By Victoria Mckeown-
The UK government will vote to extend lockdown legislation tomorrow, Thursday, in order to justify lockdown restrictions continuing beyond March.
The Coronavirus Act, which legally empowers the British government to impose temporary Covid restrictions, ends this month.
While the government’s roadmap aims for normality to resume by June 21, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeking to extend the Coronavirus Act for another six months – until October.
Health minister Helen Whately said plans to lift lockdown by June are still on track , and that the extension will allow the government to continue with measures such as the furlough scheme beyond the end of lockdown.
However, the extension of the Coronavirus Act will also allow the British government to extend the lockdown before the June scheduled date, if they decide to do so, though Downing Street’s official position is that extending the lockdown beyond June is not currently on the cards.
A number of measures are no longer believed to be essential to the national response to the pandemic, and will be allowed to expire.
Matt Hancock said: “We are rightly ending as many national measures as safely as possible, while maintaining those which remain necessary and proportionate to help reduce and control infections further as we cautiously but irreversibly ease restrictions and our historic vaccination programme continues apace.”