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Johnson under increased pressure to shut schools as leading union calls for their closure – politics live Britons advised to avoid any non-essential travel abroad for next 30 days – politics live
(32 minutes later)
Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Rishi Sunak at the government’s daily coronavirus press conference and MPs questioning the government’s chief scientific adviserRolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Rishi Sunak at the government’s daily coronavirus press conference and MPs questioning the government’s chief scientific adviser
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, is making a statement to MPs about new travel advice.
He says for the next 30 days the government is advising against any non-essential travel globally.
He says this is partly because of the risk of people not being able to return, because so many countries are closing borders.
I have amended the post at 11.50am above to reflect the fact that the list of underlying health conditions that should lead to people effectively self-isolating, according to government advice, includes asthma and diabetes.
The government says its advice (pdf) to people to avoid large gatherings and to work from home where possible applies in particular to the over-70s. Jeremy Corbyn is 70. But he is due at PMQs tomorrow, and he is not planning to stay away from work. This is what he said about this when asked in an interview yesterday.
Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, will be away from the office for the next two weeks. He has revealed on Twitter that he is self-isolating because a member of his family is ill.Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, will be away from the office for the next two weeks. He has revealed on Twitter that he is self-isolating because a member of his family is ill.
Here are the full details of the government’s advice for households where someone has fallen in.Here are the full details of the government’s advice for households where someone has fallen in.
The National Education Union, the largest teaching union, is calling for schools to be closed. In an open letter to the prime minister, Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, the NEU’s joint general secretary, say they are calling for school closures, on at least a temporary basis, in the light of the announcement yesterday saying the over-70s, pregnant women and people with serious health conditions should self-isolate.The National Education Union, the largest teaching union, is calling for schools to be closed. In an open letter to the prime minister, Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, the NEU’s joint general secretary, say they are calling for school closures, on at least a temporary basis, in the light of the announcement yesterday saying the over-70s, pregnant women and people with serious health conditions should self-isolate.
They say they will be advising teachers who fall into any of these categories to stay away from work from Monday. (In practice, this means pregnant teachers, of whom there are probably quite a lot; the number of teachers who are over 70 or who have serious health conditions is probably quite small.) They say they will be advising teachers who fall into any of these categories to stay away from work from Monday. (There are probably quite a lot of pregnant teachers in schools. The list of conditions that count as serious health conditions for these purposes is here [pdf], and although it covers a lot of people who would be too ill to teach anyway, it does include asthma and diabetes. There are unlikely to be many teachers in schools over 70.)
In their letter Bousted and Courtney go on:In their letter Bousted and Courtney go on:
In its own statement this morning the NASUWT, a rival teaching union, also complained that the status quo was unacceptable. It said:In its own statement this morning the NASUWT, a rival teaching union, also complained that the status quo was unacceptable. It said:
UPDATE: I have amended the post above to reflect the fact that the list of underlying health conditions that should lead to people effectively self-isolating, according to government advice, includes asthma and diabetes.
Some of the owners of pubs and other businesses affected by the government’s advice yesterday that everyone should avoid all “non-essential contact” with other people have been complaining that the government has been advising the public to avoid these places, not closing them by order. If premises were forced to close, they would at least be able to claim insurance, it has been said.Some of the owners of pubs and other businesses affected by the government’s advice yesterday that everyone should avoid all “non-essential contact” with other people have been complaining that the government has been advising the public to avoid these places, not closing them by order. If premises were forced to close, they would at least be able to claim insurance, it has been said.
But the Association of British Insurers has issued a statement today saying that, for most businesses, even if the government were to order their closure, they would not be protected by insurance. The ABI says:But the Association of British Insurers has issued a statement today saying that, for most businesses, even if the government were to order their closure, they would not be protected by insurance. The ABI says:
The Conservative party’s spring conference, which was due to start on Friday 3 April in Harrogate, has been cancelled, ConservativeHome’s Paul Goodman reports.The Conservative party’s spring conference, which was due to start on Friday 3 April in Harrogate, has been cancelled, ConservativeHome’s Paul Goodman reports.
