Babak Belurs

Senin, 13 Juli 2020

UK government's back to work advice prompts confusion - Financial Times

Office staff in England are being encouraged by ministers to return to work where possible to prevent permanent economic damage in city centres around the country.

Yet the advice has wreaked confusion because the official government guidance — which is for people to work from home if possible — has not changed.

On Monday morning a Downing Street spokesman said: “If you can go back, provided your company has obeyed the guidelines, provided it is safe, then you should go back to work.”

He indicated that the suggestion would also apply to tens of thousands of civil servants, who have been ordered to work from home since March.

The comments came after prime minister Boris Johnson on Friday appeared to encourage people to return to work.

Government officials said the changing verbal advice reflected ministers’ fears about the damage to the economy from the majority of workers staying at home. “The prime minister is definitely concerned about the impact of cities and towns and people not being there,” said one.

They added that the absence of workers in city centres was doing huge damage to businesses ranging from sandwich shops to clothing retailers and newsagents.

Number 10 said on Monday that the formal guidance is “under review”, adding: “What the advice says is that employers should decide in consultation with their workers whether it is viable for them to continue working from home.”

The ambiguity has prompted frustration among business groups, which have called for greater clarity.

Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the CBI, which represents UK industry, said that whether office workers could return had become a “really fuzzy area”.

She said: “We have no clarity. Michael Gove [the cabinet office minister] hinted at it, Boris Johnson hinted at it . . . Tell us if offices can go back. We need much more clarity.”

Dame Carolyn added: “Regent Street [in central London] has all its shops open and nobody is in them. That’s because offices haven't gone back. If offices continue to stay away we will have very stressed high streets and local communities.”

Ministers have not changed the formal written guidance partly because there are still concerns about the safety of some workplaces — even though Downing Street insists that many offices are now “Covid secure”.

The government also fears that a sudden jump in the numbers returning to work could overwhelm public transport — a challenge that is particularly acute in London.

London Underground says it would struggle to maintain social distancing at over 25 per cent capacity, even with the distance recently reduced from two metres to one metre.

Many workers are telling their employers that they do not want to have to travel on public transport to get to their offices because of health concerns.

One government figure agreed that there was a “potentially confusing” difference between the formal guidance and the new verbal advice but said: “There is a creative ambiguity there, we want more people to come to work but don’t want a complete return to normal yet.”

Latest coronavirus news

Follow FT's live coverage and analysis of the global pandemic and the rapidly evolving economic crisis here.

Another said the government wanted to leave it to employers and employees to thrash out the best way forward — depending on their circumstances. “The message is go if you think it’s safe but whether it’s safe is up to you the worker, this is open to interpretation.”

Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA transport union, said: “Sadly we have had mixed messages from this government . . . when people rightly expected and deserved absolute clarity from ministers.”

Last week the Department for Transport removed from its website guidance saying people should avoid public transport to prevent the spread of Covid-19 — although it still says people should work from home if possible.

Scotland has made it mandatory to wear face coverings in shops. While England’s official guidance recommends people wear face coverings in shops and other enclosed spaces, it is not mandatory. © Hollie Adams/Getty Images

Meanwhile Mr Johnson on Monday said people in England “should be wearing face coverings inside shops — in line with existing rules for public transport — as he appeared to soften up the public for an imminent change in advice.

With Scotland having already ordered citizens to cover their faces in shops, the prime minister said the government would decide this week whether “tools of enforcement” were needed to get English people to follow suit.

The intervention appeared to contradict cabinet office minister Michael Gove, who on Sunday said that face coverings should not become mandatory in English shops.

Additional reporting by Daniel Thomas

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2020-07-13 16:56:00Z
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MPs clash over post-Brexit points immigration rule - Social care workers can't get fast track visas - The Sun

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2020-07-13 16:30:01Z
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Boris Johnson: face masks should be worn in shops in England - Guardian News

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Boris Johnson: face masks should be worn in shops in England Guardian News
PM says face coverings ‘should be worn’ in shops BBC News
Confusion over masks policy after UK minister says they should not be compulsory - BBC News BBC News
The message is go back to work. The guidance is stay at home. So that’s clear then The Independent
Face masks should not be made compulsory Telegraph.co.uk
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2020-07-13 16:46:00Z
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'Brexit deal MUST be done this year!' -Labour rejects extension demands in shock statement - Express

Michael Gove has stressed that regardless of the outcome of negotiations with the EU, the Government is determined to leave the single market and customs union on the deadline. His shadow counterpart, Rachel Reeves, appeared to side with the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster on the "vital" need for a Brexit deal to be delivered. This appeared to break with Sir Keir Starmer's previous demands for constant delays when he was Shadow Brexit Secretary under Corbyn's Labour leadership.

