Nottingham Maternity and Neonatal Services

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Wednesday 24th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Simon Hoare (North Dorset) (Con)]

The Secretary of State and the shadow Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Stuart Andrew), are both to be congratulated on the tone and tenor with which they have approached this most sensitive of issues—it is in the very best tradition of this place. It also indicates, I hope, a preparedness to work across the two parties to bring forward speedy solutions to the horrors we are hearing about and have read about in the report.

May I ask the Secretary of State two direct questions? First, the management of bodies post mortem seems to fall between his Department and the Ministry of Justice. We have talked far too often about how to regulate that space.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

indicated assent.

[Simon Hoare]

The hon. Member for Leeds South West and Morley (Mark Sewards) is in agreement. Can the Secretary of State’s Department now grip that issue and drive it forward in order to give certainty to all our people that there is dignity and decency for all in death?

Secondly, this issue clearly affects Nottinghamshire most acutely, but there are expectant parents across England today who will be worried about the level of service they can expect and about the outcomes for themselves and their child. What is the Secretary of State proposing to do to communicate with those people, to say that the Government are aware of this issue and are gripping it—that a shake-up is taking place and better services will be provided—as well as to give them some indication of what they can expect, and to give them comfort and confidence in what should be the most exciting period of their lives?

--- Later in debate ---

[James Murray]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising the important issues that she referred to in her remarks. I am happy to make sure that either me or a member of my ministerial team will meet her to discuss them in further detail.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement today. It is a difficult and painful, but that is as nothing compared with what those families have been through. On the shocking details he shared with us about babies’ bodies being mistreated in mortuaries, I am sorry to say that that story will be directly relevant to two constituents I am representing. I would appreciate a meeting with him, however brief, to discuss their cases ahead of his Department’s publication of its decisions on the final recommendations from the phase 2 report of the Fuller inquiry. He will also know that Leeds families at the start of their maternity journey—Donna Ockenden is conducting an inquiry into Leeds maternity services—will welcome, as do I, his commitment to ensuring that the duty of candour will apply in that inquiry. Can he confirm for them and for me that all the lessons that Donna Ockenden and he have learned from this inquiry will be applied to the Leeds inquiry, so that those families get the answers they deserve?

Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Newborn Screening Test

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Lewis Atkinson]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right and I will come on to talk about screening in just a minute.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under you, Mr Mundell. My hon. Friend is talking about lifesaving treatments. One of my constituents has a niece who was born with SMA type 1 and previously would have been at risk of dying. My constituent was told that her niece was unlikely to live past the age of two, but because of the advances in treatment that my hon. Friend has just spoken about, she has just celebrated her ninth birthday. However, she did have to be fed through a stomach pump. Does my hon. Friend agree that for £3.1 million we can get full coverage across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and ensure that all babies are tested, so that those with SMA can be treated as early as possible?

[Lewis Atkinson]

I agree with my hon. Friend, though I think the issue is not mainly financial; I will come on to that in a minute.

As other Members have said, the key point is that treatments are dramatically more effective the earlier they are given: before symptoms appear and before irreversible damage is done. Once motor neurones are lost they do not come back.

Endometriosis Services

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Tuesday 24th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jack Abbott]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention and completely agree with him. I have focused much of my speech on the lack of specialist care in Ipswich, but the postcode lottery is affecting people and communities across the United Kingdom, including in Northern Ireland.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

I commend my hon. Friend on his incredibly powerful argument. I also commend Monica and other women here today. Women in my constituency have told me that the pain they experienced was described as “normal and expected” by health professionals. I welcome the Department of Health and Social Care’s commitment to renew the women’s health strategy to tackle inequalities in care. Does my hon. Friend agree that any such strategy should include a commitment to provide the right resources, training and funding? Although there is no cure, women deserve the best possible care.

Funeral Directors: Regulation

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dame Caroline Dinenage]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right; better regulation is exactly what we are pushing for. In fact, everything needs to be better when it comes to the services governed by those organisations. As he says, the vast majority of funeral directors up and down this country work with incredible professionalism, great pride and integrity. They care deeply about what they do, and about the families and the individuals who they look after. One funeral technician told me that she does not see her work as a job—she sees it as a privilege. Such businesses and individuals have been silent pillars of our communities for centuries.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

The hon. Lady is making a powerful speech on an incredibly difficult topic. On behalf of my constituents, Cody and Liam Townend and Zoe Ward, who had horrific things happen to their babies’ bodies as a result of the lack of regulation, I spoke to both main professional bodies, which cover 80% of the sector, and lots of businesses, including the biggest player in the sector. They are united in thinking that regulation is the answer to restoring public trust in the funeral sector. Does she agree?

