09/12/2015 House of Commons


09/12/2015

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 09/12/2015. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Border. Order. Mr Tim Farron. The Minister of State on Monday was

:00:00.:00:13.

questioned about funds to the EU solidarity fund to help cithzens

:00:14.:00:19.

like mine suffering the after-effects of the flight, she was

:00:20.:00:24.

not aware of that at the tile. With the be a statement in the House

:00:25.:00:30.

about how this government c`n claim from the EU solidarity fund for

:00:31.:00:35.

those in Cumbria suffering the effects of the floods? I recall the

:00:36.:00:43.

discussion he alludes to. I have had no consideration to a statelent on

:00:44.:00:50.

that matter but the acid duty of the honourable gentleman and his

:00:51.:00:55.

ingenuity are as close to ldgendary as makes no difference and therefore

:00:56.:01:01.

if he is dissatisfied in thdse two calm, I have a hunch that hd will

:01:02.:01:07.

try to end Stewart the mattdr can be aired not with me but with the

:01:08.:01:14.

minister. - insular the matter can be aired. If no further points of

:01:15.:01:20.

order we come now to the ten minute rule motion. The honourable

:01:21.:01:25.

gentleman is smiling in eagdr anticipation. Sammy Wilson. I beg

:01:26.:01:35.

that leave be given to me to bring in a bill to establish an Armed

:01:36.:01:40.

Forces Coquelin seat to makd revision about the requiremdnts and

:01:41.:01:45.

obligations upon public authorities and in relation to serving `nd

:01:46.:01:50.

former members of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, maintained within that

:01:51.:01:56.

scheme and to establish means of audit and accountability in relation

:01:57.:02:02.

to the poor performance of the scheme against its objectivd. To

:02:03.:02:06.

mind the policy act 2010 and the Northern Ireland act 1988 for the

:02:07.:02:16.

connecting purposes. Mr Spe`ker our Armed Forces are one of the

:02:17.:02:21.

institutions that bind the Tnited Kingdom together. The sacrifices

:02:22.:02:26.

they have made over generathons are a common loss that presents as with

:02:27.:02:33.

an obligation towards those who have volunteered to put themselvds in

:02:34.:02:41.

harm 's way on our behalf. Lemorials in every art and part of thd UK

:02:42.:02:47.

stand as the sad testimony to their sacrifices and for these re`sons the

:02:48.:02:53.

full Millman of the militarx covenant should be a cause that has

:02:54.:02:58.

support. - fulfilment of thd military covenant. It is not a new

:02:59.:03:03.

one but the legacy of campahgns in Northern Ireland, the Iraq war is

:03:04.:03:09.

and the Afghanistan conflict have led to renewed focus on what it

:03:10.:03:15.

means and how it is to be ddlivered. The term moral is not one... It is

:03:16.:03:23.

nearly used in these post-modernist times but it is right when the call

:03:24.:03:28.

and is described as the mor`l obligation to members of thd Armed

:03:29.:03:35.

Forces and their families. That is exactly what it was, is and forever

:03:36.:03:40.

will be. Therefore it is an obligation that should be ftlfilled

:03:41.:03:47.

in letter and spirit across the UK. Sadly, it is not and that is why I

:03:48.:03:52.

present this will today. Good at this point Mr Speaker the tribute to

:03:53.:03:59.

Mrs Brenda Heal, it DUP member of the Northern Ireland assembly who

:04:00.:04:03.

lost her husband in Afghanistan and has championed this cause on behalf

:04:04.:04:09.

of all service men and servhcewomen in Northern Ireland. In Northern

:04:10.:04:15.

Ireland by the government's on admission the covenant is not being

:04:16.:04:18.

fulfilled. The Northern Ireland Office has previously claimdd that

:04:19.:04:25.

93% of it is an fulfilled. That figure has not been independently

:04:26.:04:28.

assessed and when I outline some of the problems members may wonder how

:04:29.:04:34.

that figure was reached. However, for the moment, let us take their

:04:35.:04:41.

word and ask two simple questions. When battle as a member of the royal

:04:42.:04:45.

air force, the Royal Navy ordered the army risk 93% for their country

:04:46.:04:51.

and Conrad 's? Of course thdy do not. The risk everything. The risk

:04:52.:04:59.

all. Within an battle does ` member of the Royal in force, Royal Navy or

:05:00.:05:03.

the army who comes from Northern Ireland orderlies in Northern

:05:04.:05:08.

Ireland only risk 93% while those in Great Britain risk 100%? Of course

:05:09.:05:15.

they do not. The risk all jtst the same as service men in other parts

:05:16.:05:22.

of the UK so, we are we failing in our moral obligation? The d`rk for

:05:23.:05:27.

timely areas in which the covenant is not been fulfilled. Firstly in

:05:28.:05:33.

priority of treatment in thd National Health Service for window

:05:34.:05:36.

and sick veterans. Subject to the clinical need of others wounded and

:05:37.:05:45.

sick veterans are entitled to try oddity NHS treatment in GB for

:05:46.:05:53.

conditions which are attribttable to their service in the Armed Forces.

:05:54.:05:56.

That is not available in thd same weight for veterans in Northern

:05:57.:06:00.

Ireland, not only because they are reluctant to the clear prevhous

:06:01.:06:07.

Armed Forces service on sectrity grounds but because of the Northern

:06:08.:06:11.

Ireland act 1988 but secondly because when it comes to prhority

:06:12.:06:15.

for social housing, local authorities in GB are to consider

:06:16.:06:21.

service leaders - service ldaders as though they have local area. This is

:06:22.:06:33.

not the case in Northern Irdland because of section 75 of thd

:06:34.:06:42.

Northern Ireland act 1988. Thirdly, revision for IVF treatment hs not

:06:43.:06:47.

available on the same grounds for certain veterans who requird IVF

:06:48.:06:52.

treatment because of servicd related injuries there are three entitlement

:06:53.:06:58.

cycles in Scotland and Engl`nd. Only one is available in Northern Ireland

:06:59.:07:05.

and the cost of each cycle costs about ?3500 of all the numbdrs are

:07:06.:07:11.

small. Fourthly, when it coles to the waving of domestic rates or

:07:12.:07:15.

council tax for unoccupied property in GB it is a 50% discount on

:07:16.:07:22.

council tax in respect of elpty properties owned by service

:07:23.:07:27.

personnel who live elsewherd as a result of serving in the Arled

:07:28.:07:32.

Forces. This valuable concession is not available in Northern Ireland.

:07:33.:07:36.

With members seeing issues `s important as health and housing

:07:37.:07:41.

being failure is it is legitimate to question a higher failure r`te of

:07:42.:07:47.

only 7% an arise at by the Northern Ireland Office. This is a f`ilure of

:07:48.:07:53.

the liberty not just one or be slow and disconnected uropathy btt due to

:07:54.:07:59.

the particular circumstances in Northern Ireland and in particular

:08:00.:08:02.

section 75 requirements which requires key groups are enthtled to

:08:03.:08:07.

protection and is now interpreted as a legal barrier to the covenant in

:08:08.:08:13.

Northern Ireland. A law judge review of the system by the GM recognises

:08:14.:08:18.

that barrier and it was a proposal to Parliament to amend secthon 5 to

:08:19.:08:24.

enable service leaders - service leaders and veterans to get the

:08:25.:08:27.

service they deserve. Neither the Ministry of Defdnce or

:08:28.:08:36.

Northern Irish office have `cted on this, despite the fact that the

:08:37.:08:38.

amendments was changed to include travellers. I find it hard to

:08:39.:08:43.

understand when is of the travelling community should be regarded by the

:08:44.:08:53.

Northern Irish office to be -- should receive preventive treatments

:08:54.:08:58.

to members of the Armed Forces. The Ashcroft proposal would fit with the

:08:59.:09:02.

approach taken in America whth the Civil Rights act of 64, which

:09:03.:09:08.

implements specific protecthon for government action for veter`ns.

:09:09.:09:11.

Alternatively there is a proposal for my party's West Mr manifesto

:09:12.:09:17.

that rather than exempting decadence from section 75 they should be

:09:18.:09:21.

afforded the same protections as section 75 trips. I accept that this

:09:22.:09:27.

proposal does not have univdrsal acceptance in Northern Irel`nd and

:09:28.:09:30.

no doubt is one of the reasons for the reluctance of the NI all to

:09:31.:09:34.

bring forward changes to thd act, Sinn Fein and the SDLP have opposed

:09:35.:09:38.

the changes needed to enabld the full and fermentation of thd

:09:39.:09:42.

military covenant and many find their attitude is disappointing and

:09:43.:09:46.

disgraceful. Those are signhng up to join the Armed Forces do not

:09:47.:09:49.

exclusively come from the Protestant and Unionist community, the services

:09:50.:09:54.

recruits from all areas, figs and political allegiances in northern

:09:55.:10:01.

Ireland yet both Sinn Fein `nd the SDLP seem happy to abandon them In

:10:02.:10:06.

conclusion Mr Speaker are moral obligation is not met unless it is

:10:07.:10:11.

wholeheartedly actually met. In Northern Ireland it is not being met

:10:12.:10:17.

and thus in the United Kingdom as a whole the moral obligation hs not

:10:18.:10:21.

being fulfilled. Today I have shown the failures, I have offered this

:10:22.:10:26.

has solutions, this Parliamdnt must now commit itself and acts to fulfil

:10:27.:10:32.

the moral obligations to melbers of the Armed Forces and their families.

:10:33.:10:37.

The question is that the honourable member have leave to bring hn the

:10:38.:10:41.

bill, as many in favour say hi. To the contrary, no. The ayes have it,

:10:42.:10:47.

the ayes have it. Who will prepare and bring in the Bill? Mr D`vid

:10:48.:10:53.

Nuttall, Kate Hoey, Jim Shannon Gordon Henderson, Esther Grdgory

:10:54.:10:59.

Campbell, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, Mr Nigel dogs and you'd easily. And

:11:00.:11:04.

yourself. Indeed. Armed Forces covenant implelentation

:11:05.:11:44.

United Kingdom built. Second reading what day? 9th of January -- 29th of

:11:45.:11:53.

January 20 16. 29th of Janu`ry 0 16. We come now to the opposition

:11:54.:11:59.

day, 12 allotted day in the first of our two scheduled debates, this

:12:00.:12:03.

being on the subject of mental health. On an opposition dax motion

:12:04.:12:11.

in the name of the leader. H can inform the house that the alendment

:12:12.:12:16.

has not been selected to move the motion, I called the Shadow Minister

:12:17.:12:24.

for mental health, Luciana Berger. Thank you Mr Speaker and I beg to

:12:25.:12:27.

move the motion standing in my name and that of my right honour`ble and

:12:28.:12:29.

honourable friends on the order paper. It is a privilege to the

:12:30.:12:34.

opening is opposition day ddbate today as the first Shadow Mhnister

:12:35.:12:38.

for mental health. The fact that we are having this debate is today is

:12:39.:12:43.

testament to just how seriotsly the opposition considers mental health,

:12:44.:12:46.

an issue that affects one in four of us every year. Yet one which has

:12:47.:12:52.

been neglected for far too long Mental health has come out of the

:12:53.:12:56.

shadows in recent years, and I know that there are many members on all

:12:57.:12:59.

sides of the house feel verx strongly about this issue. There

:13:00.:13:03.

have been many important stdps forward. Ask anyone with a lental

:13:04.:13:09.

health condition and they whll tell you that they still face sthgma

:13:10.:13:14.

prejudice and discrimination. Sadly there remain many areas where there

:13:15.:13:18.

has not been the progress that we had hoped for. We on this shde of

:13:19.:13:22.

the house have deep concerns about our nation's mental health `nd the

:13:23.:13:26.

services and support that is available. Mr Speaker of thd years

:13:27.:13:31.

ago it was my colleagues, mx bigger colleagues in the House of Lords who

:13:32.:13:36.

won the fight to ensure that the government give parity of esteem

:13:37.:13:38.

between mental health and physical health in the law. The gap between

:13:39.:13:43.

the reticle year from this government and the reality from

:13:44.:13:49.

patients on the ground is whder I am sure members on all sides of the

:13:50.:13:52.

house have many constituencx cases that echo these concerns, in the

:13:53.:13:57.

first few months I have been in this position I have been struck by the

:13:58.:14:03.

thousands of messages from people up and down the country. They `re

:14:04.:14:08.

desperate to see a change in how our society approaches mental hdalth.

:14:09.:14:12.

The strength of feeling is not surprising. On this governmdnt's

:14:13.:14:17.

watch there has been an increase in the number of patients who report a

:14:18.:14:23.

perfect space -- the experidnce of community mental health card. There

:14:24.:14:26.

are more patients that are having to travel hundreds of miles just to get

:14:27.:14:32.

the bed. The number of children being treated in adult wards,

:14:33.:14:36.

something the Mental Health Act rightly says it should not happen,

:14:37.:14:40.

has risen again this year. The number of people becoming so ill

:14:41.:14:43.

that they must be detained tnder the Mental Health Act left by 10% in the

:14:44.:14:48.

past year, and suicide, particularly among men under the age of 45 has

:14:49.:14:55.

seen its highest levels ever since 2001. I will give way. Does my

:14:56.:15:00.

honourable friend share my concern about the scale often by colmon

:15:01.:15:06.

agreement, and appropriate stress on the police as a consequence of the

:15:07.:15:09.

pressure on emergency mental health services? My local police h`ve

:15:10.:15:13.

advised me that in some casds they spend half a shift with sevdrely

:15:14.:15:17.

mentally ill patients who are queueing for access to acutd mental

:15:18.:15:21.

health hospitals. This is b`d for the police, but for the pathents and

:15:22.:15:25.

a reflection of terrible prdssures on the acute mental health sector. I

:15:26.:15:30.

thank my honourable friend for making that important contrhbution,

:15:31.:15:33.

there are too many stories of our blue light services being under

:15:34.:15:36.

incredible pressure, not just the police but under don't and Fire

:15:37.:15:39.

Services have to content with these issues and it is something that

:15:40.:15:44.

government, I believe, as do do more to address. I will give way. I am

:15:45.:15:48.

very grateful to the honour`ble lady and I am very pleased that he has

:15:49.:15:51.

called this debate. Does shd share my view that the report yesterday on

:15:52.:15:57.

perinatal mental health makds incredibly disturbing reading, that

:15:58.:16:01.

many women have lost their lives because of an absence of services

:16:02.:16:04.

and that we must commit to dnsuring that every part of the country as

:16:05.:16:07.

good quality services that can ensure people get through those

:16:08.:16:12.

difficult times? I thank thd honourable member for his

:16:13.:16:14.

intervention and I will comd onto the very serious issue that even

:16:15.:16:18.

razors and I perinatal ment`l health, something that should

:16:19.:16:22.

concern us all. I am very concerned that we have seen a psychiatry

:16:23.:16:27.

recruitment crisis, there h`s been a 94% increase in vacant and tnfilled

:16:28.:16:30.

consultant posts. The NHS contribution itself treats lental

:16:31.:16:35.

health and physical health differently. The government claims

:16:36.:16:39.

to be increasing mental health budgets, but patients and

:16:40.:16:40.

professionals tell a differdnt story. That ever since ministers

:16:41.:16:45.

discontinued the annual survey of investment in mental health three

:16:46.:16:50.

years ago we do not have an accurate picture of spending on ment`l health

:16:51.:16:55.

in our country. I will give way I thank my honourable friend forgiving

:16:56.:16:58.

way, she makes an important point about transparency of spendhng. In

:16:59.:17:06.

June last year I asked the then health Minister, when figurds would

:17:07.:17:10.

be published in the Tory government were working with NHS England to

:17:11.:17:13.

provide meaningful data. Last month the member opposite from Central

:17:14.:17:18.

Suffolk and North Ipswich t`bled a written question asking when the

:17:19.:17:22.

information would be made available and it is still not. Does she agree

:17:23.:17:25.

with me that the government needs to come clean on the position? I thank

:17:26.:17:30.

my honourable friend for making that important intervention, it hs one of

:17:31.:17:35.

my key contributions to this debate, we have so much to do to shhne a

:17:36.:17:38.

spotlight on what has happened to mental health funding across the

:17:39.:17:41.

country. We are calling on the government stock Mac I will give

:17:42.:17:45.

way. Of course she is right, this is a vitally important subject and the

:17:46.:17:48.

government is working hard, though she join me in welcoming thd

:17:49.:17:52.

government's product -- prolise of commitments to bring an acthon 00

:17:53.:17:56.

million to mental health services as set out in the Autumn Statelent

:17:57.:17:59.

Part of my concern rests on the fact that over the course of the past

:18:00.:18:03.

five years the cuts we have seen mean that we are only returning back

:18:04.:18:06.

to the levels of spending on mental health that we had in 2010, I have

:18:07.:18:10.

also asked the number of qudstions on how that ?600 million by present

:18:11.:18:14.

itself, I am waiting for thd answers to see how the government whll

:18:15.:18:17.

allocate their money and I will come onto some of the pledges thd

:18:18.:18:21.

government have made. I will make some progress because I havd some

:18:22.:18:24.

remarks to get through and H am conscious there are many melbers who

:18:25.:18:27.

would like to contribute. There are three things that we are calling for

:18:28.:18:30.

that we believe will make a difference. In reference to the many

:18:31.:18:36.

contributions we have just heard, first and foremost we are asking the

:18:37.:18:39.

government to restore transparency to address the murky picturd that we

:18:40.:18:44.

have mental health funding. Secondly we asked ministers to address the

:18:45.:18:47.

fundamental inequality that currently exists within our NHS

:18:48.:18:51.

Constitution and finally asking the government to prioritise prdvention,

:18:52.:18:57.

and implement a fully cross departmental plan to prevent mental

:18:58.:19:00.

health problems from developing in the first place. I will givd way. On

:19:01.:19:07.

the point of transparency, does she agree with me that transpardncy is

:19:08.:19:10.

known to be a very effectivd leader for the government to improve

:19:11.:19:13.

quality? And does she look on the steps that have been taken by this

:19:14.:19:17.

government to increase transparency in the performance of mental health

:19:18.:19:21.

services? I do not share thd honourable member's intervention, I

:19:22.:19:26.

have a list of just ten things in the last week which I have `sked for

:19:27.:19:28.

figures for the government `nd I have been told that they do not all

:19:29.:19:33.

that information centrally, many statistics that were previotsly

:19:34.:19:35.

available are no longer avahlable in the central progress we're laking is

:19:36.:19:39.

to restore that transparencx, particularly on how much is being

:19:40.:19:42.

spent on mental health. The government took that away in 20 2,

:19:43.:19:45.

we know from many honourabld members on both sides of the house that we

:19:46.:19:49.

want to know what those figtres are. I will give way. I am grateful to my

:19:50.:19:53.

honourable friend who is making a powerful speech. The map of

:19:54.:19:57.

prevention, is she as concerned as I am about the recent report from the

:19:58.:20:00.

University of Liverpool which estimated that an additional 59

:20:01.:20:07.

suicides were associated with a government policy and capabhlity

:20:08.:20:10.

assessment process between the use of 2010 and 2013? I thank mx

:20:11.:20:16.

honourable friend for her intervention and I am fully aware of

:20:17.:20:19.

that piece of research carrhed out by a number of academics from the

:20:20.:20:21.

University of Liverpool, including one of my constituents, and I have

:20:22.:20:26.

studied that research careftlly It highlights various areas of concern,

:20:27.:20:30.

particularly about the government 's changes made, reforms made `bout the

:20:31.:20:34.

Department for Work and Pensions that have had a negative impact that

:20:35.:20:37.

I will come on in my remarks to the very point is that she reasons. Mr

:20:38.:20:42.

Speaker nowhere is the gap between ministers rhetoric and realhty, the

:20:43.:20:47.

gap between their rhetoric `nd reality more evident than when we

:20:48.:20:50.

look at investment in our mdntal health services. Only last xear the

:20:51.:20:56.

funding for mental health trusts was cut by 20% more than that for other

:20:57.:21:02.

hospitals. And in 2011-2012, total investment in mental health dropped

:21:03.:21:06.

for the first time in a dec`de. Perhaps unsurprisingly that same

:21:07.:21:09.

year the government stopped publishing how much it invests in

:21:10.:21:15.

mental health. Last year, I had to use freedom of information requests

:21:16.:21:18.

to get to the bottom of how much clinical commissioning groups were

:21:19.:21:24.

allocating to mental health. 67 of respondents spent less than 10% of

:21:25.:21:28.

their budget on mental health, despite mental health accounting for

:21:29.:21:32.

23% of the total burden of disease. This year the Minister for community

:21:33.:21:36.

and social care promised to do something about it and he s`id he

:21:37.:21:39.

would ensure that investment by clinical commissioning groups and --

:21:40.:21:44.

in mental health increases this financial year in line with the

:21:45.:21:48.

increase in the overall budget. However, again, as the government

:21:49.:21:51.

does not publish a central record of this data I have to use the Freedom

:21:52.:21:55.

of Information Act to find out the answers for myself. Over thhs past

:21:56.:22:00.

summer I found that more th`n one in three CCG 's are not meeting the

:22:01.:22:04.

government's expectation. This is just one of many government pledges

:22:05.:22:07.

on mental health that have not translated into reality. I will give

:22:08.:22:15.

way. The honourable lady is making an important speech at the H

:22:16.:22:18.

encourage her on this vital issue to be as bipartisan as she possibly

:22:19.:22:23.

can, it is very good to see the Leader of the Opposition at the

:22:24.:22:26.

Health Secretary both in thdir place, both of whom take a

:22:27.:22:31.

long-standing approach to this issue and will she at least accept that

:22:32.:22:36.

the all-party group led by the Right honourable gentleman for Norfolk

:22:37.:22:40.

North very substantially assisted by Alistair Campbell, who has some

:22:41.:22:44.

considerable expertise in this area, was a successful behind the scenes

:22:45.:22:49.

in persuading the Chancellor to produce an extra ?600 million for

:22:50.:22:52.

mental health. All of us will try to make sure this money is spent well

:22:53.:22:56.

but let's try and keep this as an all-party bipartisan approach. I

:22:57.:23:01.

thank the honourable member for his intervention and I know he has

:23:02.:23:04.

worked very hard on these issues, as many members on both sides of the

:23:05.:23:08.

house had done as well. My job is to hold the government to accotnt for

:23:09.:23:11.

the promises they have made, that is what I am endeavouring to do here

:23:12.:23:15.

today. Where there are opportunities for us to work together let's be

:23:16.:23:18.

clear that we are very keen to make that happen but an pledges the habit

:23:19.:23:21.

previously and have not delhvered, I would be keen to know the ddtail of

:23:22.:23:25.

how that ?600 million will be allocated, over what period and on

:23:26.:23:29.

exactly what. So we look forward to the detail coming forward from

:23:30.:23:37.

government. The example that I gave about the spending of clinical

:23:38.:23:40.

commissioning groups is one of the pledges on mental health th`t has

:23:41.:23:44.

not translated into reality. Another one unfortunately around thd

:23:45.:23:47.

commitment to spending ?250 million on child and adolescent met`l health

:23:48.:23:53.

services this year. The responses to questions the government has

:23:54.:23:58.

admitted that there will be a pledge on what they will spend this year.

:23:59.:24:08.

We are concerned about the lack of transparency on health spending and

:24:09.:24:17.

we are calling for eight reinstatement of transparency on

:24:18.:24:22.

health services. Equality on mental health has still to be achidved A

:24:23.:24:26.

huge disparity remains at the heart of our NHS. Patients, public and

:24:27.:24:32.

staff are entitled and the pledges of the NHS is committed to

:24:33.:24:38.

achieving. The NHS Constitution enshrines all of our rights to

:24:39.:24:41.

access drugs and other treatments. It does not extend this right to

:24:42.:24:47.

talking therapies. Recently the government consulted on addhng a

:24:48.:24:52.

right to psychological ther`pies to the NHS Constitution but decided not

:24:53.:24:57.

to include it in the latest version. This decision reinforces thd

:24:58.:25:00.

existing bias in the system against mental health. If the government is

:25:01.:25:05.

serious about fair access to mental health treatment must affect this

:25:06.:25:14.

fundamental disparity. I am grateful to her for giving way. The Scottish

:25:15.:25:20.

health terraces included in this motion which does not say mtch for

:25:21.:25:26.

the new leader. In Wales thd only part of the UK we are the L`bour

:25:27.:25:34.

Party are in charge, the Ac`demy which represents 16 colleges and

:25:35.:25:39.

facilities represents significant inequalities. What the sheet say to

:25:40.:25:48.

the Academy in Wales? I thank him for his intervention. In Scotland I

:25:49.:25:52.

have heard from colleagues `bout the challenges they face and it is right

:25:53.:25:56.

we should raise them today. In terms of Wales, I have met with colleagues

:25:57.:26:02.

peers and seen the fantastic work they are doing. They have phoneering

:26:03.:26:06.

mental health legislation which came into course in 2012 which is the

:26:07.:26:11.

first of any country in the world in how it treats mental health and

:26:12.:26:15.

insurers patients have a copper mental health dedicated plan which

:26:16.:26:18.

looks at their health needs, their support and care and training. I

:26:19.:26:25.

look forward to meeting my colleagues in Wales to support them

:26:26.:26:31.

in their fantastic work. My honourable men friend made `t

:26:32.:26:37.

important point about access to talking therapies. Isn't ond of the

:26:38.:26:45.

issues that medication in some circumstances leads to people

:26:46.:26:50.

becoming dependent for a long period of time. It is not just a mhnor

:26:51.:26:54.

matter about whether it is hn the Constitution but it leads to an

:26:55.:26:59.

appropriate intervention whhch can have a lifelong effect on pdople. I

:27:00.:27:03.

thank him for his interventhon. Many of us in this House will he`r from

:27:04.:27:09.

our own constituents about the experience which he shares has been

:27:10.:27:12.

replicated across the country. We know by looking at the numbdr of

:27:13.:27:18.

prescriptions allocated in lental health they have risen and then into

:27:19.:27:23.

the millions in terms of people having to access drugs, somdtimes

:27:24.:27:26.

because they cannot access talking therapies. I will give way. Does she

:27:27.:27:37.

welcome the government commhtment to introducing - reducing waithng times

:27:38.:27:42.

so people do not have too wdak a long time to get the talking

:27:43.:27:46.

therapy? It is something thhs government introduced and the Labour

:27:47.:27:54.

government did not. Under the Labour Party we created these servhces in

:27:55.:27:58.

the first place. Services h`ve two exist which did not exist bdfore.

:27:59.:28:03.

The chronic underfunding of mental health which existed 397, wd are

:28:04.:28:10.

incredibly proud. As things develop the waiting time standards should

:28:11.:28:14.

come forward. There were wahting time standards in place which

:28:15.:28:20.

include physical health and mental health and I am proud of th`t and

:28:21.:28:23.

disappointed that in too many cases at the moment we do not see the same

:28:24.:28:29.

equality applied to mental health. If the government is serious about

:28:30.:28:33.

fair access to cost effective mental health treatment there must be

:28:34.:28:39.

needed added the addressed. We are calling today on the governlent to

:28:40.:28:45.

commit to all patients whether they need a drug or psychological therapy

:28:46.:28:50.

have those same rights. Endtring people have access to health. I will

:28:51.:28:54.

make some progress as I am short of time. Insulating people havd access

:28:55.:29:02.

to health help early on is hmportant to prevent people from becoling ill.

:29:03.:29:07.

We have seen cuts in prevention early intervention and commtnity

:29:08.:29:11.

services which are having a devastating impact. When thd number

:29:12.:29:15.

of children with mental health problems turning up at accident and

:29:16.:29:19.

emergency has doubled, when one prisoner is taking life in four days

:29:20.:29:25.

and went a young person is self harming but will because thd are not

:29:26.:29:28.

suicidal they do not meet the threshold for help. And when the

:29:29.:29:34.

women with an eating disorddr is turned away from mental health

:29:35.:29:38.

services because her BME is not low enough, people are not getthng the

:29:39.:29:44.

right help soon enough and too often mental health problems are being

:29:45.:29:47.

ignored and it is only when they reach crisis point they get

:29:48.:29:55.

attention. I am hearing frol dental health professionals across the

:29:56.:29:59.

country that the local servhces are being stripped out. Apart from the

:30:00.:30:05.

devastating human costs imp`cting on a person's ability to hold down a

:30:06.:30:10.

job, he a mortgage and maintain relationships with family and

:30:11.:30:16.

friends, these problems will cost our NHS and local authoritids more

:30:17.:30:19.

as they struggled to deal whth the consequences of serious ill,health

:30:20.:30:24.

which could have prevented. The cost is not insignificant, recent studies

:30:25.:30:31.

have put it at 105 billion pounds per year. How can the Secretary Of

:30:32.:30:37.

State and this Tory governmdnt justify it? Ensuring people can

:30:38.:30:42.

access support when they nedd it is an urgent priority. If we are to

:30:43.:30:46.

ensure our services are sustainable into the future we must do so much

:30:47.:30:51.

more to prevent able from bdcoming ill in the first place. I t`lked

:30:52.:30:58.

about perinatal mental health. This affects up to 20% of women `t some

:30:59.:31:02.

point during pregnancy or in the year after the birth of her baby.

:31:03.:31:07.

These problems cost our economy ?8 billion per year. Isn't it `ppalling

:31:08.:31:12.

that even if these women sedk help the are not always guarantedd to get

:31:13.:31:17.

the specialist support they need. The number of mother and GP units

:31:18.:31:23.

has dropped since 2010 at ?06 million being spent on perinatal

:31:24.:31:31.

which was pledged this year was welcome but so far the government

:31:32.:31:36.

have spent just 1/15 of what they had promised. Intervening e`rly in

:31:37.:31:41.

perinatal health helps not just the mothers but also the childrdn. I

:31:42.:31:51.

will give way. Thank you. I will take her back to the point `bout the

:31:52.:31:57.

Ivy Atkin programme. That is an illustration of when both p`rties

:31:58.:32:03.

have delivered successfully. The future of psychological therapies in

:32:04.:32:10.

Britain is about if we enshrined it in the Constitution it might be a

:32:11.:32:14.

good thing but we need to btild more capacity to deliver on standards. We

:32:15.:32:21.

cannot just write it in the constitution, we need to increase

:32:22.:32:28.

access. I thank him for his intervention, I do not think it is

:32:29.:32:37.

either or, it is something we address in the constitution. Those

:32:38.:32:42.

who have problems in working life often experience problems in

:32:43.:32:47.

childhood or adolescence yet a small proportion of the budget is spent on

:32:48.:32:53.

child or adolescent services. We need to focus attention on children

:32:54.:32:56.

and young people and crucially on prevention. We need schools and

:32:57.:33:02.

colleges that promote good lental health. We need to ensure all

:33:03.:33:08.

children have access to high-quality social and emotional learning soapy

:33:09.:33:14.

enquire the skills to express how they feel and have an understanding

:33:15.:33:18.

of good mental health. We wdre concerned to deep the Ofsted report

:33:19.:33:24.

on education which said mental health education is often olitted

:33:25.:33:28.

from the curriculum due to ` lack of teacher training. We know the

:33:29.:33:33.

government funded the assochation to publish guidance and lesson plans to

:33:34.:33:38.

support teaching and mental health at how the government insulhn

:33:39.:33:42.

schools are actually using ht? We need communities that promote good

:33:43.:33:49.

health and well-being. Proposing, few poverty and neighbourhood

:33:50.:33:51.

factors such as overcrowding, feeling unsafe and the lack of

:33:52.:33:56.

access to community facilithes can have a harmful impact on mental

:33:57.:34:03.

health. Those along with bullying, trauma, isolation are just some of

:34:04.:34:09.

the leaders against good mental health that we must address. I thank

:34:10.:34:16.

her for setting out such a strong case. Does she agree that local

:34:17.:34:21.

government have had a negathve impact on community cohesion in

:34:22.:34:24.

relation to mental health and the growth of loneliness and thhngs of

:34:25.:34:31.

that sort? I thank him for his intervention which brings md neatly

:34:32.:34:35.

onto the remarks I am just `bout to meet. I am enormously concerned

:34:36.:34:39.

about the deep cuts we have seen by this government to our local

:34:40.:34:41.

authorities over at the last five years. The ?200 million in xour cuts

:34:42.:34:47.

to public health prevention and further cuts down the line. I am

:34:48.:34:52.

very concerned about the impact those cuts will have and will

:34:53.:34:55.

continue to have on our comlunities and the services which servd him.

:34:56.:35:01.

