informed in and why would gps not informed in advance? we are still at around 50,000 infections a week and can i ask him and press him further on the easing of restrictions? the bio—security level remains out for, but his own command paper from may be 11 say the changes to lockdown must be warranted by the current alert level and at the sunday news conference, the communities secretary said all the proposed e—zines of restrictions had been modelled and showed that the r number remained below one and that is reassuring. will he now published that modelling so that it can be peer—reviewed? on 0n nhs on nhs capacity, we know the nhs has been overwhelmed, but that has been on the back of cancelled surgery, pistoning of cancer screening, arguably the biggest rationing exercise in history of the nhs. will he now publish the total number of planned operations cancelled and detail them by procedure? add as

lockdown is eased, is that his intention to step down some of that surgery intention to step down some of that surgery capacity so that a backlog of clinical need can start to be tackled? of clinical need can start to be tackled ? on of clinical need can start to be tackled? on managing the virus, one of his test is whether we can manage the virus, but that depends on testing and tracing, as he said. there is now capacity for over 200,000 test, but there is a lack of clarity here. the uk statistics that are wrote to him today, saying his figures were farfrom are wrote to him today, saying his figures were far from complete and complaints of, that the testing to statistics fall well short of standards and the code and it is not surprising that testing data is mistrusted. this is quite damning, i have to say, to the secretary of state. will he start publishing again in the actual numbers of people tested, will he stop counting tests mailed to home, will he say which proportion our diagnostic tests, what promotion are antibiotic oi’ tests, what promotion are antibiotic or surveillancetells how many care home staff and residents have been

tested, and when leased out weekly testing of all nhs staff? that is crucial. can you tell us what percentage have been sent to gps? on testing traits, this is vital to easing out of the lockdown. last week, the prime minister told the house that it would be a world beating and operational by yesterday but it is not operational at local level. can you confirm that local directors of public health have been told to prepare strategies for tracing, with a deadline at the end ofjune, that tracing, with a deadline at the end of june, that they tracing, with a deadline at the end ofjune, that they won't start receiving individual data until next week, and many have been told that mike had not been told their allegations of the budget and what they can spend it on. when will they get this? is said test and a trait is up and running despite this, but iam not is up and running despite this, but i am not sure he how he can say this because local directors of public health are still asking for information. will he publish the date on which percentage. will

that... this is a crucial week given the easing of restrictions, and our constituents want reassurance and clarity, but trust has been undermined by the dominic cummings scandal, i am afraid. our constituents want to do the right thing for their loved ones and their neighbours. can he give them the reassu ra nces neighbours. can he give them the reassurances today? thank you very much, andi reassurances today? thank you very much, and i entirely agree with him that it much, and i entirely agree with him thatitis much, and i entirely agree with him that it is critical that people play their part in making sure that we continue the work of controlling their virus and driving down the number of new transmissions. i am glad he recognises the work that has been done, which is not really the work of government, it is a work of all of. government, it is the work of all of us, to get the virus under control. to a nswer us, to get the virus under control. to answer his question specifically, he asks about the inequalities in health outcomes. it is a subject

that was important before we went into the coronavirus crisis, and it is even more important now. black lives matter, as do those the part of our country that have worse health outcomes. we need to make sure that all of these are taken into account and action is taken to a level of the health outcomes of people across the country, because there is no more important levelling up there is no more important levelling up than the levelling up of your life expectancy and the quality of health with which you live that life. he asked specifically about learning disabilities and autism. that testing in care homes has continued all the way through the crisis and we are rolling it out further. he mentioned the changes to those in the shielding category. i was very pleased that we were able

to do that. they have been well received by those who are shielding, because they are able to go outside. it is hard to underestimate the impact of saying to people that for ten weeks, the recommendation on medical advice was that they shouldn't go outside, and i'm very glad we have been able to lift slightly those restrictions on those in the shielding capacity. he asked about those in the nhs. it is vital that we test people in the nhs. the expansion of cancer facilities is under way. the demand for a&e and urgent care is not as high as it was. but i look forward to the full restoration of our a&e facilities across the country and also in central lancashire. laughter he asks rightly about the test and

