Morning all, Franglais what you said yesterday was the exact point i was trying to make when other people on this thread shot me down in flame’s.Also on this Furlough payment i am not sure but i think the 20% payed by the employer is at the company’s discretion, I could be wrong but that’s as i see it.The 80% payed by goverment you also pay tax and NI on. 
gerbil sb152:
Morning all, Franglais what you said yesterday was the exact point i was trying to make when other people on this thread shot me down in flame’s.Also on this Furlough payment i am not sure but i think the 20% payed by the employer is at the company’s discretion, I could be wrong but that’s as i see it.The 80% payed by goverment you also pay tax and NI on.
I think that`s right.
The employer pays 80% now to the furloughed worker, and can decide to pay the extra 20% or not.
They claim the 80% from the Gov at end of this month.
The 80% is subject to normal taxes etc.
The worker can do other work (NOT for the same company) during furlough. They could do voluntary work or paid work.
gingerfold:
Listening to the daily press briefing yesterday and the PPE situation for all working in the NHS, care homes, surgeries etc. Matt Hancock was finally forced to admit that we didn’t have a manufacturing base in the UK for most of this PPE which is now paramount for all health care workers on the front line. It beggars belief that we have previously bought the majority of PPE from abroad rather than NHS procurement management supporting UK based manufacturers. Matt Hancock is now appealing for UK manufacturers to step up to the plate and supply the NHS. Obviously it’s a great opportunity for some manufacturers to do the business. If I had a business that could supply what the NHS wants I think I’d be looking for a (very) long term contract of supply.Earlier this week I also caught part of a repeat Hard Talk programme where Stephen Sackur was interviewing the CEO of Daimler Benz (Mercedes). The CEO was basically defending globalisation but had to concede that much of the worldwide travelling done by senior Mercedes executives would be unnecessary in future because video conferencing, Skype etc. can replace it. It seems that there are concerns about the financial liquidity of Daimler Benz if the worldwide lockdown continues for any length of time. The CEO denied this of course, but he definitely came across as a worried individual.
This will be the undoing of this government at the next election - and they know it - which is why they are being so cagey about PPE, testing and Ventilators. They were warned about the impact of a pandemic in 2016 and did virtually SFA. Even now it has been left to individual companies to virtually plead with them to be allowed to commence manufacture, when instead the government should have realised that there is a golden opportunity for the UK to ramp up production on a massive scale because Africa alone will need simply enormous quantities. The UK has the opportunity to turn over its capable, but idle factories to produce these items and then obtain a very favourable interest rate from the world bank / international monetary fund for its borrowings, on the back of its humanitarain efforts on behalf of other nations.
I think that any future ‘pandemic’ was expected to be just a flu one and they did have plenty of emergency supplies of PPE in stock, but of course this is on an unprecedented Worldwide scale that nobody could be prepared for? Only a few weeks ago it was just something in China and on a cruise ship, at out last club meeting in february we were saying it would never reach us in the UK! 
Even the USA have been caught napping. With staff using up to a dozen changes of PPE daily as they have to change it for each patient they attend it soon depletes things! Plenty of UK factories are turning out equipment though, and have been doing so for quite a while now.
Pete.
windrush:
I think that any future ‘pandemic’ was expected to be just a flu one and they did have plenty of emergency supplies of PPE in stock, but of course this is on an unprecedented Worldwide scale that nobody could be prepared for? Only a few weeks ago it was just something in China and on a cruise ship, at out last club meeting in february we were saying it would never reach us in the UK!Pete.
I think youre mistaken. [gov.uk/government/publicati ... ponse-plan](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pandemic-influenza-response-plan) A plan from 2014, there were earlier ones, about a flu type pandemic. The assumptions made arent so different to what were now seeing.
In 2016 there was “Operation Cygnus” to check those plans. Largely unpublished results…!
But in 2016
“The NHS failed tests of its ability to cope with a major flu outbreak, the chief medical officer has revealed. A three-day training exercise showed it was not ready for a severe flu attack and that “a lot of things need improving”, Professor Dame Sally Davies said.”
thetimes.co.uk/article/nhs- … -8pnmdpdfx
It is and always been has clear that a pandemic is a clear danger. Exactly the same with earthquakes, floods and fires, we know they will come, although it isn`t to any timetable.
In 2016 the Chief Medical Officer said the provision was inadequate, although much of the Cygnus report still stays unpublished.
I don’t know if anyone has read the Daily Mail today, I know I know I am owning up to being a DM reader instead of The Sun !! However there is a full page photo of an ICU Nurse who has just finished a 12 hour gruelling shift ( part of a 60 hr week) and the poor Lass’s face is red raw with having to wear a mask for 12 hours it really was heart breaking as you could see that She was plainly worn out and sore !! Then on the opposite page there was a write up about that jumped up ■■■■ Robert Jenrick MP for Newark attempting to justify why he is travelling between his multi million pound home in London and his large Manor house in Herefordshire. His constituency is Newark where the ■■■■ rents a house for £2,000 per month( on expenses) but he is never seen there according to some of his Constituents !! What jumped up ■■■■■ Hanncock, Rabb and Jenrick are they couldn’t run a ■■■■ up in a Brewery !! It makes ashamed to admit I voted Tory but then again the alternative Shower would be even more out of their depth. Isn’t it a pity there wasn’t going to be a General election , say , next year and then I just bet things would be panning out quite differently but the smug ■■■■■ know they are safe for another 4 years or so ! 
Cheers Bewick.
On my one trip out of the mansion this week to the fruit & veg shop this morning at 08.45 it opens at 09.00, I go round the back where the owner is unloading his gear from the market and he lets me go and get what I need for the week before any other punters arrive. anyways while I was in there a police woman traffic officer came in wearing uniform her mate outside in the BMW patrol car, she told me that yesterday they caught a man who had driven from London heading to the New Forest to walk his dog, some people just don’t get it do they but maybe he will as he is heading for court now, no fixed penalty for him and I hope they screw him when he gets there.
As a footnote I enquired as to the price of eggs which were on sale there and was told that they were £4.50 a dozen just to see and then I turned to the police woman and said you ought to be arresting him (the shop keeper) for profiteering, we had a laugh and she was of to ANPR cars on the M27 and any that were registered outside Hampshire were getting pulled and Dorset were doing the same on the Bournemouth spur road, cheers Buzzer.
Bewick:
I don’t know if anyone has read the Daily Mail today, I know I know I am owning up to being a DM reader instead of The Sun !! However there is a full page photo of an ICU Nurse who has just finished a 12 hour gruelling shift ( part of a 60 hr week) and the poor Lass’s face is red raw with having to wear a mask for 12 hours it really was heart breaking as you could see that She was plainly worn out and sore !! Then on the opposite page there was a write up about that jumped up [zb] Robert Jenrick MP for Newark attempting to justify why he is travelling between his multi million pound home in London and his large Manor house in Herefordshire. His constituency is Newark where the [zb] rents a house for £2,000 per month( on expenses) but he is never seen there according to some of his Constituents !! What jumped up [zb] Hanncock, Rabb and Jenrick are they couldn’t run a ■■■■ up in a Brewery !! It makes ashamed to admit I voted Tory but then again the alternative Shower would be even more out of their depth. Isn’t it a pity there wasn’t going to be a General election , say , next year and then I just bet things would be panning out quite differently but the smug [zb] know they are safe for another 4 years or so !
If Jenrick had an ounce of decency he would have resigned by now. But he’s a politician married to a high flying London lawyer…totally in the London bubble. This crisis is showing up the politicians and civil servants for their lack of knowledge of the “real world” and their complete lack of organizational skills. I posted a few days ago that we need a proven businessman in charge of organizing the logistics of a supply chain. In WW2 Winston Churchill brought in Max Aitken, later Lord Beaverbrook to get aircraft built and to the airfields. From all accounts Aitken was not a nice person, a complete ■■■■, but he got things done. We need someone of his ilk now.
Listening to the daily press briefing again and the PPE issue is still on-going. No disrespect to the military organizing the supply chain but this type of work isn’t their forte. There are thousands of lorry drivers on furlough, thousands of lorries parked up through lack of work, hundreds of experienced transport planners on furlough, why aren’t we using this highly experienced and capable resource to deliver PPE to every facility in the UK that uses it?
gingerfold:
Bewick:
I don’t know if anyone has read the Daily Mail today, I know I know I am owning up to being a DM reader instead of The Sun !! However there is a full page photo of an ICU Nurse who has just finished a 12 hour gruelling shift ( part of a 60 hr week) and the poor Lass’s face is red raw with having to wear a mask for 12 hours it really was heart breaking as you could see that She was plainly worn out and sore !! Then on the opposite page there was a write up about that jumped up [zb] Robert Jenrick MP for Newark attempting to justify why he is travelling between his multi million pound home in London and his large Manor house in Herefordshire. His constituency is Newark where the [zb] rents a house for £2,000 per month( on expenses) but he is never seen there according to some of his Constituents !! What jumped up [zb] Hanncock, Rabb and Jenrick are they couldn’t run a ■■■■ up in a Brewery !! It makes ashamed to admit I voted Tory but then again the alternative Shower would be even more out of their depth. Isn’t it a pity there wasn’t going to be a General election , say , next year and then I just bet things would be panning out quite differently but the smug [zb] know they are safe for another 4 years or so !If Jenrick had an ounce of decency he would have resigned by now. But he’s a politician married to a high flying London lawyer…totally in the London bubble. This crisis is showing up the politicians and civil servants for their lack of knowledge of the “real world” and their complete lack of organizational skills. I posted a few days ago that we need a proven businessman in charge of organizing the logistics of a supply chain. In WW2 Winston Churchill brought in Max Aitken, later Lord Beaverbrook to get aircraft built and to the airfields. From all accounts Aitken was not a nice person, a complete [zb], but he got things done. We need someone of his ilk now.
Listening to the daily press briefing again and the PPE issue is still on-going. No disrespect to the military organizing the supply chain but this type of work isn’t their forte. There are thousands of lorry drivers on furlough, thousands of lorries parked up through lack of work, hundreds of experienced transport planners on furlough, why aren’t we using this highly experienced and capable resource to deliver PPE to every facility in the UK that uses it?
Your bit about using the Military for a job they are rally not fitted for is what I have been trying to explain to my Good Lady over the past days. As you say GF all these delivery firms that are struggling could absolutely “eat” the job of distribution of PPE but it doesn’t seem to dawn on these stupid ■■■■■ that are “supposed” to be in charge. It was pathetic to watch the Sqaddies standing in a chain handing one box at a time from the back of a numb arsed Army motor ! Not the Squaddies fault I hasten to add as they have been thrown in at the deep end on the pretence they are most suited to do the job WRONG ! So until someone who knows what to do is appointed there will continue to be a daily outcry by our dedicated NHS staff who continue to be exposed to the virus by the failings of our Political Hierarchy ! ■■■■■■■ appalling I call it ! Cheers Bewick.
Haven`t you lot heard the words of Health Secretary Matt Hancock?
It is all the fault of the Doctors and Nurses: every time there is a delivery of PPE, they only go and use it!
dailymail.co.uk/news/articl … k-PPE.html
In Scotland we have a daily Covid-19 update at 12.30 pm from the First Minister and two other representatives. Our leaders during this crisis have been under pressure to substantiate their claims that PEP supplies to whoever needed was well under control, so faced with the Q and A session today they were prepared and Ma Sturgeon kicked off the daily update with reports to her that PEP equipment manufactured in Scotland was being diverted to England were deeply disturbing with herself and the Health Secretary giving assurance they were looking into this and seeking who at Westminster might have an answer. James Matthews of Sky News offered the information that the manufacturer of PEP going south had a contract to supply NHS England and to the First Minister “does this manufacturer have a contract with NHS Scotland” Ma Sturgeon couldn’t answer that. Another reporter offered her the information that the PEP equipment diverted south story had no credibility only to get the answer “we are looking into it”.
Sadly this sort of ■■■■■ is what her followers thrive on, but thankfully not those at the coalface who are doing a brilliant job under the circumstances.
Oily
express.co.uk/news/uk/12688 … UK+Feed%29
Without factual evidence both Sturgeon and Health Secretary Jeane Freeman were giving this credence.
^^^^^^^
Interesting input Oily, the PPE issue is the nightmare that politicians dread and cannot provide an answer to. That and lack of testing. It might not be a very meaningful comparison but I’ve gone through a box of 200 disposable gloves kept in the office in about 10 days, and there’s only two of us using them for moving units, shunting the yard etc. so it’s easy to comprehend the millions used daily in the NHS. I went to ARCO today to buy some more, but ARCO is closed now. Our local Costco is out of them…diverting all stock to the NHS. Called in a long established industrial fastenings and tools store in Bolton on my way home and bought two boxes of disposable gloves there. Sometimes it a case of knowing where to look.
Supermarket RDC volumes…
Difficult to get a clear picture because of the Easter weekend and closure of supermarkets on Sunday. Friday total was massive, Saturday similar to last year, i.e. low. Sunday lower than anticipated. Monday, similar to recent Mondays, Tuesday well down on recent Tuesdays, and tomorrow is nowhere near recent Wednesdays. We think that because the Friday total was so big there was serious over-ordering and the last couple of days is a correction. This weekend will be interesting.
