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Covid-19 Update
22 July 2021
Lead MP
Nadhim Zahawi
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
NHSEmployment
Other Contributors: 35
At a Glance
Nadhim Zahawi raised concerns about covid-19 update in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
Apologies were offered on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Nadhim Zahawi, due to their inability to make a statement regarding the NHS staff pay review body's recommendation of a 3% increase. The Minister acknowledged the importance of the issue but did not provide further details on the specific funding or implementation plans at this time.
Jon Ashworth
Lab
Question
Ashworth asked whether all health staff would receive a 3% pay rise, particularly junior doctors who have endured intense working conditions during the pandemic. He also inquired about the exclusion of care workers from this settlement and their eligibility for real living wage increases.
Jon Ashworth
Lab
Question
Ashworth questioned how the NHS would fund a 3% pay increase, given that trusts are uncertain about their future budgets. He also asked whether the Government planned to break its manifesto pledge regarding national insurance hikes.
Jon Ashworth
Lab
Question
Regarding the so-called pingdemic, Ashworth inquired about the availability of PCR testing capacity amidst rising infections and whether the Government could guarantee that such tests would be available for those exempt from isolation.
Jon Ashworth
Lab
Question
Ashworth asked about extending statutory sick pay to lower-paid workers, and whether the Government was considering measures to increase vaccination rates among younger adults. He also questioned the logic behind vaccine passports for nightclubs but not schools.
Jon Ashworth
Lab
Question
Finally, Ashworth inquired about the Government's proposal for reopening schools in September and whether they would consider measures such as installing air filtration units or bringing back mask-wearing.
Jon Ashworth
Lab
Question
The MP questions the adequacy of the NHS pay settlement, highlighting exclusions like junior doctors. He also inquires about funding sources for the £2.2 billion cost and raises concerns over PCR testing capacity amidst rising infections.
Minister reply
The Minister confirms that the 3% pay rise applies to 1 million NHS staff, including nurses, paramedics, consultants, and salaried GPs, with junior doctors receiving an 8% multi-year pay rise. He also addresses concerns about PCR testing capacity, stating it currently stands at 640,000 tests per day.
Jeremy Hunt
Con
Godalming
Question
The MP questions the decision on NHS pay settlement and inquires if funding will come from cuts to other parts of the NHS budget or a new national insurance rise for health and social care.
Minister reply
The Minister confirms that the NHS has received an historic settlement with over £27 billion provided since the start of the pandemic, including £9.7 billion so far for 2021-22. He also reiterates the Government's commitment to funding social care and ensuring public compliance with self-isolation requirements.
Central Ayrshire
Question
Asked the Minister about vaccine supplies for younger adults, mandatory vaccination, and potential surges in COVID-19 cases leading to hospitalisations. She also questioned the Government's lack of planning regarding contingencies should restrictions need to be reintroduced.
Minister reply
The Minister assured that there would be sufficient Pfizer and Moderna vaccines available by the end of September for all adults, including children meeting certain criteria based on JCVI guidelines. He emphasised careful monitoring to ensure a smooth transition from pandemic to endemic status.
Alistair Carmichael
Lib Dem
Orkney and Shetland
Question
Asked about the voluntary use of COVID identity cards and requested assurance that any future mandates would be subject to parliamentary approval. He also questioned the practical consequences for businesses not adhering to the guidelines.
Minister reply
The Minister clarified that the Government will come back to the House if it decides to mandate vaccine checks in venues, and he emphasised working with the sector to encourage voluntary use of NHS COVID passes.
Mark Harper
Con
Fittleworth
Question
Asked about the Minister's decision regarding mandatory vaccination requirements and questioned the logic behind delaying changes to self-isolation rules until 16 August, suggesting that implementing these changes now could improve compliance with the app.
