Early evening summary
- Sir Keir Starmer has called for a rethink of the compulsory 10pm closing time for pubs (see 4.09pm), as growing numbers of Tory MPs have also expressed their opposition to the policy. (See 5.39pm.)
- The SNP MP Margaret Ferrier says she has reported herself to the police for breaking self-isolation rules. On Monday she travelled by train to London to attend parliament while awaiting the results of a Covid test, which she ordered because she had mild symptoms. She subsequently learnt she was positive on Monday night. But then she returned home by train on Tuesday.
Statement: pic.twitter.com/rdWYhIauYv
— Margaret Ferrier MP (@MargaretFerrier) October 1, 2020
- The NHS 111 service has permanently stopped nurses and other healthcare professionals in a clinical division handling calls with people suspected of having Covid-19 after an audit of recorded calls found more than 60% were not safe.
That’s all from me. But our coverage continues on our global coronavirus live blog. It’s here.
Updated
Here’s a question from below the line worth addressing.
Hospital admissions are a really useful metric, I agree, and I do cover them here quite a lot. But the figures on the UK government’s daily dashboard don’t always get updated regularly.
Here is the update from today.
- There were 310 coronavirus hospital admissions in England on Tuesday, the last day for which there are figures on the dashboard. That was an increase of two on the previous day. In Wales there were 90 admissions, up from 71 the previous day. (Wales counts suspected Covid cases as well as confirmed ones, so its hospital figure always look disproportionately high.) In Northern Ireland there were no admissions on Tuesday, compared to 10 the previous day. And figures for Scotland aren’t available on the dashboard.
- There are 285 Covid patients in England on mechanical ventilation. That is up from 281 yesterday.
Speaking at the formal opening of the legal year, the lord chancellor and justice secretary, Robert Buckland, said he was committed to defending the “rule of law”.
His speech was delivered on the day the EU announced it was taking the UK to a European court over the internal market bill because it breaches international law.
Buckland told the congregation at Temple Church in London:
As a new legal year begins, my mind turns to the enduring success of our legal system over the centuries, with judicial independence and the rule of law at its heart.
When I took my oath of office, I swore to uphold and respect these principles, which act as guardians of fairness in our society. In many ways, my role is right at the front line, where the law meets policy and policy meets the law.
There will be tensions at times, which can be difficult to resolve. Those observing, who aren’t privy to all the swirling issues, are naturally and understandably tempted to come to hard and fast conclusions.
In my judgment, that can lead to error. When I sat as a part-time judge, I quickly learned that not every ruling that I was asked to make needed to be made at once, and that the fairness of proceedings was enhanced by making key decisions at the right moment as the evidence progressed. That is what I apply to my work now.
Buckland and the attorney general, Suella Braverman, have faced calls from senior lawyers to step down because of the government’s determination to pass the legislation which provides for the UK to override the EU withdrawal agreement signed earlier this year.
Updated
Ministers face backbench backlash over 10pm compulsory closing rule
Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to come out publicly in favour of a rethink of the compulsory 10pm closing time for pubs (see 4.09pm) must be of some concern to No 10. Given what Tory MPs feel about the rule, it is hard now to see how the government could win a vote on the issue.
Luckily, they don’t have to. New regional restrictions, like the ones announced today, are not subject to a prior vote in the Commons and the concession offered by ministers yesterday only promised prior votes on “significant national measures ... where possible”.
But it would be surprising if someone did not find a way of engineering a vote on 10pm in the next few months. And, judging what Tory MPs were saying in the Commons this morning during Matt Hancock’s statement, government whips would find it a struggle to win a vote on the status quo. Opposition MPs were very critical too, but that was less surprising.
Several Tories complained that there was no justification for the 10pm rule. Greg Clark, the former business secretary who chairs the Commons science committee, said:
It does seem strange to think that concentrating trade in a smaller number of hours and making everyone leave a pub or restaurant at the same time, rather than spacing them out over the course of the evening, should suppress rather than spread the virus.
Lee Anderson was a bit blunter, asking Hancock to explain “to the staff and regulars at the New Cross how science has guided the decision to close pubs at 10pm”. Mike Wood also demanded evidence for the policy, saying Public Health England figures suggest just 3% of infections are linked to hospitality.
Philip Davies was strongly opposed to the rule on principle, describing it as part of “an arbitrary nanny-state socialist approach, which is serving no purpose at all, apart from to further collapse the economy and erode our freedoms”.
Several Tories expressed their opposition to the rule by suggesting revisions. Sir Desmond Swayne suggested curfews could be imposed locally, perhaps even on a pub by pub basis. Caroline Ansell also said measures should be localised. Jane Hunt suggested venues could be exempt if people were still eating a hot meal, to allow for second sittings. Jeremy Wright suggested hotel bars should be able to serve residents after 10pm.
Other Tories, including Paul Bristow, Lee Anderson, Andrew Jones and Karl McCartney, expressed their concern by asking for an assurance that the rule was being kept under review. Felicity Buchan, who represents Kensington in London, said 10pm was particularly inconvenient for her constituents. She said:
I have many residents who are only going out for the first time at 8.30 or 9, so do not fit into the idea of going to the pub at 6 o’clock.
