Excess Death Trends

Andrew Selous Excerpts

Tuesday 16th January 2024 Westminster Hall

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

I am here because a number of my constituents—the people I work for; they are my employers—have asked me to be here. I congratulate the hon. Member for North West Leicestershire (Andrew Bridgen) on securing this debate. He is right to ask the questions that he did, and right that the Post Office Horizon scandal has taught us that asking hard questions is really important.

This country generally does hard science well, and I am very proud of that. I do not think it is immodest to say that we are a science and technology superpower. However, science always needs to be evidence-based. We need to be unafraid to ask difficult questions, and we must never lack the professional curiosity to challenge and interpret data. That is really important for all of us. We have had references to lockdowns. I do not think that Parliament will ever agree to lockdowns again, because the situation is completely different now. We now have testing, vaccines and medicines, so I cannot ever see a future Parliament agreeing to lockdowns again.

I am one of the 93.6% who freely chose to be vaccinated against covid. That was my choice, but I support people who did not choose to be vaccinated. However, it is worth just mentioning that figure of 93.6%, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have been vaccinated.

I will just look at the facts. Unlike the hon. Member for North West Leicestershire, I do not have a biotechnology degree, but it has been put to me that according to the Office for National Statistics, which is independent, the mortality rate in 2022 in England was significantly lower than it was in 2020, before the arrival of covid-19. Also, analysis from the ONS published in August last year shows that people who have received a covid vaccination have a lower mortality rate than those who have not been vaccinated against covid. I accept that there are other data sets, and I completely agree with him that if there is more information that should be in the public domain, it should be put there; I support him in that regard. However, I also support the independent ONS. We challenge it at our peril, because it is important that we politicians have reliable data that is genuinely independent.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Andrew Selous]

I am afraid that I will not, because I have so little time in which to speak, and I do not want to knock other speakers out.

What is the NHS doing about people dying who should not be dying? There are such deaths from cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, respiratory disease, dementia and musculoskeletal conditions, because people stayed away from their GPs or from hospitals for too long. To be fair to the Government, there is a major programme in place. We want an additional 9 million treatments and diagnostic procedures over 2023 and 2024, and 30% more elective activity. There is £8 billion extra put in by the Chancellor, and a big focus on pharmacy. However, I think there should also be a focus on diet, exercise, lifestyle and air quality, all of which are important issues.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Selous Excerpts

Thursday 30th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

It is good to be sparring with the right hon. Gentleman again from the Dispatch Box—we have both had a few ups and downs since we last went head to head. CPTPP does not compromise the UK’s right to regulate at all; it expressly preserves the rights of states to regulate proportionately, fairly and in the public interest. It is worth reminding the House that the UK has never lost an ISDS case. Such procedures actually help to protect UK investments abroad. British investments in Canada totalled £40.6 billion in 2020-21, which will be covered for the first time by these protections. As I say, if we cannot trust Canada in international affairs, who can we trust? I assure the right hon. Gentleman that the deal cannot be ratified until the legislation has been approved by Parliament and the deal has completed the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

11. What steps she is taking to help increase the number of businesses that export.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Greg Hands)]

The Government’s published export strategy focuses on addressing the challenges that UK businesses face when exporting. The Government continue to promote exporting, and to support companies through our network of international trade advisers, sector specialists, and the export support service. All our services can be accessed on great.gov.uk.

[Andrew Selous]

In my constituency I have companies such as EyeOL, Lindal Valve, Peli Biothermal, Friction Marketing, Signature Flatbreads and 198 smaller businesses, all of which export globally. The smaller businesses export through Amazon. That is fantastic, as there is evidence that businesses that export can pay their staff more, but what is the best way to get businesses that have not yet realised that the world is their marketplace exporting not just to Europe but around the whole world?

