Autumn Statement

Debate between Richard Drax and Jeremy Hunt

Thursday 17th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Hunt]

I am very aware of the pressures and issues of childcare. The £4.7 billion increase in the social care budget will make a difference to people with caring responsibilities, with potentially another 200,000 packages, but I want to return to this issue and I take what the hon. Lady says very seriously.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

I have huge sympathy for my right hon. Friend. We are facing severe financial challenges for the reasons he explained so well, but Members on both sides of the House are promising to spend billions and billions more pounds. I remind the House that it is the private sector, and hardworking people through their taxes, who pay for Government expenditure. Does my right hon. Friend agree that raising taxes on both risks stifling the growth and productivity that he and I both want, and that would counter the recession we are now in?

[Jeremy Hunt]

My hon. Friend is right to make the case for a lightly taxed dynamic economy, and I would like to bring taxes down from their current level. We are faced with the necessity of doing something fast to restore sound money and bring inflation down from 11%, which is why we have made difficult decisions today. But yes, my hon. Friend is absolutely right: there is no future for this country unless we get back on the path to being a lower taxed economy.

Economic Update

Debate between Richard Drax and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Hunt]

With the greatest respect to the hon. Lady, I did not pledge a new wave of austerity. If she does not like austerity, she should look at the generosity of the furlough scheme and what we are doing on the cost of living crisis. This has all been done because of difficult decisions she opposed every time.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend to his place. He talks about growing the economy and a strong economy, and I agree with that. May I remind the House, particularly those on the Opposition Benches, that it is, in the main, the private sector that raises the money that pays the tax for the public sector? We cannot go on hammering the private sector if we want to see the growth we want. As he takes his place, will he bear that in mind and reduce taxation as soon as he is able?

Situation in the Gulf

Debate between Richard Drax and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 22nd July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will understand that we do not discuss rules of engagement publicly, for very obvious reasons, but we are always doing everything we can to make sure that those vessels are able to do what it takes to keep vessels safe.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. I find the lack of resources slightly intriguing, bearing in mind what was going on in the Gulf. From what he has said, it sounds as though we are almost trying to appease Iran or fearing a reaction by sending too many resources there. If that is the case, perhaps another deterrent would be to put troops on those ships. I do not know where we are with that, so perhaps he could inform the House about that move as well.

[Mr Hunt]

May I reassure my hon. Friend that this is absolutely not about appeasing Iran? It is about trying to see whether there is a diplomatic avenue to prevent the seizure of British ships and giving the space for that diplomatic avenue to work, while recognising that if that fails—I am afraid that it has failed, because a British ship has been seized—we will have to take a much more robust military approach. That is the approach that we have taken, but we wanted to ensure that diplomatic window. We have considered the idea that my hon. Friend mentioned to the House, but we have rejected it because we think it would make those ships a target and create the risk of Royal Marines being taken hostage, which would create an even greater crisis.

NHS Long-Term Plan

Debate between Richard Drax and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 18th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

The reason why we took what I fully accept was a very difficult decision was that we wanted to fund the training of an additional 5,000 nurses every year. When there is a reform of higher education funding, there is always an initial dip in applications. In this case, record numbers of 18 to 19-year-olds applied, but there was a dip among mature students. That is why we have introduced the apprenticeship route. We need to make sure that that works if that dip is to be reversed.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Like all colleagues in the House, I am a great supporter of community hospitals. Under the latest Dorset clinical commissioning group review, Portland Community Hospital is to be replaced with a medical hub on the island. Will the extra money allow the CCG to review the review, and perhaps save hospitals such as Portland Community Hospital?

[Mr Hunt]

Obviously, that would be for the CCG to look at; it will focus on anything that allows it to focus on prevention and not cure. I do not know the specifics of that case, but in general there is a strong and important role for community hospitals, although not always doing exactly the same things they have done in the past. Often, they can become local NHS hubs, offering a wide range of services. That tends to be the best way to preserve their future.

National Health Service Funding

Debate between Richard Drax and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 22nd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the calm and dignified way he is dealing with this debate, as compared with the Opposition. May I put in a plug for local community hospitals, not just in my constituency but right across the country, and how vital their retention is for good quality care in the future?

