Speeches by Stafford.

““I would wish for an independent service to enable resident and patient voices to be heard to remain in place going forward.””

““This enables staff working in the service and patients to talk to us freely…Patients sometimes worry that they will be treated differently…This enables patients to talk to us in the knowledge that they will not be named.””

“Indeed, Professor Croisdale-Appleby’s evidence exposes what I regard as the principal weakness in the Government’s case. If Healthwatch exists to hold organisations to account, how can that responsibility be transferred to the very organisations being held to account? That is not a political question but a structural o…”

“Taken together, those statements are striking. They come not from campaign organisations or from political parties, but from organisations working within the health and care system itself. Far from arguing that independence has become unnecessary, they argue that it remains fundamental to the effectiveness of patient r…”

“Many of the people Healthwatch represents have had poor experiences of health and care services. Some have experienced unsafe care, and some have struggled for months—sometimes years—to have their concerns recognised. For those individuals, approaching an independent organisation is qualitatively different from approac…”

““much more clarity about governance…to protect independence””

“Such evidence is particularly important because it comes from the organisations that will inherit those responsibilities should the Bill proceed. Far from arguing that independence is unnecessary, they describe it as essential to the effectiveness of the existing arrangements. Surrey county council also highlighted ano…”

“Indeed, the abolition of Healthwatch does not answer the question posed by Professor Croisdale-Appleby—it does not explain how long-established relationships with “seldom-heard communities” can be replicated. It does not explain how institutional trust will be preserved, or how an independent voice becomes stronger by …”

“That brings us back to the Government’s central proposition. Ministers ask us to conclude that because there is variation between local healthwatch organisations, the independent model should be abolished. The evidence heard by the Committee points to a different conclusion. Where funding is unequal, funding should be …”

“I therefore return to the central question. If the Government’s objective is to improve patient safety, why jeopardise one of the very few organisations that has successfully built trust among clinicians, patients and families? Why weaken confidence in the one institution specifically designed to investigate systematic…”

“That is precisely why Parliament has repeatedly concluded that an independent patient advocate is required.”

“There is also a broader constitutional principle at stake. Across public life, we recognise that effective scrutiny requires institutional independence. As I mentioned when we were speaking about HSSIB, the Government are scrutinised by independent regulators, public expenditure is examined by the National Audit Office…”

““The point of bringing it into the CQC…is that we are trying to simplify this landscape…The hope…is that by bringing HSSIB into the CQC, you can align the work of the two.”––[Official Report, Health Public Bill Committee, 16 June 2026; c. 7, Q8.]”

“The review then claims that HSSIB has extended beyond its remit by “making…systemic recommendations”. My hon. Friend called that “complete nonsense”; HSSIB was created to do exactly that. Like the AAIB, the marine accident investigation branch and the rail accident investigation branch, it exists to identify system fai…”

“That contradiction runs throughout the Government’s case. On the one hand, Ministers tell us that nothing of substance will change. On the other, they ask Parliament to dismantle the very institutional framework that Parliament itself established only a few years ago. Those two positions cannot comfortably co-exist. If…”

“The concern has not come solely from Opposition Benches. On Second Reading, the hon. Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) intervened on the Secretary of State:”

“That evidence is significant because it changes the diagnosis. The Government appear to argue that variation demonstrates a flaw in the Healthwatch model itself. Professor Croisdale-Appleby suggested something rather different: that much of the variation is the predictable consequence of unequal investment. He went on …”

“Those witnesses came from different organisations and different perspectives, but they reached the same conclusion. None argued that Healthwatch should remain unchanged. They argued that where there are weaknesses, they should be reformed, where there are inconsistencies, they should be addressed, and where the funding…”

““make sure that what was good about healthwatches is preserved”.––[Official Report, Health Public Bill Committee, 16 June 2026; c. 40-41, Q67.]”

“When questioned about that change, Sir Ciarán accepted that the responsibilities represented”