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| UK coronavirus live: minister admits government may fail to hit testing target | UK coronavirus live: minister admits government may fail to hit testing target |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Robert Buckland says government would have been criticised if target had been unambitious, while Boris Johnson will take daily briefing later | Robert Buckland says government would have been criticised if target had been unambitious, while Boris Johnson will take daily briefing later |
| Around four in 10 key workers are concerned about their health and safety during the coronavirus pandemic, a survey has revealed. Some 179 (59.7%) key workers questioned by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said their jobs wre being affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. Of these, 39.6% said they had health and safety fears, while others were also concerned about increased working hours. The ONS has included estimates of the experiences of key workers for the first time in its weekly analysis of the impact of coronavirus on society and the economy. | |
| The allocation of a £1.6bn government bailout to help councils meet extra coronavirus costs has triggered a familiar political row after it emerged smaller authorities in the leafy south of England had benefited at the expense of poorer northern authorities. | |
| Steve Rotheram, elected mayor of Liverpool city region, said the government had in effect chosen to take money away from councils which were struggling to meet spiralling costs on the frontline of the social care battle against coronavirus. | |
| He said Liverpool City region would be left hundreds of millions out of pocket as a result of a change in the way bailout cash was allocated, while one of its six councils, Knowsley, the second most deprived in the country, would see its share cut by 39%. | |
| Having issued a first £1.6bn bailout in March using an allocation formula based on need, which favoured many of those councils which provide social care, the second tranche of government bailout ordered this month switched to a population-based formula, favouring districts, which don’t provide social care. | |
| Analysis by urban councils body Sigoma showed that the switch favoured authorities in the south-east and east of England, whose average bailout share went up 20% and 11% respectively, compared to councils in London down 4%, the north west -13%, and the north east -19%. | |
| But the sense of being short-changed did not fall neatly along straightforward regional or political lines. The Tory-run county councils network was furious that its members, all of which provide social care services, had seen a 29% cash reduction compared to the first bailout, and faced a collective financial shortfall of £600m. | |
| Cllr David Williams, the county councils network chair, said: “Unless a solution is forthcoming to address these growing additional pressures as the crisis goes on, and, crucially, our lost income, it is inevitable that the resources in shire counties made available to life-critical social care services will be reduced, resulting in extremely difficult choices facing our member councils. | |
| “Most importantly, unless further support is provided to all councils, some may feel that they have no choice but to suspend all non-essential expenditure, hampering our national efforts to defeat the Coronavirus and prepare for the economic recovery.” | |
| The big winners are smaller districts. Most will receive at least £1m extra, the government said. It had been lobbying ministers hard for more funding, arguing that the wipeout of key income streams on which they are heavily reliant under lock down, such as car parking and fees had left many districts close to bankruptcy. | |
| Cllr John Fuller, chairman of the District Councils’ Network, said: “We are pleased that government has listened to districts and acted on our call for vital extra funding so that we can continue to fight coronavirus, reduce homelessness, protect the vulnerable and collect waste. | |
| English councils fear that a continuation of lock down trends of soaring service cost and shrinking income will leave them with a shortfall of at least £5bn for the year, and there are likely to be fresh calls for extra government cash. | |
| The government said it has for the time being abandoned plans to implement a new “Fair Funding” formula to allocate annual grant funding for English councils. This caused a huge political row earlier this year when modelling showed Tory-run shires would benefit at the expense of mainly-Labour-run urban authorities. | |
| Seven more charter flights to repatriate 2,000 British travellers from India have been announced by the government. | |
| More than 15,000 Britons will have been brought home from the country on 59 rescue flights once the latest schedule is completed, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said. | |
| The seven additional flights will operate daily from Amritsar to Heathrow Airport between May 5 and 11. | |
| Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said: “Our charter programme has already helped more than 10,000 British travellers return home from India by ensuring flights to the UK have run every day since 8 April, with thousands more due to depart in the coming days. | |
| “These additional flights will help over 2,000 more people get back to their loved ones here in the UK. | |
| “I would like to thank the government of India for their help in making it happen.” | |
| Jan Thompson, acting High Commissioner to India, said: “This fifth round of flights brings the total number of planes we have organised from India to 59. | |
| Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, told the business select committee that 69% of non-food retailers have been “significantly” impacted by the virus. She added: “There is no way that anybody is expecting that demand will revert to what it was before - there will be a slow gearing back up. “What implementing social distancing will mean is that normal capacity to serve customers will be restricted and, certainly from a public perspective, I have no doubt that people will be very cautious about how they shop, for safety reasons and because of pressure on money in their pockets.” “It’s important not to turn off the tap, so the government has to be careful about how financial support schemes taper off.” | |
| Hello everyone. I will be working with Andrew on the live feed today. Please do share any insight, information or news tips with via any of the channels below. Thanks so much. | Hello everyone. I will be working with Andrew on the live feed today. Please do share any insight, information or news tips with via any of the channels below. Thanks so much. |
| Twitter: @sloumarshInstagram: sarah_marsh_journalistEmail: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com | Twitter: @sloumarshInstagram: sarah_marsh_journalistEmail: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com |
| At the start of this week there were reports suggesting that Boris Johnson would be using his appearance at the daily government press conference to give some details of his plans to relax the lockdown. No 10 was very keen to play down those suggestions, and today it is expected that his tone will be much more cautious, stressing the dangers of any significant move away from the restrictions currently in place. | At the start of this week there were reports suggesting that Boris Johnson would be using his appearance at the daily government press conference to give some details of his plans to relax the lockdown. No 10 was very keen to play down those suggestions, and today it is expected that his tone will be much more cautious, stressing the dangers of any significant move away from the restrictions currently in place. |
| In the Daily Mail Jason Groves quotes a Whitehall source using an interesting image to suggest that only modest changes are in the pipeline for next week. The source told him: | In the Daily Mail Jason Groves quotes a Whitehall source using an interesting image to suggest that only modest changes are in the pipeline for next week. The source told him: |
| In his column in this week’s Spectator, James Forsyth makes a similar prediction. | In his column in this week’s Spectator, James Forsyth makes a similar prediction. |
| Nicola Sturgeon’s interview last night (see 9.53am) may have constrained Johnson even further. Until now the four nations of the UK have (with minor exceptions) been adopting a joint approach to coronavirus, agreed at meetings of the emergency committee Cobra, at which the devolved administrations are represented. But Sturgeon has repeatedly said that Scotland would diverge from the UK approach if she thought that was justified. If she were to decide next week that any relaxation of the lockdown would be unacceptable (which is what she hinted last night), it would be risky for Johnson to set different rules for England. Perhaps he would get credit for opening up the economy, but if coronavirus infection rates were to start to soar again south of the border, he would be open to the charge of being reckless with people’s lives. | Nicola Sturgeon’s interview last night (see 9.53am) may have constrained Johnson even further. Until now the four nations of the UK have (with minor exceptions) been adopting a joint approach to coronavirus, agreed at meetings of the emergency committee Cobra, at which the devolved administrations are represented. But Sturgeon has repeatedly said that Scotland would diverge from the UK approach if she thought that was justified. If she were to decide next week that any relaxation of the lockdown would be unacceptable (which is what she hinted last night), it would be risky for Johnson to set different rules for England. Perhaps he would get credit for opening up the economy, but if coronavirus infection rates were to start to soar again south of the border, he would be open to the charge of being reckless with people’s lives. |
| More than 3,000 additional officers have joined police forces under the recruitment pledge that formed a centrepiece to Boris Johnson’s election campaign, new figures have shown. | More than 3,000 additional officers have joined police forces under the recruitment pledge that formed a centrepiece to Boris Johnson’s election campaign, new figures have shown. |
| Johnson promised to recruit 20,000 officers during the summer 2019 election campaign, which many noted would in fact replace roughly the same number that had been lost under 10 years of Conservative party austerity. | Johnson promised to recruit 20,000 officers during the summer 2019 election campaign, which many noted would in fact replace roughly the same number that had been lost under 10 years of Conservative party austerity. |
| The government set out its plans to recruit 20,000 additional officers by March 2023 in September and the Home Office on Thursday published the first official set of statistics on progress towards that number. | The government set out its plans to recruit 20,000 additional officers by March 2023 in September and the Home Office on Thursday published the first official set of statistics on progress towards that number. |
