Covid-19 Response: Defence Support

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Excerpts

Tuesday 12th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Wallace]

As I said in reply to an earlier question, we have discussed this with the NHS. We are working on a list right now of who we can prioritise to make sure that we underpin the very important defence tasks. Core things such as the continuous at-sea deterrent will be included in those discussions. It is vital that it remains continuous. Also, as we go through priorities one to four and further down into the vaccine programme, we will consider key industries and key people who will help keep the country and defence going.

May I just echo what the right hon. Gentleman said? We often focus on the men and women in uniform, but defence is more than that. It is the scientists, the civil servants, the logisticians, the reserves and often the retired community and the veterans as well. I want to pay tribute to them, because they have been just as important in a large part of this process. I feel for the civil servants in the MOD, who can often get slightly forgotten in the narrative, but that does not mean to say that we forget them in the reality. They have been doing an amazing job as well. My civil servants have been working alongside our military personnel throughout this process.

[Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con) [V]]

The entire nation should be grateful for the adaptability of our armed forces, whether it be for the rapid building of the Nightingale hospitals, the roll-out of personal protective equipment, or help with track and trace. As we build up with vaccine deliveries the unprecedented task of vaccinating the majority of the nation, can my right hon. Friend set out what role the armed forces will play in that huge task?

[Mr Wallace]

As I have said right from the beginning, we are involved with the vaccine taskforce, making sure that we are on the frontline so that we can jump in and fill any gaps that emerge. We have set up a quick reaction force. Up to 250 people, and more if required, will be able to go out and take vaccines to people if that stock needs to be delivered. That could deliver a significant uplift in the numbers of people being injected. At the same time, we have people embedded in the regional vaccine offices of the NHS, where the NHS is planning how it will deliver the vaccine in the regions and, indeed, in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, to make sure that, wherever there is a gap, the MOD will try to fill it.