Trade
Express
INTERNATIONAL Trade Secretary Liz Truss has hailed a new UK scheme aimed at diving trade with developing nations and boosting jobs and growth, describing the initiative as a “huge opportunity”.
The Government will on Monday unveil a consultation over new rules which it claims will offer counties a way out of poverty – as well as offering a boost to British business and consumers as part of a strategy enabled by the removal of EU rules and regulations. The Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) would apply to 70 qualifying countries currently and include improvements such as lower tariffs and simpler rules of origin requirements for countries looking to export goods to Britain.
The scheme will permit countries to diversify their exports and grow their economies, while British households and businesses will benefit from lower prices and wider choice.
Ms Truss said: “Trade fundamentally empowers people and has done more than any single policy in history to lift millions of people around the world out of poverty.
“Now the UK is an independent trading nation we have a huge opportunity do things differently, taking a more liberal, pro-trade approach that leads to growth and opportunity.”
Illegal immigrants
Mail
Up to 100 migrants were brought ashore by Border Force officers today after they took advantage of the calmer waters to cross the English Channel.
Emergency teams intercepted around seven boats earlier this morning before the group of migrants, many of whom were men, were brought into the port of Dover in Kent.
The Home Office is yet to confirm exactly how many made the 21-mile crossing today but more than 7,400 migrants have made the dangerous Channel dash to reach the UK by small boat so far this year, according to official figures.
The scenes come as the UK saw temperatures reach as high as 91F today on what is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far.
This week figures showed the total number of migrants to have been detained by Border Force so far this year reached 7,478, less than 1,000 short of the 8,410 who arrived last year.
But the number is expected to rise with more warm weather forecast in the days and weeks ahead which will make crossings easier.
Last Sunday, 346 people were detained by Border Force Officers in 15 inflatables – the largest number to arrive in a single day so far this year. And on Monday a further 254 migrants were picked up in nine separate incidents.
Among those making the treacherous crossing was a young girl wearing a pink rain jacket over her life jacket and a woman, believed to be her mother.
It came after a dramatic rescue was launched last Sunday after two people fell off a rigid hulled inflatable boat and into the freezing cold sea.
Independent
The Home Office’s plan to criminalise asylum seekers for arriving in the UK on small boats via the Channel would cost taxpayers more than £400m a year, new analysis has found.
The Nationality and Borders Bill, which receives its second reading in parliament on Monday, includes provisions for people who have fled danger to seek asylum in Britain to be arrested at sea and prosecuted under a new offence for arriving without a valid entry clearance.
Under the proposed new law, thousands of people could face up to four years in prison for this offence – punishment that the Refugee Council has calculated would cost an estimated £412m a year.
The charity found that the cost of imprisoning people seeking asylum is five times more than accommodating them in the asylum support system.
Shadow immigration minister Bambos Charalambous said: “This is a staggering amount of money the government will be spending detaining people who are seeking safety.
EU
Express
A LEADING Brexiteer has exposed the EU’s plans to damage the integrity of the UK and called on Boris to act now before it’s too late.
Amid the issues caused to supply chains due to the Northern Ireland protocol, Sir John Redwood has spoken of the damage done to food supply chains between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The MP for Wokingham said: “Glad the supermarkets are speaking out about the damage the EU is doing to food supplies from GB to Northern Ireland.
“The government must take control and restore the flow of goods.”
Boris Johnson is set to slash EU “red tape” in a bid to spark a post-coronavirus economic boom.
Ministers are set to announce this week how they will use new post-Brexit powers to axe certain EU regulations and “seize the opportunities” created by the UK leaving the bloc. A draft consultation will set out proposals for a “one-in-two-out” approach on red tape.
This would consist of a requirement to remove two “unnecessary regulations” before one new rule can be brought in.
The strategy was approved by Boris Johnson’s Committee on Better Regulation and also suggests methods to ensure regulations are beneficial and not burdensome for UK businesses.
Freedom Day
Express
Boris Johnson will spend “Freedom Day” self-isolating after a public backlash forced him to change plans to skip Covid quarantine.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak had initially tried to avoid isolation by saying they were part of a pilot testing scheme after they were “pinged” by the NHS app. But the decision prompted a furious outcry from members of the public and backbench Conservative MPs, signalling an abrupt U-turn.
The Chancellor and PM’s response to being contacted by Track and Trace comes as half a million Britons find themselves isolating. Official figures this week showed 500,000 people were pinged by the NHS Covid app in the past seven days.
The saga — dubbed the “pingdemic” — has seen workplaces struggle with absent workers, caused chaos at short-staffed airports, and ruined holidays.
Mr Johnson used a social media video to say he would be isolating at Chequers until July 26 having come into contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid who tested positive for the virus at the weekend.
Similar stories can be read in the Mail, Telegraph, Evening Standard, Mirror, ITV News, Sun.
NHS Staff
Mail
Critical frontline NHS and social care staff will be able to avoid self-isolation to go to work from today if they are double-jabbed, the Government announced last night.
Ministers were under intense pressure to intervene as the ‘pingdemic’ took its toll on hospitals, with some forced to call off operations because of staff shortages.
Healthcare workers who have been in contact with a positive case will now, in exceptional circumstances, be able to return to work after they have had a negative PCR test.
They must then take daily lateral flow tests, and should wear PPE properly throughout their day at work.
It will apply to staff who have either been ‘pinged’ by the NHS Covid-19 app or contacted by NHS Test and Trace. Staff who are permitted to go to work will remain under a legal duty to self-isolate as a close contact but will be considered to have a ‘reasonable excuse’ to attend work if their absence could result in harm.
Decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis and only after a risk assessment by the organisation’s management, the Government said.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said last night: ‘As we learn to live with this virus, it’s important that we ensure frontline staff can keep providing the best possible care and support to people up and down the country.
‘The Government has backed healthcare services at every turn through this global pandemic and these new rules will fortify our collective defences against this awful virus, by allowing fully vaccinated frontline NHS and social care staff to continue to work when needed.’
Similar stories can be read in the Express, Breitbart.
Sun
FRONTLINE NHS staff in England who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to carry on working if they are “pinged” – and WON’T have to self-isolate, it has been announced.
The move – which also applies to frontline social care workers – comes amid concerns that rising staff absences due to the need to self-isolate is putting unsustainable pressure on health care services.
The Department of Health and Social Care said the exemption would only apply in “exceptional circumstances” where the absence of staff could lead to a “significant risk of harm”.
Staff who are contacted by NHS Test and Trace and told to quarantine because they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus will still need a negative PCR test before they can resume work and then to take daily lateral flow tests.
Decisions on which staff qualify will be made on a case-by-case basis following a risk assessment by the management of the health or social care organisation concerned.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “As we learn to live with this virus, it’s important that we ensure frontline staff can keep providing the best possible care and support to people up and down the country.
A similar story can be read in BBC News
Covid
Guardian
Covid cases could hit 200,000 a day in the UK this year and cause “major disruption” to the NHS, according to the scientist whose initial modelling helped shape Britain’s coronavirus lockdown strategy.
Prof Neil Ferguson said it was “almost inevitable” that Monday’s final phase of unlocking would bring on 100,000 daily cases, with about 1,000 hospitalisations – despite roughly half the UK being fully vaccinated. He added that he could foresee a situation in which the case rate expands to twice the size.
“The real question is do we get to double that – or even higher,” he told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday,. “And that’s where the crystal ball starts to fail. I mean, we could get to 2,000 hospitalisations a day, 200,000 cases a day – but it’s much less certain.”
Daily hospitalisations surpassing 2,000 a day is equivalent to the level in the week leading up to Christmas. Although people currently being hospitalised do not fall as severely ill, and are much less likely to die, Ferguson said that “if you have enough cases, you can still have quite significant burden on the healthcare system … major disruption of services and cancellation of elective surgery and the backlog in the NHS getting longer and longer.”
Coronavirus infections in the UK are surging again and hospitalisations are on the rise, driven by the spread of the Delta variant and the partial lifting of restrictions. Nearly all restrictions are set to be discarded in England on Monday, including mask-wearing and social distancing mandates. Whether this unlocking is permanent or temporary will depend on precautions taken by the public and vaccination rates, scientists have warned, adding there would probably be a surge in cases no matter when the remaining restrictions are lifted.
Education
BBC News
The number of children registering for home education in the UK rose by 75% in the first eight months of the current school year, according to BBC research.
In north-west England numbers were 92% up on the previous two-year average, figures from 153 councils show.
Some parents and councils – including in former hotspot Bolton – say the increase is down to “Covid anxiety”.
The Department for Education says it supports home-educating parents and plans to launch a registration system.
‘I felt he was starting to regress’
Coronavirus lockdowns meant that school buildings were closed to most pupils from the end of March to September last year.
But increasing numbers of parents have switched to home-educating their children, removing them from the school register and notifying the local council.
More than 40,000 pupils were formally taken out of school in the UK between September 2020 and April 2021, compared with an average of 23,000 over the previous two years.