Ms Reeves told the House of Commons: "It is vital that businesses and jobs are supported, and that the oven-ready deal that the country was promised is delivered upon this year.

"Yet frankly, many of us are worried about whether the oven was even turned on."

Ms Reeves also pointed to the "extraordinary" contents of a leaked letter from cabinet minister Liz Truss that was addressed to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and Mr Gove.

In the letter, Ms Truss raises concerns about border control post-Brexit, and expresses worry about possible smuggling between the UK and EU.

Despite Sir Keir accepting the December deadline, notable Remainers such as Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the Scottish Nationalist Party members petitioned the Government to change their minds.

Mr Khan broke ranks with his party and called for the Government to stop “putting dogma ahead of the national interest”.

The SNP had urged Labour and other opposition parties to back an extension to the Brexit transition period until the end of 2022.

However, the UK formally confirmed it would not seek an extension of the Brexit transition period beyond December last month, and the deadline for the request has now passed.

Mr Gove thanked her for her "comittment to working collaboratively" in order to ensure the best possible deal with the EU.

He told Ms Reeves: "It is the case that progress is being made.

"Still there are significant differences between ourselves and the European Union.

"But I did think it was significant and welcome, for example, in the joint committee that they conceded it would no longer be appropriate for the EU to have an office in Northern Ireland.

"This is an example of the flexibility, which I know Michel Barnier and the others are applying in the broader negotiations."

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2020-07-13 16:00:00Z
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Coronavirus: PM says face masks ‘should be worn’ in shops - BBC News

Boris Johnson has said people in England "should be wearing" face masks or other coverings inside shops to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The prime minister said the government would decide in the next few days if "tools of enforcement" were needed.

The comments follow cabinet minister Michael Gove telling the BBC on Sunday that face coverings should not become mandatory in shops in England.

Labour has demanded "urgent clarity" from the government on the issue.

And the boss of Waterstones bookstores, James Daunt, said it "would not be right" to ask shop workers to "police" any new policy.

Face coverings are worn to help prevent wearers spreading coronavirus, rather than catching it.

Currently, they are compulsory on public transport in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland - and the Welsh government has announced it will enforce the same measure from 27 July.

In Scotland, coverings are also mandatory in shops, but not elsewhere in the UK - and critics have complained that the situation in England needs to be made easier for the public to understand.

Analysis by Helen Catt, political correspondent

The signs seem to point towards the government making face masks compulsory in more places in England, but ministers appear reluctant to commit just yet.

Michael Gove's preference for trying to encourage people to take action voluntarily - rather than through fear of enforcement - is one we've seen the government repeat throughout the pandemic.

But the risk that comes with it is of mixed messaging. Earlier, when coronavirus was more widespread, it said the scientific evidence for mask-wearing was not clear enough. Now, it says, the evidence is stronger.

Of course, the scientific understanding of the virus is constantly developing, and so policy is likely to as well.

If the government does now think masks are the way forward though, communicating that message without confusion is going to be key.

The World Health Organization says masks or homemade cloth face coverings should be worn in public where social distancing is not possible to reduce the spread of coronavirus droplets.

It changed its advice last month, having previously argued there was not enough scientific evidence to say that healthy people should use them.

Visiting ambulance staff in central London, Mr Johnson, whose government controls health policy in England but not the rest of the UK, said: "I think people should be wearing [face masks] in shops.

"And, in terms of how we do that whether we make it mandatory or not, we'll be looking at the guidance - we'll be seeing a little bit more in the next few days."

Mr Johnson added: "Throughout this crisis people have shown amazing sensitivity towards other people and understanding of the needs to get the virus down by doing things cooperatively.

"Wearing masks is one of them... It's a mutual thing; people do see the value of it. We'll be looking in the next few days about exactly how - with what tools of enforcement - we think we want to make progress."

The statement follows some confusion over the government's intentions in recent days.

The prime minister said on Friday: "I do think we need to be stricter in insisting people wear face coverings in confined spaces where they are meeting people they don't normally meet."

But on Sunday, Cabinet Office minister Mr Gove told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show he did not think wearing masks in shops in England should be compulsory, adding that he would "encourage" them to do so "where they are likely to be mixing with others and where the ventilation may not be as good as it might".

