Markus Andrews

Britain is heading for the biggest cut to the basic rate of social security since the creation of the welfare state at the end of World War II, a leading think tank has warned.Boris Johnson’s ministers must use the parliamentary recess to rethink plans to cut universal credit by £20 a week in October, said the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).New analysis from JRF shows how damaging the changes will be to working families – who make up the majority of those who will be affected by the looming cuts to universal credit and the working tax credit.In the JRF’s illustrative scenario, a family with three children, where one adult is working full-time, and the other is working part-time, living in a medium cost area, would be left £150 per month below the poverty line if the planned cuts go ahead.Katie Schmuecker, deputy director of policy for the JRF, said: “The new analysis should act as a stark warning of the immense, immediate and avoidable consequences of what amounts to the biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since the Second World War.”She added: “Ministers cannot hide the fact that they are ploughing ahead with a cut despite knowing it will be devastating for millions of families.”The reversal of the £20-a-week uplift in universal credit – introduced at the outset of the coronavirus lockdown last year – will cost £1,040 a year for some of Britain’s poorest families, including many in low-paid jobs.The planned cut to the incomes of around six million families would be a huge shock, said the JRF. It warned that half a million more people are set to be pulled into poverty, including 200,000 children.New analysis by the TUC said shows that universal credit cuts will impact heavily on low-paid people in work, even in wealthier parts of the UK.In chancellor Rishi Sunak’s constituency of Richmond in North Yorkshire nearly half (48 per cent) of people receiving universal credit are in work. And in Mr Johnson’s constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip around two-fifths (38 per cent) of recipients are in work.TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Everyone should have enough money to live on. But if the universal credit cut goes ahead, millions of working families – and key workers – will be forced to get by on much less every week. It is levelling down, not levelling up.“Ministers should abandon this cruel cut that will hit low-income working families. We need a social security system that helps people get back on their feet – not one that locks them in poverty.”A government spokesperson said: “Universal credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and we announced the temporary uplift as part of a £400 billion package of measures put in place that will last well beyond the end of the road map.“Our focus now is on our multibillion-pound Plan for Jobs, which will support people in the long term by helping them learn new skills and increase their hours or find new work.” More

Boris Johnson has approved a new scheme for named individuals in critical jobs to avoid self-isolation, as business warned the economy could “grind to a halt” due to the pingdemic.No 10 urged shoppers not to panic-buy, as supermarkets, haulage firms and manufacturers reported difficulties keeping operations going, as the numbers of workers told to stay home in the so-called “pingdemic” topped 600,000 in a week.On Thursday night the government set out how a limited number of critical workers will be spared self-isolation if “pinged” by the NHS app and identified as a contact of a coronavirus case.The new guidance only says that “a limited number of named workers” may be able to ignore the 10-day quarantine rules, if their self-isolation “would result in serious disruption to critical services”.The policy only applies to named workers if their employer has received a letter from the relevant government department. “This is not a blanket exemption for all workers in a sector,” the guidance said.The guidance lists 16 sectors – including energy, civil nuclear, digital infrastructure, food production and supply, waste, water, essential transport, medicines, medical devices, emergency services, border control, essential defence and local government.But government officials will have to “agree the roles and workplaces that are likely to meet the criteria” for the self-isolation exemption in these areas “on a daily basis”.Separately, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced a new testing scheme for food industry workers – allowing staff deemed critical to the supply chain to avoid self-isolation if “pinged”.Following an emergency meeting with supermarket bosses on Thursday, ministers said sites for daily testing would be set up this week – including at the biggest supermarket distribution centres – to allow staff to keep coming into work if they test negative.It comes as BP was forced to close a number of petrol stations as supplies of fuel dried up and Iceland stores recruiting 2,000 temporary workers to fill in for isolating staff.A survey for manufacturing body Make UK found that 77 per cent of companies had been impacted by “pingdemic” absences, with 13 per cent saying some production has been stopped and almost one in 10 saying they had lost as many as a quarter of their staff.And the Road Haulage Association’s director Rod McKenzie said that, with 20,000 pinged drivers added to an existing shortfall of 100,000 caused by lack of recruitment and Brexit, “you’ve got a recipe for chaos, and chaos is what we’re now seeing unfolding in front of our eyes”.But the government stuck fast to its 16 August timetable for freeing double-vaccinated adults from the requirement to quarantine for 10 days if they are contacted by NHS Test and Trace or “pinged” as a contact by the smartphone app.Earlier on Thursday, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng sparked alarm by suggesting the delay might have to be extended beyond that date, saying he had his “fingers crossed” the relaxation would be able to go ahead as planned.With reports of empty supermarket shelves and silent production lines, CBI director-general Tony Danker warned: “The current approach to self-isolation is closing down the economy rather than opening it up.