This week in Parliament I have again returned to the theme of making sure volunteers wanting to help out in the vaccination programme can get through the excessive bureaucracy that still seems to be in place. I do know that many local people are involved, and I have had some great emails from constituents telling me how professional and helpful the teams at the Crosfield Hall have been, which I have made sure to pass on. But there are others who are still struggling to get their applications accepted, despite being really newly retired medical professionals.
As Ministers keep pointing out in their briefings, the biggest challenge with vaccine roll out is the supply. Of course it is being produced as rapidly as is possible, but millions of doses are needed and unfortunately at the moment it is just not possible for supply to keep up with demand. But, and I have raised this several times this week after reports of local surgeries not having adequate supplies, here in Hampshire vaccination is still on track and going well. So I would urge people not to panic, but rest assured keep the pressure up on Ministers.
Finally, this week it is again my turn to question the PM as a member of the Liaison Committee. I am writing this ahead of the session which is (was) on Wednesday afternoon. I know people sometimes query the line of questioning, but as Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee I am bound to raise questions pertaining to those with protected characteristics. Hopefully this time I will get through questions on domestic abuse, communications about covid for those with learning difficulties, British Sign Language, smear tests, retraining opportunities for BAME women and appointments to the Lords. However I only get a maximum of 6 minutes so I will need succinct answers.
