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UK coronavirus live: Raab faces Starmer at PMQs, as EU denies UK claim over ventilator scheme
UK coronavirus live: Raab faces Starmer at PMQs, as EU denies UK claim over ventilator scheme
(32 minutes later)
Latest on UK coronavirus crisis as part of a PPE consignment arrives and Keir Starmer quizzes Dominic Raab in Labour leader’s first PMQs
Latest on UK coronavirus crisis as part of a PPE consignment arrives and Keir Starmer quizzes Dominic Raab in Labour leader’s first PMQs
Starmer says he is disappointed there is no answer for care workers. He says he will ask the same question again next week. He expects an answer then.
A total of 1,062 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for Covid-19, up by 77 from 985 on Tuesday, the first minister Nicola Sturgeon said.
Turning to PPE, he quotes a worker saying she is “scared”. Half of nursing staff feel under pressure, he says. This has been a stress test of our resilience. When will frontline workers finally get the equipment they need.
The figures are lower than the 1,616 deaths given earlier by the National Records of Scotland (see 12.22pm) as they do not include suspected and probable coronavirus infections.
Raab says our hearts go out to the families of frontline workers how have died. He absolutely agrees on the need to protect them.
Sturgeon said 9,038 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 366 from 8,672 the day before.
Getting PPE to where it needs to be is a global challenge, he says.
There are 155 people in intensive care with coronavirus or coronavirus symptoms, a decrease of 11 on Tuesday, she added.
He says the government has delivered one billion items of PPE.
There are 1,776 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, down from 1,866 yesterday.
But it has to strive “even harder” in this incredibly competitive international environment, he says.
And since 5 March, 1,813 patients who tested positive have been discharged from hospital.
Starmer asks about an A&E consultant who died on Monday. He was the first Sikh consultant, but one of many NHS workers to have died. How many NHS workers have died and how many social care workers?
James Sunderland, a Conservative, asks Raab what are the ingredients that will take the country through this.
Raab says he entirely agrees with the broader point Starmer is making about the need to support NHS staff. He says he thinks 69 people have died in the NHS. He says he does not have a figure for care workers, because that is harder to obtain.
Raab says the critical ingredient is for the country to come together. He says people understand how important key workers are. We can and will rise to the challenge as one United Kingdom, he says.
Starmer says the demand for testing is there. If a care worker has symptoms, they have to self-isolated. To get a test, they have to travel to a test centre, miles away. For example, people in Leicester are being told to go to one on the edge of Nottingham. But some care workers don’t have a care. And they cannot use public transport. So this is not a good plan.
Labour’s Stephen Kinnock asks about Port Talbot steel works. He says the government help to Tata steel is only one tenth of what it needs.
What reassurance can Raab give to care workers that things will improve for them, and fast.
Raab says he understands the point Kinnock makes. The chancellor is looking carefully at the needs of the steel sector, he says.
Raab says he has address the capacity point. He accepts that they need to make it easier for people to get to test centre. Mobile labs are being used. He says it is important to have a target. And he says Starmer should get the Welsh Labour government, which has abandoned its testing target, to reinstate it.
Matt Vickers, a Conservative, asks if the government will consider the case for putting more money into the NHS.
Starmer says he did not need correcting. He talked about tests, not capacity. He says Raab’s comment about capacity highlights the gap between tests carried out and the number that could be carried out.
Raab says the government is already putting record sums into the NHS.
Why isn’t the government using all the tests available every day?
Labour’s Naz Shah, who is in the chamber, asks if the government will compensate councils for the costs they are incurring as a result of coronavirus.
Raab says there are two issues: capacity and testing. Capacity is expanding. On testing, the focus is on NHS workers. He says that is right. And he says the government will expand from there.
Raab pays tribute to councils. And extra £1.6bn has already been announced, he says.
Sir Keir Starmer starts by thanking the Speaker and the Commons staff for allowing the Commons to meet like this. He sends his best wishes to the PM for a full recovery. And he expresses his condolences to those who have lost loved ones, and his thanks to NHS staff.
The Conservative MP Nick Fletcher asks what is being done to ensure NHS staff get enough PPE.
Starmer says he promised constructive opposition. He will support the government when it is right. But he will challenge it when it is wrong.
Raab says one billion items have been delivered already. The government will ramp up its capacity to deliver it, he says.
On testing, he says yesterday the figure for tests carried out was 18,000, down from 19,000 the day before. This is well below the 100,000 target for the end of the month. What will happen in the next eight days to hit this target?
Labour’s Barry Gardiner says Sage, the scientific advisory group on emergencies, recommended a lockdown at the end of February. The government claims it has followed scientific advice. But it hasn’t, has it?
