Liverpool City Region COVID-19 Updates
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HMRC invites Hospitality industry to register for Eat Out to Help Out

RESTAURANTS and other establishments serving food for on premises consumption can now sign up to a new government initiative aimed at protecting jobs in the Hospitality industry and encouraging people to safely return to dining out. The Eat Out to Help Out registration page went live this morning on GOV.UK, allowing businesses to join the scheme announced last week by Rishi Sunak MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Restaurants, bars, cafes and other establishments who use the scheme will offer a 50% reduction, up to a maximum of ₤10 per person, to all diners who eat and/or drink in throughout August 2020.  Customers do not need a voucher as participating establishments will just remove the discount from their bill. Businesses simply reclaim the discounted amount through an online service, supported by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Claims can be made on a weekly basis and will be paid into bank accounts within 5 working days. The scheme is open to eligible establishments across the UK and can be used all day, every Monday to Wednesday, between 3 and 31 August 2020. Businesses will receive a window sticker to show they are using the scheme and can download promotional items from GOV.UK.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:- "Restaurants and other eligible establishments are now able to support jobs by signing up to a place on the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme. HMRC’s quick and easy registration page will soon have you on your way to welcoming back your customers with discounted dining on every Monday to Wednesday throughout August 2020, with a simple process to reclaim these discounts back from the Government each week."

Jim Harra, Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary of HMRC, said:- "The Hospitality industry is among the sectors worst affected by COVID-19. The Eat Out to Help Out Scheme will deliver support to around 130,000 businesses, including restaurants, cafes and bars serving food and drink, helping to protect 1.8 million jobs across the UK. Registering is easy, and we urge businesses to sign up early so they are ready to use the scheme when it starts on 3 August 2020. Businesses have made great efforts to re-open their sit down services safely in line with social distancing guidance, so people can feel confident to dine out again. Businesses can find information about the scheme and how to register online at GOV.UK."

You can register for the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme if your establishment:-

► Sells food that is intended for consumption on the premises when purchased.

► Provides its own dining area or shares a dining area with another establishment for eat in meals.

► Has registered as a food business with the relevant Local Authority on or before 7 July 2020.

► Businesses can register to be part of the scheme online.

A searchable restaurant finder tool will be available to the public before the scheme launches on 3 August 2020. The scheme can be used by diners who order food and/or drinks for consumption on the premises. Alcohol is excluded from the offer. Further information for businesses, including how to register and make a claim, is available online.

The discount can be used unlimited times and will be valid Monday to Wednesday on any eat-in meal, including on non-alcoholic drinks, for the entire month of August 2020 across the UK.

MP backs calls for BA to lose landing slots in redundancy row

MP Bill Esterson has backed calls for British Airways to be stripped of their right to prime landing slots if the airline follows through on redundancy threats. The MP said the airline was treating its staff "disgracefully" by putting the whole workforce on notice of redundancy. Unions say it is a ploy to:- "fire and rehire," using the Covid-19 crisis to remove staff from their current contracts and bring them back on less favourable terms.

The Sefton Central MP said:- "I have signed the Unite the Union pledge to call for a change to legislation so that huge airlines such as British Airways can be stripped of their right to prime take off and landing slots if they do not act responsibly. Staff have been treated disgracefully by the company which has put the whole workforce on threat of redundancy. The fear is this is a ploy to fire all staff and rehire most of them on diminished terms and conditions. It is not acceptable and BA need to know there will be a financial penalty. Parliament must use its full authority to protect workers."

Shadow International Trade Minister Mr Esterson has signed a pledge calling on the Prime Minister to ensure that:- "if British Airways continues to attack its own workforce and imposes drastic and unnecessary cuts, the Government will act and amend slot regulations to end the current form of allocation including ’legacy’ or ’grandfather’ rights."

Legacy rights are the entitlement to certain time slots at airports for landing and taking off. Grandfather rights refer to the right to retain that slot indefinitely as long as it is used by the airline 80 per cent of the time. British Airways owns the rights to more than half of the slots per year at Heathrow.

The Union Unite wants British Airways to save jobs or face losing these rights. The pledge also calls for Parliament to have the power to:- "set additional local criteria that incentivise internal investment, social responsibility and connectivity in return for slot allocation."

The Union says on its website:- "British Airways is the only company proposing to fire all its 42,000 staff and re-hire those that survive on inferior terms and conditions of employment."

Unite have called BA a ’cash cow’ for its owners and called for its allocation of lucrative landing slots to be reviewed. The Government does not have the right to allocate take off and landing slots, but from 2021 Parliament will have the power to set local criteria in return for slot allocation.

Chief Executive of Care England's comments about the UK's immigration announcement

ON 13 July 2020, the Government set out further details on the UK’s points based system. These new arrangements will take effect from 1 January 2021, once freedom of movement with the European Union (EU) has ended. Care England, who are the largest representative body for independent providers of adult social care, has expressed disappointment that adult social care is to be excluded from the Government’s points based immigration system. The Chief Executive of Care England, Professor Martin Green OBE, has commented:- "Despite repeated calls from both adult social care and the NHS’ own representative bodies, including the Cavendish Coalition, the Government has failed to pay any dues to the sector’s specific needs thus leaving us out in the cold. This is particularly worrying given the wider context of the instability which COVID-19 has placed upon the adult social care sector. The impending threat of the international workforce supply being turned off has the potential to de-stabilise the sector even further with potentially disastrous consequences. We must ensure that all efforts are made so that adult social care is perceived as a good career choice on a par with the NHS. In order to do this we need to see substantial investment from Government rather than short term sticking plasters. There will be a continuing need for overseas staff until the Government delivers a proper workforce strategy for social care and also the money required to give the staff the salaries and conditions they richly deserve. Our staff are our best resource and we want to reward them as such."

