NHS and care home staff who have had to buy their own personal protective equipment (PPE) so that they can support the nation during the COVID-19 crisis can claim tax relief, say leading tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.
Paul Haywood-Schiefer, a manager in the firm, said: “At 8pm last night, as with every Thursday, the nation again opened its windows and doors, and clapped its appreciation in support of the fantastic work NHS staff and care workers are doing to help, not just those with COVID-19, but for all the patients in their care.
“Amidst all this goodwill, there have been many stories of shortages of PPE for NHS workers and those in care homes.
“For many, in this situation, who have had to buy their own, and have not been (or only partially) reimbursed by their employer, there is the opportunity to at least claim some tax relief.”
Below, Paul gives some guidance on how NHS and care home staff can make a claim:
“HMRC allows employees (who don’t already complete self-assessment tax returns) to make claims of up to £2,500 on employment related expenses incurred in a tax year, by using a form P87 (if non/partially reimbursed expenses for a tax year exceed this amount, the person will need to register to file a self-assessment tax return and make a claim through that). This includes for uniforms and protective clothing used in the line of duty.
“These claim forms can either be filled in through a person’s government gateway account (which can be set-up if you don’t have one, by following the instructions on the link) or by completing the form on screen, then printing this off and sending it off to HMRC.
Paul Said: “This will allow those who have made such a great sacrifice for the nation, at their own cost, to at least get some of their money back.”
New resources for staff, carers, volunteers and their families
Organisations from across Scotland have worked together to create a new platform to help health and social care workers and carers look after their physical and mental health.
Launching today, a new national digital wellbeing hub will enable staff, carers, volunteers and their families to access relevant support when they need it, and provides a range of self-care and wellbeing resources designed to aid resilience as the whole workforce responds to the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19).
The hub is the first of its kind in the UK and its content has been created by trauma and other specialists in Scotland. Its launch follows the £3.8 million extra funding announced in March to increase the capacity of NHS 24’s mental health helpline services and expand digital therapies.
Specifically tailored to support the challenges being faced by everyone in health and social care, the hub will provide advice on self-care and personal resilience to help users to recognise their own ‘warning signs’. Comprehensive information about services and resources available at national and local level within NHS Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) and local authorities will also be available.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “This is a tremendously stressful time for our health and social care workforce and unpaid carers, juggling the demands of working in highly pressurised emotional environments with concerns for their own safety and that their families. We will do all we can to support them.
“The hub, the first of its kind in the UK, has the theme ‘You look after us, so we’ll look after you’ and has been developed with the support of a range of organisations, including professional bodies and trades unions. It actively encourages people to make use of available services such local NHS helplines for staff across health and social care services, including care home workers.
“Protecting health and social care staff, wherever they work, continues to be a priority for the Scottish Government and this includes doing all we can to protect people’s mental health. That is why, in addition to the wellbeing hub, we will also be providing staff with access to coaching and the opportunity to shape our future policies through a new Workforce Wellbeing Champion Network.”
The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has launched a call for views on the Scottish Government’s plans to update hate crime laws.
MSPs want to know whether the public, including groups who may be directly impacted by the new law, support the proposals, or whether some parts of the Bill could be changed.
In the Bill, age is added to the characteristics which already receive extra protections from hate crimes (which are disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity). The Bill also leaves open the possibility to add ‘variations in sex characteristics’ at a later date.
In addition to adding ‘age’ and bringing together the different bits of legislation which all apply in this area at present into a single law, the proposals:
• create a new offence of ‘stirring up hatred’ against any of these groups; and,
• abolish the offence of blasphemy
As the call for views issued, Justice Committee Convener, Margaret Mitchell MSP, said: “Offences motivated by hatred or prejudice have been more harshly treated by courts for a number of years, and Committee Members broadly support extra protections for vulnerable groups.
“Certainly aspects of this Bill, such as bringing together the various different laws into one place seem eminently sensible, and a way to remove anomalies.
“However, this Bill needs careful consideration. While there are clear cut examples of hate crimes, there are also trickier cases. Making sure the law strikes the right balance, protecting those who fall victim to crime because of the prejudice of others while also protecting the freedom of thought and expression of all citizens, is the task that lies before us.
