Babak Belurs

Minggu, 22 November 2020

Christmas is saved! Festive bubbles will let ‘up to 4 households’ mix for 5 days over Xmas period - The Sun

CHRISTMAS has been saved this year with up to FOUR households allowed to "bubble up" for five days to enjoy the festivities together.

Families will have to choose their social bubble in advance and will be able to spend time indoors with them - including at the pub.

⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates

Christmas will be saved this year with a five-day break from the rulesCredit: PA:Press Association

It is understood up to four households can meet but this is yet to be signed off by the government.

But once the merriment is over, Brits will then return to tough tier restrictions being announced by Boris Johnson tomorrow.

The ban on household mixing will likely be lifted for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day through to the Bank Holiday on December 28.

What Brits can do this Christmas:

It is believed up to four households will be able to meet up indoors including at the pub
This effectively scraps the rule of six over the five-day period
The relaxed rules will likely come in on Christmas Eve through to the Bank Holiday on December 28
All four UK governments are working on a plan that will allow Brits to travel to meet family
Social bubbles will have to be announced in advance and social distancing is still in place - so hugs are still banned

But Brits will have to stick to social distancing guidelines still - meaning they will not be able to hug loved ones.

As The Sun revealed last week, strict lockdown rules will be paused for five days for Christmas.

It comes after fears Brits would simply ignore the rules - with Met chief Dame Cressida Dick saying cops have "other things to do" than barge in on Christmas lunches.

The festive reprieve has been confirmed today by ministers after negotiations between all four devolved governments.

Michael Gove said there would be “limited additional household bubbling for a small number of days”.

A statement from the Cabinet Office said: "Ministers reiterated the importance of allowing families and friends to meet in a careful and limited way, while recognising that this will not be a normal festive period and the risks of transmission remain very real.

“As such, Ministers endorsed a shared objective of facilitating some limited additional household bubbling for a small number of days, but also emphasised that the public will be advised to remain cautious, and that wherever possible people should avoid travelling and minimise social contact.”

The proposed new rules Boris will announce tomorrow:

As part of other Christmas plans, beauty salons, gyms and hairdressers are also expected to open for a "morale boost".

And the government is also in discussions about how it might allow some pantomimes to go ahead during the festive period.

It comes ahead of Boris unveiling his winter Covid plan to the Commons tomorrow, which will include the re-introduction of the tier system once lockdown lifts next month.

Under the ramped-up Tier 2 and 3 rules, millions of Brits will be banned from mixing with other households indoors.

Tier 2 - which covered large swathes of the country before lockdown - is expected to be beefed-up to be more in line with the previous tier 3.

This could include the shutting of pubs that don't serve food and a ban on meeting indoors and in gardens.

Tier 3 is expected to be hardened but the exact new restrictions are still being thrashed out.

It means that aside from the five-day Christmas break, Brits will effectively be in lockdown via tiers until Easter when "normal life" will hopefully resume.

In one positive step, Boris is said to be calling time on the controversial 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants.

He instead plans to extend opening hours until 11pm - with the hope this will stop revellers congregating in crowds on the streets.

Boris will unveil his Covid winter plan tomorrowCredit: PA:Press Association

Earlier this week, Public Health England boss Dr Susan Hopkins said Christmas "is possible" but warned it could come at a price.

She said harder measures could be needed before and after Christmas to make up for the five days of festive freedom.

Dr Hopkins said: "We are keen to have Christmas as close to normal as possible, but that will require every effort now and in early December to get cases as low as possible to reduce transmission."

And Chancellor Rishi Sunak has reiterated that Christmas this year "is not going to be normal".

He added: "I think it's difficult to be so precise and granular about the impact of any individual measure that we might take.

"I think the good news is we're going to be exiting national restrictions, which is something that I think people at the beginning of this were doubtful of.

"The Prime Minister will be setting out more details tomorrow about going back to a more localised approach, seeing what we can do to allow families to see each other at Christmas time.

"But it is not going to be normal."

It is not clear what the five days are but they could fall between Christmas Eve and the Bank Holiday MondayCredit: AFP or licensors

Bubbles will be able to sit in the pub together

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2020-11-22 15:49:00Z
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UK hospitals record 250 more Covid fatalities in highest Sunday death toll since beginning of May - Daily Mail

UK records another 398 Covid fatalities - more than DOUBLE last weeks total of 168 - but surge is blamed on 'data processing' error after 141 deaths were excluded from Saturday's figures

Further 398 coronavirus deaths were reported today, a 137% rise on last Sunday
The Government has blamed today's surge in death toll on a 'processing update'
The 141 deaths that went unreported yesterday were added on to today's total
The figure for Sunday alone is 257, meaning an actual rise of 53% on last Sunday
18,662 new Covid cases were reported today marking 25% drop on last Sunday

By Henry Martin and Jemma Carr For Mailonline

Published: 15:03 GMT, 22 November 2020 | Updated: 17:54 GMT, 22 November 2020

The UK has recorded a further 398 coronavirus deaths today, more than double last Sunday's total of 168

But the Government has blamed today's surge in death toll on a data processing error which saw 141 fatalities go unreported yesterday.