Raab says this is a crucial issue. He says it will be an important part of transitioning out of lockdown. But the capacity for testing is 40,000 a day, he says.
Raab says the government has followed scientific advice at all times. It will continue to do that, he says.
He says there will have to be an exponential increase. The government is working with its targets to hit this.
The Conservative MP Sally-Ann Hart asks what can be done to help tourism.
Dominic Raab says the PM is making a good recovery, and is in good spirits.
Raab says the government knows tourism is being affected. Unprecedented support for businesses and workers is on offer, he says.
The government continues to take the right steps at the right time, guided by the experts, he says.
Labour’s Lucy Powell asks what the government will do to help the hospitality sector.
He thanks the Speaker for helping to ensure the Commons can meet.
Raab says a whole range of measures have been introduced. He offers to look at what more can be done to help particular businesses.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, says he will run these exchanges for 45 minutes.
The Tory MP Peter Bone says the banks are offering savers a pathetic interest rate. When will they act in the national interest?
PMQs is about to start.
Bone gets disconnected before he can finish.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, is standing in for Boris Johnson, who is still recovering from his illness.
Like most of the MP down to ask a question for the rest of the session, Bone is asking his question by Zoom.
Sir Keir Starmer is appearing for his first time as Labour leader.
Raab says the government expects banks to do their bit.
Here is what Commons officials are calling the “call list” - the list of MPs down to ask a question (most of whom are dialling in on Zoom).
This is from the Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who has been getting ready to ask a question at PMQs from home.
In the Commons, Simon Hart, the Welsh secretary, is taking questions – via video conferencing. There are a few MPs in the chamber, but Hart is responding by Zoom.
It seems to be working OK.
At 12pm we’ll see the system at work for PMQs, although for those exchanges Dominic Raab and Sir Keir Starmer are both planning to be in the chamber.
This is beautiful. From Sky’s Kay Burley.
I’m not crying, you’re crying.
Nando’s has reopened the kitchens in some of its restaurants to help feed NHS workers.
The chain said seven of its city centre restaurants reopened their kitchens on Monday, after closing all its sites in the face of the pandemic on 23 March.
Four restaurants in London, two in Manchester and one in Dublin are firing up their grills again to make meals for NHS workers and local charities. The business said it will provide up to 1,700 free meals each day for NHS staff, key workers at local hospitals and charities.
It said the restaurants will operate behind closed doors, with meals dropped off at hospitals every evening between 6pm and 9pm. Each restaurant will work under strict health and safety measures while maintaining social distancing, the chain said.
The restaurants will each look to cook up to 250 meals a shift before delivering them.
The European commission has said the UK was well aware of its coronavirus procurement initiative when it decided not to participate. Its account contradicts the UK government claim that a “misunderstanding” was to blame for the UK not getting involved. (See 9.37am.) These are from the Sun’s Brussels correspondent Nick Gutteridge.
Almost 300 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in Northern Ireland’s nursing and residential homes, the Public Health Agency (PHA) said.
Due to understaffing, NHS workers have been drafted in to bolster numbers and the tally of cases is expected to grow, other Stormont health officials added.
The plight of residents and workers at under-staffed care homes which initially struggled to secure adequate supplies of protective equipment has been a major issue during the pandemic.
A nursing homes representative has warned a systematic procedure needs to be put in place. Pauline Shepherd, chief executive of the Independent Health and Care Providers organisation, told the BBC’s Nolan Show, there needed to be co-ordination and planning in terms of putting nurses in to manage Covid within care homes.
The whole care home sector has nurse shortages but they have been relying on agency staff, Shepherd added. Some agency workers are refusing to enter homes where coronavirus is present, and other staff are off work and self-isolating due to the infection, she said.
A health department spokesman confirmed NHS-employed or bank staff have been working on the rotas in care homes for the last two to three weeks.
Prof Hugo van Woerden, the director of public health at the PHA, said:
He said advice specific to Covid-19 is given regarding isolation, containment and infection prevention and control practice, including cleaning, testing information, how to manage symptoms, when to request additional medical advice, and PPE.
The Welsh government has announced that disadvantaged children will receive free “school meals” throughout the summer holidays, the first UK country to do so.
Kirsty Williams, the education minister for Wales, said the government in Cardiff was extending funding for local authorities to provide free school meals for eligible pupils until the start of the next school year in September. Williams said:
While England’s use of a national voucher scheme contracted to a French company has been plagued by delays, Welsh councils and schools can choose to transfer money directly to parents’ bank accounts, or use vouchers or offer food directly.“After examining whether a national voucher scheme would work for Wales, we have decided not to proceed with that approach,” Williams noted.Complaints about the slow delivery of food vouchers in England have lessened. Headteachers say they are now receiving the £15 weekly supermarket vouchers applied for up to two weeks ago.
