Oral Answers to Questions

David Warburton Excerpts

Wednesday 8th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I can. I can tell the hon. Lady that I was in contact with representatives of the local authorities, of the Army, of Northern Powergrid and others to see what more we could do to assist them in restoring power. I sympathise very much with the families who lost power for an unconscionably long period, and the House will have heard the explanation of the various electricity companies about why that is so. We must learn the lessons from Storms Arwen and Barra and ensure nothing like that happens again.

[David Warburton (Somerton and Frome) (Con)]

Q10. I know we all agree that our vaccination programme has been a tremendous success. Vaccinations are the frontline of defence against all variants of covid, and the booster jab is a vital component of that, but in rural areas like mine, our booster centres are often few and very far between, and two thirds of housebound people—those perhaps most vulnerable, most susceptible and most in need—have not yet received their booster. Can I ask my right hon. Friend what steps the Government are taking to ensure that more centres are available, particularly in rural areas? Will he ask the Health Secretary to meet me with some urgency to ensure that my constituents can get their boosters and stay protected this winter?

[The Prime Minister]

Among the heroes of the vaccine roll-out are pharmacists up and down the country, as my hon. Friend rightly says. We have 1,500 community pharmacies vaccinating people near where they live. I know that the NHS is considering the need to support more pop-up clinics where there is a need. I am happy to arrange a meeting with him and the vaccines Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Maggie Throup), to discuss this further.