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COVID-19: In line with Government advice HCRIFA will remain open as usual with all team members working remotely, more information here.
Ahead of so-called ‘Freedom Day’ on Monday, Boris Johnson urged people to exercise caution as most restrictions on social contact were lifted in England. With the Prime Minister and Health Secretary currently isolating, and UK daily infections totalling around 50,000, there are warnings that cases will surge over the summer.
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In Monday’s Downing Street briefing, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that almost all remaining coronavirus restrictions will lift on Monday 19 July, despite cases and hospital admissions rising, as it was felt that a further delay could risk a bigger surge in the autumn.
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In a Downing Street briefing on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said ministers will make a final decision on 12 July, whether step four of restriction easing would happen as planned on 19 July.
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Last week, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), unanimously voted to maintain base rates at an all-time low of 0.1%. In a statement released on Thursday, the MPC shrugged off concerns over a pick-up in inflation, saying its expectation is that ‘the economy will experience a temporary period of strong GDP growth and […]
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Last Friday, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) published its latest economic forecast, which predicts UK GDP growth is set to bounce back to pre COVID levels by the end of the year, despite the four-week delay in lifting all lockdown restrictions.
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The G7 Summit in Cornwall dominated headlines over the weekend, with leaders of the ‘Group of Seven’ (UK, US, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Japan) meeting to discuss global worldwide issues, including vaccination programmes, economic recovery and climate change.
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Ahead of the G7 Summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, later this week, where leaders from some of the world’s most influential countries are meeting to discuss major global issues, several Finance Ministers met in London at the weekend to discuss a whole host of global economic issues, including reforms to the global tax system to […]
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The latest quarterly Service Sector Survey conducted by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), has provided further evidence of growing confidence within the UK economy.
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Good news came over the weekend as a significant vaccination milestone was surpassed. Tipping over the marker, after over 700,000 jabs were administered on Saturday alone, the UK has now delivered over 60 million vaccinations, first and second doses combined.
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Despite concerns growing over the spread of the Indian variant, as clusters of the B.1.617.2 continue to be discovered across the UK, at a Downing Street briefing last Friday, Boris Johnson confirmed the planned phase three easements would proceed on 17 May.
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On Monday, the Prime Minister confirmed that the next stage of easing measures will go ahead as intended on 17 May. People in England will be able to resume numerous activities, including hugging loved ones, meeting indoors, dining inside restaurants and visiting indoor entertainment venues such as cinemas and museums.
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During the May Bank Holiday weekend, a momentous milestone was achieved as the UK surpassed 50 million vaccine doses administered: 34,588,600 first vaccine doses and 15,500,949 second doses.
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US President Joe Biden has pledged to cut his country’s emissions by 50-52% compared to 2005 levels, by the year 2030. The President unveiled the new target during his opening remarks at a two-day virtual Climate Summit, which started last Thursday to coincide with Earth Day.
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A sobering milestone of three million global COVID deaths was surpassed last week, just a day after the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned the world was “approaching the highest rate of infection” so far. The US, India and Brazil have recorded the highest number of cases so far, with […]
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As the country embarked on its latest easing of lockdown measures, the Prime Minister urged “everyone to continue to behave responsibly.” In a statement released ahead of the reopening of non-essential shops and pub gardens, Mr Johnson described the rule relaxations as “a major step forward in our roadmap to freedom” and added, “I’m sure it will be a huge […]
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On Easter Monday, the Prime Minister confirmed that restrictions in England are to ease as planned on 12 April, with non-essential shops, gyms, hairdressers and outdoor hospitality venues set to reopen. Mr Johnson said, “We set out our roadmap and we’re sticking to it. And I want to stress, that we see nothing in the present […]
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The Prime Minister has stressed “we must proceed with caution” and warned that we do not know “exactly how strong” the country’s defences against another wave of COVID will be despite the UK’s “very impressive” vaccine rollout. Speaking at a Downing Street briefing on Monday, on the day stay-at-home rules ended in England, Mr Johnson added, “it is only because of months […]
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The Prime Minister stressed “Our roadmap to freedom depends on the continued success of our vaccination programme,” during a week that also saw new daily jab records set on three consecutive days and the country come together for a national day of reflection to mark the anniversary of the first coronavirus lockdown.
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Last week, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its latest set of forecasts declaring ‘a global economic recovery is in sight.’ The international soothsayer said prospects have ‘improved markedly in recent months’ as vaccine rollouts gather momentum and the US launches a massive new stimulus package.
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The Prime Minister has hailed the collective efforts of the British public, as the country embarks on the first stage of the roadmap out of lockdown. Speaking on Sunday, the day before pupils across England began returning to the classroom, Mr Johnson said the reopening of schools marked a “truly national effort to beat this virus,” adding “it […]
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Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, delivered his second Budget on 3 March declaring that “we will recover”. The key fiscal event, which had been delayed from the Autumn due to the pandemic, centred on a £65bn three-part plan designed to continue supporting British people and businesses through the pandemic, ‘fix’ the public finances once recovery begins and lay […]
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On Wednesday afternoon, all eyes will be on the Chancellor as he presents his much awaited second Budget in the House of Commons. COVID support is likely to feature front and centre on Rishi Sunak’s agenda, with immediate areas to address including decisions over furlough and business support.