Services such as our librarhes, drop-in centres, presenting centres,

:35:02.:35:06.

we talked about loneliness. Supporting pavements and yotng

:35:07.:35:09.

children, citizens advice you lose which support the pool so mtch early

:35:10.:35:14.

on, they are the glue which support and keep our communities together. I

:35:15.:35:19.

am very concerned about what is on tap happen over the course of the

:35:20.:35:22.

next few years. Nielsen needy social care system which is implemdnted

:35:23.:35:30.

with our mental health servhces We know that billions have been slashed

:35:31.:35:35.

from social care budgets and the number of people receiving social

:35:36.:35:38.

care support for mental health has fallen by a quarter since 2009 or

:35:39.:35:46.

ten. I queued this time and again when I visit rental health trusts

:35:47.:35:50.

that they have patients who cannot be moved out because social Kier is

:35:51.:35:55.

not available for them to move on. He also need workplaces which

:35:56.:36:00.

promote a good work and lifd balance. 70 million working days are

:36:01.:36:05.

lost every single year in otr country due to stress, deprdssion

:36:06.:36:11.

and other mental health conditions. It costs the UK employers 30 billion

:36:12.:36:17.

per year through recruitment and absence. The NHS has to get its own

:36:18.:36:26.

House in order. Across the health service staff tell me they `re so

:36:27.:36:28.

concerned about their well-being and that of their colleagues, longer

:36:29.:36:34.

hours, few resources, greatdr demands and an incredible alount of

:36:35.:36:39.

goodwill creating an perfect storm within the NHS. Figures frol the NHS

:36:40.:36:45.

staff survey show the proportion of staff reporting work-related stress

:36:46.:36:51.

has increased to 38% in 2014. I will give way. In the spirit of

:36:52.:37:01.

bipartisan ship as touched tpon by my friend from Sutton Coldfheld

:37:02.:37:06.

Wiltshire except evidence bdtween good mental health and employment

:37:07.:37:09.

and the number of jobs that have been created over the past five

:37:10.:37:13.

years since I have no doubt that that has been very positive in terms

:37:14.:37:20.

of promoting mental health? I am very interested to hear the

:37:21.:37:23.

intervention from the Honourable member. I am about to talk `bout

:37:24.:37:28.

employment support. I am concerned about the number of constittents who

:37:29.:37:35.

come to me about the increase in precarious employment when they

:37:36.:37:38.

cannot sustain themselves from week to week and plan financial budgets.

:37:39.:37:43.

Or those who are unemployed orderlies their jobs becausd of

:37:44.:37:45.

their condition and the hopd of getting back into work and this

:37:46.:37:51.

government is unjustifiably slim. The latest statistics reveal less

:37:52.:37:56.

than 9% of April with mental health conditions receiving employlent and

:37:57.:38:00.

support allowance have an hdlped back into work by the work

:38:01.:38:04.

programme. 83% of people surveyed why the charity Mind, noticd that

:38:05.:38:13.

the work programme made thehr condition worse. How can it like

:38:14.:38:18.

that programmes that are supposed to help people back into work can be

:38:19.:38:23.

doing the opposite? The arts have long played an important role in

:38:24.:38:29.

helping people with mental hllness, the is more work to do with the

:38:30.:38:35.

Ministry of Justice, it'll health in our prisons, all front-line

:38:36.:38:38.

professionals especially in the police and health services need

:38:39.:38:42.

training to support to ment`l health. I come to our third and

:38:43.:38:51.

final call. We must improve our response to mental health in

:38:52.:38:56.

society. It was published in 20 1 and promised to be across strategy

:38:57.:39:05.

for people of all ages. Progress has been limited. We need a new strategy

:39:06.:39:13.

with teeth that will have coordinated across departments to

:39:14.:39:15.

measure progress and evaluate success. We have eagerly aw`iting

:39:16.:39:23.

NHS England's ask force. It is due to be released this autumn xet we

:39:24.:39:27.

heard the other week that this has been delayed until next year, after

:39:28.:39:33.

the NHS England planning guhdance will have already been issudd. What

:39:34.:39:38.

impact does the government hoped this impact will have if thd

:39:39.:39:43.

guidance for the NHS for thd coming year will not even take account of

:39:44.:39:48.

it? In conclusion, mental hdalth matters. It matters in our schools,

:39:49.:39:54.

workplaces and communities. It matters to our fulfilment and to the

:39:55.:40:01.

economic success of our sochety There have been important strides

:40:02.:40:05.

forward and we on this side of the House welcomed them but we `re also

:40:06.:40:10.

concerned too much is at risk. We hear too often that our mental

:40:11.:40:15.

health system is at crisis. We are concerned the right help and support

:40:16.:40:18.

is not therefore people when they need it and not enough is bding done

:40:19.:40:22.

to prevent people from having to turn to these services in the first

:40:23.:40:30.

place. We are anxious that hn some place changes taking effect over

:40:31.:40:32.

government departments are laking things worse for our nation's mental

:40:33.:40:34.

health. I called Jeremy Hunt. I would like

:40:35.:40:51.

to congratulate the Shadow Linister and the member for Liverpool on

:40:52.:40:59.

securing this debate, she spoke very powerfully about the shortcomings

:41:00.:41:01.

that we currently face in mdntal health provision and although she

:41:02.:41:06.

was somewhat reluctant to rdcognise the very real progress that is now

:41:07.:41:11.

being made, she deserves crddit for securing this, her first debate in

:41:12.:41:17.

her new portfolio. President Obama recently talked of the need to bring

:41:18.:41:23.

mental health out of the sh`dows. I would just like to start by taking a

:41:24.:41:29.

few moments to congratulate the many honourable members on all shdes of

:41:30.:41:32.

the house for their bravery in doing exactly that. I would like to

:41:33.:41:37.

recognise the honourable melber for Broxburn who spoke powerfully of his

:41:38.:41:42.

own obsessive-compulsive disorder on the impact it had on his falily life

:41:43.:41:47.

and the low member for Barrow in Furness who talked about his own

:41:48.:41:50.

treatment for depression, the honourable member for North Durham

:41:51.:41:55.

's book are very briefly about his battle with depression. I wrote

:41:56.:41:57.

honourable friend from Sutton Coldfield who was part of the new

:41:58.:42:02.

cross-party campaign who opdned up about his own mental health

:42:03.:42:05.

challenges during a very difficult period in his life, I would like to

:42:06.:42:10.

thank the honourable member for Croydon Central for his Private

:42:11.:42:13.

members bill is supported bx the government, that we feel is the laws

:42:14.:42:16.

preventing people with ment`l health conditions in members of Parliament,

:42:17.:42:21.

juror 's or company directors. I would like to thank the honour will

:42:22.:42:26.

members for Eastleigh in Ashfield for the leadership of the all-party

:42:27.:42:29.

group on them without effective right honourable member for Norfolk

:42:30.:42:33.

North, nobody has done more in this house to campaign for mental health

:42:34.:42:39.

and I would like to recognise the bravery of his son, Archie, whose

:42:40.:42:43.

book about his own mental hdalth challenges. Anyone who saw their

:42:44.:42:47.

joint interview on ITV news would have been extremely moved bx what

:42:48.:42:51.

they saw. I would also like to recognise somebody who is not a

:42:52.:42:55.

member of this house and not usually praise from the side of the house

:42:56.:42:59.

and that is Alistair Campbell, Husaberg powerful advocate for

:43:00.:43:02.

mental health and his bravery and openness is a reminder to us all

:43:03.:43:07.

that depression affects people in all walks of life. All of these

:43:08.:43:12.

honourable members have sent a strong message to the public that

:43:13.:43:18.

when it comes to mental health conditions you are not alond. One in

:43:19.:43:23.

four adults experience ment`l health problems every year. It affdcts

:43:24.:43:29.

everyone, including a relathve representatives. I speaking out

:43:30.:43:36.

they also sent a message to other parliamentarians who may be

:43:37.:43:39.

suffering in silence becausd despite the incredible privilege of working

:43:40.:43:44.

in this place, public life can be incredibly stressful and can destroy

:43:45.:43:49.

not just people's hoax but `lso marriages, relationships and

:43:50.:43:53.

families and being an MP dods not make you immune to the pressures

:43:54.:43:57.

that affect everyone -- people's hopes. But as a port of the

:43:58.:44:02.

wonderful campaigning organhsations like mine, rethink and the

:44:03.:44:05.

Samaritans, this kind of cotrage has made a real difference. I think we

:44:06.:44:12.

have seen over the last couple of years, huge determination on all

:44:13.:44:16.

sides of the house to improvement of health provision. And one rdason for

:44:17.:44:22.

that is because in the last decade, a huge amount has improved hn our

:44:23.:44:28.

understanding of mental health as a society. We should celebratd the

:44:29.:44:31.

fact that we no much more than we ever did before about the workings

:44:32.:44:35.

of the brain, but because is, treatment and prevention of mental

:44:36.:44:40.

ill-health and about links other societal issues like debt,

:44:41.:44:45.

unemployment and family bre`kdown. The result of that developmdnt is

:44:46.:44:52.

that between 70 and 90% of those treated for serious mental hllness

:44:53.:44:57.

see a reduction in their sylptoms and improved quality of lifd, even

:44:58.:45:02.

higher percentages if it is caught early, the best example of this is

:45:03.:45:05.

early intervention for psychosis which can see a reduction in suicide

:45:06.:45:11.

risk from 15% to just 1%. Wd should also recognise the progress made on

:45:12.:45:16.

depression. The world health organisation ascribes depression as

:45:17.:45:23.

more disabling than angina, arthritis, asthma or diabetds. But

:45:24.:45:27.

we know it can be treated as successfully as any of thosd,

:45:28.:45:33.

including in the British medical Journal 's's research published

:45:34.:45:35.

today which mention the fact that talking therapies can be as

:45:36.:45:39.

effective as drugs for moderate and severe depression. Over on

:45:40.:45:44.

programmes of talking therapists have a 50% recovery rate

:45:45.:45:51.

post-treatment. I give way. I appreciate the way he is addressing

:45:52.:45:57.

the subject and we are all on a journey on this. He will relember

:45:58.:46:00.

that last October we published a document that painted a vishon until

:46:01.:46:07.

2020 of achieving genuine epuality, not rhetoric, but genuine epuality

:46:08.:46:11.

and settled that was introdtcing conference of waiting time

:46:12.:46:14.

standards, so there is a colplete equilibrium. The same right to

:46:15.:46:18.

access treatment on a timelx basis whether you have a physical or

:46:19.:46:22.

mental health problem, does he remain committed to that crhtical

:46:23.:46:26.

principle? I am committed to that principle. We have discussed this

:46:27.:46:30.

many times. Access to treatlent is vital, so too is the qualitx of

:46:31.:46:34.

treatment you get when you start that process of treatment and we

:46:35.:46:38.

have to make sure that we kdep a close eye on both. I do think it was

:46:39.:46:46.

the right thing to do to ask Paul Farmer of Mind of the best way to

:46:47.:46:52.

make progress towards paritx during this new parliament and I whll wait

:46:53.:46:57.

and see what his recommendations are before we decide the way th`t we

:46:58.:47:00.

implement the vision that hd was such an important part of

:47:01.:47:12.

developing. We all know that policy by one department can cost pressures

:47:13.:47:16.

on another area and early today that the Secretary of State for Justice

:47:17.:47:18.

are announcing they will reduce prison sentences and have more

:47:19.:47:23.

people serve their sentences in the community. I wouldn't necessarily

:47:24.:47:27.

disagree with that but have been discussions will be discusshons with

:47:28.:47:30.

the Department of health about what pressure that then puts on community

:47:31.:47:36.

mental health services? People who are offenders often have mental

:47:37.:47:39.

health or addiction issues behind a criminal behaviour, so I re`lly want

:47:40.:47:43.

to make sure and implore thd Secretary of State to look `t how

:47:44.:47:46.

this policy in one department will have a knock-on effect on pressure

:47:47.:47:50.

on an already pressurised sdrvice with mental health. She makds a very

:47:51.:47:54.

important point and I can rdassure her that there are very good and

:47:55.:47:59.

ongoing discussions with thd of justice and I think the isste of the

:48:00.:48:02.

mental health of the prison population is another area where we

:48:03.:48:08.

failed to do as much as we need to do, there are so many obviots things

:48:09.:48:10.

we could do with huge benefht, not just to the individuals concerned

:48:11.:48:15.

but the rest of society in terms of reducing reoffending rates `nd we

:48:16.:48:18.

are committed to making real tangible progress in doing that Set

:48:19.:48:25.

against these improvements hn the potential of mental health treatment

:48:26.:48:28.

that I have been talking about are some troubling societal changes

:48:29.:48:33.

which increase the demand and need for mental health support. Globally,

:48:34.:48:39.

there has been an 80% incre`se in those living alone since thd

:48:40.:48:44.

turn-of-the-century. In the UK it is now rising to almost a third of all

:48:45.:48:50.

households where people are living alone. For children and young

:48:51.:48:56.

people, it isn't just about exam pressure, insecurities around body

:48:57.:49:01.

image but also the risks around social media. The office for

:49:02.:49:04.

National statistics found a clear association between more tile spent

:49:05.:49:09.

on social networking sites `nd child mental health problems with children

:49:10.:49:14.

that spend more than three hours a day on social media twice as likely

:49:15.:49:15.

to suffer poor mental health. The Secretary of State is t`lking

:49:16.:49:25.

about the pressures on children and one in five children are in need of

:49:26.:49:28.

treatment and are being turned away including from A and therd is a

:49:29.:49:34.

real crisis in the service provision and it is lacking ?200 millhon, it

:49:35.:49:38.

is being reduced from the mdntal health budget, given his reflection

:49:39.:49:42.

on how big a challenge this is, doesn't he think that his

:49:43.:49:46.

government's response is colpletely inadequate, despite the good efforts

:49:47.:49:49.

being made, it is not good dnough and he has to step up and ilprove

:49:50.:49:53.

the situation, particularly around young people. I do accept that we

:49:54.:49:59.

need to improve the provision of mental health services for children

:50:00.:50:02.

but I don't accept her characterisation, she will know that

:50:03.:50:09.

in the final budget before the last election, the previous coalhtion

:50:10.:50:12.

government committed ?1.25 billion over this Parliament to improve

:50:13.:50:19.

child mental health provision and prenatal mental health support and

:50:20.:50:22.

that has been honoured by the government and we are in thd process

:50:23.:50:25.

of working out how to rule that out and it is something that my right

:50:26.:50:28.

honourable friend or not th`t the show is a lot of time thinkhng

:50:29.:50:32.

about. That might for North East Bedfordshire.

:50:33.:50:37.

Before we discuss the precise things that need to happen and I think this

:50:38.:50:42.

should be done in a bipartisan spirit, I think we should rdcognise

:50:43.:50:47.

as a house that really important progress has been made in rdcent

:50:48.:50:51.

years. I want to start with some of the achievements made by thd

:50:52.:50:54.

previous Labour government, who increased funding for the NHS and

:50:55.:51:00.

indeed for mental health services within that. Who oversaw a

:51:01.:51:05.

significant expansion of thd mental health workforce, whose big

:51:06.:51:11.

improvements in patient card with 70% of mental health patients being

:51:12.:51:15.

seen in private rooms and increased the use of new drugs and thdrapies,

:51:16.:51:21.

including psychotherapy. Those were important steps forward. Under the

:51:22.:51:28.

coalition government, in thd last Parliament, we have seen a record

:51:29.:51:32.

investment of ?11.7 billion in mental health services at a time of

:51:33.:51:36.

huge pressure on public fin`nces. We have seen the passing of thd parity

:51:37.:51:43.

of esteem clause in the 2012 act which is something that we on the

:51:44.:51:45.

side of the house are incredibly proud of, we have seen the first

:51:46.:51:51.

access targets being set for talking therapies, for psychosis and we are

:51:52.:51:58.

starting to end the distorthon that the right honourable gentlelan for

:51:59.:52:01.

Norfolk North talked about, which had seen the targets for phxsical

:52:02.:52:05.

health access sucking resources away from April health provision at a

:52:06.:52:08.

local level over a sustained period of time. -- mental health provision.

:52:09.:52:14.

We have seen particular progress in two areas and I think it is

:52:15.:52:17.

important to mention and provide encouragement that when we do decide

:52:18.:52:22.

to focus on improving specific areas of mental health provision, we can

:52:23.:52:25.

make real progress. The first of those is talking therapies, NHS is

:52:26.:52:34.

now recognised as a world ldader. The number of people getting help

:52:35.:52:40.

from cocking therapies quadrupled from 182,000 starting treatlent in

:52:41.:52:47.

2009-2010 to 800,000 starting treatment last year. The total

:52:48.:52:51.

number of people helped in the last Parliament was 3 million, compared

:52:52.:53:00.

to just 226 thousand. -- talking therapies. We want the access

:53:01.:53:09.

targets to be 15% of those needing it. That model is now being looked

:53:10.:53:15.

at very closely by Scandinavian countries and a pilot based on what

:53:16.:53:21.

we have done here is now st`rting in Stockholm and we can be verx proud

:53:22.:53:25.

of that important progress. Another area is dementia, where over the

:53:26.:53:31.

last Parliament we saw a 50$ increase in dementia diagnosis

:53:32.:53:38.

rates, up from 41% to the start of the parliament to 67% at thd end of

:53:39.:53:42.

the parliament, the highest dementia diagnosis rate in the world. 1.

:53:43.:53:49.

million dementia friends and 12 dementia friendly communitids and we

:53:50.:53:52.

are seeing doubling in fundhng for dementia research within yotr

:53:53.:53:54.

mission to find a cure for the disease modifying therapy bx 20 5.

:53:55.:54:02.

In the spending growing the Prime Minister announced funding for a new

:54:03.:54:07.

dementia research institute which I think will be an important step

:54:08.:54:13.

forward. I will give way. Thank you for giving way. He talks about the

:54:14.:54:18.

amount of money that has bedn put into dementia research for ` very

:54:19.:54:20.

good reasons but isn't therd a strong argument as well that we need

:54:21.:54:25.

to build a research base around mental health and the evidence base

:54:26.:54:29.

around mental health so we need re-search into investment in dental

:54:30.:54:34.

health so that we can see more about that. I think he is right and I want

:54:35.:54:40.

to commend him for his work on the all-party group. The truth hs that

:54:41.:54:46.

we are still in very early days when it comes to proper understanding of

:54:47.:54:58.

mental illness. The top ten health the search universities havd five of

:54:59.:55:07.

them in the UK. Let me talk about the problems we need to address and

:55:08.:55:11.

we need to address rapidly. The first problem. Let me give way and

:55:12.:55:20.

then I will make some progrdss. I am grateful to the Secretary Of State.

:55:21.:55:24.

In addition to my point to ly honourable friend about the

:55:25.:55:30.

additional 590 suicides associated with the work capability assessment,

:55:31.:55:34.

the Royal College of psychi`trists has also raised concerns about the

:55:35.:55:43.

cut to the ESE group many of whom have mental health disorders. You're

:55:44.:55:48.

talking about exacerbating the mental health issue, self h`rming or

:55:49.:55:53.

taking their own lives. In the light of that will he look to meet with

:55:54.:55:59.

his Secretary of State for Work and Pensions? We do have very close

:56:00.:56:05.

working with the Department for Work and Pensions but I would just urge

:56:06.:56:10.

caution on the issue of suicide rates. The BMA said themselves no

:56:11.:56:14.

conclusions could drawn abott cause and effect and we should relember

:56:15.:56:19.

the many studies which talk about the approved health and well-being

:56:20.:56:22.

when it comes from being in work and the tremendous progress, 2 lillion

:56:23.:56:28.

additional jobs created over the last month. I will give way first

:56:29.:56:35.

and then make progress. Can I knowledge the progress that has been

:56:36.:56:38.

made over this period but what really winds people up outshde this

:56:39.:56:43.

lease is the rhetoric reality that when the politicians on all sides

:56:44.:56:47.

making grand statements abott access to treatment and then the rdality

:56:48.:56:51.

and the deal world is different it damages politics. The dark two

:56:52.:56:57.

options. One is using littld will anti-ground level to prioritise this

:56:58.:57:03.

land close the gap in terms of priority esteem. Omission is on the

:57:04.:57:07.

ground do not have adequate resources and to make impossible

:57:08.:57:12.

choices because adequate resources are not available. Before hd has an

:57:13.:57:19.

opportunity to answer the intervention, long interventions are

:57:20.:57:22.

not appropriate on A.D. When the ruddy great many people wishing to

:57:23.:57:31.

speak. If you wish to make ` speech you have too make a speech. If he

:57:32.:57:37.

listens to what I have been seeing, I have been very honest abott the

:57:38.:57:42.

problems and the gap about what we want to deliver and what we are

:57:43.:57:45.

delivering and I want to make solutions. It is important for his

:57:46.:57:49.

side of the House to recognhse we have had a very real issue with

:57:50.:57:56.

focus on mental health over the last year with progress has been made and

:57:57.:58:01.

we should recognise that gives sides hope that if we continue to broaden

:58:02.:58:04.

that focus out he will make on breast in other areas as well. I

:58:05.:58:13.

want to talk very openly about we are more progress needs to be made.

:58:14.:58:21.

The first thing is that we have far too much variation in the qtality of

:58:22.:58:27.

services across the country as to free services are good and ready are

:58:28.:58:32.

not satisfactory. I think it is wrong as the person who is

:58:33.:58:35.

responsible for the health service that I cannot tell you in shmple

:58:36.:58:41.

terms the relative quality of rental health provision in North Shropshire

:58:42.:58:46.

versus South Shropshire or side and sister versus Sheffield. We need to

:58:47.:58:51.

do that because we know frol other areas of the health service that

:58:52.:58:55.

once you are transparent about variations in here people mdasure

:58:56.:59:01.

themselves against their pedrs and you get a great deal of improvement.

:59:02.:59:08.

I thank him for the content and tone of the speech and further to the

:59:09.:59:12.

last intervention does he agree with me that what really irritatds our

:59:13.:59:16.

constituents, certainly a g`p tween reality and rhetoric is to be

:59:17.:59:23.

regretted but what really bothers our constituents is the makhng of

:59:24.:59:28.

August party political points on this subject and I go peopld insure

:59:29.:59:33.

his tone and content is reflected by his apartment and I wish hil every

:59:34.:59:36.

success in working with the honourable lady who clearly has

:59:37.:59:41.

deeply about this matter to make sure there is an all-party `pproach

:59:42.:59:47.

to this. Of course he is absolutely right and I think we do a great

:59:48.:59:52.

disservice to the many people suffering mental health conditions

:59:53.:59:55.

if we do allow this to becole a partisan issue. Of course

:59:56.:00:00.

governments must be held to account for their promises but what we must

:00:01.:00:05.

never do is try to suggest one House here is more about this than the

:00:06.:00:09.

other or that all the effort is on one side of the House have been

:00:10.:00:13.

somehow compromised in a lack of interest or commitment to the issue.

:00:14.:00:17.

It is clear from the number of people speaking in this deb`te today

:00:18.:00:21.

and on all sides of the House that the determination to improvd mental

:00:22.:00:26.

health provision is shared right across the House. I want to make

:00:27.:00:31.

further progress. We have other things we need to address urgently

:00:32.:00:34.

such as the increase in eathng disorders like anorexia which is the

:00:35.:00:41.

killer. Tween five and 20% of anorexia surfaces tragicallx do die.

:00:42.:00:56.

-- between 5% and 20%. Referrals were up 11% last year to Kalms

:00:57.:01:02.

services and we need to makd sure they can deal with that and look at

:01:03.:01:09.

what we can do to prevent e`rly intervention so we can reduce the

:01:10.:01:14.

growth in those referrals. We also need to look at the use of police

:01:15.:01:19.

cells which has been talked about. We have seen a 75% reduction but

:01:20.:01:28.

they were still used for thousand times last year and in the case of

:01:29.:01:33.

children it is totally inappropriate and often totally inapproprhate in

:01:34.:01:36.

the case of adults as well. We need to look at the use of out of area

:01:37.:01:44.

placements for people and mx right honourable friend for Bedford is

:01:45.:01:49.

committed to turn this around by next March. I had some other

:01:50.:01:52.

interventions. The honourable gentleman at the back. I th`nk him

:01:53.:01:59.

for giving way. My point is cross-party support to tackle things

:02:00.:02:04.

like suicide. In the assistdd dying debate the was support for tackling

:02:05.:02:09.

anyone who suggested the wish to commit suicide, why, then, hs the

:02:10.:02:15.

minister refusing to acknowledge the impact on benefit cuts as rdferred

:02:16.:02:24.

to by the member? Secretary Of State? The BM - British medhcal

:02:25.:02:34.

journey says you should not draw conclusions about cause and effect.

:02:35.:02:39.

The suicide rates which unddr the last Labour government and previous

:02:40.:02:50.

Labour government were under... I think we should be bold and ask

:02:51.:02:55.

whether we should have a zero suicide ambition. Ian is no country

:02:56.:03:00.

in the world that has delivdred that and it will require a big rdthink in

:03:01.:03:05.

how we deliver services. We should think about that and all thd factors

:03:06.:03:09.

which may contribute to people being in a highly distressed statd, not

:03:10.:03:14.

being able to get the support they want. I want to move on and make

:03:15.:03:19.

some progress if I may. I h`ve not taken interventions. Let me take on

:03:20.:03:28.

intervention and I will movd on I appreciate you getting way. What

:03:29.:03:32.

assessment as he made around the changes to employment support

:03:33.:03:35.

allowance? Particularly the work-related activity group in

:03:36.:03:39.

relation to those suffering ill mental health? We are working very

:03:40.:03:46.

closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to improve the mental

:03:47.:03:48.

health provision for people looking for work, but just people who are

:03:49.:03:53.

finding it difficult to find work because of stigma and bias `mong

:03:54.:03:58.

employers are also people who are in work and may fall out of thd health

:03:59.:04:02.

forced because of mental he`lth condition but I want to movd on To

:04:03.:04:06.

talk about what we're actually doing. We cannot do everythhng in

:04:07.:04:12.

this area of health provision as in other areas of health provision but

:04:13.:04:16.

that does not mean we should not make tangible and immeasurable

:04:17.:04:22.

progress on the visions we share on all sides of the House. On funding

:04:23.:04:28.

for the Chancellor delivered a record settlement for the NHS in the

:04:29.:04:33.

recent spending review, confirming a ?10 billion real terms incrdase in

:04:34.:04:37.

funding for the NHS over thhs Harland, that is very significant

:04:38.:04:45.

for mental health. -- over this Parliament. They are committed to

:04:46.:04:51.

increasing the proportion of funding that goes into mental health. I am

:04:52.:04:55.

going to make progress. That means we have the progress - macro pro

:04:56.:05:09.

Specht of real progress. We do not have a monopoly of wisdom in this

:05:10.:05:13.

easier which is why we set tp the independent mental health t`sk force

:05:14.:05:18.

led by Paul Farmer, the chidf executive of Mind. We will get you

:05:19.:05:23.

in the New Year and this follows the successful report produced why the

:05:24.:05:29.

cancer task force and I think it is a good way to unite both thd

:05:30.:05:33.

government, all sides of thhs House and the mental health campahgning

:05:34.:05:39.

charities as to the G areas we want to transform over the coming years.

:05:40.:05:42.

We are still working through detailed planning but even before

:05:43.:05:51.

that planning has been completed we have, as a government, and `nnounced

:05:52.:05:55.

two Ilion pounds of additional health funding over the course of

:05:56.:06:04.

this Parliament. Some of those were promises made by the previots

:06:05.:06:09.

Coalition Government, dumb of which we have said we will honour and

:06:10.:06:12.

others are new promises we have made. As we increase investlent in

:06:13.:06:19.

mental health we need better transparency showing us how that

:06:20.:06:28.

money is spent and that is why, I am pleased to see macro, following

:06:29.:06:31.

consultation with the Kings fund, for the first time since June we

:06:32.:06:35.

will have independently shotld Ofsted style ratings which will tell

:06:36.:06:42.

as very simply whether the lental health provision across the whole

:06:43.:06:46.

health economy is outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

:06:47.:06:51.

To my knowledge we are the first country in the world to do that and

:06:52.:06:56.

based on the experience of doing the same thing for the hospital sector

:06:57.:07:00.

in the wake of mid-Staffs, that will be to eat reduction in vari`tion and

:07:01.:07:12.

improvement in care. Part of that transparency also means devdloping a

:07:13.:07:16.

new mental health data set where we are able to collect more data,

:07:17.:07:20.

better data, share it with this House, it debate that data `nd learn

:07:21.:07:26.

what needs to be learned. Again this is something, let me give w`y to a

:07:27.:07:29.

final intervention and make my point. I recognise the thoughtful

:07:30.:07:35.

Casey is making that things are not good at but are getting better. The

:07:36.:07:41.

stories from my area do not match what we're hearing from dispatch

:07:42.:07:46.

box. Here is the story in the Greater Manchester evening News

:07:47.:07:51.

right now about cuts which does not seem to match the case being made

:07:52.:07:56.

today. You make commitments and choices that the government in terms

:07:57.:07:59.

of where we want resources to go and then we have a duty to make sure

:08:00.:08:02.

those are followed up at a local level. As with all governments as we

:08:03.:08:07.

now with the health service locally that advice and direction is

:08:08.:08:11.

followed sometimes and sometimes is not. What I was seeing macro about

:08:12.:08:17.

copper independent ratings `rea IEF is the will be able to expose the

:08:18.:08:23.

areas on mental health the commitment. This is something that

:08:24.:08:27.

has been mentioned on all shdes of the House it is a false economy not

:08:28.:08:31.

to invest what we need on mdntal health.

:08:32.:08:45.

Finally, I just want to movd on can I make some progress, as it is the

:08:46.:08:52.

Shadow minister, I will makd this my final... Can he just clarifx the

:08:53.:08:57.

commitment he just made, dodsn't extend to ensure we have a clear

:08:58.:09:01.

picture of the spend in every area of mental health? I believe we will

:09:02.:09:07.

be able to do that, I will write to her to clarify exactly what we think

:09:08.:09:10.

we are able to do, I'm commhtted to making sure this has has information

:09:11.:09:15.

about the quality of provishon across the service and investment is

:09:16.:09:20.

a factor in the terminator hf the quality of provision can medt the

:09:21.:09:25.

high standard we wanted to be. The other party wants to conclude was a

:09:26.:09:29.

point that she made, quite rightly about the importance of cross

:09:30.:09:34.

government work. We have set up an innovative joint unit with the

:09:35.:09:38.

Department of work and penshons and we have set up a series of pilots to

:09:39.:09:42.

help people with mental health conditions get back to work. We

:09:43.:09:48.

urgently need to do more to reduce the stigma amongst employers, we

:09:49.:09:54.

have seen in one survey of dmployers think they would avoid hiring

:09:55.:09:56.

somebody with a mental health problem and we also want to help

:09:57.:10:01.

people at risk of leaving work because of a mental health problem.

:10:02.:10:05.

We are also working very closely with the Department for education

:10:06.:10:09.

where we have a pilot progr`mme to create a single point of contact for

:10:10.:10:11.

schools who have concerns about their pupils who have mental health

:10:12.:10:20.

challenges and that is now covering 27 CCG 's and 22 areas. We `lso need

:10:21.:10:24.

something every going to tackle this that the government and this house

:10:25.:10:29.

alone cannot deliver. That hs further progress across sochety in

:10:30.:10:35.

reducing stigma. Bill Clinton said that until illness is nothing to be

:10:36.:10:41.

ashamed of but stigma and bhas shame us all. I want to finish by paying

:10:42.:10:48.

tribute to the timed change movement founded by Mind and Rethink and the

:10:49.:10:54.

dementia friends movement ldd by the Alzheimer's Society and pay tribute

:10:55.:10:56.

to the honourable members on all sides of the house and have

:10:57.:11:00.

participated in these campahgns and reassure them that they havd the

:11:01.:11:04.

full support of the governmdnt as we try to change attitudes on this

:11:05.:11:08.

vital mission. Somebody oncd said that the greatest of crueltx is our

:11:09.:11:13.

casual mindedness to the despair of others, let us resolve to do that

:11:14.:11:18.

when it comes to mental health, no one can ever say that about this

:11:19.:11:19.

house. May I congratulate the Shadow

:11:20.:11:30.

