Public Health

Alberto Costa Excerpts

Wednesday 6th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Alberto Costa (South Leicestershire) (Con) [V]]

None of us wishes to pass such restrictions on all our freedoms. We are a parliamentary democracy that cherishes freedom, but here we are about to pass draconian restrictions on our personal liberties.

Our job must be to encourage, cajole and demand of the Government that they do everything in their power for the vaccines to be manufactured, distributed and offered to our fellow citizens as soon as possible. Ministers are working at breakneck speed. I pay tribute to the Secretary of State, his fellow Ministers, senior civil servants in central Government who are managing the vaccination programme, and all the other public stakeholders—the NHS, doctors, nurses—organisations and individuals who are helping to distribute the vaccines as quickly as possible. The more vaccination centres we have properly staffed and resourced with vaccines, the quicker we can vaccinate our constituents, and thus the quicker we can consider lifting these draconian regulations.

Turning to South Leicestershire, yesterday I met the chief executive officer of the local clinical commissioning group, Andy Williams, along with his colleagues from the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and Lutterworth GPs. I thank him for meeting me at such short notice. I have been reassured by him and his team that they are working to ensure that my constituents are offered the opportunity of receiving the vaccine in Lutterworth, Blaby and across South Leicestershire.

I know that the House will want to pay tribute to NHS stakeholders such as Andy Williams and the CCG for all the work they are doing to open vaccination centres wherever possible in each of our constituencies across the country. I impressed on Andy Williams that the decision we are about to take today as legislators of the sovereign British Parliament in restricting freedoms and, in effect, closing down large parts of our economy and our education centres can be lifted only when he and his NHS colleagues succeed in their logistical organisation of opening and operating vaccination centres. It is right that we scrutinise the work of the CCGs across our country and all related NHS and other stakeholders involved in this mammoth task. I will be supporting the Government today, but only under the clear understanding that they are doing all they can to obtain vaccines and distribute them quickly to all our constituents.