Children’s Mental Health

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Tuesday 8th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I am pleased to contribute to this important debate on young people’s mental health. The pandemic has had a significant impact on many young people, and I know that our schools and colleges have done huge amounts to support their students through this period. I have been discussing mental health with many of them recently, and only last week I discussed it with the Minister for Care and Mental Health.



This work must start from an early age, and I particularly welcome the work being done in Stoke-on-Trent and nationally through the early years healthy development review. As a city, we must do more to build on the support for the most vulnerable families to ensure that every young person has the best start in life and can achieve their full potential. I very much hope that the city council is successful in securing funding for family hubs in Stoke-on-Trent, as that investment is vital. Importantly, the council recognises that those services must reach out to the families and children who need the support most—not those who are already engaged but those in greatest need of support and who are often the hardest to reach. These are the lessons we must learn if we are to see genuine improvements in levelling up the life chances and achievements of our young people.

It is particularly vital that we continue to improve support for mental health in schools and colleges, including the development of mental health support teams in all education settings. The 2017 Green Paper suggested that that was to be fully rolled out over six years, which seems a long time. We have ambitions to reach the target sooner, and I recognise the challenges with significantly ramping up recruitment and increasing the very specialist skills in this field. However, it is important that young people who need this support get it now.

Not enough young people are getting treatment as quickly as needed, which I know the Government are determined to address. It is only by acting earlier and being more preventive that we will stop more serious mental health issues developing in the longer term. I was pleased to hear from the Minister last week that we are already ahead of schedule in the roll-out to education settings, and I hope that trend continues to accelerate. In Stoke-on-Trent, 22% of schools now have in-school mental health support teams, with the ambition to increase this significantly over the next two years.

I commend our local schools and mental health staff at North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust for their dedicated work in supporting our young people. The increasing challenges they face are significant, with demand for mental health support for our young people surging by some 40% across north Staffordshire during the pandemic. It is particularly concerning that the demand for autism assessments has been double the capacity over the last year. I am pleased that the Government are taking serious action, with the £500 million mental health recovery action plan put in place to help those most impacted by the pandemic. This builds on the additional £2.3 billion committed to mental health through the NHS long-term plan.

Our local mental health services are doing more to help address these issues, including by increasing training and mentoring in schools to help staff better support young people, and by growing capacity further to better meet the increased demand and pressures on these services. This follows the record £15 million investment we secured to improve mental health facilities in Stoke-on-Trent, including a £1.3 million investment in new CAMHS intensive-support services.

As we move towards more integrated healthcare models with the development of integrated care systems, we must continue to address these issues and better integrate mental health services with other public sector and third sector services.

Covid-19 Update

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Monday 6th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

Yes, there are in certain cases, as my hon. Friend points out, medical exemptions to the hotel quarantine system. The problem that he points out should not be happening, so I will be happy to look at that case with some urgency.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I very much welcome the measures taken to accelerate the booster programme. Will my right hon. Friend look at what more can be done to support our excellent vaccinators and volunteers in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire to fully roll out as quickly as possible the increased capacity of vaccinations that we need to see?

[Sajid Javid]

Yes, there has been an excellent roll-out of the vaccine throughout Staffordshire. Alongside the rest of the UK, there is going to be a real step-up in the number of vaccination access points available.

Covid-19 Update

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Monday 15th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

It is all about making access as easy as possible. As well as the national vaccination centres and the grab-a-jab offers, we do have mobile units. I am afraid I cannot tell the hon. Gentleman exactly how many are out at any one time—the number changes day to day and depending on location—but they remain an important part of making access as easy as possible for people.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

We have a walk-in vaccination clinic at Longton fire station on Friday, so will my right hon. Friend join me in encouraging everybody in Stoke-on-Trent South who has yet to have their vaccination, or who needs their booster, to come forward and come to the walk-in clinic on Friday or book an appointment as soon as possible?

[Sajid Javid]

Yes, I happily join my hon. Friend in that. If you live in Stoke-on-Trent South, there is a great new walk-in centre, so please go on Friday, because the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is to get vaccinated.

Covid-19 Update

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Tuesday 14th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

Yes, I will join my hon. Friend in encouraging people to do that. It will be a one minute very well spent.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

Across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, uptake of the vaccine has been very good. I thank all those who have been delivering the vaccine across Stoke-on-Trent in particular. Many 16 and 17-year-olds currently cannot use the online booking system. They have to wait for their GP to contact them or for one of the very few walk-in centres. Will my right hon. Friend look at extending that online booking system to all 16 and 17-year-olds?

[Sajid Javid]

I can tell my hon. Friend that we keep that under review. At the moment, we have found that the quickest way to encourage 16 and 17-year-olds to take up the offer is through the schools and colleges network, and through GPs in particular. We keep that under review, but he might be interested to know the latest numbers are that over 54% of 16 and 17-year-olds are vaccinated. There is progress to be made, but that is good progress so far.

