Laurence Turner

I draw the House’s attentions to my declarations in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. As we approach Remembrance weekend, I would like to draw attention in this health debate to the excellent work that the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine does in Birmingham. In July, the people of Birmingham Northfield voted for change. It was a vote for economic stability and investment in public services after 14 years of chaos, 14 years of austerity, and 14 years of running down our schools and hospitals. This Budget is delivering that change. I welcome the biggest increase in NHS funding in 20 years, linked to service improvements. We are a young city, but one in 10 people in Birmingham are on an NHS waiting list. Some of my constituents have been waiting for years for lifesaving treatments; some of them waited for too long. This is the sort of investment that will make a difference that people can feel, and that is a credit to the Ministers on the Front Bench today. The investment in school buildings and equipment is welcome. It is especially important for the projects to rebuild Green Meadow primary school and King Edward VI Balaam Wood academy, which were committed to under the school rebuilding programme, but which face rising construction costs. I also welcome the wider investment in education, particularly in SEND and further education. Other hon. Members have mentioned the important commitments that have been made to the West Midlands combined authority. That is excellent news for the region as a whole and money that can be invested in better housing and better transport services, alongside the additional money for social care and road maintenance in local government. I look forward to seeing Birmingham’s allocation, ahead of a tough local government budget-setting process next year. As a trade union official, I was proud to represent care and NHS workers, but I was ashamed of the conditions in which they had to work for too long. I feel that same sense of shame at the state to which the Conservative party reduced our public services. This is a Budget for investment in health and social care. It turns the page on years of failure and it sets the long-term certainty that businesses need. I hope that it will be carried overwhelmingly tomorrow.