Category: Health

Patricia Gibson – 2023 Speech on Removing VAT from Sunscreen Products

The speech made by Patricia Gibson, the SNP MP for North Ayrshire and Arran, in Westminster Hall, the House of Commons, on 9 February 2023.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma. I am delighted to participate in the debate and I pay tribute to my esteemed colleague, my hon. Friend the Member for East Dunbartonshire (Amy Callaghan), for her pursuit of this important matter and for her excellent, comprehensive and very powerful opening speech.

My hon. Friend, along with the hon. Member for Erewash (Maggie Throup), came to Westminster Hall today to speak as a survivor. That gives what they say power and authenticity. When survivors speak, it is incumbent on us all to listen to the lessons they are trying to teach us. Whether we are in government or not, what they say matters and must be listened to in that way.

It seems odd to most people that suncream is not already classified as an essential healthcare item in the UK and, as such, is not exempt from VAT. After all, we know and have heard today in some detail that suncream plays a vital role in preventing serious health conditions such as skin cancer. In all honesty, I am not aware of anybody who wears suncream for cosmetic purposes; they wear it because the consequences of exposing themselves to the sun without sunscreen are extremely serious and potentially fatal. That is because it provides protection against harmful ultraviolet radiation. Importantly, it is strictly regulated to ensure that it provides sufficient ultraviolet protection for consumers, so there is no sense or logic in classifying it as a cosmetic product.

As we have heard, that is recognised in the US, where sunscreen is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and in Canada, where it is classified as a non-prescription drug, so there is international precedent for reclassifying the product as a healthcare item. The hon. Member for Strangford reminded us of those international examples and precedents for the change that everybody in the Chamber seeks.

The debate matters, and it is even more important when we consider that skin cancer is now much more common across the UK, where around 16,000 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed each year. Of the 16,000 people who are diagnosed, about 2,300 will die. Cancer Research UK concludes that being sunburnt just once every two years can triple the risk of melanoma, and statistics show that more than one in four skin cancer cases are diagnosed in people under 50. When we consider the cost of treating the growing numbers of people diagnosed with skin cancer, removing VAT from suncream should be considered as important preventive spend. I suspect that the Minister will tell us about the pressure on the public finances and the significant contribution that VAT makes to the public finances, but, like others in the debate, I find it unbelievable that simply removing VAT from sunscreen—that one act on its own—would create insurmountable fiscal challenges for the Treasury. It would make sunscreen more affordable, and that can only be positive when we think about the quest to reduce skin cancer cases and pressure on our NHS.

Some retailers, such as Tesco, have decided to absorb the cost of VAT on sunscreen, so that at the point of sale the consumer is spared that cost. It is worth noting that when Tesco made that announcement, in May 2021, consumers were outraged to discover that sunscreen was subject to VAT. There is a lesson in that outrage for all of us and for the Government: we are working in a situation in which the public believe one thing when the reality is entirely different. Of course, the public are using logic, which we all want the Government to use. The work that Tesco and other retailers have done is to be applauded, but it is a pity that the Government will not and have not taken the lead on the issue and shown that they understand the importance of making that important health product VAT-free.

Tesco made the decision to absorb the cost of VAT on its sunscreen products because, after it did some research, it discovered that 57% of adults think sunscreen is too expensive, 29% say that they would wear it daily if it was a little bit cheaper and 31% of parents—this is important in terms of the stats for melanoma—state that they cannot always afford to apply sunscreen to the whole family. That means that this is not really a debate about sunscreen; it is a debate about public health. It is hugely disappointing that the Government are content to leave this important public health concern to the discretion of retailers, who have taken a lead on the issue. It is important that retailers have done so when the Government have not acted, because we know how financially challenged households are at this time.

I do not want to second-guess what the Minister will say, but I suspect that she will say that high factor sunscreen is available on the NHS on prescription for certain conditions, and therefore is provided VAT-free when dispensed by a pharmacist. That point has been made to me in the past. As my hon. Friend the Member for East Dunbartonshire said, that does not really help someone in Scotland; to be honest, it does not really help all the people who do not get it on prescription but who would benefit enormously from using it.

Removing VAT from sunscreen for everybody will help make the product just a little cheaper during these difficult times. More people would be able to stretch to affording it and would get the protection they need, and it would thereby help to prevent some of the 16,000 diagnoses a year of melanoma. We all urge the Minister to rethink. This is not a debate about the wider principle of VAT—we understand that VAT is levied on certain products. It is about VAT on sunscreen. When I have asked about the issue in the past, I have been told, in great detail, why VAT matters. VAT does matter, but the Treasury is well able to forgo VAT on this particular product, for the sake of public health.

The levy on this particular product has to end. As my hon. Friend the Member for East Dunbartonshire said, that would logically go alongside a public health campaign on the importance of wearing sunscreen. Such measures would ultimately take pressure off our NHS. I urge the Minister to ensure that sunscreen is no longer categorised as a cosmetic item—that is just daft; it is ludicrous. We need to call it what it is. Sunscreen is an important weapon in our armoury for tackling melanoma.

