Social Care

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jack Dromey

Wednesday 16th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from “House” to the end of the Question and add:

“welcomes the Government’s Spending Review settlement for health and social care, which ensures that the amount of money available to local authorities for adult social care services will rise significantly across the Parliament, and ensures that up to £3.5 billion more will be available by 2020; commends the work and dedication of those in the social care sector; and further welcomes the introduction by the Government of the social care precept which allows local authorities greater autonomy in making decisions about how they best meet their local communities’ needs for social care.”.

I too want to start by paying tribute all those working in the social care system; there are few jobs that are more important to our society. They work with some of the oldest and most vulnerable people in our society, many of whom have dementia. That is a growing population, with the number of over 90-year-olds having increased by more than a quarter. Life expectancy is up by a whole year since Labour left office. While I would like to claim credit for every Government achievement, that is a demographic change and no thanks to this Government. It also places huge pressure on the system. Every older person is a dad, a mum, a grandparent or a neighbour, and Members on both sides of the House, whatever our disagreements, want them to be treated with the utmost standards of dignity and respect.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

There are none so noble as those who care, and they include the Castle Vale carer I met who buys Easter eggs out of her own pocket to give out in her own time to those she cares for. Does the Secretary of State understand the despair being felt by carers who are told that they have only 15 minutes per visit, the despair being felt by those being cared for because they no longer have the contact they once had, or the despair being felt by the family and friends of those who built this country and who now deserve better in the twilight of their years?

[Mr Hunt]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman. It is the hallmark of a civilised society that we treat all older citizens with dignity and respect. I totally disapprove of 15-minute visits. I find it impossible to understand how anyone could really look after someone’s needs in a 15-minute visit. I hope that, like us, he is proud of the introduction of the national living wage, which is helping the people who do this very important work. It will help 900,000 people working in the social care system by paying all over-25s a minimum hourly rate of £7.20 from this April.

Junior Doctors Contracts

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jack Dromey

Monday 18th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

No, it has not. If it had, I do not think that we would be having a strike. I think we would have a negotiated settlement, and the NHS would be able to proceed with the contracts, which have important benefits for doctors, such as reducing the number of consecutive nights or consecutive long days that they can be asked to work. The refusal to negotiate on the crucial issue of Saturday pay, which is not a reduction in take-home pay because the reduction in Saturday premiums was made up for with an increase in basic pay, was what led Sir David Dalton to say that a negotiated settlement was not possible. It is a matter of huge regret, but I am afraid that it leaves the Government with no option but to proceed in the way that we are doing.

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

A senior executive at Babcock once said to me that there are employers who could pick a fight with themselves. During 30 years in the world of work, I cannot remember a legitimate sense of grievance so grotesquely mishandled. Does the Secretary of State not recognise that he is poisoning relationships with a generation of junior doctors? Will he not get back to the negotiating table and stay there until the dispute is resolved?

[Mr Hunt]

Without going over the previous points about the three years we have been around the negotiating table, I just say this to the hon. Gentleman: I think there are legitimate grievances for junior doctors, and they extend well beyond the contract. There are some big issues with the way training has changed over the years, and there are some serious issues we need to address about the quality of life for junior doctors—sometimes they have a partner working in a different city and they are unable to get training posts nearby to each other. We want to address those issues, which is why we set up a review, led by Professor Dame Sue Bailey, the president of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. Who is refusing to talk to that review, and refusing to co-operate with it? It is the BMA. That is why it is so important that people get around the table and start to talk about how we resolve these problems, rather than remaining in entrenched positions.

Junior Doctors Contracts

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jack Dromey

Thursday 11th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

I have spent 30 years in the world of work, representing employees, conducting negotiations and solving disputes. I have seldom seen a sense of grievance so grotesquely mishandled, insulting the intelligence of junior doctors by telling them that they do not understand what is on offer. Does the Secretary of State not feel a sense of shame that his handling of this dispute should have so poisoned relationships with junior doctors, who are the backbone of the national health service?

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Gentleman can do a lot better than that. We have been willing to negotiate since June. It was not me who refused to sit round the table and talk until December; it was the BMA, which, before even talking to the Government, balloted for industrial action. What totally irresponsible behaviour that is. If Labour were responsible, it would be condemning it as well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jack Dromey

Tuesday 2nd June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Jack Dromey (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab)]

With the accident and emergency crisis, over which the Secretary of State has presided, more and more police officers are queuing outside fewer A&E departments in ever-lengthening queues. Last year, there were 1,000 incidents in the Metropolitan police alone. In Liverpool, Patrick McIntosh died after waiting for an ambulance for an hour. Does the Secretary of State accept that after 17,000 police officers have been cut by his Government, this is the worst possible time to ask the police service to do the job of the ambulance service, and that he is guilty of wasting police time?

[Mr Hunt]

I think that is harsh. Let me tell the hon. Gentleman some of the progress that was made under the last Government, and that this Government will continue, to reduce the pressure on police, particularly with regard to the holding of people with mental health conditions in police cells. We are in the process of eliminating that; it has seen dramatic falls. We recognise that the NHS needs to work more closely with the police, particularly in such circumstances, and he should recognise the progress that has been made compared with what happened before.