this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. what now for a—level and gcse students in england? the exams have been cancelled but more details will be announced on how work will be assessed. the lockdown in england has become law. the prime minister will address mps this morning ahead of a restrospective vote in the commons tonight. all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs as it's revealed that one in 50 people in england are thought to have the virus. in the us, the final votes are being counted in the crucial senate run—off election in georgia. one race is too close to call but the democratic candidate in the other is claiming victory. let us rise up, greet the morning and meet the challenges of this moment.

together, we can do the necessary work and when the future for all of our children. —— win the future. dozens of pro—democracy activists and politicians are arrested in hong kong, accused of trying to overthrow the city's government. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world, and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. our top story. thousands of pupils across england who've had their gcse and a—levels cancelled are hoping to get more details today on how their work will be assessed. it comes as england's third national lockdown comes legally into force,

with mps set to vote retrospectively on it later today. all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs, with wales, northern ireland and most of scotland also in lockdown. on schools, the education secretary, gavin williamson, will make a statement to mps and is expected to unveil a support package for young people following the closure of schools and colleges. it comes as fears for the spread of the virus continue. yesterday the number of new daily confirmed cases of covid in the uk topped 60,000 for the first time. and it is thought one in 50 people in england had the virus last week, rising to one in 30 in london. mps will vote retrospectively on new measures to control the virus in england, which include a stay—at—home order and the closure of schools to most pupils. the prime minister will make a ministerial statement in the commons before mps debate. and we'll bring you all the latest on the uk vaccine roll—out.

some 1.3 million people have now been vaccinated in the uk, including nearly a quarter of over 80s in england, according to the government. stay with us for more on all these latest developments. 0urfirst report from sean dilly looks at the impact on schools. gavin williamson is expected to tell mps that education remains a national priority, despite the lockdown and the closure of english schools and colleges to most pupils. he will say that the government will not ask pupils to sit a—levels and gcse exams. in a statement last night, the department for education said it would work alongside the exam regulator 0fqual to consult on how to award all pupils the grades that reflect their hard work. i think it's very important we notice that this is a different timing of lockdown to what it was last year. and, as such, it's vital for students and young people that they have something to aim for. we cannotjust let them feel that this is something that's going to be decided for them

by teachers and advisors and whatever. it needs to be something they have agency in, because otherwise they won't be learning over the next few months. last year, after an algorithm designed to award grades was branded unfair, teachers‘ own assessments of their pupils were accepted. with my year group, we went through the algorithm system that was put in place by the government, and obviously, that was not effective at all. so hopefully, having gone through that, there's a new year group of kids that will hopefully have a bit more of a revised, a bit more of an effective, erm, way to produce these grades. meanwhile, the head of the association of colleges in england has criticised the government for leaving it to schools and colleges to decide whether to proceed with vocational and technical exams, such as b—techs, warning that a lack of clear guidance risks more confusion and uncertainty. sean dilly, bbc news. the new lockdown restrictions in england came into forcejust hours

after the chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, warned that the risk posed by covid—i9 was "extraordinarily high". mps will vote later on the curbs, after the emergency recall of parliament. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker reports. the stay—at—home message. 0vernight, england's lockdown legally came into force. it's actually today that the measures will be brought before mps. the prime minister will address the commons before an expected vote after yesterday outlining progress on the vaccine. we have now vaccinated over 1.1 million people in england and over 1.3 million across the uk. and that includes more than 650,000 people over 80, which is 23% of all the over—80s in england. 0n the vaccine, labour says ministers must deliver. the party will back the lockdown today. borisjohnson said that

by mid—february, with hopes for the vaccine roll—out, there was the prospect of beginning the relaxation of some measures but there are warnings, too, that the virus could be with us for some time. if people don't take the stay—at—home seriously, the risk at this point in time, in the middle of winter, with this new variant, is extraordinarily high. what is going to happen over time is the risk level is going to gradually decrease. it's not going to be it's really bad and then suddenly it stops. we'll then get over time to a point when people say this level of risk is one that society is prepared to tolerate and lift right down to almost no restrictions at all. we might have to bring a few in, in the next winter, for example, that is possible. any rebellion by tory mps here today is expected to be smaller than those seen late last year on restrictions, with an acceptance the current health picture is stark. with rules now in force, the government is also urging everyone to follow them. jessica parker, bbc news.

the world health organisation has said it does not recommend following the uk's decision to delay giving the second dose of the pfizer vaccine for 12 weeks. initially, the plan was to offer the follow up jab 21 days after the first one. but the uk government has changed the strategy so more people can be vaccinated quickly. the world health organisation says the second dose should be given three to four weeks after the first. in america, democratic candidate raphael warnock is projected to win the first of two nail—biting senate races in georgia. the results of both will decide who controls the upper chamber of congress in the first two years ofjoe biden‘s presidency. the republican party of outgoing president donald trump needs only to win one in order to retain the senate. if the reverend warnock does win, he'll be the first black man to represent georgia in the senate. in a livestreamed address, reverend warnock thanked his supporters. georgia, i am honoured by the faith

that you have shown in me. and i promise you this tonight. i am going to the senate to work for all of georgia. no matter who you cast your vote for in this election. every day i am in the united states senate, i will fight for you. i will fight for your family. to our supporters, our incredible campaign team, and to my family, thank you from the bottom of my heart. we should point out that reverend warnock‘s opponent, the republican candidate, kelly loeffler, has not yet conceded. meanwhile, lawmakers will gather in washington later to confirm joe biden‘s victory in the november presidential election. with me to discuss all of this is natasha lindstaedt who is a professor of government at the university of essex. good to have you with us. explain

first of all for our viewers with regard to george white these contests a re regard to george white these contests are so crucial for us politics and indeed for america's relationship with the rest of the world. these two seats are incredibly important because if the democrats are able to pull it off, and it looks like they might be able to, then it will be a 50—50 even split in the senate and the tie—breaking vote will be with kamala harris, the incoming vice president of. this will be important for buy den's agender. without support from the democrats in the senate, he would have great difficulty pursuing any policies regarding the environment, health care, education, jobs and especially regarding the pandemic —— fortjoe biden‘s agender. there would basically be gridlock and not much he could achieve in the first two yea rs he could achieve in the first two years and the first two years will be very critical because as we know,

we are dealing with a massive pandemic in the us that is still com pletely pandemic in the us that is still completely out of control with no end in sight. and to washington and lawmakers are meeting to confirm joe biden‘s victory in the presidential election yet will this be as straightforward as it normally will be? normally it will be very straight forward and just a formality. there has only been twice since 1887 that has only been twice since 1887 that has been any type of debate that has taken place has been any type of debate that has ta ken place but has been any type of debate that has taken place but we already know that some republicans are going to object both in the senate and in the house and they will be tallying votes alphabetically by each state and every time there's an objection from someone every time there's an objection from someone in the house and the senate, that means there can be up to two hours of debate and they vote in both chambers, in the senate and the house point there is absolutely no chance of the lx and can be

overturned because the democrats hold the majority in the house —— the election. but it will delay things and create a lot of drama. we know that there is a lot of pressure coming from trump to overturn the election and a lot of the attention has been placed on his vice president, mike pence, and what he is able to do. that has been quite extraordinary because vice president mike pence had said he cannot and will not be an impediment to this process , eve n will not be an impediment to this process, even though some republicans are absolutely backing president trump to the bitter end. right, he had made it clear to trump that constitutionally he has no power and that is correct, the vice president has never had a role overturning election results put it there was a lawsuit shot down about a week ago because republicans were trying to contest this idea that the vice president could actually challenge the state elected but he

can't. this lawsuit was thrown out without merit. there is no role for the vice president to play other than just the vice president to play other thanjust a the vice president to play other than just a ceremonial role. the vice president to play other thanjust a ceremonial role. he has tried to make it clear to president trump that he is not being disloyal to him, trump is urging him to be loyal. he can't do it, it's not constitutionally possible. does it surprise you in any way that there isa group surprise you in any way that there is a group of trumpers supporters who are absolutely backing him to the bitter end given what the president has done and said in recent days and four presidents trump, is it all about showing his people that he's not down without a fight, to kind of keep up the narrative that he never really lost? trump has a massive grip on the republican party and republicans know that 7a million people voted for him but i think they are wrong to assume that he is the future of the party. true, he does bring out the party. true, he does bring out the base and this base comes out in

huge numbers in these elections and they think they will be punished if they think they will be punished if they don't support trump. but what we have seen is that trump has been more of an impediment to the republicans because he is so self—centred. when he was campaigning for the republicans in georgia, hejust campaigning for the republicans in georgia, he just focused campaigning for the republicans in georgia, hejust focused on himself and his own grievances. a lot of this is about the optics. he wants to appear to be the winner he never wa nts to to appear to be the winner he never wants to look like a loser and he is eyeing 2024 and he wants to control the narrative that he actually won the narrative that he actually won the election and to some extent, he has been successful in convincing republican voters because we know from a recent survey that only 60% of registered voters thought the 2020 election was free and fair. he has done a very skilfuljob at convincing both republican leaders and the republican public that there are fraudulent elections in place but i don't see him as the future of the party and there will be a lot of

internal disputes and wranglings because there is a choice between really democracy and trump. professor, thank you very much for talking to us. police in hong kong have arrested dozens of pro—democracy politicians and activists in a major crackdown. they're accused of breaking a controversial new national security law imposed by beijing. our correspondent danny vincent gave us the latest from hong kong. this morning we saw several arrests, 53 individuals arrested after the police deployed around a thousand police officers in this investigation, saying these activists and former lawmakers have allegedly broken the national security law. activists feel this is yet another example of overreach, they think this is an example of the extended crackdown that the city is facing. since the national security law was introduced last year by beijing, we have seen a small but growing

number of activists fleeing. we have seen many arrests and now we have seen more than a doubling of the number of people arrested under the national security law. activists feel this is once again an example of the unprecedented crackdown that the city is facing. you mentioned those accusations of overreach, as part of this operation, we know also that the offices of a law firm were searched and three news agencies were asked to hand over information so how concerned are human rights groups about the use of this security law and what does it mean for the democracy movement? this law is incredibly controversial. it has been described by human rights groups as a draconian. they feel it is a political weapon, in some ways, used to try to silence people that are trying to talk out against beijing and the authorities here. what we do know is that there have

been 53 people who have been arrested today. the activists have spoken out against the arrests and feel this is an example of a crackdown and for the pro—democracy movement, it's very difficult to say. when the law was first introduced the authorities said it would only be a small number of people affected by the law but what we have seen this morning and today is a wide—ranging number of arrests which affect a wide range of people from different parts of society. there is certainly a large amount of concern about the future of the pro—democracy movement here but also concern for the freedoms that hong kong was once promised. news just newsjust coming in news just coming in that the chef and restaurant are albert roux has died at the age of 85. a statement

from his family says, "the roux family has announced the sad passing of albert roux had been unwell for a while. at the age of 85 on the 4th of january. he was credited along with his late brother michel of starting the london culinary revolution with the opening of le gavroche in albert 67 —— in 1967." his son said he was a mentor for so many people in the hospitality industry and an inspiration to budding chefs. albert roux, who has died at the age of 85. 70 minutes past ten, gmt. the headlines on bbc news... following the cancellation of gcse and a—level exams in england, more details are to be announced on how work will be assessed. the lockdown in england has become law. the prime minister will address mps this morning ahead of a restrospective vote in the commons tonight. in the us, the final votes are being counted in the crucial senate run—off election in georgia.

one race is too close to call but the democratic candidate in the other is claiming victory. let's get more now on england's national lockdown which legally came into force this morning. 0ur political correspondent, jonathan blake joins me now from westminster. borisjohnson, the boris johnson, the uk borisjohnson, the uk prime minister, is due to address mps later and they will be asked to vote retrospectively on this third lockdown but is there likely to be any disquiet amongst conservative mps about their measures and how far they go? there will be some, certainly. i think we are more likely to see a focus on mps putting pressure on the prime minister and asking for clarity and more detail about exactly how the government plans to meet its aim of getting the vaccine or first dose of eight to all the over 70s plus those deemed

clinically vulnerable by mid—february which is what the primaries to set out in his address the nation. —— eight dose of the vaccine product that has previously been significant unease on conservative backbenchers about lockdown plans, the recent national lockdown plans, the recent national lockdown in england in november as well as the tiering system that came in after it but i think there is an a cce pta nce a cross in after it but i think there is an acceptance across the board for two reasons that the government does not have much choice but to impose this lockdown at this time. firstly because of the new variant and the rate at which it has been spreading and the increase in cases as a result and also because there is seemingly now a way out with the vaccine up and running and being given to people already. but as i said, there will be pressure on the government to deliver on that and explain more about how it plans to do so and the vaccine minister, nadhim zahawi, has been speaking this morning, saying he is confident the government will get their.

