this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the chancellor is expected to announce new support for workers in parts of england under tier two restrictions, after criticism that more needs to be done for those regions in the second—highest level of meaures. people are filling mps‘ inboxes with e—mails of distress and concern, thatis e—mails of distress and concern, that is all being fed in so hopefully this afternoon we will see the chancellor, as i say, tack a little bit, trim the sails, to make sure we are getting the right balance in terms of the support we are offering across the economy. a police chief is urging the government to make the three—tier system easier to follow as more parts of england prepare to enter the "very high" alert level. geater manchester moves into tier 3 from midnight tonight. south yorkshire follows on saturday. if you'd like to let me know what you think about funding,

restrictions or any of the other stories we're talking about today. get in touch with me on twitter — @annita—mcveigh and use the hashtag bbc your questions. a new health advisor to the government is urging ministers to look beyond race for reasons why black, asian and other minority ethnic groups are at a higher risk of dying from covid. the fbi says us voter registration information has been obtained by iran and russia and is being used to try and interfere in the us presidential election. england footballer marcus rashford is pledging to continue his campaign to ensure children get free school meals over the coming months, despite the idea being rejected by mps. the royal british legion launches this year's poppy appeal, with new ways for people to support the campaign safely from home.

good morning and welcome to bbc news. the chancellor is expected to announce changes to thejobs support scheme. rishi sunak is facing calls to help companies in england whose trade has collapsed without being formally required to close, because they are not under the most severe lockdown measures. most of england has been put on tier i, or medium level, where the rule of six and 10pm hospitality curfew both apply. the tier 2 "high level" of restrictions means no household mixing in indoor locations, and the rule of six applying outdoors. the most severe level of tier 3 is called "very high" — meaning no mixing of households indoors or outdoors.

pubs and bars will close unless they provide what's called a "substa ntial meal". the chancellor is being urged to change the present rules to help businesses such as pubs and restaurants experiencing different levels of lockdown. in tier 3 areas, the government will pay 67% of affected workers‘ wages up to £2,100 a month, from the ist of november. some workers can also claim universal credit. but, currently, in tier 2 regions, an employee must do at least a third of their normal hours and a much larger contribution is required from employers as the scheme is meant to support so—called "viable" jobs only. this report from our political correspondent jonathan blake. forced to close by law. businesses in parts of england under the highest tier of restrictions know they will get some support. the government pays 67% of workers‘ wages up to a maximum of £2,100 per month.

but firms in areas under tier 2, where pubs and bars can stay open until 10pm, are facing what some call the worst of all worlds — a fall in takings without enough support to stay afloat. greater manchester moves into tier 3, the very high covid alert level, from tomorrow, south yorkshire on saturday. 0pinions there are divided. i think it's a good thing. i think we need a short, sharp shock and, hopefully, if everybody gets on board, that's what it will be and we'll go into it and we will come out of it the better off. good. why? well, we're not getting better. we've got to get better sometime. i mean, i'm 84, we've lived through world war ii and everything. this is worse, really. i'm 83. i don't give a sod. i look at it this way. i've not got all that many years left in me, and i'm not going to be fastened in a house when the government

have got it all wrong. by the end of this year, there's going to be millions of people unemployed. and do you know who's going to pay for it? all the young ones. not me, because i'm going to be dead. in west yorkshire, parts of the north—east of england, nottinghamshire and other areas in tier 2 which are in discussions about tighter restrictions, the chancellor has been under pressure from unions and business groups, to plug what they see as a gap in the government's approach. just weeks ago, rishi sunak announced his winter economic plan, including wage support for workers in what are deemed viable jobs, whose hours have been cut. but there are warnings it may need a rethink as the virus has continued to spread and the economy faces further strain. jonathan blake, bbc news. let's get more from our political correspondent, helen catt. good correspondent, helen catt. morning to you. we al\ to good morning to you. we always look to that morning round of political interviews to get a sense of the direction of travel for the day and the home office minister kit

malthouse was doing those interviews this morning. what did he say we think we can expect from the chancellor this morning? the treasury itself is always really tight—lipped ahead of this sort of statement, so you tend not to really quite know exactly what the chancellor is going to say. what we understand in terms of the options that have been discussed are things like, for those businesses in tier 2 which are able to stay open but are seeing their customers not able to come because of the ban on things like household mixing indoors, for example, one of the options that has been discussed there is nothing the amount of the government contributes towards workers' wages or perhaps gra nts to towards workers' wages or perhaps grants to local councils, so we will have to wait and see exactly what rishi sunak announces later and on what sort of scale it will be, that is going to be really important. here is the steer, if you like, policing minister kit malthouse gave earlier. it is our duty, really, to try and trim the sails of the ship as we go andl trim the sails of the ship as we go

and i think that is what we will see this afternoon. there are lots of areas where, you know, people are filling mps' inboxes with e—mails of distress and concern, that is all being fed in and so hopefully this afternoon, we will see the chancellor, as i say, tack a little bit, trim the sails to make sure we are getting the right balance in terms of the support we are offering across the economy. when rishi sunak announced at the job support scheme only a few weeks ago, how times have changed since then, because at that point, the cases of the virus were going down, obviously the opposite direction now, but, at that time, he stood alongside outside number 11 ahead of the cbi and the head of the very visibly supporting what he was doing. has he got the same level of support this time? as you say, this winter economic plan rishi sunak set out was just over a month ago and it did have the backing of business. it was predicated on the idea that infection rates were going down and there would be a period of economic