Olympics
Mail
Six British Olympic athletes and two team staff are self-isolating in their hotel rooms in Tokyo after being identified as close contacts of a passenger who subsequently tested positive for coronavirus on their plane to Japan, the British Olympic Association has announced.
According to a statement, the individual who has tested positive is not a member of the Team GB delegation but was a close contact during their flight to Japan on Thursday. The eight concerned all tested negative at the airport and have continued to test negative since.
The British Olympic Association said the group of six, who have not been named, had been flagged up through Tokyo 2020’s reporting service and were now undergoing a period of self-isolation in their rooms at Team GB’s training camp in Yokohama – adding it was operating its own extensive testing protocols and mitigation measures.
MailOnline understands that if the six GB athletes test negative through two PCR tests in the next 48 hours then they may be allowed to train.
It comes as Olympic organisers revealed two athletes tested positive for coronavirus in Tokyo, as the South African football team announced that two of their players – Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi – had tested positive.
A spokesperson for the British Olympic Association said: ‘The BOA can confirm that six athletes and two staff members from the athletics team, who through no fault of their own have been identified as close contacts of an individual – not from the Team GB delegation – who tested positive for COVID-19 on their inbound flight on 15 July 2021.
‘This was identified through Tokyo 2020’s reporting service and the group have since started a period of self-isolation in their rooms at the BOA’s Preparation Camp, in line with Tokyo 2020’s Playbook protocols.
‘The group all tested negative at the airport and have continued to test negative upon arrival into the country.
Inheritance tax
Express
INHERITANCE TAX could be in the firing line for reforms or even a hike, an expert has told Express.co.uk, as Chancellor Rishi Sunak looks to raise funds.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering a hike on inheritance tax, reports have claimed in recent months as the UK looks to bounce back from the pandemic. In May, sources said Mr Sunak is “moving towards” a rise in inheritance tax as part of a raft of tax hikes to help pay the near £400billion Covid bill. The i newspaper spoke to Treasury figures who said the Chancellor is “minded” to target people’s estates and wealth to raise funds.
They said in May: “It is something the Chancellor is minded to do and is moving towards, but the timing remains uncertain.”
The Treasury currently collects £5.3billion a year from inheritance tax. Analysis from tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg shows that a one percent rise would raise around £130million extra a year, while a 5 percent increase would bring in an additional £650million.
Pension expert at Aegon, Steve Cameron, told Express.co.uk that inheritance tax hikes or reforms could be used to help pay for the UK’s social care.
He said: “I think reform on wealth taxes shouldn’t be discounted. I think this issue is likely to come back alongside proposals around social care funding.
France
Express
EMMANUEL MACRON has been forced into a humiliating U-turn after mass protests sparked over the introduction of the controversial ‘health pass’ on Saturday.
Hundreds of thousands of French protesters took to the streets yesterday to voice their anger at President Emmanuel Macron’s latest COVID-19 ‘health pass’ plans. Earlier this week, the French leader announced plans to roll out mandatory ‘health passes’ for all restaurants, bars, hospitals, shopping malls, trains, planes and other venues. The passes include data on Covid test results and vaccination status.
Protests against the plans took place across the country.
They called on Mr Macron to resign and threatened to boycott the health pass.
France is known as one of the most vaccine-sceptic countries in Western Europe.
Rallies turned violent in some cities like Nantes, where police deployed tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
In Lyon, the police arrested nine demonstrators while in Lans-en-Vercors, a vaccination centre was ransacked on Saturday morning.
An estimated 114,000 people took part in the protests, according to the French Interior Ministry.
In response, Emmanuel Macron has climbed down on part of the health pass rules as he backtracked on its use in shopping centres.
On Sunday, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that the passes will now only be required to enter malls with a surface area of more than 20,000 square metres.
Illegal Immigration – It’s all going according to plan isn’t it Priti Hopeless.
Debbie. I don’t know whether it is your ‘fault’ or someone else slipping up but todays news review is headed Mon 18 July. It is 19th July today.
I really wish thatI was able to give ‘so-called’ Professor Ferguson a high velocity lead injection to cure his habit of telling lies
Yes. I wish you would too Mike!
One of the prime benefits promised industry and presumably grad hating down to the rest of us was
“A bonfire of red tape”
Does “two out one in ” appear a bit timid?
Why not earmark the whole lot for a grand rolling bonfire, say over a 6 month period and only those which can establish their aid to enterprise and better life of the whole nation physically and economically be allowed back in.
