today at six... uk—wide rules on what we can do over christmas — the four nations reach an agreement. a christmas like no other we've had in living memory — up to three households will be able to mix over five days across the uk. all the government agreed that we should balance the need to protect public health while also allowing people to be with their loved ones. the decorations are not in vain — with a month to go families up and down the country can start planning. i love christmas, and it's the only time of year that i get everybody together, so it is very important. and ministers warn of the risks involved — we'll be looking at them. also tonight: schools may be open but how

do they cope when one in five students is at home because of covid restrictions? why should leaseholders have to pay for cladding defects they didn't know about? mps say the government is wrong. a concession in all but name — donald trump finally tells officials to prepare for a biden presidency. and coming up on bbc news... manchester united will attempt to redeem themselves in their return match against istanbul basa ksehir later. they lost 2—1 to the turkish champions three weeks ago. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. with just a month to go before christmas, ministers from england, scotland, wales and northen ireland

have this afternoon agreed on broad uk—wide rules to allow families to gather for christmas. in the last few minutes, the cabinet office minister michael gove said they needed to find a balance between allowing people to meet loved one and the risks involved. there was a reminder today of those risks. 608 deaths were reported in the latest 2a hour period — the highest since may. now, there may be slight differences across the nations but here's what the new christmas rules will look like. up to three households will be able to mix in each other‘s homes — that does not include hospitality settings and rules around support bubbles are different between nations. families will be able to cross national borders to celebrate christmas. and these new rules will be limited to a fews days either side of christmas. here's our health editor, hugh pym. christmas is coming and ministers and officials from the uk's four administrations had big decisions to

make about families meeting up over the festive season. the aim has been a common uk—wide approach and scotland's first minister earlier indicated extreme caution was required. we will continue to ask people to err on the side of caution. our advice is to use and flexibility carefully and only if they believe it right and necessary for their personal circumstances. this afternoon the agreed christmas plan was set out. for five days from the 23rd to the 27th of december, people will be allowed to have three households getting together so they can enjoy something closer to a normal christmas. it is not an instruction to travel or to meet with other people. people should still use a sense of responsibility, should still ask themselves whether what they are doing is keeping themselves and other people safe. kent has two council areas in the

top ten uk hotspots for virus infections so how do locals see the next few weeks? i would like to mix at christmas but i can see i may not do it. everybody wants to get back toa do it. everybody wants to get back to a sense of normality but we have all got to be patient. to a sense of normality but we have all got to be patientlj to a sense of normality but we have all got to be patient. i think really we should all have been locked down until january really we should all have been locked down untiljanuary and then start tier system. restrictions will be reimposed after christmas but for how long? is it possible we could be back to normal after easter? after easter we think we will be getting back to normal. what will that mean in practice? those damaging social distancing interventions that have big downsides, whether economic or social in of our wellbeing, i should hope that we can lift those after easter if these two vaccines are approved by the regulator. that's what might happen in a few months,

but the nhs is having to cope with right now with the consequences of covid infections. the number of patients with the virus at cambridge hospitals has trebled over the last three weeks and there are staff shortages because of illness. there is concern what might happen if case numbers escalate again.|j is concern what might happen if case numbers escalate again. i don't think this lockdown has felt like a proper lockdown as it is because everywhere is still busy, but definitely when the rules relaxed and numbers go up, we will definitely struggle more. some seriously ill covid patients will not survive and daily death numbers may continue to rise. one way of looking at the impact is looking at total deaths from all causes. the grey line shows the average for weekly deaths in the uk and here is what has happened so far this year. the red line is covid deaths and in the last month or so it has taken the last month or so it has taken the total above the average by i9% in the last week, but it is still a lot less tha n

in the last week, but it is still a lot less than in the first peak. the total is 100% then above the average. once the vaccines have been rolled out and restrictions lifted, the number of excess deaths throughout the pandemic will be the best benchmark of how the uk has fared compared with other nations. hugh pym, bbc news. our deputy political editor vicki young joins me now. this has all been happening in the last couple of minutes, could you flesh out the details? yes, and it is details people will want to know about. the government of the four nations think they have come up with something that is proportionate that will relax the rules, but it is only a bit. it won't be a normal christmas and the messages still to be cautious. it is five days from the 23rd to the 27th of december. for northern ireland there will be a day extra either side particularly because of travel, and it will be three households that can mix. in

