Health and Social Care Update

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 22nd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his welcome. I think that one of the benefits of the United Kingdom is our ability to learn from each other, even with a devolved NHS. For example, we are borrowing, or copying, the pharmacist elements, and we will enact those in this country too. As the hon. Gentleman will know, owing to the Barnett formula the amount per head of population for the Scottish NHS is considerably higher—the health money passed over—but it is at the discretion of the Scottish Government to decide how to use that money to help patients.

The hon. Gentleman will be aware of our ongoing challenge: we want to work together as a United Kingdom in tackling global pandemics, and I look forward to working in preparation for that. He will also be aware that we accepted the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body in making our own pay recommendations. Let me pursue an example that he has just highlighted. When the Prime Minister was on the doorstep of No. 10 Downing Street she wanted to talk about growing the economy, because it is vital for us not to have managed decline, which would be challenging for the United Kingdom as a whole.

Obviously the Prime Minister was already minded to ensure that we had a generous package in respect of energy bills, but one of the tasks that confronted me and on which I worked was ensuring that that was extended to businesses and the NHS, and we have made it happen. One of the biggest concerns with which I was presented when we arrived was the possibility that people’s inability to afford energy bills would worsen the situation. I should like to think we have already addressed that, and today I have explained why it is important for us to focus on the ABCD to ensure that patients, too, receive the service that they deserve.

[Dame Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

I am deeply grateful to my right hon. Friend for her excellent statement. These are issues that are of concern to my constituents, especially the issue of primary care. I welcome my right hon. Friend’s approach of not providing prescriptive solutions to some of these problems, but, while ensuring that there is more access to data on waiting times for primary care appointments in particular, will she also consider more carefully whether patients should be allowed to move to a different surgery if they are unable to access such appointments on a timely basis? Otherwise, the data that she is producing will not result in any action for patients themselves.

[Dr Coffey]

I thank my right hon. Friend, and I agree with her that access to GPs is important. At present, we only publish data at the local NHS level—the integrated care board level—which is why I want to go further in relation to general practices. I know that the Minister responsible for primary care, my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Will Quince), wants to try to make it easier for people to change general practices. Of course, where people already have choice that may be possible now, but, understandably, I want to ensure that that fairly basic standard of provision for patients is a high priority across the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Monday 7th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

I am very sorry for the family of the individual to whom the hon. Gentleman refers. It is the role of the coroners to undertake appropriate investigations. I am surprised, and am sorry to hear, that the letter has not gone back. It is not my intention to meet them, recognising the ongoing work that we continue to do to try and provide service to such people.

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

Afghan refugees in north Hampshire have been supported through the hard work of many organisations, including our local jobcentre. Many of those refugees now want to get back into employment. What specific support is my hon. Friend giving to that group?

Supporting Disadvantaged Families

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Monday 9th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

One of the things the hon. Lady fails to mention is that if those who are new to benefits have had full contributions over the last nine months, there is no cap on the benefits that they may receive. The support for mortgage interest is continuing. She is right to say that the Government changed that from a grant to a loan. That was the right thing to do, because people have an asset, and we are helping them to keep it. I am conscious of the extensive work undertaken by the Chancellor on ensuring that mortgages could be rearranged or that payments could be made. I am also conscious of the excellent work done by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on ensuring that no evictions would happen as a result of the issues we are facing, except, more recently, for people who are nuisance neighbours. We have done a lot to ensure that people can stay in their homes and keep a roof over their heads.

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

I warmly welcome this package of measures to support families through what will undoubtedly be a very hard winter. My right hon. Friend will be aware that, in constituencies such as mine, more than half of the people on low incomes are in single-person households, and they face a very different set of issues this winter. Can she confirm that funding for programmes that help people through homelessness, support rough sleepers and provide support on issues around mental health will not be diminished by the package of measures announced today?

[Dr Coffey]

I know Basingstoke well, because that is where I worked for many years, and I am conscious of the wide variety of communities there that are supportive of one another. I hope my right hon. Friend will be aware of the £700 million package announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government last week, to ensure that rough sleeping really does become history.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 30th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

T5. One of my favourite bands is Muse. When I recently Googled “Muse MP3 download”, nine of the 10 sites listed were illegal. Is there something more that my right hon. Friend can do to encourage companies such as Google and Yahoo to remove those illegal sites from their listings?

[Maria Miller]

I share my hon. Friend’s concern about sites that contain illegal material, and I raised that directly with Google when I visited it last year. The Government are acting decisively, particularly with the police IP crime unit, to remove payment facilities from illegal sites and to prevent advertising from appearing. We think more can be done and we will continue to press Google to play a full role.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 20th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

T4. It is the Britten centenary, and the Aldeburgh festival has been another rip-roaring success. Will my right hon. Friend join me in celebrating arts outside the metropolis, including the fantastic performances of “Grimes on the Beach” that we have greatly enjoyed in Aldeburgh in the last week?

