That’s all from me for today.
Our full story on Novavax is here:
And our coverage continues on our global coronavirus live blog. It’s here.
My colleague Jessica Elgot has more on the Novavax deal:
The UK will produce up to 60m doses of a Covid-19 vaccine in a new deal struck on Monday to boost domestic supply, amid fears over potential export bans hitting imports of vaccines from Europe and India.
A government source said the UK had always intended to build a domestic manufacturing capability but suggested that had been underlined by the bitter dispute with the European Union which has seen Brussels threaten an export ban on supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine based in a Netherlands plant.
The deal announced on Monday with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline covers the “fill and finish” manufacturing capacity of up to 60 million doses of the Novavax coronavirus vaccine.
The vaccine is already being produced at a Fujifilm facility in Stockton-on-Tees, even though the UK regulator has yet to approved the jab. The finishing will begin at GSK’s facility in Barnard Castle in County Durham from early May.
Boris Johnson said the deal between GSK, Novavax and the vaccines taskforce will “further boost our vaccine rollout”.
The full story will come soon.
Updated
PA Media has a handy Q&A about the Novavax vaccine as Boris Johnson announced a deal with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on the manufacture of up to 60m doses of it.
• How does the vaccine work?
The Novavax vaccine works like other vaccines by teaching the immune system to make antibodies to the coronavirus spike protein. Researchers inserted a modified gene into a virus, called a baculovirus, and allowed it to infect insect cells.
Spike proteins from these cells were then assembled into nanoparticles which, while they look like coronavirus, cannot replicate or cause Covid-19.
These nanoparticles are then injected into the body via the vaccine where the immune system mounts an antibody response.
If the body encounters coronavirus in the future, the body is primed to fend it off. The vaccine is given as two doses.
• Are there advantages of the Novavax vaccine?
Yes. While the jabs from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna need to be kept at ultra-low temperatures, the Novavax jab is stable for up to three months in a normal fridge.
• How effective is the vaccine?
According to results of a phase three trial in the UK, announced in March, the jab offers 100% protection against severe disease, including all hospital admission and death.
It is 86% effective against the Kent variant, the company behind it said, and it is also 96% effective in preventing cases caused by the original strain of the coronavirus.
The study in the UK enrolled more than 15,000 participants aged between 18 and 84, including 27% over the age of 65. In participants aged 65 and older, 10 cases of Covid-19 were observed, with 90% of those cases occurring in the placebo group.
• Where is it made?
The protein antigen component of the vaccine is produced in the north-east of England by Novavax manufacturing partner Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, at its site in Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees.
GSK announced on Monday that it will provide “fill and finish” manufacturing capacity – preparing vials of the final vaccine and packaging them for distribution and use – at its Barnard Castle facility, also in the north-east, beginning as early as May. It said the “rapid technology transfer” between the two companies will begin immediately.
• Has the Novavax vaccine been approved?
Not yet. A rolling review is under way by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to assess the vaccine.
Updated
Early evening summary
- Boris Johnson has stressed the need for caution at a press conference to mark easing of Covid restrictions in England, saying he does not know how well protected Britain will be from the third wave now building up on the continent. In his opening remarks he said Britain needed to “continue flat out to build the immunity of our population, build our defences against that wave when it comes”. He elaborated on this in answer to a question, saying:
The vaccine rollout has been very impressive ... but what we don’t know is exactly how strong our fortifications now are, how robust our defences are, against another wave. That’s why I stress what’s happening with our European friends because, historically at least, there’s been a time lag and then we’ve had a wave ourselves.
Prof Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, made a similar point. He said the vaccination programme provided “a wall” against the third wave. He went on:
But it is not a complete wall, it is a kind of leaky wall. Therefore, there will always be some people who either have chosen not to be vaccinated, or where the vaccine has had much less effect.
If we get a small surge, there will be cases of people who have been vaccinated who will have severe disease, and there will be cases of people who are not vaccinated, a much higher proportion, who will get severe disease, and some of those will go on to die.
If you get a very big wave, that would obviously lead to a significant impact. So that’s the reason why the prime inister and ministers have been absolutely determined that this is a slow and steady unlocking, looking at data between each step.
