The leaders of Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities and the region’s mayor Andy Burnham have condemned the government’s communication of the change as causing “confusion and distress for our residents”.
In a press conference, Burnham said he first heard about the proposed measures when he was called by Matt Hancock shortly before 5pm when the health and social care secretary was due to have a meeting with England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty.
The meeting was delayed slightly at Burnham’s request, the mayor said, so that he could feed in information from local health officials.
While Burnham said he supported the extra measures, he was concerned that they were first announced by Hancock on Twitter at 9.16pm without any additional detail.
He also said the rules announced were slightly different to those briefed by Hancock on the phone earlier in the evening. Hancock had earlier suggested that the new measures would a larger part of the north of England, Burnham said, and would not restrict visits to people’s gardens.
He added:
The picture did change and did cause us some surprise but obviously it’s for the government to make those decisions.
Sir Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester city council, added:
I think it’s fairly clear that what was announced in guidance is not what we were expecting on the basis of conversations last night. And it’s also equally clear that we’re not clear about what the guidance is precisely.
Leese said he agreed that the government needed to act quickly but that it was important to be “on exactly the same page” as government ministers and officials and that they were now hoping to have “real engagement” about refining the guidance.
The 10 local authority leaders have asked for urgent clarification was needed on several areas:
• How many people are allowed together in an outdoor space in the affected area? Is it 30, as is the rule in the rest of England, or is it only six?
• Hospitality businesses need clarity on their ability to continue to operate if they have outdoor areas, they said.
• The leaders also asked for the government to confirm that shielding arrangements would be extended for clinically vulnerable people in the areas affected where the new rules apply.
• They said they are not convinced that banning people from meeting in private gardens is a “proportionate measure” and call on the government to provide further evidence or amend the regulations.
