Lateral Flow Tests in Healthcare Settings
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
First, I thank the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall (Mr Sharma) for bringing forward this debate about lateral flow tests in healthcare settings. He speaks so passionately about health issues more broadly, and I am grateful for his speech on this important topic today. He has spoken previously about access to covid-19 testing, particularly in specific settings, and I want to put on record my thanks for his contributions on these matters.
As the hon. Member highlighted, the pandemic has provided this country with a monumental challenge. When coronavirus first emerged, we knew very little about it, other than reports that people were becoming seriously ill and, very sadly, passing away. The Government moved quickly with unprecedented measures that affected every single person on these isles, building and scaling up our testing capability to levels not seen before, sponsoring the development of groundbreaking vaccine technology and being the first country in the world to approve a vaccine.
Our huge thanks go to all those who supported the vaccine roll-out and mass testing. From our NHS staff on the frontline, primary care workers and individuals in the community to the military providing expertise in logistics and planning, colleagues from the private sector and civil servants deployed from their normal roles, we recognise the immense effort and long, exhausting hours they have put in working to keep the nation safe.
I am proud of how the Government responded at pace to the challenges that health and social care staff faced. Since April 2021, we have dispatched over 5.8 million rapid lateral flow tests to NHS workers in England—directly to NHS trusts, care settings and the homes of individual staff members—with over 60,000 of those going directly to the hon. Member’s local NHS trust in Ealing.
Testing has been a crucial countermeasure throughout the pandemic. The world-beating scaling up of our PCR testing capability proved invaluable, enabling us to diagnose symptomatic individuals when facing a growing but relatively unknown threat from a new virus.
We introduced lateral flow devices in November 2020 as a tool in addition to the highly sensitive PCR tests. LFTs were a significant step change in our battle against covid-19, enabling us to open up greater levels of asymptomatic testing and tackling asymptomatic transmission when the vaccine roll-out was in its infancy yet still ahead of the rest of the world.
Since April 2021, 13,500 positive but asymptomatic NHS-linked individuals have been identified by LFTs. Through their tireless dedication to regular testing, staff in the NHS and in care drove that most pressing fight to protect those most at risk—their colleagues at work, their friends, their families and, most importantly, their patients. All were protected because we were able to break the chains of infection using LFTs. I want to put on the record my immense thanks to each and every NHS and care worker for their valiant and unwavering efforts.
Since the early months, we have learned a lot more about covid-19, including what makes someone more at risk of contracting the virus and how best to mitigate the risk of transmission. That applies in all settings, although especially in healthcare and social care ones, where the close nature of the care provided creates greater opportunity for transmission. In these places, LFT testing has helped to ensure that staff can continue to safely carry out essential care for those most at risk.
By relying on the expert advice of our medical and scientific advisers, many of whom have become household names because of their immense contributions, we have been able to take steps to mitigate the rate of transmission of covid-19. We are now in a much better position, where the link between infection and severity of disease is substantially weaker than in earlier phases of the pandemic. We have severely weakened the link between infection and severe disease. As the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) said, cases are rising again. However, we are on the front foot thanks to vaccines and community covid-19 treatments.
The UK’s investment in groundbreaking vaccine technology and our world-beating vaccination programme has put us one step ahead of the virus. Vaccination is now the UK’s first line of defence. Thanks to the actions taken by the people of the United Kingdom, as of 24 March 2022 more than 85% of those over 12 have had two doses. Now we are also inviting those aged 75 and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and individuals of 12 years and over who have a weakened immune system to take up the offer of a spring booster jab.
Importantly, we now have widespread availability of targeted community covid-19 treatments. For people who are eligible, those can significantly minimise the chance of developing severe disease. I hope that the spring booster and the community covid-19 treatment programme reassure the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall that we take very seriously the situation of the immuno-suppressed.
Rachael Maskell
My concern is that in York, where about 90% of people are vaccinated, the rate of people getting very poorly with covid is going up. The antiviral treatments are not effective, because there is an increase in mortality as well. Putting the additional line of defence—testing to prevent transmission—in the system is one way to save lives. I cannot understand why the Government will not move the issue on for three months; we could then review the situation again.
Maggie Throup
I thank the hon. Lady for that intervention; I know she is passionate about this issue, which she has spoken about many times. It is important that we should recognise that we have moved on. We have broken the chain of transmission with the vaccination programme, which is our first line of defence along with antivirals and therapeutics within NHS settings.
Core to continuing to stay ahead of the virus and learning to live with covid is a move to everyone embodying safer behaviours in their day-to-day lives. The Government recommend continued vaccination, which ensures that everyone is as protected as possible and reduces the chance of their becoming infected and transmitting it to others and of developing severe disease. We have the spring booster programme, and there is an evergreen offer to those who have not yet come forward for their first dose—there are a few of them every day—or who have delayed their second dose or booster. They are welcome to book their vaccines at any time.
We recommend ventilation to ensure that harmful particles are blown away, and the wearing of face coverings in crowded and enclosed spaces to minimise transmission, particularly where prevalence is higher. People should stay at home if they are unwell, to ensure that they do not spread the virus to their friends and family, as well as washing hands regularly and following NHS advice to “catch it, bin it, kill it.” In addition to that advice, NHS England for NHS staff, and the Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency for social care staff, provide expert infection prevention and control guidelines to ensure that healthcare staff, their families and their patients are kept as safe as possible.
Over the past two years we have worked relentlessly to ensure that the people of the United Kingdom have been protected from the virus, reacting to learnings and putting them into practice, as well as using them to implement pragmatic long-term plans. The approach to managing covid-19 in NHS and social care services has evolved over time, giving us the opportunity to learn what works best to keep people safe. We have the opportunity to put that learning into practice, while continuing to focus on providing care for those who need it and supporting those at risk from covid-19.
As we know, the pandemic is by no means over. The UK Health Security Agency continues to monitor the virus and has recommended a package of contingency capabilities that form a reasonable insurance scenario to enable us to respond to resurgences or new variants of concern. I reassure the House that in line with recommendations, the Government have secured a supply of lateral flow devices to use if necessary. Limited ongoing free testing will be available for a small number of high-risk groups within the settings we have discussed, plans of which will soon be set out in further detail by the Government. Once again I thank the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall for securing this debate on such an important issue and expressing his remarks so well.
Question put and agreed to.
Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
The UK has been a global leader in identifying and deploying successful treatments for covid-19. This work has been led by the UK Government’s therapeutics taskforce, which was established in response to the pandemic in April 2020.
In April 2020 there were no proven effective treatments for covid-19 but within two years the therapeutics taskforce successfully identified and made available a range of life-saving treatments for hospitalised and community patients. This was made possible through collaboration with key delivery partners like the National Institute for Health Research, RAPID C-19, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and the devolved Governments. The therapeutics taskforce and partners ensured the UK were the first to discover dexamethasone reduced the risk of mortality in hospitalised covid-19 patients requiring oxygen or ventilation by up to 35%. It was made available to patients the same day the trial results were announced. The therapeutics taskforce has also made available other treatments including tocilizumab, sarilumab and sotrovimab which are widely used across the United Kingdom.
In April 2021 the Prime Minister launched the antivirals taskforce. Modelled on the success of the therapeutics taskforce and the vaccines taskforce, its purpose was to drive forward the UK’s antivirals programme with the clear objective of identifying safe and effective oral antiviral treatments that could be taken at home and deployed to UK patients this winter.
Under the leadership of the chair, Eddie Gray, the antivirals taskforce worked at pace to deliver this objective and has led the way in identifying and deploying oral antiviral treatments for covid-19. The antivirals taskforce negotiated deals on behalf of the UK Government to secure almost 5 million patient courses of oral antivirals, which is more both in volume and per head than any other country in Europe. We were also the first country in the world to administer oral antivirals to patients in the community in December 2021. The Government also funded the University of Oxford to launch the innovative, community-based PANORAMIC study, which is making oral antivirals available to individuals at high risk from covid-19 to better understand the effectiveness of these drugs in a largely vaccinated population.
The antivirals taskforce has ensured the UK is well-positioned to protect those at highest risk from severe disease progression, including those who cannot take a vaccine for medical reasons, and those for whom vaccines may be less effective, such as those who are immuno-suppressed.
As Eddie Gray’s tenure comes to an end, I would like to thank him for his leadership of the antivirals programme. His work has been instrumental to the success of the anti-virals taskforce and I wish him all the best for the future. I also want to take the opportunity to thank the NHS for their incredible work, the willingness of patients to enrol in trials and the fantastic work of all our delivery partners across both the therapeutics and antivirals programmes.
The therapeutics taskforce and the antivirals taskforce have made significant contributions to the UK’s pandemic response. The suite of effective treatments they have made available has played a vital role in lessening the severity and impact of covid-19 on individuals, the healthcare system and society. Now as the UK moves to living with covid-19, these treatments will form a vital part of the UK’s pharmaceutical responses.
As part of the UK’s strategy to live with covid-19, the therapeutics and antivirals programmes will be consolidated under a single taskforce, the antivirals and therapeutics taskforce. This taskforce will continue to work alongside the vaccines taskforce to make pharmaceutical interventions available to those who most need them. Additionally, the taskforce will continue overseeing the delivery of the PANORAMIC study and the eight national priority clinical trial platforms run by the NIHR; and ensuring lessons and innovations from our antivirals and therapeutics response to covid-19 are captured and, where appropriate, embedded.
Longer term, the work of the taskforce will transition to business as usual functions; as part of this process NICE will be undertaking a multiple technology appraisal of covid-19 therapeutics. This will involve evaluation of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of existing covid-19 therapeutics within their current or proposed marketing authorisations for treating people with covid-19. NICE has initiated preparatory work that will underpin the evaluation to enable it to issue recommendations rapidly when appropriate, and will continue to engage with stakeholders on this.
[HCWS727]
Covid-19 Vaccination: Booster Doses
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
The covid-19 vaccination programme has fuelled this country’s journey along the road to recovery and the best way to protect ourselves and those around us is to get vaccinated.