| They show 3,005 recruits joined the police specifically as part of the uplift programme. In total, forces recruited 6,435 officers from November 2019 to March 2020, including recruitment planned before the government campaign was announced. | They show 3,005 recruits joined the police specifically as part of the uplift programme. In total, forces recruited 6,435 officers from November 2019 to March 2020, including recruitment planned before the government campaign was announced. |
| All families of frontline NHS Scotland staff who die as a result of coronavirus will receive financial support, Holyrood’s health secretary, Jeane Freeman, has confirmed. | All families of frontline NHS Scotland staff who die as a result of coronavirus will receive financial support, Holyrood’s health secretary, Jeane Freeman, has confirmed. |
| After England and Wales announced similar schemes earlier in the week, the Scottish government will pay a total lump sum of twice the staff member’s annual earnings and a continued pension to surviving partner or dependent child in the event of a death in service. The median NHS Scotland wage is £36,241. | After England and Wales announced similar schemes earlier in the week, the Scottish government will pay a total lump sum of twice the staff member’s annual earnings and a continued pension to surviving partner or dependent child in the event of a death in service. The median NHS Scotland wage is £36,241. |
| Westminster health secretary Matt Hancock has announced a £60,000 payment for families of NHS and social care workers who die from coronavirus. The Scottish scheme does not yet include social care workers. The death in service benefit, which is already part of the NHS Scotland pension scheme, is being extended to include temporary, bank and locum staff, as well as permanent NHS staff who are not in the pension scheme. | Westminster health secretary Matt Hancock has announced a £60,000 payment for families of NHS and social care workers who die from coronavirus. The Scottish scheme does not yet include social care workers. The death in service benefit, which is already part of the NHS Scotland pension scheme, is being extended to include temporary, bank and locum staff, as well as permanent NHS staff who are not in the pension scheme. |
| A total of 11 NHS staff and carers have died as a result of coronavirus in Scotland since the start of the pandemic. | A total of 11 NHS staff and carers have died as a result of coronavirus in Scotland since the start of the pandemic. |
| Boris Johnson’s five tests for starting a relaxation of the lockdown are “not a good enough” guide for the long-term exit strategy from the coronavirus pandemic, the Institute for Government has warned. | Boris Johnson’s five tests for starting a relaxation of the lockdown are “not a good enough” guide for the long-term exit strategy from the coronavirus pandemic, the Institute for Government has warned. |
| In a new paper, Lifting Lockdown: how to approach a coronavirus exit strategy, the independent thinktank says what was good at the outset of the outbreak is not necessarily good for the end. | In a new paper, Lifting Lockdown: how to approach a coronavirus exit strategy, the independent thinktank says what was good at the outset of the outbreak is not necessarily good for the end. |
| Joe Owen, one of the report’s authors, said: | Joe Owen, one of the report’s authors, said: |
| The government has set out five tests for starting to lift the lockdown, which look for: signs that the NHS is able to cope, which it believes it has achieved; that it has sufficient protective personal equipment (PPE); a “sustained and consistent” fall in the daily death rate; reliable data on decreasing infection rates; and signs that the risk of a second peak that would overwhelm the NHS can be avoided. | The government has set out five tests for starting to lift the lockdown, which look for: signs that the NHS is able to cope, which it believes it has achieved; that it has sufficient protective personal equipment (PPE); a “sustained and consistent” fall in the daily death rate; reliable data on decreasing infection rates; and signs that the risk of a second peak that would overwhelm the NHS can be avoided. |
| But the IfG says that while these tests might be appropriate measures of bringing a pandemic under control, they are not the basis for a long-term exit strategy. | But the IfG says that while these tests might be appropriate measures of bringing a pandemic under control, they are not the basis for a long-term exit strategy. |
| An exit strategy must be based on a different approach ensuring measures are put in place “that reduce the risk of resurgence of the the disease” and give the economy a decent chance. | An exit strategy must be based on a different approach ensuring measures are put in place “that reduce the risk of resurgence of the the disease” and give the economy a decent chance. |
| This means it must increase the capacity for testing and contact tracing and considering tighter border controls to stop fresh importation of the virus. | This means it must increase the capacity for testing and contact tracing and considering tighter border controls to stop fresh importation of the virus. |
| It says the next phase will be about walking the tightrope between guarding the nation’s health and re-opening businesses, schools and services, and warns against “keeping the economy on ice”. | It says the next phase will be about walking the tightrope between guarding the nation’s health and re-opening businesses, schools and services, and warns against “keeping the economy on ice”. |