Covid-19 Response

Suzanne Webb Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

We have set out the five tests that need to be met before relaxation. We will only do that cautiously and carefully. I would sign up to it only if it were safe to do so. The hon. Lady raises the issue of schools. It is very clear that the number of children who are badly affected by this disease is very, very, very small. It is a tiny proportion of the overall total. This disease reserves its power and its risk mostly for the elderly. The proposals that we have made for schools are safe and they are sensible. There clearly needs to be collaborative work to ensure that they can happen, because there are also risks to children, especially some of the most vulnerable children, of not going to school.

[Suzanne Webb (Stourbridge) (Con) [V]]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his incredible hard work and determination to get us through this crisis and for helping to save many lives in my constituency. Will he join me in thanking some of the amazing groups and organisations in my constituency of Stourbridge, such as staff at Russells Hall hospital, Mary Stevens hospice and our care homes, community pharmacists, volunteers, and all those unsung heroes who continue to work day in, day out, saving lives and supporting the most vulnerable?

[Matt Hancock]

I would be very happy and honoured to join my hon. Friend in thanking the staff at Russells Hall hospital and at Mary Stevens hospice, at the care homes and the community pharmacists, and indeed the volunteers of Stourbridge, who have come together. There have been many terrible things about this disease, but there have also been some heartwarming things. The dedication of staff and volunteers alike to coming to the aid of others is one of the things that the whole nation has been proud to see.