Women Speak Scotland, as part of a coalition of 14 Scottish grassroots feminist and women’s rights organisations, have called on the Scottish Parliament to reject the Scottish Government’s proposed reform of the Gender Recognition Act.
Our joint statement, sent to all 129 MSPs, sets out our principled objections to the proposed legislation in its current form.
The First Minister has offered an assurance that this new legislation will “not … remove any of the legal protections women currently have”.
We welcome this commitment to women’s sex-based rights.
However, we believe the central feature of the proposed Bill – the introduction of sex self-identification – is incompatible with retaining women’s existing rights and protections under the Equality Act.
We use the term sex self-ID rather than gender self-ID because the most significant aspect of obtaining a gender recognition certificate (GRC) is that it allows people to engage in the legal fiction that they have become a member of the opposite sex, despite the biological impossibility of such an action.
Sex self-ID contributes to widespread confusion that makes it increasingly difficult to name, identify or define women or to protect any single-sex spaces, including hospital wards, prisons, youth hostels and changing rooms, sports, awards and women-only shortlists.
We ask the Scottish Government to drop its plans to introduce sex self-ID and to ensure its commitment to women is kept by:
Ensuring women’s voices and experiences are heard and inform any legislative change;
Ensuring protections for women on the basis of our sex are strengthened and not weakened by any changes to legislation;
Maintaining single-sex spaces for the dignity, privacy, physical, emotional and psychological safety of women and girls;
Guaranteeing the human rights of women, including those to freedom of speech and assembly, are not adversely affected by legislative change.
We ask all MSPs to vote against the proposed Bill because of its hugely detrimental impact on women’s rights to safe single-sex spaces and freedom of speech.
Signatories Frontline Feminists Scotland Women Speak Scotland Sole Sisters Women Matter Keep Prisons Single Sex Liberal Voice for Women Yes Women’s Pledge Labour Women’s Declaration Conservatives For Women Independence for Scotland Party (ISP) Brodie’s Trust Audacious Women Festival National Network of Scottish Feminists Women’s Human Rights Campaign (Scotland)
Vital plans to invest at least £1.8 billion to make buildings in Scotland net zero were endorsed by parliament this week, just as gas prices surge, threatening to push many more families across the country into fuel poverty.
Figures show that a quarter of households in Scotland are already considered to be in fuel poverty. Scottish Greens Lothian MSP Lorna Slater has said that as well as the need to tackle the immediate problem, the issue shows that the requirement to lower Scotland’s climate emissions goes hand in hand with tackling fuel poverty.
Scottish Greens co-leader and Lothian MSP Lorna Slater said: “The surge in gas prices is a real concern to so many people who rely on fossil fuels to heat their homes, and, yet again, demonstrates why we must end our dependency on volatile, unreliable and climate-destroying fossil fuels.
“That’s why we are accelerating plans to make homes across Scotland more efficient and to switch from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives. To support this, we will invest at least £1.8bn over the next five years.
“It has been galling to see Boris Johnson preach climate responsibility on the world stage while his government is forcing families into poverty in Lothian and beyond. All the while he is doing nothing to decarbonise heating and transport.
“We don’t have time for this kind of reckless approach, which is why, with Greens in government, Scotland will take a different path.”
Gordon MacDonald SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands has welcomed the recent launch of Vodafone’s charities.connected, an initiative to tackle digital exclusion and connect one million people by the end of 2022.
This initiative gives charities the opportunity to apply for free connectivity to help individuals and families they support get online or to improve its own digital capability.
The connectivity, in the form of SIM cards offering 20GB of data plus free calls and texts every month for six months, will work in any SIM-enabled device.
Registered charities of any size can apply by completing a simple online application form with applications closing on 1 November 2022.
Gordon MacDonald said: “The pandemic has highlighted the scale of digital exclusion and in particular its impact on the most vulnerable in society.
“Digital connectivity is increasingly essential to access work, education, healthcare and to keep in touch with family and friends.
“The Scottish Government is already providing support in tackling digital exclusion through their Connecting Scotland programme and this initiative from Vodafone contributes in those efforts to close the digital divide.
“I would encourage third sector organisations providing support to families and individuals that would benefit from this initiative to apply.”
A lower-income couple with two young children where one adult is working full-time is going to need to find an additional £31-a-week to cover the cost of living and falling benefit rates from October, according to new analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
In an interviewyesterday, the Business Secretary warned “it could be a very difficult winter”. This comes amid growing concern across the political spectrum that the rising cost of living is about to put immense strain on low-income families.
If the Government proceeds with cut to Universal Credit as planned, changes to the energy price caps, and inflation means that at the same time this couple family are trying to compensate for the £20-a-week they had before the cut, they will soon need to find an additional:
£3 for energy (assuming pre-payment meter)
£8 for other living costs
= an additional £11 per week from October.
On top of this, the same family would need to find an extra £2.50 to cover the increase in National Insurance Contributions from April 2022 because of the Health and Social Care levy.
This would mean in total this family may need to find an additional £13.50 per week or £710 per year (around the entire clothing and footwear annual budget for this kind of family) as well as losing £20 a week from Universal Credit. For this family, the extra costs alone equate to around 3.5% of their weekly disposable income.
Peter Matejic, Deputy Director of Evidence & Impact at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said:“Millions of low-income families are incredibly anxious about how on earth they are supposed to make ends meet from next month.
“Ministers rightly recognise this is shaping up to be a very difficult winter, yet there is little sign of them taking the decisive steps that are necessary to avoid real hardship for low-income families.
“The growing concern about the cost of living reinforces why cutting Universal Credit makes absolutely no sense. Social security is a key defence in protecting families from precisely these sorts of economic shocks, but the Government is on course to impose the biggest ever overnight cut to the system and leave families with an inadequate lifeline.
“The Prime Minister urgently needs to keep the £20-a-week increase to Universal Credit in place. Rising child poverty, soaring demand for food banks, people worrying about keeping their homes and covering the cost of bills, flies in the face of uniting and levelling up our country.”
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has confirmed that more than 100 military personnel will be drafted in to help tackle the ambulance crisis. He also told MSPs that additional funding of £20 million will be invested in the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) to help improve response times, alleviate pressures and improve staff wellbeing.
In a statement to Parliament, Mr Yousaf announced:
assistance from more than 100 military personnel – 88 drivers and 15 support staff – following final approval by the Ministry of Defence. Personnel are expected to begin deployment from this weekend onwards.
around 100 2nd year paramedic students to help in ambulance control rooms
more Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers at the busiest A&Es, increasing from 11 to 20 – helping ensure timely admission of patients at A&E and reduce ambulance waiting times
additional help from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in the form of volunteer drivers, as well as the British Red Cross and private transport companies where clinically appropriate
immediate work to create temporary admission wards in hospitals, meaning patients can be admitted quicker
additional senior clinical input in ambulance control rooms and to assist and speed up decision-making on mental health, addictions, falls, breathing difficulties, high intensity users and trauma
£500,000 to fund staff wellbeing measures
14 additional staff members in Highland to reduce the on-call requirement in Campeltown, and remove it completely in Fort William, Kirkwall and Broadford.
Tuesday’s funding announcement comes in addition to £20 million already announced as part of the NHS Recovery Plan. That investment will deliver a net increase of almost 300 ambulance service staff by April 2022.
Mr Yousaf said: “The global pandemic has created the most challenging crisis in the history of the NHS. Ambulance services around the UK, as well as the wider NHS, are experiencing unprecedented demand – largely because of COVID-19, but also due to a combination of increasingly complex cases, and exceptionally busy emergency departments.
“The Scottish Ambulance Service is the heartbeat of our NHS. It has a unique role in engaging with all parts of the health and social care system across the whole of Scotland – 24 hours of every day. It is vital that we ensure it has the support it needs to perform this crucial role.
“The additional investment I have set out today means that the Scottish Ambulance service’s frontline budget for this year is more than 16% higher than it was last year. The measures we have announced today will begin to address some of these issues, both improving the level of service for the public, and also helping to reduce the pressure on the workforce, who are doing so much to serve the public during these incredibly demanding times.”
new clearer travel system: red list and rest of world
simpler, cheaper rules for fully vaccinated travellers coming from non-red list countries – fully vaccinated passengers will be able to replace day 2 PCR tests with cheaper lateral flow tests – from the end of October – and no longer need to take pre-departure tests (PDTs)
8 destinations removed from red list including Turkey and Pakistan
government recognises full vaccinations from a further 17 countries and territories including Japan and Singapore
The Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, has announced a simplified system for international travel in light of the success of the UK’s domestic vaccine rollout, providing greater stability for industry and passengers.