england that means if you are already in a social bubble with somebody, that counts as one household and you can join with two others. that rule will have differences across the four nations. that bubble must be fixed for the whole time, you cannot change it from one day to another, and again crucially you can gather in private homes, in outdoor public and places of worship within that christmas bubble, but you cannot go together to hospitality venues. as i say, this will not be a normal christmas and the message very much is to use your ownjudgment. to and the message very much is to use your own judgment. to be and the message very much is to use your ownjudgment. to be careful particularly of course around the vulnerable, and also important to say there are some exemptions if you like. if you think about students, a family might have three or four and they will be allowed back home for they will be allowed back home for the period, and children whose pa rents a re the period, and children whose parents are divorced will be able to

be in two distinct separate christmas bubbles. thank you very much. so, while the new christmas rules offer some clarity, it's still going to leave families up and down the country agonising over what to do. many have been hoping for a get—together but are also worried about protecting vulnerable or elderly relatives. jon kay has been meeting two families in devon. all sam wants for christmas is... christmas. it's the only time of the year that i get everybody together. it is very important, it is special. she is desperate for her children and grandchildren to see the tree inside and to celebrate like they do every year. it's not the presents, it's having all my family around me. that is the important thing. even if it is only for one day, just to let families get together to enjoy christmas. what about the risks to public health of people mixing?”

think that's the problem. people cannot go silly. they have to be sensible if they want to do this, otherwise we will have a rot in january. little gatherings would be 0k january. little gatherings would be ok maybe? hopefully. it's a big decision for politicians and for families right across the uk. some say it should be up to individuals, not governments. others say it is wrong to prioritise one religious festival. i guess this is what christmas might be like. if this is as good as it gets. naomi and roy are resigned to an online christmas and have decided not to make their usual trips between devon and south wales even if it is allowed. i would love to do it, but no, i will be advising them it, but no, i will be advising them it is not a good idea, especially as there is so much hope with the vaccine development. it seems like it is too high risk regardless of

what we are allowed to do. how do you react to that, roy? the only thing that's missing is the physical contact and if that has to be, i would rather miss out in 2020 if it guaranteed we could do what we do next year. but he will miss having fun with his grandkids. looking a bit santa claus with the beard. you are not the first one to call me that. it's all about family, family making memories. tonight sam is hopeful, building a grotto in the garden and planning for the christmas she has been dreaming of. jon kay, bbc news, plymouth. as we've been hearing any easing of restrictions over christmas will come with added risks. the government's scientific advisers are warning that transmission of the coronavirus is most likely when people meet indoors. our science editor david shukman has been looking at the latest research on transmission and what we can do about it.

# rocking around the christmas tree... #. it's traditionally the time of year for celebrations, but when friends and family crowd together and maybe relax about covid for a while, the coronavirus can easily spread. and scientists say that scenes like this can lead to infections. the way with we would normally experience christmas, a christmas mealfor example experience christmas, a christmas meal for example with friends and families is probably the worst possible scenario for this type of virus. it will be difficult to physically distance, people care for each other. they are not used to that. if you're outdoors, all the evidence suggests you're very unlikely to catch the virus because it gets dispersed in the open air. but at this time of year, no one wants to spend too long out in the cold. this is, after all, the season for gatherings indoors, but that brings a whole

series of risks. in any group sitting down to a meal, it's possible someone may be infected without realising because they have no symptoms. and the more people there are, the greater that danger, especially if they've come from different households. one risk is from sharing because dishes or bottles could be contaminated as they're passed around. another is that if someone is infected, they'll release the virus as they talk, and more emerges the louder people are as they project their voices. hour by hour, the longer everyone's together, the more it can accumulate in the air. and if the windows are closed against the winter cold, there'll be no fresh air to dilute the virus — again, increasing the chances of infection. by opening windows regularly throughout the day, you can remove the infected particles... so the government's advice is to open windows, which might make the room colder but should clear the tiny virus particles known as aerosols.

