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UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson denies people are confused about local lockdown rules UK coronavirus live: Matt Hancock says MPs will get votes on significant lockdown measures if possible
(32 minutes later)
News updates: PM rejects Starmer remark about widespread confusion; Speaker criticises government’s handling of emergency powers News updates: Commons debate whether to renew Coronavirus Act; PM rejects Starmer remark about widespread confusion
Hancock told MPs that one part of the Coronavirus Act was being dropped.
The act allowed people to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act on the basis of the opinion of just one doctor, not two. It also allowed the time limits for these orders to be extended.
Hancock said that, even when the act was passed, he was not convinced this part was necessary. Now it will be dropped, he said. He said the government would introduce secondary legislation to remove this provision in the bill.
Here is the full quote from Matt Hancock on the new arrangements. He said:
Hancock said he hoped that these new arrangements would be seen as a new convention.
Hancock is now addressing what the government will do ensure MPs get more say over emergency regulations.
(This is the compromise deal brokered with Tory rebels.)
He says he believes that legislation is improved by scrutiny from the Commons.
He says that in future, for significant national measures affecting the whole of England or the whole of the UK, the government will consult MPs and give them a vote wherever possible before those measures come into force.
But he says ministers must reserve the right to act quickly in emergencies.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is opening the debate.
He says the government has needed the powers in the act and that it needs to be reviewed, even though not all the powers in the act are needed in future.
MPs are now starting the Coronavirus Act debate.
There is a provision in the act saying it has to be renewed by parliament after six months. MPs are now debating that provision. There is a simple motion asking MPs to agree “that the temporary provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020 should not yet expire” and it is not amendable. That is why the Speaker has not allowed the amendment tabled by Sir Graham Brady, or any of the other amendments.
British football’s top 100 earners should consider donating a week’s wages to support community clubs across the country, MPs have heard. The sports minister Nigel Huddleston appeared to back the idea in the Commons earlier after it was floated by Labour’s Chris Evans.British football’s top 100 earners should consider donating a week’s wages to support community clubs across the country, MPs have heard. The sports minister Nigel Huddleston appeared to back the idea in the Commons earlier after it was floated by Labour’s Chris Evans.
During an urgent question on government support for sport, Evans said:During an urgent question on government support for sport, Evans said:
Huddleston replied:Huddleston replied:
Public Health Wales has recorded 388 more coronavirus cases and one further death.Public Health Wales has recorded 388 more coronavirus cases and one further death.
There have been 424 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Northern Ireland in the last 24-hour reporting period, the Department of Health there has announced. A further coronavirus-linked death has been reported to the department, although it did not occur within the last day.There have been 424 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Northern Ireland in the last 24-hour reporting period, the Department of Health there has announced. A further coronavirus-linked death has been reported to the department, although it did not occur within the last day.
Asked about the prospect of tighter coronavirus restrictions being imposed on Merseyside (see 2.18pm), Downing Street said that officials are “closely monitoring” the coronavirus rate in Merseyside and that the current rules are being kept “under constant review”.Asked about the prospect of tighter coronavirus restrictions being imposed on Merseyside (see 2.18pm), Downing Street said that officials are “closely monitoring” the coronavirus rate in Merseyside and that the current rules are being kept “under constant review”.
NHS England has recorded 43 further coronavirus hospital deaths. It says that the people who died were aged between 43 and 98 years old and that all except one had known underlying health conditions. The details are here.NHS England has recorded 43 further coronavirus hospital deaths. It says that the people who died were aged between 43 and 98 years old and that all except one had known underlying health conditions. The details are here.
Failure to protect healthcare workers from Covid-19 has been described as “outrageous to the point of immorality” by a Nobel prize winner. Sir Paul Nurse, director of London’s Francis Crick Institute and a geneticist who won the Nobel prize for medicine, said the UK and other countries were “woefully unprepared” for the pandemic. As PA Media reports, in an interview in the latest Big Issue magazine Nurse said the government had not properly embraced how to deal with science and explain it to the public.Failure to protect healthcare workers from Covid-19 has been described as “outrageous to the point of immorality” by a Nobel prize winner. Sir Paul Nurse, director of London’s Francis Crick Institute and a geneticist who won the Nobel prize for medicine, said the UK and other countries were “woefully unprepared” for the pandemic. As PA Media reports, in an interview in the latest Big Issue magazine Nurse said the government had not properly embraced how to deal with science and explain it to the public.
The National Education Union wants the government to back “Nightingale schools” with additional teachers and smaller class sizes, to help curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus in areas of high risk.The National Education Union wants the government to back “Nightingale schools” with additional teachers and smaller class sizes, to help curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus in areas of high risk.
The call comes as the NEU launched a new website to track Covid-19 outbreaks around each school, as part of a campaign to lobby the government for better access to tests for both staff and pupils.The call comes as the NEU launched a new website to track Covid-19 outbreaks around each school, as part of a campaign to lobby the government for better access to tests for both staff and pupils.
In a briefing before the union’s special conference on Saturday, Kevin Courtney, the NEU’s joint general secretary, said:In a briefing before the union’s special conference on Saturday, Kevin Courtney, the NEU’s joint general secretary, said:
Courtney said the Department for Education’s latest figures showed that more than 500 secondary schools in England were only partially open, and that there were reports of entire year classes and groups of pupils studying for GCSE and A-level or BTec qualifications being sent home to isolate.Courtney said the Department for Education’s latest figures showed that more than 500 secondary schools in England were only partially open, and that there were reports of entire year classes and groups of pupils studying for GCSE and A-level or BTec qualifications being sent home to isolate.
