Tbf I don't think that was a big factor. Schools is the big one - they're like petri dishes and while the kids won't get ill they will spread it into the general population. Even in Tier 3 schools were open, all the shops were open, facilities like outdoor football pitches were open. All they did was shut pubs and restaurants but far too late to have any meaningful effect. Well, it did have an effect - restaurants who had stocked up on supplies for the Christmas trade got another kick in the bollocks by being shut down again. How are you supposed to run a business when you can be shut down with a day's notice?
Then they told most of the country they could mix at Christmas.
Then they opened the schools for one day, insisting they were safe, before shutting them
Teachers have been thrown under the bus, gearing up for testing in schools and for the new term before having to scramble around setting up remote teaching again. And they've already cancelled all the exams anyway so you can understand kids who have struggled with remote learning anyway now having no motivation to do anything. And parents have been thrown under the bus because now they're having to help their kids with remote learning, many while trying to work full time too. Lucky for us the boy is only nursery age - although they are doing some remote stuff with him, I'm quite impressed - and MrsL is a "kept woman" anyway, so it hasn't really affected us too much.
All in all the government have consistently been reactive, not proactive. It's been a complete shit show