Research from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates that around 192,000 hospitalisations have been prevented by booster doses since mid-December.
We know that immunity to covid-19 begins to wane over time and that older people and the most vulnerable are at the highest risk from this waning. We know that infections and hospitalisations from covid-19 are on the rise across the whole of the UK, as they are across Europe.
Last month, we accepted advice from the experts at the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to offer a spring booster to those at the greatest risk. The JCVI has advised that doses should be offered to anyone who is eligible around six months after their last vaccine dose.
From Monday 21 March the NHS has started offering a spring booster jab to people aged 75 and over, residents in care homes for older adults and people aged 12 years or older who are immunosuppressed. Hundreds of visits to deliver vaccinations in care homes for older adults are planned in the coming weeks.
By the end of this week almost 1.3 million people will have been invited for their spring booster.
We have already seen a tremendous response with more than 308,000 people having received their fourth dose since the appointment system opened.
Over 5.5 million people will be eligible to get protected through this spring campaign over the coming weeks and months.
The NHS will contact people directly to let them know when it is their turn and we are asking people to wait until they are invited before they book their appointment. It will prioritise those whose clinical need is greatest, starting with those who have had the longest gap since their last dose and then working through the eligible cohorts to invite people who have waited for less time.
Everyone who is eligible will be offered a top-up over the spring and early summer and we will be keeping under close review whether these spring booster doses should be offered more widely.
People who are eligible are urged to take advantage of the protection that is on offer. Everyone across the country, no matter if this is their first jab or spring booster, is encouraged to come forward to ensure that we can all continue to work together to stay healthy and protect the NHS.
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Parliamentary Question 496: Correction
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
I would like to inform the House that a written answer given by the previous Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the Minister for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care, on 18 May 2021, parliamentary question 496, was incorrect.
In the response to written question 496, we stated that Public Health England had undertaken an assessment of technologies regarding inactivation methods against covid-19, including the use of UV-C and H202 vapour. However, this information was inaccurate. Public Health England did not make any such assessment. Rather, the UK Health and Safety Laboratory assessed the potential merits of hydroxyl free radical air purification technologies in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
[HCWS648]
Public Health
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
First, I would like to outline that the House has been asked to revoke the legal requirements around self-isolation if one tests positive for covid-19, including: the duty to self-isolate if one tests positive, the duty to provide NHS Test and Trace with details and contacts, the duty to notify an employer that one is self-isolating, and the legal duty on employers to not knowingly allow someone who is self-isolating to attend work. Rather than relying on restrictions, we are encouraging people to act responsibly and to follow the guidance that has been set out, just as we would for any other respiratory condition.
To answer some of the specific questions raised by Opposition Members, as announced on 21 February, we will continue to make testing available for a small number of at-risk groups. We are considering which groups will be eligible for tests after provision for the general public ends. Tests are available until the end of March. We will announce details as soon as we can. That addresses the specific questions asked about people in vulnerable settings.
As for how we are moving forward, the Government will retain surveillance to monitor the virus, understand its evolution and identify changes and new characteristics. That will enable the Government to make informed decisions and respond accordingly. The Government will prepare and maintain the capabilities to ramp up testing and other tools such as laboratory infrastructure to be used as the line of defence against new variants.
Finally, I remind the House that we have already sent out 1.3 million PCR tests to those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, so that should they find that they have symptoms, they can do an immediate PCR test, have priority and be able to be prescribed antivirals as a matter of urgency.
Question put and agreed to.
Business of the House
Ordered,
That notices of Amendments, new Clauses and new Schedules to be moved in Committee in respect of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill may be accepted by the Clerks at the Table before it has been read a second time.—(Michael Tomlinson.)
Oral Answers to Questions
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 1 month ago)
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Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
In advance of the living with covid announcement on 21 February, ministerial colleagues discussed our living with covid strategy with the devolved Administrations. Officials were also in regular touch to understand the approach being taken by each Administration and any implementation issues.
Peter Grant
Happy St David’s day to the people of Wales. The views of the Welsh Government—and of three of the four Governments of these islands—on this question are very clear. The Government in here appear to be in a minority of one, yet again. When someone takes a lateral flow test and reports a result, it does not do them any good at all, but it can have significant benefits for their friends, family and close contacts. When the results are reported in sufficiently large numbers, that can have significant wider public health benefits. With that in mind, what assessment has the Minister made of the likely reduction in the number of daily tests being taken if people have to pay for them, and how does that compare with the advice from all the UK’s chief medical officers on the level of background asymptomatic testing that is advisable to give us the quickest possible warning of the next wave of a new variant of covid?
Maggie Throup
As the Prime Minister announced last week, free tests will continue until April. He also stated that if the SNP in Scotland wished to continue to offer free tests after that date, it is certainly at liberty to do so. I am proud that, because of the amazing success of the vaccination programme, covid rates are coming down, hospitalisations are coming down and deaths are coming down. It is because of that that we can now live with covid and reduce the ongoing expense of testing and bring it to a proportionate and manageable scenario.
