UK: New Three-Tiered Lockdown After December 02: Tiered System Should Not Tear Apart the Communities: The Politicians Must Remember That the Virus Is Still Present Real Strong and Dangerous: Unified Fight Back Must Remain the Vital Focus Resolve and Concentration

 

|| Thursday: November 26: 2020 || ά. The Government has proposed the country to fall back to the earlier three-tiered system of various kinds of lock down, Tier One, Tier Two and Tier Three, where the third being the most stringent, following the ending of the current full national lock down, on December 02. This means that different parts of the country will fall back onto these three tiers, depending on the assessment of the Government with regards to the available data as to where the virus stands. There are much concerns, debates and views about which area to get into which tier and for how long and politicians are seeking to lobby for their own areas. It is not a time to lobby with opinion, interests focus and dogma but to remember the fact that the virus remains real, present, surging and dangerous as the country enters the winter and, therefore, science, evidence and pragmatism must find way. The Government must remain committed, focussed and invested on these three points: science, evidence and pragmatism.

Because it has been, almost, a year the virus has been rampaging people’s lives and livelihoods and has killed thousands and infected millions and still going strong and surging and, it is, almost, certain that winter stands to make it stronger, not weaker. Anger, fury, unhappiness or things like that do not figure is science for one begins a trial and one follows the processes and records data without opinioneering, frustration, anger, fury etc. Once the trial comes to an end one gathers, collates and brings together the data and makes an analysis, assessment and evaluation in order to ascertain what can be made out of them as definitive truth or laws etc. Who can be found, that likes being dictated and made to suffer harms and infections, face the risk of death, long term health issues, lose their livelihoods etc? No one likes that but the virus did not ask our permission nor does it care for our anger or fury or frustration or suffering and bereavement.

We must, therefore, keep on fighting it with not whatever comes to mind or hand but with the tried and tested tools of following science, reason, evidence and pragmatism, albeit, it is difficult, challenging, even, often times, annoying, infuriating. Regardless of how the Government has handled the pandemic the fact remains this that it is this Government, that is in office and it is this Government, that has the power, responsibility and duty, to do what must be done and they are seeking to do their best and they are not super human but human only. They have made much muddle but no one can accuse them of deliberately doing that for no Government had faced the Pandemic like this one before. Further, it is the easiest for scientists, researchers and learning workers to keep on doing what they do because they do not have politics, always poisoning their science but politics is difficult-complex and is neither a science, as physics is nor, mathematics, as calculus is but. a ‘poisonously’ opinioneering and doggedly political business where comes interests, dogmas and, again, opinioneering etc.

But this is the Government and it is seeking to do what it sees fit. Should they be followed: whether one likes it or not there is no other alternative other than people to gather round and work together for this virus is not going to go away anytime soon. And, despite everything, there remains the fight against this virus because it has not stopped infecting, making ill and killing us in large numbers, to bring it down, to weaken it and defeat it for everyone’s sake. And no one can on their own, alone, do it; not the Government, not the Opposition, neither the local governments nor the bodies of the whole of the NHS. It has to be done together by unifying the entire people, entire country, all regions, all communities and localities and everyone working together: not pinioneer but resolutely remain grounded in science, reason, data, evidence and pragmatism.

It is, therefore, dangerous to bring about politics and politicising in it and make it about localities, communities, seeking to fight each other and begin a political mudslinging, political poisoning. Area this and area that, who is in tier one or tier two or three, these are counter-productive. Must we remain resolute and keep working together, keeping focus and resolve for the winter is here and, as already state, the winter is not a friend of people, of humanity, with physiologies, that are weakest in the cold season but, it can be terribly friendly to the virus. The UK must face, accept and unite for the Winter War against this dangerous virus and with the vaccines lining up to reach reality, may be, the country and the world, are daring to hope to look towards a far better spring than the last one in the new year. Time to keep focus, keep resolve and dig in with grit: united and fighting.

The following is the list of areas in all the three tiers as per the government current assessment. The decisions on which area goes into which tier are primarily based on five key epidemiological indicators: case detection rates in all age groups, case detection rates in the over-60s, the rate at which cases are rising or falling, positivity rate, the number of positive cases detected as a percentage of tests taken and pressure on the NHS, including current and projected occupancy.

The indicators are designed to provide a full picture of what is happening with the virus in any area so that suitable action can be taken.

Tier 1: Medium alert

South East
Isle of Wight

South West
Cornwall
Isles of Scilly

Tier 2: High alert

East of England
Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes
Cambridgeshire, including Peterborough
Essex, Thurrock and Southend on Sea
Hertfordshire
Norfolk
Suffolk

East Midlands
Northamptonshire
Rutland

London
All 32 boroughs plus the City of London

North West
Cumbria
Liverpool City Region
Warrington and Cheshire

South East
Bracknell Forest
Brighton and Hove
Buckinghamshire
East Sussex
Hampshire, including, Portsmouth and Southampton
Oxfordshire
Reading
Surrey
West Berkshire
West Sussex
Windsor and Maidenhead
Wokingham

South West
Bath and North East Somerset
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Devon, including Plymouth and Torbay
Dorset
Gloucestershire: Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury
Somerset: Douth Somerset, Somerset West and Taunton, Mendip and Sedgemoor
Wiltshire and Swindon

West Midlands
Herefordshire
Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin
Worcestershire

Yorkshire
City of York
North Yorkshire

Tier 3: Very High alert

East Midlands
Derby and Derbyshire
Leicester and Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire

North East
North East Combined Authority:
County Durham
Gateshead
South Tyneside
Sunderland
North of Tyne Combined Authority:
Newcastle upon Tyne
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Tees Valley Combined Authority:
Darlington
Hartlepool
Middlesbrough
Redcar and Cleveland
Stockton-on-Tees

North West
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackpool
Greater Manchester
Lancashire

South East
Kent and Medway
Slough (remainder of Berkshire is tier 2: High alert)

South West
Bristol
North Somerset
South Gloucestershire

West Midlands
Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull

Yorkshire and The Humber
East Riding of Yorkshire
Kingston upon Hull/Hull
North East Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
South Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
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The National Audit Office Investigation Into the Government Procurement During the COVID-19 Pandemic: There Are Standards That the Public Sector Will Always Need to Apply If It Is to Maintain Public Trust

 

|| Thursday: November 19: 2020 || ά. The National Audit Office:NAO has published its Report on the investigation Into the Government Procurement During the COVID-19 Pandemic, yesterday, Wednesday, November 18. This investigation sets out the facts, relating to government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic up to July 31, 2020. The investigation came because concerns have been raised about the risks to public money, that could arise from greater use of this regulation.

In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, public bodies have needed to procure enormous volumes of goods, services and works with extreme urgency. On March 18, the Cabinet Office issued information and guidance on public procurement regulations and responding to the pandemic. This guidance noted that public bodies were permitted to procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency, using regulation 32:2:c under The Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

This sets out the various options available to public bodies, if, they have an urgent requirement for goods, services or works due to an emergency, such as, COVID-19, including, the use of direct awards to suppliers without any competition. Concerns have been raised about the risks to public money, that could arise from greater use of this regulation. For example, NAO has received over 20 pieces of correspondence from members of the public and members of Parliament, raising concerns about the transparency of contracts, being awarded during the pandemic, potential bias or conflicts of interest in the procurement process and that some contracts may have been given to unsuitable suppliers.

This investigation sets out the facts relating to government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic, covering the period up to July 31. It covers: the need to procure goods, services and works quickly, the regulations, that apply to this and roles and responsibilities: Part One; procurement activity during the pandemic: Part Two; and management of procurement risks: Part Three.

