hi, good morning, welcome to bbc news. i'm victoria derbyshire, here are the latest headlines. bad news forjobs — new figures this morning show the impact of lockdown is starting to hit hard. marcus rashford refuses to give up on his campaign for free school meal vouchers for vulnerable children over the summer, putting the government under increasing pressure. we have, unusually in this case, along with a multi—billion package we have put in place, provided 63 million p exceptionally to help local authorities help children over

this period. around a third of pupils aren't engaging with their school work during the lockdown, according to new research. new zealand records two new cases of coronavirus — both had come from the uk, ending 2a days of no new infections. good morning. official figures released this morning suggest the number of workers on uk payrolls fell by more than 600,000 between march and may, as the coronavirus lockdown hit. but the jobless rate held steady in the three months to april — at 3.9%, according to the office for national statistics. economists say the full impact on employment will not be felt until wage support schemes end in october.

the former conservative party leader, lord hague, has become the latest leading conservative to criticise the coronavirus lockdown. writing in the daily telegraph, he described it as a "disaster for our society". pressure is mounting on the government to continue its voucher scheme for children who qualify for free school meals in england over the summer. there is growing unease among some conservative mps over the refusal to extend the support — as man united and england's marcus rashford continues to campaign on the issue. also today, most teachers say their pupils are doing less or much less work than they would normally at this time of the year, according to a study. the report by the national foundation for educational research says head teachers believe around a third of pupils are not engaging with set work. and new zealand has confirmed two new cases of coronavirus, ending a 24—day streak of no new infections in the country. both women had travelled

to new zealand from here in the uk. let's talk to our business correspondent ben thompson. let's speak about these latest jobs figures. fill us in on the detail? perversely these figures are interesting because of what they do not tell us. normally the jobs figures give an insight into how much we are working, how many people have been laid off and what the unemployment rate looks like. the headline rate of unemployment changing very little, perhaps because the true state of the jobs market is hidden by the furlough scheme. anybody who has been furloughed, whereby they are not working but the government is paying a proportion about salary, is not officially classed as unemployed. as you mentioned, we may get a more true picture of what is happening in thejobs true picture of what is happening in the jobs market when the furlough

scheme ends in october. right now, many employers around the country will look at the future for their business and therefore their staff. they will be working out what they wa nt to they will be working out what they want to do next and what demand will be for their products or services and whether they can afford to keep on the staff. the headline rate unchanged at 3.9%, 600,000 fewer people and payrolls across the country but, as i said, that does not include the almost 9 million people currently on furlough. to get an idea of the state of the jobs market we can look at other indicators, perhaps the number of new vacancies, the number of new jobs being advertised, down by 60%. the number of people seeking financial help, either universal credit to top up what they are earning or maybe jobseeker‘s allowa nce earning or maybe jobseeker‘s allowance because they are not working, the claimant count is up by 126%, a 27 year high. i am looking up 126%, a 27 year high. i am looking upa number 126%, a 27 year high. i am looking up a number is coming in, 2.8 million versus the last time we

spoke about this, 1.6 million. you start to get an idea of what this means for thejobs start to get an idea of what this means for the jobs market. start to get an idea of what this means for thejobs market. another measure, the number of hours we are working, falling to a record low. all the indicators point to the fact that the jobs market is struggling but we will not get a clear idea of how much until later in the year. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, is at westminster. we are starting to get the true scale of this in terms of the impact of lockdown, but these figures could have been much worse if the government had not brought in following and the self—employment scheme? most people at westminster will be hugely relieved that the jobs hit has not happened yet, but i think everyone calculates it is going to happen, as we know, economic activity has fallen off a cliff edge, down by 20%, we know the claimant count is up by 70%. what

follows from that? unfortunately unemployment, but it is a lagging indicator. i don't think anyone is under any illusion that we are facing a very stark picture in terms of likely job losses, we facing a very stark picture in terms of likelyjob losses, we have already seen some pretty big job losses. i think what is particularly worrying is the people most at risk seem worrying is the people most at risk seem to be young folk, they are overwhelmingly concentrated in sectors like hospitality, catering, travel and tourism, which we know will be hit hardest by covid and the quarantining and the two metre rule and so forth, so they seem much address, which partly explains why from clear blue sky borisjohnson announced part of the downing street news c0 nfe re nce announced part of the downing street news conference that he would offer apprenticeships to all those youngsters who lost theirjobs because of covid, but it is an enormous challenge because we have

already pumped billions into keeping the economy going, the question is how much more you can continue to support people in jobs how much more you can continue to support people injobs if they how much more you can continue to support people in jobs if they are no longer viable? marcus rashford's campaign, will be government do a u—turn? campaign, will be government do a u-turn? i should answer not yet, but put watch this space in brackets, because frankly they are taking a hammering on it. if you look at the issues, similar high profile issues where they had taken a battering, obvious examples the nhs surcharge for nhs and co—workers from abroad to pay a premium for accessing the nhs, they were hit over that, there was a u—turn, similarly on the bereavement fund where nhs and care workers who die from covid, their relatives are given the right to remain in the uk, they u—turn to match, there is a track record of you turning when the heat is on.

