Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation and Linked Households) (England) Regulations 2020

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Thursday 7th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, it is absolutely essential that we put the health of our citizens first. The economic impact of the new restrictions is significant. We have to ensure that firms have the cash flow to make it through and that they have a clear line of sight that the support will continue, including the furlough scheme possibly being extended until June. I can say as president of the CBI that British business stands ready to play its full part in the vaccine rollout, increasing massive rapid testing and acting flexibly to support employees, particularly with regard to their mental health.

The vaccines Minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said that 99% of deaths could be stopped by vaccinating the top nine priority groups laid down by the JCVI. The Government have said that there is no shortage of glass vials, for example, and AstraZeneca and Pfizer have said that they can supply vaccines fast enough. The Government have set the target of 13.9 million people to be vaccinated by 15 February, yet the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change recently issued a report saying that the UK could have access to 3 million doses a week by the end of January, 4 million a week by the end of February and 5 million a week by the end of March, so it must have the ability to distribute those. It should be all hands on deck: hospitals, healthcare facilities, car parks, warehouses, offices, everything, including the Armed Forces, which were brilliant with the Nightingale hospitals, and, as I said earlier, businesses—we are all standing by to help.

I want to ask the Minister about airport testing. Nine months after business and the aviation industry were crying out for testing on arrival and before boarding planes, the Prime Minister has finally admitted this week that measures will be brought in. Tests need to be taken 72 hours before departure, as is done in many other countries. Heathrow’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, has said that there should be a common international standard. For the first time, Paris has overtaken Heathrow. Let us act on this quickly now.