the times | Monday June 29 2020 2GM 11
News
Big Issue goes contactless as
sellers return to the streets
Katie Gibbonsreduces borrowing and balances the
budget, even if that means less money is
available to support the economy or
public services, whereas 49 per cent
want spending protected even if it
means the national debt grows larger.
It comes as Boris Johnson prepares to
set out his plans to kick-start the econ-
omy, having ruled out a return to the
austerity imposed by David Cameron
and George Osborne. Only 38 per cent
now believe austerity was “necessary”,
down 20 points since 2015, and only 21
per cent think it was done fairly, down
12 points. Blame for the cuts has also
shifted: in 2010 more voters thought the
previous Labour government was to
blame, now more people blame the
Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.
Leading article, page 25
Wimbledon
suffers a net
£100m loss
Ben ElleryOrdinarily the genteel streets of
Wimbledon would be teeming today
with people eager to catch a glimpse of
Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.
After the organisers called off this
year’s tournament in response to the
coronavirus, however, the area will
suffer a £100 million economic hit. Res-
idents of Wimbledon village who usu-
ally let out their homes have lost in-
come, as have restaurants, bars and
other businesses.
Adrian Mills, chairman of the Wim-
bledon Village Business Association,said losing the tournament could be a
“bloodbath”. “Although Wimbledon is a
well-heeled area there is not a huge
amount of people who live here,” he
said. “I have spoken with businesses
who say that the two weeks the tourna-
ment is on provides them a safety net.”
Mandy Hodgson, rector of the parish
of Wimbledon, said that St Mary’s
Church would lose £50,000 it usually
makes by allowing visitors to use its car
park. “It means the support we can offer
others is diminished,” she said.
Joanna Doniger, the owner of Tennis
London which rents homes to players,
said: “Homeowners have been very un-
derstanding, even the ones who had
contracts with players who like to
return to their home every year.
“I think it is right not to play the tour-
nament. The homeowners would have
found it difficult to stay somewhere
during the championships... I’ve been
doing this 28 years and it’s the first time
I’ve had nothing to do in June or July —
I’ve just been playing lots of tennis.”Head teachers have urged the govern-
ment to allow a “period of grace” before
fining parents if they refuse to send
their children back to school when they
reopen fully in September.
Boris Johnson has said it will be
compulsory for all children in England
to go to school when they reopen after
the summer holidays. Penalties for
non-attendance, which include fines,
were suspended in March, before
schools were closed.
However, the sanctions will be re-
vived for parents whose children take
“unauthorised absences”.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, the
prime minister said: “We need to get the
kids back into school.” Asked whether it
would be compulsory, he said: “Yes. It’s
the law.”
Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL
head teachers union, and a former head
teacher, said the government should
tread carefully.
“We would caution the government
against an expectation that penalties
for non-attendance should be imposed
as soon as school resumes in Septem-
ber,” he told The Times. “It would be a
good idea to have a period of grace to
allow confidence to build among
parents, rather than attempting to force
the issue from the word go.
“We are sure that most parents will
want their children to attend, but there
will be some who are nervous for a
variety of reasons and it does not seem
right to hit them with fines.”
The government is setting out its gui-
dance this week for full reopening in
September. There is no conventional
social distancing, or suggestion of keep-
ing one or two metres apart. Classes inNews
Rosemary Bennett R Education EditorHeads caution against
fines for parents who
keep children at home
Police had to break up an unofficial
Pride event on Clapham Common,
south London, after the official march
was postponed, and a gathering of
more than 1,000 in nearby Tooting BecGUY BELL/ALAMY; UKNIPprimary school are confined to
“bubbles” of no more than 15, but from
September this will rise to 30.
Secondary schools are trickier as
pupils are in different classes for differ-
ent subjects and move around for
lessons. It has been suggested that their
“bubbles” will be their entire year
group, often more than 250 children.
The head of a large academy trust
said that heavy-handedness would not
work. Vic Goddard, principal of Pass-
mores Academy in Harlow, the school
featured in Educating Essex, predicted
that half his parents would not send
their children back even if the govern-
ment threatened to fine them, and said
he would not issue penalties.
