Labour MP Debbie Abrahams says today's Health Foundation Covid Report shows the UK has a high and unequal Covid death toll.

It shows that people of colour and disabled people are five and six times respectively more likely to die than white and non-disabled counterparts.

She says those in poverty are nearly four times more likely to die from Covid than more affluent groups.

She asks when the government will address these inequalities and build back fairer.

Javid says he is looking closely at the report's recommendations and she is right to point out the pandemic has sadly been disproportionate in its impact on people from ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.

He says we need to make sure we have learnt the lessons for future pandemics.

Conservative MP Dr Andrew Murrison says that many Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccines are not valid for vaccine passports in Europe, due to European Medicines Agency restrictions.

Sajid Javid says that the AZ vaccine, known as "Covishield" in India, has not been used in the UK. He says he is in "intense discussions" with his European counterparts to explain the situation.

The health secretary says double-jabbed people in England will not have to self-isolate from 16 August.

Layla Moran MP says a friend of an NHS intensive care doctor has emailed her "in despair".

She says the doctor contracted Covid on Christmas Eve and has been unable to work since, as it developed into Long Covid.

Her HR department has issued her with papers to file for statutory sick pay at the job centre and she stands to lose her salary entirely, the MP tells the House.

Moran asks the health secretary to urgently look into this case and others like it so that "the frontline staff, the heroes of the pandemic receive the proper finacial support they need while they recover".

Javid thanked the doctor and their colleagues across England for everything they've done and continue to do for the country and says if she writes to him he will look into it carefully.

The SNP's health spokesperson, Martyn Day, asks what confidence the UK public can have in the government not gambling the future, given the rise in cases.

He asks if this is the time to stop wearing masks. He asks how many deaths are "acceptable".

Sajid Javid says "the vaccine is working, we have more people vaccinated than any other large country in the world".

"That has weakened the link between cases, hospitalisation and death".

"The science is working," he states.

Jeremy Hunt MP says one of the other illnesses that has been very badly affected by the pandemic is cancer.

He says 40,000 fewer people started cancer treatment last year - which will sadly lead to a number of preventable deaths.

He asks if the health secretary will be looking at the workforce and funding required to deal with the cancer backlog.

Savid Javid says cancer treatment is a "huge priority for this government".

Responding to Labour, Health Secretary Sajid Javid says "we do expect, for the time being, infections to continue rising," by 19 July, he says it could be 50,000 people testing positive a day.

He says the rules can be relaxed in the UK because of the vaccine, which he describes as a "wall of defence".

He says there is evidence that there is a link between cases, hospitalisation and death have been "severely weakened" by the vaccination programme.

There have been 27,000 new infections in the last 24 hours, he says, but there are just under 2,000 in hospitals. He says the last time infections were that high in daily figures, there were 20,000 people in hospital with the disease.

He says people have been stopped from going to the NHS for routine care because of Covid rules, adding "we have to start easing and moving away from these restrictions".

Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth says Sajid Javid talks about building a protective wall with vaccines, but the “wall is only part built”.

He says data from Israel suggests that the infectious Delta variant can be transmitted through fully vaccinated people, “yet he (Javid) is releasing control when infections are rising and hospitalisations will rise as well”.

Ashworth says he “understands the rationale for his announcement” but he says the “biggest barrier to an effective isolation policy” is “lack of financial incentive to stay home”.

On masks, he calls for a U-turn, saying that rules should remain in place. He adds: “Let’s have freedom not a high-risk free-for-all.”

“Keep masks for now; fix sick pay; and let's unlock in a safe and sustainable way.”

Javid says we are not currently offering vaccinations to most people aged under 18.

But the government wants to ensure they can get the life experiences that are so important to their development while keeping them safe from this deadly virus, he says.

In line with the approach for adults, anyone under the age of 18 who is a close contact of a positive case will no longer have to self-isolate, he says.

Instead they will be given advice about whether they should get tested, dependent on their age, and will need to self-isolate only if they test positive.

These measures will also come in on 16 August ahead of the autumn school term.

The government is also looking at how to remove the need for fully-vaccinated UK arrivals to quarantine after returning from an amber list country.

Javid says double jabbed people contacted by NHS Test and Trace to say they've been close to someone who has coronavirus will be advised to take a PCR test as soon as possible.

And anyone that tests positive will have to self-isolate whether they have had the jab or not, he says.

"This new approach means we can manage the virus in a way that is proportionate to the pandemic while maintaining the freedoms that are so important to us all," he adds.

Sajid Javid says the latest figures show the vaccination programme has saved 27,000 lives and prevented 7m people from getting Covid.

Both doses can reduce symptomatic infection by almost 80%, he says.

He says: "The odds have shifted in our favour and we can look afresh at many of the measures we have had to put in place".

From 16 August anyone who is a close contact of a positive case will no longer have to self-isolate if they've been fully vaccinated, he says.

If someone gets their second dose just before or just after 16 August they'll have to wait for two weeks to build up the maximum protection before they can enjoy these new freedoms, he says.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid says "freedom is in our sights once again," due to the vaccination programme.

"After the arduous eighteen months we have all endured" he says it was "wonderful" to explain yesterday how the UK could open up.

He says he understands that some people are cautious about unlocking the country, but the UK has to "balance the risks," adding that "this pandemic is far from over".

"We are increasingly confident that our plan is working," he states.

He says he is "grateful" to people right across the UK who have "done their duty" by self-isolating.

He says he is "fully aware of how difficult it has been" to self-isolate. He says the "solution is our vaccine".

The Health Secretary Sajid Javid is on his feet in the House of Commons to tell MPs the new rules for people who have received two coronavirus vaccines. You can watch it live at the top of this page, and stay with us for updates.

Image source, PA Media

Scotland is still on track to see Covid restrictions lifted next month, the Scottish government says.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes says the plan is for Scotland to move to level zero, external on 19 July, with remaining legal restrictions lifted on 9 August.

She says the data would be closely monitored, after it was revealed that Scotland has the highest Covid rates in Europe.

Speaking to BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme, Ms Forbes says many restrictions would be eased as planned in Scotland too - despite the record high number of Covid cases reported in recent weeks.

But she says some measures, such as the wearing of face coverings, would remain in place in Scotland.

"We expect some baseline measures - for example face masks, some limitations on working from home and so on - will continue for a longer period of time," she says.

Read more

BBC Radio 5 Live

5 Live have been hearing listeners' responses to the yesterday's announcement from the Prime Minister around masks.

Boris Johnson says mandatory mask-wearing in England will end on 19 July.

There have been a range of views on the protective measure, but one 5 Live caller, Iqbal, reveals he's "very happy" that the government wants to lift some Covid restrictions, especially as there are high-rates of vaccination across the country.

He explains that he won't be wearing a mask on public transport after 19 July,

Talking to Nicky Campbell, he says: "If you want me to wear a mask, you can get off the bus and walk to work... I'm suggesting that the better course of action would be for you to sit somewhere else, or to get off the bus.

"People need to take responsibility for their own lives, they can't tell other people [what to do] to make themselves feel better," he adds.

Listen to 5 Live on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Getty Images

The prime minister has set out government plans to lift the remaining Covid restrictions in England.

He said that most legal restrictions and guidance in England should be removed from 19 July.

Confirmation of the lifting of restrictions and guidance won't actually happen until 12 July, when the latest Covid health data will be reviewed. However, the following measures are expected:

• no limits on social contact
• 1m-plus rule removed (except in some settings, such as ports of entry and medical settings)
• no legal requirements for face coverings (although their use will still be advised in hospitals, healthcare settings and enclosed, crowded public spaces)

Read more on the roadmap for lifting lockdown.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

The planned relaxation of restrictions on 19 July is essentially an acknowledgement that the government is now happy to let Covid spread, knowing the most vulnerable have a good level of protection.

But it is also being done with the expectation that at some point cases will begin to plateau as the virus hits the wall of immunity built up by the vaccination programme and natural infection.

That may not happen before we hit 50,000 cases a day, perhaps even 100,000, which of course would mean lots of people having to quarantine because they come into close contact with someone who is infected.

There are already reports of hospitals being short of staff because doctors and nurses are self-isolating when they are classed as a close contact.

And this is being mirrored in workplaces and other settings across the country. If allowed to continue, the country is at risk of grinding to a halt this summer.

For people who have been doubled jabbed, the chances are they will not become infected – the vaccines offer about 80% protection against symptomatic infection.

As always with Covid, it comes down to what is proportionate.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid will make an announcement in the Commons at about 12:30 BST on self-isolation rule changes for those who are fully vaccinated in England.

Earlier Javid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It makes sense because of the vaccines, and the way they're working, that the people that are double vaccinated are treated differently than the people that are not, and that is what I will be saying in Parliament today."

We are expecting him to say that people who have achieved immunity after having two vaccinations will not have to self-isolate for up to 10 full days if NHS Test and Trace finds they've been in contact with a positive case.

Here's a bit more detail from Javid and we will bring you live coverage of that announcement as it happens.

Kate Scotter and Laurence Cawley
BBC News

Face masks will not be legally required and social distancing rules will end from 19 July.

What do people in Southwold - the popular Suffolk resort that once urged people with second homes there to stay away - make of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement?

Ending restrictions is a double-edged sword for a place like Southwold.

On the one hand, it is hugely dependent on the tourism industry, external.

More than half of Southwold's 1,350 homes are either second homes or holiday rental lets, which means the town's population swells during holidays.

Easing restrictions, people in the town say, is great for the local economy.

But on the other hand, nearly half of its 800 or so permanent residents are older than 66 years old, which for some raises concerns about their safety.

Read more

Image source, EPA

There is an "increasingly risky" situation in the nation's finances, the Office for Budget Responsibility warns.

The watchdog says government debt now stands at some £2.2 trillion or 99.2% of GDP, a rate not seen since the early 1960s.

And it warns there are no plans to fund about £10bn a year of Covid spending on things like health and transport.

The UK economy contracted sharply last year as businesses closed in lockdown. But it is now recovering strongly.

However, the government bill for emergency measures such as the furlough scheme continues to climb, pushing up its debt pile by about 20%.