argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Jane Fiona Catherine Stevenson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful for the chance to speak in this debate. Let me start by saying that I absolutely support the Government’s aim of buying us a bit more time to increase the booster take-up and give us all more protection, and nothing that I am about to say makes light of covid in any way at all, but my issue with the regulations is the language and how we bring people together to get the most compliance Omicron certainly will not be the last variant that we have to deal with. A significant number of people in my constituency have grave concerns about civil liberties, data harvesting and all those things. Although I think their fears are unfounded, I have to listen to them, because we in this place have to take their concerns seriously. As the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) said, we do not allay the fears of over-regulation by passing more regulations. We need these people to come on board in a national effort to keep people safe, so I believe that we need a change of language—from telling people and mandating measures, to asking people to comply We already trust our constituents to take the tests correctly and to give us a correct reading of their test; there is nothing preventing them from declaring a negative test when they have tested positive, or not taking the test at all and just scanning the code. Compliance could be increased if they could trust that they were not facing these restrictions for no reason and their data was not being harvested. I respect that this is a major concern in my constituency. The vast majority of my constituents and the British people will do everything asked of them by the Government, without it needing to be mandated. They have been incredible throughout this pandemic; they have acted in the interests of themselves, their families, their communities, their cities and their towns I humbly ask the Government to get back to our Conservative principles of trusting the British people. They are the people who sent us to this place; they have common sense, know the risks and can act with supreme intelligence, and we must never underestimate their community-mindedness. That is my only comment on this evening’s votes. I will not support all of the motions, but I will support some of them. I make a last plea to the Government; in order to go forward together as a nation, we have to stop passing never-ending regulations and move forward in a voluntary, community, public-spirited way.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): Our covid measures have, and continue to, hurt our citizens—from a man with late-stage dementia who is terrified of face masks to an 80-year-old constituent who got stuck in South Africa, not because of omicron, but because flights were suspended; and now, the news that non-urgent primary care will be diverted once again, with the huge risk of harm to babies and young children if face-to-face support is unavailable for long periods of time once again. And the creeping regulation is so hard to keep up with, resulting in teachers cancelling school plays, businesses stopping events and families staying away from happy occasions for fear of breaking a rule they did not know about. Surely the campaign against covid should now focus on two key fronts—more boosters and more education The action by Government on boosters is fantastic, but instead of criminalising people, why do we not start a hard-hitting public health campaign—"If you’re going out this Christmas, don’t forget to take a test" or, "If you’re seeing your granny, make sure you get a jab"? Let us persuade people, rather than criminalise them. And let us go much further to reassure those who have a fear of vaccines, whether because of a needle phobia, because of cultural sensitivities, or just because of fake news My specific concern about testing requirements for big events is the sheer challenge of enforceability in a commercial setting. It would be far better, in my view, to use the approach of a daily test or a vaccine exemption for NHS staff and carers instead. That would be a practical and fair solution for both carers and the cared-for, and it would be enforceable. It would also avoid the risk of losing NHS and care workers who were unwilling to accept compulsory vaccinations I have supported the Government throughout the pandemic when I could see the present danger that we faced, but this time around the measures proposed are precautionary—just in case—and I cannot see where this will end. Covid will be with us for many years to come and it is unthinkable that, every autumn from now on, we will be limiting the quality of life for all citizens, just to be on the safe side; and justifying our new illiberal rules on the basis that "They are less authoritarian than those of other countries" is truly appalling. That is not our culture; that is not our history This is a slippery slope, down which I do not want to slip, so I am afraid I will not be supporting these measures.