Covid-19: 'Disappointment' over West Midlands tiers

The West Midlands' largely unchanged Covid-19 restrictions have been met by some with "bitter disappointment".

Like the majority of England, the region's tiers have stayed the same except for Herefordshire - one of only two areas nationwide to be downgraded.

The county is now among a handful of places to have England's least strict guidelines.

Those staying still include tier three Warwickshire, where one district had earlier threatened a legal challenge.

The tier three or "very high alert" category - under which most of the region was placed on 2 December - puts strict rules on households mixing and the hospitality sector.

Following the government review on Wednesday, it has been announced Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry, Solihull, Warwickshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire stay in tier three, while Worcestershire, Telford and Shropshire remain in tier two where things are slightly less strict.

The region's lone mover, Herefordshire, has been downgraded from tier two to one, a move coming into effect at 00:01 GMT on Saturday.

In the Commons earlier, Health Secretary Matt Hancock outlined the reasons why most of England was not seeing restrictions ease, and the metrics behind the choice.

Herefordshire's acting director of public health, Dr Rebecca Howell-Jones, thanked county residents for their efforts to curb the virus's spread, but she warned it was not the time for complacency.

"Although going into tier one eases some of the current restrictions, I am asking Herefordshire residents to take extra care up to and after Christmas to protect their family and friends, particularly those who are elderly or vulnerable.

"We still have a long way to go in the fight against this virus."

Vernon Amor, managing director of Wye Valley Brewery in Stoke Lacy, said the decision was "completely unexpected", but "absolutely fantastic for pubs, hotels, bars restaurants in Herefordshire".

There was a different mood at Stratford-on-Avon District Council, which entered the second national lockdown in tier one and emerged from it in tier three, despite having one of the lowest Covid-19 infection rates in the West Midlands.

The area depends financially on tourism, but the extent to which the hospitality industry can trade is hampered by tier three rules.

The authority last week dropped a legal challenge to its tier three status, having previously complained the area was penalised by being viewed as a cluster with the rest of the county, Coventry and Solihull where the infection rate was higher.

But any hopes of a downgrade were dashed on Wednesday, with Council Leader Tony Jefferson calling it "bitterly disappointing news".

Mr Jefferson said the area had "worked really hard" to keep infection rates down locally, and "frustration" remained.

"We know our hospitality businesses across the district will all be affected and this will have a devastating impact on our future economic recovery.

"This is in the context of Stratford-on-Avon District being the fourth hardest hit local government area in the country and the worst hit in the West Midlands."

The view was echoed by Jonathan Lea, general manager at Stratford restaurant, Loxleys.

He said: "The effects on the hospitality sector as a whole - and particularly in Stratford - of this year's closures are, quite frankly, catastrophic."

But Mr Jefferson conceded that not only the infection rate but a variety of factors, including NHS strain, had to be considered, and he hoped in future Stratford's case would be considered separately to its neighbours.

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