Super Health Hub in Plymouth City Centre

Robert Jenrick Excerpts

Tuesday 25th October 2022 Westminster Hall

[The Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Robert Jenrick)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) on securing the debate, and also make honourable mention of his constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Devon (Sir Gary Streeter). The hon. Gentleman raised this matter with me within, I think, hours of my appointment as a Minister, and he raised it assiduously with my predecessors, so I know that it is something about which he is extremely passionate. He has made a very persuasive case for the new centre this afternoon. I join him in thanking NHS doctors, nurses and other staff in Plymouth. I appreciate the strain that services are under at the moment and are likely to be under this winter as we continue to move out of the long shadow cast by the pandemic. I thank them for their service to the NHS.

I will first set out the current situation regarding NHS capital funding and the new arrangements for allocating that funding, as that is critical to understanding the prospects of the health hub project, the merits of which have been laid out very persuasively this afternoon. The Government are backing the NHS with a significant capital settlement, which is welcome and will be a step change for the quality and efficiency of care up and down the country. The NHS has a significant budget, but has been marked in recent years—indeed, decades—by under-investment in its capital and estate. Subject to the state of the public finances, we need to correct that as a country. The capital settlement includes over £4 billion a year for each of the next three years, and a total of £12 billion in capital for systems to invest in the estate. Those are part of our changes to health and social care capital funding arrangements.

We are greatly increasing the role of local health system planners in determining local health infrastructure in collaboration with NHS England. In line with nationally published guidance, integrated care boards can decide how the NHS operationally capitalises the spending for their own area. Although we have a range of nationally funded projects, to which the hon. Gentleman alluded, they are already quite well defined. For example, we have committed an initial £3.7 billion over four years to make progress on delivering 48 hospitals by 2030, and 70 upgrades to hospitals, worth £1.7 billion. I want to highlight the fact that much of this investment is benefiting Devon. Over the last few years, there has been £15 million for estate improvements and A&E upgrades at hospitals in the Plymouth NHS trust, and £17 million in hospital upgrades funding awarded to the integrated care board; that includes £9.3 million for imaging facilities at Derriford Hospital and Barnstaple.

Turning to the specific project, I am pleased that the system continues to develop plans so that we can consider a pilot. Plymouth has been able to progress through the business case process more quickly than expected. That is a testament to the hard work of local partners and the strong stakeholder relationship management by the council. The hon. Gentleman paid tribute to the role of the council, and I echo his remarks.

The health centre is designed to address the needs of the local population by providing exactly the kind of one-stop-shop facility the hon. Gentleman described, incorporating GPs, community and mental health services, dentistry, out-patients, diagnostics and pharmacy, as well as space for several community and voluntary groups. That will help to tackle the root causes of poor health and poor wellbeing in the area, which contains some of the most deprived communities in the country.

As I said, we have changed our capital funding mechanisms and introduced integrated care boards to ensure that local investment decisions are guided by local priorities. To that end, it is the local integrated care board that is empowered to invest in the Plymouth health centre if it deems it to be a priority. I understand that Devon integrated care board has been allocated £250 million over the next three years. For the scheme to progress, the NHS Devon integrated care board would need to prioritise its construction via this operational capital budget or other locally sourced funding solutions. I appreciate that this is not the answer that the hon. Gentleman was seeking, but as things stand, there is no additional national funding to deploy for projects like this. The new hospital programme, which he alluded to, is already allocated. Indeed, as he acknowledged, it is possible that that cost of the programme will be greater than the existing budget, so a great deal of work will be required in the years ahead to deliver those hospitals alone, without adding further projects to the programme.

However, given that the hon. Gentleman has brought this debate to the Floor of the House and I have been unable to give him quite the answer that he wishes, I would be more than happy to visit Plymouth and to broker a meeting between his local ICB chair, the stakeholders, such as the council, that have been involved in the project and have advocated it so strongly, and NHS England, to see whether there is anything innovative or creative that we might be able to do to try to move this forwards. I can see the arguments for it are very strong, and it must be frustrating to the hon. Gentleman and to the local stakeholders that its further progress seems to be in doubt.

