Select Committee · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Coronavirus Act 2020 Two Years On

Status: Closed Opened: 9 Dec 2021 Closed: 16 Jun 2022 5 recommendations 8 conclusions 1 report

The Coronavirus Act 2020 was passed at pace at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Act has been subject to renewal at six-monthly intervals since its entry into force. After two years on the statute books, its provisions are set to expire automatically at the end of March 2022, unless the Government chooses to … Show more

Reports

1 report

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Seventh Report - Coronavirus Act 2020 Two Years On	HC 978	18 Mar 2022	13	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 items

2 Conclusion Seventh Report - Coronavirus Act 2020 T… Accepted

Any future use of sunset clauses in relation to emergency legislation should come with a...

Any future use of sunset clauses in relation to emergency legislation should come with a clear explanation about why the Government believes that the length of the sunset being proposed is proportionate to the emergency being addressed.

Government response AI summary

The government states the sunset clause aimed to strike a balance and highlights the Act's flexibility to expire or suspend provisions before the sunset date, and the inclusion of six-monthly reviews and renewal votes in Parliament.

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8 Conclusion Seventh Report - Coronavirus Act 2020 T… Accepted

The Committee noted the existence of the draft Pandemic Flu Bill and believes that, although...

The Committee noted the existence of the draft Pandemic Flu Bill and believes that, although appreciating that the uncertainty around the future make it difficult, conducting pre-legislative scrutiny to provide an update and improved version of previous work would be of considerable benefit to the preparedness to respond to the … Read more

Government response AI summary

The government notes the Act was built on a draft emergency bill and states that future emergency legislation would always need to be tailored to the specific threat posed at the time, while continuing to review the legal framework and lessons learned.

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9 Recommendation Seventh Report - Coronavirus Act 2020 T… Accepted

The Committee urges the Government to look again at the possibility of introducing a piece...

The Committee urges the Government to look again at the possibility of introducing a piece or range of draft legislation to allow for prior scrutiny of plans before an emergency occurs. Whilst the Committee appreciates the point made by the Secretary of State that we cannot predict what a future … Read more

Government response AI summary

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Oral evidence sessions

2 sessions

Date	Witnesses
24 Feb 2022	Rt Hon Sajid Javid · Department of Health and Social Care	View ↗
25 Jan 2022	Dr Ronan Cormacain · Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, Dr Ruth Fox · Hansard Society, Professor Jeff King · University College London (UCL)	View ↗

Who gave evidence

4 witnesses

Witness	Organisation	Sessions
Dr Ronan Cormacain · Senior Research Fellow	Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law	1
Dr Ruth Fox · Director	Hansard Society	1
Professor Jeff King · Professor of Law	University College London (UCL)	1
Rt Hon Sajid Javid · Secretary of State	Department of Health and Social Care	1

Correspondence

1 letter

Date	Direction	Title
8 Feb 2022	To cttee	Letter from Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP, Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster on C…