Contributions
5,553 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEngagementsI am conscious that, as the hon. Gentleman says, there have been difficult cases with self-employed people who have not qualified for some of the support that we have offered. I…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy hon. Friend is completely right, and I know that she speaks for millions of mothers and millions of parents across the country who want our kids to be back in school and who…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateIn addition to statutory sick pay and universal credit, there is the £500 that we make available to those in need of it, and that is the right way forward. I am afraid that the…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI thank the hon. Lady very much. I think it was Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, who put it best yesterday when he talked about the best thing that we can do for…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman, and indeed for the work of his Committee. I know that those conclusions, along with many others, will be studied with care. I know that…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI am very doubtful that the people of Salford would be deprived in the way that the hon. Lady describes, but I will of course look into it urgently and my hon. Friend the vaccine…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI hear my hon. Friend loud and clear. I know his views will be shared by many in this House. I just want to go back to the key thing that we need to establish: it will not, alas,…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateOf course my hon. Friend is right to raise that. I thank him, but I will just repeat what I said earlier to the right hon. and learned Gentleman, the Leader of the Opposition. It…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy hon. Friend and I have visited wonderful schools in his constituency together; we know the fantastic job they are doing. I know from talking to those teachers and those pupils…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateYes, indeed. The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the problem of differential learning. Unquestionably, some kids, and some families, in some parts of the country have suffered…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI do not think I could agree more vehemently with my hon. Friend if I tried; I have nothing to add to his excellent question. Yes, of course that is the way ahead.27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I will of course set all this out in the course of the next few weeks. What I can tell the House are some obvious things that the House can…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateThe hon. Lady makes an excellent point about the need to roll out rapid test kits. That is happening in communities, towns and cities across the country, and I commend her for…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI wonder whether the hon. Lady is proud of attacking the vaccines taskforce for spending £675,000 on whether vaccines would reach the most vulnerable people in our society.27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateAbsolutely. My hon. Friend makes a very important point, and we must get people to take up their appointments and take up the vaccines when they are offered. Some groups are…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateThe hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point, and one that has been made many times on both sides of the House. We will, of course, do everything we can to assist those who are…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateWhat I will say is that we certainly were able to use speed and agility to deliver on the programme that we needed. It would have been a great pity if we had followed the advice…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI congratulate the hon. Lady on being so much more sensible than her party leader, who is saying that he wants to interrupt the vaccine roll-out for the vulnerable groups and…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateYes, indeed, I join my right hon. Friend in congratulating not just the NHS, the Army and the pharmacies but the volunteers who are making the vaccine roll-out possible. We are…27 Jan 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateAs soon as we were informed of the extra transmissibility—50% to 70% faster—of the new variant, we took all the action we could. I would just remind the hon. Lady that the best…27 Jan 2021