i am confident that the nhs has a clear delivery plan to meet that target. there are many, many complexities around it, not least manufacturing and of course supply chain challenges but also we have got to make sure we focus on deployment very clearly, making sure every gp that is vaccinating has the support they need, making sure every hospital has the support they need and of course the vaccination hubs. and we will meet our targets, that is my absolute focus. the prime minister is due to speak in the house of commons at around 11:30am with questions from sir keir starmer, the labour leader, and other senior mps i'm sure about the timing of the announcement, how the fire minister went from one day saying schools were safe to announcing they would be closed for most people is the next and the exit strategy and that is all about the vaccine —— the prime minister. we will also hear from vaccine —— the prime minister. we will also hearfrom education secretary gavin williamson later on

with an update on support for pupils who now have to learn remotely from home and some details about how exams will be replaced this summer with gcses and a—levels in england not going ahead as normal but probably not the full picture that pa rents, probably not the full picture that parents, students and teachers will be waiting to hear at this point. jonathan, thank you very much. a couple more comments about the exam situation. mary says, can first year university students be given some consideration, they have the whole exa m consideration, they have the whole exam fiasco last year and carried on and out have to deal with remote learning plus paying for accommodation they cannot use. also we have a few more, from viewers on this, nadia saint, my daughter moved to school and was improving her grades but are predicted don't reflect her ha rd grades but are predicted don't reflect her hard work and her school had not had any marks or formal exams since the first lockdown so how will grades be fair and reflect

stu d e nts how will grades be fair and reflect students are possibly through performance? a few more coming in and all sorts of aspects on this story, vaccines, the efficacy of it and so on. one more on the exams, from john kendall, my son missed out on grate of his 50 exams last year because he did not put —— because he put in extra work while his friends didn't butjohn said he was marked down for his effort while his friends got higher grades because their lack of work wasn't taken into account. not fair. it's a really difficult situation to sort out and we will wait to hear from the education minister today to see if there are any more answers to the many questions that you clearly have. the prime minister has said he wants around 13 million people to be given the coronavirus vaccine by mid—february. just over 700 local centres are currently up and running across the uk — from community centres to racecourses, with plans in the future for sports stadiums and conference halls. but there has been criticism about the lack of use of local

pharmacies which offer thousands of flu vaccines each year. joining me now is simon dukes, chief executive of the pharmaceutical negotiating services committee, which represents pharmacies in talks with the government. those talks first of all, simon, according to what we are hearing today, there has not been going on —— much going on by way of conversation yet? talks are co nsta ntly conversation yet? talks are constantly going and we negotiate an awful lot of things, notjust covid related but on a wider funding and thatis related but on a wider funding and that is another story for another programme. there are issues there as well but this is really about saying, look, we are huge supporters of the nhs and we want to support the nhs. there is an army of 11,400 community pharmacies, a network out there, people are in each pharmacy qualified and professional at giving flu jabs every day and let's use

them on a national basis to provide them on a national basis to provide the covid jab as well. on that aspect of taking part in the vaccination programme, that the area you have not had much response to yet i believe? i'm sure most people would agree it seems like a no—brainer to have pharmacists involved in administering these vaccinations? what pharmacies and pharmacists are telling me is that despite being incredibly busy in dispensing medicines it's a busy time of the year with flu jabs and winter ailments, nonetheless they wa nt to winter ailments, nonetheless they want to play their part. of this is a national crisis. they have the clinical capability, covid secure environments, trained in vaccinations so let's use them on a national basis. pharmacists and pharmacies are involved in the mass vaccination sites but your piece just said, the over 70s and those clinically vulnerable, some of them will have difficulty travelling to

those sites whereas 90%, 90% of the population of england are within a 20 minute walk of their local pharmacy. let's use that convenience and geographical proximity to maximise the vaccine roll—out. and geographical proximity to maximise the vaccine roll—outlj don't know how closely you have a look at the maths of this and the numbers but if the pm wants around 13 million people to be given the vaccine by mid—february, is it going to ta ke vaccine by mid—february, is it going to take the involvement of pharmacists to make that happen? with 11,500 or pharmacists to make that happen? with11,500 or so pharmacies across the country, clearly doing the maths shows that you need to probably about 20 jabs a day, every day to give you about a million or so a week. we are looking at pretty much half the target that is required. pharmacy alone is not the silver bullet, you need to work with all

the other contingencies on the government is putting in place, absolutely. what we are saying is, let's move a bit faster and get pharmacies involved because they are willing and able, skilled and qualified to do this. someone said earlier it was only a matter of time but actually we don't have much time if we are to reach that target by mid—february so what more do you think needs to happen to actually get this up and running and get pharmacists involved? get this up and running and get pharmacists involved ?|j get this up and running and get pharmacists involved? i think the coverage we have had today about this issue is really encouraging. i know that we are now engaged with government to discuss it and i hope that, as a result, we will get a more speedy roll—out and use of pharmacies. they are desperate to get involved and want to help. simon, we will keep a close eye on that and watch out for any developments. thank you very much. chief executive of the pharmaceutical negotiating services

committee. a total of 2,912 deaths registered in england and wales in the week ending december 25th mentioned covid—19 on the death certificate, according to the office for national statistics. those are figures just released in the last shot while. that's a quarter of all deaths registered that week. with me now is our health correspondent philippa roxby. she's been taking a look at the figures. what else can you tell us? it is quite a startling figure, a quarter of all deaths in england and wales are linked to coronavirus and this is for the week up to christmas day, the 25th of december, and that quarter figure the 25th of december, and that quarterfigure is the 25th of december, and that quarter figure is higher than the 25th of december, and that quarterfigure is higher than it has beenin quarterfigure is higher than it has been in previous weeks. we do not have the full data for the whole of the uk, this isjust england and wales and it's very difficult also tojudge excess wales and it's very difficult also to judge excess deaths fought this week, which we have done for previous weeks, because we have a bank holiday on christmas day which makes this week's figures seem lower

than they normally would be and compared to previous years, it actually makes them seem higher than normal because previous years had more bank holidays so it's difficult tojudge excess more bank holidays so it's difficult to judge excess deaths. that means deaths over and above the normal expected level. what we do know is that the latest figures we have for excess deaths, they were around 80,000 for the entire pandemic in the uk but we will need to wait for the uk but we will need to wait for the figures next week and may be the week after to get a broader figure for over christmas. is there any breakdown in the figures about how people are being affected visibly age groups, race, region? people are being affected visibly age groups, race, reg|on? i'm not sure if you have that level of detail? older age groups are definitely more effective, we are seeing more deaths in the over 855 and over 905 and we know that covid affects people who are older and older you are the greater your risk. that is continuing. 0ne older you are the greater your risk. that is continuing. one thing we do know is that the latest figures we

have four deaths within 28 days of a positive test are around 75,000 at the moment, the figures we see on the moment, the figures we see on the tv every night and excess deaths are over and above that because they include people whose deaths are caused indirectly by the pandemic, who may not have had treatment for other conditions and who may not have sought medical help so excess deaths i5 have sought medical help so excess deaths is always a slightly larger figure. thank you very much. hello, this is bbc news with annita mcveigh. the headlines... following the cancellation of gcse and a—level exams in england, more details are to be announced on how work will be assessed. the lockdown in england has become law. the prime minister will address mp5 this morning, ahead of a re5tro5pective vote in the commons tonight. all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs, as it's revealed that one in 50 people in england are thought to have the virus.

in the us, the final votes are being counted in the crucial senate run—off election in georgia. one race is too close to call, but the democratic candidate in the other is claiming victory. dozens of pro—democracy activists and politicians are arrested in hong kong, accused of trying to overthrow the city's government. the european union could authorise a second coronavirus vaccine in the coming hours. the european medicine5 agency is considering giving the green light to the us—made moderna vaccine. the pfizer/biontech vaccine was approved for use across the 27—member bloc two weeks ago. the european medicine5 agency has been criticised for moving more slowly than other regulatory organisations. 0ur correspondent anna holligan reports from the dutch capital, the hague, where the ema is based. the attraction with the moderna vaccine of course is that it doesn't

need to be refrigerated at —75 celsius to be transported, so it makes it easier to distribute. and there is a lot of pressure at the moment because countries are struggling to administer the5e vaccines. there was so much hope and expectation when the pfizer vaccine was approved a few weeks ago, but then the rolling out of the vaccination programmes in the different countries has brought a do5e different countries has brought a dose of reality. there is pressure because pfizer i5 dose of reality. there is pressure because pfizer is struggling to cope with the demand. and here in the eu, countries are looking at the uk where now 1.3 million doses have been administered and wondering why here on the continent, they are lagging so far behind, especially here in the netherlands. so about two hours ago, a 39—year—old care home nur5e, sanna elkadiri, became the first person in the netherlands to have the pfizer vaccine, the last country in the eu, ironically of

course now home to the ema. and there has been a lot of consternation, given that the netherlands is a proudly well—organised country and yet has really 5truggled well—organised country and yet has really struggled to roll out these vaccinations. and elsewhere the eu, tell us about the balance between the roll—out of the vaccine and the willingness of the population if you like to access that vaccine. becau5e i heard you early on the radio talking about france in particular and the interesting debate there. really interesting, and it has really kind of highlighted some of the disconnect between the regulatory authorities, so the uk giving the emergency u5e permission to roll out much sooner than the ema which is going with a different type of regulation which they say is more comprehensive, but then you see different countries struggling in different countries struggling in different ways. in the netherlands, the dutch health ministry told us it was a combination of having to upgrade their it systems and chain pull centre staff on the scripts to

use with people who are booking in for their vaccinations, that took time —— call centre. that has caused the delay here. now right across the eu, countries are watching developments at the ema in amsterdam and the european medicines agency actually tweeted about 20 minutes ago to say that meeting, which it is hoped will result in the approval of the second vaccine for use in the eu come at the us moderna vaccine, is now under way. so we are expecting an announcement at some point later today. anna holligan reporting. countries around the world are embarking on their own ambitious mass vaccination programmes to combat the virus. but the story of delays, shortages and government criticism has been a familiar one. bbc correspondents have been painting a picture of how the vaccine is being distributed. i'm hugh schofield, the bbc‘s paris correspondent. here in france, what's really exercising people more and more, is the sheer sluggishness of the government's vaccination

programme against covid. at the weekend, when neighbouring germany had vaccinated a quarter of a million people, here in france, the figure was a mere 530 or 540. it was miniscule. so obviously, there are questions being asked about why that should be. part of it seems to be purely bureaucracy. it's part of the system here in france for inoculating anyone for anything that each person has a kind of pre—consultation five days ahead of the actual injection, in which doctors can assess whether there are complicating factors and so on. and that's having to be gone through with everyone at the old people's homes, which is causing a huge delay. there's general acceptance now that that kind of procedural approach is going to have to change. there is another problem though in france, which is that it is, in europe, that it is the most vaccine sceptic country. a lot of people simply say they're not going to have the vaccination. and that, i think, means the government is moving very

slowly, very cautiously. in any case, the accusations of the government have stung, and now it says it is going to step up, accelerate its programme, and it's promised by the end of the month, its cruising speed for vaccinations will be the same as in the rest of europe. and israel has raced out of the blocks when it comes to administering the first dose of the vaccines. they've been doing around 150,000 jabs a day, and already some 1.5 million people have received their first dose of the vaccine. that amounts to 15% or so of the population and means that israel has been vaccinating people with the first dose at the fastest rate in the world. and they've done it because the country has a very centralised system of databases of patient records and ways of contacting patients, and there's been a very big pr drive at the same time. but it does come with a warning. the top scientist that advises the israeli government on coronavirus told me that although this was an amazing achievement, he said it would be many, many more months yet before

they can contain the virus, and it seems that that first dose administration of the jabs may slow down as well. i'm sophie long, the bbc‘s correspondent based in los angeles. here in the united states, the vaccination process is progressing much more slowly than many had hoped. the trump administration has distributed more than 15 million doses to states across the country, yet less than a third of those have actually been administered. why is that? well, health officials say they are dealing with a deep distrust of the vaccine, largely because of the speed with which it has been developed. 0thers, though, are citing organisational glitches. dr anthony fauci, the country's leading expert in infectious diseases, says it's the logistics that are causing the problem, not people's hesitancy to actually have the injection. all this comes as the number of cases of the new variant, first found in the united kingdom, have been detected here, fuelling deep concern of further strain on a public health system that is already under huge pressure,

particularly here in california. now, every day, a grim new record is broken. in the last week, an average of more than 2,500 americans have died from the coronavirus every day. staying with the global picture on vaccinations. indonesia has put together a plan to inoculate adults of working age first, before elderly people. well, dr dicky budiman is an epidemiologist from brisbane, australia, who has helped formulate indonesia's pandemic response for 20 years. he says the country has no choice but to vaccinate the working age population first. in indonesia, there are at least 25 million people aged 60 years and above, so actually, indonesia is categorised as a nation of the elderly. but as the first country in asia who received the covid—19 infection. so initially, we will focus on inoculating those between

18 to 59 years of age, starting with those working on the front line such as the health workers, the police and the military. the reason for this has to do with the fact that the potential vaccine which, as you know, the infection from china, are being trialled in the later stage on people aged 18 to 59 years. so as we know, the current agreement among the scientists that the targeted age group for vaccination should follow available prior data. so that is what widely the government has no choice rather than to choose this certain age group. prosecutors in the american state of wisconsin say a policeman investigated over the shooting of the black manjacob blake

in the city of kenosha last august will face no charges in connection with the incident. the shooting by the white officer left mr blake paralysed and sparked deadly street clashes. here's our north america correspondent, david willis. jacob blake was shot in front of three of his children, leaving him paralysed from the waist down. shots fired but four months after his violent apprehension, the circumstances surrounding it remain contentious and controversial. the officer who fired seven shots into mr blake's back, rusten sheskey, maintained the suspect was wielding a knife and ignored several demands to drop it, prompting him to open fire in self—defence. and i have moved it to my right hand... although the cell—phone video does not appear to show evidence of a knife, one was later recovered from the floor of mr blake's car, and the local prosecutor has cleared

officer sheskey of any wrongdoing. it is absolutely incontrovertible that jacob blake was armed with a knife during this encounter. incontrovertible. most incontrovertible because jacob blake, in all of the times he spoke to dci, admits he possessed a knife. jacob blake's family disputes that version of events and believes the prosecutor's decision will further undermine confidence in the police. i think in 2021, it shows one very important thing — and that is that there's three, three justice systems in america. there's one for black and brown people, one for police officers, and one for the rest of america. jacob blake's arrest sparked three days of violent protest in the city of kenosha. among the more than 250 people arrested was a 17—year—old who answered a call to rally behind property owners and protect their assets.

kyle rittenhouse was filmed firing on protesters with a rifle. he has since been charged with killing two of them and injuring a third — and, in a teleconference court appearance, he pleaded not guilty to a total of six charges. kenosha is bracing itself for renewed demonstrations, in the light of the prosecutor's decision. national guard officers have been drafted in, and there is also talk of a curfew if protests get out of hand. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. france is to slaughter more than half a million ducks, as it tries to contain a strain of bird flu. outbreaks have been reported across europe in recent weeks — prompting mass culls, which have left many poultry farmers without any income. courtney bembridge reports. duck breeder marilyn got a text

message to tell her that her last 300 ducklings were headed to the slaughterhouse. she is one of many producers in the south—west of france whose poultry are being killed to try to contain the bird flu. translation: until saturday morning, there were a lot of ducks here. so we open the door, load the ducks, take them to the lorry, load the cages and then the lorry drives off with our income and we are left with nothing. the h5n8 bird flu has been spreading through europe and asia in recent weeks and millions of birds have already been culled. researchers believe the current outbreak is being spread to captive birds by wildfowl migrating for the winter. france's farm ministry says it plans to cull around 600,000 birds but local producers fear that is just the beginning. translation: i think we're going to see a million ducks slaughtered in the near future since nothing can stop the virus today.

the h5n8 strain is not known to be transmissible to humans but the economic cost will be significant. translation: the situation is very worrying, simply because we have numerous outbreaks, slaughterings that are daily, intense, and breeders who find themselves without ducks over night, without income. we are heading towards a human tragedy like we experienced in 2017. previous outbreaks of the avian flu led to the culling of tens of millions of birds. courtney bembridge, bbc news. lockdown in the uk has meant schools have closed their doors to most pupils, and thousands of students won't be sitting exams this summer. jon maguire has been finding out how they, and their parents, are feeling about the prospect of missing the a—levels and gcses they've worked so hard for. for the second year running, the exam system scores

a c — cfor confusion. gillis robbie was preparing to sit his a—levels in the summer, as england stood alone in maintaining the exams would go ahead. but that came to an abrupt halt at eight o'clock on monday night. it's just so frustrating because when the prime minister announced that we were going back to school — that's what he said on the sunday night — to then be told on the monday night, the day before we were supposed to be going back to school, when we'd packed our bags, we'd packed our uniform, we'd revised for mocks, which were supposed to be happening, to then all that to be taken away from you, it's so frustrating and angry and confusing. and when there's loads of other little changes going on in your life as well, like you can't go and see your friends, but now you can only go and see one friend outside, all those other changes going on, itjust makes it so much more frustrating than if it was just

a—levels have been cancelled. another grade — u for uncertainty, as schools are having to tear up plans yet again. btecs, at first unaffected, will now also be cancelled, if a school or college decides not to go ahead. libby robbins was due to sit some of hers in the coming days. she's missed weeks of learning due to school closures and contracting covid herself. her mum tells me she's having a torrid time. because of this, she's now having to take tablets to help her sleep because she's not sleeping because of anxiety. nobody wants their 17—year—old daughter to have to take tablets from the doctor to be able to sleep, or to suffer with more anxiety than they have to. they've had to deal with so much stress over the last ten months than most other kids ever have to deal with. it's been horrendous for them. tracy havas has children

in both years 11 and 13, studying gcses and a—levels. i think the sooner a decision is made, the better and easier it is to come to terms with it, and then they can actually start working towards what they need to achieve. but because there's been so much confusion and uncertainty with other countries in the united kingdom cancelling exams last term, but the english government persisting with the idea that the exams would go ahead really right up until the last minute, it sort of hasn't helped really at all in their motivation to continue with their studies. i mean, their school has been fantastic and has done what they can. but from the perspective of the schools, it must be an absolute nightmare trying to find their way through the logistics at the moment. so, this year, exam anxiety has arrived early — not due to a lack of subject knowledge, but because students, their families and their schools don't know what the coming weeks have in store. john maguire, bbc news. staying with education in the uk,

and btec exams and assessments scheduled to take place this month across england can now be cancelled after the government gave individual schools and colleges the responsibility of deciding whether to go ahead with them. the move will affect more than 100,000 students. i can discuss this further with david hughes, who's the chief executive of the association of colleges. david, thank you very much for joining us today. i spoke to a head teacher in yorkshire earlier and his stu d e nts teacher in yorkshire earlier and his students are going ahead with btec exams this week. he said they had beenin exams this week. he said they had been in the toughest year for a long time now and they were well used to working within those constraints and had large premises, a well ventilated building and so on, but it is an extra pressure having to decide whether or not to go ahead with these exams. it is, and it is a pressure on college and school leaders that i don't think they deserve really. i think we needed a national response and we needed the government to show leadership and the government decided not to and

past that leadership responsibility until individual schools and colleges. my concern has always been about students and how well prepared and confident they feel about taking exams and how much anxiety they have about contracting the virus. and you heard from a parent area about the anxiety heard from a parent area about the a nxiety levels. heard from a parent area about the anxiety levels. and that is not really conducive to students performing well in those exams. so we know that lots of students are worried, lots of parents are worried. that's not fair to put extra pressure on them to take exams at this time. a couple of comments from viewers which i read out much earlier, i am going to mention to you again. sarah said, 130,000 stu d e nts you again. sarah said, 130,000 students due to sit btec and other vocational exams, why does the government think it is safe to sit these exams when exams in the summer are being cancelled? it is a good question, why do you think there is this difference between a—levels, gcse students and btec students and some might say also those in the early years sector, what is happening with them? it is really

ha rd to happening with them? it is really hard to know, i spoke to ministers yesterday about it. i think there was a sense that cancelling so close to the exam starting today was the wrong thing to do because students will have been prepared and we know that some students really wanted to and want to sit these exams now. but my view always was that because so many would be feeling anxiety and would have lost learning and lots of disruption over recent months, that the best thing was to take that leadership nationally and the government backed down. they kind of did a half u—turn and they allowed colleges to cancel and schools to cancel. and lots have, and lots of stu d e nts cancel. and lots have, and lots of students won't turn up. but there is a feeling, i think, that students taking btecs and other vocational technical qualifications are seen as sort of second class to those taking a—levels and gcses. and u nfortu nately, a—levels and gcses. and unfortunately, whether that's true or not, that is the perception out there. this series of half u—turns

andi there. this series of half u—turns and i think poor decision—making reinforces the sense that all that matters is a—levels and btecs under the vocational qualifications are not as good and they are, they are fantastic qualifications that help people get on in life and going to some of the most important industries like health, nursing. talking to student this morning he wa nts to talking to student this morning he wants to be a radiographer and we need radiographers. but the government has been encouraging pupils to look harder and more closely at vocational qualifications. but ijust wonder if some students do go ahead and do their btec exams under the vocational exams and some don't, how do you ensure a level playing field the other side of those exams when people are looking to go into further education and applying for jobs, etc? that is a great question. we have a secretary of state who has put a lot of energy into vocational and technical education and has tried to raise the profile of it and has done a really good job on that.

but your question is right, we have got no plan b for when exams don't happen and i think the government has failed to do that scenario contingency plan. we should now be able to go out to students and say exams are cancelled, this is how it is going to work because it has to be some form of teacher assessment, may be particularly for their btec exams, they have banked some assessments and in some classroom assessments and in some classroom assessments that gives the teacher a good view of how well the student forms. we should have all of that in place and students should be really clear about it. but because the government said it is exams at all cost and there were no other options, they didn't do that scenario planning and that is the biggest failing of this process. david hughes, it is good to get your thoughts today. well, that's the situation

in connection with b—techs but as we've been reporting, all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs, with wales, northern ireland and most of scotland also in lockdown. this has meant school closures across the uk. in scotland, first minister nicola sturgeon announced on monday that schools are to remain closed to the majority of pupils until at least february. she said she knew remote learning presented "significa nt challenges" for parents, teachers and pupils. a decision was made in december to cancel higher and advanced higher exams in 2021. in wales, all schools and colleges will move to online learning until 18th january. it comes after teaching unions had called for a delayed start to term amid concerns about the coronavirus variant. gcses and a—level exams in 2021 were cancelled by the welsh government in november. and in northern ireland, there will be an extended period of remote learning for schools in northern ireland, the executive has said. many pupils will not return to school until after the half—term break in mid—february, with nursery, primary and post—primary schools carrying out remote learning until then. the northern ireland assembly

is to discuss the impact on school exams and assessments later today. today is the feast of epiphany or three kings' — an essential part of christmas celebrations in spain. the annual parades were cancelled because of the pandemic, but across the country, even the coronavirus couldn't deprive children of their presents. daniel wittenberg reports. gold, frankincense, myrrh and facemasks. in normal times, millions pack the streets across spain to greet the three kings and their gifts on the feast of epiphany. but this year, even royalty had to get creative. instead of the usual lively processions, in barcelona the three kings arrived by boat to deter any crowds. their grand landing could only be watched on tv. in the canary islands, tenerife's three kings were symbolically inoculated against covid—19 to send a message

of hope as the vaccine begins to roll out in every region of spain. translation: the vaccine is the best gift that science has offered us so we can once again enjoy our friends, family, and especially our grandparents. having spent months out of school, and even being completely barred from leaving the house for six weeks in the spring, it has been harder for spanish children to be good this year. but in the capital, madrid, and around the country, where curfews were cut short and families could meet in small groups, they were finally shown something to celebrate. translation: we know that 2020 has been a bit complicated, so balthazar, casper and i have decided to come not only with thousands of gifts but also with tonnes of excitement and hope that this 2021 will be much better! the pandemic may have rained on spain's parades, but the fireworks that lit up

the skies made sure it was still the most magical night of the year. daniel wittenberg, bbc news. rapper and music mogul dr dre says he'll be home soon, after it emerged he was taken into hospital in la with a possible brain aneurysm. the 55 year old, who was behind careers of greats including snoop dogg and eminem, said he was "doing great" and getting excellent care from his medical team. a reminder of our breaking news this hour — the french restauranteur and chef albert roux has died at the age of 85, after a long period of illness. he is credited for opening london's le gavroche restaurant with his late brother michel roux in 1967 — the first restaurant in the uk to gain three michelin stars. albert's son, michel rouer, has said, "he was a mentorfor so many people in the hospitality industry, and a real inspiration to budding chefs, including me." food critic jay rayner paid tribute, tweeting,

"albert roux was an extraordinary man, who left a massive mark on the food story of his adopted country. the roll call of chefs who went through the kitchens of le gavroche alone is a significant slab of a part of modern uk restaurant culture. rip." you are watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. we have just had the coldest night of this winter so far, with temperatures falling to just below —12 degrees in parts of the highlands. it's going to be another cold few days, and it's not really until we get into the weekend and next week that we start to see a return to the less cold air coming our way, as represented by the yellows on the chart. today, our high pressure slips away, we still have a nose of it around but we are going to see a weather front coming our way later, which will introduce thicker cloud and some rain across the north—west of scotland.

we still have some showers across the far south—east and the channel islands, a few showers getting in across eastern scotland and eastern england, but they tend to weaken through the day. some of them could still be wintry, but mostly on higher ground. a lot of dry weather, a fair bit of wintry sunshine around, and with lighter winds, still feeling cold, with temperatures between 1 and 6 degrees. this evening and overnight, here comes this band of rain, but very quickly, as it engages with the cold air across scotland and then northern ireland, it will turn to snow, even at lower levels. it will be a cold night across the board, some of us seeing some frost. again, the risk of ice, and the other thing to watch out for is freezing fog. some of the fog will be dense and some will take its time to clear, particularly in parts of northern england heading into the midlands. some of that will linger and hold back the temperature, but there will be some sunshine around. here is our weather front, still producing some winteriness as it sinks slowly southwards

and weakens — and, behind it, we see a return to wintry showers, even at lower levels, in parts of northern scotland. thursday night into friday, watch this front. as it bumps into the high pressure, it weakens, but it will continue as a weak feature down into southern areas. that means some parts of the south during the course of friday will see some wintry flurries, but you won't all. we don't expect it to be problematic. and there will still be some wintry flurries too and some showers across parts of northern england and also scotland. a cold day in prospect, temperatures between 2 and 5 degrees. into the weekend, we start to see things change, as we have more of an atlantic influence on our weather. still cold for the first part of the weekend but, by sunday, all of us should be in milder air.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 11am. what now for a—level and gcse students? the exams have been cancelled but more details will be announced on how work will be assessed. the lockdown in england has become law — the prime minister will address mp5 this hour, ahead of a restrospective vote in the commons tonight. all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs, as it's revealed that 1 in 50 people in england are thought to have the virus. in the us, the final votes are being counted in georgia where the democrats are on course for victory, giving them crucial control of the senate. dozens of pro—democracy activists and politicians are arrested in hong kong, accused of trying to overthrow the city's government. and coming up, tributes are paid to albert roux, the chef who won the uk's first ever michelin star

and revolutionised fine dining in london. thousands of pupils across england, who have had their gcse and a—levels cancelled, are hoping to get more details today on how their work will be assessed. england's third national lockdown comes legally into force today, with mp5 set to vote retrospectively on it later. all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs, with wales, northern ireland and most of scotland also in lockdown. on schools, the education secretary, gavin williamson, will make a statement to mp5 at lunchtime. he's expected to unveil a support package for young people following the closure of schools and colleges. it comes as fears about the spread

of the virus continue. yesterday the number of new daily confirmed cases of covid—19 in the uk topped 60,000 for the first time. it is thought one in 50 people in england had the virus last week, and one in 30 in london. mp5 are voting retrospectively on new measures to control the virus in england. these include a stay—at—home order and the closure of schools to most pupils. the prime minister will make a ministerial statement in the commons before mp5 hold a debate. and we'll bring you all the latest on the vaccine rollout. some 1.3 million people have now been vaccinated in the uk, including nearly quarter of those over 80 in england, according to the government. stay with us for more on all these latest developments. 0urfirst report from sean dilly looks at the impact on schools. gavin williamson is expected to tell mp5 that education remains a national priority, despite the lockdown and the closure of english schools and colleges to most pupils.

