Lung Cancer Screening

Debate between Nick Smith and Steve Barclay

Monday 26th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

My hon. and learned Friend is absolutely right. A key feature of the programme is the use of screening trucks to offer checks within the community. When I was talking to patients this morning, a theme that came through was that the prospect of going to hospital for such a check would have been seen as a more daunting experience. The fact that the check was available, using high-quality equipment, in a vehicle in a supermarket car park made it more accessible to people and, as a result, the uptake was higher than it might have been. He is absolutely right to highlight the proven importance of that in the pilot and that delivering checks through community schemes increases participation; that is a key feature of the programme.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Will the Secretary of State ask the Treasury if the tobacco companies can stump up for the delivery of the programme?

[Steve Barclay]

All Health Secretaries have regular conversations with the Treasury in terms of wider financing. The departmental budget for Health and Social Care is over £180 billion, which is already a significant investment. Through the long-term plan, we have significantly increased our budget and there are many calls on that, including, as we heard from the Opposition Front Bench, in terms of junior doctors’ pay and other issues. Of course these things need to be looked at in the round, but I am always keen to discuss with Treasury colleagues what more can be done.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Steve Barclay

Tuesday 27th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

How his Department determined the criteria for assessing bids to the levelling-up fund; and if he will make a statement.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Steve Barclay)]

The £4.8 billion levelling-up fund will invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on communities across the United Kingdom. It has been jointly designed by the Treasury, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Transport.

[Nick Smith]

Having waited so long, I really hope that the levelling-up fund will boost infrastructure in south Wales. I have already written to the Chancellor about the improvements that are needed for the Ebbw Vale to Cardiff line, to help young people especially to get to work, so can the Minister assure me that this investment will finally be seen through?

[Steve Barclay]

I share the hon. Gentleman’s desire to boost infrastructure in south Wales, and he is quite right to focus on young people getting to work, given how impacted they have been by the pandemic. He knows that his area in particular has received additional funding for capacity, and this will enable it to bid for the levelling-up fund to address the issues that he highlights.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Steve Barclay

Thursday 28th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Barclay]

What EU leaders have said is that they want to have the certainty of a deal. They do not want to see an extension, particularly any extension of uncertainty. The hon. Lady, as some other hon. Members have, talked about 14 March. The key issue is the vote on the 12th—the meaningful vote—and getting a deal. That is what EU leaders have said they want, and that is what this Government want.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

I voted for Labour’s Brexit deal, but does the Secretary of State agree with the CBI that a no-deal Brexit will mean

“a lost decade, stifling the UK’s potential and leaving us less competitive, productive and prosperous for years to come”?

Acute and Community Health

Debate between Nick Smith and Steve Barclay

Thursday 8th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Barclay]

I spoke to colleagues in the MOJ yesterday about the issue that my right hon. and learned Friend raised in the first part of his question. I agree with him that the standards of care for those in prison should be the same as those in the NHS more widely. As he will know, NHS England took over commissioning for healthcare services in prisons in 2013; that is one of the changes that have been made. He will also know that Dr Kirkup’s report drew attention to local factors, including a personal conflict of interests that goes to the heart of the relationship between the trust and the prison. However, he is absolutely right to allude to some wider issues from which we need to learn.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

How many members of the board failed to co-operate with this scathing review, and can the Minister name them?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Steve Barclay

Tuesday 6th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

T2. Last week at PMQs, the Prime Minister made an inaccurate statement about the emergency health services in Wales. The chair of the UK Statistics Authority concluded that the Prime Minister’s comparison was not valid. Comparisons on the performance of our NHS are important, so will Government Ministers check their partisan figures in future?

[The Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Stephen Barclay)]

It is interesting, looking at the comparisons, to see that the NHS in Wales appears to have changed a number of them, to make it more difficult to compare performance between England and Wales. The more scrutiny there is of the performance in Wales—where clinicians say that the best performance often equates to the worst performance in England—the more we will see the need for serious changes in the way in which the NHS delivers its services in Wales.