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Category: Coronavirus

  • Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Below is the text of the statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 3 July 2020.

    Good evening,

    Since I last spoke to you from this podium, we have continued to make progress nationally against the virus.

    We are now reporting regularly fewer than 1,000 new cases each day.

    The Office for National Statistics estimates that between 14 June and 27 June, the most recent period they have analysed, 25,000 people in the community in England had the virus – 1 person in every 2,200.

    SAGE assess that the R rate – the average number of people each infected person passes the virus onto – remains between 0.7 and 0.9 across the UK.

    SAGE also assess that, in England, the number of new infections is shrinking by between 2 and 5% every day.

    And while the number of people dying with coronavirus remains too high, the numbers do continue to fall.

    Now of course this picture is not universal. There are areas – such as Leicester – where the virus is still more prevalent than we would like.

    We always said there would be local outbreaks requiring local action. This is to be expected and will, I’m afraid, be a feature of our lives for some time to come.

    But that should not take away from the great progress we have made, together, as a country against this vicious disease.

    This progress is the reason why we have been able – slowly, carefully, cautiously – to ease the national lockdown.

    Without doubt, lockdown has saved many hundreds of thousands of lives – but it has also had a devastating impact on our way of life and our economy.

    And of course, lockdown has not yet been lifted entirely.

    Indoor gyms, nail bars and swimming pools are still closed, mass gatherings are still prohibited, social distancing is still essential.

    I want these restrictions to be lifted as soon as possible – of course I do.

    We have established taskforces to work rapidly and closely with the sectors that remain closed to explore how they can be Covid Secure. I am pleased to report good progress is being made.

    Next week we will set out a timetable for their re-opening – though of course I can only lift those remaining, national restrictions as and when it is safe to do so.

    Our goal remains to enable as many people as possible to live their lives as close to normally as possible – in a way which is as fair and as safe as possible.

    To achieve this we need to move away from blanket, national measures, to targeted, local measures.

    So instead of locking down the whole country, we will lock down specific premises or local areas where the virus is spreading.

    Instead of closing down non-essential retail and hospitality nationwide, we will only shut establishments locally as required.

    Instead of shutting all schools for most pupils, from September we will only shut those schools where it is absolutely necessary to control an outbreak.

    And instead of quarantining arrivals from the whole world, we will only quarantine arrivals from those countries where the virus is, sadly, not yet under control.

    We are already implementing this targeted approach in England.

    In Weston-Super-Mare, we identified an outbreak in a hospital, closed it to visitors and new admissions, tested all staff and patients and gave the hospital a deep clean. The outbreak was contained and the hospital is open again.

    In Kirklees, we identified an outbreak at a meat packing plant, shut down the plant, moved in a mobile testing unit, tested all employees and traced the contacts of those who were positive. The outbreak was contained and the plant has reopened with additional safety measures in place.

    And of course more recently in Leicester, we identified a community-wide outbreak which was not restricted to a single location, unlike Weston-Super-Mare and Kirklees. Public Health England engaged with the local authority, mobile testing units were deployed, full data was shared – council-wide data was shared on 11 June, and postcode-level data was shared last week.

    This enhanced monitoring through additional testing showed that the infection rate in Leicester was three times the next highest infection rate in any other city in the country. So on Monday, the Health Secretary announced local lockdown measures in Leicester for an initial period of 2 weeks.

    In each of these cases, the problems identified were specific to Weston-Super-Mare, Kirklees and Leicester. So of course it made sense to take action locally, rather than re-impose restrictions on the whole country.

    And we are learning the whole time. With each local outbreak, we see what works well and what not so well, so that we do better next time.

    Informed by our experience of these cases, we have developed an approach for controlling future local outbreaks which has five principle components: monitoring, engagement, testing, targeted restrictions and finally, as a last resort, lockdown.

    First, monitoring. Public Health England, working with the Joint Biosecurity Centre, will examine carefully data on the spread of the disease and people’s behaviour across the country. They will look out for emerging trends, rising case numbers and other indicators, while taking into account local factors. Critically, we have made local data available to all Directors of Public Health in local authorities, so they too can monitor what is happening in their area. And local data will also be available to the public on the gov.uk dashboard.

    Second, engagement. If monitoring identifies local problems, NHS Test and Trace and PHE will work with the relevant local authority to develop a deeper understanding of the problem and identify solutions. Working with local agencies, we will seek to keep the local community informed at every stage, so they know what is happening and what actions, if any, they need to take.

    Third, testing. We now have substantial testing capacity nationwide and we have the ability to target that capacity at local areas in order to get a grip on emerging outbreaks. Scaled-up testing at a local level, combined with contract tracing through NHS Test and Trace, can control the virus and thus avoid more stringent measures.

    Fourth, targeted restrictions. If the virus continues to spread, we will restrict activities at particular locations and close individual premises. As in Weston-Super-Mare and Kirklees, we will restrict access to places which become hotspots for the virus, while testing people who have spent time in those places, and tracing the contacts of anyone who tests positive.

    Fifth, local lockdown. If the previous measures have not proven to be enough, we will introduce local lockdowns extending across whole communities. As in Leicester, that could mean shutting businesses venues that would otherwise be open, closing schools or urging people once more to stay at home. Local lockdowns will be carefully calibrated depending on the scientific and specific circumstances of each outbreak and we are continually exploring smarter means of containing the virus.

    So that is the approach we will take as local outbreaks occur and we will set out more detail soon.

    Let me end by looking forward to this weekend.

    Tomorrow, there will be a moment of remembrance for those whose lives have tragically been lost before their time.

    And at 5pm on Sunday, the NHS’s 72nd birthday, we can all come together to clap those who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to help the nation get through this pandemic.

    I know everyone will be looking forward to the relaxation of national restrictions. As lockdown eases, we should focus on supporting the livelihoods of business owners and their employees up and down the country – all of whom are opening their doors for the first time in more than three months.

    They are our local restaurants, hairdressers, libraries, museums, cinemas, and yes, pubs. They are also hotels, B&Bs, indeed much of our tourism industry.

    All these businesses and their workers have put in a heroic effort to prepare their venues for this reopening, to work out a way to trade in a way that keeps their customers safe.

    But the success of these businesses, the livelihoods of those who rely on them, and ultimately the economic health of the whole country is dependent on every single one of us acting responsibly. We must not let them down.

    Lockdown only succeeded in controlling the virus because everyone worked together, and we will only succeed in reopening if everyone works together again. Because we are not out of the woods yet. The virus is still with us and the spike in Leicester has shown that. If it starts running out of control again this Government will not hesitate in putting on the brakes and re-imposing restrictions.

    Anyone who flouts social distancing and COVID-Secure rules is not only putting us all at risk but letting down those businesses and workers who have done so much to prepare for this new normal.

    So as we take this next step, our biggest step yet, on the road to recovery, I urge the British people to do so safely.

    Remember – don’t gather in groups of more than 6 outside or 2 households in any setting.

    Keep your distance from those outside your household – 2 metres if you can, 1 metre with precautions if you can’t.

    Wash your hands.

    Let’s all stay alert, control the virus, save lives – and enjoy summer safely.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2020 Comments on the Lockdown in Leicester

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2020 Comments on the Lockdown in Leicester

    Below is the text of the comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Health Secretary, on 30 June 2020.

    The Government’s response to the situation in Leicester has left people anxious and confused.

    We support the Government’s decision to reintroduce lockdown restrictions. However, there are a number of outstanding questions about how the Government intends to implement these restrictions and get the outbreak back under control.

    There is confusion about essential travel and what it means for people who travel to work outside the boundaries. There is also no clarity about what extra resources will be put in place to increase testing capacity and what financial support will be available to businesses.

    The Government must take firm leadership on this. This is the first local lockdown. People in Leicester – and across the country – are looking for ministers to take responsibility for this issue.

    Number 10 said the afternoon press conferences would now only take place if the Government had ‘something really important to say’. We believe the situation in Leicester meets that criteria. That is why I am urging the Health Secretary to hold a press conference this afternoon and give the public the answers and reassurance they deserve.

  • Stephanie Peacock – 2020 Speech on the Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff

    Stephanie Peacock – 2020 Speech on the Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff

    Below is the text of the speech made by Stephanie Peacock, the Labour MP for Barnsley East, in the House of Commons on 24 June 2020.

    It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt), the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, who spoke incredibly powerfully.

    I would like to begin by placing on the record my thanks to the doctors, nurses and staff at Barnsley Hospital, who have been working tirelessly to keep our community safe. These have been very difficult times, and my thoughts are with families who have lost loved ones, with NHS and care staff who risk their lives every day to look after patients, and with key workers who are making huge sacrifices to keep our country running.

    As a community, we have come together in the face of huge adversity. Like my neighbours in Barnsley, I have clapped for our carers. As a community and a country, we have expressed our gratitude to our NHS heroes and all our key workers, and I hope that the Government have been listening. Our applause must be translated into action.

    When I met representatives of Barnsley Hospital and Public Health England, they told me that coronavirus has changed how people see care. Fewer people are going to A&E and attending regular check-ups for existing illnesses. At the same time, millions of routine operations, screening tests and treatments have been cancelled or suspended. We need a strategy to deal with the backlog in non-coronavirus care. The motion calls for a fully functioning test and trace system for NHS staff. Without it, the NHS cannot return to offering non-urgent and routine care appointments for everyone, and existing health inequalities in the UK will only get worse.

