argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): As part of the Green Paper, we will be going further than the special rules for terminal illness evaluation to look at the principles of extending the severe health condition criteria to remove unnecessary assessments and reviews.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are rightly proud of providing record amounts of support for people with disabilities and long-term health conditions. Through our forthcoming health and disability Green Paper, we will work with stakeholders and those with real lived experience to make sure that we improve the services and support we provide.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for being so proactive, along with about 50 other MPs who have already agreed to host health and disability Green Paper events to look at the key themes of advocacy, getting supportive evidence, the assessment process and the appeals process. It is the Government’s absolute priority to support those with disabilities and long-term health conditions.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I answered those questions in response to the right hon. Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth). The truth is that when we put Pakistan and Bangladesh on the red list, positivity among those arriving from those countries was three times higher than it was among those arriving from India. That is why we took those decisions and, of course, they were taken before the Indian variant became a variant under investigation, let alone a variant of concern. It is striking that the Scottish Government took the decision to put India on the red list at the same time as we in the UK Government did. It is all very well to ask questions with hindsight, but we have to base decisions and policy on the evidence at the time When it comes to how we are tackling the virus in the UK, the hon. Lady is quite right that it is good news—albeit early news—that the vaccines do appear to be effective against the B1617.2 variant. I am obviously pleased about the evidence we have seen but we are vigilant about that. I am glad that the approach we are now taking in Bolton and Blackburn worked against the South African variant in south London. We always keep these things under review, but I think that as a first resort, surge testing, going door to door, ensuring that we find and seek out the virus wherever we can spot it, and putting in the extra resources with the armed services who are supporting us, are the right approaches while we keep this under review. The numbers thus far nationally are still relatively low and, thankfully, we have a very good surveillance operation across the UK so that we can spot these things early and take the action that we need to.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Typically my right hon. Friend asks the most pertinent question, to which we do not know the answer. The level of vaccination that we need in order to withstand the incursion of new variants, even those that the vaccine will work against, depends on their level of transmissibility, and we do not know the increased level of transmissibility over and above that of B117, the previous main variant here in the UK, which was first discovered in Kent. This is an absolutely critical question, but unfortunately we do not know the answer to it yet.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I am afraid I do not agree with the hon. Lady’s characterisation of the situation, not least because the approach we are taking in Bolton did work effectively in south London. We are piloting new approaches to ensuring that we can support people to isolate, and some of those pilots are taking place in areas where we can see cases of B1617.2. We keep this under close scrutiny and review to see what works effectively.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, we are making significant progress with the onshoring of vaccine capability. It is about developing the vaccine, as the team in Oxford did brilliantly, but also about manufacturing it onshore, and boy, if there is one lesson we have learned from this whole thing, it is that we cannot just not care about where manufacturing happens. Having it onshore really, really matters, for resilience but also to ensure that it is close to the NHS so that the whole supply chain can learn and constantly improve. I am delighted that we are pushing forward with the VMIC project in the same way that we have brought onshore manufacturing supply in Teesside, in Livingston in Scotland and in the fill-and-finish plants at Wockhardt in Wrexham, at Barnard Castle and elsewhere. It is a big project and, frankly, a big opportunity for life sciences in the UK to ensure that we can do all this onshore, because in my view, the pandemic has shown that we need to.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I could not agree more with the hon. Gentleman. The UK fights this together. There are outbreaks also in Moray and in Glasgow, and I have been talking to the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Health about the action that is going on to tackle the outbreaks there. I talk frequently with Robin Swann, who is doing an absolutely brilliant job with the Health portfolio in Northern Ireland. The fundamental point is that the benefits of the United Kingdom working together are once more demonstrated by our ability to work together to tackle this variant.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Jamie Hamilton Wallis (Conservative, Centre-right): More than 20 million people have now received their second dose of the vaccine, an achievement that demonstrates the phenomenal pace at which we are delivering vaccine across the UK. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this incredible milestone demonstrates what our Union can achieve when we work together?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I have just waxed lyrical about the value of Scotland working with the UK Government and of Northern Ireland working with the UK Government, and my hon. Friend almost chastises me for not mentioning Wales. Of course working with Wales is incredibly important—look at the Wockhardt fill-finish plant. The number of people who have been vaccinated in this country with a product that is manufactured in Wales measures in the tens of millions, including me. We should all be very proud of that, and I look forward to working with my new Welsh counterpart, the Minister for Health in Wales, and making sure that we use all capabilities across these islands to get us back on the road to recovery.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): It is really clear that we are removing restrictions. I am delighted that we are able to remove restrictions, such as the absolute restrictions on close physical contact, and rely more on people’s personal responsibility. In order to do that, we are providing the best possible advice that we can, such as to hug, but cautiously. Everybody knows what that means: it means outside is better than inside, it means making sure it is in ventilated spaces and it means that those who have had the vaccine, and in particular two vaccines, are safer than those who have not It is incumbent on us all to communicate these messages from our scientists and to make sure that people understand them. I am pretty sure that the British public get that. Given how brilliantly people have responded to requests during the pandemic, I am highly confident that this approach will be successful and that people will be cautious, but enjoy the new freedoms that we are thankfully able to give.