Pamela Nash
MP for Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke · Labour · United Kingdom
“By ending Tory austerity and increasing the settlement to the Scottish Government by nearly £12 billion, this UK Labour Government have provided adequate funding for the SNP to properly resource Scotland’s rural economy.”
“I appreciate that the right hon. Gentleman wants to make a political point about the Windsor framework, but does he accept that wide consultation was carried out by the Government in Northern Ireland ahead of these regulations?”
“I share the vision of my hon. Friend, and that is exactly what I for Dalzell in Motherwell. At the moment we have staff who are worried each month about whether they are going to get paid, as they see troubling headlines and hear rumours about their parent company.”
“This legislation is designed for extraordinary situations, so we are going to have to agree to disagree on that point. Motherwell remains the home of steel in Scotland.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his very helpful intervention. For the reasons I have set out, we are getting to the point where we are losing experienced staff and equipment is in danger of going out of date. Time is running out very quickly for Dalzell.”
“I completely agree with my hon. Friend. That is certainly the experience we have had in Motherwell in my constituency, where a questionable buyer for Dalzell has caused many problems. I will go into that later in my speech.”
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“Increasingly, many have had to make difficult choices every day about using their car or paying other important bills. Chapelhall, where I live, is home to many commuters. Commuters live where they can access more affordable housing, and homes are cheaper the further away they are from public transport links. Commuters also have to travel further to find jobs, as the employment market has yet to recover fully. This means that millions of commuters across the UK depend entirely on their cars to access work. Rocketing fuel costs are making work pay less. I am particularly concerned about those of my constituents living with a disability that makes it difficult to travel. Labour introduced Motability way back in the 1970s to ensure that those living with a disability who require a car in order to travel can afford it.”
“The situation is becoming impossible for those who are having to decide to give up their cars, when there are little, if any, alternative forms of transport where they live. Every rise in fuel costs places a disproportionate burden on our rural communities, and now they feel that enough is enough. It makes no sense to the Opposition that the Government, who postponed the fuel tax rise in August, seem to be ploughing ahead with this rise. Although we are cautiously coming out of a double-dip recession, most people have yet to feel this in their pockets. They are not yet seeing the difference in their bank statements at the end of the month. Incomes are still frozen, and the cost of essential bills continues to rocket. Those living in our towns are not escaping the assault on their standard of living, either.”
“The Scottish Labour party has been calling for the re-regulation of bus services, as the Scottish Government’s policies have resulted in essential routes being unsubsidised and in many cases scrapped. Although voluntary projects such as the “Getting Better Together” project, in Shotts, and our regional transport partnership, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, are working hard to fill the gaps, it will take direct action from the Government—to start with, by regulating our bus services—to fix this problem across the board. The point is that the public transport infrastructure at this point is not at a level that could possibly allow the majority of people in rural communities to give up their cars without risking their quality of life and becoming increasingly isolated.”
“I am disappointed that we have been forced to call this debate this evening. It shows just how out of touch with the public this Government are that they have yet to postpone January’s 3p increase in fuel tax. Dropping hints about the autumn statement is just not good enough at this stage. I am sure that the high volume of correspondence I have received on fuel prices is replicated among Members across the Chamber, as fuel prices are now cutting into the quality of life of each of our constituents. In particular, I have been hearing from those who live in the rural and farming areas of my constituency. Rural sparsity, combined with the ongoing decline in rural bus services and a loss of local services, means that a car is a necessity in many rural areas, not a luxury.”
“I expected more Tory Back Benchers to be in the Chamber this evening trying to explain to their constituents why they are voting against our motion on fuel duty. I suspect that many of them are watching ITV to see their colleague in the “bug burial” in the jungle. It is clear to Opposition Members, and to the thousands of constituents who have written to us about fuel duty in recent weeks and months, that the Government will be out of touch with the people of this country, who have been drastically affected by the increased cost of living, if they do not announce this evening the postponement of January’s fuel tax increase.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, but the Government have taken other measures such as increasing VAT and cutting other benefits, which have had an adverse effect on the people I am speaking about. The fact that the Office of Fair Trading is conducting an inquiry into fuel prices reflects the public’s deep concern about the cost of fuel. In press reports today, Government Back Benchers referred repeatedly to this debate as the cost of living debate; I have not heard it called the fuel duty debate at all. In his opening speech, the Minister seemed to talk about everything but fuel duty. It seems that Government Members want to talk about anything other than fuel tonight, because they know that the country is not on their side.”
“The Minister has made it clear today that it would be unacceptable for the Scottish Government to ignore the advice of the Electoral Commission on the wording of the question. Why then are there no clear consequences for this eventuality in the agreement?”
“Q8. Many of us are shocked and saddened that child poverty in the UK has become so severe and widespread that Save the Children has found it necessary to launch its first ever appeal for British children. Unfortunately, Members on the Government Benches saw fit to attack Save the Children and even accused it of publicity-seeking. Will the Prime Minister take this opportunity to distance himself from those comments, and support the report that led to this appeal?”
“On the point about recording assessments, a constituent of mine was told recently that they could record the assessment, but only if they paid for a private, independent company to come in and do it. Obviously, someone who is living on benefits cannot afford that. I wrote to the Minister at the time about the issue. I wonder whether he can deal with the recording of assessments in his closing remarks.”
“The fact that 63,500 people are in limbo is a disgrace, and waiting for appeal results is damaging people’s health, particularly those who have mental health problems. What is the Minister doing to try to rectify the situation, and when can we expect waiting times for appeals to be at a reasonable level?”
“There are encouraging times when my fellow activists and I meet people face to face and they realise we aren’t the child-molesting monsters depicted in the media. They realise we are human, we are Ugandan, just like them.” The right to marry is far from the minds of homosexuals in Uganda. All they are asking for at the moment is the freedom to live their lives without fear and discrimination—or possibly, even, the freedom to live at all. The message that I have from activists for homosexual rights in Uganda is that they do not want our country to withdraw aid from theirs. As they told me, they need to eat, too, and they need health care, too. What they want is for us to use our influence and discuss human rights for everyone in Uganda, as we are doing today.”
“Talking so openly about sex and relationships can be difficult in our own culture and society, never mind in Uganda, but it is imperative that we frame the concerns in the context of human rights abuses, rather than solely talking about gay rights. The things that have happened are human rights abuses. As I have said, I am privileged enough to have visited the beautiful country of Uganda several times, and it is close to my heart. Like many countries, Uganda has a huge diversity of cultures, peoples, attitudes and beliefs. We cannot assume that the intolerance and hatred that are propagated in some sections of the press are reflected in the whole of society in Uganda. As Frank Mugisha has said: “Still, I continue to hope.”
“They have helped to perpetuate myths associating homosexuality with paedophilia, and politicised an issue that had previously remained underground for many years. When I was in Uganda, I saw publications such as Rolling Stone , which was allowed to out homosexual men in Kampala, leading to horrific violent attacks against them. However, outsiders can make a positive difference, too, and I welcome the strong line that the UK Government have so far taken with countries that impose harsher penalties for men who have sex with men. International pressure played a huge role in the withdrawal of the anti-homosexuality Bill in Uganda last year, and I hope that that will continue. The issue is a difficult and controversial one to raise.”
“To make progress against the HIV epidemic we must encourage Uganda to take a pragmatic, public-health orientated approach, much like the one I saw when visiting Kenya, Uganda’s neighbour. There, even though homosexuality remains an offence, reaching out to homosexuals and educating them about the risk of HIV and how to protect themselves is seen as a public health matter and beyond that legislation. What works is to respect human rights, including the human rights of men who have sex with men, to enable to them to get access to HIV prevention and education services. One of the most challenging aspects of the issue is that myths surrounding homosexuals and their activities are propagated by outsiders in Uganda.”
“Not only would that be a retrograde step for human rights, but it could be severely damaging for public health in Uganda, given the HIV epidemic that still has hold of the country. Criminalising a section of the population that is highly at risk of contracting HIV and denying people access to basic services, health care and education about the epidemic undermines individual human rights and could pose a devastating threat to public health in a country where more than 1 million people have been diagnosed as HIV-positive. Such a situation would be further undermined by the Bill on HIV and AIDS control and prevention that threatens not only the confidentiality of clients, but efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.”
“His name was David Kato, and he was the executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda. His brutal murder in his own home shocked people throughout the world, including many Members present in the Chamber today. As chair of the all-party group on HIV and AIDS, I have been privileged to work with David’s successor, Frank Mugisha, who I am pleased to say was recently awarded the Robert F. Kennedy human rights award. He is respected in the United States and in this country for his work in Uganda, and he is currently risking his life to lead the fight against the anti-homosexuality Bill that is going through the Ugandan Parliament at the moment. As we know, that Bill could introduce the death penalty for homosexuals in Uganda.”
