Shailesh Vara visits JW Anderson Pharmacy, Somersham: Rita Bali and Tushar Patel
Shailesh Vara visits JW Anderson Pharmacy, Somersham: Rita Bali and Tushar Patel
Shailesh Vara MP visited J W Anderson Pharmacy in Somersham, Huntingdonshire to see the vital services they are offering to support the local community during the current pandemic.
Community pharmacies in North West Cambridgeshire have been a lifeline for many throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, remaining open and working tirelessly to ensure the public have face to face healthcare support available, as well as access to their medicines.
Mr Vara visited J W Anderson and met with the owner and pharmacist Mr Tushar Patel along with Rita Bali of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC) to see the healthcare services that are available within the pharmacy and how they have supported local residents at this time of need.
With winter fast approaching, flu will be circulating alongside COVID-19 and community pharmacies including J W Anderson are offering the seasonal flu vaccine free of charge to those who are eligible through the NHS, which include over 65s, those with certain health conditions, as well as pregnant women.
Mr Vara fully supports the annual flu programme which helps protect people at risk of flu and its complications and was pleased to have a flu vaccination during the visit to ensure he is protected for the months ahead.
Following the visit Mr Vara said:
“Winter is always a difficult time of year for health services and this year will be especially difficult.
Community pharmacies such as J W Anderson in Somersham have been a wonderful support to our local communities throughout the outbreak and we are very grateful for the support they have given to many during this time.
It is reassuring to know that these vital services will remain available for patients as we head into the winter months and I would encourage anyone who is eligible for the flu vaccination to go and get it done.”
Rita Bali, Executive Officer at Cambridgeshire & Peterborough LPC added:
“It was great to meet Shailesh today and talk to him about the brilliant work that our community pharmacies carry out on a day-to-day basis and to see him directly benefit from one of the many services they offer; the flu jab.
Community pharmacies have remained open throughout the lockdown period providing a vital face-to-face healthcare service and reassurance to local people. More and more people now use their local pharmacy for a range of healthcare services such as vaccinations, stop smoking support and weight loss advice and we appreciate Shailesh’s recognition of the important role pharmacies play in the delivery of such services.”
Tushar Patel of JW Anderson commented:
“We were very pleased to welcome Shailesh into our pharmacy and give him his flu vaccination for this winter. We welcomed the opportunity to talk to him about our experiences of working during the difficult pandemic period and how we and other local community pharmacists have adapted in order to ensure our patients are still able to access their medicines and healthcare advice.
Community pharmacies are highly valued by our communities and we have the clinical experience and knowledge to deliver a wide variety of additional NHS services.”
Photos: 1, from left to right: Rita Bali, Shailesh Vara MP and Tushar Patel, 2, from left to right: Tushar Patel and Shailesh Vara MP
Speaking in the House of Commons, Shailesh Vara raises the case of 60 MOD tenants in Wittering who are facing eviction.
Mr Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)
My right hon. Friend is making a powerful case. He mentions the complexity of the agreements. Given the pandemic and all the circumstances as well as the size of the Ministry of Defence and Annington Homes, which is a very big company, does he agree that they need to do the right thing by both parties and not get bogged down in the details?
Stephen Crabb
I completely agree with my hon. Friend, and caught in the middle of those two big parties are the residents affected—our constituents, who are being told that they need to change their life plans and find somewhere else to live at the worst possible time.
...
Mr Vara
In my constituency, as my hon. Friend knows, there are some 60 such houses in Wittering. Certainly some of those householders were told that this would be medium to long-term, and some of them have only recently moved in—literally a few weeks ago.
Jeremy Quin
I have been aware of that from my hon. Friend. I am particularly sorry to hear that that was the case, and it should not have been the case. I have had written assurances that no such undertakings were received, but if he would like to write to me further, I will of course pick up on that. I had a written assurance that that was not the case and not part of the marketing, and it certainly should never have been part of the marketing of these properties. We would of course look into that and take it enormously seriously if it was the case.
