Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20240709 : comparemela.com

under a law to be enacted next year. boris and carriejohnson have announced the birth of a daughter, their second child since he became prime minister. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the government has confirmed the investigation into a party in downing street last december will also look at two other gatherings, allegedly held while restrictions on meeting indoors were in place. the inquiry was announced yesterday with regard to an event on december 18th. now a second downing street party in november and a gathering in the education department will also be considered. the health secretary sajid javid denied the government had lost credibility by breaking the rules, as he defended the introduction of new covid restrictions in england. from friday, face coverings will be mandatory for most indoor public venues, including theatres and cinemas — but not pubs or restaurants. from monday you should work from home, if you can. an nhs covid pass will be needed to get into nightclubs and large venues. a negative lateral flow test will also be accepted. and daily testing will replace self—isolation for people who come into contact with someone infected. mrjavid said the rules would help to address the spreading 0micron variant, which poses a "credible risk" to the nhs. helen catt reports. it's the 0micron variant of coronavirus and the speed at which it is spreading that ministers say has left them with little choice but to move england to plan b. we estimated that it spreads, the doubling rate is between 2.5 and three days which means the number of community infections are doubling in that time and what that means is that if it carried on at that rate, you could have1 million infections through community transmission by the end of the month. but some conservative mps don't think it is justified. amongst many of my constituents, there is a sense of exasperation and exhaustion with the new covid rules and a real fear that we are now back on the conveyor belt to more restrictions, so can we have a debate on how we learn to live with covid and its variants in the long—term without unacceptable measures such as widespread use of vaccine passports? many are also angry about how downing street has handled recent events, including the alleged party held on the 18th of december last year. yesterday, allegra stratton, a number ten aide shown in a video joking about a christmas party, resigned. i will regret those remarks for the rest of my days and i offer my profound apologies to all of you at home. others in the video, like ed oldfield, the aide who asked the question, remain in theirjobs as the political fallout continues. the bbc has had reports that some number ten staff attended a gathering with carriejohnson in the downing street flat on november 13 last year, but this has been denied by her spokeswoman. 0n the 13th and 27th of november, the bbc has been told there were informal leaving drinks for staff at number ten. and conservative sources have confirmed that four members of the party's head office staff working on the london mayoral campaign were disciplined for taking part in an unauthorised social gathering on december 14th last year. nobody is above the law, it cannot be one rule for everybody else and one rule for the prime minister and downing street. it's incredibly frustrating it has taken a week for the prime minister to admit there was a potential breach of the rules and it looks like it wasn'tjust the one—off incident either. in parliament, questions were asked about which parties the investigation being conducted by the country's most senior civil servant will cover. the government said it will look at the november 27th leaving drinks and 18th december party at number ten and also at a gathering at the department for education on the 10th of december. in the middle of this, the prime minister has a new arrival. his wife carrie gave birth to a baby girl this morning. helen catt, bbc news. pubs could run out of cash as people return to working from home — that's the warning from one hospitality boss, as businesses deal with the impact of the introduction of plan b in england. 0ne trade body says the move is a "body blow" to already—struggling venues, at what is traditionally the busiest time of the year. there have been calls for extra government help while the measures are in place, but there are no plans for additional economic support. ramzan karmali reports. it has been a tough year for this liverpool restaurant and deli owner. yesterday's announcement by the prime minister of tighter restrictions in england was yet another piece of bad news for him. it didn't take long for some of his customers to react. we have had cancellations already for mostly our larger christmas bookings but also some smaller ones and that is a huge financial impact at this time of year, because the key this time is restrictions are coming in place but there is no financial support for business and after the last year we've had, it's the last thing we need running up to christmas. the most significant measures to support businesses and workers through earlier waves, such as the furlough scheme and the self—employment income support scheme, have now been withdrawn and there are growing calls for a new economic support package. yet again we are back into open—ended restrictions with no end in sight, no financial support and absolutely no clarity on when any of this is going to be over. i urge the government now to put the support packages in place to support businesses through this really difficult period. the government says its existing £400 million support package will help businesses get through the winter. since the emergence of the 0micron variant, business at this sandwich chain has slipped back below pre—pandemic levels as more of us chose to work from home and with tighter restrictions about to be imposed, sales could fall even further. research shows that those going into a workplace have twice as many contacts as those who don't and also we know telling people to work from home in the past has showen to effectively reduce contacts overall. the more we can do this, the more we can reduce the transmission opportunities for the virus to spread. hospitality firms have warned they face a collapse in demand at their busiest time of year due to the government's new work from home guidance, but some businesses will be able to adapt. we have all done this before, we have seen we can do it and so businesses have had to be agile and adapt to this the ever evolving covid world. the measures being introduced in england broadly bring them in line with those in scotland, wales and ireland. what the overall impact they will have is hard to calculate but the longer they last or if tougher measures are introduced, the bigger the downside. ramzan karmali, bbc news. how have been the public been reacting to reports of christmas parties and also plan b measures? i'm joined now by chris hopkins, associate director of the polling company, sava nta comres. good to have you. in terms of reaction to the downing street gatherings or parties, what is the public�*s stance on that? 0verwhelmingly negative. 83% of people thought the parties had let the country down, let the public down. 83% said that they had let people whose loved ones had died from covid down. that is the thought of the nation right now. 81% are saying that it is one rule for the government and one for everybody else and, equally, a slim majority, 54% of people, said borisjohnson should pay the ultimate price and resign over this. the prime minister has had a difficult premiership. ultimately, it is going to be this mismanagement and series of mismanagement and series of mismanagement this side of the vaccine roll—out which will be how he will be remembered over the coming months. it hasn't been a good few months for the prime minister culminating in this number ten christmas party story.- culminating in this number ten christmas party story. have we any indication about _ christmas party story. have we any indication about what _ christmas party story. have we any indication about what effect - christmas party story. have we any indication about what effect that i indication about what effect that has, if any, indication about what effect that has, ifany, on indication about what effect that has, if any, on whether people are likely to follow the rules? yes. 5096 said this would _ likely to follow the rules? yes. 5096 said this would have _ likely to follow the rules? yes. 5096 said this would have no _ likely to follow the rules? yes. 5096 said this would have no impact - likely to follow the rules? yes. 5096 said this would have no impact on i said this would have no impact on them following the rules but, you know, a significant minority, a third, said this would make them less likely to follow rules going forward. the prime minister can't be surprised at this. if those who are setting the rules aren't being seen as following them, and we had this before with dominic cummings, matt hancock, which ultimately led to his resignation, then, yes, a significant minority are going to say enough is enough and only rules that come in, we aren't going to follow them. that any new rules. this is a strange request, i think the microphone might be knocking on your beard. if you could move it. thanks very much. is there any indication about how the public feel about plan b?— indication about how the public feel about plan b? generally supportive. throu~hout about plan b? generally supportive. throughout the _ about plan b? generally supportive. throughout the pandemic _ about plan b? generally supportive. throughout the pandemic the - about plan b? generally supportive. throughout the pandemic the publicj throughout the pandemic the public have been really supportive of all of the measures. ultimately the government have felt from the get go that anything the government do to save lives needs to be supported and got behind. we have seen three quarters roughly supported of the measures regarding vaccine passports, similarly high numbers were pro—face masks and working from home. it is almost a shame, really, that the government have lost some goodwill by ultimately not following the rules and this leaked footage from last year —— in this leaked footage from last year. from last year -- in this leaked footage from last year.- from last year -- in this leaked footage from last year. thanks for s-ueakin footage from last year. thanks for speaking to _ footage from last year. thanks for speaking to us. — footage from last year. thanks for speaking to us, chris. _ and at 14:30 we'll be answering your questions on the changes to restrictions, plan b, and anything else. do send them in to us on twitter, using the hash tag bbc your questions, or by emailing yourquestions@bbc. co. uk. that's coming up at 14:30 the conservative party has been fined £17,800 for "failing to accurately report a donation" that paid for the refurbishment of the prime minister's flat. the electoral commission says the party had not kept "a proper accounting record" of the money it received. 0ur political correspondent ben wright has the latest. the saga of the downing street flat refurbishment has rumbled on for much of the year. the work began in the spring of 2020 but there has been a huge amount of focus on precisely how it was paid for. we know that originally the government wanted to set up a new trust which would oversee the work, it would enable number ten to spend much more than the authorised limit of £30,000. that plan fell through. money came the way of the government from lord brownlow. there was a report into that, published in the spring, it said the prime minister didn't do anything wrong. but the electoral commission has been looking at all of this over the last eight months to see if there was a breach of electoral law. it has been combing through invoices, credit cards, text messages, whatsapp messages, to establish what happened. they think the money contributed to all of this by lord brownlow should have been declared as a donation, not as a loan, not as as a donation, not as a loan, not as a contribution to a trust, but a donation. it says there were serious failings by the party in the way it accounted for this money, which is why it has find the tory party almost £18,000. close to the maximum the electoral commission can slap on a political party. in addition to that, labour is pointing out what they say is a discrepancy between they say is a discrepancy between the conclusions, saying the prime minister did not know how this was paid for until february of this year, this report today, which points to a whatsapp message from the prime minister to lord brownlow, talking about payments and further contributions in november 2020. just in the last few minutes the prime minister's official spokesperson has emphatically said the prime minister has been honest about this, he didn't lie, and that he did explain the situation properly to the report. laboursay the situation properly to the report. labour say there are further questions here to answer. guests at a quarantine hotel at gatwick airport who had to evacuate the building due to a fire alarm this morning say there was no social distancing in place when they had to wait two hours in the cold outside the building. let's speak to one of the guests. taz challenger lives in basingstoke but is having to quarantine after returning from a trip to south africa. talk us through what happened. very chaotic. we talk us through what happened. - chaotic. we checked into our hotel at about midnight. i got to my room just after midnight. the alarm went off 20 past seven. knowing that we have to stay in our rooms, we stuck our heads out of the door to see what others were doing. a fire alarm sounded and the building was evacuated. the security on our floors said it was not a true alarm, not to worry, stay in your rooms, but to me it is a fire alarm, you get out the building. we did but security did not know where the stairs were. granted it should be on my onus to check where all of my exits were, but we made it downstairs, round the corner then were shepherded around the corner further where we were alljust were shepherded around the corner further where we were all just stood around. the hotel staff, i cannot fault them, they were struggling to get it done. they had more security which are contracted to make sure we stay in our rooms. they didn't have any information. they didn't know what was going on. the fire department did arrive, and we were still left standing right next to the building. even if the building was on fire, we clearly weren't in adequate space. they tried to do a roll call on the rooms but there were just too many of us. we stood around. we were offered blankets and towels to keep warm from the hotel staff. the security were nonexistent. i'm not sure what they were doing. then it got to the point where they said we could go back in. the police did arrive. i'm not sure why they were called. even they got to 20 minutes in and thought, yes, there isn't any social distancing. then it was alljust a little bit too late. in my opinion. we were all stood around. we were ushered back into the hotel. unfortunately a lady was having a panic attack on a heart attack, i'm not sure, but she was very stressed out. —— or a heart attack. we were shepherded out of the hotel again to give her some space and to deal with her. again, just stood around next to each other, nothing structured or information on what we should be doing. when we were allowed back in it wasjust, 0k, go back to doing. when we were allowed back in it was just, ok, go back to your rooms. we were taken by security backed our rooms. but six to eight people in a lift. and that was the end of that. —— back to our rooms. it was lack of information. nobody knew if it was a proper fire alarm, a test, and where we should be standing and what we should be doing. standing and what we should be doinu. . ~' ,, standing and what we should be doinu. ., ~ i. ., standing and what we should be doin. _ ., ~' y., ., , ., standing and what we should be doinu. . ., , ., doing. thank you for sharing your exoerience _ doing. thank you for sharing your experience with _ doing. thank you for sharing your experience with us. _ doing. thank you for sharing your experience with us. thank- doing. thank you for sharing your experience with us. thank you. . the headlines on bbc news... under investigation — the three government staff gatherings that took place while coronavirus restrictions were in force on meeting indoors. it comes as tighter restrictions are announced in england to prevent the increasing spread of the 0micron variant. the health secretary insists that the government hasn't lost credibility. delays to many hospital treatments in england are the worst on record — nhs leaders say patients are being put at risk. we can get more on that story now. figures out this morning show another rise in the number of people waiting for non—urgent medical treatment in england — to the highest number since records began in 2007. data from nhs england shows that nearly six million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of october. nearly 11,000 people were having to wait more than 12 hours in accident and emergency departments in england last month — a new record. but the average response time last month for ambulances in england to deal with the most serious incidents fell to nine minutes ten seconds, slightly down from october. our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, has this report. hospitals are under pressure like never before. some staff have even said they're working right at the edge of what they can manage. here in newcastle, they say the pressure in a&e is as much as 50% greater than before the pandemic, and they can't see an end to it. usually the end of winter we would look forward to, but nobody knows if that is actually going to happen this time. right across the nhs, there are more patients and they are sicker because so many who needed treatment didn't get it during the previous waves of the pandemic, and like many patients with chronic conditions, dawn, who has crohn�*s disease, has been forced to come to this a&e because her specialist clinics in a different area is still closed. crohn�*s clinics at the royal victoria are still open. so many other people have got so much more urgent needs than i have, and i think it's terrible that people are being, you know, left, basically, to... you know, it's almost like people are having to have to fend for themselves rather than getting the support they need properly. the potential threat from the new variant isn't helping. documents from government adviser sage say that without any restrictions, the peak of the 0micron wave could lead to more than 2,000 hospital admissions a day, getting close to the peak from the first wave. our staff feel that it's been relentless. there has got to be a let up at some point. we have put in measures to help, and everybody is working really hard, but they feel that every time we go one step forward, we seem to go two steps backwards. today's figures for england show further record waits for treatment in a&e and four beds. nhs staff running absolutely as fast as they can but being outpaced by the extra demand and the pressure that we are seeing. don't forget, this is before we are hitting our traditional winter peak in terms of early to mid january. nhs england says it has seen the busiest november ever and that discharges continue to be a problem, with one in ten beds occupied by someone who is fit to leave hospital. so with pressure on hospitals growing, the bbc has launched an nhs tracker to show people how services in england, scotland and wales are coping. by entering a postcode, it will allow patients and families to track any ambulance delays, waits in a&e and to get on to wards, vital information about the state of nhs emergency services through this, the most challenging winter they have faced. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. joining me now is our health and science correspondent nick triggle. how does this tracker work and how do people use it? it is how does this tracker work and how do people use it?