Health Bill

Tim Farron Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 1st June 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (James Murray)]

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

Madam Deputy Speaker, if you were to ask anyone in Britain what they think about the NHS, I bet they would give you an answer without hesitation. No one would be lost for words, because everyone has an opinion. Regardless of whether they tell you a story about how the NHS has helped them or their family in their moment of need, or whether they share a view on how they would change it for the better, everyone cares about the NHS. The NHS matters deeply to people right across our country because of how deeply it touches all our lives.

For my part, the NHS came to my rescue when I was diagnosed 18 years ago with a serious and rare neurological condition that threatened my ability to run, to write and to talk. After the best care I could have hoped for from my brilliant consultant and his team at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square, and from other teams across the NHS, I am now symptom free. It is only thanks to the support of those people working in our health service, and to the faith of the Prime Minister in appointing me to this role, that I am able to stand here today as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and set out what this critical Bill will mean for the future of our NHS.

Like me, everyone across Britain will have their own story of the NHS, or a view to share about its future. It is an achievement that we all share together, and one that is personal for us all. My predecessor as Health Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), has spoken movingly about the importance of the NHS to him. He explained how it saved his life when he was diagnosed with kidney cancer at the age of 38 and how, amidst all his worries, the one thing he never had to worry about was how much the treatment might cost. Let me pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for what he did in the role as a great champion of patients everywhere, and as someone with a huge passion for building a modern NHS—something we can see in this Bill, which he and my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth) put so much energy into.

As a former Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Exchequer Secretary, I have been incredibly proud to support my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in her determination to take the right decisions on the public finances to enable record investment in our national health service. Thanks to that investment, the changes that this Labour Government have begun to make, the leadership at the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, and the incredible work of frontline staff across the NHS, in just under two years we have seen: over half a million fewer people on the waiting list; 2,000 more GPs; 8,500 more mental health workers; four in five patients being seen within four hours in A&E; over 100 community diagnostic centres now open in evenings and at weekends; and over 240,000 more people getting their cancer tests on time. That is the difference that this Labour Government are making: an NHS in which more patients get the treatment they need when they need it, and in which taxpayers get better value for money.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

The Secretary of State mentions some achievements and the progress being made within the NHS. May I bring him back to the issue of cancer treatment? According to OECD figures, 53% of cancer patients should receive radiotherapy as their primary treatment. In the UK, the figure is only 35%. In Cumbria and Lancashire, it is only 29%. This is delaying treatment, delaying cures and preventing people from living long lives. Will he take a personal interest in correcting the commissioning so that every single part of this country has access to radiotherapy close to where people live, so that they can be cured with the most up-to-date technology?

[James Murray]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to draw attention to the importance of having the right approach to cancer, and our national cancer plan sets out what we as a Government are doing to achieve that. He is also right to point to the regional variation in different parts of the country, and to say how important it is not just to raise standards across the country but to ensure that the increase in standards is evenly distributed, so that all areas improve. One of my roles as Secretary of State is to ensure that we not only deliver our national cancer plan but support local areas so that they have the right services.