Burnham urges for coronavirus regional support

Andy Burnham has called for more support from the government for cities outside London to deal with the implications of the Prime Minister’s statement on easing lockdown restrictions.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester said that the government must provide extra funding for public transport to support the need to run additional tram and bus services due to capacity limitations. At present, no extra funding has been provided to run the extra services needed to enable people to follow social distancing requirements.

Regarding testing, Burnham believes that the areas of the country with the highest number of cases, like the North West, are at greatest risk from the easing of restrictions and should therefore be prioritised for the introduction of mass testing and contact tracing.

Furthermore, the changes announced by Boris Johnson on 10 May have major implications for Greater Manchester but the city-region, like others outside of London, had no formal input into the decision-making process or ability to plan for them. London is the only English city formally represented on COBRA.

Burnham said: “The North West is already seeing the highest number of COVID-19 cases and I am concerned that the Prime Minister’s announcement has exposed us to even greater levels of risk. If we are to be able to manage those risks safely, it is essential that the North West is prioritised for higher levels of support from the Government.

“Without funding for extra transport services, people will struggle to observe safe distancing on buses and trams as they return to to work. It is therefore vital that we get support to run extra services to keep people safe as they travel to and from work. We also need to be prioritised for the introduction of mass testing and contact tracing so that we can maintain high levels of vigilance about the spread of the virus.

“The changes announced on Sunday night have major implications for our city-region but we had minimal advance knowledge and barely any ability to plan for them. Furthermore, I am not satisfied that the risks to the health of people here in the North West were fully considered before these changes were made. If we are to maintain a sense of national unity going forward, it is essential that the English regions are now given much more involvement in the decision-making processes.”