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Boris Johnson is expected to re-announce plans for mass coronavirus testing when he sets out a blueprint for lifting lockdown next week.The NHS test and trace scheme is reportedly preparing for a nation-wide “surge” that would see 400,000 lateral flow tests sent out by post every day.If successful, the new approach it would represent a significant rise in testing – aimed at controlling the spread of the virus once lockdown is lifted.It comes months after the government widely briefed plans for a testing “moonshot” that that would have seen it carrying out many millions of checks a day by February 2021.But the original plan appears to have fallen well short, with nowhere near the four or ten million tests a day variously briefed by government sources at the time.Under the new proposals reported by The Times newspaper, a campaign titled “Are you ready? Get testing. Go” will be rolled out to encourage people to get tested even when they are not showing symptoms.The Guardian meanwhile reports that mass events like football matches and music festivals are being considered as vehicles for rolling out mass testing.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayDiscussions are said to have taken place with music industry executives ahead of Mr Johnson’s planned announcement on reopening next Monday.The prime minister was on Wednesday warned by an NHS leader that cases will have to plummet further before he can consider easing lockdown, however.Around 695,400 people in England had coronavirus in the week ending February 6, according to the most recent figures.But NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said there was a “pretty clear view” that “that number needs to come down to around 50,000”.He has urged Boris Johnson to focus on “data, not just dates” in his address to the country on Monday.Mr Hopson said there also needed to be further advances in the vaccination programme and an effective strategy to control future outbreaks before controls were lifted.”If you look at where we are against those four tests, each one of them tells you that we’re still some way away from being able to start relaxing restrictions,” Mr Hopson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.”We had 500 Covid patients in hospitals in September and yet, 15 weeks later, we had 34,000 patients, and we were perilously close to overwhelmed.”So, what that says to you is that you just need to be really careful before you start relaxing the restrictions prematurely.”Previous attempts at test, trace, and isolate systems have struggled in the UK, with critics warning that financial support for people to stay at home and stop spreading the virus is too low.Asked about the government’s plans for testing on Wednesday, foreign secretary Dominic Raab told Times Radio: “We have got ambitious targets in relation to testing which we have met at various points, as well as the vaccine rollout.
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Boris Johnson’s government is driving support for Scottish independence because of its “anti-Scottish” outlook, according to the former Labour first minister of Wales.Carwyn Jones said Downing Street’s strategy was playing into the hands of the SNP, suggesting it would not be wise to block a second referendum on independence in Scotland.“Boris Johnson is head of a government that is very English nationalist in its outlook,” MrJones told the Constitutionally Unsound podcast. “Very anti-Scottish, actually, and anti-everybody else from my perspective.”He added: “If you keep on saying ‘no’ to democrats you give succour to people who are far more extreme … How do you say in the long term ‘no, no, no’ when people in Scotland keep voting yes, yes, yes? That’s a fundamental problem that can only end badly.”Nicola Sturgeon wants to hold another referendum if her party wins a majority at the Holyrood election in May – promising to request a section 30 order from the UK government to hold a legal plebiscite.However, Mr Johnson has made clear he has no intention of passing new powers to the Scottish government or allowing a second referendum to take place.Mr Jones told the Edinburgh University podcast that “radical” constitutional reform was now needed in the UK, otherwise “there won’t be a UK in 10 years”.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayHe also criticised his Labour colleagues in Scotland for ceding patriotism to the SNP in the years after Labour was at the forefront of setting up the Scottish parliament and devolved government.“They were a little bit reluctant to move onto that ground and say, ‘no, you can be proudly Scottish and yet not be in favour of independence’. That ground seemed then to be colonised by the SNP and those people who were devolutionists ended up as supporters of independence.” More

Boris Johnson’s pledge to “level up” the country is  “just a slogan” unless children are placed at the heart of plans, the outgoing children’s commissioner has warned.The prime minister must show he is serious about vulnerable children by putting them at the centre of ‘build back better’ plans following the pandemic, Anne Longfield said in her final speech in the role. Mr Johnson has promised to level up by tackling regional inequalities and improving standards of living in disadvantaged areas around the country.“The prime minister’s promise to level up is just a slogan, of course, until it focuses on children,” she said. “And the prime minister – indeed all political parties – should set a clear goal that is about children’s lives, not the institutions they attend.” Ms Longfield called on Mr Johnson to get “passionate” about making sure that we do not “define children by what’s happened during this year” but instead that we define ourselves by what we offer them.”It will take political will and funding – an opportunity fund – measured in billions, but it would be worth every penny. It should be led by the prime minister,” she said in a speech on Wednesday.Ms Longfield also criticised ongoing uncertainty about the uplift in universal credit, saying “we still don’t know” if the £20-a-week increase to payments during the pandemic will expire from April.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday”If the government is really focused on educational catch-up, it wouldn’t even countenance pushing 800,000 children into the type of devastating poverty which can have a much bigger impact on their life chances than the school they go to or the catch-up tuition they get,” she said.In her final speech as commissioner, Ms Longfield criticised Whitehall officials failing to tackle many problems facing vulnerable children.”I have been shocked to discover how many officials have never met any of the children they are responsible for. So many seem to view them as remote concepts or data points on an annual return,” she said.”This is how children fall through the gaps – because too often the people in charge of the systems they need simply don’t see them and try to understand their world.””I have to force officials and ministers to the table, to watch them sit through a presentation, maybe ask a question, and then vacantly walk away. I do not believe this truly reflects the extent of government and the public’s commitment to helping children succeed,” Ms Longfield added.She said her “parting plea” will be for the government to not “forget about vulnerable children”, as he leaves the post of children’s commissioner which she has held since 2015. Dame Rachel de Souza, chief executive of a multi-academy trust, will take up the role from March.Her appointment came despite the chair of theeducation select committee saying some MPs were not “wholly convinced” by her vision for the role.A government spokesperson said: “Protecting vulnerable children has been at the heart of our response to the pandemic, driven by our commitment to level up opportunities and outcomes.”That’s why we have enabled the most vulnerable children to continue attending school in person, while providing laptops, devices and data packages to those learning at home and ensuring the most disadvantaged children are fed and warm.”We have also driven forward crucial reform in adoption, in the care system, in post-16 education and in mental health support – and our long-term catch up plans and investment of over £1bn will ensure we make up for lost time in education over the course of this parliament.”They said Ms Longfield “has been a tireless advocate for children” and the government is “grateful for her dedication and her challenge on areas where we can continue raising the bar for the most vulnerable”.Additional reporting by Press Association More

Piers Morgan has accused foreign secretary Dominic Raab of being “extraordinarily arrogant” following a heated exchange on ITV about hotel quarantine.The broadcaster’s Twitter attack came after Mr Raab clashed with Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway – who had asked the minister whether the government was implementing the plan effectively.“Can you let me answer the question?” said Mr Raab, after the host very briefly interrupted him to point out she was talking about enforcement of quarantine in the UK.Ms Garraway fired back: “I’ve got to clarify – otherwise you’re not going to have a chance to answer the question.”A visibly irritated Mr Raab said: “Why don’t you pause and let me explain it? I think people get fed up with the media not allowing us to give honest answers.”Mr Morgan – taking a break from hosting duties – said he was appalled by the minister’s behaviour on the programme. “Dominic Raab is extraordinarily arrogant for someone with so little to be arrogant about,” he tweeted.The foreign secretary told GMB the government had taken a “proportionate approach” to enforcing 10-day hotel quarantine in England, as Ms Garraway pointed to reports that airports were struggling to get enough border staff to do appropriate checks.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayThe interviewer also pointed to reports some hotel staff had been spotted not wearing their masks properly. “Who is checking that quarantining is actually happening?” she asked.Mr Raab accused Ms Garraway of being “rather cynical” and “unfair” in her approach to questioning during the bad-tempered interview on Wednesday morning.“The rules are very clear,” he said. “We are managing them as effectively as we can. There is increased Border Force resources. There is increased inspection spot-checks in relation to the hotel quarantine.” More

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner will demand the government increase social care workers’ wages to at least £10 an hour, as she warns “poverty wages” are holding back the economy.In a keynote speech, Ms Rayner will insist that a pay rise for carers is “well overdue” and is the “very least” they deserve for their work during the pandemic during which care home were at the epicentre of outbreaks.Labour said under its calls for a living wage increasing social care workers’ pay to at least £10 an hour for those over 25 and currently receiving the minimum wage would mean a rise of £51 per week — or over £2,500 a year.For those between the ages of 21 and 24 being paid the minimum wage for 40 hours a week, the increase would result in a boost of £72 per week, the party’s analysis added. The national minimum wage for workers over the age of 25 currently stands at £8.72 — or £8.20 for those aged between 24 and 21.During the speech at UNISON women’s conference, Ms Rayner will stress that failing to provide wages that people can get by on is “holding back the economy”.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayShe will argue that giving key workers, who have worked on the frontline during the Covid-19 crisis, will result in “every extra pound” being spent in local businesses and high streets — and will not be “squirrelled away in an offshore account”.In her address on Wednesday, she will say: “Our social care workers were underpaid and undervalued even before this crisis struck.“Claps didn’t pay the bills last year and it should be a source of shame for Tory ministers that the very same people who have been putting their lives on the line to care for others throughout the crisis are being paid poverty wages that mean they are struggling to support themselves and their own families.”The deputy leader will add: “Last year the prime minister and his cabinet fell over themselves to clap for our carers. “It’s now well past time for the government to give our care workers, and all of our key worker heroes, the pay rise they deserve to at least £10 an hour.”Ms Rayner will also say it is a “disgrace” that some care workers are paid less than the minimum wage because they are not paid for the time spent travelling between visits.She is expected to tell the conference: “It is bad enough that three-quarters of our care workers are not being paid the living wage, but it is a disgrace that so many care workers are being exploited and mistreated in this way with their pay packet for the hours they work falling well below even the minimum wage.“If a care worker works an eight-hour day they should be paid for an eight-hour day. That is not complicated and it is not too much to ask for the government to uphold the law.“The government must act immediately to end this scandal and ensure that social care staff are paid what they are entitled to under the law.” More

Arguably, the appointment of a “free speech champion” and strengthening the laws around freedom of expression in universities is at best unnecessary, and at worst another cynical attempt to start a culture war. Gavin Williamson, the beleaguered education secretary, may have looked enviously at the successful forays into cultural combat recently undertaken by Priti Patel, Liz Truss, Oliver Dowden and the prime minister himself, (on Black Lives Matter protests, lefty lawyers, racial justice, statues and the BBC), and fancied a slice of the action himself. Nothing delights the Tory base so much as watching a cabinet minister get tough on “wokery” and pour scorn on the sensibilities of ministries and progressives. It’s like a legal high (or would be, if legal highs hadn’t actually been made illegal). More

The phased return of children to schools in Scotland will begin on 22 February as planned, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has told the Scottish Parliament.But Ms Sturgeon said there will be no wider relaxation of coronavirus restrictions north of the border before the start of March.And she said that exit from lockdown was likely to be “more cautious” than it was last summer.The first minister told the Holyrood assembly that pre-school children, primary years 1-3 and “a limited number” of secondary pupils who need access to classrooms for practical work will return to school next Monday.Later groups are unlikely to join them at school before 15 March, she said.Ms Sturgeon said that Scotland’s vaccination programme “is already having an effect” in reducing deaths in Scottish care homes, which have fallen from 34 per cent of fatalities in December to 18 per cent now.She said: “We are in a race between the virus and the vaccine and I think we do have much more reason to be hopeful now than we did just a few weeks ago that this is a race that we can and we will ultimately win if we are prepared to stick to it.”Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayMs Sturgeon said that the data showed that “lockdown is working”, with daily new cases in Scotland falling from 2,300 in the first week of Janaury to 810 in the most recent figures.But she warned that setting “arbitrary” dates for a return to normality would risk a new flare-up of disease and “another lockdown later this year”. The Scottish govenrment would proceed with caution in order to allow “headroom” for the priority of reopening schools, she said.And she added: “Getting children back to education may mean the rest of us living with some restrictions for longer.”It will probably not be possible for Scottish people to have holidays away from home either in Scotland or overseas at Easter, though staycations may be possible in the summer, she said. More

Today’s daily politics briefingThe EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic has apologised to Ireland’s parliament for the recent attempt to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol over vaccine orders. He said the commission “deeply regrets” how it handled the issue.Meanwhile international trade secretary Liz Truss is accused of refusing to answer questions about the trading crisis caused by Brexit. Opposition parties claimed Ms Truss was trying to “shirk responsibility” by transferring enquiries to other departments.Sir Ian McKellen and other leading actors have urged Boris Johnson to secure visa-free EU travel for performers. It comes as MPs were told some UK musicians are thinking in “quite desperate terms whether they have a career left” because of post-Brexit touring restrictions.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayShow latest update
1613486027Labour asks for details on Covid contract meetingsLabour has written to the Cabinet secretary asking him to publish details on meetings with Tory-linked firms that have secured contracts during the pandemic.The shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves last week revealed she had written to 10 firms with connections to the Conservatives awarded contracts during the crisis. Reeves has now asked the nation’s top civil servant Simon Case to disclose details of meetings in the past year.She requested details of all people present at the meetings, including ministers, MPs, special advisers, civil servants and Conservative Party staff members. “As outlined, to restore transparency and public trust, this information is extremely important,” she said in the letter.Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has also written to Tory co-chairwoman Amanda Milling seeking similar information on such meetings.Adam Forrest16 February 2021 14:331613484789Liz Truss move ‘not surprising’, says Brexit criticReturning now to the row over trade secretary Liz Truss’s apparent refusal to answer questions about post-Brexit trade problems at the despatch box.Oxford University’s Dr Jennifer Cassidy said it was “not surprising that Liz Truss ordering the removal of questions relating to trade difficulties with Europe”.The leading Brexit critic added: “What’s more frightening is that even the questions she kept for the public, she still can’t or won’t answer truthfully.”Labour’s Emily Thornberry said opposition parties had been informed by the Speaker’s Office that their EU-related questions had been transferred to other ministers at the request of Truss’ department.Adam Forrest16 February 2021 14:131613484053Scottish participation in Erasmus? ‘Not possible’ says EUEU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has rejected the idea of Scottish participation in the Erasmus+ education scheme.In a letter to MEP Terry Reintke, the commission chief said Scotland was a “constituent nation” of the UK so could not take part independently. “The only possibility is for the UK to associate as a whole, or not at all,” said Von der Leyen.Reintke found it “noteworthy” that the commission remains “ready to negotiate should the UK reconsider its position”.Adam Forrest16 February 2021 14:001613482698Talks to ease ‘no deal Brexit’ for musicians yet to startSo what did we learn from culture minister Caroline Dineage appearance before MPs today? She revealed there have been no talks to ease some of the damage failure to reach an agreement with the EU on visa-free music tours.Asked if talks had begun with any EU countries – after musicians pointed to Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy and Spain as key targets – she said: “There are no current negotiations taking place.”A “working group” to explore the devastating impact of huge new costs and paperwork was only set up in January, the culture committee heard.Despite laying blame at Brussels door, Dineage did say the government was open to talks. “I’m really, really keen to look at this again if the EU are willing to reconsider.”Deborah Annetts, chief executive at Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM), told the committee of the incredible costs for up-and-coming musicians. “The costs are absolutely huge. £600 for a one night gig in Spain, £500 for Italy,” she said.Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has more details:Adam Forrest16 February 2021 13:381613482002DUP minister denies ‘political stunts’ over protocolStormont’s economy minister Diane Dodds has denied “political stunts” over her party’s refusal to engage with the Irish Republic over the Northern Ireland protocol.The DUP said it wants to send a “strong signal” to the Dublin government by stopping north-south activities related to the protocol.There was a sharp exchange of views between Dodds and Sinn Fein’s Caoimhe Archibald in the NI Assembly on Tuesday. Archibald accused the minister of “engaging in silly political stunts”.Dodds rejected this, hitting back: “I am not in the position of stunts and if I was I need only to look at the party opposite.” More