marcus rashford has proved such an eloquent and genuine and impressive advocate, it is very hard for the governmentjust to dig in, it is very easy for the government to sweep away people like me or politicians, nobody is really bothered, but when you get somebody like marcus rashford who has lived the experience, much, much harder. we know borisjohnson will respond, it seems he will write a letter, we don't know if the two will meet, i wonder whether mrjohnson might begin to prepare the ground for if not a full blown u—turn some sort of accommodation, albeit no sign of it so far this morning. let's listen to transport secretary grant shapps. we have, unusually in this case, along with the other multi—billion band package we put in place to help families, also provided and sign 63 million exceptionally to help local authorities help children over this

period —— also provided £63 million. nobody would want to otherwise. we might geta nobody would want to otherwise. we might get a sense of the difficulties mrjohnson is in on his own benches but there will be a vote on the free school meals over the summer, not a vote that will matter, it will not change anything because it will not change anything because it is ona it will not change anything because it is on a labour motion so it will not. the government to do anything if they were to win, i don't think they will. —— so it will not force they will. —— so it will not force the government to do anything. but we will find out how many voice support for marcus rashford. that seems to be what labour is calculating. rebecca long—bailey, the shadow cabinet member, suggested they might get quite a bit of support from tory mps. as markets ended his beautiful letter, it is not about politics. this is about humanity. there will be many conservative mps watching this and having read marcus' letter who will

agonise whether they support the government or not in this, because they will want what is best for children. sol they will want what is best for children. so i am asking all politicians, whichever party, this is not about party politics. it is not a huge amount of money into day's terms, extending free school meals over the summer will cost around 120 million, that is a lot of money, but when we are spending billions upon billions, not really a huge amount. cheers, norman. by the way, marcus rashford has been treating this morning. when you run your shower, take a second to think about parenting have had their water turned up during lockdown. "when you turn on your kettle to make a cup of tea or coffee think of those parents who have had to default on electricity bill payments just to make ends meet having lost theirjobs during the pandemic. and when you head to the fridge to grab the milk, stop and recognise that parents of at least 200,000 children across the country this morning are waking up to empty shelving.

recognise children around the country are this morning innocently questioning ‘why?’ nine out of 30 children in any given classroom are today asking ‘why? ‘why does our future not matter?”' in response to the tweet when you wa ke in response to the tweet when you wake up this morning and run your shower, take a second to think about parenting have had their water cut off, the work and pensions secretary therese coffey has responded directly, saying water can't be disconnected, though. marcus rashford has responded, i am concerned this is the only tweet of my new acknowledged. please make a difference, make the u—turn. we will talk more about this issue through the morning, we will talk about it toa the morning, we will talk about it to a conservative mp and the labour and p. —— and a labour mp.

there have been two new confirmed cases of coronavirus in new zealand, and they both arrived from the uk. the country had gone 2a days without a new case. 0ur correspondent shaimaa khalil sent us this update. these two women are in their 40s and 30s and they came to new zealand from the uk, via brisbane, here in australia, onjune 7th. we also know that they were in isolation, a managed isolation facility in the city of auckland in new zealand and that they were given exceptional leave on compassionate grounds to go to wellington onjune the 13th to see a dying parent who had actually died that night, and so they were on their way in a private vehicle to make funeral arrangements. we understand from the director of health in new zealand that they didn't come into contact with any members of the public on their way, that they were in a private vehicle and that now we know that one more family member is at risk. we also know that one of these women was showing mild symptoms, the other was asymptomatic, but they were not tested before they left that isolation hotel in auckland.

other points of contact, of course, that the health authorities are looking at now, are those in the isolation hotel in auckland but also there was four on the brisbane plane on the way to new zealand. as you say, it breaks that streak of 2a days with no covid cases, and authorities in new zealand as saying despite the lifting of restrictions, people must remain vigilant. the chinese authorities are racing to contain a new coronavirus outbreak in the capital, beijing. all entertainment and indoor sports venues are being closed, and 21 housing estates have been locked down as cases increase. previously the city had seen no signs of the virus for at least 50 days. steve mcdonnell is in beijing. interesting, we had an official here describe the situation is extremely severe. now, this comes as they've added just 27 new infections to the tally. i mean, that doesn't sound like severe to the layperson, but i think what they are worried about is the potential,

and that's because these cases have all been traced back to a huge market, wholesale market supplying 80% of the vegetables and meat to beijing city, and i think you canjust... you can work out from that the potential for the disease to spread throughout. and what they want to avoid doing is locking down this city, the same way they had to lockdown wuhan. it is the chinese capital. i mean, it seems like the authorities here were on top of the issue, and what's especially worrying is that all the new cases in china in recent times has basically been people returning from overseas and being tested at the airport and then being added to the list. not this outbreak. this is a sort of domestically driven one and we are not sure how the coronavirus got into that market. as a result, housing communities

are being closed off to anyone but residents, they've not said that people who live in those housing areas close to the market aren't even allowed to leave beijing. some taxis and the local equivalent of a taxi, but private car, also can't leave the city. and so they are taking very extreme measures. serious measures, i should say. but either they know something we don't know that's not reflected in the numbers, or they are just being extremely cautious and trying to get hold of this situation before a second wave can properly take hold in beijing. human trials for a potential vaccine for covid—19 will start in the uk this week. 300 healthy people will be given two doses, and if its successful the trial will be widened. it's been developed by scientists at imperial college london, and is separate to the work being done at oxford university.