trace capability. that is up and running, and working well. he asks how i can say that. because thousands of people have been contacted and are being traced, and so contacted and are being traced, and so the system is working. we absolutely will publish data on that. but as the letter from the chief statistician from uk sa shows, it is important that we get that right. we will work with the uk statistics authority to make sure they are happy with how we are publishing the data, to make sure that we get the data published in a reasonable and sensible way, in a way that also supports the operation of nhs test and trace, which we agree is a critical part of the next stage. so we will work with the uksa

on how that data is put together. the final point, in response, is that the goal here is to have a more targeted approach to the lockdown, so targeted approach to the lockdown, so that we can carefully and cautiously lift the board lockdown. that is what we are working to achieve, and i and working to accomplish that. can i start by thanking the nhs care workers, and my own constituency on the scottish borders, for working so hard to keep us borders, for working so hard to keep us healthy. the health secretary will be aware of the very low levels of testing taking place in scotland, which is clearly a concern as we move into the test and isolate phase. given that the role of the uk government in providing test facilities in scotland, what further assistance, uk govern provide to the scottish cup and to help push up the testing numbers? we have supported and helped the scottish government

throughout this. whilst they have missed their targets in terms of test roll—out of those delivered in scotland, the uk programme of the drive through centres and the home test kits has always done it been operational in scotland. i work very closely with my scottish cou nterpa rts closely with my scottish counterparts to make sure that testing is as available in scotland as it is in england, and that work is ongoing. thank you, mr speaker. i am standing at my honourable friend, the memberfor central am standing at my honourable friend, the member for central ayrshire, who is excluded from taking part, given the removal of the hybrid parliament. for now. mr speaker, there are growing concerns that this tory government is taking a cavalier approach on coronavirus by rushing to ease lockdown measures, despite warnings from public health experts. there are serious questions to a nswer over there are serious questions to answer over the political decisions

the prime minister and the health secretary are taken, which could increase the rate of infection and put lives at risk, or even cause a second wave of covid—i9. the government claims to follow the science. so, why have they ignored the experts who have advised against opening schools or easing lockdown further, without pausing to evaluate each step? on what basis have they allowed people from six different houses to meet from england, to tell millions of people in the shielded group they can go outside, to tell people they can go outside on the 11th of may without a test, trace and isolate system in place? the results from the deloitte regional test centres are still not being reported to local public health teams. how does the secretary of state plan to fix this, and by when? what financial support will be put in place for those called on to

isolate as a symptom at a contacts, especially as it could happen more than one occasion? with test and trace being reliant on people being told to isolate, if told by a contact tracer, does he regret that they have shredded their own lockdown rules to protect a man who thought he was above the rules? in refusing to sack dominic cummings for travelling 260 miles with his wife, he was symptomatic, the prime minister has destroyed his own stay home and save lives message. we know the dominic cummings scandal has undermined efforts to tackled a virus by eroding trust in the uk government and its public health guidelines and we have seen that people are breaking the rules as a result. does the secretary of state not recognise that the scandal has already undermined lockdown, and could lead to more infections, and even more deaths in the future? this is about leadership, and it's about

responsibility. dominic cummings should go and he should go now. well, mr speaker, i look forward to my snp opposite number returning, to be able to have a constructive discussion about how we might together tackle the virus. how we might together protect those who are shielding, who now, thankfully, it is safe for them to go outside, based on clinical advice. how we can ensure that the test and trace system is rolled out across the whole of the uk and how the systems can interact together and work together to protect people, especially in border areas where people may need to make journeys over the border. how we can work together as a whole country to keep this virus going down, the number of new infections going down. how we can work together to protect people and to protect our nhs. those are the conversations that i have with

