Tag: Politics

Hancock urges England to ‘stick with the rules’

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock gave the 15 May 2020 daily press briefing on the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He urged people to stick to the newly relaxed lockdown rules, but with a weekend of sunshine forecast beauty spots and seaside resorts are braced for high numbers of visitors – and all the challenges and dangers that will bring.

NOTE: England’s guidance now differs from that of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Good afternoon and welcome to Downing Street for the daily coronavirus briefing. I’m joined by the Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries and by NHS England’s Medical Director for Primary Care Dr Nikki Kanani.

I want to take this chance to update you on the latest coronavirus data. 2,353,078 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the UK, including 133,784 tests yesterday.

236,711 people have tested positive for the virus, an increase of 3,560 since yesterday. 10,024 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus. This is a 13% fall from the same time last week.

And very sadly of those who tested positive, across all settings, 33,998 people have now died. That’s an increase of 384 since yesterday. And we mourn each one. The number of deaths is falling each day, in all settings thankfully, and we are past the peak of this virus.

I want to take a moment to remind everyone about our plans for this second phase. We have set up the new COVID Alert Level System. That’s the five levels of threat – based on the R value and the number of new cases.

The alert level in turn guides the social distancing rules, which are vital in our efforts to control the virus.

A higher alert level means stricter rules. Throughout the lockdown, we have been at Level 4 which means that Covid-19 is in general circulation and transmission is high or rising exponentially.

But, thanks to your shared sacrifice, we’ve brought R down. Cautiously, carefully and responsibly, we are now in a position to start moving to Level 3.

We’ve set out the first of the three steps that we’ll take to carefully to modify the social distancing rules and start to restore freedom to this country all the while avoiding a disastrous second peak that could overwhelm the NHS.

At each step, we will closely monitor the impact on R, on the number of new infections, and on of course all available data. And we’ll only move to the next step when we judge it is safe to do so.

In the first step, as of this week if you work but can’t work from home, you should speak to your employer about going back in. People can now spend time outdoors and exercise as often as you like and you can meet one other person from outside your household in an outdoor, public place. But please keep 2 metres apart.

This weekend, with the good weather and the new rules, I hope people can enjoy being outside but please stick with the rules, keep an eye on your family and don’t take risks.

We’ve also updated what we’re asking to people to do, which is to Stay Alert, Control the Virus and Save Lives.

For the vast majority of people, staying alert still means staying at home as much as is possible. Working from home when you can, limiting contact with people, keeping your distance if you go out: 2 metres wherever possible. washing your hands regularly. This is still the single most effective thing that you can do to keep yourself safe and of course, self-isolating if you or anyone in your household has coronavirus symptoms.

By staying alert and following the rules, you can play a part in the national effort getting the R down and keeping R down controlling the virus so that we can save lives, rebuild livelihoods and start to recover our freedom.

First Minister: polling support for Scotland’s lockdown

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House on Friday 15th May:

Good afternoon. Thanks for joining us for today’s briefing.

I want to start – as I always do – with a statistical update on COVID-19 in Scotland.

As at 9 o’clock this morning, I can report that there have been 14,260 positive cases confirmed – an increase of 143 since yesterday.

A total of 1,449 patients are in hospital with the virus – 1,066 of them have been confirmed through a test as having COVID-19, and 383 are suspected of having the virus. That overall number represents a decrease of 31 since yesterday.

A total of 71 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 – which is no change since the figure I reported to you here yesterday.

I am also able to confirm that since 5 March, a total of 3,290 patients who had tested positive and required hospitalisation for the virus have now been able to leave hospital, which is good news for them and their families.

Unfortunately I also have to report that in the last 24 hours, 46 deaths have been registered of patients who had been confirmed through a test as having the virus – that takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 2,053.

As always, because it is so important every single day that we never see these numbers as statistics, as always I want to stress that point. Behind every single one of these statistics I read out to you here today, is an individual whose loss is being mourned by friends, family and all of their loved ones.

I want to send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this virus. The thoughts of me, the government and I’m sure everybody across Scotland are very much with you at this time.

I also want to thank – as I always do – again, our health and care workers.  Once again last night, I joined with people across the country, in the applause at 8pm.  That is a small – but I hope powerful – way of demonstrating our deep appreciation, our ongoing appreciation for your incredible efforts at this very, very challenging time.

There are of course many, many other people who, in various different ways, are keeping the country going during this crisis. I can’t list all of them every day, but if you are in any of these categories know my deep appreciation and gratitude is with all of you. From time to time, I want to single out particular groups of workers so that they know that their efforts are not forgotten at this time.

Today I’m going to highlight the role of our telecoms workers and especially telecoms engineers.

The fact that we are being forced to stay physically distant from each other, has made many of us rely more than ever on technology. We’re reliant much more now on technology for access to public services.  Our children are relying on technology for access to education.  Many are working from home and need technology for that. We’re all using technology for staying in touch with family and friends at a time when we cannot physically see them.

So the contribution of those who keep all of these systems working, our phones and our broadband networks going at this time are so important to our everyday lives. That is true at all times but it is particularly true right now so I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to all of you.

I’m going to keep my general update today relatively brief.

As you know, the lock down restrictions here in Scotland remain very much in place. The message to you today, over the weekend and into next week, is still stay at home. The only change we’ve made to the guidance in place, which of course we announced last weekend, is the change on exercise.

That position we have in Scotland, now I want to be very clear, continues to be based on our assessment of the evidence – and on what we judge is right for the protection of people across the country.

However, as I also said on Sunday, we will continue to monitor the evidence very closely on an ongoing basis. And as we hopefully see more evidence of a downward trend in the virus – we will then consider further changes, but we will do so on a very careful and gradual basis.

When we know that lives are at stake and we have learned that everyday over these past seven or eight weeks as I’ve stood up here day in day out and read out numbers of people who have died. We do know that lives are at stake with this virus.

Then for as long as that continues to be the case, I’m going to continue to err on the side of caution, err on the side of saving lives and reducing the number of people who might die unnecessarily.

And I hope I have your continued understanding in doing so.

However, I also want to give you as much visibility and advance notice of future changes as possible.

We can’t live like this forever so we need to get some normality back as we continue to suppress the virus. We’ve tried to set out, as we have done in recent weeks on an ongoing basis, as much of our thinking and consideration as we can. As we can’t yet confirm dates of when things will open up again, at least we will seek to share with you share the order of priority and potential phasing.

So I will give you an indication now that next week, I will share with you more information on the assessments we are making and the range of options that we are looking at and any further minor changes that we might make in the short term.

And, as I have said before, as we make these decisions fairness and quality of life will be really important factors.

We are, of course, keen to get the economy moving again – I am very keen to get the economy moving again – that matters to all of us, not just to businesses.

But we also have to consider very carefully our social interactions.

A life where we go to work but stay locked down with no family interaction for the rest of the time is not one that many of us, if any of us, would enjoy.

So given that we are likely to have for quite a while to come very limited room for manoeuvre – and I want to stress that is the case –  we will need to get these balances as right as possible. That’s why we are paying close attention to the ideas that many of you are taking the time to share us.

Our considerations will be informed, as we have always said, by the scientific evidence and advice and the clear principles we have set out.

In all of this continuing to set out clearly to you why we are asking you to live your lives in such a restrictive way is vital – so that you understand we are not asking you to do this for no reason and will not ask you to do this for any longer than we judge to be necessary.

It is not enough, and never be enough in my view, for me simply to tell you what I want you to do. I have to explain, I’ve got a duty to explain to you, on an ongoing basis my reasons for it.

Compliance with any measures we may need to keep in place will, I think, always be higher if I am clear, rational and straight with you about the difficult judgements they are based on.

So on that theme, I thought I’d just very briefly share with you today the results of some polling on attitudes that we have undertaken.

