argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Mental Health and Unemployment — House of Commons, 2015-02-24
Topic: Health
Paul Kenneth Burstow (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Yes; I want to come on to that, and I look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say about the pilots, where they have got to and the intentions going forward. It is inescapable that back-to-work support that is designed primarily around physical health problems and disabilities is poor at meeting the needs of people with mental health problems. Where the support is well-designed, it has so far not got the reach or take-up necessary to make a difference. The Access to Work mental health support service was described in the Sayce review as "the best kept secret in Government", because despite its success rates—90% retention rates, for example—very few people have been helped: just over 2,500 people with a mental health problem since the service started in 2011, on the most recent data I could find. The potential is good, but more needs to be done to ensure the take-up of such programmes, so that people can benefit from the advantages that they provide Over the past two years, I have had the opportunity to chair an independent commission on mental health for the think-tank CentreForum and to co-chair a task and finish group on mental health and employment with Marjorie Wallace, the chief executive of the charity SANE. That group’s work has led to the NHS adopting an employment-based indicator, and to the development of a new commissioning incentive for NHS organisations to provide for adults who are in contact with secondary mental health services to help them to gain or retain employment. The group is also helping with the drafting of a new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standard on schizophrenia containing a specific reference to employment.
Mental Health and Unemployment — House of Commons, 2015-02-24
Topic: Health
Paul Kenneth Burstow (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I agree that we need a robust evidence base on which the roll-out takes place, but individual placement and support has already been the subject of randomised controlled trials. There is a very good evidence base that should be used to roll it out.
Francis Report: Update and Response — House of Commons, 2015-02-11
Topic: Health
Andrew Henry George (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Like others, I welcome the report, but may I urge my right hon. Friend to reconsider the issue of safe staffing levels on acute hospital wards? I know that Robert Francis pointed to issues of culture and standards, but those are areas of interpretation and disputation. If we had the measuring stick of safe standards, particularly where a ward has less than one registered nurse to seven acutely ill patients—the level recommended by the Safe Staffing Alliance—whistleblowers would be able to point to a clear failing and service risk, which is especially important if the Secretary of State is worried about avoidable hospital deaths.
Francis Report: Update and Response — House of Commons, 2015-02-11
Topic: Health
Robert Edward Russell (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I was pleased to be with the Secretary of State last Thursday when he visited Colchester general hospital—one of 19 in special measures—and I am sure he will want to join me in praising the hard-working medical and support staff for all they are doing. He referred in his statement to the "entire NHS" being "committed to patient-centred culture change", and observed that no one takes responsibility for a vulnerable patient so that the buck gets passed. I suggest that Sir Robert Francis would do well to look at the silo mentality—the reality rather than the rhetoric—in the case of the Haven Project in Colchester, to which the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Mr Jenkin) and I have drawn attention. That is a classic case where the reality does not match the rhetoric.
Francis Report: Update and Response — House of Commons, 2015-02-11
Topic: Health
Martin Charles Horwood (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Before Christmas, I alerted Ministers to attempts by Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust to prevent a governor from expressing concern to the local media about the care of local people. Does the Secretary of State agree that gagging governors is also unacceptable, and that the new spirit of openness should apply to governors and board members as well as staff?
Maternity Services (Morecambe Bay) — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Health
Timothy James Farron (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I, too, want to the thank the Secretary of State and the shadow Secretary of State for their entirely appropriate contributions, both the statement and the response, on this immensely sensitive and deeply personally upsetting series of circumstances. I want especially to pay tribute to the families who lost loved ones as a result of what Dr Kirkup referred to as "serious failures of clinical care" He refers to the report as a damning indictment The dignity and determination of parents such as James Titcombe and Carl Hendrickson have led to this awful truth being laid bare today. Those parents are an inspiration to me, and they should be to all of us. I want to pick up on one point in particular that was raised during the Secretary of State’s statement. Dr Kirkup expresses disquiet that the NHS and the parliamentary ombudsman chose not even to investigate what has now been shown to be the needless deaths of at least 11 babies and at least one mother. May I press the Secretary of State to go further than he has in his statement and do everything in his power to ensure that the watchdog for patients is not a lapdog for senior managers? Patients need a powerful, effective independent investigator who listens to those who grieve, like the Morecambe Bay families, and not one who dismisses them without even an investigation.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Health
Norman Peter Lamb (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I agree with everything my hon. Friend has said and very much welcome her Committee’s report. I agree on the need to address the funding issue. In particular, it is critical that we achieve what I call an equilibrium of rights to access between mental and physical health in order to address the awful problem on waiting times, and that must include children’s mental health services.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Health
Norman Peter Lamb (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I agree with the hon. Gentleman about the need to increase resource in children’s mental health services. Is the proposal he mentions designed to increase investment in mental health or to shift resource from adult mental health to children’s mental health?