“These issues are not easy or straightforward and will outlast the current Covid-19 pandemic. It is crucial that they get the close attention and parliamentary scrutiny they deserve.
“The committee wants to hear from Scottish society about whether they agree this Bill the best way to achieve those aims. Does it give the right protections, are any groups overlooked, or could there be any unintended consequences? These are the issues we want to look at in depth as we examine this new legislation.”
On the 75th Anniversary of VE day, just a few days ahead of what would have been his 100th birthday, Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity is asking people to share their remembrances of Tom, and to make a donation in his memory to help the children, families and staff of the Sick Kids hospital.
12 May 2020 marks what would have been the 100th Birthday of one of Edinburgh’s most beloved citizens – Tom Gilzean.
An indomitable spirit, decorated war veteran, and retired bus driver, Tom took up collecting for charity after his wife Anne died, and raised well over £1 million for his chosen charities.
Come rain or shine, he could be found in his bow tie and tartan trews, proudly displaying his medals and asking people to “open up their hearts” for the Sick Kids. When asked why he kept going with his phenomenal fundraising Tom would say, “I just want to help the children and keep them safe.”
When Tom passed away in November 2019, crowds lined Princes Street to witness his funeral cortege, scenes that would be unimaginable today as the centre of Edinburgh lies silent and deserted.
This spring, a host of events had been planned to honour Tom on his 100th birthday. Lockdown is preventing such public celebrations of the life of such an extraordinary man, but his incredible contribution to Edinburgh life should not be allowed to slip by.
While it is impossible to know what Tom would have made of the current situation, his son Douglas said, “I’m sure dad would have tried his best to find a way to help.”
You can email your memories of Tom to hello@echcharity.org, tweet us @echcharity or leave a message with your donation.
Please “open up your heart” and keep Tom’s memory alive by supporting the children and families of the Sick Kids.
The second round of the Scottish Government’s Wellbeing Fund is now open to applications from voluntary sector organisations providing crucial services to people as a result of coronavirus.
The Fund is being delivered through an innovative model which involves national organisations and funders working alongside Third Sector Interfaces from across Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
The first round closed on 30 April having received over 1,000 applications, with half of applications already assessed and more than £6 million approved for funding so far.
Awards have been offered to support a wide range of activity across all communities in Scotland. From creative learning packs, online exercise classes and increased phone contact to support the mental health and wellbeing of veterans and young people, to grocery and baby essential parcels for those who are self-isolating.
So far the majority of applications have been from local organisations working within a single local authority, and early analysis indicates good targeting towards areas of deprivation and those experiencing greater vulnerability.
The most common beneficiary group in round one was children and families followed by older people, and almost 60% of projects aimed to support mental health and wellbeing. Around £4 million of applications related to food preparation and distribution.
The second round of the Wellbeing Fund is open to all voluntary sector organisations that did not apply or receive funding from the first round.
Applications from organisations working to support people facing financial or employment difficulties are being particularly encouraged, as well as applications from organisations working with minority communities.
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “I am pleased the Scottish Government continues to be able to support the vital work of Scotland’s third sector in providing a wide range of support for vulnerable communities at this difficult time.
“Through the first phase of funding, charities and social enterprises helping families and children were among the main beneficiaries and, as the second phase of funding is launched, we would particularly welcome applications that provide financial advice or employability support.”
Anna Fowlie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), one of the national funding partners, said: “I am pleased we are able to build on the success of the first round of the Wellbeing Fund and bring much-needed funding to voluntary sector organisations.
“Across Scotland, the sector is providing vital services and support to the people who need it most. New needs are emerging as the full impact of the pandemic unfolds and it is important that those needs are addressed. The partnership of government, grant-makers and local and national infrastructure organisations has been fundamental to making this work.”
Anthea Coulter on behalf of the TSI Scotland Network said: “The third sector has responded swiftly and safely in a complex and changing environment to protect and support the most vulnerable in our communities.
We are delighted that the TSI Scotland Network’s local knowledge is being recognised and understood and we are proud to be helping to ensure that funding gets through to these frontline organisations, leveraging across Scotland the Network’s local connections, relationships and knowledge to continue this vital work.”
University launches campaign on International Nurses Day
Florence Nightingale, known as The Lady with the Lamp, is the inspiration behind a new campaign to be launched on International Nurses Day.
Staff at Edinburgh Napier’s School of Health & Social Care have created Nightingale’s Flame as an act of solidarity among nurses and midwives just as thousands of students across the UK answer the call to take up NHS placements during the current public health crisis.
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) is revered in nursing as an inspirational leader, influential campaigner and a pioneer in the use of data to inform decision-making.
Her May 12th birthday is celebrated every year as International Nurses Day, and it takes on extra significance this year on the 200th anniversary. To mark this anniversary, the International Council of Nurses and World Health Organisation have declared 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.
The new campaign will be be launched tomorrow on 12 May, which is International Nurses Day. The campaign, which will run to the end of 2020, encourages all past, present and student nurses and midwives to add their fingerprint to Nightingale’s Flame.
With the project now adapted to work remotely, participants are asked to email a photo or scan of their fingerprint to NightingalesLantern@napier.ac.uk
As illustrated inthis video (link live from Monday 11th), eachfingerprint will be added to the flame graphic, and at the end of the year the final image will be printed as a physical tribute, to be unveiled in December and displayed at the University. Fingerprints can be sent in any colour, and participants can also opt to send their name or initials, home location and/or place of work to be added to a register.
Andrew Waddington, an Associate Lecturer in the School, said: “As we work through the Covid-19 pandemic, we are reminded of the role nurses and midwives have in keeping our healthcare system going.
“Nightingale’s Flame is being launched as an act of solidarity, a reminder that we each contribute a unique role while also reminding us that we sit together as part of a larger community.”
To mark Year of the Nurse and Midwife, Edinburgh Napier has also launched a search for stories from nurses and midwives with links to the University which illustrate leadership and impact in the field.
Students, staff and alumni are encouraged to submit a story to be published on the Nightingale’s Lantern blog.
The advice on how often people can venture outdoors changes today, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
From today, Monday 11 May, the advice is now that people can go outside more than once a day to exercise. This activity should continue to be undertaken close to home. Those going out to exercise should either go alone or with members of their household.
The change does not allow people to mix with people from different households, to gather in groups, or to go out to relax outdoors.
The First Minister agreed the change following scientific advice using the framework set out by the Scottish Government last month. It was agreed that the timing was right to make the change because the impact on the vital R number – the rate of reinfection of COVID-19 – would be very limited.
Announcing the change yesterday, The First Minister said: “The core principles of lockdown in Scotland remain the same, people should stay at home to help save lives and protect the NHS.
“We do not underestimate how difficult these measures are, particularly for those living alone, or living in smaller accommodation with children or without access to a garden or outdoor home space.
“The hard work which people across Scotland have put in to follow the guidance and stay at home means we are now able to change our advice for people to exercise outdoors more than once a day.
“It is vitally important that anyone going out maintains physical distancing and strict hygiene measures in order to ensure we don’t lose ground. We have also encouraged the public to consider wearing a facial covering in enclosed spaces, where physical distancing is more difficult and where there is a risk of close contact people outwith their household.
“It also remains vitally important that anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 – a new and continuous cough or a high temperature – isolates themselves for seven days, and that anyone else in a household where someone has symptoms, isolates for 14 days.
“This change on going outside will be monitored carefully and reviewed in order to assess the effects on physical distancing and infection spread.”
Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House yesterday (Sunday 10 May).
Good afternoon. Thanks for joining us for today’s briefing. I want to start – as I always do – by updating you on some of the key statistics in relation to Covid-19 in Scotland.
As at 9 o’clock this morning, there have been 13,486 positive cases confirmed – an increase of 181 from yesterday.
A total of 1,484 patients are currently in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 – that is a decrease of 101 from yesterday.
A total of 82 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected cases of the virus. That is a decrease of seven since yesterday.
I am also able to confirm today that since 5 March, a total of 3,100 patients who had tested positive and been hospitalised for the virus have been able to leave hospital. I wish all of them well.
Unfortunately I also have to report that in the last 24 hours, 10 deaths have been registered of patients who had been confirmed through a test as having the virus – that takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 1,857.
These figures should be treated with some caution. Although deaths can now be registered at weekends, registration of numbers over weekends are usually lower than they are during the week. This should be taken into account when considering today’s figures.
As always, I want to stress that these numbers are not simply statistics. They represent individuals whose loss is being felt and mourned by many. As always, I send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this virus. We are all thinking of you at this time.
I also want to thank, as I always do, our health and care workers. You are continuing to do extraordinary work in very challenging circumstances. There is not a day that passes that I don’t feel a deep debt of gratitude to you.
I have one issue that I want to talk about today and it relates to lockdown. Let me emphasise at the outset that the lockdown in Scotland remains in place.
As I have set out before, the rate of transmission of the virus in Scotland – the R number you are used to hearing about – is still too high for any significant change to be safe at this stage. Indeed, the R number may, as I said earlier in the week, be slightly higher here than in other parts of the UK at this point.
That means we must be very cautious and very careful about where we proceed to from here. Having made real progress in recent weeks and I think you can tell from the figures that I am setting out day after day that we have made real progress.
The objective now for all of us must be to consolidate and solidify that progress – we must not squander our progress by easing up too soon or by sending mixed messages that result in people thinking it’s ok to ease up now.
Let me be very blunt about the consequences if we were do that – people will die unnecessarily and, instead of being able to loosen restrictions hopefully in the near future, we will be faced instead with having to tighten them.
We must not take that risk.
For that reason, my basic message for Scotland remains the same as it has been – please stay at home, except for essential purposes.
I have made clear, however, that the Scottish Government will keep what constitutes an ‘essential purpose’ under review, and I told you last week that we were considering making one immediate change – a change to the guidance relating to exercise.
I can confirm that the Scottish Cabinet met earlier this afternoon and agreed a change to that guidance.
At present, you are only permitted to leave home to exercise once a day. From tomorrow, that once-a-day limit will be removed. So if you want to go for a walk more often – or to go for a run and also a walk later on in the day – then you can do so.
It is important to stress this new advice does not apply if you or someone in your household has symptoms of the virus, or if you received a letter explaining that you are in the shielded group. In those cases, the advice is still to stay at home completely and not go out at all.
And for everybody, all other lockdown restrictions remain in place.
When you are exercising, you must stay relatively close to your own home and at all times at least two metres away from people from other households. And although the rules permit exercise – such as walking, running or cycling – they do not yet extend to outdoor leisure activities such as sunbathing, picnics or barbecues.
The fact that you are allowed to exercise more than once is definitely not – and I want to stress this point – a licence to start meeting up in groups at the park or the beach. Doing that really does risk spreading the virus, and could potentially force us to reintroduce stricter guidelines or toughen up the regulations and penalties in future.
What we are confirming today is instead a small but important change, to one part of the lockdown requirements.
We believe that it will bring benefits to health and wellbeing – particularly for people who live in flats and don’t have access to private gardens, and for children, who I know will have found the once a day limit particularly difficult. The most important point is this – it will bring those benefits without, in our judgement, having a major impact on the spread of the virus.
However – and this is really important – the other basic principles and rules of lockdown remain for now the same. Unless you are doing exercise, or performing another essential task such as buying food or medicine, you should stay at home.
And you should not meet up with people from other households – because that is how we give the virus a chance to spread, giving it bridges it can travel over and lead to increased spread.
The change I have confirmed today is the only change the Scottish Government judges that it is safe to make right now, without risking a rapid resurgence of the virus.
We do not, at this point, want to see more businesses opening up – or more people going to work. Our guidance to business remains the same as it has been.
And we are not yet changing who can or should be at school.
You may hear the Prime Minister announce other immediate changes tonight for England – and that is absolutely his right to do so. I’ve just come from a Cobra meeting with the Prime Minister and the First Ministers of Wales and Northern Ireland.
Now it’s important to say that I don’t expect the detail of these immediate changes that the Prime Minister will announce to be significant and I predict that any differences with the position here in Scotland will be relatively minor.
However, for the avoidance of doubt, let me be clear – except for the one change I have confirmed today, the rules here have not changed. We remain in lockdown for now and my ask of you remains to Stay at Home.
However, we will continue to monitor the evidence closely and make further changes as soon as we consider it safe to do so.
In the interests of openness and transparency and the grown up conversation I keep talking about that I want to have, I want to give you as much visibility of that as I’m going to share with you now that over this coming week – as we hopefully see more evidence of a downward trend in the virus – we will assess further whether it is possible to further extend the range of permissible outdoor activities that you can do on your own or at a safe distance.
We will also consider over the coming days whether garden centres can re-open; and we will think about whether some additional forms of outdoor work – particularly where people work on their own or at a distance – can safely resume. We will also be looking urgently – in close discussion with councils – at the possibility of reopening waste and recycling centres.
I will update you on these further issues next weekend.
Beyond that we will continue to consider when and how more businesses can safely start to re-open, what changes will be required to public transport, and when and how children can start returning to school.
On that latter point, though, I do not expect that schools in Scotland will start to return as early as 1 June.
As well as announcing immediate changes, I understand that the Prime Minister will also tonight set out a longer term plan for England. The Scottish Government has not yet seen the detail of this plan, so it is not possible for us to simply adopt it for Scotland – and indeed the evidence may well tell us that moving at exactly the same pace is not appropriate.
We will consider it carefully and we will take our own expert advice on it. And as soon as possible we will set out our own view on the phasing of a more substantial lifting of the lockdown.
We are already working with businesses to produce guidance specific to the needs of industry, workers and public health in Scotland. We will publish that guidance, sector by sector, in the coming days and weeks – our early priority is to give guidance and visibility to the construction, manufacturing and retail sectors.
Lastly, in areas which are the responsibility of the UK Government in Scotland, we will make sure that our views and concerns are known. For example – we expect confirmation tonight of a period of quarantine for people travelling into the UK. I have made it clear that I believe this is vital to our efforts to contain the virus in the period ahead, and I would encourage the UK Government to introduce it as soon as possible.
Lastly, let me say something about co-operation between the four nations of the UK.
I remain committed to the closest possible co-operation, collaboration and alignment. And, let me stress again, I have no interest in politics when it comes to tackling this virus.
It is perfectly consistent with an overall four nations approach to have a pragmatic acceptance that we may move at different speeds if the evidence tells us that is necessary – and I believe we do now have that acceptance.
But genuine consultation and alignment of messages – even, perhaps especially, when the evidence is putting us on slightly different timelines – remains really important.
We should not be reading of each other’s plans for the first time in newspapers. And decisions that are being taken for one nation only – for good evidence based reasons – should not be presented as if they apply UK wide.
Clarity of message is paramount if we expect all of you to know exactly what it is we are asking of you. As leaders, we have a duty to deliver that clarity to those who we are accountable to, not confuse it.
To that end, I have asked the UK Government not to deploy their ‘Stay Alert’ advertising campaign in Scotland. Because the message in Scotland at this stage is not stay at home if you can, the message is, except for the essential reasons you know about, stay at home full stop.
Fundamentally, we all have a responsibility – and it is a heavy one for all of us – to make decisions and set policies for based on our own data of what is safe and what is not.
I am clear that for Scotland, at this present moment, relaxing too many restrictions too quickly creates the risk that the virus will take off again. I am not prepared to take that risk.
That is why – except for the fact that from tomorrow you can go out to exercise more than once a day – the current lockdown restrictions remain in place.
I very much hope that it will be possible to lift more of them in the days and weeks ahead – and we are making plans for that – but at the moment, the risks are still too great.
For all of us, in fact, the way in which we can emerge from lockdown that bit more quickly, is to stick with the current restrictions now.
It is easier for us to start leaving lockdown, the lower the R number is, and the fewer infectious cases there are.
So please, stay at home except for when you are buying food or medicines, or exercising.
Go for walks or runs more than once a day if you want to – it’s good for your health and your physical and mental wellbeing. But stay more than two meters from other people when you are out, and do not meet up with people from other households.
Please wear a face covering if you are in a shop or on public transport. And isolate completely if you or someone else in your household has symptoms.
I know that these restrictions continue to be really tough. And I know that hearing any talk about easing the lockdown, might make them seem even tougher. But please, I am asking you to stick with it.
We are making progress – never lose sight of that. But – even as we stay in touch by phone, by social media or by video calls – we still need to stay apart physically from each other. We still need to stay at home.
By doing that, we will continue to slow down the spread of the virus, we will continue to protect the NHS, and we will save lives. Thank you, once again, to all of you from the bottom of my heart for what you have been doing.
Boris Johnson set out his much-anticipated ‘road map’ in an address to the nation last night. While Johnson is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as he pointed out himself, much of his speech applies to England only:
It is now almost two months since the people of this country began to put up with restrictions on their freedom – your freedom – of a kind that we have never seen before in peace or war.
And you have shown the good sense to support those rules overwhelmingly.
You have put up with all the hardships of that programme of social distancing.
Because you understand that as things stand, and as the experience of every other country has shown, it’s the only way to defeat the coronavirus – the most vicious threat this country has faced in my lifetime.
And though the death toll has been tragic, and the suffering immense.
And though we grieve for all those we have lost.
It is a fact that by adopting those measures we prevented this country from being engulfed by what could have been a catastrophe in which the reasonable worst case scenario was half a million fatalities.
And it is thanks to your effort and sacrifice in stopping the spread of this disease that the death rate is coming down and hospital admissions are coming down.
And thanks to you we have protected our NHS and saved many thousands of lives.
And so I know – you know – that it would be madness now to throw away that achievement by allowing a second spike.
We must stay alert.
We must continue to control the virus and save lives.
And yet we must also recognise that this campaign against the virus has come at colossal cost to our way of life.
We can see it all around us in the shuttered shops and abandoned businesses and darkened pubs and restaurants.
And there are millions of people who are both fearful of this terrible disease, and at the same time also fearful of what this long period of enforced inactivity will do to their livelihoods and their mental and physical wellbeing.
To their futures and the futures of their children.
So I want to provide tonight – for you – the shape of a plan to address both fears. Both to beat the virus and provide the first sketch of a road map for reopening society.
A sense of the way ahead, and when and how and on what basis we will take the decisions to proceed.
I will be setting out more details in Parliament tomorrow and taking questions from the public in the evening.
I have consulted across the political spectrum, across all four nations of the UK.
And though different parts of the country are experiencing the pandemic at different rates.
And though it is right to be flexible in our response.
I believe that as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, there is a strong resolve to defeat this together.
And today a general consensus on what we could do.
And I stress could. Because although we have a plan, it is a conditional plan.
And since our priority is to protect the public and save lives, we cannot move forward unless we satisfy the five tests.
We must protect our NHS.
We must see sustained falls in the death rate.
We must see sustained and considerable falls in the rate of infection.
We must sort out our challenges in getting enough PPE to the people who need it, and yes, it is a global problem but we must fix it.
And last, we must make sure that any measures we take do not force the reproduction rate of the disease – the R – back up over one, so that we have the kind of exponential growth we were facing a few weeks ago.
And to chart our progress and to avoid going back to square one, we are establishing a new Covid Alert System run by a new Joint Biosecurity Centre.
And that Covid Alert Level will be determined primarily by R and the number of coronavirus cases.
And in turn that Covid Alert Level will tell us how tough we have to be in our social distancing measures – the lower the level the fewer the measures.
The higher the level, the tougher and stricter we will have to be.
There will be five alert levels.
Level One means the disease is no longer present in the UK and Level Five is the most critical – the kind of situation we could have had if the NHS had been overwhelmed.
Over the period of the lockdown we have been in Level Four, and it is thanks to your sacrifice we are now in a position to begin to move in steps to Level Three.
And as we go everyone will have a role to play in keeping the R down.
By staying alert and following the rules.
And to keep pushing the number of infections down there are two more things we must do.
We must reverse rapidly the awful epidemics in care homes and in the NHS, and though the numbers are coming down sharply now, there is plainly much more to be done.
And if we are to control this virus, then we must have a world-beating system for testing potential victims, and for tracing their contacts.
So that – all told – we are testing literally hundreds of thousands of people every day. (? – Ed.)
We have made fast progress on testing – but there is so much more to do now, and we can.
When this began, we hadn’t seen this disease before, and we didn’t fully understand its effects.
With every day we are getting more and more data.
We are shining the light of science on this invisible killer, and we will pick it up where it strikes.
Because our new system will be able in time to detect local flare-ups – in your area – as well as giving us a national picture.
And yet when I look at where we are tonight, we have the R below one, between 0.5 and 0.9 – but potentially only just below one.
And though we have made progress in satisfying at least some of the conditions I have given.
We have by no means fulfilled all of them.
And so no, this is not the time simply to end the lockdown this week. Instead we are taking the first careful steps to modify our measures.
