Contributions
535 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe are intent on making vaccines as accessible as possible, so there are now more vaccination sites than at any point in the programme. They operate 12 hours a day, seven days a…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Covid-19: Forecasting and ModellingIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight (Bob Seely) for introducing today’s debate, and all hon. Members…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Covid-19: Forecasting and ModellingI am conscious that I need to leave time at the end, but I will endeavour to get through my speech and take interventions. It is not, however, and never can be, a crystal ball,…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Covid-19: Forecasting and ModellingI appreciate the point my hon. Friend is making, and I will come to a point that shows that models are just models; they are not predictions. Yes, they are sometimes proved wrong,…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Covid-19: Forecasting and ModellingYes, I will. To be frank, what we are doing in many cases is comparing apples and pears. Nevertheless, past modelling has proved remarkably accurate in many cases. My hon. Friend…18 Jan 2022HANSARDHealth Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2021
Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Entry to Venues and Events) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021I thank the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish for his measured approach and his support for the regulations. I will start by answering some of the questions he raised, which were…17 Jan 2022HANSARDHealth Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2021
Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Entry to Venues and Events) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021The Government have always been clear that it is vital that we act in a balanced and proportionate way in response to the threat of the virus. We continuously monitor the latest…17 Jan 2022HANSARDHealth Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2021
Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Entry to Venues and Events) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021, No.…17 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyMy hon. Friend is quite right that we do bear responsibility. I do not take these decisions lightly at all and neither does my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. That is…12 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyI thank the hon. Gentleman for raising this important part of our strategy to make sure we can react quickly in respect of those with certain conditions. Giving them ready access…12 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyI reassure the hon. Lady that many different measures are being put in place across the whole country depending on what works in different specific areas. For example, there are…12 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyMy right hon. Friend makes a very good point, but I go back to the MHRA, which is globally recognised as one of the best regulators and has advised that, “the benefits of…12 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyOr she should go online to find out whether there has been a mismatch in the data. If she has received the letter saying that she should receive the PCR so that she can do one if…12 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyI reassure the right hon. Gentleman that we are doing what we can to ensure that people get vaccinated. Some of the stats speak for themselves: people are eight times more likely…12 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyI completely agree with my right hon. Friend that persuasion is the right way to go. That is why the uptake went up tremendously among care home staff and since we implemented the…12 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyThe fact that the hon. Lady has asked that question demonstrates that this is quite a complex matter. NHS England is looking into it, to work out the best way to roll out the…12 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyI do not recognise the data given by the right hon. Gentleman. We have already invested £465 million in a recruitment and retention programme for care home staff. It is important…12 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyI also pay tribute to the staff at St Thomas’ Hospital. I visited the vaccination centre there and was really impressed by the way it is set up, with the paediatric side as well,…12 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyAs my hon. Friend said, to date over 93% of NHS staff have had their first jab. I want to put out a plea. We already have vaccination as a condition of deployment in the care…12 Jan 2022HANSARDVaccination StrategyThe hon. Lady makes a very good point, and it is not the first time the issue has been raised with me. We had that situation in the run-up to Christmas, and we are obviously now…12 Jan 2022