Public Health

Layla Moran Excerpts

Tuesday 14th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

Where I agree with the hon. Gentleman is on the importance of using measures to support people. Support is already there, but I recognise from the way in which he phrased his question that he thinks there should be more support. I understand that we have a difference of view on that, but it is something we keep under review.

When I announced our autumn and winter plan to the House in September, I explained that we would hold measures in reserve in case the NHS was likely to come under unsustainable pressure and stop being able to provide the treatment that we want all our constituents to receive. Yesterday NHS England announced that it would return to its highest level of emergency preparedness, incident level 4, and unfortunately there is now a real risk that the exponential rise in omicron cases will translate into a spike in hospital admissions and threaten to overwhelm the NHS.

We have done so much to boost the capacity of the NHS. Over the past year we have increased the number of doctors by 5,000 and the number of nurses by almost 10,000, and we have expanded the number of beds available, but we have also had to put in place measures for infection control which have limited that capacity, and there are already more than 6,000 covid-19 patients in hospital beds in England.

Despite the progress that we have made, the NHS will never have an unlimited number of beds, or an unlimited number of people to look after people in those beds. If we think that capacity risks being breached, we simply have to step in, because we know what that would mean in practice for both covid and non-covid care. It would mean one of the hon. Gentleman’s constituents, maybe a child, is in a car crash and is in need of emergency care, and the NHS has to make difficult decisions about who deserves treatment and who does not. Now, I know that some hon. Members think that this is merely hypothetical, but it is not. We have seen health services around the world become overwhelmed by covid-19 and we cannot allow that to happen here.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)]

I am extremely grateful to the Health Secretary for mentioning frontline NHS staff. The all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus had a hearing this morning where we heard that staff are suffering moral injury because they are having to make exactly the decisions he outlined. The other thing we heard is that there is a worrying suggestion that omicron may be worse for children than delta. What assessment has he made of that risk? What is his plan for children to protect them against this deadly new wave?

[Sajid Javid]

First, I very much agree with the hon. Lady about the phenomenal work everyone in the NHS has been doing at all times, but especially over the past two years during this pandemic. They could not have delivered more. On her question about children and omicron, I am afraid we do not have any evidence on that yet that I have seen. We take the impact of omicron very seriously—I hope she can see that—and we will keep that under review.

--- Later in debate ---

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)]

The past week has been tumultuous. We are about to go off on our Christmas break. The only positive thing that has emerged from party-gate is that it took Boris Johnson—[Interruption.] I do apologise. It took the Prime Minister potentially being on the front pages of all the newspapers on Monday morning to come out in favour of a different approach to plan B. I can only say thank goodness for party-gate. Had that not happened, I wonder how much longer we would have waited for the Government to act. The reason why that matters is that, every single step of the way through this pandemic, the longer we have waited, the worse things have got. The sooner we act, the less we have to act and the better the benefits.

This morning, the all-party group on coronavirus heard from the experts, many of whom advise the Government, and from people who represent frontline NHS workers. We wanted them to answer simple questions: “What is going on?” “Tell us about omicron.” Also, “Is it enough?” On omicron itself, the news is startling. Two-day doubling is quite scary. Even if all the population had boosters today, because it takes 12 days, more or less, for a person to develop immunity and become protected, the numbers would increase by 60 times. That is why the two-day doubling matters. It is true that when we get that booster immunity in place, the time of doubling will increase, which is a good thing, because we want to reduce that peak. My concern is that we have not gone fast enough soon enough.

Let us look at evidence from places such as Denmark and South Africa. Much has been made of South Africa, but it is true to say that our populations are not directly comparable. There are some things of which we need to take heed. For example, just this morning, there has been new evidence to suggest that omicron affects young children more than delta. It takes tiny percentages of children getting sick for us to start seeing them following through into hospital admissions. We should remember that children are, as yet, unvaccinated; they have no protection at all. So the first plea I make to Ministers is where is the plan for children? It needs to go beyond hoping that they are going to be okay, because it would seem that this variant is potentially a threat. I will send Ministers the evidence I have seen, which is sincerely alarming, and I hope they take it seriously.

