Tag: Politics

Prime Minister urges safety first on ‘Super Saturday’

On the eve of ‘Super Saturday’ Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a public appeal to the people of England to act responsibily:

Good evening,

Since I last spoke to you from this podium, we have continued to make progress nationally against the virus.

We are now reporting regularly fewer than 1,000 new cases each day.

The Office for National Statistics estimates that between 14 June and 27 June, the most recent period they have analysed, 25,000 people in the community in England had the virus – 1 person in every 2,200.

SAGE assess that the R rate – the average number of people each infected person passes the virus onto – remains between 0.7 and 0.9 across the UK.

SAGE also assess that, in England, the number of new infections is shrinking by between 2 and 5% every day.

And while the number of people dying with coronavirus remains too high, the numbers do continue to fall.

Now of course this picture is not universal. There are areas – such as Leicester – where the virus is still more prevalent than we would like.

We always said there would be local outbreaks requiring local action. This is to be expected and will, I’m afraid, be a feature of our lives for some time to come.

But that should not take away from the great progress we have made, together, as a country against this vicious disease.

This progress is the reason why we have been able – slowly, carefully, cautiously – to ease the national lockdown.

Without doubt, lockdown has saved many hundreds of thousands of lives – but it has also had a devastating impact on our way of life and our economy.

And of course, lockdown has not yet been lifted entirely.

Indoor gyms, nail bars and swimming pools are still closed, mass gatherings are still prohibited, social distancing is still essential.

I want these restrictions to be lifted as soon as possible – of course I do.

We have established taskforces to work rapidly and closely with the sectors that remain closed to explore how they can be Covid Secure. I am pleased to report good progress is being made.

Next week we will set out a timetable for their re-opening – though of course I can only lift those remaining, national restrictions as and when it is safe to do so.

Our goal remains to enable as many people as possible to live their lives as close to normally as possible – in a way which is as fair and as safe as possible.

To achieve this we need to move away from blanket, national measures, to targeted, local measures.

So instead of locking down the whole country, we will lock down specific premises or local areas where the virus is spreading.

Instead of closing down non-essential retail and hospitality nationwide, we will only shut establishments locally as required.

Instead of shutting all schools for most pupils, from September we will only shut those schools where it is absolutely necessary to control an outbreak.

And instead of quarantining arrivals from the whole world, we will only quarantine arrivals from those countries where the virus is, sadly, not yet under control.

We are already implementing this targeted approach in England.

In Weston-Super-Mare, we identified an outbreak in a hospital, closed it to visitors and new admissions, tested all staff and patients and gave the hospital a deep clean. The outbreak was contained and the hospital is open again.

In Kirklees, we identified an outbreak at a meat packing plant, shut down the plant, moved in a mobile testing unit, tested all employees and traced the contacts of those who were positive. The outbreak was contained and the plant has reopened with additional safety measures in place.

And of course more recently in Leicester, we identified a community-wide outbreak which was not restricted to a single location, unlike Weston-Super-Mare and Kirklees. Public Health England engaged with the local authority, mobile testing units were deployed, full data was shared – council-wide data was shared on 11 June, and postcode-level data was shared last week.

This enhanced monitoring through additional testing showed that the infection rate in Leicester was three times the next highest infection rate in any other city in the country. So on Monday, the Health Secretary announced local lockdown measures in Leicester for an initial period of 2 weeks.

In each of these cases, the problems identified were specific to Weston-Super-Mare, Kirklees and Leicester. So of course it made sense to take action locally, rather than re-impose restrictions on the whole country.

And we are learning the whole time. With each local outbreak, we see what works well and what not so well, so that we do better next time.

Informed by our experience of these cases, we have developed an approach for controlling future local outbreaks which has five principle components: monitoring, engagement, testing, targeted restrictions and finally, as a last resort, lockdown.

First, monitoring. Public Health England, working with the Joint Biosecurity Centre, will examine carefully data on the spread of the disease and people’s behaviour across the country. They will look out for emerging trends, rising case numbers and other indicators, while taking into account local factors.

Critically, we have made local data available to all Directors of Public Health in local authorities, so they too can monitor what is happening in their area. And local data will also be available to the public on the gov.uk dashboard.

Second, engagement. If monitoring identifies local problems, NHS Test and Trace and PHE will work with the relevant local authority to develop a deeper understanding of the problem and identify solutions. Working with local agencies, we will seek to keep the local community informed at every stage, so they know what is happening and what actions, if any, they need to take.

Third, testing. We now have substantial testing capacity nationwide and we have the ability to target that capacity at local areas in order to get a grip on emerging outbreaks. Scaled-up testing at a local level, combined with contract tracing through NHS Test and Trace, can control the virus and thus avoid more stringent measures.

Fourth, targeted restrictions. If the virus continues to spread, we will restrict activities at particular locations and close individual premises. As in Weston-Super-Mare and Kirklees, we will restrict access to places which become hotspots for the virus, while testing people who have spent time in those places, and tracing the contacts of anyone who tests positive.

Fifth, local lockdown. If the previous measures have not proven to be enough, we will introduce local lockdowns extending across whole communities. As in Leicester, that could mean shutting businesses venues that would otherwise be open, closing schools or urging people once more to stay at home.

Local lockdowns will be carefully calibrated depending on the scientific and specific circumstances of each outbreak and we are continually exploring smarter means of containing the virus.

So that is the approach we will take as local outbreaks occur and we will set out more detail soon.

Let me end by looking forward to this weekend.

Tomorrow (Saturday), there will be a moment of remembrance for those whose lives have tragically been lost before their time.

And at 5pm on Sunday, the NHS’s 72nd birthday, we can all come together to clap those who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to help the nation get through this pandemic.

I know everyone will be looking forward to the relaxation of national restrictions. As lockdown eases, we should focus on supporting the livelihoods of business owners and their employees up and down the country – all of whom are opening their doors for the first time in more than three months.

They are our local restaurants, hairdressers, libraries, museums, cinemas, and yes, pubs. They are also hotels, B&Bs, indeed much of our tourism industry.

All these businesses and their workers have put in a heroic effort to prepare their venues for this reopening, to work out a way to trade in a way that keeps their customers safe.

But the success of these businesses, the livelihoods of those who rely on them, and ultimately the economic health of the whole country is dependent on every single one of us acting responsibly. We must not let them down.

Lockdown only succeeded in controlling the virus because everyone worked together, and we will only succeed in reopening if everyone works together again. Because we are not out of the woods yet.

The virus is still with us and the spike in Leicester has shown that. If it starts running out of control again this Government will not hesitate in putting on the brakes and re-imposing restrictions.

Anyone who flouts social distancing and COVID-Secure rules is not only putting us all at risk but letting down those businesses and workers who have done so much to prepare for this new normal.

So as we take this next step, our biggest step yet, on the road to recovery, I urge the British people to do so safely.

Remember – don’t gather in groups of more than 6 outside or 2 households in any setting.

Keep your distance from those outside your household – 2 metres if you can, 1 metre with precautions if you can’t.

Wash your hands.

Let’s all stay alert, control the virus, save lives – and enjoy summer safely.

First Minister: Do not drop your guard

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the media briefing in St Andrew’s House on Tuesday 30 June:

Good afternoon, and welcome to today’s briefing. I want to start by providing my usual update on the most recent Covid-19 statistics for Scotland.

An additional 10 positive cases were confirmed yesterday – that takes the total now in Scotland to 18,251. 
 
A total of 885 patients are currently in hospital with the virus – either confirmed or suspected. That is actually an increase of 145 since yesterday, but the increase is all in suspected cases. The number of confirmed cases fell by 3.

A total of 19 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected Covid-19. That is 9 more than yesterday – but again the increase is all in suspected cases.

Since 5 March, a total of 4,061 patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 have been able to leave hospital. I wish all of them well.

And in the past 24 hours, I’m sorry to say 3 deaths were registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having Covid-19. That takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 2,485.

I know that, after four consecutive days without any deaths being registered, news of any deaths, while not unexpected, is not what we want to hear.

And of course the three people whose deaths were registered yesterday – like everyone who has died from this virus – were individuals whose loss will be causing heartbreak to those who loved them. I want to send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one as a result of this virus.

However – and I know that this will not be any comfort to those who are grieving – it is still worth remembering the overall trend in Scotland’s figures.

On this day last week, I announced four deaths, which took the total for the previous seven days – under this daily measure – to 23. The three deaths I have announced today, take that seven day total to 9.

That is a sustained and significant ongoing reduction and it is due to everybody – and as I will make clear later in my remarks, maintaining that progress is also a responsibility for all of us as we move forward.

But I want to make clear once again my particular gratitude to our health and care workers – and indeed to all our key workers. We are all grateful for the work you have done during the crisis and indeed continue to do.

The media conferences for the rest of the week will cover a range of issues.

Tomorrow we will report on the latest weekly statistics from National Records of Scotland.

On Thursday, I hope to confirm the changes that we had indicated for the 3rd of July and the 6th of July.

I will also talk about the advice we are due to receive on the 2 metre rule for physical distancing – and whether there are any circumstances in which it can be adapted, with appropriate mitigations in place.

And on Friday, I am likely to look ahead to the weekend – particularly in view of the changes to travel restrictions that are likely to take effect on that day.

Today, however, I want to focus on where we are now. It is maybe an appropriate time to do that: partly because of the data we have seen recently, and also because today is the 100th day of lockdown – although I realise that for most of us, it seems a lot longer than that.

At the time when we imposed lockdown, Covid was starting to run out of control in Scotland.

Because of that, two weeks after the start of lockdown, in early April, hospital admissions for the virus averaged over 200 a day.

And two weeks after that, Covid deaths in Scotland – going by the wider National Records of Scotland data – were averaging more than 90 a day.

To be in our current position – with hospital admissions averaging just 4 a day, with consistently low numbers of new Covid cases, and with such a sharp reduction in death rates – all of that is massive and welcome progress. Once again, I want to thank every single person in Scotland for that. All of us have played a part in getting to this position.

We now have a genuine chance to come as close as is possible to eliminating the virus in Scotland. Of course we will then have to work to ensure we keep it at those levels. 

That in turn gives us the best possible chance of seeing more of our friends in less restricted circumstances; of reopening the economy much more fully; and of being able to fully reopen our schools.

So this is a moment of great opportunity.

But it is also a time of very real danger.

And I suppose it’s that I want to focus on today.

Not to be negative. But to be realistic and to seek to persuade you all that we still have to work very hard to make sure our progress of recent weeks is not lost or even worse reversed.

We all feel a sense of relief at low levels of the virus today. I know I certainly feel that relief intensely.

But we saw from late March just how quickly low levels of the virus can spread to become much higher. And we saw the consequences of that.

Some of the reports we are seeing from elsewhere in the UK and around the world right now underline that point.

Lockdown restrictions have just been reimposed in Leicester as a result of increased transmission.

And we are seeing increases in infection rates in other countries – for example in some US states, and in Melbourne in Australia. Lockdown restrictions are being reimposed in these places too.

And the World Health Organisation pointed out yesterday that although many countries are making progress in tackling Covid, the pandemic globally is still speeding up and is not close yet to being over.

I don’t say any of this to depress anyone – but as a very loud reminder that the virus has not gone away. It is still present – which is why we are still seeing some new cases in Scotland. It is just as infectious and dangerous as it ever was. And it will come back hard if we let it.

The figures in Scotland we are seeing right now, are a result of the decisions and the sacrifices all of us have made over the past 100 days.

The figures we see in the future – in the second half of July; in August, as schools prepare to reopen; and into the autumn – they will be the result of the decisions we all take now, and in the weeks ahead.

That is why – as I said – we are right now in a potentially very dangerous moment.

We are reopening more public services and more businesses;  we will soon start travelling a bit more; and we will also start seeing a bit more of our family and friends – including in outdoor pubs and restaurants.

That is absolutely right – it is justified by the progress we have made. And it’s important, of course, to get our economy going again.

But by opening up a bit more, at a time when the daily statistics are looking so positive, there is a real risk that people will let down their guard. There is a danger that it will seem as though life is getting back to normal. And I want to stress right now, life can’t and shouldn’t get completely back to normal yet, because the virus is still there.

I do not want us to be looking back in a month’s time, or in three months’ time, and thinking that this week’s figures – the culmination of 100 days of sacrifice – were as good as it ever got in our efforts to suppress this virus.

Instead, I want us to be looking back in a month’s time – and then in the autumn – and thinking that this week’s figures provided us with the best possible foundation for our efforts to almost eliminate the virus.

Because if we can continue to suppress the virus – and come as close as possible to elimination – then living a less restricted life without the constant threat of lockdowns being reimposed becomes more possible. And dealing with localised outbreaks when they happen – which they will – will become far easier.

For the Scottish Government, that means that we may still have to take some really tough and unpopular decisions in the weeks ahead – that we have to go against the grain of what many of you would like, in order to secure the progress we have made. If that is necessary we won’t shy away from doing it.

And for all of us – it means still thinking hard in our personal lives about what we choose to do and not to do. Just because we can do more now, doesn’t necessarily mean we should do these things as often as we used to. And it certainly doesn’t mean we should do them without significantly increased care. Following the rules continues to be vital. In fact, it is even more important now as we start to interact more, so we don’t squander the progress that we’ve made.

So as we start to do more – as we go to more shops, as more people return to work, as we maybe travel a bit more from the end of this week – please remember that the virus has not gone away.

We have suppressed it to the levels we see today because of the action we have collectively been taking, so we must continue to take action to keep it there and hopefully get it lower still. It is still as a virus highly infectious. It is still very dangerous. And it will start to spread rapidly again, if we give it the opportunity to do so.

That is why our public health campaign – FACTS – is so important. It summarises the five key things all of us must remember in everything we do.

· Face coverings should be worn in enclosed spaces such as shops and public transport.
· Avoid crowded places.
· Clean your hands and hard surfaces regularly.
· Two metre distancing remains the rule. 
· and Self isolate, and book a test, if you have symptoms.

By remembering those 5 basic measures, all of us can stay safe, protect others and save lives.

So please, my appeal to you today, and I cannot stress this enough, do not drop your guard.

Do not become complacent. Do not drift back to life exactly as normal.

Do not think the risk of the virus has gone away.

Please make sure you are doing everything you can – every day and every time you go out – to deny it the chance to spread. And if we all behave in that way, then the progress we are seeing now will continue. So my thanks for everything that you’ve done over these past 100 days and I ask all of you to stick with the advice that’s so important.

Johnson’s New Deal for Britain

This government is committed not just to defeating coronavirus but to using this crisis to tackle this country’s great unresolved challenges of the last three decades.

To build the homes, to fix the NHS, to tackle the skills crisis, to mend the gap in opportunity and productivity and connectivity between the regions of the UK, to unite and level up.

The government will build back better, build back greener, build back faster.

We will invest in and accelerate infrastructure across the UK; promote a clean, green recovery; reform our planning system; and strengthen the Union and local government.

All of these changes will make life better for the people of this great country and unleash Britain’s potential.

The Chancellor will unveil more of this plan next week, and we will use the forthcoming Spending Review and Autumn Budget to set the direction for the rest of this parliament.

Investing in and accelerating infrastructure

The government is committed to building a Britain with world class infrastructure. Spring Budget 2020 set out that the public sector will invest £640bn over five years in our future prosperity.

