Covid Vaccine Passports

Sarah Dines Excerpts

Wednesday 8th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Nadhim Zahawi]

I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s kind words about the engagement that we have maintained throughout the vaccine deployment programme. We will continue to do so, by the way, as we enter the booster programme, which, in some weeks, will hopefully break all records that we set in phase 1 of the vaccination programme. I think what is more detrimental to businesses in Vauxhall is having to open and shut, and open and shut again. The reason for this policy is to sustain their ability to trade, and hopefully trade profitably.

[Miss Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)]

I think we all agree that vaccine take-up among the young is essential. What additional incentives can you offer the young people I work with on Hurst Farm, a social housing estate in Matlock, to take up the vaccine?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

Young people have been coming forward in droves to be vaccinated. We have walk-in centres all around the country where people do not even have to book an appointment. There have been many different ideas for incentivisation of young people. The great incentive, I hope, is to protect themselves, their families and their community, but also to enjoy the freedoms that come with double vaccination.

Covid Security at UK Borders

Sarah Dines Excerpts

Monday 1st February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Miss Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales) (Con) [V]]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne). It is a shame that so few Labour MPs applied to participate in their own Opposition day debate: there are only nine on the list, and that is sad. I wonder whether their heart is not really in it.

The subject of this debate is a matter that affects the constituents of Derbyshire Dales, who have raised it with me on numerous occasions since the commencement of the pandemic. We want proportionate border control: that is essential. The United Kingdom already has some of the strongest measures in the world to prevent new strains of coronavirus from entering the country. At this stage, the restrictions are well balanced and sufficient; they are firm, thought through, and nuanced.

The Government are focused on protecting the UK’s leading vaccination programme—a programme that we should all be very proud of—and reducing the risk of the new strain of the virus, or any new strain, being transmitted by somebody coming into the UK. That is why the Government announced further action to strengthen these measures. They are also looking at health measures, reducing passenger flow, increased police enforcement, and ensuring that anyone returning from a red-list country completes their quarantine at a designated hotel. This was further improved on 18 January, when all travel corridors within the UK were suspended, meaning that all international arrivals who have departed from, or transited through, any country outside the common travel area in the previous 10 days will be required to self-isolate immediately for 10 days on arrival. This includes British and Irish nationals.

I am concerned that Labour’s position on borders has swung from one extreme to the other. First, the Opposition criticised the Government for imposing stricter border measures in the summer, then called for quarantine to be ceased, and then claimed that our measures are not strong enough. Once again, Labour is playing politics at a national level—it is good opportunism, but I believe the public see through it, and that they see the flip-flopping on this issue.

I am concerned by the Opposition’s suggestion that there should be a blanket provision that all arrivals to the United Kingdom should quarantine. Being a lawyer, I look at the words, and this is clearly an ill-thought-through suggestion. There is no mention of exceptions in the wording. There is, of course, a limit on suitable hotels and accommodation, and if the Labour proposal were taken forward, the cost would be very high. Are the Opposition really saying that only those of our citizens who can afford to stay in a hotel can return home? I do not think they have really thought this through. Also, if there are very low-risk countries, are we saying that arrivals from those countries should needlessly spend that time and that money in hotels? There needs to be a sense of proportion.

The Government have acted swiftly in providing increased support to the genomics industry to help identify new covid variants abroad, for the benefit of mankind as a whole. We are an outward-looking nation—a trading nation—and we are helping the world through this work. It would be inconsistent with this global assistance to impose an unfocused blanket ban, so I will not be agreeing with the motion.

Covid-19 Update

Sarah Dines Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

That is not an accurate description of history, but if that is how the hon. Lady feels about Coventry, she may like to know that we are working with the leadership of Coventry City Council, and if she were to talk to them as well I would be very happy to ensure that she was part of that conversation.

[Miss Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)]

I have been contacted by a Derbyshire Dales constituent, Sarah Peet, whose grandfather was sadly taken into a care home in May. He has been married nearly 70 years. Sadly, because of covid, he cannot see his wife, with whom he has lived for 70 years, or his family. Will my right hon. Friend please update the House on what is being done on rapid testing to stop the scourge of loneliness in our care homes?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I was working on the issue of how we can safely allow visiting—especially by people who have been married for 70 years, which is an extraordinary achievement in and of itself—in a way that is safe, according to the risk level and the background rate of infection. Of course, testing can be part of the solution, as can the proper use of personal protective equipment. We have more nuanced rules in place now than during the first peak, and I would be happy to work with my hon. Friend to try to ensure that we get this right.

Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Dines Excerpts

Tuesday 6th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jo Churchill]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that statement and I will read the document that he mentions with interest. It is a new disease on which we are still gathering evidence and data, so that we know how we can best support the individual in their recovery and, arguably, in their new covid-tinged life. I assure him that that is precisely what I shall be doing—looking at the evidence base and making sure we work with the colleges and general practitioners to ensure that we get the right answers.