This investigation covers procurement by government departments and their arm’s-length bodies but does not cover procurements, carried out by NHS trusts, NHS foundation trusts and local authorities on their own behalf. This work does not evaluate the value for money of the contracts, awarded over this period. It is part of a wider programme of work, related to government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the months following the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 in the UK, government awarded around £18 billion of contracts using emergency procurement regulations to buy goods, services and works to support its response to the pandemic. Government was having to work at pace, with no experience of using emergency procurement on such a scale before and was developing its approach at the same time as procuring large quantities of goods and services quickly, frequently, from suppliers it had not previously worked with, in a highly competitive international market.

This procurement activity secured unprecedented volumes of essential supplies necessary to protect front-line workers. The NAO had a separate report on the supply of PPE, that looked in detail at the extent to which demand for that equipment was met and the value-for-money achieved. While government had the necessary legal framework in place to award contracts directly, it had to balance the need to procure large volumes of goods and services quickly, with the increased commercial and propriety risks associated with emergency procurement.

NAO has looked in detail at a sample of contracts, selected on a risk basis. Although, it has found sufficient documentation for a number of procurements in the sample, it, also, found specific examples where there is insufficient documentation on key decisions or, how risks, such as, perceived or actual conflicts of interest have been identified or managed. In addition, a number of contracts were awarded retrospectively or, have not been published in a timely manner.

This has diminished public transparency and the lack of adequate documentation means NAO can not give assurance that government has adequately mitigated the increased risks arising from emergency procurement or applied appropriate commercial practices in all cases. While NAO recognises that these were exceptional circumstances, there are standards that the public sector will always need to apply, if, it is to maintain public trust.

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New Long-Term Household Debt Crisis Is Inevitable Without Urgent Intervention: New Report on Corona Virus Impact on Lower Income Households

 

|| Thursday: November 12: 2020 || ά. A new Report by Stepchange, a debt charity, finds levels of coronavirus-related household debt have hit £10.3bn. The Charity is urging further targeted support to prevent millions succumbing to long-term financial difficulty. The latest research shows levels of household borrowing and arrears attributable to coronavirus have soared since the start of the pandemic, an increase of £04.3bn, 66% rise since May.

The Report, ‘Tackling the Coronavirus Personal Debt Crisis’, has found the number of people affected by coronavirus, who are in severe problem debt has risen to 01.2m, nearly, doubling since March, with a further three million at risk of it. The Report warns that with coronavirus restrictions set to hamper economic recovery for months to come, the country is facing a new and unprecedented debt crisis unless the government implements a clear, preventative plan to tackle it.

The Report commissioned national polling in September, updating and extending a survey, conducted in May, to understand how coronavirus has affected personal finances six months into the pandemic in Great Britain. The results show 14.9 million people, 29% of the adult population, have experienced a negative change of circumstance due to COVID-19, such as, unemployment or redundancy or furlough with a reduction in salary.

Among this group 07.1 million have fallen behind on essentials or borrowed to make ends meet, averaging £1,365 arrears and £1,577 in debt per adult affected. The report finds the safety nets in place for those affected by coronavirus are not proving effective. Of those, who have made an application for Universal Credit since March, 24% are in severe problem debt and 28% are showing signs of financial difficulty.

Meanwhile, 17% of those, whose financial situation has been negatively impacted, have experienced one or more indicator of hardship since March, including, having had fewer than two meals a day for two or more days and having rationed or gone without basic utilities, such as, electricity, heating or water for five or more days. The Report, also, shows that financially vulnerable groups, who were at high risk of difficulty and hardship at the outset of the crisis are over-represented among those, affected by coronavirus.

Since March, 25-34-year-olds have been most at risk of both falling behind on essential bills and borrowing to make ends meet and of experiencing one or more forms of hardship, while families with dependent children, particularly, single parents, have been squeezed by falls in income and additional childcare costs.

Financial difficulty is, also, unsurprisingly, associated with low household income, with twice as many people with an income between £10k and £20k having fallen behind or borrowed to make ends meet as those with an income between £50k and £60k, while three times as many have experienced hardship.

In response to this growing crisis, the Report is calling on the government to urgently develop plans, that go beyond the current crisis management response to a recovery strategy, that puts people swept into debt at its heart. The Report has identified three pillars of a strategy to underpin the country’s economic recovery.

