Budget Resolutions Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Nusrat Ghani
Main Page: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Sussex Weald)Department Debates - View all Nusrat Ghani's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
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Several hon. Members rose—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. As so many Members wish to contribute, the speaking limit has now dropped to three minutes.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I welcome the Government’s abolition of the two-child benefit cap, but it should not have taken 16 months—it should have been the first act of a Labour Government.
I will speak first about the national health service. It is the jewel in the UK crown, but under consecutive Governments, millions of pounds of public money has gone to waste on interest payments for PFI schemes—that is money that should have been spent on frontline care or paying for doctors and nurses. PFI was a costly failure that lined the pockets of private consultants and contractors at the expense of NHS patients and staff. Now, it appears that the Government are planning to do the same again but expect different results.
Failed PFI schemes from the noughties, for three Leicestershire hospitals, saw the NHS sued for almost £30 million by the favoured consortium despite work not being taken and not a single hospital being built. Leicester’s three hospitals are still without any new buildings, as Ministers have pushed their development into wave 2, way beyond the original 2030 target, more than 30 years after the need was first identified. Coventry hospital, which was built, costs £1 million a week alone. The law was even changed to ensure that private contractors were paid before our NHS staff. Since the inception of PFI, around £60 billion of private money has gone into 700 PFI projects. In return, the Government will pay £306 billion. Those escalating costs eat into the NHS budget and leave less for frontline services.
Secondly, I will speak about private providers. As an optometrist, I have referred people for cataracts surgery because the waiting time is much shorter and it makes sense to do so, but unfortunately the transfer of taxpayer money to the private sector reduces resources for NHS services and ultimately limits its ability to treat patients effectively. The Government have apparently set aside £2.5 billion—and that is set to rise to £16 billion—for private services That is disappointing, as they could have used the Budget to expand NHS capacity by building new facilities, rather than buying out private sector clinics, but they did not. They could support local authorities and not-for-profit organisations to take over social care, but they have not. These are political decisions that have consequences in the long run.
Thirdly, I would like to speak about the deal with Palantir on data sharing that the Health Secretary is pressing ahead with. I have had patients contact me who are really concerned about data sharing. In fact, two of them wrote to me in the last week because they are really frightened that they have to opt out of this. It seems that our data is a commodity that is going to the highest bidder.
I would also quickly like to touch on hospices. I am running out of time, but LOROS hospice in my constituency is serving 1.2 million people in Leicester with only 18 beds—
Several hon. Members rose—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
To make the final Back-Bench speech, I call Jo Platt.
Jo Platt (Leigh and Atherton) (Lab/Co-op)
The autumn Budget shapes the choices we make and the kind of society we want to build together. After 14 years of mismanagement, this Budget is about turning the page. It is about moving from uncertainty to opportunity, and about giving people the confidence that the Government are on their side. That is why I welcome the Chancellor’s autumn Budget. It marks the start of a series of measures that will make a real difference, such as helping with the cost of living, supporting our NHS and giving our communities the opportunities they need to reach their potential.
From our proud coalfield communities involved in the BCSSS scheme, who will finally receive the justice they deserve, to the 2,840 families in Leigh and Atherton who will benefit from lifting the two-child benefit cap, this Budget demonstrates that the Government are listening to communities like mine. It shows that the voices of ordinary people and the concerns raised in towns like Leigh and Atherton are being heard. I want to give special thanks to William Hancock, a local mineworker who fought tirelessly to support his fellow workers in getting the justice they deserve.
I was delighted when the Chancellor announced measures to tackle illicit activity on our high streets. For too long, fake shops and rogue traders have undermined confidence and damaged local pride. That ends now. Backed by £45 million over four years, the new crackdown will create a cross-Government taskforce, strengthen trading standards and give law enforcement the tools it needs to protect honest businesses. This is a direct response to the campaign I have led, alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), to shut down dodgy shops and restore pride to our high streets. We do need to go further, but this is a huge step forward. It is the start of the change that our communities have demanded for so long.
This Budget is not the end; it is the beginning. Together we will rebuild trust, restore pride and create the kind of society that reflects the best of who we are. That is the future we promised, and that is the future we will deliver.
Jessica Toale
I am sure that the Chancellor appreciates the hon. Gentleman’s input into the Budget, given that the public roundly rejected your approach to our economy just a year and a half ago.
Madam Deputy Speaker
Order. The terms “you” and “yours” should not be used, and interventions need to be short, so quickly get to the point.
Madam Deputy Speaker
Order. The Minister is clearly not giving way to you, Mr Hoare, and the rest of us want to hear what he has to say.
James Murray
As the hon. Gentleman knows, Madam Deputy Speaker, I give way to him week in, week out in this place, so I know pretty much what he is going to say. I do not have much time, so I am going to make some progress. [Interruption.] The Opposition are very loud at the moment, but time and again there is deafening silence when they are asked to defend their record in government. They simply refuse to own up and face up to the damage they caused to our economy by slashing investment.
Our decision not to slash investment and to reject uncontrolled borrowing means that we have had to take fair and necessary choices on tax. We are being up front that those choices will mean everyone contributes more, but, as we promised last year, we are keeping taxes on working people as low as possible. We are doing that by reforming the tax system, increasing the rate of tax on property income and on those with £2 million-plus homes, increasing tax rates for online gambling while removing bingo duty, and ensuring that HMRC has the right technology for a modern, effective tax system. We are making the changes that the Conservatives always ducked, and we are keeping taxes on working people as low as possible.
When it comes to growth, the Chancellor has already beaten the forecasts once, with improved growth reported this year. We are determined to beat the forecasts in future years too, because we will not let the previous Government’s record hold Britain back in the future. We are backing entrepreneurs with tax breaks for businesses to scale and stay in the UK. We have secured hundreds of billions of pounds of private investment, and we are making sure that investment goes to every region and nation of the UK, so that everyone across the country feels the benefits of growth.
Families across the country plan how much to spend week in, week out. They budget, save and economise to stay on top of their household finances. We will hold ourselves to the same, and higher, standards when it comes to taxpayers’ money. We will always make sure that the Government live within their means and make every penny count. We have already begun to improve the efficiency of Government, saving £14 billion a year by 2029 through greater use of AI and automation, as well as reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication through the abolition of NHS England.
At last week’s Budget, we set out our plan to make a further £4.9 billion of efficiencies by 2031, beginning by getting rid of police and crime commissioners, cutting the cost of politics and selling Government assets that we no longer need. This means we can make sure that taxpayers’ money—
Madam Deputy Speaker
Order. Before I come to the next motion, I have been informed that certain Members are taking photographs in the Lobby while we are in session. Members know that taking photographs is strictly prohibited. The Members names have been given to me. I expect them to come and apologise before the evening is out. If any of those photos is published, there will be severe repercussions.
51. Inheritance tax (pension interests)
Question put,
That (notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the practice of the House relating to the matters which may be included in Finance Bills) provision may be made taking effect in a future year about the charging of inheritance tax by reference to benefits payable under a pension scheme on the death of a member of the scheme.
Wes Streeting
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have to confess a sin. Earlier today, in the debate on the Budget, I referenced the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) and did not notify him in advance. This was particularly egregious because I was not very nice about him. With that in mind, and out of respect for the customs and conventions of this House, I would like to apologise to the hon. Member and put this note on the record. I have, of course, written to him in similar terms.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
I am grateful to the right hon. Member for giving me advance notice of his putting this point on the record. I am not sure that it is a sin, or whether he will be absolved of it, but it has been noted.