Covid-19 Update

Mark Harper Excerpts

Tuesday 9th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I know the case to which the hon. Lady is referring. We are clear in our decision, which was made for all the right reasons. I hope that she will understand that I am not at liberty at this point to share those reasons, due to commercial and legal sensitivities, but I assure her that there is absolutely no point in revisiting that decision.

[Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean) (Con)]

I welcome what the Secretary of State has said about his proposed method of dealing with this issue in Parliament, and his confirmation that he is going to publish an impact assessment ahead of the decision. That, of course, was not what happened when we voted on the care home vaccination issue, for which, to be fair to him, he was not responsible; the way in which that decision was conducted was an abuse of this House, which was asked to vote on it.

The Secretary of State has just confirmed that of the 40,000 care home staff who the Government estimated were going to leave the care home sector because they had not been vaccinated, 32,000 of them—two days away from the deadline—remain unvaccinated. That is a significant number. When he publishes all the information before we make a decision, will he ensure that as well as the impact assessment he includes a plan to deal with what sounds like it will be something like tens of thousands of NHS staff, who, if the care home workforce are any precedent, are going to end up leaving the national health service? It may be the right decision, but we must have a plan to deal with it. Not having had a plan for the care home sector is causing enormous pressure not just on the care home sector, but on the NHS. I want to ensure that when Members are asked to make a decision, we have all the information at our disposal so that we can make the best possible decision in all the circumstances.

[Sajid Javid]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right that parliamentary procedure is vital. As well as publishing the impact assessment before a vote, I can share with the House that we will be publishing an impact statement today. That will be followed by the impact assessment, later. He mentioned the figure of 32,000. That is the latest published number, from the end of last month. Although it has only been a few days since then, the situation is currently quite fast moving because the number might include a number of people—perhaps in their thousands—who are medically exempt but about whom the Care Quality Commission has not yet been informed. He has pointed to the need for the Government to share our thinking or that of the NHS on workforce planning with respect to this new measure. We will set out more details.