Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Inquiry: Handling of Covid-19 in Scotland

Wednesday 8 September 2021 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Tan Dhesi asked the Minister about recent discussions with Scottish Ministers regarding the public inquiry into the handling of COVID-19 in Scotland.
  • Tan Dhesi highlighted the impact of the pandemic on the NHS in Scotland, noting that waiting lists have increased from over 450,000 to more than 600,000.
  • Chris Elmore pointed out that Scotland currently has one of the highest COVID-19 rates in Europe, with eight out of 20 hotspots in the country, and criticized the SNP Government for not addressing these issues properly during the summer months.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Tan Dhesi Lab Slough
NHS Scotland
Context

The question arises from discussions on the need for a public inquiry into the Scottish Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question

What recent discussions has he had with Scottish Ministers on the public inquiry into the handling of COVID-19 in Scotland?

Answer from Iain Stewart

An inquiry into the devolved aspects of the covid-19 response was an SNP manifesto commitment, and the Scottish Government have now set out their next steps. The UK Government have committed to a statutory inquiry into all key aspects of the UK's response to the pandemic. As the Prime Minister has stated, we will consult the devolved Administrations before finalising the scope of that inquiry.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific details of recent discussions with Scottish Ministers are not addressed.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Tan Dhesi Lab Slough
NHS Scotland
Context

The issue stems from concerns about Scotland's NHS being understaffed and undersupplied, with a significant rise in waiting lists due to pandemic pressures.

Question

Throughout the pandemic, one of the most dangerous impacts has been not just that of the virus itself, but the impact it has had on our NHS. In Scotland, over 450,000 people were languishing on waiting lists prior to the pandemic, and now this figure has risen to more than 600,000 due to under-investment by the Scottish SNP Government. Will he ensure that the public inquiry in Scotland will investigate other aspects of the NHS?

Answer from Iain Stewart

The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight that the impacts of the pandemic are felt in many areas and in other parts of the health service, and there is a need to catch up with that backlog of missed operations and treatments. I am absolutely delighted that, yesterday, the Prime Minister set out very real progress and steps to make that happen, with additional spending in the NHS right across the United Kingdom.

Not addressed: The question was about ensuring the inquiry will investigate other aspects of the NHS; instead, he discussed overall progress in addressing health service backlogs.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q3 Chris Elmore Lab Bridgend
Scotland
Context

The concern is about Scottish civil servants being redirected from critical COVID-19 response duties to work on an independence referendum, amid high infection rates.

Question

Scotland now has one of the highest covid rates in Europe, with eight out of 20 hotspots across Europe located in Scotland. Despite this, the SNP Government spent summer months without addressing these issues properly. Now that the virus is spiralling out of control and civil servants are being tasked to draw up arguments for Scottish independence, has he discussed this issue in his talks with the Scottish Government? Will this form part of the inquiry into their failures?

Answer from Iain Stewart

I am very happy to agree with the hon. Gentleman that tackling drug abuse, learning lessons from covid, catching up on missed services should focus rather than obsessing over another divisive referendum.

Not addressed: The specific question about civil servants and the inclusion of this issue in the inquiry was not addressed.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)