Permanent Secretary Jeremy Pocklington has written to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government the Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP who in return issued a ministerial direction.

The letters relate to funding the remediation of buildings over 18 metres which have unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding systems.

• Innovative medicine with promising results in clinical trials to be made available to selected UK COVID-19 patients
• Government working in collaboration with manufacturer Gilead Sciences to supply remdesivir treatment to NHS
• Large international study including UK research centres has reported that remdesivir can shorten recovery time from COVID-19

Selected NHS coronavirus patients will soon be able to access a treatment to speed up their recovery.

Thanks to the joined-up efforts of the UK government, the devolved administrations, pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, the NHS, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the anti-viral drug remdesivir will be made available to patients meeting certain clinical criteria to support their recovery in hospital.

The drug is currently undergoing clinical trials around the world, including in the UK, with early data showing it can shorten the time to recovery by about 4 days.

The Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS) and scientific opinion from MHRA supports remdesivir to be used by selected NHS patients. For the time being and due to limited supplies, treatment will be prioritised for patients who have the greatest likelihood of deriving the most benefit.

Minister for Innovation Lord Bethell said:

This shows fantastic progress. As we navigate this unprecedented period, we must be on the front foot of the latest medical advancements, while always ensuring patient safety remains a top priority

The latest, expert scientific advice is at the heart of every decision we make, and we will continue to monitor remdesivir’s success in clinical trials across the country to ensure the best results for UK patients.

Allocation of the drug will be based on expert clinical advice and will take into consideration the situation where it is most likely to provide the greatest benefit.

The UK government continues to work closely with its partners across the devolved administrations, the health system and industry to ensure UK patients have the greatest possible chance of getting the latest, ground-breaking treatments as quickly as possible.

Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive, said:

We are committed to ensuring that patients can have fast access to promising new treatments for COVID-19.

We will continue to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and other healthcare partners on protecting public health in the UK by prioritising our essential work on clinical trials, access to medicines, and the development of vaccines.

Hilary Hutton-Squire, Vice President and General Manager, Gilead Sciences UK and Ireland said:

We are delighted that the MHRA and the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) have decided to issue remdesivir a positive Scientific Opinion within the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS).

This decision reflects Gilead’s commitment to rapidly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Treatment options in response to this global public health emergency are urgently needed and we are grateful to the UK government and the MHRA for their continued support and collaboration to make this medicine available to those patients who are most likely to benefit from it. We will continue to work closely with the government to supply remdesivir across the UK.

• Similar arrangements have already been made with other countries, including an emergency authorisation from the FDA in the US and MHLW/PMDA in Japan.
• EAMS aims to give patients with life threatening or seriously debilitating conditions access to medicines that do not yet have a marketing authorisation, when there is a clear medical need.
• Under the scheme, MHRA will give a scientific opinion on the benefit/risk balance of the medicine, based on the data available. This opinion does not replace the normal licensing procedures for medicines but supports clinicians and patients to make a decision on whether to use the medicine before its licence is approved.
• MHRA and the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) considered the emerging results of an Active COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT) study, and other studies conducted by Gilead. The data was sufficient to meet the criteria for an EAMS scientific opinion, and the benefits were determined to outweigh the risks.
• The scientific opinion describes the risks and benefits of the medicine based on data gathered from the patients who will benefit from the medicine. The opinion supports the prescriber and patient to make a decision on whether to use the medicine before its licence is approved.
• Find out more about the National Institute for Health Research’s (NIHR) national process to prioritise COVID-19 research. See details on the process and the new single point of entry for prioritising COVID-19 studies.
• The drug will be used in adults and adolescents hospitalised with severe COVID-19 infection who meet clinical criteria suggesting they have the greatest likelihood of benefiting.
• The arrangements for allocation across the NHS is in place to distribute the medicine. NHS England will manage this allocation in collaboration with all 4 nations.
• Supply of the drug through this arrangement will be separate to the clinical trials currently occurring in the UK and around the world.

Businesses, faith groups and local communities are being urged to join forces with the government, councils and charities’ efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic to help house rough sleepers and turn their lives around.

Nearly 15,000 rough sleepers have been housed in emergency accommodation such as hotels since the beginning of the crisis in order to ensure their safety.

This has presented what Dame Louise Casey – the head of the COVID-19 rough sleeping taskforce – has called an ‘extraordinary opportunity’ to get them to engage with services and rebuild their lives so that they don’t have to return to the streets.

Many businesses, faith groups and charities from across the country have already stepped forward to play their part in this national effort. The YHA, YMCA and universities have already offered temporary accommodation for people as they leave the hotels and move towards more permanent housing.

