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UK coronavirus news: Johnson faces Starmer at PMQs amid pressure from MPs over Covid emergency powers UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson denies people are confused about local lockdown rules
(32 minutes later)
Live updates: prime minister under pressure from MPs ahead of debate on extending emergency powers in the Coronavirus Act News updates: PM rejects Starmer remark about widespread confusion; Speaker criticises government’s handling of emergency powers
Starmer says the PM described local measures as a “whack-a-mole strategy’. But that implies the mole goes down. In these areas, the virus has not gone away. What is the plan for getting them out of restrictions? Nav Mishra (Lab) asks if the ban one evictions will be reinstated to prevent a housing crisis this winter.
Johnson says nobody wants to see these measures. But you have to take strong action. He says the illness seems to be more localised now than it was in the spring. Johnson says landlords have to give at least six months’ notice. So there won’t be evictions over Christmas, he says. And the government is embarking on a huge programme to build more homes.
Sir Keir Starmer says over 16m people - one in four - are living under restrictions in England. But only one area, Luton, has come out of local restrictions. Why? Neil Coyle (Lab) asks if councils will be funded for all the homeless people they helped.
Johnson says Starmer is right. There is “a serious and growing problem with the resurgence of the virus”. In Luton local people pulled together. That is the way forward for the entire country. Johnson says the way homeless people were housed was one of the “consolations” of the crisis. The government will continue to do what it can, he says.
Jason McCartney (Con) asks if the PM will support the events industry. Laurence Robertson (Con) asks if the A&E unit will return to Cheltenham hospital.
Boris Johnson says he would like to have a situation where people can be tested before events. Johnson says he has been told this closure is only temporary.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, starts with a statement. Mick Whitley (Lab) says the government has decided to write off 1m jobs as unviable. Why?
He says the way in which the government has used its powers to make secondary legislation during the crisis has been “totally unsatisfactory”. Johnson says that is a misrepresentation of what the government is doing. It will continue to support jobs. But the most important thing is to get the government into work.
He says regulations have come into force with very little notice. That is “totally unsatisfactory”, he says. Darren Henry (Con) asks what the PM will do to support the Midlands engine.
He says he will give “very sympathetic” consideration to applications for urgent questions on these matters. Johnson says he is happy to support this.
MPs should get the chance to vote on amendable motions on regulations, he says. Janet Daby (Lab) asks what the government will do to protect jobs in the hospitality sector. Why does the PM think these jobs are not worth saving?
But, turning to tonight’s debate, he says only 90 minutes has been set aside for it. Johnson says the government is doing what it can to support every job in the country. But it cannot save every job. There is a lifetime skills guarantee to allow people to retrain, he says.
He cannot give it extra time, he says. David Simmonds (Con) asks what will be done to extend the Syrian refugee settlement scheme.
He says when he became Speaker he said he would take decisions based on advice. Johnson says the UK can be proud of what has been done to resettle refugees. It will continue to meet its obligations to those fleeing persecution and war, he says.
He says tonight’s debate is meant to be a simple yes/no vote on renewing the Coronavirus Act. Debbie Abrahams (Lab) asks what the PM’s biggest Covid mistake has been.
He says any amendments might create uncertainty. So he will not allow amendments, he said. Johnson says he is grateful for the question. There will be plenty of time to go over the decisions made, for which he takes responsibility. He says the increase in cases in Bolton is worrying. He urges Abrahams to get Labour to support the government.
But he says he hopes the government will resolve this issue and stop treating parliament with contempt. Harriet Baldwin (Con) asks if the PM will change some of the elements of the algorithm used to allocate housing under the planning bill.
From my colleague Jessica Elgot Johnson says he wants to see more homes built, in a way that avoids desecrating the green belt.
PMQs is about to start. Tommy Sheppard (SNP) asks if the PM would regard a Conservative victory in the Scottish elections next year as a mandate for the union.
The list of MPs down to ask a question is here. Johnson says the Scots had a vote on this in 2014. That was a vote for a generation. We should stick with that, he says.
The Lib Dems have said they will vote against renewing the Coronavirus Act tonight. In a statement the party leader, Sir Ed Davey, said: Johnson says Tories are enthusiastic about the clean, green future. He is pleased this is being pioneered in the Tees Valley.
Britain’s car industry risks losing out even if there is a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, according to a report by the BBC’s economics editor, Faisal Islam. This means car parts from Japan and Turkey used in the UK will not be treated as British, so some exports may see higher tariffs, the BBC reports. Munira Wilson (Lib Dem) says the Coronavirus Act has weakened protections for the disabled.
Lucy Powell, a shadow business minister, said: (This is why the Lib Dems are voting against. See 11.56am.)
Five staff members and one patient have tested positive with Covid-19 at the cardiac unit of Belfast’s Royal Victoria hospital. Johnson says the government will give the disabled the protection they need.
The Belfast trust, which runs hospitals in the city, confirmed the outbreak today. Johnson says he totally supports the ambition of HS2. But he has been assured that communities affected are being consulted.
It comes as the number of positive tests for coronavirus in Northern Ireland is confirmed as 320 - the highest daily total since current test systems were put in place in the region. Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, asks if the PM will stop leisure travel from lockdown areas.
There are 550 people in NHS beds in Wales for Covid-related illnesses – up by 60% on seven days ago. The number of patients being treated in critical care beds has risen from 16 to 34 in the last week. Johnson says overall the UK is proceeding with the same approach.
The Welsh health minister, Vaughan Gething, said there was more “scepticism” about Covid-19, partly being fuelled by conspiracy theories. There are some differences, and some “seeming illogicalities”. That is inevitable. But he is grateful for the cooperation Saville Roberts is giving.
Gething said the public was “thirsty for action” in March because of a “rising tide in deaths” in other parts of the world. There was more “complacency” now, he told the Senedd’s health, social care and sport committee. (That did not address the question at all.)
The Scottish government has announced a consultation on whether to make permanent the arrangements that have made it easier for women to have an early abortion at home during the pandemic. Ben Spencer (Con) says there has been less traffic noise during lockdown. What can be done to reduce noise and pollution from the M25?
Since March, women have been able to take both pills required for an early medical abortion at home, where it is considered clinically appropriate. Johnson says the government wants to see more electric cars on the roads.
The current arrangements will remain in place as long as the virus remains a risk, but consultation has now started to gather views, including from women who have had the treatment, on making the current arrangements permanent. Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, says just 15% of Scots trust the Westminster government to operate in Scotland’s interests. Why does the PM think that is?
Scotland’s public health minister, Joe FitzPatrick, said: Johnson says the internal market bill will benefit Scotland. It devolves power back down to Scotland, he says. It enables Scotland to take back control of its fisheries. Today is a historic day, he says. The government has managed to lift the ban on British beef being sold to America. That covers Scottish beef too.
On this morning’s BBC Victoria Derbyshire show the Conservative backbencher Peter Bone said that, if the government did not agree to give MPs prior votes on coronavirus regulations, he would vote against the entire Coronavirus Act tonight. The act, which gives ministers a very wide range of emergency powers, has to be renewed every six months and if the government were to lose the main vote tonight (which is most unlikely - Labour is not expected to vote against) the powers would lapse. Blackford says Johnson did not answer the question. The PM is “yapping, mumbling, bumbling”, but not answering the question. A Tory government that arrogantly breaks international law has shattered trust in the government. If the bill fails to get the consent of the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, will he withdraw it?
Bone said he did not think it would matter if the act became redundant. He explained: Johnson says Blackford is just trying to “foment grievance where no grievance should exist”.
Here is Sky’s Sam Coates on the standoff between No 10 and Tory backbenchers over the powers parliament has to scrutinise coronavirus regulations. (See 9.23am.)
A Whitehall brainstorming session prompted by Priti Patel led to the idea being floated of sending asylum seekers to a volcanic island in the South Atlantic, my colleagues Peter Walker and Jessica Murray report.