Speeches by Hamilton.

“Good morning. Can I start by declaring my interest? I know one of the panel members really well. I worked with Melanie for a number of years; she was my chief officer when I was a cabinet member in Birmingham.”

“My question is predominantly for Stephanie and Melanie. There have been multiple reviews calling for a move away from that single financial year settlement. I know, from when I was there, that this would have long-term impacts on the service. We have talked a lot about prevention, moving away from analogue to digital a…”

“No, it does not, because as an ICS you have lots of targets, haven’t you? You have your funding—you have the multiple in-year funding settlement—and you have your targets, but if you want to make a difference in the long term, what would strategically help you as an organisation to develop practices, develop new servic…”

“I asked you the question. You tell me what you think.”

“Thank you. Am I allowed to ask the last question?”

“I am going to get into trouble with the Chair, but I know you were desperate to get in, Saffron.”

“Melanie, as you know, my biggest bugbear in local government was that we only had single-year financial settlements, so we struggled to plan ahead. Sometimes we made that plan not really knowing if we had the funds to carry it out. We were trying to develop services and bring them forward. I will ask you the same thing…”

“Thank you.”

“My question goes back to the point you made earlier, Nicola, about the RCN and the problems within the nursing profession. I have been a nurse for many years. I was a district nurse and I consciously chose to leave the profession because I could not do it any more—it is as simple as that. I was quite upset when the nur…”

“I have one more question, so I will ask you each to answer with one point, Stephanie and Melanie—that is the only way I will get away with it. The question is, how could the Government or NHS England better incentivise ICBs to invest, to deliver and to prioritise services in the community? What is one thing that you th…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for securing this important debate. Many parents and children in my constituency are deeply frustrated because of the cuts we have seen to school transport. The situation has gone from cuts to the over-16s now getting nothing. One mother said to me that her son…”

“1. What steps her Department is taking to increase the supply of social housing.”

“Many of my constituents in Birmingham Erdington are worried about the deteriorating quality of social housing. What work is being done to ensure that housing stock is maintained to the highest standards, so that tenants can live in the safe, high-quality housing that they deserve?”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) on the way she has conducted this debate. I worked in the NHS as a district nurse for 25 years, working with many terminally ill people. I saw the whole range of human emotion in that time, from joy to grief—everything imaginable. I am also a mum…”

“10. What assessment the Church has made of the potential impact of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Church-owned hospices.”

“Can my hon. Friend confirm whether Church-owned hospices will work with independent hospices and other organisations to mitigate the potential impact of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, and to issue a statement from across the sector?”

“Good morning, Lord Darzi and Tom. I read the report with great interest. I have read or seen lots of it before, but it seems to have brought things together, like a bible, where people can go from start to finish, so I thoroughly enjoyed it—I will start there. My question is about ICBs and whether they are fit for purp…”

“A lot of those targets slipped, which meant that lots could happen. Going back, that has been the problem: the targets have quietly escalated again. I will leave it there, because I have had my time. Thank you, panel, and the Chair.”

“I have a final question to round off this section. ICBs have lots of targets. I have asked you about standardisation. My personal view is that there are far too many targets within ICBs. They have got a sum of money, they are told they can be quite innovative, but they are set quite a lot of targets, which means they c…”

“T3. Many of my constituents are worried that online GP appointments are too often used as a substitute for face-to-face consultation, which risks adding pressures to NHS waiting lists further down the line. Will the Secretary of State reassure my constituents that they will receive timely, in-person GP access and the q…”