Off-patent Drugs Bill

Albert Owen Excerpts

Friday 6th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. Twelve medical research charities back the Bill; the NHS clinical commissioners in England back the Bill; and the British Medical Association backs the Bill. More than 10,000 members of the public have written to their MP in support of it. That is in addition to the 20,000 who wrote last year to the former Member for Cardiff North. Four of the medical royal colleges support the Bill. Forty eminent clinicians wrote in recent weeks to The Daily Telegraph to support the Bill. It has incredibly wide support across parties and among the professions.

[Albert Owen (Ynys Môn) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the Bill and pay tribute to Jonathan Evans, a thoughtful Member of Parliament who introduced a Bill in the previous Parliament. In addition to the long list of experts that my hon. Friend has quoted, I am sure he has had other lobbying letters. I had one from a multiple sclerosis sufferer. He eloquently put his case and said: “Please be there to give us hope.” Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill will give us hope for cures for the future?

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend.

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[Albert Owen (Ynys Môn) (Lab)]

It is seriously a great pleasure to follow the speeches made not only by the hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds (Jo Churchill), but by the hon. Members for Yeovil (Marcus Fysh) and for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford), who brought great expertise to the debate early on. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds) on introducing the Bill. In his short time in the House is already gaining his predecessor’s reputation of being well respected across the Chamber.

I pay tribute to the former Member for Cardiff North, Jonathan Evans, who pushed this proposal through with great vigour during the last Parliament. Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears in the Government. I hope this time that this sensible Bill, proposed by a sensible Member and spoken to by sensible Members in their speeches and interventions, will get a sensible response from the Minister. I know him to be a decent man, and he will do the decent thing.

This is the shortest speech that I will make in the House without a time limit on speeches, because the Bill is hugely important. The details discussed by the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire and others need to be dealt with in Committee. Therefore, we need today, on this Friday afternoon, in a time-limited debate, to get the Bill into that Committee, so that many Members on both sides of the House can speak with passion and knowledge to get the right result for our constituents.

I never speak in the House about personal circumstances, but my wife had a brain tumour in 2002. It was non-malignant and she has made a near-full recovery, but she had major surgery and it impacted on the life of our family, and there are many families like ours. The Bill could afford the release of certain drugs that could shrink such tumours in the future and that could help people in that position. Members of my family have had Parkinson’s, MS and other prolonged conditions. They have lobbied me today to say that the Bill provides hope for them, for their families and for the future.

So that is why I hope that the Minister is really listening to the debate and that he will assist us to get the Bill into Committee, where it deserves to be. Our constituents deserve it to be there. I support its Second Reading, and I hope that Members across the House will also do so. I await the Minister coming along with us, to make a difference to lives, to make intervention real and to make it the right thing to do.

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[The Minister for Community and Social Care (Alistair Burt)]

I thank the hon. Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds) for the way in which he introduced a Bill brought forward last year by my good friend Jonathan Evans. I thank all the right hon. and hon. Members who have made a contribution today.

The Government are in a difficult position. To take a position contrary to that of a breast cancer charity or a number of charities, and to resist action requested by a number of right hon. and hon. Members who speak with knowledge and passion, the Government must be pretty sure of their position and their actions. The hon. Gentleman has had a meeting with the Under-Secretary of State for Life Sciences, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman), the charity and others, and he knows that the Government still do not support the Bill. I will defend that position.

No sensible Government would seek to resist people having access to drugs in any way. The reason for resisting what is proposed is that the Government believe that there is another pathway. However, I am also persuaded by what I have heard today and feel sufficiently uncomfortable about the current situation to know that this is not an end of the matter. I will resist the Bill today, but my advice to colleagues in the Department of Health will certainly reflect the mood of the House and what has been said.

[Albert Owen]

I am disappointed by what we have heard so far from the Minister. If he will not listen to me, will he listen to his hon. Friends on the Government Benches who have made a plea for the Bill to go through to Committee? He talks about difficult decisions, and the Prime Minister and his colleagues have been at the Dispatch Box saying that there are difficult decisions to take. I ask the Minister to take a difficult decision by doing a U-turn and supporting the Bill.

[Alistair Burt]

The difficult decision is to stick to the position that I believe to be correct. The onus is on me to explain why, in the face of the debate, I believe the Government’s position is right, and that is what I intend to do. I want to be very upfront about the situation. I have heard the debate very loudly, from colleagues on both sides of the House, and I have heard nothing that is not deeply felt and passionate. It is not always the case that something brought forward by a charity, and indeed advocated passionately by colleagues, is the answer. The difficult decision in government is often to say, “That is not the answer; this is the way forward.” We have all been in that position. I also understand the degree of concern about this—I listened carefully to the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford)—and I want to reflect on it.

In the time available before half-past 2—and I make it very clear that I will talk until then, because that is the procedure here—[Interruption.] Well, that is what I am following. In the time available I want to explain why the Government think that what is available to people now is access to the drugs. The most important message that I want to come out of this debate is not that drugs are not available, which I think is highly dangerous, but that treatment is available. If the message that comes out of this debate is that there is only one way forward for people, then there is only one way forward for hope, as colleagues have said, and that is through the Bill. I do not believe that is correct. If it stops anyone from seeking treatment because they think that doctors cannot or will not provide off-label, I think that is wrong. That is what I will set out, because that is the evidence we have.

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[Alistair Burt]

No, I will not on this occasion, because I have taken every intervention since I stood up and I cannot do my job unless I explain what people are concerned about.

As the Government promised when similar measures were discussed in the House this time last year, we held a round-table discussion bringing together some of the key stakeholders. We looked at what action short of legislation the Government could take.

[Albert Owen]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker, the Minister said earlier that, according to the procedure of this House, he is able to speak until 2.30 pm. I think that is incorrect. Can you give me some guidance? If the Minister sat down one minute before 2.30 pm, would my hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds) be able to put the question so that we can have a vote and the democratic will of this House can be heard?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Natascha Engel)]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. That is not procedure, but it is the choice of the Front Bencher how long they speak for. He has put it on the record.

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[Madam Deputy Speaker (Natascha Engel)]

As I said previously, I am not prepared to accept that the Question be now put.

[Albert Owen]

Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Minister has definitely run out of arguments and he has indicated that he wants us to run out of time. What help and support can you give us to have a closure motion, so that Members who have stayed here today at the request of their constituents can have their names put on the record?

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Two closure motions have now been moved and twice I have said that I am not prepared to accept them. I am afraid that is just how it is.