My Lords, I thank noble Lords very much for an extremely helpful debate, and I very much welcome this return to the Moses Room. It is very nice to be back in the intimate and more conversational style of Committee.
The Secretary of State has been on his feet this afternoon to talk about the toolkit. My understanding is that there will be some kind of Statement repeat, and I look forward very much to going through the toolkit during that. I apologise in advance if I cannot answer every question on that right now, but I would like to tackle a couple of points that were raised. Before I do, I will say a word of appreciation for the contributions of the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton—her presence is highly valued—and for those who organised the virtual House and our current arrangements. It is all a massive compromise and uncomfortable, but I am extremely grateful for the work that has been done to make this return possible. I am hopeful that even more can be done in October.
A number of noble Lords, particularly the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, asked about the booster. The NHS will be rolling out a booster programme to protect those who are most vulnerable to Covid, as we announced previously. It will now be extended to individuals who received vaccination in phase 1 of the programme:
that is, JCVI groups 1 to 9. That includes those living in residential care, all adults over 50, front-line health and social care workers, and all those aged between 16 and 40 who have underlying health conditions that put them at a higher risk of severe Covid.
This is very good news. There is very strong evidence that a booster programme such as this can have a very big impact, particularly on those who are immunosuppressed or who live with the immunosuppressed. The JCVI has advised that the booster vaccine programme is offered no earlier than six months after completion of the primary vaccine course, and that will of course affect many people. The vaccination programme has been planning booster vaccinations for some time, which means that the NHS is now in a position to offer booster doses from next week. As most younger adults will have received only their second Covid vaccine dose in late summer, the benefits of booster vaccination in this group will be considered at a later date. I think noble Lords would agree that this is a reasonable and proportionate approach to this complex issue.
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Following the advice from the JCVI, the four CMOs and the NHS, working with the school immunisation teams, will offer a first dose of vaccine to 12 to 15 year-olds from next week. That is incredibly good news and sees through the immense amount of work that has gone into assessment. A decision will be made in consultation with a GP. If there is a dispute with parents, there will be a four-stage process for determining whether a young person has capacity to consent to a vaccination, as is the case with all vaccinations of children, as I am sure noble Lords know.
On the subject of face coverings, this came up last week and after the debate I looked into the figures on the wearing of them. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, is right that there has been a change in the wearing—or the perceived wearing—of face coverings. The reassurance that I had seen in previous figures changed after the 19 July step 4 change, as many noble Lords noted.
We believe that the measures we have put in place are proportionate. It is our view that you cannot put something as intimate and detailed as face covering into law for very long periods. We have to trust the people themselves. That is why in step 4 the Government removed the legal requirement to wear face coverings. The success of the vaccine programme is not the only thing we are relying on, but it puts us in a position to relax some restrictions. Face coverings remain an incredibly important way to reduce the spread of the virus and that is why the Government expect and recommend that they continue to be used in indoor spaces where you come into contact with people you do not normally meet, particularly where there is a risk of greater transmission, such as the Tube, whether overland or underground. The government guidance on face covering enables people to make informed decisions about how to manage the risk to themselves and others. It is our hope that people will continue to respect that guidance and to be considerate to others.
The regulations provided local authorities with powers to enable local authority enforcement officers to issue improvement and restriction notices to persons not
meeting Covid-secure business obligations, as the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, and the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, rightly noted. These regulations were revoked as part as the move to step 4 of the road map. We believe that the tests set out in the number 3 regs, including engagement with DPHs to ensure that they are proportionate, will mean that DPHs are left in a position to conduct whatever interventions they feel they need to. There is an appeal mechanism, and they can rely on that, if necessary.
In answer to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, about how often number 3 regulations have been used by the authorities, I can share with him that they have been used 330 times since the regulations were laid.
I have some sympathy for all those who travel from England to Scotland and have noted the differences in messaging. I think many noble Lords have made that journey and noted the same thing. However, there have been benefits from the four-nations approach. It is important that the leaders of each country take their country with them. It increases compliance if communities feel connected to the leaders who are trying to inspire and guide them. However, after so many months of the pandemic I think noble Lords are right that more alignment would be convenient and more impactful. We are certainly working hard at a ministerial and a CMO level to try to get more alignment in our policy-making, which then flows through to our message-making.
However, it is not right that, as I think the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, suggested, we are relying simply on vaccinations. Other important mitigations are in place. Testing, borders and the investment in therapeutics and clinical innovations in the treatment of Covid have all meant that we have massively strengthened our response to the pandemic.
We believe that the spike in infections in Scotland is due in part to the return of schools, which, as noble Lords know, happens earlier in Scotland. We think it is also because the loosening of some regulations in Scotland coincided with the return of schools. We in England loosened a lot of our regulations with the step 4 regulations we have before us, so we hope that there will not be the same spike here.
My noble friend Lady McIntosh asked about tests for travel. Travel is essentially a voluntary business, done by a very tiny proportion of the country. It is therefore our view that it is not reasonable for the broad taxpayer, the vast majority of whom are not travelling, to pay for the tests of those who have the opportunity to travel. However, we are leaning into the test arrangements around foreign travel, and I am aware of the complaints of noble Lords and the public. Since 15 December, when we brought in the day two and day eight testing regime, private industry has come an enormous way to stand up a massive system of testing. It is not perfect but we are leaning in very heavily to make sure that there are improvements. There are currently 500 providers, many of whom deliver an absolutely first-class service, but we have got tough on providers who do not. We are enforcing minimum standards and making daily checks on the pricing arrangements that providers are promising on
GOV.UK but not always standing by. For these reasons, we hope that there will be a significant improvement and that travellers will be able to rely on that service for months to come. I commend the regulations to the Committee.