Covid-19 Update Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Ruth Cadbury
Main Page: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)Department Debates - View all Ruth Cadbury's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(3 years, 4 months ago)
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Matt Hancock
We will find out the results in the next few weeks. Of course, the right hon. Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth) may have been so cheerful in his opening remarks because he was there, and he saw Leicester triumph. I watched it, and I just thought how brilliant it was to see a live crowd again. It was not full— that is true—and no doubt it could have been filled, but it was not full because we are taking it carefully. I am working with my right hon Friend the Culture Secretary and the Minister for Sport—the Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Worcestershire (Nigel Huddleston) —who I know found it extremely enjoyable to be able to go to a sports event as the Minister for Sport, which he has missed. We will assess the data that come out of it. Everybody who went is part of a testing regime. We will look at the results, as we will look at the results of the other pilots, such as the Brits and the snooker at the Crucible, and then make an assessment.
Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)
The UK’s defences against incoming covid infections are only as strong as the weakest point. I am still awaiting a response from the Health Secretary about the Hounslow director of public health’s concerns about covid-infected seafarers being transported to Hounslow hotels by the shipping companies, with no quarantine, no prompt notification to local public health teams and no consistent infection control at the hotels. Travellers and staff at Heathrow are also raising concerns about weaknesses in the arrivals process. When will the Health Secretary convince this House that the UK’s covid defences are fit for purpose?
Matt Hancock
I pay tribute to the team who have put together the managed quarantine service, which has run remarkably smoothly for such a complicated operation. They are always very happy to hear feedback, and are constantly improving the system. I work very closely with the Home Secretary and the Transport Secretary on this. There have been remarkably few complaints about a system that has had to be put in place for significant numbers of people.