Proposed health reforms

In November 2010, Lansley provoked controversy by factoring into public health related bills representations from fast food companies such as McDonald's, KFC and processed food and drink manufacturers PepsiCo, Kellogg's, Unilever, Mars and Diageo on obesity, diet-related disease and alcohol, said by campaign groups to be the equivalent of handing smoking policy over to the tobacco industry.^[13][14]

In January 2011, Ministers published the Health and Social Care Bill, detailing planned reforms that would pave the way for GP consortia to take over management of the NHS from primary care trusts. Prime minister David Cameron said "fundamental changes" were needed in the NHS.^[15]

But doctors' leaders believed that GPs could simply have taken charge of PCTs instead, and achieved the same results.^[16] The reforms were intended to pave the way for groups of GPs to take control of NHS budgets, with the consortia to take charge in 2013 of about 80% of the funding and of planning and buying everything, from community health centres to hospital services. However, some specialist services such as neurosurgery would be provided by a national board.^[16]

In a letter to The Times, British Medical Association chairman Hamish Meldrum, Royal College of Nursing chief executive Peter Carter, and the heads of the Unison and Unite unions, said the speed and scale of the reforms proposed risked undermining the care of patients by putting cost before quality.^[16] Criticism of the reforms had been mounting ahead of the publication of the Health and Social Care Bill on 19 January 2011.

Lansley's white paper on the NHS led to him being the subject of an unflattering hip hop track and video written by rapper NxtGen and poet Rob Gee, with the chorus "Andrew Lansley, greedy / Andrew Lansley, tosser / the NHS is not for sale, you grey-haired manky codger".^[17] It was picked up as one of the theme tunes to the anti-cuts movement and spawned placards at a March for the Alternative in March 2011.^[18][19] The video, partly paid for by Unison^[20] featured NxtGen rapping about Lansley's proposed GP commissioning policy, his part in the parliamentary expenses scandal, and a controversial donation he had received from private health company Care UK.^[18] Lansley responded with a statement that he was "impressed that he's managed to get lyrics about GP commissioning into a rap", but stated "We will never privatise the NHS".^[17]

Following the widespread criticism, on 4 April 2011, the Government announced a "pause" in the progress of the Health and Social Care Bill to allow the government to 'listen, reflect and improve' on the proposals.^[21]

In November 2011, Lansley faced more criticism^[22] when he appeared speaking on a video played at NHS patients' bedside in England, the continuous loop video was played to patients as the main free content on the Hospedia system. When asked by Tom Blenkinsop MP, Lansley replied that he received no payment and there was no cost to the taxpayer.^[23]

On 13 April 2011, 96 per cent of 497 delegates at the Royal College of Nursing conference backed a motion of no confidence questioning Andrew Lansley's handling of NHS reforms in England.^[24] Later that day, Lansley met with 65 nurses at the same conference, and apologised by saying "I am sorry if what I'm setting out to do hasn't communicated itself."^[24]

In May 2012, Lansley appeared at the Royal College of Nursing annual conference where he stated that although "the number of qualified nurses has gone down by nearly 3,000... clinical staffing levels overall have gone up by nearly 4,000". His comments at the conference were met with uproar from nurses and union members in the audience with heckling and some shouting "liar". The Royal College's general secretary, Dr Peter Carter criticised the health secretary's claim as being "nonsense that there's more clinical staff than there was two years ago is just incorrect" and later told the health secretary that currently "There is a great deal of unhappiness" amongst nurses and health care professionals, with a standing ovation from the audience.^[25]

On 28 June 2012, doctors meeting at a British Medical Association conference voted in favour of calling for Andrew Lansley's resignation.^[26]

Doctors voted in agreement of a motion stating "This meeting has no confidence in Andrew Lansley, the Secretary of State for Health, and calls for him to resign". In the meeting, Lansley was accused by the BMA of "breaching doctors' trust" over pension agreements, and was accused by Dr Gary Marlowe who tabled the motion that "during the election he (Lansley) misled the public and the profession" regarding the Health and Social Care Bill. Before voting, Marlowe also stated that "The Bill went through a stunning number of amendments and revisions. I believe the most of any Bill. How can we trust someone with such a poor record with our NHS?"^[27]

On 4 September 2012, Lansley was moved out of his role as Health Secretary into the position of Lord Privy Seal.

Suggested conflicts of interest

Until December 2009, Lansley received £134 an hour from a firm of advertisers that represents clients such as Walkers Crisps, McDonald's, Unilever, Mars and Pizza Hut; Private Eye suggests a link between these activities and Lansley's desire to see a more lightly regulated food industry.^[29] The same publication suggested a similar link to a Department of Health report on red meat in which the only products listed in the report found to contain suitable amounts of red meat to merit a "Good" rating were a McDonald's Big Mac, and a Peperami (manufactured by Unilever).

While in opposition as health spokesman, Andrew Lansley accepted a donation of £21,000 from John Nash, the chairman of private healthcare provider Care UK and founder of the private equity fund Sovereign Capital, which owns several other private healthcare companies, to help fund his private office, leading to allegations of a conflict of interest.^[30] Such companies stand to be the largest beneficiaries of Lansley's bill passed by the Coalition and House of Lords to increase the use of private health providers within the NHS.^[31]

As reported February 2011, Lansley's wife advised attendees at a business conference to "establish positive relationships with decision-makers". Although staff members of Low Associates, the PR firm she runs, had food and drug companies among their clients before joining Low Associates, the firm denies it has any clients in the health sector.^[32]

Andrew Lansley's wife, Sally Low, is the managing director of Low Associates. Sally Low denies that Low Associates is involved in lobbying and instead describes its activities as provision of "strategic advice" to clients. Low Associates helps people prepare before they give evidence to committees of MPs, and Sally Low has given speeches on improving lobbying skills, in which she said that lobbyists should "establish positive relationships with decision-makers before you need their help". Lobbyist clients of Low Associates personnel have previously worked for a variety of companies including those with an interest in health, such as SmithKline Beecham, Unilever and Procter & Gamble.^[32]

Recession

Andrew Lansley wrote a blog entry on the Conservative Party website on 25 November 2008, which claimed the "good things" from a recession included people being able to spend more time with their families.^[33] He was later forced to apologise.^[34]

Parliamentary expenses

In the Parliamentary expenses scandal in 2009, Lansley was accused of 'flipping', or redesignating, his second home, after claiming for renovation of a rural cottage prior to selling it. It is claimed that he then 'flipped' his second home designation to a London flat, and claimed thousands of pounds for furniture. Lansley responded to the claims by stating that his claims were "within the rules".^[35] He owns a Pimlico property, but has claimed over £7000 for hotel stays.