Commons
Debate
6 July 2026
3 contributions
Payment Scheme
Will my right hon. Friend give way?
My right hon. Friend is being very generous; I thank him for giving way. It was my sombre privilege to work with him on this matter when I was a Minister in the Department of Health. He is talking about driving forward the scheme; can he outline what work he has done with our devolved Governments in…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
30 June 2026
2 contributions
Support for Victims of Abuse
6. What steps his Department is taking to support women and children who have experienced abuse to access support services.
I recently visited the Liberty Centre in my constituency, a fantastic charitable organisation that supports individuals and families who have been affected by domestic abuse and violence. It told me that it could fill its refuge places three times over, but it does not have the resources. Will the M…
Commons
Debate
13 April 2026
3 contributions
SEND Provision and Reform
I congratulate the hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) on securing this really important debate.
Children in West Lancashire have previously felt let down by the SEND system. People lost faith in the very system that is meant to support the children in our communities who need it …
I will briefly.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 March 2026
Waste Crime: Knowsley
My hon. Friend has outlined clearly the issues caused at Simonswood in my constituency, which my constituents are also really concerned about. Constituents on the other side of my constituency are also dealing with a very similar problem at the St Joseph’s college site. Would my hon. Friend agree th…
Commons
Proceedings
5 March 2026
Business of the House
Thank you, Mr Speaker; I am delighted to take up this place. People in West Lancashire are concerned about the potential relocation of the children’s accident and emergency department at Ormskirk following the joint integrated care board committee’s “Shaping Care Together” consultation. Folk, and I,…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
We acknowledge the important issue of the potential negative impact that gambling advertising may have on children and young people’s health. My officials continue to work closely with officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and I will be discussing the issue with the Minister for …
As the hon. Gentleman is probably aware, this Government’s cancer plan, which I launched just over a week ago, is the first ever cancer plan to have a section on children and young people with cancer and to commit to supporting children holistically throughout their cancer journey. I am more than ha…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
4 contributions
National Wellbeing Indicators
We are revolutionising our country’s health and wellbeing through our 10-year health plan, which will deliver the three major shifts, boost life expectancy and improve mental health for everyone, everywhere. We are shifting from prioritising the tackling of sickness to prevention, including through …
My hon. Friend will know that that is a question for Treasury colleagues. However, we are a mission-led Government committed to healthy outcomes across Government, not just in the DHSC.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
5 contributions
Preventing Ill Health
The 10-year health plan announced ambitious measures to make the healthy choice the easy choice. They include tackling the obesity epidemic through mandatory healthy food sales reporting, business targets to increase the healthiness of products sold and restrictions on junk food advertising.
I thank my hon. Friend for outlining the very real crisis of childhood obesity. It is a problem that robs children of the best possible start in life and sets them up for a whole lifetime of health problems. It is why this Government have come down hard and delivered our commitment to restrict adver…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
3 contributions
Access to Radiotherapy
The national cancer plan, which I launched about two weeks ago, will end the postcode lottery. Wherever people live, they will receive high-quality cancer treatment. We have already invested £70 million in 28 new cutting-edge radiotherapy machines, reducing waiting times and providing 15% more treat…
I commend my hon. Friend’s continued advocacy for radiotherapy. I have met the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) and the other members of the all-party parliamentary group on radiotherapy to discuss how the Government will improve outcomes for cancer patients. While trusts retain…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 February 2026
36 contributions
National Cancer Plan
With permission, I will make a statement on the Government’s national cancer plan for England.
A cancer diagnosis changes you forever. When I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer 18 months ago, I did not know whether I would be alive today, never mind standing at this Dispatch Box announcing…
I thank the right hon. Member for his statement and questions, and particularly for his personal wishes.
Overseeing delivery is absolutely crucial. It is great that we have written a plan, but what matters is delivering it. We started delivery even before we had finished writing this plan; we are n…
+34 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
Topical Questions
Local authorities must assess disabled children’s social care needs and provide respite care, including funding short breaks where appropriate. We are currently developing an all-age palliative care and end-of-life care modern service framework, and will consider the issue of emotional and practical…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
3 contributions
ADHD Services
We know that many people with suspected ADHD—attention deficit hyperactivity disorder—experience severe delays in accessing assessments. That is not right. We want people with ADHD to receive the right support in their communities. Our medium-term planning framework sets out expectations for local a…
Through the medium-term planning framework, which we published in October 2025, we set out those expectations. We will continue to work with trusts to develop them to make sure that people with ADHD, or suspected ADHD, get the support they need. I am more than happy to meet the APPG to discuss these…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
2 contributions
Brain Cancer Treatment: Hartlepool
As previously stated, we are boosting investment to unlock new treatments and improve outcomes for brain cancer patients, including investing in cutting-edge equipment to improve access to samples for research. Each pathology service in England maintains its own standard procedures for tissue freezi…
As my hon. Friend rightly points out, I was privileged to answer for the Government in the Westminster Hall debate last week on this very issue, and I vividly remember Trevor’s story. Last week, I did commit to exploring current arrangements for tissue freezing options and the options for change, an…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
2 contributions
Brain Cancer Treatment: Washington and Gateshead South
I also put on record my condolences to the family and friends of Colin Pickthall, the former Member for West Lancashire. As the current Member for that seat, it is my privilege to build on his legacy.
