Covid-19

Debate between Seema Malhotra and Matt Hancock

Monday 16th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[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.

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Secretary of State and the Chancellor at the very least write to all Members this week to set out the measures that they understand will be taken to support the self-employed and small businesses in our constituencies? That information is vital. May I also ask him about local authorities? They will be on the frontline of supporting families facing hardship, as well as ensuring that services reach those in need. It will be a mammoth effort, undertaken at the same time as employees will have to be encouraged to work at home. What financial support, including hardship funds, are the Government providing to cash-strapped local authorities and how, alongside the enormous effort provided by community organisations, will the Secretary of State ensure the safeguarding of older people?

[Matt Hancock]

These are all important considerations. The financial ones are of course a question for the Treasury, which is looking at how to address all these things.

Coronavirus

Debate between Seema Malhotra and Matt Hancock

Monday 9th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

We absolutely are, not only in terms of any measures that we take and how they might have to be amended for key workers, but also because, critically, when it comes to school closures, one reason why closing schools is not a cost-free option is that it takes away some of the very staff whom we need to be able to respond to the crisis.

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

I have been approached by some parents who want to know what option they may have to withdraw their children from school for a short period, perhaps prior to the Easter break, if they wish to do so, and agree with the school an arrangement for a period of home study. Is the Secretary of State working with his Department for Education counterparts on any contingency plan should home schooling become necessary?

[Matt Hancock]

The most important thing is to follow the advice from Public Health England. We now have in place well-established routes to ensure that all headteachers get the appropriate advice. Ultimately, it is headteachers who are currently responsible for such decisions.

NHS Funding Bill

Debate between Seema Malhotra and Matt Hancock

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Monday 27th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

We are using all possible means to get in contact with the 1,460 people whom we need to contact, and who we know have travelled to the UK from Wuhan and who have not as far as we know left the country. We are collaborating with Border Force, the airline and others, including universities, schools and cultural organisations to try to make contact.

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

My constituency borders Heathrow, and many of my constituents will be working at Heathrow with the airlines and in many other roles. I appreciate that the risk may be low, but could the Secretary of State update the House on whether advice has been given to Heathrow and airlines on how to give advice to their staff who may have come into contact with people who might be affected so that everybody can be assured that all is being done and that any support they may need is available?

[Matt Hancock]

The hon. Member is quite right to raise this. There is a Public Health England unit or hub at Heathrow to meet all flights from China now; it met the one flight that has come from Wuhan directly since news of this outbreak reached the level it did last Wednesday. The advice is clear to anybody who is worried about having coronavirus, and that is to call 111. If they have travelled to Wuhan or elsewhere in China recently, they should declare that to the 111 service when they call, and the 111 service has the full advice available. It is important for them to call 111 or to call their GP rather than going to a GP or to A&E, for exactly the reason that we want people to self-isolate if they have been to the region or if they think that they may have the virus.

I will now move on to the Bill. As we have been highlighting with the NHS work on the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, few things in life are certain. However, it is the job of Government to plan for the future, even though we cannot fully see it. We do not know for instance exactly how many babies will be born in four years’ time, but we can anticipate demand for maternity services. We do not know exactly how many people will make a 999 call in four years’ time, but we can and must plan for that. Indeed, we do not know if the Labour party will have a competent leader in four months’ time, let alone four years’ time, but I hope for the country’s sake to see the hon. Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth) on the Opposition Front Bench well into the next decade. There is one institution that, with this Bill, knows it will get the funding it needs in 2024, and that is the NHS, because this Bill injects the largest and longest cash settlement ever granted to the NHS and will enshrine it into law—£33.9 billion extra a year by 2024.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Seema Malhotra and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 15th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

One of my constituents, who is 17, seriously ill with breathing difficulties and in need of urgent specialist care, is waiting for a room to be available at the Royal Brompton. Is the Secretary of State aware of any delays and whether these have been caused by not having sufficient NHS facilities at the Royal Brompton to meet such urgent demand?

[Matt Hancock]

I have not heard any of the details of that case before now. If the hon. Lady will write to me, I will be very happy to talk to her and engage with her on what we can do for her constituent.

NHS Long-term Plan

Debate between Seema Malhotra and Matt Hancock

Monday 7th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, of course. I am sure the whole House will join me in passing on our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of my hon. Friend’s caseworker. He is doing right by her in raising that issue in the House. Of course we will keep working with those organisations, which do brilliant work. In fact, there is an event in the Commons tomorrow with Bloodwise, which the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Steve Brine), will attend.

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

Before Christmas, I attended the inaugural event of the Addie Brady Foundation, in memory of 16-year-old Addie, who died a year ago from a brain tumour—her second primary cancer. She was affected by a rare genetic condition called Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a feature of which is a high risk of cancer and repeat cancers. Her family, other families and an international panel of experts have been campaigning for a national screening programme for people suffering from Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Can the Secretary of State confirm whether his announcement today includes much needed Li-Fraumeni syndrome screening on the NHS, particularly for children, which would extend and save lives?

[Matt Hancock]

I will certainly take up the hon. Lady’s suggestion with Mike Richards, who is running a review of our screening programmes to ensure that they are all fit for purpose, run as effectively as possible and targeted at the right people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Seema Malhotra and Matt Hancock

Thursday 24th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

We are making the skills system more rigorous and responsive to need, but schools have a duty to secure careers advice. I want that advice to be inspirational and impartial, and to include more mentoring, especially from people who have real jobs, so that we can help each child to reach their potential.

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

Last week, I attended the Hounslow enterprise showcase, organised by Dawn Edwards and Isabel King from the Real Business Club, which was run with the support of the local jobcentre and Hounslow chamber of commerce. I spoke to three women from my constituency who were looking for advice on how to start or grow their businesses. Does the Secretary of State think that we need to do more to support women-led businesses, particularly as research shows that the UK has a higher gender gap in entrepreneurship than many of the OECD countries?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Seema Malhotra and Matt Hancock

Thursday 20th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

17. What support he is providing for new business start-ups.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Skills (Matthew Hancock)]

There were 450,000 start-ups last year—54,000 more than in 2010, and the highest number on record.

[Seema Malhotra]

If women started businesses at the same rate as men start businesses, 150,000 extra businesses would start up in the UK each year, yet just 28% of those benefiting from the Government’s new enterprise allowance scheme are female. What Christmas present could the Minister give to women wanting to start businesses next year?

[Matthew Hancock]

We are extremely proud of the sharp rise in the number of start-ups under this Government, but we want to do more and to go further. If, as the hon. Lady says, women started businesses at the same rate as men, the number would rise still more. We are helping through the new enterprise allowance. We have extended start-up loans, and some of the brilliant schemes—such as the Peter Jones academy—that help young entrepreneurs to know what it takes to start a business are already having an effect. We are making rapid progress, but I want to do much more.