And Tom Hunt asked for a review citing a particularly aggrieved landlord. He said:
Last weekend, I spoke to the landlord of the Belstead Arms in Chantry, who had to watch as many of his loyal customers, who would have been spending hundreds of pounds in his pub supporting the pub to recover from the previous lockdown, went to the off-licence across the street to buy beer from there. Will [Hancock] assure me that at the closest possible time he will review measures and ensure that pubs in Ipswich can stay open later?
Hancock repeatedly said the rule was being kept under review. In Whitehall-speak saying that a policy is under review can mean either that it genuinely is under review - or that it only notionally is, which means it isn’t. At first Hancock sounded like someone using the phrase in the latter sense, as a ritual fob-off, but by the end he may have concluded a real rethink will be necessary.
Updated
Turkey and Poland taken off travel corridor list, so quarantine rules now apply
Turkey and Poland have been taken off the travel corridor list, Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has announced. That means people arriving in the UK from those countries after 4am on Saturday will have to quarantine.
The same applies to Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba - three Dutch islands in the Caribbean.
Shapps has also said the maximum fine for people who refuse to self-isolate will be increased to £10,000 from tomorrow. This will apply to repeat offenders.
TRAVEL CORRIDOR UPDATE: The latest data indicates we need to remove Turkey, Poland, and Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba from the #TravelCorridor list this week.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) October 1, 2020
This means if you arrive from these destinations from 4am Saturday 3 October, you will need to self-isolate.
You MUST self-isolate if you enter the UK from a non-exempt country - from tomorrow, we’re increasing the penalties for people who refuse to do so to a maximum of £10,000 for repeat offenders.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) October 1, 2020
REMINDER: If you do travel, you must complete a Passenger Locator Form before returning to the UK. Do your bit to help keep everyone safe.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) October 1, 2020
Data from Poland shows that test positivity has nearly doubled increasing from 3.9% to 5.8% alongside a rapid increase in weekly cases, causing the Joint Biosecurity Centre to update their recommendation.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) October 1, 2020
Updated
Scotland has recorded three new coronavirus deaths and 668 new cases. The details are here.
The 668 people who tested positive represented 10.8% of people being tested.
A week ago today the positivity rate was 7.9%, and there were 465 new cases.
UK records 6,914 new cases and 59 further deaths – both figures down from yesterday
The UK government has updated its coronavirus dashboard. Here are the key figures.
- The UK has recorded 6,914 new cases. That is slightly down on the totals for yesterday and the day before (7,108 and 7,143 respectively), but in line with the trend over the last week, which has seen numbers rising sharply.
- The UK has recorded 59 more deaths. That is down on the total for yesterday (71) but still up on the figure from a week ago (28). The new deaths take the headline total number of deaths to 42,202. But this figure is an underestimate because it only counts people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus. Overall more than 57,600 people have died from confirmed or suspected coronavirus in the UK.
Updated
Starmer urges government to rethink 10pm compulsory closing time for pubs
Sir Keir Starmer has urged the government to reconsider its 10pm compulsory closing time for pubs in England. He said:
We are supporting the package the government has put in. But I think Andy Burnham in particular has questioned whether the 10pm curfew is working as intended.
He has pointed, understandably, to lots of people coming out of venues at the same time.
I suggest it might be a good idea for the government to reflect on what Andy Burnham is saying and ask themselves the question whether that should stay in place.
In an interview on Monday Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said he thought the 10pm closing time was doing “more harm than good” because it resulted in large crowds of people leaving pubs at the same time.
Northern Ireland has recorded two more coronavirus deaths, and 259 more cases, according to the dashboard update from the Department of Health in the region.
This chart from the dashboard shows how the seven-day rolling average for new case numbers in Northern Ireland has been rising sharply.
This chart helps to explain this tweet from Ewan Birney from the thread mentioned a moment ago. (See 3.53pm.)
This is one of three bits of solid ground to stand on in my view - REACT, ONS survey and hospitalisation numbers. Although this is a better picture than two weeks ago, but no means is this not solved - and across the 4 nations I'd like to flag Northern Ireland as a concern
— Ewan Birney (@ewanbirney) October 1, 2020
Ewan Birney, the director of the European Bioinformatics Institute, has a good Twitter thread about the Imperial College REACT report out today. (See 10.04am.) It starts here.
The REACT Study from Imperial is out. It is one of the pieces of solid ground to stand on in the COVID epidemic, so really worth digesting (UK Journalists - *do* read this paper and numbers!) https://t.co/JT1B0v7hB3
— Ewan Birney (@ewanbirney) October 1, 2020
And here is one of his takeaways.
There is evidence for strong "local" clustering, below this regional level in aggregate (clusterin is a hallmark of this epidemic) - so really we have lots of mini epidemics happening at a local local level, and those mini-epidemics are hetreogenously distributed.
— Ewan Birney (@ewanbirney) October 1, 2020
Updated
Public Health Wales has recorded six further deaths and 398 further cases. The details are here.
The number of latest Coronavirus outbreak in Wales have been confirmed and updated.
