retail sales have suffered the biggest
drop since records began falling by more
than five percent last month the figures
from the office for national statistics
show that clothing has been particularly
hard-hit it's down by 35 percent the one
sector that is booming not surprisingly
is food and alcohol our business editor
Simon Jack reports there was nothing
spiffy about today's figures from the
high street owners of the self-styled
happiness store sort commercial misery
as retail sales dropped their fastest
rate since records began 34 years ago in
two weeks in the run-up to lockdown
we were down 20 percent from last year
obviously since we've closed the doors
we've had nothing coming in as the shop
being closed whether you have one store
or a hundred and have an online presence
like this maker of mother and baby
clothes
there's been no escaping the deadly
economic consequences of a virus that
has emptied our high streets
the reality is overnight we lost all our
retail sales and our retail overheads
continue yes of course we've had some
help from the government we've had a
rates holiday and we're negotiating with
our landlords but that's not the full
picture in retail we have shops which
have become sarcophaguses for stock
which is time-sensitive so is the entire
economy the longer the lockdown goes on
the greater the economic damage this is
one of the UK's busiest shopping venues
right now it is the scene of an
unfolding economic disaster today is the
first time that statistics have caught
up with what is blindingly obvious to
see and remember these numbers only
capture two weeks of the lockdown period
like just a foretaste of the grim news
ahead so that he was further pressure on
the government to supply even more
assistance to struggling businesses the
government has already offered an 80%
guarantee to those who lend money to
virus hit businesses it's been under
pressure to increase that this was the
Chancellor on Monday I'm not persuaded
that moving to a hundred percent
guarantee is there the right thing to do
well that could change the government is
considering fully backing loans of up to
25 thousand pounds for the smallest
businesses a good move say business
groups they know they just need to be
able to pay their bills to cover their
overheads many of them have fir node
workers but have other bills to pay it
will keep them afloat and every job that
is safe now will enable our economy to
recover more quickly in the future
Debenhams has said it will permanently
close its major stores in Wales if the
government there doesn't reverse the
decision to have health business rates
relief for bigger firms in better news
B&Q has reopened half its doors but we
are a very very long way from business
as usual simon jack BBC news the
Metropolitan Police says it has made
more than 4,000 arrests for domestic
abuse in recent weeks the force which is
the country's largest says the phone
calls reporting domestic abuse have
risen by a third police around the UK
and domestic abuse charities have urged
victims to seek help during the lockdown
the technology firm Dyson says the
medical ventilator it has been
developing to help treat patients with
kovat 19 is no longer required in the UK
Dyson says it had received an order for
10,000 ventilators last month and which
has yet to be approved by regulators but
the government has now said its services
are no longer required three-quarters of
a million people applied to become NHS
volunteer responders when the scheme
opened a month ago since then 600,000
have been accepted but so far only
50,000 tasks have been carried out it's
caused frustration among would-be
volunteers as well as confusion among
some vulnerable people who want access
to the service now organisers have
apologized for the delays and opened a
helpline where people can register for
support Judith Moritz reports my name is
Rebecca fair cliff and I have
volunteered for the role of check-in and
chat Rebecca applied to be an NHS
volunteer four weeks ago it was a
fortnight before she was approved and as
of now she's still to receive a single
request to help someone in
I've been on the app and you mark
yourself as on duty since then mainly in
the evenings and weekends and nothing
like I've not had anything so there's a
total of 75 hours I've been online and
ready to volunteer and either make or
take calls and I've heard nothing
Rebecca says she feels doubly frustrated
on behalf of her parents who don't live
near her her father Peter has a lung
disease and is entitled to help from the
scheme but they didn't know how to get
it then the shielding left her it
actually tells you to get friends or
family to collect your prescriptions so
and that's from the government so you
you personally haven't phoned up or try
to access the NHS scheme could you do
with extra health I think we're all
right now because she's kicked in going
from door to door
local schemes like this one in Liverpool
were quick to get going many communities
helping to look after themselves
we've seen Roy and Tony we are doing a
lot of sort of courtesy calls to keep
him company things like that we've
started to deliver hot meals really
anything that we can put our mind to
because you know as I say the experience
within our community is it's quite
significant and if you organise that it
can be quite a powerful thing there's a
whole range of organisations offering
help some of which overlap local
councils are delivering government food
boxes charities and community groups
have sprung into action and the NHS
volunteers can help big jobs like
delivering groceries and medicine
amongst other things not everybody who's
eligible for the help knows where to go
for it that may be why there are many
more NHS volunteers than jobs for them
to do so far the organizers have now
opened a hotline to make it easier for
vulnerable people to request help there
are volunteers who are frustrated that
they're not being used the numbers of
tasks been done aren't huge is this
working the key is that we give
everybody the opportunity to get
themselves into the system anybody who
feels that they are at risk or
vulnerable who feels that they can get
support from a shopping role or
prescription pickups or maybe a call
please do give us a ring you can find a
number or voluntary service website and
we'll be able to get you some support
every project big and small has a part
to play the work of volunteers is
proving not just valuable but vital
during this crisis judith moritz BBC
news