recovery. now, of course, we aren't seeing that at the moment, certainly not in some areas where it is much more pronounced and at the opposite is happening there, so things have changed and times have moved. downing street has always said it will adapt to the changing circumstances of the virus and kit malthouse earlier was describing the chancellor as having been agile during this pandemic, but we have seen him tweak the sort ofjob support at least twice over the last few weeks, so there is a line, i think, to be trodden by the government in terms of coming back and being adaptable as things move but also making sure it does look like it has a clear strategy when it comes tojobs like it has a clear strategy when it comes to jobs and businesses. just before we let you go, bring us up—to—date about some news this morning about a parliamentary private secretary, a conservative pps, resigning from that position over the government voting against children getting free school meals over the coming months. this is a

junior governmentjob, caroline ansell, the mp for eastbourne and a former teacher. last night, there was a vote in the commons on a motion labour had put forward, they wa nted motion labour had put forward, they wanted the government to agree to extend vouchers to fund meals for children who get free school meals during the christmas holidays up until easter next year, that was voted down by the conservatives. they say they do not want to do that in england and there are better ways, they believe, to support children. caroline and sal voted for the labour motion, one of five conservative mps to do that —— ansell. that does bring with it, if you like, the obligation to resign from thejob, if you like, the obligation to resign from the job, if you have the odd occasion to bow to the government but she says she doesn't see the voucher scheme is a long—term solution, but, in herview, she thought it was a temporary thing that should be extended through the pandemic for now and she couldn't in all good conscience ignore that. helen, thank you very much. business leaders have been meeting with the chancellor this morning. let's get the latest now from our

business presenter sima kotecha. good morning. as i was mentioning to helena, when the chancellor announced the job support scheme, we had the very visible support standing alongside him, the leaders of the cbi and the tuc standing alongside him, so what are we seeing about the meeting that is taking place this morning? well, i think helen made it very clear that the treasury is incredibly tight—lipped when it comes to announcements like this, but i think businesses, especially those in hospitality, restau ra nts a nd bars especially those in hospitality, restaurants and bars will be hoping for that additional support, because those in tier 2, the second level of harshest restrictions, do not get that 67% of their workers' wages paid, as the business do in the harshest of tier 3, because a lot of forced to close down. so tier 2 restau ra nts a nd bars forced to close down. so tier 2 restaurants and bars will hope for additionalfunding because restaurants and bars will hope for additional funding because they still have to abide by the rules that have been put in place. they

are allowed to stay open but they do have a 10pm curfew. as you have already said, no households mixing and we also have the pandemic and the psychological effects on people. consumer confidence in some parts of the country is expected to be low at the country is expected to be low at the moment, not everybody is feeling co mforta ble the moment, not everybody is feeling comfortable about going out for dinner, so these restaurants and bars are already suffering as a result of that and then you put these other measures on top of that and it is like a triple whammy, if you like. to talk to me about the chancellor and hopes as to what he is going to announce today is tomasina myers, the founder and co—owner of the restaurant chain wahaca. just spell out to me what you are hoping the chancellor will announce today. i'm really hoping he will come forward for more support for all of those restaurants in tier 2, because azaz was said on the today programme this morning, it is

a slow death for most businesses who don't have deep pockets, but, more importantly, for the long term, i would really like to know the long—term strategy of this. we saw the curfew being put on with no visible impact on the way it is slowing down. we saw the rule of six having some impact but a lot of these measures in hospitality haven't stopped any of the rates in infection and we know that less than 396 infection and we know that less than 3% of infections are happening in hospitality, so i would really like a ministerof hospitality, so i would really like a minister of hospitality put it to government to help the government advise on these drastic, often knee jerk reactions that are happening in the face of this terrible disease, it isa the face of this terrible disease, it is a terrible disease, obviously, but let's not forget there are so many other conditions that are also killing people in huge numbers, cancer, mental health anguish, there are millions ofjobs at risk through the shutdowns, through these curfews and lock downs. i would say the lockdown strategy is not working and

there is no long—term strategy for it, as faras there is no long—term strategy for it, as far as it isn't going anywhere. so what is the outlook? i'm sure the chancellor admits he has pockets that have only a certain depth to them so what is the long—term strategy? cu rfews depth to them so what is the long—term strategy? curfews on helping and the lockdowns aren't helping and the lockdowns aren't helping —— helping and the lockdowns aren't helping — — cu rfews helping and the lockdowns aren't helping —— curfews aren't helping. at the moment, the rate of infection is going up in the chancellor has made very clear in previous speeches that he simply cannot save everyone, there is no money tree. what would you say to that argument?” there is no money tree. what would you say to that argument? i would say exactly, there is no monetary and that this is a virus that isn't going anywhere and i think the strategy... we have absolutely seen all the measures he has put in hospitality haven't made a blind bit of difference to the infection. the infection is going up, we need to put more resources into doctors and nurses and we need to shield the vulnerable, i completely agree with that, but to target an industry that supports so many millions ofjobs,