Shailesh Vara calls on the PM to recognise the “unsung heroes” who have helped the elderly and vulnerable during the pandemic.
Mr Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)
If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 14 October. [907524]
The Prime Minister (Boris Johnson)
This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.
Mr Vara
During this pandemic, in my constituency of North West Cambridgeshire, I have seen a number of instances of ordinary citizens doing extraordinary work helping the elderly and vulnerable, and that has been repeated across the country in every single constituency, giving true meaning to the words “community spirit”. Would my right hon. Friend take this opportunity not only to acknowledge the fantastic work that has been done by so many people, but to give a huge thank you to each and every one of these unsung heroes of our country?
The Prime Minister
I thoroughly concur with my hon. Friend, and I congratulate all the volunteers for their spirit and the achievements they have delivered for the people of this country. I was delighted that we had a first chance to honour them in the birthday honours list at the weekend, or just some of them.
PM Boris Johnson joins MP Vara in thanking the “unsung heroes” who have helped the elderly and vulnerable during the pandemic.
Shailesh Vara MP today asked the Prime Minister Boris Johnson MP to thank all the volunteers who have helped the elderly and vulnerable during the pandemic.
Speaking during Prime Minister‘s Questions, Mr Vara said that during the pandemic, in his constituency of North West Cambridgeshire, he had seen many instances of ordinary citizens doing extraordinary work helping the elderly and the vulnerable. He went on to say that this had been repeated across the country giving true meaning to the words “community spirit”.
Mr Vara concluded by asking the Prime Minister to acknowledge this “fantastic work“ and to thank each and every one of these “unsung heroes” of our country.
In his reply, the Prime Minister agreed with Mr Vara and congratulated all the volunteers for their spirit and the achievements that they had delivered to the people of this country.
Shailesh Vara MP has welcomed the news that heritage organisations in North West Cambridgeshire are set to receive grants through the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport recently announced a £1.57bn rescue package through the Culture Recovery Fund to help support the culture sector and heritage organisations during the current pandemic.
The first allocation of this funding has today been announced with heritage organisations in North West Cambridgeshire receiving a total of £321,198. Elton Hall near Peterborough is set to receive £290,630, along with Friends of Friendless Churches at St Andrews in Wood Walton receiving £30,568.
Mr Vara said: “I am very pleased to see that heritage organisations in my constituency will be receiving vital support through the Culture Recovery Fund. The past few months have been very challenging for the culture sector and I know that this funding will go some way to help support these heritage properties for future generations to enjoy.”
Shailesh Vara calls for pension consolidation administration costs to be limited as extortionate costs impact on an individual's pension pot.
Mr Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)
I welcome the Bill, particularly the part that my right hon. Friend is referring to at present. Sometimes, when people have multiple pensions with various pension schemes, they wish to put them into one pot, or two or three pots, rather than having to deal with so many. When that happens, some pension schemes seek to charge administrative costs when passing the funds on. Is there any mechanism to ensure that those administrative costs can be kept to a reasonable level, rather than being extortionate, which would ultimately impact on the pension pot for the individual?
Dr Coffey
My hon. Friend is right to say that dashboards could encourage more people to consider consolidating their pension pots. There is guidance out there, and the Pensions Minister assures me that we are continuing to review the costs and charges that can happen in that regard. There is an element of administration cost that comes with such transfers, but I can assure my hon. Friend that we are on the side of the consumers who are saving to ensure that their money goes as far as possible for their future.
Shailesh Vara backs that the Bill as a necessary safety net and rejects scaremongering that it in some way compromises the Belfast/Good Friday agreement.
