Dr Zubir Ahmed
MP for Glasgow South West · Labour · United Kingdom
“The hon. Gentleman will know that there is a quasi-judicial process, and it would be remiss of me to make undertakings on an issue for which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero is responsible. I gently remind the hon. Gentleman that those calculations have been baked in for many years.”
House of Commons29 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Members may be aware, in Scotland, that will not be automatic; it is at the discretion of the Scottish Government. I plead with them to ensure that the Barnett consequentials of that decision translate into savings on business rates for ordinary high-street businesses, including pubs. My right hon.”
House of Commons29 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When I was first elected to this place as the proud Member for Glasgow South West, many of my constituents lived in great financial uncertainty: the more than 6,000 kids in my constituency who live in relative poverty; the many constituents who have not had a decent wage rise for over 10 years; and the proud shipyards of Govan that are un…”
House of Commons29 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Investing in defence is not taboo, contrary to the view that the Scottish Green party and the Scottish National party have sometimes espoused; we in Scotland should be proud that we are at the forefront of defending our nation, and we will always invest in that.”
House of Commons29 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That took thousands of kids in my constituency out of poverty, and probably benefited the local economy to the tune of £4 million. We also secured the Type 26 frigate contract, which will give certainty to Govan shipyard workers for generations to come. It is not only in the large policy areas that this Labour movement does its work.”
House of Commons29 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I know that some Members think that there is a binary choice to be made between social and personal economic security on the one hand, and our national security on the other, but there is not; one is very much reliant on the other.”
House of Commons29 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“On 5 November, we launched a public consultation on draft guidance under the Down Syndrome Act. Work to develop the draft guidance has involved significant engagement with people with lived experience and, importantly, with the organisations that support them. The consultation presents a further opportunity for people with lived experience and their families to share their views. We expect the guidance to improve support for people with Down’s syndrome and for those with other, similar conditions. In order for the guidance to deliver improvements for those people, it needs to be implemented effectively across the range of communities that it serves.”
House of Commons19 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Under the Act, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is required to give guidance to relevant authorities in health, social care, education and housing services on what they should be doing to meet the needs of people with Down’s syndrome. Relevant authorities must have due regard to the final statutory guidance, once published. This Government want disabled people’s access to, and experience of, healthcare services to be equitable and effective. The guidance under the Down Syndrome Act supports that aim by raising awareness of, and bringing together in one place, the practical steps that organisations should take to meet the needs of people with Down’s syndrome. It also helps to clarify the support and services that people with Down’s syndrome can expect to receive.”
House of Commons19 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Through the implementation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022, aligned with the overarching aims of our 10-year health plan for England, we are striving to improve the life outcomes for people with Down’s syndrome by improving their access to services, raising awareness and understanding of their needs, and breaking down the barriers to opportunity that they and other disabled people face. The draft regulations will make a technical but necessary amendment to the Down Syndrome Act to support its effective implementation, and it is right that they should be given full scrutiny in Committee. I will begin by setting out what the Down Syndrome Act requires.”
House of Commons19 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Health and Care Act 2022 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. A copy of the draft regulations was laid before the House on 21 October. There are estimated to be around 47,000 people in the UK with Down’s syndrome. Despite existing legal duties and frameworks, those people face real challenges in accessing the care and support they need to live the lives they want to in their own communities. This Government are determined to set that right.”
House of Commons19 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will take back the question about digital access to the consultation process to my officials. The right hon. Gentleman raises a very important point on exclusion, of which I am also very cognisant. I am happy to write to him with a fuller answer. Again, I am grateful for the consensus on both sides of the Committee. I commend the draft regulations to the Committee. Question put and agreed to.”
House of Commons19 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for showing the consensus on the Down Syndrome Act. It should be placed on record that the Act was a private Member’s Bill sponsored by Sir Liam Fox, then a Conservative Member. I am delighted to carry forward the draft regulations on the basis of that consensus. The right hon. Gentleman asked what these statutory instruments will look like in relation to future iterations of NHS governance structures. As he said, NHS England will continue to undertake the statutory functions until parliamentary time allows for legislative changes. I am confident that the Down Syndrome Act and Acts like it will be components of the primary legislation that will be required to make those new arrangements, such that we will not require this type of Delegated Legislation Committee process again.”
