At tuesday in parliament. Hello again and welcome to tuesday in parliament, as the Health Secretary asks the public to join a Great National effort to defeat coronavirus. Everybody now has it in their power to save lives and protect the nhs. Home is now the front line. A message heard throughout the united kingdom. Effectively, scotland is now in lockdown. These are rules for everybody. Not one of us is an exception. And as governments acquire emergency powers, a warning about their potential impact on disabled people. There will be decisions taken by someone else about my usefulness in the next few months and that we will have no control over, and im starting to worry that disabled people might be seen as just being expendable. But first, there have been growing calls for greater clarity about the strict new rules to stop the spread of coronavirus. The measures announced by the Prime Minister on monday night ban public gatherings of more than two people and tell britons to go to work only if absolutely necessary. On tuesday morning, there were signs that more people were following what the government now says is an instruction, with nonessential shops closed and empty streets. Downing street said people could face fines starting at £30 if they break the public gathering limit. 422 people in the uk who tested positive for coronavirus have so far died, and the Health Secretary told mps the new limits were to protect the nhs and save lives. 0ur instruction is simple. Stay at home. People should only be leaving home for one of four reasons. First, shopping for basic necessities for example, food which must be as infrequent as possible. Second, exercising once a day for example, a run, walk or cycle alone or with members of the same household. Third, for any medical need or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person. And fourth, travelling to and from work but only where it cant be done from home, and employers should be taking every possible step to make sure that Remote Working can happen. These four reasons are exceptions to the rule. Further guidance is available on the gov. Uk website. And i want to be clear that where people absolutely cannot work from home, they can still go to work. Indeed, its important that they do to keep the country running. Madam deputy speaker, we are engaged in a Great National effort to beat the virus. Everybody now has it in their power to save lives and protect the nhs. Home is now the front line. And in this national effort, working together, we can defeat this disease. Everyone has a part to play and i commend this statement to the house. His labour shadow called for clear and unambiguous advice about which workers can and cannot go to work. We would call forjust key workers to be able to go to work, because weve seen, for example, sportsdirect insisting that their workers turn up today. Were hearing stories of warehouses insisting Agency Workers turn up, of construction sites not putting in place social distancing measures. This is putting workers at risk and its putting the lives of all of us at risk. We need clear enforcement. And if we are saying to people that they will be fined for leaving their house, why arent we fining employers if theyre insisting that their employees turn up to work when, really, their employees should be staying at home . I would just be absolutely clear that sports kit is not essential over the next three weeks, and so we will be closing sportsdirect along with other nonessential retail. He asked about fines for corporates as well as for individuals. Absolutely, those fines are available if that is necessary. Many mps, including his predecessor, wanted to see testing for covid i9 increased. Given that this is a vital part of the success of the suppression strategies in south korea, taiwan, singapore, hong kong, can he give us an estimated date when we will get back to routine covid 19 testing in the community, all suspected cases . Because even if thats three, four weeks away, a date means there is a plan. And without a date, people wont be confident that this really is the plan. Im not going to give him a date, as such, today, because we are in the middle of buying the tests that are needed, and especially the new tests that have just come onstream. I have been able to give him the update that we have now purchased millions of these tests, which are arriving in the next days and weeks, and ill be in a position to give him a more concrete timetable and make sure he gets that as soon we can make it public. Mps were concerned about the availability of personal protective equipment, or ppe. Can the secretary of state tell us when he expects we will be in a position that all nhs front line staff will have all the ppe that they need . We need to be supporting these people as much as we possibly can and doing everything we can, given the risks that theyre putting themselves in front of. Can i press the secretary of state on personal protective equipment . I hear what he says. Its good that the military are being involved in the distribution, but can he tell the house, is there enough ppe available for all Health Care Workers and social care workers . If not, whats happening with the manufacturing and the procurement from around the world . Because we are told there is some available from around the world. Yes. We have a huge quantity that we hold ready for an eventuality like this. That was, in fact, enhanced in our no deal preparations. But, of