Speeches by Kinnock.

“Yes.”

“The way to ensure that is to have a modern service framework that works effectively, with very clear national standards and goals, and with every ICB crystal clear on how they should be achieving those and on the vital role that hospices play. When you look at the statistics, I think about 40% of people die in hospital…”

“We are doing what we can to support hospices with the extra £25 million I announced earlier in this session, and the £80 million for children’s hospices. Clearly, hospices have that independent role, which I personally think is a good thing. Most hospices welcome it, because it gives them a lot of flexibility to provid…”

“I very much hope that the hospice in your constituency has benefited from the additional funding that we have put in. Is it an adult hospice?”

“It is about early engagement and planning—all the way from primary and community care through to the trust and then to the local authority. It is about how we make it clearer that the focus has to be on getting that early engagement, and then getting the Better Care Fund—it is a big fund, £9 billion—to deliver improvem…”

“I am certainly not arguing that it is not challenging. If we look at, for example, the progress we are making on getting the backlog down—even in the face of industrial action—there are some pretty impressive results there on electives. That, of course, has cost a huge amount of money—£250 million is what that strike h…”

“I am very happy to do that. We are looking at reforming the Better Care Fund, which plays an absolutely crucial role in bringing local authorities together with the health system to improve delayed discharge, which is a massive challenge that the system is facing. I have been working on that with my officials, and with…”

“There is a statutory duty for trusts and ICBs to deliver the best possible care to their populations. They need to ensure that they are discharging their functions on the basis of their statutory duties.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, it is absolutely a priority for me to enable the shifts in our 10-year plan. If we are going to operationalise the 10-year plan, resources are a really important part of that, but it is also about reforming the system. Through better integration and better use of technology, you can be more productive without nece…”

“We have to do it, and the point is that we are currently living in a world where the problem the system is facing, and one of the reasons we have such a huge elective backlog, is because we haven’t made primary and community care work as effectively as they should. We have to prevent avoidable admissions. Far too many …”

“Well, as Ed says, we are publishing our workforce plan in the spring, and that will set out our targets right across the board. That is why I don’t know the answer to that question yet, but it is important that we have strong specialist care capability. From the point of view of the generalist workforce, it is quite di…”

“I wasn’t aware that we are planning to do that.”

“Thank you very much, Chair. If I could make a very brief statement, which has some new information that I think the Committee might find useful. I thank the Committee and its independent expert panel for their excellent report. Palliative and end-of-life care plays an essential part in our health and care system, and i…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Vickers. I start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales) and congratulating him on securing this important debate. Having now been in the same room as a specialist in ear, nose and throat, a former GP and a vet, I am not sure…”

“The right hon. Gentleman is busted now.”

“I can—we are absolutely committed to responding to the Kingdon review next year. We are working on pulling together our response to the report. It is extremely important, and there are serious lessons to be learned from it. We think Dr Kingdon has done an excellent piece of work, and we are very keen to build on it and…”

“We have a plan for next steps and I look forward to discussing those with him further. Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10(6)).”

“Oh, okay. Does my hon. Friend wish to intervene?”

“It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq, and I really thank my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins) for raising this important issue. This year, I have seen at first hand—at the Wigan and Leigh hospice, the Noah’s Ark Children’s hospice in Barnet, and Katherine House hospice in Staff…”