Vol. 762 Thursday No. 21 25 June 2015 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Questions NHS: GP Clinics.........................................................................................................1689 Employment: Tribunals................................................................................................1691 House of Lords: Appointments .................................................................................1694 Communities: Young Muslims....................................................................................1696 European Union (Approvals) Bill [HL] First Reading................................................................................................................1698 Business of the House Timing of Debates.......................................................................................................1698 Child Poverty Statement......................................................................................................................1698 Constitution: Gracious Speech Motion to Take Note ..................................................................................................1702 Mental Health Services Question for Short Debate ..........................................................................................1737 Affordable Housing Motion to Take Note ..................................................................................................1752 Housing: Leaseholders Question for Short Debate ............................................................................................1788 £4·00 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. 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The first time a Member speaks to a new piece of parliamentary business, the following abbreviations are used to show their party affiliation: Abbreviation Party/Group CB Cross Bench Con Conservative Con Ind Conservative Independent DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind LD Independent Liberal Democrat Ind SD Independent Social Democrat Lab Labour Lab Ind Labour Independent LD Liberal Democrat LD Ind Liberal Democrat Independent Non-afl Non-affiliated PC Plaid Cymru UKIP UK Independence Party UUP Ulster Unionist Party No party affiliation is given for Members serving the House in a formal capacity, the Lords spiritual, Members on leave of absence or Members who are otherwise disqualified from sitting in the House. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2015, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1689 NHS: GP Clinics[25 JUNE 2015] NHS: GP Clinics 1690 Baroness Meacher (CB): My Lords, the Minister House of Lords referred to a renaissance of general practice. Given that about 30% of GPs are expected to retire in the Thursday, 25 June 2015. next five years and even the most popular training 11 am schemes cannot find anyone to come and train—I should not say “anyone”; however, Winchester has six Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Bristol. people but places for 16—what sort of renaissance will it be? We actually need GPs, so perhaps the Minister NHS: GP Clinics can explain. Question Lord Prior of Brampton: The noble Baroness is 11.07 am quite right. We do need GPs, and they will be at the Asked by Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe heart of the renaissance in general practice. The Government are committed to recruiting an extra To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they 5,000 GPs into general practice over the next five will provide an annual report to Parliament regarding years—that figure is net of people retiring. We accept the operation of seven-day opening of general entirely the noble Baroness’s proposition that we must practitioner clinics. persuade more newly qualified junior doctors to opt The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for general practice rather than for working in hospitals. of Health (Lord Prior of Brampton) (Con): My Lords, we are committed to seven-day GP access. We have Baroness Walmsley (LD): My Lords, what discussions already invested £175 million in 57 schemes covering have the Government had with the Royal College of 2,500 practices, offering improved access including Emergency Medicine about the idea of collocating GP evening and weekend appointments. The 2016-17 mandate clinics in A&E departments? Surely such a strategy to NHS England, to be published later this year, is has the potential for killing two birds with one stone. expected to reflect Government commitments, including Noble Lords: Oh! on access. The Government hold NHS England to account for progress against these objectives and publish Lord Prior of Brampton: I agree with the sentiments an annual assessment of NHS England, including of the noble Baroness. There are indeed many GP progress in delivering the mandate. practices that are collocating outside or very close to Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab): My Lords, I am A&E departments. For example, I saw one at the grateful to the Minister for the information he has just Royal Free only last week. It is one of a number of given. Will he recall that earlier in the week, in reply to new models of care that we should be exploring. a Question about the number of GPs in practices, he Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab): My Lords, said that the general practice model “is largely broken”? may I press the Minister a little more on recruitment? His second statement was that it “is probably broken”. In an answer to me earlier in the week, he made the In the light of that expression of his concerns about same reply—that the Government were committed to what was happening in GP practices, I presume that recruiting more GPs—but he has not yet told us what he was associating himself with those millions of NHS incentives would make a newly qualified doctor wish patients who increasingly find it difficult to see a GP to go into general practice, and whether those incentives within the time they want, or to see a GP of their are financial or otherwise. In particular, the idea that choice. If so, can he say whether moving from what is part of your commitment would be to a seven-day broadly a five and a half-day weekly GP practice to week is possibly not quite as alluring as he would like seven days for all will improve matters for those patients it to appear. or make matters worse, especially as it is being done on a broken model, to use his own words? In those Lord Prior of Brampton: The right answer to the circumstances— noble Baroness is twofold. First, we have to paint a Noble Lords: Too long! picture that inspires young doctors to go into general practice. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe: In those circumstances solution to the health needs of today’s population will he say what the new model will be, spell it out to depends on a different model of general practice. We the public and say how many GP practices will have to can paint that picture, and I hope that leaders of the close? BMA might wish to help paint it as well. Secondly, on the seven-day week issue, we are living in 2015 and Lord Prior of Brampton: The noble Lord makes a people expect to be able to see GPs at the weekend. number of interesting points. One of the leaders of the People get ill at weekends, and if we want good quality BMA talked yesterday about the need for a renaissance of care, we have to provide that care seven days a in general practice, which was about the only thing in week. If we wish people to be treated outside hospitals, that speech that I agreed with. We need a renaissance we have to provide good access seven days a week in and a complete transformation in general practice primary care. because the structure of primary care is largely unchanged since being set up in 1947, and the population’s Lord Colwyn (Con): Will my noble friend make it requirements have changed fundamentally. So over easier for GPs who have retired to come back to work the next five years, I expect primary care to go through in part-time practice? I am told this is extremely a renaissance and be transformed from the bottom up. difficult at the moment. 1691 NHS: GP Clinics[LORDS] Employment: Tribunals 1692 Lord Prior of Brampton: My noble friend makes a Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con): On 11 June, very good point. Health Education England