I think people will expect us to go the extra mile. I have accordingly mandated our negotiators to continue the talks and to see whether an agreement can be reached, even at this late stage. Following the decision to continue the talks, the Prime Minister held a cabinet Conference Call. A warning to the Prime Minister relaxing coronavirus restrictions this christmas will lead to a third wave of infections. Germanys Angela Merkel announces tighter coronavirus restrictions to run through christmas until january the 10th. Now on bbc news, its the week in parliament. Hello there, and welcome to the week in parliament. Coming up ahead of last minute talks to try to get a post brexit trade deal, the labour leader reckons Boris Johnson is between a rock and a hard place. Hes absolutely stuck and dithering between the deal he knows that we need, and the compromise he knows his backbenchers wont let him do. But the Prime Minister thinks labours position isnt clear. If he cant say whether he would vote for our deal, yes or no, then im afraid, mr speaker, he simply cannot attack the governments position. As the first patients in the uk are vaccinated against covid i9, one mp is looking to the future. How many of those of us who are healthy under 50 year olds might be vaccinated by the School Summer holidays . And music maker nile rogersjoins calls for artists to be paid more fairly for songs streamed online. Lets pay these people what they should have been making all along, and were going to be one big, happy family bingo and done. But first the parliamentary week stuttered to a close with no one knowing if the eu or the uk were going to reach a post brexit trade deal. Boris johnson jetted to brussels for a meeting with the European Commission president , ursula von der leyen. The pair had agreed to talk over dinner after negotiations between officials ended in deadlock, and with time fast running out to reach a deal before 31 december, when the uk stops following eu trading rules. Before setting off, borisjohnson took his weekly round of Prime Ministers questions and explained the sticking points. 0urfriends in the eu are currently insisting that, if they pass a new law in the future with which we in this country do not comply or dont follow suit, then they want the automatic right, mr speaker, to punish us and retaliate. And secondly, theyre saying that the uk should be the only country in the world not to have sovereign control over its fishing waters. And i dont believe, mr speaker, that those are terms that any Prime Minister of this country should accept. But whatever terms the uk ended up with. I have absolutely no doubt that, from january the first, this country is going to prosper mightily, mr speaker. The labour leader, sir keir starmer, was taking part via video link, self isolating after a staff member tested positive for covid i9. He is absolutely stuck, this is the truth of it. Hes absolutely stuck and dithering between the deal he knows that we need, and the compromise he knows his back benchers wont let him do. Mr speaker, i genuinely hope this is the usual Prime Ministers bluster and, that like one of his newspaper columns, a deal arrives at the last minute. I think its a bit much of the leader of the opposition to criticise the government for the failure to come up with a policy on brexit, when he cant even and a bit much for him to attack those consequences of coming out on australian terms when he cant even say whether he would vote for that deal, yes or no. Mr speaker, the Prime Minister asked me how ill vote on a deal that he hasnt even secured. Secure the deal, Prime Minister. You promised it. And i can say this, mr speaker if there is a deal, and i hope theres a deal, then my party will vote in the national interest, not on Party Political lines, as he is doing. Because of its history and land border with the European Union, Northern Ireland has been made a special case and will remain in greater alignment with the eu. And now, theres been an extra agreement to make sure that goods can also still flow smoothly between Northern Ireland and the rest of the uk, at least in the short term. The snps westminster leader said government ministers had described that as the best of both worlds. What is good for Northern Ireland, mr speaker, is surely good enough scotland. Why is scotland being shafted by this doubledealing . Can the Prime Minister explain to scottish businesses why this is fair . Mr speaker, in common with the whole of the rest of the united kingdom, scotland will benefit from substantial access of devolved powers for scotland, and will benefit from the regaining of money, borders, and laws. And, as i nevertire of telling my friend, the gentleman opposite, in spite of all hisjeering, scotland will take back control of colossal quantities of fish, which i think is something that the people of scotland deserve to be able to exploit for the advantage of those communities. Borisjohnson. With that session over, borisjohnson headed to brussels to meet ursula von der leyen. But after a three hour dinner, number ten said very large gaps remained between the uk and the eu. And mrs von der leyen said the two sides were still far apart. Next morning, a treasury minister answered an urgent question on the trade talks. We are working tirelessly to get a deal, but we cannot accept a deal at any cost. We cannot accept a deal that would compromise the control of our money, our laws, borders, and ourfish. The country was hoping for a breakthrough last night yet, there was none. There is a sense of huge dismay, as we all wanted to hear significant progress. But we heard more about the Prime Ministers meal than we did about his deal. Mr speaker, on sunday, well have just 18 days to go until the end of the transition period how has it come to this . In calling urgent questions or asking other questions on the floor of the house, with the express mission of trying to undermine our negotiating position by pretending we are not ready for any outcome that these negotiations might yield, i think, is not helping secure the outcome we all want, and it is certainly not in the interests of the country. Theyve made themselves hostages to their own brexit right wing. Any compromise will now be interpreted as a sell out to them and theyve only got themselves to blame, with the appalling language theyve used against the eu, and their demonisation of them as some sort of cartoon villains. What we need is some reassurance that, if by sunday there is not an agreement, that the government will not give up on trying to reach a trade deal with the European Union that does not see us crash out on the first ofjanuary, with all the catastrophic effect that could have for our local businesses and for the economy. Clearly, we have prepared for every eventuality and we have a phased approach to the border, we have many pots of work going on into the new year to ensure that there arent those cliff edges that she refers to. Penny mourdant. On tuesday, a 90 year old woman from coventry became the first person in the world to receive a clinically authorised vaccine against coronavirus. Margaret keenan said she had spent most of the year self isolating and was looking forward to seeing family and friends. In the commons, the Health Secretary told mps it was a momentous day. This simple act of vaccination is a tribute to scientific endeavour, to human ingenuity, and to the hard work of so many people. Today marks the start of the fightback against our common enemy, coronavirus, and while today is a day to celebrate, there is much work to be done. The pictures today of 90 year old Margaret Keenan receiving her vaccine, given by a nurse originally from the philippines, is a wonderful moment bringing home to all of us that there is now a light at the end of this very long tunnel. And we are all beaming with pride for our nhs today. And he asked what could be done to target anti vaccination campaigns a point picked up by the snp. Recent studies have shown as few as sa of the uk population are certain to have the vaccination. There is a clear need to counter misinformation, be that online scare stories orjingoistic nonsense. So, what extra steps will the minister take to ensure public trust in the vaccines safety and effectiveness, and encourage its take up . I agree strongly with him and, in fact, the honorable member for the front bench opposite also raised this point, and i didnt answer it, so i shall now. Countering disinformation is incredibly important, and is best done with positive information and explaining objectively why the vaccine is safe and how its safe. I think the thing that we can all do in this house is positively talk about the benefits of the vaccine for keeping you safe, and keeping your community safe. Could the secretary of state say whether he still thinks its feasible that the most vulnerable will be vaccinated by the spring . And how many of those of us who are healthy under 50 year olds might be vaccinated by the School Summer holidays . I understand why the honourable lady and many of us want to know the answer to the speed of the rollout. Because we are reliant on the manufacturing process, which is itself a difficult challenge, we cant put figures on when that rollout will be. Matt hancock. Meanwhile, scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced that 11 areas living under tough coronavirus restrictions were being downgraded. It means that nonessential shops and other businesses across much of western and Central Scotland could reopen. Meanwhile, the education minister, john swinney, announced that next years higher and advanced higher exams have been cancelled, with teacher assessments being used instead. The question is less whether we can hold the exams safely in the spring, and more whether we can do so fairly. There is no getting around the fact that a significant percentage of our poorest pupils have lost significantly more teaching time than other pupils. The Statement Today is far from one that makes good on promises, and is instead an admission of complete failure, because we were told in october that cancelling National Exams would save the hires failed. We were told it was the safety of exams that sat at the heart of that Decision Making failed. We were told it was Home Learning which was delivering for every pupil in every part of scotland again, failed. We were told it would not be teachers who would bear the brunt of the assessment workload again, failed, cabinet secretary. Following the controversy of moderation in 2020, will the cabinet secretary commit to publishing whatever system is used to verify and alter grades awarded this year, in full, and in a repeatable and transparent methodology . John swinney said that material that had been published alongside his statement would explain clearly the approach that would be taken. Later in the week at first ministers questions, Nicola Sturgeon was asked what the impact on Scotlands Health service would be if the uk failed to reach a post brexit trade deal. Nhs tayside has said that a no deal brexit could lead to an inability to deliver safe and effective care. And other boards are warning of disruption to medicine supply, workforce shortages, and of vulnerable patients abroad being forced to travel home. And we dont even know if theres going to be a deal and if there is a deal, it will be barebones and minimalist and will do real damage to the scottish economy and to our society. So i am deeply, deeply concerned about that. In terms of the specifics of patrick harveys questions, i cant stand here and give an absolute assurance that there will be no impact on our economy, on society, and even on the health service, if there is a no deal brexit at the end of this year. What i can give an assurance of is that the Scottish Government is doing everything within our powers to try to minimise and mitigate against that impact. Nicola sturgeon. Meanwhile, the first minister of wales hinted at fresh restrictions there after christmas. Wales has already had a so called firebreak lockdown in october, and more recently, banned pubs from selling alcohol. The conservative leader wondered if measures were working. We know that infection rates in wales are 70 higher than when we entered the firebreak in october, and rates have increased by 82 since the end of the firebreak lockdown. Indeed, the fact is that there are now more than 1800 coronavirus related patients in hospitals across wales, which is the highest number since the pandemic began. And it shows that something has seriously gone wrong. Will the first minister confirm exactly what further measures are now being considered . And is the Welsh Government looking at further restrictions before the Christmas Period restrictions, or is the intention to bring in further measures post christmas . All those facts and figures that the leader of the opposition began with are the facts and figures that i put to him last week, when he refused to support the measures we took in relation to hospitality measures which, this week, i think nobody could possibly deny were right and necessary. Now, we need to give those measures an opportunity to make a difference. So, he didnt think thered be new rules this side of christmas, but a relaxation of the rules over the Festive Season would lead to a further rise in numbers. And that means any responsible government has to think about the measures that might be needed in order to protect the health service, who can go on doing everything else, it has to deal with the most pressurised point in any year, and to prevent avoidable deaths. Mark dra keford there. Now, at the top of the programme, youll have heard the snp leader at westminster calling for the same deal for scotland as has been struck with the eu for Northern Ireland. The agreement, reached in the week, ensures goods can still flow smoothly between Northern Ireland and the uk, at least in the short term. In the commons, the Cabinet Office minister set out the details. Im pleased to say that, under the agreement that weve reached, Northern Ireland businesses selling to consumers or using goods in Northern Ireland will be free of all tariffs. Whether thats nissan cars from sunderland or lamb from glamorganshire, internal uk trade will be protected as we promised, whether we have a Free Trade Agreement with the eu or not. Weve got a grace period for supermarkets to update their procedures, and our agreement also prevents any disruption at the end of the transition period on the movement of chilled meats. British sausages will continue to make their way to belfast and ballymena in the new year. Ours is a great country, and labour wants to see a good life for all our people. But as great as our country is, it cannot afford to be afflicted by government incompetence. Every price rise, every trafficjam, every lost contract and every redundancy caused by this governments mistakes and poor planning holds our great country back. Next year must be a year of rebuilding and recovering from covid 19, not dealing with the fallout of reckless Decision Makings, tariffs or incompetence. Whilst we welcome the changes which we made today, nevertheless the real test will be in how these measures work on the ground, rather than the spin we get in this house. We welcome details that businesses have sought anxiously all year and, of course, we keenly anticipate a wider trade deal might finally allow us to enjoy the conditions that we currently enjoy. Mps representing other parts of the uk seemed envious of the deal secured for Northern Ireland. We would give our right arm for access to the eu single market, unfettered access across the rest of the uk market. From the 1st ofjanuary onwards, if the he was a Business Owner primarily exporting to the eu, would he prefer to be located in Northern Ireland or wales . Well, that is the most difficult question ive ever faced in this house and it was when he diplomatically decided not to answer, insisting that he loved both Northern Ireland and wales. Now, that agreement with the European Union in regard to Northern Ireland meant the government could drop controversial clauses to the uk internal market bill. It had put in sections allowing ministers to break parts of the brexit divorce deal, agreed with the eu last year. Ministers said they were a safety net to ensure the free flow of goods to and from Northern Ireland in all circumstances. Cue a row between the two houses of parliament, with peers taking the clauses out and the commons putting them back, pinging the bill back to the lords where, after that agreement with the eu, the government formally withdrew them. We sought these measures to guard against the possibility of not reaching agreement with the eu in the joint committee. As we have now reached agreement with the eu, i am pleased to say that the clauses that provided for the safety net are no longer needed. The governments climbdown was widely welcomed. Id still like to think that the governmen