he will say that the government will not ask pupils to sit a—levels and gcse exams. in a statement last night, the department for education said it would work alongside the exam regulator 0fqual to consult on how to award all pupils the grades that reflect their hard work. i think it's very important we notice that this is a different timing of lockdown to what it was last year. and, as such, it's vital for students and young people that they have something to aim for. we cannotjust let them feel that this is something that's going to be decided for them by teachers and advisors and whatever. it needs to be something they have agency in, because otherwise they won't be learning over the next few months. last year, after an algorithm design to award grades was branded unfair, teachers' own assessments of their pupils were accepted. with my year group, we went through the algorithm system that was put in place by the government, and obviously, that was not effective at all.

so hopefully, having gone through that, there's a new year group of kids that will hopefully have a bit more of a revised, a bit more of an effective, erm, way to produce these grades. meanwhile, the head of the association of colleges in england has criticised the government for leaving it to schools and colleges to decide whether to proceed with vocational and technical exams, such as btechs, warning that a lack of clear guidance risks more confusion and uncertainty. sean dilly, bbc news. the new lockdown restrictions in england came into force just hours after the chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, warned that the risk posed by covid—19 was "extraordinarily high". mp5 will vote later on the curbs, after the emergency recall of parliament. our political correspondent, jessica parker, reports. the stay—at—home message. overnight, england's lockdown legally came into force. it's actually today that the measures will be brought before mp5.

the prime minister will address the commons before an expected vote after yesterday outlining progress on the vaccine. we have now vaccinated over 1.1 million people in england and over 1.3 million across the uk. and that includes more than 650,000 people over 80, which is 23% of all the over—805 in england. on the vaccine, labour says ministers must deliver. the party will back the lockdown today. borisjohnson said that by mid—february, with hopes for the vaccine roll—out, there was the prospect of beginning the relaxation of some measures but there are warnings, too, that the virus could be with us for some time. if people don't take the stay—at—home seriously, the risk at this point in time, in the middle of winter, with this new variant, is extraordinarily high. what is going to happen over time is the risk level

is going to gradually decrease. it's not going to be it's really bad and then suddenly it stops. we'll then get over time to a point when people say this level of risk is one that society is prepared to tolerate and lift right down to almost no restrictions at all. we might have to bring a few in, in the next winter, for example, that is possible. any rebellion by tory mp5 here today is expected to be smaller than those seen late last year on restrictions, with an acceptance the current health picture is stark. with rules now in force, the government is also urging everyone to follow them. jessica parker, bbc news. our political correspondent, jonathan blake, joins me now from westminster. plenty of politics today. what is coming up? parliament has been recalled for the day, not that you would know it, standing here in central lobby. it is all but deserted, because the speaker has

urged mp5 to stay away. the vast majority of those taking part in today's debate on england's new lockdown will do so remotely via video link. we can expect an easier ride overall for the prime minister, compared to previous votes in 2020, when a considerable number of conservative mp5 voted against them. but there is little option at this point. for a couple of reasons, and thatis point. for a couple of reasons, and that is because the new variant of coronavirus has seen cases rise so sharply and hospital admissions go up sharply and hospital admissions go up alongside that. also because there is seemingly a viable exit strategy with the vaccine, or vaccines that are being rolled out nationally. that aim that the prime minister has committed to getting all over 705 and the vulnerable the first of two macro jabs by the end of mid—february. the vaccine

minister this morning recommitted to thataim. i am confident that the nhs has a clear delivery plan to meet that target. there are many, many complexities around it, not least manufacturing and of course supply chain challenges but also we have got to make sure we focus on deployment very clearly, making sure every gp that is vaccinating has the support they need, making sure every hospital has the support they need and of course the vaccination hubs. and we will meet our targets, that is my absolute focus. so while restrictions and lockdown is have been a deeply unpopular among many mp5, particularly on the conservative backbenches, in the latter stages of the pandemic, there is little doubt that this retrospective vote on the lockdown which became law overnight in england, will pass tonight with the support of the labour party and

liberal democrats. it is and english only issue, so the scottish national party will not take part in that vote. there is the timing of the announcement, how it appeared to shift so quickly, and also the exit strategy. add more detail about how the government plans to roll—out those vaccine doses now and mid—february. the other focus those vaccine doses now and mid—february. the otherfocus here todayis mid—february. the otherfocus here today is the statement by the education secretary, gavin williamson, around lunchtime. he is effected to give some details on what will replace exams in the summerfor gcse what will replace exams in the summer for gcse and a—level students in england who now know they will not be sitting those exams as planned, but not the full picture. more likely some details of how the government plans to try to support families who have struggled with remote learning. but certainly, given that swift change from the prime minister on sunday saying that schools were safe to announcing the following day that they would be closed to most pupils other than

vulnerable children and those of key workers, what the government plans to do beyond the february half term when the lockdown resections will be reviewed. thank you. we will have coverage of events in the commons from about 11:30am. let's speak now to james turner, who's the chief executive of the sutton trust which campaigns to improve social mobility. welcome. thank you forjoining us. i first want to talk about something that emerged late last night, which children with children with no la pto ps a re children with children with no laptops are designated as honourable and can go to school for face—to—face teaching. what is your reaction to that? that will obviously be welcome because we know that there are many kids who don't have la pto ps that there are many kids who don't have laptops right now. yeah, definitely. it is a positive development because we know from the last lockdown that there was this big a gap between poorer children's access to online children and everybody else. the fact that

children who don't have good access to re m ote children who don't have good access to remote learning can go into school is a positive development. the challenge is for schools to identify those students and for there to be enough room in schools and enough staff to teach those children, because it is a potentially large group. on that, identifying who the kids are, whether there is space, also whether they go in. what was the evidence last time around over vulnerable children actually going into school where they were supposed to be able to? yeah, it was very patchy and there were examples of young people who were vulnerable who ideally would have been in school, but for various would have been in school, but for various reasons, would have been in school, but for various reasons, whether worries about the virus orjust disengagement with education, didn't necessarily turn up in the numbers we would have liked. although it is a positive step forward, it doesn't address the issue of children learning at home and how we can best provide for those children, particular the most disadvantaged.” just want to get from new york sense

ofan just want to get from new york sense of an evaluation —— ijust want just want to get from new york sense of an evaluation —— i just want to get from you your sense of an evaluation of the impact on the kids, there has been time to assess that. the consensus is that the lockdown last year, school closures, will have widened this gap between poorer children and their better off peers. there is some evidence that it will have reversed some of the progress that has been made in reducing that gap in the last ten yea rs. reducing that gap in the last ten years. i don't think anyone in education is complacent about the impact that last period of school closures have, which is why there is so much focus on making sure we learn those lessons and make it as best we can in this next six weeks period. so how'd you do that? we know from last year that poorer children found it hard to access online learning, both in terms of the quality of that learning but

also the quantity of it. they tended to have less, their engagement with teachers was less, they tended to return less work completed to a high standard. one of the big drivers of that with this issue of access to devices, so laptops, tablets, mobile phones, and being able to actually access the content. and then also data, so they could download the lessons. there has been a roller—coaster scheme to get more la pto ps to roller—coaster scheme to get more laptops to disadvantaged children, there have been moved by government and by the mobile phone providers to make data more free so they can access that content. we cannot be complacent because we hear from teachers and schools who operate even now, even in this first week of the second period of national school closures, who are worried about jordan who do not have sufficient

access to the technology to take part. sorry to interrupts, just need to say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. thank you for your company. hope you have a good afternoon. sorry about that. just picking up on what you are talking about, the impact of the last lockdown. the kids have had a term back at school, albeit disrupted by their being periods of isolation. but how much has been able to be fixed from what damage was caused in the last lockdown? there are schools on catch up. there has also been the start of some national initiatives like the national tutoring programme to get one—to—one and small group help for the student. there is only so much

they can do. so schools are working really ha rd, they can do. so schools are working really hard, but i think most people in education think that the gap has grown and will grow further. we are looking at almost a whole year of disrupted learning. these students, the poorest students, were already behind their peers before the pandemic started. talking about a gap growing, it is an abstract concept. can you give us a practical example of how you think this might play out in an individual‘s life going forward? we are talking about lost to learning. so where would a student be now, had they have been at school for the last few months? of course, that will have an impact on how well they develop this year. but that might go on to have an impact in terms of how well they do at gcse and a—level, and we are waiting to hear what the secretary of state will say about that. all of these things then wash to a student's life and haven't impact on

the life chances and ultimately on social mobility, the sort of careers they go into, the earnings they have in adult hood. although this is just a year in a child pot life, it could have a huge impact on what they do in future. thank you forjoining us, james turner, chief executive of the sutton trust, which campaigns to improve social mobility. as we've been reporting, all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs, with wales, northern ireland and most of scotland also in lockdown. this has meant school closures across the uk. in scotland, first minister nicola sturgeon announced on monday that schools are to remain closed to the majority of pupils until at least february. she said she knew remote learning presented "significa nt challenges" for parents, teachers and pupils. a decision was made in december to cancel higher and advanced higher exams in 2021. in wales, all schools and colleges will move to online learning until the 18th of january. it comes after teaching unions had called for a delayed start to term amid concerns

about the coronavirus variant. gcses and a—level exams in 2021 were cancelled by the welsh government in november. and in northern ireland, there will be an extended period of remote learning for schools in northern ireland, the executive has said. many pupils will not return to school until after the half—term break in mid—february, with nursery, primary and post—primary schools carrying out remote learning until then. the northern ireland assembly is to discuss the impact on school exams and assesments later today. we will have a statement from the education secretary, gavin williamson, outlining how the assessments will be made after that announcement that a—levels and gcses will not go ahead this summer. the headlines on bbc news: following the cancellation of gcse and a—level exams in england — more details are to be announced on how work will be assessed. the lockdown in england has become law — the prime minister will address mp5 this morning — ahead

of a restrospective vote in the commons tonight. in the us the final votes are being counted in georgia where the democrats are on course for victory — giving them crucial control of the senate. police in hong kong have arrested dozens of pro—democracy politicians and activists in a major crackdown. they're accused of breaking a controversial new national security law imposed by beijing. our correspondent, danny vincent, sent this update from hong kong this morning we saw several arrests, 53 individuals arrested after the police deployed around 1000 police officers in this investigation. they say these activists and former lawmakers have allegedly broke and the national security law. activists feel this is yet again another example of overreach. they think this is an example of the extended crackdown that the city is facing,

since the new national security law was introduced last year by beijing. we have seen a small but growing number of activists fleeing. we have seen many arrests, and now we have seen many arrests, and now we have seen more than a doubling of the people arrested under the national security law. activists feel this is once again an example of the unprecedented crackdown that the city is facing. you mentioned those accusations of overreach, danny, as part of this operation we know that the officers ofa operation we know that the officers of a law firm were searched, three news organisations were also asked to hand over information. how concerned are human right groups about the use of the security law? what does that mean for the democracy movement? this security law is incredibly controversial. it has been described by human right groups as draconian. they feel it is a political weapon, in some ways, used to try to silence people that are trying to talk out

against beijing and the authorities here. what we do know is that they have been 53 people arrested today. the activists have said... they have spoken out against the arrests. they say that yet again is example of a crackdown. for the future of the pro—democracy movement, it is difficult to say. the authorities said it would only be a small number of people affected by this law, but what we have seen this morning and todayis what we have seen this morning and today is a wide—ranging number of arrests which affects a wide range of people from different walks, different parts of society. there is certainly a large amount of concern about the future of the pro—democracy movement here. there are also concerns for the freedom that hong kong was once promised. westminster magistrates court is due to consider whether to grant bail to the founder of the wikileaks website, julian assange. mr assange arrived at

the court a little earlier. his appearance here follows a separate decision on monday that he should not be extradited to the united states to face charges over the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents. the us is appealing against that ruling. the french restauranteur and chef, albert roux, has died at the age of 85 after a long period of illness. he is credited for opening london's le gavroche restaurant with his late brother michel roux in 1967 — the first restaurant in the uk to gain three michelin stars. albert's son, michel rouer, has said, "he was a mentor for so many people in the hospitality industry, and a real inspiration to budding chefs, including me." food critic jay rayner paid tribute, tweeting, "albert roux was an extraordinary man, who left a massive mark on the food story of his adopted country. the roll call of chefs who went through the kitchens of le gavroche alone is a significant slab of a part of modern uk restaurant culture.

rip." in america, democratic candidate raphael warnock is projected to win the first of two nail—biting senate races in georgia. the results of both will decide who controls the upper chamber of congress in the first two years ofjoe biden's presidency. the republican party of outgoing president donald trump needs only to win one in order to retain the senate if the reverend warnock does win, he'll be the first black man to represent georgia in the senate. in a livestreamed address, reverend raphael warnock thanked his supporters. georgia, i am honoured by the faith that you have shown in me. and i promise you this tonight. i am going to the senate to work for all of georgia. no matter who you cast your vote for in this election. every day i am in the united states senate, i will fight for you.

i will fight for your family. to our supporters, our incredible campaign team, and to my family, thank you from the bottom of my heart. with almost all of the votes counted, he has 50.6% of the votes. we should point out that his opponent, republican kelly loeffler, has not yet conceded. our correspondent, larry madowo, is in atlanta — closely watching the developments. one down, one to go and now at least three major networks here, abc, cnn and nbc, are all projecting raphael warnock will in fact win that senate seat in georgia, becoming the first black senator from atlanta, from georgia to represent this southern state in the us senate. there are very few black senators in the us congress generally so it's a very important moment for raphael warnock who preaches at the same ebenezer baptist church that the reverend martin luther king

preached at so a very historic background for him and a historic moment for him to go to the senate and to defeat senator kelly loeffler who said this evening there was still a path to victory for her and she is not conceding. the democrats are salivating right now because, for the first time in this entire election cycle, it looks like they might have control of the us senate because they will have 50 seats against the republicans' 50 seats and vice president kamala harris can cast the vote that breaks the tie. prosecutors in the american state of wisconsin say a policeman investigated over the shooting of the black manjacob blake in the city of kenosha last august will face no charges in connection with the incident. the shooting by the white officer left mr blake paralysed and sparked deadly street clashes. here's our north america correspondent, david willis. jacob blake was shot in front of three of his children, leaving him paralysed from the waist down. shots fired.

but four months after his violent apprehension, the circumstances surrounding it remain contentious and controversial. the officer who fired seven shots into mr blake's back, rustin chesky, maintained the suspect was wielding a knife and ignored several demands to drop it, prompting him to open fire in self—defence. and i have moved it to my right hand... although the cell phone video does not appear to show evidence of a knife, one was later recovered from the floor of mr blake's car and the local prosecutor has cleared officer chesky of any wrongdoing. it is absolutely incontrovertible that jacob blake was armed with a knife during this encounter. incontrovertible. most incontrovertible because jacob blake, in all of the times he spoke to dci, admits he possessed a knife. jacob blake's family disputes that version of events and believes the prosecutor's decision

will further undermine confidence in the police. i think in 2021 it shows one very important thing and that is that there is three, three justice systems in america. there is one for black and brown people, one for police officers, and one for the rest of america. jacob blake's arrest sparked three days of violent protest in the city of kenosha. among the more than 250 people arrested was a 17—year—old who answered a call to rally behind property owners and protect their assets. kyle rittenhouse was filmed firing on protesters with a rifle. he has since been charged with killing two of them and injuring a third and, in a teleconference court appearance, he pleaded not guilty to a total of six charges. kenosha is bracing itself for renewed demonstrations in the light of the prosecutor's decision.

national guard officers have been drafted in and there is also talk of a curfew if protests get out of hand. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. we arejust we are just hearing about gcse and a—level exams in northern ireland, and they will not go ahead this year. they are due to make the announcement in the assembly, with some gcse exams due to take place next week. the exams will not go—ahead. it is not clear what alternative awarding arrangement will be in place. that is something thatis will be in place. that is something that is being closely looked at in england as well, after the news that gcse and a—levels will not go ahead in england. gavin williamson will have more detail on that in a

statement in the house of commons at 1pm. julian sanchez been denied bail. that is through —— julian assange. there were concerns about his mental health. thejudge said there were concerns about his mental health. the judge said that she was not concerned around whether he would be treated fairly by the justice system, but her concerns we re justice system, but her concerns were for his mental health. on that basis, his lawyers today were seeking for him to be released on bail or stop also saying that there is an issue of covid—19 where he is being held as well. there are pending ongoing appeals by the united states to try to secure his extradition. but he has had that bail denied at court in london. we will have the latest from there

shortly. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. a cold day had of us. we have some showers in the south—east and into the channel islands and also across northern england and southern scotland. some of those are wintry to even lower levels. winds are lighted today. there is a lot of dry weather but however you look at it it will still feel cold. we have this weather front coming in across the north west, aged using thicker cloud and some rain. as that slips southwards this evening and overnight and engages with the cold air across scotland and northern ireland, we see further snow even to lower levels. the other thing to watch out for is some fog, dense, freezing fog patches, especially in north—west england the midlands. a frosty night, and it is not until we head into the weekend that we see the temperatures start to recover.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... what now for a—level and gcse students? the exams have been cancelled but more details will be announced on how work will be assessed. the lockdown in england has become law — the prime minister will address mp5 shortly, ahead of a restrospective vote in the commons tonight. all of the uk is now under strict virus curbs —

as it's revealed that one in 50 people in england are thought to have the virus. in the us, the final votes are being counted in georgia where the democrats are on course for victory, giving them crucial control of the senate. dozens of pro—democracy activists and politicians are arrested in hong kong, accused of trying to overthrow the city's government. outside court had london where julian assange has been denied bail. the man who has been facing extradition to the united states over the wikileaks extradition to the united states over the wikilea ks lea ks. extradition to the united states over the wikileaks leaks. thousands of documents leaked over ten years ago. he has been facing extradition to the united states to face charges

over that. on monday, the old bailey judge said that he would not be extradited to the united states to face those charges because of her concerns for his mental health. she did not accept his defence lawyer's concerns around whether he would get afair concerns around whether he would get a fair trial concerns around whether he would get afairtrial in concerns around whether he would get a fair trial in the united states, but she said that the overall impression of him as a depressed and sometimes despairing man. his legal tea m we nt sometimes despairing man. his legal team went from that today to put forward evidence to say that he should be released on bail, pending appeals from the united states for him to be extradited. but that has now now been refused at the court. so the legal battle from the united states for him to be extradited will continue, the united states challenging the extradition ruling over the allegations against him on

the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the afghanistan and iraq wars. as a less diplomatic cables, that was in 2010 and 2011, and since then he has been holed up in the ecuadorian embassy in london for seven years and since leaving their has been held in belmarsh high security prison. bbc has new chairman, richard sharpe. a former goldman sachs banker, former adviser to rishi sunak. he also worked as an economic adviser to borisjohnson when he was london mayor, he has a lower public profile than others who were suggested as contenders, but he has been confirmed. we will go straight to the commons, the prime minister is making a statement. before i begin my statement i would like also

to say that i know that. the whole house will be with the honourable memberfor cardiff house will be with the honourable member for cardiff central who is currently in hospital with covid—19, and we wage her a full and speedy recovery. “— and we wage her a full and speedy recovery. —— we wish her. the measures we are taking to defeat this new variant of covid—19, protecting our nhs whilst it carries out vaccinations that will finally free art from this wretched virus. there is a fundamental difference in the regulation today and what we face previously, because we now how the vaccines that are our means of escape. we will use every available second of the lockdown to place this invisible shield around the elderly and vulnerable. already with the two vaccines combined we have immunised over1.1 vaccines combined we have immunised over 1.1 billion people in england and 1.3 million in the uk. our nhs

is following the plan drawn up by thejoint committee is following the plan drawn up by the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation, which is aimed at saving the most lives in the fastest possible time. given that the average age of covid—19 fatalities is over 80, it is significant that we have already vaccinated more than 650,000 people in this age group. within two to three weeks, almost one infourof within two to three weeks, almost one in four of the most vulnerable groups will all have a significant degree of immunity. by favouri 15th the nhs is committed to offering a vaccination to everyone in the top four priority groups, including all the care home residents and staff, eve ryo ne over the care home residents and staff, everyone over 70, of front line nhs and care staff, and all those who are clinically extremely vulnerable. in working towards that target, there are already almost 1000 vaccination centres across the

country, including 595 gp led sites with a further 180 opening later this week, and 107 hospital heights with another 100 later this week. next week we will also have seven vaccination centres opening in places like sport stadium and exhibition centres. pharmacies are working with gps to deliver the vaccine in many areas of the country, and i am grateful to brigadier prosser who is leading the effo rts brigadier prosser who is leading the efforts of our armed forces and supporting this vaccine roll—out. we have already vaccinated more people in this country than in the rest of europe combined. we will give the house the maximum possible transparency about our acceleration of this effort. publishing daily updates online from monday, so that jack byjab, updates online from monday, so that jack by jab, honourable updates online from monday, so that jack byjab, honourable members can scrutinise progress being made everyday. as we take this giant leap

to overcoming a virus and reclaiming our lives, we have to content with the new variant which is between 50 and 70% lower contagious. the old variant which the house agreed last month, the tiers, was working with the old variant, but this mutation spreading with frightening ease and speedin spreading with frightening ease and speed in spite of the sterling work of the british public, this mutation has led to more cases than we have seen ever before, numbers that cannot be explained away by the meteoric rise in testing. when the office of national artist takes reports that more than 2% of the publishing is now infected, and the number of patients in hospitals and included some 40% higher than the first peak in april, it is inescapable that the facts are changing and we must change with our response. we have no choice but to return to a national lockdown in

england where similar measures being adopted by the devolved administrations. so we can control this new variant until we can take the most likely victims out of its path with vaccines. my right honourable friend the secretary of state for health will open the debate on the full regulations shortly, but the key point is that once again we are instructing people to stay—at—home. everyone to stay at home, leaving only for limited reasons permitted by law, such as to shop for essentials, working people absolutely cannot work at home, to exercise, seek medical assistance like getting a covid—19 test or escaped injury or harm, including domestic abuse. we are advising the clinically extreme live vulnerable to begin shielding again, and because we must do a thing possible to stop the spread, we have asked schools and colleges to close their

doors to all except vulnerable children and those of critical workers. i do not think the house will be in doubt about our determination, my determination to keep schools open, especially primary schools, for as long as possible, because all the evidence shows that school is the best place for our children, and all the evidence shows that schools are safe and that the risk posed to children bya and that the risk posed to children by a coronavirus is vanishingly small. most children, the most dangerous part of going to school amidsta dangerous part of going to school amidst a global pandemic, remains crossing the road in order to get there. but the data shows, our scientific advisers agree, that our effo rts scientific advisers agree, that our efforts to contain the spread of this new variant would not be sufficient if schools continued to act as a vector of vector for spreading the virus between households. i know the whole house willjoin me in paying tribute to all the teachers, pupils and parents

who are now making the rapid move to remote learning, we will do everything possible to support that process , everything possible to support that process, building on the 560,000 la pto ps process, building on the 560,000 laptops and tablets provided last year with over 50,000 delivered to schools on monday, more than 100,000 being delivered in total during the first week of term. we have partnered with some of the uk's leading mobile operators to provide free mobile data to disadvantaged families to support access to education resources, and in grateful to ee, three, tesco mobile, skype mobile, virgin mobile and vodafone for supporting this offer. the national academy will continue to provide video lessons, and it is good news that the bbc is launching the biggest education programme in its history with both primary and

secondary school programmes across its platforms. we recognise it will not be possible or fair for its platforms. we recognise it will not be possible orfairfor all exams to go ahead this summer as normal. the education secretary will be making a statement shortly. mr speaker, i know many people will ask whether the decision on schools could have been reached sooner, and the answer is that we were doing everything in our power to keep them open because children's education is too vital and they are future too precious to be disrupted until every other avenue, every other option has been closed off, every other course of action has been taken, and that is why schools were the very last thing to close as i have long promised that they would be, and when we begin to move out of lockdown i promise that they will be the very first things to reopen. that moment may come after the february half term, other we should

be extremely cautious about the timetable ahead. as was the case last spring, our emergence from the lockdown cocoon will not be a big bang but a gradual unwrapping. that is by the legislation we will vote on later today runs until the 31st of march, not because we expect the national lockdown to continue until then, but to allow a steady controlled and evidence led move down through the tiers on a regional basis, carefully brick by brick breaking free of our confinement but without risking the hard—won gains that our protections have given arts. these restrictions will be kept under continuous review with a statutory requirement to review every two weeks and a legal obligation to remove them if they are no longer deemed necessary to limit the transmission of the virus.

—— have given ours. as long as rejections are in place, we will continue to support everyone affected by them from the continued provision of free school meals to the £4.6 billion of additional assistance for our retail, hospitality and leisure sectors announced by the chancellor yesterday. we are in a task final stretch made only tougher by the new variant, but this country will come together and the miracle of scientific endeavour, much of it right here in the uk, has given us not only the sight of the finish line but also a clear route to get there. after the marathon of last year, we are now indeed in a sprint, erase to vaccinate the vulnerable faster than the virus can reach them, and every needle in every arm makes a difference. as i say, we are already vaccinating faster than every comparable country, and that

rate i hope will only increase, but if we are going to win this race for our population, we have to give our army of vaccinateds the biggest head start we can, that is why to do that we must once again stay—at—home, protect the nhs and save lives, and i commend this statement to the house. leader of the opposition, keir starmer. can i thank the prime stuff or advance sight of this statement and his telephone call on monday to update me? i also thank him for his kind words by the honourable member for cardiff central, she is still in hospital but i am happy to say that she is now improving. i also want to thank everybody in our nhs along the front line all the work they are doing at the moment in the most stressful of circumstances. this situation we face is clearly very serious. perhaps the darkest moments of the

pandemic. the virus is out of control, over a million people in england now have covid—19, the numberof england now have covid—19, the number of hospital admissions is rising, tragically so other numbers of people dying. it is only the early days ofjanuary and the nhs is under huge strain. in those circumstances, have restrictions are necessary. we will support them, we will vote for them, and urge everybody to comply with the new rules. stay—at—home, protect the nhs, save lies. but this is notjust bad luck. it is not inevitable. it follows a pattern. in the first wave of the pandemic, the government was repeatedly too slow to act. we ended 2020 with one of the highest death tolls in europe and the worst hit economy of major economies. in the early summer, a government report

called preparing for a challenging winter, warned of the risk of a second wave of the virus mutating, and of the nhs been overwhelmed. it set out the preparations the government needed to take. i put that report to the prime minister in july. throughout the autumn, track and trace didn't work. sage advised and trace didn't work. sage advised a circuit breaker in september, but the prime minister delayed for weeks before acting. we had a tier system that didn't work, then we had the debacle of the delayed decision to change the rules on mixing christmas. the most recent advice about the situation we are now in was given on the 22nd of december, but no action was taken for two weeks until monday of this week. these other decisions that have led us to the position we now in the. the vaccine is now the early way out. —— we are now in the. we must

support the national effort to roll it out. we will do whatever we can to support the government on this. we we re to support the government on this. we were the first country to get the vaccine. let's be the first country to roll out that vaccine programme. but we need a plan to work too. the prime minister has given some indication in the last few days but can he tell the house examine what the plan is, can the nhs deliver 2 million vaccines a week? i think they can, i hope they can, but do they can, i hope they can, but do they have the resources and support to do so? we will support that, of course. whether be sufficient doses available week on week to get to the 40 million doses by mid—february? what can we do to help? it is vital that happens. i am glad high street pharmacies will be helping, could be use volunteers in support of this national effort? let me turn to for mental support. yesterday's announcement will help by the british chamber of commerce and

