Future of Health and Care

Debate between Mary Robinson and Matt Hancock

Thursday 11th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Improving the accountability of ICSs is absolutely at the heart of the White Paper. I set out the three sections, and one of them is accountability to ensure that as ICSs get stronger powers and a statutory footing, there is the accountability that necessarily goes with that.

There is a perfectly reasonable debate to have about the geography of ICSs, making sure that they cover the right scale to be able to deliver services effectively and yet are local enough to deliver for local people. That has been an ongoing discussion. The aim is to implement the measures set out in the White Paper by April 2022 and by that time we will need to ensure that those geographies are right. In very large part they are already, but if there is further work to do in any area, I am happy to have a discussion about that.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con) [V]]

The demands of the pandemic on Stockport Council, GP services and my constituency hospital, Stepping Hill, have shown the benefits of joint working and data sharing to improve care and health outcomes. I therefore welcome today’s announcement. We know that when bodies work together, people receive better care.

Stockport Together’s previous journey on this path highlighted the huge benefits of health and care working together as well as the challenges of addressing silo working and the pressures of pooled budgets. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the proposals will deliver a more streamlined system that will give seamless care and healthier outcomes for my Cheadle residents?.

[Matt Hancock]

That is the goal, exactly as my hon. Friend sets out. In particular, I am glad that she raised data sharing as part of the integration. It is critical that we have high-quality data sharing, with data protected for the individual but shared among those who need it for the purpose of joining up care. If someone goes to hospital, they will not have to give all their details over and over again, and their GP will know about it. Care homes, GPs and hospitals, for instance, will be able to care better for an individual without having repeatedly to diagnose. This is a very important agenda for the NHS, which it should approach with confidence as a core part of joining up care.

Covid-19 Vaccine Roll-out

Debate between Mary Robinson and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 8th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

There is very significant provision for vaccination in London. I will take up the specific point about Ealing, but London, thankfully, is a very well connected and interconnected city. To assure the hon. Member on the point about logistical disruption, we have five contingency plans in total to ensure that we can continue with the vaccination supply no matter the differing types of disruption.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con) [V]]

I am delighted that Stepping Hill Hospital in my constituency will be part of this historic day as the coronavirus vaccine programme begins. Along with rapid testing, tracking and isolating, we aim to bring our covid rates down further, prior to the tier review next week. In welcoming this fantastic news, does my right hon. Friend agree that we must not lose sight of the importance of “Hands, face, space” as a key way to keep us virus-free while the vaccine is rolled out to the rest of the population?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, my hon. Friend is completely right. We must all keep doing the basics—“Hands, face and space”, respecting the rules, and living carefully with personal responsibility, so as to minimise the chance of passing on the disease asymptomatically. We must keep doing that even while we have this great news of the vaccine which, as many have put it, is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Coronavirus Vaccine

Debate between Mary Robinson and Matt Hancock

Wednesday 2nd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Once we have got through the clinical priority, of course there is a debate to be had about the order of priority after that. Between now and then, if we can get the repeat testing of contacts up and running and working across the board, I hope that that will be effective in ensuring that fewer teachers have to isolate because they are contacts as opposed to positive cases.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con) [V]]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on securing this vaccine and on his amazing success in preparing us for its speedy roll-out. This is indeed a good news day. The news that hospital staff, care workers and patients will be among the first to receive it will be welcomed in my local hospital and across our care sector. We are keen to make a start. Meanwhile, as the vaccine rolls out to other groups, will my right hon. Friend consider introducing rapid targeted testing at scale in Stockport and across Greater Manchester as we continue to drive down our covid rates and work together to beat the virus?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I will. Let us work together and make that happen, with Stockport Council as well, and try to get those rates right down even further than they already are.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mary Robinson and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 17th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I would be happy to do that. We are proposing roving teams who can get out into rural communities across England. I know that there are ongoing discussions between those in the NHS in England and in Scotland who are responsible for the deployment of the vaccine. However, it is a critical principle that it should be deployed according to clinical need, not according to where people live across the United Kingdom.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con) [V]]

Although covid has highlighted the value of our care workers, care remains generally low-paid, high-turnover employment. A route into nursing would give care workers more opportunity to progress and build a career. Would the Government consider fast-tracking a specialised training course for care workers seeking to go into nursing, which reflects the many transferable skills that they have?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I think that is a brilliant idea. Let us work on it together.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Mary Robinson and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 20th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The answer is yes and yes. They will be there to benefit everyone across the whole United Kingdom.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