The deaths excluded from Saturday's data were added on today's, meaning the figure for Sunday alone is 257.

This signals a much smaller rise in the number of Covid deaths compared to last week - with the actual increase standing at 53 per cent.

Furthermore, the 18,662 new Covid cases reported today mark a 25 per cent drop on the 24,962 positive tests seen last week.

A Government statement read: 'Due to a processing update, 141 previously published deaths within 28 days in England were excluded from the published data on November 21.

'This issue has now been corrected for data published on November 22, which includes deaths omitted yesterday in today's total and daily number of newly reported deaths.'

Last Sunday saw the hospital death toll increase by 168, and the Sunday before that, November 8, saw another 161 patients die (pictured: A test in November)

The figures come as Boris Johnson is set to outline a return to the three-level system but with more areas potentially placed into the top Tier 3 than before the November lockdown, ahead of a planned relaxation at Christmas.

Mr Johnson is also planning to relax the much-criticised 10pm pub curfew, easing restrictions to allow drinking holes to call last orders at 10pm and give punters an hour to drink up and finish meals.

But Mr Johnson's plans, which have to be approved in a Commons vote to become law, are facing strident opposition from a hardcore block of his own party, who argue that the restrictions cause more damage than they prevent.

MPs in the Covid Recovery Group wrote to the Prime Minister last night demanding he give Parliament a full 'cost-benefit analysis' of the new system amid concerns over the ongoing effect on the economy and also people with existing long-term health problems.

In the letter to the PM, the group led by former chief whip Mark Harper and High Wycombe MP Steve Baker, said: 'There is no doubt that Covid is a deadly disease to many and it is vital that we control its spread effectively. But we must give equal regard to other lethal killers like cancer, dementia and heart disease, to people's mental health, and all the health implications of poverty and falling GDP.

'The tiered restrictions approach in principle attempts to link virus prevalence with measures to tackle it, but it's vital we remember always that even the tiered system of restrictions infringes deeply upon people's lives with huge health and economic costs...

'We cannot support this approach further unless the Government demonstrates the restrictions proposed for after December 3 will have an impact on slowing the transmission of Covid, and will save more lives than they cost.'

A row over care home admission has been reignited.

In answer to a parliamentary question from Labour health spokeswoman Monica Lennon, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said patients being discharged from hospital many not need to have two negative tests, as has been Scottish Government policy since April, if clinicians believe it is in their interest to be moved.

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Ms Freeman said it is 'right and proper' that medical staff are able to make those decisions.

She added: 'It is not right - and I don't believe your viewers would expect me, as a non-medical, non-clinical politician - to be intervening in that decision.'

Ms Lennon called on the Scottish Government to put an end to the practice, accusing the Health Secretary of 'throwing doctors and social workers under the bus for following her guidance'.

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2020-11-22 15:03:00Z
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Rishi Sunak warns against accepting a post-Brexit EU trade deal 'at any price' - Daily Mail

Rishi Sunak warns against accepting a post-Brexit EU trade deal 'at any price' with both sides reaching for an agreement as he says the UK economy will prosper 'in any eventuality'

He spoke today amid ongoing talks between both sides in search of a deal
Told the BBC UK has been consistent, adding: 'we will prosper in any eventuality'
Added: 'We should not be going for a deal at any price ... the wrong thing to do'

By David Wilcock, Whitehall Correspondent For Mailonline

Published: 13:31 GMT, 22 November 2020 | Updated: 16:17 GMT, 22 November 2020

The UK should not accept a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU 'at any price', Chancellor Rishi Sunak said today.

The Chancellor insisted that he had confidence in the British economy 'in all circumstances' to do well after the transition period ends on December 31.

He spoke today amid ongoing talks between both sides in search of a deal, with disagreement still outstanding over fishing rights and state aid rules.

A deal is said to be 95 per cent done, but it is the last 5 per cent which have been at the centre of a tug-of-war for months.

Mr Sunak told the BBC's Andrew Marr: 'I think we're making progress in the talks and I remain hopeful that we can reach resolution.

'I think we're being entirely reasonable with our requests and have been consistent and transparent through this process about what's important to us. But we will prosper in any eventuality.'

