Oral Answers to Questions

Helen Morgan Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, who is entirely right to raise the subject of the impact of the SNP’s irresponsible management of Scotland’s finances and the austerity that it is inflicting on his constituents. Our Budget rejected a return to austerity. We delivered the largest real-terms funding settlement for Scotland since devolution, and the result of the Budget is clear: the SNP has the powers, it has the money, and it has no more excuses.

[Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)]

Q14. Last week I was contacted by a constituent whose husband has stage 4 bowel cancer. He had a routine scan in June but did not receive the results until early November, and unfortunately during that period he received unsuitable chemotherapy and his cancer has progressed. Given that Shropshire has the worst record in the country for CT and MRI scan results, may I ask the Deputy Prime Minister the same question that my constituent has asked me? When will the Government address this problem?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I am sincerely sorry to hear about the hon. Lady’s constituent’s husband, the terrible diagnosis at stage 4, and the delays leading up to that. We have explained before how difficult the inheritance was in respect of the cancer diagnosis waiting lists. People are waiting far too long for treatment, which is why the Chancellor put a record amount of money into our NHS so that we could catch cancer in time. I know that the Health Secretary is determined, as a personal endeavour, to ensure that people do not have to wait and do not end up in the circumstances that are so tragic for the hon. Lady’s constituent.