course, were also using that up, so were buying to make sure that those stocks have replenished. Nhs workers are on the front line of this battle, at huge personal risk. Many have returned especially to fight coronavirus. Does my right honourable friend agree that when this is over, we need to find an appropriate way to recognise and honour their bravery . Yes, my honourable friend makes an incredibly important point, which is that we as a nation owe a debt of gratitude to those who work in the nhs, and we need to constantly search for ways to show it so that they all know how much we value the work that they do. The minister did have some good news the return of nadine dorries, the Health Minister who had caught coronavirus. The final point id like to make, madam deputy speaker, is that the minister for Mental Health and prevention and Patient Safety is sitting next to me and close to me, and thats because she has recovered. And all the evidence is you cant catch this twice, at least in quick succession, and so thats ok. So i welcome her back to her place. Matt hancock. The chancellor has told mps he hopes to be able to announce help for the self employed soon. There have been increasing calls for the government to intervene to help freelancers and those who work for themselves, whose incomes have evaporated due to the coronavirus. The government says its working on a plan, but its more complicated than helping those who work for firms. Mps wanted urgent action. When will the government be coming forward with a plan for the self employed and freelancers, given the immediacy of their need . Its something that we have been looking at in intense detail over the past week in the treasury. But i can say to him is, we are in dialogue with all the key stakeholder groups, including calls im having today with several of those bodies. There are genuine practical and principle reasons why it is incredibly complicated to design an analogous scheme to the one that we have for employed workers, but he can rest assured that we absolutely understand the situation that many self employed people face at the moment as a result of whats happening and are determined to find a way to support them, which. We need to be confident that can be done in a way that is deliverable and is fair to the vast majority of the british workforce. I welcome the fact that the chancellor is considering a response to that and understand that it is important to get it right, but when does he expect to be able to come back to the house and announce the detail of that . As i said, mr speaker, we are looking at these things. Im not going to commit to a specific day until we know we can work through the details. Partly the issue is, of course, there are people whose incomes have been enormously impacted by what is going on currently, but there are also millions of people who are self employed whose incomes may not have been impacted and, indeed, might be increasing. The ability for the government to distinguish between those people based on tax returns that are over a year and a half out of date poses some very significant challenges in terms of fairness and affordability. 0ne newspaper is already reporting that the chancellors going to implement an income protection scheme for the self employed and make an announcement within the next 24 hours. I must say, i got from the chancellors early reply a slightly longer timescale. Can he give us some real reassurance now for those anxious self employed people across the country that an announcement will be made very shortly . What i can tell the honourable gentleman is we would hope to be able to have something to say very shortly. In terms of something being implemented, that will take longer. Can i say to the chancellor, a couple of times in the context of talking about the self employed, hes mentioned wealthy people whose incomes are increasing. Thats not what were talking about. Were talking about people whove lost their entire income overnight, and so can the chancellor please provide some more reassurance that it is his intention to provide help to those people, it is his intention to say how hes going to do that very soon . The issue of one finding a way to target help at those, rather than having something that provides blanket cash subsidies to 5 million people, many of whom will not need it and will end up costing all of our constituents on modest incomes a considerable amount to pay. Well, a few minutes later, the acting lib dem leader asked an urgent question and offered a solution on how to help the self employed. It is not uncommon for the self employed when they do their annual Self Assessment tax return to have to pay money back to the treasury. Surely, if moneys given now so they can deal with the cash flow capped, in a temporary scheme then that money can be clawed back the next time they do their Self Assessment if it turns out that they didnt need it. So i honestly urge the treasury bank, mr speaker, to move fast and not to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. People need the money now. Please, please act now. The ones that are contacting me at the moment are the plumbers, the hairdressers. Yes, some are freelance artists as well and others. Theyre in desperate straits. There isnt a member of the house, i dont think, that hasnt received representations. Were just looking for something that we can go back with them today to give them some assurance. We know how complicated it is, but weve got to