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8.22am BST
Continued lockdown in Leicester is no longer justified, the city’s mayor has said as the government prepares to decide whether to make changes to the restrictions.
Sir Peter Soulsby claimed the government had got Leicester into a “messy situation” by its handling of the local lockdown.
If only we’d had this information in advance, we’d have been able to do what they’re now doing in Blackburn, which is actually working closely with the communities and avoiding having to be locked down.
I very much regret the fact that the government didn’t trust us with this data earlier but I think now we’ve got it, we are the ones well-placed here in the city to make sure that we use it effectively.
Some streets have no issue at all and in other streets nearby you’ve got a major issue, and we needed to know that at the time so we could intervene with pinpoint accuracy.
Further advice needs to be given, support needs to be given, and we needed to know where that advice and support was needed.
The secretary of state is due to make an announcement this afternoon. I expect to hear when the rest of the city, and indeed the rest of the country hears – because frankly we have not been involved in any of the decision-making about this.
We have been told what the political decisions will be, and we will be told again what the political decision will be – whether or not we come out of it.
I hope he’ll recognise that as a result of what we are already doing here in the city, we are dramatically driving down the transmission of the virus.
Now that we do know where we need to be focusing our attention, I hope that he will allow us and trust us at a local level to work with the people of the city – and to recognise that the other 90% of the city that has been locked down, along with the area that is of concern, should be allowed to go free with the rest of the country.
I think if we are told that, there are going to be an awful lot of Leicester people who are very angry indeed.
It was quite clear that it was a political decision taken without the advice of Public Health England to take us into this lockdown in the first place.
8.11am BST
The ONS figures show that vacancies fell 463,000 between March and May to a record low of 333,000 as companies froze hiring in the face of the coronavirus crisis.
The pace of job cut announcements has also showed no sign of slowing down in recent weeks, with some 75,000 job losses announced last month alone, according to recent analysis by the PA Media news agency.
Pay is now falling on most measures, with many furloughed workers not having their wages topped up by their employers.
These figures show serious difficulties for hundreds of thousands of people, but unfortunately this is still only the beginning of the impact on the labour market.
Flattening the unemployment curve will remain paramount.
Continue reading…News updates: Unemployment grew by 74,000 in JuneTrain passengers to be tempted back with ‘safe travel’ campaignNHS boss who blamed outbreak on staff pictured without maskChildren in Scotland need post-Covid-19 mental health careGlobal coronavirus updates – live 8.22am BSTContinued lockdown in Leicester is no longer justified, the city’s mayor has said as the government prepares to decide whether to make changes to the restrictions.Sir Peter Soulsby claimed the government had got Leicester into a “messy situation” by its handling of the local lockdown.If only we’d had this information in advance, we’d have been able to do what they’re now doing in Blackburn, which is actually working closely with the communities and avoiding having to be locked down.I very much regret the fact that the government didn’t trust us with this data earlier but I think now we’ve got it, we are the ones well-placed here in the city to make sure that we use it effectively.Some streets have no issue at all and in other streets nearby you’ve got a major issue, and we needed to know that at the time so we could intervene with pinpoint accuracy.Further advice needs to be given, support needs to be given, and we needed to know where that advice and support was needed.The secretary of state is due to make an announcement this afternoon. I expect to hear when the rest of the city, and indeed the rest of the country hears – because frankly we have not been involved in any of the decision-making about this.We have been told what the political decisions will be, and we will be told again what the political decision will be – whether or not we come out of it.I hope he’ll recognise that as a result of what we are already doing here in the city, we are dramatically driving down the transmission of the virus.Now that we do know where we need to be focusing our attention, I hope that he will allow us and trust us at a local level to work with the people of the city – and to recognise that the other 90% of the city that has been locked down, along with the area that is of concern, should be allowed to go free with the rest of the country.I think if we are told that, there are going to be an awful lot of Leicester people who are very angry indeed.It was quite clear that it was a political decision taken without the advice of Public Health England to take us into this lockdown in the first place. 8.11am BSTThe ONS figures show that vacancies fell 463,000 between March and May to a record low of 333,000 as companies froze hiring in the face of the coronavirus crisis.The pace of job cut announcements has also showed no sign of slowing down in recent weeks, with some 75,000 job losses announced last month alone, according to recent analysis by the PA Media news agency.Pay is now falling on most measures, with many furloughed workers not having their wages topped up by their employers.These figures show serious difficulties for hundreds of thousands of people, but unfortunately this is still only the beginning of the impact on the labour market.Flattening the unemployment curve will remain paramount. Continue reading…