And the first step is a change of emphasis that we hope that people will act on this week.
We said that you should work from home if you can, and only go to work if you must.
We now need to stress that anyone who can’t work from home, for instance those in construction or manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work. (NB: England only – Ed.)
And we want it to be safe for you to get to work. So you should avoid public transport if at all possible – because we must and will maintain social distancing, and capacity will therefore be limited.
So work from home if you can, but you should go to work if you can’t work from home.
And to ensure you are safe at work we have been working to establish new guidance for employers to make workplaces COVID-secure.
And when you do go to work, if possible do so by car or even better by walking or bicycle. But just as with workplaces, public transport operators will also be following COVID-secure standards.
And from this Wednesday, we want to encourage people to take more and even unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise.
You can sit in the sun in your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports but only with members of your own household. (NB this only applies in England – Ed.)
You must obey the rules on social distancing and to enforce those rules we will increase the fines for the small minority who break them.
And so every day, with ever increasing data, we will be monitoring the R and the number of new infections, and the progress we are making, and if we as a nation begin to fulfil the conditions I have set out, then in the next few weeks and months we may be able to go further.
In step two – at the earliest by June 1 – after half term – we believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages, beginning with reception, Year 1 and Year 6 (NB: England only – Ed.)
Our ambition is that secondary pupils facing exams next year will get at least some time with their teachers before the holidays. And we will shortly be setting out detailed guidance on how to make it work in schools and shops and on transport.
And step three – at the earliest by July – and subject to all these conditions and further scientific advice; if and only if the numbers support it, we will hope to re-open at least some of the hospitality industry and other public places, provided they are safe and enforce social distancing.
Throughout this period of the next two months we will be driven not by mere hope or economic necessity. We are going to be driven by the science, the data and public health.
And I must stress again that all of this is conditional, it all depends on a series of big Ifs. It depends on all of us – the entire country – to follow the advice, to observe social distancing, and to keep that R down.
And to prevent re-infection from abroad, I am serving notice that it will soon be the time – with transmission significantly lower – to impose quarantine on people coming into this country by air.
And it is because of your efforts to get the R down and the number of infections down here, that this measure will now be effective.
And of course we will be monitoring our progress locally, regionally, and nationally and if there are outbreaks, if there are problems, we will not hesitate to put on the brakes.
We have been through the initial peak – but it is coming down the mountain that is often more dangerous.
We have a route, and we have a plan, and everyone in government has the all-consuming pressure and challenge to save lives, restore livelihoods and gradually restore the freedoms that we need.
But in the end this is a plan that everyone must make work.
And when I look at what you have done already.
The patience and common sense you have shown.
The fortitude of the elderly whose isolation we all want to end as fast as we can.
The incredible bravery and hard work of our NHS staff, our care workers.
The devotion and self-sacrifice of all those in every walk of life who are helping us to beat this disease.
Police, bus drivers, train drivers, pharmacists, supermarket workers, road hauliers, bin collectors, cleaners, security guards, postal workers, our teachers and a thousand more.
The scientists who are working round the clock to find a vaccine.
When I think of the millions of everyday acts of kindness and thoughtfulness that are being performed across this country.
And that have helped to get us through this first phase.
I know that we can use this plan to get us through the next.
And if we can’t do it by those dates, and if the alert level won’t allow it, we will simply wait and go on until we have got it right.
We will come back from this devilish illness.
We will come back to health, and robust health.
And though the UK will be changed by this experience, I believe we can be stronger and better than ever before. More resilient, more innovative, more economically dynamic, but also more generous and more sharing.
But for now we must stay alert, control the virus and save lives.
Thank you very much.
Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party, responding to the Prime Minister’s statement, said: “This statement raises more questions than it answers, and we see the prospect of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland pulling in different directions.
“The Prime Minister appears to be effectively telling millions of people to go back to work without a clear plan for safety or clear guidance as to how to get there without using public transport.
“What the country wanted tonight was clarity and consensus, but we haven’t got either of those.”
Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director General, said: “Today marks the first glimmer of light for our faltering economy. A phased and careful return to work is the only way to protect jobs and pay for future public services. The Prime Minister has set out the first steps for how this can happen.
“Businesses are keen to open and get our economy back on its feet. But they also know putting health first is the only sustainable route to economic recovery. The message of continued vigilance is right.
