On first sight there seems little in Rishi Sunak's budget to scare the horses. With tax threshold increases delayed and Covid support continuing for the time being, Sunak has avoided an immediate hit to families' wallets.
Liberal Democrat Councillor, Roy Davies, complained about the shocking state of the Atlas Rd car park, which is used by some users of the train station. The area was occupied by travelers recently and left in a bad state. The Council had to clear it up at cost to the council tax payers of the borough. In addition most people who park there without paying are issued with a fine but during the time they were there no fines were issued.
Blackburn with Darwen Council are proposing to increase the Council Tax by the maximum 3.99% at the Council Meeting on Monday (1 March). Darwen East Liberal Democrat Councillor, Roy Davies described it as "a smack in the face".
Blackburn with Darwen public health director, Professor Dominic Harrison, has given this coronavirus update to local media.
The High Court has ruled that the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, acted unlawfully. In a case brought by the Good Law Project and supported by Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, the judge Mr Justice Chamberlain ruled that the Health Secretary had acted unlawfully in not publishing contracts he had awarded within 30 days, as stipulated by law. As an example he had awarded contracts worth £15bn for PPE, but only £2.68bn had been published. The judge said, "The secretary of state's evidence provides a cogent explanation of his historic failure to comply … but this explanation amounts to an excuse, not a justification. It follows that, in my judgment, the secretary of state acted unlawfully by failing to comply with the transparency policy."
In the week ending 12 February 2021, the highest positivity rate was seen in the North West, followed by London. The North East, South West and South East had the lowest percentages of people testing positive for COVID- 19 according to the Office for National Statistics. The percentage testing positive were: