Over the past week, thousands of people across Frankley Great Park and south Northfield have done what has been asked of them and gone and got a test because of a small number of South African variant cases. Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking Dr Justin Varney, Councillor Simon Morrall and Birmingham City Council for everything they have done to scale up mass testing across Frankley Great Park? Will he encourage anyone who has not had a test so far to get one at one of the designated sites?

I thank everybody involved in the vaccine roll-out; we have now vaccinated 12.6 million people and are on course to vaccinate the first four priority groups by the end of this week. Can the Prime Minister confirm today that the Government will extend business rates relief beyond 31 March?

The Prime Minister cannot give an answer yet despite businesses needing one now; as the British Chambers of Commerce says, businesses simply can't wait until the March Budget. Can the Prime Minister confirm today that the furlough scheme will be extended beyond April?

Let me let the Prime Minister into a secret: he can take decisions himself and does not need to wait until the last minute. The CBI, FSB, IoD, and BCC all agree that they cannot wait until the Budget for answers on business support measures. Why does the Prime Minister think he knows better than British businesses?

We know what the Prime Minister once said about wanting to do to business. We would rather listen to businesses. No decision yet on business rates or furlough; will he now commit to extending the evictions ban on residential properties beyond 21 February?

I am not going to take lectures from a man who not only wrote two versions of every column he ever wrote as a journalist, but proposed Donald Trump for a Nobel peace prize and gave Dominic Cummings a pay rise. Let us go back to the question. Another area where the Prime Minister has repeatedly delayed and now changes his policy pretty well every day is securing our borders against variants of covid. Every week, the Prime Minister comes here and says, “We have one of the toughest regimes in the world”. We know that his Home Secretary disagrees with him. We know that the Health Secretary disagrees with him. Luckily, Oxford University keeps track of how tough border restrictions are in every country. It says that there are at least 33 countries around the world that currently have tougher restrictions than the United Kingdom—33, Prime Minister—including Canada, Denmark, Japan, Israel and many others. In fact, Oxford University says that we are not even in the top bracket of countries for border restrictions. It is 50 days after we first discovered the South African variant —50 days. How does the Prime Minister explain that?

The truth is this: the Prime Minister is failing to give security to British businesses and he is failing to secure our borders. The Prime Minister often complains that we never put forward constructive proposals, so here are two for him: support businesses and protect jobs now by extending furlough, business rates relief and VAT cuts for hospitality; and, secondly, secure our borders with a comprehensive hotel quarantine on arrival. No more delays: will he do it?

I thank the Prime Minister for the decisions he took last year that have meant that the vaccine programme is in such a good position this week. Despite that success, it is vital that the programme keeps pace with the changing variants. Will he update the House on where the UK stands on ensuring that the UK supply chain is in place and that we do not get behind as the virus mutates?

New research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the baby bank charity Little Village has revealed that 1.3 million children under five in the United Kingdom are living in poverty. That is a truly shocking figure that should make this Tory Government utterly ashamed. The Scottish National party has repeatedly called for a financial package to boost household incomes and reverse this Tory child poverty crisis. The Prime Minister has the power to tackle child poverty right now by making the £20 uplift to universal credit permanent and extending it to legacy benefits. The Tory Government have been stalling on this for months. Will the Prime Minister finally act, or will he leave millions of children out in the cold?

We are discussing 1.3 million children under five in poverty. A baby bank worker named Emilie stated that a mother cried on her doorstep because I gave her nappies, wipes and winter clothes for her child. Will the Prime Minister meet me and other Opposition parties before the Budget to discuss tackling child poverty, or will he be another Tory PM leaving a generation of children in poverty?

A new freeport will create over 60,000 jobs in the east midlands and provide a massive boost to employers such as Caunton Engineering and Abacus. My mum and dad voted Conservative for the first time at the last general election and were touched when the Prime Minister acknowledged their votes. Can my right hon. Friend please reassure them that our area will never be let down again?

As we heard, the Government claim to have a levelling-up agenda underpinned by a research and development road map. However, Wales receives much less R&D spend per person than other parts of the UK. Will the Prime Minister now commit to a further devolved R&D funding settlement to the Senedd?

The UK lags behind in geothermal heat and energy. Will the Prime Minister meet me to discuss how we can ensure that geothermal helps us build back better with a revitalised package of incentives for industry?

This Government promised no council would suffer as a result of the pandemic, but Bolton Council has just announced £35 million of cuts and an increase in the council tax budget by 3.8%. Can the Prime Minister assure my constituents that this money will be given to them?

From rainforests to coral reefs, the world's ecosystems are at risk of catastrophic decline. My right hon. Friend welcomed this conclusion from Professor Dasgupta's review. Given that COP26 has been delayed until later this year alongside our presidency of the G7, does my right hon. Friend agree that the UK now has a unique opportunity to show global leadership in protecting nature?

It is estimated that up to 400,000 people are living with the debilitating effects of long covid, and some of them are NHS heroes, who caught covid in that first wave. Nearly a year later, I have heard from a doctor who says she wonders whether she will ever be able to walk unaided again, let alone manage a full day of work. Does the Prime Minister recognise that, for this group, long covid is an occupational disease, and will he set up a compensation scheme similar to what we offer our armed forces, so that we ensure that those who have lost their livelihoods by saving lives are fully supported?

Can the Prime Minister confirm today that all students will be back in school no later than 8 March, and will he commit to starting any phased return straight after half term, so that the damaging effects of being away from school are not drawn out for any longer than is absolutely necessary?

Having sat on the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill Committee for 15 months, I was a sceptic as to the economic benefits of the project for the north-east, but HS2 is going ahead, at least in the south. It is therefore crucial that the eastern leg of HS2 goes ahead, not just for Yorkshire and the east midlands, but for the north-east. The Prime Minister has made repeated promises to the people of the north-east of his intention to level up and to connect and create opportunities for people here, in places like Gateshead. As we strive to recover from the damage done to so many families and businesses by the pandemic, will the Prime Minister commit to beginning the work on the eastern leg of HS2, starting in the north-east and to run simultaneously with the construction in the south, so that our region is not forced to wait another couple of decades for 21st-century rail connectivity?

There is no shortage of commitment or compassion in my town of Eastbourne for homeless people, who are vulnerable and need complex support. However, neighbouring Brighton continues to send its homeless to our town, and we do not have the resources to meet this need. Three homeless people have died, and I believe that there will be inquests. Brighton is not engaging with Eastbourne Borough Council in any meaningful way, and a further 51 placements have been made in recent weeks. Will my right hon. Friend join me in urging Brighton and Hove City Council leaders to engage on this as a matter of urgency?

At the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea, there have been 526 cases of coronavirus since last September. The Prime Minister told us at Prime Minister's Question Time:
'All staff who can work from home are doing so'—[Official Report, 28 January 2021; Vol. 688, c. 374.]
But in March last year, 250 people were working on site, and now the numbers are in their thousands, and they are facing a more infectious and widespread disease. Yesterday, 90 people were sent home following the latest outbreak of coronavirus just before the weekend. Given that BT is on standby to install home secure technology to allow homeworking, will the Prime Minister meet me and the Public and Commercial Services Union ahead of the strike ballot next week, so that workplace numbers can be reduced until the vaccine is rolled out, to keep people safe and avoid an unnecessary strike?

Families across West Bromwich East who have been affected by cancer, just like my own, know all too well that early diagnosis and treatment can save a life. According to research by Macmillan Cancer Support, there are over 70 people in my constituency and 50,000 across the UK with a missing cancer diagnosis. Cancer has not stopped during the pandemic, so with that in mind, will the Prime Minister commit to making the resurgence of cancer diagnosis services a top priority as restrictions begin to ease?

With just seven weeks to go, why is the government cutting £1 billion from the green homes grant that it promised for businesses, homeowners and the environment despite promising an extension until March 2022?

The Prime Minister has pledged to protect the countryside. If he is serious about this commitment, will he announce an immediate moratorium on using farmland for housing until a review of the policy?

What will the Prime Minister say to convince the Chancellor of the need to properly reward those who have been on the frontline during the pandemic? Will he follow Scotland's lead and fully fund a rise in public sector pay?

Mr Speaker, my right hon. Friend is defending democracy by pushing ahead with local elections. However, here in Somerset, the people want a quick referendum on the County Council which has been spending pandemic money on unrelated projects. Does he agree that it's time to put Somerset back together under local control?

The Prime Minister is aware of problems warned about before the introduction of the Northern Ireland protocol. These issues will get worse from April. Will he outline a timeline for people in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK to enjoy free trade as enjoyed by other independent trading nations?