Image source, Parliament TV

Replying to Jim McMahon, Shapps says the next review of the green, red and amber lists is on 15 July.

He says: "It doesn't matter how many times you explain the fact, we put India on the red list two weeks before they became a variant of concern and a week ahead of them being even a variant of interest and yet he still comes to the House and says that time and time again."

He says the 30 locations accepting the NHS letter or app are already published on the FCDO website and this should be used as the bible on what the rules for each country are.

He clarifies it's not just children travelling with adults, it's all children who are exempt from quarantine rules after returning from an amber list country.

Shapps says he agrees the cost of tests should come down and he's seen some in-person tests available for as little as £10.

He says airlines have responded positively to the rule changes and says Labour has not been clear on its travel policies.

He says: "First of all they wanted quarantine lessened then they wanted everyone in a hotel, then they wanted it to be done on a case by case basis then they wanted to open up travel, shut down travel, put everyone on a red list and more countries on the green list. This is not policy - this is just playing politics."

McMahon turns to the issue of a transatlantic corridor between the UK and the US, and says when he asked Shapps about this, he was told a UK-US working group had met once last week to discuss the issue, but there has been no update since.

He asks how many times the group has met since then and "what progress has been made".

McMahon adds the international travel and tourism sectors need the government to "step up" but that ministers have found themselves "wanted".

He says: "Labour is clear that the government must follow the example of other countries by bringing forward a sectoral deal to protect jobs".

He asks why the government has not brought forward such a deal yet - and why the Eurostar was not offered the same business rate support as the aviation sector.

He concludes his statement by criticising the lack of a mention of mask wearing in Shapps' statement, an issue he says the government have been "all over the place" on.

He asks Shapps for his view on mask wearing and whether he'll commit to wearing a mask on public transport.

Shadow transport secretary, Jim McMahon, says the "limited" data published by the government contains no information for incoming passenger testing or new variant testing for some of the countries that were moved to the green list.

He said data had also not been published for the countries critical to our economy, such as the US, Canada and the vast majority of the EU.

He asks Shapps if - when it is published - the data will show a "very clear direction of travel for each and every country" to restore travel confidence.

He also asked for a full review into adding India to the red list, alongside Pakistan and Bangladesh.

McMahon also calls on Shapps to confirm a country by country assessment has been made ahead of his statement today.

Grant Shapps warns that as we begin to ease restrictions, travel will not be the same as it was before the pandemic.

He says people should continue to check foreign office travel advice, travel outside of busy weekend times and expect longer waiting times at the borders.

Shapps says there will be no changes to those arriving from countries on the red list even when they are fully vaccinated - they must go into hotel quarantine.

He says the government will continue to follow data and won't hesitate to act on new variants.

He says: "An amber list country could still turn red necessitating a change in behaviour when we return to the UK."

The transport secretary adds while many may be looking forward to holidays, the change to the rules is also about "reuniting families" who have been apart throughout the pandemic and helping the travel and aviation industries "which hundreds of thousands of jobs rely on".

He says the sectors will be helped by allowing people to fly again, before announcing that from 19 July the government will remove the guidance that people should not travel to countries on the amber list.

"This means that people will be ale to travel for leisure, for business and to see families in amber list countries," he says.

Grant Shapps says those on approved clinical trials in the UK will also not have to quarantine when they arrive back in England from amber list countries.

He says people will be able to prove they've had both jabs either through the Covid pass on the main NHS app - not the Covid app - or the accessible letter available by calling 119.

Shapps adds that children under the age of 18 returning from amber-list countries will not have to isolate on their return nor take a coronavirus test on day eight.

He says children between the ages of five and 10 will only have to take a day two test, and as before, children aged four and under are to be exempt from all testing and isolation requirements.

Shapps says he recognises the travel rules for children have been a big concern for families, and he is "delighted" to be able to offer them reassurance on this.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps begins his statement by saying he does not underestimate for a second just how difficult the past 18 months have been for people who have been unable to travel to see their families and for the aviation sector.

But he says thanks to the vaccination programme we are now in a position where we can start to look at how we can live with coronavirus while returning life to a sense of normality.

"I can confirm today from 19 July UK residents who are fully vaccinated through the UK vaccine rollout will no longer have to self-isolate when they return to England."

They will still have to take a pre-departure test three days before returning and a PCR test on or before the second day they are back. He says this applies to people 14 days after their second jab.

He says they will no longer be required to take a day 8 test, meaning the requirements for green and amber list countries are the same.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will be addressing MPs in the House of Commons in the next few minutes on how and when fully vaccinated travellers can return from certain countries without having to quarantine.

We will bring you the key updates as and when we get them.

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

If official forecasts are correct, the UK state pension could rise by 8% in April next year.

The triple lock policy means the amount paid to pensioners rises in line with the highest of inflation, 2.5%, or average earnings.

It is the last of these three which is predicted see a big jump owing - in part - to furlough's effect on calculations.

Hence, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is being pressed on whether the manifesto promise to pensioners will stay.

His answer? The decision will be "based on fairness for pensioners, but also for taxpayers".

But fairness is difficult to quantify.

Is it fair the UK state pension is one of the least generous in Europe?

Is it fair many women have had less opportunity than men to build up other pension income?

Is it fair life expectancy is so low in some areas that people living there hardly get the chance of retirement?

That is why some are calling for an overhaul of the entire system of pensioner benefits, not a short-term reaction to an unusual set of circumstances.

How England's hospital waiting lists numbers hit record highpublished at 11:15 British Summer Time 8 July 2021

11:15 BST 8 July 2021

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

A&E units in England are back seeing as many patients as they did before the pandemic. More than 2.1 million people visited them during June.

That is a similar number to June 2019 – numbers dropped to 1.4 million last year as part of a wider drop in use of the health service by non-Covid patients during the first lockdown.

The highest number of attendances was seen in July 2019 when nearly 2.3 million people arrived.

Meanwhile, hospitals have started making progress in tackling the number of long waiters for routine surgery. There are now 336,000 waiting more than a year for treatment, down from a peak of 436,000 in March. Before the pandemic started there were just 1,600 people waiting that long.

The overall numbers on the waiting lists have hit 5.3 million, the highest on record. The numbers have been growing since the pandemic started because of a reduction in the amount of non-emergency surgery hospitals have been able to do during the pandemic.

But NHS Providers, which represents hospital bosses, is warning the rising number of Covid cases will affect the ability of the NHS to keep making progress on the backlog.

The organisation says a combination of more Covid admissions and staff having to isolate after coming into close contact with cases and taking annual leave will cause challenges.

Will hairdressers need to wear masks after 19 July?published at 11:06 British Summer Time 8 July 2021

11:06 BST 8 July 2021

Image source, Getty Images

The government has announced that most Covid restrictions in England are likely to end on 19 July - including social distancing and the wearing of face coverings.

You've asked how it will affect close contact service providers - such as hair stylists and beauty consultants.

Well, once the restrictions are lifted, the government says it will "enable people to make informed decisions about how to manage the risk to themselves and others".

Speaking on Monday, Boris Johnson said people should exercise “personal responsibility” but also “remember the value of face coverings both in protecting themselves and others”.

England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said he would continue - after 19 July - to wear a face covering indoors where people were close together, or as a “common courtesy” if someone else was feeling uncomfortable.

Businesses can decide their own health and safety measures, and insisting on a face covering could be a reasonable rule, according to barrister Adam Wagner.

However, to avoid discrimination under the Equality Act 2020, , externalpeople who are currently exempt from wearing masks would have to be excused.

Read more of your latest questions and the answers here.

Image source, PA Media

Returning to the issue of treatment backlogs in England, hospitals in Leeds are postponing planned elective operations as staff tackle a rise in Covid patients.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, one of the largest and busiest acute hospital trusts in the UK, says there is a "significant demand" for services including in the emergency departments.

Hospital bosses say the postponements mean patients requiring urgent medical treatment are prioritised.

Dr Phil Wood, the trust's chief medical officer, says: "Drawing on experience from previous waves of the pandemic, we are enacting plans to help us treat increased numbers of Covid admissions while still providing care to those patients waiting for scheduled operations.

"We are constantly reviewing the situation and we are committed to achieving timely and safe care for all our patients."

You can read more here.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Japan has declared a state of emergency in Tokyo that will run throughout the Olympic Games.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has told reporters it will remain in place until 22 August, but he has not given details on the restrictions.

Coronavirus infections are rising in Tokyo as the 23 July opening ceremony for the Games edges closer.

There has been widespread opposition to the Games in Japan, and calls for them to be postponed or cancelled.

The state of emergency announcement has been made after a meeting between the organising committee, the government and the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, who has just arrived in Japan.

The Olympic Games are scheduled to take place in the Japanese capital between 23 July and 8 August.

The Paralympic Games are between 24 August and 5 September.

Read the full story here.

Care home residents in Wales have been sharing their stories of living through the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges it has brought.

Margaret Wilson, 92, who lives in a home on Anglesey, says she has felt "lost and lonely" at times.

Meanwhile 86-year-old Margaret Pullen, from Aberavon, Neath Port Talbot, says she is "fed up" of being in her room.

The women are among those from care homes across Wales who have worked with artists to tell their stories of what it has been like to live in a care home during the pandemic.

New figures from NHS England show the number of people in England waiting for routine hospital treatment has reached a record high.

Overall, 5.3 million people were waiting to begin treatment by the end of May 2021 - the highest figure since records started in August 2007.

The data for May also revealed:

• A total of 336,733 people were having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment - down from 385,490 in the previous month - but about 13 times the number waiting in May 2020, which was 26,029

• GPs made 207,188 urgent cancer referrals, nearly twice the number in May last year, which was 106,741
• Urgent referrals when breast cancer symptoms were present - though not initially suspected - rose from 5,415 in May 2020 to 13,241 this year
• Nearly 300,000 patients had been waiting more than six weeks for a key diagnostic test, such as an MRI scan.

Meanwhile, attendances at A&E departments in June were 53% higher than a year ago - a reflection of lower-than-usual numbers for June 2020 due to the pandemic - with 2.16 million recorded last month, up from 1.41 million in June last year.

Rhoda Odhiambo
BBC health reporter, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

Kenya has received 182,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to boost its inoculation programme.

The doses were donated by the French government through the global Covax scheme.

"The Kenyan government is very grateful to the government of France for this generous donation which will support our national Covid-19 vaccine," Dr Willis Akhwale, chair of the National Vaccine Taskforce says.

Out of the more than one million people who have received their first dose, close to half a million are fully vaccinated.

The vaccination programme in the country is still targeting health care workers, the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions.

Image source, Pacemaker

Stormont ministers will meet later to decide whether more of Northern Ireland's coronavirus restrictions can be relaxed on 26 July.

The BBC understands 26 July is the new indicative date being proposed for theatres and conference halls to reopen.

It could also allow:

• live music at indoor venues with no restriction on sound levels and the return of dancing
• 10 people from two households to meet indoors in a private home
• 15 people from any number of households to meet in a private garden
• close contact services to operate without appointments
• the removal of the legal need to wear a face covering in a place of worship - making it guidance only.

Ministers are also being asked to consider removing the guidelines for students to wear face coverings in classrooms and school "bubbles"; and to allow people who are fully vaccinated to return from amber countries without having to isolate.

The proposals would need to be ratified at an executive meeting on 22 July.

The plans set for discussion at Thursday's executive meeting mean that Northern Ireland will not directly follow the approach Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outlined for England.

He announced on Monday masks would no longer be required and social distancing rules would be scrapped for England at the final stage of his government's plan.

Image source, EPA

The Australian city of Sydney has recorded its highest daily rise in Covid cases in months - despite being in lockdown for nearly two weeks.

The New South Wales state government has reported 38 cases in its capital today, pushing the case number of this Delta outbreak over 370.

Authorities say people have been breaching lockdown rules by going to other households.

They have pleaded with residents to abide by the stay-at-home order.

"We just need people to stop interacting for this lockdown to work," says NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

"Please stop visiting people indoors, outside your family, your household. Your immediate family means those you live with, it doesn't mean extended family or friends," she says.

Read more here.

Image source, EPA

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is due to set out plans later this morning on how and when fully vaccinated travellers can return from certain countries without having to quarantine.

At the moment, anyone returning from countries on the amber or red list must isolate for up to 10 days, under the UK's traffic light system for international travel.

Fewer than 30 destinations are on the green list - meaning travellers do not have to self-isolate when they get back to the UK.

More than 50 countries are on the strictest red list, which requires arrivals to pay to self-isolate in a hotel for 10 days.

The government has already said it is planning to scrap quarantine for those who are double-jabbed and returning from amber countries.

But it has not set out how it would work, when it would happen, and whether unvaccinated children would also be able to avoid quarantine if their parents are fully vaccinated.

• What are the UK's green, red and amber travel rules?