February 19, 2023
Matt Rodda – 2023 Speech on Removing VAT from Sunscreen Products

The speech made by Matt Rodda, the Labour MP for Reading East, in Westminster Hall, the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma. I congratulate the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Amy Callaghan) on her excellent work in securing this debate and on her powerful speech. I also commend colleagues from all parties in the House for their speeches.

I want to make three brief points, first about the obvious importance of sun protection, secondly about the context of the cost of living crisis, and thirdly about the importance of investment in public health.

First, on sun protection, we have heard a persuasive argument today about the importance of protecting ourselves from skin cancer. Quite clearly, it is a threat that can be managed and that we can protect ourselves from, and the hon. Member is absolutely right to point that out. However, those 2,000 preventable deaths surely prompts a question for the Government: what is the state of their current public health work on this important matter? I hope that the Minister will be able to answer that in detail when she responds.

I also urge colleagues from all parties in the House to consider the context for families—who will perhaps have started thinking at this time about booking a summer holiday, or going away for a weekend or to the seaside at Easter—because we are living through the most serious and sustained cost of living crisis for 40 years. When families go to purchase everyday goods, they will see cost increases of around 20% for those goods in the supermarket, and there is a real issue with additional items possibly not being bought as a result. We need to understand that that is a huge risk. There have been many reports in the media of families paring back other products and services because they are under such severe pressure. I hope the Minister will consider that context and see the obvious additional importance of wise public health advice and any measures that are deemed necessary.

When we consider the cost of the summer as a whole for families, particularly those with two or even three children, which involves buying hats, sunglasses, loose-fitting clothing—as we heard earlier—and sunscreen, there are quite obviously considerable extra costs for the many families who are thinking about a summer holiday, either in the UK or abroad. Obviously, sunscreen is part of that cost, so the point that the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire made about the cost of sunscreen is an important one.

Finally, I turn to the need for more investment in public health. It is noticeable that in this country we have a very strong tradition of public information campaigns, which have actually been very successful over the years. Some of us will remember campaigns such as Clunk Click, or other campaigns to try to prevent smoking or many other health risks. What are the Government prepared to do to try to prevent the risk of melanoma, perhaps through better advice, through the media and by directing Government information in a more effective way?

There is also a wider point about working with the health service and other public health professionals. It is a tragedy that since 2010, and certainly for the period immediately before the pandemic, there was a cut in Government spending on public health. In my opinion that is a tragedy, and sadly many important health priorities were allowed to drift in that time, including action to tackle smoking, and there may well be other important measures that were not supported, possibly including the battle against melanoma.

I am conscious of time, so to conclude, this is an important health issue, and the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire has made an interesting point. This debate is also timely, given that this is the time of year when many families are booking holidays and considering what to do in the summer, and at Easter and in other holiday periods approaching in the spring. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response, and I hope she will address a number of the points made today.

February 19, 2023
Jim Shannon – 2023 Speech on Removing VAT from Sunscreen Products

The speech made by Jim Shannon, the DUP MP for Strangford, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

It is pleasure to be called to speak in this debate and to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma. I thank the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Amy Callaghan) for bringing the issue forward. She and I have been friends for a long time in this House, and I am really pleased to see her in her role here. We share APPG roles and I deputise for her—not very well; she does it much better than I do. What a pleasure it is to be here.

I want to add a Northern Ireland perspective to this debate, as I always do. I fully support the hon. Lady’s request to reduce VAT on sunscreen products. Melanoma is a growing health problem in Northern Ireland. My office has six staff members, and three of them—50%—told me that they have immediate family members who had melanoma. One of the younger girls, who is in her early 20s, admitted that she used sunbeds until her father had third-stage melanoma. This is not a disease of the tropics. Perhaps because of our skin and where we are from, we take the sun a wee bit more aggressively than they do in the Mediterranean, for instance. We usually go boiled red to start with, and then when the pain is too much we move to the sunscreen, which we should have done at the very beginning.

It has been found that 86% of cases of melanoma can be prevented by adopting simple sun protection measures, including wearing factor 30-plus sunscreen. That is a very small thing to do, but the hon. Members for East Dunbartonshire and for Erewash (Maggie Throup) and I are asking the Government to do something to incentivise that. We are not asking for a lot; we are just asking for a wee nudge in the right direction. The United States of America and Australia have already done that.

The incidence is increasing, and there are now more than 16,000 new cases of melanoma skin cancer each year in the UK. The problem is growing, and therefore the need is greater than it ever was. Of course, that does not take into account repeat diagnoses of melanoma—the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire said that she got it twice.

In the 15-to-44 age group, melanoma skin cancer is the second most common cancer in males and the third most common in females. I find it difficult to comprehend why that is the case when all those people were taught the dangers of the sun in school. We were told to be careful when we go out—mum and dad told us that as well, but more often than not we ignored it.

Amy Callaghan

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, despite people believing they do not need to wear sunscreen in Scotland, Northern Ireland and other places across the UK, it is essential that they do? They are more likely to contract melanoma if they are pale and fair haired, or have red hair, which is common in our isles.

Jim Shannon

In my case, with no hair.

Amy Callaghan

You’ve got a wee bit.