House of Commons19 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That highlights how crucial it is that information and support for patients with epilepsy who have a learning disability are tailored to their individual needs. We welcome the development of the Clive Treacey safety checklist; it is an important part of Clive’s legacy. We encourage commissioners and service providers to use the checklist and its accompanying guidance as a key tool when designing services for their local populations and to ensure that the steps outlined in the checklist are followed whenever a patient experiences a significant change in their care. Since Clive’s death, a number of NHS regions have reviewed the way that they care for patients living with a learning disability and epilepsy—”
House of Commons17 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“NHS England midlands region set up a group that became known as the Clive Treacey conscience group and last year it published “Clive’s Way: A Conscience Manual”, outlining in detail the progress the midlands region is making in taking forward and implementing the learnings from the independent review. We know that around 30% of people with epilepsy have a learning disability and that the risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy is much higher for those with a learning disability, as my hon. Friend pointed out. The latest annual LeDeR—learning from lives and deaths—report found that epilepsy was one of the most common underlying causes of death for people with a learning disability between 2021 and 2023.”
House of Commons17 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The independent review into Clive’s death highlighted that there were multiple system-wide failures in delivering his care and treatment that together placed him at a higher risk of sudden death. It was found that Clive experienced sub-optimal care and support throughout his life and death, and that he was not always placed in settings that could meet his needs, in terms of both epilepsy care and support for his disability. I am pleased that since Clive’s death, meaningful changes have been made. Following the publication of the independent review into his death in December 2021, organisations directly involved in Clive’s care developed high-level actions in response to its findings and there was an overwhelming commitment from all organisations involved to address the systemic issues raised in the report.”
House of Commons17 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) for securing this important debate. I recognise the efforts of Clive’s family, particularly Elaine and Michael who join us today in the Gallery. As my hon. Friend described in his wonderful speech, Clive Treacey was a caring, gentle and humorous man, who liked to paint and who enjoyed gardening and listening to music. As we have heard, Clive also had a learning disability and epilepsy, and sadly he died in 2017, at the age of just 47, following a seizure. His loss, I am sure, is still felt very deeply by his family and loved ones. I pay tribute to all the work that they have done by channelling the tragedy they have been through, and the work that they continue to do in advocating for change following Clive’s death.”
House of Commons17 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I believe that through the actions we have taken in our 10-year health plan and the actions that I have taken as the Minister responsible for patient safety, we can undertake today to Members of this House that that shall be the case going forward in this Government’s approach to patient safety. Question put and agreed to .”
House of Commons17 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for his contribution. It goes without saying that Clive’s death must not be in vain and that we must learn the lessons to ensure that this does not happen again. I believe we also need to commit further that no longer in our national health service should a tragedy be the only way to make things better for the patients and citizens we serve and to save their lives. Finally, the patient voice must be our guiding star when designing services and safety checklists and keeping patients safe in the community and in hospital.”
House of Commons17 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The toolkit also sets out that services should ensure that community specialist nurses in learning disabilities have the right training in the management of epilepsy. I recognise the important work of organisations such as Epilepsy Action and SUDEP Action. Epilepsy Action has produced the “Step Together” toolkit, which describes what good-quality integrated services for people with a learning disability and epilepsy should look like. SUDEP Action has developed an epilepsy self-monitoring app, which is a digital tool designed to help patients understand their own personal risk of seizures and to track that risk. SUDEP Action has played a key role in the development of the Clive Treacey safety checklist. Once again, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield for securing this important debate, and I thank the hon.”
House of Commons17 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This Government expect commissioners and service providers to take NICE guidelines fully into account when making decisions about how to best meet the needs of their local communities. We are rolling out mandatory training on learning disability and autism to health and adult social care staff. Support for people with a learning disability is also a key area of focus for the NHS RightCare epilepsy toolkit. The toolkit includes a number of actions that systems should take to support people with epilepsy who have a learning disability, such as ensuring that specialist epilepsy services are upskilled and make reasonable adjustments to support the needs of people with a learning disability, including working in partnership with staff trained in how to manage learning disability.”
House of Commons17 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on epilepsies in children, young people and adults recommends that people with a learning disability should have monitoring reviews at least annually. The NICE guidance on epilepsies also includes a number of recommendations on how information should be tailored and adapted for patients with epilepsy who have a learning disability. It sets out that patients with a learning disability should have access to specialist care and should receive co-ordinated care using a multidisciplinary approach. For young people with a learning disability who are transitioning to adult epilepsy services, transition planning should begin early.”
