Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Caulfield and Damian Green

Tuesday 19th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Maria Caulfield]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising his constituent’s granddaughter Mia’s case. With over 7,000 rare conditions, awareness among healthcare professionals can be difficult. That is why in January this year the Government set up the UK Rare Diseases Framework whereby officials are working with partners including Health Education England to raise awareness of rare conditions such as Dandy-Walker so that we provide training for staff and target education for healthcare professionals. I would be happy to meet him and his constituent to talk about this and listen to some of their concerns and experiences.

[Damian Green (Ashford) (Con)]

7. What steps he is taking to provide a long-term solution to social care.

--- Later in debate ---

[Damian Green (Ashford) (Con)]

T8. My right hon. Friend will have seen last week’s Care Quality Commission report expressing continuing concern about maternity services in East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust hospitals, including the William Harvey Hospital in my constituency. Can Ministers offer some reassurance to mothers-to-be in east Kent that giving birth in those hospitals will be safe?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maria Caulfield)]

I thank my right hon. Friend and I share his concerns completely. Just to reassure him, NHS England provided £1.6 million to East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust to fund an additional 38 midwives, with 26 already in post. I would be happy to keep updated with him to see what the clinical experience is on the ground.

Race Disparity Audit

Debate between Maria Caulfield and Damian Green

Tuesday 10th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

I am sorry that the shadow Front-Bench team find this issue so amusing. As someone who grew up in a deprived working class area—more girls in my school went to prison than to university—I take this issue very seriously. While I welcome the audit, the fact that it focuses on race, not the common issues that all communities face of broken families, poverty and getting into work, means that it misses some things. I point the Secretary of State in the direction of “A Manifesto to Strengthen Families”, which has been produced by Conservative Members, led by my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce), and addresses some of those issues in more detail.

[Damian Green]

I know the valuable document to which my hon. Friend refers. I recommend that she read the audit carefully, because she will find that it reveals the huge differences between areas that look similar demographically or in their ethnic makeup. Anyone who reads the findings carefully and sensibly will realise that some policy prescriptions may not be based on ethnicity and may need to be based on the other factors she mentioned. The sensible way for any Government to proceed—certainly the way that this Government will proceed—will be to look at the evidence and then devise the policy.

Under-occupancy Charge

Debate between Maria Caulfield and Damian Green

Monday 14th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Damian Green]

I appreciate that the hon. Lady has campaigned very effectively with the Rutherford family for a long time. As she said, they received discretionary housing payments, and such payments are the main tool that we are using to make sure that people are given appropriate help. Obviously we are still looking at the number of people who may be affected as a result of this case, but I can only repeat that we will take steps to make sure that we comply with the Court judgment.

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State find it strange, as I do, that Labour Members are protesting, given that in 2008 they introduced exactly the same changes in the private rented sector? [Interruption.] Does he agree that there should be equality for tenants receiving housing benefit, be they in social housing or the private rented sector?

[Damian Green]

I do agree with my hon. Friend about that. The fact that Opposition Members tried to shout her down rather than listening to her question suggests that she has hit the mark.