Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 15th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We are reducing investment in the back office so we can put more money into the front line. The result is that there are 219,000 more cancer treatments every year than there were under the last year of the Labour Government.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

8. When his Department plans to publish its proposed new sexual health policy document.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Norman Lamb)]

We plan to publish our policy document on sexual health and HIV shortly. Improving sexual health is very important for individuals and communities.

[Nick Smith]

Can the Minister explain why the sexual health policy has been delayed for almost two years? Does he accept that this delay is affecting the ability of PCTs to deliver effective sexual health services?

[Norman Lamb]

From April, local authorities will be responsible for commissioning services. Because we have seen this really impressive increase in funding for public health, local authorities will have the ability to maintain and indeed improve sexual health services for their local communities. That is something of which we should be proud.