See my letter below to the Editor of the Surrey Advertiser in response to the recent claim that the TTIP deal will lead to the privatisation of the NHS
The Editor
Surrey Advertiser
Stoke Mill
Woking Road
Guildford
GU1 1QA
30th December 2014
Sir
Further to the article by Becca Taylor, 'voters call on Hunt to take NHS out
of deal' (19th December 2014), and having not been asked for comment at
the time, I felt it was important for me to write as local MP for South West
Surrey and Secretary of State for Health to set the record straight for the
benefit of your readers.
The story includes references to the TTIP deal between the US and EU
currently being negotiated and an Unite the Union Poll which suggests that
respondents, including those from my constituency of South West Surrey,
are concerned that the TTIP might lead to harming the NHS, changing
existing practices or it being 'sold off'. Of course, I would share those
concerns if they were true, however, the facts are that this is categorically
not the case.
To confirm, TTIP has no effect on the powers of the NHS at local level -
local GPs who this government put in charge of designing decisions - will
continue to decide who should best provide services for their patients. The
accusation that the trade deal could force the privatisation of the NHS is a
complete red herring, and this has been confirmed by the European
Commission itself - former EU Commissioner, Karel De Gucht stating
recently on Radio 4's Today Programme that: "It's an argument that is
abused in your country for political reasons but it has no grounds.”
It’s unfortunate that people are being asked to give their opinion on the basis
of scare stories. A new US/EU trade deal would not result in any
changes being made to existing practices or indeed force the privatisation of
the NHS. This cannot and will not happen, as confirmed by both US and EU
negotiators, and as Health Secretary I would never allow it. What a trade
deal could do though, which would be of huge benefit to the country, is
create thousands of new jobs in the UK, offer improved access to the US
market for our world-class pharmaceutical and medical devices sectors,
boost the economy and create more taxes to fund the NHS.
I completely understand people being concerned but the facts have been
misrepresented. As local MP for South West Surrey and as Secretary of
State I share the passion that there is to preserve the integrity of the NHS and
do hope that this letter will reassure readers and alert them to the truth rather
than the scaremongering.
Yours sincerely
RT Hon Jeremy Hunt
Member of Parliament for South West Surrey
2, Royal Parade,
Tilford Road, Hindhead,
Surrey GU26 6TD