The Government needs to step up and radically improve the test, track and trace system.
Hackney Council is a pioneer borough piloting localised tracking and tracing, but it is not getting the data it needs from the central system. If someone is tracked as having been close to an infected person, all Hackney gets is information that they live somewhere in the borough.
This is not good enough. We can’t return to any safe sense of normality until the Government gets this right.
The Government is failing vulnerable children with no proper plan for schools and pupils.
There's no catch-up plan. It beggars belief that there was no planning in place. The Education Secretary is asleep on the job.
The Government cannot just give up on supporting vulnerable children and their families in the middle of a crisis. I’ll keep pressing the for support for all pupils. We cannot risk a lost generation.
The scenes from the US and the outrageously racially divisive approach of Donald Trump are very distressing. I'm backing Dawn Butler MP's call to end the export of riot gear to the US.
Enjoy your weekend in Hackney parks but please treat them with respect.
Hackney Council will be opening public toilets - if you get caught short don't use the bushes. Park staff have worked hard to keep these vital spaces open and clean. Please respect them and other park users
The Government's Self-Employed Income Support Scheme does not do enough to support the self-employed and freelancers. I have been contacted by many people in Hackney who are directors of limited companies or freelancers on short-term contracts who are cut off from support.
It’s clear that for Hackney schools and workplaces to return safely, we need a test, track and trace system in place. I continue to make the case to Government that it needs to be done at the local level. In Hackney, we have the experience and capability to deliver. Our Council, community leaders and health professionals stand ready to help.
Hackney South and Shoreditch is a hub for start-up businesses, especially in the tech sector. Many start-ups are, by definition, either pre-revenue, loss-making and/or stuck between funding-rounds. They were therefore locked out of any Government support through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme.
Hackney Council is facing a funding gap of up to £19 million. I know other councils in the UK are in a much worse position, with some (not Hackney) technically bankrupt.
Councils are a vital provider of frontline services. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government promised to pay back councils for all Covid-related emergency spending. There are now concerns the Government is backtracking from this. The Public Accounts Committee is on the case.
Freelancers in the creative industries, the self-employed on short-term PAYE contracts, and sole directors of personal service companies have been left with no work, no income and no support.
I raised this issue in the House of Commons and the Chancellor seemed ignorant of the facts. Hard working people are falling through the gaps in Government support. I’ll keep pressing the Government on this issue.