Speeches by Stafford.

“15. What steps he is taking to ensure that brain tumours are included in the national cancer plan.”

“I accept that the pressure on the NHS went way beyond covid, as the hon. Gentleman will remember, but to use the Secretary of State’s term, covid was the point at which the NHS was “broken”, and it is taking a long time to recover. The Government are right to push for more localised services, and to bring services clos…”

“I welcome this debate, although we have had a number of health debates over the past few sitting days that have crystallised the real problem that we see in the NHS. It is stark that none of the Government Members have mentioned covid thus far and its massive impact. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Carlisle (Ms Min…”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“Sorry, Secretary of State—are you saying that not a single pensioner will die because of this?”

“Putting deaths aside, do you feel it will lead to any extra pressure on the health and social care system?”

“Expanding pharmacy and what pharmacies can do is the right thing to do. Where do you see the tensions with general practice? We had a meeting of the all-party group on pharmacy yesterday, and the BMA representative there, a GP, seemed relatively sceptical about not just your future ambitions but, indeed, Pharmacy First…”

“I agree with you that the health and care system is under pressure. On that point, back in 2017 the Labour party said that 4,000 people were going to die if the winter fuel allowance was removed. What assessment has your Department done of how many people are going to die?”

“T3. It is always nice to get a cheer, Mr Speaker.As a former treasurer of the Oxford Union, I was disgusted that three weeks ago a debate descended into a mess of antisemitism, when a majority of the students voted that they would not have reported Hamas’s plans if they had known of them prior to the 7 October attacks.…”

“I am very pleased to see your commitment to Pharmacy First and to potentially expanding the role of pharmacy going forward. However, when I speak to national pharmacy leaders, and indeed pharmacies in my own constituency of Farnham and Bordon, they tell me that they are essentially under great financial pressure. Part …”

“I accept what you have said, and it is reassuring to hear that, but I think we need—well, I need—a little bit more clarity on exactly when that is going to come, because Community Pharmacy England has said that there will not be a community pharmacy sector left to deliver the contractual framework if your Government do…”

“I thank the Secretary of State for her response, but has she assessed the regional impact of this levy? Although the impact can perhaps be levelled out and absorbed across the whole of Wales, some communities are clearly going to be hit harder than others. How will they be compensated for the impact?”

“3. What discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the potential impact of the proposed tourism levy on jobs in Wales.”

“I will not ask a new question, but I will follow up on the point that has just been stated. My constituency of Farnham and Bordon is covered by three ICBs, and the variation of quality in the service delivery and—to the Chair’s point—in communication and accountability between those three ICBs is extraordinarily large.…”

“That leads on neatly to my next point, which is about political imperatives. Governments of all colours have obviously set targets. We see that getting operations done and reducing waiting lists is a priority for the Government, and that is obviously all at the acute end—or a significant part of it is at the acute end,…”

“We could have a discussion about this, because in real terms the NHS has had more money than it has ever had, but I am interested in the funding point. What you are talking about for nursing is Agenda for Change. Nurses are not the only ones on Agenda for Change; there are others, like the allied health professions and…”

“Thank you. It is always nice to hear things about my former role in GIRFT.”

“I understand that and completely agree with you in terms of the policy position and how you would work that out, but the reality does not seem to be matching that. How do we break the cycle where we say we want to do this, but winter pressures then come up and waiting lists go up? While we say we want to do it, the mon…”

“In August 2008, Alan Jermey brutally murdered Kirsty Wilson, strangling her and setting her body on fire while their two young daughters slept upstairs. He has now been recommended for transfer to an open prison, which could allow him unchaperoned access to the community within six months. His daughters, now 18 and 23,…”

“The hon. Gentleman and I are members of the Health Committee, so I ask him this with all seriousness and genuineness. Does he not see the risk of this tax rise for GP surgeries, the hospice sector and the voluntary sector, which supports a lot of what the NHS does?”