Speeches by Robertson.

“As my right hon. Friend knows, I worked for a charity for six years—or a decade, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer likes to call it. Would he care to reflect on the damage done to charities by this Government’s Budget? They are already in a squeeze, and the Government have squeezed them further through their decisions…”

“The hon. Member talks about choice. I agree with what he has said so far, but does he agree that, when it comes to the banning of smoking for people born after 1 January 2009, there is no removal of choice in the Bill, because they cannot smoke anyway at the moment? Therefore, there is no removal of choice from those p…”

“Thank you.”

“Lord Darzi, thank you very much. The remit of your report did not deal specifically with social care, but you understandably and rightly refer to it, to the extent that it impacts on the NHS, so I will ask you some questions on social care. To what extent is it fundamentally sustainable, if we are to achieve integrated…”

“I appreciate that it is not your decision, or mine, where the money goes, but given that your report looks into decisions made by previous Governments, I am inviting you to comment on the current Government’s funding decision made in October. I appreciate that the system may not be perfect.”

“Continuing healthcare, which is effectively social care commissioned by the NHS, isn’t directly dealt with in your report, but I accept again that social care falls outside of it. I think it is uncontroversial to say that fewer people are receiving continuing healthcare, and in many cases there is a breakdown between t…”

“The hon. Gentleman speaks eloquently on a wide range of healthcare challenges in Hampshire. Does he agree that our shared integrated care board for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight must do all that it can to make the best of the situation, particularly in relation to NHS dentistry and funding for hospices across Hampshi…”

“Your report finds serious long-term underfunding in social care, quite apart from the structural issues, and also remarks on the knock-on effects in the NHS. The current Government have made their first decision on funding through the Budget, and allocated broadly £26 billion for the NHS and £600 million for social car…”

“Will the Minister consider the Isle of Wight as one of the 10 local authority areas to benefit from any Budget money? The Isle of Wight is an excellent place to trial such things.”

“This is not a Budget for growth. On the Treasury’s own figures, growth will decline from 2% next year for the rest of the decade. On the OBR’s analysis, this Budget is inflationary. It is not on small businesses that the responsibility should land. Small businesses employ people. Small and medium-sized businesses drive…”

“I agree with my right hon. Friend. In fact, there has been one common theme running through this debate: GP practices, charities such as hospices, dentists, pharmacists and social care providers are all being taxed by this Government. At a time when they need Government most, these providers find increased pressure on …”

“Does my right hon. Friend agree that provisions that are bad for small business are also bad for workers, bad for taxpayers, and bad for those who rely on welfare payments?”

“My hon. Friend talks about growth. Does he agree that growth for small businesses is good for workers and that what is good for small business is therefore good for workers? Small business needs better protection in this legislation.”

“I agree that the Bill lacks detail. It also contains a lot of powers that are intended to come about through secondary legislation. For example, we do not know how long that probation period will be, because it is not set out in the legislation. Turning to the NHS, we understand that the Chancellor will increase the mo…”

“I congratulate those who have given their maiden speeches today and spoken with such passion for and about their communities. There is much in the Bill that I support, and I support the sentiment behind it. I am sure there is common ground in wanting to improve conditions and rights for workers, but there is a balance …”

“I support the sentiment that we need more funding and support for carers—more finance, more money—but the email the hon. Lady read out powerfully showed that it is not just money that carers need. They need much broader support to give respite and relief, and to allow them to address their own mental health concerns th…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulate the hon. and gallant Member for North East Derbyshire (Louise Jones) on her maiden speech, and thank her for her military service before entering this place. It is an enormous honour and privilege to represent Isle of Wight East. It is one half of the former Isle of Wight…”

“My hon. Friend makes a good point about those with health conditions. Does she agree that there is no provision in the proposal for those living with dementia or long-term frailty? Those are not means-tested diseases or conditions, yet the Government have not made any provision or assessment of how those living with de…”

“As the right hon. Gentleman is aware, there is a particular shortage of NHS dentists in coastal and rural communities such as mine on the Isle of Wight. Will he therefore commit to the previous Government’s plan for 240 golden hellos for newly qualified dentists by the end of the year to address that issue?”