the fallout, the effect of these knock—downs, is going to be catastrophic and not to mention the future of our children, who are going to have to pay for this for decades to come. i do think the strategy is wrong. it is not helping anyone. and i would just like to see anyone. and i would just like to see a more balanced look at this and some consultation because we are wrecking the economy right now. i'm really glad that he is reconsidering the tear to financial support, because there are so many millions ofjobs at risk, —— tier 2. but i think there needs to be more of a balance holistically with what is going on. and, briefly, can you try and give us an example or a description if you like of what you are seeing in your restaurants at the moment, in terms of football, in terms of how customers are selling and how your staff —— customers are feeling and how your staff feeling? there is a feeling around covid

attacking a very small percentage of the population, so people are scared i think largely unnecessarily because, largely, this does not affect most people but also we have seen affect most people but also we have seena affect most people but also we have seen a massive affect most people but also we have seen a massive cut affect most people but also we have seen a massive cut off. with the curfew, we lost 20% as an industry and now with this here two, another 20% and we had already lost 20% through consumer confidence. we have staff across the industry worried for their livelihoods and they are supporting children. we have 3 million children living under the levels of poverty at the beginning of lockdown. that is set to grow by 4 million by the end of this year. that is children growing hungry. —— going hungry. iwork that is children growing hungry. —— going hungry. i work for a charity called chefs in schools where we try and feed hungry children and that is the worst thing for me, knowing the levels of poverty are increasing in this strategy that doesn't seem to have an end goal. thank you, thomasina miers, and, just listening

to what thomasina miers was saying, family struggling to make ends meet and lots of businesses will be watching closely as to what the chancellor will say today, because many of them will be, it will dictate how they go forward in terms of their finances, in terms of how they pay their bills, very important for many people today. thank you very much. we will of course keep a close eye on all of those developments this morning and bring to the statement from the chancellor when it happens. the headlines on bbc news... the chancellor is expected to announce new support for workers in parts of england under tier two restrictions, after criticism that more needs to be done for those regions in the second highest level of meaures. a police chief is urging the government to make the three—tier system easier to follow as more parts of england prepare to enter the "very high" alert level. the fbi says us voter registration information has been obtained by iran and russia and is being used to try and interfere in the us presidential election.

the officer leading the policing response to the coronavirus pandemic has urged the government to make the three—tier rules easier to follow. assistant chief constable 0wen weatherill told mps that people are struggling to comply with restrictions because they're too confusing. he's previously asked the prime minister to simplify the message around the new tiered system. i made strong representations that we should look for simplified, consistent tiers. but they would be the same wherever they were applied. i thought that was going to happen ten days ago. the reality is starting to drift and nuance is creeping in. what we have seen with tiering is a reintroduction of things you cannot do under regulation and guidance. the tiering relates to both.

unfortunately, what that has done is confuse the messaging again. speaking on bbc breakfast this morning, the policing minister kit malthouse said he understood there were complexities with the different restricitons in different areas in the same tier but people had a responsibility to inform themselves. the one thing we are learning about this pandemic is it is challenging on all sorts of levels. and what the prime minister tried to do in introducing the three tiers was bring an element of clarity, so that people knew in broad terms what their situation was in their area, but then recognised that, in particular areas, there are likely to be, you know, subtle differences that need to be addressed, not least because the infection is growing in different areas in different ways, and try and address that is well through a different set of measures agreed with local leaders. now, that does create some complexity but, look, there is plenty of information out there on the internet where people can go and inform themselves

about what the regulations are in their area and that, fundamentally, is what we recommend everybody has to do. we all need to recognise we have an individual duty towards our collective health and that means informing ourselves about what the regulations are in our area and then complying with the rules. now, i do understand that, between two particular areas that might be in tier 3, there will be different variations, but that makes it even more important that people go and inform themselves. the uk and european union will resume talks today to try to agree on a post—brexit trade deal. discussions stalled last week, with downing street saying the negotiations were over. yesterday, the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, told the european parliament that a deal was within reach if both sides compromised. the government says talks will intensify, but that it's possible they won't result in an agreement. the us director of national intelligence has said iran and russia have obtained information about voters and are trying to influence the result of the upcoming

presidential election. john ratcliffe also accused iran of sending threatening emails to democratic voters. we would like to alert the public that we have identified that two foreign actors, iran and russia, have taken specific actions to influence public opinion, relating to our elections. first, we have confirmed that some voter registration information has been obtained by iran and separately by russia. this data can be used by foreign actors to attempt to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, so chaos, and undermine your confidence in american democracy. so what more do we know about the extent of the interference? i spoke to the bbc‘s north america correspondent, david willis.

