Speeches by Atkins.

“On this, the first anniversary of Hamas’s horrific attack on Israel, our thoughts are with Israel, the victims of that horrific attack and their loved ones, and with all those who are trying to rescue the hostages, get aid where it is needed and bring peace to the region. Day 95 of this fumbling Labour Government, and …”

“That is nonsense.”

“I will happily intervene. That is simply incorrect. There are a couple of points that the Secretary of State has made that are completely wrong, which I will have to correct in my speech. He is no longer in opposition. He needs to be careful what he says on the record. That is not right.”

“I will make some progress, because I know that I am trying your patience, Madam Deputy Speaker. Lord Darzi says that prevention is better than cure. We agree. The Government say that they are committed to prevention, but actions speak louder than words. Scrapping the winter fuel payment for millions of pensioners will …”

“I think the hon. Lady did not hear me; I said that cancer is the biggest killer of children under the age of 14, not 40. I know only too well how that terrible brain cancer has hurt her family, and the great loss that she has suffered. I know that she has ambitions for the work that we were doing to get cancer treatmen…”

“The right hon. Gentleman was chuntering from a sedentary position. We on the—[Interruption.]”

“Thank you, Mr Speaker. There is one part of Great Britain where, on almost every measure, the NHS performs the worst: Labour-run Wales. The right hon. Gentleman has compared—”

“Thank you, Mr Speaker. We on the Conservative Benches never pretended that everything was fixed. We have not pretended that we have a monopoly on wisdom or that there are easy answers to the difficult challenges we face. For the NHS to thrive in its next 75 years, it needs to reform, modernise and improve productivity.…”

“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Secretary of State for advance notice of his statement. The NHS belongs to us all, and we all care about it, so let us stop the political posturing and talk constructively about its future. We all know that our healthcare system faces significant pressures, as do all health systems ar…”

“I fear that the right hon. Gentleman is betraying his inexperience. It is a shame that he needs all that help and experience; the rest of us have just got on with the job. The Department of Health and Social Care manages incredibly sensitive information, ranging from the development of healthcare policy to the handling…”

“It is always nice to see the right hon. Gentleman, but I was expecting to see the actual Secretary of State respond to this question. Perhaps he is at a business meeting with health firms—”

“(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care if he will make a statement on the involvement of people with no formal appointment in the development of Government policy on health. I apologise to the House, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am more used to answering, but believe you me, I am looking…”

“May I welcome the Secretary of State and his ministerial team to their places, and wish them well in their endeavours? With your indulgence, Mr Speaker, I should also place on the record my thanks to my superb team of former Ministers, to those in the private office and to officials in the Department for their hard wor…”

“I am afraid I do not like it when Secretaries of State do not answer questions, and I am sorry to say that the right hon. Gentleman gave another non-answer, as has been the case for those on the Government Front Bench. I have a question that I hope he will be able to answer. The final act of the Conservative Government…”