Category: UK News

In its latest update, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that an estimated 1.5 million people were unemployed between June and August, while redundancies stood at 227,000…reports Asian Lite Newsdesk

The UK’s unemployment rate has hit the highest level in three years in the wake of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Tuesday.

The unemployment rate grew to 4.5% in the three months to August, compared with 4.1% in the previous quarter.

In its latest update, the ONS said that an estimated 1.5 million people were unemployed between June and August, while redundancies stood at 227,000.

Jonathan Athow, the ONS’s deputy national statistician for economic statistics, told the BBC there had been a “sharp increase” in those out of work and job hunting since March.

“Overall employment is down about half a million since the pandemic began and there are particular groups who seem to be most affected, young people in particular.

“(Of those out of work) about 300,000 are aged 16-24, so about 60 per cent of the fall in employment… that’s really disproportionate,” he added.

Meanwhile, the number claiming work related benefits hit 2.7 million in September, an increase of 1.5 million since the beginning of the pandemic in March.

Also, a Citibank analysis has suggested that the unemployment rate could hit 8.5 per cent in the first half of 2021, a level not seen since the early 1990s.

Government slammed

Meanwhile, Responding to the statistics released showing that unemployment has reached 4.5%, the highest level in over three years, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Christine Jardine said:

“Today’s figures throw into stark and depressing relief the scale of the issues facing families and businesses and act as a reminder that the Chancellor must extend more help.

“Liberal Democrats have warned that by prematurely ending the Furlough scheme, this Government is potentially leaving thousands to face ruin.

“Responsibility sits squarely on the Chancellor’s shoulders. Instead of dismissing lost jobs as not viable, he should be working day and night to protect people’s livelihoods. 

“Generations will judge whether this Government has taken every conceivable step to protect people’s’ livelihoods and futures, or tossed them on the unemployment pile marked non-viable.”

Earlier, The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has reiterated the urgent need for further employment support, as new analysis from the GLA shows that London’s economy may take more than three years to recover from the pandemic.

The Mayor has warned of a ‘looming unemployment crisis’ when the Government’s furlough scheme ends at the end of October. The latest GLA macroeconomic analysis shows that employment levels in London may not recover to pre-crisis levels until as late as 2023, with employment levels in London contracting by 5.5% next year.

Meanwhile according to an extended job support plan announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the UK government will pay two thirds of salaries for employees who worked for firms that were forced to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the scheme, businesses across the UK whose premises are legally required to shut for some period over winter as part of local or national restrictions will receive grants to pay the wages of staff who cannot work, reports Xinhua news agency.

The government will support eligible businesses by paying two thirds of each employee’s salary, up to a maximum of 2,100 pounds a month, from November 1 and it will be available for six months.

“Throughout the crisis the driving force of our economic policy has not changed,” Sunak said, adding: “I have always said that we will do whatever is necessary to protect jobs and livelihoods as the situation evolves.”

In addition, the UK government is increasing the cash grants to businesses in England shut in local lockdowns to support with fixed costs.

The Liverpool City Region will be placed in the “very high” level from Wednesday, the Prime Minister said, adding that following talks with local leaders, gyms, leisure centres, betting shops and casinos will also close in the region…reports Asian Lite News

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled a new three-level Covid-19 alert system that will be implemented across England, with the levels being decided according to the infection rates.

“We must act to save lives,” Xinhua news agency quoted Johnson as saying while addressing while the House of Commons, or the Lower House of Parliament, on Monday evening.

“We cannot let the virus rip.”

The current set of rules are “complex to understand and enforce”, he said, so the new system is designed to “simplify and standardize” the curbs.

The alert system comprises three levels: “Medium”, “High” and “Very High”.

“Medium” includes the current restrictions already in place, including the Rule of Six and the 10 hospitality curfew, Johnson said.

Most areas currently under local restrictions will “automatically” enter this level, he said.

“High” level reflects the local lockdown rules that are in place in parts of England currently, which primarily prevents people from socializing with other households indoors, but the so-called “support bubbles” will still be permitted.

“Very High” level is for places where “transmission rates are rising most rapidly” and the National Health Service (NHS) “could soon be under unbearable pressure”.

This level will see venues such as bars and pubs closed unless they can operate as restaurants, while people are also banned from socializing with other households both indoors and in private gardens, with local residents being advised against travelling in and out of these areas.

