argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: Health
Kevan David Jones (Labour, Centre-left): On Monday, I asked the Secretary of State when care home residents in County Durham would get the vaccine and he did not answer the question. I have now been contacted by GPs in Chester-le-Street in my constituency who were first promised the vaccine on 16 December. That was put back to 21 December. Having done all the work to set up the hub, they have now been told that the vaccine will not be available till the new year. So when will residents in Chester-le-Street get the vaccine? I do not want hype or generalisations; I just want a straightforward answer for those constituents.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: Health
Mary Elizabeth Twist (Labour, Centre-left): I start by thanking the people of my constituency and across Gateshead who have worked really hard to get the figure down. Professor Michael Marmot’s covid-19 review, which was published this week, shows that the pandemic has exposed long-standing health inequalities, particularly in the north. Public health teams play a vital part in this pandemic and are core to addressing those longer-term health inequalities. What has the Secretary of State done to ensure that public health teams are properly funded so that they can address those inequities and, as Professor Marmot says, "build back fairer"?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: Health
Eleanor Claire Reeves (Labour, Centre-left): UK and EU pharmaceutical companies have warned that no deal will lead to delays of up to six weeks in obtaining vital medicines. Given that the Pfizer vaccine is complex to move and distributed from Brussels at -70°, does the Health Secretary agree that no deal would be catastrophic and that everything should be done to get a deal to protect our access to vital medicines?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: Health
Sarah Mei Li Owen (Labour, Centre-left): Scientific advisers, healthcare workers and doctors have all warned that the Christmas season will result in higher infection rates. The public are not fools and know that tougher restrictions will likely be needed in the new year. Will the Secretary of State come out with the obvious and admit now that he will need to bring in harsher restrictions in January, ending the uncertainty faced by families and businesses, or will he just allow these dangerous mixed messages to continue from Government?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: Health
Richard Burgon (Labour, Centre-left): In the past 100 days, more than 23,000 people in our country have lost their lives due to covid. That scale of loss was completely unnecessary; it is the result of a second wave caused by this Government’s failing to put public health first. We know the Government ignored the scientists’ advice in September before that second wave hit, and we know scientists are warning that the current plans, including for Christmas, are going to cause a deadly third wave. Will the Secretary of State come clean today and tell us how many lives Government scientists are warning him will be lost over the next few weeks under the current plans?
Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: Health
Stephen James McCabe (Labour, Centre-left): Public health teams have been a key part of the response to the covid crisis, but the King’s Fund reports that the public health grant settlement last year was 22% lower per head than it was for 2015-16. How does the Secretary of State plan to address that?
Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: Health
Mary Elizabeth Twist (Labour, Centre-left): I want to start by thanking all the staff at Gateshead Council, who have done an absolutely magnificent job in responding to the pandemic and being hugely flexible, so thanks to them. I also want to return to the theme of public health that my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe) raised, because this year more than any other has shown the importance of public health services. They have been vital in helping to limit the spread of covid-19 and responding to the pandemic. We know that the pandemic has exposed the impact of health inequalities on those who contract covid-19 and on their response to it, yet there is nothing in the statement about public health. Can the Secretary of State tell the House what conversations he has had with Cabinet colleagues about public health funding for next year?