The other thing we see from Denmark is the shape of these curves. I know that this is hard to show when talking, but for the benefit of Hansard, the blue line is delta and the red line is omicron. This is data coming from Denmark, and I will post it on Twitter if people want to look at it. However, for the benefit of Hansard, the blue line looks like a gentle slope and the red line looks like a hockey stick, and that is deeply alarming. So what do the Government need to do? They have gone from plan A to plan B, and they are considering, once they get plan B through, moving from B to C. I was a teacher before, and if that was happening to a student of mine, I would get the parents in and get them to have a chat, because we need to go from B to B-plus.

What does B-plus mean? It is the booster—absolutely, it is the booster—but we have to recognise that between now and then it is not enough. We need to ventilate our public spaces. We need to provide support for social care, because unblocking those beds in the NHS requires extra support in social care. We need to ensure that test, trace and isolate works, which means allowing people to get tested—we have seen issues with that already—but we also need to help them to isolate. We need to limit mixing, and if people will not do it themselves, the Government need to act. We also need to bear in mind the effect of long covid in all of this. If there are huge numbers of people who already have it, many more are going to have that. So I urge the Government: do not hesitate, act quickly, please do not curb Christmas, and go from B to B-plus now so that we can enjoy the holiday ahead.

Covid-19: Government Response

Layla Moran Excerpts

Thursday 21st October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Maggie Throup]

Like my right hon. Friend, I look forward to the time when we do not need to wear face coverings, because I love to see everybody’s smiling faces. However, we need to make sure that we all get jabbed, so that we can get to that stage.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)]

Just yesterday, the Italian Prime Minister pointed at this country as an example of what not to do. We are now such an embarrassment that we are encouraging people elsewhere to follow the rules. Meanwhile, Government sources are this morning briefing that the approach the Government are taking is tantamount to herd immunity. We all know how we feel about Government sources, so can the Minister be clear: is herd immunity the plan? If it is not, what is?

[Maggie Throup]

I am disappointed in the hon. Lady’s approach, because we have led the way not only in vaccines, sourcing them very early on, but in antivirals. It is fantastic news that we were first with vaccines and that, through the Prime Minister’s setting up the antivirals taskforce, we now have the opportunity of some antiviral tablets as well, which will make a huge, huge difference. We are continuing to lead the world.

Covid-19 Update

Layla Moran Excerpts

Tuesday 14th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

Yes, I can give my hon. Friend that commitment. He may also be interested to know that, with the booster announcement today, care home residents will be an absolute priority.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)]

Back in June, the Prime Minister committed the UK and other G7 nations to vaccinating the world by the end of 2022 and

“to end this terrible pandemic”.

Can the Secretary of State tell the House how offering a third vaccine to a fully vaccinated, healthy adult in the UK before a first vaccine to a nurse in a lower-income country helps that goal of vaccinating the world by 2022?

[Sajid Javid]

I do understand the point the hon. Lady makes, but may I suggest that, if she has not yet, she should read the JCVI’s advice on booster vaccines? I think then she might better appreciate the importance of the booster programme.

Covid-19 Update

Layla Moran Excerpts

Tuesday 6th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Gentleman refers to the announcement on masks that we made yesterday, about moving away from rules and regulations to guidance and personal responsibility. He asks how we can make such a decision; the answer is the vaccine. The vaccine is working. We have more people vaccinated than any other large country in the world, thanks to the work of the NHS, the volunteers and everyone else involved—including, of course, in Scotland. That has weakened the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths. Contrary to what the hon. Gentleman says, these decisions have been informed by the science. The science is working.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]]

The Secretary of State said in his statement that he was

“grateful to the many, many people right across the UK who have selflessly done their duty”.

We all are.

Last week, a friend of an NHS intensive care doctor emailed me in despair. The doctor contracted covid-19 on Christmas eve while doing her duty in hospital and has been unable to work since, as covid then developed into long covid. Now HR has issued her with papers to file for statutory sick pay at the jobcentre and she stands to lose her salary entirely. Surely that is completely unacceptable and an insult to NHS workers’ sacrifices during the pandemic. Does the Secretary of State believe that it is fair? I hope not. If not, will he look into this case and similar cases urgently, so that the frontline staff—the heroes of this pandemic—receive the proper financial support that they need while they recover?

[Sajid Javid]

I am pleased that the hon. Lady has raised this issue. First, I give my personal thanks to the doctor in her constituency to whom she refers and to the many other doctors and clinicians for everything that they have done for the country and continue to do throughout this pandemic. I am not aware of the details of the case that she refers to, but if the hon. Lady writes to me I will certainly respond to her and look at it carefully.

