Covid-19 Update

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Monday 19th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I was absolutely delighted that on Friday, following the work of Professor Chappell and others, we were able to make the announcement with respect to the vaccination for those who are pregnant. The prioritisation remains as with people who are not pregnant, so it will essentially be by age unless there is another reason that one might be in a higher group, for instance if you are a social care worker. It does not affect the prioritisation. Hitherto the advice had been understandably cautious, because clinical trials are not done on people who are pregnant. However, there is now very clear advice for those who are pregnant: when it is your turn, come forward and take advice. Have a discussion about your individual circumstances with your clinician. They can then, subject to that individual circumstance, which is of course appropriate in pregnancy, be vaccinated. I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for raising this issue. It was a really important announcement on Friday. Mr Speaker, I probably should have included it in my original statement, but unfortunately it was already rather long. I am absolutely delighted that Professor Chappell and the whole team—it was a big team effort—were able to ensure we made this progress.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab) [V]]

[Inaudible.]

--- Later in debate ---

[Matt Hancock]

My right hon. Friend has deep experience in this area, and I am very grateful for what he said—that was very kind. He is absolutely right about the fact that viruses always mutate, and we can rise to that—we can respond to that—as we do with flu. This is another area in which the parallel with how we manage flu as a country is the right one, because the flu virus mutates most years. We work out, observing the Australian winter, what is the most likely variant we will get in our winter, we adjust the vaccines to that variant and then we roll them out over the autumn. That sort of programme is likely to be needed in this country for some time to come. We will start later this year with the booster shots, and we will make progress after that according to the evidence as we see it. I hope he was not trying to make a point of something; I always try to be rational, but it is sometimes hard.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab) [V]]

I hope I do not still sound like a robot, Madam Deputy Speaker. The gradual easing of restrictions in recent weeks has come as a great relief and is very welcome, but we know that the pandemic has caused a colossal backlog of unmet healthcare need, including dental care. Many people have been unable to access any treatment for dental problems, and check-ups have simply not been happening for more than a year now. Will the Secretary of State set out the steps he is taking to enable dentists to begin to clear that backlog of treatment? When there is already huge inequality in oral health and so many people are facing financial hardship, what is he doing to ensure that people do not miss out on vital preventive check-ups because they cannot afford them?

[Matt Hancock]

The hon. Lady is right to raise this issue. We have maintained access to urgent dental treatment throughout the pandemic. We put in place dental centres to be able to do that in the first peak and dentistry was not closed in the second peak—indeed, we have put in place an incentive to get dental practices really motoring. Of course there is infection prevention and control that needs to be updated as the prevalence of the disease comes down, but making sure that we have those check-ups is incredibly important, because it is one of the most important preventive measures there is, especially for children. Given her interest in and enthusiasm for this subject, I hope she will support the proposals for much more widespread fluoridation of water, which we are proposing to put into legislation when parliamentary time allows and which was part of the White Paper we published in February, because that is one of the biggest steps we can take to protect dental health.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 13th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend. I am grateful to him for raising this vital question of local public health in the House, and I am absolutely determined that the authorities—both the local authority, with its responsibilities, and the national authorities, including Public Health England—play their role in tackling this problem.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab) [V]]

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is giving all its staff an extra day’s leave this year to thank them for their sacrifices during the pandemic. I am sure that is a welcome gesture, but staff in Nottingham and across England deserve so much more. Real-terms pay in the NHS is already below 2010 levels, and we went into the pandemic facing serious staff shortages, with 40,000 nurse vacancies and 7,000 doctor vacancies. What will the Government’s proposed real-terms pay cut do to vacancy rates?

[Matt Hancock]

I am very glad to say that the numbers that the hon. Lady uses are out of date. We have seen a very significant increase in the number of nurses and other staff in the NHS. In fact, we have a record number of nurses in the NHS. For the very first time, we have more than 300,000 nurses in the NHS. We have seen over 10,000 more nurses over the last year alone. Of course, the mission to work caring for others and looking after the health of the nation in the NHS has never been more important, and I am delighted that so many people are rising to that, because we have record numbers of people in training too.

Future of Health and Care

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Thursday 11th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, of course I am alive to that concern, and I look forward to further discussing these measures with my hon. Friend. The crisis has demonstrated how helping people achieve a healthy weight is important, and the Prime Minister has shown personal leadership on that in policy terms. Of course more information and education is an incredibly important part of this because it is about shared responsibility, including personal responsibility, to improve public health. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend on the details of it and making sure that we can get this into such a shape that it genuinely supports the tackling of obesity in a way that supports people, as he sets out.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab) [V]]

A decade ago the Minister and his Conservative colleagues pushed through the Lansley reforms, even though NHS staff warned us that they would lead to fragmentation and waste. Why should we trust him now, given that he and his party got it so wrong then? How will he gain the trust and confidence of all NHS workers for his plans, and for the timing of these reforms?

[Matt Hancock]

The reforms that we have set out were themselves initiated and generated from the NHS, which may be one reason why I am so pleased to have seen such a strong, positive reaction from the NHS to these proposals. They are about what happens over the decade to come. Of course we always need to be improving the NHS, and each reform is a matter of the context of its times. These reforms are about more innovation, more integration and more accountability for the NHS, all with the goal of supporting those who work on the frontline to deliver better care.

Vaccine Roll-out

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Thursday 21st January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The decisions that we take are decisions, rightly, for politicians, guided by the best possible science. The challenge is how to get back the freedoms my hon. Friend rightly refers to as quickly and as safely as possible. The safety element of that is paramount, as is the speed. The one thing that will help on both is to roll out the vaccines as quickly as possible and to monitor their roll-out very closely so that we can see the effect of the vaccine on transmission. As we see more and more information about that, we will be able to make clearer judgments about the release and when we are able to lift some of these restrictions under which we are all having to live.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab) [V]]

Clear and timely communications are vital in maximising the take-up of the vaccine. Where people have not responded to an invitation letter, I understand that they will receive a phone call and that phone calls will also be used to ensure that all appointment slots are used. Can the Secretary of State assure me that calls will be accompanied by SMS text messages to ensure that deaf people and those with a hearing loss are not left behind?

[Matt Hancock]

Wherever possible is the answer. The truth is that the NHS has not in the past collected people’s mobile numbers routinely or their email addresses, hence why this roll-out is primarily being done through invitations by letter. I hope that, actually as part of this roll-out, one of the things we will be able to do is make sure that the NHS can put people’s email addresses and mobile numbers on their clinical record, where people consent to that of course, because we have seen in other countries such as Israel that where a very large proportion of people have given their mobile number and their email to the health system, we can get in contact with people much more quickly. Having said all of that, some people will never have a mobile phone and some people will never have email, and this is a universal service—of course it is—so letters and texts to those who have poor sight, and ultimately phone calls, including on landlines, or teams going round to people’s doors, are all important to make sure that everybody gets access to the vaccine and can receive the invitation.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, absolutely. My hon. Friend is kind in what he says, and I am grateful for his support for the approach that we have taken throughout the pandemic—I really appreciate it. As he says, it is precisely in order to save lives that we have taken the actions that we have. It has been harder to get the Pfizer jab to the smaller care homes because of the minus 70° storage requirements. That is much easier with the AstraZeneca vaccine, and today the NHS has written to GPs who are running the vaccines programme to stress the importance of getting the vaccine to care home residents and staff as soon as possible.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab) [V]]

The news of the Oxford vaccine is welcome, but from tomorrow my constituents will face further difficult tier 4 restrictions. We cannot allow a choice between saving lives and saving livelihoods, so will the Government act to close the gaps in support that have left two in five people who rely on self-employed income excluded from the current support schemes?

[Matt Hancock]

The hon. Lady’s question is one for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has done more than almost any Finance Minister in the world to support people—whether in employment or self-employed—with some of the most generous schemes that have ever been put together. We appreciate that it is not possible to save every job, but we have done the most that we possibly can. I will make sure that someone from the Treasury gets back to the hon. Lady with a clear answer.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Monday 14th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I certainly hope so; that is one of the things that we are talking about with the NHS. For now, that is not possible. We of course have extra emergency capacity in the Nightingales, and the testing regime has allowed the NHS to restore many of its services, so that in places such as Worcestershire it is able to carry on with almost all the necessary activity, including the electives and the cancer work, even through this second peak. I pay tribute to the NHS in Worcestershire for the work that it has done, with the support of the testing regime, and I really hope that the vaccine allows that to improve again, once we have got enough of the people who are most vulnerable to this disease vaccinated.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

The Nottingham Post website is reporting today that 72 areas in tier 2 now have a higher covid rate than tier 3 Nottingham. Since we came out of the national lockdown and went into tier 3, our situation has improved on all five indicators, but we still do not know whether the improvement is enough to allow us to move down a tier later this week. Will the Secretary of State spell out the thresholds that will be used, and will he commit to publishing the rationale for his decision making?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. We have set out what statistics we look at, and we publish the statistics. I think Nottinghamshire, including Nottingham, has done a very good job in getting its cases down.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 6th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Of course the hon. Member’s constituents and all those who are under local action restrictions yearn to see their families. We all yearn to be able to get back to the normal socialising that makes life worth living, but I am afraid that the answer to her question is in the question: because of specific local circumstances, such as outbreaks in a workplace or a halls of residence, it is not possible to put a specific number on the point at which a judgment is made to put in place local restrictions, which we do in consultation with the council, or to take an area out of them.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure that university students with (a) cystic fibrosis and (b) other long-term health conditions who are required to self-isolate on campus as a result of the covid-19 outbreak have access to essential (i) medication, (ii) dietary provision and (iii) medical care.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Thursday 17th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. I thank my hon. Friend for that question, which captures the challenges we face. It is absolutely true that children under the age of 16 are very unlikely to get ill with coronavirus; indeed, the proportion of under-16s testing positive is extremely low and is flat, whereas it is rising in many other age groups. She raises a clear point: the prioritisation we have is about getting the tests that we have—record capacity—to the people who need them most. That is why it is an important principle.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Over the next few days, tens of thousands of students will be arriving in Nottingham. Our universities have spent months planning for a safe return, but there is a real danger that their hard work will be undermined, as Nottingham schools’ incredible efforts have been undermined, by the inability to get tests and results promptly. The University of Nottingham has repeatedly requested access to a small stock of pre-distributed pillar 2 swab test kits, which would enable faster and safer testing for symptomatic students and take the pressure off local community testing facilities. Will the Secretary of State work with and listen to universities such as the University of Nottingham to help to improve the efficiency of the national testing programme, and will he authorise the allocation of those kits to the university and others who request them?

[Matt Hancock]

I will absolutely look into that. That is exactly the approach we have taken with schools, and many universities’ labs are an important part of getting test results back. I am very happy to work with all of the 106 universities that are doing so much to ensure that the return of university is covid-secure, and I will look into the precise point the hon. Lady raises.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 23rd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The amount of data flowing to local authorities has increased substantially over the past few weeks since the start of the operation at the end of last month, and there will be more coming very, very soon.

[Lilian Greenwood]

We all want to see lockdown eased, but that reopening will only be safe if the system to test, trace and isolate is working effectively. As more people return to work, start to travel on public transport, and perhaps even go to pubs, cafés and hairdressers—albeit keeping their distance—the ability to trace contact people we do not know will become much more important. The Secretary of State initially said that the app would be rolled out in mid-May; it is now the end of June. When are we actually going to see the app in action?

[Matt Hancock]

Obviously, as soon as possible. I agree very strongly with the hon. Lady about the importance of contact tracing—the Test and Trace programme is one of the largest of its kind—to ensure that, as we manage to lift national measures, which we can because the disease is clearly under control and the number of cases is coming down, we can then respond through local action.

