Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Cunningham Excerpts

Tuesday 12th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I am delighted that there is going to be a mass vaccination centre. I can give that assurance—we are working as hard as we possibly can to ensure that all the equipment is there. Everybody thinks about the vaccine—that is very important—but it is also about all the other things that are needed, such as the specialist syringes. The vaccine is so valuable that inside the syringe is a plunger that goes into the needle to squeeze the extra bit of liquid that would otherwise be left in the needle into someone’s arm to make sure that every last drop of vaccine is used. A whole series of other equipment is needed alongside the actual liquid of the vaccine. I will ensure that my hon. Friend the vaccine deployment Minister makes sure that the Stoke-on-Trent mass vaccination centre is up and running and ready for 25 January.

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab) [V]]

The covid-19 pandemic has further exposed and widened the tremendous health inequalities in Stockton, where healthy life expectancy is among the lowest in the country. It also has by far the highest number of covid cases on Teesside—now well in excess of 10,000. Secretary of State, when can we have a new hospital for Stockton to help to tackle those inequalities?

[Matt Hancock]

The importance of tackling health inequalities and levelling up parts of the country that have so much opportunity, such as Stockton, but need further support to unleash that opportunity is an incredibly important part of this agenda. On the hon. Gentleman’s precise question, we have discussed that issue before. As he knows, we have the largest hospital building programme in the modern history of this country. I look forward to continuing to discuss with him the extra infrastructure needed in Stockton.