NHS 10-Year Plan

Seamus Logan Excerpts

Thursday 3rd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question; he is such a strong voice for the people of Gloucester. We are already delivering improvements in general practice, with 1,900 more GPs employed on the frontline, £900 million more for general practice, and the first contract agreed with GPs for quite some years. We are working in genuine partnership with GPs, who will be at the centre of the neighbourhood health service and of neighbourhood health centres. I am determined to ensure that we do things with our friends in general practice, not to them. Where things are working, I have no interest in going in like a bull in a china shop and imposing top-down change unnecessarily; we learned that lesson from Lord Lansley. I am confident that we have a plan that GPs will relish and embrace, and that they will feel reassured that the future of general practice is bright. After years of campaigning for a Government to rebuild general practice, they finally have a Government who are on their side.

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement on his plan. I note the comments on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, but the Scottish Medicines Consortium is the envy of the other three nations. I would like to offer him an early win. There is a drug, Enhertu, for the treatment of women with secondary breast cancer; it prolongs life. It is available in Scotland and in 20 other nations. Will he review the situation in England under this plan?

[Wes Streeting]

We work closely with NICE to make sure that we consider, in an evidence-based way, the case for prescribing new medicines. We want patients to have access to the latest treatments and technology, and we work with the pharmaceutical industry to get as many medicines as possible to patients. We definitely need growth in this area.

I have a counter-offer for the hon. Gentleman. I notice that the Scottish Government are now on their fifth health plan; none of the others has worked. We are always willing to help, and I will put a copy of the plan in the post to my Scottish counterpart, but I will not hold out much hope. In England and Wales, where a Labour Government are in place, waiting lists are falling; in Scotland, waiting lists are rising, and we have heard astonishing admissions of failure from Ministers whose party has been in power for almost 20 years. It is very clear: Scotland needs an alternative. Scotland’s NHS needs an alternative: Scottish Labour.

Department of Health and Social Care

Seamus Logan Excerpts

Tuesday 24th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

I rise to set the record straight in Scotland when it comes to the much-vaunted but false largesse of this spin-doctoring Labour Government.

After the autumn statement, the Government spent much time and energy telling the Scottish people how generous they were—the largest settlement in the history of devolution, they said. However, what they did not tell the people of Scotland was that when their inflationary policies were taken into account, driven by their eye-watering borrowing—when we consider pay and prices rises and the punitive employer national insurance increases —the settlement that looked big in cash terms was not so big in real terms. If Scottish Labour Members would spend as much time dealing with the things they were elected to deal with as they spend attacking the Holyrood Government, they might locate the spine that some Labour Back Benchers seem to have found recently in regard to the welfare Bill.

Turning to the estimates, under the Barnett formula, Scotland’s taxpayers depend on the generosity of the Westminster Treasury, even though it is our money—and do not give me the usual nonsense about higher per capita spend. If the Treasury did its sums correctly to include all our produce, if our needs were properly calculated and our geographic size and rurality compared to our population and demography accounted for, the numbers would be very different.

The results of the spending review and these estimates are not good. The UK Government’s spin on the spending review was so misleading that the independent and well-respected Fraser of Allander Institute said, “We have seen Labour MPs and MSPs describing the spending review event as increasing the block grant by £9.1 billion over the spending review period, but this is a figure that is neither transparent nor helpful”—not my words but those of the institute. Its conclusion, based on the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s forecast, is that rather than representing a £9.1 billion uplift, Labour’s spending review actually brought in a £700 million cut to Scotland’s funding against May’s central estimate.

Our health service depends not only on our excellent NHS workers but on our infrastructure. That is why it is so disappointing that in the spending review the UK Government imposed a real-terms cut on Scotland’s capital spending in the latter half of the spending review period. In effect, Scotland has been short-changed by more than a billion pounds.

