The Friday Blog: Three-Tier Traffic Lights
Let me start by thanking the many of you who have taken the time to write to me in recent weeks, it is very much appreciated and makes doing this a lot easier than it might otherwise be. I have noticed, though, that when I produce a very fact based edition, I get nothing back from you, but when I just have a rant, which I have probably done a bit more lately, I tend to get the thumbs up. You only have yourselves to blame.
I think it is getting busier again. Well, it is that time of year when nobody takes holiday anyway, and this year absolutely nobody is going anywhere. Busy enough, that when I closed my office door at 6 o’clock last Friday, I was in collapse in a heap territory. It had been cumulative, and I do have a tendency to be grumpy at the best of times. Last week, I think I excelled myself. So, my unconditional apologies go to all my colleagues and those of you who had the misfortune to interact with me from about Wednesday onwards. However, something strange happened by the time I had reached the kitchen, and not just because it was cider time (but then again, when is it not?)
I reflected on the enormous number of good things that all at ABHI Towers had achieved over the course of the week. I could fill up my allocation of words here many times over with what we got through between us. And in just one week. Deciding what we share with you about what we do, and how we share it, occupies an awful lot of headspace here. I think foremost in my mind was the fact that that day an independent review into diagnostic services in England, had reached many of the same conclusions we had come to in our own roadmap for the sector, and ones we had discussed in a Ministerial roundtable. It illustrated the extent to which we have seriously beefed up our diagnostics capacity, culminating in the arrival of Steve Lee to work alongside Phil Brown. I am now officially in awe of our regulatory firepower.
There were other reasons for my sudden upswing in mood. It was American night in the household. My cupboards always contain a close to lifetime supply of Frank’s Hot Sauce, which I pimp with cayenne, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco, distilled vinegar and an artery clogging quantity of butter. M&S now do absolutely perfect Oakham chicken wings for less than two quid a tray, seasoned, lightly floured, baked for 20 minutes and finished off on the griddle, it is as close to being in the Old Ebbitt Grill as I am going to get for the foreseeable. It was then just a case of some background entertainment. I can offer up two tips for those of you who have similar persuasions to my own. I had a moan a few months ago about Radio 4’s News Quiz, which had distinctly gone off the boil, but it is back and bang on form. Due, almost entirely, to the new host Andy Zaltzman, not only one of the cleverest and funniest people you will come across, but also the scorer on Test Match Special would you believe. After bladder damaging laughter, it was time for some music, and my mood in recent months has not really be conducive to listening to music, so this represented a big improvement in my mental health. If you are a fan of old time rock n’ roll, do yourself a favour, visit You Tube and look up Jeff Beck and Imelda May’s tribute to Les Paul. It is filmed in the New York City jazz club where Paul performed right up until his death, and is so good it is almost unbelievable. It runs to around two and a half hours, so put it on, kick back and get slowly and joyously drunk. It is what I did and followed it with the sleep of the dead.
But if the US kitchen is not your style, and wings were followed by the great American Disaster, this week has been National Curry Week (but then again, when is it not?) and if that is not enough, today is National Beer and Pizza day (but then again, when is it not?) I hope you have / plan to fill your boots. Yes, of course I did / do. You should make the most of it, because there are more restrictions on our way, with a three-tier system being announced on Monday by all accounts. But it is not going to be a traffic light system. Absolutely not a traffic light system. Do not even talk about a traffic light system. Talking about a traffic light system is strictly verboten by the group of individuals, still waiting to hear from MENSA, that make up the brain’s Trust in the Cabinet Office communications machine. These are the people that have crafted the unambiguous and easy to follow guidance on Mace Lands Race, the Rule of 6 inches and the mandatory use of head coverings in pubs and restaurants after 10’oclock. I cannot wait to see what they will come up with. Ready, Stead, Go? A prile of threes? The Triple Crown? Hop, step and jump? Three coins inside a fountain? Answers on a postcard to The Dom, 70 Whitehall.
73.6% of all statistics are made up. It is an old joke, although it does seem to be the kind of solid, follow the science type of intel that has made Her Majesty’s Government close the pubs at 10 o’clock, and has caused the President of the United States to proclaim that contracting a virus that has so far killed over 200,000 of his fellow citizens, an awful lot of whom look an awful lot like him, was a blessing from God. I know I should not be getting at him on here, and I can already feel angry emails being composed in the US, but I could not let this one go. Let us put to one side the fact that it is not yet licensed, although that is probably the least of our worries at the moment, but Trump has taken a drug that he believes has worked for him, and he now wants it to be available for all Americans. For free. Medicines dispensed to people who need them and paid for by the State. Imagine that.
I thought of the statistics gag because The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (and those words are so much easier for me to write than “Michael Gove”) reckons we have a 66% chance of getting a trade deal with the EU. He made the remarks in an appearance before the Brexit committee, which also featured our man at the table, David Frost. The mood was upbeat, and Frost even hinted that a solution to the barrier of State Aid could be overcome by mutually acceptable approaches to dispute resolution. It is not something I can pretend to fully understand, but the legal wonks were getting very excited by it and pointing to it as evidence that significant progress was being made.
The positive theme was picked up by Boris who spoke to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, on Wednesday to outline the UK’s “commitment to get a deal” and “underline a deal was better for both sides”. Conspicuously, there was no mention of state aid but a reiteration that “significant areas of difference remain, particularly on fisheries”. The fish, always the bleddy fish. Michel was less effusive and took to Twitter (another one) to say that it was time for the UK to “put its cards on the table.” Elsewhere, the Irish foreign minister, Simon Coveney, a man who may have more of an influence on our lives than we realise, made worrying noises. He is concerned that the upcoming Finance Bill will seek to give UK ministers unilateral powers in Northern Ireland, and cites it as another piece of legislation, alongside the Internal Market Bill, that indicates the UK is not serious about a deal. Time will tell, not that there is a lot of it left. Perceived wisdom is that things need to be wrapped up by next Thursday and the main man in Europe, Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier, has not yet indicated that he is ready to enter the tunnel or board the submarine or whatever it is that marks the next stage of proceedings.
Here, the Border Protocol and Delivery Group have been busy updating the BOM. If this is your thing then there is more information on infrastructure, including new locations and when they will be ready, customs requirements and arrangements in various EU member states. Assuming you know the contents off by heart, start at page 8 which tells you what has changed since the BOM first appeared in July, and it is one of those live documents that will iterate along with HMG’s plans. A 'business action checklist' has also been published, which lays out the areas of your business that will require attention ahead of the end of the Transition Period.
Thanks to those who have completed our Brexit survey and we are discussing the results with officials. We recognise the need for continued communication, and as much as possible on the future of regulation. It is something, as you know, we are working very hard on and remain in close contact with the MHRA and others. Northern Ireland was also another issue that came to the fore, and we have a seat at the table with officials on a DHSC group that aims to take on board our concerns. What would be helpful is to understand, in more granular detail, precisely what you would like more certainty on. There is, of course, a huge caveat in the face of the Internal Market Bill and the approach the EU is taking to it.
I have mentioned before on here that perhaps the greatest honour I have ever been afforded is to serve on the Board of the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital. I am particularly proud, in one of the most diverse cities on the planet, to be the Board lead for Equality & Diversity. This week marked the start of our activities to celebrate Black History Month, the work being shaped by our Multi Minority Ethnic Group. In a world that, at times, can seem anything but inclusive, it is great that my colleagues have taken the opportunity to celebrate the contribution that the diaspora have made to our city and our NHS. And without the Italian diaspora, we would have no pizza to enjoy with our beer this evening. Go on, indulge.
