Oral Answers to Questions

Jackie Doyle-Price Excerpts

Tuesday 27th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Jackie Doyle-Price)]

We know from recent trends reported to the public health outcomes framework that health inequalities persist in this country. We already have world-leading programmes to address the root causes of poor health, including programmes to deal with childhood obesity, control tobacco and prevent diabetes and heart disease. The Prime Minister has set an ambition to ensure that people can enjoy at least five extra healthy independent years of life by 2035, while narrowing the gap between the experiences of the richest and the poorest, and next year the Secretary of State will set out further plans to achieve that in his prevention Green Paper.

[Debbie Abrahams]

We have known for decades that poverty and economic inequality drive health inequalities. The richer people are, the longer they live, and the longer they live in good health. In addition to the economic analyses of the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal, what assessment has the Minister made of the deal’s impacts on health inequalities, and on life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, which we know are already falling in some parts of the country, and among some groups of people?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

The reasons for health inequalities are complex, but obviously we encourage people to make the lifestyle changes that enable everyone to live longer. I simply do not accept that the direct causality that the hon. Lady has outlined is as clear as that. We will focus on programmes that help people to lead healthier lives with better diets; that tackle tobacco control; and that prevent diabetes.

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

As it is the most deprived children who are most overweight, will the Minister call on Kellogg’s to follow the example of Nestlé and put traffic light colours on all its products so that people can make healthier choices?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Clearly the more we can do to educate people to make informed choices to improve their diet, the better. He is absolutely right: poor health among children used to be indicated by being underweight, but now being overweight is very much an indicator. I congratulate any food manufacturer that is taking action to address the problem.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Minister and the ministerial team know that many working class people do not have good access to GPs, and that GPs treat them differently from more middle class people, as demonstrated by the number of people from poorer backgrounds with atrial fibrillation who are wrongly diagnosed. If they are diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat or pulse, they are given the wrong drugs. That happens to many ordinary people in this country: there are still all these wonderful GPs prescribing aspirin that will do no good at all. What is going on with GPs and poorer people?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

Our NHS is full of people who are doing their best to deliver the best possible care for all their patients. It is important that GPs and any health practitioners consider the holistic needs of all their patients—

[Mr Sheerman]

They’re killing people.

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

The hon. Gentleman says they are killing people; that is not the debate I want on the NHS.

[Luke Graham (Ochil and South Perthshire) (Con)]

Scotland has the lowest life expectancies of all parts of the United Kingdom, with the figures falling for the first time in 35 years. The average life expectancy in 2017 was 77 years for men and 81.1 for women, compared with 79.2 for men and 82.9 for women in the rest of the UK. What can my hon. Friend do to support the devolved Administration to ensure that Scotland is not left behind the rest of the United Kingdom?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to that. I am always very keen to work with the devolved nations to both learn from what they do well and to share our expertise and experience where we are doing better, and I hope we will all co-operate to do exactly that.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

Initiating breastfeeding at birth can help reduce to health inequalities. Due to the actions of the Scottish Government, breastfeeding rates in Scotland are at a record high, whereas in England they are falling back dramatically because of local cuts. What will the Minister do to increase breastfeeding rates in England?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

I commend the hon. Lady for her leadership on the issue, and she is right that this is one of the most significant public health interventions we can make at the earliest point in life. I will happily line up with her to do more to champion breastfeeding, and there is certainly a lot further to go, not least in ensuring that society is more tolerant of the practice and that women really do enjoy their right to breastfeed.

[Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)]

7. What steps he is taking to tackle childhood obesity.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

9. What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of demand for sexual health services.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Jackie Doyle-Price)]

Since 2013, when local authorities took on responsibility for these services, attendance has increased from 2.9 million to 3.3 million. Tests for sexually transmitted infections and access to long-acting contraception have also increased, which shows that people are taking their sexual health seriously and that services are responding.

[Nick Smith]

Unfortunately, syphilis and gonorrhoea diagnoses are up 20% since 2016. What are the Government going to do to address this growing trend, given that sexual health services are at their limit?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

The evidence I have is that sexually transmitted infection rates are stable, that rates of teen pregnancy are falling, that rates of abortion are stable and that rates of HIV testing are increasing. However, the hon. Gentleman raises an important point, and I will look into it. The most important thing is not necessarily where or how people access their services, because we want to make tests and long-term contraception available online too. We will keep the issue under review.

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

Does the Minister agree with the chief medical officer, who said in her evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee that she thought the cuts to sexual health services had gone too far?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

As I said in my previous answer, the important thing is to look at outcomes. We can see that levels of teen pregnancy and sexual infection are stable and that more people are accessing contraception. We need to ensure that people can access contraception in the most convenient way for them, and we can see that rates of access are on the increase.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab)]

T3. It has been eight months since the child abuse inquiry that the Prime Minister set up recommended urgently that compensation be paid to the survivors of the child migration programmes. The Prime Minister said that she would act; she did not. The Minister said that she would respond; she has not. Twenty-two people have died since that report was published. How can we believe a single word said by the Government today, when so many promises to people who deserve better have been broken? Where is the response to this report?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Jackie Doyle-Price)]

The hon. Lady makes a very good point. When we last discussed this matter over the Dispatch Box, I said that it was my ambition to come back to her as soon as possible, but we have to agree a cross-Government response, which is imminent. However, she is quite right; we really need to respond as soon as possible.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

T6. Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Oakthorpe Primary School in my constituency to celebrate its gold award for mental health and wellbeing from Leeds Beckett University. Will the Minister outline to the House what further support the Government are offering schools to help them deal with children’s mental health issues?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

My hon. Friend will be aware that we have brought forward proposals to have a mental health lead in all schools. We are also introducing a brand new workforce to support schools and improve mental health provision. The first wave of staff are being recruited for training now, and we have 210 applicants for the first wave of places.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

T8. To mark the 30th World AIDS Day on Saturday, will the Government commit to a more ambitious, but completely achievable, target of ending all new HIV infections by 2030?

--- Later in debate ---

[Ruth George (High Peak) (Lab)]

Today’s report on the amount of police time spent dealing with emergency mental health cases without support from mental health professionals is echoed by police in my constituency, who say that it takes up almost 40% of their time. Will the Government recognise that this crisis should not be dealt with by police officers, far less in cells, and sort it out?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

First, I pay tribute to the work that the police do in dealing with people who are in mental health crisis. They view it as part of their core work, but clearly they should not be picking up the slack where services do not exist. I am working closely with the police service and other interested parties to ensure that we have sufficient crisis care, to enable the police to discharge their responsibilities adequately and in a safe way. We will continue to do that.

[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

My constituent Alice Sloman died during what should have been a routine MRI scan, following complications with the general anaesthetic that had been administered to her. Will the Minister agree to meet me and Alice’s parents to discuss the possibility of people, particularly those with existing conditions, having routine heart checks before such procedures?

--- Later in debate ---

[Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP)]

My constituents Kirsteen and Wilma Ord have had their lives blighted by the Primodos hormone pregnancy drug. The review that the Government undertook was a whitewash, and now the further review, led by Baroness Cumberlege, will focus only on people in England. She has said that she will consult groups in Scotland, but drug regulation is reserved. What will the Minister do to promise that my constituents will not be let down again?

[Jackie Doyle-Price]

I met Baroness Cumberlege just last week, and I know she would be open to hearing representations from constituents in Scotland, to add to her understanding of this issue. We are determined to make full use of that review, so that we can learn lessons from this tragedy.

[Several hon. Members rose—]