Fisheries

Express
BREXIT TRADE talks have led to bitter rows between the UK and France as fishermen plot an “insane” retaliation. The EU and UK are yet to reach a compromise on fishing as the post-Brexit transition period nears its end. Brussels’ negotiator Michel Barnier has warned the UK it will be excluded from European markets if it doesn’t open up British fishing grounds and accept a level playing field on regulation. The UK has tried to persuade the EU to make concessions, but coastal countries in the bloc have so far pressured Mr Barnier to stick by his initial demands. One of the key reasons Leave won the 2016 referendum was the prospect of the UK taking sole control of its waters. As fears of a no deal Brexit grow, French fishermen are among many in Europe who could suffer without access to UK waters. Stephen Sackur met with fishermen from both the UK and France in a BBC Hardtalk documentary released earlier this year. Jean-Paul Mulot told Mr Sackur: “We are in a tough negotiation, and yes fishing is the first dossier on the table and unfortunately it’s not possible for the French to give up like that. “We know that the fishermen, their reaction is going to blockade in the ports here in Boulogne ad probably in Calais which means that will affect the other side of the industry.” Mr Sackur responded: “Jean-Paul, this is insane.

Telegraph
European Union negotiators have conceded a major British demand on fishing rights after Brexit, it was reported on Monday. Brussels was said to have caved on a long-standing UK demand that future fishing opportunities be calculated on the basis of zonal attachment, although that was denied by some EU sources. British fishermen will have a larger share of the catch under zonal attachment than under the historic catch patterns that form the basis of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. Zonal attachment is a system that calculates a share of the catch based on which waters the fish are in. The concession would allow Britain to claim victory in its goals of taking back control of British waters and significantly increasing the amount of fish caught in UK waters by British fishermen.

Yahoo News
European Union negotiators have conceded a major British demand on fishing rights after Brexit, it was reported on Monday. Brussels was said to have caved on a long-standing UK demand that future fishing opportunities be calculated on the basis of zonal attachment, although that was denied by some EU sources. British fishermen will have a larger share of the catch under zonal attachment than under the historic catch patterns that form the basis of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. Zonal attachment is a system that calculates a share of the catch based on which waters the fish are in. The concession would allow Britain to claim victory in its goals of taking back control of British waters and significantly increasing the amount of fish caught in UK waters by British fishermen.

‘Old data’

Telegraph
Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty have been summoned before MPs to explain the evidence for a national lockdown, after their 4,000 deaths figure was questioned by scientists. The pair will face the Science and Technology Select Committee on Tuesday afternoon, amid mounting concern that the graphs shown at a press conference on Saturday evening were out-of-date and alarmist. Modelling presented by Sir Patrick, the government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, showed that under a worst case scenario 4,000 deaths-a-day could occur by December 20 – four times more than the worst day of the first peak. However, the forecast was compiled on October 9, five days before new tier restrictions came into effect, and researchers at Oxford University pointed out that if the modelling had been correct, deaths would now be around 1,000-a-day.  Instead, the current rolling seven day average is around 265 and Monday’s death figure was just 136.

Remembrance

Telegraph
Remembrance Sunday events in England will be allowed to go ahead despite the second coronavirus lockdown, Downing Street has said. Events to honour those who gave their lives in the defence of the nation will be allowed to take place outside as long as social distancing measures are in place. A national ceremony will be held at the Cenotaph in London, but with a vastly reduced number of veterans, politicians and dignitaries in attendance. Guidance will be issued to councils across England about how to safely mark Remembrance Sunday on November 8 and Armistice Day on November 11. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “It’s important that the country can continue to come together to remember the sacrifice of those who have died in the service of their country, and we will ensure that Remembrance Sunday is appropriately commemorated while protecting public health.”

Protests

Times
Protests involving more than two people will be prohibited during the lockdown, The Times understands. Ministers are poised to remove any exemption for protesters and say the rules need to be clear and fair. Priti Patel, the home secretary, briefed chief constables at the weekend and said that they would be expected to enforce the rules. However, some senior police officers are understood to be concerned that the move is too draconian for a liberal society. A Whitehall source said that the government was not explicitly banning protests but a previous exemption, which allowed demonstrations to go forward under certain conditions despite the pandemic, would be removed. The source said it was designed to make the rules simpler, easier for police to enforce and fair.

Second lockdown

Sun
BORIS Johnson was hit by a barrage of criticism yesterday from businesses and his own mutinous backbenchers over his body blow second lockdown. After telling MPs they “cannot pretend the way ahead is easy without painful choices for us all”, senior Tories accused him of turning Britain into an authoritative and coercive state. Charles Walker MP said he couldn’t back the PM’s plans ‘as we drift further into an authoritarian coercive state’ Business chiefs warned his four-week shutdown must be the last as it has “been a body blow of devastating proportion for the economy”. The attacks on the PM came as figures showed daily infections had fallen to 18,950, the lowest level since Monday October 19 — amid suggestions Tier 3 restrictions in the North were already working.

