Speeches by Streeting.

“The risk that my hon. Friend sets out was one of the considerations that I had to when weigh up—first when upholding the temporary ban, and then when making the ban permanent. I do worry that, outside of a trial, we may continue to see unsafe or unethical practice. I think we will be doing a service to medicine in this…”

“They certainly can, and if they withdraw, they will still get the wider therapeutic support they deserve.”

“Yes, I appreciate that. We have committed to progress on initiatives to improve clinical service provision before the second anniversary. We are beginning to see progress already on both sodium valproate and pelvic mesh, but in terms of broader redress I would put this under the same category as a number of other patie…”

“So it does have an impact on the opportunity cost, as you suggest.”

“We are working with our colleagues at the Cabinet Office to address a whole number of issues from the Hughes report. Obviously, work on infected blood is now well under way, but we have other issues, particularly about the vaccine-injured community. There are a whole bunch of patient groups who have been failed by the …”

“Since coming into office, we have increased mental health investment. In fact, investment in mental health care has increased by an extra £688 million this year, which has enabled us to hire 8,500 more mental health workers, deliver more talking therapies and roll out more mental health support in schools, as we set ou…”

“Yes, you are.”

“Two things. First, no child in this study is able to give consent and therefore be a participant in the trial and receive puberty blockers. In order to participate in a trial, a young person would need to give informed assent by repeating back to the clinician what the risks are and why they would want to go through th…”

“There is an opportunity cost—absolutely. That is why I think the strikes are ultimately self-defeating for the BMA and its members. I know that the sense from BMA members, reflected in the ballot—both in terms of turnout and the margin of the ballot response—is to give the Government a good kicking.”

“I wish I had certainty on this issue, and in some ways I envy my hon. Friend for his certainty. Having occasionally found myself to be a lonely voice in my party when sat on the Opposition Benches, I respect the fact that it is not easy to be a minority, dissenting voice, especially when one feels so strongly about an …”

“As I reported when we put in place the permanent ban, there have been arrangements for people who were previously being prescribed puberty blockers. People who wanted to access them, but could not once the ban came in, have not been able to do so through authorised means. I recognised when I took the decision, and as a…”

“I thank the hon. Member for being helpful in two ways. First, it is always good to hear voices from the right making the case for vaccine uptake. That contrasts the Conservative party starkly with Reform UK, which we hear peddle anti-science nonsense. Secondly, I thank him for reminding resident doctors and the BMA of …”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Responsible trade unions think about the wider workforce and the impact on service users, whether they are children or other users of public services. Crucially, for most trade unions in this country strike action is a last resort. It is astonishing that the BMA chose to go on strike…”

“We do flex beds depending on needs. For example, there were just over 101,000 beds open on average per day in the past week, which was up on the previous week and broadly the same as it was this time last year. We are investing in the NHS, and we have to ensure that people get the right care, in the right place at the …”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Given that politicians are somewhere below traffic wardens and estate agents in terms of public popularity at the moment, it is quite an achievement for the BMA to have found itself even less popular with the public, but I think it has made very clear through its actions and…”

“Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I just wanted to welcome the hon. Gentleman’s endorsement of vaccination. It is by far the most sensible thing he has ever said—that is a low bar, but he has cleared it, and I am very grateful to him. He might want to have a closer look at who his party platforms at…”

“rose—”

“There are many examples of great community-based vaccination initiatives. Many of those initiatives are supported by faith-based organisations, which is really important given the vaccine hesitancy in some of those groups. I do not believe that people are hard to reach; I believe that public services often do not try h…”

“Yes. The JCVI makes evidence-based recommendations, and we follow its evidence. With the best will in the world, we of course give out practical, common-sense advice, but we should not infantilise our constituents. They are perfectly capable of working out who can get together this Christmas. They really do not need Go…”

“I speak regularly with my counterparts, and the Ministers who are either side of me this afternoon have been engaging with our counterparts in recent weeks on these issues. We have a good relationship with devolved Administrations, regardless of party or where they sit across the United Kingdom, and that is a good thin…”