Oral Answers to Questions

Andrea Leadsom Excerpts

Tuesday 5th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

5. What steps she is taking to help reduce vaping by young people.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dame Andrea Leadsom)]

The hon. Lady raises such an important question on a subject that is dear to both our hearts. We all know it is an offence to sell vapes to children under 18, yet one in five children tried a vape in 2023 alone and the number trying vapes has tripled in the last three years. We know the industry is targeting children, quite cynically. That is unacceptable. Our tobacco and vapes Bill will restrict the appeal and availability of vapes to children, and we are consulting on that right now.

[Helen Hayes]

As the Minister rightly said, under-age vaping has increased by 50% in just the past three years. Ministers had the chance to stop this trend two years ago, during the passage of the Health and Care Act 2022, when Labour tabled an amendment to prohibit branding that appeals to children, but Ministers would not support it and Conservative Members voted it down. Does the Minister regret the fact that the Government did not act sooner? When will the planned new legislation be brought to the House? The consultation is welcome, but there is consensus on the issue and action is urgently needed.

[Dame Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady knows full well that making decisions that change legislation requires consultation. That is both the convention and the requirement. The Government have brought forward the consultation as soon as possible. It will close tomorrow and we will introduce legislation as soon as possible in the new year. I think the hon. Lady will find that that legislation really will tackle the problem of the cynical targeting of children.

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

6. What steps she is taking to improve patient access to primary care.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dame Andrea Leadsom)]

The hon. Gentleman will be pleased to know that, with huge thanks to all the superb GPs and health teams, our manifesto commitment for 50 million more general practice appointments a year compared with 2019 has now been delivered. Our primary care recovery plan is addressing access challenges by tackling the 8 am rush for appointments, cutting bureaucracy for GPs and, of course, expanding community pharmacy services.

[Mohammad Yasin]

I thank the Minister for her answer, but let me correct her. Since 2014, the number of GP practices in Bedford and Kempston has decreased from 18 to 11; there are fewer doctors, while the patient list has increased; and the number of patients per qualified GP now stands at 2,812, which is a rise of 60%. Will the Minister apologise to GPs and to my constituents, who face a daily struggle to access a GP because her Government have decimated NHS primary care services?

[Dame Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that 50 million more appointments between 2019 and now is a fantastic increase. There are just under 4,000 new GPs since 2019, and the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that through the post-covid recovery plan to improve access we have said to GP practices that they should provide urgent appointments on the same day and for every patient within two weeks. That has significantly improved access for patients, and GP appointments are now being hugely supported by access to community first, our flagship programme to improve healthcare throughout the country.

[Kelly Tolhurst (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

I am incredibly grateful for the significant increase in the number of GP appointments offered to residents in my constituency. However, last week Aspire announced that it wishes to close the Lower Stoke surgery on the Hoo peninsula, where the council proposes to build thousands of homes. Will my right hon. Friend meet me to discuss how I can work further with the integrated care board? I have been trying over a number of years now to work with the ICB so that it can come up with a plan for how it will deliver much-needed services, so I would be very grateful for the Minister’s help.

[Dame Andrea Leadsom]

I am of course always delighted to meet my hon. Friend to talk about issues in her constituency. I reiterate that 50 million more GP appointments is brilliant news. Our flagship Pharmacy First programme will mean that more low-level infections and problems—such as sinusitis, oral contraception, impetigo and various other conditions—can be treated by community pharmacists at great convenience to patients, and it will expand GPs’ ability to deal with more complex problems. All these things are alleviating the pressures on primary care and are very good news right across the country.

[Mrs Paulette Hamilton (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

A primary care walk-in facility at Warren Farm in my constituency faces closure due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. The proposal to close the service will mean that services are relocated away from residents who need them. What is the Minister doing to fund the investigation and removal of RAAC in health facilities while making sure that communities can still access the healthcare that they so desperately need?