the conversations that i have with the scottish government, with my assembly opposite number here in westminster, and those are the things that really matter. westminster, and those are the things that really matterlj westminster, and those are the things that really matter. i am expecting to run this until two o'clock. well the secretary of state join me in thanking the teachers of worcestershire, who managed to get 7596 worcestershire, who managed to get 75% of reception classes open yesterday? but i am told by these teachers that their schools are not large enough to welcome all pupils back and observe the two metre rule. could he update the house on why the uk is continuing to maintain a role thatis uk is continuing to maintain a role that is double that recommended by the world health organization? thank you very much, mr speaker. we have reviewed the science on the two metre rule. the challenge is, the further apart you are, the less likely the transmission of the virus. and so, the two metre rule

has guided the rules that we have in place to slow the transmission of this virus. so it isn't really the rule that presents the challenge, it is trying to ensure that all places are as safe as possible. we keep this under review, as the prime minister has said. i would just congratulate schools across worcestershire for reopening with 7796 worcestershire for reopening with 77% of reception classes. it's a very important step forward, and making sure that we have the guidelines in place to be able to live with this virus whilst we bring the rate of transmission right down, thatis the rate of transmission right down, that is so important. in view of the secretary of state was not in a statement confirming pha's finding is that being black or minority ethnic is a high risk factor, what guidance is he providing to the nhs

and social care sectors on rostering of bame staff in high—risk covid—i9 areas? and will he investigate whistle—blower claims that bma people were disproportionately placed on the rotor at western hospital, which recently experience vinalba? she is right to mention that hospital, we are working hard to make sure that local outbreak is brought under control, and that is making progress. she is also right, of course, to raise the public health and report that is published today. the critical next step is to make sure that we understand the drivers of the disparity is seen in the data, and in particular addressed the question of the impact, taking into account comorbidities such as obesity and the impact of occupation, which are not taken into account in the phe

work so far, and that is the work might honourable friend the equalities minister will be taking forward. i know the worry that has been felt by the bame community during this period. i personally felt it, as many of my family members work on the front line of the nhs. can i sincerely thank the secretary of state for commissioning the review, and continuing his work? and can he confirm that the publication was not delayed due to the sensitivity of its findings?” can confirm that. i know my honourable friend understands this, not least because i think both of her parents are doctors, and so absolutely in the heat of this. in terms of data publication, i asked them to produce it by the end of may, which they did. they delivered it to me on sunday, publish it and brought it to the house at the earliest opportunity. further to the

previous question, is he saying the report by public health england into the wildly disproportionate level of deaths among ethnic minority communities was delayed purely because further work is needed on elements of it? in that case, at what point will he be publishing it? i asked public health england to produce this work because i was very worried by the evidence of the increased morbidity and mortality among black and minority ethnic communities, this work, i gave the deadline of the end of may, the work was delivered to me on sunday at the end of may, and i considered it on yesterday, and brought to it the house at the first chance. thank you mr speaker. can my right honourable friend join me in thanking the british ceramic confederation for

their work on safety in the hospitality industry. a chipped plate is not covid safe, so would he encourage the hospitality industry to buy high quality chip resistant table wear from our world class manufacturers in stoke—on—trent? yes, i would. manufacturers in stoke—on—trent? yes, iwould. i manufacturers in stoke—on—trent? yes, i would. i think that the, the manufacturing of pottery and china wear in stoke—on—trent has long been one of the finest thins in this country and my right honourable friend is an inesteemable representative, along with her two collea g u es representative, along with her two colleagues for stoke—on—trent, and inestimable, think that is what i said! and she rightly makes a case, but there is a broader point to it, which is that, which is that coming out of this, we are going to need many industries that work differently, the economy will not be the same on the way out as on the way in, and in many cases, that we can make changes for the better and

she absolutely is sticking up for the pottery industry. i welcome what the secretary of state said about the phe report and the need to get to the bottom of why these racial disparities seem to be a thing, but, it is notjust enough to work out after the event why this has happened, why there have been so many more deaths among the bame community, what is he doing to support the public health function in local authorities so they can work with local community group, identify people that would be more likely to be at risk and try to stop the illnesses and the deaths occurring in the first place? we have put extra funding into those functions because this is a very significant crisis that has a demands massively more of our local public health capabilities, in councils, also in the devolved administrations as they deliver