- Whitty explained why the government did not think it was safe for grandparents to hug their grandchildren at Easter even after having had both doses of vaccine. In response to a question from the Mail’s Jason Groves, who said after two doses grandparents would have as much protection as they were ever likely to get, Whitty said:
The thing to understand with vaccines is they provide increasing levels of protection as we go through.
The first vaccine provides a high degree of protection. The second vaccine for the same person provides greater protection but there’s still some vulnerability.
Then having people around someone who is vaccinated who are themselves vaccinated provides a further level of protection.
And then the key thing is keeping the rates right down makes it very unlikely that someone who comes in, even if they haven’t been vaccinated, actually has Covid and will be able to pass it on.
What we’re trying to do is get to the point where all of those protections are in place and we’re not yet at that stage ...
The great majority of people have not yet had their second vaccine, and if they’re meeting people who are under the age of 50, they will not have had their vaccination unless they actually have a pre-existing health condition or are a healthcare worker.
I would like to re-stress a point that [Sir Patrick Vallance] made also, which is that people are not immediately protected when they’re vaccinated. It is important to remember there is a period of time of, if you’re an older citizen, maybe three weeks or so between the time that you get vaccinated, and the time when the protection kicks in.
- Johnson said the vaccine taskforce had agreed a deal with GSK for it to finish production of the Novavax vaccine in the north-east. At the press conference he did not say the factory would be at Barnard Castle, the town made famous by Dominic Cummings’s lockdown-busting, eyesight-testing expedition. (See 5.38pm and 5.46pm.)
Updated
This is what Boris Johnson said in his opening speech about the deal with GSK for Novavax.
I’ve already told you that Novavax – a potentially significant new weapon in our armoury against Covid – is going to be made at Fujifilm in the north-east. And I can today announce that the vaccine taskforce has reached an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to finish and bottle this precious fluid, also in the north-east, giving us between 50 and 60 million doses of UK made vaccine subject to the right approvals from the MHRA.
Two plants are involved because vaccine manufacture often involves a production process, and a separate “fill and finish” process, when the vaccine is bottled and packaged.
Updated
GSK to manufacture Covid vaccine at Barnard Castle
It turns out there was a story after all. It’s just that the PM did not mention it. This is from Sky’s Joe Pike.
For some reason the PM didn’t mention the North East town where the Novavax COVID vaccine is being produced...
— Joe Pike (@joepike) March 29, 2021
Barnard Castle.https://t.co/0RnCfiviqX
Q: Can you categorically rule out another lockdown?
Johnson says yes, but with two provisos; yes if everyone obeys the rules, and yes if the vaccine rollout continues and the vaccines continue to be as effective as they seem to be.
He says he’s hopeful.
I don’t see anything in the data right now that would cause us to deviate from the road map. We have got to remain humble in the face of nature and we have got to be prepared to do whatever it takes to protect the British public.
Q: What does you say to reports London has low rates of vaccine take-up amongst care home staff. In Lambeth it is just 45%?
Whitty says the majority of care home staff have been vaccinated.
Vaccines will protect them, he says.
He says people should seek out reliable advice.
And he says his view is that people with caring jobs have a responsibility to the people they are looking after.
And that’s it. The press conference is over. It was one of the less newsy and more routine ones we’ve had.
I’ll post a summary soon.
Updated
Q: How realistic is it to expect the police to stop people breaking the rules?
Johnson says the police have done an outstanding job. They have handed out around 70,000 fines. But they rely on public understanding.
Q: Why has France not been added to the red list?
Johnson claims the UK has one of the toughest regimes. There are 35 countries on the red list. He says it is constantly being kept under review.
Updated
Whitty says even after two doses of vaccines grandparents should not hug grandchildren at Easter
Q: If people have had both doses, why shouldn’t they hug their grandchildren at Easter. They are as safe as they will ever be.
Whitty says having two doses provides protections. But vaccines also offer protection by reducing the amount of virus in transmission. He says that protection will not fully be in place.
He says younger people not be vaccinated, and will be meeting people who aren’t.
And he says it takes time for the second dose to take effect.
Q: You are still restricting people’s liberties. Are you testing the patience of the public? Are you worried people will stop listening?
Johnson says he knows how much he has asked of people. But people understand the need for caution, he says.
The more we stick to the roadmap, he says, the more it will be irreversible.
Q: Are we really at risk of a third wave, given how many people have been vaccinated?
Whitty says there is a wall of protection that will get stronger with second doses. “But it is not a complete wall, it is a leaky wall.”
If there is a small surge, people will get severe disease and die. If there is a big wave, there will be a “significant impact”.
Vallance says keeping the rate down also reduces the chances of new variants emerging.
Q: When will the Novavax vaccine be available?
Vallance says he cannot answer an operational question. He says Novavax has not had regulatory approval yet.
But Johnson says they already making it.
Johnson says he does not know how well UK is protected against third wave
Q: How important is it for people to be cautious?
Johnson says the emphasis on caution is right. He says he does not know how strong the defences are against a third wave.
Whitty says a high proportion of those who will catch and transmit Covid have not been vaccinated yet.
But if people stick to social distancing rules when they are outside, the risk of transmission is “massively lower”.
So if people stick to mixing outdoors, the uptick from this step should be modest, he says.
Updated
Q: Isn’t there a danger of mixed messages – celebrating relaxation, but stressing the need to be cautious?
Johnson says the whole point about the roadmap is that it allows time for data to be reviewed as they move forward.
Vallance says data should be assessed in week four.
Next week will be week four for step 1, which started with the reopening of schools. There will be a formal analysis next week, he says.
Q: How concerned are you about what is happening in Europe?
Whitty says anyone should care about what is happening in Europe.
But the main worry is the risk of importing new variants from Europe.
He says he and Vallance do not approve measures. They give advice to the PM, he says.
Updated
Q: Will the shortage of supplies affect second doses?
Johnson says there should be no problem. “April will be the second dose month,” he says.
Q: Will there be an exemption from travel rules for people who want to go abroad to see family?
Johnson says people in that situation will have to follow the rules (which implies no exemption). He will say more on this on 5 April, he says.
Updated
Sir Patrick Vallance shows a chart showing what impact single-dose vaccination would have on hospital admissions, by age group.
This shows how effective vaccines are, he says. But he says it also shows that vaccines do not offer 100% protection.
Updated
Whitty says, as schools have gone back, there has been a slight uptick in cases among young people.
Updated
Whitty shows a chart comparing Covid cases with Covid deaths, by age groups. The red line represents where the vaccine programme has reached.
Most transmission has been in younger age groups that have not been vaccinated.
That is why, as restrictions are unlocked, cases will rise, he says.
Updated
Prof Chris Whitty is now presenting the slides.
Here are the death figures.
Johnson says GlaxoSmithKline to bottle Novavax vaccine in north-east England
Johnson talks about the Novavax vaccine being made in the north-east of England and the millions of doses due to be available to the UK. He says the vaccine taskforce has also reached an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to bottle the vaccines at a site in the north-east of England.
Updated
Boris Johnson's press conference
Boris Johnson says he knows how much it will have meant to people to have been able to have a cup of tea with someone on their garden.
But that was only possible because of the sacrifices made during lockdown, he says.
As lockdown eases, there will be more cases, more hospitalisations and more deaths, he says.
That is why the country must build up its protection. For many people, that protection will be a second dose, he says. He says April will be the month for second doses, he says.
The UK government has recorded 23 further UK coronavirus deaths on its dashboard. That’s six more than the equivalent figure for last week. Week on week, the number of deaths is still falling significantly (by 25%), but the rate of decline has slowed. Yesterday the seven-day average for deaths was down 32% on the previous week.
Updated
Sir Keir Starmer has visited the memorial on the Southbank, opposite the Houses of Parliament, in remembrance of the thousands of victims of coronavirus. As PA Media reports, the mural, which is being painted by the families of the deceased, will be made up of almost 150,000 hand-drawn hearts. The Labour leader spoke to Matt Fowler, co-founder of the campaign group Covid 19 Bereaved Families for Justice. (See 12.53pm.)
In Northern Ireland just 65 new coronavirus cases have been recorded, and no further deaths.
A week ago today there were 87 new cases, and one death.
The Department of Health #COVID19 dashboard has been updated.
