Speeches by Smyth.

“In appointing Sir Julian Hartley, proper processes were conducted. He was seen to be fit and proper to lead the CQC, and we have confidence in his ability to do so.”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2025. This statutory instrument will amend the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, which are due to expire after 31 March this year. It will remo…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman and other Opposition Members for their support for the regulations. The hon. Gentleman makes an important point regarding care at sporting and temporary cultural events. We all remember the awful events at Manchester Arena and the lessons to be learnt from there. Although there is some good p…”

“The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point about maternity care, which is very sadly an issue of concern in many places across the country. Of course, those patients and families are absolutely right to call out poor care where they have seen it. It is absolutely right that that is fully investigated, and that i…”

“I thank the Committee Chair for her question. I think she was congratulating the previous Committee and Chair rather than those who are now in opposition. I was very pleased to witness some of that work when we were in opposition, and she is absolutely right about it. The work of many women Members when in opposition, …”

“I addressed most of those points in my outline statement. I think the shadow Minister wrote her comments when the Opposition thought that we were cancelling things, only to find out that we are not cancelling things. I have made clear our commitment to the women’s health strategy and how we seek to instruct the system …”

“I am not entirely clear what the hon. Member is referring to. I have been clear that we are committed to the women’s health strategy, and we will take it forward as part of the 10-year plan. Most of the—[Interruption.] If it was about the women’s health hubs, they are mainly there but in different forms and with differ…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for giving me the opportunity to set out our commitment to the women’s health strategy and everything that this Government are doing to fix our broken NHS, clean up the mess that the Conservatives left after 14 years and get women treated on time again. When we came into office we inherited record…”

“I cannot answer the question about trials and research directly because, obviously, trials are run by the specialists at NIHR, in the usual way, and I am sure that the request for meeting has been heard. It would probably not be with me, but I am sure the officials have heard it and that the hon. Gentleman will have a …”

“I will take another intervention.”

“I will come on to the research. As we have heard, and as I recognise, fewer than five patients have accessed these medicines on the NHS, so access is truly exceptional. The testimony of the children and families accessing these treatments privately—often at great personal cost, as we have heard this afternoon—is truly …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing this debate. As he said, there are many hon. Members from both sides of the House representing constituents affected by the issue across the United Kingdom who would have liked to be here to…”

“My hon. Friend is right to highlight some tragic incidents, and I know she will be working hard on behalf of her constituents. We are absolutely committed to the women’s health strategy. Clearly, that will be taken forward as part of the 10-year plan, and it is an important part of that. I met my noble Friend Baroness …”

“My hon. Friend makes an excellent point about both the work of the Chair of the Select Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen), and the importance of primary and community care recognising, listening to and supporting women through women’s health, as well as making sure that our knowledge and …”

“I will try to be brief, but this is hard to explain—[Interruption.] No, this is to answer the right hon. Gentleman. Targets in the NHS have not been met since 2015, which was under his Government’s watch but, actually, this target has been met—there are only three places in the country that do not have a hub—so there i…”

“My hon. Friend makes an excellent point about maternity services, which are inconsistent and not good enough around the country. It is a source of great alarm for many people. Maternity absolutely remains a high priority within the overall women’s health strategy.”

“The hon. Lady makes the point about using targets. This is something that is a high priority, but it is not happening. That is absolutely why I mentioned it in my opening comments—to ensure that that happens.”

“Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I absolutely, unequivocally apologise.”

“As I hope the hon. Gentleman knows, I think the health needs of women in Northern Ireland and the waiting lists there are particularly problematic, so finding out anything our Department can to do support or share learning across the United Kingdom is a personal commitment of mine. I will absolutely make sure that we d…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for the work he does in this area. He does an excellent job and makes an excellent point. I do not know the detailed answer to that question—it is not directly my area—but I am very happy to make sure that we write to him.”