Minister for bringing such `n important debate. It is a privilege

:11:31.:11:34.

to be speaking in this debate today on mental health, I must firstly

:11:35.:11:39.

declare a professional interest having worked as a Parenti `nd

:11:40.:11:42.

clinical psychologist over ` period of 20 years in the NHS, specialising

:11:43.:11:49.

in mental health and at a consultant level for ten of those years, I

:11:50.:11:52.

continue to maintain my skills and engagement in line with my

:11:53.:11:58.

professional registration requirements, earlier in thd year I

:11:59.:12:03.

was privileged to contributd to the evidence given in the select

:12:04.:12:11.

committee. There wish to cover three areas in this debate today. Adult

:12:12.:12:17.

mental health services strategy child and adolescent servicds and

:12:18.:12:23.

mental health services for veterans. Mental health is an extremely wide

:12:24.:12:27.

field from major mental illness such as psychosis, depression and anxiety

:12:28.:12:34.

disorders to trauma, eating and adjustment disorders. Developmental

:12:35.:12:37.

disorders are also sometimes included within the sphere of mental

:12:38.:12:43.

health such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and H would

:12:44.:12:47.

welcome future debates in these areas as I fear that we do not have

:12:48.:12:52.

time to do these very important area is just as today. It is reported by

:12:53.:12:58.

the British psychological Society that one in four people in the UK

:12:59.:13:03.

will experience a diagnosable mental health problem with mental health

:13:04.:13:07.

accounting for up to 23% of all ill health in the UK and being the

:13:08.:13:13.

largest single cause of dis`bility. In Scotland, figures are currently

:13:14.:13:18.

one in three. Mental disorddrs are strongly related to risk of suicide

:13:19.:13:26.

and it should be known that high levels of substances ardour and

:13:27.:13:29.

physical ill-health are prevalent. I would like to start by stathng that

:13:30.:13:33.

mental health services right across the UK are not the finished article

:13:34.:13:38.

wherever you go. We are continually striving towards improvement and

:13:39.:13:41.

this should always be guided by patient need and by research

:13:42.:13:46.

underpinning most effective clinical practice. In terms of funding of

:13:47.:13:52.

mental health services, when I started practising in the 1890s in

:13:53.:13:57.

Scotland, these very severely lagged behind other areas of NHS ftnding,

:13:58.:14:03.

this resulted in far too few practitioners on what seemed to be

:14:04.:14:07.

never-ending waiting lists for both patients and for clinicians to

:14:08.:14:10.

manage. At the start of my career at this time, patients routinely waited

:14:11.:14:16.

to see psychologists and mental health specialties for 6-12 months

:14:17.:14:20.

and in some areas for over ` year. This was clearly ineffectual, often

:14:21.:14:25.

meaning that problems were exacerbated over time and that

:14:26.:14:31.

mainly a medical model pershsted. This is not what patients w`nt, nor

:14:32.:14:34.

did it fit with best practice, evidence indicates that pathent

:14:35.:14:41.

recovery is improved with access to talking therapies alongside medical

:14:42.:14:45.

management. This is evidencd clearly within national in situ for clinical

:14:46.:14:52.

excellence guidelines. We h`ve seen targets adopted in Scotland and

:14:53.:14:56.

across the UK in 2014, meanhng that patients should be seen frol

:14:57.:15:01.

referral to assessment and 08 weeks. In Scotland in 2014, 81.6% of

:15:02.:15:08.

patients received an 18 weeks and a number of people seem in 2004 was

:15:09.:15:15.

27% higher than the same qu`rter the previous year. Demand is increasing,

:15:16.:15:20.

which is actually a good thhng, it means that we are starting to tackle

:15:21.:15:28.

stigma and that access is ilproving. Matched step care involving

:15:29.:15:31.

psychological therapies and practitioners at differing levels

:15:32.:15:35.

and depending upon clinical effectiveness or therapy type for

:15:36.:15:38.

differing disorders was ruldd out with an all boards with an NHS

:15:39.:15:44.

Scotland and NHS education for Scotland took a primary rold in

:15:45.:15:50.

capacity modelling and training Use of self-guided help has also been

:15:51.:15:54.

developed and technological advances are important in terms of access for

:15:55.:15:59.

patients in this modern world and in relation to early prevention.

:16:00.:16:04.

Suicide rates have been brotght down and the target met of trainhng high

:16:05.:16:06.

levels of front line staff hn suicide prevention and risk

:16:07.:16:11.

identification, quality ambhtions have also been developed as

:16:12.:16:16.

benchmarks unleashing two Pdrson centred safe and effective care

:16:17.:16:22.

However I fear there will continue to be a dramatically increasing

:16:23.:16:28.

demand upon mental health sdrvices. Evidence suggests that recession

:16:29.:16:32.

increases mental health problems, including depression, suicidal

:16:33.:16:37.

behaviours and substance abtse. Unemployed individuals, particularly

:16:38.:16:39.

the long-term unemployed, h`ve a higher risk of poor mental health,

:16:40.:16:44.

compared with those in employment. Stress is now the most common cause

:16:45.:16:49.

of long-term sick leave in the UK and the more debt and indivhdual

:16:50.:16:52.

has, the more likely they are to suffer mental problem. A social and

:16:53.:16:58.

policy climate of austerity affecting the most vulnerable to a

:16:59.:17:01.

greater degree, I would argte, is a likely aggravate of mental

:17:02.:17:08.

ill-health. I welcome pledgds from both the Westminster and Scottish

:17:09.:17:11.

government to increase spending significantly upon mental hdalth.

:17:12.:17:18.

100 million pounds in Scotl`nd, mental health services have not

:17:19.:17:21.

achieved parity with physic`l health services for decades since H started

:17:22.:17:28.

in the field. We need to be clear, much more is needed to fill the gap.

:17:29.:17:35.

I would commend ministers and MPs to go out to mental health services and

:17:36.:17:38.

spend quality time with clinicians on the front line. Manageri`lly

:17:39.:17:43.

produced statistics often include a multitude of issues and it hs only

:17:44.:17:47.

with this front line insight that the true patient journey and daily

:17:48.:17:52.

clinical barriers can be iddntified. These are often excessive p`per

:17:53.:17:58.

Mark, repeated reviews and servers changes that diminish morald. -

:17:59.:18:05.

service changes. I come to lental health issues in childhood. Mental

:18:06.:18:09.

health problems within childhood is an extremely serious problel and can

:18:10.:18:13.

destroy educational potenti`l at West and impeded when probldms are

:18:14.:18:20.

less severe. Difficulties mtst be assessed and recognised at `n early

:18:21.:18:26.

stage. Targets for services were set at 18 weeks as of December 20 1 .

:18:27.:18:32.

NHS Scotland data suggests ` significant reduction from 0200

:18:33.:18:41.

weights of over 26 weeks in 200 . 76.6% of patients were seen in 8

:18:42.:18:48.

weeks in the quarter ending June 2015 and the average weight was nine

:18:49.:18:55.

weeks. There has been a 35% increase in demand in the past 99 ye`rs to

:18:56.:19:00.

work completed on stigma and improving access and 60 million has

:19:01.:19:05.

been invested in the workforce in Scotland since 2009 and is `t its

:19:06.:19:13.

highest ever level. 50 millhon further has been pledged to these

:19:14.:19:17.

services in Scotland to further improve waiting game -- 15 lillion.

:19:18.:19:21.

Widespread staff training h`s been undertaken and modalities stch as

:19:22.:19:26.

cognitive behaviour therapy, family therapy, interpersonal ther`py and

:19:27.:19:30.

specialist interventions such as for eating disorders, with the focus on

:19:31.:19:35.

seeing patients as close as to home as possible. More progress hs

:19:36.:19:40.

required across the UK and hn Scotland to meet our 90% target I

:19:41.:19:48.

must say that inpatient tre`tment for Child and adolescents should be

:19:49.:19:52.

a very last resort. It takes children away from family and that

:19:53.:19:55.

apologises their difficultids. Best children should the scene at home

:19:56.:20:06.

and treated within the natural environment, therefore maxilising

:20:07.:20:11.

key family and peer support. Children who need inpatient

:20:12.:20:17.

services, suffer psychosis, intractable eating disorders, severe

:20:18.:20:24.

obsessive-compulsive disorddr and a variety of neurological conditions

:20:25.:20:26.

and neurodevelopmental disorders. There are currently 48 beds

:20:27.:20:33.

available in Scotland and ?8 million has been pledged to build a unit for

:20:34.:20:39.

child and Assen lessons with mental health problems in Dundee -, child

:20:40.:20:45.

and adolescents. My own cynhcal experience suggests a lack of

:20:46.:20:50.

available beds in forensics child and adolescent mental health

:20:51.:20:55.

services and in learning disability child and adolescent health services

:20:56.:21:00.

and constituents who have contacted me suggested further work h`s to be

:21:01.:21:03.

done in terms of improving `ccess to specialist eating disorders

:21:04.:21:07.

inpatient care, and with thd private sector. -- out with. Increases of

:21:08.:21:15.

children presenting with self harm and receiving brief overnight

:21:16.:21:20.

admission have been high. What I would say, I would say clinhcally

:21:21.:21:27.

this is a difficult decision. Often clinicians are faced with the issue

:21:28.:21:33.

of sending Assen lessons for a brief period of stay -- adolescents. It

:21:34.:21:40.

makes it difficult for carers and parents to visit them or to admit

:21:41.:21:46.

them briefly overnight. Surdly the maximum or optimum level of

:21:47.:21:50.

treatment would be to see and assess and make sure their children are

:21:51.:21:55.

safe and able to go home with the strongest possible package of care

:21:56.:22:02.

as quickly as possible. I'm extremely grateful that she is

:22:03.:22:09.

willing to take an intervention I am greatly value in her contribution

:22:10.:22:13.

as somebody with huge expertise I get the feeling there is a lot of

:22:14.:22:17.

medical expertise to come from behind the paper that she m`y be

:22:18.:22:22.

setting a lot of her speech from. I wonder if she could just explain to

:22:23.:22:27.

us whether she thinks the points made in the hoped-for amendlent were

:22:28.:22:32.

valuable and whether in the absence of that she still supports the

:22:33.:22:37.

motion as it stands and how she would urge honourable members to

:22:38.:22:41.

vote today? I don't support the motion in its reflection to the

:22:42.:22:47.

Scottish government care, as I said, children who have mental he`lth

:22:48.:22:53.

difficulties, clinicians have two make a very sensitive judgmdnt

:22:54.:22:56.

regarding the length of potdntial stakes, whether or not the problems

:22:57.:23:01.

are intractable and issued be seen and admitted to a specialist unit,

:23:02.:23:05.

which can often be some milds from their own home, or in many of the

:23:06.:23:12.

cases we are seeing, it is self harm attempts which require psychiatric

:23:13.:23:16.

assessment monitoring overnhght care and monitoring and home intdnsive

:23:17.:23:25.

care to try to reduce anothdr incidence. I hope that answdrs your

:23:26.:23:27.

question. Recommendations, however, I do feel

:23:28.:23:35.

have to be made in relation to campus services. These incltde a

:23:36.:23:43.

wider appreciation of children's mental health, beyond health itself,

:23:44.:23:50.

providing education and awareness in schools, and having access

:23:51.:23:54.

potentially to mental health clinicians in skill settings, and

:23:55.:23:59.

not just clinics. Just like diet and exercise, so should good mental

:24:00.:24:03.

health be normalised. These are all fundamental living skills that

:24:04.:24:07.

impact upon all aspects of functioning, and deserve a lore

:24:08.:24:12.

health and well-being slant, rather than a pathology dosing labdl. I

:24:13.:24:20.

thank the honourable lady for giving way. Would she agree with md that to

:24:21.:24:30.

have these services in schools is actually invaluable, and normalises

:24:31.:24:33.

the feelings of low self-esteem that many of these young children or

:24:34.:24:39.

young people are experiencing, and actually to have counsellors based

:24:40.:24:44.

in the school is very important for the mental health of these xoung

:24:45.:24:49.

children? Many thanks, and thank you for that intervention. Yes, I think

:24:50.:24:56.

access to mental health within schools, mental health awardness and

:24:57.:25:00.

training, and particularly training for staff in schools, so thdy can

:25:01.:25:04.

pick up at a very early stage if someone is experiencing a mdntal

:25:05.:25:10.

health problem, and then trhed to access services at that verx early

:25:11.:25:13.

stage is something that is definitely merited. So spechalist

:25:14.:25:20.

training for teachers would be a positive step forward, I thhnk, so

:25:21.:25:25.

that they recognise the signs of mental distress in children. I think

:25:26.:25:30.

we also need to modernise otr approaches to mental health for

:25:31.:25:33.

children in adolescence, embrace IT and social media as methods of

:25:34.:25:39.

communicating, because that is the modern world that is often where

:25:40.:25:43.

they communicate from. Therd is a project currently in Scotland called

:25:44.:25:48.

safe spot, which is an applhcation website and school intervention to

:25:49.:25:52.

promote positive coping skills, safety planning and accessed

:25:53.:25:54.

information about mental he`lth services for very young people. The

:25:55.:25:59.

project is going very well `nd the app is freely available on hTunes

:26:00.:26:05.

and android stores. The safd spot website will be used within the

:26:06.:26:09.

greater Glasgow and Clyde hdalth board, and also Dundee health board

:26:10.:26:15.

are also looking at access to this app. It was designed by a clinician,

:26:16.:26:24.

Doctor Fiona Mishal, and I commend her for her innovative work in that

:26:25.:26:31.

regard. There remains a lack of in Pera called data regarding dffective

:26:32.:26:33.

interventions for young people with what I would call mental he`lth

:26:34.:26:39.

coupled with learning disabhlity or substance use. That's certahnly

:26:40.:26:46.

requires to be built upon, looked after and accommodated children are

:26:47.:26:52.

also some of the most severdly disadvantaged, in terms of services

:26:53.:27:01.

and magnitude of difficultids, particularly those who have violence

:27:02.:27:05.

needs or self harm needs. For specialist groups and underpinning

:27:06.:27:11.

research will be crucial. Ghven that the weight of evidence for child and

:27:12.:27:16.

adolescence mental health sdrvices is in favour of psychologic`l rather

:27:17.:27:20.

than pharmacological intervdntions, for the majority of mental health

:27:21.:27:25.

interventions, clear structtres should be in place to support the

:27:26.:27:31.

delivery of psychological therapies for children's and adolescence.

:27:32.:27:35.

Those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds have always tended to

:27:36.:27:40.

have a poorer uptake of the child and adolescent mental health

:27:41.:27:44.

services and I think an assdrtive outreach approach may be beneficial,

:27:45.:27:50.

and required, so that some of our most vulnerable and disadvantaged

:27:51.:27:52.

children and families do not slip through the net. Specialist service

:27:53.:27:59.

delivery in areas of developmental disorder, such as autism, children

:28:00.:28:02.

in the criminal justice system and children with poor mobility,

:28:03.:28:06.

required to be thought throtgh and plan so that these children and

:28:07.:28:10.

their families are able to `ccess services, without feeling that they

:28:11.:28:15.

are passed pillar to post. Ht is extremely difficult for famhlies in

:28:16.:28:18.

particular to access early diagnosis of developmental disorder, such as

:28:19.:28:24.

autistic spectrum disorder, which means their needs can go unlet, and

:28:25.:28:26.

their attainment may therefore diminish. In terms of mental health

:28:27.:28:33.

for veterans, just prior to closing, I continue to believe that this is

:28:34.:28:36.

an area that is underfunded across the UK, and that those who have been

:28:37.:28:41.

willing to lay down their lhves for their country should have consequent

:28:42.:28:45.

health, including mental he`lth needs, fire retires to. I would like

:28:46.:29:00.

to have a further statement with regards to what will be dond,

:29:01.:29:05.

particularly as we are in a new conflict, and the number of those in

:29:06.:29:08.

armed services who witnessed or experienced trauma will increase.

:29:09.:29:12.

What I would play to the hotse as a clinician and mental health

:29:13.:29:16.

dash-macro in mental health is that to me mental health services are

:29:17.:29:23.

beyond party politics. It is crucial that we tackle it meaningfully, in a

:29:24.:29:29.

cross-party manner, that brhngs about real continued progress on the

:29:30.:29:36.

ground, for service users and staff, and that we should share best

:29:37.:29:39.

practice across the UK and what works philosophy. I welcome the

:29:40.:29:45.

announcement there will be hmproved access to data. That is crucial in

:29:46.:29:51.

terms of taking forward and ensuring best practice. I think what I would

:29:52.:29:56.

like to say in concluding is that I sense a real note of colleghate

:29:57.:30:02.

nests across the house and ` will to take this very important issue

:30:03.:30:08.

forward. I look forward to fully partaking in that, and my p`rty

:30:09.:30:11.

certainly wishes to see mental health services continue to improve

:30:12.:30:13.

in Scotland, the UK and beyond. Doctor Liam Fox. Thank you, Madam

:30:14.:30:23.

Deputy Speaker. 1 of the waxs in which we can measure ourselves, in

:30:24.:30:27.

terms of house of lies to a society we are is how well we deal with our

:30:28.:30:31.

most vulnerable citizens, and there are few groups more vulnerable than

:30:32.:30:34.

those who suffer from mental illness. And yet from when H began

:30:35.:30:39.

working in the health service as a doctor back in the early 1980s right

:30:40.:30:44.

through my time as a member of Parliament, mental health sdrvices

:30:45.:30:49.

have been the Cinderella subject in the National Health Service. Let's

:30:50.:30:53.

be very frank, we would nevdr act set the level of care in cardiac

:30:54.:30:58.

disease, orthopaedic diseasd or cancer for our constituents that we

:30:59.:31:01.

are forced to accept, in terms of the treatment for mental illness.

:31:02.:31:07.

There can be few areas wherd our role as members of parliament in

:31:08.:31:10.

advocacy is more important than the issue of mental health, bec`use

:31:11.:31:14.

these are very often the people who are least able and least willing to

:31:15.:31:19.

stand up for themselves in the debate about how the NHS cake is

:31:20.:31:24.

going to be divided out. And we have a role also in dealing with what the

:31:25.:31:28.

Secretary of State and the honourable lady on the front bench

:31:29.:31:30.

for the opposition talked about as the last taboo. We do have to make

:31:31.:31:46.

societal changes, and I would also like to give thanks to thosd who

:31:47.:31:50.

have used the painful personal experiences to give colour to our

:31:51.:31:53.

debate and to take this forward In all the years I have been at the

:31:54.:31:56.

House of Commons, I cannot remember and attendance as high as that today

:31:57.:32:01.

on a mental health debate. H think that is indicative of how f`r we

:32:02.:32:06.

have come. I very much welcome the government's changes, the attitudes

:32:07.:32:11.

that have been fostered in recent years, not least I have to say

:32:12.:32:14.

during the Coalition Governlent figure was one of the great

:32:15.:32:17.

achievements of that Coalithon Government that it put ment`l health

:32:18.:32:21.

budget further up the agend`, and I am particularly pleased of the

:32:22.:32:26.

announcement the Secretary of State had made about transparency on CCG

:32:27.:32:33.

outcomes. That is the cruci`l element. However many rights we give

:32:34.:32:42.

patients, it is the capacitx constraints that will ultim`tely

:32:43.:32:47.

determine what those outcomds are. I want to deal with just two or three

:32:48.:32:52.

of those. The government's dye up the programme is a great programme,

:32:53.:32:59.

and getting great -- getting greater access to talking therapies is

:33:00.:33:03.

extremely important. But I was asked to do a short piece for the Victoria

:33:04.:33:07.

Derbyshire programme on the BBC and we looked at the difference between

:33:08.:33:12.

the best and the worst. In terms of provision of talking theraphes. And

:33:13.:33:16.

it is quite unacceptable in a National Health Service that is

:33:17.:33:19.

funded from a simple -- single service of taxation that in some

:33:20.:33:22.

parts of the country 100% of patients are able to be seen within

:33:23.:33:25.

the government's target timd, and at the other end, only 6% in E`st

:33:26.:33:33.

Cheshire. You can accept solething of a discrepancy between thd best in

:33:34.:33:36.

the worst but you cannot accept that level of discrepancy in a hdalth

:33:37.:33:39.

service that is supposedly founded on an equal basis across our whole

:33:40.:33:45.

country. What was interesting, and the honourable lady who opened the

:33:46.:33:47.

debate and others have made the point, then we have that access to

:33:48.:33:52.

talking therapies, experience suggests that doctors are ldss

:33:53.:33:56.

likely to prescribe medicathon, including antidepressants, `s a

:33:57.:34:02.

consequence. And that is an extremely positive developmdnt,

:34:03.:34:06.

because one of the things that has worried me about the lack of

:34:07.:34:09.

capacity in mental health sdrvices is what I would describe as the

:34:10.:34:13.

medicalisation of unhappiness, where medical profession simply don't have

:34:14.:34:16.

the time the doctor patients about the causes of their symptoms, and

:34:17.:34:20.

they deal with the symptoms themselves, and that is not, in the

:34:21.:34:24.

end, good medical practice. The second area that I am concerned

:34:25.:34:30.

about is that of childhood `nd adolescent medical services.

:34:31.:34:35.

Government after government of both political persuasions have told us

:34:36.:34:39.

that it is going to be improving. I have seen very little sign of it

:34:40.:34:44.

improving, and it matters for this reason: around 70% of adult mental

:34:45.:34:47.

health problems will have presented by the age of 17. You would have

:34:48.:34:52.

thought, knowing that knowlddge we would prioritise our health care

:34:53.:34:55.

early on to try to minimise the damage that would be caused by

:34:56.:35:01.

untreated illness and yet wd are not, still, fulfilling our Judy on

:35:02.:35:07.

that front. But the biggest problem we face is that of impatient

:35:08.:35:16.

capacity. -- in patient. During the closure of the Victorian Society is,

:35:17.:35:19.

I worked in one of those old hospitals that was genuinelx a

:35:20.:35:25.

Dickensian nightmare. There was a great fashion, supported Red Cross

:35:26.:35:28.

this house, the move towards care in the community, but the consdquence

:35:29.:35:32.

of not having adequate capacity in the community meant that a lot of

:35:33.:35:35.

patients simply fell through the net. The point has already been made

:35:36.:35:39.

about the large mental illndss population in our criminal justice

:35:40.:35:45.

population. What we did was to close down one type of inappropri`te

:35:46.:35:48.

institution and end up with patients in aid event type of inappropriate

:35:49.:35:53.

institution and call it progress, and a De Ceglie not good enough and

:35:54.:35:56.

we need to do very much mord to prevent patients who are mentally

:35:57.:36:00.

ill ending up being incarcerated in our criminal justice system when

:36:01.:36:03.

they should be being treated appropriately for their illness And

:36:04.:36:08.

when we see patients being put in police cells because there hs

:36:09.:36:14.

inadequate capacity of in p`tient care, how would we feel if women

:36:15.:36:17.

with breast cancer or diabetic patients were being put in police

:36:18.:36:20.

cells because we could not find beds for them. It would be on thd front

:36:21.:36:25.

page of every newspaper, and leading every news bulletin in our country.

:36:26.:36:30.

I would love to see that money being made available by the Treastry ring

:36:31.:36:36.

fenced in our CCGs. If we do not get ring fencing of that money ht will

:36:37.:36:39.

go elsewhere, for the very reasons I have already set out. And wd need to

:36:40.:36:43.

ensure that that money that is now quite rightly being sent out for

:36:44.:36:48.

mental health treatments actually ends up there, and not being

:36:49.:36:51.

siphoned off into areas where the voice is stronger for that

:36:52.:36:56.

particular spending. I would also love to see us skip more support to

:36:57.:36:59.

the wonderful mental health charities out there, Marjorhe

:37:00.:37:06.

Wallace, Sane and Mind, all of them are hugely important. I want to ask

:37:07.:37:09.

the secretary of state in closing the little one thing, the incipient

:37:10.:37:14.

crisis in suicide amongst mdn in the United Kingdom, a subject that isn't

:37:15.:37:18.

hugely talked about, and thd culture of our society often makes ht very

:37:19.:37:21.

difficult for men to admit that they are unable to deal with the stresses

:37:22.:37:24.

of life, with anxiety and depression. The statistics relating

:37:25.:37:31.

to the worst manifestation of that, suicide, are deeply worrying.

:37:32.:37:34.

British men are three times as likely to die by suicide as British

:37:35.:37:39.

women. Suicide remains the lost common cause of death in men under

:37:40.:37:44.

the age of 35, and over a qtarter of the 24 to 34-year-old males who die

:37:45.:37:50.

take their own lives, compared to 13% amongst women. That is ` huge,

:37:51.:37:54.

Madam Deputy Speaker, national scandal, and we need to givd

:37:55.:37:59.

priority to it. And success or failure in dealing with mental

:38:00.:38:03.

illness in our country in the 2 st century, in the world's fifth

:38:04.:38:07.

richest country, is not just a judgment on the government or the

:38:08.:38:12.

NHS, but our society as a whole and our basic humanity. Ben Bradshaw. I

:38:13.:38:19.

am sorry to have to rise not for the first time in this house in the last

:38:20.:38:24.

few years to say that in sphte of all the warm reassurances from the

:38:25.:38:27.

government's side that our lental health services are getting better,

:38:28.:38:33.

the experience of my constituents, both as users of the servicd, or

:38:34.:38:36.

people who work in the servhce and who manage the service, is

:38:37.:38:40.

completely different. It is extremely welcome that ment`l health

:38:41.:38:43.

has risen up the political `genda in recent years and I pay tribtte to

:38:44.:38:46.

the many people outside this house and inside it to buy speaking of

:38:47.:38:49.

their own experience have hdlped achieve that. But the higher public

:38:50.:38:54.

profile has not yet translated into delivery on the ground. In ly own

:38:55.:38:59.

area, the public are still experiencing service is being cut.

:39:00.:39:03.

They are still having to waht an acceptably long times for t`lking

:39:04.:39:07.

therapy and other treatment. And in spite of the repeated warnings and

:39:08.:39:11.

assurances we have received in previous years about the sc`ndal of

:39:12.:39:16.

people being sent out of thd area, we saw a 23% increase in thd number

:39:17.:39:19.

of patients sent out of the area in the last year, more than 500, and in

:39:20.:39:24.

Devon, one of the worst performing parts of the country, 45 patients

:39:25.:39:28.

were forced miles away from their friends and family.

:39:29.:39:34.

I've recently experienced this in my own family. When the bright and

:39:35.:39:42.

previously happy teenage datghter of a friend had a crisis. How great is

:39:43.:39:49.

rapidly escalated and she ndeded to be admitted. There were no suitable

:39:50.:39:55.

beds at all in London, wherd she and her family live. She was first sent

:39:56.:40:01.

to Southampton, only for thd unit there to be deemed unsuitable and

:40:02.:40:06.

she was then sent to Manchester Thank you for giving way. Does my

:40:07.:40:11.

honourable friend agree that in my area some children and adoldscents

:40:12.:40:16.

are waiting up to two years for outpatient talking therapies? That

:40:17.:40:21.

is appalling and completely unacceptable. Does he also `gree

:40:22.:40:24.

that early intervention is very important in order to hope that

:40:25.:40:28.

these people don't suffer too much in later life? My honourabld friend

:40:29.:40:34.

is absolutely right and as she clearly articulates, the picture on

:40:35.:40:36.

the ground is quite different to the one so often painted by the

:40:37.:40:44.

government. I raised the case in another debate of a 16-year,old girl

:40:45.:40:49.

in Devon who was kept in a police cell for two nights because there

:40:50.:40:52.

was no bed found for her anxwhere in the country. She is not unusual As

:40:53.:40:56.

we've already heard in todax's debate, more than X thousand people

:40:57.:41:02.

with mental illnesses were held in police cells last year. I ghve way.

:41:03.:41:08.

Would the member access that the issue is a national commisshons

:41:09.:41:14.

issue and it is bound for NHS England and not by the CCGs? Many of

:41:15.:41:25.

our young people who have e`ting disorders get to that stage. My

:41:26.:41:28.

honourable friend is absolutely right and I hope she heard ly

:41:29.:41:33.

intervention because I belidve that out of my speech. I was going to

:41:34.:41:38.

raise the ongoing problem of the transition between services for

:41:39.:41:44.

young people and adults and a lot of people are falling through the gap.

:41:45.:41:48.

We've had a lot of talk including from the Government about p`rity of

:41:49.:41:52.

esteem but there is scant evidence of this happening on the ground at

:41:53.:41:58.

local level. I would like to ask the Minister if when he responds he

:41:59.:42:02.

could explain why if the government is serious about parity of dsteem,

:42:03.:42:09.

white the government has reloved parity of esteem from this xear s

:42:10.:42:14.

NHS mandate, which basicallx tells local health services what they have

:42:15.:42:19.

to deliver. Why has that bedn removed? Why too is the govdrnment

:42:20.:42:24.

cutting so drastically publhc health, which delivers so m`ny of

:42:25.:42:28.

the presenters if -- preventative services like alcohol and drugs

:42:29.:42:31.

treatment and psychological support for young people in schools that

:42:32.:42:35.

prevent people getting ill hn the first place, saving money and lives?

:42:36.:42:40.

We've also heard from previous speakers, after years of falling,

:42:41.:42:44.

male suicide is now on the hncrease again and reside among young males

:42:45.:42:48.

is the main cause of avoidable death for young males. I give way. I thank

:42:49.:42:56.

my honourable friend forgivhng way. Would my honourable friend like to

:42:57.:43:00.

attend a meeting of the all,party suicide prevention group and the

:43:01.:43:06.

all-party mental health grotp? Doctor Robert Colgate is coling to

:43:07.:43:13.

address triage, so that people, social workers, GPs, who have a

:43:14.:43:17.

patient who they cannot get an appointment for immediately can be

:43:18.:43:22.

triaged and appropriate plans put in place while they wait for the next

:43:23.:43:27.

stage of treatment? It is on the 29th of January. I'm sure honourable

:43:28.:43:34.

members will be very grateftl for that invitation despite the pressure

:43:35.:43:37.

on their diaries from numerous party groups in this house. Yesterday we

:43:38.:43:46.

were told that the vast majority of Acute Hospital trusts are expecting

:43:47.:43:50.

to run deficits this year, ` big increase on last year, the figure

:43:51.:43:53.

for mental health trusts is much lower. You might think that was a

:43:54.:43:56.

good thing until you realisd that the reason acute trusts are running

:43:57.:44:01.

such a deficits is because they are giving priority to ensuring safe

:44:02.:44:06.

care. If far fewer mental hdalth trusts are running deficits, Madam

:44:07.:44:09.

Deputy Speaker, is this bec`use they are simply cutting services rest at

:44:10.:44:14.

I would be grateful if the Linister can give his view on that dhfference

:44:15.:44:18.

between the level of deficits run by mental health trusts and general

:44:19.:44:24.

Acute Hospital trusts. Madal Deputy Speaker, I shall be brief and close

:44:25.:44:26.

now because there are many people who want to speak in this ddbate. I

:44:27.:44:32.

think there are not many of us whose family has not been affected by

:44:33.:44:37.

mental illness. People have been hearing warm words from the

:44:38.:44:40.

government now for several xears about how things will, or indeed

:44:41.:44:45.

today we have heard are improving. That is not the Syrians are people

:44:46.:44:48.

on the ground. I hope when the Minister responds he will focus on

:44:49.:44:51.

the action and the delivery and not just the words. The house whll be

:44:52.:44:57.

aware that a great many people wish to speak, so I will now havd to

:44:58.:45:01.

impose a time limit of five minutes. Robin Walker. Thank you Mad`m Deputy

:45:02.:45:08.

Speaker, it is a pleasure to follow the Right Honourable gentlelan. I

:45:09.:45:12.

want to raise some concerns of my constituents. I welcome the extra

:45:13.:45:15.

funding of ?2 billion that the government has put in to addressing

:45:16.:45:20.

mental health and the fact that we have put parity of esteem into law.

:45:21.:45:25.

I thought my right honourable friend for North Somerset made a vdry

:45:26.:45:28.

important case about patient capacity and one aspect frol was

:45:29.:45:31.

this year that I would welcome is some of the improvements we have

:45:32.:45:37.

seen in the ward in the hospital in that respect, but it is cle`r there

:45:38.:45:40.

is a need for more investment in that respect. It is also essential

:45:41.:45:45.

that we take on the remaining aspect of stigma around mental health and I

:45:46.:45:52.

echo the support of those who have spoken out on this issue. The

:45:53.:46:02.

Gloucestershire hospital trtst, I commend their collective effort in

:46:03.:46:06.

this regard. I want to commdnd the passion with which my young

:46:07.:46:14.

constituent Darian Murray h`s given on this issue. Does my honotrable

:46:15.:46:19.

friend agree that young people are more able to treat about thd issue

:46:20.:46:24.

of mental health than the older generations? I do agree with my

:46:25.:46:29.

honourable friend and I thank her for her intervention. I think it is

:46:30.:46:32.

impressive how young people have spoken out about these issuds and I

:46:33.:46:36.

think in many areas they ard showing us the way in terms of taking on

:46:37.:46:44.

this stigma. I take an the good work done in Worcestershire on this.

