Covid-19

Ian Liddell-Grainger Excerpts

Tuesday 12th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater and West Somerset) (Con) [V]]

I greatly appreciate the chance to contribute my local experience, Mr Deputy Speaker.

In my constituency, two more people died yesterday, thousands have caught the disease and it is getting worse, even in the remotest depths of rural Somerset. We face a vicious enemy that attacks without warning and has the power to exploit even the smallest human error. Let down our mask or hug the grandchildren, and we could—I am sorry to say it—die. No one likes lockdown, but obeying the rules is vital, and so is setting a positive public image.

It is a great pity that Somerset County Council is still planning to run public surveys about local government reform, while the daily death toll across the county continues to rise. The Government gave Somerset an extra £32 million to tackle covid; £10 million—I repeat, £10 million—went straight into the council’s reserves. It even had the barefaced cheek to shift almost £0.5 million into a savings fund for its own carparks. What a cheap trick! Words fail me at the lack of decency and care for people’s real interests and needs.

We all know that Ministers have long-term plans to reform local government, but it is no time for the county council in Somerset to be cooking the books to make themselves look like financial wizards. As for the county council wasting time on surveys, which it is now planning to do right through January and February, how dare it treat us with contempt? It will be pestering people who are frightened by a disease that is still spreading fast.

The county has put the districts in an impossible position. They would much prefer to leave this alone until such time as the pandemic is over, but the county council insists on wasting public money and running consultations, and the districts are seriously expected to carry on as though nothing has happened. The Government need to take the lead to completely freeze this whole local government reform programme.

So far, worldwide, almost 2 million human beings have been killed by covid. In this country, the death toll tonight is more than 82,000—the population of my constituency. One day, our descendants may ask, “What did you do in the pandemic?” I really do not believe that any self-respecting Minister will want to admit responsibility by saying, “I pushed ahead with local government reform.” It is irrelevant. It is an unnecessary sideshow while so many of our residents are desperately trying to protect their own lives and those of their loved ones.

We hope and pray for a swift roll-out of the new vaccines. Some teething problems are inevitable, and in Somerset there are elements that have been delayed, so I have a positive and constructive suggestion for the Minister. Why not report vaccines in the same way as infections: area by area, week by week, day by day? We would like to know exactly how many jabs have been given across our county and who is getting them. If the Minister could do that, it would make all our lives easier.

Public Health

Ian Liddell-Grainger Excerpts

Wednesday 6th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater and West Somerset) (Con) [V]]

I am glad to be able to take part in this debate. There is no doubt that this lockdown was needed and required, and quite rightly it has now been enacted. However, my constituency covers the vast rural area of the Exmoor and the levels in Somerset, and one of the things I would ask the Government to consider is the roll-out of the vaccine. As in many rural constituencies, a lot of my area is a long way from next door, and it is very difficult for people to get to vaccine centres. At the moment, unless we have more places doing vaccines, it is very hard to see what we can do to quicken them up, especially in areas such as mine. There is no doubt that we need to do more.

I will praise, if I may, the four district councils in Somerset—not all of my persuasion. Not only have they done a remarkable job in getting information out across the districts and the county to make sure we are kept apprised of what is available, they have made sure that where hospitals are being used and where they can use healthcare, those services are being put forward very nicely indeed. However, I cannot say that about the county council. People have heard me talk about Somerset County Council in this Chamber: quite simply, it is to be left wanting at the very highest level. I am ashamed to say that it is of the Government’s persuasion, but it is not doing the job.

There is one area that I want to concentrate on, which is of course the Hinckley Point C nuclear power station. We must keep it going, not only to fulfil our commitment but because, due to the way Hinckley works and the continuous pour of cement, it is crucial. It is a national and international infrastructure project, and it is of enormous importance locally and nationally to make sure that we keep the workers there safe, but also keep them working.

