Calling Leigh's Veterans

I will be hosting my annual Veterans Lunch on Friday, 6th November 2015 at Leigh Miners’ Welfare Institute commencing at 12noon.

The annual event brings together veterans from across the Leigh Constituency as well as veteran organisations.

Following my campaign to raise awareness of the HM Armed Forces Lapel Badge all recipients of the badge will receive a personal invitation, but the event is open to all HM Armed Forces veterans in the Leigh Constituency and a nominated guest on a first come first served basis.

To confirm attendance please call Andy’s constituency office on 01942 682353 or email my office.

I know that veterans across the community look forward to attending, catching up with comrades and to remember the contribution and sacrifice of all those who have served their country across the globe. I hope that this small gesture will show Leigh’s appreciation for the valuable service our local veterans have given and continue to give to local life.

Government waters down critical children’s mental health report

Today’s report on mental health services for children and young people, published by the Department of Health, fails to include key criticisms of the Government’s record made in the original copy.

The copy of the original report that emerged last month saw expert authors criticise the Government for its reductions in funding and the impact on services and waiting times.

“Since 2011 there has been a reduction in funding and consequent reduction in service provision, and an increase in waiting times; […]. Meanwhile, CAMHS providers report increased demand in terms of the number and complexity of referrals combined with cuts in CAMHS budgets."

However, the same paragraph today had become:

“Since 2011, our best evidence is that these difficulties are the result of financial constraints accompanied by rising demand."

Similarly, the original report references a “Lack of parity in funding decisions” – between mental health and physical health – but this criticism has been removed.

Only ten days ago it emerged that the Department of Health is also failing to publish a damning report on its management of the NHS by Lord Stuart Rose. Labour wrote to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to call for its immediate publication, but the Secretary of State has not responded.

This Government has become so desperate to run from its NHS record that they are now removing damaging criticisms from official reports. It is outrageous behaviour from a Government to seek to silence expert critics.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg cannot hide from the fact that the children’s mental health budget has been cut in real terms over this Parliament and the NHS has lost 3,300 specialist mental health nurses and 1,500 mental health beds.

They’ve left highly vulnerable children without the support they need and being shunted up and down the motorways in search of crisis beds. Many children have been left hundreds of miles from their home and families and that is a scandal that has got to end.

The NHS as we know it can’t survive another five years of the Tories’ failing plan. Labour has a better plan to put mental health at the heart of the NHS by integrating mental health, physical health and social care into one service. We will invest an extra £2.5 billion each year in the NHS, increase the proportion of the mental health budget spent on children and recruit 20,000 more nurses, including mental health specialists.

Getting the best NHS deal for Greater Manchester

There must be an election coming.  After five years of making savage cuts to council budgets, and five years of fragmenting and privatising, George Osborne has waited until five weeks before this Parliament ends to endorse Labour’s plan to integrate the NHS and social care.

We can all speculate about the reasons for his Road to Damascus-style conversion and have every right to be suspicious of the real reasons behind the rushed timetable unveiled this week. But the great thing about our political leaders in Greater Manchester is that they are always more interested in getting the best deal for our people than playing party politics. That’s what sets them apart from others and means they get so much done.

Unlike Mr Osborne, they are not sudden converts to NHS and care integration. So they have my full support in pushing for the best deal from whichever Government is in power.

Osborne’s plans could allow Greater Manchester to get on with the job of delivering Labour’s policy of Whole Person Care. But, before any final deal is signed, there are major questions that the Chancellor needs to answer.

Firstly, how much money is actually on offer and will it be enough?

On Tuesday, this paper revealed huge deficits in Greater Manchester’s hospitals after years of council budget cuts too. And we know that pressure is growing as our population gets older. We all need to be vigilant against the danger that this Government is only offering to devolve a funding crisis and then blame us when things get worse.

This raises my second question: what will happen if the funding is insufficient? Will our hospitals be left to sink or swim or will we continue to get backing from the rest of the NHS?

These questions are highly relevant. Last September in Manchester, Ed Miliband committed to the extra £2.5 billion year that the NHS needs. This is a promise Mr Osborne has failed to match.

My third worry is whether these proposals would mean yet another reorganisation for Greater Manchester’s NHS - only two years after the last one. It would be the very last thing that we need, wasting time and money.

Fourthly, will Greater Manchester still be stuck with the Tory competition agenda after devolution – or does this give us an escape route? This is important as mandatory tendering is the biggest obstacle to integration and we can only succeed if it is removed.

If George Osborne can provide proper answers in all of these areas, then I believe his package could help us deliver Labour’s health and care policy. But this is not the deal that I would be offering to Greater Manchester if I am Health Secretary in ten weeks’ time. I believe I can offer a much better one.

Firstly, Labour will be devolving more money to Greater Manchester’s NHS and councils – raised by our new Mansions Tax – allowing it to build an NHS that starts in people’s homes, looks after them there and gets the rid of the culture of 15-minute care visits. There will be money for the extra nurses, GPs, homecare workers and midwives that we need.

Secondly, rather than create new bureaucracies, I will move quickly to devolve more power to our councils and councillors. Integration needs to be led at a local level – as we are already seeing in Salford, Stockport and Wigan.

Thirdly, I will waste no time in repealing George Osborne’s Health & Social Care Act which has foisted a toxic culture of competition on the NHS. This has led to the privatisation of part of our ambulance service in Greater Manchester – without a single community or council be asked their view or giving their approval.

Under my deal, the people of Greater Manchester will have full power to protect the public NHS and prevent future privatisation.

So the good news is, at the end of a fast-moving week, we can be confident that devolution and integration are coming and that Greater Manchester could have the chance to deliver Labour’s NHS policy whichever government is in power after May.

After all the damage that Mr Osborne and his Tory and Lib Dem allies have inflicted on our NHS in Greater Manchester, this seems like the least he should be doing for us.

This article appeared in a recent edition of The Manchester Evening News.

Research by the Nursing Times showing a high turnover of nurses recruited from abroad

I warned David Cameron it would be a false economy to cut nurse training places and that is proved by expensive recruitment from overseas and the unprecedented use of agency nurses. Labour plans to bring through a new generation of home-grown nurses by training a further 10,000 above current levels in the next Parliament.

David Cameron has left the NHS seriously short of the nurses it needs – he should match our plans to invest an extra £2.5 billion to recruit 20,000 nurses and 8,000 GPs.

New Year Message

This article first appeared in the Leigh Journal.

As we come to the end of 2014, we can reflect on a year of good progress for Leigh.

It began with the opening of the impressive new Hanover Centre at Leigh Infirmary.

That was followed by the long-awaited start of work on the redevelopment at the top of Plank Lane.

And, of course, we finally waved goodbye to ‘Kamikaze Island’.

But, when all's said and done, one thing will will define 2014: it will go down as the year that, for one night only, Elton was a Leyther!

When I was first elected in 2001, I had high ambitions for Leigh. But, in truth, even I might have struggled to foresee how Leigh could ever play host to a global superstar before a 17500 strong crowd.

But we did - and, more than that, Leigh pulled it off in style.

Shortly after the big night, someone told me how they had seen Elton perform in Las Vegas just a few weeks earlier. They laughed when the remaining dates of Elton’s tour flashed up on the big screen: LA ... New York ... Leigh ...!

That unforgettable June night was the moment when the Leigh Sports Village truly came into its own and placed Leigh firmly on the map.

But the truth is Elton was not the only performer to light up the LSV. Leigh Centurions blazed a trail through the 2014 season and graced the LSV stage with perhaps their most exciting team for 30 years.

A couple of years ago, I ran a campaign for the return of promotion and relegation and I am pleased that, once again, the door to Super League is open to us.

So, your MP asks you to make one simple New Year's Resolution - let’s all of us get down to the LSV in 2015 and cheer our exciting young team back to Super League.

One dark spot on the year was the surprise decision by Wigan & Leigh College to pull the plug on A Level provision. It left many young people in the lurch.

We are waiting for the College to publish the findings of a review. But, whatever it concludes, I am clear about this: Leigh students should not have to get up at the crack of dawn and travel miles to do A levels. We want good A Level provision in the heart of our town and that is what I will campaign for in 2015.

Another challenging issue this year was HS2.

Before the close of the consultation, I organised a series of public meetings in Lowton and Golborne. What came over clearly was the high level of opposition to the proposed depot off Slag Lane. People felt it would destroy our green space and shatter our peace.

I listened and concluded they were absolutely right. Ever since, I have thrown whatever political weight I could muster into the campaign against the depot. I am pleased to say it seems we have won the day: the latest statement from HS2 says they are now looking at alternative sites. I will keep up the pressure in 2015 until it is finally confirmed.

There is another reason why transport will be the big issue of next year - it will finally see the opening of the Leigh Guided Busway.

Now I know it's the under-statement of the year to say people remain to be convinced about the Busway. I know that the disruption has been horrendous - particularly in Tyldesley - and we will continue to work hard to minimise it.

But here's a confident, if somewhat dangerous prediction, for 2015 - I think the Busway will turn out to be better than people think.

I understand people's scepticism as the busway was never my preferred option. That would have been a rail station or, failing that, Metrolink. But the technical and financial obstacles to both are huge and the truth is this: Leigh can’t wait forever for better public transport. We need it now.

Now that it’s coming, I think we need to seize the opportunity it presents for Leigh.

One of the big plus points of the busway is that it will be much cheaper than rail. A weekly return pass to Manchester will be around £14 or £15. That compares well with the £28 cost of a rail pass from Atherton. That will open up opportunities for young people in Leigh who struggle to run a car. All concessionary passes will be valid and pensioners will be able to travel for free with their bus pass.

Given that, I have no doubt that the Busway will bring shoppers back into Leigh.

People think of it only taking people away from Leigh. But I think it will work the other way round: Leigh and Tyldesley town centres will end up being the big winners. That's because, for anyone living on the guided section of the route, they can be in Leigh or Tyldesley in a matter of minutes with no traffic or hassle.

So, to coincide with the opening of the Busway, I want to launch a big ‘Come Back to Leigh’ marketing campaign. As part of the scheme, new investment is going in to the Leigh Bus Station and into the town centre. This is big chance to turn around the fortunes of the town centre and I am determined to make the most of it.

I think it's time to see the potential of the Busway rather than the problems. Already, there are signs that it will continue the regeneration of the town. Plans to turn Mather Lane Mill into flats - on the back of the Busway - are an exciting example of the wider benefits it will bring.

So there are grounds to be optimistic for our town as we head in to 2015. I remain as passionate as ever about my mission to restore its fortunes and am always grateful for the brilliant support you continue to give me.

Here's to a successful and prosperous 2015.

Labour will tackle scandal of cancer patients denied life-saving treatment

Today, I have announced a new cancer strategy to be published within six months of a Labour Government and a plan to tackle ageism in cancer treatment.

Labour will create a new annual Cancer Treatments Fund to improve access not just to the latest drugs but also to the latest forms of radiotherapy and surgery that are too often not available for thousands of people with cancer.

In a speech to the Britain Against Cancer conference, I commited the next Labour Government to creating a fund that starts in April 2016, when the Cancer Drugs Fund expires.

The current fund, which only pays for drugs, will come to an end in March 2016. The new annual fund would build on existing provision, but expand the scope of extra investment to improve access not just to drugs but also to radiotherapy and surgery - the two forms of treatment that are responsible for nine in 10 cases where cancer is cured.

In the move to the new fund, Labour would also guarantee that any patient in receipt of a drug from the Cancer Drugs Fund would continue to be offered that drug.

The new £330 million Fund will be created by adding £50m from the pharmaceutical industry rebate to the £280m-a-year Cancer Drugs Fund budget. Cancer experts will be consulted on the allocation of the resource and the best mechanisms for delivering it.

Figures from Cancer Research UK show that while half of radiotherapy patients should receive Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT), it is currently only received by a third. The number of patients receiving Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR), which treats lung and other cancers over a shorter length of time, fell by 10 per cent last year. Meanwhile, 124 patients were sent abroad to receive Proton Beam therapy last year as the NHS will not be able to deliver it until 2018.

A Labour Government will also publish a new cancer strategy within six months of the election. Separately, the Government will commission Cancer Research UK, the Royal College of Surgeons and other key stakeholders to lead a programme of work to make recommendations on addressing the under-treatment of older cancer patients.

The new Fund forms part of Labour’s 10-year plan to be the best in Europe on cancer survival and save up to 10,000 lives a year. It builds on Ed Miliband’s commitment earlier this year to guarantee patients a test and result within a week where cancer is suspected.

A Labour Government will also support Teenage Cancer Trust’s programme of awareness sessions on cancer, currently available in around 500 schools, and roll it out to the rest of the country.

My goal is to make the NHS the best health service in the world for the treatment of cancer. We will only achieve that if we give patients access to the most effective forms of treatment, including advanced radiotherapy.

The problem with cancer policy under the current Government is that it prioritises one form of cancer treatment over others and places one group of patients ahead of another. This is indefensible when we know surgery and radiotherapy are responsible for nine in ten cases where cancer is cured. It is not right that 40,000 people every year who could benefit from radiotherapy are missing out.

This is why Labour will build on the benefits of the Cancer Drugs Fund but extend the principles of improving access and supporting innovation to all forms of cancer treatment and all cancer patients.”

Too many young people are leaving education without knowing some of the basics about cancer and how to look out for the warning signs. Every young person should, as part of their education, have the opportunity to learn more and know where to go if they are worried. Teenage Cancer Trust is doing brilliant work in this area and with a bit more support from Government we can make their sessions available to every school in the country.

At the other end of the spectrum, there is evidence that too many older people are missing out on effective treatments. We need to eradicate any suggestion of ageism and the under-treatment that can result. That’s why the next Labour Government will launch an immediate programme of work led by the Royal College of Surgeons and Cancer Research UK to understand what’s happening in practice and make recommendations on tackling under-treatment.

Public Meeting Update - 8th November

Following the public meeting on 8th November TfGM have prepared response to questions raised with me by constituents.

You can view the replies at the two links below:

Link 1

Link 2

Leigh Town Centre Business Forum Meeting

I would like to invite Leigh Town Centre Businesses to a meeting with me taking place on Friday 28th November, 2-3pm in Conference Room 2, Leigh Town Hall.

The aim of the meeting to discuss the redevelopment of the Town Centre and to gain business views.

If your business would like to attend please can you confirm your attendance via email.

If you would like to share your views but are unable to attend, please feel free to email me on the above email.

Please feel free to pass on this invitation to other town centre business owners you are in contact with.

2014 Veterans Luncheon

Pic with the Mayor of Wigan & the Fred
Longworth School Brass Band.

Today I hosted my 9th Annual Veterans Luncheon at Leigh Miners Welfare Institute.

Attended by over 150 local veterans I paid tribute to the contribution and sacrifice of veterans across the Leigh area.

Entertainment was provided by the award winning Fred Longworth School Brass Band with food supplied by Clapham's Bakery.

It is a fitting tribute to the men and women here today that we commemorate the service and sacrifice of our Armed Forces at home and abroad and especially as we remember the outbreak of WWI 100 years ago. It is important that they are thanked for their contribution to their country.

Losc Lille v Everton - Letter to The French Ambassador

You can read my letter co-signed by Steve Rotherham MP to the French Ambassador here.

Have your say!

Residents will be able to have their say on traffic management for the next stage of guided busway works on Astley Street at a public meeting.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is working with Wigan Council and myself to host the meeting, which will take place from 12pm in the main hall of Fred Longworth High School on Saturday 8 November.

I will chair the meeting which is a fully accessible meeting venue open to all, with no need to pre-register.

Officers and councillors from Wigan Council will attend, alongside representatives from TfGM, Balfour Beatty, and Urban Vision, who are managing busway works along the A580 on behalf of Salford City Council.

Officers will present the preferred option for traffic management on Astley Street and an open question and answer session will give people the chance to discuss the busway with the people responsible for delivering the scheme.

The work on Astley Street is due to start in December once Hough Lane has fully re-opened.
When complete, the busway will improve the frequency and reliability of bus journeys between Leigh, Tyldesley, Atherton and Manchester, with journey times of less than 50 minutes to and from the city centre.

More information about the busway – and the wider bus priority package – can be found here or by calling 0300 123 1177 (calls charged at local rate, lines open Monday – Friday, 9-5pm) or by email.        

My letter to David Cameron

Dear Prime Minister,

At Prime Minister’s Questions today Ed Miliband raised the serious issue of the English NHS and its increasingly precarious position after four years of this Conservative Government. Asked five questions about the English NHS, you failed to answer.

You were asked the following questions:

• Why 16 leading health organisations representing doctors, nurses and patients are warning that health and social care services in England are “at breaking point”. You had no answer to their warnings about what's happening to the NHS on your watch. 
• You were asked to confirm that in England we have the highest waiting lists for six years, the highest number of people waiting more than four hours in A&E for 10 years, the cancer treatment target missed for the first time ever and millions of people can’t get to see their GP. You had nothing to say on these facts which concern people across England.
• You were asked about your top-down reorganisation of the NHS, which has wasted £3 billion. You didn't say whether you agree with a Cabinet colleague that it was a huge mistake.
• You were asked about the warnings of the Conservative chair of the Health Select Committee about your funding plans and charging in the NHS. You had no answer to her views.
• You were asked to support the NHS by funding one-week cancer testing with a levy on the tobacco companies and you wouldn't explain why you refuse to do so. 

These are serious issues which are of great concern to the public. On all of them you provided no answers. Instead you attempted to run away from your record on the NHS by launching another attack on the NHS in Wales.

The country and the NHS deserve better. Rather than indulging in smears and diversionary tactics you would be better advised to spend your time addressing the fact that the NHS is at breaking point under your Government.

As you yourself said in the aftermath of the Scottish referendum, “the millions of voices of England must also be heard.” If these words are to mean anything at all then you must immediately address the issues you were asked about today.

Until you focus on saving rather than smearing the NHS, the public will be understandably confronted with the sad truth that all this Government offers is five more years of crisis in the health service.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Burnham MP
Shadow Health Secretary

Transport Bosses take steps to cut congestion

Transport bosses say they’re doing all they can to cut congestion and minimise disruption in the east of Wigan Borough caused by construction work on the Leigh guided busway.

It follows a meeting called by myself and local councillors to address concerns raised by the public about traffic problems in Leigh, Astley and Tyldesley.

My constituents are fair-minded and often prepared to put up with a lot. But in recent weeks they have been saying “enough is enough”. Traffic congestion has gone way beyond acceptable levels and, together with local councillors, I called this meeting to give voice to the frustration that our constituents are feeling.

It was a positive meeting and I can assure people that those in charge of the busway construction are fully aware of how strongly people feel. It is clear mistakes have been made and we received assurances they will not be repeated. We also asked for a number of steps to be taken to improve the current situation as it clearly cannot continue. I have to say drivers are unlikely to see an improvement overnight but I am confident that we will get to a point where the level of disruption is more acceptable to the public. We have called a follow-up meeting next week and we will give people a further update after that.

Representatives from Wigan Council, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and busway contractor Balfour Beatty met with Mr Burnham and local ward councillors on Monday (October 13). A series of steps were agreed to combat congestion. They include:

• No other non-busway road works to take place in the area except for emergency utility works needed to keep on gas, water and power supplies to homes.
• A review of the plans to construct the busway and park and ride junctions on Astley Street in Tyldesley.
• A review of temporary traffic management on the A580 to see if disruption can be reduced, including investigating whether some works can be rescheduled and carried out at weekends to minimise the impact on commuters.
• Develop a single point of information for busway-related road works including improved coordination with the works in Salford.

It’s hoped these measures will relieve some of the difficulties drivers have been experiencing in the area in recent weeks.

Transport bosses insisted everything was being done to keep disruption to a minimum and lessen the impact on residents. But they agreed to look again at some of the plans for works being carried out in the coming weeks. TfGM, Wigan Council and Balfour Beatty have agreed to review again the options for completing the works on Astley Street and will present them at a second meeting organised for next Monday (October 20).

They also confirmed work on Hough Lane in Tyldesley, which is currently closed, was on track and should be completed on time allowing the road to reopen by the end of November.

Terry Dunn, director of environment at Wigan Council, said: “I want the public to know we are listening to their concerns. I know there have been unacceptable traffic delays in Leigh, Tyldesley and Astley recently and I’d like to apologise for that.

“This is a huge construction project taking place in an area with an aging infrastructure. The reason we’re building the busway is because we want to improve and invest in that infrastructure. This construction phase was always going to be extremely challenging and every effort has been made to ensure the impact is minimised.

“However, it’s clear the current situation cannot continue and we are going to explore every option open to us to see if we can reduce disruption further and cut congestion in the areas affected.”

Peter Boulton, head of programme management services at TfGM, said: “We fully appreciate the impact busway construction is having locally and we are committed to working with all our partners in Wigan and Salford to explore any options that will reduce that. We’ve had a positive meeting today and will continue to keep listening to local people and their representatives and, wherever possible, acting on their feedback.”

Veterans Luncheon 2014

Pic. Veteran Luncheon 2013

I am pleased to announce that I will be hosting the 9th Annual Veterans Luncheon on Friday, 7th November 2014 at Leigh Miners Welfare Institute, Off Twist Lane, Leigh commencing at 12noon.

Veterans of HM Armed Forces who reside in the Leigh parliamentary constituency can confirm attendance by email or by calling my constituency office 01942 682353.

For catering purposes the last date for receipt of applications is 31st October.

The event will also mark the centenary of the outbreak of World War I and entertainment will be provided by the award winning Fred Longworth High School Brass band.

Labour Party Conference Speech

Conference

I’ve got a question for you.

Hands up how many of you would walk 300 miles to save the NHS?

Hands up how many of you actually have?

Leading from the front, speaking for millions – Conference, please show your appreciation for the Darlo mums and the People’s March for the NHS.

We have arrived at a big moment.

The Party that created the NHS in the last century today sets out a plan to secure it in this.

A rescue plan for a shattered service.

But more than that.

A vision for a 21st century NHS there when you need it, personal to you and your family, with time to care.

A national health and care service based on people before profits.

Today we place that proud Labour plan at the centre of our Election campaign.

And, thanks to Ed’s great speech, we have the money to back it up.

A plan worth voting for, proof that all parties are not the same, giving you a real choice over the future of your NHS.

Because it certainly didn’t happen last time.

Remember that solemn promise of “no top-down reorganisation”?

It was a bare-faced lie.

Days into office, the Tories set about dismantling your NHS.

And the plan that dared not speak its name before the last Election is now plain for all to see:

run it down

break it up

sell it off.

So today we serve notice on Cameron and Clegg: Thursday 7th May 2015 - your day of reckoning on the NHS.

A reckoning for trashing the public’s most prized asset without their permission.

And a reckoning for a ruinous reorganisation that has dragged it down and left it on the brink.

A winter crisis in A&E now a spring, summer and autumn crisis too.

Over three million people on NHS waiting lists.

Families waiting longer for cancer treatment to start – and the national cancer target missed for the very first time.

The NHS can’t take five more years of Cameron.

I could go on about the damage he’s done.

But let’s be honest – would that help people worried about where the NHS is heading and wanting real answers?

I know there will be families and carers out there watching us today wondering whether anyone really understands what their life is like.

Soldiering on from one day to the next, feeling invisible and taken for granted, ringing the surgery early in the morning but unable to get through, telling the same story to everyone who comes through the door.

You feel no-one listens – and no wonder.

So that’s why I’m going to do something different today.

I want to speak directly to you.

And to the parents of children with disabilities, for whom life feels like one long battle and who fret endlessly about what would happen to your son and daughter if you weren’t around to fight.

To the millions of you who face the daily worry and stress of arranging mum or dad’s care whilst trying to hold down a job.

And, most of all, to those of you who might be watching this alone at home fearing what the future might hold.

My message is simple:

Labour is with you.

Your worries are ours.

We know things can be better than they are.

We want an NHS that takes your worries away.

And we can achieve it if we do something bold.

The time has come for this Party to complete Nye Bevan’s vision and bring social care in to the NHS.

That allows us to rebuild our NHS around you and your family.

No longer ringing the Council for this, the NHS for that.

But one service, one team, one person to call.

An NHS for the whole person, an NHS for carers, an NHS personal to you.

At last, a National Health Service keeping you well, not a National Sickness Service picking up the pieces.

And an end, once and for all, to the scandal that is care of older and vulnerable people in England in 2014.
I ask you this:

How much longer will we say that people who are so frail that they need help with getting up, washing and eating, and who suffer from loneliness and isolation, are only worth a slap-dash 15-minute visit?

How much longer will society send out the message to young people looking after someone else’s mum, dad, brother or sister that it is the lowest form of work, lower than the minimum wage because it doesn’t pay the travel time between the 15-minute visits?

How much longer will we see these shameful scenes from care homes on our TV screens of people are being shouted at or abused and not say enough is enough?

And for how much longer, in this the century of the ageing society, will we allow a care system in England to be run as a race to the bottom, making profits off the backs of our most vulnerable?

If this Party is about anything, then surely it is about ending that.

I want you to understand why I feel like this.

About ten years ago, I saw my own mum ground down and worn out by the battle to get decent care for my gran.

She was in a nursing home where corners were often cut and where it was hard to get GPs to visit.

The decent people who worked there were let down by the anonymous owners who filled it with untrained, temporary staff.

My gran’s things often went missing and we had got used to that.

But I will never forget the day when we walked in to see her and her knuckle was red raw where her engagement ring had been ripped off.

Right there, right then - I made it my mission to end this scandal.

And the greatest sadness of all was that this so-called care cost my grandmother everything she and my granddad had worked for.

I know millions of families have been through the same or are going through it now.

People look to Labour to change these things and that is what we will do.

You know the Tories will never do it.

They put profits before people – always – it’s in their DNA.

Their answer is to let the market that has ripped through social care carry on ripping through the NHS.

Conference, we will do the precise opposite.

I am clearer about this than anything in my life – the market is not the answer to 21st century health and care.
People out there know a minimum-wage, zero-hours approach will never secure the care they want for their mum and dad.

So our 10 year plan for the NHS is founded on people before profits.

We will free the NHS from Cameron’s market and, yes, repeal his toxic Health and Social Care Act.

We will ask hospitals to collaborate once again and reinstate the NHS as our preferred provider.

The public NHS, protected with Labour.

Not for sale.  Not now, not ever.
Cemented at the core of every community so that it can then begin the job of bringing social care in and lifting it up.

Building a culture of respect for all people who care and ending the indignity of flying 15-minute visits.

Caring no longer a dead-end job but part of one workforce working to NHS standards.

But there is a reason why we give the public NHS such stability.

It is so that we can ask it to embrace radical change in the way it provides services to you and your family.
We will ask all hospital trusts to evolve into NHS integrated care organisations, working from home to hospital coordinating all care – physical, mental and social.

Why?

Because it makes no sense to cut simple support in people’s homes only to spend thousands keeping them in hospital.

We can’t afford it. It will break the NHS.

But, more, it’s not right for you.

The ever-increasing hospitalisation of older people is no answer to the ageing society.

Bringing social care in doesn’t add to the financial burden.

It is the key to unlocking the money.

But it will mean change and you need to know what that means for you.

Just as Nye Bevan wrote to every household to introduce his new NHS, so I will write again in 2015 to explain what people can expect from our national health and care service.

And this is what I will say.

For any family caring for someone with long-term needs, one team around you.

No longer should frail or vulnerable people be shunted around the system, from ambulance to A&E to noisy ward.

Instead, this team will come to you. Its goal will be to keep you in your own home, safe and well.

You and your carers will have one person to call to get help so no longer telling the same story over and over again.

You will have a care plan personal to you and your family.

If you and your carers get what you really need from the start, then it’s more likely to work.

Building the NHS around you will need a new generation of NHS staff, as Ed said yesterday.

So we will recruit new teams of home care workers, physios, OTs, nurses, midwives with GPs at the centre.

And will we have mental health nurses and therapists at the heart of this team, no longer the poor relation on the fringes of the system but making parity a reality.

And to make sure this investment is not creamed off by others, we will look at how we can ensure private health providers contribute their fair share towards the cost of training.

But, with the best will in the world, the NHS won’t be able to do it all.

That is why I can announce today a big change in the way the NHS supports carers so they can keep going.
No longer invisible but at the very centre of this new service.

So today we announce new support for carers:

The right to a break or respite care;

The right to an annual health check;

Help with hospital car parking for carers;

And we will go further.

We will give all families the right to care in their home, if they want it.

A national health and care service truly there from cradle to grave – from a new right to have a home-birth and a right to be in your own home at the end of your life, surrounded by the people you love, with your care free and no worry about its cost.

These are the things that matter and this is about an NHS there for you at the most important moments in life.

This is what people want and this is what becomes possible with our plan.
True whole person care – simply not possible in Cameron’s fragmented, privatised, demoralised service.

Make no mistake - this coming Election is a battle for the soul of the NHS.

The fight of our lives.

Now we must walk 300 miles for the NHS to every doorstep in the land.

With hope.

With pride.

With passion.

With a plan you can believe in.

But, in the end, this is about more than us.

This is about you.

Your children, your grand-children, your great grandchildren.

It’s about whether an NHS will still be there for them in their hour of need as it has been for you.

Don’t regret it when it’s gone. Join the fight for it now.

So I make this appeal to you.

Help the Party that founded the NHS give it a new beginning.

Help us make it the service we all want it to be.

An NHS that puts people before profit.

An NHS that cares for the carers.

An NHS there for your mum and dad.

An NHS with time to care.

An NHS for all of you.

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

The verdict from cancer experts is clear: David Cameron’s NHS re-organisation has damaged cancer care

Responding to a report from Cancer Research UK on how David Cameron’s NHS re-organisation brought confusion and a loss of leadership that is damaging cancer care makes devastating reading for David Cameron. The verdict from cancer experts is clear: David Cameron’s NHS re-organisation has damaged cancer care just as Labour always warned it would.

After a decade of progress, cancer patients are waiting longer for tests and treatment. This is causing huge anxiety for thousands of families and the most frustrating thing of all is that the Prime Minister was explicitly warned that this would happen but he chose to ignore it. His reorganisation disrupted the successful cancer networks and, in the words of the report, left a "vacuum" on the cancer agenda. This explains why the NHS is now missing the national cancer standard for the first time.

Cancer care has gone downhill under this Government and they have nobody but themselves to blame for that. David Cameron must urgently set out a convincing plan to halt the decline in cancer standards.

The most recent data from NHS England show that in the first six months of 2014, the NHS missed the target for 85% of cancer patients to begin treatment with 62 days of GP referral. It was missed in Q4 2013/14 and Q1 2014/15 - the first time since its introduction in 2009.

HS2 Chief pressed to 'listen to Lowton' and drop depot plans

Last week I held face-to-face talks with the head of HS2 David Higgins and urged him to drop plans for a major depot to the north of Lowton and Golborne.

The Government's current proposals site what is a major industrial installation in an area of open countryside recognised for its scientific and environmental significance. When I consulted local residents on HS2 earlier this year, there was near-universal local opposition to the plan - even from supporters of HS2.

I asked David Higgins for a face-to-face meeting as I wanted to convey directly the strength of feeling of my constituents. I am grateful to him for giving me a hearing and listening to my concerns.

This is not about nimby-ism. Leigh and Lowton people are fair-minded and will always accept their share. But this is taking far too much from us. It will shatter our peace and destroy our precious green space.

Surely the preferred location for a facility of this kind should be a brownfield site, not an area designated by Wigan Council as its "Green Heart", bordering a Site of Special Scientific Interest and close to the historic Lightshaw Hall and Byrom Hall. It's hard to imagine a less appropriate site.

If it is ever built, this depot will be an industrial monstrosity looming large over Pennington Flash and the houses of nearby residents. Pennington Flash has become a significant visitor attraction and this would damage its appeal.

I have urged HS2 to listen to Lowton, go back to the drawing board and relocate this facility to a more appropriate site.

Matthew Gough is up for the challenge to raise funds for little known condition

Today I call on the Leigh public to get behind the fundraising efforts of a Lowton lad suffering from a chronic condition.

Matthew Gough suffers from Interstitial Cystitis (IC), a chronic inflammation of the bladder for which there is no cure. Matthew attends monthly at the Hanover Diagnostic Centre for treatment.

The 19 year old is studying Sports Psychology at UCLAN and will be pushing himself to the limit in a gruelling 140 miles run over 7 days to raise money for The Bladder & Bowel Foundation to aid research into IC and other bladder and bowel conditions.

The run will be coast to coast starting in Whitehaven and finishing in Tynemouth. Matthew is currently putting in the miles training and has an online Justgiving donation page.

Matthew Gough said, "I am completing this challenge for all the people who suffer from a bladder or bowel condition not just IC. Living with any chronic illness isn't just a physical challenge but a mental one also. I hope to raise money to support the great work the Bladder and Bowel Foundation do with their helplines and toilet card initiatives amongst other things. I also hope that I can raise more awareness of conditions like IC which are currently relatively unknown to the wider general public. Finally I'd like to thank all my family and friends for their continued support as well as Andy Burnham for his help in supporting my challenge. The training is tough and the challenge even tougher but it's all worth it if I can change just one person’s life for the better."

Just over a year ago Matthew was diagnosed with IC. Unfortunately IC is incurable and Matthew is having to undergo regular treatment whilst putting himself through a punishing training schedule to be able to run 140 miles in 7 days.

Matthew is a truly inspirational young man and I am calling on the great Leigh public to support him and his chosen charity to raise money to fund research into this chronic condition.

Matthew can be contacted on 07963513587 or by email. He is also on Twitter and facebook.

The Bladder and Bowel Foundation (B&BF) is the UK's largest advocacy charity providing information and support for anyone who has experienced a bladder control problem or bowel control problem or both. Central to the charity's work is its helpline providing medical advice and support.

Andy Burnham MP on board with Guide Dogs’ Talking Buses campaign

I showed my support for a campaign led by the charity Guide Dogs to make travelling by bus easier for people with sight loss.

I attended a reception at the Houses of Parliament on 2 July in support of Guide Dogs’ campaign to make sure all new buses have audio visual (AV) next stop announcements, which are vital for blind and partially sighted bus travellers.

The reception highlighted how announcements enable blind and partially sighted people to understand their location, and prevent them from missing their stops.

AV systems are only fitted to around one fifth of the bus fleet nationally, with the overwhelming majority of these buses operating in London.

Guide Dogs is calling for the Government to require all new buses be fitted with AV, as currently bus operators are under no obligation to include this technology when upgrading their fleet.

Buses are a lifeline for people who are blind or partially sighted to be able to travel safely and independently.”

Without AV, bus travel for people with sight loss can be especially difficult, stressful, and dangerous when stops are missed and they end up in an unfamiliar area.

Safe and accessible bus services give people with sight loss much greater freedom to work, socialise and participate in the community.

Labour to bring forward Bill to repeal David Cameron’s market framework in the NHS

This week, Labour will back a Private Member's Bill from Clive Efford MP to repeal the damaging competition rules that the Tory-led Government inflicted on the NHS in its Health and Social Care Act 2012.

The Bill would rewrite the rules that force market tendering of services and that are seeing millions of pounds wasted on competition lawyers that should instead be spent on patients.

It will be debated in the Commons in November and Labour will use the intervening period to call on MPs from all sides to support the new law. Labour candidates in marginal seats will call on Tory and Liberal Democrat incumbents to back the Bill, whilst highlighting examples of how the current rules are wasting money and fragmenting care.

David Cameron's biggest mistake by far is his decision to break the Coalition Agreement promise of 'no top-down re-organisation of the NHS'. He is the Prime Minister who put the NHS up for sale without first seeking the permission of the British public.

Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs will now need to decide whether they are prepared to go into an Election defending that policy or whether they will do the decent thing and admit they got it wrong.

David Cameron's re-organisation has left the NHS, in the words of its former Chief Executive, 'bogged down in a morass of competition law'. If we leave things as they are, the NHS as we have known it for 66 years will not survive. This Bill will free the NHS from that morass and restore the right values to its heart: collaboration over competition; people before profits.”

The Bill will focus on two main areas:

1. Section 75 rules

These are the rules that many doctors say are forcing them to put services out to the market, even if they do not want to, for fear of legal challenge.

Labour oppose these regulations because they risk fragmenting care and are seeing large amounts of money spent on tendering exercises rather than patient care.

• In a recent survey by Health Service Journal, two thirds of commissioners said they had experienced increased commissioning costs as a result of the new regulations (Health Service Journal, 4 April 2014)

• Last year, the Chief Executive of the NHS said “You’ve got competition lawyers all over the place, causing enormous difficulty...We are getting, in my view, bogged down in a morass of competition law which is causing . . . significant cost in the system” (Sir David Nicholson, Financial Times, 5 November 2013).

Labour will scrap these rules and return to a system based on collaboration and integration.

2. Competition framework

The Health & Social Care Act exposed the NHS to the full force of EU competition law. It also established Monitor as an economic regulator to enforce competition in the NHS, along with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Labour opposes this framework because it is hindering important service improvements, and is seeing further large amounts of money wasted on competition administration and competition lawyers.

The Efford Bill would scrap the competition framework, remove the role of Monitor as an economic regulator enforcing competition in the NHS, and remove the Competition and Markets Authority from any role in the NHS.