Boris Johnson is due to hold his first meeting with regional leaders since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The Prime Minister is expected to speak today with the ‘M9’ - the group of mayors covering areas including Greater Manchester, Liverpool and South Yorkshire - about their key concerns and priorities emerging from the outbreak so far.
Key among them is likely to be the ongoing problems with PPE in the social care sector, council funding, public transport, and extended furlough period and what happens to different local economies in the coming weeks and months.
The Prime Minister has not directly spoken to regional leaders since the pandemic began, with London’s Sadiq Khan the only mayor to have joined the emergency Cobra