Covid-19 Update Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Zarah Sultana
Main Page: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)Department Debates - View all Zarah Sultana's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(3 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Matt Hancock
Yes. That links to the previous question, and this is one of the things we learned from Leicester. We had the power to close non-essential retail across the city. We will now take the power to enable the local council to close non-essential retail where necessary and therefore take a much more targeted approach. That allows us to fight the virus but with a lower negative impact on business. We are constantly seeking to improve the tools at our disposal—in this case, legislative tools—to fight the virus.
Zarah Sultana (Coventry South) (Lab)
This afternoon, the Government’s chief scientific adviser revealed that the SAGE committee urged the Government to impose a lockdown on 16 March, a week before they did. The Secretary of State has just suggested that he responded by advising people to practise social distancing on that date, but advising people to socially distance is not the same as imposing a lockdown. That week-long delay could have cost thousands of lives. Why did the Government fail to act when SAGE called on them to, and does the Secretary of State regret that delay?
Matt Hancock
The shadow Secretary of State said this, and the hon. Lady is now trying again. On 16 March, I said to this House—and it was welcomed by the shadow Secretary of State—