those everywhere and we have put those funds in local authority. but of course, we put the most support into the areas that need it most and this approach that the government is taking of time getting to support and the measures in the areas where they are needed most days at the core of how you can as he put it, retained the consent of people while we go through these difficult actions. so i think that to be truthful to him, mr speaker, actions. so i think that to be truthfulto him, mrspeaker, he actions. so i think that to be truthful to him, mr speaker, he is far closer and more supportive of the governing position and that he feels able to express at this dispatch box. not least because he asked for economic support. if i just leap to that chance and a's aid and defence, this government has put and defence, this government has put an unprecedented economic support to help people through this difficult times. the billions of pounds of aid and further aid forthcoming and we

ask in particularfor and further aid forthcoming and we ask in particular for economic support where an area goes into a tier 3 and that is exactly what i announced with respect to lancashire and of course that is part of the discussions that we have with local authorities when further actions are needed. so, absolutely my mr speaker, more economic support from this governance, yes my more work with local authorities to deliver the local approach that is needed, yes, more testing capacity, yes, these are all the things that the government is delivering and i behold the honourable gentleman to acknowledge and support them since we are all clearly trying to deliver the same thing which is to suppress the same thing which is to suppress the virus and save lives. canl can i congratulate the speaker on the news about the testing which is the news about the testing which is the most significant potential news this house has heard on the fight against a virus for many weeks.

given the dangers of conflicting public health messages when local leaders and national leaders say different things, is it not time to consider aligning incentives by saying that local leaders have the responsibility to bring down the art rate, to give them the powers and the resources to do that if necessary so the resources to do that if necessary so if they fail to do that they will be stripped of those powers in order to allow the government to coin a phrase to take back control? the approach that we are taking, which is working effectively in almost every local area is to work with local leaders. and we are doing this across party lines, whether it's in liverpool or ligature as i mentioned or in south yorkshire, in the northeast in teesside, where the discussions are collaborative and consensual and thatis collaborative and consensual and that is the way that we need to deliver the public health messages

that are best delivered with everybody speaking with one voice all working together to tackle the virus. not to mention london, where there has been a similar approach. in greater manchester, i would merely point out that over the past week, the rate of infection amongst those who are aged over 60 which is the group most of it end up in hospital has risen from 171 per 100,000 to 283. so it is vital from a public health professor that we ask. doctor whitford. thank you very much. the economic impact on areas under the tightest covid—19 restrictions is significant. particularly for the hospitality industry were many young workers are employed. covid—19 will be with us for some considerable time so we need to learn and live with it as

safely as possible. as i highlighted previously, covid—19 is spread by airborne particles as well as droplets. so ventilation is key to reducing the risk of spread. there are ventilation systems incorporating antimicrobial technology which could reduce the spread in indoor settings. so last weekl spread in indoor settings. so last week i asked the secretary of state if he would speak to the chancellor about promoting their installation by removing vat and making them tax—deductible. he did not answer so i will ask him again now. does he recognise the importance of ventilation in the battle against covid—19? and if so will his government use their taxation powers to help make hospitality settings more covid—19 secure and avoid them being repeatedly shut down? thank you very much. absolutely we will support hospitality businesses and all the sectors of the economy. my

right honourable friend the chancellor has supported the hospitality industry more than anybody else. and if at the uk government is supporting businesses right across the whole country so when there is action by the scottish government to take action on public health grounds in eight devolved way, it is the government that then comes in with the economic support and this is yet another example of how much stronger we are all working together. i will take away the detailed point and talk to the treasury about it and it is of course a question for the treasury rather than for me but i would just underline the importance of also working together across scotland, across the whole of the uk and the economic firepower of the uk exchequer being able to support people right across this land. we have got some of the strongest people i've ever met and in fact across lancashire and we will do everything to get our infection rate down because that is what we do when

times are tough, become together. but morale is low, mental health of suffering of people cannot see their family and some have no evidence of their loved ones and care homes since march. can the secretary of state tell us what the government is doing to mitigate this and what steps have been taken to try and facilitate safe visits given there is no clear and? the honourable lady has shown real leadership in her to and very difficult times also this is not been easy for people of ligature and in her area there have been out research and for some time andi been out research and for some time and i appreciate how hard that is. but i think everybody will look to the way that my honourable friend has tried to support people as much as possible, has contacted me day and night with the cases of individual constituents and has put herself at the service of her constituents. i think the

people there are very well resented in her fulsome on the point that she makes a commitment we must absolutely ensure that just as a commitment we must absolutely ensure thatjust as places have to go into level three of restrictions when we are concerned about the ability of the nhs to cope with things if it gets further out of hand, so too we will absolutely reduce that restriction as soon as we safely can and we will do it not necessarily across the whole county but on a district by district level if that is what the data says it should be done. and that is something we are constantly looking at. for now, the single most important message to everybody there and across ligature is let's pull together, follow the rules and get this under control. i'm very grateful. and can i think the secreatary of state for the meeting he had with northeast mps last

friday? and cannot tell the secreatary of state that signs of the week moving in the right direction if the data accurate? and i understand the impact of any further potential restrictions will be felt very differently by different communities. saints suggests the need for immediate planning to refine measures to minimise potential harms and to mitigate the impact on vulnerable groups. given the government commitment to the leveling of agenda, cani commitment to the leveling of agenda, can i ask what are the government plans to reduce the real risk that measures taken to respond to covid—19 continue to increase inequality in worst levels of poverty and deprivation? in the northeast, we are not out of the woods but cannot hurt the people of the northeast to carry on doing the right things? the honourable gentlemen speaks for everyone across the northeast and the cross party working has been first—rate

and i pay tribute to all colleagues from the northeast who have been working so the northeast who have been working so hard on this was of the message to everybody in the northeast is there are early signs of this is starting to work but we are not there yet so let's all stick with it, work together, support each other, support the nhs and absolutely we will bring in the economic support to ensure both that we help businesses as much as possible, help employers and help individuals through this crisis and then the leveling up agenda after thatis then the leveling up agenda after that is something that is vital to unite the whole country. could i say to my right honourable friend how correct he is that these effective actions are those that are local and targeted? so when he looks at tier 2 reviews could be confirmed to look at those in light of part four, paragraph eight of regulation so we can target on a local basis was

meant to give us in many cases are ace systematic, could he say when he expects that new testament were widely available across the community? —— that new test. widely available across the community? -- that new test. he makes an incredibly important point which is the regulations are written ona which is the regulations are written on a borough by borough basis. and if we can take specific burrows out of the regulation sooner based on the date then we will. and we have done and in fact in some cases we have taken part of a district or a borough out of regulations when that is with the data has shown and i can give him that assurance. and on the testing, we are rolling out these tests as fast as we can. the use case of ensuring that they can help to get more nhs staff tested on a basis and more testing and care homes where it is important to present the most vulnerable and more

support and education and to make sure we can keep education as open as effectively possible and a cinematic testing in areas where there is a big outbreak. all this will be there to support outbreak control and get this virus under control and get this virus under control the welsh government has today. the rest government has ordered a two day firebrick to bring the art number down and there must be sufficient economic support to support businesses and livelihoods. will he pressed the chancellor to ensure that the welsh government has sufficient financial stability to ensure this policy? of course the welsh government response in circumstances in wales as it sees fit according to the devolution settlement. as i was saying with respect to the s&p member earlier, we are absolutely prepared and ready and engaged

in supporting communities and businesses right across the uk and supporting individuals who through no fault of their own fall on what can be incredibly hard times because of the impact of coronavirus the secreatary of state knows it pops him a bingo halls and gyms have. many of us a greater manchester and elsewhere are sceptical that closing those institutions would make a significant difference to the spread of the virus. what can i ask him why the government won't extend the additional resources for test and trace independently of those measures? surely it will be beneficial to do so. across greater manchester and trafford we have extended further support for test and trace before the tiered system came in. and we have

engaged to make sure we get the benefits of the local teams being able to access because they have boots on the ground five people who the national tea m ground five people who the national team simply cannot. and that will continue. and of course the this negotiations and discussions are in the future of what extra we need to do in greater manchester continue. i know that my right honourable friend requires further persuasion that some of the actions that appear to be starting to work elsewhere should be starting to work elsewhere should be put in place and i will gently point him to the fact that we did manage to level off the increase in infections and bolton when we brought in firmer measures. but they have since then started to go up again when we removed those measures. nevertheless, he is right absolutely the best we can tackle this is by people taking personal

responsibility for reducing their social interactions to reduce the risk of spread. and i hope that we can all metaphorically linked arms and get that message across. small businesses in a tier 2 area like newcastle may not be asked to close but they will face severe reductions in revenue due to local restrictions affecting football for example in the centre of our great city. so we talks about unprecedented support but these are unprecedented challenges for viable jobs in our city centre. so in addition to what he is already mentioned, what local economic support will he offer to businesses in newcastle? if we do need to bring in further measures in newcastle, then there is absolutely for the support that is available. and there is already unprecedented economic support that my right honourable from the chancellor has sent out. can

i tell my right honourable friends that most of the mps in essex have diligently felt the need to support the tier 2 measures that are now being applied but we are now very concerned about the effect of this in the hospitality sector in particular. and is it not so important that we align the economic interests of our constituents with the public health interests instead of polarising the debate that you are either in favour of the economy or in favour of controlling the virus? and can i alsojust controlling the virus? and can i also just emphasised him controlling the virus? and can i alsojust emphasised him that one of the reasons why public confidence is in somewhat the client in the government strategy is because we have yet to see the transformation of the leadership of test and trace about which i have discussed with him many times? thank you. where i agree with my right honourable friend is that there is no trade—off between health and economic measures because if the virus gets out

