The Government has announced a new organisation is being established to fight the largest potential health threats.

MPs will be asked to approve the regulations for route out of lockdown on Thursday.

The NHS is expecting a slowdown in vaccine supply for the whole of April.

As the nation marks the anniversary of the first lockdown due to coronavirus, we want to know your thoughts about the ongoing situation.

The lending giant will close three small offices in Swindon as it trims the network in response to the shift to remote working.

The company is preparing to seek emergency approval for use of the shot in the US.

A Black Country man serving a life sentence for the “cowardly and brutal” murder of his eight-year-old daughter has died in custody at HMP Birmingham.

Lilly Hanrahan was in the sole care of Sean Sadler when she suffered a fatal collapse on the afternoon of November 19 2017.

Schools could be thrown into chaos with whole year groups sent home if parents do not consent to coronavirus testing, it has been warned.

Care home staff could be legally required to have a Covid vaccination under plans being considered by Ministers – as figures reveal more than a quarter of workers in parts of the West Midlands have not had their first dose.

Efforts are being stepped up across the Black Country to provide fresh employment with one new employer set to bring more than 500 jobs to Wolverhampton.

Secondary school pupils and their families are being urged to play their part by consenting to Covid-19 testing to prevent further outbreaks.

The RSPCA has dealt with almost 9,000 incidents across the West Midlands and Staffordshire since the first lockdown, figures show.

Staffordshire County Council is spending £5,000,000 to fix an estimated 11,000 potholes.

Council bosses in Wolverhampton are holding talks this week over where a new government headquarters in the city will be based.

House price growth in the West Midlands has been lower than in any other region of England, new figures show.

Bob, a four-year-old tom cat, has been placed on "permanent lockdown" by owner Kate Turner after going missing for six weeks.

A youth club saved after the public donated £12,000 in three days could be vital in helping young people overcome the effects of the pandemic, it has been claimed.

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is set to launch a new video podcast hosted by Wolves legend Steve Bull and Sky TV presenter Johnny Phillips.

The Post Office 'systematically misled' the criminal courts about flaws with its computer system, leading to wrongful jailing of its own staff who had been accused of theft and false accounting, a court heard.

Schoolboy Finley Stevens has completed a charity walk along the canal towpath near his home and raised £460 for the Alzheimer's Society.

A company specialising in the production of cardboard packaging is investing in apprentices.

The Home Secretary said she is introducing a ‘comprehensive, fair but firm’ plan which would address those entering the UK ‘illegally’.

A Staffordshire woman was treated for smoke inhalation after a house fire.

The European Commission said it may not approve exports to nations with more advanced vaccine rollouts.

See the latest figures for coronavirus cases and deaths in your area.

A man has been found guilty of murdering 21-month-old Lilly Hanrahan.

Ofqual is urging teachers to question whether any of their judgments may be affected by ‘unconscious beliefs or types of bias’.

Simon Hart said some decision-making in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland has ’caused confusion’ for the public.

Six more coronavirus deaths have been confirmed in the Black Country, Staffordshire and Birmingham.

It comes eight months after the high street stalwart closed another eight stores, in a move which cut around 1,300 jobs.

Tributes have been paid to a 16-year-old boy who was killed on a moped in a hit-and-run near Great Barr.

Yorkshire and the Humber is the only region currently recording a rise.

A determined couple have taken to their garage to complete an exhausting challenge for the Wolverhampton Wanderers Foundation.

Three more men will stand trial next month accused of stabbing a Wolverhampton man to death in Walsall two years ago.

People who have not completed their census are being urged to as quickly as possible.

People who are struggling to fill out their census forms are being told that help is available if needed.

Buildings across the region were lit up to mark the anniversary of the first lockdown and remember those who have died from Covid-19.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement in the Scottish Parliament.

The Prime Minister made the comments at a private meeting of Tory MPs, but then hastily sought to backtrack.

The Home Office said ‘fairness’ and a genuine need for refuge are at the heart of the proposals.

Two people have been arrested after police seized suspected class A drugs, cash and phones in Cannock.

The patients continued to experience negative impacts on their physical and mental health, as well as their ability to work.

Ryanair is set to run around 80% of its normal summer schedule in 2022.

The UK Health Security Agency will be headed by Dr Jenny Harries.

But Boris Johnson said he is committed to a public inquiry ‘to make sure nothing like this can ever happen again’.

Alton Towers has revealed the first images of its newest attraction – Gangsta Granny: The Ride, due to open later this year.

Dairy farmers near Eccleshall has been chosen to supply milk to global ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s – but plans to create a new slurry lagoon as part of their enterprise have sparked concerns.

HS2's "lack of connectivity" will end up dissuading most people from using the line, an MP has claimed.

Bosses at the National Memorial Arboretum have said the woodland planned in memory of key workers who died during the pandemic will be a 10-hectare "permanent living memorial".

Boris Johnson conceded there were ‘many things that we wish we’d done differently’ at the outset of the pandemic.

Thousands of “much-needed” burial plots will be created at a crematorium in West Bromwich to meet increasing demand.

Car dealership Pendragon said cost cuts helped it report a profit for 2020, compared with a loss a year earlier, despite a plunge in sales due to pandemic-driven lockdowns.

A Staffordshire animal rescue is reminding people that it is not just puppies and kittens who are victims of breeding for profit schemes.

Extended opening hours are now operating at the mobile testing unit (MTU) in Dudley Port to help people who work get slots.

Sandwell Council is offering a new collection service to help people using home tests for the Covid-19 variant first discovered in South Africa.

The co-chairwoman of the Covax initiative to provide vaccines globally called for a ‘fair and sensible conversation’ about dividing supplies.

The closely-followed IHS Markit/CIPS Flash UK Composite PMI showed strong growth in the economy as new orders flood in.

A milestone live episode of the E&S Wolves Podcast has helped raise more than £6,000 for two deserving causes.

The cost of toys and second-hand cars also fell during the 12 months to February.

While children are unlikely to fall ill with Covid-19, they do play a role in transmitting the virus.

Frontline staff at the telecoms group will receive £1,000 in cash in June, with £500 to be awarded in shares after three years.

Fire chiefs in Staffordshire have urged drivers to be mindful of how they park as people continue to work from home.

A 16-year-old boy has died in hospital after a hit-and-run collision.

The region could be set for a third wave of coronavirus after cases began to rise in some areas, health chiefs today warned.

Businesses in Wolverhampton are being offered financial support of up to £10,000 to enable their workforce to access regular Covid-19 testing.

The announcement has prompted questions about whether the gesture will boost comparatively low immunisation rates in Russia.

The Prime Minister said he was encouraged by some of the things he has heard from the continent.

Boris Johnson said it was too soon to say whether foreign holidays will be allowed this summer.

The trio cited issues such as data and testing, spread of the virus from Europe and asymptomatic transmission.

Boris Johnson said around 90,000 school children will be behind in their basic literacy skills as a result of the pandemic.

People were encouraged to stand on their doorsteps to signify a ‘beacon of remembrance’.

GPs say people are not seeking help for their symptoms, while others do not want to go to hospitals for tests.

National service Action Fraud has received 6,073 reports of fraud and cybercrime related to the pandemic since March 1 2020

Staff have been ‘sprinting a marathon’ for the last year, the NHS Confederation warned.

The papers on Wednesday cover the lives lost in the past year as Britain reflected on the anniversary of the first national lockdown.

More than half of all study participants reported not being fully recovered three months after the onset of Covid-19 symptoms.

Around a third of adults said the past year has been similar to or better than average for them personally, according to research.

A Bridgnorth youth club will be able to continue for the next year thanks to a community fundraiser.

Four men who sped from police at 100mph and drove on the wrong side of a dual carriageway with goods they had stolen from a convenience store have been jailed for a combined eight years.

The death of a Black Country councillor who fell seriously ill with Covid has been described as a "shock to everyone".

Hospital admissions of heart failure patients in the West Midlands fell by a quarter during the first wave of the pandemic, new figures show.

Nearly half of staff at hospitals across the region felt ill due to work-related stress as the coronavirus pandemic took hold last year, according to a survey.

West Midlands Police will receive £2 million a year to provide forensic services for a neighbouring force.

A holiday rep has penned her first book during lockdown.

HGVs travelling down a narrow country lane on the Shropshire/ Staffordshire border endanger public safety, it has been claimed.

West Midlands councils have been handed £20 million to help residents save on fuel bills.

Music teacher Alison Baldwin and members of Sedgley & Wombourne Inner Wheel have undoubtedly hit the right note with local charities.

A school is hoping its long-awaiting new sports pitch will become a community hub.

A make-shift vaccination hub launched at a leisure centre in December has now vaccinated 22,000 people.

Greg Clark raised concerns that the UK Research and Innovation’s science and research funding could be slashed by nearly a quarter

A minute’s silence was held to remember Covid-19 victims.

A teenager who was seriously injured on a motorbike in Birmingham on Monday has died from his injuries.

Detectives have released CCTV of a man they want to speak to as they continue to search for answers one year on from a brutal West Midlands killing.

A former teacher who groomed a 14-year-old girl and tricked her into thinking she'd married him has been locked up for more than three years.

A constable convicted of drunkenly assaulting a woman has resigned from West Midlands Police after being spared jail.

Wallwork pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man who trod on his trainers in a pub.

Staffordshire County Council is spending £5,000,000 to fix an estimated 11,000 potholes.

Market revamp and new benches included in project.