:46:45.:46:50.

Attitudes towards mental he`lth have changed for the better in rdcent

:46:51.:46:54.

years and I hope that in thd years to come we can see further progress.

:46:55.:46:58.

I welcome the fact that my honourable friend. And on, the

:46:59.:47:02.

Minister for disabilities, `s held a jobs fair to help people with

:47:03.:47:10.

disabilities find work and ht is something I will be looking to do as

:47:11.:47:23.

well. I have some concerns `bout was the sheer, we have a series of three

:47:24.:47:27.

centres which provide therapy to support people who might otherwise

:47:28.:47:30.

have difficulty in getting back into work. One of these is... Yet another

:47:31.:47:40.

in my honourable friend for Redditch's constituency at Orchard

:47:41.:47:44.

Place. Earlier this year thd trust launched a consultation on the

:47:45.:47:47.

future of the services, sayhng their budget was being reduced by a third

:47:48.:47:50.

and implying they were reducing from three centres to two. Many contacted

:47:51.:47:59.

me with strong support of these services and gave examples of how

:48:00.:48:02.

these services have helped them turn their lives around. It becale

:48:03.:48:05.

apparent that the trust thelselves running these centres what not

:48:06.:48:11.

necessarily the best use of resource. I know my honourable

:48:12.:48:15.

friend for West was that shd has been working with our fun stpporters

:48:16.:48:21.

of the very ability to this at Link Nurseries to see if this cotld be

:48:22.:48:25.

taken over as a social enterprise and continue to offer its sdrvices

:48:26.:48:29.

beyond the trust itself and this is something I would support. H am

:48:30.:48:34.

pleased to see in an update from the trust today that this is under

:48:35.:48:37.

active consideration but it is a matter of great concern that the

:48:38.:48:42.

initial consultation suggested a move from three centres to two. The

:48:43.:48:46.

latest thinking from the trtst appears to be along the linds of

:48:47.:48:51.

closing three centres and rdplacing them with one as a hub. We `ll

:48:52.:48:57.

recognise the benefit of more outreach. I have to question the

:48:58.:49:01.

benefits of consultation whhch seems to be cutting back on an important

:49:02.:49:09.

service. I urge ministers to look into this matter and see if there is

:49:10.:49:12.

anything they can do to encourage the commissioners to have another

:49:13.:49:17.

look. In addition to my concerns about vocational centres, there is

:49:18.:49:20.

one aspect of mental health provision in Worcestershire which

:49:21.:49:23.

causes me concern, which is the port for A -- support. At the end of

:49:24.:49:34.

that pilot, both trusts askdd for it to continue and calls for pdople to

:49:35.:49:39.

be given access to support `vailable 24 hours a day, full crisis point

:49:40.:49:44.

and emergency access to mental health care, it is welcome but since

:49:45.:49:50.

that the number of people n`tionally going through mental health crises

:49:51.:49:54.

held in police cells has halved but in South was to sheer commissioners

:49:55.:50:00.

decided that the 24-hour cover would be withdrawn and replaced bx a

:50:01.:50:04.

specialist nurse during the daytime and access to telephone support

:50:05.:50:08.

overnight. I know the Minister has replied carefully to me on ` written

:50:09.:50:12.

question in this regard. I thank my honourable friend for giving way.

:50:13.:50:17.

Does he agree with me that ht's incredible important for hospitals

:50:18.:50:23.

to have comprehensive psychhatric liaison so that when people go into

:50:24.:50:27.

A there is a specialist to help them get the right help? I

:50:28.:50:33.

wholeheartedly agree. The ilportance of specialist care in these

:50:34.:50:36.

situations is absolutely vital. I would ask the minister following his

:50:37.:50:41.

reply to my question in Julx to consider whether the statemdnt he

:50:42.:50:45.

made that the government's landate to NHS England suggest that the

:50:46.:50:55.

response must be as quality as other health centres means that hd has the

:50:56.:51:03.

quality to mandate through practitioners rather than tdlephone

:51:04.:51:12.

support. I would urge ministers to draw their act attention to the case

:51:13.:51:17.

of a constituent who as a rdsult of the absence of this support early in

:51:18.:51:22.

2014 went through an acute dpisode having left A without recdiving

:51:23.:51:30.

the care that she needed. Any savings made from the commission to

:51:31.:51:38.

give overnight cover would be a case of being penny wise and pound

:51:39.:51:42.

foolish. Sometimes not investing in mental health can be a falsd

:51:43.:51:46.

economy. Overall however I welcome the additional investment going on

:51:47.:51:49.

and the investment I have sden my own constituency of Worcestdr.

:51:50.:51:54.

Thank you for calling me in. I'm very pleased to be able to follow

:51:55.:52:00.

the honourable member forward stuff. I'm very grateful that this debate

:52:01.:52:03.

is taking place, it's an issue that is deeply close to my heart. It s

:52:04.:52:08.

vital that we ensure everyone has access to the best services when it

:52:09.:52:13.

comes to mental health. As the Secretary of State pointed out, one

:52:14.:52:16.

in four of us over the next year will face some form of ment`l

:52:17.:52:21.

illness. Figures from the mdntal health charity Mind suggest that 75%

:52:22.:52:24.

of those with anxiety or depression yet know treatment at all. Ht's

:52:25.:52:31.

vital that we start taking lental health more seriously starthng with

:52:32.:52:36.

adequate funding and giving mental health the parity it deservds with

:52:37.:52:42.

physical health. I wholeheartedly support a protected NHS budget. The

:52:43.:52:45.

most effective treatment of NHS treatment however is being `t a

:52:46.:52:51.

local level in communities. A protected budget means little when

:52:52.:52:54.

funding to mental health services at a local level is being slashed.

:52:55.:53:00.

Those in need reach first to their local services, but the scale of the

:53:01.:53:05.

cuts we are seeing particul`rly at local councils is having a direct

:53:06.:53:09.

and detrimental effect on sdrvices that are crucial to helping many

:53:10.:53:12.

deal with their mental health problems. The Royal Joss

:53:13.:53:18.

psychiatrists state that a key part of mental health services is good

:53:19.:53:23.

public health funding, yet currently only 1% public health spendhng is

:53:24.:53:28.

focused mental health. This will only be further compounded by the

:53:29.:53:33.

fact that the money for public health given to councils will fall

:53:34.:53:39.

by 3.9% year on year, which will be 18% by the end of this Parlhament.

:53:40.:53:44.

If we are committed to ensuring parity of esteem between mental and

:53:45.:53:47.

physical health then this is simply not good enough. My honourable

:53:48.:53:56.

friend might be aware that the suicide prevention group did a

:53:57.:53:59.

survey of local authorities to see how many had suicide prevention will

:54:00.:54:05.

plans and suicide action groups in place. A large proportion dhd not

:54:06.:54:10.

have any action plan or any groups working on suicide prevention. Isn't

:54:11.:54:13.

that something that the govdrnment must address if we are to move

:54:14.:54:20.

forward? I think that's a rdally important intervention, acttally,

:54:21.:54:23.

and something I have been aware of and something that governments

:54:24.:54:27.

should impress on local are`s to ensure it does take place and

:54:28.:54:30.

suicide is something that I want to come onto now in actual fact. I have

:54:31.:54:35.

to pay tribute to the right on a member for North Somerset who is now

:54:36.:54:42.

in his place, who made an excellent speech not least talking about

:54:43.:54:45.

suicide. It is important in Rochdale, we have seen suichde rates

:54:46.:54:50.

continue to remain above thd national average in our town, at

:54:51.:54:55.

11.8 per 100,000 per year which compares to 8.9 for England as a

:54:56.:55:08.

whole. The male suicide ratd is 18.6 per 100,000, which also dwarfs the

:55:09.:55:16.

14.1 for England as a whole. In 2010 it was 14.7 in Rochdale and 14. in

:55:17.:55:22.

England. Put simply, more pdople are killing themselves in Rochd`le. And

:55:23.:55:27.

in Rochdale, our council like many others up and down the country are

:55:28.:55:34.

faced with cuts to its budgdt. The result in Rochdale has been that it

:55:35.:55:37.

is considering removing funding to the sum of just ?20,000 for the

:55:38.:55:43.

award-winning Growth Project. This project works to support those with

:55:44.:55:50.

mental health issues at a ntmber of allotments, providing a safd haven.

:55:51.:55:56.

It promotes good mental and physical health throughout the activhty,

:55:57.:56:05.

where participants can quitd literally see the fruits of their

:56:06.:56:12.

labour. To date, the project has had 88 beneficiaries. This projdct

:56:13.:56:16.

embodies the essence of of `nd physical health. Although this

:56:17.:56:23.

project is a voluntary organisation, fighting mental health issuds must

:56:24.:56:28.

not be seen as an act of ch`rity. It is about justice and necesshty. Let

:56:29.:56:39.

me finish by saying if we are truly to achieve parity, it is ex`ctly

:56:40.:56:46.

like projects like Growth Project that need funding and not bding cut

:56:47.:56:54.

to the pressure on council budgets. Thank you for calling you so early

:56:55.:56:57.

on in this very important ddbate. It is a pleasure to be able to follow

:56:58.:57:01.

the honourable member for Rochdale and his thoughtful speech. The issue

:57:02.:57:07.

of mental health such an important and one which cannot and should not

:57:08.:57:10.

be swept under the carpet any longer. I would like to pay the

:57:11.:57:14.

tequila tribute to the Right Honourable member for North Norfolk

:57:15.:57:18.

for his work over the last parliament. He has definitely left a

:57:19.:57:23.

legacy. The issue of mental health and how people talk about it is in a

:57:24.:57:29.

way how we spoke about cancdr if you years ago. People didn't talk about

:57:30.:57:32.

cancer because people hoped it would go away. In a similar way, people

:57:33.:57:36.

haven't been talking about lental health, hoping it would go `way but

:57:37.:57:41.

it hasn't done. Mental health sadly is not going away and the sooner

:57:42.:57:48.

that is recognised, the better. By putting mental health on a level

:57:49.:57:50.

playing field with physical health, people are now talking about it The

:57:51.:57:59.

issue of mental health has been recognised by an important group of

:58:00.:58:04.

young people. For the loss of years, girl guiding has carried out a girl

:58:05.:58:08.

's attitude survey, which c`mpuses the opinion of over 1500 girls and

:58:09.:58:12.

young women between the ages of seven and 21. As year-on-ye`r

:58:13.:58:17.

surveys can be compared, it is interesting to note that five years

:58:18.:58:21.

ago the area of most concern to those survey that was alcohol and

:58:22.:58:27.

drug abuse. In the 2015 survey published early October, for today's

:58:28.:58:31.

cohort of young girls and women that has now changed to mental hdalth. I

:58:32.:58:35.

would like to stress that those surveys were not restricted just to

:58:36.:58:39.

girl guides but to a wide atdience across the whole of the country and

:58:40.:58:48.

all young ladies and girls. It needs to be taken seriously. What was

:58:49.:58:55.

concerning, the survey showdd there was a mismatch between what concerns

:58:56.:59:01.

the young people and what p`rents think concerns young people. The

:59:02.:59:04.

girls taking the survey thotght that their parents and what they saw as

:59:05.:59:13.

traditional risks, drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and young

:59:14.:59:16.

pregnancy, whereas their concerns were mental health and cyber

:59:17.:59:20.

bullying. Further information coming out of that survey in the -,

:59:21.:59:29.

indicated that fewer than h`lf of young girls survey to talk `bout

:59:30.:59:32.

mental health at school, despite them saying this is where they would

:59:33.:59:36.

most like to get information about mental health. In my short time as

:59:37.:59:40.

member of Parliament I have had a number of cases relating to young

:59:41.:59:45.

people, and this problem is not going away. Talking to at mx local

:59:46.:59:49.

schools, they have also highlighted the problem of mental health

:59:50.:59:54.

starting at a very young agd. This is why in the New Year I am planning

:59:55.:00:00.

to convene a roundtable meeting with headteachers, the police, CCG,

:00:01.:00:01.

charities and other interested parties. I want to find out what

:00:02.:00:06.

more can be done locally and what more should be done to prevdnt

:00:07.:00:11.

mental health issues arriving and also any grassroots solutions to the

:00:12.:00:17.

existing problems. As consthtuency MPs, we have our role to pl`y.

:00:18.:00:21.

People turn to us for help on a daily basis, often as a last resort.

:00:22.:00:28.

The issues vary. With some dasier to resolve than others, but thdy can

:00:29.:00:31.

all cause a great deal of stress and pressure which in turn mount up and

:00:32.:00:36.

can be for want of a better phrase the straw that breaks the c`mel s

:00:37.:00:40.

back. We may not have all of the answers all be able to secure the

:00:41.:00:44.

right outcome for every constituent but we are often the only pdople

:00:45.:00:47.

fighting their corner, and we should do everything in our power to avoid

:00:48.:00:52.

the situation deteriorate into such an extent that it could havd a

:00:53.:00:58.

significant impact on consthtuents's mental health. I would like to pay

:00:59.:01:02.

tribute to all of our casework staff who go above and beyond for local

:01:03.:01:06.

residents on our behalf, often with little recognition for their

:01:07.:01:18.

efforts. It is crossing so lany boundaries, education,

:01:19.:01:20.

employability, family life, the list goes on. Today's debate yet again

:01:21.:01:26.

has served to keep mental hdalth high on the political agend`, but

:01:27.:01:33.

words must continue to take action, and I commend the government on work

:01:34.:01:36.

they are doing to ensure th`t we do have that action. Can I just say

:01:37.:01:44.

that I welcome today's debate. We are doing a very simple think are

:01:45.:01:50.

talking about mental health in this chamber. But the Secretary of State

:01:51.:01:56.

and my honourable friend sahd change in attitude and things are changing,

:01:57.:02:00.

I would agree, totally, things are changing for the better, not just in

:02:01.:02:04.

this place, but also in the media, in society. Sadly in my own party

:02:05.:02:08.

there are some parts that still need to go a little bit further hn

:02:09.:02:13.

understanding mental health. But we are making great strides, and they

:02:14.:02:16.

should be recognised. That hs down to the great work that has been done

:02:17.:02:20.

by rethink and time to change and other charities, who have to say are

:02:21.:02:26.

not individuals working for those organisations but the thous`nds of

:02:27.:02:33.

volunteers behind them. It hs only to give him the due credit that he

:02:34.:02:39.

deserves for his place of actually talking about mental health. I thank

:02:40.:02:44.

you for that, my civil thing was that we need to talk more about it

:02:45.:02:47.

because that will change attitudes. The next thing we need to do is

:02:48.:02:54.

hard-wire mental health and well-being into public policy and

:02:55.:02:59.

Society. People might say why is that important? It is important

:03:00.:03:02.

because it is the right thing to do, but also because even in thdse times

:03:03.:03:08.

of austerity it makes econolic common sense. It saves not only

:03:09.:03:15.

lives but also saves money `s well. What we need is a system whdre every

:03:16.:03:19.

single government policy, doesn t matter what department it is in is

:03:20.:03:25.

road-tested against mental health and mental well-being. The Secretary

:03:26.:03:27.

of State accused my honourable friend of being political mdss. I am

:03:28.:03:31.

sorry, the government cannot escape some of the things it is dohng in

:03:32.:03:35.

terms of mental health. It hs our job to not only question thd

:03:36.:03:40.

statements they make, but actually look at the facts. The Chancellor

:03:41.:03:48.

quite rightly and very welcome early announced ?600 million monex for

:03:49.:03:51.

talking therapies but that hs against nearly an eight and a half

:03:52.:03:55.

percent cut in the last Parliament. That will do nothing to replace the

:03:56.:03:59.

beds that will be lost insecure psychiatric wards, where we have

:04:00.:04:03.

people, I know the honourable member from North Norfolk has raisdd this,

:04:04.:04:10.

to remove ridiculous lengths around the country to get access to those

:04:11.:04:15.

beds. What is the real causd of that? A shortage of beds? Yds, but

:04:16.:04:21.

one of the root causes in London is the shortage of available housing.

:04:22.:04:24.

Housing policy is having eight direct result on that. The back to

:04:25.:04:29.

work interviews and the work capability tests have already been

:04:30.:04:32.

mentioned. I have raised thhs on numerous occasions, but I al sorry,

:04:33.:04:39.

they are not listening, the DWP people are still being put through

:04:40.:04:43.

this torturous process which is neither good for the taxpaydr or

:04:44.:04:47.

these individuals. We have `n announcement in the budget of 5 %

:04:48.:04:52.

cuts in the local government, I would because I have very lhmited

:04:53.:04:56.

time, in the local government budget, that will have a direct

:04:57.:05:06.

effect. We have at the moment, on that basis, County Durham whll lose

:05:07.:05:12.

?20 million a year. All of those policies that have been takdn, that

:05:13.:05:17.

people will say not only have an impact on mental health but on the

:05:18.:05:20.

services we deliver, we need to hot-wire mental health and

:05:21.:05:24.

well-being into those areas, whether it be in schools, society, `nd the

:05:25.:05:32.

criminal justice system. In terms of the issues facing people with mental

:05:33.:05:35.

illness, I know personally some very dark places but one of the lost

:05:36.:05:39.

tragic and darkest places are those people that commit suicide. In those

:05:40.:05:46.

individuals, it is not just the life cut short, the opportunity hs

:05:47.:05:49.

missed, in terms of the fulfilment they could give not only in society

:05:50.:05:52.

but their families, but thehr families are left bereft, and in a

:05:53.:06:01.

very emotional state. In thhs country, there are three tiles more

:06:02.:06:04.

people committing suicide all year than there are killed on thd roads.

:06:05.:06:09.

We had a great campaign and pressured in terms of road safety

:06:10.:06:14.

and other issues which addrdss that. We need the same campaigning zeal to

:06:15.:06:19.

attack the suicide rates in this country as we did for the road

:06:20.:06:24.

campaigns. Unfortunately for my own region, the north-east, has a very

:06:25.:06:28.

unenviable record, we are the highest region in the country with

:06:29.:06:33.

13.8% per 100,000 individual is taking their own lives. People

:06:34.:06:41.

contracting gloss over it as much as they like but economic situ`tions

:06:42.:06:46.

affect people's lives, in tdrms of the way things are. We also have to

:06:47.:06:49.

address that some tips on those figures are actually men. It is a

:06:50.:06:54.

root cause that we are terrhble as individual men of talking about

:06:55.:06:59.

mental health. So yes, progress is being made, Madam Deputy Spdaker,

:07:00.:07:06.

but we do need to, as I say, have mental health and mental well-being

:07:07.:07:08.

running through all governmdnt policies before they are put

:07:09.:07:12.

forward. So I welcome today, as I said, because it is another

:07:13.:07:15.

opportunity to raise mental health on the floor of the house, `nd talk

:07:16.:07:19.

about mental health, which has got to be a good thing, but I h`ve to

:07:20.:07:24.

say now is the time to change those words into action. We have less than

:07:25.:07:29.

an hour for backbench contrhbutions in this debate so I will have to

:07:30.:07:33.

reduce the time limit to three minutes. Which makes life a little

:07:34.:07:39.

difficult for Mr Julian stood in. Apologies. If I may, I will focus my

:07:40.:07:48.

brief contribution on the issue of mental health services in York and

:07:49.:07:52.

my constituency. The ministdr is aware that with Park hospit`l, a

:07:53.:07:58.

mental health care facility in York, closed on 30th September thhs year,

:07:59.:08:04.

and the sick UC declared thd 18th-century grade one building

:08:05.:08:07.

unfit for purpose. The fact they stated patients were at significant

:08:08.:08:12.

harm at the hospital, the f`cility had been part of the Leeds `nd York

:08:13.:08:18.

NHS Trust and concerns had been raised since 2013 when the sea QC

:08:19.:08:23.

inspection declared that thd hospital did not meet the rdquired

:08:24.:08:26.

safety standards. While the improvements were made, at ` cost of

:08:27.:08:34.

1.7 million, the sea QC vishted again and expressed continudd

:08:35.:08:37.

concerns about the safety on some of the wards. As a consequence,

:08:38.:08:42.

significant improvements were called in January and money was made

:08:43.:08:45.

available. However when the inspectors returned nine months

:08:46.:08:49.

later in September, none had been delivered. No one denies thdre are

:08:50.:08:56.

problems with the facility due to its structure and age, and H visited

:08:57.:09:01.

the hospital and saw for myself the problems raised by the seat you see,

:09:02.:09:07.

but the trust had nine months to rectify those well-known and

:09:08.:09:11.

documented problems yet did absolutely nothing, which ldd to

:09:12.:09:14.

this important facility being closed, with staff and patidnts just

:09:15.:09:22.

given five days's notice, something that is unprecedented, and which

:09:23.:09:26.

caused an immense amount of stress and anxiety for patients and

:09:27.:09:29.

families and the hard-working staff. Things were further complic`ted when

:09:30.:09:35.

the Vale of York CCG chose to transfer your's health servhces from

:09:36.:09:39.

Leeds to this was due to allegations that a

:09:40.:09:50.

disproportionate amount of funding was being allocated to Leeds and

:09:51.:09:54.

York, missing out, and basically leaving York missing out. W`s this

:09:55.:10:01.

due to leads being prioritised over your? Leeds and the York NHS Trust

:10:02.:10:04.

has many questions to answer and I would like to know who will be

:10:05.:10:08.

bringing them to account ovdr the situation that never should have

:10:09.:10:12.

arisen? There were enough opportunities to solve this

:10:13.:10:15.

opposition is back with this problem. The trust had enough

:10:16.:10:20.

warning, despite these requhred actions that were not taken. Madam

:10:21.:10:24.

Deputy Speaker, in closing `t this very brief time, ultimately I just

:10:25.:10:29.

want to say that the long-tdrm, in the long-term we very much hope see

:10:30.:10:35.

a new purpose-built facilitx in York and from my meeting with thd

:10:36.:10:38.

ministers I know he feels the same way and I am confident he c`n

:10:39.:10:41.

deliver that but I want to hear that from him today and also we have to

:10:42.:10:47.

deliver parity of esteem across-the-board but I don't believe

:10:48.:10:49.

that York are getting that `t the moment. Norman Lamb. Thank xou Madam

:10:50.:10:56.

Deputy Speaker. I wanted to say right at the outset that I strongly

:10:57.:11:00.

support this motion, and I `ctually hope that the whole house c`n unite

:11:01.:11:05.

behind it, because I think ht is incredibly potent, although there

:11:06.:11:08.

may be aspects of the motion people may disagree with, it is William

:11:09.:11:12.

Port and that we send out a united message that we are all agrded on

:11:13.:11:15.

the imperative of achieving equality for mental health. It seems to me it

:11:16.:11:22.

is self evident that we still have a long way to go and that we should be

:11:23.:11:26.

impatient for change. The sdntiment in the motion were actually at the

:11:27.:11:31.

heart of the cross-party calpaign that I launched, together whth

:11:32.:11:33.

Alister Campbell, and the Rhght Honourable member for Sutton

:11:34.:11:39.

Coldfield, and together we got over 200 leaders from across sochety to

:11:40.:11:44.

come together to make the c`se, the United case, for equality for mental

:11:45.:11:46.

health and for extra investlent And why is it that so many people,

:11:47.:11:56.

leaders, agreed to join that cause? I think it's because we've now

:11:57.:11:59.

reached the point where there is a growing recognition that we have to

:12:00.:12:06.

end what is an absolute historic injustice and we have to ensure

:12:07.:12:10.

equal access to treatment. H give way. Would the right on the

:12:11.:12:17.

gentleman also agree that those leaders now need to translate that

:12:18.:12:22.

action into actions in terms of policy, whether it be nationally but

:12:23.:12:28.

also at local level? I totally agree. We have to set the framework

:12:29.:12:32.

and get the funding in placd but we have to deliver it on a loc`l basis.

:12:33.:12:37.

The point I was going to make was, how can anyone in this chamber

:12:38.:12:41.

possibly justify that if yot have suspected cancer you have the right

:12:42.:12:46.

to a referral with a specialist within two weeks with your GP? If

:12:47.:12:51.

you are a youngster with an eating disorder, you have no such right.

:12:52.:12:55.

And yet we know that the condition can kill. That is a scandal and an

:12:56.:13:00.

outrage and it has to changd. There has to be equality of access. When

:13:01.:13:06.

you do get access too off and I m afraid it's a lottery. As wd

:13:07.:13:09.

discussed in the debate last week we have a continuing scandal of people,

:13:10.:13:15.

as the honourable member for North Durham indicated earlier, pdople

:13:16.:13:18.

being shunted around the cotntry in search of a bed. This would never

:13:19.:13:22.

ever happen if someone was suffering from a stroke or a heart condition.

:13:23.:13:29.

It is a complete scandal and an inaccessible access to treatment. I

:13:30.:13:35.

accept what you're saying btt one of the problems is that you have got

:13:36.:13:39.

people in beds for far too long One of the crisis point in London is

:13:40.:13:46.

access for adequate housing. I was so pleased for the honourable member

:13:47.:13:50.

making that point in his spdech It's not the answer to just have

:13:51.:13:54.

more beds. Actually we should be reducing the length of stay is

:13:55.:13:59.

actually not therapeutic for the individual, often. I can't give way,

:14:00.:14:04.

I'm afraid, I've got very lhmited time. At the heart of this

:14:05.:14:08.

inequality is the stigma th`t is still attached to mental he`lth

:14:09.:14:12.

We've made real progress in combating that but we have ` way to

:14:13.:14:17.

go. My message to the Government is that the inequality of access is

:14:18.:14:21.

morally wrong and we can't begin to justify one person not getthng

:14:22.:14:25.

access in the way that somebody else does in our publicly funded NHS

:14:26.:14:31.

It's a scandal. I was pleasdd the Secretary of State acknowledged that

:14:32.:14:33.

but they now have to deliver that equality of access and we now have

:14:34.:14:38.

to deliver the vision that he and I set out last October by 2020. It is

:14:39.:14:43.

morally wrong but also economically stupid, as many other members have

:14:44.:14:50.

mentioned. We reckon at the Centre for mental health that we spend

:14:51.:14:54.

about ?130 billion a year on the failures of and the neglect of

:14:55.:14:57.

mental ill health, though to continue to neglect it is stupid and

:14:58.:15:05.

it is completely counter-productive. If you make the investment tpfront,

:15:06.:15:08.

you will achieve savings further down the track. I welcome the ? 00

:15:09.:15:14.

million that the Chancellor indicated would be made avahlable to

:15:15.:15:17.

mental health in this Parli`ment in the spending review. That is real

:15:18.:15:24.

progress. But it's not enough. We have to keep arguing the case for

:15:25.:15:29.

genuine equality. We need, hn a sense, to do two things. We need to

:15:30.:15:33.

spend the money differently. Many other honourable members have made

:15:34.:15:36.

the point that we need to shift resources away from sort of

:15:37.:15:39.

containing people often in long state, secure settings, to darly

:15:40.:15:44.

intervention and recovery and to ensuring that there is propdr crisis

:15:45.:15:47.

support in the community to stop those admissions to hospital which

:15:48.:15:52.

are so damaging to someone's well-being. There also needs to be

:15:53.:15:56.

upfront investment to fund ` programme for comprehensive maximum

:15:57.:16:01.

waiting time standards incltding four children and young people, so

:16:02.:16:05.

that there is a complete eqtilibria, equal rights of access for

:16:06.:16:09.

treatment. We published that vision last year and I the Secretary of

:16:10.:16:13.

State will deliver it. If wd give up and don't deliver this, if we give

:16:14.:16:18.

up on the rights of equal access, to end the discrimination at the heart

:16:19.:16:22.

of our NHS, if we don't envx historic injustice, we will let down

:16:23.:16:26.

countless families across the country. It would be an uttdr

:16:27.:16:27.

disgrace to do so. Thank you, Madam Deputy Spe`ker I

:16:28.:16:37.

thank the honourable lady for bringing this debate today. I truly

:16:38.:16:41.

believe that mental health hs the social challenge of our gendration.

:16:42.:16:46.

Two aside is now the biggest killer in Britain of young men unddr 5 .

:16:47.:16:50.

Today in our country there will be 17 of our fellow men and wolen who

:16:51.:16:55.

take their lives. This year that's far has seen the greatest ntmber of

:16:56.:16:59.

male suicides ever. Suicide kills more young people than any physical

:17:00.:17:02.

illness and in Plymouth at the moment I'm trying to visit dvery

:17:03.:17:05.

school in my constituency bdfore the end of the academic year and

:17:06.:17:10.

teachers have been genuinelx struck by the dramatic increase in mental

:17:11.:17:14.

health issues in young people since even I left school 15 years ago

:17:15.:17:19.

There is also the classic issues about underreporting of mental

:17:20.:17:22.

health conditions for fear of the stigma that surrounds the whole

:17:23.:17:25.

issue, so these if anything may be worse. I believe how we deal with

:17:26.:17:33.

this challenge will define our future in communities such `s mine

:17:34.:17:38.

in Plymouth. I think our approach to mental health is that important and

:17:39.:17:40.

I'm determined to win this battle for those in Plymouth who do not

:17:41.:17:43.

have the strength to fight for it themselves. It requires a gdnuine

:17:44.:17:49.

shift in our attitudes, that most difficult of challenges, to achieve

:17:50.:17:56.

the change we want in mental health. Interventions in mental health can

:17:57.:18:01.

produce the most brilliant results. Whether it is the inspirational

:18:02.:18:05.

staff at the Marine Academy in Plymouth who make talking about

:18:06.:18:08.

mental health part of the school day or whether it is people at train

:18:09.:18:18.

stations who look out for pdople who may throw themselves onto an

:18:19.:18:26.

oncoming train. Whether it hs trying to totally be stigmatised t`lking

:18:27.:18:28.

about post-traumatic stress and other prevalent mental health

:18:29.:18:33.

conditions in young men. Whdther it is any of these examples, e`rly

:18:34.:18:37.

intervention talking about lental health can have dramatic effects.

:18:38.:18:42.

Even this is not enough on hts own. Mr Speaker, the real intervdntions

:18:43.:18:45.

of work are early interventhons Last week I started and invdctive

:18:46.:18:53.

mental health group to find a way of producing a similar mental health

:18:54.:18:57.

strategy to that of Trieste in Italy. We want a 20 47 ment`l health

:18:58.:19:06.

capability in Plymouth to m`tch our capability of dealing with physical

:19:07.:19:14.

health. He is making a brilliant speech. Does he agree that spending

:19:15.:19:19.

should actually reflect comlitments at a national level for parhty of

:19:20.:19:21.

esteem for mental and physical health? I thank my right honourable

:19:22.:19:26.

friend for his health and I completely agree. I draw his

:19:27.:19:33.

attention to the speech abott ring fencing these funds and how

:19:34.:19:38.

important it is to make surd that CCGs do that. I know the Government

:19:39.:19:45.

is committed to establishing this across the country. It may take five

:19:46.:19:48.

months or five years but I `nd others will continue to keep going

:19:49.:19:52.

until we get there, because this problem is too big to fail `t. We

:19:53.:19:56.

have to be the Government that turned the corner on this. Hf we are

:19:57.:20:03.

rightly fixated on delivering our manifesto pledges, we must `lso

:20:04.:20:10.

focus on those who will not make as much noise if we fail but whose need

:20:11.:20:12.

is equally of as great importance. Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. I

:20:13.:20:20.

want to make some brief rem`rks in support of the motion but also to

:20:21.:20:23.

welcome the opportunity to talk about this issue. I do so as someone

:20:24.:20:28.

who, like very many people hn this house and millions of peopld around

:20:29.:20:32.

the country, have had my life affected by mental ill-health. I

:20:33.:20:36.

grew up in a home where a vdry close family member suffered severe

:20:37.:20:40.

depression and had a number of breakdowns. Ie Gasparyan how it

:20:41.:20:46.

affected the whole family over many years -- I experienced how ht

:20:47.:20:50.

affected the whole family over many years in terms of regular lhfe and

:20:51.:20:54.

the need for other family mdmbers to be home carers. Like probably all of

:20:55.:21:00.

us, I have had a number of friends affected and some years ago a close

:21:01.:21:03.

friend committed suicide as a result of her depression. My own pdrsonal

:21:04.:21:08.

experience of mental ill-he`lth like other members of this house I

:21:09.:21:13.

think there are a number of us probably, have suffered frol

:21:14.:21:16.

depression. As a result of those depressive episodes, I know how it

:21:17.:21:20.

feels to be able to come to be unable to function normally, to be

:21:21.:21:27.

unable to perform the most basic everyday tasks because the weight of

:21:28.:21:33.

the depression is so overwhdlming. I know how debilitating depression and

:21:34.:21:35.

mental ill-health can be. It's actually quite difficult to explain

:21:36.:21:41.

it to people who have not experienced it, but just how

:21:42.:21:45.

debilitating it can be. I'm really heartened that increasingly mental

:21:46.:21:48.

health is not only being recognised but acknowledged and spoken about.

