this is bbc news. the headlines... as schools prepare to restart in england, labour call for for next year's a—level and gcse exams to be pushed back, to help pupils cope with the impact of covid 19 — the government says it's too soon to decide. it is far to early to be saying we're going to postpone things or cancel things, as the labour party seem to be saying. i think that is the wrong approach. what we should actually be doing at this moment is focusing on getting our schools back in the saddle, running again, so young people can resume their education. it's a complete aberration of the responsibilities of government ministers are going to allow things to go to the wire again next summer, that creates great distress for stu d e nts that creates great distress for students as we saw the other day and even more chaos for universities.

the airline tui launches an investigation — as nearly 200 passengers on a flight from zante to cardiff are told to self isolate after a number test positive for covid 19. after 64—million half price meals served in august — the eat out to help out scheme ends today with many businesses calling for an extension. and the cost of plastic bags in england is to double to ten pence — and all shops will have to charge for them. here in the uk, labour has called for next summer's a level and gcse exams in england to be delayed — by up to two months — to allow pupils more time to catch up on lost teaching time after schools were closed during the pandemic. the shadow education secretary, kate green said pupils have a ‘mountain to climb‘ to prepare for exams after months away from the classroom. the uk government have insisted

exams will go ahead next year, whatever the timings. our political correspondent helen catt reports. it has only been a few weeks since this year's students got theirfinal grades, but what to do about next year's exams is a question that's already testing politicians, and it's one they're under pressure not to flunk. labour's answer, delay gcses and a—levels in england until at leastjune to make up for lost teaching time. it says otherwise pupils will have a mountain to climb. it's really important we put young people first when planning for next year's assessments and that means giving them the longest time possible to make up for the disruption they've already suffered in the school year we've just had and while i hope there will not be

description in the coming year and we have to accept it is quite possible that there may be periods when children might have to be out of school again for a time. quual has made some changes to what students have to do for subjects such as english literature and geography, to allow more flexibility. and it has already consulted on pushing back exams, but hasn't yet made a decision. the reality is, we want to get schools back and we want students to be sitting their exams as normal next year. the precise timing and the approach of that will be something that obviously the department for education, quual and others will decide, working with schools. it is far too early to be saying you are going to postpone things or cancel things, as the labour party seem to be saying. i think that is the wrong approach. what we should actually be doing at this moment is focusing on getting schools back in the saddle, running again, so young people can resume their education. the scottish government is also consulting on possible changes to highers and nationals. whatever decisions are made, the pressure is on for plans to be put in place quickly so that pupils know what they are working towards. helen catt, bbc news. our political correspondent tony bonsignore said the government would not make any decision on exams

at the moment, with the overriding priority being tomorrow's reopening of schools in england and wales. jones used this saying it's far too early to make that decision —— george eustice saying it's far too early to make the decision, to make the decision, but they have talked about it publicly before, something gavin williamson has spoken about with the possibility of a delay if it comes to it. they just say we are not at that position yet. i suspect they think there is political opportunism here from labour and of course remember for labour, the other point is they can keep talking about what happened in august, saying today that they cannot repeat the fiasco we saw, particularly with a—level results. the story seems to be moving towards when the decision is made, so conservative saying is far too early, the labour government saying make the decision now and others saying we need to make it so it's interesting to hear today

from robert halfon and this is what he had to say today about that decision. they have missed six months of learning, but i think a proper assessment needs to be made. it may be that exams are delayed for a few weeks, but i think the assessment should be done first to find out exactly how much catch—up is needed — extra tuition, extra mental health and wellbeing support. how is the government catch—up programme — the £1 billion — being used to help pupils? once we find all that out, i think a decision should be made for shore by october. so, makea so, make a decision quickly, as halfon saying. and they will be quizzing senior executives from quual, the exam regulator, on wednesday so we might get more of an idea at that stage what they're thinking is. it's notjust the government in westminster are looking at this and making decisions, there are the devolved nations as well and previously they've not worked in lock step which has put pressure on the government. it has and remember

schools have already gone back in scotla nd schools have already gone back in scotland and we saw what happened with exams in scotland repeated a short while later, just a matter of weeks later in england, and it's another complication, a very difficult situation because if the government to delay exams, that has a knock—on effect on university admissions, employers, they can get enough markers in place and there is enough markers in place and there is enough for the government to think about any of the fence before they make that decision but what you heard robert halfon saying and labour are saying is whatever, make a decision quickly. tui says it has launched a full investigation into claims that its cabin crew didn't follow coronavirus guidelines on a flight that's been linked to at least 16 confirmed cases of covid—i9. the airline has insisted its staff are trained to the "highest standards." all 193 people on the flight from za nte to cardiff have been told to self—isolate with some other passengers now reporting symptoms. stephanie whitfield was a passenger on the flight, she spoke to bbc breakfast about her experience.

it was quite scary, to be honest. as soon as we boarded we realised that many of the passengers hadn't really been educated about the wearing of facemasks. many of them were wearing them around their chins and underneath their noses. they were taking them off to talk to fellow passengers and walking down the aisle with their mask off to speak to others. and was anybody raising concerns about that on the flight, and what were the cabin crew doing? the cabin crew, obviously they were offering a limited cabin service due to the pandemic. so they weren't as present as perhaps they might have been on a normal flight or during normal times. but they did raise it with a couple of people. but i was sat next to a gentleman who had the mask around his chin for the duration of the flight. cabin crew did not raise it with him. so what was the response of — obviously you are a bit distressed, knowing what you know now about that flight. have you developed any symptoms since coming back? i know a number of people

have tested positive for the virus and everybody from that flight has been told to self—isolate. yes. we've developed very mild symptoms and we're taking a test tomorrow. my husband and i decided during the flight that we would self—isolate anyway regardless of government advice. we decided that prior to the news breaking. we're glad now obviously that we did. we're hoping we've just got a cold at the moment. but as i said, we are taking the test tomorrow just to be on the safe side. i can now speak to paul charles who's the chief executive of the travel consultancy, the pc agency. thank you forjoining us. what are your thoughts on all of this? it's not the first flight back from zante where there have been issues with people coming back and testing positive for covid—19 but it is the

first time we've heard about people not wearing masks on flight.“ first time we've heard about people not wearing masks on flight. if ever there was a case study of why airport arrival testing is needed, it is this exact flight because they would have been able to... the authorities would have been able to get hold of all the passengers at the time as they go off the plane and went through cardiff airport. this is a very good example of why the current rules at the moment need to be changed because they are not working and it's remarkable that public health wales admitted this morning that it could take a week to contact everybody on that flight. and that is simply not fast enough. greece and the islands are still not on the quarantine list. is that right as far as you're concerned? you like that is correct and in fact... you like that is correct and in fact. . . that you like that is correct and in fact... that is correct... is at the right position to be in? well, the numbers today show greece is reducing its cases so it is coming down a bit. clearly on zante itself,

there may be an issue and extra precautions have been put in place to restrict the numbers dining in restau ra nts a nd to restrict the numbers dining in restaurants and in bars so i think za nte restaurants and in bars so i think zante realises they had an issue and they are trying to do something about it but in terms of the flight itself, yes, tui should have been making sure everyone wore a mask on their own crew should have had eve ryo ne their own crew should have had everyone wearing a mask throughout and an investigation will need to work out why that happened but every airline has basically signed up to the fact that all passengers have to wear masks on a flight so if they we re wear masks on a flight so if they were not on this occasion, that is something very serious indeed. flight something very serious indeed. flight is just inevitably the wea kest flight is just inevitably the weakest link in this all part of the chain because there was no social distancing on them, is there, even when people wear masks or not? flights are actually one of the safest places to be and it may not sound it at the moment but it should

be enforced, massacring, and in other places and other settings, sometimes you're not wearing a mask so sometimes you're not wearing a mask so the air quality in many of these planes and in your aircraft, the air quality is replaced every 2—3 minutes and you also know exactly who is on the flight of course and the passenger locator form should who is on the flight of course and the passenger locatorform should be filled in by law so it is one of the safest places to be. the difficulty is if you let everybody out of the airport without them having been tested, then they are free to potentially spread the virus into the community and it may well have happened on this particular occasion. that is why arrival testing has to happen. white make it interesting you say they are one of the safest places to be and talk about the recirculation of the air. -- it is about the recirculation of the air. —— it is interesting that you say. it is purified, you say? i thought it was the same germs passing in and out of the system and if you compare what is happening in trains, on

trains, the seating has been reduced a lot so people are not sitting up close to each other anyway they are on flight. well, the newer aircraft in design, especially the 787 dreamliner is in some of the newest planes flying have the best filtration you can get in the air is actually replaced every 2—3 minutes on them. clearly on much older or aircraft, the air quality, while still very high, is not replaced so frequently. it's a few minutes more. in the majority, the air filtration systems a re in the majority, the air filtration systems are changed every 2—3 minute and that is a very safe place to be asa and that is a very safe place to be as a result, especially backed up by wearing a mask but i think this case just goes to show why we now need to see a change away from the quarantine rules that exist to arrival testing, and there are 30 countries around the world doing that. if the testing is in place in the airport when passengers get off

the airport when passengers get off the flight, they would have known exactly who was on board and been able to test them, they could then have quarantined for five days and had a second test, the majority of cases if not all would have been picked up over those five days. might make might this case also have an impact —— might this case also have an on how travel is seen going forward? it has not been a busy time and wouldn't be anything like it is normally. when people see what is happening here, it might put them off or even longer the thought of going on a plane and going for a foreign holiday. sadly i think there isa foreign holiday. sadly i think there is a danger that some people will be put off and there are many people who i think still want to travel and go away, they are looking at the best and safest countries to do that you. we have had a window undoubtedly during the summer where people are going away and coming back and we are through the busy summer season back and we are through the busy summer season with most people who have been away coming back today, one of the busiest days of the year.

i think one of the busiest days of the year. ithinka one of the busiest days of the year. i think a lot of learning from this particular episode, only tui is handling on board is something they will need to learn from and people should need to be tested on arrival. that is what the government will have to learn from now. the charge on single use carrier bags in england is to double from sp to 10p from next april, and all shops will have to charge for them. the government says it's part of a renewed drive to be greener, and cut unnecessary waste. 0ur chief environment correspondent justin rowlatt has the details. at the moment, the 5p levy only applies to single use carrier bags in large stores, those employing more than 250 people. but, from next april, the charge will double and will apply in all shops. the government says the initiative aims to protect sea creatures by reducing plastic pollution in the ocean. it claims that since the charge

was introduced in 2015, there has been a 95% reduction in plastic bag sales in major supermarkets. you know, not long ago the supermarkets were issuing around 7 billion carrier bags a year. that has now been reduced by 95%. now we want to extend this approach to other retailers as well, who between them probably issue at the moment over 3 billion bags a year. we think we can have a similar impact to reduce further the issuing of plastic bags and extend what has actually been a very successful policy, supported by the public. but environmental campaigners dispute that. they say we're just buying billions of thicker so—called "bags for life" instead. the environmental campaign group greenpeace says the government should go further and set targets for reducing all single—use plastics by supermarkets. this is just a small step when we should be taking big strides. we know the scale of our plastic pollution crisis.

the government is well aware of the kind of action they need to take, including on things like bags for life, which contain more plastic. but ultimately, if we're going to make people, customers, you or i, pay more, surely producers, the people who make the plastic in the first place, should be paying more as well, and that's what we want to see from the government as soon as possible. but the move has been welcomed by the association of convenience stores, which represents small retailers. it says the charge is an effective way of reducing plastic waste. justin rowlatt, bbc news. let's cross to edinburgh — where nicola sturgeon is giving a briefing from the scottish government. the provisional information i have is just 1a of the hundred and 60 new cases in tayside which have been dealing with the cluster from the two sisters processing fruit plant and the other cases in grampian which show that the...

teams for all the hard work they have done. 69 new cases are in greater glasgow and clyde, 27 in lanarkshire, 18 in lothian, nine in forth valley and eight in ayrshire and arran. the remaining 11 are spread across four different health boards. i will say a bit more about these cases later, but let me give an assurance that the circumstances of them and any connections and patterns between them are being very carefully examined. as you would expect, we are paying particularly close attention to glasgow and lanarkshire and considering whether any specific action there may be required. ican any specific action there may be required. i can also confirm today that 258 patients are in hospital with covid, seven more than yesterday, and five people are in

intensive care. while this is the same number as yesterday, it is worth noting that it is four more than it was a week ago, and that should be a reminder of how serious this virus can be. i'm pleased to say that no deaths were registered in the last 2a hours of patients who had tested positive over the previous 28 days, so the number of deaths remains 2494 under that measurement. the total reminds us of the overall impact of covid, and i wa nt the overall impact of covid, and i want again to send my condolences to eve ryo ne want again to send my condolences to everyone who is grieving a loved one. iam everyone who is grieving a loved one. i am joined everyone who is grieving a loved one. iamjoined by everyone who is grieving a loved one. i am joined by the education secretary, who will talk in a moment about face coverings in schools. the chief nursing officer will also help us chief nursing officer will also help us with questions. before then, a few issues i want to cover. first, a bit more detail on some of the main clusters we are currently dealing with, and the increase in cases i have i have just with, and the increase in cases i have i havejust reported. as i've already commented on, we saw quite high numbers of new cases notjust a but over the weekend. that is partly a result of greater numbers of people being tested, and the overall

proportion of positive tests was still below 1% at the weekend, which i think is an important bit of context here for everybody to bear in mind. however, the numbers of cases that we are seeing right now isa cases that we are seeing right now is a reminder to all of us that the virus is still a very real risk. it is a development that concerns me and one that we are taking very seriously. we mustn't lose sight of how important it is if we are to keep schools open, and get more normality in our lives, that we continue to suppress the virus and push us as close to elimination of it as we can. of course, the flip side is that all of that gets harder the more we open up the economy and society, and it takes more of a conscious effort on the part of all of us as we open up to keep the virus under control. sticking to the restrictions still in place, particularly on indoor activity, is absolutely essential, and i cannot stress that enough. 0ne absolutely essential, and i cannot stress that enough. one of the features of the new cases we have

reported in recent days is that not all of them appear to be linked to larger clusters. for example, the figures in greater glasgow and clyde seem figures in greater glasgow and clyde seem to reflect a number of small clusters rather than one or two more significant outbreaks. however, we are dealing with larger clusters in some areas. 0n the most recent —— on the most recent figures, there were 188 positive cases in the cluster linked to leitch in cooper angus. all employees at the factory on that household should continue to self—isolate at least until the end of today. if any work of household contact of today. if any work of household co nta ct has of today. if any work of household contact has been given specific advice by the contact tracing team, they must follow that, especially if it extends the isolation period beyond today. the plant is currently due to reopen tomorrow, and 2sisters are working closely with executives from hsc and environmental health to

ensure that reopening takes place safely. an incident management team is looking at our cluster of cases in ayrshire and arran at the moment. it currently has 22 positive cases, though the figure is likely to be updated later today. contact tracing is under way, and many of these cases seem is under way, and many of these cases seem to be linked to indoor gatherings that took place the previous weekend. that is a reminder of why it is so important to limit the number of people meeting indoors. our advice is that no more than eight people from a maximum of three households should be meeting indoors. the virus can spread easily across multiple households with larger gatherings are taking place. finally, i mentioned on friday that there is a cluster of cases in hawick, the total number in that cluster is 15. self—isolation and testing has been recommended where appropriate. a testing unit will be at the teviotdale leisure centre car

park tomorrow and wednesday. it will also be in galashiels tomorrow morning for anyone who needs to get tested. these units are relevant to the second issue i want to briefly touch on today. from today, mobile testing units in scotland, which until now have been run by the army, will be taken over by the scottish ambulance service. the change was first agreed in july ambulance service. the change was first agreed injuly and since then the scottish ambulance service has recruited almost 500 new people to run the units, and it has worked closely with the military to ensure that there staff are able to take over operations. as we are seeing, mobile units are playing a hugely important part in making testing more accessible, especially when there are clusters in rural areas, and it makes sense then to have the ambulance service take these units over the medium to long—term. i am grateful to all of the new ambulance service who filled these immensely important roles, and i want to say a

massive thank you to all the army staff who have been involved so far. establishing and running the mobile units has been a challenging project, but a hugely important one, and the army's hard work, professionalism and expertise have been greatly appreciated by me and eve ryo ne been greatly appreciated by me and everyone in the scottish government. the third issue i want to touch on today relates to perinatal mental health care, support for mothers and babies in the period immediately before and after childbirth. improving this care has been a priority in recent years, and it is especially important now. the need for physical distancing during the pandemic has increased the chance of new mums feeling isolated. it has also made it more difficult for some third sector organisations, many of whom provide key services, to raise funds. the scottish government is announcing allocations from the perinatal and infant health fund which we established back in the spring, which will provide up to £1 million a yearfor the

spring, which will provide up to £1 million a year for the next three yea rs million a year for the next three years to support 15 third sector organisations delivering perinatal mental health services. the funding to help ensure the services don't suffer as a result of the pandemic, and it will enable these organisations to help more mothers and support them as mental health and support them as mental health and physical well—being. the final point i want to touch on is that several more changes to our route map out of lockdown take effect today. unregulated indoor activities for young people can resume — cubs, brownies, mother and baby groups, for example. gyms, swimming pools and indoor sports courts can be open, though some facilities might ta ke open, though some facilities might take longer to get back up and running. i should stress that we are not yet permitting adults and young people over the age of 12 to take pa rt people over the age of 12 to take part in contact activity indoors. that must wait for a further review. the reopening of gyms and swimming pools is something i know many people have been looking forward to, and it will be a major relief for

