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| UK coronavirus live: Gove to chair further four-nation Christmas talks; 1 in 10 pupils missing school over Covid | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Latest updates: No 10 unable to say whether agreement could be reached today; more than 870,000 children not in school last Thursday | |
| Around one in 10 children were absent from state schools in England last week for Covid-related reasons, according to official statistics which revealed yet another jump in the number of children sent home to self-isolate. | |
| More than 870,000 children were not in school last Thursday, with secondary schools the most severely affected. Nearly three quarters (73%) reported at least one pupil off self-isolating - up from 64% a week earlier - and more than one in five secondary pupils were absent (22%). | |
| Figures published by the Department for Education showed that 82.9% of pupils were at school last week, down from 86.5% a week earlier. The impact on primary schools is also growing, with three in every 10 (29%) sending children home to self-isolate, up from 22% a week earlier. | |
| More than a third of schools (36%) now have one or more children self isolating - up from 29% last week - and the impact on affected schools is growing, with a quarter reporting more than 30 pupils off isolating, up from 9% at the start of the month. | |
| While the number of schools forced to close remains relatively small, numbers have doubled in the space of a week. | |
| The National Education Union said the collapse in school attendance was the direct result of government negligence. Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: | |
| A Department for Education spokesperson said that it remained a national priority to keep education settings open full-time and that “at least 99% of schools have been open each week since the start of term”. | |
| Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, is due to hold a meeting with representatives of the devolved administrations this afternoon to try to reach agreement on a joint approach to Christmas. | Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, is due to hold a meeting with representatives of the devolved administrations this afternoon to try to reach agreement on a joint approach to Christmas. |
| On Sunday the UK government briefed that an agreement was already more or less in the bag. But that seems to have been premature, and at the Downing Street lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesman conceded that a four-nation consensus had not yet been reached. The spokesman said: | On Sunday the UK government briefed that an agreement was already more or less in the bag. But that seems to have been premature, and at the Downing Street lobby briefing the prime minister’s spokesman conceded that a four-nation consensus had not yet been reached. The spokesman said: |
| Cobra, the government’s emergency committee, is considering the matter because this is the mechanism used by the UK government for Covid decisions involving Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. | Cobra, the government’s emergency committee, is considering the matter because this is the mechanism used by the UK government for Covid decisions involving Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. |
| No 10 conceded that no agreement has yet been reached, and was not able to say whether or not there would be a decision by the end of the day. | |
| Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, has just told Radio 4’s the World at One that, although he does not yet know exactly what form the Commons vote on the new three-tier system of restrictions for England will take, “my inclination would be to oppose it”. | Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, has just told Radio 4’s the World at One that, although he does not yet know exactly what form the Commons vote on the new three-tier system of restrictions for England will take, “my inclination would be to oppose it”. |
| He explained: | He explained: |
| More than 30,000 extra deaths not linked to Covid-19 have now taken place in private homes in England and Wales since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, PA Media is reporting. | More than 30,000 extra deaths not linked to Covid-19 have now taken place in private homes in England and Wales since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, PA Media is reporting. |
| Extra deaths - known as “excess deaths” - are the number of deaths that are above the average for the corresponding period in the previous five years. | Extra deaths - known as “excess deaths” - are the number of deaths that are above the average for the corresponding period in the previous five years. |
| A total of 30,785 excess deaths in homes in England and Wales that did not involve Covid-19 were registered between March 7 and November 13, according to a PA analysis of data published by the Office for National Statistics. | A total of 30,785 excess deaths in homes in England and Wales that did not involve Covid-19 were registered between March 7 and November 13, according to a PA analysis of data published by the Office for National Statistics. |
| Previous analysis by the ONS found that deaths in private homes in England for males from heart disease, from the start of the coronavirus pandemic through to early September, were 26% higher than the five-year average, while prostate cancer deaths had increased 53%. | Previous analysis by the ONS found that deaths in private homes in England for males from heart disease, from the start of the coronavirus pandemic through to early September, were 26% higher than the five-year average, while prostate cancer deaths had increased 53%. |
| For women, deaths in private homes from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease had increased 75%, while deaths from breast cancer were up 47%. | For women, deaths in private homes from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease had increased 75%, while deaths from breast cancer were up 47%. |
| Here is the chart from today’s ONS report showing excess deaths in England and Wales this year, by place of death. | Here is the chart from today’s ONS report showing excess deaths in England and Wales this year, by place of death. |
| Jeremy Hunt, the health committee chair, wraps up the hearing with Matt Hancock by thanking him for his time. | Jeremy Hunt, the health committee chair, wraps up the hearing with Matt Hancock by thanking him for his time. |
| Dawn Butler (Lab) goes next. | Dawn Butler (Lab) goes next. |
| She asks why at an earlier hearing he did not answer a question about a meeting his department had with a PR company, Topham Guerin. Did they get a contract because they worked on the 2019 Conservative election campaign? | She asks why at an earlier hearing he did not answer a question about a meeting his department had with a PR company, Topham Guerin. Did they get a contract because they worked on the 2019 Conservative election campaign? |
| Hancock says Topham Guerin is an excellent organisation. He says all contracts are properly signed off. | Hancock says Topham Guerin is an excellent organisation. He says all contracts are properly signed off. |
| Q: That is not what the NAO said. | Q: That is not what the NAO said. |
| Hancock disagrees. He says the NAO said, even though contracts were awarded quickly, they were signed off properly. And he says the fact that the NAO could then audit these contracts showed there was transparency. | Hancock disagrees. He says the NAO said, even though contracts were awarded quickly, they were signed off properly. And he says the fact that the NAO could then audit these contracts showed there was transparency. |
| Q: How will we know you are not just taking arbitrary decisions? | Q: How will we know you are not just taking arbitrary decisions? |
| Hancock says the information behind those decisions about tiers will be published. | Hancock says the information behind those decisions about tiers will be published. |
| Q: Will you publish a cost-benefit analysis for every region? | Q: Will you publish a cost-benefit analysis for every region? |
| Hancock says he plans to publish all the data informing the decisions about particular regions going into particular tiers. | Hancock says he plans to publish all the data informing the decisions about particular regions going into particular tiers. |
| Labour’s Graham Stringer goes next. | Labour’s Graham Stringer goes next. |
| Q: When imposing tiers on areas, why are you not negotiating with locally elected representatives? | Q: When imposing tiers on areas, why are you not negotiating with locally elected representatives? |
| Hancock says, before the lockdown, in most cases the government had good discussions with local leaders. He mentions as an example Joe Anderson, the Liverpool city mayor. Anderson has texted him during the hearing, he says. | Hancock says, before the lockdown, in most cases the government had good discussions with local leaders. He mentions as an example Joe Anderson, the Liverpool city mayor. Anderson has texted him during the hearing, he says. |
| But he says that was not the case with all areas. | But he says that was not the case with all areas. |
| Q: Are you talking about Greater Manchester? | Q: Are you talking about Greater Manchester? |
| Not just them, says Hancock. | Not just them, says Hancock. |
| He says the councils that delayed decisions to go into a higher tier led to case numbers going up. | He says the councils that delayed decisions to go into a higher tier led to case numbers going up. |
| Hancock tells the committee that more than 20m people have now downloaded the NHS Covid-19 app. | Hancock tells the committee that more than 20m people have now downloaded the NHS Covid-19 app. |
| Back in the committee Matt Hancock told MPs that he was asking the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation to consider whether people with learning disabilities should be prioritised for the coronavirus vaccine. | Back in the committee Matt Hancock told MPs that he was asking the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation to consider whether people with learning disabilities should be prioritised for the coronavirus vaccine. |
| A recent report from Public Health England found that people with learning disabilities are dying of coronavirus at more than six times the rate of the general population. | A recent report from Public Health England found that people with learning disabilities are dying of coronavirus at more than six times the rate of the general population. |