a lot of factors about this whole thing remain pretty unclear, including the use, if any, that russia put this voter registration information to. the intelligence chiefs did make clear, though, that iran had used it, in their view to masquerade as this far—right—wing group, this militia group called the proud boys, and to attempt to basically intimidate democratic—leaning voters, people who will be disposed to voting for the presidential candidate joe biden, to switch their allegiance to donald trump, otherwise the message was the group, the proud boys, is coming after them. now, i think the principle here that most concerns intelligence officials is the thought that this could intimidate some voters, scare them, if you like, with, of course, less than two weeks to go before the presidential

election here. the former us president barack 0bama has accused donald trump of treating the presidency like a reality television show during an election rally in philadelphia. it was mr 0bama's first campaign speech in support of his former vice—president, joe biden. 0ur north america correspondent aleem maqbool reports. it was a strange way to attend a political event. they came in their cars to see their former president's first drive—in rally forjoe biden. i think what barack 0bama brings is the sense when america was great. when we were happy to go out, when we could go out and have a good time, when we were respecting and loving each other. when barack 0bama got on stage in philadelphia he didn't hold back in his criticism of the man who replaced him in the white house, saying donald trump's behaviour had been unacceptable and a poor example to american children. there are consequences to these actions. they embolden other people to be

cruel and divisive and racist. part of the reason he came to this city was to encourage african—america ns to vote. many remain disillusioned. there no point in really voting. that's how i look at it. i don't see no point in voting, bro. it's like a lost cause. a decrease in black voter turnout here in 2016 is seen as a big reason hillary clinton lost this key state to donald trump. down the road, barack 0bama dropped by a community centre. you'll get some folks who say, "well, i'm not going to vote." his input could be crucial to reversing that fall in black voting forjoe biden. and notjust in this city. aleem maqbool, bbc news, philadelphia. you canjoin you can join is you canjoin is in the wee you can join is in the wee small

hours of tomorrow morning, 1:30am, to be precise for live coverage of that final us presidential debate between donald trump for the republican party and democratic candidate joe biden and republican party and democratic candidatejoe biden and you can also follow our live expert analysis on the bbc news website or on the bbc news app. so, as we heard earlier, the conservative mp caroline ansell has resigned as a parliamentary aide to the environment secretary after rebelling against the government last night. she backed a labour motion demanding low—income families in england get free school meals outside term time. the footballer marcus rashford, who's campaigned on the issue, says he'll continue fighting. lisa hampele has more. breakfast club is the guarantee of a meal some children might not get at home. throughout the summer school holiday, many families relied on free school meal vouchers instead. with half—term approaching, holiday hunger is again on the minds of many. now we have parents who don't have

jobs any more, so then we have to think about the parents who don't havejobs, how are they going to survive? but labour lost their motion. it had accused the government of walking away from its obligations to hungry children. only a handful of conservative mps voted with labour. if we acknowledge that children risk going hungry in term time by providing them with free school meals, despite the provision of universal credit and the other things that have been mentioned by the government, we know they risk going hungry in the holidays, too. among the conservatives voting with the government was an mp with strong words aimed at parents and marcus rashford's campaign. where is the slick pr campaign, encouraging absent parents to take some responsibility for their children? i do not believe in nationalising children. instead, we need to get back to the idea of taking responsibility. in a statement last night, the footballer said...

the prime minister borisjohnson said the government will continue to use the benefit and income support system to help children through the holidays. in scotland and wales, families will be given food vouchers until next year's easter holiday. like in england, northern ireland has said free school meals will only be provided during term time. lisa hampele, bbc news. the foreign secretary dominic raab says he's deeply concerned by reports that a number of people were shot dead at a protest against police brutality in nigeria. amnesty international says at least 12 people were killed when troops opened fire in the country's biggest city, lagos. demonstrations in nigeria over an allegedly corrupt police unit — which has been disbanded — have been taking place for the last two weeks. too many hospitals supporting people

with learning disabilities and autism are providing poor care which is — at times — undignified and inhumane. that's according to the care regulatorfor england. the government, which commissioned the report, says its findings are "deeply concerning". 0ur social affairs correspondent, alison holt has the details. through a hatch in the door of a bare seclusion room, bethany is reaching out to hold herfather‘s hand. she's a teenager with autism and learning disabilities. for two years, bethany was living in long—stay hospitals segregated from others, because her behaviour was said to be so challenging. this is bethany now. the 19—year—old is thriving, living in a flat in the community with services built around her. it was her case which led to today's report. her dad, who had to fight to get her moved, says hospital was always the wrong place for her. the environments beth was in in the hospitals, they were incredibly bright,

they were full of fluorescent lighting. that in itself hurts beth's sensory requirements. the noise in those places, with alarms going off, people screaming, the doors constantly slamming, they're not therapeutic at all. somebody like beth, with her sensory needs, is never going to get better in an environment like that. despite promises for change following abuse scandals, the regulator says there is still too much poor care in long—stay hospital wards. in some places, patients were restrained on a daily basis. and the time people were secluded or segregated for, ranged from two days to 13 years. we found that people, the staff who were looking after people in hospitals, often didn't have the and knowledge often didn't have the skills and knowledge to understand how properly to use restraint, segregation, seclusion. and i think that often

it was a case of not knowing how to meet people's needs, not understanding autism, not really being clear about what are the triggers were and the reasons behind people's behaviour. so if you change the focus of training for staff, you get the right specialist staff in place, then it should both reduce the need to use any form of restrictive practices, and make sure that people have their needs properly met. the report says there needs to be more investment in the sort of community services that bethany now gets. and a minister to ensure a change happens. alison holt, bbc news. the bbc has said its religion editor, martin bashir, is "seriously unwell" after developing coronavirus—related complications. the corporation has released a statement asking for the journalist's privacy to be respected. mr bashir is best known for having conducted high—profile interviews with interviewees including

