Contributions
753 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHealth Bill (First sitting)Q As a former Secretary of State for Health, what are your reflections on the abolition of Healthwatch and the absorption of its functions into the Department of Health, ICBs and…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (First sitting)Q I am a member of the all-party parliamentary group on patient safety, and one of the things we have heard is that the idea behind HSSIB and the air accidents investigation…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (First sitting)Q What could be changed in this legislation to ensure that HSSIB can retain trust and independence from the regulatory body? Dr Benneyworth: There needs to be much more clarity…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (First sitting)I am a vice-president of the Local Government Association.16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (First sitting)Q I should have declared that I am a member of the patient safety APPG. Let me turn to similar concerns about Healthwatch and its independence. If it is absorbed within ICBs…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (First sitting)Q Do you think anything else should be on the face of the Bill to give us clarity so that that GP concern is mitigated? Kay Keane: The patients need to understand exactly who has…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (Second sitting)Q I am a vice-president of the Local Government Association. With changes to the better care fund pooling and the link-up with local authorities, are there concerns at ICB level…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (First sitting)Q I re-declare that I am a member of the all-party parliamentary group on patient safety. We have heard this morning about a tension between needing to be able to report when…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (Second sitting)Q We have talked a lot about the single patient record, but I want to touch on whether the Bill does enough for people who have historically not been listened to, as we have heard…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (Second sitting)Q I will put words in your mouth, and you can disagree with me. Do you think the Bill should tackle the point about having a properly funded care service so that the transition…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (First sitting)Q Can I also ask about the single patient record? We have heard concern from GPs about their role in being the data controller and what that might mean when data is shared beyond…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (Second sitting)Q If I may ask a related question, one element of the Bill is the reorganisation of who sits on the ICB. We have seen the removal of local authority representatives and their…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (Second sitting)Q I will ask about the additional responsibilities that the Bill confers on ICBs. There are additional commissioning responsibilities and an additional requirement to look after…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (Second sitting)Q My second question is about Healthwatch. The Committee heard this morning about the variability of Healthwatch’s effectiveness at a local level. What could be done to ensure…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (Second sitting)Q I am a member of the all-party parliamentary group on patient safety and I am also a vice-president of the Local Government Association. Can I ask about Healthwatch? We heard…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (First sitting)Q Jacob, how prepared are ICBs and local authorities to take on the healthwatch functions? Is there a concern that splitting the local healthwatch function will lead to a lack of…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (Second sitting)Q My second question is similar. In reality and in practice, how do you envisage ICBs will be locally accountable once these legislative changes have taken place? Sir Ciarán…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (Second sitting)Q Sarah, the Patients Association has said that it is concerned about this reorganisation distracting from patient priorities. Could you elaborate on where those concerns come…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (Second sitting)Q You just used the phrase, “instrumental damage to the NHS”. Can you elaborate a bit on that, and perhaps explain how the NHS might be able to function better if there were a…16 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth Bill (Second sitting)Q I think I would agree with you, Minister, that no one thinks that abolishing NHS England is, in itself, a bad idea, given the duplication and cost. People do not think that a…16 Jun 2026