— do people use it? it is on the bbc website. do people use it? it is on the bbc website- it _ do people use it? it is on the bbc website. it was _ do people use it? it is on the bbc website. it was launched - do people use it? it is on the bbc website. it was launched this - website. it was launched this morning. all you have to do is put in your postcode and it will then show the weights for emergency treatment where they live. —— waits. there are waits for ambulances which are registered, as well. then inside accident and emergency, it tells you about what your local hospital, what the waiting time is in casual two, whether you are likely to wait over four hours to be seen. —— a&e. then it shows you how long you are waiting for a bed on wards. in wales you get the a&e and waiting times for beds, as well. we are talking about the national picture. there is about the national picture. there is a variation when you look at the local figures. a variation when you look at the localfigures. for example, in a&e some hospitals in birmingham, leicester and hull, there is a large majority waiting for four hours. in some sense there is no surprise people are waiting for longer within the health system during a pandemic when there has been a backlog. do the figures account for that? do they give any indication of how we can compare it sort of taking out the effect of the pandemic, as it were? in the effect of the pandemic, as it were? ., . ~ ., ., ~' the effect of the pandemic, as it were? ., . ~ ., ., were? in the tracker we look at what the fi . ures were? in the tracker we look at what the figures were _ were? in the tracker we look at what the figures were two _ were? in the tracker we look at what the figures were two years _ were? in the tracker we look at what the figures were two years ago. - were? in the tracker we look at what the figures were two years ago. it's. the figures were two years ago. it's a good question, to what extent can you take into account we've got a pandemic, there is more illness, infection, and that will put more pressure on the health service. we know before the pandemic started the nhs was struggling to hit its targets, the four hour a&e weight is probably the best way of measuring pressure on the system. —— a&e wait. the number has fallen to around, well, just over 25% of patients who are waiting more than four hours. there is a deterioration. you would expect some deterioration given we are in a pandemic. when you look at the latest figures, there is around 7000 patients in hospital with covid. that is taking up around 6% of beds but on top of that you've probably got about 5% of beds that are either closed or cannot be used because of infection control procedures. that is a good 10% perhaps even more of the hospital bed capacity taken out of the system by covid. that gives you an idea of why we are seeing this deterioration in performance. why we are seeing this deterioration in performance-— in performance. thanks very much indeed. and you can access the nhs tracker, which is live now and will help you find out how your local services are coping on the bbc website. the tracker will run throughout winter and will show you the latest data on waits for emergency treatment where you live. a tribunal in london, probing china's treatment of the uyghur minority has found evidence of crimes against humanity. the findings detail systematic human rights abuses — including forced labour and torture. the chair of the tribunal, sir geoffrey nice, explained how women were sterilised without their consent and families deliberately separated. witness statements also described rapes and assaults in detention camps and strict surveillance throughout xinjiang province. 0n the basis of evidence heard in public, the tribunal is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the imposition of measures to prevent birds to destroy a significant part of the uighurs in xinjiang. as such 0n the basis of evidence heard in public, the tribunal is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the imposition of measures to prevent births to destroy a significant part of the uighurs in xinjiang. as such has committed genocide. 0ur diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley has been talking to one man, an ethnic kazakh, who gave evidence to the tribunal. he was detained in 2017 and subjected to forced labour, political indoctrination and violent beatings. this is a first—hand witness of the treatment of uyghur muslims. he was arrested in 2017, accused of installing whatsapp, which is blocked in china, and of watching videos about islam. the first prison was the worst. he says he was once punished for complaining he was hungry, and remembers being put in something called a tiger chair. this is where he says he was held before being removed to a re—education camp. that being —— being moved. what was china's aim, do you think, in putting you through this? towards the end of his incarceration, he told me he was. to work in this building where he would sew trousers and uniforms. before his release, he said he had to sign papers promising not to reveal what had happened to him. he is one of at least1 million uyghurs and other ethnic minorities believed to be detained. the uk's chief veterinary officer has told the bbc there is a "phenomenal level" of avian flu in the uk. tens of thousands of farmed birds have already been culled, as the largest number of premises ever have been infected. officials say the risk to human health is low, but infected birds should not be touched. new zealand is proposing some of the toughest anti—smoking laws in the world. under the plans, anyone born after 2008 will never legally be a able to buy cigarettes in their lifetime. it's part of a package of measures, including drastically cutting the numbers of licensed tobacco shops, but there are warnings it could create a black market. lucy grey reports. at the moment, you have to be 18 to buy cigarettes in new zealand, but under planned new laws, anyone under the age of 14 will never be able to buy cigarettes legally. the age limit will then be increased every year until the whole country is smoke free. we want to make sure young people never start smoking. so, we are legislating for a smoke—free generation by making it an offence to sell or supply tobacco products to those aged 14, when the law comes into effect. the government particularly wants to help maori smokers kick the habit. i reckon it's a good move, really. because, right now, there's a lot of young kids walking around with smokes. how are they getting these smokes? and it's also good for myself, too, so i can save more money. if people still want to smoke, well, they can just grow their own, which they are doing. maybe it's a good idea because, at the end of the day, _ smoking is bad for you - and it's really hard to quit. the new legislation, being introduced to parliament next year, will also only allow cigarettes with low levels of nicotine and reduce the number of shops selling them. vaping won't be affected. the aim is to get all ages to stub out the habit by 2025. lucy grey, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello, we have a number of sunrise photos sent to us. now, today, most of us will have seen some sunshine at some point, but we have this band of rain in western areas. eventually, we will get something a bit milder, with temperatures up to 11 celsius. but for the rest of us, around six celsius. overnight, abundant rain pushes eastwards. showers follow. there will be frost patches developing in scotland. tomorrow is a day of sunshine and showers. showers will be frequent across the north and west. some will be wintry. there will be some sleet. it will be milder on the weekend. hello this is bbc news. the headlines... under investigation — the three government staff gatherings that took place while coronavirus restrictions were in force on meeting indoors. it comes as tighter restrictions are announced in england to prevent the increasing spread of the omicron variant. the health secretary insists that the government hasn't lost credibility. if it carries on at that rate, you could have a million infections through community transition by the end of the month. delays to many hospital treatments in england are the worst on record — nhs leaders say patients are being put at risk. the conservative party's fined nearly £18,000 over the prime minister's downing street flat refurbishment. anyone under the age of 14 in new zealand will face a lifetime ban on buying cigarettes, under a law to be enacted next year. boris and carriejohnson have announced the birth of a daughter, their second child since he became prime minister. sport now, and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. england have a realjob on their hands, if they're to stay in contention, ahead of day three of the first ashes test. australia were in control for much of the second day. david warner and marnus labuschagne, both making half centuries. england did finally make the breakthrough, removing both men, warner falling for 94. two further quick wickets followed, but travis head took away all english hope, hitting an unbeaten century. it was the third fastest in ashes history. and england's bowlers ran out of ideas so resorted to a different type of tactic. thankfully head was okay and all smiles. australia closing on 343—7 — a lead of 196. england fast bowling coachjon lewis says it isnt over yet though. i says it isnt over yet though. think we understand ti cricket, i think we understand the game of cricket, and we understand how conditions change, and you have to adapt to the conditions that are put in front of you. on both days, australia may have got the better of the conditions, but, you know, there are three days left of this test match, and are very fine cricketers in the england cricket team. like we said before, we will come back strong tomorrow. a disciplinary panel has said it has real concerns about the weighing room culture in horse racing, after finding a jockey guilty of what it called �*dangerous bullying'. robbie dunne was found guilty of four charges of �*conduct prejudicial to the reputation of horse racing'. the charges related to his treatment of rivaljockey bryony frost. the british horseracing authority panel found he bullied and harrassed frost over a seven—month period in 2020. our senior sports news reporter laura scott has more. well, on the face of it, this might look like a case between two jockeys, but in actual fact, look like a case between two jockeys, but in actualfact, it look like a case between two jockeys, but in actual fact, it has raised wider questions and it will send reverberations around the entire sport. frost is one of the highest profile figures within racing, but the panel spoke of how she risked isolation and rejection by her peers, when she made complaints about a fellow jockey. during five days of evidence here, the british horse racing authority is case was that she had been the victim of a van better. a short while ago, robbie was found in breach of four counts. they said he was to take guilty of distasteful targeting, deliberate harassment on and off the track, and at times, dangerous bullying. his chair and said there was a real concern about the culture which was deep—rooted and coercive. we are expecting to hear the sanctions that will be applied to robbie dunn later today. it's pivotal match for leicester, high fliers napoli in the europa league later — they're away at italian high fliers napoli but are without several players due to covid for the game. a draw will be enough to make the knockouts — boss brendan rodgers in general, we see more cases. for us, it's about the health of our players, travelling to a foreign country, we have to expect the travel, also. yeah, but we still have a strong squad here. unfortunately, it's not a fully fit squad. the football supporters association is urging fans to check how they will be impacted by a change in covid rules. from wednesday, fans in england will need to show proof of double vaccination, or a negative test to attend games with crowds of over 10,000. it's one of the new measures introduced by the government in england to help reduce the spread of the omicron variant. that's all the sport for now. now on bbc news, your questions answered, on the new plan b restrictions for england. with me to answer your questions is dr chris smith, a virologist at the university of cambridge, and presenter of the naked scientist podcast. we've got lots of questions. we will kick off straightaway but first when it comes from sharon in essex. she says she is vaccinated but she doesn't understand how a coronavirus path can work. can't it still is bad in spite of your vaccine status? hello. the answer is that vaccines, when you first have them, they are very good at preventing both infection and severe disease. they are about 95% effective in case of pfizer vaccine. are about 95% effective in case of pfizervaccine. it are about 95% effective in case of pfizer vaccine. it is true that with time after vaccination, immunity does wear off, and it was off more in older people than younger people. and so, for that reason, you do enter a period after about two months when your level of immunity has fallen a bit, and you can still catch the infection, and potentially pass it on, but you are still prevented from getting severe disease. so the rationale behind the vaccine passport is that because even though you are still downstream from vaccination, you are not completely susceptible because about half the people will still be protected by then, and you're still slowing down the spite of the virus and stopping most people catching it. powerful, it is some safeguard from being able to pass on the infection. it's not perfect, but it is a safeguard. it does slow down the transmission of infection and it will help reduce the number of people who are likely to catch it and become severely unwell. white like this question asks how does work from home but go to work christmas parties and nightclubs make sense? yeah, i mean, it does sound contradictory, doesn't it? but really, it's down to a numbers game. the reason the government are doing what they are doing is because they are trying to achieve the maximum reduction in potential contacts for the minimum impact on people's day to day lives. we know when people go to day lives. we know when people go to work and work in the office, it's notjust to work and work in the office, it's not just sitting to work and work in the office, it's notjust sitting in the office, it's the trip to work via public transport, it's going out for your coffee in the morning, it's going getting your sandwich, rushing to pick your children up from school. there are lots of other contact and people movements that it involves. by people movements that it involves. by divorcing that chain of transmission, it does make a firebreak, if you like, in the rate of transition for the disease. in a way, it is making a big difference without too much materially impacting on people's lives. it is an initial step. they may have to tighten it further. for now, it does reduce contact and makes the chain of transmission.— of transmission. back to the coronavirus _ of transmission. back to the coronavirus pass. _ of transmission. back to the coronavirus pass. does - of transmission. back to the coronavirus pass. does it. of transmission. back to the - coronavirus pass. does it accept a lateral flow test result? and if so, surely, people can lie about that result? . . . surely, people can lie about that result? ., , , ., , result? the answer is that these asses result? the answer is that these passes do _ result? the answer is that these passes do have _ result? the answer is that these passes do have vaccination - result? the answer is that these l passes do have vaccination status. they are debating what to do about boosters, and how to log on that. if you have had two doses, you are considered vaccinated. if you had two and a booster, you are considered vaccinated. but, yes, it will also demonstrate freedom from infection in the form of a lateral flow result. you log that by taking the unique identifier on your test, and reporting that result to the report system, which then adds it to your pass. get a clean bill of health for a period of time. you are absolutely right. this is an enormous honesty box. it does rely on people returning and accurate result for a lateral flow test. you are asked to be honest. yes, this is are asked to be honest. yes, this is a system that does rely on self reporting, but there are many aspects of day—to—day life that rely on being honest and being good for society. this is no difference. pm? society. this is no difference. why other delays _ society. this is no difference. why other delays for _ society. this is no difference. why other delays for new restrictions coming in? why not do it now and reduce the number of restrictions? in an ideal world, we would tell everyone everything instantly and we would put something in place to make a positive difference. the problem is that when something becomes a legal issue, and you can start handing out fines to people if they don't comply, or if you require businesses to change their practices, perhaps change their staffing, reorganise themselves, put in place various other mechanisms in order to do what you want them to do, they need warning and noticed. it's for that reason that you can then say we have given people found notice and fair warning, so it is reasonable if people don't than trip up reasonable if people don't than trip up that they have had enough time to familiarise themselves or put those changes in place. if they transgress, then they've only got themselves to blame. it's really about making sure people have time to accommodate comets take on board, and understand, query, update their own knowledge and putting practice. it's fair warning. white like this in size, surely this should apply everywhere. are be safe from catching the virus at the funeral or a wedding? it really comes down to a numbers game. it's about making an minimum impact on people's lives and make the maximum bang for our interventional buck. working from home, if they can, for example. robbing people from their day—to—day experiences which lead to enormous joy experiences which lead to enormous joy and help to combat loneliness and mental ill—health, that would be and mental ill—health, that would be a step too far, and is likely to lead to poor compliance overall, and therefore, actually more spread of disease rather than saying, some areas, we accept there is an inherent risk, but the numbers are relatively small compared to the vast majority of cases that we can present in other ways. the return on investment of blocking that small saying terms of cost people would have to pay for their welfare and mental being and so on. that's why decisions are made. it comes down to a numbers game. this decisions are made. it comes down to a numbers game-— a numbers game. this man says, can traders visit — a numbers game. this man says, can traders visit people's _ a numbers game. this man says, can traders visit people's homes? - a numbers game. this man says, can traders visit people's homes? the . traders visit people's homes? the guidance is very vague. it’s traders visit people's homes? the guidance is very vague.— guidance is very vague. it's all about public— guidance is very vague. it's all about public spirit _ guidance is very vague. it's all about public spirit and - guidance is very vague. it's all about public spirit and doing l guidance is very vague. it's all i about public spirit and doing your bit to the greatest extent you can. it's not a black—and—white rule, you have to work from home. it's if work from home if you can. if you are already familiar with home working your business is not dependent, if your business is not dependent, if you can move your work satisfactorily and safely to your home environment, it saying, you should do that. but where it is critical, and your business would fail if you couldn't actually go to a person cosmic house, then you absolutely can't legally do that. if you are a plumber, electrician, or specialist trade, where you are a pair of hands doing service on the ground in a certain venue, then yes, you can absolutely carry on doing. this next question will resonate with a lot of people who run their own businesses. it says, how do i enforce my own rules. we have an area with an eating area and myself receive horrendous abuse, even during the main lockdown. but this is very difficult, and i have great sympathy, because i can appreciate the difficulty. this is an issue that has divided our country in countries across the world, where people are really not fond of face coverings, and they feel their personal liberties are being encroached upon. the fact is, the law is the law, and we'll have to follow it, orface risk law is the law, and we'll have to follow it, or face risk being punished. there has been relatively light touch up until now. there is no excuse for being abusive to staff, and they are just doing the job they have been asked to do. thank you very much. you'll get more questions next time. in wales, a longer school day is being trialled — it's part of plans to overhaul education to fit in with work patterns and family life. fourteen schools will take part in the pilot scheme, adding an extra five hours a week for some pupils. but unions are concerned about pressure being put on schools, who they say are already at "breaking point" due to covid. here's our education and family correspondent bethan lewis. the school day starts early already for these pupils as breakfast club. from january, they will have an extra five hours a week. this primary in barry is one of the schools piloting a longer day. i get to see my friends, i get to learn new stuff. not many people may be able to afford lots of clubs like this so the fact that it is for free is good. outside groups and school staff will run extra sessions focused on sport and music but also aimed at boosting core academic skills. it's a really good idea to extend the school day but it has to be different from what they are offered already. this is not about teachers working longer hours, it is about thinking outside the box, to really change and reframe a structure that has been in place for decades. the argument for reform is patterns of work and family life have changed beyond recognition since pupils sat at these desks well over a century ago. but some people want to see more evidence of why any changes would be good for society, school staff and children themselves. the school year is also being discussed including the possibility of a shorter summer holiday. raising this possible change to the school year is unnecessary because of what has happened with covid, because we are still on catch—up as they say. the focus of the when we should be on education and learning rather than changing the school year. a talking point for parents in prestatyn. i think the summer holidays, they are quite long for people who are in employment and it is a struggle to find childcare so that would be beneficial. the summer holidays are a long time but maybe it is a break they need. longer days probably aren't the answer. i don't see any benefits of changing it. - if it is longer in - the winter we have to leave and it takes an hour to go to school and back. | the first step in changing patterns in places the days of this school. a key question is whether it now while dealing with a monumental challenges of covid is the right time. jimmy lai and two other pro— democracy activists have been convicted in hong kong for having taken part in if a banned vigil last year. lai, who founded the now defunct apple daily newspaper, was found guilty of having incited others to join an illegal assembly. he is already serving a jail sentence for attending other banned gatherings. also found guilty were barrister chow hang—tung and former opposition politician gwyneth ho. all three pleaded not guilty. bbc chinese's martin yip who's in hong kong has more on this. day, we have the sentencing for the three of them who pleaded not guilty to charges of unlawful assembling, relating to gatherings on the 4th of june 2020. just weeks before they chain... back when a band is an annual rally at victoria park in hong kong for the very first time. before that, for nearly three decades, hong kong has been the only place that can hold a major rally. they are cracking down on opening with a candlelight vigil. after the police decided to ban the 2020 rally, thousands of people still showed up at the event at hpm, like thousands of years before. —— like the years before. police took action to press charges. dozen of them have already pleaded guilty. that includes another activist who is among those who pleaded guilty. three of them chose to plead not guilty, and they had the verdict today of a guilty verdict. for the first time, families of indian soldiers from undivided punjab who served in world war one will have access to the service registers of their ancestors, all thanks to a new website set up by uk based historians. the records, which have been lying in a museum in pakistan for almost a century, have now been made available online for free. our south asian diaspora reporter gaggan sabherwal has more. so this is the village where i grew up, and that is my great—great—grandfather. 