Ministers ‘don’t know’ if Covid travel rules worked, report findson July 26, 2022 at 4:10 am

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Testing and quarantine requirements “caused huge confusion and disruption”, MPs say in a review.

Woman travels through Heathrow airport with two suitcases and wearing a coronavirus maskImage source, Getty Images

The government “doesn’t know” if its Covid travel restrictions worked, MPs have said.

The UK’s traffic light system – which saw travellers from ‘red’ countries pay to quarantine in hotels – caused “confusion and disruption”, the Public Accounts Committee said.

Taxpayers subsidised £329m of the total £757m cost of quarantine hotels, its report added.

The government said the rules “bought vital time” to manage new variants.

A system in which countries were labelled red, amber or green – with red countries deemed to pose the greatest Covid infection risk – came into force in May 2021.

People returning from countries in each category were subject to different testing and isolation rules, with those returning from red-list countries forced to pay up to £2,200 to quarantine in a hotel for at least 10 days.

The UK’s travel rules changed 10 times between February 2021 and January 2022 and changes were not clearly communicated with travel carriers or the public, the report said.

The government did not track its spending on managing travel into the country, the MPs claimed, and does not know if the cost “was worth the disruption caused”.

Dame Meg Hillier, who chairs the committee, said: “We can be clear on one thing – the cost to the taxpayer in subsidising expensive quarantine hotels, and more millions of taxpayers’ money blown on measures with no apparent plan or reasoning and precious few checks or proof that it was working to protect public health.”

A government statement said it had “acted swiftly and decisively” to implement policies “designed to save lives”.

It added: “The Covid-19 Inquiry has been set up to examine the UK’s response to the pandemic and the government will meet its obligations to the inquiry in full.”

- Advertisement -

Discover

Sponsor

Latest

War in Ukraine: Life on the Kharkiv frontlineon March 17, 2022 at 6:32 pm

BBC's Quentin Sommerville reports from Ukraine's second biggest city, torn apart by war.

Brexit: Northern Ireland Protocol talks at their end stages, sources sayon February 11, 2023 at 6:56 am

One source suggests a legal text is now being looked at where the final details are nailed down.Image source, CLODAGH KILCOYNE/REUTERSBy Jessica ParkerBBC political...

I’ve been forced out over Partygate report, says Boris Johnsonon June 9, 2023 at 10:01 pm

Boris Johnson is to step down as an MP but insists that "I did not lie" over Covid lockdowns.Image source, Cabinet OfficeBy Michael Sheils...

China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang – UN reporton August 31, 2022 at 11:29 pm

China is accused of serious human rights violations in long-awaited report that it tried to stop being published.Image source, Getty ImagesThe UN has accused...

England local elections 2022: What’s at stake for the parties?on March 28, 2022 at 12:04 am

Elections in England this year will reflect voters' views on the cost-of-living crisis, says the BBC's Alex Forsyth.