The comments made by Victoria Prentis, the Fisheries Minister, on 14 January 2021.
For the first time in 40 years we enter into annual fisheries negotiations as an independent coastal State. As a responsible independent coastal State we are taking measures to ensure that we fish sustainably, and that our fishermen can continue to operate smoothly while those annual negotiations take place.
The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 14 January 2021.
These figures show the alarming and sustained pressure the NHS has been under for months now – impacting all areas of treatment. Hospitals are struggling to deliver urgent care in the most difficult of circumstances, while over 190,000 people have now been waiting over a year for treatment.
Years of underfunding, bed cuts and understaffing left our NHS exposed when the Coronavirus epidemic hit us. It is vital that we now have a Herculean effort to roll out at least two million vaccines a week, with NHS staff vaccinations completed in the next week, to ease pressure on our NHS.
The comments made by Jonathan Reynolds, the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on 14 January 2021.
Under the Conservatives, families come last. The government’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic means Britain is facing one of the worst recessions of any major economy. Boris Johnson’s decision to cut Universal Credit will hit millions of families who are already struggling to get by.
There cannot be another repeat of the government’s indecision and mismanagement of the free school meals scandal. The government must put families first during this lockdown and act now instead of waiting until the last minute. If ministers refuse, Conservative MPs have to opportunity to vote with Labour and give families the support they need to get through this pandemic.
The comments made by Tulip Siddiq, the Shadow Children and Early Years Minister, on 14 January 2021.
Time and time again this government has had to be shamed into providing food for hungry children over school holidays. Stopping Free School Meals support over half-term will be devastating for many families who are living on the breadline in this pandemic.
The Prime Minister’s claim to be morally outraged at images of woefully inadequate food parcels will ring hollow for parents who are worried about whether they will be able to put food on the table for their children over half-term.
The comments made by Jim McMahon, the Shadow Transport Secretary, on 14 January 2021.
Nearly a year has passed since the Government promised proper support for aviation to help businesses through the pandemic. Ministers’ incompetence and failure to act is costing jobs.
Labour has repeatedly called for a sectoral deal that supports the whole aviation industry, including securing jobs and protecting the supply chain, while continuing to press for higher environmental standards.
The comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 14 January 2021.
I would like to thank Richard for his service to our party and his unwavering commitment to the values he believes in.
Richard has led Scottish Labour through one of the most challenging and difficult periods in our country’s history, including a general election and the pandemic.
Even from opposition he has achieved a considerable amount for which he should be very proud. This includes securing a commitment for the creation of a national care service, securing action on a Jobs Guarantee Scheme to deal with youth unemployment, securing a human-rights based public inquiry into the treatment of care home residents during the COVID pandemic and securing support for a Fair Rents Bill to give new rights to tenants.
He has done so with dedication to the values of our movement.
I wish Richard the very best for the future as one of our MSPs and know that he will continue to play an important role in Scottish Labour.
The comments made by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, on 14 January 2021.
The Conservatives have presided over the worst recession of any major economy and worst excess death rate in Europe.
The British people need a government that is committed to defeating this virus and getting Britain vaccinated. Instead, the day after our country recorded the highest daily death toll since this crisis started, the Conservatives are playing politics and fighting amongst themselves.
Labour is focusing on getting Britain vaccinated so we can secure our economy, protect our NHS and rebuild our country.
The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 14 January 2021.
It is a necessary step that arrivals from Brazil, neighbouring countries and Portugal will be banned. However, this is yet another example of government incompetence, lurching from one crisis and rushed announcement to another. The failure to put in place an effective policy on testing before entry and a quarantine system that is checking only one in 100 people is putting lives at risk.
The statement made by Robert Courts, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, in the House of Commons on 11 January 2021.
Last week the Prime Minister announced that the Government had made the difficult but necessary decision to introduce a new national lockdown.
Both globally and domestically we are seeing significant increases in levels of coronavirus, including the emergence of worrying new strains. It is therefore imperative that we ensure we are doing all we can to protect travel, reduce the risk of imported infections, including from new variants, and protect our NHS while national lockdown and vaccinations take effect.
