A BRADFORD MP has urged the Government to act proactively to prevent local lockdowns and begin the local economic recovery.

Speaking during a debate in the House of Commons, Judith Cummins (Lab, Bradford South) said: “The Government should take proactive measures to prevent places such as Bradford needing to go into a second lockdown. This might include more funding for the council for public health outreach as well as financial incentives for people to do the right thing.

“The economic impact of a second lockdown on a local area will be huge. The Government must be clear about what financial support they will provide in these circumstances to protect jobs and livelihoods, and to help with local economic recoveries.

"A failure to act will cause economic devastation for many and, ultimately, by undermining the public health advice, cost lives.”

On the issue of a local lockdown scheme, Judith Cummins MP said: “The furlough scheme and the self-employed income support scheme need the flexibility to deal with local lockdowns.

“If people in a certain area are told by Government to stay at home, it is only right that they can be furloughed during that period. That must include people who work in an area under lockdown, as well as those who live there.

“We are not talking here about decisions on whether to take a holiday, but real dilemmas about how people will feed their families.”

Mrs Cummins pointed out that Bradford has a higher proportion of people who work in high-risk jobs, for example as key workers in health and social care, in retail and in the gig economy. Out of 198,000 employees in the district, 75% have never worked from home.

In the Commons, Mrs Cummins also called for a jobs guarantee for young workers. This would provide a guaranteed job, including training and pay on at least the living wage, for young workers who have been out of work for more than three months.