Just had a thought as I am of an age where I have an annual medical for my LGV licence, its not till July so I may be getting ahead of myself but you cannot get an appointment with my doctor for love nor money or even 1/2 dozen fresh free range eggs so are they going to waver this like the MOT’s on trucks till things get back to normal, does any one know what the score is ? Buzzer.
ft.com/content/365529f8-bff … eedff0cfbb
Sounds like another typically British ■■■■ up, along the lines of the ‘Tommy Cooker’, the Sten gun and the Fairey Battle and some of the other hopeless equipment the British supplied to the armed forces in WW2
A few bits an pieces of info.
RDC load volumes, from having a dip in totals on Tuesday and Wednesday it has come back with a jump today. Thursday’s total was only slightly lower than last Friday, which was massive.
My local DAF dealership is looking for work. On Easter Monday, (Bank Holiday) they came and took two units and trailers for inspection. they would have taken a third unit if the late shift driver who drives it hadn’t come to work just as they were driving out of the gate with it. All these were scheduled for inspection this week, but I hadn’t booked any of them in for Monday. Speaking with the Service Manager on Tuesday morning he said that they were scratching for work. Plenty of firms hadn’t brought scheduled trucks for inspection because they are parked-up. Which made me think that they should be inspected if they have been used only very little since their last inspection. Maybe CAV can confirm? Then again if these trucks are SORN or de-taxed… what then?
We’re all aware of much lower traffic volumes. My weekly fleet mpg (25 DAF XFs and 3 Mercedes Actros) before Coronavirus was steady at 9.4 - 9.5 mpg. Because of less traffic the fleet mpg for the last couple of weeks is 10.1 - 10.2 mpg.
My understanding is that once the PMI has become overdue then it either has to be inspected OR parked and inspected before it can be used again, however long that lay up may be. Vehicles suffer from ‘standing still disease’ which takes many forms. All that is needed is to record that it is out of use and prevent it being used accidentally. A customer of mine has two old trailers, one currently in test but off the road and one which goes out a couple of times every six weeks. The first one is marked as ‘VOR PMI expired’ with a C coupling lock in place, the other is kept up to date and inspected every six weeks. It went 8 or 9 weeks over xmas/new year since there was clearly no use for it. Its subsequent inspection was recorded as ‘return to use’.
As far as these other operators go it depends on what the details of the contract with the dealer are, if they pay for each PMI then leave it, if it is a fixed annual charge they might as well have it done.
Buzzer:
Just had a thought as I am of an age where I have an annual medical for my LGV licence, its not till July so I may be getting ahead of myself but you cannot get an appointment with my doctor for love nor money or even 1/2 dozen fresh free range eggs so are they going to waver this like the MOT’s on trucks till things get back to normal, does any one know what the score is ? Buzzer.
This was being discussed on the Pro forum, Stevel put up a link to a new anouncement… so I stole it:
gov.uk/government/publicati … s-pandemic
Sadly this morning I report the death of one of our drivers who worked out of this depot for the containers division. He self isolated last Monday with Covid-19 symptoms and passed away on Saturday night. He was 53 years old. We offer our sincere and heartfelt condolences to his wife and family. RIP Rob.
gingerfold:
Sadly this morning I report the death of one of our drivers who worked out of this depot for the containers division. He self isolated last Monday with Covid-19 symptoms and passed away on Saturday night. He was 53 years old. We offer our sincere and heartfelt condolences to his wife and family. RIP Rob.
That is terrible news Graham. RIP to Rob.
Franglais:
Buzzer:
Just had a thought as I am of an age where I have an annual medical for my LGV licence, its not till July so I may be getting ahead of myself but you cannot get an appointment with my doctor for love nor money or even 1/2 dozen fresh free range eggs so are they going to waver this like the MOT’s on trucks till things get back to normal, does any one know what the score is ? Buzzer.This was being discussed on the Pro forum, Stevel put up a link to a new anouncement… so I stole it:
gov.uk/government/publicati … s-pandemic
*Franglais" & Stevel thankyou for that information piece gives me all I need to know, Buzzer.
On another point every day now we see interviewers on tele trying to rip into the officials about PPE and the like but I watched Andrew Marr yesterday morning and he interviewed a vaccinologist working at Oxford university on a vaccine for Covid19 her name was Prof Sarah Gilbert and learnt more about the detail of this pandemic disease from her in ten minuets than I have from four weeks of broadcasting from the BBC reporting on this subject and the best bit is the university is not looking to gain financially it just wants to find a antidote for world wide use and its taken them only four months to do what is normally five years work so a pat on the back for them, Buzzer.
Graham sorry to here of your driver lost to this disease worse when you know them personally, RIP Rob.