Jim Shannon

I’ve got a wee bit round the sides. I used to have a whole lot of hair. The hon. Lady makes a fantastic point, and it is true: we are of a fair skin, and that right away puts us in the target area.

We have the information, but for some reason the message just is not getting across. One in 36 males and one in 47 females will be diagnosed with the deadliest form of skin cancer in their lives, so we need to stop seeing sunscreen as a luxury, like a nice moisturiser. We should instead see it as an essential, like good nutrition or drinking water. If it is put in that category, the seriousness of what we are trying to achieve will be clear.

One way of getting the message across is to make it cheaper to purchase sunscreen. My speechwriter—a very busy girl—loves her holidays abroad. I think it is because it means she does not have to answer my calls for two weeks. She has no speeches to prepare, and of course she has no internet access due to overseas roaming charges. She never buys sunscreen before she goes because it is half the price in Florida—that is where they go for their holiday every year. She waits until she gets to Florida and buys enough to bring home and do the whole year back here, because the savings are significant. Hon. Members might say that is an Ulsterman or Ulsterwoman thing, but we do look for a bargain. If it is a bargain that helps our skin and protects us, that is why we do it.

In the US, sunscreen products have been exempt from VAT-style taxes since 2012. In Australia, they are exempt provided they are principally marketed for use as a sunscreen and have an SPF rating of 15 or more. The reason for that is that in Australia and America, sunscreen is seen as an essential daily living product. That is how they categorise it. Some of us have been conditioned to see it as a holiday item, but they see it as something they need to have all the time. Many people who have never gone abroad have melanoma. It is not a holiday problem; it is a lifetime problem.

Public polling indicates that many people find the cost of sunscreen too high, and with the current cost of living crisis deepening, that cost is likely to deter increasing numbers of people from buying sunscreen. The major retailers Tesco and Asda have recognised cost as a prohibitive barrier for people buying sunscreen, and Tesco reduced the price of its own-brand sunscreen by 20% in 2021 to offset VAT. In a consumer poll—such polls are good barometers of what people are thinking—some 57% of respondents said that the product was too expensive, and 29% claimed that they would wear it daily if it were a little bit cheaper. Incentivise it, make it happen and address the issue.

The call for VAT to be removed from sunscreen was part of a sun safety campaign in 2013. That is why I support removing VAT from sunscreens that are factor 30 or more: as Melanoma Focus has said, doing so will make sunscreen more affordable and send a powerful message from the Government about the importance of skin protection. We only have one chance for our skin: it will last us our lifetime, but if we have constant cases of melanoma, then unfortunately it might not last us for the right time. I further support the recommendation that that measure be coupled with a Government-backed cross-media awareness campaign akin to the Australian Government’s successful Slip, Slop, Slap campaign, which the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire referred to. It reminds me of one of those catchy 1960s tunes from when I was a wee boy—I am aging myself by saying that —but a campaign is significant.

With increasing temperatures in the United Kingdom from climate change, such a measure is becoming increasingly urgent. The hon. Member deserves great gratitude for bringing this debate forward, because—as others have said, and as those who follow my speech will say as well—this is an urgent subject. Removing VAT from sunscreen would not have been possible under EU rules, but it is now; there is nothing to restrict us, except those of us who live in Northern Ireland. I hate to say it, but in every debate I have, I have to temper everything with the Northern Ireland protocol. In Northern Ireland, we would not be able to take advantage of leaving the EU in this way, due to the protocol. However, that is a different issue for another day.

Melanoma Focus believes that if this policy were implemented, the reduction in VAT revenue would be offset by reduced melanoma skin cancer cases and therefore reduced costs to the NHS. That is a crucial factor: if we take action to ensure that people can protect themselves more by being able to buy sunscreen that wee bit cheaper, we can ensure that those people do not need ongoing healthcare, with its associated costs. That seems logical to me.

Amy Callaghan

The hon. Gentleman is making a great speech, and I welcome his support for VAT Burn. On his point about the EU, there are little to no advantages of Scotland being outwith the EU, but while we are tied to this place and also outwith the EU, we can reform the VAT on products such as sunscreen. We will take that tiny little benefit that we can, and we appreciate it.

Jim Shannon

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. We certainly encourage the Government to take advantage of opportunities to promote better health as a result of leaving the EU.

The “Getting It Right First Time” NHS review of dermatology highlights high and increasing demand for skin cancer treatment, with 200,000 surgical operations for suspected skin cancer carried out every year, and skin cancer rates doubling every 14 to 15 years. That is the main factor driving the request being made today. When it comes to health, those are the stark figures, and I believe they highlight the need for additional workforce to meet current and future pressures, and also suggest that we need to raise sun and skin awareness to reduce pressures on dermatology services.

In conclusion, I support the call to remove VAT from sunscreen. I say to the Minister, who knows that I respect her greatly, that we make that call today because we believe it is worth supporting. The Government have taken other steps when it comes to VAT—the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire referred to sanitary products. Removing VAT from those products was something that the Government should have done; they did so, and I welcome that. Today, we make another request.

It is not just a matter of listening; it is also about taking action to protect our people and our NHS, and the future of its services. Here is a figure for everyone— 85% of cancer is preventable. This is preventable, if we take some steps in the right direction. Let us take the steps in this place to prevent it right across all of this great nation, this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

February 19, 2023
Maggie Throup – 2023 Speech on Removing VAT from Sunscreen Products

The speech made by Maggie Throup, the Conservative MP for Erewash, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

“It won’t happen to me”—that is what we all think. But then it does. It happened to me. Back in 2019, I noticed a blemish on my left arm. Knowing that both my parents had benign skin cancer, I decided to get it checked out. After a biopsy, my blemish was diagnosed as melanoma and I underwent surgery to remove the cancer. I was one of the lucky ones. The melanoma had not spread. I was not ill. I was discharged from the cancer specialist in 2020, free from melanoma. While I am left with an impressive scar on my left arm, the outcome could have been so different had I not been aware of the signs to look for and caught the cancer early.

One in 36 men and one in 47 women in the UK will be diagnosed with melanoma in their lifetime. Tragically, 2,300 people die from the disease each year. That number has included a business acquaintance of mine, who very sadly passed away in his early 40s, and BBC Radio Derby presenter Colin Bloomfield, who passed away at the age of just 33 in April 2015 after his melanoma metastasised to his lungs.

These deaths do not need to happen—86% of melanomas are preventable by adopting simple sun protection. That is why I back the call for sun protection of SPF 30 and above to be available VAT-free. I congratulate the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Amy Callaghan) on securing today’s debate and on all the work she has done on this issue.

The Government can do a lot, but they cannot stop people going out in the sun; they can do a lot, but they cannot change the weather. But they can remove VAT from sunscreen. We need to remove every possible barrier that could stand in the way of people buying a life-saving product. At the same time, such a measure sends out the message that the Government are serious about tackling all types of cancer. From an economic perspective, a healthy workforce is a productive workforce. The cost to the NHS of not taking action against a preventable cancer must be huge. We need to break down the silos in the NHS, between the NHS and the Treasury, and between all Government Departments, and look at the cost of not removing VAT on such a product.

As is often the case, each and every one of us needs to take some personal responsibility. They say that only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. We should be taking the same preventive measures during the hot summer months here that we would if we were on holiday abroad. That includes seeking shade, wearing a hat and loose clothing, and keeping out of the sun when it is most prevalent. Through a combination of these actions, we will see a noticeable decline in cases of melanoma, which at the moment takes far too many lives, far too early, but the Government have a part to play as well.

February 19, 2023
Amy Callaghan – 2023 Speech on Removing VAT from Sunscreen Products

The speech made by Amy Callaghan, the SNP MP for East Dunbartonshire, in Westminster Hall, the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the matter of VAT on sunscreen products.

We should be united across this House in our efforts to beat cancer, and that means all cancers—not just the ones it is politically expedient to target. Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, killing 2,300 people each year. It receives only a fraction of the political attention it deserves, especially when we consider that 90% of cases are preventable with adequate skin protection—that is more than 2,000 lives we could save each year.

In recent years, both melanoma and non-melanoma cancers have been on the rise across the UK, with around 16,000 new cases of melanoma diagnosed each year— 90% of which, as I said, could be prevented by staying safe in the sun. With Cancer Research UK finding that getting sunburnt just once every two years can triple a person’s risk of melanoma, which sunscreen plays a vital role in preventing, it is just common sense that we should work together to make sunscreen products that bit more affordable for our constituents.

With the support of several organisations and Members across the House, my VAT Burn campaign seeks to reform the value added tax charged on sunscreen products of SPF 30 and above—products deemed by the NHS to provide significant enough coverage to our skin if applied correctly. Removing VAT from sunscreen is not a radical idea; in fact, when asked, most people are surprised, if not shocked, that VAT is charged on sunscreen. It is not a novel idea; both the US and Australia have made sunscreen exempt from VAT-style taxes. But removing VAT is a necessary idea—one that should, can and must be done to promote sun safety measures and reduce cases of skin cancer. It would be an important step to demonstrate the UK Parliament’s commitment to sun safety and send a clear message to the public about the importance of sunscreen.

We should not stop there. As in Australia, removing VAT from sunscreen should go hand in hand with an awareness campaign. The Australian Slip, Slop, Slap campaign was a huge success, and there is no reason why something similar could not be replicated in the UK. This is not hard. As Australia and the US have shown, any barriers to implementing this policy change are surmountable. That is why there are two folds to my VAT Burn campaign: first, to reform the value added tax charged on sunscreen products; secondly, education and awareness around skin protection from the sun. I encourage colleagues present today and others to sign early-day motion 839, in my name, which calls on the Government to launch an Australia-style awareness campaign around skin protection in the sun and the risks of prolonged sun exposure.

Sunscreen products are currently treated and defined as cosmetics or luxury goods for VAT purposes, which, given their clear health benefit, is unacceptable and unjust, particularly with temperatures rising—although, I must say that sunscreen should not be worn only when we perceive it to be hot outside. It should be worn all year round, which is why I launched this campaign in February, on World Cancer Day, and not at a sunnier time.