The current traffic light system will be replaced by a single red list of countries and territories which will continue to be crucial in order to protect public health, and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world from Monday 4 October at 4am.
Testing requirements will also be reduced for eligible fully vaccinated travellers, who will no longer need to take a PDT when travelling to England from Monday 4 October 4am.
From the end of October, eligible fully vaccinated passengers and those with an approved vaccine from a select group of non-red countries will be able to replace their day 2 test with a cheaper lateral flow test, reducing the cost of tests on arrival into England. The government wants to introduce this by the end of October, aiming to have it in place for when people return from half-term breaks.
Anyone testing positive will need to isolate and take a confirmatory PCR test, at no additional cost to the traveller, which would be genomically sequenced to help identify new variants.
Testing for unvaccinated passengers from non-red countries will include pre-departure tests, day 2 and day 8 PCR tests. Test to release remains an option to reduce self-isolation period.
From 4 October, England will welcome fully vaccinated travellers from a host of new countries – who will be treated like returning fully vaccinated UK travellers – including 17 countries and territories such as Japan and Singapore, following the success of an existing pilot with the US and Europe.
Grant Shapps Transport Secretary said: “Today’s changes mean a simpler, more straightforward system. One with less testing and lower costs, allowing more people to travel, see loved ones or conduct business around the world while providing a boost for the travel industry.
“Public health has always been at the heart of our international travel policy and with more than 8 in 10 adults vaccinated in the UK, we are now able to introduce a proportionate updated structure that reflects the new landscape.”
Part of the third Global Travel Taskforce checkpoint review, today’s update reiterates the government’s focus on protecting its borders from the most dangerous variants and ensures continuity for industry and passengers the remainder of the year. We will look to set out a further review for the UK’s international travel policy early in the new year to provide further certainty for the spring and summer 2022 seasons.
Conducting the final regular traffic light review before the switch to the new two-tiered system, several additional countries and territories will move off the red list – Turkey, Pakistan, the Maldives, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh and Kenya. Changes will come into effect at 4am Wednesday 22 September.
Passengers who aren’t recognised as being fully vaccinated with authorised vaccines and certificates under England’s international travel rules, will still have to take a pre-departure test, a day 2 and day 8 PCR test and self-isolate for 10 days upon their return from a non-red list country under the new two-tiered travel programme.
Test to Release will remain an option for unvaccinated passengers who wish to shorten their isolation period.
Sajid Javid, Health and Social Care Secretary, said: Today we have simplified the travel rules to make them easier to understand and follow, opening up tourism and reducing the costs to go abroad.
“As global vaccination efforts continue to accelerate and more people gain protection from this dreadful disease, it is right that our rules and regulations keep pace.”
From late October, we will also be making changes to allow passengers who change flights or international trains during their journey to follow the measures associated to their country of departure, rather than any countries they have transited through as part of their journey.
Passengers should continue to check GOV.UK travel guidance including FCDO travel advice before, during and after travel to keep up to date in entry requirements and ensure compliance with the latest COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 regulations for the country being visited.
These new arrangements apply to England only. The UK Government decision to implement proposals to remove the requirement for a pre-departure test in England and to use lateral flow tests on day two have not been adopted at this stage in Scotland due to significant concerns at the impact on public health.
The testing of international travellers, both before and after travel, is an important part of Scotland’s border health surveillance to minimise the risk of importing variants of concern.
The Scottish Government aims to maintain a four nations approach to international travel restrictions, but will need to carefully consider the risks associated with aligning with the UK Government.
Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson said the simplification of the system recognises the success of global vaccination programmes.
He said: “This is a major step but one with sensible safeguards built in recognising the success of the Scottish Government’s vaccination programme.
“The expansion of the eligible vaccinated traveller policy combined with the changes to the traffic light system will provide a welcome boost to Scotland’s tourism industry.
