Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of not putting India on the red list until 23 April 2021 on the covid-19 infection rate in the UK.

All decisions on ‘red’, ‘amber’ or ‘green’ list assignment and our border regime are taken by Ministers, based on regular scrutiny of the latest scientific data, the Joint Biosecurity Centre’s risk assessment and wider public health factors. The decision to place India on the ‘red list’ on 23 April was made rapidly once it was known that the Delta variant had concerning properties and before it was formally classified as a variant of concern. All those returning from India have been required to self-isolate and more recently, to enter a managed quarantine service. We are working with local communities and authorities to take action to limit further spread.