— Public Health Wales (@PublicHealthW) October 1, 2020
Data dashboard:https://t.co/zpWRYSUbfhhttps://t.co/HSclxpZjBh
Find out how we respond to the spread of the virus in our daily statement here: https://t.co/u6SKHz0zsG pic.twitter.com/uIfLZl4X5Y
This chart shows how the deaths in Wales have started to creep up recently - although they remain just a fraction of what they were during the first wave.
A group of north Wales Tory MPs and Senedd members have uged the Labour-led Welsh government to think again about its local lockdown restrictions in north Wales.
From 6pm restrictions will come into force across Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham including a ban on leaving or entering the areas without a “reasonable excuse” such as work or education.
The politicians have “strongly urged” the Welsh government to reconsider “disproportionate” travel restrictions.
They said: “We accept that Covid-19 infection rates have generally risen across north Wales — although they remain significantly lower than those within local lockdown areas elsewhere.”
But they added:
The general public is understandably frustrated as we enter the seventh month of pandemic restrictions, and scepticism of the value of the restrictions has risen.
Tourism businesses in north Wales have expressed concerns that the ban could lead to job losses or closures.
However, the filming of the show I’m a Celebrity at Gwrych Castle in Abergele will be allowed to go ahead despite the Conwy lockdown. Taking part and filming is judged to count as work.
Updated
Shane Moore, the independent leader of Hartlepool council, has also criticised the new restrictions being imposed on his town.
In an interview with Sky News, Moore said he was told last night that the government would not announce measures today without the approval of his council. But he said this morning Matt Hancock went ahead and announced the measures anyway.
Moore said that the council wanted a ban on household visiting. But it did not want new restrictions to cover pubs. What was being proposed was “draconian”, he said.
Asked if he agreed with the criticisms levelled by the Middlesbrough mayor, Andy Preston (see 2.38pm), Moore said:
I agree with Andy completely. They are completely unnecessary ...
One of the things that we were very clear about was that we would not enter any form of restriction until we knew what the exit strategy was. We need our residents to know what they are aiming for. We need to how we can get out of these restrictions. And what’s very evident is that ... that information is not forthcoming from the government.
Moore represented the Brexit party on the council for a few months around the end of 2019 but in February reverted to sitting as a Hartlepool independent.
Updated
Airport Covid testing could start within weeks, says Heathrow chief
Covid testing for passengers arriving in the UK could begin within weeks, according to Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye. The airport has been told by Boris Johnson that the government is aiming to begin trials by mid-October, with the potential for a New York-London route opening by the end of November.
My colleague Antonia Wilson has the story here.
Middlesbrough mayor says he does not accept new restrictions
Andy Preston, the independent elected mayor of Middlesbrough, has said that he does not accept the new restrictions imposed on his town.
In a video statement he said:
I have to tell you I think this measure has been introduced based on factual inaccuracies and a monstrous and frightening lack of communication, and ignorance.
I do not accept the statement at all.
I do not accept these measures.
We need to talk to government, they need to understand our local knowledge, expertise and ability to get things done, and preserve jobs and wellbeing.
We are really disappointed.
As things stand we defy the government and we do not accept these measures.
We need to get Covid under control and we need to work with people to find a way of preserving jobs and mental health.
But it was not clear from his statement how much impact his declaration that he does not accept the measures will have. The government has relied on local authorities to publicise and help to enforce local lockdown rules. But the legal aspects of the restrictions are imposed by central government; local government does not get a veto.
Govt Restrictions Are Unacceptable
— Andy Preston Mayor (@Tees_Issues) October 1, 2020
We tried to communicate with govt but they didn’t listen
They’re imposing restrictions that’ll kill viable jobs & damage mental health
I do not accept the government’s intended restrictions - they’re based on ignorance
Updates to follow pic.twitter.com/ZqtE1ES8gm
Updated
NHS England records coronavirus hospital deaths
NHS England has recorded 44 more coronavirus hospital deaths. It says that those who died were aged between 60 and 99 years old and all had known underlying health conditions. The details are here.
A week ago the equivalent daily figure was 30. Two weeks ago the equivalent daily figure was 14.
Edinburgh city council has just announced that the city’s hugely popular Christmas festivals will not go ahead this year, because further coronavirus restrictions mean “it is now clear that the best place to experience Edinburgh’s Christmas and Hogmanay will be from home”. The world-famous Hogmanay street party had already been cancelled in July.
Stating that public health was its number one priority, the council’s leader, Adam McVey, said: “Following the latest restrictions and through the development of plans, it became apparent that activities for Christmas were not going to be possible.” The festival normally attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the city and makes millions of pounds for events organisers and local businesses.
McVey added: “Whilst we understand the absence of popular events will bring some disappointment, we want to be clear that Edinburgh’s Christmas isn’t cancelled and our businesses right across the city will be offering their usual festive cheer for us to take advantage of. We look forward to announcing details of an innovative digital 2020 programme soon to help in these celebrations.”
Updated
The latest Guardian Politics Weekly podcast is out. Jessica Elgot and Sonia Sodha discuss the latest from Westminster and Fiona Harvey updates us on Cop26 Summit preparations. Plus, Polly MacKenzie and Naomi Smith review the Liberal Democrats’ conference.