princess diana and michaeljackson. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. today's promising to be much drier than it was yesterday, although there still are some showers in the forecast, and we've been watching some heavy rain pulling away from northern and eastern scotland, continuing its journey into the north sea, leaving some cloud and the odd spot behind it. showers continuing across parts of northern england, and we've got a weak weather front slipping south, which is also producing some showers. but, in between, we're looking at a lot of dry weather and some hazy sunshine. now, as we head through the evening and overnight, we'll see some showers pushing up from the south west across parts of the midlands, heading into the southeastern corner, and at the same time a new weather front coming in, introducing some heavier rain. it's going to be a cooler night for most of us than it has been in the last few. so we see the dregs of the showers moving away from the southeast in the morning, as this band of rain advances steadily eastwards,

weakening all the time. and then behind that, we'll see a return to brighter skies, some sunshine and some showers, but some of those showers in the west could be heavy and thundery. hello, this is bbc news, the headlines: the chancellor is expected to announce new support for workers in parts of england under tier 2 restrictions, after criticism that more needs to be done for those regions in the second highest level of meaures. a police chief is urging the government to make the three—tier system easier to follow as more parts of england prepare to enter the very high alert level. geater manchester moves into tier 3 from midnight tonight. south yorkshire follows on saturday. a new health advisor to the government is urging ministers to look beyond race for reasons why black, asian and other minority ethnic groups are at a higher risk of dying from coronavirus. the fbi says us voter registration

information has been obtained by iran and russia and is being used to try and interfere in the us presidential election. sport, and for a full roundup from the bbc sport centre, here's mike. good morning. perfect starts for liverpool and manchester city in the champions league, and relief for both too. for city, that sergio ageuro is scoring again, and for liverpool, that they can cope, just about, without their injured defender virgil van dijk. 0ur sports correspondent andy swiss has all the details. the champions of england bidding once again to be champions of europe. liverpool have become a byword for goal—scoring brilliance but their opener against ajax was less sublime, more ridiculous. oh, it's a crazy own goal! spare a thought for nicolas tagliafico poking sadio mane's shot into his own net. liverpool, though, weren't complaining.

but without the injured virgil van dijk, their defending was at times desperate. fabinho rescuing them before the break, but boy, it was close. and so was this. moments into the second half, davy klaassen rattling the post. liverpool living dangerously. in the final seconds, a final chance for ajax, but they couldn't take it. a tricky night for liverpool, but they're off to a winning start. meanwhile, manchester city's latest quest for that elusive champions league title began against porto, and it didn't begin well. luis diazjust kept running and running with impressive results. but porto's lead didn't last. a clattering challenge on raheem sterling, and from the penalty spot sergio aguero just fired them level. and aguero scores. porto, though, were still posing plenty of problems, and it took some serious scrambling from kyle walker to keep city level at the break. after it, though, they set

about turning on the style. it is gundogan, it's outstanding! as free kicks go, ilkay gundogan's was pretty special. and so was this. substitute ferran torres coolly completing a 3—1win. a great start for city, and one their manager, it's fair to say, rather enjoyed. andy swiss, bbc news. it was a dreadful night for the 13—time winners of the european cup, real madrid. they lost 3—2 to shaktar donetsk, who arrived in the spanish capital without ten first—team players as well, thanks to injuries and coronavirus. england's cricketers are heading for another bubble after next month's tour of south africa was given the green light. the limited—overs side, led by eoin morgan, will play three t20 matches and three one—dayers — all behind closed doors. the trip had been in doubt because the south african government regards the uk as high risk for coronavirus, but the players and staff have been granted exemptions to travel. they'll set off on november 16th, and they'll be based in cape town.

chris froome is really struggling at the vuelta a espana. after stage two, he's a whopping, half an hour behind primoz roglic. froome has said he had no expectations for this event, but it's still a surprise to see a four—time tour de france winner losing touch so early on in the race. he'll now focus on supporting his team—mate richard carapaz, who's in third place, something team ineos say was always part of their plans. the intense rivalry between lewis hamilton and nico rosberg will be renewed after rosberg announced he'd be running his own team in the upcoming extreme e series, for electric off—road vehicles. it's set to start next february, visiting territories affected by climate change, such as greenland and the amazon region in brazil, to raise awareness of the issue. hamilton has already stated his intent to run a team. the pair were famous for their battles in their time together as mercedes team—mates in formula one. that's all the sport for now. let's return now to the annoucement

expected later from the chancellor on new support for workers in parts of england under tier 2 restrictions and the level of economic support given to different areas. the government is expected to publish details today of their funding formula, and how levels of financial support are decided. let's get the thoughts now of professor tony travers, visiting professor at the london school of economics, and an expert on local government. tony good to have you with us this morning. a funding formula, a sensible idea? there is no doubt that it sensible idea? there is no doubt thatitis sensible idea? there is no doubt that it is a sensible idea. what is intriguing is that the government has apparently been moving forward up has apparently been moving forward up to now with, in part, a formula, but not one that we get details of, and partly by negotiation. we are clearly going to have areas of england in all three tiers moving forward , england in all three tiers moving forward, so having a package of support for individuals and all businesses that corresponds to 2 and

