this is bbc news with the latest headlines. a billion pounds for primary and secondary schools in england to help children who've fallen behind because of the coronavirus crisis. there's nothing betterfor children than being in school, and when they're in school, we want them to have the catch up, so they don't lose out as a consequence of this crisis. non—essential shops can re—open in wales from monday. more details on the easing of lockdown will be announced later today. businesses and government deparments in australia are hit by what its prime minister calls a "sophisticated, state—based cyber attack".

uk government borrowing hits a record monthly high of £55 billion in may, as the coronavirus continued to press heavily on the public finances. there's a "mountain to climb to get back into power", according to a major review of labour's 2019 general election defeat, its worst since 1935. hello, good morning and welcome to bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh and you can get in touch with me on twitter about any of our stories @annita—mcveigh. our top story today — primary and secondary schools in england are to get a one billion pound boost to help children catch

up on months of lessons that were missed during lockdown. the government has pledged that a third of that cash will go towards a special tutoring programme for the most disadvantaged children. the rest of the money, £650 million, will be available to schools to spend on one—to—one or group tuition for any pupils they think need it. critics say the plans lack detail and that early years providers and colleges for over—16s have been left out. dan johnson reports. it goes tens, hundreds and thousands. extra maths delivered online to help kids catch up. it is was already happening at this primary school but now many more pupils across england will get this one—on—one support. you don't know whether to put your hand up and say, "i know the answer," because you don't know how everyone is going to react, whereas in the tutoring, because it's one—to—one, you don't have to be, like, scared of saying what the answer is.

even times like this, during the pandemic, you can still learn a lot of stuff and you won't, like, slow down in your education, you canjust keep up. so, it's helping you get better at maths? yeah. is that something you struggled with before? kind of, and you don't have to worry about other people thinking, "why is he asking that question?" there's hundreds of millions for this sort of tutoring, targeted at those falling furthest behind. these sessions are run by a charity that uses volunteer tutors. i don't think it completely can take the place of traditional teaching but we're seeing some really promising starts from our online tutoring that we're offering already, with pupils commenting that it's helping them to re—engage with their learning, that it is replicating what they might get in the classroom and that, crucially, it's giving them that individual support and space where they can ask questions. there's a lot of catching up to do

because most children still haven't made it back into school after three months of disruption now — so what about summer? will that be more time that they spend at home? and then september, what's that going to look like? how do you get more children back into these buildings? will there ever be an assembly again in a hall like this? head teachers now have money and some freedom in spending it to try to answer those questions and to work out how to get every child back up to speed. you have to be realistic and think that they will have bigger gaps in their learning but also, how can we plug those gaps if those children, say for example, can only come back 15 at a time? i think there is a place for tutoring to help and support us. but there is detail to come about exactly who gets this, how often and for how long. this funding is for one year, it does not cover preschool or post—16 education. it has been widely welcomed but with warnings it may not be enough.

dan johnson, bbc news, hackney, in east london. our political correspondent nick eardleyjoins me now. good morning to you, nick. tell us what we know about this plan so for ina bit what we know about this plan so for in a bit more detail is passed do we have that detail? a lot of the early reaction seems to be along the lines of, we need to see the details? yeah, there are certainly some questions about exactly how this money will be spent and exactly how much discretion head teachers will have. it is £1 billion overall, for england. two thirds of that, around £650 million, will be spent across england, head teachers will be able to apply for it, they are allowed to spend what they want, but there is an emphasis from the government on trying to make it about either group tutorials or individual tutorials if necessary. there is another £350 million which is for the most

disadvantaged children, to make sure that they can catch up through tutoring in the next academic year. broadly, it has been welcomed by education unions and by politicians. have a listen to the schools minister, nick gibb, bbc this morning. our clear intention is that more schools will open in september, thatis more schools will open in september, that is what we want to see happening. there will be a phased approach, part time for year 10 and year 12 from the 15th ofjune. schools have, of course, been open for the whole period, even from march, for children of critical workers and the most vulnerable children. and now, about a million children. and now, about a million children are in our schools, but we wa nt children are in our schools, but we want to do so in line with the scientists advice and in a way that isn't safe for children and teachers. we have had a very phased, cautious approach so far. that was

nick gibb talking about the return of schools, which is the missing pa rt of schools, which is the missing part of the puzzle here, annita. it is all fine and well talking about this money to catch up, but we want to know that children will definitely be back when the new school year starts in england in september. we know that the government failed to live up to its initial promise, which was to have all primary schoolchildren back in school before the summer holiday. so, there are still those pressures on how you get children back into school. 0ne on how you get children back into school. one thing that is being looked at by a lot of tory mps, and there is a lot of pressure on, is what northern ireland have done, reducing the two—metre rule for children in schools to one metre, to allow them to have slightly bigger classes. the plan in northern ireland is to have all children back at the start of the academic year but there are some politicians here who are knocking on the prime minister's door‘s iron, that is something we can learn from. what early reaction has there been from labour and others? keir starmer has

been asking the prime minister to work with labour on a national plan to get children back to school, and as we mentioned, concern as well that there is nothing specific in this package for early years settings or sixth form colleges? yes, so, the broad reaction on the idea of putting this money into tutoring has been supportive. there are concerns, as you point out, from the education community about early yea rs the education community about early years and about 16—year—olds to 18—year—olds. we did hearfrom nick gibb this morning that this was not the only measure that is going to happen, there are talks with other sectors about how to get extra cash for those groups as well. so maybe we will see some more of that in the coming days. politically, you're right, education has been one of theseissues right, education has been one of these issues where there has been a lot of arguing over the last few weeks. labour's shadow education secretary, rebecca long—bailey, has been saying this morning that labour likes the idea of tutoring that is not completely sure that this is a

catchall programme that is going to solve all the problems. they are calling for more talks on how you get children back into school, making sure that it is safe, persuading parents and teachers and unions that that can happen. the government, though, has been critical of labour on this as well. we saw it at prime minister's questions on wednesday. boris johnson wants the labour party to try and persuade the unions to get teachers back to school so that children can get back as well. there is not a lot of consensus on that issue beyond the idea that children should be getting back to school when it's safe. and at the moment, it doesn't look like that idea of bringing all the parties together to persuade them is a likely goer. nick ea rd ley, persuade them is a likely goer. nick eardley, for the moment, thank you very much. and we will be talking lots more about this story this morning including talking to a head teacher, a parent at also a representative of one of the teaching unions.

dealing with the coronavirus is a devolved issue, with each nation taking slightly different approaches. in scotland, parts of the second phase of easing restrictions comes into effect today. people who live on their own or only with children under 18 can meet people from one other household. they can visit each other‘s homes and go inside. they don't have to stay two metres apart and can also stay overnight in northern ireland, social distancing rules will be reduced to one metre for children and young adults when they go back to school in late august. and the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, will also be announcing some changes there today. non—essential shops will be allowed to reopen from monday in the latest easing of lockdown measures. but the five—mile limit in wales on non—essential journeys will remain. mark drakeford says he hopes to ease restrictions

over the next few weeks. 0n the following monday, the 29th, schools will reopen in wales, and on the following monday, the 6th ofjuly, provided the virus remains under control, then our stay local restrictions will be lifted so that people will be able to travel across wales to tourist destinations, families and so on. and mark drakeford will be giving more details about the announcements later and we'll bring you that here on the bbc news channel at around half past 12. people of south asian heritage are more likely to die from coronavirus after being admitted to hospital in the uk, according to a major new study. data from 260 hospitals across england, wales and scotland showed that patients with south asian backgrounds were 20% more likely to die than white patients. the research, published in the lancet medicaljournal, suggests that high levels of diabetes are partly to blame. government borrowing has risen to a record high because of the lockdown.

in may, the government borrowed an estimated £55 billion pounds. that's nine times more than the same month last year. government debt is now equivalent to 100.9 per cent of gdp — the value of all goods and services produced in the economy. this is the first time that public sector debt has exceeded economic output since 1963. let's get more from our economics correspondent, andy verity. the first time that public sector debt has exceeded economic output since 1963, that is worth repeating, i think. but any surprises that we are in this position? well, in a way, knowing what we know about what the government has had to do since the government has had to do since the pandemic struck, it's not a

surprise that we have record borrowing, in a way it is not a surprise that in the month of may, we borrowed nine times what was borrowed in may last year. because tax revenues have dropped massively, that's what the government wanted to happen. the government effectively instructed this recession when it instructed this recession when it instructed a shutdown, an economic lockdown. we know why it did it, to save lives. but the consequence, which it was fully aware of when the shutdown was ordered, is that we are 110w shutdown was ordered, is that we are now in the biggest recession in a very long time, and that figure about 1963 is interesting, because in1963, about 1963 is interesting, because in 1963, although the economy was picking up, there was still this great overhang of wartime debt. it's worth remembering that in world war ii, the whole war was financed with borrowed money. and by the end of the war, we owed something like 220% of gdp, more than twice as much is the size of our entire economy. worth also remembering that in 1945, the attlee government embarked on a huge spending programme in spite of

all that debt, and that worked, to get the economy out of trouble, to bring unemployment down et cetera, build the nhs, build the welfare state. if people had been concerned about the public finances then, that would never have happened. and then of course as the economy picked up pace in the 1950s and the 1960s, then they could bring the debt down. it isa then they could bring the debt down. it is a similar long—term game that we are in now, it's going to take decades, forget any talk about the immediate policy goal being as it has been for chancellors over the last 15 years, to get the budget back into surplus — it is not going to happen for years. probably not for decades. and the thing is that a lot of what we have been told for the last ten years, that that really matters, that that should be the central economic policy goal, well, a lot of economists now say, why? interest rates are manageable, they are super low. and also the institutes that lend governments money are keen to have a safe