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Derek Gordon Thomas (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to believe that the new restrictions are motivated by the care and compassion felt by scientists and senior Government Ministers for the British public and to support the NHS. I heard the Secretary of State say that these measures will keep people safe and protect our liberties, but I am worried because that same care and compassion and support for the NHS does not seem to extend to other severe difficulties that our constituents face largely because of the Government’s having imposed restrictions to fight covid I wish to set out how some individuals are not safe and how their lives have been curtailed. For example, on cancer diagnosis and care, we are throwing everything we have at covid and the booster programme; how many more cancer patients will miss their diagnosis and treatment and lose their lives because we told them to protect the NHS? Surely, now is the time to reopen the Nightingale hospitals to deal with omicron and protect the NHS so that it can care for constituents who have had severe, life-changing or life-limiting illnesses Who is checking on the impact of measures such as those before us and the wider impact of covid on people with learning disabilities? When will we wake up to realise that these people are, in effect, locked up, safe from covid but living a miserable existence without their usual social network and normal activity? My right hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper) said that we are "scaring people witless" and he was absolutely right What about mental health and anxieties? Why do we feel that our robust response to covid justifies yet again plunging massive numbers of people into anxiety and mental health challenges, or maintaining them in that place On school disruption, how is it that for years we have made it an offence to miss school but we have now quite literally deprived children of a structured learning environment? With the renewed enthusiasm of the Government and Opposition, we already see schools closing early and children’s and families’ lives disrupted I accept that the measures we have been asked to vote on today do not in themselves trigger the problems that I have outlined, but the briefings and the encouragement of fear to justify these measures do not acknowledge the very real and horrible lived experience of people in each of our constituencies. We seem to have a Health and Social Care Department that is consumed by covid and has abandoned all other responsibilities, such as mental health, cancer, diabetes, social care, loneliness and isolation—a Department that is prepared to sack the NHS staff who care for patients I doubt that this new variant is the last. Are we to expect this level of rection indefinitely, with each covid threat? If not, perhaps now is the time to change our approach and have a fresh conversation about how we want to combat pandemics such as covid throughout the British Isles in 2022 and beyond. On that note, I shall vote in support of the booster jabs and testing, but against the other measures proposed today.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Gareth Andrew Bacon (Conservative, Centre-right): This has been a good debate but it is a profoundly frustrating and depressing experience to have to have it at all. Just a few short weeks ago, we thought we were almost out of the woods; now, we are threatened with the return of a terrible uncertainty Given the time restriction, I have to go through my speech at pace. On the proposals before us, we have been here before in respect of the extension of the need to wear face coverings. I do not like face coverings, but as a precautionary measure while we find out more about this new strain of the virus, I can see the argument for them and so I will not oppose them. Mandatory vaccination for NHS workers has been debated before and it is about a duty of care owed to the vulnerable people in the care of the NHS. It is an extension of an existing principle. Practising doctors have told me that they are already required to be inoculated against chicken pox, rubella, measles and hepatitis B. There are also exemptions in this statutory instrument for people who work in the NHS but have no face-to-face contact with patients. So, again, I will be supporting the measure. On self-isolation, I think it is self-explanatory why the response is proportionate and I will be supporting the measure. The measure on entry to venues and events is the real elephant in the room; this is the one that gave me the most pause for thought. We already have to show our vaccine status when we travel overseas, but that is our choice. It is marginally inconvenient, but with appropriate prior preparation it is not any more than that. The application of that approach to moving around domestically is an altogether different thing. As originally conceived when plan B was drafted, it would seem that there would have been a requirement to show one’s vaccine status to get into anything, be it a bar, restaurant, café or whatever. That is very much like what exists in mainland Europe at the moment. For me, that would have been a step too far and I would not have supported it, but the Government have made a major concession. Not only have they limited the number of venues where one would have to use the pass in order to gain access, but they have allowed the provision of a lateral flow test result instead. That avoids the deeply divisive nature of having to show one’s vaccine status. On that basis, I am able to support this The Government measures will not be allowed to be simply rolled over interminably. If they want to extend them, they will have to bring them back to this House in January for approval. That is something else I approve of. We do not yet know the severity of the omicron variant, but we do know it is spreading rapidly. These measures will not stop omicron from spreading, but they are not designed to; they are designed to slow the spread. The Government need to use this time to obtain solid data and deepen our understanding on the risks posed by omicron. In the meantime, I will support these measures and encourage everybody to get their booster.