And today more partners are committing their support including:

• Business in the Community, The Prince’s Responsible Business Network, bringing together private sector partners to support rough sleepers
• Both the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, highlighting the role that churches and faith groups will play
• The Prince’s Trust exploring how best to provide long-term employment and training support to help young rough sleepers into work
• Comic Relief pledging to support the crucial work of charities and frontline workers through Crisis and Homeless Link
• St Martin-in-the-Fields charity putting £1 million into a support package for people moving to longer term accommodation
• Housing Justice joining forces with The Passage’s ‘Home for Good’ scheme to mobilise its network of churches and other faith and community groups

Dame Louise Casey said she wanted to build on these commitments to bring more partners to the table. Dame Louise said:

It has been an incredible achievement to bring almost 15,000 homeless people into emergency accommodation. I am truly grateful to the council staff, charity workers and others that made that happen.

However this terrible crisis has also given us an extraordinary opportunity to build on the success of bringing ‘everyone in’ and to try to make sure they don’t go back to the streets.

While government, councils and frontline charities are all doing what they can, it’s clear that we will need the whole of society to help too, whether that is youth hostels offering rooms, businesses providing employment opportunities, or faith and community groups reaching out the hand of friendship.

We have seen the best of the British public and civil society already in response to this crisis and we need to keep that spirit going as we continue to help the most vulnerable former rough sleepers stay safe inside.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said:

Rough sleeping is a tragedy that ought to belong in the past. Everyone deserves access to safe and stable housing; it is vital for human dignity, equality and justice.

I am enormously proud of and grateful for the amazing contribution churches across the country make in supporting those who experience rough sleeping and homelessness. I commend efforts to ensure that as we slowly emerge from lockdown no one has to return to rough sleeping and pray that they are successful.

Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols said:

In 2020 no person should be faced with the indignity of being compelled to sleep on the street or the dangers and challenges associated with doing so. I commend and celebrate the work undertaken by our faith communities and civil society.

Only by working together can we find just and permanent solutions for the people who are homeless. I hope and pray that the new momentum found during this crisis can be sustained and will be successful.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP said:

Thousands of lives have been protected as a result of the shared commitment to protect the most vulnerable in our society throughout this national emergency, with accommodation offered to over 90% of known rough sleepers.

Looking forwards, we have now made £433 million of government funding available to provide 6,000 safe and sustainable homes for rough sleepers. As we move towards the next steps in this process, support for community partners will be vital in helping our new taskforce. I can think of nobody better that Dame Louise Casey to lead in and make the most of this extraordinary opportunity to transform the lives of rough sleepers.

Jonathan Townsend, UK Chief Executive of The Prince’s Trust, said:

We know that getting a young person a job can help break the cycle of poverty, homelessness and disadvantage. The Prince’s Trust has been helping young people into employment, education and training since 1976, and now this work is more crucial than ever.

Sadly, it is in times of crisis such as these that the vulnerable in our communities become even more vulnerable – which is why it is vital that government, charities, employers and individuals work together, not only to create a safety net for those most in need, but to drive the recovery of society and our economy as a whole.

Amanda Mackenzie, Chief Executive of Business in the Community, the Prince’s Responsible Business Network, said:

One thing which this pandemic has taught us is that when government works in partnership with business and charities, we can achieve things which we thought were impossible.

Through the National Business Response Network – our new, UK-wide service matching community needs to business support – we can help the taskforce to make sure that nobody has to go back onto the streets. Together, we can end rough sleeping, once and for all.

Ruth Davison, Chief Executive of Comic Relief, said:

No one should face sleeping on our streets and it is vitally important that we all work together to ensure the rough sleepers being temporarily housed during the pandemic are not forgotten. I welcome the fast action of the Rough Sleeping COVID-19 Taskforce in bringing together different organisations to help people into long term accommodation.

Comic Relief is prioritising funding for Crisis and Homeless Link who are providing both emergency and urgent supplies, but also looking at the next stage of support. These on-going programmes will help people stay off the streets once the hotels and accommodation they are using revert back to their original use.

Mick Clarke, Chief Executive of The Passage, said:

The Passage is proud of our work, in collaboration with many other agencies, helping people off the streets and into temporary accommodation. As the focus moves to helping people stay off the streets, we are also proud to work in partnership with Housing Justice volunteers on our ‘Home for Good’ scheme nationally.

Everyone deserves to have a place they can call home. Every one of us can play our part to help those coming off the streets sustain that home; ‘Home for Good’ is one way that those who care can get involved and do just that.

Last month the Communities Secretary appointed Dame Louise Casey to spearhead a specialist taskforce to lead the next phase of the government’s support for rough sleepers during the pandemic.

The taskforce will work with local government, charities, businesses, faith and community groups, and other public sector partners across the country on plans to ensure rough sleepers can move into safe accommodation once the immediate crisis is over.

The taskforce will also ensure the thousands of rough sleepers now in accommodation continue to receive the physical and mental health support they need over the coming weeks and months.

Almost 15,000 vulnerable people have been housed in emergency accommodation, including hotels, since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown period, according to returns from local authorities to MHCLG.

This includes people coming in directly from the streets, people previously housed in shared night shelters and people who have become vulnerable to rough sleeping during the pandemic.

On 24 May, the Secretary of State announced funding for 6,000 new long-term housing units along with increased government funding for support services for rough sleepers.