Speeches by Beales.

“And on market competitiveness and exposure to contracts across Government?”

“Patient-led, so they would be able to decide?”

“I have two quick points. On the point about contracting, do you currently look at the exposure across Government, the reliance across Government, of your contractors, the competitive environment and the market share that they might have? Is diversifying the market share of data and digital a key consideration around co…”

“There are broader lessons that I suppose you have learned. This is not the first digital transformation in the NHS that has been promised. A major NHS contract in the noughties was overspent and under-delivered. Even more recently, for organisations like the CQC, for instance, one of the main drivers behind its failure…”

“If that happens, do you think that there is a risk that we will lean more on the private sector and contractual relationships such as those that we heard about in the previous discussion with Palantir, and that we will get locked into contracts, perhaps bad contracts, if we do not have that expertise?”

“I concur completely with my right hon. Friend. We have both met those affected, their loved ones and their families, and we can really hear and see the value. Unfortunately, that value was not considered in the rushed decision made by the councillors—I will turn to the lack of consultation very soon, and I completely a…”

“I rise to discuss services for adults with learning difficulties and disabilities in Hillingdon. Approximately 1.3 million people in England have a learning disability. If we include those with learning difficulties, that figure is even higher. Yet too often our services, education system, NHS, workplaces and society a…”

“The point has been mentioned that many families receive one letter. You also just mentioned population mobility and losing contact. What is your sense of where the system is working well in tracking those who have missed appointments? Are there places where that has been solved—perhaps through a more complex system of …”

“I was taking a liberty there with a follow-up question, so I will move on to data. Beccy talked about a macro-level analysis of data. Focusing back down on the child, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is piloting a single unique identifier for children. In the evidence we have heard so far, we have heard that o…”

“Sally, I suppose that, as an OT, you are not always considered in the MDT and a lot of the guidance. In terms of your access to data at the moment, what do you think about an NHS number being the basis for the single identifier going forward?”

“Dr Simkiss, the RCPCH suggested the NHS number being the unique identifier in evidence, so presumably you are happy with the emerging approach that has been mentioned.”

“Something has to be picked, and there will be challenges with whatever is picked. Some children may not have an NHS number at present.”

“It has been suggested to us that asylum seekers might be part of the group that is not covered by NHS numbers.”

“So you do not envisage that there will be a group of children who would struggle?”

“Fantastic. Sally, you briefly touched on some of the logistical and practical challenges for professionals. Are there any other resources or tools that the workforce will need to successfully implement this new approach?”

“Great. Thank you.”

“I will start quite generally about the challenge. Despite attempts to increase vaccination rates, rates have broadly and consistently fallen in terms of coverage since 2012, and the WHO target of 95% coverage was not met in 2023-24, before the target was abandoned in planning guidance for NHS England. What is your asse…”

“That is a really helpful summary. We have seen that trend since 2012. Is it your sense that all those barriers—in terms of access points such as convenience, time off work and so on, which are understandable barriers—have become more acute? What is your sense of why there has been a worsening of availability of appoint…”

“There are quite wide regional variations: 22 local authorities meet the 95% target, but 44 are below 90% and 12 are below 85%. Hackney is as low as 60-something per cent—approximately 63%—which is an almost 30% difference between the lowest and highest coverage in local authorities. What is your feeling about why that …”

“In terms of the impacts, there have been a number of outbreaks recorded: measles outbreaks in Birmingham and London, I think, and increasing cases of whooping cough and other things. Do you have any broader sense of what the implications might be for the health system? Are you aware of any kind of modelling on declinin…”