PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Health and Social Care Reform - 23 July 2024 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury—words I did not think I would ever say—and welcome him to his place. The answer to his question is yes. We do not just want to discuss with patients and staff; we want them to help shape the 10-year plan for the next decade of reform, which will take our NHS from the worst crisis in its history and make it fit for the future. Social care also needs to change. We will work with care workers and care users to build consensus for and shape a new national care service.

Does the Minister agree that the voices of frontline staff, whether in hospitals such as the Horton general hospital in Banbury or carers like my mum, are still often ignored when it comes to whistleblowing? More worryingly, those voices are silenced by threats to report them to regulatory bodies. Does he agree that we need to level the field of accountability for managers who ignore whistleblowers, and that there should be a regulatory body with oversight of medical managers?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have previously said that bank managers are more regulated than NHS managers. This Labour Government will pursue an agenda of greater accountability, transparency and candour when it comes to those making managerial and executive decisions in our national health service.

In integrating health and social care it is vital to take the staff component along with you. It is also vital to have sufficient funding. We integrated health and social care in Scotland in 2012 and it has been a difficult road, but health in Scotland is funded £323 per head more than it is in England. Will the Minister commit to put his hand in his pocket and make sure English people enjoy the same health funding as people in Scotland?

I welcome the hon. Gentleman back to the House, but I politely say to him that he needs to be a little bit patient. There will be some announcements in the near future on this Government’s plans for social care. He should rest assured that we on the Labour Benches understand the integration agenda. We understand the need to fix both the NHS and social care, and this Labour Government will do that.

I call the shadow Minister.

I congratulate the Minister and his Front-Bench colleagues on their appointments. I welcome the suggestion that the Government are considering the possibility of a royal commission on social care and intend to address the issue on a cross-party basis, but that will take time. Can the Minister therefore confirm that, as was suggested during the election campaign, the Government will take forward the Dilnot reforms, and in particular that they will introduce a cap on social care costs, as was planned by the previous Government?

It was, of course, the right hon. Gentleman’s Government who kicked the can down the road on these issues. They allowed the system to spend the transformation money that had been provided precisely for the purpose of the Dilnot reforms on fixing their broken national health service. He should just be a little bit patient, as we will announce our proposals for social care shortly. He should rest assured that, as I have said to him before, this Labour Government are determined to fix both the broken NHS and the broken social care system that we inherited from 14 years of Tory failure.

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

The Liberal Democrats spoke about care a great deal during the general election campaign. At the heart of our plans was our pledge to introduce free personal care. Will Ministers please confirm whether they intend to open cross-party talks and, if so, whether free personal care will be on the table as one potential option?

I thank the hon. Lady for the way in which the Liberal Democrats approached the issue of health and social care during the election campaign. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has already said, we will work with all in the House who want to fix our broken health and social care system. Of course we will work collegiately across parties, and of course all issues relating to how we fix our broken social care system will be discussed during those cross-party deliberations.