[Greg Hands]

I commend my hon. Friend for being a long-standing champion of his constituency exporters. As the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to South Africa and Mauritius, he knows only too well the importance of exports. The Government’s export strategy is clear. We have a clear programme to assist small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly first-time exporters. All of our services can be accessed via great.gov.uk, and we have a network of international trade advisers locally for Bedfordshire who are able to help as well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Selous Excerpts

Thursday 14th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Hollinrake]

My right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet is absolutely right to push us on this issue. We are working across Government to implement reforms. So far, we have delivered 10 of the 69 recommendations identified in the TIGRR report, in areas such as offshore wind and reforms to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Delivery of a further 49 is ongoing, in high-profile areas such as artificial intelligence reform, easing clinical trials, pensions, the ability to invest in venture capital, the General Data Protection Regulation and the seed enterprise investment scheme, all of which is saving businesses billions of pounds. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will shortly write to my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet to confirm all those points.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

6. What steps her Department is taking to support business exports.

[Virginia Crosbie (Ynys Môn) (Con)]

8. What steps her Department is taking to support business exports.

[The Minister for Industry and Economic Security (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Businesses are at the heart of the Government’s export strategy, “Made in the UK, Sold to the World”, and of our shared ambition to reach £1 trillion in annual exports by 2030. In the past year, the UK has become the fifth largest exporter of goods and services in the world. Just last week, I personally led a delegation of 20 businesses to the Three Seas summit in Romania, connecting with over 1,500 representatives to help secure contracts, work and export opportunities in the region’s 13 member states.

[Andrew Selous]

In my constituency, companies such as EyeOL, Lindal Valve, Peli BioThermal, Friction and Signature Flatbreads all export globally, along with 198 smaller businesses that export through Amazon, yet apparently only 10% of companies export. What more can we do to get businesses to export, not just to Europe but globally? Apparently, businesses that export pay higher wages, so this is part of levelling up, too.

[Ms Ghani]

My hon. Friend is a great champion for his businesses and helping them to export. He is absolutely right that free trade agreements and memorandums of understanding are opening up new markets for us, but of course we want to make sure that everyone makes the most of those opportunities. That is why we are ensuring that UK exporters have the skills they need through our innovative export academy; the information they need to capitalise on new deals through the FTA utilisation strategy; the advice they need through the export support service; and the financial backing they need through UK Export Finance. My hon. Friend also made the very powerful point that companies that export pay higher wages.

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[Kevin Hollinrake]

I am happy to engage with the hon. Member. I missed the earliest part of his question, but we are providing an awful lot of support for small businesses in various ways. I cannot remember his amendment to the Bill, but I am happy to engage with him to see what we can do to help.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

May we have an update on our proposals for a carbon border adjustment mechanism?

[Kevin Hollinrake]

The Treasury published a consultation in March on a range of measures to mitigate carbon leakage. Potential policies include a carbon adjustment mechanism on managing product standards. I am sure it will report shortly.

PANS and PANDAS

Andrew Selous Excerpts

Tuesday 12th September 2023 Westminster Hall

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I am grateful to the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) for bringing the debate to the Chamber.

Like all Members who have spoken, I am grateful to the PANS PANDAS UK charity for its definition of paediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome. It helpfully describes it in a leaflet as a syndrome that

“involves a misdirected autoimmune process that affects or weakens the blood/brain barrier. The region of the brain primarily affected is basal ganglia which is responsible for the following functions: movement, cognitive perception, habit, executive, ‘logic based’ thinking, emotions and the endocrine system.”

It is useful to put that helpful definition on the record.

I have been in correspondence with the Department on behalf of my constituents on this matter for a while. I had a helpful letter from the Minister on 16 May, for which I am grateful. I was pleased that, in that letter, she informed me that the World Health Organisation had recently added PANS and PANDAS as a discrete disease entity to its international classification of diseases in its 11th revision, ICD-11. The Minister went on to say that the NHS would need NICE to step forward with recommendations and a proper research base. I was therefore disappointed to read in a follow-up letter from NHS England on 26 June that:

“There is currently no specific prescribed service for this condition”,

even though it is an internationally recognised disease. The letter continued:

“It is not NHS England’s role to develop clinical guidance”.

The letter stated that that rested with NICE.

The helpful House of Commons briefing on the debate draws our attention to the fact that a lot international work has been done on this issue. In 2013, there was a PANS consensus conference at Stanford, one of America’s leading universities. There were therefore the beginnings of an international clinical consensus a decade ago. More recently, in April 2021, guidance was issued for the Nordic countries. The link is available in the House of Commons briefing pack. I have read the guidance in advance of the debate, and it covers Sweden, Denmark and Norway, though I note that there was UK research input into the study. It is clear about the definition and the recommended courses of treatment.

I commend PANS PANDAS UK, as all colleagues have done, for the two excellent information leaflets. One is titled “GP Information Leaflet”. After the debate I will be sending physical copies of that very good leaflet to all nine GP surgeries in my constituency. Doctors are very busy people, and they may have done their training a while ago, when this condition was not taught in medical school. They cannot know everything. Sending out that leaflet will be my small effort to ensure that GPs in my constituency have the best information.

