yes, indeed fiona, you may remember in the middle of last month he had a briefing, said when the omicron threat was become clear, there are several things we don t know, but all the thing we do know are bad. now as of today, according to government sources he briefed the cabinet, and the tone was more positive than in recent weeks, and it has been guided that next week, the scientists believe they should be able to say whether for england plan b measures need to continue or not after the end of january. what is happening the underlying level of daily reported cases is falling, thatis daily reported cases is falling, that is the seven day rolling average, it is falling in scotland, although risings in northern ireland and wales. as for hospital admissions they are levelling off in england, and that, i think is a source of some consolation in government, but it won t be much consolation to the nhs, who were still dealing with this intense pressure because of covid, people coming in to ho
whatever proposals come forward have to be fair, have to be proportionate, and that means looking notjust at the home builders, but beyond the home builders, other parties who have been involved in the process, in particular the supplies of the materials, which turned out not to be fit for purpose as far as we can understand. the government has given construction firms a deadline of march to come up with a plan of action. but for thousands of people, the financial situation is already critical. sarah corker, bbc news. ikea has announced it will cut sick pay for unvaccinated staff who need to self isolate because of covid. fully vaccinated staff will receive full sick pay. the company sjoining a growing list of firms doing the same. the retail giant acknowledges it s an emotive topic but says its policy has to evolve with changing circumstances. emma simpson is in north london for us, what s behind this and could this be a sign of things to come? the backdrop to this fiona is that