Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeff Smith and Will Quince

Tuesday 17th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

20. What steps he is taking to improve waiting times for cancer treatment.

[The Minister for Health and Secondary Care (Will Quince)]

Improving cancer treatment waiting times is a top priority for this Government, and it is a key focus of our elective recovery plan, backed by an additional £8 billion in revenue funding across the spending review period. In August 2023, cancer treatment activity for first treatments stood at 105% of pre-pandemic levels on a per working day basis, and the 62-day backlog has fallen 30% since its peak in the pandemic.

[Will Quince]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question, and, of course, I recognise the importance of early diagnosis and treatment. Cancer checks are up by a quarter on pre-pandemic levels, and in August more than 91% of patients started their first cancer treatment within a month of a decision to treat. We have opened 123 additional community diagnostic centres and an additional 94 surgical hubs, but I accept, of course, that there is much more that we need to do.

[Jeff Smith]

The Minister has again been referring to “pre-pandemic levels”. Ministers have a tendency to blame covid for increased waiting times, including in respect of cancer. I presume they are aware that the number of cancer patients not getting care on time rose in every year since the Conservatives came to power before the pandemic. How can the Government defend that dreadful record?

[Will Quince]

We are continuing to support NHS England in increasing cancer treatment capacity. As I say, I recognise the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of cancer. NHS England has instructed integrated care boards to increase and prioritise the diagnostic and treatment capacity for cancer. As of the middle of this year, we have 93 additional surgical hubs that are currently operational and 123 additional community diagnostic centres, which have delivered more than 5 million additional tests since July 2021, but we know and recognise that we need to do more.

Oral Answers

Debate between Jeff Smith and Will Quince

Tuesday 25th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Health and Secondary Care (Will Quince)]

I can certainly ensure the House that we are seeking a mutually beneficial voluntary scheme that supports patient outcomes, a strong life sciences industry and a financially sustainable NHS. We have been working directly with industry to understand the impact of changes to VPAS on investments into the UK life sciences sector, and we remain firmly committed to VPAS, which, it is important to say, has saved the NHS billions of pounds and saved millions of lives by supporting patients with life-threatening conditions and giving them rapid access to new medicines.

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

T3. I was very grateful to get fantastic treatment for a detached retina at the brilliant Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, but 551 patients have lost their sight as a result of delayed eye doctor appointments since 2019, and the backlog for ophthalmology appointments is, at 630,000, the second largest in the country. The treatments are there, but what will the Government do to sort that problem out?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeff Smith and Will Quince

Monday 29th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Will Quince)]

Since mid-March, we have processed about 3.2 million individual universal credit claims. Despite that surge, the system is standing up to the challenge and demonstrating the resilience and scalability that is a fundamental part of its design. From the peak of claims made, less than 1% of claimants have outstanding verification preventing payment. There is no way that the legacy benefit system could have coped with such pressure.

[Jeff Smith]

Citizens Advice found recently that more than half of people claiming universal credit for the first time during the crisis had experienced hardship and that many did not want to take out a loan because they were afraid of taking on more debt. A system where more than half of people are experiencing hardship is surely a system that is not working, so will the Minister reconsider proposals to end the five-week wait and replace loans with a cash grant?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeff Smith and Will Quince

Monday 27th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

13. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the monthly assessment period for universal credit is able to reflect a claimant's fluctuating income.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Will Quince)]

Monthly assessment periods align to the way the majority of employees are paid and also allow UC to be adjusted each month. They scrap the “cliff edges” that blighted the legacy benefits system and mean that if a claimant’s income falls, they will not have to wait several months for a rise in their UC.

[Jeff Smith]

Salary payments that do not align with assessment periods have caused real problems for my constituents, not only in respect of the actual money that they receive but in respect of cash flow. Why will the Government not follow the recommendation of Unison and the Child Poverty Action Group and allow people to adjust the dates of their assessment period when they are paid very close to the end of the month?