Rare Cancers Bill
Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Johanna BaxterFriday 14th March 2025
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)
I will be brief, because I understand that we are at the end of the debate, but I rise to support the Bill and pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) for bringing it forward, and for the dignified, collegiate manner in which he has gone about things. Up to 95 people in Paisley and Renfrewshire South will be facing a less survivable cancer. That is 95 people who will wait longer for a diagnosis, will face a postcode lottery to access specialist treatment, and will be left asking why there are so few treatment options available.
The truth is that rare cancers do not receive the research attention or funding that they need. The Bill would take decisive action to change that. It would introduce measures to break down systemic barriers preventing research and innovation in rare cancers. These are not abstract policy changes but lifesaving reforms that would give patients with rare cancers greater access to clinical trials. Researchers would have better tools to study the diseases, and pharmaceutical companies would be given stronger incentives to invest in treatments that could transform lives.
Behind every rare cancer diagnosis is a person fighting for their future, a family searching for answers and healthcare professionals looking for better treatment options. We cannot allow those individuals to be left behind simply because their condition is considered rare. We have the opportunity to change that. By supporting the Bill, we send a clear message that no cancer is too rare to matter, and that no patient should be forgotten. I am proud to support the Bill and thank my hon. Friend for bringing it forward.
Business of the House
Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Johanna Baxter(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)
Order. I have 17 colleagues to call and around 15 minutes left, so if we are sharp, I can try to get everybody in. I call Johanna Baxter.
Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)
May I wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and all staff across the parliamentary estate a very happy Christmas? In the last week, my constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire South have received the devastating news that the SNP-controlled integration joint board, running health and social care provision across Renfrewshire, is trying to make £19.1 million in cuts, having already closed Montrose care home in my constituency earlier this year. Given that the Scottish Government have just received the biggest funding settlement since devolution, does the Leader of the House agree that they should use that money to protect the most vulnerable constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire South?
Carer’s Allowance
Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Johanna Baxter(5 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)
I welcome the debate, brought by the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey), and pay tribute to my hon. Friends the Members for Clwyd North (Gill German) and for Weston-super-Mare (Dan Aldridge) on their maiden speeches. I welcome the Minister’s announcement of the independent review into how overpayments of carer’s allowance have occurred, what can be done to support those who have accrued them, and how to reduce the risk of overpayments occurring in the future.
Around 175,000 carers in receipt of carer’s allowance are combining paid work with care, and in 2023-24, there were 34,500 overpayments as a result of earnings and carer’s allowance. That means that around one in five carers who are doing paid work and claiming carer’s allowance have had an overpayment in the last year. That the previous Government allowed this situation to occur is, frankly, utterly shameful. It has pushed many unpaid carers, including many in my constituency of Paisley and Renfrewshire South, to breaking point for the sole crime of caring for somebody they love and saving the taxpayer thousands of pounds in doing so. Without their contribution, our country would grind to a halt. That this has happened to them through no fault of their own is not okay. We must provide carers with the support that they need, at the time they need it.
The Carers UK “State of Caring” report estimates that 1.2 million unpaid carers are living in poverty, and 400,000 are living in deep poverty. It also found that 75% of unpaid carers receiving carer’s allowance are struggling with cost of living pressures, while almost half are cutting back on essentials that they need to survive. That is the legacy of 14 years of Tory Government. While it is right that the review will look at getting a grip of the carer’s allowance overpayment issue, there is an urgent need for the Government to consider the broader question of how to provide wider support for unpaid or family carers. That includes support for carers on low incomes through universal credit, and through carer’s allowance.
While carer’s allowance is a devolved matter in Scotland, I urge the Government to discuss with the Scottish Government the position with respect to people in Scotland who are, or have been, receiving carer support payment while the DWP has been delivering it there on behalf of Scottish Ministers. We need a long-term vision for social care that considers how we best support unpaid carers. I know that our Government are committed to building consensus for the longer-term reform needed to create a sustainable care service.
Madam Deputy Speaker
No, I am standing now. Thank you. I call Steve Darling to make his maiden speech.