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Anne Marie Morris (Conservative, Centre-right): The heart of these regulations is all about slowing transmission and reducing demand on our limited NHS capacity, so there are two ends to this telescope. The first is about prevention and making sure that people do not get covid. The second is about making sure the capacity is there so that if they do get covid we can cure not just them, but other patients who have non-covid-related illnesses. These regulations are very focused on the prevention end of this telescope. Clearly, vaccination uptake is crucial, and the Government are to be commended on that, but this has to be a matter of choice. Given others’ contributions, the point has been well explained already. Mask wearing and covid passports have not been subject to the rigour of proper assessment. A proper analysis has not been undertaken here and I fear that they will do more harm than good to society taken as a whole. They generate fear in those who least need to be fearful, they increase mental health problems, and they reduce non-covid admissions and treatments However my real concern is that the Government have not focused sufficiently on the other end of the telescope. We have not looked adequately at what we do about the adequacy of our resources. Despite promises and numbers of new doctors and nurses coming forward, even the Government have admitted that that will not be enough to fill the huge number of vacancies we have. If we can reduce vaccine development from 10 years to 100 days, surely to goodness we must be able to find a way of undertaking a laser-like review of a patient journey to make a better and more efficient use of the limited resources we have—and, indeed, to increase them. I call on the Government before Christmas to put in place an emergency resilience taskforce, which needs to have a laser-like focus on the capacity issue, which has not been fully addressed—frankly, it has hardly been addressed at all. We can work smart; there are very good brains within our health service. We see that when we look at what Sir Ara Darzi has done in the Accelerated Access Collaborative, with new drugs and "faster patients", in a way never seen before, or at what our own Kate Bingham, the vaccine tsar, has done to do what was supposedly impossible. When this taskforce is created, and it must be before Christmas and it should be asked to report by the end of January, it must look at better use of emergency services. We must use the fire and police services better. It must look at proper triaging of accident and emergency arrivals, and better use of medical professionals. We are using the wrong people to do the wrong jobs. We must expedite training, look at whether some of our training takes too long, and use the Nightingales and other resources to deal with non-covid backlogs and convalescing to deal with the healthcare problem. Finally, if we cannot have covid passports, testing must be the right way forward in social care and health.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Nicholas Anthony Fletcher (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to speak directly to all the points raised, very quickly Being able to take a test instead of self-isolation is a positive move. Nobody likes wearing a mask, but most can see the benefits of them so I am okay with that. After careful consideration, in my opinion NHS frontline staff should have the vaccine; they have a duty to do no harm, and while we know the virus can still spread, the chances are reduced. I have spoken with local health professionals and there is understandable concern from NHS employees who are pregnant so I ask that those members of staff are given the assurance they need from the Secretary of State and the chief medical officer that this vaccine is safe at whatever stage of their pregnancy. On the concern that many health professionals will leave the profession, I have been assured that would not be the case, at least in Doncaster, as most frontline workers have seen the devastating effect of covid and have been vaccinated Many Conservative colleagues are struggling with the idea of vaccine passports and I understand their concerns, but this not a vaccine passport; it is covid status certification. It allows negative lateral flow tests or proof of vaccination. It is also only for venues that carry higher risk, and I personally think it would be selfish for anyone not to take a test before attending a live event anyway. Many complain about long queues when boarding a plane, but who would want to get on a plane where there is no security? I feel that this is the same It is not as though people who have not had the vaccine are putting just themselves at risk. Those who are not vaccinated and who require hospitalisation when ill with covid are blocking beds and causing huge backlogs in elective care. Two thirds of patients in Doncaster Royal Infirmary with covid are unvaccinated; that is just not fair on the person who has been waiting for a hip operation for 18 months or any other elective procedure. Preparing oneself for major surgery only for it to be cancelled because another bed has been taken by someone who is unvaccinated is hugely frustrating I will vote with the Government today but I ask that they do not take my vote for granted and that, if we see no real increase in hospitalisations, the legislation will expire on 26 January and they will not seek to extend it. Working from home is not being voted on today and is only guidance, but it will cause much disruption to small retail so I hope that the Government will keep a close eye on that Finally, I ask my constituents to understand that I am voting on these measures today not because I have been whipped to do so but because, after careful consideration and speaking to many local professionals, I believe this is the right thing to do.