Speeches by Stafford.

“The problem, Secretary of State, of not even being able to put a ballpark date on this is that it gives no confidence to those victims that they are going to get any compensation at any point soon. You are not going to give me an answer, but I press you to really think what impact this delay is having on those people, …”

“What is holding it up?”

“It does not sound like as quickly as possible; it sounds like another delay, but okay. Patient Safety Commissioner Henrietta Hughes wrote to No. 10 to ask what discussions Government are having on the redress scheme for victims of sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We have had two years and there is still no response to…”

“Thank you. Moving on, you will be aware that, in March, 351,000 people were removed from NHS waiting lists. What due diligence has the Department done to ensure that those people genuinely did not need to be on those waiting lists?”

“The question of independence was reinforced by Sarah Tilsed, speaking on behalf of the Patients Association. Her evidence was notable because it came from an organisation whose sole concern is the interests of patients, rather than the preservation of any particular institutional structure. She told the Committee:”

“Obviously, I have sympathy for what the hon. Member is trying to achieve—ensuring that our data systems are free from potential hacking by either state or non-state actors is very important—but I cannot see anything in new clause 4 about the size of contracts. Does his suggestion relate to any contract, however small, …”

““we need a truly independent patient voice”—”

““trusted because they are outside the system”.”

“I want to address this clause because I believe that the Government are making a significant mistake by abolishing Healthwatch England, as they have just done with the group of amendments, and local healthwatch organisations. The Government have sought to reassure the Committee that the functions currently carried out …”

“The evidence presented to this Committee points consistently in the opposite direction. Witness after witness argued that Healthwatch’s effectiveness derives precisely from the fact that it sits outside the organisations whose decisions it scrutinises. That institutional separation is not an administrative inconvenienc…”

“not simply a patient voice, but a truly independent voice. She went on to warn:”

“That question was put to Ministers on Second Reading. The hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller) asked the Secretary of State:”

“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…”

““can he reassure the House that bringing the scrutiny of local voices up to the level of the Secretary of State will not diminish the independence of the local healthwatch organisations that…do so much to promote the patient voice and to hold the NHS to account for its services?”—[Official Report, 1 June 2026; Vol. 786…”

“T6. During the election, the Government promised to cut bills by £300; in fact, they have gone up by £300. With that level of financial acumen, the Secretary of State will fit right in, in his new job at the Treasury, but my constituents and local businesses want their bills cut now, not at some nebulous point in the f…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship again, Ms Lewell. I think right hon. and hon. Members will be disappointed to know I am not going to speak too long on this, but they need not worry: in the next grouping, usual service will resume. I want to pick up a few points on the abolition of national Healthwatch…”

“He went further, observing that healthwatches are”

“That was a perfectly reasonable question, but the Secretary of State did not explain how independence will be preserved. Instead, he returned to the argument that patient voices will be brought closer to those planning and delivering services. Again, that is a different proposition. Closer does not mean more independen…”

““Abolishing healthwatches creates a fragmentation of patient engagement responsibilities across ICBs and local authorities.”––[Official Report, Health Public Bill Committee, 16 June 2026; c. 46, Q75.]”

“Professor Croisdale-Appleby also explained why Healthwatch cannot be understood simply as another engagement function. He told us:”