“This announcement marks the start of a long process. While stopping work was necessarily fast and immediate, restarting will be slower and more complex. It must go hand-in-hand with plans for schools, transport, testing and access to PPE. Firms will want to see a roadmap, with dates they can plan for.
“Success will rest on flexibility within a framework: clear guidance which firms can adapt for their particular circumstances. Financial support will also need to evolve for sectors moving at different speeds – some remaining in hibernation, while others get ready to open safely.
“The coming weeks should see business, government and employee representatives working together as part of a national effort built on openness and trust. This is the only way to revive the UK economy and protect both lives and livelihoods.”
Responding to the statement by the prime minister, the leader of the Unite union has called for “clarity and caution”as the country continues to combat the coronavirus which has left the UK with one of the worst death tolls in Europe.
Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary, said: “The decisions taken by the UK government in the coming days will shape the health and wealth of this country, not just in the immediate term but for generations to come.
“It is absolutely vital then that the UK government proceeds with total clarity and maximum caution as it works to pull the country out of lockdown – and that it gets the sequencing of the return to work right.
“People cannot get to work safely unless there is safe transport for them to use. Yet there is now a real risk that in a few hours’ time, workers will be cramming onto public transport, putting at risk their lives and those of others. This has not been thought through and the failure to do so places working people in danger.
“Similarly, issuing safety guidance to employers instead of definite, mandatory instructions is not acceptable. This runs a huge risk that some employers will follow the advice while others do not, and we urgently need to hear more from government about how it will install the inspection and enforcement systems necessary to support safe working.
“Unions like Unite have a wealth of health and safety expertise and we are already working with responsible employers to ensure that working people can be confident that they can be safe both at work and on the way to work.
“There is a standing army of tens of thousands of trades union safety representatives that could be deployed in a national effort to unlock the economy in a safe, responsible way. To fail to enlist this pool of people expert in keeping people safe at work is simply bewildering.
“We are very concerned that at the very point we need to build clarity and confidence, doing everything possible to avert a second spike, that this next phase is unfolding in a jumbled, confusing manner.
“Of course, we want to get the economy back on its feet as soon as possible but with such enormous sacrifices given by so many already, we have to honour those who have lost their lives along with those who are caring for us through this crisis by keeping people safe and by building a future of which this country can be proud.
STUC General Secretary Designate Roz Foyer said:“The Prime Minister’s management of this crisis has been so woeful that few will have any confidence in what he has laid out this evening.
“This is a three-month road map in the hands of a government that doesn’t even seem to know what it is doing from one day to the next.
“Boris Johnson has apparently announced the return to work of hundreds of thousands of non-essential workers in areas such as construction and manufacturing. In so doing he in endangering people’s lives. The Government hasn’t even published guidance on how workers will be kept safe.
“His statement that all workers who cannot work from home should go to work will cause incredible confusion and massive concern. We urgently need clarity on how workers who cannot work from home and cannot safely attend their workplace will be treated.
“And at no point did he make it clear that he was talking about England only, rather than the whole of the UK. The strain on the delivery of a four-nation approach now seems intolerable.
“Our five red lines for relaxing lockdown remain the same and apply just as much for the Scottish Government as they do Westminster.
“We need to be far further ahead in testing, have a proper contact tracing system in place, have ready supplies of PPE for any workplaces that is to re-open, and have enforcement measures in place. Each work sector must be treated according to its distinct characteristics and governed by guidelines agreed with unions. And there must be no implied threat of loss of income for workers not able to return to work. The job retention scheme must stay in place with no further reductions in levels of pay support.
“As we have made clear, we believe the Scottish Government’s more safety-first approach is broadly the right one, particularly as doubts about the R value in Scotland persist.
“We have also welcomed their willingness to negotiate the sector by sector guidance with unions. However as ongoing failures on PPE, testing and guidance for care homes show, there is not an ounce of room for complacency.
“Unions will test the strategy of the Scottish Government every step of the way and fight to ensure that the safety of workers and of the wider public remains that number one concern.”
The Prime Minister will reveal more detail when he addresses parliament today and a guidance document will be produced this afternoon.
Boris Johnson will also take questions from the public when he leads the daily press briefing at 5.30pm.
