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UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson sets out lockdown exit plans to MPs as official death toll rises by 210 UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson sets out lockdown exit plans to MPs as official death toll rises by 210
(32 minutes later)
PM publishes 50-page ‘blueprint’ and addresses Commons as Keir Starmer says Johnson’s strategy has caused ‘considerable confusion’PM publishes 50-page ‘blueprint’ and addresses Commons as Keir Starmer says Johnson’s strategy has caused ‘considerable confusion’
Johnson says the new, increased fines for people breaking lockdown rules will be £100, or £50 if paid early (instead of £60/£30). And they will rise to a potental maximum of £3,600 for repeat offences, he says. Johnson says he thinks the public understand exactly what “Stay alert” means.
(In reference to these measures Johnson is speaking as prime minister of England.) Maria Eagle, the Labour MP, says the government originally said it would give the councils to cover all the money they spent on coronavirus. But now it is only saying it will pay them for tasks the government wants them to carry out. Will councils get everything they need?
Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, says there is now a three nations approach; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all agree. Can the PM confirm he is acting as prime minister of England? Johnson says he will consider this point, and take it up with the communities secretary.
Johnson rejects that. He says he is offering good advice for the whole of the UK. But he says he accepts why in different places different policy may be needed. Sir Edward Leigh, a Conservative, says the country faces the biggest recession for centuries. Will the PM put in place effective accounting to ensure public money is not being wasted?
Sir Ed Davey, the acting Lib Dem leader, asks Johnson to confirm that neither the chief medical adviser nor the chief scientific adviser signed off the new “Stay alert” slogan. Johnson says he will. But he says the biggest risk at the moment would be the virus returning.
“That’s not right,” says Johnson. Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem MP, says the government has produced figures on items of PPE supplied, but not items of PPE needed. Will the government release these figures?
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, says the PM has generated confusion. He says: “Mixed messaging risks lives.”e Johnson says he will consider this point. There have been no national stock-outs, he says.
First, he asks the PM to confirm that in the devolved nations the “Stay at home” advice still applies. Johnson says the more relaxed rules on exercise do not mean that people should be travelling to second homes, or to the countryside for holidays.
He says the PM said last night he had consulted with the devolved administrations. But will he confirm he did not consult on the slogan. Labour’s Kate Green asks Johnson to confirm that there is no intention to change the rules on benefit conditionality. She says no one should be penalised for not taking up a dangerous job.
Can he promise not to deploy the slogan in Scotland? Johnson agrees. He says no one should be penalised for doing the right thing.
When will quarantine be enforced? And is it true that Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, told the airline industry that if this was too complicated, it would not be enforced. Johnson says, if Covid is detected in the water supply of a town (presumably he means in the sewage), new restrictions could be imposed locally.
And will the PM confirm people in Scotland should follow Nicola Sturgeon’s advice? The SNP’s Chris Law asks if the PM will support above-inflation pay settlements for civil servants because of what they have done.
Johnson says the answer to question one is yes, and the answer to question four is no. Johnson says he will not comment on pay, but he says he wants to thank the civil service for their work “from the bottom of my heart”.
On other points, he says the four nations have more in common than Blackford implies. Labour’s Karen Buck asks if Johnson thinks everyone travelling on public transport in the capital should wear a face covering.
Johnson says different approaches from the devolved nations are to be welcomed when needed because R, the reproduction number is different in different places. Johnson says the government is not making it compulsory. But the government does view this as “advisory”.
Referring to Wales having different rules on exercise, he says there will be many examples of anomalies like this. Andy Carter, a Conservative, asks what will be done to help parents with childcare.
But he says everyone understands what the government is trying to do. Johnson says the government wants to bring some primary school pupils back in June. And it wants all primary school pupils to have at least a month in school before the end of July, he says.
He says he thinks people will apply “good, solid British common sense”. This what the coronavirus recovery plan says about schools.
Johnson says guidelines on places of employment will be published tonight. And the transport ones will be out tomorrow, he says. The SNP’s Drew Hendry asks Johnson to confirm that the value of the furlough scheme will be reduced by a quarter.
Johnson is responding to Starmer. Johnson says Hendry should not believe everything in the press. The chancellor will make a statement on this tomorrow, he says.