I am grateful to Dr Andrew Curran, consultant paediatric neurologist, who is quoted in the leaflet saying:

“By the time parents get to me, they have usually diagnosed their children already and they are usually right!”

There is much helpful information in the leaflet, but I think this is its most important advice:

“Initiate treatment immediately—do not wait for test results”.

From what I understand, that would be provision of the relevant antibiotics.

As the hon. Member for North East Fife said, we must also be aware of the impact of PANS/PANDAS on the whole family. Another PANS PANDAS UK leaflet gives very good tips on how to support a child with the condition. It makes the point that these children are ill, not naughty. Is that not a terrible thought—that they might have been treated as naughty when they are actually ill? There is also information about supporting the parents, who will be under huge strain, and the siblings of children with PANS and PANDAS—we must remember them. It is a really practical, helpful leaflet. It makes the point that these families may have to cancel plans at very short notice and that their friends and family need to understand that, be supportive and make allowances.

I want to finish by reading out a short email that I received yesterday from parents in my constituency who have a child with PANS/PANDAS, because I think they put it really well. I will change the child’s name, but the email reads as follows:

“Sophie is currently in a PANDAS flare, she managed to get 2 hours of sleep last night, her anxiety was overwhelming and she broke out in hives, subsequently missing a day of school. The issue is, there is no one to turn to unless the private route is taken which costs thousands of pounds. Even then the NHS and schools are, the majority of times, not willing to accept the diagnosis as it’s been sought privately.”

Obviously, many people cannot remotely afford private treatment. The email continues:

“CAMHS…have discharged Sophie, there is just no support for these poor children and families suffering with PANS PANDAS.”

Sophie’s parents express hope that this debate

“will start the ball rolling to get the support we so desperately need in regards to a NHS treatment pathway and support in schools so that PANS PANDAS are recognised in their own rights as an illness which has a severe detrimental effect on children with the condition, not only on their mental health but also on their physical health.”

That is so well-written and powerful and makes the point extremely well. I hope the Minister has listened and will respond appropriately.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Selous Excerpts

Thursday 20th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Stuart Andrew]

We have gone a long way in the White Paper to do exactly what the hon. Member says, and we have committed to ensuring that video games can be enjoyed safely by everyone. We convened a technical working group to improve protections on loot boxes, and it has published new guidance this week, which we welcome. If that guidance is implemented, it has the potential to meet our objectives, but I assure her that we will closely monitor what the industry does, to ensure that it implements the guidance in full. We will provide an update in 12 months and keep the option of legislating open.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

We would be helped in our fight against gambling-related harm if we had better data on the number of people taking their own lives as a result of gambling debts. There is a Bill that has cleared all its stages in the Lords that would get coroners to record this information. It would not cost the Government a penny. Might my right hon. Friend lend his support across Government to those responsible for that Bill, so that we have the data to know what is happening and bear down on this terrible issue?

[Stuart Andrew]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the tragic consequences for some people. One of the toughest parts of this role has been meeting the families who have been affected in such a way. I will look at the issue he raised, but the new statutory levy enables us to have the funding to do detailed research, which could contribute to that as well.

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[Mr Louie French (Old Bexley and Sidcup) (Con)]

2. What recent steps the Church of England has taken to increase the number of ordinands.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Andrew Selous)]

I am very pleased to be able to tell my hon. Friend that there are 1,100 clergy in training in 2022-23, and that £10.3 million has been given to 25 dioceses to fund more curacy posts and £4.3 million has been given to 19 dioceses to make sure that clergy leaving training have a post of first responsibility to go to.

[Mr French]

In Old Bexley and Sidcup, we are fortunate to have many fantastic churches and faith leaders supporting our community. Will my hon. Friend join me in thanking them all and congratulating St Mary the Virgin church and parish in Bexley village, which celebrates an incredible 900th anniversary this year?

[Andrew Selous]

I am delighted that St Mary the Virgin in Bexley will be celebrating its 900th anniversary with the Bishop of Rochester in November. I know that it is a church dedicated to serving its local community, with particularly impressive youth work, and I would like to commend the Rev. Renate Tulloh and the Bexley team ministry for all the good work that they do, which is noticed and greatly appreciated.

