Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Hancock and Craig Whittaker

Tuesday 12th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The importance of tackling health inequalities and levelling up parts of the country that have so much opportunity, such as Stockton, but need further support to unleash that opportunity is an incredibly important part of this agenda. On the hon. Gentleman’s precise question, we have discussed that issue before. As he knows, we have the largest hospital building programme in the modern history of this country. I look forward to continuing to discuss with him the extra infrastructure needed in Stockton.

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con) [V]]

  First, I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the whole ministerial team on the excellent start to the vaccination programme. However, my question is on schools. I know that the Government worked hard to keep schools open for as long as they possibly could, but unfortunately, under alert level 5, schools sadly had to close. Will he outline what costs schools are expected to cover—whether state schools or public schools—to roll out coronavirus testing in their schools once they reopen?

[Matt Hancock]

Extra funding is available through the NHS Test and Trace budget for state schools for the testing programme. We are working with independent schools to make sure that they can reopen as soon as safely possible to reopen schools across the country.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Matt Hancock and Craig Whittaker

Monday 14th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con) [V]]

Will my right hon. Friend join me in thanking all those local authorities, such as Calderdale, that have already come forward to put in place community testing? Can he assure me that central Government will stand squarely behind local areas, which are doing everything they can do to move to lower restrictions, as we hope Calderdale will later on in the week?

[Matt Hancock]

My hon. Friend makes his case, as other West Yorkshire colleagues have today. The roll-out of mass community testing in Calderdale has been impressive. There is lots more work to do, and my message, as I am sure he would reiterate, is let’s get tested and let’s get this virus under control in West Yorkshire.

Public Health: Coronavirus Regulations

Debate between Matt Hancock and Craig Whittaker

Tuesday 13th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Of course, the work on a vaccine continues. No vaccine technology is certain, but we have already bought six different vaccines and there are more than 100 in development around the world. That is what underpins the strategy, and the work on the leading vaccines, including the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine, continues effectively. We have seen, both here and overseas, just how quickly the virus can take hold, and we have to act now to get it under control.

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con)]

At the beginning of August, Calderdale had just four people in hospital with covid, zero in intensive care units, and spikes in just two wards. This morning, we have 43 people in hospital with covid, six in ICUs, 12 deaths this month, and almost 800 positive cases coming through. Can my right hon. Friend say what steps he is taking to ensure that the NHS is not overwhelmed by the virus in the coming months?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. I have just said that we must not have long interventions. These points are for the speeches that people are waiting to make later. If a Member wants to intervene on the Secretary of State about something that he has just said, that is all very well, but if they make points about their constituencies at this stage rather than waiting until later, it is simply dishonourable; it is just not right.

Covid-19 Response

Debate between Matt Hancock and Craig Whittaker

Tuesday 2nd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The drive-through centres are a classic example of the public and private sectors working in a team spirit. I just wish that people would not try to drive teams apart, because this is a combination of the private diagnostics companies that provide the tests; Boots and Deloitte, which have provided the logistics; the armed forces, without whom we could not have made this happen right across Great Britain; and, of course, the NHS, Public Health England and the relevant Scottish authorities—they have made it happen. I will look into the specific data point that the hon. Gentleman raises, but I want to congratulate all those involved, no matter their employment status, and I urge him and others to back the team.

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con)]

With couples sat together one minute and one of them taken away in an ambulance the next, with people not being able to see their partner in hospital or in the chapel of rest—those living in Calderdale could not even pay their last respects at the crematorium either—and with grandparents not seeing new-borns or their grandchildren for 10 weeks, on the whole, people have made huge sacrifices to maintain the lockdown and the Government’s public health message. Can my right hon. Friend advise whether an assessment has been made of what, if any, damage has been done to the Government’s public health message by the actions of the Prime Minister’s special adviser?

[Matt Hancock]

The critical thing is that, given the sacrifices that my hon. Friend lists and that are heartfelt, as a nation, we have the resolve to see this through. We can see that the number of cases is coming right down and the number of people dying is coming right down, and we have got to see the back of this disease. We are not there yet.

Coronavirus

Debate between Matt Hancock and Craig Whittaker

Tuesday 3rd March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

We are very concerned about this issue. We will address precisely the issue that the right hon. Member raises in the communication that I indicated we will publish soon to social care providers. This is an important and difficult consideration for what we do in a reasonable worst-case scenario. Of course, all the time, we are working to avoid that scenario. One area that has been highlighted in public is making it much easier to onboard volunteers, but they are not the only part of the answer to this problem.

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con)]

GAMA Healthcare in my constituency is playing a vital role in China as part of a bundled approach to infection control of covid-19. Adrian Fellows, a scientist from GAMA, says that washing hands is vital, but his concern is that every handwash is being promoted as an effective intervention, even those that are cosmetic-based, and supermarket sanitisers without a log 4 reduction are running the risk of giving a false sense of security. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that Government advice on hand washing is thorough, so that people do not run that risk of having a false sense of security?

[Matt Hancock]

I will look into our guidance on the nature of hand sanitisers and make sure that it takes into account the very best scientific advice. There is a broader point here, which is that although sanitising one’s hands with hand sanitiser is good, it is not nearly as good as washing one’s hands for 20 seconds with soap and, preferably, in hot water. That is the best thing to deal with the virus.