this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. talks over a rescue dealfor the uk department store chain debenhams have collapsed, putting 12,000 jobs at risk. after the collapse of arcadia last night, let us know your thoughts on the demise of two giants of the uk high street. on twitter, it's @geetagurumurthy, or #bbcyourquestions. dozens of conservative mps could refuse to back borisjohnson‘s planned new coronavirus tiers for england when a vote is held in the house of commons later — opposition parties say they will abstain. while these restrictions on our freedoms are painful, they go against the grain for me, they are there to try to make sure we don't have our nhs overwhelmed.

as india struggled under the second highest number of covid cases in the world, the number of daily deaths remains dangerously high wheat report from delhi. —— we report. the uk government is urging businesses to make their final preparations for brexit — a month before the transition period ends. growing fears for brazil's amazon, as it emerges that more of the rainforest was destroyed last year than at any time in the past decade. new scientific analysis suggests the global climate change picture is looking more positive, with the goals of the paris accord "within reach". also coming up this hour, formula i world champion lewis hamilton will miss this weekend's grand prix in bahrain after testing positive for coronavirus.

hello and welcome if you are watching in the uk or around the world, stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. one of the uk's major department store chains, debenhams, is to be liquidated after talks about a possible rescue have come to an end without an agreement. it follows administrators being called into sir phillip green's arcadia retail group — the biggest holder of concessions at debenhams outlets. the last remaining potential buyer for debenhams, jd sports, has backed out of a deal. this morning administrators announced they were winding down debenhams in the uk, whilst continuing to seek offers for all or parts of the business. they said, "all reasonable steps were taken to complete a transaction that would secure the future of debenhams. however, the economic landscape is extremely challenging and coupled with the uncertainty facing the uk retail industry, a viable deal could not be reached," adding that they "deeply regret" having to make the decision to liquidate the company. debenhams is one of the uk's oldest department stores,

with a 242—year history. it operates 124 stores across the country employing about 12,000 staff — whose jobs are now at risk. our business presenter ben thompson has more. this is devastating news this week. yes, what a bleak 2a hours for any of the staff working in those two big firms, the arcadia retail giant and this morning debenhams took to the future for them looks somewhat different but let me explain the difference. arcadia, confirmation last night it had entered administration and it owns brands that many will know like miss selfridge‘s, evans, burton and topshop. it is in administration but will continue to trade and they are hoping to find buyers for some of those brands that will be attractive to some potential buyers may be their online rivals, the likes of

boohoo or asos could snap them up but it's a very different story at debenhams. the department store chain, 2a2 years on the uk high street, it appears have gone to the end of the road and that is because the administrators say there is no buyer forthcoming. they will enter those stores and begin liquidating them and the stock held within them. they want to try to sell that while they have a market ahead of christmas and they will use the money to pay creditors which may be customers, suppliers, landlords or staff. are very different picture for the two retailers but their stories are linked in that there was a difficulty for retail in the uk right now, forced to pay high rents and rates on big high street locations, playing staff in the stores when more nimble and agile online rivals are stealing a lead as we shop more online and if they cannot make it work in a few months before christmas it is very difficult to see how they make it

work for the rest of the year. on top of all this of course is the covid pandemic that has meant many physical stores have had to close for prolonged periods whilst online rivals have been able to continue trading. we have asked people to get in touch and i want to mention a couple, amelia says, very sad picture for retail, awful to watch arcadia and debenhams going to ruin and it is scary to think about the retail sector and thejob and it is scary to think about the retail sector and the job market overall. another says, the collapse demonstrates the mismanagement of the business must. i think the question is, is what we are seeing inevitable? was it unavoidable? has it been coming for years? we have been reporting on these tensions for a long time although we are in a really tough moment. yes, we are. and this is not unique to the uk, around the world retailers are facing a very similar problems. we have seen pictures of empty shopping

malls in america, once the home of great big retail and department stores where everybody went to shop. at the nature of how we shop has changed and it really is adapt or die. if retailers cannot change their business model to try to compete with more nimble rivals, they will simply disappear. it will not be the last retailer to disappear, particularly over the next few weeks and months. as we said, retailers face some very difficult period but this is one of the worst. in all the statements we have had from retailers are struggling right now, they underlined how difficult the coronavirus restrictions have made business for them. a lot of the online rivals are much more able to adapt because they can have cheaper overheads, not paying for big city centre locations, not paying for staff, paying all the bills that traditional retailers face every day and so they can make sure they operate more cheaply and charge less

