get the vaccine following concerns about the growing number of expectant mothers requiring hospital treatment after contracting covid. michael rosen, who spend two months in a medically induced coma after contracting covid in 2020, wins the centre for literacy in primary education poetry award for on the move, a collection of poems about migration. 12 october coronavirus: lessons learned to date, a joint report published by the house of commons health and social care committee and the science and technology committee, as well as mps from all parties, describes delays in the uk government's response during the early stages of the pandemic as one of the country's worst public health failures, and led to tens of thousands of people dying needlessly. the report is more favourable of the development and deployment of the vaccine programme, which it describes as "one of the most effective initiatives in uk history". london's new year's eve fireworks display alongside the thames is cancelled for a second year running due to "uncertainties caused by covid". former health secretary matt hancock confirms he has been given a role by the united nations as a special representative helping africa's economic recovery from covid. the job offer is withdrawn a few days later. 13 october figures from the office for national statistics show the uk economy grew by 0.4% in august 2021, largely as a result of people taking holidays, eating out and attending music concerts. the nhs covid pass, used to show a person's vaccination status, briefly stops working for three hours following a technical problem with the nhs app. the bbc reports that a shortage of care staff in england, who support patients discharged from hospital into the community, is leading to problems at hospitals. the journal nature reports that many scientists whose public profile rose during the pandemic have received online abuse and threats of violence. 15 october the white house confirms the united states will reopen its borders to fully vaccinated people from a number of countries, including the uk, from 8 november. other countries include those in the schengen area, ireland, iran, south africa, india and brazil, and travellers will need to produce a negative covid test 72 hours before travelling. an estimated 43,000 people in england and wales have been incorrectly told their covid pcr tests were negative following errors at a wolverhampton laboratory run by a private company, immensa. testing at the lab is suspended, and jenny harries, chief executive of the uk health security agency, orders an investigation into the length of time it took to identify the problem, around a month. 16 october the uk records 43,423 new covid cases, the fourth consecutive day that new cases have been above 40,000, while figures from the office for national statistics indicate around one in 60 people may have the virus. north sea energy company canadian natural resources becomes the first major uk employer to mandate its employees to have a covid vaccination, requiring them to have the vaccine before travelling to its offshore facilities. 17 october former prime minister gordon brown urges the united kingdom, united states, canada and europe to begin an emergency airlift of surplus vaccine supplies to countries who are short of vaccine doses. 18 october stage three tests of the valneva covid-19 vaccine find it to be very effective in priming the immune system against covid-19. bbc news reports on concerns the booster vaccine rollout, described as "the last piece of the jigsaw", is not happening fast enough. following reports prime minister boris johnson and his then fiancée carrie symonds broke lockdown rules on 25 december 2020 when they were joined at 10 downing street by a friend, nimco ali, a downing street spokesman rejects the claims and says they "followed coronavirus rules at all times". on christmas day 2020 residents in london were only permitted to spend time indoors with people in their support bubble. a report by the salvation army for anti slavery day 2021 voices concerns that the effects of the pandemic could lead to a rise in people trafficking. scotland's vaccine passport scheme becomes enforceable by law. 19 october officials are keeping an eye on ay.4.2, a descendant of the delta variant of covid that is reported to be responsible for 6% of new infections. the variant is also known as delta plus. a further 43,738 new covid cases are recorded, along with 223 deaths, the highest daily number since march. with the number of new cases above 40,000 for the seventh consecutive day, downing street says it is "keeping a very close eye" on the situation, but that the cabinet has not yet discussed enacting its plan b for the winter. police escort cabinet minister michael gove away from a group of anti-lockdown protestors in central london after they tried to surround him. 20 october the nhs confederation calls for the immediate reintroduction of some covid measures in order to prevent england "stumbling into a winter crisis". at the first government briefing for some time, health secretary sajid javid warns that the reintroduction of some covid measures through the uk government's plan b, such as compulsory face coverings and advice to work from home if possible, is more likely if not enough people get vaccinated. he said the government will not be bringing in the measures "at this point" but warns daily cases could rise to 100,000 a day. javid also sets out the government's winter covid plan and announces that two antiviral treatments, molnupiravir and pf-07321332/ritonavir, are in the testing phase and could be ready for deployment over the winter. javid also says that mps should set an example by wearing face coverings in the house of commons. research published by the university of edinburgh indicates that covid vaccination is 90% effective at preventing death from the disease. morocco announces the suspension of flights to and from the uk, germany and the netherlands because of rising covid cases; the suspension takes effect from 11.59pm on 20 october until further notice. a man is arrested at an anti-vaccine protest outside the houses of parliament after erecting a mock gallows. 21 october the uk records 52,009 new covid cases, the first time the daily number has been above 50,000 since 17 july. prime minister boris johnson urges people to come forward for their vaccinations when they are contacted to do so. responding to comments by shadow leader of the house thangam debbonaire that mps should wear masks in the house of commons, leader of the house jacob rees-mogg says that conservative mps do not need to wear face coverings during debates because they are all friends, and the advice for mask wearing is in the company of people that are unknown to each other. after a survey concluded that four in ten adults gained weight during the pandemic, conservative peer and former minister andrew robathan urges the government to "tell people they must not eat so much" in an effort to stop them getting "grossly overweight". figures show that government borrowing in september 2021 was down in comparison to a year earlier, with borrowing at £21.8bn, £7bn less than september 2020. statistics show the nhs in wales has recorded its worst ever performance figures, with a tenfold increase in the number of people waiting more than nine months for treatment; around 25,000 people were waiting for treatment before the pandemic compared to the latest figures which show 250,000 are waiting. 22 october the uk health security agency upgrades the delta plus covid variant to the "variant under investigation" category amid concerns it is easier to spread than the original delta variant. published minutes of a meeting of the scientific advisory group for emergencies from 14 october show they have advised the government that advice to work from home over the coming winter is the best way of helping to stem the spread of covid. an office for national statistics survey indicates changes in mask wearing and social distancing habits. the percentage of adults who say they always or often maintain social distancing has fallen 63% in mid-july to 39% in mid-october, while 82% surveyed in mid-october say they wear a face covering, compared to 97% in mid-june. dr roland salmon, former director of communicable diseases for public health wales, says he believes lockdown restrictions are only "at best marginally" beneficial for stopping the spread of covid, and should not return over the coming winter to protect nhs wales. instead he says that efforts should be focused on vaccinating those most at risk. wales's health minister, eluned morgan, confirms fully vaccinated travellers returning to wales from overseas will no longer need to take a pcr test from 31 october, bringing wales in line with rule changes in england. instead they will need a lateral flow test within two days of their return. 23 october chancellor rishi sunak is to announce £6.9bn of investment in public transport for the uk's regions in the forthcoming budget. hope rescue, an animal charity in south wales, reports that people have attempted to sell dogs they bought during lockdown on gumtree and even attempted to disguise them as strays so that animal charities will take them in. 24 october new rules come into force allowing fully vaccinated travellers returning to england to take lateral flow tests instead of pcr tests. shadow chancellor rachel reeves urges the uk government to introduce its plan b for tackling covid, but chancellor rishi sunak responds the data does not suggest "immediately moving to plan b". sunak describes his forthcoming budget will be about "strong investment in public services" in order to help rebuild the post-covid economy. singer ed sheeran confirms he has tested positive for covid, but says he will continue to give planned interviews and performances from home while he is self-isolating. scotland's health secretary, humza yousaf says there is "absolutely a risk" of covid cases rising after the cop26 summit in glasgow, which will be attended by 25,000 people. 25 october the uk government confirms the nhs in england is to receive an extra £5.9bn in the forthcoming budget to help clear the record backlog built up during the covid crisis. the money will also be used to buy extra equipment and improve it. labour party leader sir keir starmer calls for legislation to give local authorities the power to prevent anti-vaccine protesters from gathering outside schools by creating exclusion zones. health secretary sajid javid says he believes people will be able to celebrate christmas 2021 as normal, and that he is minded to make vaccinations compulsory for nhs staff. details of a study published in nature medicine suggest people are more likely to get guillain-barre syndrome (gbs), a rare neurological condition, if they are infected with covid rather than being vaccinated. 26 october the uk government confirms plans to end the pay freeze on public sector wages. modelling done for the government suggests that covid cases are set to fall dramatically in the coming weeks. face coverings are made mandatory for everyone working at westminster apart from mps. an event planned by the channel island integrative health alliance (ciiha) at the guernsey's states-owned performing arts centre is cancelled by the authorities sparking accusations of it being "an attack on freedom of speech". 27 october chancellor rishi sunak delivers the second budget of 2021 in which he says the economy is expected to return to pre-covid levels by the end of the year. labour party leader sir keir starmer is forced to self-isolate after testing positive for covid, meaning he is unable to deliver the official opposition's response to the budget; this is done by shadow chancellor rachel reeves instead. following political differences over the wearing of masks in the house of commons, the majority of the conservative front bench are seen wearing them during the budget. as it is estimated that as many as 100,000 climate protesters could be present at the forthcoming cop26 conference in glasgow, edinburgh university's professor linda bauld cites them as the biggest cause for concern of there being a covid outbreak because of the conference. rail operator west midlands trains says restrictions on training opportunities during covid have led to a shortage of drivers, and that consequently delays and cancellations to its services could continue for several months into 2022. richard hughes,