Speeches by Streeting.

“If the committee had ever taken me up on my offer to meet the entire committee, I might be able to answer the question, but since it has never done so, I do not know. It is for resident doctors to decide, based on what I have set out, if the committee’s rejection of this offer is reasonable. Given the material benefits…”

“The Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee is absolutely spot on. I am relieved to report that I was doing exactly what she mentions only last Friday; I was walking the corridors of Queen’s hospital in Romford. I was there in January as well, seeing the worst of the situation. I have been spending time on the fr…”

“I thank the shadow Secretary of State for his response and questions. Beneath some of the criticism of the Government was a consistent message about the unreasonable and unnecessary position of the BMA, but let me address his criticism none the less. The shadow Secretary of State accused me of “boasting” yesterday abou…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his support in trying to influence a more constructive approach, for the advice that he has given me and members of the resident doctors committee, and for the experience that he brings to these exchanges. He is right to praise Jack Fletcher for the constructive approach that he and his offic…”

“I thank the Liberal Democrats for their support. I really hope that resident doctors appreciate that this is a party with a spokesperson who supports the NHS and wants to see it improving, but, even from the vantage point of opposition, is clear that what the BMA is demanding is unaffordable. We know from experience th…”

“It is frankly breathtaking hypocrisy. It rather looks like doctors in their ivory tower saying one thing, and lecturing us about what is and is not affordable, but when it comes to how their subs are spent and how their own union behaves towards its own staff, not being prepared to pay them. I have been very compliment…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. I can reassure him that, through partners in the NHS, we are ensuring that antibiotics are available to GPs to prevent students from necessarily having to return to Canterbury, especially if they have travelled a long distance to get home. There is obviously a widespre…”

“I think that is a really constructive suggestion, and we will absolutely look at it. In reply to the right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat), who had left us but has just returned fleetingly to his place—it is an amazing skill he has—I think his question was about the availability of antibiotics in Tonbridge, n…”

“I reassure the hon. Member that UKHSA is in close contact with all the devolved Administrations to make sure they understand the nature of this outbreak, what we are seeing and how we are responding, and we are also helping the devolved Administrations to manage risk through contact tracing. We will continue that regul…”

“The hon. Member is absolutely right about the atypical nature of this outbreak. I can reassure her and the House that UKHSA is in regular contact with the devolved Administrations.”

“I am not sure about the point of prevalence, but we will look carefully at the genesis of this outbreak. Of course, in common with the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for West Ham and Beckton (James Asser), we will think about what advice ought to be offered. As ever when it comes to travel advice, we rely on…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for sharing his awful experience, and for once again emphasising the importance of good public health information and advice, including for parents whose students will still be in Canterbury and who may therefore be particularly worried. UKHSA is now advising anyone who visited Club Chemistry on …”

“Following the right hon. Member’s question, I will ask whether expansion to Tonbridge would be a sensible thing to do, given the number of people who may have been in Club Chemistry on the relevant dates. I take his point about some people not being willing or able to travel to the four sites that have been made availa…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for the excellent work he does as a member of the Select Committee, and reassure him that we are taking the Committee’s letter and advice very seriously. I think he is right to ask us to look again at the 2023 strategy. I also reassure my hon. Friend that to price gouge or profiteer in this situa…”

“I am extremely grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising that question and making that point. It sometimes feels that barely a month, if not a week, goes by in this job when I am not regularly exhorted to make a political decision overriding clinical advice. I think that is the wrong thing to do and it sets a da…”

“I am grateful to the hon. Member for his question. It is worth bearing in mind that the transmission of this particular disease is through close and prolonged personal contact. Therefore, the risk of transmission is much lower than other outbreaks of disease we have seen in this country in recent years, in particular r…”

“I can understand that some people may choose to buy the vaccine, but I will reassure the hon. Gentleman on two points. First, we have a significant stockpile of vaccines. Secondly, we are taking an evidence-based approach to vaccination, starting with the targeted vaccination programme that UKHSA is preparing. We are t…”

“I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for his question, and I am mindful of the concerns of neighbouring communities across his part of London and the wider south-east. I can provide reassurance on two points. The general risk is low because of the nature of the transmission of this disease and because of the active con…”

“Like my hon. Friend, I am a member of the NUS mafia in this place, and I well understand the enormous value that students’ unions bring to promoting student welfare and raising awareness. I think he is absolutely right about the risks of meningitis and other infectious diseases on university campuses, and to suggest th…”

“I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for his question, and I know that lots of parents will be concerned about this issue. As I have said, the first thing that individuals should do is think about their risk of exposure. We have already made available the four hubs for people to come forward and get antibiotics, and we…”