COVID-19 incinerators set new record for Merseyside manufacturer

A global waste management specialist has completed its 1st ever air freighted incinerator system in record time, to help United Arab Emirates Hospitals manage Coronavirus infected waste. Inciner8, based in Southport, Merseyside, has manufactured a series of COVID-19 incinerators, developed video based installation tutorials, installed a range of remote monitoring systems, and created a bespoke logistics and air freight solution with the Etihad Aviation Group.

An emergency order was placed for four high capacity burners when medical and hazardous waste levels soared, as COVID-19 cases spiked in the UAE. As a result, this required the systems to be delivered in under a fortnight and be capable of burning up to 1,000 kilos of waste an hour, for ten hours every day.

In response, Inciner8.com manufactured and built 2 200 kilo and 2 300 kilo burners at its HQ in Southport, in under a week. After being air freighted by Etihad, teams were able to install the incinerators at several Hospitals throughout Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in a matter of days. The whole process took 11 days and ensures that all waste related to the Coronavirus disease is treated with high flexibility at various locations.

Ghazi Sadledein, international sales manager for Inciner8, said:- "This is a typical to the usual process of installing one of our incinerators overseas. Usually, without global travel restrictions, we would ship freight the individual components of an incinerator and send out an engineer who would work with the team on the ground to build and install the system. During the process, the engineer would train the team in how to safely load waste, what should and shouldn’t go into a burner, how to maintain a safe capacity and much more. But due to the urgent nature of this request, and with the extra challenge of international lockdown due to COVID-19, we have had to take different steps, instead opting for air freight and undertaking our tutorials via video conference and pre-recorded means."

Inciner8’s bespoke solution also had to be configured to specific weightings and dimensions in order to be transported safely. Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of the Etihad Aviation Group, and the national carrier to the UAE, was appointed to transport the incinerators. To maintain social distancing rules currently in place in the UK, Inciner8 developed a series of tutorials for logistics staff at Heathrow Airport to safely load the systems onboard.

Ghazi said:- "We have had to implement as much plug and play technology into these systems to make them as simple as possible to install in the UAE, but understanding the intricacies of correctly packaging them for a safe flight added another layer of complexity to this order. Our ability to overcome this, and with such a short timeframe presented to us, is demonstrative of why we have a reputation for being an international manufacturer which can immediately mobilise, especially in such situations as we see in this COVID-19 era."

Abdulla Mohamed Shadid, managing director, cargo and logistics services at Etihad Aviation Group, said:- "We are proud to have been entrusted with the air transportation of this equipment into the UAE. We continue to work alongside strategic partners and local entities to support the concerted national efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic."

In 2019, Inciner8 was announced Export Company of the Year at the Liverpool Chamber Business Awards and was shortlisted in the International Company of the Year category at the Insider North West International Trade Awards. It has previously shipped its incinerators around the world to tackle epidemics such as SARS and Ebola, and its products are used in more than 170 countries.

Ghazi added:- "COVID-19 is proving a much more high pressured situation than other pandemics due to its global footprint and the speed in which it is ending lives. Its high infection rate means any materials that come into contact with a patient must be destroyed, and Hospitals and care settings around the world are feeling the pressure to effectively destroy these products. Incineration is the only guaranteed, safe way of doing that."

THE total number of UK Coronavirus (COVID-19) infections that have been laboratory confirmed, within the UK, has risen by 530 cases and the total number now stand at 290,133, that includes tests carried out by commercial partners which are not included in the 4 National totals.

Daily number of COVID-19 associated UK fatalities added to the total, was sadly reported to be 11 according to the Department of Health. The total number of deaths of people who have had a positive test result confirmed by a Public Health or NHS laboratory is 44,830.

In England, there are a total of 250,007 confirmed cases. North West - total of 43,544 confirmed cases. The number of laboratory confirmed cases within the following Local Authorities, in and around the Liverpool City Region are as follows:-

► Liverpool, 2,465 confirmed cases.

► Sefton, 1,522 confirmed cases.

► Wirral, 2,038 confirmed cases.

► St. Helens, 1,200 confirmed cases

► Halton, 693 confirmed cases.

► Blackpool, 1,029 confirmed cases.

► Blackburn with Darwen, 1,074 confirmed cases.

► Bolton, 1,867 confirmed cases.

► Bury, 1,286 confirmed cases.

► Cheshire West and Chester, 1,983 confirmed cases.

► Cheshire East, 2,203 confirmed cases.

► Lancashire, 6,764 confirmed cases.

► Manchester, 2,959 confirmed cases.

► Oldham, 1,882 confirmed cases.

► Rochdale, 1,645 confirmed cases.

► Stockport, 1,637 confirmed cases.

► Tameside, 1,535 confirmed cases.

► Trafford, 1,259 confirmed cases.

► Wigan, 2,135 confirmed cases.