    In Barnsley, winter death rates from flu and respiratory diseases are higher than the national average. I represent a former mining community with a large ageing population of ex-miners. Underlying health conditions brought on by their time down the pits have made them more vulnerable to this deadly disease. A recent survey by the British Lung Foundation, which has already been highlighted, showed that one in four people suffering from COPD has had a regular GP or hospital appointment cancelled.​

    Last month, 20 coalfield Labour MPs wrote to the Secretary of State, voicing the concerns of former miners who fear that if they die during this outbreak, their death certificates will make no mention of the industrial diseases that have caused them decades of ill health. We are still waiting for the Government to reply. I have heard of former miners who tested negative for covid-19 but had it recorded on their death certificate, purely because that is policy for anyone who dies in a hospital. If a death certificate does not mention a miner’s underlying health condition, their grieving family will be denied the compensation they are entitled to.

    Industrial diseases have cut short the lives of far too many miners over the years, so I ask one very simple thing of the Government: please change the advice to medical practitioners so that poor health prior to this outbreak is recorded on death certificates. Covid-19 is not some great leveller. It feeds off existing inequalities and it hits communities with vulnerable people hardest. That needs to change.

  • Jeremy Hunt – 2020 Speech on the Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff

    Jeremy Hunt – 2020 Speech on the Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff

    Below is the text of the speech made by Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative MP for North West Surrey, in the House of Commons on 24 June 2020.

    It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Gordon (Richard Thomson). It is the first time I have heard him speak from the Front Bench and it was a very thoughtful contribution. I hope we hear more from him.

    I thank the shadow Health Secretary for having this debate and, indeed, for mentioning my article in The Daily Telegraph. If I ever was on the Prime Minister’s Christmas card list, that mention will be sure to get me taken off it—[Laughter.]

    I particularly want to congratulate the Minister of State on leading this debate for the Government. As a veteran of many Opposition day health debates, I can say that she elicited a much calmer response from the Opposition than I ever did, and she deserves many congratulations for that.

    We need to start this important debate by recognising that, as a country, we are in a transformed position because of recent changes to our response to the pandemic. We are now contacting around three quarters of the people we identify as testing positive for coronavirus and 90% of their contacts are being asked to isolate. That is the basis of South Korean test and trace, and it is incredibly important that we are in that position. I am sad in this respect that the Health Secretary is not here himself, because that would not have been possible if he had not taken the courageous decision to set the target of 100,000 tests a day at the start of April. Indeed, yesterday’s announcement about the gradual easing of our national hibernation would itself not have been possible if that had not been in place, and we need to recognise that.

    The challenge we now have is that we do not know where about two thirds of new infections are happening, so we cannot feed them into the test and trace process. That is a challenge, because SAGE’s advice is that we ask about 80% of potential coronavirus contacts to isolate, and we are still some way off that. In fact, we are contacting about 700 people a day to get their contacts and there are about 2,500 daily new infections. If we do the maths, assuming that each person with coronavirus has about nine contacts, which is the current figure, that is up to a quarter of million people since the process started whom we would have liked to have asked to isolate but we have not been able to do so.

    How do we meet that challenge? Well, the answer is to do something that the Government have already shown they are very good at, which is a dramatic ​expansion of testing capacity. The city of Beijing has about a third of the population of the United Kingdom, but its daily testing capacity is nearly double ours at around 400,000 a day, and many of those tests come back within 24 hours. We look forward to the triumphant announcement next week that we are meeting the Prime Minister’s target for all non-postal tests to come back within 24 hours by the end of this month, because speed matters.

    If we expand our testing capacity dramatically, we can use it, for example, to deal with localised outbreaks, such as the one we have had in Ynys Môn, where my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie) is doing such a fantastic job in supporting her affected constituents. We can use it at airports instead of the quarantine policy, by testing people on arrival. We can use it for high-risk groups such as taxi drivers, who are particularly at risk. Most of all, we can use it for our frontline health and care staff. If we had Beijing levels of testing in this country, we would, in addition to the testing we are currently doing, be able to test every NHS frontline worker once a week. If we got it up another 200,000, we would be able to test every frontline care worker once a week as well.

    Why does that matter? It matters because, according to the evidence submitted to SAGE on 20 April, up to 25% of the coronavirus patients in our hospitals caught coronavirus in the hospital. When we add on the people who catch their infection in care homes, what we end up with is that about a third of new infections are likely to be in healthcare settings—so-called nosocomial infections, which is one of the many new words we have learned over the course of this crisis.

    Jonathan Ashworth

    The right hon. Gentleman is making a superb speech, and I agree with every word. I was struck by the Minister’s response to me when she made the point that the Government’s position is based on the advice of the chief medical officer. I would entirely understand if the Government said, “The resources are not quite there yet. We have not quite got capacity there. We need to build up capacity before we can test all the millions of NHS staff.” I think everyone would have thought that a reasonable position, and we would be urging the Government to go further. However, if the advice to the Government from the CMO is not the correct clinical approach, will the right hon. Gentleman, perhaps through his chairmanship of the Health and Social Care Committee, ask the CMO whether they will provide the Committee with that advice, and could that advice be shared across the House?

    Jeremy Hunt

    That is a reasonable question. I will certainly take that away. In fact, the CMO is coming before the Health and Social Care Committee in a few weeks’ time, and I am sure we will ask that question. My understanding is that the concern in the clinical advice is the question of false positives—people who get told that they have coronavirus when they have not. Those people might be in a very important frontline clinical role and be asked to isolate, and that might take them off very important work. To me the obvious answer is to give them a second, confirmatory test to establish whether they really do have the virus.

    Weekly testing matters and is so important not only because, with around a third of new infections happening in healthcare settings, it will save a lot of patients’ lives ​and save the lives of frontline healthcare workers, but because it is the critical thing stopping the NHS getting back to its normal levels of activity.

    Last week, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons, whom the shadow Secretary of State quoted, talked about the mountainous backlog we face in, for example, orthopaedic surgery. He said that the thing holding the NHS back is the time it is taking to set up what he calls “covid-lite” facilities, where there is a low risk of people having coronavirus. That is why testing is essential.

    I do not want to take up any more time than I need to, but I want to make this point. Korea, Taiwan and Germany are all held up as examples of places that have been particularly effective in tackling coronavirus. All of them introduced test and trace, but they all did it when the virus was at an earlier stage with much lower levels of community transmission. If we want test and trace to be effective here, we need to introduce mass testing, starting with health and care staff, and we must not delay.

  • Richard Thomson – 2020 Speech on the Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff

    Richard Thomson – 2020 Speech on the Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff

    Below is the text of the speech made by Richard Thomson, the SNP MP for Gordon, in the House of Commons on 24 June 2020.

    I record my thanks on behalf of the Scottish National party group of MPs for the work that NHS staff and care staff have done throughout these islands during the course of the pandemic to date. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that theirs has been a superhuman effort, for which some have given everything they could, including, sadly, their lives. We remember the 312 staff UK-wide who have lost their lives in the service of others, including the seven healthcare workers and the 12 social care workers in Scotland. There are no words of mine, or, I suspect, anyone else that can thank them enough for their work. We should not underestimate the toll it has taken and will continue to take in the months ahead.

    Throughout this time, we have clearly seen the value of public service and our public services. The weekly clap for carers showed people’s genuine gratitude and thanks to those who work to care for us and restore us to health. However, clapping is not enough. As we move towards what we generally term the new normal, I think the public would expect that new normal to be much better than the old normal that we came to take for granted.

    My party is committed to the principle of fair working and does everything it can to ensure the safety and welfare of Scotland’s health and social care workforce. Work is taking place to provide a range of staff wellbeing services and to share that with people working in the health and social care sector. I will give some brief examples. On 11 May, the Scottish Government launched the national wellbeing hub, PRoMIS, which was created in partnership with key agencies, professional bodies and trade unions and will support all health and social care staff in Scotland.

    My party has long advocated a real living wage, and since 2011 the Scottish Government have paid the real living wage to all their staff, including NHS workers, and that has recently been extended to all adult social care workers. Scotland was the first country in the UK to announce a death-in-service provision for NHS staff for covid-19-related deaths, including for frontline permanent and fixed-term staff, NHS locums, GP locums and NHS bank staff who are not included in the coverage provided by the pension scheme. Last month, the Health Secretary in Scotland also announced a scheme for care workers in respect of sick pay and ​death-in-service benefits, whereby a one-off lump sum of £60,000 will be payable to a named survivor, and that will be retrospective.

    We are seeing infection rates reduce because of the way that people have heeded the strong message to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives. That message has, at times, seemed to be under threat—not least when the Prime Minister, given a choice between protecting his chief adviser and the integrity of the public health messaging, inexplicably came down on the side of his chief adviser. I see the hon. Member for Moray (Douglas Ross) in his place. I am certain that he will have quite a bit to say later with which I will struggle to agree, but I want to record my respect for him saying publicly what many of his colleagues must have been saying in private, which he left the Government in order to do.

    Douglas Ross (Moray) (Con)

    As this debate is largely about testing, could the hon. Member perhaps get back to how the Scottish Government are doing on testing, given that they are only meeting a third of the capacity for daily testing?

    Richard Thomson

    I thank the hon. Member for that intervention, and I will come to that, if he is patient.

    I am not privy to the scientific advice that the Prime Minister has access to, but the apparent ease with which some have been prepared to prioritise short-term economic considerations or individual liberty ahead of the need for collective wellbeing and avoiding a potentially disastrous second wave makes me glad that the rules being followed in Scotland are being decided in Scotland. I very much hope to be wrong, but the potential for a second wave of infection in parts of England seems very real right now, and I get the growing impression that if that is to be avoided, it may be more by luck than by judgment.

    It is precisely because of the dedication of NHS and care staff, clear advice and the selflessness and self-discipline of millions of people that progress has been made. In Scotland, Test and Protect is fully in place, and without the boastfulness of saying that it is world-beating, it works and is in place. That has allowed Scotland to enter phase 2 of the route out of lockdown, which will allow NHS boards to begin moving out of a crisis response into the recovery phase, in line with the framework. That means that health boards will be able to start prioritising cancer surgery for those most in need of that treatment and to restart wherever possible urgent elective surgery that had previously been paused, as well as IVF treatment, following the necessary approvals. It means implementing the remobilisation plans for health boards and integrated joint boards, which deal with social care, to increase the provision in order to address the backlog of demands, to handle urgent referrals and to triage routine services. It will also see the reintroduction of some chronic disease management, including pain and diabetes services.

    Inevitably, there will be a backlog to be dealt with, but due to the professionalism of the staff, I think we can have confidence that it will be dealt with as we begin the process of recovery. I know how difficult it has been for people who have had procedures or treatments postponed due to the pandemic, but the message is clear: Scotland’s NHS is open, as it always has been, for ​those who need it. Anyone with medical concerns should not hesitate to contact their GP or NHS 24 or attend hospital if their illness merits it.

    Patient and staff welfare must be at the heart of the plan, as it has been through the emergency stage, and testing will be at the heart of that. The routine testing of the NHS workforce in Scotland will be extended from 8 July, as more services resume. That means that staff who work in specialist cancer services, provide long-term care for the elderly or work in residential mental health care will be offered weekly testing from 8 July. That builds on the routine testing, which is already offered to care home staff and aims to protect staff and patients by reducing the spread of the virus in hospitals and other healthcare settings. In addition, Healthcare Improvement Scotland will be resuming its inspection programmes.

    We have seen the value of the public services and the ethos of public service. We have seen it in those who have helped to keep our NHS and care settings open, saving lives and providing care for those who have needed it. Many of those who have made the greatest sacrifice are those who have come here from other countries to work in our NHS and our care services. Because of economic and social circumstances, many have been at far greater risk from the virus than it was reasonable for anyone to expect, and we have particularly seen the worrying outcomes of coronavirus in the black, Asian and minority ethnic community. There is likely to be a number of intersecting factors in that, but it is important that they are properly understood and that the measures that come out of that are acted on. I am pleased to say that the Scottish Social Justice Commission will look at the figures that have come out in that respect to look at how we can change to address those issues.

    In conclusion, there are things that it would be valuable for us to do. First, we need to value our public servants. It is nowhere near enough to clap: we need to care for our carers and families in life, as well as, sadly, sometimes in death. We should pay them what they are worth, provide them with the equipment that they need, show them that they are valued and give them reasons, whether financially or just in terms of plain decency, to believe that they have respect and that they are valued in what they do.

    We need to value the contribution that many from our immigrant communities make to our health and care services. Getting rid of the immigration health surcharge is a very welcome step. The commitment of those workers to the NHS in the country that they now call home is not in doubt, and it is time that the Government considered in what other ways they could work to remove any doubt that there might be about our commitment to them.

    Secondly, lest there be any doubt, for all the massive contribution of the private sector in overcoming supply chain challenges, it was a publicly owned, publicly operated, free-at-the-point-of-need health service and public services that rose to the challenge of caring for us in these times, often acting as the carer of last resort. That lesson has never been forgotten in Scotland. I wonder if it is time for this Government to remember that.​

    Thirdly, the virus has not gone away. There is no vaccine in immediate prospect. If we go too quickly, too far and too fast with easing restrictions, we risk very much undoing the good work that has been done. We need to honour the sacrifices that have been made by so many people by not rushing back to normal too soon. It would be a very bitter pill indeed if we were to do that, if we were to see a second wave and if the work done to date counted for less than it ought to.

  • Helen Whately – 2020 Speech on the Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff

    Helen Whately – 2020 Speech on the Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff

    Below is the text of the speech made by Helen Whateley, the Minister for Care, in the House of Commons on 24 June 2020.

    I beg to move amendment (a), to leave out from “medicine” to the end and add:

    “and recognises the unprecedented action the Government has taken in its tireless efforts against Coronavirus to protect the NHS and save lives.”

    The coronavirus pandemic is the most serious public health emergency that our nation has faced for a generation and our NHS and social care system has been well and truly on the frontline. Today, I would like to outline the work we have done to protect our NHS and social care from the threat of this invisible killer, as well as our work to safely ramp up services now that this virus is in retreat.

    On protecting the NHS and social care, we have worked hard to boost the resilience of our health and care system, so it would not be overwhelmed, as we have sadly seen elsewhere across the world. A major part of this mission was our Nightingale hospitals. This was one of the most ambitious projects this country has ever seen in peacetime, building hospitals in just a matter of weeks in exhibition centres and conference venues. That hard work from so many meant that, even at the peak of the pandemic, there was more critical care capacity than there was when coronavirus first hit our shores, so our NHS was able to give outstanding critical care to everyone who needed it.

    Our social care system has also been at the heart of the pandemic, and we have worked hard to give it the support it needs. In March, we announced £1.6 billion of funding for local government and £1.3 billion of funding via the NHS. In April, we announced a further £1.6 billion, as well as our comprehensive adult social care action plan. In May, we announced a £600 million infection control fund for care providers in England, which includes funding so that social care staff can be on full pay if they have to isolate due to covid. That work is bearing fruit, thanks to the dedication, expertise and compassion of care workers throughout the country.

    Fifty-eight per cent. of care homes have had no reported cases of coronavirus. Every life lost in our care homes fills me with sorrow, whether it is from coronavirus or not. However, we are seeing a sustained reduction in the number of coronavirus deaths. This week’s Office for National Statistics figures for England and Wales show that the number of deaths in care homes has fallen once again—down from 536 to 360 in the last week.

    This has been hard, but through this crisis we have strengthened our health and care system, and we are looking to see what lessons we can take forward as we look ahead to the winter.

    Suzanne Webb (Stourbridge) (Con)

    Will the Minister let me know what steps the Government are taking to protect black, Asian and minority ethnic health and care staff?

    Helen Whately

    I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. She makes a really important point. One of the things that I have put much thought into over recent weeks is making sure that our staff of black and ​Asian minority ethnicities have the protection that they need. Both for the NHS and for the social care system, we have supported the development of risk assessment frameworks to identify the risks, with recommendations on what steps can be taken. I am working with the system to make sure that those are put into practice.

    Coming back to the lessons that we are taking forward, one of the things that has been a great success has been the adoption of new technologies such as, for instance, online GP consultations. Some 99% of GP practices now have video consultation capability, while hospitals have been doing virtual out-patient appointments and care homes have been using tablets—the digital kind of tablet!—to keep people in touch with their families. We are also seeing new ways of working to help those on the frontline to make quicker decisions and cut red tape. We will keep driving these important reforms so that we can give everyone a better experience of health and social care.

    As the Prime Minister set out yesterday in the House, we have succeeded in slowing the spread of the virus. On 11 May, 1,073 people were admitted to hospital in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with coronavirus, and by 20 June this had fallen by 74% to 283. This has reduced the pressure on the NHS so it has been able to carefully ramp up important services. Hon. Members have raised questions about two specific services in the motion, and I will address them both.

    First, coronavirus has had a real impact on many people’s mental health, so there is a lot of concern about mental health services remaining open and available. Our NHS mental health services have remained open for business throughout the pandemic, using digital tools to connect people and provide ongoing support. This has proved especially effective for young people. Throughout the pandemic, we have provided £9.2 million of additional funding for mental health charities. We understand that we may see an increased demand for mental health services in the months ahead, and we are preparing for this, together with the NHS, Public Health England and other partners.

    Secondly, hon. Members have raised questions about cancer services—another area where we are working hard to maintain care. For example, we have been operating surgical hubs where providers work together across local cancer services to maintain access to surgery. Although some cancer diagnostics and treatments have been rescheduled to protect vulnerable patients from having to attend hospitals, urgent and essential cancer treatments have continued. The latest data suggests that referrals are back to over 60% of the pre-pandemic levels, partly due to the NHS Help Us Help You campaign. This campaign has an important message that I am keen to repeat today. Anyone who is worried about chest pains, fears that they might be having a heart attack or a stroke, feels a lump and is worried about cancer, or is a parent concerned about their child should please come forward and seek help, as they always would. The NHS will always be there for us if we need it, just as it has been there for all of us throughout this crisis.

    Emma Hardy (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle) (Lab)

    On that note, will the Minister also encourage people suffering from vascular disease to seek appropriate treatment as quickly as possible?

    ​Helen Whately

    The hon. Lady is absolutely right. The Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds (Jo Churchill), says to me that the hon. Lady is a very powerful campaigner on this subject. For that and for other conditions, people must absolutely come forward and get the help that they need. The NHS is there for that reason.

    My third and final point is on testing. Testing for the virus and tracing how it spreads is critical to containing it as we ramp up services and ease the national lockdown. This is especially important for our NHS and social care system so that we can protect our colleagues and the people they look after. We have already built an immense national infrastructure for testing. Back in March, we had the capacity across all our testing channels to conduct fewer than 2,000 tests a day, whereas yesterday we saw more than 237,000 tests carried out. As we have built capacity, we have prioritised those in need. We started with the patients who needed a test, then expanded to NHS and social care workers and their families, then to other critical key workers, before we expanded to the wider community.

    Today NHS England and NHS Improvement have written to NHS trusts and foundation trusts to outline further steps that must be taken in the NHS, including continuing to prioritise testing for all NHS staff with symptoms; extra testing of non-symptomatic staff when there is an incident, outbreak or high prevalence; and regular surveillance testing of staff which, on the advice of our chief medical officer, will be fortnightly or more frequently, depending on local or national epidemiology.

    Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)

    On the testing figures that we get every day, after we take out studies that are being done through testing, along with double testing and those tests that are sent out through the post, are we not down to just about a third of the numbers that the Government claim are taking place? How can we have any confidence in what the Government say about what they are going to be doing about testing going forwards?

