Covid-19 Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and Ellie Reeves

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend. Under the Inquiries Act 2005, as the House knows, it is up to the chair of the inquiry to begin framing the terms of reference herself.

[Ellie Reeves (Lewisham West and Penge) (Lab)]

As is the case for Members across the House, many pharmacies in my constituency are out of stock of lateral flow tests, and when people try to order online it says that none are available. Yet The Sunday Times reported this week that British manufacturers of lateral flow tests are battling with the Government after their kits failed to be cleared for use in this country, despite being available in Europe. When will the Prime Minister pull his finger out to boost testing capacity and boost British manufacturing?

[The Prime Minister]

Of course kits need to be approved—[Interruption.] Perhaps the hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) wants kits that are not approved to be on the market. They have to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and that is the right thing; but my understanding is that we have been up at 15% of lateral flow tests in this country being supplied in the UK, from zero.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Ellie Reeves

Wednesday 25th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend asks an excellent question, and we are developing a national bus strategy that will look at the needs and how to get more people to use our buses. In addition to championing green zero-carbon or low-carbon buses, we are providing £20 million for a rural mobility fund to support demand in rural areas.

[Ellie Reeves (Lewisham West and Penge) (Lab)]

Food bank use in my constituency has been increasing steadily as working families, including public sector key workers, struggle to make ends meet. Can the Prime Minister therefore tell us whether he thinks the median pay of teaching assistants of just under £14,000, and of nursing auxiliaries of £18,000, is enough to live on? I will ask him again: instead of delivering a public sector pay freeze later today, will he give those key workers a well-deserved pay rise?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is right to value key workers and the amazing job that they do—particularly teachers and teaching assistants, who have done fantastic work in getting our kids back into school over the last few months and continue to do an amazing job. I am proud not just of the work we have done to increase public sector pay, with an inflation-busting package in July for the third year running, but of what we are doing to support the record increases in the living wage—delivered by a Conservative Government, invented by a Conservative Government. Conservative Governments can do these things because we understand how to run a strong economy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Ellie Reeves

Tuesday 21st November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that it is vital that the Burmese Government acknowledge the scale of what is happening and the horror with which events are being greeted around the world. For many years, the world has looked to Aung San Suu Kyi as a great moral leader. We still salute her for her struggle for democracy in the face of the generals, but it is vital now that she stands up to condemn what is happening and brings the nation together. I am sorry to say that so far the Burmese Government have failed to do that.

[Ellie Reeves (Lewisham West and Penge) (Lab)]

4. What assessment he has made of the obstacles to the implementation of the Colombian peace process.