Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced a series of tighter lockdown restrictions in Bolton as part of new measures to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the town.
Under the new restrictions, which were announced to MPs in the House of Commons this afternoon, all hospitality outlets – including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes – are now restricted to takeaway only, a curfew ordering venues to close at 10pm-5am has been put in place, and further measures that put the current guidance stating people cannot socialise outside their household into law.
Mr Hancock confirmed that the restrictions have been put in place “with immediate effect”.
It comes after it was stated that Bolton has seen a significant rise in cases – now up to 120 cases per 100,000 population – which is the highest infection rate of any borough in the country.
This is partly due to people socialising in their 20s and 30s, with a number of pubs being identified where the “virus has spread significantly”.
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The following new restrictions will be put in place:
Restrict all hospitality to takeaway only.
All venues must close from 10pm to 5am.
No socialising outside households will be put into law.
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Mr Hancock said: “Unfortunately after improving for several weeks, we’ve seen a very significant rise in cases in Bolton. Bolton is up to 120 cases per 100,000 of population, the highest case rate in the country and I’m publishing the data behind the decisions that we’ve taken.
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“I must therefore tell that House that, working with the local council, we’re taking further local action.
“The rise in cases in Bolton is partly due to socialising by people in their 20s and 30s. We know this from contact tracing, and through our contacting tracing system, we’ve identified a number of pubs at which the virus has spread significantly.
“We’re therefore taking the following action in Bolton starting immediately.
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“We will restrict all hospitality to takeaways-only and we’ll introduce a late-night restriction of operating hours which will mean all venues will be required to close from 10pm to 5am.
“We’ll introduce urgently further measures that put the current guidance that people cannot socialise outside their household into law.”
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Matt Hancock added that visitor restrictions will also be put in place in care homes and hospitals.
He told MPs: “We’re also putting in place extra measures including visitor restrictions to restrict the spread of virus into care homes and hospitals in Bolton and I want to thank the leadership of Bolton Council who are doing an outstanding job in very difficult circumstances.”
Addressing people in Bolton directly, he continued: “And I want to say this to everybody directly living in Bolton – I know how anxious this can be, and I know the impact that these measures will have.
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“We’re asking you to take a step back at a time when we all just want to get on with our lives and what we love and back to normal. But we need to take this crucial step to keep the virus at bay, because as we’ve seen elsewhere, if we act early and control the virus then we can save lives.”
“Now I know social distancing can be hard, and how it can be extra-tough for students who will be starting university – but please, stick with it and play your part in getting this virus under control.”
More information can be found via the Bolton Council website here.
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Every Greater Manchester borough to get 24-7 night bus services as part of Bee Network improvements
Emily Sergeant
Every borough of Greater Manchester is set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy.
Widespread improvements are coming to bus services across the whole region are coming later this year, as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has today (Thursday 18 March) announced 36 service changes in total – many of which are said to be the ‘most significant’ and ‘wide-ranging’ upgrades the Bee Network has seen since bus franchising was completed early last year.
The announcement comes after the Mayor gave a major update yesterday on plans to deliver a ‘decade of good growth’ in Greater Manchester, backed by at least £500 million of investment from the National Wealth Fund, taking the GM Good Growth Fund to almost £2 billion.
The Bee Network insists this raft of new changes have ‘only been made possible’ by bringing buses back under local control.
As mentioned, the most major improvement is set to be the introduction 24-hour night buses throughout Greater Manchester – with five new night buses launched to bring a 24-hour service to parts of the region that haven’t previously had them, like Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford.
Every Greater Manchester borough is set to get 24-7 night bus services / Credit: TfGM
It’s hoped around 625,400 people in jobs that operate late into the night, as well as those enjoying everything the region’s nightlife has to offer, can get home safely.
Some of the other changes announced include a selection of brand-new bus services, more frequent buses during the day and at the weekends, and overall better connections to key employment and leisure destinations like Manchester Airport, Trafford Centre, MediaCity, Middlebrook Retail Park, Kingsway Business Park, and Logistics North.
“These changes will benefit people right across Greater Manchester,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham.
“They have come about as a direct result of your feedback and support for the Bee Network and have been made possible by the decision we took to bring our buses back under local control.
“By expanding Bee Network night buses to every borough, and providing more frequent services to key employment locations, we are creating more ways for people to access jobs and opportunities across the region.
“This is just the start. As we continue to lead the way on economic growth, so will we continue to lead the way on transforming the Bee Network, setting us up for another decade of good growth so that everyone in Greater Manchester can live a good life.”
Featured Image – TfGM
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‘Deeply worrying’ figures reveal one in seven NHS staff were physically attacked last year
Emily Sergeant
The NHS is ‘deeply worried’ after figures revealed one in seven staff were attacked by a patient or member of the public last year.
According to the latest NHS staff survey, 14.47% – which works out to almost one in seven staff members – were physically attacked by a patient or the public in the last year, which sadly works out to be the highest rate for three years.
On top of this, the shocking statistics also saw a record percentage of staff say they were subjected to ‘unwanted’ sexual behaviour, rising steeply to almost one in three ambulance staff (31%).
It also found that nearly one in 10 staff (9.26%) said they were subjected to discrimination from patients and the public, which is the highest on record.
The 2025 NHS Staff Survey results are now published.
Thank you to all NHS staff who took the time to share their experiences.
The survey helps us understand what’s working well and where improvements can be made.
Presumably because of figures like this, the survey revealed that the number of staff who would recommend their workplace to others fell slightly to 58.05% in 2025, which is down from 60.79% last year in 2024.
“These figures paint a deeply worrying picture of the abuse our hardworking NHS staff face,” commented Danny Mortimer, who is the Director General (People) for NHS England.
“Staff safety and wellbeing is paramount, and we want everyone experiencing any kind of unwanted incident to feel confident enough to report it. But while that behaviour is completely unacceptable, we must look at what more we can do to support the people who keep our services running.
‘Deeply worrying’ figures reveal that one in seven NHS staff were physically attacked last year / Credit: rawpixel
“We know about the everyday pressures staff face and we haven’t moved fast enough to fix them.
“Staff have worked so hard to improve NHS performance and deliver care over winter as shown in the latest performance figures. These survey results show it is now for the NHS to deliver improvements for staff because there is so much more to do to make the NHS a better place to work.”
However, despite all of this, an overwhelming 87.78% of respondents did say they felt their job ‘made a difference’ to patients.
As mentioned, all of these statistics have been revealed as part of the latest NHS staff survey, where more than 766,000 workers in England responded – providing what is said to be ‘vital data’ for employers and stakeholders about the staff experience.
The Manc -
8th September 2020 
