Rhondda — House of Commons, 2017-01-18
Topic: Health
Questions: In the UK, we have 14 regional markets for electricity distribution, and highlanders and islanders are facing higher prices because of where we live. Electricity distribution charges for the north of Scotland are an eye-watering 84% higher than those for London. The Prime Minister talks about fairness. Will she introduce a universal market for electricity pricing and stop penalising highlanders and islanders? Those of us who live in the coldest, windiest places are discriminated against by her Government, and it must end.; Is the Prime Minister aware that I totally agree with what she said yesterday—[Interruption.] Wait for it. I agree that we in this House have a real responsibility to ensure that our children and grandchildren have a bright future, but is she aware that dark clouds are looming on the horizon—intolerance, racism across Europe and the foundering and flux of many of our great institutions that have kept peace and prosperity since the last world war? I speak here of the United Nations, NATO and, indeed, the European Union. Are we fit for purpose in keeping this country safe and secure in that world?; I agree with the Prime Minister and disagree with the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully) about last night’s AFC Wimbledon result. If the Prime Minister really believes that GP surgeries should be open seven days a week, 12 hours a day, will she be my guest at a residents’ meeting against a Department of Health diktat that will close the 6,000-strong Mitcham Wilson surgery? Even better, will she just tell her Government to stop cuts to GP services, which force thousands to attend hard-pressed A&Es such as those at St George’s and St Helier, or is she just happy to oversee the possible collapse of the NHS on her watch?; While dedicated and talented staff at Royal Liverpool University hospital’s accident and emergency department struggle to find beds for sick people, about 135 patients cannot be discharged solely because of Government cuts in social care budgets. When will the Government recognise their responsibilities, and not try to blame GPs for a problem of their Government’s own making?; This week the national auditor revealed the abject failures in the Concentrix fiasco which had resulted in thousands of people being wrongly denied their tax credit. That was not one rogue contractor, but a system designed by the Government to pursue and chase down claimants for profit. Does the Prime Minister agree with the chief executive of HMRC that payment by results has no place in our welfare system? Will she review this model, or will she wait for the next scandal to hit vulnerable people?; The Prime Minister’s passing reference to the interests of Spanish fishermen in her speech yesterday rather let the cat out of the bag that our fishing opportunities are already on the table as a bargaining chip before the Brexit negotiations have even started, so what exactly does the Prime Minister want to offer the Spanish fishermen?; Last Friday I went to Blackpool Victoria hospital where the number of people waiting 12 hours or more in A&E doubled last year, with 100 of them aged 90 or over. Trust managers told me that the biggest factor in delays is discharging patients who cannot get community care, and my local paper said that Government cuts have eroded support for them. Will the Prime Minister stop waffling about her shared society, listen to her own budget watchdog saying that we will need £30 billion for older people in the next 10 years, and put that money not into corporation tax cuts but into local adult care and the NHS?
Theresa Mary May (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Member for Blackpool South (Gordon Marsden) asked me about pressures on the national health service. We are seeing more doctors and nurses in his Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and health funding in the hon. Gentleman’s area will be £3 billion this year, and that will be rising with a further £450 million by 2020-21 As I have said in this House before, we are putting extra money into social care. We are giving local authorities the opportunity to raise more money and spend it on social care. But this is not just about more money; it is about ensuring best practice is spread throughout the country and it is about a long-term solution to sustainable social care for the future, an issue that has been ducked by Governments, including a Labour Government for 13 years.