Despite Labour’s continuing austerity in Scotland, the Scottish Government is investing heavily in our health service. Over the past year there has been a significant fall in long waits and an increased amount of GP appointments and surgical procedures—for example, there has been a 50% increase in hip and knee replacements. The SNP will continue to fight for our NHS and against successive Westminster Governments who do not have Scotland’s interests at heart.

Oral Answers to Questions

Seamus Logan Excerpts

Tuesday 17th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I can reassure the hon. Member that end-of-life care is featured in the 10-year plan for health. I also recognise the pressure on our hospice sector, which is why this Government, as well as delivering £26 million through the children’s hospice grant, committed £100 million of capital investment— the biggest in a generation for our hospices. None the less, hospices do rely on the generosity of donors and I am keen to work in partnership with the sector to look at what more we can do to encourage investment. The final thing I would say is that the Opposition parties welcomed the investment in the national health service while opposing the means of raising it. They cannot have it both ways; either they support the investment and the revenue raisers or they have to be honest with the public that they would be cutting the NHS.

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

One of the most egregious examples of waste in recent years was the almost £10 billion spent on useless personal protective equipment during the pandemic. When the Treasury eventually recovers some of that money, will the Secretary of State assure me that Scottish taxpayers will benefit in the usual way through the usual channels?

[Wes Streeting]

Fiscal decisions and spending are matters for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor, but let me reassure the hon. Gentleman of two things. First, the way in which the taxpayers of this country were ripped off during a national emergency was a total disgrace, and this Government are determined to get our money back and reinvest it in frontline services, where it should always have been. Secondly, I can reassure him that, so long as there is a Labour Government here in Westminster, Scotland will continue to benefit from the investment it needs to sort out its public services. Now it just needs a Labour Government in Scotland to spend that money wisely.

Parkinson’s Disease

Seamus Logan Excerpts

Wednesday 21st May 2025 Westminster Hall

[Paul Davies]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. That is crucial. We know the impact of Parkinson’s on individuals, and later I will mention two constituents I have been working with. I know the impact that it has on the community.

Parkinson’s costs the UK £3 billion annually. Much of that is due to unplanned hospital admissions and the lost productivity of unpaid carers. Too many people with Parkinson’s feel abandoned after receiving their diagnosis. Nearly a quarter report not being given adequate information or access to support services. That is totally unacceptable.

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

I defer to the hon. Member’s great wisdom on this matter, and he helpfully outlined the points that he intends to cover, but I want to add another aspect to the debate. The Government’s review of disability benefits may lead to pressure on people in receipt of personal independence payments, and it is poorly understood that people receive those payments to provide for adjustments that allow them to continue to work. Does he agree that the Government have an opportunity to learn from the system in Scotland? Scotland’s adult disability payment is a much more humane process, and it could support people in receipt of personal independence payments who have Parkinson’s, which is a fluctuating condition and may be missed.

[Paul Davies]

We have to keep an open mind, look at what is being done in other places, countries and regions, and learn from that. We should take that on board and relate any changes in the future to good practice elsewhere. I thank the hon. Gentleman for the intervention.

A diagnosis of Parkinson’s is life-changing, and patients deserve immediate, comprehensive support. That is why Parkinson’s UK launched Parkinson’s Connect, which is a pioneering programme that enables healthcare professionals to refer newly diagnosed patients directly to a network of support. This includes access to specialist nurses, care advisers, local support groups and educational resources.

Oral Answers to Questions

Seamus Logan Excerpts

Tuesday 6th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

When any of us travel abroad, we expect to take out travel insurance and pay for our healthcare needs overseas, and that is the standard that we expect for visitors to our country. We have lots more to do to improve on that front. I deplore the comments made by the hon. Gentleman’s party leader, who said that he does not support a taxpayer-funded NHS for the British people. He might want that debate, and the Leader of the so-called Opposition says that she wants that debate, but as far as Labour is concerned, we are clear about where we stand. Under Labour, the NHS will always be a national health service, publicly funded and free at the point of use.

