well in the last few minutes the health
secretary Matt Hancock has been telling
mps the government will do whatever it
takes to battle the spread of the virus
I could tell the house that I've invited
the Official Opposition to meet with me
first thing tomorrow to discuss the
proposed emergency bill that we'll set
out before the house next week in
addition to the measures my right arm
friend the Chancellor set out in the
budget earlier the bill will include
measures to help in the national effort
to keep vital public services running to
support businesses and to help everyone
to play their part about social care
will be at the front line of our
response with social care providers
looking after many of the most
vulnerable in society we're working
closely with the sector to make sure it
is ready tomorrow the Prime Minister
will chair a further meeting of Cobra to
decide what further measures may be
necessary we will do the right thing at
the right time well rishi soon acts
first budget was totally dominated by
the fight against coronavirus as the new
chancellor announced a string of
measures to help individuals and
businesses get through the difficult
next few months he pledged that sick pay
would be available for all employees
from the first day of self-isolation
thousands of retailers pubs clubs and
cinemas will have their business rates
cut the emergency measures overshadowed
the announcement of an extra 175 billion
pounds of capital spending over the next
five years that will be spent on road
rail and broadband improvements across
the country ELISA co-editor Gary Gibbon
is in Westminster Gary well these were
some very big guns the government was
firing at the coronavirus crisis today
not only what amounted to 12 billion in
focused spending called a stimulus by
the government on the crisis itself but
also of course the Bank of England
statement bringing down interest rates
and trying to loosen up lending to
companies who could easily be in
difficulty in the weeks and months ahead
one of the things that strikes you in
the documents that came out with the
budget is that the growth forecast even
before coronavirus ramped up
and that's when these forecasts come
from they seem to be forecasting pretty
anemic growth even then so you have to
wonder what we're in for
as this virus grips the country all of
that slightly overshadowed the what was
originally planned as a sort of
post-election delivery budget telling
the voters we got the message we're
spending the money where you want us to
spend it and boy was there a lot of
money being splashed around out there
today but you keep scratching your head
to look for how is it that over the long
term this government intends to pay for
all that spending borrowing is taking a
huge amount of the burden here there are
some taxes going up but it doesn't look
like there's a an across-the-board
approach to tax raising in in the bag
right now this doesn't look like
Thatcherism or anything like it one
ex-ministers said to me I'm a fatter
eight I didn't like that at all
it got big applause in the room Boris
Johnson once said my philosophy is
boosterism putting booster rockets under
the economy well we saw those booster
rockets today but we really still don't
properly know how they're going to be
paid for kovat 19 rewrote this budget is
meant to be all about fulfilling
manifesto pledges spending on the
general election commitments the morning
headlines proclaimed the strange times a
Health Minister had the virus the
governor of the Bank of England
announced an emergency interest rate cut
and 200 billion pounds extra of bank
borrowing this is a big package this is
a big package this is a big package we
will help the country through this was
his message and the Chancellor's message
to delivering his first budget barely
four weeks into the job mr. Chancellor
of the Exchequer
[Applause]
madam Deputy Speaker I want to get
straight to the issue most on everyone's
mind coronavirus covered 19 I know how
worried people are worried about their
health the health of their loved ones
their jobs their income their businesses
their financial security and I know they
get even more worried when they turn on
their TVs and hear talk of markets
collapsing and difficult times coming
collapsing markets happened so recently
they weren't included in the economic
forecasts unveiled today the Chancellor
suggested the impact to be grave for a
period our productive capacity will
shrink there will also be an impact on
the demand side of the economy through a
reduction in consumer spending the
combination of those effects will have a
significant impact on the UK economy
that sounded like a thinly coded warning
of recession there was help for
businesses and individuals weathering
the cove at nineteen crisis including
easier access to sick pay for workers
who obey instructions to stay at home
and this pledge on the NHS whatever
extra resources our NHS needs to cope
with coronavirus it will get taken
together the extraordinary measures I
