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I am grateful, as my remarks apply to what the Secretary of State has just said. Is she not in danger of falsely raising public expectations by using the language of taking waiting out of the NHS? Even by her own terms, it will be more than two years before...

I am grateful, as my remarks apply to what the Secretary of State has just said. Is she not in danger of falsely raising public expectations by using the language of taking waiting out of the NHS? Even by her own terms, it will be more than two years before...

I cannot let the hon. Gentleman get away with that. Even with the best will in the world, with the best negotiators getting the best prices, there will be always be drugs on which NICE or a national NHS board says no. Then, his constituents and mine will raise a...

I cannot let the hon. Gentleman get away with that. Even with the best will in the world, with the best negotiators getting the best prices, there will be always be drugs on which NICE or a national NHS board says no. Then, his constituents and mine will raise a...

My hon. Friend cites a pertinent example. If one puts something in place, but is then faced with a stricture saying that a specific financial target must be met at short notice, one makes the cut that enables one to meet that target most quickly, rather than making the best...

My hon. Friend cites a pertinent example. If one puts something in place, but is then faced with a stricture saying that a specific financial target must be met at short notice, one makes the cut that enables one to meet that target most quickly, rather than making the best...

I am not sure that I understand the hon. Gentleman’s argument. He has given people the impression that he would ensure that people could get drugs such as Velcade. Now he is saying that we will try to ensure that we ask the right question and get the best price,...

I am not sure that I understand the hon. Gentleman’s argument. He has given people the impression that he would ensure that people could get drugs such as Velcade. Now he is saying that we will try to ensure that we ask the right question and get the best price,...

The hon. Gentleman nods. What he is saying is that if we—the electorate—vote Conservative, we will get an NHS whose activities we will not be able to determine. I understand his argument that the board would set broad strategy, but he also said that, whatever the price negotiated, the commissioning...

The hon. Gentleman nods. What he is saying is that if we—the electorate—vote Conservative, we will get an NHS whose activities we will not be able to determine. I understand his argument that the board would set broad strategy, but he also said that, whatever the price negotiated, the commissioning...

I do. The record will show that when an early-day motion is tabled that states ““This House disagrees with NICE and we should ensure that drug X is prescribed,”” I do not sign it. I do not believe that, having set up NICE, we should overrule it simply because sometimes...

I do. The record will show that when an early-day motion is tabled that states ““This House disagrees with NICE and we should ensure that drug X is prescribed,”” I do not sign it. I do not believe that, having set up NICE, we should overrule it simply because sometimes...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that is another reason why budget pooling, and greater co-ordination between health and social care, would mean that money was not shunted from one pot to another, and people were not shunted from one part of the system to another. Instead, the system...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that is another reason why budget pooling, and greater co-ordination between health and social care, would mean that money was not shunted from one pot to another, and people were not shunted from one part of the system to another. Instead, the system...

Well, DNA has been mentioned, but such tests are not carried out. What reassurances does a donor have that the people who turn up on the doorstep in 18 years’ time and say, ““Hello, dad”” are actually his children? What will be the consequences? The theory behind getting rid of...

Well, DNA has been mentioned, but such tests are not carried out. What reassurances does a donor have that the people who turn up on the doorstep in 18 years’ time and say, ““Hello, dad”” are actually his children? What will be the consequences? The theory behind getting rid of...

I want to be clear about whether the hon. Gentleman is for or against using top-slicing to support struggling PCTs. The hon. Member for Upminster (Angela Watkinson) obviously does not want top-slicing, because her PCT would be okay without it. If the hon. Gentleman agrees with her, is he saying...

I want to be clear about whether the hon. Gentleman is for or against using top-slicing to support struggling PCTs. The hon. Member for Upminster (Angela Watkinson) obviously does not want top-slicing, because her PCT would be okay without it. If the hon. Gentleman agrees with her, is he saying...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Judy Mallaber), who made a thought-provoking, well-informed and, in some senses, sobering contribution about her recent experiences in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She reminds us of the global context of our debate and I am sure...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Judy Mallaber), who made a thought-provoking, well-informed and, in some senses, sobering contribution about her recent experiences in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She reminds us of the global context of our debate and I am sure...

I welcome the fact that the Secretary of State nods her head. However, primary care trusts were created and then merged. I have seen the abolition of bodies that had not even been created when I first became a Member of Parliament, which was less than 10 years ago. The...

I welcome the fact that the Secretary of State nods her head. However, primary care trusts were created and then merged. I have seen the abolition of bodies that had not even been created when I first became a Member of Parliament, which was less than 10 years ago. The...

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I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. It is always fascinating to step with her into the parallel world that she inhabits, where shiny new hospitals are delivered to a glad and happy local population. Something puzzles me about the Secretary of State’s statement. When swathes of community...

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. It is always fascinating to step with her into the parallel world that she inhabits, where shiny new hospitals are delivered to a glad and happy local population. Something puzzles me about the Secretary of State’s statement. When swathes of community...

It is appropriate that the final contribution before the winding-up speeches should highlight the issue that underlay many of the other contributions, but which was not made explicit: accountability. What has run throughout the debate is the notion that local people are clearly expressing their preferences—the term ““sham consultation”” keeps...

It is appropriate that the final contribution before the winding-up speeches should highlight the issue that underlay many of the other contributions, but which was not made explicit: accountability. What has run throughout the debate is the notion that local people are clearly expressing their preferences—the term ““sham consultation”” keeps...

: I had better not, because I am running out of time. The British public have been consulted about health as never before—and ignored as never before. As the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes said, a consultation that does not even provide the option of keeping the community...

: I had better not, because I am running out of time. The British public have been consulted about health as never before—and ignored as never before. As the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes said, a consultation that does not even provide the option of keeping the community...

: The logic of my argument is that more effective financial health service management by the Government would have prevented the deficits arising in the first place. Much financial imbalance and dislocation in the health service is caused by having to deal with sequential and constant reform. It has wasted...

: The logic of my argument is that more effective financial health service management by the Government would have prevented the deficits arising in the first place. Much financial imbalance and dislocation in the health service is caused by having to deal with sequential and constant reform. It has wasted...

: I do not have any problem with that point, because in my judgment those budgets should all be pooled. The idea that we try to draw arbitrary dividing lines, with the resultant shifts in budget, is absurd. It is a long-standing problem. The hon. Member for Salisbury alluded to...

: I do not have any problem with that point, because in my judgment those budgets should all be pooled. The idea that we try to draw arbitrary dividing lines, with the resultant shifts in budget, is absurd. It is a long-standing problem. The hon. Member for Salisbury alluded to...