He says until now people have been following the “Stay at home” advice. Alexander Stafford, a Conservative, asks if this plan is flexible enough to adjust to different circumstances.
People may have followed it more thoroughly than in other countries, he says. Johnson says the government will of course be flexible. If there are local flare-ups, “we will not hesitate to put on the brakes”.
But now we have to take “small, limited steps” to come out of the lockdown. Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, says the PM’s announcement will make inequalities worse, because workers will not be safe in the workforce.
He says, when you are coming out of a message that is so “gloriously simple”, there will inevitably be complexities. Johnson does not accept that. He says now is the time to take some small steps forward.
On childcare, Johnson says the government expects employers to be reasonable. If people do not have childcare, they cannot be expected to go to work. Johnson says there is a “huge opportunity” for the UK to have a cleaner, greener transport system after the crisis is over.
Johnson says parents without childcare should not be expected to go to work. Johnson says the government is committed to keeping employees safe. He says the Health and Safety Executive will be enforcing the new guidelines. And there will be spot inspections, he says.
Starmer is still speaking.
He asks what rules will apply to public transport.
And what about childcare? Will childcare workers go back on Wednesday?
Starmer turns to the quarantine plan. Johnson says this would apply to people arriving by air. But the document says it will cover all arrivals?
And is it England, or for the whole of the UK?
He says there is no consensus on messaging between the UK government and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
He asks Johnson to confirm that people won’t be able to travel to Scotland for exercise. Won’t this make enforcement hard?
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is responding to Johnson.
He starts by saying he accepts how difficult these decisions are.
The country needs clarity and reassurance. At the moment both are in short supply, he says.
He says the PM’s statement caused “considerable confusion”.
He says No 10 put out a press release on Sunday implying construction and manufacturing would go back on Monday.
But the document says a wider set of employees (see 3.38pm) should go back on Wednesday.
But safety guidelines are not ready.
Will they be ready tomorrow? Have they been agreed? And will they only apply in England?
Johnson sums up by using the “Stay alert” slogan.
Johnson says in July, if the data supports this, the government will move to stage three.
It will then open some hospitality and leisure businesses.
But that will only be if they can maintain social distancing, he sayss.
And he says the government will not hesitate to put on the brakes if necessary.
Johnson says from Wednesday there will be no limits on the outdoor exercise people can take.
He is referring to England only, but does not make this clear.
He says people can do this with members of their own households, or with one other person.
And people can drive as far as they want to exercise this right, provided that they observe the rules of the devolved administrations.
(In other words, they should not drive to Scotland or Wales, he means.)
And he says people who are clinically vulnerable should continue to observe the current rules.
This is what the document says about this group.
Johnson says the government is now advising people to wear face coverings in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not possible.
But he says this does not mean people should wear medical face masks.
Johnson says Dido Harding, a peer and chair of NHS Improvement, will take charge of a programme that will oversee mass testing.
He says the government wants workers who cannot work from home to return to work.
This is what the document says about this.
The challenge now is to find a way forward, Johnson says.
He says the government has a “supremely difficult balance to strike”.
He says there may need to be divergence in different parts of the UK.
But any such divergence should be short term, he says.
Johnson says the British people have faced a grave threat.
They have changed their way of live.
Tragically many families have lost loved ones.
Yet the NHS has not been overwhelmed. Many more lives would have been lost if it had been, he says.
He says the reproduction number has been cut to between 0.5 and 0.9.
Boris Johnson is starting his Commons statement about the coronavirus recovery plan now.
“Never let a good crisis go to waste” is sound political advice, normally attributed to the former Barack Obama aide Rahm Emanuel, and it seems from the government’s coronavirus recovery plan, that Dominic Cummings, the PM’s chief adviser, is taking it to heart.
Cummings has for years been a fierce critic of the way Whitehall is structured and the civil service operates. He used to say Brexit would be “an exercise far beyond Whitehall as it currently works”. His critics think he was right about that one. Now the government is proposing “a rapid re-engineering of government’s structures and institutions” to respond to the coronavirus crisis.
Here is the relevant extract from the government’s coronavirus recovery plan (pdf).
The government have published further guidance on what the public can and cannot do as the lockdown is eased. Check out the update to the frequently asked questions on how they will apply in England.