Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Tuesday 25th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Stephen Dorrell (Charnwood) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that improved co-ordination between health and social care is fundamental to the delivery of the efficiency challenge faced by the health service and social services? Does he further agree that the £1 billion provided by the health service to reinforce that relationship is an important step taken by the Government to reinforce that interface? Can he assure the House that, as we move into the new world, the existing arrangements for good practice across that interface will be preserved?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I know that three questions will attract one answer from the Minister.

[Paul Burstow]

The answer to all those questions is yes. The right hon. Gentleman is right to draw attention to the additional money going into social care via the NHS. It is intended to kick-start the collaborative working that was often so absent under the previous Administration.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Burns]

Let me begin by congratulating my, in fact, right hon. Friend the Member for Charnwood on the report that his Committee produced. The Government will give a full response to it in due course, as is usual. What I would tell the hon. Lady is that what happened in the Bill and the White Paper was what we and our coalition colleagues, the Liberal Democrats, had outlined in our election manifestos, which—[Interruption.] Hon. Members may say that, but I suggest that they look at pages 45 to 47 of the Conservative manifesto, which probably very few of them have bothered to do. GP commissioning, along with “any willing provider” et al, are there, and if one looks at the Liberal Democrat one—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The Minister’s answer must be heard.

[Mr Burns]

I am extremely grateful, Mr Speaker.

If we look at the Liberal Democrat manifesto, we can see that it also contains proposals for the abolition of strategic health authorities. The hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott) has alluded to the abolition of PCTs, and the reason for their abolition is that, when we have given the commissioning to GP consortia and the public health responsibilities to local authorities, there will be no job for the PCTs to do. Why keep them? There will be £5 billion savings during this Parliament that can be reinvested in front-line services.