People may be forced to sell their home under the changes to the social care cap, a minister admitted this morning, against the backdrop of a brewing backbench rebellion.

       MPs will today vote on Boris Johnson's social care reforms, which will introduce an ￡86,000 cap on costs from October 2023. However, the Government last week revealed that any financial support from the council for part of their care will not go towards the cap - disproportionately affecting those in the North of England and in areas with lower house prices.

       Backbench MPs are threatening to rebel, with figures including Robert Buckland, the former justice secretary, suggesting they will not back the amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill this evening.

       Paul Scully, the small business minister, insisted Boris Johnson was not backtracking on manifesto promises - but conceded that it would not prevent people from having to sell their homes.

       "I can’t tell you what individuals will do.... It will depend on different circumstances," he told Sky News. "There will be fewer people having to sell their houses, hopefully none."

       Asked about what this meant for the Government's levelling up commitment, Mr Scully added: "It is a clear statement of fact that houses in the South are more expensive [than those in the North]."

       Follow the latest updates below.

       The Government's decision to scrap the eastern leg of HS2 between the Midlands and Leeds and water down a promised Northern Powerhouse Rail link has "upset" regional businesses, the head of the CBI has said.

       Tony Danker told Sky News: "Let's not sugarcoat this - businesses in this part of the world (the North East of England) were disappointed with the news on rail, they've been upset by it.

       "I think what they are hoping for is that the Prime Minister, the Government, the Transport Secretary will get into a second round of conversations on it.

       "And, interestingly, it has been less about connectivity to the South and much more about connectivity across the North, about all the cities in the North of England being connected to each other and economic activity.

       "So I hope we haven't heard the last of it, I hope the Government will keep on talking."

       Boris Johnson has said "very little" about how to revive regional economies outside the South East of England, despite his levelling up ambition, the director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said.

       Speaking to Sky News ahead of the CBI's conference today, Tony Danker told Sky News: "There has been lots of talk about the politics, about mayors and how our high streets look, and so on.

       "What the Government hasn't got on to yet is how do we get people better jobs, how do we get better skills, how do we make places like this (the North East) as much a hub of economic activity as the South?

       "Now that isn't easy for Government to do, they can't do it alone. But we've really heard very little from the Prime Minister and the Government yet on how to do that, and that's what I hope we'll talk about today."

       Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, has attacked the Government's "indefensible, unfair and underhand" changes to the cap on social care, saying it breaks Boris Johnson's promise to address costs.

       Britons should wear face masks to help get Covid rates down and avoid lockdowns being reimposed, as they are in parts of Europe, a Nervtag scientist has said.

       Professor Peter Openshaw told BBC Breakfast the "situation has destabilised in parts of Europe '' because of a powerful anti vaxxer movement, which undermined take-up.

       But while the UK had seen a "very successful early campaign", he warned that boosters would be necessary to maintain high levels of immunity within society.

       "I am concerned that we do have really quite high levels of transmission in the UK," he added. "My personal preference would be that we should really try to get these rates down - we know that masks do work...

       "No single measure by itself is going to be successful; we need the combination of measures, which includes re-vaccination, third doses, but also wearing masks and being very careful not to transmit the virus."

       The Government's social proposals are "daylight robbery" for those living in Red Wall seats, a Labour frontbencher has said.

       Jon Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, told Sky News: "If you live in a ￡1 million house, perhaps in the Home Counties, 90% of your assets will be protected if you need social care.

       "But if you live in an ￡80,000 terrace house in Hartlepool, Barrow, Mansfield or Wigan, for example, you lose nearly everything. That is not fair, that is not levelling up, it is daylight robbery.

       "We're saying to Tory MPs, join with us tonight in rejecting this proposal and instead ask the minister to retreat to the drawing board and come up with something fairer."

       The Leicester South MP added: "You're being asked to pay more tax for a system that benefits wealthier home-owners and you will potentially still lose out, still lose thousands and thousands of pounds even though you're paying more tax."

       Changes to social care reform are "necessary, fair and responsible", a minister has said.

       The Government last week revealed that any financial support from the council for part of their care will not go towards the cap - disproportionately affecting those in the North of England and in areas with lower house prices.

       Paul Scully, the small business minister and minister for London, who is MP for Sutton and Cheam, defended the move.

       Asked about the fact his constituents were likely to benefit from the changes, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "And people in my constituency are less likely to be in receipt of means tested support."

       He added: "This is a really thorny issue nobody has been able to tackle for the best part of 15 years. This is a necessary, fair and responsible approach."

       A minister has insisted that the amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill is "not a change" but "more detail" about the cap to costs.

       Paul Scully, the small business minister, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the amendment "strikes a balance" for taxpayers and those paying for care, and insisted "we are treating all people the same".

       He added: "It is more generous than the one it replaces, it provides a limit while making it affordable.

       "This is something that has not been dealt with for a number of years because it has just been put in the "too difficult" box. "

       He stressed that "nobody will be forced out of their house" if one partner remains living in their home.

       Boris Johnson's changes to the cap in social care costs "leaves a significant hole in the overall set of proposals" in dealing with the crisis, Sir Andrew Dilnot has said.

       The expert told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the change, which MPs are due to vote on tonight, "doesn't seem very progressive" as it will leave the least well off ultimately paying the same as the richest.

       And he noted that the saving to the Treasury was around ￡900m a year - "compared to the more than ￡10bn that Health and Social Care Levy will raise", of which ￡2bn is expected to go towards care.

       "Of course we need to be careful with how we spend money but small compared to ooerall public spending and very small compared to that being raised," he said.

       Sir Andrew stressed that the reforms as a whole were "a significant step forward", but would not "address the catastrophic costs for less well off people."

       Changes to social care reforms mean the Government is not protecting the less well off to tackle "catastrophic costs" - but it is protecting those who are richer - an expert has said.

       Sir Andrew Dilnot, author of the decade-old report into the crisis, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that legislation should ensure that "regardless of their circumstances, people hit the cap at the same length of time".

       This would have been the case under the previous plan, he noted, but with the new amendment if there are "two identical people,... the one with lower income wealth will hit the cap at a much later time".

       He added: "For those with assets of less than ￡100,000, we are not tackling catastrophic costs... we are not tackling catastrophic cost for the less well off, although we are for the better off."

       Labour has urged Conservative backbenchers to "learn the lessons of the past two weeks" and refuse to back an amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill.

       There are concerns that a last-minute change to the way the cap on social care costs is calculate could disproportionately affect those in the North of England and in areas with lower house prices.

       Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said: "Government ministers have not only whacked up tax on working people but are now asking MPs to vote for pensioners across the North and Midlands with modest assets to be hit hardest under Boris Johnson's care con.

       "Red Wall Tories should learn the lessons of the past two weeks, put their constituents first and join us in voting down this deeply unfair proposal. Ministers need to get back to the drawing board and come up with a fairer package."

       A minister has blamed France for the ongoing migrant crisis, amid criticism of Priti Patel's handling of the situation.

       Paul Scully, the small business minister, told Sky News the Home Secretary was doing an "incredibly difficult job", and stressed she was working hard to address the problem.

       "We've made an agreement with France which, unfortunately, is not being enacted well enough at the moment, and that's what we need to go back and do," he said. "The French need to meet their obligations to us."

       The minister added: "You can't change the law overnight, we are going through the parliamentary process of the Nationalities bill.

       "Migration has been a thorny issue for 20 years now."

       Britain will once again become a “dealmaking nation” as it prepares to join the trans-pacific partnership and launch four more negotiations next year, Anne-Marie Trevelyan has declared.

       The International Trade Secretary vowed that 2022 will be a “five-star year” for her department, as she looks to commence formal negotiations on new UK deals with Canada, Mexico, the Gulf Cooperation Council and India.

       Her plan is to target countries and blocs that were worth ￡140b in bilateral trade last year, including securing accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership - a major trade union of 11 Pacific nations.

       The relationship between Downing Street and some of the newest Tory MPs will come under the spotlight today, with Red Wall backbenchers aggrieved over last minute changes to the social care plan.

       An amendment announced late last week will be put to a vote this evening - and could see dozens of the 2019 intake defying the Government, amid fears their constituents will be hit hardest.

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