Labour demands ministers publish full data behind travel traffic light system

Labour has demanded the release of the data behind the traffic light system for international travel after it was announced that those fully vaccinated on the NHS will not need to self-isolate when returning from amber-list countries from July 19th.

In a letter to Grant Shapps today, Labour’s Jim McMahon called on the Transport Secretary to publish country-by-country information “so that travellers and the industry could forward plan and know the direction of travel for each country”.

He wrote that “simply publishing the data for a limited number of countries after you’ve made a decision isn’t helpful”, and criticised the decision to “only publish an extremely limited selection” of figures on the government website.

Shapps told parliament last week that the government had published data behind the traffic light system online, but the Shadow Transport Secretary today told the minister that critical information was missing.

Responding to the Transport Secretary’s statement on international travel this afternoon, McMahon said: “There is no data published for most EU countries, the US or Canada – all essential for UK travel and tourism.

“There is no reference to Pakistan, Bangladesh or India and the government has been far from clear on its decision to delay adding India to the red list at the same time as the former – which exposed us to hundreds of thousands of cases per day of the ‘Johnson variant’.”

India was placed on the no-travel ‘red list’ by the government on April 23rd, six days before the delta variant was identified in the country. But another closely related variant had been identified in India weeks before on April 1st.

Neighbouring countries Pakistan and Bangladesh were placed on the red list on April 9th. At that time, Pakistan had a seven-day average of 21 cases per million people, Bangladesh had twice as many and India had four times as many.

McMahon has asked the minister to commit to a review of the delayed decision to put India on the strictest list to ensure that “lessons can be learnt going forward” and to explain the discrepancy between it and its neighbouring countries.

“Critically, there is no published criteria or direction of travel of Covid cases in individual countries, which is vital in allowing people to make an informed choice about travel, particularly now the government has effectively scrapped the amber list for those who are fully vaccinated,” McMahon added today.

In his letter, he also urged the government investigate the possibility of easing the financial burden of PCR tests, which can cost up to £100 per person, for people struggling financially by freeing up spare capacity at NHS sites.

Shapps claimed in parliament this afternoon that £10 tests were available but, according to the list of government approved providers, these were only available at walk-in centres in Bradford and have since been removed from the list.

More than 50 countries are on the strictest red list, which requires arrivals to pay to self-isolate in a hotel for ten days, but most countries are on the amber list, including several holiday hotspots such as mainland Spain and Greece.

People currently returning to the UK from an amber-list country are required to quarantine at home for ten days and have to take Covid tests before travelling to the country, and on the second and eighth day after they arrive.

Below is the full text of the letter sent to the Transport Secretary.

Dear Grant,

I am again writing to you regarding international travel, as after our exchange in Parliament today there remains a series of unanswered questions.

Publishing the data

As you’ll know I’ve repeatedly asked for the country-by-country data informing the government’s traffic light system to be published. In my urgent question granted by the speaker on June 29, I asked: “On data and country-by-country assessment, I urge the Secretary of State to publish not only the decision-making criteria for the traffic light system but, importantly, the analysis that underpins it.”

You replied: “I have been to the gov.uk website and checked it for him. The JCVI and Public Health England do indeed publish their methodology and the data behind it for each of these countries. It is already published.”

I note today that you confirmed it was the JBC you meant rather than JCVI but, you again stated: “I’m sure they will continue to publish a full range of analysis”.

On the government’s website the JBC has published a document called ‘Data informing international travel traffic-light risk assessments, 24 June 2021’. However this ‘assessment to the 15th June’, only includes limited data on 22 countries – just those that have moved from Amber to Green, or Amber to Red.

I requested that the data for every country be published so that travellers and the industry could forward plan and know the direction of travel for each country. Simply publishing the data for a limited number of countries after you’ve made a decision isn’t helpful.

It’s clear that government must hold the data informing traffic light risk assessments for each country, but is choosing to only publish an extremely limited selection. Could you explain why that is, and when will you finally publish – or direct the JBC to publish – the full data for country, which you implied had already been done?

Vaccine passports

Labour wants to see the government work with international partners to introduce an International Vaccine Passport, but this is yet to happen.

As I noted today, while we have our own Covid passport via the NHS app, there have been issues with other countries accepting this as sufficient. Can you confirm how many countries now accept the NHS app as proof of someone’s Covid or vaccine status?

Cost of tests

While the government says it is trying encourage international travel, people are still having to pay for their own required PCR tests, often at a cost of well over £100 per person.

You noted in the Chamber that there is a test available for £10, but it’s no longer listed on the government’s Test to Release providers. When it was, it was only available for those walking into a test centre in Bradford.

Can you confirm whether testing capacity exists in the NHS system to allow for these tests to be done via existing free walk in centres, rather than making people who may already be struggling financially thanks to the pandemic pick up the bill?

Red list

Given the easing of restrictions has been delayed across the country thanks to the government’s failure to protect us from the rapid spread of the Delta variant, can ministers commit to reviewing the decision not to place India on the Red List, so that lessons can be learnt going forward? In your reply in the House today, you noted that you felt you’d put India on the red list sufficiently quickly. However, this doesn’t explain why Bangladesh and Pakistan were added two weeks before India?

Sector support

While the government might choose to relax quarantine rules for those coming to this country, allowing Covid to rip through England could well have an adverse effect for those going abroad.

Can I check what assessment has been made of the likelihood that the UK will be put on other countries’ red lists because of the steps the government are taking from July 19?

And while the government’s argument for opening up is to support business, this doesn’t stack up with their failure to support business in the aviation and tourism sector. Labour is clear that the government should follow the example of other countries, by intervening and bringing forward a sectoral deal to protect jobs. So can I again ask why you have not brought forward such a deal, when the Chancellor promised he would nearly a year ago?

Yours sincerely,

Jim