This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Petition Implement UK lockdown for preventing spread of COVID19
The UK needs to follow suit the containment procedures of countries that have been greatly affected by COVID19 such as Italy.
The UK should restrict unnecessary travel between towns and cities. Travel permitted should only be for work or emergencies. Public gatherings should also be discouraged.
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It is time the government should prioritise the health of the public and should consider how vital it is to implement effective containment now.
It is better to spend money to contain the virus and treating the relatively low numbers who are ill now rather than wait for more casualties.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
The Petitions Committee decided not to debate this petition
Because it has not been possible to debate this petition to date, and the issues raised by this petition have been acted on by the Government and considered by the Committee and in the House of Commons in other ways, the Committee has agreed not schedule this petition for debate.
Government responded
This response was given on 19 March 2020
We understand the public’s concern and are doing everything we can to combat the outbreak. We will continue to evolve our response based on the latest and best scientific and medical advice.
Read the response in full
It is absolutely critical in managing the spread of this virus that we take the right decisions at the right time, based on the best evidence available.
On 3 March, the Government launched its coronavirus (COVID-19) action plan: www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-action-plan/coronavirus-action-plan-a-guide-to-what-you-can-expect-across-the-uk. This plan has two overriding aims: to protect the NHS by building it up and flattening the curve of coronavirus cases; and to protect life by safe guarding those who are most vulnerable.
Since this petition started the Government has made a number of significant announcements which are set out below. We will continue to adapt the response to follow the best scientific advice.
On 16 March Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock announced a ‘Stay at Home’ policy. This is a social-distancing model for the general public with more home-working and less social interaction.
Guidance on social distancing for everyone in the UK and protecting older people and vulnerable adults has been published on gov.uk: www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults.
This guidance is particularly important for people over 70 years old, pregnant women, and those with some health conditions. It advises on the social distancing measures we should all take to reduce our social interaction in order to reduce the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19):
Avoid contact with someone who is displaying symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19). These symptoms include high temperature and/or new and continuous cough
Avoid non-essential use of public transport, varying your travel times to avoid rush hour, when possible
Work from home, where possible. Your employer should support you to do this. Please refer to employer guidance for more information
Avoid large gatherings, and gatherings in smaller public spaces such as pubs, cinemas, restaurants, theatres, bars, clubs
Avoid gatherings with friends and family. Keep in touch using remote technology such as phone, internet, and social media
Use telephone or online services to contact your GP or other essential services
Everyone should be trying to follow these measures as much as is pragmatic.
The Government advises those who are at increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus (COVID-19) to be particularly stringent in following social distancing measures. This group includes those who are:
aged 70 or older (regardless of medical conditions)
under 70 with an underlying health condition listed below (ie anyone instructed to get a flu jab as an adult each year on medical grounds):
chronic (long-term) respiratory diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema or bronchitis
chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
chronic kidney disease
chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis
chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), a learning disability or cerebral palsy
diabetes
problems with your spleen – for example, sickle cell disease or if you have had your spleen removed
a weakened immune system as the result of conditions such as HIV and AIDS, or medicines such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy
being seriously overweight (a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above)
those who are pregnant
There are some clinical conditions which put people at even higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. The NHS in England will directly contact those who are in this category.
People falling into this group are those who may be at particular risk due to complex health problems such as:
people who have received an organ transplant and remain on ongoing immunosuppression medication
people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radiotherapy
people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia who are at any stage of treatment
people with severe chest conditions such as cystic fibrosis or severe asthma (requiring hospital admissions or courses of steroid tablets)
people with severe diseases of body systems, such as severe kidney disease (dialysis)
The Government will shortly start a ‘shielding’ approach for the 1.4 million most vulnerable people in our community.
On 17 March the Foreign and Commonwealth updated their travel advice, advising against all non-essential international travel, initially for a period of 30 days. This reflects the pace at which other countries are either closing their borders or implementing restrictive measures.
On 19 March the Government will introduce the Coronavirus Emergency Bill which will grant the power to keep essential services running.
These measures will be disruptive, but the Government believes they will save lives.
Tackling coronavirus is a national effort: thank you for the part you are playing.
Department of Health and Social Care.
