Kate Osborne
MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East · Labour · United Kingdom
“Like many other MPs, I am still being contacted by constituents about their civil service pensions and the unacceptable delays. It is deeply concerning that my constituent Julie, who retired from the civil service in February, had her pension finalised only in September, and these delays are causing huge distress and financial hardship.”
House of Commons26 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for his detailed response; it will mean a lot to the descendants of the marchers and members of our community who may be watching this debate. I also thank the hon.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We see similar challenges playing out now. These commemorative events and today’s debate are about remembering those who bravely marched to demand better, but they are also about looking to the future and embracing the potential of the north-east, because the challenges that faced working-class communities then continue to face them.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Local weekly earnings remain below the national average. Almost a century on from the march, generations are still growing up in and around Jarrow unable to find suitable work and with high levels of inequality and poverty.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Our history must be remembered and celebrated for the benefit of a new generation, but it must also be used to move forward, to learn from and to build a better world, because while some progress has been made, there is still a lot to do.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Those are the same fundamental challenges that the Jarrow crusaders marched to confront 90 years ago, and they are why we cannot afford to be complacent about the progress we have made.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“We must end the postcode lottery for fertility treatment and the unacceptable financial burden on same-sex couples. As has been pointed out today, many women cannot wait any longer. Question put and agreed to . Resolved , That this House has considered the matter of IVF provision.”
House of Commons24 October 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Minister mentioned the HFEA and changes to regulation. The 2021 guidelines for fertility clinics highlight the need for improved understanding of consumer law and how it applies to clinics and patients. The guidance significantly improves the availability of knowledge of the topic, but it still misses out conditions and vulnerabilities faced by same-sex couples and transgender people, so I look forward to receiving her update. I am glad that the Minister welcomes me holding her feet to the fire on discrimination in provision for IVF. I will continue to do so. She said that it has taken a bit longer than she would like—but not 10 years. I want to see an urgent timeline from her. The inconsistency in IVF provision across the UK is unacceptable.”
House of Commons24 October 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I absolutely agree that we should include those sufferers. The hon. Lady’s own contribution to the debate was incredibly powerful. She shared her personal story and pointed out how much better the situation is in Scotland, although improvements can always be made. She rightly pointed out that people are going abroad for treatment. TwoDads UK made that point eloquently in our briefing yesterday. My hon. Friend the Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Abena Oppong-Asare) spoke about the need to end the postcode lottery, with that additional emotional and financial toll. I am pleased the Minister confirmed that she will remove discrimination against HIV as soon as possible through secondary legislation. I hope that “as soon as possible” means imminently and that we are not still talking about this in a year’s time.”
House of Commons24 October 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“From the cost of living crisis and food and energy bills to our waters, schools and NHS, every part of our country is falling down. The Secretary of State likes to keep saying that decisions were “nothing to do with me”, but the fact that our schools and the country are falling apart is absolutely down to the Government. At this moment, thousands of parents are petrified because of this crisis, while we have a Prime Minister and a Secretary of State with feet of clay. They need to accept that their time is up, and move aside so that the Labour party can start clearing up the mess that they have caused.”
House of Commons6 September 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We know that the Government’s rhetoric on levelling up is yet more untruths and we know why: the Prime Minister boasting about moving money from poorer areas to richer areas, cutting tax on champagne, spending millions on new offices while our northern communities like Hebburn, Boldon, Jarrow and Gateshead in my constituency are left behind. It does not surprise me to see so many of my colleagues from the north-east present today. Communities are neglected and left paying the price of Tory chaos while Ministers, their spouses and their cronies get richer. Conservative Members attempt to gaslight the country into believing that everything is okay, but despite their panto screaming during Prime Minister’s questions, they know the reality: that 13 years of Tory Governments has ruined our country.”
House of Commons6 September 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Decades of cutting money from vital public services has literally left buildings crumbling and left our kids at risk, sitting in unsafe buildings. The Government’s decisions have left all our public services on their knees, not just our schools but crumbling hospitals and courts. It is not just the buildings: whole services have collapsed. Staff, too, are being failed: workers in schools, the NHS and local government have all been left propping up services. Huge increases in workload, coupled with real-terms pay cuts, have also left public sector workers at the point of collapse.”