[Dame Caroline Dinenage]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right and I am about to make exactly that point. I am grateful to him for teeing it up so beautifully for me, because it takes only one business to do the wrong thing to erode trust, but unfortunately the case of Elkin and Bell is not the only case. There have been similar cases at Legacies Independent in Hull and Florrie’s Army in Leeds, which I think is the case he refers to, where deceased babies were staged in lifelike positions in a living room. These are unspeakable and unimaginable horrors. There have been other cases where bodies have been found in the most unimaginable condition, but no further action could be taken by the police or others because, simply and incredulously, those businesses have not actually broken any laws.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Dr Zubir Ahmed)]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage) for securing this important debate and for her continued advocacy on behalf of her constituents. As the hon. Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare) highlighted, I was here at this Dispatch Box not so long ago responding to him on the same topic.

We all recognise the profound importance of ensuring dignity, safety and high quality standards of care for people during life and after they die. Bereaved families place immense trust in funeral directors to guide and support us through one of the most difficult and distressing times of our lives and to ensure that our loved ones are laid to rest with the utmost respect. They rightly expect that high standards, professional conduct and appropriate oversight are firmly in place. However, these deeply troubling cases, including the appalling events in the constituencies of the hon. Member for Gosport and of my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds South West and Morley (Mark Sewards), demonstrate that his trust cannot always be assumed.

Although these cases are rare, they have revealed serious weaknesses in our system, as the hon. Member for Gosport has adumbrated this evening. Unacceptable and distressing incidents, such as bodies being stored or treated in ways that cause deep anguish, were able to occur. In some instances, the police lacked the powers they needed to act. In the case of Elkin and Bell, the two funeral directors in the hon. Lady’s constituency, charges included intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance, the common law offence of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body, and carrying on a business with intent to defraud creditors or another fraudulent purpose.

The Ministry of Justice is actively exploring options to strengthen criminal law protections for the deceased, including the potential for new offences as outlined in the Law Commission’s 14th programme of work. This work will identify gaps in the current law and whether new offences are needed to address behaviours that fail to treat a deceased person with dignity and respect. I am pleased to say that we have already taken steps to strengthen and improve standards to safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased.

My Department is responsible for co-ordinating the Government’s response to phase 2 of the Fuller inquiry. In December 2025, the Government published our interim update, outlining the progress made against the 75 recommendations. Of those, 11 have been accepted in full, 43 are accepted in principle and 21 remain under consideration. The 11 recommendations accepted in full cover standards, data and operating procedures in the wider health sector. Highlights include the Human Tissue Authority’s publication of updated guidance on 1 December to ensure that adverse incidents in the anatomy sector are recorded, and NHS England’s agreement to introduce data collection on conveying deceased patients in ambulances for the first time in 2026-27.

Since I was last here at the Dispatch Box responding to the hon. Member for North Dorset, the Human Tissue Authority has also issued universal and generic best practice guidance for those responsible for the care and dignity of the deceased, including organisations not formally regulated by the HTA. That point is particularly pertinent in relation to the hon. Member for Gosport’s comments about the increasing number of direct cremations. In addition, the HTA has begun reviewing its codes of practice. That process will continue into 2026-27. The review may lead to changes to the current guidance in light of the Fuller inquiry recommendations, and it will help us to consider whether the codes could be applied and used by other settings.

Before turning to the discussion about the options to strengthen and improve standards to safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased, I want to remind the House how we got here. Following the unspeakable crimes committed by David Fuller, the last Government established an independent inquiry, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care, to investigate how a member of staff was able to carry out such unlawful and abhorrent acts in hospital mortuaries, and how those actions went unnoticed. I must make it clear that crimes such as David Fuller’s are extremely rare. However, that will come as little consolation to the families involved. At this point I extend my deepest sympathies to those families, who continue to bear the weight of suffering, and for whom it must be particularly triggering when debates such as this are held in the Chamber.

Phase 1 of the inquiry focused on the crimes that Fuller committed in the mortuaries at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust. The phase 1 report, published in November 2023, identified failures of management, governance and regulation, as well as a lack of curiosity, which enabled Fuller to continue his repeat offending. It set out 16 recommendations for the trust and one for local councils. In February 2024, the trust published an assurance statement on the implementation of the recommendations from the report. Kent and East Sussex county councils reviewed the position and confirmed that their contracts with the trust required compliance with licensing and regulatory standards to ensure that the deceased were treated with dignity and respect.