money and therefore gain a loyal customer base. it is very difficult to see, without the investment, how more traditional retailers can survive and this is a criticism levied at sir philip green who is the ultimate owner of the arcadia group. it was being described as being an analog retail in a digital world. it is very difficult to see how they can compete with online rivals. thank you very much, ben. in september emma simpson spoke to mark gifford who insisted the company would stay afloat until christmas. sometimes you work hard and sometimes you get lucky but the business has been able to build up significant cash balances. we are sitting at over £95 million in the bank today, more than £50 million higher than we expected to have when we went into administration. we really have a clear path forward to

trade the business through 2021 and beyond. it was really difficult in march but there are no cliff edges for debenhams right now. there is not a need to strike a deal by the end of the month? not at all, not at all. how confident are you that debenhams' lenders, who took control, will buy the business back? this is a big decision for those current owners and they are looking at how we are recovering, looking at all the available cost saving opportunities so this business has a viable future. they are looking at it optimistically, but they have to ta ke it optimistically, but they have to take a business decision before they conclude anything. and we have been open, at best we are in our 13th week of trade since doors opened, it's very early days in that so

there is no pressure for them to reach a conclusion given where we are. but we have their support. how long can the period of administration go on for? we will stay in administration well into 2021i stay in administration well into 20211 think stay in administration well into 2021i think resulting to business rates, seeing customerfootfall return, to get the certainty we need,it return, to get the certainty we need, it is probably the end of the second quarter 2021 until those sorts of decisions can be concluded. no one is going to pull the plug on debenhams before christmas then? we are not in that position, we don't have those pressures. we have worked hard. the amount of time and effort by the management team, they have done fantastically well to get to the business and we have had luck come oui’ the business and we have had luck come our way as well. things have clearly changed since that interview was done by emma simpson in september and with me now to see how

retailers can survive is digital entrepreneur and former dragons den dragon p0 slyney. what do you think has changed so radically? is it the arcadia collapse? ! piers linney. this is a permanent change, i grew up this is a permanent change, i grew up in this is a permanent change, i grew upina this is a permanent change, i grew up in a town where out—of—town retailers decimated the local high street and we will see the same in terms of online retailers causing a massive problem. what covid has done in many ways, including me sitting here now, is changing how we do things permanently. technology is advancing and we need to think long and hard about what we do about our high streets because this was a slow motion car crash and i think we have seen that pace accelerate, sadly. motion car crash and i think we have seen that pace accelerate, sadlym you are an employee, one of 25,000

people who works for the arcadia or debenhams brand, thinking myjob is about to go, i want to move into the digital retail sector, how do they do that? fundamentally, if you look at it side by side there were not the same number of jobs at it side by side there were not the same number ofjobs because you don't need these people manning the high street stores. landlords have a big issue, the large stores we see on the high streets, they are never going to be filled again. if you wa nt going to be filled again. if you want a going to be filled again. if you wantajob, going to be filled again. if you want a job, obviously you have the you should talk to the retailers but you should talk to the retailers but you might have to think about applying skills in different ways. but technology is changing our world. some people will have to rhys gill. that will be very difficult for a lot of people. it is very difficult. —— they have to do reskill. we hear businesses talking about the future, a big fan of small business and high street but the future is not right for bricks and

mortar retailers and we have stopped thinking about what we do about it and all thosejobs thinking about what we do about it and all those jobs and those people working in that sector instead of sticking our heads in the sand. you sate the future is not right but it has been noticeable to everyone that we do still want and need physical shops. the fact that they have been closed in a locked and has highlighted how much we need them. absolutely, we want to shop but shop in ways that are easier for us, we can have more stock in a virtual store. what has to happen otherwise we will not have a high street, it will be full of flats, is the smaller niche retailers, people add more value for customers. if you said the average product or price or average person, sadly the big boys and girls, they will take you out and girls, they will take you out and cause you a permanent problem. how manyjobs and cause you a permanent problem. how many jobs do and cause you a permanent problem. how manyjobs do you think are at threat from the huge change we are seeing? i think if you look at

