Wes Streeting has defended plans to make over 70s take compulsory eye tests every three years – which could see them banned from driving if they fail, it is understood.

Ministers are considering “tougher” measures to tackle road deaths and injuries in England and Wales, which they believe have “remained stubbornly high under successive Conservative governments”.

Under the new proposals, first reported by The Times, the drink-drive limit would be lowered to match the current rules in Scotland.

Currently, the drink-drive limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath in England and Wales, or 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

But this is expected to be lowered to 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath or 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, to match the stricter levels already enforced in Scotland.

Those caught not wearing a seatbelt could also receive penalty points for the first time, while drivers found on the road without insurance could also face more severe consequences.

As well as this, plans are currently being drawn up to make those aged 70 or over take a compulsory eye test every three years when they renew their driving licence.

Those who fail this would lose their right to drive under the proposals. It’s understood that tests for other conditions, such as dementia, are also being considered.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Streeting said the transport secretary is consulting and “considering a whole range of proposals”, which will be unveiled in the “not too distant future”.

It is understood that Heidi Alexander will unveil the measures in a new road safety strategy in the autumn.

The health secretary also defended the plans around elderly drivers.

He told broadcasters: “It cannot be right that we’ve ended up in a situation where the NHS is hit with a £2 billion a year bill because we are not taking road safety seriously enough – particularly as we get older and the quality of our eye health deteriorates, that we’re not keeping a regular check.”

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A Labour source said: “At the end of the last Labour government, the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads was at a record low, but numbers have remained stubbornly high under successive Conservative governments.

“In no other circumstance would we accept 1,600 people dying, with thousands more seriously injured, costing the NHS more than £2bn per year.

“This Labour government will deliver the first Road Safety Strategy in a decade, imposing tougher penalties on those breaking the law, protecting road users and restoring order to our roads.”

It comes after 1,633 people died in road traffic accidents in 2024, with nearly 28,000 victims seriously injured.

An amber heat health alert has been issued for large parts of England.

The amber alert – described as an “enhanced hot weather response” – covers East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, and the South East.

The alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), is due to be in place from 9am on Tuesday, until 6pm on Wednesday.

Explainer: What is a heat-health alert?

The UKHSA, a government agency for England, warned “significant impacts are likely” across health and social care services due to the high temperatures.

Parts of the country are facing a fourth heatwave of the summer, where highs pass a threshold on three consecutive days.

A yellow alert, also between 9am on Tuesday until 6pm on Wednesday, covers the North East, North West, Yorkshire, The Humber, and the South West.

Check the weather forecast where you are

Dr Paul Coleman, consultant in public health at UKHSA, said temperatures are forecast to rise above 30C (86F) across some areas which “can result in serious health outcomes” particularly for the elderly or those with serious health conditions.

“If you have friends, family or neighbours who are vulnerable, it is important to ensure they are aware of the forecasts and are following the necessary advice.

“Check in on them if you can to make sure they know that hot weather is on the way and how to keep themselves safe,” Dr Coleman said.

Sky News meteorologist Christopher England said the high pressure that brought the warmth of the last few days via the “heat dome” effect is moving east, as low pressure moves in towards the west.

“On Tuesday, southern Britain can expect temperatures widely into the low 30s… perhaps exceeding 35C (95F) in places,” he said.

On 1 July, the UK recorded its hottest day of the year so far with a temperature of 34.7C (94.4F) recorded at St James’s Park in central London.

The Met Office’s criteria for a heatwave are met when temperatures are above a certain level for three consecutive days. This threshold varies from 25C to 28C (77F to 82F) depending on the location.

Mr England added: “There’s around a 10% chance Wales may exceed its August peak temperature of 35.2C (95.3F) recorded at Hawarden on 2 August 1990.

“Expect some tropical nights too, with temperatures holding above 20C (68F).”

In July, the Met Office warned Britain’s climate is changing rapidly, with records regularly being smashed and extremes of heat and rainfall becoming the norm.

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The UKHSA has issued advice for keeping cool:
• close windows and curtains in rooms that face the sun
• seek shade and cover up outside
• use sunscreen, wear a hat and sunglasses
• keep out of the sun at the hottest times, between 11am and 3pm
• restrict physical activity to the cooler mornings or evenings
• know how to respond to heat exhaustion and heatstroke

At a community food table in Staffordshire, produce is being handed out for free.

“I need to come here otherwise we’d be living on bread,” Rebecca Flynn told Sky News.

The 51-year-old said: “I’m earning pretty decent money, but it’s not enough.”

It gives you an insight into just how deeply the cost of living crisis is biting – because Rebecca is working full-time as an office manager for a day service for people with learning difficulties.

On top of that, she has a second job going door-to-door on evenings and weekends, selling cosmetics and homeware.

“There’s nothing more I can do. Unless I win the lottery or get another job. It should be noticed that people are in this state,” she says.

“Local councils, local governments, they need to see what’s going on, come to ground level. It’s 2025. It shouldn’t be like this.”

But it’s not just Rebecca working all hours and needing food handouts to survive.

Alex Chapman is the co-founder of the Norton Canes Community Food Table, and says a third of the people who use it are working full-time.

“It’s mad that you’re working a good job and you think you’d be able to afford everything and go on holiday and everything like that, but in reality they’re struggling to put food on the table,” he says.

“We’re seeing a massive increase in the people that are using the food table. We see them in their work outfits. Professionals, nurses – you don’t expect them to be struggling because they’re working full-time. People who aren’t working – you expect them to be struggling. But it’s across the board.”

The food table is in Cannock Chase.

Sky News analysis of local authorities gives an insight into why people are feeling dissatisfied their salaries are no longer delivering the comfortable lifestyles they thought hard work and a good job would deliver.

Over the past few years, Cannock Chase has gone from being a middle-class part of Britain to one of the lowest-earning areas in the UK.

In 2021, UK average annual salaries were just short of £26,000 – Cannock Chase was almost identical, according to Sky News analysis of Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Since then, the UK average wage has increased by 21.6% – or more than £5,000 a year – keeping pace with high inflation.

But in Cannock Chase, salaries have only risen by 8.4% – meaning on average people are now £300 worse off per month than the average worker across the UK.

Louise Schwartz, who has two children, describes herself as middle-class. After 20 years in the classroom she now has three jobs, working 50 hours a week as a teaching coach, at a software firm and giving private music lessons.

Her husband is an estate agent. They have a mortgage and three cars and together earn around £80,000 a year.

She says the family loves travelling together but can’t afford to go on holiday this year: “It makes me feel sad for my kids, more than anything, that we can’t give them a week away.

“We have food on the table, we’ve got heating, we’ve got cars to drive. But there are definitely some luxuries that we’ve cut back on recently.

“We don’t do expensive supermarkets. We don’t do expensive brands. We do whatever’s on offer for that particular week. My eldest son has started driving, which has then had an impact on my daughter’s horse-riding lessons.”

Louise adds that the family have a hot tub in the garden that they bought years ago, but because of the cost of electricity, they don’t use it.

I ask her: “What does it say that a teacher and an estate agent both working full time can’t afford to go on holiday this year?”

She replies: “I think a lot of people might not be surprised by that because I think people are probably in a similar position but maybe we just don’t talk about it.”

Full-time workers tell us again and again they thought their lifestyles would be more comfortable – that the work ethic would be delivering more than it is.

It seems the dissatisfaction is not only what one person described as “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, but also the lack of what people refer to as “pleasure money”.

Heidi Boot is what you might call the backbone of the middle classes – running a small business full-time called HB Aesthetics, a salon that does eyebrows, eyelashes and nails.

“I feel like everybody is stretching their appointments. People are working so hard for their money and they’ve got nothing to show for it. They’ve paid all their bills and now they’ve got nothing left to spend on themselves,” she says.

“It shouldn’t be that way. But because I see it all the time I feel like it’s just the normal now.”

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The constituency of Cannock Chase has always voted the way of the country – and at the last election showed significant support for Reform.

The financial woes will worry the government, which insists it’s taking action to give workers more money in their pockets.

But there’s no denying the despairing mood of middle England in the political battlegrounds that brought Labour to power.