Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) Regulations 2020

Lord Reid of Cardowan Excerpts

Friday 24th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I have one minute in which to make one simple point. These are very detailed regulations, but whatever the level of detail, they will not have the intended effect unless the Government’s communication and messaging is clear, concise, unambiguous and constant. Sadly, I am afraid that until now, on lockdown, testing, quarantine, technology, face masks and many other things, Ministers have often appeared to equivocate, dither or delay, and that only confuses the public with mixed messages. I ask the Minister simply that we should please avoid doing that this time. Can we ensure that there is consistency and clarity in messaging, otherwise the effect of these detailed regulations will be lost?