retail, potentially all the large high street retailers, that really aren't experiential are at risk. in the wider economic and automation and software driven economy, in my lifetime we are going to see a systemic change in how we consume things, how things are produced, and what our high street looks like and how retail works generally. we can't keep sticking your head in that sand, we need to think about the opportunity and what that means in terms of these changes. and quickly, does element ought local authorities or someone need to pay for people to get the online skills and tech skills they need if they don't have them? i think whole swathes in some places, whole areas, they depend on these different sectors and they will have to be re—skilled in some way and if we leave it too long, and we have a faster car crash, people are not re—skilled and we don't think about using these assets and

keeping communities together, we will run into a problem that you can't solve overnight. you need a decade run at it get the policies in place and maybe think about corporate stewardship as well, can you just rip out cash from companies and lead employees with nowhere to go and pension deficits? piers linney, many thanks and good to speak to you. and at 11:30 this morning we'll be answering your questions on what the liquidation of debenhams means for the high street and for you as a customer. you can send in your questions to us by tweeting to the hash tag bbc your questions or by emailing yourquestions@bbc.co.uk some breaking news because pfizer and their partner biontech have filed for the approval of the covid—19 vaccine in the eu according toa covid—19 vaccine in the eu according to a statement they have just put out. we know that theirs was the

first vaccine that actually came forward with positive test results and they have already applied for approval in the us and i believe in the uk as well but they are applying for approvalfor the the uk as well but they are applying for approval for the vaccine to be used in the eu. 0bviously everybody is wanting to push forward with that vaccination roll—out as soon as possible. more on what is happening in the uk this week. mps vote later today on the introduction of a new, stricter, three—tier system of controls for england to contain coronavirus when the current lockdown ends tomorrow. boris johnson is facing opposition from many of his own conservative mps. 55 million people will enter the two toughest tiers if the plans are approved. most will be in tier 2, meaning people are not allowed to mix with anyone outside their household or support bubble indoors, although they can socialise in groups of up to six outdoors. the toughest restrictions, tier 3, mean no mixing with anyone outside your household or support bubble indoors, or at most outdoor venues.

a number of conservatives, led by mark harper, who chairs the covid research group, have criticised the restrictions, saying the "wheels are coming off the government's arguments" to impose them. but labour, the snp and lib dems will abstain in the vote, meaning the proposals are likely to pass. this is what sir keir starmer tweeted late yesterday evening, after previously suggesting his party may support the government vote. the labour leader says, "coronavirus remains a serious threat to the public‘s health and that's why labour accepts the need for continued restrictions. we will always act in the national interest, so we will not vote against these restrictions in parliament tomorrow." that effectively means his mps are going to abstain and because of that, the vote is likely to go through. 0ur political correspondent, chris mason, says it's unlikely that any rebellion would succeed. the measures will almost certainly get through because of the labour decision to abstain,

ie they will not proactively endorse the restrictions, also means they will go through because unless you had more than half of conservative mps pretty much opposing the government's own measures, there will be more conservative mps in favour of them than against and therefore, with other parties like the lib dems and scottish national party abstaining as well, there is no risk to them falling. that may mean that some potential conservative rebels feel a bit more gung ho about expressing publicly their reservations and rebelling because they know the jeopardy has gone and they will not defeat the government and neither are they going to leave it in the politically embarrassing situation of being reliant on labour votes in orderfor the measures to get through. one other thing worth exploring this morning is a more medium—term challenge, given we know what the outcome of today is going to be, which is the question of the vaccine and once it is rolled out, how we as a society respond to it

in reopening the economy. what about the idea that places like pubs could insist that you have had the vaccine if you want to come in and be served? that point was put to michael gove, the cabinet office minister, on breakfast earlier on. it is up to any individual pub owner or licensee to decide who they will admit and on what basis, they are private businesses. but i'm not sure that is what people are concerned about this morning, i think people are concerned about this morning is making sure that we are managing the infection effectively, that the new tiered system will reduce the rate of infection overall and we are in a position to deliver the vaccine. the prospect of mass vaccination is an exit strategy, a way out of the situation which we find ourselves in. and the most important thing is making sure that vaccine is effectively distributed and available, that is the critical question. the government obviously trying to push ahead to more

hopeful news but on today, how many rebels are expected and is number 10 trying to find a way to buy them off effectively? talking you through the timeline, the prime minister will open the debate in the commons at lunchtime. more than 100 mps are expected to contribute during the afternoon and we think the vote might be around six or seven o'clock with health secretary matt hancock rounding it off at its tail end. in terms of the overall numbers of rebels, that is always the $64,000 question and the answer is we will not actually know until the votes are cast because plenty of people are expressing a reservation but it does not necessarily mean that will translate into a rebellion. interesting to see if it gets to 30 or a0 because when it gets to about 40, it would be enough, if labour had opposed the measures, for the government to have its majority robbed of it and the reason that matters, even though it will not have any consequences today, is that firstly it chips away at the prime minister's authority, as the defence secretary arrives

