Covid-19 Update

Debbie Abrahams Excerpts

Monday 17th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

My right hon. Friend is right to praise the incredible efforts in Bournemouth, which I know he has played a very direct and personal part in delivering, and I look forward very much to visiting as soon as I can get down there—and, by the way, I agree with Sir John Bell that Bournemouth is a great place to go on holiday and I am sure my right hon. Friend agrees about that too.

On global support, of course as and when we have excess doses we will look to support countries around the world with those doses, but the number of doses that we can support around the world from our excess purchases is small compared with the spectacular support we have already given the whole world with the more than 400 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that have been delivered at cost. The majority of Oxford-AstraZeneca doses have been injected in low and middle-income countries, and 98% of all COVAX jabs given so far have been that vaccine delivered on the back of British science, supported by the UK Government, Oxford university and AstraZeneca, doing this all without taking a profit. We should be very proud of that.

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab) [V]]

The wider the gap between the rich and poor, the bigger the difference in our life expectancy and healthy life expectancy. That has been laid bare over the last year: the UK’s high and unequal covid death toll has been driven by the rampant poverty and inequality that successive Conservative Governments have allowed to go unchecked. In January, the Prime Minister promised to implement Professor Sir Michael Marmot’s recommendations to address that and to build back fairer, so what discussions has the Health Secretary had with the Prime Minister on that, and will investigating the UK’s structural poverty and inequality be part of a covid inquiry?

[Matt Hancock]

I discussed this issue with the Prime Minister. The office for health promotion is intended to be able to tackle some of those issues, led clinically by the chief medical officer, to make sure we can strengthen the public health case around Government, because so many policies of Departments outwith the Health Department are critical in addressing the question the hon. Lady raises.