Lord Sumption:

The scientific advice available to the UK Government from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, SAGE, is published online but with a delay of between six and eight weeks. Looking back, it seems that the advice has tended to change quite frequently and sometimes quite radically but it is quite difficult to determine to what degree Ministers have adhered to it. Certainly at an early stage, SAGE in the UK advised against coercive measures on the grounds that the Government would get a better response if the public were treated as adults. When they eventually changed their mind and went for a lockdown, they seemed to have been of the view that the lockdown should be maintained for a very long time, possibly until a vaccine was available. The degree of adherence to their advice has varied but in general, this has been because the Government has to take into account many factors other than the scientific ones. There is a limit, for example, to what people can reasonably be expected to put up with and there is also a limit to the amount of economic damage that societies can sustain. One cannot expect the adherence to be total in any country.

As to numbers of people in Parliament, I do not think I can really add to what has already been said. It seems to me that in a constituency-based system, especially one with a significant number of Independents, it is extremely difficult to justify a reduction in the number of people who attend the Chamber.