we will see some outbreaks of heavy rain, particularly towards the north—west and it will turn increasingly windy. the mayor of greater manchester accuses boris johnson of exaggerating the spread of coronavirus in the area in a bid to persuade local leaders to accept tougher restrictions — as he calls for increased financial support. anywhere could end up in tier three this winter. in fact, i would say places are likely to end up in tier three. therefore, it is everyone‘s concern to protect the lowest paid in our community. the earlier we have the restrictions, in those areas where there is high incidence, the better for the economy of those areas, because we stop the infection spreading in a way which will do further damage to

the economy. vigils and rallies are being held across france in a show of solidarity with the teaching profession, following the killing of a teacher on friday. britain's high streets under threat as a record number of shops close over the first six months of this year. some figures havejust some figures have just come in from nhs england. a further 61 people testing positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in england bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to 30,971. patients aged between 5a and 96. all but four had no underlying health conditions. those deaths between october the 11th and 17. we'll bring you more figures

as we get them. i will look quickly here... public health wales said there had been three further deaths reported, bringing the total deaths to 1711. that's it for now. now on bbc news it's time for the week in parliament. hello and welcome to the week in parliament, where the government brings in a new three—tier approach to tackling coronoavirus in england. but the labour leader reckons it's time for a short sharp lockdown. having read and considered the sage advice, i have genuinely concluded that a circuit break is in the national interest. but borisjohnson accuses keir starmer of opportunism. i think at three o'clock,

mr speaker, the shadow health spokesman said that a national lockdown would be disastrous. at five o'clock, he was calling for it. the first minister of wales says he's to ban people from coronavirus hotspots entering the country. also on this programme: why do children from some ethnic minority groups do better at school than white working class youngsters? they are desperate to make a new start and enable their children to succeed in the new system. and a plea to help lorry drivers caught short in channel—crossing queues. but first: with covid—19 rates rising, more hospitalisations and an increasing number of deaths, the prime minister announced a new approach to tackling coronavirus. we are today simplifying, standardising, and in some places, toughening local rules in england by introducing three levels of covid—19 alert. so all parts of england would be put

into one of three tiers. most of england is in tier one with the rule of six applying indoors and out, and pubs and restaurants closing at ten. in the higher level tier two, households are not allow to mix indoors. the toughest restrictions, tier three, mean no household mixing inside or out, the shutting of pubs and bars that don't serve meals and guidance against travelling in or out of the area. in the commons, there was a mixed reaction from mps. the government has asked a lot from people during this pandemic, stay at home, close your business, don't be there at the death of a loved one. british people have borne such sacrifice with grace and resilience, all they ask in return from government is clear communication and basic competence. yet, it seems, mr speaker, that their sacrifices have been squandered by the government's failure to build a robust test trace and isolate system or even

communicate competently. people from conway, with 122 cases per 100,000, are not permitted by welsh law to make nonessential journeys into next door where cases stand at 18 per 100,000. but people in liverpool, with almost 1600 cases per 100,000, can still go on holiday in wales. people in wales are asking the prime minister, how is this fair? well, mr speaker, the guidance is very clear that people from high areas such as merseyside should not be making those journeys. by when does my right honourable friend expect to have vaccinated the vulnerable population, what is his confidence in the date and why does he have that confidence? i am grateful to my honourable friend, alas, i cannot give him a date by which i can promise confidently that we will have

a vaccine. there are some very hopeful signs, not least from the oxford trials that are being conducted, but as he knows, sars was discovered 18 years ago and we still don't have a vaccine for sars. i do not wish to depress him, but we must be realistic about this. there is a good chance of a vaccine, but it can't be taken for granted. borisjohnson, there. next day, mps were asked to approve the new regulations bringing in england's three tier system. more is going to have to be done to support local people in tier three areas and to prevent penury following on from the pandemic. i do think we need a plan b for the possibility that there isn't an early and successful vaccine. we hope the secretary of state is right and that by the spring, there is vaccine that works and can be produced to scale and enough people want to take it and the problem goes away

in the spring. but there may not be. unless the government is prepared to set up roadblocks across the m1, m6, m62 and all other routes to and from the north, i am afraid, just as it did in the first wave in italy, it will spread. frankly, the pandemic strategy so far has been akin to throwing a glass of water on a chip pan fire and the government needs to change course today. i fear these measures would, for wakefield, be a death by a thousand cuts. mr deputy speaker, i cannot look my constituents in the eye if i had voted for measures that break them. well, despite reservations from some conservatives, mps backed the regulations bringing in the three—tier restricitons in england although more than a0 conservative mps rebelled. at prime minister's questions next day, the labour leader pointed to the recommendations made by the government's scientific advisers, sage, three weeks ago, that there should be a short period of stricter rules across england. mr speaker, i know that

for someone who has been an opportunist all his life, this is difficult, this is difficult to understand. but having read and considered the sage advice, i have genuinely concluded that a circuit break is in the national interest. the whole point, mr speaker is to seize this moment now, to avoid the misery of another national lockdown into which he wants to go headlong, by delivering a regional solution. and, mr speaker, opportunism is i'm afraid the name of the game for the party opposite. they backed the rule of six, or he backed the rule of six and then refused to vote for it. i think, at three o'clock, mr speaker, the shadow health spokesman said that a national lockdown would be "disastrous." at five o'clock, he was calling for it. he will know that the chief medical officer said on monday that his words,