find a solution quickly. Answering this time, the chief secretary to the treasury. A number of members of the house would have concerns, not least as we look to the future, if we were subsidizing some very wealthy of the self employed. I take the point theyre not the ones getting in touch with the right honourable gentleman, but it is important that our approach is mindful of what the target population is. What we need is a simple system. About 40 years ago, i suggested universal basic income. I got an ear full for it for my pains. But Something Like that, which is very simply rolled out, which can be claimed by the taxi drivers, the cleaners, these are the people. Rich people would not bother with this, sojust get on with it, make it simple and do it now. My right honourable friend, as i say, wants us to get onto it, and i refer to the meetings, the considerable work that is going on to get on with this. But as a former chair of the public accounts committee, he will know that many policy ideas start with a simple, but then the devil is in the detail of its delivery. Later, mps approved legislation that will allow the government to start spending the money it has promised in response to the pandemic. The Contingencies Fund bill gives the treasury and other departments the ability to access funds that normally would not be approved by parliament until next month. The chancellor has announced more than £300 billion of support for businesses, along with extra money for the nhs and that pledge to cover 80 of the salary of employees who would otherwise face being laid off. Quite simply, this bill is about cash flow and the need to deliver the support we have announced without delay. It allows the treasury to provide cash advances where they are urgently needed, and it provides, therefore, a safety net between supply estimates. Jesse norman. Youre watching tuesday in parliament with me, david cornock. Still to come, the latest on coronavirus from scotland and wales. On monday night, the foreign secretary advised all british nationals travelling abroad to return to the uk. But how easy is that . Dominic raab was summoned to the commons to answer mps concerns, beginning with something of a dressing down from one conservative. An mps helpline that rings with no answer, emails acknowledged but not replied to, embassies that are closed and staff flown home days ago, doors shut to our travellers. Guidance issued by the foreign 0ffice yesterday advising british tourists to return to the uk where commercial flights are available, but they are not available. They are either banned entirely, trying to transit via countries where there are no layovers permitted, or priced at tens of thousands of pounds, and via airports expected to close imminently. What help exactly is my right honourable friends Global Network offering . He knows the situations dire, but he knew that last week when he stated in this house, we will look and liaise with the Airline Operators to make sure that where there are gaps, we can always provide as much support as possible to vulnerable or stranded constituents. Mr speaker, there are gaps. That we are trying to respond to what i hope she will understand, given her own experience, is an incredibly fluid situation. Some of these restrictions are being imposed with no notice or limited notice. That is very difficult then, of course, for our constituents, but what were doing is making sure we provide as much advice, as much support, in real time, as we can. I hope the secretary of state will take the chance today to clarify the statement that he made yesterday reported across the media as an instruction to british nationals abroad, and indeed, a direct quote from him, come home now, while you still can. Obviously, despite the headlines, the secretary of state meant this for individuals who have the option of taking a commercial flight to britain. But does he accept that its now very much the exception, not the norm, and that for hundreds of thousands of british nationals, the option he highlighted is simply no option at all. So can he make absolutely clear that the government remains committed to helping all british nationals . He will know that we are talking about hundreds of thousands at any one time. And with the National Restrictions that have been imposed, at pay, sometimes without notice, it is very difficult to give cast iron guarantees about the situation. What we can do is lead internationally in the way i described with the g7, which we are doing tomorrow, and work as hard as we can with all of our international partners. I have constituents stranded in australia and new zealand who have made every effort, as the foreign secretary has asked, to get home. Theyve been blocked by cancelled flights, travel restrictions and International Travel bands, two of whom are nhs doctors. Some of whom have health issues, including asthma and a chronic respiratory condition, running low on medicines. Im very sorry to say this, as i know the services the foreign secretary has outlined is very ha rd pressed, but theyve all been utterly scathing of the lack of the level of support available. Is he aware that many high commissions and embassies are simply not responding to british people in desperate need of help . This is something that the British Government has an absolute duty to deal with, without delay. Will he please use all the staff of the Foreign Office to ensure that they are there to look after people in their hour