investment, like lending to a government. so there is no problem when the government goes out and borrows £104 billion in two months, more than it ever has in the same timeframe before, in fact more than the government borrowed in the whole of the post—financial crisis, over ten months, less than this government has borrowed over two months. it can still get their money m, months. it can still get their money in, that's because investors are worried about putting their money in shares, they would rather lend it to governments. andy verity, our economics correspondent, thank you very much. the us supreme court has ruled against president donald trump's bid to end a major programme that protects young immigrants from deportation. it's the second time this week the country's highest court has ruled against this president. it comes in the same week he has faced accusations of incomptetence in a memoir due to be published by his former national security advisorjohn bolton. and also another row over his use of social media. david willis reports.

protesters chant. it came as a real light to the dreamers, and a slap in the face for the president. i'm so happy. the threat of deportation lifted, for now at least. the nation's highest court rejecting the trump administrations attempt to end protections for some 700,000 young, undocumented immigrants. i will immediately terminate president 0bama's illegal executive order on immigration. the decision, a major blow to a president who made immigration reform a centrepiece of his run for office, branding the supreme court's verdict horrible and politically charged. social media has also proved a battleground for donald trump on occasions, and twitter has once again added a warning label to a presidential tweet, this time one that featured a video criticising the news media. facebook also announced it was removing trump campaign ads that featured a nazi symbol.

a trump spokesman maintained the symbol was associated with a left—wing group which the president has blamed for recent anti—racist violence. coming hard on the heels of claims by the former national security advisorjohn bolton that the president is poorly informed and uses the power of office for personal and political gain, this might be a week mr trump would rather forget. further adding to his woes, the news that one of the administrations that one of the administration's highest—ranking african—americans, state department official mary elizabeth taylor, has resigned in protest at the president's response to racial tensions here. and the week isn't over yet. david willis, bbc news. let's return to our top story and the extra billion pounds the government has pledged to help school children in england catch up with work they have missed while schools have been closed. with me is geoff barton, general secretary of the association of school and college leaders.

and also francesca craik, headteacher at st bede's catholic school & sixth form college in peterlee. i'm also joined byjill willis in billericay in essex who is a mum to two primary school children. you're all very welcome. let me begin with you, francesco, as a head teacher, what do you make of the announcement, do you have much detail at this stage? well, i welcome the announcement, our children are our national treasure, it is only right that they are invested in and that they are securing the future of the nation as we go forward. i am very interested to see the detail in the plan because this ultimately will determine the success of what we do. in terms of our school, we are looking to put in place some tutoring programs are south, linked with a teacher first, currently, to be able to do that. but in order for

this to be a really big impact on a generation of children, the government must engage with head teachers and so that we get this right. it is an amazing opportunity, let's not squander it. because it all has to be delivered pretty quickly, so that engagement needs to happen quickly. i also mentioned you're the head teacher, part of the school is a sixth form college, but you won't get any money for those pupils, as we understand it? yes, and that really is a great disappointment, because our students at that end of the education spectrum, they are time—limited now and they are also the next group of workers to be coming into industry and professions. we must have some element of catcher for those students, and also for early years providers as well. we must get our youngest children off to the absolute best possible start. let me talk to mum of twojill. what age are your children? good morning, my

children are eight and ten, so they are in year three and year 6. has you're year 6 a child been back at school a little bit? a little bit, yes. i know that all schools are approaching it differently, so in out approaching it differently, so in our primary school, it has been one week on and one week off forjake and it has been brilliant, it has been great to get him back with some social interaction. yes, of course, it is that social interaction as well as the education. what do you make of what you have heard of this plan so far? do you think, for example, some extra tuition, either one—to—one or in small groups, would help at this stage? definitely, because the academic part and the drift i think that most parents are concerned about is really top of the priority list. but i'm just a bit worried that it is kind of all focusing on the academic. it is very much for us about this lack of social interaction for the children as well and i think while online tutoring will definitely plug a gap, for us, we want to see the children

going back into school, a situation where they can be safe, they can be engaging in sport, in creativity, re—engaging with their friends and a routine, so that when we get to september, it isn't an uphill struggle and they've actually enjoyed their summer holidays and been getting back to normal a bit, too. absolutely, that is what all pa rents too. absolutely, that is what all parents want, of course. general secretary of the association of school and college leaders, i'm sure you were listening to all of that with great interest. we heard from francesca that there had not been consultation with head teachers, is that something that you are seeing is well? yes, we have been having discussions with the department of education for a number of weeks, and posing all kinds of questions, the question about children approaching gcses question about children approaching gcses next year, for example, what will it look like, given that they have been out of learning for so

long? so we have been engaging at that level. i have to say this came a little bit out of the blue and therefore we need to look at the detail but £1 billion is a large amount and the good thing is that it is driven by evidence. the evidence is driven by evidence. the evidence isa is driven by evidence. the evidence is a teacher knowing what a child needs and then any extra work, one—to—one or small group tuition, needs to link with that and i think thatis needs to link with that and i think that is what the department for education has understood and that gives us a really good opportunity for sung—yueng people to really help them to catch up through targeted support. so, there needs to be really good communication between teachers and whoever is providing that tuition, to make sure that they get a real feel that tuition, to make sure that they get a realfeel for that tuition, to make sure that they get a real feel for the that tuition, to make sure that they get a realfeel for the individual child and what that child needs? absolutely, because there are lots of people with all kinds of well—intentioned ideas, a cavalry of people wanting to ride into the rescue, but we know that what will work is somebody who can say, here is what the child actually has done well they have not been in school, and therefore here is what they need to do. that is why we have got

questions about the tuition because we need to know make sure that the people who are doing that get to know the child, the curriculum and the syllabus. we have also got questions about when you get to the olderend, questions about when you get to the older end, you mentioned the sixth form college dimension. there is for mea form college dimension. there is for me a very big question about why, my child, in year12, halfway me a very big question about why, my child, in year 12, halfway through a—levels, staying in a sixth form, is going to get funding, but going toa is going to get funding, but going to a separate sixth form college, isn't. that seems to me to be unfair for a government which talks about levelling up for everyone. the broad principle however is one which we would support. i want to ask you as well, are you aware at this stage about weather this money will be divvied up absolutely equally across the board or weather there will be extra for areas in schools which have seemed to suffer from greater disadvantage? at the moment it looks like there are two pots of money, one of which is entirely for the extra tuition, the other seems to be at the discretion of head teachers. so, is that going to be equally

distributed? there is an argument for that but there is probably a better argument for saying that there schools which have got more disadvantaged children should have the kind of pupil premium allocation, where you give more money to those schools, and we would say that that would seem the fairest way of allocating resources. francesca, back to you, listening to what geoff was saying about tutors really knowing about the children that they are coming into contact with and what their strong areas might be, and their you have areas, how do you think children will respond to tutors, people that they don't know, coming into help them catch up, and would that be done in a school setting, as far as you know, or somewhere else? a school setting, as far as you know, or somewhere else ?|j a school setting, as far as you know, or somewhere else? i think a large part of this really depends on social distancing, whether schools will be given the opportunity to have additional resources and public buildings —— in public buildings, perhaps, that might be critical.

fundamentally, student success hinges largely on the relationships that are built between students and teachers. so, iwould be very that are built between students and teachers. so, i would be very much in favour of teachers. so, i would be very much infavourofan teachers. so, i would be very much in favour of an online tutoring programme, or face—to—face tutoring if it is possible, but it is absolutely critical that it is the right people in front of our children, and it is fully integrated into the curriculum. sorry to interrupt, if it is online, francesca, what guarantee is there that children who have been especially disadvantaged because for whatever reason they haven't really engaged with the teaching from school so far, what guarantee is there that they will then engage with this extra tuition? well, i think again it comes down to the detail which the government are going to come out and propose. with school leaders. it is very difficult to engage currently with some of our hardest—hit families, some of that is around the resources that they have. certainly i am still waiting on the delivery of laptops for our year 10 students, which was a government initiative. it is going

to be difficult, there are certainly challenges, but i think if government ministers can engage with trusts like the one that i represent, in the north—east of england, and enter into dialogue with people at the coal face, we can make this a huge success, but we have to enter into discussions with each other, that is the key, for me. and i want to go back to mum of two jill willis in essex. jill, you were saying that your son in year 6, jake, was loving the interaction of being back again, how do you think your children would react to extra tuition from somebody they don't know? i think they would react well. imean, we know? i think they would react well. i mean, we have been using online apps to get them engaged and to add on, we have been using the bbc bitesize, which has been brilliant, so there have been lots of new faces they have seen in their learning, which has been excellent. but i would say that it is notjust about

tutoring, if all that comes out of this is tutoring, i will be really disappointed as a parent. and i think lots of my friends will, too. we need children to be back in, socially engaging with their friends. it isn't just socially engaging with their friends. it isn'tjust about academic catch up. school surely is the safest environment for them to do that. they've missed out on nearly three months now of being able to play, to talk to their friends face—to—face, they really need that, and i think that schools and teachers, it is the best place for them to receive it. so, briefly, you would welcome perhaps over the summer holidays some sort of nonacademic summer scheme? absolutely. the social distancing measures have already put in place for schools and if they were to come down to one metre, all the better. but that is where i would like my children to be, not necessarily for the whole six weeks but i do think it has to be mandatory. i think there needs to be a framework telling schools and head teachers how many hours children should be receiving or available every week, because so far, it has been really

