Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Brake Excerpts

Tuesday 29th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

I don’t know about you, Mr Speaker, but I could listen to the hon. Gentleman talk all day. He is absolutely right to commend the wonderful services provided by the team in Dudley. I would be more than happy to visit at any time.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

2. How much capital funding he plans to allocate to Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the next three years.

[The Minister for Health (Edward Argar)]

In addition to business-as-usual capital budgets, I am delighted that, as the right hon. Gentleman will be aware, his hospital trust will benefit from a significant part of the £2.7 billion capital funding under the health infrastructure plan—HIP 1—our deeply ambitious hospital building programme.

[Tom Brake]

I thank the Minister for that. I obviously welcome the announcement—I, local residents, councillors and indeed the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh) have been campaigning on this for many years—but does he remember that in 2015 there was £219 million available for St Helier Hospital, which was then deleted from the Budget by the incoming Conservative Government? Can he reassure me that this commitment to St Helier will last beyond 9, 10, 11 or 12 December, or the date of the next general election?