I believe fully in the NHS and its values and the Government is committed to protecting the NHS and that is why NHS spending has increased and Ministers have guaranteed that it will always provide treatment free at the point of need, regardless of ability to pay. The Government will not privatise the NHS.  

The use of private providers and the voluntary sector in the delivery of NHS services is not a new concept. The Labour Government between 1997 and 2010 introduced the independent sector and competition into the NHS. The focus throughout the NHS is to provide the highest quality of care to patients, and that is completely shared by the Government. 
You may find it of interest to know that the use of private providers in the NHS represents just over seven pence in every pound the NHS spends, an increase of just two and a half pence in the pound since 2010, and a slower rate of growth than under Labour. Charities and social enterprises, such as Macmillan Nurses, continue to play an important role in the NHS, as they have done for many years.

The Health & Social Care Act of 2012 provide the framework to enable patients to be treated by the providers best able to meet their needs and give patients greater individual choice and control over their care. I think that it is right for local doctors and nurses to decide who provides the best care for patients. In fact, under the Act, it would be illegal for the Secretary of State to try to deliberately increase the share of private sector work carried out at the expense of other providers.

The NHS compares well with the best health systems around the world. This year's Commonwealth Fund report put the NHS at the top of its league table of health systems, repeating its success in 2014. This does not mean that the NHS has nothing to learn from other health systems. In order to improve services for patients many of our best Trusts are keen to learn from international peers, drawing on insights from leading organisations such as Ribera Salud of Spain and Kaiser Permanente in the U. S. On occasions, NHS organisations work in formal partnership with their peers, to the benefit of the NHS and the peers themselves.

The NHS is something to be valued and protected which is why I support the Government's commitment to properly funding the NHS: since 2010 the NHS budget was increased ever year and I am happy to say that despite challenging financial circumstances, the Government is investing a further £20 billion into the NHS by 2023/24. 

I trust this clarifies the Government's position that competition in the NHS should act as a means to an end in improving services for patients, never as an end in itself.