— Department of Health (@healthdpt) March 29, 2021
65 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. No deaths have been reported.https://t.co/GY8wzQAonI pic.twitter.com/nKt7433m2C
Scotland has recorded 352 further coronavirus cases. As the government update reveals, there have been no further deaths reported. And the number of patients in hospital is 259.
The number of patients in hospital is well down from the equivalent figure last Monday (353), but the number of cases is almost the same as the number for seven days ago (359).
1,810,709 people in Scotland have been tested for #coronavirus
— Scottish Government (@scotgov) March 29, 2021
The total confirmed as positive has risen by 352 to 217,479
The number of deaths of patients who tested positive remains at 7,584
Latest update ➡ https://t.co/bZPbrCoQux
Health advice ➡ https://t.co/l7rqArB6Qu pic.twitter.com/CPsaeycqtT
Updated
Responding to Nicola Sturgeon’s speech this morning (see 11.58am), Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said:
It is one thing to say that fighting child poverty will be your ‘national mission’ when you are new to government – the SNP has been in power for 14 years and the first minister has led the country for seven years.
Nicola Sturgeon has presided over a quarter of our children living in poverty and in her own constituency almost half of children live in poverty. That is a record of shame and, frankly, Scotland deserves better.
Updated
A total of 28,709,906 Covid-19 vaccinations took place in England between December 8 and March 28, according to NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 379,454 on the previous day.
As PA Media reports, NHS England said 25,903,782 were the first dose of a vaccine, a rise of 252,376 on the previous day, while 2,806,124 were a second dose, an increase of 127,078.
Covid case rates in four nations of UK levelling off at six-month low
Covid-19 case rates for each of the four UK nations have dropped to a six-month low, but continue to show signs of levelling off, PA Media reports. PA says:
Wales has the lowest rate among the four nations, with 39.1 cases per 100,000 people recorded in the seven days to March 24.
Rates have not been at this level in Wales since mid-September.
The pace of the drop has slowed considerably, however, with the latest seven-day rate barely changed from 42.6 recorded a week earlier or 40.3 the week before that.
It is a similar story in England, where the current rate of 55.9 cases per 100,000 people is down only slightly from 57.1 in the previous week and 58.8 a fortnight earlier.
In Scotland, the rate currently stands at 70.1, compared with 73.5 a week earlier and 69.5 two weeks ago.
Northern Ireland has seen its seven-day rate drop slightly from 66.4 on March 10 to 59.8 on March 17 and 56.3 by March 24.
NHS England has recorded 18 further coronavirus hospital deaths. The details are here.
A week ago today 48 hospital coronavirus deaths were recorded, and two weeks ago today there were 76.
Sir Keir Starmer has given his backing to his shadow chancellor amid rumours of an imminent reshuffle, as the Labour leader nears his first anniversary in office, my colleague Jessica Elgot reports.
As well as calling for an inquiry into the “rape culture” scandal in schools (see 1.31pm), Sir Keir Starmer has also restated Labour’s demand (first made last week) for an inquiry into the Greensill Capital affair, and the role played by David Cameron in lobbying on behalf of the company. Starmer said:
I think through the pandemic, we’ve seen some of the best of human behaviour in terms of the solidarity, the small things people have done for each other.
We’ve also seen increasing evidence of cronyism – money being sprayed at contracts that haven’t delivered.
And the Greensill issue, every day we learn a little bit more, there’s got to be an inquiry, we need to get to the bottom of what happened, who spoke to who and what effect did it have. And the sooner that inquiry starts the better.
Updated
This is well worth watching, not least because of David Lammy’s remarkable politeness when persistently being told by an LBC caller that he can’t be English.
Bravo @DavidLammy https://t.co/Yn6qWI5WEK
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) March 29, 2021
Public Health Wales has recorded one further coronavirus death, and 125 further cases.
A week ago today no deaths were recorded, but there were 150 cases.
The rapid COVID-19 surveillance dashboard has been updated
— Public Health Wales (@PublicHealthW) March 29, 2021
💻 https://t.co/zpWRYSUbfh
📱 https://t.co/HSclxpZjBh
Read our daily statement here: https://t.co/u6SKHz0zsG pic.twitter.com/7J7ADdo7wy
No 10 rejects SNP claim Johnson wants to cut public spending for Scotland
The Downing Street lobby briefing is over. Here are the main points.