House of Commons6 September 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Earlier today the Prime Minister said that he had acted decisively on RAAC. Earlier this week, the Secretary of State said that schools in which critical RAAC had been identified had been fixed immediately. As we have come to expect from this Government, neither of those statements are true. Critical RAAC was identified at St James Catholic Primary School in my constituency in June and action was not taken immediately—or, indeed, at all. It was told that it could open in part and then, as with many other schools, it received just 24 hours’ notice that it had to close in full. Schools would not be in this position had the Government acted decisively. They have known RAAC was unsafe since 2018, and they could and should have taken action much earlier.”
House of Commons6 September 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is 87 years since the Jarrow march against unemployment, and my constituents are still being let down. We have a higher percentage of people claiming unemployment benefits than the national average, and the reality is shown to be worse when hidden unemployment is factored in. According to the Centre for Cities, nine in 10 of the places with the highest hidden unemployment rates are in the north. Instead of continuing their false rhetoric on levelling up, when will the Government stop neglecting and start investing in our northern communities?”
House of Commons4 September 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“St James Catholic Primary School in my constituency had critical RAAC identified in June. Despite what the Secretary of State told the media this morning, this has not been immediately fixed, and the school is now closed. Ministers and the DFE guidance have been contradictory on funding temporary costs, and the school has been told to fund travel and temporary arrangements itself. This is not acceptable. Can she confirm a timetable for works to make schools safe, and that all costs will be fully funded? Finally, she made it clear earlier today that she does not consider this situation to be her fault or her responsibility, so maybe she can tell us who she thinks has been “sat on their arses”?”
House of Commons4 September 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“People in the north-east die younger than people in the rest of England and spend more years in ill health. Increased NHS waiting times leaves them on medication for longer. The north-east has the highest level of people living in poverty, leaving many of my constituents unable to afford prescription charges. Some have told me that they are taking paracetamol instead of prescribed medication, worsening health inequalities. Will the Minister commit to scrapping these unfair prescription charges?”
House of Commons11 July 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Colombia’s Attorney General Barbosa was appointed under the previous Government, who oversaw numerous human rights scandals, including the killing of protesters by police. Barbosa is now harming President Petro’s “total peace” policy by blocking the lifting of arrest warrants that would enable some leaders to come to the negotiating table. As UN Security Council penholder for the Colombian peace agreement, what technical and financial assistance can the Government provide to ensure that all of Colombia’s institutions are supporting peace?”
House of Commons13 June 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Minister mentions the data released last week, but it also highlights the unacceptable consequences of real-terms cuts to teachers’ pay and unmanageable workloads. It shows that posts without a teacher have more than doubled in the past two years. Last week, I met with NASUWT North East and the South Tyneside branch of the National Education Union, which raised concerns about the impact of the recruitment and retention crisis. When will the Minister take action to tackle this crisis by increasing teachers’ pay and reducing their workload?”
House of Commons12 June 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Q6. New inflation stats this morning show that food inflation is at 18%—the highest in 45 years. Millions are living in food and fuel poverty because of this Government’s failures and political decisions to enable grotesque profiteering at the expense of our communities. How on earth can the Prime Minister claim that his plan is working, or is it, in his eyes, a success that so many people are struggling with their weekly food shop?”
House of Commons22 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for his response. Let me help him out. If he had made an adequate assessment, he would have found that the spring Budget failed women. It failed young women, women in work and pensioners. Women are more likely to rely on and work in public services, and this Budget made their lives worse, not better. Most of the UK’s poorest pensioners are single women, and the gender pensions gap needs to be addressed. Will he agree to urgently put forward a compensation package to deal with the injustice faced by 1950s women—the WASPI women?”
House of Commons21 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Government austerity measures led to Northumbria police losing more than 1,100 police officers and to a huge increase in antisocial behaviour in my constituency, with thefts in local shops in East Boldon and Hebburn, and off-road motorbikes in Wardley and Boldon. The incident levels are so high that this week I am having a specific surgery with the police and crime commissioner in Wardley. When will Ministers allow recruitment to vacant policing posts, invest in our communities and tackle antisocial behaviour?”
House of Commons20 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Poverty is a political choice. This spring Budget has proved that the Tories will make that choice over and over, callously disregarding the devastating impact on communities. With this Budget, the Government have once again failed my Jarrow constituents.”
