Clinically vulnerable MPs are still being excluded from parliament

Why is the government refusing to allow clinically vulnerable MPs to take part in debates on legislation? This row has been rumbling on for months, with no apparent enthusiasm from ministers to change the current situation. Today, senior MPs have told Coffee House they believe the government’s actions would be in breach of the Equality Act were this taking place outside parliament.

Currently MPs who are shielding at home can ask questions and vote remotely, but they cannot give speeches or intervene in debates on legislation, as well as backbench business and Westminster Hall debates. This morning Conservative MP Tracey Crouch, who is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer, asked Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg whether he would reconsider the current arrangements for virtual participation, as she was today unable to take part in a Westminster Hall debate on the very disease she is suffering from. His reply, after wishing her well personally, was that while members who are shielding can ‘participate in many aspects of the House’s business’, it wasn’t possible for them to join in with everything.