We already have strong safeguards in place, including a requirement for mandatory 10-day self-isolation for the vast majority of arrivals, and our travel corridors system remains critical in managing the risk of imported cases from high-risk countries. We also successfully launched the test to release scheme last month which provides passengers with the option to reduce self-isolation, through isolating for five days after they have left a destination not on the travel corridors list and then taking a test. Pre-departure testing does not remove the public health need for international arrivals travelling from non-exempt countries to isolate for 10 days or opt into test to release.
However, as a result of increasing instances of covid-19 around the world, including the emergence of new variants, we are now taking additional steps to add a further layer of protection to safeguard public health.
From 4 am on 15 January we will be introducing pre-departure testing requirements for all inbound passengers to England. Passengers arriving by ship, plane or train will have to take a test up to three days before departure and provide evidence of a negative result before they travel.
This will be an additional requirement that applies to all passengers, including those travelling from a travel corridor country, other than those on a very short list of exemptions. This extra layer of protection is in addition to existing self-isolation requirements.
We will establish the standards that tests must meet in regulations. This will include that the test must be of a diagnostic-standard test such as a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, and could in some cases include LAMP and lateral flow tests within set limits. We will provide clear guidance and advice to passengers regarding testing standards and capacity.
Guidance will be available to passengers and carriers on what to look for to assure tests and the results provided meet the standards required.
We will keep test standards and innovative testing technologies under review.
In addition, we will also set out the information passengers will need to have with them at check-in and the UK border to show they have had a qualifying negative test. This will include set data fields which test result certificates must include. All information on test requirements will be made available to passengers and transport operators through guidance on gov.uk.
The current advice for those across the UK remains that you must stay at home and not travel abroad unless it is for a permitted exempt reason. The requirements apply equally to visitors from other states and British nationals, and carriers may deny boarding if passengers are not in receipt of a qualifying negative test. British nationals that need consular assistance should contact the nearest consulate, embassy or high commission.
If British nationals test positive for covid-19 while abroad they should not travel and should follow the local relevant guidance on self-isolation.
Transport operators will be required to check that a passenger has proof of a negative test result before they board their flight, train or ferry, and may deny boarding where appropriate to reduce numbers of non-compliant individuals arriving in England. Border Force will also conduct further checks upon arrival.
If a passenger arrives in England without a pre-departure negative test result they will be fined. We will amend the international travel regulations so that fines, starting at £500, can be levied on non-compliant passengers. Operators will also be fined for transporting non-compliant passengers.
Passengers travelling to England from the common travel area (the United Kingdom, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey), will not be in scope of the regulations.
Children under the age of 11 will also not be required to complete pre-departure testing.
There will be a very restricted number of exemptions, including hauliers to allow the free flow of freight, and air, international rail and maritime crew.
Certain limited reasonable excuses for not undergoing testing will also be permitted, for example, lack of testing infrastructure in the departure country. This will apply to three overseas territories—St Helena, Ascension Island and the Falklands.
Arrivals from three additional countries will be considered to have a reasonable excuse not to comply due to lack of testing infrastructure. However, for these countries this will only apply for a specific, time limited window. This includes:
Antigua and Barbuda—until Thursday 21 January 04.00
St Lucia—until Thursday 21 January 04.00
Barbados—until Thursday 21 January 04.00
If passengers are arriving from one of the above three countries after the time limited window has ended, they will be required to meet all pre-departure testing requirements.
Further details on exemptions and reasonable excuses will be set out in regulations and in guidance. We will keep exemptions and reasonable excuses under regular review.
We will be making detailed guidance available to both passengers and transport operators to support the implementation of these changes.
Measures are likely to be in place until the end of the current lockdown, although a review will take place before the end of that period.
The Government recognise the continued challenges that the pandemic poses, both for individuals and for businesses.
We have worked closely with the international travel sector during the course of the pandemic and will continue to do so as we emerge from lockdown and are able to encourage people to travel again with confidence. We are also continuing to implement recommendations set out in the global travel taskforce report to support the safe recovery of international travel.
The delivery of a safe, effective vaccine is also the best way to protect the most vulnerable, save thousands of lives and support the removal of many of the restrictions and return to international travel. We are already making great progress, including having currently vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe combined.