“However, we have concerns that the UK Government’s proposals to remove the requirement for a pre-departure test for some travellers will weaken our ability to protect the public health of Scotland’s communities. While we want to maintain a four nations approach to these matters, we need to consider urgently their implications.”
People are now able to use private sector tests where they are now required when returning to Scotland. The step allows people to choose from a list of approved providers which can be found on the gov.uk website.
Countries removed from the red list from 4 am on 22 September are:
Bangladesh
Egypt
Kenya
Maldives
Oman
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Turkey
Countries added to the eligible vaccinated traveller policy from 4 October are:
Canada
Australia
Israel
New Zealand
Singapore
Antigua & Barbuda
Barbados
Brunei
Taiwan
Dominica
Japan
South Korea
Qatar
Kuwait
Malaysia
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Following a review, the existing travel regulations have been consolidated, with minor amendments, into a single instrument. The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel and Operator Liability) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 come into force on Monday 20 September, replacing the existing regulations. Policy and requirements on travellers remain the same through this change.
The Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee is launching an inquiry into the Scottish Government’s international work.
Post Brexit constitutional change has inevitably impacted on how the Scottish Government engages with the European Union and the wider world.
The Committee will examine what the Scottish Government is trying to achieve in its work with foreign governments, international organisations like the European Union and also with its international development efforts. The committee will engage with stakeholders, examine best practice and, where necessary, make recommendations to inform the Scottish Government Policy.
The Committee is seeking to engage with stakeholders on what the Scottish Government’s external affairs policy could look like, recommend what areas should be prioritised, and to learn from examples of best practice.
It will examine issues including the Scottish Government’s engagement with the EU set in the context of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, successful examples of non-EU nations and regions engaging with the EU, and asking how the Scottish Government’s overseas work interacts with UK foreign and diplomatic efforts.
Speaking as the call for views launched, Committee Convener, Clare Adamson MSP, said: “The Scottish Government has an overseas footprint including representative offices in key cities, an international development budget and staff working to promote Scotland and its interests internationally.
“A key question for the Committee now that the UK has left the EU is Scotland’s future relationship with the EU. This includes how Trade and Co-operation Agreement will impact on how the Scottish Government engages with the EU and how that engagement interacts with UK government policy in this area.
“We are also keen to look at good ideas and best practice from elsewhere, so we can make recommendations where necessary.”
You can respond to the call for views at this page.
The Committee is asking questions including:
• How should the Scottish Government engage with the EU and what should it seek to achieve from its engagement? • How might the EU-UK TCA affect how the Scottish Government engages with the EU and how will that engagement interact with UK government policy in this area? • What role should the Scottish Parliament have in scrutinising the operation of the TCA and how the TCA influences the Scottish government’s engagement with the EU? • What should the priorities of the Scottish Government be in developing its external affairs work and overseas presence, including its international development policy? • Does the Scottish Government’s budget for external affairs deliver value for money? Please elaborate. • What principles should inform the Scottish Government’s international engagement (e.g. economic, democratic, human rights, climate change or cultural / ‘soft power’ priorities)? And should that engagement be based on geographical or policy focus? Please elaborate. • How do the Scottish Government’s EU and international policies interact with UK foreign and diplomatic policy in these areas?
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reshuffling his Cabinet.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has been sacked and former Foreign Secretary Domic Raab has paid the price for his role in the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle. Raab is replaced by Liz Truss, while Nadhim Zahawi is also promoted – he takes over at Education.
Robert Jenrick (Housing and Communities) and Robert Buckland (Lord Advocate and Secretary of State for Justice) have left the government.
