Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, has said he hopes pupils in England will get “time in schools” this summer under government plans to fund catch-up school activities. Speaking at a No 10 press conference, he said: On the summer holidays, what we have done in terms of a £200m programme is we want schools to be putting on great activities, whether it is education-led or even wellbeing-led, so we’d be hoping that schools can be offering that, draw down that funding in order to be offering that to children. Yes, we’d hope that schools are offering time in schools for children and that’s why we’ve put the funding there. Williamson said that plans being announced in the Commons tomorrow about how exam grades will be awarded in England this summer would involve the government trusting teachers, not algorithms. He said: 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. And he also confirmed that secondary schools in England will be allowed to stagger students’ return to the classroom from 8 March. Primary school pupils will all go back on 8 March. The Department for Education has published a report showing that pupils from poorer areas have suffered 50% more “learning loss” during the pandemic than pupils from wealthier areas. (See 3.30pm.) Greece is in “technical” talks with the UK over allowing Britons carrying a vaccine passport to travel to its tourist hotspots from May despite concerns in Brussels and other EU capitals. People who are on a GP register for learning disabilities will now be prioritised for a coronavirus vaccination in England, following updated advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Clinical trials of vaccines against new variants of coronavirus will start in the summer to ensure updated boosters are available for the autumn if needed, Oxford’s lead vaccine researcher has told MPs. Rishi Sunak has ruled out a rise in fuel duty after concluding that reliance on cars as a transport safety measure during the pandemic is still too great, Treasury sources have said. Boris Johnson has promised that extra Covid financial support in next week’s budget will not be “paltry”, as he refused to rule out tax rises or extending the £500 payment to more people self-isolating. Momentum, the leftwing Labour group set up to champion Jeremy Corbyn and his agenda, has criticised Sir Keir Starmer for opposing an increase in business taxes in next week’s budget. At PMQs Starmer asked Boris Johnson if he agreed with him that “now is not the time for tax rises for families and for businesses”. Johnson sidestepped the question, but a Momentum spokesperson said later: During the pandemic big corporations like Amazon have cashed in while working people struggle to get by. Labour should support both raising corporation tax and a special Covid-19 windfall tax for sectors that have made super profits. We should use the cash to fund a new future for Britain based on a green jobs boom, a massive program of social house building, and taking rail, mail and utilities back into democratic public ownership. Boris Johnson is “an unrepentant and inveterate liar” who feels he is not subject to the same rules as others, Sylvie Bermann, the former French ambassador to the UK during the Brexit vote, says in a new book. MPs have reversed a Lords amendment to the fire safety bill which sought to prohibit building owners from passing on any remediation costs, such as the replacement of dangerous cladding, to leaseholders and tenants. As PA Media reports, the Commons voted to disagree with the Lords amendment by 340 votes to 225, majority 115. Amendments tabled by backbench Conservative MPs were not voted on. That’s all from me for today. But our coverage continues on our global coronavirus live blog. It’s here.