There should also be a rule that all new regulation must be “positive” I.e.becdesigned to help not hinder.
Far too much modern regulation seems designed to strangle enterprise and certainly increase cost(and Government TAKE???)
Re: Liz Truss “special relationship” for 70 developing nations – didn’t they used to call it “Empire Preference”, I’m all for it, it’s about time we formally linked up with the Commonwealth as drivers and investors in this partnership.
To ensure the success of this project I would encourage (with Goverment assistance) the reforming of our Merchant Navy to ensure that our ships are available speedily to pick up all orders for straight UK delivery (or to inter participants) which might be ignored or even banned by antagonistic nations or trading companies.
I read a comment in the DT the other day that Frankfurt has ambitions to nick our financial standing,, the paper pointed out that they hadn’t a hope of emulating the size of our “City” and its interests , the figure mentioned, I think, was one tenth of the size, but it also pointed out our already existing tentacles worldwide.
What I am getting at is that for our world wide trade ambitions to increase, similar tentacles are vital to its success.we will not succeed if we do not develop “infrastructure” financed and answerable for targets.
Unfortunately I am not sure, for all Liz’s enthusiasm, many others even in the cabinet have the remotest idea of what I am talking about
I would welcome reaction to my comments, particularly this second half!!! As I believe this is part of our country’ suture “Life Blood”
It should also be pointed out that for “trade” to work, we must have a decent sand increasing set of cargoes to send to them, are we working positively on that?
Just read this through, a few typos and duff suggestions by projective text, for which I must apologise.
An early one in the first para. “Graduating” intended.
But there’s a corker in the penultimate paragraph “it” provided me with “suture” instead of “future”, still perhaps something to do with sticking plaster fits the bill.
Finally a slogan “British and Allies Cargoes carried in British Bottoms”
Roger, Commonwealth Preference. I was unfortunate enough to have been ‘forced’ into the Board of Trade in the 1960’s so I can tell you categorically that those preferences were routinely ‘Waived’. But I agree with you that previous ties to the Commonwealth should be recreated as far as possible.
I notice the media only ever talks about us importing stuff when referring to Liz Truss and her deals. Could it be that they are still stuck in the Remain mindset I wonder?
As you so rightly point out it is even more important that we produce goods to export to them and carry them there ourselves.
Re a bonfire of red tape. Well the Mandarins slipped one past us with hardly anyone noticing. Early in 2020 we were told they were busy sifting through legislation, or directives, not sure which, taking out mention of the EU. That told me that it was transforming it into OUR law and I was suspicious. Surely it should have been dumped there and then. Only if WE saw a need should we have passed such laws.
Thanks for the excellent (and only so far) reply to my comment on what I regard as probably the most important part of facilitating the generation of a substantial new industrial capacity In this country and any apparent infrastructure at all to ensure that this new Commonwealth (and others) does not wither on the vine or even worse get torpedoed politically or from the enemy within.( you know who I’m referring to)
Yes I’m sure you are right the MSM omit to take any important and relevant matters up while they remain “deliberately” in the Remain mindset.
I do wish they would return to doing their real job as a matter of urgency, under the present immorta guise they are collectively irrelevant
Re: Empire preference, I actually visited countries in West Africa when they were still colonies, I thought Empire preference had morphed into Commonwealth Preferance, but I must admit I cannot remember hearing the term “Empire Preference”
No doubt the mandarins want to make our reentry into the EU as easy as possible. As I have said many times before the only thing that will keep us safe is the destruction of the EU. Every true Brit should boycott their products as far as is practicable.
Of course we still have to deal with the other enemies which Boris likes to pander to; the WEF members and the UN.
Illegal immigrants.
The reason why Britain is the Promised Land for the teeming billions in Asia & Africa is our welfare state. William Beveridge planned his Welfare State for the British people, not for the whole world. He did not forsee that it would become available to anybody on the planet who can get here. They’ll keep on coming over land and sea from Asia & Africa, as long as our Welfare State is here for them.
It is not difficult to fix; all it needs is the will to do so. Clearly government likes it as a key weapon in their arsenal.
I agree Ralph. It is not Beveridge’s fault either. It surely must be possible to exclude immigrants from our welfare state. Particularly illegal immigrants.
Trade: Liz Truss for Prime Minister!
She would have to deliver the same agenda as the Fat Boy. All contenders for Tory leadership will have taken the Danegeld and whispered the hallowed pass word ‘Where would you like me’.
Illegal migration
https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/news/2021/05/27/home-secretary-dodges-question-of-whether-immigration-will-go-up-or-down