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Health
Norman Peter Lamb (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The debate has been undertaken in a rational way—we have not had the hurling of abuse from one side to the other. My hon. Friend the Member for Windsor (Adam Afriyie) said that the report is objective and that it analyses problems and seeks to come up with solutions. The debate has been conducted in that way, which I welcome I am grateful to the Health Committee for its work, and for the inspired leadership of my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Dr Wollaston), who speaks with great authority on the subject. She is a force for good in this place. I thank her for her leadership My hon. Friend said that the report was triggered by the awful practice of youngsters being shunted around the country in the middle of a crisis. The situation with adults is just as bad. That practice should not happen other than where there is a specialist need and a specialist service that cannot, with the best will in the world, be provided in every locality. We have sought to analyse the causes of out-of-area placements. We see enormous variation around the country. Many areas do not do it, but where it does happen, we believe that simple steps could be taken to stop it. In my view, they must be taken.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Health
Roger Hugh Williams (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Minister will be aware from his visit to my constituency that young people from Wales are being treated in Kent and Northampton. Does he agree that that will do nothing to provide decent service, care and treatment for them?
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services — House of Commons, 2015-03-03
Topic: Health
Norman Peter Lamb (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I agree. It is intolerable. One can only imagine the impact on the family having to travel such long distances. My hon. Friend and I had that discussion in Brecon with the family concerned. It is shocking that that practice continues. It must be a priority My hon. Friend the Member for Totnes said that the importance of early intervention is a central theme of the report. There is great scope for much more to be done on public mental health. It was revealed recently that a tiny proportion of public health budgets in localities is spent on public mental health, and yet we know—there is loads of evidence—that, if we invest in public mental health, we can achieve a significant return on it. I welcome the report The hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield) talked about what young people had told him. It was great that they were given a voice directly in this place. I welcome his comments In a very thoughtful speech, as always, my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (John Pugh) talked about a continuum. Many of us are susceptible to poor mental health in certain circumstances. That makes the point about the importance of schools, which other hon. Members mentioned, in building resilience and keeping youngsters stronger so that they can cope with all the challenges they inevitably face these days The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Robert Flello) talked about Malachi, an organisation he was involved with, and about the triggers that can cause mental ill health among youngsters. Family breakdown is one, but bereavement can have a significant impact, as can bullying at school, which another hon. Member mentioned.
Armed Forces Covenant — House of Commons, 2015-02-23
Topic: Defense
Robert Edward Russell (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The armed forces covenant had, of course, the full support of Her Majesty’s Opposition, but does the Minister accept that this is still very much a work in progress? Not all local authorities understand it. Only last week Essex county council refused to continue a support package for the needs of one military family moving with their child from another part of the country.