of hand, then we will end up with the worst economic hit as well. and i know that my right honourable friend agrees with that because we have discussed it many times and it's one of the reasons that he like other essex mps may not like the fact that we have to collectively put in place these measures in essex but it is these measures in essex but it is the right course of action. thank you. as warrington's neighbouring liverpool city region, like to year are in tier3 liverpool city region, like to year are in tier 3 and bit of interest are in tier 3 and bit of interest are looking to follow if support is agreed, when he confidence that we will be asked to follow soon that there is a robust evidence for the required closure of hospitality businesses, leisure businesses and salons. will the secretary of state commit to publishing the specific uk transmission data for the sectors compared to other places or are they merely a soft target? we have published further data late

last week on exec and the question that she asks. and we have the backward contact racing in place at the honourable gentleman asked for and i apologise i don't answer his question on that and we have seen the evidence from that. and the critical thing though is for us all to recognise that in places like warrington and the surrounding area where the number of cases is going up where the number of cases is going up in the number of cases amongst the over 60s is going up which is particularly worrying and we do need to activity to act together if at all possible. thank you. the october 2020 world economic outlook published by the imf clearly states that short—term economic terms across the lockdowns can be considered by stronger media positively leading to positive

overall effect on the economy. government disagrees with the imf assessment so can the secretary of state tell me whether he or his colleagues have carried out any analysis into the economic impacts ofa analysis into the economic impacts of a national circuit breaker? thank you very much. well, of course you look at all of the impact of all of the policies but we know that the more targeted a policy can be, both in terms of the measures and the geography, then of course the less disruption that it will have but if his concern is with a national circuit break, that is on the policy of government full to the policy government is to have a localised approach we might want to have or with the front bench opposite. the secretary of state quite rightly finish her statement by saying we need a and must all play our part in getting the virus down. does he think it would share population commitment in china that seemingly

has gotten a lot back to normal and what lessons are there from what china has done that we could apply here in the uk? i would be cautious about some international comparisons because life is not exactly back to normal and there are restrictions still in place. for instance, we have seen today sweden introducing measures, restrictions on a regional basis. which is similar to the approach that we have here. so there isa approach that we have here. so there is a lot of debate about international comparison would you look across the board but i am not sure it is true to say that life is back to normal in wuhan but will need to do is get the science to come to our aid and help us get lot back to normal as quickly as possible. i spoke to landlords, cafe, bar owners and staff across out cafe, bar owners and staff across our towns and they all said that business had plummeted since

wednesday when we became a tier 2 area. they were thinking about cutting staff hours and some were considering closing completely and none of them were getting additional support. because the tier 2job support. because the tier 2job support scheme simply does not work for them. so does he not understand that in order to sustain support for additional health measures, he has to listen to the people who are being most affected by them. will he look again and support for tier 2 and tier3and look again and support for tier 2 and tier 3 and make sure thatjobs and tier 3 and make sure thatjobs and businesses get support they need? again i'm going to come to the defence of my right honourable friend the chancellor who has put in the support packages on a scale that has never been seen before and absolutely she can and is right to raise concerns of those in her constituency. but the combination of all the schemes that are available to businesses is something that is ofa to businesses is something that is of a scale that this country has

never had. how many separate cover 19 vaccinations are undergoing trials at present in the uk and specifically what is the plan duration of the trial period for each? there are three vaccine trials under way in the uk. the astrazeneca trial which is well discussed and frequently discussed also the imperial college trial and a trial of the novi facts vaccine. the period of the trial is dependent on the clinical results and on the data. the astrazeneca trial of those three is the most advanced and is in phase three trials and we are closely in contact with all of them to ensure that they get the support that they need. i was alarmed at her many public health experts to read reports over the weekend that test

and trace data is being share with the police. and even a source in the secretary of state's en department said that this will put people off getting tested which i hope he will agree with me is the exact opposite of what we need? public trust and confidence in testing trace is critical and transparency in the use of personal data is essential to that. so will the secretary of state therefore published today the memorandum of understanding that he and his department have signed with the national police chief council? it is very important that people come forward for testing as the chancellor of the duchy of lancaster said yesterday and of course the vast majority of people not only come forward for a test and want to come forward for a test and want to come forward for a test when they have symptoms. but also they want the isolation arrangements to be enforced fairly so that everybody

can isolate when they need to. that is the reason we have taken the approach that we have and that i set out to the house several weeks ago. thank you very much. since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been no recorded outbreak of public housing in my constituency of a covid—19 outbreak. because of taking into account low national rates regarding transmission from pubs, cani regarding transmission from pubs, can i ask my right honourable friend to say when negotiating with colleagues from greater manchester to think very carefully before closing the scope and secure environment that is spent thousands to ensure they are secure or to cease from putting on extra restrictions which will make trading an impossibility? nobody has stood up an impossibility? nobody has stood upfor an impossibility? nobody has stood up for the pubs and hospitality businesses in berry the my honourable friend and i think he makes an important

argument about the outbreaks. we also have to look at the contact racing data and we have to look at where measures to bring the virus under control have worked. so i will very happily have a further discussion with him to try to make sure that we can get the right set of measures and bring the right set of measures and bring the right balance. can i think the secretary of state for his regular appearances in the chamber and for his response to the questions as well was meant will the secretary of state ella procedures and criteria for the vaccination schedule bearing in mind that news reports of the availability of the fully tested vaccine in the near future and does he secretary of state agree that front—line workers and shops need to be part of a list of recipients of the priority list after the medically vulnerable, the nhs and the care staff? that you very much and of course no vaccine technology is certain. but the longer we go without bad news, the better things

are because we would hear if things had not gone well and so things are therefore progressing. thejoint committee on vaccinations and immunizations produces a prioritisation based on clinical advice in their clinicaljudgement in terms of who ought to get the vaccine in what order. this is a really important question to make sure that as we roll out the vaccine we do so fairly and on an agreed basis and i'll absent a look is specific request to make sure that is taken into account and their advice is very important for the government decision that i hope the whole country can then get behind. thank you. i make no apology for again bringing up the question of culture mocks results as i believe the drug can help very much in the fight against covert. and i wonder

whether the secretary of state could tell me following the successful trials that have taken place in india and bangladesh whether there has been any progress here?|j india and bangladesh whether there has been any progress here? i will and he is right to raise the question and i will write to him with the full update once i taken advice from my clinical advisers and from presidentjonathan van tam who leads on this area. at the weekend when my constituents credited me to tell me that her son and three of his flatmates at november university had tested positive for covid—19 and they are also isolating. despite that they have been bombarded with of the ten times a day from nhs test and trace. it is the same story of another constituents and his family who are so mostly because member has tested positive and in his words we are not stupid people, we don't need pointless telephone calls every other day. what a waste

of time and money, says mrs perry. can i asked secretary of state when he will admit the national system has failed and wimberly handover test and more importantly tracing to local directors of public health who know their areas directors of public health who know theirareas and directors of public health who know their areas and note their communities and know how to do test and trace properly? the honourable gentleman is completely wrong on two fronts. this is been a very contentious statement so far and the gentleman has played a positive part in the giving of public health message across in northumberland but he is wrong on two fronts. the first point that he has got wrong is that when test and trace contacts people to re m ove when test and trace contacts people to remove —— or monday to is based on the analysis we have done of what

helps to ensure that people stay tough sledding. yes, repeatedly, actually in i make no bones about it. yes, because the isolation of people so that they stay isolated is important. so he can complain that we are doing too much but that is not normally the complaint i get from the opposite side. in the second point is that this must be in his words handed over to local authorities. no, no, no, it has to be teamwork with local authorities. it is teamwork that will help us get through this, not this attempt to separate out people and say one side is good and one side is bad. we are all on the same side in this fight against the virus. further to this consensual statement, we are all keen to be guided by the science and sol keen to be guided by the science and so i wonder what scientific behaviour assessment has been made of the effects of

closing covid secure venues on the of the effects of closing covid secure venues on the likelihood of people to me in one another's homes instead and thus spreading the illness further? if my right honourable friend has not got information immediately at hand, perhaps he would care to write to me as if the fashion. no, i can answer the question. my honourable friend makes an important point and what i would say is the evidence that we have indirect evidence of hospital admissions due to people over inebriated has reduced since we brought these measures in. and that is one indication that people are generally following the rules and at 10pm asi generally following the rules and at 10pm as i did going home to make sure and following the rules which eventually people are doing. tell

the mail a sunday that. as a chair of the group on cancer i want to thank the secretary of state on the re ce nt thank the secretary of state on the recent meeting on the catch up with cancercamping and tape recent meeting on the catch up with cancer camping and tape tribute to those delivering front—line cancer services throughout the pandemic but the 63% that he has mentioned does not reflect the totality of the backlog was on the edges of an ounce of announced a new figure since then and in august the number of people waiting over 52 weeks in england has continued to surge to over 110,000. the most in 12 years. the only way this backlog goes away is with action and resources deployed to tackle it. so what progress has a secretary of state made to address the need for a boost for cancer services so that cancer does not become the forgotten seat, thank you. the honourable eddie is absolutely right to raise this. in my statement, i said the