Covid-19 Update

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Monday 6th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Nadhim Zahawi]

In the original consultation on social care conditions of deployment, which we eventually introduced and have discussed today, part of the feedback was that we should consult on the wider health service, including frontline healthcare workers. By the way, I commend both social care and healthcare workers because the majority of them have come forward to be vaccinated. Indeed, more than 94% of frontline healthcare workers have had both doses. We will bring forward a consultation on this, because there is a duty of care for those looking after vulnerable people in hospitals or care homes to be protected against covid.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

Delivering covid booster jabs alongside flu vaccinations presents additional operational challenges. Will my hon. Friend do everything possible to co-ordinate these jabs, to ensure that we have very high uptake and to ensure the jabs arrive in Stoke-on-Trent in good time?

Covid-19 Update

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Monday 12th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I think I have set out the general approach at the Dispatch Box a number of times. As we begin to move towards a more normal position, we want to start removing the regulations and replacing them with guidelines, and then to ask people to follow those guidelines. For example, we have made it very clear that in crowded and enclosed spaces we would expect everyone to wear a mask, and we would recommend that. Given all the data that we have set out, including the vaccination rate, we think that now is the time to take that kind of more measured approach, and we will keep it under review.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I welcome what the Secretary of State has said. On Friday I visited Blue Bay Travel, an international travel company based in my constituency which strongly supports the easing of public health restrictions from 19 July for those who are fully vaccinated. Will my right hon. Friend continue to do all he can to ensure that we help jobs and industries of that kind, which have been hit hardest by the covid measures, to recover fully as soon as possible?

[Sajid Javid]

Yes, I can give that commitment to my hon. Friend. He is right to raise this issue. The travel sector has been one of the hardest hit, and I hope that as we take this measured approach and start opening up more, the sector will, in terms of both jobs and opportunities, start to benefit in his constituency and elsewhere. I hope that the company he referred to in his constituency welcomes the changes we have set out so far.

Covid-19 Update

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Tuesday 6th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Gentleman raises the issue of people who are pinged, so to speak, for coming into contact with an infected person and who have to self-isolate. The announcement that I have made today will clearly make a huge difference to everyone that is pinged in such a way, including all the fantastic people that work in our health service—the doctors, the nurses and others. As I said, it will come into force from 16 August. We thought carefully about whether we could do that earlier, and it is a fair question, but we decided not to do so, based on the best public health advice, because by 16 August many more people—even more than now—will be double-jabbed, and that extra layer of protection made us more comfortable in sticking with that date.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. Primary care has shouldered the brunt of the vaccine deployment, and many GP surgeries in Stoke-on-Trent South are not yet back to full capacity with general appointments. A number of my constituents have raised the difficulties of getting to see their GP. Will my right hon. Friend do all he can to ensure that primary care services are able to recover fully?

[Sajid Javid]

Yes, I can absolutely give my hon. Friend that assurance. As well as the extra resources we are putting in, the measures that I have announced today about people not needing to self-isolate if they are in contact with an infected person but have been double-vaccinated will help across the board, and that certainly includes our NHS and primary care providers.

Covid-Secure Borders

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Tuesday 15th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I am pleased to speak in this debate about secure borders during the pandemic. Measures to limit international travel are obviously vital in reducing the risk of importing cases to the UK from countries where covid-19 remains high. It is right that we take a cautious approach, and the traffic light system is the right one. It is relatively simple to understand as we look towards some international travel returning, although it is clearly beyond the understanding of the Opposition. It remains vital that we continue to take a data-led approach that is regularly reviewed, with restrictions on those countries where the risks are higher, to ensure that we can protect the UK from further outbreaks and variants as we continue to benefit from the incredible efforts being made by those delivering the vaccination programme. I would like to thank each and every one of those who have been involved in the vaccination programme, particularly the Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment, my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), who has made a huge effort to ensure that we vaccinate people as quickly as possible.

Strict measures are in place to protect our borders, with significant fines for those who do not follow requirements for testing, isolating and completing passenger locator forms. I know that efforts are being made to further streamline and integrate checks with existing border security measures. Some have questioned why India was not put on the red list sooner, and although I have some sympathy for that view, the reality is that the virus often evolves faster than many countries are able to detect it. It has already been pointed out that the genome-detecting capability in this country represents almost half of the global capability in genome detecting. As has also been said by a number of hon. Members, India was on the red list before the delta variant even became what is known as a variant under investigation, let alone a variant of concern.

Like all Members across the House, I have many constituents who have had travel plans put on hold or cancelled altogether due to the restrictions on international travel. A number have struggled to get refunds from operators and turned to me for help. Clearly, travel companies are under huge pressure, but it is only right, as the Government have made clear, that people should be refunded when their plans have been disrupted due to covid. The Government have provided £7 billion of support to the aviation sector during the pandemic, and they have also suspended the requirements around slots.

