Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jeremy Lefroy

Tuesday 25th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

May I say gently to the hon. Gentleman that the cause of the problems is that destabilising activity by Iran has continued even after the JCPOA? It has had success in restraining Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and that is why we continue to support it, but we are not going to get proper peace in the middle east unless we end those thoroughly destabilising activities.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

6. What steps he is taking to protect the rights and freedoms of journalists throughout the world.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hunt]

I utterly deplore what Katie Hopkins said—I condemn it in the roundest terms—but I also support the view of the President of the United States that the Mayor of London needs to do more about knife crime.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

T5. Over the weekend, the chief of the general staff of the Ethiopian army, the president of the Amhara region and several other high-ranking Ethiopian citizens were murdered. Will my right hon. Friend join me in sending condolences to the people of Ethiopia and to its excellent Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed? He is trying to secure reform in that great country, but clearly there are those who are trying to oppose him.

Sri Lanka

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jeremy Lefroy

Tuesday 23rd April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I entirely understand why the hon. Gentleman raises that issue. I reassure him that we support freedom of all religious belief; it is just that we think that Christianity has been slightly left behind for various reasons. More Christians are persecuted than those of any other faith, so we want to ensure that we are giving that the proper attention it deserves without excluding any other faith from our concerns.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

I also thank the Foreign Secretary and the shadow Foreign Secretary for what they said and the way in which they said it, and the same goes for all colleagues. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the people of Sri Lanka deserve immense praise for the fact that there is freedom of belief in their country? We have already heard mention of Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and others who are able to practise their beliefs. Indeed, this atrocity was possible only because Christians were freely able to worship together on Easter Sunday, which is not possible in so many other countries.

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend makes a profoundly important point, and I totally agree with him. The perpetrators of this evil attack were trying to stop freedom of religious belief, and we must ensure that they are not successful.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jeremy Lefroy

Tuesday 26th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

The UK has long championed freedom of religion, but I am concerned that we could do more for the 240 million Christians estimated to be facing persecution for their faith around the world. I have therefore asked the Bishop of Truro to conduct an independent review into what more the FCO can do. Last week, I agreed the terms of reference for his review.

[Jeremy Lefroy]

I thank the Foreign Secretary for that review. When I meet Christians from countries where they are under pressure or persecuted, I see loyal citizens who contribute enormously to those countries, whether in health, education, business or so much else. Why do those countries persecute their citizens for their faith?

[Mr Hunt]

It is often because they are in the grip of totally misguided ideologies. I thank my hon. Friend for his long championing of this issue. It is a little known fact that around 80% of the people who suffer persecution for their faith are Christians, often in some of the poorest countries in the world—and particularly in the middle east, which 100 years ago had a population that was about 20% Christian. Now that is down to 5%.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jeremy Lefroy

Tuesday 4th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

As I said earlier, we have achieved a large part of what we wanted to achieve. The question is whether by accepting this deal we can go on and achieve everything that we want, and I believe that we can.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

What assessment has the Minister for Africa made of the preparations for the forthcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are so vital?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jeremy Lefroy

Tuesday 4th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

What we want is no physical infrastructure, because we want to defend the Good Friday agreement, and that is what our current proposals do.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

I welcome the Foreign Secretary to his post. Given the greater importance of bilateral relations after the United Kingdom has left the European Union, what steps is he taking to increase British diplomatic representation, not only in the 27 other EU countries and the four states in the European economic area, but in the countries in which we are currently represented largely through an EU office, and in which we do not have our own mission?

[Mr Hunt]

My predecessor has already increased the budget for our representation throughout the European Union as a response to Brexit and the need to raise our game when it comes to diplomacy inside the EU. When it comes to diplomacy outside the EU, I hope that it will sometimes be possible for the co-operative arrangements that we have now to continue—because I think that that works to the benefit of both sides—but we shall have to see whether the other countries are still up for that.

NHS Long-Term Plan

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jeremy Lefroy

Monday 18th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

This is, as the hon. Gentleman knows, a devolved matter, but I would say that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all on the same journey when it comes to the NHS. We are all moving to integrated out-of-hospital care built around the person and focused on prevention. In one respect, Northern Ireland has gone further faster than anywhere in the UK: I refer to the integration of the health and social care systems. There is plenty we can learn from them and they from us.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

I congratulate the Secretary of State on this very welcome announcement and reiterate what others have said about the importance of prevention and public health. Since this is a long-term settlement, may I ask him to ensure that the disparities between various parts of England are narrowed over the coming years? They are too great, with some getting £300 or £400 a year per person less than other areas. That is just too much of a difference.

[Mr Hunt]

I totally take on board what my hon. Friend says. I am happy to engage with him and with NHS England. As he knows, we have taken the politics out of that particular process by giving it to NHS England, which I think is the right thing to do. I know NHS England would be happy to engage with him on that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jeremy Lefroy

Tuesday 8th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

Five years on from the Francis report, how does my right hon. Friend assess patient safety in the NHS?

[Mr Hunt]

There are still many things to tackle when it comes to patient safety, but I think the NHS has risen magnificently to the challenges in the report. There are nearly 45,000 more doctors and nurses across the system. Although there is more to be done, much credit should go to the NHS.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jeremy Lefroy

Tuesday 4th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

7. What steps he has to secure the future of accident and emergency departments.

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

Last year our A&Es saw 1,800 more people every day within the four-hour target than they did in 2010. We also have nearly 1,500 more emergency care doctors and over 600 more emergency care consultants.

[Jeremy Lefroy]

A&E departments and associated acute care services at district hospitals such as Stafford and Burton are a critical part of the regional emergency infrastructure, enabling the large city-based departments to deal with major trauma specialist cases as well as day-to-day emergencies. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that that vital emergency infrastructure is protected, enhanced and funded?

[Mr Hunt]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that an emergency care network that works well for his constituents is essential. As he fully understands, that will mean relying on a network of hospitals. I recognise the concern at his own local hospital, for which he campaigns extremely vigorously, and I assure him that I shall be watching very carefully what happens there.

NHS Shared Business Services

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jeremy Lefroy

Tuesday 27th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I did not come to that conclusion. The hon. Lady is right, as a doctor, to say that patients’ trust in the way we hold their records is very important. In this case, the correspondence concerning patients was not forwarded, but it was not lost either. It was held securely, so no patient data were put at risk, but it should have been forwarded to another part of the NHS, and it was not; it was effectively stockpiled. That is what caused the concerns. We have been going through the high-priority cases. So far, the vast majority of cases have had two clinical reviews, and the ones we are still concerned about are having a third clinical review. We are taking this extremely seriously.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

The Secretary of State mentioned Mid Staffordshire and patient safety, which is absolutely critical, but may I point out that the County hospital in Stafford now has an excellent record? It is currently seeing 27 patients in A&E with a waiting time of not much more than one hour, according to the app that I have on my phone. Will he confirm that the situation has been transformed because of the fantastic work of the staff in that hospital?