Mr Speaker, with permission, I’d like to make a statement on COVID-19 and our progress down our roadmap to freedom.

Freedom is in our sights once again, thanks to the protective wall of this country’s vaccination programme and the huge advances we’ve made in getting this virus under control.

Yesterday, I stood at this Despatch Box and set out the details of what Step 4 in our roadmap will mean for this nation.

After the arduous 18 months that we’ve all endured, it was so wonderful to describe a world where we no longer have to count the number of people we’re meeting, where theatres and stadiums are bustling with people once again and where care home residents are able to see loved ones without restrictions.

I understand that some people are cautious about the idea of easing restrictions. But we must balance the risks.

The risks of a virus that has diminished, but not defeated, against the risks of keeping these restrictions, and the health, social and economic hardship that we know they bring.

This pandemic is far from over, and we’ll continue with caution. But we’re increasingly confident that our plan is working, and that we can soon begin a new chapter based on the foundations of personal responsibility and common sense rather than the blunt instrument of rules and regulations.

Today, Mr Speaker, I’d like to provide an update on another area where we’re able to ease restrictions: the rules on self-isolation.

Self-isolation has played a critical role in helping us to get this virus under control, by denying the virus the human contact that it needs to spread. And I’m so grateful to the many, many people all across the UK, who have selflessly done their duty, making sacrifices so we can keep the virus at bay.

Even though we’ve done everything in our power to support the people who’ve had to self-isolate and yesterday we announced we’ll be extending our financial support until September I’m fully aware of how difficult it’s been. And that it’s meant people missing out on precious moments and spending time apart from loved ones.

But we can take hope from the fact that science has shown us a solution, just as it’s done so many times throughout our fight against this virus.

And that solution is our vaccine, which we know offers huge protection.

The latest data from PHE shows that our vaccination programme has saved over 27,000 lives and has prevented over 7 million people from getting COVID-19 and it shows that both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine can reduce symptomatic infection by almost 80 per cent.

This protective wall, because that’s what it is, means the odds have shifted in our favour, and we can look afresh at many of the measures that we’ve had to put in place.

This is especially important when almost two thirds of adults – 64 per cent – have had both doses of a vaccine, and so have got the maximum protection on offer.

As a result, we will soon be able to take a risk-based approach, that recognises the huge benefits that vaccines provide, both to the people who get the jab and to their loved ones too.

So, from the 16th of August, when even more people will have the protection of both doses and when modelling suggests the risk from the virus will be lower, anyone who’s a close contact of a positive case will no longer have to self-isolate, if they’ve been fully vaccinated.

If someone gets their second dose just before, or after, the 16th of August, they’ll need to wait until two weeks after they get the second jab to benefit from these new freedoms so the vaccine has time to build the maximum possible protection.

As we make this change, we’ll be drawing on the huge capacity we’ve built for testing and sequencing, and advising close contacts who are fully vaccinated to take a PCR test as soon as possible so they can get certainty about their condition.

Of course, anyone who tests positive will have to self-isolate, whether they’ve had the jab or not.

This new approach means we can manage the virus in a way that’s proportionate to the pandemic, while maintaining the freedoms that are so important to us all.

As Honourable Members will be aware, we’re not currently offering vaccines to most people under the age of 18. So, we’ve thought carefully about how we can make sure young people get the life experiences that are so important to their development while at the same time keeping them safe from this deadly virus.

In line with the approach for adults, anyone under the age of 18, who is a close contact of a positive case, will no longer need to self-isolate.

Instead, they’ll be given advice about whether they should get tested, dependent on their age, and they’ll need to self-isolate if they test positive.

These measures will also come into force on the 16th August, ahead of the Autumn school term.

I know that people will have questions about what these changes, and Step 4 of our roadmap, means for schools and colleges and my Right Honourable Friend, the Education Secretary, will be updating the House immediately after my statement.

We’re also looking at the self-isolation rules for international arrivals so we can remove the need for full vaccinated individuals to isolate when they return from amber list countries and the Transport Secretary will update the House later this week.

Mr Speaker, step-by-step, and jab-by-jab, we’re replacing the temporary protection of the restrictions with the long-term protection of a vaccine.

So we can restore the freedoms that we cherish, and the experiences that mean so much to us all.

Let’s all play our part, to protect ourselves and to protect others, as we enter these crucial few weeks. So that in this battle between the vaccine and the virus, the vaccine will prevail.

I commend this statement to the House.

These voluntary roles require candidates who can take a balanced approach to caring for our seas, assessing the priority and importance of all users and stakeholders. It is essential that candidates have a good local knowledge of the IFCA area for which they are applying. The members of the IFCA contribute their knowledge and experience to provide sustainable management of the inshore marine area of their IFCA district.

We are seeking to appoint hands-on individuals with good communication skills and an ability to circulate IFCA regulations, policies, and guidance through their network of contacts to serve as a member.

These are exciting opportunities for people with experience and a passion for their inshore marine area to play a major part in shaping how their local area is managed. If you want to make a positive difference and help balance economic, social, and environmental needs, we would be pleased to hear from you.

We seek to achieve a balanced membership across various interest groups, including those with commercial, recreational, and environmental interests. To assist in maintaining this balance the MMO seek to appoint the following.

Northumberland IFCA

Three new general members are required who are willing to support NIFCA and positively embrace the challenges that new legislation and fishing plans will bring. Applications are welcome from all sectors but we especially welcome applications from those in the commercial and recreational fishing communities.

North Eastern IFCA

Require two general members and invite applications from all sectors but particularly encourage applications from commercial fishing operators with experience in working both static and mobile fishing gears on inshore grounds.

Kent & Essex IFCA

Welcome applications from anyone with a willingness to engage with the IFCA in their work in undertaking the management of fisheries within their district. In particular we would encourage applications from the recreational angling sector and active commercial fishermen.

Cornwall IFCA

Welcome applications from all sectors but to reflect the balance and needs of the IFCA would particularly welcome applicants with experience and knowledge of the recreational fishing and marine environment sector.

Southern IFCA

Welcomes applications from candidates with a scientific background within the marine environment and working knowledge of the IFCA district..

Sussex IFCA

Has a vacancy for a general member and welcomes applications from all sectors but particularly encourage applications from those with experience and knowledge of the commercial fishing sector.

Should you wish to discuss the role of a general member in greater detail or require assistance with completion of your application form please speak to your local IFCA Officer or contact your local IFCA Office.

Cornwall IFCA 01736 336 842

Kent and Essex IFCA 01843 585 310

North Eastern IFCA 01482 393 515

Northumberland IFCA 01670 797 676

Southern IFCA 01202 721 373

Sussex IFCA 01273 454407

The Health and Care Bill builds on the proposals for legislative change set out by NHS England in its Long Term Plan, while also incorporating valuable lessons learnt from the pandemic that will benefit both staff and patients.

The government is committed to delivering world-class care for patients and this Bill will help deliver that by building on the NHS’ own proposals for reform to make it less bureaucratic, more accountable, and more integrated in the wake of COVID-19.

These changes are vital to help the NHS build back better from the pandemic. In February 2021, the government set out its proposed plans and its introduction in Parliament today follows extensive discussions with NHS England, the Local Government Association and the health and care sector to refine this blueprint.

COVID-19 has reinforced the need for closer collaboration between the NHS, local authorities and care providers to provide more joined up working, and staff and patients have rapidly adopted new technologies to deliver better care. But at times in recent years the legal framework has made this more difficult, as it was not designed with this type of collaboration in mind.

The Bill will ensure each part of England has an Integrated Care Board and an Integrated Care Partnership responsible for bringing together local NHS and local government, such as social care, mental health services and public health advice, to deliver joined up care for its local population. Clinicians, carers and public health experts will be empowered to operate collaboratively across health and care, as part of plans to tackle inequalities and level up health across the country. The Bill will also introduce measures to tackle obesity and improve oral health.

It will dispose of unnecessary bureaucracy that has held the health service back so that health and care staff can focus on patients, not paperwork, and ensure the system is able to flex to changing needs in the years to come. It will ensure NHS England is more accountable to government, and by extension Parliament, while ensuring the NHS retains everyday operational and clinical oversight.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:

“The astonishing response of our health and care services to the COVID-19 pandemic has hit fast-forward on some of the bold changes the NHS set out to deliver in its Long Term Plan and shone the spotlight on other areas that require change to achieve better care for our communities.

“To help meet demand, build a better health service and bust the backlog, we need to back the NHS, as it celebrates its 73rd birthday this week, and embed lessons learned from the pandemic. This will support our health and care services to be more integrated and innovative so the NHS can deliver for people in the decades to come.”

Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive:

“This Bill contains widely supported proposals for integrated care, which have been developed and consulted on over recent years by the NHS itself. They go with the grain of what our staff and patients can see is needed, by removing outdated and bureaucratic legal barriers to joined-up working between GPs, hospitals, and community services. In doing so, these pragmatic reforms build on the sensible and practical changes already well underway right across the NHS. And by enabling mutual support between different parts of the local health and care services they will undoubtedly both help tackle health inequalities and speed the recovery of care disrupted by the covid pandemic.”

Key measures include:

• The NHS and local government coming together to plan health and care services around their patients’ needs, and quickly implement innovative solutions to problems which would normally take years to fix, including moving services out of hospitals and into the community, focusing on preventative healthcare.
• The development of a new procurement regime for the NHS and public health procurement, informed by public consultation, to reduce bureaucracy on commissioners and providers alike, and reduce the need for competitive tendering where it adds limited or no value. This will mean staff can spend more time on patients and providing care, and local NHS services will have more power to act in the best interests of their communities.
• A package of measures to deliver on specific needs in the social care sector. This will improve oversight and accountability in the delivery of services through new assurance and data sharing measures in social care, update the legal framework to enable person-centred models of hospital discharge, and introduce improved powers for the Secretary of State to directly make payments to adult social care providers where required.
• Supporting the introduction of new requirements about calorie labelling on food and drink packaging and the advertising of junk food before the 9pm watershed to level up health across the country. The pandemic has shown the impact of inequalities on public health outcomes and the need for government to act.

Over the past six months the MAIB has launched investigations into a number of fatal accidents on board fishing vessels. We have identified various recurrent themes but man overboard retrieval remains a persistent, and deadly, issue. Tragically in February a fisherman lost his life off the Shetlands when he fell overboard and his crew couldn’t recover him, even though at one point he had two hands on the vessel’s recessed ladder.

Last month Jack Martin, one of our inspectors, took part in a man overboard experience exercise held for the fishing community. Organised by the RNLI with funding from Trinity House and Seafish, the aim was to give fishermen the opportunity to gain an understanding of what fishermen falling overboard would experience.