The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Sajid Javid)
With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to update the House on
covid-19. Since the UK became the first country to approve a
vaccine against covid-19, almost exactly a year ago, we have been
locked in a race between the virus and the vaccine. The success of
our national vaccination programme has moved us ahead in that race,
but now, with the new omicron variant, we have to work even harder
to stay ahead....Request free trial
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to update the House on
covid-19.
Since the UK became the first country to approve a vaccine
against covid-19, almost exactly a year ago, we have been locked
in a race between the virus and the vaccine. The success of our
national vaccination programme has moved us ahead in that race,
but now, with the new omicron variant, we have to work even
harder to stay ahead.
Since last week, we have learned two things about this variant.
The first is that no variant of covid-19 has spread this fast.
There are now 4,713 confirmed cases of omicron in the UK. The UK
Health Security Agency estimates that the current number of daily
infections are around 200,000. While omicron represents more than
20% of cases in England, we have already seen it rise to over 44%
in London, and we expect it to become the dominant covid-19
variant in the capital in the next 48 hours.
There are currently 10 confirmed people in England who have been
hospitalised with omicron. It is vital that we remember that
hospitalisations and deaths lag infections by around two weeks,
so we can expect those numbers to increase dramatically in the
days and weeks ahead. In preparation, the UK’s four chief medical
officers raised the covid alert level to 4—its second highest
level—over the weekend. NHS England has just announced that it
will return to its highest level of emergency preparedness—level
4 national incident. This means that the NHS response to omicron
will be co-ordinated as a national effort rather than led by
individual trusts.
The second thing we have learned in the past week is that two
jabs are not enough to prevent symptomatic infection from
omicron, but a third dose—a booster dose—provides strong
protection, with analysis by the UK Health Security Agency
showing a third dose is 70% effective at preventing symptomatic
infection. We expect the booster to take effect more quickly than
the second dose. We are already running the most successful
booster campaign in Europe. More than four in 10 UK adults have
now received a third dose or booster and Saturday was a record,
with more than half a million boosters given across the UK.
However, with the race between the virus and the vaccine so
close, we must move faster. Two weeks ago, we announced that we
would offer every eligible adult a booster by the end of January.
In response to the omicron emergency—and as the Prime Minister
announced yesterday evening—we are bringing that target forward
by a month and launching the omicron emergency boost. We have
opened the booster programme to every adult who has had a second
dose of the vaccine at least three months ago to offer them the
chance of getting their booster before the new year. From this
morning, anyone over 18 can walk into a vaccination centre and,
from Wednesday, they can book online via the NHS website. The UK
Government will also provide whatever support is needed to
accelerate vaccinations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We have the jabs. The challenge now is to get them into arms.
To meet our ambitious target, the NHS will need to deliver a
record number of jabs. Until now, the highest number of jabs we
have delivered in a single day in the UK was more than 840,000.
We will not only need to match that, but beat it every day. We
can, and we have a plan to try and do it. We are opening more
vaccination sites—including pop-up and mobile sites—and they will
be working seven days a week. We are training thousands more
volunteer vaccinators. We are asking GPs and pharmacies to do
more, and we are drafting in 42 military planning teams across
every region of our country.
This collective national mission will only succeed if we all play
our part. Those who have not had their booster should find their
local walk-in vaccination centre or book an appointment on the
NHS website from Wednesday. Those who have had their booster jab
should encourage their friends and family to do the same. Those
who have or have recently had covid should wait 28 days from
their positive result to get their booster.
To those who have not yet had their vaccine at all, I would like
to say this: whatever has held you back in the past, please think
again, and book your jab as quickly as possible. By acting
together to get boosted now we can protect ourselves against
omicron this winter.
I acknowledge that our national mission comes with some difficult
trade-offs. We are redeploying NHS staff away from non-urgent
services. That means that, for the next two weeks, all primary
care services will focus on urgent clinical need and vaccines,
and some non-urgent appointments and elective surgeries may be
postponed until the new year while we prioritise getting people
the booster. These are steps that no Health Secretary would wish
to take unless they were absolutely necessary, but I am convinced
that if we do not prioritise the booster now, the health
consequences will be far more grave in the months that lie
ahead.
Our omicron emergency boost is a major step, but I am not going
to pretend that this alone will be enough to see us through the
difficult weeks ahead. Because of the threat of omicron, we are
moving to plan B in England, subject to the will of this House.
That means that: we must use face coverings in indoor public
places; people should work from home if they can; and, from
Wednesday—again subject to this House’s approval—people will need
to show a negative lateral flow test to get into nightclubs and
large events, with an exemption for the double-vaccinated. Once
all adults have had a reasonable chance to get their booster jab,
we intend to change that exemption to require a booster dose.
Even with plan B, we still have far fewer restrictions in place
than Europe. I can also confirm that from tomorrow, fully
vaccinated contacts of a covid-19 case will now be able to take
daily lateral flow tests instead of self-isolating. This is a
vital way to minimise the disruption to people’s daily lives and
to avoid a so-called pingdemic. I can assure this House that the
UK has sufficient lateral flow tests to see us through the coming
weeks. If anyone finds that they are unable to get a kit online,
they should check the website the following day or they can pop
down to their local pharmacy and pick up a kit. From today, I can
confirm that the NHS covid pass is being rolled out to 12 to
15-year-olds for international travel, allowing even more people
to be able to prove their vaccine status for travel where it is
needed. [Hon. Members: “When?”] From today. Taken together, these
are proportionate and balanced steps keeping the country moving
while slowing the spread of omicron and buying us more time to
get more boosters into arms.
We are also taking steps to keep people safe in adult social
care. We know that, sadly, people in care homes and those who
receive domiciliary care are more likely to suffer serious health
consequences if they get covid-19, so we are expanding our
specialist vaccination teams to get more boosters to the
vulnerable and those providing care. But even as we do so, we
must go further to protect colleagues and residents from omicron.
So we are increasing the frequency of staff testing and, with a
heavy heart, we must restrict every resident to just three
nominated visitors, not including their essential care giver.
This is a difficult step, and I understand that it comes with an
impact on physical and mental wellbeing, but we know from
previous waves that it is one of the most effective things that
we can do to protect vulnerable residents. We are also increasing
our workforce recruitment and retention fund with £300 million of
new money. This is in addition to the £162.5 million we announced
in October. The funds will help to pay bonuses, bring forward pay
rises for care staff, fund overtime, and increase workforce
numbers over the winter.
I know that hon. Members had hoped that the days of this kind of
covid-19 update were behind us. After our successful reopening in
the summer, it is not an update that I wanted to deliver. But the
renewed threat of omicron means that we have more work to do to
stay ahead of this virus. We can, if we all play our part, and
boosters are the key. We have achieved so many phenomenal things
over the last two years. I know we are weary, but it is on all of
us to pick up, to step up and do some phenomenal work once again
to play our part and to get boosted now. I commend this statement
to the House.
Mr Speaker
Can I suggest to the Secretary of State that we could be a pop-up
site for all the staff that work here to get them boosted?
16:22:00
(Ilford North) (Lab)
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his
statement.
Today we learned of the first death in the UK as a result of the
omicron virus, so on behalf of the whole House I send our
condolences to the friends and family of that person who has lost
their life. Their death puts this statement and the task at hand
in context. It is a stark reminder that the pandemic is not over,
that the new variant is a clear and serious risk to our public
health, and of the urgency of getting Britain boosted and
protecting us against this threat.
The Labour party will always act in the best interests of our
NHS, our public health, and our nation. Having repeatedly called
for the booster programme to be ramped up, we will give our full
support to this effort. Labour Members will make every effort to
get the message out that vaccines are the best tool we have at
our disposal to protect ourselves, those closest to us, and our
NHS. The target of getting 1 million people a day their booster
vaccine is unprecedented and may even prove impossible, but we
applaud the ambition. If anyone can do it, the NHS can, and the
whole country will be willing them on and will not knock them for
trying.
What people will not accept is the Government moving the
goalposts. The Prime Minister is now famous for over-promising
and under-delivering. In his televised address last night, he
said that people
“will have the chance to get their booster before the new
year.”
But, as we heard from the Secretary of State, the aim is instead
to “offer” the booster to every adult by the end of the month,
meaning that the delivery will wait until January or even
February. Are the Government rowing back on the target set
yesterday? If so, why has it changed overnight? What hope do we
have of achieving the necessary level of booster jabs if the
public and those delivering the vaccines are told one thing one
day and another the next day? The Prime Minister has got to learn
to be straight with people, because he is undermining public
trust and confidence in the Government and in public health
measures at a critical time. What discussions has the Secretary
of State had with local authorities, GPs, pharmacies and other
delivery partners who will be crucial to that effort?
Then there is the shambles of testing. I thought the Secretary of
State might be living on a different planet when he described the
availability of testing, because the Government’s website states
today that home testing kits are unavailable, pharmacies across
the country are out of stock and, even here in Parliament, no
home testing kits are available from Portcullis House. No doubt,
that is due to a surge in demand ahead of the new testing
requirements this week, but surely that should have been
foreseen. This is a serious problem. Those coming into contact
with positive omicron cases will not be able to follow the rules
and get themselves tested daily, those who require tests to
undertake home visits risk being left short, and many others need
them for work. How does the Secretary of State plan to ensure
that enough tests are in stock and available for everyone who
needs them, when they need them? When will the problem be
resolved? It does not appear that he was even aware of it.
Absent from the Prime Minister’s address last night was any plan
to speed up the vaccine roll-out for 12 to 15-year-olds. On
current trends, some teenagers will not receive their vaccine
until February, five months after the Government’s initial target
of October half-term. Children have already faced significant
disruption to their education, so will the Secretary of State
update the House on the vaccine roll-out for 12 to 15-year-olds?
Will they receive their vaccines by the end of the Christmas
holidays, as Labour has called for?
Of course, patients will be concerned by the news that
appointments will be delayed to accommodate the booster roll-out.
There is no doubt that the booster programme is the right
priority. If we do not get ahead of omicron, the pressure on the
NHS will be unbearable and the disruption to people’s
appointments in the new year will be severe. But, let us be
honest: the challenge is made so much greater as a direct result
of the Government’s mismanagement of the NHS for 11 years. We
went into the pandemic with record waiting lists and with
six-figure staff shortages in the health service and the care
sector. Where is the NHS workforce plan? Where is the plan for
the recovery of elective care? Why can the Government not
understand that their continued failure to fix social care is
piling even more pressure on the NHS at the worst possible time?
On social care visits, I ask the Secretary of State to think
again about limits on care home visits. That feels like the wrong
decision at the wrong time.
Mr Speaker, I will conclude, if I may, with some words directed
to the public. We on the Labour Benches realise that the Prime
Minister has tested patience by asking people to follow the rules
when No. 10 did not. The Prime Minister’s actions in recent weeks
have undermined trust at a critical moment. I say to people
feeling let down or lied to that I trust the chief medical
officer, I trust the chief scientific adviser and I trust the
NHS. The NHS might not lead by example, but the rest of us can,
and we—the Labour party—trust you, the British people, to do the
right thing to protect yourselves, to protect the ones you love
and to protect the NHS.
First, may I say that I heard your request, Mr Speaker? I am
happy to take that up with you directly, if that is okay. I thank
the hon. Gentleman for his support of the need to accelerate the
booster programme. I join him, as I am sure the whole House does,
in expressing condolences for the individual who was the first in
this country to die with the new variant.
I turn to the hon. Gentleman’s questions. First, he asked about
testing capacity. I would like to share more information with the
House. There is no shortage of tests held by UKHSA—tens of
millions of tests are in stock and millions are arriving each
week. The limiting factor, because of the hugely increased
demand—I am sure hon. Members understand why demand has suddenly
surged—is the ability to deliver tests. The current arrangements
with Royal Mail alone are not enough, but new arrangements have
been reached with Amazon and other delivery methods. There will
still be many hundreds of thousands—record numbers—delivered each
day, but also the number of access points is being increased,
including many more through pharmacies, and we are rapidly
looking at other access points. The hon. Gentleman is right to
raise this, but I hope he and others understand that there has
been a huge surge and increase, and this is not just about the
number of tests available but getting them through and delivered;
both are equally important.
The hon. Gentleman raised the issue of the booster programme
timing. He is right that just a couple of weeks ago the plan was
to give everyone a booster before the end of January. That was
after the change in advice from the Joint Committee on
Vaccination and Immunisation that the dosing gap should be
reduced to three months and that it should now include everyone
over 18. For the reasons I have explained and that the Prime
Minister shared in his national broadcast yesterday, we want to
bring that forward. That involves working hard with the NHS,
which has done phenomenal work already to reach four in 10 adults
with boosters and in the vaccination programme in general.