I am incredibly passionate about this issue, and I will put front and centre the reasons why. People like me, whether because of background, class or opportunities, do not tend to end up in this place. For those who do, we end up in politics, I hope, to create positive change for us and for our communities, but most importantly, for our constituents. Not many 30-year-olds—nor Members of Parliament, for that matter—can speak from a position of experience of having survived melanoma twice. It would be a dereliction of duty to my fellow cancer survivors, my surgeon and my family if I did not use that experience to speak up for those who cannot.

I will clarify that VAT Burn seeks a VAT exemption for sunscreen products of factor 30 and above, with a four-star UVA rating and marketed exclusively as sun protection. I will be crystal clear that this exemption will not encompass products from the cosmetics industry, such as foundations including SPF, as those products provide little or—I argue—no protection from the sun.

The anomaly of sunscreen products being exempt from VAT is longstanding, and seems perfectly reason to question, given we are in a cost of living crisis and a climate crisis. Also, given the VAT relief provided to drugs, medicines, medicinal products and aids for the disabled, it seems logical that preventive healthcare measures should be exempt too. Many of my constituents will find it hard to believe that the like of Calpol and paracetamol are exempt from VAT, but not sunscreen products.

The Government line that sunscreen products are exempt from VAT when dispensed by a pharmacist simply does not hold up to scrutiny. First, only a tiny amount of the population receive sunscreen on prescription. Secondly, prescriptions are already free in Scotland, meaning that our constituents do not receive any benefit from that. The Government, I assume, will also argue that this policy will cost the Treasury too much money. But given that it is estimated to cost somewhere in the region of £40 million, which is only 0.03% of the total amount of VAT the Government receive, it is a tiny amount of money in the context. This is clearly not about the money; it is about the Government’s unwillingness to act.

We should not be talking about money, especially the money it will cost the Government. Instead, let us think of the lives that can be saved—those 2,030 lives per year that I mentioned earlier. Let us think of the effort saved by our NHS diagnosing and treating less skin cancers. The money saved within this vital public health service cannot be ignored. At the risk of pre-empting the Minister’s response, why does she recognise the merits of zero-rating some products, but not sunscreen? Do the Government value the protection of our skin from the sun? Do they see merit in an Australian-style awareness campaign? Will the Minister take the proposal to the Prime Minister, and share his views on whether sunscreen products should be more affordable to our constituents?

I understand that there are some reservations about VAT exemptions, because previous zero ratings have not produced savings for consumers. That is exactly why, as part of VAT Burn, I have a pledge for retailers and producers to sign up to. I can confirm today that Morrisons has agreed to sign up to it, and, given that Tesco already absorbs the VAT on sunscreen products, I feel confident that our constituents will see a saving when it comes to sunscreen, should the Government choose to back VAT Burn.

VAT Burn is the product of months of work. To be honest, I never wanted to get to this stage. When I submitted a written question pointing out the anomaly of VAT charged on sunscreen, I had hoped that the Minister would respond positively, and the UK Government would intervene to remove the VAT and quickly bring sunscreen into line with all other healthcare products. But that was not the case. I was told people should wear hats, cover up and sit in the shade, while the Minister curiously ignored sunscreen. Those are important measures to keep safe in the sun, but only alongside wearing sunscreen.

I organised a cross-party letter to the Chancellor, and 40 MPs from every major political party signed the letter. The Chancellor, at the time the right hon. Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng), reiterated the UK Government’s opposition to removing the VAT, citing the same arguments as before: sunscreen alone does not mean someone is safe in the sun. But no one ever said that it does; it is clearly just one part of the solution. When the Chancellor changed, and we had a former Health Secretary in post, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt), I re-sent the letter. I hoped that someone with experience in health policy would see the sense in this simple change, but I received another stock rejection.

Whether it was parliamentary questions or meetings with Ministers, none of it has got us anywhere. That is why we are here today, and why the campaign is being covered in the media. It is why six charities are backing the campaign, and why I will keep pushing until we see movement on the issue—specifically, with a ten-minute rule Bill on VAT Burn on 23 February.

I touched very briefly on the organisations supporting VAT Burn. I place on record my thanks to each and every one of them for the great work they do to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer and its impact. I thank the Teenage Cancer Trust, Skcin, Melanoma UK, Young Lives vs Cancer, Melanoma Focus, and, last but not least, Melanoma Action and Support Scotland—Scotland’s only skin cancer specific charity, based in my constituency of East Dunbartonshire.

It is also a workers’ issue. Too many workers spend prolonged periods of time exposed to the sun without adequate, or any, protection. I note that Police Scotland provide their officers with sunscreen if they spend prolonged periods of their shift exposed to the sun. If sunscreen were more affordable, more employers would step up and provide sunscreen products for their staff. This Government proposed to provide free sunscreen to all emergency workers. It would be useful to get an update on that from the Minister. No worker should be put at unnecessary risk of skin cancer due to a lack of sunscreen being provided by their employer.

This common-sense approach to zero rating sunscreen can help everyone. It almost feels daft that I have to stand here today and make a case for it. Let us agree to work together to make this simple change for the benefit of all our skin.