We are redoubling our efforts to get on with this now, in support of economic recovery and jobs right across the country by bringing forward £5bn of capital investment projects, supporting jobs and the economic recovery, including:

  • £1.5bn this year for hospital maintenance, eradicating mental health dormitories, enabling hospital building, and improving A&E capacity. This will improve patient care, make sure NHS hospitals can deliver world-leading services and reduce the risk of coronavirus infections.
  • £100m this year for 29 projects to improve our road network to get Britain moving, from bridge repairs in Sandwell to boosting the quality of the A15 in the Humber region. Plus £10m for development work to unblock the Manchester rail bottleneck, which will begin this year.
  • Over £1bn to fund the first 50 projects of a new, ten-year school rebuilding programme, starting from 2020-21. These projects will be confirmed in the autumn, and construction on the first sites will begin from September 2021.
  • £560m and £200m for repairs and upgrades to schools and FE colleges respectively this year.
  • £142mn for digital upgrades and maintenance to around 100 courts this year, £83m for maintenance of prisons and youth offender facilities, and £60m for temporary prison places, creating thousands of new jobs.
  • £900m for a range of ‘shovel ready’ local growth projects in England over the course of this year and next. This will enable local areas to invest in priority infrastructure projects to drive local growth and jobs. This could include the development and regeneration of key local sites, investment to improve transport and digital connectivity, and innovation and technology centres to build on local comparative advantage
  • £96m to accelerate investment in town centres and high streets through the Towns Fund this year. This will provide all 101 towns selected for town deals with £500k-£1m to spend on projects such as improvements to parks, high streets, and transport.

We will establish a new Infrastructure Delivery Taskforce, named ‘Project Speed’.

  • Led by the Chancellor, Project Speed will bring forward proposals to deliver government’s public investment projects more strategically and efficiently. This will ensure we are building the right things better and faster than before.
  • The taskforce will aim to cut down the time it takes to develop, design and deliver vital infrastructure projects. For example, it will look at how it can address outdated practices and identify blocks to progress.
  • Projects will include the 40 new hospitals the government has committed to build and the school rebuilding programme announced yesterday.

In the Autumn, the government will also publish a National Infrastructure Strategy which will set a clear direction on core economic infrastructure, including energy networks, road and rail, flood defences and waste.

The Government also intends to bring forward funding to accelerate infrastructure projects in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – working with the devolved administrations to identify where we can get spades in the ground, build our communities, and create jobs faster for citizens across the United Kingdom.

We will also carry out a review to look at how best to improve road, rail, air and sea links between our four nations to create a more connected kingdom.

Through the Barnett formula, the UK Government has already given the Scottish Government £5.4bn, the Welsh Government £2.4bn, and the Northern Ireland Executive £1.7bn in capital funding for devolved areas this financial year. We would encourage them to accelerate infrastructure projects in the same way that the UK Government is doing.

Promoting a clean, green recovery

The UK was the first major economy to commit to net zero emissions by 2050 in law. We already have a proven track record of cutting emissions while growing the economy, with over 460,000 UK jobs in low-carbon businesses and their supply chains.

We will continue to build on this even further and deliver a stronger, cleaner, more sustainable economy after this pandemic.

The Government will continue to set out further measures as part of its green agenda in the run up to COP26 in November 2021.

Transport:

  • We are making additional funding available this year to attract investment in ‘gigafactories’, which mass produce batteries and other electric vehicle components, enabling the UK to lead on the next generation of automotive technologies.
  • £10m of funding will be made available immediately for the first wave of innovative R&D projects to scale-up manufacturing of the latest technology in batteries, motors, electronics and fuel cells.
  • Additional funding will also allow us to progress initial site planning and preparation for manufacturing plants and industry clusters, with sites under consideration across the UK.
  • This funding forms part of our commitment to spend up to £1bn to attract investment in electric vehicle supply chains and R&D to the UK.
  • And this comes on top of the over £1bn we provided at Budget to support the rollout of ultra-low emission vehicles in the UK via support for a super-fast charging network for electric vehicles, and extension of the Plug-In Grant schemes.
  • The UK will also aim to produce the world’s first zero emission long haul passenger aircraft.

Rebuilding our natural infrastructure:

  • Re-foresting Britain by planting 75,000 acres of trees every year by 2025.
  • £40m Green Recovery Challenge Fund to help halt biodiversity loss and tackle climate change through local conservation projects, connecting more people to the outdoors by delivering up to 5,000 jobs.

Innovation:

  • Up to £100m of new funding for research and develop a brand new clean technology, Direct Air Capture (DAC), which captures CO2 emissions directly from the air around us. If successful, DAC technology could be deployed across the country to remove carbon from the air, helping sectors where it’s tough to decarbonise such as aviation.
  • To help bring forward this technology, the government is exploring options around carbon pricing and incentives, where the government may pay a price per tonne of CO2 captured.

Reforming our planning system

We will make it easier to build better homes where people want to live.

New regulations will give greater freedom for buildings and land in our town centres to change use without planning permission and create new homes from the regeneration of vacant and redundant buildings.

Under the new rules, existing commercial properties, including newly vacant shops, can be converted into residential housing more easily, in a move to kick start the construction industry and speed up rebuilding.

The changes include:

  • More types of commercial premises having total flexibility to be repurposed through reform of the Use Classes Order. A building used for retail, for instance, would be able to be permanently used as a café or office without requiring a planning application and local authority approval. Pubs, libraries, village shops and other types of uses essential to the lifeblood of communities will not be covered by these flexibilities
  • A wider range of commercial buildings will be allowed to change to residential use without the need for a planning application
  • Builders will no longer need a normal planning application to demolish and rebuild vacant and redundant residential and commercial buildings if they are rebuilt as homes
  • Property owners will be able to build additional space above their properties via a fast track approval process, subject to neighbour consultation.
  • These changes, which are planned to come into effect by September, will both support the high street revival by allowing empty commercial properties to be quickly repurposed and reduce the pressure to build on green fields land by making brownfield development easier.

The Prime Minister also announced that work will begin to look at how land owned by the government can be managed more effectively.

Ahead of the Spending Review, a new, ambitious cross-government strategy look at how public sector land can be managed and released so it can be put to better use.

This would include home building, improving the environment, contributing to net zero goals and injecting growth opportunities into communities across the country.

These announcements come alongside a package of measures to support home building across England, including:

  • A £12bn affordable homes programme that will support up to 180,000 new affordable homes for ownership and rent over the next 8 years, confirmed today.
  • Included in the affordable homes programme will be a 1,500 unit pilot of ‘First Homes’: houses that will be sold to first time buyers at a 30% discount which will remain in perpetuity, keeping them affordable for generations of families to own.
  • Funds from the £400m Brownfield Land Fund have today been allocated to the West Midland, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, Sheffield City Region, North of Tyne and Tees Valley to support around 24,000 homes.
  • The Home Building Fund to help smaller developers access finance for new housing developments will receive additional £450m boost. This is expected to support delivery of around 7,200 new homes.

The government will launch a Policy Paper in July setting out our plan for comprehensive reform of England’s seven-decade old planning system, to introduce a new approach that works better for our modern economy and society.

Strengthening the Union

  • We will take steps to guarantee and enhance our internal market and find new ways to invest in Scotland, Wales, England and NI and focus on “levelling up” our whole country.
  • As above, the Government also intends to bring forward funding to accelerate infrastructure projects in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – working with the devolved administrations to identify where we can get spades in the ground, build our communities, and create jobs faster for citizens across the United Kingdom.
  • The Spending review will create a multi-year, UK-wide Shared Prosperity Fund which will support which will support local economic recovery by driving economic growth and tackling deprivation.
  • We will carry out a review to look at how best to improve road, rail, air and sea links between all parts of the UK to create a more connected kingdom.

Care for Carers

Care for Carers package needed to support mental health of 3 million NHS and care staff

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Mental Health Minister has called for a shake-up of mental health support to ensure that, for the first time ever, 3.1 million NHS and care workers get the same fast-tracked help and advice.

Labour has designed a new four-stage Care for Carers package to cover all NHS and social care staff in England, including contracted workers such as porters, cleaners and support staff who are doing vital and often distressing work during the coronavirus pandemic and are more likely to be low paid and on insecure contracts.

