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2,941 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateI do not accept that at all. The noble Lord does this debate no favours by using that kind of language. The argument I make is extremely reasonable. It is supported by the Chief…08 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateI am always grateful for the challenge of medics in the Lancet and elsewhere. I would like to reassure them that this is not a question of libertarian ideology but a question of…08 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateI am afraid we cannot have in place laws on the intimate practicalities of people’s lives for the long term. We do not have a law on sneezing. I would not think of sneezing in the…08 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy Lords, the noble Lord’s expertise on mask specification is well known in the Chamber and I bow to his greater knowledge on this. Of course, healthcare workers, social care…08 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy Lords, that is an extremely broad question. I reassure the noble Baroness that we have published thousands of pages of guidance, many of which have been across my desk, and it…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateI am sympathetic to the noble Lord’s travel arrangements, but I do not philosophically think that harmonisation of all regulations across all the nations of the United Kingdom is…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy Lords, I wish zero Covid was possible. I wish we had never had it at all in this country, but it is a fiendishly clever virus and it gets around the measures we put in place to…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy Lords, I completely understand the noble Baroness’s concerns about those in social care. In the provisions that we have put in place for the vaccine, I reassure her that we…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy Lords, I remind my noble friend that we have awarded £1 billion to kickstart elective recovery, supporting providers to address backlogs and tackle long waiting lists. We have…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateYes, I can reassure the noble Lord that we have in place a strong supply chain that will meet the schedule that has been outlined by my friend the Minister for Vaccinations,…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy Lords, I am not aware of all the details of the latest Statement. It is my understanding that there is substance there; I gather that there will be change and I look forward to…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy Lords, I do think we have an opportunity, now that the pressure has backed off a bit, to be thinking a lot more about the exactly the sort of subject that the noble Earl…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy Lords, I completely sympathise with the frustration that many feel when they have the symptoms of one of the many syndromes associated with long Covid. According to the ONS,…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy Lords, I am enormously grateful for the thoughtful questions from the noble Baronesses, Lady Thornton and Lady Brinton. I will address the first question from the noble…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy Lords, I completely concur with my noble friend’s analysis. This is an opportunity for the economy to bounce back, and I am really encouraged by everything I hear from the…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy Lords, I do not have the figures to hand, but I reassure the noble Baroness that the policy on masks was very diligently imposed and a large number of people did get fined. We…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy noble friend puts it very well. Clearly, with the infection rates rising but with a very large proportion of the country vaccinated, it is worth reviewing this. As the…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateI am very grateful to my noble friend for raising the office for health protection, because it is an office that I am extremely hopeful for. It will be giving clinical leadership…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateI applaud the noble Lord for his advocacy of mask wearing, but of course this issue cuts both ways. He is right that we need to build back trust in sharing space with one another,…06 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateSince this is the second question on masks, I hope the noble Baroness will not mind if I go off on a tangent. Masks do work a bit; they are not a panacea. What is really important…06 Jul 2021