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UK coronavirus live: Starmer says government failures stopped more pupils being back in English schools
UK coronavirus live: Williamson leads Downing Street briefing as Starmer says more could be back in English schools
(32 minutes later)
Labour leader criticises lack of leadership; Scotland’s distancing rule to be relaxed for some sectors; lockdown-easing paused in some Scottish towns
Labour leader criticises lack of leadership; Scotland’s distancing rule to be relaxed for some sectors; lockdown-easing paused in some Scottish towns
Leanne asks how breakfast clubs will work if school groups cannot mix.
Williamson says the guidance covers this point. The government wants to see breakfast clubs reopening alongside the rull reopening of schools.
Jamie from Manchester asks what is being done to ensure pupils have better access to online learning, particularly because of the risk of local lockdowns.
Williamson says this is why the government has been rolling out 200,000 laptops for disadvantaged pupils.
Williamson says from September attendance in school will again by mandatory.
He says this is essential if pupils are going to catch up with what they have missed.
Williamson is summarising what was announced earlier.
Here is our coverage of the guidance issued this morning.
Gavin Williamson, the education secretary for England, is holding a press conference now. It is the first No 10 press conference since the daily ones were abandoned last week.
He starts by thanking the parents of pupils who have returned to school for putting their trust in schools and teachers.
Schools are “not significant drivers of transmission” for coronavirus, according to a report (pdf) published today by the Scottish government’s Covid-19 advisory group. The short report summarises the evidence on “superspreading”. Here’s an extract.
Sinn Féin has rejected a DUP call for Michelle O’Neill to step aside as Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister over her attendance at an IRA funeral that drew hundreds of people on to the streets. (See 11.19am.) A party spokesman said:
There seems to be a common theme to the response from teaching unions to the plan from the DfE for all pupils in England to return to school in September. This is from the statement from Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, echoing the “plan B” line used by the NAHT (see 10.19am) and by the ASCL (see 1.40pm). Courtney said:
Public Health England has published its latest weekly coronavirus surveillance report. It covers the week ending on Sunday 28 June.
Public Health England has published its latest weekly coronavirus surveillance report. It covers the week ending on Sunday 28 June.
Here’s an extract from the summary.
Here’s an extract from the summary.
In an article for the Guardian a paramedic working for NHS test and trace says the system is “a shambles” and that they are being paid to do nothing. Here’s an extract.
In an article for the Guardian a paramedic working for NHS test and trace says the system is “a shambles” and that they are being paid to do nothing. Here’s an extract.
And here’s the full article.
And here’s the full article.
In Scotland one new coronavirus death has been reported today.
In Scotland one new coronavirus death has been reported today.
In Wales another eight deaths have been recorded.
In Wales another eight deaths have been recorded.
And in Northern Ireland one further death has been recorded.
And in Northern Ireland one further death has been recorded.
Sir Keir Starmer has said that many more children could be back in school now if the government had shown more leadership on this issue. Commenting on the plan announced today for all pupils in England to return in September, he said in a clip for broadcasters:
Sir Keir Starmer has said that many more children could be back in school now if the government had shown more leadership on this issue. Commenting on the plan announced today for all pupils in England to return in September, he said in a clip for broadcasters:
Starmer’s comment follows repeated claims by Boris Johnson and other ministers, heard again at PMQs yesterday, that Labour does not support children going back. The claim is based on comments made by party figures earlier this year questioning whether it was safe for pupils to return. The Conservative attack line clearly stung, because Starmer has been stressing recently how firmly the party is now committed to pupils going back. Today he is effectively trying to outbid Johnson on this issue.
Starmer’s comment follows repeated claims by Boris Johnson and other ministers, heard again at PMQs yesterday, that Labour does not support children going back. The claim is based on comments made by party figures earlier this year questioning whether it was safe for pupils to return. The Conservative attack line clearly stung, because Starmer has been stressing recently how firmly the party is now committed to pupils going back. Today he is effectively trying to outbid Johnson on this issue.
The government’s lockdown that has closed schools, premises and companies while limiting free movement is the “most sweeping and far-reaching” restriction on fundamental rights since the second world war, the high court has been told. As Owen Bowcott reports, in a challenge to the legality of emergency legislation, the businessman Simon Dolan, whose Jota Aviation company has been delivering personal protective equipment (PPE) to the NHS, is testing the full extent of the powers under which England has been confined for the past 101 days.
