Public Health

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

First, I put on the record my thanks to all the doctors, nurses and care workers who have done their utmost for each and every one of us and our constituents across the whole of the UK of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. These are difficult times and it is difficult to know whether we are getting it right, but as has been said to me, we have to do the best we can and, in my case and everybody’s case, we have to leave it to our Lord Saviour to take us through.

The public health motions before the House most certainly attempt to do what is seen as the best. However, it is only time that will be able to judge whether they are right. That is not anybody’s fault, by the way, because we and the Government are doing the best we can.

In his covid-19 update statement, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care underlined that he has regular discussions with the devolved Health Ministers, and I know that he has regular meetings with the Northern Ireland Minister of Health. In the past week, the vaccine has been rolled out to all the nurses and care workers in all the trusts in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is, of course, under different restrictions. We have a strict curfew from 8 pm until 6 am every day. That really makes me wonder sometimes. We are allowing fewer businesses to open and the Health Department makes the call on what is and what is not essential. I tried to explain to the cooker and washing machine shop next to my advice centre in Newtownards that mechanics are essential but they are not. I sometimes find that hard to understand and explain. We ask those who can work from home to do so. That is right and proper, but can additional help be provided to coffee shops, which open for takeaway but have no footfall for their business? Although they are able to open, it is not cost-effective for them to do so. What help is coming the way of egg distributors whose sales have dropped by over one third due to hospitality closures and who have donated eggs to homeless centres, shelters and food banks?

We need to implement rules to keep people safe, but that cannot be done without help for businesses going hand in hand with them. I know that this is not the Minister’s responsibility, but my point is that the Chancellor and Health Ministers can work together to provide help.

Lives are paramount and so is future health and the health of the economy to pay for cancer drugs, innovative treatments and research on diseases that kill tens of thousands of people each year. That can only come with money in the Treasury, which can only be there if we invest in viable businesses to keep them afloat in these difficult days. We need to understand that paying rates and council tax is not enough when businesses have to deal with hiring equipment and with mortgaged or rented premises. Although the extension of furlough has undoubtedly saved jobs, and I thank the Chancellor for all he has done, it is not enough to save businesses in the long term. Although I welcome the moves to keep as many people as possible in work until the vaccine roll-out is well established, this may not be enough—indeed, for some it may be too late.

I know that these motions are about health, but, having dealt with businesses, I know that they hear the headline of what is to close and what can remain open, and then wait weeks to hear about the assistance they are to receive. The assistance needs to be there almost immediately, and we must do more to make dual announcements, instead of propagating fear, which inevitably turns to anger. I have seen local businesses breathe a sigh of relief to have made it through the lockdown, only to find out that there is another lockdown and more regulations. They then have to deal with that and muddle their way through, hoping that they can get enough of a breather to get to the other side. It is little wonder that fear and mistrust are giving way to lies spread on social media, which are taking hold, with people believing that it is safe to live life as they ever did before. No, they cannot! We all have a responsibility for each other. We must ensure that regulations, such as those we seek to approve today, come with information and guidance that take the fear out of the equation and deliver the facts. We must let people understand the medical rationale behind a decision, while understanding that they are not being left alone and that help is available.

Today, the Oxford vaccine has given us great hope. As I said earlier, it has almost put a skip in my step to realise that potentially we have turned the corner. It has been hailed as the easiest vaccine to distribute because it does not need to be stored at very cold temperatures. Some stories in the press have been about vaccine being lost because of the temperature controls not being right, but this time we will be able to produce and distribute the vaccine ourselves. We hope that it will speed up the ability of businesses to open, still in a safe way, but permanently.

The danger we have is that businesses are worried for the future, staff are waiting on the redundancy letter, families are stressed, the elderly and vulnerable are feeling alone, and schoolchildren are feeling isolated and uncertain as to what their future lives look like. I am aware, as are others in the Chamber, that mental health problems are rising among our children. The message that comes from this place must show a plan of action and highlight that our Government are standing shoulder to shoulder with every age group that needs help. I plead with the Government to ensure that the same messaging is clear in every region of the UK: we are stronger together, we are coming through this and we must help each other. We can help each other and we can be better together for the future.