[Dame Andrea Leadsom]

I am incredibly sympathetic to the hon. Lady’s constituents. The issue of RAAC is one that the Government are determined to resolve. There has been a £698 million programme of new funding to eradicate RAAC from the healthcare system, and that work is under way. She will appreciate that it is for integrated care boards to ensure that the provision is there for all patients but, if she should need help with contacting or negotiating with her ICB, I will be delighted to help her.

[Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay) (Con)]

A recent report highlighted the fact that in September there were 15,000 missed GP appointments in Cornwall. That is 15,000 appointments that could have gone to people desperately waiting to see their GP. It is happening month after month. Does the Minister agree that that is completely unacceptable, and can she highlight what steps the Government will take to address the issue?

[Dame Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend is right; it is appalling that people book an appointment and then do not show up. In many GP surgeries now they post the numbers of patients who do not turn up for their appointments and urge people to make the effort to cancel. As part of our access to primary care, we are creating digital tools so that GP surgeries can notify patients that they have an upcoming appointment and say, “If you don’t need it, press here and it will cancel the appointment.” Measures such as that make it easier for people to cancel, but he is quite right that it is incumbent on us all, if we book that appointment, to turn up for it.

[Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)]

7. What funding her Department is providing to help tackle health inequalities in Essex.

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[Peter Gibson (Darlington) (Con)]

T6. Some six months ago, the dentist based at Firthmoor community centre, serving 8,000 of my constituents, handed back its contract to the integrated care board. I was shocked last week to learn that the ICB has still not commenced the tender process to replace that provision. What advice can the Minister give me to ensure that our ICB is doing what it needs to do?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dame Andrea Leadsom)]

My hon. Friend has already raised this issue with me several times in the almost two weeks I have been in this post, so he is doing a great job, and he is right to raise it. Tendering exercises for NHS dentistry are bound by current procurement law, but I am happy to meet him to discuss how much faster we can go to get this sorted out.

[Amy Callaghan (East Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

Brexit broke Britain and it is continuing to wreak havoc on supply chains. The shortage of ADHD medication is now set to drag on into next spring. The shortage has seen 70% of patients forced to ration their supply of ADHD drugs, with 62% reporting an increase in suicidal thoughts. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that supplies of these vital medications are reaching pharmacies across the UK?

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[Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con)]

While I recognise that money does not grow on trees, neither do teeth. Can my right hon. Friend advise me of how quickly my North Devon constituents will be able to see the NHS dentists they so desperately need?

[Dame Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: there is a lot more that we can do. We are working at pace to see what announcements we can make on the dental recovery plan as soon as possible. In the meantime, she will be aware that, in the south-west, NHS England has commissioned additional urgent dental care appointments that people can access via NHS 111.

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

T7. Last week, the former Health Secretary admitted at the covid inquiry that sick pay across the UK is “far too low”. It is far lower than the European average and encourages people to go to work when they should be getting better. Does the Secretary of State agree with her predecessor? What discussions will she have with her Cabinet colleagues to improve the inadequate sick pay system?

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[Richard Fuller (North East Bedfordshire) (Con)]

Will the primary care Minister join me in congratulating the Conservative Mayor of Bedford borough for proposing council money to invest in primary care facilities in Great Barford, Wootton, Wixams and Kempston? Will she condemn Labour and Liberal Democrat councils for voting it down?

[Dame Andrea Leadsom]

I am glad that my hon. Friend has raised this issue. He is absolutely right; in local authorities we need mayors and integrated care boards supporting primary care and not listening to the Opposition, who talk it down the whole time. The 50 million more GP appointments is something to celebrate.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

Given that obesity now costs the NHS and our economy much more than smoking, why does the Secretary of State support a total ban on smoking but think that measures to tackle obesity are nannyish?

[Dame Andrea Leadsom]

The right hon. Gentleman raises a completely artificial barrier. Smoking is totally preventable; it is the cause of one in four cancers and 75,000 deaths. It is unbelievably appalling. Obesity is a complex area and one that the Government are focused on. We need to tackle it, but it is entirely different.

[James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)]

Would the Health Secretary please agree to meet me to discuss improved access to GPs and dentists in Bracknell Forest and Wokingham boroughs?