Free Sanitary Products in Schools — House of Commons, 2020-12-17
Topic: Health
Ruth Margaret Cadbury (Labour, Centre-left): My hon. Friend gives a brilliant description of a project in his constituency, and I know there are many others across the UK that, like the Hounslow Red Box scheme and Wings Cymru, are run by volunteers. They raise money, buy period products and deliver them in their distinctive red boxes, often with valuable and informative health leaflets. Hounslow Red Box also included clean new pants, tights and deodorant.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Kevan David Jones (Labour, Centre-left): It is very welcome news that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved, but many of my elderly North Durham constituents, such as 94-year-old Joyce Ridley from Tanfield who contacted me yesterday, are still waiting for the vaccine. The Government promised before Christmas that they would prioritise those aged 80-plus to get the vaccine. Can I ask the Secretary of State, as I did when he made his statement before Christmas, when my elderly residents in North Durham will receive the vaccine? I do not want spin or flannel; a straight answer will do. If he does not know the answer, could he at least write to me so that I can reassure those who are worried that they have been forgotten?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Victoria Jane Foxcroft (Labour, Centre-left): I have asked the Secretary of State on several occasions for a timetable for the roll-out of the vaccination programme. Now that, thankfully, the AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved, can he provide some certainty and a timetable that prioritises unpaid carers, given that many of them care for extremely vulnerable people? He has been asked for that several times today, and people really need hope to carry on in these difficult times.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Rupa Asha Huq (Labour, Centre-left): By not needing extreme refrigeration, the new Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is a real breakthrough. Will the Health Secretary tell us how it will be administered to over-80s in care homes or at home who are too immobile to travel and who perhaps have carers, including dementia patients, under the hub-and-spoke model? Locally, ambulances are needed, ICU is full, Ealing Hospital is on a black alert and the way that doctors are being told to use oxygen sparingly is raising suspicions that it is running out. Hub-and-spoke is good on paper, but it may be time that the Secretary of State revisits it, because it keeps throwing up loads of anomalies.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Diana Ruth Johnson (Labour, Centre-left): As we have heard, by mid-October more than 600 health and social care staff had already died from covid. Professor Andrew Goddard, the president of the Royal College of Physicians, said today: "Frontline NHS and care staff must be vaccinated in the next couple of weeks as a priority, as the current pressures on the NHS will be impossible to withstand without a fit and protected workforce" With today’s further good news on vaccines, will the Secretary of State give our NHS workforce the undertaking that they will be vaccinated in the next couple of weeks?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Stephen James McCabe (Labour, Centre-left): I, too, welcome the vaccine news. I know the Secretary of State is a keen advocate of the use of lateral flow tests in care homes. In one group consisting of three homes in my constituency, it is taking a thousand staff hours a month to deliver just under 4,000 tests. That is not manageable without neglecting other vital duties. What can the Secretary of State offer by way of help?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Emma Louise Lewell-Buck (Labour, Centre-left): My constituents will be gutted today. We are making sacrifices and our beautiful town’s economy is tanking. More so, the tiering system is not working. Areas that previously moved into tier 4 still have rising infection rates, so what evidence is the Secretary of State using that shows that moving South Shields from tier 3 into tier 4 will reduce the spread of the virus?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Angela Eagle (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has today announced 23 more areas that will move into tier 4. Three quarters of the country is now in tier 4. How long before he looks at this again and can make other announcements? What further escalation will he be considering if even tier 4 does not bring down these soaring infection rates?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Feryal Demirci Clark (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has said in many statements over the past 10 months that we have the virus under control. Only two weeks ago, he said that we cannot risk letting cases rise again, yet that is exactly what is happening under his watch. Yesterday, the UK reported a further 53,135 cases of coronavirus, which is the highest daily total since the pandemic began. With many hospitals in London and the south-east at breaking point, it is clear that the Government have lost control of the virus. With schools set to go back in a week’s time, what public health strategy does he have in place to keep our children, their families and teachers safe?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Clive Stanley Efford (Labour, Centre-left): What information has the Secretary of State received from the experts in the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies about the roles that schools played in the spread of infection in places such as south-east London? Does this suggest that we should have a roll-out of a mass vaccination programme for schools?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (Labour, Centre-left): As everyone knows, the vaccine is important and necessary, but we also know that the effects of corona have fallen disproportionately on the most vulnerable within our society. The World Health Organisation asked for special consideration to be given to those with disabilities, yet a wholly disproportionate number of the deaths that have occurred have been people with disabilities. Those with learning disabilities have often lost out on the support they would normally receive, and we have 1.5 million children facing mental health problems, if not crises, at the present time. Can the Secretary of State assure us that work will be done to support those with disabilities and, in particular, that work will be done and greater support given to young people and children who are suffering often quite profound mental health difficulties as a result of the stress of isolation that they have suffered over the past nine months?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Margaret Olivia Hillier (Labour, Centre-left): I pay tribute to Homerton University Hospital in the heart of my constituency, where the staff are working flat out now with the rising number of cases, and to the Royal London Hospital in a neighbouring constituency, which of course had a queue of ambulances with covid patients waiting to be treated. Given the pressure on the NHS, which I know the Secretary of State also feels very strongly about, what is he doing to ensure that the nurses and other staff we need are available? Recent press reports suggest that of the 71,000 available nurses, only just over 1,000 had been deployed. Is he working with the Nursing and Midwifery Council to track down those with the right registration and skills and to get them into the right places?
