Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Mike Hill

Wednesday 19th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I recognise the important role played by hospices generally, but by children’s hospices in particular. I have been pleased to be involved in the establishment of the Alexander Devine hospice in my constituency, which was set up after a family tragically lost their son Alexander.

It is important for us to ensure that people have the support that they need as they see a child approaching the end of their life. We have made children’s palliative and end-of-life care a priority in the NHS long-term plan, and over the next five years the NHS will be match funding clinical commissioning groups that commit themselves to increasing investment in local children’s palliative and end-of-life care services by up to £7 million. That will increase the support to a total of £25 million a year by 2023-24. Those children and their families deserve the very best care, and I commend all who are working in the hospice movement, because they provide wonderful end-of-life care for children and adults.

[Mike Hill (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

Q10. Hartlepool is a trial area for universal credit, and we now have seven food banks. Is that a legacy the Prime Minister can be proud of?

[The Prime Minister]

No one wants to see someone feeling the need to go to a food bank, but what universal credit does is ensure that people are helped into work, and that work pays. As they earn more, they are able to keep more of those earnings. Work is the best route out of poverty, and universal credit is working to ensure that people get into work and can provide for themselves and their families.

Leaving the EU

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Mike Hill

Monday 26th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First, may I apologise to the House because I think I just made a reference, as I did earlier, to the Budget being in November, and in fact it was in October? My hon. Friend is absolutely right; everybody needs to look at what is going to deliver on the vote of the British people. Saying to the British people, as some people who talk about a second referendum are, in a sense, doing, “You got the answer wrong. You’ve got to think again,” is not what we should be doing. Some 80% of the votes cast at the last general election were for parties that stood on manifesto commitments to deliver on the vote of the British people and deliver Brexit, and we should do just that.

[Mike Hill (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

Given everything that has been said today, is the right hon. Lady, like her predecessor, still not for turning?

[The Prime Minister]

I believe this is a good deal, and I continue to believe it is a good deal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Mike Hill

Wednesday 13th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am happy to join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the work that has been undertaken by University Hospitals Birmingham in support of Heart of England foundation trust. We do want to see strong management across the national health service. I understand there are a number of practical and financial issues still to resolve in this, and I would encourage all of those who are involved to make progress on this important matter, but I congratulate those NHS staff who have seen that improvement and worked hard to ensure that improvement takes place.

[Mike Hill (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

Q3. Does the Prime Minister agree that the resignation of Lord Kerslake really does put the Government on a final warning about NHS problems? Does she agree that, in my constituency, it is disgraceful that, despite us having a perfectly good hospital, people have to travel at least 15 miles to get to the nearest A&E?

[The Prime Minister]

I think that Lord Kerslake made the right decision in stepping down as chairman of King’s College Hospital. I am not surprised that the Labour party is interested in this, given, of course, that the noble Lord Kerslake is a key adviser to the Labour party. The hon. Gentleman might care to look at what NHS Improvement said about King’s College Hospital:

“The financial situation at King’s has deteriorated very seriously over recent months and we have now placed the trust in special measures to maximise the amount of scrutiny and support that it receives…It is not acceptable for individual organisations to run up such significant deficits when the majority of the sector is working extremely hard to hit their financial plans, and in many cases have made real progress.”

It called the situation

“the worst in the NHS”.

Perhaps it is no surprise that the noble Lord Kerslake, I understand, is advising the Labour party on matters of debt and deficit.