Today Andy Burnham will hold this week’s Greater Manchester briefing on the coronavirus, updating press and public on the situation here.
The mayor will be joined by his deputy Beverley Hughes, who oversees policing on his behalf.
They will be speaking after this morning’s meeting of the region’s emergency Covid committee, which gathers senior politicians and officials to discuss the current impact of the virus, plans for recovery and any concerns that have emerged over the last week.
Among the issues still preoccupying leaders here is council funding, which they continue to say is insufficient, how to help rough sleepers through the next phase of the pandemic and the detail of how ‘local’ lockdowns - pointed to yesterday by the health secretary as part of the ‘test and trace’ programme - will work.
Baroness Hughes is also likely to give an update on police call-outs over the bank holiday weekend, which included a number of large gatherings and parties.
There will also be new numbers for cases, hospital admissions, care home infections and deaths over in the last week in Greater Manchester.
Recent weeks have suggested the region is now past the peak of the virus in moreorless all respects, although there have been question marks over the accuracy of new case data thanks to a lack of local testing data.
But there have also been concerns raised that Greater Manchester - and the North West - are still behind London in terms of trends, an issue raised by Andy Burnham ten days ago amid criticism that the government’s strategy is being led by the capital’s needs.
The meeting comes ahead of an expected announcement from the health secretary later today about a significant part of the next phase of the national response, the new NHS ‘track and trace’ service.
That will see a national team of contact tracers work with local authorities and public health officials to identify and isolate new cases, while quickly containing specific outbreaks in local areas.
No to localised lockdowns, Burnham concludes
He finishes by reiterating that we shouldn’t have local lockdowns, a point he has asserted repeatedly.
Government should focus on track and trace instead.
We all have to work hard to make sure there is facts and information out there to the public, he concludes, particularly in the light of the last few days.
And that’s it!
Thanks for following. See you all next week.
'Very major concerns' about what happens when housing benefit goes back to normal
Finally, I ask about evictions, which are under normal circumstances the biggest driver for homelessness here: is he worried they might rise when the government’s temporary ban on no-fault evictions and the current enhanced housing benefit end?
Yes, he says, I have ‘very major concerns’ about that.
We might see even greater numbers of people coming new to the streets in the months ahead of us if there is no change to the deadline.
We’ve had reassuring words from govt at the weekend on accommodation for rough sleepers, he says, but other issues are growing - council funding, no recourse to public funds, no-fault evictions and the enhanced housing benefit.
That last one is ‘absolutely critical’, he says. If it doesn’t stay at the enhanced level we’re looking at ‘very serious consequences’ once people lose furlough.
There are a great many people on furlough here whose jobs don’t actually exist anymore, he says.
The implications for numbers of people homeless could be very significant.
He wants to know govt really understands what’s needed, and wants to see a properly funded strategy.
Having said that, he doesn’t think Dame Louise Casey - who is advising minsters on this - would put her name to anything that didn’t include all these issues.
Approach to councils could be 'the undoing of the national response'
Another one from me. Does he still think the govt’s approach is London centric?
Yes, he says, although there has been progress; we have had more cash for Metrolink.
On homelessness, concerns raised by GM do appear to have had some response.
But, we don’t have any meaningful input into the lockdown policy.
Perhaps ‘London centric’ is unfair, he says, but it is a ‘highly centralised approach’.
So it’s a mixed picture, he says, but ‘I don’t think there was enough focus on the ground’.
He comes back to a point raised by the Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram about council funding.
A lack of that could be ‘the undoing of the national response’.
The places that most need support need that cash, he says.
New homeless funding 'not enough'
A q from me - does he think the money that came forward from government this weekend for rough sleepers was as a result of our story?
Yes, I think so, he says. The paper that went to the GM committee highlighted significant gaps in the ‘everyone in’ policy.
He doesn’t think those gaps have gone away.
The announcement relates to move-on accommodation after the hotels are no longer used and that’s welcome.
We’re glad the govt is addressing that issue and committing to such a large number of properties and they would certainly want to be involved.
But, it gives the impression that it’s solving everything and it isn’t.
We still have 661 people still accommodated. They don’t think they’ve had any cash for them yet, he says, and the second wave of council funding has been allocated on a per head basis - and homelessness is not something that’s evenly spread across the country.
The ten councils don’t feel like they’ve had the cash for that.
I’m waiting to hear from govt about where that money is meant to come from.
How are they meant to find that?
And he returns to the point that there are a significant number of people becoming homeless during the lockdown.
There are also 71 people in hotels here without recourse for any kind of government funds.
It’s these discrepancies the government hasn’t dealt with.
We are a month left of hotel accommodation and without these gaps being resolved, we won’t have the result the secretary of state wants, he says.
'Safe GM'
Reopening Manchester city centre and other places will be done safely, he says.