- No 10 played down suggestions that UK may share vaccine supplies with any other country soon. A report at the weekend said 3.7m doses may be offered to Ireland. But, asked about this, the PM’s spokesman said:
Our first priority is to protect the British public. The vaccine rollout is continuing to that end. We don’t currently have a surplus of vaccines but we will consider how they are best allocated as they become available.
Asked if this meant vaccines would not be be shared until every adult in the UK has been offered a vaccine, the spokesman replied:
Our first priority is to protect the British public. So, of course we want to ensure that we have offered all of those over 50 their first dose by April 15, and then we provide all adults with their first dose by the end of July, as we continue to work through our road map.
- The spokesman said talks with the EU about ensuring vaccine supplies from the continent were ongoing.
- The spokesman defended the decision not to force hauliers arriving in the UK from abroad to be tested unless they stay in England for more than 48 hours. Yvette Cooper, the Labour chair of the home affairs committee, has criticised this. Asked to respond to this, the spokesman said the testing regime “balances public health and the need to be practical in allowing critical activity [to continue]”. He also said that, under the new rules announced yesterday, all hauliers arriving in England would have to self-isolate in their cabs unless they have a good reason not to.
- The spokesman confirmed that the government does not like using the term BAME (for Black, Asian, or minority ethnic). The spokesman said:
The government doesn’t routinely use the term BAME or BME because they are not well understood, according to user research, and because they include some groups and not others. For example, the UK’s ethnic minorities include white minorities and people with a mixed ethnic background. Similarly we do not use “people of colour” as it doesn’t include white minorities.
According to a report in today’s Telegraph, the PM’s commission on race and ethnic disparities will later this week recommend in a report that the term BAME should be dropped. This is from the Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith.
EXC: Boris Johnson’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities reports back this week.
— Ben Riley-Smith (@benrileysmith) March 28, 2021
It will recommend the term BAME should no longer be used by public bodies and companies. https://t.co/bhQ0rKUXtd
- Downing Street said a helpline would be set up for victims of sexual abuse at schools. Asked about the school “rape culture” scandal, the spokesman said:
We want victims to have the confidence to report crimes and be comforted in knowing that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice.
Given these allegations, a police helpline will be set up in due course to ensure victims can access advice and support where needed and DfE and the Home Office and the NPCC are in contact, with everyone invited to provide support to those who are reporting abuse and to provide advice on contacting the police if they wish.
- Allegra Stratton, the PM’s press secretary, dismissed Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that Boris Johnson wants to cut public spending in Scotland. (See 11.58am.) She said Westminster had given at least £9bn to Scotland to help it through the pandemic, and that this was more than what was due under Barnett consequentials (the mechanism that ensures Scotland gets a share when extra spending is announced for England). Asked if the government had any plans to cut funding for Scotland, she said there were “no plans whatsoever for this”. She went on:
The direction of travel has been in the opposite direction. There has been an increase in support for the Scottish people to help them through the pandemic.
- Stratton said that Johnson “does follow the Nolan principles when conducting himself in public life”. The seven Nolan principles are: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. She said:
[Johnson] does believe in the wide principles of integrity and honesty. I’ve said that he acts with integrity, and is honest. And I’ve said that he follows the Nolan principles when conducting himself in public life.
Stratton was responding to questions triggered by new revelations by Jennifer Arcuri about her relationship with him when he was London mayor. Stratton insisted that this had been investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which found that that the relationship did not break the law.
But after the briefing Peter Oborne, who was political editor of the Spectator when Johnson was editor and who has just published a book denouncing the PM as a persistent liar, said Stratton was wrong.
I am afraid this is a straightforward lie from PM's press secretary Allegra Stratton. Mr Johnson does not act with integrity or honesty and he does not follow the Nolan principles. All this is all too well documented. https://t.co/z43S5WKLfN
— Peter Oborne (@OborneTweets) March 29, 2021
And the Mirror’s Dan Bloom criticised the way Stratton summarised the findings of the IOPC report at the briefing.
No10's Allegra Stratton claimed *nine times* today that the IOPC ruled allegations of impropriety against Boris Johnson were "untrue and unfounded". That's before she was told those words don't actually appear in the IOPC report - they were used by a No10 spokesperson...
