The latest Covid-19 variant, BA.2.86, appears to be spreading in the UK, health surveillance data suggests.

Hannah Devlin www.theguardian.com 

The variant, nicknamed Pirola, has prompted concern among scientists because of the high number of mutations it carries, which raises the possibility that it could evade the immune system more easily or be more transmissible.

In a briefing note on Friday, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that an outbreak at a care home in Norfolk and other cases across the UK indicated there was likely to be community transmission of the strain, but said it was too early to judge the full extent of its spread.

In an outbreak of Covid-19 in a care home in Norfolk at the end of August, 33 out of 38 residents tested positive for the virus, along with 12 members of staff, the UKHSA said. One resident needed hospital treatment but no deaths were reported. Laboratory tests later showed that 22 residents had the BA.2.86 variant, along with six staff.

The outbreak was “an early indicator” that the variant may be sufficiently transmissible to have an effect in close-contact settings, the UKHSA said, though it was too early to draw any conclusions about how BA.2.86 would behave in the wider UK population.

Twenty-nine of the 33 residents at the care home who tested positive for Covid-19 have recovered, along with all members of staff, the UKHSA added.

Dr Renu Bindra, the UKHSA incident director, said that while BA.2.86 had a “significant number of mutations” compared with other variants circulating, the data so far was “too limited to draw firm conclusions” about the impact this would have on the transmissibility or severity of the virus.

“It is clear that there is some degree of widespread community transmission, both in the UK and globally, and we are working to ascertain the full extent of this,” she said. “In the meantime, it remains vital that all those eligible come forward to receive their autumn vaccine as soon as it is offered to them.”

Some early lab-based evidence has eased initial concerns about the potential of BA.2.86 to cause a new global wave of infection, as happened with the emergence of Omicron. A pre-print study, from researchers in China, found that BA.2.86 is not as efficient at infecting cells in the lab compared with other circulating Omicron subvariants. Another pre-print study from researchers in Sweden found only modest drops in how well serum from blood donors could neutralise BA.2.86 compared with other variants.

The latest Covid-19 vaccine booster programme has been brought forward from October to September as a precaution against BA.2.86. The booster programme will begin in England on 11 September, with jabs offered first to residents of adult care homes and clinically vulnerable people, before it is extended to everyone in the UK aged 65 and above.

https://health-study.zoe.com/data#levels-over-time

New testing of water samples on the Bibby Stockholm has confirmed the presence of a potentially deadly strain of legionella onboard, the Guardian has learned.

Diane Taylor www.theguardian.com 

The presence of legionella bacteria on the barge, which the Home Office has said can accommodate more than 500 asylum seekers, was initially detected in tests returned on the first day people boarded, on 7 August. It was publicly confirmed by the Home Office on 11 August and officials evacuated all 39 people onboard that day.

After the evacuation of the barge, its water system was flushed in the hope of eliminating the bacteria. New tests were carried out on 15 August and the Home Office hoped the results would show there was no longer legionella onboard so that asylum seekers could return.

The Home Office has not yet announced the results. However, freedom of information data from Dorset council shared with the Guardian has confirmed that the most deadly strain – Legionella pneumophila Serogroup 1 – was found in a galley pot-wash hose outlet in tests conducted at 3.28pm on 15 August. According to the FoI response, this result was “unsatisfactory”.

An inspection of the barge’s pipework by Wessex Water identified problems that required repair. The Home Office said these repairs could be carried out while people were onboard.

The discovery of legionella on the Bibby Stockholm was an embarrassment to the government as the barge was a key part of its policy to end the use of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers. The Home Office had provided assurances that all relevant health and safety checks had been carried out prior to moving people onboard.

Peter English, a retired public health consultant, said the results of the 15 August tests did not come as a surprise, and the strain of legionella identified was the most serious type.

“Remedial action needs to be taken. The system needs to be hyper-chlorinated,” he said. “That needs to be done for quite a long period. We wouldn’t expect the plumbing in a barge of the sort of age the Bibby Stockholm is to be very wonderful, particularly because it had been empty for some time.”

It is understood that two of the 39 asylum seekers who were briefly onboard have found accommodation with relatives, but the remaining 37 said they do not want to return to the barge due to what they have said are inhumane conditions.

The 39 sent a letter to the home secretary, Suella Braverman, documenting the poor conditions onboard and saying one person had attempted suicide.

One of the 39, now at a hotel, told the Guardian: “Nobody can really bear to return to the ship. In addition to the water, the risk of fire and the spread of disease in this small space is very high. In my opinion, the Home Office has not done its research on this ship.”

A petition has been launched calling for the barge plan to be abandoned and for people to instead be accommodated in communities.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “These are old test results. We have followed advice from UKHSA at all times and people will return to the barge in due course.”

It is understood further water samples from the barge were taken on 24 August and the results are expected to be announced shortly.

A minister has issued an “unreserved apology” to headteachers for the chaotic way the crumbling concrete crisis has been handled, the body overseeing school trusts said on Thursday.

Evening Standard

More than 400 members of the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) attended an online meeting to lay out their “grave” concerns over how the government had responded to the scandal and to question “whether they can rely on” its guidance.

Education minister Baroness Barran apologised after hundreds of headteachers received a letter from her office instructing them to urgently return a questionnaire on whether RAAC concrete was present in their buildings when they had already sent back the forms.

CST chief executive Leora Cruddas said “a significant number of CST members reported concerns about the RAAC portal”.

“What has emerged is that many or most of you had already [completed the survey] – for a number of you, multiple times,” Ms Cruddas said in a letter to headteachers on Thursday morning.

“The minister offered an unreserved apology for the tone of the letter and the fact that it appears to have been sent in error to many CST members.”

She added that the “most pressing issue” now was to establish “the reasons that a very large number of CST Members received letters”.

She told the Standard: “I’ve asked the department to reset its tone in external communications, because I don’t believe that some of the comments made in the media recently by politicians have been helpful or constructive.

“But equally I would stay that Baroness Barran’s response to our concerns has been incredibly rapid and she’s taking our concerns incredibly seriously.”

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is a lightweight building material used from the 1950s up to the mid-1990s, but is now assessed to be at risk of collapse.

Thousands of students have been disrupted on the first week of term by the scandal.

Schools leaders also said they were anxious that DfE guidance over RAAC and are questioning whether they can rely on to identify the concrete in their buildings.

“Many CST members have expressed grave concern about the reliability of the DfE guidance and are questioning whether they can rely on it,” Ms Cruddas said in her letter.

“Although I have been told by officials that there is a ‘triage’ and that visual inspection is not the only indicator of RAAC, we heard yesterday morning from members that they do not believe that this is sufficient in relation to concealed RAAC, which requires an invasive survey.

“The Minister offered to take this issue away and seek expert advice. I have asked for the DfE’s assessment or risk and reassurance on this matter as soon as possible.”

Bridget Phillipson MP, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said: “Yet more evidence of incompetence from this shambolic Department and an Education Secretary who is incapable of gripping a crisis of her own making.

“The Minister has now rightly apologised for at least some of the bungling by the department throughout the RAAC crisis.

“The Education Secretary should now apologise for telling schools to get off their backsides and for blaming schools for the mess the Tories created’.”

Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson said: “Headteachers and governors have been working round the clock to reassure parents and secure surveyors. It’s totally tin-eared for ministers to accuse them of not doing their job, when in fact the Department lost their forms.

“This chaos is yet another example of the Conservatives’ failure to get a grip on the crumbling concrete crisis.”

The DfE was contacted for comment.

A school in disrepair is concerned there is not the government funding available for a rebuild.

Please form an orderly queue for a school rebuild which doesn’t involve crumbly concrete. – Owl

Tiverton High School was previously promised a rebuild as part of Labour’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) in 2009 – but the £55bn scheme was scrapped in 2010.

By Ewan Murrie www.bbc.co.uk

In December, Tiverton High, in Devon, was listed for rebuilding works as part of the Schools Rebuilding Programme.

It learnt in July there was a feasibility process, which may not begin until April 2027, before any money is awarded.

The Department for Education (DfE) said it was committed to the project but its “scope” will be decided by the process.

‘Leaking roof’

The building has not been directly affected by the Raac (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) crisis, however, the school is worried that work now needed in other schools and public buildings may mean the money is not available for its rebuild.

Jon Sowden, Tiverton High School estate manager told BBC Radio Devon, the premises were “very poor, very dated and not fit for 21st century teaching and learning”.

He said the building sits on a flood plain, requires rewiring and suffers with deteriorating pipes and a windowed corridor that has had condensation inside the panes of glass since 1998.

