Coronavirus Act 2020: Temporary Provisions

Lord Patel Excerpts

Monday 28th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Patel (CB) [V]]

My Lords, from the outset of the pandemic there has been a lack of transparency, openness and scrutiny of the policies in relation to pandemic management. This has been a pity. At the start of the pandemic, the Government stated that their policy in relation to managing the pandemic was to “follow” the science and be guided by it. Yet the membership of SAGE and the advice it got from it was confidential, and therefore the veracity of science advice underpinning the government decisions could not be challenged.

The purpose of the emergency powers was to enable the Government to plan an effective response to the pandemic. The effectiveness of the various pieces of legislation and guidance in doing so can be measured in many ways. The simplest way would be to look at some key outcomes. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, mentioned the need to balance health and wealth. In terms of health, the UK ranks number five in the world for deaths directly related to Covid-19, at 41,936 deaths. Compare that to Germany, which is ranked at number 19, which has had 9,519 deaths. Comparing deaths per million population, the UK has had 618 deaths per million citizens, compared with Germany’s 119 deaths per million population. Similarly, we have higher infection rates. Are the differences related to quality of decision-making? Policy related to testing for infection was key to better management. Germany got it right, resulting in better outcomes for health and wealth. Several of our distinguished scientists pleaded for a similar strategy at the beginning of the pandemic; I believe one of our Nobel laureates wrote to the Prime Minister suggesting that.

Since April, the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Lords, which I chair, has been taking evidence on the science behind the control of the pandemic to help guide policy decisions, particularly its ongoing management. At the end of July, having taken evidence from some of our most distinguished scientists and epidemiologists, I, as chair of the committee, wrote to the Prime Minister, outlining the key areas of pandemic management that needed urgent attention to avoid a second wave, and pointing out that we had two months in which to do this. The areas of concern highlighted in the letter were: to reduce levels of infection by October; to make sure that testing capacity can meet the needs; a clear plan of national and local public health leadership to help control any emerging infections; and, above all, the need for transparency, openness and scrutiny of decisions taken to inform clear public messaging. I understand that my counterpart in the House of Commons had also written to the Prime Minister following their evidence sessions.

October is nearly here, and we face increasing levels of infection. That leads to my concerns about our opportunity to scrutinise the evidence used by government and its likely impact on management of the pandemic. The House has significant expertise in all areas of science, economy, law and social behaviour to help make better decisions. I hope the Government accept that some of the policy decisions might have benefited from wider input to protect the health and economic welfare of our citizens. I most sincerely hope that government finds ways to enable Parliament to have more involvement in decision-making before decisions are made. The usual 30-second question to the Minister at the end of a Statement is hardly holding government to account or helping to make better decisions.

My question to the Minister is simple: how do the Government plan to get Parliament more involved?