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

15. What steps he is taking to reduce the reliance of the NHS on private healthcare providers.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

This Government are taking a hard-headed approach to cutting waiting times. We are investing an extra £26 billion in our NHS, and where the independent sector has spare capacity, we will pay to get NHS patients treated faster and free at the point of use. So far, our approach to investment and reform has cut waiting lists by more than 200,000. Perhaps the hon. Member will tell us how it is going in Scotland.

[Seamus Logan]

The Secretary of State claimed this morning on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme—a most excellent programme—that Labour is the only party that can be trusted with the national health service. Can he confirm that no aspect of the NHS whatsoever, whether it is ownership of the estate, the provision of specialist services or any other form of privatisation, will be included in the much-promised trade deal between the UK and the United States? No more excuses, Secretary of State: just give a direct answer to a direct question.

[Wes Streeting]

I have said it before, and I will say it again: the NHS will be privatised over my dead body. This party founded the NHS as a publicly funded public service, free at the point of use. We use the independent sector to cut waiting lists, and guess what? The SNP-led Government in Scotland do the same thing. We have made it clear that the NHS is not up for sale in any trade deal. That is clear and unequivocal. The hon. Gentleman can sling mud as much as he likes, but he cannot run from the SNP’s abysmal record on the NHS over 18 long, poor years.

Parkinson’s Awareness Month

Seamus Logan Excerpts

Thursday 1st May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

First, I thank the hon. Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) for securing this important debate. I agreed with everything he said in his excellent speech, except for one small thing. Given the importance of the topic, I was shocked to find that the last time Parkinson’s was debated was in 2017. My researchers may be wrong on that point, but that is what I am led to believe. I hope this discussion is of such a calibre that it will make up for the long time since we had that debate. All my remarks today are entirely in the spirit of cross-party co-operation. I have no intention whatever to make any cheap party political points, either in relation to the UK or to Scotland.

I had a career in health and social care of more than 30 years, 17 of those as a commissioner and a regional director. I have to say, to my eternal shame, that Parkinson’s rarely got a look-in when we looked at physical disability and sensory impairment. Of course it did, but not to the extent that it should have.

I pay tribute to those who are living with Parkinson’s and to their families. As has been said, the condition affects around 153,000 people in the UK, including at least 257 people in my constituency. I also pay tribute to the volunteers who do tireless work to support people living with Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s UK does incredible work to support those across the UK and in my constituency, where it runs support groups in both Peterhead and Fraserburgh. Tasha Burgess from Parkinson’s UK has done amazing work, particularly for me today, and I know that she might consider extending the work of those support groups to Banff, Macduff and Buckie in the western part of my constituency. The groups are vital to delivering support in the community. Just knowing that there is a support network nearby of people going through the same thing, staffed by knowledgeable volunteers, makes such an incredible difference to people going through what can be the hardest time of their lives.

Research has been mentioned. It is right that research funding goes to areas such as cancer, diabetes and motor neurone disease, but sadly Parkinson’s is the poor cousin in that regard. The hon. Member for Dunfermline and Dollar pointed out that it is the fastest-growing neurodegenerative condition in the world, yet Parkinson’s UK tells me that there is no treatment to stop or slow down the condition, only to deal with the symptoms. That is something that this Parliament must address.

I want to focus minds in the Chamber today on how the benefits systems treats people living with Parkinson’s. Many Members have already raised concerns about changes to PIP eligibility announced by the UK Government in March. It goes without saying that the changes may have a severe and negative impact on those living with Parkinson’s. That can be contrasted against the adult disability payment introduced by the Scottish Government, which replaced PIP.

People with Parkinson’s and those involved in the application process have reported that the ADP assessment is much more accurate and compassionate than that for PIP. Importantly, the ADP application uses paper-based evidence, as opposed to an in-person assessment, which is reported to poorly serve those living with Parkinson’s. The issues of face-to-face assessments stem from neither assessors nor the criteria being able to capture the reality of a condition that fluctuates as heavily as Parkinson’s.

