Tuesday Volume 548 17 July 2012 No. 34 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday 17 July 2012 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2012 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through The National Archives website at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/our-services/parliamentary-licence-information.htm Enquiries to The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU; e-mail: [email protected] 823 17 JULY 2012 824 Mr Lansley: As the hon. Gentleman will—I hope— House of Commons be fully aware, the view of Ministers is clear: any reconfiguration of services must be driven not by cost but by a need to improve clinical outcomes for patients; Tuesday 17 July 2012 must be in line with the commissioning intentions of the local commissioning group; must be on the basis of The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock strong patient and public engagement; and must protect the choice available to current and prospective patients. To that extent, I hope that all the necessary information PRAYERS to support those four tests is in the public domain. [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] Joseph Johnson (Orpington) (Con): GP commissioners in Bromley have opened a consultation on the future of services currently provided at the Orpington hospital Oral Answers to Questions site. Will the Secretary of State ensure that the administrator recently appointed to South London Healthcare trust takes account of the consultation’s findings when drawing up his proposals for how best to put SLHT on a HEALTH sustainable clinical and financial footing? The Secretary of State was asked— Mr Lansley: I hope that my hon. Friend is aware that when I appointed the trust special administrator and set Clinically Led Commissioning a timetable for his work, I specifically added 30 days on an exceptional basis to the timetable for the production 1. Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con): What of his first report, one of the exceptional reasons being assessment he has made of the effect on patients of that an accelerated consultation should take place locally clinically led commissioning. [117277] on the future of Orpington hospital. The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Andrew Lansley): Andy Burnham (Leigh) (Lab): I shall give the Secretary Clinical leadership in the design of services for patients of State one last chance on rationing. will deliver better outcomes and improve patient experience of care. In the last year, for example, NHS Dorset The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr Simon clinical commissioning group has worked to improve Burns): Ooh! outcomes in cardiology, dermatology and muscular-skeletal services, and NHS Nene CCG has admitted more than Andy Burnham: The right hon. Gentleman needs to 3,000 patients on to a proactive care scheme, which I listen carefully to what I am about to say. Yesterday, he have had the privilege of seeing for myself, to identify promised action to stop the restricting of cataract operations and reduce the risks of people needing an emergency for financial reasons, if given evidence. How about this admission. That is one reason why the number of emergency example? NHS Sussex has imposed severe restrictions admissions to hospital in the NHS fell by 1%. that contradict the Department’s own guidance, “Action on Cataracts”, and this has seen the number of operations Stephen Mosley: The Secretary of State will be aware in Sussex fall from 5,646 in 2010 to 4,215 in 2011. Does of Chester’s location on the border with Wales and of the Secretary of State consider that fair to older people, and the issues with cross-border health care commissioning. will he now take the action his Department has promised? In order to ensure that there will be no financial shortfall for the West Cheshire CCG in relation to the treatment Mr Lansley: I have made it clear to the right hon. of patients who are registered with general practitioners Gentleman many times, as has the Minister of State, my in Wales but who receive treatment in England, will he right hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns), confirm that the cross-border commissioning funding that it is not acceptable and we will not allow NHS protocol between England and Wales will be fully commissioners to impose blanket bans. I will gladly implemented? take note of and investigate that example, but I have to Mr Lansley: I would be grateful if my hon. Friend could say that the right hon. Gentleman wrote to me with a convey my best wishes to the Countess of Chester hospital, document that purported to contain a series of examples which I visited just before Christmas, and my appreciation from across the country, most of which turned out to be of the work of the West Cheshire CCG. I can confirm fictional. I shall respond in writing about NHS Sussex that discussions between officials in the Welsh Government, and put a copy in the Library of the House, but, as I my Department and the NHS Commissioning Board have made clear, we, unlike our predecessors, will not are under way to extend and renew the protocol for accept any blanket ban on treatment. Any treatment cross-border commissioning for 2013-14 and beyond. must be clinically determined in the interests of patients. Mr Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab): If the Andy Burnham: Well, the right hon. Gentleman is Secretary of State believes that the reconfiguration of accepting it, and he continues to dispute my evidence, hospitals is clinically rather than finance led, will he but what does he say to the president of the Royal ensure that NHS North West London publishes full College of Ophthalmologists, who said yesterday of risk assessments of its decision to close four accident cataract restrictions: and emergency departments and replace them with “They are arbitrary and are a response to financial pressures, urgent care centres? not clinical needs”? 825 Oral Answers17 JULY 2012 Oral Answers 826 The reason for the Government’s denial is that the Paul Burstow: In fact, in October 2010 this Government financial pressures are greater than they care to admit. took an important decision about the funding of social The figures released by the Treasury yesterday confirmed care: to invest an extra £7.2 billion. I wish Opposition that he and the Government have now cut the NHS Members would stop running local authorities down budget for two years running, but they also reveal and support the ones that are doing the right thing and something else: another real-terms cut planned for 2013-14. ensuring that they spend the money the Government Do not their flagship promises on NHS spending now have provided to them on social care, rather than cutting lie in shreds, and will this Prime Minister not be for ever those services. That is what I am doing; I hope that the remembered as the man who cut the NHS, not the deficit? hon. Lady will as well. I just wish that she had prefaced her comments by apologising for 13 years of Labour Mr Lansley: It is staggering, isn’t it? In 2010-11, the failure on social care. NHS budget was set by the right hon. Gentleman, not by us. The final accounts for 2011-12 will not be published Mr Stephen Dorrell (Charnwood) (Con): I welcome until the autumn. I wish he would just get up at the my hon. Friend’s statement today and the announcements Dispatch Box and admit that over the course of this last week about the future structure and the commitment Parliament the coalition Government will increase the to introduce legislation later in this Parliament in line NHS budget in England by 1.8% in real terms, which is with the draft Bill. Will he confirm that it is the £12.5 billion in cash, whereas the Wales Audit Office Government’s intention to pursue the cross-party talks has said that a Labour Government in Wales will cut on funding options for the Dilnot package, and that if the NHS budget over the same period by 10% in real solutions can be found, they can be included in the terms. legislation that is introduced? Social Care Paul Burstow: Notwithstanding some of the perhaps intemperate exchanges we have in this place, my colleagues 2. Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab): What and I are still determined, if those on the Opposition steps he is taking to bring forward legislative proposals Front Bench are, to engage in talks on how we reform on the funding of social care. [117278] the funding system. Indeed, the debate we had in the Chamber last night confirmed that both sides of the 15. Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab): House wish to support the principles of the Dilnot What steps he is taking to bring forward legislative reforms, so I hope that we can have such talks and that proposals on the funding of social care. [117294] they can be reflected in the Bill. The Minister of State, Department of Health (Paul Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con): I Burstow): The draft Care and Support Bill contains welcome the Government’s commitment to support the clauses that support our commitment to introduce a provision of free and fully integrated end-of-life care. universal deferred payments scheme and a national eligibility While the palliative care funding pilots are progressing, threshold. We have set out our intention to base a new can lessons be learnt quickly in my borough of Enfield funding model on the principles of the Dilnot commission where, sadly, most people are dying in hospital rather model and we will take a decision in the next spending than, as is their choice, at home or with the support of review.