Oral Answers to Questions

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Chloe Smith]

Because they are not discriminatory. The hon. Lady sees evils where they do not exist. Everyone on the Government side of the House, and I hope everyone in the House, agrees that black lives matter. She is wrong and has been wrong every time she has tried to run that argument about voter identification. It is a reasonable thing that many other countries do, and it will improve the security of our voting. The evidence shows there is no impact on any particular demographic group.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

What steps he is taking across Government to increase public confidence in the policy of easing the covid-19 lockdown.

[The Paymaster General (Penny Mordaunt)]

We recognise the range of emotions that people are feeling about the lifting of restrictions. Tremendous sacrifices have been made to get the virus under control, and incredible patience shown. We published our recovery strategy on 11 May and each day our measures follow the approach it sets out. Protecting public health is, and must always be, our No. 1 priority.

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

To avoid a damaging second spike to our economy, is not a yard more than sufficient?

[Penny Mordaunt]

We are determined to get the UK economy—including the hospitality sector—up and running again and our schools reopened. Research published in The Lancet last week showed that a physical distance of at least 1 metre—or, if my right hon. Friend insists, 1.09 yards—

[Sir Desmond Swayne]

I do!

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thought he might. That was strongly associated with a lowered risk of transmission, but a distance of 2 metres was likely to be more effective. The advice therefore remains that wherever possible the public should keep two metres from one another, but the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies keeps that under review.