Alison McGovern
MP for Birkenhead · Labour · United Kingdom
“That is the approach that we have set out in our 10-year capital plan for health and social care. The challenges at North Tees reflect a much wider problem across the NHS estate. For too long, capital investment was insufficient and short term, with capital budgets repeatedly raided to meet day-to-day pressures.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As I was just mentioning, I will make sure that the Minister responsible hears my hon. Friend’s point and the discussion we have had in this debate and that they can take forward that strategic discussion about the future. I also hope and anticipate that I will be able to answer the questions from the hon.”
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“Instead of having to plan from one year to the next, NHS leaders can look ahead, prioritise investment over several years and develop longer-term plans for their estates and services. Thirdly, we are giving local leaders greater autonomy about how that investment is used.”
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“I have heard the case that hon. Members have made about the University Hospital of North Tees becoming part of the new hospital programme. As the hon.”
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“That builds on £2.7 million already invested in the emergency assessment unit to increase capacity and improve patient flow, safety and experience. We are also investing directly in services across Tees Valley more widely.”
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“We want to ensure that local leaders have a strong foundation to make decisions, and multi-year funding allows them to look beyond immediate pressures, consider investment across their estate and develop credible plans over a longer period. Given what the hon.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“However, I will make sure that the Minister with direct responsibility hears all of the points that he makes, and I am going to do my best to respond to the questions he has asked.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I congratulate the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers) on securing this important debate. It is good to hear him rightly put across the strength of feeling that I am sure many people in Stockton and elsewhere nearby have in support of the staff of the hospital and how people feel about it. It is very important to the communities that it serves, and patients and staff rightly deserve facilities that are safe, modern and fit to deliver high-quality care. I must offer a brief apology to the hon. Member. I am obviously not the Minister directly responsible for this area—we have a clash, unfortunately, which is why I am responding.”
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“That builds on £2.7 million already invested in the emergency assessment unit to increase capacity and improve patient flow, safety and experience. We are also investing directly in services across Tees Valley more widely. In 2025, the trust received more than £4 million to expand the Tees Valley community diagnostic centre, which we have discussed, as part of our £343 million expansion of community and crisis mental health services. New facilities are planned in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, alongside a dedicated mental health emergency department at Roseberry Park. Together, this sits within £671 million of planned capital investment to support improved NHS performance in secondary and emergency care across the North East and Yorkshire region over the next four years.”
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“The North Tees and Hartlepool NHS foundation trust has already been allocated more than £3.2 million through the estates safety fund for vital repairs at North Tees and Hartlepool hospitals over the next four years. That sits alongside more than £78 million in operational capital for local priorities, including repairs at North Tees. However, I say again that the Ministers responsible and others are aware of this debate and the points that Members have quite rightly raised about the consequences of the current position and what staff are dealing with. The Government recently announced £1 million to refurbish the emergency department at North Tees over two years as part of our £140 million boost to NHS urgent care.”
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“Importantly, the fund gives local NHS leaders greater flexibility to prioritise that investment against the most pressing infrastructure risks across the region. The hon. Member for Stockton West asked some questions on funding and what routes are open. This funding means that the case for further investment at North Tees can be considered through that process, making sure that local priorities drive decision making. The longer-term funding certainty we have provided means that decisions can be made on strategic plans for the estate, rather than short-term pressures alone—although I acknowledge the point that has been made about flooding and so on.”
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“I have heard the case that hon. Members have made about the University Hospital of North Tees becoming part of the new hospital programme. As the hon. Member for Stockton West mentioned, there are currently no plans to invite further schemes to join the programme, as our focus is on delivering the existing schemes set out in the plan for implementation. However, the new hospital programme is not the only route through which we are investing in the NHS estate. As I have set out, we are providing significant long-term capital investment through the estates safety fund and operational capital programmes to expand and modernise services, alongside the certainty and flexibility I have mentioned. Over the next nine years, more than £1.1 billion is planned through the estates safety fund for the North East and Yorkshire region.”
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“Instead of having to plan from one year to the next, NHS leaders can look ahead, prioritise investment over several years and develop longer-term plans for their estates and services. Thirdly, we are giving local leaders greater autonomy about how that investment is used. We are devolving more control to the frontline, streamlining capital approvals, giving local leaders greater freedom to invest according to local need, helping projects to move forward more quickly and delivering better value for money for taxpayers. This matters, because those closest to patients are best placed to understand what their communities need. We are giving them more investment, greater certainty over the resources available and greater freedom to decide how those resources can best support local services, which brings me back to North Tees.”