I am all in favour of the idea of a health village and community diagnostic centres. That is something that we are taking forward on a national scale and so what the hon. Gentleman is trying to achieve here is entirely in line with national policy objectives. If I can, I will revert to him as soon as possible after this debate and arrange that visit and, perhaps more importantly, arrange that meeting in which we can explore why NHS England ultimately was not able to provide the funding that he hoped for. As I understand it, it was never approved funding, but there had been a discussion with NHS England as to whether it might be available. But it never ultimately committed to do that. Perhaps we can explore whether there are any other potential routes, so that we do not close the door on what seems to me to be an extremely valuable project.

I thank the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport—I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South West Devon as well—for the extremely constructive manner in which he has handled this debate and our previous conversations. I hope that I will be able to take this forward and move it to a successful conclusion.

Question put and agreed to.

NHS Charging Regulations Exemption for Ukrainians

Robert Jenrick Excerpts

Monday 24th October 2022 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Robert Jenrick)]

The Government continue to take measures in response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine to support those who ordinarily live in Ukraine who have come here to seek safety and support.



In March 2022, my predecessor amended the NHS charging regulations to allow residents of Ukraine, and their immediate family members, who are lawfully in the UK, to access NHS care in England for free, including those who transfer here under official medevac routes. This covers all potential treatment needs, except for assisted conception services, to align with the existing exemption for those whose immigration health surcharge (IHS) fees have been waived.



We committed to review this concession by 17 September. Today I am pleased to announce that my Department has completed its review and has agreed to maintain these concessions for a further 12 months at which point they will be reviewed again.



Those who will continue to benefit from this exemption include:



Anyone who uses an alternative temporary—less than six months—visa route outside of the family or sponsorship routes.

Anyone who chooses to extend their visit or seasonal worker visa temporarily, without going through the IHS system.

Anyone who is in the process of switching visas.



This Government continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Ukrainian friends and we are proud to maintain our support for Ukrainian residents in our country.

[HCWS340]

Health and Social Care

Robert Jenrick Excerpts

Thursday 13th October 2022 Ministerial Corrections

The following are extracts from the Westminster Hall debate on the Procurement of Evusheld on 12 October 2022.

[Robert Jenrick]

The evidence has now been published and is available on gov.uk; any emerging evidence will continue to be kept under review. That includes the Crick data that the hon. Member for St Albans mentioned, which was published in May and in August and is now being reviewed by RAPID C-19, and also the Lancet study that she referenced, which was published on 6 October, relatively recently.

[Official Report, 12 October 2022, Vol. 720, c. 107WH.]

Letter of correction from the Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Care, the right hon. Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick):

An error has been identified in my response to the debate.

The correct information should have been:

[Robert Jenrick]

The evidence has now been published and is available on gov.uk; any emerging evidence will continue to be kept under review. That includes the Crick data that the hon. Member for St Albans mentioned, which was published in October and is now being reviewed by RAPID C-19, and also the Lancet study that she referenced, which was published on 6 October, relatively recently.

[Robert Jenrick]

I am holding a meeting for Members of this House with our expert advisers tomorrow at 11 am. It will give Members the opportunity to ask our experts, including those who have been part of RAPID C-19, any questions and seek further assurances.

[Official Report, 12 October 2022, Vol. 720, c. 109WH.]

Letter of correction from the Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Care:

A further error has been identified in my response to the debate.

The correct information should have been:

[Robert Jenrick]

I am holding a meeting for Members of this House with our expert advisers next Thursday, 20 October, at 11 am. It will give Members the opportunity to ask our experts, including those who have been part of RAPID C-19, any questions and seek further assurances.

Procurement of Evusheld

Robert Jenrick Excerpts

Wednesday 12th October 2022 Westminster Hall

[The Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Robert Jenrick)]

It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Sir Gary. I thank the hon. Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper) for securing the debate, and the many hon. Members from across the House who have either intervened on her, or whose presence on behalf of their constituents speaks to the concern and interest across the country.

I come to this debate not merely as a new Minister in the Department of Health and Social Care, but as the Minister who established the shielding programme in spring 2020. I have been involved in these issues, in one way or another, for two and a half years, and care deeply about the individuals who have been shielding since then. Having met many of them, both as a Minister and as a constituency MP, I understand their distress, and the psychological harm that living a cloistered life places on them and their loved ones.

