Oral Answers to Questions

Bill Esterson Excerpts

Monday 8th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

I thank my hon. Friend, and I look forward to coming back to Wolverhampton, obviously when circumstances permit. I also thank him for the great work he is doing with local groups, organisations and police to protect the victims of crime, but also to do much more on preventing crime. The police uplift, more police officers, the record sums of cash that we are putting into policing—all of this will go towards preventing crime, but also ensuring that victims are safeguarded.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab) [V]]

Today’s reports of hundreds of travellers coming from the United Arab Emirates via Dublin show loopholes in the existing quarantine arrangements. Why are next week’s new quarantine arrangements not plugging all those loopholes and making sure that everyone who comes here, from whichever country, is covered, in order to prevent further incoming variants such as the South African one, which is already in my borough of Sefton, stamp out excess variants coming into this country and protect people here while we roll out the vaccine?

[Priti Patel]

As I have said several times already, all measures are under review. Colleagues across Government are working to implement the hotel quarantine policy and the logistics involved in that, but this is not just about hotels. This is absolutely about compliance and enforcement, and we have measures in place at our ports and airports to ensure that people are being checked and to ensure compliance.