Markus Andrews

Ministers risk a “dereliction of duty” unless they move to make working from home the default position for civil servants where they can in a bid to combat the spread of the omicron Covid variant, Whitehall’s biggest union has warned.In a shift in its stance on the issue, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is today calling on Downing Street to change course – warning a failure to implement the measure would “endanger” the health and safety of public servants who have fought to deliver vital services during the pandemic.Boris Johnson’s government has been increasing the number of civil servants in workplaces since the summer – when work-from-home guidance was axed as restrictions were lifted – but the intervention by PCS represents a blow to those efforts.The union, senior representatives of which are expected to press Cabinet Office officials on the issue at a meeting on Thursday, is also calling for additional protections. It wants to ensure there is social distancing and mask-wearing when people move around the workplace, for those civil servants who still need to go in.It comes amid growing concern about the emergence of omicron – which scientists believe could be more transmissible than the dominant delta variant, and evade the vaccines more – with 22 cases identified in the UK as of Tuesday.PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka told The Independent: “With the presence of [the] omicron variant now confirmed, it is vital that the government takes measures to protect civil servants.”The default position should be that civil servants work from home where they can and that social distancing and mask wearing should be re-introduced when people move around the workplace.”Leading scientists have repeatedly said home working dramatically reduces the transmission rate for the virus. It is therefore incumbent on ministers to heed the warning signs and re-introduce home working for all civil service staff who can do so. Anything less would be a dereliction of duty and endangering the health and safety of public servants who have worked hard during the pandemic to deliver vital services.”Downing Street has so far resisted pressure to alter working from home guidance, with the prime minister’s spokesman saying it is up to employers to decide on “the right balance”. However, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has encouraged people to work from home where possible in response to the new variant. In Wales, employers are also being encouraged to let people work from home. And even before the emergence of omicron, Northern Ireland’s health minister said those working from home during the first Covid wave “should be working from home” again.Until now, PCS – which has more than 180,000 members and is the largest trade union representing civil servants in the UK – has not opposed the re-introduction of some office working for civil servants since July’s easing of restrictions.“We’ve said that we are in favour of what’s called ‘hybrid working’ in a general sense but we’ve made it clear, from our point of view, that there should be a question of maximum choice for individuals and for them to work out their regime with their manager locally,” a PCS spokesman said, explaining the union’s position to date. “What we have got a difficulty with is the view of some government departments, but not all of them, that they’ve got to have a rigid regime that they’ve got to control from the top.”The government’s drive to get civil servants back into the office last year – when Whitehall bosses were ordered to get 80 per cent of staff to go in at least once a week – was scuppered by the second Covid wave. Since 19 July, when the nationwide work-from-home guidance was dropped, the government has sought to strike a more nuanced approach to the issue. Government departments have been able to dictate their own individual parameters, with hybrid home and office working commonplace across Whitehall – although attendance rates are understood to vary. In an apparent effort to get more civil servants back to their desks, the Cabinet Office permanent secretary Alex Chisholm wrote to chief operating officers in departments and agencies earlier this month inviting them to take steps to increase workers attending the office.It comes after Mr Chisholm, who also serves as chief operating officer for the civil service, told MPs on the Public Accounts Committee in September that assumptions about attendance were “not fixed”. He added that allowing home working longer term was likely to save the civil service money and improve their working across regions of the UK.Mandarins have sought to balance the needs of team building with the flexibility that civil servants could now expect to enjoy in the private sector. “I want to serve the government of the day to the best of my ability. That’s helped by keeping talented staff happy, as well as understanding why ministers want to be able to have face-to-face discussions with policy experts,” one senior civil servant said.“Some staff members are jittery about how the new variant could impact their plans to see family after they’ve spent a lot of time apart,” they added. “It’s hard for me to argue against working from home for them if they are performing well.”The picture of home working in Whitehall and around the UK varies between departments. The Cabinet Office has a relatively high level of workers attending the office each day, according to people familiar with its operations. At the Treasury, insiders say it varies from team to team, but that large numbers of staff are required to work in the office, rather than remotely, given their access to economic data that could prove market sensitive.According to people with knowledge of the different departments’ offices, attendance rates are far lower for the Department of International Trade and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.The location and role of individual civil servants also appears to have a major influence. Outside of London, in Liverpool and Newcastle, civil servants told The Independent that their managers had been flexible about home working. This contrasts with staffers in ministers’ private offices who it is understood are expected to attend the office whenever ‘the principal’ – Whitehall jargon for the minister or secretary of state – is in the building.Meanwhile civil servants in Northern Ireland and Scotland are following advice to work from home where possible, following the guidance of their devolved administrations.“Encouragement from ministers to return to the office has been rising – and lots of civil servants have wanted to get back to face-to-face work too,” said Alex Thomas, a programme director at think tank, the Institute for Government, reflecting the situation since ‘Freedom Day’ in July. “Those officials working most closely with ministers have felt more pressure to be physically present, but how acute that is still depends a lot on the department and individual ministers,” he added.The government has been contacted for comment. More

The president of the European Commission has said a “discussion” is needed on whether to bring in mandatory Covid-19 vaccination across the bloc.Ursula von der Leyen said Europe needed to take a “common approach” and said too many people were still unvaccinated.She made the comments as the Commission urged the EU27 countries to rapidly roll out booster vaccines, amid concerns about the new omicron variant.Asked whether she supported a move by the Greek authorities to fine unvaccinated older people €100 (£85) a month, the Commission president said mandatory vaccination needed to be considered as a policy option.”If you’re asking me what my personal position is, two or three years ago, I would never have thought to witness what we see right now that we have this horrible pandemic,” she told reporters in Brussels.“We have the vaccines, the life-saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere. And this costs… this is an enormous health cost coming along.“If you look at the numbers, we have now 77 per cent of the adults in the European Union vaccinated or if you take the whole population, it’s 66 per cent. And this means one-third of the European population is not vaccinated. These are 150 million people.”She added: “This is a lot, and not each and every one can be vaccinated – children, for example, or people with special medical conditions – but the vast majority could and therefore, I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now.“How we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union, this needs discussion. This needs a common approach, but it is a discussion that I think has to be met.”Elsewhere in Europe, Austria is looking at how to make Covid-19 vaccination mandatory from earlier next year, while Germany’s new chancellor Olaf Scholz is said to support the policy, according to German outlet Der Spiegel.Such a policy does not appear to be on the horizon in the UK, where health secretary Sajid Javid last week said he did not expect the vaccine to ever become mandatory for the general population. Frontline NHS health workers in England will however be required to be vaccinated from Spring 2022. More

The omicron variant could see a “very large wave” of Covid infections in the UK and may need “stringent” rules to protect the NHS, according to leaked minutes of a meeting of top government advisers.The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) believes it is “highly likely” that the new variant can escape immunity from existing vaccines “to some extent”.Official notes from the Sage meeting, shared with the BBC, warned: “Any significant reduction in protection against infection could still result in a very large wave of infections.”The stark warning added: “This would in turn lead to a potentially high number of hospitalisations even with protection against severe disease being less affected.”Although the Sage scientists remain unsure how big a wave of omicron infection might be, they warned that a “very stringent response measures” may be needed by Boris Johnson’s government to ease the pressure on the NHS.The Sage advisers also said a tightening of existing travel rules so pre-departure testing for travellers returning to the UK would be “valuable”, according to the BBC.Labour has already called on the government to reintroduce pre-departure Covid tests for anyone travelling to the UK, demanding “strong action at the border now”.Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s shadow home secretary, responding to leaked minutes by saying: “It is totally unacceptable that ministers are failing to take action at the border when even their own advisors are telling them to introduce pre-departure tests.”The minutes also show that the Sage advisers believe the government’s existing policy of a single PCR test within two days of arrival will “identify significantly fewer cases” than an extra test on either day five or day eight after arrival.Both the Scottish and Welsh governments have already urged No 10 to “toughen” rules so travellers are asked to self-isolate at home until they receive a negative test result after eight days. “It would be sensible,” said SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.A spokesperson for the government did not deny the leaked minutes were genuine, adding: “We continue to monitor the situation closely and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary.”Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said: “At all times we take note of any clinical advice we receive and then we make a balanced judgement. We need to strike the right balance between protecting lives and livelihoods. We are confident this is the right approach.”The government’s Sage advisers say it is too early to know how Omicron may effect the seriousness of illness experienced by those who contract the variant.But the minutes of their Monday meeting also warn: “It is important to be prepared for a potentially very significant wave of infections with associated hospitalisations now, ahead of data being available.”Health secretary Sajid Javid said on Wednesday it was possible that vaccines were less effective against the Omicron variant, but they should still protect against serious disease.Results of lab studies on omicron and its impact on vaccines are expected in the coming weeks. Mr Javid said the government was confident that “within two weeks that we can know a lot more about this”.Asked on LBC about reports that it could take six months to tweak the vaccine against omicron, Mr Javid said: “Look, the truth is … no one really knows about such things. First of all, what does Omicron actually mean?”He added: “From what we do know from – let’s call it a desktop analysis – we know it’s got lots of mutations, we know that it’s concerning scientists about its infectiousness rate, about potentially its impact on vaccines.”Mr Javid also said the NHS is working to suspend some of the workload of GPs so they can concentrate on expanding the booster vaccination programme.“The NHS is working on that right now with GP representatives,” the health secretary told BBC Breakfast.“I am confident that they will work out a way where some of the workload of GPs can be temporarily suspended or GPs can be helped in other ways.” More

Boris Johnson has refused to deny there was a Christmas party held at No 10 last year while lockdown curbs were in place – but claimed all Covid rules were followed.Challenged by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs over the festive bash for Downing Street staff, the prime minister said: “All guidance was followed completely.”The Labour leader said: “The prime minister doesn’t deny there was a Downing Street Christmas party last year … He says no rules were broken. Both of those things can’t be true. He’s taking the British public for fools.”Sir Keir quoted from the “clear” Covid rules in place when London was under tier 3 restrictions, which stated: “You must not have a work Christmas lunch or party.”He added: “Does the prime minister really believe that while the country was banned from seeing loved ones at Christmas last year, it was fine for him and his friend to throw a boozy party at Downing Street?”The Daily Mirror reported that Mr Johnson gave a speech at a packed leaving do for a senior aide last November when the country was in the midst of the second lockdown.The newspaper said members of his No 10 team then held their own festive party in the days before Christmas while London was under tier 3 restrictions.In each case there was reportedly 40 or 50 people crammed “cheek by jowl” into a medium sized room. “It was a Covid nightmare,” one source claimed, while another said there were “many social gatherings” at No 10 at the height of the second lockdown.Grilled over the Downing Street party at the start of PMQs on Wednesday, Mr Johnson deflected and urged Sir Keir to follow current guidance when he holds his own party on 15 December “to which he’s unaccountably failed to invite the deputy leader [Angela Rayner]”.The Labour leader responded: “Nice try, but that won’t work”, before going on to question the refusal of some Conservative MPs to wear masks in the Commons.“As for following the rules, prime minister – it might be worth looking behind you when it comes to the question of masks,” said Sir Keir. “As ever, one rule for them, one rule for everybody else.”It was reported that the official No 10 staff party was cancelled but that the leaving-do still took place on 27 November, while an unofficial Christmas party was held on 18 December. Mr Johnson did not attend the latter event, it was claimed.A Downing Street source did not deny that parties had taken place, telling reporters only: “We don’t recognise this account. At all stages the rules have been followed.”Leading barrister Adam Wagner, an expert on Covid restrictions, said rules were “probably broken” at the 18 December gathering if 40 to 50 people did attend.“At the time (Tier 3), you could only have gatherings over 30 indoors if they were a ‘permitted organised gathering’, but that would require households not mingling, or if ‘reasonably necessary for work’,” he tweeted.He added: “But a Christmas party was very unlikely to be ‘reasonably necessary for work’ … I think that purely social gatherings which weren’t e.g. combined with work meetings – like a Christmas party – weren’t ‘reasonably necessary’.”Earlier on Wednesday, health secretary Sajid Javid said “all rules would have been followed” if there had been parties in the run-up to last Christmas.Questioned on LBC, Mr Javid said: “I don’t know who attended these parties – but I don’t even think there were parties, that I’m aware of.” More

