Contributions
1,850 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNHS: End-of-life CareI thank the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, for the conversations we have had since the passage of the Health and Care Bill. My officials have been incredibly appreciative of her…08 Sept 2022HANSARDNHS: End-of-life CareI return the favour by thanking my noble friend for the meeting, but also for the frequent conversations we have had about mediation, for example. I know my noble friend is a…08 Sept 2022HANSARDNHS: End-of-life CareThe Government are committed to providing high-quality end-of-life care, working closely with the NHS and other stakeholders. The Government are commissioning an independent…08 Sept 2022HANSARDDisabled People: Personal AssistantsI first pay tribute to the long-standing experience of the noble Baroness and to the many conversations we have had on this. That this Question has been asked will raise and…07 Sept 2022HANSARDDisabled People: Personal AssistantsOn the face of it, that sounds a very sensible suggestion, so let me take it back to the department, and if I am still here, I will respond.07 Sept 2022HANSARDDisabled People: Personal AssistantsThe noble Lord makes an important point about who should be in that room when we are talking about all these issues. Generally, across government, there are a number of joint…07 Sept 2022HANSARDDisabled People: Personal AssistantsMy noble friend makes a very important point. I have found this to be the case with a number of initiatives that I have been working on in my department. Quite often, I will have…07 Sept 2022HANSARDDisabled People: Personal AssistantsThe Government have been committed to ensuring that there is equality for disabled people, including plenty of initiatives in other sectors—transport, building new homes and…07 Sept 2022HANSARDDisabled People: Personal AssistantsOne issue that I think noble Lords across the House agree on is a suggestion made by the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton. If we want to make sure that we have the right number of…07 Sept 2022HANSARDDisabled People: Personal AssistantsThe noble Baroness makes a welcome point and clearly demonstrates the usefulness of and real need for personal assistants; indeed, I have met and had conversations with her and…07 Sept 2022HANSARDDisabled People: Personal AssistantsI thank the noble Baroness for raising those issues. As she will recognise, some of them fall between DWP and the Department of Health, so I can take the second question back to…07 Sept 2022HANSARDDisabled People: Personal AssistantsPersonal assistants are invaluable in supporting people to live independently. The Government have in place a range of measures to support recruitment and retention, including…07 Sept 2022HANSARDNHS: Access to TreatmentsThe noble Baroness is absolutely right that it is not just about money, although money does play an important role; it is also about processes and efficiency. In my conversations…07 Sept 2022HANSARDNHS: Access to TreatmentsA number of noble Lords have already asked that question. I will take it back to department and get an answer.07 Sept 2022HANSARDNHS: Access to TreatmentsThe Government are well aware of the waiting list problem. In fact, we have virtually eliminated two-year waiting lists, except for some of those difficult cases. The targets,…07 Sept 2022HANSARDNHS: Access to TreatmentsThis is something that the previous Secretary of State, who had a very short term in office, considered. When he was looking at the priorities, one of the issues for him was the…07 Sept 2022HANSARDNHS: Access to TreatmentsI am afraid I shall have to disagree. I ask noble Lords to think about what we have been doing with the Health and Care Act: for the first time, we are talking about properly…07 Sept 2022HANSARDNHS: Access to TreatmentsThe noble Lord is absolutely right. There are a number of issues to do with social care. One of the reasons, frankly, is that it has been treated for far too long as a Cinderella…07 Sept 2022HANSARDNHS: Access to TreatmentsIf we look at elective care, we have seen a record number of referrals. We are also seeing more people receiving treatment. Of those on the waiting list, 16% are waiting for…07 Sept 2022HANSARDNHS: Access to TreatmentsMy noble friend raises a very important point. It is not just in my department; across government a number of different departments are looking at the impact of the cost of living…07 Sept 2022