3, possibly tier 1, businesses that corresponds to 2 and 3, possibly tier1, makes businesses that corresponds to 2 and 3, possibly tier 1, makes perfect sense, because it stops the problem we have seen in the last few days of mayors and council leaders negotiating with the government and the risk of bad outcomes when that occurs. does it stop the wrangling, though? just because the government says this is the funding formula, this is what we are presenting you with, it doesn't mean every local leader will agree with that, surely? no, end it would make it easier to argue that, if you go from tier1 to tier 2, tier 2 to tier 3, there is a matching economic package. now, of course, it is still possible for local leaders to argue that our area has particular challenges, or parts of it, bolton has been in the news for this reason, has been in particular covid related measures

and ina particular covid related measures and in a more complicated way than others. it is still possible that leaders could argue for separate, different treatment, but at least that would be a side issue, a separate issue, it could be seen transparently, rather than getting tangled in the undergrowth of how much this area gets compared to that area and nobody knowing what the formula is that makes the initial decision. yes, you talk about undergrowth and being seen very transparently, very vivid images when we think about what has been going on between the government and local leaders in various parts of england in recent days. do you think more transparency in the process would be helpful, or is it inevitable that we just want to get that sort of level of insight and openness, if you like, that conversations will essentially be private? i think absolutely transparency would help, and at earlier stages, by the way. because the decisions about moving areas from tier1 to tier 2, or back to a

lower level, has to be one that mayors and local leaders, council leaders, needs to understand what the dashboard of indicators is, why the dashboard of indicators is, why the government, why sage are advising this, so they are part of the decision—making process, therefore bound into it, and when it comes to the second part of this, which is the financial support for businesses or individuals, that there is a sort of greater local bargain. and this all stems from the fa ct bargain. and this all stems from the fact that at the very beginning of the pandemic, back in march, april, you know, it was all done very centrally. now it is a much more localised approach, and if that is to work and to be accepted locally, then mayors and local leaders will have to be brought into the decision process more than in the past. that could potentially be helpful, although obviously different leaders

in different parts of england might say, well, you know, we need more, the funding formula does not work for us because of the demographics in ourarea. but for us because of the demographics in our area. but more broadly, tony, what we are seeing exposed in all of this is, you know, the development ofa this is, you know, the development of a very different relationship between central government and local leadership, and one that we are going to see a lot more of, i think, that dynamic in the weeks and months ahead. there is no question. this has now become very explicitly in england a series of local interventions, and in a sense that is the government binding thread, their way of avoiding a national lockdown, which they seem to be utterly committed to. now, if it is to be local and different from place to be local and different from place to place, then it is never going to work unless local leaders are brought into the decision—making. and separately, unless everybody

understands what the financial support is as well. of course, we are not naive, politicians are political, and you have often got labour leaders dealing with a conservative government. 0n the other hand there, there is a significant amount of agreement between the balance between public health crisis here and an economic one, and getting that to work effectively place by police in a way that doesn't seriously damage the economy in parts of the country in the long term is something i suspect there will be a great deal of grievance, and frankly, given the amount of money the government is borrowing so far, the amounts we are talking about here are trivial as compared with the margin that tends to get argued about. collide good to get your thoughts on that. amongst all those areas, sectors and businesses that will be getting support, we wait to find out exactly

what the funding formula will be, there are lots of other sectors where people have said, you know, we have fallen outside of any official help. 0ne have fallen outside of any official help. one of those you have probably heard a lot about is the events industry. gary has been in touch on twitter, saying any possibility rishi sunak will support supply chain companies in the events industry, with many companies on the verge of collapse and almost1 million people unsupported. let me just scroll through here, equal respect on twitter says what about contractors, entrepreneurs, freelancers? let us know what you think. a government health adviser has said the increased risk of covid—19 to black, asian and minority ethnic groups is largely down to factors such as living circumstances and occupation. dr raghib ali, who was appointed to investigate the link

between coronavirus and ethnicity, said everyone's risk needs to be assessed. our community affairs correspondent adina campbell reports. this is my late brother and myself in rangoon at one of the restaurants. it's a very nice restaurant... remembering his brother, six months on since he died of coronavirus. as a family, we were all devastated for many months. and as a family, we think a hospital or government could do a bit more after my brother passed away. this doctor was a specialist in neurological rehabilitation at the royal berkshire hospital in reading. his family says he had concerns about the lack of ppe while at work. he died in april after catching the virus. an investigation into his death is ongoing, and royal berkshire nhs foundation trust says it is waiting

for the results of the report. today the government has published new findings on covid disparities and given more details about how it is going to improve health outcomes for people from ethnic minority backgrounds. they include recording ethnicity on death certificates in england as a way of tracking which groups are more at risk. it's also going to spend more than £25 million on a new community champion scheme to help protect the most vulnerable. and workplace risk assessments for everyone to improve health conditions and reduce the number of deaths. so why are people from ethnic minorities more at risk of dying from coronavirus? they are more likely to live in poorer areas, with limited access to the health care they need, and because of this they may be in shared housing, meaning there is a greater chance of catching the virus. and we know people from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to have underlying health

conditions linked to higher coronavirus death rates. but one government adviser who has just been appointed to look at this issue more closely says we shouldn't solely concentrate on ethnicity. so my suggestion going forward is that instead of using ethnicity as the criteria by which you see whether someone needs extra testing or extra attention, is look at the actual risk factor that's causing it. look at overcrowded housing, their deprivation, their occupation et cetera, and then you will capture everybody. those behind the report, though, says it will lead to a clearer understanding of how much people from ethnic minorities are affected by coronavirus and help protect those most at risk. deprivation is one of the risk factors we have taken into account. we are doing this across the population for those people that we believe are vulnerable. i think that we have a responsibility to show that they are not being left behind. and as a black woman, that's something that i have personally taken an interest in. but for some health workers

who are seeing first—hand the impact of this virus in local communities, today's report doesn't go far enough. chris is a gp and also caught coronavirus earlier this year. this seems to be a proposal just to gather more data and give the impression of doing something rather than actually doing something. for those who have lost loved ones, today's report has come too late. but the hope is it could help other families avoid similar tragedies. adina campbell, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: the chancellor is expected to announce new support for workers in parts of england under tier 2 restrictions — after criticism that more needs to be done for those regions in the second highest

level of meaures. a police chief is urging the government to make the three—tier system easier to follow as more parts of england prepare to enter the "very high" alert level. the fbi says us voter registration information has been obtained by iran and russia and is being used to try and interfere in the us presidential election. the family of a cardiologist paralysed by covid whilst working on the front line say they fear they may be forced to return to egypt before he has recovered. dr basem enany has been diagnosed with guillain—barre syndrome as a result of the virus and has spent more than a month on a ventilator in intensive care. the doctor came to the uk to work in the nhs and with his contract due to finish at the end of november had been looking to renew his visa before he fell ill. a fundraising campaign set up to support the family has raised more than £130,000.

we can speak now to dr enany‘s wife, marwa mohamed. very much forjoining us today in the middle of all of what is going on. tell us how your husband is, because i know you haven't been able to see him since september. yeah, it was very nice to hear him again and... we have lost your audio at the moment. i don't know if you can hear me, we willjust try again. you we re hear me, we willjust try again. you were telling us about the last time you saw your husband, the 26th of september. yeah, actually, from this timei september. yeah, actually, from this time ijust two days back, i saw him without the tubes of the ventilator, it was very nice to see him again and breathing normally. two days ago you were able to see him?|j and breathing normally. two days ago you were able to see him? i saw him

yesterday and the day before without the tubes of the ventilator, and this was really optimistic for us.|j can imagine, absolutely, that it did. how is he at the moment? what are doctors saying about his condition right now? he is now stable, thanks god, and off the ventilator. and do they have any idea how long his recovery is going to take? yeah, as i talked to the doctors, we have a long, long journey for him, because he is com pletely journey for him, because he is completely paralysed, but at least he is out of risk now. but we have a long journey, it will take many months. and as we explained in the introduction, as a family, you are worried that you may have to leave the uk when his contract runs out at the uk when his contract runs out at the end of november, his original contract when he came to the uk about oh years ago to work as a

cardiologist. the home office has said, we have spoken to dr enany‘s family to reassure them that their immigration status is not in jeopardy and they are not facing enforcement action, they are here entirely legally and have every right to remain in the uk. does this give you any of the comfort and confidence that you are looking for, marwa? i would thank them, of course, for calling me twice, but i am not assured. my husband and the future of my girls, my four daughters, i can't be assured without knowing the solution, because there are two issues about the solution. there is a time limit for him, if it will be enough for him to recover or not, and they kind of visa that will make him capable of visa that will make him capable of working again or not, and this is really crucial in his journey of rehabilitation. if we just let him know that we are supporting you, you

will work again, this is really crucial for will work again, this is really crucialfor his spirit will work again, this is really crucial for his spirit and his recovery, again, of course. and just telling him that he can have a razor and stay, but at he cannot work again, it is like burying him alive, really. essentially, you are worried that the government might say to your husband, who worked on the front line, helping covid patients before he himself fell victim to the virus, you are still worried that the government might say, no, you have to go? yeah, you have to go or stay without working, prohibited from work. i need to give him hope that they are supporting him and that they are supporting him and that we are waiting for you to work again. so very specifically, what is it exactly that you are looking for from the government, marwa? as i told you, i want a time limit for

him to be enough in hisjourney, which we don't know when it will end, and because the doctors, as i told you, they told us it may take months. this time limit, i want it to be... he finishes recovery, but also he can work again, gave him a visa that make him have hope that he will recover to work again. i needed the nhs support, really, to make him feel that we are waiting for you, giving message for him, waiting for you to be back again. this will really make him eager to recover and really make him eager to recover and really lift his spirits. and he very much want to continue working for the nhs, i can tell, from what you're saying. when you came to the uk initially, what was he told then about the prospects of being able to work beyond that initial two year

