Coronavirus Vaccine

Debate between Joanna Cherry and Matt Hancock

Wednesday 2nd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. The hon. Gentleman raises a point that is important for the vaccination programme but also important thereafter, because if levelling up means anything, it means trying to level up health and make sure that the health inequalities of which he speaks are addressed.

[Joanna Cherry (Edinburgh South West) (SNP) [V]]

Everyone involved in delivering this great news is to be congratulated, including the Secretary of State. The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said that provided that we receive the first doses of the vaccine as soon as we are expecting them in Scotland, we can start vaccinating people on Tuesday next week. Will the Secretary of State join me in applauding all at NHS Scotland who are going to make this possible?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Joanna Cherry and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 23rd June 2020 Commons Chamber

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

Thanks to unprecedented action, we have protected the NHS. It was not overwhelmed during the peak of this crisis, and all covid-19 patients admitted to hospital were able to receive urgent treatment that they needed. We remain vigilant.

[Joanna Cherry]

I thank the Minister for his answer, but after the end of the Brexit transition period, all four health services in the UK and Northern Ireland will face increased bureaucracy and increased costs to import drugs from Europe. On top of that, it has been estimated that a trade deal with the United States of America could increase the drugs bill from £18 billion to £45 billion. How will the Secretary of State prevent these extra costs from hampering NHS capacity?

[Matt Hancock]

First, there is no reason at all why the exit from the transition period should have the impact that the hon. and learned Lady describes. We have put in place a huge amount of work to ensure that Brexit works positively for our life sciences industry and indeed, as we do now, that we can buy pharmaceutical products from around the world, not just from within the European Union. As for the idea that somehow a trade deal will increase prices of drugs, that is flat wrong.

Covid-19 Response

Debate between Joanna Cherry and Matt Hancock

Monday 18th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

And some! The military have been unbelievably helpful in this crisis, right across the extraordinary things that my teams and the whole NHS have had to do in terms of logistics and delivery on the ground—literally boots on the ground. The military, just like the private sector that we were discussing earlier, have made the testing capability possible. They have supported care homes and they have done an amazing thing. They have really risen to the challenge.

[Joanna Cherry (Edinburgh South West) (SNP) [V]]

Most countries have imposed some form of public health measures on international travellers in order to limit imported cases of the virus. The United Kingdom has been out of step on that since the middle of March, and today we heard that details of a quarantine scheme will not be published until next month. As Health Secretary, will he publish the detailed scientific advice on which the United Kingdom’s approach has been based in this matter since the middle of March?

[Matt Hancock]

We are working on a four nations approach, and trying to make sure that the approach that we have to international travel is aligned across all four nations, including with the Assembly Government in Edinburgh. We have, of course, based those decisions on scientific advice, and we will make sure that, as and when that advice is updated as we move through this pandemic, so the decisions continue to be based on that advice.