House of Commons17 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a very positive development that a number of integrated health boards in the midlands, the north-west, the north-east and Yorkshire have carried out detailed appraisals to identify any weaknesses in their services. My hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield raises an important point about how we can go further, including how annual health checks can significantly reduce the chance of premature death in people with a learning disability who have epilepsy. NHS England has developed a quality framework to set expectations for annual health checks for people with a learning disability and accompanying health action plans, which are vital to identifying needs early, providing the right support and mitigating the risk of sudden death.”
House of Commons17 November 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This Government want a society in which every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of their lives, irrespective of their age, condition or geographical region. As the hon. Member for Strangford has adumbrated, end-of-life care and palliative care is much more than cancer care; it is about ageing and ageing well. We recognise that there are currently a high number of hospital admissions and bed days at the end of people’s lives, and the last year of people’s lives accounts for 15% of emergency admissions and approximately a third of all bed days.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will be happy to pass on any correspondence required regarding the issues that the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) highlighted about the 111 service. The planning, funding and delivery of health services are devolved matters, but I am delighted to answer on behalf of the Government on what we are doing to improve palliative care and end-of-life care in England. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who work and volunteer in palliative care, both in the NHS and in our hospice sector, for the support they provide to patients, families and loved ones. It would be remiss of me not to mention the Prince & Princess of Wales hospice in my own constituency, which recently took such good care of my cousin as she passed away from breast cancer.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for bringing forward this debate. The range of topics about which he is knowledgeable never ceases to surprise me. We are grateful for his contribution to this House, and I wish his mother well. I am also grateful for the speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon). She is too modest to say so, but she is indeed an expert in social care and ageing, and her calls for a national strategy for end-of-life care and ageing have been heard. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) for sharing her powerful story about her mother—that cannot have been easy, so I am grateful for her bravery. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Weston-super-Mare (Dan Aldridge), I pay tribute to the hospice in Weston and the dedicated team there.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It includes funding to deliver IT systems and provide refurbishments and facilities for patients and visitors, so that they can see their family members at the end of their lives in a dignified environment—much more than just a lick of paint.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans), as he was in a typically verbose mood, but if he wills the ends, he must will the means, and if he does not agree with the means, he must present his thesis as to the alternative model of funding that he wishes to see. Otherwise, it is a case of cutting services. However, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, play in providing support to people at the end of their lives and to their loved ones. In recognition of that, £100 million of capital funding has been made available to hospices in England to ensure that they have the best physical environment for caring. That includes helping hospices to provide the best end-of-life care to patients and their families in a supportive and dignified environment.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In England, integrated care boards are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care to meet the needs of the local population. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has produced statutory guidance. That includes the need for 24/7 access to palliative care and advice, and a palliative care and end-of-life care dashboard that brings together all relevant data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care needs of the local population. Of course, the majority of palliative care and end-of-life care is provided by NHS staff and NHS services, and that has benefited from the record funding in the NHS that the Chancellor delivered in the last Budget. I will not be able to address all the points made by the hon.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am very concerned to hear what my hon. Friend has reported to the House. Clearly, coercion is unacceptable in all forms. Safeguarding is taken very seriously by the national health service and by the Department of Health and Social Care, and as the Minister with responsibility for patient safety, I am very happy to look into that further and to take it up with him after the debate. As set out in the 10-year health plan, we are going to shift more care out of hospitals and into communities, and make care more personalised. If there is anywhere where that is most important it is palliative care and end-of-life care. Palliative care and end-of-life care, including hospices, have a big role to play in that shift, and they were highlighted in the 10-year plan as an integral component of neighbourhood health teams.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Earlier this year the Minister of State for Care and, more recently, the Secretary of State met key palliative care and end-of-life care and hospice stakeholders at dedicated roundtables, and focused that discussion on long-term sector sustainability within the context of the 10-year plan. Following the recent publication of the plan, the Minister of State for Care tasked officials to work at speed to generate proposals to improve the access, quality and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end-of-life care as we start to implement the plan. In closing, I hope that those measures assure the hon. Member for Strangford of the Government’s seriousness to build a sustainable palliative care and end-of-life care sector for the long term.