And you’ll understand that we do this just to check that the messages that we are trying to convey are being understood and getting across.

Though I’m not complacent about this at all, this polling that I’m going to share with you suggests that the really important bond of understanding between government and you, the public in Scotland, right now is currently very strong. And I want to do everything I can to keep it that way.

The polling reveals that there is widespread endorsement for the approach that we are taking in Scotland.

So, for example:

  • 84% of you agree with a slow and gradual lifting of restrictions
  • 82% of you agree that before further significant changes to lockdown restrictions are brought in, the impact of those already introduced should be assessed
  • 86% continue to agree that decisions on when and how to lift restrictions must be based on saving lives and protecting the NHS

So, I want to take the opportunity again today to thank you for your support. These last few weeks have truly been a collective endeavour – we’ve all been making sacrifices not just for our own sake, but for the sake of each other as well.

We’ve been putting those values I keep talking about – of love, kindness and solidarity – into practice.

My ask of you is that we keep doing so for a bit longer. Let me, therefore, end with this fundamental point.

The way in which we save lives, but also the way we emerge from this lockdown that bit more quickly, is by sticking now with the current guidance.

So before I hand over firstly to the Chief Nursing Officer, and then to our National Clinical Director, I want to reiterate – once again – what that guidance says.

Please stay at home.   Except for essential work that you can’t do at home, for buying food or accessing medicines, or for exercising, you should not be going out.

Of course, you can now exercise more than once a day, if you want to. But when you are out, please stay more than two metres from other people and don’t meet up with people from other households.

Please wear a face covering if you are in a shop or on public transport. And remember to wash your hands thoroughly and regularly.

Finally, if you or someone else in your household has symptoms of the virus, then please stay at home completely.

I know that these restrictions are tough, I say this every day but I’m always conscious on a Friday of just how much tougher these restrictions feel for all of us over the weekend, particularly when the sun is out, which as we know, is sometimes a rare occasion in our country.

But these restrictions are essential for now and crucially, and this is the point I really want to leave you with – they are making a difference and I hope you can see that in the statistics, albeit the difficult statistics that I’m sharing with you everyday.

By staying at home we are slowing down the spread of this virus, we are protecting the NHS, we are undoubtedly saving lives and we’re also bringing much closer that day when we can start that return to normality.

So thank you very much for doing the right thing. Thank you for the sacrifices you are making. Please keep doing it. For your own sake and your families sake and for the sake of everybody across the country. Thank you very much indeed for listening and I’m going to handover now to Fiona McQueen, our Chief Nursing Officer, and then to Professor Leitch, our National Clinical Director.

Grave concerns over low income familes: charities write to First Minister

‘Families that were already more likely to experience poverty – such as lone parent families – are being particularly impacted, and are being pulled deeper into poverty.’

Dear First Minister,

As a broad coalition of national organisations, community groups, academics, trade unions and faith groups who share a concern for the wellbeing of families across the country, we are writing to you today to express our grave concern.

The coronavirus crisis is putting low income families under financial strain which risks long term consequences for Scotland’s children.

We have all welcomed your government’s commitment to ending child poverty, the leadership that you have shown in setting the 2030 child poverty targets, and the continued prioritisation of the Scottish Child Payment as a key policy supporting these ambitions.

It is vital that the coronavirus crisis does not undermine these goals. That is why we have also warmly welcomed the significant support already provided by the Scottish Government in response to the crisis, including through the Wellbeing Fund and additional investment in the Scottish Welfare Fund.

We have appreciated the opportunities many of us have had to engage with your Ministers and officials to help inform your government’s response.

However, despite this support, and uplifts to UK benefits, families across Scotland are struggling to stay afloat.

Families that were already more likely to experience poverty – such as lone parent families – are being particularly impacted, and are being pulled deeper into poverty.

This is particularly true as women are more likely to be experiencing poverty, have disproportionate responsibility for caring for children and account for 91% of lone parents. Women’s poverty is inextricably interlinked with child poverty.

It is clear that progress on tackling child poverty is being put at huge risk.

An out of work family with two children is still being left with an income 20% below the poverty line, a poverty line that in itself is well below the income the general public believe is needed for a minimum socially acceptable standard of living.

The families that many of our organisations work with are reporting increased financial stress and associated anxiety, loneliness, and more complex mental health problems. The charitable hardship funds many of us operate have come under massively increased pressure, with, for example, a 1400% increase in demand for Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund.

In the face of this increased hardship our organisations continue to call for the UK Government to take action to ensure that UK social security system protects people from poverty.

However, we believe that where any level of government can do more to loosen the grip of poverty then it must.

We therefore believe that the time has come to build on the existing investments made by your government and the emergency provision provided by children’s charities and others, and provide a direct financial boost to all low income families. The £10 per week Scottish Child Payment will be a vital lifeline, but will not start to be delivered until next year. Families need a lifeline now to help them weather this storm.

We call on you to use every tool at your government’s disposal to deliver an emergency package of financial support to all low income families – a package we believe should amount to at least the equivalent of £10 per week per child.

Options for delivering such an emergency package that we have identified include the following:

  • Using Best Start legislation and payment systems to introduce new or increased payments of Best Start Grants.
  • Investing further in the Scottish Welfare Fund to provide a new coronavirus crisis grant for all low income families, whilst retaining and boosting the capacity of the existing Fund to support all those facing income crisis.
  • Increasing School Clothing Grant payments.
  • Topping up benefits that go to families to help with the costs of raising children – many organisations have called on the UK Government to increase child benefit, the child element of Universal Credit, and child tax credit in response to the crisis. The Scottish Government also has the powers to top up UK benefits.
  • Using local government powers to provide payments to advance the wellbeing of children, for example under s22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 or via financial support under the power in s20 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003.  These could be used to provide equivalent financial support, particularly to families with no recourse to public funds.

Additional targeted support could include:

  • Increase the value of Best Start Foods.
  • Providing a crisis grant for families awaiting their first Universal Credit payment.
  • To support families impacted by the two-child limit, by making additional direct payments to families affected. Larger families were at increased risk of poverty even before the current COVID-19 crisis.
  • To further increase the Discretionary Housing Payment budget, and direct local authorities to target additional funds towards those affected by the benefit cap. By increasing the DHP budget, those households impacted by the benefit cap can receive the additional support they need.

We understand that to identify the most effective delivery option, judgements will need to be made based on organisational capacity within local authorities and Social Security Scotland, and the ability to engage and work with UK agencies. It may well be that a combination of the options is needed to deliver this quickly.

Whatever approach is taken the overriding priority must be to use the powers and structures available in Scotland to give an immediate cash boost to all low income families to support them through the current crisis.

This will be an essential foundation on which to build the full package of financial, practical and emotional support needed to protect children’s wellbeing as we transition from the crisis to recovery, in line with the principles in your government’s Covid-19 Framework for Decision Making.