February 14, 2023
Steve Barclay – 2023 Speech on Ambulance Services and Consultation on Minimum Service Levels

The speech made by Steve Barclay, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill requires the Secretary of State to consult with such persons as they consider appropriate prior to making regulations to establish minimum service levels for relevant health services in the event of strike action. The regulations must be approved by both Houses of Parliament before they are made. The consultation requirements may be fulfilled before and after the Bill receives Royal Assent. Minimum service levels will enable employers to issue work notices, ensuring adequate staffing for a minimum level of safety to be achieved in the event of strike action.

Minimum service levels aim to limit the impacts of strike action on the lives and livelihoods of the public and to strike a balance between the right of unions and their members to strike with the need for the wider public to be able to access key services during strikes.

This consultation focuses on minimum service levels for ambulance services, which the Prime Minister has identified as a priority, alongside fire and rescue services and rail services. Our proposal is that ambulance services should be covered in regulations as a priority recognising that disruption to blue light services puts lives at immediate risk. This consultation will help to inform a decision as to whether ambulance services should be covered by the regulations and if so the detail regarding the minimum service levels required in the ambulance service.

The consultation will open today, Thursday 9 February 2023, and will be open for a period of 12 weeks, closing on Thursday 4 May 2023.

Copies of the consultation will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

February 12, 2023
Eluned Morgan – 2023 Statement on Ministerial Priorities for the NHS in Wales
The statement made by Eluned Morgan, the Welsh Minister for Health and Social Services, on 7 February 2023.

The increased emergency pressures on the NHS, which have been so evident over the winter months, have been compounded by a number of factors, including concurrent surges in a range of respiratory viruses, including Covid-19, flu and scarlet fever.

But external factors, such as the ongoing consequences of Brexit, the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine, are all also impacting our health and care services.

I have recently spoken about the need for clear priorities – this statement highlights the priorities I have set for the health service in Wales. They will help address the immediate pressures and help to build a sustainable health and care service over the next year.

It is important people play their part in helping the NHS by looking after their own health and wellbeing and taking steps to stay well. I want to continue this conversation with the public so together we can create a healthier population, reduce pressure on acute NHS services and improve outcomes in the longer term.

The current environment means the priorities need to be targeted to the challenges we face. The NHS Planning Framework 2023-26 sets out the broad requirements that will underpin NHS plans going forward – this includes the importance of quality, safety, prevention and good health outcomes at the heart of the NHS in Wales.

We must continue to focus on population health and prevention as the route to better health and wellbeing and to sustainability in the longer term. Reducing inequity and improving the quality, safety and experience of those in need of health services must always be a driving force in service planning and delivery. Delivering efficiently, effectively, and optimising service delivery is how the improvements must be embedded in the DNA of the NHS in Wales.

It is crucial the NHS focuses on these priorities so resources and capacity can be used to make a real difference to people throughout Wales.

Members will be very well aware that frailty is driving demand for healthcare, particularly urgent emergency care, and social care. Once clinical interventions are complete, people should be able to return to the community, and services must be available in an integrated way to facilitate that. That’s why in this calendar year I am prioritising work to increase the number of healthy days at home for people experiencing frailty.

This must be an equal partnership between the NHS and social care organisations, and be really focussed on people receiving a consistent standard of community care across Wales. The approach, backed up by improved data collection will provide a better basis for focused support. In developing a plan for this work with organisations and other key partners, the aim is to have regions and localities working towards the national service specification and workforce model well ahead of next Winter, and for there to be means in place for identifying relative impact.

Priorities
- A closer relationship between the NHS and local government to tackle delayed transfers of care, and an effort to move further and to deliver an integrated community care service for Wales is essential. Work is ongoing across health and social care to introduce the Pathways of Care Reporting framework for delayed transfers of care in 2023. Health boards will be expected to use this to monitor the progress of safe and timely discharges of patients. All organisations must deliver care closer to home. The focus should be on doing the right things to support people, to ensure they receive the care they need at home.
- Improving access to general practice, dentistry, optometry and pharmacy This will include independent prescribing and increasing self-referral to a wider range of community-based allied health professionals, including rehabilitation, mental health and audiology.
- Urgent and emergency care must focus on the effective management of people with urgent care needs in the community 24/7, and help more people to safely access alternatives to hospital-based care, for example through robust, seven-day same-day emergency care services and integrated health and social care community response models. Health boards must work with partners to significantly reduce the time patients spend waiting in ambulances outside emergency departments.
- Planned care and recovery is being led by the National Recovery Programme, which will set specific requirements for health boards. Meeting these requirements must be a priority. Regional diagnostic centres and treatment centres should be at the forefront of organisations’ plans. This must include actions to move services, workforce and funding from hospitals into the community so people need to go to hospital when it is right for them. Organisations must demonstrate how they will deliver a significant increase in the numbers of patients who undertake pre-habilitation. Diagnostics services improvements must result in a reduction in numbers of people waiting for diagnostic tests to pre-pandemic levels as a minimum, including for mental health diagnosis.
- Cancer services must enact the quality statement on cancer and ensure there is a reduction in the backlog of patients waiting too long on the cancer pathway. Achieving the required standards must be a priority for health boards.
- Mental health and child and adolescent mental health services there must be improvements across all age services and equity and parity between physical and mental health services. Health boards must plan to expand tier 0/1 support to provide easy access to population level support for lower-level mental health issues, improve services across CAMHS, adults and older adult services and implement 111 press 2 for urgent mental health support. Reconfiguring eating disorder services to target earlier intervention and ensure a maximum of a four-week wait for routine access to eating disorder services is required. Improving memory assessment services to obtain a timely diagnosis and treatment should also be included. Improved access to full range of all age mental health and wellbeing services, particularly for children and young people, boosting prevention support for adults and children and de-medicalise the approach to mental health services where appropriate.
Core Supporting Functions

