Buckinghamshire Council has declared a "major incident" over concerns a rapid rise in Covid cases could overwhelm the county's health and social care services.

Council leader Martin Tett said the latest figures going up to 24 December show cases stand at 514 per 100,000 - but current projections expect this to increase to closer to 800 per 100,000 next week.

He added: "Whilst today’s announcement about the approval of the Oxford vaccine is excellent news, we still need to deal with the deteriorating situation we face immediately."

We have just had the speakers for the prime minister's press conference confirmed.

Boris Johnson will be joined by Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer for England, and Stephen Powis, NHS medical director for England.

We're expecting to hear from them about 17:00.

More from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who was speaking to the Scottish Parliament a short time ago.

She urged Scots to act responsibly as 2020 draws to a close.

"I want to say a few words about Hogmanay tomorrow. I know most us, and I certainly speak for myself here, will be very glad to see the back of 2020," she said.

"Today's news about the new vaccine should, and I think will, give all of us greater hope for the year ahead. For now, it's vital to do everything we can to suppress this virus," she said.

"We must mark this new year responsibly and in line with the restrictions in place," she added.

"That means no gatherings, no house parties no first-footing. Instead we should bring in 2021 in our own homes with just our own households. This new strain is very serious and I cannot stress that enough."

Sturgeon also said the speed of transmission of the new variant means tougher restrictions could be imposed.

Sturgeon said 42.8% of new positive tests in Scotland were indicative of the new variant of the Covid-19 virus. The figure was just 6% at the end of November, she said.

Universities are being asked to reduce the number of students who return to campus at the start of January, the education secretary continues.

Gavin Williamson says students who require practical learning to gain their professional qualifications should be prioritised to return to campus.

All university students should be offered two rapid tests on return in order to reduce the chance of the spread of the disease, he says.

Secondary schools and colleges in areas of England with very high rates of Covid infection rates will not open to all pupils in January, the education secretary says.

For those areas affected, face-to-face education will continue for only exam-year pupils, vulnerable children and children of critical workers

Remote education will be given to all other students.

Because the Covid infection rate is particularly high among secondary school age pupils, Gavin Williamson says the government will allow more time so every school is able to fully roll out testing for all pupils and staff.

He says all pupils in exam years will return during the week beginning 11 January, with all secondary and college pupils returning full-time on the 18 January.

During the first week of term after 4 January, secondary schools and colleges will prepare to test as many staff and students as possible and will only be open to vulnerable children and children of key workers, he says.

He adds that military personnel will provide virtual training to help with testing, with teams on standby to provide in-person support if needed.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says the "overwhelming majority" of primary schools will open as planned on 4 January.

But he adds: "In a small number of areas where the infection rates are highest, we will implement our existing contingency framework, such that only vulnerable children and children of critical workers will attend face to face."

The list of areas will be published later on the government's website.

"This is being used only as a last resort," he says. "This is not all tier four areas" adding that the areas will be reviewed regularly so schools can open to all pupils as early as possible.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson tells the Commons the education of children has always been "an absolute priority" for the government and keeping schools open is "uppermost in all of our plans".

However, he says "we must always act swiftly when circumstances change" and evidence about the new Covid variant and rising infection rates require "immediate adjustments" to plans for new school term.

We'll bring you more from the Commons shortly. But first, we have the daily coronavirus figures.

They show a further 981 people have died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive.

It brings the total number of deaths by this measure to 72,548.

There has also been a further 50,023 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2,432,888.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is now beginning his Commons statement on plans for the start of the school term in England. We'll bring you updates.

In the Commons, SNP MP Martyn Day asks if the government plans to loosen restrictions only when the most vulnerable have been vaccinated or when a significant proportion of the whole population has.

Matt Hancock says the government has not set this out yet - but its general approach is to vaccinate as many vulnerable people as possible, as soon as possible.

He says the exact timing of restrictions being lifted depends on the rollout of the vaccine and the impact it has on bringing down the rate of transmission.

Here is video from the Commons earlier of the health secretary announcing tighter Covid restrictions on the day the Oxford vaccine was approved.

Labour MP Rupa Huq asks the health secretary how the vaccine will be administered to over-80s in care homes or those at home who are too immobile to travel.

Mr Hancock says: "We'll have a combination of a community rollout where we take the vaccine to the people and also of vaccination hubs where people come to get vaccinated."

"The ability of the Oxford vaccine to be easily transported does make a huge difference, because it means... we can take the vaccine to the people," he says.

"For people who find it easy to travel, it's much more efficient to do it the other way round."

Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent

The brief injection of optimism from the approval of another vaccine has quickly given way to a harsh reminder of reality.

Matt Hancock fought to focus on what he said was the "victory for all" that came with the news of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

But there was no dodging the news that millions more people would from tomorrow be living under the highest level of restrictions.

The threat to life posed by the virus he said was real, as was the pressure on the NHS.

Seeing the number of new cases reported recently it's far from a surprise that tighter measures have been deemed necessary.

Reasons for optimism remain but as 2021 begins the message is more like "stay at home" than "happy new year".

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been delivering a statement to the Scottish Parliament.

She started her statement by reminding us of the latest daily figures, with 2,045 new cases of Covid-19 and 43 more deaths reported in the past 24 hours, the highest number recorded in Scotland since the start of the pandemic.

The first minister says this is "obviously significant" and "demonstrates the severity of the situation we face right now".

She also describes the approval of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine as "extremely good news" due to its easier distribution.

She confirms that the Oxford vaccine will begin on Monday. She also says that more than 92,000 people in Scotland have now received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

With coronavirus measures increased for millions of people across England, here's a recap of what the restrictions in tier three and four areas are:

• You can't mix indoors, in private gardens or in most outdoor venues, except with your household or bubble
• You can meet in a group of up to six in other outdoor spaces, such as parks, beaches or countryside
• Shops, gyms and personal care services (such as hairdressing) can stay open, as can swimming pools
• Bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants must stay closed, except for delivery and takeaway
• Collective worship can take place - with no mixing outside your bubble
• Small wedding ceremonies can take place, but not receptions
• Sports fans cannot attend events in stadiums
• Indoor entertainment venues - such as bowling alleys and cinemas - must stay closed
• People are advised not to travel to and from tier three areas

The restrictions are similar to the last national lockdown , externaland include:

• Residents should stay at home, unless they have a "reasonable excuse" such as work or education
• All non-essential shops must close
• Hairdressers and nail bars must close
• Indoor entertainment venues must close
• Gyms and indoor swimming pools, indoor sports courts and dance studios must close
• You cannot meet other people indoors, unless you live with them or they are part of your support bubble
• People should not leave tier four areas or travel abroad, except for limited reasons (including work and education)
• Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are only allowed in exceptional circumstances
• "Clinically extremely vulnerable" people in tier four areas , externalare advised to stay at home "as much as possible". The government says if they can't work from home, they shouldn't go to work.

Image source, PA Media

Fulham's Premier League match at Tottenham this evening has been called off because of new coronavirus cases at the west London club.

The game was due to start at 18:00 GMT at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Fulham requested for the fixture to be postponed and the decision was confirmed three hours before kick-off.

On Tuesday, the latest round of Premier League Covid-19 testing found 18 people had the virus - the highest figure recorded in the testing programme.

That led to calls from West Brom boss Sam Allardyce for football to have a "circuit break" as he was worried about his health.

Asked by DUP MP Jim Shannon when the vaccine rollout will be completed, the health secretary says: "We can't give timelines on when any rollout will be completed because it does depend on the delivery schedule, the manufacturing schedule, of the vaccine."

Hancock reiterates that the government has ordered enough doses of the vaccines for every single adult in the UK if they want one.

Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson asks whether now is the time to use the Nightingale hospitals and if there are not sufficient staff to run them, why were millions spent building them in the first place.

Matt Hancock replies that the NHS is under "very significant pressure" and the Nightingale hospitals are there "as back-up".

"It is better for people if they’re treated inside a hospital but of course the Nightingales are there for extra support if they’re needed," he adds.

Image source, PA Media

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is next up in the Commons, with a statement on plans for the start of the school term in England.

It comes after government health advisers suggested schools may have to close to allow the new coronavirus variant to be suppressed.

Teaching unions are also calling for a delay to the start of term so mass testing can be set up.

The government had proposed a staggered return for secondary pupils in the first two weeks of January, with exam-year pupils and vulnerable pupils returning first. Primary schools were to go back as normal. The rest had been expected to go back on 11 January.

We’ll bring you all the latest updates here.