The DfE said the school is on a list for improvement works in coming years but it was too early to say if this would be a full rebuild, heavy refurbishment, or a mixture of the two across different buildings.

One pupil said: “Winters can be quite damp and rainy and sometimes there can be leaks through the roof.”

Tiverton High School was previously promised a rebuild as part of Labour’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) in 2009 – but the £55bn scheme was scrapped in 2010.

In December 2022 the school was added to the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) as one of 500 schools which the Department for Education committed to rebuilding by 2030.

Mr Sowden claimed this gave a false impression that the £40m required for a rebuild had been allocated which he argued was “not quite the case”.

He said: “We’ve been told we can enter a scheme and we don’t know what the result of that feasibility study is going to be.

“There is no guarantee in anything that we’ve seen that this school will be rebuilt.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “We have committed to rebuilding 500 schools under the School Rebuilding Programme between 2020 and 2030 and are on track to deliver that commitment.

“Awarding contracts and establishing projects takes time but we have made rapid progress and are exceeding delivery timescales compared to the previous Priority School Building Programme, while delivering schools that will be net zero in operation.

“The Infrastructure and Project Authority has also highlighted the strength of the SRP’s progress.”

‘Degrade and crumble’

Lib Dem Tiverton and Honiton MP Richard Foord has urged the government to set out a clear timeframe for rebuilding.

He said: “The government has been talking about rebuilding Tiverton High School for more than a decade, in which time the buildings have continued to degrade and crumble around pupils.

“We were given a glimmer of hope last year when a rebuild was provisionally approved, yet it was later confirmed that work is not set to start any time soon.

“This is totally unacceptable.”

by the prospective Tory candidate for the new Tiverton & Minehead constituency, as he asks for an urgent debate in the commons, Mr Liddell-Grainger MP.

He is currently member for Bridgwater and West Somerset.

In a post on March 1, Owl reported the Westminster Hall debate on South West Water, led by Simon Jupp a few days previously, under the heading: “Jupp sets disappointing tone with political point scoring.“

Mr Liddell-Grainger MP, the Chair of Simon’s debate, believes another is needed, vindicating Owl’s judgement.

If only Simon could become a serious politician, he might be more effective in representing his constituents.

Mr Liddell-Grainger MP also alleges that South West Water ‘s Chief Executive “has hired City lawyers to threaten the press and parliamentarians if we speak out against the company.”

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com

A South West MP claimed he has been threatened by South West Water in an explosive attack on the company and its chairman in the House of Commons. Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, September 7, Mr Liddell-Grainger, who represents Bridgwater and West Somerset but is also the prospective candidate for Tiverton and Minehead for the Conservatives, slammed the Pennon-owned company, which later said it was “open and transparent” but had a duty to protect its employees.

Addressing Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt, he said: “This House, as the Leader of the House is aware, takes a dim view of bullying—unless it is by me.

“She will be shocked to learn that Britain’s worst water company has now resorted to thuggery and strong-arm tactics to silence parliamentarians and the press.

“I refer, of course, to the Pennon Group, which includes the nation’s filthiest and leakiest supplier, South West Water. Its chairman, Gill Rider—who worked for the Cabinet Office and so is used to leaks, I suppose—has hired City lawyers to threaten the press and parliamentarians if we speak out against the company.

“She is running a mob that has convictions for polluting rivers, pays its top gun criminal bonuses and, despite the wettest July on record, still has a hosepipe ban. It is operating like a mafia.

“This is absolutely appalling. May we have an urgent debate in Government time on these ruddy water companies, who are blackmailing their customers and parliamentarians to stop the truth coming out?”

Ms Mordaunt responded saying: “My hon. Friend has raised issues related to that particular company many times in business questions, and the whole House can sense his frustration and anger with what is happening.

“I suggest that he may wish to raise the matter with the relevant Secretary of State on 19 October. He is an experienced parliamentarian and will know how he can achieve a debate.”

In response, South West Water issued the following: “South West Water is an open and transparent business that welcomes scrutiny from all stakeholders, including parliamentarians, media and of course our customers.

“However, we have a responsibility to protect any member of our 3000-strong team who are working hard to deliver for customers, the region and our environment.

“We work in collaboration with all our parliamentarians as we deliver on our investment commitments.”

A correspondent witnessed the first section of the footbridge being lifted into place on Thursday morning and sent these images to Owl.