Covid-19 Update

Debate between Katherine Fletcher and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 2nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

This is a very important question. Although I am incredibly proud of the UK vaccine roll-out and very pleased that we bought early so that we have access to the supplies of 407 million doses, we are also deeply aware of our international obligations, with the provision of the Oxford vaccine to the world, but also the financial support essentially through COVAX and GAVI, to make sure that people across the world have access to this vaccine. It is not “either/or”; it is “and”. Although my first priority and responsibility as UK Health Secretary is to ensure that the UK has access to this vaccine, this disease has demonstrated that it does not respect international boundaries and it is important that everywhere gets access to the jab.

[Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con) [V]]

The variant of covid that was first identified from South African samples has been found within the PR9 postcode. That postcode covers the town of Banks, which is within South Ribble in Lancashire. There is understandable concern among residents and a celebratable desire to do the right thing. Can my right hon. Friend offer any reassurance to the residents so close to Southport, and set out what they can do with testing, for example, to do the right thing in this situation?

[Matt Hancock]

Absolutely. Sefton Council leads on this particular outbreak, but I understand that there are some residents in Lancashire who are in that postcode area. The website sets out where the door-to-door testing will cover and the activities that the council is leading on, working with us, making sure that we get testing as broad as possible.

If you are in the PR9 postcode area, or any of the other postcodes that I set out yesterday, it is very important to be especially vigilant. It is imperative to stay at home unless it is absolutely essential that you leave home. I understand the concern—of course I do—but the reason that we have been so clear that these are the postcode areas is that we do need people to take action to limit the community spread in the vicinity of the cases that we have found.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Katherine Fletcher and Matt Hancock

Monday 14th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I understand the yearning for a vaccine among school staff, and of course it has to be clinically led. The goal is to reduce hospitalisations and fatalities from this disease as quickly as possible. I am absolutely delighted by the community testing roll-out and the roll-out of testing to schools in the hon. Gentleman’s patch. I thank him for the leadership he has shown locally, and I encourage that.

[Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)]

Lancashire’s community testing is really starting to ramp up and rapidly increase, and I thank the Secretary of State for that. Prioritising tier 3 areas, such as parts of Lancashire that have been in restrictions since July, is really important. Does he agree that community engagement and getting a test with the increasingly available community testing is the thing that gets us all out of tier 3 in South Ribble, Chorley and West Lancs?

[Matt Hancock]

I totally agree: do your bit and get a test.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Katherine Fletcher and Matt Hancock

Programme motion
Monday 19th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Again, I will defend the honour of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor, who has put in huge amounts of economic support. On the first point, one of the reasons to go to the tier system and one of the reasons I think it was, at the time, widely welcomed across the House, was to have a system where people can much more straightforwardly understand the rules. I say to everybody living across Lancashire that the very high alert level in Lancashire is because we urgently need to get the case rate down. The thing everybody should do is follow the rules and restrictions that are in place. They are there for good reason and they are agreed across Lancashire. What we can all best do together is work together to get those rates down.

[Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and for recent private meetings. The good people of Lancashire and South Ribble get that this is all about saving lives—full stop. However, they are weary of restrictions that have been going on for weeks and they are worried about their jobs. Can he assure me and them that we will be in the tier 3 restrictions for only as long as it takes to save lives?

[Matt Hancock]

The tier 3 restrictions are put in place when the local NHS is at risk of being overwhelmed. We will not keep people in restrictions for one moment longer than we need to. Nobody wants to have the restrictions in place. They are there for a reason and that reason is clearly set out, which, as my hon. Friend said, is to save lives with the minimum negative impact while protecting the economy and education, and supporting the NHS as much as possible. That is the strategy and I think it has very widespread support both in this House and among the public. The measures we put in place to deliver that have been put in place with the deepest reluctance. The single best thing that you, Madam Deputy Speaker, my hon. Friend or anybody in this country can do is abide by the rules and be cautious about social interaction—hands, face, space. That way, we can all help to restrict the spread of the virus and get it under control while we support our scientists to come forward with the innovations that will eventually get us out of all this.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Katherine Fletcher and Matt Hancock

Thursday 17th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

We have been putting in the extra testing capacity in Sefton. More than 5,000 tests have been conducted in Sefton in the last week. People should hear loud and clear that if they are in Sefton, as anywhere else, and they have the symptoms, they should come forward. The hon. Gentleman’s question, by rightly raising the importance of people with symptoms and people in care homes being able to get a test, underlines how important it is to prioritise and that people who do not have symptoms should not come forward. I hope that he would repeat that message.

[Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)]

Having visited Chorley and South Ribble Hospital last Friday, I was delighted to see some of the Government’s £300 million grant in action, with teams on the ground building significant works to help to make the A&E unit more covid-secure and increase its capacity. Will my right hon. Friend join me in looking forward to its full reopening as soon as possible?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, absolutely. As I mentioned in my statement, I want to see the A&E in Chorley reopen as soon as is safely possible. My hon. Friend is right that we have put in a huge amount of support, and we all want to see it reopening. I look forward to the day—I hope soon—when we can announce that that has happened.

Wuhan Coronavirus

Debate between Katherine Fletcher and Matt Hancock

Monday 3rd February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

We have worked hard to try to make sure that the repatriation takes into account other health problems that some people had, and to make sure, frankly, that the accommodation takes that into account—we have tried our level best to make the accommodation as comfortable as possible. I have read some of the stories in the newspapers about the lengths that NHS staff have gone to. The Minister responsible went to Arrowe Park to make sure that we are doing everything we can to make the facilities not only safe—of course, both to the public and those who are quarantined there—but comfortable for the two weeks.

[Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)]

With any infectious disease control, it is very important that members of the public play a role by saying, “Yes, I think I may have been affected,” and being subjected to quarantine. Will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute not only to them but to the members of staff? I understand that they drove across two counties to pick up one new patient’s wife’s birthday present, which they then drove all the way back to Arrowe Park, because playing by the rules and doing right by the country is the right thing to do.

[Matt Hancock]

That is absolutely right. We have tried to go above and beyond to help those who are currently in Arrowe Park. I did not know about the example that my hon. Friend gave, but there have been several others, including some of the biscuits that were given to people who were quarantined at Arrowe Park, which had apparently gone down very well.