I am sure the Minister is paying attention to me, but I am aware that when the work capability assessment was dropped from universal credit assessments, the Westminster Government did not communicate that to the Scottish Government. I am hopeful that going forward there will be a better level of communication between the Governments in that regard. In March 2023, the Work and Pensions Committee, reporting on health assessments for benefits, stated that

“when the Scottish Government publishes its planned evaluation”—

on ADP—

“DWP should learn from the results and consider what changes, if any, it should make to its benefit assessments.”

I would be keen to hear the Minister’s thoughts on that in her closing remarks.

The principles embedded within our welfare system should be a matter of principle for all MPs. We need to prioritise systems that treat people with the dignity and respect they deserve. There is an opportunity to learn from the Scottish Government’s approach to disability benefits. I strongly encourage the UK Government to consider replicating our approach in Scotland to deliver better outcomes for those living with Parkinson’s.

Department of Health and Social Care

Seamus Logan Excerpts

Wednesday 5th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

I commend the hon. Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) for introducing the debate, and I pay tribute to the retiring interim chief executive of NHS Grampian, Adam Coldwells, an outstanding public servant who will be sadly missed when he departs his post.

The revised departmental expenditure limit for the Department of Health and Social Care in England sees an overall increase in the estimates of around £10 billion, and I want to comment on how that affects Scotland generally and my constituency in particular. Lest we get giddy about the numbers, let us think about where that expenditure might be going: salaries and wages, price increases—particularly for fuel and food—and certainly more taxes. It is a new definition of the circular economy as I understand it.

Let us also consider how the changes affect our partners in the enterprise of health and social care. GPs, hospices and charities are already facing huge financial pressures from rising energy costs, staff retention issues and labour shortages. Staff morale is already low and will be further impacted by funding cuts to the vital services they provide, as money is diverted to meet rising costs. Then along comes the increase in employer national insurance contributions for those partners. When we look across the border into England, we see additional GP contract funding of close to £1 billion, which will cushion much of those additional national insurance costs.

Let me share a local example from Aberdeenshire council, on which I was an elected member for more than two years. The cost to the council of the additional NIC changes is about £11 million. The council’s estimated allocation from the Scottish Government to mitigate those additional costs is around £5.5 million. The difference is stark and cannot simply be written off as a Scottish Government responsibility. Indeed, as Wes Streeting constantly reminds us, all roads lead to Westminster when it comes to funding. Our joint enterprise partners, such as GPs and third sector organisations such as Marie Curie—I see Members are wearing a daffodil today—or Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, and local GP surgeries in places like Longhaven and Cruden Bay, are paying the price.

Turning to hospices, the Minister for Care, Stephen Kinnock, stated that there will be no additional Barnett consequentials—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. I remind the hon. Gentleman to refer to Members not by name but by constituency.

[Seamus Logan]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

There will be no additional Barnett consequentials arising for Scotland for hospices. The Scottish Government are investing an additional £4 million in the hospice sector, but that wider sector faces a £2.5 million bill from the additional employer national insurance contributions. A flat exemption would mean that they would not have to pay that cost.

Perhaps also not evident from the estimates are the eye watering costs of agency staff, which is felt no less in Scotland, partly because of the regressive immigration policies of the last Government, which are now pursued by this Government. We have asked for those powers to be devolved to Scotland, but if Ministers cannot do that, there is an alternative approach—that has already been pointed out by the right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen). The Royal College of Radiologists tells us that workforce shortfalls in radiology are around 30%, and around 15% in oncology. It states that the most urgent task facing the NHS is to manage its workforce crisis by investing in an increase of 150 radiology training places and 45 clinical oncology training places, rather than relying on outsourcing and international recruitment. Of course training has costs, and it is every bit as expensive in Scotland as it is here.

In conclusion, through the Minister I say this to the Treasury: do not treat Scottish citizens as if they live in some vassal state; they are taxpayers too. Rather than expecting us to give you thanks, just get your chequebook out because of the pressures that I have listed.

