KIRKCALDY and Cowdenbeath MP, Neale Hanvey, is keen to harness his twenty-five years of experience in the NHS following his appointment to the UK Parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee.

In his first meeting, the local MP drew on that experience to quiz senior figures in the NHS south of the border on issues, around clinical capacity and, in a ten-minute exchange, on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on meeting the operational standards on cancer waiting times.

Mr Hanvey has a keen interest in health policy. Before entering politics, he spent twenty-five years in the NHS, latterly as Divisional Nurse Director for Rare Cancer at Royal Marsden, in London.

The Health and Social Care Committee scrutinises the work of the UK Government and, in particular, the Department of Health and Social Care. This high-profile committee is chaired by the former UK Government Health Secretary and Tory-leadership hopeful, Jeremy Hunt.

Commenting, Neale Hanvey, said: “It’s a great opportunity to be appointed to the Health and Social Care Committee and I will use my position to continually work to defend, protect and enhance the NHS.

“Of course, health in Scotland is devolved and a matter for the Scottish Government, but what the UK Government does to the NHS south of the border has a direct impact on the resources we have in Scotland.

“Through the Barnett formula, any cut to health funding in England will reduce the Scottish budget and it is already clear that significant funding will be needed in a post-Covid environment. It is essential that Scotland’s share of any investment finds its way here".

He concluded: “So, it’s really important for everyone in my constituency, and across Scotland, that we have a strong voice on the Health and Social Care Committee at Westminster standing up for continued and meaningful additional funding for health and social care.”