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“We are also investing around £5 billion over the spending review period to expand and modernise diagnostic, elective, mental health and emergency services, helping to increase capacity, cut waiting times and improve urgent and emergency care performance, as mentioned by Members in the debate already. Secondly, we are providing greater certainty over that investment. We are providing £65 billion over 10 years for operational capital and estate maintenance, giving the NHS unprecedented long-term certainty to plan and improve its estate. For the first time, providers have multi-year, operational capital allocations alongside longer-term certainty over estate maintenance funding.”
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“First, we are investing more. After years of under-investment, we are providing the largest health capital budget in NHS history, with annual spending rising to £15 billion by the end of this spending review period. Within that, we are targeting funding where the need is greatest. The estates safety fund, established in 2025-26, will be provided with £6.75 billion over the next nine years to tackle the poorest-quality parts of the NHS estate and to ensure safe environments for patients and staff. That sits alongside around £21 billion in operational capital over the spending review period, empowering local health organisations to invest in their priorities, including their estates.”
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“That is the approach that we have set out in our 10-year capital plan for health and social care. The challenges at North Tees reflect a much wider problem across the NHS estate. For too long, capital investment was insufficient and short term, with capital budgets repeatedly raided to meet day-to-day pressures. The result is an estate carrying the consequences of years of under-investment, and hon. Members have set out the consequences people are living with. Previous Governments allowed these pressures to build, leaving too many NHS buildings ageing and in poor condition. Patients and staff across the country are living with the consequences. We cannot undo that legacy overnight, but we can change the way the NHS invests in its buildings—moving away from short-term fixes towards sustained investment and proper long-term planning.”
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“As I was just mentioning, I will make sure that the Minister responsible hears my hon. Friend’s point and the discussion we have had in this debate and that they can take forward that strategic discussion about the future. I also hope and anticipate that I will be able to answer the questions from the hon. Member for Stockton West in the contribution that I am going to make. If that is not the case, we will certainly follow up in writing with him and with other Members in Tees as well. We recognise the need to plan for the hospital’s long-term future for all the reasons that Members have set out and which are understood. That requires three things: more investment in the NHS estate, greater certainty so that investment can be planned over the long term, and greater autonomy for local leaders to decide how it is best used.”
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“However, we must use the opportunity to plan for the longer-term future of North Tees hospital to get a clinically led and affordable plan that is supported by a clear business case—not planning one year at a time, but being able to look to the long term with that investment, greater certainty and more autonomy as tools to plan properly for the future of the services and the estate.”
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“We want to ensure that local leaders have a strong foundation to make decisions, and multi-year funding allows them to look beyond immediate pressures, consider investment across their estate and develop credible plans over a longer period. Given what the hon. Member said in this debate, there are clearly two jobs to be done: first, to try to deal with the problems in front of us at North Tees hospital; and, secondly, to develop a longer-term plan for the future in a credible way. I hope that some of the decisions that we have taken will enable those jobs to be done. These are significant problems that we are discussing and, as I have already said, I am realistic about our ability to deal overnight with what is a substantial and strategic problem.”
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“As MPs, we frequently have a huge amount of local intel about how to make services work best and I encourage all my colleagues in the NHS to work with MPs and to use the local knowledge that they have. However, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS foundation trust, working with the local NHS, is best placed to assess the needs of its patients, determine the right model of care and plan the infrastructure required to deliver it. The hon. Member for Stockton West asked me some questions about A&E and management numbers. I have just talked about the importance of the insights that MPs have and I encourage local NHS leaders to listen to what he and other colleagues have said in this debate when they are making decisions.”
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“I thank my hon. Friend for asking me a question that is actually within my direct responsibilities, which does make my life slightly easier. The issue that he raises regarding the suitability of location is very important. It is one that I am considering through our work on the mental health strategy. If he would like to have a discussion with me about it, alongside local leaders, I would be more than happy to agree to that. In addition, decisions about the future of local services and estates should be shaped by those who understand them best, and I will take this opportunity to say on the record that that includes Members of Parliament. Too often, MPs have not played that role.”
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“I heard what he said about the importance of North Tees hospital to the people that it serves, which just goes to show what a foundational role the NHS plays for all of us in our family life. I commend the hon. Member for Stockton West for securing this debate today. We have a lot of work to do to get the NHS back to what it should be; we are in a turnaround process. It will be hard, but if we work together collaboratively, with one eye on the immediate term and one eye on the long term, we will get the job done. Question put and agreed to.”