"not confident, nor is anyone "confident that the tier three proposals for the highest rate "would be enough. this morning, the telegraph quotes senior government sources saying that the chances of the prime minister backing a circuit break in the next two weeks are about 80%. is that right? and if it is, why doesn't he do it now, save lives, fix testing and protect the nhs? i rule out nothing, of course, in combating the virus. but, we are going to do it with the local, the regional approach that can drive down and will drive down the virus, if it is properly implemented. ian blackford. the snp's westminster leader warned of a tsunami of unemployement resulting from the virus and the ending of the furlough scheme. we all know what the prime minister's tory colleagues are saying that the prime minister's

next job could be on the back benches, he just doesn't know it yet. if the prime minister won't u—turn on his plans to scrap furlough, does he realise he will never, not ever be forgiven for the damage he is just about to cause to people up and down scotland? as i say and i have said many times before to the right honourable gentlemen, this government is continuing to support people across the whole of the uk. what i will congratulate him on is the scottish nationalist party's support for the tiered approach which i think is still their policy, mr speaker, unlike the party opposite. at least they're showing some vestige of consistency in their normal gelatinous behaviour. borisjohnson. by the end of the westminster week, things were moving fast, with millions of people in london, essex, york and other areas moved up into tougher tier two restrictions. the health secrertary came to the commons to update mps. i did not come into politics to put

restrictions on people's lives and i want people to have as much freedom as possible, subject to not harming others. but the nature of this virus means that any one of us can inadvertently pass it on without even knowing. that is the liberal case for action and i believe that the british people get that. but he said he wanted that action to be as targeted as possible. we make these decisions with a heavy heart, with the sole aim of steering our nation through troubled waters. things will get worse before they get better. but i know that there are brighter skies and calmer seas ahead. that the ingenuity of science will find a way through and until then, we must come together, because we all have a part to play in defeating this dreadful disease. while i don't quibble or object to the public health interventions he is making, i am afraid they're still not backed up with the financial

package that is needed to mitigate their impact on jobs and livelihoods. more people will fall into poverty and destitution, families across for example, bury and bolton, small businesses across highburn or london, have been failed by the chancellor. the snp spokesperson returned to the issue of testing and tracing. tracing systems based on local public health teams, such as in scotland, wales and now in some parts of england, have all outperformed the centralised circo system, which has barely reached three quarters of cases and well under two—thirds of contacts. i welcome that local public health teams will now be directly involved in contact tracing in areas of high covid spread. but will the secretary of state now have them lead contact tracing in all areas across england to help get the test trace and isolate system working effectively? matt hancock said the best approach was when local and national

systems worked together. meanwhile, the welsh first minister announced a ban on people from uk coronavirus hotspots travelling to wales. mark drakeford said the move was needed "to prevent the spread of infection within wales" and elsewhere in the uk. i've read the paper that accompanied the paper to the prime minister yesterday and that confirms that the data does not constitute definitive proof in favour of a travel ban. in fact, that paper goes one step further and suggests that it should be considered alongside a range of other factors before a conclusion is reached and it also shows the transmission rates in relation to travel have already peaked in august into september. so, do you believe this paper constitutes enough evidence when by its own words, it emplores you to consider it alongside other data to justify a travel ban? the first minister said the people of wales were "clamouring" for the

action he was proposing. where people are anxious and fearful of the effects on their areas and people from very high transmission areas elsewhere, not being able to travel from wales, but absurdly still being able to travel from england to those areas. so, he is entirely out of step with the views and the preferences of people in wales. i was glad to publish that paper yesterday, it certainly does not implore me to do anything and i am more likely to rely on the advice of those who are experts in genomics rather than amateur readers of their advice. the scottish parliament was in recess for the week but the first minister, nicola sturgeon, held a virtual meeting with msps, and didn't rule out a similar travel restriction to the one announced in wales. scotland has already acted first among the nations of the uk

in applying tough restrictions. we have done so at a time when our levels of covid, although far too high for comfort, are actually lower than the other uk nations. and i believe and expect that this will make a difference. but although we have put in place top measures, but although we have put in place tough measures, we cannot rule out having to go further in the future. for example, the approach to travel being adopted by the welsh government mitigates the spread of the virus from high to low prevalence areas. notjust within each of the four uk nations, but also where necessary between the four uk nations, needs to be considered here too and is being considered here too. meanwhile at stormont, first minister arlene foster announced the tightening of coronavirus restrictions in northern ireland, including extending the school half term break to a fortnight. talks ran into the early hours of wednesday as ministers tried to reach a compromise on a range of measures, finally

agreeing to a package that will apply for four weeks. as well as the extended school closure, the new rules include the closure of the hospitality sector, apart from deliveries and takeaways, no alcohol sales after 8pm, an end to most indoor sport and the closure of hairdressers and beauty parlours. we fully appreciate that this will be a difficult and worrying news for a lot of people. the executive has taken this decision because it is necessary and we discuss the impacts in great detail and we do not take this step lightly. we want these measures to have two impacts. firstly, on the covid transmission rates, which must be turned down now or we will be in a very difficult place very soon indeed. and secondly, we believe it marks a point for each and every one of us can take stock and go back to the social distancing measures that are vitally important. judging by the hundreds of messages i received overnight,

people across the north went to bed last night not knowing if their children would be going to school today, if businesses would be opening, or if they needed to go to work. and the confusion over the past 24 hours has certainly not helped that. a lot of these decisions will make a huge impact on people's lives, but they are for four weeks. we are very determined that this will be a time—limited intervention. they are and they will not continue past those four weeks. while it is beyond doubt that these measures are now absolutely necessary and indeed urgent, it is also the case that they will, as you have mentioned, have implications and knock—on impacts. can you share with us any of the evidence that you were shown or the executive were shown around the risk? and are there any other ways of mitigating that risk? i know, again, as an mla, i have received emails from headmasters and headmistresses from various schools wanting to know why they're having to have this extra week. these decisions have weighed very

heavily on us today, particularly protecting our young people, which is why we have kept the school closure to an absolute minimum, and i think that that was the right thing to do. arlene foster. and don't forget if you want to find out exactly what the restrictions are in your area, you can find them on the bbc website. you're watching the week in parliament with me, alicia mccarthy. you can follow me on twitter @bbcalicia and you can find all our programmes on the bbc iplayer, just search for parliament. why are white children from poor backgrounds the least likely to stay in education and move up the income ladder? the education committee is trying to find answers in a sometimes controversial area. they heard that those children had been overtaken by most other ethnicities on low incomes with only traveller children doing worse.

the statistics for children who went on to higher educaton were stark. the figure for white british kids is, for boys, 13%,forgirls,19%, and is eclipsed by, for example, chinese kids on free school meals, 66%, for black african boys on free school meals, 51%, pakistani boys on free school meals, 42%, and so the differences are enormous. i'd really like you to be as open as possible on this because, often, people refuse to discuss it. why is this the case? why is there this under attainment by disadvantaged white working—class boys and girls compared to many other cohorts? i think our elitist, exclusive curriculum does not work,

as i say, well in enabling working—class children to succeed through the system. that doesn't explain why some groups are doing better under that. so, you have working—class people from ethnic groups that are doing much better. i think when we look at... we also need to look at their histories and their histories of migration, because i think that some ethnic groups have come from countries where their families... they have generations of educational success in their countries of origin and they have social and cultural capital in their countries of origin, even though they may be economically impoverished by the move here. i think other countries come because they are desperate to make a new start and enable their children to succeed in a new system. you're having here multi—generational issues for these families, where successive parents, grandparents will have had poor experiences in education, as well as the children,

and i think that has profound impact on the attitudes towards schooling. over in the lords, peers wanted to know what the government was doing to help black and minority ethnic workers hit by the economic downturn caused by coronavirus. one independent or cross—bench peer said ministers had been told in the summer that those communities had been disproportionately hit by redundancies and the furloughing ofjobs. the mainjob retention scheme coming to a close, we can now expect another spike in bame redundancies. can my noble friend the minister tell me if the government has undertaken a bame impact assessment before making these changes? and in spite of repeated calls, including the 140,000—signed petition, why we still don't have a covid—19 race equality strategy? when designing the coronavirusjob retention scheme and its next steps, the government undertook an analysis

of how the policies were likely to affect individuals sharing protected characteristics, in line with our public sector equality duties. of course, the coronavirusjob retention scheme comes to an end at the end of october. it is being replaced by the job support scheme that will continue to supportjobs during the pandemic. i'd like to press the minister on the question put by my noble friend that there has been a petition of 140,000 people calling for a proper covid race equality strategy. in terms of the vulnerability of people from black and minority ethnic communities to the virus itself, there was work done by public health england on that, and there is follow—up work being undertaken, including asking every nhs trust to undertake risk assessments and then take action to mitigate those risks. in terms of an equality impact assessment, there was an assessment done under the government's public sector equality duty of both the cjrs scheme