Coronavirus

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Wednesday 17th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, that is right. In the midlands, as in other parts of the country, this virus is abating. The number of cases is coming down, which is good news. That means that we were able to relax some of the social distancing measures, for instance, on Monday, saying that it is perfectly safe for people to go and shop and that the shops can open so long as they do so in a covid-secure way. I am glad to say that the vast, vast majority of shops have been very careful about how they have reopened, making sure that that social distancing is in place, and therefore it is safe to shop in the west midlands and in the rest of the country.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

One in six people in the UK have hearing loss and rely on lip reading and facial expressions to communicate. The use of face coverings, while important for controlling the virus, is a real barrier for them and risks increasing misunderstanding, anxiety and isolation. That is particularly the case when they are used in hospitals. What is the Secretary of State doing to accelerate the development, testing, production and use of clear-panel face masks, including for clinical settings, and, more immediately, will he support a public awareness campaign on good communication tactics?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, the hon. Lady is absolutely right to raise that matter. It is a really important consideration. I have been talking to audiologists in the NHS about what we can do to try to make sure that we have the least negative impact as possible. Obviously, a face covering has an impact on people who are lip reading. It is an unfortunate but entirely natural consequence of wearing a face covering, and anything that we can do to mitigate that, I am up for doing.

Covid-19

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Monday 16th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

That is a matter that the Education Secretary is considering.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Seventy per cent. of people over the age of 70 are living with hearing loss, so it is welcome that most public health messaging on TV is subtitled. However, for those whose first language is British Sign Language, reading written English can be really difficult, and much of the public health messaging is inaccessible. Given the seriousness of this fast-moving situation, will the Secretary of State ensure that all press conferences featuring a Minister, the chief medical officer or the chief scientific adviser have a BSL interpreter present? Also, how is he ensuring that the communication needs of those with hearing problems are being met when they require health treatment?

Coronavirus

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

Monday 9th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

We advise against all but essential travel to northern Italy, and I do not regard skiing as essential.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

The adult intensive care unit at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust was at over 100% capacity on 76 occasions in the past year. An expansion of critical care will add a further eight beds. What is the Secretary of State doing to expedite this expansion? How many additional intensive care beds does he believe can be created and how soon?

[Matt Hancock]

We are working very hard right across England and I know that my Scottish and Welsh counterparts are working right across Scotland and Wales to ensure that we get that expansion of critical care beds as much as is possible.

NHS Funding Bill

Debate between Lilian Greenwood and Matt Hancock

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Monday 27th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that the three years without an Administration in Northern Ireland have led to all sorts of difficulties. I have already spoken to my new Northern Ireland counterpart twice and offered all the support that we can give. The extra funding will help an awful lot, but it is sadly true that there are over 10,000 people waiting more than a year for a procedure in Northern Ireland. The number in Wales—run by the Labour party—is over 4,000, and the number in England is just over 1,000. We have to make sure that we get the very best treatment across the whole of the UK. Even though I am responsible for the NHS in England, I am also the UK Health Secretary. For instance, on the public health emergencies that we have been talking about recently, we have to engage across all four nations and make sure that the Northern Irish health system improves, as do the Welsh system—which is in a terrible state in many places, despite the amazing effort of the staff who work in it—and the problems that we well know about in the Scottish system.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State has set out many commitments relating to what he wants to deliver with the extra funding in the Bill. However, the funding in the Bill is purely in cash terms. Will he make a commitment here and now that if inflation rises, such that £33.9 billion does not equal £20.5 billion in real terms and therefore does not deliver the real-terms increase that he has promised, he will exceed the amounts that are set out in the Bill?

[Matt Hancock]

We are already exceeding those amounts with the additional funding that I mentioned to do with training and capital, both of which are critical. Of course the budget is set out in cash terms: cash is what the NHS spends. Part of what the NHS has to do is make sure that it spends the money getting the best possible value for money. I am acutely aware that, while we are spending £33.9 billion extra and the total budget is almost £150 billion, every single pound of that is taxpayers’ money. We have to be acutely aware of the value we get from it.