Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what lessons they have learned from (1) New Zealand, and (2) Germany, with regard to handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UK has followed closely policy measures taken by other countries over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In particular, given the global nature of the pandemic, the International Comparators Joint Unit (ICJU) was established in April 2020 as a joint unit between the FCDO and the Cabinet Office. The ICJU works closely with the FCDO's overseas network to understand how other countries, including New Zealand and Germany, are responding to the Covid-19 pandemic to identify possible lessons learned and to help inform UK policy decisions. ICJU includes analysts, data scientists, economists, and social researchers. Analysis by the ICJU is shared widely across government departments making decisions on the UK's Covid-19 response as well as the Devolved Administrations.

We have also engaged with counterparts in New Zealand and Germany on a wide range of Covid-19 issues. The Foreign Secretary worked with German Foreign Minister Maas to help shape a strong G7 response to the initial Covid outbreak. Both the Foreign and the Health Secretaries have been in contact with their German counterparts throughout the Covid crisis. There have been virtual meetings between both countries' health ministries and there continue to be regular official level interactions with state health ministries and local public health authorities, as well as a regular exchange between the Robert-Koch-Institute and Public Health England. The Foreign Secretary has also spoken to New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Peters to discuss our Covid-19 response.