“She said that she felt stigmatised and was no longer accepted in her village, and she was left on her own to look after her children. With the support of VSO, Betty and other women and children like her have been able to set up their own businesses. Betty now has her own bakery in Gulu in northern Uganda. Help is getting to the area, but I ask the Government to do what they can to support such ventures and help the rehabilitation of victims of that war. I wish to touch on another subject that has been briefly mentioned today and concerns human rights, which is the situation of homosexuals in Uganda and the abuse and vilification of that community. Last year, shortly after I returned from Uganda, the first man to live openly as a homosexual in Uganda paid the ultimate price—his life—for standing up for the courage of his convictions.”
“Voluntary Service Overseas is working with young people in north Uganda to empower them with skills to develop their own businesses. One of those young people is Betty, and a synopsis of her story will provide a good example of the tens of thousands of children that VSO is helping. Betty was abducted aged just 15 and immediately married to an older man who was a lieutenant in the LRA. She was forced to kill people with an axe. She once tried to escape with a group of other women, but when they were caught, she was beaten with 100 strokes and still has health complications as a result of that attack. When she did finally escape, she discovered that she was HIV positive and had to return to her village with two children as a result of her marriage.”
“Although the LRA has now been driven from Uganda, it is still active in the regions. Tragically, as the hon. Gentleman stated, tens of thousands of people in Uganda are still suffering from the aftermath of Joseph Kony’s terror spree. Families are displaced from their homes and villages. Men, women and children are living with the shame of being raped under Kony’s command, while others have to cope every day with the disabilities forced on them after being mutilated by the LRA. Joseph Kony remains a wanted and indicted war criminal, and I hope that the attention that has shone on him through the campaign will lead ultimately to his capture. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the many non-governmental organisations that are working in the area to rehabilitate former child soldiers who were captured by the LRA.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray, and to follow the hon. Member for The Cotswolds (Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) in the debate. I was in Uganda for the 2010 elections, and to see the deterioration in the atmosphere in Uganda and the violent acts taking place at the moment was horrific. I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing today’s debate. His speech touched on the effect of “Kony 2012”, which was astonishing, mobilising people throughout the world. While there has been some criticism of the film, the intention was clearly to simplify the issue and to communicate it to the masses, which it certainly did. Young people took to the streets in cities throughout the world during the weekend to show solidarity with the victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army in the great lakes region.”
“I have had similar conversations with Ugandan politicians. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important to ensure that we are not seen as promoting a view or way of life on Ugandan people, but that the issue is human rights abuse? We need countries throughout the world to exert the sort of pressure that the UK Government are exerting. We must work with other Governments to ensure that we are not seen as an old colonial power imposing a belief on Ugandan people.”
“Some 70% of respondents to the UK consultation felt that 2014 was too long to wait to decide Scotland’s constitutional future. Businesses and financial institutions in my constituency have made it clear that this state of limbo is damaging the economy in Scotland. Has the Secretary of State received similar representations from businesses elsewhere in Scotland?”
“They take one that is not fair on women, who are disproportionately affected by this Budget; not fair on young people, many of whom are being left to linger without education, employment or training; not fair on families, who are facing a reduction in child benefit and tax credits at a time when the cost of living is spiralling out of control; and not fair on pensioners, who have now been saddled with additional taxation. So who is it fair on? The answer is the Chancellor’s chums and the Prime Minister’s pals—their dining buddies. This Budget, sadly, contained the same old damaging policies from the same old Tories, helping the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”
“Our national five-point plan includes a tax on bank bonuses to fund 100,000 jobs for young people, and a tax break for small and medium-sized businesses. That is exactly where our focus should be: on keeping Britain working. Labour’s real jobs guarantee would help 115 young people in my constituency. Locally, it is our Labour council that is the last line of defence against the cuts. North Lanarkshire council has an action plan, which will get 5,000 people back into work over the next three years, and it is already helping local SMEs. This is the action Labour takes when facing a jobs crisis. This Government, however, take a different path.”
“Perhaps my constituents would understand such measures if they could see that the Government’s “austerity plan” was actually working. However, it is delivering nothing but pain for hard-working families and vulnerable people across the UK. It is certainly not delivering growth, and the Chancellor is now being forced to borrow £150 billion more than he had planned in his spending review. He might need to arrange a few more dinner parties. Most importantly, the Government’s plan is not delivering jobs. Young people are facing employment prospects that are as bleak as in the darkest days of Thatcher’s “price worth paying” economic policy. More than 1 million of them are now out of work. Long-term youth unemployment has more than doubled in my constituency in the last year. It is therefore left to the Labour party to fight for jobs.”