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This amounts in total to £80 million of hospice funding over the next three years. For many of us who are in good health, managing complexity and ageing seems a distant idea. The Government recognise that the number of people with palliative care and ageing needs is projected to rise significantly over the next quarter of a century. That is why we are shifting more healthcare out of hospital and into communities through our plan for change. That is why we are investing, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, over £3 million in a policy research unit in palliative and end-of-life care. The unit launched in January 2024 and is building the evidence base on palliative care and end-of-life care.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Friend the Member for Aberafan Maesteg (Stephen Kinnock), visited Katharine House hospice earlier this year, Wigan and Leigh hospice in July, and Noah’s Ark children’s hospice earlier this month to see directly for himself how that record investment is making a meaningful impact on the ground. We can confirm that the Department of Health and Social Care has now transferred the rest of the £75 million to Hospice UK for onward spending in 2025-26. We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices. This is a continuation of the funding that, up until recently, was known as the children’s hospice grant. That funding will see circa £26 million allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year via local integrated care boards on behalf of NHS England.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Gentleman knows that the NAO report covers a period both when his party was in government and beyond. I go back to the point about NICs. If he wills the end, he must understand the means. I am very happy to have that conversation with him at length after the debate, respecting the confines of the time that I have—I do not want to test your patience, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am delighted that the first £25 million of the £100 million fund has been passed to Hospice UK and has been spent on capital projects already. The Minister for Care, my hon.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will not, in the interests of time. I reiterate my thanks to the hon. Member for Strangford for bringing forward this vital issue, and I thank all hon. Members who have spoken today. He can be assured that he has raised the voice of those who deserve dignity at the end of their lives, and that his call has been well and truly heard by the Government.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the right hon. Member for Melton and Syston (Edward Argar) for raising the crucial issue of GP provision. As a relatively junior Member of this place, I have always looked around at the Benches on both sides of the House for elder statesmen and women who are exemplars of how to conduct oneself in this Chamber. He is certainly one of those Members. We miss him on the Front Bench, and we are grateful for all his contributions.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When asked about their top priority for the NHS, the public overwhelmingly call for us to fix general practice and access to it. That is at the heart of what people care about in this country, and it is what they need first and foremost from their health service. General practice remains the front door to our NHS, delivering vital care to millions across this country, yet we all know the challenges faced by both patients and GPs—the right hon. Member alluded to many of them in his excellent speech: access to appointments, capacity and workforce pressures, to name but a few. The Government are absolutely committed to tackling these issues, to ensure that everyone receives the care they deserve.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As a medical practitioner, I can assure the right hon. Member that he is ageing well, and I am sure he has many more years of service to give. I will now take on some of the challenges that the right hon. Member said faced GP services in Melton Mowbray and Syston. He is knowledgeable—possibly more knowledgeable than me—about the Carr-Hill formula. I can assure him that my hon. Friend the Minister for Care, whose portfolio this comes under, is very engaged in reforming the Carr-Hill formula. I am sure he would be pleased to give an update on how he is getting on with that. The right hon. Member wishes for a meeting with the Minister of State, and I would be delighted to arrange that for him—I am afraid I cannot confirm the location, but I can certainly arrange the meeting.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I know how hard it is to work in difficult circumstances, and it is this Government’s job to make the working lives of those staff easier, more valuable and more fulfilling. I look forward to working constructively with the right hon. Member, to the benefit of patients and citizens up and down Melton and Syston. Question put and agreed to.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In conclusion, everything that this Government have done since the election has been geared towards saving the NHS and giving it back to the people, primarily through the lens of community and largely through general practice. We are placing power back into the hands of patients—where it rightly belongs—because this is their health service and it must work for them. Ensuring that every patient has access to the care they need is not just a priority; it is a guiding star for this Government. The Government are committed to delivering on that promise. I end by associating myself with the remarks of the right hon. Member about the hard-working staff in GP practices up and down our constituencies, and the quality of care that they provide.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The ICB will revisit the scheme’s progression in the fourth quarter of 2026-27 to allow more certainty about developer contribution, the impact of new registrations and staffing availability. Let me talk briefly about industrial action. The Government are firmly committed to supporting general practice, and we want to continue engaging constructively with colleagues in the profession as we shape the future of general practice together. Since coming into office just over a year ago, this Government have made significant strides in supporting general practice, and we are asking our colleagues in general practice not to close the door on patients, but to work with the Government to rebuild the NHS for the benefit of patients in the right hon. Member’s constituency, and indeed the country.