Jonathan Ashworth responds to Matt Hancock's statement on Coronavirus response

This virus thrives on inequalities. The most vulnerable without financial security are especially at risk. Can I urge him to abolish prescription charges for the duration of this outbreak, especially those with conditions such as Asthma?

We are very mindful of the mental health advice implications and are indeed deeply worried about the potential for increased domestic violence and abuse. What support will be available to on those two fronts in particular?

There must be clear unambiguous advice around which workers and can’t go out. We would call for just key workers to be able to go to work.

We have had reports of Sports Direct insisting workers turn up today. I’m told of warehouses insisting agency workers show up. We’ve seen construction sites not putting in social distancing measures. This is putting workers at risk and putting lives at risk. And when there is talk of fines for individuals who break social distancing rules, how about fines for those employers breaking the rules, putting lives at risk by still insisting employees go to work? My Rt.Hon. friend the Shadow Chancellor will be putting some points about income protection to the government in the debate later today.

Can I quickly turn to PPE. I understand the efforts the government has made but there are still NHS staff saying they have not got access to adequate PPE. We’ve got hospital chief execs saying they don’t have access to the FFP3 masks, not getting the visors and sanitisers they need on time and when they do get the masks, they’re a different mask to the previous set they used so they have to retrain staff. I really urge the government to move heaven and earth now to get the PPE to staff now that they need. And also we need PPE in social care.

We are hearing of Covid-19 outbreaks in a care homes. What protections are in place for residents? When will social care staff get the PPE they urgently need?

Madam Deputy Speaker, enforced social distancing is welcome but it is a blunt tool - without ramping up testing and contact tracing we will not suppress and defeat this virus. We are still only testing around 5,000 a day. We still don’t have community testing, we still aren’t testing enough NHS staff.

The WHO keep telling us ‘test, test, test.’

Leaked emails today suggest the government on Sunday was asking research institutions to borrow testing kits because, in the words of the Prime Minister, ‘there are no machines available to buy’. If that is the case, our constituents and NHS staff will ask why we didn’t procure the machines and kits sooner.

On intensive care capacity there were reports today that the Excel centre would be turned into a field hospital with 5000 beds, there were reports today that NHS staff ratios in intensive care were being relaxed – we understand that given the staffing demands we are facing – but if we are setting up more field hospitals can he tell me what oversight will there will be and also that of course that means that more of our specialist staff will be stretched further. Can he tell us what guidance will be in place?

How beds are now open and how may more will be opened, how many ventilators have now been purchased, and what current ECMO capacity there is?

Overnight there have been questions about access to abortion care, will the government take step in the lords to ensure women can continue to access such care through this crisis?

Our constituents are worried and fearful.

I hope the Secretary of State understands that when we put these questions to him, we do so because we want this national effort to contain the virus to succeed.