:21:49.:21:52.

Increasingly people access that this is an illness that should bd without

:21:53.:22:02.

big or to blue -- that should be without stigma or taboo. Thhs

:22:03.:22:07.

affects people of all backgrounds and ages. More and more I think my

:22:08.:22:12.

XP variants is not unusual. As someone who was a councillor for

:22:13.:22:18.

many years before who -- before coming to this house in May, I have

:22:19.:22:25.

noticed the increase in people coming for help. Many feel failed by

:22:26.:22:30.

the system. We need to treat those people with sensitivity and

:22:31.:22:33.

understanding. It's not just the right thing to do for the

:22:34.:22:40.

individual. In relation to addressing constituents's ldad, you

:22:41.:22:49.

may have seen our bill on mdntal health care, mothers should be able

:22:50.:22:54.

to get that within a reason`ble distance, 75 miles, rather than the

:22:55.:22:58.

current postcode lottery. It is a very important issue and I thank him

:22:59.:23:03.

for raising his Private member's bill. I had someone who camd to me

:23:04.:23:08.

recently with some very difficult circumstances that left thel unable

:23:09.:23:13.

to work and they were told by the job centre that in order to maintain

:23:14.:23:16.

their benefits, they were rdquired to take part in telephone

:23:17.:23:20.

counselling and that was without reference to their GP. It ttrned out

:23:21.:23:24.

to be an extremely detrimental experience. It brought up episodes

:23:25.:23:27.

on the part that meant that my constituent was that back in their

:23:28.:23:30.

recovery actually and is now even further away from the ability to

:23:31.:23:33.

reading confidence and rejohn the workforce.

:23:34.:23:39.

Because of my personal experience, I understand how mental illness can

:23:40.:23:44.

blight of the Society of an individual.

:23:45.:23:49.

That is white cuts to mental health services and particularly

:23:50.:23:58.

preventative services, as the Secretary of State acknowledged

:23:59.:24:04.

earlier, a false economy and we are seeing the effects of cuts to mental

:24:05.:24:09.

health budget at a time when demand is growing and when we can finally

:24:10.:24:13.

acknowledged the need for concerted action to tackle this issue, that is

:24:14.:24:16.

a bad thing. That is why I `m supporting this motion todax. I have

:24:17.:24:21.

experienced how medication `nd physical treatment can make a

:24:22.:24:25.

difference. Medical treatment worked for me but I also know that

:24:26.:24:30.

psychological treatment can work. It is illogical that one can bd

:24:31.:24:33.

enshrined in the rights of the NHS but not the other. We now nded to go

:24:34.:24:44.

beyond and match it with action Can I congratulate colleagues on their

:24:45.:24:49.

contribution so far and welcome familiar faces to mental he`lth

:24:50.:24:54.

debates from the past. This is obviously a massive subject and to

:24:55.:24:56.

cover it in three minutes is impossible. I am struck acttally by

:24:57.:25:00.

the number of different specialities, different problems

:25:01.:25:03.

within mental health that h`ve already been touched on, thd it

:25:04.:25:08.

addiction, dementia, depression stress related illness, eathng

:25:09.:25:11.

disorders of the young, the list goes on and on and on. Sadlx all of

:25:12.:25:16.

these things are increasing in their frequency. Next week and ovdr

:25:17.:25:19.

Christmas I will be working as a doctor, and I can guarantee we will

:25:20.:25:25.

be seeing people with mental health problems during that period. We have

:25:26.:25:36.

talked about service provishon, we might want to reflect upon our

:25:37.:25:39.

society and ask ourselves the difficult question as to whx we are

:25:40.:25:45.

seeing an increase in depression and stress related illness, eathng

:25:46.:25:48.

disorders and the like. I would say it reflects actually what is sick in

:25:49.:25:54.

our own society, our drivers towards excess consumption that we can

:25:55.:25:56.

neither afford financially or indeed physically. I would say that it

:25:57.:26:00.

would be the breakdown of the family, the fact that peopld do not

:26:01.:26:04.

take their parental responshbilities as perhaps they should do on every

:26:05.:26:08.

occasion. The retreat of thd church to be replaced by what exactly? I am

:26:09.:26:12.

not so sure that anything else has come forward to replace the church

:26:13.:26:16.

in terms of that community hub, support for people in distrdss from

:26:17.:26:19.

within communities, not necdssarily from government. I think we should

:26:20.:26:24.

all reflect upon that, and H think we should spend a few weeks, if you

:26:25.:26:29.

months thinking about that, and ask ourselves how we can pass

:26:30.:26:33.

legislation here, how we can ourselves maybe be role moddls. How

:26:34.:26:37.

we can encourage people to seek a better life that is both better in

:26:38.:26:40.

terms of the quality-of-lifd that you lead, but also better in terms

:26:41.:26:45.

of your physical and mental health. But forgive me, forgive me

:26:46.:26:48.

colleagues, just want to mention one thing with regards to forensic

:26:49.:26:52.

psychiatry, my constituency is proud to host the pre-eminent high

:26:53.:26:58.

security hospital Broadmoor. Broadmoor hospital is widelx

:26:59.:27:01.

renowned internationally as well. It is being redeveloped over the next

:27:02.:27:06.

few years. This was a decishon based on a sea QC report commissioned

:27:07.:27:09.

under the previous Labour government, and the decision was

:27:10.:27:13.

made by the Coalition Government. ?250 million to provide 220 new

:27:14.:27:19.

beds, designed around new clinical models. The recidivism rate in

:27:20.:27:22.

Broadmoor, it is not a prison, but if it was replicated across the

:27:23.:27:27.

prison service we would be dxtremely happy. They do remarkably good work.

:27:28.:27:32.

Challenging work dealing with some very difficult cases, the khnd of

:27:33.:27:37.

cases you see in your newsp`pers. I am very proud that this hospital is

:27:38.:27:41.

based in my constituency and I am particularly proud of a sochety that

:27:42.:27:46.

places such emphasis on tre`ting people as patients not crimhnals.

:27:47.:27:53.

Thank you. I too want to talk about PRU from Park hospital that closed

:27:54.:27:56.

in just less than four workhng days. We must remember the impact that

:27:57.:28:02.

closure had on patients, thd fear, the anger, some patients

:28:03.:28:06.

withdrawing, someone thing to die. We must also sing praises of the

:28:07.:28:11.

professionalism of the staff dealing with that sudden closure, btt the

:28:12.:28:15.

closure was avoidable. Therd were too many people involved in

:28:16.:28:19.

decision-making, commissiondrs, providers, historic England, the

:28:20.:28:22.

owners of the buildings and others. That is one of the failings of what

:28:23.:28:26.

happened at Booth. We must `lso recognise that with the change of

:28:27.:28:31.

provider there were politics and blame that did insular and that must

:28:32.:28:37.

be investigated because it had an impact. We must also look at the

:28:38.:28:41.

role of the sea QC, the knowledge that the role that they had in

:28:42.:28:48.

having to inspect a building did have an impact on patient s`fety.

:28:49.:28:53.

Therefore it is absolutely vital that we have independent enpuiries,

:28:54.:28:59.

something I have requested, 800 000 people in my constituency h`ve

:29:00.:29:04.

requested too. I want a sponsor from the Minister today that we can have

:29:05.:29:07.

that enquiry, it is needed to ensure patient safety for the future. It

:29:08.:29:11.

may be an embarrassing situ`tion but we have to push through to lake the

:29:12.:29:19.

servers so. If was scattered across the city. Travelling miles hn a

:29:20.:29:27.

crisis. That is not acceptable. Therefore it is essential that we

:29:28.:29:34.

have answers to what happendd at Bootham hospital. But also to look

:29:35.:29:36.

back at the social health and care act at the heart of the problem

:29:37.:29:39.

There is nobody with overarching responsibility. For patient safety

:29:40.:29:48.

in the NHS. Different jurisdiction, different regulators have dhfferent

:29:49.:29:50.

responsibilities and there `re no mechanisms for responding to this.

:29:51.:29:54.

We also need to look at the role of the Secretary of State in this. Now

:29:55.:30:02.

having a due to to promote `n NHS, no longer to provide and secure

:30:03.:30:06.

That has an impact, because you can point a finger but don't have to

:30:07.:30:10.

lift a finger. We need to look back at that again. Also the rold of the

:30:11.:30:18.

CQC. My second plea today is that we do have clarity over the replacement

:30:19.:30:25.

of Bootham Park hospital. When the Chancellor stood up in the @utumn

:30:26.:30:28.

Statement he said three new hospitals would come to fruhtion.

:30:29.:30:33.

One the York was not mentioned. I want to know if that was about

:30:34.:30:37.

mental health not getting the parity of status or whether we're not

:30:38.:30:40.

getting that, and we do need clarity on that today.

:30:41.:30:53.

I would like, if I may, to cast your mind back to the summer. As a new

:30:54.:31:00.

MP, it was a Sunday, and I were sitting on the grass reading through

:31:01.:31:05.

my casework. Many of the ustal items of correspondence, housing, planning

:31:06.:31:10.

and then a letter and a momdnt I would ever forget, a letter from a

:31:11.:31:14.

constituent, Steve Mallon, telling of the tragic suicide of his

:31:15.:31:20.

18-year-old son, a brilliant, if the Germanic, grade eight piano,

:31:21.:31:24.

straight a stars at A-level and a place reserved at Cambridge

:31:25.:31:33.

University. Mental health. They are not dirty words. We all havd a state

:31:34.:31:38.

of mental health, just as wd all have a state of physical he`lth We

:31:39.:31:42.

have good days, we have bad days. We all have them, everyone of ts. For

:31:43.:31:48.

most of us, the good days follow those bad days and overcome them.

:31:49.:31:51.

But tragically this didn't happen for Edward. Today, I want to talk

:31:52.:31:56.

about what we in this room can do to make sure there are no more Edwards.

:31:57.:32:02.

Members will know I want thhs house to work together to resolve problems

:32:03.:32:06.

not point fingers of failurd so I would urge all sides of this house

:32:07.:32:11.

to recognise the good work that has been done so far and to comlit to

:32:12.:32:15.

working together to achieve more. I believe you are building on the

:32:16.:32:20.

foundations laid by the Ichdr Mendis work of Norman Lamb and the health

:32:21.:32:24.

and social care act of 2012. We have seen investment of 1.25 billion to

:32:25.:32:30.

help deliver the future and mind initiative. The Department for

:32:31.:32:35.

Education's first mental he`lth champion, and what a fireball she

:32:36.:32:41.

is. There is a 3 million pilot programme just announced thhs week

:32:42.:32:44.

to support mental health in schools across the country, and givdn a 10%

:32:45.:32:49.

of children under 16 have a clinical diagnosable mental health problem

:32:50.:32:52.

and 75% of all mental illness predates higher education, we are

:32:53.:32:57.

focusing on the right things. Prevention is a far better leans

:32:58.:33:01.

than a cure-all, a cure that by the time it comes as the stated

:33:02.:33:04.

families, communities and the wider economy. Ask Steve Mallon, `sked his

:33:05.:33:10.

family, and ask the village of Mildred, because they know. We could

:33:11.:33:14.

argue all day about whether the government is spending enough on the

:33:15.:33:18.

cure but I don't want us to do that. I am very grateful for the

:33:19.:33:23.

honourable lady for giving way, she is making a very passionate case,

:33:24.:33:29.

would she agree with me that we need to get the whole of the NHS to sign

:33:30.:33:35.

up to a commitment to a zero suicide ambition? This is not setting a

:33:36.:33:40.

target, just changing the ctlture so everyone focuses on saving lives?

:33:41.:33:46.

Yes, it should be the fundalental. There should be no alternathve, that

:33:47.:33:49.

is absolutely right. Nobody doubts the need to improve mental health,

:33:50.:33:54.

nobody doubts that money isn't growing on trees either. Investment

:33:55.:33:58.

is increasing but I fear thd scale of the problem is far greatdr than

:33:59.:34:02.

any government cheque-book. It is bigger than that but I also know

:34:03.:34:07.

that we are capable of being bigger than that too. Let's cast aside

:34:08.:34:11.

party politics and make this our issue, not just the governmdnt's

:34:12.:34:16.

issue. In South Cambridgeshhre, we are pulling the resources of

:34:17.:34:22.

schools, world leading acaddmics, local authorities, politici`ns,

:34:23.:34:23.

parents, everyone to do things differently. With Steve and the

:34:24.:34:29.

memory of his son Edward at the helm, we want to roll out a

:34:30.:34:33.

timetable early intervention and prevention programme in every single

:34:34.:34:37.

one of our schools. We are trialling it, developing it, and in M`rch next

:34:38.:34:41.

year we will launch it at an international Conference in

:34:42.:34:44.

Cambridge, which Alister Burton has committed to already. I havd no

:34:45.:34:48.

doubt of the personal dedic`tion of Alister Burton. The honourable lady

:34:49.:34:55.

must refer to members by thdir constituency names. I was gdnuinely

:34:56.:35:03.

unaware. I have no doubt of the personal dedication of our

:35:04.:35:06.

ministers. They have proved it to me and more importantly proved it to

:35:07.:35:16.

Steve Mallon. If we have le`rnt one thing about mental health, ht is

:35:17.:35:22.

that we need to talk about ht. The answer is a plea not about cash it

:35:23.:35:27.

is about partnership working, and I urge every membership of thhs house

:35:28.:35:31.

to join in this fight together. If honourable members wish to be kind

:35:32.:35:36.

to their fellow members, thdy will now take three minutes or ldss and

:35:37.:35:41.

no interventions. If that doesn t happen, there will be sever`l people

:35:42.:35:45.

who don't get to speak at all. It is up to members how they wish to

:35:46.:35:51.

behave. In Salford and Ecclds, we know only too well the urgent need

:35:52.:35:55.

to provide better mental he`lth services but we need to focts my

:35:56.:35:59.

remarks today more specific`lly on children's mental health services.

:36:00.:36:09.

Only 6% of the mental health budget is spent on children and adolescents

:36:10.:36:14.

services. Young minds, a le`ding mental health charity, has confirmed

:36:15.:36:19.

that due to local government cuts 60% of local authorities have either

:36:20.:36:23.

cut or frozen their cams budgets in 2010. Research has shown early

:36:24.:36:29.

intervention is with paramotnt importance, with one in ten children

:36:30.:36:39.

having a chronic problem. E`rly intervention is also key to ensure

:36:40.:36:43.

that an issue doesn't escal`te to the stage where hospitalisation is

:36:44.:36:51.

required. One inpatient bed costs a staggering ?25,000 a month, so it is

:36:52.:36:54.

perfectly clear that adequate investment into the lower thers of

:36:55.:37:00.

CAMS provision is not just ` case of social conscience, it is a latter of

:37:01.:37:04.

economic common sense. I must also address the systems in placd for

:37:05.:37:07.

ensuring children who present at all health issues receive the rdquisite

:37:08.:37:13.

health at the earliest opportunity. GPs are often the first point of

:37:14.:37:17.

contact for parents whose child is experiencing a mental health

:37:18.:37:22.

problem. GPs have however voiced concerns nationally that thdy are

:37:23.:37:24.

not sufficiently equipped to deal with children with mental hdalth

:37:25.:37:28.

issues, and their current training does not prepare them adequ`tely for

:37:29.:37:32.

such situations. Time and thme again I am made aware of cases in my

:37:33.:37:37.

constituency where a child did not present symptoms clearly enough to a

:37:38.:37:41.

GP. A referral was not made, and a problem that could have been dealt

:37:42.:37:44.

with relatively easily escalated to the point where the child bdcame

:37:45.:37:47.

seriously ill and required hospitalisation. There are `lso

:37:48.:37:52.

barriers to referral, such `s the POI limits, in relation to dating

:37:53.:37:58.

disorders, which my honourable friend highlighted earlier. I wonder

:37:59.:38:01.

if the ministers present cotld outline what further provishon and

:38:02.:38:06.

guidance the government will provide a GPs to address the issues? The

:38:07.:38:11.

case for early intervention in Salford becomes all the mord

:38:12.:38:14.

convincing when you consider the shortage of inpatient beds hn

:38:15.:38:18.

Manchester. I have been working with a family whose child desper`tely

:38:19.:38:22.

needed early treatment, and due to a lack of available beds, the child

:38:23.:38:28.

was admitted to a general p`ediatric ward where they waited for lonths

:38:29.:38:32.

until a bed became availabld. While the staff were amazing, the simple

:38:33.:38:35.

fact remains that this child was not on the correct ward and was

:38:36.:38:38.

therefore not receiving the psychiatric treatment that was

:38:39.:38:39.

immediately required. Whilst I appreciate some of the

:38:40.:38:46.

measures the Government's t`king, I have concerns they will bardly begin

:38:47.:38:51.

to address the issues I've raised today. I want to look at mental

:38:52.:38:56.

health in the justice systel and include the police. I'm ple`sed

:38:57.:39:02.

we've made progress in this, at least in my only county, police cars

:39:03.:39:09.

are no longer used to transport mental health patients, ambtlances

:39:10.:39:15.

are. NICE has been asked to develop guidelines on improving mental

:39:16.:39:19.

health for those in prison. The need is to identify those who have mental

:39:20.:39:23.

health problems and to support them as the Government has recognised.

:39:24.:39:27.

The choice here is to be supported with mental health issues as a

:39:28.:39:32.

prisoner moves along the crhminal justice pathway or for them to be

:39:33.:39:35.

diverted into treatment or hndeed into social care. The integration of

:39:36.:39:42.

social care with the NHS in this context, I think, can contrhbute

:39:43.:39:46.

quite a lot to this process. The service provided to prisoners needs

:39:47.:39:52.

to be consistent across the UK. I was pleased to hear the rem`rks by

:39:53.:39:57.

the Secretary of State about the involvement of the Kings Fund in

:39:58.:40:02.

doing this. The great need for prisoners is to have the sale access

:40:03.:40:08.

to services for mental health issues as non-prisoners. It is also

:40:09.:40:13.

necessary to ensure continuhty of treatment across the prison estate.

:40:14.:40:17.

Also, through into the non-prison environment. I think that continuity

:40:18.:40:25.

between the two is crucial hn providing for the better facilities

:40:26.:40:29.

for those prisoners who havd mental health issues. This goes back to the

:40:30.:40:35.

crisis and the need for good access to support. Prisoners need to know

:40:36.:40:40.

their problems are genuinelx taken seriously and they can get help when

:40:41.:40:46.

they need it. This indeed c`n help what my Right Honourable Frhend the

:40:47.:40:50.

member for North Somerset w`s talking about in terms of the huge

:40:51.:40:56.

number of men that are suichde victims in tackling this. I think

:40:57.:41:03.

that has to be acknowledged. I would like to congratulate the Government

:41:04.:41:07.

on the way it has moved forward with this in recognising the need for

:41:08.:41:11.

parity between mental and physical health services. I'm also extremely

:41:12.:41:18.

grateful for the ?600 million put into the system by the Chancellor in

:41:19.:41:22.

the Autumn Statement as indded was the Royal college of psychi`trists

:41:23.:41:27.

who said they were pleased to see the Chancellor committing an

:41:28.:41:32.

additional ?600 million funding for mental health in the Spending

:41:33.:41:38.

Review. This is good news, they say. I'm proud of the work Labour mental

:41:39.:41:44.

health have done to highlight many of the issues faced today. Hn

:41:45.:41:49.

particular, I congratulate the work of my constituent Victoria

:41:50.:41:53.

dis-Monday. I want to raise the case of one of my constituents, Keane, he

:41:54.:42:02.

was 18 when he took his own life. Keane group in care, foster homes

:42:03.:42:07.

and had a history of mental health problems. They were compounded by

:42:08.:42:13.

the problems society threw `t him. His unemployment benefits wdre

:42:14.:42:17.

stopped after he missed a doctor's appointment. This is where people

:42:18.:42:21.

are being sanctioned through now fault of their own. Cane was hit

:42:22.:42:27.

again when the Monye lender Wong Ga, with whom he'd taken a payd`y loan

:42:28.:42:33.

cleared out his bank account in part payment of his debt. He was

:42:34.:42:37.

destitute without a penny to his name. Hours later, Cane hanged

:42:38.:42:42.

himself. A shocking story. @ young boy who'd already had more than his

:42:43.:42:48.

fair share of problems in lhfe left penniless by a payday loan company

:42:49.:42:52.

after already being penalisdd by the state who withdrew his benefits it

:42:53.:42:55.

must have seeped like he had nowhere else to turn for help, support and

:42:56.:43:01.

for a little human understanding. And, of course, Cane is not alone.

:43:02.:43:06.

He's one of many 16-year-olds, many men on average who commit sticide

:43:07.:43:11.

every year in my constituency. Many more attempt to take their own

:43:12.:43:14.

lives. It is a truly miserable fact that men are three times more likely

:43:15.:43:19.

to take their own lives than women. It would be wrong to specul`te about

:43:20.:43:25.

the reasons, but it seemser fuelable to me economic circumstances do play

:43:26.:43:31.

some part. I try to be non-partisan but I can honestry say from my own

:43:32.:43:37.

experience and that of my mtm who suffered from bipolar for m`ny years

:43:38.:43:41.

that the Government, when they shout about rhetoric about long-tdrm

:43:42.:43:43.

economic plan when they cut taxes to the richest in the nation and tell

:43:44.:43:47.

my mum you have to move bec`use of the bedroom tax, you're havhng your

:43:48.:43:51.

benefits cut, we're cutting local authorities and the charitids that

:43:52.:43:56.

look after people like my mtm like Mind could no longer offer the

:43:57.:44:01.

support like she once had. Dconomics plays a huge part in the trdatment.

:44:02.:44:08.

The number of beds in Greatdr Manchester has been cut by 4%. My

:44:09.:44:15.

honourable friend raised earlier the regional press in my area today

:44:16.:44:23.

report add consultation starting to cut ?1.5 million more than 600

:44:24.:44:27.

patients are set to be hit by these proposed cuts. People listening to

:44:28.:44:33.

this debate and they need stpport, I commend the services out thdre, the

:44:34.:44:37.

charities, voluntary sector, including the Samaritans I tsed to

:44:38.:44:42.

be a member of. Thank you. Ht is very important to reflect on who

:44:43.:44:46.

this debate is about. This debate is about the thousands of people across

:44:47.:44:50.

this country who may have woken up this morning with the feeling that

:44:51.:44:53.

they might not be able to gdt through the day. It is for the young

:44:54.:44:59.

boy, maybe 14, feeling conftsed and depressed at school and not knowing

:45:00.:45:03.

where to get help. It's for the young girl who is prepared to starve

:45:04.:45:07.

herself potentially to death because of issues to do with body ilage

:45:08.:45:14.

This debate is for the middle-aged man, who is 40, who may be

:45:15.:45:18.

contemplating suicide because of a sense of a lot of his identhty. This

:45:19.:45:25.

debate is about the older pdrson, maybe the 75-year-old woman who may

:45:26.:45:30.

have just suffered a bereavdment, feeling isolated and depressed and

:45:31.:45:33.

not knowing where to go for help. Those are the people that wd are

:45:34.:45:39.

speaking about today. It is true and my role as the chair of the`ll party

:45:40.:45:45.

group for mental health, thd public debate about mental health has

:45:46.:45:48.

radically changed over the last decade. Celebrities talking about

:45:49.:45:52.

their mental health. Members of Parliament talking about thdir

:45:53.:45:57.

mental health. What that has done is it has created a completely unique

:45:58.:46:01.

context in which we can talk about mental health policy today. We have

:46:02.:46:07.

an historic opportunity, and this Government has an historic

:46:08.:46:11.

opportunity to make a genuine difference to the direction of

:46:12.:46:17.

mental health policy in Britain As we move forward, it makes sdnse that

:46:18.:46:24.

out of the ?14 billion we spend on mental health services in Britain,

:46:25.:46:29.

that we move resources to t`ckling the issue at its source. Whdther

:46:30.:46:37.

that's in terms of the Government's commitment to Mount perinat`l

:46:38.:46:43.

health, improving, in fact, radically transforming child and

:46:44.:46:46.

adolescent mental health service sos we get rid of this tiering system

:46:47.:46:51.

which is more suited to the commissioners rather than pdople who

:46:52.:46:55.

actually want to use the services. We need radical change in that area.

:46:56.:47:00.

We need to have a crisis care system where if an individual rings up and

:47:01.:47:06.

says I'm having a crisis, they get help and they get compassionate

:47:07.:47:11.

help. But overall, we need ` vision for mental health policy whhch

:47:12.:47:17.

achieves the following. That talking about mental health in socidty by

:47:18.:47:22.

individuals, families, in communities, is thought to be

:47:23.:47:27.

entirely normal. An entirelx norm Alpart of our conversation `bout an

:47:28.:47:33.

individual's place, their mhnd in their family and in their community.

:47:34.:47:39.

And we have that opportunitx and we need to take that opportunity as a

:47:40.:47:45.

Government. I congratulate the honourable lady in securing a

:47:46.:47:49.

debate. It is a great privilege to speak. On 1 #19 April 2002 football

:47:50.:47:55.

fans in England held their breath after David Beckham broke hhs second

:47:56.:47:59.

met tarsal bone on his left foot and was ruled out of the World Cup 0

:48:00.:48:05.

days before at the kicked off. Over the days and weeks the footballing

:48:06.:48:11.

fans watched with trepidation as Beckham recovered. Most of xou will

:48:12.:48:15.

be wondering what on earth this tale has to do with the matter of meant

:48:16.:48:19.

altogether health. A great deal At the heart of this issue is parity

:48:20.:48:24.

and esteem for physical and meant at health. How we frame our vision and

:48:25.:48:31.

parity esteem is something we have in Scottish legislation. If Beckham

:48:32.:48:38.

suffered mental health issud which prevented him from training and

:48:39.:48:43.

playing would he have admitted to having a mental illness. Wotld we

:48:44.:48:48.

have tracked his recovery? For a whole variety of reasons we treat

:48:49.:48:53.

mental health in a completely different way to physical hdalth.

:48:54.:48:56.

There's no good reason or explanation for why this is. How we

:48:57.:48:59.

frame the debate is hugely important. According to the charity

:49:00.:49:07.

Mind who surveyed 6,000 people in 2015, over a third of peopld face

:49:08.:49:14.

stigma and disdrip nest. Ovdr half said it was bad or worse th`n the

:49:15.:49:20.

illness itself. In Scotland, we are proud early introduction of child

:49:21.:49:26.

and adolescent mental health services has supported CAMHS. The

:49:27.:49:32.

Government is invested ?100 million in Scotland to ensure our pdople are

:49:33.:49:38.

eye quipped to support thesd mental sir health services. In partnership

:49:39.:49:45.

with Chris Hoy they are building on the success of sport in Scotland

:49:46.:49:50.

such as the recent 2014 Comlonwealth Games. The time is right for sport

:49:51.:49:57.

to use its collective power to tackle discrimination around mental

:49:58.:49:59.

ill-health. It is important to recognise the cause of ment`l

:50:00.:50:02.

ill-health and how we can ensure every child and young person gets

:50:03.:50:08.

the best start in life. I fhnd it incredible the UK Government's

:50:09.:50:12.

continuing with its austerity agenda. A recent report on

:50:13.:50:20.

psychologist highlights it hs well established austerity hit the

:50:21.:50:22.

poorest much harder than thd wealthy. We have been balancing the

:50:23.:50:27.

book on the back of the poor. They also argue what has not been

:50:28.:50:32.

sufficiently highlighted is the psychological prize paid. In

:50:33.:50:37.

closing, I'd like to read the last two par graphs of a poem a

:50:38.:50:41.

constituent who suffered mental health illness sent to me. H know

:50:42.:50:47.

we've had this conversation before, this time I'm throwing you out of

:50:48.:50:50.

the door. I tried in the past but didn't want to be rude. You've done

:50:51.:50:54.

me such good. I appreciate xou've been my friend. Now it has to end. I

:50:55.:50:59.

cannot keep you by my side there were times you almost let md die:

:51:00.:51:07.

People deserve better service. For too long, some constituents battled

:51:08.:51:11.

to get the care they need. Lany do get excellent care. I want to pay

:51:12.:51:19.

tribute to the staff of the Norfolk and Suffolk mental Healthcare Trust.

:51:20.:51:24.

I am pleased to see my honotrable colleague for Norwich south and

:51:25.:51:35.

North Norfolk --. We should debate completing the job of bringhng meant

:51:36.:51:38.

at health into the light and into an era where the norm is of a better

:51:39.:51:42.

service and every patient gdts the treatment they need. I am ctrrently

:51:43.:51:51.

helping constituents living with people who are going out of control:

:51:52.:51:59.

About out of county beds. Poor provision of service is not

:52:00.:52:03.

acceptable. It is not just. People deserve better service. There are

:52:04.:52:07.

three things I want to say. The first is the funding matters. The

:52:08.:52:12.

second is equality matters. The third is good management matters

:52:13.:52:15.

too. The welcome the steps on funding this Government's t`king to

:52:16.:52:20.

increase investment. The Norfolk and Suffolk trust as I mentioned have

:52:21.:52:23.

been open about the funding shortfall they perceive in their

:52:24.:52:26.

books compared to the hospital down the road. The Chief Executive called

:52:27.:52:31.

for the same system of fundhng for mental health when compared to

:52:32.:52:36.

physical health. Turning to the commissioners of the seven C C in

:52:37.:52:43.

the region whilst the overall budget for this year rose by just over 6%,

:52:44.:52:49.

spend on mental health incrdased by just over 4%. Nourish C C notes

:52:50.:52:56.

their spend on mental health increased significantly in real

:52:57.:53:00.

terms by almost ?2 million. They believe access to mental he`lthcare

:53:01.:53:05.

is consistent across the cotntry in line demand. I welcome the

:53:06.:53:10.

transparency measures. Turnhng to equality. We need to see a proper

:53:11.:53:17.

parity of esteem between mental and physical health through funding It

:53:18.:53:24.

is welcomed the planning repuirement commission were in mental hdalth.

:53:25.:53:28.

Good management is needed as well as the minister made the argumdnt

:53:29.:53:33.

recently in the eastern daily press whose campaign I pay tributd to My

:53:34.:53:36.

trust is in special mesh usd is subject to an improvement plan. We

:53:37.:53:41.

must work with them to support them to get better. Staff have m`de clear

:53:42.:53:45.

the pressures they perceive. I pay tribute to the staff. The C C

:53:46.:53:50.

found the trust was good at caring. But inadequately led. Its fhnancial

:53:51.:53:56.

management was lacking. Pathents deserve better. Other trusts are

:53:57.:54:00.

doing better. Norwich deserves better.

:54:01.:54:05.

If everyone is to get in and we finished the debate on time, we have

:54:06.:54:12.

to have a limit now of two linutes. Petered out. Thank you. There they

:54:13.:54:19.

stand, isolated, Majestic, imperious, brooded over by the

:54:20.:54:24.

gigantic water tower and Germany combined, rising unmistakable and

:54:25.:54:27.

dominating out of the countryside, the asylums which our foref`thers

:54:28.:54:33.

built with such solidity to express the notions of their day. Who would

:54:34.:54:37.

want to go back to that description by Enoch Powell, Minister of health

:54:38.:54:42.

at the time, of the old country asylums? The proposals set the

:54:43.:54:47.

country on the path of integrated community services for thosd people

:54:48.:54:52.

with mental health issues, with an emphasis on the hospital behng the

:54:53.:54:57.

place of last resort. No wonder what the complexity of the issue, but

:54:58.:55:01.

there is a real danger we whll have a system that doesn't do ond thing

:55:02.:55:05.

or the other. On the one hand, mental health hospitals strtggling

:55:06.:55:09.

to cope with demand for inp`tient beds, and on the other hand

:55:10.:55:12.

community services struggling to cope. A sin by Artic relationship

:55:13.:55:17.

that feeds off the gradual hnability of the others to cope with demand,

:55:18.:55:21.

despite the best efforts of staff in those services. Despite the best

:55:22.:55:28.

efforts of my colleagues in five boroughs mental health trust, Mersey

:55:29.:55:31.

care in my area and charitids and local authorities workers. But what

:55:32.:55:37.

happens if we don't have carers We need to give them more support,

:55:38.:55:42.

concrete support, not warm words. I am not pointing the finger `t the

:55:43.:55:45.

government, I am not doing that I think it is beyond pointing the

:55:46.:55:49.

finger. We genuinely have to get down to the issue but the government

:55:50.:55:53.

is the government, and the government has a significant

:55:54.:55:58.

responsibility to get to grhps with this burgeoning and growing crisis

:55:59.:56:01.

and I hope the Minister has the vision to do that. Ben Harld at

:56:02.:56:10.

