aged 12–15 should be offered a single dose of covid vaccine. vaccines minister nadhim zahawi subsequently confirms all children in this age group will be offered a single vaccine. figures obtained by the bc indicate that as many as 300,000 people who arrived into the uk between march and may 2021 may have broken quarantine rules, roughly a third of those who travelled to the uk during that time. in response the uk government says it cannot be sure how many of them actually broke quarantine and how many could not be traced. speaking on bbc breakfast, secretary of state for work and pensions therese coffey gives her backing to plans to end the £20 uplift in universal credit, saying removing it amounts to "two hours' extra work every week" for claimants and that the government would help them to "perhaps secure those extra hours". on the same topic, scottish first minister nicola sturgeon uses her scottish national party conference speech to urge prime minister boris johnson not to end the uplift as it threatens to plunge tens of thousands of people into poverty. figures produced by the office for national statistics indicate fully vaccinated people are much less likely to die from covid-19 compared to those who are unvaccinated, with only 256 of the 51,000 covid deaths in england between january and july 2021 occurring in people who had been fully vaccinated. these deaths were mostly people at very high risk of illness due to the virus. 14 september prime minister boris johnson and health secretary sajid javid unveil the covid winter plan for england, which includes a plan a and a plan b, the former designed to prevent the nhs from coming under pressure, and the latter designed to be enacted as a last resort if the nhs does come under pressure. plan a includes the following measures: encouraging those yet to be vaccinated to get vaccinated offer vaccines to children aged between 12 and 15 begin a booster jab programme plan b includes the following measures: urge the public to act more cautiously the introduction of mandatory vaccine passports for large events a return of the legal requirement for face coverings in some indoor settings possible advice to work from home lockdown as a last resort. health secretary sajid javid announces that a booster jab programme for 30 million people will begin the following week. pressure group lawyers for liberty warns schools that staff could face legal action from parents if they take an active role in the drive to vaccinate children. the health and social care levy bill, the legislation enacting the health and social care tax, passes its third reading in the house of commons with mps voting 307–251 in favour, a majority of 56. england's chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, criticises us rapper nicki minaj after she posted a series of tweets claiming her cousin would not get the covid vaccine because his friend's testicles had become swollen as a side effect of the jab. figures from the office for national statistics show that job vacancies rose above one million in the three months to august for the first time since records began in 2001. the number of employees in august was also back to pre-covid levels. 15 september health secretary sajid javid tells the bbc that an increase in pressure on the nhs is the main factor that would lead to tighter covid restrictions in england. the consumer price index jumps from 2 to 3.2%, its biggest increase since 1997. prime minister boris johnson reshuffles his cabinet. chances include promotion for vaccines minister nadhim zahawi, who replaces gavin williamson as education secretary, while also maintaining the vaccines minister role. a bbc survey indicates that most people believe workers will not return full time to the office after covid. 16 september the booster vaccination program begins in england and wales, starting with nhs staff. the scottish government asks the ministry of defence for military assistance for scotland's ambulance service after first minister nicola sturgeon describes the situation as being the most challenging set of circumstances in history because of covid. the northern ireland executive has asked the ministry of defence for military medics to be deployed to hospitals in northern ireland in october. prime minister boris johnson continues his cabinet reshuffle which includes minor changes to junior health ministers. 17 september the uk government confirms an overhaul of the traffic lights system, which will see the green and amber lists scrapped from 4 october in favour of a single red list. the changes will also mean fully vaccinated people are no longer required to take a pre-departure pcr test before boarding a flight to the uk, unless from a red list country. the day 2 pcr test for returning travellers will be replaced by a lateral flow test from a point later in october. eight countries are also to be removed from the red list from wednesday 22 september. the scottish government agrees to the traffic lights system changes, but wants to keep the testing requirements. the welsh government announces the introduction of vaccine passports for nightclubs and large scale events in wales from 11 october. figures show that retail sales in the uk have fallen for a fourth consecutive month as people spend more time eating and drinking out. the latest office for national statistics figures for the week ending 11 september indicate scotland to still have the highest covid rate in the uk, with an estimated one in 45 people with the virus, the second week this has been the case. 18 september a surge in holiday bookings is reported following the uk government's announcement of changes to the travel rules for england. older people, those with down's syndrome, and weakened immune systems are among those identified as at high risk of illness from covid despite vaccination by a calculator developed by researchers. following changes to the traffic lights system in england, scotland announces that the green and amber lists will merge, but unlike england there will be no changes to the rules regarding covid tests for returning travellers. northern ireland also announces similar changes, effective from 4 october. anne webb, an 85-year-old nursing home resident from treorchy, wales, is believed to be the uk's first nursing home resident to receive a third covid vaccine. 19 september the office for students urges universities in england to consult students before deciding how much should be taught online. 20 september the united states confirms plans to lift travel restrictions for fully vaccinated uk and eu citizens from november. prime minister boris johnson says britain's vaccine priority must be to roll out booster jabs rather than giving surplus supplies to developing nations, but says this "doesn't mean we're not making also a massive commitment to the rest of the world". ronapreve becomes a treatment for the "most vulnerable" hospital patients unable to build up an antibody response to covid. the welsh ambulance service becomes the latest uk ambulance service to ask for help from the military due to increased pressure because of covid. welsh labour has called off its party conference, scheduled for 5–7 november, due to concerns about rising covid cases. 21 september after business secretary kwasi kwarteng warns that some households face a "very difficult winter" with food shortages and rising fuel prices, prime minister boris johnson says people should not worry about putting food on the table this winter. scottish first minister nicola sturgeon outlines details of when and where vaccine passports should be used, and urges venues to use "common sense" when checking them. the ministry of defence confirms the deployment of 114 military personnel to help the scottish ambulance service with non-essential driving and support work. welsh first minister mark drakeford urges the uk government to keep pcr tests for returning international travellers; changes are scheduled to be made to the rules in october. the chelsea flower show gets underway for a rare autumn appearance, having been delayed from may due to covid. network rail says that the number of people wearing masks at railway stations in england has fallen to 20%, compared to 80% before restrictions were lifted on 19 july. bbc news reports the uk government is proposing to give all workers the right to request flexible working from their first day in a job, allowing them to work from home. 22 september turkey, pakistan, the maldives, egypt, sri lanka, oman, bangladesh and kenya are removed from the travel red list. the night time industries association scotland (ntia), a group representing night clubs in scotland, confirms plans for a legal challenge against the scottish government's decision to introduce vaccine passports from october, saying there are "serious flaws" with the scheme. the uk government amends its guidance to clarify that covishield, india's version of the astrazeneca vaccine, is an approved jab. the vaccine had previously been omitted from a published list of approved vaccines, something that attracted criticism from mps and from india itself. an inquest into the death of yorkshire ripper peter sutcliffe, who died after catching covid-19 in prison, hears that he refused to shield before contracting the illness. scientists report that a covid-19 treatment made from nanobodies, a version of antibodies produced by llamas and camels in response to infection, is showing positive results. 23 september bp warns of the temporary closure of some of its filling stations due to a shortage of lorry drivers. figures produced by the office for national statistics indicate life expectancy for men in the uk has fallen for the first time in 40 years, with the average age being 79 in 2020, a figure last seen between 2012–14 the figure for women in 2020 was 83, and remained relatively unchanged. wales once again produces the worst performance figures for hospital emergency department waiting times, with only 40.7% of patients attending a&e at one hospital being seen within four hours. andrew monk, chief executive of investment firm vsa capital, criticises government plans to give new workers the right to work from home, saying that people abuse the practice. around 250 people gather at stonehenge to celebrate the autumn equinox as such gatherings are once again allowed. dr john nkengasong, director of africa's centers for disease control and prevention, warns that the uk's policy of not accepting covid certificates from some countries could exacerbate vaccine hesitancy. 24 september margaret keenan, the first person in the uk to receive the covid vaccination, is given her booster jab at university hospital coventry. the uk government is reported to be working on a temporary visa scheme to make it easier for foreign lorry drivers to come to the uk and help with the shortage of lorry drivers. england's r number falls slightly to between 0.8 and 1.0, down from 0.9 to 1.1 the previous week. the scottish government confirms fully vaccinated travellers returning to scotland will no longer be required to take a pre-flight covid test. scotland will also align itself with the rest of the uk with regard to post-return testing. the northern ireland executive also announces plans to bring its travel testing inline with the rest of the uk. a report by the institute for public policy research suggests it could take up to a decade to clear the backlog of cancer patients waiting for treatment in england. a freedom of information request reveals the welsh government spent £32,000 on an advertising campaign featuring rappers goldie lookin' chain aimed at encouraging people to get vaccinated. this includes paying the band to write the song "get the jab done". the welsh government also had a final say on the lyrics. 25 september the uk government confirms that 5,000 foreign fuel tanker and food lorry drivers and 5,500 poultry workers will be given temporary visas to work in the uk for three months, until christmas eve. other measures announced include using ministry of defence examiners to increase teaching capacity for hgv licence training, and writing to one million people who hold a hgv licence to encourage them to return to the industry. 26 september transport secretary grant shapps says there is "no shortage of fuel" and people should be "sensible" and fill up only when they need to. as panic buying of fuel continues, the uk government announces it is suspending competition