Further restrictions on hospitality, leisure, entertainment, and personal care sector could follow, but retail and education will stay open, Johnson said.

The Liverpool City Region will be placed in the “very high” level from Wednesday, the Prime Minister said, adding that following talks with local leaders, gyms, leisure centres, betting shops and casinos will also close in the region.

Johnson added that the number of confirmed cases had quadrupled over the past three weeks and there were more people in hospital now with the virus than when the country went into lockdown in March.

On Monday, the UK reported 13,972 new cases, which increased the overall tally to 617,688, according to official figures. The death toll currently stood at 42,965.

Meanwhile, further restrictions for London may be announced within days as the number of coronavirus cases in the city hit more than 7,700 a week.

Explaining the government’s move, Johnson said that this is “not how we want to live our lives”, but is “the narrow path we have to tread between social and economic costs of a full lockdown and the massive human and indeed economic cost of an uncontained epidemic”.

For those who will be affected by the new measures, Johnson also set out relevant financial support plans.

For example, the government will provide about 1 billion pounds of new funding to local authorities across the UK on top of the 3.6 billion-pound Towns Fund.

Meanwhile, responding to the new Covid-19 tier system announced by the Boris Johnson, Labour leader Keir Starmer said that he was “deeply sceptical” that Johnson had a plan to “get control of the virus, to protect jobs or regain public trust.”

“We have tried to give the prime minister the benefit of the doubt, but it increasingly feels like he is several steps behind the curve and running to catch up with a virus that he has lost control of long ago,” Sir Keir said.

 Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said that the prime minister has failed the north of England and the whole country.

 “People across this country have endured terrible hardships over the past six months, losing loved ones, losing livelihoods and isolating from friends and family. That’s why people are so angry to see their hard work and sacrifices utterly wasted by the incompetence of Boris Johnson,” he said.

“The priority now has to be keeping people safe and ensuring no one is left behind, particularly in the north of England, which is bearing the brunt of the government’s shambles. Boris Johnson must get testing, tracing and isolating right, and provide proper economic support to save jobs and livelihoods. If the Government does not do more to help, it risks pushing millions of families into poverty.”

Businesses unhappy

Richard Burge, Chief Executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “Bringing in a simplified system to manage and understand Covid-19 restrictions makes sense in theory, but it must be accompanied by evidence that explains clearly why certain businesses and sectors are the target of increased restrictions.

“Businesses have proven throughout this crisis that they will put the health of their staff and customers first, but after their valiant attempts to trade through this challenging climate and keep people employed, as the tiers change, they deserve a specific explanation of why and how their sacrifice will lower transmission rates.

For example, many London businesses question the basis of the 10pm curfew, especially when we see scenes of masses of people packing into public transport at once after.

“In London, businesses will also still be pondering whether any changes will be delivered city-wide or more locally.”

A top UK scientist has said that a second nationwide lockdown was a possibility in the face of a worsening situation of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In a BBC interview on Sunday, Peter Horby, chair of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) and a government adviser, said the UK was at a “precarious point” as Covid-19 cases and hospital admissions have continued to increase.

He said the “critical mission” now was to protect the NHS to avoid non-essential hospital services being cancelled, as many were when the UK went into its first nationwide lockdown in March.

“We really need to provide care to everybody – those with Covid-19 and those without. The way to do that is to keep the numbers down,” the scientist said.

He warned that some hospitals in the north of England were already coming under pressure and it might not be long before intensive care beds fill up.

“I am afraid we are going to have to make some very difficult choices and act very quickly,” Horby told the BBC, adding that the country must accept more stringent measures to lower the virus transmission.

The scientist’s remarks came a day ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement to imposed tougher local restrictions in the wake of the spike in the number of fresh cases.

In a statement to MPs, Johnson will outline plans for a three-tier system, where each region in England will be placed into a tier based on the severity of the Covid-19 situation.

It is expected that parts of the north of England and the Midlands will be placed under tougher measures as part of the Prime Minister’s announcement, the BBC reported.

Liverpool, where there are currently 600 cases per 100,000 people, is expected to be placed under the most severe set of restrictions, with all the city’s pubs forced to close.

Pubs and restaurants across Scotland have shut for at least two weeks.

On Sunday, 12,872 new cases and 65 fatalities were reported in the UK, which increased the overall tally and death toll to 606,447 and 42,915, respectively.