— Dan Bloom (@danbloom1) March 29, 2021
As the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar reports, a further inquiry is being carried out by the Greater London Assembly’s oversight committee.
New: Boris Johnson's press secretary says he will "engage" with the GLA Oversight committee inquiry over Jennifer Arcuri links. As we reveal below, he may not have a choice 👇https://t.co/QN3wfO4gii
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) March 29, 2021
Updated
Adults living with people with weakened immune systems to be prioritised for vaccination
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has said adults who live with people who have weakened immune systems should be prioritised for the vaccine. In a letter (pdf) to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which recommended the change, Hancock said anyone living with a severely immunosuppressed adult should be placed in priority group six for vaccination – the cohort for people with serious underlying health conditions.
Updated
Labour calls for inquiry into 'rape culture' in schools
Labour is calling for an inquiry into the recent revelations about a widespread “rape culture” in schools. Sir Keir Starmer told Sky News:
I’m really worried about what we’re seeing over recent days. I know many parents will be, many school teachers and staff, and of course, young people.
There’s got to be an inquiry, and it’s got to get going very fast. This is serious.
There is, of course, a criminal investigation and I would encourage anybody to come forward and give evidence in that investigation, to say what has been happening.
Updated
Boris Johnson will be joined at his press conference at 5pm by Prof Chris Whitty, the England’s chief medical officer, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, No 10 has said.
Updated
Hancock says 'door is not shut' on holidays abroad this summer
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, told ITV’s This Morning that “the door is not shut” on foreign holidays this summer. He told the programme:
We may get to a position where if you’ve had your jab, then other countries will say ‘you’ve got to have the jab to come in’. And so we’ll make sure everybody can do that.
Asked if there may be foreign holidays this summer, he said:
There may well be, I wouldn’t rule that out. The door is not shut, it’s just too early to say, but what we can say with confidence is that the unlocking home is on track.
He confirmed that his own summer holiday would be in Cornwall this year. And he revealed that he would be visiting his constituency, West Suffolk, at the weekend for the first time since November. He said:
We’re saying that you should minimise travel but if you want to travel to see friends and family then that is absolutely fine.
For instance, I haven’t been home to Suffolk since November. I’m planning to go this weekend, but only go for the day because there’s no overnight stays, but I’m going to go for the day on Easter Sunday. I’m going to see friends in Suffolk outdoors, and then come back again.
Updated
Campaigners from Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, who are calling for an urgent inquiry into the pandemic, have this morning been using paint pens to paint hearts on what they want to turn into a Covid memorial wall on the Embankment in London, opposite the Houses of Parliament. Matt Fowler, a co-founder of the campaign who lost his father Ian to coronavirus, said:
This is an outpouring of love. Each heart is individually hand-painted – utterly unique, just like the loved ones we’ve lost. And like the scale of our collective loss, this memorial is going to be enormous.
The group says it has this morning notified Lambeth council of what it is doing.
Updated
SNP proposes exempting under-22s from council tax
In her speech this morning Nicola Sturgeon did not mention council tax, but Kate Forbes, the Scottish government’s finance secretary, has announced that if the SNP wins the Scottish election it will scrap council tax for young Scots. At the moment people become eligible for it at the age of 18, but the SNP would raise that to 22. Forbes said:
In recognition of the impact Covid has had on lives and opportunities for young people, particularly those entering the jobs market for the first time, a re-elected SNP Scottish government will increase the age at which young people become eligible for council tax from 18 to 22.
A move that will save young people in their own homes hundreds of pounds a year.
Updated
Johnson wants to cut Scotland's share of UK public spending, Sturgeon suggests
And Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has been delivering an SNP campaign speech this morning. Here are the key points.
- Sturgeon suggested Boris Johnson would like to cut Scotland’s share of UK public spending. She said:
In the past, [Johnson] has accused us of “free-riding” on tax-payers south of the border. He has said it is “monstrous” that we have free personal care. And he said a pound spent in Croydon is of far more value than a pound spent in Strathclyde. Many of his band of Brexiteers are on record with similar views.
Now, because of the strength of the SNP the Tories probably think they wouldn’t get away with cutting Scotland’s share of UK spending. But I’m pretty sure that’s what they would like to do.