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I had the privilege of attending the Aldeburgh festival a week and a half ago. It is an amazing event, celebrating also the life of one of Britain’s greatest artists, Benjamin Britten.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 18th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

I am sure that the hon. Lady will be pleased to know that I recently met many of those who are looking at the issue, which, like her, I take seriously. I want women not to have a false choice between having a family and staying in employment; they need to be able to do both. That is why by changing the culture in our workplaces so that businesses look at how they can accommodate women—not just in respect of their statutory duties, but more fully than that—we can make sure that women can not only have their family responsibilities, but continue in their jobs.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

3. What steps she is taking to increase the number of women in senior positions in business.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Maria Miller)]

The Government are supporting Lord Davies’s voluntary, business-led approach to improve the number of women on boards, which has resulted in an unprecedented increase to date. On top of that, our “Think, Act, Report” initiative encourages companies to take action and report on gender equality in the workplace, promoting greater transparency. More than 80 leading companies are signed up so far, representing more than 1.3 million employees.

[Dr Coffey]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer about an issue that we both believe to be important. A number of Government Members have undertaken an inquiry. Will my right hon. Friend be kind enough to meet us to discuss some of things that we have raised—such as unconscious bias training, which leading companies are giving as a matter of course to help more women get up the pipeline?

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that such work can make all the difference in changing that culture in the workplace. I am aware of the Conservative Women’s Forum’s work in the area, and I applaud it. I would be delighted to meet her.

Press Regulation

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Wednesday 13th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

The hon. Gentleman will know that we are absolutely committed to taking forward the principles of Leveson but, even more importantly, we want to make sure that oversight of the self-regulatory approach that we have taken is fully independent of both the press and the Government. He might agree that having a charter that is not subject to continuous amendment by the House may well give us that result.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that it would be appropriate for Lord Justice Leveson to come to the House so that aspects of his report can be subject to parliamentary scrutiny, perhaps by the Committee on which I used to serve?

[Maria Miller]

I know that the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport has raised this issue, and it is something to which Lord Justice Leveson would need to respond directly. However, I can reassure my hon. Friend that I will always be available to come to the Committee and explain the rationale behind our approach.

Same-sex Marriage in Churches

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Monday 10th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend is right to say that this is all about strengthening marriage. Any individual who marries takes on a huge responsibility. Marriage strengthens our society and underlines commitment, and we should all welcome the fact that this move will enable more people to marry. This is as relevant today as it was 180 years ago.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

Earlier this year, permission was granted for civil partnership ceremonies to be held in religious institutions. Will the Minister tell the House how many times that has actually happened?

[Maria Miller]

I will have to get back to my hon. Friend with those exact data, but I am sure that all the ceremonies that have taken place have been joyous occasions.

BBC

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Monday 12th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

The hon. Gentleman is right that the level of pay-off will not be easy for Members in the Chamber to understand and that it is difficult to justify. However, I hope that he will agree that at this point we need to ensure that the BBC has a period of stability so that it can proceed with the reviews it has undertaken and we can create the sort of change that will strengthen the organisation for the long term.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

The BBC is bigger than “Newsnight”, which is one programme, and what happened is terrible, but does the Secretary of State agree that we should allow Tim Davie, who has already shown clear leadership today, some time to get the BBC back on track so that it can finish those inquiries?

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have seen the BBC set up the reviews, and we now need to ensure that it can conduct its work and that the findings are acted upon.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Thursday 13th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

I share the hon. Lady’s concern to ensure that more people have access to faster broadband as soon as they can. That is why we will shortly announce funding for the first 10 super-connected cities. Bids from up to 27 second-tier cities are due by 17 September. Edinburgh will be among the first 10 cities to which funding will be allocated, and Glasgow can apply in the second round. I urge her, too, to work with the Scottish Government on these matters.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

Suffolk county council will announce its decision in the next few weeks, but the exciting development of 4G roll-out by existing operators is welcome news. Will my right hon. Friend update the House on the progress that Ofcom is making on the other spectrum that will bring 4G nationally?

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend will be aware that we continue to work with the Commission to clarify state aid details prior to our being able to proceed with that part of our programme. We anticipate Commission approval in the autumn and will continue as rapidly as possible to ensure that we make the necessary progress. Our country needs better connectivity to ensure that we are competitive in future.

Employment Support

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Wednesday 7th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

Communication is vital. The hon. Gentleman has to understand that this is part of a 12-month process. We have been in consultation, and 1,400 people contributed to it. It is well known that we have been in this process. Today, Remploy management took a great deal of time to make sure that that communication process continued. I challenge him to look at some of the facts and figures for his own region—to look, for example, at the number of disabled people who are getting into employment. That is something that we believe should be available for Remploy employees as well.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

Everyone in the House will empathise with the people who are at risk of losing their jobs tonight; there is no question about that. Will my hon. Friend confirm that the support these people will receive will help a greater number of people to get into jobs and that the money will be used effectively? Does she share my surprise that the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr Byrne), who just five hours ago expressed his concern that the Minister should be here tonight, is not here tonight?

[Maria Miller]

Obviously, it is important for Members to take part in this debate. I can reassure my hon. Friend that as a result of the proposals that we have announced today, some 8,000 more disabled people will be helped into employment. This is not just about the £320 million that the Government have already announced that they have protected to support this important group of people; it is about an extra £15 million on top of that, and I think that our actions speak very loudly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Miller and Thérèse Coffey

Monday 18th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. We obviously want to ensure that the policy works for everybody involved. The benefit system is designed to maintain a basic income for carers when caring responsibilities prevent them from working full time. It is right that carer’s allowance is paid with reference to what families could expect to earn if they were in fully paid work, but we will keep the policy under review and ensure that it works for carers.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

14. What options he has considered for future support for mortgage interest payments for those out of work.