We are keen to work with you constructively to find practical and effective ways of achieving this, and look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

SallyAnn Kelly, CEO Aberlour

Paul Carberry, Director for Scotland, Action for Children

Martin Crewe, Director, Barnardo’s Scotland

John Dickie, Director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland

Jackie Brock, Chief Executive, Children in Scotland

Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive, Children 1st

Satwat Rehman, Chief Executive, OPFS

Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland

Peter Kelly, Director, The Poverty Alliance

Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland, Save the Children

Tracey McFall, CEO, Partners in Advocacy

Dr Neil Henery, Director, Camphill Scotland

Clare Cable, Chief Executive and Nurse Director, Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland

Alistair Brown, National Director, Scottish Association of Social Work

Justina Murray, CEO, Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs

Ewan Aitken, Chief Executive, Cyrenians

Martin Dorchester, Chief Executive, Includem

Janis McDonald, Chief Officer, deafscotland

Professor Ian Welsh OBE, Chief Executive, Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE)

Prof Morag Treanor, Heriot-Watt University

Nancy Loucks, CEO, Families Outside

Matt Forde, National Head of Service, NSPCC Scotland

Ella Simpson, Chief Executive, EVOC

Duncan Dunlop, CEO, Who Cares? Scotland

Jimmy Wilson, CEO, FARE Scotland

Dr Anne Mullin, Chair, the Deep End Group Scotland

Craig Samuel, NAWRA representative Scotland

Jo Derrick, CEO, Staf

Dr Hayley Bennett, Social Policy Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh

Prof Adrian Sinfield, University of Edinburgh

Claire Burns, Director, CELCIS

David Thomson, Destiny Church

Dr Hartwig Pautz, Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences at the University of the West of Scotland and co-lead of the UWS-Oxfam Partnership

Mike J Kirby, Scottish Secretary, UNISON

Professor Mhairi Mackenzie, Professor of Public Policy, University of Glasgow

Nick Bailey, Professor of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow

Graeme McAlister, Chief Executive, Scottish Childminding Association

Colin Flinn, Chief Executive, Royal Caledonian Education Trust

Mark O’Donnell, Chief Executive, Royal Blind

Douglas Guest, Acting Director for Scotland, Home-Start UK Scotland   

Billy Watson, Chief Executive, Scottish Association for Mental Health

  Alan Thornburrow, Director, Business in the Community Scotland

Juliet Harris, Director, Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights)

Bernard Harris, Professor of Social Policy, University of Strathclyde

Janet Haugh, Chief Executive, Ypeople

Cath Morrison, Chief Executive, The Lilias Graham Trust

Dr Mhairi Crawford, Chief Executive, LGBT Youth Scotland

Pat Rafferty, Scottish Secretary, Unite the Union

Professor Stephen Sinclair, Co-Director, Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University 

Professor John McKendrick, Co-Director, Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University

Professor Sharon Wright, Professor of Social Policy, University of Glasgow

Hugh Foy, Director of Programmes and Partnerships, UK Region Xaverian Missionaries

Professor Chik Collins, Rector (Vice Chancellor) of the University of the Faroe Islands

Shaben Begum, Director, Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance

Dr David Walsh, Public Health Programme Manager, Glasgow Centre for Population Health

Emma Revie, Chief Executive, The Trussell Trust

Professor Steve Turner, Scottish Officer, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

Kate Wimpress, Chair, SURF – Scotland’s Regeneration Forum

Angela Moohan, Chief Executive Officer, The Larder West Lothian

Nathan Sparling, Chief Executive, HIV Scotland

Neil Mathers, Chief Executive, Children’s University Scotland

Steven McCluskey, Chairperson, Bikes for Refugees

Margo Uprichard, CEO, The Louise Project

Clare Simpson, Manager, Parenting across Scotland

Ron Culley, Chief Executive, Quarriers

Jane Brumpton, Chief Executive, Early Years Scotland.

Hazel Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Cornerstone

Anne F.Meikle, Convenor, Scottish Women’s Budget Group

Larry Flanagan, General Secretary, EIS

Douglas Hamilton, former Chair of the Poverty and Inequality Commission

Emily Beardsmore, CEO, Light Up Learning

Virginia Radcliffe, CEO, Licketyspit

Roz Foyer, General Secretary Designate, STUC

Marie Ward, Chief Executive Officer, Cranhill Development Trust

Ian Bruce, Chief Executive, Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector (GCVS)

Jacqui Hardie, Executive Strategic Manager, Fife Gingerbread

Professor Mike Danson, Chair, CBINS (Citizen’s Basic Income Network Scotland)

Shona Blakeley, Executive Director, Women’s Fund for Scotland

Emma Jackson, National Director Scotland, Christians Against Poverty

Sharon Colvin, CEO, 3D Drumchapel

Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary, NASUWT

Maragret Nakityo, Secretary, Afreshe

Traci Kirkland, Head of Charity, Govan Community Project

Rachel Sutherland, Bureau Manager, East & Central Sutherland Citizens Advice Bureau

Bishop Nolan, President, Justice and Peace Scotland

Jim McCormick, Associate Director for Scotland, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Russell Gunson, Director, IPPR Scotland

Frazer Scott, CEO, Energy Action Scotland

Anna Ritchie Allan, Executive Director, Close the Gap

Tim Frew, Chief Executive, YouthLink Scotland

Shruti Jain, Chair, Saheliya 

Marguerite Hunter Blair, Chief Executive, Play Scotland

Linda Tuthill, CEO, The Action Group

Rami Okasha, Chief Executive, CHAS

Irene Audain MBE, Chief Executive, Scottish Out of School Care Network

Rachel Adamson, Co-Director, Zero Tolerance

Dr Marsha Scott, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Women’s Aid

Dave Liddell, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Drugs Forum

Sharon McAulay, Project Manager, STAR Project

Danny Collins, National President, Society of St Vincent de Paul (Scotland)

Emma Ritch, Executive Director, Engender

Back To Work: England pushes ahead with lockdown relaxations

Business Secretary Alok Sharma gave the UK Government’s 12 May daily press briefing on the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic:

Good afternoon. I am joined today by Professor Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England and Sarah Albon who is the Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive.

First, I want to update you on the latest data on the coronavirus response.

2,007,146 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the UK, including 85,293 tests carried out yesterday.

226,463 people have tested positive, that’s an increase of 3,403 cases since yesterday.

11,605 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus, up from 11,465 the previous day

And sadly, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 32,692 have now died. That’s an increase of 627 fatalities since yesterday.

This is of course devastating news for families across the UK, and we all need to stay alert and control the virus.

I just want to remind people of the details of the next phase of our fight against coronavirus that we set out this week.

If we turn to the first slide, in order to monitor our progress, we are establishing a new COVID Alert Level System, with five levels, each relating to the level of threat posed by the virus.

The alert level will be based primarily on the R value and the number of coronavirus cases.

And in turn that alert level will determine the level of social distancing measures in place.

The lower the level the fewer the measures; the higher the level the stricter the measures.

The social distancing measures remain critical in our efforts to control the virus.

Throughout the period of lockdown, which started on March 23 we have been at Level 4.

Meaning, a COVID-19 epidemic is in general circulation, and transmission is high or rising exponentially.

But thanks to the hard work and sacrifices of the British people in this lockdown, you have helped to bring the R level down and we are now in a position to begin moving to Level 3, in careful steps.

As you see on the next slide, we have set out the first of three steps we will take to carefully modify the measures, gradually ease the lockdown, and begin to allow people to return to their way of life – but crucially, while avoiding what would be a disastrous second peak that overwhelms the NHS (NB – This applies to England only – Ed.).

After each step we will closely monitor the impact of that step on the R and the number of infections, and all the available data, and we will only take the next step when we are satisfied that it is safe to do so.

Step 1. From this week:

Those who cannot work from home should now speak to their employer about going back to work.

You can now spend time outdoors and exercise as often as you like.

You can meet one person outside of your household outside provided you stay 2 metres apart.

Step 2. From June 1, at the earliest, as long as the data allows, we aim to allow:

Primary schools to reopen for some pupils, in smaller class sizes.

Non-essential retail to start to reopen, when and where it is safe to do so,

Cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed doors, without crowds.

And then Step 3. No earlier than July 4, and again, only if the data says it is safe, we aim to allow:

More businesses and premises to open, including potentially those offering personal care such as leisure facilities, public places, and places of worship.

Many of these businesses will need to operate in new ways to ensure they are safe, and we will work with these sectors on how to do this.

As you will see from slide 3, having taken the first step in carefully adjusting some of the measures, and our advice to people on what to do, we have also updated our messaging.

We are now asking people to Stay Alert, Control the Virus and Save Lives.  Yes – staying alert, for the vast majority of people, still means staying at home as much as possible.

But there are a range of other actions we’re advising people to take.