He says he is talking to Marketing Manchester and businesses about a ‘Safe GM’ campaign - but that’s a ‘real difficult balancing act’, given the need for appropriate social distancing.
Again asked on this topic, he is asked what support hospitality businesses should get from the government.
In some respects small things make a difference, he says.
The United We Stream programme has raised £400k so far for them, he says.
On govt support, they need continued access to some form of furlough scheme.
An abrupt end to it would be most damaging to them.
More on GM's track and trace system
He is asked by about the trace and trace plans in GM and Tameside council’s role as the lead authority on the pilot.
He wants an ‘enhanced’ tracking and tracing programme, here.
The plans agreed last week are about identifying which locations need to be focused on - for example care homes, any other kind of institutional care, homelessness settings, prisons.
They’ll look at those most at-risk locations so they can move quickly if there are reports.
GM STILL doesn't have details of all tests carried out here
Have councils got their local data back from private testing yet?
He says he doesn’t think so.
Some kind of agreement has been reached. Any detail they do get is still ‘very headline level’, without the granular detail.
The new cases figure for GM does not include these privately-run tests, he says.
There is a still a problem....and even if we do receive it it is of limited value.
Major concerns still exist about this, he says, although he is reassured that the chief executive of Leeds council is now involved in trying to bring these two testing systems together.
Concerns about queues for shops
Is the mid-June timetable for reopening shops supported by the mayor?
Had we not had the extra tram money, so we can run extra services, he would be more concerned.
There is a question over queues crossing for different shops, such as in the Arndale, the Trafford Centre or Market Street.
All retailers are encouraged to think carefully about that, he says.
GM 'in the dark' re local lockdown
There has been ‘no consultation at a political level’ re localised lockdown’, he says, although some conversations have taken place between officials.
We’re in the dark....
This follows a pattern, he says, which follows PPE and testing.
'Localised lockdown could inflame tensions'
He is asked about local lockdowns again.
How would this work in GM?
And the secretary of state has talked about ‘finely tuned’ lockdowns, such as at specific schools and so on.
He says he isn’t entirely sure how it would work in GM. Its complexity is huge and the ability to have one community locked down and not the one next door ‘feels fraught with difficulties’.
Instead he would prefer strong tracking and tracing in place before these policies are ‘even put out there’.
Localised lockdowns could inflame tensions.
If it is linked solely to one individual building that would be much easier, but he doesn’t know if that is what they’re thinking, given that the minister today referred to ‘parts of towns’.
There’s a lot of concern from council leaders as well.
'We want to cut through red tape for struggling hospitality'
He is asked about hospitality and when this industry can get going again.
And he is asked about a mass gathering in Ancoats over the weekend. How can public realm be opened up safely for socialising when alcohol is involved?
Hospitality is the ‘life blood of the city region’, he says.
The industry will really need our support.
He says Sacha Lord - night time economy adviser - has been working with the leader of Stockport council to see what short term steps can be taken, such as more space outside for tables, cutting through red tape.
‘We can’t give up on the city centre’, he says, and we need to look to bring a certain number of people back to city centre offices, which will help support hospitality.
Furlough will need to last longer for the sector too.
They’re aware of reports of pubs selling booze for outside.
They will be prepared to work with bars, but they also need to work with the authorities to ensure safe social distancing etc.
Bev Hughes says towards the end of this week we’re likely to get clarification on the police’s role.
It’s hard to see a continuing role for them in trying to maintain social distancing - that will become individual responsibility.
But they will maintain public order, including where drinking is concerned. However she reiterates it will be largely a matter of public responsibility, with a role for bars as well.
It still needs to be respected from a public health point of view.
'Gradual increase' in Metrolink use
He is asked about Metrolink use.
There has been a gradual increase over the past week, he says.
In the next couple of weeks, services can increase in frequency again, due to the latest govt funding package.
Those plans will come back ‘quite soon’.
Cummings case has had 'an impact in the real world'
He is asked whether Cummings should resign.
in common with other mayors, he says, he has stayed out of this.
It’s a very Westminster situation and not necessarily right for him to get involved. He has tried to focus on the issues ‘in the real world’.
However the political story has had an impact in the real world - weakening the public health message and making it harder to enforce, as well as a loss of focus on contact tracing.
It’s for others to enter ‘who said what to who’, but he believes there has been a real impact on the fight against the virus.
To Bev Hughes: has there been a pushback from people as a result when GMP try to enforce the measures?
People are no longer taking the rules as seriously, she says, and feel they can restart group socialising.
It’s not an active pushback but a lessening of the feeling that they need to abide by the rules.
Government must 'regain a grip' after Cummings saga
On the practicalities of local lockdown, the current political climate ‘is undermining the strength of the government’s message’.