professor robin shattock is leading the research — he explained how it worked and the potential timescale. reid takejust reid take just the small instructions from the genetic code of the virus for that surface protein you see on the pictures —— we take. we use that as our vaccine, we take. we use that as our vaccine, we put it into tiny microscopic fact particles and the muscle cells take those particle cells up and receive instructions to make the protein. they literally become miniature factories that start expressing the protein and get the immune system to make protective antibodies. timescales are very difficult to project because we need to get through the safety part first and then test it in a large trial against a placebo vaccine, and it is against a placebo vaccine, and it is a numbers game. we need to see more infections in the placebo arm and the vaccine arm, we do not start that until october. if the number of

infections in the uk is low, it will ta ke infections in the uk is low, it will take a long time to get an answer, if we see a second wave effect, we might see an answer very quickly. it isa might see an answer very quickly. it is a guessing game to say when we will get that, but when we get the data it is important to get the data that shows it works, we will know we had something very worthwhile rolling out across the uk. let's get more response to the official figures showing the number of workers on uk payrolls fell by more than 600,000 between march and may, as the coronavirus lockdown hit. we can talk to shadow work and pensions secretary jonathan reynolds. hello, mr reynolds. how do you react to these figures? it is another set of difficult data, we expected that, but the key thing is we now know we are facing the kind of mass levels of unemployment we have not seen in this country for decades. this country was too slow into lockdown,

too slow on ppe and social care, we should not be too slow in dealing with the unemployment crisis, that is why we think there has to be an emergency budget with just one focus, jobs, jobs and morejobs, keeping as many people in work as possible and trying to mitigate these effects. presumably you acknowledges figures would have been way worse if it had not been for the chancellor's furlough scheme and the self—employed scheme? chancellor's furlough scheme and the self-employed scheme? absolutely, we have effectively had to make not only significant changes to universal credit, it was great to see the government acknowledge that system was not fit for purpose, but we have had to invent an extra series of schemes because we could not have coped with this crisis with the social security scheme we had going into that. we have to learn from that when we look at coming out of it. we have always had furlough should not be one size fits all, some sectors are very hard hit, things like hospitality which usually play a huge well and getting

people back to work quickly, much easier to get them back to work in those areas than for instance manufacturing with long supply chains. we cannot have a one size fits all approach because we will see what is already a very high claim can't only rising further as people come off furlough and onto the social security system. if labour wasn't government, would you be scrapping the two metre rule which so many sectors are calling for? —— if labourwas in which so many sectors are calling for? —— if labour was in government. that would have an economic benefit but it has to bejen anyway that there is significant public confidence in that measure, that means publishing scientific advice and telling people the basis for the decision. —— but it has to be done ina decision. —— but it has to be done in a way. people think the government is more interested in the economic impact than the health impact, that would be concerning, we need to do it in a way that command public confidence and clear, scientific data. the data is out

there, it is just making the decision. what with the labour decision. what with the labour decision be? to publish that information and if the science says go down to one metre, that is what we should do. i can't stress this enough, there is not public confidence in government messaging about these measures. in my constituency at the weekend we had 6000 young people in public for an illegal rave, you can't get through this it people do not trust what the government is saying and that is why to do this they will have to be transparent and clear. you want an emergency budget, you say, focused purely onjobs. what emergency budget, you say, focused purely on jobs. what kind emergency budget, you say, focused purely onjobs. what kind ofjobs should the government be encouraging now? you could go for shovel ready jobs where people are involved in building infrastructure, roads etc, you could move to greenjobs, what would you be suggesting? the first thing is to keep as many people in work as possible rather than letting

them become unemployed, so things like flexibility in the furlough schemes, keeping people in education and training, particularly young people. in terms of the stimulus and investment measures, they had to focus on the things that are the most labour—intensive, things like retro filling holes, you are right, thatis retro filling holes, you are right, that is a job we had to do anyway, but things like social care whether staffing ratios really affect the number of people employed, we have to improve that area of public service in the uk, so these should be the priorities. the thing about big capital investments, unless they are, the leader in time would be too great, so focus on the projects which would have the biggest impact on the number of people involved. on marcus rashford's campaign for free school meal vouchers for vulnerable children to run through the summer holidays in england, labour is calling for the government to continue that support but the government is putting £63 million in