Digital, innovation, technology and transformation must underpin the delivery of optimum care and services for patients, alongside workforce, wellbeing and robust financial management.

It is important the NHS focuses on ways to deploy the existing and future workforce to best effect. This includes enhanced use of multidisciplinary teamworking, role redesign, developing new roles, and advanced practice models, enabling people to develop their careers and work at the top of their license.

The economic and financial outlook is extremely challenging. The value of the overall Welsh Government budget has fallen in real terms by £3bn over the current spending review period. A renewed focus on cost reduction and value improvement in the NHS is therefore critical to ensure the ongoing sustainability of services.

Robust financial planning, fully integrated with service and workforce planning, is essential, as is tight financial governance and financial management. Capital plans must be prioritised and aligned to decarbonisation targets.

The role of NHS organisations as anchor institutions provides a driver to implement care and services in a way that supports individuals and communities as part of normal business. This will include the approach to the foundational economy and how the NHS can respond to the cost-of-living crisis for both patients and staff.

The net zero target for the public sector in 2030, decarbonisation action plans and social value, as part of contributing to achieving the aims of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, remain as commitments and opportunities to build in actions and benefits as part of service planning and should be taken.

All NHS organisations must submit board-approved plans providing firm commitments about how these priorities will be delivered by 31 March 2023.

This is a challenging period in which to plan and deliver health services but I am confident the NHS will continue build on the progress and learning from the pandemic and the ongoing pressures to deliver the sustainable services we all want.
February 9, 2023
Eluned Morgan – 2023 Statement on NHS Pay Update in Wales

The statement made by Eluned Morgan, the Welsh Minister for Health and Social Services, on 3 February 2023.

Following continued discussions over the last week, we are pleased to announce that an enhanced pay offer has been made to our health trade unions. On this basis, we are hopeful that the planned industrial action over Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th February will be postponed, allowing trade unions to discuss the proposals further with their members. Individual trade unions will confirm their intentions regarding next week’s action, prior to further talks with their members.

This revised pay offer comprises an additional 3%, of which 1.5% is consolidated so will be in pay packets year-on-year, on top of the Pay Review Body recommendations, which have already been implemented in full. This offer will be backdated to April 2022. Included in this revised package are a number of non-pay commitments to enhance staff well-being, on which negotiations will continue next week.

Whilst there is currently no improved pay offer on the table for NHS staff in England, it was also agreed that any resulting Barnett consequential following any improved offer to staff in England would result in a further pay offer to staff in Wales.

We would like to thank those that have participated in the negotiations for their positive engagement and goodwill. We are awaiting a formal response from each of the individual trade unions.

February 9, 2023
Eluned Morgan – 2023 Statement on North Wales Medical School

The statement made by Eluned Morgan, the Welsh Minister for Health and Social Services, on 26 January 2023.

I am pleased to announce the Welsh Government will be funding up to 140 medical student places a year at the new North Wales Medical School. Direct intake will start in 2024.

We expect student numbers to increase steadily and to reach their optimum number from 2029 onwards. This gradual trajectory will provide time to assess and evaluate both the quality tuition and student experience at the new medical school.

Establishing a new medical school in North Wales is a key commitment, which will help Wales to train more medical students and ensure that training opportunities and the provision of qualified doctors are spread across Wales.

This is a real boost for North Wales, for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and for Bangor University.

I have written to the General Medical Council to confirm our support and endorsement of these plans. This letter of assurance enables the GMC to progress the accreditation process.

February 9, 2023

Eluned Morgan – 2023 Statement on Expansion in Training Places for the Health Professional Workforce in Wales

The statement made by Eluned Morgan, the Welsh Minister for Health and Social Services, on 18 January 2023.

Despite the challenges we face today, we continue to invest in the education and training of healthcare professionals in Wales. There is great demand on our NHS in Wales and the continued necessity to increase the training numbers and funding for essential health professionals in 2023/24. This is why, for the ninth consecutive year, funding to support health professional education and training in Wales will increase.

£281.98m will be invested in 2023/24; this equates to a 8% increase from 2022/23 which is an extra £1.7m for education and training programmes for healthcare professionals in Wales; £7.14m extra for medical training places, an extra £1.68m to support core GP training numbers and a net increase of £3.41m for pharmacy training across Wales. This will continue to be a record level of funding to support the highest ever number of training opportunities in Wales.

A well-trained NHS workforce with the right skills is essential to providing a sustainable high-quality care to people across Wales and improving standards in our health service.

