Rules when even you, as a government minister, cant answer that question . Yeah, im sorry i cant answer that question, im sure there are many who could, you know, i dont represent the north east. Well be getting some of the answers for you. Also this lunchtime. Laying the foundations for jobs in a post covid economy the Prime Minister promises radical changes to the Education System. Theyll give anyone who left School Without an a level or equivalent the qualifications they need when they need them, when they need them. Helping people to change jobs and find work in the burgeoning new sectors that this country is creating. You can be home for christmas students are promised they will be kept safe in university and be with family if they want to. We are going to work with universities to make sure that all students are supported to return home safely and spend christmas with their loved ones, if they choose to do so. Just hours away round one in the us president ial tv debate and is donald trump already on the ropes over his tax affairs . Heading for the hills the jetpack paramedic whose speed may just save your life. And coming up on bbc news, a coronavirus contingency plan the premier league will vote later on how the season will be ended if it cannot be completed due to the pandemic. Good afternoon, and welcome to the bbc news at one. The government has been accused of creating doubt and uncertainty with its announcement of tighter lockdown restrictions in parts of england. Mixing between households in indoor settings, such as pubs and restaurants, will be illegal. People who break a new law, which comes into force in the north east tomorrow will be fined but theres confusion about what some of the rules are. Even a government minister couldnt answer a direct question about the measures on the radio this morning. Our Health Correspondent lauren moss reports. New, lauren moss reports. Legally enforceable restrictions new, legally enforceable restrictions for most of north east england. From midnight, it wont only be advised not to mix indoors you dont live with all who are not in your social bubble, it will be against the law. The department of health says it follows high and increasing infection rates but Council Leaders have called it a knee jerk Council Leaders have called it a kneejerk reaction. Council leaders have called it a knee jerk reaction. The secretary of state has made an announcement without understanding the effect on businesses and the potential forjob losses. But also, by doing so it means we havent got the right communication messages in place locally and the result, confusion and chaos spreads which undermines the messages we are trying to get across to the public. The rules will apply to newcastle, northumberland, gateshead, north and south tyneside, sunderland and durham. So what are the new rules . Already people from different households should not mix in their homes and private gardens, but from tomorrow it will be illegal for households to mix in all indoor public social spaces including pubs and restaurants. Meeting up in groups of six outside, including an outdoor restaurant spaces and pub gardens, it will not be illegal but against advice. The rules do not apply to schools and workplaces which are covid secure. Anyone breaking the law could face a fine of £6,400. But the rules are confusing some government ministers. Can you clarify something, can e book an outside table at a restau ra nt e book an outside table at a restaurant or meet people from another household in a pub garden . |j cannot another household in a pub garden . cannot clarify that. I know in the re st of cannot clarify that. I know in the rest of the country, generally you can meet in a pub and you can book a table. And the are indoors in terms of the rules. I dont know the answer to that question. Speaking earlier, the Prime Minister attempted to make things clearer. Earlier, the Prime Minister attempted to make things clearanm is six inside, six outside and in the north east and areas were extra, tight measures have been brought in, you should follow the guidance of local authorities. With cases rises in north west england also, there is speculation further restrictions could be rolled out there. We want the government, if they need to and i believe they do, i certainly do, impose stricter conditions to stop the spread of the virus, but they also look at making sure businesses are supported and fully compensated. Because we are dependent, usually here, on the hospitality sector. The government says a funding package is being agreed with councils in the north east to support the new measures. From tomorrow, and ii oclock curfew is being rolled out for hospitality menus raqqa venues in Northern Ireland and an hour later for the rest of the uk. In Northern Ireland and an hour laterfor the rest of the uk. It shows the number of deaths relating to covid i9 are still rising, but lower than april. This might lead to tighter restrictions. Our correspondent luke walton is in newcastle. As we saw, bitter confusions but what will the impact be . This is an area that revels in its reputation asa area that revels in its reputation as a party city. Newcastle is very pa rt as a party city. Newcastle is very part of that proud of that. Tyneside has hundreds of pubs and clu bs. Tyneside has hundreds of pubs and clubs. But ten days ago when this first set of restrictions came in, a strea m first set of restrictions came in, a stream of customers turned into a trickle and businesses complained of losing up to 75 of their trade. Their concern now, these further restrictions, punishable with on the spot fines, on the spot penalties, could damage trade further. There is