local authorities for their welfare assurance schemes to support exactly these most vulnerable families? the government's funding of local authorities is not a good picture in this crisis. the crucial thing is this, i have had the government say we don't normally do this, but you don't usually have a global pandemic. even if you are one of the people in the relatively better positions, for instance on the furlough scheme, you will still have lost a fifth of your income. some people are not covered by any scheme, we know there is a million people not covered by any scheme. rightly we have spent a considerable amount of money during this crisis. for a tiny bit extra we can ensure no child goes hungry over the summer holidays, that is a very good investment for me and i cannot understand why the government is resisting. provides thank you very muchjonathan resisting. provides thank you very much jonathan bell and —— jonathan reynolds. we have a conservative member of the commons education select committee. should the

government do a u—turn on the free school meal vouchers scheme? no, the government has rejected this for the same reason that labour rejected it, i worked with them on that when tony blairand i worked with them on that when tony blair and gordon brown were prime ministers, there is a shortfall in support for the most vulnerable children. schools, local authorities and social care working very hard to make sure the children get the best start in life, that support is available, and if there is money to go round, in my view the most vulnerable children should be the highest priority. i know the government is looking at catch—up on the people premium, and the funding provided to local authorities, i would argue it is not enough but it isa step would argue it is not enough but it is a step in the right direction, i would argue, and it is a better use of money than free school meals. they do not help all of those most in need. that 63 million is not ring

fenced for free school meal vouchers and you have just acknowledge yourself it is not enough. campaigners say each should be at least double that. the funding announced for local councils is set to cover more and more things. i read marcus' letter and she talked about the love, care and support from his mum which enabled him to become so successful, lots of children do not have that love, care and support, a local authority is the only organisation that has led back and can step in. we know many of those extremely vulnerable children are extremely affected by this crisis and we should target the available resource we can provide, because exactly the same as the argument when labour were in power, they are a higher priority for the money, but the most vulnerable should be a priority. so are you

saying that the most vulnerable are not all kids eligible for free school meal vouchers? part of this is an issue with the way people benefit — — is an issue with the way people benefit —— access the benefit system, but many are suffering from neglect and abuse, local authorities have seen a massive increase in the numbers coming into the care system. we need to make sure that if there is extra money available, it is the most vulnerable children who should be the first beneficiaries. they should be the highest priority. but they are not. local authorities clearly regarded as a very high priority and we have seen a massive increase in the number of kids coming into the care system, in part because we recognise the vulnerability in a way that has improved. whilst that is something to be welcomed in terms of children getting access to help and support, we know that system is under pressure, and when we look at local

authority budgets we see rebecca long—bailey authority budgets we see rebecca long— bailey whose local authority has an increase of 7.4%. but over the last ten and more years, we have seena the last ten and more years, we have seen a reduction in our ability to act to support the most vulnerable children, and welch free school meals are a welcome development, we should target the money available on those most at risk. the base marcus rashford has tweeted this morning, it was a series of tweets and it began with when you wake up this morning and when your shower, take a second to think about parents who have had their water turned off during lockdown. the work and pensions secretary therese cathy has replied to, water cannot be disconnected, though. is that the kind of response you want to see from your work and pensions secretary? i think you need to ask

her that. what do you think of that reply? about i know that from experience with my constituents, it does happen to people. the rules and say it should not. but alongside things like universal credit, the furlough scheme, other things announced, we recognise that even before the covid pandemic there was a big shortfall in funding to support the most venerable children, estimated by the local government association at 3 billion p, whether thatis association at 3 billion p, whether that is bang on or not, i know from experience that that pressure has been there for at least 20 years and we need to recognise that if you're going to learn lessons from what has happened and recognise that lots of the good interventions, just like we have with homelessness, we need to keep those in place and supporters intensely vulnerable people and if additional money is available, i would like to see the opposition recognise that it is the extremely vulnerable children we should think about this and recognise that as good as free school meals are, they area good as free school meals are, they are a blunt instrument and do not

necessarily enable help to those who need it most. studio: i got this tweets posted by ruth davidson, former leader of conservatives in scotland, i totally get that some local authority funding has been put in place but i am baffled, i think we can show you the tweet, why westminster colleagues are picking this hill to die on. i didn't have or need free school meals but i went toa or need free school meals but i went to a school very huge percentage did. food security during the holidays is so important. it is basic, feed the kids. if you are benefiting from free school meal vouchers, to get in touch, anonymously, if you prefer. parents of severely disabled children say they feel forgotten during lockdown. new figures from the disabled children's partnership suggest that in 76% of cases, disabled children and their families have been surviving since march without any of their normal care and support. ellie costello has this: this is spike. at nine days old, he had a heart attack and a stroke.

he suffered severe brain damage. he has cerebral palsy, is epileptic and is deaf, so has very limited communication. since the start of lockdown, spike's mum has cared for him alone. she is just one of the many parents in the uk in this difficult position. the disabled children's partnership has surveyed more than 4000 parents of kids with complex needs. more than three quarters of those families said that all care and support has been withdrawn since lockdown began. the majority of these parents report worsening mental and physical health of not only themselves but their children. we've kind of had to just wing itand make it up as we go along, really. i received this letter saying that he's been identified as vulnerable and you need to shield him, there was no guidance in that at all. so i then get to a point, eight weeks later, that i'm

absolutely on my knees, and just begging for help, saying, "somebody please take him because i'm broken." aside from the emotional strain, one in five families said they would go into debt as a result of caring for a disabled child during the pandemic. yay! rachel wright made the decision to pay for a private carer to move in with her family during lockdown. her 14—year—old son sam has severe cerebral palsy and is blind. he can't walk, he can't talk, he can just about scratch his nose. prior to lockdown, ten people helped to care for sam. rachel managed alone for two weeks but it became too much. there was safeguarding issues. as a nurse, i go to work and i can't work more than 1a hours, i can't work more than 12 hours without legislation and regulation saying i can't.

i certainly can't work 1a days in a row and be deemed safe in my practice, yet as a parent of a child with complex needs, i'm making decisions about medications, i'm making clinical decisions about seizures, i'm drawing up meds, i'm trying to look out for evidence of reflux and stuff. and my peers have turned 50 days on the trot without any support, and they are still considered safe to medicate their children and to make those life changing decisions. so what needs to happen, moving forward? ministers and the daily press briefings very, very rarely mention disabled children, and families fundamentally feel really forgotten. the department of health and social care said...

for many of us, life is slowly going to return to normal, but for families of kids like sam and spike, theirjourney back to normality is onlyjust beginning. ellie costello, bbc news. let's talk now to matt rooney, headteacher at st giles school for special educational needs children. and ilham elfenne — single mum to a little girl called nada, who has special educational needs. welcome to both of you. you had a carer before lockdown and i know that hasn't been able to happen, what has that been like for you? the carer hasn't been here for 1h weeks,

it has been tough, confusing. i haven't had any breaks. we are not leaving the house, we don't go out. that sounds pretty stressful? leaving the house, we don't go out. that sounds pretty stressful7m leaving the house, we don't go out. that sounds pretty stressful? it is when you know the child does not understand what is going on, she has learning difficulties and excite dirty disorder. you can't tell her, don't touch people, don't touch this and the anxiety will be higher than usual. it will be hard to go back to normality. it is not that easy. do you see an end in sight when the ca re rs you see an end in sight when the carers will be able to come back to help you and give you some respite?

not really. i haven't been able to get any guidelines, even if she ta kes get any guidelines, even if she takes her out, there is nowhere to go. there is no swimming tool, nowhere to go. we are not able to ta ke nowhere to go. we are not able to take public transport. nowhere to go. we are not able to take public transportlj nowhere to go. we are not able to take public transport. i amjust going to bring in our other guests, i know your school has remained open during lockdown, why did you decide to do that a lot support have you been able to give to families? we have worked with families to identify the support needed. we have identified hydro therapy, physiotherapy and be sent home all of the equipment as the school began to lock down. a fifth of our children are at home at the moment. it is critical the families of those

children get the support. this is absolutely right to identify the story of spike and sam. lots of people have told us how hard it has been but the school has been committed to standing with them to providing the support they need. we have some children who come into access the playgrounds and the sensory gardens. the swings, as small as it sounds these things are making a big difference. we are trying to make sure the school community stays together. we have set out virtual assemblies, we visit families and drop off food. we provide virtual education in their homes because we must not forget these children and it is absolutely critical that we do all that we can to be there for them, to stand with them because they will not be forgotten. none of the children will be forgotten and we have had to change the way we work. i meet twice a week with the local social services department and i meet once a week with the health service

providers. we talk about the children and assess and understand what they need. we knew that families' resilience would dip and decrease over time. it is really difficult. schools in nottinghamshire, special schools around the country are doing their absolute best to support these families. i know that local authorities, certainly nottinghamshire county council is trying really hard as well. ok. thank you both for talking to us this morning and we appreciate your time today. you have found it very stressful without carers through lockdown and matt rooney head teacher at school for children special needs. statement has had, the government is working with those with children who have special needs and difficulties

at this time. local authorities will work with the local providers to offer as much flexibility as possible whilst adhering to the government's guidance to keep children and staff say. we have made 10 million available to help families and children have complex disabilities to provide things like computers, specialist equipment and educational toys. this is from the department for education. ourfirst priority remains with those families of children with vulnerable needs and disabilities. today marks four yearss since the labour mpjo cox was murdered by a far—right terrorist in her constituency in west yorkshire. this was her maiden speech in parlaiment... whilst we celebrate our diversity, the thing that surprises me time and time again as i travel around the constituency is that we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us.

