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| UK coronavirus live: test and trace figures due as Preston could be latest to face lockdown measures | UK coronavirus live: test and trace figures due as Preston could be latest to face lockdown measures |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Town faces government intervention after a rise in coronavirus rates; 50m masks for NHS workers deemed unusable; contact tracing figures expected amid concern over programme | Town faces government intervention after a rise in coronavirus rates; 50m masks for NHS workers deemed unusable; contact tracing figures expected amid concern over programme |
| ITV has been hit by the steepest decline in advertising in its 65-year history, a 43% fall in the second quarter, as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic looks set to push the broadcaster out of the FTSE 100 at next month’s reshuffle. | |
| The broadcaster, which has scrapped paying an interim dividend to fortify its balance sheet, reported a 50% fall in adjusted profits to £165m in the first half. The company said advertising revenues fell 21% in the first six months, a drop of £178m to £671m, including a 43% decline in the second quarter. | |
| Carolyn McCall, the chief executive of ITV, said that while the worst is over the ongoing uncertainty in the market meant the company would not issue performance guidance for the remainder of this year. | |
| Travellers hoping to make it to Belgium or Malta face a nervous wait as the government refuses to confirm or deny reports Whitehall officials are preparing to introduce quarantine rules for people returning from each country. | |
| According to reports in the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph, ministers are due to discuss removing the two countries from the “green” list of countries from which travellers can arrive in the UK without having to quarantine for a fortnight. | |
| The uncertainty will cause concern for many, who cannot be sure of whether or not they will be able to visit either country without having to isolate on their return. Asked about the reports on Thursday, a Department for Transport spokeswoman said this week’s review of travel corridor arrangements had not yet been published. | |
| Scotland’s health secretary has played down the prospects of Aberdeen’s emergency lockdown being extended to other parts of the economy or the region after the outbreak in cases there. | Scotland’s health secretary has played down the prospects of Aberdeen’s emergency lockdown being extended to other parts of the economy or the region after the outbreak in cases there. |
| Jeane Freeman said NHS Grampian’s contact tracers had so far found and spoken to all 191 people identified as being in close contact with the 54 people known to be infected in the city, and all had been told to self-isolate for 14 days. | Jeane Freeman said NHS Grampian’s contact tracers had so far found and spoken to all 191 people identified as being in close contact with the 54 people known to be infected in the city, and all had been told to self-isolate for 14 days. |
| Freeman confirmed ministers would act quickly if there was evidence of wider community transmission, but that had not yet emerged. Further data would be published later on Thursday, she said, to show whether new Covid-19 cases had emerged in the city or wider area. | Freeman confirmed ministers would act quickly if there was evidence of wider community transmission, but that had not yet emerged. Further data would be published later on Thursday, she said, to show whether new Covid-19 cases had emerged in the city or wider area. |
| The first minister warned on Wednesday that Aberdeen’s emergency lockdown could extend to other towns in the region after health officials linked 32 pubs and golf courses to the outbreak in the city. | The first minister warned on Wednesday that Aberdeen’s emergency lockdown could extend to other towns in the region after health officials linked 32 pubs and golf courses to the outbreak in the city. |
| Soames also defended the fact that the average contact tracer has contacted 2.4 people each. | Soames also defended the fact that the average contact tracer has contacted 2.4 people each. |
| The boss of outsourcing giant Serco has defended the number of people being contacted and asked to isolate as part of the test-and-trace system, saying it is “improving all the time”. Rupert Soames, Serco’s chief executive, told Today: | |
| Pushed on the fact that this is only the contacts that tracers have been able to reach, Soames added: “So there’s been 218,000 already contacted.” | Pushed on the fact that this is only the contacts that tracers have been able to reach, Soames added: “So there’s been 218,000 already contacted.” |
| Questioned again on why tracers are still only managing to get hold of half of people’s contacts, Soames said: | Questioned again on why tracers are still only managing to get hold of half of people’s contacts, Soames said: |
| The shadow Cabinet Office minister, Labour’s Rachel Reeves, has said: | The shadow Cabinet Office minister, Labour’s Rachel Reeves, has said: |
| Responding to the news, the Lib Dem leadership candidate Layla Moran has said: | Responding to the news, the Lib Dem leadership candidate Layla Moran has said: |
