MP demands answers after county council 'requested' for Warwickshire to be grouped with Coventry and Solihull under new Covid-19 restrictions

Questions are being asked to Warwickshire County Council (WCC) leaders they 'requested' the region be grouped with Coventry and Solihull under the new Covid-19 restrictions.

Stratford District Council leader Cllr Tony Jefferson saw information from the Government to suggest that was the case - and it was confirmed last night (Thursday) by the county council.

Now Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western is demanding answers and has accused the county council of lacking transparency and excluding local decision makers from the negotiations which led to the area being subject to the harshest measures.

But WCC has defended its decision and said it wanted to avoid being grouped with the West Midlands.

And in encouraging news, the council added that the Government has agreed to consider the county individually, on its own merits, for the next review.

Last week, there was much anger in the community after Warwickshire was put in Tier 3 under the new system of restrictions, along with the much larger and more populous Coventry and Solihull.

Mr Western responded by calling for a review into the region’s placement in Tier 3 – while he also demanded the data behind the decision be published and businesses be compensated.

Elsewhere, Stratford District Council launched a legal challenge against the government last week, disputing the decision – only to withdraw its case yesterday (December 9).

In a statement, Stratford District Council leader Cllr Jefferson wrote: "In its response the government also shared some new information with us which we were not aware when we made the decision to challenge them; the county council requested the approach of considering tiers at public health, upper tier authority level along with clustering with Coventry and Solihull.”

At the time of the decision, the rate of transmission in Warwickshire was much lower than Coventry or Solihull – while South Warwickshire was even lower than areas in the north of the region.

Matt Western said: “On several occasions now I have demanded the government analysis that led to the imposition of Tier 3 restrictions in Warwickshire be released to the public.

“The revelation that the county council could have requested that Warwickshire be included with Coventry and Solihull will be met with further suspicion from the public.

“Along with district and borough councils in the region, local MPs appear to have been excluded from these discussions - which is unacceptable.

“The decision has undermined local democracy and public trust in the government’s devastating restrictions.

“I wholeheartedly agree that strong measures are necessary to prevent any further spread of COVID-19 and safeguard the NHS. And I also accept that the lower capacity of hospital provision in our region would be an issue.

“But the public and its representatives should have been consulted about this.

“However, with transmission rates continuing to fall, I am optimistic that the region should soon be taken out of Tier 3.”

A spokesperson for Warwickshire County Council, said: "We can confirm that the leaders of the Covid Beacon (Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull councils) did indeed write to the Secretary of State ahead of the designation of Tier Status.

"Concerned that we would be designated at a West Midlands Regional level we requested that tier status should be assigned at the local authority, public health level.

"This was given the fact that at that time Warwickshire's Covid infection rate was lower than the West Midlands and we sought to maximise our chances of being in Tier 2 as opposed to Tier 3.

"This has subsequently been borne out by much-reduced levels across Warwickshire and in Stratford in particular.

"In response we have had confirmation from the Secretary of State that, moving forwards, Warwickshire will be considered individually, on its own merits.

"This is crucial as we strive to achieve the best prospects for our local business and especially our hospitality sector."