Covid-19 Update

Debate between Christian Wakeford and Matt Hancock

Thursday 26th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, there will be further funding for those areas that go into tier 2 and yet more funding for the areas that go into tier 3. That funding will go to the councils for the extra support that is needed.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

I thank the Prime Minister for the flexibility that the Government are providing so that we can all have a family Christmas. However, let me ask my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary: what consideration has been given to Hanukkah, which starts two weeks today, regarding family gatherings and public menorah lightings? Does he think it is fair if no flexibility is shown to the Jewish community?

[Matt Hancock]

We carefully considered this issue, consulted on it and discussed it widely. Christmas is a national holiday, as well as being very much a Christian celebration. That is reflected, for instance, in the fact that we have two days of bank holidays. We consulted members of different faiths around precisely the question that my hon. Friend rightly raises, and there was a strong degree of support for having something special in place for Christmas for everybody, even though we have not been able to put that in place for Hanukkah or for other celebrations of other faiths.

Coronavirus

Debate between Christian Wakeford and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 15th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

This is an incredibly important subject, and I commend the hon. Lady for raising it and for her work on it, along with many Members across the House. We are putting more funding into mental health, and paediatric mental health in particular, to ensure that we tackle the inevitable consequences of the pandemic.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

“Hands, face, space” has been the public safety message for weeks now. However, I feel that the public are not as safe as they could be. What thought has my right hon. Friend given to ensuring that face masks and hand sanitiser offer the fullest protection by regulating for the need to meet set safety criteria, whether that be the British Standards Institution standard or the World Health Organisation formula for hand sanitiser, so that we are all as safe as possible using these mitigating factors?

[Matt Hancock]

We do have a standard for clinical masks, but for the widespread use of face coverings, we do not set a standard, because the evidence is that for the general public, using a face covering can make a big difference without drawing on the supply of clinical masks for personal protective equipment. Standards are set by the European Union that define what can be put into a hand sanitiser, but I am happy to work with my hon. Friend on the details if that needs to be strengthened.

Coronavirus Update

Debate between Christian Wakeford and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 14th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. That is a really important subject and I am very happy to talk to the hon. Gentleman about it to ensure we get in the best possible support. It is obviously very difficult and I pay tribute to all those who have been caring for loved ones in difficult circumstances. When we clap for our carers, we clap, too, for those unpaid carers who give so much.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for his statement. Will he join me in reiterating that, while face coverings can help to reduce transmission in some circumstances, face masks worn as part of PPE for healthcare and other workers should be reserved for those who need it? Will he also confirm that wearing a face covering is not a substitute for social distancing and that we should do both?

[Matt Hancock]

This point is incredibly important. A face mask can reduce the risk of transmission, and in particular, it protects others should someone be positive and transmitting the virus, especially when they are asymptomatic and do not know it. However, it can only be effective as part of a broad measure of social distancing measures, and it is not a substitute for social distancing and washing hands. It is easy to forget that washing our hands, as well as keeping surfaces clean, is one of the most effective protections against the transmission of the disease.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Christian Wakeford and Matt Hancock

Monday 29th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Of course, as we move from a national lockdown towards local lockdowns, we are going to have to take more specific action. For the time being and for Leicester, the existing furlough scheme of course exists.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. The majority of this House and indeed the country will be looking forward to some additional freedoms as of this weekend. I myself am looking forward to a pint of Papermaker at Radcliffe Market. The hard work and sacrifice of the British people have got us to this point, so will my right hon. Friend join me in urging everyone out there not only to maintain social distancing, but to stay alert and to make sure that this hard work is not undone and restrictions reimposed?

[Matt Hancock]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right and speaks with great wisdom. While we are able to lift some of the lockdown measures and while people will, across most of the country, be able to exercise some more freedoms, such as the freedom safely to go to the pub, from this weekend, we have got to be aware—all of us—that this virus still lives in our communities. We must continue to tackle it and we must continue to stay alert, and so control the virus, because that saves lives.

Covid-19

Debate between Christian Wakeford and Matt Hancock

Monday 16th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

That is an incredibly important point. Many of the statements on coronavirus from the Dispatch Box have been signed, and I understand that the press conference that the Prime Minister gave today with the chief scientific adviser and the chief medical officer was also signed on the BBC.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

May I put on record my thanks to our NHS and careworkers for their fantastic work and pay tribute to the immense public support out there from community organisations? Although we are no longer performing community testing, with consideration given to testing of NHS staff as a priority, will my right hon. Friend advise whether that will be extended to social care staff, the police and teachers, to ensure that our frontline services continue to operate?

[Matt Hancock]

That is an incredibly important point. Public Health England is addressing the order of prioritisation, and we are also trying to drive up the number of tests available, as we have discussed many times earlier.