UK News Welsh ministers vow to continue trolley police restrictions

© Provided by Daily Mail MailOnline logo

Welsh ministers have doubled down on policing shopping trolleys during the 'circuit-breaker' lockdown - but the list of 'essential' items that can be bought has been expanded to include baby clothes.

The Welsh Government said on Tuesday it had 'positive discussions' with essential retailers, representative groups and trade unions over the rules.

Ministers issued an update to the list of items that can be sold in shops and supermarkets that are allowed to remain open during the lockdown.

But they say the principle of restricting goods will remain in place until the lockdown ends - which is due to occur on November 9.

Welsh Government announces nationalisation of rail service

Transport minister Ken Skates said the Welsh Government had to step in after coronavirus ‘significantly impacted passenger revenues’.The country’s transport minister Ken Skates said bringing day-to-day rail services for its Wales and Borders franchise under public control would help secure the future of passenger services and protect jobs.

A police officer is then seen informing the worshippers that they received phone calls from members of the public who were concerned the congregation was breaking coronavirus rules by attending the service. He requests that they leave the church and return home to pray and worship there, adding

Defiant parents in England have vowed to ignore controversial new measures limiting more than six Welsh First Minister Mr Drakeford has now followed suit, while also ensuring the 'rule of six' is only Mr Johnson faces a Tory backlash after the Scottish First Minister copied his restrictions - but with

In supermarkets, 10 types of product can be sold. Food and drink is allowed, as well as products 'ancillary to the sale of food and drink' including disposable items used to prepare and store food such as kitchen foil, food bags and cling film.

Basic products necessary to prepare and eat food and drink are also able to be sold. Products for washing clothes and for cleaning and maintaining the home, including batteries, light bulbs and fuel, are allowed.

Welsh supermarkets told to only sell 'essential goods' in new lockdown

Stores will be told by First Minister Mark Drakeford (pictured) they are unable to sell items such as clothes to shoppers, and to prioritise other products deemed to be more important. It means a likely return to the scenes witnessed at the beginning of the pandemic when there were rows over the contents of people's shopping trollies.

The Welsh ' trolley police ' sparked fury after women in Tesco were told they could not buy sanitary Department of Health statistics show Nottingham's outbreak is continuing to shrink, after peaking at Ministers confirmed they were looking at reducing the time that people have to quarantine at home

Welsh ministers yesterday revealed they are already planning for another 'firebreaker' lockdown after Christmas - as they conceded their ' trolley police ' ban on shops selling non-essential goods Whole areas of supermarkets have been closed off in line with the restrictions imposed by Welsh ministers .

Supermarkets can sell toiletries and cosmetic products, including toilet rolls and sanitary products, as well as pharmaceutical products and baby products including equipment, clothes and nappies.

Newspapers and magazines are allowed, as well as stationery and greetings cards, pet food and other pet supplies, and products for the maintenance of bicycles and cars.

Earlier on Tuesday, retailers called for the ban to be relaxed to allow customers 'to make their own decision'.

More than 67,000 people have signed a petition to the Welsh Parliament calling for the ban on non-essential items to be immediately reversed.

A spokesman said the Government had 'clarified that a sensible system should be introduced' in which customers can ask to buy non-essential items by exception under the regulations.

'We are hopeful this provides a workable solution for retailers and customers,' he said.

'However, we cannot move away from the central principle that retailers must restrict the sale of non-essential goods for the duration of the firebreak.

English police at Welsh border stop 20 drivers on day one of lockdown

Gloucestershire police on Friday focused on vehicles towing caravans, motorhomes and those with bikes amid concerns they were visiting beauty spots. (Left, a police spot-check in Wales.)Three of the motorists who were stopped last Friday during a police operation in the Forest of Dean were from Wales and had ignored coronavirus restrictions.

'We continue to work closely with the sector and would stress that these restrictions are in place to stop the spread of coronavirus and save lives.

'We are asking the public to continue to support the effort by restricting unnecessary journeys and shopping.'

Groups representing supermarkets made a series of recommendations to Welsh ministers following confusion over what can and cannot be sold during the 17-day firebreak period.

In a joint statement by CBI Wales, the Welsh Retail Consortium and the Association of Convenience Stores, they called for the Welsh Government to agree to the proposals to 'resolve the confusion'.

'We recommend the individual customer is trusted to make their own decision as to whether a product is non-essential or not, taking into account the notices displayed throughout the store and their immediate needs,' they said.

'If the customer goes ahead with the purchase of the item the final liability ought to rest with the customer.'

It said this would mean non-essential items were not removed from shelves or cordoned off.

Large notices would instead be placed in front of the products and in communal spaces informing shoppers of the Welsh Government's regulations.

In-store announcements and social media messaging could be used to advise customers to put off buying non-essential items, the statement suggested.

Retailers could also remove special in-store promotional displays of non-essential items in order to minimise browsing time and 'avoid triggering a non-essential purchase'.

Tier 1+ DOESN'T exist, ministers say

Department of Health bosses insisted there are only three local Covid alert levels - and that they are not considering introducing a 'plus' system.Department of Health bosses insisted there are only three local Covid alert levels — and that they are not considering introducing a 'plus' system.

On Monday, Wales' Health Minister Vaughan Gething said it would be made clear that supermarkets could use their own discretion to sell non-essential items to those 'in genuine need'.

He told a press conference he was 'very saddened' to hear of an exchange involving Tesco on Twitter, in which it was wrongly suggested that sanitary products were non-essential and could not be sold.

It later emerged that an aisle selling the items at one store in Cardiff had been cordoned off to allow for a police investigation following a burglary.

The Welsh Government has said the rules are both about limiting transmission of coronavirus as well as being fair to non-essential retailers who have had to close during the firebreak.

Under the firebreak lockdown, which began at 6pm on Friday, non-essential retail including clothes shops, furniture stores and car dealerships are closed.

Shops selling multiple types of product can stay open but can only sell essential items.

On Tuesday, a further 1,207 people tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 45,046.

Public Health Wales said seven people with Covid-19 had died, with the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic rising to 1,790.