Business of the House

Matt Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

My hon. Friend knows that the Government are committed to building 1.5 million new homes to fix our housing crisis and ensure that everyone has a safe, secure and affordable place to live, but she is absolutely right that infrastructure needs to be built alongside those new homes. Our planning frameworks are clear that large-scale development should be sustainable and infrastructure-led. I encourage my hon. Friend to ask for either a Westminster Hall debate or an Adjournment debate when we return, so that she can hear directly from a Minister how the situation can be resolved.

[Matt Vickers (Stockton West) (Con)]

Over recent years, the people of Stockton have seen investment in the local health service, with a new diagnostic centre, a new mental health hub and new state-of-the-art robotics. But North Tees hospital is reaching the end of its life. The outstanding staff who work there deserve a first-class place to work, but instead of a new hospital, all they have had from this Government is 600 job losses. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate on the urgent need for a new North Tees hospital?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

First, I congratulate the hon. Gentleman—I am sure many of us envy him—on Stockton making the shortlist for town of culture, which is a great tribute to the work taking place there. The Government are of course committed to doing everything they can to address the crisis in the NHS, not least in respect of infrastructure. This Government are different from the last Government, in the sense that we are not just committed to bringing forward plans, albeit I understand the urgency; we are actually going to provide the money for those plans. That was the bit that was missing.