tonight at 10, christmas gets the go—ahead across the uk. families can celebrate together after all four nations agree on a plan. from 23rd december, three households will be allowed to mix for up to five days of festivities, but the new rules come with a warning. we can't afford to throw caution to the wind. the virus doesn't know it's christmas and we must all be careful. as scientists warn of the dangers of mixing indoors, we ask if it is worth the risk. it's one day, you know, that i think we can actually give up, just for one day, just to keep everybody safe. whatever they say, three households, four households, five households, i think extended families mostly will try to meet up no matter many households they come from.

it comes as the uk has recorded its highest daily death toll since the middle of may, but new cases have fallen significantly. more than a fifth of secondary pupils in england weren't in school last week — the highest number so far. most were having to self—isolate. the north of england is facing an economic crisis "worse than the 1980s," warns greater manchester's mayor as the chancellor prepares to outline a new scheme to help 1 million people find work. and not quite a concession but donald trump finally tells officials to prepare for a biden presidency. and coming up in sport on bbc news, chelsea are through to the knockout stages of the champions league with two games to spare thanks to a 91st—minute winner at rennes. good evening. families will be able to spend christmas together after a plan for the whole of the uk

was agreed today. restrictions will be eased over a five—day period allowing more households to mix and people will be allowed to travel to see their loved ones. tonight the prime minister stressed that christmas would be different this year and he warned that families would need to make a personaljudgment about visiting elderly relatives and the vulnerable". this is what has been agreed across the uk. up to three households will be able to mix in each other‘s homes but you can't go to pubs and restaurants. you will be allowed to travel to see family and you can go anywhere in the uk. the new rules coverjust five days, from the 23rd to the 27th of december. here's our deputy political editor, vicki young. preparations are under way across all four nations of the united kingdom for a christmas that won't be like any other. coronavirus means that for months we have all had to live with regulations telling us who we can see and where. for a few days, the rules

will be relaxed. this year christmas will be different. many of us are longing to spend time with family and friends, irrespective of our faith or background, and yet we can't afford to throw caution to the wind. the virus doesn't know it's christmas and we must all be careful. many will welcome the move. but what about places like loughborough where there's been a spike in coronavirus cases in recent days? well, i think i'd rather it didn't happen because i think we need, if we keep safe now, hopefully in the new year we can move forward. i think it's inevitable because people would do it regardless of whether they were allowed to or not. so yeah, it is the only choice they could make. diwali has just happened, they have not been able to celebrate, muslims have not been able to celebrate eid and thejewish community haven't been able to celebrate either, so ijust don't think it's very fair. i think it will create more covid cases. the hospitals are already under pressure. i don't see why they should be put under any more,

just by letting us have that week of christmas. detailed guidance for scotland and wales will be issued on thursday but the broad message is take care. we are asking people to keep well within these limits because there is a risk to households coming together, and therefore if you feel you can get through this christmas without seeing other people and if you can see people for one day and not across five days, then try to limit your interaction. this is not an instruction to travel, it's not an instruction 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. northern ireland has been given a slightly longer window, from 22nd until 28th december, to allow time to travel between the nations. we recognise that for a lot of people this is an oasis, if you like, that is coming up and they are looking forward to it. and of course it is good to get together for many people who have

suffered from mental health issues over the year, they feel isolated during this time. the plans mean people can get together in a bigger group for a few days. but there will still be limits. you can gather in a private home or a place of worship. but most people still won't be able to go to the pub or to a restaurant together. there is, though, flexibility in other areas. children whose parents are separated will be able to see both of them over the festive period. and then there's the question of enforcement. at times the police have been accused of being heavy—handed. but they're playing down the chances of penalty fines while the crackers are being pulled. i will not be tasking my officers to be knocking on people's doors on christmas day and interrupting the turkey because people may or may not have breached it. i'm sure that is not what is behind the government's thinking. so we will see what the rules and regulations are that come out but we will continue to police it in a very pragmatic day, christmas day or not. many will seize the opportunity to celebrate christmas with others.

but political leaders across the uk are urging caution. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. so what are the risks of relaxing the restrictions? the government's scientific advisers are warning that transmission of the virus is most likely when people meet indoors. our science editor, david shukman, has been looking at the latest research. # 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 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. there is growing evidence that if you are 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. the virus doesn't know it's christmas, it doesn't know it's after ten o'clock at night,

it doesn't know whether it's in a pub or your house. it is just a virus and it will... it thrives on human contact. 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. our deputy political editor, vicki young, joins me now. there will be many who welcome the new rules but they will also give a lot of people pause for thought. and the message very much is caution. it's worth saying that this is not a free for all, doesn't mean that on christmas eve you can meet up with two household and on boxing day another two, those christmas bubbles have to be fixed over those five days. the government says it is a proportionate response that allows people to spend some more time with family and friends without that i transmitting in any significant way but to be in no doubt, scientists do

think there will be a rise in cases because of this. that is why very much people are being urged to use theirjudgment, the much people are being urged to use their judgment, the personal judgment many have used throughout this pandemic, especially when it comes to the elderly and vulnerable, saying it just because comes to the elderly and vulnerable, saying itjust because you can do this, it doesn't mean you have to andi this, it doesn't mean you have to and i think it is a reminder to people particularly in england who will find out on thursday that they will find out on thursday that they will be in areas over christmas where there are other restrictions going on, the areas being put into tiers and there could well be pubs and reference closed in many parts of england as west as develop the —— as well as the rest of the uk and i think the idea of big christmas parties are off the agenda. thank you. there's more information about the new rules for christmas, and who you're allowed to see and where you're allowed to travel, on our website, bbc.co.uk/news. well, the plans for christmas socialising come as the latest government figures show a big fall in the number of new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period.

there were 11,299 cases — that's down more than 4,000 from yesterday. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week is now 18,295. you can see from the graph that the average number of people admitted to hospital every day over the week since last friday has also fallen, to 1,65a. but there has been a big rise in deaths. 608 were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test — the highest figure since the middle of may. on average, a42 deaths have been reported every day in the past week. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 55,838. our health editor, hugh pym, is here. new cases are falling but the death rate it's still very high so why is

that? the daily reported the death toll, above 600, isjust that? the daily reported the death toll, above 600, is just another tragic reminder of how serious covid—19 is. the reality is that those who have lost their lives probably the picked up the infection three weeks ago or more, before the lockdown restrictions were imposed in england and it is very possible that the daily reported death number will carry on rising, possibly even into next week, just as in england lockdown is being eased. when you look at hospital admissions, though, as we have seen, they are levelling off slightly and they are more recent infections and the latest case number, sharply down and the rolling average down as well, that suggests lockdown restrictions in all parts of the uk are working and bringing cases down. the challenge 110w bringing cases down. the challenge now for all four governments is that the arrangements that they have in place in the run—up to christmas bring cases down even further because they want to start from a low base before the christmas

holiday when inevitably, as we heard from vicki young, they think case numbers will go back up before more chris dickens are imposed. at the warning is, if case numbers go up over christmas, that means more hospital admissions in the new year for the nhs to cope with, just when it is at its busiest time. hugh pym, thank you. in france — shops will re—open from saturday as the country's second lockdown begins to be eased. addressing the nation, the french president, emmanuel macron, said further restrictions will be eased from the middle of december and travel restrictions lifted — as long as new infections stay under 5,000 a day. but restaurants and cafes will stay closed until at least 20th january. the president said vaccinations for the most vulnerable would begin at the end of december or early january. more than one in five secondary school pupils in england was out of school last week because of coronavirus — the highest number since september. keeping children in the classroom has been one of the key goals for the government who say half a million laptops are going to schools to help pupils isolating.

but it's a policy which comes with enormous challenges for both pupils and staff. before the pandemic, school attendance was normally around 95%. the latest figures show just 78% of teenagers were in the classroom last week. 0ur education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports from knowsley on merseyside, one of the worst affected areas this term. even break time is carefully managed. a school hit hard by coronavirus, teachers and pupils having to isolate. 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 during 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's self—isolated already, i think it's really stressful to even think about the fact we have possibly got to do exams in a few months‘ time. you won't be learning all the content that will be on your exams so 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 out of 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've faced. with one more baby we could have managed, but not with two... in english, pupils will have more choice in exam questions. some want it allowed in other subjects. you could have different papers that covered different parts of the content, or you could have a single paper that would guide pupils through 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 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 1 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 ago, before the pandemic, before the lockdown, before the sharpest recession, it was places like this, middleton, that the government said it would bejudged by. this seat in greater manchester, part of the new blue wall. 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, 20 years and it has still not happened. it's one of those. promises are made, but it's actions more than words.

