Speeches by Smyth.

“Well, we could—[Interruption.] Sorry, the hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) is chuntering from a sedentary position. I partly agree with my hon. Friend. Yes, the Conservatives did run down the NHS and we inherited a broken system, but volunteering has always been a really important part of the NHS a…”

“I agree with the hon. Lady about the roles that people play, particularly by having conversations and connecting with people who feel disconnected. To be very clear, this decision is about particular arrangements: it does not mean that things are stopping across our country or with local health systems ensuring that vo…”

“This is a good opportunity, which I very much welcome, to highlight again how important volunteering is to the NHS and the care system. It will remain an important part of our plans going forward that. People may have had an email and thought that something is stopping and that there is not more to do, but they should …”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her work volunteering and supporting the scheme during covid. The announcement is about NHS England. The organisation will continue to work with the NHS and voluntary organisations to ensure that where people are volunteering, that will continue, and that volunteers continue to be recruited, a…”

“I am happy to give my hon. Friend an absolute assurance. Volunteers support and complement the existing workforce; they do not replace it. Including volunteers signals a recognition of the important role they play in supporting staff, services and patients. Many hon. Members are volunteers and we have all seen how thos…”

“The hon. Lady is right to highlight the tremendous effort that went into establishing the programme very quickly at a time of great crisis, and to thank the hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the country who took part and stepped up. It was a huge effort to get the scheme running and we were all very grateful f…”

“I thank the hon. Member for giving me the opportunity to speak about this topic and highlight the important role that volunteering plays in our health and social care system. The NHS has always benefited from the generous contribution made by volunteers, who play a vital role in supporting our patients, staff and servi…”

“I am happy to answer any questions, but as far as I am aware, they are NHS-employed staff, so they will be dealt with in the usual way. I am happy to write to the shadow Minister with any specifics if that is helpful. In conclusion, the draft regulations are important to ensure that the MHRA has the resources that it n…”

“I thank the hon. Members for Sleaford and North Hykeham and for Chichester for their comments, which I will try to address. As I think everyone agrees, the MHRA provides essential services that play a crucial public health role, and it is important that it recovers its costs, which is what these fee increases are set t…”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Medical Devices and Blood Safety and Quality (Fees Amendment) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. Before I turn to the detail of the statutory instrument, I would like to highlight the important role that the Medici…”

“What we see every time the Department puts out something major—and we are putting out an awful lot of change—is that that understandably results in a spike in what comes in. That is part of what has happened, despite us putting in those measures from July, at the beginning of our term in office. We have seen spikes aro…”

“On the post-election response, the volumes are really significant. Obviously, policy has changed with the new Government. That takes a bit of time. The redraft issue, which we also alluded to, is significant. I think I speak for all Ministers who respond when I say that it was our feeling that, as a new Administration,…”

“It is a very strange business turning up to the Department and doing this new work, as some of you will be aware. Certainly, when it was first brought to my attention, I was turning them around and signing them off very quickly. Some of you might know that I am a former NHS manager, so I look at targets. I said, “I’m s…”

“In one sense, it is very difficult. I think we are all conscious of the difficulty for staff in an uncertain environment. There are the teams in NHS England. In some cases, they need to go to through their parliamentary team into all our local systems to find out information and make sure that you get the right informa…”

“As I alluded to earlier, having been on the other side as a manager, I like to look at the process behind things and look at the target to see what has happened. I do think that is important. My interest was heightened by looking at this and meeting the team, which I did quite early on, to have them talk to me about th…”

“It is not a linear thing or a constant thing. Although you can see the volumes, we are a Department—this was put to me the other day on another subject—that is making a lot of announcements. We are wanting to keep abreast. We recognise how important health is to the population and to all our constituents, and that does…”

“Tom, do you want to go through the process?”

“I am Karin Smyth. I am Minister of State for Secondary Care at the Department of Health and Social Care.”

“May I add to that? I know that your purview is the Commons, but my colleague Baroness Merron has sight of what comes down from the Lords. Where a Commons question is asked on an area that she leads on—for example, on life sciences, women’s health or mental health—then it needs to be her and me, because she is the polic…”

“And Westminster Hall.”