Covid Contracts: Judicial Review

Layla Moran Excerpts

Wednesday 24th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Edward Argar]

I recognise that all Members of this House and all members of the public in our constituencies want transparency, and quite rightly so, but what is most important to them in the midst of this pandemic and as we emerge from it, is to know that this Government and those who work for them have done everything they can to ensure that we procured the PPE that was necessary, when it was necessary, to protect the frontline and help save lives.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]]

Whether I have standing or not, I am proud to have helped bring this case, alongside the hon. Members for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) and for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams). We did it because we could not get the information through the normal channels in this place. It is also worth noting that, rather than simply admit the breach and then promptly publish all contracts at the beginning of the process, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care chose to push the case to court and then, when he lost, said that he would break the law again. At the heart of the case was always transparency and fairness. Many established businesses felt frozen out because they happened to not be chums with a parliamentarian or a Minister, so my question is this: can the Minister not see how this looks, and can he also not see how delays in publishing these contracts in good time further undermine trust in Government, at a time when trust, as much as PPE, is necessary for saving lives?

Covid-19 Update

Layla Moran Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I am happy to work with my hon. Friend. The best thing might be if I ask the Minister for Vaccine Deployment to call him straightaway to ensure that his constituent gets the vaccination as locally as possible.

I also take on board the broader point, because it is not just about that constituent, important though that is; it is also about making sure that everybody can have the vaccine as locally as reasonably possible. We also need a local voluntary effort, which is happening in so many parts of the country, to help elderly people to be able to get to a vaccination centre. If a constituent is housebound, the roving vaccinations teams need to be able to reach them. That takes longer than vaccinating through any other route, for obvious reasons, but it is a very important part of the scheme.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]]

I welcome the commitment from the Secretary of State to lean in, I think he said, to the international effort to roll-out vaccines everywhere across the world. No one is safe until we are all safe, anywhere, not least because if we do not do this in tandem, it increases the chances of variants coming here that would undermine our own impressive efforts. When does the Government plan to start parallel distribution of the vaccine, particularly to low-income countries, some of which have had no vaccines at all? Should it not be as soon as we have completed the vaccination of our clinically most vulnerable?

[Matt Hancock]

After we have completed the vaccination of the clinically extremely vulnerable, there are still many millions of people here who are at risk of dying from this dreadful disease. We will absolutely lean in to the international effort. Thanks to the fact that we chose not to join the EU scheme, we are of course far further ahead than we would have been otherwise, as the hon. Lady knows. We will play that vital role internationally, but she will also understand why it is so important that we fulfil our first duty to keep people in the UK safe.

Vaccine Roll-out

Layla Moran Excerpts

Thursday 21st January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, that is our goal. All those things are what we are aiming for. I am really grateful for my hon. Friend’s support. Eighty thousand people have now been vaccinated in his area of Mid and South Essex. We have made a whole load of progress, but there is much more to do to make sure the vaccine is fairly there for everyone.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]]

The flooding over the past few days has already displaced thousands from their homes, and threatens many more over the coming days. For those who are elderly or vulnerable, wondering how they are going to receive the coronavirus vaccine is an added worry that they do not need, especially if they have to move to other regions to stay with family or into temporary accommodation, which the Secretary of State knows can sometimes be for months. Can he tell us whether the Government have a plan for vaccinating people displaced due to flooding?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, of course. Flooding brings additional challenges, but we will overcome them.

Long Covid

Layla Moran Excerpts

Thursday 14th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered long covid.

I would like to start by thanking the Backbench Business Committee for giving us time to debate long covid today. I also thank members of the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, especially the hon. Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter) and my hon. Friend the Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne), who co-sponsored the debate. Most of all, I want to thank everyone who has written to me, the all-party group or their own MP in the last few weeks with their stories. Their accounts are deeply moving. Today’s debate is for them.

In one such email, a constituent of mine said,

“I can’t see myself getting better and being able to beat this fatigue.”

Her experience is sadly not unique. Other symptoms of long covid include, but are not limited to, poor memory, brain fog, headaches, lung pain, palpitations, muscle pains, purple toes, hallucinations, hair loss and insomnia. These symptoms often start weeks or even months after the initial bout of covid, and many report them getting worse, not better, with time.