Defence Equipment Plan — House of Commons, 2015-02-23
Topic: Defense
Nicholas Barton Harvey (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): May I echo the warm welcome for the signing on Friday of the demonstration contract on Type 26? But are the original assumptions from the 2010 strategic defence and security review still valid, or has anything significant changed?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-02-23
Topic: Defense
Questions: Further to that answer, will the Secretary of State update the House on his assessment of the recent militaristic threats of action in Ukraine by Russia?; May I also congratulate the Defence Secretary on his forthright warning about an expansionist and aggressive Russia under President Putin representing a real and present danger to the Baltic states and, therefore, to NATO and European peace? May I be the third former Defence Minister from the previous SDSR to urge the Defence Secretary to use the current SDSR to improve defence capability rather than reduce it? May I also reassure him that there is a huge groundswell of opinion on the Benches behind him in support of an increase in defence spending and certainly not in support of a cut?; The RAF has been using precision munitions effectively in Iraq, which, as far as is possible, are good at minimising collateral damage. Further to the earlier comments by the Secretary of State, will the Minister reassure the House that that important capability will not be lost when the Tornado combat jet is retired in 2019?; What assurance can the Minister give that the costs of the new Type 26 global combat ship will not rise ever upwards? How much clout does his Department have in avoiding some of the mistakes of the past?; As civil nuclear developments expand the market for skilled nuclear engineers, what steps is the Minister taking to ensure that we maintain the skills levels of the hundreds of nuclear engineers at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Berkshire?; In addition to the training that my right hon. Friend mentioned earlier, will he tell the House what equipment the British Government are providing to the Kurdish peshmerga, and whether they are providing any equipment on behalf of other countries to assist their fight against ISIL?; Will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to our fast jet airmen, who help keep our skies safe and are dealing with the increasingly frequent Russian incursions?
Charles Peter Kennedy (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Given the very welcome commitments that the Prime Minister made in Scotland just last week about ongoing defence expenditure, bases and so on, will the Government confirm that those commitments extend to the all-important and long-standing BUTEC—British underwater test and evaluation centre—submarine range in and around Kyle of Lochalsh and that it has a viable future, given that defence will loom so large at the general election?
Mental Health (Employment Opportunities) — House of Commons, 2015-01-26
Topic: Health
Duncan Hames (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Just at the time that many young people leave full-time education, those battling mental health problems are also having to navigate their transition from adolescent to adult mental health services. Is it not essential that those services are there to support them at the very time we are looking to them to embark on their working lives?
GP Services — House of Commons, 2015-02-05
Topic: Health
Duncan Hames (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I do not find fault with the patients, but does the hon. Gentleman agree that a significant difference between the funding patterns for primary and secondary care is that in secondary care the more treatment provided and the more patients seen, the more funding provided by commissioners to the provider, yet the same pattern, where funding is proportionate to the amount of activity undertaken, is not typically seen in what we ask of general practice?
GP Services — House of Commons, 2015-02-05
Topic: Health
Roger Hugh Williams (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My hon. Friend represents a very rural constituency, as I do. We do not have any single GP practices, but many of our practices have fewer than five GPs. Our experience is that when one leaves and the practice has difficulty recruiting, it really puts the practice under pressure. Can anything be done to make rural GP practice more attractive to young doctors?
GP Services — House of Commons, 2015-02-05
Topic: Health
Paul Kenneth Burstow (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I thank the hon. Member for Halton (Derek Twigg) for securing this debate. My name was on the application, but he was the person who made the argument that persuaded the Backbench Business Committee. I apologise to him for not being here for his opening remarks or for those of others who have contributed so far I was keen to contribute to the debate because it goes to the heart of how we make the NHS fit for the future and do more in the community. As the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) said in her closing remarks, the focus has moved from treating episodes of ill health and diseases of individual body parts to people living with a complex range of diseases. It is that complex co-morbidity that is driving the need to change how health care is organised and delivered in this country. If that does not happen, the system will become unsustainable. At the heart of that is the family doctor and their relationship with their patients and communities, which is a key component of building the system we need for the future About two months ago, I and my right hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) met a group of GPs in my constituency to discuss some of the issues being aired today—Dr Chris Elliott, Dr Brendan Hudson, Dr Alan Froley and Dr Mark Wells—along with a practice nurse. I was pleased that a practice nurse was present, because although we are discussing the sustainability of GP practices, we need to recognise, as I am sure others have, that we are talking about the wider primary care family and the contribution made by many other professionals. We discussed the pressures on practices in our constituencies. The demands have been well documented, but I want to rehearse a couple. One frustration—it has long existed, but some of the GPs felt it had got worse—concerns the expectations around paperwork and reporting, which they feel have now got out of control. That needs to be kept under review and, where possible, streamlined. I hope the Minister will say something about that According to data available at CCG level on the performance of primary care and, in particular, access to GPs, in my patch, Sutton scores above average when it comes to getting an appointment, which is good news, but once someone has an appointment and arrives at the surgery, it turns out they have to wait longer than average to actually see their GP. So they can get there, but then have to wait far longer than is acceptable, and often in substandard accommodation. My constituency is a suburban part of Greater London and most of its GP practices are situated in larger houses that cannot accommodate the 21st century primary care we need. We need the investment from the infrastructure fund to flow through and allow for innovation.
