Responding to Covid-19 and the Coronavirus Act 2020

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 15 May 2020 Closed: 9 Mar 2021 Parliament page
The Coronavirus Act 2020 was emergency legislation passed by Parliament on 25 March, to provide the Government with the powers it wanted to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. PACAC has launched this inquiry to scrutinise the constitutional and public administration aspects of the Act, with the goal of … Read more
13 Recommendations
11 Conclusions
1 Report
4 Oral sessions
11 Letters
4 Events
Activity timeline 17 events
9 Dec
2020
Report published
6 Oct
2020
Correspondence
22 Sep
2020
Correspondence
10 Sep
2020
Report published
2 Sep
2020
Correspondence
2 Sep
2020
Correspondence
2 Sep
2020
Correspondence
23 Jul
2020
Oral evidence
21 Jul
2020
Correspondence
14 Jul
2020
Oral evidence
7 Jul
2020
Correspondence
23 Jun
2020
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
23 Jul 2020
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Responding to Covid-19 and the Coronavirus Act 2020
Dame Una O’Brien DCB Dr Alister Stark Emma Norris · Institute for Government Jason Beer QC Sir Robert Francis · HealthWatch England The Rt Hon. the Baroness Prashar CBE The Rt Hon. the Lord Butler of Brockwell KG GCB CVO
14 Jul 2020
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Responding to Covid-19 and the Coronavirus Act 2020
Clara Swinson · Department for Health and Social Care Edward Argar MP · Department of Health and Social Care Katharine Hammond · Cabinet Office Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP · Cabinet Office
23 Jun 2020
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Responding to Covid-19 and the Coronavirus Act 2020
Gordon Lyons MLA · Northern Ireland Assembly Jeremy Miles MS · Welsh Government Michael Russell MSP · Scottish Parliament
16 Jun 2020
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Responding to Covid-19 and the Coronavirus Act 2020
Dr. Ronan Cormacain · (self-employed) Professor Aileen McHarg · Durham University Raphael Hogarth · Institute for Government
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fourth Report - Parliamentary Scrutiny of the Government’s handl… HC 377 10 Sep 2020 24 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
5 results
Clear
2 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fourth Report - Parliamentary Scru…
The effectiveness of governance arrangements overseen by the Cabinet Office is something that will continue...
The effectiveness of governance arrangements overseen by the Cabinet Office is something that will continue to be of interest to the Committee and form part of its future work programme.
Government Response
The government details the evolution of its COVID-19 governance arrangements, from initial COBR meetings and Ministerial Implementation Groups to the later establishment of the COVID-19 Strategy and COVID-19 Operations cabinet committees.
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14 Recommendation Acknowledged
Fourth Report - Parliamentary Scru…
The two-monthly reports on the status of non-devolved provisions, published under section 97, should be...
The two-monthly reports on the status of non-devolved provisions, published under section 97, should be an important tool for scrutiny, but as currently structured, the reports do not give enough detail to enable Parliament, experts or the public to do … Read more
Government Response
The government recognised the need for timely reports with evidence-based arguments and is considering additional helpful information, committing to publish analysis for anniversary debates, building on existing detailed two-month reports.
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17 Recommendation Acknowledged
Fourth Report - Parliamentary Scru…
The Government’s published draft legislation for implementing future local lockdowns (referred to in Chapter 2...
The Government’s published draft legislation for implementing future local lockdowns (referred to in Chapter 2 of this report) should mean that it is easier to publish all information immediately when implementing new local lockdowns or relaxing local lockdowns slowly. However, … Read more
Government Response
The government notes the committee's concerns, acknowledging past intervals between announcements and regulations. It commits to continually striving for timely future announcements and clearer wording in guidance, but provides no specific actions for viewing the draft legislation as a 'living document' or immediate publication.
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19 Conclusion Acknowledged
Fourth Report - Parliamentary Scru…
While the House does not have the power to compel Ministers to cause specific temporary...
While the House does not have the power to compel Ministers to cause specific temporary provisions under the Coronavirus Act to expire, the powers Ministers have under the Act means that Members of the House can still use the six-monthly … Read more
Government Response
The government shares the committee's view that MPs should use six-monthly reviews to raise concerns and press Ministers on expiring or suspending provisions, citing an example where a Minister acted on such representations.
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20 Recommendation Acknowledged
Fourth Report - Parliamentary Scru…
The resolution of the debate will not affect all coronavirus-related legislation.
The resolution of the debate will not affect all coronavirus-related legislation. For example, “lockdown regulations”, are made under the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984 and would therefore not be legally affected by the six-monthly reviews. The Government should … Read more
Government Response
The government recognises concerns and hopes existing parliamentary briefings and public records have clarified the statutory basis of legislation, including what is not part of the Coronavirus Act. It also highlights the Secretary of State's commitment to debate significant national regulations before they come into force, where possible.
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Government Response AI assessment · 24 of 13 classified
Accepted 13
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 5
Rejected 4
Total 13 recs + 11 conclusions
Correspondence 11 letters
6 Oct 2020 To committee Letter from the Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on renewal of provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020, dated 29.9.20
Parliament page
22 Sep 2020 From committee Letter to the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP on debate on renewal of provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020, dated 17.9.20
Parliament page
2 Sep 2020 To committee Letter from Edward Argar MP, Minister of State for Health on follow-up evidence after 14.7.20 oral evidence session, dated 26.8.20
Parliament page
2 Sep 2020 To committee Letter from the Paymaster General Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP on follow-up evidence after 14.7.20 oral evidence session, dated 21.8.20
Parliament page
2 Sep 2020 To committee Letter from Gordon Lyons MLA, Junior Minister, Executive Office, Northern Ireland on follow-up evidence after 23.6.20 oral evidence session, dated 3.8.20
Parliament page
21 Jul 2020 To committee Letter from Michael Russell MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, Europe and External Affairs on civil contingency planning and preparedness, dated 17.7.20
Parliament page
7 Jul 2020 To committee Letter from Ed Humpherson, Director General for Regulation, Office for Statistics Regulation on Covid-19 statistics, dated 1.7.20
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16 Jun 2020 To committee Letter from Chloe Smith MP, Minister of State on Boundary review and electoral data and annual canvass 2020, dated 9.6.20
Parliament page
9 Jun 2020 Correspondence with Rt Hon Mark Drakeford MP regarding invitation to give oral evidence on Coronavirus, dated 2.6.20
Parliament page
9 Jun 2020 Correspondence with Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon MSP regarding invitation to give oral evidence on Coronavirus, dated 2.6.20
Parliament page
9 Jun 2020 Correspondence with Rt Hon Arlene Foster MLA regarding invitation to give oral evidence on Coronavirus, dated 2.6.20
Parliament page