Expanded ‘bubbles’ can reunite grandparents with their families

BORIS JOHNSON will tomorrow announce an expansion of household “bubbles” that could mean millions more grandparents being reunited with their grandchildren.

In a widespread easing of remaining lockdown measures, the Prime Minister will also put pubs, restaurants and hairdressers on notice to reopen on July 4, and cut the two-metre rule to one metre. Staycations will be opened up to millions of families.

The move is designed to save tens of thousands of businesses from going under, and bring the country closer to normality than at any time since the lockdown started in March.

It also has the potential to allow more schools to reopen before the summer holidays.

But Downing Street said Mr Johnson “will not hesitate to put the handbrake on” if the virus starts spreading again, and that the new measures would be first in line to be reversed.

Under current rules, any group of six people can meet in the open air, but the only people who can come closer than two metres are those living in the same household and one other nominated person from a different home.

It has meant families having to make tough choices about which grandpar- ent can hug their grandchildren or hold newborn babies.

Mr Johnson is keen to find a way for more families to be reunited, and is studying different plans for expanding the current “support bubbles” policy that has allowed people living alone to link up with another household.

One option is to allow two households to join together without any limit on numbers, although that would still mean couples having to choose between different sets of grandparents.

Another option is to allow bubbles of a set number of people from more than two households, which would enable a family to have physical contact with both sets of grandparents. This option also has limits, as people with more than one set of grandchildren would still have to choose between them. A senior government source said: “There will be an expansion of social bubbles, but the details are still being finalised.”

Another source said: “The question with bubbles has always been how you help families reunite to the maximum possible extent without too much risk. The scientists’ main concern has always been infections spreading from one household to another, which is why this is one of the more difficult decisions we have to take.”

Mr Johnson said yesterday: “The disease is increasingly under control and I just want people to reflect on that important fact. So, of course, as we make that progress, it will be possible to open up more, and you will be hearing more about what we want to do with not just non-essential retail but with the hospitality sector from July 4. We’re sticking absolutely like glue to the road map to the plan that I set out on May 10.”

Mr Johnson will today be given the recommendations of a government review into the two-metre rule, which is expected to conclude that it should be cut to one metre as long as it can be mitigated with face coverings, perspex screens or other measures.

Tomorrow, he will discuss the issue

with his Cabinet before making a statement to Parliament.

Last night, Lord Blunkett, a former education secretary, and Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons education committee, called on ministers to use the planned cut to one metre to revive plans for all pupils to spend time in the classroom before the break.

While the Government had intended for all year groups to return for a month before the end of the academic year, it was forced to shelve the plans amid opposition from teaching unions, and warnings that schools lacked the space to operate under two metres.

Lord Blunkett told The Daily Telegraph it was “imperative that every effort was made” and called on the Prime Minister to stop treating education as a “secondary issue”. “If we could get three weeks of education before the break, that would be a major plus, and it would restore confidence across the board that there is real intent to do this,” he added.

He also said that the use of “neighbouring premises” and additional buildings, such as libraries or councilowned buildings, as well as more outdoor lessons in warm weather, could help schools achieve the goal.

His comments were echoed by Mr Halfon, who said: “Potentially, this could mean that schools go back earlier than September, and we could get more years back for a few weeks before

‘If we could get three weeks of education before the break, that would restore confidence across the board’

the summer months. This would be vital for children’s learning.”

A Downing Street source said: “The reason we are able to move forward this week is because the vast majority of people have taken steps to contain the virus. The more we open up, the more important it is that everyone follows the social distancing rules.

“We will not hesitate to put the handbrake on to stop the virus running out of control.”