My Lords, when the noble Lord, Lord Bethell, opened the debate, he was slightly apologetic about parliamentary scrutiny. I do not think that there can be any doubt now that, as long as the Government show courage, transparency and consistency of message, he will get massive support in his work in the fight against this virus.
I will use this short time to put my pressure behind the use of community chemists. We have had a number of vague statements by Ministers that have certainly lacked any “Action This Day”, given that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and others have made the offer of their facilities. We have already seen and heard anecdotal evidence of how difficult it is for particularly the very elderly to be handled safely by large, often out-of-town centres. Can I have the Minister’s assurance that local pharmacies, particularly those with existing experience of dispensing flu jabs, will be brought into service immediately?
I continue to be worried because the Lord Privy Seal, in answering questions earlier, mentioned that pharmacies might be used where they had capacity to give “significant” doses of vaccine. What does “significant” mean? Another answer was that conversations would be ongoing. The message from all the Benches today, from the noble Lords, Lord Hunt and Lord Lansley, my noble friend Lady Bowles and others, is that it is really “Action This Day” on community pharmacies. It would be absolutely outrageous if that facility was not urgently used.
3.14 pm