Contributions
5,553 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Covid-19I am grateful to the right hon. and learned Gentleman for his support. I notice that it seems to come and go, but it seems to be here today. He criticises testing. He should know…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19I thank my right hon. Friend. She is entirely right that Parliament should and will debate these issues. We will make time early next week, in Government time, for a full debate…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19There was a great deal in the right hon. Gentleman’s question that I agree with. He is right that we need to take decisive action now, and I am very grateful for the collaboration…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19The whole objective today is to avoid a second national lockdown—nobody wants to see that. My hon. Friend is right to point the finger at us: we can do this together if we take…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19Of course we must do everything we can to ensure that our NHS is not overwhelmed with covid cases. It is when we have a covid crisis—a boom in covid cases—that, as my hon. Friend…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19It is essential that we have the most powerful possible public health organisation in this country. The Joint Biosecurity Centre now needs to come together with Public Health…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19The hon. Lady raises an important point, and I am grateful to her. As Members from all parties have said, these are not easy decisions—nobody wants to curtail the right of…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to the huge importance of sport to our national economy and our wellbeing. That is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19The right hon. Gentleman is spot on about what has been happening in schools. Sadly, in many cases we have seen a rise in demand for tests because people are, reasonably, unable…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19We will do whatever we can to support the coach sector and all other sectors across the country. As the hon. Gentleman knows, we have put in place a massive programme of loans,…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We are continuing to expand testing and tracing, and it is by driving down this virus that we will be able to take the country forward to…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19Yes, indeed I can. The biggest flu vaccine programme is going ahead as we speak. Thirty million people will be able to have a flu jab this autumn, and I thoroughly advise Members…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19My hon. Friend is completely right that pharmacies and chemists are in the frontline of our healthcare and do an absolutely outstanding job in testing people for all kinds of…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19I look forward to receiving those representations—I will study them carefully. As the House has heard before, the Government are spending £12 billion more on mental health…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19My hon. Friend speaks eloquently for his constituents and for those who feel let down by the minority who are not obeying the rules. That is why we are outlining this programme of…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19I do indeed congratulate Randox and all the other businesses involved. We are massively expanding testing the whole time. However, it is very important for the House to understand…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19My right hon. Friend is absolutely right that we have massively increased testing across the country. We are now prioritising teachers, as he knows. He raises a very important…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19Yes; under the current procedures, it is up to the House to confirm that the Executive do have the power to continue measures under the Coronavirus Act, and that will continue to…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19My hon. Friend is right. We are doing everything we can to protect people, particularly those in care homes, who are so vulnerable, as we saw during the early stages of the…22 Sept 2020HANSARD Covid-19I have had the opportunity in the course of the past few months to talk to many businesses up and down the country—across Scotland—and they have uniformly been appreciative of the…22 Sept 2020