Speeches by Smyth.

“It is not a linear thing or a constant thing. Although you can see the volumes, we are a Department—this was put to me the other day on another subject—that is making a lot of announcements. We are wanting to keep abreast. We recognise how important health is to the population and to all our constituents, and that does…”

“It is quite competitive in the ministerial team.”

“Tom, do you want to go through the process?”

“May I add to that? I know that your purview is the Commons, but my colleague Baroness Merron has sight of what comes down from the Lords. Where a Commons question is asked on an area that she leads on—for example, on life sciences, women’s health or mental health—then it needs to be her and me, because she is the polic…”

“And Westminster Hall.”

“I know I have answered some questions on that particular issue, but as Tom alluded to, it is about going to someone else in the time, and making sure that we get the answer back correctly. Obviously, we have a lot of arm’s length bodies, NHS England being the largest. The questions go out to local systems, if it is a p…”

“I am very happy to take that. I have answered questions and/or correspondence, but absolutely take that if people are not feeling that there is something. We know that your purview is not correspondence, but there are some backlogs and things that have not come out properly. We are conscious of that as MPs, because obv…”

“I stand to be corrected, but I don’t think we know the answer to your first point, because I am not sure we have done that, so let me come back to you on that, if that is okay. On your second point, that is a good challenge. This is all public, so everyone can see what questions have been asked. As I said earlier, it d…”

“The Secretary of State, in his April letter, alluded to being very keen on that and to working with the Committee and Parliament on how best to do that. We are very open to suggestions from the Committee afterwards, or to discussing that.”

“It is a good example, and I would certainly be conscious of that when we are looking at oversight. I don’t see those directly because it is not my area, but as Tom says, it is about where the gap is. People absolutely need to have that information that is not available somewhere else, so that we don’t lose that in the …”

“I think that is right. I think there will be others, though, that come out. We all have our pets, don’t we? That is one of the joys of Parliament. So there will be others that come out that are new, where information perhaps isn’t in the public domain, isn’t as clear, and it is right that Members of Parliament have acc…”

“We were looking at each other then. We are absolutely aiming for that target; we are writ large against that, and I will be looking at all those areas, and the areas that I don’t know, to absolutely get through the process. If the volume remains the same—and within some of the things we are putting in place that remain…”

“I can, but if it is in order, I would like briefly to make a few comments. I am really pleased to be here this afternoon. You said that WPQs are an important tool for parliamentarians. I absolutely get that, and the Secretary of State absolutely gets that; we understand how important it is for us all as MPs to respond …”

“Driving down waiting times is one of this Government’s top priorities, and my colleagues at NHS England continue to keep in regular contact with ICBs on improving waiting times and delivering the ambitions set out in our elective reform plan. Since July, we have cut waiting lists by more than 219,000 across England, an…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member on taking forward that work. The Minister responsible will be happy to continue to work with him in any way possible to support that work on this important aspect of parenthood.”

“I absolutely join my hon. Friend in recognising the importance of supporting women’s health throughout pregnancy and into parenthood on Maternal Mental Health Day. We are committed to improving the support available, and it will form an important part of our 10-year plan. We are investing £126 million in family hubs an…”

“To be clear for the shadow Secretary of State, the Secretary of State is continuing to look at all those recommendations and consider how best to respond.”

“The hon. Gentleman is not correct: maternity funding is not ringfenced at the same level—I think that is what he is referring to. It has, however, absolutely been committed to as far as ICB allocations are concerned. Local leaders will decide how best to allocate that money. We will continue to work with Donna Ockenden…”

“We expect all women to be shown the utmost care and respect when receiving maternity and neonatal care. This year’s planning guidance requires integrated care boards and providers to deliver the key actions in this final year of NHS England’s three-year delivery plan. It is clear from listening to the harrowing stories…”

“My hon. Friend is right to campaign on behalf of her constituents to make sure that more services are delivered in communities. We want to see services brought out of hospital and into local communities. It is up to the ICB to decide how those are commissioned, but we will certainly make sure that, as part of our commi…”