“This is surely the opposite of what the government intended. Businesses have exhausted their contingency plans and are at risk of grinding to a halt in the next few weeks.”Mr Danker said the “vast majority” of businesses would support bringing forward the 16 August date and putting in place effective Covid safety measures at work to prevent spread.Ian Wright, head of the Food and Drink Federation, told the government to “pull their fingers out,” adding: “We need to get this sorted soon, or what will happen is that people will vote with their fingers and turn off the app.”Make UK chief executive Stephen Phipson said: “The impact on manufacturing continues to rapidly increase and there remains an inconsistency of government policy that allows non-vaccinated people in nightclubs while those who have had both jabs are asked to isolate. We would urge government to address this by bringing forward the planned August date in order to keep the economy open.”And Mr Johnson faced pressure to bring the date forward from within his own party, with prominent lockdown-sceptic Mark Harper telling the House of Commons: “The danger is large numbers of people will either delete or stop listening to the app and then we get to 16 August they won’t be getting the advice to take a PCR test and we will have actually made ourselves less safe and less well-protected.”Meanwhile, public health experts suggested that the self-isolation requirement could be dropped now and replaced by daily tests.Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said: “If you haven’t been vaccinated and you haven’t had a double vaccine, then the risks are higher and I can see some value in continuing with (self-isolating) but certainly not if you’ve been double vaccinated or have had a natural infection in the last six or nine months.”And King’s College London visiting professor in pharmaceutical medicine, Dr Penny Ward, said it would be “very reasonable” to allow double-vaccinated people identified as contacts to keep on working, so long as PCR tests were negative. “In the early epidemic, when there was limited access to testing, and vaccines were not available, it was reasonable to advise individuals in contact with a case to self-isolate until a time at which they would be unlikely to be a risk to others,” said Dr Ward.“However in the new post-vaccinated world, not only are these individuals less likely to become infected in any case, but also would be less likely to transmit even if infected.”But other leading medics warned the public must not give up on self-isolation, at a time when daily positive test rates stand at 39,906 and 84 deaths from coronavirus were reported over 24 hours in the UK.Dr Stephen Griffin, associate professor at the University of Leeds’ School of Medicine, said:  “One cannot help but perceive a growing attempt to minimise the impact of infection here in the UK, what with the dissolution of school bubbles, talk of turning the app down, or even off, and exempting people from contact tracing. “If the government and industry are upset or inconvenienced by people having to isolate, then might I politely suggest that they deal with the root of the issue rather than merely ignoring the fact that we have essentially created this latest wave ourselves as a result of not coupling the roadmap to the vaccine programme.”The No 10 spokesperson said Mr Johnson continued to urge the public to comply with instructions to isolate.“Isolation remains one of the most important levers we have in tackling the virus, and still plays an incredibly useful role in reducing the transmission rates and breaking chains of transmission,” said the spokesperson.“We accept there’s a large number of people who have been asked to isolate as a result of rising case numbers. It was always going to be the case with rising case numbers that more people would be asked to isolate.“Anybody who is asked to do so should isolate.” More

Boris Johnson’s government has announced a new testing scheme for food industry workers, allowing staff deemed critical to the supply chain to avoid self-isolation if “pinged” by the NHS Covid app.Following an emergency meeting with supermarket bosses on Thursday, ministers said sites for daily testing would be set up this week – including at the biggest supermarket distribution centres – to allow staff to keep coming into work if they test negative.Environment secretary George Eustice said: “We are working closely with industry to allow staff to go about their essential work safely with daily testing.”The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the scheme would be rolled out to hundreds of sites next week, with up to 500 sites in scope.Health secretary Sajid Javid said the daily contact testing of workers in the food sector “will help to minimise the disruption caused by rising cases in the coming weeks, while ensuring workers are not put at risk”.It comes as the government revealed new guidance allowing “named” individuals in critical jobs to avoid self-isolation, as business leaders warned that the economy could “grind to a halt” due to the so-called pingdemic.The new guidance says that “a limited number of named workers” may be able to ignore the 10-day quarantine rules if self-isolation would result in “serious disruption to critical services”.But the policy only applies to named workers if their employer has received a letter from the relevant government department. “This is not a blanket exemption for all workers in a sector,” the guidance said.Supermarkets, haulage firms and manufacturers have reported difficulties keeping operations going, as the numbers of workers told to stay home after they were pinged topped 600,000 in a week.Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said she welcomed the government’s plan to expand testing to release food industry staff from self-isolation.“Retailers are working closely with government to identify hundreds of key distribution sites that will benefit from the new daily contact testing scheme,” said Ms Dickinson.”It is absolutely vital that government makes up for lost time and rolls out this new scheme as fast as possible. Government will need to continue to listen to the concerns of the retail industry in the coming days and must be prepared to take further action if necessary.”Ministers have ignored pleas from Tory MPs to bring forward planned changes to self-isolation rules. The government is sticking to its 16 August timetable for freeing double-vaccinated adults from the requirement to quarantine if they are “pinged” by the app.Lockdown-sceptic Mark Harper told the Commons: “The danger is large numbers of people will either delete or stop listening to the app, and then we get to 16 August they won’t be getting the advice to take a PCR test. We will have actually made ourselves less safe.” More

The Police Federation of England and Wales says it no longer has confidence in the home secretary Priti Patel after branding a bitterly-opposed pay freeze for officers as “the final straw”.Labour claimed Mr Patel’s position was “untenable” following the unprecedented move by the body representing rank-and-file officers – saying it was clear they had “lost faith” in the home secretary.Ms Patel had confirmed that police officers earning more than £24,000 would be hit by the freeze, while those earning less will be given an annual rise of £250.Responding to the freeze, the Police Federation said its National Council had “overwhelmingly supported” a vote of no confidence in Ms Patel at an extraordinary meeting on Thursday.The body’s national chairman John Apter said: “As the organisation that represents more than 130,000 police officers I can say quite categorically – we have no confidence in the current home secretary. I cannot look my colleagues in the eye and do nothing.”The unprecedented no-confidence vote – never taken before by the Police Federation – also sees the body withdraw all support for the government’s pay review group.The organisation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said it would no longer co-operate with the Police Remuneration Review Body, describing the current system for deciding on pay as “not fit for purpose”.Labour said the no-confidence motion was a “devastating blow” for the “hapless” home secretary.Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, the shadow home secretary, has written to Ms Patel to say her position is untenable – and urged the prime minister to step in to re-open negotiations on a police pay rise.The Labour MP said: “The truth is, Priti Patel has badly let down police officers, who have served our country so bravely throughout this pandemic.”The MP added: “A zero per cent pay offer is completely unacceptable – it is a real terms pay cut, exposing the hypocrisy of a Conservative government that gives warm words of praise to the police and refuses to back it up with action.“This has driven the Police Federation to take the extraordinary step of declaring no confidence in the home secretary – which is a view Labour fully supports.”Mr Apter said members were “so angry” with this government over the pay freeze. “They have been on the frontline of this pandemic for 18 months and will now see other public services given pay increases while they receive nothing.”He added: “At the beginning of this pandemic they endured PPE shortages and were not even prioritised for the vaccination. They continue to be politicised and this pay announcement is the final straw.” More

A Labour MP was told to leave the Commons after she refused to withdrawn her claim that Boris Johnson has “lied to the House and the country over and over again”.Dawn Butler said she would not take back her remarks. “It’s funny that we get in trouble for calling out the lie rather than the person lying,” she said.Challenged twice by the temporary deputy speaker Judith Cummins to withdrawn her comments, Ms Butler refused, saying: “Somebody needs to tell the truth in this House that the prime minister has lied.”The MP was then ordered to leave the House for the rest of the day, since it is not parliamentary etiquette to call another member a liar. Ms Butler left her seat and exited the chamber.Before being ordered out of a debate on the pandemic, Ms Butler said: “Poor people in our country have paid with their lives because the prime minister has spent the last 18 months misleading this House, and the country, over and over again.”She highlighted disputed claims made by Mr Johnson – referring to his statements on economic growth, NHS spending and nurses’ bursaries, before adding: “It’s dangerous to lie in a pandemic.”Ms Butler, the former shadow secretary for equalities, said: “I am disappointed the prime minister has not come to the House to correct the record and correct the fact that he has lied to the House and the country over and over again.”Calling the government “corrupt”, she added: “Whilst the NHS was coping with 130,000 people dying from the pandemic, the prime minister was making his mates rich – cronyism is rife, old chums are given jobs regardless of their skill set.”The MP also referred to a video debunking several of the claims made by Mr Johnson in parliament that has been viewed 10 million times.In August last year, lawyer and filmmaker Peter Stefanovic compiled and uploaded a two-minute video in which he fact-checked several statements made by the prime minister.These include the government’s record on CO2 reductions, economic growth, nurses’ bursaries, hospital car parking, NHS spending, the Covid track and trace app and poverty in the UK. More

