Hancock expected to make only minor changes to Covid tier allocations

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is expected to only make minor changes to the tiering allocations for coronavirus restrictions ahead of the Christmas easing of measures.

Mr Hancock will update MPs on Thursday morning, after the picture worsened for Wales as it emerged 11,000 positive tests had been missed.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said there is a “clear case” for his region to go down to Tier 2.

But he said he fears ministers will “overcompensate” because of the decision to allow the Christmas easing of restrictions to go ahead despite warnings it will lead to a spike in infections and deaths.

The PA news agency has been told Mr Hancock will not make many changes to the current tier allocations.

Home Secretary Priti Patel told Sky News that ministers have to be “very, very conscientious” over changes to the tiering and described the assessments of the situation as “sobering”.

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen was calling for his North West Leicestershire constituency to be “decoupled” from the city of Leicester so it can be moved down into Tier 2.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If hope (for my constituents) is lost I worry that the discipline that has seen us through so far will disappear and then it’s going to be a disaster.”

Mr Burnham said the Government had made a clear “mistake” over Christmas, in easing the law to allow three households to come together between December 23 and 27.

“My worry is they’re now about to overcompensate with the decisions on the tiers,” he told BBC Breakfast.

“We will see but it will be very hard on people here who’ve made a lot of sacrifices to get into a much better position, and actually I think the time has come to allow at least part of Greater Manchester to be released from those (Tier 3) restrictions.

“My appeal to the Government is: please look at the evidence, please give us the same fair consideration that was given to London in particular.”

London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire entered Tier 3 on Wednesday, meaning 34 million people or 61% of England’s population are living under the toughest level of restrictions.

As ministers met to discuss the new allocations, Prime Minister Boris Johnson defied calls to lessen the freedoms being granted over the festive season and instead urged people to have a “smaller, safer” Christmas and avoid the elderly and vulnerable.

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, on the other hand, was set to change the law in Wales to limit mixing to just two households before a fresh lockdown is imposed.

On Thursday, he said that the 11,000 positive tests that had gone missing from Welsh figures in recent days highlighted the need for stricter measures.

Mr Drakeford told BBC Breakfast: “This was planned upgrading of the computer system, none of the data is missing, everybody who had a positive test in Wales was told that last week, everything was uploaded.

“But the figures do demonstrate just how serious the position here in Wales has become and underlines why we made the decisions yesterday, both in the lead-up to Christmas, during Christmas, and once Christmas is over.”

The picture across England was largely one of rising infections, with the latest data showing 255 (81%) of the 315 local areas in England have seen a rise in case rates and 60 (19%) have seen a fall.

The Government said a further 612 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 in the UK as of Wednesday, while a further 25,161 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported.

Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts in England, said the Government “must now urgently consider adding other areas to that tier where infection rates are similarly worrying”.

“If the Government is going to stick with its current approach to the Christmas regulations, it must also ensure that its decisions on which area is in which tier are as robust as possible,” he added.

“That means no delay in adding any area to Tier 3 that needs to be in that tier, and no premature removal of any area from it, either.”

Mr Johnson had wanted to maintain a UK-wide approach to Christmas, but Wales deviated from the plan in legally limiting households allowed to mix to two.

But each nation was upping its safety warnings and a joint statement from the governments of the UK, Scotland and Wales said: “The safest approach may be not to form a Christmas bubble.”

England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said modelling indicated the looser restrictions would lead to more deaths.

“Keep it small, keep it short, keep it local and think of the most vulnerable people,” was his advice for the festive period.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her “strong recommendation” was for people to stay within their own household and own home.

In Northern Ireland, First Minister Arlene Foster said the public must take “all and every precaution” at Christmas and proposals for further restrictions will be brought forward on Thursday.