This is asking a huge amount of our colleagues in the NHS, and it
is our joint view that we can try to offer adults a chance to get
boosted by the end of this month. That does not mean every single
person can necessarily get that booster; it requires them to come
forward and take up the offer as well as everything going right
in this huge expansion plan. But again, I hope the hon. Gentleman
can respect that the NHS is doing everything it can, with the
full support of every Department of Government, and is throwing
everything at this to offer as many opportunities as it can and
the maximum possible capacity for delivering on that
commitment.
The hon. Gentleman also talked about the challenges facing the
NHS. I remind him and the House that this year the Government
have put an extra £34 billion into the NHS and social care, £5.4
billion of that in the second half of this year, and over the
next three years there is a commitment to at least £8 billion
extra going into the largest catch-up fund the NHS has ever seen.
In the last year almost 10,000 nurses and almost 3,000 doctors
have joined the NHS; the NHS is increasing workforce and
capacity, is looking at new ways to do electives, and is putting
a huge amount of effort into its electives programme and its
non-covid work as well.
Finally, I do understand what the hon. Gentleman said on adult
social care and the limit on visitors, and it is important to get
the balance right. We all know the problems and the sad deaths
not long ago in care homes with this pandemic, and it is right to
take balanced measures to protect people in care homes. We are
working with, and listening to, those who run care homes and
trying to take a balanced approach that allows visits to take
place but also protects vulnerable people.
(South West Surrey) (Con)
One year and five days ago the UK administered the first properly
approved covid vaccine in the world, and the Government are
absolutely right to focus on immunisation, but Israel approved
booster jabs for all adults in September, France approved jabs
for teenagers in June, both long before us, and the United States
has already approved jabs for five-year-olds, again long before
us. Is the Secretary of State worried that our regulators, having
been the nimblest in the world, are now taking too long? They are
brilliant scientists and they are rightly totally independent,
but what can he do to speed up this crucial decision making in a
pandemic?
My right hon. Friend makes an important point, from experience.
We can be proud of so much of what our regulators have achieved
and done. As he said, we were the first in the world to approve a
covid-19 vaccine, but he is right to challenge on this and ask
what more can be done, especially in light of the circumstances
we face. The JCVI is not a regulator but it is an important part
of the approvals process, and I hope he will also commend its
swift response since the emergence of omicron in changing the
rules around boosters.
(Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
(SNP)
It is worth putting on record that Scotland is the most
vaccinated nation in the UK, and I certainly encourage everybody
to continue to take up the booster. Does the Secretary of State
share my outrage that last week his Back Benchers were literally
cheering the proposition that he needs to wait until more people
are hospitalised before they will countenance the wearing of
masks in public places? That is absolutely reckless, and it sends
the wrong message to the public when we are trying to tell them
to take the risk of omicron seriously.
Tragically, we know that people are now being hospitalised and,
sadly, we have already recorded one death from omicron. Based on
evidence elsewhere, what kind of upward trajectory does the
Secretary of State think there will be in hospitalisations? Why
in the plan B measures being brought forward—all already in place
in Scotland—is there a pub exemption? That makes no sense.
Given that LFTs are only 50% accurate, what risk implications has
the Secretary of State assessed in using the LFTs to keep people
from self-isolating? Surely he needs to consider the minimum
being a PCR test, following the more cautious approach adopted by
the Scottish Government. Why, with LFTs as their key guidance,
have the Government put themselves in this ridiculous position of
the website saying it has run out of LFT kits?
If we are talking about supporting people to self-isolate, we
need to revisit and extend the levels of statutory sick pay. What
discussions has the Secretary of State had with the Chancellor
and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions about that?
Critically, does he support calls from the devolved nations that
they need Treasury support to put in place what restrictions they
believe are required to control the spread and impact of omicron
and support livelihoods at the same time?
The Scottish Government have already put in place more generous
rates relief for hospitality venues than the UK Government did
but, with trade dropping, suppliers and the trade itself need
further support, especially if further restrictions are required.
Will the Secretary of State take that up with the Chancellor? Is
the Cabinet considering support for the travel industry? Does he
agree that targeted sector restrictions, with full financial
support, is a better long-term strategy than the “all or nothing”
approach we seem to be taking, and praying that the booster
programme alone will be sufficient? It will need a lot more work
than just that alone.
The hon. Gentleman is right to point to the lag between the point
of infection and hospitalisation. That emphasises the need to act
early and strongly. That is why the booster programme and that
response is so important in Scotland, in England and throughout
the UK, and it is good that all four nations are working closely
together on it.
On lateral flow tests as an alternative to self-isolation, I
think they are the right approach. They can be taken daily, so
the individual is tested each day for seven days, whereas a PCR
would be a single test at a single moment. This is much more
flexible and it is based on advice Ministers have received. On
the hon. Gentleman’s questions on economic support, that is
something we keep under review.
Dame (South Northamptonshire)
(Con)
I congratulate the Government on the roll-out of the vaccination
programme—it is impressive—but what does my right hon. Friend say
to my constituent who says she is now less afraid of covid than
she is of intrusive and incoherent Government regulations?
I would say to my right hon. Friend that I hope her constituent
would appreciate that the Government have to act on the
information they see before them on the rate of spread of this
new variant and what we now know about its degree of vaccine
escape—not just to protect my right hon. Friend’s constituent,
but to protect that constituent’s loved ones and her
community.
(Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
May I say to the Secretary of State that I was deeply shocked,
when he was in this House recently and I said that all sensible
Members of Parliament will be supporting any measure to save
lives, to hear boos and catcalls from the Government Benches? I
will repeat my view: does he realise what great potential we have
as Members of Parliament in our communities, working for this,
rolling our sleeves up, working cross-party with local
councillors and volunteers? This House of Commons is a real
resource. Please, please will he use us effectively?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his call for all hon. Members to
do their bit to help the nation in this time of crisis. It is not
just about what we can all do in this House; I am sure he agrees
that it is about what we can do in our local communities.
(Harlow) (Con)
My right hon. Friend rightly talked about protecting the NHS. Can
I ask him to ensure that we protect our children as well and that
the Government set out a plan to keep schools open in January?