::: The government and regulators must extend and strengthen protections for those, experiencing financial difficulty during the pandemic.

::: More than three million people, negatively affected by coronavirus have fallen behind on essential bills, such as, council tax, rent and utilities since March, despite support mechanisms in place. 

::: With some of these mechanisms coming to an end and restrictions and social distancing set to continue well into next year, the government and regulators risk leaving millions more at risk of aggressive enforcement action, eviction and insolvency unless they update and extend protections.

The Report details how by tabling measures, including, extending the Government’s council tax fund and suspending bailiff collections activity. It is calling for targeted government funding to help households struggling financially due to COVID-19. The funding would pay for interest-free loans, with re-payment contingent on income, to help struggling households address coronavirus-related arrears and debt safely.

The Report estimate that there are nearly three million people, affected by coronavirus, who are now at high risk of long-term debt problems. As a matter of necessity, the government should act to help financially vulnerable people in this group, through the creation of targeted funding, that provides no-interest loans with deferred, income-contingent repayment to help the following three groups of households: Households with unmanageable priority arrears; Households, who will be forced to into survival borrowing to make ends meet; Households, who have had to borrow to pay for essentials due to coronavirus

The government should put in place a more effective safety net for those, experiencing financial difficulty by expanding local emergency support and ensuring households have sufficient income to make ends meet. It is clear from the data that current safety nets are not protecting those, who need it most. 24% of people, who have made a Universal Credit application since March are in severe problem debt and 28% are showing signs of financial difficulty.

The Report sets out how government can prevent hardship more effectively through targeted investment in the social safety net, including, by maintaining the £1,000 uplift to Universal Credit:working tax credit from April next year, extending the uplift to disability and legacy benefits as soon as possible and by suspending non-priority deductions to repay debt from Universal Credit.

Commenting on the Report, Mr Phil Andrew, CEO of Step Change, says, “This Report paints a picture of a nation sleep-walking into a debt crisis. Despite a bold initial reaction to the pandemic, the government and financial services sector’s toolkit of responses has not evolved and the result is a spiralling number of people, being plunged into debt due to Covid-19. And the worst is yet to come.

This winter, a second national lockdown will drive unemployment, reduced hours and rising energy bills, all of which is hampering economic recovery. Without a bold, long-term vision for those, financially affected by the pandemic, there is a real danger of lasting economic and social damage, that will deepen inequality, jeopardise the government’s levelling-up ambitions and act as a drag on economic recovery.

Strengthening short-term protections like furlough will buy time for those, experiencing temporary financial difficulty. Now we need to see the Government provide targeted funding, that can enable households to exit safely from coronavirus debt. Concentrating support in this way can reduce the hardship and damaging impact of long-term debt on health, mental health and the economy, as well as, countering the impact of coronavirus on inequality.”

Read the Report

£01.57 Billion Government Investment to Protect Britain’s World-Class Cultural Arts and Heritage Institutions

|| Sunday: July 05: 2020 || ά. The Future of Britain’s museums, galleries, theatres, independent cinemas, heritage sites and music venues will be protected with emergency grants and loans. The funding will, also, be provided to restart construction work at cultural and heritage sites, paused as a result of the pandemic Britain’s globally renowned arts, culture and heritage industries will receive a world-leading £01.57 billion rescue package to help weather the impact of corona virus, the government has announced today. And it is a welcome intervention and wise investment in keeping alive the pulses, beats and strides of the soul of the people in the cultural and heritage landscapes of the country for these sectors and comes at an existentially challenging time. The Humanion absolutely is delighted that the Government has shown vision in coming up with this package because life is infinitely far more than bread and butter, which was that Mr David Cameron and Mr George Osborn thought life was about all along their time in power and, it is, absolutely and infinitely far more and far beyond the capabilities of the left-over life’s remnants, that are viruses, to destroy, let alone, defeat. The Old Man may have gone to the sea but he shall not get drowned or defeated by some sharks; he shall strive and he shall stride and he shall fight on and reach the shore, bringing in the catch to the harbour for people to see: that no one and nothing can defeat humanity, even, if, they succeed in destroying it. That epic fight is what human existence is about.

These sectors in the cultural, arts, heritage, music world and others are the proof that the soul of the people and the nation is still alive and going and these funding will keep on providing that means to the agencies and organisations to keep these beating hearts going despite the pandemic. Yes, the virus has unleashed havoc and brought about infinite sufferings and taken so much of life and so many thousands of lives but it can not, it must not and it shall never be allowed to touch the soul of the people, soul of the nation, that must keep on beating with hope and love: with infinite hope and infinite love for that infinite love and infinite hope, regardless of how desperate things get, make a home, suitable enough for life and living the life. Thousands of organisations across a range of sectors, including, the performing arts and theatres, heritage, historic palaces, museums, galleries, live music and independent cinema will be able to access emergency grants and loans. The money, which represents the biggest ever one-off investment in UK culture, will provide a lifeline to vital cultural and heritage organisations across the country hit hard by the pandemic. It will help them stay afloat while their doors are closed. Funding to restart paused projects will, also, help support employment, including, freelancers working in these sectors.

Many of Britain’s cultural and heritage institutions have already received unprecedented financial assistance to see them through the pandemic, including, loans, business rate holidays and participation in the corona virus job retention scheme. More than 350,000 people in the recreation and leisure sector have been furloughed since the pandemic began. This new package will be available across the country and ensure the future of these multi-billion-pound industries are secured.

The Prime Minister Mr Boris Johnson said, ‘’From iconic theatre and musicals, mesmerising exhibitions at our world-class galleries to gigs performed in local basement venues, the UK’s cultural industry is the beating heart of this country.    This money will help safeguard the sector for future generations, ensuring arts groups and venues across the UK can stay afloat and support their staff whilst their doors remain closed and curtains remain down.’’

Mr Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, said, ‘’Our arts and culture are the soul of our nation. They make our country great and are the lynchpin of our world-beating and fast-growing creative industries. I understand the grave challenges the arts face and we must protect and preserve all we can for future generations. Today we are announcing a huge support package of immediate funding to tackle the funding crisis they face. I said, we would not let the arts down and this massive investment shows our level of commitment.

Mr Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said, ‘’Our world-renowned galleries, museums, heritage sites, music venues and independent cinemas are not only critical to keeping our economy thriving, employing more than 700,000 people, they’re the lifeblood of British culture. That’s why we’re giving them the vital cash they need to safeguard their survival, helping to protect jobs and ensuring that they can continue to provide the sights and sounds that Britain is famous for.’’

The package announced today includes funding for national cultural institutions in England and investment in cultural and heritage sites to restart construction work paused as a result of the pandemic. This will be a big step forward to help rebuild our cultural infrastructure. This unprecedented package includes: 

 £01.15 billion support pot for cultural organisations in England, delivered through a mix of grants and loans. This will be made up of £270 million of repayable finance and £880 million grants.

 £100 million of targeted support for the national cultural institutions in England and the English Heritage Trust.

£120 million capital investment to restart construction on cultural infrastructure and for heritage construction projects in England which was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic. The new funding will, also, mean an extra £188 million for the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, £33 million, Scotland, £97 million and Wales, £59 million.

Decisions on awards will be made working alongside expert independent figures from the sector, including, the Arts Council England and other specialist bodies, such as, Historic England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute. Repayable finance will be issued on generous terms, tailored for cultural institutions to ensure they are affordable. Further details will be set out when the scheme opens for applications in the coming weeks.

The government is finalising guidance for a phased return of the performing arts sectors, that will be published shortly. The government is working with the sectors to get it back up and running as soon as it is safe to do so and is being guided by medical experts.

Mr Alex Beard, the Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, said, ‘’The Royal Opera House warmly welcomes the newly announced package of Government support for the arts sector. This is a vital next step on the road to recovery for the industry and will help to support and sustain the UK’s vibrant arts ecology through this crisis. There is much to achieve over the coming months and this package of support will be a catalyst for unlocking the extraordinary creativity embedded in the UK’s world-renowned creative industries.

Over the months ahead we will need to draw all on our collective ingenuity and determination to adapt to the realities of re-opening our theatres. We now look forward to the future and celebrating the return of our artforms, our community of staff and artists and importantly, welcoming our audiences back to the Royal Opera House.’’

Ms Nicola Benedetti said, ‘’This significant investment demonstrates a dedication to humanity that gives us all hope during times of unimaginable uncertainty. We will continue to ensure we tell the greatest tales of our past whilst creating a bold vision for our future.’’

Mr Neil Constable, CEO, Shakespeare’s Globe, said, ‘’We at Shakespeare’s Globe welcome this significant investment from the Government in our world-leading theatres and cultural institutions. As an independent charity, The Globe needs support throughout this difficult time and will now have the opportunity to plan to reopen fully by early 2021. We will of course be taking opportunities, if social distancing allows, to reopen earlier, and until then this investment allows us to offer our world-class performances and education online for audiences and students across the world, before safely bringing our actors, creatives, staff, and visitors alike together in our wonderful iconic theatres.

Mr Julian Bird, the Chief Executive, Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, said, ‘’The government’s announcement of a £1.57bn package of support for the arts, culture and heritage sector in the UK is hugely welcomed, for the theatre and performing arts sector, we have worked intensively with DCMS and HMT to seek this clear commitment to our world-leading industry and we thank them. Venues, producers and the huge workforce in the theatre sector look forward to clarity of how these funds will be allocated and invested, so that artists and organisations can get back to work as soon as possible. Our industry’s united ambition is to be able to play its vital role in the nation’s economic and social recovery and this investment will allow us to do so.’’

Sir Ian Blatchford, the Chair of the National Museums Directors Council, said, ‘’This is welcome news for the museum sector, both in the scale of funding and as a strategic commitment to our role in the life of the country.’’

Mr Mark Cornell, Group Chief Executive of Ambassador Theatre Group, said, ‘’I am thrilled to see the government intervene in such a decisive fashion to protect our nation’s cultural capital. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Treasury and DCMS have demonstrated their significant commitment to the arts. The Job Retention Scheme was a major supporting initiative, and this substantial financial package is another key milestone. No doubt this will give institutions across the arts, culture and heritage sector a welcome shot of confidence.’’

Mr Mark Davyd, Music Venue Trust, said, ‘’Music Venue Trust warmly welcomes this unprecedented intervention into Britain’s world class live music scene. We’d like to thank the Secretary of State and the team at DCMS for the opportunity to work closely together throughout this crisis to develop genuine solutions to the challenges faced by grassroots music venues. This fund provides the opportunity to stabilise and protect our vibrant and vital network of venues and gives us the time we need to create a plan to safely reopen live music.

Lord Grade said, ‘’This announcement is more than a life line for the arts in these challenging times, it represents an unprecedented investment. It demonstrates that this government understands the importance of our cultural assets and activities. Given the many calls on the public purse in this crisis, it will come as a massive relief to the sector, public and private. Three cheers.’’

Playwright Mr James Graham, said, ‘’I am so incredibly grateful that the government has listened to the outpouring of not only concerns but also of great passion from audiences and artists over the threat to a much-loved part of our national life. Theatres and live performance venues play a vital economic and social role not just in places like London’s West End, but in every town and city across the country, and I am so relieved that Oliver Dowden, DCMS, and the Treasury recognise that this is a prize worth saving and celebrating.’’

Mr Andrew Lloyd Webber said, ‘’This news is truly welcome at a time when so many theatres, orchestras, entertainment venues and other arts organisations face such a bleak future. I know how hard Oliver Dowden has worked to secure this support. It is absolutely critical that Britain’s cultural sector is restored to health as soon as possible, and I look forward to seeing the details of the rescue package and working further with Oliver and the Government to get all of Britain’s theatres, both large and small, open as soon as possible.’’