over the weekend, far—right activists gathered in central london in reaction to a wave of protests organised by the group black lives matter. violence directed towards police and journalists lead to over 100 arrests. this morning, jo's husband, brendan cox has tweeted saying "we often focus on the state of division in the uk but there's been progress too. a near tripling of those who say we look out for each other historic reductions in the idea you have to be white to be british. don't let the dividers define us." we can speak now tojo cox's sister, kim leadbeater. good morning to you. what are your thoughts today on the fourth anniversary of your sister's death? it is tough, i am struggling a little bit, if i am honest. i try not to place too much emphasis on anniversaries because it can become anniversaries because it can become a self—fulfilling prophecy that you make it a dreadful day. but it is

tough and that is because of the situation we find ourselves in because there is such a sense of loss around us. whether it is the loss around us. whether it is the loss of loved ones and we have seen so many people die because of the coronavirus, or a loss of our freedoms and loss of human connections, our support network. freedoms and loss of human connections, oursupport network. it isa connections, oursupport network. it is a tough day but i am also inspired by the huge amount of progress we have made through the work ofjo's progress we have made through the work of jo's foundation progress we have made through the work ofjo's foundation and the things people do in communities up and down the country to unite people and down the country to unite people and bring people together. we saw at the weekend, there is some hatred and some toxicity, as there was four yea rs and some toxicity, as there was four years ago around the killing of your sister. but as you say, we have seen the best of humanity during this coronavirus pandemic as well, haven't we? absolutely. it is important to remember, even when it is hard and you are having your dark days, the people who want to cause

division are in a minority and the vast majority of people are doing amazing things up and down the country. we have to get together weekend coming up which is what we do on her birthday. we had to make the difficult decision on whether to postpone but i am glad we are going ahead because we have had people contacting us telling us their plans, they will have events, under the social distancing rules, but also performing acts of kindness in their community. we have seen so much of that during lockdown, whether it is checking on your neighbours, doing shopping, phone calls and that is the thing we have got to focus on as we come out of lockdown and try and keep that sense of community going. absolutely. i wonder what you think of the threat from the far right at the moment? does it remain potent? we have absolutely got a problem in this

country with far right extremism. there are organisations who are doing amazing things to try and tackle that problem. it is quite right, when we see some of the disgusting scenes we saw at the weekend that people are prosecuted for that disgusting behaviour. i think what we also need to do is look at why this is happening. we need to look at what is going on in our communities, what is going on across our country to draw people towards extremism and extremism of any nature. and that is what we do, any nature. and that is what we do, a community level we are trying to build strong, compassionate communities where everybody is connected and everybody has a sense of identity and belonging. when i think about our childhood howjo and i were brought up, we always felt loved, we belonged and were part of something and that is why we treated other people equally. but if you are feeling lost and alone you are vulnerable to being preyed upon by extremists and we have to make sure we build communities where that

doesn't happen. how do you remember your sister? i think about 10 every single day. so many fond memories of our childhood, we were very close family and we did everything together when we the kids. i go through old photographs and look at is doing some crazy dancing and playing on our bikes and that sort of stuff. i remember happy times i had with her when she was our mp and she had her children. you know, that is really important to keep those memories strong. no matter, you won't find anyone who has a bad word to say aboutjo. she had nothing but goodness in her and that is why it is important i carry on doing what i am doing in as long as i can in her name, surrounded by so many amazing people who either knewjo or didn't know her, but believed in the values

that she helped. i am encouraging everybody, let's do something positive. i know it is hard when there is so much negativity around, it is hard to keep going, but it is important, keep doing the things you are doing in your communities to stay connected and celebrate the positives we have got to be proud of in this country. thank you so much, kim. thank you for talking to us, we send you lots of love and look. with many losing their job as a result of the coronavirus crisis, there is one role that is becoming increasingly popular — being a foster carer. the national fostering group reports that in april this year it received 3,000 enquiries from people — that's an 84% increase on the same period last year. the organisation believes the surge in applications has been driven by the extreme hardship endured by those in areas like hairdressing and hospitality who are now

looking for more stable job opportunities from covid—19. we're joined by steve christie, the managing director of the national fostering group. as well as sarah and david mcmillan, who have just applied to become foster parents. and nathan page, who has been fostering with his partner antony for over two yea rs. both families have financially felt the effects of the lockdown. welcome to all of you. nathan, you foster a 12—year—old girl and a 14—year—old boy, what is it like?m is very rewarding. it goes without saying that there will be challenges along the way, but as you get further and further down the line, all these rewards start to come back to and the challenges become tiny little things that were just bumps in the road. during lockdown, i think your partner did lose hisjob and you are a barber, so you have not been working, has the financial

help from being a foster carer helped you both? absolutely, it has been a lifeline and it has meant we have a roof over our head, food on the table and we have been able to keep the kids fed and clothed. what we need to remember is that money is for the children and it is not there just as a financial benefit for us, it is to keep those children safe and keep a roof over their head and give them the best life possible. sarah and david, hello to you in clitheroe. you have two children aged eight and five and you want to foster? yes, we want to help kids, basically. it is something we have always wanted to do, but we have never been as stable as to where we are at. we have always wanted two kids, we have that and we are in a better position where our youngest is five years old and she doesn't get toojealous is five years old and she doesn't get too jealous and she is at the age where she understands a bit more

