Greater Manchester leaders urge Government to lift ‘unfair’ restrictions on Wigan
Addressed to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, the letter urges the Government to make the residents of Wigan exempt from the current rules - which prevent people from meeting other households indoors.
Mayor Andy Burnham and Greater Manchester council leadershave written a letter to the Government asking them to ease restrictions in the town of Wigan.
Addressed to Matt Hancock, the letter urges the Health Secretary to make the residents of Wigan exempt from the current rules – which prevent people from meeting other households indoors.
The Mayor has said that “at this point the restrictions are unfair on people.”
?️ "In the case of Wigan, I support @WiganCouncil in saying that at this point the restrictions are unfair on people," says Andy.
"I'll be asking the Secretary of State to release Wigan."
Today following Greater Manchester’s Emergency COVID-19 Committee, Leaders & @MayorofGM@AndyBurnhamGM agreed correspondence to be sent to the Secretary of State @mhclg to urgently urge Government to extend the evictions ban set to be lifted on Monday 24th August.?????? pic.twitter.com/k0cpibcex8
The 7-day rate of positive tests is substantially lower in Wigan than any other Greater Manchester borough – with the town recording 9.4 per 100,000 people in the week ending 15/08.
The Government is also being asked to look at allowing certain businesses, such as beauty parlours, to reopen in every borough except Oldham.
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“We’ve taken a proper look at the evidence with regard to spread, and we don’t believe those businesses are adding to spread,” said Mayor Burnham.
Oldham remains the worst-affected of all boroughs, but council leaders are hoping to avoid a local lockdown after infection rates came down from 109.7 to 83.1 in the space of a week.
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Burnham added: “For the first time, we are now saying that the measures appear to be working,”
Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.
The Manc -
20th August 2020 
