Lord Kamall (Con)

My Lords, when we have Statements such as this, it is easy to fall into the old-fashioned debate of the Opposition condemning the Government for every change to policy that they announce, and the current Government blaming the previous Government. I hope that the Minister will appreciate that, as the shadow Health Minister, I have tried to act in a more constructive manner—I see her nod—by supporting the Government when we agree, and by asking questions to understand their reasoning and ambitions. We all want a system of health and care that is fit for the future, fit for today and patient-focused. We welcome the Government’s focus on their three principles. I shall not test the Minister on them, because I know that she can reel them off. They are: hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention. Indeed, when I was a Minister in the department, part of my job was to push the digital agenda in health and care. With that, I am equally sure the Minister also welcomed the opening in April last year of the new Dyson Cancer Centre in Bath, as well as the completion of the Greater Manchester Major Trauma Hospital in May 2024. We are disappointed that the Government have delayed the new hospital programme, and it was also disappointing to see the Secretary of State criticising some of the aspects of the new hospital programme. We completely understand that the Government have felt it necessary to reassess the timeline for delivering the hospital building programme, but may I press the Minister on those changes? Having delayed some of these new hospitals and the rebuilding of existing hospitals, are the Government still committed to building the same hospitals on the same sites? Is there a possibility that they will change the criteria for where the hospitals will be built? We also want to understand how this fits into the Government’s other ambitions. The Government are committed to building 1.5 million new homes. Where these new houses are concentrated will inevitably create new areas of pressure on health and care services. Will the Government be considering the impact of their housebuilding targets on the location of these new hospitals, and will that affect the hospital programme? I have one final point. Brand new, state-of-the-art, large-scale hospitals are all well and good, and we certainly need more hospital capacity, but I know the Minister will agree that they should be supplemented by an increase in primary care facilities. I know the Government have committed to doing just that. The noble Lord, Lord Darzi, was unequivocal in his support of this in his recent report. Have the Government allocated funding for new primary care centres, such as the one mentioned by the Minister in Oral Questions today, and community health and care centres that could offer some secondary care services, taking pressure off the hospitals, but also better rehabilitation for people in their local community, also taking pressure off the larger hospitals? I look forward to the Minister’s responses.