Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Burns and Julie Hilling

Thursday 18th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Simon Burns]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. As he will be aware, the Government place the highest priority on safety, both for passengers, and for those who fly and work on our airlines. We are playing a vigorous role in this Europe-wide initiative, and it is for the Civil Aviation Authority to lead. The Government will do nothing with which the CAA is not content, and we will continue to consider the issue as it moves forward.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

As a directly operated railway, the east coast main line returned £187 million to the taxpayer last year. How much money will Virgin pay to the taxpayer during the period of extension to its west coast main line franchise?

NHS (Rationing of Care)

Debate between Simon Burns and Julie Hilling

Monday 16th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Julie Hilling]

I have listened very carefully to the Minister, who is saying that he does not believe the reports are true. Does he feel, however, that he ought to do more investigation? The BMA’s research and other research makes these points, whereas he simply says he has spoken to one commissioning group. They say that there is no smoke without fire, and it seems to me that the Government ought to take these allegations seriously and investigate properly what is happening.

[Mr Burns]

Of course the Government take these allegations very seriously, which is why my officials rang NHS Hull to ask about wrist ganglia and were amazed to be told that there were no restrictions as described in the Labour party’s political leaflet. [Interruption.] If the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams) will just hush for a minute, I will answer the question. I am always very pleasant to her, as she knows from experience.

I have personally made checks on two allegations about rationing, one in south-east Essex, south of my constituency, and one that I believe from memory was in Bedfordshire. My officials investigated both claims, which arose out of a meeting that I had with a clinician, and both claims were untrue. There had been a mistaken understanding of what was going on, and there was no rationing based on cost. The conditions in each trust were quite specific, and cases were determined on clinical grounds.

I also looked into one example after reading a story in my local newspaper about what was allegedly going on in the mid-Essex primary care trust, which is now part of the north Essex cluster. It was to do with the treatment of people suffering from overweight. Again, the story was inaccurate. There was no truth in the allegation that the trust was refusing to treat smokers or people who were overweight. They were treated, providing that it was clinically safe to do so. The three specific allegations that I have investigated, both myself and through my officials, have proved to be untrue.

As I said earlier, we have had officials look at the Labour party’s political document because, on the face of it, it raised serious allegations that merited investigation. I am afraid that the examples that I have given have not met the reality of the headline claims.

NHS Risk Register

Debate between Simon Burns and Julie Hilling

Wednesday 22nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Burns]

I will not give way. I am afraid I do not have time.

As a Treasury Minister, the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne wrote to Mark Oaten, the then MP for Winchester, upholding the Chief Secretary to the Treasury’s refusal to disclose information about gateway reviews and the identity cards scheme.

Tony Blair—a name that is not often heard with joy on the Opposition Benches now—understood that too. In his memoirs, he calls himself a fool, a nincompoop and an imbecile for introducing the Freedom of Information Act, because, in his words, Governments need to be able to discuss issues

“with a reasonable level of confidentiality”.

He said:

“If you are trying to take a difficult decision and you’re weighing up the pros and cons, you have frank conversations…And if those conversations then are put out in a published form that afterwards are liable to be highlighted in particular ways, you are going to be very cautious. That’s why it’s not a sensible thing.”

Several hon. Members asked about the strategic health authorities that published their risk registers. I would like to clarify this point, because there seems to be considerable confusion about it, particularly among Opposition Members. The purpose of the Department of Health’s risk registers is to allow civil servants to advise Ministers properly about the potential risks of a policy. SHAs, on the other hand, are further removed from Ministers, and are more concerned with operational issues—not policy formulation—and the more day-to-day business of health care. They are not concerned with providing objective guidance to politicians. Their risk registers are routinely published every quarter, and are written with publication in mind. That is evidently not the case with Department of Health registers, which, to remain useful, must be confidential.

Risks are inherent in any programme of change, and we have been open about them, having published a vast amount of detailed information, including the original impact assessment, in January 2011, and the revised impact assessment last September. In addition, the Public Accounts Committee’s health landscape report was published in January 2011, and there has also been the annual NHS operating framework, and the oral and written evidence presented to the Health Select Committee and the PAC. The risks must be scrutinised, we have supported that scrutiny and the risks have been scrutinised. The Bill received 40 sittings and two stages in Committee, and as one hon. Member mentioned, there have been 100 divisions. Even the lead shadow spokesman said, on conclusion of the Committee stage, that the Bill had been thoroughly scrutinised. To claim otherwise is ludicrous.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

I wanted to ask the Secretary of State this question earlier because I was rather confused. The Information Commissioner has said that the risk register should be released. If the Government lose the appeal, will they publish it, given that it would be the right thing to do?

[Mr Burns]

I am grateful for this opportunity to clarify the situation. The hon. Lady is right that the Information Commissioner has taken a view, and under legislation my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has the right to appeal to the tribunal. That appeal, which he lodged some time ago, will be heard on 5 and 6 March and a decision will be made according to a timetable set by the tribunal—we have no control over the timing.

Of all the topics that the Opposition could have chosen to debate for the past six hours, this is probably one of the most pointless. The tribunal for publishing the risk register sits in a fortnight’s time, as I have just told the hon. Lady, so why not wait for it to report back and use this opportunity to talk about something more useful? Since they have chosen to race down this particular dead-end, however, all I can say to them is this: wait until after the tribunal. There is nothing to add until then. We have explained which areas the risk register covers; we have subjected the Bill to unprecedented scrutiny and consultation; we have debated it for countless hours, and yet still the Opposition bleat that we have not been open. My advice to them is this: change the record. What they are doing is cynical, opportunistic and shallow. I urge my hon. Friends to vote against the motion.

Question put.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Burns and Julie Hilling

Tuesday 22nd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Burns]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and I am glad that she had such a positive experience visiting her local A and E. I can categorically tell her that reconfigurations must be carried out in accordance with the Secretary of State’s four tests and that clinical safety and quality of care are paramount.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

17. What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the future costs of long-term social care.

Hinchingbrooke Hospital

Debate between Simon Burns and Julie Hilling

Thursday 10th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Burns]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I can say that this is the best chance for the hospital, which has had a very troubled history, as he knows as the constituency Member for Cambridge, because of the financial problems and governance and management problems. I am confident that this is the best way forward to establish this hospital once again on a firm footing to provide the finest health care for his constituents and those of hon. Members in the Huntingdon and Cambridgeshire area.

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

I do not understand how there can be a surplus to be given to the private company. Surely every penny of taxpayers’ money should be spent on the care of patients. Does this mean that Circle will be inclined to reduce care so that it makes profits?

[Mr Burns]

I have to say that I am disappointed by the hon. Lady’s question.