He added: "I think that it is basic good manners, courtesy and consideration, to wear a face mask if you are, for example, in a shop."

Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said that "conflicting advice and conflicting statements from the government only hinder our fight against the virus".

He has written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, asking him to "urgently set out the position on face coverings".

"As lockdown rules are further relaxed this week, it is vital that updated guidance on this issue is published by the government without delay," Mr Ashworth added.

Paddy Lillis, general secretary of the shop workers' union Usdaw, said "mixed messaging" on face coverings was "not helpful" for staff.

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2020-07-13 14:26:15Z
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Care workers do not qualify for health visa in new post-Brexit immigration plans - Sky News

Social care workers do not qualify for the government's new health and care visa under the UK's post-Brexit immigration system, Downing Street has confirmed.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has unveiled details of how the UK's new points-based system will operate when it comes into effect on 1 January next year, after EU freedom of movement rules end.

A health and care visa will provide a route for key health professionals to work in the UK.

However, this will not include social care workers, Number 10 revealed.

The prime minister's official spokesman said the government wants employers to "invest more in training and development for care workers in this country".

He said: "On care workers specifically, our independent migration advisers have said that immigration is not the sole answer here, which is why we have provided councils with an additional £1.5bn of funding for social care in 2021-22, as well as launching a new recruitment campaign."

Existing EU workers in the care sector could apply to stay in the UK through the settlement scheme "and a very large number have done so", the spokesman added.

"Those people will remain in the UK providing really important care to the elderly and the vulnerable."

Speaking during a visit to London Ambulance Service on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK will have a "humane and sensible" immigration system after the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December.

"Although of course we are going to be taking back control and we are controlling our immigration system we're not going to be simply slamming the gates and stopping anybody anywhere coming into this country," he said.

Asked if he thinks there will be enough people to coming into the country to work in the social care system, Mr Johnson replied: "I do.

"Don't forget, one of the amazing things we've seen in the last few months is actually there are more EU nationals, I'm proud to say, living and working in this country than we even thought.

"We're seeing huge numbers of people registering for their right to remain and that's great so we have a big, big stock of workers who are helping out in this country who have come from abroad."

But the failure to include care workers in the new NHS visa was criticised in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Caroline Abrahams, the charity director of Age UK, described the move as "patently the wrong decision".

"Reforming and refinancing care will take time, if it happens at all, so the prudent approach would be to keep the door open to EU-based social care staff at all levels for 3-5 years at least," she posted on Twitter.

The prime minister recently came under fire for claiming "too many" in the sector "didn't really follow the procedures" during the coronavirus crisis.

And Labour's shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds asked: "What does this government have against care workers?

"The latest papers on the proposed immigration system confirm that the Tories do not consider carers as skilled workers.

"Have they learned nothing from this crisis? We will be seeking urgent clarification on this."

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Rehana Azam, national secretary of the GMB union, said the new immigration rules were "descending into an embarrassing shambles and makes no consideration or acknowledgement of the vital job care workers have been doing these past few months".

She added: "At a time when care is facing its greatest ever crisis, and with care homes reliant on hundreds of thousands of workers from outside Europe and facing staffing shortfalls, ministers are cutting off their noses to spite their faces."

The team in Coventry spoke to Sky News ahead of its 72nd birthday which will be supported by a final clap across the UK. — Special report: The NHS - catastrophe brings change

Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Layla Moran said: "How can Boris Johnson clap for carers one day then refuse to give them a visa the next?"

The government's immigration plans also include provisions to ban foreign criminals sentenced to more than a year in jail from entering the UK.

The change means criminals from the EU would be treated the same as currently happens to those from non-EU countries.

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2020-07-13 12:12:57Z
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PM says face masks ‘should be worn’ in shops - BBC News

Boris Johnson has said people in England "should be wearing" face masks or other coverings inside shops to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The prime minister said the government would decide in the next few days if "tools of enforcement" were needed.

The comments follow cabinet minister Michael Gove telling the BBC on Sunday that face coverings should not become mandatory in shops in England.

Labour has demanded "urgent clarity" from the government on the issue.

Face coverings are worn to help prevent wearers spreading coronavirus, rather than catching it.

Currently, they are compulsory on public transport in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland - and the Welsh government has announced it will enforce the same measure from 27 July.

In Scotland, coverings are also mandatory in shops, but critics have complained that the situation in England needs to be made easier for the public to understand.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says masks or homemade cloth face coverings should be worn in public where social distancing is not possible to reduce the spread of coronavirus droplets.