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“I meet Members of Parliament, from all parties, regularly. I am always happy to agree to meetings with Members of Parliament, and I am sure that my ministerial colleagues feel likewise. Regarding the mayor, we have obviously created new institutions, such as the mayoral council, so that mayors can make representations directly to Government, and I am sure that the mayor is capable of doing that. I will also make sure that, when I follow up on this debate, the Secretary of State is aware of the question that the hon. Member has asked. As I finish my remarks, I will return to the hon. Member’s opening comments about the importance of hospital facilities to local communities, wherever they are in the country.”
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“We commissioned the independent Fonagy review, which made it clear that mental distress has increased for young people and particularly young women. That is why we have already improved mental health support in schools for young people, and we will publish a new mental health strategy by Christmas.”
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“Of course my hon. Friend can meet me to discuss stand-up comedy—I would like nothing more. Clinical services are important. We are already asking ICBs to reduce the longest waits for children and young people, and we have had a 14% decrease, but good mental health for young people goes way beyond that. My hon. Friend knows that I love art, sport and culture as much as he does.”
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“As you know, Mr Speaker, I always meet any Member who asks me to, but it may be that another Minister would be more relevant for the hon. Member’s health centre. We will check that and ensure he has the right meeting, because it sounds like a great community resource.”
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“I refer the shadow Minister to the Fonagy review. It details the causes, which started before covid, of the rise in mental distress for young people. As I mentioned a moment ago, we are already asking ICBs to reduce the longest wait, and we have seen some successes with that, but we have way more to do to address this challenge. We will have more to say in the mental health strategy that will be published soon.”
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“It is no surprise to me, given my hon. Friend’s record of campaigning on this and many other issues, and the work that she did in opposition and in government, that she would be in such august company to discuss this matter. I pay tribute to her and all the campaigners, because osteoporosis can have a devastating impact on health. She knows we are committed to improving care, in particular by rolling out state-of-the-art scanners, and I am sure we will meet soon to discuss it.”
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“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for all her work with hospices and others on palliative and end-of-life care. I think everybody right across this House wants to see it improved. We have a modern service framework on its way, and as part of the national care service that we are working on, we will make sure that we care for the dying in a much better way in this country.”
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“I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. On such an important issue, I will of course meet him. We have had a number of very important debates on this issue, which shows how important Members across the House think this is.”
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“I would like to thank my hon. Friend for his question and, through him, to pass on my concerns to the family he mentions. I will write to him on what the CQC is doing. Baroness Louise Casey has recommended some safeguarding steps that we should take urgently, which we are doing—we have a new national safeguarding board—and I will draw the chief social worker’s attention to the case he mentions.”
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“The hon. Lady makes an excellent point. The research is good, and the crisis we are seeing in some hospitals as we turn the ship around is because we have not grappled with the issue of social care. We must make sure people are cared for in their own homes, and we must do that consistently to help our NHS.”
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“Today we have the chance to carry her generation’s torch into the 21st century, and to leave to our children and grandchildren something as significant as the creation of the NHS. We are ripping off the plaster. I commend this statement to the House.”
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“I urge colleagues to think of not just the consequences of inaction, but what it means for our constituents if we get this right. In place of fear, the rising population of elderly people we represent can grow old in a good society. Instead of corridor care, we would have a thriving NHS, in which unnecessary admission was prevented and people who become unwell recovered quickly and enjoyed their life. Care workers would be recognised for their work, and all of us would gain peace of mind about what happens later in life. When Audrey began her lifetime of service to our country, she was part of a generation that left the greatest legacy that anyone could hope to build. It meant that when a person falls ill, they never have to worry about the bill.”
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“I do not pretend that it is easy, but our pensioners deserve security and peace of mind. Our national care service will be better for them, families and the NHS. It will ease the pressures we see today; failings in our social care system mean that many pensioners are kept in hospital for longer than they need or want to be, because social care beds are unavailable. The cost of inaction will only be more pressure on the NHS through more ambulance call-outs, more A&E admissions, more corridor care and more people stuck in hospital when they do not have to be there. We are at a crossroads. Our choice is: either pay the financial and human cost of the failed system that we have now, or build the national care service, stabilise our public finances and enable people to live happier and healthier lives.”
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“As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions said on Tuesday, “A good retirement…is about more than income.” —[ Official Report , 13 October 2026; Vol. 791, c. 198.] There are those who say that we cannot afford the national care service; I say that they are asking the country to pay for the cost of failure. This issue is not going away. If our response to the test of an ageing population is simply to find an even larger bucket of sand to stick our heads in, the impact on the NHS—already plain for all to see—will only grow worse. If the decade after 2010 taught me anything, it is that we do not save money by tearing chunks out of the fabric of our society and then making the NHS pick up the pieces. Most importantly, if we improve population health, people will have a much better quality of life.”
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“Today, I can give the House the update that digital records are now used by 84% of care providers, compared with just 72% when this Government took office, and 92% of people who draw on care are now benefiting from that modernisation. We are supporting the adoption of preventive technology that was the stuff of science fiction just 10 years ago—home monitoring kits to identify infections early, reminders to avoid missed medication, and specialised sensors to detect and prevent falls. If we can put the best technology in the hands of skilled and emotionally intelligent people, the result will be working-age adults with self-determination, choice and independence in life, and older people at home for longer, in better health, and with a much, much better chance of dying at home, in comfort and in dignity, when the time comes.”
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“We will introduce the first fair pay agreement in adult social care, backed by half a billion pounds. It will put care workers under the protective umbrella of collective bargaining and give them the power that they deserve—not just as a one-off, but forever. For unpaid carers, we have announced the biggest expansion to the carer’s allowance since the 1970s. We will soon appoint the first unpaid carers’ champion to be a voice for people who provide unpaid care. For too long, social care has been a Cinderella service, with care staff held back by not having the tools they need to look after people. Recently, however, we have been making good progress. Digital social care records are helping to reduce paperwork and improving the quality of information available to staff, which is vital for good care and saving precious time.”
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“Yesterday, I spoke to our partners at Skills for Care about our workforce action plan. At the heart of this is a commitment not just to older generations who need care, but to younger generations who just need their chance in life. Being unemployed for any period can damage someone’s confidence, but doing a skilled job like social care can give people a sense of pride, and a pay packet they earn themselves. That is why we will offer thousands more academy places to help young jobseekers into good jobs in care, and are bringing in the first national collective pension scheme dedicated to care workers; and it is why we have already passed the Employment Rights Act 2025, which gave more than a million people—many of them care workers—access to sick pay, and raised the minimum wage.”
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“We on the Government Benches remember that we were elected on a manifesto that said that we would build a national care service, improve the lives of the people who draw on care, and build a system that puts people before profit, and we are already working hard to deliver Baroness Casey’s early recommendations, whether on motor neurone disease, dementia or safeguarding. That is why the Prime Minister has taken the decision to build a national care service, with free personal care, adjusting the triple lock to make it possible. Baroness Casey will report next summer; meanwhile, we will prepare the ground now for the new service. I am sick of people looking down their nose at social care staff, who do a highly skilled job that could provide the young people of this country with a great career.”
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“We are all looking forward to the findings of Baroness Casey’s important review, but the truth is that we cannot afford to wait for her to finish that work before getting on with the job. Ask any family who have gone through the nightmare of trying to sort out care for their loved ones—the status quo cannot be accepted. Beyond the immediate impact on families, the NHS is paying the price of our failure to get a grip; hospitals are dealing with 999 calls from a failing care system, and we have the appalling spectacle of corridor care in hospitals across the country. If we carry on like this, our broken social care system will break the NHS, too. We cannot let that happen.”
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“The first reason is who does most of the care. I can explain this simply in three words: working-class women. Working-class women never get a fair hearing in this country, but those in social care need to be heard right now. The second reason is what happens to people when they experience a failing care system. It is not that people do not like talking about getting old; too many people who go through our care system are traumatised by the experience, and it is too hard for them to talk about it. As the Prime Minister said at the Labour party conference, social care workers often feel invisible. Who can blame them, when 80% of care workers working for independent providers receive within 10% of the minimum wage?”
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“These incredible women show what a wonderful thing it is that people are living longer—more grandparents are living to see their grandchildren as adults—but it also sets a test for our generation of politicians. When Audrey began her career, there were fewer than 6 million people aged over 65 in the UK; today, that figure is over 13 million. According to the Office for National Statistics, by 2050, 18 million people will be aged 65 and over; the number aged 75 and over will rise to more than 10 million; and the number aged 85 and over will have doubled. As the Prime Minister said yesterday, we cannot turn away from the question of social care. People who depend on care deserve better, and the dedicated staff deserve better, too. This issue of social care has often been overlooked for two reasons.”
