Covid-19: Tracking
Lord Fowler Excerpts(4 years, 2 months ago)
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Lord Bethell (Con)
My Lords, the point of the app is to support our tracing efforts and provide security among those who are in areas that are not socially distanced in order to alert them when they have been near someone who has recently had a test. The test results are not, as the noble Lord described, typically available after seven days. The figure is much lower and we have already found enormous support for the use of the app.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked and we now come to the third Oral Question.
Mental Health Services: Young People
Lord Fowler Excerpts(4 years, 2 months ago)
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Lord Bethell (Con)
My Lords, we are rolling out our response to the Green Paper on mental health for young people. That has included the implementation of mental health support teams, which will make a big impact. In addition, and in response to recent circumstances, on 8 September we launched a mental health well-being campaign specifically for children and young people through the PHE website. It encourages a personal mind plan and the use of a quick and easy interactive tool, and 2.5 million mind plans have been completed since its launch.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this question has elapsed. We now come to the fourth Oral Question.
Covid-19: NHS Long-term Plan
Lord Fowler Excerpts(4 years, 3 months ago)
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Lord Bethell (Con)
My Lords, the Chancellor has made it clear that catch-up support for the NHS to recover from the impact of Covid is an important part of his financial projections. However, I remind the noble and gallant Lord that we are investing in 40 new hospitals. It is a massive capital investment and the impact on our healthcare service should not be underestimated.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. We now move to the next Question, which is from the noble Lord, Lord Storey.
Covid-19: Self-isolation Payment Scheme
Lord Fowler Excerpts(4 years, 3 months ago)
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Lord Bethell (Con)
The evidence base and criteria were our discussions with local authorities and community leaders on what an effective amount would be that would tip the balance in a personal decision to isolate. As I said earlier, those personal decisions are extremely tough. It was agreed with local infection teams and authorities that this was the kind of sum that would make a difference.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed, and that concludes Question Time.
Childhood Obesity
Lord Fowler Excerpts(4 years, 3 months ago)
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Lord Bethell (Con)
My Lords, the Government are not planning a review of VAT at present.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.
Pharmacies
Lord Fowler Excerpts(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Lord Bethell [V]
We are fully engaged with the sector. The National Pharmacy Association and the other stakeholder groups are in close communication with the department to ensure that they have the PPE, medicines and finances to keep going during the epidemic. The voice of the DPHs is involved in that stakeholder engagement.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed.
Smoking
Lord Fowler Excerpts(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Lord Bethell [V]
My Lords, I completely hear the views of retailers. No one wants to put a retailer in an awkward position and I completely understand why they would support the introduction of licensing. However, that is not currently our plan and we believe that we can get to a smoke-free 2030 without introducing onerous and expensive new regulations of the kind that the noble Viscount describes.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. We now come to the fourth Question.
Nurses: Recruitment
Lord Fowler Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Bethell [V]
The noble Baroness raises a very concerning point. I take the Chief Nurse’s advice and observations at face level. I express my profound thanks to all those nurses who have been redeployed to the front line and have performed an important task but who are now feeling a sense of either anti-climax or uncertainty. I reassure them that there is an enormous number of job opportunities in the NHS, that there is a role for them in the NHS of the future, and that we will be investing massively in the role of nurses in the years ahead, as exemplified by our commitment to recruit.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, I regret that the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. It would be very helpful if colleagues would keep their supplementary questions short so that we can get everyone on the list to ask their question. The third Oral Question is from the noble Lord, Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom.
Covid-19: Track and Trace System
Lord Fowler Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Bethell [V]
I do not agree with that analysis. I am afraid that areas such as care homes are where the app is least effective, because the residents are static and therefore the app is not really the facility for identifying infections. This is where the manual “test and trace” process is the most effective. That is why we are super-focused on getting it right. We are working very closely with the social care community to ensure that the “test and trace” systems are working well. We are flooding social care with tests and ensuring that our tracing agents are well trained to handle local outbreaks in care homes and to deal with care home staff.
The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)
My Lords, I regret that the time allowed for this Question has elapsed, so we come to the second Oral Question. I call Lord Clark of Windermere.
Exercise Cygnus
Lord Fowler Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Bethell [V]
My Lords, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services had strong input into operation Cygnus and its recommendations were taken on board. It was however a trial run for a flu pandemic, not of the kind that Covid produced, and the demands on PPE, the health sector and the care sector were more profound than the flu pandemic trials prepared us for.
Lord Harries of Pentregarth (CB) [V]
The Secretary of State for Health, Mr Hancock, said on 7 May that he had consulted officials and had been assured that all the recommendations had been implemented. However, Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England, is reported as saying:
“It beggars belief. This is a report that made some really clear recommendations that haven’t been implemented.”
How does the Minister reconcile these two totally contradictory stories about whether or not the recommendations were implemented?
Lord Bethell [V]
The noble Baroness will not be at all surprised to learn that I do not agree with her analysis in any way. Operation Cygnus demonstrates that we did have robust systems in a great many areas and I am grateful to it for identifying some areas that we went on to improve. As for working with the private sector, I bear testimony to its enormous contribution to our Covid response. I do not agree with her characterisation of the profit motive.
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB) [V]
My Lords, after operation Cygnus were estimates of the requirements for PPE checked against the 2006 influenza pandemic stockpile, given that this store was found to contain no gowns or visors, and 21 million protective FFP3 masks were missing when the store was opened for the current pandemic?
Lord Bethell [V]
The noble Baroness conflates two separate matters. The National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies is updated regularly and assesses civil emergency risks with a five-year horizon. The ongoing monitoring of risks in overseas countries is done in a different manner. I was trying to convey to the House that operation Cygnus was a rehearsal for a flu pandemic, not for the kind of virus that Covid proved to be.
The Lord Speaker
My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed. We will now move to the second Question, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Quin.