others have already warned it is not enough. there are big gaps in the big questions. first, why is there still nothing to help the 3 million self—employed we have been excluded from the very start? that was unfair in march, it was even more unfair in the autumn, it is totally unforgivable now. it may well be a whole year that that group, without any meaningful support. that gap needs to be plugged. will the prime minister drop his plan to cut universal credit by £20 a week? that is to be done now, and we will support it. will he immediately end... extent eviction ban? it runs out in five days, just as we are going into this new phase. will he address the obvious issues with financial support for those required to isolate, including statutory stick —— sick pay and support for local councils? will he finally

recognise that now is the worst possible time to freeze pay for our key workers? we all recognise the damage that closing schools will cause for many children and families, but the prime minister knew that closures might be necessary, so knew that closures might be necessary, so they should always have been a contingency plan. up to 1.8 million children do not have access to a home computer. 900,000 children live in households that rely on mobile internet connections. can the prime minister tell us when the government going to get the laptops to those that need them? he spoke about the 50,000 delivered under 100,000 more, but spoke about the 50,000 delivered under100,000 more, but 1.8 million children do not have access to a home computer, so there is a real urgency needed as we go into these weeks. i welcome what he said about telecoms companies, cutting the cost of online learning, it is vital they do so. i assume this is happening

straightaway. we cannot delay. will the prime minister be straight about what will happen with exams? we cannot leave this until months down the line. in particular, very pressing now for those who are taking their btec exams in the next few days much earlier they must be cancelled, some leadership on this is desperate needed. our borders, the prime minister knows there is real concern about the rapid transmission of this disease. there we re transmission of this disease. there were new strains being detected in south africa, denmark and elsewhere. the quarantine system is not working. the prime minister said yesterday that we will be bringing to measures at border. why others may should not introduced already? they have been briefed to the media for days. nothing has happened. mr speaker, this is the third time the country has been asked to close its doors. we need to make sure it is the last. we will support prime ministerand the last. we will support prime minister and government in these measures, we will carry the message

and do whatever is asked of us, but we will demand that the prime keeps his side of the bargain. use this latest lockdown to support families, protect businesses and get the vaccine roll—out as quickly and safely as possible. thank you.” thank him, i think he made some sensible points in addition to some slightly party political ones, and on the political points i think it is worth remembering that the waves of coronavirus that we have seen across western europe in the last few weeks, we also see the additional pressure of the new variant of the virus, and i think most people do understand that. he asked about support for the self—employed and we have given 13.7 billion to help them as part of a

massive package of support forjobs and livelihoods across the whole of the uk, totalling 260 billion. we will continue to support families through universal credit, there has been an uplift of £1000 on until at least april, the eviction ban is under review, there has been above inflation pay increase for public sector workers, nurses in particular have had a 12.8% increase over the last few years. he asked about la pto ps last few years. he asked about laptops and devices. he said that figure was 50,000, —— it is 560,000 that have gone to schools, the secretary of state for education will be making a statement later on about what we are going to do to help support teachers and pupils, and againi help support teachers and pupils, and again i repeat my immense thanks

to them and their families were now working so hard and unexpected circumstances to teach kids at home, andi circumstances to teach kids at home, and i thank the mobile companies and the bbc again what they are doing to assist. he will be hearing more later about the btec exams, and we must be fair to those who are taking btecs as well, we appreciate the ha rd btecs as well, we appreciate the hard work that they have done. he asked about a good question about borders, i think it is vital we will take, borders, protect the country from the readmission of the virus from the readmission of the virus from overseas, that is why we took tough action in respect of south africa when the new variant became apparent, we will continue to take whatever action is necessary to protect this country from the readmission of the virus. i am grateful for the right honourable gentleman's support in the vaccination programme, i must say i do remember the derision with which

he attacked the vaccine task force and the efforts they went to to secure huge supplies, i remember it well. i think it would be a good thing if you could continue to keep up thing if you could continue to keep up that spirit and point out that not only that there country devised the first effective treatment of covid—19, secure the first approval, ofa covid—19, secure the first approval, of a vaccine, the first to produce a vaccine that can be used at fridge temperature, great value to humanity across the world, and as i say, the country, as i stand before you today, has vaccinated more people than the rest of europe combined. i think it would be good to hear that from the gentleman opposite. chris

grayling. the prime minister is right to be taking the steps needed to protect the nhs in this difficult time. i approval. the prime minster is all well aware of the thousands of businesses, many on the outsider scope of government support facing desperate times. many support the prime minister but are concerned that this house will not have enough —— and opportunity to take a further view on these regulations until march. will he post lead a debate on progress towards reducing restrictions and that he will not wait until the end of march to do so if it is possible to do so without overwhelming the nhs? he is absolutely right. this house should and will inevitably be giving an —— given an opportunity to debate and discuss these issues at a national

level before the end of march, and i hope substantially before the end of march, we are trying to vaccinate the first four cohorts in the jvc i list by the middle of february, if we can do that and if there is no new mutation and the vaccine the programme proceeds as planned, it will be substantial opportunities for relaxing the restrictions. schools will be our priority, i'd i have no doubt that the house will be consulted as you would expect. ian blackford. can i take the opportunity to wish you all, colleagues and members of staff a good new year, and my best wishes for a speedy recovery to the member for a speedy recovery to the member for cardiff central? i think people across these islands have entered

into this new year feeling a mix of hope and fear, hope the vaccine will end this terrible pandemic, but real fear also about the increased cases, hospital admissions and sadly the lives lost. as our first minister explained on monday, this phase of the pandemic is now a race. a race to suppress the virus and vaccinate our most vulnerable. if we are asking people for one last effort, if we are asking them to endure weeks of lockdown, then they need more clarity, they need protection. they need financial support. also importantly, the uk government has to act in a timely manner. it was said of the french designer that he was one step ahead of tomorrow, nobody would say that this prime minister is one step ahead of tomorrow are acts and shows leadership in dealing with his health pandemic. the prime minister was slow to act in the spring of

2020, slow in the autumn, here again reacts after the events to the threat that we all face. i want to ask the prime minister for specific questions on vaccines and travel and financial support, and i would appreciate if you would answer each of them, not us for hours, but for all the public that wants answers. on the vaccine, professorjonathan van terms said that the only thing that was slow vaccine availability as the supplies, kinda promised to tell us what actions are being taken to ramp up the supplies? on travel, is the prime minister prepared to learn from his government's past mistakes? will he consider closing uk border to all but essential travel to prevent new strains of the virus spreading? 0r support for the self—employed, yesterday, why did the chancellor again decided to exclude the 3 million freelancers and self—employed have not received

and self—employed have not received a penny of financial support since the start of this crisis? they are desperate and they need help, and they expect a prime minister to respond today. finally, on financial support for scottish businesses, yesterday morning the scottish conservatives were busy making amends about an exeter portion of treasury support that it said was on its way to scotland. can the prime minister explain why by the end of the day it turned out there was no new money? can he give a personal commitment that the scottish government well get this money, this new money, for businesses in scotland? mr speaker, i might just mr speaker, i mightjust point out that on his questions about the self—employed, we have supplied

£30.7 billion already and will continue to support people in anyway we can with a multitude of grants and loans, already totalling £260 billion. the new money will of course be passed on, as i said just now. we will be making sure to protect our borders from the readmission of the virus, and he has seen what we did already in the case of the south african strain. we will bring forward further measures to stop the readmission of the virus. i have to say, the general tenor of his question seem to ignore the fact that, i'm delighted to say, the whole of the uk has benefited massively from the natural strength of the uk economy, the ability of the treasury to make these commitments. the mere fact that scotland, wales, northern ireland, every pa rt scotland, wales, northern ireland, every part of the united kingdom has

received the vaccine is entirely thanks to our nhs. i think i will make common ground with the gentleman opposite, it is thanks to the nhs and the strength of uk companies that we are able to distribute a life—saving vaccine across the whole of our country. that is a point that he might bear in mind. let us head up to kenilworth with jeremy wright. most of us to appreciate the difficulty of us to appreciate the difficulty of the judgments my right friend is having to make. can i thank him in particular for the access he has given members of this house to the scientific and medical advisers so we can understand them better. as it is important that people understand

the reason we have gone into a national lockdown, it isjust as important that people understand the circumstances that will allow us to leave it. iappreciate circumstances that will allow us to leave it. i appreciate that he cannot yet give a date, can he be more definitive that when a specific point has been reached in the vaccinating of vital groups, then the balance of risk of lives and livelihood on the other will be significantly different and the reductions can be lifted? he is making a very important point and i know be on the minds of everybody on the house and everybody watching this can understand the kernel of the debate. i understand why he wa nts a the debate. i understand why he wants a more detailed timeline, and collea g u es wants a more detailed timeline, and colleagues around the house will wa nt colleagues around the house will want a more detailed timeline for i will repeat what i can most sensibly say today. if our understanding of

the virus doesn't change your magically again, as it has, if the vaccine takes effect in the way that we think it will, and the roll—out continues to be a success and above all if everybody continues to play their part in following this lockdown and following the guidance to stay home, protect the nhs and save lives, clearly at that moment around about the middle of february, when we have taken those four cohorts and immunise them, or shortly thereafter, there will be substantial opportunities to relax the restrictions that we currently face. if all those conditions are satisfied, and schools, as i say, mr speaker, will clearly be the priority, and the whole matter will quite properly be debated by this house of commons. let's head to

surbiton and ed davey. people are afraid and anxious. this lockdown should have come sooner. but we must all support it now and do all we can to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. but we also need more action to save people's jobs, their businesses, their livelihoods. small businesses have shown incredible resilience, but now they worry whether they can survive another lockdown. 3 million people, most of them self—employed, have been excluded from government support since the start, and the prime minister's answers today have not addressed that. mr speaker, we must leave no one behind as we tackle this terrible virus. employers and workers need to support uncertainty, and they need it now. so will the prime minister

instruct the chancellor to publish an emergency budget to include a business rate holiday next year, an extension to furlough at least until the summer, and support for every self—employed person in the uk, including those he has so far so u nfa i rly including those he has so far so unfairly excluded ? well, mr speaker, there will be a budget in the course of the next few weeks and months, as i'm sure he is aware. he is also aware that the government has made substantial cuts to business rates, to vat, and has produced a package of £260 billion of support for businesses and jobs and livelihoods across the uk. i repeat the points i have made about the self—employed. i have massive sympathy with everybody who is facing a tough time at the moment. i agree with him very much in what he

said about the resilience of businesses. they are showing fantastic resilience under huge pressure. the best way to help them now is for us to follow this latest lockdown and get that vaccine rolled out, and get our economy moving again in the way we all want to. the faster we can get through this period, the bigger the bounce back will be. i am confident it will be a very substantial bounce back indeed. stoke—on—trent is keen to play our pa rt stoke—on—trent is keen to play our part in the national vaccination programme. our mass vaccination ce ntre programme. our mass vaccination centre is ready and able to serve the residents of stoke—on—trent, but it is not scheduled to go live before the end ofjanuary. candy prime and ask the health secretary if this can be expedited if the supply of vaccines is available earlier? —— can the prime minister.

i will ask the minister to write to her as soon as possible. i also would like to send best wishes to the member of parliament for cardiff central and sincere thanks to everybody working on the front line of the nhs at this time. a conservative party newsletter recently told members, the first thing that comes into your head, evenif thing that comes into your head, even if it is nonsense, said. they have announced funding that is new or wales. this is, and i choose my words with restraint, wilful misrepresentation, which will affect businesses in wales. of the prime minister apologise on behalf of his chancellor and recognise that the ——

that for the coronavirus measures to be most effective, then is to be a response from westminster? i'm sure the right honourable lady would not wish to accuse the chancellor of wilful miss representation. —— wilful mr percent asian. all of that cash that we have announced is passport it, and it is to be spent sensibly. we are supporting jobs at lovely hoods across the uk. i am not over happy with" wilful". we have to think about the language we use within the chamber. these are times which are unprecedented. i do think members ought to be careful about the link which i use —— the language which they use. i know he has had to take

difficult decisions and i fully support him and his statement. i am deeply concerned about the impact of cobit 19 deeply concerned about the impact of cobit19 and deeply concerned about the impact of cobit 19 and lockdown on our children and our future generations, especially those children from disadvantaged backgrounds. does he share those concerns and will he work with schools, especially the ones in my constituency, to make sure they get the it support they need so we leave no children behind? might honourable friend is right to raise that question and that is why we are putting so much cash, 300 million, into schools to help children continue with their education online. we have discussed the role of the bbc and the mobile phone companies and internet providers in helping as well, and the 506 2000 devices we have delivered as part of1 million for children who need them most. caroline lucas. thank you, mr

speaker. it is extraordinary that yet again the prime minister didn't say a word about the test, trace, isolate and support system. vaccination and lockdown are essential tools, but they don't replace the need to trace infections and isolate cases to break the chain of transmission. it is an enduring scandal that we still don't have an effective contract tracing system, despite a whopping £22 billion being thrown at private companies and consultants. we'll be prime and fix it, including by ensuring people can afford to self—isolate if they need it, widen eligibility criteria so people can finally benefit and increase the support payments and offer hotel accommodation if people needed. we have increased the support for those who are self isolating and obviously increase the penalties for those who fail to do so when they are asked to do so by test and trace. it is a vital part

of ourfight test and trace. it is a vital part of our fight against the disease. what it has done, which people don't appreciate, it has allowed this country to have an incredibly detailed understanding of where the disease is and what kind of disease we are fighting. the uk is conducting 47% of all of the genomic tests around the world to establish what is going on with the virus and its mutations. nhs test and trace is a remarkable advance. is it perfect? of course it isn't, but it is indispensable in our fight against the disease, as is people's self isolation when they are contacted. you must itself isolate. can i pay tribute to everybody at the hospital and gps around stockport in their rolling out of the vaccine, where

vulnerable people over 80 will have received the first jab vulnerable people over 80 will have received the firstjab by mid—january? frankly, mr speaker, there will be no excuses for any hindrance to this supreme national effort. he speaks entirely for me in what he says about the need to blast away bureaucratic obstructions. i am proud to say at the moment that we have vaccinated more than any country in europe. but that pace must not only be kept up, it must now be accelerated. we will be saying more about how we propose to do that. for the third time in nine months, the government has introduced a damaging lockdown policy which we know will cause

thousands of businesses to go bankrupt, cost hundreds of thousands ofjobs, damage bankrupt, cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, damage children's education, lead to the national debt to soar, remove basic liberties from people which we x in every democracy, all because the government says we need to protect the national health service, suppress the virus and protect the vulnerable. since those objectives we re vulnerable. since those objectives were not achieved by the first two lockdown is, why does the prime and that they will be achieved this time? is the firm evidence or as the government hoping it will be third time lucky? i don't think anybody in this house takes any pleasure or satisfaction in what we are being forced to do. but the honourable judgment should know that lockdown is like this are being conducted across the whole of europe at the

moment, and much of western europe, basically because we are all facing the same phenomenon and basically because we have to protect our nhs and stop it from being overwhelmed. that is what the last lockdown state, they did stop the nhs from being over topped by the wave of the pandemic. had that happened, i'm afraid the death toll would have been unconscionable. that is why when he looks at what his constituents and public think about this, they know that overwhelmingly they are right to protect them, protect the nhs and save lives.” asked the people of h —— ipswich to come up with a question for this. they came up with the issue of grassroots sports clubs. there is a boxing club which is under lockdown, it has a fixed cost, utility bills which are still adding a burden to

it. also a kickboxing club which has a scheme to combat anti—social behaviour. when he considers any further support for these crucial clu bs, further support for these crucial clubs, based on the most deprived parts of the town i represent, that it takes on the basis for physical and mental health, but also the key role keeping them out of trouble and couture eating to our wonderful town. ipswich will of course be benefiting not just town. ipswich will of course be benefiting notjust from kickboxing jab spot from vaccination jabs as well. that will enable us to get through this all the faster. i am delighted by what he says, but we are supporting labs such as the one he so eloquently described by an extra £210 million to help wonderful

communities institution such as the kickboxing academy throughout this pandemic. does the prime minister appreciate that the campaign against covid—19 does not fall equally on everyone in our society? for many, this third lockdown is one of devastating fear because of fear of mental health, isolation, job loss, poverty, loss of their place of residence and stress about the future. will he at the very least ensure that statutory sick pay is increased to £320 per week? the universal credit is not cut, that the continuation of protection of private tenants goes on after the end of this lockdown? and, above all else, that he ensures that every child in every school and every student has a chance to learn online by provision of a computer and, yes,

free universal broadband for all in our society? i think the right honourable gentleman who seems to be recapitulated what his colleague has already asked me, as though he was still doing his old job. i don't necessarily want to repeat all the points that i have made. obviously we are investing heavily into supportjobs we are investing heavily into support jobs and livelihoods throughout the country. on mental health, he is right to draw attention to the risk of increased suffering caused by the privations of lockdown. that is why we are investing hugely in lockdown provision, plus 18 million support for our mental health charities across the country. pubs cannot compete with supermarkets for sales, even within a household you cannot play tennis

or golf. notwithstanding the assault on liberty and livelihoods, why are these regulations pervaded by a petty malice? the intention... i will have to take a hit here, the intention is to stop the virus, to protect the nhs and to save lives. to do that, we have to engage in restricting interaction between human beings. i know that my right honourable friend and colleagues will find all sorts of reasons to oppose all sorts of restrictions, but in the end we have to look at the overall budget of risk caused by transmission between members of the human race, and that is what we are trying to restrict.

i have just come from a call with a business organisation, and i know that the prime minister is meeting with them later. let me give him the heads up. businesses are on their niece was up it has been a year of lost trade and mounting debts. most will not get the grants anyway. what they desperately want is not more sticking plasters, but a proper, long—term plan to help them survive until the spring and then thrive beyond it. it cannot wait until the budget, because many will be bust by then. can he urgently tell his chancellor to come to this house with a proper plan forjobs and businesses? and please don't insult us by re—rehearsing what he has already done. honestly, it is not enough. mr speaker, she asked for a

timetable, as many colleagues on both sides of the house have done so. business wants as much certainty as possible. what we have now for the first time since this pandemic began is clear sight of the end, and the way to the end. we have set a deadline, as she knows, of the middle of february, the 15th of february, to vaccinate the first four cohorts. i'm sure she will appreciate that those groups comprise the overwhelming majority of those who have already died from covid—19. she will recognise the implications from that one ability to reopen the economy. she will recognise the implications that could have if all the conditions i have already described are

satisfied, what that could mean for businesses across the country. there are real grounds now for them to be very hopeful and confident about the months ahead. we have all seen the data, and normal people really understand the need for this lockdown. but, like so many people across this house and members opposite and on these benches, i worry about our economy, jobs, businesses, mental health, children's educational attainment. perhaps the primer circa tell us how normal people, in milton keynes and beyond, will know that things are getting better? i thank my honourable friend. he is absolute write about people's feelings across the whole country. they want a sense of when they will get back to normal. i have tried to give that today. with the pace of

the vaccine roll—out, if it could accelerate in the way that everybody would want, we will reach an important moment on the 15th of february and as i have said many times, ido february and as i have said many times, i do believe things will be better by the spring. let us had to warrington north. special schools we re warrington north. special schools were not mentioned in the prime's speech, but they will be remaining open over the course of lockdown. and he therefore advised to house what advice and support they have received to stay open safely for the young people who need them? whether the staff, students and parents will be given priority access to the vaccine to keep them safe?” be given priority access to the vaccine to keep them safe? i thank those schools for everything they are doing, and all of the work that is being done by teachers across the country to continue to look after the children of key workers, vulnerable kids as well. the point

she makes about vaccination, which is one that many colleagues have made, bringing forward the case for this or that group. it is vital that we as politicians leave that to the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation, who are driven by a desire to stamp out the disease as fast as possible and reduce mortality. i fully mortality. ifully support mortality. i fully support these measures and recognise just how difficult the decisions are. just before christmas, we were told that testing was happening at the pag facility at portadown which would tell us in a couple of weeks if the vaccine would work against the new strain. if there is a glitch with the vaccine programme, re implementing a plan b

involving mass testing of high transmission areas, deprived communities and so one so we can properly isolate as quickly as possible anyone who could transmit the virus customer mr speaker, there is no reason to think that any new strain of the virus is vaccine resista nt. on his point about testing, i can say that mass lateral flow testing in communities will continue to be rolled out because we still believe it is useful. as my right honourable friend, the leader of the opposition said, financial support, measures for test and trace, this government seems to sit and wait for the situation to be at boiling point before it acts. however, most other governments have acted early and have clearly

communicated their plans. well be and acknowledge the problem here is his wait and see strategy, and he urgently needs to revise this over government will get a grip?” thought i understood the honourable lady to be attacking the wait and see position on the vaccines. i really don't think that anybody in their right mind could accuse the government of moving to slowly in that respect. indeed, she might have added to her script that this country has vaccinated more than any other country in europe put together. i welcome the prime minister's assurance that this house will be consulted on the lifting of restrictions, should it be possible before the end of march? but many of us are concerned at being asked to

approve a lockdown which could continue until the 31st of march. cani continue until the 31st of march. can i asking to reconsider and to offer the house a vote at the end of january and at the end of february as well, not on whether to lift restrictions, but on whether to continue them or not?” restrictions, but on whether to continue them or not? i thank my right honourable friend. i cannot believe it will be until the end of march that the house has to wait before having a new vote and any discussion of the measures we have to take. we have had christmas on, christmas off, schools in, schools out, it is impossible to decipher the prime minister's strategy. given that the efficacy of the vaccines is not yet known against emerging strains, can he assure us that his

strategy is not based on vaccines alone? in order to get our schools back, can he assure us that teachers will be a priority for vaccines, and could he detailed his long—term exit strategy? i think the best thing i can say is to repeat that we have, and it is important to repeat this, we have no evidence that any strain of the virus is vaccine resistant, andi of the virus is vaccine resistant, and i think it is important that the honourable lady should be expressing full confidence in the vaccine programme because that'll be indispensable to our way of this crisis. educating our children and giving the best possible start in life is one of society's most importantjobs life is one of society's most important jobs and that life is one of society's most importantjobs and that is why the prime minister has not taken the decision to close the schools lightly. can the prime minister

confirmed that the government will do everything within its power to ensure that every child across the country has access to high—quality remote education during these closures ? i thank her for closures ? i thank herfor her campaigning for education in bishop auckland and repeat what we have said already today about everything we are doing today about everything we are doing to roll out to support remote learning of all kinds. it is a tough time for children, teachers and pa rents, time for children, teachers and parents, but a huge amount is being done to supply remote devices and encourage remote learning of all kinds. giving an example of elections being held, including those in georgia, will the local elections in 2021go—ahead on the 6th of may cannot be delayed any further? of course. that is what the

law provides for, though obviously we will have to keep it under review. can i congratulate my right honourable friend on getting a world leading vaccine strategy going? clearly its success will depend on the availability of the vaccine and the availability of the vaccine and the number of staff to administer it. as a qualified but non—doctor, i volunteered to help with the scheme and urged others to do the same. can i ask why i have been required to com plete i ask why i have been required to complete courses on conflict resolution, equality, diversity and human right, moving and handling loads and preventing radicalisation in order to give a simple jab coach mike cani in order to give a simple jab coach mike can i get him to drop the bureaucracy and little correctness and do all they can to get the vaccine and do all they can to get the vaccine programme and do all they can to get the vaccine programme moving? ican i can tell him i was fit to be tired when i read an account of what he has described several days ago, i

diameter shored by the health secretary of all such obstacles, all such pointless behaviour has been removed and there is should be nothing to stop him volunteering to bea nothing to stop him volunteering to be a vaccinate. despite vaccinate. the decision to close schools this week was inevitable, but we know it will have a detrimental effect on many children, especially the most disadvantaged. school staff across the region are responding brilliantly to the challenge but it is not the same asjudge and being in school. when the prime minister commit now to working with teachers, trade unions and others to plan how we can level up the educational and life chances of our disadvantaged people post covid—19? life chances of our disadvantaged people post covid-19? yes, we must tackle the impact of differential

learning to the last 12 months have had, we will be looking particularly at the advantages of one—to—one tuition project and can be trans and racial not just for tuition project and can be trans and racial notjust for kids tuition project and can be trans and racial not just for kids following behind but for all kids. without question, one of the most important thing this government did in the first lockdown was to strengthen universal credit, and that has been a lifeline not just universal credit, and that has been a lifeline notjust the people of gloucester jobs but a lifeline notjust the people of gloucesterjobs but also people who have kept going out during this pandemic. our plan is still to cut that support back by £20 per week in less tha n that support back by £20 per week in less than three months' time. i know the prime minister understands this issue but does he agree that now was not the moment to weaken our welfare safety net and that by giving families on low incomes greater security for the year ahead by extending rather than cutting support is the right thing to do?”

fully understand the point that he makes, we will of course keep this under review. the prime minister will have heard across the house they concern or 3 million to taxpayers who have been excluded from support since march last year. they have had a terrible christmas and new year egg and i looking at another three months with no support. it is no surprise that they thought about the chancellor's 92nd financial statement fit like a kick in the teeth for those people with nothing. —— 90 second. does he agree the extruded important enough to get their own statements, and when above their own statements, and when above the chancellor becoming to this house to deliver it so that those taxpayers do not feel they are completely abandoned by this prime

minister? with great respect, i don't think she could accuse my honourable friend the chancellor of not keeping the house informed. he will be using the earliest opportunity he can to update her and the rest of the house about the massive package of economic support they are offering, both are self—employed and others across the country. i welcome my right honourable friend's statement that these new regulations will be reviewed every two weeks. can he reassure me that come mid for, there will be a presumption rather than a prospect of an easing of restrictions? i understand there cannot be a cast—iron guarantee, we are any moving situation, but my constituents would like there to be a presumption, especially when it comes to schools. yes, i think i share her constituents' instincts,

perhaps a cautious presumption is what i would advise. ofcom estimates that1.8 what i would advise. ofcom estimates that 1.8 million children in our country are digitally excluded, this this does not is glued a single student from eton. digital poverty isa student from eton. digital poverty is a class issue, the labour policy of universal free broadband, denied in 2019, is now distally needed. kinda prime minister outline how he will solve the issue of digital poverty, which is why the already vast educational inequalities in this country so that not one child is left behind during this lockdown? he would have course know that what the govan is doing to roll—out broadband across the whole of the country, to give every part of the

country, to give every part of the country access to superfast broadband. in terms of the need of people who do not have access to broadband, of course he will have heard what we said about the mobile phone and internet providers who are coming together today to provide cut—price access for those who need it across the country, i think that is the right thing to do. once we have vaccinated the high—risk groups, so the vast majority of people risk of death from covid—19 are protected, what would be the metrics in decisions made around moving areas down the tiers and reopening schools? the metrics would be exactly the same ice they were under the previous tier system so that we look at the rate of reproduction of the disease, pressure on the nhs and the other factors that you would expect.

it is worth now than was last march, whether ba repeat of the everyone in initiative for rough sleepers, with the prime minister guaranteeing a repeat of emergency funding at at least the same level as committed la st least the same level as committed last march? i think one of the consolations of the previous lockdown is that we did succeed in helping so many people are to streets, 29,000, we will continue to do everything in our power, he raises an important issue, we will do everything in our power to prevent people from finding themselves sleeping rough or homeless during this winter, and that remains the policy of the government. the vaccine is a massive

achievement of which we are right to bea achievement of which we are right to be a priority, and the prime minister should be congratulated for all his efforts on that achievement. we must cut away all barriers to speeding up the rio —— roll—out, bin demo —— been bureaucracy, working by pag and pay bonuses, use drive—through is, pharmacies, mobilised troops and volunteers. will he make this roll—out a dynamic, can—do logistical british miracle, saving lives and livelihoods and not waste a single day taking us out of this lockdown hail? i think my honourable friend perfectly captures the mood of the country about the vaccine roll—out. that is what we all want to see, a great national effort now, and she is right to call attention notjust at the role of the nhs and gp clinics and gp services and hospitals, but also the vital role that can be played by pharmacies,

the role of the armed services. we wa nt to the role of the armed services. we want to beget altogether to roll—out this vaccine as fast as possible, and the picture she paints is entirely correct. surely those who cannot work because of government restrictions should be compensated and supported. given that the chancellor has said that coronavirus restrictions could continue for months to come, will the prime minister commit do continuing a furlough for as long as is needed, and extending sector specific furlough payments to the hardest—hit sectors? will he ever do anything for the 3 million who have been completely excluded from any support? they have not been excluded and we continue to support people across the country, furlough will indeed be continued further as he knows, and he should bear in mind what i said to his right honourable colleague, it is thanks to the might

of the uk treasury, the fundamental strength of the uk economy, that we are able to make these support available across the whole of the uk. can i find my right honourable friend for his statement, commend him for his actions? it is obvious the clearest way out of these restrictions is to deploy the vaccine at speed and scale to protect those most at risk of serious illness. will he therefore layout plans not just serious illness. will he therefore layout plans notjust for the serious illness. will he therefore layout plans not just for the first formica groups in thejc vi list but also how he intends to get the vaccine to other key groups, those who keep the country running day—to—day, teachers and home carers etc? he will have studied the jc vi's list of priority groups and we will be setting out indeed a

programme for rolling out that vaccine beyond the first formica i have described. —— the first four i have described. —— the first four i have described. —— the first four i have described. my constituents ross has had no works of the first lockdown and is one of the people who have fallen through the gaps. his own income is now £590, universal credit, his rent, council tax and built a £590 a month, so he is living on a pounds a month. could the prime minister live in a month? willie the chancellor to look again at how he can help the people excluded of the self—employed support scheme? i know this has been raised many times already today by members across the house but i must repeat what i said, 30.7 billion has gone to support the self—employed already, further measures i have no doubt will be forthcoming, but their

overall package of support is £206 billion across the whole of the country. the prime minister will no doubt blue—collar conservatism was instrumental in persuading the supermarkets to return the business rate relief that they did not need. we asked them to do this on the basis that there are many who went without support during this pandemic and it was on that basis that they return that money. well my right honourable friend ensure that that £2 billion returned by the supermarkets will go to those who have not had any of the support so far, who have been excluded, because they cannot go another three months without any income? absolutely, and i thank her and her fellow blue—collar conservatives for their initiative. it was entirely right

andi initiative. it was entirely right and i think that those corporations, supermarkets were entirely right to return that cash. i can tell her that overall, you look at the government's support packages, go overwhelmingly towards the poorest and neediest in society, they are fundamentally a very progressive package of measures. cancer treatment is again being delayed, even a four treatment is again being delayed, evena fourweek treatment is again being delayed, even a four week delay increases mortality, many cases were delayed longer in the first lockdown. today health service reports that the nhs is having them that the agri— repayments. is having them that the agri— re payments. will the is having them that the agri— repayments. will the prime minister ta ke repayments. will the prime minister take action to stop any profiteering and ensure private providers use their capacity for nhs patients in urgent surgery, and urgently bring a detailed plan to there's house on how the government intends to be sure that cancer patients get the treatment they need a good time?

yes, i certainly can, one of the reasons for wanting to keep covid—19 under control with this lockdown is of course to allow the nhl to continue with cancer treatment and other vital services. —— need in good time. he makes a good point for all proficient to be dedicated to fighting covid—19 of providing essential services for the british public, and he can expect to hear more about the way in which we intend to cooperate with private providers. so far welsh government has had an additional £5.3 billion in additionalfunding has had an additional £5.3 billion in additional funding for covid—19, but it is still sitting on more than 1 billion in the unallocated money will businesses are in serious danger. can he apply any pressure on

the welsh government to provide more assistance to businesses here are could the find to be a claim by uk government so that we can step into help businesses where welsh labour is letting them down?” help businesses where welsh labour is letting them down? i think he raises a very good and important point, and he is right to take that up point, and he is right to take that up with welsh labour to hold them to accounts. and to insist that the welsh government spent that money where it is to be spent. can the prime minister tell the house when every child in my lease constituency and across the country will have access to a laptop? and when every period who needs help will be able to afford the necessary broadband or phone charges, so that their children can connect up today listen to, their teachers and classmates, and who should they contact if they

cannot? he is raising the very important needs of his constituents in respect of broadband connectivity, laptops, and i totally understand their concerns. we are massively expanding and rolling those out, of the detailed answer that he needs about each of his constituents and those in need, i will have to write to him, if i may, setting out exact way they can expect the help that he is talking about. about places of worship, doesn't that show every work together with a pragmatic approach we can reopen the economy sensibly? many about who will vote for the government tonight, out of loyalty or because we want to preserve the government's authority, are worried that with every successive lockdown they are less and less effective

because, whilst every death is tragic, young people will have noticed reports that out of a population of tens of millions only 400 have actually died healthy between six —— 16 and 60. well the prime minister tell people that they have to be an element of self—reliance, self isolation and actually looking after our own health and we cannotjust rely on successive lockdown is? particularly with the point of carers, i noticed that the gainsborough testing sensor was turning away people who are not showing symptoms, surely we want to encourage all carers to go in and be tested. let's get rid of these bureaucratic hurdles i get more self—reliance. bureaucratic hurdles i get more self-reliance. we need to encourage people to go ahead and be tested, andi people to go ahead and be tested, and i think you should encourage all the people of gainsborough to do that, where they have symptoms, and as he will no, there is are

initiatives available for community testing with lateral flow testing that i think should be encouraged by collea g u es that i think should be encouraged by colleagues across the house. that are being encouraged across the house. i totally support that. i also think the british public and there's house of a wembley support measures to protect the nhs and save lives, and he meets a valid point about the way that coronavirus impacts on the population, it does fall to support nearly on the elderly and vulnerable, but those lives must be saved where we possibly can. that is what people of all generations in the country want to do. can i thank him and the government for all the help so far of the last nine to ten months? can it highlight aviation at the msp sectors, which are almost entirely shutdown since the beginning of the pandemic? as of the 4th ofjanuary, flight volumes are sympathy percent below precrisis. legal restrictions now one travel and some companies have banned arrivals from the uk. as

a catastrophic effect on the aerospace, and millions ofjobs. these industries have received no sector specific support, unlike other such as hospitality. in light of the unique impact, could i ask him to provide sector specific support to aviation and aerospace to see them through this very detritus? the oil gentleman has raised this with me before it is an ardent campaigner for aerospace, and it with me before it is an ardent campaignerfor aerospace, and it is a vital industry for our country, we have time to pay another packages of the poor, but we will be ensuring that we do everything we can to get the space industry in the uk back on its feet as fast as possible. —— aerospace industry. every vaccination jab aerospace industry. every vaccinationjab in aerospace industry. every vaccination jab in the arm should be viewed as a pupil who can return to the classroom, and it is absolutely vital that we view it with that equation. can i say to him, i have

not always followed him through the divisional on these restrictions, but i will do so today because it is clear that the vaccination changes the game, i don't read those of this pandemic. can i ask him to ensure that the vaccination is available to the rural areas like the one i represent where we do not have the gp network or the harm in place as of yet? i am grateful to gp network or the harm in place as of yet? i am gratefulto him gp network or the harm in place as of yet? i am grateful to him for his support and what he has just said and we'll point to roll—out the vaccine through the whole of the countries fast as possible. i hope it is common ground today that we are right as a country to be putting those jabs in the arms of those who are most at risk of mortality first. that is the way to reduce the death toll and that indeed is the way we hope to get our country back on its feet as fast as possible. we are now

ina race feet as fast as possible. we are now in a race against time to save lives, jobs and restore our freedoms. which is why we need a 24/7 vaccination programme, bringing vaccination to every high street in the country. i welcome the prime minister's comments about the role of trinity pharmacy. will he confirm that it of trinity pharmacy. will he confirm thatitis of trinity pharmacy. will he confirm that it is notjust a few big chains that it is notjust a few big chains that will be involved but the thousands of independent community pharmacies, such as one in twickenham, their stand ready and able to vaccinate but have been docked back? they can provide vital capacity and be able to reach people that other mass vaccination harpers cannot reach. —— been knocked back. she is right to draw attention to the vital role of committee pharmacies, 12,000 in this country, as she knows, in my experience they are great places, hygienic, staff are great places, hygienic, staff are knowledgeable and professional,

andi are knowledgeable and professional, and i think we have already signed up and i think we have already signed up hundreds to the campaign and there will be many more, i can assure her, to follow. i think it is exceptionally welcome that the uk has consistently tested more people than any other country in the world, andi than any other country in the world, and i think this house owes a debt of gratitude and thanks to kate bingham and herteam of gratitude and thanks to kate bingham and her team for procuring about scene at such large amounts and diversified quantities, something the eu vaccination scheme never managed. can the prime minister reassure me and are members of the south—west that we will see the vaccine rolled out under lockdown will not be extended beyond any necessary point than it needs to? yes, indeed, thank him for his words about the vaccine task force which was satirised by the right honourable gentleman opposite, saying it was a mistake. we will do everything we can to roll—out that vaccine to his constituency and all

constituencies across this country. on sunday, the prime minister came on national television looking into the eyes of the british people and announced and told worried parents that it was perfectly safe for them to send their dearly loved children to send their dearly loved children to school. the following day, after being buffeted around by situss, the opposition leader and devolved governments, he announced it was not safe children to go to school and promptly close them all down. does he agree that these concert last—minute u—turns and erratic approach to policy— making last—minute u—turns and erratic approach to policy—making is not conducive to assuaging arches people who are disbelief seeking stability, certainty and assured leadership? -- anxious people. i did not any stacey schools were not saved. —— i did not

at any stage c. he should retract that i give him the opportunity to do so. the prime minister closed down schools, therefore they are not safer people to return to. the prime minister has put what he did say on the record. let's move on to craig whitaker. i have been contacted by several dentists and dental assista nts several dentists and dental assistants who have been told locally that they do not qualify as health workers for early priority identify stationary roll—out. i am aware that my own ball friend, a dentist himself, has campaigned tirelessly for dental teams to be in category two with other health care workers. i wonder if the prime minister can advise for clarity with their dental teams are in fact in priority to with other health care workers for the vaccination roll—out? like him, iam

workers for the vaccination roll—out? like him, i am a big fan of our colleague, the great dentist, ican of our colleague, the great dentist, i can tell him that all dentists in patient—facing roles and members of their dental teams who may have social contact with patients are eligible for the coventr vaccine and we encourage them to take if they are offered. —— covid—19foxing. —— covid—19 vaccine. are offered. —— covid—19foxing. —— covid-19 vaccine. my local hospital is one of many that is facing critical pressures with a supply of oxygen. demand for oxygen is running at 100% or more of the supply available. will the prime minister as surely and my constituents that action is being taken to ensure safe and secure supply of oxygen! —— i

sure me. can he tell me what contingency plans he has placed so that hospitals are not overwhelmed and close, critically ill patients are not moved stop we are going to leave coverage of those questions to the prime minister on covid—19 for now. coverage continues on bbc parliament. once that comes to an end, the education secretary will be talk about what is happening with stu d e nts talk about what is happening with students in england. dacia, after the exams were cancelled, announced yesterday. coverage on the bbc news channel when he starts. the one o'clock news is coming up. right now it is time for a look at the weather. we have had more wintry weather across parts of the country of 24—hour is, make fortunes in terms of sunshine. this was earlier in county durham. some blue sky. some of these, a lot of cloud, redhill in surrey, it makes of rain,

sleet and snow over the higher ground. the area is now clearing away, our attention turned to the next weather front from the north—west, bringing rain and fairly heavy snowfall tonight. he read now, still in the cold air, still wet as, not as blustery as it has been over some recent days. rain and sleet clearing gradually from the south—east, heavy showers for the channel islands, dry weather out there as we head through the maid of there as we head through the maid of the day, tempt has around 1—6 c. rain turning to snow as it moves in across the north west. quite a lot of snow and iciness developing across northern areas as the front pushing its way in. icy stretches, fog patches. temperatures widely tonight getting down to about —4 to -6, tonight getting down to about —4 to —6, not quite skilled in the far south—east, but you will notice some freezing fog patches that are going

to linger through the day, particularly in northern england towards the midlands, wales as well. freezing fog lingering, gradually starting to break up a little bit. sunshine and wintry showers moving in from the north, whether front continuing its progress south, bringing several centimetres of snow to southern scotland and northern england. a cold day, temperatures 1-5 england. a cold day, temperatures 1—5 celsius for thursday afternoon. towards the end of the week, a week front moving southwards, fizzling out, bringing some wintry precipitation, moving south potentially through the midlands, wales, lying snow, further wintry showers across parts of scotland as well. a bit of sunshine away from the wintry flurries by another cold day, to which is icy stretches. things will turn a little bit milder as we head through the weekend and into next week.

the prime minister tells the commons he had no choice but to reintroduce a lockdown in england. borisjohnson says the new variant of coronavirus has brought renewed pressure on the nhs and changes everything. it is inescapable that the facts are changing and we must change our response. so we have no choice but to return to a national lockdown in england, with similar measures being adopted by the devolved administrations. the situation we face is clearly very serious. perhaps the darkest moment of the pandemic. with virtually all of the uk under strict virus cups, we will get the latest from westminster as the new measures for england become law. also this lunchtime, as the number of cases breaks