To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to accept the recommendation made by the Migration Advisory Committee in its report entitled Full review of the Shortage Occupation List, published in May 2019, that the entire occupation of speech and language therapists be added...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to accept the recommendation made by the Migration Advisory Committee in its report entitled Full review of the Shortage Occupation List, published in May 2019, that the entire occupation of speech and language therapists be added...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of local health providers on medical staff vacancies at Bedford Hospital NHS Trust; and how many and what proportion of vacancies there are in each discipline.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of local health providers on medical staff vacancies at Bedford Hospital NHS Trust; and how many and what proportion of vacancies there are in each discipline.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of shortages of foster carers by region.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of shortages of foster carers by region.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with representatives of healthcare providers on nursing vacancies in NHS trusts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with representatives of healthcare providers on nursing vacancies in NHS trusts.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Charles. I am grateful to the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable) for securing what has been a well attended and thoughtful debate.

The Office for Budget Responsibility assessed the UK’s public finances as potentially £30 billion worse off...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Charles. I am grateful to the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable) for securing what has been a well attended and thoughtful debate.

The Office for Budget Responsibility assessed the UK’s public finances as potentially £30 billion worse off...

It is a pleasure to speak in a debate with you in the Chair, Sir Charles. I think that this is the first time I have done so. I join others in congratulating the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable) on securing this important debate.

The number of Members...

It is a pleasure to speak in a debate with you in the Chair, Sir Charles. I think that this is the first time I have done so. I join others in congratulating the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable) on securing this important debate.

The number of Members...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and paints a picture of social care in this country. On 15-minute visits, does she agree that the issue is not just the time limit but the ever-changing individual presence? With vulnerable people, consistency of care and the ability to build up...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and paints a picture of social care in this country. On 15-minute visits, does she agree that the issue is not just the time limit but the ever-changing individual presence? With vulnerable people, consistency of care and the ability to build up...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. For people with dementia and learning disabilities, seeing a familiar face every day can be crucial.

We cannot allow this crisis to continue. We must see action to ensure that everyone is able to access the care that they need to live with dignity. That...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. For people with dementia and learning disabilities, seeing a familiar face every day can be crucial.

We cannot allow this crisis to continue. We must see action to ensure that everyone is able to access the care that they need to live with dignity. That...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I do not have time.

A few months ago, we pledged £350 million a year for community resources, aimed specifically at helping to bring autistic people and those with learning disabilities out of in-patient units—over 2,000 of them—in which they are trapped. It is a scandal that we do not have...

I do not have time.

A few months ago, we pledged £350 million a year for community resources, aimed specifically at helping to bring autistic people and those with learning disabilities out of in-patient units—over 2,000 of them—in which they are trapped. It is a scandal that we do not have...

It is a great pleasure to serve under your stewardship in this important debate, Sir Charles, and I share the sentiment of many Members across the House in congratulating the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable) on securing it. I also wish to highlight the incredibly constructive and...

It is a great pleasure to serve under your stewardship in this important debate, Sir Charles, and I share the sentiment of many Members across the House in congratulating the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Sir Vince Cable) on securing it. I also wish to highlight the incredibly constructive and...

May I associate myself with what the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) said about young carers who go home and look after parents who may have an alcohol or drug dependency problem? In my constituency an organisation called The Young Karers East Sutherland

helps to support...

May I associate myself with what the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) said about young carers who go home and look after parents who may have an alcohol or drug dependency problem? In my constituency an organisation called The Young Karers East Sutherland

helps to support...

That is an excellent intervention, and the hon. Gentleman is right to say that we must do more to recognise and support young carers. The hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport said that we must do more to help schools to identify young carers, and that was a key...

That is an excellent intervention, and the hon. Gentleman is right to say that we must do more to recognise and support young carers. The hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport said that we must do more to help schools to identify young carers, and that was a key...

Will the Minister give way?

Will the Minister give way?

I will make some progress, if the hon. Gentleman does not mind.

As a result of our investment in social care, 65% of local authorities were able to increase home care provision in 2017-18. Local authorities have increased the average fee paid for older people’s home care by 4.7% in 2018-19,...

I will make some progress, if the hon. Gentleman does not mind.

As a result of our investment in social care, 65% of local authorities were able to increase home care provision in 2017-18. Local authorities have increased the average fee paid for older people’s home care by 4.7% in 2018-19,...

The better care fund and how it is applied on the ground locally varies across the country. Overall, the impact has been disappointing in terms of the ambition for that fund. I urge my hon. Friend to look at why there are two different commissioning systems for the NHS and...

The better care fund and how it is applied on the ground locally varies across the country. Overall, the impact has been disappointing in terms of the ambition for that fund. I urge my hon. Friend to look at why there are two different commissioning systems for the NHS and...

My hon. Friend is right to say there were teething problems, but in the most recent reporting cycle, 93% of local areas agreed that joint working had improved as a result of the better care

fund. We want to use it to drive much better integration and to look at...

My hon. Friend is right to say there were teething problems, but in the most recent reporting cycle, 93% of local areas agreed that joint working had improved as a result of the better care

fund. We want to use it to drive much better integration and to look at...

Will the Minister give way?

Will the Minister give way?

I do not have time. We also fund the workforce development fund, and social care employers can bid for this funding to pay for their staff to gain training qualifications at all levels.

There were lots of questions raised across the Chamber and I want to deal with them all. The...

I do not have time. We also fund the workforce development fund, and social care employers can bid for this funding to pay for their staff to gain training qualifications at all levels.

There were lots of questions raised across the Chamber and I want to deal with them all. The...

Sir Charles, thank you for safeguarding the last 10 minutes. I tried to approach this whole subject in a non-tribal way. I thank all the Members, including the Minister, who participated in that spirit. The debate was enriched by people drawing on professional experience, such as the hon. Member for...

Sir Charles, thank you for safeguarding the last 10 minutes. I tried to approach this whole subject in a non-tribal way. I thank all the Members, including the Minister, who participated in that spirit. The debate was enriched by people drawing on professional experience, such as the hon. Member for...