hit and miss. there are amazing schools that have done amazing things but lots of schools haven't even run their children in this three—month period to check in, and children have been left emotionally adrift because of that. —— rung without children. it's about connecting and making sure that the children are mentally well and happy, and that is where we can pull things back over the summer with in school sessions. all of you, thank you very much for your perspectives on this story today. uk retail sales rebounded in may after a record fall in april, according to the latest data. that's despite the continuation of coronavirus—related lockdown measures. the office for national statistics says we bought 12% more in may compared to april, but that was the month when sales plunged an historic 18% and sales in may were still well below more normal levels. sales were boosted by a 42% rise

at household goods stores, with diy shops and garden centres reopening. we can talk to the executive chairman ofjd sports, peter cowgill. hejoins me from bury in greater manchester. good morning to you, peter, thanks for your time today. and how has this first week of back to business been for you so far? very encouraging, in many ways, in terms of the football, the pent up demand at the beginning of the week, which begins to tail off, i think the weekend will be interesting —— footfall —— because there is a much more even flow of consumer traffic. i think it's very apparent that inner cities, particularly london, are suffering from the transport issues. so, it's a mixed bag. much

more intentional purchasing, so, consumers are out to shop, the conversion rates increase a lot but the traffic is still down considerably. intentional shopping, i think that's a new phrase we are going to hear a lot more of in the weeks and months ahead. what have you learnt about demand from your other european stores, which are a bit ahead of us here in england? you similar, low footfall, increased intention. 0verall, down a bit but seems to be improving as customers become more familiar with social distancing and their obligations under that. yes, on customer behaviour, what observations have you got now on the behaviour of customers with regards to social distancing and as a result of that,

are you making little tweaks and adjustments as you go along? not many, it does rely on responsible consumer behaviour once inside the store. i feel that most consumers are behaving responsibly and obviously we look forward to the reduction in the social distancing from two metres to one metre. are you working on any specific instructions on what trade might be like in the coming weeks and months and are you wary about making assumptions in the circumstances? wary because it is a difficult matter to predict. as i say, the flow of footfall has changed and it really depends how confidence consumers feel to be able to shop and relax in a shopping environment.

k, thank you very much. australia is under a serious and sustained cyber attack by another country, according to its prime minister scott morrison. he described the attack as "sophisticated" and said that all levels of the government had been targeted — although there have been no major personal data breaches. he refused to say which country, if any, he suspects of being responsible. it isa it is a sophisticated state —based cyber actor because of the scale and nature of the target. those engaged in this are not doing this to help us. that's certainly not their intention and so you could describe it as malicious. some newsjust coming in from police in the west midlands, who say that two people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a six year boy died.

0fficers murder after a six year boy died. officers are attempting to determine how the six—year—old suffered serious head injuries on tuesday. the force said in a statement that a man aged 27 and a 31—year—old woman are in custody and were arrested after the six—year—old, from solihull, was taken to hospital. sadly, the boy died in the early hours of the following morning. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. we have seen a month worth of rain in the last 24 hours in wales and the south—west of england. improving conditions, the rain we have seen so far this morning is breaking up and pushing into midlands and into another name and, back into northern ireland and scotland. these areas could see some thunderstorms in the afternoon but sunny spells across the south and sunshine for a time before the mainland storms arrive

later and still a humid day. though storm spreading across scotland during this evening and first part of the night. they will fade away later and mostly then dry with patchy mist and fog and i'll start to the weekend with temperatures in double figures for just about all. 0n double figures for just about all. on saturday, vastly dry day, a few showers in wales and the south—west spreading through the midlands towards the east of england later in the day. some showers in the north—east but there will be lots of dry and sunny weather around on saturday. rain spreads in from the west as we go through saturday night, clearing eastwards on sunday morning and introducing fresh and windy conditions to see the weekend out.

hello, this is bbc news with annita mcveigh. the headlines: £1 billion for primary and secondary schools in england to help children who've fallen behind because of the coronavirus crisis. uk government borrowing hits a record monthly high of £55 billion in may, as the coronavirus continued to press heavily on the public finances. non—essential shops can re—open in wales from monday — more details on the easing of lockdown will be announced later today. businesses and government deparments in australia are hit by what its prime minister calls a ‘sophisticated, state—based' cyber attack a "mountain to climb" to get back into power —

according to a major review of labour's 2019 general election defeat — its worst since 1935. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's mike. it's sung every time the england rugby union team play at twickenham, but rugby bosses say they're reviewing the use of the song swing low, sweet chariot. # swing low sweet chariot. the rugby football union say many fans don't know about the song's links with slavery. it's thought to have been sung for the first time when the former rugby league star martin 0ffiah was playing at twickenham,

because his nickname is chariots. he says the review is a good thing, but it shouldn't be banned. the song is not really what the issue is here. the issue is about diversity and inclusion and if this review leads to the rfu putting a positive spin on this song, engaging with ethnic communities, looking at the rooms where decisions are made in the rfu and addressing those issues. that's what its leading to, that's what we actually want. it's back to the dayjob for marcus rashford tonight, at the end of a week in which he forced the government into a u—turn. he made headlines off the pitch with his successful campaign to make sure that more than a million children in england will continue to recieve free school meal vouchers into the summer. tonight he's part of the manchester united squad who travel to tottenham as the premier league restart continues. norwich play southampton in the day's other game. that's all the sport for now, i need

