Letters
The governmentâs messages about keeping schools are often at odds with the advice of its own scientists, writes
Patrick Murphy
A member of staff takes a childâs temperature outside a London primary school. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
A member of staff takes a childâs temperature outside a London primary school. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Fri 1 Jan 2021 12.27 EST
Last modified on Fri 1 Jan 2021 14.09 EST
In your article on the governmentâs plans for a phased return for schools in January (School leaders and councils demand clarity on primary closures, 31 December), you quote the Department for Educationâs response to local authorities and school leaders mystified by the decision to close primaries in areas with relatively low infection rates but require them to open in areas where infection is high. âDecisions on which areas will be subject to the contingency framework,â the DfE said, âare based on close work
The year in policy interviews: The best of Spotlight in 2020 Over the course of the year, the
New Statesman s award-winning This year, as the Covid-19 pandemic engulfed the world, governments, business and civil society contemplated the impossible, tearing up decades of policy consensus in the process. 2020 was a year in which we learned what can be done in times of crisis, and the true scale of the challenges posed by inequality and discrimination were revealed. Throughout the year, before and after the pandemic changed everything, the
New Statesman s
Spotlight supplement spoke to leading policy figures about the burning issues of 2020 – from the Covid-19 response to Brexit, sustainability to education, racism to housing. Below is a selection of our best coverage of the year, reflecting these key policy debates.
LIVE Andy Burnham press conference on latest coronavirus situation in Greater Manchester
The mayor will be joined by his deputy for crime and policing, Beverley Hughes
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This afternoon Andy Burnham will hold what may be the final Greater Manchester Covid press conference of 2020.
The mayor will be joined by his deputy for crime and policing, Beverley Hughes.
They will run through the latest Covid-19 data for the region, including borough-by-borough infection rates, hospital pressures and care home outbreaks, as well as a regular comparison to the rest of the country.
Today’s press conference comes as speculation around stricter measures for areas such as Greater Manchester grows amid concerns over a new, more infectious strain of the virus that now makes up the majority of cases in London.
Lockdowns are not the way to manage the virus
17 Dec 2020
Martin McKee,
The Independent
The news that the first batch of COVID-19 vaccine is available in the UK and is being given to some of the most vulnerable and their carers is truly a cause for celebration.
The speed at which scientists have worked to understand this virus is unprecedented. It is hard to believe that it was only identified some eleven months ago, in early January 2020. Within days its genetic code was unlocked and, in less than a year, the end of the pandemic is coming into sight. But does this scientific breakthrough allow us to relax and finally enjoy some festive celebrations?