Speeches by Robertson.

“I can offer the hon. Member a solution for growing the tax base: grow the economy. That is by far the best way of increasing the tax take. This Budget does not grow the economy—that is the problem.”

“The Government knew that if they raised national insurance contributions in the Budget, it would be devastating for health and social care. That is why they exempted the NHS; they knew that it would be put under acute pressure by the Budget. They did not exempt some of the key partners that deliver health and social ca…”

“rose—”

“Going back to incentivisation, I am concerned, in terms of public understanding, that “healthcare” and “NHS” are used interchangeably. You mentioned nursing, where of course it depends on the setting—where you are and who employs you. There is an issue with successive Governments sticking with some very simple messagin…”

“Thank you very much. Hopefully decision makers are listening.”

“Professor Hawthorne, how does the GP contract need to change to better support a shift from hospitals into the community?”

“It sounds like it is more a funding thing than a change in the way we contract and commission.”

“11. What steps her Department is taking to help tackle hyper-prolific offenders.”

“The Government’s early release scheme has an impact assessment for it to run for 10 years. For however long it does run, will the Government confirm that no prolific offenders will be released early?”

“The hon. Gentleman talks about the NHS. What does he have to say to pharmacies, which report that his Government’s measures will cost pharmacists £50 million, even after taking into account the employment allowance?”

“It is the job of any Government to grow the economy and grow jobs. The best way of delivering money for public services is to grow the tax base without having to increase taxes, so it is hardly surprising that the Chancellor wrapped up her bad Budget as a growth Budget. Unfortunately, when she unwrapped it at the Dispa…”

“The hon. Member opened by referring to himself as a doctor and medical practitioner. Perhaps he could help with the difficulty I have with the Bill, which I would dearly like to support. There are provisions in it that allow the Secretary of State to bring forward regulations so that the independent doctor can be an al…”

“As my right hon. Friend knows, I worked for a charity for six years—or a decade, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer likes to call it. Would he care to reflect on the damage done to charities by this Government’s Budget? They are already in a squeeze, and the Government have squeezed them further through their decisions…”

“The hon. Member talks about choice. I agree with what he has said so far, but does he agree that, when it comes to the banning of smoking for people born after 1 January 2009, there is no removal of choice in the Bill, because they cannot smoke anyway at the moment? Therefore, there is no removal of choice from those p…”

“Lord Darzi, thank you very much. The remit of your report did not deal specifically with social care, but you understandably and rightly refer to it, to the extent that it impacts on the NHS, so I will ask you some questions on social care. To what extent is it fundamentally sustainable, if we are to achieve integrated…”

“The hon. Gentleman speaks eloquently on a wide range of healthcare challenges in Hampshire. Does he agree that our shared integrated care board for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight must do all that it can to make the best of the situation, particularly in relation to NHS dentistry and funding for hospices across Hampshi…”

“Thank you.”

“Your report finds serious long-term underfunding in social care, quite apart from the structural issues, and also remarks on the knock-on effects in the NHS. The current Government have made their first decision on funding through the Budget, and allocated broadly £26 billion for the NHS and £600 million for social car…”

“Continuing healthcare, which is effectively social care commissioned by the NHS, isn’t directly dealt with in your report, but I accept again that social care falls outside of it. I think it is uncontroversial to say that fewer people are receiving continuing healthcare, and in many cases there is a breakdown between t…”

“I appreciate that it is not your decision, or mine, where the money goes, but given that your report looks into decisions made by previous Governments, I am inviting you to comment on the current Government’s funding decision made in October. I appreciate that the system may not be perfect.”