Oral Answers to Questions

Jack Lopresti Excerpts

Tuesday 24th January 2023 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Con)]

1. What steps he is taking to ensure that ambulance services continue to operate during strikes.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Steve Barclay)]

We have introduced a range of contingency measures, such as the provision of military personnel, who are available to assist with the driving of ambulances, and community first responders, who can help before ambulances arrive on the scene.

[Jack Lopresti]

Will my right hon. Friend join me in thanking call handlers at the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust—and the public—for halving the number of 999 calls to the trust over the last month, and reducing average call answering times by 95%, to just three seconds? Will he also join me in expressing dismay at the approach taken by the Leader of the Opposition during the most recent session of Prime Minister’s Question Time in seeking to sow fear in the hearts of my constituents and others for his own narrow political gain?

[Steve Barclay]

I am happy to join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the work of call handlers at the South Western Ambulance Service, and to the staff there as a whole. He is right to draw attention to the improved performance that we have seen in recent weeks, and also right to point out that all parts of the United Kingdom have faced considerable challenges, particularly over the Christmas period when we saw a significant spike in flu levels.