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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

UK Covid: critical incidents at more than 20 health trusts but No 10 says it’s not a good performance indicator – as it happened

No 10 said that more than 20 NHS trusts have now declared critical incidents.
No 10 says more than 20 NHS trusts have now declared critical incidents. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

Early evening summary

  • Downing Street has said that more than 20 NHS trusts have now declared critical incidents - but argued that this is not a “good indicator” of NHS performance. (See 5.26pm.) This came a day after Boris Johnson faced criticism from some health leaders for allegedly making light of the difficulties the NHS is facing, saying the country could “ride out” the Omicron wave. But the head of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson, said he agreed that counting critical incidents was not the best way of measuring the pressure on the NHS. (See 6.07pm.)

That is all from me for today. But our Covid coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.

Updated

Two health experts have said No 10 was right to say critical incidents are not a good indicator of NHS performance. (See 5.26pm.)

This is from Dave West, deputy editor of the Health Service Journal.

And this is from Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers.

Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, is taking questions from MPs following his statement on schools. He did not have anything major to announce – it was more of an update – but here are the key lines.

  • Zahawi said new research from his department showed mask wearing in school did reduce transmission of the virus. At the weekend the government announced that secondary school pupils in England would be told to wear masks in class. Zahawi told MPs:

The UKHSA [UK Health Security Agency] have said this will help reduce transmission at a time when rates of infection are so high with the Omicron variant.

My department has also looked at some observational data from a sample of 123 schools where face coverings had been in use in the autumn term and found that there was a greater reduction in Covid absence compared to those where students didn’t wear face coverings.

Zahawi also said his department is researching the impact of wearing masks on children.

  • He said staff absences in schools were expected to increase. He said:

Schools will be suffering some degree of staff absences. At the end of last year the figure was about 8% of staff off, and that is probably likely to rise with increasing cases in school and of course young people as we return to school.

  • He said Ofsted was encouraging schools badly affected by staff absences to ask for inspections to be deferred. Inspections were not taking place in the first week of term anyway, he said.
  • He said that two Conservative MPs, Caroline Ansell and Jonathan Gullis, are among the former teachers who have returned to the classroom to help cover for absent members of staff.

Updated

The FT’s Jim Pickard has compiled a list of false or misleading claims from Boris Johnson at PMQs today.

No 10 says more than 20 health trusts have declared critical incidents - but claims this is not 'good indicator' of NHS performance

The Downing Street lobby briefing took place after the start of the PM’s statement. Here, from PA Media, are the key points.

  • No 10 said that more than 20 NHS trusts have now declared critical incidents - but that this was not a “good indicator” of NHS performance. The PM’s spokesman said:

We know that there are a number of trusts that have reported critical incidents.

I believe it’s more than 20 currently, but that number will fluctuate. But again, those critical incidents can vary in terms of their scale, some can relate to one part of the trust, some can be across the whole trust. So it’s not a good indicator, necessarily, of NHS performance at any one time.

  • The spokesman played down the significance of the report that one ambulance service is asking some patients to consider getting a lift to hospital (see 11.28am), saying that this was just one trust and that “the public will still receive the quality of care they expect from the NHS”.
  • The spokesman said that, if the government wanted to extend the plan B restrictions beyond 26 January, MPs would get to vote on them.
  • The spokesman said Johnson personally undergoes “fairly regular testing” for Covid. But he would not say if this was daily, or if the PM always did a test before going to the Commons.
  • The spokesman said the latest report from Lord Geidt, the PM’s adviser on ministerial standards, was due “shortly”. Geidt has been considering whether he was misled by the PM when he conducted his initial investigation into the refurbishment of Downing Street flat. It was reported last week that Geidt will conclude Johnson did not break the ministerial code. But in the Sunday Times (paywall) Tim Shipman claimed the Geidt report would be more critical than those reports implied. Shipman wrote:

No 10 appears to have convinced Geidt that he was misled inadvertently. But his report will be tougher on Johnson’s lack of judgment than reports last week suggested. It will reveal letters between Geidt and Johnson, which are said to be “coruscating”.

Felicity Buchan (Con) asks if the government will drop the work from home guidance at the earliest opportunity.

Johnson says it will be dropped when it is safe to do so. But he says the plan B rules will expire at the end of January.

Updated

Helen Morgan, the new Lib Dem MP for North Shropshire, with Ed Davey, the party leader, at Westminster today, before she took her seat in the chamber at the start of proceedings this afternoon.
Helen Morgan, the new Lib Dem MP for North Shropshire, with Ed Davey, the party leader, at Westminster today.
 Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Updated

Asked when the terms of reference of the Covid inquiry would be published, Johnson told MPs that under the Inquiries Act it was up to the new chair of the inquiry, Lady Hallett, to start drafting terms of reference herself.

Back in the Commons Fay Jones, the Tory MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, said that on Friday she would be holding her team meeting in a pub. That was because, under Welsh government rules, they could not meet in the office. She described this as “ludicrous” and asked the PM if he agreed.

Johnson said he was trying not to be critical, but he said there were some “eccentricities” in policy elsewhere in the UK.

This is from Alastair McLellan, editor of the Health Service Journal, on the latest hospital admission figures for London.

According to the government’s dashboard, 401 Covid patients were admitted to hospital in London on Monday, the most recent day for which figures are available. Here are the most recent admission figures.

Covid hospital admission figures for London
Covid hospital admission figures for London Photograph: Gov.UK

The figures also show that for the first time in this wave the number of Covid patients in hospital in London has passed 4,000. It was 4,074 at 8am this morning. That is close to a four-fold increase over the past month.

Clive Betts (Lab) asks Johnson why tests were locked away in a warehouse during the holiday period.

Johnson says the government is delivering up to 900,000 tests packs per day. It is doing its best to meet demands. To listen to Labour, he says, you would not realise the UK is doing more testing per head than any other country.

Updated

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has posted a thread on Twitter giving a few more details of the announcement from the PM earlier about pre-departure tests for people coming to England from abroad being scrapped. (See 3.56pm.) It starts here.

Johnson claims it is “untrue” to say cancer operations are being cancelled.

In response to a question from Mark Harper, the Tory chair of the lockdown-sceptic Covid Recovery Group, Johnson repeats his point about the plan B measures expiring on 26 January. He says he is confident the situation will be much better than. But the government will continue to use vaccines and therapeutics (medical treatments) to counter Covid, he says.

Johnson suggests life will return to something 'much, much closer to normality' by end of month

This is what Boris Johnson said to Steve Baker a few minutes ago when he suggested the life would get back to something “much, much closer to normality” by the end of the month. (See 4.22pm.) Johnson said:

My plan is that is the one that we have in place. It is it is to get on with plan B ... it expires on 26th of this month. By then we hope to have greatly increased the already extraordinarily high number of people in this country who have not only been vaccinated but who have been boosted ....

All we need to do now is increase that number of boosted members of the population and then as Omicron blows through - and it is very much my hope and belief that it will - I do believe that we will be able to get back to something much closer to normality.

That doesn’t mean that there won’t be further challenges. But I think that life will return to something much, much closer to normality. It won’t be necessary to have the restrictions that we currently have in place. Business, investors will have all the confidence that they need.

Updated

Steve Baker (Con), a leading Tory lockdown-sceptic, asks the PM to bring forward a plan for getting back to normality.

Johnson says the plan B measures will expire on 26 January. He says before then the government wants more people to get boosted. He says 34 million have been jabbed already, but there are 9 million more to go.

After that life will return to something “much closer to normality”, he says.

Back in the Commons Greg Clark (Con) asked the PM if he favoured giving fourth jabs to essential workers, as they are doing in Israel, given the way the effectiveness of the booster fades after 10 weeks.

Johnson says the JCVI is keeping the case for fourth jabs constantly under review.

UK records 194,747 new Covid cases - second highest total on record

The government has published the latest UK Covid figures on its dashboard. It has recorded 194,747 new cases and 334 further deaths.

The figure for new cases is more than 20,000 below the record figure recorded yesterday (218,724), but still the second highest figure on record. But the total number of new cases over the past week is now 40.1% up on the previous week. Yesterday the equivalent figure was 50.9%.

The figure for deaths is the highest daily figure since the Omicron wave struck, but, as Prof Chris Whitty warned at the press conference yesterday, it is artificially high because deaths were not being reported over the new year holiday period.

Covid dashboard
Covid dashboard. Photograph: Gov.UK

Updated

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, says it is the UK government that is out of step. Scotland, and the other devolved governments, are being more cautious, he says.

Theresa May, the former PM, commends Johnson for not introducing new restrictions in response to Omicron. New variants will emerge, she says. How will the government respond?

Johnson says May is right. We cannot respond to every variant by “reaching endlessly for lockdown”.

In the future we need multivalent vaccines that can deal with all variants, he says.

In response Johnson claims that it is Labour that is attacking the record of civil servants, on testing. Labour always wants to run down this country, he says.

He says Rayner claimed the UK did not have diagnositic capabilities. That is wrong, he says. He says it is thanks to the testing regime that Keir Starmer has had to isolate, and Rayner is here today.

Labour would have kept the country in lockdown from 19 July, he claims. And he says Labour frontbenchers wanted tougher restrictions after Omicron emerged. That would have dealt a body-blow to the economy, and to the government’s ability to fund the NHS.

Updated

Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, says Labour supports plan B staying in place. It was only passed with Labour votes in the first place, she says.

She says the PM should be straight about the state of the NHS. It is shocking how long people are having to wait for an ambulance, she says.

She asks why people have not been able to get test. It is lucky that Labour-led Wales helped out by providing some to the UK government.

And she asks why the PM is allowing Tory MPs to attack hard-working public servants. (This is a reference in particular to Tory MPs criticising health experts like Chris Whitty.)

Johnson confirms pre-departure tests for travellers being scrapped

Johnson is making his Covid statement now. He starts by repeating many of the points he made in his press conference last night.

But he also confirms that from 4am on Friday pre-departure tests will no longer be required for people arriving in the country. (See 11.53pm.) And the requirement to self-isolate on arrive until receipt of a negative PCR test will also be lifted. Instead a negative lateral flow test will be acceptable, he says. He says this is the system in force in October last year.

Updated

Johnson refuses to accept he misled MPs when he denied saying fears about inflation were unfounded

PMQs is over, but Angela Rayner, the Labour deputy leader, says Boris Johnson denied saying he was not concerned about inflation. But Beth Rigby, Sky’s political editor, has just tweeted the clip in which he did say that, she points out.

The Speaker says Johnson can respond if he wants to. Johnson takes to his feet, but ignores Rayner’s point and goes straight into the Covid statement.

Here are the key quotes from the exchange earlier.

Rayner said:

In October the prime minister said that fears about inflation were unfounded, but working people across the country are starting the new year facing rising bills and ballooning prices, so how did he get it so wrong?

Johnson replied:

Of course I said no such thing because inflation is always something that we have to be careful about, but what we are doing is making sure that we protect the people of this country throughout what is unquestionably going to be a difficult period.

Updated

Johnson plays down prospect of Indian visa rules being relaxed as part of trade deal

Sir Edward Leigh (Con) says the government is reportedly considering relaxing visa controls from India to help get a trade deal. Does the PM agree that people did not vote for Brexit, to control immigration from Europe, to see it go up elsewhere.

Johnson says trade deals are not like that. But he broadly agrees with Leigh on immigration. Labour wants uncontrolled immigration, he says.

Sammy Wilson (DUP) asks the PM to review VAT on energy bills. And environmental levies are sometimes spent on “madcap” ideas. He asks for a review of them.

Johnson says the energy price cap is still in place. The government wants a better supply of cheap energy, he says. Labour neglected this when in power, he says.

Updated

Andrew Selous (Con) says developers are allowed to build 14,000 new homes in his constitutency, without anyone having to provide more GPs.

Johnson says this should not be allowed. The government is increasing the number of GPs, he claims.

This is from Ed Davey, referencing what happened at PMQs earlier (see 3.27pm) and a niche Twitter tradition.

Andy McDonald (Lab) asks how the PM expects people to survive on £96 per week sick pay.

Johnson says the government has allowed statutory sick pay to be paid from day one, so that has made the system more generous for people who have to isolate. And he says more than half of workers get more than the statutory minimum.

Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, says her mother was diagnosed with dementia before Christmas. She says her on Monday, but now faces being separated from her because of the restrictions on visiting. This is particularly harsh for people with dementia, who benefit from contact. People with dementia have human rights, she says. Does the PM agree?

Johnson expresses his sympathy. He says the rules are there to protect people in care homes, and some visits are allowed. He says he will fix up a meeting on this.

Updated

Jeremy Hunt (Con) says Johnson was right to “hold his nerve” and not introduce restrictions before Christmas. He asks the PM to back his proposed amendment to the health bill on NHS workforce planning.

Johnson says the government has increased NHS staffing.

The Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, calls Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, but calls him Ed Balls. Davey asks about heating bills. Millions of people will go hungry and cold this year.

Johnson says, with regard to Davey’s claims, “balls” is the word. He points out that Davey was an energy minister himself.

Sir Bob Neill (Con) asks the PM to congratulate the Tory-led Bromely council, which has seen the fastest improvment in children’s services. Johnson does.

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, asks about last week’s Resolution Foundation report saying people face a £1,200 hit from higher energy prices and tax bills.

Johnson claims, unlike other European economies, the UK has been able to keep people in work.

Blackford says Johnson is talking nonsense. We have had the year of Tory sleaze. Now it’s is the year of Tory squeeze, he says. The SNP government has doubled child payments to help people out. Will the PM match that? Or will he push children into poverty.

Johnson says Blackford is talking nonsense. He says the government has protected the poor. The chancellor’s measures were progressive. He claims income inequality is down in this country, and poverty is down. That is because the government gets people into jobs.

Updated

Rayner says prices are soaring out of control. Inflation has serious consequences for people’s lives. We need serious solutions. Instead we have this PM, and his incompetent leadership. Every time he is faced with a problem, he denies the problem and blames someone else.

Johnson says it is Labour incompetence that has held the country back. Labour’s failure to invest means the UK does not have cheaper, cleaner energy. He claims the UK has the most open economy in Europe, and the fastest economic growth in the G7.

Rayner says the rising cost of living is an iceberg ahead. People face a £1,200 hit. Will the PM change course, or plough on towards what will be a disaster for thousands of families?

Johnson says the UC change in the budget will make a single mum with two kids better off. People are seeing increases in their pay packets, he claims.

Rayner says the government has put up taxes. “VAT on energy bills make gas and electricity more expensive,” she quotes. Those were the PM’s words. So will the PM stand up to the chancellor and cut VAT on fuel.

Johnson again cites the warm homes discount, the winter fuel payments, the cold weather payments. And he says Rayner wanted to stay in the EU. But Labour now has the effrontery to want VAT lifted from energy bills - which could not have happened if the UK had stayed in the EU.

Updated

Rayner says she has heard there may be a vacancy at No 10 soon. Maybe she should be aspirational. The government shut a gas storage facility, and it has let prices go through the roof. Can’t the PM see what is happening? Families are picking up the tab for his incompetence.

Johnson says Rayner talks about energy; she has more energy than Starmer. He talks again about measures in place to help the low paid. He says the universal credit change in the budget was worth £1,000 to the low paid. He repeats his point about Labour favouring lockdown.

Rayner says the government is shambolic. The PM said wage rises would offset inflation. They won’t. What will the PM do about inflation?

Johnson refers to one of Rayner’s titles, shadow secretary of state for the future of work. We all know what future job she wants, he jokes. He says when Omicron struck, Labour wanted a roadmap to lockdown. If the government had followed that advice, no one would be working.

Angela Rayner, who is standing in for Keir Starmer, says in October Boris Johnson said fears about inflation were unfounded. But now costs are rising. Why did he get it so wrong?

Johnson claims he said no such thing. He cites government measures that have helped the low paid.

(In fact he did tell the BBC in an interview that he was not worried about inflation.)

Jamie Wallis (Con) says Sadiq Khan in London and the Welsh government show Labour administrations want central governement to bail them out.

Johnson says every Labour government has left office with unemployment higher.

Boris Johnson starts by wishing all MPs a happy new year. He says thanks to the vaccination programme, the government managed to ensure people could still celebrate Christmas.

PMQs

PMQs is starting soon.

When it’s over, Boris Johnson will deliver a Covid statement, and so I won’t have time for the usual PMQs verdict.

Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.

PMQs
PMQs Photograph: HoC/PMQs

John Swinney, Scotland’s Covid recovery minister, has been accused by the Scottish Conservatives of using inaccurate Covid data “to score petty political points” after he used old Office for National Statistics figures to talk-up Scotland’s cautious strategy.

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, challenged Nicola Sturgeon over Swinney’s insinuation in a BBC Radio Scotland interview on Tuesday that the caution as justified because Scotland’s Covid infection rates were half that in England: they were, he said, 1 person in 40 in Scotland, compared to 1 in 20 in England.

But it emerged Swinney had used old ONS figures from a survey conducted in mid-December and published before Christmas – figures from a period when the current Covid restrictions were not in force. Sturgeon confirmed on Wednesday the latest data, published by the ONS just as she addressed MSPs, was very different.

That showed Scotland’s estimated infection rate was 1 in 20. In England the estimate was 1 in 15, but that figure disguised very significant variations between English regions – which are of more comparable population size to Scotland’s. The highest rates were in London, at 1 in 10, compared to 1 in 30 in the south-west England. In Wales, where Covid isolation rules have been lighter than Scotland’s, the rate was also 1 in 20 and in Northern Ireland, 1 in 25.

Ross said:

Tackling this virus isn’t a competition but John Swinney tried to make it one. So why has the minister for Covid recovery using misleading data for scoring petty political points?

Sturgeon denied Swinney had done so. He had used the most recent data available, she said. She said ONS figures still showed it was worse in England “but this isn’t a competition,” she acknowledged. “We all have to make the decisions and judgements we think are necessary to navigate the safest course” through the pandemic.

Updated

ONS coronavirus figures in England last week by age group

And here are figures from the ONS dataset showing the estimated coronavirus infection figures in England last week by age group.

Age two to school year 6 - 1 in 15

School year 7 to 11 - 1 in 15

School year 12 to age 24 - 1 in 10

Age 25 to 34 - 1 in 15

Age 35 to 49 - 1 in 15

Age 59 to 69 - 1 in 25

Age 70 plus - 1 in 45

Updated

ONS coronavirus infection figures for regions of England last week

Here are some more figures from the dataset released alongside today’s ONS report (see 2.17pm) with the estimated coronavirus infection figures for regions of England last week. These are figures for 28 December.

North-east - 1 in 20

North-west - 1 in 15

Yorkshire and the Humber - 1 in 15

East Midlands - 1 in 20

West Midlands - 1 in 15

East of England - 1 in 20

London - 1 in 10

South-east - 1 in 20

South-west - 1 in 30

Burnham says Greater Manchester has seen tenfold increase in over-60s infection rate since early December

Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, is holding a press conference. There is a live feed here.

As my colleague Josh Halliday reports, Burnham opened by saying there has been a tenfold increase in the over-60s infection rate since early December.

Updated

Sturgeon confirms Scotland cutting isolation period from 10 days to seven

Nicola Sturgeon has cut Scotland’s self-isolation period from 10 to seven days, after sustained pressure from businesses and opposition parties to address soaring staff absences.

The first minister has softened her government’s highly cautious stance on the 10-day isolation period after hospitals data suggested the Omicron variant is less medically severe than first feared.

Ministers in England and in Wales cut it to a week in December after deciding the impact of an extended self-isolation period on public services and businesses was not outweighed by Omicron’s risks to health and critical care services.

In a recalled session of the Scottish parliament, Sturgeon told MSPs people could end their self-isolation after seven days if they have no fever and have two negative lateral flow tests.

Close contacts will not be expected to self-isolate if they are fully vaccinated, have no symptoms and record negative tests every day for seven days, under the new rules which take effect from midnight on Wednesday.

She acknowledged these new rules were “more proportionate and sustainable and less restrictive”.

Sturgeon’s move came after Scottish hospitals warned their services were under significant strain due to staff absences and ScotRail, the main trains operator, cut hundreds of trains this month and is operating a reduced timetable due to staff shortages. Hospitality companies and retailers have struggled to remain open, and complained bitterly about the impact on their businesses.

While Scotland has recorded its highest-ever Covid infections figure of 20,217 on Monday – a figure partly inflated by results delayed by the holiday weekend – critical illness rates have remained stable.

There were 1,223 people in hospital on Wednesday, more than double the number seven days ago, but the number in intensive care has remained relatively stable, at around 52 or 53 people a day. Ministers have so far failed to state whether they were hospitalised because of Covid or were found to be Covid-positive after admission for another reason.

Sturgeon said the latest ONS data suggested that 1 in 20 Scots had had Omicron last week (see 2.17pm), a figure similar to the rates in many English regions. The rate before Christmas had been 1 in 40. She went on:

The proportion of people with Covid is likely to be even higher than that now, a few days later – and I would anticipate that we will see continued growth in the level of infection as work and school resume after the holiday period.

In short, Covid is significantly more widespread now than at any stage in the pandemic so far, and will almost certainly become even more so in days to come. This, of course, has extremely serious implications for the NHS and social care. But it also has a severe and increasing impact on the economy and other critical services.

Nicola Sturgeon addressing MSPs
Nicola Sturgeon addressing MSPs. Photograph: Sky News

Updated

More than 3.5m people in UK had coronavirus last week, with 1 person in 15 infected in England, ONS says

The Office for National Statistics has just published the latest figures from its Covid infection survey. These cover the week ending Friday 31 December, and they show Covid rates increasing in all four nations in the UK. The ONS says:

In England, the percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus (Covid-19) continued to increase; we estimate that 3,270,800 people in England had Covid-19 (95% credible interval: 3,163,500 to 3,377,500), equating to around 1 in 15 people.

In Wales, the percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 continued to increase; we estimate that 157,900 people in Wales had COVID-19 (95% credible interval: 138,900 to 179,600), equating to around 1 in 20 people.

In Northern Ireland, the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 continued to increase; we estimate that 72,900 people in Northern Ireland had COVID-19 (95% credible interval: 56,800 to 90,100), equating to around 1 in 25 people.

In Scotland, the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 continued to increase; we estimate that 238,000 people in Scotland had COVID-19 (95% credible interval: 209,300 to 268,000), equating to around 1 in 20 people.

This means more than 3.5 million people in the UK had coronavirus last week.

The ONS also says Covid rates were going up in every region of England last week, with rates as high as one in 10 in London.

Covid-19 infections continued to increase across all regions of England, with the highest percentage testing positive in London (1 in 10) and the lowest in the South West of England (1 in 30); there were some early signs in the last few days of 2021 that infections may no longer be increasing in London, but it is currently too early to suggest if this is a continuing change in trend.

Nicola Sturgeon's statement to MSPs on Covid

Nicola Sturgeon says Covid cases are continuing to rise. She will announce changes to self-isolation and testing, she says. And existing restrictions will remain in place this week.

She starts with the latest figures. There are 16,103 new cases, and 26.9% of tests were positive, she says.

She says there are 1,223 Covid patients in hospital. That is up 71 from yesterday, but up 544 from last week.

She says 42 people are in intensive care.

And there have been five more deaths.

The Irish government has decided antigen or PRC tests are no longer a pre-requisite for vaccinated travellers coming from Great Britain or elsewhere. The restriction was introduced in December but will be removed from tomorrow - but will still apply to those who have not been jabbed.

The taoiseach, Micheál Martin, told reporters it was because the Omicron variant “now constitutes about 96% of all cases” and the test was no longer necessary.

Updated

This is from my colleague Severin Carrell, following up from his post at 1.28pm.

Johnson tells cabinet 2022 should be 'year of delivery'

Downing Street has sent journalists its readout from this morning’s cabinet. These statements are notoriously bland, but if you interrogate them hard enough, you can normally extract some insight. Here are the three things we’ve learnt from today’s offering.

On Covid

The readout says:

The prime minister opened cabinet with an update on the current spread of Omicron ...

The government acted swiftly as Omicron emerged, introducing proportionate restrictions and massively expanding the booster rollout, becoming the most boosted country in Europe.

The prime minister said the UK’s balanced approach, together with new evidence that Omicron is less severe than Delta, meant it was right to maintain the plan B measures, with a further review before the regulations expire on 26 January. Even with these measures in place, England would remain one of the most open economies in Europe.

This means: Boris Johnson is feeling vindicated by his decision not to bow to pressure from Sage, and the opposition, before Christmas to tighten restrictions, and today’s Commons statement may sound like a victory lap.

On public services

The readout says:

The prime minister then set out his commitment to delivering on the public’s priorities during the coming year. He emphasised that 2022 must be the year of delivery for our public services and that we need to show progress in a number of key areas such reducing NHS backlogs, delivering the Plan for Jobs, reforming the skills system, creating more new green jobs and cutting crime.

This means: Newish prime ministers often promise a “year of delivery”. It means they realise people think their record so far has been a bit disappointing. Unlike Johnson, though, normally they don’t have a pandemic as an excuse.

On the cost of living

The readout says:

Cabinet then discussed ongoing support available for those impacted by global price rises. The chancellor said government had acted quickly to introduce the [universal credit] taper cut, worth around £1,000 to those in work at the bottom end of earnings.

On top of this he said government had increased the minimum wage and frozen fuel duty. On energy bills specifically, he said the energy price cap remained in place, along with the warm homes discount and winter fuel payments. The government had also brought in a £500m household support fund to support millions of vulnerable people over the coming months.

This means: The government knows cost of living is a problem, but so far it has not got anything new to offer that will help people.

Updated

UKHSA gives details of new policy on confirmatory PCR tests

Here are more details about the announcement from the UK Health Security Agency about confirmatory PCR tests being abandoned for people with no Covid symptoms. (See 12.40pm.)

  • Lateral flow tests have an estimated specificity of 99.97%, UKHSA says. That means, for every 10,000 people tested, no more than three people are likely to receive a “false positive” - a positive result when they are in fact negative.
  • The suspension of confirmatory PRC tests for England is temporary, UKHSA says. It does not say how long the new regime will last, but it points out that the same thing happened last year, when confirmatory PRC tests were abandoned between January and March.
  • People who have to isolate after a postive lateral flow test will still be contacted by Test and Trace, UKHSA says.
  • Asymptomatic people with a positive latera flow test will still be required to get a PCR test if they fall into one of three categoriess: people wanting to apply for the £500 test and trace support payment; people participating in Covid surveillance report; and around one million people who are at particular risk who are potentially eligible for new treatments.

Fresh questions about the Scottish government’s very cautious stance over the Omicron variant have emerged after Public Health Scotland apparently denied it would be publishing data on how many people have been hospitalised because they have Covid.

Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, has refused to cut Scotland’s self-isolation rules from 10 days to seven in line with the rules in place forEngland and Wales, arguing that the Omicron’s very high infection rate could overwhelm Scottish hospitals. She is likely to finally relax them in a statement to MSPs shortly.

The latest headline data shows the number of people in Scottish hospitals has doubled over the past week to 1,147 on Tuesday: that appears to support the case for caution.

But the latest English data suggests a third of Covid-positive people in hospital south of the border were admitted for other medical reasons, and not because they were ill with Covid. That suggests the Omicron variant is having a lesser impact on NHS resources than previous variants and could support demands for less onerous rules in Scotland.

John Swinney, Sturgeon’s deputy first minister, has promised recently that Public Health Scotland, a government agency, would release Scotland’s data Covid-positive patients on Wednesday.

The political journalist Chris Musson, of the Scottish Sun, has reported that PHS has denied it plans to do so.

That is likely to fuel opposition criticisms later over whether Sturgeon has had the right evidence to justify her ultra-cautious stance and questions over whether that has caused unnecessary harm to Scottish public services, hospitality outlets and businesses.

Updated

The Commons authorities have confirmed that Boris Johnson will deliver the statement on Covid at 3.30pm, after PMQs.

After that there will be two more statements: from Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, on the return to school (starting after 4.30pm); and from Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the international trade secretary, on the trade deal with Australia (starting after 5.30pm).

Updated

UKHSA confirms confirmatory PCR tests being abandoned for asymptomatic lateral flow positive cases

Hugh Pym, the BBC’s health editor, says the UK Health Security Agency has confirmed that confirmatory PCR tests will no longer be required in England from 11 January for people without symptoms who get a positive lateral flow test. (See 9.12am.)

Updated

Wales has recorded 21,279 new Covid cases, Public Health Wales reports. That is the second highest ever daily total, according to the UK Covid-19 Statistics website.

This chart, from the Public Health Wales dashboard, summarises two key trends. Over the Christmas period (from 25 to 31 December) the positivity rate - the proportion of tests turning out positive - was 51.6%.

Trends in Wales
Trends in Wales Photograph: PHW/Public Health Wales

Pre-departure tests for travellers flying to UK likely to be scapped

Pre-departure Covid tests for people flying to the UK from abroad are likely to be scrapped, PA Media reports. PA says:

The move would be a major boost for holidaymakers planning winter sun breaks and the beleaguered travel and tourism industry.

The testing rules for international travel will be discussed at a meeting of the cabinet’s Covid-19 operations (Covid-O) committee on Wednesday.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, is understood to be pressing for a relaxation of restrictions to help the airline sector.

There have been calls to drop the requirement for even fully vaccinated travellers to take a PCR test after arriving in the UK - but such a move may be opposed by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Research commissioned by Manchester Airports Group (MAG) - which owns Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports - and trade body Airlines UK indicated that removing all international travel testing would not affect the spread of the Omicron variant in the UK.

The analysis, conducted by Oxera and Edge Health, concluded that domestic restrictions would be the only way to reduce Covid cases related to the strain.

Passenger numbers at MAG airports fell by more than 30% from early December, following the introduction of the tougher testing requirements.

The UK government is in charge of the rules for England, but in the past changes affecting England have generally been adopted in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland too because of the impracticality of trying to enforce different rules in different parts of the UK.

Updated

A fire station in Gosport, Hampshire, was left with no firefighters available one night after Christmas because of staff absences, the local Fire Brigades Union has said. The FBU has highlighted this as just one example of how the spread of Omicron is affecting services. Gosport was particularly badly affected on 28 December, when firefighters had to be moved from another station to cover, but the FBU says there have been other examples in the county of fire stations being left short-staffed, with some fire engines being unavailable.

Mark Chapman, FBU regional secretary, said:

The service is at an absolutely threadbare level of cover. We even had one fire station essentially left without any firefighters, having to borrow firefighters from another station. As Omicron takes grip across the country that’s something we’ll continue to see in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and more widely.

Updated

Two of the clock faces on Queen Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, visible this morning as MPs prepare to return to the Commons and the Big Ben renovation work nears completion.
Two of the clock faces on Queen Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, visible this morning as MPs prepare to return to the Commons and the Big Ben renovation work nears completion. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

The North East ambulance service has said it is still asking some patients to get a lift to hospital instead of waiting for an ambulance, despite a health minister saying this is unacceptable. (See 9.33am.) Dr Mathew Beattie, its medical director, said the service would usually move up and down an escalation plan as demand for crews increased and decreased, but the decision was taken on New Year’s Eve to go straight to its highest level. That meant telling patients on calls that were not potentially life-threatening, and where the ambulance was delayed, that they could choose to get a lift to hospital. Beattie went on:

Under normal circumstances, we would move up and down our clinical escalation levels reactively as each point is triggered or demand reduces.

The measures we took over the bank holiday weekend were implemented because we have seen activity fluctuating dramatically with surges in demand.

This was an incredibly difficult decision to take, but when patients are waiting an average of an hour for an ambulance that should be responding within 18 minutes, there is a risk for them coming to harm if they cannot get to hospital quickly.

As PA Media reports, Beattie said the service was now using its regular escalation plan, but that some patients are still being asked to consider getting a lift to hospital.

Our performance has not returned to normal and it is still taking us too long to get an ambulance to patients, unfortunately due to this patients remain at risk, which is unacceptable.

Where it is safe we will continue to ask patients to make their own way to hospital. However, we would never ask anyone to drive themselves to hospital with a life-threatening illness.

Updated

According to the latest Office for National Statistics death figures for England and Wales, there were 13,010 deaths registered in the week ending Friday 24 December - 610 more than the previous week, and 12.7% more than the five-year average for this time of year. That amounts to 1,462 so-called “excess deaths”.

But the ONS also says that in the week ending 24 December only 4.5% of deaths (591) involved Covid being mentioned on the death certificate. The week before it was 6.1% of deaths (755).

Excess death figures
Excess death figures. Photograph: ONS

Updated

Yesterday Sajid Javid, the health secretary, ruled out cutting the minimum isolation period from seven days to five days, which is what it now is in the US. It has already been reduced from 10 days.

But this morning Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said he would favour relaxing these rules further “as long as it is based on the science”. He told the Today programme:

Hospitals who have declared critical incidents, for example, are essentially reaching out to staff who are on leave, on rest days or even recently retired and asking them to come back to wards, so the situation is desperate - any way of getting staff back into hospital is a good thing.

But on the other hand, if staff come back into hospital and are infectious, that’s completely counterproductive because that is going to mean more sickness in the hospital and for staff, so this can’t be led by politics or blind hope - it has to be led by the science.

If the science says it is possible for people to go back to work earlier, then of course NHS leaders will want that to be possible.

West Midlands ambulance service (WMAS) has appealed for recently retired staff to return to work amid growing pressures due to rising Covid cases and a sharp increase in 999 calls.

The service issued a similar appeal in March 2020 but said it is now in desperate need as the country grapples with the highest Covid infection rate since the start of the pandemic.

The trust’s chief executive, Anthony Marsh, said they were looking for staff who had retired in the last two years, particularly people who worked on an ambulance or in a control room. He said:

We would like those colleagues to consider returning to WMAS so that we can increase the quality and amount of care that we can provide the public in these challenging times.

I wouldn’t ask you to re-join if I didn’t think it was the right thing for the public of the West Midlands and our patients.

WMAS serves 5.6 million people covering a 5,000 sq mile area made up of Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Coventry, Birmingham and the Black Country conurbation.

In October the service raised its risk rating to the highest level in its history, saying patients were being put at “catastrophic risk” of harm due to ambulance handover delays, and last year repeatedly broke records for its busiest days.

It comes as multiple NHS trusts across England have declared “critical incidents” amid soaring staff absences caused by Covid-19.

Updated

Starmer to miss PMQs after testing positive - for second time in less than 3 months

Keir Starmer has tested positive for coronavirus, a Labour spokesperson has said. Angela Rayner, the deputy leader, will deputise for him at PMQs.

This is the second time Starmer has tested positive in less than three months. He also missed PMQs and the budget for the same reason at the end of October. This suggests he’s a good example of how up to 15% of Omicron cases are reinfections.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, arriving in Downing Street for cabinet this morning.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, arriving in Downing Street for cabinet this morning.
 Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images

Gillian Keegan, the health minister, said a record number of lateral flow tests - almost three-quarters of a million - were sent out to individuals yesterday. She told BBC Breakfast:

What we’ve got is many, many more lateral flow tests.

Yesterday was a record - we sent out 741,000 lateral flow tests to people’s homes.

We’ve tripled capacity - that’s what we’ve been working on over Christmas - so for January and February, we have 350m lateral flow tests, so hopefully that should sort out some of the short-term supply issues that we’ve had where people have had to wait a little bit to get their packs.

She also said she thought the number of people currently isolating was “about 1 million”.

UPDATE: The Department of Health and Social Care later confirmed that Keegan was talking about 741,000 lateral flow test kits being sent out, not individual tests. There are seven tests in a kit.

Updated

Minister says it's not acceptable for people needing ambulance to be asked to get lift to hospital instead

In her interviews this morning Gillian Keegan, the health minister, said it was not acceptable for patients waiting for an ambulance to take them to hospital to be asked to get a relative to give them a lift instead.

As the Health Service Journal has reported, an internal note at North East ambulance service NHS foundation trust said that where there was likely to be a risk from the delay in an ambulance reaching a patient, call handlers should “consider asking the patient to be transported by friends or family”. My colleague Andrew Gregory has the story here.

Asked about these reports, Keegan said this should not be happening. She told Sky News:

I’ve actually asked NHS England to look at that particular case because that doesn’t sound to me like that’s an acceptable approach - people should be able to get an ambulance if they have a heart attack and that’s why we’ve put that extra funding in place, and why we’ve been building up our ambulance service over the last couple of years.

She also claimed that more ambulance crews were in operation than ever before and that the service had received an extra £55m to help it cope over the winter.

Gillian Keegan
Gillian Keegan. Photograph: Sky News

Updated

Sturgeon expected to cut isolation period in Scotland from 10 days to seven

Nicola Sturgeon is expected to cut Scotland’s self-isolation period from 10 to seven days when she updates Holyrood on the Covid crisis later today, after sustained pressure from businesses and opposition parties to address soaring staff absences.

The first minister has resisted demands to soften her government’s highly-cautious stance on the 10-day isolation period; ministers in England and in Wales cut it to a week last month, after judging Omicron was less medically severe than first feared.

Scottish hospitals are warning their services are under significant strain due to staff absences; ScotRail, the main trains operator, has cut hundreds of trains this month and is operating a reduced timetable due to staff shortages; hospitality outlets and retailers have struggled to remain open.

While Scotland has recorded its highest-ever Covid infections figure of 20,217 on Monday - a figure partly inflated by results delayed by the holiday weekend, critical illness rates have remained stable.

There were 1,147 people in hospital on Tuesday, double the number seven days ago, but the number in intensive care has remained relatively stable, at around 52 or 53 people a day. Ministers have so far failed to state whether they were hospitalised because of Covid or were found to be Covid-positive after admission for another reason.

No recent Covid-related deaths have been reported for Scotland due to public holidays; the last figure was 13 deaths on 31 December. No reliable data has been published yet on the fatalities or intensive care cases due to Omicron in Scotland.

John Swinney, Sturgeon’s deputy and Scotland’s Covid recovery minister, told BBC Scotland on Tuesday they were “actively considering” cutting the isolation period. He said:

We’re obviously looking at the clinical advice that is crucial in the hands of this because as I’ve indicated before in these discussions, we do not in any way shape or form serve anybody’s interests if we ignore the clinical dimension of this issue.

Updated

Minister hints confirmatory PCR tests to be dropped for asymptomatic cases

Good morning. Gillian Keegan, the social care minister, has been giving interviews this morning and she has come close to confirming reports that the Covid testing rules in England are going to be changed. Under the new system, people without symptoms who test positive on a lateral flow test will no longer be asked to get a confirmatory PCR test. This will reduce pressure on the testing laboratories.

Asked about these reports, Keegan did not deny them, and hinted that a formal announcement is coming soon. She told BBC Breakfast:

As I say, I don’t have any official news on that but I know that the teams are looking at testing and testing regimes.

We’ve introduced so many lateral flow tests now and they are very accurate - they are really accurate if people are infectious, so I guess they are looking at the regime all the time in terms of what makes sense.

I don’t have any official news but the teams will announce it once they have come to their conclusions.

Asked if the announcement would come today, she said: “You may be able to expect some news - I don’t know when.”

Ministers are also reportedly planning to announce that people travelling to England will no longer need to take a pre-departure test.

Boris Johnson is chairing cabinet this morning, and both measures may be discussed there. At his press conference yesterday Johnson said he would asking cabinet to agree that the government should carry on with plan B instead of introducing further restrictions. That’s not much of an ask, because most of the cabinet, and the Conservative parliamentary party, are strongly opposed to tightening restrictions (which arguably would be too late now anyway).

But Johnson may face a tougher reception in the Commons, where the timing of today’s session means he is taking PMQs at 3pm, and where is is expected to deliver a Covid statement later.

Here is the agenda for the day.

Morning: Boris Johnson chairs cabinet.

2pm: Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, makes a statement to the Scottish parliament on Covid.

2pm: The ONS publishes more results from its Covid infection survey.

2.30pm: The Commons starts sitting again after the Christmas recess, with Welsh questions.

3pm: Johnson faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.

3.30pm: Johnson is expected to make a statement to MPs on Covid.

I will largely be focusing on UK Covid developments in this blog today, but for wider coronavirus coverage, do read our global live blog.

I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com

Updated

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