and wants to help. that is one of our reasons. what do you say, sarah? just to give the child a better life and happy memories and stuff. what is the process like, sarah, for being approved, what kind of things do you have to go through? they like, have a look at your house to see if you have got a spare room and you fill out an application form. but if you have got any questions you canjust but if you have got any questions you can just ring but if you have got any questions you canjust ring them at any time and they are there to help you. you canjust ring them at any time and they are there to help you]! it doable, david, for anybody watching and might be interested, is it doable or do you feel under scrutiny, which is probably quite right? i think it is really doable. you have just got to look at it as a positive thing. it is all about the kids at the end of the day, once you have got to a certain age and you have got to a certain age and you have done all you want to do in life, i reckon everybody should do

it if they have got room to do it and they have a stable life. let's bring in steve christie from the national foster on group, good morning. good morning. there was a 7000 shortfall of foster carers before lockdown, what about now? that was before the pandemic. i think the children's commissioner has said she thinks this pandemic is going to cause a lot more children to be taken into care and that is what normally happens in times when there is increased poverty that leads to neglect. i think the short ball before hand aggravated leads to neglect. i think the short ball beforehand aggravated by shortfall before the pandemic will lead to a crisis in social care so there is a desperate need for foster ca re rs across the there is a desperate need for foster carers across the country and anybody who is thinking about becoming a foster carer, i would urge them to look into it a little bit more. there are so many positives. what other positives, why

has it become appealing? —— are the. it isa has it become appealing? —— are the. it is a nice way to earn a living. i know the foster carer you were talking to was talking about the money being for the child and that is true. but also to compensate the ca re rs is true. but also to compensate the carers for their time is true. but also to compensate the carers fortheirtime in is true. but also to compensate the carers for their time in looking after a child. a lot of people have got used to working from home and it isa got used to working from home and it is a job that fits in and around the family and it is a job where you are working from home. the other thing thatis working from home. the other thing that is critically important it helps to break the cycle of neglect. if you look at a lot of the children who are being looked after, they are birth children of children who were also in the social care system. foster carers do a credible job providing a nurturing and loving home for these vulnerable children. it gives them a springboard to go on and have a life where they can achieve and not necessarily be involved in that sort of cycle of

neglect. so it is so important to society and give these children a great opportunity to go on and the foster carers we have got within the national fostering group do an incredible job. there are heart—warming stories i hear every day about the children, the looked after children that are within loving foster homes, achieving incredible things and go on and have successful lives. can you tell us what the payment is for foster carers, is it a weekly payment or a monthly? it works up to about £22,000 a year per child. that is when you have a child with you. it does include the cost, the food, clothing, trips out and holidays and things like that with your foster child. a certain percentage of it is exempt from tax so it is a sort of tax—free sum. if you have a second

chardy would have to take your own financial advice as to how that would play out. but a lot of people find it fits within their lifestyle and they get a huge amount of reward. nathan, hugely rewarding, what is the most challenging element of being a foster carer? for me personally, it is the constant sibling rivalry. iam personally, it is the constant sibling rivalry. i am an only child so that was a massive adjustment for me. you sometimes feel like you've got to step in, but you feel a little bit guilty stepping in because at the end of the day, you arejust standing in because at the end of the day, you are just standing in the shoes of their parents and you don't want to hurt their feelings because you want to keep them as close to you as possible, keep the relationship with them. that is interesting, you may be because they may have come from a difficult background, you as the

foster carer of course, want to love and nurture them but it is hard to do the disciplining potentially? absolutely, you don't want them to feel any more hurt. ok, sarah, david, good luck with your application. i hope it goes well. sarah and david havejust application. i hope it goes well. sarah and david have just applied to be foster parents. nathan, well done to you and anthony, foster carers for two years and steve christie, thank you for talking to us, managing director of the national fostering group. steve, if people are fostering group. steve, if people a re interested, fostering group. steve, if people are interested, where should they go? just go on to foster care is dot—com and that will give you all the information you need to know. you can get something through the post and we can put you in touch with existing foster carers. and that means you can start your

journey. —— that means you can start your journey. — — fosterca re rs. com. that means you can start your journey. -- fostercarers.com. thank you all. this newsjust journey. -- fostercarers.com. thank you all. this news just in journey. -- fostercarers.com. thank you all. this newsjust in is journey. -- fostercarers.com. thank you all. this news just in is from the office for national statistics and it is to do with coronavirus debts. it says the uk record is around 64,500 excess deaths from all causes, according to the latest data this morning. that is from the office for national statistics. the scientists at the daily briefing suggests the excess deaths figure is the one we should be using to assess the one we should be using to assess the scale of how this country has been hit by coronavirus. it is pretty high compared to normal times. 64,500 excess deaths from all causes, so covid —related and non—covert related, according to the latest data from the ons, published this morning. today marks the start one of the traditional highlights of the british summer,

