Today, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions in England. The plan has 4 stages and certain criteria must be met before progressing to the next stage. The official guidance can be viewed here.
Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement on the roadmap out of lockdown, Munira said:
“It’s welcome that we now have a clearer picture of how the Government intends to ease lockdown restrictions. For many, after the sacrifices of the last year, it will come as a relief that there is now some hope that some of these restrictions might get lifted if it is safe to do so.
However, as we begin to recover from the pandemic, the Government must not overlook the people who have been hit the hardest.
Businesses and people in my constituency who have been excluded from Government financial support have been shut out too long now and are struggling financially to stay afloat. It is absolutely unforgiveable that after 11 months, the Prime Minister today still did not announce anything to help these people. I will continue to press the Government for support.
I was also deeply concerned that the Prime Minister has not set out plans for fixing the Test, Trace and Isolate system. Vaccination is of course key to moving out of lockdown, but we still need to test and trace every case, and isolate every case and contact. Crucially, the Government needs to provide people with enough support to stay at home if they are asked to self-isolate.
After months of sacrifices by millions of people and businesses across the country, the Government must not squander people’s hard work in living with these restrictions. We cannot see a repeat of last year.”