People should stay alert, by:

Working from home if you can.

Limiting contact with other people.

Keeping distance if you go out – 2 metres apart where possible.

Washing your hands regularly.

Wearing a face covering when you are in enclosed space where it’s difficult to be socially distant – for example in some shops and on public transport.

And if you or anyone in your household has symptoms, you all need to self-isolate.

As slide 4 shows, if everyone stays alert and follows the rules, we can control coronavirus by keeping the R down and reducing the number of infections.

This is how we can continue to save lives, and livelihoods, as we begin as a nation to recover from coronavirus.

And to underpin this in the workplace, we have published new ‘COVID-19 secure’ guidance on working safely, available to UK employers (NB: currently only applicable in ENGLAND -Ed.), across 8 work settings, which are allowed to be open and where their employees cannot work from home.

This also includes guidance for shops which we believe may be in a position to begin a phased reopening at the earliest from the 1 June.

Firms, unions, industry bodies and the devolved administrations have all fed into this guidance to give businesses and their employees the confidence they need to work safely.

And I believe we have reached a consensus in doing that.

We have also worked with Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive, to develop best practice on the safest ways of working across the economy.

The guidelines outline practical steps for employers to take, including carrying out a COVID-19 risk assessment, in consultation with employees or trades unions.

A downloadable notice is included in the documents, which employers should display in their workplace to show their employees, customers and other visitors, that they have followed this guidance.

We have also provided practical steps for employers to consider such as putting up barriers or screens in shared spaces, creating “fixed teams” or “partnering” to minimise the number of people in contact with one another, and frequent cleaning of work areas and equipment between uses to reduce transmission.

To support employers and employees through this, the government has made available up to an extra £14 million for the Health and Safety Executive, equivalent to an increase of 10% of their budget.

This is for extra call centre employees, inspectors and equipment, if needed.

We know how important the Job Retention Scheme has been in helping businesses through this difficult time.

And today the Chancellor has announced a four-month extension of the scheme to help provide certainty to businesses.

To date, 7.5 million jobs have been furloughed, protecting livelihoods across the nation.

Until the end of July, there will be no changes to the scheme.

Then from August to October the scheme will continue, for all sectors and regions of the UK, but with greater flexibility to support the transition back to work.

Employers currently using the scheme will be able to bring employees back part time.

And, as the economy reopens, we will ask firms to start sharing, with government, the cost of paying people’s salaries.

To be clear, the same level of support of 80% of people’s current salary, up to £2,500 will continue to be met, but through a shared effort between employers and government.

We will be setting out more details on the changes before the end of the month.

Throughout this pandemic, I have been struck by the way people have looked out for one another.

These measures are produced in that spirit.

So to employers I say: use this support and guidance to know you are doing the right thing and work with your unions and workers to keep each other safe.

And to workers I say: we are looking out for you; we want you to feel confident that you are financially supported and returning to a safe workplace.

Because in this time like no other, we all need to work together safely, as we rebuild our economy.

Thank you.

First Minister: stick with the guidelines to protect our NHS

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St. Andrew’s House, Edinburgh on Tuesday 12 May:

Good afternoon. Thanks for joining us for today’s briefing. I want to start, as usual, with an update on some of the key statistics in relation to COVID-19 in Scotland.

As at 9 o’clock this morning, I can tell you that there have been 13,763 positive cases confirmed – an increase of 136 from yesterday.

A total of 81 people last night were in intensive care with either confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and that is an increase of 1 since yesterday.

In terms of the numbers in hospital, I want to give a little bit more context to this figure today. As of last night, a total of 1618 patients were in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 – that is an increase of 165 from yesterday.

However, and this point I want to stress, that increase is entirely in suspected cases. The number of confirmed cases is 1,131 and that is a decrease of 14.

So, we are exploring this rise in suspected cases further. But as you know, all people over 70 admitted to hospital are now being tested even if they don’t have COVID symptoms. It may therefore be that until a test result is known, some health boards are automatically counting these patients as suspected even if they don’t have symptoms of the virus.

So I wanted to say that today to just alert you to the fact that this is something we will be investigating further – but at this stage I’d caution against having any undue concern about the hospital figure that I have reported to you today.

I am also able to confirm that since 5 March, a total of 3,167 patients who had tested positive and been hospitalised for the virus have been able to leave hospital. I’m sure of all us wish them well.

Unfortunately I also have to report that in the past 24 hours, 50 deaths have been registered of patients who had been confirmed through a test as having the virus – that takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 1,912.

Tomorrow we will have the latest National Records of Scotland publication which will report deaths, not just those confirmed through a test but also those that are presumed to be related to the virus.

As always, I want to stress that behind each of these statistics is a unique and irreplaceable human being whose loss right now is a source of grief to many. I want to send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this virus and to say I’m sure that everybody across the country is thinking of you.

I also want to thank again our health and care workers. All of us are enormously grateful to you for the work that you are doing.

Today – 12 May – is the International Day of the Nurse. Myself and the Chief Medical Officer are joined today by the Chief Nursing Officer, Fiona McQueen.

And I want to say an extra special thank you to all of Scotland’s nurses – the past few weeks have demonstrated yet again just how much all of us owe to your compassion, your dedication and your expertise. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of you.

I have three issues I want to briefly update on today.

The first relates to the social care sector, which of course is being placed under immense pressure by this virus. The Scottish Government is working hard to support the sector in every way we can – we have, for example, expanded testing in care homes, we are also and have been for some time, ensuring that any care home with an urgent need for personal protective equipment that can’t be sourced through normal routes, can receive it from our national stockpile of PPE.

Today, I can confirm that we are making an additional £50 million available, to help meet extra costs in the care sector that have been incurred as a result of COVID-19.

The funding will be allocated across every local authority area in the country – and it will cover both care home services, and care at home services. It will help to ensure that care services around the country can cope, with the immense pressures they are facing at this time.

The second issue I want to update on is to tell you we are setting aside £31 million to extend eligibility to the Small Business Grants Scheme.

The extension applies to premises which qualified for Charitable or Sports Rates Relief – but which would otherwise, if they hadn’t qualified for those reliefs, have been eligible for the small business bonus.

Charities occupying these properties can now receive small business grants. Those grants, as you may recall, are worth £10,000 for the first property, and £7,500 for any subsequent property owned by the same organisation.

We know that many charities which run small premises – such as day centres, offices or workshops – have been really hard hit by a loss of revenue during the pandemic.

Many of these charities – which include providers of health and care services – are still providing vital support to those who need it. Extending the small business grants scheme is one way in which we can help them at a time when the help that they provide is more important than ever.

The final point I want to make today is that, as I have emphasised over the past couple of days, the lockdown restrictions remain in place for Scotland.

And so it’s maybe worth stressing what this currently means in relation to employers and employees.

I know that the UK Government published guidance for businesses yesterday. I want to stress that this guidance is not yet operational in Scotland at this stage, since we are not currently encouraging more people to go back to work.

I would ask instead that all employers follow the Scottish Government guidance. I am very grateful for the fact that the vast majority of employers have been so responsible throughout this crisis – so I am sure that most will do this, and will not urge workers to come back to work prematurely.

And for employees, I would remind you that if you think your working conditions are unsafe, you have rights under employment legislation. If you have a trade union in your workplace, and you have concerns about your working conditions, you should also be able to talk to them.

The Scottish Government is working with employers and trade unions to develop guidance on safe workplaces which has the confidence of businesses and workers.  

We have therefore established working groups across 14 sectors to consider how quickly, and in what manner, we can start to return to work.

Early priorities, as I have stated before, are the retail, manufacturing and construction sectors.  However the working groups also cover sectors such as tourism, energy, finance and food and drink.