to. mike, thank you very much. now on bbc news its time for your questions answered. today we're looking at the issue of shielding. to answer your questions we're joined by drjonathan leach, joint honorary secretary at the royal college of gps. and also, sara bainbridge, head of policy at macmillan cancer support. good morning to both and thank you for your time today in answering the questions. the first one to you sara from gemma. she says my partner and his child has been shielding with me while i have been on active chemotherapy. if his child goes back to school, do i have to isolate myself from them? it is a really good question and currently the government advice is if you are sharing a household with some warm,

they really need to observe social distancing. if for instance, your partner's child is going back to school it would be difficult for them to completely observe social distancing, although the schools are putting things in place. the government need to get on with updating people and we are pleased to see that that hancock made it clear yesterday that people will get an update to them with a letter. but it is difficult to make decisions like that, especially with regards to changes to schooling and what is happening with the household. gemma might want to get in touch with mcmillan because we have people on the other end of the phone who can talk through the risks and advice that might be best for her.|j talk through the risks and advice that might be best for her. i hope, gemma, you can do that and perhaps get more advice. the situation is still very much evolving. a question for you now, jonathan, from michael who says, lots of people like me are

still afraid to go outside. do we know if there will be charts for localised infection rates so we know what it's like in our local towns? we haven't seen that today and one of the issues is, you get people who actually have the infection but they don't know they have it, what we call asymptomatic spread. it looks backwards, but what we do know is going out and about in the open is not no risk, but it is low risk. it is in enclosed spaces with lots of people that would be the problem. if you have my uncle, for example, who is shielding, going out for a walk and going to get some exercise is actually good for him. it is good for his mental and physical health. there is no specific answer on that. if nothing else, you will be working backwards because the numbers we would have would be those from before, if you like. it is a

difficult question to answer. but as we understand how the science works, how the virus is transmitted and actually going outside for a walk and things like this is the right thing to do for your mental health and your physical health. perhaps in and your physical health. perhaps in an area of town, a park, for example, where there is the opportunity to space out a bit more to build up to that idea of going outside again, which i know a lot of people have huge concerns about. this touches on something that came up this touches on something that came up in the first question and answer. it is from cabella. that hancock says the shielded will receive a letter soon, will that give different information for different groups of people shielding. sara, do you know about that? we heard yesterday that the people who are shielding in england, the government is committed to giving an update soon. we hope that is very soon, because people are waiting to hear what is happening next for them. i

think what we are keen to work with the government on is the next stage of advice sets out a bit of a road map for people and it is very clear and also has taken into account some of these questions. what is important is charities who have been working really closely together will get round the table with the government and say, this is what people are shielding need and that will set out individual situations and maybe even show that as we have learnt more about the virus, we can adjust things for different groups of people who have been shielding up until now. but i think it is a valid question, different people have adjusted and reacted to shielding in different ways and so i think that having something that takes into account those differences in different circumstances is very important. we don't know if those letters will be completely individualised, but it is on the government's agenda to make sure that communication is clear and worked on with charities, which is

something we welcome. briefly, jonathan, on that point, do you have anything to add? we need to recognise this is a new disease and we need more research so we look at the risk factors and we now have quite a lot of data from covid—19, unfortunately where people have passed away and have been admitted to hospital and we have been able to get into the detail. there may be a difference between a younger person who perhaps has had their spleen removed or has had a kidney transplant, as compared to may be somebody he was older, methotrexate, one of the immune suppressive drugs, and getting into the details. then we will try to have the conversation with the patient so they can make a judgment themselves. and jonathan, steve asks of the government considering specific times for people shielding to go shopping and

visit parks and other areas?” cannot answer that but i can say what the nhs is doing. in our surgery in worcestershire, in bromsgrove, if we need to see somebody the first thing we are doing is having separate appointments for them within the surgery across bromsgrove , appointments for them within the surgery across bromsgrove, so appointments for them within the surgery across bromsgrove, so they are distinct from other people. we get them in quickly and they are by themselves and not with other people. similarly, we are doing things like, i was doing a home visit the other day and i had to stop lots of people going in, for somebody who was housebound. i did the blood test i needed to do at the same time. the nhs has reacted to that. i cannot answer the question about what the government is doing about what the government is doing about shopping times but as the nhs we recognise the concerns people have. supermarkets reacted very quickly to designated special hours for nhs workers, so perhaps something could be done for people

who are shielding as well, along those lines. you mentioned immunosuppressant, this question is ofa man immunosuppressant, this question is of a man who is from afro—caribbean descent, he is shielding because of a rare renal condition so he needs immunosuppressant drugs so what guarantees can you give me and others like me that it is ok to socialise schumacher sara, what would you say to him? the advice at the moment is they really need to socialise outside and if they live with other people, they should socialise with the people in that household. if they live by themselves, the advice is they could socialise outside with one other person. but that person should ideally be the same person each time. i think we have heard from people who have been shielding who have said that this can be really isolating. the other thing to say it socialise and could take place in different ways and people can seek