Complaints that a “privileged few” have disproportionate access to those at the top of government are “justified”, a report into lobbying by David Cameron on behalf of failed finance firm Greensill has found.The report commissioned by Boris Johnson from lawyer Nigel Boardman found that financier Lex Greensill enjoyed “a privileged – and sometimes extraordinarily privileged – relationship with government”.And Mr Boardman wrote: “Recent scrutiny of government’s processes for managing lobbying, especially in the context of the engagement between government and those acting on behalf of Greensill Capital, has focused on a number of issues with the current system. “In particular, it has been argued that the government’s processes for managing lobbying are insufficiently transparent, that external organisations are able to exploit certain loopholes to land their messages more effectively, and that a privileged few have a disproportionate level of access to decision makers in government. “I think some of these observations are justified.”The 141-page report covers the circumstances under which Greensill Capital gained access to senior Whitehall officials and ministers and secured government contracts for its supply chain finance services, as well as Mr Cameron’s lobbying for assistance under coronavirus business support schemes. The report covers stage one of the inquiry, setting out the facts of the affair. The more controversial part two – including conclusions and recommendations – is expected later in the year.Mr Greensill himself had a desk and security pass within the Cabinet Office under Mr Cameron’s administration, despite being neither a civil servant nor a special adviser, leading to questions about the degree of his access.Today’s report found that Mr Greensill was introduced to the Treasury and proposed for a CBE by then Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood, who had worked with him at merchant bank Morgan Stanley while on a sabbatical from government.Greensill “intimated” to Lord Heywood in 2011 that he was “interested in working with government part time and in an unpaid capacity – a move which Lord Heywood supported”, the report found, noting that the then chief of the civil service placed the businessman in the Economic and Domestic Secretariat.It was clear that Lord Heywood, who died in 2018, “respected Mr Greensill’s capabilities” and had a “High regard for his integrity”, found Boardman.And he added: “Mr Greensill has indicated that the initiative came from Lord Heywood to do something to give back to the country.“Mr Greensill has explained that this occurred in bilateral discussions of which there is no extrinsic evidence and it is, of course, not possible to ask Lord Heywood to comment on this statement.”Boardman found that Greensill conducted a period of “informal work” with the government and was then appointed an unpaid adviser on supply chain finance in 2012, nominally reporting to Francis Maude, though the report found there was no “conclusive” evidence that the then Cabinet Office minister signed off the appointment and some doubt over whether they ever met.“A covering memo to the Prime Minister in 2012, copied to Lord Heywood, points to Lord Heywood as the person primarily responsible for Mr Greensill being given a role in government,” found Boardman.The report found that this appointment was “properly made”, assuming ministerial approval as given.But it added: “This area of public appointments is opaque and ill-defined. The process should be more clearly delineated, and requires greater transparency to maintain public confidence…“Potential conflicts of interest should have been considered more fully in the process, in particular in reference to his pre-appointment activities and consequent proximity to Citibank.“Mr Greensill was permitted 8 to start work before receiving the appropriate security clearance. Documentary evidence of the reasons for this cannot be found.”The report found that Mr Greensill’s subsequent reappointment to EDS following this three-month stint “raises significantly more questions”.Lord Heywood described suggestions that the financier’s appointment should go to an approvals board as “bureaucracy gone mad”, and no minutes were available to show whether ministerial approval was sought or obtained.Greensill was provided with official IT and security access to the Cabinet Office and 10 Downing Street before completion of the usual vetting process.And his letter of appointment continued a provision drafted by Mr Greensill himself which “created ambiguity about the potential for conflicts of interest”.“During this period, Mr Greensill was not only given access through Lord Heywood’s introductions to several departments in Whitehall, but he was also able to leverage his position, using the facilities of Number 10, to hold meetings with major companies” including Vodafone and Carillon, which he took on as customers of his business, found Boardman.“Mr Greensill’s role in government had the consequence of providing him with a marketing platform for Greensill Capital’s business with the private sector,” found the report.“This enabled Mr Greensill to promote a product which did not, in fact, provide material benefits to government (except possibly in relation to the pharmacy supply chain finance programme, although even here the benefits are disputed), although it could have been of benefit to his incipient business and was of immediate benefit to his former employer, Citibank.” More