Long covid affects young as well as old, and the numbers are staggering. It is believed that there are 300,000 people living with long covid already in the UK and 7 million worldwide. New research in The Lancet suggests that more than half of people who are hospitalised experience ongoing symptoms six months later, and the Office for National Statistics estimates that one in 10 people who contract covid at all will still have symptoms three months later. So far this year, we have consistently seen more than 40,000 new coronavirus cases a day, which means that there are potentially more than 4,000 new long covid cases a day—I repeat: 4,000 more cases a day.

Despite those numbers, public awareness of long covid is poor. Many who are young and fit think that they have nothing to worry about and that the restrictions are more about protecting others than themselves. One expert told our group this week that anyone who flouts rules by thinking it will not affect them is also playing Russian roulette with their health. We are concerned that the Government’s focus on NHS beds as the primary metric by which danger is measured means that the public believe that if they do not end up in hospital, it counts as a mild case of coronavirus The problem is that a mild case of coronavirus can lead to long covid—and there is nothing mild about long covid.

Take Jason, for example. He is 23 years old and a personal trainer, so his is not the profile of someone we often see blighted by coronavirus in the news. He told me:

“for the last nine months I haven’t been able to leave my house due to long effects of covid. I haven’t cooked all my meals for one whole day once since the end of February, everything small is a major task. I can’t walk more than 100 metres without suffering.”

The evidence of children getting long covid is building. New groups such as Long Covid Kids have been highlighting how children can present very differently from adults. That needs robust research fast, as there are surely implications for how we view school safety.

The consequences of this emerging reality should give us in this place pause for thought. Some are arguing for a rapid unlocking when the first wave of vaccination is complete, and yet the effect that such a move would have on the numbers contracting long covid seems to be missing from the debate. Long covid is scary and often heartbreaking, and it is avoidable if we prioritise keeping numbers low.

Today, the all-party group is calling for three things: better reporting, urgent money for research, and recognition by employers and the welfare system. On reporting, we need a national register to count and publish the number of people living with long covid in the UK. Positive cases, hospital admissions and deaths due to covid-19 are published regularly. We need to add long covid to that list. Doing that would help to drive up compliance, especially among younger adults. It would also help to explain policy decisions about future rules and restrictions, especially once the most vulnerable have been vaccinated.

Many long covid sufferers have no formal diagnosis, as they never had a test because tests were not available in the first wave. It is also worth noting that long covid can emerge months after a bout of the initial virus and long after the antibodies remain, so even an antibody test may not tell the whole story. The register therefore needs to be symptom-based, not test-based. We also need active follow-up of people who test positive for coronavirus, to identify long covid cases better and offer support.

The Government need to improve urgently the scope and funding of research both into the disease itself, including its prevalence among different sexes, races and groups and diagnosis, and of course into effective therapies. Clinicians have called for the approach to be truly multidisciplinary. It should cover mental as well as physical health. There are currently 69 NHS England long covid centres, which is a good start; however, it is a postcode lottery. We have heard, for example, that there are none in Wales. Some have reported being turned away when they go, or even told that they are not treatable. Long covid’s impact on mental health needs further research and support too. That includes children. Although we welcome the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, we also need to remember that there is a lot that we still do not know, and the guidelines need to evolve rapidly to reflect the most recent research.

Long covid sufferers feel they are forgotten in this pandemic, and their plight needs recognition by both the state and employers. Take Liz. She told me:

“I lost my job as a result of my illness, I have struggled on universal credit. This does not cover my bills. I’m getting further and further into debt and can’t see a way out.”

Take Alexander, a headteacher, who said:

“after 23 years of service as a teacher and headteacher, I now have a written warning on my employment record due to me becoming ill during a global pandemic. I have a second review meeting in just over a week’s time and having not made sufficient recovery to return to work, I will most probably receive a final written warning.”

Take Daisy, an NHS nurse in Wales. For four months she received reduced and then no pay from NHS Cymru, which told her that it was unable to support staff who contracted covid-19. Her case was resolved, but she continues to say that this issue has not been resolved at a national level in Wales. That story, and many others like it, have left me speechless—a headteacher and a nurse, key workers on the frontline, who have no choice but to do their job with inadequate personal protective equipment and testing, and now face financial ruin for doing their duty. It is unacceptable, which is why the APPG recommends that the UK Government recognise long covid as an occupational disease and institute a long covid compensation scheme for frontline workers.