local public health services on the ground. it is absolutely critical to look at these risks but we have to look at these risks but we have to look at these risks but we have to look at them in the round, all of the different risks, for instance, there is growing evidence of the impact of obesity on both the morbid di, the impact of covid and your chances of dying and that has to be taken into chances of dying and that has to be ta ken into account chances of dying and that has to be taken into account as well. thank you mr speaker. i know my right honourable friend feels a deep sense of responsibility for health outcomes across the uk but how health care services are delivered. will he provide an update as to what the government is is doing to support social care in dudley, the black country and the rest of the country in thank you very much mr speaker. i am delighted to say that the 0ns speaker. i am delighted to say that the ons statistics published this morning showed that the proportion of deaths in social care is falling, is falling, the proportion of covid

deaths and that is very good news andi deaths and that is very good news and i am very grateful to all those working in social care and local authorities supporting those in social care in dudley and across the country, we put in billions of pounds of extra funding including £600 million ten days ago and we have got to make sure we support social care who look after some of the most vulnerable. thank you. i have had a growing number of constituents getting in touch concerned about the pse report and the impact on earth nick minorities of coronavirus. they are also connected in many ways to people who have no recourse to public funds, people forced out to work when it is less safe for them to do so, they are in lower paid jobs and in the case of one constituent less able to complain to their employers about their circumstances, so it, would he agree that it is one thing to say that black lives matter but another when he forces them out to work with

no alternative? well, i think it is very important that we look at the risk factor, all risk factors including ethnicity and the risk factors that have an impact and that is what our broad approach has been, led by our shielding programme where those who are most vulnerable, we have said shouldn't leave the house at all until they are available and iam at all until they are available and i am pleased to say it is safe for them to go out as long as they stay two metres apart from others. thank you mr speaker. a hospital in dudley served my constituency of stour ridge bridge, as we start to admit those for surgery and cancer surgery it requires capital to maintain social distancing. would my right honourable friend join me in visiting the hospital to discuss this much—needed investment, off course, to thank staff personally or their continued efforts to protect

its patients and staff from covid—i9? its patients and staff from covid-19? the dudley stourbridge massive are out in force today! and iam massive are out in force today! and i am delighted to thank everybody at rustle hall for the work they are doing, and! rustle hall for the work they are doing, and i am pleased to be able to confirm to my right honourable friend that we are working hard to restore cancer sir service, many have continued, but many were not able to continue because the nature of taking somebody‘s defences down to close to zero which is needed in much modern cancer therapy is no the right thing to do when there is a killer virus about, but we are able to restore those and i would love to come and visit whether virtually or physically. wales people most at risk from covid—i9 and they deserve to be treated than being caught up ina game to be treated than being caught up in a game of cross—border political

brinkmanship. his updates were announced over the english media on sunday, what procedure is in place to co—agree such announcements in good time with the government responsible for health in wales? well, i work with my welsh op titanium we are very closely, i think he's, you know, he and i have worked very closely indeed, and i think that the approach that the welsh government have taken has been to work through the four cmos to try do this on the best possible way. scotla nd do this on the best possible way. scotland has a daily testing capacity of 15,500 test, but the figures suggest it was just 2,729. does the secretary of state agree thatis does the secretary of state agree that is is a woeful and alarming fir yourfor many in that is is a woeful and alarming fir your for many in scotland and what further support can the uk give to the snp administration to ensure we are not the snp administration to ensure we a re not left

the snp administration to ensure we are not left behind as the rest of the country moves to the recovery phase? my honourable friend is right to raise this. all i can say is we give all the support we possibly can to the scottish government to get their testing numbers up. in the london borough of brent which forms pa rt london borough of brent which forms part of my constituency, two thirds of the communities are from a bame background, so it would come as no surprise some areas in brent have the third highest covid related death in the whole of london. the secretary of state has said that he recognises the disproportionate impact that covid—19 has on bame communities, and he has said that black lives matter, but bame communities are not just black lives matter, but bame communities are notjust interested in slogans or empty rhetoric from us politician, the bame communities wa nt to politician, the bame communities want to know what congress crete and practical steps is the secretary of state taking, right now, to ensure