[Mr Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend, who himself personifies calm and dignity. Community hospitals are indeed extremely important. Their role may change, but they will none the less continue to be a vital part of provision in most of our constituencies.

NHS Funding

Debate between Richard Drax and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 31st October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

Well, that was the tone of the hon. Lady’s question, and setting her face against all changes may not be the right thing for her constituents.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that patients get better in a cosy environment in community hospitals, and can he give me an assurance that he will love and maintain them for as long as he is in post?

[Mr Hunt]

I am sure that no one could do a better job of loving and maintaining community hospitals than my hon. Friend. Community hospitals have an important role to play. I have three excellent ones in my constituency. At best, they represent the change we need to see in the NHS, which is personalised care closer to home, but that does also mean that they sometimes need to change the way they deliver services within a building even if the NHS logo remains firmly on the outside of that building.

Junior Doctors: Industrial Action

Debate between Richard Drax and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 5th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

That is absolutely right. What my hon. Friend is alluding to is the fact that, in the new contract, we are reducing the maximum hours that any doctor can be asked to work in any one week from 91 hours to 72 hours. There are all sorts of other safeguards that benefit safety. He is right. This should not be happening, and I urge the BMA to reconsider.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

May I offer my support to my right hon. Friend. I have never heard him vilify the doctors, as he was accused of doing. That language was not appropriate in this debate. Is he aware—I have heard this from one chief executive—that hospitals have been told not to speak to the junior doctors to try to resolve the dispute within the hospitals and the foundation trusts themselves? If there has been such an instruction, does he agree that it will not help solve the dispute for the future?

[Mr Hunt]

I am very surprised to hear that. If my hon. Friend wants to pass me the details, I will happily look into it. On the ground, the management of hospitals are working very closely with not just junior doctors, but BMA representatives to try to do everything they can to keep patients safe if these strikes go ahead.

NHS Major Incidents

Debate between Richard Drax and Jeremy Hunt

Wednesday 28th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

Yes, we have other measures in place. At every stage, trusts should do what is right for patients. Sometimes they declare an internal major incident, sometimes it is an external major incident, but what is important is that they take account of the impact on the rest of the local health economy. At Medway hospital, which the hon. Gentleman mentioned, things are getting better. It has been through a difficult period. We have been honest about the problems, we have given it a lot of external support, and I hope that the news will continue to get better.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

As we know, one cap does not fit all. That applies to the NHS as much as to anything else. In Dorset the clinical commissioning group is reviewing health services and looking for local solutions to local problems. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that is the long-term solution for the NHS, rather than politicians sticking their noses in where, frankly, they should not be?

[Mr Hunt]

I absolutely agree with that. What I will not do is go round the media and say that the problems that the NHS is facing in Dorset, as it faces everywhere, are due to the fact that the area is very rural, which is the excuse that we heard over the weekend from the shadow Health Secretary for the poor performance of the NHS in Wales. We want local solutions and the highest possible standards—what we can do is give guidance and funding from the centre and make sure that patients are always put first.

NHS (Five Year Forward View)

Debate between Richard Drax and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 1st December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

If we stopped the NHS using the private sector, which seems to be Labour’s direction of travel, 330,000 people every year would have to wait longer to have their hips or knees replaced. We will make decisions on the basis of what is right for patients, and not of ideology.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his remarks and thank him for the extra £1 billion for primary care. In South Dorset, I hear many complaints about the agency fees for recruiting staff, which is one reason why trusts tend to recruit nurses from abroad—from places such as Spain. Will he look at that and see if there is some way we can save a bit of money and act a little more efficiently?

[Mr Hunt]

We are spending too much on agency staff. It is fair to acknowledge that one reason why NHS trusts are doing that is in reaction to the Francis report. They want to ensure that they have proper staffing on their wards and proper staffing quickly. We have introduced transparency to encourage them to do that. As things settle down, they need to transfer more of those staff on to proper permanent contracts, because it costs the NHS too much to pay those exorbitant agency fees.