Health secretaries failed to fix flaws in contingency planning before Covid killed more than 230,000 in UK, report says

The former health secretaries Jeremy Hunt and Matt Hancock have been criticised for their failure to better prepare the UK for the pandemic in a damning first report from the Covid inquiry that calls for a major overhaul in how the government prepares for civil emergencies.

Hunt, who was the health secretary from 2012-18, and Hancock, who took over until 2021, were named by the chair to the inquiry, Lady Hallett, for failing to rectify flaws in contingency planning ahead of the pandemic, which claimed more than 230,000 lives in the UK.

-The leader or deputy leader of each of the four nations should chair a Cabinet-level committee responsible for civil emergency preparedness.

A UK-wide pandemic response exercise should be run at least every three years and a new UK-wide, whole-system civil emergency strategy be put in place.

External “red teams” should regularly challenge the principles, evidence and advice on emergency plans.

An independent statutory body should be established to advise the UK government and devolved administrations, and consult with voluntary groups and council-based directors of public health on civil emergency preparedness and response.

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The progress made by pupils from lower-income families has been wiped out – and it’s not all the pandemic’s fault

The widening gap between the educational attainment of the richest and poorest pupils at English schools is a blow for everyone who wants to see the latter fulfil their potential, and for our society to become less divided and more equal. It is revealed in the latest report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI), which focuses on 2019-23, so its findings are a snapshot of the pandemic and its aftermath. While the declining achievements of children from poorer backgrounds are not a surprise, it is dismaying to see predictions about the damaging and uneven impact of Covid disruption come true.

Shrinking this gap is a longstanding objective, and one that the pupil premium – extra funding for schools with poorer intakes – was designed to further. But with the gap for 11- and 16-year-olds now bigger than at any time since 2011, a decade of progress has been wiped out. For children with special educational needs, the deterioration is even starker (though older pupils in this category are doing better). The report also adds to a concerning body of evidence about the youngest children , with poorer five-year-olds falling further behind. A recent survey of teachers found that growing numbers of reception-year pupils are not toilet-trained and struggle to play with others.

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Judge said Kevin Davies, father of Wales rugby star, set out to ‘ridicule and intimidate’ former employee

An employer has been told to pay more than £26,000 to a former worker for deliberately coughing in her face during the pandemic.

Kevin Davies – the father of the Wales rugby player Gareth Davies – set out to “ridicule and intimidate” the woman over her health concerns, a tribunal heard.

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Programme due to close after its launch four years ago to help children in England catch up after Covid crisis

Ministers are being urged to find new funding to save the national tutoring programme , which is due to close this week four years after it was launched to help children in England catch up after the Covid crisis.

Headteachers say the NTP has had a hugely beneficial impact on many children hardest hit by the disruption caused by Covid and the subsequent cost of living crisis.

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The healthy eating chain almost collapsed during lockdown, but now has visions of putting down roots beyond its core London market

Neil Sebba, the managing director of healthy eating chain Tossed, does not take long when asked if he is a risk-taker.

“Yes: who buys a brand in Covid in a market that is completely dead?” he says, reflecting on the decision he and co-owner Angelina Harrisson took to buy the business out of administration in September 2020.

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How the occupants of No 10 brought us austerity, Brexit, Partygate and an economic crash

Come with me to another country, far, far away, where things are a little bit different. In this fantastical land, young people can live and work in any country in Europe. You can swim in a river without catching Weil’s disease, or see your doctor .

Things aren’t perfect in this country, but 40,000 people rely on food banks instead of 3.1 million . People live half a year longer . Five-year-olds are taller .

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Higher inoculation rates could make it less likely viruses will spread, thereby reducing risk to asthmatic children

Higher Covid vaccination rates could help protect children against asthma attacks, according to research .

While previous studies show that vaccination helps prevent Covid 19 illness, the authors believe this is the first study to assess whether Covid inoculation is associated with reductions in children’s asthma symptoms, by preventing viral illness in children with asthma.

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Amit Gudka is reinventing himself after the failure of his energy firm by plugging into the global battery boom

Britain’s fast-changing energy industry may be just the place for reinvention. In the wake of the unprecedented collapse of Bulb Energy, its co-founder, Amit Gudka, is trying to make the best of his next chapter: by plugging into the global battery boom.

Sitting in a central London coffee shop, not far from the offices of his new venture, Field Energy, Gudka explains how he has swapped home energy customers for battery projects and why he believes he should be given a second chance.

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UK government deal struck at height of pandemic described as ‘colossal misuse of public funds’

An estimated £1.4bn worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) bought by the government in single a deal has been destroyed or written off, according to new figures described as the worst example of waste in the Covid pandemic.

The figures obtained by the BBC under freedom of information laws showed that 1.57bn items from the NHS supplier Full Support Healthcare will never been used.

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