We believe that this partnership approach is the right and responsible way to proceed. It will allow businesses to reopen when they can safely do so, and we all want that to be as soon as possible, and it will hopefully provide employers, workers and the wider public with the vital reassurance that reopening will not be putting your health at unnecessary risk.

Finally, I want to restate what the lockdown restrictions mean for all of us. Our fundamental advice in Scotland remains unchanged. Please stay at home – except for essential work that can’t be done at home, for buying food or accessing medicines, or exercising.

You can now go for walks, runs or bike rides more than once a day if you want to. But when you are out, please stay more than two meters from other people and don’t meet up with people from other households.

Wear a face covering if you are in a shop or on public transport. And isolate completely if you or someone in your household has symptoms.

As I say every day, I know these restrictions are very hard and they get tougher to comply with every single day that passes. But we are doing it for a reason because by complying with these restrictions now, we will all come out of lockdown sooner and we will do so in a way that minimises the number of lives that are lost to this horrible virus.

So please stick with these restrictions for now. Because that is the way that we will continue to slow the spread of the virus, it’s how we will continue to protect the NHS and as I said a moment ago, it is how we will save lives. So my thanks again to all of you for your cooperation so far.

Chancellor extends furlough scheme until October

The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will remain open until the end of October, the Chancellor announced today.

  • Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will continue until end of October
  • furloughed workers across UK will continue to receive 80% of their current salary, up to £2,500
  • new flexibility will be introduced from August to get employees back to work and boost economy

In a boost to millions of jobs and businesses, Rishi Sunak said the furlough scheme would be extended by a further four months with workers continuing to receive 80% of their current salary.

As we reopen the economy (at least in England – Ed.), we need to support people to get back to work. From the start of August, furloughed workers will be able to return to work part-time with employers being asked to pay a percentage towards the salaries of their furloughed staff.

The employer payments will substitute the contribution the government is currently making, ensuring that staff continue to receive 80% of their salary, up to £2,500 a month.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “Our Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has protected millions of jobs and businesses across the UK during the outbreak – and I’ve been clear that I want to avoid a cliff edge and get people back to work in a measured way.

“This extension and the changes we are making to the scheme will give flexibility to businesses while protecting the livelihoods of the British people and our future economic prospects.”

New statistics published today revealed the job retention scheme has protected 7.5 million workers and almost 1 million businesses.

The scheme will continue in its current form until the end of July and the changes to allow more flexibility will come in from the start of August. More specific details and information around its implementation will be made available by the end of this month.

The government will explore ways through which furloughed workers who wish to do additional training or learn new skills are supported during this period. It will also continue to work closely with the Devolved Administrations to ensure the scheme supports people across the Union.

The Chancellor’s decision to extend the scheme, which will continue to apply across all regions and sectors in the UK economy, comes after the government outlined its plan for the next phase of its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

The scheme is just one part of the government’s world-leading economic response to coronavirus, including an unprecedented package for the self-employed, loans and guarantees that have so far provided billions of pounds in support, tax deferrals and grants for small businesses.

Today the UK government is also publishing new statistics that show businesses have benefitted from over £14 billion in loans and guarantees to support their cashflow during the crisis.

This includes 268,000 Bounce Back Loans worth £8.3 billion, 36,000 loans worth over £6 billion through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and £359 million through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

Mike Cherry, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “The Job Retention Scheme is a lifeline which has been hugely beneficial in helping small employers keep their staff in work, and it’s extension is welcome.

“Small employers have told us that part-time furloughing will help them recover from this crisis and it is welcome that new flexibility is announced today.

BCC Director General Adam Marshall said: “The extension of the Job Retention Scheme will come as a huge help and a huge relief for businesses across the UK.

“The Chancellor is once again listening to what we’ve been saying, and the changes planned will help businesses bring their people back to work through the introduction of a part-time furlough scheme. We will engage with the Treasury and HMRC on the detail to ensure that this gives companies the flexibility they need to reopen safely.

“Over the coming months, the government should continue to listen to business and evolve the scheme in line with what’s happening on the ground. Further support may yet be needed for companies who are unable to operate for an extended period, or those who face reduced capacity or demand due to ongoing restrictions.”

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General, said: “The Chancellor is confronting a challenging balancing act deftly. As economic activity slowly speeds up, it’s essential that support schemes adapt in parallel.

“Extending the furlough to avoid a June cliff-edge continues the significant efforts made already and will protect millions of jobs.

“Introducing much needed flexibility is extremely welcome. It will prepare the ground for firms that are reawakening, while helping those who remain in hibernation. That’s essential as the UK economy revives step-by-step, while supporting livelihoods.

“Firms will, of course, want more detail on how they will contribute to the scheme in the future and will work with government to get this right.

“Above all, the path of the virus is unpredictable, and much change still lies ahead. The government must continue to keep a watchful eye on those industries and employees that remain at risk. All schemes will need to be kept under review to help minimise impacts on people’s livelihoods and keep businesses thriving.

“The greater the number of good businesses saved now, the easier it will be for the economy to recover.”

Commenting on the extension of the government’s job extension scheme today, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “We are pleased ministers have listened to unions and extended the job retention scheme to the autumn. This will be a big relief for millions.  

“Changing the rules to allow part-time working is key to enabling a gradual and safe return to work. And maintaining the rate at 80% is a win for the pay packets of working families.

“As the economic consequences of Covid-19 become clear, unions will keep pushing for a job guarantee scheme to make sure everyone has a decent job.”

Anneliese Dodds MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, said: “The furlough scheme is a lifeline for millions. The Government was right not to pull it away.

“It is welcome that the Chancellor has heeded the call by Labour, trade unions, and businesses for more flexibility in the scheme, to support employees to go back to work part-time.

“The government must clarify today when employers will be required to start making contributions, and how much they’ll be asked to pay. If every business is suddenly required to make a substantial contribution from the 1st August onwards, there is a very real risk that we will see mass redundancies.”

Extension to Furlough Scheme could cost the Government £70 billion

The Chancellor has extended the current Furlough scheme until the end of October but he now has a huge challenge to get this right, say leading tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.

Heather Self a partner at the firm said: “He needs to achieve a “Goldilocks” effect – not too hot, and not too cold.  If he provides too much it will be very expensive and may discourage firms from reopening. If he provides too little thousands of people could lose their jobs.

She added: “It is going to be a turbulent time for the labour market in the Autumn. Some sectors, such as the hospitality and tourism sector, are likely to see significant redundancies, while others such as construction and financial services will be relieved to see a gradual winding-down of support.

From the announcement today, we now know that:

–          Support will be continued to the end of July in full, with employers required to contribute after that date.

–          Part time working will be permitted, but only for some employees

–          The same level of overall support – 80% of wages up to a maximum of £2500 a month – will be maintained

Heather said: ” As the furlough scheme is reduced the Government needs to incentivise business and come up with creative ideas about how business can keep going and retain staff.

“The Chancellor could not go on paying out billions of pounds indefinitely, and everyone understands that, but there needs to be much more joined up thinking between Government and business.”

So far, some 7.5m employees have been furloughed, at a cost approaching £10bn.

The expected costs to the end of July are likely to be around £50bn, with the extension at a reduced level to the end of October perhaps costing a further £20bn.  These are very significant sums, amounting to around 10% of total Government receipts.

As Britain seeks to get back to work, the pressures on different sectors will be very uneven.

While some sectors, such as construction and financial services, are getting back to work, others such as leisure and hospitality will be much slower to recover.

And the position in the tourism and heritage sectors is likely to become critical if they lose the whole of the Summer season.

Heather Self said: “Enabling part time work is welcome, as it will permit a gradual return to work.  But the Chancellor said this would only be available to businesses “currently using” the scheme – it is not clear what the cut-off date will be for businesses still considering whether they need to furlough employees.

“The Chancellor needs to pay attention to the needs of different sectors, difficult though this may be.  Leisure and hospitality businesses are unlikely to be able to cope with reopening fully by the end of July, and may need to contemplate redundancies.

“Additional support beyond the furlough scheme will be needed for a long time – whether loans such as the CBILS scheme, or grants, or incentives such as an increase in the Employment Allowance to encourage employers to maintain their staff levels, or even take on new employees.”

Relaxing the Lockdown: PM tells England to ‘Stay alert’

PM Boris Johnson’s opening statement from yesterday’s press conference on coronavirus:

Good evening and thank you for joining us for this Downing Street press conference.

First of all, I want to update you on the latest data in our fight against coronavirus. I can report through the Government’s ongoing testing and monitoring programme that, as of today:

  • 1,921,770 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the UK, including 100,490 tests carried out yesterday;
  • 223,060 people have tested positive, that’s an increase of 3,877 cases since yesterday;
  • 11,401 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus, down from 11,768 the previous day.
  • And sadly, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 32,065 have now died. That’s an increase of 210 fatalities since yesterday. This figure includes deaths in all settings not just in hospitals.

Before we begin questions from the public and from the media I just want to remind people of a number of important things I said in my address to the nation last night.

First, in order to monitor our progress, we are establishing a new COVID Alert Level System. The COVID Alert Level has five levels, each relating to the level of threat posed by the virus. The level will be primarily determined by the R value and the number of coronavirus cases. In turn, that COVID Alert Level will determine the level of social distancing measures in place. The lower the level the fewer the measures; the higher the level the stricter the measures.

Throughout the period of lockdown which started on March 23rd we have been at Level 4 – meaning a Covid19 epidemic is in general circulation, and transmission is high or rising exponentially. Thanks to the hard work and sacrifices of the British people in this lockdown, we have helped to bring the R level down and we are now in a position to begin moving to Level 3, in steps.

And we have set out the first of three steps we will take to carefully modify the measures, gradually ease the lockdown, and begin to allow people to return to their way of life – but crucially while avoiding what would be a disastrous second peak that overwhelms the NHS.

After each step we will closely monitor the impact of that step on the R and the number of infections, and all the available data, and we will only take the next step when we are satisfied that it is safe to do so.

Step 1 – from this week:

  • Those who cannot work from home should now speak to their employer about going back to work.
  • You can now spend time outdoors and exercise as often as you like.
  • You can meet one person outside of your household outside (outdoors), provided you stay 2 metres apart. The social distancing measures remain absolutely crucial to us keeping the infection rate and the number of cases down as low as we possibly can.

Step 2 – from June 1, at the earliest, as long as the data allows, we aim to allow:

  • Primary schools to reopen for some pupils, in smaller class sizes;
  • Non-essential retail to start to reopen, when and where it is safe to do so;
  • Cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed doors, without crowds.

And then Step 3 – no earlier than July 4, and again, only if the data says it safe, we aim to allow:

More businesses and premises to open, including potentially those offering personal care such as leisure facilities, public places, and places of worship. Many of these businesses will need to operate in new ways to ensure they are safe, and we will work with these sectors on how to do this.

So, given we have taken the first step in carefully adjusting some of the measures today, and therefore our advice to people on what to do, we have also updated our messaging. We are now asking people to Stay Alert, Control the Virus and Save Lives.

Yes – staying alert, for the vast majority of people, still means staying at home as much as possible. But there are a range of other actions we’re advising people to take as we modify measures.

People should Stay Alert, by: *

  • working from home if you can;
  • limiting contact with other people;
  • keeping distance if you go out – 2 metres apart where possible;
  • washing your hands regularly;
  • wearing a face covering when you are in enclosed spaces where it’s difficult to be socially distant – for example in some shops and on public transport;
  • and if you or anyone in your household has symptoms, you all need to self-isolate.

Because if everyone stays alert and follows the rules, we can control coronavirus by keeping the R down and reducing the number of infections. This is how we can continue to save lives, and livelihoods, as we begin as a nation to recover from coronavirus.

*NOTE: The Prime Minister’s guidance applies to ENGLAND ONLY 

We Must Defeat This Threat Together: PM statement in the House of Commons

Mr Speaker, with permission, I will make a statement about the next steps in our battle against coronavirus, and how we can, with the utmost caution, gradually begin to rebuild our economy and reopen our society.

For the last two months, the British people have faced a grave threat with common sense, compassion and unflinching resolve.

We have together observed the toughest restrictions on our freedoms in memory, changing our way of life on a scale unimaginable only months ago.

All our efforts have been directed towards protecting our NHS and saving lives.

Tragically, many families have lost loved ones before their time and we share their grief. Yet our shared effort has averted a still worse catastrophe, one that could have overwhelmed the NHS and claimed half a million lives.

Every day, dedicated doctors, nurses, and social care workers, army medics and more have risked their own lives in the service of others, they have helped to cut the Reproduction rate from between 2.6 and 2.8 in April to between 0.5 and 0.9 today.

The number of covid patients in hospital has fallen by over a third since Easter Sunday.

Our armed forces joined our NHS to build new hospitals on timetables that were telescoped from years to weeks, almost doubling the number of critical care beds, and ensuring that since the end of March, at least a third have always been available.

Our challenge now is to find a way forward that preserves our hard won gains, while easing the burden of the lockdown.

And I will be candid with the House: this is a supremely difficult balance to strike.

There could be no greater mistake than to jeopardise everything we have striven to achieve by proceeding too far and too fast.

We will be driven not by hope or economic revival as an end in itself, but by data, and science and public health.

And so the Government is submitting to the House today a plan which is conditional and dependent as always on the common sense and observance of the British people, and on continual re-assessment of the data.

That picture varies across the regions and Home Nations of the United Kingdom, requiring a flexible response. Different parts of the UK may need to stay in full lockdown longer but any divergence should only be short-term because as Prime Minister of the UK, I am in no doubt that we must defeat this threat and face the challenge of recovery together.

Our progress will depend on meeting five essential tests: protecting the NHS, reducing both the daily death toll and the infection rate in a sustained way,ensuring that testing and PPE can meet future demand – a global problem, but one that we must fix, and avoiding a second peak that would overwhelm the NHS.

A new UK-wide Joint Biosecurity Centre will measure our progress with a five-stage Covid Alert System, and the combined effect of our measures so far has been to prevent us from reaching Level Five, a situation that would have seen the NHS overwhelmed, and to hold us at Level Four.

Thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the British people by following the social distancing rules, we are now in a position where we can move in stages to where I hope the scientific advice will tell us that we are down to Level Three.

But this will only happen if everyone continues to play their part, to stay alert and to follow the rules.

We must also deal with the epidemic in care homes, where a tragic number of the elderly and vulnerable have been lost and while the situation is thankfully improving, there is a vast amount more to be done.

And of course we need a world-leading system for testing and tracking and tracing victims and their contacts so I’m delighted that Baroness Harding, the chair of NHS Improvement, has agreed to take charge of a programme that will ultimately enable us to test hundreds of thousands of people every day.

All this means we have begun our descent from the peak of the epidemic, but our journey has reached the most perilous moment where a wrong move could be disastrous.

So at this stage, we can go no further than to announce the first careful modifications of our measures, Step 1 in moving towards Covid Alert Level 3, a shift in emphasis that we can begin this week.

Anyone who cannot work from home should be actively encouraged to go to work.

And sectors that are allowed to be open should indeed be open, but subject to social distancing.

These include food production, construction, manufacturing, logistics, distribution, scientific research.

And to support this, to explain this again, we are publishing guidance for businesses on how to make these workplaces safe. Covid secure.

People who are able to work from home, as we’ve continually said, should continue to do so, and people who cannot work from home should talk to their employers about returning this week and the difficulties they may or may not have.

Anyone with covid symptoms obviously – or in a household where someone else has symptoms – should self-isolate.