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful to him for bringing it to the Government’s attention. I have been informed that Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB is working with Melton borough council to explore options to improve access and extend service capacity for Melton residents. I very much take on his suggestion that it could be a location for a health centre under the Secretary of State’s new programme of neighbourhood health centres; I will certainly pass that on to the Secretary of State. The ICB is working with Latham House to increase the ways in which the practice can support local residents. Proposals include a new digital suite at the main site, and an approved redevelopment of a property owned by the practice on Sherrard Street to extend clinical services. The ICB and Melton borough council will continue to meet to discuss progress.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We will provide additional funding by 2028-29 to bring back the family doctor by training thousands more GPs, delivering millions of appointments more over the spending review period, and building further on the 2,500 GPs already recruited. Patient satisfaction needs to be our guiding star. As a result of all our efforts, 8 million more appointments have been delivered this year compared to last, and it is making a difference to patients’ lives. According to the latest health insights survey, 73.1% of patients reported a good overall experience. That is up from 67.4% in July 2024, and reverses years of patient dissatisfaction. I understand that the development of a new primary care facility in the right hon. Member’s constituency has been a matter of local concern for some time.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Member’s integrated care board area of Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland, the percentage of patients using online GP services has increased from 65% to 73% over the past year. The ICB operates virtual wards as part of its “home first” strategy. It uses secure remote monitoring, which saved 11,000 bed days across Leicestershire in 2024 and enables patients in Melton and Syston to recover safely at home. The Government have approved a spending review settlement that will bring care closer to the community, shift the NHS from sickness to prevention and from analogue to digital, and ensure that the NHS is more people-centred.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That is a huge step in delivering our manifesto commitment to ending the 8 am scramble, which has long been a barrier to care up and down the country. Most importantly, practices already using online systems have gone on to see bigger improvements. If I may talk about London for a moment, one London GP surgery reduced its waits from 14 days to just three, with 95% of patients seen within a week. I turn to digital health, which is transforming access in healthcare in Melton and Syston. Patients can now access their GP through the NHS app. They can use it to book appointments, order prescriptions and even receive rapid online consultations, with AI-supported triage ensuring that urgent cases are prioritised within hours. The GP patient survey shows that in the right hon.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As a result of our investment, primary care networks in Melton and Syston have recruited an additional 64 GPs through the additional roles reimbursement scheme, bringing patients in the right hon. Member’s constituency the care they need. Today, the median number of doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in Melton and Syston is 6.2 full-time equivalents, which is above the England median of 5.6 full-time equivalents. I reassure the House that we are listening to patients in the right hon. Member’s constituency and trying our best to respond to their needs. For the first time, more patients are contacting their GP online than by phone. That is why, from 1 October, we extended access to GP online services throughout core hours—8 am to 6.30 pm—making it easier for patients to reach their practice in their preferred way.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This 8.9% boost to GP contract funding for 2025-26 surpasses the overall NHS budget growth, marking a generational uplift in funding, and it means that we are beginning to reverse a decade of a dwindling share of NHS resources going to general practice. We are not just investing but reforming contracts, giving GPs streamlined targets, incentivising improved continuity of care for those who would most benefit—usually people with chronic illness—and, crucially, requiring practices to make it possible for patients to go online to request an appointment throughout the duration of core opening hours. That will also free up time for patients who might require an in-person visit or a phone call. I turn to the GP-patient ratio in Melton and Syston.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This targeted funding has enabled the recruitment of over 2,500 new GPs across England, directly increasing appointment availability and improving care for thousands of patients. Our new £102 million primary care utilisation and modernisation fund will create additional clinical space in over 1,000 GP practices. That will enable them to deliver over 8.3 million more appointments, further expanding appointment capacity and enhancing patient care. In our newly published medium-term planning framework, we have also set an ambitious new target for practices to deliver all urgent appointments on the same day, helping to ensure that patients who need urgent care will be prioritised. This Government have invested an additional £1.1 billion in general practice—the largest such investment in over a decade.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That relates to the point made by the right hon. Member for Melton and Syston about section 106 funding. It would definitely be in the spirit of mission-driven government to work collaboratively across Departments—in this case, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government—to ensure that, as we build the millions of homes that we wish to in the lifetime of this Parliament, we do not neglect the services required to make those homes happy and fulfilling for the communities who live in them. Timely access to GP appointments is at the heart of a strong and responsive healthcare system. To deliver more appointments, we must have more GPs. That is why, in October 2024, we took decisive action, investing £160 million in the additional roles reimbursement scheme, or ARRS.”