people who work in the leisure sector. the reopening is a welcome further step in getting back to normal, and it is important for wider health and well—being. it also obviously brings risks. there is no getting away from that, and that is why we have delayed this until now. we are seeing, as i havejust been talking about in our daily numbers, as we release ourselves from lockdown, we release the virus from lockdown, we release the virus from lockdown as well. so, please, as always, in fact, this is more important now than it has been at any time up until now, make sure that you follow the guidance that is in place wherever you are, and for any venue that you are visiting, and cooperate with the staff working there. that is the only way we can make sure that these reopening is happen safely and that they don't spark an increase in transmission that will take us all back again. these are the key points i want to cover today. before i hand over to the deputy first minister, i want to

end, as always, by stressing the importance of the public health advice. the figures of new cases we are seeing demonstrate very clearly that this virus is still present across the country. the accounts we are getting up clusters show that it will spread rapidly if it gets the chance, and of course, admissions into intensive care in the last week, although still at a low level, nevertheless remind us that the virus is still immensely dangerous for some people. so, virus is still immensely dangerous forsome people. so, please, continue to make sure you are not doing anything that gives the virus the chance to spread. when you are indoors, whether in someone puzzling house, a pub or a restaurant, do not meet in groups of more than three households, and make sure there is a maximum of eight people in any group. and physically distance yourself from people in other households. none of that is easy, none of that feels natural. i understand that. but as we see from the data we are looking at right

now, not doing these things is giving this virus the chance to take hold of us again. and please continue to follow all of the facts rules. these are the golden rules that will reduce our own chances of getting or spreading the virus. so where face coverings in enclosed spaces, avoid crowded places, clean your hands on hard surfaces you are touching regularly, keep two metres distance as a general rule, and remember to self—isolated book a test if you have symptoms. it is absolutely vital that we follow these basic precautions. right now, we are in a very fragile situation. the transmission of the virus is increasing again. we can keep it under control if we all do the right things to help test and protect do its work, but it would not take much right now for this virus to get a grip of us again. every single one of us has a responsibility to try to stop that happening, so i'm

appealing to everybody today watching to continue to do the right things, and i appeal to all of you to spread that message as widely as you possibly can. thank you very much for listening to me today, and i will now hand over tojohn swinney, before he, iand i will now hand over tojohn swinney, before he, i and the chief nursing officer take questions as normal. thank you, first minister. an update on two key issue — face coverings in schools, and key points on the advice available to parents on the advice available to parents on the advice available to parents on the differences between the common cold and covid—19 as it affects when to seek a test for a child. last weekend, the who updated their guidance on face coverings for children and young people. i'm grateful to our scientific advisory children and education issues, and to the education recovery group, who considered this revised guidance carefully at the beginning of last week. they considered how the updated who guidance could apply in scotland, along with the other mitigations we have in place in schools to make them safe for

children and staff. as a result, the education recovery group worked together rapidly to update the school reopening guidance, new advice on when face coverings should be worn by children and young people. this revised guidance comes into effect today, and i'd like to thank schools, local authorities and transport providers for making the necessary preparations last week. from today, face coverings should be worn in the following circumstances, except where an adult or child or young person is exempt from these provisions: where adults and young people in secondary schools are moving about in the school in corridors and combined communal areas, where physical distancing is particularly difficult to maintain, and where adults and children and young people aged five and over are travelling on dedicated school transport. those are the two conditions in which face coverings

should be worn. this approach reflects precautionaryjudgments based on the latest scientific advice and the experience of school reopening to date. it is limited to the specific environment i have just described for the following reasons. these are areas where mixing between different age groups is more likely, increasing the potential for transmission. the experience and feedback is demonstrated that crowding in close contact in these areas is more likely, and that voices may be raised, resulting in greater potential for the creation of aerosols. the scope for effective ventilation is often less. for school transport, the adoption of an approach to face coverings applying to children and young people aged five and over will be consistent with the current approach on public transport. face covering should not be required in classrooms or other learning and teaching environments, but a child, young person or adult wishing to wear a face covering in school should be permitted to do so. we will continue to keep our