Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how long the red, amber and green traffic light travel lists will be in place.
Answered by Robert Courts
The International Travel and Operator Liability Regulations, which give legal effect to the traffic light country system, will expire at the end of 16 May 2022, unless revoked earlier.
A statutory review clause is included in the Regulations. The Secretary of State must review whether the Regulations remain effective, necessary and proportionate on public health grounds at least every 28 days.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will publish the dates when travel lists will be reviewed and updates announced.
Answered by Robert Courts
The allocation of countries to the traffic light system will be reviewed every three weeks, unless concerning evidence means we need to act faster to protect public health.
The next review will take place in the week commencing 21st June 2021.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) including and (b) not including an amber travel list in the covid-19 traffic light system prior to the introduction of that list.
Answered by Robert Courts
The “traffic light” country system was developed in conjunction with industry and international partners to facilitate the return of international travel.
The three categories of countries (red, amber and green), to which different restrictions are applied depending on risk, are designed to help the public to understand the health requirements when travelling to England.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of updating the watch lists between official reviews of the red, amber and green travel lists to offer an indication of which countries are most likely to change lists.
Answered by Robert Courts
We have always been guided by the science and that remains the case. The allocation of countries is regularly reviewed, and we will respond to emerging evidence. The Joint Biosecurity Centre will publish data and analysis to support the process of allocating countries.
To give passengers more certainty when travelling, a ‘green watchlist’ will be introduced to help identify countries most at risk of moving from ‘green’ to ‘amber’. The watchlists will provide greater assurance for those who wish to travel abroad to countries on the ‘green’ list.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of holidaymakers taking an initial covid-19 lateral flow test before flying and only requiring a PCR test in the event that the first test returns a positive or inconclusive result.
Answered by Robert Courts
Holidaymakers are able to use a lateral flow test for pre-departure testing before travel to England as long as it meets the minimum performance standards. Testing post-arrival remains an important tool in our wider measures to manage the risk of imported cases of Covid-19, as well as allowing us to identify variants of concern. We are exploring options to reduce the cost of testing, including cheaper tests being used when holidaymakers return home and whether the Government would be able to provide pre-departure tests.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether bilateral arrangements with Danish authorities require certificates of entitlement issued by the UK to UK citizens resident in Denmark to be recognised by the Danish authorities during the application process when a person has (a) lost their driving licence and (b) is applying for a replacement.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
UK licence holders are required to present a valid UK driving licence to exchange it for a Danish licence. So, if the UK licence has been lost, stolen or expired it cannot be exchanged and the UK licence holder will need to apply for a Danish licence and may have to take a test. A certificate of entitlement will not be recognised by Denmark in these circumstances.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government plans to implement the recommendations of the Global Travel Taskforce that (a) foreign holidays can resume from 17 May 2021 and (b) to create a traffic light country list system.
Answered by Robert Courts
It is too early to predict which countries will be on which ‘traffic light’ list.The Government continues to consider a range of factors to inform the restrictions placed on them, such as the percentage of their population that have been vaccinated, the rate of infection, any emerging coronavirus variants and the country’s access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing. We will set out by early May which countries will fall into which category, as well as confirming whether international travel can resume from 17 May.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what urgent steps his Department is taking to (a) work with test providers to reduce the costs of compulsory PCR tests for UK residents travelling overseas prior to the projected reopening of international leisure travel from 17 May 2021 and (b) assess the potential merits of using (i) lateral flow tests and (ii) other cheaper alternatives to PCR testing for overseas travellers.
Answered by Robert Courts
The government recognises that the cost of tests for international travel can be high and is currently reviewing all options available to reduce the cost of Covid-19 tests. This includes working with the travel industry and private testing providers to further reduce the cost of travel while continuing to protect public health and monitor variants of concern.
Testing post-arrival remains an important tool in our wider measures to manage the risk of imported cases of Covid-19, as well as allowing us to identify variants of concern, however the Government is clear that we want the tests to be as cheap and convenient as possible.