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News

Daily Update 22/04/2020

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The daily recorded death toll increased to 18,100, an increase of 763. 

The government continues to receive criticism for the inadequate supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Today the European Commission stated that the government had been given an opportunity to bulk buy PPE with EU countries but refused to do. The call for joint European wide procurement of PPE was, according to the Commission, announced on 31 January. 

Prime Minister’s Questions resumed today with Dominic Raab, standing in for Boris Johnson, facing up against the newly elected head of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer. 

Alongside the first Secretary Dominc Raab, General Sir Nick Carter, Chief of the Defence Staff, gave the daily briefing. Both Raab and Carter drew attention to the role that the armed forces have played in supporting the NHS during the pandemic. 

A virtual parliament?

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The Hansard Society and the Constitution Unit at University College London has identifed a range of time-limited adaptations that Parliament might make to its procedures and practices to facilitate virtual working during the Coronavirus crisis.

They put forward three principles that should shape decision-making during this period: Parliament should operate virtually as far as possible during the crisis; it should prioritise the most essential aspects of scrutiny rather than attempt ‘business as usual’; and decision-making should be inclusive and transparent, with any procedural changes subject to ongoing review and strictly time-limited for the duration of this crisis.

You can read the proposal on the Hansard Society website

Daily Update 14/04/2020

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778 Coronavirus related deaths were record by the NHS today. This brings the total of recorded deaths to 12,107. One in four recorded deaths are now linked to Coronavirus. 

The Office for Budgetary Responsibility reported that the UK economy faces a 35 per cent plunge in output in the second quarter of 2020 if a lockdown to fight the spread of coronavirus remains in place for three months. The Chancellor Rishi Sunak started his evening briefing by acknowledging the findings of the report but insisted that the government had made the right decision to impose a lockdown. 

The Labour Party has been beset by a scandal after their submission to the ECHR enquiry on anti-Semitism within the party revealed that factionalism prevented Labour from dealing with the problem. 

Coronavirus Statutory Instruments Dashboard

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The national effort to tackle the Coronavirus health emergency has resulted in UK ministers being granted some of the broadest legislative powers ever seen in peacetime.  This Dashboard highlights key facts and figures about the Statutory Instruments (SIs) being produced using these powers in the Coronavirus Act 2020 and other Acts of Parliament.

https://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/publications/data/coronavirus-statutory-instruments-dashboard

 

Daily Update 06/04/2020

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The Prime Minister was hospitalised over the weekend due to Coronavirus. Politicians across the political spectrum wished the Prime Minister a speedy recovery. His office has given no indication of when he should expect to be discharged. Despite his illness Boris Johnson continues to run the government from hospital. 

The death toll increased by 441 today, the lowest daily increasing for almost a week, bringing the death toll to 5,373. 

In the daily press briefing the Secretary of State Dominic Raab stood in place of the Prime Minister. In his briefing he stood by the government’s commitment to increase testing and pointed out that over 208,000 tests had currently taken place. The government’s target is 100,000 tests per day by the end of April.

The new leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer unveiled his shadow cabinet. The selections, which saw the ex-Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband return to the shadow cabinet as Shadow Business Secretary, has been viewed as a move towards the centre-left. 

Daily Update 03/04/2020

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Today saw the opening of the new 4,000 bed hospital in the ExCel centre in London, the first of the government’s emergency field hospitals built to treat Coronavirus in the City. The hospital was opened in nine days and has so far been fitted with 500 beds. 

The death toll increased again today up to 684 in the past 24 hours. The Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who continues to give the daily briefing in place of the Prime Minister, stood by the government’s commitment to increase testing to 100,000 by the end of this month. The government was again challenged on the lack of widespread and affective antibody tests, after promising 2.4 million working tests within days on 25th March. In his briefing the Health Secretary stated that the government is still looking for an effective antibody test. 

It was Jeremy Corbyn last day as leader of the Labour Party today, in his email to Party members he described his time as leader as having been an “honour”. 

Daily Update 02/04/2020

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The death toll in the UK increased once again to 569, setting another record. There have now been 2,921 deaths as a result of Covid-19. 

Concerns remain around the government’s lack of testing for NHS staff. However, the government has stood by their commitment to increase testing throughout the population, promising to have 100,000 tests a day by the end of April. 

The Health Secretary Matt Hancock took to the podium to give the daily Coronavirus update after self-isolating since the 27th March. 

Further support was also promised to the NHS in the form of a £13.4 billion write-off of NHS debt. In addition to this debt relief additional support was also given to the health sector in the form of a £300 million made available to community pharmacies to support their business. 

In party political news, the Labour leadership elections came to an end today. Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour MP for Holborn and St Pancreas, is largely expected to win. 

Daily Update 01/04/2020

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As of today we will be posting a short daily summary of the latest Covid-19 news, focusing on the most important stories of the day. Our aim is try and highlight the issues which we think will be most relevant to people working in Parliament.

Today saw the largest increase in UK Covid-19 deaths in a single day since the pandemic began. Of the 563 people that have died, the youngest was only thirteen years old. 

Politically, the main story today has been the government’s pledge to test NHS staff. So far 2,000 NHS staff have been tested out of a total 500,000, a disparity which has led to the government receiving criticism. The government maintains that their strategy is to increase the amount of testing taking place amongst NHS workers and the population as a whole.  

The government has also promised an additional £12 billion to local authorities in England to support business. Local authorities have been urged by the government to distribute these funds as quickly as possible.