| The government has admitted that 50m masks bought as part of a £252m medical supplies contract awarded to an investment firm have been deemed unsuitable for use by NHS workers. | The government has admitted that 50m masks bought as part of a £252m medical supplies contract awarded to an investment firm have been deemed unsuitable for use by NHS workers. |
| Two organisations are seeking judicial review of the decision to award the contract to Ayanda Capital, which describes itself as specialising in “currency trading, offshore property, private equity and trade financing”. | Two organisations are seeking judicial review of the decision to award the contract to Ayanda Capital, which describes itself as specialising in “currency trading, offshore property, private equity and trade financing”. |
| EveryDoctor and the Good Law Project published correspondence with the government’s legal department in which the latter acknowledged the masks would not be used by the NHS because of concerns they will not fit tightly enough. | EveryDoctor and the Good Law Project published correspondence with the government’s legal department in which the latter acknowledged the masks would not be used by the NHS because of concerns they will not fit tightly enough. |
| The government declined to comment on ongoing legal proceedings but a spokesman has said: | The government declined to comment on ongoing legal proceedings but a spokesman has said: |
| Returning to the planning story, the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, has said he wishes he had not sat next to Tory party donor and developer Richard Desmond at an event. | Returning to the planning story, the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, has said he wishes he had not sat next to Tory party donor and developer Richard Desmond at an event. |
| Asked why people should trust him over new planning proposals that will give more power to large developers after the controversy over the Westferry development project, Jenrick told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: | Asked why people should trust him over new planning proposals that will give more power to large developers after the controversy over the Westferry development project, Jenrick told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: |
| Asked what he had learned from the experience of the Westferry development, Jenrick added: | Asked what he had learned from the experience of the Westferry development, Jenrick added: |
| Jenrick claimed he had “no idea” how much property developers have donated to his party in the last year, saying: “Ministers are not involved in those issues, that is entirely for the Conservative party.” | Jenrick claimed he had “no idea” how much property developers have donated to his party in the last year, saying: “Ministers are not involved in those issues, that is entirely for the Conservative party.” |
| He added: “You’re entirely mischaracterising what we’re doing here. We’re actually asking developers to pay more.” He said the government was “saying we’re going to abolish the current system which favours the big developers”. | He added: “You’re entirely mischaracterising what we’re doing here. We’re actually asking developers to pay more.” He said the government was “saying we’re going to abolish the current system which favours the big developers”. |
| Preston could be the next area to face government intervention after a rise in coronavirus rates, the city council’s chief executive said. | Preston could be the next area to face government intervention after a rise in coronavirus rates, the city council’s chief executive said. |
| The authority has advised residents in the Lancashire city to avoid having visitors to their homes, although there are no official restrictions such as the laws brought in for other parts of the county, as well as Greater Manchester and parts of West Yorkshire. Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Thursday, Adrian Phillips said: | The authority has advised residents in the Lancashire city to avoid having visitors to their homes, although there are no official restrictions such as the laws brought in for other parts of the county, as well as Greater Manchester and parts of West Yorkshire. Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Thursday, Adrian Phillips said: |
| The council has also advised residents to wear face coverings at all times and to get tested even if they are experiencing only mild symptoms. | The council has also advised residents to wear face coverings at all times and to get tested even if they are experiencing only mild symptoms. |
| A statement on the authority’s website said evidence from Public Health England showed a spike of coronavirus cases in Preston, with the majority of the spread through households and community. | A statement on the authority’s website said evidence from Public Health England showed a spike of coronavirus cases in Preston, with the majority of the spread through households and community. |
| Phillips told BBC Breakfast: | Phillips told BBC Breakfast: |
