24/11/2016

:00:00. > :00:00.members to bomb views on that. But I will certainly be leader colleagues

:00:00. > :00:10.in defence the importers that he and other honourable members attached to

:00:11. > :00:16.this matter. Point of order, Mr Alex Salmond. During business questions,

:00:17. > :00:21.in answer to the right Honourable member for Rhondda, the Leader of

:00:22. > :00:25.the Coasting to suggest there was? Over with their resolution would

:00:26. > :00:32.come forward on the second reading of the boundaries Bill but this has

:00:33. > :00:36.class overwhelmingly last Friday. You will remember that there was one

:00:37. > :00:42.example in the last parliament with this happens, I wasn't viewed at the

:00:43. > :00:45.time. Due to the incoherence of the Coalition Government not being able

:00:46. > :00:49.to agree itself, that many previous leaders of the house have been on

:00:50. > :00:54.record many times saying that such a procedural device would not be used

:00:55. > :01:04.as a means of impeding progress on a bill such as the bill we put forward

:01:05. > :01:08.last Friday. Leaders of the house, and the support of the whole house.

:01:09. > :01:12.The present leader of the house in his short tenure has had that, as

:01:13. > :01:19.exemplified by his magnificent statement earlier on in the session.

:01:20. > :01:23.But can I say to you that if a Leader of the House loses support

:01:24. > :01:26.across the chamber by such 's procedural shenanigans, if that's

:01:27. > :01:34.what he meant, then he would be long in his tenure. -- he won't be long

:01:35. > :01:44.in his tenure. that, the right honourable member for Rhondda. He

:01:45. > :01:52.said it was feared an of not enough members turned up to vote, then it

:01:53. > :01:59.should fall. Well, we all turned up last week in large numbers, taking

:02:00. > :02:03.him at his word, carried by 257 votes, to 35, including members of

:02:04. > :02:07.the Conservative benches. Surely it be enabled to go to committee now by

:02:08. > :02:11.the Leader of the House's own logic, because there were plenty of people

:02:12. > :02:16.who turned up to vote, and the people who did not were the people

:02:17. > :02:20.who maybe did not want the bill. Very well. I will ask the leader if

:02:21. > :02:25.he wants to say anything, he is not obliged to do so, but these are

:02:26. > :02:34.essentially political matters, but I have comments to make in due course.

:02:35. > :02:37.Both sides of the House are concerned by this issue, but by

:02:38. > :02:40.convention, money resolutions follow, and that has been a

:02:41. > :02:50.tradition of this House. There is only one occasion I can see, which

:02:51. > :02:56.is what he referred to. The majority the House gave to that bill last

:02:57. > :02:58.Friday was in fact the biggest majority other than the other one

:02:59. > :03:05.that did not get a money resolution. I do hope that we can get a

:03:06. > :03:08.statement from the leader that they will not -- that a money resolution

:03:09. > :03:16.will follow, as speedily as other money resolutions have come. If it

:03:17. > :03:22.will help matters, I want to make clear that all I was saying earlier

:03:23. > :03:28.is that there is a process to be followed when a Private members Bill

:03:29. > :03:33.receives a second reading. First of all, the government, particularly

:03:34. > :03:36.the Treasury, have to consider whether a money resolution is needed

:03:37. > :03:42.and what the scope of that is, and then it has to be drafted. So that

:03:43. > :03:48.is the process going through at the moment, and I need say no more than

:03:49. > :03:51.that. It might be helpful, both to the right honourable gentleman who

:03:52. > :03:56.raised the original point of order and to all who have subsequently

:03:57. > :04:00.taken part in this brief exchange, if I say the following. Ministers

:04:01. > :04:10.are responsible for what they say, as are other honourable members, let

:04:11. > :04:16.me however confirm two things. First, the decision as to whether a

:04:17. > :04:22.bill requires a money resolution is for the cleric of legislation, not

:04:23. > :04:27.the Treasury. I understood the meaning of the leader's remarks

:04:28. > :04:33.earlier was to the effect it was for Treasury ministers to decide on

:04:34. > :04:42.tabling a money resolution. -- clerk of the Treasury. I confirm that it

:04:43. > :04:49.is indeed for them to decide upon the tabling. The question of the

:04:50. > :04:57.requirement is determined by the clerk of legislation. I hope that

:04:58. > :05:08.responds by me helps both distinguished privy counsellors in

:05:09. > :05:12.this matter. In which case, I wonder whether the clerk of legislation has

:05:13. > :05:16.decided if it needs money resolution already? The short answer is yes,

:05:17. > :05:23.the clerk of legislation has so decided that it does. We're not

:05:24. > :05:31.going to have an extended conversation on the matter. At least

:05:32. > :05:36.not any more extended than we have had, but I think I have made the

:05:37. > :05:38.position clear. People can seek advice from whomsoever, and the

:05:39. > :05:45.government may choose to seek advice from the Treasury. In my experience

:05:46. > :05:49.the Treasury is ready invariably to offer advice, whether that is wanted

:05:50. > :05:54.on zero. It may very well offer it, and people may want the advice, but

:05:55. > :05:59.the fact is that it is the clerk of legislation who decides whether that

:06:00. > :06:06.is required. Look, let me go as to -- so far as to say it is

:06:07. > :06:13.overwhelmingly the norm that the tabling then follows. I do not think

:06:14. > :06:18.that the Leader of the House has sought to gainsay that. He confirms

:06:19. > :06:25.through a very helpful shaking off the head that he has not sought to

:06:26. > :06:34.gainsay that. I hope that will suffice today. If there are no

:06:35. > :06:39.further points of order, if the appetite has been satisfied for

:06:40. > :06:44.today, we moved to the backbench motion on the support further

:06:45. > :06:48.arrangements of people affected by contaminated blood and blood

:06:49. > :06:54.products. To move the motion, I called Diana Johnson. Thank you. I

:06:55. > :07:01.begged them you've -- move the motion on the order paper. I would

:07:02. > :07:07.like to start with the backbench committee, who have always been

:07:08. > :07:10.generous in understanding the importance of this to our

:07:11. > :07:15.constituents. This is the third backbench business debate we have

:07:16. > :07:19.had on the subject. It has now been over 45 years since the first people

:07:20. > :07:24.who get infected with HIV, hepatitis C and other viruses from NHS

:07:25. > :07:29.supplied blood products. Their lives and those of their families were

:07:30. > :07:33.changed forever by this tragedy. The contaminated blood scandal is now

:07:34. > :07:39.rightly recognised by a grave injustice, the worst disaster in the

:07:40. > :07:42.history of the country's health service. But those affected are

:07:43. > :07:45.still waiting for the proper financial settlement which

:07:46. > :07:48.recognises the school effect this scandal has had on them and their

:07:49. > :07:53.families. This group of people have campaigned for too many years for

:07:54. > :07:56.justice, at the same time dealing with illness and disability. The

:07:57. > :08:01.current financial support for those affected are simply not fit for

:08:02. > :08:07.purpose, and this fact was laid bare in the enquiry of the all-party

:08:08. > :08:13.group for haemophilia in January last year. One quote in the first

:08:14. > :08:18.page of the report said, you cannot give us back our health, but you can

:08:19. > :08:22.give us back our dignity. This torture abroad has been too long for

:08:23. > :08:28.many of us, but for the rest of us please let this be the final road to

:08:29. > :08:32.closure. Thankfully, we all now agree that the current support

:08:33. > :08:36.arrangements cannot continue, and we need to create a scheme that gives

:08:37. > :08:40.this community back their dignity. I welcome the efforts of the previous

:08:41. > :08:45.Prime Minister in what he did in office. And I would also like to

:08:46. > :08:51.welcome the honourable member for Oxford West and Abingdon to her new

:08:52. > :08:56.post and I welcome global Lord prior in his new position. I was happy to

:08:57. > :08:59.meet with him last week alongside other APPG members to discuss the

:09:00. > :09:06.new support arrangements. While we all agree that there is a need for a

:09:07. > :09:09.reform scheme, I cannot agree with the Department of Health that the

:09:10. > :09:13.settlement they have proposed is sufficient. And the purpose of this

:09:14. > :09:17.backbench debate is to highlight those aspects of the new support

:09:18. > :09:23.scheme that will not actually provide the support these people

:09:24. > :09:26.need, following the hasty announcement made by the Prime

:09:27. > :09:31.Minister as he left office in July. So in my speech I want to stress

:09:32. > :09:37.five key issues which the Department of Health urgently need to address.

:09:38. > :09:39.The first is the country differences in the schemes between Wales,

:09:40. > :09:45.Scotland and Northern Ireland. Firstly we need to know what support

:09:46. > :09:48.people in fore countries of the United Kingdom will get. Scotland

:09:49. > :09:53.and England have set out their own separate support schemes, but people

:09:54. > :09:58.in Wales and especially Northern Ireland desperately need some

:09:59. > :10:05.certainty about the help they will receive. I will give way. And I

:10:06. > :10:09.thank her for giving way. And thank her for bringing forward this debate

:10:10. > :10:12.along with other honourable and right honourable members. Could I

:10:13. > :10:17.say that I have been in touch with the Minister for health in Northern

:10:18. > :10:22.Ireland and that there is no progress in relation to this

:10:23. > :10:25.particular issue, and I and other honourable members from Northern

:10:26. > :10:28.Ireland have constituents who have suffered from the ill effects of

:10:29. > :10:37.contaminated blood for over 45 years. That is worrying to hear

:10:38. > :10:41.there is no progress on what is going to happen in Northern Ireland,

:10:42. > :10:46.so that is something the Minister needs to provide to the House what

:10:47. > :10:52.is going on. -- explain to the House. I thank her for giving way.

:10:53. > :10:56.What is clear is the Scottish scheme is more generous than England. Which

:10:57. > :11:00.she agree that at the very least the government should have parity, and

:11:01. > :11:05.in particular that nobody should be worse off under the new scheme than

:11:06. > :11:09.they were under the old scheme? He makes that point well and I will

:11:10. > :11:19.come on to compare and contrast the Scottish scheme, which I think is

:11:20. > :11:24.more generous. I will give way. The difference between the schemes is

:11:25. > :11:25.important because we will have honourable members representing

:11:26. > :11:30.constituencies across the UK who have constituents with one person

:11:31. > :11:34.getting compensation from an English scheme and one person getting

:11:35. > :11:38.composition from a Scottish scheme, and it may be a different amount of

:11:39. > :11:44.money and different level of compensation. I think he makes a

:11:45. > :11:48.very important point. I think this is perhaps one of these unintended

:11:49. > :11:52.consequences of devolution, we are ending up with this mishmash of

:11:53. > :11:59.schemes, concerning the people affected. One of my constituents

:12:00. > :12:04.says exactly that point, it is unfair that the Scottish settlement

:12:05. > :12:09.is so different to the settlement for him in Stratford-upon-Avon, but

:12:10. > :12:12.one of my constituents in the public gallery will remind the House that

:12:13. > :12:15.there are less than 300 primary beneficiaries left and it is

:12:16. > :12:24.important that they are not forgotten. That is a very important

:12:25. > :12:27.point, and I will move on to that in a little while. That was my first

:12:28. > :12:33.concern, about the different schemes available. Secondly, I think this is

:12:34. > :12:38.an important point as well. We know that at some point next year the

:12:39. > :12:42.existing five trusts will be amalgamated into a single body to

:12:43. > :12:45.administer the scheme. I am deeply troubled by the fact that the

:12:46. > :12:49.administration of the new scheme looks likely to be done by a

:12:50. > :12:58.profit-making private company and I know that companies have attended

:12:59. > :13:01.meetings with Department of Health officials about the new contract.

:13:02. > :13:06.Formal tender submissions will be made soon, with the decision made

:13:07. > :13:10.next year. No minister in the Department of Health have the

:13:11. > :13:14.courtesy to tell the APPG of his plans, neither were the

:13:15. > :13:18.beneficiaries asked for their views in the Serbian January 16, and even

:13:19. > :13:23.in the department's response in the survey published in July, made no

:13:24. > :13:34.mention of this prospect. Alongside honourable members on both sides, I

:13:35. > :13:39.cannot... Let me remind the House of how many in this community were

:13:40. > :13:42.infected in the first place. Many contracted HIV and hepatitis C from

:13:43. > :13:48.American blood products supplied by profit-making private companies. The

:13:49. > :13:52.United States, unlike the UK, has always allowed the commercial

:13:53. > :13:56.purchasing of blood products, these were often donated by people who

:13:57. > :14:01.desperately needed money and so were willing to be less than honest about

:14:02. > :14:07.their chances of infection. This was the reason that so many harbour such

:14:08. > :14:15.distrust of private companies. I will give way. I am grateful. I have

:14:16. > :14:18.been contacted by constituents in Dublin who tell me how grateful we

:14:19. > :14:22.are to her for the lead and campaigning she has done on this. I

:14:23. > :14:27.want to place that on record. One in particular has written to me about

:14:28. > :14:30.allegations of impropriety in relation to doctors being encouraged

:14:31. > :14:38.by pharmaceutical companies to use plasma concentrates instead of a

:14:39. > :14:42.different method and blood transfusions, does she agree that

:14:43. > :14:46.this should be investigated? Yes, I am happy to agree that this should

:14:47. > :14:51.be investigated. I want to return to this concern people have about the

:14:52. > :14:56.use of private companies. We also know that in the past six years

:14:57. > :15:00.there has been a sense of mistrust by the disability assessment regime

:15:01. > :15:07.which was operated by a TOS before they walked away from the contract

:15:08. > :15:11.with the DWP. If there is one thing which could fatally undermine

:15:12. > :15:14.progress towards a better support scheme it is this, that the plans

:15:15. > :15:19.for the new scheme be administered by a private company, and I strongly

:15:20. > :15:23.urge the government to look again at these plans and show empathy for the

:15:24. > :15:32.people who have been affected. Give way. Could I congratulate her for

:15:33. > :15:37.her tireless work on this particular topic. Would she agree with me that

:15:38. > :15:42.there is a deep issue here about trust, not just in relation to the

:15:43. > :15:44.potential new providers, but in relation to what happened

:15:45. > :15:51.previously, were some of the survivors or the families who

:15:52. > :15:55.survived, victims who passed away, that senior health professionals

:15:56. > :15:56.knew about the contamination but decided for cost reasons they needed

:15:57. > :16:05.to continue with the intervention. One of the points I want to make the

:16:06. > :16:09.Tehran is for the needs still for some form of enquiry. I'll come to

:16:10. > :16:15.that in a moment. I want to continue with this point about why who runs

:16:16. > :16:20.the scheme is so important. One of the big criticisms of the new scheme

:16:21. > :16:23.is a continuation of discretionary payments. I think Department of

:16:24. > :16:28.Health officials still are not listening to concerns raised about

:16:29. > :16:33.this. The enquiry uncovered huge issues, with a highly conditional

:16:34. > :16:37.and purely managed discretionary support scheme. As one respondent

:16:38. > :16:44.told us, the whole system seemed designed to make you feel like a

:16:45. > :16:48.beggar. I also believe that the current administrators of the trust

:16:49. > :16:52.had not fought hard enough for their beneficiaries, which legally they

:16:53. > :16:56.could have done, but instead, they saw their role as dispassionate

:16:57. > :17:00.managers and conduits to the Department of Health. They left the

:17:01. > :17:04.affected community alone to fight for themselves. If the new support

:17:05. > :17:08.scheme ends up being managed by Aptos or capita, it will do nothing

:17:09. > :17:16.to address these fundamental issues, it could even make the situation

:17:17. > :17:19.much worse and add insult to injury. I call on the Minister to say she

:17:20. > :17:25.will do the right thing and scrap plans for a private profit-making

:17:26. > :17:30.scheme administrator and replace the current scheme with with the more

:17:31. > :17:34.beneficiary organisation with no profit motive. I would also ask the

:17:35. > :17:38.Minister to set out what kind of discretionary support the new scheme

:17:39. > :17:42.will provide, as it remains unclear whether any or all of the current

:17:43. > :17:47.support will continue, and this does contrast starkly with the Scottish

:17:48. > :17:52.scheme, where the financial review group agreed that nobody should

:17:53. > :17:57.receive less financial support under the new scheme. So will the

:17:58. > :18:00.government urgently provide the same guarantee and publish full details

:18:01. > :18:05.of any obligations which the new scheme administrators will be

:18:06. > :18:08.subject to? There are also issues with the current welfare benefits

:18:09. > :18:19.assessment regime, that many people are having to go through, for

:18:20. > :18:24.example, moving from DLE onto PIP, so that individuals can be passport

:18:25. > :18:27.it straight onto benefits, and I hope the minister will agree that is

:18:28. > :18:32.the sensible way forward for the people affected. My third point in

:18:33. > :18:37.the third issue I am concerned about relates to the families of those

:18:38. > :18:42.affected needing better support under this scheme. Under the new

:18:43. > :18:46.English proposals, widows and widowers will continue to be

:18:47. > :18:49.eligible for discretionary support, whatever that means, and I have

:18:50. > :18:56.already raised concerns about that. This will come top of the new

:18:57. > :19:01.?10,000 lump sum, provided their loved ones died partially as a

:19:02. > :19:05.result of contracting HIV or hepatitis seen. But I've already

:19:06. > :19:09.heard from many clinicians telling me that this could see many people

:19:10. > :19:13.excluded from the system, simply because their partner's death

:19:14. > :19:21.certificate did not include mention of HIV or hepatitis C, sometimes at

:19:22. > :19:24.the family's request. But these new proposals could be considerably less

:19:25. > :19:31.generous than the support that some widows already received, because of

:19:32. > :19:38.the huge? Hanging over exactly what discretionary helper can under the

:19:39. > :19:45.reform scheme. Thank you for giving way and also the leading this. I

:19:46. > :19:51.have at least two constituents, who sadly passed away as a consequence

:19:52. > :19:55.of contaminated blood and the disease they contracted. For their

:19:56. > :20:00.loved ones, the concern is absolutely what she indicates, that

:20:01. > :20:06.the dependence on potential discretionary payments is

:20:07. > :20:12.insufficient, the one off payment as it is not to be backed up by the

:20:13. > :20:15.regularity of annual payments means those people have to give up work

:20:16. > :20:24.and give up their own opportunity to have a pension. That leads me onto

:20:25. > :20:29.my next point, which was about the Scottish proposals, which offer a

:20:30. > :20:34.better settlement and guarantee the believed 75% of their partner's

:20:35. > :20:39.previous entitlement in addition to continued access to the Scottish

:20:40. > :20:42.discretionary scheme. This gives some much-needed security in the way

:20:43. > :20:47.the English scheme does not, so I would ask the Minister whether she

:20:48. > :20:50.will look again at adopting the Scottish model and provide more

:20:51. > :20:56.guarantees on non-discretionary support for Windows and widowers. My

:20:57. > :21:01.fourth point is about support for primary beneficiaries, which was

:21:02. > :21:05.raised in a previous intervention. We would ask that the government

:21:06. > :21:11.looks again at some private beneficiaries who need better

:21:12. > :21:16.support than currently provided. I had an e-mail this morning from

:21:17. > :21:20.someone who has hepatitis B, contracted through contaminated

:21:21. > :21:26.blood products, he was not, under the skin, eligible for any help at

:21:27. > :21:29.all, but is obviously suffering. I would hope that the Minister would

:21:30. > :21:38.be prepared to look at the very small group of people who are not

:21:39. > :21:41.covered. Secondly, if more assistance was provided, this would

:21:42. > :21:46.reduce the need for discretionary support they are great deal of our

:21:47. > :21:49.constituents' worries. I would urge the Department of Health to contrast

:21:50. > :21:52.the support announced in the Scottish scheme and look into

:21:53. > :22:03.whether more ongoing payments could be made. I applaud her for bringing

:22:04. > :22:07.this debate to the House. I see that the new payment scheme is an

:22:08. > :22:14.improvement, I didn't particularly want to speak up from one of my

:22:15. > :22:20.constituents, he is one of the 256 out of the 1250 haemophiliacs, who

:22:21. > :22:25.is infected with multiple viruses. Their lives have been devastated,

:22:26. > :22:29.absolutely blighted by this, and they feel they really are not being

:22:30. > :22:34.fairly treated in this new arrangement and I wonder if she

:22:35. > :22:39.would consider expanding on whether we could help them a little bit

:22:40. > :22:43.more. I do want to come onto ways that I think the current funding the

:22:44. > :22:49.government have put together could be used more effectively to assist

:22:50. > :22:53.more people who have been infected by receiving contaminated blood,

:22:54. > :22:57.including her constituents. I just want to talk a little bit about the

:22:58. > :23:01.overall funding of the new scheme. There is much that the government

:23:02. > :23:05.could do to improve the scheme without additional cost to the

:23:06. > :23:09.public purse. Even in the Scottish proposals, particularly for Windows

:23:10. > :23:15.and primary beneficiaries, if they were adopted in England, this would

:23:16. > :23:21.fall in the budget allocated every year. This is set out in an analysis

:23:22. > :23:24.conducted by the Haemophiliacs Society, which was presented to the

:23:25. > :23:30.Department of Health last week's meeting, and I hope officials

:23:31. > :23:37.considered it carefully. Any need for additional funding could come

:23:38. > :23:45.from to identifiable sources. If we sell our stake in plasma UK, and any

:23:46. > :23:50.reserves left in the accounts of the three discretionary charities were

:23:51. > :24:01.near closed next year, I think could also be made available. Further, can

:24:02. > :24:06.I ask, will this continue to be rolled over to support beneficiaries

:24:07. > :24:11.in the next year? At last week's meeting, it appeared that any

:24:12. > :24:15.unspent money would have to be given back to the Treasury, and I think

:24:16. > :24:19.that would be a gross act of betrayal towards those affected. I

:24:20. > :24:24.want to move onto my conclusion, which is, does the Department of

:24:25. > :24:28.Health except that there are new scheme is one that still has

:24:29. > :24:31.substantial issues needing to be addressed? The new support scheme

:24:32. > :24:37.will not command the full confidence of the people it needs to. Indeed,

:24:38. > :24:46.in some crucial respects, it will be worse than the system it replaces.

:24:47. > :24:50.Two final points on behalf of both the APPG. The APPG still believe

:24:51. > :24:54.there should be a lump sum payments as part of any new scheme, to give

:24:55. > :24:57.people the opportunity to decide for themselves what is best for them,

:24:58. > :25:10.either a regular payment or a one-off lump sum. She is very

:25:11. > :25:14.generous. I wanted to put to her, why can't lump sum payments be an

:25:15. > :25:19.alternative to regular payments? Why does the government have to be

:25:20. > :25:23.grudging on this matter? These are people to whom the government or the

:25:24. > :25:26.huge debt and obligation and it should be a properly funded scheme.

:25:27. > :25:31.We should have a proper investigation of this, so we can

:25:32. > :25:37.have the truth in what is a terrible scandal and staying on this country.

:25:38. > :25:44.He puts that point very well, and I do think, from the work that the

:25:45. > :25:48.APPG did on this and the Honourable member for North Beds did, in terms

:25:49. > :25:53.of talking to people about what they would like to see happen in this and

:25:54. > :25:56.any new revised scheme, one of the options people did see if they'd

:25:57. > :25:59.like to be able to think about whether a lump sum payment was

:26:00. > :26:04.better for them than regular payments. Giving people the ability

:26:05. > :26:09.to make those decisions for themselves is really quite

:26:10. > :26:14.important. The second point from the APPG's point of view, is we still

:26:15. > :26:18.believe that we need to have a Hillsborough style panel and quietly

:26:19. > :26:22.to allow people to tell their stories, say what happened to them

:26:23. > :26:25.and how it affected them. I'm happy to give weight to my right

:26:26. > :26:33.honourable friend, who has great knowledge on this point. She is

:26:34. > :26:37.making a very, very powerful case, as she always does. I congratulate

:26:38. > :26:44.her on the way in which she is doing so. I think she is right for that

:26:45. > :26:48.potential that a Hillsborough style enquiry offers. I know that the

:26:49. > :26:53.Prime Minister is a great fan of that process and has said so on

:26:54. > :27:00.previous occasions. I think we just need to be a bit careful that the

:27:01. > :27:04.setting up of such an enquiry doesn't put all of the important and

:27:05. > :27:08.urgent issues she has raised into the shade, while that process takes

:27:09. > :27:17.place. The two things need to be separate. I agree with him, he makes

:27:18. > :27:20.that point very well. We do need to make sure that any new support

:27:21. > :27:28.scheme moves quickly, we need to get on with this. The Prime Minister,

:27:29. > :27:33.when he apologised on behalf of the nation 18 months ago, also allocated

:27:34. > :27:38.some money, 25 million. And that has been spent yet, as I understand it,

:27:39. > :27:43.and we do need to make sure that any scheme is introduced as quickly as

:27:44. > :27:47.possible, obviously with concerns we have being addressed. The two things

:27:48. > :27:53.can go in parallel, we can have that panel enquiry to give people that

:27:54. > :27:56.opportunity for a truth and reconciliation enquiry. I still

:27:57. > :28:04.think it is an important requirement for any real sense of justice being

:28:05. > :28:06.achieved and the closure. Very grateful for a second intervention.

:28:07. > :28:14.Could I make the point that there are documents in which families who

:28:15. > :28:17.have suffered a loss following this scandal, have expressed, that they

:28:18. > :28:22.would like to get hold of those documents and see them and see what

:28:23. > :28:28.happened and who knew what. They just what that sense of justice. I

:28:29. > :28:33.will now conclude. I know you later speeches members will want to raise

:28:34. > :28:37.the deeply moving stories of their own constituents. That is the same

:28:38. > :28:43.reason that has led me to campaign on this issue over many years. Was

:28:44. > :28:47.mindful of the struggles faced by my own constituents, Glenn Robinson.

:28:48. > :28:52.When was diagnosed with hepatitis C following aged operation when he was

:28:53. > :28:55.just 19. He's had to live with the virus of his life and is still

:28:56. > :28:58.waiting for a proper recognition of the way this has affected him. I

:28:59. > :29:03.hope the minister and government will my work to ensure that Glenn

:29:04. > :29:11.and others can live the rest of their lives in dignity. I'm going to

:29:12. > :29:23.impose a ten minute limit to start with and then we'll see how we get

:29:24. > :29:29.on. Could I begin by congratulating her for her consistency in relation

:29:30. > :29:34.to this issue. And the work that she and the all-party group of done over

:29:35. > :29:41.a length of time. I also thank the Backbench Business Committee to for

:29:42. > :29:49.allowing this to come forward. We start by knowing that this is not

:29:50. > :29:52.her portfolio responsibility, and I personally know how difficult it is

:29:53. > :29:55.to be dealing with something that isn't actually in your own

:29:56. > :30:01.portfolio. So I know she will communicate very faithfully what the

:30:02. > :30:07.debate passes on to work, though she will not be in a position to pass

:30:08. > :30:10.all the questions we will raise. Without that we are here again

:30:11. > :30:14.raising the question is should be an important point that she will bring

:30:15. > :30:19.forward, both as Secretary of State and others. In relation to the

:30:20. > :30:27.speech, a couple of points which I will emphasise and pick up. Firstly,

:30:28. > :30:30.on the administration of the scheme, can I say how much I agree with her

:30:31. > :30:37.on the point about who should run it. This is not one of those we were

:30:38. > :30:41.looking to outsource because it's an ideological issue or anything like

:30:42. > :30:45.that, there is something that is really important at the heart of

:30:46. > :30:49.this issue, and we know from everything we know from the United

:30:50. > :30:53.States, that the plot profit motive in selling the blood in the first

:30:54. > :30:58.place was the primary source of everything that flowed since. And

:30:59. > :31:03.accordingly, to recognise that and have some sensitivity on that is

:31:04. > :31:08.really important. I think the government can run some things. I

:31:09. > :31:12.think running something publicly is a good thing. You have to choose,

:31:13. > :31:17.and we have all lived in a political lives from the government running

:31:18. > :31:21.British Telecom and British Airways and things have changed, but there

:31:22. > :31:24.are some things that are actually important that they are publicly

:31:25. > :31:38.owned and publicly run and dealt with and this is one of them.

:31:39. > :31:45.And how this is handled, with the group who will act on the half of

:31:46. > :31:47.the beneficiaries rather than on the half of the government interest,

:31:48. > :31:56.which has to be carefully put together. Would he agree with me

:31:57. > :31:59.that one area in which the private sector could play a part and should

:32:00. > :32:05.be, is contributing to the compensation. There is an analogy

:32:06. > :32:09.and off-the-shelf scheme we could look at which is how thalidomide

:32:10. > :32:14.victims were supported themselves with a composite of public funding

:32:15. > :32:18.and funding from the drug companies responsible, and like the Scottish

:32:19. > :32:26.scheme, that has brought us an annual payment to allow those people

:32:27. > :32:32.who struggle with conditions due to this, this can be afforded to the

:32:33. > :32:38.survivors of loved ones who passed away because of contaminated blood.

:32:39. > :32:44.The compensation on thalidomide was on a clear accountability and

:32:45. > :32:49.responsibility are lying, which the company admitted. This has not been

:32:50. > :32:55.completely the same, but I can come on to financial matters in a second.

:32:56. > :32:59.Can I move on from the speech, which I support, and say it is a matter of

:33:00. > :33:04.some despair that we are here again. I remember those friends that came

:33:05. > :33:07.to the public meetings in the House of Commons, saying they were sick of

:33:08. > :33:12.coming to the House of Commons, they had been here so often over the

:33:13. > :33:15.years. The one main thing I would be grateful if my honourable friend

:33:16. > :33:19.would take forward to government, I have not been able to get the point

:33:20. > :33:25.over. This dripping approach over the years is not working. The

:33:26. > :33:32.government can find money at various times for bigger fears, if there is

:33:33. > :33:35.a national disaster -- natural disaster, a banking collapse, vast

:33:36. > :33:39.sums of money suddenly appear. We have not been able to give this

:33:40. > :33:43.issue the same priority, and it cries out for it because the fact we

:33:44. > :33:48.are here again means the issues will not go away, they cannot be dealt

:33:49. > :33:53.with on a drip by drip bases, and someone has not grasped how

:33:54. > :34:00.important it really is to settle this for so many reasons. I will not

:34:01. > :34:06.rehearse the history of it, but will raise the business -- raised the

:34:07. > :34:11.business by way of a backbench debate. I will also not read some of

:34:12. > :34:14.the accounts of individuals involved La Paz because frankly I find it too

:34:15. > :34:20.difficult to read them into the record, and I cannot do it again. I

:34:21. > :34:24.would like to make a couple of points and three comments on where

:34:25. > :34:30.we might go from no. I campaigned on this for many years, I campaigned in

:34:31. > :34:35.government and opposition, when I was minister and when I wasn't. I

:34:36. > :34:40.was pleased the honourable lady mentioned David Cameron because I

:34:41. > :34:44.think his response to the question I raised at Prime Minister's Questions

:34:45. > :34:47.on October 2013 began the current change of events and continued the

:34:48. > :34:52.progress that had been made over many years. I was grateful he saw

:34:53. > :35:00.myself and that constituent of hours, and he seemed to understand

:35:01. > :35:04.more money was going into this game. In June I was invited again to join

:35:05. > :35:09.the Prime Minister in the Department of Health, at which point I went

:35:10. > :35:14.campaigning as far as the public was concerned. I know that some people

:35:15. > :35:17.misinterpreted that. My position in the Department of Health was not

:35:18. > :35:20.conditional on the fact I had been involved with contaminated blood,

:35:21. > :35:24.neither was my decision in the Foreign Office or my decision to

:35:25. > :35:29.leave the Department of Health earlier this year, but the

:35:30. > :35:35.ministerial convention is clear. You cannot have two colleagues firing on

:35:36. > :35:39.the same issue, I did indeed go quiet for a time publicly, but

:35:40. > :35:45.inside the department I made my own representations. I also want to put

:35:46. > :35:51.on record my appreciation of what the honourable member for Battersby

:35:52. > :35:57.did for the scheme. I think I made a mistake when the original proposals

:35:58. > :36:03.on the current scheme came forward in January earlier this year. I sat

:36:04. > :36:06.beside her on the bench and understood the gist of it, but did

:36:07. > :36:11.not understand the detail that only became clear in the consultation. I

:36:12. > :36:16.made a mistake by thinking at that time we had solved the problem. We

:36:17. > :36:22.clearly haven't. I hope I have contributed to the debate as we

:36:23. > :36:27.tried to deal with these proposals. As the honourable lady said, they

:36:28. > :36:31.move us on from where we were, but we're not yet there, and I might say

:36:32. > :36:36.a couple of things as to where we might call. Firstly, I think we got

:36:37. > :36:40.in the original proposals the discretionary payment wrong, and

:36:41. > :36:44.number of discretionary payments made have become effectively fixed,

:36:45. > :36:47.and people have become dependent upon them. That should have been

:36:48. > :36:55.known to the department, but clearly it was not in enough detail. And has

:36:56. > :36:58.led to people feeling they may not be as financially compensated as

:36:59. > :37:02.they are at present. That cannot be the case, we cannot have a situation

:37:03. > :37:34.and I am not so bid prepared to support anything that would make

:37:35. > :37:38.people I thank him for the work he has done and for the work of the

:37:39. > :37:39.honourable member for Kingston-upon-Hull. My constituent

:37:40. > :37:41.is co-infected with many conditions as a result of receiving

:37:42. > :37:44.contaminated blood. It has affected every part of his body and his life,

:37:45. > :37:47.and he worries he may lose up to ?6,000 in discretionary payments and

:37:48. > :37:49.that the cost of his many treatments may count against a settlement. We

:37:50. > :37:54.know that the Minister is listening carefully. Does he he joined me in

:37:55. > :38:07.urging the honourable gentleman to look carefully at this? I do.

:38:08. > :38:10.Regarding payment, I do not think people were fully aware that the

:38:11. > :38:14.discretionary payments had in fact become fixed and a fixed part of

:38:15. > :38:19.peoples income. There is much better awareness now, and I think that is

:38:20. > :38:22.essential because people are extremely worried because they do

:38:23. > :38:26.not see that included in specific terms in the scheme and I hope that

:38:27. > :38:33.will be part of it. I would also like to see a small amount of money

:38:34. > :38:38.made available for the things that were thrown up through the system

:38:39. > :38:43.that are not recognised. I am thinking particularly of a family

:38:44. > :38:47.where two young boys lost their father and two uncles, and they were

:38:48. > :38:51.taken into care, and the lives were changed usually because of it. Now

:38:52. > :38:56.part of the scheme fits the agony they went through and I wonder if

:38:57. > :39:08.there could be some recognition of that. In relation to the enquiry, I

:39:09. > :39:14.must reiterate my determination that there must be some form of enquiry

:39:15. > :39:26.into what has happened. It is on the record, the sense of scandal around

:39:27. > :39:32.this, and materials have been spoken about being scrapped. And I quote,

:39:33. > :39:35.there was a decision to clean up the files and stop some of the

:39:36. > :39:43.incriminating evidence. This cannot be the case that we have this issue

:39:44. > :39:49.that has led to so many deaths, and it is not that public space for

:39:50. > :39:58.those affected to no. The process did well with Hillsborough and

:39:59. > :40:04.Bloody Sunday, and is clouded. I do not think a public enquiry is the

:40:05. > :40:16.necessary vehicle. But in some way... I will not get any further if

:40:17. > :40:22.I give more interventions. I think some process of that remains

:40:23. > :40:26.essential that we press upon. Thirdly, can I now raised

:40:27. > :40:32.specifically the issue of those who were co-infected. The majority of

:40:33. > :40:38.those infected by contaminated blood were mostly hepatitis C infected. A

:40:39. > :40:44.number were co-infected with HIV and hepatitis C, and it is known that of

:40:45. > :40:48.that number there are some 250 only left alive. I think the degree of

:40:49. > :40:54.suffering of those co-infected is different to those who have been

:40:55. > :40:56.mono infected. There is monitoring and treatment for hepatitis C, which

:40:57. > :41:01.we all welcome and has changed the we all welcome and has changed the

:41:02. > :41:05.outlook considerably for many of those infected. For the co-infected,

:41:06. > :41:08.this is not available. This is a discrete group which cannot grow

:41:09. > :41:14.larger. It is diminishing all the time. They have had things that have

:41:15. > :41:17.affected their lives that have not affected others, their length of

:41:18. > :41:21.life at the beginning. I know of those who when they were young were

:41:22. > :41:25.told they may only have five or six years left. The education they were

:41:26. > :41:31.going through was of no consequence, nor was looking through any sum of

:41:32. > :41:36.money because they were not going to live. The outlook is different

:41:37. > :41:40.because they have been able to stay alive, but their condition is still

:41:41. > :41:46.serious and varies from day to day. From that diminishing number, the

:41:47. > :41:51.possibility of lump sums might be the possibility. They do not want to

:41:52. > :41:55.be dependent on the system. They want recognised what they have lost

:41:56. > :41:59.and the opportunity is lost, and a lump sum might be the answer to

:42:00. > :42:03.that. I would be very grateful if some consideration will be given to

:42:04. > :42:08.the co-infected, because I think much of the debate tends to be for

:42:09. > :42:11.the majority, and they do not think that is necessarily wrong, and what

:42:12. > :42:17.is being provided for the majority is important, but the co-infected

:42:18. > :42:22.matter. We have been here too often, and sadly I doubt if the Minister

:42:23. > :42:29.responsible will be the last to talk about this. But we will not leave

:42:30. > :42:32.this. It is a collective shame because government after government

:42:33. > :42:36.will not grasp that this needs a final settlement. This issue cries

:42:37. > :42:44.out for a settlement and we will not stop. I am very pleased to speak in

:42:45. > :42:49.this debate on the half of children who have lost their father and a

:42:50. > :42:54.mother who has lost her son, and a spouse who lost her husband. And for

:42:55. > :42:59.the many people who still suffer an injustice. I want to focus my

:43:00. > :43:07.remarks on the question of transparency in the public sphere.

:43:08. > :43:11.As the Member for north-east Beds mentioned earlier, it has become

:43:12. > :43:23.obvious that there has become evidence -- and it was stated that

:43:24. > :43:27.when he went to the Department of Health while health minister runs

:43:28. > :43:30.boxes of notes on the subject that this raised questions in his mind.

:43:31. > :43:34.He decided he needed a team to deal with this. But when he returned a

:43:35. > :43:40.week later all the paperwork had been shredded. So, I wonder whether

:43:41. > :43:45.we could, through this debate, perhaps ask the Minister to reply in

:43:46. > :43:50.writing to us whether we could give permission to others who perhaps no

:43:51. > :43:55.more to come forward. I agree with the honourable member that perhaps

:43:56. > :43:58.it is not correct to have a full-scale, lengthy enquiry. There

:43:59. > :44:06.must be some way of holding individuals to account who knew

:44:07. > :44:09.more. That covers the justice point. But the other point that is linked

:44:10. > :44:15.in with this is the question of trust in health providers. As I am

:44:16. > :44:20.sure you're aware through listening to this debate, there was a wide

:44:21. > :44:23.knowledge at the time, even from health professionals, and I wonder

:44:24. > :44:26.whether we could also see whether health professionals who may have

:44:27. > :44:30.been working in the National Health service at the time be able to shed

:44:31. > :44:35.some light on how it could possibly be the case that individuals knew

:44:36. > :44:43.about the contamination but decided not to continue with it and the use

:44:44. > :44:51.of contaminated products for reasons of cost and because it was said

:44:52. > :44:56.there was no alternative. We're in this situation now, years later,

:44:57. > :45:01.trying to find the truth. Now was the time look at these questions of

:45:02. > :45:09.trust and justice. Could I add my voice to those of the two speakers

:45:10. > :45:17.in this debate who have said that by bringing in a TOS and other private

:45:18. > :45:21.providers it could help in resolving this matter, and could we look at

:45:22. > :45:29.this as being an NHS led process, which underlines honesty and a sense

:45:30. > :45:30.of communicating well with those who have suffered to many years of

:45:31. > :45:39.trauma from this situation. Could I also put on record the

:45:40. > :45:45.excellent work of the all-party group and that of the haemophilia

:45:46. > :45:48.community, who has helped MPs researched this matter so

:45:49. > :45:52.diligently? And who have called for this proper investigation for so

:45:53. > :45:57.many years now. And once again thank the honourable member for Kingston

:45:58. > :46:04.upon Hull North for bringing forward this debate. Thank you. Thank you.

:46:05. > :46:12.Can I congratulate my honourable friend for securing this debate? All

:46:13. > :46:20.the fine work done on the all-party group in keeping this in the public

:46:21. > :46:25.eye. I associate myself with many of the previous speaker's comments,

:46:26. > :46:30.which I shall not repeat. I would like to highlight a couple of my

:46:31. > :46:35.constituents who are have suffered the terrible effects of this

:46:36. > :46:41.scandal. I spoke again this week to one of my constituents who

:46:42. > :46:47.contracted hepatitis C, following a blood transfusion at the age of 17,

:46:48. > :46:54.40 years ago. She told me she had received some terribly bad news. Her

:46:55. > :46:59.illness had progressed to cirrhosis of the liver. She is currently

:47:00. > :47:04.undertaking tests and biopsies to find out how long she has left to

:47:05. > :47:08.live. I ask the host to imagine a kind of strain of family have been

:47:09. > :47:13.living with all these years, knowing that her condition would probably

:47:14. > :47:24.get worse and yet hoping that it would not. Helen Wilcox has had four

:47:25. > :47:27.strokes, suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. She

:47:28. > :47:32.takes 35 tablets a day and can barely get out of bed.

:47:33. > :47:37.Understandably, Helen Wilcox says she has no life. She doesn't go out

:47:38. > :47:45.and you can make plans. She barely has the energy to bring up her

:47:46. > :47:48.children. And had to give up her job ten years ago. I'm sure that the

:47:49. > :47:53.Minister will agree that she and her family deserve the certainty and

:47:54. > :48:00.clarity of a decent settlement in keeping with the pain and suffering

:48:01. > :48:04.she has endured. And she is not alone. Many of my reliable friends

:48:05. > :48:12.will have similar stories from the constituencies. And another victim

:48:13. > :48:19.in my constituency, Richard Warwick, was multiplying affected with HIV,

:48:20. > :48:27.hepatitis C and hepatitis B, by the NHS. And has had his life ruined

:48:28. > :48:37.through no fault of his own. Of the 13 classes in the special school --

:48:38. > :48:41.of the 13 children in the class of the special school he attended, only

:48:42. > :48:46.four are still alive. He has campaigned long and hard. One of the

:48:47. > :48:50.most heartbreaking and emotional meetings I had was speaking with his

:48:51. > :48:54.parents, who told me about the impact it had on their lives,

:48:55. > :49:00.particularly about their terribly difficult decision to decide against

:49:01. > :49:09.having a family on the basis of the health implications that would have.

:49:10. > :49:14.I welcome the points made by the haemophilia Society, that the new

:49:15. > :49:18.payment scheme is an improvement on proposals from the original January

:49:19. > :49:23.consultation. I think it makes sense to one single scheme going forward,

:49:24. > :49:29.rather than multiple schemes. I am pleased more money has been

:49:30. > :49:34.identified to pay to the victims. On behalf of my constituents and others

:49:35. > :49:40.like them, I would ask the Minister to ensure that no one is worse off

:49:41. > :49:52.under the new system, take into account where those who are

:49:53. > :49:57.receiving discretionary payments... Would he give way? Thank you. He is

:49:58. > :50:02.giving a very emotional speech. It is hard to listen to these things. I

:50:03. > :50:08.would speak up for the idea of the lump sum payment. For the cull

:50:09. > :50:13.infected because they have even more strange than others. If we could

:50:14. > :50:17.help out with that, and there are becoming fewer and fewer of them, I

:50:18. > :50:23.think it is up to us to try to make their lives as good as we possibly

:50:24. > :50:26.can. She makes a very good point. It echoes the comments of the chair of

:50:27. > :50:34.the all-party group, that perhaps that should be an option that could

:50:35. > :50:39.be taken. Of course, the victims have lived with their illnesses for

:50:40. > :50:43.decades. Now they want to insure families are compensated for losses

:50:44. > :50:47.they endured because of it. Referring back to Mr Warwick, he

:50:48. > :50:52.also had to give up his job many years ago. When his employers

:50:53. > :50:58.discovered he was infected with HIV, he was asked to leave. This meant

:50:59. > :51:01.his wife became the main breadwinner. She could only work

:51:02. > :51:07.part-time because the rest of her time is devoted to his care. Given

:51:08. > :51:11.the fact that she might be near to or at retirement, it might be

:51:12. > :51:15.difficult for her to find a full-time job. Mr Warwick tells me

:51:16. > :51:21.that he wants more than anything to be able to put his mind to rest by

:51:22. > :51:25.knowing that Mrs Warwick will continue to receive monthly payments

:51:26. > :51:31.throughout her lifetime. I urge the Minister to think about the terrible

:51:32. > :51:35.impact this injustice has had on Helen Wilcox, Richard Warwick and

:51:36. > :51:40.their families. And many others like them. And offer them greater clarity

:51:41. > :51:47.and a fear settlement so that they can have peace of mind this

:51:48. > :51:51.Christmas. Thank you. Can I commence in the same vein that other

:51:52. > :51:59.honourable and writable members have done, which is to pay tribute to the

:52:00. > :52:07.work done by the Member for Hull North? I see other members across

:52:08. > :52:11.the chamber who have also played a part. This is not a party political

:52:12. > :52:17.issue. The core of this issue is quite simply about doing the right

:52:18. > :52:24.thing. It is Parliament and all-party groups at its best when

:52:25. > :52:30.members come together to deal with the difficult stories such as we

:52:31. > :52:35.have just heard. Based on personal stories of our constituents. I have

:52:36. > :52:40.two constituents who have given me quite an inspirational lead in

:52:41. > :52:48.attacking the problem. Debra has HIV. She received it from a partner

:52:49. > :52:51.who himself had received contaminated blood products. She

:52:52. > :52:56.didn't tell her at the time. It took several years to work out that all

:52:57. > :53:01.her health problems had derived from this infection. He obviously became

:53:02. > :53:07.her ex-partner and that person later died of his illness. But Debra has

:53:08. > :53:12.never been able to hold down a job because of the continuing,

:53:13. > :53:18.persistent illness and nature. Also, in common with the previous

:53:19. > :53:23.description, has been asked to leave her job before now. The career has

:53:24. > :53:28.been badly affected. Neal has hepatitis C. He got it as a

:53:29. > :53:33.haemophilia patient as a child and again he is unable to hold down a

:53:34. > :53:38.job. That means he is unable to hold down decent housing. Part of the

:53:39. > :53:42.problem affecting him means that his body retains water and he has to go

:53:43. > :53:48.to hospital regularly to have his body drained of excess fluid. She

:53:49. > :53:53.can work, but he has great problems with fatigue. His whole life has

:53:54. > :53:59.been dominated by this. I make a point to the House that the only

:54:00. > :54:04.mistake, the only crime that these constituents of mine and other

:54:05. > :54:08.honourable members have committed is to be unlucky. That is the only

:54:09. > :54:16.thing they have done. They were unlucky in the circumstances of

:54:17. > :54:22.being given contaminated blood products or receiving an infection

:54:23. > :54:26.from another partner. Without being told of the circumstances. And the

:54:27. > :54:33.other victims, as we have said, of what could be considered a crime. I

:54:34. > :54:37.cannot get away from the fact that we need to be doing more still for

:54:38. > :54:47.people whose basic problem is that they were unlucky at a difficult

:54:48. > :54:53.time in their life. My concern is, when we simplify things, they also

:54:54. > :54:57.become less valuable. But the current system is chaotic at the

:54:58. > :55:03.moment. As honourable members have said, when it is simplified and

:55:04. > :55:08.schemes are brought together, no recipient should be any worse. I

:55:09. > :55:16.welcome the amalgamation of the different types of schemes. Up until

:55:17. > :55:20.now, there has been perhaps unwitting or deliberate policy of

:55:21. > :55:25.divide and rule, so there are various different types of schemes

:55:26. > :55:30.for different types of sufferers. We know as well there are different

:55:31. > :55:33.schemes and levels of schemes across the different countries of the

:55:34. > :55:38.United Kingdom. We have the absurd situation whereby somebody who is

:55:39. > :55:41.living in England might be able to qualify for a Scottish scheme

:55:42. > :55:46.because it is based on the country that the recipient was in at the

:55:47. > :55:51.time that he or she was infected. It seems to me the House to be a level

:55:52. > :55:58.of consistency and fairness for people who are rightly angry and

:55:59. > :56:02.rightly feeling let down, they are forced to look at the circumstances

:56:03. > :56:07.of other victims and compare themselves, rather than look to the

:56:08. > :56:13.real culprits in this situation, which are the companies, private

:56:14. > :56:16.companies so eloquently described earlier who put profit before

:56:17. > :56:20.patient safety all those years ago and have never been brought to

:56:21. > :56:25.account. In that respect, I support the call is to have a proper

:56:26. > :56:29.enquiry. I put down some questions to the Department of Health on this

:56:30. > :56:33.matter a short while ago. It transpires that has never been any

:56:34. > :56:41.compensation paid by these corporations at all. They have never

:56:42. > :56:44.been sought for compensation. One honourable member pointed out it

:56:45. > :56:47.might be difficult to pin down exactly who was responsible and

:56:48. > :56:52.wine, but there needs to be an effort at least to track down those

:56:53. > :57:00.responsible and make them contribute for their misdemeanours. I did ask

:57:01. > :57:04.Deborah annual further comments. And what they would be looking at here.

:57:05. > :57:09.Deborah is going to lose money under the current proposals. No doubt

:57:10. > :57:15.about that. She found the words of the former Prime Minister David

:57:16. > :57:18.Cameron rather distasteful when he told us that today I am proud to

:57:19. > :57:26.provide them with the support they deserve. Deborah has every right to

:57:27. > :57:32.be angry. She gleaned from that that she deserved to be worse off as an

:57:33. > :57:41.HIV infected partner. She is unclear whether money is going. She wants to

:57:42. > :57:50.know where the money is going to. Is the money the same? Again, I go back

:57:51. > :57:54.to this idea that if victims of this scandal are losing money, they are

:57:55. > :58:04.being asked to turn in on themselves, rather than direct their

:58:05. > :58:14.fire at the real culprits. There is a feeling that the scheme will be

:58:15. > :58:19.taking financial support from those who have no cure, who were forced to

:58:20. > :58:26.take toxic medication to keep them alive and struggle with mental

:58:27. > :58:30.illnesses and the stigma. Despite medication, people are still dying

:58:31. > :58:33.from HIV and AIDS. There is a sense that Deborah has that by moving the

:58:34. > :58:41.schemes around, there is a sense of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Neill

:58:42. > :58:52.also supports the idea of the Hillsborough - style enquiry.