We are committed to furthering investment to unlock new treatments and improve outcomes for brain …
We are determined to ensure that everyone who receives a brain tumour diagnosis, regardless of where they live, has access to the latest treatment options. I look forward to meeting Owain’s wife, Ellie, later this month to hear more about their story and the next steps on this topic.
Commons
Westminster Hall
7 January 2026
3 contributions
Advanced Brain Cancer: Tissue Freezing
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Chris Evans) and all other hon. Members for their contributions, many of which were deeply personal and moving. I thank them all for their courage and soft-heartedness, and for bringing s…
I note my hon. Friend’s clarification, but with that in mind, we do know that it is important to diagnose all cancers as quickly as possible, and the diagnosis of brain cancers is equally important so as to start treatment as quickly as possible. To that end, the Chancellor announced further investm…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
6 January 2026
3 contributions
Therapeutic Play and Children’s Healthcare
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) for securing this debate on such an important topic. I am grateful to him for sharing Hari’s story, and to Hari and Sarah for making the trip to Parliament. I have always…
As I stated earlier, we are promoting the Play Well toolkit right across the country through a variety of communication methods. We look forward to a variety of healthcare settings using that toolkit to deliver in their local areas.
That moves me on to mental health. Under this Government, all chil…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
6 January 2026
Less Survivable Cancers
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank you and other Members for persevering despite my slightly tardy arrival, which was due, ironically, to the somewhat unpredictable effects of cancer chemotherapy. I am well, however, and have enjoyed the debate immensely.
Before I…
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
3 contributions
Sudden Cardiac Death in Young People
I thank my good friend, my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince), for bringing forward this debate and sharing the stories of Clarissa and Jude. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions, and I acknowledge the losses to which they have attested.
I must say that visiting the Harlow …
The hon. Member will know that all vaccines are assessed and are not issued unless they are considered safe. We collect data on conditions and potential impacts right across the medical estate. I have not seen any data that would suggest there is a link to any particular vaccine, but if there is, th…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 December 2025
2 contributions
Acquired Brain Injury Action Plan
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. I congratulate the right hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes) on securing this important debate on an issue that touches many thousands of lives across the country. I acknowledge and thank all hon. Members for …
I am just coming to that, so the right hon. Member’s intervention was very timely. As has been highlighted, the plan matters, because ABI is not just a health issue; it touches education, employment, justice, work, benefits, housing, homelessness and many other areas of life. Without co-ordinated ac…
Commons
Debate
20 November 2025
2 contributions
Children with Serious Neurological Conditions
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for West Ham and Beckton (James Asser) on securing this important debate and acknowledge the journey of his constituent Shelina Begum and the work she has done on behalf of her daughter, Tafida Raqeeb, with the establishment of the Tafida Raqeeb Foundation an…
I am more than happy to do that. All too often, we have seen that the transition is a really difficult time, and as he points out, where services are perhaps not as joined up and cohesive for adults as they are for children, that is hugely jarring—a huge problem for families to navigate. We are comm…
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 November 2025
World COPD Day
It is a pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing this timely debate, as we mark World COPD Day. As hon. Members have clearly demonstrated in this debate, tackling COPD does not lend itself to one area of activity…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 November 2025
6 contributions
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills (Tessa Munt) on securing this debate, and pay tribute to her for her continued advocacy on behalf of people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis. Her work has ensured that the voice…
I will come later in my remarks to the training that is being rolled out as part of the delivery plan.
Myalgic encephalomyelitis—better known as ME—and chronic fatigue syndrome, which I will refer to from now on as ME/CFS, is a condition that affects an estimated 390,000 people in the UK. Its sympt…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 November 2025
Parkinson’s Disease
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) for introducing the debate, as well as everyone who signed the petition for raising this important issue and the many hon. Members who contributed.
I acknowledge each one of t…
Commons
Debate
5 November 2025
Drug-related Deaths
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) on securing this debate, and I thank all hon. Members from across the House for their wide-ranging interventions. They all raise a number of important points.
The continued rise in drug-related deaths is deeply concer…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 October 2025
2 contributions
Moles: Histological Testing
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley) for this important debate and all hon. Members who have contributed. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) for raising the report …
The majority of those services are provided through community diagnostic centres. I do not have any figures to hand but I am more than happy to write to the hon. Member with whatever figures we have available.
Within those services, we have recently begun testing AI-based platforms to triage patien…