COVID BITES

■ PUBS could retain their marquees and extra outdoor seating under plans to keep some of the pandemic changes to hospitality. Rules on how often markets are held could also be swept away as the government looks to make it easier for traders to use outdoor space. The plans being consulted on do not include permanently keeping al fresco dining on streets but Kate Nicholls, of UK-Hospitality, called them a ‘welcome boost’.

■ GORDON BROWN has called for an emergency summit to tackle the ‘scandal’ of millions of people globally being denied a Covid vaccine. The ex-prime minister said jabs ‘hoarded’ by Western nations could be saving lives in low-income countries. By the end of October, the vaccines stockpile will be 500million – enough to put programmes in Africa and elsewhere back on track, Mr Brown said in a report based on data from research agency Airfinity.

■ TWO in five pupils did not meet the government’s minimum guidelines for remote learning time during school closures this year, a report finds. And a quarter of parents believe it will take their child at least a year to catch up on lost learning. The Institute for Fiscal Studies report says catch-up policies need to be targeted at poorer pupils to close ‘educational inequalities that have grown so much wider’ during the pandemic.

■ MORE than 11,000 second-home owners are cashing in on the staycation boom by using them as holiday lets. There are now 67,578 holiday homes in England, up from 56,102 in March 2020. Some 4,000 in the southwest and 1,450 in the south-east have been added since the start of the pandemic, said real estate adviser Altus Group. As well as rent, owners bagged tax breaks and Covid grants by listing their getaways as businesses.