It’s leading to a loss of focus on the crisis we’re still in.
He points out that there are ‘early signs’ of hospital admissions being on the rise here and he believes the government’s message has been weakened.
Govt needs to ‘regain a grip’
'Significant concern' about local lockdowns
There has been ‘minimal consultation’ with councils and mayors about local lockdowns, says the mayor.
This is a concern about the fairness within this ‘and the tensions’ that might arise from one part being locked down and not another.
That seems a ‘very challenging concept’, he says. .Individual buildings might be more possible, but the policy causes him ‘very great concern’ and he doesn’t understand how it can be properly enforced.
Tracking and tracing shouldn’t be needed - local lockdowns would be a failure of that, he says.
So he wants to raise ‘significant concerns’ about such a policy.
580 house party call-outs over the weekend
Bev Hughes is now updating on GMP and fire callouts over the weekend.
There was a big fire at the Lighthouse in the city centre over the weekend, she notes.
The fire service believe a discarded cigarette probably landed on a balcony with flammable furnishings.
The fire service and GMP did a ‘commendable’ job in putting out the fire and making people safe. It could have been a lot worse, she says.
There was another domestic homicide yesterday, the third since the start of the lockdown.
She says they have been monitoring domestic violence incidents v carefully - and have been urging people to report them - and they haven’t risen significantly overall.
But it’s still ‘of very salutary concern’ that three women have died in a domestic situation at the hands of family members.
Finally, over the weekend, it was Eid and due to a great deal of planning and conversations with the Muslim community there was a ‘very very high level of respect’ for the regulations and it passed without any incident at all.
The number of gatherings wasn’t as high as over previous bank holidays, possibly because the weather wasn’t as good as expected.
580 house parties or gatherings, over the four day period
No arrests, five fines to people from Birmingham who’d come here for the weekend.
That said, we’re all aware there is a lot more activity on the streets and social congregation.
Adherence is ‘beginning to fracture’.
Police will continue to reassure people, but the government now needs to clarify what the public will ‘asbolutely be required to do’, so therefore what the cops will be expected to enforce.
People are now feeling that social distancing requirements are loosening, meaning it’s ‘almost impossible for the police to deal with’, apart from the very obvious large gatheringgs.
Homelessness update
GM has helped 1,724 people inside so far.
That represents a ‘monumental effort’ on behalf of all involved.
There are currently around 661 of those in accommodation. They’re still working to help them move on.
There’s a weekly demand for accommodation of about 180.
Govt needs to take on board the fact the current circs are creating more need for homelessness support.
What we’re experiencing is a growing problem of people being made homeless.
He welcomes an announcement from the govt at the weekend of 6,000 new homes for people who were rough sleeping at the START of the lockdown, but he says ‘everyone in’ should mean ‘everyone in’, including those who have been made homeless since lockdown began
Tram update: service frequency to increase
Govt has now confirmed Metrolink will get the majority of cash it needs by the start of August, which will allow them to increase the frequency of services from the 12 mins he announced last week.
He welcomes this but notes it only runs til August, but says GM does need longer planning horizons.
I don’t want to pick holes though, he adds.
Schools update
Five boroughs are working on a return date of between June 8 and June 10.
Points out for many places June 1 week was half term anyway.
Three boroughs are working on a return next week; the others are going to do it a bit at a time.
He says he supports their right to take their own decisions in the interests of staff, pupils and the wider community.
'Improving picture'
Well we start with an apology from me: I thought there was an emergency Covid meeting this morning. There wasn’t, because there’s a meeting of the combined authority on Friday.
A good start from me, then.
In the last week, we’ve seen 349 new cases here of Covid.
That’s up from 9,399 to 9,748.
The regional R number is still 0.73. It hasn’t been updated.
Hospitals: 65 people currently in intensive care, down from 77 this time last week.
There are 591 patients in other hospital beds, down from 673.
There have also been another 53 deaths in Greater Manchester.
1,755 in total.
The picture is an improving one, but there are also outlying stats.
Those include daily hospital admissions: yesterday was 25; a week earlier was 18.
The position in care homes is gradually improving but still a cause for concern.
There have been an additional 8 care homes reporting new cases over the past week.
The percentage of care homes currently with Covid is 28%; down from 31% last week.
The problem has not gone away.
Welcome
Hello and welcome to another Greater Manchester press conference on the coronavirus pandemic.
This week Andy Burnham will be joined by his policing deputy Bev Hughes to give an update on the situation here and take questions from the press.
I think it’s fair to expect some of those to involve queries about their position on the Prime Minister’s adviser, Dominic Cummings, and what implications his actions may have for controlling the virus here.
Other likely updates include the number of relevant police call-outs over the bank holiday weekend, as well as the overall health picture in hospitals and care homes.
I’ll be bringing you updates live from 2pm.