Given that The Sunday Times suggested that primary school
children will be vaccinated, will he or the Secretary of State
for Education make a statement about the vaccination programme
for younger children and ensure that there is 100% parental
consent?
I agree with my right hon. Friend on the importance of protecting
our children. We in this House all know how children have
suffered throughout the pandemic and the impact on their
education, mental health and socialisation with other children.
He is right to talk about that importance. One reason to take the
measures that we have set out, especially around expanding the
booster programme, is the ensure that we prioritise children. On
the issue of vaccinations for younger children aged five to 11,
the JCVI is considering that. When the Government hear back from
the JCVI on that, we will bring it to the House.
(Knowsley) (Lab)
I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. Having listened to
it and having studied the matter in some detail over the weekend,
I will be supporting the Government and the measures that they
are introducing tomorrow night. What would he say to those in the
community who are saying, “If the rule makers can’t be trusted to
obey their own rules, why should we?”
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his support. It is important
to emphasise that the rules that we are discussing—all rules of
any type, really, but he is talking about those around the
pandemic—are there for all of us and apply equally to all of
us.
(Bexhill and Battle) (Con)
GPs, particularly in rural areas, are finding it difficult and
challenging to deliver the booster programme, but will have to
deliver the booster in great numbers. Can the Secretary of State
look at measures that will speed up the flow for those GP
surgeries? Will he send a message to all patients that they will
need to be understanding in the next couple of weeks to ensure
that the morale of our GPs, who work so hard, is not
undermined?
My hon. Friend is right to talk about how hard GPs have worked
throughout the pandemic, and about the need to provide greater
support. We expect and need them to help with this big new
vaccination effort. There are already signs of many people
showing that they understand the need for GPs to reprioritise
over the next couple of weeks, which is important too.
(Warley) (Lab)
It is clear from the Secretary of State’s statement that he is a
considerable improvement on his predecessor, so I am sure that he
accepts that covid is now endemic and variants will probably
emerge for years, if not decades. In that case, surely by now,
instead of the erratic response that we have seen, we should have
a well-prepared plan of action and chain of command ready to be
activated as soon as a new variant is detected, as well as enough
supplies and trained personnel to operate it. Why does his
Department seem to be continually surprised by the arrival of
variants so that, instead of a smooth-running plan, we have chaos
and panic?
Well, there will be variants of covid-19 for many years, as the
right hon. Gentleman says—indeed, there have been many hundreds
of variants. No country in the world is better at the
surveillance of those variants; I remind him that the UK alerted
the world to the threat of omicron. No country is better
prepared, if we look at how swiftly the UK reacted—for example,
with international restrictions and the information that we
shared with the world about vaccines. I think he understands
those points, and I regret the way that he has framed the
question.
(Winchester) (Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. Many of my
constituents will be very surprised indeed to hear that, from
this morning, anyone over 18 can walk into a vaccination centre.
Will he give me an update on the Hampshire situation?
May I ask my right hon. Friend about the NHS covid pass being
rolled out to 12 to 15-year-olds? That is such a welcome
announcement; it is something the Secretary of State promised
this House he would bring back, and I thank him for that. How
exactly will it work? Many of my constituents will be travelling
within the next few days, and certainly within the next week and
over Christmas. How exactly will they be able to access this
pass, given that they cannot access the NHS app in the same way
that adults can?
I thank my hon. Friend for his remarks. He is right that the
covid pass is a very important measure. We will shortly publish
on the website exactly how it will work, but it is being rolled
out as a digital pass in the same way as it is working for
adults, starting today.
(Chesterfield) (Lab)
The Prime Minister addressed the nation yesterday, but what he
has not done is address the NHS in the same way. When I spoke at
4 o’clock to those in Derbyshire, they were unaware. They had had
no system letter from the Department of Health about
prioritisation of vaccines. They were unaware of whether the
quality outcomes framework payments were suspended. And they were
unaware that their winter access fund obligations had now been
suspended. Will the Secretary of State make sure that all our
health care providers are informed about these crucial matters,
which actually give reality to the delivery of his really
important messages on funding and priorities for the national
health service?
Yes. The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that this is a very
fast-moving situation. The NHS made the final decision to go on
the expansion—this expansion of the booster programme that I
referred to earlier—yesterday, and the system letter has gone out
today.
(Chingford and Woodford
Green) (Con)
First, I say to my right hon. Friend that it is welcome he has
come here today, but I am a bit concerned about the mixed and
heavy messaging coming from the Government, the unintended
consequences of which can be dire. I notice, as has my right hon.
Friend the Member for Harlow (), the Chairman of the
Education Committee, that the Centre for Social Justice has
produced a report about the huge damage done to young children,
particularly in the poorest communities, when schools start
locking down and shutting them out. Will the Secretary of State
please ensure that the message is clear to schools that they are
not to lock down?
Secondly, when I spoke this morning to GPs in my constituency, I
asked them, “What is the one thing that you would like the
Secretary of State to do now if you’ve got to get all these
people through?” They said, “Do we really need to have the
15-minute wait? Can we end that? We would triple our way through
this, and you would get it going straight away?” Will the
Secretary of State please act on that now?
First, I very much agree with my right hon. Friend on the
importance of never losing sight of potential unintended
consequences. He points to an excellent report by the Centre for
Social Justice, which looked at this in the light of past
actions. That is certainly not lost on me or my colleagues in
Government, but he is right to highlight that to the House once
again. I hope he agrees, however, with the messages we have set
out so far. They are measured and they are proportionate. The
focus should be on the booster campaign because that is our way
out of this. On the 15-minute wait, it is being very actively
looked at, and I am sure that I will have something more to say
on that very shortly.
(Worsley and Eccles South)
(Lab)
The Secretary of State says that there are millions of tests
available, but only nine local authorities out of the 153 across
England have access to a float stock of 500 PCR test kits to use
at their discretion, using local knowledge, to tackle covid
clusters before they become significant outbreaks. This is very
important to disrupt outbreaks and slow transmission, but it is
not available outside those nine pilot local authorities. Given
the importance of slowing transmission of the omicron variant,
will the Secretary of State agree to authorise the same float
stock of 500 PCR test kits to every director of public health and
every area, to give them the tools they need to fight this
variant?