Alan Brown
Scottish taxpayers paid their contribution towards the provision of free lateral flow tests. Scotland is allocated its share of UK debt, yet we are supposed to believe that covid support is somehow at the benevolence of the UK Government. Now we see the UK Government, again, making a decision that directly affects Scotland because we have a fixed budget. The Minister says the SNP Government can continue to provide free lateral flow tests, but is it not the case that Scotland needs its own borrowing powers so that it has much more fiscal responsibility and the proper levers of power?
Maggie Throup
As far as I am aware, and I am pretty sure I am right, the Scottish Government already have tax-raising powers, so perhaps they could use them in this instance.
Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)
The Department of Health and Social Care asked the Treasury for £5 billion to continue testing, which was refused, yet it has been revealed that the UK Treasury has effectively written off £4.3 billion given to fraudsters during the pandemic. Does the Minister think it is wrong to write off losses that have enriched fraudsters while refusing to support the continuation of free testing?
Maggie Throup
I assure the House that the Treasury has not written off anything.
Miriam Cates (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
Vaccines remain our best line of defence against covid-19. NHS staff and volunteers in our world-leading vaccination programme continue to work tirelessly, and I am sure the House thanks all of them. The offer of first, second and booster doses is always open. It is never too late to get jabbed.
We were the first country in the world to begin rolling out oral antivirals in the community, as part of a range of NHS antiviral and therapeutic treatment options to give us another line of defence. We are working hard to identify further safe and effective treatments through Government-funded national trials.
Miriam Cates
It was announced last month that covid vaccinations will be offered to healthy five to 11-year-olds, and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation calculates that 2 million children in this age group will need to be vaccinated to prevent one intensive care unit admission, so any serious side effects occurring at a rate of more than one in 2 million would constitute a net harm. Given that reports of serious side effects, such as myocarditis, from other countries significantly exceed that rate, and given the lack of long-term safety data for the new vaccine, how confident are the Government that the vaccination of healthy five to 11-year-olds will do more good than harm?
Maggie Throup
We carefully considered and accepted the advice of the JCVI that the health benefits to five to 11-year-olds of a single dose of the covid-19 vaccine are greater than the potential health risks. I reassure the House that this is a non-urgent offer, and our priority is to continue vaccinating the most vulnerable.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
The Government will end the temporary approval put in place at the beginning of the pandemic. We have extended the temporary approval for six months until midnight on 29 August 2022. From that point, abortion services for early medical abortion will return in line with pre-covid regulatory requirements. As with any healthcare service, this measure will be kept under review.
Caroline Nokes
Can my hon. Friend explain how the decision to end telemedicine for early medical abortion supports women who responded to the Department’s own consultation, how it works in line with the Royal College of General Practice, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the Royal College of Midwives, and what the dangers are in ignoring their advice when pulling together a women’s health strategy?
Maggie Throup
The temporary approval was put in place during the pandemic to address a specific and acute medical need to reduce the risk of transmission of covid-19. It was recognised that without it, significant numbers of women would not have been able to safely access abortion services. Thanks to the success and impact of the national vaccination programme, the situation is now very different. In making this decision, the Secretary of State has considered all the risks and benefits regarding the temporary approval.
Mr Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)
Carla Lockhart (Upper Bann) (DUP)
The right decision was taken by this Government last week in confirming that the temporary telemedicine at-home abortion pill should cease. I commend the Government for that decision. Given that more than 10,000 women have ended up in hospital in the year 2020 after taking a first abortion pill, can my hon. Friend confirm that the Government will follow through on that decision?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
As we clearly stated, the decision has been made to end the temporary approval, which means that face-to-face consultations and taking the first pill in a healthcare setting returns to England from 30 August 2022. As I said earlier, all healthcare services are kept under review as evidence and information emerge.
Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD)
Since the NHS was created, it has been governed by the principle that services are free at the point of use, and, of course, the Secretary of State has a duty to protect that. Many of my constituents want to know whether the Government’s decision to start charging for covid tests marks a departure from that founding principle.
Early Medical Abortion: Extension of Temporary Arrangements
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 2 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
Today I am announcing a six-month extension to the temporary arrangements for the provision of early medical abortion put in place during the covid pandemic. The Government will end the temporary approval put in place at the beginning of the pandemic that allows women to take both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks gestation at home. The temporary approval will end at midnight on 29 August 2022. From this point, the pre-covid regulatory requirements for the provision of early medical abortion will be reinstated.
At the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, the Government put in place a temporary approval in England, enabling women to take both pills for early medical abortion up to 9 weeks and 6 days gestation in their own homes if they chose to do so. A telephone or e-consultation must have first taken place with a clinician. However, women did not need to physically attend a hospital or clinic. Prior to the pandemic, only the second pill for early medical abortion could be taken at home and women were required to attend a clinic to take the first pill.
This temporary measure was put in place at the start of a public health emergency, to address a specific and acute medical need, reducing the risk of transmission of covid-19 and ensuring continued access to abortion services. At the time, a decision was made to time limit the approval for two years or until the pandemic was over, whichever was earliest.
