Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Leicester) Regulations 2020

Lord Liddle Excerpts

Wednesday 29th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Liddle (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, once again we are debating a measure long after the horse has bolted. We need a radical change in our procedures so that we do not face this situation of Executive diktat in the future.

I want to ask the Minister if we can have a mature reflection on the lessons learned in the Leicester lockdown. It is clear that we are making progress in terms of better information sharing between the national and local systems. This is very much to be welcomed. But there is still a fundamental confusion of responsibility. Who is taking the decisions? Is it the responsible local people or is it Ministers? The regulations divide responsibility between the two. Can we not get to a situation where Ministers trust local decision-makers and give them the power and resources to organise effective local action?

Finally, the noble Lord, Lord Robathan, made an excellent point about what is happening to tackle the problems of sweatshops and the social circumstances which propagate the disease. Is stronger action being taken by the inspectorates, and will the Minister let us know what that is?