I was referring to lateral flow tests earlier, but I think the
hon. Lady asked me about PCR tests. I will look into what she
said.
(Tatton) (Con)
Last week’s Ofsted report was damning about the impact lockdown
has had on our nation’s children and the immense harm students
have suffered, with the Children’s Commissioner saying that
schools should not close again. However, it seems that the
Government have left the door open to school closures after the
Christmas recess. What specific conditions would need to be met
for schools not to open in the new year?
I welcome that question from my right hon. Friend. What I would
say to her is that with the risk we see from omicron at this
point in time—the rise in infections, the increased risk of
hospitalisation and the information we have on vaccines—we think
we have taken the appropriate response. It is a balanced and
measured response. It is designed to protect so much of what we
love in our country, especially the interests of our children.
The most important thing to focus on now is the booster
programme.
(Liverpool, Wavertree)
(Lab)
First of all, I encourage everybody to be vaccinated and to have
the booster jab. I am delighted that the Secretary of State has
moved away from passports to people having an LFT if they cannot
show their covid pass. I thank Labour Front Benchers for the work
they have done, too. The Secretary of State talks about the
incredible work the NHS is doing and what it will do over the
next few weeks, but will he pause his plans for mandatory
vaccination of all NHS workers, have conversations with the trade
unions and come up with a plan for it to be by consent, rather
than mandatory?
First, I agree with the objection I think the hon. Lady had to
vaccine passports as a requirement for people to be vaccinated to
enter a high-risk venue. It is important that we focus on a test
requirement with an exemption if one happens to have the right
level of vaccination. On her question about mandatory NHS
vaccination, however, I am afraid I have to tell her we will not
pause what we have already announced, not least because—this is
the view of the NHS leadership as well—omicron has made it even
more urgent that we continue with it.
(Gainsborough) (Con)
Four weeks ago, I raised the matter of a family member who is
aged 90, completely bed-bound, vulnerable and at home, and had
still had no booster jab. I was promised action, but nothing has
happened and he is still waiting. I understand that there are
potentially hundreds of thousands of very old, very vulnerable
people trapped in their own home still waiting for a booster jab,
with carers coming in and out all day, yet we are now offering
booster jabs to 18-year-olds who have virtually no chance of
falling seriously ill. This is an absurd situation caused by
massive delays, bureaucracy and the ridiculous rule that a doctor
has to come and a nurse has to wait 20 minutes with the old
person, despite a minuscule risk of harm. We need action this
day. These people are in danger of dying. Will the Secretary of
State now act on behalf of very old people trapped in their own
home?
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this matter.
Those who are in care homes or homebound have been prioritised.
For example, I can tell him that I believe that, as of the end of
November, 97% of care homes had been visited by GPs or other
primary care teams to deliver vaccinations. In cases where they
could visit, that was because the care home itself had a
lockdown. They will all be revisited again and again. My right
hon. Friend asks specifically about people who are homebound. The
same approach is being taken. We will absolutely ensure that
every single one of those people—as he rightly says, they are
more vulnerable than others—get a visit and get their booster
jab.
Ms Anum Qaisar (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
I had a busy weekend: on Saturday I got my booster jab from
Margaret, a hard-working staff member from NHS Lanarkshire—I
highly encourage everyone to get jabbed and boosted—and yesterday
I met my hon. Friend the Member for East Dunbartonshire (), a hard-working and
dedicated Member of this House. It is an utter shambles that she
is unable to speak and vote, but she is doing a power of work in
her constituency. She is an inspiration to us all.
Given the danger of this new variant, does the Secretary of State
agree that the House should follow the lead of the Scottish
Parliament and move to virtual proceedings, or at least hybrid
proceedings, to protect vulnerable Members and their families and
to set a positive example of working from home?
That is not a matter for my Department.
(Forest of Dean) (Con)
Mr Deputy Speaker, you will be aware that a couple of days ago
the Department of Health and Social Care published something on
social media that jumped the gun on the decision the House is
being asked to take tomorrow. It is welcome that the Secretary of
State intervened, saying:
“No law is decided until Parliament votes on it. I’ve asked for
this graphic to be deleted”.
Of course that is not entirely true, because most covid laws,
including the mask mandate, have come into force before
Parliament voted on them.
This morning the Prime Minister refused three times to rule out
further restrictions being imposed before Christmas. I will not
ask the Secretary of State to contradict the Prime Minister, but
if the Government do decide to announce further restrictions
before Christmas, or indeed after Christmas, will he assure me
from the Dispatch Box that this House will be recalled to debate
and vote on the measures? It is not acceptable to keep governing
this country by decree; the Government have to involve Members. I
agree with what the Secretary of State said about using Members
of Parliament; that means involving us in decisions and getting
this House to make the laws. He will then find there is much more
of a team approach, rather than decrees and late-night television
addresses without taking the House seriously.
I am not aware of any plans for any further restrictions. As I
told the House from this Dispatch Box last week, we are focused
on the regulations that are coming before the House and will be
subject to the will of the House. We will see if they are
approved.
My right hon. Friend asked for an assurance, and I will take that
back to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.
(St Albans) (LD)
Eighteen weeks ago, on 9 August, I asked the Government what
assessment they had made of using community pharmacies. The
response, in full, said:
“No assessment has been made.”
Nine weeks ago, on 22 October, I asked the Government whether
covid-secure transport would be available, so that the clinically
extremely vulnerable could go for their booster jab appointments.
The Government said they had made no assessment.
Six weeks ago, I asked the Government for guidance to the
clinically extremely vulnerable. I asked them to sort out the
confusion between third primary doses and booster jabs, and two
weeks ago, on the same day that the British Medical Journal
published data showing that omicron is more transmissible, I
asked the Government whether they will renew contact-tracing
funding for local authorities. A week later, they said they were
still assessing it.
Will the Secretary of State apologise for the shocking levels of
complacency in rolling out the booster programme over the past
four months? And will he now apologise to all the patients who
will have their treatment cancelled as a result of these new
announcements?
No, I will not apologise for speeding up the booster programme to
protect the health of the British public, and I will not
apologise for asking the NHS to make it a priority. If the hon.
Lady believes we should not be vaccinating people in this
country, why does she not just say so?
(New Forest East) (Con)
It has been suggested more than once that, when deaths with covid
are announced each day, it should simultaneously be stated how
many of them were of unvaccinated people or of people with
underlying health conditions or other specific vulnerabilities.
