Business of the House

Mark Hendrick Excerpts

Thursday 20th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I will say two things. First, the Government have a plan to spend £5 billion of taxpayers’ money on buses and cycling over the course of this Parliament. As people begin to go back to work—from today we can go back to work in our offices—it would be natural to expect the demand for bus services to increase, so that temporary closures ought to be reversible.

[Sir Mark Hendrick (Preston) (Lab/Co-op)]

May we have a debate in Government time on ambulance waiting times, which are becoming critical in Lancashire? People are waiting for hours outside the Royal Preston Hospital, where covid cases have risen rapidly. The Government announced the relaxation of measures yesterday, but infections and deaths are rising, and we also have a Nightingale ward set up at the hospital, which is causing major congestion and problems outside. Will the Leader of the House look into that?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

As I have said to other Members, I am always open to taking up specific cases with Ministers and Departments on behalf of individual Members in relation to their constituents. On the general point on ambulances, NHS England has given ambulance trusts an extra £55 million to boost staff numbers this winter, and the NHS has been supported this winter, including with £478 million as part of the enhanced hospital discharge programme, which frees up beds and therefore makes patient admissions at the front end easier. So considerable amounts of taxpayers’ money are being committed to helping the ambulance service, but, as I said, if there is a specific issue with a specific hospital on which the hon. Gentleman has not been able to get a satisfactory answer from the Department of Health and Social Care, my office will be more than happy to help.

Business of the House

Mark Hendrick Excerpts

Thursday 13th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am glad that the extra funding is being put to good use in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and I remind him that the shadow Secretary of State for Health said:

“It is irresponsible to increase NHS spending in real terms”.

[Mark Hendrick (Preston) (Lab/Co-op)]

Is the Leader of the House aware of the 1,400 job losses that will occur at BAE Systems as a result of the Government’s cutting the defence budget too far and too fast? That is having a devastating effect on families across Lancashire and on the manufacturing base in this country. May we have a debate specifically on the future of manufacturing in this country?

[Sir George Young]

I know that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Ministry of Defence are anxious to mitigate the problems that confront BAE Systems and a number of towns throughout the country that have been impacted by the reduction in defence spending—which I suspect the hon. Gentleman’s party would have had to do in any event had it been re-elected. I shall certainly pursue the particular issue in his constituency and see what steps can be taken to mitigate the impact on unemployment.