A dilemma for parents in england with Primary School children all the education unions sayjune 1st is too early to reopen the classrooms safely. Getting back to work in england. Garden centres reopen today as the lockdown eases, well look at the dos and donts. And coming up on bbc news. Golf, tennis and other sports restart, as lockdown restrictions are eased, but its not the same picture across all of the uk. Good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. The chancellor, rishi sunak, says the uk is facing what he calls a significant recession. Says the uk is facing what he calls it follows new official figures on the performance of the economy since the coronavirus pandemic. According to the office for national statistics, the uk economy shrank by 2 in the first three months of this year and remember, that only includes the beginning of the lockdown. The bank of england has already forecast an even worse performance once figures that cover the whole lockdown are published later this year. Heres our economics editor, faisal islam. At this Plastic Company in northern ireland, they are happy to help the National Effort on personal preventive equipment. What they want to make his aeroplanes. With empty industry order books, they now face further pressure with the threat of a travel quarantine. I think the aerospace lodging in general are all looking at their supply chain and reviewing how that will be in the future and try to estimate what that might mean in terms of the capacity they have to provide. I think it would be naive to suggest that everyone will get through this. Unfortunately there will be casualties. It is the extreme situation Industries Like this have led to this economy wide number. The british economy shrinking about 2 in the first three months of this year, the last time the county performed that badly was the financial crash at the end of 2008. Since modern records began, there have only been four other occasions where we have seen a worse economic decline over three months. The forecast is the Current Quarter is we will see a much, much worse all the historical scale and that is all but confirmed by the chancellor. Recession is defined cynically as two quarters of decline in gdp. We have seen one here with only a few days of impact from the virus so it is now very likely that the uk economy will face a significant recession this year and we are in the middle of that as we speak. The figures only reflect a week or so of shutdown in late march. The Company Planning how to reopen the uks two biggest Shopping Centres next month has never seen anything like it. Lockdown was not complete like that because we do have essential Services Within our sectors so well our football has diminished, they are still open. It is not a surprise. We have all been effectively locked in our homes for the best part of two months. So of course the economy is going to take a hit. The bigger question will be, how do we recover . When you get across the country, empty streets, empty offices, empty skies and empty Shopping Centres, you get a shrinking economy, the start of a recession that is down to a pandemic and the shutdown. But the economy was already stagnant when the virus hit. And the idea that coming out of this, all the lights that were switched off in the economy to protect our health will suddenly be turned back on, that is looking rather hopeful now. It is notjust mountains of unsold stock in shops. Here at a former raf base now full of expensive unsold cars with sales in the industry falling 97 last month. The opposition says even more must be done. We have seen there is going to be change but it needs to be change that is planned, that is not destructive like this and that wherever possible is preserving maybe not exactjobs as worked now but which is keeping particularly that engineering and skill based capacity in the uk economy. We want to reopen all the other parts of the economy as well. For now, the chancellor focused on spending to support the economy out of recession rather than the eye watering sums implied for government borrowing. Deficits of half1 trillion . I think it is too early to speculate on those things. That is a result of the coronavirus impacting us and every other economy as well but also because of the measures we have put in place and what is clear is that if we had not put those measures place, the outcome would be far worse so i think that is the right thing to do to protect jobs and incomes at this time, support businesses to get through this. Even in recovery, some Business Models will struggle. When you can be trained from home or paying for physical gems, this studio spinning class has become a subscription online exercise business. Initially upset of course, devastated. My initial thought was what can i do . I think there is a new normal here now and the new normal were adjusting to it as a society and certainly from a business perspective. The challenge now not just to beat the virus but to turn around an extraordinary recession and leave the nation fighting fit for a different type of economy. Faisal islam, bbc news. Borisjohnson and the labour leader have clashed at Prime Ministers questions, as the government was accused of mishandling the crisis in care homes today. Mr starmer said care homes were told infection was unlikely. Downing street has dismissed the accusation. The Prime Minister also announced a further £600 million for care homes in england. The row comes as the latest official figures show that in the last 2a hours 494 people have died in care homes, in the community and in hospitals. That brings the overall total to 33,186 people whose deaths were