Further junior ministerial appointments will be announced today, but changes so far (marked with an asterisk) are as follows:
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
HM Treasury
Chancellor of the Exchequer – Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP
Chief Secretary to the Treasury – Simon Clarke MP
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Offic8e
Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, and Minister for Women and Equalities – Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP *
Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – Rt Hon Amanda Milling MP
Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Minister for Equalities) – Kemi Badenoch MP
Home Office
Secretary of State for the Home Department – Rt Hon Priti Patel MP
Minister of State – Kit Malthouse MP (jointly with the Ministry of Justice)
Cabinet Office
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office – Rt Hon Stephen Barclay MP
Minister of State – The Rt Hon Lord Frost CMG
COP26 President – Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP
Minister without Portfolio – Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP *
Minister of State – Nigel Adams MP
Ministry of Justice
Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor, and Secretary of State for Justice – Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP *
Minister of State – Kit Malthouse MP (jointly with the Home Office)
Ministry of Defence
Secretary of State for Defence – Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP
Department for International Trade
Secretary of State for International Trade, and President of the Board of Trade – Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP
Department of Health and Social Care
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care – The Rt Hon Sajid Javid
Department for Work and Pensions
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – Rt Hon Dr Thérèse Coffey MP
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP
Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – Rt Hon Greg Hands MP
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government – Rt Hon Michael Gove MP *
Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Minister for Equalities) – Kemi Badenoch MP
Department for Education
Secretary of State for Education – Nadhim Zahawi MP *
Minister of State – Michelle Donelan MP
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – Nadine Dorries MP *
Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – Julia Lopez MP
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Rt Hon George Eustice MP
Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Victoria Prentis MP
Department for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport – Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP
Northern Ireland Office
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland – Rt Hon Brandon Lewis CBE MP
Scotland Office
Secretary of State for Scotland – Rt Hon Alister Jack MP
Wales Office
Secretary of State for Wales – Rt Hon Simon Hart MP
Office of the Leader of the House of Lords
Lord Privy Seal, and Leader of the House of Lords – Rt Hon Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
Office of the Leader of the House of Commons
Lord President of the Council, and Leader of the House of Commons – Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP
Whips – House of Commons
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip) – Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP
Law Officers
Attorney General – Rt Hon Suella Braverman MP
The following have left the government:
Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP – previously Secretary of State for Education
Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP – previously Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC MP – previously Lord Chancellor, and Secretary of State for Justice
Yesterday’s announcements coincidentally (?) overshadowed an important Westminster debate on social security and the cut to Universal Credit.
Peter Matejic, Deputy Director of Evidence & Impact at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said:“No Government committed to levelling up can credibly defend the biggest ever overnight cut to social security.
“As bills are going up, cost of essential items are rising and National Insurance is set to be increased, ministers are ploughing ahead with a damaging cut to Universal Credit which is fiercely opposed across the political spectrum.
“The Government is reportedly planning to ignore its own analysis which shows how catastrophic this cut would be. No good will come of cutting Universal Credit by £20-a-week. All it would do is impose unnecessary hardship on millions of low-income families and hurt the very communities the Government wants to level up.
“Ministers have nothing to say to the many families who are unable to work or are not expected to work due to sickness, disability or caring responsibilities who are facing this massive income shock.
We all need an adequate social security system and, for those who are already in work or looking for a job, a bold Plan for Jobs, if we are to improve living standards. The Prime Minister knows this and it’s not too late for him to keep this vital lifeline strong.”
Helen Barnard, Deputy Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said:“Today’s debate makes clear that the Prime Minister and Chancellor are increasingly isolated in supporting the cut to Universal Credit.
“There is widespread concern amongst MPs about the devastating impact this will have on huge numbers of their constituents and new ministers are certain to face intense pressure from families anxious about how they will make ends meet from next month.
“The £20-a-week increase to Universal Credit is vital to protect families from poverty and provide the stability they need to improve their prospects.
“As energy bills go up, prices on the shelves rise and National Insurance is set to increase, the Prime Minister must urgently keep this support in place, or his premiership risks being defined by plunging people into poverty rather than levelling up.”
Boosters, testing and refreshed public health advice will help keep the virus under control in the coming months
Plan B prepared to protect NHS if necessary
PM continues to warn the pandemic is not over and public need to remain vigilant
The Prime Minister has today set out the government’s plan to manage Covid throughout autumn and winter.
Thanks to the ‘phenomenal success’ of the vaccination programme, the data continues to show the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths has weakened significantly.
In England, the number of hospital admissions with Covid has remained relatively stable over the last month.
And although deaths increased at the beginning of the summer, they have remained far below the levels in either of the previous waves.
