Business of the House

Marie Goldman Excerpts

Thursday 31st October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Marie Goldman (Chelmsford) (LD)]

I also express my sympathies with the people of eastern Spain on the tragic scenes we are seeing there. I understand that a 71-year-old Briton may also be among the dead, and we expect the numbers to go up. It is perhaps timely that a general debate on flooding is coming up. I welcome that debate, and look forward to hearing what is discussed.

There is much in yesterday’s Budget that the Liberal Democrats welcome. In particular, we welcome the additional funds for the day-to-day NHS spending. We have long been campaigning for that, and we very much welcome it. However, there are patients in hospital who are well enough to leave, but cannot do so unless they get the care they need. Unfortunately, the £600 million that was announced for social care will not touch the sides of what is needed to make that system work properly and alleviate the pressures on the NHS. Will the Leader of the House set aside Government time for a general debate on how best to reform social care?

[Lucy Powell]

I join the hon. Lady and the shadow Leader of the House—I meant to do so earlier—in expressing the Government’s condolences to, and support for, those in Spain who have either died or lost all their belongings and their homes in the recent Spanish floods. As she says, we have a general debate in two weeks’ time on flood preparedness, partly in response to so many questions coming forward on that topic during this Session.

I thank the hon. Lady for her words about the Budget. There is a lot of good news in the Budget that her party should welcome, given how much campaigning they have done on many of these issues. They should be grateful for some of the measures, particularly the biggest ever cash increase in the earnings thresholds for carer’s allowance, for which her party has campaigned. As the hon. Lady says, we have announced a huge funding boost for the NHS and an extra £600 million for social care. She is absolutely right, though, that these issues will take time to work through, and will need further reform and investment to deal with going forward. The ageing population and the crisis in social care are inextricably linked to the future of our health service.