As the shielding list expands, so must coronavirus support

The shielding list in England is growing: 1.7 million people are being added to the 2.3 million already classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, which means almost four million will be advised to avoid going to the shops or to a pharmacy as part of staying at home wherever possible until at least the end of March. They will be bumped up the vaccine priority list. The development comes as a new Oxford University team’s analysis tool, commissioned by Chris Whitty, takes into account risk factors such as ethnicity and deprivation. Those that have been campaigning for race to be considered a risk factor, including the Runnymede Trust, say this is a “tremendously important step in the right direction”.

Alongside this expansion must come extra support, of course. The Local Government Association pointed out that councils need regular access to data and long-term funding to shield more residents. The TUC’s Frances O’Grady highlighted that some will be able to work from home but others will not. The government’s answer is still simply to tell people: ask your boss about a different temporary role, changing your work pattern, or furlough! For this to be effective, all employers would need to be reasonable and accommodating. The TUC has rightly called instead for ministers to “consider introducing a right to be furloughed for all those who are required to shield”.

Angela Rayner will declare in a keynote speech opening UNISON Women’s Conference today that our “social care heroes” should be paid at least £10 an hour, which would mean pay rises of up to £3,500 a year. This move is “well overdue” and “the very least that they deserve after all they have done for us over the last year”, Labour’s chair and deputy leader will say. The former care worker is also set to make the point that their current low pay “isn’t just morally wrong” but also “holding back our economy”. The same argument can be made about the looming Universal Credit cut, as new research finds that 95% of those who will be pushed into poverty by it are in working or disabled households.

On LabourList today, our reporter Elliot has written up his interview with Welsh Labour government minister Vaughan Gething, in which they discussed “Tory flag-waving”, Keir Starmer’s leadership, vaccine prioritisation and more. Labour activist Dr Liz Hind, who runs a pub, has a piece on talking business – particularly hearing women and all business owners, not just “business leaders”. And Labour has again picked up on the theme of Tory cronyism in government procurement, with Rachel Reeves writing to the cabinet secretary over the latest Dominic Cummings story. Parliamentary recess has made things quieter this week, but we have more plenty more interviews and comment pieces lined up for readers.