Coronavirus: MPs vowed to vote on new rules ‘whenever possible’

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has promised MPs to vote “wherever possible” on coronavirus regulations in England or across the UK before they go into effect.

However, he warned: “We cannot delay the urgent regulations that are needed to control the virus and save lives.”

His move follows Conservative MPs’ concern over the lack of parliamentary scrutiny.

Earlier Wednesday, the Speaker of the Commons warned the government not to treat Parliament with “contempt.”

Hancock spoke in the House of Commons before the vote on a motion that will extend the Coronavirus Act, the emergency legislation passed in March, which gives authorities broad powers to address Covid, such as closing schools and stopping mass gatherings.

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The Health Secretary said: “I am sure that no member of this House would want to limit the government’s ability to take emergency measures in the national interest as we did in March.”

“And we will continue to involve the House in scrutinizing our decisions in the way that the prime minister set out last week, with regular statements and debates and the ability of members to question the government’s scientific advisers more regularly.

“And I hope the new arrangements are welcomed on all sides of the House and I will continue to listen to the concerns of colleagues, as I have done my best to do so.”

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee of backing Conservative MPs, had been pushing for MPs to have more voice on the restrictions introduced to combat the virus.

He welcomed Hancock’s announcement saying, “We are grateful that he and other members of the government have understood the importance of proper scrutiny in this place and the benefits it can bring to better government as well.”

When asked clearly by a former Conservative chief, Mark Harper, what new rules MPs could vote on, Hancock said: “I hope that in the coming weeks we will show through our actions and what we present that we are true to this commitment, which is essentially will become a new convention. “

Labor shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “We recognized that the government, in a pandemic, any government needs extraordinary powers available, and why with heavy heart today, facing this highly unsatisfactory situation of a all or nothing motion, we will not be blocking your passage today. “

Dozens of Conservative MPs backed an amendment to Sir Graham’s motion calling for future regulations affecting all of England to be introduced only if Parliament has a chance to debate and vote on them in advance.

The Speaker of the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, did not select the amendment explaining that any amendment to the motion ran the risk of creating uncertainty about the legality of the Act and potentially opened it to judicial challenge.

However, he told deputies: “The way the government has exercised its powers to make secondary legislation during this crisis has been totally unsatisfactory.

“Too often important statutory instruments have been issued in a matter of hours before they go into effect and some explanations of why important measures have come into force before they can be brought before this House has not been convincing and shows utter disregard for the camera . ”

He said that “now he is looking for the government to rebuild trust with the Chamber, not to treat it with the contempt it has shown.”

In response to criticism from Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the prime minister’s spokesman said the government was “looking for new ways to involve parliament in the process beforehand.”