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Anthony James Holland Mangnall (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Nick Fletcher) and I thank him for his reassurance that the Whips have not pushed him in that direction The Government have done an extraordinary job over the last two years. Rolling out the vaccine so quickly has been an extraordinary achievement as is producing a booster programme in the way we have. There is a remarkable book by Adam Grant called "Think Again"—the title is perhaps apposite for the Government right now—which talks about how we persuade people to take vaccinations and it gives the two case studies of Canada and Germany, where people are not mandatorily required to get vaccinated or pushed in that direction but ways are found to persuade them. We would do well to follow the guidance to be found in that book I will vote against the masks measure in SI No. 1400 and support the self-isolation measure in SI No. 1415. In relation to the masks, the legislation is shoddy; it seems ill thought through if, as I said the other day, we can sing, eat or drink with a colleague but not have to go to work with them, and yet masks are introduced in the certain settings. A Government and their legislation have a responsibility to be good and comprehensive; that is not what this is doing When it comes to vaccine passports, I will not support them. As countless colleagues have said, there is little evidence to show that they work. I am sorry that no SNP Members are here, because the 70-page report produced by Nicola Sturgeon adds to that point. A very important point was made earlier about the lack of enforceability now that we have the lateral flow tests, because of this slightly dodgy deal that has been done with the Opposition to get their support. The scope for abuse and obfuscation on that is far too great When it comes to mandatory vaccinations, I cannot and will not support them. The problem I have with this is that the Government have yet to release the data on how many people have left care homes since we introduced that policy. We need to have the data to be able to review that, because if 60,000, 20,000 or 30,000 people in the NHS decide to walk out, how on earth will we have the capacity to support those who get infected? We need more information before we make those decisions. Over the last two weeks, the ghost of Christmas past has appeared, and he brings with him fear and uncertainty. We cannot continue to flip-flop and change tack, nor should we be cherry-picking information from South Africa to support the Government’s agenda. I appreciate that the evidence coming out this morning shows that two Pfizer vaccinations do well and that the virus is milder, but we cannot continue to terrify people. I am staggered by the Government’s approach over the last two weeks, during which we have used fear to persuade people. I believe that no Government should ever use fear as a tool to try to persuade their citizens, and that it is what has happened. We must build up our resilience and reduce our restrictions.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2021-12-14
Topic: Health
Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall), although I will not, alas, agree with every word he has said. Let me start by celebrating some of the things that I think we can all agree on, such as the end of the red list for all 11 countries and the extension of the travel passes for all teenagers. I think many of us can agree that we need to release from quarantine immediately those who are still in quarantine in our country having come from those red list countries Today, we vote on four specific measures. First, we have a modest increase in mask wearing, which really can only be opposed by those who strongly oppose it on principle. Secondly, we have an end to the pingdemic of self-isolation in favour of lateral flow tests, which surely everybody can agree is a step forward. Thirdly, we will vote on having mandatory vaccination for NHS workers, which the NHS itself supports. Lastly comes the issue for debate, which I would say is a modest requirement for a lateral flow test to go to venues with more than 500 indoors and 4,000 outdoors. In my constituency, that amounts to Gloucester Rugby, Gloucester cathedral and the ATIK nightclub, and I believe that all of those will be quite capable of administering things effectively What is it that the libertarians, led by the eternal cavalier my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne), most object to? I believe that they object in principle to new rules being introduced, and struggle slightly with the specifics of what is wrong with the proposals brought forward today. Let us be clear that there is no vaccine passport, nor is this Nazi Germany in any conceivable shape. They are scaremongering, for everybody accepts that the omicron variant rate of infection is moving fast. We cannot be sure how many with omicron will need to be hospitalised, so we cannot wait to do something until the Gloucester Royal and other hospitals are overflowing with people with covid and critical cancer operations have to be cancelled. I do not believe any Member would want to face the family of someone lost because a cancer operation had to be cancelled as a result of the hospital being clogged up with omicron variant covid sufferers Is everything perfect? No. I have three suggestions for the Minister and the Departments involved this evening. First, they need to reassure us on the provision of lateral flow tests. We must have them, otherwise people will not be able to get them and fulfil the requirements of these rules. Secondly, we need to look again at the wording on the advisory recommendation that people should: "Work from home if you can" I believe this should be, "Work from home if you wish". Thirdly and most importantly, the impact assessment makes it clear that the central estimate is that 73,000 NHS workers out of 1.8 million do not want to be vaccinated, and we need to do more about that.