:58:53. > :58:56.?15,500 is far too low, he points out. It doesn't take into account

:58:57. > :58:59.how much the expense is of being ill, travelling to and from

:59:00. > :59:04.hospitals up and down the country and he asks again that payments be

:59:05. > :59:13.linked to inflation, otherwise they grow ever slower. He mentioned the

:59:14. > :59:21.Hillsborough style enquiry and I wanted to add my support to the

:59:22. > :59:30.proposal for this to be considered by the government. I took up the

:59:31. > :59:33.case of the stepfather of one of my constituents, who received unheated

:59:34. > :59:37.Scottish blood products after they had been withdrawn in Scotland. He

:59:38. > :59:42.received them in England. There was a time lag in England. We don't know

:59:43. > :59:46.how many people were affected in this way. He ended up dying. There

:59:47. > :59:51.is a particular sense of injustice they are. Does he feel this is

:59:52. > :59:56.another reason why this sort of enquiry is necessary? I absolutely

:59:57. > :00:03.do. We need to get to the truth. Victims, families and surviving

:00:04. > :00:09.members of families deserve the truth. Culprits need to be held to

:00:10. > :00:17.account. It seems there is knowledge this was going on at the time. The

:00:18. > :00:21.truth is, and honourable member for Bednar -- Bedfordshire made this

:00:22. > :00:29.point, this matter will not go away. The longer it goes on, the greater

:00:30. > :00:32.will be the calls for a final resolution. The government has an

:00:33. > :00:36.opportunity and I'm grateful the Minister will be sure to listen

:00:37. > :00:46.today to do the right thing, too left that black cloud of uncertainty

:00:47. > :00:51.and to end this very eloquently put by the honourable member for

:00:52. > :00:58.Bedfordshire, drip- drip approach to get a final solution and a final

:00:59. > :00:59.answer to this question. That will give certainty which has been

:01:00. > :01:09.missing for so long. Madam Deputy Speaker, I want to pay

:01:10. > :01:16.tribute to my honourable friend and the honourable lady. Without them,

:01:17. > :01:22.we wouldn't have got as far as we have. With them, we have got to go

:01:23. > :01:28.way because there is still more to do. I don't want to repeat what they

:01:29. > :01:36.have said, but I do want to say, the hosting library which produced a

:01:37. > :01:44.very good debate pack, which I think is useful to people. I commend the

:01:45. > :01:50.tainted blood website which has a timeline and a chronology which

:01:51. > :02:01.reminds us the first case of haemophiliacs being infected with

:02:02. > :02:08.Hep C was known in 1961. We know this was designed to help, Philly

:02:09. > :02:13.acts, but it has harmed them. I know about this a bit indirectly. In

:02:14. > :02:19.1975, my wife received eight pints of blood and went on to come and

:02:20. > :02:25.join us in the House of Commons. She was before the factor eight had been

:02:26. > :02:34.spread around and the first member of my family unknowingly to take an

:02:35. > :02:38.HIV test was my mother who had a pancreatic operation and had to have

:02:39. > :02:44.a lot of blood, she heard what was going on and went to be tested. When

:02:45. > :02:51.I was a minister in Northern Ireland in 1989, 90, because of a friend of

:02:52. > :02:56.mine who had been infected with HIV and AIDS after the blood was

:02:57. > :02:59.infected, I spent a lot of time doing the best I could within my

:03:00. > :03:05.department giving advice on trying to bring these issues into the open.

:03:06. > :03:09.I pay tribute to those of my constituents and my friends who have

:03:10. > :03:13.given me the insight into their circumstances living with Hep C,

:03:14. > :03:22.living with HIV and living with AIDS. I want to make a few extra

:03:23. > :03:28.points, the first is, is it possible all the people who are affected by

:03:29. > :03:37.infection could have something on their medical notes which stops

:03:38. > :03:41.every new hospital, clinician, and caregiver asking the questions as to

:03:42. > :03:45.why they have this problem. The first thing people should be

:03:46. > :03:51.entitled to is an understanding that the circumstances requires them not

:03:52. > :03:57.to have to say several times a year to strangers why they need the care

:03:58. > :04:00.and help. The second thing, given some of the specialist treatment and

:04:01. > :04:06.I welcome the advances in dealing with Hep C, people who live away

:04:07. > :04:13.from London, come to specialist hospitals, having to get here

:04:14. > :04:25.reasonably early, and travel costs need to be met. We should have some

:04:26. > :04:30.way in making sure that the difficulties in finding

:04:31. > :04:33.accommodation and paying for their needs, we can be more sympathetic.

:04:34. > :04:39.The last thing I want to say, for those who are very young, who were

:04:40. > :04:44.very young at the time, not the people of my age coming towards

:04:45. > :04:48.retirement years, not that I have to retire soon! But some of those who

:04:49. > :04:53.are young, who are perhaps coming up to middle age, they may have felt

:04:54. > :04:59.lonely because they didn't feel they could have an active social life,

:05:00. > :05:04.probably some have had no particular interest in pursuing higher

:05:05. > :05:09.education to a degree they could work. They probably have, besides

:05:10. > :05:13.physical health issues, probably the need for other therapy, that people

:05:14. > :05:18.go out of their way to put arms around them and get around them

:05:19. > :05:24.properly and meet all their needs in a way they find acceptable. I wish

:05:25. > :05:28.colleagues in the Department of Health well. These aren't easy

:05:29. > :05:34.issues to tackle. I know perfectly well the Treasury has a job of

:05:35. > :05:38.trying to oversee every bit of the department's changes and spending. I

:05:39. > :05:42.will say to the Prime Minister, I hope she will do whatever

:05:43. > :05:46.predecessor did, after a few months of letting this debate settle down,

:05:47. > :05:48.meet with my right honourable friend and the honourable lady and

:05:49. > :05:55.representatives of the haemophilia Society and say, are we getting it

:05:56. > :05:59.right? Is there more we can do? Because the Prime Minister's

:06:00. > :06:03.position is bringing the relevant departments together and say, what

:06:04. > :06:06.can we do to get rid of most of the problems. The one question I will

:06:07. > :06:12.ask my honourable friend on the front bench to an answer today, is

:06:13. > :06:15.is the government still giving help to the haemophilia Society? The load

:06:16. > :06:20.on them has been increased by this work. Their involvement has been

:06:21. > :06:24.important both to governments, those affected and those who are trying to

:06:25. > :06:30.represent both. If the haemophilia Society is being charged extra cots,

:06:31. > :06:41.the government can provide the funds be used to provide. I am grateful.

:06:42. > :06:44.We come into politics, not for politics or high office, but because

:06:45. > :06:51.we care and want to make a difference to lives. If I ever get

:06:52. > :06:54.round to writing a list of my political heroes, the honourable

:06:55. > :07:01.member for Hull North has secured her place on that. Many people have

:07:02. > :07:06.been affected by this, not just for those infected, but their families

:07:07. > :07:11.and loved ones, people who are grieving the loss of someone they

:07:12. > :07:15.thought they would have longer with. A great distance has been made, but

:07:16. > :07:22.we have a long way to go to see real justice. I am here to represent my

:07:23. > :07:26.constituent Alex Smith. He was infected by hepatitis C, but to add

:07:27. > :07:31.insult, his wife died from the same infection from a blood transfusion

:07:32. > :07:36.while she was giving birth to their child. He has suffered the loss of

:07:37. > :07:41.his wife, raised children by himself, he has been ill himself,

:07:42. > :07:46.has not been able to work. What I resent about the approach to this,

:07:47. > :07:50.it feels inhumane. It feels as though the starting point is, how

:07:51. > :07:54.much money is the government willing to pay and then working within that

:07:55. > :07:59.money, rather than looking at it from a human being point of view. I

:08:00. > :08:06.struggle with the idea that the best on offer is to offer the victims of

:08:07. > :08:13.blood contamination, just about living above the poverty line, the

:08:14. > :08:17.hopes, the dreams, the ambition, the potential of so many people have

:08:18. > :08:20.been ruined. Not just by the contamination, but by the treatment

:08:21. > :08:25.they have received by the hospital in trying to find out information

:08:26. > :08:29.and get their own medical records. In poor diagnosis, poor treatment

:08:30. > :08:35.and trying to get justice and fair funding to make sure they can live a

:08:36. > :08:40.decent life. It is more than the infection taking hold of people, it

:08:41. > :08:43.is the issue in the way it has been handled, has dominated the lives of

:08:44. > :08:48.tens of thousands of people. Their lives have been put on hold while

:08:49. > :08:51.they try to get answers, trying to seek justice and where they can just

:08:52. > :08:55.about keep their heads above water when the knot comes on the door

:08:56. > :08:58.because the bailiff is there, when the red letter comes because you

:08:59. > :09:05.could not pay the utility bill, council tax or the rent. I feel

:09:06. > :09:13.government has a duty, not to be themselves accountable for what went

:09:14. > :09:20.on in the 70s and 80s. We cannot act set -- accept the garment is

:09:21. > :09:24.responsible for that, but they are responsible today. The government

:09:25. > :09:27.relaxed the humanity required, the recognition of the pain and

:09:28. > :09:33.suffering so many have gone through and the willingness to give answers

:09:34. > :09:35.and justice for people who have been affected. I absolutely give my

:09:36. > :09:40.support for the call for an independent enquiry. There are many

:09:41. > :09:43.questions that haven't been answered, that do need to be

:09:44. > :09:46.answered. Not just for the victims and their families, but make sure

:09:47. > :09:52.the same mistakes don't happen again. I read the Manchester evening

:09:53. > :09:56.News yesterday and there was an excellent investigation carried out,

:09:57. > :10:02.heartbreaking investigation carried out about how patients were treated

:10:03. > :10:07.by the Pennine acute trust. The stories about children who died

:10:08. > :10:13.because of ill treatment. What was most hurtful about that, wasn't just

:10:14. > :10:18.the poor treatment, it was the way the hospital didn't face up to the

:10:19. > :10:21.mistakes are made, the way it tried to block information coming out and

:10:22. > :10:26.when the journalist tried to get the information, it was withheld and

:10:27. > :10:30.frustrated when it was due to be released in the public interest.

:10:31. > :10:33.That is the experience of many people who are affected by blood

:10:34. > :10:39.contamination as well. When they try to seek information they should have

:10:40. > :10:43.been entitled to, medical records, details of who knew what and when,

:10:44. > :10:47.they are frustrated by the medical institutions who were responsible

:10:48. > :10:52.for that infection in the first place. It is a gross in just met. If

:10:53. > :10:57.you are trying to move on in your life, the fact so many cannot see

:10:58. > :11:01.clarity or a future and the government, to be honest, has taken

:11:02. > :11:06.far too long to come forward with a comprehensive plan to address the

:11:07. > :11:10.answers that are very much needed in this situation. I would urge the

:11:11. > :11:16.government, for no party political gain, it is beyond party politics,

:11:17. > :11:20.it is about human beings, to come forward with a properly funded and

:11:21. > :11:24.logical scheme that doesn't just keep people out of poverty, but

:11:25. > :11:30.reflects they have the right to live a decent and fulfilling life. Come

:11:31. > :11:35.forward with an answer that peels the lid to get to the answers people

:11:36. > :11:39.need to know about how did this happen and learn lessons to make

:11:40. > :11:43.sure it cannot happen again. And more than that, this is the issue we

:11:44. > :11:48.are debating today, but there are lots of people who were affected by

:11:49. > :11:51.poor public service and when they tried to get answers, they were

:11:52. > :11:55.frustrated. If there is one thing this place can do in that case,

:11:56. > :12:00.absolutely apologise, if it is needed, but more than that, be the

:12:01. > :12:07.champions for justice and help them get the answers they deserve. Since

:12:08. > :12:13.being elected to this House, every Friday at surgery I have had one or

:12:14. > :12:17.two of my constituents who I will hopefully share with you in a few

:12:18. > :12:23.moments I have two address the House about this extraordinary tragedy in

:12:24. > :12:29.many ways. I have had, rightly so lived with them, all the

:12:30. > :12:37.frustrations, the false hope in many ways. Hopefully we will finally come

:12:38. > :12:43.to a settlement. Before I start, can I pay tribute to the honourable

:12:44. > :12:46.member from Kingston upon Hull for the incredible work she has done in

:12:47. > :12:53.leading us on a cross-party basis, to get the message across from all

:12:54. > :12:56.those people, those human beings, the human suffering. May I also

:12:57. > :13:03.congratulate the Minister on her role and pay tribute to her

:13:04. > :13:08.predecessor who work hard with many others to try to get to a full and

:13:09. > :13:11.final settlement. I hope the Prime Minister and the Treasury will be

:13:12. > :13:16.listening carefully to this debate and that it is not beyond us to work

:13:17. > :13:21.together now, to get what we have been promising our constituents,

:13:22. > :13:27.these people, through no crime of their own who have been infected

:13:28. > :13:31.with HIV, Hep C, that they will actually get a settlement and as the

:13:32. > :13:40.previous Prime Minister said, nobody will be worse off. This is a

:13:41. > :13:47.question about fairness, in my view. The member for the City of Chester

:13:48. > :13:56.quite rightly emphasised. I don't think it is fair that my

:13:57. > :14:01.constituents should feel that people infected in Scotland should get a

:14:02. > :14:15.better deal than they do in Stratford. The difficulty for Mr M,

:14:16. > :14:19.as I will refer to him, because it is important I maintain his privacy,

:14:20. > :14:24.is that for a very long time there has been something called a

:14:25. > :14:30.discretionary payment, which in reality is not discretionary in any

:14:31. > :14:33.way. It is absolutely that he relies upon, to make sure at the end of the

:14:34. > :14:39.month he can balance the books, he can live just well enough to be able

:14:40. > :14:47.to feel that he has regained his dignity and his freedom in many

:14:48. > :14:56.ways. The difficulty for the Minister is clearly that there is

:14:57. > :15:01.this sum of money, but I would urge the government to relook at this.

:15:02. > :15:06.Because I think it could, and my constituents are considering this,

:15:07. > :15:15.lead to a legal challenge if people feel that they are being unfairly

:15:16. > :15:16.treated over the Scottish settlements or other parts of our

:15:17. > :15:30.country. To now move on to another

:15:31. > :15:44.constituent whose anonymity I am protecting. Her issue is with the

:15:45. > :15:45.McFarlane trust. It isn't just her feeling that the trust was not fit

:15:46. > :16:04.for purpose. The message to the front bench is it

:16:05. > :16:09.would be an outrage if the McFarlane trust carried on in any way in

:16:10. > :16:18.dealing with my constituents. They simply are not fit for purpose. I

:16:19. > :16:23.would end my speech with another gentleman who has been infected with

:16:24. > :16:31.hepatitis C. And remind colleagues of the urgency. We can't come back

:16:32. > :16:37.next year and be debating this again and looking at a settlement again.

:16:38. > :16:45.Just this morning, I received a call from the gentleman's wife. She works

:16:46. > :16:49.in our NHS. She told me he has been admitted to hospital with severe

:16:50. > :16:55.deterioration in his liver due to the advancing hepatitis C. He may

:16:56. > :16:59.not be around by the time we come to a settlement. I would urge the

:17:00. > :17:04.Minister to remind her government that this is about fairness and

:17:05. > :17:10.speed settlement. Thank you very much indeed. During this debate

:17:11. > :17:14.today, firstly I want to pay tribute to my honourable friend, the

:17:15. > :17:22.honourable Lady for Kingston-upon-Hull for her strong

:17:23. > :17:26.campaigning zeal regarding this particular subject. The contaminated

:17:27. > :17:32.blood scandal has touched the lives of many people over the past 40

:17:33. > :17:39.years. Many people have sadly died, leaving loved ones who have spent

:17:40. > :17:47.lives caring for them. The contaminated blood and blood

:17:48. > :17:50.products scandal did not just affect the lives of those infected, it

:17:51. > :17:55.changed the lives of their families as well. We have had many debate

:17:56. > :18:03.here and in Westminster Hall calling for a final and Phil settlement for

:18:04. > :18:07.those infected. What we have today is an improvement on what was

:18:08. > :18:11.offered in January, but still we have a distance to go, to give those

:18:12. > :18:17.people and their families that means they need to have a decent standard

:18:18. > :18:23.of living and questions do remain unanswered about why those blood

:18:24. > :18:28.products that were infected and infected others were imported from

:18:29. > :18:37.the United States and perhaps other places. Into Northern Ireland and

:18:38. > :18:41.beyond. Whilst she is not the Minister responsible, I hope she

:18:42. > :18:47.will be able to answer those questions today, but also will

:18:48. > :18:50.preserve Lord prior in the other place to ensure we do get answers

:18:51. > :18:57.because, as the honourable member across the House from Mid

:18:58. > :19:05.Bedfordshire said, there is collective shame regarding this

:19:06. > :19:09.issue. This is an issue without political barriers because it has

:19:10. > :19:14.impacted on families right throughout the UK. And I would like

:19:15. > :19:17.to refer to the matter of my intervention earlier to highlight

:19:18. > :19:23.the issues we face in Northern Ireland. I have written to the

:19:24. > :19:28.health minister in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, Asda has been no

:19:29. > :19:35.announcement yet on the scheme for Northern Ireland. And she said to

:19:36. > :19:38.back in early August, ask the Prime Minister's statement in the House of

:19:39. > :19:42.Commons, I am currently considering options for the future of financial

:19:43. > :19:49.support for patients and families in the North of Ireland before making a

:19:50. > :19:58.decision. This is a similar answer to those I have received from her

:19:59. > :20:03.predecessors. There is no particular urgency, no particular recognition

:20:04. > :20:08.or acknowledgement that this is a serious case, that it impacted on

:20:09. > :20:12.peoples lives. I have written again to the Minister to urge her to

:20:13. > :20:22.address this as soon as possible. And I would appreciate if the

:20:23. > :20:24.Minister could inform us of any forthcoming conversations with her

:20:25. > :20:30.counterpart in Northern Ireland. People affected in Northern Ireland

:20:31. > :20:37.can stay in the current scheme, as long as the English scheme remains

:20:38. > :20:46.on reformed. At once the new English administrator is replaced, that

:20:47. > :20:53.leaves my constituents and the constituents of my honourable friend

:20:54. > :20:56.and other infected people in Northern Ireland and great peril.

:20:57. > :21:02.And we do not want that to happen. And in fact the haemophilia Society

:21:03. > :21:12.has raised this as a particular issue in their document. And it

:21:13. > :21:15.would -- I would also remind the House that the Irish government took

:21:16. > :21:21.the courageous decision some years ago to do except responsibility for

:21:22. > :21:25.this tragedy, which has compromised the health and immunity of so many

:21:26. > :21:32.people. They delivered a compensation scheme. I thank my Bob

:21:33. > :21:36.Friend giving way. Just on that point. It is important because the

:21:37. > :21:42.House has been misinformed of this number of times in previous debates.

:21:43. > :21:47.The scheme for compensation in the Irish Republic was established even

:21:48. > :21:58.before liability was acknowledged. The tribunal system for compensation

:21:59. > :22:11.was established. That is what is missing still in the UK. Thank you

:22:12. > :22:16.for that helpful intervention. That illustrated quite clearly that the

:22:17. > :22:23.needs of people came first, before all of the other extraneous matters.

:22:24. > :22:27.I welcome the fact there has been some progress in this, but there are

:22:28. > :22:32.matters the government must address, if it wants to be responsible for

:22:33. > :22:37.the long overdue settlement that these people require and are

:22:38. > :22:44.entitled to. It is not clear what we all face, following 2020. People

:22:45. > :22:47.need time to plan and should not have the worry of the scheme

:22:48. > :22:59.deteriorating or being pulled out from under their feet. I am also

:23:00. > :23:03.concerned by the lack of clarity. I have spoken many times in the

:23:04. > :23:06.chamber about constituents of mine who have been affected by

:23:07. > :23:10.contaminated blood and they have given me permission to name them.

:23:11. > :23:18.One constituent I have known for most of my life, Brian, has to go to

:23:19. > :23:24.weekly hospital appointments and has associated health problems. Over a

:23:25. > :23:28.year ago, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Thankfully

:23:29. > :23:42.he is in remission. Two other constituents who live in cocaine,

:23:43. > :23:57.twins, both infected, both haemophiliacs, have found their

:23:58. > :24:01.lives were affected. -- who live in Kilcean. They were unable to work

:24:02. > :24:12.and unable to provide further families. The strain and challenges

:24:13. > :24:15.that people face cannot be overlooked. It is a direct result of

:24:16. > :24:19.this tragic situation. That can never really be a remedy for the

:24:20. > :24:24.lives of those who were affected, but the government can recognise

:24:25. > :24:29.their suffering and alleviate the financial strain on the experience

:24:30. > :24:33.as a result of it. And try and resolve what the honourable member

:24:34. > :24:37.for Mid Bedfordshire talked about. The collective shame. And that

:24:38. > :24:44.legacy of shame that goes back over many many governments, to try to

:24:45. > :24:49.bring some form of relief to people. Some of those people sadly have

:24:50. > :24:55.passed on. Regular payments must be replaced and access to ask --

:24:56. > :25:02.discretionary grants must be made available. Like the Member for

:25:03. > :25:07.Kingston-upon-Hull who has been such a stout campaigner on behalf of

:25:08. > :25:12.these individuals, I too would like some form of enquiry. Added don't

:25:13. > :25:18.want that enquiry to hold up whatever form of compensation will

:25:19. > :25:22.be available eventually. But what I would say is we need to find out the

:25:23. > :25:34.reasons and the causes. And hope those people who did this -- hold

:25:35. > :25:37.those people who did this accountable. This must never happen

:25:38. > :25:43.again. The government has made progress on this, but it must ensure

:25:44. > :25:48.this is a fool and a settlement, allied to an enquiry. That is what

:25:49. > :25:55.these people deserve and so vitally need. And for which they are along

:25:56. > :25:59.overdue, for those lost lives, for those compromised lives and for

:26:00. > :26:03.those lives that have been so damaged by bad health as a result of

:26:04. > :26:13.those infected and contaminated blood products. Thank you. It is a

:26:14. > :26:28.pleasure to take part in this debate. I would like to thank the

:26:29. > :26:36.member from Kingston-upon-Hull for ensuring this debate. I rise as a

:26:37. > :26:41.Scottish member representing a Scottish constituency in this debate

:26:42. > :26:48.for two reasons. Firstly, on behalf of constituents like Cathy Young, a

:26:49. > :26:52.stage one widow and a member of the Scottish forum who wishes to express

:26:53. > :26:54.solidarity to those in other parts of the UK who find themselves in a

:26:55. > :27:10.different scheme. The infection did not take place in

:27:11. > :27:15.Scotland but elsewhere in the UK, so another scheme is used. That is an

:27:16. > :27:19.important point. Honourable members in other parts of the UK will find

:27:20. > :27:28.they have constituent part of the Scottish scheme. And it looks like

:27:29. > :27:32.they will benefit greater than that. My constituent wrote to me last

:27:33. > :27:37.night and said, for me personally being a widow, obviously those still

:27:38. > :27:51.living with the horror of this disaster must be financially looked

:27:52. > :28:01.after and not just be fobbed off. I would like widows and children of

:28:02. > :28:08.those who have passed away to be respected. Justice is long overdue.

:28:09. > :28:14.I sent my full support to all those affected by this disaster. I wish to

:28:15. > :28:22.raise issues with the proposed Scottish scheme that require this

:28:23. > :28:26.place to carry out some work. As the Haemophelia Society point out, the

:28:27. > :28:41.Scottish scheme is comparatively more generous. Patient involvement

:28:42. > :28:49.in government and means testing has been involved. The Department of

:28:50. > :28:54.Health could adopt many aspects of the Scottish scheme and still fall

:28:55. > :28:57.within its allocated budget, according to our analysis. The

:28:58. > :29:03.all-party group is calling for the government to adopt these measures.

:29:04. > :29:08.And to reverse plans for a profit-making private administrator

:29:09. > :29:17.of the discretionary scheme. Any additional funds to support those

:29:18. > :29:23.affected could be phones from the government stake sale of the plasma

:29:24. > :29:41.resources Branch. Those with both HIV and hepatitis C

:29:42. > :29:49.will have patients increased from ?30,000 to ?37,000 to reflect

:29:50. > :29:54.additional health needs. When a patient dies, the spouse will

:29:55. > :30:03.continue to receive 75% of the payment. There will be a ?50,000

:30:04. > :30:06.lump sum payment for hepatitis C. Those who have already received the

:30:07. > :30:14.law payment will receive an additional payment. A grant scheme

:30:15. > :30:22.will be set up to cover additional needs. Scottish funding for the

:30:23. > :30:26.scheme will be ?1 million per year. The Scottish Government will aim to

:30:27. > :30:30.deliver the new scheme through a single body, so those affected no

:30:31. > :30:36.longer need to apply to more than one body for funding.