longest waiters over 104 days, we have managed to reduce that ' by 62%. we managed to reduce that ' by 62%. we managed to reduce the backlog of those waiting over 60 days by 44%. there is further work to do, of course there is, but the nhs has made version of constraints in the backlog of people when for cancer treatment and i pay tribute to all the work that they have done. thank you very much indeed. the concern many of us have is restrictions can be imposed in a day but then take months to lift, and we know that in london, the restrictions were imposed not because of a high level of infections or high level of admissions to hospital or deaths but because of a rapidly increasing rates of infection. if it turns out next week, when the secondary estate conducts his fortnightly review, that the rate of infection, the rate of increase in infection, is no

greater in london than it is in places i delivered tier, will he resend those restrictions? my right honourable friend asks a very important point and in a way highlights it is notjust the case rate that matters, it is also the rate that matters, it is also the rate of change in the over 60s case rate. in the case of london, cases are over 100 per 100,000, which is a worrying level, but i really hope that the measures and the people of london and all those who work here can bring the case rate down and then we can get out of it as fast as possible. team london are intact working on a proposed strategy for coming out of level two, but the first thing that everybody in london has to do is follow the rules to get the rate of increase down because it's only then we can even start to consider what the next steps are.

thank you, madam deputy speaker for earlier this year, the government committed to give the nhs whatever resources they needed to combat the coronavirus. the nhs has that money for covid—19 but it won't any more to enable it to catch up on all the conditions that he did be treated now that has taken place. with the sigourney of state now commit to provide the funding resources carry out these treatments —— will the secretary of state? we have put in the resource she mentions. and thatis in the resource she mentions. and that is important. it is notjust the extra resources but the extra people doing the work and building the buildings in which and can be done, so she raises a very important point about the need to recover all of the work, all of the backlog, i am really glad that in areas like cancer and many other areas, that backlog is being worked through, but there still more work

to do. can i support my right honourable friend's targeted approach? it is absolutely wrong in my view to close businesses and law people in their homes by a broadbrush area across areas where the risks are much lower than others. can i echo the comments of my right on will friend about london? there are many of my continuance who have businesses across the border in southwest london congo where it is not the case that the rate is over 100, there are large swathes of southwest london where it is well below it, so can you make sure that it is possible, as quickly as possible, to disaggregate those areas where the problems are less and to move back toa problems are less and to move back to a situation where those businesses can operate normally? as our friend, businesses can operate normally? as ourfriend, the businesses can operate normally? as our friend, the member for wimbledon, said, it is important to canberra by borough approach and i commit to doing that. unfortunate there are parts of southwest london,

like richmond, that have a rate over 100. it is important this is done across 100. it is important this is done a cross a cross 100. it is important this is done across across party lines, working with the leaders of the local councils, as well as with the mayor, but we absolutely... i will take into account my friend makes. thank you. a numberof into account my friend makes. thank you. a number of families in my constituents are worried about the impact isolation is having on their family members with dementia living and care homes with no visits allowed. in one case, a constituent's mother threatens to ta ke constituent's mother threatens to take her own life because of lack of contact with her family for the care minister said there would be a positive visiting in care homes, but that may be months away. the secretary of state talks today of, when restriction is reduced, but this situation is desperate for some families. can he tell us when

we will have regular meaningful visiting for every care home resident? the honourable lady raises a point that is so heart—rending and important, as is the protection of ca re important, as is the protection of care home residents from this disease. the situation is not quite as she said in the situation is that we have different restrictions in different areas according to local circumstances. and with a great deal of delegated authority to the local director of public health, to make judgements on this extraordinarily difficult balance between allowing visitors, for exactly the sorts of reasons she sent out... we will leave the health secretary, matt hancock, with the latest there on the coronavirus and we're going to talk about the situation as it affects wales at the moment. the welsh government has announced is it's introducing a short national lockdown. what they're calling a "firebreak"

will begin at 6pm on friday evening and it will run until the 9th of november. i'm pleased to say we can talk now to the first minister of wales, mark dra keford, to the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, who says the objective of this is to break the chain of infection. why have you done it now? right across wales, the number of cases is rising, the rate of rights is accelerating, we have 800 patients in hospital beds today in wales suffering from coronavirus, we are getting to see a number of those people so seriously ill that they need critical care. and if we are unable to turn back the tide, then our nhs threatens to be overwhelmed, and certainly we will lose the ground we have gained in recent months of being up to restore cancer care, months of being up to restore cancer ca re, restore months of being up to restore cancer care, restore cardiac care, stroke

ca re care, restore cardiac care, stroke care and all the other things that people need the nhs to do. we need to act now in order to protect our capacity for the future. the welsh conservatives are saying this is going to the first of a whole series of lockdowns. they have no grounds for saying that. nobody has a critical of that sort. our aim is to ask now, to act early, and to act so that we can get through to christmas without needing a further action of this sort. beyond that, nobody has a crystal ball, and i think productions of that sort are not helpful either to citizens of wales or to the services that are provided to them. you'll talk about the rising number of infections, but if you look at the figures yesterday, rising in places like cardiff, but in some rural areas, may be only a tent of the rate we are seeing in a city like cardiff, so are you not punishing people in areas where

there are very low infection rates? over the last ten days, the gap between those areas and other parts of wales has been narrowing. it is only a matter of time if we don't act now that those parts of wales will also find coronavirus above the levels that can be sustained. those areas are rural areas, as you say. they have small hospitals, they don't have services of the sort you find ina don't have services of the sort you find in a major urban centre and are relatively small upswing incurred virus would quickly become a very significant issue for those local services —— a very relatively small upswing in coronavirus. we are calling for a effort in which all parts of us play their part in turning back this type. i think in those parts of wisdom they will be willing to play that part. we need them to help to protect everybody else. can i ask

you about the economic impact? let me quote you whatjanine brown, who owns a gift shop in swansea, is saying. iam owns a gift shop in swansea, is saying. i am disappointed. owns a gift shop in swansea, is saying. iam disappointed. i have got all my christmas stock in, paid for it and we have to shut down. this is going to be disaster for many people in the run—up to christmas, isn't it? we are acting now to protect the trust missed period. the christmas period which is so important to shops of the sort that you have just described. if we act now, then we believe we will be able to keep nonessential retail open right up to the christmas day, and it's in attempts to help businesses by taking early action. and we will provide £294 million in help to welsh businesses during this two—week period, including automatic payments, to shops of the sort that you have just described, payments, to shops of the sort that you havejust described, in payments, to shops of the sort that you have just described, in order to

help them with the fact that they won't have customers coming to the door. there will be welsh government money, they won't have to apply to it, it will come to them automatically, and it is a real recognition of the impact that this action that we need to take will have on the business community. those economic support measures you mentioned, are they available to all the businesses that are going to be had by this? they will be. those automatic payments will be developed to all businesses at a value of under £4000. if your rateable value is over £12,000, you get £5,000 —— a value of under £12,000. beyond that, there are further sums of money that can be used. sums for tourism and hospitality. those can be

drawn down from our economic resilience fund to fill the gaps in the provision of the uk government, which remains an important part of the landscape here in wales. you have gone for this firebreak lockdown, as i think you have been describing it. do you think the whole uk should go for that? will you be sent to boris johnson that's what he should be doing? or than ireland has already moved in this direction last week —— northern ireland. the central belt of scotla nd northern ireland. the central belt of scotland is in a very similar position to what we are introducing. the sage advisory committee said to the uk government four weeks ago now that a circuit breaker, firebreak period was the most effective way of turning back the tide of the virus. i don't frame what we're doing in wales is a courtesy as him of anybody else can i make decisions with my colleagues as best i can —— asa with my colleagues as best i can —— as a criticism of everybody else. we think this is the best measure,

taken at this time, taking advantage of the fact it is half term in our schools, in the first of the two week period we have identified, and thatis week period we have identified, and that is the best action that we can ta ke to that is the best action that we can take to protect individuals, likelihoods and our nhs here in wales. because as you know, what downing street say is this much better to have a more subtle approach than yours, or you have these different tears of —— difference tiers, and you apply them as each is affected. liverpool and merseyside on tier 3, others with lower infection rates on tier 1. would that not be a better way for wells to go? i don't believe so. england is a far bigger country than wales. we have only got 22 local authorities altogether. it makes much more sense on our skill to act together to have a simple

clear message that everybody can understand, and we need everybody to follow. differential messages are difficult for people to follow, can lead to confusion. in the circumstances we face, we have decided a single national effort is needed, and on our scale, that is the right thing to do. other people face differences of challenges, and ican face differences of challenges, and i can see why they would come to different conclusions. mark dra keford, really different conclusions. mark drakeford, really grateful different conclusions. mark dra keford, really grateful to you for your time. thank you for being on bbc news with us this evening. just a quick line of breaking news on the situation in greater manchester. we are hearing that a government spokesman has said the meeting between the government and local leaders in greater manchester has concluded this afternoon after discussions last week over —— last week, over the weekend and this morning. disappointingly, we

have not reached an agreement. so, no agreement there on that between the government and down street and leaders in greater manchester. 0k, now it is time for your questions answered. more than half of england's population is now living under high or very high—alert restrictions, with westminster government rejecting calls to introduce in another national lockdown and a national lockdown lasting two weeks in force in wales, being brought in from friday. what do the latest changes in retsrictions mean for you? professor linda bauld is a professor of public health at the university of edinburgh and is here to answer your questions. linda, good afternoon to you. good afternoon, simon. let's just talk generally about what's happening in wales, because i want to pick up

