Contributions
1,745 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy right hon. Friend is right to raise the difference between Wales and England in the approach taken. I feel—like him, I think—that we have taken the right approach to face…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateFirst, I can tell the right hon. Gentleman that we have already done 17 million, which is almost one third of the adult population. That is more than any other country in Europe.…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateNo one wants to see those kinds of measures. I agree with my hon. Friend that covid is with us to stay and we need to learn to live with it. I think the best way we can do that is…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThe hon. Gentleman will know that the Department for Education today set out fresh guidance on masks in communal areas—29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateNot in classrooms. I think what the Government have set out is the right approach. In terms of protecting children from the pandemic, the vaccination programme for…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThe review should take place as soon as possible. That is how the Government determined the three weeks. Unless Parliament was called back from recess or the Government took…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateI heard what the hon. Lady had to say, but the UK does not believe that waiving patent rights and intellectual property rights on these vaccines would be helpful. It would…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateMy hon. Friend is right to raise the importance of vaccine delivery mechanisms. If there was an approved nasal vaccine delivery mechanism, it would be helpful. He will understand…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThe hon. Lady makes an important point about contact tracing. On the contain outbreak management fund, especially given the emergence of this variant, we are actively reviewing it.29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateFirst, I noted what my hon. Friend said about walk-in access in Hampshire, so I will take that away and get back to him. Secondly, he is right to talk about the impact of these…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateIn the call that I had today with G7 members, we all agreed about the importance of working with developing countries, looking into not just how to provide the vaccine but also—I…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateYes, I can give the hon. Gentleman that assurance.29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThere are many communities where vaccine take-up is lower than others. That has particularly been the case in the black African community in Britain and in some other black and…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThat is an important point. It is fair to say that we do not know enough yet—I do not think Australia or any other country does, for that matter—but we know enough to justify the…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateWe are very confident about the supply that we have, including accommodating the new advice that I have accepted from the JCVI. I join my hon. Friend in thanking the many…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThe hon. Gentleman makes a very good point about how the danger of disinformation is costing lives, not just here in the UK, but across the world. Rightly, we have talked a lot…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateWe will keep that issue under review. My hon. Friend is right to speak, as hon. Members across the House have done, about the importance of South Africa’s handling the matter in…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateI do not think it would be correct to say that the Government have ignored the advice that the hon. Gentleman refers to. I also think it would be incorrect to say that when it…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThe risk to children from covid in general is, thankfully, much less than the risk to adults, but we do not know enough about the new variant to talk specifically about its…29 Nov 2021HANSARDCovid-19 UpdateThis year alone, we have provided an additional £34 billion of support to the NHS and the social care system. All the extra funding is in place in each of the areas that the hon.…29 Nov 2021