Nottingham Covid restrictions: Talks on tier 3 status 'ongoing'

Nottingham and parts of Nottinghamshire are expected to go into tier three

Politicians in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are continuing to negotiate with ministers about a move into the top level of Covid restrictions.

Local leaders have met government representatives to discuss a possible move into tier three - very high alert.

They described a meeting on Friday as "constructive" but said it had concluded without any final decision being made.

The talks are set to resume on Monday.

Discussions over moving Nottingham city and parts of the county - the areas of Broxtowe Borough Council, Gedling Borough Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council - into tier three began on Thursday.

A joint statement released on Friday evening by local leaders said any new restrictions would be announced "as soon as they are finalised".

They said: "Our collective priority is to reach a position where any additional measures would offer the strongest possible protection for our most vulnerable people while aiming to also achieve the best outcomes for local businesses, jobs and livelihoods."

Health minister Nadine Dorries also held a meeting with MPs from the area earlier.

But the discussion did not involve MPs from the north of the county, where infection rates are lower.

Nottingham members had been critical of the talks so far, claiming they were not invited to Thursday's discussions by the government and only learned about them through media reports.

Alex Norris, MP for Nottingham North and shadow public health minister, said local officials "are trying to engage with the government as much as possible".

Nottingham has experienced a huge surge in infection rates over the past few weeks

BBC Radio Nottingham political reporter Hugh Casswell said moving the areas into tier three "is as good as decided", with current discussions focusing on details such as whether or not gyms can stay open still to be settled.

He said a source had told him the government "seems keen to come to an agreement with local leaders after the very public disagreement with the Mayor of Greater Manchester".

With Parliament not sitting next week, it is understood the government could lay a statutory instrument on Monday, with the new restrictions due to come into force on Wednesday.

Analysis: Tony Roe, BBC East Midlands Today political editor

MPs were told by a health minister the key data used to decide if an area is to have more restrictions is Covid cases in over 60s.

Tom Randall, MP for Gedling, says the number of cases in his constituency is worryingly high, at about 400 per 100,000 people when the national average is about 180.

He says he thinks it is "inevitable that some further measures are going to be necessary".

Council leaders have their own meeting with a minister later, where they could reach an agreement to go into tier three.

In the rest of Nottinghamshire, there is resistance from MPs in Ashfield, Bassetlaw and Mansfield, where infection rates are lower but increasing.

There are also questions over places like Hucknall, which is linked to Nottingham's tram network and has higher infection rates than the rest of Ashfield.

The talks come after Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust announced it had postponed some non-urgent operations due to a "dramatic increase" in coronavirus patients.

The trust said "a full ward of people" with Covid were being admitted daily.

While Nottingham had the highest seven-day coronavirus infection rate in the UK earlier this month, the rate has dropped in recent days.

According to figures looking at the week up to 20 October, the rate in Nottingham was 525.7 per 100,000 people, the eighth highest in England.

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