He continued: 'In the short-term specifically, and most immediately, it would be preferable to have a deal because it would ease things in the short-term.

'I think the most important impact on our economy next year is not going to be from that, it's because of coronavirus.'

He added: 'We should not be going for a deal at any price, that would be the wrong thing to do and I think there are things that are important to us in these negotiations, and we've been entirely, as I said, reasonable, consistent and transparent.'

The Chancellor insisted that he had confidence in the British economy 'in all circumstances' to do well after the transition period ends on December 31

Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday about the state of the trade deals, Nathalie Loiseau, a former Europe minister under Emmanuel Macron, said: 'I am a politician, I am neither optimistic or pessimistic'

The Chancellor also said that the UK wants the 'same treatment' as other countries in their dealings with the EU.

He said: 'We just want pretty much the same treatment as most other countries that do trade deals with the EU get.

'So, hopefully we can find a constructive place but I'm very confident about the British economy in all circumstances when I think longer term.'

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday, meanwhile, indicated that there had been 'better progress' towards reaching an agreement.

Today a French MEP has said that British politicians should refrain from using 'rhetoric or vocabulary' to describe the EU as adversaries, as Brexit negotiations continue.

'We will do everything we can to get a good deal, whether it is possible under this time pressure, honestly I don't know. I will not tell you we are nearly there because there are still big divergences.'

Ms Loiseau said 'clarity' was still needed on both sides for negotiations to be concluded.

'We are offering an unprecedented partnership with the UK, but this comes with clarity and commitments, and so far they are missing,' she said.

'We are partners, we are not meant to be adversaries.

'I would like to see UK politicians refraining from using rhetoric or a vocabulary as if we were adversaries fighting against each other.

'We are struggling to build a strong partnership for our future. This is what we owe to our fellow citizens on both sides.'

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2020-11-22 13:31:00Z
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Sunak paves way for big tax rises to pay for Covid-19 - Financial Times

Rishi Sunak has paved the way for big tax rises in the spring, warning that this week’s spending review would include forecasts laying bare “the scale of the economic shock” caused by the Covid-19 crisis.

The chancellor gave a foretaste of the grim state of the UK’s public finances, telling the BBC’s Andrew Marr: “I can tell you it’s a very difficult picture. The economy is experiencing significant stress.” He added: “There’s more stress to come.”

Although Mr Sunak said the spending review would focus on helping the country through the crisis, bleak new forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, the fiscal watchdog, will spark a new debate about who will pay the bill.

The chancellor is expected to next year look at how the tax system works for the better off — including pensions tax relief and the capital gains tax system — as he tries to restore “sustainable public finances” after the pandemic has eased.

“I'm hopeful that by the spring, with positive news on both mass testing and vaccines, we can start to look forward,” he told the Sunday Times.

Boris Johnson has ruled out a return to “austerity” — although Mr Sunak will this week announce a public sector pay freeze, one of the hallmarks of the fiscal retrenchment after the 2008 financial cash.

However tax rises rather than spending cuts are expected to bear the burden of a fiscal consolidation. For now, the prime minister is insisting on higher spending in some areas.

Wednesday’s spending review will include spending commitments for “a green industrial revolution” and a £16.5bn boost for defence, along with an extra £3bn for the NHS to help it cope with the fallout from the pandemic.

Mr Sunak, referring to Mr Johnson, joked he would like to “take his credit card away”, and this week’s statement is likely to mark a turning point as the chancellor prepares to recover some of the billions of pounds spent during the Covid-19 crisis.

There will be some moves in the statement to rein in borrowing, including the public sector pay freeze — excluding NHS workers — and an expected cut to the overseas aid budget which could save £4bn a year.

Borrowing in October hit £22.3bn, with public sector debt now over £2tn, creating political and economic conditions for what Treasury insiders admit will have to be some “big” decisions on taxation ahead of a spring Budget.

Even before the pandemic previous chancellors George Osborne and Sajid Javid looked at the system of pension tax relief, which mainly benefits richer people and costs almost £40bn a year in forgone income tax revenues.

The Conservative party’s election manifesto in 2019 pledged to remove “arbitrary tax advantages for the wealthiest in society”. It also promised not to increase rates of income tax, VAT and national insurance — a pledge Mr Johnson says he wants to keep — limiting Mr Sunak’s room for manoeuvre.

The chancellor, asked by Sky News’ Sophy Ridge about the so-called “tax triple lock” in the manifesto, left open the possibility that the promise might not be honoured: “I don’t comment on future fiscal events,” he said.