I also approach the issue with the view that the Government should make decisions on covid-19 treatments based on the available evidence and the recommendations of the medical experts at our disposal. That has been the case for all covid-19 treatments, and is, and should be, the case for Evusheld. It is imperative that we deploy only those drugs that we are content are effective. We would be doing a disservice to the public if we deployed drugs through the NHS that, in this grave situation, gave them a false sense of security.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

rose—

[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

rose—

[Robert Jenrick]

I will make one further point, then I will come back to my hon. Friends. That does not mean that there is not a role for Ministers in interrogating the evidence, listening to the voices of those with the contrary view—both in the House and in the public domain—and ensuring that we get all the information that we need before we make informed decisions. That is the approach that I have tried to take in the three weeks in which I have been in post, and will take going forwards.

[Caroline Ansell]

I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way. On behalf of the half a million, and of one very special lady in my constituency, I wanted to ask a question. I have carefully considered the Government’s response. It talks about the risks outweighing the benefits of deploying Evusheld at this point, but I have not really been able to understand what those risks are; I understand the risks of not deploying it, which have been outlined. Could the Minister could speak to that? As the hon. Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper) described, my constituent is fighting for her career, mental health and relationships, and this debate is very important to her.

[Robert Jenrick]

I hopefully will answer as many of those points as I can in the time available. I will go to my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth (Dr Evans) next, and then make some progress.

[Dr Luke Evans]

I entirely agree with the point about making sure that we have clinically robust evidence. We saw during covid with ivermectin how poor data influenced a debate that was sparked across the world. That said, one thing we do have control over is how quickly we look at the regulation. Is there anything that the Minister can do to speed up the decision making? That is within his gift.

[Robert Jenrick]

Yes, there is, and I hope I will be able to shed further light on that in my remarks, but given that there is relatively little time, sadly, for this debate, let me set out first the process that we have been through; I hope that that will give some comfort to those in the Chamber and listening to the debate that the issue has been handled in a very rigorous way.

Our regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, gave conditional marketing authorisation to Evusheld in March 2022, but—this is an important point to note—it did so noting a lack of data regarding how it responds to the omicron variant. The lack of supporting data has been noted by other respected regulatory authorities, including the European Medicines Agency and the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. Although the MHRA licenses drugs, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence assesses the clinical and cost-effectiveness of them. The normal process would therefore be that NICE proceeds to investigate Evusheld, and that is happening as we speak. As the hon. Member for St Albans said, that process is due to conclude in April next year, but yesterday, I met NICE’s chief executive, Sam Roberts, to review her work and to seek reassurances that her work could proceed at a faster pace, and she has committed to reverting to me as soon as possible with a new timetable.

[Ben Lake (Ceredigion) (PC)]

I welcome that development. I want to place it on the record that of course the devolved Governments also depend a lot on the advice of RAPID C-19. I am sure that the Welsh Government, along with the others, will welcome an accelerated timetable, if it is possible. I congratulate the Minister on doing that.

[Robert Jenrick]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for that comment. Given the urgent need—we all agree on that—to protect lives during the pandemic, we also expedited processes by creating RAPID C-19 as a multi-agency initiative made up of the UK’s main healthcare agencies. It was established in 2020, in response to the pandemic, to get treatments, such as Evusheld, to NHS patients quickly and safely. Therefore we did not simply leave the matter in the hands of NICE; we asked RAPID C-19 to review the evidence base for the use of Evusheld and to consider whether the evidence merited patients having access to it ahead of the normal NICE appraisal. The evidence has now been published and is available on gov.uk; any emerging evidence will continue to be kept under review. That includes the Crick data that the hon. Member for St Albans mentioned, which was published in May and in August and is now being reviewed by RAPID C-19, and also the Lancet study that she referenced, which was published on 6 October, relatively recently.

Three types of evidence have been considered. The clinical trial data is generally the strongest source of evidence. However, in this case, the trial was carried out before omicron became dominant, so it does not confirm efficacy for omicron variants. It would be, I think, concerning to deploy a drug on the NHS that had not been considered in the light of omicron.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Robert Jenrick]

I will, but given that I have only five minutes remaining to me, this is the last time I will be able to take an intervention.

