and plymouth. Good afternoon. Efir haw h5 and plymouth. Further north, this is bbc news. Im ben brown. Cardiff and plymouth. Further north, highs of 7 8 c. Towards the weekend, the headlines the European Union lays out plans to keep road and air travel saturday promises something a little running with the uk brighter. Heavy rain and strong if theres no brexit deal. The two sides say they will keep winds for sunday. Negotiating until sunday. It is difficult. We are willing to grant access this is bbc news. To the Single Market the headlines to our british friends, the eu lays out plans its the largest single to keep road and air travel market in the world, running with the uk in case theres no brexit deal. But the conditions have to be fair. Both sides say they will keep negotiating until sunday. We will leave no stone unturned. It is difficult. We would like a deal if its possible but were not going to sacrifice the basic points we are willing to grant access to the Single Market of democratic principle. To our british friends. Secondary schools and colleges in wales will move to online its the largest Single Market in the world, but the conditions learning from monday in an attempt have to be fair. To reduce the transmission of coronavirus. We are going to leave no stone unturned. We work like a deal if possible but we are not going to sacrifice the basic rights of democratic
principle. Uk travellers could be barred from entering many eu countries from january 1st because of brexit and coronavirus. A catalogue of failures in Maternity Care, over 18 years, is revealed at the shrewsbury and telford nhs trust. The number of people waiting more than a year for routine surgery in england has risen to its highest level since 2008. An experimental rocket belonging to elon musks Spacex Company crashes and burns on landing. The billionaire calls it a rapid unscheduled disassembly. The European Commission has published measures to ensure planes and lorries can keep moving
between the eu and the uk in the event that no trade deal is agreed. Its also suggested a one year extension for fishing access which it says will protect coastal communities on both sides of the channel. Downing street says large gaps remain between the uk and the eu, despite the Prime Ministers three hour dinner with the eu chief ursula von der leyen last night. Both sides say that negotiations to strike a post brexit Free Trade Agreement will continue until sunday after which they say a Firm Decision must be made on the future. Heres our Political Correspondent leila nathoo. Keep your distance. 0k, mask on. Still far apart, still gaps to bridge. The verdict from both sides after borisjohnson had dinner with the European Commission president ursula von der leyen in brussels last night. Face to face for the first time in months to see if compromise could be reached. There was no breakthrough, but the talks are still on. Now the uk and eus chief negotiators have been given until sunday to decide once and for all whether a deal is possible. We need some point of finality on the negotiations to give a very clear line of sight and more certainty for those preparations, whether theyre at the ports, with the businesses, with the logistics and the transport providers. We will leave no stone unturned. We would like a deal if its possible. But we are not going to sacrifice the basic points of democratic principle. Eu leaders are gathering in brussels this afternoon but brexit isnt formally on the agenda. The uk thinks the eu needs to move significantly to enable progress. The eu feels the same. We are willing to grant access to the Single Market to our british friends. Its the largest Single Market in the world. But the conditions have to be fair. They have to be fair for our workers and
for our companies, and this fine balance of fairness has not been achieved so far. The two sides are still stuck on long standing points of disagreement over fishing rights, rules for businesses operating in each others markets and how any deal would be enforced. With no guarantee the differences can be overcome, the eu has published its plans for minimising disruption in the event of no deal. It proposes rolling over current arrangements between the uk and eu for air and road connections for six months, and continuing reciprocal access for fishing boats to each others waters for another year. In the commons this morning, labour said businesses urgently needed certainty about what was coming down the track. There is a sense of huge dismay as we all wanted to hear significant progress, but we heard more about the Prime Ministers meal than we did about his deal. In fact, we have not heard from the Prime Minister at all, even though he was supposed to be taking charge of
these negotiations. On sunday we will have just 18 days to go until the end of the transition period. How has it come to this . Brexit crunch points have come and gone but decision time is fast approaching. The negotiators have just days to find a new route through well trodden ground. The Irish ForeignAffairs MinisterSimon Coveney says there is increasing pessimism and frustration within the European Union. He was speaking to my colleague Lucy Hockings a little earlier today. Clearly there had been hopes that the dinner last night between ursula von der leyen and borisjohnson would have resulted in at least a suggestion of a breakthrough but that clearly hasnt happened. And so instead what they have decided to do is ask their negotiating teams to re engage but they have also said i think for the first time a very
