Andy Carter
Main Page: Andy Carter (Conservative - Warrington South)Department Debates - View all Andy Carter's debates with the Cabinet Office
(4 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Prime Minister
I can give my hon. Friend every possible assurance that as soon as transmission is obviously down—as soon as we have got the R down below 1— things will change very much indeed.
Andy Carter (Warrington South) (Con)
I thank the Prime Minister and his team for engaging across the weekend, and for the decision to place Warrington into tier 2, rather than including it in the wider Merseyside region. One of the many questions I am asked by businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, is: what are the criteria for moving Warrington back into tier 1 and reducing the level of restrictions locally?
The Prime Minister
That is a very good question. A lot of people ask about the precise criteria. We look at a number of different measures. We look at the hospital admissions and the rate of transmissions in the community. A number of things are taken into account, but one thing that was clearly and particularly influential in the decision on Merseyside was the transmission, as has just been mentioned, into the over-60s group, which is obviously very concerning. As I just said to my hon. Friend the Member for Meon Valley (Mrs Drummond), when the R comes down, that changes it.