Finally, our Mayor has fully addressed the controversy over the mistaken 10pm curfew over restaurants and bars, and asked the key question: where is the science behind it? (Because common sense is not prevailing, either, whatever Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, insists.)
One wonders what took Sadiq Khan so long to come out fully on the side of business, while London’s vast hospitality sector haemorrhaged profit and jobs and customers poured on to streets and into Tubes at the same hour. We welcome the Mayor’s support.
It may seem counterproductive to push for staggered opening hours as infections rise, but as we revealed yesterday, there is no silver-bullet vaccine coming to save us.
Help, yes. But Covid will be with us for a while yet and that means we must plan for the long term — not react with draconian six-month measures and then stubbornly dig our heels in. It is vital that we as responsible citizens continue to do our part — wear masks, distance and wash hands.
But the Government needs to reflect on previous decisions that were made in a hurry and lacked scientific backing or economic sense — be that closing sports stadiums until the spring, 10pm curfews, or the Rule of Six that includes young children. It should work with specialists from a broad church to come up with nuanced solutions meaning businesses and people can plan for the future.
The news of EasyJet’s disastrous loss of £845 million, compared with last year’s pre-tax profit of £427 million, is a stark warning to the Government that when you hesitate and offer false promises, the UK’s industries will fall through the floor.
Only yesterday ministers announced a taskforce to tackle airports and testing. It will not report back until November. Instead, a third of the Government’s resources are focused on Brexit, and the Prime Minister talks of plans 10 years ahead.
We urgently need more serious, detailed, intelligent focus on the now, and the forthcoming 18 months, not just wind farms for 2030.
Exams must go ahead
Headteacher in London are making a renewed call today for GCSE and A-levels to go ahead next year, albeit a few weeks later than usual. The Government should pay attention.
Read More
Exams teach important lessons about focus and resilience. Scrapping them would mean a year’s cohort missing out. One reason is that it would be unfair on some pupils. As the head of Fulham Boys School points out, coursework can be a switch-off for boys, who already tend to fare worse than girls overall. A level playing field for all pupils must be the priority.
That must go beyond exams. There should be more funding to help disadvantaged children catch up with lessons they’ve missed so they can show their full potential.
Schools, like the rest of us, must learn to cope with Covid. Retaining exams, with extra measures to promote fairness, will teach pupils an important lesson that life must go on even in imperfect circumstances.
Scotland has decided to scrap exams next year for their equivalent of GCSEs, relying on coursework and assessment. The rest of the UK should not follow suit.