Robert Peston, ITV’s political editor, has written an interesting blog on the challenge facing Rishi Sunak as he draws up his coronavirus financial rescue packaged. Peston says the scale of the challenge is likely to take the Conservatives into unlikely ideological territory. He says:Robert Peston, ITV’s political editor, has written an interesting blog on the challenge facing Rishi Sunak as he draws up his coronavirus financial rescue packaged. Peston says the scale of the challenge is likely to take the Conservatives into unlikely ideological territory. He says:
Airports may shut down “within weeks without government intervention”, according to the Airport Operators Association. Karen Dee, the association’s chief executive, said:Airports may shut down “within weeks without government intervention”, according to the Airport Operators Association. Karen Dee, the association’s chief executive, said:
The association is urging the government to implement a series of measures to support the aviation industry, including possible emergency financing, requiring banks to temporarily not enforce financial performance-based banking covenants and the suspension of business rates and other taxes.The association is urging the government to implement a series of measures to support the aviation industry, including possible emergency financing, requiring banks to temporarily not enforce financial performance-based banking covenants and the suspension of business rates and other taxes.
The government’s coronavirus press conference, featuring Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, is now scheduled for around 4pm, we’re told.The government’s coronavirus press conference, featuring Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, is now scheduled for around 4pm, we’re told.
There are two statements in the Commons today.There are two statements in the Commons today.
The Dominic Raab statement is due at 12.30pm, after Foreign Office questions. But Rishi Sunak is not due to make his statement until 7pm, presumably after the government’s coronavirus press conference (although the timing of that has not been confirmed yet).The Dominic Raab statement is due at 12.30pm, after Foreign Office questions. But Rishi Sunak is not due to make his statement until 7pm, presumably after the government’s coronavirus press conference (although the timing of that has not been confirmed yet).
A teaching union has claimed there is a “rising sense of panic” in schools because the government’s coronavirus advice is not clear enough. In a statement Chris Keates, the NASUWT acting general secretary, claimed teachers were not getting definitive instructions. She said:A teaching union has claimed there is a “rising sense of panic” in schools because the government’s coronavirus advice is not clear enough. In a statement Chris Keates, the NASUWT acting general secretary, claimed teachers were not getting definitive instructions. She said:
The National Association of Funeral Directors is due to meet with Whitehall officials later today. Ahead of the meeting, chief executive Jon Levett said:
At the business committee Labour’s Pat McFadden asks Rain Newton-Smith if the CBI has an estimate of the number of jobs at risk.
Newton-Smith says she cannot say, because it depends how the government responds.
But she says this is a “critical” moment for business. The airline industry needs support, she says. And the same applies to hotels and retail. She says potentially “hundreds of thousands of jobs” are at risk.
Q: Should the government provide subsidies to cover pay for staff who are laid off?
Yes, says McTague.
He says the government will have to take the role of a “benign employer”.
In the Commons the business committee has just started taking evidence from business and union figures about coronavirus.
The witnesses are: Rain Newton-Smith, chief economist, at the CBI; Martin McTague, policy and advocacy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses; Alasdair Hutchison, policy development manager at the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-employed; and Paul Nowak, deputy general secretary at the TUC.
Newton-Smith says the chancellor needs to offer loans today, so firms can stay in business.
Rupert Harrison, who was chief of staff to George Osborne when Osborne was chancellor, has posted a thread on Twitter explaining what sort of help he thinks business will need to survive coronavirus. He says there will have to be a colossal bailout, worth at least 10% of GDP - or perhaps twice that.
It starts here.
And here are his conclusions.
Faisal Islam, the BBC’s economics editor, says that means Harrison is proposing a package that could be worth up to £450bn.
