Boris Johnson has held out the prospect of a “significant return to normality” by Christmas as he announced a fresh easing of lockdown restrictions in England – but his roadmap was met with a backlash from business leaders and claims he is making policy “on a wing and prayer”. After four months of encouraging the public to work from home to help contain the spread of coronavirus, the prime minister said from 1 August the onus would be on employers to decide whether staff could safely come back to the office. His blueprint could lead to a return for gigs, theatre performances and business conferences in the coming months. A lifting of restrictions on attendance at football matches could happen in October, Johnson said, and it “may conceivably be possible to move away from the social distancing measures” by November. Johnson said local lockdowns would be implemented quickly where needed, and he unveiled plans to hand local authorities greater powers.
He was careful not to claim that his proposals had been endorsed by the chief medical officer for England, Prof Chris Whitty, and the chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance. Giving testimony to the House of Lords on Friday, both men struck a sombre tone, with Whitty reiterating in the strongest terms the need to maintain social distancing “for a long period of time”. “There is a very significant chance that it [coronavirus] comes back in force,” added Vallance. “Everyone that I’ve spoken to thinks it’s highly likely that this disease will continue to circulate and will come back in waves. And therefore the measures of reducing contact to reduce spread, the sorts of social distancing measures that we’ve talked about, and the hygiene measures that go along with that, will be necessary.” Johnson said his framework for a return to normality depended on staff talking to their employers “in a serious and grown-up way” and offices being made Covid-19-secure. But this drew criticism for being overly vague. Keir Starmer accused Johnson of making policy “on a wing and a prayer”. The Labour leader said: “We all want society to reopen, we all want our economy to start growing again. So we’ll look at the details of this plan. But the key now is confidence. Do the public have confidence in the measures the government have put in place? Do businesses have confidence in the advice that’s been given? And can we have confidence that the government’s scientific advisers support these measures? This can’t be done on a wing and a prayer. It requires a credible plan, and national leadership.”
Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the TUC, said: “The government is passing the buck on this big decision to employers. Getting back to work safely requires a functioning NHS test-and-trace system. Yet progress on test and trace is still patchy, and the government is still refusing to support workers who have to self-isolate by raising statutory sick pay from just £95pw to a rate people can live on.” And the director of the British Chambers of Commerce, Adam Marshall, said: “For many employees, returning to the workplace is contingent on schools reopening, the availability of wraparound care and the capacity of public transport.” In a further effort to encourage commuters as the government tries to kickstart devastated town- and city-centre economies, Johnson lifted the presumption against using public transport. “From today we are making clear that anybody may use public transport, while of course encouraging people to consider alternative means of transport where they are available,” he said. Despite warning of the risks of a winter resurgence in the virus, the prime minister maintained an upbeat tone in Friday’s speech and said measures were being put in place to mitigate the possibility of a second wave. He announced an extra £3bn for the NHS and a significant expansion of flu vaccinations.
Johnson said: “It is my strong and sincere hope that we will be able to review the outstanding restrictions and allow a more significant return to normality from November at the earliest, possibly in time for Christmas.” When Johnson was asked whether Vallance and Whitty had approved of the latest lockdown easing, he said the pair had briefed the cabinet on Friday morning but it was for ministers to make decisions. “I must stress that the chief scientific officer and chief medical officer give us advice, which we of course take very, very seriously, but in the end decisions are taken by the elected politicians,” he said.
Vallance, in his evidence to the Lords science and technology committee, said it was “incredibly important” to keep Covid-19 cases low in the winter. To help contain any new outbreaks, the government announced that from Saturday councils will have powers to close premises, shut outdoor spaces and cancel events. In addition, regulations set out in draft in parliament next week will allow central government to intervene in local areas by issuing stay-at-home orders, limiting the numbers at gatherings and preventing travel between different areas.