After careful consideration, the Government’s view is that the provision of early medical abortion should return to pre-covid arrangements. The wellbeing and safety of women requiring access to abortion services has been, and will continue to be, our first and foremost priority.
Thanks to the success and impact of the national vaccination and booster programme, we are in a very different position compared to the beginning of the pandemic. However, health services and the workforce have been under increased pressure in recert months. A short-term extension of the temporary approval will be made to enable a sure and reliable return to pre-pandemic arrangements and continued access to services.
The replacement temporary measure will end at midnight on 29 August 2022.
As with any healthcare service, this measure will be kept under review.
I am depositing a copy of the summary of responses to the Government’s consultation on this issue in the Libraries of both Houses.
[HCWS629]
Coronavirus Test Device Approval
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 2 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
The UK is developing one of the most rigorous regulatory regimes in the world for coronavirus tests. The coronavirus test device approval regulations set high bars of specificity and sensitivity to ensure only high-quality tests are available on the UK market.
I have been impressed by the number of applications that the validation process has received to date. This figure currently stands at 212 applications across all antigen and molecular test devices. This is a testament to the willingness of businesses to rise to the public health challenges set by this pandemic. However, some manufacturers have struggled to provide sufficient evidence in time.
In order to ensure the greatest possible number of high-quality tests are available to the public, we have worked closely with applicants to support them through the process, which inevitably slows the validation process overall. As of 24 February 2022, 31 devices are on the approved products list and officials continue to work closely with applicants to support them through the process.
To avoid the serious public health risk posed by a shortage of covid-19 tests, I exercised my power under regulation 39A of the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 to permit certain tests with a pending application to remain on the market up to 28 February 2022, or until their validation application is determined, as a temporary protocol.
With the current end date of the protocol being 28 February 2022, this means some useful devices would have to be temporarily removed from the market while they complete their validation under the CTDA process. This will likely create a contraction in supply to the market, particularly of self-test lateral flow devices. This presents a serious risk to supply chains and testing used by vulnerable people. Therefore, the creation of two new protocols is needed to address the public health risks presented by the ending of the current protocol, otherwise, these devices would be removed from the UK market.
From 1 March 2022, I am now intending to create two new protocols, one for three months for certain devices until 31 May 2022 and one for six months until 31 August 2022. These new protocols would replace the current protocol which expires on 28 February 2022.
The tests that are permitted to remain on the market with a pending validation application are listed in the protocol on gov.uk. These tests have been selected because they have been through similar validation previously by a public sector body and have an existing CTDA application. There is, therefore, a reasonable expectation that the performance of these tests can be trusted to protect the public from the risk posed by false results.
I have placed copies of both protocols in the Libraries of each House of Parliament and they have been published on the gov.uk website.
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Covid-19 Vaccine Programme
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 2 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
The covid-19 vaccination programme continues to protect the nation against the virus. As of 19 February 2022 over 139 million doses have been provided, including 52.5 million first doses, 48.8 million second doses and 37.9 million third primary and booster doses in the UK. This represents uptake of 91.4% for the first dose, 85% for the second dose and 66.1% for the third primary and booster doses thus far.
Vaccines remain the best protection against the virus and have enabled the gradual and safe removal of restrictions over the past year. As the Government published their “living with covid-19” strategy earlier this week, vaccines continue to be at the heart of the Government’s approach to living with the virus in the future. Therefore, we urge everyone to play their part by taking up the covid-19 vaccine and booster offer without delay.
The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has published further advice on the covid-19 vaccination programme. Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) has accepted this advice and I am informed that all four parts of the UK intend to follow the JCVI’s advice.
Universal Offer to Children aged 5 to 11:
Children without underlying health conditions are at low risk of serious illnesses from covid-19 and the priority remains for the NHS to offer vaccines to adults and vulnerable young people, as well as to catch-up with other childhood immunisation programmes.
At this time, the JCVI has advised a non-urgent offer of two 10 micrograms doses of the Pfizer covid-19 vaccine to children aged five to 11 years of age who are not in a clinical risk group. The two doses should be offered with an interval of at least 12 weeks between doses. This offer will continue to ensure good protection against potential future waves of covid-19 as we learn to live with this virus.
The NHS is working through updated guidance and will set out how this is going to be operationalised, with deployment expected to begin in due course.
As we learn to live with covid-19 in the UK, the JCVI will review whether, in the longer term, an offer of vaccination to this, and other paediatric age groups, continues to be advised.
As we have done throughout the covid-19 vaccination programme, we will continue to provide information and encouragement to the parents and carers of eligible children to ensure that they make the best decision for their children, whatever it may be. Every parent will have the opportunity to make an informed choice based on their own personal circumstances.
Spring and autumn vaccination programmes:
We know that winter is a time when the threat from covid-19 could be greatest both for individuals and for the NHS. The JCVI has given interim advice that there should be an autumn 2022 programme of vaccinations for those who are at higher risk of severe covid-19; such as the elderly and in clinical risk groups. The JCVI will be offering definitive advice on any recommended autumn programme nearer the time.
