Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-03-21
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: I was pleased to see the Government commit to new funding for emergency care in the Budget. As the MP for Derby North, a constituency particularly affected by poor air quality, I am concerned that respiratory admissions to A&E have risen at twice the rate of general admissions over the past five years. What steps is the Department taking to address this issue?; Last Friday, Laurel Bank surgery in my constituency attended a careers fair at Bishop Heber High School. Does the Secretary of State agree that that kind of outreach work by GPs among young people encourages them to study medicine and work in our great NHS?; Is the Secretary of State aware that my constituents are deeply disappointed with what he got out of the Budget? That poor deal for the NHS means that they face the closure of A&E in Huddersfield and the closure of Huddersfield hospital, and they no longer have a dentist who will take on an NHS patient in the whole of my constituency.; Following the publication of the report of the all-party parliamentary group on rare, genetic and undiagnosed conditions on the UK rare diseases strategy, what plans does the Minister have to introduce an implementation plan for NHS England?; Will the Secretary of State explain why my area of Hull, with its in-built health inequalities and poorer health outcomes, is getting just £13 million out of the additional money for social care set out in the Budget, while the local authority area that the Secretary of State represents in Surrey is getting £21 million-worth of additional support?; As the Secretary of State knows, I am the vice-chairman of the all-party group on pharmacy. Will he update the House on the progress of the decriminalisation of dispensing errors by pharmacists? What is the hitch?; Last week, leading trauma surgeon, Dr Duncan Bew, said his surgical team sees more young patients with serious stab injuries than people with appendicitis. This is a societal problem. Will the Minister inform us of his Department’s public health approach to tackling this issue?; As the Secretary of State knows, we have a crisis in GP recruitment in rural north Lincolnshire. Does he agree that the best way to enable doctors to get to know our glorious county would be to establish a medical school at Lincoln University, and will he join our campaign to make that possibility come true?; As the House heard earlier from my hon. Friend the Member for Corby (Tom Pursglove), there is an excellent urgent care centre in that part of north Northamptonshire. There are plans to create a replica in Wellingborough. I understand that the Secretary of State may visit the centre in Corby; if he does, will he drive half an hour down the road and visit the site in Wellingborough where that proposed excellent urgent care centre will be built?
David Mowat (Conservative, Centre-right): The number of care home beds in the country has remained broadly constant at just over half a million over the last 10 years. There is variation and churn between areas, but I believe that the 17% cash-terms increase that we have injected into the social care market in the Budget, and the better care fund that is to come, will make a difference.