Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Dawn Butler

Wednesday 24th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

This is the second time I have been asked about this; I thank my right hon. Friend very much, and he is right to raise it. We will make sure that we have a proper meeting with the Department of Health so that we can resolve the issue of how to make sure that the supply of the Bedrocan or the cannabis-based products that are coming from Holland can be made secure, and can continue.

[Dawn Butler (Brent Central) (Lab)]

I personally thank you, Mr Speaker, for your support for Parliament’s covid memorial quilt. Prime Minister, after PMQs, I will be presenting my cross-party private Member’s Bill, the Coronavirus (No. 2) Bill, to Parliament. It is based on scientific advice, Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies guidance, and lessons learned. Will the Prime Minister please commit to reading this Bill and providing me with a written response, maybe by tomorrow—I know that is a bit of an ask—but, if not, within the next two weeks?

[The Prime Minister]

I am very happy to make that commitment.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and Dawn Butler

Monday 12th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Alas, I cannot give him a date by which I can promise confidently that we will have a vaccine. There are some very hopeful signs, not least from the Oxford-AstraZeneca trials that are being conducted, but, as he knows, SARS took place 18 years ago and we still do not have a vaccine for SARS. I do not wish to depress him, but we must be realistic about this. There is a good chance of a vaccine, but it cannot be taken for granted.

[Dawn Butler (Brent Central) (Lab)]

Instead of supporting the established system in public health, the Prime Minister has invested £10 billion in privatised companies. It has not controlled the virus, it has not saved lives and it has not rebuilt the economy. In Brent, the wonderful CEO, Carolyn Downs, with the leader of the council, Mo Butt, had control of local testing. We were able to test people very quickly, and in surrounding areas. The Government have taken the majority of the testing away. People are told they have to travel miles to get tested and, in addition, care workers have waited seven days to get their test results. When will the Prime Minister stop his obsession with this centralised approach and go for a decentralised approach that works?

[The Prime Minister]

I understand the point that the hon. Lady makes, and obviously, again, I am sorry for the bad experiences that some people have had with the excessive turnaround times for NHS Test and Trace and so on, but I do think that the mixed approach that we are taking is the right one. We need a joined-up, national Test and Trace system combined with the work of local authorities, and that is what we are delivering.