    Helen Whately

    The hon. Gentleman has talked about taking out large numbers of testing; as the Minister for Care, I have seen a huge demand from the social care sector for testing through those channels, so I would not take out other forms of testing. For example, testing through tests sent to people’s homes very much counts and should be considered as part of our testing programme.

    We have put a rigorous focus on testing in care homes, too. We met our target of offering tests to all staff and all residents of care homes for over-65s and those with dementia in England by 6 June. We then announced that we were able to extend the testing programme to all adult care homes. Since the launch of whole care home testing, we have provided over a million test kits to more than 9,000 care homes, and we are now able to send out more than 50,000 test kits a day. We are also running a prevalence study to get a detailed picture of coronavirus infection in care homes. Phase 2 of that study has just gone live, meaning that 10,000 residents and staff across 100 care homes will have repeat swab and antibody tests.

    Tim Farron

    The Minister is being generous in taking interventions. Does she agree that to keep care homes safe from the coronavirus, the testing needs to happen ​regularly, not just once or even twice, and it needs to include people displaying no symptoms whatsoever? Does she also agree that, particularly for those NHS sites that are deemed to be clean and that are attempting to be covid-free, which are often the places where surgery will take place, the regular testing of staff even on a weekly basis, whether or not they display symptoms, is essential, not only, for example, to bringing back the mental health and maternity services that are currently lost to Westmorland General Hospital, but to making sure that the whole of our health service can operate as normal?

    Helen Whately

    I absolutely recognise the importance of repeat testing, both in the NHS and in social care. Our policies, and the testing programmes that we have in place and are launching and taking forward, are based on the clinical advice as to what the right programme to have in place is. I have set out the programme for the NHS, which is based on the advice of the chief medical officer, and we have sought advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies on what the repeat testing programme should be for the social care sector.

    Jonathan Ashworth

    I am genuinely grateful to the Minister for giving way. We are trying to engage with the Government on what we think is a constructive proposal, and not to do the usual political knockabout. I did a bit of that yesterday at Health questions, as she knows, but today I am trying to adopt a different tone—

    Helen Whately

    Trying.

    Jonathan Ashworth

    Trying, yes. Just so that we can understand this, is the Minister saying that the Government’s position on weekly testing of all NHS staff, whether symptomatic or not, is that that is not an appropriate clinical intervention—as distinct from saying, “We simply do not have the testing capacity at this stage, but it is something we would like to do in future”?

    Helen Whately

    I am sure the hon. Gentleman was listening when I outlined the policy for the national health service. That is based on the chief medical officer’s advice. I think that is pretty clear. The Opposition’s position is not entirely clear, given that the hon. Gentleman started out saying “Weekly testing when necessary”, but said in his speech that it was weekly testing, whatever. On the other hand, we have been clear and the hon. Gentleman can look at the letter from NHS England and NHS Improvement to NHS trusts for further information.

    I should move to the conclusion of my remarks—[Interruption.] Hold on, I thought we were not having any more political knockabout. We have established a national testing programme on a scale and at a pace that has never been seen before in this country. We will keep expanding that so that we can use high-quality testing to give confidence and certainty to anyone who needs it.

    As I have set out today, there has been incredible action across our NHS and social care as we respond to this invisible killer. Thanks to the efforts of so many, crucial services have not been overwhelmed and all coronavirus patients who were admitted to hospital were able to receive urgent care. Because we have made such progress on slowing the spread of the virus, we ​have been able to ramp up other important services as part of our plan to get Britain back on her feet. However, we cannot be complacent and we must be ready for any increase in the rate of coronavirus infection and also for the winter, when, as hon. Members know, there is a greater risk of seasonal flu. As we keep ramping up services, we will ensure that we have the surge capacity to act quickly if necessary.

    I want to finish by thanking the incredible NHS and social care staff who have been on the frontline of the pandemic. There has been a collective effort from so many, including healthcare professionals who have volunteered to return, and medical students, allied health- care profession students and nursing students who have stepped up at this important time for our country. The whole House and the whole nation are grateful to them for their heroic work.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2020 Speech on the Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2020 Speech on the Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff

    Below is the text of the speech made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Labour MP for Leicester South, in the House of Commons on 24 June 2020.

    I beg to move,

    That this House expresses thanks to the heroic work of frontline NHS staff who have saved lives throughout the Covid-19 pandemic; pays tribute to the at least 312 NHS and Social Care staff who have died of coronavirus in the United Kingdom; recognises the impact that coronavirus will have upon the NHS to deliver routine care including mental health care without additional Government support; notes that NHS waiting lists are projected to reach 10 million by the end of 2020, that cancer referrals fell 60 per cent during the peak of the coronavirus lockdown and that four out of five children have reported their mental health has got worse during the pandemic; further notes that there is a backlog of NHS care that needs to be tackled and that it is vital to prepare NHS services to deliver safe care alongside care for coronavirus, including preparing for winter and ensuring necessary supplies of PPE and medicine; is concerned that routine testing of NHS and Social Care staff is not currently in place; and calls on the Government to implement a routine weekly testing programme for all NHS and Social Care staff to enable NHS services to safely resume and ensure the continuity of services throughout the winter alongside a functional, national, public test, trace and isolate system.

    We have brought this motion to the House today to provide an opportunity for the House to reflect on the Government’s response in handling the pandemic, to thank our brave, hard-working NHS and social care staff for their extraordinary efforts—including, if I may say so, our student nurses who do a tremendous job on the frontline; I hope the Minister praises them and recognises their worth when she gets up to make her remarks—and to pay tribute to and remember over 300 health and social care staff who gave their lives during the pandemic. We have also tabled the motion to put to the Government a constructive, practical suggestion that we now consider necessary to prepare our national health service to meet the monumental growing burden of unmet clinical need and set out what we think is necessary to prepare us in case of a second wave of the virus.

    The key to resetting the NHS and the safe easing of lockdown measures announced yesterday is a fully effective system that finds cases, tests cases, traces contacts, isolates, and then properly financially supports those who have been asked to isolate. We believe a key element of that must now be the regular testing, weekly if necessary, of all NHS and social care staff. This is what we are suggesting to the Government today, and we hope they will accept our constructive suggestion and find a way to make it work.

    Throughout the pandemic, our concern as an Opposition has been to save lives and minimise harm. We have always thought that that means suppressing the virus, not simply managing its spread, and measures to crunch the virus down, as nations like New Zealand and Iceland have done, and not merely squashing the sombrero. It is why we on the Labour Benches called for a lockdown. Indeed, when I called for a lockdown in March not everybody in my party supported me at the time—many on our side were concerned about the extraordinary restrictions to civil liberties—but we supported the ​Government when they announced a lockdown and we co-operated with the Government in ensuring that the necessary legislation passed this House.

    I also said, however, that a lockdown was a blunt tool. I said it would buy us time while transmission in the community reduced. We always recognised that we could not stay in lockdown forever. Lockdown has huge social repercussions, especially for children. This is not a debate about schools, but I was struck by the words of UNICEF, which warned:

    “Children are not the face of this pandemic. But they risk being among its biggest victims.”

    We have always understood that there would come a moment when we need to ease out of lockdown, but it has to be done safely.

    Of course, nothing is risk-free. We can never entirely eradicate risk, as the chief scientific adviser reminded us yesterday. We cannot be complacent. This virus exploits ambivalence, and the reality is that there are many hundreds of infections every day. Globally, we have passed 9 million cases. The virus is accelerating across the world. There are outbreaks in South Korea and Germany, countries that have been far more successful than we have. The chief medical officer yesterday warned us to expect to continue to be in this situation way through the winter and way into next spring. We all know from our history books that about 100 years ago there was a deadly second wave of Spanish flu. A second wave must surely be a possibility with this virus.

    We are tracking towards one of the worst death tallies in the world: over 65,000 excess deaths, with 26,000 excess deaths in care homes. Ministers cannot run away from the realities, no matter how uncomfortable they are. Today, we call on Ministers to outline a plan for the next stage and to prepare us in case of a deadly second wave. Let me deal with the points in the motion about the NHS.

    Ministers boast that the NHS was not overwhelmed, that it coped and that 119,000 people were admitted to hospital for covid and they received exceptional care. They are right to make those claims. Thankfully, the desperate scenes in Lombardy hospitals that we witnessed on our TV screens were never repeated here. Naturally, I pay tribute to all our NHS staff involved in that and all the staff who ensured the building of Nightingale hospitals, developed new care pathways, and moved to digital care or returned to the frontline. But let us be absolutely clear: that surge capacity in the NHS, and the wider protection of the lockdown, has come at a cost, because millions are waiting for care. For those millions, this has not been a cosy hibernation, as the Prime Minister told us yesterday. It has been a time of struggle, of suffering and of distress.

    Protecting the NHS has been on the back of cancelled operations, delayed treatment, and, arguably, the biggest rationing of services in the 72-year history of the national health service. It has been on the back of shielding some of the most vulnerable in society, who remain anxious and scared today for their personal health and safety as lockdown eases. Let us remember that, when we went into this crisis, we had 4.5 million on the waiting list. We had A&E targets routinely missed. Every winter, we saw the crisis in our hospitals of trolleys lined up in corridors. We have had some of the worst cancer waiting times in history, and now the NHS Confederation is warning ​that elective waiting lists could hit 10 million by Christmas. Yes, referrals are down, as the Minister for Health, the hon. Member for Charnwood (Edward Argar), recognised yesterday, but that is because of unmet need in the wider community. Indeed, experts are predicting that about 1.6 million are being added to the waiting list every month. That means ever lengthening queues in our constituencies of people in pain waiting for care. The Minister will know that at the end of January, there were 521,000 people waiting for trauma and orthopaedic surgery, including hip and knee replacements, and probably another 42,000 added to the waiting list each week. That means that thousands of our constituents are waiting in discomfort and pain, often when pain-relieving drugs are inadequate.

    Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)

    I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. He is making a very important and well-presented case. In my constituency, at Westmorland General Hospital, the trust closed down the Kentmere ward, which is the adult mental health ward. It is fairly obvious that most Members will have had in their inboxes a lot of people presenting with higher degrees of mental health need than during normal times. That ward was closed down temporarily to take account of the crisis. Does he agree that now is the time, particularly with mental health issues, to look again at those temporary closures and to bring the Kentmere ward and other such wards back into service, to meet the needs of those struggling with mental health conditions?

    Jonathan Ashworth

    The hon. Gentleman puts his case persuasively. My hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan), who will be winding up the debate for the Opposition, will, I am sure, want to touch more on the mental health impact of the lockdown. It is undeniable that the lockdown has led to unquantifiable mental health problems festering in society, and statistics show an increase in anxiety and depression. There are particular issues around young people not being able to access child and adolescent mental health services. If services have closed, as happened in his constituency, then, yes, we need a plan to ensure that those services are reopened as quickly as possible.

    Another area where we have had access to services restricted is in cancer, and cancer touches everybody. It touches every family. It has touched many Members in this House very individually and personally as well.

    Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)

    I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. What is happening to our cancer services is very important, as he said. Some of the figures are incredible. There are 2.1 million people waiting for breast or cervical screening tests, which is 60% higher than in April 2019. Treatment rates for chemotherapy have fallen by 70%, surgery by 60%, and radiotherapy by 90%. That underlines very critically the severe problems for those with cancer and for those needing treatment right now.

    Jonathan Ashworth

    The hon. Gentleman is ahead of me in making the points that I was hoping to go on to make. I am not surprised that he has made those points given that he is a Leicester City fan. I am very proud to have Leicester City football club in my constituency— ​hopefully we will do better next season. He is absolutely right in what he says, because the statistics on cancer are absolutely terrible.

    Around 2 million people in England are currently waiting for cancer screening tests or cancer treatment, including chemotherapy. Today, we have a published analysis, which shows that those waiting more than six weeks for diagnostic tests—some of these will be for cancer of course—have increased from 30,000 to 469,000 as a result of the lockdown. Cancer referrals are down 60%, and 1 million people are missing out on breast, bowel and cervical cancer screening. That means that about 1,400 cases of cancer are going undiagnosed every month. In March and April alone, there were at least 500 more deaths from cancer than average, and research from University College London predicts that an estimated 17,915 additional deaths of existing and newly diagnosed cancer patients could occur in England in the next 12 months. That is why resetting our NHS and getting it started again is so vital.

    We also know that covid attacks the lungs, so this is an especially frightening time for those with serious asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema. One in four people with COPD have had a regular GP or hospital appointment cancelled, or both. Some 24% of people on pulmonary rehab programmes have had their classes cancelled, and 600,000 people with asthma or COPD have missed their annual review. The more we know about coronavirus, the more we know it is also a cardiovascular issue. Those with cardio- vascular problems are the second biggest group of those with an underlying condition dying from covid now, yet about 30,000 elective procedures for heart disease have been deferred. Referrals to stroke units have declined, and excess stroke deaths in care homes are 39% higher than the five-year average. We are making these points not in a spirit of blame, but to re-emphasise the point that lockdown has come with huge costs and will inevitably mean that people will die or develop long-term illnesses unless there is now a plan to get the NHS up, running and working again.

    Dr Kieran Mullan (Crewe and Nantwich) (Con)

    It is important that we are clear as to exactly what the Opposition are calling for today. The motion asks for “routine weekly testing”, with no ifs, ands, buts or qualifications. Yet the hon. Gentleman said in his opening remarks that he is seeking routine testing weekly if it is necessary. So are the Opposition calling for weekly testing, no matter what? Or are they calling for what he said in his opening remarks, which is the possibility of weekly testing?

    Jonathan Ashworth

    We are calling for weekly routine testing, as have many organisations and the Chair of the Select Committee on Health and Social Care. He penned an excellent article in The Daily Telegraph today, and I hope the hon. Gentleman has had time to study it, because it is superb. May I also take this moment to pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman, because I know he has returned to the frontline? I am sure all of us, from across the House, are grateful for everything he is doing on the frontline.

    The other point I wish to make on this growing burden of unmet clinical need is that there is a social gradient in this, as always; there is a higher mortality ​rate among those who are poorer and more deprived. Through all these different conditions, the poorer someone is, the more likely they are to become ill quicker and die sooner. So we need urgent action from the Government to tackle this, and we believe that regular testing of NHS staff is a key part of that.

    We also need a broader plan to tackle the growing burden of sickness and unmet need. Our NHS will need more resources. We have had years of financial starvation in the NHS. The Government’s funding plan of two years ago fell short of the annual 4% increase that experts said was needed before the pandemic, and the settlement of that long-term plan is surely inadequate post pandemic. We must remember that we entered this crisis after 17,000 bed cuts and years of budget cuts to capital settlements, which have left hospitals crumbling, reliant on out-of-date equipment and grappling with a £6.5 billion repair bill. NHS land and buildings have been sold off. Last year, more than 890 hectares of NHS land was put up for sale. So we will need large-scale investment in the real estate of the NHS to allow health services to reconfigure to treat covid and non-covid patients alike.

    Ministers will say that the NHS will get what it needs, but the reality on the ground is very different. I am sure the Minister for Care will have studied today’s Health Service Journal ahead of the debate and will have seen trust chief executives complaining that the cash that they were promised has not been delivered. They need this cash now if they are to restructure any of their services ahead of the winter. I hope that she will update the House on when those chief executives are going to get the cash they were promised by her Department.

    We will also need real investment in rehabilitation services for those suffering from covid. The more we know about this disease, the more we know that those coming out of hospital are probably doing so with significant long-term chronic conditions. They are going to need support, be it respiratory, neuromuscular or psychological. Community health services are going to see a huge peak in demand now that many have moved out of the community health sector.

    Crucially, to reset services—this comes to the point that the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich put to us—we need to ensure that care can be delivered safely, which is why we believe that a mass-testing infrastructure for staff is now so important. We know that around a fifth of covid infections in hospitals are caught in hospital settings. Given the levels of significant asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission, we need a proper targeted testing strategy as well. All healthcare workers should be tested regularly—weekly—because a study from Imperial suggested that that would reduce transmission in healthcare settings by up to a third.

    Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)

    The hon. Gentleman is eloquently outlining the challenges faced by the NHS in the wake of covid-19. Does he join me in welcoming the movement by the Scottish Government to ensure that social care workers who contract covid-19 are given additional funds on top of statutory sick pay, which is completely inadequate, in order to make sure that they do not lose out for testing positively as a result of their job?

    Jonathan Ashworth

    The hon. Lady makes a very important point, which affects the debate more broadly: those who test positive or are asked to isolate need to be ​given the financial support to do it, and statutory sick pay in many circumstances will not be enough. There are millions of workers—2 million in this country—who do not qualify for statutory sick pay, and just saying that they can apply online for universal credit is not going to be enough.

    We need more radical thinking from the Government. Other countries offer greater financial support to those who are asked to isolate. Other countries even offer hotel rooms to those who are asked to isolate if it is not appropriate for them to isolate at home because of the nature of their housing situation. The Government should be looking into those sorts of things, and I hope the Minister can respond to that.

    The point I was making is that regular testing of staff, whether asymptomatic or not, is so important not only for the safety of those staff and patients, but for building confidence in the NHS more generally. The study from Imperial suggested that it would reduce transmission of covid in healthcare settings by up to a third. We believe that this is a constructive suggestion that we are putting to the Government, which they should take on board and explore. It is disappointing that they are seeking to amend the motion to completely strip that out. They are not even prepared to take it away and look into it. They just want to pass a motion congratulating themselves on their handling of the pandemic.

    A testing strategy for staff and patients, as we are proposing today, is a demand supported by many across the NHS as key to restarting that NHS work.

    “A clear testing strategy is now more important than ever”—

    says Chris Hopson from NHS Providers.

    We

    “need rapid testing available for all staff and patients, whether showing symptoms of COVID-19 or not”—

    says Cancer Research UK.

    “It’s absolutely essential to regain public confidence that we are able to test our staff regularly”—says Derek Alderson of the Royal College of Surgeons. And, of course—the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt) will not be surprised that I am going to quote him in this debate—it is a position shared by the former Health Secretary, now the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, who in today’s Telegraph makes the case with far greater eloquence than I could ever muster:

    “Until we minimise the risk of asymptomatic transmission by introducing weekly testing for all NHS and care staff, we are failing in a basic duty of care to the people most likely to die if they get the virus.”

    Jeremy Hunt (South West Surrey) (Con)

    May I put on record my thanks to the hon. Gentleman for praising me in this House for the very first time that I can remember on record?

    Jonathan Ashworth

    I praised him plenty of times from this Dispatch Box. The point is that this is a constructive proposal, which is not a party political point. There are clearly many people across the House who support this proposal. The right hon. Member, the former Health Secretary, also prays in aid in his article—I have it here for Members, if they have not had chance to peruse it—both Tony Blair and William Hague. So we now have a Front Bencher praising Tony Blair from the Dispatch Box—that is probably the first time it has happened on the Labour Front Bench for about 10 years.

    ​Andrew Griffith (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)

    I am delighted to see that the hon. Gentleman has improved his reading material. I congratulate him on securing the debate, and on his constructive tone. In that vein, in addition to the proposals that he is setting out, will he recognise that we are able to start unlocking the economy today because of the herculean efforts made in areas such as PPE, and the contribution made by the private healthcare sector, which has a valuable role to play as we move towards more of the elective care that we now need?