Tests for lorry and van drivers on UK roads are being relaxed to help tackle a huge shortage, triggering protests that safety will be put at risk.Road safety campaigners and Labour have both raised the alarm over the move, sparked by fears of gaps on supermarket shelves because deliveries cannot be made on time.It follows the sudden decision to allow longer journeys before lorry drivers must take a rest – and is also being hailed as benefit from “increased sovereignty” after Brexit.But Labour said it is “deeply concerned” by the plans, while the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) condemned any “watering down” of the rules.The Best for Britain campaign group accused the government of “sticking plaster solutions which could make roads more dangerous for all drivers”.Ministers are insisting that road safety remains “of paramount importance” and that “all HGV drivers will continue to undergo rigorous testing”.The controversy has blown up after Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, issued an action plan to boost the number of drivers passing tests above the current level of 1,500 a week.It will strip the examination of “off-road manoeuvres” out of the official test to “increase overall testing capacity”.Permission to drive an articulated lorry would be granted “without also having to pass a rigid lorry practical test”, under the proposals to go out to consultation.And people would no longer have to pass additional tests before being allowed to attach a van or a trailer to the back of their car.There is a shortfall of at least 60,000 HGV drivers, because of “a perfect storm” of EU drivers shunning the UK and tests cancelled because of the Covid pandemic.A plea to relax post-Brexit immigration rules to help tackle the shortage, by adding HGV drivers to the shortage occupation list, has been rejected in favour of loosening the rules.Becky Needham, Rospa’s road safety officer, acknowledged the driver shortage, but said: “We do not see that removing elements of the current test is the answer.“Our view is that the test, as it stands, protects the drivers themselves, other road users and the public and we would not want to have their safety compromised in any way by this proposal.”Labour has written a letter to the government, penned by 5 shadow ministers including transport spokesman Jim McMahon, raising multiple concerns.The party says the extension of HGV driving hours “was met with disbelief” and would “merely increase the workload of exhausted drivers”.“We note that the government is consulting on changes to HGV tests and considering regulatory changes to “speed up recruitment”, including removing off-road manoeuvres and rigid lorry practical tests,” the letter says.“Given the government’s lax approach to driver safety demonstrated by the above changes to rules on working hours, this is deeply concerning.”Naomi Smith, Best for Britain’s chief executive, said putting “new recruits behind the wheel of a 40-tonne truck with incomplete training” is not the way to tackle the shortage.“It also beggars belief that, in a letter about a problem caused by Brexit, the government celebrates leaving the EU as it allows us to cut standards and safety to address the issue,” she said.But a government spokesperson said: “Road safety is of paramount importance and all HGV drivers will continue to undergo rigorous testing.“Under these proposals drivers would still need to undertake the off-road manoeuvres part of the test – and would have to be supervised when driving until fully qualified.” More

Boris Johnson’s government will review its £27bn roads investment plan because of “fundamental” changes in travel patterns brought on by the Covid pandemic, the transport secretary has announced.Grant Shapps said it was right to look again at the strategy to expand the road network – arguing that the rise in homeworking and online shopping was unlikely to be “fully reversed” even as the economy recovers from lockdowns.“In the last eighteen months, fundamental changes have occurred in commuting, shopping, and business travel,” the minister said in a written statement on Thursday.Mr Shapps added: “Trends already underway in homeworking, online shopping, and videoconferencing, all of which had reduced trip rates even before the pandemic, have dramatically increased, and seem unlikely to be fully reversed.”The government will now review its national policy statement (NPS) for major road schemes “in the light” of these trends in commuting and shopping, said Mr Shapps.The move was given a cautious welcome by the climate campaigners who had demanded the government’s “outdated” roads strategy was updated to reflect commitments to tackle climate change.Transport Action Network had accusing the Department for Transport (DfT) of failing to take account of the Paris Agreement, which commits the UK to take measures to limit global warming to well below 2C.But the group is angry that the policy for major road schemes will not be suspended while the rethink announced by Mr Shapps takes place. The transport secretary said the review would be completed “no later than spring 2023”.Chris Todd, director of Transport Network Action, said: “We’ve been calling on Grant Shapps to reset national roads policy for nearly a year and a half. Having now finally accepted the inevitable, he is still fiddling while the planet burns.” Mr Todd added: “For the next two years, existing policy … will remain in force. It is simply unacceptable to refuse to suspend that.“We need a moratorium on all road-building until such a review is completed. Quite simply, we need the Department for Transport to stop making things worse.”Despite the announced review, the government has not committed to cut the £27bn sum for road building and road renewal as part of its Road Investment Strategy 2 (RIS2), set out in 2020.Transport Action Network recently launched a legal challenge against the RIS2 spending commitment on climate grounds. After a High Court hearing in June, the judgment is expected within weeks.The Independent has approached the DfT for comment. More