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2020-11-22 12:48:00Z
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Covid-19 lockdown ends Dec 2 but 'Christmas won't be normal' - The Sun

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2020-11-22 12:14:00Z
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'No return to austerity', says chancellor but hints at public pay freeze - Sky News

Rishi Sunak has told Sky News there will be no return to austerity in his upcoming spending review, but hinted at a future public sector pay freeze.

Speaking to the Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, the chancellor said any wage settlements needed to be considered "in the context of the wider economic climate".

However, Labour has warned a cap on public sector pay would be "a kick in the teeth" for frontline workers who provided support through the coronavirus pandemic, while unions have argued it would be "morally obscene" and have not ruled out out the threat of strike action.

The growing row comes as Mr Sunak is due to unveil a £100bn plan for long-term infrastructure investment and a £3bn package of new funding to support the NHS in recovering from the COVID-19 crisis.

However, ahead of his spending review on Wednesday, he has also warned over the state of the nation's finances and the need to get them back on a sustainable footing.

The latest official figures show public sector debt stood at at £2.076trn by the end of October - bigger than the entire UK economy - with borrowing at record levels.

In a wide-ranging interview, the chancellor also:

The chancellor told Ridge: "You will not see austerity next week, what you will see is an increase in government spending, on day-to-day public services, quite a significant one coming on the increase we had last year.

"So, there's absolutely no way in which anyone can say that's austerity, we're spending more money on public services than we were."

He said that he "cannot comment on future pay policy", but added: "When we launched the spending review I did say to departments that when we think about public pay settlements I think it would be entirely reasonable to think of those in the context of the wider economic climate.

"I think it would be fair to also think about what is happening with wages, with jobs, with hours, across the economy when we think about what the right thing to do in the public sector is."

But Labour's shadow business minister Lucy Powell told Ridge: "Of course it would be morally absolutely a kick in the teeth, wouldn't it, for all those frontline workers who helped support us through this pandemic from the bin collectors to those working in public health, in the mortuaries, the fire fighters and so on.

"It would be an absolute kick in the teeth for them after what has been an horrendous few months and might still be a difficult few months to come."

Also appearing on Ridge, Frances O'Grady, head of the TUC federation of trade unions, said: "There's still time for the Government to step back and I would encourage them to think again, this is not smart politics, it's morally obscene and it's bad economics too."

She added: "Surely the Government doesn't think it can reintroduce austerity for the people who put their health, and in some cases their lives, on the line to help the rest of us.

"If you want to motivate a workforce when we are still facing a second wave of a pandemic, and we're going to have a tough winter - we all know that - the last thing you do is threaten to cut their pay."

Ms O'Grady also refused to rule out the possibility of strike action by public-sector workers.

She said: "I'm really conscious of the feeling out there that governments only seem to recognise the true value of labour when it's withdrawn, but of course there is time to sort this out.

"Nobody can rule anything out at the moment, but what I am saying and asking for is that the Government stands by key workers, respects the contribution they are continuing to make, recognises that this is absolutely the wrong time to be talking about pay cuts, and instead we need to start talking about fairness."

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2020-11-22 11:03:45Z
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'No return to austerity', says chancellor but hints at public pay freeze - Sky News

Rishi Sunak has told Sky News there will be no return to austerity in his upcoming spending review, but hinted at a future public pay freeze.

Speaking to the Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, the chancellor said any wage settlements needed to be considered "in the context of the wider economic climate".

However, ahead of his spending review on Wednesday, he has also warned over the state of the nation's finances and the need to get them back on a sustainable footing.

The latest official figures show public sector debt stood at at £2.076trn by the end of October - bigger than the entire UK economy.

"So, there's absolutely no way in which anyone can say that's austerity, we're spending more money on public services than we were."

"I think it would be fair to also think about what is happening with wages, with jobs, with hours, across the economy when we think about what the right thing to do in the public sector is."

"It would be an absolute kick in the teeth for them after what has been an horrendous few months and might still be a difficult few months to come."

She added: "Surely the Government doesn't think it can reintroduce austerity for the people who put their health, and in some cases their lives, on the line to help the rest of us.

Ms O'Grady also refused to rule out the possibility of strike action by public-sector workers.

She said: "I'm really conscious of the feeling out there that governments only seem to recognise the true value of labour when it's withdrawn, but of course there is time to sort this out.

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Minggu, 22 November 2020

UK records another 398 Covid fatalities - more than DOUBLE last weeks total of 168 - but surge is blamed on 'data processing' error after 141 deaths were excluded from Saturday's figures

Rishi Sunak warns against accepting a post-Brexit EU trade deal 'at any price' with both sides reaching for an agreement as he says the UK economy will prosper 'in any eventuality'

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