Covid-19: R Rate and Lockdown Measures Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Mary Kelly Foy
Main Page: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)Department Debates - View all Mary Kelly Foy's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(4 years, 6 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Matt Hancock
Of course it is important to ensure that people are fully informed about the reasons why we may need to take action in a particular local area, and that is an important part of the consideration. Ensuring that local bodies—for instance local directors of public health—are fully engaged, is an important way of doing that. In Wales, where my right hon. Friend has his constituency, that is done through the devolved nations, with their responsibilities locally for public health.
Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)
The R number is one indicator of infection, but it is only reliable at regional level. Currently, directors of public health tell me that they receive only high-level reports, and that they need more localised information, with data that relate to the number and location of cases, and state when infection occurred. That information is vital to stopping transmission, especially as restrictions are lifted. By what date will that information be made available to local authorities, so as to inform their local outbreak plans?