Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has told MPs that cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus have doubled in the past week. There are now 2,323 confirmed cases of the Indian variant in the UK, he said, of which 483 are in Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen - where it is now the dominant strain. He also said that there are now 86 council areas with five or more cases of the variant, which government scientists say could lead to a substantial increase in hospital numbers if it turns out to be 50% more transmissible than the current UK variant. (See 9.03am.) Health officials have urged thousands of Glaswegians in their 20s and 30s to book a Covid vaccination after a rapid surge in cases linked to the coronavirus variant first identified in India. In England the government is not pushing for the young to be vaccinated early in areas where the Indian variant is causing a spike. Hancock told MPs that advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation was that more lives would be saved by ensuring that older people get first and second doses. (See 4.52pm.) But in areas like Blackburn local officials are encouraging all over-18s to make inquiries about getting vaccinated, on the grounds that the JCVI guidelines do allow young people to be vaccinated early in certain circumstances. (See 4.21pm.) No 10 seems resigned to the fact that in some areas these rules being interpreted with maximum elasticity. (See 1.51pm.) The government’s bill for tackling Covid-19 has risen by £100bn since the start of the year and now stands at £372bn, according to the independent watchdog that oversees Whitehall spending. Downing Street has urged Britons not to take holidays in so-called amber list countries including France and Spain, but declined to explain why it remains legal for people to do so. The proportion of people working from home more than doubled in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, though it remained a minority of overall workers across the UK, according to an official snapshot. The UK’s relationship with the European Union after Brexit could remain “bumpy” for some time, Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, has admitted. As PA Media reports, Frost told a committee of MPs that he wanted the situation with Brussels to improve but highlighted ongoing problems with Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit arrangements. He said that the ability to diverge from EU regulations would be one of the big prizes of leaving the bloc, but acknowledged this could cause further difficulties over the Northern Ireland protocol. He said relationship with Brussels “will be a bit bumpy for a time but there is a lot of business to be done” following the conclusion of the trade and cooperation agreement between the UK and EU. And he said businesses in Great Britain were having more problems than anticipated moving goods into Northern Ireland which was having “a bigger chilling effect than we thought”. This is from the commentator Steve Richards on Frost’s evidence.
That’s all from me for today. But our coronavirus coverage continues on our global live blog. It’s here.