Covid: Yorkshire tier 3 decision 'unfair', councillors say

Council leaders in Yorkshire have criticised the government after it ordered much of the region to remain under tier three measures.

The toughest restrictions will continue to apply in West and South Yorkshire.

Leeds City Council said the decision-making process was unfair, while South Yorkshire's mayor said there had been little communication from Westminster.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged people to "pull together" to get out of tier three.

The tier announcement, made in the Commons, means hospitality venues across West and South Yorkshire will continue to be restricted to takeaway service only.

Household mixing in all indoor and most outdoor settings is also still banned.

The next review of the tier system will be on 30 December.

Labour's Judith Blake, Leeds City Council leader, said a move to tier two "would have been a welcome relief before Christmas".

She said: "It's the uncertainty, the sense there is a changing of the rules and I think quite honestly, a real sense of the lack of fairness in the way that some of the decisions are made.

"In the north in particular there have been areas under restrictions for such a long time.

"We will be asking that question urgently now - what more does the government want us to do to make sure we can move forward with confidence and unlock our economy?"

The government said the situation in West Yorkshire as a whole had improved "though is still of concern".

The rate in Leeds is currently 138.2 cases per 100,000 of the population, which is a 5% decrease over the last seven days.

Dan Jarvis, South Yorkshire's mayor, said he'd had no early warning of the decision to keep the county in the highest tier before he watched the announcement on TV.

"I'm not surprised, but it's particularly frustrating that the government have taken a very important decision about our region without consulting us," he said.

"I know this will be a huge kick in the teeth for our businesses who are under massive pressure, so the government need to do much more to provide additional economic support to weather the storm that the coronavirus is bringing, particularly to those businesses in the hospitality sector."

Mr Jarvis said the infection rates across South Yorkshire's four local authorities ranged from 143 to 234 per 100,000 people.

Covid admissions and critical care bed occupancy in the county were not rising, the government said, but the rates were above the national average.

Health Secretary Mr Hancock said: "I know that many places in tier three have seen their rates reduce, in most places we're not quite there yet and the pressures on the NHS remain.

"I know that tier three measures are tough, but the best way for everyone to get out of them is to pull together, not just to follow the rules, but to do everything they possibly can to stop the spread of the virus."

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