LONDON: New measures are not needed now in Britain to fight the Omicron variant, which is “plainly milder” than earlier forms of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.
“The way forward for the country as a whole is to continue with the path that we are on,” he told broadcasters. “Of course we will keep all measures under review, but the mixture of things that we are doing at the moment is I think the right one.”
Despite a huge surge in infections, Johnson has so far mainly resisted imposing new restrictions in England, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the UK population. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which control their own rules, have imposed some new measures.
Johnson said pressure on hospitals would be “considerable” in the next couple of weeks, but Omicron was “plainly milder” than previous variants, and the country was in a stronger position than it was earlier in the pandemic.
Britain had a “very, very high level” of vaccination, he said, and it was continuing to build up its defences with the booster programme.
“The majority of people who are in ICU (intensive care) have not been vaccinated and the vast majority – about 90% – have not been boosted,” he said during a visit to a vaccination centre in Buckinghamshire, south east England.
Johnson imposed limited measures in England, known as “Plan B”, last month, including the wearing of face coverings on public transport and in shops, but stopped short of ordering restrictions on gatherings or closing businesses.
The government said on Sunday that older school children in England would be required to wear face coverings when they return after the Christmas break.
PENSION SCHEME PLAN
Meanwhile, working 18-year-olds would automatically begin paying into a pension under plans being presented to Parliament.
The proposal is aimed at boosting the pension pots of workers who do not go to university, giving them an extra four years of contributions, and potentially 50 years of compound interest.
The plan is being put forward by Tory MP Richard Holden when the Commons returns following the Christmas break.
The current auto-enrolment rules mean bosses must provide a workplace pension for staff aged 22 and over earning 10,000 pounds.
But Mr Holden, MP for North West Durham, is putting forward legislation to change the rules.
Under the workplace pension system, employees and employers both contribute to the retirement pot, with staff automatically enrolled unless they opt out. Holden told the PA news agency: “The majority of my constituents start work at 18.
“And I think it’s only fair that everybody, when they start work, should be getting this contribution.
“It shouldn’t just be something for graduates, or when everybody else happens to graduate, because the compound interest for decades will mean so much more.”
As well as lowering the age limit for auto-enrolment to 18, Holden also wants to change the 10,000 pound threshold.
It is “iniquitous” that somebody working two part-time jobs, each paying below the threshold, was denied the workplace pension that somebody working full-time would get, he said.
“It’s clearly going to be a substantial change so it needs to be announced in advance.
“But I think this could make a real, real difference to the retirements of people across constituencies like mine, making that retirement a bit easier.”
The long-term benefit of people being more financially secure in retirement could also help potentially reduce “dependency on some elements of the state”, Holden said.
Mr Holden said it would help “level up” individuals across the country, addressing imbalances between areas where people start work at 18 and other parts of the country with a higher graduate population where full-time work begins after they have completed their education. — Reuters/dpa
