Some 37.6% of staff in care homes for older residents and 33.5% of staff in homes for younger adults had received a booster as of December 19.

Some 38% of adults are experiencing high levels of anxiety, according to provisional data from the Office for National Statistics.

People in England who receive negative lateral flow results on day six and day seven will no longer have to self-isolate for the full 10 days.

The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services is calling for the public to stay at home ‘as much as they can’.

BBC Action Line received more than 1.2 million calls and online visits in 2021.

MPs said transgender people should not have to live in their acquired gender for two years before they can get legal recognition.

It is too early to see what impact the rapid spread of the Omicron variant will have in the weekly ONS data on Covid-19 deaths.

Campaign groups have raised the alarm over some care homes pausing or restricting visits.

Some independent food aid providers are seeing greater need than they were at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

This is more than twice the proportion (18%) in December 2020, the Office for National Statistics said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has implored the nation to ‘get boosted now’ to help curb the spread of Omicron.

ONS figures showed 792 deaths were registered in the week to December 3 where ‘novel coronavirus’ was on the death certificate.

Disparities remain due to the gaps in vaccination rates.

The Government says it wants people to have more choice and say over the care they receive, as it set out its 10-year vision for social care.

Groups said the proposals do not address immediate pressures such as high levels of unmet need and workforce problems.

The figure was lower than the previous year but the Office for National Statistics said it could be an underestimate because of the pandemic.

HC-One employs around 21,000 members of staff and said it had seen vacancy rates triple since February.

At least £300 million will be invested to increase the range of supported housing and at least £150 million to drive greater adoption of technology.

The Nuffield Trust said there is a ‘deepening crisis’ in social care staffing ahead of a very challenging winter.

The People’s Covid Inquiry said there had been “serious governance failures” that led to avoidable deaths.