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| UK coronavirus live: indoor mixing ban extended to Merseyside, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough | UK coronavirus live: indoor mixing ban extended to Merseyside, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Government recommends no social mixing between people from different households in these areas | Government recommends no social mixing between people from different households in these areas |
| Council leaders and MPs from Merseyside have issued a joint statement describing today’s new restrictions as “a step in the right direction”. | |
| But they are also saying the government should publish the scientific evidence showing why the government thinks these measures will be enough. | |
| And it says the government also needs a “substantial” package of economic support. | |
| Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool city region, has posted it on Twitter. | |
| Graham Morgan, the leader of Knowsley council, says the new restrictions announced for Merseyside this morning may not be enough. | |
| Simon Dolan, the businessman who is challenging the legality of the government’s emergency Covid-19 regulations, is seeking an injunction to halt the latest lockdown laws. | |
| Working with the wedding venue operator Cripps Barn Group Ltd, Dolan served papers on the government today and asked the high court for an urgent judicial review of the legislation. | |
| If the injunction is granted, Dolan said, and public officials attempted to impose the lockdown laws they could be in contempt of court which is ultimately punishable by imprisonment. | |
| The court of appeal is expected to hear Dolan’s separate appeal at the end of this month against an earlier decision that secondary legislation imposed under the Public Health (Control of Infectious Disease) Act 1984 are proportionate and legitimate. | |
| Dolan, who has raised £300,000 for the case, said: | |
| Mark Henriques, managing director of Cripps & Co, said: | |
| There was a furious exchange between Nicola Sturgeon and Ruth Davidson, at FMQs as the Scottish Tory leader pressed the first minister repeatedly on the escalating dispute over the Scottish government’s refusal to release papers to the Holyrood committee investigating the botched inquiry into misconduct claims against Alex Salmond. | |
| Yesterday MSPs on the committee appealed to the courts to help break an impasse that threatens to derail their investigation, as tensions over the investigation boiled over in the Holyrood chamber. Oliver Mundell, a Scottish Conservative MSP, accused Sturgeon of lying to parliament and was then ejected when he refused to withdraw the advice. | |
| Davidson repeated the substance of Mundell’s accusation yesterday, that Sturgeon had not stuck to her repeated pledges that every document would be released to the inquiry. But the first minister reacted angrily, insisting that she had submitted evidence, but “I can’t be responsible for the fact that evidence I’ve submitted hasn’t been published ... the committee can call me [to give evidence] anytime it likes.” | |
| To laughter from opposition benches, she said: “The idea that the Scottish government is trying to obstruct the committee doesn’t bear scrutiny.” | |
| The government and Salmond have both refused to release some legal papers, citing confidentiality or court orders, and have been slower to release others that they pledged to provide. Peter Murrell, Sturgeon’s husband and SNP chief executive, has been accused by the committee of offering minimal help. | |
| Following the exchange, a member of the committee, the Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton, said that members had not yet seen Sturgeon’s submissions, because they are supposed to be included with other submissions. | |
| The Local Government Association says today’s test and trace performance figures show that its officials do a much better job than the national contact tracers working for NHS test and trace (a service provided by private contractors). This is from Ian Hudspeth, chair of the LGA’s community wellbeing board. | |
| Hudspeth is referring to the number of close contacts reached in so-called complex cases. See the final chart in the post at 12.59pm. The national contact tracers deal with normal cases (called non-complex ones), but when there are outbreaks in institutions like hospitals, local public health officials take over. (These are called complex cases but arguably they are less complex - because the contacts all tend to be in the same place.) | Hudspeth is referring to the number of close contacts reached in so-called complex cases. See the final chart in the post at 12.59pm. The national contact tracers deal with normal cases (called non-complex ones), but when there are outbreaks in institutions like hospitals, local public health officials take over. (These are called complex cases but arguably they are less complex - because the contacts all tend to be in the same place.) |
| NHS Test and Trace has published its weekly performance figures. They are here (pdf) and they show that, on two of its main indicators, performance is getting worse. Testing times are improving, but they are still way off the target set by the prime minister. | NHS Test and Trace has published its weekly performance figures. They are here (pdf) and they show that, on two of its main indicators, performance is getting worse. Testing times are improving, but they are still way off the target set by the prime minister. |
| Here are the main points. | Here are the main points. |
| The number of people testing positive is now four time as high as it was at the end of August. In the week ending 23 September a total of 31,373 new people tested positive for Covid-19 in England. That was a 61% increase on the previous week, and four times the level in the last week of August. | The number of people testing positive is now four time as high as it was at the end of August. In the week ending 23 September a total of 31,373 new people tested positive for Covid-19 in England. That was a 61% increase on the previous week, and four times the level in the last week of August. |
| The service is still far away from delivering all test results within 24 hours, as Boris Johnson, although there has been a recent improvement. For all pillar 2 tests (ie, tests taking place outside hospitals - which means most tests) 16.9% of results were received within 24 hours in the week ending 23 September, up from 10.3% in the previous week. For in-person tests (local test sites, mobile testing units and regional test sites), 38.1% of results were received within 24 hours compared to 28.2% in the previous week. The government now prefers to focus on the percentage of test results delivered the following day, and in the latest week 70.6% of in-person tests results were received the next day, compared to 52.9% in the previous week. But Johnson did tell MPs on 3 June that he would get “all tests turned around within 24 hours by the end of June, except for difficulties with postal tests or insuperable problems like that”. | The service is still far away from delivering all test results within 24 hours, as Boris Johnson, although there has been a recent improvement. For all pillar 2 tests (ie, tests taking place outside hospitals - which means most tests) 16.9% of results were received within 24 hours in the week ending 23 September, up from 10.3% in the previous week. For in-person tests (local test sites, mobile testing units and regional test sites), 38.1% of results were received within 24 hours compared to 28.2% in the previous week. The government now prefers to focus on the percentage of test results delivered the following day, and in the latest week 70.6% of in-person tests results were received the next day, compared to 52.9% in the previous week. But Johnson did tell MPs on 3 June that he would get “all tests turned around within 24 hours by the end of June, except for difficulties with postal tests or insuperable problems like that”. |
| The service is getting worse at reaching the people referred to it because they have tested positive. The contact-tracing service has two roles; it must contact the people referred to it because they have tested positive to ask about their close contacts, and it must then speak to those contacts to ask them to self-isolate. In the week ending 23 September only 71.3% of people referred to the system were reached. That is the second week in a row that this figure has gone done - last week it was 80.8% - and it is now close to the proportion achieved when the service launched. The target is 80%. The graph illustrates the scale of the problem. | The service is getting worse at reaching the people referred to it because they have tested positive. The contact-tracing service has two roles; it must contact the people referred to it because they have tested positive to ask about their close contacts, and it must then speak to those contacts to ask them to self-isolate. In the week ending 23 September only 71.3% of people referred to the system were reached. That is the second week in a row that this figure has gone done - last week it was 80.8% - and it is now close to the proportion achieved when the service launched. The target is 80%. The graph illustrates the scale of the problem. |
| The service reached 71.6% of the close contacts of people who tested positive in the week ending 23 September. This is down from 76.3% in the previous week, but above the 69.9% for the week to September 2, which is the lowest weekly figure to date. The target is 80%. | The service reached 71.6% of the close contacts of people who tested positive in the week ending 23 September. This is down from 76.3% in the previous week, but above the 69.9% for the week to September 2, which is the lowest weekly figure to date. The target is 80%. |
| The archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of Durham have urged the government to extend free school meals to every child whose family is on universal credit, and expand holiday provision to all children on free school meals, saying the number of families who could be destitute by Christmas is “harrowing”. | The archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of Durham have urged the government to extend free school meals to every child whose family is on universal credit, and expand holiday provision to all children on free school meals, saying the number of families who could be destitute by Christmas is “harrowing”. |
| The food bank charity the Trussell Trust says 46,000 food parcels will need to be provided by their network to people in crisis between October and December 2020 – an increase of 61% on last year. It estimates an additional 670,000 people will be destitute by the end of the year. | The food bank charity the Trussell Trust says 46,000 food parcels will need to be provided by their network to people in crisis between October and December 2020 – an increase of 61% on last year. It estimates an additional 670,000 people will be destitute by the end of the year. |
| Writing in TES, Justin Welby and Paul Butler say: | Writing in TES, Justin Welby and Paul Butler say: |
| At present, beyond infant school, free school meals are strictly means-tested, and only available to universal credit claimants with a household income of less than £7,400. | At present, beyond infant school, free school meals are strictly means-tested, and only available to universal credit claimants with a household income of less than £7,400. |
| A single alert to public health officials in Cornwall from the national NHS test and trace service led to the identification of 170 Covid-19 cases at a food factory. | A single alert to public health officials in Cornwall from the national NHS test and trace service led to the identification of 170 Covid-19 cases at a food factory. |
| The vast majority of workers at Pilgrim’s Pride Ltd in Pool who proved positive did not have coronavirus symptoms and had no idea they had the virus. | The vast majority of workers at Pilgrim’s Pride Ltd in Pool who proved positive did not have coronavirus symptoms and had no idea they had the virus. |
| Cornwall council’s public health team, along with Public Health England SW and the NHS, is working with the factory to try to stop the outbreak spreading into the community. | Cornwall council’s public health team, along with Public Health England SW and the NHS, is working with the factory to try to stop the outbreak spreading into the community. |
| Meanwhile, the 2021 World Pilot Gig Championships on the Isles of Scilly have been cancelled. | Meanwhile, the 2021 World Pilot Gig Championships on the Isles of Scilly have been cancelled. |
| The event attracts thousands of rowers but the organisers said in a statement: | The event attracts thousands of rowers but the organisers said in a statement: |
| The event had been due to begin at the end of April. | The event had been due to begin at the end of April. |
| Matt Hancock has finished his statement to the Commons. | Matt Hancock has finished his statement to the Commons. |
| Turning back to Brexit, this is from Bloomberg. | Turning back to Brexit, this is from Bloomberg. |
| And this is from Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator. | And this is from Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator. |
| But in the UK government sources are playing down the significance of the EU’s decision to launch legal proceedings. They say it is normal for the EU to be engaged in infringement proceedings against member states. There were 800 of these cases open last year, they say, and on average there are 29 against each member state. | But in the UK government sources are playing down the significance of the EU’s decision to launch legal proceedings. They say it is normal for the EU to be engaged in infringement proceedings against member states. There were 800 of these cases open last year, they say, and on average there are 29 against each member state. |
| In the Commons the SNP MP Steven Bonnar asked Matt Hancock if he accepted that the decision by Dominic Cummings, the PM’s chief adviser, to ignore lockdown rules earlier this year was encouraging more people to break the rules now, with the result that more people were at risk. | In the Commons the SNP MP Steven Bonnar asked Matt Hancock if he accepted that the decision by Dominic Cummings, the PM’s chief adviser, to ignore lockdown rules earlier this year was encouraging more people to break the rules now, with the result that more people were at risk. |
| Hancock said he did not accept that there was a link. | Hancock said he did not accept that there was a link. |