Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2021 to Question 140, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of adopting a zero covid-19 strategy; and whether the Government made such an assessment as part of its public health strategy.

On 22 February, the Government published the ‘COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021’, providing a roadmap out of lockdown restrictions in England. I refer the hon. Member to the Prime Minister’s statement when presenting this to Parliament, where he said that there is no credible route to a zero-covid Britain.

In the meantime, the vaccination programme continues at pace. However as we have set out in our roadmap, no vaccine is 100% effective and, even when vaccinated, there is still a chance people can contract the virus and pass it on. In time, scientists expect COVID-19 to become endemic, meaning the virus will reach a stable, and hopefully manageable level.