Stop moving goalposts and publish data on restrictions, MPs tell Government

The Government must stop “moving the goalposts” in decisions on coronavirus restrictions and should publish data thresholds for its road map out of lockdown, MPs have urged.

A report by the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee criticised a lack of transparency from ministers throughout the pandemic.

It said the framework for lockdown and tiering decisions changed “repeatedly”, with decisions not always appearing to reflect new information.

The committee warned that this had led to confusion and mistrust among the public – despite trust being a “crucial factor” in the success of the response to the crisis.

Leisure and hospitality sectors had not seen the data underpinning decisions to put restrictions on their businesses, the report noted.

The MPs said the Government’s priority must be to ensure there is a “clear and consistent framework for making lockdown decisions as a path back to normality is charted”.

They said the Government should publish thresholds for moving between steps in the road map out of the current national lockdown.

“The new road map must be updated to point to where data can be found under each indicator,” the committee wrote.

“The road map indicators should be added to the dashboard, with clear links through to the data at lower local authority level underpinning each one.”

The report added: “The framework for lockdown and tiering decisions has changed repeatedly throughout this pandemic.

“While the Committee does not object to the inclusion of new metrics (such as vaccines), changes in the framework to date have not always appeared to reflect new information.

“This has amounted to a moving of the goalposts, which creates uncertainty, makes it impossible to see trends and therefore must stop.”

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove was also criticised in the report for declining to appear before the Committee last month – with the MPs describing his refusal as “contemptuous of Parliament”.

They said that ministers sent in his place were “poorly briefed and unable to answer the Committee’s questions”.

Committee chairman William Wragg said: “This report is not intended to look at the rights and wrongs of the Government’s decisions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is about ensuring that we, as parliamentarians, can hold the Government to account for those decisions by examining the data.

“The British public must be commended for how it has risen to challenges that would be unimaginable in any other circumstance. Securing their trust is a crucial factor in the success of our response to the pandemic. For the Government to build public confidence, it is absolutely vital that it is open on how it reaches its decisions and the data underpinning them.

“Lessons must also be learnt on how the Government shares information with local partners. Delays in sharing vital data, and a reluctance to share detailed data almost certainly hampered the local response. This over-centralisation must not be repeated.

“I, like the rest of the country, look forward to the easing of lockdown restrictions and a return to normality. If the Government learns the right lessons and improves how it shares data with partners and the public, we can be in the best possible position to react to any future stages of the pandemic.”