Home / Sources / Select Committees / Petitions Committee / The Government's response to Coronavirus
Index live · Last sync 22 May 2026
Select Committee · Petitions Committee

The Government's response to Coronavirus

Status: Closed Opened: 13 Mar 2020 Closed: 31 Dec 2020 26 recommendations 4 conclusions 2 reports

As a result of the large numbers of petitions people have started on this issue, the Petitions Committee is questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus to answer petitioner’s most common questions and concerns.

Clear

Reports

2 reports
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Second Report - The impact of Covid-19 on university studen… HC 527 13 Jul 2020 8 Responded
First Report: The impact of Covid-19 on maternity and paren… HC 526 6 Jul 2020 22 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 items
1 Recommendation First Report: The impact of Covid-19 on… Not Addressed

The Government’s response has argued that the UK’s maternity leave offer is already amongst the...

The Government’s response has argued that the UK’s maternity leave offer is already amongst the most generous in the world. Although up to 52 weeks leave is generous compared to other countries, the amount of maternity pay is not the most generous in the world. While we accept that other …

Government response. The government's response does not address the recommendation to capture data on the uptake of parental leave and pay, instead focusing on defending the generosity and flexibility of existing maternity leave arrangements and rejecting the idea of extending entitlements.
4 Conclusion First Report: The impact of Covid-19 on… Not Addressed

The Government has suggested that women can be furloughed as a means of extending their...

The Government has suggested that women can be furloughed as a means of extending their maternity leave and delaying their return to work. However, access to the scheme is reliant on employers’ consent, rather than parents having a right to it, and there are strict limitations to whom it can …

Government response. The government explained the purpose and temporary nature of the CJRS, confirming that employers are not obliged to use the scheme, and reiterated existing health and safety requirements for pregnant employees, without directly addressing the committee's concerns about fairness and …
12 Recommendation First Report: The impact of Covid-19 on… Not Addressed

New parents have missed out on vital support from professionals such as health visitors to...

New parents have missed out on vital support from professionals such as health visitors to baby classes and groups. We’ve heard how important this support is for parental mental health and for helping to lay the foundation for parenting, family life and early infant development. The Government has announced a …

Government response. The government states community health services continued support during the pandemic and that health visitor resources are a matter for local authorities. It mentions general funding for local authorities and charities but does not commit to additional catch-up support specifically …
19 Recommendation First Report: The impact of Covid-19 on… Not Addressed

We welcome the Government’s introduction of testing for members of the public.

We welcome the Government’s introduction of testing for members of the public. However, priority testing should be made available for parents of babies in neonatal care. No parent should be separated unnecessarily from their newborn for any longer that they need to. The Government should prioritise rapid testing for parents …

Government response. The government states that asymptomatic testing is conducted where clinically appropriate and that decisions on COVID-19 testing are made by individual NHS Trusts based on their own risk assessments, without committing to prioritising rapid testing for parents of babies in …

Oral evidence sessions

3 sessions
Date Witnesses
11 Jun 2020 Michelle Donelan MP · Department for Education, Paul Scully MP · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy View ↗
21 May 2020 Alain Gregoire · Maternal Mental Health Alliance, Bobby Norris, petition creator, Dr Trudi Seneviratne OBE · Royal College of Psychiatrists, Josie Anderson · Bliss, Neil Leitch · Early Years Alliance, Sue Armstrong Brown · Adoption UK View ↗
7 May 2020 Bethany Power, Petition signatory · Private citizen, Dr Cheryll Adams CBE FRSPH D(Nurs) MSc · Institute of Health Visiting, Dr Jo Grady · University and College Union, Emily Tredget · Happity, James Zammit-Garcia, Petition Creator, Jessie Zammit, Petition Creator, Professor Elizabeth Meins · University of York, Professor Julia Buckingham CBE · Universities UK, Sophie Quinn, Petition creator, Zamzam Ibrahim · National Union of Students View ↗

Correspondence

29 letters
DateDirectionTitle
29 Apr 2021 To cttee Letter from Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families re…
29 Apr 2021 From cttee Letter to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families …
1 Apr 2021 From cttee Letter to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families …
13 Oct 2020 To cttee Letter from the Minister for Small Business, Consumers & Labour Markets respond…
24 Sep 2020 From cttee Letter to the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets regardi…
24 Sep 2020 From cttee Letter to the Prime Minister regarding the impact of Covid-19 on maternity and …
20 Aug 2020 From cttee Letter to the Secretary of State for Education regarding student grading
4 Aug 2020 From cttee Letter to Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets regarding m…
27 May 2020 From cttee Letter to Huw Merriman MP - Transport Committee - Aviation petition
18 May 2020 From cttee Letter to Oliver Dowden MP - BSL
18 May 2020 To cttee Response from Oliver Dowden MP - BSL
24 Apr 2020 From cttee Letter to Oliver Dowden MP - BSL
23 Apr 2020 From cttee Letter to Select Committee Chairs - scrutiny of the Government’s response to th…
15 Apr 2020 To cttee Response from Matt Hancock MP - The Government's response to Coronavirus
14 Apr 2020 To cttee Response from Oliver Dowden MP - The Government's response to Coronavirus
9 Apr 2020 To cttee Response from Grant Shapps MP - The Government's response to Coronavirus
9 Apr 2020 To cttee Response from Rishi Sunak MP - The Government's response to Coronavirus
9 Apr 2020 To cttee Response from Nick Gibb MP - The Government's response to Coronavirus
9 Apr 2020 To cttee Response from George Eustice MP - The Government's response to Coronavirus
9 Apr 2020 To cttee Response from Robert Jenrick MP - The Government's response to Coronavirus