[Miss Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to support the adult care sector during the covid-19 outbreak.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to support the adult care sector during the covid-19 outbreak.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Care (Helen Whately)]

We have sweated blood and tears to support the sector through this pandemic. Last month, we launched the adult social care winter plan, with regular testing for care home staff and residents, free personal protective equipment and mandatory infection prevention and control measures for care providers, supported by £546 million of Government funding. I am enormously grateful to all those on the frontline in social care. I recognise the challenges that they have faced and how many feel daunted by the winter ahead. I say to care workers: “I cannot thank you enough for what you do and I am with you every step of the way.”

[Miss Dines]

I have been contacted by Ann Penrose, who is 91, in good health and in a care home in Ashbourne, Derbyshire Dales. She asked her family to contact Boris, but sadly she got me. Does the Minister agree that the time has come to look very carefully at what is happening in care homes to review the existing measures, routines and guidelines, bearing in mind that we are testing so much now? We need to have a bit more humanity. We are in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. These people need their families, yes, in a safe environment, but they do need to have access to families and, at times, to their pets.

[Helen Whately]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about the importance of visiting both to the individuals living in care homes, and to their family and friends. Achieving the balance between protecting care home residents from the risk that covid might be brought into the care home, where it is so hard to control, and giving them access to visitors, has been one of the hardest areas to get right over the past few months. That is why in the summer we issued guidance on safe visiting and gave more freedom on the decisions about visiting to local authorities, with directors of public health working with care homes. I want us to continue to support and enable safe visiting for care homes.

Covid-19 Update and Hospitality Curfew

Sarah Dines Excerpts

Thursday 1st October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The truth is that the more we all avoid close social contact, the harder the virus will find it to spread and the easier it will be to lift measures. It is as straightforward as that. From that logic, obviously, come many difficult consequences, including the ones my hon. Friend spoke to. However, I am happy to keep talking to him to make sure that we get this balance right in his area and across the country.

[Miss Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his updates, which are always very useful. May I ask him to think for a minute about places with low infection rates, including the Derbyshire Dales? We have some fantastic wedding venues such as Shottle Hall and Eyam Hall, and some great historic pubs that have been around for hundreds of years, such as the Rutland Arms, the Peacock at Rowsley, the Devonshire Arms at Baslow and the Old Dog at Thorpe. Will my right hon. Friend consider opening locally early where people can prove good compliance and where there are very low infection rates, because we have to allow the economy to get up and running again?

[Matt Hancock]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to support her local pubs and in what she said about keeping the economy going while we deal with this problem. She is also right that there are large swathes of the country with very low infection rates, including Derbyshire. Our approach is to take the minimum national action necessary to ensure that the rates stay low in Derbyshire and other areas with low rates, while also taking more action in places where the virus is rife. That is an approach that we will be strengthening over the weeks to come.

Coronavirus

Sarah Dines Excerpts

Tuesday 7th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I have been clear that we have been learning about this virus and how best to deal with it throughout. My admiration for those who work in social care is second to none. One of the good things about this crisis is that it has shown the whole country how much we value not just those who work in the NHS, but those who work right across social care, caring for the most vulnerable.

[Miss Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)]

Cancer takes the lives of loved ones far too early, including that of my father. The pandemic has made it very difficult for people to access the necessary treatment. Can my right hon. Friend reassure me that everything will be done that can be done to ensure that those who need treatment get it soon?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. That is an incredibly important point. When people talk about the lives that have sadly been lost to coronavirus and how many might be in the future, we also have to take into account the health impact of non-coronavirus diseases such as cancer whose treatments are affected by the actions that we have had to take. My heart goes out to all those who have not been able to get cancer treatment because it would not have been appropriate clinically to do so when there was a virus about. We are now putting an enormous amount of effort into getting cancer treatment services up and running. Perhaps the most important message—and the biggest barrier to more early diagnosis—is that people must come forward if they suspect that they have a cancerous lump. If they find a lump, they must call a GP, and if they are asked to go to hospital, they must; it will be safe to do so. It is really important that people help us to help them.

Social Distancing: 2 Metre Rule

Sarah Dines Excerpts

Monday 15th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Edward Argar]

I am always grateful for questions from my hon. and gallant Friend. The latest figures—as of last week—are that R is not near zero, but is between 0.7 and 0.9. That shows that the infection and transmission rate is going down, but it is still only just below 1, which is why we must keep up the pressure on this disease and keep transmission rates down. He is right, as my hon. Friend the Member for Broadland (Jerome Mayhew) alluded to, that as that figure and the transmission rate falls further, there will be more opportunities to relax, step by step and cautiously, the restrictions, but we are not there yet.

[Miss Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)]

As my right hon. Friend knows, I represent Derbyshire Dales, where tourism, hospitality and pubs are essential, not only to the local economy, but to the mental health of constituents. Will he reassure me that these issues will be at the top of the list of factors considered when reviewing the 2 metre rule, not least to enable the opening up of pubs promptly but when it is safe to do so?

[Edward Argar]

My hon. Friend is right. She, too, champions her wonderful constituency of Derbyshire Dales, which I have had the privilege of visiting in the past. She is right that it is important that we can open up pubs and restaurants and other similar businesses as swiftly as we can, but it is important we do it when it is safe and when transmission rates and public health measures suggest it is appropriate.