| The director of the Town and Country Planning Association called on the government to provide evidence as to how the current planning system is “desperately broken”. Hugh Ellis told Today: | The director of the Town and Country Planning Association called on the government to provide evidence as to how the current planning system is “desperately broken”. Hugh Ellis told Today: |
| Jenrick told the same programme there was a need for more homes and land on which to build them, citing constituents who have complained younger people are struggling to get on the property ladder. | Jenrick told the same programme there was a need for more homes and land on which to build them, citing constituents who have complained younger people are struggling to get on the property ladder. |
| Claims the government’s planning reforms would lead to slums are “complete nonsense”, the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, has claimed. | Claims the government’s planning reforms would lead to slums are “complete nonsense”, the housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, has claimed. |
| The proposals include a scheme that would remove a whole stage of local oversight within designated zones by setting pre-approved “design codes” that would see some applications given an automatic “green light”. | The proposals include a scheme that would remove a whole stage of local oversight within designated zones by setting pre-approved “design codes” that would see some applications given an automatic “green light”. |
| The government is seeking a way to make it easier to build new homes but the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) described the proposals as “shameful” and said they would do “almost nothing to guarantee the delivery of affordable, well-designed and sustainable homes”. Instead, they could lead to the “development of the next generation of slum housing”. Speaking on Sky News on Thursday morning, Jenrick said: | The government is seeking a way to make it easier to build new homes but the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) described the proposals as “shameful” and said they would do “almost nothing to guarantee the delivery of affordable, well-designed and sustainable homes”. Instead, they could lead to the “development of the next generation of slum housing”. Speaking on Sky News on Thursday morning, Jenrick said: |
| Asked whether the public will have less of a say on planning decisions, he added: | Asked whether the public will have less of a say on planning decisions, he added: |
| Asked about the RIBA’s comments, Jenrick said: | Asked about the RIBA’s comments, Jenrick said: |
| The Citizens Advice service is helping people with redundancy queries every two minutes, according to its director of external affairs. Katie Martin has told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: | The Citizens Advice service is helping people with redundancy queries every two minutes, according to its director of external affairs. Katie Martin has told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: |
| The comments come as recruitment firms report record numbers of people in Britain looking for temporary work. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation and the accountancy firm KPMG said the number of people signing up rose in July at the fastest pace since records began in 1997. | The comments come as recruitment firms report record numbers of people in Britain looking for temporary work. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation and the accountancy firm KPMG said the number of people signing up rose in July at the fastest pace since records began in 1997. |
| Good morning and welcome aboard the Guardian’s live blog, where we’ll be keeping a particularly close eye out for the latest data on England’s contact tracing system. They’re due to be published at 11am, amid concerns about the effectiveness of the operation. | Good morning and welcome aboard the Guardian’s live blog, where we’ll be keeping a particularly close eye out for the latest data on England’s contact tracing system. They’re due to be published at 11am, amid concerns about the effectiveness of the operation. |
| On Wednesday, my colleagues Sarah Marsh and Molly Blackall revealed that, despite the prime minister’s grand claims, some people working on it have said they are making only a handful of calls every month and are occupying their time with barbecues and quizzes. | On Wednesday, my colleagues Sarah Marsh and Molly Blackall revealed that, despite the prime minister’s grand claims, some people working on it have said they are making only a handful of calls every month and are occupying their time with barbecues and quizzes. |
| That came only a day after Josh Halliday reported that English councils with the highest infection rates had felt it necessary to launch their own contact-tracing operations to plug holes in the “world-beating” £10bn central government system. And here’s a little more background on the contact tracing operation: | That came only a day after Josh Halliday reported that English councils with the highest infection rates had felt it necessary to launch their own contact-tracing operations to plug holes in the “world-beating” £10bn central government system. And here’s a little more background on the contact tracing operation: |