Minister reply
The Minister acknowledged the challenges in making decisions but stated that the Government aims to transition the virus from pandemic to endemic status through careful measures. He mentioned ongoing work with critical infrastructure and key workers to facilitate alternative testing methods.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
Inquired about plans for mass vaccination centre closures in England, given the successful vaccine rollout, and requested assurance that there would be options like pharmacies and community centres to maintain accessibility.
Minister reply
The Minister confirmed the ambition of the booster programme beginning in early September, utilising various infrastructures including pharmacies. He emphasised the importance of co-administering flu vaccines wherever possible.
Sara Britcliffe
Con
Hyndburn
Question
Asked about hesitancy in her age group to take up the vaccine and local authority work to target these groups.
Minister reply
Acknowledged the excellent work being done locally and highlighted efforts such as launching pop-up sites, increasing hours during Eid celebrations, messaging through hyper-local media including TikTok, social media influencers, and YouTubers. Mentioned that appointments booked under the national booking system have almost doubled in recent days.
Neale Hanvey
Lab
North Shields
Question
Asked about JCVI's caution in extending vaccination to 12-17 year olds and why it is not progressing more vigorously.
Minister reply
Explained that the JCVI reviews data from other countries vaccinating all children aged 12-15, but concern over myocarditis on first dose for healthy children. The committee will continue to review data and provide updates.
Martin Vickers
Con
Brigg and Immingham
Question
Asked if additional resources would be provided to the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.
Minister reply
Acknowledged the high number of vaccinations in Cleethorpes and agreed to discuss the request with NHS England.
Rupa Huq
Lab
Ealing Central and Acton
Question
Discussed glitches in the NHS covid passport system for constituents involved in Novavax trials.
Minister reply
Confirmed that those in clinical trials, including Novavax trial, will have their data on the NHS app as fully vaccinated. Plans to allow UK nationals who have been vaccinated overseas to access events by talking to their GP.
Philip Hollobone
Con
Kettering
Question
Congratulated the Minister and local professionals and volunteers for the successful vaccine roll-out in Northamptonshire.
Minister reply
Acknowledged local efforts, noting that Northamptonshire has high vaccination rates among 18-24 year olds.
John Spellar
Lab
Warley
Question
Asked about the risk management approach and whether the Treasury is engaged.
Minister reply
Acknowledged the £407 billion put to work by the Treasury and stated that difficult decisions are being made as the virus transitions from pandemic to endemic status.
Chris Green
Con
Heywood and Middleton
Question
Asked about the scope of how the covid ID card may be used in the future, particularly for events like the London marathon.
Minister reply
Assured that the pass would not apply to public buildings or education settings. Emphasised working with industries to reopen safely and avoid shutdowns.
Owen Thompson
Lab
Ceredigion
Question
Asked if the Government intend to mandate the adoption of the pass in events where large numbers gather.
Minister reply
Clarified that deployment would be right for such gatherings but not applicable in public buildings like this place, essential travel or retail.
Andrew Murrison
Con
South West Wiltshire
Question
Some 22,000 people died from seasonal flu in 2017-18, and the modelling suggests that this year’s season will start early, be severe and affect younger people—a demographic that tends to go to mass events—than covid does. Have the Government also been considering mandating proof of flu vaccination, and can the Minister ensure that vaccination records are transportable between the NHS records of each of the home nations? That is not the case at the moment, to the huge frustration of those seeking second jabs or anticipating the need for the proof of vaccination that he has confirmed today.
Minister reply
I am grateful for my right hon. Friend’s question and for what he has done during this pandemic in vaccinating and protecting people and helping with the covid vaccination programme. He raises an important question about flu, which I addressed earlier. I am concerned about the flu season, which is why we are being ambitious and looking to co-administer wherever possible. The operational plan is to go early—in early September—for both the covid boost and the flu campaign. However, he will know that flu is not in the covid category in that it is endemic. We are hoping to transition covid towards where flu is with an annual vaccination programme, but it is a very different virus to deal with.