definitive timeline and they have both agreed now that there needs to be clarity and a Firm Decision, the language is, on sunday, so we have a couple of days now to find a way of closing gaps that are really quite big in the context of the difference between the two sides and there is an increasing pessimism within the European Union but also increasing frustration that it has come to this. Because de eus position has been consistent and clear for the last 12 months, certainly since the Withdrawal Agreement was agreed, and the insistence on the eu side that there has to be free but also fair competition between these two big economies is something which is not new. It doesnt threaten british sovereignty. Dominic robert said this morning that a level Playing Field issues are the key stumbling blocks at the moment and he says the eu has hardened its position in
recent days dominic raab said this morning. I dont know where he is coming from on that. A year ago both sides agreed in writing on a political declaration that there had to be an agreement on a level Playing Field and fair competition, between the eu and the uk, if they we re between the eu and the uk, if they were going to put a trade agreement in place without quotas and tariffs, and so unfortunately the british side is seeing this as somehow undermining the sovereignty which is not the case at all, and the eu recognises that the uk outside of the eu is a sovereign independent country and we respect that, but if you are going to have free trade and the absence of tariffs between two economies next door to each other, its not unreasonable to ask for what has already been agreed in principle, which is that we would have a level Playing Field for fair competition now and in the future. Really that is all the eu is looking for and for some reason the british
government sees that as an undermining of british sovereignty and the choices that a British Government in the future may not be able to make. Lets speak to our Political Correspondent helen catt. You could almost hear the frustration in simon cove news tone and that again reminds us that there arejust so and that again reminds us that there are just so many issues yet to be resolved coveney. Are just so many issues yet to be resolved coveney. Yes, it will frustration from the uk side that we are where we are so frustration from the uk side that we are where we are so close to the end of the transition period and there are major differences remaining in three key areas, fishing rights, how to police any deal and it is on the level Playing Field. Those are the shared rules that both sides will agree to observe once the uk has left the Single Market and the customs union, and the issues within that, and the key thing about that is the phrase you heard simon
coveney say, now and in the future, and it is what happens in the future that seems to be the big sticking point. Borisjohnson that seems to be the big sticking point. Boris johnson in that seems to be the big sticking point. Borisjohnson in the house of commons suggested that what the eu is asking the uk to sign up to is that going forward, if the eu changes any of its rules and standards the uk would be expected to follow suit, or the eu could choose to retaliate in some other area, that was how borisjohnson are set out their position, but for the uk government they say that there is a red line because the point of brexit is about the uk being able to set its own rules and not being tied to the eu rules in future, so that is the difference, but for the eu it is the difference, but for the eu it is about trying to preserve the Single Market, so they are quite fundamental disagreements. This isnt about dotting some teas, this isnt about dotting some teas, this is about a much more fundamental view of what both sides want from these negotiations. Striking that these negotiations. Striking that the commission is coming up with contingency plans and saying they wa nt to contingency plans and saying they
want to put out some parameters here to keep things physically moving if there is no deal. Of course, at the uk government has put out its contingency plans sometime ago, which is why we have had lorry parks built in kent, and the fact the eu have done this now, interesting timing, because they have said sunday is the day, the deadline, if it looks like theres a deal maybe it looks like theres a deal maybe it could rolled on a few more days to iron out details but theres a sense that sunday will be the moment that if a deal is not going to be done that is when we will find out, and because that doesnt mean on the ist of january the uk will be out of the Single Market and the customs union, somethings will need to be in place to allow things like air travel, road travel, to continue, but the fact they have chosen to release them this morning is quite interesting timing. We have to see where the negotiations get to in the next few days but at the moment neither side is sounding particularly optimistic. Helen, thanks forjoining us. Uk travellers could be banned from travelling to eu countries from the first of january, as unrestricted travel to those countries is set to expire next year, and pandemic travel restrictions would start to apply. Our Business ReporterSimon Browning explained more. When the transition period ends we become a third party nation in our relationship with the eu and there are currently severe coronavirus restrictions on travel about entering into the eu and only essential travel is permitted, and only eight countries are allowed at the moment to enter the eu for the essential basis because they have low Coronavirus Infection rates. Dominic raab said this morning eu Member States would likely decide the rules to protect against infection and remember the uk has had travel corridors in place with lots of countries over the summer, travel corridors with spain, but they have changed because infection rates have also changed, but it is thought they could come back and that individual countries could put