The package, staffed by paid professionals, includes:

1.   A new national hotline available 24 hours a day, seven days a week

2.   Follow-up support, including specialist assessments and referrals

3.   Intervention and treatment, including specialised PTSD support

4.   Follow-up and sign-posted to external services, such as alcohol and addiction services

Current support available is inadequate because it does not cover private sector staff doing NHS and social care work, and there are long waiting lists and significant regional variations. In some areas, nurses can wait for a year for an appointment. The current Covid-19 support hotline offers emotional support and signposting, but does not lead on to psychological therapies.

Labour is also calling for the Government to appoint a new independent national wellbeing guardian to coordinate and oversee the support, and to hold the Government and NHS employers to account.

The watchdog would work with unions, NHS Trusts, local authorities and care providers to ensure all staff know how to access the scheme and give them the confidence that their wellbeing was being championed and protected.

The pandemic has exacerbated an already grim picture for staff mental health. Almost five million working days were lost to poor mental health in 2019; stress is estimated to account for over 30% of NHS staff absence at a cost of up to £400 million a year; the BMA says 41% of doctors suffer with depression, anxiety, stress and other mental health conditions relating to their work; and more than half of carers say they are emotionally exhausted, according to the IPPR.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan said: “Even before the pandemic hit, the case for investing in this kind of support was clear. Coronavirus has exacerbated the existing crisis in mental health.

“Many NHS and social care staff have been scared of going to work, and they have lost patients and colleagues. It has been heartbreaking to witness the toll this virus has taken on staff mental health.

“Current support is not good enough, and without a tailored, fast-tracked service for staff who have faced death and despair every day for over three months, our frontline heroes will continue to be failed.

“We need to care for our carers. It is time for the Government to give back to those who have sacrificed so much to keep our loved ones safe. Unless our staff are protected, they cannot continue their vital work of keeping us all safe.”

Unite, the UK and Ireland’s largest union, has welcomed Labour’s demands to provide fast-tracked mental health services for three million NHS and care workers.

The union said Labour’s plans would provide ‘much needed support’ for the mental wellbeing of health and care staff who have faced increased pressures and distress during the pandemic.

Unite national officer Jacalyn Williams said: “These plans would create much needed support for the mental health of NHS and care staff who have faced the brunt of the worst impacts of the pandemic day after day.

“Having lost patients and colleagues, and with the threat of the virus to themselves and their loved ones ever present, it is no surprise that the mental health of staff in the health and social care sector has suffered.

“After years of service cuts, staff shortages and increased workloads, there was already a mental health crisis amongst health and social care workers, but the pandemic has made the situation a lot worse.

“Unite welcomes Labour’s proposals and calls on the government to implement them as soon as possible.”

Commenting on Labour’s plans for a mental health package for NHS and care staff, UNISON assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Health and care staff have been working under huge pressures over the past few months, while most of us have been safe at home.

“Fears about falling ill, passing the virus on to loved ones or those they care for, and working without adequate safety kit have only added to the stress.

“Even before the pandemic hit, overworked staff were suffering with their mental health. The Covid crisis will only have heightened these problems.

“Health and care workers who’ve been up against it since March, need time off to recharge their batteries and support to help them cope with what they’ve been through.

“A one-size-fits-all approach of occupational health assistance won’t work. Support must be much more tailored to suit individual needs than is currently the case.

“The government needs to get much better at looking after all of those who do so much to look after all of us.”

Air Bridges: Scotland considers it’s own response to quarantine

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the media briefing in St Andrew’s House on Monday 29 June:

Good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us. Before I move on to today’s update on Covid, I want to say just a few words about Friday’s knife attack in the city of Glasgow.

During the briefing on Friday, I commented on what an exceptional job our police service was doing in enforcing proportionately and sensitively the lockdown restrictions.

But Friday afternoon reminded us of another side of the police’s duties – it reminded us that in order to protect all of us, the public, our police officers so often run towards danger, despite the risk to themselves.

Now we are considering what further lessons need to be learned from what happened on Friday – Aileen Campbell, the Communities Secretary, is discussing the safety and wellbeing of asylum seekers in a phone call with the UK Government later today.

But for the moment, I simply want to take this opportunity to thank all of the police officers involved in dealing with Friday’s attack – they showed outstanding courage, dedication and professionalism. And through that undoubtedly avoided a very serious situation indeed becoming even worse.

I also want to praise our medical services, including of course the Scottish Ambulance Service, for providing such effective care so quickly to those affected by the attack.

And my thoughts are very much with Constable David Whyte (above), and with everyone harmed in Friday’s incident. I hope all six people injured make a full and speedy recovery – my best wishes go to them and to their loved ones.

Now, let me start the Covid part of the briefing by providing my usual update on the most recent statistics.

I can report today, that an additional 5 positive cases were confirmed yesterday – which takes the total now in Scotland to 18,241 confirmed cases.

A total of 740 patients are currently in hospital with the virus – either confirmed or suspected. That is 38 fewer than yesterday overall, and there has been no change since yesterday in the number of confirmed cases in hospital.

A total of 10 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected Covid and that is 3 fewer than yesterday.

Since 5 March, a total of 4,051 patients who had tested positive for the virus and required hospital treatment have now been able to leave hospital.

And in the past 24 hours, I’m pleased to report that no deaths were registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having Covid-19 – the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, therefore remains at 2,482.

This is the fourth day in a row when no deaths of patients confirmed through a test have been recorded in Scotland.

Now of course two of these days have been weekends, and we know that registration can be artificially low at weekends and we may see more deaths registered later this week.

But there is no doubt that these recent figures demonstrate beyond any doubt how much progress Scotland has made in tackling Covid. That is down to the efforts and sacrifices of everyone across the country and I want again to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you for that.

Our challenge now, and it is a big challenge, and it will again depend on the efforts of all of us – is to continue that progress, while at the same time reopening more of our economy, restarting more of our public services, and seeing more of our family and friends.

And of course – the tally of total deaths that I have reported is a constant reminder, and should continue to be a constant reminder, of the human toll of this virus and why our efforts to contain, control and hopefully eliminate it are so important.

Everyone who has died due to this illness was a unique and irreplaceable individual, whose loss right now is a source of grief to many. I want again today to send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one as a result of COVID-19.

And again let me express my thanks to our health and our care workers and indeed to all our key workers – the progress we have made to date is in no small part due to your dedication. The entire country is grateful to you for everything you have done, and indeed, everything you continue to do.

I have two key points I want to briefly update on today. The first relates to public finances and the economy – and I am joined today by Kate Forbes, the Finance Secretary.

Today – and I will return to this briefly at the end of my remarks – we are seeing the reopening of significant parts of our economy. And later this afternoon, I will be discussing how we continue that restart safely and sustainably, at one of the Scottish Government’s regular meetings with the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

In addition, the Scottish Government has published a paper today, which puts forward some hopefully constructive proposals for how the UK as a whole can and needs to stimulate economic growth in a way that is both fair and sustainable.

The paper proposes an £80 billion stimulus programme – roughly comparable in ambition to the one Germany has recently adopted – and it has a particular focus on investment in low carbon and digital infrastructure. Our proposals would also provide an employment guarantee for young people.

We are also suggesting a temporary cut in VAT to boost consumption – with especially low rates for our hospitality and tourism sectors because they have been particularly hard hit and are likely to be hit for even longer than some other parts of our economy.

And alongside those UK-wide proposals, we propose that Scotland should gain greater financial powers – for example over borrowing – so that we can shape our own response to the economic implications of the pandemic.

The economic crisis caused by COVID-19 is undoubtedly the most serious of our lifetimes. The Scottish Government’s proposals are therefore ambitious, but also practical, and sustainable – and we believe they would benefit not just Scotland but the whole of the UK.

Central to them is the strong belief that the austerity mistake of the post financial crash period must not be repeated and that debt must be managed over a longer time period. We hope that these proposals will be considered seriously – and we will of course happily discuss the details of them with the UK Government. 