This is a mind-boggling sum. Total government spending this year will be around £928bn. The danger for Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is that having figures like this in the public domain could make any less ambitious announcement this afternoon look disappointing.
In the Treasury committee Robert Chote, chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, says the £12bn coronavirus package in the budget seemed reasonable at the time. But the situation is changing by the day, he says. He says now it should be seen as just a “downpayment”.
He says Oliver Blanchard, the former chief economist at the IMF, said recently that now was “not a time to be squeamish about public sector debt”. Chote goes on:
Here is the Blanchard quote Chote was referring to.
Cabinet is starting today at 10.30am, not 9.30am as usual, we’ve been told.
The British Beer and Pub Association has written to Boris Johnson, demanding urgent steps are taken to prevent mass job losses and permanent pub closures. In the letter, that was sent last night, the association’s chief executive Emma McClarkin said:
McClarkin urged the government to cancel all business rates payments for six months, as well as all tax payments including PAYE, VAT and corporation tax for pubs and hospitality businesses. She also called for the cancellation of beer duty payments for six months, and the postponement of the planned national minimum and living wage increases due in April. She went on:
Robert Chote, the chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, has just started giving evidence to the Commons Treasury committee. He is appearing alongside two colleagues, Andy King and Prof Sir Charles Bean, who are both members of the OBR’s budget responsibility committee.
There is a live feed here.
Asked about the package of measures in the budget to help counter the economic effects of coronavirus, Bean said the proposals were fine as far as they went, but that something on a larger scale was now needed.
He said that, with businesses facing the loss of cash flow, there was a “very good argument that the state should be, essentially, the insurer here”.
He also said that “big early action” would be best.
Asked the same question, Chote says the OBR is not supposed to offer policy advice to the government. But he says circumstances are different, and he says there is a range of options on the tax front. He also speculates about whether there is a need to put the economy on the equivalent of a wartime footing.
This is what George Osborne, the former Conservative chancellor, posted on Twitter last night explaining what he thought the government had to do about coronavirus.
Good morning. Yesterday we had one of the most dramatic and consequential announcements from a British prime minister since the second world war, but today ministers are due to follow it up with at least two more major interventions.
First, Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is due to give details of what the government will do to help the businesses and individuals facing bankruptcy and unemployment because of Boris Johnson’s guidance that will effectively shut down parts of the economy.
And, second, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is due to give details of the emergency powers legislation being introduced to give the government the ability to enforce these new rules if necessary.
As usual, Politico Europe’s Jack Blanchard has a good preview. Here is an extract from his London Playbook briefing.
And here are some of the latest developments this morning.
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has said that London’s transport network could be massively scaled back in the coming weeks. In an interview this morning he said:
Jonathan Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England, has rejected claims that the government’s suppression strategy has been introduced too late. He told the Today programme:
Prof Neil Ferguson, from the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College, who worked on the study that led to the government announcing its far-reaching suppression strategy yesterday, also denied that the government was acting too late. He told the Today programme:
Ferguson also said that, looking at what was happening in Italy, his team had concluded that the UK could face 250,000 deaths if the government did not escalate its social distancing strategies. He explained:
Labour has said the economic rescue measures being announced today must be “on a scale sufficient to meet this crisis”. This is from John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.30am: Boris Johnson chairs cabinet.
9.30am: Robert Chote, chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, and colleagues give evidence to the Commons Treasury committee.
10am: Business groups give evidence to the Commons business committee about the impact of coronavirus.
11.30am: Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
2.30pm: Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, gives evidence to the Commons health committee. At 3.15pm Sir Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, and colleagues will give evidence.
Afternoon: Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, are due to appear at the government’s daily coronavirus press conference.
At some point today Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is also due to give details of the government’s coronavirus emergency legislation.
I expect to be focusing entirely on the UK political aspects of the coronavirus crisis. But this is a global story that goes well beyond Westminster politics, and even politics generally. For the full picture, do read our general coronavirus live blog, which is here.
You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here and here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news.
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