Sajid Javid: We of course want to ensure that children with mental health challenges, including eating disorders, get the support that they need. That is why during the pandemic—just last year—we put in an additional £79 million specifically for children’s mental health services. That is providing many thousands more children with that support.
Sajid Javid: We are putting in record amounts of new investment, with newer services. During the pandemic, we established for the first time a national 24/7 all-age mental health helpline. I would like to make that permanent, beyond the pandemic. When it comes to NHS talking therapies, I mentioned earlier that some 1.25 million people were seen last year. We aim to get that up to 1.9 million over the next...
Sajid Javid: Much of the work that has gone into the publication of this draft Bill, such as that carried out by Sir Simon as well as the work that went into the White Paper, would apply equally to Northern Ireland. We stand ready to work with our friends in Northern Ireland to help them if they wish to go down a similar route. I can also confirm that the Barnett consequentials for the £2.3 billion would...
Sajid Javid: With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on our plans to bring the Mental Health Act 1983 into the 21st century. Today, just as we pledged in the Queen’s Speech, we have published a draft Mental Health Bill to modernise legislation that was passed by the House almost 40 years ago and make sure that it is fit for the future. Last year, we invested £500 million to...
Sajid Javid: Leaving the European Union has provided a unique opportunity for the United Kingdom to improve the medical device regulatory regime and exercise our new powers as a sovereign regulator, creating a world-leading regime that prioritises patient safety while supporting innovation within the UK MedTech sector. To deliver this ambition and gather views of patients, industry and the healthcare...
Sajid Javid: I have published the draft Mental Health Bill today for pre-legislative scrutiny and delivered an Oral Statement to the house. The draft Bill will enable the Government to deliver on two manifesto commitments:to ensure that patients suffering from mental health conditions have greater control over their treatment and receive the dignity and respect they deserve; and,to make it easier for...
Sajid Javid: As part of our continued commitment to open up travel, on 23 June the Government extended the International NHS COVID Pass letter service to allow children aged 5 to 11 years to get an International NHS COVID Pass following a positive NHS PCR test or equivalent within the past 180 days (recovery status). Prior to 23 June, children aged 5 to 11 could only access an International NHS COVID Pass...
Sajid Javid: The life sciences have played an essential role in helping us to learn to live with COVID-19. The UK’s natural strengths, and our world-beating vaccine programme, has allowed us to lead the way in this. As we learn the lessons of COVID-19, it is essential that we take steps to further strengthen UK life sciences and our resilience against both future threats and a possible future resurgence...
Sajid Javid: The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) yesterday published its updated vaccination strategy in response to the current monkeypox outbreak. Based on the currently available vaccine supply, UKHSA recommends that the available doses of the vaccine should be used for a selective vaccine strategy with the aim of interrupting transmission in the subset of individuals at increased risk....
Sajid Javid: I welcome this chance to come to the House to discuss primary care and dentistry, but I have to say that the audition by the hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) did not go very well. I hope that he can see the irony—some might even say the hypocrisy—of his sudden interest in access to public services, today of all days. It is thanks to the strikes that he has been so vocal in...
Sajid Javid: I will take some interventions in a moment. The hon. Gentleman has had every opportunity to do the right thing, to put patients first and to condemn these unjustified and reckless transport strikes, yet at every turn he has chosen to back his union paymasters.
Sajid Javid: I hope the hon. Lady will condemn the strikes.
Sajid Javid: We are seeing record investment in the workforce, and we are seeing record increases. For the first time ever, the NHS is also coming up with a 15-year long-term workforce strategy, which I hope the hon. Lady welcomes. The Government have always been on the side of patients and the people who care for them. I pay tribute to everyone working in primary care and dentistry for the difference...
Sajid Javid: I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend’s important point. In fact, I met my hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) about that last week, and I agree with them both.
Sajid Javid: I am sorry to hear about the right hon. Gentleman’s constituent. If he will allow me, in a moment, I will come on to the pressures that dentistry is facing and, most importantly, what we are doing about them. Those pressures have come about for two reasons. First, there was a fear of infection, which was understandable in a context where 10 minutes in a dentist’s chair during the pandemic...
Sajid Javid: We are putting record amounts of investment into the NHS, including more funding into dentistry—I am about to come on to that right now—which will help with those pressures.
Sajid Javid: I think that many people working across the NHS will be listening to the hon. Gentleman and realising that he has no idea about the pressures that covid has created for everyone working there, especially those on the frontline.
Sajid Javid: The hon. Lady raises an important issue. That is why the Government commissioned an independent report. We have responded to that report. We are still listening to what hon. Members such as herself and others are saying on this important issue, and then we will do a follow-up of the report within a year, so that will be later this year. I know that she will take an interest in that.
Sajid Javid: My hon. Friend is campaigning passionately for primary care services in his constituency, and he points to some fantastic practices. I congratulate all the people involved in delivering that and support him in his work with his local commissioners to make sure that they are getting even better local primary care.
Sajid Javid: My right hon. Friend is absolutely right in his analysis, and I can give that undertaking. I will say a bit more about that in a moment. If the hon. Member for Ilford North wants to talk about funding for the NHS, I am happy to oblige. Under the last NHS long-term plan, before the pandemic, we made a historic commitment of an extra £34 billion a year. Because of the pandemic, we then...