Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to take “direct control” of the Government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. This will be done by making major changes to Number 10’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic.
The shake-up in Downing Street will see the Government’s entire approach to the pandemic run by two central committees. These two committees will cover both strategy and operational delivery of government policy. Many are suggesting that the changes will weaken the influence of chief adviser Dominic Cummings who has been heavily criticised in the press in recent weeks.
The government have been taking heavy criticism over plans to quarantine new arrivals in the UK, while a test and trace app to track people infected with coronavirus has failed to ramp up operational capability as planned.
UNN’s Oliver Down understands that Mr Johnson recently appointed Simon Case, the former Downing Street PPS, to a top permanent secretary role running 10 Downing Street ahead of the changes.
The new strategy committee has been labelled ‘CS’ and will be chaired by Prime Minister Johnson. The Meanwhile the Cabinet minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, will chair the new operations committee, which will be known in Whitehall as ‘CO’. This approach mirrors the Government’s Brexit planning last year which was led by an ‘XS’ strategic and ‘XO’ operational committee.
It is understood that these committees will replace the four ministerial implementation groups, set up at the start of the crisis and covering foreign affairs, health, economy and business and public services, each chaired by the relevant Cabinet minister. The daily Covid-19 committee meeting, which has been held every morning at Number 10, is being cancelled.
One source quoted in the Telegraph has said that the new structure would give a more “cohesive” approach to tackling the coronavirus crisis. A second source, in the Telegraph, and a ‘senior Tory MP’ has said “Boris has decided that Cummings is there, but he is going to take more direct control. It is coming out of frustration – you are seeing his reawakening after a tough old time with the Covid-19 attack. He showed he had backbone [in backing Mr Cummings]. Cummings is not in a brilliant place – and he must know it. Boris knowing that makes him more determined to do it himself”.
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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