The second issue I want to talk about is the issue of air bridges.

The UK Government made its announcement on what are called air bridges – which allow travel to and from certain countries without quarantine restrictions – unfortunately without any prior consultation at all with the Scottish Government.

As a result, we are still considering our response and our own proposals. The Justice Secretary, Humza Yousaf, was part of a four-way phone discussion with Michael Gove and the other devolved administrations earlier today. 

This is an issue on which we have tried very hard to work closely with the UK Government and other devolved administrations. And we can and do of course see the benefits of adopting a consistent approach across all parts of the UK.

However, we also know that quarantine measures – albeit perhaps on a more targeted basis in future – may become more important in Scotland, rather than less, as our infection rates fall, since then the relative impact of new cases from outside Scotland potentially become greater.

And of course the prospect of cases coming in from elsewhere poses a risk, not just to health but also to our economy.

We therefore want to take a bit of time to consider the public health impact of the UK Government’s proposals as well as the data and evidence underpinning them, which hopefully we will see before too long, and we will make a further announcement once we have had the opportunity to do so.

The final point I want to make relates once again to our key public health measures.

As I said earlier on, today sees a significant resumption of activity in key public services and in our economy. Optometry services for example are now resuming and, from today, women who had a cervical cancer screening scheduled before that service was paused can contact their GP to arrange a new appointment.

In terms of the economy many factories, warehouses and laboratories can now reopen, the construction sector can move to the next phase of its reopening plan, house moves can also resume.

And of course, most non-essential retail premises are able to reopen from today with appropriate physical distancing measures in place.

We’re also recommending that everyone should wear a face covering in a shop, unless for example you have a medical condition which makes that difficult.

But I would strongly urge everyone else to wear a face covering. It is a way in which you can protect other people, you’re less likely to transmit the virus to them if you are waiting one, and everyone else who is wearing a face covering is, in turn, helping to protect you.

I know that wearing face coverings takes some getting used to but please get into the habit of it now because it does add to the protections we want to confer on each other, and it is one measure that helps us to reduce the risk of the transmission of COVID-19.

This gradual reopening of our economy and our public services is of course very welcome and it has been very hard-earned by everybody across the country.

And of course the figures I’ve just reported demonstrate once again just how much progress we have made in recent weeks, but please don’t think because of this that life should be completely back to normal, or that the risk of COVID has somehow disappeared. It has not disappeared, the virus has not gone away.

There are still, as I reported today, hundreds of people in Scotland in hospital as a result of the virus, there are still new people becoming infected every day.

And, although those numbers are low, this is a virus that we know is still highly infectious and very dangerous, and it will start to spread rapidly again if we give it the opportunity to do so.

So please, even as we all go out and about more and do more things, do not give it that opportunity to spread. Our public health campaign, FACTS, summarises the key points that all of us need to remember and to abide by.

Firstly, face coverings should be worn in enclosed spaces such as shops, they are already mandatory on public transport.

Second, avoid crowded places – crowded places are a danger, even if they are outdoors.

Third, clean your hands and hard surfaces that you touch regularly.

Fourth, two-metre distancing remains the advice.

And lastly, self-isolate and immediately book a test if you have any of the symptoms of COVID-19.

If all of us remember these five basic measures, then all of us can help to stay safe ourselves, help to protect others and, ultimately help to save lives.

So please continue to do all of that and to stick with these rules. If you do we can and we will sustain the progress we’ve all made.

My thanks again to everyone who is doing that.

I hope it is becoming clearer with every day that passes what a difference it is all making and why it is important to continue with that discipline.

Thank you very much indeed for listening. I’m going to hand now to the Finance Secretary to say a few words before we move on to questions.

Health leaders call for urgent review: “Second wave a real risk”

This open letter, signed by the Presidents of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, Nursing, Physicians, and GPs, appears in today’s British Medical Journal.

It comes the day after Boris Johnson announced a major relaxation to lockdown measures in England.

Dear leaders of UK political parties,

Several countries are now experiencing covid-19 flare-ups. While the future shape of the pandemic in the UK is hard to predict, the available evidence indicates that local flare-ups are increasingly likely and a second wave a real risk.

Many elements of the infrastructure needed to contain the virus are beginning to be put in place, but substantial challenges remain. The job now is not only to deal urgently with the wide ranging impacts of the first phase of the pandemic, but to ensure that the country is adequately prepared to contain a second phase.

You may have seen the recent editorial in The BMJ calling for a transparent rapid review of where we are and what needs to be done to prevent and prepare for a second wave.1 We believe that such a review is crucial and needs to happen soon if the public is to have confidence that the virus can be contained.

The review should not be about looking back or attributing blame. Rather it should be a rapid and forward looking assessment of national preparedness, based on an examination of the complex and inter-related policy areas listed below. These are too broad for any one of the existing select committees.

That is why a cross party commission was suggested, establishing a constructive, non-partisan, four nations approach that could rapidly produce practical recommendations for action, based on what we have all learnt, and without itself becoming a distraction for those at the front line or in government.

These recommendations should not require primary legislation or major organisational change. The approach would also help the public understand how and by whom they will be implemented. We believe this will be essential if the UK is to get ahead of the curve.

We are aware of YouGov polls showing that a majority of the public now support an “inquiry.” We also know that the prime minister and secretary of state for health and social care have received a petition from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, requesting a full public inquiry.

The group has also called for an urgent interim inquiry, which shares the same fundamental approach and objective as our suggested rapid review: that it should be forward looking, practical, responsive to what the public at large want to see happen, and focused on evaluating national preparedness in the lead up to winter, with the aim of saving lives.

We are not wedded to any particular design of inquiry or review, but as outlined in the editorial, we believe it should be quick, broad, ambitious, able to command widespread public and stakeholder trust, and needs to happen now.

It should focus on those areas of weakness where action is needed urgently to prevent further loss of life and restore the economy as fully and as quickly as possible. We believe the list below includes those areas.

As stakeholders and leaders of the UK’s medical, nursing, and public health professions, we urge you to establish such a review.

We think there’s a strong case for an immediate assessment of national preparedness, with the first results available no later than August, and that all its work should be completed by the end of October.

We don’t underestimate the complexities of establishing this in the required timeframe. We stand by ready to help in whatever way we can.

Policy areas needing rapid attention:

  • Governance including parliamentary scrutiny and involvement of regional and local structures and leaders

  • Procurement of goods and services

  • Coordination of existing structures, in a way designed to optimise the establishment of effective public health and communicable disease control infrastructure, the resilience of the NHS as a whole, and the shielding of vulnerable individuals and communities

  • The disproportionate burden on black, Asian, and minority ethnic individuals and communities

  • International collaboration, especially to mitigate any new difficulties in pandemic management due to Brexit.

Swinney rethink: schools now to open full-time in August

Deputy First Minister John Swinney yesterday updated Parliament on plans to reopen schools:

When I spoke in this chamber on the 19th March, I said that the decision to close schools was one of the very toughest we had needed to take during this crisis. My engagement with teachers, children and parents since has only served to reinforce that view.

For that reason, while it has been critical to suppress the virus, we have been clear that these closures cannot go on for a minute longer than necessary.

We want Scotland’s children back in school full time as soon as possible and as soon as it is safe to do so.

That ambition is shared within the Education Recovery Group – our partnership with local government, unions representing teachers and other school staff and parent representatives.

Presiding Officer, today, I want to set out the government’s ambitions for when that full time return to school might be.

When I published the Strategic Framework from the Education Recovery Group report on 21 May, we had a clear expectation that the outlook on Coronavirus was bleak.

At that point, there were around 20,000 people in Scotland who could transmit the infection. On 21 May, 1,318 people were in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, including 51 in intensive care. Tragically, over the course of that week 230 people passed away from the virus.

And, not only was that position bleak, but, at that time, the majority view of our Scientific Advisers was that physical distancing would be necessary if schools were to open. Blended Learning was developed therefore to restore some form of face-to-face education against that outlook.

Working through the Education Recovery Group, we built a plan – a plan based on making the very best of the very difficult circumstances that we expected to face.

It was a contingency plan that was and is necessary.  And, for the last month councils and teachers have been working hard to enact that contingency.

Presiding Officer, even while we took this work forward, we continued to make the point that we did not want to see blended learning implemented for a moment longer than necessary.

Now, thankfully, the picture looks more positive. 

Since May, because of the efforts of our fellow citizens to stay at home, we have seen Scotland make significant progress.

There are now only around 2000 infectious people in Scotland – a reduction of around 90% since May. There has been a sustained downward trend in COVID-19 deaths. Intensive care cases now stand at a fraction of what they were.

If we stay on this trajectory – which cannot be taken for granted – by August the position will be even better. That is good news.

That means we are now able to update our planning assumptions.

If we stay on track, if we all continue to do what is right, and if we can further suppress this terrible virus, the Government believes that we should prepare for children to be able to return to school full time in August.

I must stress, this is the aim that the Government is now working towards. However, because it has to be achieved safely, it inevitably remains conditional and dependent upon ongoing scientific and health advice.

Presiding Officer, this will be part of a wider approach. If we continue to make progress at the rate we envisage, by August, it is possible – though of course by no means certain – that we may have successfully achieved, or be well on the way, to Phase 4 of the Scottish Government Routemap.

I have to be honest with Parliament and admit that when we prepared our plans back in May, I frankly could not have imagined that we would be where we are now.

It is this more positive outlook that allows the Scottish Government to make  this change of planning assumption for schools.

But it is a change born out of the hard work and sacrifice of people in every part of the country, sticking to the guidance, staying at home and suppressing this virus.  In particular, we should highlight the many people who as parents have supported their children while continuing to hold down jobs and caring commitments.

It is a change born of the actions of our citizens.

They delivered it.

Now it falls to the Scottish Government, our local government colleagues, teachers and school staff to build on it.

I want to commend the work of local authorities and school and early learning and childcare staff across Scotland for the way in which they have responded to this emergency. They have worked tirelessly to protect the interests of our children and young people – through our childcare hubs, ensuring ongoing provision of free school meals, delivering remote learning, and planning for the next term.

I know they will continue to rise to the challenge as we get ready for the next school year.

Presiding Officer, that is the good news. But I must emphasise the importance of Scotland staying on track if we are to make it a reality. And we must be clear that blended learning is a contingency that we may still need to enact.

While the outlook is more positive now, there are no certainties with this virus. If there is an increase in infection rates, if there are outbreaks that require action to control, then this contingency plan could still be required.

Equally, we still need to protect those in our society who may not be able to attend school for health reasons.  All the work that has gone in to preparing blended learning models for every locality across the country has been essential preparation.  It is vital that we have these models ready if we need them because we may need to turn to them.

We must continue to ensure the safety of pupils, teachers and staff by engaging in such contingency planning, and that is why Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education will continue with their scrutiny of the plans when the latest versions are submitted by local authorities on Wednesday.

Similarly, we can only move away from blended learning if we stay on track and command the confidence of parents, teachers and children on safety.

But there are important benefits of doing so.

A return to full time schooling would enhance the life chances of our children and young people and start to reverse any damaging impacts of recent months. We know from the Lockdown Lowdown, for example, that young people are concerned about school closures, and about their mental wellbeing.

If we are in a position to ease public health measures in early learning and childcare, particularly small group working, more children and families will be able to benefit from an expanded offer in the year ahead. In parallel, we continue to work in partnership with local authorities to agree a new timetable for delivery of the 1140 hours entitlement to all eligible children.

We are already seeing other countries begin to relax their physical distancing restrictions in schools, for younger children in particular, and others are starting to plan for a more ‘normal’ return after the summer break.

The First Minister confirmed on the 15th June that we will now review the scientific assumptions underpinning education recovery as part of our statutory three-weekly review process.  This will include, for example, reviewing our approach to physical distancing in schools and equivalent measures in early learning and childcare.

As part of that review process, I have established a new sub-group of the Covid19 Advisory Group to specialise on education and children’s issues.  We will get the first review of that material later this week. I would not want to pre-empt such advice, but in order for us to realise our aim to resume full-time schooling, I would expect that various conditions would need to be in place.

First: infection rates must be at a level that is sufficiently low to provide assurance that we can continue to control the virus.

Second: we must ensure that we make use of our full public health infrastructure locally and nationally to get early warning of issues and rapid local action including test and protect.

Third: there must be the right protective measures and risk assessments in place in schools to keep everyone with higher risk factors – including teachers and staff – safe.

In addition to these, the Covid-19 Advisory Group and the new sub-group have been asked for further advice on any tests or indicators which would show we were on track.

In all of this, I will work closely with the Education Recovery Group.  Given the change in our central planning assumption to work towards full-time return to schools in August, we will continue to work together over the summer. Local authorities will then communicate arrangements for the return to school with families in due course.

We will need all possible education resources at our disposal over the next year – to compensate for the loss of learning pupils have faced, as well as to help us should we need to switch to a blended model at any stage.

Even with a return to full time education, it is imperative that we increase levels of digital inclusion, which is why we have already committed to a huge digital boost through the investment of £30 million to provide laptops for disadvantaged children and young people. This will include £25 million of funding to enable a roll out of digital devices to school pupils to enable them to study online.

Initial estimates from local authorities are that this funding will be required to provide digital devices to around 70,000 pupils, with up to 40,000 connectivity solutions also needed, although these figures are the subject of ongoing work.

I can also announce today that we will be providing a further £100 million over the next two years to help support the return to school and help children recover any lost ground. This new funding will see us invest to tackle the impact of coronavirus in our schools and ensure that children get the support they need.

We will start with teacher recruitment. Many of this year’s probationer teachers have already secured teaching posts with local authorities. We will now work with local authorities with the objective of ensuring that every probationer teacher who has reached the standard for full registration is able to secure a teaching post for the next school year.

And, of course, we will still look to encourage retired teachers and those who are not currently teaching back into the profession wherever this proves necessary.

I have asked Education Scotland to expand their partnership offer with the ESgoil digital learning platform to develop a strong national e-learning provision. This represents an opportunity to enable all pupils to access high quality lessons – by qualified teachers trained in offering high quality online learning – across as broad a range of subjects and qualification levels as possible.

Finally, while we want to support the wellbeing of all our children and young people, we know lockdown has been particularly difficult for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Reducing the poverty related attainment gap is a defining mission for this government. We will therefore be working alongside partners to increase support to those families and communities who need it most. We will also seek the involvement of the Youth Work Sector in assisting us in this challenge.

Coronavirus has had a massive impact on our education system. It will take a collective endeavour to overcome that, but we have a duty to our children and young people to come together to do just that.

They have played their part in protecting this country from the worst of the pandemic, and now we must repay them that faith by serving their needs at this critical time too.

Education Leaders at the City of Edinburgh Council have welcomed the news that schools may be back full time in August with no physical distancing measures in place.

The Council will continue to make contingency arrangements and yesterday submitted its plans for blended learning to the Scottish Government.

Councillor Ian Perry, Education Convener, said: “This is obviously welcome news and will come as a great relief to all parents and carers across the city. We will make sure we’re doing everything possible to ensure our schools are safe to reopen by following the most up to date Government and Health Protection Scotland advice.

“Obviously the major caveat to this announcement is that the suppression of Coronavirus has to stay on track. That’s why it’s so important we make sure we have robust plans for schools reopening in August with the blended model of learning that may be required.

“Our schools and other Council teams have been working tirelessly on these plans for many weeks and I want to thank them for all their efforts. We submitted our plans to the Scottish Government today and we will continue our dialogue with them over any additional funding that may still be required.

“I really hope that the virus continues to be suppressed and our contingency plans are not required. However, if they are needed, then I am confident the detailed plans we are proposing demonstrate our commitment to ensuring the best teaching and learning for all pupils across the whole city.”

Cllr Alison Dickie, Education Vice Convener, said: “I know parents will be delighted to hear the announcement that schools should be planning for 100% reopening as the past few months have put a terrible strain on family life, with many juggling work commitments and home learning.

“Ultimately though, I’m pleased for the children and young people themselves, particularly those who have already faced challenges in their daily lives and to whom school is a haven. This has been a particularly difficult time for them, and that’s why it’s important that the wellbeing of all our children be placed at the heart of their education on their return.

“Of course we need to have robust contingency plans in place and our plan has always been never to compromise on the quality of learning and teaching and to deliver it in a safe and equitable way.

“Everyone will continue working to achieve the same goal of getting every child and young person back to school where they belong and our detailed preparations for anything other than a 100% school return will continue over the summer.

“We will of course continue to communicate with parents as we move forward together and keep them updated over the summer.”

Teaching union the EIS has noted the statement from the Deputy First Minister in the Scottish Parliament about potential changes to how schools may reopen in August.

Commenting on the statement, EIS General Secretary, Larry Flanagan said, “Clearly, if the suppression of the virus continues to be successful, public health guidance may change and this will impact on schools as well as every other aspect of society.

“It would be a grave mistake, however, to believe that the virus has gone away and therefore in the event of schools reopening more fully than currently planned, appropriate mitigations must be in place to protect staff and pupils and prevent flare-ups either in terms of localised resurgence in infection or even a full second wave.

“In terms of schools, this means looking at measures already being used elsewhere such as mandatory face coverings, protective perspex shields, proactive testing of teachers and an appropriate level of physical distancing between pupils and most certainly between pupils and staff, alongside continued protections for vulnerable groups. The EIS would expect these issues to be agreed within CERG before schools could reopen more fully.

“A great deal of work at school level has already gone into planning for a blended learning model from August 11th, so any change to that will require time to adjust plans and conduct revised risk assessments. Again, this will need to be subject to discussion and agreement.

“Everyone wishes to see schools operate as normal, but this should be done in a way which is demonstrably safe for students and staff, which doesn’t undermine public health messages, and which is done with the interest of school communities being first and foremost and not political expediency.”

The Scottish Tories are taking the credit for forcing this ‘screeching U turn’.

They proclaimed on Twitter: “Our campaign to open our schools has forced the SNP government into a screeching u-turn on its plans for part-time schooling. The SNP must now deliver on its new found promise of full time schooling by August.’

UNISON’s Scottish Secretary Mike Kirby said: “This is a significant about turn which, given the lack of scientific evidence available at this stage, seems to be driven more by politics than by safety.

“The safety of staff and pupils must be paramount and any return to school must be led by the scientific evidence at that time and be dependent on crucial risk assessments to ensure everyone’s safety.

“Education budgets were already squeezed before the pandemic hit. While the Scottish Government’s pledge of £100m over the next two years to support children with their lost learning is to be welcomed, schools also face increased practical costs to implement the required safety measures.

“It is vital the Scottish Government steps up and provides local authorities with the additional funding urgently needed to ensure that schools can open safely whenever science shows the time is right.”

 

 

England’s ‘long national hibernation’ coming to an end

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement to the House on coronavirus:

Mr Speaker, before I begin, I am sure the whole House will join me in sending our deepest condolences to the families and friends of James Furlong, Joe Ritchie-Bennett and David Wails, who were brutally killed in Reading on Saturday.

To assault defenceless people in a park is not simply an act of wickedness but abject cowardice, and we will never yield to those who would seek to destroy our way of life.

Mr Speaker, with permission I will update the House on the next steps in our plan to rebuild our economy and reopen our society, while waging our struggle against Covid-19.

From the outset, we have trusted in the common sense and perseverance of the British people and their response has more than justified our faith.

Since I set out our plan on the 11th May, we have been clear that our cautious relaxation of the guidance is entirely conditional on our continued defeat of the virus.

In the first half of May, nearly 69,000 people tested positive for Covid-19 across the UK; by the first half of June, that total had fallen by nearly 70 percent to just under 22,000.

The number of new infections is now declining by between 2 and 4 percent every day.

Four weeks ago, an average of 1 in 400 people in the community in England had COVID-19; in the first half of June, this figure was 1 in 1,700.

We created a human shield around the NHS and in turn our doctors and nurses have protected us, and together we have saved our hospitals from being overwhelmed.

On the 11th May, 1,073 people were admitted to hospital in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with Covid-19, by 20th June, this had fallen by 74 per cent to 283.

This pandemic has inflicted permanent scars and we mourn everyone we have lost.

Measured by a seven-day rolling average, the number of daily deaths peaked at 943 on the 14th April, on 11th May it was 476, and yesterday, the rolling average stood at 130.

We have ordered over 2.2 billion items of protective equipment from UK based manufacturers, many of whose production lines have been called into being to serve this new demand – and yesterday, we conducted or posted 139,659 tests, bringing the total to over 8 million.

And while we remain vigilant, we do not believe there is currently a risk of a second peak of infections that might overwhelm the NHS.

Taking everything together, we continue to meet our five tests and the Chief Medical Officers of all four home nations have downgraded the UK’s Covid Alert Level from four to three, meaning that we no longer face a virus spreading exponentially, though it remains in general circulation.

The administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland hold responsibility for their own lockdown restrictions and they will respond to the united view of the Chief Medical Officers at their own pace, based on their own judgment, but all parts of the UK are now travelling in the same direction and we will continue to work together to ensure that everyone in our country gets the support they need.

Thanks to our progress, we can now go further and safely ease the lockdown in England.

At every stage, caution will remain our watchword, and each step will be conditional and reversible.

Mr Speaker, given the significant fall in the prevalence of the virus, we can change the two-metre social distancing rule, from 4th July.

I know this rule effectively makes life impossible for large parts of our economy, even without other restrictions.

For example, it prevents all but a fraction of our hospitality industry from operating.

So that is why almost two weeks ago, I asked our experts to conduct a review and I will place a summary of their conclusions in the libraries of both Houses this week.

Where it is possible to keep 2 metres apart, people should.

But where it is not, we will advise people to keep a social distance of ‘one metre plus’, meaning they should remain one metre apart, while taking mitigations to reduce the risk of transmission.

We are today publishing guidance on how businesses can reduce the risk by taking certain steps to protect workers and customers.

These include, for instance, avoiding face-to-face seating by changing office layouts, reducing the number of people in enclosed spaces, improving ventilation, using protective screens and face coverings, closing non-essential social spaces, providing hand sanitiser and changing shift patterns so that staff work in set teams.

And of course, we already mandate face coverings on public transport.

Whilst the experts cannot give a precise assessment of how much the risk is reduced, they judge these mitigations would make “1 metre plus” broadly equivalent to the risk at 2 metres if those mitigations are fully implemented.

Either will be acceptable and our guidance will change accordingly.

This vital change enables the next stage of our plan to ease the lockdown.

Mr Speaker, I am acutely conscious people will ask legitimate questions about why certain activities are allowed and others are not.

I must ask the House to understand that the virus has no interest in these debates.

Its only interest, its only ambition is to exploit any opportunities is to recapture ground that we might carelessly vacate.

There is one certainty: the fewer social contacts you have, the safer you will be.

My duty, our duty as the Government, is to guide the British people, balancing our overriding aim of controlling the virus against our natural desire to bring back normal life.

We cannot lift all the restrictions at once, so we have to make difficult judgments, and every step is scrupulously weighed against the evidence.

Our principle is to trust the British public to use their common sense in the full knowledge of the risks, remembering that the more we open up, the more vigilant we will need to be.

From now on we will ask people to follow guidance on social contact instead of legislation.

In that spirit we advise that from 4 July, two households of any size should be able to meet in any setting inside or out.

That does not mean they must always be the same two households.