Updated
More robots at laboratories should improve testing times, No 10 says
Here are the main lines from the Downing Street lobby briefing.
- The new restrictions announced by Matt Hancock for Merseyside, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough will come into force on Saturday morning at one minute past midnight, the prime minister’s spokesman said.
- The spokesman said robots were being used more in laboratories to speed up test result times. Commenting on today’s performance figures from NHS test and trace (see 12.59pm), the spokesman said:
We have seen demand grow for tests. What we need to do is to work hard to turn test results round as quickly as possible.
What we are doing to achieve that is getting more labs joining the network, investing in new technology to process results faster.
We are automating parts of the testing process and we are hiring more permanent staff ... [That included] the greater use of robot technology in order to allow us to process tests as quickly as we can.
- The spokesman refused to comment on a report in today’s i saying the local lockdown regulations may be simplified, with all areas being subject to one of just three sets of rules. Under this proposal, there would be three tiers, with the worst affected areas being under the tightest rules etc. This would address the problem caused by the fact that the current rules vary from place to place. Asked about the report, the spokesman just said:
We keep all of the measures which we put in place under review and if there is anything further to set out we will do so to the [House of Commons].
- The spokesman said that the PM thought everyone - including his father and Jeremy Corbyn (see 9.56am) - should follow the rules. But the spokesman declined to back calls for Corbyn to be fined. Enforcing the rules was a matter for the police, the spokesman said.
Updated
Merseyside needs 'substantial' package of economic support, say MPs and council leaders
Council leaders and MPs from Merseyside have issued a joint statement describing today’s new restrictions as “a step in the right direction”.
But they are also saying the government should publish the scientific evidence showing why the government thinks these measures will be enough.
And it says the government also needs a “substantial” package of economic support.
Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool city region, has posted it on Twitter.
The measures announced today are a step toward restricting the spread but we need to understand if they are enough to arrest the rise cases across our region.
— Steve Rotheram (@MetroMayorSteve) October 1, 2020
We're asking for Government to share their scientific evidence and provide us with more substantial financial support. pic.twitter.com/8gV1uJs87n
Merseyside restrictions may not go far enough to stop spread of virus, says council leader
Graham Morgan, the leader of Knowsley council, says the new restrictions announced for Merseyside this morning may not be enough.
I'm still concerned that these new COVID-19 restrictions won't be enough to stop the spread of the virus here. We're at a critical point & need swift, effective solutions to protect our residents. Our conversations with Government will continue. https://t.co/Z5DZ8azYDl
— Leader of Knowsley Council (@Knowsley_Leader) October 1, 2020
Updated
Businessman launches fresh legal challenge against lockdown rules
Simon Dolan, the businessman who is challenging the legality of the government’s emergency Covid-19 regulations, is seeking an injunction to halt the latest lockdown laws.
Working with the wedding venue operator Cripps Barn Group Ltd, Dolan served papers on the government today and asked the high court for an urgent judicial review of the legislation.
If the injunction is granted, Dolan said, and public officials attempted to impose the lockdown laws they could be in contempt of court which is ultimately punishable by imprisonment.
The court of appeal is expected to hear Dolan’s separate appeal at the end of this month against an earlier decision that secondary legislation imposed under the Public Health (Control of Infectious Disease) Act 1984 are proportionate and legitimate.
Dolan, who has raised £300,000 for the case, said:
With 16m people now under draconian local restrictions, and everyone facing harsh fines for contravening rules they can’t even understand, the tide is turning. More and more people believe, like us, that the government cannot be allowed to do what it likes with no thought to the consequences of its actions.
The new legislation has been sneaked in using a legal loophole without scrutiny from parliament. That is why the country is in a total mess and a state of confusion. Businesses are being driven into the ground and lives are being ruined. The prime minister himself had to apologise for getting confused by his own laws and his own father did not know to wear a mask.
Mark Henriques, managing director of Cripps & Co, said:
The latest round of lockdown restrictions, introduced through the back door without any parliamentary scrutiny, are absurd and contradictory. They are devastating the hospitality industry and all its support businesses. We are asking the courts to halt the new restrictions at least until they have been properly debated.
There was a furious exchange between Nicola Sturgeon and Ruth Davidson, at FMQs as the Scottish Tory leader pressed the first minister repeatedly on the escalating dispute over the Scottish government’s refusal to release papers to the Holyrood committee investigating the botched inquiry into misconduct claims against Alex Salmond.
Yesterday MSPs on the committee appealed to the courts to help break an impasse that threatens to derail their investigation, as tensions over the investigation boiled over in the Holyrood chamber. Oliver Mundell, a Scottish Conservative MSP, accused Sturgeon of lying to parliament and was then ejected when he refused to withdraw the advice.
Davidson repeated the substance of Mundell’s accusation yesterday, that Sturgeon had not stuck to her repeated pledges that every document would be released to the inquiry. But the first minister reacted angrily, insisting that she had submitted evidence, but “I can’t be responsible for the fact that evidence I’ve submitted hasn’t been published ... the committee can call me [to give evidence] anytime it likes.”
