Health Bill (Fourth sitting)

Debate between Sureena Brackenridge and Karin Smyth

Committee stage
Tuesday 23rd June 2026 Public Bill Committees

[Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

On amendment 13, the shadow Minister asked why my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South felt the need to table amendment 13. One can only assume it is because health inequalities have continued to widen for far too long. In a 20 or 30-minute drive across my Wolverhampton North East constituency, life expectancy drops by seven years. I accept that tackling health inequalities is not just about health; it is about a wider web of societal issues, including educational, employment and housing inequalities. That very long list is beyond the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Amendment 13 will put the tackling of preventable ill health and health inequalities at the centre of national decision making by ensuring that the Secretary of State must consider not just NHS treatment but wider social and economic factors. Will the Minister assure the Committee that future Secretaries of State will not overlook the wider social and economic factors that drive ill health and unequal life expectancy, and that there will be a responsibility to work across Departments to tackle that wider and growing inequality?

[Karin Smyth]

I am grateful to all hon. Members who tabled amendments in this group, some of which have not been spoken to. I will address the central points that Members have rightly highlighted. I am grateful to the Chair and members of the Health and Social Care Committee for their report and recommendations for the Bill.

Before I turn to the detail of the amendments, I will set out what clause 4 does. As my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton North East highlighted, the wider determinants of health inequalities are important. On the point that the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East made about the Labour party, they absolutely run through our DNA. Clause 4 restates and reaffirms our commitment to tackling health inequalities. It reformulates section 1C of the National Health Service Act 2006, aligning it with the duty imposed on NHS England by section 13G of that Act. It makes plain the need to achieve greater equality between the benefits that people receive and the provision of health services—for their ability to access those services and for the outcomes achieved. Importantly, “outcomes” includes the safety and effectiveness of health services and the quality of the experience undergone by patients. The clause will ensure that the Secretary of State must have regard to reducing inequalities in respect of all those benefits.

The wording of the revised duty more directly encapsulates the benefits that must be taken into consideration and obtained from the health service to support action that reduces or prevents inequalities. Fundamentally, the clause underpins our commitment to improving the health of the population and tackling the stark inequalities that blight the health of communities up and down the land, which have got worse over the past 14 years. That is central to this Government’s ambition, which is why we highlighted it in the 10-year health plan.

We also recognise that this is not a matter for the Department of Health and Social Care alone, which is why we are already working across Government to address the root causes of health inequalities and the barriers to accessing health and care services. We are ensuring that our action on health is embedded in policies that shape people’s daily lives, from the homes they live in to the air they breathe.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sureena Brackenridge and Karin Smyth

Tuesday 24th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)]

We now have ambulances arriving faster, but we know there is much more to do. We have taken action to reduce handover delays by introducing release-to-rescue 45-minute handovers, supporting ambulances back on to the road to respond to patients faster. We have invested in an extra 500 ambulances. I am pleased to announce that as a result of this Government’s investment and modernisation, West Midlands ambulances are reaching patients with conditions such as suspected heart attacks and strokes almost seven minutes faster this winter than last winter.

[Sureena Brackenridge]

I thank the Minister for her update. I welcome the progress made on ambulance response times and handovers. I recently visited Willenhall ambulance hub to thank the incredible staff and to hear about winter pressures, local handover delays and the strain of late finishes on their family life and childcare. What action is being taken to tackle systemic bottlenecks in A&E departments, high bed occupancy and pharmacy delays to protect staff wellbeing and ensure high-quality patient care?

[Karin Smyth]

I commend my hon. Friend for visiting her ambulance service, as many hon. Members do, to understand the pressures they are working under. It is a useful visit to understand those wider issues, as she says. She raised an important point about handover delays impacting staff as well as patients. Reducing these delays will ensure that staff are no longer stuck outside emergency departments. On the wider issue about the front door, NHS England’s model emergency department will set out core principles and pathways for high-performing emergency departments, which will improve patient experience and flow with lower waiting times and less overcrowding. We are committed to improving rest facilities to support staff wellbeing.