Downing Street Says

Asked why the Health Secretary was making an Oral Statement to the House of Commons this afternoon, the PMS said that we had got to a certain point in the Bill process, in that the committee stage had been completed and there was a bit of a break with recess, so it was the right time to set out the next steps. However, people should wait for the statement to find out exactly what the Health Secretary would say.

Asked if certain changes to the Bill were going to be announced today, the PMS said that we had clear objectives in terms of modernising the health service and we intended to push ahead with those. The Health Secretary would set out next steps in that process this afternoon.

Asked about the timetabling of the Bill and how long it would take to come into effect, the PMS said that the precise timetabling of the Bill was not a crucial issue, and it was a matter for the business managers at Parliament. It was most crucial for us to press ahead with the reforms.

Asked if the Prime Minister was happy with Andrew Lansley’s leadership on this, the PMS said yes.

Asked what the precedence was for a Secretary of State to make a statement to the House regarding a Bill that wasn’t part of the timetabled schedule, the PMS said the Government was undertaking significant reform of the health service. We were not in the position to increase spending on the health service by 5% real terms year after year so we needed to modernise the health service. It was quite normal for the Secretary of State to keep Parliament informed.

Asked why the Prime Minister thought it was right to have this listening period’, the PMS said that that term was not one he had used. The Prime Minister had been clear when asked about this in the past that we would listen to people about the reforms we were making. There was a need to modernise the NHS and we intended to press ahead with that.

Asked if the Prime Minister thought the Government had been successful in arguing the need for reforms, the PMS said that there was a job to be done in convincing people of these reforms, which the Prime Minister had previously made clear. We had looked ahead to the future and concluded that if we were not able commit record increases in spending year on year then we would have some problems. We needed to explain that to people, and explain why we were making changes.

Asked if the Prime Minister was happy with the Bill as it currently stood, the PMS said that the Prime Minister thought that the reforms were necessary. Clearly as a bill progressed, Parliament expressed a view on legislation, which was reviewed.

Asked what the Deputy Prime Minister’s role had been in this, the PMS said that the Deputy Prime Minister had a role across the piece and all significant policies were agreed on a coalition basis.

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» Monday, April 4, 2011

Health

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