GP Services — House of Commons, 2015-02-05
Topic: Health
Duncan Hames (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I agree with the Minister that there is no substitute for persuading more medical graduates to train as GPs, but will he look at what can be done to attract women who were GPs back into general practice after they have started a family if that was the reason why they left? Will he also look at the working practices that we require of GPs to find out how that can be a more reliable way to make the most of the GP training that we have committed to?
Benefit Sanctions — House of Commons, 2015-03-09
Topic: Health
Paul Kenneth Burstow (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Given how poorly served people with mental health problems are by the Work programme, and given the fact that the Minister told me in an answer that the Department does not currently have available to it information about the proportion of people with a mental health problem who are sanctioned, is it not time that the Government did that research and made sure that we had back-to-work programmes to help people with mental health problems?
NHS: Financial Performance — House of Commons, 2015-10-12
Topic: Health
Norman Peter Lamb (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The Minister will be aware that failure to finance social care adequately has a significant knock-on effect on NHS finances. He will also be aware that the finances of NHS organisations are deteriorating rapidly, and that senior people across the system do not believe that the system can achieve the £20 billion of efficiency savings that are required. Before the election, I proposed a non-partisan commission engaging with the public, burying our political differences and working together to safeguard the NHS. I welcome the fact that he has indicated the need for that sort of approach, but will he now commit to it? The Secretary of State agreed to it in the election campaign, so will the Minister commit to work with all parties to come up with a new settlement making the necessary changes but also coming up with the necessary finances?
Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust — House of Commons, 2015-12-10
Topic: Health
Norman Peter Lamb (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The coalition Government rightly established a public inquiry to look into the appalling care at Stafford hospital, and the Secretary of State has pointed to the challenge to the culture that the Francis report engendered following that scandal. Is this the moment to consider something similar for people with learning disabilities, or those with severe and enduring mental ill health, who too often continue to be treated as second-class citizens in our NHS? Sara Ryan, Connor Sparrowhawk’s mother, has called for a public inquiry. Will the Secretary of State consider that? It seems that it is time to shine a light on what is going on.
Aviation Security — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Defense
Thomas Anthony Brake (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): I echo the words of condolence to the Russian families, and the words of solidarity for the British passengers who are stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh. The Financial Times has reported that a UK military team is to be deployed there. Is the Secretary of State able to say whether that team is already in place, whether it is checking all UK-bound planes and whether it will be able to stay there as long as is required to ensure the safety of returning passengers?
Trident — House of Commons, 2015-11-24
Topic: Defense
Alexander Morrison Carmichael (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to take part in a very important debate on a subject to which the House has not given sufficient time recently, although we have known for some years that we would have to address it. For the benefit of Government business managers, may I say that I think the House would be better served by a more substantial motion in Government time, which might allow wider consideration of the challenges that face us We are dealing today with an Opposition day debate. I listened with great care to the speech of the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Brendan O'Hara). It was remarkable that it focused on the position of the Labour party as much as it focused on the Government. That is a novel position for an Opposition day debate. In fairness, I am not entirely without sympathy for the approach, given the current difficulties in the Labour party. It is not that Labour lacks a clear position—in fact, I would suggest that Labour has too many clear positions and it is difficult to reconcile them all within the one party I have sympathy with the review that Labour is undertaking. I wish it well, but I have severe misgivings when I hear that Ken Livingstone has been put in charge of it. Putting Ken Livingstone in charge of a review of nuclear weaponry is a bit like putting King Herod in charge of the nursery I commend the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins) for his contribution to the debate and the manner in which he made it. The review could do an awful lot worse than to take as its starting point the Trident alternatives review that was carried out at the behest of my party in the previous Government, which looked at various alternatives and different ways in which the question could be approached.