That scheme should go beyond existing sick pay schemes and should be specific to those living with long covid who are unable to work. During the first wave, I led a cross-party group of MPs in calling on the Prime Minister to set up a coronavirus compensation scheme for the families of frontline workers who tragically died in the line of duty. The Government listened and now there is a scheme in place, albeit just for NHS and social care staff. We need an extension of such a scheme so that it mirrors the armed forces compensation scheme, and recognises that casualties are not counted just by the tragedy of death.

What of everyone else? Guidelines from the Government for employers are crucial, so that the public and private sectors know how they should be supporting people with long covid. I first wrote to the Prime Minister recommending employer guidelines in August. Four months later, we have not seen any progress. Last but not least, when all else fails we need to ensure that our welfare system is not unfairly excluding people with long covid. Statutory sick pay, personal independence payment and universal credit all need to be geared up to support them and, indeed, their families, who suddenly find themselves as their carers.

There are so many unanswered questions and concerns, and, as you pointed out, Madam Deputy Speaker, there is not enough time. Our understanding of covid, and long covid in particular, is evolving day by day, and I have no doubt that this will not be the last debate we have on this matter.

Reporting, research and recognition are all desperately needed, but more than anything else we need to protect our heroes on the frontline who cannot work because they have long covid. I urge the Government to commit to recognising long covid as an occupational disease and to create a scheme to help those people; that is my most urgent and immediate ask of the Minister in today’s debate.

I end by thanking all Members for speaking today, and, above all, by thanking everyone who has shared their story. I want them to know that they have not been forgotten and that this House has heard them and it is listening. Our hope now is that the Government will step up and act, too.

--- Later in debate ---

[Layla Moran [V]]

I thank all Members who have contributed to this debate, but also all those who were unable to contribute. When we put in for it, we thought that it would be well subscribed, given that, I would wager, most Members in this House will have been contacted by a constituent, or more than one constituent, who now has long covid. For all those with long covid who are watching today, I hope they have the assurance that this House will continue to listen and encourage the Government to take action as our understanding of this disease improves.

We certainly heard some powerful stories today. There is obviously not time to go through all of them. I was struck, as we always are, by the contribution from the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne), who brings the subject to life with his own experience but also rightly asks: what about those who do not have the flexible working that is afforded to us as MPs?

Several Members mentioned that there are learnings that we must take from other conditions. In particular, ME was mentioned by the hon. Member for Glasgow North West (Carol Monaghan), among others. I thank her for her work and leadership on the all-party parliamentary group on ME. There is a lot that we can learn from that.

The hon. Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter) rightly raised mental health, and the trauma that people face as a result of being hospitalised with covid. I think that almost all Members mentioned financial support, and many highlighted the failure of the welfare system to cope with this changing landscape. That is an area that we continue to need to push on. My right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) put it very well when he said that the Government need to take a humble approach to the changing picture.

I thank the Front Bench spokespeople, and particularly the Minister for her response and for listening so diligently to the debate. I thank her for the update on the research and the NHS response. It is clear that we are finally getting going, but I hope that she also recognises that we need to continue to finesse and change as our understanding evolves. I hope she will take a personal interest in that. Finally, it would be wonderful if she would consider a meeting with me and others in the all-party group, to talk about the areas that she did not cover, in particular publishing the register, if that is possible, and a recognition by employers that long covid could be an occupational disease, and the support that would be needed by those who suffer from it.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I thank the hon. Lady for winding up the debate, but we now need to move on because we have another full debate.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered long covid.

Covid-19

Layla Moran Excerpts

Monday 14th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD)]

I would like to start by remembering all those in my constituency, in Oxfordshire and across the country who have tragically lost their lives. The number of people dying at present is thankfully fewer than it was before—it is in the handfuls—but for every single one, there is a family who has lost someone just before Christmas. It is right to start by remembering them.

I am sure I speak for many when I say that I cannot wait to see the back of 2020. It has been the most ridiculous year in so many ways, but it has also given us glimpses of hope and positivity. In Oxford West and Abingdon, there are so many people to thank, because they deserve it and they are working so incredibly hard, but I will just name a few. I think of the Abingdon Bridge, a group that works with deprived young people who often have nowhere else to turn. Other Members have spoken about mental health, which affects all parts of society, but I am particularly worried about our young people right now—their loss of chances for the future and their feeling of despair, with many feeling that they have nowhere to turn. It is an incredibly difficult time.

