Alex Norris: New clauses 57 and 64 both relate to cancer. It is not quite possible to quantify the damage done by cancer in this country because we end up just throwing big numbers around. In the UK, there are 375,000 new cases and 166,000 cancer deaths each year. Each of those numbers represents a person with a devastated family. I lost my father to cancer in my infancy—35 years ago in January—and...
Alex Norris: I am grateful for that answer, which reflects the current difference in public policy between the Government and the Opposition. At oral questions to the Health Secretary, I always ask and will continue to ask whether the Government’s position is that the current plans and status will be sufficient to meet the challenges and the backlog—we think they are not. While the system was...
Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the NICE discount rate to align with the latest evidence base and guidance in the Treasury Green book.
Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NICE methods and process review, what steps he is taking to tackle the policy and system barriers NICE has identified as preventing the implementation of the discount rate.
Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access on improving patient access to new medicines; and if he will make a statement on the relevance to patients of changing the discount rate used by NICE from 3.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent.
Alex Norris: Mr Mundell, you talked about doing justice to Sir David’s memory. Like possibly everybody in this place, my friendship with David was one that was funny and light. I loved how serious and passionate he was about the issues that he cared about, so I think we have done justice to his memory today. Everybody can be proud of that, none more so than my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry North...
Alex Norris: I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. I have heard about the fastest gun in the west; I think you might be the fastest-moving Chair in the west midlands, Mr McCabe. Turning to the substance of the new clause, covid-19 has shown the value of public health programmes in building this country’s resilience and improving public health outcomes, yet there is no duty in the Bill on...
Alex Norris: I share with the Minister the desire for a shift to prevention. My anxiety, from the Government action we have seen over the last decade, is that that is a rhetorical shift rather than a substantial shift in policy, and definitely not a substantial shift in resourcing. Nevertheless, the Minister’s answer on the documentation that NHS England will be asked to publish is a suitable substitute...
Alex Norris: I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. This new clause would put responsibility on integrated care boards to take the lead on tackling malnutrition in their community. We spoke about malnutrition in the context of hospital food standards, and we were not able to move the Minister to extend those hospital food standards to other care settings. I thought that was a shame, and I...
Alex Norris: I was a little surprised to hear the Minister defend the status quo. The state of play in this country is not good enough and is getting worse, so I dare say that more of the same will beget more of the same. The Minister said that the new clause was not necessary because of the range of ongoing activity, but I reiterate that what is happening is not sufficient and is not addressing this...
Alex Norris: I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Alex Norris: The two new clauses refer to two linked but distinct sectors of the heath service—dental laboratories and dentistry. In each case, we are seeking for the Secretary of State to publish a report about the health of these important sectors. On new clause 67, the dental laboratory industry manufactures dental appliances to assist in the provision of oral care, such as crowns, bridges and...
Alex Norris: I am grateful for that intervention. It is sobering to hear that 55% was what we started with; we know that it will be less than that now. That rather picks away at the idea of a universal healthcare service. To finish where I was going with my previous point, if I am wrong about where recovery funding for the NHS is going, and there is to be investment in dentistry, I hope that the Minister...
Alex Norris: I am grateful to colleagues for their contributions. I am particularly glad that the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire brought up units of dental activity, which are a Treasury way of understanding activity, not a public health way of understanding oral health. Although they are effective for setting balanced budgets on an annual basis, they are really bad for saving money—in fact, they have...
Alex Norris: I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. New clause 69 is very important indeed. It requires the Secretary of State to direct NHS England to appoint a tsar to lead on policy related to allergies. In 2016, 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse tragically lost her life after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret A Manger baguette. Since then, her parents have campaigned tirelessly...
Alex Norris: I am grateful for that offer. I hope that when NHS England has a chance to consider what has been discussed in Committee, that will generate an offer to meet campaigners to understand what they are after and, we hope, to move positively on it. Beyond that, I am afraid that the Minister’s answer was too much in defence of a status quo that does not work for too many people for me to accept...
Alex Norris: I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting this important debate and the hon. Members for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan), for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) and for Reigate (Crispin Blunt) and my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) for securing it. I also thank the cross-party campaigners in this place beyond that group, including the hon. Member for South...
Alex Norris: I have seen the fundraisers online, as other hon. Members will have. When people have to raise that amount of money each month, they must not be able to do anything else and they must live with that anxiety constantly. We want to relieve people of that as far as we can. We know that the number getting through has been dreadfully low. The previous Minister said in February that 413 unique...
Alex Norris: I am grateful for that intervention. I am slightly torn in the sense that I have absolutely no doubt that families would take it on that basis, but as a former trade union official, I would never have advised a member to sign away their rights. I think that is what we are getting at when the hon. Member for Reigate says that we have to come up with something creative that means we can clear...
Alex Norris: That is very handy timing from the hon. Gentleman because I was just about to make that point. Following that retirement, Robin Emerson, the father of Jorja Emerson—he is behind the Jorja Foundation and has been campaigning tirelessly—has written to the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister asking them to intervene, but my understanding is that he is yet to receive a reply. I hope the...