Hospice and Palliative Care

Seamus Logan Excerpts

Monday 13th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

Let me first pay tribute to the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler) for securing this important debate, and for his heartfelt contribution. I imagine that there is no one in this House, or even across these islands, whose life has not been touched by hospice care, and I want to pay a personal tribute to my niece, Dr Róisín Etchells, who works in this field.

Recently the House had what was by all accounts a respectful, informed and emotional debate on the concept of assisted dying, thanks to the efforts of the hon. Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater). Perversely, this Government have introduced additional employer national insurance contribution charges on the independent hospice sector, which can only be described as an attack, an assault on the very concept of assisted dying as we currently deliver it—for that is what hospice care is and does, and what others who deliver palliative care in the independent sector within the community do.

In Scotland one of the leading providers of such care, both in residential settings and in the community—within people’s homes—is Marie Curie. It operates at least two residential services and community care in almost every local authority area in Scotland. Here I declare an interest as a proud supporter of Marie Curie, and as someone who has helped to raise significant funds for it. It does wonderful work, providing skilled care and brightening the lives of patients as they face the prospect of their last weeks, days and hours. Ask any family who have benefited from this support; I defy anyone to find a critic.

Of course I understand that the Government must balance their books and that public sector pay rises must be funded, but the failure to offer mitigations in key areas of these self-same public sector services is misguided, ill-informed, clumsy and counterproductive. “Where will we find the money for these services?”, Ministers will cry, but they know that there are alternatives. In their populist haste to win the trust of the electorate, they rashly promised not to increase income tax. They should look at Scotland, where those with the broadest shoulders pay a little more, where in every tax bracket more people are coming to pay their taxes in Scotland every year, where 60% of taxpayers pay less than their counterparts in the rest of this disunited kingdom, and where the Government responsible for this alleged mismanagement have enjoyed public support for close to 20 years and continue to do so.

We in the Scottish National party estimate that if the UK Government had matched the Scottish tax bands, they could have raised £16 billion. In the recently announced Scottish Budget, it was encouraging to see that the Scottish Government committed themselves to increasing hospice funding by £4 million, and to providing additional funding for hospice staff to match NHS pay awards. To me, that is the difference between the Scottish and UK Governments. While the UK Government hike national insurance on employers and vote against amendments to exempt hospices from that hike, the Scottish Government increase hospice funding, and put more money in the pockets of hospice healthcare workers.

Like other Scottish MPs, probably, I received a heartfelt plea from Children’s Hospices Across Scotland. If the Minister had read it, he would know how desperate the situation is. I implore the Government to think again, to engage with the Scottish Government to ascertain the cost of mitigations for hospice and palliative care service providers and others, and to provide the same mitigating support that has been given to the NHS and other public services in Scotland.

--- Later in debate ---

[Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler) for securing the debate.

I will challenge any politician, regardless of their rosette, when they say that the NHS is broken. It is not broken; it is just underfunded. It is starved of the resources that it needs to function at its very best. We on the Labour Benches are enormously proud of the NHS and its founding principles: the universal right to comprehensive healthcare that is free at the point of use. Money should never be the passport to the best treatment. People should get the best that modern science can offer.

The NHS is our greatest creation, and it is socialism in action. As the NHS endures another hard winter, so must Labour’s founding principles. The private sector should not always be the solution. The private sector receiving an extra £2.5 billion a year in Government funding to cut waiting lists is not one of the principles—of either the NHS or the Labour party. There was an earlier back and forth between hon. Members on how to find money. That does not necessarily have to mean cuts; I suggest an annual wealth tax.

