Week Ahead: Parliamentary committees to consider impact of pandemic on homelessness and food supply

Pandemic

Boris Johnson marked his return to the House of Commons last week by setting a new goal for increasing Coronavirus testing capacity.

In his first Prime Minister’s Questions since recovering from Covid-19 last Wednesday, he said the ambition was to create capacity for 200,000 tests a day by the end of the month - capacity that will almost certainly be necessary as the country moves out of lockdown, if cases are to be identified and traced to prevent further spread of the virus.

Given Downing Street’s assertion that it will not be a case of flicking a switch to lift all measures at once, the focus will continue to be on the Government this week over its route out of lockdown and the “different types of normal” we will find ourselves faced with over the coming weeks.

There will be a virtual meeting of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on Monday as part of an inquiry into the impact of Covid-19 on homelessness and the private rented sector. The inquiry will hear about support in place and what further measures are needed.

On Friday, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee will virtually meet to consider its inquiry into food supply during the pandemic. Issues that it is exploring include people’s access to healthy food during self-isolation and how disruptions in the food supply chain should be managed.

Contest

Whilst the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, which was scheduled to take place in Rotterdam this week, has been cancelled over the Coronavirus outbreak, the winner of the AI Song Contest will be revealed via a livestream on Tuesday.

Thirteen teams from Europe and Australia have been working to create the ultimate Eurovision hit with the help of artificial intelligence and the best track, as chosen by voters and AI experts, will be unveiled during the stream. The contest is part of a research project exploring the creative abilities of AI and the influence it could have on the music industry in the future.

Football

A premier League shareholders meeting is due to take place on Monday, following the Prime Minister’s coronavirus update today.

Fans will eagerly be listening out for news on what a return to football could look like - and when. Professional football has been suspended since March 13 due to the virus.

The Premier League is reportedly hopeful of clubs making a return to training by May 18 under plans dubbed Project Restart.

In a statement on May 1, the League said it was considering “the first tentative moves forward” and would only return to training and playing “with Government guidance, under expert medical advice and after consultation with players and managers”.

Anniversary

Monday marks ten years since the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.

The parties reached an initial agreement on May 11, 2010, five days after the General Election produced a hung Parliament, with no party securing an overall majority.

On May 20th, they then set out their programme for Government, which party leaders David Cameron and Nick Clegg said was “an historic document in British politics: the first time in over half a century that two parties have come together...for partnership government”.

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