Stephen Mosley

Tuesday 8th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

My responsibility is to lead the NHS in delivering improved health outcomes in England, to lead a public health service that improves the health of the nation and reduces health inequalities and to lead the reform of adult social care, which supports and protects vulnerable people.

[Stephen Mosley]

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, with a quarter of a million men currently affected and one man dying every hour. This month is prostate cancer awareness month. What action is my right hon. Friend taking to help raise awareness of prostate cancer?

[Mr Lansley]

As the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Burstow), has set out in previous answers, our cancer outcome strategy commits more than £450 million a year over the spending review period to achieving earlier diagnosis of cancer, including access for GPs in the community to diagnostic tests such as non-obstetric ultrasound. At the heart of the strategy is the need to improve awareness and early diagnosis of all cancers, and we are working with the prostate cancer advisory group to help men who do not have symptoms to make decisions about whether to have a prostate-specific antigen test.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lansley and Stephen Mosley

Tuesday 25th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I entirely understand my hon. Friend’s point. The PCT’s role is to support the development of consortia, not inhibit it. The operating framework that was published last month sets out the range of support that PCTs should be offering emerging consortia. Milton Keynes PCT has confirmed that it will actively support Premier MK, one of two consortia in the area, with its application to become a pathfinder, and that it is actively working with another consortium in the Milton Keynes area.

[Stephen Mosley]

Pathfinder consortia will play a crucial role in improving the NHS, so it is imperative that any problems are sorted out as quickly as possible. How does my right hon. Friend propose to help any pathfinder consortium that finds itself in the unfortunate position of failing to deliver the results expected of it?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. He will recall that before the election, the Select Committee on Health severely criticised the way in which primary care trusts were going about commissioning. We are looking to consortia because they are clinically led and responsive to patients in designing far better clinical services, and they will have considerable support in doing so. Over the next two years, we will enable them to develop support arrangements, whether through existing primary care trust teams, local authorities, the NHS commissioning board, or a range of voluntary and independent sector organisations.