The hon. Member for Midlothian, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, was asked—

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[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

4. What recent steps the Church of England has taken to participate in the community sponsorship scheme.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Andrew Selous)]

I am able to reassure my right hon. Friend that the Church remains closely involved with the Ukraine community sponsorship scheme. Many bishops and churchgoers and hundreds of clergy have opened their homes to host Ukrainian evacuees.

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

That is reassuring, given the wind-up that the bishops raised in the House of Lords over the Illegal Migration Bill. What more can the Church do to encourage people to support and take in Ukrainians?

[Andrew Selous]

The Church of England is developing a new strategy for community sponsorship, building on the launch of community sponsorship in 2016 by Amber Rudd, when Home Secretary, and the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace. The Church will continue to use its presence in every community to raise the profile of community sponsorship, as it has been demonstrated to work well for all concerned.

The hon. Member for Midlothian, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, was asked—

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[Peter Gibson (Darlington) (Con)]

6. What discussions the Church of England has had with churches in Uganda following the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 in that country.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Andrew Selous)]

The Archbishop of Canterbury has written directly to Archbishop Kaziimba of Uganda reminding him of the commitment made by the Anglican communion to treat every person with the care and respect they deserve as children of God and that the communion opposes the criminalisation of LGBT+ people. The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that the Act was a fundamental departure from the commitment to uphold the freedom and dignity of all people; it was not in our resolutions, not in our teachings and not in the Gospel of Jesus we share together.

[Peter Gibson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his response and for the concern shared by the Archbishop of Canterbury. What more can the Church say to Anglicans across the UK who do not in any way, shape or form believe the death penalty for any crime is compatible with Christian teaching, and to those members of the LGBT community who are rightly horrified by events in Uganda?

[Andrew Selous]

I very much understand my hon. Friend’s concern on this issue, which is shared by many others. As I am sure he knows, each province of the Anglican communion is autonomous. In 2016, however, the primates in the Anglican communion reaffirmed the rejection of criminal sanctions against same sex-attracted people and committed to respecting the dignity and value of every person. It is hard to see how the position taken by the Church of Uganda aligns with the 2016 agreement.

[Dame Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

7. If the Church of England will make an assessment of the potential merits of refusing to ordain clergy who do not personally recognise the ordination of women as diocesan bishops.

[Andrew Selous]

The Church of England is fully committed to all orders of ministry being open equally to all without reference to gender. The Church is also committed to ensuring that those who cannot in good conscience receive the ministry of women priests or bishops are able to flourish; the five guiding principles of the House of Bishops are the basis for this mutual flourishing and all candidates for ordination have to assent to them.

[Dame Diana Johnson]

It is now 29 years since we had the first woman priest and nine years since the first female bishop was appointed in our established Church of England. It therefore seems to me that there have been many years to adapt to treating women as equals in the sight of God. Given that, is it really appropriate for the Church of England to continue appointing clergy, as happened recently in Blackburn, who have not accepted and who will never personally accept the ordination of women?

[Andrew Selous]

I can tell the right hon. Lady that a new body was established last year to review how the five guiding principles are being understood, implemented and received in the Church and that it has a balanced membership of bishops, clergy and laity who reflect all views on these matters.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Father of the House.

[Sir Peter Bottomley (Worthing West) (Con)]

I speak as a supporter of WATCH, the Women and the Church group. The Church Commissioners should understand that either the Church of England gets rid of what ought to have been temporary exemptions from the Equality Act 2010 or Parliament will do that for it. Does my hon. Friend understand that other MPs who are interested in full equality for women would like to meet the Church Commissioners before we consider what other action we might take?

[Andrew Selous]

I have very clearly heard what my hon. Friend the Father of the House and indeed the very respected Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Dame Diana Johnson) have just said. The Church will have heard that as well and we are of course available for meetings at any time.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

8. What recent steps the Church of England has taken to help protect freedom of religion and belief in other countries.

[Andrew Selous]

I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend, who serves with distinction as the Prime Minister’s special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, that the United Nations Security Council has recently adopted a resolution to produce an annual report on freedom of religion and belief. It was sponsored by the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, and the resolution was based on the Bishop of Truro’s review and incorporates many of his original recommendations.