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Mark James Harper (Conservative, Centre-right): I listened very carefully to what the Secretary of State said in his statement about people being able to prove that they have had the vaccination through the NHS app. I also listened carefully to what he said about the importance of the Union. Can I just draw to his attention something that I hope he can look at urgently? I have thousands of constituents who live in England, but who are registered with GPs in Wales and who receive their vaccinations in Wales. At the moment, it is not proving possible for them to register with the NHS app that they have had their vaccination. Can I ask him to urgently fix that for my constituents and those across our United Kingdom?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): This is another example of where we work better together as one United Kingdom; we are working to solve this problem precisely. Coming from the borders with Wales, I understand this very clearly. Work is under way to ensure that there is interoperability between the data systems in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This situation was not foreseen when health responsibilities were devolved. I have been working with my counterparts in the three devolved nations on fixing it, and we have agreed to fix it. Getting these data to talk to each other is technically complicated, but that work is under way.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Mark Rory Logan (Conservative, Centre-right): In Bolton we are battling the Indian variant, with the rate currently standing at 274 per 100,000. The heroes of Bolton jabbed 6,200 people this weekend. Well done to the Health Secretary and his Department. Will he pay tribute to the Bolton team—Councillors Greenhalgh, Baines and Morgan, Dr Lowey and Dr Wall? Will the Government commit to first-dosing the whole of Bolton before the end of May and getting the second dose out to more vulnerable groups at a similar pace? Finally, what would the Health Secretary like to stress to Boltonians as we open up today with the rest of the country?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): There is one other person who my hon. Friend did not add to the list, probably due to modesty, and that is himself. He has worked incredibly hard over the last few days to get the message out to people across Bolton, and I am very grateful. My message to everybody in Bolton and Blackburn is: take these steps, but please take them safely. Get a test and get yourself vaccinated as soon as you are in one of the eligible groups. It is incredibly important that we get vaccinations to anybody over 50 who has not had a jab yet, so please come forward now. Anybody over 50 who has had one jab eight weeks ago or more should come forward for their second. Crucially, get a test I pay tribute to all those my hon. Friend mentioned. Councillor David Greenhalgh, the leader of Bolton Council, has worked incredibly hard, as have his whole team. We are working cohesively together, and I very much hope that with that effort, we can get this sorted.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): We have a PCR testing capacity in this country of many hundreds of thousands more than we use each day. The Leamington Spa project is incredibly important and the people working there are doing a magnificent job. Frankly, I do not think that the rest of the hon. Gentleman’s question deserves an answer.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
James Roger Cartlidge (Conservative, Centre-right): I strongly share my right hon. Friend’s sentiment, which he expressed earlier, about his pride in the role that the United Kingdom has played in the global vaccine effort, through the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Of course, the Indian variant shows that we remain vulnerable while the virus is rampant abroad, so what further steps can we take in the global fight against covid?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point that we cannot stress enough. We all, especially developed countries, have a role to play in making sure that we get the vaccines around the world. The UK approach is focused on outcomes and on getting as many people as possible vaccinated globally. The best way to do that is to allow the work that we have done here—the research and the proving of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine—to be replicated and manufactured everywhere at cost. That is a better approach because it protects future intellectual property values and allows for the research money to go into new vaccines and variant vaccines. It does not undermine the system of intellectual property, which is the underpinning concept of all pharmaceutical development, yet at the same time it makes sure that we get people vaccinated around the world. This country should be incredibly proud that we have helped vaccinate over 400 million people, with many hundreds of millions more to come.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I am always very happy to meet the hon. Lady, who works incredibly hard on this topic. I am delighted to say that the recovery of cancer services is going well and that in many of the centres, the rate of diagnosis, testing and surgery is above 100% of 2019 levels. That is very important. Of course, we are working towards the spending review. The NHS has a long-term baseline settlement, but on top of that we are putting extra money into the recovery that she rightly champions. I would be delighted to talk to her more about it.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): The message today is all about the balance between celebrating the return of more freedoms today and in the future, and the need for caution, depending on the good sense of my constituents in Gloucester and those elsewhere. Will my right hon. Friend tell us how many of those recently hospitalised in Bolton as a result of the new variant had already been vaccinated; what more we can do to help spread the word to those who have not yet agreed to be vaccinated; and what role he expects pharmacies to play in testing as we go forward?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): The best understanding that we have is that five of the 18 who were in hospital yesterday had been vaccinated once, and one had been vaccinated twice but it is not clear how recently. Therefore, the majority have not been vaccinated, but most of them could have been vaccinated. That is frustrating to see, but it is also a message to everyone. We monitor this closely and the latest information on those who have been admitted to hospital in Bolton over the weekend is similar: the majority are unvaccinated. It reinforces the message that people should come forward and get vaccinated, because that is best way to protect everybody.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): The most important difference between now and then is, of course, that the vast majority of those who are vulnerable to ending up in hospital or dying of covid have had two vaccines. The vaccination uptake rates have been spectacularly high and the uptake rate of the second vaccine has also been incredibly high. That means that the protection afforded to those who have chosen to take up the vaccine is very high. The latest estimates show that having two jabs and waiting a fortnight or so after the second jab leads to around a 97% reduction in mortality. Of course, we will continue to drive and to open up access in order to find the final few per cent. of people, but the lesson of the last few days is that people who have not taken up the opportunity to be vaccinated should do so, because it is those people who have sadly ended up in hospital, and we do not want that.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
