Thread by @SamCoatesSky

Emergency Coronavirus legislation

- the key measures

This is based on the Explanatory notes rather than primary legislation (since it is easier for a layman to understand)

publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill…

The contents gives you an indication of scale: banning events, events bans

This is what the government says the bill is for: and it repeats that up to 80 per cent of the population could be infected. This is clearly the planning basis, even though chief scientists hope it will be far less than that

The legislation will be time-limited for two years, and some provisions will not come in at once.

The bill contains new powers to create a volunteer army, with a new form of unpaid statutory leave and a compensation scheme to "maximse the pool of volunteers"

Suspect we will hear a lot of this in months to come

On "investigatory powers" used for national security. This bill gives the government power to increase Judicial Commissioners who sign off warrants

This is quite an extension of spook powers

Allows warrants for monitoring without pre-approval of a Judicial Commissioner.

Needed within 3 days so agencies "maintain their ability to protect national security"

Once taken, I wonder if this power will ever be relinquished

The bill will contain powers to force the food supply chain industry to co-operate if voluntary working together breaks down

No inquests with jurys for deaths where the doctor suspects they died of Covid-19

On schools, powers to force closure of schools / childcare providers and forcing schools to follow (unspecified) gvt instructions

Powers to close down ports and making it a criminal act for the port manager to resist

Updated powers to enforce the detention, isolation and screening of potentially infectious people by the police and public health officials

Powers to prohibit events and restrict gatherings to stop the spread of the disease and help emergency respondents

Giving local authorities the power to decide what happens to dead bodies and their disposal

Powers to change national insurance thresholds without going back to Parliament.

Protection against medical negligence claims against the NHS for treatment during Covid-19 outbreak

This is a very broad power to restrict the "use and disclosure of information".

Appears to make leaking information of certain types illegal - and printing some personal data illegal too