travel corridors in place with the uk like spain and the canary islands, and british travellers are very lucrative and essential for those countries economies. Easyjet explained they believe individual countries will operate like this. But it is no surprise that these shock suggestions are coming up, the negotiations are still ongoing discussions are but the french minister has ratcheted up the pressure ever so minister has ratcheted up the pressure ever so slightly by visiting the French Border and explaining that uk travellers could need visas if they intend to stay in europe for longer than 90 days once we go into this new phase of our relationship with the eu, so again at this race on the negotiations and hopefully it will be again this relies on the negotiations and hopefully it will be part of the deal. We are told the test and trace turnaround times are improving, that
is what we are hearing. 65 of all in person tests were turned around within 2a hours and that compares to 54 the previous week, so up 11 percentage points, so 65 of tests turnaround within 2a hours. Its up considerably from mid october although still below a high point, the best ever turnaround figures we re the best ever turnaround figures were at the end ofjune, apparently, 93 , but they are improving. May be a bit more on that, on test and trace, later on. Britains Economic Growth slowed to 0. 4 in october as covid restrictions were tightened. Manufacturing saw business improve, but other sectors including hospitality saw activity sharply down. Business groups are warning it will take at least two years for the economy to recover fully even if a post brexit trade deal is done. Heres our economics
correspondent andy verity. Its not usually manufacturers that drive the uk economy forward. But in october, they saw they saw rapid growth in activity of nearly 7 , driven by pent up demand for cars. This maker of Precision Instruments in port talbot branched out to medical masks and face coverings in the summer, and kept growing as the welsh Circuit Breaker began. The business saw, you know, i think, a quieting down in the first lockdown, but then sort of a quite strong recovery. And thats continued into 0ctober, november, december. You know, still, its a little bit behind the levels of last year, but it is certainly very positive news compared to how we were looking at things back in the first lockdown. The Services Sector also grew, led by demand for health care, both linked and not linked to the virus. But as the system of tiers and the 10pm curfew came in,
hotels and restaurants welcomed fewer customers, and the hardest hit sectors, the creative and entertainment industries, and, above all, travel, were still doing less than half their normal business. As a travel industry, you know, we have seen an industry that has been decimated over the last nine months with unfortunately no means of recovery. So what we have not been able to do is play our part in that Economic Growth. 0ur numbers stand at around 90 down, so we are trading around 90 down on where we would expect to be at this time of year. Since october, the Circuit Breaker in wales, tougher tiers in scotland and the november lockdowns in Northern Ireland and england have again suppressed economic activity. Business groups warn a full recovery will now take years, and a no deal brexit could put it back even further. This is the shape of the economy this year. Less of a v, more like a nike tick. And activity is still 8 below where it was before the pandemic struck. The official prediction is it will take another two years to get back up to that level. And if theres a no deal brexit,
it could take until 202a. We absolutely do need to get that deal. That is what will give businesses the confidence to go out there and invest. On our estimation, if we were to fall into a no deal, that could take more than i off our growth over the next couple of years. With trade already suffering, the office for budget responsibilities warn the damage done by a no deal brexit could be twice as large as the cbi predicts. And while right now, the damage done by covid is even bigger, its the hit to trade of a no deal that the economic patient would take the longest to recover from. Andy verity, bbc news. Lets speak to our business presenter sima kotecha. These figures were out before the latest lockdown so what can we expect the impact of that to be . We could see another shift . Absolutely, november is likely to be worse because that is when the second lockdown was implemented, lots of businesses were then forced to close, but lets rewind to 0ctober to close, but lets rewind to october and remember gdp measures the value of goods and services produced by the uk economy, its a good indicator of how healthy our economy is, and every month we get a stat that tells us how much the economy grew or shrank in that period and today the 0ns gave the 0ctober stat. In october the economy grew by just 0ctober stat. In october the economy grew byjust 0. 4 , a very small amount, but economists had feared it was going to be a lot less than that, and to give you some context, in september the economy grew by 1. 196 in september the economy grew by 1. 1 but as we say, going forward, november is likely to be a lot worse, in october businesses were not forced to close down, but there were strict restrictions in place in certain parts of the country, and there was the 10pm curfew in bars
and there was the 10pm curfew in bars a nd restau ra nts there was the 10pm curfew in bars and restaurants which meant there were fewer people going, and