Biography
Esther McVey has engaged substantially with mental health and learning disability issues, delivering 15 debate speeches across these and related health and social care topics. Her contributions on mental health have focused particularly on young people's wellbeing during the pandemic and the risks associated with antidepressant withdrawal, while on learning disability she has raised concerns about delays in obtaining Education, Health and Care Plans and the impact of VAT on private SEND provision. She has also spoken on rural healthcare delivery, medicines safety, and the broader context of public health challenges facing rural communities.
Generated from their own Hansard record, below
“…m workforce plan, published under the previous Government in 2023, recognised that the increased demand from an ageing population is not uniform in the UK. It estimated that “In 2037, a third of people aged over 85 will be living in rural communities” compared with just a quarter now.”
Record by topic
- Learning disability & autism307th of 89912.0
- Mental health386th of 8809.0
- Elderly care & frailty30th of 2366.0
- Public health & prevention252nd of 6886.0
- Heart disease & stroke174th of 3983.0
What they’ve said
“…The pressure that I know the farming community is under and the impact that the family farm tax has had on the mental health of the rural community and farmers has been significant. Life expectancy is longer in rural areas, placing greater demands on GP practices.”
Rural GPs: Funding · 2026-02-11 · Read on Hansard ↗
“…se lockdown took from everyone: children denied education; mothers forced to give birth alone; people suffering heart attacks, strokes and sepsis but too frightened to burden the NHS; bereaved families unable to mourn the dead—the list of injustices goes on and on. None of it should ever have happened.”
Covid-19: Financial Support · 2026-01-15 · Read on Hansard ↗
“I rise to speak to the amendments that I have tabled. I am delighted to have another attempt to stop the Government doing something that defies justice as well as common sense and that will make our streets less safe.”
Sentencing Bill · 2025-10-29 · Read on Hansard ↗
“I oppose the whole idea of forcing courts to give suspended sentences when they should be sending offenders to prison. We all know that it is hard to get sent to prison in the first place, and judges and magistrates do not send people to prison lightly.”
Sentencing Bill · 2025-10-21 · Read on Hansard ↗
“We all believe in second chances, and that is where rehabilitation comes into play. We are possibly dealing with continual offending here. People have come before the courts, been given some kind of community sentence or been subject to tagging, and still repeat their crimes.”
Sentencing Bill · 2025-10-21 · Read on Hansard ↗
Contributions reproduced under the Open Parliament Licence.