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Health and Care Bill - Schedule 1
07 September 2026
Lead MP
Karin Smyth
Debate Type
Bill Debate
Tags
Mental HealthNHS
Other Contributors: 42
At a Glance
Karin Smyth raised concerns about health and care bill - schedule 1 in the House of Commons. Other MPs contributed to the debate.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
Opened the debate
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. This amendment aims to confer primary care functions on integrated care boards, thereby ensuring better coordination and integration of health services in the UK. It seeks to streamline the delivery of primary care, improve patient outcomes, and enhance the overall efficiency of the healthcare system. With the increasing complexity of health challenges, such as chronic diseases and mental health issues, the proposed change is essential for a more cohesive approach to patient care. Statistics show that integrated care models can reduce hospital admissions and improve patient satisfaction. My constituency of Bristol South has seen significant benefits from similar initiatives, with improved access to care and better health outcomes for residents. The amendment also aligns with the government's broader objectives of integrating social care and healthcare to better support vulnerable populations.
Karin Smyth
Lab
Bristol South
This amendment aims to confer primary care functions on integrated care boards, ensuring better coordination and integration of health services. It seeks to streamline the delivery of primary care, improve patient outcomes, and enhance the overall efficiency of the healthcare system. With the increasing complexity of health challenges, such as chronic diseases and mental health issues, the proposed change is essential for a more cohesive approach to patient care. Statistics show that integrated care models can reduce hospital admissions and improve patient satisfaction. My constituency of Bristol South has seen significant benefits from similar initiatives, with improved access to care and better health outcomes for residents. The amendment also aligns with the government's broader objectives of integrating social care and healthcare to better support vulnerable populations.
Layla Moran
Lib Dem
Oxford West and Abingdon
Layla Moran thanked the Minister for accepting their amendment and inquired about other areas where the government would be open to listening and potentially accepting further amendments, particularly regarding the Health Services Safety Investigations Body, Healthwatch, health inequalities, and special needs provisions.
Nusrat Ghani
Con
Wealden
The speaker informed the House that the debate is heavily oversubscribed and placed Back Benchers on a speaking limit.
Caroline Johnson
Con
Sleaford and North Hykeham
Caroline Johnson opposes the Health and Care Bill, citing inefficiencies, lack of proper planning, and negative impacts on healthcare performance and patient care. She calls for transparency on redundancies and the implementation of amendments to ensure better workforce planning and local decision-making.
Clive Efford
Lab
Eltham
Efford argues that clause 10 could be exploited by future governments to privatise the NHS, despite the explanatory notes suggesting it is necessary to prevent a breakdown in service provision. He emphasises the need to protect the NHS from potential misuse of the clause and supports Labour's plan to bring more services under public control.
Helen Morgan
LD
Torfaen
The amendment aims to address the pressing issues in primary care and social care, including the decline in funding for primary care, dental deserts, and the need for guaranteed respite care and reform of the carer’s allowance. It also includes measures to improve the safety and quality of maternity services, such as ensuring every maternity unit is rated 'good' or 'outstanding' and guaranteeing safe staffing levels and access to a maternity unit within 45 minutes. The amendment seeks to modernise the NHS and end duplication but is concerned about the current chaotic approach and the risk of political capture.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Supports the need for mental health support for families to be a statutory proactive duty, from diagnosis through to treatment and bereavement.
Agrees that the most challenging estate in the country needs to be addressed sooner than 2033 to improve treatment for mothers and their babies.
Daniel Francis
Lab
Lewisham West and Penge
Francis argues for his amendments, noting that the current system is fragmented and lacks accountability. He highlights specific examples of delays in wheelchair provision, including his daughter's case where she was without an adequate wheelchair for 21 months. He also mentions the inconsistency in data and service standards across different boroughs within the same ICB. He supports the Children’s Commissioner's statement regarding delays in equipment provision and their impact on hospital discharge. Francis calls for clear expectations and consistent standards to ensure accountability for ICBs.
Danny Beales
Con
Haltemprice and Howden
Beales intervenes to thank Francis for his work on the all-party parliamentary group and to highlight similar issues in his constituency where patients are left without wheelchairs for months, causing significant health issues. He agrees that ICBs are unaccountable and supports the need for tougher measures to hold them to account.
Barnsley Central
Fenton-Glynn intervenes to thank Francis for bringing his personal experience to the debate and emphasises the importance of the health service fulfilling its part in the EHCP process.
Graham Stuart
Con
Beverley and Holderness
Agrees with Jeremy Hunt's argument about continuity of care, stating that a sense of ownership and responsibility leads to better care and commitment. Doctors who know their patients would provide better care.
Navendu Mishra
Lab
North West England
Supports new clause 25 indirectly through emphasis on improving healthcare provision and addressing issues like hospital conditions and IVF funding. Argues for standardization of IVF treatment and ensuring data hygiene and safety.
Martin Wrigley
Lab
Newton Abbot
Martin Wrigley agreed with Layla Moran's point about the NHS cost-benefit analysis of the Palantir project, which shows a net loss of £300 million, underlining the need to get rid of it now.
Peter Swallow, a member of the Education Select Committee, agreed with Layla Moran's point about the need for ICBs to be held accountable for delivering on EHCPs.
Jen Craft
Lab
Thurrock
Jen Craft supports the idea of a digital single patient record and highlights the importance of ensuring that all parts of the health and care system are involved in decision-making. She also raises concerns about the abolition of NHS England and the impact on specialised services and public health initiatives.
Gavin Williamson
Con
South Staffordshire
Gavin Williamson highlights the growing issue of people not being able to have children due to the postcode lottery in IVF treatment. He urges the Minister to look at new clause 104, which would provide all patients with a minimum of three cycles of IVF treatment as recommended by NICE.
Ben Coleman
Con
West Dorset
Ben Coleman raises a concern about the abolition of NHS England and its impact on highly specialised services for treating rare and complex conditions. He suggests that the Minister should clarify whether these services will continue to be commissioned centrally.
Anna Dixon
Lab
Brent North
Anna Dixon congratulates Danny Beales and others on strengthening local authority representation on integrated care boards. She agrees with the sentiments of new clause 106, which calls for a stronger duty to co-operate within the NHS and between the NHS and local authorities.
Jennifer Craft
Lab
Glasgow North
Craft argues that new clause 85 would address the fundamental imbalance in the provision of health services for disabled children and young people. She highlights that the statutory duty to deliver EHCPs currently sits solely with local authorities, while health bodies are not held legally responsible for providing necessary healthcare services, leading to delays and inadequacies in care. She provides examples of constituents who have struggled to secure essential healthcare for their children, impacting their development and education. She also mentions the financial burden on families, with parents often having to spend around £8,500 a year on their child’s healthcare. Craft emphasises the need for better accountability and transparency in the health service to ensure that disabled children receive the support they need to access education.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Shannon commends Jennifer Craft for her efforts and expresses concern that when a child is diagnosed with cancer, parents are overwhelmed by medical jargon, appointments, and sheer panic. He agrees that the Government should accept the common-sense duty to ensure that no family faces those critical first two weeks completely alone.
Fenton-Glynn thanks Jennifer Craft for her powerful speech and work in this regard. He agrees that long waiting times are particularly difficult when children are involved because a child's life is so attenuated. He emphasises that if a parent is waiting for 18 months, it amounts to one and a half or two school years, and agrees that the key to prevention is to ensure that these matters are dealt with as quickly as possible.
Graham Stuart
Con
Beverley and Holderness
Stuart shares Craft's concern that the abolition of Healthwatch might remove one of the few elements that externally and independently marks the homework of the NHS, leading to a situation where the NHS itself and Ministers will collect the data and mark their own homework, potentially losing a tool for parents to hold the system to account.
Tom Gordon
Con
Harrogate and Knaresborough
Tom Gordon supports the amendments to ensure a formal transition strategy for NHS England's abolition, reduce inequalities in clinical research funding, improve dental services in his constituency, and maintain diabetes programmes. He highlights the significant decrease in dental appointment access in his constituency and the impact of poor dental care on emergency services and children's education. He also discusses the need for more research funding to address health inequalities in regions outside London.
Dan Aldridge agrees with Tom Gordon's point about health inequalities and highlights the lack of radiotherapy machines in his constituency, Weston-super-Mare, compared to other European countries. He emphasises the need for more investment in radiotherapy services to improve cancer treatment outcomes.
Vikki Slade supports Tom Gordon's new clauses, particularly those related to NHS dentistry, and notes the loss of dentists in her constituency of Dorset over the past five years. She questions whether Tom Gordon's plan will address the lack of new dental contracts and improve the dental care system.
Anna Dixon discusses the importance of integrated health and social care services and tables new clause 106 to require the Secretary of State to report on the integration of health and social care. She shares personal experiences of constituents who suffered due to uncoordinated care, emphasising the need for better cooperation between NHS bodies and local authorities.
Steve Barclay
Con
North East Cambridgeshire
The speaker argues that clause 1 lacks a clear plan and has led to cost and confusion. He mentions the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB's £14 million in redundancies and the inconsistency in the Government's approach. He also raises concerns about clause 6, emphasising the need for better alignment between procurement, regulation, and clinical leadership, and the importance of transparent data dashboards.
Graham Stuart
Con
Beverley and Holderness
The speaker agrees that the measure has not been thought through and questions how the Government could have conceived of health and social care without local government engagement. He highlights the Government's spending on redundancies with no clear end destination and argues that they are out of control and wasting a huge opportunity.
The speaker supports new clause 162, which aims to ensure that Parliament can identify where inequalities exist in specialised services and measure their improvement. She highlights the experience of people with sickle cell disorder and the need for the Government to measure, publish, and report on specialised services to ensure basic accountability for patients.
The speaker supports the new clause and argues that if the issue predominantly affected white people instead of black people, it would be taken more seriously. He believes the Government needs to reflect on this and give sickle cell sufferers the full support they need.