House of Commons16 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Government refused to provide the scores for the bid, even though the levelling-up Minister said that full feedback would be given. So can today’s Minister confirm whether the Chancellor’s announcement yesterday now means that the bid has been successful after all? Or is this money earmarked for something else? The town centres in Hebburn and Jarrow, and the redevelopment of our cultural centre, Jarrow Hall, is much needed. Will the Chancellor actually deliver this investment now or is this just more empty rhetoric? In conclusion, as we always see from this Government, in the main the Chancellor’s Budget serves the most wealthy in our society, with £9 billion in tax cuts to corporations and £6 billion in cuts to fuel duty—yet nothing from this Government for our teachers, lecturers, nurses, junior doctors, NHS staff or civil servants.”
House of Commons16 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The so-called “price freeze” does not help the many who are struggling to pay the already high costs. After accounting for Government support, typical household net energy bills will be 17% higher again in 2023-24 than this year. This is just unsustainable; millions more will be driven into fuel poverty. Small businesses were once again neglected, and the Government’s false rhetoric on levelling up continues. More still goes to London and the south-east than the north will ever see, but I hope the promise for money for South Tyneside is actually delivered. It came as a surprise to the leader of South Tyneside Council, whom I spoke to this morning, that we were mentioned in the Budget; despite our bid being described as a strong bid with a very good-quality delivery plan and costs, it was rejected.”
House of Commons16 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As for childcare, the CBI has estimated that extending the free hours scheme to one and two-year-olds would cost £8.9 billion a year, more than double what the Chancellor awarded, so how will nurseries deliver it? Relaxing minimum staff-to-child ratios will not work and, yet again, less affluent parents will be affected the most. It is no wonder that so many people are saying that enough is enough, and that real change is needed. This Government, once again, failed to prioritise the majority or even those who need support the most, instead protecting the wealthiest in society. In Jarrow, 40% of constituents are unable to afford to turn on the heating. That comes as no surprise, as electricity prices in the UK have risen by 66.7% and gas prices have risen by 129% in the 12 months to January 2023.”
House of Commons16 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Chancellor attempted to make a thing of helping pensioners, but the reality is that his spring Budget helps only those who are already well off; pensioners in poverty will receive no help. As the shadow Chancellor said, this is a £1 billion pensions bung for the top 1%. People reliant on incapacity benefits could lose hundreds of pounds a month as a result of the Chancellor’s reforms to the welfare system; once again, the Conservative party attacks some of the most vulnerable in society. The Chancellor’s delivering for women has been much lauded, because of the provision of childcare, yet this Budget does nothing to tackle the financial discrimination women face on a daily basis, the gender health gap, the pay gap or the cost of living crisis, the burden of which falls in the main on women.”
House of Commons16 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Under this Government, pensioner poverty is up, child poverty is up and fuel poverty is up, and public services such as the NHS, schools, local government and so much more are on their knees. Yet for workers, real wages are down. In fact, one in five pensioners—more than 2 million people—are living in relative poverty in the UK, an increase of more than 200,000 pensioners living in poverty in the last year alone. I have been holding cost of living advice roadshows, and at the event in Boldon in my constituency, my constituent Joan, who is 94 years old, told me that she is struggling and that living now is harder than it was for her family in the 1930s. This Government pretend to be on the side of pensioners, to get their votes, but they fail them again and again.”
House of Commons16 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The nurses, firefighters, teachers, care workers and other key workers using food banks are not smiling. I say to the Chancellor yes, they can budget; they are much better at it than him, it seems. The 700,000 workers who took strike action over pay yesterday are also not smiling. In fact, very few people in the country are smiling. The falls in household disposable incomes this year and next will be the worst in a century. People across the UK are struggling to afford food, rent, heating and childcare. Mortgages are £2,000 a year higher than they were before the Government’s mini-Budget last September. These costs have escalated during the cost of living crisis, but these issues have been ongoing since long before inflation reached its highest point in 40 years because of their failure to govern.”
House of Commons16 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I start by welcoming my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) to her place, and congratulate her on a fabulous maiden speech. The Government have spent 13 years failing the majority in this country, keeping us in a vicious cycle of economic and political failures. The spring Budget yesterday promised more of the same. With this Budget, the Government have failed my Jarrow constituents. The majority of people in this country know someone who is relying on a food bank or someone who cannot afford to pay their energy bills. The only people who do not seem to know anyone who is struggling are those sitting on the Government Benches. They cannot be listening to their constituents, even though some of them love posing for smiley pictures at food banks. The 40% of civil servants who are using food banks are not smiling.”
