House of Lords Official Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Vol. 778 Thursday No. 108 9 February 2017 PARLIAMENTARYDEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDEROFBUSINESS Questions Hospital Beds: Availability....................................................................................................................................1849 Religious Literacy .................................................................................................................................................1852 Brexit: Consumer Rights Policy ............................................................................................................................1854 Crime: Firearms....................................................................................................................................................1856 Child Refugees Private Notice Question.........................................................................................................................................1858 Business of the House Motion on Standing Orders....................................................................................................................................1862 Richmond Burgage Pastures Bill [HL] Second Reading .....................................................................................................................................................1862 University of London Bill [HL] Second Reading .....................................................................................................................................................1862 Joint Committee on Human Rights Membership Motion...............................................................................................................................................1862 Privileges and Conduct Committee Motion to Agree ....................................................................................................................................................1863 Code of Conduct Motion to Resolve..................................................................................................................................................1865 Commonwealth Development Corporation Bill Second Reading (and remaining stages) ................................................................................................................1865 Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2017 Motion to Approve.................................................................................................................................................1897 Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2017 Motion to Approve.................................................................................................................................................1902 Brexit: Financial Services (European Union Committee Report) Motion to Take Note .............................................................................................................................................1904 Grand Committee Historical Statues and Memorials Question for Short Debate ................................................................................................................................GC 433 Mental Health: Young People Question for Short Debate ................................................................................................................................GC 449 Syria Question for Short Debate ................................................................................................................................GC 465 Sudan Question for Short Debate ................................................................................................................................GC 481 Education: Maintained and Independent Schools Question for Short Debate ...............................................................................................................................GC 496 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. Corrections for the bound volume which Lords wish to suggest to the report of their speeches should be clearly indicated in a copy of the Daily Report, which, with the column numbers concerned shown on the front cover, should be sent to the Editor of Debates, House of Lords, within 14 days of the date of the Daily Report. This issue of the Official Report is also available on the Internet at https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2017-02-09 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 DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind LD Independent Liberal Democrat Ind SD Independent Social Democrat Ind UU Independent Ulster Unionist Lab Labour 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 2017, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1849 Hospital Beds: Availability [9 FEBRUARY 2017] Hospital Beds: Availability 1850 House of Lords single grouping takes responsibility for all the healthcare needs of a population, rather than it being split into Thursday 9 February 2017 different services. 11 am Baroness Walmsley (LD): My Lords, integration is Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of St Albans. of course very important, but has the Minister ever met anybody in the health service who does not believe Hospital Beds: Availability that you will never fix the pressures in the health Question service until you put more money into social care? That means helping areas with low-value properties, 11.06 am not just those with high-value properties, such as in Asked by Lord Dubs leafy Surrey. To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their Lord O’Shaughnessy: The noble Baroness is of course estimate of the number of hospital beds currently quite right about the need for more money.I re-emphasise occupied by persons who could be discharged. that an additional £7 billion or more for social care is going to councils during this Parliament. Councils TheParliamentaryUnder-Secretaryof State,Department have the ability to raise council tax, although the of Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy) (Con): My Lords, the leverage obviously varies from place to place. This is most recently published figures—for the last Thursday why the Better Care Fund was created—to provide of December 2016—reported that 6,191 people who extra help to areas that do not get the same income were occupying hospital beds were ready to return from council tax increases as the better-off places. home or transfer to another form of care. Lord Dubs (Lab): My Lords, I thank the Minister Lord Crisp (CB): My Lords, a year ago, the Royal for that reply. I am extremely puzzled because the College of Psychiatrists published a report which showed official NHS figures I have been looking at suggest that about one-fifth of adult mental health beds were that, in November, there were 200,000 people blocking occupied by people who were ready for discharge or beds. What is more significant, all the experts say that who should not have been admitted in the first place. the actual number of bed-blockers is three times the They were only admitted because there were no adequate size of the official figure. Bed-blocking means that facilities in the community. Could the Minister tell us people are not given the best possible care and beds what the figure is today and what is being done about are blocked for others who could be admitted. Surely mental health specifically? we have to solve this problem quickly. Lord O’Shaughnessy: The noble Lord is quite right Lord O’Shaughnessy: My Lords, the figures that the to raise the issue of mental health. I do not have the noble Lord is referring to are across the whole month. specific figure with me but I will write to him with it. He may be aware that new figures have been published We know that there has been a historic disparity today, which show that an increasing proportion of between the two services. This was recognised by the delayed transfers is due to the availability of social Prime Minister in a very important speech she gave a care packages. He will also know that this reflects the few weeks ago, setting out some of the ways in which changing nature of the patient demographic, which is the Government are doing more on this. However, becoming older and frailer. I agree with him that this there is clearly a lot more to do. needs addressing urgently, which is why the Government took action in the Autumn Statement to increase Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con): What is the social care funding. We need to address the wide situation of people providing care at home on behalf variation in the rate of delayed discharge from local of councils? Many carers I know are called out at authority to local authority. As the Prime Minister has 10 or 11 at night to receive someone who has just been said, in the long run we need a more sustainable sent home from hospital. However, they are not really solution. trained themselves;