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MY WEEKLY UPDATE

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Many workers were left confused following Boris Johnson's statement on
Sunday night ordering a return to work for some with only 12 hours notice
and no official guidance on how they could do so safely.

What the nation was looking for from the Prime Minister was clarity and
consensus. The truth is that his statement raised more questions than it
answered.

When the guidance was finally released, it was welcome to see the adoption
of some of the measures called for by the TUC and Labour, but it still fell
short of providing a clear plan for a safe return to work outside the home.

For instance, there is no obligation for employers with fewer than 50
employees to publish risk assessments, which is a missed opportunity to
make sure they can be scrutinised.

The government has said that the Health and Safety Executive will be
enforcing the new guidelines, however, after a decade of budget cuts, it
does not have the resources to inspect workplaces - staffing numbers are
down by more than 1,200 and funding has been cut by £100m since 2010.
Without sufficient funding and resources, laws protecting workers and
public health cannot be enforced.

Last week, I launched a survey asking for your thoughts on lockdown, how it
has affected you and your family, and whether you supported a loosening of
restrictions. Nearly 300 people have filled out my survey, and the results
so far show that OVER 65% of respondents do not support a loosening of
restrictions at present, OVER 60% do not feel confident that they could
return to work safely, and OVER 32% are reliant on public transport to get
to work.

If you haven't already, you can complete the survey by clicking the button
below.

LOCKDOWN SURVEY [4]

LETTERS

THANK YOU TO PHARMACIES

My letter of thanks to the community pharmacies in my constituency who,
despite a steep increase in demand for essential medicines, have continued
to ensure that the needs of the community are met during this crisis.

PHARMACIES LETTER

SUPPORT FOR NURSERIES

My letter to the Education Secretary urging him to reconsider his decision
to restrict access to funding support for nurseries, and to come forward
with a proper plan to help them survive this crisis.

NURSERIES LETTER

CARE HOME CRISIS

The government has been too slow in protecting people in care homes, too
slow on testing and too slow on protective equipment.

The care homes I’ve spoken to in my constituency tell me that they feel
pressured to receive discharged patients from hospital who are known to be
Covid-19 positive, or who are still awaiting test results.

They tell me that PPE is still not making its way to them. Over 70% of the
care homes I’ve spoken to in my constituency have told me they have
either run out, or are running dangerously low, of one or more items of
PPE.

Many have told me that they are still struggling to access tests, and when
tests are arranged, the results can take between 7-14 days to come back,
well beyond the government’s 48-hour target. Efforts to reach the daily
testing target are in vain if the results are not shared in time for
appropriate action to be taken.

My interview with ITV Central earlier this week.

ITV CENTRAL INTERVIEW [5]

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEWS

WE NEED A GLOAL RESPONSE TO COVID-19

We can only hope to overcome the challenges facing the world with global
cooperation - cooperation which puts people, families and communities at
the hear of our efforts.

Click below to read my piece for the Independent.

INDEPENDENT ARTICLE [6]

© 2020 Printed from an email sent by Preet Kaur Gill. Promoted by A.J Webb
on behalf of Preet Kaur Gill, both at 56 Wentworth Road, B17 9TA.

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