Here is Owen’s full story on the opening of the hearing.
Here is a question from a reader in the comments.
This came up at the No 10 lobby briefing. The prime minister’s spokesman said that, although the Leicester lockdown was announced on Monday night, effectively it was only advisory for the first day or so because the legislation did not get signed until Wednesday. He said:
Earlier I posted the figures from the government’s latest test and trace bulletin showing that it is not yet meeting its target of getting all test results delivered within 24 hours. (See 11.50am.)
The figures in the document cover “pillar 2” tests – those provided by commercial partners for members of the population at large. They do not cover testing in “pillar 1” – in NHS hospitals and Public Health England laboratories – because the data is not available for PHE laboratories.
But NHS England has been in touch to say that on average its laboratories produce test results within 14 hours. And 90% of them produce results on average within 24 hours.
A “partial reopening” of the tourism sector in Wales is to take place over the next few weeks as long as rates of coronavirus continue to fall, the Welsh government has announced.
The Labour-led government has asked visitors to enjoy their time in the country – but to respect local communities.
Bars, restaurants and cafes with outdoor spaces are set to be allowed to re-open from 13 July.
The final decision about outdoor re-opening will be made at the next Welsh government review on 9 July.
Future decisions about indoor re-opening will be made later and depend on the success of outdoor opening.
The “stay-local” instruction in Wales is due to lifted on Monday, which will allow outdoor attractions to re-open from then.
The date from which owners of self-contained accommodation in Wales can accept bookings is being brought forward to 11 July from 13 July, to help with the pattern of Saturday-to-Saturday bookings.
The minister for international relations and the Welsh language, Eluned Morgan, said:
Morgan defended the government’s cautious approach to bars, cafes and restaurants re-opening.
She said: “If we open too quickly we will have to go back into lockdown. That is why we are taking this step-by-step controlled approach.”
The two-metre social distancing in Wales will remain for pubs but Morgan said the government was working with the industry on additional measures for circumstances when the two-metre rule could not work.
Additional measures may include a designated person being in charge of making sure premises were Covid-19 safe and taking names of customers so they could be traced if needed.
NHS England has recorded a further 35 coronavirus hospital deaths in England. The full figures are here.
For comparison, here are the equivalent daily figures announced by NHS England over the past fortnight.
Thursday 18 June - 62
Friday 19 June - 46
Saturday 20 June - 71
Sunday 21 June - 26
Monday 22 June - 20
Tuesday 23 June - 46
Wednesday 24 June - 51
Thursday 25 June - 55
Friday 26 June - 67
Saturday 27 June - 78
Sunday 28 June - 18
Monday 29 June - 19
Tuesday 30 June - 37
Wednesday 1 July - 50
The Local Government Association says the extra support for English councils announced by Robert Jenrick earlier (see 9.43am) does not go far enough. Here is an extract from the statement from the LGA chairman, James Jamieson. He said:
Here are the main points from the Downing Street lobby briefing.
No 10 suggested headteachers should use their discretion in deciding whether parents who don’t sent their children to school in England in September should be fined. Asked if fines should always be imposed, the prime minister’s spokesman said:
Boris Johnson will give a press conference tomorrow, the spokesman said. He said Johnson also wants people not to “overdo it” when pubs reopen in England on Saturday. The spokesman said:
The spokesman said some councils had been slow in obtaining postcode-level coronavirus data because they had been late returning data agreements. He said:
Boris Johnson has used an interview with the Evening Standard to signal that the furlough scheme will not be extended beyond October. He has been under pressure to extend it, particularly for workers in sectors like the performing arts, where there is as yet no prospect of theatres and other venues being able to return to normal. But Johnson said the scheme had to end eventually. He told the paper:
The OBR estimates that the scheme will have cost the government £60bn by October.
The Association of School and College Leaders has said that trying to follow the guidance set out for schools in England for September will be “mind-boggling”. In a statement Geoff Barton, the ASCL general secretary, said “a sense of reality” was needed. Headteachers would do their best, he said. But, echoing what the NAHT union said (see 10.19am), Barton said ministers should develop a “plan B” too. He said:
