James Goddard

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Government has imposed local lockdowns in areas of the north of England. On 20 October 2020, the House of Lords will debate a statutory instrument which makes further amendments to the lockdown restrictions in the north east.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Department for Education has said it expects to see an increase in the number of apprentices being made redundant. The Government has laid regulations which would allow apprentices who are made redundant to continue to receive funding to complete their apprenticeship through an alternative provider.

Following the coronavirus lockdown, the number of passengers on the transport system declined significantly. In some sectors government financial support has been provided to make up the shortfall in lost fare revenue. This article summarises statistics on transport use and the economic support provided by the Government, ahead of an oral question on that subject in the House of Lords.

This article summarises the provisions of new regulations which will affect the carriage of dangerous goods and the use of transportable pressure equipment at the end of the Brexit transition period. The House of Lords is due to debate the regulations on 29 September 2020.

The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 make arrangements for how eviction court cases, which were temporarily suspended during the coronavirus pandemic, will proceed when the suspension is lifted on 21 September 2020. On 23 September 2020, the House of Lords is due to debate a motion to annul the rules.

This article summarises the conclusions of three House of Lords committee reports on the powers of Parliament to scrutinise treaties. In the context of Brexit, there have been calls for Parliament’s powers of scrutiny of treaties and trade agreements to be strengthened. The committee reports are due to be debated in the House of Lords on 7 September 2020.

This article provides information on the UK’s balance of trade with Russia. In 2019, the UK had a trade deficit with Russia of almost £4 billion. The article provides a breakdown of the UK’s trade in goods and services with Russia in 2019, and it summarises how economic relations have been affected by the foreign relations between the two countries in recent years.

This article provides statistics on the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on high street retail sales between March and June 2020. It also summarises the debate over the Government’s package of economic support for retailers, such as the coronavirus job retention scheme and a range of other loans and grants.

This article provides statistics on applications and enrolments to nursing degrees in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Nursing enrolments have declined following changes to the bursary scheme for nursing students in 2017. The ability of universities to offer courses in the autumn of 2020 has also been impacted by coronavirus. The article summarises Government policy intended to encourage nursing student recruitment.

Coronavirus is believed to have originated in a ‘wet market’ selling wild animals in the city of Wuhan in China. This has provoked debate about the relationship between unsanitary conditions in some markets and the spread of diseases from animals to humans. The article summarises international efforts to regulate live animal markets, particularly those in Asia and Africa.

In response to the coronavirus lockdown the Government temporarily amended the procedure for women to obtain drugs to have early medical abortions at home, rather than at a clinic or hospital. The article summarises the legislative changes and the debate surrounding early medical abortion.

This article summarises the scrutiny of the Coronavirus Act 2020 in the House of Lords. The Act was emergency legislation passed by Parliament in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The Act provided the Government with a range of powers to tackle the disease, including: the closure of schools and nurseries; powers to detain those suspected of having the virus; and restrictions on public gatherings.