It will be possible for instance to meet one set of grandparents one weekend, and the others the following weekend.

We are not recommending meetings of multiple households indoors because of the risk of creating greater chains of transmission.

Outside, the guidance remains that people from several households can meet in groups of up to six, and it follows that two households can also meet, regardless of size.

Mr Speaker, I can tell the House that we will also re-open restaurants and pubs. All hospitality indoors will be limited to table-service, and our guidance will encourage minimal staff and customer contact.

We will ask businesses to help NHS Test and Trace respond to any local outbreaks by collecting contact details from customers, as happens in other countries, and we will work with the sector to make this manageable.

Almost as eagerly awaited as a pint will be a haircut, particularly by me, and so we will re-open hairdressers, with appropriate precautions, including the use of visors.

We also intend to allow some other close contact services, such as nail bars, to re-open as soon as we can, when we are confident they can operate in a Covid-secure way.

From 4th July, provided that no more than two households stay together,  people will be free to stay overnight in self-contained accomodation, including hotels and bed & breakfasts, as well as campsites as long as shared facilities are kept clean.

Most leisure facilities and tourist attractions will reopen if they can do so safely, including outdoor gyms and playgrounds, cinemas, museums, galleries, theme parks and arcades as well as libraries, social clubs and community centres.

“Close proximity” venues such as nightclubs, soft-play areas, indoor gyms, swimming pools and spas will need to remain closed for now, as will bowling alleys and water parks.

But my Right Honourable Friends the Business and Culture Secretaries will establish taskforces with public health experts and these sectors to help them become Covid-secure and re-open as soon as possible.

We will also work with the arts industry on specific guidance to enable choirs, orchestras and theatres to resume live performances as soon as possible.

Recreation and sport will be allowed, but indoor facilities, including changing rooms and courts, will remain closed and people should only play close contact team sports with members of their household.

Mr Speaker, I know that many have mourned the closure of places of worship, and this year, Easter, Passover and Eid all occurred during the lockdown.

So I am delighted that places of worship will be able to reopen for prayer and services – including weddings with a maximum of 30 people, all subject to social distancing.

Meanwhile, our courts, probation services, police stations and other public services will increasingly resume face-to-face proceedings.

Wrap-around care for school age children and formal childcare will restart over the summer.

Primary and secondary education will recommence in September with full attendance and those children who can already go to school should do so – because it is safe.

Mr Speaker, we will publish Covid-secure guidelines for every sector that is re-opening, and slowly but surely, these measures will restore a sense of normality.

After the toughest restrictions in peacetime history, we are now able to make life easier for people to see more of their friends and families and to help businesses get back on their feet and get people back into work.

But the virus has not gone away.

We will continue to monitor the data with the Joint Biosecurity Centre and our ever more effective Test and Trace system.

And I must be clear to the House, that as we have seen in other countries, there will be flare-ups for which local measures will be needed and we will not hesitate to apply the brakes and re-introduce restrictions even at national level – if required.

So I urge everyone to stay alert, control the virus and save lives.

Let’s keep washing our hands, staying 2 metres apart wherever feasible, and mitigating the risks at 1 metre where not, avoiding public transport when possible, and wearing a mask when not, getting tested immediately if we have symptoms, and self-isolating if instructed by NHS Test and Trace.

Today, we can say that our long national hibernation is beginning to come to an end and life is returning to our shops, streets and homes and a new, but cautious, optimism is palpable.

But it would be all too easy for that frost to return and that is why we will continue to trust in the common sense and the community spirit of the British people to follow this guidance, to carry us through and see us to victory over this virus.

I commend Mr Speaker this Statement to the House.

Commenting on the Prime Minister’s announcement, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Many people will jump at the chance to see more family and friends, and visit pubs and restaurants, but others will be understandably cautious.

“Good public services need a thriving economy and the spectre of mass unemployment – particularly among the young – must be avoided.

“But the slow return to normal must happen safely. Squandering the lockdown sacrifices ​and progress made in the past three months would be foolish.

“All workplaces opening up must make proper risk assessments of the virus threat. Avoiding ​a second wave in the autumn and preventing the NHS, social care ​and other public services from being overwhelmed ​is vital.”

 

Briggs: Unsatisfactory level of Covid-19 testing in Lothian care homes

Lothian MSP Miles Briggs says that the level of Covid-19 testing in care homes still falls well below the level expected.

The latest figures published by the Scottish Government on care home testing shows that 3,345 cumulative tests have been carried out on care home staff, and 2,840 cumulative tests have been carried out and care home residents, as of 14th June.

In Edinburgh and the Lothian only 646 care home staff and 376 care home residents tests were carried out between 8-14 June – despite a promise made last month by SNP Health Secretary Jeane Freeman that all care home staff would be tested.

Mr Briggs has questioned SNP Ministers commitment to testing, which he has repeatedly expressed his concerns about since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.

There are an estimated 53,000 care home staff across Scotland.

Conservative Health spokesman Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “SNP Ministers have shown an unsatisfactory approach to testing, since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak and testing does not appear to be a central part of the Scottish Governments response to Covid-19.

“The SNP Minister for Health, Jeane Freeman, has shown that she is not committed to her promise last month that all care home staff would be tested.

“The level of testing that has been carried out through Edinburgh and the Lothians has simply not been good enough.

“A deadline must be confirmed for when all Care Home staff will be routinely tested for Covid-19 to keep care home staff and residents safe.”

Rehabilitation support available to Covid-19 patients in Edinburgh and Lothians

Lothian MSP Miles Briggs has praised Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland’s work to reform the way people with lung conditions access rehabilitation and support.

Covid-19 is expected to lead to a dramatic increase in the numbers of people managing what will possibly be long-term lung conditions and needing support for rehab and recovery.

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland have been working with NHS Lothian to make rehabilitation support to accessible to patients who are recovering from Covid-19.

A total of 2,807 people in NHS Lothian have been confirmed as having Covid-19 since that start of the outbreak.

As of 16 June, 131 patients were in NHS Lothian hospitals with Covid-19, 193 patients with suspected Covid-19 and 6 patients in Intensive Care.

3,929 patients who have tested positive for Covid-19, who have previously required hospital treatment, have now been discharged from hospital since the start of the outbreak, with the most serious cases having longer term conditions.

A full list of measures put into place by NHS Lothian and CHSS Scotland is included below.

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “I am pleased that NHS Lothian have put a range of measures in place to support survivors who have had severe cases of Covid-19.

“Having rehabilitation support in place for patients is crucial for their recovery and quality of life after having Coronavirus.

“The Covid-19 pandemic will have an impact on NHS Scotland for years to come, with increased waiting times for treatments.

“Prevention and recovery will be more important than ever for keeping people in Scotland healthy.

“I have called on SNP Ministers to develop a national Covid-19 rehab strategy to support people who will have long term health conditions from contracting Covid-19.”

Measures put into place by NHS Lothian and CHSS

Establishment of a comprehensive rehabilitation and support pathway for survivors of severe COVID across all three Lothian acute sites.

An Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) discusses all cases weekly, and agrees personalised requirements for physiotherapy, dietetics, Occupational Therapy (OT), and Speech and Language Therapist (SLT).

In addition, all patients have psychological review and support.

Case management is coordinated by an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) trained nurse, who uses previously established pathways to liaise with relevant health-social care hubs, GPs, pharmacy, and other community based services in relation to anticipatory discharge planning and support post discharge.

Rehabilitation services at Astley Ainslie Hospital (AAH) join the weekly Multidisciplinary Team and where appropriate review patients and transfer them at an appropriate time to the AAH.

NHS Lothian are also working with Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) to liaise with their community staff (who are linked with the Managed Clinical Network (MCN) for respiratory).

NHS Lothian are producing a patient/family information resource for COVID survivors in collaboration with CHSS (funded in part by the Edinburgh and Lothian Health Foundation).

There has also been a community advice line resource set up by therapists in Edinburgh which allows patients to access community services such as pulmonary rehabilitation’.