Ms Ruth Wilson said, ‘’I and everybody in the arts community have been hoping for this response from our government and we are incredibly grateful. This will be an extraordinary lifeline to everyone in the industry, from the actors to carpenters, to stage door managers, to musicians, make-up artists and all the freelancers that are the beating heart of our profession. The Arts are such an important part of the British economy and our society and whilst we know there are still challenging times ahead, this provides the opportunity for the industry to get back on its feet and come back stronger.’’

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UK Criminal Justice System Is Failing Disabled People: Urgent Systemic Reform Is a Must: EHRC

COVID-19: UK Fiscal Path: A New Approach From the Scottish Government

|| Monday: June 29: 2020 || ά. The Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Ms Kate Forbes MSP has published this new Paper, Corona Virus COVID-19: UK Fiscal Path: A New Approach. This Paper sets out ten principles the Scottish Government believes the UK Government should follow to support the UK economy and public finances as the country begins to recover from the impacts of coronavirus.

COVID-19 has presented Scotland and the UK, as much of the world, with a twin health and economic crisis with a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable in society. The Scottish Government does not have the full suite of fiscal powers to respond to the economic challenges we are facing. As such, either the UK Government must take steps to respond to these challenges or, provide the Scottish Government with the powers and responsibilities to deliver the response the people of Scotland need.

The purpose of this Paper is to set out how the Scottish Government believes the UK Government should navigate the UK economy through what is expected to be the deepest economic recession in living memory. It requires a new approach. This Paper sets out ten principles the Scottish Government believse the UK Government should follow to manage the UK’s public finances and ensure the strongest possible economic recovery for all the UK countries whilst reducing inequalities. All of these refer to areas where responsibility remains reserved to the UK Government and that the Scottish Government can not implement without further powers.

Both the UK and Scottish Governments have provided unprecedented support to help protect jobs and enable businesses to survive. As the country moves into the recovery phase from the pandemic, government has a key role to play in ensuring the economic recovery helps build a society, that is fairer and greener. As demand from the private sector has weakened, now is the time for the public sector to lead the way in stimulating the economic recovery.

The UK Government’s overall fiscal stance is still a key factor, determining the Scottish budget. A large proportion of the Scottish Budget is still determined by the block grant, received from the UK Government via the Barnett formula. In addition, the Scottish Government has virtually no borrowing powers to support additional spending on day-to-day public services.

As the country emerges from the greatest economic shock of a lifetime, it is essential that fiscal rules do not constrain the fiscal policy response, thereby, weakening the economic recovery and doing more harm to the long term fiscal position. Instead, it is required that a bold and radical new approach from the UK Government, with fresh thinking on how to aid the recovery and deliver a fairer and greener economy, that puts well-being at its core, while ensuring sustainable public finances.

Internationally, the focus of the fiscal response is beginning to shift from immediate emergency assistance to fiscal policies to kick start the economy. The crisis is inevitably leading to an increase in public debt. This debt will need to be managed down over a long period and in ways, that aid, rather than hinder, economic recovery. Businesses and households will need the support of the banking and financial system to recover from the crisis.

Read the Paper

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COVID-19: Unless Reason Science and Evidence Find Leadership the UK Shows All Signs of a Disastrous Summer Leading Towards a Dark Autumn and Even a Darker Winter Ahead: It Is Time to Stand Up and Show Leadership

|| Saturday: June 27: 2020 || ά. As lockdowns are being taken off and everything begins to open, signs are not very promising in the UK, where people have paid far too much by any count: infection spread, suffering and surviving with on-going further complications and the high deaths. Because of the long isolation of people under the lockdown and the expected but sudden change in weather people have gone out in their drones across the seaside, creating nightmare like scenarios, particularly, in the southern cities and towns, which have shocked everyone and the impact and aftermath of that sudden surge of people, all illegal ‘parties’ and the rubbish they have left behind are things, that the leaders of this country must ponder about seriously.

