The remaining two sessions of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Cleaning and Hygiene Industry inquiry into the role of cleaning and hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic have been postponed following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The APPG inquiry, which is entitled Embedding Effective Hygiene for a Resilient UK, held its first session on Tuesday and was due to hold the final two meetings on the next two Tuesdays, 13 and 20 September. These two upcoming sessions have been put on hold as Parliament is set to be suspended for the duration of the national period of mourning.
Discussions are underway on new dates for both upcoming APPG sessions, and will be announced in due course. Industry members will again be encouraged to watch the remaining sessions.
The APPG comprises 53 MPs and two Members of the House of Lords, and is being supported by the industry body for the entire sector and APPG secretariat, the British Cleaning Council (BCC), and the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH).
The inquiry is examining what was successful and what was not from the national approach to cleaning and hygiene during the pandemic to ensure lessons can be learnt. These will be taken forward to increase disease resilience to current common infections and help inform the UK’s response to any similar future public health emergency.
The review aims to produce a report with policy recommendations which will feed into the national UK COVID-19 Inquiry.
The sessions are structured as follows:
- September 6: evidence taken from a public health expert in hygiene promotion and a Director of Public Health who has led on the local implementation of public health measures.
- Session two: Evidence from contractors who delivered cleaning services at the time, alongside suppliers and manufacturers of cleaning and hygiene products which were very much in demand during the pandemic.
- Session three: Evidence from owners and landlords of a variety of buildings who had to deliver high standards of cleaning and hygiene during the pandemic, in order to protect the public.