here, and in addition, there are further votes still to come as we trundle through this ongoing pandemic and the prime minister will have a watchful eye on further potential rebellions further down the track. chris mason outside downing street. i asked labour health spokesmanjohn as hworth i asked labour health spokesmanjohn ashworth why labour was abstaining. i think it would be highly irresponsible not to have any restrictions. there are tory mps who have been parading through studios saying they don't want any restrictions, but letting this virus ripped through society would be devastating for individuals and the economy and that an economic illiterate... why are you not voting for it then? because we are sending a clear message to the prime minister that to go alongside restrictions we need economic support to help the livelihoods of families and support businesses and that

support is not in place. isn't this just playing politics with something that is much too serious to play any kind of games with? when people are losing theirjobs, that is not a game. fighting for our communities, for the livelihoods of families and small businesses in cities like leicester and manchester and leeds and birmingham, that is not a game, that is fighting for their future. will the public not be very confused? what you are saying, they are being asked to follow this new set of tiers, and yet the opposition parties are saying, we think it should go through but we will not actually back it. because we support public health restrictions, they are necessary to save lives, but we will not break this virus on the backs of the poorest and the low paid, we will not defeat this virus by allowing people to lose theirjobs.

jon ashworth, the labour health spokesman. several kent mps who have expressed concern about the whole county being put into tier 3 have a call with a health minister to discuss the issue this lunchtime. on sunday, they had a meeting with the health secretary. the dover mp natalie elphicke says she will be supporting the government in the vote. it is not clear how many potential rebels there are but it is expected that the vote will go through and the tier system will be put into place and enacted from tomorrow but we will keep across the debate and the vote today. there's a month to go until the end of the brexit transition period — that's the amount of time given for the uk and eu to agree their future relationship. face—to—face talks between negotiators for both sides continue in london as future economic partnerships and trade deals are thrashed out. this is seen as a crucial week

if an agreement is to be reached but there are still differences between the two sides on elements including fishing rights. if no agreement can be reached, trade between the uk and eu will default to world trade organization rules, resulting in tariffs on goods crossing the channel and other trade barriers. with an agreement yet to be reached there is uncertainty for businesses but cabinet minister michael gove says there are lots of things that firms can do to prepare. whether or not we get a free trade agreement with the eu, we are definitely leaving the single market and customs union on the 31st of december come what may so a lot of what businesses need to do is the same whether or not we get a free trade agreement or not. no one is keener than i am to see this negotiating process conclude, but nevertheless there are lots of things that businesses have done and can do and what is called a sort of no regrets basis. there is no harm in doing these things because they will be necessary come what may.

to guide us through where we are with the issues regarding brexit i spoke with our reality check correspondent chris morris. from january there will be full checks on goods moving from great britain into the european union and that means customs declarations, product safety certificates, rules of origin checks, new vat procedures, the list goes on. what the government is doing to try to make things a little bit easier is that trade going in the other direction, stuff coming into great britain from the eu, is delaying most of the checks until the 1st of july, by six months. there would still be customs declarations on controlled su bsta nces still be customs declarations on controlled substances like alcohol and tobacco but a lot of the other things would just be waved through and the government hopes that will give businesses enough time to prepare for what businesses are saying is the biggest imposition of new red tape on their businesses for

50 yea rs. new red tape on their businesses for 50 years. a lot of focus on kent and the south—east and that channel? yes, and the reason for the focus on kent is obvious because of the dover calais route and the channel tunnel, 4 million trucks use those two routes every year between them. the thing about kent, will there be bottlenecks? the problem is it is a circular route, the same lorries going back and forth all the time. 0ne going back and forth all the time. one of the things they are trying to work out is what happens to all these european hauliers who carry 85% of the trade. if it is blocked on one side, could get blocked on the other because they will not be able to keep moving from one side to the other. and they get paid by the kilometre, not by the hour, so if they are sitting in queues for hours, some might decide it's not worth doing this route for the moment. the other thing that is happening of course, with the government trying to alleviate problems, is that they will introduce a permit for lorries to go

into kent. it means that unless you have all the right paperwork, you will not be allowed to go into kent and that is trying to make sure the motorways don't get blocked up. the issue with that is it does not include fans and thousands of fans across the channel every week, most of the eastern european shops in the country rely on fans, whether they are going to poland or summer come coming back with consignment and unloading them every day and back again —— vans. there is concerned there could be some delays as the new system starts to move into gear. what about northern ireland because thatis what about northern ireland because that is another key point in the whole process? it really is. i think the retailers and hauliers i have talked to, if anything they are most concerned about the northern ireland trade because with months to go, just over 20 business days, they have no idea how the trade between great britain and northern ireland within the uk is going to work. that is because northern ireland is being treated differently under the terms

of the brexit withdrawal agreement. there is an entirely new customs it system which will be in operation that nobody has ever used before, there will have to be full checks on food consignments, an awful lot of lorries going from great britain to northern ireland every day full of different consignments of food and each of them will have to be checked for documents, many will have to be checked physically. what a lot of business groups in northern ireland are calling for is some kind of adjustment period which will give them, in effect, an extension to the transition in all but name, to give them a bit more time because they say they are not ready at the moment. chris morris. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page joins us now from belfast. a lot of pressure and focus on the border there but what are businesses saying at the moment? northern ireland has in so many ways been on the front line of this whole brexit

process and it feels that way once more with just process and it feels that way once more withjust a process and it feels that way once more with just a month to go until the transition period ends. in effect, northern ireland is staying in the eu single market for goods and that means new checks, new administrative processes for goods arriving into the likes of belfast port from the rest of the uk. if there is a trade deal between brussels and london, that will lessen the impact but it will not remove it completely. if there is a trade deal, for example, it will eliminate the issue as to whether ta riffs eliminate the issue as to whether tariffs will be due on goods coming here to at the minute, if goods are deemed to be at risk of coming into northern ireland and then, for example, crossing the land border into the irish republic and therefore the single market, tariffs will be applied to them when they arrive here. if there is a free trade deal, no tariffs and that basically goes away. at the single market checks, checks on goods coming here to ascertain if they are complying with the rules of the

single market, they will continue regardless as to whether or not there is a trade deal. businesses are very keen on more flexibility with the eu particularly when it comes to food supplies, there are strict eu relations around the of animal origin, eggs and dairy products and meat. super mannix —— supermarkets like st woods and marks and spencers have said that will affect the range of supermarket goods on the shelves here in northern ireland —— like a sainsbury‘s. these are all being worked out in a separate set of negotiations from the trade talks in thejoint committee negotiations from the trade talks in the joint committee between the uk government and the eu. it is these two sets of negotiations that are really going to make such a difference in northern ireland and there is a lot to be worked out and as we have heard, not a lot of time to do all that working out. talking about how customers will feel, potentially in the new year but right now we have had this terrible news from debenhams coming off the back of the arcadia announcement

with 25,000 jobs at a state across the uk and a big hit potentially where you are? —— at stake? absolutely. the arcadia group employs around 1000 staff and has more than 30 stores. debenhams has around 700 staff and five branches. it is important to remember that in this part of the uk whenever the conflict going on, many of the names familiar on the high street now, they were very prominent in the rest of the uk but not particularly here in northern ireland, not setting up business because of the conflict. debenhams did, towards the end of the troubles, and that was a big moment when it happened at around 30 yea rs moment when it happened at around 30 years ago, when they opened their main store in belfast city centre. that moment in particular is looked on fondly by many shoppers in northern ireland. this news really i think people will feel very sad about, and not just think people will feel very sad about, and notjust the people who work in those stores, people who have been used to shop in them over

the years. they will be extremely concerned about this latest blow to the retail economy. thank you, chris page in belfast. let's get more on our main news this hour — one of the uk's major department store chains, debenhams, is to be liquidated after talks about a possible rescue have come to an end without an agreement. it follows administrators being called into sir phillip green's arcadia retail group — the biggest holder of concessions at debenhams outlets. the last remaining potential buyer for debenhams, jd sports, has backed out of a deal. business consultant kate hardcastle explained what has gone so badly wrong with the retail empire. iamso i am so sorry for all those retail workers, we heard we might be looking at 235,000 job losses by the

