Coronavirus Act 2020: Temporary Provisions

Viscount Astor Excerpts

Monday 28th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Astor (Con)]

My Lords, I too congratulate the three maiden speakers.

When the Government first passed the legislation to combat this virus, none of us—and I suspect perhaps not the Government themselves—realised what a draconian step it was going to be and how it would undermine democratic accountability and parliamentary scrutiny. It does not help that so many of our debates have been on Zoom, but today gives us an opportunity not only to listen to but to question the Minister. I have no wish to repeat what other noble Lords have said, but I shall make a couple of points and perhaps ask a couple of questions.

The first issue is that the spread of the virus is not amenable to government control; all that the Government can do is to buy time so that the NHS is not swamped by cases. That comes at a high price for those with other illnesses; major and critical operations are being put off, causing severe suffering. It is also a high price for our economy and how we live our lives. There will be a vaccine—I do not know when it will come; I hope sooner rather than later—but there is increased herd immunity, particularly among the young. We must protect the elderly and vulnerable by regular testing, and I hope that the Government can improve the delays that we have had in those areas.

For the rest of us, I think common sense will work rather than muddled restrictions. How can one justify limiting family gatherings to six when people in schools, shops, restaurants, pubs and even my train this morning and in the workplace mix with many more? I do not think that it makes sense. I do not particularly like the politics of Nicola Sturgeon, but she does sound like someone in charge and with a clear policy. I regret having to say it, but it is true. She is right to exclude children under the age of 12 from these restrictions; it would make family life intolerable. My son and daughter-in-law live at the end of my garden with four children aged under 12. We are very careful with social distancing —I meet them only in the garden now that they have gone back to school—but are they really going to have to leave one child behind when I meet them or we will be breaking the law? Perhaps the Minister can explain how the rule of six can really work with families, particularly if they are larger than six and particularly meeting outside. I understand it inside, but outside seems to make no sense. What circumstances are different in Scotland to allow that exclusion?

Then there is the shutting of pubs and restaurants at 10 pm. As we have seen, the problem with that is that, first, it causes massive drinking from 9.30 pm onwards. It also means that everybody leaves at the same time. One has only to look at the television and see the buses and Tubes crammed with people because they were all thrown out at the same time. That actually increases, not decreases, the virus’s ability to expand. It is not sensible. It also means that lots of jobs will be lost unnecessarily over and above the many jobs that sadly will be lost, and it increases risk.

Any law that is not sensible becomes unworkable, so I hope that the Government will review their restrictions carefully. My noble friend the Minister has a difficult task this evening and I wish him the very best of luck, and look forward to his response.