Mr Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)
Does the Minister agree that those who object to the clauses he has just mentioned should bear in mind the language that has been used by the EU in recent weeks in terms of what it interprets the Northern Ireland protocol to mean? It has denied the existence, as it is written on the face of the Northern Ireland protocol, of matters such as the internal market, unfettered trade and so on. So these provisions are necessary as a safety net—nothing more than a safety net. I say to the critics, “Just look at the language of the EU” and if they look at the language of the EU, they will see that these measures are perfectly reasonable.
Paul Scully
I am grateful for that, and my hon. Friend is absolutely right. These are reasonable steps to act as a safety net.
In the statement I referred to, the Government also make it clear that
“in parallel with the use of these provisions it would always activate appropriate formal dispute settlement mechanisms with the aim of finding a solution through this route.”
...
Mr Vara
The fact is that there is nothing in this Bill that in any way compromises the Belfast/Good Friday agreement. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is deeply regrettable that some people, for political purposes, seek to unnecessarily scaremonger, and that they should desist from doing so?
Alok Sharma
My hon. Friend makes an important point, and I will come on to it. As I was saying, we need to replace the law to continue the smooth functioning of our centuries-old internal market, while also ensuring that devolved Administrations benefit from that power surge from Brussels. The Bill will do precisely that.
Shailesh Vara backs the Internal Market Bill which safeguards the integrity of the United Kingdom and peace in Northern Ireland, providing a safety net in the event of a breach of good faith by the EU.
Mr Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)
It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael). I shall speak to clauses 40 to 45. Let us be clear from the start: the Bill protects and strengthens the United Kingdom, and it safeguards peace in Northern Ireland. There is nothing in it that undermines the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, nor is there any possibility of a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland under any circumstances. From the very outset, the United Kingdom has acted in good faith, and it did so when it signed the withdrawal agreement and the Northern Ireland protocol. Crucially, from the outset, the UK’s understanding of the provisions in the agreement and the protocol were abundantly clear to the EU and all those at the negotiating table. It is clear to the extent that some matters need clarification that we put faith—honest faith—in the Joint Committee reaching reasonable interpretations, being fully aware of our understanding of the issues that needed to be ironed out.
It was not just our understanding of the agreement and protocol on which we relied. The Northern Ireland protocol is clear about some key aspects. Article 1, as well as affirming that nothing in the protocol should interfere with the provisions of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, says:
“This Protocol respects the essential state functions and territorial integrity of the United Kingdom.”
Article 4 provides:
“Northern Ireland is part of the customs territory of the United Kingdom.”
Article 6 goes on to say:
“Nothing in this Protocol shall prevent the United Kingdom from ensuring unfettered market access for goods moving from Northern Ireland to other parts of the United Kingdom's internal market.”
We now find, however, that the EU is suggesting interpretations of the protocol that were never envisaged, notwithstanding the fact that the provisions are clearly set out in the protocol itself, as I have read out. There have been clear suggestions from the EU that its interpretation of the protocol would lead to the creation of a barrier within the United Kingdom, thus seriously compromising our political and economic integrity. Such action by the European Union threatens the territorial integrity of the UK. It threatens to take Northern Ireland out of the UK customs territory, and it threatens our internal market.
That is unacceptable, and no Government can sit back and allow an international organisation to do that to the very fabric of our country. The Bill is therefore a safeguard that ensures that the UK is not divided and there is no external interference in the running of our country today or in the decades to come. The Bill ensures that we leave the EU as a sovereign independent country, as the people of the UK voted to do.
It is to be hoped that an agreement can be reached with the EU. Indeed, Donald Tusk originally offered a Canada-style agreement, but to the extent that there is a material breach of good faith by the EU, we have the safety of the Bill, which not only provides for the preservation of our Union but ensures that measures are not followed through without first having obtained the consent of the House.
Finally, let us remember that all Members on these Government Benches stood as candidates at the last general election not only as Conservatives, but as Conservative and Unionist candidates. Every single Member on these Government Benches sits here as a Conservative and Unionist Member of Parliament. To now not agree the passing of this Bill would make a complete mockery of the very platform upon which we stood to get elected to Parliament.