Effectively allowing secondary
school children to roam around in their
year groups with no social distancing
would make parents afraid, he said. “In
the autumn I think we will have some
leeway for a few weeks, but then we will
be told it is mandatory for kids to be in
school,” he told The Sunday Times.
“Once I say that to my families, and
tell them their children will be mixing
freely, I think 40 per cent will stay away.
I won’t be fining families. I think the risk
of a child bringing home a disease that
could kill someone in the family quali-
fies as exceptional circumstances.”
Twenty-one families at his school
had lost someone to Covid-19, he said.
Schools have to report children as
absent without authorisation to begin
the penalties proceeding. The fine is
£60, rising to £120 if not settled in 21
days. The Times understands that the
Department for Education will give
generous exemptions, making clear
that children of families with vulnera-
ble members, or who have conditions
themselves, would not be fined.march in 1972, condemned the
Clapham Common event. Mr
Tatchell, 68, who had organised a
separate socially distanced Pride
march in London on Saturday with
the consultation and permission of
the police, said: “It is hugely
disappointing that a small minority
of LGBT+ people ignored the social
distancing restrictions and risked
spreading coronavirus.”
Police also broke up a party on
Tooting Bec Common, south
London, where more than 1,
people had gathered. There were
other unauthorised gatherings in
London after clashes between
police and revellers at “block
parties” in Notting Hill and
Brixton last week.
Three people were charged last
night in connection with the
violence in Brixton on Wednesday.
Donte Knight, 20, of Clapham,
south London, and a 16-year-old
boy from Brixton, who cannot be
named for legal reasons, were
charged with violent disorder and
were due to appear at Croydon
magistrates’ court today. Natasha
Agyekum, 24, of Brixton, was
charged with assault on an
emergency services worker and
will appear at the same court on
August 20.
Seven people were arrested at a
party in Newham, east London, on
Friday night including one for
possessing a firearm and another
for holding a “Rambo-style” knife.
In Kilburn, northwest London,
five people were arrested,
including two for attacking police.
Northamptonshire police said
that a man was arrested and up to
50 people moved on during an
operation to disrupt an illegal rave
near Wellingborough on Saturday.
Hundreds of people were found
illegally camping and holding
parties in the Lake District over
the weekend. Police and national
park rangers said that they had
spoken to more than 200 people.
Clare Foges, page 21
Libby Purves, page 23The Big Issue sellers will return to work
this week using contactless card
machines and wearing face coverings
and gloves.
The 2,000 street vendors will return
in England, Wales and Scotland from
July 6. They were withdrawn on March
20 because of the lockdown but sales of
The Big Issue magazine have continued
through subscriptions and at super-
markets and other stores.
The Big Issue Group said that it has
set out a health and safety plan that en-
sures that vendors are able to sell the
magazine safely and customers can buy
with confidence.
Vendors might be based in a slightly
different location than normal and
they will be given masks, visors, latex
gloves and anti-bacterial gel as well as
new bags to house their magazines.
The price of The Big Issue has in-
creased to £3, with half going to
the vendors and the move to-
wards accepting cashless
payments is being accelerat-
ed.
Lord John Bird, the
magazine’s founder, said:
“We want to thank
everyone who has sup-ported us and our vendors along the
journey we have been through, the gen-
erosity of the wonderful British public,
our corporate partners, investees, other
social enterprises and charities, celebri-
ties, the media and many, many more.
“These essential funds have meant
that we have been able to support ven-
dors while they have been unable to sell
the magazine safely on the streets.
“We want to ensure the public feel
100 per cent safe when choosing to buy
from our vendors and have followed the
government Covid-19 health and safety
guidelines.
“The Big Issue exists to offer a hand
up and in keeping with that spirit, our
vendors are passionate about getting
back to earning their own income and
being in control of their own fi-
nances and lives once again.”
Mike Danks, a vendor whose
normal pitch is in Finsbury
Park, north London, said: “The
Big Issue has helped me to get
back into socialising and
meeting people and to get
out and about.
“The staff have al-
so helped me a great
deal to sort out my
life, which seems to
have fallen apart for
a while. I am excited to
get out and about and meet
people again and make
contact.”Mike Danks, a vendor
from north London,
shows off the new looklisten
George Osborne and Alistair Darling
discuss the poll with Matt Chorley on
Times Radio from 10am