Related activity
Tell us what you want to know about the Government's response to coronavirus
As the result of the large numbers of petitions and signatures we've received on coronavirus, we will be putting your concerns and questions directly to the Government at an evidence session (a question and answer session with representatives from the Government) in the coming days.
Tell us what question(s) you'd like us to the ask the Government and experts in this short survey: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/petitionscommittee/
We'll email you again to let you know more about the session, including when it's going to happen, who'll be taking part and how you can watch it live.
We will also email you a link to the video and a transcript of the session afterwards.
Who are we?
We are the House of Commons Petitions Committee. We are a cross-party group of MPs that looks at e-petitions submitted on petition.parliament.uk. We are independent from Government. You can find out more about us and our work on our website: http://www.parliament.uk/petitions-committee/role
You can follow the Petitions Committee on Twitter: @HoCpetitions
Petitions Committee questions Government on its response to coronavirus
We emailed people who had signed this petition by 16 March to ask for your questions about the Government’s response to coronavirus.
Thank you to everyone who sent us your questions: we received over 60,000.
We put the most requested questions to the Government Minister for Schools, the Minister for Disabled People and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer. These included:
- How long will schools be closed for and what will the impact be on exams and grades?
- What financial support will be available for the self-employed?
- What financial support will be offered to people who are unable to pay their rent or bills due to self-isolation or loss of work?
- What support will be offered to the events, creative and hospitality industries now that pubs, clubs and cultural venues have been closed?
- What clear, practical steps can people take to make sure they are following Government guidance on social distancing, household isolation and self-isolation?
- Who is being tested and why, and will tests be made freely available to everyone?
- What is the Government doing to ensure that everyone is getting the right information?
Watch the session on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aPLXJcZEfi8
Read the transcript: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/publications/written-evidence/
Because of the large number of petitions that we continue to receive on coronavirus we have sent more questions to the Government to answer.
Read our letters to different Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
Some of the questions we’ve asked include:
- When will testing capacity will be increased; who will testing be available for and will it be free?
- What is being done to tackle the spread of disinformation?
- How quickly will support for self-employed people be made available?
- What will happen to the school year? Will summer holidays be cancelled so that children can catch up?
- How are foodbanks being supported to continue operating during the outbreak?
- What is being done to address panic buying and prevent price hikes of key items?
- Will trains, buses and flights continue to operate? For how long?
We’ll email you again to let you know when we get a response to these questions, and to let you know about any more action the Committee takes.
Who are we?
We are the House of Commons Petitions Committee. We are a cross-party group of MPs that looks at e-petitions submitted on petition.parliament.uk. We are independent from Government. You can find out more about us and our work on our website.
You can follow the Petitions Committee on Twitter: @HoCpetitions.
Further information
You can read impartial House of Commons Library information about coronavirus here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
Petitions Committee agrees not to debate petition calling for UK lockdown
The Petitions Committee (the group of MPs that looks at petitions submitted on petition.parliament.uk) would normally debate petitions that secure more than 100,000 signatures.
However, Petition debates normally take place in Westminster Hall, the second Chamber of the House of Commons, and these debates were cancelled in March because of Covid-19. This means that the Petitions Committee has been unable to schedule debates on petitions over 100,000 signatures in the usual way.
After this petition was started the Government put in place a range of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, including some set out in this petition. The Government is now in the process of easing lockdown restrictions, although some new restrictions have also been imposed.
The Petitions Committee discussed Covid-19 lockdown restrictions with Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer in March. Petitioners were invited to submit questions for a session the Petitions Committee held with Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer on 25 March, where the request made by this petition and the Government's announcement on Covid-19 restrictions were raised with Ministers. You can read a transcript of this session here: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/948/html/
The Committee also held a session on the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions on 15 July, where MPs discussed the Government's approach to emerging from the lockdown. You can read a transcript of this session here: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/699/html/
Because it has not been possible to debate this petition to date, and the issues raised by this petition have been acted on by the Government and considered by the Committee and in the House of Commons in other ways, the Committee has agreed not schedule this petition for debate.
We have published a petition calling on the Government to keep the lockdown and restrictions in place, which you might like to sign: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/319329
The Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak in a number of ways, and you can find out more about this work here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/