Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Bradshaw Excerpts

Tuesday 18th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Burns]

The Government have supported the right to request, which has enabled 45 staff-led social enterprises to be established. This policy has supported approximately 25,000 staff into social enterprises, with contracts of roughly £900 million. NHS staff have been assisted by a wide-ranging programme of support from the Department.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

Has not the Government’s so-called moratorium on the reconfiguration of services put back improvements to urgent care by several years? The Minister inherited perfectly coherent plans for every region in England under the auspices of Lord Darzi’s next-stage review. How many lives have been lost and how much money has been wasted by the tearing up of those plans?

[Mr Burns]

I am afraid that the right hon. Gentleman is wrong. It is not holding back the national health service; it is moving it forward with things such as the establishment of the 111 service and the reconfiguration proposals, which are based on the four tests that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State introduced in May last year. That not only links reconfiguration to the needs of the local health economy but takes into account the wishes and needs of the local community and medical staff.