Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
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Tuesday Volume 673 17 March 2020 No. 42 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday 17 March 2020 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2020 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 779 17 MARCH 2020 780 right across the world to give them the support and House of Commons advice that they need. I will be making a further statement after oral questions. Tuesday 17 March 2020 Dr Caroline Johnson: What discussions is my right hon. Friend having with his counterparts in countries The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock such as the United States, Australia and Israel, which are working actively on a vaccine for covid-19, so that we can share information from our research and develop PRAYERS a vaccine more quickly together? Dominic Raab: I thank my hon. Friend for that question [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] —I know how expert she is in this field. We are, of course, emphasising the importance of vaccine research and encouraging the scientific community to co-ordinate. In particular, we want to prioritise collaboration on Oral Answers to Questions vaccineresearch,includingwithfinancingandco-ordination throughtheCoalitionforEpidemicPreparednessInnovations fund. FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE Michael Fabricant: SARS—severe acute respiratory syndrome—swine flu and now coronavirus are all thought The Secretary of State was asked— to have emanated from unsanitary wet butcheries in east Asia and China. What can my right hon. Friend do Covid-19 to co-ordinate an effort—perhaps after all this is over— to prevent any such disease from ever starting in such 1. Andy Carter (Warrington South) (Con): What places again? diplomatic steps he is taking with his international counterparts to tackle the spread of covid-19. [901574] Dominic Raab: My hon. Friend is absolutely right that addressing the root causes of covid-19 and similar 11. Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) potential pandemics will require close co-operation with (Con): What diplomatic steps he is taking with his the international community, including China and other international counterparts to tackle the spread of covid-19. south-east-Asian partners. With that in mind, we welcome [901587] the Chinese Government’s decision on 24 February to make permanent the temporary ban on the trade and 12. Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con): What steps consumption of live wild animals. he is taking with his international counterparts to ban wet markets and butcheries in (a) China and (b) south-east Craig Whittaker: Many constituents are finding that Asia where viruses have crossed the animal-human interface; unless Government travel advice advises against travel and if he will make a statement. [901588] to a specific country or area, insurance companies do not pay out. Australia currently requires a two-week 15. Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con): What recent self-isolation period, but we are still not advising people steps he has taken to update travel advice on travelling not to travel there. What discussions is my right hon. to areas and countries affected by covid-19. [901592] Friend having with the insurance industry to make sure that constituents are covered in such situations? 16. Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) (Lab): What steps he is taking to support UK nationals based overseas who are at risk from covid-19. [901593] Dominic Raab: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The situation is moving very rapidly—to give him a The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth sense of that, I should say that the Foreign Office made Affairs and First Secretary of State (Dominic Raab): more than 200 changes to our travel advice over the last The Prime Minister spoke to his G7 counterparts yesterday weekend alone. We have also published a checklist to about the international effort to take a global and help British travellers to think through the challenges of effective response in tackling covid-19. international travel and the questions they should ask about it. We are in contact with the airlines for the Andy Carter: In the light of the rapidly developing insurance reasons that my hon. Friend explained. As I coronavirus pandemic, will my right hon. Friend update mentioned, I will make a further statement after oral the House on how the Government, and specifically the questions. Foreign Office, are providing support to British nationals who are currently in other countries? Charlotte Nichols: Over the coming weeks and months, as more and more airlines, travel operators and insurance Dominic Raab: We are working with £241 million of firms go bust, more and more British nationals will find aid funding and investing £65 million in research to themselves stranded abroad without accommodation support vulnerable countries’ capacity to tackle this. or flight options. Will the Secretary of State reassure us The Foreign Office is regularly reviewing our travel advice, that the Foreign Office is gearing up for that challenge and consular staff are working with British nationals and will be there to provide whatever support is required? 781 Oral Answers 17 MARCH 2020 Oral Answers 782 Dominic Raab: The hon. Lady is absolutely right. On Brits trapped elsewhere can access embassies and missions the one hand, we do not want to take precipitate measures, that are resourced to answer their queries and to get but on the other we do want to take measures to prevent them home as soon as possible? more and more UK nationals—particularly vulnerable ones—from being stranded overseas. It is a difficult Dominic Raab: We understand the concern of any risk-balancing exercise, and I will say more about that constituent who finds themselves in a vulnerable position in the oral statement to follow. and also, of course, that of MPs who are trying to do their best. Wehave beefed up the support we are providing. Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) There is a parliamentary hotline for MPs, and I will (Lab): Happy St Patrick’s day, Mr Speaker. make sure that Ministers give the hon. Gentleman all The lack of global co-ordination in tackling the the details so that he can provide the most support and covid-19 outbreak has been truly shocking, but is that up-to-date advice to his constituents. any wonder,given that last week, according to the German Government, the so-called leader of the free world Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling) (Con): I offered CureVac “large sums of money” to make sure very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s response that the vaccine it is developing would be available only today, but does he remember from the Ebola crisis only for those from the United States? Does the Foreign a few years ago the woeful and very slow approach of Secretary agree that Donald Trump’s response to this the World Health Organisation? Does he not feel that outbreak has been nothing but a disgrace? we are seeing a similar response from the WHO today? Can he assure me that he is working with international partners to ensure that there is a proper, co-ordinated Dominic Raab: I certainly agree with the right hon. response despite the WHO, and that that will be the Lady that we need a co-ordinated international response, foundation for building a new international co-operative and we need to get better internationally at that—the response? Prime Minister made that point during yesterday’s G7 conversation. I do not think that just bashing the Dominic Raab: I thank my hon. Friend, the Chair of Americans or the President of the US is a substitute for the Foreign Affairs Committee. We are doing our level the sensible, practical measures that we need to take to best as the UK to forge the strongest consensus possible. bring British nationals, and also our European partners, We have a total aid envelope of £241 million of funding. home on the repatriation flights that we have organised, We are providing up to £150 million of that to the to deal with research and the vaccine mentioned by International Monetary Fund, £10 million to the WHO, my hon. Friend the Member for Sleaford and North £5 million to the Red Cross and £5 million to UNICEF. Hykeham (Dr Johnson), and to increase the resilience It is important that we work as collaboratively as possible and capacity of those vulnerable countries that are with all our international partners—the WHO, but also trying to deal with an even greater challenge. We are those working in the voluntary sector, who often have addressing all those issues. The Foreign Office is working particularly good expertise and access on the ground with the Department for International Development, where it is needed most. the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Ministry of Defence, and we are talking to all our partners Syria: Ceasefire right around the world. 2. Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP): What steps he is Emily Thornberry: The truth is that Donald Trump’s taking to support a ceasefire in Syria. [901575] lackof internationalleadershiphasbeenquiteextraordinary. He started by calling the outbreaks a hoax, comparing The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth coronavirus to winter flu and dismissing health advice, Affairs and First Secretary of State (Dominic Raab): We but he now calls it the “foreign virus”, blaming Europe welcome the ceasefire in Idlib agreed by Turkey and for its spread and today blaming China, and says that Russia on 5 March, and we call on all parties to respect he takes no responsibility at all. Does the Secretary of it and make it permanent. State agree that it is shameful that such behaviour is what we have come to expect from the current American Jim Shannon: First, may I wish you, Mr Speaker, and President, even at this time of global crisis? all right hon.