:30:37. > :30:42.The timing of this payment system will depend on Her Majesty 's

:30:43. > :30:48.customs revenues and the Department of Health. What discussions have the

:30:49. > :30:53.department had with HMRC to pass on the relevant tax officer payments

:30:54. > :30:56.can be made to those entitled to compensation and they can receive

:30:57. > :31:03.this without the minimum of fuss? This will ensure those who receive

:31:04. > :31:08.compensation are not liable to tax. This has to happen, whichever

:31:09. > :31:14.mechanism is used to make the new payments. To use the existing scheme

:31:15. > :31:17.to make new payments, I understand, all the devolved nations must agree

:31:18. > :31:23.and at this moment, only Scotland has signed up to do that. Before the

:31:24. > :31:27.Scottish team is established, an important decision is to be taken,

:31:28. > :31:33.which includes changes to the thresholds for receiving ongoing

:31:34. > :31:36.support, the ability for those to apply for those medical records and

:31:37. > :31:42.an appeals procedure for those who think they should be in the Scottish

:31:43. > :31:45.scheme. That might happen to those residents in Scotland who reside

:31:46. > :31:49.elsewhere. A procedure for converting ongoing payments into a

:31:50. > :31:55.lump sum and how the new discretionary scheme will operate in

:31:56. > :32:00.practice. We will welcome the replacement of the five trusts with

:32:01. > :32:02.a single scheme administrator. However the news the new

:32:03. > :32:06.administrator under the proposed English scheme is likely to be a

:32:07. > :32:10.profit-making private company, something which was not mentioned in

:32:11. > :32:15.the consultation documents, will be met with considerable concern. As I

:32:16. > :32:21.understand it, the process for the new scheme administrator started in

:32:22. > :32:26.2016 and is now expected, following a transition period, the new scheme

:32:27. > :32:29.admin will take over in May 20 17th but it appears that new deadline has

:32:30. > :32:40.been pushed forward. It is of concern to many members of the

:32:41. > :32:48.companies have met with the Department of Health to bid for this

:32:49. > :32:53.contract. It is a complex beneficiary and it needs to be dealt

:32:54. > :32:56.with in a sympathetic way. All of us have concerns, as is likely the

:32:57. > :33:00.successful bidder is a private company, it is not clear how the

:33:01. > :33:03.discretionary aspects of the scheme will be delivered. Will the

:33:04. > :33:11.Department of Health publish a set of principles and the budget will be

:33:12. > :33:19.up to the scheme administrator to consider applications for grants and

:33:20. > :33:29.other support. The Scottish scheme as an alternative recommendations.

:33:30. > :33:34.In terms of discretionary support, the Scottish scheme will be better

:33:35. > :33:43.funded whereas the English scheme will see a modest 25% increase in

:33:44. > :33:53.2018, 19. There are a couple of issues I want to raise before I

:33:54. > :33:55.conclude my remarks. The number of concerns have been made principally

:33:56. > :34:00.around the issues raised by the member for Walden worst and that is

:34:01. > :34:08.in relation to health records. We know for a fact people who are

:34:09. > :34:13.infected by this disaster have, on death certificates, not the words

:34:14. > :34:20.HIV or hepatitis C, for very understandable reasons at the time,

:34:21. > :34:25.because of the stigma that was attached to those conditions. I

:34:26. > :34:28.would like to ask the Minister if the scheme administrator of the

:34:29. > :34:33.government is considering that issue and there are people infected by

:34:34. > :34:35.this where their death certificate says something different, but

:34:36. > :34:42.medical records will indicate. I will give way. I think he has made a

:34:43. > :34:46.good point to the Minister. The other question, you may have been

:34:47. > :34:52.plotting, but if he doesn't I will, how will government tried to get to

:34:53. > :34:56.those who may have died 25 years ago whose spouses may not know about

:34:57. > :35:03.this offer? Not everyone is involved in the networks. It is very

:35:04. > :35:08.important and it is also up to us to raise that issue with our

:35:09. > :35:13.constituents. He is quite right, there are people who don't know, who

:35:14. > :35:17.have lost partners years ago, about that and I thank him for his

:35:18. > :35:25.intervention. I hope the Minister will consider that point. So clear

:35:26. > :35:28.points about tax, to ensure the compensation is not subject to tax.

:35:29. > :35:35.That would be ludicrous and the issue of death certificates. I thank

:35:36. > :35:38.you, Mr Deputy Speaker for allowing me to participate in this debate and

:35:39. > :35:45.all members who have contributed, it has been a first-class debate, thank

:35:46. > :35:51.you, sir. I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this

:35:52. > :35:54.debate. I would like to thank the business committee for scheduling

:35:55. > :35:59.this session and the member is responsible for bringing forward

:36:00. > :36:02.this motion. Particularly the honourable member for Kingston upon

:36:03. > :36:09.Hull North for leading this debate and the work she has carried out.

:36:10. > :36:12.She summarised the situation clearly and forcefully and I am grateful to

:36:13. > :36:18.her for outlining the risk of private operators administrating the

:36:19. > :36:21.scheme, concern raised by several members today on all sides of the

:36:22. > :36:26.House. A recurring theme has been that of justice and the question

:36:27. > :36:30.about how much is known about the contamination at the time. It has

:36:31. > :36:33.been asked and it deserves an answer. This subject is one of the

:36:34. > :36:37.most terrible chapters in the history of our NHS, truly horrific

:36:38. > :36:42.and impacting upon tens of thousands of people and their families,

:36:43. > :36:48.ongoing, in some cases, for over 40 years. Many have died and some have

:36:49. > :36:51.been left with long-term disability and hardship. Relatives have had to

:36:52. > :36:56.sacrifice career is to provide care and support and in some cases,

:36:57. > :37:00.carers and the bonds have become infected. I have had a letter from

:37:01. > :37:07.one surviving victim whose partner was subsequently infected and died.

:37:08. > :37:11.They have to deal with such difficulties with enduring courage

:37:12. > :37:14.and I wonder where many have found the strength from, physically,

:37:15. > :37:19.emotionally and financially, which brings me on to the proposed changes

:37:20. > :37:25.to the current X Gracia payments. As my honourable friend, the member for

:37:26. > :37:30.Glasgow South West has illustrated, in Scotland will see an annual

:37:31. > :37:35.payment for those with HIV and advanced hepatitis C increased to

:37:36. > :37:39.?27,000 a year, set at a level to reflect average earnings. I think

:37:40. > :37:43.this point about average earnings is extremely important. It is not about

:37:44. > :37:48.poverty, it is about a decent standard of living. Those

:37:49. > :37:53.co-infected with HIV in Hep C will have payments increased to 37,000 to

:37:54. > :38:01.reflect their additional health needs. Where the patient dies, their

:38:02. > :38:04.partner will receive 75% of the previous annual entitlement. That is

:38:05. > :38:09.important because many have given up their own careers. Bravo those

:38:10. > :38:17.infected with chronic hepatitis C will receive a ?50,000 lump sum

:38:18. > :38:21.payment and an additional sum. The Scottish discretionary support

:38:22. > :38:24.scheme is set to see its funding trouble, have an independent

:38:25. > :38:28.mechanism and there is a general guarantee no individual will be

:38:29. > :38:32.worse off than they are at present. To simplify things, those infected

:38:33. > :38:36.will no longer have to apply to more than one body for funding as the

:38:37. > :38:40.Scottish Government aims to deliver the scheme through a single body.

:38:41. > :38:44.Government arrangements are still to be detailed for this new

:38:45. > :38:48.organisation but likely to be administered by National Service

:38:49. > :38:53.Scotland. It is also worth remembering, the Scottish Government

:38:54. > :39:01.is committed to miss -- reviewing the stage one on stage to hepatitis

:39:02. > :39:05.C distinction. The Scottish scheme is more generous. It is not without

:39:06. > :39:08.its detractors, particularly those with less health impacts who will

:39:09. > :39:13.not receive the more generous payments propose. It is important we

:39:14. > :39:16.continue to listen to the views of beneficiaries as we design and

:39:17. > :39:22.implement the new Scottish scheme. To that end, future evidence of

:39:23. > :39:27.payment criteria will be carried out. In Scotland we want to improve

:39:28. > :39:31.the scheme for everyone, the greater priority for those with the severest

:39:32. > :39:35.needs must be given. We have heard of the many tragic, individual cases

:39:36. > :39:38.throughout the UK and I will spare you further examples from those I

:39:39. > :39:42.have received details. I would like to focus on some of the questions

:39:43. > :39:45.which have been raised with me by victims and their support groups and

:39:46. > :39:51.I hope the Minister can assist some answers. First, the compensation

:39:52. > :39:54.schemes of which there are five different organisations funded by

:39:55. > :39:57.the UK health department including the three devolved health

:39:58. > :40:01.authorities, need in order to use existing schemes to make the new

:40:02. > :40:09.Scottish payments, requires four or four Nations of the UK to agree and

:40:10. > :40:14.there must be agreement. Only Scotland is signed up and there will

:40:15. > :40:17.be a Scotland wide payment system, but the timing of this will depend

:40:18. > :40:23.upon the UK Government hater master your and the Department of Health

:40:24. > :40:27.and I will ask the UK Government is not stand in the way of the Scottish

:40:28. > :40:34.payments. Which brings me to my second as, Westminster must pass tax

:40:35. > :40:37.order so none of the payments are liable to fall tax. This must happen

:40:38. > :40:43.whichever mechanism is used to make any payments. Another question is

:40:44. > :40:47.what more can be done about cross-border infections? The current

:40:48. > :40:51.scheme is based upon where the individual was infected rather than

:40:52. > :40:56.residency. This means the English schemes affect numbers of Scottish

:40:57. > :41:04.residence and the Scottish scheme will affect those are resident in

:41:05. > :41:07.England. Hepatitis C sufferers are acutely aware of the cold and during

:41:08. > :41:13.the heating bills go through the roof. If they cannot heat their

:41:14. > :41:19.home, they are at risk of death through colds, flu and other

:41:20. > :41:26.illnesses. Perhaps ministers can provide a rationale for wanting

:41:27. > :41:30.remove the fuel payment. Also the liver damage test is outdated and we

:41:31. > :41:33.should look at the impact it is having on the whole body and this

:41:34. > :41:39.might be amplified by those who have made positive lifestyle choices,

:41:40. > :41:43.such as sustaining from alcohol and his liver appears to be less

:41:44. > :41:49.affected. Some certainty is sought regarding future funding. In

:41:50. > :41:53.conclusion, I always try to be positive and look forward to the

:41:54. > :41:55.future, but given the age of many victims and their medical

:41:56. > :42:01.complications, people are dying every week. Every year, there are

:42:02. > :42:05.fewer. Thousands have died and this is too little, too late.

:42:06. > :42:08.Positiveness is extremely difficult to find in those circumstances,

:42:09. > :42:12.however I am grateful to have had the opportunity to take part in this

:42:13. > :42:22.excellent and consensual debate. Thank you. It is indeed a pleasure

:42:23. > :42:29.to speak on such an important debate this afternoon. I want to first and

:42:30. > :42:34.foremost though, thoroughly thank my honourable friend, the member for

:42:35. > :42:39.Hull North, who for many years now, has championed and pushed on this

:42:40. > :42:43.vitally important matter. Her work cannot and must not go unrecognised.

:42:44. > :42:50.I am sure people across the country and across the House today will want

:42:51. > :42:54.to join me in doing that. Thank you. The experiences of those men and

:42:55. > :42:59.women affected by this awful scandal should never be out of our minds, as

:43:00. > :43:03.we continue to do all we can to support them. To do all that we can

:43:04. > :43:07.for them is paramount knowing that what ever we do will not be enough

:43:08. > :43:13.to give them back their life or a life without suffering or pain. HIV

:43:14. > :43:18.and hepatitis are terrible conditions. Someone living with HIV

:43:19. > :43:23.or hepatitis full face fears of developing other conditions and have

:43:24. > :43:26.defaced the stigma that comes with these conditions. It is welcome and

:43:27. > :43:31.this is the first time this House has had the chance to debate the new

:43:32. > :43:35.scheme since it was announced and continue to hold the government to

:43:36. > :43:39.account to do more. It is important we now have the chance to discuss

:43:40. > :43:43.this in a considered and comprehensive manner. And my

:43:44. > :43:48.contribution today, I want to touch upon three areas. Firstly, the

:43:49. > :43:51.current funding system in England, secondly, the involvement of private

:43:52. > :43:56.companies to administer support to beneficiaries and thirdly, the need

:43:57. > :43:59.for an independent, Hillsborough style panel to recognise the

:44:00. > :44:04.failures of the system that these people have had to live with. It was

:44:05. > :44:08.announced that a new financial arrangement system would be

:44:09. > :44:13.introduced earlier in the year and a public consultation was conducted to

:44:14. > :44:16.get views and opinions on how this would take shape. Whilst it is

:44:17. > :44:22.welcome to see a somewhat modest increase in the annual payment to

:44:23. > :44:26.people with HIV, hepatitis C at stage two and those who are

:44:27. > :44:32.co-infected, as well as those first guaranteed ongoing payments for

:44:33. > :44:36.people with stage one hepatitis C, it is concerning that these payments

:44:37. > :44:40.to fall short of what has been drawn up in Scotland. Also the current

:44:41. > :44:45.English system has no mention of support for people who have been

:44:46. > :44:49.cleared of hepatitis C prior to the chronic stage, who, despite fighting

:44:50. > :44:52.of the disease, may still exhibit symptoms ranging from fatigue, to

:44:53. > :44:59.mental health issues and even diabetes. These people have never

:45:00. > :45:02.been entitled to any support and continue to get non-. The scheme

:45:03. > :45:08.also does not include support for those infected with other viruses

:45:09. > :45:12.such as hepatitis B, D or E and for these people it has meant continuous

:45:13. > :45:18.monitoring of their liver function. It is estimated this group is

:45:19. > :45:20.extremely small and according to the haemophilia Society, would be a

:45:21. > :45:26.minimal cost to the department for health.

:45:27. > :45:32.The new scheme does little to nothing for bereaved partners,

:45:33. > :45:39.parents are children of those who have sadly died from disease

:45:40. > :45:47.contaminated through the contracted blood scandal. I hope the Minister

:45:48. > :45:50.in her reply can give us some reassurance that these concerns have

:45:51. > :45:55.been noted and she will go away and look at what more can be done to

:45:56. > :45:58.help those people who I have just mentioned. There are also concerns

:45:59. > :46:04.regarding the discretionary payments which thankfully received, despite

:46:05. > :46:07.being announced in the consultation earlier this year that they could be

:46:08. > :46:18.scrapped. They should be welcomed, but there is a clear concerned it

:46:19. > :46:22.will not support those with HIV or those who are calling affected. The

:46:23. > :46:25.government will need to consider this impact and what more of the

:46:26. > :46:29.need to do. It is worrying the government have yet to make clear

:46:30. > :46:35.what the minimum and maximum discretionary support people will be

:46:36. > :46:39.able to receive its. I understand the infected blood reference group

:46:40. > :46:42.are currently considering this policy and we will hear more about

:46:43. > :46:46.this in the New Year. Would it not be worthwhile for the Minister to

:46:47. > :46:51.give us some indication now so that those who will depend on less money

:46:52. > :46:55.and the years to come can have some reassurances, especially as we enter

:46:56. > :46:59.this festive period? There are many questions to be answered that is why

:47:00. > :47:05.I hope that in the time allowed to the Minister today, she will give us

:47:06. > :47:10.both in this House and those who will be watching this debate the

:47:11. > :47:15.reassurances they need. The new scheme will bring about a

:47:16. > :47:18.replacement to the current system whereby five trusts across the

:47:19. > :47:24.country who administer the payments will be amalgamated into one. I know

:47:25. > :47:29.this has been welcomed. Yet there is one very concerning point that needs

:47:30. > :47:32.to be addressed by the Minister. And was so eloquently put by my

:47:33. > :47:36.honourable friend who opened this debate. That is the potential

:47:37. > :47:47.involvement of a private sector company, such as Capita, who have

:47:48. > :47:52.bid in the tender process, along with other companies. This was never

:47:53. > :47:55.included in any talks with the all-party group on haemophilia and

:47:56. > :48:00.blood contamination. There was no consultation with the affected

:48:01. > :48:04.community, no mention in the department's responds to the survey.

:48:05. > :48:11.Yet we are seeing at happening now. The concern here is that many of the

:48:12. > :48:15.thousands of people affected by this mistake, which must be remembered

:48:16. > :48:22.was often made by US private companies, feel aggrieved that the

:48:23. > :48:25.potential involvement of a profit-making private company. This

:48:26. > :48:30.is justified, especially when it was a mistake of a private company that

:48:31. > :48:36.put them in their current situation. There should be no profit-making

:48:37. > :48:40.when it comes to compensating for the failures of the private sector.

:48:41. > :48:50.This was highlighted well by my noble friend earlier. Also mentioned

:48:51. > :49:02.by the former health minister. The Member for North East Bedfordshire.

:49:03. > :49:06.Also by the survey conducted of nearly 1000 people affected, who

:49:07. > :49:08.clearly had concerns of the involvement of a profit-making

:49:09. > :49:13.private company. It is important those affected have their say in the

:49:14. > :49:17.administering of the payments and support. Therefore I would be

:49:18. > :49:22.interested to hear the Minister's thoughts on their involvement, such

:49:23. > :49:27.as we have seen in Scotland. Weather has been an alternative scheme

:49:28. > :49:34.operator which includes beneficiary involvement, along with giving us

:49:35. > :49:39.answers on why private involvement is now being considered but was

:49:40. > :49:44.never consulted upon. Finally, my last point is the issue on

:49:45. > :49:48.coordinating an independent panel, in the style we solve for

:49:49. > :49:51.Hillsborough. The Prime Minister in September promised she would keep an

:49:52. > :49:56.open mind to the idea of an independent panel, yet has sadly

:49:57. > :50:01.quash this idea. The rational given is we have had two public enquiries

:50:02. > :50:07.into this matter already by Lord Archer and Lord Penrose. And this

:50:08. > :50:12.may be the case, but it is important we consider this approach to helping

:50:13. > :50:16.people get the justice they deserve. Especially since it is clear that

:50:17. > :50:31.neither of the two enquiries met the needs of the affected community. The

:50:32. > :50:34.affected communities are calling for something which is strongly

:50:35. > :50:42.supported by this side of the House, and that is the need for a truth is

:50:43. > :50:50.in process. Will she give way? Thank you. It is on that point of the need

:50:51. > :50:59.for some vehicle of enquiry into the real background here. I pointed out

:51:00. > :51:04.earlier that in the situation in the Irish Republic, compensation was

:51:05. > :51:09.established in 1995. There was an act in 1997. Following the tribunal

:51:10. > :51:14.of enquiry, the state admitted liability, so there was further

:51:15. > :51:24.legislation in 2002. The liability rested on the fact the tribunal

:51:25. > :51:35.found the state knew there was a risk but carried on, as did the UK

:51:36. > :51:38.and others. I am sure the Minister can understand the concerns across

:51:39. > :51:45.the House and out in the community with the affected people and their

:51:46. > :51:49.families. Before she replies, I would take this chance to ask her

:51:50. > :51:54.not to enter into the same language that was used by the Prime Minister,

:51:55. > :51:58.to use the lack of support for an independent panel is being down to

:51:59. > :52:03.the delay in the support system being introduced. It has clearly

:52:04. > :52:08.been put that an independent panel with the clear defined terms of

:52:09. > :52:11.reference would not impede on the developing implementation of the new

:52:12. > :52:16.system. I hope the Minister will keep this in mind in her reply and

:52:17. > :52:20.recognise how important it is for those affected to get the

:52:21. > :52:32.reconciliation they have fought so long for. The government must be

:52:33. > :52:38.and listening. This is an important and listening. This is an important

:52:39. > :52:47.issue we must get right. I want to thank the Member for Kingston upon

:52:48. > :52:56.Hull North for her steadfast campaign in this area. For those who

:52:57. > :53:00.have died because of the serious mistake and those who are still

:53:01. > :53:03.living with the rapper customs of this mistake, and those who have

:53:04. > :53:08.fought it off but still live with the impact of it, they are all the

:53:09. > :53:19.respect and dignity they deserve. I hope the Minister in her reply will

:53:20. > :53:24.give them just that. Thank you. I would like to congratulate the

:53:25. > :53:28.Member for Kingston upon Hull North and all the members of the all-party

:53:29. > :53:33.in the four haemophilia and contaminated blood, for helping to

:53:34. > :53:40.secure this debate. And I thank the backbench business committee for

:53:41. > :53:43.providing time for it. It has been a moving debate. It has been

:53:44. > :53:47.nonpartisan and I would like to thank all members from across the

:53:48. > :53:52.House for the constructive way in which they have approached the

:53:53. > :53:56.debate. I would like to formally add my personal apology to all those who

:53:57. > :54:00.have been affected by these tragic circumstances and the impact it has

:54:01. > :54:11.had on so many families. And to thank all colleagues and

:54:12. > :54:18.constituents -- all constituents of colleagues for being brave enough in

:54:19. > :54:21.lowering their stories to be told in the House today. I wish I could

:54:22. > :54:26.refer to all constituents who are mentioned today, but I listed them

:54:27. > :54:30.down and that would take most of the debating time we have today. I'd

:54:31. > :54:35.like to say thank you to all those who allowed their stories to be

:54:36. > :54:39.told. This is exactly why the government is introducing the

:54:40. > :54:43.reforms we have been debating today to the existing support schemes,

:54:44. > :54:50.alongside a commitment within the Spending Review period of up to 125

:54:51. > :54:54.million for those affected until 2020, which will more than double

:54:55. > :54:59.the annual spend over the next five years. I think we should be upfront

:55:00. > :55:02.however in the beginning in recognising that nothing can make up

:55:03. > :55:07.for the suffering and loss that those families have experienced, and

:55:08. > :55:12.no financial support can't change what has happened to them. But I do

:55:13. > :55:16.hope that all of those here today will recognise this is significantly

:55:17. > :55:19.more than any previous administration has provided, and

:55:20. > :55:23.recognise how seriously the government is taking this issue. I

:55:24. > :55:29.would like to join other colleagues in paying tribute to the previous

:55:30. > :55:34.Prime Minister and my predecessor, the Member for Battersea, for all

:55:35. > :55:36.their work on this issue, and reiterate the statement that the aim

:55:37. > :55:42.of this support scheme is that nobody will be worse off. As many

:55:43. > :55:46.colleagues have said, it is time that our reforms should bring an end

:55:47. > :55:51.to the tortured road that far too many people affected have been

:55:52. > :55:55.through. And it is time for a more comprehensive and accessible scheme

:55:56. > :56:00.that gives those affected back their dignity. But as I hope is clear from

:56:01. > :56:03.this debate, not all the details are yet resolved. I hope to answer as

:56:04. > :56:08.many questions as I can today, but I'm certain that the noble Lord

:56:09. > :56:14.prior will be listing closely to this debate and so he will be in

:56:15. > :56:21.contact with all of those who are here today to ensure we can resolve

:56:22. > :56:25.details that I cannot get to in the time available. Let's start with

:56:26. > :56:29.where we are. The reforms guarantee that all those chronically infected

:56:30. > :56:33.will for the first time receive a regular annual payment in

:56:34. > :56:41.recognition of what has happened to them. It includes all those 2400

:56:42. > :56:45.individuals with chronic hepatitis C stage one who previously received no

:56:46. > :56:52.ongoing payment, but will now expect to receive ?3500 per year. Increases

:56:53. > :56:56.to existing annual payments have also been announced. These are not

:56:57. > :57:03.designed to guarantee a reasonable standard of living in a cell. It

:57:04. > :57:13.needs to be considered in a whole package of support being available.

:57:14. > :57:20.The Member for Glasgow South West has rightfully raised this. I would

:57:21. > :57:32.like to address some of the issues raised about finances. The budget

:57:33. > :57:36.for the scheme comes within the Department of Health's budget, not

:57:37. > :57:39.the Treasury budget. If there is an underspend in any one year, the

:57:40. > :57:46.money will remain within the Department of Health and if any

:57:47. > :57:51.payments should be made in that year and a file into the next year, we

:57:52. > :57:57.can take that money forward. I would like to address concerns raised

:57:58. > :58:01.about the tendering for the scheme. The shadow minister is I am afraid

:58:02. > :58:13.not quite correct that Capita and another company have already put

:58:14. > :58:17.forward our bid. We have not yet sent an invitation to tender. I'm

:58:18. > :58:21.absolutely sure that the concerns raised in this debate will be heard.

:58:22. > :58:28.And concerns about trust and the history of the situation will be

:58:29. > :58:32.well understood by all those involved in the design. I am

:58:33. > :58:37.grateful for the Minister clarifying the position around the tender.

:58:38. > :58:41.Could she confirm that the only organisations and businesses that

:58:42. > :58:46.have been invited in for conversations with the Department of

:58:47. > :58:52.Health were two mentioned earlier? Is that correct or not? I have had

:58:53. > :58:56.no meetings on this issue because it is not within my departmental brief.

:58:57. > :59:02.I'm happy to try and find out if she would like. I would like to move on

:59:03. > :59:12.to some other issues because we are quite tight four-time. I would like

:59:13. > :59:15.to talk about the budget. The pressures on the health budget will

:59:16. > :59:20.come as no surprise to anyone here today. We had an animated debate

:59:21. > :59:25.about that just this week. I would like to assure everybody in this

:59:26. > :59:30.House that even in the context of those pressures, we fought hard to

:59:31. > :59:34.protect the money for this scheme through tough budget negotiations,

:59:35. > :59:39.in order to fulfil commitments that were made and to ensure that the

:59:40. > :59:44.concerns of those affected are addressed as far as possible. I

:59:45. > :59:48.would like in the context of that to talk in a little bit more detail

:59:49. > :59:52.about some of the concerns that have been raised today by colleagues.

:59:53. > :59:58.Colleagues have rightly raise the issue of support for the bereaved.

:59:59. > :00:04.And those relying upon discretionary payments. That is why we have

:00:05. > :00:08.introduced the one-off payment of ?10,000 to brief partners or spouses

:00:09. > :00:12.of primary beneficiaries where infection contributed to their death

:00:13. > :00:18.and in recognition of their relationship at the time of death. I

:00:19. > :00:26.will give way in one second. I want to respond to the point made about

:00:27. > :00:33.the certification of death. We understand that death certification

:00:34. > :00:37.may not state direct contribution, so the policy which is to be

:00:38. > :00:41.published will recognise other ways to show a causal link of infection

:00:42. > :00:45.upon death. We would like to make sure that is not a barrier to

:00:46. > :00:52.support under the scheme. I give way.

:00:53. > :00:58.Can we get some clarity on matters where the death certificate isn't

:00:59. > :01:04.ascertained and whether there will be more flexibility around that

:01:05. > :01:08.providing hepatitis can be proven? He makes a very important point and

:01:09. > :01:12.those are the issues which have been wrestled with at the moment by the

:01:13. > :01:19.Department and we are trying to resolve those at the moment. But, we

:01:20. > :01:25.do realise that Access ability to the bereaved for the payment scheme

:01:26. > :01:34.and the discretionary support scheme is going to be important. I am not

:01:35. > :01:44.able to give the complete details of the discretionary scheme at the

:01:45. > :01:48.moment. In 2017, 18 a single scheme will replace the three discretionary

:01:49. > :01:54.support schemes. It will be transparent and flexible so it can

:01:55. > :01:58.support the beneficiaries most in need. Until those details have been

:01:59. > :02:02.worked out, it would not be fair to speculate on exactly what they will

:02:03. > :02:07.be. But until we are in a position to introduce that new system, I do

:02:08. > :02:11.want to reassure you that the current discretionary payment will

:02:12. > :02:20.stay in place and I would also like to reassure you that the policy of

:02:21. > :02:25.?10,000 for the wreathed partners and spouses will be published by DH

:02:26. > :02:33.and it will be communicated to all major stakeholders to make sure we

:02:34. > :02:39.reach out to those bereaved a long time ago to make both these policies

:02:40. > :02:42.as accessible as possible. We do realise these payments can never

:02:43. > :02:47.make up for the personal loss of the wreathed partners or their spouses

:02:48. > :02:51.have experienced. We are trying to make sure the process is as smooth

:02:52. > :02:56.and effective as possible with as few barriers as possible so it does

:02:57. > :03:04.not make individuals feel as though they are having to jump through

:03:05. > :03:09.loopholes. I will give way. I thank the Minister for giving way. In

:03:10. > :03:12.relation to the point echoed by the member about death certificates and

:03:13. > :03:18.asking that is going to be dealt with in a sympathetic fashion,

:03:19. > :03:24.someone with a death certificate will not say how HIV but hepatitis C

:03:25. > :03:29.and the government is going to look at that? The issue of death

:03:30. > :03:32.certificates is one we are alive to an Bondad government is trying to

:03:33. > :03:36.address and I hope we will be consulting closely with the relevant

:03:37. > :03:41.groups to make sure we deal with it in a sympathetic manner as possible.

:03:42. > :03:47.I thank the Minister for giving way. One thing the Minister could comment

:03:48. > :03:52.on the points I made, particularly about the Northern Ireland executive

:03:53. > :03:58.and if it would be possible for further phone calls to be made to

:03:59. > :04:01.the Minister of health in Northern Ireland to accelerate this process

:04:02. > :04:07.and enable payments and the scheme to be made available? If the

:04:08. > :04:11.honourable lady will have patience, I have an entire section on the

:04:12. > :04:18.devolved nations coming up. I would like to move on a little bit before

:04:19. > :04:28.then to speak a little bit about the other sections of the scheme. The

:04:29. > :04:32.government's response to the consultation makes it clear they

:04:33. > :04:37.will be able to access discretionary on the tested basis. But this is not

:04:38. > :04:43.the end of the story. Mike officials will continue to work with a group

:04:44. > :04:46.of experts on the details of the policy for this new detail for the

:04:47. > :04:50.bereaved and wide elements of the payment as soon as the policy is

:04:51. > :04:53.confirmed the department will publish it and give guidance as to

:04:54. > :04:59.who is eligible and how to access the payment as easy as possible. I

:05:00. > :05:03.recognise, as has been clear, some feel the new payments that have been

:05:04. > :05:11.announced are sufficient. They are based on consultation response and

:05:12. > :05:15.judgment was made to provide support to the widest group of people

:05:16. > :05:22.possible to recognise the pain and suffering of those who have been

:05:23. > :05:26.affected this tragedy. There are never any right answers when

:05:27. > :05:30.designing support in recognition of such awful circumstances. Difficult

:05:31. > :05:33.judgments have to be made in relation to prioritise in support

:05:34. > :05:44.and we did consult on the proposals and use the sponsors gathered to

:05:45. > :05:49.make payments to all individuals, rather than waiting for people to

:05:50. > :05:56.get more ill be receiving support. I would like to speak about the issues

:05:57. > :05:59.raised by the honourable lady, the member for Kingston upon Hull about

:06:00. > :06:06.other viruses. We have not expanded the scheme to include other viruses,

:06:07. > :06:12.including the CJD. On the case of this, it is already every Seiji de

:06:13. > :06:18.compensation scheme that offers no-fault compensation. It was set up

:06:19. > :06:22.by the government for these patients and their families in recognition of

:06:23. > :06:27.their wholly exceptional circumstances. The scheme provides

:06:28. > :06:33.payments in 250 cases from a trust fund of 67.5 million. Over 41

:06:34. > :06:37.million has been paid out by the trust today. The currently aren't

:06:38. > :06:43.any proposals to extend the infected blood system of the payments to

:06:44. > :06:47.include other viruses or infections that are contracted through other

:06:48. > :07:03.routes other than NHS supplied infected blood. This is on the basis

:07:04. > :07:07.of the advisory and hepatitis B was not involved when they were set up

:07:08. > :07:13.because the screening test had been introduced in the 1970s and there

:07:14. > :07:17.are other reasons for not including hepatitis E, which I am happy to

:07:18. > :07:24.write to the honourable lady about in more detail, should she wish me

:07:25. > :07:31.to do so. But many colleagues have referred to the Scottish Government

:07:32. > :07:38.reforms and here we arrived at the devolved nations section which the

:07:39. > :07:42.honourable lady for Southdown has raised and we are working closely

:07:43. > :07:48.with officials from Northern Ireland in keeping them up today on our

:07:49. > :07:52.progress with implementation. Those beneficiaries will be eligible under

:07:53. > :07:56.the Northern Irish scheme to continue to receive support at their

:07:57. > :08:02.current levels. I am happy to raise her concerns with the Noble Lord to

:08:03. > :08:07.ensure he is aware of her concerns and raising the issue of the

:08:08. > :08:14.potential impact for Northern Irish victims. Another member has raised

:08:15. > :08:20.the importance of coordination between the devolved nations and the

:08:21. > :08:23.support schemes and on the significance of the pointy has

:08:24. > :08:28.raised on the coordination of business, it is important for me to

:08:29. > :08:33.ask my noble friend, the Lord prior to contact him directly on those

:08:34. > :08:36.points so they can be coordinated in an effective way. But I would like

:08:37. > :08:42.to reassure him on one point he raised, and that is the ?500 Winter

:08:43. > :08:47.Fuel Payment is now automatically included in the payment people in

:08:48. > :08:53.England are getting as part of this support scheme. This means they do

:08:54. > :08:56.not have to apply for it, as was the case previously. I hope he will

:08:57. > :09:04.accept this is some progress in that area. But many colleagues point to

:09:05. > :09:07.the Scottish scheme as a blue blueprint for what they like to see

:09:08. > :09:16.in England but there are some differences, as the honourable

:09:17. > :09:19.gentleman noted. There are individuals with hepatitis C stage

:09:20. > :09:24.one who do not receive an annual payment. We have introduced an

:09:25. > :09:27.annual payment for them and they can get support now rather than waiting

:09:28. > :09:32.for their health to deteriorate before they are legible for support.

:09:33. > :09:37.The Scottish Government have chosen to provide a lump sum payment and

:09:38. > :09:44.there are currently no proposals for annual payments to hepatitis C stage

:09:45. > :09:51.one group. We have also put in place some other measures to avoid the

:09:52. > :09:55.sense which has been raised by the honourable member for Hammersmith,

:09:56. > :10:01.that this support is begrudging and the comments made by the honourable

:10:02. > :10:04.lady the Kingston upon Hull that people should feel like they are

:10:05. > :10:09.being treated as beggars. We have put in measures to avoid this. One

:10:10. > :10:14.of them is what we have announced in the public consultation, people

:10:15. > :10:20.should feel they don't have to jump through hoops to feel worthy of

:10:21. > :10:23.support. We have no intention of introducing individual health

:10:24. > :10:25.assessments as a means of making people feel as though they don't

:10:26. > :10:32.have to prove their eligibility. One of the other key elements is a

:10:33. > :10:36.special categories mechanism with an appeal for hepatitis C stage one,

:10:37. > :10:40.who considered the impact of their infection of the treatment for

:10:41. > :10:48.hepatitis C is similar to or greater than those at stage two. So that

:10:49. > :10:53.they may qualify qualify for stage two annual payments. This is a

:10:54. > :10:56.particularly beneficial aspect of this scheme. Finally, there are

:10:57. > :11:03.others who have raised the issue of those who could clear Hep C

:11:04. > :11:08.infection and they will remain entitled to compensation under this

:11:09. > :11:15.scheme. The Shadow minister is right that those who clear the virus

:11:16. > :11:19.during the acute phase are not included in the scheme because the

:11:20. > :11:22.body does fight off the infection before the Sophia health impacts and

:11:23. > :11:29.that has been the judgment of the expert advisory group. The last

:11:30. > :11:33.thing I would like to turn to you is the public enquiry, which of

:11:34. > :11:41.colleagues have raised. I will give way. Could she just outline the

:11:42. > :11:46.question that come up in the debate in relation to tax orders and the

:11:47. > :11:54.discussion she has had with HMRC on that issue? I thought I had already

:11:55. > :11:57.answered that, these schemes are exempt from tax and we are

:11:58. > :12:02.continuing to ensure ongoing schemes will be subject to the same tax

:12:03. > :12:06.rules. The Prime Minister has made it clear that they do not believe a

:12:07. > :12:14.public enquiry would provide further information. The five things that a

:12:15. > :12:17.public enquiry could achieve according to media reports is

:12:18. > :12:22.establishing the facts, learning from events, preventing every

:12:23. > :12:26.parents, catharsis and understanding of what happened, rebuilding

:12:27. > :12:30.confidence and accountability. Given in the UK, action was taken as soon

:12:31. > :12:34.as possible to introduce testing and safety measures for blood and blood

:12:35. > :12:40.products as they became available, as well as the introduction of

:12:41. > :12:44.health and heated products. As well, considering the government has

:12:45. > :12:49.published all documents associated with this event and from the period

:12:50. > :12:54.19721985 in line with the Freedom of Information Act, it is difficult to

:12:55. > :13:00.see what more information could be made available through a public

:13:01. > :13:08.enquiry. However, I am sure campaigners will continue to make

:13:09. > :13:15.their case. We have also made a lot of when this year's payments will be

:13:16. > :13:18.made. I was appointed as the Parliamentary under Secretary of

:13:19. > :13:22.State and I made resolving this issue one of my priorities. I am not

:13:23. > :13:26.prepared to suffer any further delays, it is not fair to affected

:13:27. > :13:32.patients that they should suffer this continuing uncertainty that has

:13:33. > :13:40.been raised by colleagues. So I have told the Department they must

:13:41. > :13:44.announce the scheme immediately. I am pleased to announce the letters

:13:45. > :13:48.to all stage one hepatitis C sufferers will be sent out on the

:13:49. > :13:52.11th of November informing them of their new annual payment and asking

:13:53. > :13:59.them to claim this through the existing schemes. The schemes have

:14:00. > :14:04.said they will be able to make these payments by the 22nd of December,

:14:05. > :14:08.subsequently letters to those at stage two and those with HIV have

:14:09. > :14:12.been sent this week. There are additional payments to be made

:14:13. > :14:16.before Christmas. The schemes are planning to send all letters to

:14:17. > :14:20.bereaved partners and spouses before Christmas with the aim of making

:14:21. > :14:25.their new lump sums before the end of the financial year and certainly

:14:26. > :14:29.during March 20 17. Details of the payment schedules are available on

:14:30. > :14:34.the website of the scheme. All payments and increased payments will

:14:35. > :14:39.be backdated from April 2016, or the date of the adjoining schemes if

:14:40. > :14:42.later. I do believe it is right the government's focus is to consider

:14:43. > :14:47.how best to implement the scheme with a budget that is affordable and

:14:48. > :14:51.redesign the inconsistencies that we have heard exist and support those

:14:52. > :14:54.most affected by these tragic events now and into the future. I will

:14:55. > :15:00.continue to listen to the concerns of those affected and I do hope that

:15:01. > :15:05.in answering this debate, I have responded to those concerns as

:15:06. > :15:10.effectively as I possibly can today. I will try to be very brief. I just

:15:11. > :15:15.wanted to thank all the excellent contributions we have had today from

:15:16. > :15:19.members across the chamber. I think I was very grateful because I did

:15:20. > :15:23.speak for quite a long time at the beginning, but I missed out some

:15:24. > :15:28.important things such as the fact this new scheme is only in place

:15:29. > :15:30.until the end of the spending review in 2021. That is of concern to many

:15:31. > :15:41.people. I was remiss not to mention the

:15:42. > :15:47.shadow all public health minister. I want to welcome her to her new role.

:15:48. > :16:00.Pastor recognise this is not the Minister's one policy area, I was

:16:01. > :16:11.relieved she was able to talk about underspend. Hopefully any underspend

:16:12. > :16:15.will be used to help beneficiaries. Her comments on death certificates

:16:16. > :16:20.was welcomed. I am still very worried about the tendering process

:16:21. > :16:24.the government seem to be set on pursuing, to decide on the new

:16:25. > :16:29.administrator for the scheme. I think it is absolutely wrong if the

:16:30. > :16:35.government to a private sector provider to do that. You'll never

:16:36. > :16:42.comment I wish to make was about welcoming the stage one hepatitis C

:16:43. > :16:46.payments. I am happy to give way. Who ever does administer the scheme,

:16:47. > :16:51.can we hope the government will say to them, if there are anomalies are

:16:52. > :16:56.cases which come outside the rules, they will be free to tell the

:16:57. > :17:03.government they should change them? There is a big debate to follow with

:17:04. > :17:11.a lot of we speakers. Are now eating into that time. I will be quick.

:17:12. > :17:16.?3500 is not a large amount of money for people who been affected. Under

:17:17. > :17:21.the Scottish model, there is that ?30,000 lump sum payment made if

:17:22. > :17:25.they have already received the 20,000 lump sum payment. Over the

:17:26. > :17:32.spending period, and not sure the government can really say they are

:17:33. > :17:37.helping those stage one C people more than is happening in Scotland.

:17:38. > :17:47.I wanted to do that on the record. But thank you. The question is as on

:17:48. > :17:52.the order paper. As many are of the opinion say I. The I smack habit. We

:17:53. > :18:03.have 11 backbench contributions to the next debate.

:18:04. > :18:18.The Prime Minister referred to the burning injustice in life expectancy

:18:19. > :18:22.between the richest and poorest in our society. The purpose of this

:18:23. > :18:28.debate today is to try to assist the government in how to tackle that

:18:29. > :18:33.life expectancy gap. I would urge her to look not just at that, but

:18:34. > :18:40.the gap in the healthy life expectancy, because what we know is

:18:41. > :18:47.that if you are born based on ONS data from 2012, if you are born in

:18:48. > :18:54.Tower Hamlets as a woman, your life expectancy will be 52.7 years. In

:18:55. > :19:00.Richmond on Thames, it will be 72.1 years. A gap of around 20 years.

:19:01. > :19:11.That gradient, the social gradient for disability free life expectancy

:19:12. > :19:16.is even greater. This is not just a social justice issue, but also an

:19:17. > :19:22.issue which adds hugely to the cost to the NHS and economic cost more

:19:23. > :19:27.widely. Is a compelling economic and social justice case for tackling

:19:28. > :19:31.this. So what should she do? In a nutshell, she should follow the

:19:32. > :19:37.evidence, start immediately, start with the very youngest in our

:19:38. > :19:42.society, even before they are born. And follow all the wider

:19:43. > :19:45.determinants of health. I think she should take across government

:19:46. > :19:50.approach because of that, with leadership at the highest level in

:19:51. > :19:56.Cabinet. She needs to take the long view. Many of the benefits of this

:19:57. > :20:00.will be coming evident in 20 or 30 years' time. But not ignore that

:20:01. > :20:04.there are quick wins. She needs to look at all of the things that need

:20:05. > :20:08.to be done to tackle this. I would like to start because I hope this

:20:09. > :20:12.will be a consensual debate, in congratulating the Labour government

:20:13. > :20:18.for the work needed to tackle health inequalities which is starting to

:20:19. > :20:25.pay dividends. I would like to pay tribute to Sir Michael marmot and

:20:26. > :20:30.for his ground-breaking work. The blueprint issued in 2010 forms the

:20:31. > :20:36.basis of what we do. Giving every child the best possible start in

:20:37. > :20:41.life. Allowing people of all ages to maximise capabilities and exercise

:20:42. > :20:45.control over their lives. It is about healthy environment and

:20:46. > :20:51.communities. Standards of living and housing. It is about preventing

:20:52. > :20:56.ill-health as well. There are many members across this House that will

:20:57. > :21:01.speak with great expertise on the wider determinants of health. I know

:21:02. > :21:06.that tackling this starts long before people come into contact with

:21:07. > :21:11.health services. But that is still an enormously important part of

:21:12. > :21:18.tackling health inequalities. I will focus on those aspects today.

:21:19. > :21:22.Preventing early deaths, we need to look at all those lifestyle issues

:21:23. > :21:31.around smoking and obesity. We need to look at issues of preventing

:21:32. > :21:37.suicide, the greatest single cause of death in men under the age of 49.

:21:38. > :21:44.Public-health plays such a critical role. There was a call for a radical

:21:45. > :21:49.upgrade in public health. We have seen cuts to public health budgets

:21:50. > :21:55.and that is very disappointing. It will severely impact on the

:21:56. > :21:58.government's ability to tackle health inequalities. When we look at

:21:59. > :22:03.what is happening in public health, we have seen from a survey from the

:22:04. > :22:11.Association of directors of public health, who surveyed members in

:22:12. > :22:16.February this year, this is affecting areas like weight

:22:17. > :22:21.management, drugs, smoking cessation and alcohol. These are all key

:22:22. > :22:28.determinants we need to tackle. In my own area, part of which covers

:22:29. > :22:34.Torbay, cats to cancel budgets for public health of around ?345,000 are

:22:35. > :22:38.resulting in the decommissioning of healthy lifestyle services,

:22:39. > :22:43.affecting education, affecting active intervention and supporting a

:22:44. > :22:49.network of fantastic volunteers. I really regret this will be going

:22:50. > :22:53.ahead and call on the government to stop the cuts to public health at I

:22:54. > :22:58.would like to tackle a few key areas. First of all smoking. Smoking

:22:59. > :23:02.is still the biggest cause of preventable death in the United

:23:03. > :23:07.Kingdom. 100,000 people are dying every year prematurely as a result

:23:08. > :23:11.of smoking. And so I hope in her closing remarks the Minister will be

:23:12. > :23:20.able to update the House on her plans for the Tobacco control plan.

:23:21. > :23:26.I will give way. 25 years ago, I took an interest in how many death

:23:27. > :23:34.certificates mentioned smoking. The answer was four. It may be larger

:23:35. > :23:45.now. I think we should be encouraging it should be recorded.

:23:46. > :23:55.We need to learn the lessons in cutting drink-driving deaths. These

:23:56. > :24:01.are extremely important points. There are things that government can

:24:02. > :24:06.do in terms of policy to make sure the incentives are there within the

:24:07. > :24:10.system to make that happen. For example, the drink-drive limit I

:24:11. > :24:15.think is a very important point. Going back to smoking, the reality

:24:16. > :24:20.here is it is a key driver for health inequality. If we want to

:24:21. > :24:24.make a difference in that gap in disability free life expectancy,

:24:25. > :24:31.were not likely to do that without tackling smoking. It accounts for

:24:32. > :24:37.more than half of the difference in premature deaths between the highest

:24:38. > :24:41.and lowest social economic groups. I would like to briefly touched on

:24:42. > :24:46.obesity because this is something the health committee has also looked

:24:47. > :24:50.at. Just to put this in context, looking at data from the child

:24:51. > :24:58.measurement programme, the most recent, what we know is that just

:24:59. > :25:02.looking at your sex, 26% of the most disadvantaged children are leaving

:25:03. > :25:10.your sex not just overweight but obese. It 11.7 of the least deprived

:25:11. > :25:15.children. Overall, it means that for schools for all children leaving in

:25:16. > :25:20.your sex, one in three are now obese or overweight. This is storing up

:25:21. > :25:26.catastrophic lifetime problems for them. It is not something we can

:25:27. > :25:34.continue to ignore. In our report, we called for bold and brave action.

:25:35. > :25:39.Although I welcome many aspects of the childhood obesity plan, for

:25:40. > :25:44.example the sugary drinks levy is already having an impact, I think it

:25:45. > :25:50.has been widely acknowledged there were glaring deficiencies and missed

:25:51. > :25:55.opportunities in the plan. I would like to have seen far greater

:25:56. > :26:10.emphasis on marketing and promotion being tackled. 40% of voters bought

:26:11. > :26:14.in the supermarket is bought under marketing and promotion. Sometimes

:26:15. > :26:21.we focus entirely on what people should not do. We could have an

:26:22. > :26:29.opportunity to look up a -- look at what people should do. Shifting the

:26:30. > :26:34.balance to a healthy lifestyle would've helped. The affordability

:26:35. > :26:39.of good nutritious food is a huge factor. I urge the Minister to to

:26:40. > :26:43.encourage that that to be brought back into the strategy. With the

:26:44. > :26:50.sugary drinks levy, extending it to other drinks, those that have sugar

:26:51. > :26:58.added to milky products. There is no reason why that should be necessary.

:26:59. > :27:10.I also welcome the plan and its mention of the Daily Mail. I met an

:27:11. > :27:15.inspirational headteacher. She talks about the strategy. And how having

:27:16. > :27:18.leadership from directors of public health makes a real difference. I

:27:19. > :27:23.hope the Minister will urge and update the House until those values

:27:24. > :27:31.can be taken forward. We shouldn't just think about obesity, we should

:27:32. > :27:39.think about physical activity and the benefits it can bring to school

:27:40. > :27:45.children. When money is so restricted, making health a material

:27:46. > :27:51.consideration in planning matters. It was stressed in the report. I

:27:52. > :27:55.don't think this would be a brake on growth. I think it would be a brake

:27:56. > :28:00.on unhealthy growth and allow local authorities to have the leverage

:28:01. > :28:04.power when you're making licensing decisions, making planning decisions

:28:05. > :28:09.for communities. This is something the government could do with

:28:10. > :28:14.low-cost but enormous benefit. I wonder if the Minister would refer

:28:15. > :28:18.to that. There is an area the health committee is actively considering at

:28:19. > :28:28.the moment and that is how we reduce the toll of deaths from suicide. For

:28:29. > :28:31.men, the Samaritans have identified that those living in the most

:28:32. > :28:33.deprived areas are ten times more likely to end their lives by suicide

:28:34. > :28:40.than those in the most affluent areas. We know there are many things

:28:41. > :28:44.that contribute to this. Economic recessions, debt, unemployment. Many

:28:45. > :28:50.factors. But I think again when we look at trying to tackle health

:28:51. > :28:56.inequality, we will not really make the inroads that we need to make

:28:57. > :28:59.unless we look at the inequality in suicide and particularly the

:29:00. > :29:04.inequality as it affects men. Three quarters of those who die by suicide

:29:05. > :29:10.are men. I hope the Minister will look carefully at the emerging

:29:11. > :29:14.evidence from our current enquiry as they are actively considering the

:29:15. > :29:17.refresh to the strategy. And do so at every point, looking at how we

:29:18. > :29:25.tackle health inequality in doing so. I would also like the Minister

:29:26. > :29:29.to look at the impact on drugs and alcohol on health inequality. When

:29:30. > :29:33.we look at the fact there are 700,000 children living in the

:29:34. > :29:38.United Kingdom with an alcohol dependent parent, that is a

:29:39. > :29:44.staggering cause of health inequality, with huge implications

:29:45. > :29:49.for their life chances. But also for the individuals involved. Again,

:29:50. > :29:53.alcohol has a gradient for deprivation. We know there is clear

:29:54. > :29:59.evidence about what works. We have had very encouraging news from

:30:00. > :30:05.Scotland. Scottish courts have ruled that minimum pricing is legal. I am

:30:06. > :30:09.disappointed the Scotch whiskey association has yet again taken this

:30:10. > :30:14.to a further stage of appeal. As soon as these hurdles are cleared,

:30:15. > :30:18.think it would be a great shame if England were undermining potentially

:30:19. > :30:22.ground-breaking work in Scotland, by allowing people to buy across the

:30:23. > :30:27.border. I think it will be a great shame if we don't follow suit at the

:30:28. > :30:34.earliest possible opportunity in introducing minimum pricing.