In Scotland, our hospices remain under enormous strain. Annually, approximately 21,000 adults and children receive expert palliative care, end of life care and bereavement support. The heads of all 14 hospice charities in Scotland have said that their sector is in the grip of an insurmountable funding gap, and staff have spoken openly of the dire possibility of budget shortfalls reaching the point where there will be no other option but to introduce service reductions. Of course, staff will do everything in their power to avoid that, but it is the stark reality of palliative and end of life care in Scotland. The hospice sector needs the Scottish Government to provide further financial support to address the shortfall in statutory funding, which is not keeping up with increased costs. That, coupled with the Scottish Government’s delivery on their promise of a new national funding framework for hospice care, is desperately needed, so that hospices can prepare for the long term.

[Seamus Logan]

The Secretary of State repeatedly tells us that all roads lead to Westminster when it comes to funding. Does the hon. Member agree that the Scottish Government can do only what is possible with the resources made available by Westminster?

[Brian Leishman]

The Scottish Government need to do much better with the resources they have been given.

On the topic of funding, hospices also rely on financial donations, and people the length and breadth of the UK raise so much for hospices. Naturally, many loyal supporters of the hospice sector have not been immune to the bankrupt political ideology of austerity, and the ensuing cost of living crisis has seen ordinary people become poorer, with out-of-control food bills, escalating food costs and sky-high mortgages and rents. Overall, the general erosion of living standards means that donations are an expense that many people can simply no longer afford.

The rebuilding of wider society cannot happen without the rebuilding of and investment in the vital public services that people rely on. That includes a properly funded and resourced health and social care system that has the same principles and ethos as when Labour created it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Seamus Logan Excerpts

Tuesday 7th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. As the Prime Minister set out in our elective reform plan yesterday, we are determined to make sure that accessing NHS services, including general practice, dentistry and other primary care services, is as easy and convenient as accessing any other services at the touch of a button via our smartphones. We have committed to that in the elective reform plan, which will bring benefits right across the NHS as we modernise. Of course, she is right to mention those who may not be digitally connected or may not want to access services in that way. That is why I believe very strongly in patient choice—different courses for different horses. People like me booking via the app will free up telephone lines for those who prefer to access services that way.

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

Is the Secretary of State aware that the increase to employer national insurance is actually reducing patient access to primary care? I met GP representatives in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen recently, and they told me of two ways in which that is happening: first, they are having to let staff go; and secondly, some GPs are considering meeting these costs from their own pockets. Will he consider an exemption for GP practices from these charges?

[Wes Streeting]

That was a rare admission of failure in this House by the SNP. I am very sorry to hear that general practice in Scotland is in such a sorry state, because here in England we are investing £889 million in general practice, the biggest uplift in years. That is in addition to the funding I have found to employ 1,000 more GPs on the frontline before April, because we are prioritising general practice. As for the decisions the Chancellor took in the Budget, as I said before the election, all roads lead to Westminster. Thanks to the decision a Labour Chancellor has made here in Westminster, coming down that road from Westminster to Holyrood are the resources the SNP Government need to deliver the priorities of the Scottish people. If they cannot, Anas Sarwar and Jackie Baillie stand ready to deliver.

Health and Adult Social Care Reform

Seamus Logan Excerpts

Monday 6th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend, who has done much to bang the drum on this issue during the six months in which she has been a Member of this House. That is why we are taking a systematic approach to health and social care reform.

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement, and for writing to the leader of my party. I am sure that the Scottish Government will co-operate and engage fully with Baroness Casey as she does her work. The Secretary of State spoke of failure. One such failure—the elephant in the room, in fact—is the labour shortages that the NHS and social care are experiencing as a result of Brexit. I ask him not to pass the buck, but to tell me what steps he will take, after consultation with Cabinet colleagues, to address those shortages by making it easier for migrant workers to come to this country and fill the vacancies.

[Wes Streeting]

We had a referendum and two subsequent general elections on the issue of Brexit, and I can tell the hon. Gentleman that none of those three democratic events went the way that I wanted. As we said to people at the time, the country chose a path that would have consequences and implications. However, we have a constructive working relationship with our friends and allies in the European Union, and while we cannot change the past, we can build a new partnership and a brighter future for our country.