I have been contacted by a number of constituents asking me
to sign a petition or a pledge that the NHS should be kept outside of any
future trade deals with the US.
As a member of the Parliamentary Petitions Committee I
cannot sign petitions.
However, I am reassured by both our Government and the US
Government who have repeatedly said, at every level, that the NHS will not be a
part of any future trade deal.
I support this position and would oppose any change to it,
unless there was hard evidence that any deals would mean better value for the
public purse on essential services such as drug supplies or similar.
I hope this clarifies my stance on this matter.
