Speeches by Smyth.

“I can tell that I am not being very clear with you.”

“I will bring in Sarah-Jane if she wants to add to that. The 10-year plan obviously sets out the direction, based on those shifts, and with the workforce plan, those shifts only happen by people making them happen. Clearly, all the work that we are talking about and the future models inform that plan.”

“Look at the whole system, yes.”

“I will bring Sarah-Jane in on the details of the modelling, the process and the variation across the country. Just so that everyone is very clear, from the Government’s point of view, we take this very seriously and are committed to the targets and people’s rights in the NHS constitution. We might come back to that iss…”

“I think it is. The workforce plan for the next 10 years, as we look forward, has to and will reflect the change in models. We are serious about the shifts. We think that is the way, and I do not think there is much disagreement about that. There will obviously be disagreement about every aspect of getting it done, but …”

“It is an important discussion. Overall, as I have said, it is about reducing pressure. As has been well outlined, nobody can continue to work and operate at that pressure—it is 95%-plus in some places. It is a good indicator. It is not acceptable for staff. As Mr Fenton-Glynn said, there is an issue around burnout. All…”

“I am going to bring in my clinical colleagues here. I am going to be unusual here in saying that I am not sure about that one.”

“The 85% has been around for a long time. It has not been met for a very long time. That does demonstrate that it is about resilience and safety, and so on. That is why it has been there. It is about pressure, which is not good for staff or patients. Whether that is a helpful figure right now, in a changed system and as…”

“May I respond to Mr Beales’s good point that it seems quite basic? One thing that surprised me last winter when I came into post as a new Minister, having worked previously in the system, was why certain things happened. We must not underestimate what is sometimes called muscle memory loss about how to do things right.…”

“I am Karin Smyth, the Minister of State.”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) for securing this important debate. We entered Parliament at the same time; we were immediately on opposite sides of the assisted dying debate, and we remain so. Although the Government are neutral, we have always articulated our concern around pallia…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Ms Oppong-Asare) on securing this important debate. Baroness Merron, who leads on this work for the Department, and I are grateful to my hon. Friend for the conversations that she has been leading; for putting the spotlight on endometriosis, as well as …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her contribution. This issue warrants a longer debate, so that we can understand how to move the resources that exist. As we have heard this afternoon, when people are unnecessarily admitted to hospital, which is terribly distressing for them and their families, the resources follow them. It …”

“My hon. Friend pre-empts my next paragraph; I thank him for his contribution. As part of the development of the MSF, we will be looking at some of the important aspects of care that my hon. Friend the Member for York Central mentioned, such as early identification of need, care delivered closer to home by integrated ge…”

“No, I will not, because I want to get through my final comments. We put the new hospital programme on a sustainable footing. I understand that local people across the country were led up the garden path and told something was going to happen. I think we all recognise that the money was not there and that the programme …”

“I will finish these points and answer some of the issues that have been raised. The first 120 neighbourhood health centres will be operational by 2030 and will, as we have heard, be delivered through a mixture of public and private partnerships. I thank the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington for being one of the…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western. I thank colleagues for their kind remarks about my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton). We will miss her. She has set a great example, not only by continuing while undergoing cancer treatment but, as hon. Members have said, by recogni…”

“The Chancellor has made her key decision to put us back on track, announcing in the Budget that capital health spending would increase by £15.2 billion by the end of the spending review period in 2029-30.[Official Report, 16 March 2026; Vol. 782, c. 6WC.] (Correction) That funding will be used as intended; in previous …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton and Winchmore Hill (Kate Osamor) for securing the debate. I echo her comments about Mrs Thorn in the light of her husband Jack’s experience. My hon. Friend has worked diligently on behalf of her constituent. W…”

“I am happy to discuss that issue with my hon. Friend. We are determined to have co-located UTCs; I know that that is a matter for the local commissioner, but I am happy to talk about it further.”