22—year—old jasmine was volunteering with a local charity when she accidentally discovered records showing that her great—great—grandfather and his brother had fought in world war i. jasmine made this fascinating discovery on the uk punjabi heritage associations website that contained thousands of records of soldiers from undivided punjab who fought in the first world war. i couldn't believe it that i'd actually got hold of this. but then i did feel a bit teary—eyed that this is a direct connection with world war i which i'd been learning about since primary school. my great—great—grandfather, we figured, was part of the motor and battery, so he was dealing with the guns, moving them and transporting them, using them, based in mesopotamia. and his brother, his regiment was one of the only indian regiments in china against the german navalforce. around 6% of the british forces who fought in the first world war were from punjab and for over a century the records of 320,000 of these soldiers have been lying in the museum in pakistan. translation: during world war i these registers were written by hand and maintained. these records contain information such as the name of the soldier, his right, his address on whether he was injured or was martyred in the war or whether he had completed his service and had retired. and after years of correspondence and relationship building with the lahore museum, this man from the punjab heritage association finally managed to gain access to these real records. it's been a very long process working with the war museum to get these records digitised, just because they are vast, they run to some 26,000 pages which took about four years working with them to get everything cleanly digitised and then brought over to the uk and then we spent about a year transcribing them into the database. the families of british and irish soldiers can easily search public databases of soldiers records to find out more about the role their ancestors played in world war i but as i've been finding out that isn't any such facility available for the relatives of colonial soldiers. i think in both india and pakistan there has been a tendency to overlook how significant the south asian role was in the uk we have misunderstood or misremembered the war as being something that was basically european, about france and belgium and mud and trenches and we have for too long forgotten the role of not just south asians but commonwealth colonial soldiers played across a conflict. the records obviously help families and individuals to connect with their own family histories but the registers also offer us new insights into punjab's contribution to the first world war. so far, 44,000 service records have been uploaded with plans to add the remaining data in the forthcoming months. the co—founder of the 1980s synthpop group bronski beat steve bronski, has died at the age of 61. seen here on the right, with the band, the trio were known for campaigning on gay rights issues. earlier his former band—mate jimmy somerville paid tribute on twitter, saying "thanks for the melody steve." now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello. we've had a lovely start to the day. earlier this morning we had some fine sunrises captured by our early morning weather watchers. this is from dorset. otherwise today, we've got this area of cloud. one affront bring outbreaks of rain. milder air associated with this in the south. notice there's not much of this in northern areas. this band of this in northern areas. this band of rain will be hedging through western areas through day. snow in scotland for a time. this will turn back to rain. this mild wodge of air will be wafting into southern wales and south—west england, boosting temperatures to around 11 celsius for some later on today. for most of this, it will be around five to seven celsius. overnight, outbreaks of rain pushed eastwards, slowly pushing away from the eastern coast of east anglia and kent. frost patches develop. friday, we've got these north—westerly winds that will be streaming in, bringing a day of sunshine and showers. there will be some sparkling sunshine to look forward to. those showers have been is deeply widespread across the uk. some of them may fall as sleet. showers will continue to work into the north—west of england and north wales, and on into the midlands. you might find one or two popping down to the south of england in fairly gusty north westerly winds. that's the last of the cooler days. this weekend, we will see this wave of mild air crashing over the uk. that will really boost the temperatures significantly. it will be quite wet for some of us. we'll be particularly persistent because western areas. next fog developing. mild and working its way west, with temperatures up to 12 celsius. that's the start of this milder transition. on sunday, a lot of cloud around. when speaking up. there might be work or gales around. temperatures will be around 30 celsius in belfast, 14 in cardiff and london. this is bbc news — the headlines: under investigation — the three government staff gatherings that took place while coronavirus restrictions were in force on meeting indoors. it comes as tighter restrictions are announced in england to prevent the increasing spread of the omicron variant. 249 additional confirmed cases of the omicron variant have been reported across the uk. the health secretary insists that the government hasn't lost credibility. if it carries on at that rate, you could have one million infections through community transmission by end of the month. delays to many hospital treatments in england are the worst on record — nhs leaders say patients are being put at risk. the conservative party's fined nearly £18,000 over the prime minister's downing street flat refurbishment. and we'll be hearing from the snp's finance secretary as she delivers the scottish budget — kate forbes insists it will provide people with "stability and support" as the country seeks to recover from coronavirus. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the government has confirmed the investigation into a party in downing street last december will also look at two other gatherings, allegedly held while restrictions on meeting indoors were in place. the inquiry was announced yesterday with regard to an event on december 18th. now a second downing street party in november and a gathering in the education department will also be considered. the health secretary sajid javid denied the government had lost credibility by breaking the rules, as he defended the introduction of new covid restrictions in england. from friday, face coverings will be mandatory for most indoor public venues, including theatres and cinemas — but not pubs or restaurants. from monday you should work from home, if you can. an nhs covid pass will be needed to get into nightclubs and large venues. a negative lateral flow test will also be accepted. and daily testing will replace self—isolation )mrjavid said the rules would help to address the spreading omicron variant, which poses a "credible risk" to the nhs. in the past hour, the uk health security agency has confirmed 249 additional confirmed cases of the omicron variant of covid—19 across the uk. the total number of confirmed covid—19 omicron cases in the uk is 817. helen catt reports. it's the omicron variant of coronavirus and the speed at which it is spreading that ministers say has left them with little choice but to move england to plan b. we estimated that it spreads, the doubling rate is between 2.5 and three days which means the number of community infections are doubling in that time and what that means is that if it carried on at that rate, you could have1 million infections through community transmission by the end of the month. but some conservative mps don't think it is justified. amongst many of my constituents, there is a sense of exasperation and exhaustion with the new covid rules and a real fear that we are now back on the conveyor belt to more restrictions, so can we have a debate on how we learn to live with covid and its variants in the long—term without unacceptable measures such as widespread use of vaccine passports? many are also angry about how downing street has handled recent events, including the alleged party held on the 18th of december last year. yesterday, allegra stratton, a number ten aide shown in a video joking about a christmas party, resigned. i will regret those remarks for the rest of my days and i offer my profound apologies to all of you at home. others in the video, like ed oldfield, the aide who asked the question, remain in theirjobs as the political fallout continues. the bbc has had reports that some number ten staff attended a gathering with carriejohnson in the downing street flat on november 13 last year, but this has been denied by her spokeswoman. on the 13th and 27th of november, the bbc has been told there were informal leaving drinks for staff at number ten. and conservative sources have confirmed that four members of the party's head office staff working on the london mayoral campaign were disciplined for taking part in an unauthorised social gathering on december 14th last year. nobody is above the law, it cannot be one rule for everybody else and one rule for the prime minister and downing street. it's incredibly frustrating it has taken a week for the prime minister to admit there was a potential breach of the rules and it looks like it wasn'tjust the one—off incident either. in parliament, questions were asked about which parties the investigation being conducted by the country's most senior civil servant will cover. the government said it will look at the november 27th leaving drinks and 18th december party at number ten and also at a gathering at the department for education on the 10th of december. in the middle of this, the prime minister has a new arrival. his wife carrie gave birth to a baby girl this morning. helen catt, bbc news. let's get more on this from our political correspondent ben wright. what is the mood today? yesterday was a difficult and challenging day for number ten. is the pressure still on or has it subsided? the ressure still on or has it subsided? the pressure is _ still on or has it subsided? the pressure is firmly _ still on or has it subsided? tue: pressure is firmly on. still on or has it subsided? tte: pressure is firmly on. political events are moving at a breathless pace this week and as helen said, this morning the remit of this enquiry will be leading into the parties that happened last year. it has widened suddenly beyond the gathering on the 18th, but also they will be looking into a leaving do held on november the 27th, and a party at the department for education on the 10th of december. that story lurches on, the remit expanding with responses from many quarters. the opposition are incredulous the prime minister could not establish the facts of all of this a week ago and are still not sure why it requires a cabinet secretary enquiry to work out whether there was a party that was within the rules or not happening under the roof of ten downing st. i think there is a lot of concern as well about plan b, in particular from tory mps. we know at least 30 have said they would oppose this when it comes to the house of commons next week. on several fronts, things are still very difficult for number ten. indeed, and in all of _ difficult for number ten. indeed, and in all of this, _ difficult for number ten. indeed, and in all of this, just _ difficult for number ten. indeed, and in all of this, just a - difficult for number ten. indeed, and in all of this, just a week- and in all of this, just a week before, there is a very real test of the electoral mood with a by—election just around the corner. indeed. in shropshire. we are weeks on from the owen paterson saga and the attempt by borisjohnson's government to change the standards and rules in an effort to protect him, which then led to the by—election we will see next week. all of this, i think, has caused a lot of concern on the tory backbenches about the grip in number ten. how firmly they are in control of what they are doing. and the judgment being exercised by the prime minister and his senior officials at the moment. there will be tory mps desperate now to get to the recess and then to have a bit of a breatherfrom the recess and then to have a bit of a breather from what has been a to mulch us and really damaging few weeks. it is clear for the government. adding to it today is a report from the electoral commission into the saga of the downing street flat refurbishment, which is a saga that has rumbled along through the year. the electoral commission has decided to find the tory party ombudsman almost £18,000 for not properly declaring a donation of around £52,000 from a tory mp that was put towards the cost of that refurbishment.— was put towards the cost of that refurbishment. ., , ., ., ., , , ., refurbishment. lots going on, as you sa . refurbishment. lots going on, as you say- thanks — refurbishment. lots going on, as you say- thanks for _ refurbishment. lots going on, as you say. thanks for bringing _ refurbishment. lots going on, as you say. thanks for bringing us _ refurbishment. lots going on, as you say. thanks for bringing us up - refurbishment. lots going on, as you say. thanks for bringing us up to i say. thanks for bringing us up to speed. well, in a statement the metropolitan police said: the metropolitan police service has received a significant amount of correspondence relating to allegations reported in the media that the health protection regulations were breached at gatherings at no 10 downing street in november and december 2020. dal babu is former chief superintendent in the metropolitan police. what do you make of the statement and the decision? t’m what do you make of the statement and the decision?— and the decision? i'm very surprised- _ and the decision? i'm very surprised. the _ and the decision? i'm very surprised. the statement| and the decision? i'm very i surprised. the statement was and the decision? i'm very - surprised. the statement was quite bizarre. i think the second statement will pose lots of questions. in essence you solve crime in three ways, you have a confession. we seem to have a difference of opinion from various people about what is happening. we've gone from no rules were breached to their may have been an event, and then we had that footage that was shown by itv. you've got the confession element there, which seems to be changing. you've got the element of witnesses. plenty of those. you only need to go to a police officer on duty at night on downing street, they are in a diplomatic protection group, you have to record what is happening, he was on duty, how many resources are in place. that would be straightforward to do, to ask the police officer on duty at downing street, was a party going on, where people being kept on extra duties. third element, cctv and forensics. downing street is probably the most covered area in the country by cctv, so they would only have to look at the cctv to see people leaving or arriving at the party. from what i am hearing, from media reports, the party finished shortly after midnight, so they would just have to check who was leaving and whether people were leaving in groups or leaving inebriated. the statement references cabinet _ leaving inebriated. the statement references cabinet secretary's i references cabinet secretary's investigation. is that normal practice for the police service to wait for an investigation like that, to see if any other evidence comes to see if any other evidence comes to light, then act on it, rather than doing their own investigation in parallel? tt’s than doing their own investigation in arallel? �* . ., than doing their own investigation in arallel? �*, ., , in parallel? it's not usable. often the cabinet _ in parallel? it's not usable. often the cabinet secretary _ in parallel? it's not usable. often the cabinet secretary will - in parallel? it's not usable. often the cabinet secretary will be i the cabinet secretary will be looking for different issues. the police will be looking at criminal issues. you could argue that the police investigation could be compromised by waiting or waiting for somebody to already speak to witnesses. it is relatively straightforward, get hold of the cctv, have a look at who was leaving at midnight, and who the individuals were come and go and ask the police officers. it's not that difficult. there was a bit of analysis i read in one of the papers. i appreciate this is more of a legal question than a policing one, but there was this question raised about whether the regulations would have applied on the property at downing street because it is crown property, unless mps had specifically legislated for it to apply there. is that what the discrepancy is there? t it to apply there. is that what the discrepancy is there?— it to apply there. is that what the discrepancy is there? i find that a difficult argument _ discrepancy is there? i find that a difficult argument to _ discrepancy is there? i find that a difficult argument to follow. i discrepancy is there? i find that a difficult argument to follow. the | difficult argument to follow. the regulations apply everything a person and every single property, as far as i am aware. i think that may be dancing on a pinhead there. essentially, the regulations apply to all of us. i had to adhere to them. we all had to. i am struggling to follow that line of thinking. ok. where do to follow that line of thinking. 0k. where do things go from here? we had the statement from the metropolitan police, do we now have to wait for the cabinet secretary's investigation, or is there a potential avenue for another line of police enquiry to happen? t potential avenue for another line of police enquiry to happen? i imagine the members _ police enquiry to happen? i imagine the members of _ police enquiry to happen? i imagine the members of the _ police enquiry to happen? i imagine the members of the public - police enquiry to happen? i imagine the members of the public will i police enquiry to happen? i imagine the members of the public will ask. the members of the public will ask or challenge the information being presented by the police. i am sure people will be examining whether there is an opportunity for a private prosecution. they will also be examining whether it is possible for someone to come forward and whistle—blower, either somebody at the party who potentially thinks i may be prosecuted but if i am whistle—blowing i might have protection. you might have a police officer willing to whistle—blower and say what happened on that night. there is a whole range of things which could potentially happen. i don't think with the last of this in terms of enquiries being put in place. often governments announce an enquiry and it is an opportunity to kick things into the long grass but i don't think that is going to work on this occasion.— on this occasion. thank you very much indeed. _ earlier today the chairman of the south basildon conservatives resigned live on bbc essex radio over the government's plans for tighter covid restrictions. iam i am actually going to leave the party because of this. i cannot morally defend the party that i consider to be moving in a very tyrannical direction, and i will be sending in my written resignation to my chairman later on today. i've been conservative all my life, i've been conservative all my life, i've been a member of the party for about three years, i have worked, you know, tirelessly campaigning for the party, but i think my morality, something in my stomach, my gut feeling tells me this is not right, and i cannot keep my mouth closed about this any more, and by, therefore, have to do what i think is right for me. lets get back to the story about the investigation into a party at downing street in december and the stricter measures in england to combat the omicron variant. we can speak to theresa villiers. in terms of the plan b and increased restrictions, where do you stand on that, do you support them? t tihd restrictions, where do you stand on that, do you support them? i find it so depressing _ that, do you support them? i find it so depressing that _ that, do you support them? i find it so depressing that we _ that, do you support them? i find it so depressing that we are _ that, do you support them? i find it so depressing that we are back i so depressing that we are back reimposing covid restrictions. they are more of a lighter touch than previous episodes of new variants, but i haven't made my mind up on how exactly we will vote for them on tuesday. i will be looking at them carefully over the weekend and making sure i make a decision on that. ~ ., ,., making sure i make a decision on that. ~ ., ., making sure i make a decision on that. ., ., . that. what sort of correspondence are ou that. what sort of correspondence are you getting — that. what sort of correspondence are you getting from _ that. what sort of correspondence are you getting from your - are you getting from your constituents on it? t are you getting from your constituents on it? i think... peole constituents on it? i think... people really _ constituents on it? i think... people really want _ constituents on it? i think... people really want us - constituents on it? i think... people really want us to i constituents on it? i think... people really want us to find constituents on it? i think... i people really want us to find a way to move on to ensure that we can find a way to live with this virus. we have had a hugely successful vaccination programme. that does put us in a strong position. it meant we were able to come out of covid restrictions more rapidly than many other countries around the world, and i think we need to be very cautious with yet more restrictions that i am afraid are already causing economic damage. the travel sector has been devastated by the new testing requirements, and the sudden drop in confidence, for instance, in travel. d0 drop in confidence, for instance, in travel. ~ drop in confidence, for instance, in travel. , travel. do you think peoples atience travel. do you think peoples patience is _ travel. do you think peoples patience is running - travel. do you think peoples patience is running out, i travel. do you think peoples patience is running out, are | travel. do you think peoples i patience is running out, are people reaching the brink of what they can tolerate in terms of restrictions? t tolerate in terms of restrictions? i think people's patience is tolerate in terms of restrictions? t think people's patience is running out but i would urge everybody the best way to get us through this is to get vaccinated. if you have had your two jabs, to get vaccinated. if you have had yourtwo jabs, get to get vaccinated. if you have had your two jabs, get the booster when it is offered to you. when the restrictions come into effect, we all need to comply with them. i will continue to press the government to get them lifted as soon as it is safe to do so. there are differing reports coming out on the omicron variant. there is some indication it may hopefully have a slightly milder impact than the predecessor variant. the scientists have got to be really on top of this. so, as soon as we know what the risks genuinely are we can tailor our covid response accordingly, and hopefully lift some of the restrictions that have just been introduced. [30 of the restrictions that have 'ust been introducedi of the restrictions that have 'ust been introduced. , ., ~ , ., , been introduced. do you think people have a bit more _ been introduced. do you think people have a bit more patience _ been introduced. do you think people have a bit more patience and - have a bit more patience and tolerance —— do you think people would have a bit more patient and tolerant if a clear example of how tolerant if a clear example of how to behave was set by the prime minister and those around him? t minister and those around him? i must acknowledge it has been a minister and those around him? t must acknowledge it has been a very damaging week for the government. i couldn't tell from my conversations with my constituents that there are people who are really frustrated about what appears to have happened in downing street. —— i could tell. that has made things more difficult. it'll be very important for the cabinet secretary to get on with his investigation, make clear what actually happened, and if rules were broken then people will no doubt be held to account on that. does broken then people will no doubt be held to account on that.— held to account on that. does the prime minister _ held to account on that. does the prime minister still _ held to account on that. does the prime minister still have - held to account on that. does the prime minister still have your i held to account on that. does the prime minister still have your full confidence and backing? tie prime minister still have your full confidence and backing? he does. he is doinu an confidence and backing? he does. he is doing an excellent _ confidence and backing? he does. he is doing an excellent job _ confidence and backing? he does. he is doing an excellent job on _ confidence and backing? he does. he is doing an excellent job on a - confidence and backing? he does. he is doing an excellent job on a whole l is doing an excellentjob on a whole range of issues. he has faced incredible challenges. he would acknowledge that this episode around what happened at downing street has been very damaging. what we now need to do is for the cabinet secretary to do is for the cabinet secretary to get on with his investigation and then we can move on from this. thank ou ve then we can move on from this. thank you very much- _ a tribunal in london, probing china's treatment of the uyghur minority has found evidence of crimes against humanity. the findings detail systematic human rights abuses — including forced labour and torture. the chair of the tribunal, sir geoffrey nice, explained how women were sterilised without their consent and families deliberately separated. witness statements also described rapes and assaults in detention camps and strict surveillance throughout xinjiang province. on the basis of evidence heard in public, the tribunal is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the imposition of measures to prevent births intended to destroy a significant part of the uighurs in xinjiang. as such has comitted genocide. i'm joined now by rahima mahmut, a uyghur activist living in london who translated evidence and witness statements for the tribunal. she is also the uk director of the world uyghur congress. thank you for having me. the role ou thank you for having me. the role you played — thank you for having me. the role you played in _ thank you for having me. the role you played in translating - thank you for having me. the role you played in translating the i you played in translating the evidence, that must have been really harrowing and difficult for you to do. tt harrowing and difficult for you to do. . . harrowing and difficult for you to do. ., , , ' . harrowing and difficult for you to do. , , . , . do. it has been difficult since 2017. do. it has been difficult since 2017- not — do. it has been difficult since 2017. not only _ do. it has been difficult since 2017. not only working i do. it has been difficult since 2017. not only working with l do. it has been difficult since i 2017. not only working with the court but working with the media, trying to expose what's happening. it has been a very difficult, difficultjourney, yes. it has been a very difficult, difficult journey, yes.- difficult journey, yes. this tribunal. _ difficult journey, yes. this tribunal, it _ difficult journey, yes. this tribunal, it has _ difficult journey, yes. this tribunal, it has no - difficult journey, yes. this tribunal, it has no legal. difficultjourney, yes. this tribunal, it has no legal power, so, i suppose my question to you is, what difference does its conclusion and finding make? tt is what difference does its conclusion and finding make?— and finding make? it is important for an independent _ and finding make? it is important for an independent court - and finding make? it is important for an independent court to i and finding make? it is important for an independent court to make j for an independent court to make that decision. of course, this matter has outlined that the international court should have taken the responsibility and national courts. the uyghurs did not have a court to go to. this is what we can get, the people's tribunal. we know sir geoffrey nice and the team worked very hard under a very high standard and at least for us there is a legal recognition under there is a legal recognition under the convention that genocide happened, and crimes against humanity, against the uyghur people and other muslims. a lot of time the government often said that even when the parliament declared that this is genocide, that a court has to make a decision, and so now we have the court, even though it isn't icc or icj, orany court, even though it isn't icc or icj, or any other recognised body, but the evidence throughout the collecting evidence, the hearing, everything is open to the public. thejudgment and the everything is open to the public. the judgment and the verdict is fair and therefore we believe it carries very heavy weight. tt and therefore we believe it carries very heavy weight-— and therefore we believe it carries very heavy weight. it carries moral weiuht. it very heavy weight. it carries moral weight- it is _ very heavy weight. it carries moral weight. it is hugely _ very heavy weight. it carries moral weight. it is hugely symbolic. i very heavy weight. it carries moral weight. it is hugely symbolic. do l weight. it is hugely symbolic. do you think it will change anything in the way that the chinese leadership is handling this issue? tt the way that the chinese leadership is handling this issue?— is handling this issue? it can chance is handling this issue? it can change only _ is handling this issue? it can change only when _ is handling this issue? it can change only when the i is handling this issue? it can change only when the state | is handling this issue? it can i change only when the state can is handling this issue? it can - change only when the state can take responsibilities. and that the public also take actions. therefore, we are calling on support from the public, from grassroots, from human rights organisations, and business entities, and people to put pressure on our politicians to take action. this is a first step. we believe this is a first step towards justice, and we will campaign accordingly. we believe the state must accept this judgment and act accordingly under the genocide convention.— accordingly under the genocide convention. �* ., ,, , convention. another issue has been the united states _ convention. another issue has been the united states will— convention. another issue has been the united states will have - convention. another issue has been the united states will have a - the united states will have a diplomatic boycott of the olympics in beijing partly because of the concerns of what is going on towards the uyghur minority. the uk has said no officials will be going to the winter olympics, either. where do you stand on that? do you think that's enough? do you think things need to go further as far as that event is concerned?— event is concerned? from the beginning. — event is concerned? from the beginning. the _ beginning, the congress position has been clear. we called on no beijing 2022. we wrote to the ioc outlining that the state are committing genocide and they shouldn't be given the honour to host the olympics. we compared this beijing olympics in 1936 berlin olympics. but we also understand the government's decision, the best they can do, perhaps, is the diplomatic boycott, but, of course, we also understand their position. we welcome these decisions. at least this shows the government is some how supporting and condemning china with their action. . ~' ,. and condemning china with their action. ., ,, y., ., and condemning china with their action. ., ,, ., , , .,~ and condemning china with their action. ., ,, ., , , ., ,, ., and condemning china with their action. ., ., ,, ., , action. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news- _ action. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. we _ action. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. we can _ action. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. we can cross - action. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. we can cross to i action. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. we can cross to the l on bbc news. we can cross to the scottish parliament now where the finance secretary is about to start delivering the annual budget. the budget will help tackle the climate emergency, support economic recovery, and reduce inequalities. it comes at a crucial moment for scotland. it's the first budget of this parliamentary term, and it is also the first budget of this partnership government developed in cooperation with the scottish green party. it delivers on key commitments made such as free travel on buses for young people as well as doubling the child benefit payment. as part of that, this budget redoubled our efforts to meet our emission reduction target in a fair and just way that create economic opportunities, harnessing opportunities, harnessing opportunities for green jobs for prosperity and for greater well—being. pwc and lloyds banking group both conclude that scotland is the top ranked part of the uk for greenjobs and green the top ranked part of the uk for green jobs and green economic prosperity. the budget supports scotland at a point of transition, balancing our response to the immediate pressures of covid and the cost of living crisis with longer term action. in my last two budgets, they've been shaped by our immediate experiences of covid, today's budget aims to lift our eyes to the future while of course remaining vigilant to the effects of new variants. this is a transitional budget as people, businesses, and services get back on their feet. businesses, and services get back on theirfeet. we businesses, and services get back on their feet. we cannot leave anybody behind in our determination to increase prosperity. the budget directly contributes to our national mission to end child poverty by doubling the scottish child payment and investing in employability schemes to get people back into work. residing officer, government can never deliver on all of these ambitions alone, so we need to work collaboratively with all areas of scottish life, public and private, national and local, to build on the renewed approach to partnership that we saw during the pandemic. in the absence of covid related funding, despite the very real ongoing impacts of the pandemic and combined with the pressures of inflation, this budget is a budget of choices. while the budget lays the groundwork for a green economic recovery from covid—19, we must be clear that the uk government's spending review hindered rather than helped us on that mission. in practice, with covid funding having been removed, our day to day funding next year is significantly less compared to the current year. at a time when we undeniably need to invest in the economy, and help public services recover. that means the budget cannot deliver the resources that all of our partners will want. let me be clear, there are areas where i would have wished to go further but today i present a budget which does address key priorities. targets resources for low income households, and paves the way for future investment over the life of this parliament. it is a budget of choices, but i believe we have made the right choices. it is a transitional budget, maximising funding where we can to deliver key priorities now but also paving the way for future fiscal choices. alongside today's scottish budget and medium turn financial strategy i am publishing a framework for the resource spending review, which will be published in may 2022, and set out the government's multi—year spending plans. the framework sets out our principles, and i look forward to contributions from members across the chamber. let me now update parliament on the economic and fiscal context and take a moment first to thank the scottish fiscal commission for the forecast which informs the budget. supply chain bottlenecks, labour market shortages, inflation pressures and rising energy prices are all facing extra pressure on businesses and households trying to recover from the impact of the pandemic. the fiscal commission forecasts a level of long—term economic damage to the scottish economy from covid—19 of around —2%. similarto the scottish economy from covid—19 of around —2%. similar to the obr's forecast for the uk economy. this means the long—term impact of brexit on the economy will be worse than that caused by covid—19 with the obr attributing a 4% long—term reduction in living standards due to the uk's exit from the eu. the impact of brexit hasn't been felt equally across the uk. latest figures from the ons show northern ireland is the only part of the uk where the economy has recovered nearly two pre—pandemic levels. that isn't surprising given that northern ireland has, in effect, remained in the eu's single market for goods due to the northern irish protocol. while all other parts of the uk have seen a negative impact as a result of brexit, the scale of that is three times higher in scotland than in london. we said that brexit would be bad for scotland, that it would have a differential impact on our economy, and as is clear, it is what is having a direct impact on our budget. be under no illusion, the budget. be under no illusion, the budget i am presenting today is smaller than it would have been if it wasn't for the impact of brexit on our economy. they brexit which has been imposed on scotland against the express wish of the people who live here. applause brexit and uk government policy on immigration continues to affect income tax receipts in scotland. based on the left test forecasts, scottish income tax receipts are estimated to be £190 million lower than the grant adjustment next year. there are a number of factors to explain that. both state... the performance of outcome taxed will only be known once outcome data is published in 2024. strong earnings growth in london and south—east, particularly among the highest earners means budget is reduced even while earnings grow in scotland. that issue is accounted for in the welsh fiscal framework, but not ours. we have clear that it must form part of the upcoming fiscal framework review. rising inequality in england shouldst not see scotland's budget reduced. overall, aside from immigration, we don't have full powers to mitigate the effects of brexit to secure full green economic recovery from the pandemic and raise the revenues that our public services need. despite all of that, there are reasons for optimism in the scottish economy. the fiscal commission now forecast our economy will recover to pre—pandemic levels by april tojune pre—pandemic levels by april to june 2022, pre—pandemic levels by april tojune 2022, almost two years earlier than the previous scottish budget forecast in january. the previous scottish budget forecast injanuary. although they are expecting a peak unemployment rate of 4.9% at the end of this year, that is far below the 4.7% forecast at the time of the previous scottish budget. a techniques full cast and the overall state economy into account when setting tax policies for the year ahead. i'm proud of the approach that we take taxation in scotland. we consulted widely in advance of the budget, and met with a broad range of stakeholders. we maintain our progressive approach when we reinforce scotland's framework for tax. i emphasise the need for stability for taxpayers at this time and well as targeted support as a foundation for recovery. for businesses over the last two years i have delivered 100% rates relief for the retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation sectors, and unlike in england and wales, we didn't cap the level of support available at any time during that period. we were also the first government to offset the certainty of our relief in 2021, 2022, when businesses needed it the most. when we come hospitality and leisure businesses in england started paying rates, they are equivalent in scotland started to read 100% uncapped relief for a further nine months. those decisions, along with our unprecedented decision to cut the poundage at the peak of the pandemic have saved businesses in scotland around £1.6 billion through the rates system alone since the 1st of april 2020. rates system alone since the 1st of april2020. recognising rates system alone since the 1st of april 2020. recognising that we have offered the most generous rates relief cave for the last two years and the importance of facing the return of rates liabilities, rates relief for the retail or hospitality and leisure sectors will continue at 50% for the first three months of 2022, 23, capped at 27 point £5,000 the rate year. —— capped at £27,500. i will also offer the nondomestic rates poundage in the uk at 49.8 p, delivering a below inflation uplift of the filter year in a row, in addition to having the uk's most competitive package of annual reliefs worth £745 million. i have heard the calls to support small businesses in particular at our high streets. more business with a rateable value of less than £15,000 on a scottish high street will continue to pay no rates for the entirety of next year, irrespective of they are in for the small business scheme. a new built in one of our towns will pay no rates for the first 12 months after occupation foot through the business growth accelerator. our competitive rates are directly seeking to revitalise our high streets. on income tax, this government priority has been to make tax system fairer more progressive and proud tacked low and middle—income taxpayers. with increases in the cost of living and rising fuel prices likely to impact lower income families the most, i believe this is more important than ever. i can therefore confirm that income tax rates next year will remain unchanged. the starter and basic rate band will increase with inflation and the higher and top rates will remain frozen at their current levels. our progressive policy means the majority of scottish taxpayers will continue to pay less income tax than if they lived elsewhere in the uk, while those who earn more will pay more. it maintains spending power in households who need our support the most, it also raises crucial revenues for our public services from those who can most afford it. on land and buildings transaction tax, we will maintain residential and nonresidential rates at their current levels next year, and will shortly launch call for evidence in views on changing the additional dwelling supplement. on scottish landfill tax, we would increase the standard and lower rates of tax from the 1st of april to maintain consistency across the uk and support our ambitions for a more circular economy. in sum, with our devolved tax policies, we are delivering a more progressive approach to tax, whilst also supporting recovery. we are generating the revenues we need to invest in our nhs recovery plan in our new national care service, real terms budget for keep a safe and the doubling of the scottish child payment £20. the continued threat by a coronavirus will remain the primary focus of the government in the immediate term, not least in the face of the risk of further variants. today, i can set out our plans to apply increased funding to respond to the passions by the pandemic, and ensure that everyone gets the care they need in retirement a place in the way that suits them. in doing that despite the absence of coronavirus consequential from the uk government, which means we must absorb the additional costs within our budget. in total, this budget supplies record funding of £18 billion for health and social care, not only to address the immediate pressures across the nhs, but also to deliver the first step to ensure front line funding, which directly supports patient services, increases by at least £2.5 billion by 2026, 27. as we sat out in our manifesto, we are delivering on our commitment to pass health and social consequential is in full, with additional spend in excess of £1 billion in health and social care. members will be aware of the staffing difficulties being experienced in the car service, with brexit and the ending of freedom of movement once again a major factor. the transfer to local government for social care includes an additional £200 million which will deliver the £10 50 minimum wage for all adult social care staff in commission services, and support the recruitment and retention of health staff who are so vital. applause as we begin the process of creating a new, national care service over the course of this parliament. the overall package provides £1.2 billion for mental health, taking forward our commitment to ensure direct mental health funding increases by 25%, and that 10% of all front line nhs band goes to mental health by the end of this parliament. we also reaffirm our commitment to keep the promise that the establishment of an additional £50 million hole family well—being fund to provide holistic support for children and their families. that fundin: children and their families. that funding will— children and their families. that funding will build _ children and their families. trngt funding will build during this session, as capacity and capability for transformational change builds in the sector. the budget also deepens our partnership with local government it delivers a settlement for local government that recognises the leadership role that councils play in their communities, parting delivering a national recovery. it provides increased resources for social care and education, ensuring the delivery of vital services, whilst working to increase the fiscal autonomy and power of local government and put more say over how local budgets are raised in local hands. that includes record increased investment in teacher recruitment, supporting the recruitment, supporting the recruitment of at least 3.5 thousand teachers and 500 classroom assistants over this parliament. applause my investment plans for public services and action cross portfolios are directed by three priority themes. tackling inequalities, supporting scotland's economy, attending scotland because my contribution to climate change. and so the budget backs our national mission to tackle child poverty, and make scotland a land of opportunity for everybody. the most immediate and direct way to tackle poverty is by putting more money into the pockets of people who need it most, ensuring a decent standard of living, particularly for children. this budget invests in increasing family incomes, driving down the cost of living. it provides £200 million the scottish containment challenge, the next instalment of our commitment to provide £1 billion in this government to tackle the clarity... providing support for carers and disabled people, including £1.59 million to start delivery of the adult disability payment next year. £41 million for the scottish welfare fund, helping people in times of crisis. £82 million of discretionary housing payments. imagine £10 million to provide free bus travel for young people from january, putting more money in their pockets and increasing use of public transport. it includes over £72 million for the continued expansion of free school meals, providing lunches for all children in p one to p5 and supporting the infrastructure required to roll out lunches to all primary children. it includes £544 million to deliverfree primary children. it includes £544 million to deliver free funded early learning and childcare for three and four—year—olds, and two—year—olds for lower income households, whilst taking forward work to expand that to one—year—olds from low—income households within this parliament. and, presiding officer, £831 million for affordable housing, progressing our commitment to deliver 110,000 affordable, energy—efficient homes over next decade. leveraging private sector investment in supporting construction investments sector. there is no question but that these measures will make a big difference. but the canon must do more. i know there is consensus to tackle child poverty. it is right that we do so. we have to make hard choices in the budget were necessary. we do so in order to find the most ambitious anti—poverty measures anywhere in uk to response the uk government decision to scrap the transplant universal credit uplift. it's not just the badge to increase by 20 january, but, we will bring forward that commitment to april 2022. that is nearly £200 million in next year parliament budget to directly go to lifting children across scotland out of poverty. applause i know when our economy is prospering, there is more public revenue to reinvest. we cannot talk about public services without ensuring that we are supporting businesses to recover. in this budget is in scotland's the aim of being a prosperous economy which supports entrepreneurship and innovation, but is also environmentally sustainable and supports all parts of scotland to thrive. we know that the biggest challenges facing businesses right now are labour shortages, rising costs, and inflationary pressures. our budget seeks to respond to each of these, to invest in skills and employability, make catalytic investments that regenerate areas, boost trade, and keep costs low. that will be a long—term process, and i will shortly publish the government's national strategy for vision and leadership of the longer term. it is a process that starts now, with this budget. today's budget provides over £205 million in capitalisation for the scottish national investment bank, helping deliver against its missions of supporting scotland's's transition to a net zero, and harnessing innovation. scotland is like the geographical diversity is one of our great economic strengths. i can confirm investment of millions of pounds in rural services, including activities for the national islands plan, and introducing a new islands bond fund. there are few challenges as acute as labour shortages, so, we will invest over £250 million to support a range of national training interventions. the budget allocates nearly £2 million to scotland to smack universities, delivering high quality education and training. more generally, in providing more than £370 million to support our press agencies, and more than... to visit scotland to promote innovation and achieve sustained success in new and emerging markets. these actions, taken together with a package of nondomestic rate measures provides a strong platform in this budget for scotland's economy, now, at long into the future, to thrive and prosper. i turn now to the climate crisis, which is also an enormous economic opportunity for scotland. our hosting of cop26 showcased what we are already doing in scotland, and the depth of commitment that exists to go further. i've worked closely with colleagues in scottish green party to shape those commitments. i welcome the support and constructive challenge. through this budget, we will lay the groundwork to decarbonise our homes, industries, transport, and to position ourselves as a global leader in renewable energy and in green and digital tack. routing our emissions reduction targets, will require transformational activity across all sectors of the economy and cost society. it's not an easy task, but we are at the challenge. the transition to net zero needs investments now. today's budget sets out almost £2 billion of low carbon capital investment in scotland's public infrastructure, supporting the decarbonisation of our homes and buildings, ourtransportand in industry. we will also continue to work with the private sector to mobilise investment behind the low carbon transition. budget will lay the groundwork to secure a green recovery, and follow through on our commitments to implement the recommendations ofjust commitments to implement the recommendations of just transition because this parliament. so, today, the first £20 million of our ten year £5 millionjust the first £20 million of our ten year £5 million just transition firm. changing £60 million for low carbon heat, cutting emissions, making homes warmer, tackling fuel poverty, and making jobs across scotland, and £60 million for large—scale heat decomposition projects. £53 million across a range of energy transition and industrial club decarbonisation projects, which, in turn include £20 million for energy transition fund projects in the north—east. £23.5 million from a greenjobs in the north—east. £23.5 million from a green jobs fund in the north—east. £23.5 million from a greenjobs fund helping businesses create green employment through investment. and a record investment of £150 million in infrastructure to make walking, and cycling safer. £1.4 billion to maintain and improve and decarbonise scotland's rail network. £43 million to drive forward scott's circular economy. for £3 million to restore scotland public precious national environment, including ductwork and address of the twin crises of climate change and nature loss. £25 million this year to start work on transforming, farming and food production in scotland to be world leading in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. and a further £69.5 million to be invested in woodland creation, and sustainable management of scotland's woodlands, increasing to 15,000 woodlands, increasing to 15, 000 tractors. woodlands, increasing to 15,000 tractors. climate change requires global action, tractors. climate change requires globalaction, driven tractors. climate change requires global action, driven by local and national commitments to ensure we deliver the changes needed. today's budget that that commitment exists. let no one be in any doubt, this government, in partnership with scottish greens well deliver the net zero society we not only once, but need to see. want to lastly turn to theissue need to see. want to lastly turn to the issue of pay. the principle of fan artwork is a cornerstone of this government's economic approach, placed that principle at the centre of my decisions about public sector pgy- of my decisions about public sector pay. we recognise the challenges presented by inflation and rising living costs, and also the huge effort that the public sector is made in response to the pandemic. i'll pay policy for next year therefore focuses on those on low incomes, continuing our progressive approach in guaranteeing an inflationary uplift of least £775 for those earning £25,000, £700 for those earning between £25,000 and £40,000, and £500 for those earning above £40,000. in october, the government announced an uplift in pay for social care workers to £10.02 per hour. today, i can announce a minimum wage floor of £10 50 per hour across all bodies covered by the pay policy with specific funding to apply this for aduu specific funding to apply this for adult social care staff. applause targeted support for many of our lowest pay staff across the care sector is hugely important, and this budget delivers that. as i come to a close, today's budget is a budget of choices, and we have chosen to tackle child poverty, invest in the transition to net zero, and boost economic prosperity. it delivers on our manifesto promises, more teachers, more funding for the police, and record investment in the health care service, as we stand united against the impact of coronavirus. it is a budget for household facing costs of living crisis prices. it's a budget for our businesses and our workers, with further financial support for enterprises now, and a clear plan to achieve long—term prosperity. and it's a budget for a net zero future, that once again show scotland leading from the the defining mission of our generation. and i commend this budget to parliament and the people of scotland. applause the cabinet secretary will now take questions _ the cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in her statements. i intends to allow 60 minutes of questions, and then we move _ 60 minutes of questions, and then we move onto _ 60 minutes of questions, and then we move onto the next item of business. i move onto the next item of business. i would _ move onto the next item of business. i would be _ move onto the next item of business. i would be grateful if those who wish _ i would be grateful if those who wish to — i would be grateful if those who wish to ask a question press the buttons— wish to ask a question press the buttons now. wish to ask a question press the buttons nova— wish to ask a question press the buttons now. can i say, thank you for advanced _ buttons now. can i say, thank you for advanced site _ buttons now. can i say, thank you for advanced site of _ buttons now. can i say, thank you for advanced site of your - buttons now. can i say, thank you i for advanced site of your statement, and labour, thank you for advice site of your questions. the cabinet secretary is a fair—minded person, but i am astonished that for this budget, she has not been able to at least acknowledge that she has at her disposal record block grant funding from rishi sunak and the uk government. up by10.6%, and funding from rishi sunak and the uk government. up by 10.6%, and proving the benefits of scotland being part of a strong united kingdom, needed now more than ever, as we battle our way out of the prolonged pandemic. the scottish conservatives were very clear that the focus of this budget should be twofold, and supporting our public services coming out of coronavirus, and accelerating our economic recovery. these two girls are not separate. each relies on the other, and achieved together, they will secure the well—being of scottish jobs, will secure the well—being of scottishjobs, scottish companies, scottish jobs, scottish companies, and scottishjobs, scottish companies, and scottish families into the future. in this respect, and we welcoming the doubling of the child payment, which is something we have called for. laughter we had called for it. i can keep a straight face. the presiding officer, we understand that budgets are about choices, and the lead up to today's statement, we make choices to show it is possible to balance point for public services, and the move to net zero, with the protection ofjobs and stimulating economic growth. searches that concern, and on the back of what businesses are telling us, we wanted the snp to extend 75% rates relief to customer facing businesses the snp to extend 75% rates relief to customerfacing businesses in the snp to extend 75% rates relief to customer facing businesses in the next financial year. a measure which would be worth 600 and 51 million to businesses. we think businesses will be disappointed by today's budget statement. can i ask why there is no commitment to a clear programme to a long—awaited structural reform to the scottish recovery, especially for nondomestic rates, as well as greater investment in skills and the digital infrastructure, which has been called by our business organisations and universities, which will play a role in scotland puzzlement future economic success. secondly, we wanted to ensure that money goes to front line services in the care sector, where it is clear there are significant resource issues. scotland is set to receive 1.2 billion in health care consequential is. and whilst there is 1.2 billion of consequential current local government, there is clearly a real term cuts to local government in this budget. perhaps the cabinet secretary could explain what this choice means, and also, if she could explain the many that does go to local government, whether these local authorities will have these local authorities will have the autonomy to spend that money as they choose. thirdly, we will reject any attempt by the snp, now or in later budgets, to backtrack on its 2.2 billion of commitments to take the road network, including va nine and a 96, which are not only important for conductivity and economic growth, provide much needed lifeline for our rural communities, many of which have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic. after all the confusion that we have seen in recent weeks, and the absence of clarity and today's statement, can cabinet secretary tell us exactly what needs two greats will be completed. presiding officer, will measure all the announcements on this budget against the essential tests of whether they will assist the efforts to protectjobs and families and safeguard our economy. the budget process is a chance of the scottish government to put aside party political priorities and act in the national interest. that will be the test of whether this budget delivers to scotland. lets test of whether this budget delivers to scotland. , , ., to scotland. lets start with the block grant _ to scotland. lets start with the block grant funding, _ to scotland. lets start with the block grant funding, because l to scotland. lets start with the l block grant funding, because you can't, _ block grant funding, because you can't. by— block grant funding, because you can't, by any calculations come to any other— can't, by any calculations come to any other conclusion but that. next year's _ any other conclusion but that. next year's budget is a reduction on this year's budget is a reduction on this year puzzlement budget. why? is the tories _ year puzzlement budget. why? is the tories have _ year puzzlement budget. why? is the tories have wished coronavirus away. they have _ tories have wished coronavirus away. they have stripped out all coronavirus consequential is. that is funding — coronavirus consequential is. that is funding to tackle the impact of coronavirus on our health service, justice _ coronavirus on our health service, justice system, transport system. we know that _ justice system, transport system. we know that to have an impact. to wish away— know that to have an impact. to wish away and _ know that to have an impact. to wish away and strip out all consequential is complete as regards the risks that are — is complete as regards the risks that are public services and people are facing — that are public services and people are facing right now. on the specific— are facing right now. on the specific tasks, let's start with rates — specific tasks, let's start with rates relief. let's remember that under— rates relief. let's remember that under conservative government, they started _ under conservative government, they started playing rates lastjuly. in scotland. — started playing rates lastjuly. in scotland, they are still not paying rates _ scotland, they are still not paying rates in — scotland, they are still not paying rates. in terms of dealing with the ongoing _ rates. in terms of dealing with the ongoing pressures that businesses face, _ ongoing pressures that businesses face, there is a far bigger cushion here _ face, there is a far bigger cushion here in_ face, there is a far bigger cushion here in scotland. we know what businesses are raising as primary concerns— businesses are raising as primary concerns with us. labour market shortages, — concerns with us. labour market shortages, the rising costs of materials, as well as the impact on inflation _ materials, as well as the impact on inflation. many of those issues have been inflicted by a tory government itself~ _ been inflicted by a tory government itself in _ been inflicted by a tory government itself. in terms of structural reforms _ itself. in terms of structural reforms nondomestic rates, we have seen the _ reforms nondomestic rates, we have seen the chancellor announces big reforms _ seen the chancellor announces big reforms to— seen the chancellor announces big reforms to the nondomestic rate systems — reforms to the nondomestic rate systems. interestingly, what he did was take _ systems. interestingly, what he did was take alabaster ideas and reform the nondomestic rate system in england — the nondomestic rate system in england according to measures that were already in place in scotland. i suppose _ were already in place in scotland. i suppose my last point to the conservatives is, if you want to deliver— conservatives is, if you want to deliver the _ conservatives is, if you want to deliver the many choices and the many— deliver the many choices and the many options that you have set out today, _ many options that you have set out today, you — many options that you have set out today, you will need to tell parliament how you're going to do that _ parliament how you're going to do that what — parliament how you're going to do that. what will you cut, what taxes will you _ that. what will you cut, what taxes will you hike? because, at the end of the _ will you hike? because, at the end of the day, — will you hike? because, at the end of the day, if failed to deliver health— of the day, if failed to deliver health and social care funding, if we are _ health and social care funding, if we are to — health and social care funding, if we are to protect businesses with the pressures that they face, and most _ the pressures that they face, and most importantly, if we are to absorb — most importantly, if we are to absorb all— most importantly, if we are to absorb all the coronavirus costs within _ absorb all the coronavirus costs within our— absorb all the coronavirus costs within our budget, because there is no additional funding, then there is very stark— no additional funding, then there is very stark choices facing this parliament. i think every party, including — parliament. i think every party, including the tories, need to be clear— including the tories, need to be clear what— including the tories, need to be clear what they will cut what tax rate advice. perhaps i should begin with the statement and rather than say thank you but to site you welcome. but the real question the people of scotland are wondering is notjust when we will get back to normal but when we will get back to normal but when we will move beyond the crisis. unfortunately, this budget fails to answer that question. challenging times require bold action but rather than rising to this challenge, this budget isjust more managed decline under the snp. there are of course things we welcome in the budget. it is right at the nhs because the bulk of funding but we know there are more people stuck in hospital because we can't recruit enough care workers to look after them and there are people in hospital with covid. that is why care workers deserve a fair pay increase to £15 an hour and not a meagre barely £50 pay rise. that is an insult to those hard—working workers. and high streets and local shops are the heart of our communities, but they face a bleak new year. this is not enough to write of retail and managed decline and just resetting the cliff edge three months into the summer. and under the terms of action on child poverty that will always be welcome, but the government's target, notjust doubling the child payment but increasing it to £40 by april 2023. and as we consider the prospect of new restrictions, every parent is wondering whether this winter will bring more disruption to their schooling. recovery means implementing the same ventilation systems and standards we demand in our offices, and our children's classrooms. notjust open the window and hope for the best. over recent weeks, the cabinet secretary and has been repeated today, dampened expectations claiming she has no money but this is not true, the block grant will increase by £3.9 billion, 7.7% in real terms, that is the largest increase in block grant since 2001. the cabinet secretary has choices to use these funds, to be bold, to deliver recovery or continue snp managed decline and scottish labour, they make no apologies for pushing to be bold and to make a recovery notjust a political posture or a name check. let me ask the cabinet secretary how she is going to entice more people into social care work when she is only offering £48 increase on their wages. notjust 6% above inflation and how many retail businesses does she think we'll go to the wall three months after the new financial year begins? and indeed how many businesses pay rates at all if their value is below 15,000? and finally, how far short of the government's on child poverty targets will they be at the end of the next financial year? tt at the end of the next financial ear? . . , at the end of the next financial ear? , ., , ., ., ., year? it is really unfortunate to hear the labour _ year? it is really unfortunate to hear the labour party _ year? it is really unfortunate to hear the labour party parroting| year? it is really unfortunate to i hear the labour party parroting the conservative's press release in terms of... in terms of the funding available. the conservatives will parroting that line, labour should get behind the headlines and recognise the fact that we have got to absorb all the covid costs within our budget. but one of the advantages in seeing what labour's asks where i time as i did calculations and their over all asks, we calculate, come to £3,000,000,000 of additional funding. assuming that the labour party don't want us to cut anything within the budget that is being published, can i check if they want every taxpayer in scotland to be paying £1000 more per year in order to deliver that? coming onto the specifics, i do think that we should be paying our carers more. that is why we have confirmed a wage today and £10 50 per hour and that is higher than the national minimum wage and higher than the real living wage and higher than the real living wage and higher than the real living wage and we are funding local government to do that. that uplift is taking pay for social care workers significantly higher in the national living wage of £8 91 which applies to many social care workers elsewhere in the uk, including in wales under the labour party. it is also higher than the £10 per hour that the uk labour party are calling for carers to be paid in england. two other points if i may, and high streets and local shops. this is where we agree that we do need to invest in our high street and ensure that local enterprises can thrive. that is why we have taken 110,000 small businesses out of rates altogether and member will know that it is more than rates that it will invest in our high streets and ensure that our local towns are thriving. my last point, because labour has previously called for £20 per week per child with the social child payment, as soon as we deliver the increase that figure, but i do have a question and that is whether or not they will vote in this budget to put £20 per week in every, for every child in scotland that is eligible? orwill they every child in scotland that is eligible? or will they vote at the end of the day against an additional £20 per week per child? there we are and that is kate forbes responding to questions, the scottish finance secretary and she finished that answer referring to the doubling of the child welfare payment and it will double to £28 per week under the scottish budget for the next financial year. currently it is £10 per week and will double to £10 per week. other key headlines from that budget and she said that this document's income tax rates will remain the same through the next financial year and so no increase in income tax and the starter and a basic rate bands will increase with the line of inflation and higher and top rates will remain frozen at their current levels, the threshold you begin to starting the kind that if a rate of tax. for businesses, the scottish government said it will continue with business rates relief of 50% for businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure through the financial stresses and pressures of the pandemic. small businesses with rateable values of less than £15,000 will pay no business rates in the next financial year. there were a number of climate policies and landfill tax with an increase to that and reflecting the snp's environmental policies and also the fact that they are —— rely on the support of the dutch parliament to get the votes through to pass that budget. there is plenty more detail and analysis on our website and there is a live web there at bbc. the government has confirmed the investigation into a party in downing street last december will also look at two other gatherings, allegedly held while restrictions on meeting indoors were in place. the inquiry was announced yesterday with regard to an event on december 18th. now a second downing street party in november and a gathering in the education department will also be considered. the health secretary sajid javid denied the government had lost credibility by breaking the rules, as he defended the introduction of new covid restrictions in england. let's run through those restrictions. let's run through those restrictions. from friday, face coverings will be mandatory for most indoor public venues, including theatres and cinemas — but not pubs or restaurants. from monday you should work from home, if you can. an nhs covid pass will be needed to get into nightclubs and large venues. a negative lateral flow test will also be accepted. and daily testing will replace self—isolation for people who come into contact with someone infected. mrjavid said the rules would help to address the spreading omicron variant, which poses a "credible risk" to the nhs. helen catt reports. it's the omicron variant of coronavirus and the speed at which it is spreading that ministers say has left them with little choice but to move england to plan b. we estimated that it spreads, the doubling rate is between 2.5 and three days which means the number of community infections are doubling in that time and what that means is that if it carried on at that rate, you could have1 million infections through community transmission by the end of the month. but some conservative mps don't think it is justified. amongst many of my constituents, there is a sense of exasperation and exhaustion with the new covid rules and a real fear that we are now back on the conveyor belt to more restrictions, so can we have a debate on how we learn to live with covid and its variants in the long—term without unacceptable measures such as widespread use of vaccine passports? many are also angry about how downing street has handled recent events, including the alleged party held on the 18th of december last year. yesterday, allegra stratton, a number ten aide shown in a video joking about a christmas party, resigned. i will regret those remarks for the rest of my days i and i offer my profound apologies to all of you at home. _ others in the video, like ed oldfield, the aide who asked the question, remain in theirjobs as the political fallout continues. are you planning to resign? the bbc has had reports that some number ten staff attended a gathering with carriejohnson in the downing street flat on november 13 last year, but this has been denied by her spokeswoman. on the 13th and 27th of november, the bbc has been told there were informal leaving drinks for staff at number ten. and conservative sources have confirmed that four members of the party's head office staff working on the london mayoral campaign were disciplined for taking part in an unauthorised social gathering on december 14th last year. nobody is above the law, it cannot be one rule for everybody else and one rule for the prime minister and downing street. it's incredibly frustrating it has taken a week for the prime minister to admit there was a potential breach of the rules and it looks like it wasn'tjust the one—off incident either. in parliament, questions were asked about which parties the investigation being conducted by the country's most senior civil servant will cover. the government said it will look at the november 27th leaving drinks and 18th december party at number ten and also at a gathering at the department for education on the 10th of december. in the middle of this, the prime minister has a new arrival. his wife carrie gave birth to a baby girl this morning. helen catt, bbc news. the uk health security agency has released the latest confirmed cases of the omicron covid variant across the uk. another 249 new cases have been confirmed in the past 24 hours. the total number of confirmed covid—19 omicron cases in the uk is 817 let's take a look at the latest covid figures for the uk. a further 51,342 covid infections have been recorded in the latest 24—hour period, as well as 161 deaths. that's those who've died within 28—days of a positive covid test. 81.1% of people aged 12 and over have received two doses of a covid vaccine, 37% have received a booster or third dose. earlier i spoke to our political correspondent ben wright and asked him how much pressure the government is currently under. the pressure is firmly on, there are political events moving at a breathless pace this week and as helen said this morning, the remit of this enquiry will be leading into the parties that happened last year was widened suddenly beyond just the gathering on the 18th of december in downing street it also include a leaving do on november the 27th and also a party at the department of education on december the tenth. that story lurches on, the remit being expanded in response to criticism from many quarters. the opposition are incredulous that the prime minister couldn't establish the facts of all of this a week ago and are still not sure why it requires the cabinet secretary enquiry to work out whether there was a party that was in the rules are not happening under the roof of ten downing st. but also i think there is a lot of concern also about plan b in particularfrom tory mps. we know at least 30 tory mps will oppose this when it comes to the commons next week and so on several fronts i think things are very difficult for number ten. and fronts i think things are very difficult for number ten. and all of this, 'ust difficult for number ten. and all of this, just the _ difficult for number ten. and all of this, just the week _ difficult for number ten. and all of this, just the week before - difficult for number ten. and all of this, just the week before there i difficult for number ten. and all of this, just the week before there is| this, just the week before there is a very real test of the electoral mood with a by—election just round the corner. mood with a by-election 'ust round the corner.— the corner. indeed, in shropshire, and i the corner. indeed, in shropshire, and i think— the corner. indeed, in shropshire, and i think we _ the corner. indeed, in shropshire, and i think we are _ the corner. indeed, in shropshire, and i think we are weeks - the corner. indeed, in shropshire, and i think we are weeks on i the corner. indeed, in shropshire, and i think we are weeks on from | the corner. indeed, in shropshire, i and i think we are weeks on from the owen paterson saga and i think we are weeks on from the owen paterson sage and the attempt by boris owen paterson saga and the attempt by boris johnson's owen paterson saga and the attempt by borisjohnson's government to change the standards, rules and efforts to protect him and that led to the by—election we are going to save next week and all of this caused a lot of concern with the tory backbenchers of the grip of number ten and how firmly they are in control of what they are doing and event and judgment being exercised by the prime minister and his senior officials at the moment and i think there will be tory mps are desperate to get to the recess and then to have a bit of a breather of what has been a tumultuous and damaging few weeks. it is clear for the government and adding today i shall report to the electoral commission report into the saga of the downing street flat refurbishment which is a saga that has rumbled on through the year, the electoral commission has fined the conservative party £18,000 for not properly declaring a donation of £52,000 from a tory mp that was put towards the cost of that refurbishment.- towards the cost of that refurbishment. . , �* . ., refurbishment. that is ben wright at westminster- _ pubs could run out of cash as people return to working from home — that's the warning from one hospitality boss, as businesses deal with the impact of the introduction of plan b in england. one trade body says the move is a "body blow" to already—struggling venues, at what is traditionally the busiest time of the year. there have been calls for extra government help while the measures are in place, but there are no plans for additional economic support. ramzan karmali reports. it has been a tough year for this liverpool restaurant and deli owner. yesterday's announcement by the prime minister of tighter restrictions in england was yet another piece of bad news for him. it didn't take long for some of his customers to react. we have had cancellations already for mostly our larger christmas bookings but also some smaller ones and that is a huge financial impact at this time of year, because the key this time is restrictions are coming in place but there is no financial support for business and after the last year we've had, it's the last thing we need running up to christmas. the most significant measures to support businesses and workers through earlier waves, such as the furlough scheme and the self—employment income support scheme, have now been withdrawn and there are growing calls for a new economic support package. yet again we are back into open—ended restrictions with no end in sight, no financial support and absolutely no clarity on when any of this is going to be over. i urge the government now to put the support packages in place to support businesses through this really difficult period. the government says its existing £400 million support package will help businesses get through the winter. since the emergence of the omicron variant, business at this sandwich chain has slipped back below pre—pandemic levels as more of us chose to work from home and with tighter restrictions about to be imposed, sales could fall even further. research shows that those going into a workplace have twice as many contacts as those who don't and also we know telling people - to work from home in the past has showen to effectively— reduce contacts overall. —— shown... the more we can do this, the more we can reduce i the transmission opportunities for the virus to spread. - hospitality firms have warned they face a collapse in demand at their busiest time of year due to the government's new work from home guidance, but some businesses will be able to adapt. we have all done this before, we have seen we can do it and so businesses have had to be agile and adapt to this the ever evolving covid world. the measures being introduced in england broadly bring them in line with those in scotland, wales and ireland. —— and northern ireland... what the overall impact they will have is hard to calculate but the longer they last or if tougher measures are introduced, the bigger the downside. ramzan karmali, bbc news. i'm joined now by clive watson, boss of the city pub company, which has 44 sites across england and wales. what you make of these restrictions then? i what you make of these restrictions then? , . , then? i understand why the government _ then? i understand why the government are _ then? i understand why the j government are introducing then? i understand why the - government are introducing them, in many cases it is probably the right thing to do, but of course as you said in your previous report, there is going to be a big hit to the pubs and general hospitality and i am concerned that the government are not going to be introducing temporary measures to help alleviate basically the crisis that the hospitality industry is now facing. isn't itjust hospitality industry is now facing. isn't it just a hospitality industry is now facing. isn't itjust a case that the balance of where the money is spent will change because i'll be it people are travelling to work —— are not travelling to work, but if they are not commuting they may go drink at the local so actually certain pubs may even benefit from this? yes, i think that is probably right, but i think that overall, across the sector, sales are going to be down. if you're not having office parties funded by the company, you are going to lose a lot of revenue and those are what you call the big events, the ones that boost your coffers. yes, there will be people and groups of friends going out locally but that will no way compensate for the loss of those office parties. the official guidance _ loss of those office parties. the official guidance at the moment is that christmas parties can still go ahead, so are you seeing evidence of people still willing to have their office christmas party in your venues or other people cancelling because of their own concerns, even if having a party is within the rules? , , , , ., rules? up untilyesterday, before the announcement, _ rules? up untilyesterday, before the announcement, about - rules? up untilyesterday, before the announcement, about 2096 i rules? up untilyesterday, beforej the announcement, about 2096 of rules? up untilyesterday, before - the announcement, about 2096 of what the announcement, about 20% of what i call the larger office parties had been cancelled, and that is now accelerated and i don't have the numbers but it has increased. clearly, people are voting with their feet, clearly, people are voting with theirfeet, no office really clearly, people are voting with their feet, no office really is going to want to be out there and saying we are having a christmas party come what may, so i think the evidence is there to show that office parties are now starting to be cancelled. fin office parties are now starting to be cancelled.— office parties are now starting to be cancelled. on the issue of the masks, i be cancelled. on the issue of the masks. i know — be cancelled. on the issue of the masks, i know that _ be cancelled. on the issue of the masks, i know that pubs - be cancelled. on the issue of the masks, i know that pubs and - masks, i know that pubs and restaurants are exempt, but how does that play out with your staff and with your customers was not because there will be some people who will feel more comfortable if venues had their own rules and if you are moving around and going to the bar or the toilets or whatever please put a mask on. but of course that puts pressure on the staff who have to enforce it. puts pressure on the staff who have to enforce it— to enforce it. what is your stance on that? i — to enforce it. what is your stance on that? l think _ to enforce it. what is your stance on that? l think it's _ to enforce it. what is your stance on that? i think it's a _ to enforce it. what is your stance on that? i think it's a best - on that? i think it's a best practice situation so we are encouraging our staff to wear masks, but we're not mandating it, but we are providing them and customers with at the door or in the case of the staff when they arrive at work saying that here the masks are and if you want to wear these we strongly recommend it, but we are not mandating it at this stage. clive, you speak as someone who sounds very wary of everything that is going on. how has it been for you personally as company with a company like this? it personally as company with a company like this? ., , , , like this? it has been very challenging _ like this? it has been very challenging as _ like this? it has been very challenging as you - like this? it has been very challenging as you can - like this? it has been very - challenging as you can imagine. it's the stop— start, it's the not knowing where you're going to be in three months' time. it's not being able to plan for future or for next week or the week after and in terms of staff, giving them the work that they need. it's disruptive to them, to our suppliers, it's disruptive to our customers and it is very challenging. pubs are by nature resilient but having been in this covid world for the last 21 months, it really is supping out the confidence in the industry and i urge the chancellor to think again and just for instance reduce vat from 12 one half % for food and 20% on liquor to reduce it down to 5% for two or three months and that is hopefully what it will take and that will give us a lifeboat to face the challenges of 2022.— will give us a lifeboat to face the challenges of 2022. clive, thank you ve much challenges of 2022. clive, thank you very much for— challenges of 2022. clive, thank you very much for speaking _ challenges of 2022. clive, thank you very much for speaking to _ challenges of 2022. clive, thank you very much for speaking to us. - very much for speaking to us. from the city pub company. earlier today the chairman of the south basildon conservatives resigned live on bbc essex radio over the government's plans for tighter covid restrictions. i am actually going to leave the party because of this. i cannot morally defend the party that i consider to be moving in a very tyrannical direction, and i will be sending in my written resignation to my chairman later on today. i've been conservative all my life, i've been a member of the party for about three years, i have worked, you know, tirelessly campaigning for the party, but i think my morality, something in my stomach, my gut feeling tells me this is not right, and i cannot keep my mouth closed about this any more, and by, therefore, have to do what i think is right for me. new figures show another rise in the number of people waiting for non—urgent medical treatment in england — to the highest number since records began in 2007. data from nhs england shows that nearly six million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of october. nearly 11,000 people were having to wait more than 12 hours in accident and emergency departments in england last month — a new record. but the average response time last month for ambulances in england to deal with the most serious incidents fell to nine minutes ten seconds, slightly down from october. our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, has this report. hospitals are under pressure like never before. some staff have even said they're working right at the edge of what they can manage. here in newcastle, they say the pressure in a&e is as much as 50% greater than before the pandemic, and they can't see an end to it. usually the end of winter we would look forward to, but nobody knows if that is actually going to happen this time. right across the nhs, there are more patients and they are sicker because so many who needed treatment didn't get it during the previous waves of the pandemic, and like many patients with chronic conditions, dawn, who has crohn's disease, has been forced to come to this a&e because her specialist clinics in a different area is still closed. crohn's clinics at the royal victoria are still open. so many other people have got so much more urgent needs than i have, and i think it's terrible that people are being, you know, left, basically, to... you know, it's almost like people are having to have to fend for themselves rather than getting the support they need properly. the potential threat from the new variant isn't helping. documents from government adviser sage say that without any restrictions, the peak of the omicron wave could lead to more than 2,000 hospital admissions a day, getting close to the peak from the first wave. our staff feel that it's been relentless. there has got to be a let up at some point. we have put in measures to help, and everybody is working really hard, but they feel that every time we go one step forward, we seem to go two steps backwards. today's figures for england show further record waits for treatment in a&e and four beds. —— four beds... nhs staff running absolutely as fast as they can but being outpaced - by the extra demand and the pressure that we are seeing. _ don't forget, this is before i we are hitting our traditional winter peak in terms of early to mid january. _ nhs england says it has seen the busiest november ever and that discharges continue to be a problem, with one in ten beds occupied by someone who is fit to leave hospital. so with pressure on hospitals growing, the bbc has launched an nhs tracker to show people how services in england, scotland and wales are coping. by entering a postcode, it will allow patients and families to track any ambulance delays, waits in a&e and to get on to wards, vital information about the state of nhs emergency services through this, the most challenging winter they have faced. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. our health and science correspondence can tell us more about the tracker. it is correspondence can tell us more about the tracker.— correspondence can tell us more about the tracker. it is on the bbc website and _ about the tracker. it is on the bbc website and launch _ about the tracker. it is on the bbc website and launch this _ about the tracker. it is on the bbc website and launch this morning l about the tracker. it is on the bbc. website and launch this morning and all they have to do is put in their postcode and it will then show them the weights for emergency treatment where they live so in england, these three measures, the wait outside hospital, the way ambulances arrive and it looks as though the proportion of ambulances facing long queues before they can hand those patients over to hospitals but daft. then inside a&e, it tells you about what your local hospital and waiting time is nand and whether you are likely to wait over four hours to be seen and then it gives you an indication of how busy the words are, measuring the point you are admitted to when you are found about an award. in scotland, it has the and in wales and the bed occupancy rates there in the wards. this allows people to dig down into other local services like and when we often talk about the pressures of the nhs we talked with the national picture and there is a huge variation when you look at the local figures. nand, some hospitals in birmingham, leicesterand figures. nand, some hospitals in birmingham, leicester and whole, nearly half patients awaiting for hours nand and in others is less than one in ten.— hours nand and in others is less than one in ten. these figures about waitin: than one in ten. these figures about waiting times. _ than one in ten. these figures about waiting times, in _ than one in ten. these figures about waiting times, in some _ than one in ten. these figures about waiting times, in some sense, - than one in ten. these figures about waiting times, in some sense, it - than one in ten. these figures about waiting times, in some sense, it is l waiting times, in some sense, it is no surprise that there are more people waiting for longer within the health system during a pandemic where there has been a backlog. did the figures account for that? do they give any indication of how we can compare it to taking out the effect the pandemic has? in can compare it to taking out the effect the pandemic has?- effect the pandemic has? in the tracker we _ effect the pandemic has? in the tracker we do _ effect the pandemic has? in the tracker we do look _ effect the pandemic has? in the tracker we do look at _ effect the pandemic has? in the tracker we do look at what - effect the pandemic has? in the tracker we do look at what the l tracker we do look at what the figures were two years ago. but it's a good question, what extent can you take into account we have a pandemic, there is more illness, infection around and that will put more pressure on the health service? we know the pandemic and before it started that the nhs were struggling to hit its target, the four hour a&e white is probably the best measure of pressure in the system and if we look at that, more than one in ten patients were waiting over four hours nand before the pandemic and that has now fallen to just over 25% of patients awaiting more than four hours, so there is a deterioration you would expect some deterioration given we are in a pandemic. when you look at the latest figures there is around 7,000 patients in hospital with a covid. that has taken up around 6% of brides but on top of that you have to about 5% of beds that you have to about 5% of beds that are either closed or cannot be used because the infection control procedures. that is a good 10% or even more of the hospital bed capacity taken out of the system bite covid so that gives you an idea why we have seen this deterioration performance. the uk's chief veterinary officer has told the bbc there is a "phenomenal level" of avian flu in the uk. tens of thousands of farmed birds have already been culled, as the largest number of premises ever have been infected. officials say the risk to human health is low, but infected birds should not be touched. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris. chris, if that is understood that but is it? red sky in the morning, shepard won in?— but is it? red sky in the morning, shepard won in? well, the shepherds are bein: shepard won in? well, the shepherds are being bang _ shepard won in? well, the shepherds are being bang on _ shepard won in? well, the shepherds are being bang on with _ shepard won in? well, the shepherds are being bang on with this _ shepard won in? well, the shepherds are being bang on with this and - are being bang on with this and since then we have seen rain moving and that rain is extensive and moving eastwards with time, bit of snow for time in scotland before it turns back to rain but later in the night is colder air moves back and we will see showers spreading and in some of the showers will be hill snow, sleeping in the low levels and temperatures getting down to freezing and you can imagine a risk of some icy stretches for some as we head into the first part of friday morning. friday is a day of sunshine and showers. she was a was more frequent across the north west and will be a bit of sleet and hill snow, sleeping in the low levels and temperatures getting down to freezing and you can imagine a viscous of icy stretches for some as we head into the first part of friday morning. friday is a day of sunshine and showers. she was a was more frequent across the north west and will be a bit of sleet and he also mixed in. one or two could make the well laid out england. temperature similar to recently six orseven temperature similar to recently six or seven but then we see a big change with the fortunes as we head into the weekend. we replace those chilly north—westerly winds with much milder south—westerly winds and indeed by the time we get to sunday indeed by the time we get to sunday in the mildest areas temperatures would reach a0 celsius with a changing weatherjust round the corner. that's your latest. hello this is bbc news. the headlines... under investigation — the three government staff gatherings that took place while coronavirus restrictions were in force on meeting indoors. it comes as tighter restrictions are announced in england. 2a9 additional confirmed cases of the omicron variant have been reported across the uk. the health secretary insists that the government hasn't lost credibility. if it carries on at that rate you could have1 million infections through community transmission by the end of the month. delays to many hospital treatments in england are the worst on record — nhs leaders say patients are being put at risk. the conservative party's fined nearly £18,000 over the prime minister's downing street flat refurbishment. the snp's finance secretary delivers the scottish budget — kate forbes insists it will provide people with "stability and support" as the country seeks to recover from coronavirus. today's budget will help tackle the climate emergency, support economic recovery and reduce inequalities. boris and carriejohnson have announced the birth of a daughter, their second child since he became prime minister. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. let'sjoin gavin. the latest on the horse racing story and the of the moment but first the cricket. england have a realjob on their hands, if they're to stay in contention, ahead of day three of the first ashes test. australia were in control for much of the second day. david warner and marnus labu—shane, both making half centuries. england did finally make the breakthrough — removing both men — warner falling for 9a. two further quick wickets followed. hitting an unbeaten century — it was the third fastest in ashes history. and england's bowlers ran out of ideas — australia closing on 3a3—7 — a lead of 196. england fast bowling coachjon lewis says it isnt over yet though... i think they understand the game of cricket and we understand how conditions change and you have to adapt to the conditions put in front of use on both days australia may have got the better the conditions but, you know, there are still three days left in this test match and we have got some very, very fine cricketers in the england cricket team and like i said before we're going to come strong tomorrow. thejockey robbie dunne has been banned for 18 months — the last three suspended — after being found guilty of bullying and harrassing rival bryony frost. an independent disciplinary panel found dunne guilty of four charges, of conduct "prejudicial to the reputation of horse racing" over a seven month period in 2020. the panel said it has real concerns about the weighing—room culture in horse racing after finding the jockey guilty of what it called �*dangerous bullying'. on the face of it this might look like the case between two jockeys but in actual fact it has raised questions about conduct on the wane the waiting game and will likely send reverberations around the entire sport. viney foster is one of the most successful and high—profile figures in racing but the panel spoke about how she missed isolation and rejection by her peers when making complaints last year about the fellow jockey robbie john. during five days of evidence he a british horseracing authority's case was that she had been the victim a short while ago the independent judicial panel found robbie done breach of four counts of conduct prejudicial to the reputation of horse racing. they said he was guilty of distasteful targeting, deliberate harassment on and off the track and at times dangerous bullying of briny frost and its chair said there was real concern about the weighing room culture which was said to be deep—rooted and coercive. west ham and celtic are in europa league action later this evening — rangers and leicester have games too — and it's a pivotal one for brendan rodgers. his leicester side need a draw against italian high fliers napoli, to make the knockouts. but the squad are missing several key players in naples due to positive covid tests. i think it isjust i think it is just something that in general you are starting to see now, a few more cases, just something that for us it is always the help of our players and our own players and obviously travelling to foreign country as well. we have to respect the travel and also we do have a strong squad here and not a fully fit squad unfortunately. the football supporters association is urging fans to check how they will be impacted by a change in covid rules. from wednesday, fans in england will need to show proof of double vaccination, or a negative test to attend games with crowds of over 10,000. it's one of the new measures introduced by the government in england to help reduce the spread of the omicron variant. that's all the sport for now. there is more on the bbc sport website. police say they will not investigate allegations no 10 staff broke covid rules in december. in a statement the metropolitan police said... dal babu is a former chief superintendent in the metropolitan police. he's been giving us his assessment of the met�*s decision. i'm very surprised. a crime is often investigated retrospectively and it isjust investigated retrospectively and it is just bizarre... investigated retrospectively and it isjust bizarre... i think investigated retrospectively and it is just bizarre... i think the second statement will pose a lot of questions because in essence you solve crime in three ways. you have a confession and we seem to have a difference of opinion from various people about what was happening. we have gone from no rules with rage to them they have been in the event and then we have had that footage that was shown by itv so you have got the confession there which seems to be there and the element of witnesses and there are plenty of witnesses. you need to go to a police officer atjoe mac on duty at night and downing street and they are used for the diplomatic protection group and you would basically have to the court he was on duty, what is happening, how many resources you got in place but that would be relatively simple and straightforward to do to ask police officers on duty was that the party going on. were people being kept on extra duty? in the third element is cctv forensics and actually downing street is probably the most cctv�*s evie in the country so they would only need to look at cctv to see people leaving are going to the party but from what i'm here on media reports this finish around midnight or shortly after midnight and they willjust need to check who is leaving on whether people are leaving inebriated. the statement references the _ leaving inebriated. the statement references the cabinet _ leaving inebriated. the statementj references the cabinet secretary's investigation. is that normal practice for the police service to wait for an investigation like that to see if any evidence comes to light in an accident rather than doing their own investigation in capital. doing their own investigation in ca - ital. ,., . doing their own investigation in caital. ., , ., capital. -- parallel. it is not unusual— capital. -- parallel. it is not unusual and _ capital. -- parallel. it is not unusual and often _ capital. -- parallel. it is not unusual and often the - capital. -- parallel. it is not i unusual and often the cabinet secretary will be looking at different issues. police will be looking criminal issues and you may argue that the police investigation could be compromised by waiting or waiting for somebody to witnesses. we would just need to get hold of the cctv and have a look he was leaving at midnight and hidden vigils were nasa police officers. it is not that difficult.— is not that difficult. there was a bit of analysis _ is not that difficult. there was a bit of analysis i've _ is not that difficult. there was a bit of analysis i've read - is not that difficult. there was a bit of analysis i've read in - is not that difficult. there was a bit of analysis i've read in one l bit of analysis i've read in one of the questions that difficult. there was a bit of analysis i've read in one of the questions, papers and i appreciate this is more of a legal question in a policing one but it was a the property downing street because its crown property unless there is a specific leisure suited for it to apply there. is that maybe what the discrepancy is there? —— specifically legislated for it to apply there. i specifically legislated for it to apply there-— specifically legislated for it to a--l there. ., ., , . apply there. i find that a difficult ara ument apply there. i find that a difficult argument to _ apply there. i find that a difficult argument to follow _ apply there. i find that a difficult argument to follow because - apply there. i find that a difficult argument to follow because the | argument to follow because the regulations apply to every individual person or apply to all properties and far as i'm aware and i think that may be doubt in my opinion so essentially the regulations apply to all of us and i had to adhere to them and we all had to adhere to them because i'm struggling to follow that line of thinking. struggling to follow that line of thinkina. ~ , ., ., thinking. ok. where things go from here, thinking. ok. where things go from here. then? — thinking. ok. where things go from here, then? we _ thinking. ok. where things go from here, then? we have _ thinking. ok. where things go from here, then? we have had _ thinking. ok. where things go from here, then? we have had this - here, then? we have had this statement from the met and is there potential for another line of police enquiry to happen or cap an investigation? l enquiry to happen or cap an investigation?— enquiry to happen or cap an investigation? enquiry to happen or cap an investiuation? , ., ., investigation? i should imagine the mps are members _ investigation? i should imagine the mps are members of— investigation? i should imagine the mps are members of the _ investigation? i should imagine the mps are members of the public- investigation? i should imagine the| mps are members of the public who have asked for an enquiry will challenge the information presented by the police. i'm sure people will be examining whether there is an opportunity for a private prosecution and also examining whether it is possible for someone to come forward and whistle—blower, either somebody at the party who potentially thinks, actually, i may be prosecuted if i am whistle—blowing and given protection and a police officer might be prepared to whistle—blower and say this is what happened on the night so that as a whole range of things that could potentially happen so i don't think we've heard the last of its in terms of enquiries being put in place. often governments announced enquiries and the opportunity to kick things to the long grass. i don't think it is going to work on this in terms of enquiries being put in place. often governments announce enquiries and the opportunity to kick things into the opportunity to kick things into the long grass. i don't think it is going to work equation. —— on this occasion. an unofficial tribunal looking into allegations of human rights violations in the chinese region of xinjiang has concluded that beijing has carried out genocide and crimes against humanity. in a finaljudgment, it accused china of torture, rape and religious destruction against muslim uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. the uyghur tribunal was set up in london to hear evidence of alleged abuses in xinjiang in a legal setting. it has no force in law, but organisers hope itsjudgment will be used by states, companies and individuals to inform their relationship with china. china accused the tribunal of being "a machine churning out lies" i'm joined now by sir geoffrey nice qc, chair of the uyghur tribunal. sir geoffrey, the tribunal has no legal. presumably we moral weight of the conclusions will create a big impact on the situation. it the conclusions will create a big impact on the situation.- the conclusions will create a big impact on the situation. it may do and i have — impact on the situation. it may do and i have no _ impact on the situation. it may do and i have no better— impact on the situation. it may do and i have no better knowledge i impact on the situation. it may do and i have no better knowledge of the tribunal�*s judgment on anyone else but what we have done is on the basis of evidence reviewed in public and with great care allegations that weren't being dealt with by our government and any court or by the un and we have accepted advice on the law and we have reached conclusions both on the facts and on the commission of crime. ourjob really stops there. we present and make available all who want to know about this and want to make their decisions on the basis of this. clear unassailable facts and is then for other people to make their decisions what to do. this morning there was a press conference the day after the judgment was delivered with various mps a member of the house of lords. who had been very concerned about the matter over the last year or so and they have cause may take this finding and add it to the other arguments they have the our government should do something. i have no idea whether that would make a difference for good, element and obviously i would prefer our judgment to be of some value. in your view, when you say prefer the judgment the tribunal to be of some value what would that look like in practice? value what would that look like in ractice? ~ ., , ., , ., , practice? well, lots of people, lots of organisations, _ practice? well, lots of people, lots of organisations, schools, - of organisations, schools, businesses, airlines, educational establishments, as well as governments, interact with other countries and in particular interacts with the prc. there's interactions are of course i was going to be difficult and involve consideration of a whole range of factors one way or another but if they now bring this additional factor into consideration and do so in a public way then their future decisions on whether to take them on university or have a campus of the day are not and incoming funds support academic research of schools here and if you take that matter into account and make decisions, evenif into account and make decisions, even if there is a decisions to do little or nothing you make them openly honestly and making it clear to the prc that you have heard that this judgment may accept it one way or another with this in mind and thatis or another with this in mind and that is the first step and if it is a step that is quite likely to have an effect on the prc itself. one of the points in thejudgment an effect on the prc itself. one of the points in the judgment that is made in thejudgment the points in the judgment that is made in the judgment of course is also nine of us we really wonder if the prc, china has needed to do was is doing and it is immensely powerful and a country with huge civilisation, far, far longer than ours, shouldn't be doing the sort thing. didn't need to? doesn't need to? could it not be as inspiring to any others as it was like to be? lead by the example now of opening up lead by the example now of opening up so we can all examine. those with more powers of examination in our tribunal. examine what they may say happen and we don't know. we have got our own evidence and made our findings. given the response to the tribunal utterly dismissing any sense of legitimacy of the tribunal doesn't that limit the effect of any findings or conclusions as far as the effects on china's concerned? i think you may be right. but experience shows that when you have public statements of this kind if they seem to be authoritative, cautious, respectfuland they seem to be authoritative, cautious, respectful and we have been entirely respectful of the prc and we stand there and people accept them and stand in as a record and people accept them sometimes to one's surprise to some degree of pleasure is the wrong word. it appears that governments do actually act upon them. they don't say publicly where they act upon them and such clear explanations of what they have done wrong in public and they have done wrong in public and they see also the passage in the judgment about what is understood of chinese desire to keep face and dignity. it is quite difficult for them with this kind of finding and all the other opinions that have been expressed about this and is quite difficult for them to keep space to be dignified and they must know that if they don't do that people who might otherwise be buying cotton t—shirts from cotton in xinjiang or buying computers, they must know the people might start to be thoughtful about whether they would want to buy those things. yes. this reputation _ would want to buy those things. yes. this reputation is _ would want to buy those things. yes. this reputation is not _ would want to buy those things. yes. this reputation is not good for a big country like china. we hope they may in due course do better of itself. if may in due course do better of itself. , ., ., ., may in due course do better of itself. ., ., ., , itself. if you are a lawyer with many years — itself. if you are a lawyer with many years of _ itself. if you are a lawyer with many years of experience - itself. if you are a lawyer with many years of experience and itself. if you are a lawyer with - many years of experience and i'm sure you have heard and read and seen at a loss of testimony and what impact some of the really distressing testimony had on you and is this something particularly extraordinary you may hear? it may seem strange _ extraordinary you may hear? it may seem strange but _ extraordinary you may hear? it may seem strange but if— extraordinary you may hear? it may seem strange but if you _ extraordinary you may hear? it may seem strange but if you deal - extraordinary you may hear? it may seem strange but if you deal with l seem strange but if you deal with this in a professional basis if you can't be free of emotional response we are not likely to be doing your job very well. i hope it doesn't show the time heartless and lacking of any emotion but i have almost never found, just occasionally but not in this case particularly, i have almost never found that the details of the work is emotionally disturbing. it is a bit, i suppose, like being a surgeon. of a doctor or a physician dealing with terrible ill—health. if you actually allowed emotional response to what you are dealing with to get in the way you may not do the best. so we'll try to keep emotion out of it.— keep emotion out of it. indeed. i appreciate _ keep emotion out of it. indeed. i appreciate you — keep emotion out of it. indeed. i appreciate you speaking - keep emotion out of it. indeed. i appreciate you speaking to - keep emotion out of it. indeed. i appreciate you speaking to us . keep emotion out of it. indeed. i l appreciate you speaking to us this afternoon on bbc news. that was a geoffrey nice qc, chair of the uyghur tribunal. thank you. ——that was sir geoffrey nice qc, chair of the uyghur tribunal. a major financial settlement paid to the actor sienna miller over phone hacking is "tantamount" to an admission of illegal activity by the sun newspaper, a court has heard. ms miller's settlement remains confidential but it may be one of the largest pay—outs by rupert murdoch's organisation to victims of phone hacking. sienna miller spoke outside the high court after the hearing. i wanted to share news keep secrets just as they have saved mine. unfortunately, that legal recourse is not available to me or anyone who doesn't have countless millions of pounds to spend in the pursuit of justice. untilsomeone pounds to spend in the pursuit of justice. until someone comes along who can confront murdoch's and this means all i have left these words in the arbour truth —— endless means. as recently as this afternoon lawyers were newsgroup attempted to get this agenda does stop me and others from having the statement said today. it is more than a little ironic that they will go to such lengths to conceal and protect their privacy. for the first—time, families of indian soldiers from undivided punjab who served in world war one will have access to the service registers of their ancestors, all thanks to a new website set up by uk based historians. the records, which have been lying in a museum in pakistan for almost a century, have now been made available online for free. our south asian diaspora reporter gaggan sabherwal has more... so this is the village where i grew up, and that is my great—great—grandfather. 22—year—old jasmine was volunteering with a local charity when she accidentally discovered records showing that her great—great—grandfather and his brother had fought in world war i. jasmine made this fascinating discovery on the uk punjabi heritage association's website that contained thousands of records of soldiers from undivided punjab who fought in the first world war. i couldn't believe it that i'd actually got hold of this. but then i did feel a bit teary—eyed that this is a direct connection with world war i, which i'd been learning about since primary school. my great—great—grandfather, we figured, was part of a mounting battery, so he was dealing with the guns, moving them and transporting them, using them, based in mesopotamia. and his brother, his regiment was one of the only indian regiments in china against the german naval force. around 6% of the british forces who fought in the first world war were from punjab and for over a century the records of 320,000 of these soldiers have been lying in the museum in pakistan. translation: during world war i these registers were written - by hand and maintained. these records contain information such as the name of the soldier, his right, his address on whether he was injured or was martyred in the war or whether he had completed his service and had retired. and after years of correspondence and relationship building with the lahore museum, this man from the punjab heritage association finally managed to gain access to these real records. ——finally managed to gain access to these rare records. it's been a very long process working with the war museum to get these records digitised, and that's just because they are vast, they run to some 26,000 pages which took about four years working with them to get everything cleanly digitised and then brought over to the uk and then we spent about a year transcribing them into the database. the families of british and irish soldiers can easily search public databases of soldiers records to find out more about the role their ancestors played in world war i. but, as i've been finding out, that isn't any search facility available for the relatives of colonial soldiers. i think in both india and pakistan there has been a tendency to overlook how significant the south asian role was in the uk, we have misunderstood or misremembered the war as being something that was basically european, about france and belgium and mud and trenches and we have for too long forgotten the role that notjust south asians but commonwealth colonial soldiers played across a conflict. the records obviously help families and individuals to connect with their own family histories but the registers also offer us new insights into punjab's contribution to the first world war. so far, aa,000 service records have been uploaded with plans to add the remaining data in the forthcoming months. the co—founder of the 19805 synth—pop group bronski beat, steve bronski, has died at the age of 61. the trio were known for campaigning on gay rights issues. earlier his former band—mate jimmy somerville paid tribute on twitter, saying "thanks for the melody steve." martin is coming up at five o'clock and she has just sat down poised and ready but first let's have a look at the weather with chris! back ready but first let's have a look at the weather with chris!— ready but first let's have a look at the weather with chris! back to that ulorious the weather with chris! back to that glorious sunrise _ the weather with chris! back to that glorious sunrise we _ the weather with chris! back to that glorious sunrise we had _ the weather with chris! back to that glorious sunrise we had earlier- the weather with chris! back to that glorious sunrise we had earlier this | glorious sunrise we had earlier this morning and we had a number of these weather watch picture centres with particular fiery skies because that's the south of england, plymouth in devon you can see the rising sun illuminating the sky which has since been moving in on this client is a tangle of weather fronts with a bit of milder air in the south—west along with some hill fog patches around the coast as well but otherwise there is going to be turning chilly again from the north as we look at the forecast over the next 12 hours or so as our band of rain pushes its way eastwards showers are going to follow later on in the night is that colder air at 30 feedback and we will see the showers turned to health slow and sleet. temperatures get down to freezing in the coldest slot, exports and friday some glorious blue skies around and they will all see some of that sunshine at some point that there will be showers, most frequent and widespread across the north—west of the country and some of them again have sleet and hail snow but fewer than a or because nothing north wales, down to the midlands, once evictions than england, to envision summers of recent days, 6—7, but that in the last of the chilly feeling days because as we head into the weekend which is what this chilly north—westerly winds the much milder south—westerly winds dragging is pretty high temperatures for december. weather—wise, the stuff that we can from a loss of cloud around. mrfog patches of that we can from a loss of cloud around. mr fog patches of in—person hills, outbreaks of rain across was nervous, some of the heavy. they not amounting to much of the season there the country in an east—west split across was nose of the country, milder is whether 12 rebel force in plymouth but still sixes and sevens for scotland in east england were changes into sunday is that malware continues to spread across just about all parts of the uk. again there will be at a loss of cloud around, mist and fog patches, strong winds in the far north—west associated with a salary of rain in the stem which is about you is coming back to the map, 13 for belfast, 1ath of cardiff and london, evenin belfast, 1ath of cardiff and london, even in scotland we will see the temperatures pushing into double figures and once that milder air has arrived really throughout next week it is going to be on the mild side and that is of course as we are getting closer and closer to christmas so they change and i weather pattern and that takes place this weekend as milder weather moves in and milder weather is going to hang around for quite a long time. that is the latest. this is bbc news i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 5pm... under investigation — the three government staff gatherings that took place while coronavirus restrictions were in force on meeting indoors. adding to pressure on the prime minister, questions over whether he misled an investigation into how the downing street flat refurbishments were paid for as the conservative party is fined almost £18,000. the government defends plans for tighter covid restrictions in england — as 2a9 more cases of the omicron variant are recorded across the uk. if it carries on at that rate you could have a million infections the community transmission by the end of the month. delays to many hospital treatments in england are the worst on record —

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