I was hugely disappointed that the Mayor of Greater Manchester failed to reach an agreement with the Government, thus compounding the uncertainty facing my Cheadle constituents. We need to find a way forward. My right hon. Friend will know that I have consistently advocated on behalf of Stockport Council and for my constituents in Cheadle, referring to testing and tracing and covid compliance in the hospitality sector, and I have pressed for a borough-by-borough approach that reflects our lower case rate. Tonight, I have written to the leader of Stockport Council, urging her to act on behalf of my Cheadle constituents and work with the Government to negotiate a local authority-specific financial package that supports and protects Cheadle residents and businesses. As we consider the next steps, will the Minister continue to work with our local leaders and me to secure a fair deal for our area?

[Matt Hancock]

My hon. Friend puts the case very clearly, and she is right. We do not want businesses in Stockport to be disadvantaged, so an offer, proportionate to the support that we have put into Liverpool and Lancashire, is on the table. I will take away her proposal and talk to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who is engaged in those talks right now, about her suggestion of a borough-by-borough approach. We remain open to a GM-wide approach, but so far we have not been able to get the agreement of the Mayor for the support that is on the table for the businesses of Greater Manchester.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Mary Robinson and Matt Hancock

Programme motion
Monday 19th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

We are doing everything we possibly can to suppress this virus. There have been some countries, and there have been some parts of this country, that have explicitly followed an eradication strategy. Unfortunately, there is not anywhere where that has worked permanently, and we have seen flare-ups in all parts of the world that have pursued an eradication strategy. The critical thing here is to suppress the virus, to get it under control, to keep it under control and for everybody to play their part.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

A further week has passed without agreement with Greater Manchester. However, Stockport Council has set up a pandemic response team working in the community, promoting covid-safe behaviour at pubs, bars, businesses, hairdressers and so on. Last week, it visited hundreds of businesses and found very good covid compliance. As the Secretary of State works to reach an agreement in Greater Manchester—I wish him the best of luck with that and hope it goes well—will he also consider a borough-by-borough approach and take into account the work done by local authorities with the leisure industry to try to get transmission rates down?

[Matt Hancock]

I know that many of the local authorities in Greater Manchester—in fact, all of them—have taken very seriously their statutory responsibilities to get the virus down, and I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who has been assiduous in her work to support her local community to do the right thing. I just hope now that we can come to an agreement with the GM leadership in the same way that we have come to an agreement with the Liverpool leadership and the Lancashire leadership. We are working with the West Yorkshire leadership, across the different boroughs there, with the South Yorkshire leadership, with the leadership in the north-east and with the leadership in Teesside in a highly constructive way, and I hope that we can do the same with Greater Manchester.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mary Robinson and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 6th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I am a strong supporter of the work we have done to look at that approach. The hon. Lady is right to raise it, and I will write to her with a timetable for that response.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con) [V]]

Positive outcomes are more likely when cancer is detected early through breast screening, and evidence suggests that take-up of screening is generally higher when mobile units are used, yet women in Heald Green have missed out on local screening and been directed out of Cheadle to Macclesfield. It is the second time that their three-yearly checks have been disrupted, potentially affecting uptake and risking cancers going undetected. Will the Secretary of State agree to meet me to discuss ways to address the situation in Stockport and give women in my constituency access to the local mobile screening units they need?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, of course I would. I would underline some news announced by the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds (Jo Churchill), which is that the breast screening backlog from the first peak, which was 450,000, is now down to just over 50,000. I pay tribute to the NHS and all those involved in screening who have done so much work to bring that backlog down, and I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this subject.