To laughter from opposition benches, she said: “The idea that the Scottish government is trying to obstruct the committee doesn’t bear scrutiny.”
The government and Salmond have both refused to release some legal papers, citing confidentiality or court orders, and have been slower to release others that they pledged to provide. Peter Murrell, Sturgeon’s husband and SNP chief executive, has been accused by the committee of offering minimal help.
Following the exchange, a member of the committee, the Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton, said that members had not yet seen Sturgeon’s submissions, because they are supposed to be included with other submissions.
Thoughts on FM answer to @RuthDavidsonMSP:
— Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP🔶 (@agcolehamilton) October 1, 2020
1. She has submitted written evidence but we STILL haven’t seen it. Apparently to be included with other submissions.
2. CEO of SNP has been less than forthcoming with evidence- we’re still waiting
3. Committee did not leak messages👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/E9dSlwAnp9
Updated
The Local Government Association says today’s test and trace performance figures show that its officials do a much better job than the national contact tracers working for NHS test and trace (a service provided by private contractors). This is from Ian Hudspeth, chair of the LGA’s community wellbeing board.
Councils’ public health teams are using their unique expertise and understanding of their communities to reach those who cannot be contacted by the NHS test and trace system, including speaking other languages. These figures show they are having much more success at reaching complex close contacts of positive cases.
Many councils have launched, or will shortly launch, their own locally-supported contact-tracing arrangements. However, to maintain and improve upon their local efforts, they continue to need prompt information on who they should be trying to contact as soon as possible, along with the right resources.
Hudspeth is referring to the number of close contacts reached in so-called complex cases. See the final chart in the post at 12.59pm. The national contact tracers deal with normal cases (called non-complex ones), but when there are outbreaks in institutions like hospitals, local public health officials take over. (These are called complex cases but arguably they are less complex - because the contacts all tend to be in the same place.)
Updated
NHS Test and Trace going backwards on two of its main targets, latest figures show
NHS Test and Trace has published its weekly performance figures. They are here (pdf) and they show that, on two of its main indicators, performance is getting worse. Testing times are improving, but they are still way off the target set by the prime minister.
Here are the main points.
- The number of people testing positive is now four time as high as it was at the end of August. In the week ending 23 September a total of 31,373 new people tested positive for Covid-19 in England. That was a 61% increase on the previous week, and four times the level in the last week of August.
- The service is still far away from delivering all test results within 24 hours, as Boris Johnson, although there has been a recent improvement. For all pillar 2 tests (ie, tests taking place outside hospitals - which means most tests) 16.9% of results were received within 24 hours in the week ending 23 September, up from 10.3% in the previous week. For in-person tests (local test sites, mobile testing units and regional test sites), 38.1% of results were received within 24 hours compared to 28.2% in the previous week. The government now prefers to focus on the percentage of test results delivered the following day, and in the latest week 70.6% of in-person tests results were received the next day, compared to 52.9% in the previous week. But Johnson did tell MPs on 3 June that he would get “all tests turned around within 24 hours by the end of June, except for difficulties with postal tests or insuperable problems like that”.
- The service is getting worse at reaching the people referred to it because they have tested positive. The contact-tracing service has two roles; it must contact the people referred to it because they have tested positive to ask about their close contacts, and it must then speak to those contacts to ask them to self-isolate. In the week ending 23 September only 71.3% of people referred to the system were reached. That is the second week in a row that this figure has gone done - last week it was 80.8% - and it is now close to the proportion achieved when the service launched. The target is 80%. The graph illustrates the scale of the problem.
- The service reached 71.6% of the close contacts of people who tested positive in the week ending 23 September. This is down from 76.3% in the previous week, but above the 69.9% for the week to September 2, which is the lowest weekly figure to date. The target is 80%.
Archbishop of Canterbury says all families on universal credit should get free school meals
The archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of Durham have urged the government to extend free school meals to every child whose family is on universal credit, and expand holiday provision to all children on free school meals, saying the number of families who could be destitute by Christmas is “harrowing”.
The food bank charity the Trussell Trust says 46,000 food parcels will need to be provided by their network to people in crisis between October and December 2020 – an increase of 61% on last year. It estimates an additional 670,000 people will be destitute by the end of the year.
Writing in TES, Justin Welby and Paul Butler say:
All schools must have the appropriate resources to be able to address issues of child hunger and poverty and expand their role as places of security for children who are at risk, whilst maintaining safety at school.
This includes the expansion of free school meals to every child whose family is on universal credit, and the expansion of holiday provision to all children on free school meals.
At present, beyond infant school, free school meals are strictly means-tested, and only available to universal credit claimants with a household income of less than £7,400.
A single alert to public health officials in Cornwall from the national NHS test and trace service led to the identification of 170 Covid-19 cases at a food factory.
The vast majority of workers at Pilgrim’s Pride Ltd in Pool who proved positive did not have coronavirus symptoms and had no idea they had the virus.
Cornwall council’s public health team, along with Public Health England SW and the NHS, is working with the factory to try to stop the outbreak spreading into the community.