linked to coronavirus. Heres our political editor, laura kuenssburg. The places that provide homes for the vulnerable and elderly, were they ready for this crisis . Are they coping they ready for this crisis . Are they co they ready for this crisis . Are they coping now . Managers fear they are being asked to take too much risk, hospitals requesting they take in elderly people who have tested positive for the virus. We have refused them and a lot of other homes have. Its very hard to control so why on earth would they ask us to take people who are positive with the virus in a care home . The government says there is no evidence that is happening on a widespread scale. With the Prime Minister facing widespread scale. With the Prime Ministerfacing a widespread scale. With the Prime Minister facing a simple accusation, the risk to care homes was seen too late. Custom opera until much the 12 the Government Official advice was, andi the Government Official advice was, and i quote, it remains very unlikely that people receiving care ina care unlikely that people receiving care in a care home will become infected. Does the Prime Minister accept the government was too slow . It was not true the advice said that and, actually, we the lockdown in care homes ahead of the general lockdown. The advice until mid march did say it was very unlikely, but number ten accused keir starmer of quoting out of context, but is the true agony of ca re of context, but is the true agony of care homes known, with so many lives lost . 10,000 additional unexplained and care home death this april. Can the Prime Minister give us the government view on these unexplained deaths . We are seeing an appreciable and substantial reduction notjust in the numberof and substantial reduction notjust in the number of outbreaks but also in the number of outbreaks but also in the number of outbreaks but also in the numberof in the number of outbreaks but also in the number of deaths. Solving the problem in care homes will be absolutely critical for the we must fix it and we will. There is the promise of another £600 million to help in england. Why cant the government seem help in england. Why cant the government seem to get a grip on the crisis in care homes . I dont underestimate the challenge faced by residents and staff of care homes. The package of support we are giving today builds on the work we have been doing for many weeks now. There is more we can do, and our whole focus now needs to be on ensuring that care homes are guided through. Is each day passes, the disease claims more lives. This woman was 95 when she passed away in care in kidderminster. Very hard. She had had dementia for 15 years and lived with it. We saw each other every day and then suddenly for that to be, to disappear, and the guilt for us, really, guilt for me not being able to see and support her. Her daughter will lay betty to rest tomorrow, one of so many families changed by this disease, the virus which is altering our country. Laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. Seven weeks after restrictions were imposed to stop the spread of coronavirus, some people in england are being encouraged to return to work today. The government guidelines say they should do so if it is safe. This change highlights the difference between england and the rest of the united kingdom, where the message remains to stay at home. Heres our business correspondent, emma simpson. We are so excited to be open. Two days ago, this was an empty shelf where wheat had to give everything away. But this Garden Centre is now backin away. But this Garden Centre is now back in bloom back in business. Very different to the start of lockdown. It was probably early march when we ran the numbers one day at the next morning i woke up and i cried into my breakfast because, you know, we we re my breakfast because, you know, we were going to lose staff and plants galore, and you just thought it was going off a cliff, but here we are. And here are his customers. Lots of them. They are excited as well. Where after hanging baskets, compost and some begonias. And i am here to carry it. Some new rules, and the signs are everywhere, staff with headsets to monitor and control the shoppers. Shelley had been furloughed but didnt hesitate to come back. Its really good to just be normal. It feels like its normal again even though its not. All hands on deck here to salvage what is left of the season but, for other businesses, getting back to work will be far slower and more gradual. They make concrete blocks at this telford factory. Like a lot of manufacturers, they have really been working with a skeleton staff, seven more came back today. There is plenty of this now in the fight against covid 19. Its all about being careful and keeping your distance. You cant see it, so i think youve got to be scared, havent you . Personally, ive got slight concerns but not that i am going to get anything through the lads here. For all employers now, some grey areas ahead. We dont know, we are in uncharted territory. So, how do we know whether they are going to contract it . We dont. We are trying our best to keep them as farapart as are trying our best to keep them as far apart as possible and to look after them with respect to covid 19, but how they do that themselves when they are not here, who they come into co nta ct they are not here, who they come into contact with, we dont know. Supplies to house builders. This estate agent sells them. People in england can now move home. This office is open by appointment only. We can conduct viewings face to face. We will have to speak to all our benders and clients and advise them of what the procedure will be and check they are satisfied. Speak to all our vendors and clients. Employers are having to adapt that they are keen not to rush it in what will be a slow unwinding of lockdown. Emma simpson, bbc news. So, making sure people are safe at work is one challenge, but theres also the business of getting there. The government guidelines say people should avoid public transport if possible. But, for some commuters, that simply isnt an option. 0ur transport correspondent, tom burridge, reports. Uncomfortable scenes early this morning. In places, keeping your distance wasnt easy. Some people are really conscious about keeping their distance, you know, the two metres, and other people just arent really. Passenger numbers suggest relatively few people have gone back to work. But managing the flow of people in parts of london is already hard. The unions say if overcrowding gets worse they will halt services. But there wasnt much of a rush hour in leeds. More people are travelling through large stations this week but its still way down on last year. The new advice is cover your face on public transport. But not everyone is. Im covering my face now when i get on the train. I do what i think is best. If people dont want to follow the rules, i cant force them. Police havent been enforcing it. A reduced Train Service for essentialjourneys has continued through the pandemic. Managing the return of larger volumes of passengers will be hard. We are going to need everybodys help to make this work. We are going to start scaling up our services so in some places we will have longer trains so there is more space for people to maintain that social distance. A normally busy road in birmingham still relatively quiet. Governments usually encourage us to ditch our cars. The message now anything is preferable to public transport. The absolute key here is for anybody who can to make alternative arrangements for travel, so, cycling, walking, if necessary even cars as well. The empty seats here in hull replicated today across the country. But transport companies believe more people will soon be travelling again. Tom burridge, bbc news. So, what are the other changes as the lockdown in england is eased. As the lockdown in england is eased . You can go out to exercise as much as you want even if it means driving. People are now allowed to see family and friends though its got to be one at a time, outdoors and maintaining a two metre distance. Judith moritz reports. I cant wait to see her. I cant wait tojust be in, you know, the same sort of vicinity as her. Sarah hasnt seen her daughter 0livia since lockdown started. Today theyre meeting face to face for the first time in seven weeks. Im on my way. Yay. 0k, how long will you be . Probably just about five minutes. 0livia has had a lot to cope with without her mum. Shes had to postpone her wedding and she has a young baby too. Im not really fussed about anything else to be honest. Just seeing her. This is a big moment . Yeah, really big. At last theyre reunited. But in line with social distancing guidelines, so 0livia cant hug her mum and her baby has had to stay at home. The first thing i wanted to do wasjust run over and give her a hug because thats the sort of thing wed normally do and to stop yourself is really hard. I was kind of having to hold my hands back from going, i just want to give you a hug, ijust want to hold your hand, or Something Like that. I would have loved to have brought the baby but its about keeping everyone safe at the end of the day, at home is the best place for her. The new guidance allows people to spend longer outdoors, as long as those meeting up stick to the two metre rule. Though in england the police dont have the power to enforce that. The government says the reason why its ok for two members of different households to meet at a park like this is because its a public place, so easier to maintain social distancing. For that reason, they still dont want people to meet privately in the garden at home. The rules mean there is no longer a limit on the length of time you can spend exercising. Cappuccino its also now 0k to meet someone outside without exercising, so shelley and fiona were reunited for a picnic. Its just to get out of the house really. We are best friends and ive not seen her for ages, so we thought wed just get together and have a natter. Itsjust nice to see a friend. You can tell them more than what you can tell them, cant you . That your husbands getting on your nerves. Yeah there are no longer any restrictions on how far people can travel for recreation. And the beach at exmouth in devon was already attracting visitors. Say, hi, grandma our new freedoms only go so far. For now, despite being able to visit her mum, 0livia will have to carry on using online video to bring the whole family together. Judith moritz, bbc news, cheshire. Across the european union, countries have been easing their lockdowns too. Today, the European Commission set out guidelines on travel and tourism which, for some countries, like italy, spain and greece, represents a significant part of their economy. 0ur europe editor, katya adler, is in brussels. Given that Different Countries must bea given that Different Countries must be a different stages in this crisis, coordination, iwould have thought that was going to be quite a challenge. Absolutely, george. It has been a big challenge for brussels to coordinate eu Member States throughout the pandemic. So does that mean the eu is unravelling under all this pressure . Well, not really. Like you alluded to, different infection rates, Public Health and National Borders in a time of crisis, thats up to eu members to decide for themselves what happens and it will be the same when it comes to tourism. Each eu country will decide for itself when to open its beaches and its borders to open its beaches and its borders to european tourists. Brussels can only advise and the advice today was slowly, slowly, yes, european economies like the uks have been ha rd economies like the uks have been hard hit by covid 19 and tourism is an important part of the economy, especially for mediterranean countries like france. But the Commission Advises that nobody should open for tourism unless theyve got very good testing and tracing capacity for covid 19, and u nless tracing capacity for covid 19, and unless strict controls on transport, accommodation and leisure activities. And like all of the lifting of lockdown measures, if there is a new spike in infections, then travel restrictions could be reintroduced pretty quickly. So, basically, dont pack your summer swimsuit just yet. Basically, dont pack your summer swimsuitjust yet. Katya basically, dont pack your summer swimsuit just yet. Katya adler, thank you very much. The number of tests being carried out for coronavirus is still below the governments target of 100,000 a day. Some key workers are also reporting difficulties and delays in getting test results back. Today, the chair of the Commons Health select committee, jeremy hunt, told the bbc the priority should be to get test results back within 48 hours. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, reports. A drive in Coronavirus Testing Centre today. Essential workers waiting to have nose and throat swa bs waiting to have nose and throat swabs ta ken. Waiting to have nose and throat swabs taken. They said its not possible, they took our temperature yesterday. We went online to do a test on google and it took me to a government website where i got the link direct, today, i booked it two hours ago. The process of booking tests a nd hours ago. The process of booking tests and having swabs taken seems to be working relatively smoothly. The results should be back within 72 hours. But we are hearing some reports of people waiting quite a lot longer. As well as drive in testing their home test kits which can be booked online. 0ne user told us can be booked online. 0ne user told us she waited nine days before her familys results came back but not hers. She couldnt find out what happened and she couldnt rebook will stop my anxiety levels were raised, i felt disappointed, will stop my anxiety levels were raised, ifelt disappointed, because i felt that nobody. Somebody had to be accountable. And you go on the direct. Gov to be accountable. And you go on the direct. Gov website and it recognises you have had a test already so i couldnt do that. The target was 100,000 tests by the end of april provided daily, since then the numbers have only occasionally been back above that. Yesterday it was only just over back above that. Yesterday it was onlyjust over 87,000. The government says it wants Laboratory Capacity to handle 200,000 tests daily by the end of this month. But there is a warning more needs to be done to ensure they are processed quickly. If you are trying to track down and quarantine anyone who has the virus, you really need to have the virus, you really need to have the results of those tests back in 24 the results of those tests back in 2a or 48 the results of those tests back in 2a or48 our the results of those tests back in 2a or 48 our is. If you have nhs staff who are going into work everyday, again, you need those results back very quickly. 48 hour is. Thats the operational issue that now needs to be addressed. Ministers have said that addressed. Ministers have said that a testing and tracking system will be in place in the middle of this month. That is a big ask and there is clearly some work still to do. It is clearly some work still to do. It isa is clearly some work still to do. It is a crucial part of the plan to give the virus in check. Hugh pym, bbc news. The education secretary, Gavin Williamson has defended the governments plans to try to reopen some Primary School classes in england next month, insisting they were based on medical and scientific advice. But education unions argue the proposals dont take into account the dangers of spreading the coronavirus. 0ur education correspondent, elaine dunkley, is outside a school in chorlton in manchester. Elaine, the unions are saying one thing and the government another thing. This will be very confusing for parents. Yes, sir, there is a showdown over lockdown, a stand off between the teaching unions and the government, and in the middle pa rents government, and in the middle parents trying to weigh up whether it is safe to send children in reception, year one and year six back into the classrooms from the 1st ofjune. Back into the classrooms from the 1st of june. Today back into the classrooms from the 1st ofjune. Today the education secretary Gavin Williamson tried to reassure pa rents secretary Gavin Williamson tried to reassure parents while outlining a number of measures, such as social distancing and hygiene. He said the continued closure of schools would have a huge impact on education, particularly for children from the most disadvantaged background. And of course there is the business of the economy. In order for the country to go back to work, children will need to go back to school. The government says this is based on scientific advice but the unions say that these plans are reckless and have told teachers they dont have to go along with them. So a huge dilemma for parents. Will they have the confidence to send children back to school in a few weeks . A big decision in a short amount of time. Elaine, thank you very much. Campaigners representing migrants are calling for all foreign key workers to have their visas extended. The governments automatic visa extension scheme covers a number of roles, like doctors, nurses and paramedics, but does not include jobs like porters and cleaners. They say its wrong they are having to pay thousands of pounds for new visas when they continue to play an essential role during the pandemic. June kelly reports. Pay them more its our weekly way of saying thank you to those who are fighting the coronavirus on the front line. Applause and the thousands of others whove worked to keep the country going. Pay them more we spoke to one nhs worker, a single mother from west africa who wants to remain anonymous. She has cleaned covid wards in a big London Hospital throughout the pandemic. Michelle is on a low salary and now has an extra financial problem her visa is due to expire on friday. She has to pay £2,000 to renew it. The government has said that for the next few months, it will automatically extend for a year the visas of some staff in the nhs and social care sector. They wont have to pay. But cleaners arent on the list. Charities representing migrants believe there are many front line believe there are many front line workers who wont benefit from the new system. Hundreds of thousands of people within the Health System and outside it in key roles, who just weeks ago this government was referring to as low skilled, unskilled and unwelcome. But whove proven over the last few months that actually those roles, those people are the backbone of our society. Like the nhs, some employers in the social care sector rely on foreign labour. At this care home in norfolk, and this is theirfilming, theyve had a coronavirus outbreak. Many of the front line staff here are from india and the philippines. The owner of the home is sceptical when it comes to the visa extension scheme. It really is a question of we want to use you while this crisis is on, and then once were finished with you, you can go back home. In a statement, a Government Spokesperson said that right across the immigration system, it was working to support people, including in the nhs and social care sector. June kelly, bbc news. Today weve learnt about the scale of the economic challenge the country faces as result of the pandemic. Research into previous economic downturns has suggested that young people tend to be the hardest hit. 0ur correspondent ben hunte has been to manchester to meet three People Living together, whose working lives have been affected by the lockdown. Meet george, josh and james three housemates, all in their 20s, living together in manchester. However, they each have a different experience of employment during lockdown. First up, josh. Hes out on the road, working as a delivery driver. He was in Financial Sales until he was furloughed, where the government pays some of his wages. Josh says he was forced to find a second job during the lockdown. Its difficult. A lot of the people at my place, more than half their wage is commission based, and thats not covered under the furlough scheme. If it was 80 of my salary and my commission, then thats probably affordable, but 80 of my basic salary is just not enough to get by on. Got some parcels for you, mate. A decade ago, josh lost his job as a plumber in the last financial crash. Lost myjob in the First Financial crisis and now ive been furloughed in this, and hopefully ill keep this job. Next up, james. James works for the finance department of a bank. He can work from home. So the fact that im actually working, im earning money and i live in a nice, social household, i feel quite privileged, to be honest with you. Theres a lot of people that have lost their jobs, including george, next to me. Yes, george had just started a newjob in property admin when the pandemic hit. Its just everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong. I was there for a week and then everything shut, all the offices closed, and i couldnt work from home and so, unfortunately, theyjust had to let me go. Not eligible for furlough because of his start date, george says he slipped through the cracks and, six weeks on, he still hasnt been able to get money through universal credit. Have you guys talked about what would happen if one of you wasnt able to continue paying rent . Well, yeah, our tenancys up in a couple of weeks. If george cant afford to pay the rent, wed probably have to find a different house, if he had to move out, and obviously that would be a direct result of whats happened here, but hopefully hes got support from his family that would be able to pay it. I think they will. Yeah. Hell sort it out, i know. For this generation and especially those who havent been able to move in with their parents, it looks like they could be living in a house share for a lot longer than they would have expected. Ben hunte, bbc news, manchester. As weve heard, people in england can now take unlimited amounts of exercise as part of the easing of the lockdown. That includes playing a round of golf or a game of tennis. Of course theyll have to follow social distancing guidelines. Katie gornall has more. You wont have heard this for a while. Across england, the sounds of a sporting summer are gradually returning. This morning, this County Durham tennis club welcomed its members for the first time in a long time. Its a big family. It is difficult being at home, and theres only so much that you can do. I hadnt been, like, playing in, like, ages. Its been really, really good. These are the first tentative steps that some recreational sports