Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) Regulations 2020 Debate
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Baroness Anelay of St Johns
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Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) Regulations 2020
Baroness Anelay of St Johns Excerpts(4 years, 4 months ago)
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Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con) [V]
My Lords, I welcome the regulations and have one question for my noble friend the Minister about process. When the “made affirmative” procedure was introduced, it was expected to be used very rarely, but the exigencies of responding to Covid-19 have caused a torrent of such SIs across many government departments. That has caused confusion on two levels: people often believe that, when the changes are announced, they take effect immediately; and they are not sure whether they are guidance or a legal requirement carrying a penalty for non-compliance. It is confusing. The Government need to adopt clear and consistent messaging.
The regulations require that there is a review every four weeks, with Parliament informed of any changes by Written or Oral Statement. That time limit runs out during the parliamentary Recess. How will the Government keep Parliament informed in our Recess?