have set out today represent 7 billion
pounds to support the self-employed
businesses and vulnerable people to
support the NHS and other public
services I am also setting aside today a
5 billion pound Emergency Response Fund
and I will go further if necessary that
means I am announcing today in total a
30 billion pound fiscal stimulus to
support British people British jobs and
British businesses then he moved into
the budget measures the government hoped
would dominate the headlines spending
promises this budget we promised record
funding for our NHS and public services
this budget gets it done this government
delivers its promises and gets things
done on top of a massive boost in
infrastructure spending there was also
more on everyday services much of it
paid for with an extra hundred million
Korowai rules across the government to
bring down debt he said I will review
the fiscal framework consulting widely
with a range of experts and will report
back in the autumn if I conclude that
any changes are necessary the man it was
Chancellor until last month and the last
Prime Minister both tried to warn the
new chancellor off I noted that he said
he was going to be reviewing the fiscal
framework in which we in which we
operated I would say merely this as I've
said prudent management of the public
finances is one of the USPS of the
Conservative Party and is essential that
any Conservative government maintains
that prudent management we mustn't
forget that my right honourable friend
is only able to deploy that fire power
that he has done so today because of the
choices of consecutive conservative
chancellors of making choices to control
spending to control boring and to
controlled it that's why the fiscal
rules that we set out in our manifesto
are important you lived through the last
big Tory crisis on Europe you know how
deep this issue of not being a party of
tax-and-spend runs in the party could
this be the next great conflagration
well it is possible I think the question
is is the Conservative Party prepared to
support the tax increases that are
needed if you are putting up spending in
the way that we are putting up spending
and you want to maintain sustainable
public finances and that is the choice
and if the Conservative Party is is
willing to put up those taxes then
public finances can be kept under an
what's your guess we're gonna be pretty
uncomfortable with it I think I think
the Conservative Party would be
uncomfortable with putting up taxes a
small number of pro-eu campaigners
gathered outside Parliament brexit was
barely mentioned in the first post
brexit budget the government believes
the message from the referendum and last
December's election the voters want more
spending and they'll get it it's taking
our politics in strange directions this
is a budget which has an omission of
failure an admission that a Stuart
austerity has been a failed experiment
today is over spun announcements of a
six hundred billion pound investment
programme are welcomed in the self-same
Tory tabloids which denounced Labour's
manifesto plans to invest five hundred
billion as ruinous Marxist nonsense we
are in a in a different world we've got
a conservative Chancellor proposing a
bigger state than we saw under Tony
Blair and more borrowing than we saw
under Gordon Brown that isn't what we'd
have seen under George Osborne's but
times do change a people's budget from a
people's government and I commend it to
this house we must now wait to see just
how coronavirus hits the economy and
tests that pledge to spend whatever it
takes
Gary Gibbon well the big question is how
much of an impact is the coronavirus
going to have on our economy and the
public finances our economies
corresponds Helier Brahimi is with me
now big speech what was the big message
he was trying to send today Matt was all
about saying we're going to do whatever
it takes the Bank of England acting
together with a new chancellor to have
this rare economic stimulus package the
likes of which we haven't seen since the
financial crisis first you had the
Chancellor's twelve billion pound boost
that came after the Bank of England's
interest rate cut alongside a two
hundred and ninety billion pound extra
liquidity that's going to help real
businesses now the scale of this action
tells you how serious they think this
cry
I went along to the Bank of England's
emergency meeting today this is what the
governor had to say the Bank of
England's role is to help UK businesses
and households manage through an
economic shock that could prove large
and sharp but should be temporary these
measures will help keep firms in
business and people in jobs and they
will prevent a temporary disruption from
causing longer-lasting economic harm
that's his hope but the truth is neither
he nor the government can predict the
scale of their crisis what they're
trying to do is cushion the impact on
jobs and on household incomes growth
today mount was already downgraded that
was before the coronavirus and now many