support from charities who might have services like telephone buddies or online community so they can find new ways to get in touch and get support from people. should he contact his gp, jonathan, to ask for further advice in this instance, would that be a good idea? we can give general advice and it is back to what i was saying earlier. there is no no risk but the balance is, if you have got somebody who is staying at home, they are isolated, their muscles will become very weak. we do wa nt muscles will become very weak. we do want people to take exercise, we wa nt want people to take exercise, we want people, for their mental and physical health, to go outside. there is a balance to be struck. if he was going outside and it was the beginning of the day when perhaps they would be fewer people around, it is always a balance. but i cannot give an absolute guarantee around

this. that is part of that, i recognise the concerns and it is conversations i have had with multiple patients. there are no guarantees with the strain of the virus. nikita asks, i have been one of those shielding through this pandemic and would like to know what i tell my employer about returning to work? that is a great question, because we know that people have had lots of different circumstances, as i say. some people have been furloughed, so using the government'sjob retention furloughed, so using the government's job retention scheme whilst they have been trying to shield and that means they are not going into work for the duration. we also know that some people have had their employers make adjustments. so finding ways they could work from home, but i think it is important that people talk to their employer about what might be a safe way for

them to work. i can just bring into question, a similar question, my mum ta kes question, a similar question, my mum takes immunosuppressa nt question, a similar question, my mum takes immunosuppressant medicine and she has received a shielding letter but her employer is assisting she goes into the office to work even though her consultants and gp has advised she works from home. she submitted the letter but her employer is not having any of it. i don't think she will survive if she gets this virus. jonathan, what advice should she have? this is the question we are getting most frequently in the surgeries, it is not clinical, it is about employment. we actually wrote to secretary of state early in the week regarding this. the issue is, would that person be disciplined if they don't go in, where are they financially? where is company financially? where is company financially? there needs to be

clarity regarding and that is probably the area at the moment where we are getting most of the questions, it is not around the clinical bit. it is around their employment rights and so that is a question regarding, which we do think needs resolving. we talked to a lawyer recently talked about the legal protections there are four people in a situation like this, if they feel under pressure to return to work even if they have been advised not to. and you are saying it is the most common question you are getting so i am glad we were able to bring that into our discussion. we are out of time but thank you both very much. labour's heavy loss in the last general election, the worst since 1935, was the result of a toxic culture, organisational failures and the leadership ofjeremy corbyn. that‘s according to a new report by the ‘labour together‘ group, which includes different wings of the party. 0ur political correspondent

iain watson reports. thank you very much... jeremy corbyn‘s leadership, brexit and the manifesto that did not seem credible — some of the reasons labour lost in 2019, according to a new report. the labour together group, which includes the party‘s former leader, ed miliband, and the shadow business minister, lucy powell, have spent nearly six months analysing the reasons for the defeat. some of it will make grim reading for labour supporters. they say that mps and activists have told them that ‘labour‘s strategy was inadequate and the organisation was muddled and that factionalism, internal arguments and division affected the party‘s performance. but we haven‘t got on to the really bad news for labour yet. the report says that a new leader will not in itself improve the party‘s fortunes. over the past two decades, traditional voters have been drifting away so, by 2019,

it was easier for the conservatives to pick off some seats labour had held since the war and a further 58 constituencies are vulnerable to small conservative advance. the report declares that labour has an electoral mountain to climb and it contains a stark warning for keir starmer, unless he makes fundamental changes, labour could have further to fall. iain watson, bbc news. we can speak now to the labour mp for birmingham ladywood, shabana mahmood. she is also a member of the party‘s national executive committee. thank you forjoining us this morning. this report says last year‘s defeat in the election was a long time coming, what do you think is meant by that, specifically? there were, as your report said, factors at play in the 2019 election itself so leadership issues and the manifesto seen as non—deliverable. but this

defeat was two decades in the making. if you look at some of the seats that changed hands, we had been losing vote share to the tories, who had been gaining support in some of those seats including brother barry since 2001. that speaks for nearly two decades, we have been losing support that had been traditional, hartland seats. lots of disaffection with the labour party, the industrialisation and other forces are at play and that is why we find, and it is a warning for our party, simply changing the leader or dealing with the brexit issue will probably not be the key issue will probably not be the key issue of the 2024 election, or streamlining the manifesto and has a clearer sense of priorities on their own, those things won‘t be enough u nless we own, those things won‘t be enough unless we deal with these longer term drivers which were also a big contributor to the defeat we saw in december. even the polling suggests there has been a favourable response so far to