a concern also within these businesses of how these new rules will be enforced. I was talking to bar staff who said, how do we tell regulars they cannot speak to their friends . Should they report back to the police . There is this wider question of the enforceability. It is compounded by the confusion about the detail of this. We have heard the detail of this. We have heard the fines do not apply to pub gardens and they dont apply to areas outside restaurants, but the public is advised not to mix with other households there. That complexity does make the message harder to put across and that is something the Council Leaders have been complaining about. They said these rules and regulations should have been published earlier. We are not just talking about have been published earlier. We are notjust talking about newcastle, some remote areas . Were talking about north northumberland, village pubs have said, why are we having the same rules as a city bar in the middle of newcastle . It should be said areas like northumberland have seen a steep rise in cases but they are still relatively low compared to tyneside. It really has hit tourism in places like that. One hotelier said we were having an Indian Summer of tourism trade, now he has lost hundreds of bookings to cancellations. So they are very concerned. Thank you very much. Our Health Editor hugh pym is here. How much further can this go . Sources at westminster, the department of health covering england have let it be known that the north west is in focus, discussions going on with local Authority Leaders there, especially merseyside. How quickly anything might be imposed is not clear, but it could happen soon. As we have been hearing, the significance is, this extension of a legal ban of meeting anyone from another household in any indoor venue are not being able to have a drink or a meal with somebody. That is a significant extension of somewhere where we were before, the legal ban going into somebody elses households in these areas. In london, there are concerns amongst Council Leaders that cases are rising rapidly and they would like possibly to see more restrictions in the capital. That may be a few more days away, the data, according to sources, needs to be looked at. Case numbers, according to official data, still a lot lower in london than some of the areas in the of england. We have heard in the last hour that the Prime Minister tomorrow will give a press conference with the governments chief medical adviser and the uk chief medical officer, creese Philip Chris Whitty and sir patrick balance. It seems that will be on data, where we are and setting things out more clearly. Not sure if there will be more restrictions an ounce, but certainly there seems to be a need, just listening to what we have been discussing, for more clarity over precisely what is involved and what the strategy is. Hugh pym, thank you very much. Borisjohnson has vowed radical changes to the Education System in england to help boost the economy post covid. Speaking in exeter, the Prime Minister said the pandemic has exposed major shortcomings in the labour market. Hes set out plans to fund College Courses for adults in england who leave School Without an a level or equivalent quaification. Helen catt reports. After weeks of making announcements of more restrictions, a high visibility outing for the Prime Minister to launch a skills plan to build back the economy. The keystone pledge, a free College Course for anyone in england who doesnt have a qualification equivalent to an a level. A huge number of them are going to have to changejobs, change skills, and at the moment if you are over 23, the state provides virtually no free training to help you. In fact, we have seen a haemorrhage in the last 20 years in adult education. A million fewer than there were. We are going to change that right now. The funding will be in place from april. Details of the courses themselves are set to be unveiled next month. There will be more flexibility and apprenticeships too, with apprentices able to switch companies. There will be easier access to Higher Education loans for technical qualifications. Now is the time to end the snooty and frankly vacuous distinction between the practical and the academic. And now is the time to give everybody, with this lifetime skills guarantee, give people of all ages the means and the confidence to switch and get the skills they need. The idea is to spread skills training over a lifetime, rather than just a few years, and to encourage take up of more high quality vocational courses. Todays announcement from the Prime Minister is a really important step forwards. We have a skills challenge anyway in this country, but with the pandemic that is more important than ever, with rising unemployment. It creates a lifetime skills guarantee, very welcome. It creates opportunity for more bite size learning. However, we do think the Prime Minister is missing a trick in not turning the apprenticeship levy into a flexible skills levy and there is still more to do. But with coronavirus leading to bleak projections on unemployment figures, it is the next few months that concern many. There is a major emergency now in terms of the number of people who are being made unemployed and the number of young people not a college. We have seen lots of colleges making redundancies this year. So from april, it is like telling a drowning man you are about to build a new lifeboat. Number ten has always had plans to make changes to skills training, it is a key part of its mission to improve life chances across the uk. At the coronavirus pandemic has added particular urgency and pressure. In the last minute, the Prime Minister borisjohnson in the last minute, the Prime MinisterBoris Johnson has in the last minute, the Prime Minister borisjohnson has tweeted and apologised for mis speaking earlier today on the new restrictions being brought in on the north east. He said new rules mean you cannot meet people from different households in social settings indoors including pubs, restau ra nts a nd settings indoors including pubs, restaurants and your home. You should avoid mixing with other households and this is vital to stop the spread of the virus. Apologies, i misspoke today. That has come in the last 50 seconds. Education secretary Gavin Williamson says the government will work with universities to make sure all students are supported to return home for christmas, if they choose to. Around 40 universities around the uk have had reports of coronavirus cases and thousands of students are having to self isolate right at the start of the new term. Our education correspondent Daniela Relph has this report. Confined to their halls of residence, parents doing starting university and the covid restrictions, student life in 2020 looks different. The onus has been on individual universities to manage the outbreaks, but today the education secretary responded to the situation universities face, which included an assurance about christmas. Students are important members of the communities they choose to study in. We expect them to follow the same guidance as those same local communities. We are going to work with universities to make sure that all students are supported to return home safely and spend christmas with their loved ones, if they choose to do so. Across the uk, stu d e nts they choose to do so. Across the uk, students are isolating because of positive tests and looking for support from university at which they have just arrived, or with flatmates they may have just met. They have just arrived, or with flatmates they may have just metm is quite scary because we are far from home, we are all away and not near ourfamilies. We from home, we are all away and not near our families. We have from home, we are all away and not near ourfamilies. We have got to look after each other, look after ourselves, keep each other say. Make sure we are all happy and not feeling down. It didnt worry me at first because i knew we would have to isolate. It is not like we can go out anywhere, we are just stuck in the flat. It was a bit of a weird scenario, i dont know howl the flat. It was a bit of a weird scenario, i dont know how i could have reacted to Something Like that, but we are getting through it. you are here to take a test. The university of east anglia is one of several that has set up its own testing facility. For many, this is the only way out of repeated isolation for students. It does to fit around the test, track and trace working accurately. If it is working it means students can access some formal face to face learning. The problem is, and that is why labour are calling for applause for stu d e nts are calling for applause for students going to university, is for them to be given the choice to access remote learning, because that is not in place at the moment and it desperately needs to be. These architecture students at Oxford Brookes university do most of their course online, with one day a week on campus. This has become the norm at many universities, but students have the right to speak up if they feel frustrated with what is on offer. Students should have the right information and it should be clear to them how the course is going to be delivered. If students feel those expectations are not being met, they can take it up with the university, they can take it up with the independent adjudicator as well. Nothing is quite as it should be, many campuses look empty. The days and weeks ahead for students will be disruptive and uncertain. Daniela relph, bbc news. Our top story this lunchtime. More lockdown restrictions are introduced in parts of the uk, but the government has been accused of creating confusion with its lack of detail on the tighter lockdown restrictions. Coming up. Its rent day for commercial properties, but with so many businesses hit badly by the pandemic, landlords are suffering too. And coming up on bbc news, a coronavirus contingency plan the premier league will vote later on how the season will be ended if it cannot be completed due to the pandemic. Donald trump and joe biden go head to head tonight in the first us president ial tv debate and it could be lively. The president s on the back foot after revelations in the New York Times about his business losses and tax affairs. Its likely to come up. Our washington correspondent, gary odonoghe reports. The stage is almost set, the actors soon to be in place and america is about to get its first head to head show in this battle for the white house. The president has reportedly done little formal preparation, instead questioning his opponents mental capacity, repeatedly calling him sleepyjoe, and going further. I always joke, but its true, he was no Winston Churchill in debating, but he was fine. And people say he was on performance enhancing drugs. And the former Vice President s reaction to that . He laughs. Hes almost. No, i have no comment. It was here in cleveland four years ago that donald trump was anointed as the republican candidate president. Now he finds himself trailing in the polls, trailing in the swing states and being outspent by the democrats. This debate is his chance to change the dynamics of this election. The debate will cover six areas, among them the Supreme Court and the controversy surrounding the filling of the vacant seat. Also the handling of the covid pandemic and the integrity of the election, a favourite subject of the president. So who has most to lose . So some people might think the stakes are higher for trump because hes behind in the polls. I think that the way makes up ground, however, is by biden looking bad. So, in that sense, bidens performance is more important than trumps performance. Donald trump showed four years ago that he was prepared to break the normal rules of such debates. It just awfully good that someone with a temperamental donald trump is not in charge of the law in our country. Yeah. Because youd be injail. And during that campaign, both he and joe biden demonstrated that sheer dislike for one another. The press always ask me, dont i wish i were debating him . No, i wish we were in high school, i could take him behind the gym. Cheering. Thats what i wish. He wants to bring me to the back of the bar . 0h some things in life you could really love doing. Unlike previous debates, the two contenders will not have a big audience to feed off as few as 60 people are expected to be in the hall itself. Nevertheless, this moment will touch tens of millions of americans, and that all important tiny group who havent yet made up their minds. Gary odonoghue, bbc news, cleveland, ohio. And Gary Odonoghue is in cleveland for that debate. Round one, but the clubs are already off . Yes, and of course the president during his thing in terms of disrupting and trying to put off his opponent in a very significant way, suggesting that he might be on performance enhancing drugs, at times really talking jele joe bidens capacity, which is really ironic because that is quite often what the individual will do for themselves in order to shine in a debate, manage expectations, the president has perhaps been givenjoe biden a favour. If he shows up and stays awa ke biden a favour. If he shows up and stays awake then it might look like some sort of success for the former Vice President. On the other hand, joe biden is not a particularly strong debater, we saw that in the democratic primaries, the president knows how to get into peoples skin, he dispensed with 16 opponents in the republican primary on a hugely crowded stage and managed to stand out, so he knows what he is doing. There is a lot at stake tonight. Whether it changes minds in any big way, we do not know, but we know that the Television Audience will be approaching that for the super bowl, maybe north of 100 million people, and some of those will be swing voters. Gary odonoghue, thank you. The last scheduled round of talks on a free trade deal between the uk and the European Union are taking place in brussels today. Both sides say they need to reach an agreement next month. Nick beake is there. On the face of it, not much cause for optimism . It is interesting, we have seen this big public row between the eu and the uk this month after the uk said it was prepared to web parts of the brexit divorce deal which was of course agreed last year, prompting the eu to say is that happens, there can be no trade deal in future. Interestingly, if you talk to people involved in the talks behind the scenes, they would say they have been going ok and some progress has been made. But it is pretty clear that some concessions have to be made, checking in with people today, they will tell you the same on both sides, that a deal can be done but the other lot is not willing to give ground. But i think is granted what both sides will have to do, specifically on the big areas that divide them but i think that you give ground is what both sides will have to do. On fishing, the eu will have to do. On fishing, the eu will have to acknowledge it is a really strong area for the british and there will be more british boats catching british fish in british waters, and in terms of london giving ground i think there has to be an acknowledgement that brussels wa nts to be an acknowledgement that brussels wants to see the british signing up to things like food and agricultural standards and getting some sort of guarantee when it comes to government subsidies in the future, so an interesting week. If they go well, we can expect the talks intensified over the next couple of weeks. You, nick beake. Nokia has struck a significant deal with bt which makes it one of the winners from the 5g ban on the chinese firm huawei. The agreement makes the Finnish Company bts largest equipment provider, supplying base stations and antennas to phone mast sites across the uk used by the new 5g mobile network. The Human Rights OrganisationAmnesty International says its been forced to Halt Operations in india because of reprisal from the government. The organisation says Rights Groups are being subjected to a witch hunt by the indian state, and it has had its back accounts frozen. The government has previously accused amnesty of violating funding laws. Landlords were due to collect at least £3 billion in rent today from their commerical tenants, who traditionally pay every three months. That sounds like a small fortune but since lockdown the amount landlords have collected has plummeted. Our Business Correspondent emma simpson is in south london. Just how hard a time Property Owners having right now . Simon, we have her journals a lot. Just heard it been for the retailers and hospitality simon, we have heard an awful lot just how hospitality simon, we have heard an awful lotjust how disastrous it has been. It has been. It does not put a temporary ban on addictions for businesses who could not to pay to help them through crisis the government purchase. That has been extended to the end of the day. Trade body the British Property Federation reckons that £4. 5 billion of rent arrears will have built up. Who pays . Landlords fear they will ta ke who pays . Landlords fear they will take the hits. This could impact pension funds, semi some landlords could default on borrowing and there isa could default on borrowing and there is a warrior could lead to less investment by the private sector in our high streets. They reckon they will not get much more rent this quarter than the previous two, retail and hospitality landlords in particular reckon knabl be lucky to get 50 of what is owed. And the new covid 19 restrictions and hospitality will not help and they shift back to more working from home. So both landlords and retailers agree on one thing, they wa nt retailers agree on one thing, they want more Government Support to try to avoid any wider Ripple Effect across the economy. Emma simpson, thank you. Its notjust businesses for people struggling to get on the property ladder, the climb has just got steeper. Banks hsbc, santander, and lloyds have temporarily pulled mortgages with 10 deposits for new customers. Some lenders have also said they would not currently consider applications from people on furlough. Our Consumer Affairs correspondent sarah corker reports. During lockdown, more people decided to swap the city for the suburbs and escape to the country for bigger homes and green spaces. But some of britains biggest banks have shut the door on First Time Buyers. Its like the goalposts just keep moving away from us. Claire and ricky have been saving hard to buy theirfirst home in cheshire. It was almost within reach, but then the pandemic hit and mortgages for those with 5 and 10 deposits began to disappear. Theyjust keep on making it more and more difficult, and itsjust not fair on people, because you are spending years and years of your life putting away money for a house that you cant have for another five years. Saving a 15 deposit isjust. Unless you started when youre, like, 18, itjust takes a long, long time to be able to even come up with the money for that. First time buyers have been hit by a mini credit crunch. Back in march there were more than 700 mortgage deals for those with a 10 deposit. Those deals, though, have been vanishing fast. Now there are just 45. And some lenders have been restricting how much your family can help when youre getting together a deposit, barring some borrowers from using the so called bank of mum and dad. The First Time Buyers are hit the hardest, they are seen as high risk. Mortgage brokers say banks are less likely to lend to those working in sectors like retail and hospitality, hit hardest by the pandemic. What was a given isnt now, it like every case is bespoke, and that 10 the chances are very. Unless youre a doctor or, you know, a key worker on good income, its very, very difficult to get one. Ive just been feeling a bit defeated. For those who do manage to find a mortgage with a small deposit, its also getting more expensive to borrow, something brittany and her partner tom found out. We are looking at a good £200 per calendar month more than what we would have expected to pay in, say, january or february time. So, yeah, just really high rates for no reason, its not like its a shorter term mortgage, itsjust because of the interest rates. In these uncertain economic times, lenders say theyve needed to take a more cautious approach and have a duty to lend responsibly. First time buyers now have to stump up even more to get on the ladder. Sarah corker, bbc news, in cheshire. Now some good news. It looks likes something out ofjames bond, doesnt it, but if youre trapped at the top of a steep hill with a severe injury, or having just had a heart attack, this jet pack paramedic could be the difference between life and death. A trek in the Lake District which could take half an hour can now be done in 90 seconds. Sharon barbour has the story. It was one mans dream to fly, and an Emergency Services desperation to reach critically ill patients much quicker, thats led to this. You know, were not talking about big distances. But were talking about steep gradients, and thats the difference. You know, personal experience of carrying medical kit up the side of a mountain in the lakes to get to someone having a heart attack is. Its so difficult. You know, were fairly confident that with a Rapid Response car and a jet suit, were going to really reduce response times in the area. This is obviously a real seachange in potentially how we can deliver remote medicine. The jetpack can fly for around five minutes, but this flight in the Langdale Pikes tookjust 90 seconds to reach the location, a journey that would have taken around 25 minutes on foot. If somebody had a cardiac arrest on the top of helvellyn, and we were able to deploy thejet suit, im confident we would have a defib on that patient within eight minutes. And, right now, how long would it take . Right now, our aircraft would probably be the first on scene, obviously, and that might take maybe 20 25 minutes. Richard browning was wearing the jet suit he invented to show the Ambulance Service how it worked. So, the jet suits, in fact youve got a couple sitting behind here, they work by using microjet engines. So pretty much the same things that you have on a jet aircraft, a jetliner. Theres two on each arm, one on the back, and the way that they then blow so much air downwards allows you to lift off the ground. And then all the manoeuvrability is down to you using your own natural human balance and co ordination. If you point them increasingly downwards, you go up. And as you flare them out, you come down again. The great north air Ambulance Service is now in talks to make modifications to the jet suit, with the hope of sending a paramedic up to reach their first patients by next summer