city economists think that it could tip
us into a recession this year
okay so lower interest rates lots of
money thrown at the problem this is a
fiscal bazooka but when it hit the
target which is a recession well I think
Matt having an interest rate cut makes
it much easier for the Chancellor to
borrow money it makes it cheaper for him
and that's exactly what he's doing in
this budget if you take a look at the
forecast for the deficit last year and
then add in what they said today you can
see from that chart the borrowing goes
up in every single year now add on top
of that the coronavirus measures and you
can see the deficit goes up even higher
okay so what about the changes in
borrowing how does that change things I
think you can stress enough what a big
departure this is from the vision of the
previous government the fiscal watchdog
today likened mister cynics sugar rush
spending spree to the Labour government
in the run-up to the financial crisis
which is an extraordinary departure for
a party that was preaching austerity and
eliminating their budget or deficit
altogether you know remember this is a
budget that does lots of untoward things
like increasing taxes for corporates for
entrepreneurs for builders while
simultaneously reversing all the cuts to
day-to-day spending now of course this
is the government's economic plan what
happens
in the next few weeks is going to be far
more important for the economy heylia
thanks very much Jackie well as Holly
was saying this looks like the biggest
sustained giveaway since the early 90s
that's according to the Office for
Budget Responsibility as well as the
emergency coronavirus funds hundreds of
billions of pounds that earmarked for
infrastructure spending which receives
cynic described as a chance to level up
opportunity and share prosperity our
north of England correspondent Claire
Fallon reports the focus has shifted but
the destination we're told is still the
same if the country needs it we will
build it building a fairer brighter
future was the promise to read towns
turned blue so is this the budget of
leveling up we're in children the
world's first railway town 13 miles
through Durham or put another way an
hour and a half by bus
there's a full reality check and live in
the real world I think we kinda need it
would like site of a swap it like it's
not anybody's doing the wife swap thing
if it is a life swap in a cafe on the
double dutch industrial estates km
Brewster's been running this place since
they left their jobs in social care last
year Ruth's born and bred here k moved
up from Essex to look after her elderly
mother to keep this place going they
work seven days a week
I can last Chancellor's family be my
council house and I'd love him to and
I'd like him to do my work I'd like him
to go home and try and decorate and
everything else that I'm expected to do
as well as pay for everything how
difficult is life at times very
difficult for me personally I don't have
enough money to support myself I can't
save I can't go on holiday as the home
of the world's first steam-powered
public railway that meant job security
until the railway works closed
today's budgets promised new jobs 750
Treasury posts being shifted out of
London billions on public transport as
well as more power being devolved but
events have made a difference well I
think the leveling up agenda has been
tailored back somewhat because of the
corona epidemic that we now face then
how true is the elected mayor for the
Tees Valley he's been described as one
of the most powerful Tory politicians
outside London does the budget go far
enough
well I think at this stage it absolutely
does forty side Darlington and half
people we've got eighty million pounds
for Downton Station which we stood
outside the front table that will
revolutionize local rail travel across
the region that serves 750,000 people
we've got a government commitment to a
share of 800 million pounds for what
will be the UK's first and the world's
first industrial scale carbon capture
and storage facility no matter who you
are or where you were born you will have
every chance to succeed in our modern
dynamic economy
Oh what do you think leveling up means
the level playing field so to speak oh I
think it's about breaking down that
north-south divide that's been so
contentious for quite a long time I
think where things started to go along
in towns like this word were built to
support the heavy industries this one in
particular was to support the railway
industry it was a major site for wagon
manufacturing for the railway there's a
lot of potential there's a lot of latent
workforce here it's just waiting while
the Chancellor delivered his budget we
were with a local councillor and 200 or
so people she was throwing a party for
along with Peter Shirley has signed up
for a community opera being performed in
children later this year it is
complicated isn't it that's the thing
and of course there is no bottomless pit
as far as the money's concerned so we