:30:35. > :30:43.I think it is disappointing, but perhaps there is a lot to look up

:30:44. > :30:50.from Scotland in terms of what we have done with the smoking ban,

:30:51. > :30:52.which England then took up? I congratulate the Scottish

:30:53. > :30:55.Government, it does seem to be the case of West Scotland Leeds, England

:30:56. > :31:00.will eventually follow. But Scotland is good at following the evidence

:31:01. > :31:05.and I call on us to do likewise here. I am particularly concerned

:31:06. > :31:09.that the benefits that come about when Scotland does introduce minimum

:31:10. > :31:13.pricing, would be undermined if we didn't follow suit here. I would

:31:14. > :31:19.call on them to do that as soon as per the. In summary, because I know

:31:20. > :31:23.there are many other members who wish to speak. There is a huge

:31:24. > :31:29.amount we can do, not all of it has a cost. I would urge the Minister in

:31:30. > :31:34.summing up to actually look at all the possibilities to stick with the

:31:35. > :31:38.agenda, taking a cross government approach, but to make sure there is

:31:39. > :31:41.leadership at the highest level. It was hugely encouraging the Prime

:31:42. > :31:50.Minister said those words in Downing Street. We are calling on her to

:31:51. > :31:53.appoint somebody at Cabinet level to take over responsibility for health

:31:54. > :32:04.inequalities and putting those fine words into action. The question is

:32:05. > :32:08.as on the order paper. I rise to express my support for the work of

:32:09. > :32:13.the health committee under the superb leadership of the honourable

:32:14. > :32:16.member for Totnes. I also pay tribute to the Prime Minister for

:32:17. > :32:22.her description of health inequalities as a burning injustice

:32:23. > :32:25.and for placing it at the top of her agenda, as virtually the first thing

:32:26. > :32:34.she did as Prime Minister of this country. This is an unusual debate

:32:35. > :32:39.that in backbenchers are usually trying to press the government to

:32:40. > :32:46.take on a priority. This is a kind of top-down issue, where the need to

:32:47. > :32:50.tackle health inequalities has been forcibly expressed by the Prime

:32:51. > :32:57.Minister and we are trying to translate those words in this debate

:32:58. > :33:02.into effective action. For those of us who have grappled with the nuts

:33:03. > :33:06.and bolts of tackling the obscenity of health inequalities, because that

:33:07. > :33:14.is what it is in the 21st century. The Prime Minister's words were,

:33:15. > :33:18.enormously encouraging, because they demonstrated the leadership that

:33:19. > :33:26.this issue requires if these awful statistics are to be properly

:33:27. > :33:32.addressed. I want to set this in its historical context in order to

:33:33. > :33:38.demonstrate the in approach which bans the 37 years from the first

:33:39. > :33:43.woman Prime Minister to the second. While life expectancy had improved

:33:44. > :33:49.dramatically since the creation of the NHS in 1948. By the 1970s there

:33:50. > :33:52.was a strong suspicion that persistent health inequalities

:33:53. > :33:59.existed and they were defined largely by social class. There was,

:34:00. > :34:05.however, an absence of easily understood statistical evidence on

:34:06. > :34:11.which to base a clear assertion. The then Health Secretary in 1977

:34:12. > :34:15.commissioned the president of the Royal College of physicians to chair

:34:16. > :34:19.a working group that would report to government on the extent of health

:34:20. > :34:25.inequalities in the UK and how best to address them. The report proved

:34:26. > :34:28.conclusively, that death rates from many diseases were higher among

:34:29. > :34:34.those in the lower social classes, stripped bare, this was the first

:34:35. > :34:38.official acknowledgement that the circumstances into which a person

:34:39. > :34:47.was born would largely determine when they died. This remains the

:34:48. > :34:51.thrust of the argument expressed by the health committee report, except

:34:52. > :34:55.they have added the new dimensional highlighted in the indicators for

:34:56. > :35:03.health inequalities in November 2015, of the difference in years

:35:04. > :35:08.spent in good health. Where there is an extraordinary gap between the

:35:09. > :35:13.most and least disadvantaged of almost 17 years. By the time the

:35:14. > :35:17.Black report was published a new government had been elected, which

:35:18. > :35:21.displayed its enthusiasm for tackling health inequalities by

:35:22. > :35:25.reluctantly publishing less than 300 copies of the Black report in the

:35:26. > :35:29.depths of the summer recess on an August bank holiday Monday, with the

:35:30. > :35:36.forward from the new Health Secretary, who couldn't even raise

:35:37. > :35:40.the enthusiasm to dampen the rapport with faint praise. He dammed it and

:35:41. > :35:46.virtually ignored it and that remained the case for 18 years.

:35:47. > :35:50.During which, and this is important because people assume health as

:35:51. > :35:58.improved for everyone since the 1940s, and by and large it has. But

:35:59. > :36:02.many of the problems that black highlighted got worse. The mortality

:36:03. > :36:08.rate among young men of working age in the early 1970s was almost twice

:36:09. > :36:15.as high in unskilled groups as for those in professional groups. By the

:36:16. > :36:20.early 1990s, it was three times as high. The most awful statistic that

:36:21. > :36:25.begun to emerge in the 1980s was that those who were long-term

:36:26. > :36:34.unemployed, with 35 times more likely to commit suicide than those

:36:35. > :36:38.in work. It would be inconceivable today for a Health Secretary to be

:36:39. > :36:46.as dismissive of an issue so critical to the life chances of so

:36:47. > :36:50.many. But we are also more aware today than we were then that health

:36:51. > :36:56.care is only part of the problem. Indeed, the Minister has a difficult

:36:57. > :37:07.job, it's almost a minor part, calculated that between 15 and 25%.

:37:08. > :37:11.Professor, the world leading epidemiologist established the

:37:12. > :37:18.social determinants of health as the report in the late 1990s explained,

:37:19. > :37:22.poverty, low wages, occupational stress, unemployment, poor housing,

:37:23. > :37:28.environmental pollution, poor education, limited access to

:37:29. > :37:33.transport and the Internet, crime and disorder and a lack of

:37:34. > :37:40.recreational facilities all have an impact on people's health. Beverages

:37:41. > :37:43.five Giants, disease, once, ignorance, squalor and idleness were

:37:44. > :37:52.more pithy than Polen at it way of describing the problem. And

:37:53. > :37:57.beverage's brother-in-law page tourney, set the template we should

:37:58. > :38:01.follow. He said the issue was not about some romantic illusion that

:38:02. > :38:05.men are equal in character and intelligence, rather it is about

:38:06. > :38:13.eliminating the inequalities that had their source not individual

:38:14. > :38:20.differences but in organisation. The report, which I commissioned as

:38:21. > :38:22.Health Secretary in 2008, to form policy in 2010 onwards.

:38:23. > :38:27.Unfortunately electorate decided we wouldn't be there to carry it out,

:38:28. > :38:34.but it recommended six policy areas where we should focus upon. The best

:38:35. > :38:37.start in life, maximising capabilities and control, fair

:38:38. > :38:42.employment and good work, healthy standard of living, healthy and

:38:43. > :38:45.sustainable places and communities, strength and role in provision of

:38:46. > :38:53.ill health prevention. These six areas were advised to be focused

:38:54. > :38:56.with the scale and intensity proportionate to the level of

:38:57. > :39:04.disadvantage. He called this proportionate universalism. The

:39:05. > :39:07.Coalition Government recommended the recommendations. They responded with

:39:08. > :39:10.a policy of healthy lives and healthy people with a focus on

:39:11. > :39:16.individual lifestyle and behavioural change. This, as Sir Michael pointed

:39:17. > :39:21.out, is only one part of the problem, just as the NHS is only one

:39:22. > :39:30.part of the solution. What's more, the only piece of cross Goldman 's

:39:31. > :39:34.-- cross government coordination was scrapped in 2012. The select

:39:35. > :39:38.committee on Public health and today's debate, together with the

:39:39. > :39:43.Prime Minister's pledge give us an opportunity to capitalise on the

:39:44. > :39:48.brilliant work done by Sir Michael and his institution of health equity

:39:49. > :39:54.at UCL. And the political consensus, I am pleased to say, now exists

:39:55. > :39:57.around this issue, by forging a fresh and dynamic response across

:39:58. > :40:04.government to tackling health inequalities. One of the committee

:40:05. > :40:08.'s recommendations was a Cabinet Office minister be given specific

:40:09. > :40:14.responsibility for leading on this issue across government. I have a

:40:15. > :40:18.more radical suggestion. I believe the Prime Minister herself should

:40:19. > :40:22.take personal responsibility for this issue. The Prime Minister is

:40:23. > :40:26.also first Lord of the Treasury and the minister responsible for the

:40:27. > :40:32.civil service. Previous prime ministers have taken on other

:40:33. > :40:35.ministerial positions. Wellington was Home Secretary, Defence

:40:36. > :40:40.Secretary and Commonwealth Secretary. Churchill was Prime

:40:41. > :40:45.Minister and Defence Secretary. It would be a wonderful example for the

:40:46. > :40:50.Prime Minister to follow up her words by saying, I am going to lead

:40:51. > :40:54.on this, I am going to chair the cross government committee that

:40:55. > :40:58.tackles health inequalities. I think it needs that level of leadership,

:40:59. > :41:06.because only then will there be meaningful cross departmental work

:41:07. > :41:09.to tackle this. I echo the health committee's view that devolving

:41:10. > :41:12.public health to local authorities was the right thing to do, not

:41:13. > :41:17.everything in the health and social care bill was approved by us on

:41:18. > :41:22.these benches, or many other people, but that was the right thing to do.

:41:23. > :41:26.Their cuts in budget need to be restored. 200 million in year cuts

:41:27. > :41:35.and I would suggest the ring fencing should be extended to at least the

:41:36. > :41:37.end of this Parliament. With so many problems local government have, if

:41:38. > :41:43.you break the ring fence on public health, it is going to go elsewhere

:41:44. > :41:47.and not be focused on these issues. Only a minority of health inequality

:41:48. > :41:50.issues involved the Department of Health, but in closing I want to

:41:51. > :41:55.highlight one that certainly does. The biggest cause of hospitalisation

:41:56. > :42:05.for children between the ages of five and 14 is dental problems.

:42:06. > :42:09.Thousands of children went into hospital to be any the tie is done

:42:10. > :42:17.have 30 extracted over the past year. 11,000 more than the second

:42:18. > :42:23.biggest cause of hospitalisation for children, which is abdominal and

:42:24. > :42:26.pelvic pain. Believe it or not, it was the 12th highest cause for

:42:27. > :42:34.hospitalisation of tiny children below the age of four. This is a

:42:35. > :42:38.health equality issue. Almost all of the children who went into hospital

:42:39. > :42:44.will be from deprived communities, including 700 from the city I

:42:45. > :42:49.represent. There is a safe and proven way to dramatically reduce

:42:50. > :42:55.tooth decay in children, which also has a beneficial effect on adults.

:42:56. > :43:03.It involves flora dating water up to the Ottoman level of one part per

:43:04. > :43:08.million. The cost is small, for every ?1 spent there is a return to

:43:09. > :43:14.the taxpayer of ?12 after five years and ?22 after ten years. The

:43:15. > :43:17.evidence from the West Midlands to the North East, two countries across

:43:18. > :43:26.the world, has been there now for many years. A child in Hull aged

:43:27. > :43:34.five has 87.4% more tooth extractions than a child living in

:43:35. > :43:38.fluoridated Warsaw. The whole of the medical profession, the dentist

:43:39. > :43:43.profession, the BMA and the Department of Health have recognised

:43:44. > :43:47.this for many years. In Hull we intend to fluoridated water as part

:43:48. > :43:51.of a consolidated policy to tackle this element of health inequality.

:43:52. > :43:57.We need the Department of Health to show moral leadership in encouraging

:43:58. > :44:04.local authorities in deprived areas to pursue fluoridation and support

:44:05. > :44:06.them when they do. The Health Secretary retains ultimate

:44:07. > :44:12.responsibility for public health, including health prevention. Here is

:44:13. > :44:15.one issue where he can begin the process of reducing hospital

:44:16. > :44:20.admissions by encouraging preventative action and in terms of

:44:21. > :44:30.health inequalities giving poor kids prosperous kids teeth. I agree with

:44:31. > :44:32.him completely. Has he solved the problem how water supply companies

:44:33. > :44:41.and businesses can feel protected and not find themselves facing

:44:42. > :44:48.unjustified claims or difficulties? My understanding, as this is an

:44:49. > :44:53.intervention on a conclusion, by putting the focus onto local

:44:54. > :44:57.authorities, and I have talked to Yorkshire water on this, it changes

:44:58. > :45:08.the whole dynamic of how various conspiracy theorists can attack this

:45:09. > :45:12.issue. It is a great pleasure to be able to follow the Right Honourable

:45:13. > :45:17.member and his very thoughtful speech. To those debates on reducing

:45:18. > :45:24.health and inequalities is very far reaching, so I want to focus on

:45:25. > :45:27.obesity, as I chaired the party group on obesity and sits on the

:45:28. > :45:33.health select committee responsible for producing the report.

:45:34. > :45:43.To make no apologies for talking about obesity again in this chamber.

:45:44. > :45:48.-- today I make no apologies. This poses a major threat to our nation.

:45:49. > :45:52.With more than one in five children being overweight or obese before

:45:53. > :45:58.they start primary school, and with this figure rising to more than one

:45:59. > :46:05.in three as they start secondary school, our future generations are

:46:06. > :46:16.at risk of developing serious health complications. Recent data has shown

:46:17. > :46:21.a continuing widening inequality gap in these categories. 60% of the most

:46:22. > :46:29.deprived boys aged five to 11 are predicted to be overweight or obese

:46:30. > :46:38.by 2020. Just 16% of boys in the more affluent group. 60% versus 16%.

:46:39. > :46:42.Overall, 36% of the most deprived children are predicted to be

:46:43. > :46:50.overweight or obese by 2020. Compared to just 19% of the most

:46:51. > :46:56.affluent. These vast inequalities must be tackled. We need to take

:46:57. > :47:02.brave and bold action. Every study around at the moment shows that

:47:03. > :47:04.higher obesity rates are linked to deprivation. Critically, the

:47:05. > :47:10.national Child measurement programme showed the gap between areas less

:47:11. > :47:23.affected and those where child obesity is less affected is growing.

:47:24. > :47:34.This is a wake-up call. The future many young people face could be

:47:35. > :47:38.complicated with the riddles of obesity. Diabetes, heart disease and

:47:39. > :47:50.cancer. Strain on public services. The emotional impact as well on our

:47:51. > :47:55.population. Medics report that cases of type 2 diabetes are occurring in

:47:56. > :48:02.children. Until recently, it was just seen as a disease of the older

:48:03. > :48:08.population. Action is needed to prevent a public health calamity.

:48:09. > :48:15.Moving away from child obesity, I want to focus on the overall impact

:48:16. > :48:18.of obesity in adults. It's important we provide parents with every tool

:48:19. > :48:23.possible to make sure they can be great role models when it comes to

:48:24. > :48:29.what we eat and our lifestyles. Thank you for giving way. I am sure

:48:30. > :48:37.my honourable friend is aware that Tesco announced last week some major

:48:38. > :48:46.differences to sugar in drinks. It was done off their own bat. I wonder

:48:47. > :48:51.what my rubble friend's views are about pressure from supermarkets to

:48:52. > :48:57.influence the outcome for children? She makes a good point. Waitrose and

:48:58. > :49:02.Morrisons have also done this. And I am sure many more. It is good major

:49:03. > :49:09.retailers are taking on board the severity of this challenge we face

:49:10. > :49:16.as a nation and globally as well. But parents need to be role models,

:49:17. > :49:25.retailers need to be role models and sometimes the need to do more. It is

:49:26. > :49:34.not just child obesity link to social class. So is adult obesity.

:49:35. > :49:50.The highest level of excess weight is found amongst the lowest

:49:51. > :49:54.socioeconomic groups. Obesity is the single biggest preventable cause of

:49:55. > :50:01.cancer after smoking. With the government acknowledging the

:50:02. > :50:06.importance of early cancer diagnosis and dedicated NHS staff at all

:50:07. > :50:12.levels committed to delivering this, surely everything which can be put

:50:13. > :50:17.in place must be put in place? In addition to cancer, obesity leads to

:50:18. > :50:21.a greater risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. These are all

:50:22. > :50:25.conditions which are life changing and life limiting. I am sure people

:50:26. > :50:31.now understand there is a link between obesity and diabetes, but

:50:32. > :50:34.sadly I fear so many people think they can take a pill and keep

:50:35. > :50:40.diabetes under control. Sadly far too many people sufferers with

:50:41. > :50:49.diabetes have found this is not the case. Many need lower limb

:50:50. > :50:54.amputations. Many suffer kidney disease, liver disease and sight

:50:55. > :51:02.loss. Action must be taken now to turn around what I believe has

:51:03. > :51:06.become an obesity epidemic. Everything had talked about today

:51:07. > :51:10.should prompt a review of the Department of Health's child obesity

:51:11. > :51:15.plan. Despite a government leading the world in producing the plan for

:51:16. > :51:21.action, many, myself included, said when it was published it was quite a

:51:22. > :51:26.let down. I stand by that view today. This simply wasn't enough

:51:27. > :51:34.detail in the 13 page document. It was aspirational rather than a

:51:35. > :51:37.focused plan of action. It ignored the recommendations of Public Health

:51:38. > :51:41.England. It didn't set firm timescales to turn the tide on

:51:42. > :51:49.childhood obesity. The plan we have is insufficient for the scale of the

:51:50. > :51:56.task we have to tackle. We need to do more. We need clear actions and

:51:57. > :52:02.queer timescales. There is a fine balance between the nanny state,

:52:03. > :52:06.between business cooperation and parental responsibility. I'm sure it

:52:07. > :52:12.is not impossible to find common ground. Yes it is the responsibility

:52:13. > :52:16.of parents to ensure children eat healthily and are physically active

:52:17. > :52:20.and learn good habits to last a lifetime, but that by itself has

:52:21. > :52:24.proven time and time again it is not sufficient. Parents need more help.

:52:25. > :52:28.The current child obesity plan cannot and will not give them what

:52:29. > :52:36.we need. It would be a mistake to think the answer is lie in

:52:37. > :52:42.regulating business. Demonising the food and drink sector is unhelpful

:52:43. > :52:47.and unfair. Some producers, manufacturers and retailers are

:52:48. > :52:50.already taking great strides in encouraging healthy consumer

:52:51. > :52:55.behaviour and we must commend them for doing this. We welcome these

:52:56. > :53:02.actions. Evidence suggests the least affluent households in the UK have

:53:03. > :53:21.higher exposure to junk food advertising. The soft drinks levy is

:53:22. > :53:26.likely to have a positive impact. Just as the current plan does not

:53:27. > :53:30.help parents, it does nothing for the business that would be better

:53:31. > :53:35.served by clear goals and reformulation and for advertising

:53:36. > :53:40.and labelling and four time frames in which these need to be achieved.

:53:41. > :53:46.Publicly and privately, many sectors know that they themselves would be

:53:47. > :53:50.better served by clearer, more far reaching government recommendations

:53:51. > :54:00.that at least gave a certainty for the future. We may be horrified by

:54:01. > :54:05.the data figures we read on a daily basis. Cancer Research UK revealed

:54:06. > :54:18.this week that teenagers drink almost a bathtub of sugary drinks I

:54:19. > :54:23.hear on average. Will she give way? I am very grateful. She is making an

:54:24. > :54:27.excellent speech. Very thoughtful. There has been nothing I have

:54:28. > :54:34.disagreed with so far, she will be pleased to hear. Would she agree

:54:35. > :54:41.with me about how disappointed I was about the targets removed from the

:54:42. > :54:48.child obesity plan? Targets around having childhood obesity and figures

:54:49. > :55:00.about advertising and marketing which would have helped? I am just

:55:01. > :55:03.coming on that. Thank you. We know that child obesity levels will not

:55:04. > :55:09.drop tomorrow. What we need to see some signs in the next few years

:55:10. > :55:14.that they are declining. The foundations of an effective strategy

:55:15. > :55:17.are readily available in the form of recommendations from Public Health

:55:18. > :55:25.England and the health committee's report. I would like to hear a firm

:55:26. > :55:33.commitment for the soft drinks levy. Clear goals for product reform.

:55:34. > :55:44.Action on junk food advertising during family viewing. Promotions

:55:45. > :55:52.such as being given a free bar of chocolate with a newspaper. Such

:55:53. > :55:57.measures will ensure we have a strategy rather than just a vision.

:55:58. > :56:03.Will be able to tackle the obesity challenge we find in our society

:56:04. > :56:13.today. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks to the honourable member who is the

:56:14. > :56:21.chair of the health committee. And to the backbench committee for

:56:22. > :56:26.providing the time. The speech from the honourable member demonstrated

:56:27. > :56:34.clearly their knowledge in this area. It is a pleasure to follow the

:56:35. > :56:40.honourable member. And to learn more about obesity. Many will say that

:56:41. > :56:43.health inequality stems from the overarching inequality of education

:56:44. > :56:50.and opportunity both across the country and even within communities.

:56:51. > :56:55.And it is true. Mountable friend outlined the historical context for

:56:56. > :57:00.all that. Health inequality starts even before birth. Before a child is

:57:01. > :57:05.born into affluence or poverty. Long before they have the opportunity of

:57:06. > :57:13.starting a good mercenary or are left to make use of what is left.

:57:14. > :57:17.Health inequality begins in the womb and the child's development could be

:57:18. > :57:22.very much restricted or enhanced by the diet of the mother, the tendency

:57:23. > :57:29.to drink alcohol or smoking pregnancy, and dozens of other

:57:30. > :57:36.factors relating to antenatal care. Where you live has an impact. It can

:57:37. > :57:39.be mitigated by the actions of the NHS, local authorities and

:57:40. > :57:43.government. Economic kind of intervention is needed to support

:57:44. > :57:50.people who support is needed. It is that issue of resources. Everything

:57:51. > :57:56.from budgets to mount to discourage smoking in pregnancy, to hospital

:57:57. > :58:02.provisions which need to be the best in areas of greatest needs. I want

:58:03. > :58:11.to talk about the north-east of England to illustrate the reality of

:58:12. > :58:16.health inequalities. Government policy is putting the brakes on the

:58:17. > :58:21.process made in the years up to 2010. Some facts. There is a life

:58:22. > :58:26.expectancy gap of 17 years between men in the most deprived ward in

:58:27. > :58:33.Stockton compared with the least deprived. 12 years for women. This

:58:34. > :58:38.gap has increased by? Yours over a five-year gap. I fear it will

:58:39. > :58:50.continue to grow. Called development is an important contributor.

:58:51. > :59:01.In Stockton, a child who has a low quality of health due to parental

:59:02. > :59:07.lifestyle is more likely to be out of school, especially when it comes

:59:08. > :59:17.to dental health. 72% of children in the most deprived areas have tooth

:59:18. > :59:23.decay. Solutions were offered. In my constituency, the biggest causes of

:59:24. > :59:35.early death are cardiovascular disease, cancer and smoking related

:59:36. > :59:41.diseases. 1500 hospital stays per year more than the average related

:59:42. > :59:54.to alcohol. Smoking-related deaths, 320 worse than the average for

:59:55. > :59:59.England. 57% of people living in the north-east, 1.2 million individuals

:00:00. > :00:05.aged 18 and over, have suffered at least one is due to the drinking of

:00:06. > :00:18.others in the last 12 months. 62% of people, not least one heavy drinker.

:00:19. > :00:24.-- know at least one heavy drinker. One in five binge drinks on a weekly

:00:25. > :00:28.basis. Over 60% of us worry about violence caused by drinking and 90%

:00:29. > :00:32.of us are concerned about people being drunk and rowdy in public.

:00:33. > :00:36.There is a strong relationship between alcohol and crime, almost

:00:37. > :00:41.half of all crime is alcohol-related and it is having a significant

:00:42. > :00:52.impact on individuals and communities.

:00:53. > :00:59.Nearly 9000 children start smoking in the north-east region every year,

:01:00. > :01:06.according to Cancer Research UK. The north-east has the highest rate of

:01:07. > :01:11.economic activity in England. Up to June 2015, 20 3.5% of the working

:01:12. > :01:15.age population was inactive with a quarter of that inactivity due to

:01:16. > :01:21.ill health. The regional unemployment rate is the highest at

:01:22. > :01:25.7.9%. Life expectancy is lower than the English average. Men and women

:01:26. > :01:30.in the North East typically live over a year less than the national

:01:31. > :01:33.average. My constituency reflects the picture across the poorer parts

:01:34. > :01:37.of the country and evidence from charity and experts on these issues,

:01:38. > :01:42.show them to be highly significant. The British Lung foundation created

:01:43. > :01:48.a briefing and found people living in the poorest areas will die seven

:01:49. > :01:52.years earlier than those in the richest. There is a correlation,

:01:53. > :01:57.backed with evidence that affluence and opportunities affect your help.

:01:58. > :02:01.Cancer Research UK has carried out research that shows inequality is

:02:02. > :02:05.linked to 15,000 extra cases of cancer in England and children from

:02:06. > :02:09.the most deprived groups are twice as likely to be obese than the least

:02:10. > :02:13.deprived groups. Quite a dire picture across the north-east

:02:14. > :02:18.region, but not for the want of action by health groups, local

:02:19. > :02:27.authorities and charities. They have had some remarkable successes over

:02:28. > :02:30.the years despite the poor hand dealt them, but they need the

:02:31. > :02:32.support of government to make better progress. In order to reduce health

:02:33. > :02:34.inequalities we need more resources to support those who seek help, and

:02:35. > :02:37.investment in health service to detect illnesses earlier, do have a

:02:38. > :02:41.greater role for health care in schools, stop those 9000 children a

:02:42. > :02:45.year taking up smoking and to ensure the NHS has the means to be able to

:02:46. > :02:52.look after and treat everybody that needs it. But back to Stockton. How

:02:53. > :02:55.do we ensure those in Stockton are not at a significant disadvantage

:02:56. > :02:59.from birth compare to those in more affluent areas? We stop in the

:03:00. > :03:03.beginning, investment in early years education making sure all children

:03:04. > :03:07.have the best start and can reach their key development milestones to

:03:08. > :03:11.the best of their ability. Or, before they are born. The borough

:03:12. > :03:13.council has taken a number of measures to address the health

:03:14. > :03:18.inequality within the borough with the delivery of the health and

:03:19. > :03:23.well-being strategy, increasingly shape to ensure a targeted approach

:03:24. > :03:26.to those who need support. The Stockton seasonal health and

:03:27. > :03:28.well-being strategy coordinator targeted approach to making sure

:03:29. > :03:34.those who need the most support are getting at. 18,000 people received a

:03:35. > :03:39.winter warmth assessment, making sure their home is prepared for the

:03:40. > :03:43.winter. Stockton council working with Public Health England to

:03:44. > :03:46.implement a child dental health programme in schools, including

:03:47. > :03:52.nursery. Even in nursery and reception children. In our poorest

:03:53. > :03:58.wards, the council runs a community led initiative which focuses on

:03:59. > :04:01.outcomes for children up to three. Cognitive development, speech and

:04:02. > :04:07.language development and nutrition. These schemes ensure children have

:04:08. > :04:10.more opportunities to break this health inequality in my constituency

:04:11. > :04:16.to promote a healthier and safer upbringing. But they all need

:04:17. > :04:21.resources, which are sadly diminishing. I could now go on to

:04:22. > :04:25.bleat about the Pudil the north-east got from the coalition and now gets

:04:26. > :04:29.from the Tory government. The movement of health resources from

:04:30. > :04:33.north to the south, the huge cuts to local authority spending, which has

:04:34. > :04:37.impacted the ability to maintain services they need to close the

:04:38. > :04:42.quality gap. But I won't. But I will remind the government that whilst

:04:43. > :04:45.new hospital projects and Liberal Democrat and Tory constituencies

:04:46. > :04:52.planned by the last Labour government went ahead in 2010, the

:04:53. > :04:57.one to serve my own and neighbouring constituencies was axed. Our health

:04:58. > :05:01.trust is a remarkable job in difficult circumstances and I hope

:05:02. > :05:05.one day they will have the 21st-century hospital and facilities

:05:06. > :05:11.they need to serve our community and close the inequality gap. Maybe the

:05:12. > :05:15.provision of a hospital should form part of the transformation plan for

:05:16. > :05:19.our region. The study based the potential downgrading of our

:05:20. > :05:23.hospital and potential loss of our accident Emergency department. The

:05:24. > :05:28.challenge posed by health inequality is not just in my area, it is bigger

:05:29. > :05:32.than any other individual parent, bigger than any local authority and

:05:33. > :05:36.health trust. There must be a unified strategy to ensure health

:05:37. > :05:40.and equality is a thing of the past and my constituents, and as well as

:05:41. > :05:43.the constituents of many in this chamber have the best start to live

:05:44. > :05:50.under good quality of life to follow. Need early intervention, we

:05:51. > :05:53.need help for people with mental health problems and greater action

:05:54. > :05:57.to break the cycle of health inequality in the poorest areas of

:05:58. > :06:03.our country. We had one of the gloomiest outlooks for the country

:06:04. > :06:05.from the Chancellor yesterday, he spoke of the uncertainty ahead of

:06:06. > :06:15.rising debt and borrowing and falling growth and tax revenues. My

:06:16. > :06:17.great fear is that if the tough years ahead, coupled with the

:06:18. > :06:24.failure of the government to properly fund public health, the NHS

:06:25. > :06:27.and social care, we will see health inequalities Grot and the huge gap

:06:28. > :06:32.in life expectancy will not be closed for many decades. Mr Deputy

:06:33. > :06:37.Speaker, we shouldn't have a country where the future opportunities and

:06:38. > :06:40.health of children is determined by their socio- economic status, or the

:06:41. > :06:47.availability of resources to tackle the issues around smoking, alcohol,

:06:48. > :06:50.drugs and inactivity. But one where children yet to be born, have the

:06:51. > :06:53.freedom to choose which parts they want to take without the negative

:06:54. > :07:02.health implications holding them back. Thank you. I have to say, I

:07:03. > :07:07.entered this debate with trepidation about those people have spoken

:07:08. > :07:15.before me. I hope I can live up to them. Can I congratulate the member

:07:16. > :07:20.opposite, the shadow spokesman, and who I have worked closely with on

:07:21. > :07:28.issues to do with basketball as well. Can I register an interest as

:07:29. > :07:33.well. Can I congratulate my honourable friend who is a fellow

:07:34. > :07:39.Devon MP. Some of the issues I may be talking about one she may

:07:40. > :07:47.something about as well. Congratulations on securing this

:07:48. > :07:50.debate. In my constituency, there is an 11 year life expectancy

:07:51. > :07:54.difference between the north-east of my patch, which is where the

:07:55. > :08:00.professionals live, and the south-west, which is best known for

:08:01. > :08:05.its dockyard. Last week, I chaired a supper implement with health

:08:06. > :08:10.practitioners and academics, over iron deficiency and anaemia in

:08:11. > :08:14.Devon. It is a condition where the body, and I'm not going to pretend I

:08:15. > :08:20.am a medical expert, which you can probably tell, but it is a condition

:08:21. > :08:25.where the body has low red blood cell counts, resulting in less

:08:26. > :08:29.oxygen getting to organs and tissues. It can have serious

:08:30. > :08:37.consequences, often leading to more admissions to hospital or

:08:38. > :08:41.deterioration in health. This is a result of poverty, especially, but

:08:42. > :08:48.not exclusively, amongst the over 75 's. I was horrified to learn that

:08:49. > :08:53.Plymouth is top of the national list for iron deficiency. The rates of

:08:54. > :08:57.iron deficiency anaemia are four times the national average. Indeed,

:08:58. > :09:07.in north, east and West Devon, which includes Plymouth, there were 1530

:09:08. > :09:12.in patients with this in 2014 and 19% increase on 2013 and following

:09:13. > :09:17.the steady rise over the past few years. I understand in 2014, this

:09:18. > :09:22.amounted to an avoidable cost to the local health economy of just over ?1

:09:23. > :09:27.million as well. During my comments, which I will make now, I want to

:09:28. > :09:36.concentrate on NHS England's recent announcement and desire, to close

:09:37. > :09:40.three GP surgeries in my Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport constituency by

:09:41. > :09:51.March next year. This action, which I fear will serve to put greater

:09:52. > :09:55.pressure on the hospital, I am told the reason why NHS England is

:09:56. > :10:01.considering these closures is the size of the GP practices. I

:10:02. > :10:08.understand there is a report which suggests that should not be the only

:10:09. > :10:15.thing taken into account. The GP practice has a 1800 patient

:10:16. > :10:22.practice. Hyde Park, 2800 and Saint Barnabas, 1700. They are considered

:10:23. > :10:27.to be unsustainable and too small, despite the fact they are growing

:10:28. > :10:31.practices. I have mentioned some of these issues before, but I have no

:10:32. > :10:35.problem repeating them. I was told closing these practices is not down

:10:36. > :10:41.to saving money, but deliver better value for money. However, before I

:10:42. > :10:49.speak about both issues, let me put my own constituency into some

:10:50. > :10:55.context. It runs from the a 38 to the River Tame. It is home to one of

:10:56. > :10:59.the largest universities in the country, with thousands of students,

:11:00. > :11:05.thousands of whom live in the city centre. It is unable and a Royal

:11:06. > :11:12.Marine commander garrison city, as the health Minister, for whom I was

:11:13. > :11:13.a previous Parliamentary Secretary two, in a previous life, knows only

:11:14. > :11:33.too well. Fortunately Perth Plymouth, the MoD

:11:34. > :11:38.announced the Royal Marines and their families would be transferred

:11:39. > :11:44.from shipping in the north of Devon, our brave in Scotland and Taunton,

:11:45. > :11:51.just up the M5. Whilst the city's population is growing, this will put

:11:52. > :11:58.more pressure on schools, hospitals, both that the Rufford and GP

:11:59. > :12:03.practices. Although Plymouth has a global reputation for Marine science

:12:04. > :12:08.and engineering research, it is a low-wage and low skills economy. It

:12:09. > :12:13.is an inner city, something pretty unique for a conservative to

:12:14. > :12:16.represent, if I might say so. I do not have a single piece of

:12:17. > :12:23.countryside in my constituency, unless of course you include the

:12:24. > :12:29.pony Sanctuary, which is a rather muddy field. In the run-up to the

:12:30. > :12:33.2010 general election, when I won the seat on the third attempt, the

:12:34. > :12:36.Conservative Party pledged to do something about health care in

:12:37. > :12:42.deprived inner cities. We started to make a good two word and in 2014,

:12:43. > :12:50.the member for central and Suffolk and North Ipswich, one of the

:12:51. > :12:54.ministers, it to open the GP practice which is now very much

:12:55. > :13:00.under threat. Other facilities on the campus include minor injuries

:13:01. > :13:05.unit, the Devonport health centre and the pharmacy. The GP practice

:13:06. > :13:13.was set up by Plymouth community health care, and the Peninsula

:13:14. > :13:16.medical School. There was and a desperate need to provide

:13:17. > :13:23.tailor-made alternative service to the existing practice. Then, the

:13:24. > :13:28.Marlborough Street practice. Now the health centre for this deprived

:13:29. > :13:33.community, and the need to look after drug users and the city

:13:34. > :13:37.homeless in hostels such as the neighbouring Salvation Army

:13:38. > :13:41.hospital. The practice, also offers practical placements for students at

:13:42. > :13:47.the Plymouth medical school. Until earlier this year, it was funded by

:13:48. > :13:53.a social enterprise which found it too expensive to maintain. Despite

:13:54. > :13:58.Devonport's real deprivation, NHS England did not want to get involved

:13:59. > :14:01.in providing a contract to the Cumberland GP practice which is

:14:02. > :14:08.consequently been operating without a formal contract and is managed by

:14:09. > :14:11.Access health care. I understand that whilst the neighbouring

:14:12. > :14:27.Devonport health practice has not been offering...

:14:28. > :14:36.NHS England's reason for putting the GP practice under threat is because

:14:37. > :14:40.it would be too small and is operating in and sustained,

:14:41. > :14:46.unsuitable, cramped premises. Unless we are very careful, we could

:14:47. > :14:53.potentially put more pressure on the acute emergency unit, which is

:14:54. > :15:03.already under pressure. NHS England's proposals for three GP

:15:04. > :15:05.practices in the summer recess. NHS England expected me under the

:15:06. > :15:10.members of Parliament expected us to be won parliamentary trips are

:15:11. > :15:15.taking a holiday. Hard luck, I was there. I put together a series of

:15:16. > :15:18.meetings with the City Council director of public health, the

:15:19. > :15:23.leader of the Council, the member for adult social care, people from

:15:24. > :15:25.NHS England, the dean of the medical School and the Doctor Who runs the

:15:26. > :15:35.GP practice. At that meeting, I suggested the

:15:36. > :15:41.Cumberland GP practice should share a the health centre was my brand-new

:15:42. > :15:44.building, which has space and operates as a federation, sharing

:15:45. > :15:48.receptionists and backroom staff. The City Council's health and

:15:49. > :15:52.well-being board supported it following an inquiry that read some

:15:53. > :15:56.of measures to allow the Cumberland GP practice to continue. However, I

:15:57. > :16:00.understand that Devonport health care might not be willing to do

:16:01. > :16:04.this, and it appears that the Devonport community may be deprived

:16:05. > :16:09.of a second GP practice that patients will have no choice in

:16:10. > :16:14.which Doctor they go to. The new Devon CCG is looking at ways in

:16:15. > :16:19.which it might try and keep the Cumberland GP practice open, but it

:16:20. > :16:24.needs space in the short-term whilst it considers alternative locations I

:16:25. > :16:29.have also had representation of patients at Boghead Park and Saint

:16:30. > :16:33.Barnabas surgeries at Hyde Park, although Doctor Stephen Warren is

:16:34. > :16:37.keen to continue as a GP following a heart attack, he has transferred

:16:38. > :16:41.ownership of his practice to access health care, as he no longer wishes

:16:42. > :16:44.to deal with the backroom task of administration, which is part of

:16:45. > :16:51.running a practice. He argues that his and his partners' growing 2800

:16:52. > :16:56.practice has attracted outstanding reviews and he would not be able to

:16:57. > :17:01.inform his patients where he was going if he relocated to another

:17:02. > :17:05.practice. He also thinks that some patients like to have a relationship

:17:06. > :17:11.with an individual doctor, who they can see speedily, rather than having

:17:12. > :17:15.to wait weeks. It is like having your own personal bank manager, is

:17:16. > :17:18.it not? I think that is important. Saint Barnabas surgery, also run by

:17:19. > :17:21.access health care, was set up in a new development next to a

:17:22. > :17:26.residential care home for the elderly, were patients do not have

:17:27. > :17:32.to walk very far. In all three cases, NHS England, for technical

:17:33. > :17:37.reasons, gave patients only 24 hours notice of their initial engagement.

:17:38. > :17:41.I must say, I found the public consultation process is frankly

:17:42. > :17:46.utterly appalling. And I wrote to NHS England asking to give more time

:17:47. > :17:51.to engage with local communities, and I am grateful that they actually

:17:52. > :17:54.did bother to listen. Recently, as my constituency surgery, I was asked

:17:55. > :17:58.to write to NHS England to ask whether they had engaged with other

:17:59. > :18:03.GP surgeries. And with Derriford Hospital, and whether it consulted

:18:04. > :18:06.them, because some GPs will have to accommodate more patients. This is a

:18:07. > :18:11.very big issue. But there are wider issues of all others. At the moment,

:18:12. > :18:18.the commissioners in North, east and West Devon spend a higher amount of

:18:19. > :18:20.money East Devon than in the West locality. The government success

:18:21. > :18:28.regime is keen to correct this so that resources are focused on

:18:29. > :18:32.deprived communities such as Devonport. Finally... I thank him

:18:33. > :18:36.for giving way. It was just an observation, really. Given the

:18:37. > :18:39.detail that my honourable friend has gone into how he seems to be the

:18:40. > :18:44.presenting his community in these deprived areas, how very fortunate

:18:45. > :18:55.they are to have this concerned MP in this inner-city area. I will try

:18:56. > :19:01.to intervene to a similar extent later as well. Thank you! Yes, there

:19:02. > :19:06.have been no mentions of jobs in this debate at all. Finally, as my

:19:07. > :19:09.honourable friend Maynor, I am the government's pharmacy champion, and

:19:10. > :19:13.the government is reviewing the role of pharmacy to take pressure off our

:19:14. > :19:19.GPs and Major acute hospitals, like Derriford. Much has been made of the

:19:20. > :19:23.6% cut, but there has been very little publicity of the ?90 million

:19:24. > :19:27.that is going to be made available through the government's pharmacy

:19:28. > :19:30.access fund. Perhaps, my honourable friend made use for winding up

:19:31. > :19:34.speech to give us slightly more information about all of this, and

:19:35. > :19:38.explain how the Department of Health is going to provide the resources

:19:39. > :19:41.performances to take pressure off GPs by delivering flu jabs,

:19:42. > :19:47.opticians, mental health and obviously smoking stuff as well. A

:19:48. > :19:51.nationwide minor ailment facility. If she cannot do that now, perhaps

:19:52. > :19:54.she might like to write to me about it. Mr Deputy Speaker, Plymouth

:19:55. > :20:00.putt-mac health services under real pressure. We do not have --

:20:01. > :20:03.Plymouth's health services are under real pressure. Part of the

:20:04. > :20:07.constituency are very deprived and we need to do something about those

:20:08. > :20:11.living your life expectancy difference. The government must make

:20:12. > :20:16.sure that resources follow health needs. Finally, we need to make much

:20:17. > :20:19.more use of pharmacies, as my honourable friend the Minister

:20:20. > :20:22.knows, I am the government's pharmacy champion so what are going

:20:23. > :20:26.to do to make sure that pharmacy have the funding and how they will

:20:27. > :20:32.be able to operate as well? Thank you. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker,

:20:33. > :20:37.for calling me to speak on this very important debate, one which in my

:20:38. > :20:41.opinion is overdue. May I place on record my thanks to the Chair of the

:20:42. > :20:44.Health Select Committee, the Member for Totnes, and also my thanks to

:20:45. > :20:49.the backbench business committee for allowing the time. Today, I wish to

:20:50. > :20:53.focus my remarks on one particular area of health inequality, an area

:20:54. > :20:58.which receives disproportionately less funding than most others, and

:20:59. > :21:01.sadly receives far less attention from government ministers than

:21:02. > :21:07.Israeli due. The area I am of course talking about is dental and oral

:21:08. > :21:14.health inequality. -- ban is really cheap. You ask most people to

:21:15. > :21:18.describe what health inequality in this country look like, the name a

:21:19. > :21:21.long waiting lists for common ailments, difficulties in GPs and

:21:22. > :21:25.the rationing of licensed drugs from those suffering from treatable

:21:26. > :21:28.diseases. I could of course go on. But most, Mr Deputy Speaker, would

:21:29. > :21:34.not immediately name dental and oral health. But inequality in dental and

:21:35. > :21:39.oral health is just as widespread across this country as in many other

:21:40. > :21:46.important inequalities violated, quite rightly, in today's debate. --

:21:47. > :21:51.inequality is highlighted. Let me share with the House some unfit

:21:52. > :21:55.figures which have caused me more than a few sleepless nights.

:21:56. > :22:00.Official figures revealed that five-year-old children in Bradford

:22:01. > :22:04.are 4.5 times more likely to suffer from tooth decay than their peers in

:22:05. > :22:10.the right honourable member for South West Surrey, the Health

:22:11. > :22:13.Secretary's constituency. The number of women, children admitted to

:22:14. > :22:16.hospital for truth extraction usually requiring a general

:22:17. > :22:22.anaesthetic has gone up by one quarter over the last four years. --

:22:23. > :22:25.tooth extraction. 667 children spent time in hospital for this entirely

:22:26. > :22:32.avoidable reason within Bradford alone, just in the last year. I

:22:33. > :22:37.certainly will. Thank you. As somebody born in Bradford, and I can

:22:38. > :22:43.barely proudly say I have only got one filling in my teeth at my age,

:22:44. > :22:51.it is also, as with obesity, partly due to parental responsibility as

:22:52. > :22:54.well as environmental factors. That is an interesting point and I will

:22:55. > :23:00.come onto some of those issues later on during my speech. And according

:23:01. > :23:03.to the latest figures, almost one third, that is 32%, of children in

:23:04. > :23:07.Bradford have not seen a dentist for more than two years and as the House

:23:08. > :23:14.will be aware, ideally they should attend for a checkup every six

:23:15. > :23:19.months. Dental and oral health continues to be the Cinderella of

:23:20. > :23:22.health provision, something nice still have, something to be tackled

:23:23. > :23:28.after the good ship NHS returns to calmer waters, only due to

:23:29. > :23:30.much-needed extra finances once the financial black holes elsewhere in

:23:31. > :23:34.the NHS have been plugged. Such inequality in dental and oral health

:23:35. > :23:39.is plain wrong. An unspoken injustice intraday's society, and

:23:40. > :23:44.tackling it cannot and should not be your after you're kicked down the

:23:45. > :23:49.road like the proverbial can. Tooth decay, Mr Deputy Speaker, is an

:23:50. > :23:51.almost entirely preventable disease. It is a scandal, without

:23:52. > :23:55.exaggeration, that the number one reason for children between the ages

:23:56. > :23:59.of five and nine being admitted to hospital is tooth decay. It is a

:24:00. > :24:04.scandal, Mr Deputy Speaker, not only because it causes children needless

:24:05. > :24:09.pain and suffering, but in this final posterity, it wastes countless

:24:10. > :24:14.millions in NHS resources but its impact goes much deeper than this.

:24:15. > :24:18.-- this year posterity. In an increasingly competitive and

:24:19. > :24:24.globalised world, with the need for children to exceed in school,

:24:25. > :24:27.improve their skills and excel in internationally benchmark exams,

:24:28. > :24:33.Oliver children need to be healthy and energised to face the school

:24:34. > :24:37.day. Too often, tooth pain arising from poor oral and dental health

:24:38. > :24:41.hinders their school readiness, and peers there and broadband cripple

:24:42. > :24:45.the development the ability to thrive, and socialise with each

:24:46. > :24:47.other. A recent survey confirmed that more than one quarter of our

:24:48. > :24:52.young people feel too embarrassed to smile or laugh due to the condition

:24:53. > :24:57.of their teeth. For our teenagers, this injustice is no less, Mr Deputy

:24:58. > :25:02.Speaker. More than ever, being ready to succeed and get on and make your

:25:03. > :25:07.way any competitive job market... Thank you for reading this, and I

:25:08. > :25:10.know that in my constituency I can tell someone's poverty by the state

:25:11. > :25:14.of their teeth. Not only is it the decay issue, but it is not having

:25:15. > :25:18.the money to have the necessary treatment, perhaps cosmetically, so

:25:19. > :25:23.that the issues that she described about embarrassment and confidence

:25:24. > :25:28.also kick in. I thank my honourable friend for that very valid and

:25:29. > :25:31.important point. But disproportionate levels of poor oral

:25:32. > :25:34.and dental health predominantly in deprived low-income areas, such as

:25:35. > :25:38.those found in Bradford, hampers these young people from forging

:25:39. > :25:43.their careers. Survey after survey confirms that young people who

:25:44. > :25:47.suffer from poor oral and dental health these poor job prospects.

:25:48. > :25:53.Dental and oral health plays, rightly or wrongly, an important

:25:54. > :25:56.part in selling yourself intraday's competitive job market. Now, Mr

:25:57. > :26:00.Deputy Speaker, I have said the depressing skill of the challenge,

:26:01. > :26:04.but the question it begs is what we do? Or, perhaps more accurately,

:26:05. > :26:08.what can and should the government do to tackle this scandal is health

:26:09. > :26:12.inequality? As I highlighted to the former Prime Minister, Mr Cameron,

:26:13. > :26:15.when I challenged him about this inequality in my constituency and

:26:16. > :26:21.city, there are some simple step that can be taken. The first is due

:26:22. > :26:25.to be implemented in the foreseeable future, that is tax on sugary

:26:26. > :26:29.drinks. Although, the government's final proposal was very much weaker

:26:30. > :26:32.than it should have been in my view, it was nevertheless a much welcomed

:26:33. > :26:38.step in the right direction. The Royal College of Surgeons' faculty

:26:39. > :26:42.of dental surgery, a professional body which sees these problems

:26:43. > :26:45.first-hand in its day-to-day work, suggests a number of low-cost,

:26:46. > :26:50.easily deliverable measures which could readily be adopted by

:26:51. > :26:54.government. Tighter restrictions on advertising high sugar products on

:26:55. > :26:59.television, such as restricting advertising and before the name PM

:27:00. > :27:01.watershed. Limiting price promotions and supermarkets for high sugar food

:27:02. > :27:08.and drinks and excluding these products from point locations, like

:27:09. > :27:11.a checkout and counters. Most sensibly, limiting the availability

:27:12. > :27:16.of high sugar food and drinks in our school system. But perhaps the most

:27:17. > :27:20.important measure this Government could take is highlighted by the

:27:21. > :27:24.British dental Association, to Expedia changes to the current

:27:25. > :27:28.dental contract. Critical changes are long overdue. The first would be

:27:29. > :27:33.to incentivise preventive work through the contract. The second and

:27:34. > :27:37.most important would be to incentivise the dental profession to

:27:38. > :27:42.establish new practices in deprived areas, areas which are so

:27:43. > :27:47.desperately need them. They typically faced the least

:27:48. > :27:51.availability. In my constituency, despite need being so high, there is

:27:52. > :27:56.a simple shortfall of NHS dentist appointments. Very few NHS dentists

:27:57. > :27:59.have open lists, meaning most in search of dental treatment simply

:28:00. > :28:02.give up and most who are determined to end up finding one outside of the

:28:03. > :28:07.city boundaries. That surely is not right. I understand the government

:28:08. > :28:14.hopes to initially begin rolling out a reformed dental contract in 2018

:28:15. > :28:19.to 2019 onwards. But this is simply not fast enough. In closing, I

:28:20. > :28:23.finish by asking a simple question. Is it just and equitable that a

:28:24. > :28:29.five-year-old child within Bradford, my home city, is 4.5 times more

:28:30. > :28:32.likely to suffer from tooth decay than their peers in the right

:28:33. > :28:37.honourable member for South West Surrey, the Health Secretary's

:28:38. > :28:44.constituency? I hope the House would agree with me that the answer is no.

