Cross-border Health Treatment

Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)
2.  What discussions he is having with the Welsh Government on waiting times for cross-border health treatment in Montgomeryshire and Shropshire.

The Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)
The performance of the Welsh health service is the most pressing issue for the people of Wales at this time. My ministerial colleagues and I regularly raise concerns with the Welsh Government, including on the issue of cross-border services. It is essential that all patients, wherever they live, can access the very best health care that meets their needs.

Glyn Davies
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Welsh Government should follow the UK Government’s example of commitment to the NHS by using the £70 million boost to its budget, which came about as a consequence of increased spending on health in England, on the Welsh NHS?

Stephen Crabb
Decisions on how the Welsh Government use Barnett consequentials are a matter for them, but it is true that a great many people in Wales would be baffled, bemused and hugely disappointed if Welsh Ministers chose not to use every single penny of the £70 million that we have made available to them by protecting and increasing NHS budgets here at Westminster.