    Jonathan Ashworth

    I know that the hon. Gentleman is always keen to support those on his Front Bench. Indeed, he was one of the few Tory Members who actually supported Mr Cummings, tweeting:

    “Another media non-story when there are so many important ‘real’ stories of this crisis”.

    The Government were slow in getting PPE to the frontline, slow in ramping up testing, slow in going into lockdown, slow in getting tracing going and slow in protecting care homes. I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman recognises my constructive tone, but it does not mean that I will not highlight the failing of this Government in their mishandling of many aspects of the pandemic.

    I must now move on, having spent some time in this mutual love-in with the former Health Secretary. I do not want to damage his career any further, although he is probably not on the Prime Minister’s Christmas card list at the moment.

    I hope that the Government will engage seriously with our suggestion of regular testing for all NHS staff, because we believe that is a crucial part of an effective test, trace and isolate strategy. The problem is that the testing and tracing is still not as effective as it should be. Of course, we recall that testing and tracing was abandoned on 12 March, and the Government have been playing catch-up ever since. At Health questions yesterday the Secretary of State could not even tell us how many people were being tested on a daily basis. I hope that the Minister will now get us that information.

    Local authorities are still not receiving localised data, which is very serious. At Thursday’s press conference—the Prime Minister has now got rid of the press conferences—the Health Secretary casually announced, in response to a question, that Leicester is experiencing one of the highest spikes in the country. Nearly a week later, the local authority still does not have specific postcode data on where the people who have tested positive are. The Secretary of State announced that last Thursday, and today is Wednesday. We do not have that data because the data protection protocols have still not been agreed. This is shambolic. The Government cannot announce that there is an outbreak in a particular part of the country but then not provide the local authority with the data it needs to put in place the necessary measures.

    Jim Shannon

    Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

    Jonathan Ashworth

    Given that the hon. Gentleman is a Leicester City fan, I will.

    Jim Shannon

    I am always pleased to intervene on anyone, but especially a Leicester City supporter.

    On systematic testing, the figures from Cancer Research UK are critical, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman is aware. Between 21,000 and 37,000 tests would be required ​every day across UK cancer services just to catch up. That underlines how important the testing is, and that is just for those who have cancer.

    Jonathan Ashworth

    The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and that is why we have brought forward this debate. I think that we all understand why a lot of elective surgery and treatment had to be paused, but now that the lockdown is being eased, Government Ministers need to tell us how they are going to start treatment again, and how people who have been waiting for treatment, whether for cancer or for heart disease, or for a hip replacement, are going to get that important care.

    We have a situation in which GPs cannot carry out tests, book tests or refer patients for tests. If someone goes to one of the Deloitte drive-through testing centres, or one of the centres where that role has been subcontracted to someone else, there is no requirement for the results to be sent back to their GP. GPs do not know who in their local area has been tested positive, because that is not going on their health records. This is shambolic. At the same time, the Government have given a £100 million contract to call centres run by Serco and Sitel, where tracers are complaining that it is chaotic and they have nothing to do. I do not know whether the Minister read the testimony, published in the British Medical Journal, of a clinician working in one of the call centres. They wrote:

    “NHS Professionals employed us as clinical tracers, but we were recruited by Capita… Sitel provided access to the tracing applications and systems, and these all required different usernames and passwords. Synergy CRM assigned cases…CTAS captured contact tracing information, RingCentral was used for voice calls, and MaxConnect was used for storing knowledge about contacts. All of these systems were accessed through Amazon Workspace.”

    This sounds a complete mess. At the same time, the chief executive of Serco is saying that this is an opportunity for it to “cement” its role in the NHS. Serco should not be an excuse for more NHS outsourcing and privatisation. Serco should be kicked out of our NHS, and local public health officials and GPs should be leading the tracing response.

    And, of course, the Secretary of State has failed to deliver on his app, with months wasted and £11.8 million confirmed as down the drain by the Minister in the Lords yesterday. We are now in the dismal situation where there is an app for the Secretary of State himself, but there is not even an app for covid. You really could not make it up, Mr Deputy Speaker.

    We believe that it is time for the Government to invest in public health services, to put GPs in the driving seat of testing, to give local authorities the localised data that they need and to begin a programme of routine testing of all NHS staff, whether symptomatic or not. We accept and understand that Ministers will have made mistakes throughout this crisis. It was an unprecedented pandemic, but Ministers have been slow, their response has been disorganised and the scale and nature of the pandemic, even though it was at the top of the risk register, at times underestimated.

    However, Ministers can learn from their mistakes. They can take the advice of the former Health Secretary and they can take the advice of their former leader and former Foreign Secretary. They can start putting in place a programme for mass testing, starting with NHS ​staff, because we need it for our national health service. Our constituents are waiting in pain, agony and distress for treatment. It is time to deliver the care they deserve, and I commend our motion, constructively, to the House.

  • Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on Relaxing Lockdown

    Boris Johnson – 2020 Statement on Relaxing Lockdown

    Below is the text of the statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 23 June 2020. The document supplied by Downing Street was formatted in the manner shown below.

    Mr Speaker, before I begin, I am sure the whole House will join me in sending our deepest condolences to the families and friends of

    James Furlong, Joe Ritchie-Bennett and David Wails,

    who were brutally killed in Reading on Saturday.

    To assault defenceless people in a park is not simply an act of wickedness but abject cowardice,

    and we will never yield to those who would seek to destroy our way of life.

    Mr Speaker, with permission I will update the House on the next steps in our plan to rebuild our economy and reopen our society,

    while waging our struggle against Covid-19.

    From the outset, we have trusted in the common sense and perseverance of the British people

    and their response has more than justified our faith.

    Since I set out our plan on the 11th May,

    we have been clear that our cautious relaxation of the guidance is entirely conditional on our continued defeat of the virus.

    In the first half of May, nearly 69,000 people tested positive for Covid-19 across the UK;

    by the first half of June, that total had fallen by nearly 70 percent to just under 22,000.

    The number of new infections is now declining by between 2 and 4 percent every day.

    Four weeks ago, an average of 1 in 400 people in the community in England had COVID-19;

    in the first half of June, this figure was 1 in 1,700.

    We created a human shield around the NHS and in turn our doctors and nurses have protected us,

    and together we have saved our hospitals from being overwhelmed.

    On the 11th May, 1,073 people were admitted to hospital in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with Covid-19,

    by 20th June, this had fallen by 74 per cent to 283.

    This pandemic has inflicted permanent scars and we mourn everyone we have lost.

    Measured by a seven-day rolling average, the number of daily deaths peaked at 943 on the 14th April,

    on 11th May it was 476,

    and yesterday, the rolling average stood at 130.

    We have ordered over 2.2 billion items of protective equipment from UK based manufacturers, many of whose production lines have been called into being to serve this new demand –

    and yesterday, we conducted or posted 139,659 tests, bringing the total to over 8 million.

    And while we remain vigilant, we do not believe there is currently a risk of a second peak of infections that might overwhelm the NHS.

    Taking everything together, we continue to meet our five tests

    and the Chief Medical Officers of all four home nations have downgraded the UK’s Covid Alert Level from four to three,

    meaning that we no longer face a virus spreading exponentially,

    though it remains in general circulation.

    The administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland hold responsibility for their own lockdown restrictions

    and they will respond to the united view of the Chief Medical Officers at their own pace, based on their own judgment,

    but all parts of the UK are now travelling in the same direction and we will continue to work together to ensure that everyone in our country gets the support they need.

    Thanks to our progress, we can now go further and safely ease the lockdown in England.

    At every stage, caution will remain our watchword, and each step will be conditional and reversible.

    Mr Speaker, given the significant fall in the prevalence of the virus, we can change the two-metre social distancing rule, from 4th July.

    I know this rule effectively makes life impossible for large parts of our economy, even without other restrictions.

    For example, it prevents all but a fraction of our hospitality industry from operating.

    So that is why almost two weeks ago, I asked our experts to conduct a review and I will place a summary of their conclusions in the libraries of both Houses this week.

    Where it is possible to keep 2 metres apart people should.

    But where it is not, we will advise people to keep a social distance of ‘one metre plus’,

    meaning they should remain one metre apart, while taking mitigations to reduce the risk of transmission.

    We are today publishing guidance on how businesses can reduce the risk by taking certain steps to protect workers and customers.

    These include, for instance, avoiding face-to-face seating by changing office layouts,

    reducing the number of people in enclosed spaces,

    improving ventilation,

    using protective screens and face coverings,

    closing non-essential social spaces,

    providing hand sanitiser

    and changing shift patterns so that staff work in set teams.

    And of course, we already mandate face coverings on public transport.

    Whilst the experts cannot give a precise assessment of how much the risk is reduced,

    they judge these mitigations would make “1 metre plus” broadly equivalent to the risk at 2 metres if those mitigations are fully implemented.

    Either will be acceptable and our guidance will change accordingly.

    This vital change enables the next stage of our plan to ease the lockdown.

    Mr Speaker, I am acutely conscious people will ask legitimate questions about why certain activities are allowed and others are not.

    I must ask the House to understand that the virus has no interest in these debates.

    Its only interest, its only ambition is to exploit any opportunities is to recapture ground that we might carelessly vacate.

    There is one certainty: the fewer social contacts you have, the safer you will be.

    My duty, our duty as the Government, is to guide the British people, balancing our overriding aim of controlling the virus against our natural desire to bring back normal life.

    We cannot lift all the restrictions at once, so we have to make difficult judgments,

    and every step is scrupulously weighed against the evidence.

    Our principle is to trust the British public to use their common sense in the full knowledge of the risks,

    remembering that the more we open up, the more vigilant we will need to be.

    From now on we will ask people to follow guidance on social contact instead of legislation.

    In that spirit we advise that from 4 July, two households of any size should be able to meet in any setting inside or out.

