Nottingham Council chief says he is waiting on government to supply list of 1.5m most vulnerable

A council boss with an army of volunteers ready to help people at risk from coronavirus has said he waiting on the Government for a list of those in need.

Anthony May, the chief executive of Nottinghamshire county council, said he has been overwhelmed with offers of support, but no details on who requires help.

The Government yesterday revealed they will ask 1.5 million vulnerable people on a list of at-risk groups to self-isolate for at least 12 weeks as Boris Johnson warned that people must follow guidelines or he will have to bring forward ‘tough measures’.

The NHS is expected to contact the elderly and those with serious health conditions by post tomorrow then, followed by a text and phone call, urging them to stay home.

But speaking to Today, Mr May warned it would be days before the plans his council has put in place could be acted on without the names. 

‘What we expect to receive this week after the initial contact from the NHS is a list of those people that require our help locally,’ he said.

In other major developments today: 

  • The government has suspended rail franchises to maintain services, as operators faced collapse with passenger numbers tumbling;
  • Mr Hancock has insisted he will ensure that NHS staff get all the personal protection equipment they need, amid fear they are currently ‘lambs to the slaughter’ when treating patients;
  • The government has formally warned Britons flocking to campsites and holiday homes away from cities that it does not count as ‘essential travel;  
  • Chancellor Rishi Sunak is preparing a fresh economic bailout for five-million self-employed amid warnings thousands of sole traders will not survive the crisis;
  • The children of coronavirus key workers including firefighters have been turned away at the school gates while parents who fail to meet the criteria have verbally abused teachers and threatened to sue; 
  • The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett, has said no new trials will start and that ongoing trials will be paused while arrangements are put in place so they can continue safely; 
  • Health minister Nadine Dorries, the first MP confirmed with coronavirus, has returned to work after recovering from the illness; 
  • The government is pushing emergency legislation through the Commons today, but Tory and Labour MPs have secured more checks on the measures including a fresh vote in six months; 
  • Research has suggested that the government’s current policy could still result in up to 70,000 deaths from coronavirus;

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick today said that now was the time to ‘go further’ to shield clinically vulnerable people, and pledged that they are ‘not alone’

‘If people are in need then yes were gearing up for whatever they need, particularly those who have been identified as having underlying health needs.

‘We know this is going to be a really difficult time for them. Are partnerships locally are used to dealing with vulnerable people, so this isnt in that sense new, but the conditions and circumstances are of course very new.’

Anthony May, the chief executive of Nottinghamshire county council, said he has been overwhelmed with offers of support, but no details on who requires help.

Anthony May, the chief executive of Nottinghamshire county council, said he has been overwhelmed with offers of support, but no details on who requires help.

Mr May added the government had ‘helpfully’ given him advance warning last week of their plan to demand at risk group self-isolate for three months, with the local authority bringing together its partners to create a support plan.

But without the local lists of at-risk individuals, the hundreds in each council are being left confused.

‘We need the data, we’re not going to let the data get in the way, we need to get help to these people. We’ve got some military planners to help us with logistics,’ added Mr May.

‘We’ve got offers of volunteers, more than we can cope with actually.’

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said last night that now was the time to ‘go further’ to shield clinically vulnerable people, and pledged that they are ‘not alone’.

‘In recent weeks heroic workers in the NHS, social care and public services in local government have been shouldering the country’s burden,’ he said.

‘I think we owe it to them and the most vulnerable in society to stay home, to protect the NHS and, by doing this, to save lives.

‘And so today we have to go further to shield the most clinically vulnerable people to help save their lives.’

He added: ‘I don’t underestimate what we are asking of people, it will be tough, but if you are one of these people I want to reassure you on behalf of the government that you are not alone. 

‘We will be with you throughout to support you.’

Mr Jenrick said the Government was creating a network of local ‘hubs’ to ensure those without family or friends to support them received their medicines and other vital supplies.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries attend the news conference today

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries attend the news conference today

The ambitious plan is being overseen by the country’s best military planners, with medicine and food parcels being left on vulnerable people’s doorsteps.

He added: ‘This will be a very worrying time for people with these health conditions, but while more people will be required to be by themselves at home, and that’s difficult, let’s guarantee, that they are never alone, and when all of this is done that we emerge as better neighbours, to each other, as stronger communities and that we are all proud of the part we played in this effort.’

Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said 1.5 million people who have been identified as clinically vulnerable will be advised in the coming days to take shielding measures.

Those measures include staying at home at all times and avoiding any face-to-face contact.

However she said the Government may have overestimated the number.

‘For any of the public listening who might be in this group, because we want to be as inclusive as possible, we may slightly overestimate the number of individuals,’ Dr Harries said.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Jenrick said that GPs were writing to thousands of patients with pre-existing health conditions and would be asking to stay at home.

Speaking to Sky’s Sophie Ridge yesterday Mr Jenrick added that those without a ‘family at their side’ would be given food medicine and deliveries possible from the armed forces to help them through the crisis.