Over autumn and winter, the government will aim to sustain this progress through:
Building our defences through pharmaceutical interventions
Identifying and isolating positive cases to limit transmission
Supporting the NHS and social care
Advising people on how to protect themselves and others
Pursuing an international approach
Vaccines will continue to be our first line of defence. All those who were vaccinated during Phase 1 of the vaccine programme (priority groups 1 to 9) will be offered booster jabs from this month – to boost immunity amongst the most vulnerable groups during winter.
The Test, Trace and Isolate programme will continue its important work, with symptomatic PCR testing continuing throughout the autumn and winter.
Lateral flow tests will also remain free of charge but at a later stage, as our response to the virus changes, this will end and individuals and businesses will be expected to bear the cost. The government will engage widely on this before any changes are made.
The legal obligation to self-isolate for those who have tested positive and their unvaccinated contacts will continue, and the financial support payment for those self-isolating on certain benefits will continue in its current format until the end of March.
Our NHS will continue to get the support it needs, with an extra £5.4 billion recently announced for the next 6 months alone for the Covid response.
The public will be offered continued guidance on how to protect themselves and each other – including letting fresh air in, wearing a face covering in crowded and enclosed place where you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet, getting testing and self-isolating if required.
Our tough border policy will remain in place and genomic sequencing capability will be increased to help scientists update our vaccines to defeat new variants.
As the PM also set out, autumn and winter could pose renewed challenges and it is difficult to predict the path of the virus with certainty.
So as the public would expect, there will be a range of ‘Plan B’ measures kept under review to help control transmission of the virus while minimising economic and social damage.
Plan B would include:
Introducing mandatory vaccine only Covid status certification in certain, riskier settings.
Legally mandating face coverings in certain settings, such as public transport and shops.
Communicating clearly and urgently to the public if the risk level increases.
The government could also consider asking people to work from home again if necessary, but a final decision on this would be made at the time, dependent on the latest data – recognising the extra disruption this causes to individuals and businesses.
Ministers would only decide to implement these measures if necessary, and if a range of metrics and indicators mean the NHS is at risk of becoming overwhelmed.
Plan B recognises the success of our vaccination programme – meaning smaller interventions which are far less disruptive can have a much bigger impact on reducing the spread.
The Prime Minister committed to taking whatever action is necessary to protect the NHS, but stressed his belief that the combined efforts of the public and the vaccination programme mean we can avoid plan B and protect our freedoms in the coming months.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson made this statement at yesterday’s coronavirus press conference:
Good afternoon everybody.
I want to set out our plan for managing Covid this autumn and winter.
And I want you to cast your mind back exactly a year and think where we were last September, as schools went back and the colder months approached.
Because in one way our position today is actually more challenging.
We have higher levels of daily cases – thousands more.
But in many other crucial respects, the British people – all of us collectively and individually – are incomparably better placed to fight the disease.
We have more than 80 per cent of all over-16s now double jabbed, double vaccinated.
And we have Covid antibodies in around 90 per cent of the adult population.
And those vaccines are working.
We have seen the extraordinary vaccine-induced falls in deaths and serious disease.
And depending on your age, you’re up to nine times more likely to die, sadly, if you’re unvaccinated, than if you’ve had both jabs.
And the result of this vaccination campaign is that we have one of the most free societies and one of the most open economies in Europe.
And that’s why we are now sticking with our strategy.
In essence, we’re going to keep going.
We will continue to offer testing.
We will continue to urge everyone to be sensible, to be responsible.
Wash your hands.
Use ventilation.
Consider wearing a face covering in crowded places with people that you don’t know.
Stay at home if you feel unwell.
Download and use the app.
And we’re investing massively in our NHS to meet the pressures of Covid with an additional £5.4 billion in England over the next six months.
And that’s on top of almost £36 billion over the next three years to help our NHS recover and fix the long-standing problems of social care as well, as I was saying last week.
And we are helping to vaccinate the world with 100 million doses for developing countries by next June.
And I think this country should be proud, continue to be very proud, that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine remains the workhorse of global immunisation.
And we will keep further measures in reserve – a Plan B.
We do not see the need now to proceed for instance with mandatory certification.
But we will continue to work with the many businesses that are getting ready for such a scheme.
indeed over 200 events have already used Covid certification voluntarily.
And it is just not sensible to rule out completely this kind of option now when we must face the fact that it might still make the difference between keeping businesses open at full capacity or not.