    That does not mean they must always be the same two households.

    It will be possible for instance to meet one set of grandparents one weekend, and the others the following weekend.

    We are not recommending meetings of multiple households indoors because of the risk of creating greater chains of transmission.

    Outside, the guidance remains that people from several households can meet in groups of up to six.

    and it follows that two households can also meet, regardless of size.

    Mr Speaker, I can tell the House that we will also re-open restaurants and pubs.

    All hospitality indoors will be limited to table-service, and our guidance will encourage minimal staff and customer contact.

    We will ask businesses to help NHS Test and Trace respond to any local outbreaks

    by collecting contact details from customers, as happens in other countries,

    and we will work with the sector to make this manageable.

    Almost as eagerly awaited as a pint will be a haircut, particularly by me,

    and so we will re-open hairdressers, with appropriate precautions, including the use of visors.

    We also intend to allow some other close contact services, such as nail bars, to re-open as soon as we can, when we are confident they can operate in a Covid-secure way.

    From 4th July, provided that no more than two households stay together,

    people will be free to stay overnight in self-contained accommodation,

    including hotels and bed & breakfasts,

    as well as campsites as long as shared facilities are kept clean.

    Most leisure facilities and tourist attractions will reopen if they can do so safely,

    including outdoor gyms and playgrounds, cinemas, museums, galleries, theme parks and arcades

    as well as libraries, social clubs and community centres.

    “Close proximity” venues such as nightclubs, soft-play areas, indoor gyms, swimming pools and spas will need to remain closed for now, as will bowling alleys and water parks.

    But my RHFs the Business and Culture Secretaries will establish taskforces with public health experts and these sectors to help them become Covid-secure and re-open as soon as possible.

    We will also work with the arts industry on specific guidance to enable choirs, orchestras and theatres to resume live performances as soon as possible.

    Recreation and sport will be allowed, but indoor facilities, including changing rooms and courts, will remain closed

    and people should only play close contact team sports with members of their household.

    Mr Speaker, I know that many have mourned the closure of places of worship,

    and this year, Easter, Passover and Eid all occurred during the lockdown.

    So I am delighted that places of worship will be able to reopen for prayer and services –

    including weddings with a maximum of 30 people,

    all subject to social distancing.

    Meanwhile, our courts, probation services, police stations and other public services will increasingly resume face-to-face proceedings.

    Wrap-around care for school age children and formal childcare will restart over the summer.

    Primary and secondary education will recommence in September with full attendance

    and those children who can already go to school should do so – because it is safe.

    Mr Speaker, we will publish Covid-secure guidelines for every sector that is re-opening,

    and slowly but surely, these measures will restore a sense of normality.

    After the toughest restrictions in peacetime history,

    we are now able to make life easier for people to see more of their friends and families

    and to help businesses get back on their feet and get people back into work.

    But the virus has not gone away.

    We will continue to monitor the data with the Joint Biosecurity Centre and our ever more effective Test and Trace system.

    And I must be clear to the House, that as we have seen in other countries,

    there will be flare-ups for which local measures will be needed

    and we will not hesitate to apply the brakes and re-introduce restrictions even at national level – if required.

    So I urge everyone to stay alert, control the virus and save lives.

    Let’s keep washing our hands,

    staying 2 metres apart wherever feasible, and mitigating the risks at 1 metre where not,

    avoiding public transport when possible, and wearing a mask when not,

    getting tested immediately if we have symptoms,

    and self-isolating if instructed by NHS Test and Trace.

    Today, we can say that our long national hibernation is beginning to come to an end

    and life is returning to our shops, streets and homes

    and a new, but cautious, optimism is palpable.

    But it would be all too easy for that frost to return

    and that is why we will continue to trust in the common sense and the community spirit of the British people to follow this guidance,

    to carry us through and see us to victory over this virus.

    I commend Mr Speaker this Statement to the House.

  • Nicola Sturgeon – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Nicola Sturgeon – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Below is the text of the statement made by Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, on 16 June 2020.

    Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today.

    I’ll start – as I always do – with an update of some key statistics in relation to COVID-19.

    As at 9 o’clock this morning, there have been 18,045 positive cases confirmed – you will recall that since yesterday, this total now includes data from UK wide testing sites. That is an increase of 15 overall from the figures yesterday.

    A total of 986 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Now, that represents a total increase of 116 from yesterday – but let me stress that includes a reduction of 11 in the number of confirmed cases.

    A total of 19 people last night were in intensive care with either confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and that that is an increase of 1 since yesterday.

    I am also able to confirm today that since the 5 March, a total of 3,929 patients who had tested positive and previously required hospital treatment have now been discharged from hospital

    However, in the last 24 hours, 5 deaths were registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having COVID-19 – the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, is therefore now 2,453. Tomorrow of course we’ll see the weekly publications from National Records of Scotland which gives us the total number of deaths of those confirmed through a test and of those who are suspected of having had COVID-19.

    Once again I want to send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one as a result of this virus and is currently grieving one of the unique human beings who lie behind these statistics.

    Let me always as usual express my thanks to our health and care workers and indeed to all our key workers, for the everything you continue to do in very challenging circumstances.

    As well as the Chief Medical Officer, I am joined today by Fiona Hyslop – the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fair Work and Culture – since the main focus for today’s remarks is the economy.

    This morning, the latest labour market statistics for Scotland were published, they covered the period from February to April. April was of course the first full month of lockdown restrictions.

    Today’s figures show that – when compared to the three months from November to January – unemployment in Scotland increased from 97,000 to 127,000. The unemployment rate during this period increased from 3.5% to 4.6%, and the employment rate fell from 74.9% to 74.3%.

    Now I should stress, this is a sample survey. Fraser of Allander Institute reminded us that we have to be cautious about what we conclude from it.

    However, we do know that the protection of the Job Retention scheme will mean that these figures are likely to be an underestimate of the full impact of COVID-19 on business activity.

    And secondly because they cover only until April they don’t give us a fully up to date picture.

    The statistics that were also published this morning on claimant count for May give us a more up to date indication, even though it’s important to stress that they are experimental. They suggest that the claimant count in Scotland in May was 7.8% – which is the same level as the UK as a whole.

    However what all of this data undoubtedly demonstrates is that dealing with the public health crisis of COVID-19, has created an economic crisis that demands our full focus and attention.

    I know increasing economic anxiety will lead some to argue for a quicker than planned exit from lockdown and I absolutely understand that.

    But, difficult though as all of this is, we must guard against a reckless relaxation of lockdown measures. If we ease restrictions too quickly – and allow the virus to run out of control again – that would be economically counterproductive, but it would also cost many more lives.

    Indeed, the progress we have made in suppressing the virus – progress which was evident once again in the figures I reported today – is an essential foundation for the sustainable economic recovery we want to secure.

    And the key point is this – the more we can suppress the virus now, the more normality we can restore as we do re-open the economy and society. And the more able we will be to cope with any resurgence of the virus – either from sporadic outbreaks like the one China is dealing with now, or increased transmission as we face the winter period and the flu season.

    However all of that said, Scotland does like many countries around the world does face the challenge of opening up our economy in a way which is safe and sustainable.

    On Thursday, I will announce the outcome of our review into lockdown restrictions and, I hope and expect, that on Thursday we will be able to confirm a move from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of our plan for reopening the economy and lifting restrictions more generally.

    This does not mean that all major changes will happen overnight.

    But I do hope that in the coming weeks, further important restrictions will be lifted so that workers can return to factories – with strict hygiene and physical distancing measures in place; so that the construction industry will continue its own restart plan; and so that non-essential retail businesses can have a date for safe reopening.

    Now none of this will restore the economy immediately to full health, but it will be a significant, and a sustainable, improvement on our current position and that of course is important.

    That gradual re-emergence from lockdown is crucial. That is how we allow our businesses to get back to operate and make money again. But we know that because the emergence by necessity is gradual, it must also be accompanied by continued support for business as business seeks to recover.

    We have welcomed assistance from the UK Government, such as the Job Retention Scheme, but it is essential that this scheme is extended if proves necessary, which I think it almost certainly does, and we are making this case to the UK government

    In addition, the Scottish Government has provided £2.3 billion of support for business – for example through domestic rates relief – a sum which more than matches the total we received through UK Government consequentials.

    Today I can confirm two additional measures to promote economic recovery in the immediate term.

    Later today Kate Forbes, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, will set out to Parliament details of a further £230 million of support for the economy.

    Among other things, this package will fund maintenance for further and higher education facilities and for roads; it will help public transport to prepare for physical distancing measures; and it will include a further investment in companies of high potential, and in developments such as Ravenscraig, Edinburgh Bioquarter and the Michelin site in Dundee.

    It will support, and is designed to support, projects which can provide an immediate boost to jobs and growth, while also helping to prepare our economy and our public services for the future.

    We are also providing further support today for skills and training.

    During this crisis, the Scottish Government has already invested additional money in services such as Fair Start Scotland – and I have said standing here on previous occasions, Skills Development Scotland has expanded some of its support for people who are looking for training and employment.

    Today we are making individual training accounts available to people who are out of work, or on low incomes.

    Last year, these accounts helped more than 18,000 people to develop new skills and to take up new positions. This year, we are adapting them to respond to emerging labour market challenges.

    From July, they will offer access to online training in areas such as computing and IT, construction, early years provision and care.

    Initially, we expect to release 14,000 accounts –with more becoming available later in the year. Further details of the courses will be available on the “My World of Work” website.

    I know that not everyone who is eligible will be able to take advantage of this. If you have care responsibilities, or have volunteered to help others – time to train and study will be pretty limited.

    But for some people – especially, but not exclusively, people who are currently furloughed on a relatively low income, or have been made unemployed – it does makes sense to develop new skills at this time. The learning accounts will offer a further way of supporting people who want to do that, as we seek to emerge from lockdown.