This means that a lot of the people who live in the area, who are of an age where they tend to have children, are finding it very hard to get childcare while ensuring they can continue their work. Those people are crucially needed on site, so my conclusion is that when it comes to schools, we need to think about this very carefully. I am very grateful for what the Government have done and for the way in which the BBC, for once, has actually stepped up to the mark, but we need to look at what we do with those children whose parents are working. I have enormous distribution warehouses in my constituency that need people there all the time to keep the system going and keep the supply chain alive and well. I urge the Government to make sure we keep on vaccinating those who need to be vaccinated to keep the economy going, and keep the vaccines local. That is crucial. If we can achieve those things, I believe we will have done our job, not only as a Government but as parliamentarians.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ian Liddell-Grainger Excerpts

Tuesday 14th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am very happy to accept the hon. Lady’s invitation to visit her area, which I will do, but what I know I will see when I go there is that 8,300 more people are being treated within four hours at her local hospital, where there are 42 more doctors and 56 more nurses than in 2010.

[Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater and West Somerset) (Con)]

T6. May I thank the Secretary of State for all the help he gave with Minehead hospital in my constituency? I am very grateful. However, one problem is that Somerset pays the lowest amount in the peninsula to keep people in homes, and that is putting more people into hospitals. Will the Secretary of State offer some advice on how we can get round this situation?

[Mr Hunt]

I am very happy to do that, and it is very straightforward. We listened hard when local authorities said they needed more support for the social care budget. We put an extra £2 billion into it in this year’s Budget. Spending is going up this year by 8.6%, so all local authorities are expected to play their part in reducing pressure on hospitals.

Junior Doctors Contract

Ian Liddell-Grainger Excerpts

Thursday 19th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

If the hon. Gentleman looks at the latest NHS staff survey, it shows higher staff motivation, better communication and more staff recommending their organisation as a place to work or be treated. But I accept that when big changes are made to a contract such as the junior doctors contract, they can be contentious and have a short-term impact on morale. In the long run, morale goes up when doctors are able to give better care to patients, and that is what this agreement will allow.

[Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater and West Somerset) (Con)]

The Secretary of State has done a good job of explaining today, but let us look at this in the cold light of day. The BMA caused a problem that should have been resolved a long time ago. It decided it would make a political point. That is fair enough, and I know we want reflection. The Opposition should have been big enough to say, “We want to cause political trouble on this.” A lot of this has been caused by political shenanigans that should not have been allowed to get to this stage, and the failure means that the junior doctors have lost prestige throughout the United Kingdom because they have been used as political pawns by two organisations. Does the Secretary of State agree?

[Mr Hunt]

It is a great tragedy that the dispute unfolded in the way that it did, and I am sure that people with different agendas have not played constructive roles at various points. Given that we now have an agreement, I want to move forward positively and say that the lesson of the last 10 days is that when people sit down and negotiate about all the outstanding issues with a Government who are trying to make care safer and better for patients, we get a result that is good for everyone.

Business of the House

Ian Liddell-Grainger Excerpts

Thursday 6th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for the opportunity further to reiterate—we have discussed it in the past—that we were not proposing regional pay. I made it clear in my previous role as Secretary of State for Health that we were proposing pay that was more reflective of local labour market circumstances, marketplace and pay. That is capable of being achieved through the “Agenda for Change” framework, and to that extent it is consistent with national frameworks for pay. The consortium of trusts has made it clear that its frustration is borne of the lack of progress in the national pay frameworks.

[Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater and West Somerset) (Con)]

The Leader of the House will be fully aware that the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is due to be cut. That decision is wrong on many levels. It is a fully recruited, highly motivated regiment, in whose 6th Battalion I served. May we please have time in this Chamber to discuss what is blatantly a wrong decision and to put forward the reasons why the 2nd Battalion the Fusiliers should be kept as a line regiment doing the phenomenal job that it has been doing and wants to continue to do for this country?

[Mr Lansley]

I completely understand the strength of feeling that my hon. Friend expresses. He will have heard, as I did, the Prime Minister’s response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Baron) yesterday. The Prime Minister explained how the reshaping and the changing character of the armed forces were being developed under the Army 2020 arrangements. He was willing to arrange a meeting to discuss that matter, and I simply reiterate that.