Babak Belurs

Rabu, 24 Februari 2021

Covid-19: 'No child's prospects should be blighted by pandemic' - BBC News

No child should have their prospects "blighted" by the pandemic, the education secretary has said.

Gavin Williamson was speaking at a Downing Street briefing as he set out £700m in funding to help pupils in England catch up on missed learning.

Asked about what would replace exam grades this year, he said they were "putting trust" in teachers.

It comes as the number of people to receive one dose of the vaccine in the UK surpassed 18 million.

A further 9,938 coronavirus cases were recorded across the UK on Wednesday, as well as 442 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to government figures. It takes the death toll by that measure to 121,747.

Mr Williamson said the funding announcements were about offering "immediate" support for children and schools.

The government's £700m education support package for England includes:

A one-off £302m "recovery premium" for state primary and secondary schools to boost summer schooling, clubs and activities
£200m to fund face-to-face secondary summer schools, with teachers in charge of deciding which pupils benefit
An expanded national tutoring programme for primary and secondary pupils and an extended tuition fund for 16 to 19-year-olds - also worth £200m
That includes £18m funding to support early-years language development

But the education secretary said many children would need longer term support, and "extensive work" was under way on plans for that.

He said: "We're going to make sure we do everything can do to make sure children reach their potential - while looking at all issues - and we're not going to be timid in aspirations for them and the actions we need to take."

He also reiterated that there would be "no algorithms whatsoever" used in determining A-level, AS and GCSE grades, with marks "firmly in the hands of teachers".

It has already been announced that exams will not take place, but Mr Williamson said he will set out further details on Thursday for how students in England will be graded this year.

Analysis box by Sean Coughlan, education correspondent

The challenge for the education secretary is to keep sounding as though he has a new plan for what everyone can see is a massive problem with no obvious easy answers.

Children have missed a huge amount of school and exams have been cancelled for two years running.

The latest announcement on catch-up has an extra £400m, but it's focused on a familiar check list - summer schools, tuition, after-school activities, much of which happens anyway and with schools deciding how it will be spent.

Gavin Williamson told Wednesday's press conference that the government was "not going to be timid", but the reports about radical plans such as longer school days and shorter holidays seem to have fizzled away.

The unshowy and highly-experienced school recovery tsar, Sir Kevan Collins, will be more interested in long-term results than show-boating headlines.

The education secretary ran through the plans for pupils going back to school - from 8 March with testing and masks - and that date offers families some certainty.

Although university students must think they are being kept in an expensive limbo, with no date yet set for when many of them can return.

Asked if the government was looking at lengthening the school day in the future, Mr Williamson said it was not part of the immediate plans announced, but it could be something considered as part of a wider consultation being led by Education Recovery Commissioner Sir Kevin Collins into the longer term support and change needed within schools following the pandemic.

Deputy chief medical officer for England Jenny Harries said more testing in secondary schools would mean that parents, teachers and grandparents could be reassured that schools would be as safe as they could be.

These measures would have a positive impact on breaking the chains of transmission, she said.

But she warned that "children should not go hugging grandparents too much" before the the impact of the vaccine rollout was felt.

Impact of lost learning 'baked in'

Labour's shadow education secretary, Kate Green, said the government should put forward a "long-term plan... not just a quick-fix over the summer" to help children catch up with missed education during the pandemic.

She added that the impact of lost learning for children was now "baked in" and was sceptical about whether the catch-up tutoring programme would reach many of the children who needed it most.

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2021-02-24 18:49:48Z
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Covid-19: 'No child's prospects should be blighted by pandemic' - BBC News

No child's prospects should be "blighted" by the pandemic, the education secretary has said.

Gavin Williamson was speaking at a Downing Street briefing as he set out £700m in funding to help pupils in England catch-up on missed learning.

Asked about determining exam grades in the summer, he said the government would be "putting trust" in teachers.

It comes as the number of people to receive one dose of the vaccine in the UK surpassed 18 million.

Mr Williamson said: "No child should have their prospects blighted by the pandemic and I'm determined that this is not going to happen."

The government's £700m education support package for England includes:

A one-off £302m "recovery premium" for state primary and secondary schools to boost summer schooling, clubs and activities
£200m to fund face-to-face secondary summer schools, with teachers in charge of deciding which pupils benefit
An expanded national tutoring programme for primary and secondary pupils and an extended tuition fund for 16 to 19-year-olds - also worth £200m
That includes £18m funding to support early-years language development

Mr Williamson said there would be "no algorithms whatsoever" used in determining exam grades in the summer.

But he said he could not reveal what the appeal mechanism would look like before addressing MPs.

He told a press briefing: "As I said many times before, we are putting trust in teachers.

"That's where the trust is going - there is going to be no algorithms whatsoever but there will be a very clear and robust appeals mechanism.

"But I'm afraid you're going to have to forgive me - it is right that this is announced in the House of Commons and not to yourself, so sorry about that.

"But that will be happening tomorrow, so just a few more hours to wait."

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Alex Salmond saga 'a crisis of credibility' for Holyrood - BBC News

Holyrood faces a "crisis of credibility" over its inquiry into the handling of harassment complaints against Alex Salmond, opposition leaders have claimed.

The row centres on written evidence submitted to the inquiry by Mr Salmond that was later redacted at the request of the Crown Office.

Opposition MSPs have questioned whether the move was politically motivated.

But Scotland's top law officer has insisted that it was not.

Answering an urgent question in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC said the decision to ask for the document to be redacted had been taken independently by "senior professional prosecutors".

And he said that government ministers had not sought to direct them.

He added: "The Crown has no interest in interfering with or limiting the conduct of proceedings in this parliament.

"Its only interest is securing compliance with an order of the High Court with which we are all obliged to comply."

The law officer was responding to a question by Scottish Labour interim leader Jackie Baillie, who said it was "simply unacceptable that the Lord Advocate refused to answer the questions put to him with any detail".

She added: "The fact of the matter is that the parliament is not getting straight answers from a Lord Advocate who appears to have viewed this afternoon's session in the chamber as a necessary chore and not a chance to engage with the Scottish Parliament in a spirit of democratic accountability."

Meanwhile, Mr Salmond said in a statement that his lawyers would be writing to the Lord Advocate to ask for an explanation for the Crown Office's "unprecedented and highly irregular actions".

Mr Salmond said he had also instructed his lawyers to request specifically that the Crown "preserve and retain all material and communications with all or any third parties which led to their decision to intervene at the very last minute" before he was due to appear before the inquiry.

His submission to the inquiry accuses First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of misleading parliament, and was posted on the parliament's website on Monday.

It was published after MSPs on Holyrood's corporate body decided after taking legal advice that it was possible to do so.

But the corporate body agreed on Tuesday morning to remove and revise the document after receiving a letter from the Crown Office which expressed "grave concerns".

The Crown Office later said it had taken action because of issues of potential contempt of court.

Mr Salmond subsequently pulled out of his scheduled appearance at the inquiry, which had been due to be held on Wednesday afternoon - but is now expected to appear on Friday instead.

The inquiry has been hit by severe delays since it started its work, with opposition MSPs accusing both the Scottish government and Mr Salmond of attempting to frustrate it and avoid scrutiny.

Speaking to the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme earlier on Wednesday, Mr Ross said "of course" parliament was facing a crisis of credibility over the inquiry.

He said: "This sleaze and scandal within the SNP has now undermined everything that's going on in Holyrood and the nationalists are clearly treating parliament and the Scottish people with contempt".

The Lord Advocate was appointed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and is both the head of the Crown Office and the Scottish government's chief legal advisor.

Separate documents submitted to the inquiry by Mr Salmond accuse the Crown Office of being unfit for purpose under its current leadership, and claim it is too close to both the Scottish government and the SNP.

Mr Salmond also alleged that there was "a deliberate, prolonged, malicious and concerted effort amongst a range of individuals within the Scottish government and the SNP to damage my reputation, even to the extent of having me imprisoned."

Mr Ross claimed that the Lord Advocate being a member of the Scottish government meant there could be a possible conflict of interest in his involvement.

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative group leader at Holyrood, later told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that she believed there should be an independent, judge-led inquiry into "why the government is not allowing a committee of its own parliament to have access to information they need".

She added: "At the moment the government is running riot and is denying the parliament its right of scrutiny."

Ms Sturgeon, who is currently due to give evidence to the inquiry next week, has denied there was a conspiracy against Mr Salmond, saying her predecessor had made claims "without a shred of evidence".

She has also denied that she breached the ministerial code or that her government has attempted to obstruct the inquiry, and has said that she is "relishing" the prospect of giving evidence in person.

Speaking at her daily coronavirus briefing, she said: "Decisions the Crown Office takes in relation to enforcing or upholding the law are taken independently of government.

"Any suggestion at all that these decisions are in any way politically influenced is downright wrong".

Ms Sturgeon also said she did not believe the redaction of the document was a good reason for Mr Salmond to refuse to appear before the inquiry.

The inquiry committee has been examining what went wrong with the government's internal investigation into sexual harassment complaints against Mr Salmond that were made by two female civil servants.

The government had to pay legal expenses of more than £500,000 to Mr Salmond after it admitted it had acted unlawfully during the investigation.

Mr Salmond was later cleared of 13 charges of sexual assault against a total of nine women after a High Court trial last year.

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2021-02-24 16:50:33Z
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Nicola Sturgeon says she can't offer date when lockdown in Scotland will finally end - Daily Record

Nicola Sturgeon has warned Scots she can't yet offer a date for when lockdown restrictions will finally end.

The First Minister revealed Scotland's latest plan to ease restrictions yesterday but it was criticised for not looking beyond the end of April.

The UK Government's routemap out of lockdown for England claimed all social restrictions could end as early as June 21.

But Sturgeon said she would be “making it up” if she gave a specific date for the end of coronavirus restrictions.

Speaking at the coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh on Wednesday, the SNP leader questioned Johnson's June 21 date.

“If I was to give you a fixed, hard and fast date right now, I would pretty much be making it up and I don’t think that’s the approach I should take with you,” she said.

Under the Scottish plan, council areas will not return to level three of lockdown - when non-essential retail and hairdressers can reopen - until April 26.

Primary schools should have fully reopened by March 15 but high school pupils could be waiting until April before returning to the classroom.

Business leaders have condemned the routemap as lacking clarity.

Sturgeon continued: “I’m not ruling out any specific dates, I want it to be as soon as possible and we have every reason to be hopeful that come the summer life will be much, much, much better than it is just now, but when I stand here and give you what I think the actual date when all or most restrictions will come to an end is going to be, I want to be as sure as I can be that is real and it can be delivered.”

Nicola Sturgeon announces 47 coronavirus deaths and 798 new cases in last 24 hours - Daily Record

47 more Scots have tragically died from coronavirus in the last 24 hours, Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

The First Minister announced the latest figures during a speech at St Andrews House in Edinburgh on Wednesday afternoon.

A total of 1,018 people are being treated in hospital for the virus with 93 in intensive care.

798 new cases have been identified overnight across the country.

Nicola Sturgeon announced the daily figures from St Andrews House (Image: Daily Record)

Since the start of the pandemic, 7,053 people have lost their lives to coronavirus in Scotland while 199,637 have tested positive.

Coronavirus in Scotland

Yesterday Nicola Sturgeon announced Scotland's roadmap out of lockdown, setting out key dates for measures to ease at intervals of three weeks until the last week of April when the level system of restrictions will be reintroduced.

Restrictions are set to gradually ease on shops, restaurants, gyms and hairdressers over the coming month.

New research released on Monday also found that Scots in the most deprived parts of the country are more than 10 times more likely to be penalised for a breach of coronavirus rules than those from more wealthy areas.

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2021-02-24 12:17:55Z
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Keir Starmer's Labour leadership crisis deepens as personal rating plummets below Boris Johnson's - Daily Mail

Keir Starmer's Labour leadership crisis deepens as his personal rating plummets below Boris Johnson’s as the PM enjoys a 'vaccine bounce' in the polls as he lays out his lockdown roadmap

Starmer's approval rating with the public now sits at 0, with Boris on 3 per cent
PM's rating has increased from minus territory since the start of the year
Suggests he is reaping a minor 'vaccine' bounce in the polls

By David Wilcock, Whitehall Correspondent For Mailonline

Published: 11:17 GMT, 24 February 2021 | Updated: 11:17 GMT, 24 February 2021

Sir Starmer's Labour leadership took a fresh hit today as a new poll revealed he is less popular than Boris Johnson in the eyes of the public for the first time.

The Opposition Leader's approval rating with the public now sits at 0, meaning the public is equally split over whether they approve, disapprove or are indifferent to his efforts.

The findings in the survey by Redfield and Wilton Strategies show Sir Keir's approval rating fell 7 per cent in the past week.

The poll was taken on Monday February 22, the day Mr Johnson unveiled his strategy for taking England out of lockdown during the spring.

His personal rating rose to 3 per cent, having been increasing from minus territory since the start of the year. This suggests he is reaping a minor 'vaccine bounce' in the polls as more and more people get Covid jabs.

However, the poll found that both men lag way behind Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who has a net approval rating of +30 per cent.

The poll also revealed a rise in support for the Tories. Redfield and Wilton put them up 2 per cent on 43 per cent, while Labour slipped 1 per cent to 37 per cent.

The Government's net competency rating also rose to -5 per cent, up from -13 per cent three weeks ago.

The findings chime with a previous poll last week, as Mr Starmer attempts to stamp his authority on a party becoming restless amid his failure to capitalise on Tory failures during the lockdown.

A Savanta ComRes survey put his net favourability at minus four, down two points in the past month, while Mr Johnson’s rose from minus eight to minus two in a month.

The Labour leader also fell further behind on the question of who would make the best prime minister, with 27 per cent choosing him (down from 31) compared with 43 for Mr Johnson (up from 38).

The signs of a vaccine boost for Mr Johnson came as Gavin Williamson claimed coronavirus vaccine supply issues are not to blame for Britain’s roll-out suffering its worst slump in a month.

The Education Secretary insisted today there was 'no problem' with deliveries of doses and said 'there will always be some days' when uptake dips lower.

Figures show just 150,000 Covid vaccines jabs were dished out in the UK on Sunday, the worst daily output since the scheme began to pick up pace last month. And just 210,000 doses were administered on Monday, down by more than a quarter on the previous week.

Despite the concerning trend, Mr Williamson said he had 'every confidence' the mammoth NHS operation would be 'rebounding back very shortly'.

The comments contradicted Matt Hancock who revealed yesterday a European-wide vaccine supply shortage could lead to 'quieter' weeks ahead for Britain's jab drive.

And Jonathan Van Tam also weighed in today, saying the dip has come about as a result of 'supply fluctuations'.

One of the main problems is thought to be lower than expected output at manufacturing sites in AstraZeneca's supply chain on the continent.

The British drugmaker, which manufactures Oxford University's Covid jab, has told the European Union it will only be able to deliver less than half of its contracted supplies before summer, raising fears the UK's orders could also be affected.

Almost 18million Britons have already received a first dose of a Covid vaccine and Boris Johnson has put a successful jab roll-out at the heart of his lockdown-easing plan.

As long as the operation continues successfully, all restrictions could be dropped in England by June 21, but any hiccups along the way could threaten that target.

The Government has pledged to offer first doses to all over-50s by April 15, with all remaining adults set to be reached by the end of July.

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2021-02-24 11:17:10Z
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COVID-19: Daily drop-off in vaccinations is down to 'supply fluctuations' - but will pick up, says Prof Jonathan Van-Tam - Sky News

An apparent fall in the number of Britons being vaccinated against COVID-19 each day is down to "supply fluctuations", England's deputy chief medical officer has told Sky News.

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said it "will take a few months" before vaccine manufacturers are able to produce doses in a "steady routine", adding that "global supply restraints" have also hampered the UK's vaccine rollout.

He said: "There are always going to be supply fluctuations. These are new vaccines, by and large the manufacturers have not made them or anything like them before.

Supply would continue to be unpredictable as the manufacturing process is "a bit like beer-making", he said - the end product is not always the same and the yield might be different each time - so "you do get batch-size variations".

Live COVID news from UK and around the world

Other key issues he addressed:

• Side effects - All occur in days, and if not weeks, and are "incredibly rare"

• Infertility - Link not biologically logical and no vaccince has ever affected fertility

• Uptake - There's no "magic number" of uptake required, and the aim isn't herd immunity

• Visiting older relatives - It is safer, but don't assume that you have a sort of "Colgate ring" around you once you've been vaccinated

• Lifting restrictions - Must progress at a steady pace so we don't "blow it"

Nearly 18 million Britons have had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

However, the UK's daily totals have dipped since the total topped 15 million earlier this month.

On Monday 22 February a total of 192,341 doses were administered across the UK - a drop from the 275,956 on the previous Monday (15 February).

Meanwhile, 141,719 doses were administered on Sunday 21 February - a fall from the 237,962 given a week before (on Sunday 14 February).

Answering questions from Sky News viewers, Prof Van-Tam was also asked about the timetable set out in the government's roadmap for easing lockdown - which he said he believed would "get us from where we are now... to where we want to be in the summer".

The route out of lockdown is dependent on coronavirus cases, deaths and hospital admissions continuing to fall.

These will be constantly reviewed with five weeks between each of the four stages and a week's notice will be given before full confirmation of each step.

He said he understood people's frustrations with the pace of the roadmap - but said reacting "too quickly" risks "getting it wrong", and said while the path forward is "pretty careful and pretty painstakingly cautious" he believes it is "appropriate".

"I completely get it, I am desperate for the football to be back, but actually I would rather do this once and get it right and not have to make any U-turns or backtracking, I would rather just go slowly and steadily and get there in one go," he said.

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2021-02-24 10:12:40Z
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Rabu, 24 Februari 2021

Impact of lost learning 'baked in'

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Coronavirus in Scotland

Keir Starmer's Labour leadership crisis deepens as his personal rating plummets below Boris Johnson’s as the PM enjoys a 'vaccine bounce' in the polls as he lays out his lockdown roadmap

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