[Fiona Bruce]

That is indeed a very positive development. My hon. Friend will have seen another report, produced by former BBC reporter David Campanale and other FORB experts for the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, which I chair, on the ongoing major violence in Manipur, India. It indicates that since early May alone hundreds of churches there have been destroyed, many burnt to the ground; more than 100 people have been killed and over 50,000 displaced; and schools and seminaries have been targeted in what looks like systematic and premeditated attacks with religion a key factor. There has been very little reporting about this. People there are calling out for help; what can the Church do to draw more attention to their cries?

[Andrew Selous]

My hon. Friend has done a great service by putting this matter on the record in the House. I am sure that she, like me, would like to see much greater reporting of these issues by the BBC and others. What she has told us is truly shocking, and I know that the Archbishop of Canterbury, who visited India in 2019 to see the challenges at first hand, remains extremely concerned that such attacks have been worsening and spreading to other minority faith communities, so I will bring my hon. Friend’s report on Manipur directly to the Archbishop’s attention.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his response to the hon. Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce), who does such fantastic work as the ambassador for not only the Prime Minister but all of us in the House.

In February, I visited Pakistan with the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief. Further to what the hon. Gentleman said, will he advise the House on what steps the Church of England is taking to support the Anglican ministry in Pakistan and to defend the rights of Pakistani Christians to practise their faith and express their beliefs without fear of repression?

[Andrew Selous]

I talked earlier this week with Dr Sammy Wainaina, the Archbishop’s new adviser on Anglican communion affairs, and he specifically mentioned Pakistan, so I am grateful that the hon. Gentleman has mentioned it. He is right that the situation there is extremely challenging—priests have been murdered—and the Archbishop visited quite recently. I express particular gratitude to the two hon. Members who have put these matters on the record this morning; they are right to do so and I hope they continue to do so.

[Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Ind)]

9. To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent steps the Church of England has taken to help support family relationships, parenting and marriage.

[Andrew Selous]

The Archbishop’s recent “Love Matters” commission on family issues made 36 recommendations for the Church of England and 29 for the Government. They included supporting family hubs, developing high-quality marriage preparation, and building relational capability at all life stages and not just for couples who are preparing for marriage. I will place a copy of that report and the previous ones in the Library.

[Scott Benton]

A strong and stable family unit undoubtedly provides the best environment in which to raise children. What steps is the Church of England taking to provide relationship support and guidance to those families who need it to help them to stay together?

[Andrew Selous]

That is a really important question. The Children’s Commissioner has pointed out that almost a quarter of UK families are headed by a lone parent; that compares with an average of an eighth of families in Europe. The Bishop of Durham, who co-chaired the commission, wants to see every deanery in the Church of England offering the very best marriage preparation to all couples, and for the Church to support their relationships at every life stage.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Selous Excerpts

Thursday 18th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

I believe that the hon. Gentleman is referring to investor dispute settlement mechanisms. We have used them in this country for many years, and that has protected British companies. He is wrong about the CPTPP not bringing much economic growth to the country—it will bring billions. We have repeatedly explained that the statistic he quoted is being misused. It does not take into account the growth of the bloc or the future GDP growth of those countries. We should be congratulating all our officials for the hard work they did in negotiating the agreements rather than criticising them.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

6. What steps her Department is taking to support the critical minerals industry.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

As part of the UK’s strategy to secure a resilient supply of critical minerals, we are accelerating domestic capabilities along the whole critical minerals value chain, from mining to manufacturing. Our support for businesses such as Cornish Lithium and Green Lithium shows our support for these industries. Just in March, we published a refreshed delivery approach to the critical minerals strategy, including the establishment of a new industry taskforce on critical minerals that will investigate the critical mineral dependencies and vulnerabilities faced by UK industry and help it to mitigate risks.

[Andrew Selous]

I thank the Minister for that answer. She will know well that demand for graphite, lithium and cobalt is expected to quadruple by the 2040s. With supply currently dominated by China, what can the Government do to extract rapidly the deposits identified in all four nations of the United Kingdom so that we can gain a climate action dividend and level up the United Kingdom?

[Ms Ghani]

My hon. Friend is right. One reason why I came back into government was to ensure that we were not reliant on one country, China. We need more lithium, cobalt and graphite, as does everybody else, to make batteries for electric cars, and we need silicon and tin for electronics. We welcome the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre’s report, “Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK”, which we commissioned. We are working with the British Geological Survey on next steps. Through the strategy, we are funding projects such as Cornish Lithium and Green Lithium, which build innovative, resilient value chains here in the UK.