Lockdown: 'Work from home' guidance relaxed from 1 August, Boris Johnson says

The government’s “work from home” lockdown advice is to be cautiously relaxed from 1 August, giving employers discretion on whether to ask staff to come into their workplace, Boris Johnson has announced.

The move came in a press conference at 10 Downing Street in which Mr Johnson said that wanted to scale back lockdown rules to “give people hope and give businesses confidence”.

It came just a day after the chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance that he saw no reason to change the advice that people should work at home if possible.

The prime minister also said he was making clear that from today he was lifting advice to avoid public transport, while encouraging people to use alternative means of getting around where possible.

Mr Johnson also announced plans to pilot the return of live indoor concerts and allow the return of crowds to sporting events by the autumn.

And he said local authorities were being given new powers from tomorrow to close premises and public spaces and cancel events in the case of a new coronavirus flare-up.

New regulations will next week give government ministers wider powers to stop people moving in or out of an area, to shut down entire sectors and restrict transport movements in the event of local outbreaks.

Prof Vallance and chief medical officer Chris Whitty took part in a virtual cabinet meeting which approved the changes this morning, but were not present at the prime minister’s side in No 10.

And Mr Johnson stressed that changes were ultimately a decision for politicians, who must also weigh up the threat to the economy of continued working from home.

“The chief scientific adviser and chief medical officer give us advice, which we of course take very very seriously, but in the end decisions are taken by the elected politicians, he said. “We have to weigh the advice we get and I don’t think that our wonderful scientific and medical advisers would want to take those decisions for us.”

Setting out the changes to advice from 1 August, Mr Johnson said: “Instead of government telling people to work from home, we’re going to give employers more discretion and ask them to make decisions about how their staff can work safely.

“That could mean, of course, continuing to work from home – which is one way of working safely and which has worked for many employers and employees – or it could mean making workplaces safe by following Covid-secure guidelines.

“Whatever employers decide they should consult closely with their employees, and only ask people to return to their place of work if it is safe.

“As we reopen our society, it’s right that we give employers more discretion, or continue to ensure that employees are kept safe.”

Setting out the gradual relaxation of lockdown restrictions planned for the months ahead, Mr Johnson announced the return from 1 August of :

– Bowling, skating rinks and casinos – but not nightclubs and soft play areas.

– Close-contact services in beauty salons.

– Indoor performances with live audiences, subject to the success of pilots.

– Pilots of larger gatherings in sports stadiums, with a view to wider reopening in the autumn.

– Wedding receptions for up to 30 people.

He said he intended to bring sporting audiences back and reopen conference centres from October.

And he said: “Throughout this period, we will look to allow more close contact between friends and family when we can.

“It is my strong and sincere hope that we will be able to review the outstanding restrictions and allow a more significant return to normality from November at the earliest – possibly in time for Christmas”.

But he stressed that all the planned changes were conditional on people continuing to observe measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.

“It is contingent on every one of us staying alert and acting responsibly,” said Mr Johnson. “It relies on our continued success in controlling the virus.

“And we will not proceed if doing so risks a second peak that would overwhelm the NHS.”

London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned the Government should not encourage people to return to their workplaces if it means overcrowding the city’s Tube system, as was seen at the start of the pandemic.

“I’d ask employers to make sure start and finish times are staggered to avoid the rush hour,” said Mr Khan.

“But we’ve also got to make sure that places of work have the adaptations to make sure they’re safe – hand sanitisers being available, social distancing measures being in place, there being proper signage.

“It’s really important that we don’t have a return to work that leads to a second wave.”

Acting leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said the PM’s plans were “utterly reckless”.

“While we all want life to get back to normal as soon as possible, people remain rightly worried about coronavirus,” said Davey. “The prime minister’s plan to change current guidance for working at home and public transport use is utterly reckless and flies in the face of experts, including the UK’s chief scientific adviser.

“With government testing and tracing plans in an unholy mess, it is deeply irresponsible to throw caution to the wind like this. Ministers are passing the buck and, without protections, they have opened the door to serious disputes between employees and employers.

“The government must be held to account to ensure that the same mistakes are never repeated. That is why I have called on the prime minister to bring forward a timetable for an independent inquiry before the summer recess. We need a commitment to an independent inquiry now, not more dither and delay.”

Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk