Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Law Excerpts

Tuesday 18th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Health (Edward Argar)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Public consultation on the reconfiguration in East Sussex was launched on 6 December last year and will close on 11 March. She is right to highlight access and transport links as a key factor in such decisions, and I would of course be delighted to meet her.

[Chris Law (Dundee West) (SNP)]

T3. Only 9% of people in low-income countries have received one vaccine dose. The UK Government have delivered less than one third of their pledged contributions to COVAX. Given that no one is safe until everyone is safe, what assessment has the Secretary of State made of the risk to public health from emerging variants from the unvaccinated worldwide, and will he ensure that all doses pledged will be delivered to COVAX by the end of June?

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Law Excerpts

Tuesday 20th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Law (Dundee West) (SNP)]

8. Whether his Department has completed an impact assessment of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the health and social care sector.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

All policy teams in my Department have conducted assessments of the implications of Brexit and continue to plan for all scenarios.

[Chris Law]

Well, I hope to hear some good news then. In my constituency, Dundee University and Ninewells Hospital are recognised centres of biomedical and clinical research, working closely with other European colleagues and institutions. That work is threatened if the UK is outside the European research network and excluded from data-sharing and the new clinical trial system. How does the Secretary of State plan specifically to protect the academic and clinical research excellence of Scottish and UK institutions post-Brexit?

[Mr Hunt]

We have made it clear that we want to integrate very closely with European structures when it comes to medicines research. I would gently say to the hon. Gentleman that great universities such as Dundee also collaborate with universities all over the world, and I think that this is a good opportunity for us to ensure that we strengthen our research networks internationally as well as using the tried and tested ones that we have with the EU.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Law Excerpts

Tuesday 15th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jeremy Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing up that issue. Everyone recognises, on both sides of the House, that the health and social care sectors need to work together. That happens very well in some parts of the country, but not in others. I think all hon. Members have a job to make sure that people behave responsibly in their constituencies.

[Chris Law (Dundee West) (SNP)]

T5. Both Public Health England and Food Standards Scotland support restricted advertising of junk food to children, yet this was entirely omitted from the Government’s completely underwhelming obesity strategy. Given that we clearly cannot rely on the UK Government to take this forward, will the Secretary of State support the devolution of broadcasting powers to allow the Scottish Government to tackle the obesity crisis and its devastating impact on society?

[Nicola Blackwood]

The obesity plan is one of the most ambitious in the world. It will reduce obesity by a fifth by cutting the amount of sugar in our food, helping all children to engage in an hour of physical activity a day, and making it easier for families to make healthy choices. We already have some of the toughest advertising rules in the world, and we have consulted Scotland closely on these arrangements.