Tag: lockdown

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to help businesses draw up risk assessments to keep their employees safe as they return to work, and to establish a Coronavirus Safety Hotline for whistleblowers to report unsafe workplaces. The party has emphasised that anyone who can work from home must continue to do so in line with the current public health guidance, and that this must remain the case until the Government has scaled up testing and tracing sufficiently to stop the spread of coronavirus. The measures, set out today by Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey, are intended to support small and medium-sized businesses who are bringing employees back to work now – as well as all employers as the lockdown is eased in future. The Liberal Democrats’ “Safe…

Responding to comments from the Health Secretary  that the governemnt was continuing to follow experts advice to deal with the Coronavirus, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “The Health Secretary has said that the government is following the science, yet a senior SAGE epidemiologist again stated that the lockdown started too late and the new easing of lockdown was happening too quickly. “Matt Hancock also confirmed that the country is still at level 4 in its own Coronavirus warning system, but the government continue to ease the lockdown anyway. This could be yet another reckless move. “Without the critical Test, Trace and Isolate infrastructure in place, abandoning the advice of senior epidemiologists this government looks increasingly near sleep walking into another rise of Coronavirus in the UK.”

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care Lord Bethell has admitted that the Government's policy for local lockdowns is still “in development”, and could not confirm who would have legal responsibility for implementing and managing these.  In response to a question from Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Scriven, Lord Bethell confirmed that “arrangements for local lockdowns aren’t fully in place”.  Following the exchange, Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Scriven, a Former Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “At the Number 10 press conference, the Chief Medical Officer has said we will be likely to get local flare ups. The Government cannot seriously expect local areas to take action to keep local people safe and to dampen the Virus in their area if the Government hasn't got policies, systems…

Responding to the Prime Minister's COVID-19 update, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “People across the UK have made enormous personal sacrifices to slow the spread of COVID-19, protect others and protect our NHS and care services. Millions of people have put their lives on hold, are in isolation and face losing their livelihoods. “So I don't understand why the Government has changed its messaging at this critical stage. It risks what people have fought so hard for. The Prime Minister has not provided the country with any evidence or justification for this change. Instead, he risks creating more confusion than clarity by badly communicating his Government's plans. “We must put people's health first. It is crystal clear that the only way to begin to ease out of the current…

Following Thursday’s press conference and having spoken earlier to the Prime Minister in his call with Opposition Party Leaders, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “As Sunday approaches, many will be anxious about what the Prime Minister will announce. “With the number of cases remaining alarmingly high in care homes and the fact that the Government still doesn’t have a comprehensive plan to test, trace and isolate to keep people safe, there will be serious questions about the consequences of any significant relaxation of lockdown measures. “For the public to have confidence in the Government's plan for relaxing lockdown, they must be open and transparent. The evidence used to make these decisions must be published and available to all for proper scrutiny. “The announcement on Sunday must include a strategy to hugely increase…