We want everyone travelling to work to be safe, so people should continue to avoid public transport wherever possible because we must maintain social distancing which will inevitably limit capacity.

Instead people should drive or better still walk or cycle.

With more activity outside our homes, we would now advise people to wear a cloth face covering in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not always possible, and you are more likely to come in contact with people you do not normally meet.

The reason is face coverings can help to protect each other and reduce the spread of the disease, particularly if you have coronavirus like symptoms.

But this does not mean – and I must stress this – this does not mean wearing medical face masks, 2R or FFP3, which must be reserved for people who need them.

We have all lived so far with onerous restrictions Mr Speaker on outdoor spaces and exercise, and this is where my honourable friend interjects as I know he’s a keen swimmer and unfortunately we can’t do anything for swimming pools but we can do something for lakes and the sea. and this is where we can go significantly further because there is a lower risk from outdoors than indoors.

So from Wednesday there will be no limits on the frequency of outdoor exercise people can take.

You can now walk, sit and rest in parks, you can play sports and exercise, and you can do all these things with members of your own household, or with one other person from another household, provided you observe social distancing and remain 2 metres apart from them.

And I do hope that’s clear Mr Speaker. I’m conscious people want to come back and ask questions in more detail and I’d be very happy to answer.

We shall increase the fines for the small minority who break the rules, starting at £100 but doubling with each infringement up to £3,600.

You can drive as far as you like to reach an outdoor space, subject to the same rules and the laws and guidance of the Devolved Administrations.

I am sorry to say however, Mr Speaker, that we shall continue to ask those who are clinically vulnerable – including pregnant women and people over 70, or those with pre-existing chronic conditions – to take particular care to minimise contact with those outside their households.

And we must continue to shield people who are extremely vulnerable. They should, I am afraid, remain at home and avoid any direct contact with others.

I know that easing restrictions for the many will only increase the anguish of those who must remain shielded, so the Government will look at every possible way of supporting the most vulnerable.

Mr Speaker, all of our precautions will count for little if our country is re-infected from overseas, so I give notice that we shall introduce new restrictions at the UK border, requiring 14 days of self-isolation for international arrivals, while respecting our common travel area with Ireland.

Every day, we shall monitor our progress, and if we stay on the downward slope, and the R remains below 1, then – and only then – will it become safe to go further, and move to the second step.

This will not happen until 1st June at the earliest, but we may then be in a position to start the phased reopening of shops; to return children to early years’ settings, including nurseries and childminders; to return primary schools in stages, giving priority to the youngest children in reception and year 1, and those in year 6 preparing for secondary school; and to enable secondary school pupils facing exams next year to get at least some time with their teachers.

Our ambition – and I stress this is conditional Mr Speaker –is for all primary school pupils to return to the classroom for a month before the summer break.

To those ends, we are publishing guidance on how schools might reopen safely.

Step two could also include allowing cultural and sporting events behind closed doors for broadcast, which I think would provide a much needed boost to national morale.

But nothing can substitute for human contact and so the Government has asked SAGE when and how we could safely allow people to expand their household group to include one other household, on a strictly reciprocal basis.

Finally, and no earlier than July, we may be able to move to step three – if and only if supported by the data, and the best scientific advice.

We would then aim to reopen some remaining businesses, including potentially hospitality, cinemas and hairdressers as well as places of worship and leisure facilities.

And this will depend on maintaining social distancing and new ways of providing services, so we will phase and pilot any re-openings to ensure public safety.

And I must be clear again: if the data goes the wrong way, if the Alert Level begins to rise, we will have no hesitation in putting on the brakes, delaying or reintroducing measures – locally, regionally or nationally.

Mr Speaker, our struggle against this virus has placed our country under the kind of strain that will be remembered for generations.

But so too has the response of the British people, from dedicated shopworkers keeping our supermarkets open, and ingenious teachers finding new ways of inspiring their pupils, to the kindness of millions who have checked on their neighbours, delivered food for the elderly, or raised astonishing amounts for charity.

In these and in so many other ways, we are seeing the indomitable spirit of Britain

And Mr speaker let me summarise by saying that people should Stay Alert by working from home if you possibly can, by limiting contact with other people, by keeping your distance 2 metres apart where possible – by washing your hands regularly, and if you or anyone in your household has symptoms, you all need to self-isolate.

Because if everyone stays alert and follows the rules, we can control the virus, keep the rate of infection down and the keep number of infections down.

And this Mr Speaker is how we can continue to save lives, and livelihoods, as we begin to recover from coronavirus, and I commend this statement to the House.

NOTE: The Prime Minister’s statement applies to England only

MSPs seek views on hate crime proposals

The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has launched a call for views on the Scottish Government’s plans to update hate crime laws.

MSPs want to know whether the public, including groups who may be directly impacted by the new law, support the proposals, or whether some parts of the Bill could be changed.

In the Bill, age is added to the characteristics which already receive extra protections from hate crimes (which are disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity). The Bill also leaves open the possibility to add ‘variations in sex characteristics’ at a later date.

In addition to adding ‘age’ and bringing together the different bits of legislation which all apply in this area at present into a single law, the proposals:

• create a new offence of ‘stirring up hatred’ against any of these groups; and,
• abolish the offence of blasphemy

As the call for views issued, Justice Committee Convener, Margaret Mitchell MSP, said: “Offences motivated by hatred or prejudice have been more harshly treated by courts for a number of years, and Committee Members broadly support extra protections for vulnerable groups.

“Certainly aspects of this Bill, such as bringing together the various different laws into one place seem eminently sensible, and a way to remove anomalies.

“However, this Bill needs careful consideration. While there are clear cut examples of hate crimes, there are also trickier cases. Making sure the law strikes the right balance, protecting those who fall victim to crime because of the prejudice of others while also protecting the freedom of thought and expression of all citizens, is the task that lies before us.

“These issues are not easy or straightforward and will outlast the current Covid-19 pandemic. It is crucial that they get the close attention and parliamentary scrutiny they deserve.

“The committee wants to hear from Scottish society about whether they agree this Bill the best way to achieve those aims. Does it give the right protections, are any groups overlooked, or could there be any unintended consequences? These are the issues we want to look at in depth as we examine this new legislation.”

The call for views is open until 24 July.

First Minister: Forget ‘Stay Alert’ … STAY AT HOME!

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew’s House yesterday (Sunday 10 May).

Good afternoon. Thanks for joining us for today’s briefing. I want to start – as I always do – by updating you on some of the key statistics in relation to Covid-19 in Scotland.

As at 9 o’clock this morning, there have been 13,486 positive cases confirmed – an increase of 181 from yesterday.

A total of 1,484 patients are currently in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 – that is a decrease of 101 from yesterday.

A total of 82 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected cases of the virus. That is a decrease of seven since yesterday.

I am also able to confirm today that since 5 March, a total of 3,100 patients who had tested positive and been hospitalised for the virus have been able to leave hospital. I wish all of them well.

Unfortunately I also have to report that in the last 24 hours, 10 deaths have been registered of patients who had been confirmed through a test as having the virus – that takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 1,857.

These figures should be treated with some caution. Although deaths can now be registered at weekends, registration of numbers over weekends are usually lower than they are during the week. This should be taken into account when considering today’s figures.

As always, I want to stress that these numbers are not simply statistics. They represent individuals whose loss is being felt and mourned by many. As always, I send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this virus. We are all thinking of you at this time.

I also want to thank, as I always do, our health and care workers. You are continuing to do extraordinary work in very challenging circumstances. There is not a day that passes that I don’t feel a deep debt of gratitude to you.

I have one issue that I want to talk about today and it relates to lockdown. Let me emphasise at the outset that the lockdown in Scotland remains in place.

As I have set out before, the rate of transmission of the virus in Scotland – the R number you are used to hearing about – is still too high for any significant change to be safe at this stage. Indeed, the R number may, as I said earlier in the week, be slightly higher here than in other parts of the UK at this point.