Coronavirus

Debate between Mary Robinson and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 15th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The vast majority of people do. In Luton yesterday, 484 people got tests. I agree with the hon. Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier) that we should follow the data.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

I congratulate the Government on their efforts to increase testing capacity and on working with local authorities to do so. As a result of the soaring number of covid cases in Manchester, however, some people are still unable to get the testing they need. We know that children are back in schools now and that schools are natural incubators of colds and tummy bugs, which mimic some of the covid symptoms. As the flu season gets going, will the Government look at the guidance they are giving to schools and people about how to access those tests?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, absolutely; of course I will do that. We have put significantly more testing into Stockport and my hon. Friend’s constituency: 720 tests just yesterday. One reason for that is the higher rate in Greater Manchester. She makes an important point about ensuring the capacity so that tests can be there when someone has the symptoms of coronavirus, but it is also incumbent on schools to send pupils for testing only when they have the symptoms of coronavirus, to make sure we can prioritise the testing for the symptomatic people who really need it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mary Robinson and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 1st September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Unlike the question, we will have a serious approach to this. I will absolutely defend to all ends the teams who work on our NHS test and trace system, the private sector companies without which this would be impossible and the civil servants who are working day and night to make this happen. I will not have disparaging remarks about civil servants, who have done so much during this pandemic, made in this House by the hon. Gentleman. I do not think he was listening to my answer, because the latest week’s data show that 84.3% of contacts were reached and asked to self-isolate where contact details were provided.

[Mary Robinson]

Cheadle residents welcome the release of the intervention measures that will take place tomorrow and the more local approach to this. Effective test and trace has been a vital part of getting us to this position and keeping the rates low. To continue with that, will the Secretary of State consider devolving the testing of cases to local authorities such as Stockport, which has a 99% rate of success?

[Matt Hancock]

My hon. Friend has played a very important role, and I pay tribute to her and her community for playing a role in the success of the local action that we had to take in Stockport and other parts of Greater Manchester, which meant that we were able to release the measures last week. I am grateful for her work, the work of her council and other local leaders and, most importantly, the people of Stockport, who have worked hard and followed the rules, and the case rate is coming down. She is right that the integration of a national system that can move fast at scale and a local system, which can often reach more contacts because there are boots on the ground and people who know the communities inside out, is critical.

Covid-19

Debate between Mary Robinson and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 1st September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The detailed local nature of the question shows how important it is that we engage with local representatives, including colleagues in this House, so that the local intelligence that the hon. Member has can be brought to bear on this decision, for instance. The decision to take Stockport out of and leave Tameside in the measures was taken with the agreement of the leaders of both councils. I absolutely concur with the hon. Member that we should have as targeted an approach as possible, and local councils need to ensure that if it is appropriate for some of their area to come out of a local lockdown and some to stay in it, that is what we should do. We should be driven by the data.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

Joint partnership working and effective test and trace have been essential in ensuring that we have reduced covid cases in Cheadle and kept the pressure off our NHS. Public Health England has indicated that the flu jab is one of the most effective measures that we can take to further reduce the pressure on intensive care units. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, in order to avoid a flu outbreak at the same time as we are tackling coronavirus, we need to encourage people to take up flu jabs and ensure that we get test and trace and flu jabs working in conjunction?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I emphatically agree with my hon. Friend. I could not have put it better myself.

Coronavirus

Debate between Mary Robinson and Matt Hancock

Wednesday 17th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The hon. Gentleman—he is my hon. Friend when it comes to air pollution—and I share a passion for clean air. He is right about deaths being correlated with areas of high air pollution. We are looking at the reasons behind the disproportionate number of BAME deaths, and we will take air pollution into account in that work. On the final point, it is a bit like an earlier question asked by one of my hon. Friends from a completely different angle—some things have got better in this crisis. Overall, of course, the crisis has been terrible, but some things have got better. One is air pollution. Let us cling on to that and redouble our efforts to keep clean air for the future

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

During the covid crisis, the relaxation of constraints on data sharing has enabled my local hospital, Stepping Hill, Stockport Council and other bodies such as the CCG and partners to work together. The information sharing that they have been able to do has given a better service to patients. Is that something we could take forward? Perhaps a report could be commissioned by the Department or the National Audit Office on the benefits of enhanced data sharing.

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. This is the third question in a row on some of the benefits we have learnt about during the coronavirus crisis. We made clear at the start of the crisis that data-sharing rules should not get in the way of treatments that can improve and save lives. That has had a hugely positive impact on people’s capability to treat individuals and do research, and we will not be going back on that. The one pager that we put out to the whole NHS on how to manage information governance in a way that keeps information secure but does not get caught up by some of the out-of-date data protection rules that had been followed will stay. Indeed, I hope to strengthen it in order that data can be better used right across the NHS.