Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 24 February 2022 [Draft]
The COVID-19 Recovery Committee discussed the matter this morning. It is good that we are starting to see the baseline measures removed, but we are not yet out of the pandemic and we should not give the impression that suddenly everything is back to normal. That is why Labour was willing this morning, and will be willing tonight, to support the continuation of these temporary measures for the next six months.
I want to be clear that we oppose any move to make any of the measures permanent, and we will oppose a permanent extension of any powers. However, I believe that right now it is sensible to allow the Government to have that flexibility, because we are not out of the pandemic. The Government needs to make that point again and again.