NHS Reorganisation

Edward Leigh Excerpts

Wednesday 16th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

The right hon. Gentleman was not satisfied with his first speech, so he had to have a go at a second one. He did not answer any of my questions. The Labour party said in its manifesto that it would use the private and voluntary sectors alongside NHS providers. The reason for that was simple: having the NHS as the preferred provider meant that the patient could be let down time after time before another quality provider could be permitted. We are going to allow competition on quality, but the quality has to be there. Patients will get the best possible service from whoever is best placed to provide that care.

Our changes are being seen across the country already.

[Mr Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

This party political ding-dong is great fun, but what worries me is that we have an ageing population, there are rightly more and more expensive techniques, and the taxpayer cannot put any more money in. Who is going to save the NHS if there is no co-operation with the private sector?