certainly waited long enough in the
northeast we've been patient but now we
want something we want to have a
delivery on a short time ago I spoke to
the economic secretary to the Treasury
John Glenn I asked him where all that
money handed out in the budget was
actually going to come from well we are
we have made some tough decisions in the
past over the last 10 years to leave us
in a situation where we've been able to
make those decisions that the Chancellor
has announced in the budget today we had
a deficit of 10% when we came into
office it's now below 2% and that's the
context the big highlight of today's
decisions is around the coronavirus
actually doing what that's necessary to
deal with what is you know very
unexpected and very serious challenge to
our public services delivery in
difficult times but also to individuals
and small businesses in particular who
will have a very sharp interruption to
their business activities the
for Budget Responsibility you know they
said today that you know debt levels
public service net debt could reach 2030
1 billion pounds by 2024 and they're not
happy with that number there do you
think there's a real danger of a debt
bomb down the line yeah but they've also
said that it's within the framework of
3% of GDP that we've said and of course
the this is a very difficult time to
make binding judgments about the future
because we're in an unprecedented crisis
and at future fiscal events at the
budget that is planned at the end of the
year we will have to come to terms with
whatever situation we're in right so
what you're acknowledging is that you
know depending on what environment we
find ourselves in some of the promises
made today may not just it may not
become a reality no I'm not saying that
at all what I'm saying is that we've had
to combine two drivers and two
contextual realities for this budget so
the government will continue to borrow
for as long as it takes basically okay
the government will continue to operate
within the rules that it set out and we
will we will be working in that
framework as we work through the future
fiscal events what spurred everything
all of us at the moment is coronavirus
the World Health Organization today's
you know raised the level to a pandemic
it's officially now pandemic and the
reason why they did that and use that
very chilling word is in order to
deliver a wake-up call that they
basically said they spelt it out we
haven't done enough and that includes
our country as well I think by by
inference what do you say to that well I
haven't seen the details but what I do
know is the detail of what the
government's been working on over the
last two weeks that we've announced in
the budget today and what we've also
said and what the Prime Minister and the
Chancellor said at the despatch-box is
that we will keep taking advice and we
will do whatever it takes to deal
appropriately with the extent of the
challenges that as they as they arrive
if we have to do whatever it takes you
know to deal with this crisis why not
lock down schools and universities or
indeed cities right now I think the
prime minister the secretary state for
health and other senior ministers are
working very closely with the chief
scientific scientific officer and the
chief health officer
actually do what is right for our
country in the context of the threats as
they see them so when the World Health
Organization says there have been
alarming levels of inactivity given the
seriousness of this infection and you
don't think that refers to us what I'm
saying is that we need to work within
the global framework take advice from
our friends and those that we work with
across the globe but at the end of the
day we have to rely on those that
mediate the advice to government that's
a chief medical officer our chief
science officer I think that that's the
right approach and I think that's one
that the country will should feel
confident in Joe Glen thank you very
much indeed
thank you public health England is now
tracing everyone who had close contact
with the Health Minister Nadine Doris
after she revealed she had been
diagnosed with corona virus one of her
aides has also tested positive although
there are currently no plans to shut
down Parliament or to close it to
visitors our political correspondent Liz
Bates reports at the forefront of the
government's response to the corona
virus Health Minister Nadine Doris is
now the first MP to be diagnosed with it
she is now at home and has closed down
her parliamentary office at her weekend
constituency surgery she met up to 12
people here any of those now feeling
unwell are being told to seek medical
advice but her main concern her 84 year
old mum miss Doris said her mum has a
cough and is being tested for the virus
in Westminster tonight the health
secretary said miss Doris's case had
brought the issue home but following
talks with the speaker this afternoon he
insisted that Parliament would keep its
doors open of course in some ways this
happen House may have to function
