The Liverpool -Atlético Madrid Football Match of March 11th raised again in Parliament and by The Liverpool Echo; the loss of jobs because of Covid 19 and the impact on the lowest paid; steps being taken to assess, and to address, the risk of terror groups using the COVID-19 pandemic to recruit new members; and reports that people with COVID-19 have died alone and been left for up to two weeks before being discovered; and Government responds to Jeremy Hunt’s observation that it seems extraordinary that no one appeared to consider the clinical risk to care homes despite widespread knowledge that the virus could be carried asymptomatically.”

Jul 7, 2020 | News

The Liverpool -Atlético Madrid Football Match of March 11th raised again in Parliament and by The Liverpool Echo; the loss of jobs because of Covid 19 and the impact on the lowest paid; steps being taken to assess, and to address, the risk of terror groups using the COVID-19 pandemic to recruit new members; and reports that people with COVID-19 have died alone and been left for up to two weeks before being discovered; and Government responds to Jeremy Hunt’s observation that”it seems extraordinary that no one appeared to consider the clinical risk to care homes despite widespread knowledge that the virus could be carried asymptomatically.”.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/government-says-decision-hold-liverpools-18520204

July 6th 2020 Oral Questions:

Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB) [V]

My Lords, the noble Lord is well known and respected for his own respect for Parliament. Will he therefore please ask his noble friends to fully answer the topical Written Question which I tabled on 28 April, about the decision taken, when Covid restrictions were already in place in Spain, to permit on 11 March a football match between Liverpool and Atlético Madrid? Can he say what lessons we have learned about the imposition and lifting of restrictions from what then followed?

Lord True

My Lords, I will look into this specific matter. I am aware of the event the noble Lord refers to. He will also be aware that, at the time, the advice on large-scale events was not necessarily what it is today. I will certainly undertake to pursue the matter and will ensure that there is a response to Parliament

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Covid and unemployment

Lord Agnew of Oulton, Treasury, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL5742):

Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:


To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings in the report by McKinsey & Company COVID-19 in the United Kingdom: Assessing jobs at risk and the impact on people and places that (1) “UK Gross Domestic Product in 2020 is expected to shrink by 9 per cent”, (2) “7.6 million jobs are at risk”, (3) “people and places with the lowest incomes are the most vulnerable to job loss… with nearly 50 per cent of all the jobs at risk are in occupations earning less than £10 per hour”; and what measures they intend to put in place to address those findings. (HL5742)

Tabled on: 16 June 2020

Answer:
Lord Agnew of Oulton:

The UK, along with the rest of the world, is continuing to face significant economic disruption in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, with both the OBR and Bank of England publishing scenarios that are consistent with significant falls in GDP this year.

The Government has announced unprecedented support for the economy, including via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Schemes and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. However, despite these policies, there will be challenging times ahead, and we will not be able to protect every single job or save every single business.

The Government is committed to supporting the lowest paid workers and helping unemployed people go back into work and so is continuing to review what can be done to support those most vulnerable to job loss and to aid the UK’s economic recovery. We are working to ensure our labour market policy response is appropriate and effective.

Date and time of answer: 30 Jun 2020 at 16:56.

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covid and terror

Baroness Williams of Trafford, the Home Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL5967):

Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking (1) to assess, and (2) to address, the risk of terror groups using the COVID-19 pandemic to recruit new members. [T] (HL5967)

Tabled on: 22 June 2020

Answer:
Baroness Williams of Trafford:

Public protection from the threat of terrorism remains a priority for the Government. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to remain vigilant of terrorists seeking to exploit the situation to further their aims. We know that people are spending more time online during this period and this can put them at greater risk of experiencing online harm. We have been working closely with technology companies, civil society and academia to understand and respond to the risks presented during this period. Although it is too early to confidently analyse patterns from this period, there is universal concern about keeping children safe online.