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Kevan David Jones (Labour, Centre-left): It was disappointing that the Secretary of State did not make a statement to the House before the Christmas recess, and that mixed messages from his Department throughout Christmas have led to much anxiety among parents, teachers and students. I doubt whether his statement today will reassure many of them. On testing, what will be the role of local directors of public health? Who will support local schools and colleges, because 1,500 Army personnel will not be enough to fill that role? More importantly, what will happen to the data collected from that testing? Without a comprehensive locally based plan, he is in danger of making all the same mistakes as we have seen with the national test and trace system. Cannot the Government wake up to the fact that local plans need to be put in place, rather than plans being dictated nationally? That will not work.
Education: Return in January — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Karin Marguerite Smyth (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has just said that we can be confident about what is happening next week but, frankly, as a parent and as a legislator, I have no confidence in what he has just said. I am none the wiser after his statement, having heard privately from health experts this afternoon. Parents have one question for the Secretary of State: how will we know, when we send our kids back to school this week or the week after, that it is safe to do so?
Public Health — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): The Business of the House motion just agreed to by the House provides for the motions on the five statutory instruments on today’s Order Paper, each relating to public health, to be debated together for up to three hours. Those are SI Nos. 1518, 1533, 1572, 1611 and 1646. At the end of the debate, I will put the Question on each motion separately. A large number of Members want to contribute to the debate, so we will start with a five-minute time limit.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Rosalie Winterton (Labour, Centre-left): With this we shall debate the following motions: That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 1533), dated 14 December 2020, a copy of which was laid before this House on 14 December, be approved That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 1572), dated 17 December 2020, a copy of which was laid before this House on 17 December, be approved That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers and Obligations of Undertakings) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 1611), dated 20 December 2020, a copy of which were laid before this House on 21 December, be approved That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 1646), dated 24 December 2020, a copy of which were laid before this House on 29 December, be approved.
Public Health — House of Commons, 2020-12-30
Topic: Health
Stephen James McCabe (Labour, Centre-left): I accept that we need measures to suppress the virus while we await the vaccine roll-out, even if those measures are draconian. I therefore find it difficult to object to the Government restrictions, but I am not convinced that areas switching tiers or being placed in higher tiers will work. The tier system seems flawed, with arbitrary entry points, as in the initial London decision, and no obvious exit route. We have also seen the nonsense of a tier 1 area, Herefordshire, sharing a border with Wales If we need a lockdown and further restrictions, surely it should be the same for everyone. This thing does not recognise boundaries on a map, and businesses in all areas have the same needs. If they cannot open and operate, they should receive adequate support and compensation. They need protection from the financial consequences of Government action as well as those of the virus. The hospitality sector, vital small enterprises that cannot pay their rent, the self-employed being punished through no fault of their own—they all need support In Birmingham, many of those businesses will be wiped out and thousands more people thrown out of work if the Government do not act. Sure, it costs money, but I say that punishing innocent people will prove more costly in the long run. They are the people and businesses that will help our economy to pick up when we have got on top of this thing and are able to move on Why not be honest with everyone—health workers and teachers who have given so much, parents and the elderly? Why not admit another lockdown is necessary? The vast majority will co-operate if they believe it is fair. I think the Minister is well intentioned, but creating umpteen different systems and restrictions has proved a recipe for chaos rather than controlling the virus. And, of course, just as the Barnard Castle episode damaged initial trust, the spectacle of this Government standing by while the Boxing day hunts were free to spread the virus far and wide just serves to reinforce the idea that the rules are not applied fairly to all. It is not too late to row back from what has become a suicidal game of snakes and ladders, pitting area against area and punishing people for no good reason. I fear that these inadequate solutions will only sow further divisions. Let us learn from mistakes and not go into the new year repeating the same old errors.
Covid-19: Effect on Business — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Health
Emma Louise Lewell-Buck (Labour, Centre-left): Wet pubs in South Shields spent money making themselves covid-secure, only to have an arbitrary curfew imposed on them and then to be forced to close completely, yet there is no evidence at all that they are contributing to the spread of the virus. This was a policy, not a health decision. I heard the Minister’s earlier response, but if the Government really do not want to see our pub doors closed forever, why have they not listened to the requests from the British Beer and Pub Association and uplifted the current grants on offer?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2020-12-15
Topic: Health
Deborah Angela Elspeth Marie Abrahams (Labour, Centre-left): I am sure that I am not the only one whose heart sang when I heard about the Oxford University covid vaccine, developed in partnership with AstraZeneca. Yesterday’s "Panorama" programme about the research team made me immensely proud of this unique British achievement that will benefit not only the UK but the world at large. Our life sciences sector has always punched above its weight, but progress in medical research is being hampered because of its issues with fundraising this year. Will the Business Secretary congratulate my constituent Kevin Sinfield on running seven marathons in seven days to raise over £2.5 million for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and will he commit to properly invest in research that could see the next breakthroughs in treatments and even cures for diseases including dementia, MND and cancer?
Spending Review 2020 and OBR Forecast — House of Commons, 2020-11-25
Topic: Health
Clive James Charles Betts (Labour, Centre-left): May I declare an interest in this question, as I suffer from myeloma, a form of blood cancer We all recognise and applaud the incredible work that the NHS and its staff have done for us all in the past few months. In terms of the future, does the Chancellor recognise, however, that much research for cancer is funded by charitable donations, which have fallen significantly during recent months for reasons that everyone can understand? To ensure that treatments continue to improve in the future, will he agree to fully fund cancer research to make up the difference in charitable donations, at least for the next few years?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-14
Topic: Health
Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (Labour, Centre-left): With cases in Devon down to 71 per 100,000 and falling, and covid hospital admissions also falling, will the only reason that Devon does not go into tier 1 this week be because of the shortage of staff and hospital capacity after 10 years of Conservative Government cuts?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-14
Topic: Health
Anthony Joseph Lloyd (Labour, Centre-left): The Health Secretary seemed to answer rather dogmatically the question of the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford) about lateral flow tests. May I say to him that it does seem reasonable that, as a diagnostic for people to self-isolate, the test has validity, but with its very high number of false negatives, is he seriously recommending that this is the first line of defence for people going into our care homes? If he is, it is a very dangerous proposition on his part.
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-14
Topic: Health
Stephen John Doughty (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State has rightly set out the very stark picture today—not only of the variant, but of the growing pressures, including the pressures that are likely to be placed on our NHS at this critical time. Will he therefore agree, particularly given the crucial supply chains for the vaccine, for PPE and for the 40 million packages of medicine that go back and forth between ourselves and the EU every month, that the talks must continue and we must not end up in a no-deal outcome, which would be absolutely devastating at the most critical time for our NHS and our country?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-14
Topic: Health
Neil Coyle (Labour, Centre-left): It is 12 months since the World Health Organisation told us that this was a pandemic, yet multiple schools in Southwark that have had covid cases have still never had any contact from the Government’s tracing system, including one college that has had 20 cases since September. In the face of this new, faster-spreading variant, will the Secretary of State finally fix contact tracing? Or will he continue to leave teachers picking up the pieces and having to work weekends, and the public picking up the bill while Ministers’ mates pick up the multimillion-pound contracts, which continue, as today shows, to let us down?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-14
Topic: Health
Barry John Sheerman (Labour, Centre-left): The Secretary of State will know that I have warmed to his performance over the months of this pandemic, and I think he is doing a pretty good job. I think it was the Prime Minister who pushed him into the relaxation around Christmas, so may I warn him that my local hospitals in Huddersfield and Halifax are preparing for an awful surge after Christmas, just at the very wrong time, in January and February, when we do not want that kind of pressure? Will he think again and persuade the Prime Minister to think again about any relaxation of the rules over Christmas, in order to save lives?
Covid-19 Update — House of Commons, 2020-12-14
Topic: Health
Lilian Rachel Greenwood (Labour, Centre-left): The Nottingham Post website is reporting today that 72 areas in tier 2 now have a higher covid rate than tier 3 Nottingham. Since we came out of the national lockdown and went into tier 3, our situation has improved on all five indicators, but we still do not know whether the improvement is enough to allow us to move down a tier later this week. Will the Secretary of State spell out the thresholds that will be used, and will he commit to publishing the rationale for his decision making?