Warwickshire must be considered alone in future decisions over Covid restrictions

Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi says he is pushing for Warwickshire to be considered separately from Coventry and Solihull in future decisions over coronavirus restrictions.

Mr Zahawi said: “I am extremely disappointed and sad that Warwickshire will be moving into Tier 3 next week, in particular because of the effect this will have on our hospitality, tourism and performing arts industries who have already been through so much this year.

“It seems that the high numbers of infections, especially among those over 60, and hospitalisations in the north of the county have counted against us, and that restrictions in Warwickshire have been considered alongside Coventry and Solihull.

“I spoke with the Health Secretary after the announcement on Thursday and made clear to him the very strong feelings from constituents about restrictions in Stratford-on-Avon being affected by factors in areas further away from us than from our immediate neighbours, such as Worcestershire and Oxfordshire, both of whom will be moving into Tier 2 next week.

“I fully understand these concerns. Therefore, along with fellow Warwickshire MPs, I will be pushing the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure Warwickshire is considered alone, and separately from Coventry and Solihull in all future decisions about restrictions in our county.

“I have now spoken with Izzi Seccombe, the leader of Warwickshire County Council, who will also be pushing for Warwickshire to be considered alone as a county, about plans to secure Warwickshire’s passage into Tier 2 which must now be our focus. She will be working to get mass testing rolled out in the north of the county as soon as possible. As Liverpool has proven, community testing is a viable route into lower tiers. It is therefore vital we see this undertaken in North Warwickshire, and I will be making representations to my fellow Government Ministers in support of Izzi’s efforts.

“The tiers will be reviewed on 16th December and, as aforementioned, colleagues and I will be pushing for Warwickshire to be reconsidered alone as a county and for a roll-out of mass testing in North Warwickshire, both of which will hopefully enable us to move down into Tier 2. But this cannot be achieved alone, and we need each and every Warwickshire resident to continue following the rules to the letter. Only by working together like this can we ensure we move into Tier 2 as soon as possible.”