Evening Standard
A furious Tory MP has attacked Boris Johnson over plans for a second national lockdown, accusing the Prime Minister of creating an “authoritative and coercive state”. Mr Johnson is in the Commons this afternoon attempting to head off a fierce Tory rebellion over the impending measures, which are scheduled to come into force on Thursday. The Prime Minister insisted the plans were “time limited” and he hoped to lift the latest draconian restrictions on December 2 when the country will return to the coronavirus tier system. However, furious backbench Tory MPs have called the latest measures “evil” and warned they will “ruin lives”. Sir Charles Walker,  Conservative MP for Broxbourne, said he would not be supporting the government’s legislation and added: “As we drift further into an authoritarian and coercive state, the only legal mechanism left open to me is to vote against that legislation.

iNews
Whether a second national lockdown works all depends on what your definition of success is. Covid-19 will not be eradicated come 2 December, nor is the virus likely to be suppressed by a significant margin given the Prime Minister has promised “whatever happens” that the latest restrictions will be lifted in four weeks’ time. Whereas the purpose of the first UK lockdown was clear: namely, saving as many lives as possible, supporting the economy and learning as much about the virus as possible to improve treatments, this time round the objectives for England are not. If it is about preventing hospitals from becoming overwhelmed then what is the point of the Nightingales dotted around the UK? If there are not enough people to staff the Nightingales then what was the point in building them in the first place?

ITV News
The prime minister has said too few people are self-isolating when told to do so by NHS Test and Trace, as he defended the heavily criticised system. Boris Johnson, who was updating MPs on his plans for a month-long lockdown in England, asked Sir Keir Starmer to “stop continually knocking” the system, despite it repeatedly failing to reach a sufficient amount of coronavirus  close contacts. Labour leader Sir Keir urged the prime minister to use the four week lockdown in England to “fix the broken track and trace system”. But Mr Johnson defended the system, saying it has done a “fantastic job” in driving down the R number – reproduction rate – of coronavirus. He added: “We need to see people self-isolating to a greater extent than they currently are and it would be good if people across this house could therefore back and support NHS Test and Trace because it is absolutely vital.”

Furlough

Guardian
The number of furloughed workers in the UK is expected to more than double this month to as many as 5.5 million as the government places England into national lockdown and expands its emergency Covid-19 wage support schemes. Economists said businesses were set to claim for billions of pounds of additional state support from the furlough scheme over the coming weeks, amid the enforced closure of non-essential venues for the second time this year. With pubs, restaurants and most shops in England due to close their doors for at least four weeks from Thursday, and with companies also struggling under the weight of measures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) thinktank and the consultancy Capital Economics said up to 5.5 million people could be furloughed this month.

Wales

Evening Standard
Travelling between England and Wales without a reasonable excuse will be banned during England’s month-long lockdown. It will be the hardest border between the two countries for “several centuries”, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said. On Monday, Mr Drakeford confirmed shops, gyms, schools and places of worship in Wales will all reopen from November 9 as the country’s 17-day “firebreak” lockdown ends and it adopts new national measures. The Welsh Labour leader said England’s decision to start its own lockdown four days before Wales’ comes to an end meant that travel between the two without an excuse would be banned. He told the Welsh Government’s coronavirus press briefing: “People who live in Wales but work in England will have a reasonable reason for travelling to work, and people who live in England and work in Wales clearly have a reasonable excuse for coming across the border to work here.

Social care

iNews
A ban on care home visits in the winter lockdown would violate the “fundamental human rights” of residents and their families, the National Care Forum (NCF) has warned the Government. In the letter to Matt Hancock signed by 60 organisations, NCF leaders have urged the Health Secretary, along with Social Care Secretary Helen Whately, to allow limited numbers of relatives to visit care homes. Government guidelines currently tell care homes to “follow existing guidance” with more to come ahead of the lockdown in England, which will be introduced from Thursday. Speaking at a press conference in October, Boris Johnson acknowledged the situation is “absolutely wretched” for people unable to see loved ones in care homes, adding he was “certainly looking at what we can do to… allow people to visit their elderly relatives in extreme circumstances”.

Shielding

Telegraph
More than two million people classed as “extremely vulnerable” to Covid-19 will be urged to ask neighbours to do their shopping or have groceries delivered as the Government abandons its formal shielding programme. In the first lockdown, roughly two million people defined as “clinically extremely vulnerable” were given advice to shield themselves at home and avoid contact with others. In that programme, food parcels and the delivery of medicines were offered in a bid to keep those most at risk at home.   This time, no shielding programme is in operation after health officials said the policy caused “harm” and “left people feeling imprisoned”. New guidance, set to be published on Tuesday, is expected to tell those most at risk to stay home as much as possible but still go out for regular exercise.

