As the hon. Lady will know, the former chief executive of the NHS, Lord Stephens, was clearing in saying that the
“overwhelming majority of these proposals are changes that the health service has asked for.”
We should do the right thing by them and by patients. It is the right time for the Bill: it is the right prescription at the right time.
The substance of the petition, which has framed many speeches by hon. Members today, calls for the Government to renationalise the NHS. I have to say that it has never been denationalised. The NHS is and always will be free at the point of use. The Government are committed to safeguarding the principles on which
the NHS was created. The hon. Member for Denton and Reddish set that out very clearly. We have no plans for privatisation.