Thank you. May I join the words that have been said by an awful lot of

:56:11.:56:14.

honourable members today for the courage and bravery of membdrs

:56:15.:56:17.

standing up in this place and speaking about their own mental

:56:18.:56:24.

health issues. The member for Sutton Coldfield and Broxbourne as well, it

:56:25.:56:31.

gave me enough confidence to come forward thing about my own lental

:56:32.:56:34.

health issues and to try and confront those as a new member of

:56:35.:56:37.

Parliament has always been difficult, I have to admit, the

:56:38.:56:40.

first couple of months, but with the help and support of people hn this

:56:41.:56:44.

place but also people in my own constituency, I am managing to get

:56:45.:56:47.

through that and I completely understand what I have someone

:56:48.:56:50.

coming into my constituency talking about their own mental health

:56:51.:56:54.

issues, the difficulties thdy face in being able to find the rhght

:56:55.:56:58.

correct signposting. I completely agree with honourable members when

:56:59.:57:06.

we say we have a responsibility as MPs will be speak about mental

:57:07.:57:09.

health in this place. In ond of my surgeries, I have decided to do on a

:57:10.:57:15.

regular basis, will work on mental health with Sa Rhona care in my own

:57:16.:57:19.

constituency and I will be holding hearsay information hubs, which I

:57:20.:57:23.

held recently. I have to adlit I had been pretty startled by the number

:57:24.:57:26.

of people who have come forward to my surgeries over the last six

:57:27.:57:29.

months with mental health issues. I am at the very end of the journey on

:57:30.:57:33.

mental health. They should have ended up being picked up well before

:57:34.:57:39.

they even come to my office. I am seeing a radical improvement over

:57:40.:57:42.

the last five years anyway, just seeing what it is like workhng

:57:43.:57:46.

alongside the NHS for the l`st seven years. My own constituency has

:57:47.:57:53.

Hillview, an excellent facility and they are increasing the numbers of

:57:54.:57:59.

psychiatric beds. That is ddfinitely a benefit. Also a range of different

:58:00.:58:03.

community organisations and charities like Bath Mind, which the

:58:04.:58:08.

Secretary of State visited just before the general election. I did I

:58:09.:58:11.

will ever forget some of thd work they are doing. I am helping them

:58:12.:58:16.

out at the moment. But we do play a very vital part in this deb`te and

:58:17.:58:19.

hopefully we will be able to sign post more of our constituents to the

:58:20.:58:30.

right place. I want to focus my speech today on the attitudd towards

:58:31.:58:34.

the prevalence of mental he`lth problems in young black men. I think

:58:35.:58:38.

this is an important topic to address because whilst the

:58:39.:58:40.

prevalence of mental health conditions amongst young people is

:58:41.:58:44.

often discussed here, it is less often discussed in the housd in

:58:45.:58:49.

terms of race. Blackman in Britain are 17 times more likely th`n their

:58:50.:58:53.

white counterparts to be di`gnosed with psychotic illness. Studies

:58:54.:59:01.

carried out in Lambeth, an `rea with a 26% black population, the largest

:59:02.:59:05.

in the country, found that 70% of the borough's resident insecure

:59:06.:59:12.

psychiatric settings are of African and Caribbean origin. The m`jority

:59:13.:59:16.

enter via primary care, but young black African people are more likely

:59:17.:59:21.

to enter via the court or the police. According to a report by

:59:22.:59:27.

Mind in 2013 in a survey of black people's experiences of mental

:59:28.:59:31.

health services, 46% had bedn restrained by mental health staff.

:59:32.:59:36.

Of these, 79% thought it was aggressive, and 34% had been

:59:37.:59:40.

physically injured. We need to listen and act upon reports that

:59:41.:59:46.

such of the health Enfield, which serve eight 77 people in thd

:59:47.:59:51.

community. The majority of them were young people and their parents, and

:59:52.:59:54.

they found, amongst many conclusions, that there werd

:59:55.:59:59.

cultural, language and access to services for black and ethnhc

:00:00.:00:05.

minority communities that ndeds to be considered by the governlent It

:00:06.:00:10.

needs to take into account racial differences. I think this whll be

:00:11.:00:16.

one. Forward to ensure that we have an adequate service that helps all

:00:17.:00:18.

of those in this country who suffer with mental health issues. H am

:00:19.:00:24.

grateful for the chance to speak, and an honour to follow the

:00:25.:00:31.

honourable member for Edmonton. I would like to follow with rdmarks on

:00:32.:00:34.

young people's mental health will stop every year I am privildged to

:00:35.:00:39.

bring young people into Parliament for an induction day, and I ask them

:00:40.:00:42.

what the biggest challenges were facing them and their gener`tion. I

:00:43.:00:47.

thought the answer would be how to get into a decent universitx, and

:00:48.:00:51.

how to be able to fund a pl`ce there, but in unison they all said,

:00:52.:00:55.

all ten of them, mental health was the biggest challenge. I fotnd that

:00:56.:01:02.

quite staggering. Based on various cases I have dealt with, I have

:01:03.:01:05.

taken a much closer interest in the subject, and work hard to fhnd out

:01:06.:01:10.

more about the issues relathng to young people. Clearly the challenge

:01:11.:01:16.

is increasing. Referrals ard up 25% in my constituency. Social ledia

:01:17.:01:31.

amplifies these challenges. One thing I would ask during thhs

:01:32.:01:34.

debate, to those who have brought the likes of Assassins Creed to this

:01:35.:01:41.

group of young people we work with and other weird sounding colputer

:01:42.:01:45.

games, please use that creativity that you have, that ability to

:01:46.:01:49.

communicate with young people, to develop digital approaches that will

:01:50.:01:52.

help young people feel more comfortable about who they `re, and

:01:53.:01:55.

more comfortable about the place they have in both the real world and

:01:56.:02:01.

the digital space. There is a responsibility there. I am `lso

:02:02.:02:03.

pleased we are going to hear from the right honourable friend the

:02:04.:02:07.

member for North East Bedfordshire who takes a keen interest in this

:02:08.:02:11.

area. The extra funding is being used to tackle real funding on the

:02:12.:02:14.

ground and we are seeing best practice come about, with young

:02:15.:02:18.

advisers in our area who ard helping to use proof our local servhces Our

:02:19.:02:26.

emotionally healthy schools programme is bringing together an

:02:27.:02:33.

integrated approach. My own local mental health trust, the Norfolk and

:02:34.:02:37.

Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, was the first mental health trust in

:02:38.:02:39.

England to be placed in special measures where I am afraid ht

:02:40.:02:43.

currently still languishes. But throughout all that, it is the stuff

:02:44.:02:46.

I want to praise, I believe that have held that mental health trust

:02:47.:02:50.

together, but have kept it going throughout this tough time. Yet

:02:51.:02:54.

throughout the coalition ye`rs, as now, we hear so much about parity of

:02:55.:02:57.

esteem between dental and physical health. Unfortunately, the reality

:02:58.:03:05.

has and is very, very different Unison members in my constituency

:03:06.:03:09.

worked out that if my local health trust were funded using the same

:03:10.:03:14.

formula as my local acute trust it would have an income of arotnd 69

:03:15.:03:19.

million. Yet that was cut bx ?3 million, and that is what they

:03:20.:03:25.

received instead. Ultimatelx, where parity of esteem a reality rather

:03:26.:03:28.

than empty rhetoric, these cuts would not have been made. In the

:03:29.:03:35.

face of the severe financial constraints, my choice has been to

:03:36.:03:39.

make cuts in early intervention and psychosis, assertive averagd and the

:03:40.:03:41.

specialist homeless teams that were once in place and stop each and

:03:42.:03:45.

every one of them was a force economy. The impact of thesd cuts

:03:46.:03:50.

has been catastrophic. People in crisis in my constituency h`d been

:03:51.:03:53.

left without access to a local mental health bed. Instead, they

:03:54.:03:56.

have been sent hundreds of liles from Norwich, separated frol their

:03:57.:04:00.

families and care teams, as far away as Harrogate, Bradford, London and

:04:01.:04:06.

Brighton, so forgive me if H don't sound too excited by the

:04:07.:04:10.

announcement of the Chancellor's recent ?600 million for mental

:04:11.:04:14.

health services. An investigation by the BBC and community care lagazine

:04:15.:04:18.

in March this year found th`t ? 00 million has been cut from mdntal

:04:19.:04:23.

health since 2010. It is thdrefore an affront to call this ?600 million

:04:24.:04:29.

investment. In reality, it hs barely a replacement. Unfortunatelx it is

:04:30.:04:34.

too late for those in my constituency that have lost their

:04:35.:04:36.

lives or suffered life changing injuries because help was not there

:04:37.:04:41.

when they needed it. This government has failed patients, their families,

:04:42.:04:49.

staff, and ultimately my colmunity. In this time that I have, I just

:04:50.:04:54.

really want to highlight thd importance of preventative work in

:04:55.:04:56.

terms of dealing with mental health issues, and my plea that we do

:04:57.:05:00.

address the focus of that in dealing with mental health. Just a puickie

:05:01.:05:05.

sample, I am not saying my constituency doesn't need more

:05:06.:05:08.

funding and more resources for preventative work or even acute

:05:09.:05:12.

mental health setting, I wanted to highlight some good work th`t is

:05:13.:05:16.

happening locally. In my constituency, the police in Sussex

:05:17.:05:19.

were up until recently at the forefront of dealing with those in

:05:20.:05:22.

mental health crisis. For those of you who don't know my consthtuency,

:05:23.:05:25.

it is on the beautiful Sussdx coast, and I have the picturesque spot of

:05:26.:05:31.

Berling gapped lying right next door to Beachy head, both of which are

:05:32.:05:35.

suicide hotspots. The policd up until recently along with the Beachy

:05:36.:05:42.

head chaplaincy team having to deal with suicide, people standing or

:05:43.:05:45.

sitting on those cliffs, contemplating taking their lives. Up

:05:46.:05:49.

until recently they have had to do that on their own. But sincd last

:05:50.:05:53.

year mental health nurses h`ve been out with Sussex Police on these and

:05:54.:05:58.

other calls to ensure that those suffering an acute mental hdalth

:05:59.:06:02.

crisis not just get the help they need but when they need it.

:06:03.:06:06.

Previously, Sussex Police wdre detaining the highest number of

:06:07.:06:09.

people under the mental health care act because they had no othdr way of

:06:10.:06:14.

looking after them. This is far from ideal. As a prison cell rather than

:06:15.:06:19.

a hospital bed is not conducive to supporting vulnerable adults. So can

:06:20.:06:23.

I ask members opposite to look at some of the great work that is going

:06:24.:06:27.

on, that is not to say we don't need more funds and resources to provide

:06:28.:06:31.

it, but there is some great work happening out there in the field of

:06:32.:06:32.

mental health. This has been an important debate.

:06:33.:06:42.

We have heard astonishingly from 27 speakers that have been fitted into

:06:43.:06:46.

the time, and there were a wide number of interventions durhng the

:06:47.:06:49.

opening speeches and I welcome the involvement of all those melbers

:06:50.:06:52.

taking part. Particularly the honourable member from is c`lled

:06:53.:06:59.

pride, North Somerset, Exetdr, members for Buster, Rochdald, error

:07:00.:07:05.

wash, North Durham, North Norfolk, Plymouth more view, magister

:07:06.:07:11.

Withington, Bracknell, Salford and Eccles, Henley, Ashton under Lyme,

:07:12.:07:19.

Livingston, Norwich North, Bootle, Bath, Edmonton, Macclesfield, Norris

:07:20.:07:23.

South and Lewis. A remarkable group. The Secretary of State was right to

:07:24.:07:26.

thank the honourable members have rocked one, Barrow in Furness and

:07:27.:07:29.

North Durham to talking abott their personal experience, as did my

:07:30.:07:35.

honourable friend. We should always thank honourable members who speak

:07:36.:07:40.

from their own personal expdrience. Also to mention the leadership of

:07:41.:07:43.

the all-party group and the commitment of the numbers from

:07:44.:07:48.

Norfolk North, Sutton Coldfheld Alister Campbell in a group arguing

:07:49.:07:52.

for equality for mental health and an increase in funding. I also want

:07:53.:07:57.

to thank my honourable friend the old East and Saddleworth for her

:07:58.:08:01.

persistence in raising issuds related to suicide and the work

:08:02.:08:04.

capability assessment. The hmpact that changes to these changds can

:08:05.:08:11.

have on people with mental health problems first if we are to have a

:08:12.:08:15.

zero suicide ambition, we mtst do more work on that particular issue,

:08:16.:08:21.

as indeed on the crisis on lale suicide, which was raised bx the

:08:22.:08:23.

Right Honourable member for North Somerset, Rochdale, and Ashton under

:08:24.:08:32.

Lyme. Those Right Honourabld and honourable members have spoken with

:08:33.:08:35.

knowledge of mental health services around the country and also of the

:08:36.:08:39.

excellent work being done in their own constituencies, often bx

:08:40.:08:43.

charities and voluntary projects. Many of the speeches illustrate the

:08:44.:08:47.

fact that our mental health services are under intense pressure `nd

:08:48.:08:49.

urgent need of improvement. In the last Parliament, we heard mtch from

:08:50.:08:55.

ministers on parity of estedm but we saw little progress, and I think all

:08:56.:08:57.

the speeches have shown us today that things have got worse. The

:08:58.:09:02.

independent King 's fund has commented recently parity of esteem

:09:03.:09:05.

for mental health seems a long way off, and the member for York Ousley

:09:06.:09:09.

said exactly the same thing. They are not getting parity of esteem

:09:10.:09:14.

fair, and the Right Honourable member for North Norfolk called the

:09:15.:09:17.

current situation morally wrong and economic stupid.

:09:18.:09:22.

Mental health services have faced cuts. We've focussed on this this

:09:23.:09:32.

this key bait. -- debate. In 20 2, spending on mental health h`d been

:09:33.:09:36.

cut for the first time in a decade. Rather than take action to put it

:09:37.:09:41.

right, ministers discontinudd the survey. Since then, it has been

:09:42.:09:47.

difficult to make accurate assessment of investment in health

:09:48.:09:52.

services. We have to rely on freedom of information requests and expert

:09:53.:09:55.

analysis by charities and independent bodies. The King's Fund

:09:56.:10:02.

found 40% of mental health trusts experienced reductions in income in

:10:03.:10:10.

2014 and 2015. It is a real terms reduction in 8.25% at the s`me time

:10:11.:10:18.

referrals to community health teams have risen by nearly 20%. L`bour's

:10:19.:10:25.

own analysis done by the sh`dow minister found one in three clinical

:10:26.:10:30.

commissioning groups were not spending in line with their budget

:10:31.:10:34.

despite promises from ministers this would be the case. I think H should

:10:35.:10:39.

say if ministers have the determination to change, we welcome

:10:40.:10:44.

that. The suggestion of the Right Honourable Member for North Somerset

:10:45.:10:49.

for ring-fencing funding for mental health was supported by an tm in of

:10:50.:10:54.

honourable members. The Secretary of State admitted earlier he jtst

:10:55.:10:59.

didn't know by how much standards and investment varied across the

:11:00.:11:03.

country. The lack of inform`tion is not good enough. I would ask the

:11:04.:11:08.

minister to reinstate the strvey. That is the way to go. One `rea

:11:09.:11:13.

where we have accurate information is on funding for social care.

:11:14.:11:17.

Social care services play an important role in supporting people

:11:18.:11:21.

with mental health problems. Cuts to social care services have a serious

:11:22.:11:25.

impact on people with mental health needs as do other issues in this

:11:26.:11:31.

debate such as housing. Reports on mental healthcare from the health

:11:32.:11:34.

foundation found the number of people receiving social card support

:11:35.:11:40.

for mental health problems has failen by 29% since 2009/10. Cuts to

:11:41.:11:48.

social care budgets were having an adverse impact on their services. We

:11:49.:11:53.

need to road test policies from other departments for their impact

:11:54.:11:57.

on mental health. Now, the recent Spending Review will surely go down

:11:58.:12:00.

as a missed opportunity to do something about the desperate

:12:01.:12:04.

funding crisis in social care which does affect people with mental

:12:05.:12:08.

health problems? The Chancellor s proposals on social care funding are

:12:09.:12:13.

woefully inadequate. They'll leave a black hole in healthcare Skder viss

:12:14.:12:17.

for older people and people with mental health problems. Govdrnment

:12:18.:12:22.

cuts to Salford City council's budget caused budgets for adult

:12:23.:12:29.

social care to 41 million p year. Cuts of ?15 million. The King's Fund

:12:30.:12:40.

warned this week the decision to use council tax rises to offset

:12:41.:12:48.

difference in mental healthcare .. Now, older people are not jtst being

:12:49.:12:53.

cut by, hit by cuts to soci`l care. They are hit by cuts to mental heal

:12:54.:13:01.

services. The skektry of st`y said depression of more debill d`ting

:13:02.:13:08.

than asthma, angina or dab daty -- diabetes. Some 2 million people are

:13:09.:13:17.

affected by mental health illnesses. 50% in older people in General

:13:18.:13:21.

Hospitals and 60% of older people in care homes. The Secretary of State

:13:22.:13:28.

said talking therapies are lore effective than drugs but Agd UK tell

:13:29.:13:34.

us older people are six timds more likely to be on tranquilisers or

:13:35.:13:37.

medication but only a fifth are likely to have access to talking

:13:38.:13:43.

therapies. While 50% of the younger people with depression are referred

:13:44.:13:47.

to mental health services only % of older people. 85% of older people

:13:48.:13:53.

with depression receive no help at all from the NHS the Governlent is

:13:54.:13:58.

letling older people down bx reducing their access to thd

:13:59.:14:03.

services they need. There is a need for better, emotional and

:14:04.:14:05.

psychological support for c`reers. Caring for a spouse or family member

:14:06.:14:11.

is more common in older age. There are nearly 1.2 million caredrs aged

:14:12.:14:16.

65 plus. Levels of stress and psychological distress are higher

:14:17.:14:21.

with careers who look after people live with dementia. Depresshon can

:14:22.:14:30.

raise to 85% with careers lhving with people with dementia. H hope

:14:31.:14:35.

members from all sides of the house will join us voting for the motion

:14:36.:14:40.

today. Good meant at health is good for our schools, workplaces and our

:14:41.:14:44.

care homes as well as for all our health service. I hope membdrs on

:14:45.:14:50.

all sides of the House will join us on voting for this mocks today and I

:14:51.:14:57.

commend the motion to the House I thank the honourable lady for her

:14:58.:15:00.

remarks and colleagues for ` remarkable debate. I'll comd to them

:15:01.:15:04.

in a moment. Less than a wedk after I was appointed, I made a vhsit to

:15:05.:15:07.

the Mawdsley hospital in Sotth London. I met a parent therd with an

:15:08.:15:11.

eight-year-old little girl who told me of her two year struggle in her

:15:12.:15:16.

home county some 200 miles `way to find information on what wotld be

:15:17.:15:21.

best for her daughter. By hdr own evident orts she hit upon the

:15:22.:15:28.

Mawdsley. Introduce children to mental health difficulties. Giving

:15:29.:15:33.

them the understanding they'd look after their classmates if they had

:15:34.:15:37.

to tumble in the playground they'd look after a friend with a hurt

:15:38.:15:44.

mind. I went a Derby and met and was inspired by Sarah eely who set up

:15:45.:15:52.

borderline arts set up to hdlp against borderline personalhty

:15:53.:15:58.

disorders. She suffers with it. I heard again a familiar refr`in from

:15:59.:16:04.

those around the table. Mental health people saying no-one listened

:16:05.:16:08.

to me. That's how it is with mental health issues in this country. A

:16:09.:16:10.

pattern of light and shade. Good news and bad. So I welcomed this

:16:11.:16:15.

debate which has given the House such an opportunity to raisd a

:16:16.:16:18.

number of the issues which reflect that light and shade. Issues raised

:16:19.:16:24.

in powerful and personal spdeches revealing the depth the pain mental

:16:25.:16:30.

ill-health can cause. Parli`ment now addresses this and will continue to

:16:31.:16:35.

address such matters. There is a sense that progress is being made.

:16:36.:16:40.

That's real progress not political speak progress in areas frol therapy

:16:41.:16:44.

to crisis care. There's still too much variation in the delivdry of

:16:45.:16:48.

services. Areas of unmet nedd. There's much more to do. But, more

:16:49.:16:52.

than ever before, there is ` belief those of us here are listenhng and

:16:53.:16:57.

acting upon what we are hearing In the time available I cannot cover

:16:58.:17:01.

everything. Colleagues who raised specific questions I'll answer by

:17:02.:17:06.

letter. Powerful speech is often about local issues from members from

:17:07.:17:12.

Worcester, Rochdale, Exeter, Livingstone, Salford and Eccles

:17:13.:17:16.

Norwich north and south and Bootle. Can I thank the honourable lady the

:17:17.:17:24.

member for east Kilbride for the way in which she offered the support for

:17:25.:17:29.

a consensual process. I look forward to visit to Scotland to see what's

:17:30.:17:35.

going on there. There's much we can share with each other. Strong

:17:36.:17:39.

personality statements again were made from colleagues who know about

:17:40.:17:44.

these things. Members from north #2kur78, Manchester witheing ton.

:17:45.:17:49.

The honourable member for Edmonton raised the ethnic minority hssues in

:17:50.:17:52.

mental health. It needed to be raised. Am very pleased she did so.

:17:53.:17:57.

We don't concentrate nearly enough on this and I'm come back to her on

:17:58.:18:04.

that. The member from North Norfolk who grappled with these difficulties

:18:05.:18:09.

and is so well regarded, referenced things he wants to see more off

:18:10.:18:12.

since he left office. We will be doing that. To the honourable lady

:18:13.:18:18.

for York and my Ron rabble lember for York Outer, there's a ldtter on

:18:19.:18:22.

its way. It won't give the honourable lady quite the ahr

:18:23.:18:28.

surances on the inquiry she wants but it moves matters on a bht

:18:29.:18:33.

further. My honourable friends the member for Bracknell and Henley

:18:34.:18:37.

raised important issue of mdntal health in the law and justice

:18:38.:18:42.

system. Sometimes, again, a less regarded area but making thd

:18:43.:18:46.

important point mental health issues matter there. A number of

:18:47.:18:54.

colleagues, members for Somdrset, Plymouth, South Cambridgeshhre,

:18:55.:18:58.

Ashley under lime and LEWIS raised the important issue of suichde which

:18:59.:19:03.

I take extremely seriously `nd we haven't done nearly enough on

:19:04.:19:06.

suicide. I talk about my ambition for that as I close. The parity of

:19:07.:19:11.

esteem was mentioned as a concept. Colleagues wanted to know where it

:19:12.:19:19.

was in the mandate. The new mandate will be released shortly. Mr

:19:20.:19:22.

Speaker, this is an opposithon day debate. We have a motion and a vote.

:19:23.:19:27.

Just as it is the right of the opposition to press the Govdrnment

:19:28.:19:30.

and do more and criticise where it is due or not due, so it is the duty

:19:31.:19:34.

of Government to explain wh`t it is doing and ask for the support of the

:19:35.:19:38.

House for our response to the needs of mental health as my Right

:19:39.:19:41.

Honourable Friend set out in his remarks. I don't want the mdssage of

:19:42.:19:45.

this debate to be our procedure and our vote. I want the messagd of this

:19:46.:19:50.

debate to be in the speeches we ve heard, in the words quoted from our

:19:51.:19:53.

constituents and others, in the recognition our Parliament `nd its

:19:54.:19:57.

members have got it in terms of mental health and that the programme

:19:58.:20:01.

rest being made over a numbdr of years, and by successive Governments

:20:02.:20:05.

is not going to stop but be accelerated. We will point to our

:20:06.:20:11.

world leading IAPS programmd and the work of Richard and David Clarke in

:20:12.:20:16.

relation to that. The inspiration in our local areas for our crisis care

:20:17.:20:25.

work. The improvement in di`gnosis and treatment of dementia, our

:20:26.:20:30.

determination to see the ?1.25 billion investments in children and

:20:31.:20:34.

young people's services delhvered in a sea change of previously tnder

:20:35.:20:40.

valued services. But I want more. Our ambition building upon `ll that

:20:41.:20:45.

has been done to be recognised by providing the world's best lental

:20:46.:20:49.

health services and I want ts to be really close by 2020. I want to see

:20:50.:20:56.

the inevitability of suicidd challenged and rejected as we do

:20:57.:21:01.

more to combat the scourge of sewer side. A campaign against loneliness

:21:02.:21:07.

and isolation. And clubs around the country to bring more peopld in and

:21:08.:21:16.

let no-one O'Go. I want to see a step change in perinatal urgent work

:21:17.:21:22.

to improve those services. H want to see children's mental health whose

:21:23.:21:27.

effects are not yet fully c`lculated to be protected by young people

:21:28.:21:33.

themselves through their own use of new technology and ingenuitx,

:21:34.:21:36.

assisted by teachers and mentor everywhere. I want the mothdr I

:21:37.:21:42.

mentioned at the start of mx remarks to be reassured others like her will

:21:43.:21:48.

know who to turn to quickly. I don't awant anyone suffering from mental

:21:49.:21:52.

ill-health ever again to fedl like no-one's listening. So whether or

:21:53.:21:57.

not you join my Right Honourable Friend and myself this afternoon, I

:21:58.:22:03.

know each and every one of ts in this chamber shares that ambition. I

:22:04.:22:07.

look forward to working with colleagues across the House to work

:22:08.:22:14.

relentlessly. As many of th`t opinion say aye. The contrary no.

:22:15.:22:18.

THE SPEAKER: Clear the lobbhes. Are you ready? The question on the

:22:19.:23:23.

order paper, those who say `ye and those who say no.

:23:24.:30:33.

Are we OK? Order, order! Thd ayes to the right 209. The noes to the left

:30:34.:34:27.

290. The eyes to the right 209. The nose

:34:28.:34:43.

to the left 290. The noes h`ve it, the noes have it. Unlock. Wd now

:34:44.:34:51.

come to an immersion in the name of the Leader of the Opposition on

:34:52.:34:55.

women and the economy. -- come to the motion. I call on Kate Green.

:34:56.:35:02.

Thank you. I rise to move the motion on the order paper in my nale and

:35:03.:35:07.

that is with my honourable `nd right Honourable friends. Mr Deputy

:35:08.:35:15.

Speaker, at his party's anntal conference, the Prime Minister

:35:16.:35:21.

nailed his colours to the m`st. He said, I am the dad of two d`ughters,

:35:22.:35:26.

you cannot have true opporttnity without real equality. That is

:35:27.:35:32.

right. That is why today Labour has called this debate, to put his

:35:33.:35:38.

party's record under the microscope. To assess the extent to which the

:35:39.:35:44.

Prime Minister's words are latched by the actions of his government,

:35:45.:35:52.

and the actions of his Chancellor. Mr Deputy Speaker, it is a record

:35:53.:35:58.

that is found wanting. Whether that is in relation to fiscal me`sures,

:35:59.:36:04.

taxes and benefits, in relation to the Labour market and women's

:36:05.:36:10.

employment rights and chancds, in relation to public spending on

:36:11.:36:15.

services and infrastructure, in relation to women's safety, or in

:36:16.:36:21.

relation to women's voice and influence, far from deliverhng the

:36:22.:36:25.

security the Chancellor prolised would be at the heart of his

:36:26.:36:31.

spending decisions, women, of all ages and from different backgrounds,

:36:32.:36:36.

faith an insecure and worryhng future as a result of government

:36:37.:36:42.

policy. -- face. I suppose we should not be surprised. After all, this is

:36:43.:36:48.

the Prime Minister, who reg`rds equality impact assessment `s tick

:36:49.:36:55.

box staff and bureaucratic nonsense. We all know, all too well, what

:36:56.:37:03.

happens when you do not carry out full and proper equality impact

:37:04.:37:10.

assessment. Just two weeks `go, the Chancellor rose to deliver his

:37:11.:37:16.

Autumn Statement. His track record in power has been shameful. Since

:37:17.:37:24.

2010, more than 80% of tax `nd benefits savings have been taken

:37:25.:37:28.

from the purses of women. More than 80%. Is my honourable friend aware

:37:29.:37:37.

that, according to the Unitdd Nations, on the current ratd of

:37:38.:37:41.

progress, it will take Brit`in another 70 years to close the gender

:37:42.:37:47.

pay gap? I think the Prime Minister's daughters may be sadly

:37:48.:37:52.

disappointed. Does she agred with me that this is totally unacceptable?

:37:53.:37:57.

My honourable friend is right. Neither she nor I have 70 ydars to

:37:58.:38:02.

wait for it to be equalised. It is a point I wish to return to l`ter on

:38:03.:38:09.

in the debate. Why didn't the last Labour government solve this

:38:10.:38:10.

problem? We did better than the coalhtion or

:38:11.:38:21.

this government. The speed of reduction under the Labour

:38:22.:38:25.

governments in the last dec`de meant the gender pay gap came down by a

:38:26.:38:31.

third, progress that has not been maintained under Conservative left

:38:32.:38:36.

governments. -- Conservativd led governments. We knew, of cotrse

:38:37.:38:43.

that the Chancellor had been forced to listen and would have to to back

:38:44.:38:47.

down on the cuts to tax credits he announced in the summer that hit

:38:48.:38:55.

women disproportionately hard. But we have to wonder, knowing 70% of

:38:56.:38:58.

the savings to the Treasury from this policy would have come from

:38:59.:39:02.

women, why he thought it was a good idea. I will give way. I th`nk her

:39:03.:39:12.

for giving way. On that point, over 82% of cuts that the Chancellor

:39:13.:39:16.

talked about, women bore thd brunt of that. Does she agree that George

:39:17.:39:21.

Osborne is every woman's worst nightmare? I am not going to presume

:39:22.:39:30.

to speak for Everywoman's attitude to the Chancellor but his policies

:39:31.:39:34.

have been damaging for a substantial number of women. Of course H will

:39:35.:39:43.

give way. Figures show around 6 % of women will benefit from the new

:39:44.:39:46.

national living wage. Will she accept it was wrong for her party to

:39:47.:39:53.

oppose the summer budget? Fhrst he is wrong to say my party opposed it.

:39:54.:39:59.

We did not. We did say it would not be sufficient to compensate for the

:40:00.:40:04.

cuts to tax credits and bendfits and secondly, he might like to know and

:40:05.:40:09.

I will return to this point in my speech, analysis shows thosd who

:40:10.:40:12.

benefit from the national lhving wage are not the same peopld as lose

:40:13.:40:18.

out from cuts to tax credits and benefits. This kind of nonsdnse and

:40:19.:40:23.

sleight of hand about figurds, does the party opposite no credit. They

:40:24.:40:28.

should be prepared to come clean about who benefits from thehr

:40:29.:40:35.

policies. The Chancellor in the Autumn Statement has been forced,

:40:36.:40:39.

under pressure from our sidd of the house, to make changes to hhs plans.

:40:40.:40:46.

But the cuts to tax credits are not abandoned, they have just bden

:40:47.:40:51.

delayed. The same savings whll still be made elsewhere in the system and

:40:52.:40:55.

women will still lose out. Women will be hit three times as hard as

:40:56.:41:01.

men by the cuts in this year's summer budget and Autumn St`tement,

:41:02.:41:07.

according to analysis commissioned by my right honourable friend, the

:41:08.:41:14.

member for Normanton, by thd House of Commons library. That is three

:41:15.:41:19.

times as hard in six short lonths, in just two spending announcements.

:41:20.:41:25.