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“With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, before I make a statement on the creation of the national care service, I want to pay my own tribute to Sir David Amess and his family. We are all thinking of them today, and I am reflecting in particular on how much Sir David gave to this House. It is in the news this week that Audrey Joughin is celebrating almost 80 years of service in the NHS. This remarkable lady has been working in the NHS since the day it was founded in 1948, and today she is volunteering at the Royal Liverpool hospital. I want to also wish a happy birthday to my constituent Vibeke Nicklin, who is turning 80, having spent 60 years as a nurse caring for patients. When I read about these women, I feel nothing but pride; to know that they are from my home town in Merseyside just about makes my heart burst.”
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“What we mean by personal care is help using the toilet, cleaning, having a shower and so on—”
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“I thank the shadow Health Secretary for his response. I will try to respond to his questions, but if I miss anything I will follow up in writing afterwards. Let me say to him that he is absolutely right that while politics is what it is, as much as possible we want to work across the House on this issue. For that reason, I would be very happy to meet with him regularly to discuss this. The right hon. Gentleman asked whether Baroness Casey is free to consider issues as she wishes. She obviously has terms of reference, but my personal experience of Baroness Casey is, just you try stopping her having opinions about anything she wants to have opinions on! We are obviously working closely with her. I have met her a number of times and was really pleased to welcome her to my constituency too.”
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“Gentleman asked about taxation. That is a matter for the Chancellor. We will have the Budget shortly, and I am sure that there will be many questions asked of the Chancellor. He asked me a couple of other questions that I did not quite catch, but I will review them and write to him.”
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“Cleaning oneself. I will happily pick up the question that he raised with me in writing. On continuing healthcare, there are a number of ways in which, as was the case under the previous Government, the interface between NHS funding and social care funding really matters—not least the better care fund and continuing healthcare. We continue to look at those, and I will happily discuss them. There are improvements we can make in the short term that will help, even as we wait for the Casey review next summer. Likewise on integration with the NHS, Members across the House will all know of good examples where, because of collaborative working on the ground, we see systems that are well integrated. The problem is that that is due to good fortune and good relationships rather than a system and structure that enables it. The right hon.”
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“My hon. Friend is right that at the heart of the problems we have in the social care system are the way in which the workforce are looked down upon by others and the problems with low and uncertain pay in too many areas. We are cracking on with the fair pay agreement for all the reasons that I mentioned and that she knows only too well. It is about time that social care was seen as the great and fantastic career that it is.”
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“The House will have heard the interchange between the leader of the Liberal Democrats and the Prime Minister yesterday. I thank the hon. Gentleman for pointing out the rather extreme impact of this situation on the NHS. We all have a choice; we cannot leave it as it is.”
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“I thank my hon. Friend for all she did as a Health Minister and for raising that extremely important question. It is an often overlooked fact that in end-of-life care, the members of staff who might see a person and their family the most will be social care staff. If we cannot get the NHS working together with social care for people when they are dying, we will not be able to do it at any time. That is a priority for the work that we can do before the Casey review, and I will happily meet my hon. Friend to discuss that further, if she would like.”
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“The point raised by the Father of the House is an important one, and it is one for the further discussions that we will have next summer once the Casey commission has reported. The steps that I wish to take in the immediate weeks and months are focused on improving what we can within the care system now. None the less, he raises an important point.”
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“I will, of course, meet my hon. Friend. She will know that I am also the Minister for Mental Health, so across those two responsibilities, I will happily work with her to fulfil that commitment.”
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“The hon. Lady rightly raises an important issue. One of the interim recommendations of the Casey review was that we create a national safeguarding board. If the hon. Lady wants to send me the details of her proposal, I will happily raise it with the chief social worker.”
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“My hon. Friend’s question gives me the opportunity to thank her for all the work that she does in Parliament to raise the issues that relate to family carers in the care system. She mentions that, sadly, I have recent experience of the social care system, from when my mum died in July. I can only say that the system that we will try to achieve is one that takes burdens off the shoulders of people at that time and not the current one where, unfortunately, the complexities only add to the distress.”
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“The right hon. Gentleman was a Minister in the Department of Health and Social Care; he understands the challenges very well, and was an excellent and courteous Minister. The Prime Minister set out his position, which is his long-standing view. He acknowledged at Prime Minister’s questions, and on other occasions, the ups and downs of the debate we have all been through. We all want to try to work across parties to get to a better place on this. I can only refer the right hon. Gentleman to the remarks that the Prime Minister made at PMQs yesterday about how determined he is to find cross-party agreement.”
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