Thank you to the many constituents who have recently got in touch regarding the Coronavirus Act.
I voted in favour of extending the
legislation.
The extension of the legislation
does not change the planned roadmap out of lockdown, and I would clarify that
the lockdowns come from the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, not
the Coronavirus Act.
The roadmap is below:
The cautious easing of lockdown
alongside the very successful vaccination programme should ensure that this
should be our last lockdown.
You can follow all the latest data
including on vaccines on the link below which clearly shows the strong effect
that the 2021 lockdown and vaccination programme is having on hospitalisations
and deaths:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
If we were to remove the temporary
provisions in the Act altogether, we would lose, for instance, measures
protecting commercial tenants and renters from eviction, we would not be able
to run virtual court hearings, which are an integral part of maintaining the
rule of law, and people would not be able to receive statutory sick pay for the
full period for which they are required to self-isolate. These are important
technical provisions that allow for the running of public services, given the
social distancing we have currently.
The Coronavirus Act is temporary,
time-limited and proportionate to the threat we face, and we are keeping
measures only where they are necessary as we exit this pandemic, and then we
can do away with this Act for good. The original Act includes a clause which
dictates that it must be reviewed and voted on at six monthly intervals and
have a sunset after two years; yesterday was one such vote.
If you would like to discuss this
further or any other matter, then please do not hesitate to contact me.
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