    The other issue I want to talk about today is free school meals, and emergency food support more generally.

    Free school meals are currently being made available to around 175,000 children across Scotland – either within local authority and early years premises which are still open, or more often through direct cash payments, supermarket vouchers, or the direct supply of food or meals. I can confirm that this provision will be extended throughout the summer holiday period.

    We know families are under considerable financial pressure just now and free school meals are a vital help to many but they are also important to the health and well-being of many children.

    So we will provide £12.6 million in funding for Local Authorities to enable the continuation of free school meals during the period from the end of June to the start of the new term in August. The funding will be allocated in a way that allows councils – as many of them currently do – to co-ordinate school meal provision with wider support they may be making available to families.

    In addition, we are making £15 million available to councils, to maintain some of that wider support – in particular, the support for food which is currently available for people in severe poverty, people who face other barriers to getting food, and people who are being asked to isolate under the new Test and Protect system

    Our support for those who are shielding – which I should say, comes from a different budget – is also of course being maintained.

    At a time when – as the employment figures today show – many families will be finding it harder than normal to make ends meet – I hope that these announcements provide some reassurance, during a extremely difficult time.

    Before I hand over to the Cabinet Secretary, I want to close by emphasising our key public health guidance. Following this guidance now remains crucial to keeping the virus under control, and allowing us to reopen the economy and to emerge from lockdown on a firm and sustainable basis.

    You should still be staying home as much as possible, and still be meeting fewer people than normal.

    Let me remind you, when you do meet people from another household, please stay outdoors, and you must stay 2 metres apart from them.

    Don’t meet with more than one other household at a time, don’t meet more than one a day – and please keep to a maximum of 8 people in a group.

    Please wash your hands often.

    Wear a face covering when you are in shops or on public transport or in any enclosed space where physical distancing is a bit more difficult.

    Avoid touching hard surfaces – and clean any you do touch.

    And remember this will be important for some time to come.

    If you have the symptoms of COVID-19 – a fever; a new cough; or a loss of, or change, in your sense of taste or smell – please book a test immediately, and follow the advice on self-isolation and you can book a test at the NHS inform website.

    By doing the right thing, and by sticking to these rules, we are saving lives. We are suppressing the virus.

    And by continuing to do that, we are giving ourselves a much stronger opportunity to take both further and also firmer steps out of lockdown.

    So my thanks, once again, to all of you for doing all of the right thing.

  • Nicola Sturgeon – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Nicola Sturgeon – 2020 Statement on the Coronavirus

    Below is the text of the statement made by Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, on 15 June 2020.

    Good afternoon, and thank you very much for joining us again today.

    I’ll start – as always – with an update on the key statistics in relation to COVID-19.

    29 new positive cases were confirmed in Scotland yesterday. Now I’m going to say more about the total number of positive cases in a moment, because from today we are incorporating new data into that total.

    A total of 870 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. That represents a total decrease of 94 from yesterday, but an increase of 3 in the number of confirmed cases in hospital.

    A total of 18 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. That is also an increase of 3 since yesterday.

    And I can confirm today that since 5 March, a total of 3,909 patients who had tested positive and needed to go to hospital with the virus have been able to leave hospital.

    In the last 24 hours, zero deaths were registered of a patient confirmed through a test as having COVID-19 – so the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, therefore remains at 2,448.

    I would however stress – as I did last Monday – that although this is clearly hugely welcome and very encouraging, it is nevertheless common for fewer deaths to be reported at weekends and unfortunately I do expect that we will almost certainly report further COVID-19 deaths in the days ahead.

    And as always, I want to emphasis that when we do report these figures, they are not simply statistics – they represent individuals whose loss is a source of grief to many. So once again, I want to send my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this illness.

    I also want to express my thanks – as I always – to our health and care workers, and indeed to all key workers across the country. The Scottish Government and indeed I think people the length and breadth of the country are grateful to you for the work you are doing.

    I’m going to focus on education in my remarks today, but before I do that, I want to highlight some new data which we are publishing for the first time today.

    Up until now, we have only been able to publish testing results that come from NHS Scotland laboratories.

    We have been able to report the total number of tests carried out by facilities run by the UK Government – for example drive-through centres and mobile testing units – but we have not yet been able to publish the breakdown of positive and negative results. Though I should say for the avoidance of doubt, the individuals tested have of course been notified directly of their results.

    Public Health Scotland has been working with the UK Government to rectify this issue, and from today, we are able to provide daily figures for all tests in Scotland. For example, we can see that of those people tested in the 24 hours up to 8 o’clock this morning, 29 positive cases were confirmed. Of those positive cases, 9 were from tests conducted at UK Government facilities, and 20 were from NHS Scotland facilities.

    So In total, there have been 18,030 confirmed positive cases in Scotland since the beginning of this outbreak.

    15,687 of these confirmed cases were tested in NHS Scotland laboratories and a further 2,343 were test through UK facilities.

    Now I know that some people compare each days figures with the previous day’s very carefully. If you have been doing that, you will have expected the NHS lab number I’ve just given to be 88 cases higher than it is.

    The reason it’s not is that where a person has been tested more than once – first at a UK facility and then in an NHS Scotland facility – we have removed them from the NHS figure to avoid double counting of testing.

    It is also important to stress that including this data from UK facilities does not change the total number of lab confirmed COVID-19 deaths that we have been reporting throughout.

    From Thursday onwards, we will be able to provide a more detailed breakdown of test results – by date and by region – on the Scottish Government’s website and I hope that this information will be helpful in giving a full picture of the progress that has been made on testing over the last three months.

    Now as I indicated the main issue I want to talk about today is school education.

    And I want to address parents and young people very directly today.

    I know you are deeply anxious – as I am – about the impact of this crisis on schooling.

    So I want to be very clear today about the some of the principles that we are working on and the Scottish Government’s expectations – and as we look forward to the new school year. I hope to leave you in no doubt about the priority I and the whole government attaches to making sure our young people do not lose out on education or have their life chances damaged as a result of this crisis that we are all living through right now.

    So, firstly, I want to be clear that it is our expectation that, by the time schools return on 11 August – and obviously within necessary safety guidelines – councils will have put in place arrangements that maximise the time that young people spend in a school environment having face to face learning.

    In this immediate period that we are in right now, the Scottish Government will be scrutinising council plans closely – and where we conclude that all possible steps have not been taken to maximise face to face teaching and learning, we will ask councils to reconsider and revise their plans.

    Innovation and creativity will be required here – but let me also be clear that where there are genuine issues of resources, the Scottish Government will work with councils to address those and the quality of your children’s education will be the absolute priority in those discussions.

    And then from the 11 August starting point, our aim will be to return to normal schooling as quickly as we possibly can – recognising that of course that along the way we need to build the confidence of parents, young people and teachers that schools are safe.

    And I want to be particularly clear on this point.

    While we of course have a duty to be open with parents that none of us right now have a crystal ball, and that the path the pandemic will take in the months ahead remains uncertain, it is absolutely not the case that we are ‘planning’ for blended learning, with children learning at home for part of the school week, to last a year – or anything like it.

    On the contrary, we do not want blended learning to last a single moment longer than is absolutely necessary and so we will be working with councils to return schools to normal as quickly as we can.

    We want young people to be back having face to face teaching for 100% of the school week as soon as it is feasible.

    To that end, our regular three-weekly reviews of the Coronavirus regulations will now include specific consideration of the evidence and data relating to transmission of the virus within schools and amongst young people – and where that suggests that safety restrictions can be lifted or eased without putting pupils and teachers at undue risk, we will do so.

    As part of these reviews, we will ask our International Council of Education Advisers to consider experiences in other countries.

    We will also be working with councils to ensure ongoing and enhanced support for any time that young people do spend learning at home.

    And let me be clear it is our firm intention, as things stand right now, that next year’s exam diet will go ahead.

    We will also be considering carefully how we work to address and mitigate and make up over time any impact of this crisis period on young people’s learning.

    Ensuring that our children and young people have the highest quality education – and that life chances are not negatively impacted by what we are all living through right now – is of absolutely critical importance.

    I want to give you my personal assurance that it is central to my and to the whole Government’s thinking as we plan and steer the country through our emergence from lockdown.

    Before I hand over to the Chief Medical Officer, I want to end by emphasising again our key public health guidance because sticking to this guidance right now remains the most important way of enabling us to make further progress out of lockdown – which I very much hope we will do later this week.

    You should still be staying home most of the time, and you should still be meeting fewer people than normal.

    When you do meet people from another household, please stay outdoors, and stay 2 metres apart from them.

    Don’t meet with more than one other household at a time, don’t meet more than one a day – and keep to a maximum of eight people in a group.

    Wash your hands often. Take hand sanitiser with you if you are away from home.

    Wear a face covering when you are in shops or on public transport.

    Avoid touching hard surfaces if you can and clean any that you do touch.

    All of these measure – hand washing, surface cleaning and wearing face coverings – will all help us to reduce the risk as we start to return to more normal life.

    Indeed – if anything – these measures become more important, not less important, as we move through this pandemic.

    I’d ask all of you to bear that in mind.

    And, just as importantly, if you have the symptoms of COVID-19 – a fever; a new cough; or a loss of, or change, in your sense of taste or smell – ask for a test immediately, and please follow the advice on self-isolation.

    You can book a test at nhsinform.scot or by phoning NHS 24 on 0800 028 2816.

    Sticking to these rules- as you can see from the numbers we are reporting each day – has had and is having an impact. By doing the right thing, we are suppressing the virus.

    We are saving lives.

    And we are creating the firm foundations on which we can take further steps out of lockdown.

    So my sincere thanks, to all of you once again, for continuing to abide by these rules and by this guidance.