Contribution
I agree with my hon. Friend. For context, I say to members of the BMA and resident doctors that to bring forward legislation in this way and at this pace is not easy. We have a packed legislative programme. The clock is ticking on getting everything through that we want to get through in the time that we have available, and I am grateful to the business managers in both Houses for facilitating the Bill. Cross-party support is going to be important, particularly in the other place, where we have lots of expertise to draw on, including from Cross-Bench peers.
We have introduced the legislation because fundamentally we agree with the case that the BMA and resident doctors have been making. In our discussions with BMA representatives, immediately prior to the last round of industrial action and since, it has been very clear that when it comes to jobs, we are not that far apart. We recognise the problems and we are working together to address the solution. On pay, there remains a gap between the expectations of the BMA and what the Government can afford. All I ask of resident doctors and their BMA representatives is some understanding and a bit of give and take about the range of pressures on the Government and the national health service, many of which require funding, which is why there are choices and trade-offs.
I hope that the BMA representatives know and have noticed that, regardless of the fact that we remain in dispute on these issues and have had a number of rounds of industrial action, I have not slammed the door in their faces and stopped talking—we have continued with good-natured and constructive talks—and I have not thrown my toys out of the pram either, and said “Right, we will not proceed with this Bill.” We have continued to work to enact solutions that we think are good for resident doctors, and therefore good for patients and good for the NHS. I hope that this will be the spirit in which we can work together.
The goal is to be in a place, particularly with the BMA and resident doctors although this applies to other groups in the workforce too, where we can work together and make progress outside disputes, so that we can gather around tables as partners, rather than as opponents. That will take some gear shifting from where we have been to where we want to be, but I know that both the Government and the BMA have entered the new year in that spirit, so we will continue to make progress.
Having stressed the urgency of the legislation, I want to address the commencement clause included in the Bill, which has already been raised. First and foremost, it is there as a failsafe. We are running to an extremely tight deadline. I do not want to be in a position where a law is enacted and we are unable to implement it in a timely and orderly fashion. Secondly, there is a material consideration about whether it is even possible to proceed if strikes are ongoing, because of the pressure that they put on resources and the disruption that is caused operationally, particularly among the people I require to help me deliver the measures in the Bill. Of course, I am keeping my options open. We are in a good place with the BMA, and we have entered the latest round of talks in good spirit, but we do not yet have an agreement on their disputes and we are waiting for the outcome of their ballot, so I am not going to do anything now that unnecessarily makes it harder to end the strikes.
The Opposition amendment to remove the commencement clause is designed to make industrial action more likely, not less likely. It tries to bind my hands and make this job even more difficult. It looks like political gameplaying, at a time when we are trying to save the NHS, and it looks like party interest before national interest. I hope that the Conservatives will consider whether their amendment is really necessary.
British taxpayers spend £4 billion training medics every year. We treat them poorly, place obstacles in their way and make them fearful for their futures. We are forcing young people, who should be the future of our NHS, to work abroad, in the private sector or to quit the profession entirely. It is time that we protect our investment and our home-grown talent. This Bill will ensure a sustainable workforce, cut our reliance on foreign labour, halve competition for places and give home-grown talent a path to become the next generation of NHS doctors. I commend this Bill to the House.