Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sajid Javid and Karin Smyth

Tuesday 1st March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister, Karin Smyth.

[Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)]

The Government seem to think that there is some kind of magic staffing tree, but there is no increase in capacity, no elective recovery and no fixing of social care without an immediate and ambitious workforce plan. We have legislation in this place, and we have seen a tsunami of White Papers, but none of that includes a credible workforce plan. Given the estimated 93,000 NHS vacancies and more than 110,000 vacancies in social care, when will we have that plan?

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Lady has just stood up and said that there is no increase in capacity. I am afraid she was probably not listening a few minutes ago when I said that in the last year the number of people working in the health service had increased by 44,000, and that we had 11,000 more nurses and nearly 5,000 more doctors. As for a plan, the hon. Lady may know that I have already asked the NHS to work on a long-term plan—a 15-year workforce plan. If she really wanted a new workforce plan, she should have thought about how we could fund it, and should not have voted against the increase in spending that the Government proposed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sajid Javid and Karin Smyth

Tuesday 18th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I welcome the shadow Minister, Karin Smyth.

[Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)]

Around 10,000 medically fit people are currently in hospital when they should be at home with their families or in a supported setting. That is a tragedy for them and a mark of shame on this Government. Short-term cash, taskforces or threatening legal action are not solutions. Social care support is a lifeline not a luxury, so will the Government now work with us cross-party in line with the joint Select Committee report of 2018 to bring forward immediate change and offer hope and respite to those receiving and giving social care?

[Sajid Javid]

First, may I welcome the hon. Lady to her new position and wish her all the very best? She will have heard in a previous answer that social care and those who provide social care, which is such a vital act and such a vital service throughout our country, are receiving record amounts of support—£3.3 billion of extra financing since March 2020. Of course I would be more than happy to work with her and her colleagues to see whether there is more that we can do together.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Sajid Javid and Karin Smyth

Tuesday 9th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I hope my hon. Friend appreciates that there were a lot of questions. The impact statement will be published today, and the impact assessment will be published before he and other Members are asked to vote. Those documents will help to answer their questions. I also draw his attention to the experience thus far of the condition of deployment measure that we took in a similar way with care homes, and how dramatically the numbers were cut from the point of announcement.

[Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)]

Of course NHS and care staff should all be vaccinated—that is what we expect for our loved ones—and of course they should all be wearing masks. The Prime Minister parading around a hospital yesterday without a mask was a disgrace, and I hope that the Health Secretary is talking to him about that.

I support the questions that other hon. Members have asked about more detail in the impact assessments, because I want to know whether those 10% of un-jabbed staff are in Bristol, or whether the figure in Bristol is 20%, 30% or 2%. If the Health Secretary knows that information, I, as a Member of Parliament for Bristol, should also know it. If all staff and associated people in healthcare settings are to be vaccinated, will there be a covid passport for people to visit hospital and care settings?

[Sajid Javid]

I gently say to the hon. Lady that she really should not try to play politics with the story that she is perpetuating about the Prime Minister on a hospital visit yesterday. As the hospital trust said, and as I am sure she knows, the Prime Minister and his team followed all the rules that they were required to follow, whether they were about face masks or otherwise, in that hospital. Something tells me that she knows that, but sadly she has decided that she wants to play politics with such an important issue.

As for information on vaccination rates in Bristol, the hon. Lady knows that every region of England has a director of public health. She probably knows who hers is, and they will be able to supply a lot of information. If she is having any difficulty getting that information, I will certainly help her in any way that I can.

David Fuller Case

Debate between Sajid Javid and Karin Smyth

Monday 8th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I very much agree with all the words of my right hon. Friend, especially when he talks about the shock, hurt and pain of all the families, many of them his constituents. He asks specific questions on three points: whether the victims will be allowed to give evidence to the inquiry; whether the recommendations will be for the whole of the NHS and be public; and whether the inquiry will publish its findings on other sectors beyond the NHS. Absolutely, the inquiry will do all three things. I can give him that assurance.

[Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)]

This is truly one of the most horrific things any of us will have heard of or encountered. Our thoughts are with the families and those conducting the investigations. Following on from the right hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark) who highlighted that access has happened elsewhere in the country, the Secretary of State said in his statement that he has written to NHS England to ask all NHS trusts to report directly to him on what they find in terms of compliance. Will he outline how he will share the information from NHS England with local communities who are now very concerned about that and with us as their representatives?

[Sajid Javid]

Yes, I am very happy to expand on that. The NHS has, first, written directly to all trusts and asked them to look into the issues of mortuary access and other post-mortem activities, and to judge them against current guidance to ensure that it is all being applied. In the first instance, that information will go back to NHS England. It will then be shared with me and I will certainly want to find the best way of sharing it with both the House and everyone who is interested.

Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill

Debate between Sajid Javid and Karin Smyth

2nd reading: House of Commons & Money resolution: House of Commons & Programme motion: House of Commons & Ways and Means resolution: House of Commons
Monday 28th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I think the hon. Lady and I will have to agree to have different points of view. I respect her view, but I think one of the clear messages from the referendum result was that many people felt we needed an immigration system that is designed in Britain and built in Britain and which is designed specifically to meet the long-term needs of our economy and our society, and that is what we have set out in the White Paper. The independent work by the Migration Advisory Committee—the analysis it has done by looking at the immigration systems of other successful industrialised economies—shows that it is not necessary to have freedom of movement or something similar to freedom of movement in order to have a successful country and society.

[Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)]

First, as the daughter of Irish immigrants who came here to rebuild England after the war, I welcome the Home Secretary’s comments on the common travel area. That is hugely welcome, because it has been a source of great concern.

The Home Secretary has just used “Britain” as opposed to the United Kingdom. Earlier today, I met businesses and civic society from Northern Ireland that are already losing people from Northern Ireland who are going back to their country of origin or, indeed, moving a few miles south. Who is he talking to in Northern Ireland to address some of these issues, and what are his Government now doing about that in the event of a no-deal scenario in only 60 days’ time?

[Sajid Javid]

As I mentioned following the question from the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Drew Hendry), it is important that we have an immigration system that represents the needs of every part of the UK, of course including Northern Ireland. In developing the White Paper, we have already talked to people from Northern Ireland—businesses, elected representatives and others—and we will continue to do so as we finalise the policy set out in the White Paper. Over the coming year, we will have a year-long engagement that will include every nation, every region and every community in the UK.

We are planning on the basis that, deal or no deal, from 2021 the future immigration system will be in place. It is right that we deliver on our promise to the people of the UK and that we legislate to end free movement, but if the future system is to be truly fit for purpose we must also learn the lessons from Windrush. We must put people first and make it easier for them to navigate the system. This work is under way, and we have already commissioned the Law Commission to review the existing immigration rules. I welcome its work to find ways to make them more accessible, and I look forward to receiving its recommendations later this year. They will help to inform the next stage of our future system, developing new immigration rules to set out that approach.

The proposals outlined in the White Paper have already prompted some debate. I have said that they are the starting point for a national conversation on what the future system should be. We will be discussing the detail with businesses, organisations and community representatives across the UK during this year, and I look forward to those conversations progressing. We are listening and we are taking our time to ensure that we get it right, but there can be only one end result. We must deliver what the British people asked for: exiting the EU and seizing this once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine our immigration system. This Bill is a key part of that process. It ends freedom of movement and it gives us full control, building a fair and sustainable system that people can count on. It is a system fit for the welcoming and diverse nation we all love, and a system designed in the UK for the UK. I commend the Bill to the House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sajid Javid and Karin Smyth

Monday 16th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

The measures we announced in December will help the hon. Gentleman’s local authority; they will help every local authority in the land to deliver more adult social care services. Nevertheless, as I have said, as well as more money, we need reform. Some councils need to learn from others.

[Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)]

A 2015 Public Accounts Committee report outlined a 37% reduction in central Government support for local authorities between 2010 and 2016. What does the Secretary of State have to say to my Bristol South constituents, who are concerned about how the £64-million cuts announced by Bristol City Council last week will affect them?

[Sajid Javid]

I say to the hon. Lady’s Bristol South constituents, “Don’t forget where a Labour Government gets you.” The deepest deficit of any developed country, the biggest recession in almost 100 years and the largest banking bail-out—all that has meant that this Government have had to make some difficult decisions, and every part of local government has had to contribute to that.

Local Government Finance Settlement

Debate between Sajid Javid and Karin Smyth

Thursday 15th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I am more than happy to provide that reassurance. My hon. Friend makes an important connection between the new homes bonus and the need to ensure that there are enough local services, especially infrastructure, to deal with more people living in the area. The new homes bonus helps with that. He might be interested to note the Chancellor’s announcement in the autumn statement of the new £2.3 billion housing infrastructure fund, which is designed to help with those pressures. I look forward to discussing that with him.

[Karin Smyth (Bristol South) (Lab)]

One of the cruellest things this Government did was to renege on their manifesto commitment to cap care costs, forcing more families to continue to live in the silent misery that is social care. Our Public Accounts Committee report in December last year said it was “disappointing”. That postponement delivered more than £2 billion of savings. I have listened very carefully today and we are talking about a £900 million commitment. I have heard nothing about further implementation of the Care Act 2014, nor about closer working with the Department of Health to solve this problem. It would be helpful to understand what discussions there have been with the Department of Health, beyond those on the better care fund.

I add my voice to those of others in saying that this is not just a short-term or medium-term crisis, but a long-term crisis that there is great willingness to resolve. The evidence has been clear over many years and I, too, urge the Government to consider this matter for the long term.

[Sajid Javid]

I think the hon. Lady was referring to the Dilnot reforms that were recommended. She said that they are not happening or that they have been cancelled. She will know that we are delaying them because we are listening to local authorities, many of which have asked for a delay. I know she will agree that when we carry out such a big long-term reform, it is very important to get it right. She also talked about the need for more integration and co-operation with the Department of Health and others. In my statement, I referred to the fact that my Department and the Department of Health, which are already working closely together, will be assisting on a new framework to convince us that local councils are taking integration seriously as they utilise the new flexibility.