Speeches by Beales.

“So it does not apply to all. I am quite confused about what the policy is; I do not know about my colleagues. There have been reports down this track that senior NHS procurement officials have been warned about speaking out about Palantir. It has been reported in the FT that officials have warned staff about criticisin…”

“It was not 85%.”

“There was no warning or sense of repercussions communicated?”

“It may be different, but I am just comparing general data engineer roles; there might be other comparisons. Have you benchmarked with the private sector for digital staff at NHS central level and ICB level? Are you confident we are competitive?”

“I will ask you for a few clarifications about some of the testimony today. You talked about there being no role for preference or opinion and that it has to be based on performance. Is there no role in public contracting to look at issues such as whether the contractor meets fit and proper persons tests? Is there any r…”

“And that did not come from the centre, from your perspective?”

“Are we competitive?”

“On the NICE standards, some of the data we have seen has suggested that around 31% of ICB areas are not following the NICE criteria in full. There is variation in who can apply for bariatric surgery, which is not compliant with NICE, and some areas have no provision at all. NICE has already produced some kind of clinic…”

“That would be the driver. If we treated it as a disease, all these commissioners would suddenly commission more bariatric surgery.”

“Do you think progress has been made? We have heard about the remission programme and the diabetes prevention programme, which have been committed to nationally and pushed by NHS England, with some degree of local involvement; do you think there is a case for that kind of model for bariatric surgery?”

“Neil, you clearly get it, but do you think there is too much reliance at the moment on personalities, passions and personal beliefs in bariatric surgery and interventions in this space, which drive decisions and lead to variability? Or do you think there are other explanations for why lots of areas just do not do what …”

“You have made a compelling case about the untapped potential of bariatric surgery. Given the variation you have spoken about nationally, why do you think local commissioners just do not get it?”

“The case is very strong indeed for bariatric surgery.”

“The hon. Lady is being generous with her time, and I thank her for bringing this important debate to the House. She has expertly described the ongoing impacts in communities like ours. Residents in West Ruislip and Ickenham in my constituency live day in, day out with the consequences of HS2 works. As she rightly point…”

“In 2017, bariatric surgery was devolved by NHS England to local areas—there were known as CCGs at the time, but they are now ICBs—on the basis that they would design effective local pathways, respond to local population need and aim to increase consistency in the pathway of obesity management. It seems that that has no…”

“Neil, you talked about commissioning for local population needs. Is it your view that in the areas that are not commissioning at the moment, their obesity levels are such that it is less of a priority? Would the commissioning of bariatric surgery map to the issues of deprivation, obesity and local need?”

“Why do you think those commissioners are not commissioning for population need?”

“What would that accountability look like now? You said that it would be possible for NHS England to achieve that now, or potentially it could be achieved in the future by the Department of Health under the new arrangements, but for the 31% of areas that are now not compliant with NICE criteria around bariatric surgerie…”

“If we moved to a nationally commissioned service, would there be a need to commission a service in every area, or should we be focusing on super-hubs? We have heard some evidence around surgical space, time and facilities being a barrier in certain areas, so should we be commissioning specific national bariatric surger…”

“I hope you will join me, Mr Speaker, in wishing Wealdstone football club good luck in their FA trophy final at Wembley on Sunday. The early access programme gives the NHS access to life-changing and innovative drugs for free. I recently met Sarcoma UK, which told me of the difference that these drugs make to many patie…”