“The Westminster Government, the devolved Assemblies and local councils must protect and sustain these valuable projects, not view them as easy targets. That was the good news. Unfortunately, the rest of the Budget was bad news. Last week’s Budget—and, indeed, the plentiful newspaper reports that preceded it—laid out a plan that will burden the many, not the few. On Friday, I was joined by my right hon. Friend the Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr Murphy) during a visit to New Wellwynd church’s lunch club in Airdrie. Many of the people there were senior citizens, and it soon became clear just how angry they were about the Government’s new granny tax. Some 370,000 pensioners in Scotland will be affected by the personal allowance change, while a mere 16,000 will benefit from the removal of the 50p top rate of tax.”
“It may surprise Members to learn that I shall begin by saying something positive about the Budget. I welcome its announcement of a range of measures—such as improving gift aid—that are designed to encourage more people to give to charities, including those working in the arts. However, I agree with Mark Pemberton, chief executive of the Association of British Orchestras, who has urged that any increase in private donations is not used to replace sustained local and national public investment, especially now that tax reliefs have been capped. At a time when public funding is being slashed, local projects—such as Reeltime, a community music project in my constituency—are in a very vulnerable position.”
“My constituents who work at Remploy in Wishaw in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Mr Roy) have been coming to me for the last year to express their fear that what has been announced this evening would happen. After having been sacked so unceremoniously today, without an earlier statement or even a phone call, I do not think they will agree with the Minister that they have been set free. If she has made this announcement from the goodness of her heart and to encourage more disabled people into mainstream employment, why is she not ensuring that each Remploy employee has a new job before she lays them off?”
“I thank the Minister for that answer. The Prime Minister told this House on 14 December and again on 23 January that his Government will not be cutting benefits for disabled children. Given that almost 8,000 children in Scotland will lose £1,400 a year through the child tax credit changes, does the Minister agree that the Prime Minister was plain wrong and clearly does not understand his own policy?”
“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this crucial debate. My constituents share the same assessment centre that my hon. Friend’s constituents use in Hamilton, and their experiences suggest that the building is not suitable for carrying out a work capability assessment. It has no disabled access and the car park is 80 yards from the front door. People are only supposed to walk 40 yards, and they feel as if they are being tricked before the assessment takes place. Another problem is that information is unofficially gathered during the assessments. One of my constituents is deaf, but he was told that he could not possibly be deaf because he heard his name being called in the waiting room. Clearly, while he was waiting he was looking at the door in order to lip-read. Have my hon.”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that the issue is not just the assessment’s inability to assess mental health issues, but the lack of sensitivity that is shown? That causes stress for people who are already under extreme pressure and who are suffering from mental health issues, including depression and anxiety.”
“It is good to know that the Secretary of State is earning his salary. He has clearly had a very busy couple of weeks. In recent years, the partnership between MacMillan Cancer Support and the Citizens Advice Bureau has provided thousands of cancer sufferers with crucial benefits advice, but unfortunately the service is being cut throughout the United Kingdom. That includes the Lanarkshire service, which is based in Airdrie. Does the Secretary of State agree that, as the local authority cuts imposed by this Government and the Scottish Government take hold, this essential service cannot be allowed to disappear, and will he consider ways in which the Government can support it financially to enable it to continue?”
“Once diagnosed, people can receive HIV treatment that dramatically reduces levels of the virus in the body, so that the risk of transmission can be reduced to almost zero. This year I was surprised by the results of a remarkable clinical trial in South Africa that proved that putting people on medication for HIV can reduce the risk of transmission by an enormous 96%. That has extraordinary ramifications for efforts to tackle the HIV epidemic around the world and makes the need for the early diagnosis of HIV all the more pressing. It is estimated that 51% of all people with HIV in the UK have undetectable levels of the virus. That is great news, although the UK should aim to increase that percentage to at least 65% over the next four years.”
“Half of all cases of HIV in the UK are diagnosed late, meaning a greater cost to public health and the public purse. HIV is spreading for many reasons, but principally because of high levels of undiagnosed HIV, too few people with HIV receiving stable treatment, persistent risk-taking behaviour, and a lack of HIV awareness. That is set against a dangerous backdrop of inconsistent sex and relationships education in our schools and beyond. Early diagnosis of HIV for one person can obviously translate into prevention of the disease for their future sexual partners. People diagnosed with HIV are far less likely to pass the virus to others, as they can take steps to prevent transmission such as using a condom.”