On 15 July 2025, the inquiry panel published its final phase 2 report, which dealt with the care of the deceased in both hospital and non-hospital settings. It acknowledged that arrangements for the care of deceased people are complex and often interconnected. It clearly identified multiple organisations, with different governance and operating models, spread across a large number of sectors. It focused on whether procedures and practices in hospital and non-hospital settings, including the funeral sector, were doing enough to safeguard the security of the deceased, and it considered the role of regulators.

The overall recommendation of the inquiry’s chair, Sir Jonathan Michael, was for the Government to introduce an independent statutory regulatory regime to protect the security and dignity of people after death in all settings where deceased individuals are cared for, regardless of the institution, including funeral directors. Eleven of the phase 2 recommendations relate to the introduction of statutory regulation, including regulation of the funeral sector. They remain under consideration. Through the Fuller inquiry recommendations programme board, established in July last year, work continues apace with the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Business and Trade and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to assess options for Government intervention to improve standards of care for the deceased in the funeral sector, and, as such, to respond to the recommendations.

[Mark Sewards]

Can the Minister tell me whether any meeting has taken place between those Departments, or whether one is going to take place, and if so, when?

[Dr Ahmed]

The hon. Gentleman is clearly reading my speech. I can assure him that meetings had taken place before my appointment as the Minister responsible for the aspects of the regulations relating to the Department of Health and Social Care. I can also confirm that further meetings are taking place, at my instruction, with the relevant Departments—hosted by me in the Department of Health and Social Care—so that we can genuinely move forward. I know that there is consensus across the House that we must move forward, genuinely and expediently, not only in aligning lines of demarcation and responsibility across those Departments, but in genuinely working together and showing leadership on this issue. I shall be happy to keep the hon. Members who are interested updated on those meetings when they take place.

This is a complex and sensitive matter that requires careful and thoughtful consideration to safeguard the rights and dignity of those who have died, to support their bereaved families, and to ensure that any measures taken are proportionate, given that we are working with a number of small and medium-sized enterprises. To support this work, I am continuing to discuss progress and next steps with relevant Ministers across Government, as I said in response to the intervention from my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds South West and Morley (Mark Sewards). The Government are continuing to consider all options to ensure that high standards are upheld consistently across the funeral sector, and that includes the possibility of introducing suitable and proportionate regulation for funeral directors.

As we discuss these options, we are clear about the need for the approach to maintain high standards, protect the dignity of the deceased and support bereaved families, recognising that any additional costs arising from regulation will ultimately fall on them. At the same time, we must consider the impact on the funeral sector itself.

The funeral sector comprises 6,500 private businesses across the UK, the vast majority of which serve their communities with compassion and integrity, as we have heard tonight. Some 85% are already members of trade bodies that provide guidance, codes of practice and voluntary inspection schemes. The Government are committed to reducing the administrative burdens of regulation on businesses by 25%, and that will contribute to our approach to regulation in this area.

Sudden Cardiac Death in Young People

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Hack (North West Leicestershire) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) for securing this important debate and for speaking so passionately about the issue at hand. As a reminder, 12 young, fit, healthy young people a week die of an unknown heart condition. That means that by the time we get to Christmas, 20 young people will have lost their lives. By this time next year, it will be 600 people. All of those deaths could have been prevented.

I first became aware of the scale of this tragedy when I bumped into an old school friend for his 40th birthday. He was fundraising for the brilliant Cardiac Risk in the Young, or CRY. Unbeknown to me, he had lost his brother to a sudden cardiac arrest when we were just in our teens. The second time I came across CRY, it was much closer to home. My niece’s boyfriend sadly passed away in his sleep three years ago. He was fit and healthy, having gone on a run earlier that day. His mother Lesley and my niece Izzy have been steadfast in their campaigning for CRY ever since.

What is CRY all about? It does vital work in raising awareness, supporting bereaved families and, most importantly, screening young people. CRY offers electrocardiogram screenings to all young people between the ages of 14 and 35. To date, it has screened more than 340,000 young people since its formation 30 years ago. I was lucky enough to see one of its screening days first hand at Cambridge University sports centre, organised by Hilary Nicholls, who has already been mentioned this evening, in memory of her daughter Clarissa, who passed away aged just 20 while hiking in France.

