Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Clive Efford Excerpts
Tuesday 7th May 2024

(7 months, 2 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Jeremy Hunt Portrait Jeremy Hunt
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My hon. Friend is right to talk about the What Works programme, which has delivered more than 500 trials and is recognised internationally. There are some very good example in the NHS of what is working, including the NHS app. That is now used by 75% of NHS patients—including 17,000 over-90s, so let no one assume that older people are not internet savvy.

Clive Efford Portrait Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)
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Some £8.7 billion was wasted on defective personal protective equipment during the covid crisis, much of it paid to people associated with the Conservative party. People did not have to be Conservative party members to benefit from the fast track, but it did not half help. What is the Chancellor doing to get public money back from those people who sold that defective equipment to the NHS, and does it not just show that we cannot trust the Tories with public money?

Jeremy Hunt Portrait Jeremy Hunt
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What it shows is that we took very difficult decisions in the pandemic to speed up access to PPE for frontline workers, who were literally dying at the time—but there should be no hiding place whatsoever for anyone who commits fraud on taxpayers, which is why there have been over 100 arrests.