“The needle exchange programme that he introduced is a good example of that work, and it changed the course of the epidemic, particularly in Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland. In September this year, the Committee concluded that the Government’s current policies on tackling HIV in the UK are “woefully inadequate.” I will focus on some of the report’s recommendations, and I look forward to the Minister setting out the Government’s response to that report. I will start with some startling headline figures. Some 30 years after the virus was discovered, almost 100,000 people in the UK live with HIV. Newly diagnosed cases of HIV among young people have risen by 48% over the past decade, and it is estimated that about a quarter of those living with HIV in the UK do not know that they have the virus.”
“One year ago in this Chamber, he spoke on this topic with eloquence and passion, and he consistently spoke out against the stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV both in the UK and overseas. I am glad that his work continues in the all-party group and through the David Cairns Foundation set up in his name, which was launched last week. The House of Lords Committee on HIV and AIDS, led by the vice-chair of the all-party group and former Health Minister, Lord Fowler, recently published a report on HIV in the UK. Lord Fowler has done much to champion the cause over his long and distinguished career, and I believe that many owe their lives to the work he carried out as HIV began to take hold in the United Kingdom.”
“I am grateful to have secured this debate during the week in which world AIDS day is marked. The HIV virus was discovered 30 years ago, since when it has claimed the lives of more than 30 million people throughout the world, including 20,000 in the UK. Over the past 20 years, we have seen remarkable progress in the medication available to people living with HIV, including today’s welcome approval of a drug that will provide triple antiretroviral therapy in a single tablet taken once a day. That does not, however, diminish the fact that there is still no vaccine or cure for HIV, and more efforts must be made to prevent the transmission of the virus. Let me take this opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor as chair of the all-party group on HIV and AIDS, the late David Cairns.”
“Within local authorities, HIV prevention work is likely to face strong competition for funding within constrained budgets. A fragmented health care system will not deliver the results that we desperately need, or enable us to make headway against the rising tide of new HIV infections. We do not want a postcode lottery, or for sexual health services to be sidelined because of local sensitivities.”
“That compares with an enormous £762 million spent on treatment. Preventing one infection avoids lifetime treatment costs for HIV of between £280,000 and £360,000, but as local service cuts kick in throughout the country, HIV prevention programmes are being reduced. Under the new NHS structure, local HIV prevention work, campaigns and testing will be commissioned by local authorities, leading—we hope—to additional national campaigns, but I am concerned about the possible fragmentation and subsequent prioritisation of prevention work between HIV treatment that is commissioned nationally by the commissioning board, prevention and testing work commissioned by local authorities, and national campaigns overseen by Public Health England.”
“It is clear from the House of Lords report that home-testing kits ordered from overseas, usually over the internet, are already in use in the UK. If legalised, that practice could be regulated and allow people to test themselves securely and safely in their own home, again producing savings for public health and the public purse. How else can we prevent the transmission of the HIV virus? The House of Lords report stated: “More resources must be provided at national and local levels… The current levels of investment in national HIV prevention programmes are insufficient to provide the level of intervention required.” Hon. Members may be surprised to learn that the Department of Health currently spends just £2.9 million a year on two national HIV prevention programmes for gay men and black Africans.”
“Doctors and patients must be more aware of the primary infection symptoms of HIV. Incentivising HIV testing, particularly in areas with a high prevalence of HIV, is vital to ensure that people are diagnosed in time. One powerful incentive would be to ensure the inclusion of the late HIV diagnosis indicator in the Government’s revised public health outcomes framework. We have heard several times that a decision on that will be made later in the year. Will the Minister assure hon. Members that that indicator will be included, or at least say when the Department will reach a final decision? As I understand it, the Department is investigating the possibility of legalising home-testing kits. I look forward to the outcome of that investigation.”
“I completely agree with the Secretary of State’s remarks. I raised the issue during Deputy Prime Minister’s questions last week. I hope that the coalition will take that aim on board and that it will be raised by the Prime Minister. The all-party group on HIV and AIDS is a member of the “Halve It” coalition that campaigns for levels of late-diagnosed and undiagnosed HIV to be halved in five years through more testing. That will help to stop the spread of HIV, improve health outcomes for those living with the virus, and in the long term save the Government money. Patients and doctors have a large role to play. A study of people of sub-Saharan African origin in the UK who were diagnosed late with HIV found that three quarters had visited a doctor in the year preceding their diagnosis.”