end of the careful high street. e—commerce has been buoyant and we had seen lots ofjob opportunities there, but very different roles and opportunities. i was aware of debenhams' challenges years ago, i challenged that chair at the time in terms of what i saw as quite a sluggish approach to change. they definitely needed investments, the stores are very day, and just like we heard from the department store giantjohn lewis, they had seen store closures is the way forward in submitting nimbly into things like financial services, even becoming residential landlords. debenhams had not lived with the times, many of the stores had excessive rents and rates agreed many years ago when high street retailers buoyant and on top of that it lost its way with consumers as huge disruptors have come into the marketplace with the

likes of zara. what is this mean going forward for the high street? will change happen much faster with combined effects of changing shopping habits plus a pandemic, but we still do not know what is happening with brexit? we need strategy for our high streets that does not just rely strategy for our high streets that does notjust rely on retail, we have needed that for years. my biggest concern is the timing issue, lots of that will be engaged by local authorities, to make places to be once more rather thanjust shops. socialisation, retail, places to live, work and learn, we need to make sure that the isolation crisis is helped by having better community centres but the drive and a lot of funding from that which comes from local authorities, people are absolutely dealing with immediate of covid, trying to keep places safe, how will we have the funds and make that change happen when we will have

depleted local authorities and stakeholders fighting the fire on a covid basis? it makes me nervous because some of these plans should have changed years ago. one of the most frightening things over recent yea rs most frightening things over recent years is that we had five high st ministers in a matter of six years, nobody and post long enough to make significant changes the high street have needed to adapt in a feature including a lot more e—commerce. this is bbc news with geeta guru—murthy. talks over a rescue dealfor the uk department store chain debenhams have collapsed — putting 12,000 jobs at risk. dozens of conservative mps could refuse to back borisjohnson's planned new coronavirus tiers for england when a vote is held in the house of commons later — opposition parties say they will abstain. the uk government is urging

businesses to make their final preparations for brexit — a month before the transition period ends. more than 11,000 square kilometres of brazil's amazonian rainforest were destroyed between august of last year and july of this year. that's the highest figure in more than a decade. new scientific analysis suggests the global climate change picture is looking more positive — with the goals of the paris accord "within reach". new scientific analysis seen by the bbc suggests the goals of the paris climate agreement are coming within reach. the climate action tracker study looks at the latest promises from countries including china, as well as the plans of the us president—electjoe biden. matt mcgrath has more. from the uk's wettest february on record to raging wildfires in california. the fingerprints of climate change linked to human activities have become increasingly clear this year. but efforts to curb greenhouse gases, the root cause of global warming, has so far

had limited impact. when countries signed the paris climate agreement in 2015, they undertook to limit the rising temperatures to well below 2 celsius this century. when scientists added up all the pledges made to cut carbon, they amounted to around three degrees of warming by 2100, with potentially disastrous consequences for the planet. however, the last three months have seen some significant changes. china surprised the world by announcing at the un they would aim for net zero carbon emissions by 2060, while president—elect joe biden has promised the us will achieve the same goal ten years earlier. taken together, these steps would limit warming to 2.1 degrees, much closer to the paris goal. the scientists, who have carried out this analysis, say it's a significant step. you can argue about the exact figures but the trend is very clear, we are moving in the right direction, and we can clearly see that more and more countries are taking it seriously and put very

serious targets on the table. researchers say there are still many difficulties, particularly the absence of short—term plans from governments that reflect their long—term promises. but, after many years of bad news, this new forecast suggests that the efforts to tackle climate change are beginning to bearfruit. matt mcgrath, bbc news. this is something we will be discussing with dr niklas hohne, founding partner of new climate institute. we saw him in the film, thank you for your time. one piece of news from our headlines, although you are predicting some grounds for optimism that has emerged that more than 11,000 square kilometres of the amazonian rainforest were destroyed between august last year and july this year, the highest figure in more than a decade. very worrying? we see a difference between what

countries are perching and promising to do and what they are really doing right now, but if we keep positive, i think it is a good step. we have been looking at what countries have proposed in the past and it has been quite a frustrating business looking at the temperature increase, it never moved. now it has moved significantly for the very first time, we have not seen that in the past ten years, it keeps me hopeful that these long—term targets are serious. there is a big gap towards what the countries are doing in the short—term. what the countries are doing in the short-term. many countries will hope that president—electjoe biden will make a huge difference to this, the huge american political force make a huge difference to this, the huge american politicalforce behind paris etc, and yet it is the states within america that make a lot of the decisions. we'll much change on the decisions. we'll much change on the us front? i think a lot will,