We will also keep open the option of mandating face coverings as they have elsewhere, or advising people again to work from home, reflecting the fact that when you’ve got a large proportion of the country as we have now with immunity, then smaller changes can make a bigger difference and give us the confidence that we don’t need to go back to the lockdowns of the past.
And of course, we will continue to update our advice to you based on the latest data.
But in the meantime, we are confident in the vaccines that have made such a difference to our lives.
And we are now intensifying that effort, offering jabs to 12 to 15 year olds on the advice of the Chief Medical Officers, who’ve given that advice based on the health, wellbeing and educational prospects of the children themselves.
And for over 50s – and the under 50s who are at risk, or more at risk, we’re now motoring ahead with the booster programme.
A third dose six months after your second dose.
So that’s going to mean we’re going to be building even higher walls of immunisation of vaccine protection in this country.
And the UK government has procured at scale jabs for every part of the UK.
And we will be sending doses to the Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Covid is still out there.
The disease sadly still remains a risk.
But I’m confident we can keep going with our plan to turn jabs jabs jabs into jobs jobs jobs.
Boris Johnson will set out the UK Government’s autumn and winter plan for managing Covid this week
Government focus to remain on vaccines as the first line of defence over the autumn and winter months
JCVI final ‘booster’ decision expected this week
Measures from the Coronavirus Act expected to be repealed
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will this week set out the UK Government’s autumn and winter plan for managing Covid.
Vaccines will continue to be our first line of defence over the autumn and winter months supported by new treatments, testing, and a world leading variant surveillance system.
Due to the efforts and sacrifices of the public, our NHS, and the phenomenal success of the vaccine rollout, the vast majority of restrictions were lifted in England at Step 4 of the Roadmap on 19 July.
As of 9 September, nearly 90% of the UK population aged over 16 have received a first dose of the Covid vaccine, and over 80% have received both doses.
The latest data from Public Health England shows Covid vaccines are highly effective against hospitalisation from the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, the dominant strain in the UK. Analysis shows the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% effective against hospitalisation after two doses.
The winter months will bring renewed challenges. Covid will circulate alongside flu and other respiratory viruses and the threat of a new variant remains. It is difficult to predict with certainty how these will interact and what pressure they may place on the NHS.
The independent expert committee – the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI) – were asked to consider a Covid vaccine booster programme. Their interim advice suggested planning for booster vaccines to be rolled out to the most vulnerable from September 2021, to offer an increased level of protection over winter.
The government expects to receive confirmation this week from the JCVI on the details of a vaccination booster programme, with plans in place to begin this month. This will boost immunity over the winter months, protecting against serious disease and death and unsustainable pressure on the NHS.
The government confirmed last week that those who are immunocompromised will be offered a third primary dose. This is separate to the booster programme, as those who require a third primary dose had insufficient protection from two doses.
The Prime Minister is also expected to repeal powers in England that are no longer necessary from the Coronavirus Act, as part of the government’s plan for managing Covid over the autumn and winter.
These include:
Powers to close-down sectors of the economy, such as business premises, or apply restrictions to events and gatherings.
Powers that disrupt education, enabling temporary closure or restricting access to schools, colleges, and childcare.
Powers that extend time limits for urgent warrants. Powers to detain infectious people.
Vital powers from the Act will be retained that are critical to protect and support the public. This includes giving sick pay to those isolating from day one rather than day seven, directing schools to remain open if they close against government guidance, and helping the NHS to get the emergency resource it needs.
Legal requirements will remain for someone to isolate if they test positive, to protect the most vulnerable from infection and to control the spread of variants. The Coronavirus Act is separate from the Public Health Act.
The Prime Minister is expected to hold a press conference this week – perhaps as early as tomorrow – to set out the next steps in the pandemic response.
Prime Minister, Boris Johnson said: “Thanks to the efforts of the public, the NHS and our phenomenal vaccination programme, we reached Step 4 in our Roadmap and life has returned to a sense of normality.
“These extraordinary times required necessary but intrusive measures. But I’m determined to get of rid of any powers we no longer need because of our vaccine defences.
“I will set out the next phase in our Covid response shortly.”
PM Boris Johnson is pictured during a Downing Street homecoming reception for the GB Paralympic team.