[Vicky Foxcroft]

The Minister is making an interesting speech, but I am really inquisitive as to how we are still using vaccines that have not been tested on omicron, yet we are using the excuse of Evusheld not being tested on omicron for those people who are immunocompromised.

[Robert Jenrick]

Before we deploy Evusheld on the NHS and give members of the public the sense of security that comes with that, it is clearly sensible for us to investigate its efficacy in the light of the dominant variant. Otherwise, we would be giving people a false sense of security.

We have looked at in vitro neutralisation studies, which can be completed much more rapidly than clinical trials, that have measured in the lab how a new variant changes the binding efficacy of the therapeutic. These studies show reduced binding with different omicron variants, which means that the clinical efficacy against these variants is expected to be reduced. We have also reviewed the published clinical experience of the use of Evusheld, including the studies emerging from the United States and Israel. There can be difficulties in interpreting some observational studies if, for example, there is not an appropriate control group. The conclusion of the evidence review is that there are uncertainties about efficacy, so a clinical trial has been proposed to look at that. We are working with AstraZeneca on the practicalities of creating an urgent trial that can inform the debate ahead of NICE’s ultimate decision in early 2023.

As was noted, other countries have introduced Evusheld, including, in some cases, before omicron was dominant. Many have decided to double the dose to try to counter the drug’s reduced ability to neutralise the omicron variant. Our experts consider that even at this increased dose, the evidence is still insufficient to demonstrate efficacy, so individuals could be at risk if they changed the protective behaviours that they have undertaken for many months.

The Government recognise that an effective pre-exposure programme for immunosuppressed people would be valuable, but the scientific evidence does not support emergency deployment of Evusheld at this time. To boost the evidence base for future decisions, clinical advisers in the expert groups and my Department have recommended a clinical trial, which could help us to answer outstanding questions on dose, efficacy and duration of protection against different variants. We are working through the practicalities of that trial. We will update colleagues and members of the public as quickly as possible.

We have had great success in generating evidence in clinical trials; last week, initial results from the PANORAMIC trial indicated that early treatment with one drug significantly reduced recovery time, and we will now work in the same way to understand what this evidence means for patient access to the drug. I appreciate the difficulties that immunosuppressed individuals face, particularly if they are concerned about not having protection from covid-19 vaccinations, and so continue with behaviours to avoid covid-19. We all recognise the impact that that has on individuals’ lives and want to improve their quality of life. The Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce has ensured that UK patients have the earliest access to antiviral, antibody and anti-inflammatory COVID-19 treatments. NHS patients were often the first in the world to receive safe and effective treatment, both in clinical trials and following regulatory approval of treatments.

Colleagues here and those listening at home have my personal assurance that I will continue to work with expert advisers in the Department, and with RAPID C-19, to ensure that they review all emerging evidence, and to ensure that the NICE process is carried out as swiftly as possible, while ensuring that it is safe and efficacious; we want to ensure that members of the public, who may ultimately receive this drug, have confidence that it does what they think it does.

I am holding a meeting for Members of this House with our expert advisers tomorrow at 11 am. It will give Members the opportunity to ask our experts, including those who have been part of RAPID C-19, any questions and seek further assurances. I am grateful to the hon. Member for St Albans for securing this debate, and for the passionate way in which she expressed the strong feelings of members of the public; I hope to work with her productively in the months ahead.

Question put and agreed to.

Adult Social Care

Robert Jenrick Excerpts

Wednesday 1st December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gillian Keegan]

The hon. Lady seems to be the only person in the whole world who has missed the global pandemic, but it occurred during the same period. To answer her specific question, she is absolutely right that there are pressures right now. There are pressures continually in the system, because there is always a need for growth every year, but right now the winter pressures are challenging. As we bounce back from the pandemic, everything is opening again and there is a lot of competition for labour—there are 1.2 million vacancies in the country.