differently but the ability to hold the
government to account and to legislate
are as vital in a time of emergency as
in normal times our democracy is the
foundation of our way of life it's very
fortunate I had one teacher a PE teacher
they recognized my skills and this is
why some have called for the shut down
events like this that take place in
Westminster every week miss Doris
attended one last Thursday celebrating
International Women's Day
among the guests was Boris Johnson but
number 10 sources insists that the Prime
Minister has no symptoms and won't be
tested
a spokesperson for Parliament said there
are no plans to suspend the house whilst
the Department for Health said anyone
who has been in close contact with
mysteries will be traced those who
haven't been contacted are unlikely to
be at risk the health minister's office
will be cleaned but before any further
action is taken they will wait for
advice from the experts and many MPs
agree with the approach I do believe
that Parliament needs to keep on meeting
because if the government wants to
introduce emergency legislation it needs
Parliament to sit if it wants to renew
that it's got to have Parliament sitting
and if it wants to change it to meet the
changing needs of coronavirus it still
needs Parliament to be sitting but
others are calling for more robust
measures to protect parliamentary staff
so one of the things that we're
questioning is whether it's actually
would be a sensible thing to do and a
precautionary approach to protect or
staff working within the house and also
to ensure that government can continue
in Parliament continuing to have a
temporary ban on visitors to the House
of Commons today as the Treasury was
preparing for the budget it was also
responding to its own coronavirus scare
after the partner of an official tested
positive and as a precaution the
department was deep-cleaned overnight
but with the world failing to keep
coronavirus in check it looks like
Westminster could be its latest victim
well the Labour MP Rachel maskel has
been advised to self isolate after she
had a meeting when the dean oratories
last week earlier I asked her if there
were enough safeguards for people going
into Parliament the opposition and the
government have played a pivotal role in
looking at how we can protect people
from coronavirus today the budget being
part of that I know the procedures
committee has been looking at how we can
continue to ensure that our Parliament
functions in a way that addresses these
really serious issues we're facing at
the moment in terms of the advice you've
been given how long do you think you
will be in self-isolation for when I was
told 14 days from the point of contacts
and I've already had
six of those days so until the 19th of
March I'll be free again to be out in
the community well and it's a thing that
says it is ramping up its testing
capacity to around 10,000 coronavirus
tests per day
this comes after some people claim to
have experienced frustrating delays
trying to get themselves tested even
though they've displayed key symptoms
okay Sasha Tom in the chic surroundings
of a Wolverhampton car park opposite the
local KFC there's a new drive-through in
town a corona virus testing station in
the first two days it's been open 16
cars have passed through sent here only
after they've called NHS 1 1 1 over
27,000 people have been tested in the UK
as of today but there's been criticism
from those who want tests that's still
waiting we've come here to meet Olivier
and Antonio now their self isolating so
we're gonna speak to them through a door
quite a distance away and over the phone
after initially calling one one one
several times they wanted to speak to a
medical professional and went to a
coronavirus mic Timnath is also self
isolating after a trip via Singapore two
days after he returned he started
feeling unwell and had a temperature of
40 point 5 he's now called 1 1 1 4 times
after his third call he was told there
was an error and his case hadn't been
escalated for testing as it should
he's also concerned about his partner
he's a teacher so he works in a school
and and that was one of the more
worrying things and we flagged this on
day 1 with NHS one moreone and continued
to flag it but again there is just been
a lack of any person
eyes response it feels like the system
is he is the sort of buckling and even
when I was talking to two people at NHS
one more one last Wednesday for the
first time there was definitely a sense
that they did not know necessarily what
was going on how best to handle it
NHS England said the one one one phone
line is understandably busy but all
inquiries are being responded to public
health England has defended its decision
not to test everyone reporting symptoms
saying they must focus on those at
highest risk hommerson Hospital says the
average wait at their coronavirus pod on
the day in question was thirty minutes
but for everyone we spoke to all they
want is a test so they know where they
stand