The Government have advised against travel to amber list countries except for essential reasons. It is clear that people should not be travelling to amber or red list countries for a holiday. Of course, many will be impacted by that, but it is right that the amber category remains, to allow some limited travel to continue to those countries at medium risk, recognising that people do not only need to travel for holidays but may have more pressing reasons to make journeys outside the UK.

That has presented a challenge for some when operators continue to run services and make it difficult for people to change their plans or get refunds. I am helping a number of my constituents in Stoke-on-Trent South in that situation at the moment, and I will continue to do so. I have also had a number of constituents struggling to return from Pakistan after visiting friends and family. The requirement to isolate for 10 days, while totally necessary, has been particularly challenging for some with ill health or some medical conditions. While I applaud the efforts to rapidly deploy and set up a system for those needing to quarantine, I am sure it will continue to improve. I particularly hope that the process for approving those who need exemptions will be further improved to ensure quicker response times, especially for those needing medical treatment back here in the UK.

I want to finish by mentioning an issue that is of particular concern to my constituents in Stoke-on-Trent South: the breaches of our border security in the English channel by illegal migrants. In attempting to cross the channel, they risk not only their own lives but those of others by potentially bringing the virus and new variants with them. I thank the Home Secretary for the robust action she has been taking to address the appalling criminal people traffickers who enable those dangerous journeys, and I fully support the Government’s new plan for immigration to address this issue.

We must deter those who think that they can come here illegally with no consequence, and reduce the pressure being put on places such as Stoke-on-Trent. We have resettled more than most other parts of the country, while many have not taken in a single refugee. As I set out recently in a Westminster Hall debate on this issue, it is time for Opposition Members to stop grandstanding and actually do something. Just as they attempt to score political points on the issue of asylum, they have tried to play exactly the same game over international travel, repeatedly changing positions on borders throughout the pandemic and shamefully exploiting the benefits of hindsight.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Tuesday 13th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

What progress his Department has made on improving the health service capital estate.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

What progress his Department has made on improving the health service capital estate.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Matt Hancock)]

In our election manifesto, we committed to building 40 new hospitals by 2030 and upgrading another 20 hospitals. We are delivering on that commitment and now have plans to build 48 new hospitals this decade. We will open a competition for the eight further new hospitals shortly.

[Matt Hancock]

I thank everybody who is working at Scunthorpe General Hospital for their incredible effort over the last year. My hon. Friend has been an assiduous campaigner for Scunthorpe hospital and the upgrades that we have already been able to put money into, and now there are eight slots for further new hospitals. Forty have been announced and we will build eight more over this decade. We will shortly announce how we are going to make that decision. There will be an open process and I look forward to working with her, her colleagues and colleagues across the NHS in Lincolnshire to make sure that they can put together the best possible application.

[Jack Brereton]

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government for investing in mental health facilities at Heartlands Hospital and acute facilities at the Royal Stoke University Hospital. Together, this will see over £32 million being invested in our local NHS, so would my right hon. Friend agree that it is more important than ever, as our NHS starts to recover from the pandemic, that we provide the best possible health facilities?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I would. The NHS has clearly played such a critical part in the response to the pandemic in the last just over a year. I thank all those working in and around Stoke, including at the Royal Stoke, which is a great hospital. We have put £32 million into the local NHS, and we protected the NHS even through the worst challenges of this pandemic. Of course, I will be open to further investment to make sure that the NHS across Stoke gets the support that it needs so that we can build back better. Today, we are all able to see the improvements that are being made in the response to the covid pandemic, with the opening yesterday of step 2 —I am delighted, Mr Speaker, to see that you have had a haircut. So many of us have been looking forward to being able to get life back to normal, and thanks to the work of people across Stoke and across the nation, we are able to take these steps.

Covid-19 Update

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Tuesday 9th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I am endeavouring to ensure that everyone on the list gets a chance to ask a question, but they will not do so if we do not speed up a bit, because we have a lot more business to come—[Interruption.] No, I do not criticise the Secretary of State. If he is asked complicated questions, he has to give complicated answers, so let us have quick and simple questions, then we can have quick and simple answers.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con) [V]]

May I join my neighbouring north Staffordshire colleagues in thanking our health workers for the amazing job they have been doing in rolling out the vaccine? Will my right hon. Friend join me in encouraging everyone in Stoke-on-Trent who is in priority groups 1 to 4 to get an appointment and get their jab before 15 February?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. Stoke-on-Trent has been ably and effectively represented in this discussion, and everybody across Stoke deserves praise for the work that they are doing to drive up the vaccination rate. The higher the vaccination rate, the more quickly and safely we can all come out of this together.