Markus Andrews

Scotch whisky could see a boost if a proposed post-Brexit trade deal with Australia cuts tariffs on the drink, the UK government has claimed.The international trade secretary, Liz Truss, has said she is pushing to ensure a 5 per cent tariff is scrapped as part of a proposed free trade agreement.But the SNP has dismissed the claim, saying people would not be “fooled” by the Tory government’s rhetoric – given its record of “selling out our vital sectors in pursuit of deals”.The party’s trade spokesman, Drew Hendry MP, said: “Distilleries have told me that they now face a big gap in their exports due to the EU market contracting drastically as a direct result of Brexit … and that the loss cannot even come close to being compensated by these deals.”The SNP spokesman added: “The Tory government has proven time and time again that they cannot be trusted to stand up for Scotland’s interests.”Currently, Australia is the eighth biggest market for Scotch whisky, worth £131m – with hopes any deal removing a 5 per cent tariff on exports could see that figure rise.Ms Truss said: “A UK-Australia trade agreement would be significant for Scotch whisky and the union. I am fighting hard to get these tariffs cut and secure a deal that benefits producers in Scotland and helps the whole of the UK.”Karen Betts, the chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) voiced her support for the removal of the tariff.“We’re looking forward to the conclusion of a free trade agreement with Australia – which will benefit Scotch whisky exports, our Australian consumers and which will support free and fair trade,” said Ms Betts.“Over the last 10 years, exports of Scotch Whisky to Australia have almost doubled. But they’re subject to a 5 per cent tariff which we’d very much like to see removed, which would help to boost growth in our industry’s eighth largest global market.” More

A senior Conservative has suggested the Treasury could find additional funds for schools’ catch-up plans “from the back of the sofa” if there is political will.The remarks from Robert Halfon — chair of the Education Select Committee — comes after the government’s catch-up tzar dramatically resigned from his position, suggesting the financial package offered had fallen “far short of what is needed” to help children.Denouncing the government’s plans on Wednesday evening as he announced he was quitting — just four months after being appointed — Sir Kevan Collins said in a statement: “A half-hearted approach risks failing hundreds of thousands of pupils”.He was said to have been pushing for £15 billion worth of funding to alleviate the impact of the Covid crisis on schools and children’s learning, but the government unveiled a package of just £1.4 billion in an announcement yesterday.Amid reports the Treasury had rejected the funding plea, the Tory MP Mr Halfon said the government must “decide their priorities in terms of education”.“Of course there are funding constraints but the Treasury announced over £16 billion extra for defence only last year, we’ve got £800 million being spent on a new research agency, £200 million being spent on a yacht,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.“So where there is the political will, The Treasury can find the money from the back of the sofa, and there has to be that political will because we need a long-term plan for education, a proper funding settlement.Mr Halfon said the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to children “has been nothing short of disastrous”, adding: “We need some radical thinking, some thinking out of the box, a proper long-term plan and I will keep campaigning for that, and a proper funding settlement so that the plan is properly resourced”.Former children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield also told BBC Breakfast: “We’ve seen in other areas of course spending has needed to happen during the pandemic. Furlough, not least.“None of us would say that wasn’t money well spent, but somehow when it gets to children and education there’s so many hoops that need to be jumped through.“So, wherever this lives, whether it’s in Number 10 or whether it’s in the Treasury, this is a false economy.”And Dr Lee Elliot Major, a professor social mobility at the University of Exeter, also told the BBC that “at least 10 times the amounts that were announced yesterday would be needed for children to have a chance to catch up” as he responded to Sir Kevan’s resignation.“I just hope that it’s a wake-up call for the government to see this as the beginning of a much bigger, more ambitious programme,” he said.“What we do know, and I think there is a lot of evidence around this, is that extra teaching for children will have huge benefits. And remember this is an investment for the future. If we don’t address these issues now the real fear is that we will fail a whole generation.“This is about a whole generation of children and so my belief is that there is compelling evidence that, if done well, if you extend teaching, then that will help us catch up. I don’t see any other way of doing it.”Home office minister Victoria Atkins, who was on the government’s morning broadcast round, insisted that the government had focused the “latest tranche” of £1.4 billion of funding on extra tuition for children.“We very much want to support teachers in developing and delivering this package of work across schools,” she said.Pressed on Sir Kevan’s resignation and whether the £15 billion he requested for the catch-up programme was still under consideration, she responded: “As a Home Office minister I’m not privy to the discussions between Department for Education and Treasury.“This is part of a programme of work, we are reviewing this recommendation about reviewing the school day, we are very much looking into that. We do have to bring people with us, bring teachers with us, bring parents with us on this journey.”She added: “We are all focused on helping children, it’s the absolute focus of the secretary of state for education, it’s the absolute focus of the prime minister.” More

To much merriment, Tim Martin, chair of Wetherspoon and campaigner for a hard Brexit, now wants to make it easier for workers from the European Union to work in his ubiquitous pub chain of some 925 establishments. “If only there was some way of bringing this about” and “Tim Martin is going to be very annoyed with Tim Martin when he finds out” go the typically sardonic remarks on Twitter. Very droll, but at least a tad unfair. During the 2016 referendum, Martin actually did express the view that he thought EU labour should still be able to move more or less freely to the UK, and doesn’t seem to have had immigration as his principal motivation in seeing the UK leave the EU; but of course exiting the single market made the end of free movement of workers inevitable. So it has come to pass, and the loss of such labour is complicating the economic recovery from Covid, with the impact of the end of the furlough scheme yet to be felt. Certainly there will be a period of adjustment; and businesses such as Wetherspoon may face higher labour costs in future, which may mean lower profitability and/or higher prices. We shall see.Martin’s appeal, though, does serve to highlight two difficulties with the new post-Brexit points-based immigration system recently approved by Parliament. The first is that the general plot of the immigration policy is to attract the “best and the brightest”, skilled and professional workers, and people who will be earning at least around the average UK salary, and often much more. In fact the list of occupations eligible for a mainstream UK work visa is currently surprisingly broad – everything from medical radiographers to senior care workers to ballet dancers to vets to archaeologists. There seems little or no impediment to anyone from anywhere in the world, suitably qualified, to apply to come to the UK and work as a nurse, as any type of engineer or as any kind of “artist”, given certain salary expectations. All are classified as “shortage” occupations. There are also special routes for those, for example, nominated by a transnational company or bank, and those named by the likes of the Royal Society, the British Academy and UK Research and Innovation. More

Matt Hancock has offered gloomy analysis of the prospect of easing of all remaining Covid restrictions in England on 21 June, suggesting there isn’t anything in the data to “say we are definitively off-track”Speaking hours after Boris Johnson admitted the data was too “ambiguous” at the moment to make a decision on the final unlocking, the health secretary said the government would set out the next step by 14 June.Answering questions after a speech hailing the success of the UK’s vaccination rollout, Mr Hancock added it was “critical” to keep monitoring the number of people have received a second Covid jab ahead of further easing of measures.“We are constantly vigilant as to the impact of that second dose,” he said. “The critical question is, given that the order of vaccination is according to your vulnerability to ending up in hospital and dying, that means the second doses now cover the vast majority of those who are likely to end up dying from Covid-19.“We can see the number of cases has been rising in the last couple of weeks but we can also see that the vast majority of people who have ended up in hospital are not yet fully vaccinated. The critical link is how much that link is broken and that’s how we’ll make the decision ahead of June 21.”Asked whether the government was considering keeping mask wearing and work from home guidance post-21 June, Mr Hancock replied: “As I say, and as the prime minister said earlier, there isn’t anything yet in the data to say that we are definitively off-track, but it is too early to make a decision about 21 June — step 4 in the roadmap.“We will make that decision based on more data in the next week to 10 days and ahead of the 14 June as we set out.”Speaking at No 10 earlier on Wednesday amid unease among scientists at easing restrictions while cases of the new variant first discovered in India continue to climb, the prime minister insisted there was nothing in the data “at the moment” to suggest Step 4 of the government’s roadmap should be delayed.But he then added: “What we need to work out is to what extent the vaccination programme has protected enough of us, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, against a new surge – and there I’m afraid the data is still ambiguous.”Speaking at the Jenner Institute in Oxford, the health secretary also hailed the vaccination programme, as he praised the NHS for deserving “every plaudit that has come its way” alongside Britain’s “scientific strength”.His remarks came as new figures on Wednesday showed that three-quarters of the adult population were estimated to have received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. The government’s target is to reach all adults by the end of July.Mr Hancock also revealed the government had entered into “commercial negotiations” with AstraZeneca to secure a future “variant vaccine” that have been adapted to tackle the variant first identified in South Africa.He said: “There is yet more to do, the work isn’t over yet – we’re still procuring all the time and planning what we need to keep this country safe, including new vaccines specifically targeted at variants of concern.“I can tell you today that we’ve started commercial negotiations with AstraZeneca to secure a variant vaccine – future supplies of the Oxford /AstraZeneca vaccine that have been adapted to tackle the B.1.351 variant first identified in South Africa.“Once again, we’re leading the way and backing projects with potential, so we can keep our vaccination programme one step ahead of the virus and protect the progress that we’ve all made.” More

There are ‘benefits’ to extending school day, says Gavin WilliamsonPriti Patel is planning to hike visa fees for NHS and other workers from European countries, in what Labour has described as “a stealth tax on frontline heroes”.The home secretary has been accused of partially going back on her promise to scrap the immigration surcharge paid by overseas health and care workers, conceded after huge protests.The row has blown up because Ms Patel is exploring removing a £55 discount on application fees for citizens from 26 countries, most of which are EU members.During the UK’s membership of the EU – because of free movement of worker rules within the bloc – the charter was irrelevant for the vast majority of the countries involved.The Home Office has been asked to comment on the proposal, first reported by The Times. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, attacked the plan, saying: “What does the home secretary have against NHS and care workers?“Conservative plans to slap a stealth tax on frontline heroes, who have risked their own health to keep us safe through this pandemic, is shameful.Elsewhere, Gavin Williamson has been criticised for his department’s ‘pitiful’ Covid recovery plan for schools. The proposals have been widely condemned by teaching unions, who say the £1.4bn put forward falls far short of what is required to help pupils get back on track following months of lockdown.Show latest update

1622645448 Green Party selects rugby star to tackle Batley and Spen by-electionThe Green Party has selected a rugby league international to fight the Batley and Spen by-election.Ross Peltier, 29, is a prop forward with Doncaster Dons and has represented the Jamaica international team nine times as well as playing for Keighley Cougars and Bradford Bulls.Mr Peltier said: “As a professional rugby league player I have a profile of sorts in an area which holds rugby league as its beating heart.“I feel I can bridge the gap with the working person who has been a single party voter all his life to the Green Party.” More

Boris Johnson says the lifting of all Covid restrictions on 21 June is currently on track, but admitted the latest data is “ambiguous”.“I can see nothing in the data at the moment that means we can’t go ahead with Step 4,” the prime minister said.But he then added: “What we need to work out is to what extent the vaccination programme has protected enough of us, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, against a new surge – and there I’m afraid the data is still ambiguous.”Mr Johnson was questioned amid a growing chorus of scientists urging him to slam the brakes on the roadmap, because of a surge of Covid infections and hospitalisations.One of his four tests for lifting all restrictions – removing social distancing rules and allowing all venues to reopen – is that no new variant is taking root.But Blackburn, Bolton and other places have been hit by the arrival of the Indian variant, now thought to be responsible for up to 75 per cent of new cases.“We’ve got to be so cautious,” Mr Johnson said, from the garden of Downing Street, where he returned after a two-day weekend break with his new wife.On rising infections, he said: “We always knew that was going to happen,”, because of the earlier, staged lifting of coronavirus curbs.Adding that ministers and scientists were “interrogating all the data” in lengthy meetings, the prime minister said: “The best the scientists can say at the moment is we just need to give it a little bit longer.”Mr Johnson was also strikingly cautious about whether more countries will be added to the ‘green list’ for quarantine-free travel, on Thursday.“We’ve got to be cautious and we’ve got to continue to put countries on the red list, on the amber list, when that is necessary,” he said.The prime minister was also quizzed on his £1.4bn education recovery plan, after it was revealed that the Treasury had blocked the £15bn package requested.There would be “more coming through” to support children catching up from missed education during the coronavirus pandemic, he said.However, he insisted the promised intensive tutoring would “give parents the confidence that their child is going to get particular attention”, as well as “find potential in kids that may be missed in the back of the classroom”.“What we want to do is support teachers – who may be brilliant teachers – who need to make a move to being head of sixth form or head of school,” Mr Johnson added. More

Priti Patel is planning to hike visa fees for NHS and other workers from EU countries, triggering criticism of “a stealth tax on frontline heroes”.Labour is also accusing the home secretary of partially going back on her promise to scrap the immigration surcharge paid by overseas health and care workers, conceded after huge protests.The row has blown up because Ms Patel is exploring removing a £55 discount on application fees for citizens from 26 countries, most of which are EU members.The move would hit workers in the NHS and care sectors, as well as seasonal workers such as fruit pickers – all areas where there are fears of staff shortages after Brexit.It would also mean employers would lose their exemption from paying a £199 fee as part of their sponsorship of foreign workers.The discounts are for signatories to the Council of Europe’s Social Charter of 1961, also including Turkey and North Macedonia as well as most of the 27 EU members.Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, attacked the plan, saying: “What does the home secretary have against NHS and care workers?“Conservative plans to slap a stealth tax on frontline heroes, who have risked their own health to keep us safe through this pandemic, is shameful.“The prime minister made a personal promise to remove the immigration health surcharge for overseas workers. Now, what he gave with one hand, he seeks to take away with the other.”The Home Office acknowledged Ms Patel is considering withdrawing from the Social Charter of the Council of Europe, which was created after the Second World War and is distinct from the EU.Under the terms of the treaty, the UK and 26 other countries are obliged to make it easier for citizens of other signatories to move among them for work.Article 18.2 requires them to “simplify existing formalities and to reduce or abolish chancery dues and other charges payable by foreign workers or their employers”.During the UK’s membership of the EU – because of free movement of worker rules within the bloc – the charter was irrelevant for the vast majority of the countries involved.Five EU members are not part of the scheme and so already pay higher fees. They are Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia.A Home Office spokesperson said: “All visa fees are kept under review.“Now free movement has ended our ambition is to ensure consistency and fairness across the immigration system, including across EU member states.“Health and care workers are offered significantly lower fees under the new health and care visa.”The government was forced to grant the exemption from the surcharge –, for health and care workers – after The Independent revealed Ms Patel had decided the fees must stay without carrying out a promised “review”.The £624 charge is also paid by spouses and children, meaning the total cost can reach £8,000 for a family of four on a five-year work permit. More

A think-tank has estimated extra funding announced for education recovery works out at around £50 more per pupil every year, which they called “a long way off” what is needed.Earlier this week, the government announced an additional £1.4bn would go towards helping pupils recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their education.The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has said this is “a fraction of the level of funding required to reverse learning loss seen by pupils” since March last year.The think-tank said their analysis of the new funding package, which spans over three years, amounts to around £50 extra per pupil every year.Taken together with a £1.7bn package announced earlier this year, the EPI said the government’s overall funding for education recovery works out at a total of around £310 per pupil over three years.This compares with an equivalent total funding of £1,600 per pupil set aside in the US and £2,500 per pupil in the Netherlands over the same period.The EPI estimated the level of funding needed to reverse learning losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic is £500 per student a year.“At £50 per pupil, our analysis shows that today’s funding package is a long way off what is required to remedy the lost learning seen by pupils over the last year,” Jon Andrews, the EPI’s head of analysis, said.“This was an opportunity for the government to offer significant investment in a range of evidence-based interventions that would help protect against long-run negative impacts to young people’s education and wellbeing. They have decided not to take that opportunity.”In the new funding package, the majority of the extra cash – £1bn – will go towards expanding tutoring available in schools and colleges, while the rest will go towards allowing some Year 13 students to repeat their final year and staff training and support.The Department for Education (DfE) said up to 100 million tutoring hours for children and young people across England under the measures. But Mr Andrews from the EPI said the plans were “an inadequate response to the challenge the country is facing with young people’s education, wellbeing, and mental health”.The think-tank said last month a total of around £13.5bn is needed to help reverse damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic on pupils.During interviews with broadcasters on Wednesday, Gavin Williamson sidestepped questions about reports of a row with the Treasury over the new funding package, but did concede that “there will be more that is required”.Speaking about the latest batch of funding, Mr Williamson also said it was “only part of a process” but defended the money on offer, telling BBC’s Today programme: “Maybe this is being a Yorkshireman, but I always thought £1.4bn was a pretty hefty amount”.When asked about the new catch-up funding working out at £50 per pupil per year, he said: “It is quite unprecedented to be getting this quantum of money outside of a spending review.”Pressed further on LBC Radio on whether he has requested an additional “£5-6bn”, Mr Williamson said: “It is incredibly tempting to get involved in divulging to you private conversations with the chancellor and the prime minister, but I’m going to possibly sidestep this one, if that’s OK?”It is understood the chancellor witheld the recommended £15bn for the catch-up plan unveiled on Wednesday and offered £1.4bn instead. Education unions have said the latest package would fall short of what is needed for pupils to reverse the damage of the coronavirus pandemic on education, which caused most pupils to spend months out of school in total. Sir Kevan Collins, the education recovery commissioner, said the investment offered “evidence-based support to a significant number of our children and teachers” but added: “More will be needed to meet the scale of the challenge.”The £1.4bn – made available on top of £1.7 billion already pledged – has come under fire following suggestions that Sir Kevan called for 10 times as much to be invested.The education recovery commissioner, who is still considering long-term proposals to address the impact of Covid on children, reportedly called for £15 billion of funding and 100 extra hours of teaching per pupil.After the new funding package was anounced, Mr Williamson said: “This is the third major package of catch-up funding in 12 months and demonstrates that we are taking a long-term, evidence-based approach to help children of all ages.”The education secretary added: “The package will not just go a long way to boost children’s learning in the wake of the disruption caused by the pandemic but also help bring back down the attainment gap that we’ve been working to eradicate.”Additional reporting by Press Association More