of need. We have doubled the call centre capacity, we are going to look at doubling it again. So i hope i can reassure the honourable member, my honourable friend, that we are doing everything that we can to make sure that constituents, all members across all sides of this house, have got a point of contact. Nothing matters more to Foreign Office staff than protecting british nationals. I know this, because i have worked at the Foreign Office in this crisis. Lets remember, it isnt easy. The malaga team took 28,000 calls in one day. As Foreign Office staff, we are spat at and abused when trying to help british nationals to come home, and they are working in tough situations, so i caution any member to suggest that there is an easy solution to this. There are thousands of planes and pilots that are underemployed or indeed even laid off. Isnt there a real role for government to actually mobilise the aviation industry, the airports, and indeed, in cooperation with those other governments, to actually get the airlift working to bring our people home . Hear, hear i thank the honourable gentlemen, i think he is absolutely right, the transport secretary has already engaged in those discussions with individual airlines. Of course, there isjust a practical legal question of can those airlines get into the relevant countries and jurisdictions . And thats why ill be raising it at g7 level tomorrow. Dominic raab. Politicians in scotland and wales have given their consent to the coronavirus bill which also gives the uk and the devolved governments emergency powers. In holyrood, the first minister said she wanted everyone in scotland to be clear what was expected of them. Effectively, scotland is now in lockdown. People had already been told that they must stay at home. We have now set more stringent limits to that. The overall message is very clear, people must stay at home. I know how hard this is for everybody, but people should not be meeting friends, they should not be meeting family members who live outside of their home, and as i have said previously, for all of us right now, life should not be feeling normal. If it is, then you are almost certainly not sticking to the rules that we are asking people to abide by. I am confident that the vast majority of people will comply with these rules, and i want to thank everyone in advance for doing that. However, later this week, the emergency legislation that parliament will discuss shortly will give us powers of enforcement, and i want to be very clear, we will use these powers if necessary. Nicola sturgeon. And the Scottish Parliament chamber is to shut down for a week as the country goes into what the first minister called an effective lockdown. In wales, there was an unprecedented session of the senate, with only 15 ams in attendance due to social distancing. The first minister told them it was a very worrying time for families and communities across wales. As we all follow these new rules, they will reduce our day to day contact with other people, and the speed and transmission of the virus. These are rules for everybody. Not one of us is an exception. All of our lives have changed, and that includes the way in which this senate will work. As ive said before, we must put our political differences aside, so that we Work Together to tackle this virus. Can i also take this opportunity to thank everyone who is helping to keep us safe during this crisis, and to remind people to stay at home in order to save lives and to protect our nhs. After crowds flocked to rural parts of wales at the weekend, plaid cymru welcomed the closure of Holiday Parks and visitor attractions. Translation this is not a national holiday, it is a national crisis, and each and every one of us has a responsibility to comply with these new measures for the benefit of ourselves and for those around us. First minister, there is a lot of confusion surrounding essential work. The guidance around retail, leisure and hospitality has to be very clear, but there is much more confusion from other sectors. And ams later passed a motion giving their consent to the uk parliaments coronavirus bill without a vote. Peers spent tusday debating the same bill amid calls for the house of lords to change the way it scrutinises legislation and to encourage Remote Working. A Health Minister said the bills extraordinary and wide ranging powers would help to save lives. Fundamentally, this bill is about buying time. You may not think it, looking at those alarming graphs, charting the growth of the disease, but time can help us. With each day that passes, the science is getting better. Each day, the models are more refined and improved as more data becomes available. Each day brings us closer to faster, more accurate testing capabilities, and ultimately, a vaccine. The infection rate is exponential, but so too is our scientific understanding. Many commentators have been drawing comparisons between the current pandemic and the grave situation facing our country in 1940, there is value to that. But the historical parallel i would like to draw is that of the great war. In 1914, the military planners were relying on tactics and technology that would have been familiar to napoleon. By 1918, the tactics developed would have been recognised to a veteran of the gulf war. The learning curve was exponential, and i believe it will be the same with this pandemic. Her majestys loyal opposition supports this bill. In normal times, it would be utterly u na