Because many of the Chancellor's policies that are inimical to the

:41:26.:41:29.

interests of women remain vdry firmly in place. We'll be honourable

:41:30.:41:38.

lady recognise the government's proposals to force companies to

:41:39.:41:41.

publish details of salary and bonuses is a welcome step to reduce

:41:42.:41:46.

the pay gap and something this government is introducing and hers

:41:47.:41:51.

did not? I must correct him. It was a Labour government that left that

:41:52.:41:57.

measure on the statute book. It then took a conservative led govdrnment

:41:58.:42:03.

another five and a half years to put it into action and even now what has

:42:04.:42:08.

been put into action is not sufficient. It does not provide for

:42:09.:42:13.

a breakdown of grades and dhfferent job roles. It is a welcome leasure,

:42:14.:42:21.

we are proud to have enacted it but I hope the government will go

:42:22.:42:26.

further. She is absolutely right to raise the issue of gender ilpact on

:42:27.:42:32.

the government's policies. She will be aware there have been huge

:42:33.:42:36.

reductions in public servicds, and of course, the workforce in local

:42:37.:42:44.

government is made up of 75$ women, 77% of the workforce in the NHS and

:42:45.:42:51.

80% of the workforce in sochal care. These reductions have an impact on

:42:52.:42:55.

the employment prospects of women in the public service. The public

:42:56.:43:03.

services traditionally have had a better record in many respects in

:43:04.:43:08.

relation to promotion of wolen and indeed in other groups with

:43:09.:43:12.

protected characteristics. Ht is a matter of concern cuts to ptblic

:43:13.:43:19.

sector spending will have an impact on women's employment, on women s

:43:20.:43:24.

employment prospects, and otr part of the reason why we have sden

:43:25.:43:29.

unemployment among women relain higher than that of men -- `re the

:43:30.:43:35.

reason. Many of the Chancellor's policies that are harmful to the

:43:36.:43:39.

interests of women are still sadly in place. The cuts and freeze to

:43:40.:43:50.

child benefit, local housing credits, tapers and thresholds, a

:43:51.:43:58.

disincentive for second earners in universal credit. Second earners in

:43:59.:44:01.

households are often women. The benefit cap, the two child policy in

:44:02.:44:11.

child tax credits, increased parent conditionality, and an alarling rise

:44:12.:44:16.

in lone parent 's actions, ,- parent sanctions. I will give way. My

:44:17.:44:32.

honourable friend is making a persuasive case. Very few pdople

:44:33.:44:36.

know is family incomes like she does. Can I draw her back to local

:44:37.:44:41.

government, and not just thd workforce, but those working in

:44:42.:44:45.

services commission by local government, mainly care, whdre women

:44:46.:44:51.

work and are low-paid? My honourable friend is right. Care is ond sector

:44:52.:44:57.

in which low-paid women's jobs are concentrated, whether through direct

:44:58.:45:01.

employment through public sdrvices or commission services from local

:45:02.:45:05.

government. It is going to be helpful over time to see thd

:45:06.:45:13.

national minimum wage, the living wage, increased for those workers

:45:14.:45:17.

but if local authorities ard not funded to meet the costs of that

:45:18.:45:23.

increase, we can expect to see pressures in the system and most

:45:24.:45:26.

likely in the quality of care provided, which will impact on women

:45:27.:45:29.

because women typically provide that family care. I will give wax. I am

:45:30.:45:37.

grateful. Was she as concerned as a highly to hear the Secretarx of

:45:38.:45:42.

State for Work and Pensions State on BBC on Sunday that people on

:45:43.:45:46.

universal credit will not lose a penny and yet we know a lond parent

:45:47.:45:51.

with one child working 20 hours a week on the lowest pay will lose

:45:52.:45:59.

?2800 a year from next April? Yes my honourable friend is right `nd I

:46:00.:46:02.

believe the Secretary of St`te has acknowledged what he said w`s not

:46:03.:46:08.

entirely correct at the weekend As we have discussed lone parents, I

:46:09.:46:11.

think the house will be intdrested to know the House of Commons library

:46:12.:46:18.

says a lone parent with two children working 20 hours a week on the

:46:19.:46:23.

national living wage will lose 2800 by the end of the parliament, a

:46:24.:46:29.

substantial amount for a falily which by definition can onlx have

:46:30.:46:36.

one earner, so care can be combined with employment responsibilhties.

:46:37.:46:39.

The introduction of the nathonal living wage and free childc`re

:46:40.:46:44.

places cannot compensate in hole for the cuts. The RAF said said it is

:46:45.:46:49.

impossible and in any event, as I pointed out, the people who gain

:46:50.:46:55.

from the increased minimum wage are not the same people who are losing

:46:56.:46:59.

out. I am grateful. What do she say to

:47:00.:47:09.

the fact that 53% of apprenticeship starts in 2014 were women, ` policy

:47:10.:47:13.

the government is pushing? I will return to this point. The

:47:14.:47:18.

honourable lady is right, btt we need to look and will look

:47:19.:47:29.

shortly... We will see that the way in which those apprenticeshhps are

:47:30.:47:33.

distributed between women and men, the sectors in which they work and

:47:34.:47:38.

employment destinations thex achieve are not equal and sadly contribute

:47:39.:47:44.

in the short and long run to the inequality women experience in the

:47:45.:47:48.

labour market. Our right honourable friend I think is acknowledging

:47:49.:47:53.

that. I hope when the minister responds to the debate will say

:47:54.:47:56.

something about government strategy to address that.

:47:57.:48:02.

It is not just women of working age losing out from government policy,

:48:03.:48:09.

the older women have a situ`tion that is equally serious. Single

:48:10.:48:12.

female pensioners lose most, according to be women's budget

:48:13.:48:19.

group. Another points out in 20 7 the ?155 a week state pension will

:48:20.:48:26.

be paid to only 22% of older women. The difficulty that women f`ce in

:48:27.:48:33.

working part-time, or in not being able to fulfil the increased 35

:48:34.:48:38.

years of contributions requhrement puts them at further disadv`ntage.

:48:39.:48:43.

Within are less likely to h`ve access to a good occupation`l

:48:44.:48:51.

pension. She is making a powerful speech. The Prime Minister hn this

:48:52.:48:57.

chamber declared himself to be a feminist, but that does not seem to

:48:58.:49:01.

correspond with the party opposite's policies and just as he oncd forgot

:49:02.:49:06.

his daughter in a pub, they seem to have forgotten about equality for

:49:07.:49:12.

women! I am unable to descrhbe the policies of the government `s

:49:13.:49:18.

pro-female, or indeed feminhst, but perhaps the minister will sdek to

:49:19.:49:24.

defend his record. Women have seen a sharp increase in their state

:49:25.:49:28.

pension age as a result of the 011 pensions act. Those women who have

:49:29.:49:37.

seemed their pension increased have been hit hard. Particularly those

:49:38.:49:44.

born between 1951 and 1953. Not only do they have to wait longer for a

:49:45.:49:48.

pension, they are not eligible for a single tier pension in the same way

:49:49.:49:57.

as a man on the same day will be. I am grateful. She will know the work

:49:58.:50:04.

myself and my honourable frhend the member for Worsley and Ecclds have

:50:05.:50:10.

done in raising this. On Saturday I was at Denton Morrisons with ladies,

:50:11.:50:16.

part of a campaign group, who made the point to many constituents who

:50:17.:50:21.

were not aware of the changds and acceleration in the state pdnsion

:50:22.:50:25.

age, meaning these women, who are expecting to get their statd

:50:26.:50:30.

pension, will be disappointdd. The point they were making is the

:50:31.:50:34.

government's communications on this has been abysmal. My honour`ble

:50:35.:50:41.

friend is right, I have met that campaign group. Our honourable

:50:42.:50:48.

friend has a Westminster debate on this subject, pointing out the lack

:50:49.:50:54.

of notice to these women, a point made at the time the legisl`tion was

:50:55.:51:02.

passed in 2011. I will give way Since that debate, the formdr

:51:03.:51:10.

Pensions Minister has admitted we made a bad decision over increases

:51:11.:51:15.

in these ages. He maybe be dxcused his department had not been properly

:51:16.:51:19.

briefed and went into crisis talks with the Prime Minister and

:51:20.:51:23.

Chancellor to try to claw the billions back. Those women suffer

:51:24.:51:26.

because of that mistake and departmental failure. We he`rd the

:51:27.:51:34.

then Pensions Minister and other ministers assure us there would be

:51:35.:51:38.

transitional protection for those women. We have seen no sign of that

:51:39.:51:42.

protection and they are suffering as a result. Madam Deputy Speaker. We

:51:43.:51:54.

already know that women are twice as likely as men to live in poverty.

:51:55.:52:00.

Yet what we can see is this Chancellor has a blind spot when it

:52:01.:52:05.

comes to gender, he is eithdr unaware or not interested in the

:52:06.:52:15.

gendered nature of poverty. It is not the short-term policies, it is

:52:16.:52:18.

about the long-term impact on our country's future. Women are more

:52:19.:52:25.

likely to manage household budgets. They are more likely to be the main

:52:26.:52:30.

carers of children. And poor mothers have poor children. So women's

:52:31.:52:36.

continued economic disadvantage means more children growing up in

:52:37.:52:41.

poverty with long-term damaging effects of those children and on our

:52:42.:52:48.

future economic potential. Does she accept that does not discrilinate?

:52:49.:52:53.

It is in the interests of every member of society that we rtn sound

:52:54.:52:58.

public finances, which is the reason for many measures she descrhbed

:52:59.:53:01.

earlier. Unless we reduced the deficit and get into the bl`ck, we

:53:02.:53:06.

will leave every member of society, male or female, with a masshve debt.

:53:07.:53:13.

We on this side agree about the importance of prudent managdment of

:53:14.:53:17.

public finances. This is thd Chancellor who promised to dliminate

:53:18.:53:20.

the deficit by the time of the last parliament. What he achieved was

:53:21.:53:33.

what the then Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling suggested, which

:53:34.:53:35.

was too half it. This is a Chancellor who presided over a rise

:53:36.:53:37.

in public debt and a Chancellor who is substituting once again... You

:53:38.:53:40.

would think we would be learning, private debt for public debt, so the

:53:41.:53:46.

OBR forecast by the end of the parliament, household debt will be

:53:47.:53:49.

back at recession levels. Something we should be alarmed about.

:53:50.:53:54.

My memory is failing me. Wotld you remind me which Chancellor dnded

:53:55.:54:03.

boom and bust? What I remind the honourable gentleman is two things.

:54:04.:54:09.

The crash in 2008 was a global crash which began in the United States of

:54:10.:54:14.

America. It was not caused by the spending plans and policies of the

:54:15.:54:18.

then Labour government. Secondly, what I will also remind him of if it

:54:19.:54:24.

was the actions taken by thd then Prime Minister and Chancellor which

:54:25.:54:27.

rescued the economy at a tile when we could have seen the entire

:54:28.:54:31.

financial system crashing into a hole, which would have left families

:54:32.:54:37.

with no salaries, no incomes, no ability to pay mortgages, no

:54:38.:54:40.

burning. I will come to the honourable gentleman now. Hd says

:54:41.:54:46.

his memory is faulty. It was that Labour government which took the

:54:47.:54:48.

economy through a desperately dangerous period at a time when the

:54:49.:54:51.

present Prime Minister and Chancellor were saying it would be

:54:52.:54:55.

best to do something and not to rescue those banks. Something which

:54:56.:55:00.

would have caused absolute financial disaster for families. Whild I am on

:55:01.:55:03.

the subject of reminding about the track record of the previous Labour

:55:04.:55:07.

government and the previous Conservative opposition, of course I

:55:08.:55:12.

regret. Anyone can see we should have regulated the banking system

:55:13.:55:18.

more tightly. It was the prdsent Prime Minister and the presdnt

:55:19.:55:20.

Chancellor of fixture who s`id Labour was being too restrictive in

:55:21.:55:25.

its regulation of financial services sector. The history lesson H think

:55:26.:55:31.

does not favour the honourable member's party. Hearing the

:55:32.:55:35.

honourable lady talk about financial regulation with the Labour Party is

:55:36.:55:40.

like hearing about how Herod should have been kinder to the first-born.

:55:41.:55:47.

Her right honourable friend, the member for Don Caster failed. Did

:55:48.:55:51.

the Labour Party borrowed too much, did it spend too much, and faced

:55:52.:55:57.

with that international fin`ncial difficulty, Britain was in ` very

:55:58.:56:03.

precarious place? Can I just remind everyone what the debate was about?

:56:04.:56:07.

We are wondering 1 million liles away from the subject. The Shadow

:56:08.:56:12.

Minister may want to answer that question. Is she chooses not to she

:56:13.:56:20.

is perfectly entitled not to do so. -- if she chooses. In my

:56:21.:56:28.

constituency, the investment we made in housing, hospitals, policing in

:56:29.:56:33.

schools, benefited families and women. It grew the economy: it

:56:34.:56:39.

created jobs, and it lifted 1 million children out of povdrty I

:56:40.:56:45.

am proud of that record. Madam Deputy Speaker, the Chancellor's

:56:46.:56:50.

gender blindness is not confined to his school decisions. Investment in

:56:51.:56:54.

infrastructure announced in the summer budget and the Autumn

:56:55.:56:59.

Statement are, of course, wdlcome. The amendment in the social

:57:00.:57:07.

infrastructure that supports women to work, learn and care, is sadly

:57:08.:57:10.

lacking. Where was the Labotr market strategy which helps women to

:57:11.:57:13.

prosper and progress in the workplace? I recognise therd are

:57:14.:57:18.

more women in work, not least because the increase in state

:57:19.:57:22.

pension age and inward migr`tion means there are more women of

:57:23.:57:28.

working age who must work. Women's unemployment remains higher than

:57:29.:57:31.

prerecession levels. For wolen over the age of 52 7% above the 2008

:57:32.:57:37.

unemployment rate and the young women's trust says twice as many

:57:38.:57:42.

young women as young men ard considered to be economically

:57:43.:57:45.

inactive. I will give way to my honourable friend I think the case

:57:46.:57:52.

that is being made, it is ironic when you hear contributions from the

:57:53.:57:56.

Conservative benches. Inequ`lity is actually hitting our economx. Far

:57:57.:58:01.

from Britain not being able to afford gender equality, the case she

:58:02.:58:06.

is making is we cannot afford not to get this wrong. Absolutely. That is

:58:07.:58:14.

right. Our economy is losing out by under participation in the Labour

:58:15.:58:18.

market, underperforming in terms of earnings and therefore their ability

:58:19.:58:23.

both to support families and contribute in the local economy and

:58:24.:58:26.

underperforming in terms of the drain that that means on our public

:58:27.:58:33.

spending, when they are not able to provide financial means to support

:58:34.:58:36.

themselves and their familids. For women in work, pay remains `

:58:37.:58:43.

significant issue. Over half of the jobs growth for women since 201 has

:58:44.:58:47.

been in low-paid sectors. In Scotland six out of ten jobs have

:58:48.:58:52.

been created in low paid, more insecure, sectors over the period of

:58:53.:58:57.

the majority SNP government. 78 are women work in low paid soci`l care

:58:58.:59:02.

while 86 the centre workers in the so-called stem industries are much

:59:03.:59:08.

better paid -- much better paid are men. Some women have been offered

:59:09.:59:15.

jobs less than the minimum wage The overall gender pay gap stands at

:59:16.:59:20.

19.2%, considerably higher than the European Union average and has been

:59:21.:59:25.

falling more slowly than under the last Labour government and reflects

:59:26.:59:31.

downward convergence between women's and men's wages, not that women s

:59:32.:59:38.

wages are rising to close the gap. You have been very generous in

:59:39.:59:42.

giving way. On the issue of women being paid less than minimul wage

:59:43.:59:46.

from Isner also another factor in that the Government is making cuts

:59:47.:59:51.

to HMR see which was stopped the enforcement of the minimum wage in

:59:52.:59:58.

many sectors of the economy? -- which will stop. This underlies the

:59:59.:00:06.

Government's economic stratdgy. Penny wise and pound foolish it is a

:00:07.:00:12.

very good example of it. Thd honourable member is absolutely

:00:13.:00:15.

right. We need to invest in our young children, our young adults,

:00:16.:00:20.

young women going through school to study. This is what this Ch`ncellor

:00:21.:00:26.

is doing. Because of investlent we have a record number of girls taking

:00:27.:00:32.

A-levels in science and maths. 10,000 more stem A-level entries

:00:33.:00:36.

with girls. That is absolutdly what we are doing. We must be ambitious

:00:37.:00:40.

and aspirational for our next generation. The honourable lady is

:00:41.:00:46.

right. Perhaps we can open some of that up in a moment or two when we

:00:47.:00:51.

look at what is happening whth young people in their career desthnations.

:00:52.:00:55.

Part-time and temporary worker exacerbated the gender pay gap. 74%

:00:56.:01:00.

of those working part-time women. Some have been offered zero our

:01:01.:01:08.

contracts. It is the distal portion in large -- disproportionatd number

:01:09.:01:12.

of young women that means it is such an issue. It makes life worth and

:01:13.:01:17.

not better for those women. There is no government strategy to address

:01:18.:01:22.

those areas of the economy such as cleaning, retail, care or

:01:23.:01:25.

hospitality, where there is a chronic or persistent low p`y in

:01:26.:01:28.

which women are predominantly working. The gunmen publishdd its

:01:29.:01:38.

action plan on women and eqtalities. -- the Government published its

:01:39.:01:42.

action plan on women and thd economy. As the honourable lember

:01:43.:01:47.

has noted, the plan containdd welcome words about increashng

:01:48.:01:53.

participation in stem subjects and encouraging them to go into careers

:01:54.:02:02.

and become entrepreneurs. The CBI reports that 93% of young pdople are

:02:03.:02:07.

not getting access to adequ`te careers advice and girls ard still

:02:08.:02:12.

too often pigeonholed into traditionally female career routes.

:02:13.:02:17.

Can you give way? Thank you. The percentage of women in senior

:02:18.:02:22.

management roles in the private sector is 19% in 2013. It r`nked the

:02:23.:02:27.

UK in the bottom ten countrhes globally. Does my honourabld friend

:02:28.:02:35.

agree this is completely unacceptable? It is not a rdcord to

:02:36.:02:40.

be proud of. Worryingly, thd young women's trust says young wolen are

:02:41.:02:44.

more likely than women over the age of 31 to think that many

:02:45.:02:48.

traditionally male roles ard out of their reach. Just 15% of unhversity

:02:49.:02:53.

places for computer science and engineering are taken by wolen

:02:54.:02:57.

students will stop while, as the honourable lady noted, the lajority

:02:58.:03:01.

of apprenticeships are taken up by women, two thirds of women

:03:02.:03:05.

apprentices are in the five lowest paid industry sectors and, `fter

:03:06.:03:10.

completing an apprenticeship, 1 % of women are out of work, comp`red with

:03:11.:03:15.

only 6% of male apprentices. I will give way to the minister. Whth the

:03:16.:03:20.

minister agree the ladies that today are starting apprenticeships with

:03:21.:03:27.

women he went to university under her party in government, it was

:03:28.:03:31.

their lack of careers advicd, their lack of engendering the ambhtion and

:03:32.:03:36.

aspiration which may have rdsulted in some of the sadistic she raises?

:03:37.:03:45.

The CBI were not asking abott the careers advice offered under a

:03:46.:03:48.

Labour government. They werd asking about careers advice on offdr now.

:03:49.:03:53.

The Government has scrapped the careers service which is decent

:03:54.:03:56.

They are asking people to go online to get advice. Damn sure my

:03:57.:04:00.

honourable friend is aware of the report under the Coalition

:04:01.:04:08.

Government which showed the collapse of the careers service under the

:04:09.:04:13.

Coalition Government. I hopd the minister will take more timd in her

:04:14.:04:18.

speech to show what part of the current apprenticeship strategy is

:04:19.:04:23.

stressing in agenda -- ineqtality. It wants to encourage more women to

:04:24.:04:27.

become business owners and entrepreneurs. There has bedn a

:04:28.:04:31.

significant increase in the number of self-employed women betwden 008

:04:32.:04:36.

and 2011. More than 80% of the newly self-employed women. That m`y not

:04:37.:04:41.

always be by choice. Increase conditionality and lack of suitable

:04:42.:04:45.

implement means self-employlent is an economic necessity for S`m and

:04:46.:04:50.

yet the average income of a self-employed woman is just ?9, 00

:04:51.:04:56.

per annum, according to the women's budget group, compared with ?17 000

:04:57.:05:02.

per annum for a self-employdd man. Self-employment is not a rotte out

:05:03.:05:07.

of poverty for those women. I will make some progress but I hope she

:05:08.:05:12.

will speak in the debate. Overall, the Government strategy for women at

:05:13.:05:17.

work is simply insufficient. That is not just bad for men. As my

:05:18.:05:22.

honourable friend, the membdr for Chesterfield, noted, it is bad for

:05:23.:05:27.

our economy. The Government's own course alteration, closing the

:05:28.:05:33.

gender pay gap, published this year, takes women's productivity `nd

:05:34.:05:41.

employment by equalising participation rates, it could add

:05:42.:05:45.

10% to the size of the economy. Action is urgently needed.

:05:46.:05:49.

Meanwhile, women are also sdeing their rights in the workplace

:05:50.:05:54.

attacked. The introduction of tribunal fees means you can afford

:05:55.:05:58.

the ?1200 to pursue an equal pay claim. Maternity discrimination

:05:59.:06:02.

cases have nearly doubled while the number of cases going to trhbunal

:06:03.:06:08.

has fallen to 80%. So much for the Government commitment to economic

:06:09.:06:12.

equality. Cuts to spending on public services as we have noticed also hit

:06:13.:06:20.

women hardest. There are 763 US Sure Start centres than in 2010. The care

:06:21.:06:25.

sector has been affected badly by the cut in local council budgets.

:06:26.:06:30.

The additional 3.5 billion lini Autumn Statement bells to compensate

:06:31.:06:35.

for the drastic cuts which have already taken place. -- in the

:06:36.:06:38.

Autumn Statement fails to compensate. It is women who will

:06:39.:06:43.

lose out from a lack of paid for care, as they so often have to step

:06:44.:06:51.

in to fill the gap. Terrifyhng for women having to flee domesthc

:06:52.:06:59.

violence, there have been moves to protect women's two. At that women

:07:00.:07:03.

are being turned away from refuges because there was not room for them.

:07:04.:07:10.

Services were closed due to lack of funds. The title's short-term

:07:11.:07:18.

proposal to fund domestic vholence services makes the funding

:07:19.:07:21.

symbolically and literally the responsibility only of women. Madam

:07:22.:07:27.

Deputy Speaker, two women a week are killed as a result of domestic

:07:28.:07:31.

violence. That must be the responsibility of everyone hn

:07:32.:07:35.

society. Why does all of thhs happen? Why are women hit the

:07:36.:07:40.

hardest? It happens because we are not present where decisions are

:07:41.:07:46.

taken. Our voices are not hdard 80% of stories in the media, about the

:07:47.:07:57.

economy, are about men or qtote men. There has been an improvement but

:07:58.:08:03.

the proportion of women in dxecutive positions on FTSE 100 boards remains

:08:04.:08:07.

lamentably low. I will make some progress. As for the Governlent s

:08:08.:08:12.

own track record, the women and equality minister 's own edtcation

:08:13.:08:17.

Department management board contains just to women out of 12. It is clear

:08:18.:08:24.

from these announcements and circumstances that the Government is

:08:25.:08:32.

ignorant and deliberately t`rgeting women for the worse effects. That

:08:33.:08:40.

makes a mockery of the Primd Minister's words, about his

:08:41.:08:44.

commitment to gender equality. In conclusion, let me make a fdw

:08:45.:08:47.

suggestions about what ministers could start to do to address the

:08:48.:08:53.

inherent gender inequality that runs right through this government's

:08:54.:08:59.

agenda. First, carry out a full cumulative impact assessment of all

:09:00.:09:03.

government policies since 2010 to analyse the impact on women. Act now

:09:04.:09:09.

to address any disproportionately damaging effects. Commit to

:09:10.:09:16.

introducing and publishing immediately cumulative equality

:09:17.:09:21.

impact assessment, right across government, and to remedial action

:09:22.:09:25.

were ever policy is bound to be in a couple to equality as the L`bour

:09:26.:09:29.

government in Wales is alre`dy committed to doing. Ensure that

:09:30.:09:34.

women are at the heart of decision-making at every level.

:09:35.:09:37.

Isn't it time that the Government published a fall, comprehensive

:09:38.:09:44.

cross government gender equ`lity strategy that addresses the economic

:09:45.:09:48.

and social discrimination and disadvantage that has becomd the

:09:49.:09:52.

hallmark of this government? Madam Deputy Speaker, that is what the

:09:53.:09:56.

opposition is calling for this afternoon and I commend our motion

:09:57.:09:57.

to the house. The question is as on the order

:09:58.:10:09.

paper. It is an enormous pldasure to respond to this debate on what is an

:10:10.:10:14.

important area. I have to start what I want to say with a note of

:10:15.:10:19.

sadness, and I direct back to the opposition spokesperson. Absolutely

:10:20.:10:23.

nothing she said this afternoon not a word from her mouth, championed,

:10:24.:10:28.

celebrated the achievements women make every day, even those that

:10:29.:10:37.

start their own businesses, create jobs, generating the economhc

:10:38.:10:40.

recovery we are seeing, she could not celebrate. She sees that as a

:10:41.:10:45.

negative, which underlines how the party opposite see small businesses.

:10:46.:10:51.

I will make progress. A vibrant economy where everyone can play

:10:52.:10:54.

their part and this is at the heart of the government mission to govern

:10:55.:10:59.

as one nation. As the Prime Minister said, you cannot have opportunity

:11:00.:11:03.

without equality and the message goes the heart of what the

:11:04.:11:06.

government wants to achieve for women. This year is the 40th

:11:07.:11:10.

anniversary of the sex discrimination act and I am pleased

:11:11.:11:15.

to say we have seen significant economic progress for women in those

:11:16.:11:20.

years. Over the past five ydars we have made huge strides with more

:11:21.:11:26.

women in work. Female emploxment has increased with 14.6 million women

:11:27.:11:32.

now working. There are over a million small businesses with women

:11:33.:11:37.

at the helm. We have helped to achieve the lowest gender p`y gap on

:11:38.:11:43.

record and more than doubled women's representation on FTSE 100 board

:11:44.:11:54.

since 2011. I am grateful. Does she consider it a success that women...

:11:55.:12:00.

She mentioned about women and their own businesses, that they are likely

:12:01.:12:05.

to have an average income of ?9 800 compared to self-employed mdn, who

:12:06.:12:13.

have an average of 17,000? H likes to champion every woman who starts

:12:14.:12:18.

her own business that pursuds her passion and creates employmdnt.

:12:19.:12:23.

There are many obstacles th`t prevent women from starting their

:12:24.:12:27.

businesses and growing them will stop those are obstacles we are

:12:28.:12:30.

seeking to overcome and I whll come to that later in my comments. We

:12:31.:12:37.

have a long way to go. We are by no means complacent in any way. There

:12:38.:12:43.

is so much more we can do to make sure women play their part hn this

:12:44.:12:47.

economy. This government wants to make sure all women can fulfil their

:12:48.:12:54.

potential. Over 1.5 women in work say they would like to do more hours

:12:55.:13:00.

than if they could -- if thdy could. If they could work one more hour a

:13:01.:13:05.

week it would contribute to productivity. We cannot afford to

:13:06.:13:10.

waste the talents of a single person, let alone half of otr

:13:11.:13:18.

population. While these argtments are important, frankly, gender

:13:19.:13:21.

equality is also just the rhght thing to do. I am grateful to the

:13:22.:13:30.

minister for giving way. In the last government I commissioned, `long

:13:31.:13:34.

with Jo Swinson, a report produced by a professor of Glasgow C`ledonian

:13:35.:13:39.

University. What is the govdrnment doing with that? I will comd to that

:13:40.:13:48.

later in my comments. I would like to join him in paying tribute to Jo

:13:49.:13:54.

Swinson, who was my predecessor and did an excellent job. This

:13:55.:14:00.

commitment to gender equality informs the difficult decishons we

:14:01.:14:04.

have had to make to return the country to surplus and ensure we no

:14:05.:14:12.

longer depend on debt. The reason we are in this position, despite the

:14:13.:14:16.

mass amnesia that seems to have broken out, it is because of the

:14:17.:14:21.

party opposite, whose financial mismanagement meant we had to take

:14:22.:14:26.

difficult decisions, unpleasant decisions, to tackle... Those

:14:27.:14:31.

difficult decisions to balance the books and live within our mdans We

:14:32.:14:38.

know women still earn, own `nd retire with less than male

:14:39.:14:42.

counterparts, but where do H start with this motion before us today? I

:14:43.:14:47.

will have a sit down while H think about it. Thank you for allowing me

:14:48.:14:52.

to intervene. Is the ministdr appalled like I am that womdn

:14:53.:14:57.

claimants for J SA went up hn the last two years of the Labour

:14:58.:15:02.

government, almost double the previous number of claimants and has

:15:03.:15:09.

now reduced by 746,000 under us She makes an excellent point. Wd do not

:15:10.:15:13.

take lessons about female elployment from the party opposite. In our

:15:14.:15:18.

house when we grew up if it rained we used to say we blame the Tories.

:15:19.:15:25.

I am no stranger to her polhtical strategy. She commenced her remarks

:15:26.:15:29.

about celebrating the contrhbution of women and I would like to ask if

:15:30.:15:36.

it pays tribute to women in our economy to bang on about thd last

:15:37.:15:40.

government in the way she's doing? I'm sure she feels it is convenient

:15:41.:15:44.

to forget about what happendd under the last Labour government. When it

:15:45.:15:48.

rains we talk about fixing the roof before that happens, while the sun

:15:49.:15:54.

is shining. I want to talk `bout the motion before us. The evidence is

:15:55.:16:04.

deeply flawed. It is typical back of the fag packet stuff that wd have

:16:05.:16:09.

sadly come to expect from the party opposite. They have made bizarre and

:16:10.:16:15.

outdated assumptions about how households divide money. Thd

:16:16.:16:20.

inference that lower fuel prices do not help women. The pink battle bus

:16:21.:16:27.

may have run on something other than petrol but the rest of us fhll up in

:16:28.:16:34.

a normal way. They have also assumed any savings immediately mean a

:16:35.:16:41.

poorer service, which we know is not true. They made assumptions about

:16:42.:16:46.

how households divide their money. We know it is not true that savings

:16:47.:16:52.

mean a poorer service. What they don't understand is the public know

:16:53.:16:57.

it also. I am grateful to the minister, but she is making

:16:58.:17:01.

assertions when the academic research belies what she saxs. In

:17:02.:17:06.

many households it is true women managed the household budget, that

:17:07.:17:11.

it is not increasingly their income to manage. With the married couples'

:17:12.:17:16.

tax break more money is put in the wallets of men and women ard

:17:17.:17:20.

depending on men to fund thdm. On car ownership, the number of women

:17:21.:17:25.

owning and driving cars is below that of men, which is why it matters

:17:26.:17:30.

that benefits and tax poliches address what happens on how families

:17:31.:17:35.

live their lives. She has m`de sweeping assumptions about the fact

:17:36.:17:39.

child tax credits, child benefit, goes into the pockets of wolen. It

:17:40.:17:44.

is outdated. Families work `s a unit and pool their income will stop it

:17:45.:17:53.

is a sexist allegation. Would she agree that while the party opposite

:17:54.:17:59.

may spend all their time re`ding or commissioning academic studhes, we

:18:00.:18:02.

on this side of the house gdt on with delivering policies to the

:18:03.:18:06.

betterment and strengthening of the economy, to the betterment of all?

:18:07.:18:12.

An excellent point. Inherithng an economy riddled with dirt dhd not do

:18:13.:18:19.

anything for the women in this country, and not tackling the

:18:20.:18:23.

deficit would have been the real crime, and have placed an

:18:24.:18:27.

unacceptable risk to the economy and people'slives. The alternathve would

:18:28.:18:33.

be to risk the jobs and services women depend on. It would rhsk their

:18:34.:18:39.

children's education, their security, and, for those of us who

:18:40.:18:43.

want to insure everyone can fulfil their potential, these are not

:18:44.:18:49.

acceptable risks. The minister is talking about competence on her

:18:50.:18:54.

side. I quoted earlier a former Pensions Minister admitting a bad

:18:55.:18:57.

decision that cost millions of women, born in the 50s, ?30 billion.

:18:58.:19:05.

A mistake because the Pensions Minister was not properly briefed.

:19:06.:19:09.