Will the Secretary of State now undertake to do that? Did he
notice, as I and no doubt others did, that the Prime Minister
said this morning that one person in the UK had died with
omicron, but the shadow Secretary of State said the death was a
result of the virus. Does the Secretary of State know which
version is correct?
My right hon. Friend is right to point to the distinction
between, sadly, people who die with covid and those who die of
covid. There is a difference. I have come to the Dispatch Box
before to say, certainly with the delta variant—we do not have
enough data on omicron yet for reasons that he will
understand—that, as I am told by the NHS, approximately 20% of
the people in hospital who have covid are there because they
happen to have covid, rather than them being there because of
covid.
(Rhondda) (Lab)
Why are PCR tests so expensive in the UK? Why is the UK the
second most expensive place in the world to have a PCR test? Why
does the Government website still advertise PCR tests for £15 or
£20 when they are not available anywhere in the UK for £15 or
£20? Why are such PCR tests still being advertised given that,
when someone goes through to the company concerned, the test ends
up being £50, £60, £70, £80, £120 or £150? Is there not something
that we can do to get the price of these tests down? A family
going on holiday at Christmas or new year could end up spending
£1,000 to £1,500 just on the tests.
The UKHSA has removed many so-called providers of PCR tests from
the listing on the Government website. It has set a minimum price
that must be met to try to avoid misleading prices. Unlike some
other countries, we have not chosen to subsidise the cost of
private PCR tests, because we have rightly concentrated our
resources on the PCR tests that are available for people
domestically if they have symptoms.
(Newton Abbot) (Con)
The extended vaccine roll-out is welcome to prevent infection,
but given that this puts even more pressure on resources, what
steps have the Government taken in tandem to increase capacity in
the NHS to address the increasing demand from both covid and
non-covid patients? I know that the Army is being brought in, but
what about Nightingale hospitals? Might they be reinstituted?
Will we look again at the pension challenge, which stops senior
people staying in the profession? Will we look at accelerating
the training programmes for our health professionals, as other
countries have? Will we create new health professionals with
shorter training programmes? Action is needed now to deal with
the capacity issue.
My hon. Friend is right to talk about the importance of
increasing capacity. The pandemic has brought that acutely to the
front of our minds. There has been significant investment since
the pandemic started, particularly in certain types of capacity,
such as intensive care units, PPE and oxygen, as well as
personnel, with some 10,000 nurses and 3,000 doctors added over
the last year. As a result of the omicron emergency, we are
revisiting the issue of how we can further increase the temporary
capacity.
(Newcastle upon Tyne
North) (Lab)
NHS data in November showed that 98% of the pregnant women in
hospital with covid were unvaccinated. Pregnant women want to do
the right thing to protect themselves and their babies, but there
has been a lack of clarity and a lack of prioritisation for
vaccines for this group of people. Will the Secretary of State
set out what the Government will do to send the message loud and
clear that vaccination uptake for pregnant women and their babies
is a priority for the Government?
It absolutely is. Work on this is being led by Lucy Chappell, in
particular, in my Department and the UKHSA. One of the central
focuses of her work has been to encourage more pregnant women to
come forward and take up the offer of the vaccine. As the hon.
Lady says, sadly, when we look at the data on pregnant women who
are going into hospital because of covid infections, we see that
almost all of them are unvaccinated.
(Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for the speed and
efficiency with which he, the Government and the NHS are rolling
out the booster programme. Does he share my concern that the
roll-out of the programme is somewhat slower in Wales? There is
no access to walk-in centres, no online booking system and the
local health boards are depending on Royal Mail when the postal
system is under the greatest pressure because of Christmas and
because of staff off with covid. Will he agree to share the
expertise and capacity that the UK Government have built up in
the most positive way with the devolved
Administrations—specifically with the Welsh Government —so that
my constituents can receive the same access as his?
I very much agree: the omicron emergency is UK-wide and all parts
of the UK should respond by increasing whatever they are doing on
the booster programme further. I think that that view is shared
throughout the UK. We will provide more support to Wales,
Northern Ireland and Scotland to make sure that they can increase
their booster programmes.
(Nottingham South)
(Lab)
Testing and self-isolating are vital in preventing transmission,
but for people in precarious jobs who are struggling to make ends
meet, it can be incredibly worrying and difficult. Why have the
Government still not fixed sick pay so that everyone is properly
supported to do the right thing, including those who might be
worried about getting their vaccination or booster due to
possible side effects and the need to take time off work?
We of course keep under review the support that is available
throughout the pandemic. It is important that the House decided
to extend the availability of sick pay from day one. There is
also a hardship fund that is administered by local
authorities.
(Bosworth) (Con)
I commend the Health Secretary for bringing forward the boosters
and aiming so high to get them out. One of the key things is to
make sure that we have enough vaccinators and staff to do it, as
well as volunteers. In that vein, will he ask the integrated care
systems—all 42 of them—to review the bureaucracy they have around
signing people up to give vaccinations, and potentially even to
allow people from GP practices to work in hospitals and vice
versa, because one of the practical issues over the past year has
been that people have been turned away or have lost interest
because of the paperwork around vaccinating. Given the challenge
ahead, I would be grateful if he considered asking for that
approach.
My hon. Friend speaks with great experience, and he is right to
ask how the training programme for vaccinators, especially
volunteer vaccinators, can be streamlined. That work is going on
at urgent speed both within the NHS—within the ICSs—and in
support of the fantastic work that St John Ambulance has been
doing in this space.
(Lewisham, Deptford)
(Lab)
I have asked the Secretary of State on numerous occasions about
antibody testing for immunocompromised people. His answer has
been about antivirals for when people get covid. Has he looked
into giving immunocompromised people antibody tests so that we
have a clear picture of who will need the antivirals quickly if
they get covid?
My understanding is that antibody tests are available for the
immunocompromised and the clinically extremely vulnerable if that
is what their consultant believes is necessary.
(South West Wiltshire)
(Con)
I declare my interest as a vaccinator. I support the level of
ambition that the Secretary of State has articulated, but does he
distinguish between being offered a jab and actually getting a
jab? Someone can be offered a hip replacement, but it does not
mean they will get it any time soon.
