I had not planned to speak in the debate, but I am doing so because the subject is important; I thank Brian Adam for bringing it the chamber. I recognise the work that Macmillan Cancer Support does in supporting cancer sufferers.

When people are diagnosed with cancer, they often expect that certain things will be in place, such as ready access to information, advice and benefit systems. It can be a shock for people to find out that such things are often just not there. There are many examples of people struggling not only with the illness, but with finding appropriate information and support. In such cases, organisations such as Macmillan Cancer Support and Marie Curie Cancer Care can offer support to sufferers and their families. When my mother was diagnosed with cancer—she eventually died—I was surprised at how difficult it was to find out where to get support or basic information. Even though I was involved in community work, I did not know where to get the support, so what chance do other people have?

Apart from advice on benefits for cancer sufferers, it is important that advice is available on insurance in general, not just travel insurance. Constituents have come to me with issues around insurance for mortgages and loans, for example. People have found out that they have lost their insurance cover because they had an illness at some time in the past. They did not know until it was too late that that the insurance company was taking away their insurance cover. I have fought a number of such cases for constituents.

It is important that the travel insurance issue is not only highlighted by Macmillan, but taken up by politicians and others, and raised in the Parliament and elsewhere. The last thing that someone needs when they are facing cancer or dying, although people can recover, is having to worry about money. They should be able to get the support and advice that they need. If they have taken out an insurance policy, they should have the assurance that it will be there for them when they need it and that they will have the same right to travel as others do.

One of my constituents was advised that everything was fine when she bought her travel insurance online. However, she took ill when she travelled to America and was faced with paying large bills when the insurer decided that they should not have insured her in the first place, because she had been much more ill than she said. It is unacceptable that people have to face such situations.

I thank Brian Adam for raising this important issue.