Barbara Keeley
Lab
Independent
Question
On the vaccine roll-out, I would like to ask for the prioritisation of two groups. First, can unpaid carers be prioritised for boosters in the autumn? The JCVI has not put them on the priority list, but they were put in cohort 6 for earlier vaccines. Secondly, can I join my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Huq) in asking for a solution to be found for the wonderful volunteers on the Novavax vaccine trial? They now find themselves not able to travel as they cannot get a vaccine certificate and their vaccines are not recognised in the EU. Will the Minister prioritise boosters for unpaid carers to ensure that they are fully protected this autumn? Will he also enable those trialists who have received live Novavax vaccines to have vaccine certificates?
Minister reply
I am grateful for the hon. Member’s question. The Novavax trial participants will have their vaccine pass in the United Kingdom. We are working with other countries to make sure that that is recognised, but as far as the UK is concerned, they will be considered fully vaccinated, whether they have had the placebo or the vaccine. On her very good question on the booster campaign, the JCVI’s interim advice is that phase 1 should be the old categories 1 to 4, plus the immuno-suppressed, and phase 2 should be categories 5 to 9, which include unpaid carers in category 6.
Jason McCartney
Con
Colne Valley
Question
Will the Minister join me in thanking Sylvia, Fahad and all the fantastic local team who have vaccinated more than 47,000 people in Honley, Slaithwaite and other pop-up sites across Kirklees? Can he respond to one of the questions they are regularly being asked, which is about the rationale of the JCVI guidance that there should be an eight-week minimum interval between jabs?
Minister reply
I certainly join my hon. Friend in thanking Sylvia, Fahad and all the local team on the extraordinary work they have done. The JCVI advice on the eight-week interval is based on real-world data that suggests that it offers the highest level of protection in terms of antibodies and T cells. Anything below that—I know a number of colleagues have asked me this question—would not be advisable.
Vicky Foxcroft
Lab
Lewisham North
Question
Ministers should be aware of the fears of immuno-compromised people. Unlike the Health Secretary, I know that the Minister is aware of the OCTAVE study. Does he know when it will be published? Can we have some plans for antibody testing? Immuno-compromised people need to be allowed to make informed decisions. Has a ministerial directive been issued to the JCVI to investigate that? If people are seen to have low protection, what extra support are the Government looking to deliver for them?
Minister reply
I am grateful for the hon. Member’s questions. She knows—she and I discussed this on Friday morning—that there is OCTAVE and OCTAVE DUO as well. I know that OCTAVE is to report imminently, and I will share that data with colleagues on our group even when the House is in recess. We want to make sure that people are protected. There was some very encouraging data from Public Health England on the immuno-compromised, with 74% production for some, not all, after two doses, but the hon. Member is quite right to point this out. We will look to vaccinate and protect them with a third dose—a booster dose—as the top of group 1 in phase 1 in September.
Richard Graham
Con
Gloucester
Question
Nobody underestimates the huge challenges the Government face or the great success of the vaccination programme, but does the Minister recognise the frustration of the many hundreds of thousands who have been double-dosed but are pinged and self-isolating—following the guidelines— when they learn of the data suggesting how many people are turning off or deleting the NHS app, with Ministers reportedly advising businesses that this is only guidance? Does he not share my view that surely what is right on 16 August for the double-dosed is right now? Will he agree to consider implementing the measure as soon as possible so that businesses do not have to close, the hospitality sector does not suffer, and many of us do not self-isolate unnecessarily?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend makes a very powerful point that he has made to me many times. It is important clinical guidance to people. It is important that people take personal and corporate responsibility, as we are seeing with some great companies, such as Lidl, which are coming under pressure at the moment because staff are having to self-isolate. As I said earlier, there are no easy decisions on this, but to be able to transition the virus from pandemic to endemic, we just need that careful, little bit more time until 16 August—it is not long to go—when everyone who is double-dosed will not have to self-isolate for 10 days.