It is a difficult time, too, for families. Furlough has, of course, been welcome, but far too many businesses are on their last legs. They tell me that if Oxfordshire goes up from tier 2 to tier 3 or, even worse, if there is a spike and we go into a national lockdown in January, they will have to close. The very last of their resilience is nearing its end, and those families are finding themselves relying on food banks such as the Cutteslowe Larder, the Botley Fridge and the Oxford Food Bank more than they ever have before. We must thank those volunteers, but we must also make the case for a sustainable way through this crisis. That is what those businesses crave—the stability. They tell me that they would prefer to stay in tier 2 longer than to open up too quickly and risk a spike, which is what we are seeing in some parts of the country now, sadly.

I am proud that many of the scientists who work as part of the Oxford Vaccine Group with Sarah Gilbert and her cohort live in my constituency. They are nothing short of heroes. When the vaccine is approved, as I am sure it will be, they will save lives, and not just in this country. Because this vaccine does not need to be stored in extraordinarily sub-zero temperatures, it will save millions, if not billions, of lives across the globe. Those scientists all deserve extraordinary thanks.

There are others who deserve our thanks. Oxford United have given facemasks not just to their fans, but to the wider community. I have never been more grateful to our local papers, including the Oxford Mail, and to our local BBC networks for covering these extraordinary moments of heroism locally. It has made me and, I am sure, others really appreciate the value of our local broadcasters.

I would be remiss not to mention organisations such as the Children’s Air Ambulance, which has helped some of those most vulnerable families during this time. Of course, I also thank our local NHS teams, GPs, those who work in our care homes and our teachers, who have stuck on the frontline through thick and thin, and are desperate to be included in the first roll-out of the vaccine. That is my ask of the Minister: please encourage the Government to include teachers in that first wave of the roll-out; they desperately need it because they have been there throughout, looking after the children so that others could go to work.

Let me turn to the sustainable way out. It is not fair to say anything other than that the vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel. It is what we all want to get to, it is how we are going to eliminate this virus. It is the way out, but as miraculous as the vaccine is, we are a long way away from that point. When the Government started hyping up the vaccine, I was disheartened to see in my own area—other Members may have seen this too—that people were thinking, “Oh, it’s around the corner. People are going to get it in December and January, not appreciating that the scale of the task means that in reality we are not going to get there until Easter at the very earliest, and probably much later than that.

Let me tell the House a story from the Oxfordshire trusts today. GP surgeries in north Oxford were lined up to vaccinate the over-80s. They had called people and said, “Come—here’s your appointment.” But at the 11th hour, NHS England contacted them to say, “You haven’t quite got the right information in the right place. Computer says no. Stand everyone down.” The disappointment among my constituents was palpable. There was frustration in the clinical commissioning group and the GP surgeries, which had worked through the weekend and overnight to ensure that the vaccine was available. I say this not to apportion any blame, but to point out that these kinds of mistake will happen. There will be hiccups on this road. We cannot assume that this will be over quickly.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Does the hon. Lady agree that over Christmas there is an onus on us all, in and outside the House, to follow the rules of hands, face and space, not to invite extra numbers to our Christmas dinner, and to wear a mask and keep our distance when we go shopping? If we do all those things, then with the vaccine we can beat the virus.

--- Later in debate ---

[Layla Moran]

The hon. Gentleman could not have put it better. I am the chair of the all-party group on coronavirus. We launched a report a couple of weeks ago, and as part of that launch I said that, as much as we all feel the need to be with our families, what the Government are doing by relaxing the restrictions is a bit of a gamble, because we do not know which way the virus is going to go. I am sorry to say that every time that I have stood up in this place and suggested that there might be a spike in a few weeks’ time, people have said, “Oh no, stop being such a naysayer. It’s not going to happen.” We have to accept that every time we think that we have got one over on this virus, it wins.

At this point, it seems inevitable that we are going to face a further spike in January and that we are going to go up in tiers, but it does not have to be that way. The Government could follow what other Governments have done across Europe and be honest with the public about the likely outcome, making the point that they do not have to use the relaxed restrictions. Actually, because of where we are now, I think it is time for the Government to rethink those Christmas relaxations. I say that with deep regret.