House of Commons30 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Part of disability reduction is timely access to cutting-edge treatments, which no longer involves clot-busting; it now involves clot removal, in the form of thrombectomy. Thrombectomy services are planned to be totally universal in England by April 2026. I hope that answers some of the questions the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson) asked about those services.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Although I am responding on behalf of the public health Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton), I am the Minister responsible for digital health and data, so I can assure the hon. Member that the interconnectivity of data among primary care, secondary care and social care is important to me, both for ease of access for the patient and for learnings and auditing. She can be assured of my personal commitment that that is the way forward in the new iteration of a modern health service. The hon. Member also asked about physiotherapy and disability reduction. I can reassure her that, through the workforce plan and our upgrading of the digital architecture, we are working intensively to see how we can bring world-class physiotherapy to all and not just to some.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) for securing this timely debate and wish her mother well in her recovery. It is not easy to channel personal pain for the greater good, but the hon. Member has done so, along with my hon. Friends the Members for Stratford and Bow (Uma Kumaran) and for South West Norfolk (Terry Jermy). They can be assured that their articulation in this place of their personal experience will prevent strokes and lead to their faster treatment. Often, debates such as this can increase awareness and reduce the threshold at which people contact the NHS and the ambulance service for help. The hon. Member for Twickenham asked me to address a number of issues, and I will do so before I get into the bulk of my speech. One was about data capture.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend must have read my mind. As I was saying, our plan is only for England. Hon. Friends have already articulated the fact that in Scotland, despite the best efforts of clinicians in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, there has not been the ability—or the intent from the Scottish Government—to bring forward a proper 24/7 stroke thrombectomy service. That means that the time of day that Scottish patients have a stroke determines the outcome. They are literally being dealt a roulette wheel of care: 20th-century care out of hours and 21st-century care within office hours. It is simply unacceptable, and the UK Government stand ready to assist the Scottish Government in any way, shape or form they require to make sure that access to the highest quality of care is as available to patients in Scotland as it is to those in England.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Through focus, and by delivering on the promises of digital and bringing the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS, we can, and we will, do better for stroke patients and their loved ones.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We are also forging partnerships with medtech companies to deliver the next generation of healthcare for patients. Reneural, which has partnered with Hillingdon Hospitals NHS foundation trust, is bringing virtual reality stroke rehabilitation to patients, and enabling therapists to remotely deliver and monitor stroke rehabilitation. Our shift from analogue to digital is supporting both in-hospital and community-based therapy, and, in many ways, allowing equality between rural and urban communities. I am not saying that everything is perfect—far from it—or that there will not be bumps along the way. However, in a few short months, we have improved the outcomes of more than 60,000 patients, which is a testament to the actions of this Government.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am pleased to update the House that since the roll-out last summer, the tool has been used to interpret the brain scans of more than 60,000 patients. This Government believe that working people have the right to expect the same level of rehabilitative services as the wealthy. That is why we are so gladdened by the new state-of-the-art rehab gym hub at Montagu hospital in Doncaster, which is a perfect example of the best of the NHS that we wish to bring to the rest of the NHS. The suite relies on robotic therapies, which are otherwise provided only in private healthcare. The machines combine robotics with gamified, interactive activities to enhance both physical and cognitive recovery following a stroke—an example of what the seamless integration of physiotherapy and investment in digital health can achieve for stroke patients.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Members are aware, the NHS fell behind in the last 14 years—certainly behind the private sector—in using digital technology. That was an appalling inequity, so let me come to our shift from analogue to digital. Half of all people who experience a stroke in England are now recovering thanks to revolutionary scanners that mean patients can avoid the risk of serious disability. The world-first technology that is coming online will analyse CT scans of stroke patients arriving in hospital, identifying them within 60 seconds. That means that the average time between a patient arriving at a hospital and starting life-saving and life-changing treatment is shortened from 140 minutes to only 79, resulting in less disability and a greater quality of life.”
House of Commons28 October 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