The Prevent Duty remains an essential tool for safeguarding individuals that are vulnerable to radicalisation, ensuring they can be offered support as early as possible. The Government is taking several measures to enhance existing capabilities to support vulnerable individuals, including:

– utilising long-standing, effective relationships with technology companies to understand any changes in terrorist use of their platform and ensure processes are in place to enable companies to respond quickly to any emerging threats;

– working with Five Eyes partners to develop a joint framework to assess the impact of Covid-19 on online terrorist activity;

– supporting our network of Prevent coordinators in the 44 Prevent Priority Areas to understand the impact Covid-19 is having, assisting them to adapt delivery utilising virtual technology where appropriate;

– working alongside our colleagues in the Department for Education and Counter-Terrorism Policing to promote digital safety guidance products. These have been distributed to Local Authority Prevent Leads, as well as other organisations. The guidance gives practical advice to ensure loved ones are safe online, including through signposting to Prevent services in case of radicalisation concerns; and

– continuing to hold Channel Panels throughout the period that pandemic restrictions have been imposed and delivering intervention sessions via telephone when possible, with the highest need cases still receiving face-to-face support.

Date and time of answer: 29 Jun 2020 at 15:35.

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covid and dying alone

Lord Bethell, the Department of Health and Social Care, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL5348):

Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:


To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that people with COVID-19 have died alone and been left for up to two weeks before being discovered; and what steps they are taking to ensure that isolated people without family or other support systems can be better (1) safeguarded, and (2) supported, during the COVID-19 pandemic. [T] (HL5348)

Tabled on: 08 June 2020

Answer:
Lord Bethell:

We recognise how difficult the past months have been for people who are socially isolated and any death is a tragedy.

Local safeguarding partnerships have been ensuring that people with care and support needs are being safeguarded throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, including working with the shielding population to ensure they are well-supported. We are also aware of good practice through community-led social work and support networks which have ensured people stay connected and any concerns or support needs are identified more quickly.

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Jeremy Hunt

Lord Bethell, the Department of Health and Social Care, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL5739):

Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:


To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the remarks made by the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP on 12 June that “whilst the impact of such discharges meant the NHS was never short of beds or ventilators, it seems extraordinary that no one appeared to consider the clinical risk to care homes despite widespread knowledge that the virus could be carried asymptomatically.” (HL5739)

Tabled on: 16 June 2020

Answer:
Lord Bethell:

Throughout our coronavirus response we have kept our policies under continuous review based on the emerging international and domestic evidence and have worked tirelessly with the care sector and public health experts to reduce transmission and save lives.

On 15 April, we published COVID-19: Our Action Plan for Adult Social Care. This set out that all patients are required to be tested prior to discharge to a care home. A copy is attached.

Patients are discharged when it is clinically safe and they no longer need acute care. Wherever possible, people who are clinically ready should be supported to return to their place of residence, where assessment of longer-term needs will take place. This approach follows the ‘discharge to assess’ model, to support timely and appropriate discharge from hospital.

As our understanding of the virus has changes throughout the course of the pandemic, we have continued to develop our policy. Our current policy is that due to evidence of asymptomatic spread, during periods of sustained transmission we recommend that all residents being discharged from hospital or interim care facilities to the care home and new residents admitted from the community should be isolated for 14 days within their own room. For care home residents, around 70% of people living in care homes for the over 65s have dementia. It is important they return to their familiar environments when they are clinically ready, with the personalised support and daily activities in place that help them to live well with dementia. This can be better achieved in their care home, rather than the hospital.

We have made £1.3 billion funding available via the National Health Service to help patients who no longer need urgent treatment to get home from hospital safely and quickly. We have also made £3.2 billion available to local authorities so they can address pressures on local services caused by the pandemic, including in adult social care. On 13 May we announced an additional £600 million to support care home providers through a new Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund.

 

 

Lord David Alton

For 18 years David Alton was a Member of the House of Commons and today he is an Independent Crossbench Life Peer in the UK House of Lords.

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