Steffan Aquarone
Con
North Norfolk
Amendment 19 is crucial for addressing health inequalities in rural and coastal communities. These areas often suffer from shorter life expectancy, higher rates of chronic illness, and longer wait times for healthcare. Constituents like Kelly, Samantha, and Ian have faced significant delays in receiving necessary treatments, impacting their quality of life and overall health outcomes. The amendment challenges the Government to prioritise these communities and improve their access to health services.
Simon Opher
Con
Stroud
New clause 69 focuses on self-care and health literacy to address the rising demand for healthcare services, which has increased by 30% in GP consultations and 20% in A&E attendance since 2019. The clause aims to empower patients with knowledge and confidence to manage minor health issues, reducing unnecessary consultations and freeing up clinicians to care for those with more serious conditions. Initiatives like Facts4Life, which teaches children about health and internet literacy, can help reduce consultations in the NHS and improve overall health outcomes.
West Dorset
Edward argues that the current dental system is failing with a 20% decrease in NHS dental practices and excessive costs for basic treatments. He supports the establishment of training hubs to train dentists and mandates final-year trainees to provide supervised NHS treatment. He also highlights the need for additional NHS appointments, shorter waiting times, and improved outreach services. Edward further emphasises the importance of GP practice sustainability and the necessity for electronic prescribing and interoperable records. He calls for legislative action to tackle the Jhoots crisis and to protect employees and support new independent pharmacies. He urges the Government to address the realities of rural healthcare by supporting modern infrastructure and funding systems.
Ian Byrne
Lab
Liverpool West Derby
Ian Byrne introduces New Clause 108 to ensure that companies with ethical violations cannot be awarded NHS contracts. He calls for a review of the procurement framework to exclude companies involved in human rights violations, emphasising the need for transparency and accountability. He highlights Palantir's lack of transparency regarding its software used in Israel and ICE detentions. Byrne supports new clause 34, which aims to protect patient data. He urges the Government to adopt new clause 108 and trigger the 2027 break clause in Palantir's contract. He also emphasises the importance of ethical standards in public procurement across all Government Departments.
Builth Wells
David Chadwick supports new clauses 133 and 134 to update the cross-border healthcare statement of values and principles, and to place them on a statutory footing. He highlights the devastating impact of cross-border healthcare decisions, such as longer waiting times for patients. Chadwick calls for an update to reflect current problems and to provide statutory protections for cross-border patients, emphasising the need for statutory protections due to the limitations of relying on a voluntary statement.
Allison Gardner
Lab
Stoke-on-Trent North
Ms. Gardner highlights the stark health inequalities in her constituency and across the UK, noting a gap of up to 18 years in life expectancy. She emphasises the need to embed a statutory duty in the Bill to tackle health inequalities, arguing that existing guidance and processes are not sufficient. She also supports new clause 109, which focuses on accountability and regulatory gaps in AI and digital regulations in healthcare.
Charlotte Cane
Con
East Cambridgeshire
Ms. Cane discusses the lack of access to NHS dentists in her constituency and the impact on dental health for children. She calls for changes to the dental contract to enable more treatment and to address the issue of unused units being returned rather than reallocated. She also raises concerns about the NHS in rural areas and the need for public transport. She supports new clause 18 and other amendments to improve dental access. She also expresses concerns about the Palantir contract and its impact on medical data security and trust.
Apsana Begum
Lab
Poplar and Canning Town
Ms. Begum speaks in support of new clause 108, which addresses concerns about Palantir Technologies and the single patient record. She raises ethical concerns and the need for data protection. She also supports amendment 10, which seeks to place ICB spending on mental health services on a statutory footing, and amendment 45, which aims to ensure NHS trusts retain their voice in commissioning and public health decisions. She criticises the marketisation policies in the Bill and their potential negative impact on mental health services.
Shockat Adam
Lab
City of Durham
Adam highlights the need to address the growing issue of sight loss by proposing specific amendments to the bill. He raises concerns about clinical accountability, the lack of optometrists' voices in commissioning decisions, and the need for consistent commissioning of eye care services. He also calls for optometry to be included in the single patient record framework.
Andy McDonald
Lab
Middlesbrough
McDonald speaks to amendments 103, 104, new clause 160, and amendment 105, focusing on spinal cord injury services. He seeks clarity from the Minister on how to protect specialist workforce capacity, national standards, and the sustainability of specialist centres when responsibility for highly specialised services changes. He also addresses the need for national assurance and parliamentary accountability for outcomes, access, workforce, and geographical variation.
Karin Smyth
Lab
Bristol South
Smyth, a Labour MP, responds to the debate, highlighting the Government's commitment to strengthening democratic accountability, reducing bureaucracy, and empowering patients. She assures that the bill supports the further integration of health and care and upholds existing duties on NHS bodies and local authorities to co-operate. She also addresses the need for a more joined-up approach across education and health, particularly in relation to SEND and maternity and child health.
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