In the immediate term our priority has to be on safeguarding public health and the NHS. With the addition of pre-departure testing requirements, our already robust system to protect against imported cases of coronavirus is further strengthened and will provide the greatest overall protection against the risk of transmission during travel to England and after arrival.
The statement made by Robert Buckland, the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, in the House of Commons on 11 January 2021.
The Government are committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service.
Last week I announced the most significant set of reforms to how we hold property for at least 40 years and the beginning of even more fundamental change to English property law, through the widespread introduction of the commonhold tenure.
To deliver this, we will bring forward legislation in the upcoming session to set future ground rents to zero. This will be the first part of seminal two-part legislation to implement reforms in this Parliament.
Enfranchisement valuation and lease extensions
In 2017 the Government asked the Law Commission to review the legislation on leasehold enfranchisement, with the aim of making it easier, quicker and more cost-effective for leaseholders to buy their freehold or extend their lease.
The Law Commission have now completed this work and their findings are clear. Under the current system, too many leaseholders find the process for extending their lease or buying their freehold prohibitively expensive, too complex and lacking transparency. I am addressing this, addressing historic imbalance to ensure fairness for leaseholders, whilst taking account of the legitimate rights of freeholders. I will continue to ensure we meet this objective as we bring forward reforms.
The Government will reform the process of enfranchisement valuation leaseholders must follow to calculate the cost of extending their lease or buying their freehold. Taken together these measures could save leaseholders thousands of pounds, depending on the remaining term of their lease.
The Government will abolish marriage value, cap the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value and prescribe rates for the calculations at market value. The Government will also introduce an online calculator, further simplifying the process for leaseholds and ensuring standardisation and fairness for all those looking to enfranchise.
Existing discounts for improvements made by the leaseholder and for security of tenure will be retained, alongside a separate valuation methodology for low-value properties known as “section 9(1)”. Leaseholders will also be able to voluntarily agree to a restriction on future development of their property to avoid paying “development value”.
Leaseholders of houses can currently only extend their lease once at a “modern ground rent” for 50 years, compared to leaseholders of flats who can extend as often as they wish at a zero “peppercorn” ground rent for 90 years.
I am confirming that the Government will give leaseholders of all types of property the same right to extend their lease as often as they wish, at zero ground rent, for a term of 990 years. There will continue to be redevelopment breaks during the last 12 months of the original lease or the last five years of each period of 90 years of the extension, subject to existing safeguards and compensation.
We will also enable leaseholders, where they already have a long lease, to buy out the ground rent without the need to extend the term of the lease.
Commonhold
In 2017 the Government also asked the Law Commission to recommend reforms to reinvigorate commonhold as a workable alternative to leasehold, for both existing and new homes.
Having closely reviewed their report, I am confirming I will establish a new Commonhold Council as a partnership of industry, leaseholders and Government that will prepare homeowners and the market for the widespread take-up of commonhold. I will start this work immediately, including considering legislation. I know this will take time and close working with consumers and industry, and the Commonhold Council will be the critical first step of this.
Restricting future ground rents
Finally, ahead of legislating to restrict future ground rents to zero for future leases, I am also confirming that this policy now also applies to retirement properties. Restricting future ground rents to zero is a basic matter of fairness and including retirement properties will ensure that those who live in retirement housing benefit from the same reform as other leaseholders.
I do not see a compelling argument to exclude the elderly from this new protection, in fact, they deserve it more than most.
In recognition of the previous announcement of the ground rent exemption in June 2019, and wishing to mitigate potential impact on these developers, commencement of this provision will be deferred and come into force (for retirement properties) 12 months after Royal Assent.
This announcement is the beginning of a programme of historic leasehold and property reforms. This package is only part of Government’s response to the Law Commission’s reports. The Government will respond to the Law Commission’s remaining recommendations on enfranchisement, commonhold and right to manage in due course. We will translate these measures into law as soon as possible, starting with legislation to set future ground rents to zero in the upcoming Session. This will be the first part of major two-part legislation to implement leasehold and commonhold reforms in this Parliament.
It is my ambition that together these fundamentally enhance the fairness of English property rights and be seen in the future as landmark reforms to the way we own homes.