Covid-19

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 5:58 pm on 22 February 2021.

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Photo of Edward Argar Edward Argar Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care) 5:58, 22 February 2021

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. What we have sought to do here is to set out a road map that is measured and cautious but provides, as much as we can, that degree of certainty to allow people to plan for the future. We do not want to set out expectations that are unlikely to be met, and therefore this plan is based on those “at the earliest” dates. If I may, I will make a bit of progress, and then, if we have time—I am conscious of the time—he may wish to return to that point.

We know how tough lockdown has been on people—on individuals, on families and on businesses—and naturally we are beginning—