He admits he was not briefed. He has added on two years to the pdnsion

:19:10.:19:14.

age of millions of women without realising. Does she really think she

:19:15.:19:17.

can claim competence for a government that does things like

:19:18.:19:24.

that? What she fails to recognise is in these pension changes, women who

:19:25.:19:28.

have taken time out to raisd children will not now be penalised

:19:29.:19:33.

under the system. She is behng a little of her. Thanks to thd

:19:34.:19:37.

government we are able to increase support for childcare costs and

:19:38.:19:42.

protect key government servhces The commitment to supporting wolen in

:19:43.:19:47.

work is a priority, which is why the Prime Minister pledged to end the

:19:48.:19:52.

gender pay gap within a gendration. There is no place for a pay gap in

:19:53.:19:59.

society. That is why we comlitted to requiring employers to publhsh the

:20:00.:20:02.

information on the difference between men and women's pay and

:20:03.:20:08.

bonuses. We will shortly consult on the regulation needed to gender pay

:20:09.:20:12.

reporting and I urge all employers to consider them carefully. We are

:20:13.:20:17.

not asking... Thank you. Is one of the ways in which the gender gap

:20:18.:20:23.

could be closed is addressing the issue of public procurement and

:20:24.:20:27.

requiring anyone tendering for a government contract to have done an

:20:28.:20:35.

equal pay audit? This is a conversation we have had many times,

:20:36.:20:43.

but I would gently say her government had 13 years to bring

:20:44.:20:51.

this in. We are not asking dmployers to do it on their own. We are trying

:20:52.:20:56.

to bring employers with us. That is the right thing. We are going to be

:20:57.:21:01.

providing extensive guidancd, case studies and toolkits. By working

:21:02.:21:06.

with business and employees we will see results. We will extend

:21:07.:21:10.

reporting requirements to the public sector. Labour had 13 years to do

:21:11.:21:20.

this. They failed. On the point of equal pay audits, they are not

:21:21.:21:24.

difficult to do. I did them before I came to this house, running them in

:21:25.:21:39.

the government take steps now? We the government take steps

:21:40.:21:39.

are requiring companies to publish are requiring companies to publish

:21:40.:21:40.

their gender pay information. It will go a long way and further than

:21:41.:21:48.

her party did in government. It is this government working with

:21:49.:21:54.

businesses to make it a reality I have listened to the debate about

:21:55.:22:01.

the gender pay gap. I am sure that the minister will join with me. The

:22:02.:22:07.

gender pay gap is almost elhminated for women under 40. I want to

:22:08.:22:11.

comment on what the honourable lady opposite said about audits `nd

:22:12.:22:16.

public procurement. If we w`nt more small and medium enterprises to bid

:22:17.:22:22.

for public contracts, they do not have the scale to do things like

:22:23.:22:28.

this. You will eliminate thdm from bidding for any government

:22:29.:22:35.

contracts. The honourable l`dy makes an excellent point. Record numbers

:22:36.:22:40.

of small and medium enterprhses are gaining public contracts. Wd cannot

:22:41.:22:44.

have our young women growing up in a country where they are paid less

:22:45.:22:47.

because of gender rather th`n have good they are at their job.

:22:48.:22:54.

Dash-macro good they are. One way of obtaining security is breakhng down

:22:55.:22:57.

barriers that hold too many women back. We have ensured more than 20

:22:58.:23:03.

million employees can request flexible working, providing more

:23:04.:23:07.

choice for working parents. We have introduced shared parental leave and

:23:08.:23:11.

that is why we will extend shared parental leave and pay to

:23:12.:23:15.

grandparents. This will support working parents with the cost of

:23:16.:23:19.

childcare and help the 2 million grandparents, the unsung heroes

:23:20.:23:23.

like my mum, who give up work, reduce hours or take time off to

:23:24.:23:27.

help with childcare. At the same time nearly a quarter of wolen

:23:28.:23:32.

between the ages of 50 and 64 are providing unpaid care for a relative

:23:33.:23:41.

or friend. We have invested 1.6 million to help those carers who

:23:42.:23:44.

wish to stay in work to bal`nce their different roles. Throtgh

:23:45.:23:47.

flexible working and innovative technology there are nine phlots

:23:48.:23:52.

exploring ways to help carers manage their paid work while looking after

:23:53.:23:56.

their loved one. We know ond of the most important issues affecting

:23:57.:24:00.

childcare. That is why we are childcare. That is why we are

:24:01.:24:07.

investing over ?1 billion more each year.

:24:08.:24:27.

This means the total governlent spend on childcare will increase

:24:28.:24:35.

from ?5 billion in 2015 two sixths over 6 billion by 20 20. Th`nk you

:24:36.:24:43.

to the Minister for giving way. Is the minister where that the funding

:24:44.:24:49.

offer from the Government for the additional 15 hours has been

:24:50.:24:57.

inadequate and, at best, confusing? There is a real risk that most

:24:58.:25:05.

places will be underfunded `nd many childcare places may have to close

:25:06.:25:09.

as a result, thus reducing the availability of suitable chhldcare.

:25:10.:25:15.

We are raising the funding for this. I will not take any lessons from the

:25:16.:25:20.

party opposite. I may be slhghtly older than many of them but I was a

:25:21.:25:25.

mum putting two children through childcare underuse of the L`bour

:25:26.:25:28.

government as I watched childcare prices become the most expensive in

:25:29.:25:32.

Europe. I was one of those women who was working to pay my childcare

:25:33.:25:36.

bill. Not only are there more women in work than ever before but we are

:25:37.:25:41.

taking steps to ensure work always pays. Thank you. I thank thd

:25:42.:25:47.

Minister for giving way. On the point of caring, this government has

:25:48.:25:53.

a fine record in terms of stpporting women that work. Would the linister

:25:54.:25:57.

welcomed me meetings that I have had with the DWP and other departments

:25:58.:26:06.

who have responsibilities bdyond children? People can stay in work,

:26:07.:26:11.

be more flexible in their work, and continue to support local

:26:12.:26:14.

communities and local government by the work they do alongside being in

:26:15.:26:19.

employment. She is absolutely right. These people make an incredhble

:26:20.:26:23.

contribution to our economy and need to be supported in everything they

:26:24.:26:28.

do. Not only are there more women in work than ever before, they are

:26:29.:26:31.

taking steps to make sure that work always pays a national living wage

:26:32.:26:36.

for some this will disproportionately benefit women. It

:26:37.:26:44.

will reach over ?9 by 2020. We expect that 65% of the beneficiaries

:26:45.:26:47.

will be women, making them financially better off. We will see

:26:48.:26:51.

increases in the personal allowance which will lift people out of income

:26:52.:26:57.

tax by 2018 and 60% of thesd will be women. This reform is again making

:26:58.:27:02.

women financially better off. We also have more women than ever right

:27:03.:27:09.

at the top of business. These women are fantastic role models. They are

:27:10.:27:12.

inspiring others to follow hn their footsteps. Thanks to the business

:27:13.:27:16.

led government backed appro`ch and the passion of business leaders like

:27:17.:27:22.

Lord Davies, we have doubled the number of women on these bo`rds

:27:23.:27:27.

since 2011. The minister is trumpeting the fact that wolen will

:27:28.:27:31.

disproportionately benefit from the so-called higher living wagd. That

:27:32.:27:34.

she not recognise the reason more women will benefit is because there

:27:35.:27:42.

are more low-paid women? He could not have put it better. As H already

:27:43.:27:47.

asked in a question myself, these women were educated and at the last

:27:48.:27:52.

Labour government. Under our education reforms, these wolen will

:27:53.:27:56.

be aspiring to higher paid work in future. When Labour left power,

:27:57.:28:01.

there were more than 20 all male boards in our FTSE 100 comp`nies and

:28:02.:28:08.

now we have none. The minister is being very generous allowing time.

:28:09.:28:12.

On the point about women on boards, they are an nonexecutive directors.

:28:13.:28:18.

Anyone who has sat on a board of directors, they know that ddcisions

:28:19.:28:22.

are made by executive directors and not nonexecutive directors. They are

:28:23.:28:27.

not all in nonexecutive dirdctor roles. We are criticising them. That

:28:28.:28:35.

is negative. She is right. We would like to see more women coming up

:28:36.:28:39.

through the executive pipelhne. We would like to see women that without

:28:40.:28:45.

quotas, without tokenistic gestures who have worked their way up to be

:28:46.:28:53.

there. That is why we are m`king the changes. Businesses are bendfiting

:28:54.:28:59.

from their immense skills of the every women on these boards knows

:29:00.:29:02.

they are there from merit. They were the best person from the job,

:29:03.:29:06.

regardless of gender and thd men know it as well. We want to go

:29:07.:29:11.

further. We are building on this through a new target of 33% theme

:29:12.:29:18.

are represented in on these boards by 2010 -- 2020. Supporting new

:29:19.:29:21.

women into executive positions that we develop that pipeline of female

:29:22.:29:28.

talent. We have called for `n end to all female boards in the FTSE 2 0.

:29:29.:29:33.

We want to inspire women evdrywhere, from the classroom into the

:29:34.:29:36.

boardroom, and at every stage in between. Education is one of the

:29:37.:29:41.

most fundamental ways of drhving lasting change and raising

:29:42.:29:45.

aspirations. If we work to dnsure women's economic equality would

:29:46.:29:48.

start with the youngest gendration. This is an area where having a

:29:49.:29:51.

Secretary of State for Educ`tion who is also women -- Minister for women

:29:52.:29:59.

is valuable. No one should feel a career is off limits becausd of

:30:00.:30:09.

gender or ethnic background. We have made important strides. There are

:30:10.:30:13.

more girls than ever taking physics and maths A-levels. There are 1 ,000

:30:14.:30:19.

more entries in maths and science in instances 2010. The opposithon

:30:20.:30:22.

spokesman asked me about thd difference between men and women

:30:23.:30:26.

entering apprenticeships in different sectors since 2008. The

:30:27.:30:31.

number of women starting engineering and manufacturing in apprenticeships

:30:32.:30:34.

have increased threefold. This is not a new problem. We will go

:30:35.:30:44.

further. The science, technology and engineering workforce is vital to

:30:45.:30:49.

the economy. The UK needs to recruit 83,000 engineers are weird that is a

:30:50.:30:52.

year and they cannot all be blokes. The Government has set up the new

:30:53.:30:57.

careers and enterprise comp`ny. We have heard people in this chamber

:30:58.:31:02.

complaining about careers advisers. This is what this is about, to

:31:03.:31:08.

inspire and inform young people about opportunities available to

:31:09.:31:11.

them and to do this in parallel with business. I welcome the one,year

:31:12.:31:15.

anniversary of the independdnt your life campaign, which aims to ensure

:31:16.:31:18.

young people have maths and science skills which the economy nedds. It

:31:19.:31:23.

was a great pleasure for me to visit the Ford motor company in D`genham,

:31:24.:31:27.

the spiritual home of the fhght for gender pay equality and see your

:31:28.:31:30.

life in action were a group of local schoolgirls have been invitdd to

:31:31.:31:37.

race cars around the card tdst track and investigate how exciting a

:31:38.:31:41.

career in stem can be. A strong economy where women are encouraged

:31:42.:31:45.

to fulfil the ten shall also means the able to deliver the services

:31:46.:31:49.

that society needs. We must make sure that everyone is given the

:31:50.:31:53.

support they need. In this xear passed back spending review, the

:31:54.:31:56.

Chancellor announced the Government will provide ?40 million for

:31:57.:32:02.

domestic abuse services, including refuges between 2016 and 2020.

:32:03.:32:08.

Prosecutions and convictions for domestic violence have risen to

:32:09.:32:12.

their highest levels. Last weekend we launched a consultation on new

:32:13.:32:16.

measures to better protect victims of stranger stalking and help that

:32:17.:32:20.

are perpetrators. We'll so `nnounced an additional 3.85 million to

:32:21.:32:25.

develop a new phase in the campaign to tackle teenage abuse within

:32:26.:32:30.

relationships. This campaign has encouraged teenagers to rethink

:32:31.:32:35.

their views of violence, controlling behaviour, and what consent means

:32:36.:32:38.

within their relationships. This is helping to change attitudes which

:32:39.:32:45.

can underpin violence against women and girls. The strategy will be

:32:46.:32:48.

published shortly, which was set at how we will continue to support

:32:49.:32:55.

victims of this app are to be used. I am grateful to the Ministdr for

:32:56.:33:05.

giving way. -- Avenue horrid abuse. How is the welfare reform and work

:33:06.:33:12.

Bill and cuts going to be hdlping disabled women? We are talkhng about

:33:13.:33:19.

the Autumn Statement. The thmes were purged more money to go into -- the

:33:20.:33:28.

Chancellor pledged more mondy to go into refuges and charities will

:33:29.:33:32.

victims of domestic violencd. Bed spaces rose in 2013 to 3472 in 015.

:33:33.:33:41.

These things are really important. The Government is committed to

:33:42.:33:46.

making sure everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age and

:33:47.:33:49.

background, is able to fulfhl potential. This approach to equality

:33:50.:33:54.

spans right across government. It helps women to fulfil their

:33:55.:33:58.

potential. We must thank and acknowledge efforts of stakdholders,

:33:59.:34:01.

charities and businesses, who are leading the charge and workhng with

:34:02.:34:05.

the Government to finish thd fight for equality in our country. The

:34:06.:34:16.

facts speak for themselves. Since 2010, more women are in work, more

:34:17.:34:19.

women led businesses, more women on boards and our reforms to stpport

:34:20.:34:22.

the lowest paid will disproportionately affect women

:34:23.:34:27.

Fans are being made across dvery department to continue the dxtra

:34:28.:34:32.

progress being made. -- funds. We will continue to drive this agenda

:34:33.:34:36.

forwards. At the same time ht is important we take a moment to

:34:37.:34:40.

recognise the great that wolen have achieved. Every day in my job I need

:34:41.:34:46.

amazing women, from every w`lk of life. Scientists, teachers, CEOs,

:34:47.:34:51.

mums, writers, all great role models. These women are our are our

:34:52.:34:55.

mothers, our daughters, our friends, our colleagues. It is they who have

:34:56.:35:02.

made this huge progress to date It is they that are breaking down the

:35:03.:35:04.

barriers and they are achieving greater heights all the timd and

:35:05.:35:10.

every day. My message today is this. Can we stop depicting women as

:35:11.:35:14.

victims? People who are dond to rather than doing. Government and

:35:15.:35:19.

opposition alike, it is our job to support them. It is our job to

:35:20.:35:25.

encourage them. Above all, today and every day, we should also bd

:35:26.:35:33.

celebrating them. Angela Cr`wley. Madam Deputy Speaker, on 9th of

:35:34.:35:37.

November this year, women across the United Kingdom started workhng for

:35:38.:35:44.

free while men continued earning. A day that should be talked about in

:35:45.:35:51.

the history books. 45 years after the passing of the equal pax act,

:35:52.:35:55.

then still earn two months lore wages than women. I welcome the

:35:56.:35:59.

comments from the Prime Minhster. His ambition to end the gender pay

:36:00.:36:08.

gap in a generation. The re`lity is unlawful maternity and pregnancy

:36:09.:36:12.

dissemination is more common in Britain's are places than ever

:36:13.:36:14.

before. 54,000 pregnant womdn and new mothers are forced out of a job

:36:15.:36:21.

each year. Hundreds of thousands of women are employed on zero hours

:36:22.:36:24.

contracts and other precarious forms of employment offering little or no

:36:25.:36:29.

weight to offer guaranteed hours or job security. -- no way. Thhs would

:36:30.:36:36.

be a barrier to female justhce and a charter for rogue employers. I

:36:37.:36:41.

welcome the Government's vidw of this measure and I hope the

:36:42.:36:45.

Government will take serious action on employment Tribunal fees. Thank

:36:46.:36:50.

you for giving way. I was ctrious that the governments did not mention

:36:51.:36:54.

Tribunal fees. Thus my honotrable friend agree with me that asking

:36:55.:37:00.

women to pay ?1200 for a discrimination case is an ottrage?

:37:01.:37:06.

That is why there is an 81% drop in sex dissemination cases in this

:37:07.:37:12.

country. As I said previously, I hope the Government will take

:37:13.:37:16.

serious action on tribunal fees We are -- they are acting as a barrier.

:37:17.:37:28.

On the review of tribunal fdes which is under way, I understand the

:37:29.:37:35.

report is with the minister at the moment, an alternative reference

:37:36.:37:37.

allowed the abolition of trhbunal fees to be considered. I qudstioned

:37:38.:37:42.

it last week. Do you agree with me this is a gaping hole in thd review

:37:43.:37:48.

terms of reference? I agree with those measures. I hope the governor

:37:49.:37:52.

will take serious action and consider the impact that trhbunal

:37:53.:37:57.

fees are having on women in the workplace. -- the Government. Their

:37:58.:38:03.

women's budget group says women stand to lose more and gain less.

:38:04.:38:08.

Women in low-paid work, womdn with children and other caring

:38:09.:38:12.

responsibilities and women who access services which have

:38:13.:38:16.

successively been eroded in the name of posterity. In considering the

:38:17.:38:20.

effects of economy on women, the SNP calls on the Government to recognise

:38:21.:38:26.

the cuts that the Government spending is adverse and affdcting

:38:27.:38:30.

women more deeply than men. Understand these measures c`n and

:38:31.:38:34.

will drive women into a povdrty trap. Signs of economic recovery

:38:35.:38:39.

hailed by the Chancellor have disproportionately been the benefit

:38:40.:38:45.

of male workers. The SNP welcomes the decision by the Chancellor to

:38:46.:38:48.

reverse tax credits. This mtst have been a tough decision for hhm but it

:38:49.:38:54.

has meant that for constitudnts and members across these benches, they

:38:55.:38:58.

do not have to make tough ddcisions, choosing between the basics and

:38:59.:39:01.

necessities of life. This is essentially important for

:39:02.:39:04.

constituents who are in low,paid employment and zero hours contracts.

:39:05.:39:08.

These people are more often than not women. The immediate effect of

:39:09.:39:13.

reversing his plans on tax credits has meant that working families have

:39:14.:39:18.

less to worry about. The re`lity is there will be ?12 billion worth of

:39:19.:39:22.

cuts in the UK Government spending review and this will ultimately

:39:23.:39:24.

disproportionately affect women The effects of reversing pl`ns on

:39:25.:39:35.

tax credit, they will continue to worry about struggling with bills,

:39:36.:39:40.

and single mothers raising children should not have to worry about this.

:39:41.:39:49.

I applaud the listening to those here and in the other place on tax

:39:50.:39:57.

credits. We must consider the differences in employment trends by

:39:58.:40:04.

gender. 69% of women are employed in the UK compared to 78.5% of men

:40:05.:40:12.

There is a gender differencd. Of these women in work, we see 8.4

:40:13.:40:18.

million in full-time employdr and 6.2 million in part-time work.

:40:19.:40:25.

Figures show the majority of men are in full-time employment, amounting

:40:26.:40:31.

to a 42% of female workforcd in part-time employment compardd to

:40:32.:40:41.

men. We find within are less likely than men to work as an ploy is,

:40:42.:40:49.

rather... As employees rathdr than employers and they are less likely

:40:50.:40:55.

to be self-employed. 32% of self-employed people were whthin.

:40:56.:41:02.

Recent research by the IMF found women work and economies grow.

:41:03.:41:04.

Economic growth is more dralatic when the gap between women `nd men's

:41:05.:41:18.

and these current figures mdan that not closing the gender gap puts the

:41:19.:41:23.

economy at a disadvantage. Figures showed in 2014 there were 1.1

:41:24.:41:31.

million small enterprises in the UK led by women. In October thhs year

:41:32.:41:36.

it was reported 26% of directors were female, which is not good

:41:37.:41:42.

enough. Women's participation should be safeguarded and encouragdd. The

:41:43.:41:48.

gender pay gap must be addrdssed. The Chancellor's Autumn Statement

:41:49.:41:51.

confirms his acknowledgement removing tax credits will not

:41:52.:41:54.

automatically create this problem. I want to press the government to

:41:55.:41:59.

change that. The proper way for economic recovery is to stilulate

:42:00.:42:06.

the workforce. Essentially dnsuring the female workforce is protected,

:42:07.:42:09.

not forcing people into deeper poverty and decimating soci`l

:42:10.:42:13.

welfare. When it comes to c`rers, ?12 billion to be cut from the

:42:14.:42:17.

welfare budget includes cardrs' welfare budget includes cardrs'

:42:18.:42:22.

allowance, disability benefhts and another allowance. With bendfits

:42:23.:42:29.

applying only to the first two children will mean hardship for

:42:30.:42:38.

families. These benefits I have mentioned are most frequently

:42:39.:42:43.

accessed by women. If we look at statistics for carers, 58% of carers

:42:44.:42:49.

in the UK women. The figures rise to 60% when we consider those who care

:42:50.:42:53.

more than 50 hours per week are women. Women make up 73% of those in

:42:54.:43:00.

receipt of carers' allowancd for caring more than 35 hours and in

:43:01.:43:07.

Scotland, there is estimated 75 ,000 unpaid carers, a huge section of

:43:08.:43:13.

society. The work done by c`rers, people prepared to put asidd their

:43:14.:43:19.

needs and look after a loved one must be recognised by all

:43:20.:43:24.

governments. It is vital to society. It can take up most of the time

:43:25.:43:28.

people commit to which they could otherwise be in full-time

:43:29.:43:32.

employment. On top of caring, carers UK found carers themselves `re twice

:43:33.:43:37.

as likely to suffer ill-health. These are not the people we should

:43:38.:43:40.

punish with cuts to welfare budgets. We should be championing thd efforts

:43:41.:43:48.

of carers. When we consider the billions of pounds the NHS saves

:43:49.:43:53.

year on year, due to the contribution and diligence of unpaid

:43:54.:43:59.

carers is time the government stood up and recognised the hard-working

:44:00.:44:03.

carers. They contribute a m`ssive amount of the economy, a

:44:04.:44:10.

contribution that represents a net saving to the health care btdget.

:44:11.:44:16.

The practice promoted by thd Prime Minister under the concept of big

:44:17.:44:20.

society. I believe it is not just for the government to consider the

:44:21.:44:24.

removal of the carers' lifeline The Chancellor has again made it rate

:44:25.:44:31.

deal of economic recovery. The benefits of this recovery h`ve been

:44:32.:44:35.

exclusively for men. I have spoken in this House against the gdnder pay

:44:36.:44:41.

gap. Where women take home 85p for every ?1 a man earns. This has a

:44:42.:44:47.

serious economic impact on working women and on the economy. Pdrhaps we

:44:48.:44:52.

are supposed to be pacified by the introduction of the living wage

:44:53.:44:57.

which is not a living wage. As I have said, women are often on

:44:58.:45:02.

zero-hours contracts and in part-time work and a slight increase

:45:03.:45:05.

to their wage will not help women who cannot work as many hours as men

:45:06.:45:11.

perhaps due to caring or chhld responsibilities. If we look at

:45:12.:45:16.

those we are aiming to help it is almost exclusively those on higher

:45:17.:45:19.

incomes. The Conservatives have cut income tax for all workers, most of

:45:20.:45:26.

whom are men. Increases to some benefits and those with high savings

:45:27.:45:32.

tend to be men. The beneficharies of the transferable tax allowance are

:45:33.:45:37.

84% male and therefore we h`ve allowances for tax cuts largely for

:45:38.:45:43.

men. The welfare budget and services mostly by women. These policies

:45:44.:45:46.

consistently deliver more for men than women. As the IMF suggdsts an

:45:47.:45:53.

increased gender gap restricts economic growth. I want to highlight

:45:54.:46:00.

that women are most harmed by welfare cuts. The impact of Ulster

:46:01.:46:03.

are too can be measured mostly on the loss in women's purses `nd

:46:04.:46:11.

spending power relative to len. I leave the house with this thought.

:46:12.:46:18.

The report on the women's btdget group stated by equalising len and

:46:19.:46:23.

women's participation rates we could add more than 10% to the size of the

:46:24.:46:28.

economy. Let us not simply pay lip service, let's deliver. It hs a

:46:29.:46:33.

great pleasure to follow my colleague, a fellow member of the

:46:34.:46:40.

Select Committee and I commdnd her on her measured tone. I feel I

:46:41.:46:46.

should point out that the rdcovery cannot be said to be exclushvely

:46:47.:46:50.

something that benefited men, because there can be nothing worse

:46:51.:46:56.

for women than the situation the Conservatives led government faced

:46:57.:47:01.

five years ago when our country faced economic crisis, spending more

:47:02.:47:05.

money than we could afford does nobody any good. Women do not

:47:06.:47:10.

benefit, neither do men. First and foremost we need a strong economy so

:47:11.:47:17.

we can have a strong system of education, welfare, of all of those

:47:18.:47:24.

services the Arab honourabld lady -- the honourable lady was talking

:47:25.:47:29.

about. I think it is regrettable the start of the debate was in ` tone I

:47:30.:47:34.

do not usually associate with the honourable Lady for Stratford and

:47:35.:47:41.

Urmston, who have found to be a collaborative player in this place.

:47:42.:47:46.

It is important on issues to do with women and equality, we look for

:47:47.:47:51.

long-term change. And by definition that can only be developed over the

:47:52.:47:56.

lifetime of many different governments of many different

:47:57.:48:00.

complexions. The benefit of this economic turnaround has cle`rly been

:48:01.:48:03.

something that will benefit women and the continued measures through

:48:04.:48:08.

the Autumn Statement are as important to women as they `re to

:48:09.:48:13.

men, because without this strong economy, the Autumn Statement could

:48:14.:48:17.

not have put in place some of the biggest real term rises in the state

:48:18.:48:23.

pension in 15 years, the largest investment in Friel childcare -

:48:24.:48:30.

free childcare, and extra money going into the NHS, the verx service

:48:31.:48:33.

many members have mentioned in their contributions. The biggest

:48:34.:48:40.

house-building programme since the 1970s will benefit all of us and

:48:41.:48:43.

these are all measures that have been put in place because wd have a

:48:44.:48:47.

stronger economy that will lake these sorts of investments for the

:48:48.:48:54.

long-term. There have been policies that have benefited women around the

:48:55.:48:59.

national living wage, cuts hn income tax, and increases in child care. I

:49:00.:49:05.

would like to focus on two `reas where there might be common ground

:49:06.:49:10.

across the chamber. The first is that I believe that women in Britain

:49:11.:49:16.

are still disproportionatelx dependent on benefits to supplement

:49:17.:49:20.

their income, because there is a prevalence of low wage part,time

:49:21.:49:24.

jobs among women, which means women received more income from the state

:49:25.:49:29.

in terms of benefit and support than men. They are more likely to be in

:49:30.:49:34.

low-income jobs and more reliant on state funded housing and in receipt

:49:35.:49:38.

of income related benefits. I hope members agree it is a good thing

:49:39.:49:43.

this government has a strong enough economy to put in place somd

:49:44.:49:48.

measures to start to allevi`te those problems women face. More childcare

:49:49.:49:51.

means more women are able to get more work. I will just make more

:49:52.:49:59.

progress. New options around parental leave and the right to

:50:00.:50:03.

request flexible working for the first time of the things th`t can

:50:04.:50:07.

give more women access to hhgher quality jobs and the sorts of

:50:08.:50:12.

economic opportunities that might give them, for the first tile, an

:50:13.:50:16.

equal right to economic equal right to economic

:50:17.:50:18.

independence, a Wright met have had for many years. Thank you. H agree

:50:19.:50:28.

with the tone of the right honourable lady's contributhon she

:50:29.:50:38.

made, she played a massive role in developing policies for womdn in the

:50:39.:50:40.

last government for which wd respect. Doesn't she worry `bout

:50:41.:50:45.

women who are lone parents, and the significant drop of income they face

:50:46.:50:51.

without much protection? I understand the point she makes and I

:50:52.:50:55.

am saying if we can give thd opportunities to women in this

:50:56.:50:58.

country today to forge their own economic independence, and what I

:50:59.:51:04.

was hearing from the opposition from bench was how we could conthnue

:51:05.:51:08.

state dependence, something I would not endorse. I think many shngle

:51:09.:51:12.

parents I meet in my constituency and around the country have embraced

:51:13.:51:16.

the programmes the Department for Work and Pensions have put hn place,

:51:17.:51:20.

voluntary programmes to help them get back into work, because they

:51:21.:51:24.

understand the importance of financial independence for

:51:25.:51:28.

themselves and being role models for their children. The second `rea

:51:29.:51:31.

where I hope there is consensus across the house is the importance

:51:32.:51:38.

of addressing the issue of dducation performance. An issue the epuality

:51:39.:51:42.

and human rights commission brought up in their fairer Britain report.

:51:43.:51:47.

They said, the education performance of girls and young women dods not

:51:48.:51:50.

translate into rewards in the workplace. Quite simply, more girls

:51:51.:51:58.

get good GCSEs and degrees than boys, yet women make up 34% of

:51:59.:52:04.

managers. In construction the figure is as low as 12%. I applaud the

:52:05.:52:10.

ministers on the front bench for their focus on some subjects. It is

:52:11.:52:17.

important more women are involved in maths and science, but a lack of

:52:18.:52:22.

progress into senior positions runs deeper and deeper than choices made

:52:23.:52:32.

14. Let's take the law. 60% of undergraduate law students `re

:52:33.:52:36.

women. More than 50% of trahnee lawyers are women, yet one hn four

:52:37.:52:42.

partners in city firms are women. Those people leading one of the most

:52:43.:52:46.

important services in our country leaving out some of the most highly

:52:47.:52:51.

qualified individuals to do the job, which cannot be in the best

:52:52.:52:54.

interests of the country. Wd have more women in work than ever before.

:52:55.:53:00.

What more can we do to turn that presence in the workplace into an

:53:01.:53:04.

opportunity for long-term economic independence, by reducing ddpendence

:53:05.:53:10.

on welfare and making sure their qualifications from school `re

:53:11.:53:14.

recognised. I welcome this debate because I believe women havd a huge

:53:15.:53:19.

amount to contribute to our society. I will try to make five closing

:53:20.:53:26.

points briefly. Because the public sector equality duty requirds every

:53:27.:53:29.

benefited to advance equality of opportunity for women. In the

:53:30.:53:35.

development of policy and the work they do. There are five things I

:53:36.:53:39.

would like to try to ask thd minister to reply to. Firstly,

:53:40.:53:43.

changing the law is not enotgh when it comes to forcing a culture change

:53:44.:53:49.

in society. If we are to get more women contributing in the w`y we

:53:50.:53:54.

want them to in the workplace, we have to insure more men takd up

:53:55.:53:58.

parental leave, flexible working practices, to ensure women who at

:53:59.:54:06.

the moment, only 90% -- 19% of women can vary their hours in the

:54:07.:54:12.

workplace. I know this is a point the minister has looked at closely

:54:13.:54:17.

and I look forward to perhaps a few words in response to know what more

:54:18.:54:20.

is being done to ensure bushnesses are changing their prep this, so

:54:21.:54:25.

that at the moment 40% of mdn choose not to take any time off at the

:54:26.:54:30.

birth of a child, which needs to change. In terms of increashng

:54:31.:54:36.

female management, representation in management, we are not seeing

:54:37.:54:41.

sufficient women coming through to senior positions of managemdnt in

:54:42.:54:47.

the country, just 9% of FTSD 10 executive directors are womdn. Five

:54:48.:54:52.

female CEOs out of 100. Perhaps we should adopt an approach, doubling

:54:53.:55:00.

the number of executive poshtions in three years. In terms of chhld and

:55:01.:55:04.

elder care, my honourable friend from Eastleigh made the point about

:55:05.:55:10.

the importance of having elder care. One in for over 50s cares for

:55:11.:55:16.

relatives. Surely it is timd government acts on giving stpport to

:55:17.:55:20.

those individuals caring for older individuals as they do for support

:55:21.:55:27.

of younger members of the f`mily. Fourth, women returning to the

:55:28.:55:33.

workplace can face a skills crisis. We need to make sure there `re

:55:34.:55:45.

programmes in place to reskhll. We are undergoing a silent revolution

:55:46.:55:49.

in the workplace when it coles to the participation of women. The work

:55:50.:55:54.

is far from complete. I think there has been a piecemeal approach to

:55:55.:55:58.

programmes put together, good programmes, but do they fit

:55:59.:56:03.

together? Is there room for a review of how policies work to effdct a

:56:04.:56:07.

change the workplace? If we need more sticks rather than carrots

:56:08.:56:11.

that they are brought out of the cupboard and use sooner rather

:56:12.:56:12.

later. Subtitles will resume at 23:00

:56:13.:56:16.

on 'Wednesday In Parliament'.

:56:17.:56:27.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS