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Member of Parliament for Bradford East@DavidWardMP on Twitter and Facebook |
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Member of Parliament for Bradford East@DavidWardMP on Twitter and Facebook |
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Liberal Democrat MP for Bradford East, David Ward, has welcomed signs that significant changes will be made the Health and Social Care Bill in the coming weeks.
Liberal Democrats led the calls for changes after raising serious concerns at the party's Spring Conference in March. The Government has been holding a "listening exercise" during a break in the passage of the Bill so that the concerns of health professionals and the public can be heard. The "listening exercise" is due to be completed next week when significant changes to the Bill are expected.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, is pushing to ensure that the pace of the change is slowed down and reform is not rushed into. The Liberal Democrats are also fighting to ensure that there is no privatisation of the NHS and no special favours for the private sector and Nick Clegg has made it clear that he will not ask his party to vote in favour of the bill unless he is satisfied that this is the case.
Commenting, David Ward said:
"Liberal Democrats have been clear from the start that there must be no privatisation of the NHS and that it must remain universal, based on need and free at the point of use. David Cameron's assurances this week that there will be no privatisation or cherry picking were a step in the right direction.
If this is followed through then we will in effect need a new Bill. I will be pushing to make sure that the Government do not try to rush an amended Bill through, so that there is enough time for it to receive proper scrutiny. With an ageing population and rising costs it is clear the NHS can't stand still, but these changes are too important to get wrong.
I am proud that Nick Clegg and my Lib Dem colleagues have been fighting to make sure the concerns raised by the public and medical professionals are being listened to and addressed."
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