We have invested £162.5 million, which is on its way—it has probably just landed in most councils’ bank accounts. That investment is there for short-term fixes, similarly to what we put in place for January to March this year, which was very successful; it brought forward 7.3 million extra hours and 39,000 new recruits. We have invested in that funding for the workforce, and we keep it under review—we get data every month through a capacity tracker system. We work closely with the sector and will continue to monitor its needs.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

Does the Minister acknowledge that one of the flaws with the increase in national insurance is that only 15% of the additional revenue will flow through to local authorities to improve the quantity and quality of care? The remainder will go to protecting relatively asset-rich families’ inheritances and to the very important task of tackling backlogs in the NHS.

Many councils listening to the announcement today will be very concerned about how they will tackle the demographic changes that they face in the years ahead. What does the Minister have to say to them? In the more substantial White Paper that is to follow, what more can she say about reforming the system to integrate care, which might enable efficiencies to help those local authorities to face the future?

[Gillian Keegan]

On the latter point, I cannot say much more at this point, but a White Paper is being developed and will be available early next year. My right hon. Friend is absolutely right that that is another key part of making sure that councils can deliver on the obligations in the Care Act 2014.

The levy raises £12 billion a year, more or less. For the three-year period, the majority of that sum will go towards catching up with electives in our NHS. There are now 6 million people in urgent care, so that is the right thing to do. However, we know that we will need an increasing share of that fund as we go beyond the three-year period. Many of the reforms in the White Paper and many of the things that we will be working on will help to inform the discussions with the Treasury.

King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust

Robert Jenrick Excerpts

Tuesday 12th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Dunne]

The duty of candour applies right across the NHS.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that one upshot from the noble Lord’s resignation is that he will have more time on his hands to use his proven financial prowess to prepare implementation manuals for the Leader of the Opposition?

[Mr Dunne]

My hon. Friend is very ingenious with his question. Clearly, there will be more time available for Lord Kerslake to take on his other responsibilities. The Leader of the Opposition might like to look very closely and keenly at the financial performance of the organisation over which Lord Kerslake has taken responsibility before he adopts any of his other advice.

Oral Answers to Questions

Robert Jenrick Excerpts

Tuesday 14th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

In principle, I would be delighted to meet the hon. Gentleman’s local vice-chancellor, but I have to tell him that the decision about where the new medical schools will be based will be taken independently of me, because I have a constituency interest in the issue as well.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

T9. Rural communities, and towns such as Newark without an A&E, desperately need a high-performing ambulance service, yet East Midlands ambulance service, and services across the country, are generally missing their targets. This is not a new problem—it began with Labour’s disastrous regionalisation of ambulance services—but it needs to end, and improvement is required. What strategy do the Government have to improve response times for ambulance services in the east midlands and across the country?

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr Philip Dunne)]

I am aware that the performance of the East Midlands ambulance service is not what local residents or we would like at present. The strategy that is being adopted is to introduce a new ambulance response programme, and EMAS has an ongoing consultation with staff on introducing new working models to bring that into effect.

Baby Loss Awareness Week

Robert Jenrick Excerpts

Tuesday 10th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Will Quince]

My hon. Friend gives a great constituency example. Maternity units up and down this country have the most incredible provision and offer the most incredible compassion and care. In fact, we have some of the best provision in the world. Tragically, however, that is not replicated all across the country, and there is regional variation. I will come on to what we need to do to address that a little later.

To return to bereavement, the very first debate, which I led in this House back in November 2015, was about bereavement care. It specifically looked at bereavement suites in maternity units, and that was very much the focus. I am pleased to say that the theme of this Baby Loss Awareness Week is bereavement.

This week, we have seen something incredible, something truly groundbreaking—the result of over a year of work —which is the establishment of the national bereavement care pathway. The pathway has been developed by a number of charities and professional organisations, with the support of the Department of Health and the all-party group on baby loss. It has primarily been developed to improve the quality of bereavement care experienced by parents and families at all stages of pregnancy and, indeed, baby loss up to 12 months. The objective of the pathway is to ensure that all bereaved parents are offered equal, high-quality, individualised care that is safe and sensitive.

