Part of Health and Social Care – in the House of Commons at on 25 November 2025.
Maya Ellis
Labour, Ribble Valley
My constituents in Ribble Valley have been directly impacted by the delays to the new hospital programme, with the rebuilding of Royal Preston hospital being put back by almost a decade. Just last week, I received the disappointing news that Longridge community hospital, which is much loved and valued by local residents, will be closed for safety upgrades for the next six months. This Government’s impressive 10-year health plan rightly notes that they expect a shift from hospital to community. With that in mind, can the Minister confirm that she expects integrated care boards, such as Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, to keep community hospitals open? That is opposed to centralising, which not only takes services away from communities but, in our case, transfers them to vastly inferior hospital buildings. Will she join with me and Longridge residents and say that she hopes the essential repairs are completed quickly at the community hospital?
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