However, many of the oldest, and therefore most vulnerable, will have received their most recent vaccine dose in September and October 2021. These individuals are at higher risk of severe covid-19 due to waning of vaccine-induced immunity prior to an autumn programme.
As a precautionary strategy, and to maintain protection in the most vulnerable, the JCVI advises that a spring dose, around six months after the last vaccine dose, should be offered to:
adults aged 75 years and over, and residents living in care homes for older adults; and
individuals aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed, as defined in in the UK
Health Safety Agency’s (UKHSA) Green Book.
Eligible individuals aged 18 years and over may be offered a booster vaccination with 30mcg Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) vaccine or 50mcg Moderna (Spikevax) vaccine. Eligible individuals aged 12 to less than 18 years may be offered a booster vaccination with 30 mcg Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) vaccine.
With the vaccine offer to all those aged five to 11 years and the spring dose offer to the most vulnerable, I am now updating the House on the liabilities HMG has taken on in relation to further vaccine supply via this statement and the Departmental Minutes laid in Parliament containing a description of the liability undertaken. The agreement to provide indemnity with deployment of further doses increases the statutory contingent liability of the covid-19 vaccination programme.
Deployment of effective vaccines to eligible groups has been and remains a key part of the Government’s strategy to manage covid-19. Willingness to accept the need for appropriate indemnities to be given to vaccine suppliers has helped to secure access to vaccines, with the expected benefits to public health and the economy alike, much sooner than may have been the case otherwise.
Given the exceptional circumstances we are in, and the terms on which developers have been willing to supply a covid-19 vaccine, we along with other nations have taken a broad approach to indemnification proportionate to the situation we are in.
Even though the covid-19 vaccines have been developed at pace, at no point and at no stage of development has safety been bypassed. The MHRA has approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) and Moderna (Spikevax) covid-19 vaccines. These vaccines have satisfied, in full, all the necessary requirements for safety, effectiveness, and quality.
We are providing indemnities in the very unexpected event of any adverse reactions that could not have been foreseen through the robust checks and procedures that have been put in place.
I will update the House in a similar manner as and when other covid-19 vaccines or additional doses of vaccines already in use in the UK are deployed.
HM Treasury has approved the proposal in principle.
[HCWS628]
Government Contracts: Randox Laboratories
Maggie Throup Excerpts(2 years, 2 months ago)
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Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a statement on the process for awarding Government contracts to Randox Laboratories Ltd, following the release of documents in response to the Humble Address of 17 November 2021.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)
In response to the greatest public health emergency that we have faced for a generation, the Government engaged with many businesses—big and small—as part of an unprecedented national effort. On 3 February, we responded to the Humble Address and laid the documents before the House. We are committed to transparency and helping the House perform its valuable scrutiny, and the Department dedicated significant resources to reviewing about 11,000 records to identify the 35 relevant documents. They show how we took every possible step to build the huge infrastructure for testing that we now have in this country—the biggest testing programme in Europe. The programme has done so much to stop the spread of this deadly virus and given us all hope that we can learn to live with covid-19.
Randox has been globally recognised in the diagnostics industry for nearly 40 years and even as early as March 2020 had lab-based PCR testing capacity for covid-19. Robust rules and processes are in place to ensure that all contracts are awarded in line with procurement regulations and transparency guidelines, and that any potential conflicts of interest with respect to commercial matters are appropriately managed. Direct awards, such as in this case, are permitted by public contract regulations for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by unforeseeable events. I am sure that no hon. Member would deny that the situation was one of extreme urgency.
As the House would expect, Ministers of course have a role in approving contracts, but their approval relies on the impartial evaluation conducted by civil servants. I reinforce to hon. Members that Ministers are not involved in the assessment and evaluation process for contracts, and that the documents given to the House show no evidence that any of those principles have been breached. Instead, they plainly show that we did everything in our power to keep this country safe at a time of crisis, as the British people would expect.
Anneliese Dodds
The Randox files published last week, later than the Government said they would be—that was not acknowledged by the Minister—paint a picture of a Conservative Government who are simply unfit for office. That Conservative Government played fast and loose with public money. They handed Randox a £133 million contract without competition. The Minister talked about every possible step being taken in testing infrastructure, but let us remember what happened. Randox tried to requisition equipment from universities that, because of the files that were released, we now know had to be stopped. Vital tests in care homes were voided, and 750,000 tests were recalled. The Government’s response was to hand it a second contract worth £350 million, again without competition.
We now know that both the civil service chief operating officer and the Minister, Lord Agnew, sounded a warning alarm. That Minister said that the Department was paying “dramatically over the odds” for Randox’s services, but the Government ploughed on. Why was he ignored, and did the Department do what he asked, and introduce a competitive tender process by March 2021? There does not seem to have been the operation of robust rules that the Minister referred to, or an impartial evaluation. Was that put into place or not?
Secondly, there are still no minutes of that crucial meeting on 9 April, just a rough draft email sent seven months later. Two years on, the Department cannot even explain who was there. We now know that Health Ministers held another four meetings that were never declared in the Register. How many more secret meetings were there?
That brings us to Owen Paterson who, as we now know from these papers, is called “O-Patz”—really, Mr Speaker, is there any clearer sign that we are in the twilight days of this Government? The files show that this former MP, a paid advocate for Randox, was arranging meetings with the Health Secretary in the Division Lobby, a place to which only MPs have access, and where it is impossible for civil servants to join them—hardly the appropriate management of commercial interests that the Minister referred to. Will she explain what was agreed in those discussions, and will she correct her Department’s claim that there is no evidence of any breach of the rules?
Maggie Throup
I make no apologies for how we as a country rose to the challenge that we faced in early 2020. I think that sometimes we forget what this country—indeed, the world—was going through. We must remember those days, and I am sure that hon. Members across the House will agree that what we have put in place since will ensure that we can cope far better in the future. We do need to learn lessons, and we will learn lessons.
However, one of the most important lessons that I take from when we worked together is that we can do incredible things. The NHS has been phenomenal, our hospitals have been phenomenal, and local government has been phenomenal, as has the private sector. We have all worked together and we have really worked hard, and that is why we can now see that—with the vaccine programme as well, along with the therapeutics and antivirals—we are combating this virus. We could not have come this far without everybody working together, and this country’s testing structure has been crucial in helping us to get through this time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has been involved in this huge effort both at testing sites and working in the lab, and everybody who has come forward to get tested to keep their loved ones safe.
I would like to respond to some of the questions posed by the hon. Lady. My Department did inform you, Mr Speaker, that we were unable to meet our initial deadline for responding to the Humble Address. That was mainly due to the surge of omicron at that time, and the way that my Department had to respond to ensure that we kept our citizens safe from that variant surge.
The hon. Lady raised the issue of the Randox kits that were recalled in the summer of 2020. It was on 15 July that year that NHS Test and Trace was notified that some kits produced by Randox laboratories may not have met the required standard for coronavirus testing. As a precautionary measure, while this was investigated further, NHS Test and Trace paused the use of these Randox test kits with immediate effect. It was on 7 August that the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency instructed Randox to recall the Randox covid-19 home testing kits with a specific catalogue number. That decision was taken as a precautionary measure to prevent any further use of these Randox tests. The risk to safety was low, and test results from Randox kits were not affected. An independent assessment in June 2020 had placed Randox ahead of other laboratories, and Randox was meeting its delivery targets by September 2020. We were very precautionary in the measures we put in place to ensure that we were protecting everybody at that time.
I did note the point of order that the hon Lady made this week about the meeting on 9 April 2020, which she has raised again today. The note was taken during the meeting, and it was saved in a draft folder of the private secretary who took the note. When the Department received a freedom of information request for the minute of the meeting, the private secretary found the minute and shared it. For clarity, “note” and “minute” mean an official record of a meeting; the words mean the same from that point of view.
I reiterate that there are robust rules and processes in place that ensure that contracts are awarded in accordance with the public procurement regulations of 2015, and that Ministers are not involved in the assessment and evaluation process for contracts at all. That is a really important principle that the Government work on now, and have worked on probably for decades, and that principle will never be broken.
Alberto Costa (South Leicestershire) (Con)
You will remember, Mr Speaker, as the right hon. Member for Chorley, and every Member in this House will remember, the enormous pressure we were all put under, barely two years ago, to try to find businesses and organisations that could quickly produce much-needed equipment and services to assist the people of our country during an unprecedented global pandemic. Can I put on record my appreciation of the enormous work that the Government did, and does the Minister agree with me that, had it not been for their work, we would not have been able to protect and save the lives of so many people in our country?
Maggie Throup
I appreciate my hon. Friend’s recognition, remembering where we were barely two years ago, of how we have moved on since then. We have put in place a test and trace programme that is renowned across Europe and across the world, and we have a world-leading vaccination programme as well as the amazing work done on therapeutics and antivirals. Coming together in the national effort has been vital, which is why I make no apologies for my Department’s looking at every opportunity to ensure that everybody could get tested who needed to be tested, that everybody could be jabbed who needed to be jabbed, and that the right therapeutics were in place to keep people safe.
Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)
These secret communications reveal that Paterson corresponded directly with the then Health Secretary, the right hon. Member for West Suffolk (Matt Hancock), in January 2020 about the services that Randox could provide. Then, without competition, Government contracts were issued to provide Randox with equipment if it struggled to get it, offering loans of equipment that were drafted on the same day as the emails were exchanged. Nice work if you can get it, eh? In the exchanges, Paterson repeatedly noted that he was a paid consultant to Randox, but the Government seemingly overlooked that fact for months until The Guardian revealed he had lobbied for Randox to get the contracts. Internally, Paterson then asked the Health Minister to kill the story once and for all. Can the Minister explain to me how that is not institutional corruption? Nobody trusts this Government. They are rule breakers and system cheaters. Does this whole case with Randox not just prove that the Government are interested only in helping their friends?
Maggie Throup
Once again, I make no apologies for the Department working to look at every opportunity to make sure that we had the right mechanisms in place to keep our country safe. As I said earlier, Randox was a recognised company in the diagnostic industry. The hon. Gentleman talks about how he perceives the Department working. The fact is that we have released all the documents. As I said earlier, the 11,000 documents were looked at to identify what was relevant. We have been very open in putting that information in the House of Commons Library and responding to the Humble Address.