hands, face, space. there is growing evidence that if you were in a poorly ventilated space for a long period of time with people who are infected, that you may be breathing in those aerosols and that might be one of the routes of infection and especially in a social setting where the chances are you're not wearing a face covering. so the guidance is to reduce the numbers getting together and maybe save a big gathering for the summer. avoid sharing plates and utensils. the american government says everyone should bring their own. and keep the event as short as possible. but even with measures like this, the elderly and other vulnerable people may still be at risk. so there's a christmas balance to strike between the chances of infection and the benefits to morale, and getting that right won't be easy. david shukman, bbc news. the latest government figures show there were 11,299 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. that means the average number

of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 18,295. 1,654 people had been admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last friday. and 608 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that means on average in the past week a42 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 55,838. keeping children in the classroom has been one of the key goals for the government. but it's a policy which comes with enormous challenges for both pupils and staff. more than one in five secondary school students in england was out of school last week because of coronavirus. the latest figures show just 78% of teenagers were in the classroom, the lowest level since september. before the pandemic, 95% attendance

was normal. our education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports from knowsley on merseyside, one of the worst effected areas this term. even break time is carefully managed. a school hit hard by coronavirus, teachers and pupils having to isolate. in yearten we in year ten we have had to have bubble closure, an entire bubble closure in year 11. we have had a partial bubble closure. this is a significant number of days that have been lost as part of that. across year 11 just since september, more than 700 days in the classroom lost. even now, we're stilljust catching up with work that we missed in lockdown. so there's still a lot of content that we need to catch up on before learning the content that we should be right now. i don't think it's really fair because at the end of the day, we're all sitting the same exam and some have had more time

in school than others. and it could affect people differently. as someone who herself isolated already i think it's really stressful to even think about the fa ct we stressful to even think about the fact we have got to do exams in a few months' time. it will not only affect your gcses but also college. in this part of merseyside, as many as four out of ten teenagers have been at a secondary school at any one time. local infection rates have improved very slightly, but those are still days in the classroom those teenagers won't get back. and schools are worried that if there's more disruption after christmas, they simply won't be able to cover all of the content of their gcses. plans for exams promised soon — one suggestion grades could be more generous than usual across england. it's exactly the same as reducing the content for everybody. what we need is a more localised approach to take into account the exact nature of

the disruption that we faced. in english pupils will have more choice and exam questions, someone it allowed in other subjects. you could have different papers that covered different parts of the content, or you could have a single paper, a guide pupils to the questions that they should answer based on the content they've studied. how high would you put the risk of the government getting itself into a very difficult position again? at the moment, i think that risk is very high. as they try to keep cases at bay, unions warn more pupils may need to learn at home. ministers determined schools will stay open come what may. branwen jeffreys, bbc news, knowsley. the time is 6.17pm. our top story this evening. covid restrictions will be eased for a few days, over christmas, across the uk.

and still to come — the retired military dog who received the highest honour for bravery in afghanistan. coming up on sportsday on bbc news. glasgow city have been drawn against sparta praha in the women's champions league last 32. it's the tenth season in a row they've got to this stage of the competition. the chancellor rishi sunak will set out details of his spending review tomorrow. as part of a package of measures, mr sunak will announce a new three—year, £2.9 billion scheme to help one million unemployed people look for work. it comes as the mayor of greater manchester, labour's andy burnham warned that the north of england was facing an economic crisis ‘worse than the 1980s'. here's our economics editor faisal islam. a year ayearago, a year ago, before the lockdown, the

sharpest recession, places like this, middleton was said what the government would bejudged by. this is part of the new blue wall and the promise to level up the economy will feature in tomorrow's spending review, but here, some locals are yet to see change. we were promised a metrolink for 15 and 20 years and it is still not happened. it's one of those. promises are made, but its actions more than words. as much as we can believe borisjohnson's promises of course, given time and patience by everyone, yeah, we can still level up. the regional mayor here, andy burnham, who has clashed with government over the covid lockdown is means levelling up has to mean something concrete for living standards. the north of england has been hit hardest by covid because of the failure to invest in the north over decades, and we have probably gone backwards this year. we have been levelled down. we could be looking at another period like the 1980s in the north of england coming out of the covid