cce pta ble. These are not normal times. As long as the emergency lasts and these powers are necessary, they should be available to the government. We also support the instructions to be back, subsequently, by legal Enforcement Powers that the Prime Minister announced last night. There inevitably needs to be more detail about the Prime Ministers measures last night. But there is no doubt there needs to be immediate compliance by the public with the stay at home message. Legitimate issues about the limits do not detract from the message the government has given the country. Stay at home, unless you have a very good reason for leaving. My lords, we meet today in truly extraordinary and worrying times. The pace at which the pandemic has spread, and the range of measures which are now widely accepted as necessary to fight it, are unprecedented. As a result, we are notjust faced with this bill, but we must consider how we as a parliament operate in the weeks and months ahead. Because if we are to work effectively, we have got to reconsider all our ways of doing things. We on these benches of course support the bill, but as we do so, we also need to be clear, what we see the role of parliament being in the period ahead. Many disabled people are still very worried by this bill. There will be decisions taken by someone else about our usefulness in the next few months, and that we will have no control over, and we are starting to worry that disabled people might be seen as just being expendable during this pandemic. There is a real fear that this is going to graduate towards a move to register disabled people, and this will be used to decide future provision. There is a need for part of this emergency bill, however, the draconian measures outlined made it a personal necessity for me to be here today. This is a health and social care obliteration bill by a different name. And the bill is expected to clear the lords on wednesday. Ill have the latest for you at the same time tomorrow. Ill also have highlights from Prime Ministers questions, the last time Jeremy Corbyn will face Boris Johnson over the despatch box before he steps down as labour leader. But thats it for tuesday in parliament. Thank you for watching. Take care and bye for now. Hello. Tuesday brought us the warmest day of the year so far. For rhyl in north wales, the thermometer got above 19 degrees celsius. Another mild day to come across the uk again today too, because were pulling our air in from the south around the western flank of this area of High Pressure here. We have a front, meanwhile, sitting to the north west, just like yesterday, not moving in any great hurry, set to produce greater and particularly for western scotland. Hopefully with a bit of help from the Western Hills and mountains as the day pans out, there could be a bit of brightness in the south east of Northern Ireland and across eastern scotland. But the cloud and rain will keep things cooler here, so the temperatures scraping into double figures. Further south, and were looking at the mid teens once again. Then wednesday evening and overnight into thursday, well, the front doesnt really move, but it does move enough to allow skies to clear across the north west of scotland, so a patchy frost here first thing on thursday, and with the clearer skies further south, a frosty start to thursday across south wales, central and southern england. What we essentially have through the next few days is a play off between two areas of High Pressure, and our frontjust gets stuck in the fairly flabby bit, shall we say, in between, with nothing really to move it on, while the highs try to balance themselves out. So thursday, here we have the front, not much breeze, so not moving on in any great hurry, but tending to lose rainfall on the length of the front because the High Pressure is, if you like, squeezing the life out of it. The same for friday a band of cloud very slowly trying to slide its way south across the uk. Chillier to the north of scotland. To the south, perhaps getting 13 or 14. Perhaps a little bit more cloud here on friday. It takes until the weekend for the High Pressure from the atlantic to start to win out, and as it does so and pushes its way in, we change our wind direction. No longer a mild southerly, were plunged into a much chillier northerly or north easterly, so a big change to the way things will feel come the weekend. Theres a chance of some showers as well in eastern parts of the weekend, and could even turn wintry at times. So overall, still a lot of fine weather to come in our outlook thanks to the dominance of High Pressure, but the biggest change will be the drop off in temperatures for the weekend. This is bbc news. Im simon pusey. Our top stories amid warnings that the us could be the next epicentre of the pandemic, President Trump says he hopes that it will soon be business as usual. I hope we can do this by easter. I think that would be a great thing for our country, and were all working very hard to make that a reality. As the death toll in the uk jumps, doctors say that young people are among those who have become seriously unwell. Live in wellington, new zealand Prime Minister is due to hold a press c0 nfe re nce Prime Minister is due to hold a press conference after declaring a state of emergency. India puts more than a billion people into lockdown as the Prime Minister says it is essential to prevent the country being set back decades. The Tokyo Olympic and paralympic games