First, I thank my right hon. Friend for being a vaccinator and
for all the work he has done personally to help this country get
through the pandemic. Of course there is a distinction—he is
absolutely right. The NHS can offer an individual a jab—they
might receive an email or a text saying, “Please come forward.
Either book or walk in. You are eligible.”—but the individual has
to come forward and take up that offer. That is why a huge amount
of effort—even more effort than before—will go into persuading
people to come forward.
(Halton) (Lab)
May I ask the Secretary of State why the Government have no
coherent plan for dealing with delays to elective surgery and
treatment? I say that because I asked some parliamentary
questions about what impact the recently announced Government
funding will have on waiting times over the next three years, but
the answer said that no estimate has been made at this time. I
then asked what assessment has been made about private sector
capacity. Again, I was told that no estimate has been made. I ask
the Secretary of State: where is the plan to deal with the huge
backlog of elective treatment? Macmillan estimates that there are
50,000 missing cancer diagnoses in the UK and that 32,000 people
are waiting for their first cancer treatment in England.
I remind the hon. Gentleman that the Government have already
announced the biggest catch-up fund for electives that the
country has ever seen in order to deal with that challenge..
There is an extra £2 billion for the second half of this year and
a minimum of £8 billion over the next three years, and the NHS is
working on a detailed plan which will be published as soon as it
is ready.
(Wealden) (Con)
The Health Secretary should be very proud of our world-leading
vaccination programme, and I join the Secretary of State in
sending those who are anxious the message that they should come
forward and get their vaccinations.
This morning, breakfast telly was being broadcast from the Buxted
Medical Centre, a GP surgery in my constituency, where huge
anxiety was being expressed about how NHS staff would cope with
delivering the vaccinations. I am extremely anxious about the
statutory instrument that is mandating vaccinations for NHS
staff, because I believe it means that 126,000 of them will leave
the sector. Is this the right decision, when NHS staff are
already saying that they are working all the hours God gives?
We will debate the SI in the House, and I shall be happy to talk
more about it then, but I think that the number to which my hon.
Friend referred is the number of people whom the NHS estimated to
remain unvaccinated at the time when the Government said they
were going ahead with the SI. I am pleased to inform her that
since then the number has fallen. Tomorrow I will come to the
House with the latest figure that we have, but it is improving
all the time. When we introduced a similar measure in the
residential care home sector, we saw the number of unvaccinated
people fall day by day as more and more of them had positive
engagement and took up the offer of a vaccine.
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
When the transmission rate of omicron is twice that of delta and
we are asking people to work from home, why are we also telling
them that they can go out and socialise in venues unmasked,
although the contact tracing data from last December shows that
it is in those social spaces that there are high levels of
transmission?
This is about having a balanced and proportionate response, and
that is the approach that the Government have taken. It is about
recognising that while these restrictions help to slow the rate
of spread, they also have a real impact on people’s lives.
(Stafford) (Con)
I welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement that booster
vaccines were to be offered to all adults, and I was grateful for
the opportunity to receive mine last week at Stafford’s St
George’s Hospital, but to defeat the new covid-19 variant we need
to vaccinate as many people as possible, so may I urge the
Secretary of State to open a walk-in vaccination centre in
Stafford?
I congratulate my hon. Friend on getting boosted. She may have
heard me say earlier that we will be opening many more walk-in
and pop-in centres. I have heard her representation and so has
the vaccines Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash
(), and we will certainly try
to make that happen.
My hon. Friend the Member for Winchester () asked me earlier about proof
of vaccination for children. Let me make it clear that although
the proof will take the form of a letter, it can be ordered
online. The digital pass access will come later.
(Liverpool, Riverside)
(Lab)
The contain outbreak management fund is a vital resource used by
local authorities and directors of public health, but it is due
to end in March 2022. Can the Secretary of State tell us whether
it will in fact continue beyond that date, and also whether it
will be increased to support local authorities?
It is an important fund, and I will look into that.
(Basingstoke) (Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend for everything that he and his whole
team are doing in what are incredibly challenging circumstances.
Can I bring him back to the specific issue of access to booster
appointments? He said in his statement that the booster roll-out
was now a national programme rather than being locally led. Our
local GP teams are doing a fantastic job, but will this
difference in approach mean that more pharmacies, such as those
in Basingstoke, will be able to be part of the booster roll-out
in a way that they have not been to date?
The booster and vaccination programme is a national programme,
but it is locally delivered. My right hon. Friend is right to
point to improving local delivery in her area by having more
pharmacists involved, and I can give her the assurance that part
of our plan is to involve hundreds more pharmacists. The good
news is that they are incredibly keen, so that is exactly what I
expect to happen.
(Exeter) (Lab)
I thank the Secretary of State and his Vaccines Minister for
finally sorting out the problem of the under-18s not being able
to access their proof of vaccination. Will he assure me that this
will be operational in time for the end of the school term this
week? On travel more generally, he agreed with me last week that
once omicron became widespread here, the draconian, costly and
complex travel rules that he introduced two weeks ago to prevent
omicron from coming here would be “pointless”, to quote my word,
so why are they still in place?
On the right hon. Gentleman’s question about the under-18s, the
proof of vaccination for travel is available from today. The
individual or the parent can go online and request it, and it
comes in the form of a letter, which is perfectly acceptable to
all the countries that we are aware of that require it. On his
question on the current travel restrictions, he makes a very good
point. Given that the omicron variant is fast becoming the
dominant variant in our capital city and spreading rapidly
throughout the country, the justification for having those rules
is minimised. This is something that I have already raised with
my colleagues in the Department for Transport, and I hope that we
can act quickly.
(Darlington) (Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend for the measures to enable travel
for the 12 to 15 age group, which will be particularly welcomed
by the Wray family in my constituency who are travelling tomorrow
on what is possibly their last family holiday together. Will he
clarify whether a person who is isolating today can switch to
daily testing from tomorrow? Also, what plans does he have to
extend the opening hours of the walk-in vaccination centres, such
as the one at St Thomas’ Hospital just across the river, which
will close at 8 pm tonight?
First, I hope that the Wray family will have many more holidays.
No one wants this to be their last holiday as a family, but I am
pleased that they can go ahead with their plans and that they
will be able to access that proof for their children today. On
the question of daily contact testing, I can confirm that people
who are vaccinated—they have to be vaccinated—and isolating today
will be able to move from isolation into daily contact testing
from tomorrow, subject to the will of the House. On the opening
hours, they will be increased, certainly for all the large
vaccination centres. The minimum will be 12 hours, but many of
them will be going way beyond that.