Controversial plans to “push back” refugee boats in the English Channel will go ahead, despite 27 deaths last week and mounting legal challenges, Boris Johnson has vowed.The tactic had been thrown into doubt by complex rules drawn up by the Home Office – suggesting Priti Patel might back down in the face of widespread protests.And a report by a parliamentary committee warned of more tragedies to come, because the policy would make Channel crossings “even more dangerous”.But the prime minister doubled down on the plan in the Commons, as he claimed a vote on legislation next week is a test of Labour’s willingness to act on illegal immigration.“It gives us the power to make the distinction, at last, between illegal and legal migrants to this country,” Mr Johnson told Keir Starmer“It gives Border Force the power to turn people back at sea and it gives us the power to screen people and send them for screening overseas, rather than in this country.”Mr Johnson also pledged to “review the human rights system”, while ducking a Tory backbencher’s call to axe the Human Rights Act altogether.The Independent revealed that any operations would have to meet numerous conditions, including the presence of French authorities to receive vessels.When questioned about the legality of the planned operations, Ms Patel said a “framework” had been drawn up but admitted: “There is a narrow basis for the operationalisation of this tactic.”Several charities, including Care4Calais and Channel Rescue, are involved in legal challenges, arguing that the plans are unlawful under human rights and maritime laws.Labour opposes both the pushback policy and the Home Office’s as yet unsuccessful attempts to find a country that will accept UK asylum seekers for processing.Meanwhile, Ms Patel has bowed to pressure to protect the RNLI and other charities from being prosecuted for rescuing asylum seekers in the Channel.New laws would make it a criminal offence to “facilitate the entry of asylum seekers” by taking them ashore, even if not done for payment or any sort of criminal gain.The home secretary has now tabled an amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill creating a specific legal exemption for rescuers.In the Commons, Mr Johnson was challenged to go further by the Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell, who said: “We will not be able to stop the endless waves of illegal migrants crossing the English Channel until we break free from the constraints of the European Convention on Human Rights, which impedes our ability to tackle this tragic situation and protects even the most violent of criminals from being deported.“It’s time to take back control and fulfil our manifesto commitment in 2015 to get rid of Labour’s Human Rights Act and bring in a British bill of rights.” More

An investigation has been launched by the parliamentary standards commissioner into cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg over an alleged breach of the MPs’ code of conduct.The independent commissioner Kathryn Stone announced that she is investigating a complaint of a breach of paragraph 14 of the code, which requires MPs to make an “open and frank” record of their financial interests in the Commons register.It is understood that the inquiry relates to a series of loans totalling £6m made to Mr Rees-Mogg by his company Saliston Limited between 2018 and 2020.The leader of the Commons was reported to the commissioner by his Labour shadow Thangam Debbonaire, who said that if confirmed the alleged loans would amount to “yet another egregious breach” of rules by a Conservative MP.Mr Rees-Mogg was one of the driving forces behind a botched Tory attempt to neuter the commissioner’s office by appointing a Conservative-dominated committee to rewrite the rules governing her inquiries in favour of MPs under investigation.The Commons leader admitted earlier this month that he had encouraged prime minister Boris Johnson to force through an amendment setting aside a punishment recommended for Tory MP Owen Paterson after Ms Stone found him guilty of breaching sleaze rules.The Paterson vote on 3 November came just around a week before the spotlight fell on Mr Rees-Mogg’s own financial arrangements, as it emerged he had not reported cut-price director’s loans which he received from Saliston.The North-East Somerset MP owns Saliston, even though he gave up his directorship in 2019. It has a stake in investment company Somerset Capital Management, the parent firm of Somerset Capital Management (Cayman) in the Cayman Islands.Ms Debbonaire said “Over the last few weeks, we have seen that Conservative MPs repeatedly act as if they can put their own private business interests ahead of their constituents and the prime minister must put a stop to this. “It is right that the standards commissioner is investigating what appears to be yet another egregious breach of the rules, with Jacob Rees-Mogg failing to declare millions of pounds of directors’ loans. “The prime minister also needs to investigate whether the ministerial code has been breached.“Labour would strengthen the standards system, with a ban on directorships and paid consultancy, and the House of Commons must be given the chance to fully debate and approve measures put forward by the Standards Committee to toughen up the system” More