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The Prime Minister has unveiled a four-step plan to gradually ease lockdown restrictions in England, with the aim of lifting all legal limits on social contact by 21 June. Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Mr Johnson told MPs his roadmap was “cautious but also irreversible” and that decisions at each stage would be […]
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As the UK endured icy temperatures last week, the Prime Minister appealed to the two million people from the first four priority groups yet to receive a vaccination, to come forward for their jab.
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The UK passed a significant milestone last week, as 10 million people received their first vaccine dose. The largest vaccination programme in British history is now fast approaching 13 million vaccinated and despite the cold snap prompting the closure of some vaccination centres across the country, is on course to meet the 15 February goal […]
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As the vaccination programme continues in earnest, on Monday, at a Downing Street briefing, Matt Hancock confirmed that 9.2 million people in the UK had been vaccinated to date, including a record 931,204 vaccinations done last week alone.
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Hosting a Downing Street press conference on Tuesday, Boris Johnson said it was “hard to compute the sorrow” after the UK passed a grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. The Prime Minister added, “The years of life lost, the family gatherings not attended and, for so many relatives, the missed chance to even say goodbye – I […]
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The Prime Minister has described the move to extend England’s vaccination programme to people aged 70 and over, along with clinically extremely vulnerable individuals as a “significant milestone.” Mr Johnson’s comments came on Monday, the same day that ten new mass vaccination hubs were opened across England.
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The UK is at the “worst point” of the pandemic, Matt Hancock said as he addressed the nation on Monday. Government figures show that over 80,000 people have now died, while over 32,000 are currently in hospital.
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As the UK saw in the New Year in a more subdued way than usual, with much of the country under tier 4 restrictions, fireworks and a light display illuminated the sky over London. An hour earlier, as Big Ben struck 11pm, a new era had begun for the UK, after it completed its formal […]
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After months of negotiations, on issues including fishing rights and business rules, an agreement between the UK and EU was finally reached on Christmas Eve, just days before the deadline.
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As Boris Johnson took to the Downing Street podium on Saturday afternoon, his imminent announcement was a game changer for millions of people across the country. With the virus spreading more rapidly in parts of the country, driven by a new variant, new tier 4 restrictions (applicable from midnight on Saturday) were introduced in London […]
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Brexit talks have restarted after Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to an extension of their original 13 December deadline. Following a “constructive” telephone call, during which the pair discussed “major unresolved topics”, both parties agreed that talks should continue.
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As the UK death toll surpassed 60,000 last week, the first consignment of the Pfizer/BioTech vaccine arrived in the country from Belgium. With 40 million doses on order, sufficient to vaccinate 20 million people, the first doses have been distributed to various designated hospital vaccination centres across the country. On Tuesday, the NHS embarked on […]
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On 25 November, Chancellor Rishi Sunak stood before the House of Commons to outline the Spending Review for the year ahead. Opening his speech, he delivered a stark warning about the difficulties that lie ahead, stating, “Our health emergency is not yet over. And our economic emergency has only just begun.”
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The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recently released annual report, entitled ‘A year like no other’, highlights the extraordinary extent of the government fiscal support provided this year to bolster global growth. As of September 2020, $11.5trn globally has been provided by governments, to extend lifelines to businesses and people. In addition, the IMF has committed over $100bn […]
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Another grim milestone was reached last week, as the UK became the first European country to exceed 50,000 COVID deaths. The UK is now the fifth country in the world to record this toll, after the US, Brazil, India and Mexico.
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As lockdown 2.0 kicked off in England on 5 November, at a Downing Street press conference that afternoon, Boris Johnson confirmed his intention that the rules will expire on 2 December, at which point the tiered approach will resume.
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With a shroud of lockdowns descending over swathes of Europe and the UK, as virus cases surge, England followed suit on 31 October, with Boris Johnson announcing national lockdown measures commencing 5 November for four weeks.
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Last week, as tighter coronavirus rules came into force for millions of people across the UK, Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled significant changes to the government’s support package with increased financial assistance for businesses and workers hit by COVID restrictions.
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Last week began with the government’s most senior science and medical advisers issuing a stark warning about the rise in coronavirus cases witnessed over recent weeks. At a Downing Street data briefing, Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty said that, without any further action, the UK could “end up with something like 50,000 cases […]
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All over the country, people have been struggling to get tested for coronavirus, with appointments paused and the system under immense pressure as demand spikes. Some people in need of a test have reported being directed to sites located hundreds of miles from their homes. Data shows that just a third of tests conducted in […]
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With the number of coronavirus cases rising across the UK, the Prime Minister was back on the Downing Street podium last Wednesday to announce new measures. As we enter the autumn, with the country at a critical moment and the average rate of new infection four times higher than in mid-July, the governemnt announced the introduction […]
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Millions of children in England and Wales returned to school last week. For many, it was the first time in attendance since March, due to the disruption caused by the pandemic. Pupils started adjusting to life in a class or year group bubble, with a raft of precautionary measures in place, such as one-way entrance […]
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In March, Rishi Sunak unveiled “one of the largest and most comprehensive economic responses in the world” to protect the UK’s population against the impact of coronavirus. The £160bn plan, the Chancellor said, was just the first stage of the government’s response to the pandemic. Four months later, on 8 July, the Chancellor stepped up once again […]
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