York Press column: My vote on Committee of Privileges’ report on Boris Johnson MP
June 21, 2023
I like to normally reserve my fortnightly columns for purely local issues, however, following the events of the last week I must begin with addressing the elephant in the room.
The Committee of Privileges has published their report into the conduct of Boris Johnson while Prime Minister and has found he deliberately misled the House of Commons. I voted to approve their report and accept their recommendations in full. While I believe Boris was the man for the moment in 2019 and successfully broke the Brexit deadlock, it has been proven he misled Parliament so it is absolutely right he is held responsible for his actions. The report delivers this within the powers that Parliament has at its disposal, and I hope we can now return to looking forward with a busy legislative calendar ahead.
Back to local matters, I have continued to engage with the Yorkshire and Humber Integrated Care Board (ICB) on two issues, firstly the potential closure of the Haxby Group’s GP surgery in Stockton-on-the-Forrest and secondly on the closure of Bupa Holgate Park Dental Care practice. Both meetings were constructive and I welcomed being updated on progress made in both cases.
I recognise the natural concern felt by communities who face the prospect of their GP surgery closing and therefore have been working hard with the ICB and Haxby Group to ensure that should the surgery close there are sufficient contingency measures in place to ensure nobody is disadvantaged when they wish to see a GP locally. The ICB is looking at ways in which they can work with the Haxby Group to ensure that there are measures in place for those who do not have access to transport or are deemed vulnerable can still easily access a GP locally.
I have strongly argued that there is a necessity to further explore viable options for increasing outreach services such as transport connectivity between GPs and to look at ways that ensure patients from Stockton-on-the-Forest can be seen at other GP practices.
Regarding Bupa Holgate Park, the ICB have constructed a plan and have been engaging with dental care practices locally in attempts to recommission the dental contract previously held by the Holgate Park. The ICB informed me that they have received a positive response from three dental care branches that they have approached and continue to work hard to secure a deal in order to spread the Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) fairly and sensibly between the branches. I welcome the fact that the ICB have provided assurances that they will ring fence these UDAs to ensure that the population affected by Bupa Holgate Park are prioritised access to these dental care practices.
On a more temporary basis, the ICB are exploring sessional options to ensure that in the meantime, people will still have access to NHS dental care in their local area. I very much look forward to a further update as the 19th June target date approaches for the ICB to have secured additional capacity.
I was very pleased to have been invited to participate at the Big Tent Festival in York which was a fantastic opportunity to get community leaders to share big ideas about how we tackle the issues we face as we move forward. I was involved in a panel discussion on the ‘green revolution’ and business.
We must be acutely aware of the challenges that we face, primarily the need to grow the economy, provide opportunities, level up in a sustainable fashion and to go green. The UK is a powerhouse of opportunity to start and build your own business and should lead the global charge for the green industrial revolution as we did with the industrial revolution in the 19th century.
At the weekend, I also enjoyed Wigginton Primary School’s Summer Fair. There are some fantastic community events planned in York throughout the summer and I hope to drop by as many as I can. We must thank everyone who gives up their time and puts in so much effort organising these events. Our communities would not be the same without these annual events we all look forward to.