House of Commons16 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“T4. Jarrow constituents face a rise in water bills from Northumbrian Water—a company owned by Cayman Islands-registered Hong Kong CK Hutchison Holdings. It underspent its budget for repairs by 48%, yet took profits of £2 billion a year, awarded millions to shareholders and pumped sewage into north-east waterways. Will the Secretary of State commit to fining water companies up to £250 million for dumping sewage?”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The lack of adequate social care for basic daily needs is storing up problems and leaving older people less able to care for themselves, or arriving in hospital with preventable health problems, adding to the pressures in A&E and bed provision. People who work in the NHS have had enough of being failed by this Government’s mismanagement. The country deserves better. NHS dentistry is on its knees, with patients facing a growing crisis of access and resorting to DIY dentistry. The NHS was in crisis pre-pandemic and the Government’s failures and mismanagement have made the situation far worse. For Ministers to dismiss the crisis as winter pressures, or even to flat-out deny that there is a crisis, is frankly absurd.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Ambulance workers and other NHS staff have also taken action, and this week British Medical Association junior doctors voted with a 98% majority to do the same. I thank all my constituents who work in the NHS, particularly those who got in touch about this debate, including paramedics from the North East Ambulance Service who tell me that on a daily basis they are unable to hand over patients because of delays in A&E and lack of beds, and how frustrating it is that many of the calls are for people who need social care or cannot get a GP appointment, rather than the acute calls that they are best placed to deal with. That highlights the impact the crisis in social care is having on the NHS. Half of all people arriving in A&E by ambulance are over 65 and one third are over 75.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I beg to move, That this House has considered the future of the NHS, its staffing and funding. The national health service is a beloved national institution. Everyone in the country and in this House will have interacted with the NHS and have their own personal connections and stories that they can reflect on, from the birth of their children to the death of a loved one or seeing a general practitioner about a health condition. It is undeniable to most of us that the NHS is in crisis. It is being pushed into an avoidable and unprecedented collapse after 13 years of Conservative mismanagement. All our constituents will have been impacted in some way by the crisis, a crisis so bad that nurses have taken strike action for the first time in NHS history.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Labour has a workforce strategy, while the Government have not even committed to fully funding their promised workforce plan. The Chancellor praised Labour’s plan, so why does he not put his money where his mouth is by implementing it? Labour will deliver a new 10-year plan for the NHS, including one of the biggest ever expansions of its workforce.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Similarly, the MS Society has said that more than 13,000 people have been waiting more than a year for a neurology appointment. Those delayed diagnoses and treatments have a hugely detrimental impact on the individuals concerned. Delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment are life-threatening. For years, the Government have missed cancer targets because of a lack of concerted action on matched funding. In South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, only 73% of people were treated within the target of two months following a cancer referral, and only 61% of people are treated within that target nationally. The UK is being left behind, and people are dying avoidable and preventable deaths. That is why we need a workforce strategy—yes, to pay people properly, but also to enable the NHS to save people’s lives.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“An offer—such as the one we saw on Tuesday—of 3.5%, when inflation is at least triple that and NHS workers’ pay is worth less than it was a decade ago, is, as Sharon Graham of Unite the Union said, a “sick joke”. Christina McAnea of Unison announced further strike days next month. The Government are failing to resolve this dispute; instead, they are attempting to blame workers for putting patients in danger. Patients will never forgive the Conservatives for refusing to negotiate and using patients as bargaining chips. The staffing crisis must be urgently addressed. The impact of waiting times on individuals can be severe and the consequences irreversible. Two hundred people in my Jarrow constituency have Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s UK is concerned about people waiting longer than two years for a diagnosis.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Government agreed yesterday to negotiate with the Royal College of Nursing, and nursing strikes have been paused for those negotiations to happen. The Government could have agreed to negotiations months ago, but they chose not to. Negotiations with the RCN alone will not solve the staffing crisis. Junior doctors have voted by 98% to strike, but the Health Secretary has not even offered a meeting. Negotiations with one section of the NHS workforce are not sufficient; all unions representing NHS staff need to be negotiated with. The Government must make a pay offer that is not linked to efficiency savings and productivity, because NHS staff are already working unacceptably long shifts.