Bill Esterson
Lab
Sefton Central
Question
We all know that a negative test is a crucial risk indicator. NHS staff are off work, restaurants and pubs are being forced to close, and there are empty supermarket shelves. This is a time-critical problem in essential parts of society, so when are the Government going to publish a list of sectors where staff can use a negative test result so that they can go to work now? Making employers apply for an exemption is simply not going to be enough, and the economy and society simply cannot wait until 16 August.
Minister reply
In the interests of time, I should say that I have addressed this question fully. Suffice it to say that I gently disagree with the hon. Member in that society came together, as we saw with the vaccination programme, with 80,000 vaccinator volunteers and 200,000 other volunteers. People are doing the right thing, as are corporates. We are working flat out in terms of the critical workforce, critical infrastructure and the frontline, and we announced on Monday that this would apply also to NHS and social care staff.
David Amess
Con
Southend West
Question
I applaud the vaccination programme, but a number of my constituents have received the AstraZeneca vaccine from batches made in India, which is not recognised by the European Medical Agency. Will my hon. Friend reassure those constituents that they will be able to travel to Europe—to France and Italy, for instance?
Minister reply
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his championing of his constituents’ concerns. He is absolutely right to raise them, although I would say to him that the European regulator recognises all AstraZeneca Oxford vaccinations in the United Kingdom and recognises our pass. France has now issued clear guidance that it recognises all batches of the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine, as well as most of the rest of Europe, and our regulator and the EMA are working with the Italian authorities to get that right.
Warrington North
Question
Today it was announced that Australia and New Zealand have withdrawn from autumn’s rugby league world cup, which we are proud to be hosting, citing safety concerns given the shambolic pandemic response by the UK Government. The New Zealand rugby league chief executive has said: “The tournament organisers have moved heaven and earth to make this work, so it is not an easy decision, but the Covid-19 situation in the UK shows no sign of improving, and it’s simply too unsafe to send teams and staff over.” Will the Minister therefore commit to meet rugby league MPs and officials to ensure that a safe and competitive tournament can take place with appropriate measures to protect and reassure team and fans alike?
Minister reply
I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker. I know that this is something that you focus on and that is important to you and your constituents. I will happily do the same and meet them, and bring the relevant officials to ensure that we reassure them as well.
Simon Baynes
Lab
Stockton North
Question
Will the Minister join me in thanking the many scientists and staff involved in developing and producing the covid vaccines in the UK, including the Wockhardt employees in my constituency, as their achievements have been truly world-beating and remarkable?
Minister reply
I am grateful to my hon. Friend and I would certainly join him in congratulating Dame Sarah Gilbert and her team and, of course, the team at Wockhardt, whom I know the Prime Minister has also visited and thanked on behalf of the whole nation.
Steve McCabe
Lab
Birmingham Selly Oak
Question
Further to the question from the hon. Member for Southend West (Sir David Amess), what does the Minister suggest that a constituent of mine who has had the Indian-manufactured Covishield jab should do if they are planning to travel to Portugal or Italy in the next two weeks?
Minister reply
The MHRA, our regulator the EMA and, of course, officials are working with the Commission. Wherever we spot these inaccuracies we address them—we have addressed them with Malta and now France. I am assured, as of last night, that pretty much the whole of Europe, other than the Italian authorities—which we are working with—will accept the AstraZeneca vaccine from any batch, because all batches, all factories, are approved by our regulator before they enter the United Kingdom.
Question
Today you could go to the Latitude Festival with a negative test or two jabs, and you could go to the open golf last weekend with the same, yet you cannot report for work in the NHS or put food on supermarket shelves. We are rightly worried about the 3 million healthy 18 to 30-year-olds who have yet to get a vaccine, but let us put ourselves in their shoes: they see us all get a jab and wonder what they get in return. So I ask the Minister: do we believe in our vaccine or not, and what is the scientific evidence to explain the difference between 19 July and 16 August when it comes to isolation for the double jab?
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend, who always asks important yet challenging questions. The 18-year-olds can now look forward to travelling to 33 countries that have accepted double-jabbed Brits who can demonstrate that. If they have their jab now, they can go to those countries from mid-September. They can look forward to clubbing by the end of September as well—enjoying the Winchester nightlife. I hope I have made it clear to the House that giving ourselves that additional few weeks, given that self-isolation is probably the second most effective tool after vaccines, makes a huge difference as we transition this virus. It is not easy, but I certainly think we are doing the right thing by giving ourselves the space and time to transition this virus from pandemic to endemic status.
Emma Lewell-Buck
Lab
South Shields
Question
The app forcing self-isolation is making our country grind to a halt. Delivery drivers, shops, transport, hospitality, factories, and essential public and blue-light services are at breaking point. The Minister has said that there will be no more exemptions to self-isolating. The Business Secretary said the same just this morning. Then, just over an hour ago, he told the press—not this House—that he had changed his mind. Who are we to believe—this Minister or the Business Secretary?
Minister reply
I think the hon. Lady has just demonstrated how difficult these decisions are. I would just say to her that we are working flat out, in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to work with business—whether it is the critical infrastructure that the Business Secretary spoke about, or any other part of the economy—so that we can safely return to a place where we open up, and open up permanently.
Question
Redcar and Cleveland had the highest covid rates in the country, at more than 1,500 per 100,000, yet in the past 28 days we have not seen a single death from covid, such is the protection provided by the vaccine. We need more people to get the jab to ensure that our hospitalisations and deaths stay low, so will the Minister work with me and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to ensure that we have the additional centres, supplies and vaccinators? Also, will he consider the chemical industry as part of our critical infrastructure, producing the pharmaceuticals for vaccines and the plastics for syringes, for exemption from the usual isolation rules, ahead of 16 August?
Minister reply
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his championing of his businesses and his constituents. There is no shortage of the vaccine. I will happily work with him on the workforce and making sure that there is the resource to make it possible to continue to vaccinate at scale; and of course the industries that are delivering some of the essential products for the vaccination programme are incredibly important in that effort.
Question
In order to beat this virus, the Government must take care of not only their domestic responsibilities but their international ones. Will the Minister update us on what is being done to ensure vaccine supply to middle-income and lower-income countries, and update us on the international approach?
Minister reply
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his excellent question. It is incredibly important, because we pledged to deliver 100 million excess doses, beginning with 5 million immediately and 20 million by the end of the year, and then the balance next year, as well as the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine being delivered around the world at no profit to AstraZeneca or Oxford. To update him, we have sent out our first deliveries of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, as per the Prime Minister’s pledge, and speaking to the Serum Institute of India, they are now not producing 100 million doses a month of that vaccine but are up at 200 million doses a month. It really is an extraordinary achievement by Sarah Gilbert and her team and AstraZeneca in saving the world from this awful virus.
Question
We were very grateful to the Minister for helping us to secure the Tunstall mass vaccination centre, which has delivered over 50,000 jabs into the arms of people and is the city of Stoke-on-Trent’s mass vaccination centre. As part of the autumn roll-out, when we will be getting a third dose into the arms of many residents, will the Minister confirm that the Tunstall mass vaccination centre will stay in place over the autumn and winter this year?
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend for his effort in getting 116,657 jabs into the arms of his constituents and offering them that protection. I will certainly have a look at the vaccination centre as part of our infrastructure. We have a very ambitious programme to deliver to about 15 million people in the first phase and, with the second phase, a cumulative 32 million people. So we will be doing that at scale as well as, of course, flu vaccination wherever possible.
Shadow Comment
Jon Ashworth
Shadow Comment
Ashworth criticised the Government for their handling of the NHS staff pay review, stating that it was a 'shambles' and an insult to health and care workers. He questioned why junior doctors and other groups outside the scope of the pay review body were excluded from this settlement. Ashworth also raised concerns about funding, asking where the £2.2 billion required for the pay increase would come from, given that trusts are uncertain about their future budgets. Furthermore, he criticised the Government's social care policy, arguing it was insufficient and symptomatic of ministerial disarray.
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