there has been a favourable response so farto keir there has been a favourable response so far to keir starmer since he became party leader, that does suggest, based on what you are saying, and we often talk about personality politics, even someone who is deemed to be a very distinctive, good, strong leader, that may not be enough to pull back yea rs that may not be enough to pull back years and years of voters ebbing away. so based on this report, what do you think keir starmer, his team, all of you as labour mps in your constituencies are going to try to do to reverse that? i think he has got off to a fantastic start. i think his approach to often constructive opposition in the national interest during this time of a global pandemic is exactly what voters expect. he is doing a lot of the legwork at the moment in terms of resetting the relationship between the labour party and the country. but there is a biggerjob that sits behind that. if we are going to reverse the trends that have been two decades in the making, asi have been two decades in the making, as i said earlier, we are going to

have to reconnect with voters and former labour voters in former heartland seats and in order to do that we have got to go about the job of constructing a new, broader coalition that spans both generations, geography and different outlooks in terms of what people wa nt to outlooks in terms of what people want to see happen in the country. in the report, we find grounds for cautious optimism. there is a path back and we can construct a broader coalition to deliver a majority government, but it will require patience and long driven bridge building between labour and its former voters. we have to hold on to the voters that stuck with us in 2019, we cannot win without them either. so we have to stick together this and steer, cannot do this on his own, he has to be united. -- keir starmer. jeremy corbyn blamed media bias for the party‘s defeat and the fact the campaign was

dominated by brexit. not much introspection or perhaps self—analysis in that particular statement. how much do you think what happened was because of his leadership and the situation with brexit? i ask that because is it possible this report is too pessimistic and it was compiled largely before the pandemic started? do you think given we are in this huge sea change in society that is opportunity for labour to do much better, much faster than this report suggests it may take? there is certainly grounds for optimism. we found that in the report as well. it is true to say, leadership, brexit and the manifesto, our report finds clearly these were significant factors at play in the 2019 election. but if we only focus on what happened in the 2019 election, those specific issues, we will not win in 2024. we also have to deal with these long—term trends. the

labour party was founded to represent working people. we have a lwa ys represent working people. we have always had working—class support, but our report finds a class is much less of a driver of voting intention now, with age overtaking with education falling closely behind. this is a mountain to climb and if we are to win in 2024 we have to increase the number of seats we hold by over 16%. nobody in history has achieved that. whilst there are grounds for optimism, you cannot allow that optimism to mean we have allow that optimism to mean we have a lack of realism about the scale of the task ahead of us. 0k, thank you very much for your time. much more coming up at ten o‘clock. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello, there will be sunshine breaking through the clouds for some of you this afternoon especially in devon where we have started the day

with rain. the wet weather across southern parts, including wales is shifting northwards. damn. through the midlands, north wales and rain breaking out across of northern england, northern ireland and southern scotland later. central scotla nd southern scotland later. central scotland will be brighter at times after a few showers around this morning. more broken cloud and the odd shower across southern counties of england and wales, an improvement on earlier. it will be humid when the sun comes out. showers in the midlands and north wales, northwards they will be thunderstorms extended into northern ireland and southern scotland. brighter to central scotla nd scotland. brighter to central scotland but more cloud across northern scotland with a few spots of rain order is also cooler than it was here yesterday. thunderstorms for southern and western parts of scotland, they will gradually ease and tonight will become dry, a few mist and fog patches and reasonably mild and for some, a muggy night again the temperatures in double figures as we start the weekend. change of the weekend, low pressure

towards the north—west throwing these weather fronts through saturday night into sunday, bringing rainfora time, saturday night into sunday, bringing rain for a time, but also introducing less humid air, fresher conditions over the weekend as the breeze starts to pick up. let‘s put some details on that, this is saturday and is sunny for the vast majority full sun sign in wales, south—west and midlands in the morning to the north—east of england and lincolnshire through the afternoon. a few showers across the north and east of scotland but some sunny spells for the vast majority are most will stay predominantly dry with temperatures into the 20s. finishing with rain across northern ireland, strong and gusty winds on saturday night the windy weather spreads across all parts, lingering for the early risers on sunday in the north and east of the country but then sunshine comes out and a scattering of showers across scotla nd scattering of showers across scotland and northern ireland. quite a blustery day and sunday so it will feel fresh with temperatures for most of you sitting in the teens. after the brief dip in temperatures,

next week warmth will be pushing all the way up from iberian temperatures close to 40 degrees on the spain and portugal border and we could hit around 30. more on that later.

other european stores, which are a bit ahead of us here in england? this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a billion pounds for primary and secondary schools in england , and secondary schools in england to help children who‘ve fallen behind because of the coronavirus crisis. there‘s nothing betterfor children than being in school, and when they‘re in school, we want them to have the catch up, so they don‘t lose out as a consequence of this crisis. uk government borrowing hits a record monthly high of £55 billion in may, as the coronavirus continued to press heavily on the public finances. non—essential shops can re—open in wales from monday — more details on the easing of lockdown will be announced later today.