Meanwhile, the 2021 World Pilot Gig Championships on the Isles of Scilly have been cancelled.
The event attracts thousands of rowers but the organisers said in a statement:
Our cautious optimism of a month ago has evaporated in the light of the current deteriorating situation with regard to Covid-19. There is nothing on the horizon which gives us reasonable confidence that the championships can go ahead next year. Therefore, it is with great regret that we have decided to cancel.
The event had been due to begin at the end of April.
Matt Hancock has finished his statement to the Commons.
Turning back to Brexit, this is from Bloomberg.
7/ The pound dropped by 0.7% against the dollar on news of the EU's legal action, and reports Brexit talks are failing to close differences on a trade deal
— Bloomberg Brexit (@Brexit) October 1, 2020
More: https://t.co/fD6zEWXyDA pic.twitter.com/LuA27TNMxx
And this is from Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator.
Full & effective implementation of Withdrawal Agreement will always be an absolute priority for 🇪🇺
— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) October 1, 2020
It is the result of long EU-UK negotiations & the only way to protect Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement, guaranteeing peace and stability on island of Ireland. #InternalMarketBill https://t.co/92cq1tY6Nj
But in the UK government sources are playing down the significance of the EU’s decision to launch legal proceedings. They say it is normal for the EU to be engaged in infringement proceedings against member states. There were 800 of these cases open last year, they say, and on average there are 29 against each member state.
Updated
In the Commons the SNP MP Steven Bonnar asked Matt Hancock if he accepted that the decision by Dominic Cummings, the PM’s chief adviser, to ignore lockdown rules earlier this year was encouraging more people to break the rules now, with the result that more people were at risk.
Hancock said he did not accept that there was a link.
Photograph: Jessica Taylor/UK PARLIAMENT/AFP/Getty Images
Hancock says 10pm closing time rule being kept under review after many complaints from MPs
In the Commons Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has received repeated complaints, from MPs from all sides, about the way the compulsory 10pm closing time operates. Several have asked him to provide the scientific justification for the rule. In response to Greg Clark, the Tory chair of the Commons science committee, Hancock said that people were less likely to obey social distancing in pubs after 10pm. But he told Clark the policy was being kept under review. He said:
Of course, we keep this under review and of course we’re constantly looking at how we can improve these policies, but I think we’ve got to look at both sides of the evidence to try to get this right.
Another Conservative, Jeremy Wright, suggested that hotel bars could be exempt for residents, because bars were a valuable source of income. Hancock said he would look at the idea, but that there were advantages in ensuring “clarity” in the way the rules operated.
Updated
Hancock also told MPs there enough flu jabs were available for everyone in a priority group who needed one. But people did not need to get them before December, he said.
There are enough flu jabs for everybody who needs them in a priority group.
would stress that this is a roll-out, nobody needs to have a flu jab before the start of December, you can have it in September or October, it will then cover you for the winter, and so we are rolling it out and more appointments will become available in good time.
We’ve got 30m jabs in total, that is more than we’ve ever had before, it is almost double what we have typically had in the past and those are available.
Here is a statement from Angela Eagle, the Labour MP for Wallasey, on the new restrictions for the Liverpool city region. She said:
We have asked for the government to urgently provide the evidence and data behind these decisions to introduce stricter measures.
The government are using local lockdowns as a first response to a rise in cases without putting in place any increased testing.
The test and trace programme so far has been woefully inadequate and is not sufficient to deal with localised outbreaks.
The £7m announced today for local councils to deal with the increased restrictions is simply not enough and Labour MPs have called for a far more substantial financial package to be introduced for the area, especially with the ending of the furlough scheme.
I completely understand the need for additional measures to be brought in, but the government’s chaotic approach risks people’s livelihoods and their lives.
Yesterday local authorities in the region said in a joint statement that so far the coronavirus crisis had cost them more than £350m.
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Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth also asked Matt Hancock about today’s Guardian story about how Deloitte, which is involved in helping to run the NHS Test and Trace service, is selling separate contact-tracing services directly to local health officials in the UK. Robert Booth’s story is here.
Ashworth said councils should be getting this anyway and the fact that Deloitte was seeking to sell these services was “an utter scandal”.
But Hancock said:
Deloitte have done an incredible job in helping us to put together the contact tracing and the backward contact tracing that we have, and of course they should offer their services to local councils too.
On the one hand he says local councils should have more impetus and more involvement in the contact tracing and then when a company with great experience in contact tracing comes forward to offer their services he criticises them. He can’t have it both ways.
In his response to Hancock, Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said he was concerned about the way the 10pm compulsory closing time was working. He said:
We know that sustained contact, especially in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces is a driver of infection and pubs and bars an obvious risk.
So I heard what he said about the 10pm rule, but my concerns relate to everybody leaving the pub at the same time. What action will he take so we don’t see a repeat this weekend of people piling out into city centres, packing out public transport, sometimes all piling in to a supermarket to buy more drink?
In his opening statement Hancock told MPs that today React study from Imperial College (see 10.04am) showed there were early signs that the R number (the reproduction number) may be falling.