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There are faces behind those statistics: the faces of women who cannot get urgent gynaecological treatment, the faces of children who cannot access mental health support, the faces of families whose loved ones have died—lives that could, should and would have been saved if this Government cared about communities and invested in our NHS. When we talk about 133,000 NHS vacancies, we are talking about people who have left their work in the NHS because they cannot cope financially or emotionally, we are talking about the rest of the workforce working harder to pick up the slack, we are talking about the NHS being unable to recruit because of poor wages and conditions, and we are talking about the impact that that has on patients. The only way to solve the NHS staffing crisis is by sorting out pay.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is hard not to agree with the British Medical Association, which called the Prime Minister “delusional”. The last Labour Governments allocated, on average, a 6% rise in the NHS budget every year. Successive Conservative and coalition Governments have since allocated a rise of only 1% a year. The Prime Minister can talk about “record sums” all he wants, but he is fooling no one. In reality, the settlement is not enough, and it is nowhere near what previous Labour Governments invested. This crisis can be laid firmly at the Government’s door. There are so many awful headlines and statistics, and I will delve into some of them, but let me say from the outset that we must all remember, when we talk about the 7 million people on waiting lists, or the 500 avoidable deaths every week, that we are talking about people.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend. The problems for our children further down the line are worrying, but of course, they are preventable if the right action is taken. The Conservatives blame everything else—the weather, the pandemic and even NHS staff—but their 13 years of failure have left the health service in crisis. At Prime Minister’s questions yesterday, the Prime Minister boasted about “record sums into the NHS…and…a clear path to getting people the treatment they need in the time they need it.” —[ Official Report , 22 February 2023; Vol. 728, c. 222.] He is not living in the real world. Every briefing and communication that we have received has cited delays in treatment and the devastating impact that they have, as well as the decade of underfunding.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Ray said to me: “As I am 74 years old and rely on my state pension it makes it very difficult for me in the current economic climate to pay this amount. Having paid national insurance contributions for 50 years, I don’t understand. Why do I have to pay again?” I look forward to receiving a response for Ray from the Minister. Ray is correct, of course. As Nye Bevan said: “No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means.” As with any crisis, companies step in to exploit the situation and make money.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“They have even performed smash-and-grab raids on hospital repair budgets, taking £4.3 billion away and leaving hospitals crumbling, leaking and falling apart at the seams. Fifty per cent. of trusts now have structural issues with leaks, collapsing floors, raw sewage and unsafe wards. American news agency CNN said last week: “Britain’s NHS was once idolized. Now its worst-ever crisis is fueling a boom in private health care.” The number of people paying privately for operations is up 34% in 2022. If that trend continues, it will embed a two-tier service in our NHS and price many people out of healthcare. My constituent Christine was referred to a private health company by her GP, while another constituent, Ray, was told that he could no longer get a service from the NHS and that he would need to pay privately, at a cost of £50.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will address my hon. Friend’s point in my remarks. This Government’s ideological commitment to the free market has led them to force through more and more privatisation of our national health service. Some Government Back Benchers are talking openly about moving to an Americanised healthcare system in which people are priced out of healthcare, and they have even mentioned it in this Chamber. We have seen corrupt contracts for cronies, and friends of the Government making millions while people suffer. The Government have allowed the private sector to run rampant, taking hundreds of billions out of the NHS budget over the last 10 years. It is as if the Government are on a mission to destroy the NHS as we know it.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Yes. We have all seen for ourselves and heard from our constituents how difficult it is to get an appointment, and the private profiteers are driving that.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I hope Ministers will listen closely to the contributions in the debate and take on board what is needed for a workforce strategy and funding to secure the future of our NHS.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The cost of living crisis has pushed over two thirds of UK households into fuel poverty, which will exacerbate health inequalities that were already widened during the pandemic. In September 2022, one in four households with children experienced food insecurity, and in my constituency of Jarrow, 39% of children are living in food poverty. Malnutrition costs the NHS an estimated £19.6 billion each year. Investment in greater support, particularly targeted at the most vulnerable, would lead to returns in reduced NHS demand. As well as a strategy for the NHS, this Government need to start prioritising much more support to get the most vulnerable through the cost of living crisis.