royal ascot, but it'll be very different this year as top hats and fascinators make way for temperature checks and face coverings. there'lljust be a few hundred people on site to witness flat racing's biggest meeting instead of the usual thousands. our sports reporter laura scott has been finding out what we can expect. first race... nothing epitomises the sport of kings quite like royal ascot. traditionally, one of the society events of the summer, it blends high—class racing, glamour and of course, royalty. but behind closed doors, the 2020 version will be like no other, even down to what people wear. there isn't actually going to be a formal dress code this year. with no actual royal enclosure taking place, it wouldn't be appropriate to ask people to dress in top hat and tails. in the parade rings, of course, where most of the participants are going to be, face masks are still part of the regulations. this does not set a precedent for the future, we will be back next year, top hat and tails,

all the formalities but for now, it'll be an unusual royal ascot. temperature checks, partitions separating jockeys in their changing room and masks are all part of racing's new normal. only around 500 people will be allowed on the course each day and owners are not permitted, meaning the queen will be absent for the first time in her 68—year reign. this grandstand is one of the most iconic views in writing iconic views in racing with the royal box behind me, but this year it will be largely empty. the hope is that many of the 300,000 people who would have been here over the course of the week will stilljoin in from home. for those missing getting into theirfinery, a charity campaign has been launched encouraging you to do this at home and share photos. in this hallowed part of berkshire, the performances on the track will take centre stage over the next five days. the occasion will be simplified and surreal, but there will be no forgetting this royal ascot. laura scott, bbc news, ascot.

next year's oscars have been pushed back by two months from february to april because of the pandemic. organisers of the 93rd academy awards have also agreed to extend the eligibility window for nominees to the end of february. considerations will be extended temporarily to films that are released on streaming platforms rather than solely in cinemas. your e—mails regarding the free school meal voucher scheme. sue says, iam school meal voucher scheme. sue says, i am looking after three children who are entitled to the scheme and two of them attend school in the same local authority and another in a different local authorities and the head teachers have chosen different option. one school provides a £15 a week food voucher and the other school provides a school parcel, food parcel. john says, children have suffered enough, the government needs to rethink. the government say we are giving £63 million to local authorities for various welfare

assistance schemes. this from barbara, my daughter is on her own with two boys aged nine and six and they never stopped eating. the vouchers are a life—saver for her. and christine says, my sister has found the scheme an absolute godsend, as she is on universal credit. maria says, my daughter has been requesting the school vouchers for weeks but she hasn't had them yet. thank you for those, do keep them coming in. we are about to switch from bbc want to bbc two, joint us there if you can. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. the weather where you are may have started the day on a fine note but you can't rely on it staying that way because yet again for the day ahead, although there are some warm sunny spells to be had at times, big clouds developing and you may catch a shower, thunderstorm and maybe even a torrential downpour. the reason why it's another day

of this weather pattern, quite a large area of low pressure sitting across the north—west of europe at the moment. the isobars, white lines, these are not close together, these are not strong, gusty winds. winds are fairly light and is not a broad area of heavy rain and lots of weather fronts but there is instability in the atmosphere because of low pressure and look at this, as we get deeper on through the day, more showers and thunderstorms developing and they are possible just about anywhere. away from them, some sunny spells but could well for wales, the midlands, north—west england, northern ireland and south—west scotland, be in the zone of really nasty downpours, torrential, frequent lightning, hail and maybe even enough rain in a short space of time to bring some flash flooding as well. away from these, there will be some sunny spells, not everybody will catch a downpour. there may be some low cloud hugging some north sea coasts keeping temperatures around 15 degrees. for most of us though, its high teens and some spots into the low 20s. it feels humid again, as it will tonight. gradually through this evening, some of the showers and thunderstorms

will fade and the second half of the night mainly dry although still a few showers affecting parts of northern ireland and western scotland. turns misty and murky again, particularly across central and eastern parts of the uk. overnight temperatures of about ten to 13 degrees. so tomorrow we start with some areas of poor visibility. looks like it could stay murky again along some north sea coasts. whereas elsewhere we get some sunny spells developing and yet again, there will be some showers, thunderstorms developing giving torrential downpours in places and temperatures pretty similar. as we go through wednesday night into thursday, take a look at the big picture here, we could see an area of heavy rain spreading in across initially south—eastern areas of the uk and then pushing northwards into thursday although some uncertainty about how far north that will get. following on from that, again some showers and thunderstorms and the chance of those into friday and gradually over the weekend

more of us turn dry and a bit warmer as well. that's your forecast.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm victoria derbyshire. bad news forjobs in the uk — new figures this morning show the impact of lockdown is starting to hit hard. manchester united striker marcus rashford puts the uk government under increasing pressure to issue free school meal vouchers for vulnerable children over the summer. we have actually, unusually in this case, along with all the other billions, multi—billion pound package we put in place to help families, also provided £63 million exceptionally to help local authorities help children over this period as well. tensions on the korean border as the north blows up itsjoint liaison office with the south, just hours after threatening military action. new zealand records two new cases of coronavirus.