Instruments relating to COVID-19
Law and Order
Coronavirus Act 2020 (Delay in Expiry: Inquests, Courts and Tribunals, and Statutory Sick Pay) (England and Wales and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/362)
12.The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) intends to place several temporary provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020 (“the 2020 Act”) on a permanent statutory footing. However, due to delays in the progress of the relevant Bills, this instrument extends certain temporary provisions for six months from 25 March 2022.
13.The provisions which enable remote observation of wholly remote hearings and enable more criminal court and tribunal hearings to take place remotely by live link are contained in clauses 196 to 200 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
14.Provisions to disapply the obligation for a coroner to hold an inquest with a jury where COVID-19 is suspected to be the cause of death are contained in clause 41 of the Judicial Review and Courts Bill.
15.At the request of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland, this instrument also extends section 43 of the 2020 Act for six months. That section disapplies the waiting period for Statutory Sick Pay for those with COVID-19, so employers in Northern Ireland will continue to be required to pay Statutory Sick Pay from the employee’s first qualifying day of absence.
16.We were surprised that the instrument was laid at the last minute and brought into effect overnight when the date on which the main provisions of the 2020 Act would expire was known well in advance. The MoJ’s rationale for this is published in Appendix 1.
17.We expect that now the pandemic restrictions have been lifted, Departments will revert to the established practice of allowing Parliament a minimum of 21 days for scrutiny before bringing legislation into effect.
Public Services
Education (Induction Arrangements for School Teachers) (England) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/369)
18.This instrument extends from 1 September 2021 to 1 September 2022 the period during which any early career teacher’s (ECT) absence because of coronavirus will not contribute towards the 30-day absence limit, per year of induction, that would cause an automatic extension of that ECT’s induction period. According to the Department for Education, this will allow ECTs finishing their first year of induction who are absent for an extended period due to coronavirus to continue into their second year of induction in line with their original cohorts and allow ECTs who experience such absence and who are due to complete their induction and who meet the Teachers’ Standards to complete their induction periods as anticipated. These arrangements were first introduced in 2020 and subsequently extended,10 and have been supported by the education sector.
10 Education (School Teachers’ Qualifications and Induction Arrangements) (England) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/464) and Education (Induction Arrangements for School Teachers) (England) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/842).