that bame communities are protected when the lockdown is eased, so that no more people from my communities's lives are lost. mr speaker, the honourable lady is quite right to raise this and discuss it in the way she does, in fact in brent, which had one of the highest impacts of this disease at the start, working with the council, we have managed to bring that incidence of disease right now, and make sure for insta nce right now, and make sure for instance the protection of those who are living in care homes in brent has led to the outbreak there coming right under control, so i think brent is a very good example or where, when we saw a focussed outbreak at the start of this, we put extra resources in, we have put support into brent council, and together we have managed to get this disease under control. thank you mr speaker. along with many of my constituents have been very concerned that the number of

covid cases identified in ashford has been one of the highest in the country. i recognise there are complex reasons for this. but in those circumstances, can i ask my right honourable friend to fill the gap there is in the regional testing centre network in east kent by places one in ashford. yes, mr speaker, i am on it. thank you mr speaker. i am glad the secretary of state has announced the publication of the report into house covid—19 disproportionately affected black, asian and minority ethnic today, but it has taken far too long. it is because black lives matter the government must do all it can to address this disproportionality across the uk, can the secretary of state update the house on what specific discussions he has had with the devolved administration about the devolved administration about the impact on those from black, asian and minority ethnic across the uk. well, the report was delivered to me

on sunday, on deadline, and i have published it two days later so we have been moving at pace in this space. of course, it is a public health england report and focussed on public health in england, and i am sure that public health wales will want to look at the same questions. mr speaker, can i congratulate the secretary of state on hitting his targets for testing, 100,000 and the 200,000 target. it is correct the capacity needs to be there but we don't use the army every day but it is there as a resource, locally we have had issues in county durham regarding some of the drive through testing sites and i have asked the secretary of state to look at that as we roll that o out to ensure we don't have those problems in the future. my future. my right honourable friend is absolutely right, to raise the importance of having that testing capacity there, but i would also say to all of these constituents, in

durham, and people right across the country, that if row have those symptoms, then get a test, because the tests are available and it is so important for tracing the disease. does my right honourable friend agree that as the virus increasingly comes under control, it is vital that we begin to plan for the swift resumption in full of local and urgent health care? such as the minor injuries unit at victoria hospital, and other important service provided there at dover buckland hospital. the restoration of nhs services is critical. it is important it is does done in a covid critical way, it is important people know the nhs is there for them, so if you need it or are told to go to hospital, please do go. since being caught double counts tests 11 days

strictest, the british government has refused to disclose how many people have tested, how is test trace and isolate word beating if he doesn't know how many are being tested. making sure we get these statistics accurate is very important, that is who we are working with the authority on, and thatis, working with the authority on, and that is, that is why it is a big piece of the work to make sure we get the publications right. thank you. i welcome my right honourable friend's announcement and focus on the vitally important research into the risk factor, especially the impact of age, sex ethnicity. i look forward to future research. this is is a crucial part of the wasful. would he agree with me that we are reaping the benefits of long—term investment into research so we can do the study, but in terms of going forward and understanding better the impact, can

he give me an idea of when that may report back so we can make proper decisions going forward? this is urgent work to disentangle the factors that caused the disparities that are evident in the data, in the report published today. and the minister for equality also be leading that work, working with public health england and others to get to the bottom of that as quickly as possible. thank you mr speaker is. my constituency of luton south is. my constituency of luton south is super diverse with a large bame population. given those risk, what doi population. given those risk, what do i say to my constituents who tell me they don't believe you that it is safe to relax shielding, given the government's confused messages and apparent endorsement of breaches of public health endorsement given the lack of action taken over dominic cummings. that is not an appropriate way