CRY is calling for the National Screening Committee urgently to review and reconsider evidence supporting the roll-out of a national screening programme, and for a national screening strategy for the prevention of young sudden cardiac death. I would welcome the Minister’s comments on that. When a similar programme was introduced in Italy in the 1980s, it saw a reduction in young people dying of 85%.

Over the past year, I have been speaking to national sporting bodies alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham and Penge (Liam Conlon) to identify which were already screening their players and how they do it, as well as meeting organisations that represent sports facilities. Just the other week, we heard the excellent news that cardiac screening is being introduced across the netball super league here in England as a requirement from next season, and every player will be screened before the season starts. I also understand that it will be working with CRY to provide screenings for clubs and players where there is nothing already in place. This comes after Kaitlin Lawrence collapsed while warming up for a netball match and hospital scans showed that she had an irregular heartbeat. Lawrence was asymptomatic, young, fit and an elite netball player, and her experience shows just how crucial it is to screen young people playing sport.

I should, however, make it clear that many people can still play sport after receiving a diagnosis. Wonderful tools are available, along with fantastic cardiologists across the country, to facilitate that. We need only observe how successful Christian Eriksen has been since his collapse on the pitch during an international game. This need not be a deterrent; it is information. It is simply not good enough to say that screening young people will put them off sport and should therefore not be widely carried out. Crucially, however, the necessary level of screening is not being undertaken, which means that we must ensure that we have access to defibs and understand how to carry out CPR, which is just as important.

My hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham and Penge (Liam Conlon) and I met Arsenal’s team doctor, Zaf Iqbal, at the club’s training ground earlier this month. Zaf is passionate about cardiac health, and has been using his position at Arsenal—and at his previous clubs—to champion greater awareness of CPR and defibs among school-age children. I also want to draw attention to the incredible work that Brentford FC is doing with its Heart of West London campaign, opening up its ground to offer cardiac screening to the surrounding community; it carries out about 1,000 screenings a year. That kind of engagement is exactly what we need to get the message embedded in our communities of how important it is to be ready in the event of an emergency.

The fact is, however, that our defib network is nowhere near fit for purpose. I recently held a “defib dash” in my constituency, which effectively worked like a small-scale community audit of our defib network. The results were deeply concerning. Most of the constituents who took part had to dash for eight minutes or longer just to get to their nearest defib. Let me remind Members that every minute CPR or a defib is not used on someone suffering from a cardiac arrest, that person’s life expectancy falls by 10%.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech, as my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) did earlier. May I pursue the question asked earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell)? Defibrillators can be incredibly useful when they are rolled out to communities, for all the reasons given by my hon. Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack). It is hard to find an area in my constituency without a defibrillator that has been fundraised for and installed by volunteers, but I must admit that I do not know how to use one. Following this debate, I will go away and make sure that I do know how to use one, but how can we roll out defibrillator training nationally to ensure that as many people as possible know how to use them in an emergency?

[Amanda Hack]

I thank my hon. Friend for that important intervention. Defibs talk to you; there is no need to be mystified by their use. They are clever bits of kit, and a 999 emergency responder will talk people through the process. I ask everyone please to go and be trained, because this is really important stuff.

Children with Serious Neurological Conditions

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[James Asser]

I am very happy to join my hon. Friend in that. I certainly know, and I think the House knows, his expertise in this area and the knowledge he brings to the House. That is something I will touch on further in a little while.

Some conditions present at birth and others emerge unexpectedly in early childhood. What unites the families is not only the complexity of the diagnosis, but the emotional, financial and practical challenges that follow. When faced with these circumstances, support is not an optional extra; it is the difference between families coping or reaching breaking point. Today, I want to focus on areas where the Government can continue to make a tangible difference, while also reflecting on several principles identified by families and organisations working closely in this space.

The first is access to high-quality information and specialist expertise. In the early weeks and months after a child’s diagnosis, many parents simply do not know where to turn. Conditions may be so rare that even highly experienced clinicians have encountered only a few cases. Understandably, families seek second opinions, sometimes internationally, in their search for clarity and reassurance. That is why proposals for more consistent access to second opinions, including clarity on how families can request them and where they may come from, are so important. Ensuring that such opinions are available promptly and from appropriately qualified clinicians would help prevent misunderstandings and reduce distress at an already emotional time. Similarly, early involvement of mediation and clinical ethics support can help families and clinicians work through complex decisions collaboratively, rather than feeling pushed towards formal disputes. When available at the right moment, these mechanisms can preserve trust and keep conversations centred on the child’s best interests.