on something the doctor was just saying there. we sometimes forget that the people on the front line, this is a tough time for them, isn't it? absolutely. let's not forget that. as we were just hearing, they've been through a huge amount both in primary health care — shifting their ways of working — and then obviously in secondary care, dealing with covid and non—covid patients. and even within public health, the months of data analysts trying to set up new systems, etc, it's been really tough for the nhs and public health generally. right, well, lots of people sending in questions. this one from alice, who says, "i live in london, now in tier 2, and my family are in hertfordshire, in tier1. can i still go and stay with them?" so, alice is in a similar situation to me, actually, simon, up here in scotland where i can go and see my family outside my local health board area, but i'm not allowed to stay with them in their homes. alice is coming from tier 2. the first thing i would say, which i think might apply to a few questions this afternoon, is the rules, the guidance in your area, you take them with you, so alice in tier 2 isn't allowed to stay in someone else's home,

even a family member. if she visits her family outside, she can see them outside, but she shouldn't stay with them. difficult to deal with, but lots of us are coping with that. right. this one from janetjames — and all the questions use the word tier. "i live in a tier 2 area, but my support bubble is in a tier 3 area. am i still allowed to travel to see them?" you've sort of just answered that, but just clarify. well, actually, it's a little bit more complicated for that question from janet. let's also use the terms high alert or very high alert. tier 2 is high alert. tier 3 is very high alert. so the restrictions are much more complex in tier 3 and people living outside of that area are advised not to go into that area at all. i was just looking at this earlier. the only exception to that would be if janet is needing to provide caring for somebody in that situation, but she really shouldn't be travelling into tier 3. and those relatives shouldn't be travelling out, which is tough to hear at the time, but that's the case

for the very high alert levels. right, now one that sort of reverses that. this is from des clark, who says, "i live in a tier 2 area but work shifts in a tier1 area. can i stay in a rented room in the tier1 area whilst working on shift four days?" des is in a good position, in that working between tiers is not a problem at all. and in theory, he can go and stay in a rented room, but the key question — and we don't have that detailfrom des — is, "is that a mixed household?" so he shouldn't be staying in a household with other people, but if it's rented accommodation that's self—sustainable and he's not coming into close contact with others, that's still allowed. right. wendy says, "if i live in essex, currently tier 2, can i go to a holiday cottage in tier1 in november?" yes. so, wendy is in a high alert level and she's going to a medium alert level. so, again, people living in high alert levels, no restrictions on travel there, and the other good thing

about a holiday cottage is it's self—sustained accommodation where you wouldn't be mixing or meeting up indoors with people not in your household, so that's absolutely fine. right. they're all along a theme. this is from lindsay, who says, "can my lodger stay with me monday to friday in tier 2 but go home to his family in tier1 in weekends?" i'm already in a bubble with someone. unfortunately, this sounds like a complex one, simon. in theory, that's not permissible, because you've got somebody living in a household as a lodger, then going back into a risk area and to meet their own household, so, in theory — and this is difficult — until things change, the lodger should probably stay where he is because going back and staying overnight with another household isn't permitted. that's what the guidance says. i would emphasise work generally is an acception for a lot of these things, so my advice would be to double—check with your local

authority about your personal circumstances. also check the gov.uk website because, clearly, the guidance is useful and is quite clear, but it doesn't get down to that fine—grained detail. yeah. sorry, linzey, for the answer. not what you were hoping for, i suspect. this from em wyatt — "if we move from tier1 to tier 2 or 3, can children still go to their grandparents as they provide childcare whilst parents go to work?" i think a good answer to this one... i think she's asking about a theoretical change which might happen. for example, we know what is happening in manchester, where they may shift into tier 3 depending on what happens to negotiations, so if you're staying within the same area — leaving aside these travel restrictions — childcare is a clear exception. so if you formed a childcare bubble with those grandparents, and again, do go onto the website and make sure your definition of childcare fits the childcare bubble, that's absolutely fine. that will continue because it's important that parents are still able to work.

yeah, i mean, every question has tier in it. and i know that's something some people are quite keen to avoid, but inevitably, when you apply a system in three tiers, you're going to get the word tier appearing quite a lot, aren't you? susan asks, "i live on my own in a tier 2 area. my support bubble is my partner, who lives in a tier1 area. are we still allowed to meet?" yes. so, the key thing there is, again, you can meet if you've formed a support bubble and you are in the medium — tier1— or the high — tier 2. again, no travel restrictions and you are able to meet indoors with that person who's in your support bubble, so that's still permitted. the exception to that — as i just described for another question — was about these high—risk, high alert levels, where even that is not allowed, moving in and out of the area for support bubble purposes. right.

this question from gerson — "is this uprising..." i think what they mean is this rise in cases, rather than uprising, unless we're missing something on the news channel! "is this uprising due to all those people at seasides in the summer plus pubs and schools opening?" we all saw those pictures of people congregating, and that was notjust the seaside. "is this the result of that?", is what they're asking? gerson's asking why we're in the situation we are now with rising case numbers, more people going to hospital. the basic answer to that, and there's always uncertainties, but around the world, it's been because we've released lockdown in many countries. there's been more social interaction. the virus didn't go away. and so, we've seen cases rise. generally speaking, that would not be just because people went to beaches, it's more households coming into close contact with one another, and this relates back to the clip

from wales in your last interview. this rise in cases is happening around the country as we release lockdown, and now the challenge for governments, notjust in the uk but around the world, is, sadly, to try and restrict us mixing to get on top of the numbers. right, just a question for you, as a professor of public health, would things be easier if there was a national lockdown, all nations of the united kingdom, if everything was the same? so at the beginning of the pandemic, simon, we did have a four nations approach. and that has dissolved, it's very apparent now. from a communications and a behavioural perspective, it would be more straightforward if it was the same everywhere and people had less of these detailed questions, which people are quite rightly asking you and the bbc. but that's not where we are now, so i think governments are trying to find their own way, but i agree it would be more straightforward if we had a national system. this requires a straightforward answer, and this is from christine. "what are the chances of contracting covid—19 outdoors compared to

indoors?" far less. there's three things we know about the virus in terms of transmissibility. direct contact with someone, small droplets that we breathe out and also airborne transmission, but that's most common ventilated indoor areas, so risks outside are far less than inside. i can't emphasise this enough. let's all socialise outside. they are not zero if you come into very close contact with somebody outside who is breathing in yourface. that's why physical distancing is still important, even outdoors. last question from steve fox. and, linda, we sort of touched on this. how can the tier system be a simpler method when each area negotiates what they're willing to accept? my my personal view. i don't think it's a simpler method. it's complex and people are still struggling, as we see from all these questions. i do, however, support the idea of having levels. and what i would like to see from the government is transparent

information for the public about what the numbers need to look like for my area to move into a different alert level. i haven't seen this information yet, and i'm sure your viewers would welcome that as much as i would. 0k, ok, i need another question, then! this alignment of politics and public health, are we getting into a bit of a mess here with one now seeming to be more important than the other? i think it is very difficult. the longer this goes on, i think the more people are challenged. it's not all about following the science, which i think is the question you're asking. it's about policymakers having to weigh up risks and benefit. we've heard from wales and northern ireland that governments have been trying to protect economic activity, but the problem is, as we've heard in wales,

if you let the virus rip through society, the hospitals become overwhelmed again, so it's about striking a balance between public health advice and recognising that we do need to keep the country running, but we cannot have the nhs completely diverged from cancer, heart disease. that's basically what all of us are trying to avoid at the moment. professor linda bauld from the university of edinburgh, thank you very much. hello there. some big differences in the weather this week. with the wind coming it will be much milder. you can see in area of low pressure has been

affecting the north and the west of the country to today. it's been very wet in northern ireland. lots of isobars in the charts. isobars in the charts it's wet in northern ireland. lots of isobars in the charts it's been a dry day, but through the night, we will see this band of rain spritzer eastwards, a little bit drierfor northern ireland but it stays very wet for scotland, particularly western parts of scotland. notice the temperatures, double figures for most, so quite a mild night. into tuesday, that rain clears away from east pretty quickly, a brighter day with sunshine, but we will see lots of showers developing, a cluster of them moving up the irish sea. some could be heavy with a rumble of thunder and longer spells of rain. wet and windy for the far north of scotla nd wet and windy for the far north of scotland but, actually, it windy day for all areas, with heels around irish seacoast.

note the temperatures — 17, 18, maybe 19 in hull. that pressure remains confined to scotland, and this could be a deeper feature, to scotland, and this could be a deeperfeature, quite a bit to scotland, and this could be a deeper feature, quite a bit of uncertainty on it. it does look like at this stage, some pretty heavy rain in parts of england and wales, especially towards the south, and there's just a chance of seeing a very windy weather across the south and southeast, certainly want to watch. further north, there will be some sunshine around, but still that every of low pressure to the north, what —— wet in scotland. very mild, very u nsettled —— wet in scotland. very mild, very unsettled for the next few days. something a little bit quieter on thursday. it looks like it will start to get wet and windy again as we head on into friday.

wales will go into a short sharp national lockdown from friday — almost everyone must stay at home. the two week firebreak means all nonessential businesses will shut. households will be banned from mixing anywhere — older children won't go back to school after half term. a firebreak period is our best chance of regaining control of the virus and avoiding a much longer and much more damaging national lockdown. there's anger at the blanket approach in some parts of wales, like pembrokeshire, where infection rates are still very low. i don't think it's fair that we're being locked down with the rest of wales. we have very low numbers, we've all been very careful in these small rural communities.