The union’s delegates will also consider a motion calling for changes to the exam and assessment system for 2021. It wants standardised tests in primary schools to be dropped, and for changes to GCSE and A-level exams to avoid a repeat of this year’s fiasco.The union’s delegates will also consider a motion calling for changes to the exam and assessment system for 2021. It wants standardised tests in primary schools to be dropped, and for changes to GCSE and A-level exams to avoid a repeat of this year’s fiasco.
One of Britain’s biggest cultural donors, Dame Vivien Duffield, has announced a £2.5m package to help safeguard the learning and community work of arts organisations during the pandemic.
Her Clore Duffield Foundation has over two decades given £30m to fund Clore learning spaces at 66 cultural organisations, from Sage in Gateshead to Bristol Old Vic to the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
They did remarkable work, she said, but lockdown closed them all and even though museums, galleries, theatres and concert halls were all gradually reopening, most of the learning centres remained closed. She went on:
The intention is to give a percentage of the original capital grant. Recipients of up to £1m will get 10% of the original grant and recipients of more than £1m will get 5%. So the British Museum which originally received £2.5m will get £125,000 and the Holburne Museum in Bath which originally got £145,000 will get £14,500.
The Telegraph’s Christopher Hope has more on the deal struck between the government and Tory rebels over MPs getting votes on emergency legislation.
The Commons order paper had the Coronavirus Act debate down to start after 7pm, but we’re told that it will now start soon after 3pm. MPs are debating the non-domestic rating bill first, but is has not attracted overwhelming interest and the speeches should all be over within the hour.
New results from a clinical trial of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine have shown that the jab can induce a “robust” immune response against the virus, raising hopes it will provide at least some protection against Covid-19 infection.
Scientists from the partnership gave the vaccine to 60 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 55 in April and May and found that two doses produced antibodies and T cells that should fight the virus. Antibodies take on the virus directly, while T cells destroy cells that the virus invades.
The UK has pre-ordered 30m doses of the BioNTech vaccine which are due to be delivered this year and next, along with tens of millions of doses from other vaccine manufacturers, including Valneva in France, and AstraZeneca, which has partnered with Oxford University to trial its experimental vaccine.
The BioNTech vaccine, known as BNT162b1, smuggles genetic material called mRNA into muscle tissue. There, the body uses the mRNA to make fragments of virus protein which the immune system then learns to hunt down the pathogen.
The results need to be confirmed in a larger trial and in wider age groups to get a sense of how useful the vaccine might be. For now, it is unclear how older people with weaker immune systems will respond, and how long any protection may last. “As vaccine-induced immunity can wane over time, it is important to study persistence of potentially protective immune responses,” the scientists write in Nature.
Coronavirus restrictions are expected to be imposed on Merseyside very soon. New cases are running at a rate of more than 200 per 100,000 people.
Local mayors and council leaders have signed a joint statement saying they accept the need for further restrictions. But they also say that the region is “at breaking point” and that, if new rules are imposed, they need more money to help support local businesses and public services. They say:
The statement says Liverpool has already been hit particularly hard because its visitor economy is worth almost £5bn to the region and employs more than 50,000 people. Over the last six months local authorities on Merseyside, and the combined authority, has already lost more than £350m through extra costs and missing income, it says.
The statement has been signed by Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool city region; Joe Anderson, mayor of Liverpool; Rob Polhill, leader of Halton council; Graham Morgan, leader of Knowsley council; Ian Maher, leader of Sefton council; David Baines, leader of St Helens council; and Janette Williamson, leader of Wirral council.
The government has signed its first independent fishing deal for 40 years after arriving at a post-Brexit agreement with Norway.
It involves annual negotiations on share of catch, something the EU has rejected in Brexit trade talks.
The Norwegian fisheries and seafood minister, Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, described it as a “great day”.
The environment secretary, George Eustice, said: “The agreement is testament to our commitment to acting as a cooperative independent coastal state, seeking to ensure a sustainable and a prosperous future for the whole of the UK fishing industry.”
Rebel Conservative MPs hoping to force the government to give the House of Commons more power over sweeping coronavirus restrictions are set to agree a deal with party whips, after an amendment was thwarted by parliamentary procedure, my colleague Jessica Elgot reports.
The Welsh education minister, Kirsty Williams, has said that allowing university students to return home for Christmas is a “priority” for her government. She said:
Williams said that state school attendance across Wales was at 80%. She said the figure had been constant since the return to classrooms this month. Most schools have had no Covid cases. Only 22 have had three or more cases.
There were seven deaths after a positive coronavirus test reported in Scotland since yesterday, the highest daily figure since June 17, and 640 new cases, Nicola Sturgeon said at her daily briefing, with 137 people being treated in hospital.
The highest number of cases, 232, were in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, where hundreds of university students are self-isolating following significant clusters in halls of residence.
She also confirmed that, as of 12 October, people on low incomes would be eligible to receive a new £500 grant if asked to self-isolate.
She said that household restrictions remained the best way to contain the virus: the ban on household visiting, which initially came into force in west of Scotland before being extended nationwide, have blunted the rise but added that now university clusters are confusing the picture.
From Bloomberg’s Kitty Donaldson