crisis, the 20 20s could be worse than the 1980s, so that is the test facing this government and it is still unclear whether they are going to pass it. at the spending review, the chancellor will announce a new £1 billion a year restart scheme hoping to protect and create 1 million jobs, hoping to protect and create 1 millionjobs, but spending reviews are also meant to set a long—term course and tomorrow first, a national infrastructure strategy, spending more particularly beyond london and the south—east, welcomed by the chair of the national infrastructure commission. this national infrastructure strategy, the first time we've ever had one in this country is a golden opportunity to set out our determination to get our policies right in these areas. every economist in the world almost at the moment is saying that governments should be investing in their infrastructure, despite the impact of covid. the covid crisis is obviously fundamentally changing the numbers and the official forecast tomorrow will see the economy shrinking in this year by more than

10%, bigger than any single year during the world wars, the interwar depression is, in fact, for three centuries. that has had a knock—on effect to government borrowing where it has spiralled close to £400 billion. 15 to 20% of the size of our economy, and that has not been seenin our economy, and that has not been seen in peacetime. only ever seen during world wars. so the levelling up during world wars. so the levelling up problem is bigger than our ability to deal with it and is more constrained. tonight, the finishing touches being put to a review. still needing to rescue the economy as well as reset it for the long term. organised criminal gangs have been abusing the universal credit system, as rules were loosened to cope with a rise in applications during the coronavirus pandemic. officials told the bbc they've stopped as much as a billion pounds of taxpayers' money from being paid to fraudsters. our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan, joins me.

so they have uncovered some of it, michael, but is there a suspicion that there is a lot more? there is a concern there is a lot more and i've been told there are more than 1 million applications for universal credit within the system that still need checking and there is a concern that some of that may be fraudulent although the applicants may simply not be eligible for the benefit if, for instance, they have applied for some of the covid support schemes like the self—employed grant. there is also concerned that the highly automated universal credit system did not spot this particular scam and it was stopped effectively by a junior civil servant working with high street banks who noticed dozens of applications for the benefit were being rooted towards the same bank account. that led to further investigations which revealed more than 100,000 fraudulent applications for universal credit is with gangs using stolen identities. that led to officials calculating that as much as £1 billion may have been paid out had the scam has been successful.

michael, thank you very much. the high court has ruled that the american woman alleged to have killed harry dunn in a road accident last year was entitled to diplomatic immunity. the teenager died after being injured outside an raf base in northamptonshire. anne sacoolas, who was accused of driving on the wrong side of the road, was allowed to leave the uk after he died. duncan kennedy reports. harry dunn was just 19 when he died in august of last year. he was knocked off his motorbike here by an american woman driving on the wrong side of the road. she was anne sacoolas, who left britain two weeks after the crash, claiming diplomatic immunity through her husband's job at an american airbase. harry's parents, charlotte and tim, have tried to get mrs sacoolas to come back. but after reviewing the case, the high court today ruled that mrs sacoolas did indeed have diplomatic immunity. it's a decision that's left tim and charlotte profoundly disappointed.

we've had many tears and tantrums, but we've kept our feet on the ground. we've already launched an appeal. you know, she cannot move on, surely, with her life in a wholesome way without facing up to what she's done. she openly admits what she's done. so come back, face the courts, get it over and done with and then move on. and, yeah, we can close this for everybody. the foreign secretary said thejudges had made the right decision today, but that he felt sympathy there will be no solace to the family of harry dunn. my heart is with them. we've made clear right from the outset we're on theirside. we've called and we continue to call for anne sacoolas to return home to face justice. so where does this all leave