“Despite the very high increase in the number of young women contracting HIV, when I speak to my friends about this issue I find they rarely regard themselves as at risk. Unbelievably, earlier this year, an Ipsos MORI poll found that one in five people do not realise that HIV is transmitted through sex without a condom between a man and a woman, and the same proportion do not know that HIV is passed on through sex without a condom between two men.”
“We can certainly campaign on the matter. I will be happy to discuss that with the hon. Gentleman outside the Chamber. He makes a very important point: this issue is not just about the NHS and the Health and Social Care Bill in England, but about achieving agreements with the other Assemblies and Parliaments in the United Kingdom to ensure nationwide consistency in the treatment and support for people living with HIV. I shall now discuss public awareness in the UK. Twenty-five years ago, Lord Fowler led huge public health campaigns about the virus. Leaflets were sent to every household in the country and there were very visible television campaigns. However, public awareness of HIV has undoubtedly fallen during the past 10 years. For my generation, it is just not a priority any more.”
“The all-party group has consistently campaigned for the Government to put more funding into another national 1980s-style campaign. I hope that today’s debate and the events taking place throughout the week will get the message across to the Government that it is necessary to have that style of campaign again. An increasing proportion of adults—about 10% at the moment—incorrectly believe that HIV can be transmitted through impossible routes, such as kissing and spitting. That is not helped by scaremongering media reporting. There was recently a report in Edinburgh about a couple who, when being arrested by the police, had bitten a police officer. Both members of the couple were HIV-positive, and that was the primary headline in the Scottish media, much to my disappointment.”
“Yes, that is a crucial point. I hope that any future public campaign would incorporate looking at the stigma about the virus. Unfortunately, in the meantime, it persists. That is why I would also push for the home testing kits to become available, but that is not the ultimate solution. In a recent study in east London, one in three people living with HIV said that they had been victims of discrimination, but most alarmingly the study showed that half of all that discrimination was in the health care system. The Department of Health must take a lead on tackling stigma and develop training resources for its staff that are aimed at stopping such discrimination. Those resources must be used by all current and new NHS and professional bodies.”
“The Government must ensure that the performance of HIV social care is effectively and consistently measured, and that the needs of people living with HIV are reflected in the social care outcomes framework. It is also clear that NICE must prioritise a social care quality standard for HIV. To conclude, I am proud that the UK has nobly led the international community during the last 30 years in the response to AIDS, advocating universal access to HIV treatment throughout the world for all those who need it. It is my great hope that that leadership role will continue to be performed by the current Government, particularly at a time when we have such an incredible opportunity to improve the quality of life for those living with HIV, to make a dramatic impact on the number of new infections and to stamp out this epidemic for good.”
“Social care can also play a crucial role in dealing with the new phenomenon of the increasing number of older people who are living with HIV. It is clear that the Government understand the value of HIV social care. That is shown by the inclusion of a specific funding line for HIV/AIDS support in the formula grant. However, local authorities are no longer required to report on the spending of that grant to the Department of Health and we have heard of several cases—for example, in Hertfordshire and Leicestershire—where money for HIV/AIDS support has been siphoned off into other areas of spending. Once that expertise in HIV/AIDS support has been lost, it will be difficult to recover.”
“The Government also cited the British HIV Association’s clinical guidelines, but the guidelines do not address the need to co-ordinate specialist HIV services with other services. We in the all-party group urge the Government to act on the Lords’ Committee’s recommendations. People with HIV live with a fluctuating, long-term condition. However, like many other people with long-term conditions, with the right support, people with HIV can play a full and productive part in society. Social care services are being cut across many local authorities and are often limited to the most severely disabled people. It is not acceptable to limit social care only to the most acute cases. Social care has a vital preventive function, particularly in treating fluctuating conditions such as HIV.”
“Numerous clinical guidelines relate to care and support for people with HIV, but there is no coherent and authoritative guidance that integrates clinical, social and psychological care and covers the different stages and eventualities of the condition. Integrated guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence or a national care pathway would help to make the responsibilities of different bodies and professionals clearer and make service provision more consistent and cost-effective. The House of Lords’ report recommended that NICE develop treatment and care standards for HIV patients, and the Government’s response acknowledged that they should consider the value that NICE could add in developing standards for HIV.”