He also said he was not willing to allow the virus to “let rip”. He said:
It is critical that the whole country acts together now to control the spread of this virus, so please for your loved ones, for your community, and for your country - follow the rules and do your bit to keep this virus under control.
By its nature, this virus spreads through social contact and so it’s had a terrible impact on the hospitality sector, who in good times exist to encourage that very social contact that we all enjoy.
We’ve had to take difficult but necessary decisions to suppress the virus. The only alternative to suppressing the virus is to let it rip and I will not do that.
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Hancock said there would be no changes to measures in West Yorkshire, West Midlands, Leicester, Lancashire or the rest of Greater Manchester.
Rules in Bolton to be aligned with rules in Manchester, Hancock says
Hancock also told MPs that the rules for Bolton would be aligned with the rules for Manchester.
We’re also aligning the measures in Bolton with the rest of Greater Manchester and I’d like to pay tribute to David Greenhalgh, the leader of Bolton council, for his constructive support and the Bolton MPs for all they’ve done in support of Bolton.
That implies that pubs will be allowed to reopen in Bolton. Hancock is addressing an anomaly highlighted by, among others, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester two days ago.
This is the problem with local restrictions.
— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) September 29, 2020
Once they’re in, they tend to stay in.
And the longer they’re in, the more the anomalies/injustices grow.
Either Ministers close hospitality in places with high cases with compensation. Or let Bolton’s open today.
It’s that simple. https://t.co/yvmladLlEo
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Here is the EU’s press notice about its decision to launch legal action against the UK over the internal market bill.
Hancock told MPs that he hoped the new rules would only be in place for as short a time as possible.
Hancock gives details of new rules
Hancock told MPs that the government would provide £7m of funding to local authorities in Liverpool, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough to help them deal with the impact of the new rules.
And he explained what the rules mean.
We recommend against all social mixing between people in different households.
We will bring in regulations, as we have in the north-east, to prevent in law social mixing between people in different households in all settings except outdoor public spaces like parks and outdoor hospitality.
Outdoor hospitality was a reference to pub gardens - the subject of the question that flummoxed the PM on Tuesday.
Hancock went on:
We also recommend that people should not attend professional or amateur sporting events as spectators in the areas that are affected.
We recommend that people only visit care homes in exceptional circumstances and there will be guidance against all but essential travel. Essential travel, of course, includes going to work or school.
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Ban on indoor household mixing to be extended to Liverpool, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is addressing the Commons now.
In Liverpool there are 268 cases per 100,000 people, he says.
So new restrictions are being imposed, he says.
He says the rules imposed in the north-east earlier this week (a legal ban on indoor inter-household mixing) will be extended to the Liverpool city region, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.
Here is the key quote from Ursula von der Leyen, the European commission president, when she announced earlier that the EU was launching legal action against the UK over the internal market bill. She said:
We had invited our British friends to remove the problematic parts of their draft internal market bill by the end of September.
This draft bill is, by its very nature, a breach of the obligation of good faith laid down in the withdrawal agreement.
Moreover, if adopted as is it will be in full contradiction of the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.
The deadline lapsed yesterday, the problematic provisions have not been removed.
Therefore this morning the commission have decided to send a letter of formal notice to the UK government. This is the first step in an infringement procedure.
Here is the response from a UK government spokesperson.
We will respond to the letter in due course.
We have clearly set out our reasons for introducing the measures related to the Northern Ireland protocol.
We need to create a legal safety net to protect the integrity of the UK’s internal market, ensure ministers can always deliver on their obligations to Northern Ireland and protect the gains from the peace process.
And here is my colleague Daniel Boffey’s story.
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From my colleague Helen Pidd
Covid cases at Sheffield university have doubled overnight. Yesterday there were 65 live cases (up from 32 on Tuesday) https://t.co/dWtj7iIbeO
— Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) October 1, 2020
EU takes first step in legal proceedings against UK over internal market bill
In Brussels Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European commission, has just delivered a short press statement.
She said provisions in the UK’s internal market bill were in “full contradiction” to the Northern Ireland protocol in the withdrawal agreement.
The deadline set by the EU for their removal (see 9.33am) has lapsed, she said.
She said the European commission has decided to sent a letter of formal notice to the UK government, as the first step in infringement proceedings.
This means the EU is starting legal proceedings against the UK for not complying with the treaty.
The UK will have a month to reply, she said.
Growth in Covid-19 cases in England may be slowing, study shows
An interim report from a large testing programme for Covid-19 in the community has found signs that the sharp rise in infections has begun to slow in England, my colleague Ian Sample reports.
There is a press release from Imperial College about the report here. And the full report is here (pdf).
Imperial College’s REACT programme has been tracking coronavirus by doing random sampling. There have been five rounds of sampling, with the first starting in May and the most recent covering late September. This chart, from the report, shows how the prevalence has increased over the course of the five rounds.
And this table, also from the report, shows the latest estimates for growth rates, reproduction numbers and doubling times for the English regions.
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Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, and Stanley Johnson, the prime minister’s father, are both in the tabloids today over breaches of lockdown rules.
Corbyn is on the front page of the Sun for attending a dinner party at which nine people ended up being present. The Sun, which claimed the dinner party took place on 26 September, quoted Corbyn as apologising.
Implying that the rule of six was being observed when he arrived, he said that he “recently had dinner at a friend’s house where the number of guests eventually exceeded five” and that he accepted that “remaining at the dinner” was a mistake.
On today's front page: Corbyn flouts rule of six at a dinner party of nine and Lewis Hamilton talks of his appreciation for Muhammad Ali #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/3zfC8KYN7i
— The Sun (@TheSun) October 1, 2020
The Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan, a shadow minister for mental health, said Corbyn should be fined. “Of course he should pay a fine. Anyone that breaks the law should pay a fine,” she told Times Radio.
But Jeremy Hunt, the Conservartive MP who chairs the Commons health committee, told Sky News that he did not agree. “The first time round people break these rules, I think we should just be a little bit British, show some common sense, and I’m sure [Corbyn] won’t do it again. He’s apologised.”
And the Daily Mirror has splashed on a picture of Stanley Johnson in a shop not wearing a mask. Johnson said he was “extremely sorry” after being pictured in a newsagents without a face covering. He told the paper he was “maybe not 100% up to speed” on the rules, having just returned from being abroad.
MIRROR EXCLUSIVE: So when’s your dad getting fined then, Boris? #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/AMrQBbP7WJ
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) September 30, 2020
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Updated
EU reportedly set to initiate legal action against UK over internal market bill
This is from RTE Europe editor Tony Connelly.
BREAKING: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will make a statement on Brexit at 11hr CET. @rtenews understands that legal action against the United Kingdom is imminent and that a draft "letter of formal notice" has been finalised, triggering legal action
— Tony Connelly (@tconnellyRTE) October 1, 2020
On 10 September the EU indicated that, if the UK did not drop the provisions in the internal market bill allowing the government to override the Brexit withdrawal agreement, in breach of internal law, it would initiate legal proceedings. In a press notice it said:
Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič called on the UK government to withdraw these measures from the draft bill in the shortest time possible and in any case by the end of the month. He stated that by putting forward this bill, the UK has seriously damaged trust between the EU and the UK. It is now up to the UK government to re-establish that trust.
He reminded the UK government that the withdrawal agreement contains a number of mechanisms and legal remedies to address violations of the legal obligations contained in the text – which the European Union will not be shy in using.
Today, of course, is 1 October, and so the deadline is up.
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Further restrictions on Liverpool likely, but without MPs getting prior vote, minister says
Good morning. Today we’re expecting coronavirus restrictions to be imposed on Merseyside, with around 1.5 million people likely to find themselves banned from mixing in pubs and restaurants. Joe Anderson, the mayor of Liverpool, told BBC Breakfast this morning:
We’ve already been told there will be restrictions and regulations put in place similar to Newcastle and the north-east, so we expect that, but potentially also the government might introduce even stricter measures so we’ve just got to wait now and see what they announce.
My colleague Josh Halliday has the story here.
George Eustice, the environment secretary, has been doing the morning interview round for the government and he told the BBC that “no decisions have yet been taken” about Liverpool.
He also confirmed that, despite ministers offering backbenchers what was billed by some as an important concession over MPs getting votes on lockdown measures, any measures for Merseyside are not likely to be subject to a Commons vote. When asked if they would be, he told the Today programme:
What the prime minister said yesterday is that if there are any other further major changes to the approach that we are taking then, yes, there will be debates and votes in parliament on that. But when it comes to the local lockdowns, there’s powers there in the Coronavirus Act that was passed earlier this year to enable those targeted measures to happen, and to happen quickly.
This is not surprise if you read the detail of what was on offer yesterday. But it may lead some MPs to conclude that the government has conceded very little.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, takes questions in the Commons.
9.30am: The ONS publishes its latest survey about coronavirus and the economy.
10am: Matthew Rycroft and Shona Dunn, who are both permanent secretaries at the Home Office, as well as the department’s director of immigration and protection, Sean Palmer, give evidence to the public accounts committee about asylum accommodation.
10.30am: Matt Hancock, the health secretary, answers a Commons urgent question about the 10pm compulsory closing time for pubs.
Morning: NHS test and trace publishes its weekly performance figures.
12pm: Downing Street is due to hold its regular lobby briefing.
12.20pm: Nicola Sturgeon takes first minister’s questions in the Scottish parliament.
12:30pm: Sir David Spiegelhalter, chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge, Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, and Prof Andrew Goddard, president of the Royal College of Physicians, take part in a Royal Society of Medicine briefing on coronavirus.
Politics Live has been doubling up as the UK coronavirus live blog for some time and, given the way the Covid crisis eclipses everything, this will continue for the foreseeable future. But we will be covering non-Covid political stories too, and where they seem more important and interesting, they will take precedence.
Here is our global coronavirus live blog.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
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Andrew, please do something about new case reporting. The best rule of thumb daily figure is going to be hospital admissions, not daily new cases, nor even a daily total in hospitals figure.
Reporting a 61% increase in a weekly new cases figure alongside a study suggesting R is falling back to c1 needs a stable context - ie daily hospital admissions. And show us the full graph for admissions from when they first were in the tens per day.
Please