Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on how many occasions the Government has decided not to follow the advice of its medical and scientific advisers on how to tackle covid-19; and if he will publish the alternative advice on which Government decisions were based.

The Government has a world-renowned team of clinicians, public health experts and scientists working round the clock to keep this country safe. At all times the Government has been consistently guided by scientific advice to protect lives.

In the case of COVID-19, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies has been providing Ministers and officials advice throughout, based on external scientific evidence and a wide source of essential information.

Transparency is at the heart of what the Government does and the Government has recently published online statements and accompanying evidence which demonstrate how our understanding of COVID-19 has evolved as new data has emerged. These statements are available online at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response