Speeches by Kinnock.

“Assuming that we continue with the golden hello scheme, or something like that, it is very targeted on dental deserts. There is a commitment to having a scheme that targets underserved areas. Whether the current golden hello scheme, as it is set up, is workable and delivering what we want is another question. We need t…”

“Colleagues in the Department are working hard on the workforce plan. It is useful to have the 10-year plan, because it is generally a very good idea to define your strategic purpose as an organisation before you define the workforce to deliver it. It is very good that we have sequenced it on that basis. On workforce, I…”

“We absolutely recognise that routine check-ups are important, but our view, based on NICE guidance, is that unnecessary routine check-ups are taking place, so one thing is to shift into effective prevention rather than ineffective prevention. We are also doing a lot of prevention work through supervised tooth-brushing …”

“I think the difference, Alex, is that there is good prevention that is effective and there is prevention that is not really adding any value. What we are trying to get to is based on the NICE guidance of 12 to 24 months, or six to 12 months for children. Let’s do that, because that is clinically demonstrated to be effe…”

“There is a budget for 240 golden hellos. We are currently at 93, which is not as high as I would like it to be, so we need to drill down to understand why we have not had more take-up. A large number are out for advertisement as we speak, and we hope there will be improved take-up as information and awareness of this o…”

“It is on the record now, Josh.”

“Thank you for the invitation to come before the Committee today. When you say the interventions, would you like me to say something more broadly, or specifically on the three-year tie-ins?”

“Thank you, Mr Pritchard. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship. I thank the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam) for securing this important debate to raise awareness of glaucoma. I enjoyed our meeting some time ago, when we discussed this and other related issues at length. I am keen to ensure that …”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. In our manifesto, we of course set a target of 2 million additional appointments within the first year of a Labour Government, and we have delivered 4 million. The key thing is to ensure that we get people off the waiting list. Regarding the figure of 5 million that he …”

“As the Government have made clear throughout the debate on reforming the welfare system, those who need to be supported and protected will be supported and protected, so I can reassure the hon. Gentleman on that point. There is clearly a lot of work to do through the review that will be led by the Minister for Social S…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. I thank and pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for securing this important debate. I commend her for the work she is doing to raise such an important issue, and for sharing her personal experiences in a moving and powerful way, a…”

“It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. I thank the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) for securing this debate and raising this important issue. I pay tribute to every hon. Member who has taken part in the debate for their insightful contributions. The health and wellbeing of con…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention and for that fun fact. I will come on to it a bit later in my speech, but the £102 million primary care utilisation fund will make a major contribution to upgrading the creaking primary care estate. He is right to identify that as a major challenge. It is also major drain…”

“I am impressed by the way the hon. Gentleman did that and I congratulate him on it. If he would care to write to me to set that out, I will have a look at it and get back to him. I want to take this opportunity to briefly outline what we have done since July 2024, and what we intend to do, to ensure that GP funding and…”

“We recognise that the partnership model has many strengths. It is a very important part of the system, and it helps to drive efficiency, innovation and a kind of go-getting approach to general practice. That is what we want to see—innovative approaches. We are committed to substantive GP contract reform. We see the par…”

“In debates about how we deliver health and care in our country, the question often comes up about the balance between the role of the DHSC at the centre, the role of ICBs and the role of those who are at the coalface delivering services. I do not think there is a single answer to that question. What is important is tha…”

“Integrated care boards in the south-west have received almost £1.3 billion in their primary medical care allocation for ’25-26, which is an increase of nearly 13% compared with ’24-25, so I am not quite sure where the hon. Lady is getting her figures. For me, a 13% increase is not a cut. That growth in local resources …”

“That is an extraordinary statistic. There are clearly major imbalances in the way the system works and general practice is funded in our country. A little later I will come to the Carr-Hill formula; I am sure hon. Members will have seen announcements trailed in the media today about what my right hon. Friend the Health…”

“We have been really pleased with the take-up under the ARRS. It is a rapid and clear way of recruiting, particularly because it has the ringfence and the reimbursement system underpinning it. We absolutely encourage newly graduating GPs to take up opportunities through the ARRS; it is an important tool for bringing mor…”

“The hon. Member raises an interesting point. We are thinking strategically about the whole way that recruitment and workforce function. Similarly, on another part of my portfolio, we have several thousand international dentists who are waiting to do the overseas registration exam. We need to get that sorted out, becaus…”