Speeches by Fenton-Glynn.

“To what extent do you think the failure to reform is driving inequalities in both access to and quality of social care? Do you think there are ideas for reform that could address that?”

“I think that is probably true. There was a National Audit Office report in 2023—I am trying really hard not to say “last year”—which outlined the social care issues. One of the things it mentioned was significant authority to authority differences, which will be partly driven by the finances of those authorities. Witho…”

“Do you think moving more universally to rolling out a strengths and assets-based care system would lead to better outcomes with healthcare and people being able to live healthier for longer?”

“Calderdale council took the innovative step of giving foster carers a council tax break, which has been incredibly effective in recruiting foster carers. Would this and other such ideas be a good way to get more people into the system?”

“Q13. This Government are committed to using the criminal justice system to tackle violence against women and girls, but when an abuser can use a child custody battle to continue their abuse, as has happened in the case of one of my constituents, it is clear that we need to raise the issue in the civil courts too. Will …”

“Thank you all for coming. It is quite a good week for you to be here, given all the other announcements. I re-read Sir Andrew’s report earlier this week, and it struck me that, as you say, the thing missing from it is where the funding is coming from. I would be interested if you, Sir Andrew, with your hat on as a form…”

“I would gently suggest that, since the policing budget is £8 billion, £5 billion is not an insignificant amount of money.”

“The situation in northern Gaza is grave, with no functioning hospitals, medical centres destroyed and more than 1,000 medical personnel killed, injured or detained. The UK representative to the UN made it clear that that is unacceptable. What steps will the Minister take to ensure that Israel abides by its responsibili…”

“It is inarguable that the CQC needs improvement. Many who run care services in local authorities have little confidence in its performance. Does my hon. Friend agree that we could go some way to improving how it is viewed by looking at the use of single-word assessments, which create undue stress for social services le…”

“7. Whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of improvements made to the Care Quality Commission.”

“I welcome the commission, which hopefully will lead to some certainty on the future of social care. However, a 2023 National Audit Office report found that 17% of local authority directors of social services were concerned about their ability to meet statutory obligations last year, and a further 18% are concerned abou…”

“I welcome this debate. Another winter and there are more severe backlogs—the causes are structural and predictable. The shadow of what Lord Darzi found weighs heavy on this debate, with 14,000 unnecessary deaths in A&E each year, waiting times for over-65s in emergency care having more than doubled to seven hours, …”

“In fact, the better care fund works best in West Yorkshire when it works to hasten people’s journey out of hospital, and that sounds like a very good example. In my own local hospital trust, the figure for people on the transfer of care list is even higher: 20% of beds are taken up by people who could be treated at hom…”

“Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker. Our hard-working farmers across Calder Valley want to earn a living from farming, not use their land to avoid tax. After 14 years of neglect by the last Government, which undercut farmers in trade deals, the sector is, however, becoming increasingly unprofitable. I welcome the Labour Govern…”

“2. What steps she is taking to help ensure increased prosecution rates for rural crime.”

“Does the Minister agree that the amazing staff at Overgate hospice in my constituency should be focused this Christmas on caring for their patients and not on funding? Will she confirm that this funding allows them to do so? Also, in April I will be running the London marathon for the Overgate hospice’s big build appea…”

“I welcome my hon. Friend to her place. Representing a rural constituency, I am aware of the ongoing problem of agricultural vehicle theft. In Calder Valley, vehicle crime counts for one in every 20 crimes committed. The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, passed by the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith…”

“Thank you, Secretary of State: it is really good to hear that local government’s voice is going to be stronger. I say that as a former council cabinet member for social care, and I am going to bring us on to social care. Lord Darzi has said that 13% of patients in NHS beds are there because there isn’t appropriate soci…”

“Can I pause you for a second? It is good to hear those words, and I do appreciate that the Government have been in place for only five months, but this is obviously a long-term project and we should have a clear idea of what our social care system is going to look like. I am not sure, despite having run a local social …”

“Last week, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS foundation trust’s bed occupancy was at 99.6%. Some 20.1% of those beds, because of the failure of social healthcare and community care, were taken up by people who could be treated elsewhere. All I want for Christmas is a reassurance that, next Christmas and next winter, soci…”