The national bereavement care pathway was launched yesterday in 11 pilot sites, and the plan is to roll it out nationwide over the next year. This has been an incredible exercise in collaborative working. I want to pay tribute to Sands, all the baby loss charities and organisations that have made an input, NHS trusts, the Department of Health and all the parents who have fed in their experiences. It is not easy for them to talk about their loss, and the evidence of all the parents who have talked about their tragic experience will improve care for very many others up and down the country. I also pay tribute to a former colleague, Ben Gummer, who, when he was the Minister with responsibility for care quality, pushed so hard for this and worked so hard to make it happen.

Yes, it is important that we push the Government to address the UK’s high stillbirth and neonatal death rate, but the support that we give bereaved parents is just as important, if not more so. We need to make sure that they have the support that enables them to have the time and the space in which to grieve. We know that going through this most traumatic of experiences can often lead to mental health issues—such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, about which there is growing evidence—whether they appear weeks, months or sometimes even years later. The number of couples that separate after losing a child is still very high, and that comes with huge social costs. Putting in place the right level of high-quality, consistent bereavement care is not just the right thing to do for parents; it should be part of our push to improve mental health care nationwide.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

On the pathway for bereaved parents, may I raise a particular type of bereavement that is unusual but does, unfortunately, happen? On 4 August, my constituent Craig Renton went into hospital with his wife Heidi for her to have a caesarean. Sadly, she died during the caesarean, and although their baby was born, she also died 15 hours later. Within the space of 15 hours, the happy couple expecting the birth of their daughter were no more, and my constituent Craig, who came to see me, had lost both his wife and his first and only child. In such a situation, the bereavement care needs to be designed particularly carefully if it is to deal with two bereavements in one day.

[Will Quince]

My hon. Friend raises a most tragic case, and I know I speak for everybody in the House when we send our condolences to Craig in what must have been a hugely emotional and traumatic experience. My hon. Friend is absolutely right when he says that the point of the national bereavement care pathway is to ensure that care, although consistent, is individualised and patient-centred. That means that when there are unique sets of circumstances—I would say that was a unique set of circumstances—the care package and the bereavement support are unique to match them.

I could never, ever truly express my thanks to the nurses at the Rosemary suite, a specialist bereavement suite at Colchester General Hospital, for the care and support that my wife and I received just three years ago, but I want to ensure that every grieving parent receives the excellent, high-level support that we did. I truly believe that the new national bereavement care pathway is an important step to making that a reality. I am really proud to co-chair the all-party parliamentary group on baby loss and I know that the work that we are doing on a cross-party basis is really important and is changing lives up and down the country.

Finally, I want to send a message to bereaved parents up and down the country that together we will break the silence on baby loss.

NHS and Social Care Funding

Robert Jenrick Excerpts

Wednesday 11th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

There is a concern at the moment about a growth in respiratory infections, and that is causing capacity constraints. We are watching what is happening on flu very carefully, but we have a record 13 million people vaccinated against flu, and I hope that that will put the NHS in a good position.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

Money is of course important, but may I support the Health Secretary in not viewing these issues solely through that lens? My local trust, Sherwood Forest, which has some of the worst finances of any trust in the country—almost all due to a PFI deal signed by Gordon Brown—is actually improving. It is under pressure this winter, but the management have said it is definitely not in crisis. That is an example of a trust improving due to quality management, reform and good-quality processes.

[Mr Hunt]

That is absolutely the point, and the last point I want to make before concluding on funding is that we miss a trick—I think the shadow Health Secretary is in some ways more reasonable than his leader on these issues, which is probably terminal for his career—if we say that this is just about money. We forget the debate we went through on schools in this country 20 years ago, when there was, again, a debate about money, but we realised that the issue is actually also about standards and quality. That is what has happened in Sherwood Forest, and I congratulate the trust. It is important that we do not let debates about funding eclipse that very important progress that we need to make on standards.

Community Pharmacies

Robert Jenrick Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Dr Murrison]

rose—

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

rose—

[Jonathan Ashworth]

I will give way to the hon. Member for Newark.

[Robert Jenrick]

Will the hon. Gentleman at least acknowledge that we all support community pharmacies? The town I live in has 3,500 residents and there are four pharmacies within a quarter of a mile. Will he at least acknowledge that a model that gives a block grant of £25,000 to each of those pharmacies purely for establishing themselves regardless of demand obviously needs review?