Covid-19: One Year Report

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock Excerpts

Thursday 25th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op) [V]]

My Lords, I too thank the Minister for his introduction, but I join others in expressing my concern about the way in which Parliament has not been given proper opportunities to scrutinise the provisions to deal with the pandemic, some of which have really major effects and serious implications. I join my own colleagues in expressing real concern at the haphazard way in which this emergency has been dealt with by the Government. I share the view that many lives might have been saved if the plans to deal with the epidemic that were there had been updated and there had been quicker appreciation of the serious danger of the pandemic and the action that needed to be taken by the Government.

We will have an inquiry of some sort, and I hope that it will start soon. I also hope that this inquiry, as well as looking at the detail of how the pandemic has been dealt with, will also consider whether, by declaring a state of emergency, more decisions could have been taken on a UK-wide basis—as the Minister said in his introduction, if we had used the civil contingencies provision instead of the public health provision.

I am a long-standing and very enthusiastic supporter of devolution, and I would have liked more aspects of implementation to have been devolved to local authorities, not just in England but in Scotland and Wales. But there has been confusion resulting from different dates of restrictions and different levels or tiers, as they were called in some places, and above all by different messages in different parts of the United Kingdom, where the media still broadcast principally on a UK-wide basis. In fact, there was little difference in the level of infection or the speed of dealing with it or, most recently, in the mistakes made in different parts of the United Kingdom. There were far too many avoidable deaths in care homes, while there were similar levels of infection and almost the same level of vaccine rollout in each part of the United Kingdom. But it has been regrettable that some have used their power to make political capital out what should have been a united effort to fight the pandemic.

On another matter, I urge the consideration of vaccine passports or certificates to speed up a return to as near normal as possible. But we need to differentiate between passports or certificates for overseas travel and those for access to venues here in the United Kingdom. The issues, both practical and in principle, are different in each case. I hope that the Minister can update the House on progress on consideration of both of these and, again, I hope that they will be implemented on a UK-wide basis.

I express concern and disgust that some wicked people are taking advantage of the epidemic to cheat people, particularly older people. The Action Fraud unit has reported over 6,000 cases, totalling £35 million of losses. What is being done by the police and the cyber- security unit to counter these scams?

Finally, I will ask about pay in the NHS, as did the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler of Enfield. The Minister will have seen that, in Scotland, workers in the health service—not just nurses but all workers—are to receive a 4% pay increase, backdated to the start of the pandemic. Since both the health and financial situations are much the same north and south of the border and since the funds to cover the cost come from the Treasury and ultimately from the same taxpayers, will the United Kingdom Government now think again and agree to give NHS workers in England the same increase? It is totally hypocritical of the Prime Minister and others to stand on their doorsteps and applaud the commitment of the workers in the NHS but not to reward them properly in their pay packets. The Government of the United Kingdom must think again.