Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Paragraph: 59
The Committee urges the Government to look again at the possibility of introducing a piece...
Conclusion
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 emergency might look like, we believe that there is still a lot of vital scrutiny work that can be done in advance to create a flexible framework which looks at parliamentary processes, best practices etc. It should be laid in Parliament and robust enough to cover a range of eventualities with only small add-ons needed to address specific emergencies.
Paragraph Reference:
59
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
As noted by the Committee, the Act was built on a draft emergency bill developed for an influenza (or similar) pandemic. The Pan Flu Bill set out the core elements of a response to the threat of a transmissible respiratory disease. Having this pre-existing legislation facilitated the quick drafting of the Act as the pandemic emerged in the UK in early 2020. However, the legislation still needed to be tailored to ensure the Act provided the appropriate powers to respond to the societal impact of the specific threat posed by COVID-19, which has different properties to an influenza pandemic. Any future emergency legislation, even for another transmissible respiratory disease, would always need to be tailored to address the specific threat posed at the time. essential services running. We continue to review the legal framework and lessons learned from COVID-19, to make sure we are well-equipped to respond to future health risks. This includes reviewing the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and other relevant Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments. Legal preparedness and lessons learned from the legislative and regulatory response to the pandemic has also been identified as a key topic for review in the UK COVID-19 Inquiry’s draft terms of reference.