Dame Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)
The documents seem to show that there was a meeting with the former Member for North Shropshire and the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the Division Lobby. Will the Minister respond to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds)? Did that meeting take place?
Maggie Throup
The evidence has been put in the Library and the information is there. I want to make it clear that my Department went through as much evidence as it could. As I said earlier, we were at the start of a pandemic; nobody had ever seen anything like it before. I make no apologies for making sure that we had everything in place to keep the country safe.
Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)
Oh dear; I almost do not know where to start. I have to be very careful, because the Standards Committee may well want to return to some of these issues and I will not stray into that territory. There is no rule that says that a Minister cannot be inappropriately lobbied, but there are rules saying that Members are not allowed to engage in paid advocacy. We may need to look at the rules to make sure there is a better way of dealing with this issue. I am not making any allegations about the Health Secretary or anybody else. I just wonder: when the Minister voted to protect Owen Paterson on 3 November, did she know about all of this or not?
Maggie Throup
I respect the hon. Gentleman and I look forward to the outcome of the work of his Committee. The code of conduct for MPs rightly remains a matter for Parliament. Today, we are talking about the Humble Address that my Department responded to, quite rightly. There are lessons that can be learned. We are now looking at making sure we have mechanisms in place for the future. Standards are in place in the House and it is quite right that hon. Members meet those standards. I look forward to the outcome of your Committee’s work to make sure we have a rounded approach and that the situation with Mr Paterson does not happen again.
Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)
It really is quite remarkable: what the Minister has outlined in her response is what should have happened during the course of the pandemic and what has been proven not to have happened. Instead, the situation has been epitomised by Tory donors receiving billions of pounds in contracts, Ministers losing mobile phones when their Department and the law have tried to find out what has gone on, and decent companies with great experience in this field—I am thinking of Arco up in the north-east—being left with next to nothing. How can the Minister stand there and defend the indefensible?
Maggie Throup
As I said, we follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, and in procuring goods and services we are committed to fair and reasonable timetables and procedures, and encourage open competition wherever possible. However, we were in the middle of a pandemic.
Let me go through the process in a bit more detail. Awarding bodies use three main procurement routes in awarding contracts. First, there are direct awards without competition using emergency procurement rules, and I am sure hon. Members will appreciate that we were in an emergency situation. Secondly, there are direct awards using variations to existing contracts. The third route is awards from framework agreements—both direct awards and mini competitions—where suppliers have previously undergone a competitive process to be appointed to the framework. As we move out of the pandemic, we will obviously get back to business as usual and use these other mechanisms.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
I am sure that I am not the only one in the House who is finding this utterly excruciating. The Minister cannot stand at the Dispatch Box and say in one breath that she makes no apology and in the next breath say that the Government are going to learn lessons. The right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Dame Diana Johnson) asked her a simple and direct question about the meeting on 5 February. Did it happen—yes or no?
Maggie Throup
The evidence that we produced in response to the Humble Address has been laid in the Library.
Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)
The chief operating officer of the civil service requested the restoration of competitive tendering by March 2021. Will the Minister confirm that that did not happen, tell us how many more contracts were issued without tender after that date, and explain why the emergency procurement rules are still in use almost a year after the deadline?
Maggie Throup
There is a lot of detail in that question. If I may, I will write to the hon. Lady with answers.
Ms Lyn Brown (West Ham) (Lab)
I am finding this really rather difficult, for the same reasons as my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Dame Diana Johnson). Has the Minister actually read what has been laid in the Library? If she has, will she enlighten us as to what it says about the meeting in the Lobby?
Maggie Throup
I reassure the House that I did read the documents before they were laid in the Library.
Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)
Randox cashed in on covid contracts; its profits jumped from £12 million to £50 million, and as the money rolled in the company was re-registered in the Isle of Man. Does the Minister think that tax on UK covid contracts should be paid in the UK?
Maggie Throup
That is really for the Treasury to look at, but I come back again to the fact that Randox was an established company in diagnostic testing and that at the time we looked at which businesses could deliver our testing requirements. I am delighted that since then we have built up our own additional testing structure; in fact, later today I will be visiting the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory in Leamington Spa to see the amazing testing work that we have set up there under the UK Health Security Agency.
Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)
There were four meetings between Health Ministers and Randox that were not registered. Does the Minister accept that, if she had taken part in unregistered meetings of that kind, she would have breached the ministerial code?
Ms Anum Qaisar (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
This is agonising and frankly embarrassing. The Minister has been sent here to state repeatedly that we were in an emergency situation and a global pandemic, and she makes no apology. Does this scandal not just further prove that this Government are interested only in helping their friends to get richer?
Maggie Throup
I reiterate what I said earlier: we have robust rules and processes in place to ensure that contracts are awarded in accordance with the Public Procurement Regulations 2015, which I have also outlined in further detail. Ministers are not involved in the assessment and evaluation process for contracts.