:28:45. > :28:48.Thank you. Rebecca. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am very pleased to

:28:49. > :28:51.follow the honourable member from Bradford, who gives a somewhat

:28:52. > :28:59.shocking account of oral and dental health. I am also very dilated to

:29:00. > :29:03.follow -- delighted to follow, and I come into the honourable member for

:29:04. > :29:05.Totnes, for raising this issue and ably piloting in her speech the

:29:06. > :29:10.impacts and causes of this health inequality. But I would like to

:29:11. > :29:16.focus on an area which my honourable friend has not mentioned yet, and I

:29:17. > :29:20.wanted to bring it to the Minister's attention. I particularly want to

:29:21. > :29:27.talk about natural and green solutions to helping reduce and

:29:28. > :29:31.prevent this greater disparity in inequality in health outcomes. I am

:29:32. > :29:35.not suggesting that some of the things I am going to talk about are

:29:36. > :29:39.the only solutions, but I do really believe that our natural environment

:29:40. > :29:45.has a very important and often underestimated role to play in

:29:46. > :29:51.improving our health and well-being. We know that health inequality can

:29:52. > :29:55.cost up to ?70 billion per year, with those below the wealthiest

:29:56. > :29:59.levels of society suffering the greatest degrees of inequality, and

:30:00. > :30:04.many of our colleagues have expanded on that today. I have a particularly

:30:05. > :30:07.deprived part of my constituency, it is called Falcon and is in the 4%

:30:08. > :30:10.most deprived parts of the country. That is in Taunton Deane. Many of

:30:11. > :30:19.the things mentioned today apply there as well.

:30:20. > :30:27.People in these areas are ten years less likely to live in the

:30:28. > :30:34.mysterious. -- people in deprived areas. So this would seem to me that

:30:35. > :30:38.it is more than a coincidence, there must be a link. There is clearly

:30:39. > :30:45.search to show disadvantaged people with greater access to green spaces

:30:46. > :30:52.are likely to have better health outcomes. A good natural and built

:30:53. > :30:56.environment can have a positive impact on mental and physical

:30:57. > :31:01.health. It is not just the impact, it is actually the most cost

:31:02. > :31:06.effective to talk about what I'm going to mention, which always makes

:31:07. > :31:09.the Minister's eyes light up, if there can be cost savings. Many

:31:10. > :31:14.people are beginning to realise this important link between health and

:31:15. > :31:18.well-being and the natural environment. I am very heartened

:31:19. > :31:22.that many service providers are already starting to think about this

:31:23. > :31:28.and put people in place to deal with it. The Somerset wildlife trust, for

:31:29. > :31:34.example, of which I am proud to be president, they appointed a health

:31:35. > :31:37.and well-being manager, which are truly heartening. I will watch with

:31:38. > :31:46.interest about the role played and what they will do to highlight the

:31:47. > :31:50.issue. I am going to turn to mental health quickly. The natural world

:31:51. > :31:56.can have a really positive impact on mental health. I am a firm believer

:31:57. > :32:03.of the therapeutic power in a brisk walk in the beautiful Somerset may

:32:04. > :32:09.be Cheshire countryside. How about a wonderful walk for restoring the

:32:10. > :32:14.spirits... I will give way. Does she agree that one of the great problems

:32:15. > :32:25.about mental health if it has been a Cinderella part of the health

:32:26. > :32:30.service for too long? It has, it is one of the Cinderella subjects. And

:32:31. > :32:34.the things I'm talking about, they are free, I am giving free therapy

:32:35. > :32:38.because nature is free. It is such a beautiful thing and it really does

:32:39. > :32:45.have power. What could be more relaxing than a walk by the

:32:46. > :32:48.Wellington Monument in my constituency on the hills, and I

:32:49. > :32:50.know hundreds of thousands of people got what they are, and lots of

:32:51. > :32:57.people with disabilities go up because it is easy to get to and it

:32:58. > :33:01.is flat. It beneficial, and I'm going to add that the Wellington

:33:02. > :33:06.Monument raised my spirits yesterday, or the government did,

:33:07. > :33:12.because they had just given as ?1 million for a restoration project,

:33:13. > :33:15.and there will be loads of spin offs to the public and health and

:33:16. > :33:17.well-being will be part of it because we will build a big

:33:18. > :33:21.community project around at encouraging more people to go up

:33:22. > :33:24.there. When I was looking for somewhere to live in London because

:33:25. > :33:34.obviously I have to stay here in the week, one of the criterion I had to

:33:35. > :33:40.include in when I had to stay was that I had to see a tree from my

:33:41. > :33:48.window, and I can. I could not live without one. Can I congratulate her

:33:49. > :33:54.on the points she is making. There is data to back up what she's

:33:55. > :34:00.saying. Public England estimate that an inactive person is likely to

:34:01. > :34:10.spend 37% more time in hospital than someone who is active, and active

:34:11. > :34:13.people are 5.5% -- people who are inactive at 5.5% more likely to be

:34:14. > :34:19.visiting doctors. Bid is good evidence behind this. Thank you for

:34:20. > :34:24.that. I will give a few more statistics as I go through this

:34:25. > :34:29.because I am not making this up. This is coming into our psyche. I

:34:30. > :34:34.will give way. Can I encourage her, when she's here in London, to a boat

:34:35. > :34:41.from Chelsea Harbour down to Greenwich, where you will see the

:34:42. > :34:45.magnificent layout of a number trees occurring in the West, but there are

:34:46. > :34:55.fewer of them than in the East of London. We do not need a forestry

:34:56. > :35:03.debate! I think we want to get back to health. I went out on a boat this

:35:04. > :35:08.morning, with Greenpeace, it was up the Thames, to look at Micro

:35:09. > :35:16.plastics in water. And we did see some trees as well. And they do

:35:17. > :35:20.serve a very good purposeful stop trees are important for taking in

:35:21. > :35:30.air pollution, which -- the server very good purpose. They take in air

:35:31. > :35:36.pollution, which is also very helpful. Mental health can be helped

:35:37. > :35:39.with being in contact with nature, and as a keen gardener I can

:35:40. > :35:44.absolutely vouch that getting your hands in the earth, planting seeds,

:35:45. > :35:55.watching seasons change, definitely lifts the spirits and is a pick-up.

:35:56. > :36:00.Give way. She makes a good point, it is not just about brisk walks to

:36:01. > :36:06.help health. Last Friday I was helping some young children at a

:36:07. > :36:13.junior school plant bulbs in their school grounds. The exercise we were

:36:14. > :36:15.getting and being out on fresh air, and that is in a built-up area,

:36:16. > :36:22.periurban, which must be a good thing for their health for the

:36:23. > :36:25.future. She is absolutely right. I know that many schools have

:36:26. > :36:31.gardening bits, and it is so much to be had from it in every respect. It

:36:32. > :36:38.can help unemployed groups and all sorts of different groups. Physical

:36:39. > :36:41.activity, but also watching things growing is very beneficial. The

:36:42. > :36:46.Royal horticultural Society have done research to show 90% of UK

:36:47. > :36:55.adults say that just looking at a garden make them feel better. Doing

:36:56. > :36:59.something in it is better, but there was recent data about watching birds

:37:00. > :37:02.on a bird table. And hedgehogs. If you got the chance to watch a

:37:03. > :37:07.hedgehog that would make you incredibly happy because they are

:37:08. > :37:15.still rare. I got excited when I saw one eating my cat food recently. I

:37:16. > :37:19.will give way. I do not want to rain on her garden but would she agree

:37:20. > :37:25.that there is also a negative impact of the surroundings -- if the

:37:26. > :37:34.surroundings are not as good. 30% of people in Glasgow live beside vacant

:37:35. > :37:38.land, which can have a negative effect. Yes, and we need to do

:37:39. > :37:44.something with the community, and the Woodland Trust have some great

:37:45. > :37:46.data, that if you live 500 metres from woodland, their health is

:37:47. > :37:52.better because they are going into it but they are also looking at it,

:37:53. > :37:59.they are enjoying it. And mental health charity has a report called

:38:00. > :38:05.feel better outside, feel better inside, and they are advocating the

:38:06. > :38:08.benefits of eco-therapy, which is really what I am talking about,

:38:09. > :38:13.mental and physical well-being, and boosting skills and confidence to

:38:14. > :38:23.get them back to work by doing things like gardening, farming,

:38:24. > :38:30.growing food, exercise, conservation work. And 69% of people who took

:38:31. > :38:32.part definitely saw an increase in their mental well-being, and 62% of

:38:33. > :38:40.them thought the overall health improved. These projects help 250

:38:41. > :38:46.word people afterwards to find full-time work, and that saved the

:38:47. > :38:52.nation money. In my constituency we have an agency called prospects,

:38:53. > :39:00.which has a contract to help get the long run one -- long-term unemployed

:39:01. > :39:04.get into employment. I've been out with them into an ancient woodland,

:39:05. > :39:07.and it definitely helps not just engage with nature, but it gives

:39:08. > :39:13.them confidence because they are speaking to each other, they are

:39:14. > :39:16.atmosphere, and very many of those people are then able to have the

:39:17. > :39:21.confidence to apply for jobs and get back to work. So it seems to me that

:39:22. > :39:26.there is a very clear case for prescribing access to green space in

:39:27. > :39:32.our armoury of traditional medicines to deal with the range of mental

:39:33. > :39:37.health. Then there is physical health, the great outdoors is a

:39:38. > :39:43.vastly underutilised tool in the wider sense, and many of my

:39:44. > :39:46.colleagues have been talking about obesity, and the outdoors can play a

:39:47. > :39:52.very important part in tackling our fight against obesity. Currently

:39:53. > :39:57.obesity costs ?16 billion to the government, particularly childhood

:39:58. > :40:02.obesity, which has been referred to, and those living in deprived areas

:40:03. > :40:10.are twice as likely to be obese. So with this in mind, I would really

:40:11. > :40:12.advocate some consideration being given to crime prescriptions. The

:40:13. > :40:17.local Government Association has recently called on the UK to

:40:18. > :40:21.implement a similar model to that used in New Zealand, and eight out

:40:22. > :40:27.of ten GPs in New Zealand have been issuing these crime prescriptions to

:40:28. > :40:30.patients. 72% have noticed a change in their health. So the Local

:40:31. > :40:37.Government Association is encouraging GPs to try to ) moderate

:40:38. > :40:39.physical activity goals for their patients, including things like

:40:40. > :40:47.walks in the park, family classes walks in the park, family classes

:40:48. > :40:53.they can go to, and a number of GPs are already using the schemes. One

:40:54. > :40:56.of the pilots is encouraging them to visit the National Parks, which are

:40:57. > :41:01.obviously beautiful and on their doorstep, and free to go into. So I

:41:02. > :41:04.recommend all of these things. The chairman of the Local Government

:41:05. > :41:10.Association health and well-being board said that by writing a

:41:11. > :41:16.prescription like this, it would encourage so many more people to get

:41:17. > :41:20.out, the doctor says you must do this, because often if the doctor

:41:21. > :41:24.says you must take this tablet, you take it. If the doctor says you must

:41:25. > :41:31.go out and walk, I think potentially you might do it. Anyway, to

:41:32. > :41:37.conclude, there are a great many initiatives taking place, such as

:41:38. > :41:41.NHS Forest, aiming to improve recovery time of patients and staff

:41:42. > :41:47.by increasing access to NHS Gardens, in other words the locations on the

:41:48. > :41:51.doorsteps of hospitals, and part of the health and social care act 2012

:41:52. > :41:55.there was a statutory duty placed on local authorities to create health

:41:56. > :41:59.and well-being boards, however the health select committee has reported

:42:00. > :42:03.that they find these were not working very successfully. They had

:42:04. > :42:06.few powers. Perhaps this is something the Minister could

:42:07. > :42:09.consider looking at as I believe they could really start to make a

:42:10. > :42:15.big difference in moving this agenda forward. And there was the proposed

:42:16. > :42:20.2015 nature and well-being act that was much discussed and debated,

:42:21. > :42:27.which wanted to put nature at the heart of all the decisions we make

:42:28. > :42:30.about health, education, the economy, flood resilience, and

:42:31. > :42:38.perhaps we could look again at some of the ideas in there because there

:42:39. > :42:43.are very good ideas. So we know that there are links between the access

:42:44. > :42:47.to green space, and health, and it seems a no-brainer to me that if we

:42:48. > :42:51.could improve access to green space and look into the idea of

:42:52. > :42:56.prescribing these treatments, we could make a difference to help and

:42:57. > :42:59.inequalities within health. It would be much easier if we had all the

:43:00. > :43:03.data, if we could prove these benefits with the data, and help is

:43:04. > :43:10.at hand because the wildlife trust have commissioned a piece of work,

:43:11. > :43:15.the School of biological sciences at the University of Essex, to gather

:43:16. > :43:21.just this data, and I think once we have got some solid facts we can

:43:22. > :43:27.move forward. So I would really like to think that you will consider some

:43:28. > :43:30.of these ideas, and when the Cabinet Minister for health and equality is

:43:31. > :43:36.put in place, as was recommended by my honourable friend, or even the

:43:37. > :43:38.Prime Minister, as recommended by the honourable friend from

:43:39. > :43:43.Kingston-upon-Hull, when they have these in place, perhaps my green

:43:44. > :43:52.points could be added to the agenda and we could move forward to a

:43:53. > :43:56.healthier society. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is a pleasure to

:43:57. > :44:00.follow the honourable member, and I think she makes some very

:44:01. > :44:03.interesting points. The intervention from my neighbour, the honourable

:44:04. > :44:08.member for Glasgow Central was pertinent about the landscape in

:44:09. > :44:11.Glasgow. I would like to begin by commending the honourable member,

:44:12. > :44:15.who is campaigning efforts in health matters coupled with her ability to

:44:16. > :44:20.challenge her own government is second to none. I thank her for

:44:21. > :44:22.securing this debate and the backbench business committee for

:44:23. > :44:29.allowing the time to take place today. It is clear that we are

:44:30. > :44:32.united as a House and want to eradicate health and equality --

:44:33. > :44:37.inequality, but it is how we work together to achieve this. The

:44:38. > :44:41.honourable member referred to the Prime Minister using her first

:44:42. > :44:45.speech to proclaim her government would fight the burning injustice

:44:46. > :44:51.that plague society, and I believe it is fair to say that most burning

:44:52. > :44:54.injustices lead back to health inequality. Inequalities in health

:44:55. > :45:00.are underpinned by greater societal inequalities, the conditions in

:45:01. > :45:04.which we were conceived, born, grow up, live in, work in and grow old

:45:05. > :45:14.in, have an immense impact on our lives. Essentially we're

:45:15. > :45:21.Whilst they are on they are certainly not unavoidable. Many

:45:22. > :45:24.constituents will needlessly die each and every year as a result of

:45:25. > :45:29.these gross inequalities. This, wherever it occurs, the human and

:45:30. > :45:32.moral tragedy that shames us all. During this debate, the Right

:45:33. > :45:36.Honourable and honourable members from across these islands will quite

:45:37. > :45:40.rightly speak about their constituent nations, regions, local

:45:41. > :45:44.constituencies and the particular competencies. England will be a key

:45:45. > :45:48.focus. However, I would like to compliment this debate by talking

:45:49. > :45:55.specifically about Scotland, Glasgow and my constituency of Glasgow East.

:45:56. > :45:59.Despite vast progress in life expectancy in Scotland over the past

:46:00. > :46:03.150 years, are life expectancy remains law and are average

:46:04. > :46:08.mortality rate remains higher than our neighbours across the UK and

:46:09. > :46:11.throughout Europe. The poor health status of Scotland and our largest

:46:12. > :46:17.city Glasgow are well-documented, and much of this is explained by the

:46:18. > :46:20.experiences of deindustrialisation, deprivation and poverty. However,

:46:21. > :46:25.there is no greater levels of mortality that cannot be explained

:46:26. > :46:31.by deprivation, known as excess mortality. For example, premature

:46:32. > :46:36.mortality rates are 20% higher in Scotland than in England and Wales,

:46:37. > :46:40.even after deprivation is accounted for, and premature mortality rates

:46:41. > :46:44.in Glasgow is 30% higher than it in equally deprived areas like

:46:45. > :46:51.Liverpool and Manchester. The former has been dubbed the Scottish effect,

:46:52. > :46:55.the latter the Glasgow effect. All that counts for approximately 5000

:46:56. > :46:59.extra, unexplained deaths per year in Scotland. That is 5000 people

:47:00. > :47:05.dying prematurely, dying needlessly, over and above normal inequalities

:47:06. > :47:09.in health. Traditionally, the cause of this has not been entirely

:47:10. > :47:15.understood. Research suggests that the combination of change in

:47:16. > :47:18.political power, increasing income inequalities, disempowerment and

:47:19. > :47:22.deindustrialisation. The last one of which has impacted on people in many

:47:23. > :47:27.ways, such as through unhealthy behaviours, psychosocial stress and

:47:28. > :47:32.of course poverty. Indeed, in May of this year, the Glasgow Centre for

:47:33. > :47:35.population and health, NHS Scotland and the University of the West of

:47:36. > :47:42.Scotland and University College London produced a report entitled

:47:43. > :47:45.History, Politics, Explaining The Excess Mortality In Glasgow And

:47:46. > :47:49.Scotland, which confirmed deaths. The report was signed by over 30

:47:50. > :47:54.academics and health professionals and found that the city of Glasgow's

:47:55. > :47:58.population was more vulnerable to factors which impacted on health

:47:59. > :48:02.across the UK, such as poverty, deprivation, deindustrialisation and

:48:03. > :48:07.economic decisions taken by the UK Government which have led to the

:48:08. > :48:11.population having poor health outcomes. Such vulnerabilities arose

:48:12. > :48:15.from notoriously high levels of deprivation over a sustained period

:48:16. > :48:21.of time. Urban planning decisions in the post-war period, such as the

:48:22. > :48:24.creation of monolithic, poor quality peripheral housing estates, the

:48:25. > :48:28.regional economic policies of the UK Government and its Scottish office,

:48:29. > :48:33.and local government responses to UK Government policies in the 1980s.

:48:34. > :48:36.Again, where there are social economic inequalities, there are

:48:37. > :48:47.health inequalities. These inequalities are not a mistake and

:48:48. > :48:49.are not an accident, they are not inevitable and are not irreversible.

:48:50. > :48:52.Income inequalities were relatively narrow in the UK until the late

:48:53. > :48:54.1970s, and health inequalities declined dramatically. However,

:48:55. > :49:00.income and wealth inequalities soared again during the 1980s, and

:49:01. > :49:03.the 1990s, and likewise so that health inequalities. Again, this did

:49:04. > :49:07.not happen by accident, nor did it happen in countries all across the

:49:08. > :49:14.world. It happened in countries like the UK that made conscious decisions

:49:15. > :49:16.to rollback state to minimal level possible, to slash public

:49:17. > :49:22.expenditure like it was going out of fashion, to reconstruct the tax and

:49:23. > :49:28.welfare system to be less redistributive and to champion the

:49:29. > :49:31.wants of business and the financial at the expense of Leeds and workers

:49:32. > :49:35.and their trade unions. It was an ideological driven Conservative

:49:36. > :49:40.Government, hell bent on pursuing a neoliberal agenda at any cost, what

:49:41. > :49:45.may stop Mr Speaker, my apologies, Madame Deputy Speaker! To break

:49:46. > :49:49.somewhat from the conciliatory tone, there were worrying signs that this

:49:50. > :49:52.would be mirrored by the previous government, but we do have a new

:49:53. > :49:57.Prime Minister and she has offered encouraging words about her

:49:58. > :50:01.government's indenture despite injustice but what she does matter

:50:02. > :50:11.is what she says -- matters more than what she says. Hopefullytoday's

:50:12. > :50:14.debate is a starting point. Measures would utilise taxation, legislation,

:50:15. > :50:19.regulation and changes in the broader distribution of income and

:50:20. > :50:24.power could help. As Michael Aamodt, Chair of them Marmont review, said

:50:25. > :50:29.in 2010, "Are simply restoring economic growth, trying to return to

:50:30. > :50:33.the status quo, while cutting public expenditure should not be an option.

:50:34. > :50:38.Economic growth without reducing relative inequality will not reduce

:50:39. > :50:42.health inequalities." The government must acknowledge that health

:50:43. > :50:47.inequalities cannot be solved with health solutions alone, they are

:50:48. > :50:49.rooted in poverty and income inequality, as well as across all

:50:50. > :50:54.areas of government policy. Solutions from the Department of

:50:55. > :51:00.Health, or the NHS, will not suffice, as outlined by the right

:51:01. > :51:04.honourable member for Kingston upon Hull. Therefore, the government

:51:05. > :51:07.should commit to a joined up, evidence -based approach of cross

:51:08. > :51:11.departmental working with a specific minister form the Cabinet office

:51:12. > :51:16.given the specific responsibility for embedding health as a priority

:51:17. > :51:20.in all government policy. Madame Deputy Speaker, inequalities in

:51:21. > :51:24.health are a matter of life and death, of health and sickness, of

:51:25. > :51:28.well-being and misery. They represent misery on the greatest

:51:29. > :51:34.skill and marginal. If the government is looking to fight

:51:35. > :51:40.injustice, this is it. The only question is, are they up to the job

:51:41. > :51:46.and are willing to do it? Fiona Bruce. Thank you. On the doorstep of

:51:47. > :51:50.Number Ten, our Prime Minister taking up our leadership mantle even

:51:51. > :51:55.inspirational social justice beach, aimed at ensuring there is a

:51:56. > :51:58.reduction in health inequalities, including addressing the stark

:51:59. > :52:01.realities of mental health challenges that so many families in

:52:02. > :52:05.our communities live with daily. I want to speak about this, about the

:52:06. > :52:09.importance of healthy early relationships in life, even

:52:10. > :52:16.beginning before birth, of the mental health challenges that this

:52:17. > :52:26.can involve, and then lastly just to conclude with a reference to alcohol

:52:27. > :52:28.harm, with my hat on as the Chair of the Parliamentary group on that.

:52:29. > :52:31.Building healthy relationships beginning before birth and

:52:32. > :52:34.establishing these as building blocks within our family and

:52:35. > :52:39.community life in our earliest years are absolutely key for the

:52:40. > :52:47.prevention and reduction of mental health problems in childhood and the

:52:48. > :52:51.road later life. This sites in the womb, I thought I would just -- this

:52:52. > :52:54.starts in the womb. I thought I would commence by stating the early

:52:55. > :52:59.life key facts, from the early lives of children here in the UK today.

:53:00. > :53:04.Depression and anxiety affect 10-15 out of every 100 pregnant women.

:53:05. > :53:11.Over one third of domestic violence begins in pregnancy. 1 million

:53:12. > :53:15.children in the UK suffer from the type of problems, including ADHD,

:53:16. > :53:17.conduct disorder, emotional problems and vulnerability to chronic

:53:18. > :53:25.illness, which are increased by antenatal depression, anxiety and

:53:26. > :53:30.stress. The UK is the world's worst for breast-feeding. 50% of

:53:31. > :53:44.the-year-olds experience family breakdown. 15700 0-2 -year-olds live

:53:45. > :53:51.in families classed as homeless. By addressing some of these, beginning

:53:52. > :53:54.even before birth, we could help exponentially, particularly in terms

:53:55. > :53:58.of not just the physical but also the mental health of so many of our

:53:59. > :54:05.young people today. That helped lift their whole lives. We need to

:54:06. > :54:08.support our youngest, so that we can increase their life chances and

:54:09. > :54:14.reduce health inequalities that get in the way of them achieving their

:54:15. > :54:16.full potential. Points on the compass of scientific advancement

:54:17. > :54:20.are increasingly showing that the direction of travel for social

:54:21. > :54:28.determinants of health significantly pointed towards experiences of bomb,

:54:29. > :54:31.birth and beyond. Marmont's society healthy life report, referred to by

:54:32. > :54:36.the previous number, published as long ago as debris 2010, offered its

:54:37. > :54:41.top policy recommendation as giving every child the best start in life.

:54:42. > :54:45.The 1001 critical base manifesto, the UK's only children's manifesto

:54:46. > :54:49.which has the support of eight political parties, was launched just

:54:50. > :54:58.two years ago in response to this report. A child's development is of

:54:59. > :55:00.course mainly influenced initially by the primary caregiver, usually

:55:01. > :55:07.their mother, but often their father. And also by others who are

:55:08. > :55:12.engaged in helping with parenting of that child. Parenting begins before

:55:13. > :55:16.birth. We have known for a long time that how we turn out depends both on

:55:17. > :55:20.our genes and our environment. What scientists now realise is that the

:55:21. > :55:24.influence of the environment begins in the womb and how the mother feels

:55:25. > :55:27.during her pregnancy can change this environment and have a lasting

:55:28. > :55:32.effect on the development of a child. So, we all need to support

:55:33. > :55:35.and look after pregnant women, both for the sake and for the sake of

:55:36. > :55:41.future generations. A stable and secure home learning environment is

:55:42. > :55:43.critical in those early months. Children, right from their infancy,

:55:44. > :55:48.need to be protected and nourished and stimulated, to think and

:55:49. > :55:53.explore, to communicate and interact with their parents and others.

:55:54. > :55:58.Babies are primed to be in relationships and their earliest

:55:59. > :56:04.relationships really matter for the ABC, one to the building blocks

:56:05. > :56:09.which lead to school readiness. It is in those earliest relationships

:56:10. > :56:13.that we are influenced. That a young child's social brain develops, which