Statistics

Mail
Britain today recorded its lowest number of daily coronavirus  cases in a fortnight, on the same day Boris Johnson desperately tried to convince Tory MPs to back a draconian second lockdown. Department of Health figures show another 18,950 people tested positive for the disease — down 9.3 per cent in a week and the lowest since Monday, October 19 (18,804). The UK also saw another 136 coronavirus deaths — a rise of 33.3 per cent on the 102 lab-confirmed fatalities posted last week. Top scientists said the infection data could be evidence of England’s three-tier lockdown system starting to take effect, by cutting down the speed of growth in the North. It raises questions about whether Number 10 jumped the gun with a second national shutdown, which SAGE warned was needed to save Christmas. It comes as the Prime Minister insisted cases were now surging so high there was ‘no alternative’ to the month-long blanket restrictions across England. He warned that otherwise the death toll could be double that in the previous peak.

Sky News
The UK has recorded another 18,950 coronavirus cases and a further 136 deaths related to the disease, officials figures show. This is down from 19,790 positive tests and 151 deaths reported last Monday and fewer than the 23,254 new infections and 162 new deaths yesterday. The figures are lower than on any day last week, although fewer deaths and cases tend to be registered after the weekend. The new data comes after Britain passed one million cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic on Saturday. The vast majority of Monday’s cases and deaths were in England, with 15,860 new infections and a further 125 people reported to have died within 28 days of contracting coronavirus. This means there have been a total of 41,389 deaths in England and 894,906 cases.

Education

Mail
The UK’s biggest teacher union has demanded that secondary schools only open on a week-on, week-off system after  lockdown.  Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU) has said the new rotas should be used until the country has a ‘fit for purpose’ Test and Trace system.  The union has already pleaded for schools to close during lockdown to no avail.  Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, agreed that schools should close so the ‘full benefits’ of a national lockdown will be seen.  He told Sky News: ‘If we’re going to do this, let’s do it properly and get cases right down before January – traditionally the most difficult month in the NHS. ‘Of course it’s difficult closing schools, but I think schools will be less disrupted if we get this real circuit break. To be honest, it’s not a proper circuit break unless we really do close everything.’

Times
Unions representing heads and teachers have clashed over whether schools should stay open during the four-week lockdown being debated in parliament. The National Education Union (NEU), the largest education union with more than 450,000 members including teachers and support staff, said that they had seen a fiftyfold increase in Covid-19 cases at secondary schools. They called for schools to be closed. Unions representing head teachers, however, have welcomed the move to keep schools open. All groups have called for greater clarity, particularly over the potential introduction of a rota system to allow groups of pupils to attend at different times.

Testing

Telegraph
Entire cities will be given weekly coronavirus testing, starting in Liverpool this week, as part of new efforts to track and stop the spread of the virus across the UK. Boris Johnson said “virtually instant” tests and vaccine breakthroughs will “enable us to defeat this virus by the spring” amid a furious backlash from MPs as the second Covid lockdown looms.   Insisting that the national restrictions will be “time limited” to one month, the Prime Minister said Britain’s exit strategy depends on using the time to “exploit medical and technical advances” to get Covid under control. Eight out of 10 people with the virus are asymptomatic, meaning they are silently spreading it. Experts say weekly tests could halve the reproduction rate by quickly identifying those who are infected and ensuring that they isolate, allowing the rest of the population to resume activities.  The Army will be deployed to help roll out the tests, including those that give results in 15 minutes and those which can be done in significant volumes because they do not need to be sent to a lab.

Mail
Every resident of Liverpool will be offered a Covid test as the first major step for Operation Moonshot – the scheme that the Government hopes will help it get on top of the crisis by the spring. Starting from Friday, the city’s 500,000 residents will be asked to go for regular checks.  If successful, the city-wide approach is expected to be rolled out to towns and cities nationwide. Boris Johnson declared that mass testing, combined with progress on a vaccine and medical treatments, could finally send the virus packing. His optimistic prediction came as Britain recorded its lowest number of daily coronavirus cases in a fortnight. Department of Health figures show another 18,950 people tested positive for the disease — down 9.3 per cent in a week and the lowest since Monday, October 19 (18,804).

City AM
Everyone in Liverpool will be offered free coronavirus tests on a regular basis as part of the UK’s first mass testing scheme. All those living and working in the city will be offered tests regardless of whether they have symptoms or not. It comes after the announcement of a new national lockdown in England over the weekend. Liverpool was the first city to be put under tier three restrictions – the highest level – a few weeks ago. It is currently reporting 336.4 cases per 100,000 people, one of the highest rates in the UK. The pilot scheme will begin on Friday and will see 2,000 members of the armed forces work with NHS staff to administer the tests. If successful, it is hoped that similar programmes can be rolled out across other cities and urban areas in the UK.

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