This is not acceptable in this on-going pandemic because these kinds of mass gatherings and situations can not but offer the virus all the support it needs to spread further and wider. However, this is not a public order issue and the Police can not be expected to ‘enforce’ law on such a massive and all-out break in public order but it is a leadership issue. The government must show leadership, decisiveness and clarity of what must be done and that can only be done by strict observance of reason, science and evidence. People would go with that because over the lockdown people of this country have gone with that and supported the national efforts to try and bring down the virus infections and spread but people will not go with lack of leadership, contradictions and messy hyperboles. The pandemic has not gone away and across the world there are signs that the virus is spreading as fast and as wide as ever as places begin to open up again.    

However, from our observation yesterday around some parts of London there were people everywhere and those, queuing outside shopping places and supermarkets were seen abandoning social distancing and there was hardly anyone, who was wearing any masks or any other protective items, such as, gloves. There were people everywhere as they would have been seen before the pandemic. It felt like, as, if, either the government or some tooth fairy had texted everyone, saying that it was okay to go out, as, if, the pandemic was a thing of the past! Except, the pandemic is still going and infections are still spreading.

There were shops, take aways and restaurants open for delivery and collections and people could be seen huddling inside shops or at the doors and workers, working without any protective gears, no mask, no gloves and no one was stopping anyone to do so. This stands to wipe out what has gone in over the long-suffering months of this pandemic. This risks the people spreading the virus everywhere and those, working without any protective gears, risk getting infected themselves and they are preparing food and drink like that so that wider members of the public stand facing the same risk. this is absolutely a situation, that the UK government can not keep on overlooking. The lockdown has not yet been lifted for much of the other parts of the economy, for some sectors, which should begin early next week but things are showing all signs of a breaking up of the resolve simply because the ‘leadership’ has been crumbling, whatever was there to begin with and the message got lost and the hurry in opening up is eating away into the application of reason, science and evidence. History has taught us wherever and whenever we fail to follow reason, science and evidence we paid the highest of price.

The virus, may be, invisible but, it is real and it has not gone away and this virus is still mighty with the world still unable to find a vaccine, that offers comprehensive protections nor is there any way to stop or treat the infection. It is, therefore, still going round and it has all arsenal in its belt to keep on going. The economy needs to open up but it can not be done so with risking lives. Were the virus infection to rise again and to begin killing thousands of people every day what would that mean about this ‘opening us of this economy’? Yes, the economy should be open but not at a cost to lives and people’s safety and well-being for the economy is for life and for people.

But what has been seen over the last few days tells us that we are faced that way unless the government wakes up and takes a hold of this situation. The people have given their whole-hearted support, despite their reservations as to how the government has failed and handled this pandemic, with the lockdown, self-isolation and suffering and deaths and all that followed. The country’s NHS and all other emergency services have shown extra-ordinary courage, commitment and dedication and the country is where it is today because of all that courageous hard works, dedications, sufferings and sacrifices of both the emergency and key working services and the public made. However, now it appears that the country is headlong jumping back onto the same path, as, if, there has not been a Pandemic and life has turned into ‘normal’. It has not done so: the virus is still out there and it is still transmitting!

There are many reports in the UK that work places are getting large infections, many of which are poultry and meat factories, supplying supermarkets etc and with ‘small’ work spaces. Work spaces must be made safe and employers of all types and all sizes must be made to ensure that they have done their utmost to ensure workers are protected and working, using proper PPE.  This does not offer much support for much hope. Things have improved, despite the high deaths and all-engulfing infections and suffering across the UK; however, if, what has been witnessed over the last few days are anything to go by, this summer does not bode well. The government and those in the driving seat must wake up and get a hold of the situation. Yes, the economy and society can not be left shut forever but forgetting the pandemic and the high price the country and the people have already paid would be a disaster and a catastrophe. It is time to stand up and put a break. The UK has paid far too much already and no one wants to see a nightmare summer, leading us towards a dark autumn and, even, a darker winter. The way forward is as it has always been: follow the course of reason, science and evidence and inspire people’s trust and faith so that everyone follows what ought to be followed.

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