That means we must be very cautious and very careful about where we proceed to from here. Having made real progress in recent weeks and I think you can tell from the figures that I am setting out day after day that we have made real progress.

The objective now for all of us must be to consolidate and solidify that progress – we must not squander our progress by easing up too soon or by sending mixed messages that result in people thinking it’s ok to ease up now.

Let me be very blunt about the consequences if we were do that – people will die unnecessarily and, instead of being able to loosen restrictions hopefully in the near future, we will be faced instead with having to tighten them.

We must not take that risk.

For that reason, my basic message for Scotland remains the same as it has been – please stay at home, except for essential purposes.

I have made clear, however, that the Scottish Government will keep what constitutes an ‘essential purpose’ under review, and I told you last week that we were considering making one immediate change – a change to the guidance relating to exercise.

I can confirm that the Scottish Cabinet met earlier this afternoon and agreed a change to that guidance.

At present, you are only permitted to leave home to exercise once a day. From tomorrow, that once-a-day limit will be removed. So if you want to go for a walk more often – or to go for a run and also a walk later on in the day – then you can do so.

It is important to stress this new advice does not apply if you or someone in your household has symptoms of the virus, or if you received a letter explaining that you are in the shielded group. In those cases, the advice is still to stay at home completely and not go out at all.

And for everybody, all other lockdown restrictions remain in place.

When you are exercising, you must stay relatively close to your own home and at all times at least two metres away from people from other households. And although the rules permit exercise – such as walking, running or cycling – they do not yet extend to outdoor leisure activities such as sunbathing, picnics or barbecues.

The fact that you are allowed to exercise more than once is definitely not – and I want to stress this point – a licence to start meeting up in groups at the park or the beach. Doing that really does risk spreading the virus, and could potentially force us to reintroduce stricter guidelines or toughen up the regulations and penalties in future.

What we are confirming today is instead a small but important change, to one part of the lockdown requirements.

We believe that it will bring benefits to health and wellbeing – particularly for people who live in flats and don’t have access to private gardens, and for children, who I know will have found the once a day limit particularly difficult. The most important point is this – it will bring those benefits without, in our judgement, having a major impact on the spread of the virus.

However – and this is really important – the other basic principles and rules of lockdown remain for now the same. Unless you are doing exercise, or performing another essential task such as buying food or medicine, you should stay at home.

And you should not meet up with people from other households – because that is how we give the virus a chance to spread, giving it bridges it can travel over and lead to increased spread.

The change I have confirmed today is the only change the Scottish Government judges that it is safe to make right now, without risking a rapid resurgence of the virus.

We do not, at this point, want to see more businesses opening up – or more people going to work. Our guidance to business remains the same as it has been.

And we are not yet changing who can or should be at school.

You may hear the Prime Minister announce other immediate changes tonight for England – and that is absolutely his right to do so. I’ve just come from a Cobra meeting with the Prime Minister and the First Ministers of Wales and Northern Ireland.

Now it’s important to say that I don’t expect the detail of these immediate changes that the Prime Minister will announce to be significant and I predict that any differences with the position here in Scotland will be relatively minor.

However, for the avoidance of doubt, let me be clear – except for the one change I have confirmed today, the rules here have not changed. We remain in lockdown for now and my ask of you remains to Stay at Home.

However, we will continue to monitor the evidence closely and make further changes as soon as we consider it safe to do so.

In the interests of openness and transparency and the grown up conversation I keep talking about that I want to have, I want to give you as much visibility of that as I’m going to share with you now that over this coming week – as we hopefully see more evidence of a downward trend in the virus – we will assess further whether it is possible to further extend the range of permissible outdoor activities that you can do on your own or at a safe distance.

We will also consider over the coming days whether garden centres can re-open; and we will think about whether some additional forms of outdoor work – particularly where people work on their own or at a distance – can safely resume. We will also be looking urgently – in close discussion with councils – at the possibility of reopening waste and recycling centres.

I will update you on these further issues next weekend.

Beyond that we will continue to consider when and how more businesses can safely start to re-open, what changes will be required to public transport, and when and how children can start returning to school.

On that latter point, though, I do not expect that schools in Scotland will start to return as early as 1 June.

As well as announcing immediate changes, I understand that the Prime Minister will also tonight set out a longer term plan for England. The Scottish Government has not yet seen the detail of this plan, so it is not possible for us to simply adopt it for Scotland – and indeed the evidence may well tell us that moving at exactly the same pace is not appropriate.

We will consider it carefully and we will take our own expert advice on it. And as soon as possible we will set out our own view on the phasing of a more substantial lifting of the lockdown.

We are already working with businesses to produce guidance specific to the needs of industry, workers and public health in Scotland. We will publish that guidance, sector by sector, in the coming days and weeks – our early priority is to give guidance and visibility to the construction, manufacturing and retail sectors.

Lastly, in areas which are the responsibility of the UK Government in Scotland, we will make sure that our views and concerns are known. For example – we expect confirmation tonight of a period of quarantine for people travelling into the UK. I have made it clear that I believe this is vital to our efforts to contain the virus in the period ahead, and I would encourage the UK Government to introduce it as soon as possible.

Lastly, let me say something about co-operation between the four nations of the UK.

I remain committed to the closest possible co-operation, collaboration and alignment. And, let me stress again, I have no interest in politics when it comes to tackling this virus.

It is perfectly consistent with an overall four nations approach to have a pragmatic acceptance that we may move at different speeds if the evidence tells us that is necessary – and I believe we do now have that acceptance.

But genuine consultation and alignment of messages – even, perhaps especially, when the evidence is putting us on slightly different timelines – remains really important.

We should not be reading of each other’s plans for the first time in newspapers. And decisions that are being taken for one nation only – for good evidence based reasons – should not be presented as if they apply UK wide.

Clarity of message is paramount if we expect all of you to know exactly what it is we are asking of you. As leaders, we have a duty to deliver that clarity to those who we are accountable to, not confuse it.

To that end, I have asked the UK Government not to deploy their ‘Stay Alert’ advertising campaign in Scotland. Because the message in Scotland at this stage is not stay at home if you can, the message is, except for the essential reasons you know about, stay at home full stop.

Fundamentally, we all have a responsibility – and it is a heavy one for all of us – to make decisions and set policies for based on our own data of what is safe and what is not.

I am clear that for Scotland, at this present moment, relaxing too many restrictions too quickly creates the risk that the virus will take off again. I am not prepared to take that risk.

That is why – except for the fact that from tomorrow you can go out to exercise more than once a day – the current lockdown restrictions remain in place.

I very much hope that it will be possible to lift more of them in the days and weeks ahead – and we are making plans for that – but at the moment, the risks are still too great.

For all of us, in fact, the way in which we can emerge from lockdown that bit more quickly, is to stick with the current restrictions now.

It is easier for us to start leaving lockdown, the lower the R number is, and the fewer infectious cases there are.

So please, stay at home except for when you are buying food or medicines, or exercising.

Go for walks or runs more than once a day if you want to – it’s good for your health and your physical and mental wellbeing. But stay more than two meters from other people when you are out, and do not meet up with people from other households.

Please wear a face covering if you are in a shop or on public transport. And isolate completely if you or someone else in your household has symptoms.

I know that these restrictions continue to be really tough. And I know that hearing any talk about easing the lockdown, might make them seem even tougher. But please, I am asking you to stick with it.

We are making progress – never lose sight of that. But – even as we stay in touch by phone, by social media or by video calls – we still need to stay apart physically from each other. We still need to stay at home.

By doing that, we will continue to slow down the spread of the virus, we will continue to protect the NHS, and we will save lives. Thank you, once again, to all of you from the bottom of my heart for what you have been doing.

And please, for now, stay at home.