Families have also highlighted the importance of having clear and safe hospital transfer options. Where another suitably qualified hospital, whether in the UK or abroad, is willing to accept a child, and where the clinical risks are manageable, families understandably value the reassurance that such a transfer could be facilitated. Greater clarity on how transfer decisions are made would help families feel respected as partners in their child’s care. I would be grateful if the Minister outlined, when she replies, what further steps might be taken to strengthen these early support mechanisms and to ensure that families across the country have timely, consistent access to the specialist guidance they need.

The second area where the Government can make a difference is in emotional and practical support for families. Caring for a child with a serious neurological condition frequently requires round-the-clock care. Parents become experts in medical equipment, emergency responses, symptom patterns and complex medication schedules. This can take an enormous emotional toll. Consistent access to counselling, respite breaks, community nursing and psychological support can make an extraordinary difference. However, we know that this provision can vary. Some families receive exemplary support, while others find themselves waiting months or navigating multiple agencies before help arrives. Strengthening those forms of support so that they are reliable, accessible and sensitive to the pressures that families face would greatly reduce the emotional and financial burden that parents often shoulder.

The third area is ensuring that public services are co-ordinated, compassionate and connected. Many parents describe the system as fragmented, not through lack of dedication from professionals but because structures do not always align. Families may find themselves repeating their child’s history multiple times, facing delays in equipment provision, or juggling unco-ordinated appointments. For children with complex neurological needs, health, education and social care are deeply interconnected. A more joined-up approach can relieve pressure and help ensure children receive the right support at the right moment.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent argument for more support for children and families in this position. A family in my constituency wrote to me about their granddaughter who has Huntingdon’s disease. She is 10, and she desperately needs an education, health and care plan so that she can get to the right special educational needs and disabilities school next year. However, the family found that there are not enough educational psychologists to give referrals, and time is running out. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to prioritise support for people in that position to get them the education and support they deserve as quickly as possible?

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Wednesday 19th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Tessa Munt]

I absolutely agree, and I thank the hon. Gentleman. The second area where I would urge the Government to go further is support for people with severe and very severe ME. It is estimated that around one in four people with ME are severely affected. ME is perhaps the only condition where the sicker someone becomes, the less care they receive from the NHS. The recent prevention of future deaths report focused on the tragic case of Maeve Boothby O’Neill, describing NHS care for severe ME as “non-existent”.

In my work on this issue, I have collaborated closely with #ThereForME, a campaign founded by two women, Karen and Emma, who are carers to partners with very severe ME. It can be difficult to comprehend the depth of suffering that ME can bring in its most extreme forms. With his permission, Karen has shared details with me about of her husband James’s day-to-day life.

Before developing ME, James, in his 30s, lived a full life and was a civil servant. Today he is completely bed-bound and spends 99% of his day alone in a dark room, unable to tolerate any noise, light or stimulation. He is hardly able to communicate and is so sensitive to touch that, despite his suffering, his wife Karen is unable to give him a hug or hold his hand. Despite an acute level of need, James is receiving next to no care from the NHS. Karen tells me that her biggest fear is that he deteriorates to the point of needing lifesaving care. She cannot feel confident that the NHS will provide it.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

The hon. Member is making an incredibly powerful speech. One of my constituents, an NHS nurse, suffers with ME. He cannot play with his children, walk his dog or undertake basic activities. When he went to the NHS, he got a referral, but was told that it would be nine months before he got an appointment, which forced him to consider private options. An NHS nurse is having to use private healthcare to get results—this situation is untenable, is it not?

[Tessa Munt]

It is not only untenable, but completely absurd. In September 2024, on World Patient Safety Day, over 200 healthcare workers were so concerned about NHS care for ME, and particularly care for severe and very severe ME, that they wrote a letter to the Health Secretary calling for immediate action to save lives. That letter was sent 14 months ago. I am sorry to say that very little has changed since, and they did not receive a response.

Regulation and Inspection of Funeral Services

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Monday 27th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Simon Hoare]

I fundamentally agree with what the hon. Gentleman said, as would the lion’s share of operators, because they are acutely aware of a crisis of public confidence in the sector’s ability to deliver.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent speech on an incredibly difficult topic. Next month, I am bringing two mums from Leeds down to meet the Victims Minister. They tragically lost their babies in different circumstances, but both went to the same funeral director, who did horrific things with their babies’ bodies. The police found nothing actionable because there is no regulation of the funeral industry. That needs to change. The hon. Gentleman talks about the public’s reaction, so does he agree that the more cases that come to light, the more the public realise what is possible in the funeral sector right now and the louder their calls for regulation will grow? I urge the Minister to recognise the urgent need to address this issue.

