Covid-19: International Travel
Debate between Grant Shapps and Tulip Siddiq(2 years, 10 months ago)
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Grant Shapps
Some pretty good reassurances is the answer. It is obviously the case that something worse than omicron could come along. We very much hope—and the chief medical officer and others suggest—that, over a period of time, although not necessarily in a linear fashion, this should become more and more endemic. As for what we accept when people come here, under-18s are exempt. As for flying out, we are making it easier, with 12 to 15 year-olds being added. The message to my hon. Friend, to his constituents and to the whole House is that I hope to expect no surprises between now and the February half term, and enjoy your holidays.
Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)
I welcome the announcement by the Secretary of State, but he will know that other countries still have testing requirements for travellers from the UK. I know that that question has already been raised. He will know that, if testing is to be valid for international travel, tests must be conducted by private testing firms, which are often based in the UK. One of my constituents has written to me and said that she paid £150 for a single test. In response to a previous question, the Secretary of State said some empty words, which I have heard several times. Is there a concrete plan of action from the Government to crack down on this overcharging?
Grant Shapps
It is, as the hon. Lady knows, a competitive testing market, in which many different organisations offer to test people. The market, of course, ensures that prices are being driven down. In fact, we have an exact test on this, because for a while in Wales, under the Welsh Government, only NHS tests were allowed to be used, which meant that Welsh people had to pay more for their tests, rather than doing it privately. I do not think that she means to attack the private system, but she is right that it is wrong for people to be ripped off. The Competition and Markets Authority is looking into it and, as I have said, my colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care who look after this side of things are also working to make sure that the system is not being abused. Removing the necessity to have tests removes a large part of the need for that marketplace as well.
Thomas Cook
Debate between Grant Shapps and Tulip Siddiq(5 years, 1 month ago)
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Grant Shapps
There were some early examples of what looked like incredible surge pricing, and that is very unwelcome. We contacted the airlines through the CAA. Most of them have overridden that system, as I mentioned. Some of them are undercharging and others have lent their planes. I would therefore be interested to see any ongoing examples that I can ask the CAA to investigate.
Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)
The EU package travel directive protects those who are travelling if their package holiday has been cancelled. Does the Secretary of State believe that we should be retaining this protection for future generations of travellers?