COVID-19: Coronavirus Bill

Powers granted by the Bill, which MPs are not to be given a vote on, will last for two years. Proposals revealed this week include expanding the availability of video and audio link in court proceedings.

According to the Department of Health & Social Care, ‘this would include magistrates’ court hearings taking place by phone or by video, should an individual appeal restriction of movement due to quarantine measures.

‘This will ensure that an appeal takes place but will not require a person to break quarantine in order to attend in person. It will also enable the expansion of the availability of video and audio link in various criminal proceedings, including full video and audio hearings in certain circumstances, and public participation in relation to these and other court and tribunal proceedings conducted by audio and video.

‘The measures will enable a wider range of proceedings to be carried out by video, so that courts can continue to function and remain open to the public, without the need for participants to attend in person. This will give judges more options for avoiding adjournments and keeping business moving through the courts to help reduce delays in the administration of justice and alleviate the impact on families, victims, witnesses and defendants.’

Other proposals in the Bill include enabling regulators to emergency register suitable people as regulated healthcare professionals, including recently retired people and students nearing the end of their training, as well as social workers who may have recently left the profession.

The Bill also provides indemnity for clinical negligence liabilities arising from NHS activities carried out for the purposes of dealing with, or because of, the coronavirus outbreak, in order to legally protect health workers.

There will be changes to legislation dealing with doctors' opinions on detaining mental health patients and time limits, as well as to procedures in relation to death and still-birth certification.

Commenting in LexisPSL Public Law, Gerard Hanratty, partner at Browne Jacobson, said: ‘The proposals also address the reality of how serious this issue is by specifically addressing the need to manage the deceased with dignity and respect. Overall, the Bill contains a realistic set of proposals to support and enable our public services during this difficult time.’

The Bill might also contain protection for private sector renters during the crisis. The National Housing Federation has confirmed that housing associations will not evict tenants in the event they fall behind on rent due to coronavirus.

Olwen Brown, partner at Anthony Collins Solicitors, commenting in LexisPSL Public Law, said: ‘The government has said that local authorities will be fully compensated for coronavirus expenditure but it’s not necessarily easy to identify what that is, so time will tell on the reality of the policy.

‘The news about council tax relief for those hit by the virus has however got to be good news, especially given the economy that persists at the moment and the number of families likely to be affected as shops, restaurants and bars close. But of course, this is also a time when the demands on councils for social care support is going to be growing, and given the enormous hits to local authority budgets since 2010, unless central government does make good on its promise to pay, the impact on councils is going to be unbearable.’

The Bill may amend the Care Act 2014 to enable local authorities to prioritise the most urgent care needs. It is also likely to remove the rules on waiting days in relation to statutory sick pay, while employers with less than 250 employees should be able to reclaim statutory sick pay.