Rob Butler, MP for Aylesbury, has today expressed his disappointment at the decision to place Buckinghamshire into Tier Two of the coronavirus restrictions from next Wednesday, 2nd December. This morning, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock MP, told the House of Commons that the High Alert level will apply to the whole of the county when the national restrictions end. This will mean different households are forbidden from mixing indoors, and pubs will have to close unless they serve a substantial meal.
Following the announcement, Rob said:
"I'm incredibly disappointed that Aylesbury is in Tier 2 after the tremendous efforts local people have made to stop the spread of coronavirus both before and during the national restrictions.
“I've been pushing very hard in parliament for decisions about tiers to be made on a truly local level. There’s been no consultation with the local council, local NHS or local MPs about which tier is right for us. This must change and I want to see robust local evidence for the decision that’s been taken.
“We’ve always been told that restrictions are in place to protect the NHS, and I made it clear to the Health Secretary in the Commons that it would be wrong to limit our livelihoods if there is still capacity in our hospitals.
“We all want to see friends and family, especially as the festive season approaches, so the move to Tier 2 is really tough because different households still can’t mix inside. What’s more, pubs can only open if they serve substantial meals to all their customers. So I’ll be pressing the Health Secretary to review the evidence again as soon as possible so we can get back to Tier 1.
“The one piece of good news is that non-essential shops and gyms can reopen and it will be possible to attend communal worship again. I’m pleased that the government has listened to the appeals on this that I and many other MPs have made, because we need to do all we can to start returning to normality, for their sake of our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.”