(Blaydon) (Lab)
The aim is to get high numbers given their booster through the
booster programme by the end of the year. How will the Secretary
of State ensure that inequalities are not generated by the push
for numbers rather than need? I am thinking of those who may not
be able to access the various systems digitally and those in
areas of health inequalities.
The hon. Lady raises an important point. Need is more important
than the actual overall numbers. Of course we want to see the
numbers increase, but the focus should always be on the most
vulnerable first. The NHS will ensure that that happens through
the work that is being done especially by GPs to ensure an
increase in the number of homebound visits and visits to care
homes and the more vulnerable people in society.
(South West Bedfordshire)
(Con)
Is not the lesson from this pandemic that early and proportionate
action saves lives and ends up preserving more, not fewer, of our
freedoms and that it is strongly supported by the silent majority
of the British people?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is exactly the purpose
of the plans we have set out and the measures we will be debating
in the House tomorrow, and also of the action we are taking on
the booster programme to get more people protected so that they
can enjoy their freedoms.
(Greenwich and Woolwich)
(Lab)
To my frustration, it was only immediately prior to this
statement that I was able to obtain a copy of the regulations we
are voting on tomorrow, so could the Secretary of State provide
me with clarity with regard to mandatory passes, in two respects?
First, will an individual no longer be able to demonstrate their
covid status on the basis of natural immunity via a positive PCR
test as regards accessing these high-risk venues? Secondly, can
he reassure me that those who do not have access to computers or
smartphones will still be able to apply for and obtain an NHS
covid pass letter to gain access to the venues he has in
mind?
There will be two ways to access high-risk events, be it a
nightclub or larger events. The main way will be to take a
lateral flow test and get a negative result, which would need to
be registered through the NHS website and the proof could be
through the pass or a text message result, for example. There
will be an exemption from that for someone who is
double-vaccinated. The proof of vaccination can also be given
through the letter process.
(Blackpool North and
Cleveleys) (Con)
A constituent of mine has both anaphylaxis and urticaria. She has
been told that she cannot be medically vaccinated. Amid all the
talk about second doses and third doses, she cannot access even
her first dose. What assurances can the Secretary of State give
her regarding access to non-invasive forms of vaccination?
My hon. Friend asks a very important question. The rules around
the need to be vaccinated, whether for passes or otherwise, do
not apply to anyone who is medically exempt. Many people have
received exemption certificates directly from their GP. That is
the best route. Some individuals have called 111 and received
advice. If I can be of direct assistance to my hon. Friend, then
of course I will help.
(Sefton Central) (Lab)
I thank the NHS staff and volunteers at the vaccination centres
in my constituency, including at the one at Aintree racecourse
and at the one at Holy Rosary, where my wife and I had our
booster jabs in the past few days. There is low vaccine take-up
in some communities in the Liverpool city region, as in
communities across the country. The Secretary of State has told
us many times from the Dispatch Box, as did his predecessor, that
nobody is protected until everybody is protected. Will he make
sure that the resources go to those areas of the country where
vaccine take-up is low and additional resources are needed so
that our public health directors and teams, and the NHS, have
everything they need to protect everybody through the vaccination
programme?
Yes, I agree wholeheartedly. Over the past hour or so we have,
understandably, talked a lot about the importance of the booster
programme, but it is still hugely important that we continue to
focus on those that currently remain unvaccinated.
(Gloucester) (Con)
I welcome the news that a daily lateral flow test will replace
self-isolation for those in contact with a covid case. I welcome
the extension of the travel pass to 12 to 15-year-olds. I
especially welcome the Secretary of State’s confirmation that a
lateral flow test is the clear alternative to being jabbed for
access to any venue and any event, so there is no reason for
anyone to contact us asking us to vote against a “vaccine
passport”. What would he say to those who have recently had
covid, been told by the NHS that they should not have a PCR test
for three months and then need to travel abroad for work
purposes? What should they say when asked for proof of a negative
PCR test?
I very much agree with my hon. Friend’s first remarks. This House
is not being presented with a vaccine passport. That is not on
the table. It is not in any regulation. The Government have been
absolutely clear that when we talk about access to nightclubs or
large and very large gatherings—very targeted events—the
requirement is to take a free lateral flow test and make sure it
is negative. If people do not want to do that, they can prove
their vaccine status. It is up to that individual. That is what
it is. It is not a vaccine passport, and the sooner we get rid of
that misleading description of what the Government are proposing,
the better. On the question that my hon. Friend has asked, I want
to ensure I get the answer right, so if he will allow me, I will
look into that and get back directly to him.
(Ellesmere Port and Neston)
(Lab)
My constituent Lexi is seven years old and has heart and lung
conditions that mean she is clinically extremely vulnerable and
has been home-schooled since the start of the pandemic. Her
parents are understandably desperate for her to get vaccinated
and to get back into school. I understand that it is the JCVI’s
decision as to when that will take place, but can the Secretary
of State give us some idea of what information the JCVI is
waiting for, when it is likely to make a decision and whether he
is doing everything in his power to hurry it up to make the
decision that Lexi’s parents so desperately need?
I understand the situation that the hon. Gentleman describes, and
there will be others across the country in a similar situation,
so we understand the importance of this issue. The JCVI, as he
says, is looking at this, which I confirmed earlier, but I say to
the hon. Gentleman that before we can deploy any vaccine in any
particular age group, it needs to be approved by our independent
regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory
Agency, as safe and effective. At this point in time, we do not
have that approval. The MHRA is actively looking at this, but
those two things are crucial before Ministers can make a
decision.
(Bath) (LD)
I, too, had my booster vaccine last week. It was easy, and I had
five different options near me, but that was here in London and
after weeks of unsuccessfully trying in Bath to find anything
near me or anything that was convenient with the times I had
available. That is the experience of all my constituents in Bath.
When will we have services that match those available here in
London in constituencies such as Bath?
It is an important to make sure that capacity is increased
throughout the country. I am pleased that the hon. Member has got
boosted, by the way, but she is right to say that she, like her
constituents, should be able to get it closer to home. With the
plans that we have announced recently, and especially with the
plans from this morning, I am confident that there will be many
more opportunities to get boosted in Bath.
|