Rishi Sunak has shelved a proposal to hike a tax on the wealthy to help plug the post-Covid hole in his finances, pointing to the “burden” it would place on tax collectors.The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) recommended raising rates of capital gains tax to the same levels as income tax, after being asked by the chancellor to review the move.The body also proposed lowering the annual allowance on the tax – a levy on any profit made when selling an asset – but this suggestion has also been put on hold.Treasury minister Lucy Frazer has told the OTS: “These reforms would involve a number of wider policy trade-offs and so careful thought must be given to the impact that they would have on taxpayers, as well as any additional administrative burden on HMRC.“The government will continue to keep the tax system under constant review to ensure it is simple and efficient,” says a letter seen by the Financial Times.The decision comes after the government broke a manifesto pledge by increasing National Insurance contributions on far lower earners, a rise that will kick in next April.Ministers rejected higher taxes on wealth when they announced the 1.25 percentage point hike in national insurance, to fund higher health and social care funding.There have long been protests that wealthy households exploit lower capital gains tax to pay too little for the sale of second homes, works of art and stocks and shares.But many Conservative MPs oppose any increase in the levy, arguing it would punish success – and Boris Johnson recently told a Tory donors’ event that taxes will be cut.Capital gains tax is charged at 10 per cent for basic rate taxpayers and 20 per cent for higher and additional rate taxpayers, with rates of 18 per cent and 28 per cent on residential property.In contrast, income tax is charged at a basic rate of 20 per cent, rising to 40 per cent and 45 per cent for higher and additional taxpayers.John McDonnell, Labour’s shadow chancellor under Jeremy Corbyn, attacked “a Tory Christmas gift to the wealthy”.“Levelling up capital gains tax rates with income tax was estimated by TUC to raise £17bn, enough to fund social care for all that need it,” he tweeted.In his letter to the OTS setting up the review, in July last year, Mr Sunak said he was interested in “how gains are taxed compared to other types of income”.The government has accepted five, more technical recommendations made by the OTS in a second study, the Financial Times reported.They include extending the time divorcing and separating couples have to transfer assets between them without paying the levy. More

Boris Johnson and his senior Downing Street staff have been accused of flouting Covid restrictions by hosting parties at No 10 last Christmas.It has been alleged that the prime minister attended a packed leaving do for a top aide in November 2020 and even gave a speech while the rest of the country was in lockdown.Despite strict rules preventing others from hosting festive gatherings in the run-up to last Christmas, senior No 10 staff allegedly held their own office party as London was stricken by tier 3 restrictions.The Mirror newspaper, quoting sources close to the events, claims that between 40 and 50 officials drank wine, took part in a Christmas quiz and even held a Secret Santa while the rest of the country was locked down at home.Health secretary Sajid Javid denied the claims, saying on Wednesday that “all rules would have been followed” if there had been parties at No 10 in the run-up to Christmas last year.One source said the Downing Street revellers were crammed into a medium-sized room “cheek by jowl” for both events.“It was a Covid nightmare,” one source claimed, while another said there were “many social gatherings” at No 10 at the height of the second lockdown.At a press conference earlier today Boris Johnson urged the public to press on with Christmas party plans despite top health chief Dr Jenny Harries saying people should cut down on socialising to prevent Covid spread.Another source told The Mirror there were “always parties” in the flat Mr Johnson lives in with wife Carrie Johnson, adding: “Carrie’s addicted to them”.A third party allegedly took place on 13 November, the night Dominic Cummings left No 10, “where they were all getting totally plastered”.A source claimed: “While senior civil servants were urging caution and there was one message to the public, Prime Minister gave the impression that it could be very relaxed in No 10.“He would either turn a blind eye or on some occasions attend himself while everyone else was in lockdown”.It was reported that the official No 10 staff party was cancelled but that the leaving do still took place on 27 November, while the unofficial Christmas party was held on 18 December.Mr Johnson did not attend the latter event, it was claimed.While Downing Street did not deny the claims, a spokesperson told The Independent: “Covid rules have been followed at all times.”Questioned on LBC radio about the claims, Mr Javid said: “I didn’t attend, I don’t know who attended these parties – but I don’t even think there were parties, that I’m aware of.He added: “The point is, whether it’s in No 10 or any government department, all rules would have been followed at all times … I don’t think there’s anything there.” More