and its successor schemes. in the minister's replies, i hear no hint of any new action to tackle this great injustice. does the government not accept that this is disappointing, given that covid strikes hardest where inequalities are greatest, that one of the greatest drivers of inequalities is rising unemployment, and that the bame community has suffered most of all from this? the noble lord says that the government's not taking any new action in response to this. my lords, new action was announced on friday. i'm updating the house on it today. and as i said, the commission for race equality is also reporting on employment as one of the themes it's looking at by the end of the year. now for a look at some other westminster news in brief: mps overturned changes made to the agriculture bill after the government said they were unnecessary and could have "undesirable" side

effects. peers made a number of amendments to the legislation, including one demanding the government make it impossible for the united states or other countries to export chlorine—treated chicken or beef fattened with hormones to the uk. our farmers risk being undercut by cheap imports from abroad within months. if the government is serious about keeping its manifesto promise to safeguard standards, it should put that guarantee into law. if this promise was good enough for the conservative manifesto, why is it not good enough for the agriculture bill, the flagship piece of legislation around food and farming for this government? would it not be right for the secretary of state for trade to have the armour of having the backing of parliament to actually say, i can't negotiate away that particular part of the deal with you because it is written down in law? our current import standards

are enshrined in existing legislation. these include a ban on importing beef produced using artificial growth hormones and poultry which has been washed with chlorine. the withdrawal act carries across these existing standards on environmental protections, animal welfare, animal and plant health and food safety. any changes to this legislation would need to be brought before parliament. the fisheries bill cleared the commons, moving a step closer to becoming law. the legislation enables the uk to become an independent coastal state post—brexit, with foreign fishing boats barred from fishing in uk waters unless licensed to do so. mps overturned a number of changes made to the bill in the house of lords, so the bill will now be sent back to peers for them to look at again. musicians are just one of the many groups in the arts, culture and sport sector hit hard by the covid shutdown. earlier, this month 400 freelance musicians played outside parliament

to highlight the plight of the music industry. the musicians union, which represents more than 32,000 performers in the uk, says 70% of its members have lost more than three—quarters of their regular work, leaving many in financial hardship. the culture secretary insisted the closures were necessary. i am doing things i find absolutely hateful. i do not want to be stopping theatres from operating. i don't want to be stopping fans from going into stadiums. the reason why we're doing this and paying the price is in order to secure public safety and control covid and we are taking record measures to support all those sectors through this difficult period of time. finally, haulage bosses have warned that the new year could see thousands of lorries queuing in kent to get through customs as the uk makes its final exit from the eu. they told the commons transport committee that the system for processing lorries was not yet

in place, and the result could be vehicles waiting for days to cross into france. a conservative had a pressing worry. but in the case of lorry drivers perhaps being delayed up to two days, what other facilities, other than toilet facilities, will be provided for them? are there plans to be provided for them? because obviously, you have various lay— bys, we know there's a proliferation of bottles that look like they're filled with irn—bru, but they're not. but obviously, if drivers are going be stuck for two days, they're going to need feeding and watering. we are working very hard with highways england so that we are signing and providing access and very clear signalling to drivers where those facilities will be, again, to ease theirjourneys, because, absolutely, we want to consider the welfare of the drivers. we know they play a vital role. they played a vital role in the pandemic in keeping goods and services moving around the country. i'm incredibly grateful to them for that. and we need to think about their welfare, because we can't keep this country going without them. which urgent matters bring

us to the end of this edition of the programme, but dojoin me on bbc parliament on monday night at 11 for the start of another westminster week. but for now, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. hello. it's been quite a quiet theme of weather over the last few days but that is going to change for the new working week. it looks like this week will see rain at times and the wind will be quite a feature. for monday, low pressure in the north—west. we'll start the week with a north—west south—east divide. the heaviest rain in northern ireland and western scotland. we may see a couple of inches before the system clears and the strongest wind on the western coast. rain in wales and north—west england in the morning. central and eastern england should be mostly dry and bright

the day. blustery under the rain with top temperatures peaking between 11 and 15. looks likely we'll see more wet weather especially to the west on tuesday. the wind continuing to strengthen but a touch milder than it has been of late. take care.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the mayor of greater manchester accuses boris johnson of exaggerating the spread of coronavirus in the area in a bid to persuade local leaders to accept tougher restrictions, as he calls for increased financial support anywhere could end up in tier three this winter. in fact, i would say places are likely to end up in tier three. therefore, it is everyone's concern to protect the lowest paid in our community. the earlier we have the restrictions, in those areas where there is high incidence, the better for the economy of those areas, because we stop the infection spreading in a way which will do further damage to the economy. vigils and rallies are being held across france in a show of solidarity with the teaching profession, following the killing