William Peter Wragg (Conservative, Centre-right): The Health Secretary can be proud of his role in the vaccination programme, and I welcome the further reduction in the age of eligibility. It may surprise my right hon. Friend, and indeed the House, that despite my appearance and general manner, there are still a few years yet to go, but I will be there, seized of the importance of taking up my vaccine. May I urge him to favour a surge in vaccination, rather than to flirt even momentarily with the idea of imposing local restrictions, which are not helpful and create a great deal of resentment?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I am glad to say that we will get to my hon. Friend before the end of July, no matter how young he is. I am pretty sure he is an adult in both actuality and attitude—crikey, I am getting myself into more trouble than I anticipated. I understand my hon. Friend’s broader point, which is a call against local lockdowns, and we have had differences of view on that in the past. It is not where we want to go, though of course we do not rule it out. We have seen our approach work—it worked in south London —and we have this huge testing capacity, which we did not have in the autumn, of hundreds of thousands of tests a day. That capacity is expanding, as the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) articulated. We also have millions of lateral flow tests, which are simple and easy to use, and people get the result fast. With surge testing plus the vaccine, we have many more tools in our armoury than we did before.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): The anti-vaxxers have not had a very good time of it recently, and I am absolutely delighted that take-up is as high as it is. One of the reasons we have been able to take on the anti-vaxxers so effectively is that we have not danced to their tune. Instead, Members right across the House—I am looking around now and I see people in all parts of the House who have played their part in this—have put across the positive, science-based, objective, enlightenment values, if you like, of why the vaccine is the right thing. We as a House, as leaders of our national debate, have done that with one voice, based on the scientific advice. We have done it across the four nations of the United Kingdom with one voice. We have done it with scientists, with clinicians, with religious leaders—with all those who have a strong voice in this debate. Telling the positive story is the vital thing that we can do. Of course there may be those who do otherwise, but that is not for us—it is for us to tell the positive story I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for playing his part in that by celebrating having his second jab. I am thrilled that he will have, in just a couple of weeks’ time, the maximum protection that one can get. He is helping not only himself and his loved ones, but all of us together to get through this.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I was going to ask the Secretary of State to confirm whether, for those vaccinated, there is effectiveness against the B16172 variant, and how many deaths in the UK from that strain have been recorded among the vaccinated. However, given that he has just effectively turned the amber list red, can I ask him what is the point of me having my passport anymore? Covid will always mutate and the vaccine will always have to keep up. We have managed to vaccinate 99% of the mortality risk cohort. When will this Government actually take a little bit of risk and allow people to get on with their lives again?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, we are opening up vaccinations for those aged 37 tomorrow, and anybody in Salford who is in one of the eligible groups and has not been vaccinated should come forward. If you are in Salford and you were vaccinated more than eight weeks ago but have not yet had your second jab, please come forward. We now have a very good surveillance system in this country and we publish all the data from it so that we can all see the cases day by day. We can also see the impact on hospitalisations. I am glad to say that, thankfully, the almost inexorable link from cases through to hospitalisation and death that we saw in the past is now broken. The link is not completely severed, but it is much, much weaker because of the protection of the vaccine. Those are the things that people can do in Salford, and I look forward to working with the hon. Lady to get those messages out to everybody.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Sara Alice Britcliffe (Conservative, Centre-right): The Secretary of State will know that my constituency of Hyndburn and Haslingden borders Blackburn with Darwen, and I thank the Department for having listened to colleagues’ call for extra support and resources through additional vaccines and surge testing. On a call this morning, Amanda Doyle, the integrated care system lead for Lancashire and South Cumbria, told us that one of the main concerns today is not a shortage of supply but the uptake of vaccines, so will my right hon. Friend join me in encouraging residents across Lancashire to come forward for their jab when eligible, and reiterate how important this is in protecting our local communities?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, 100%. Just like people across Salford and Greater Manchester, people across Lancashire should come forward to get the jab if they are eligible. In some areas, such as parts of Bolton, we are going door to door with the jab; in the wider area, we are saying to people, "Come forward and get your jab. That is the best protection you can have." Twice-weekly testing is also available to everybody now, so people should come forward and get their tests. The more regularly they get tested, the more they can help break the chains of transmission, and when they get their chance, they should get the jab.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2021-05-17
Topic: Health
Theresa Anne Villiers (Conservative, Centre-right): The vaccination programme is one of the biggest and most successful civilian logistical exercises in our country’s history, and I thank the Secretary of State for his role in delivering it. It should open the way for our hospitality businesses to start operating at full capacity in due course, and for events, festivals and conferences to start, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about when this will happen. Will the Secretary of State publish a plan so that those two crucial sectors of our economy can reopen? It may take a while, but they need a plan and a timetable.