Virus advice on keeping schools shut must be published by councils

From: Andrew Tagg, Pellon, Halifax. AS a grandparent of children who attend Calderdale primary schools and secondary schools in north Halifax, I wish to understand the basis of Calderdale Council’s advice to recommend schools don’t open due to safety issues around coronavirus (The Yorkshire Post, May 20). I assume that Tim Swift, the council’s leader, finds the advice of senior government scientists is based on unsound, weak or unsubstantiated epidemiological data. I have to assume that he has access to evidence that contradicts this advice, could he please publish this evidence? Coun Swift says the decision is based on “the current evidence within Calderdale indicates three of the Government’s five tests are not met and unfortunately we are not assured that this will change before June 1”. How has this conclusion been reached and on what evidence is this based? He also says that “test three requires us to be confident that the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels, but we do not currently know the impact of the changes to the lockdown restrictions announced last week”. What is the current ‘R’ rate in Calderdale, and by what parameters will the LEA use to judge this? “Finally test five is about whether we can be confident that any changes we make will not risk a second peak of infections. Unfortunately at this stage we cannot be confident that we could prevent the spread of the coronavirus within our nurseries, schools or colleges and then into the wider community”. What are the methods you wish to be in place? What would be the infection rate have to be for it to have contributed to a significant increased risk of second peak in Calderdale? I think it is only right when taking such a position that the advice that Calderdale Council based this decision on is shared with parents, some of whom will suffer continued hardship by not being able to return to work and have to continue to to try and educate their children at home. Finally, now the council has taken this position, one has to assume it has a clear picture of what additional controls are required to be in place before it considers that it is safe to open schools to more pupils. What timescale do you envisage when it will be safe for Calderdale schools to open? What is the infection rate in the community that you would deem it is safe to open schools? What additional levels of social distancing in schools do you deem safe in schools? What plans do you have for all children to return to school in Calderdale and by what date? Obviously for the council to take a position contrary to the Government’s scientific advice on how schools should open, then you must have evidence and plans in place for how the schools will reopen. I look forward to Coun Swift’s response on this matter. Cheap food has its price From: Roger Backhouse, Upper Poppleton, York. DESPITE good points in the Agriculture Bill, the refusal to safeguard food production and animal welfare standards with an amendment is a stain on the Government’s record (The Yorkshire Post, May 16). Government promises to protect British farmers from the effects of lower standard food produced outside the UK have proved utterly false. Thankfully Labour voted against the Government, showing an awareness of the needs of farmers not always associated with that party. Hopefully they will continue. We’ve recently seen Conservative MPs calling for more industrial production to be brought back to the UK. Good policy, but how ironical they also chose to sell out important British farm production. I fear bad trade deals with the USA or other countries that open gates to poor quality food produced in disgraceful conditions. Cheap food comes at another price and that could be driving many British farmers out of business. Rail freight makes sense From: Edna Austin, Goole. I BELIEVE we should scrap this idiotic HS2 project immediately and concentrate on opening, and developing, our defunct railway lines and stations. We have been saying for years we need to get a lot of traffic including freight off the roads and motorways. I noticed a freight train one day with 22 carriages and thought yes, that is 22 lorries on the road, when we could have had one train with 22 loads. Makes sense, don’t you think? Winging it From: Mr JB Malnprize, East Ella Drive, Hull. I WAS intrigued by the picture of the orange tip butterfly (The Yorkshire Post, May 15). While undoubtedly it is an orange tip, it shows the colouration of both the male and female. Usually only the male has the orange tip on the upper side of the forewings whilst only the female shows the green flecked markings on the underside of the wings. Pub survival From: Brian H Sheridan, Lodge Moor, Sheffield. FURTHER to Brett Williams’s heartfelt lament for the plight of people who have worked hard to set up pubs, cafés, hôtels and restaurants (The Yorkshire Post, May 10). For its uniqueness alone, the British pub deserves to survive.