Long term care policies used in partnership programs must

BRITS aged between 56 and 59 have been invited to receive their coronavirus vaccine as the rollout goes from strength to strength. It comes as Gavin Williamson admitted this morning that ministers are "looking at" a longer school day and shorter holidays to make up for lost education due to the pandemic . Hundreds of thousands of letters for the over 56 age group began landing on doorsteps today, Public Health England have said. Meanwhile, Professor Sharon Peacock, head of the Covid-19 Genomics UK scientific body, told The Times she was "very optimistic" that the immunisation programme would continue to be effective. It comes as a minister predicted that all adults could receive the jab by June should the vaccine rollout continue at its current pace. Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, told The Times it was “possible” that all adults could be offered vaccines by June. Follow our coronavirus live blog below for the very latest news and updates on the … [Read more...] about Coronavirus news UK – Over-56s invited for vaccine and ministers ‘looking at’ longer school day & shorter holidays

Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered hope to millions of house buyers today as he announced a stamp duty holiday extension alongside new 95% mortgages for buyers. The new mortgage guarantee scheme, first confirmed last week, will help raise home ownership numbers from April, the Chancellor said. Sunak confirmed the news in the Commons earlier amid a record low in 95% mortgages. Right now, there are just eight products on the market, with banks pulling the 'risky' loans since the start of the pandemic. But there are already fears that the new scheme - designed primarily to help first-time buyers get onto the ladder - will lead to a surge in demand and rising house prices, putting properties further out of reach for many. "This is a policy that gives people who can't afford a big deposit the chance to buy their own home," Sunak told MPs. "As the prime minister has said, we want to turn generation rent into generation buy. "Lenders who provide mortgages to homebuyers who can only … [Read more...] about Budget 2021: Return of 95% mortgages confirmed – but fears raised of ‘hidden cost’

Philip Whiteside, news reporter Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a British-Iranian woman who has been in jail in Iran for five years. The Iranian regime claims she was working against the state when she was arrested on a visit to the country to see her parents with her daughter. Here is a timeline of events that have left a family split apart and resulted in diplomacy at the highest level. October 2010 Joins Thomson Reuters Foundation Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe joins the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a charity that says it promotes "socio-economic progress" and the rule of law through a series of training programmes. Advertisement Before the move, she worked for BBC Media Action for around 18 months, the corporation's international development charity which uses "the power of media and communication to help reduce poverty and support people in understanding their rights". June 2014 Birth of her daughter Gabriella, the only daughter of Mrs … [Read more...] about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: The five-year fight for freedom

The prime minister has defended a proposed 1% pay rise for NHS staff. "What we have done is try to give them as much as we can at the present time," Boris Johnson said during a visit to a COVID-19 vaccination centre in north London. "The independent pay review body will obviously look at what we've proposed and come back. Are other public sector workers in line for an increase? "Don't forget that there has been a public sector pay freeze, we're in pretty tough times. "We've tried to give the NHS as much as we possibly can and that means, in addition to the £140bn of annual money, we've got another £62bn we've found to help support the NHS throughout the crisis." Advertisement The PM - who spent time in intensive care with COVID and said the NHS "saved my life" - added that he was "massively grateful" to health service staff and social care workers for their "heroic" efforts throughout the pandemic. But the proposal has … [Read more...] about COVID-19: Boris Johnson defends proposed 1% pay rise for NHS staff

The UK's chief negotiator has said the EU should "shake off any remaining ill will" over the UK's decision to leave the bloc, as the row over post-Brexit border arrangements rumbles on. Cabinet Office minister Lord Frost said the government's unilateral decision to extend a series of "grace periods" in the Northern Ireland Protocol designed to ease post- Brexit trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland was lawful. "With Boris Johnson as prime minister, our agenda is one of an outward-looking country, confident we can work with others towards common goals," Lord Frost wrote in an article for The Sunday Telegraph. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Frustrations grow in Northern Ireland over protocol "That is our hope for our ties with our European friends and allies too. "I hope they will shake off any remaining ill will towards us for leaving, and instead build a friendly relationship, between sovereign … [Read more...] about Brexit: Chief negotiator Lord Frost says Brussels needs to ‘shake off any remaining ill will’ over UK’s EU exit