Results 1-20 of 5,735 for speaker:Andy Burnham

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: We have heard many important contributions this afternoon and I shall respond to them in a moment. The hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) spoke very movingly about his constituent in Afghanistan. Speaking for the Government, I wish to share our condolences with him and his constituent's family. The hon. Gentleman talked of moral and political support being important and the...

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: I consider it one of the finest achievements of this Government that we have taken 600,000 children out of poverty. That is what this party and this Government set out to do. Many of those children live in my constituency and the constituencies of hon. Members sitting on the Labour Benches today. Although it is one of our finest achievements, we will go further.

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: I shall make some progress. I said that we wish to move services from being good to being great. That means building on the foundations we have laid in the past decade to create more personalised and more preventive services that are more responsive and are of higher quality. So we want to lock in the achievements of the past 10 years and to hand power to people-to patients, pupils and...

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: I do not believe that the hon. Gentleman can make such an argument. The Government have introduced the cancer plan and invested in cancer services, and if he is genuinely saying that there has been no improvement in cancer services, I am afraid that I disagree with him profoundly. To make the NHS even more preventive, I propose that the reform should go further still and that we have a right...

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: A few minutes ago, the hon. Gentleman asked where the choice was in end-of-life care. I have launched a consultation on extending to people the right to die at home. Where was he before I proposed that right? I did not hear him calling for it. I have opened that consultation-if people want to make that argument I will listen to it, but it is the Government who are making the proposals. We are...

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: I shall take that as a yes. Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition stood at the Dispatch Box and said that our proposals to turn targets into rights were things that "everyone wants". We are told that the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire is one of the favoured few who is guaranteed his job if the Tories win, but it does not look good for his boss to stand at the Dispatch Box, as he did...

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: I have never heard such rubbish in my entire life. The hon. Gentleman's thinking on the issue is completely and utterly confused. The patients he describes would be covered by the four-hour target. People with such conditions would get straight into hospital- [ Interruption. ]

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: The hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire says that he opposes the four-hour target, too. He says that he supports guaranteed waiting times, so let us get this straight today. Does he support the new proposed right to care within 18 weeks, and two weeks to see a specialist for patients with suspected cancer? Does he support those patient rights, on which we are consulting now?

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: If that is the case, it is a major U-turn by the hon. Gentleman-a major U-turn-and it has been forced on him because yesterday his leader ripped up his policies in front of the entire House and the whole country. For the past two years, in every speech, the hon. Gentleman has said, "We oppose the 18-week target. We oppose the two-week target. We oppose four-hour A and E targets." Those...

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: The hon. Gentleman has been found out. I am sorry to disappoint my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice), but I am not proposing what the shadow Health Secretary suggests. I can stand making a tough decision. I can say, "This is saving lives; I will stand by it," but the hon. Gentleman wanders round constituencies with candidates wearing rosettes, promising the earth. He does that...

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: I have heard more than one plea for more funding from Tory Members today. The funding formula follows health need, and we believe that it is right for funding to be targeted in that way. If the hon. Gentleman proposes changes, he will have to justify taking money away from areas where the health need is greater. We have heard some good contributions and important points in this debate; let me...

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: I take the hon. Gentleman's point on LINks-that we probably have more to do to give them a higher profile, and that we have to work harder to make them more effective. However, I urge him to work through the all-party group that the hon. Member for Wyre Forest chairs to see whether we can make progress in that regard. There is growing evidence that NHS IT is making a genuine difference to...

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: The whole aim of the reform is to improve the level of care and support for the most vulnerable people in our society. The hon. Gentleman called a press conference today and said that I wanted to cut benefits and support for vulnerable and older people. [ Interruption. ] He is saying that again and, although I generally do not take offence at much, I do take offence at that. We have said...

Bills Presented: Education and Health (19 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: I encourage the hon. Gentleman to read the Green Paper, which is about providing more support to vulnerable people. It is this Labour Government who proposed direct payments to older people in need of care so that they had the cash in their hands that would enable them to buy the services and support that they need. He suggests that reforming a benefit equals a cut, but I think that he is...

Written Answers — Health: Disabled: Employment (12 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: I met with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions recently and our discussion included what is available to support individuals with disabilities and health conditions, including Pathways to Work and the Condition Management programme. We discussed that good work leads to improved health outcomes and helps disabled people and those with health conditions live fulfilling and independent...

Written Ministerial Statements — Health: "The NHS Constitution: a consultation on new patients rights" (10 Nov 2009)

Andy Burnham: The Department of Health has today published the consultation document—"The NHS Constitution: a consultation on new patient rights". The NHS constitution brings together in one place what the NHS does, what it stands for and the commitments it should live up to. It describes the values and enduring principles of the NHS. To guarantee that the NHS constitution is relevant and up to date...