[Simon Hoare]

I am very sorry to hear what the hon. Gentleman has relayed; I know that the whole House will send prayers, thoughts and sympathies to his constituents. What a terrible thing to be dealing with in what are already tragically sad circumstances. He is right to urge the Minister to give a turbocharged and energised response.

As a society, our relationship with funerals is changing. We have become, as we know, a more secular society, so we are looking for other ways to deal with funeral services, rather than the traditional church service and so on. The covid pandemic certainly expedited the—I do not necessarily use this term in a disparaging sense—cheaper, faster and more streamlined approach to dealing with the deceased.

Funerals have become very expensive, when done well, because funeral directors have costs that need to be met, which is why we have seen this great rash of adverts. Anyone who watches any daytime commercial television will know that those over 55 are well insured—I qualify by a year. I am told there are plenty of machines for those who have difficulty getting out of a chair or a bed, and they can press a button and spring up and out like Zebedee. And there are 101 different funeral plan providers who will meet people’s needs very cheaply indeed.

There is little or no doubt that the lion’s share of operators are legit, above board, doing their best and doing it well, but the absence of regulation means that, if we so wished, the Minister and I could set up a funeral directors. We do not need a licence.

NHS 10-Year Plan

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Thursday 3rd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I can certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance. It is precisely because of examples of the sort that he has shared with the House that we have to get this right, so that we relieve families of such catastrophic care costs. Just as the NHS replaced fear with high-quality care for all, we have to alleviate the fear of families who require care, because the situation that he describes blights too many families across our country.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

May I briefly commend the Health Secretary for his comments on the morning media about events in this place yesterday? Empathy is in short supply in politics, and we could do with a bit more of it.

I really welcome the 10-year health plan, and specifically the focus on outcomes and the transformation of the NHS into a neighbourhood health service, complete with health centres. The plan states the criterion for deciding the first locations of these health centres: they will be the areas with the greatest need. Will the Health Secretary expand on that criterion, and perhaps tell me what I need to do to get a health centre for Leeds South West and Morley?

[Wes Streeting]

I knew exactly where that question was going, because my hon. Friend has been such a strong champion of his constituency since he arrived in this place. I am committed to rolling out neighbourhood health across the country, and to making sure that we particularly benefit the communities with the greatest need that are the most poorly served. This is in no small part possible thanks to the leadership of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the wise decisions that she has taken. Not only have we delivered investment in the NHS, but interest rates have fallen four times, wages are finally rising at a higher rate than the cost of living, and we have the fastest-growing economy in the G7. That is the leadership that we need from the Chancellor, and it is here to stay.

Dementia Care

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. One of my constituents has a grandma who waited a staggering 18 months for a dementia diagnosis. The family did not have the £3,000 required to get a private diagnosis. My hon. Friend mentioned the need to increase the resources available to the NHS and how committed this Government are, so will he join me in encouraging the Minister to direct resources not just to dementia care, but to dementia diagnosis, so people can get the diagnosis they need faster?

[Chris Bloore]

My hon. Friend’s intervention highlights inequalities throughout the country and reaffirms why the hon. Member for South Devon sought this debate. People who cannot access private care are put at a huge disadvantage, which is simply not acceptable, so I agree with my hon. Friend’s call to the Government.

We know that people with dementia are far more likely to have unplanned hospital admissions, which can cause distress and often worsen their condition. That shows why we urgently need better community care, and why hospital staff must have improved dementia training to provide the care that these patients deserve.

The economic cost of dementia to the UK is enormous; including healthcare, social care and the wider costs to society, it is estimated to be over £42 billion a year. The huge financial burden highlights the importance not only of investing in medical research but of improving support and care infrastructure.

Unpaid carers play a massive and often overlooked role. In fact, family members and friends provide the majority of care for people living with dementia. Women make up a disproportionate share of unpaid carers, balancing that demanding role alongside work and other responsibilities. Their contribution is invaluable but can come at a significant personal cost, including financial strain, mental and physical exhaustion, and social isolation.

Age UK has made it clear that the system is overstretched and underfunded. People in Redditch, and everywhere else, deserve consistent, high-quality care that respects their dignity no matter where they live.