On Monday, September 9th in the Chamber, during the Prorogation debate, I made an intervention to point out that Australia is suffering from the worst flu outbreak they have seen for a long time. The vaccine for under 65’s is more complex and will not be available before October 31st, which is putting potential risk on all NHS services across the UK if we end up with a similar outbreak.
The Yellowhammer Report is NOT old and clearly states it is NOT the ‘worst case scenario’ but the Government want to water it down and hide the real impacts and threat of a No Deal Brexit.
Full question below, and text underneath. The full debate can be found at: https://hansard.parliament.uk or parliamentlive.tv
Philippa Whitford
Australia is currently suffering from an appalling flu outbreak, which is worse than any it has seen in many years. The vaccine for under-65s is more complex this year and will not be in place before 31 October. Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman agree that if we have a worse epidemic than in 2017 and do not have the vaccines, which have to be kept chilled, we could grind NHS services across the UK to a halt this year? If we do not have the details from Yellowhammer, how can anybody be prepared?
I am grateful for that intervention on a very serious issue, and it makes the wider point. Many members of the public are extremely concerned about the impact of a no-deal Brexit on their lives, which is why this is the right application to be made. The application has been made because Parliament is being shut down and preparations for a no deal are not being scrutinised.
I commend the motion to the House, and I urge Members on both sides to support it.