Sturgeon is right to say many Tories think Scotland gets more than its fair share of public spending (it’s a view shared by around 40% of English voters, according to a recent book covering this subject), but the Johnson government has never proposed cutting what Westminster gives Scotland (which is largely determined by the long-standing Barnett formula) and, partly for the reasons Sturgeon sets out, there is very little chance of this changing anytime soon.
- She suggested that Johnson was not qualified for leadership – as well as suggesting that Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, and Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, lacked experience to replace her. She said:
The pandemic has also – for me – reinforced some fundamental principles of leadership. It’s important to always treat people like adults. And to lead like a grown-up too. Don’t pretend to be infallible. Learn from mistakes, don’t deny them.
And, in tough times especially, understand that experience matters.
Sturgeon did not mention Johnson by name in this passage, but it is obvious who it is referring to.
- She said the UK government was going to court to challenge Scottish parliamentary legislation intended to protect children. She said:
Two weeks ago, the Scottish parliament unanimously passed landmark legislation to incorporate the United Nations convention of the rights of the child into domestic law. It was a proud moment not just for our parliament, but for our country.
I had hoped that the Tory government might follow our lead – and ensure children’s rights would be protected and enhanced right across the UK.
But not only did they refuse to follow our lead – they actually sent us a letter threatening to go to court to strike down our new law, and overturn the unanimous vote of the Scottish parliament. What bothered them was that this bill could constrain the powers of the UK government over Scotland.
- She said her proposed 4% pay rise for NHS staff in Scotland would lead to a nurse at the top of band 5 of the Agenda for Change pay scale being £1,300 better off after tax than a counterpart in England.
- She said if the SNP won the election they would increase the value of the Scottish child payment - a benefit for low-income families – from £10 per week to £20 per week.
Updated
Yesterday London reported no Covid deaths in the daily round-up for the first time in six months, the BBC is reporting.
Anas Sarwar, the new Scottish Labour leader, has this morning set out his party’s “recovery plan” for the NHS. The party’s campaign for the Scottish parliamentary election is based on a “national recovery plan” covering five areas (jobs, NHS, education, climate and communities) and today we’ve had the NHS component.
The main components include prioritising cancer treatment to get services back on track after the pandemic; creating a national care service; and paying social care workers £12 an hour, as a step towards lifting their pay to £15 an hour.
This morning @AnasSarwar is unveiling our recovery plan for Scotland’s NHS to:
— Scottish Labour (@ScottishLabour) March 29, 2021
👉Get cancer treatment back on track
👉Improve mental health
👉Give carers the pay they deserve
Scottish Labour is focused on uniting to build a stronger recovery for a fairer Scotland #BothVotesLabour pic.twitter.com/YnBufNkZy3
Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
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Quarter of those shielding in England have not left home in last week, ONS survey suggests
The Office for National Statistics has also published a report this morning on whether the 2.2 million people categorised as clinically extremely vulnerable in England were following advice to shield in January. It says:
- 59% of people in the clinically extremely vulnerable group who were aware of the advice to shield were following it completely.
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24% of people in the clinically extremely vulnerable group had not left home for the last seven days – even though the advice says they can go out for exercise or essential medical appointments.
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Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images
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In an interview with my colleague Vikram Dodd, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), Martin Hewitt, says forces’ legitimacy in black communities is so low it is damaging the effectiveness of law enforcement.
David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, told Times Radio this morning that Hewitt was “exactly right”. He said:
I’m afraid if you are nine times more likely to be stopped and searched when you are a young black person going about your business and committing no crime, if you are twice as likely to die in police custody and – it is still the case in Britain that only 1% of our police officers come from black communities – then you can understand that there is a lot to do.
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Black Africans less likely to have been vaccinated than other ethnic groups in England, ONS survey of over-70s says
The Office for National Statistics has published its report on vaccination take-up by demographic group. It covers people aged 70 and over vaccinated in England up to 11 March. Here are the main points.
- Black Africans are the ethnic group in England least likely to get vaccinated, the ONS report says. Amongst people aged 70 and over, the group covered by the report, 58.8% of Black Africans were vaccinated by 11 March. For Black Caribbeans the figure was 68.7%, for Bangladeshis 72.7%, for Pakistanis 74%, for Chinese 76.7%, for Indians 86.2% and for white British 91.3%.
