Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to data produced by the University of Oxford showing that the UK has the worst seven-day average of new daily covid-19 deaths per million people, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government's strategies in tackling the covid-19 outbreak to date; and what additional steps he is taking in response to the statistics produced by the University of Oxford.

No specific assessment has been made of the data produced by the University of Oxford.

Since the initial pandemic peak, the Government has assessed and managed the impact of COVID-19, taking the necessary action to suppress the virus, prevent the National Health Service from becoming overwhelmed and ultimately save lives. As the Government has learned more, we have taken additional steps necessary to curb the spread of the virus and its variants, including introducing the current national lockdown. The Government continues to review the position to ensure the right course of action in order to defeat the virus.