Speeches by Beales.

“You said that is a complex picture that varies from area to area in terms of what services may or may not be available or commissioned by the NHS, local authorities and, potentially, voluntary sector provision. Is there a role for digital in ensuring that clinicians and patients understand better what is available in t…”

“Susan, in some of your earlier discussions you talked about taking a whole-systems approach rather than a programmatic approach to delivery. Has one of the challenges in moving to such a model been that, ultimately, we need evidence-based interventions, and it is easier to test an intervention than a system approach? Y…”

“Do you not see private prescriptions as self-referral by another means? We know most people who are using injectable treatments are self-referring themselves to private provision. That is happening anyway, so would it better if self-referral or self-supported access was happening through an NHS supported platform rathe…”

“Let me turn to the role of digital service delivery, which some of the panellists have already touched on—Emily, I think you touched on it in the evidence you gave about some of the evidence of weight loss. To what extent is that desirable in and of itself or is it a way of dealing with backlogs or resource shortages? …”

“On the hub model, you talked about one of the challenges of testing as being the ICB-based commissioning model of local need. You touched on that a bit in today’s session. That is a complete departure, I suppose, from the rationale of commissioning care locally. Why should this, and not any other aspect of care, be com…”

“That is really clear, thank you. Is there a risk of bypassing GPs, as they are currently the gatekeepers to the system? As I think you mentioned, obviously these individuals often have to have multimorbidity to get on to these programmes; it is not just obesity that they are facing. They are potentially facing diabetes…”

“A specialist weight management hub.”

“Like a key worker or navigator of the system?”

“Those programmes are tested in certain patient groups, such as the Diabetes Prevention programme to prevent diabetes, and the Path to Remission programme for people who are diagnosed with diabetes to put them into remission, and there is evidence of that. Is there a risk that more fluid movement between models of diffe…”

“I welcome the statement, and the Government’s response in the Green Paper, particularly the commitment to 11,500 branches—branches will be focused on high streets—and the focus on accessibility. In the light of that, does the Minister agree that it is ridiculous that the Uxbridge post office branch is set to close in M…”

“Is this the hub model you talked about?”

“My predecessor, Boris Johnson, promised much that never seemed to materialise, locally as well as nationally. My hon. Friend is right in his assertion that we have seen significant economic impacts. Pharmaceutical companies in my constituency talk about double administration and double testing of the exports of drugs n…”

“The post office in Uxbridge provides vital services to my constituents. It gives access to banking services, to Government forms for applying for passports or driving licences, and to general postal services. That is why residents were horrified to hear that the post office will close at the end of May, with no replace…”

“My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Rightly, this Government are putting more money back into local government for the first time in many years. That is long overdue, but that money has to be well spent. Unfortunately, what he describes in Harrow is quite similar to the experience of my residents in Hillingdon. Th…”

“I am an MP with a Conservative council, and a colleague from the Conservative Croydon council area—[Interruption.] Conservative Members cheer; unfortunately, it is a bankrupt Tory council, but luckily this Government are stepping in, have followed the deprivation and the need, and are properly funding that council, reg…”

“The hon. Member is very generous with his time. I always have a lot of time for him. He is talking about our constituents in Hillingdon. Is it not the case that the financial settlement of the previous Tory Government, which also included council tax, had a 7% cut to core spending power for our constituents in Hillingd…”

“rose—”

“Potentially, but could you answer my question? What effect has that had? Can you speak to that?”

“So the data has remained the same, and we have not seen any decline?”

“I am going to be talking to you about vaccine hesitancy and misinformation, and some panellists have touched slightly on this topic already. Studies identified by Ofcom in 2025 found that a notable minority of the public believe covid-19 vaccine conspiracy theories, and that there is a link between these beliefs and va…”