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Labour’s plan for the NHS includes working with partners to ensure patient safety and to bring down waiting lists. What it does not include is the rampant corrupt profiteering, with contracts for cronies and profit put above patients, that this Government are presiding over. In England, we have a 20-year gap in life expectancy between the most and least affluent areas of the country. Less than a year ago, the Government promised to tackle the causes and symptoms of these underlying health inequalities and publish a White Paper on health inequalities. Last month, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that no White Paper would be published. I am pleased that today, Labour announced that we will build an NHS fit for the future and cut health inequalities.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We are seeing this across the whole NHS, including dentistry, as my hon. Friend rightly says. As with any crisis, we see companies step in to exploit the situation and make money. US group Cleveland Clinic plans to open its third UK facility in London later this year, adding to the 184-bed hospital and six-floor clinic that it opened in 2021 and 2022 respectively. HCA Healthcare, another American group, which has over 30 facilities in London and Manchester, will be opening a £100 million private hospital in Birmingham later this year. Some 40% of private mental health companies need safety improvement, and we are handing over billions to companies that are failing our constituents. Too much of what is happening is hidden from Parliament and from the public. Where is the accountability for these private companies?”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I fail to see how the hon. Member does not understand that these points are political. For 13 years, a Conservative Government have underfunded the NHS, which has led to over 7 million people on waiting lists and tens of thousands of vacancies. As for the trade unions, yes, the Government are now talking to the RCN, but when are they going talk to Unite, GMB and the other trade unions that represent NHS workers?”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Can the Minister clarify something for me? He talks about the workforce plan. Can he tell us whether it is fully funded and whether it includes social care?”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Labour will train a new generation of NHS staff, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status, so that the NHS has the workforce it desperately needs. As the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall), said, why will the Government not commit to doing that, as the Chancellor has suggested? I thank all who contributed to the debate, which has highlighted a number of urgent requirements of the Government to secure the future of our NHS, including increased funding, the accountability of the private sector, a fully funded workforce strategy and a strategy to deal with health inequalities. I hope that the Minister has listened—I am not sure as he has not made eye contact with many Members—because without immediate action, we will see thousands more avoidable deaths, including the death of our NHS.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I also thank the organisations that got in touch ahead of the debate, including Diabetes UK, the British Dental Association, Age UK, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the British Heart Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, Keep Our NHS Public, Parkinson’s UK, the MS Society UK, Cancer Research UK, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Your NHS Needs You and the trade unions. Health spending in the UK is 18% below the EU14 average. The UK would have needed to spend £40 billion more a year every year for the past 10 years to keep up. That shows just how far behind we have fallen. The root cause of this crisis is that the Conservatives have failed to provide the NHS with the resources and staff it needs to treat patients on time.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank everyone who has contributed today. I also thank all NHS staff who are taking industrial action to save our health services. No one takes strike action lightly, especially those who are caring for the most vulnerable in society, but this Government have left them with no choice. I thank the campaigners who are out every week, highlighting the impact that 13 years of Conservative Governments have had on our NHS. Those groups would not be necessary if this Government were funding the NHS properly, but they are necessary. Across the country, there are groups, including the Save South Tyneside Hospital Campaign in my Jarrow constituency, campaigning to save hospital services and calling for the Government to fund the NHS properly.”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The former PM earned £5 million while remaining an MP, and MPs have raked in £17 million from second jobs since the last election. Does my hon. Friend agree that their time would be better spent in their constituencies, looking after their constituents and dealing with the cost of living crisis that we are in?”
House of Commons23 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this debate to the House. Cambois is in the constituency of Wansbeck, not Blyth, as some seem to think. What we are discussing will impact not just Northumberland and Wansbeck but the wider north-east, including my constituents in Jarrow. Does my hon. Friend agree that if the Government want the people of the north-east to believe that levelling up is not just empty rhetoric, they need to deliver not just in more affluent areas, but in places such as the north-east, where we have seen very little—certainly in my constituency, and I believe the same goes for my hon. Friend’s constituency.”
House of Commons25 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As with most of this Government’s policies, this attempt to deny workers what is universally regarded as a fundamental human right seeks to divide communities and pit worker against worker, forcing some of them to walk past their colleagues and cross picket lines—although everyone here knows that I never have and never will cross a picket line.”
House of Commons16 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