With Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insisting the majority of primary schools in England will reopen as planned on Monday, January 4, read Hitchin councillor Judi Billing on why all teachers and support staff should be given the Covid vaccine as quickly as possible.

With the return of secondary school pupils delayed to Monday, January 18 unless they are 'exam year students' who will return a week earlier on Monday, January 11, Hitchin's well-respected Ms Billing argues just why all those who work at schools should be handed the jab as soon as possible.

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I really couldn't sleep last night. Consumed with a mixture of fury and dread after listening to the governments latest pronouncements about schools restarting over the next couple of weeks.

For me the points are there: The test and trace regime has been a fairly monumental failure and is now pretty much discredited.

I have absolutely no confidence that mass testing at schools will protect the school teachers and support

staff, children or their families and communities.

Most of the teachers and support staff as parts of their Tier 4 local communities have spent Christmas like all of isolated from their families and friends.

But unlike the rest of us they are now expected to put themselves in massive danger of infection in their schools at a time when the Covid is clearly spreading out of control throughout our local towns and villages.

Just before Christmas the Minister of State for Education, Gavin Williamson was actually threatening School heads and local authorities for being concerned

about their staff, children and families.

It was appalling then and is worse now. The government must take urgent action. Today.

All school teachers and support staff should be offered a vaccination before they go anywhere near their schools.

It is a scandal that this hasn't already been organised and it will be outrageous if it isn't done immediately.

I have called upon Hertfordshire County Council to bring its very great Tory influence to bear on this Tory government to belatedly get at least one thing right.