as much as we can believe boris johnson's promises of course, but yeah, given time and given patience by everyone, yeah, he can still level up. the regional mayor here, andy burnham, who has clashed with government over the covid lockdowns, says 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 2020s could even be worse than the 1980s, so that is the test facing this government and it is still unclear whether or not 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 a millionjobs, but spending reviews are also meant to set a long—term course. tomorrow, a 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'll have 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 has obviously fundamentally changed the numbers. the official forecast tomorrow will show the economy shrinking in this year by more than 10%. that is bigger than any single year during the world wars, during the interwar depressions, 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 seen in peacetime, only ever

seen during world wars. so the levelling up problem is bigger, our ability to deal with it now 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. faisal islam, bbc news. the us president—elect, joe biden, has been introducing the first choices for his cabinet. many of them are mr biden‘s colleagues from his years in the 0bama administration. last night, president trump finally accepted that a formal transition of power should begin, tweeting that it was "in the best interests of the country". but he hasn't conceded, and went on to repeat unsubstantiated claims of corruption. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. two turkeys, corn and cob, and there can only be one winner. one could end up on the white house dinner table this thanksgiving. the other will be pardoned to roam free. corn, i hereby grant you a full pardon.

so corn lives to fight another day. if only all head—to—head battles connected to the white house were that easy to resolve. turkey gobbles the president, today, sounding defensive. we send our love to every member of the armed forces and the law enforcement heroes risking their lives to keep america safe, to keep america great, and as i say, america first. we shouldn't go away from that. america first. but donald trump has made the most significant move to accept the result of this election, announcing that the formal transition process could get under way, tweeting, "our case strongly continues. "we will keep up the good fight and i believe we will prevail. "nevertheless, in the best interests of our country i'm recommending that "emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial "protocols and have told my team to do the same." the emily is emily murphy, the head of the hitherto obscure

general services administration, which facilitates the transition of power to joe biden. but as more and more key states are certifying their results, last night michigan, today pennsylvania and nevada, republican leaders have been urging donald trump to accept the inevitable, something he is reluctant to do, though legal routes have all but disappeared. just as president richard nixon and watergate gave us the non—denial denial, so donald trump has given us the non—concession concession. he's vowing to fight on but he is running out of road, and all the timejoe biden is taking the steps that will ensure that he becomes the president onjanuary 20th. and joe biden is forging ahead, today formally unveiling the people who'll play the key foreign policy and national security roles in his administration. it's a team that reflects the fact that america is back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it. once again, sit at the head of the table, ready to confront

our adversaries and not reject our allies. there has been won unexpected flurry of activity today. there has been one unexpected flurry of activity today. with no notice, the president announced he'd be giving a briefing. would this be the formal concession? the offer of congratulations to joe biden? no, mr trump came to take credit for the stock market reaching a record high and then walked out afterjust one minute. jon sopel, bbc news, at the white house. let's take a look at some of today's other news. it's emerged that a junior civil servant foiled a plot by a criminal gang to steal £1 billion from the universal credit system. the official spotted that dozens of stolen identities were being used to make claims, with the money paid into one bank account. further investigation showed there had been more than 100,000 fraudulent applications. the parents of harry dunn, who died after his motorbike

was involved in a crash outside an raf base in northamptonshire have lost their high court battle against the foreign office over whether their son's alleged killer had diplomatic immunity. anne sacoolas — who was accused of driving on the wrong side of the road — was allowed to leave the uk after he died. scotland has become the first nation in the world to pass legislation making products for periods freely available. the scottish parliament voted unanimously in favour of the period products bill, which makes it a legal right to have free access to sanitary products in public buildings. changes to quarantine rules mean people arriving in england from abroad from 15th december will be able to more than halve their time in isolation, if they pay for a covid test after five days. the tests from private firms will cost between £65 and £120. 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. 0ur 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 and something that we could never afford. ..thousands of people are trapped living in unsafe homes. these flat owners in salford say they face repair bills of up to £100,000 each. and if i'm made bankrupt by this, i would lose myjob and 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 welcomed today's report. ultimately, we purchased properties in good faith and the buildings, overall, either a change in regulations or they weren't built correctly to begin with so how is it fair that those costs fall down on us? and 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. but the housing minister said he couldn't rule out leaseholders having to meet some of the costs and said building owners have a responsibility, too. because 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. back to our main story and the news that families can now start planning for christmas. the new rules have been welcomed by many who are desperate to spend time with friends and family again. but for others, the chance to socialise more is throwing up all kinds of dilemmas. jon kay reports from plymouth. 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 onlyjust for one day, just to let families get together to enjoy christmas. what about the risks to public health of people mixing? i 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 rottenjanuary. 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. hi, dad! hi, how are you? 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 that that's 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. and what the rules say. 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 normally do in 2021. 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 and making memories. tonight sam is hopeful, building a grotto in the garden — planning for the christmas she has been dreaming of. jon kay, bbc news, plymouth. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night.