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

Does the hon. Lady not agree with me that people will still mix in households at Christmas anyway? The purpose of relaxing the restrictions is to provide people with a legal framework, so that someone wanting to mix with four or five households might just stick to the three-household limit because the Government are saying, “Well, you can mix, but try to keep it limited.” It is about trying to help people and guide them into proper household mixing, as opposed to a free-for-all.

[Layla Moran]

I have a lot of sympathy with that view. If we look back over the last few months, whenever we have reduced restrictions, that has worked—it can work—but the problem we have is that, combined with the euphoria over the vaccine, we have the situation where people are not just going to mix with three other households, but may also bend the rules a bit around that, so we will end up right at the limit. R is just below 1: there is no headroom left. I appreciate what the hon. Gentleman is saying and I understand it, but my fear is that it is just not going to work that way.

[Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)]

I have to say that, from my personal experiences as the Member for West Dorset, the rates are continuing to go down. It has shown very clearly the levels of self-responsibility from the constituents in West Dorset. So would the hon. Member agree that actually, contrary to some of the points she made, there are indeed places throughout the country where the rates are going down and maybe where the tiers should be considered to be lowered, rather than maintained or increased?

[Layla Moran]

I thank the hon. Member for his point, and I can absolutely understand why, from his point of view, he might think that. What I would also say is that there were moments when we thought the south-east was going down, and now we have this variant and it is going up. What we do not know is how many people had been travelling from one area to the other or, indeed, what is going to come next, unless it were the case that the virus and R were going down in case numbers everywhere in the country and there was suppression.

I will for a moment digress on the three steps that the all-party group on coronavirus suggested that the Government follow. One is control—control was the lockdown—which means bringing R below 1, so that there is some headroom. Yes, it is making use of test, trace and isolate, but it also makes the point that places that do have locally led test, trace and isolate programmes are doing better, and that needs to be followed absolutely everywhere. It needs to be something that we take very seriously, and if local areas need extra support and money to do so, they should get it.

Step 2 is the bit that is missing: suppress before we get to eliminate the virus, which comes with the vaccine. Suppress is characterised by all areas, by and large, going down in the tiers, but we have never seen that. As we have gone down in tiers, almost immediately the rate starts to go up again, and that is the problem. By releasing restrictions too quickly, we end up in this boom and bust situation with the virus, and that is what is so damaging to businesses. What we suggest is that we keep people in the lowest possible tier, but that the tiers are beefed up more than they are now. Bluntly, if we stay there for longer and are honest with people, that allows businesses to plan.

Then we move to eliminate phase, which comes with the vaccine, if we get to that point. That is how we see ourselves through in the short and medium term, not just in the long term.

Covid-19 Update

Layla Moran Excerpts

Thursday 26th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The statistics on the number of people dying with covid-19 are the best estimate that the statistics authorities, both in Public Health England and the Office for National Statistics, come up with. It is one of the widest definitions, which countries use internationally. Therefore, as my right hon. Friend implies in his question, it does include people who may have died of something else, but with covid. Nevertheless, each of these deaths we should work to avoid. The best measure, according to the chief medical officer, is the total number of excess deaths compared with this time of year last year. That is elevated now and we need to get it down.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]]

May I first thank the Secretary of State for listening to local leaders, who have been pushing for a one-Oxfordshire approach to coronavirus as we go into tier 2? I am sure many residents understand the need to be careful for Christmas. Despite Oxfordshire’s data being better than that of surrounding counties, we cannot risk any further damaging lockdowns. The reason we have done so well is superb team working and a county-wide systems approach, involving all councils, the NHS and businesses. In particular, we were quick off the mark to implement a local test, trace and isolate system, which is paying dividends. Does the Secretary of State agree that the key to beating this virus is to treat local areas as partners, and when they say they should be moving up and down tiers will he give their voice considerable weight?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I do give considerable weight to local leaders when they make a case for a particular tier for their area, and in the hon. Member’s case I would like to pay tribute to Ian Hudspeth, who has worked incredibly hard during this crisis for the benefit of people right across Oxfordshire. I talk to him regularly about the situation in Oxfordshire, which has made great strides in tackling this virus, including tackling the student outbreak at the universities in Oxford. I hope they can work to get Oxfordshire appropriately down into tier 1 as soon as possible, but there is some work still to do.