Coronavirus Act 2020 (Review of Temporary Provisions) (No. 3)

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Tuesday 19th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

My right hon. Friend is right to draw attention to that point. We need to keep working on it, but it might be helpful to know that under section 2 of the Act, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has been able to register temporarily some 14,000 nurses, midwives and nursing associates in England, and the Health and Care Professions Council has been able to register more than 21,000 temporary paramedics, operating department practitioners, radiographers and other professionals. That has certainly helped the NHS and the care system.

We have already allowed 13 of the 40 temporary non-devolved provisions in the Coronavirus Act to expire, and at the most recent six-month review we deemed a further seven provisions and part of an eighth suitable for expiry. Last month, as we published our autumn and winter plan, I came to the House to set those out.

Some of the provisions that we are recommending for expiry are some of the most stringent aspects of the Coronavirus Act. They include section 51, which relates to potentially infectious persons and which has been used only 10 times and not since October 2020; section 52, which gave powers to issue directions relating to events, gatherings and premises, and which has never been used; section 23, which relates to time limits for urgent warrants under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 and which is no longer proportionate to this stage of the pandemic; and section 37, which allowed for the disruption of education for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and which continues to be unused.[Official Report, 22 October 2021, Vol. 701, c. 8MC.]

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

The Secretary of State has been extolling the virtues of parliamentary scrutiny, which, as many right hon. and hon. Members have stated, has been sadly lacking of this Act and in its renewal debates. Will he give us a cast-iron guarantee that should he decide to bring forward vaccine passports, we will get not just a full parliamentary debate, but a vote on any such measures?

[Sajid Javid]

I think that the Government have already been clear that should we try to bring forward what the hon. Lady calls vaccine passports, it would be a decision for the House and it would be a vote. If that happened, we would have to justify it to the House.

In addition, we are expiring sections 56, 77 and 78. Taken together with the 13 out of 40 temporary non-devolved provisions in the Act that have already expired, that will mean that half of the original 40 temporary non-devolved powers in the Act will expire early.

--- Later in debate ---

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

I agree with the comments of the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis) and the hon. Member for Brent Central (Dawn Butler).

Given the sweeping and draconian powers that this Government granted themselves under the cover of an emergency, Liberal Democrats only very reluctantly supported this unprecedented legislation for an unprecedented crisis back in March last year, when we knew very little about the virus. I am proud that my party pushed hard for a three-monthly review of these powers, which then secured us the six-monthly review. But at each renewal, as has been said so eloquently, there has been limited opportunity to scrutinise or to table or debate amendments.

While there were important measures in the Act relating to benefits, furlough and registration of healthcare professionals, the Government have had ample time since to legislate properly, with proper scrutiny, for those important measures, yet they chose not to. Instead, unnecessary, far-reaching powers encroaching on our civil liberties have twice been renewed, with minimal debate—measures such as detention of potentially infectious persons that I believe have actually resulted in 295, not 292, wrongful prosecutions. That is why Liberal Democrats have consistently voted against the renewal of this Act.

Ministers have proved, as has already been said, that they did not need many of the powers they awarded themselves on restricting gatherings or closing down education settings. I hope and pray we never close any schools again, and I hope that the Secretary of State will give us a cast-iron guarantee on that. Throughout the pandemic, the Government have used existing public health legislation or guidance to impose restrictions, so I am glad that they have finally seen the light and are today expiring many of these controversial measures. It is not before time, but once again we have been granted merely 90 minutes to discuss the remaining legislation. I am afraid that we will see this casual approach to our civil liberties once again with vaccine passports, given the number of flip-flops and U-turns we have had on that subject.

I welcome the Secretary of State’s comments to me earlier that there will be a vote of this House. I reiterate the question of the right hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper) about whether we will get a vote in advance of any vaccine passports being introduced, because the track record we have seen with the Coronavirus Act 2020 does not fill me with any confidence in this Government. I urge them to stop riding roughshod over this Parliament and to allow us to do our duty as elected representatives and properly scrutinise, amend and vote on measures that fundamentally curtail our liberties.