Government to set out new guidance

The government is due to issue a detailed 50-page “roadmap” for exiting the lockdown, including fresh guidance on how workplaces will be re-opened, at 2pm this afternoon.

The new guidance will be issued prior to Boris Johnson facing questions in parliament on his plan to ease lockdown restrictions at 3.30pm this afternoon.

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab told BBC Breakfast this morning the new guidance will be published at 2pm. The news comes amid confusion following the prime minister’s televised national address last night, in which he urged construction and manufacturing workers to return to work but did not spell out if official guidance had actually yet changed.

It also comes as this morning as Raab was forced to clarify that the new measures will only come in to force from Wednesday, not with immediate effect, as had been widely interpreted.

Johnson has faced criticism over his decision to change the government’s core message regarding the crisis from “stay at home” to “stay alert”, with Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon describing the phrase as vague and doctors’ leaders questioning the basis on which the change had been brought in.

It is not yet clear whether the 50-page dossier to be released will include any specific changes to guidance which will affect construction and housebuilding.

The government has been urging housebuilders to re-open sites for some weeks, but lockdown rules have kept sales offices and showhomes closed and made it all but impossible to complete home sales. According to exclusive research for Housing Today, around a fifth of housebuilding sites have already re-opened, with Weston Homes the latest to announce plans today.

Johnson used last night’s address to partially relax existing measures, allowing people to sunbathe and meet at a distance with people from other households in parks, measures which are not being copied by other devolved nations.

He said: “We now need to stress that anyone who can’t work from home, for instance those in construction or manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work.”

He also said that shops may be able to start a “phased” re-opening from June 1, along with primary schools.

Construction, except for “critical” work, remains effectively banned in Scotland.

Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, which represent small contractors and housebuilders, said it was a “shame” the government had not published the fresh guidance alongside Johnson’s announcement, as it would have avoided industry “confusion”.

The timing of Boris Johnson’s announcement, prior to the publication of revised guidance on working practices, has also alarmed unions, which have already branded existing guidance on construction working practices under coronavirus as unsafe. TUC general secretary general secretary Frances O’Grady tweeted that the announcement was a “recipe for chaos.” She said: “Lots of working people will feel confused and anxious after listening to Boris Johnson. Govt still hasn’t published guidance on how workers will be kept safe. So how can the PM – with 12-hours’ notice – tell people to go back to sites and factories?”

A spokesperson for the communities department confirmed that some new guidance was forthcoming and that workplaces should seek to implement it as soon as practicable, but was unable to say if the guidance for workers in housebuilding and construction specifically was changing. The spokesperson said: “As the PM said, anyone who can’t work from home, for instance those in construction and manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work. This is a group of people who already can work, and have been permitted to do so throughout”.

“Further guidance will be published in due course.”