Topical Questions 2025-06-17
2025-06-17
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Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Professor Sir Chris Whitty published a report highlighting health issues in coastal areas, recommending improvements to access to healthcare. Implementation was delayed due to the pandemic.
It is nearly four years since Professor Sir Chris Whitty published his striking report on health in coastal communities. Covid inevitably delayed implementation, so will the Secretary of State look again at that report, deliver on the chief medical officer’s recommendations and ensure that my constituents in Bridlington and The Wolds can access the health services that they need?
The hon. Gentleman is right to commend Sir Chris Whitty’s report. We have taken that into consideration, as well as the wider consultation we did in preparation for our 10-year plan for health, which will commit to tackling the gross health inequalities that affect our country, particularly in rural and coastal communities.
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Q2
Partial Answer
Will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming the recent NHS waiting list figures that show that the Worcestershire acute hospitals NHS trust has seen a fall of over 6,000 since this Government came into office? Does he agree that progress like this shows that, in partnership with our hard-working NHS staff, we can be the generation that takes the NHS from the worst crisis in its history to the NHS that people deserve?
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. It is thanks to the fact that his constituents sent him to this House of Commons that we have a Labour Government able to deliver, with him, for his community.
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Q3
Partial Answer
The right hon. Gentleman could not answer that question, but hopefully we will get a more positive response to this one. I recently had the privilege of meeting Dr Susan Michaelis and her husband Tristan, who have set up the Lobular Moon Shot Project, which large numbers of Members of all parties across the House have backed. They are seeking £20 million over five years—a tiny sum in the context of the overall NHS budget—to research lobular breast cancer, which Susan is currently battling, to help improve outcomes. Her immediate ask is even simpler: it is for the Secretary of State to meet her in person to discuss the campaign and its aims. He is a decent man. Will he agree to do that?
I thank the shadow Secretary of State for his question and, even more importantly, I thank the amazing campaigners for what they are doing. This is probably the easiest question he is ever going to ask me. The answer is, of course, an emphatic yes.
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Q4
Partial Answer
One of the main concerns I have about assisted dying is that it should never be easier to help someone die than it is to help them live. If passed, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would make thousands of terminally ill people every year eligible to end their lives on the NHS. Does our health service have the money to fund this service as well as its priority of bringing down waiting lists?
Can I first thank my hon. Friend the Minister for Care for the considerable amount of work he has done to support the House as it makes its deliberations on this important issue? Of course, the Government are neutral; it is for the House to decide. There is not money allocated to set up the service in the Bill at present, but it is for Members of this House and the other place, should the Bill proceed, to decide whether to proceed. That is a decision that this Government will respect either way.
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Q5
Partial Answer
The UK is desperately short of doctors, but thousands of applicants will be turned away due to a lack of training places. This is not a situation of the Minister’s making, but he has now been in post for a year. Can he assure us that nobody—no union, no Treasury Minister—will prevent him from doing what needs to be done and lifting the training cap?
I should just say for the record that it is thanks to my friends at the Treasury that we are able to do so much to invest in our health service. It is important to put that on record ahead of the Budget. The hon. Lady raises a really serious issue, and we are looking carefully at what we can do to ensure that we get great people into our health service and that they can look forward to a great career. We are not in the right place as a country now; we need to be in a better place. The 10-year plan will set out our ambitions on workforce and we will publish a new workforce plan later this year.
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Q6
Partial Answer
It is 16 months since the publication of the Hughes report, but those patients harmed by sodium valproate continue to await the outcome on the redress that the Government will provide. Will the Secretary of State please provide an update on when they can expect an announcement on the redress that will be made available to them?
I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. The Government are carefully considering the work of the patient safety commissioner and her report, which sets out the options for redress. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government Departments. We will provide a further update on the commissioner’s report soon.
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Q7
Partial Answer
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The MP noted constituents raising concerns about finding and keeping an NHS dentist, and welcomed the government's introduction of over 19,000 urgent care dental appointments.
Why has my hon. Friend introduced more than 19,000 urgent care appointments across our ICB area? What are the next steps to ensure that NHS dentistry is opened up again for everyone?
The 700,000 urgent dental appointments are a first step, and we are looking to embed this so that it goes forward every year of this Parliament. The broader issue is around contract reform, exploring options such as sessional payments and capitation to bring dentists back into the NHS.
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Q8
Partial Answer
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The MP highlighted the merger of ICBs in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes with Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, covering 3 million people. He noted difficulties securing a GP surgery in Wixams.
How will merging the local ICB help rural mid-Beds get the healthcare it needs?
The government is taking a different approach, slashing bureaucracy and reinvesting in front-line services. We are not centralising but decentralising, and cutting waiting lists—a record that the Conservative party cannot match.
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merging ICBs to benefit rural areas
Changing Subject To Criticism Of Conservative Thinking
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Q9
Partial Answer
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The MP referenced a constituent who suffered nerve damage after a hip operation in 2008, with repeated failures in diagnosis, referral, and treatment. The issue was not resolved until 17 years later.
What steps are being taken to ensure that no other patient is left permanently disabled due to prolonged and systemic failure?
The situation described by the constituent is intolerable but not rare. We are changing the culture of cover-up, focusing on safety in the 10-year plan. I am willing to discuss the constituent's case further with my hon. Friend.
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Q10
Direct Answer
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The MP attended an event about bladder cancer, noting it as the fifth highest killer in the UK. He highlighted constituents' concerns raised at a meeting with the Minister.
Will the Minister meet bladder cancer organisations to discuss their four objectives for improving care?
The Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who is the Minister responsible for cancer, would be delighted to meet campaigners as we develop the national cancer plan. We want to ensure that every type of cancer receives improved care.
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Q11
Direct Answer
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The MP highlighted a constituent's case of being refused fertility treatment after recovery from an aggressive cancer with high likelihood of recurrence. The issue was raised on “Newsnight”.
Will the Minister meet me and my constituent Mollie to discuss her access to fertility treatment?
Yes, I will make sure that my hon. Friend gets that meeting with the Minister.
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