contract? my husband or... i can't get it, sorry. when you came to the uk initially, what sort of indications were you given about how long you might be able to stay here if your husband was continuing to work in the nhs? his contract has been renewed yearly, because he is a consultant, and finding a job was not a big issue. we had a really easy life before, everything was stable. and really we want this all again back. wejust want stable. and really we want this all again back. we just want our life that we lived back again. 0k, again back. we just want our life that we lived back again. ok, i am sure we will continue to keep a very close eye on what is happening, but first and foremost, marwa, i do hope that your husband continues to make a good recovery and return to full health, thank you so much for talking to us. thank you so much,

thank you. the royal british legion has launched this year's poppy appeal by releasing a series of photographic portraits featuring serving members of the armed forces, second world war veterans and poppy appeal collectors. the photographs reflect the impact of covid—19 on the lives of the armed forces community. this year the charity has developed new ways for people to continue to support this year whilst adhering to social distancing measures. we can speak to claire rowcliffe, she's director of fundraising at the royal british legion. you are launching this year's appeal with these extraordinary photographic portraits, what is the idea behind them? thank you for having us, the portraits represent the impact of covid—19 pandemic on the impact of covid—19 pandemic on the armed forces community but also on the poppy appeal. some have been

organisers who have organised a p°ppy organisers who have organised a poppy appeal in their own community for many, many years. but they say they have had to do it differently because of the impact of covid, so they have had to do it from their own home, they haven't been able to get out and about, as they ordinarily would do, and it isjust one example of how the covid pandemic has affected how we can deliver the appeal this year. so we have had to come up with new ideas and initiatives in orderfor have had to come up with new ideas and initiatives in order for people to donate and support the appeal. that focus on the home, our home is taking ona that focus on the home, our home is taking on a new and special significance this year. we are running through this series of photos, we haven't actually seen barry and tricia yet, they haven't come up yet, here they come, i am reliably told. they are about in the 70s, as you said, collecting for the p°ppy 70s, as you said, collecting for the poppy appeal in a local village for ten years, but they are shielding. so an interesting example of how you go about funding in socially

distanced times, so tell us about the range of new ways that you have come up with to allow people to show there is supposed — remotely, i suppose. absolutely, iwould there is supposed — remotely, i suppose. absolutely, i would like to point out that we are hopeful that we will have collectors in some areas, a much reduced in supermarkets this year, so hopefully you will be able to see our traditional collectors, which is really important. but because of the covid pandemic, it is more important to find new ways to give, so we have developed a range of options, and as you go on to the poppy appeal website, you can see that you can donate directly, you can order a pack of poppies to be sent to your home to distribute within your own bubble. you can download one and post it in your window to show your support for the armed forces community and the poppy appeal. you can do fundraising ideas, there is a fundraising pack, so a range of options for people to support the

p°ppy options for people to support the poppy appeal. clearly, to donate and to help us continue our support to the armed forces community, but take pa rt the armed forces community, but take part in the act of remembrance as well, which is just part in the act of remembrance as well, which isjust as important.” wonder how worried you are about the potential shortfall this year. you know, times are tight for many people, whole issues about people being able to get out and, you know, support in the usual ways. because that fundraising, illustrated by another of the photos, i believe, lawrence and his fiancee danielle, that makes a big difference to people's lives. this is such a wonderful example, he says himself that it saved his life, the royal british legion supports so many vetera ns, british legion supports so many veterans, serving personnel as well, you know, younger veterans through to older veterans in care homes. you know, the poppy appeal contributes just under 50% of our voluntary income, so it is so important that we, you know, people do give to us

in different ways, by going online and donating, as well as if you see the poppy delight collected in supermarkets, giving in the traditional way as well if possible. -- if traditional way as well if possible. —— if you see the collectors in supermarkets. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. today's promising to be much drier than it was yesterday, although there still are some showers in the forecast, and we've been watching some heavy rain pulling away from northern and eastern scotland, continuing its journey into the north sea, leaving some cloud and the odd spot behind it. showers continuing across parts of northern england, and we've got a weak weather front slipping south, which is also producing some showers. but, in between, we're looking at a lot of dry weather and some hazy sunshine. now, as we head through the evening and overnight, we'll see some showers pushing up from the south west across parts of the midlands, heading into the southeastern corner, and at the same time a new weather front coming in,

introducing some heavier rain. it's going to be a cooler night for most of us than it has been in the last few. so we see the dregs of the showers moving away from the southeast in the morning, as this band of rain advances steadily eastwards, weakening all the time. and then behind that, we'll see a return to brighter skies, some sunshine and some showers, but some of those showers in the west could be heavy and thundery.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk chancellor is expected to announce new support for businesses affected by coronavirus restrictions, after criticism that more needs to be done for those regions in the second—highest level of meaures. level of measures. people are filling mps' inboxes with e—mails of distress and concern, that is all being fed in, so, hopefully, this afternoon we will see the chancellor, as i say, tack a little bit, trim the sails, to make sure we are getting the right balance in terms of the support we are offering across the economy. a police chief in england is urging the government to make the three—tier system easier to follow as more parts of the country prepare to enter the "very high" alert level. geater manchester moves into tier 3 from midnight tonight. south yorkshire follows on saturday.