Covid-19 Update

Robin Millar Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

We absolutely value enormously all those who work in health and social care. Just this week I was able to say that the exemption from the immigration health surcharge has been extended right across those who work in health and social care. That demonstrates the value that we place on them.

[Robin Millar (Aberconwy) (Con)]

My sympathies are with the people of Leicester. In north Wales, we continue to experience the low levels of infection that characterise a flat-topped curve, while containing local workforce outbreaks. I put on record my thanks to the care workers and staff at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board for tackling the different challenges presented by an outbreak of this kind. History teaches us that great tragedies present opportunities for innovation—for example, the great fire of 1666 gave us the origins of our fire service and modern insurance. Can my right hon. Friend give us any hope that any advances will come from this tragic pandemic?

[Matt Hancock]

I am a man who is an unashamed optimist. It is sometimes difficult to be an optimist in the middle of a global pandemic, but I am glad for the chance to answer my hon. Friend’s wise question with some enthusiasm because, amid the great tragedy of this pandemic, we have seen some big steps forward. The use of telemedicine and improved access to medicine for so many people through the use of technology is one example. Another is the advance and the march of British science, which has led the world not only in terms of the discovery of the first drug known to reduce the impact of coronavirus, but across the board in the scientific work that has gone on. I talked earlier about the flexibility and the system working in the NHS, which have to be the hallmark of the future of our NHS. Those are just three examples off the top of my head, but there are myriad others. Amidst this dark cloud, when we see a shard of light we must take great hope from it.

Virtual participation in proceedings concluded (Order, 4 June).

Covid-19

Robin Millar Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I will look into the second point. On the first point, those conversations are happening.

[Robin Millar (Aberconwy) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend for his openness and for the quality of the information he is giving us. Will he please offer some guidance to the large number of religious communities—churches, mosques, gurdwaras—on what actually constitutes a large gathering of people?

[Matt Hancock]

We address that in the advice, and this is a very important point. We have taken advice on how to respond to the crisis, including from our ethics committee, which includes representatives of the major religious faiths. It is true that we include religious groups in our advice about social contact. We have seen from elsewhere in the world how sometimes it is through religious gatherings that the virus can spread so, with the deepest regret and the heaviest of heart, we include faith groups and gatherings of faith within the advice.

Coronavirus

Robin Millar Excerpts

Wednesday 11th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

First, the Leader of the House, Mr Speaker and the House of Commons Commission, advised by Public Health England, are best placed to come forward with guidance on the details of how this place can run should a significant number of colleagues and, potentially, staff be unwell or self-isolating.

Secondly, it is very hard, from central Government, to make sure we reach all the people who will need the sort of support the hon. Lady describes. This is best done through local authorities, which is why we have introduced a £0.5 billion fund for local authorities essentially to do whatever they think is necessary in these circumstances.

[Robin Millar (Aberconwy) (Con)]

I also thank my right hon. Friend for his conduct and his handling of this situation.

It is true that Wales has seen very few registered cases of coronavirus relative to other parts of the UK. Indeed, I believe we have no registered cases of coronavirus in north Wales. None the less, I welcome the installation of temporary testing sites by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the Welsh Government have access to the same advice as he does, and that they are being fully included in the preparations he is making here in the UK?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, absolutely. This is a four-nations approach, and the Welsh CMO is in daily contact with the English CMO, the Scottish CMO and the Northern Irish CMO. Indeed, they are also working with the chief medical officer of the Republic of Ireland. The basis of the scientific advice is the same across the four nations. Although, as my hon. Friend reports, there are no cases in north Wales, I am afraid this virus will continue to spread and we should expect there will be a case in north Wales before too long.