Select Committee · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Responding to Covid-19 and the Coronavirus Act 2020

Status: Closed Opened: 15 May 2020 Closed: 9 Mar 2021 13 recommendations 11 conclusions 1 report

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 supporting and informing that debate.

Reports

1 report

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Fourth Report - Parliamentary Scrutiny of the Government’s …	HC 377	10 Sep 2020	24	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items

9 Recommendation Fourth Report - Parliamentary Scrutiny … Accepted in Part

Parliamentary processes and debates help to confer legitimacy upon policy changes made through emergency legislation,...

Parliamentary processes and debates help to confer legitimacy upon policy changes made through emergency legislation, particularly when the legislation is so striking in its curtailment of liberties that would normally be taken for granted. Such debates also provide opportunities for parliamentarians to raise problems that exist in the legislation or … Read more

Government response AI summary

The government notes concerns and states it will continue to provide opportunities for parliamentary scrutiny. It reaffirms the Secretary of State's commitment to facilitate debates on significant national regulations before they come into force, whenever circumstances permit, citing specific recent examples of this practice.

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16 Conclusion Fourth Report - Parliamentary Scrutiny … Accepted in Part

The Government did not immediately set out the exceptions to the ban on gatherings in...

The Government did not immediately set out the exceptions to the ban on gatherings in private dwellings in parts of the North of England but instead waited until it introduced the legislation. This is particularly strange when the exceptions relating to private dwellings substantially mirrored the relevant exceptions contained within … Read more

Government response AI summary

The government acknowledged the occasional delay between announcements and regulations, committing to continually strive for timely future announcements and clearer wording to avoid confusion, recognizing the challenge of balancing swift action with clear communication.

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Oral evidence sessions

4 sessions

Date	Witnesses
23 Jul 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	View ↗
14 Jul 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	View ↗
23 Jun 2020	Gordon Lyons MLA · Northern Ireland Assembly, Jeremy Miles MS · Welsh Government, Michael Russell MSP · Scottish Parliament	View ↗
16 Jun 2020	Dr. Ronan Cormacain · (self-employed), Professor Aileen McHarg · Durham University, Raphael Hogarth · Institute for Government	View ↗

Who gave evidence

17 witnesses

Witness	Organisation	Sessions
Clara Swinson · Director General	Department for Health and Social Care	1
Dame Una O’Brien DCB	—	1
Dr Alister Stark	—	1
Dr. Ronan Cormacain	(self-employed)	1
Edward Argar MP · Minister of State	Department of Health and Social Care	1
Emma Norris · Director of Research	Institute for Government	1
Gordon Lyons MLA · Junior Minister, the Executive Office	Northern Ireland Assembly	1
Jason Beer QC	—	1
Jeremy Miles MS · Counsel General for Wales and Minister for Europe…	Welsh Government	1
Katharine Hammond · Head of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat	Cabinet Office	1
Michael Russell MSP · Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, Europe and Ex…	Scottish Parliament	1
Professor Aileen McHarg	Durham University	1
Raphael Hogarth	Institute for Government	1
Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP	Cabinet Office	1
Sir Robert Francis · Chair	HealthWatch England	1
The Rt Hon. the Baroness Prashar CBE	—	1
The Rt Hon. the Lord Butler of Brockwell KG GCB CVO	—	1

Correspondence

11 letters

Date	Direction	Title
6 Oct 2020	To cttee	Letter from the Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Health and Socia…
22 Sep 2020	From cttee	Letter to the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP on debate on renewal of provisions in the …
2 Sep 2020	To cttee	Letter from Edward Argar MP, Minister of State for Health on follow-up evidence…
2 Sep 2020	To cttee	Letter from the Paymaster General Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP on follow-up evidenc…
2 Sep 2020	To cttee	Letter from Gordon Lyons MLA, Junior Minister, Executive Office, Northern Irela…
21 Jul 2020	To cttee	Letter from Michael Russell MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, Europe and…
7 Jul 2020	To cttee	Letter from Ed Humpherson, Director General for Regulation, Office for Statisti…
16 Jun 2020	To cttee	Letter from Chloe Smith MP, Minister of State on Boundary review and electoral …
9 Jun 2020	—	Correspondence with Rt Hon Mark Drakeford MP regarding invitation to give oral …
9 Jun 2020	—	Correspondence with Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon MSP regarding invitation to give ora…
9 Jun 2020	—	Correspondence with Rt Hon Arlene Foster MLA regarding invitation to give oral …