Category Archives: Leicester

Outsourcing firms miss 46% of Covid contacts in England’s worst-hit areas

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Serco and Sitel paid £200m to test and trace, but reach just over half of infected people’s contacts in some regions

Outsourcing companies leading the government’s flagship test-and-trace system have failed to reach nearly half of potentially exposed people in areas with the highest Covid infection rates in England, official figures show.

In the country’s 20 worst-hit areas, Serco and Sitel – paid £200m between them – reached only 54% of people who had been in close proximity to an infected person, meaning more than 21,000 exposed people were not contacted.

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Test and trace failing to contact thousands in England’s worst-hit areas

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Exclusive: proportion of close contacts being reached is below 80% in high infection areas

The government’s flagship test-and-trace system is failing to contact thousands of people in areas with the highest infection rates in England, raising further questions about the £10bn programme described by Boris Johnson as “world-beating”.

Local leaders and directors of public health are demanding more control over the tracing operation amid concerns that their ability to contain the virus is being put at risk.

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Labour abuses happening ‘at scale’ far beyond Leicester, warn rights groups

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Exploitation occurring in UK farming, construction, contract cleaning, fishing, recycling and domestic work, say labour organisations

The labour abuses and sweatshop conditions reported in factories in Leicester are occurring “at scale” across the UK’s garment, manufacturing and farming industries, campaigners warn.

Reports of similar exploitative conditions and labour abuses alleged to be occurring in Leicester have also been linked to garment factories in Birmingham, Manchester and London, among other places.

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Priti Patel criticised over comments on Leicester’s sweatshops

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Home secretary suggested officials ignored problem for fear of seeming racist

Priti Patel, the home secretary, has come under fire over claims that “cultural sensitivities” prevented a robust response to alleged worker exploitation in Leicester, with critics arguing cuts to regulators, the decision to limit inspections and an absence of unions were the biggest causes.

Ten days after the Guardian reported on fears that conditions in sweatshops were a factor in Leicester’s surge in coronavirus cases and resulting lockdown, reports emerged on Sunday that Patel was considering new laws to curb modern slavery.

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Failings in Leicester are doomed to be repeated | Letters

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Readers respond to the reimposition of lockdown in the city after a surge in Covid-19 cases

Living and working in Leicester city centre we find ourselves in a new social experiment (Leicester forced into local lockdown to combat surge in Covid-19 cases, 30 June). We were all surprised to learn from Matt Hancock of an increased infection rate in a daily briefing on 19 June. Since then we’ve been the focus of speculation, and now of action. Our store opened two weeks ago, a Monday morning that saw two-hour queues snaking around the city-centre streets. Shops including ours are now closed again, and bars and barbers have put their reopening plans on ice. The community overall has patiently respected a sensible and cautious return of safe behaviours.

But there is a problem: Leicester has huge poverty and inequalities. Living and working conditions are extremely challenging for many families trying to do their best and follow guidance. Government financial support has not reached many as they fall through the gaps. National health messages just have not reached many BAME communities. All of this was only made worse by our own elected mayor breaking lockdown rules, and admitting he didn’t understand them, which only enhanced the Cummings effect. Did Leicester ever stand a chance? I think not.
James Hempsall
Director, Hempsall’s, Leicester

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Leicester lockdown: what are the new Covid-19 restrictions?

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Spike in infections forces non-essential shops to close from Tuesday and schools from Thursday

A regional flare-up of coronavirus cases means Leicester will not emerge from parts of lockdown as swiftly as the rest of England. Here’s what you need to know about the restrictions:

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Girl, 11, who drowned at theme park was on ride without a teacher, inquest told

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Evha Jannath died after falling into 12ft of water at Drayton Manor, Staffordshire

An 11-year-old girl who drowned after falling into 12ft of water on the river rapids at a theme park was allowed aboard the ride without a teacher, an inquest has heard.

Evha Jannath was “propelled” from a six-seater vessel on Splash Canyon at Drayton Manor, Staffordshire on 9 May 2017, while on an end-of-year school trip with staff and friends from Jameah girls academy in Leicester.

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Anti-abortion activists harassing women at UK clinics during Lent

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Clinic staff say protesters are calling women ‘murderers’ and giving out misleading leaflets

Anti-abortion protesters are harassing vulnerable women at UK clinics as they ramp up demonstrations for Lent and are giving out leaflets suggesting that having a termination is harder to deal with than being raped, it has been claimed.

Hardline religious activists, some of whom are part of a so-called “40 Days for Life” campaign, have been targeting women in increasing numbers at 10 clinics across the country in the run-up to Easter, the Guardian has been told.

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