Business of the House

Derek Twigg Excerpts

Thursday 12th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand my hon. Friend’s concern. The Foreign Secretary will be at this Dispatch Box on Tuesday, when my hon. Friend will have an opportunity to question him. A strong, stable constitutional democracy is in Pakistan’s interests, but I take on board the point that my hon. Friend has just made.

[Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)]

May I ask the Leader of the House for an urgent statement to clarify the Government’s plans for increasing the number of private patients in NHS foundation trust hospitals? On Tuesday, the Minister of State, Department of Health, the right hon. Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns) said that

“we are not changing the situation”—[Official Report, 10 January 2012; Vol. 538, c. 14.]

but of course the Health and Social Care Bill removes the private patient cap and the Government’s impact assessment assumes the inclusion of

“additional…overseas private patients… and patients who would have otherwise been treated on the NHS”,

so how can that statement be true?

[Sir George Young]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Health and Social Care Bill is being considered in another place; we have just had the completion of 15 days in Committee and a number of days have been allocated for Report. I have no doubt that the specific issue he mentions will be raised during the remaining stages of that Bill, and if the Bill comes back, there will be an opportunity for him to raise the matter again in this House. In the meantime, I will draw his question to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.