Speeches by Robertson.

“Has the hon. Lady not received a payment of £8,000 from the man whom her own Government want to install as an independent chair of an independent regulator? Does she not accept that that is a major compromise of the independence of that chosen nominee?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I rise to speak to Opposition amendments 44 and 45 and to address directly what I consider to be a major loophole in this proposed law, which has really good intent behind it. There are two elements to the spiking loophole. I can envisage a defendant getting…”

“I have a modicum of sympathy for how the Minister is addressing the words “prank” and “revenge”, although I do not necessarily agree with her. Will she address the issue of intent and recklessness, because that has a clear precedent in law, and indeed in the Bill itself?”

“Will it be based on their performance so far, their health outcomes?”

“I welcome those comments; I do not welcome you not putting it back in the planning guidance. It is such a significant document for where the NHS is heading for the year in advance that not to have the biggest cause of death in the UK in that document for the first time in ages seems to me a tragedy for those living wit…”

“Dementia is the biggest cause of death in the UK.”

“So, NHS England is disappearing. ICBs are definitely staying?”

“Will they be central to commissioning and developing what you call good neighbourhood health services, and central to realising the ambitions in the 10-year health plan?”

“Why are you cutting their operating budgets by 50%?”

“Can you show us the analysis that helped you to arrive at 50% as the right level of cut to their operating costs?”

“Are you sure that the figure is about a 50% cut for the ICBs? Are you sure that is right?”

“Jim, as the boss of NHS England, you wrote to health leaders just last week saying, “We will share with you soon what we think is a reasonable running cost for ICBs per head of population”. Hasn’t the Secretary of State just given you the answer? It is 50% of the current cost.”

“Some ICBs will be asked to save more than 50% and some will be asked to save less?”

“Do you know what is in the 10-year health plan?”

“When will ICBs see what they need to see in order to decide how to save money?”

“Will NHS England powers be coming down to ICBs, or is it all about powers going up to the Department?”

“If powers are coming down to ICBs, how are ICBs expected to deliver that with half the amount of money, and some of them with even less than half, given that you are prepared to have variation?”

“One of the criticisms of ICBs, broadly, is about the lack of representation or lack of strength of representation for primary care, community care and the interests of social care. Will you bring about any reforms to strengthen that representation on ICBs?”

“It might help your shift from acute to community if ICBs had better expertise and representation of what good community and GP primary care looked like.”

“I will turn to dementia. Dementia was taken out of NHS England’s planning guidance at the beginning of this year, so it is not mentioned at all. Will you put it back in the planning guidance for NHS England, Department of Health and Social Care or whichever organisation produces that planning guidance for next year?”