The ONS says about 30% of the difference between ethnic groups can be explained by adjusting for geography, age, sex and underlying health conditions (all factors that affect vaccine take-up). It says, even adjusting for these factors, Black Africans in the aged 70 or over group are more than five times as likely not to be vaccinated as people in the white British group.
Because this survey focuses on the over-70s, the ethnic differences in vaccine take-up may look especially stark. Separate ONS research suggests the gap in vaccine hesitancy between the old and the young is much larger than it is between blacks and whites.
- Vaccine rates also differ by religious affiliation, the ONS says. It says amongst people aged 70 and over, Muslims had the lowest vaccination rates (72.3%) and Christians the highest (91.1%).
- Disabled people aged 70 or over who say they are limited a lot in their day-to-day activities have lower rates of vaccination (86.6%) than the non-disabled (91%), the survey shows.
- People living in the most deprived areas aged 70 or over had lower vaccination rates (87%) than people living in the least deprived areas, the ONS says.
Prof Sir Mark Walport, who was Sir Patrick Vallance’s predecessor as the government’s chief scientific adviser, told Times Radio this morning that there were good reasons to be cautious as lockdown gets eased. He said:
Just across the Channel we are seeing many European countries well into a third wave of infection.
The average number of cases per day is about 5,000 in the UK – and is rather persistently stuck there at the moment – in France the average number of cases is nearly 37,000 cases a day.
The risk of the moment is that the South African variant becomes more prevalent, as it is in some parts of Europe.
We’ve only got to look overseas to see that there’s good reasons to be cautious.
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A mass Covid-19 vaccination centre has opened in Northern Ireland at the SSE arena in Belfast and is expected to provide 40,000 jabs per week.
Nurses started administering the AstraZeneca vaccine this morning at the venue which before the pandemic was used for entertainment.
It will allow Northern Ireland to significantly accelerate vaccinations, said Arlene Foster, the first minister. The venue was transformed in six weeks and will operate seven days a week, scaling up from Monday’s planned 1,850 jabs. It should relieve pressure on hospitals and GPs’ surgeries.
In Northern Ireland vaccines are available to people aged 50 or over. Just over half of adults have received at least one dose.
The entire adult population - 1.4m – should receive its first shot by July.
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'Fresh air' safety message highlights No 10 concerns about rule-breaking as England eases lockdown
Good morning. England is taking a significant step out of lockdown today, but as our overnight story explains, the government is urging people to be cautious, and to stick to the rules. We will be hearing from Boris Johnson later at a press conference.
People in England are now allowed to meet up in groups of six, or in two households, outdoors. But meetings of this type will not be allowed indoors until 17 May at the earliest and, in a sign of how worried the government is about people bending the rules, the Department of Health and Social Care is launching a publicity campaign to explain outdoors is so much safer. “‘Hands, Face, Space” has become “Hands, Face, Space and Fresh Air.” An advert making this point will start being shown tonight and the DHSC quotes Prof Catherine Noakes from Leeds University, who advised on the film, as saying:
An infected person releases particles into the air by coughing, talking or simply breathing.
The closer you are to people, the greater the risk of breathing in infected particles. When we are outdoors, the risk of infection is significantly lower as fresh air disperses and blows Covid-19 particles away, and we have more space to social distance from each other.
When outdoors, stick to groups of 6, or 2 households. Keep a safe distance and meet outside, because you’re much safer in fresh air.
Here is the government’s guide to what’s allowed in England.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: The ONS publishes reports on vaccination rates by socio-demographic characteristics including ethnicity, and on Covid and extremely vulnerable groups.
11am: Nicola Sturgeon gives a speech to the online SNP conference.
Behind the scenes of a Covid election - recording my conference speech at home (filmed from outside to comply with restrictions). You can watch the speech @theSNP at 11am pic.twitter.com/BorCImYUXS
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) March 29, 2021
12pm: Downing Street is due to hold its daily lobby briefing.
5pm: Boris Johnson holds a press conference at 9 Downing Street in the government’s new media suite.
Politics Live has been mostly about Covid for the last year and I will be covering UK coronavirus developments today, as well as non-coronavirus Westminster politics. For global coronavirus news, do read our global 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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