Boris Johnson is due to hold his first meeting with regional leaders since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Prime Minister is expected to speak today with the ‘M9’ - the group of mayors covering areas including Greater Manchester, Liverpool and South Yorkshire - about their key concerns and priorities emerging from the outbreak so far.
Key among them is likely to be the ongoing problems with PPE in the social care sector, council funding, public transport, and extended furlough period and what happens to different local economies in the coming weeks and months.
The Prime Minister has not directly spoken to regional leaders since the pandemic began, with London’s Sadiq Khan the only mayor to have joined the emergency Cobra committees tasked with overseeing the immediate response.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has criticised the absence of other areas from those meetings to date, calling for them to be directly consulted going forward.
Since then steps have been taken by government and yesterday a new economic response group - including Northern Powerhouse minister Simon Clark - met for the first time, with mayors including Mr Burnham joining council leaders to discuss how recovery should happen.
Today’s call with the PM will represent one of the first he has held since returning to work and is likely to see him emphasise the importance of their involvement in the next phase of the response, as well as updating them on the government’s current thinking.
He will also be hearing about the particular challenges various areas are facing, which vary from place to place and could be significantly different where economic fears are concerned.
Greater Manchester in recent days has flagged and reiterated a number of concerns with ministers, particularly around a massive shortfall in council funding for town halls struggling to battle the pandemic.
It is also worried about the future of the Metrolink system, which the mayor has threatened to mothball without a substantial bailout.
There are currently concerns that even when the lockdown is lifted, social distancing will mean 75pc fewer passengers will be able to use the network, impacting fares and its ability to operate.
Mr Burnham has also publicly called on Public Health England for clear guidance on whether people should be asked to wear masks on the tram.
So far there has been no support package for aviation, either, leading to fears about the impact Manchester Airport’s near-closure could have not only on people directly employed there, but on thousands of other jobs that depend upon it.
And the mayor has also called on the government not to lift the lockdown region by region, or sector by sector, but instead to allow businesses across the economy to reopen if they can demonstrate safe social distancing practices for workers and customers.
'Levelling up' could also prove a key theme of the call, as northern leaders look for assurances that the agenda will not be dropped during the recovery.
At yesterday's press conference the Prime Minister said an exit strategy would be outlined next week, but did not give details.