I am proud of this government’s record on investing in education and training to support and sustain the health workforce across Wales. The NHS has more people working in it than at any time in its history, all aimed at prevention and care for members of society, across every community in Wales.

The Welsh Government remains committed to providing the NHS with the workforce it needs and these additional training places will increase the capacity of the workforce to help the NHS respond to the challenges facing it in the future.

Over the past five years nurse training places have increased by 41.3% and midwives have increased by 41.8%. Tables showing the increase in health professional and medical training places for 2023/24 can be found at Annex A.

Annex A

NHS Wales Education Commissioning and Training Plan for 2023/24

The following tables show the increase in health professional and medical training places for 2023/24.

Speciality	From	To	% Increase
Adult Nursing	1651	1892	14.6%
Mental Health Nursing	410	530	29.2%
Child	175	192	9.7%
Midwifery	185	190	2.7%
Dietetics	66	82	24.2%
Occupational Therapy	179	197	10%
Physiotherapy	174	180	3.4%
PhD Clinical Psychology	36	40	11.1%
Paramedics	116	120	3.4%
Operating Department practitioners	49	62	26.5%
Scientist Training Programme	39	53	36%
Higher Specialist Training	8	10	25%
Cardiac Physiology	23	24	4.3%
Audiology	11	12	9%
Respiratory & Sleep Science	8	14	75%
Neurophysiology	3	4	33%
Life Sciences (Bio Medical Sciences)	24	26	8.3%
Clinical Engineering	6	8	33%
Pre-registration Pharmacy Technicians	83	100	20.5%
Pharmacy Technicians	30	50	66.7%
Secondary Care/Speciality Training	89	92	3.4%
Foundation training	60	69	15%
Physician Associates	52	57	9.6%

Urgent and Emergency Care
Intensive Care Medicine	Increase of 3 higher Training Programme posts (fifth successive year of increases).
Higher Emergency Medicine	To increase by 4 higher posts for 2023, 4 posts for 2024 and 2 posts for 2025. The increases for 2024 and 2025 are required to ensure the pipeline via ACCS EM established in previous workforce plans is aligned to the higher programme.
ACCS Emergency Medicine	To increase by 4 posts for 2023 (2 in North Wales and 2 in South Wales) and by 2 posts for 2024 (South Wales).
Geriatric Medicine	To increase by 5 posts each year for 3 years commencing in 2023. These recommendations will be reviewed on an annual basis and increased if high recruitment levels into the programme are sustained.
Internal Medicine	To increase by 12 posts for 2023 to maintain the pipeline created following expansion in 2021 and 2022.
Foundation	To increase the number of Foundation Year 1 posts by 39 and Foundation Year 2 posts by 30 for August 2023 as detailed in the Foundation Expansion Business Case.
Cancer Care
Clinical Oncology	Increase by 4 additional Higher Training posts implementing year 3 of the proposal to expand by 4 posts per year for 5 years.
Medical Oncology	Increase by 3 additional Higher Training posts implementing year 3 of the proposal to expand by 3 posts per year for 5 years.
Palliative Medicine	To increase Palliative Medicine training by a further 2 posts for August 2023 as recommended in the 22/23 plan.
Planned Care
General Surgery	Increase by 7 higher posts for 2023.
Trauma & Orthopaedics	To increase by 5 posts in 2023 and then by a further 5 in 2024 and in 2025 (to be reviewed and dependent upon training capacity).
Higher Anaesthetics	Increase of 6 Higher Anaesthetics posts.
Dermatology	To increase by 3 posts in 2023 and by 3 posts in 2024.
Rheumatology	To increase by 2 posts for 2023 as recommended in the 22/23 plan.
Neurology	To increase by 3 posts for 2023.
Diabetes & Endocrinology	To increase by 1 post in 2023 and a further post in 2024.
Diagnostic specialties & Health promotion/prevention
Medical Microbiology/ Infectious Diseases	Increase of 3 Medical Microbiology/Infectious Diseases posts implementing year 4 of a plan to increase posts every year for 5 years.
Clinical Radiology	To support the recommended expansion as required to appoint 20 trainees for the 2023 intake into the South Wales programme.
Clinical Neurophysiology	To increase by 1 post in 2023 and then by a further post in 2024.
Public Health Medicine	To increase by 3 posts as recommended in the 22/23 plan.
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CPT)	To increase by 1 post in 2023.
Mental Health
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	No increase to the higher programme for 2023 but to monitor demand and act accordingly. To pilot 2 new innovative ST1 run through posts for 2023.
Old age psychiatry	To increase by 2 posts for 2023 and a further 2 for 2024 as recommended in the 22/23 plan.
General Adult Psychiatry	To increase by 2 posts in North Wales in 2023. Increases will be recommended for South Wales in the 24/25 plan if current vacancies are filled.
Forensic Psychiatry	To increase by 1 post for 2023 to enable the creation of a North Wales programme.
Core psychiatry	To increase by 8 posts in 2023 and a further 8 posts in 2024 to maintain the pipeline created through the initial expansion in the 22/23 plan.

February 9, 2023