Exercise Cygnus Debate
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Lord Harries of Pentregarth
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Exercise Cygnus
Lord Harries of Pentregarth Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Harries of Pentregarth (CB) [V]
The Secretary of State for Health, Mr Hancock, said on 7 May that he had consulted officials and had been assured that all the recommendations had been implemented. However, Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England, is reported as saying:
“It beggars belief. This is a report that made some really clear recommendations that haven’t been implemented.”
How does the Minister reconcile these two totally contradictory stories about whether or not the recommendations were implemented?
Lord Bethell [V]
I assure the noble and right reverend Lord that operation Cygnus happened in 2016 and the recommendations were completed by spring 2018. However, it is possible that nothing could have prepared us for the ferocity of Covid. Operation Cygnus prepared us for a flu pandemic and not for something with the savagery of Covid-19.