Contributions
3,496 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCovid-19As the hon. Gentleman knows from my previous answers, that is not the way we are addressing this question. The way we are addressing it is that we will buy as many ventilators as…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19To the extent that the charity, to which I pay tribute, can support the local effort, the hon. Lady’s local CCG will be best placed to make that judgment.16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19I will. The hon. Member makes a very good point.16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19Our estimate of the total number of new cases is significantly higher than the available number of tests right now, which is why we need to increase testing capacity so quickly.16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19Just as we have introduced a national effort for ventilators, so we are introducing a national effort for volunteers, and my right hon Friend the Secretary of State for Digital,…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19Yes. First, let me pay tribute to the 111 call handlers and the clinicians who have done an amazing job over these past few weeks. I do not know what we would have done without…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19Those are both very important points. Children who receive free school meals often receive their best or, in some cases, their only meal at lunch time at school, and it is an…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19Yes, of course, the further advice will go out for social care. We put updated advice out at the end of last week knowing that that was a likely step, and there will be further…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19Yes, of course, we are incredibly concerned about that, and it is reflected in the guidance that we have specifically put out. It is one of the many reasons why we encourage…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19I will look into that question and get back to the hon. Gentleman.16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19Yes. That is an incredibly important point that I discuss regularly with the Foreign Secretary.16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19I discussed this issue with the hon. Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth). The delivery of support to make sure that nobody is penalised for doing the right thing is…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19Both cases are covered by the formal public health advice that will be published on the gov.uk website. For all specific questions such as that, which of course our constituents…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19Yes, this is incredibly important. Communities have a huge role to play in this; it is truly a national effort. I want to empower people on the ground in communities and within…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury tells me that undoubtedly the devolved nations will very rapidly get the information they need. After all, this is a UK-wide…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19My right hon. Friend is right about the advantages of a common message across the UK, and we have worked hard to try to achieve that. I visited the three devolved nations on…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19On the latter point, the chief medical officer has set out today that immunity is built up by having had this virus. That evidence is constantly being kept under review, but…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19The answer is, yes, we want, of course, all the tests that we need.16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19Obviously, that is an incredibly important area. Earlier today, there was a call with local authority leaders, my right hon. Friend the Communities Secretary and the Care…16 Mar 2020HANSARDCovid-19We are looking at all those questions. The proposal to relax student-staff ratios is in the Bill. We will publish the content of the Bill tomorrow and the Bill itself on Thursday.…16 Mar 2020