Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Heaton-Jones and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 4th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

11. What steps he is taking to protect the rights and freedoms of journalists throughout the world.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

We are very concerned at the increasing number of attacks on journalists throughout the world, which is why next summer we plan to host a major conference in London on protecting media freedom.

[Peter Heaton-Jones]

I am grateful for that answer. This issue is close to my heart. Will the Foreign Secretary confirm that the UK Government will continue to press other countries to protect the freedoms, rights and securities of journalists, wherever they might be working and however inconvenient their reporting might be in those jurisdictions?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Heaton-Jones and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 14th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I recognise the picture that the hon. Lady paints. I did have an excellent visit to the hospitals, and they are doing some fantastic work on patient safety. Collaboration between the partners in the local health economy is much better than it has been, but there are financial pressures. We are going to have a million more over-75s in this country in 10 years’ time, and that is why we have committed to increasing the resources going into both the NHS and the social care system.

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

The NHS sustainability and transformation plan review in my region recently recommended that all acute services be maintained at North Devon District Hospital. That was a very welcome decision and a victory for the community. Will the Minister work with me and local NHS managers to ensure that the clinical need that has been identified can be fully met?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Heaton-Jones and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 5th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am more than happy to do so. In fact, we have a copy of the report right here, which my Minister of State has handily given to me. When I was shadow Minister for disabled people, I had a lot of contact with parents of autistic children and with people on the autistic spectrum themselves. The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point.

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

The maternity unit at North Devon district hospital in Barnstaple in my constituency is one of the services being reviewed under the current Success Regime. Can the Secretary of State reassure me and my constituents that maternity care, and the safety thereof in what is a geographically huge region, will be the first priority under this review?

[Mr Hunt]

I can absolutely assure my hon. Friend on that. I know there are very big national and global events happening right now, but I want to tell the House that over the next month one of my big priorities will be to do something to improve our record on maternity safety. We have made huge progress in reducing stillbirth rates and so on, but maternity safety is still not as good as it should be and certainly not as good as in other countries in western Europe. This is an absolute priority and I hope to be able to inform the House more on this before recess.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Peter Heaton-Jones and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 10th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We are making sure that neighbouring hospitals have the resources to deal with the temporary closure of Chorley A&E. The more patients that any hospital sees, the more resources it gets. This is none the less a very worrying situation that we are monitoring very closely.

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

The success regime review in Devon is causing real concern about the future of acute services at North Devon District Hospital. Does the Minister recognise that the unique geographical circumstances of Barnstaple mean that the reduction of any of those services will, for some of my constituents, mean a round journey of more than 120 miles to access them?