Sir John Hayes, MP for South Holland and the Deepings, has called South Holland’s placement in tier three of coronavirus restrictions “ridiculous”.
The government announced this morning that South Holland will be under the strictest restrictions when lockdown ends next week.
Areas such as London, Liverpool, Fenland and Peterborough will be in tier two.
Speaking to the Voice Sir John said: “It’s ridiculous. I made a very strong case to the Health Secretary that we should be looking at this on a very local level but we’ve been lumped in with East Lindsay, Boston and the city of Lincoln which have higher numbers which means we are not being treated fairly.
“I made the case yesterday and again today, saying it needs to be reviewed.
“I’m not against the tier system but it has to be meaningful.
“The hospitality sector depends on trade at certain times of the year, particularly at Christmas, and they have every right to feel that this is unjust. I will be pressing for support for these businesses.
“I’m very disappointed but also displeased with the restrictions and what they mean for the area.”
The latest figures from the Health Authority show that South Holland has the lowest number of cases for all local authority areas across Lincolnshire at 156.8 per 100,000 population. This is followed by South Kesteven at 187.5.
East Lindsey is the highest with 470, followed by Boston at 438. The national average is 218.
Sir John added: “The numbers in South Holland simply don’t justify this approach.
“This is a blunt instrument and we are being hit by the cudgel.
“Tiers in principal are a good idea but only if we drill down the data and that’s not been done.
“Across all the districts the number of cases have fallen in the last week so the trend across Lincolnshire is downward which could, of course, be a response to the lockdown.
“If this trend continues then when the tiers are reviewed later in December we will have a very strong case to come out of tier three, although I will be pushing very hard for a review before December 16. We need a district-by-district approach, as currently it is not reasonable or just.
“South Holland is by far the least affected part of the county and residents have every right to feel the most disadvantaged by this arrangement.”