harry dunn's parents? well, today's decision by the high court was undoubtedly a setback, but they say they will appeal. they also say they'll askjoe biden to intervene when he takes over the presidency. in a statement tonight, anne sacoolas's legal representative said... anne would like nothing more than to find a path forward and to provide the family some measure of peace. duncan kennedy, bbc news in oxfordshire. you wouldn't know looking at donald trump's most recent posts on twitter, but it does seem as if the president has finally got round to accepting that joe biden did win the us election three weeks ago. he's authorised officials to start cooperating with mr biden‘s transition team, a process which would normally be well under way by now. our north america editorjon sopel joins me now from the white house. jon? so, has he finally accepted defeat? george, the great gift that richard nixon and the watergate era gave the english language was the non—denial denial. last night, from donald trump we got the non—concession concession. in a series of tweets he

said the fight goes on, we will prevail, but he also said this, do what needs to be done with regards to initial protocols. that sets in train the setting off of the transition process wherejoe biden is going to start to get daily intelligence briefings to bring him up intelligence briefings to bring him up to speed. officials will be able to meet with the joe up to speed. officials will be able to meet with thejoe biden team to talk about some of the priorities in government. they are given money and office space. so, no, nota surrender. the stars & stripes are still flying above the white house are not a white flag but a process has been set in train. donald trump is trying to rub it back and say he has not conceded anything, i go on to fight, but the process of the election is marching on. pennsylvania has confirmed its results today and so too has nevada stop michigan, last night, and there is less and less space for donald trump to breathe. he called an emergency news conference in the last hour but just emergency news conference in the last hour butjust to talk about emergency news conference in the last hour but just to talk about the stock market. thank you very much. a committee of mps says government attempts to pass a law that

would make leasehold flat owners pay for building defects such as flammable cladding and fire safety defects a mou nts to an abdication of responsibility. their highly critical report says nobody believes leaseholders should pay for historical problems exposed in the wake of the grenfell tower fire except the government itself. our consumer affairs correspondent sarah corker reports. a bombshell has just been dropped on us with this cladding. caught up in britain's building safety crisis. these sums of money are absolutely eye watering, something that we could never afford. hundreds of thousands of people are trapped living in unsafe homes. these flat owners in salford are now facing crippling repair bills. and if i am made bankrupt by this, i lose myjob, my career and my home. when they bought apartments here at millennium point and tower, they were told they were safe but fire safety defects have been found behind the cladding. fixing it could cost millions.

the grenfell tower fire exposed serious failings with building regulations. new laws are coming, designed to remedy those flaws. but a critical report by a group of cross—party mps warns the legislation fails to protect leaseholders from spiralling costs. the housing select committee concluded leaseholders should not pay anything towards the cost of remediating historical building safety defects. it said the £1.6 billion building safety fund will prove insufficient, and in the short—term the government must foot the bill. back in salford, paul and jake were first—time buyers at millennium point, and they welcome today's report. ultimately, we purchased properties in good faith and the buildings overall — the change in regulations with, so how is it or they either weren't built correctly to begin

with, so how is it fair that them costs fall on us? it's great that the voice has finally been heard by the select committee. we don't have that money. it's very difficult for anyone in our kind of situation, like a modest—sized flat to have that sort of money. in the commons today, the housing committee chair described government support as totally inadequate. to make all high—rise buildings totally safe and remove all defects, the total bill could be as high as £15 billion, and leaseholders should not have to pay that. in response, the housing minister said he could not guarantee that all leaseholders would not have to contribute. we cannot write an open cheque on behalf of the taxpayer. that would send the wrong signal to developers and those who are responsible for these buildings that they do not have to pay because the taxpayer will. but 25 conservative mps have expressed concern about the government's proposals. and across britain, people are living with the constant uncertainty of who will pay to fix this crisis. sarah corker, bbc news, in salford.

and finally, a retired military dog has received the highest honour for animal bravery after saving soliders' lives in afghanistan. kuno was shot while tackling a gunman on operations last year. the belgian shepherd dog ran through gunfire to intercept an al-qaeda insurgent. his injuries led to him having part of his paw amputated, but kuno is now making the most of his retirement thanks to a pair of prosthetic back legs. today, he joined a select group of 72 animals to receive the pdsa dickin medal — the animal equivalent of a victoria cross. time for a look at the weather. here's matt taylor. thank you, george, and more good news for western scotland and northern ireland, out of the wind but not as soggy in the next few days and something brighter on the horizon are not the only change. today we saw temperatures around the 12 degrees mark across the