the us front? i think a lot will, the us front? i think a lot will, the us is the second largest emitter, they have a significant influence on the world, president joe biden wants to speak to the world together, that is a complete change from before, and joe biden wa nts to change from before, and joe biden wants to get the us to net zero emissions, he will have huge difficulty to get it to the senate but he has some states on his side like california who are heavily impacted by climate change, massive fires have been seen and he will have supporters within the country, he will also have opposition but some support. the west has already industrialised, and not in a clean way, it often point fingers at china and india, though still developing, saying you should do industrialisation but in an expensive, clean way. surely there has to be more subsidy from rich to

developing countries if we are in this together? some support is needed from developed countries to developing countries but the idea that this transition is expensive does not hold any more. right now, renewable energy is cheaper than running coal—fired power plants and china has understood this, china wa nts to china has understood this, china wants to go to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060, they do it in their own interest because they have understood that that is the future and the transition has to happen, and the transition has to happen, and who is first in the transition has an economic advantage, so they simply understood it and really went for it and that means for all other countries that there is a drive towards net zero and they probably have to jump on that same train. dr niklas hohne, many thanks for your time. breaking news, children under 16 who

wish to undergo gender reassignment can only consent to having puberty blockers if they are able to understand the nature of the treatment, that is according to the high court here in a landmark ruling. we will bring you more on that as soon as we can, that has been reported by the pa news agency, a landmark review from the high court on gender reassignment in the uk. with a vaccine for covid—19 now well on the way, there are increasing concerns that misinformation circulating online could turn some people against being vaccinated. the who says the world's not only fighting the pandemic, but also an ‘infodemic‘, where false information about vaccines and covid in general continues to spread widely, particularly online. the bbc‘s global health correspondent tulip mazumdar reports. ever since this pandemic started, we have all been faced with a barrage of information about covid—19.

it can lead to confusion, distrust and, in some cases, protests against proven public health advice. now with vaccines well on the way, there is a fresh push to separate fact from fiction. i spoke to trainee solicitor 0scar, who is taking part in vaccine trials at imperial college london and production designer nina, who lives with her 82—year—old grandmother, about new covid vaccines. making sense of all of the different scientific opinion and the results that are recently coming out is incredibly difficult. i think it's quite convoluted at the moment. i think there are quite a lot of opinions flying around, over twitter, instagram, tiktok. i would like to be vaccinated because i think it's one of the only ways out of this situation. i have mixed feelings. i'm not sure how much i trust the vaccine yet because it has happened so quickly. we feel that many people actually currently they are making a decision not based on good information but based on some information they have seen on social media or elsewhere and they believe

it is because they have not had access to the right information in the right format. so the who, along with governments, have teamed up with big social media companies to come up with better ways of getting accurate information to people, like this whatsapp feed, which anyone can sign up to. facebook has introduced notification screens, flagging false information before people choose to share it but it can still be shared. a number of studies looking at people's attitudes towards a covid—19 vaccine are under way. preliminary data from 17 countries suggest people in ethiopia, india and saudi arabia feel the most confident about taking one with at least 85% saying they would be immunised. there was more scepticism in countries, including germany, france, the us and also in the drc, where fewer than 50% of people said they would take vaccine. the sciencey ones have more of a negative impact than the ones

that are questioning motives of people. professor heidi larson has been studying people's attitudes to vaccines for more than two decades. what we need to focus on is building the resilience and filling that space. you can'tjust take away pieces of misinformation. one of the big anxieties is safety, so we can talk about the fact that safety processes are being followed carefully. we are short cutting other parts of the long development process. scientists are taking to social media themselves to try to get accurate information out there. the battle against covid can't be won in hospitals and science labs alone. part of this fight needs to happen online.

covid—19 could be causing lung abnormalities still detectable more than three months after patients are infected. a study of ten patients at oxford university used a new scanning technique involving xenon gas to identify damage not picked up by conventional scans. eight of them had persistent shortness of breath and tiredness three months after being ill with coronavirus, even though none of them had been admitted to intensive care or required ventilation. the researchers now plan a larger study to see how widespread the condition is. sir eltonjohn hasjoined a group of charities to call for anybody going for a blood test to be offered hiv screening too. they claim more testing would halt new transmissions in england within a decade. it comes as bbc analysis shows that rates of hiv are rising in older women, despite overall figures falling. with me is takudzwa mukiwa, head of health programmes at the terrence higgins trust, and conservative mp steve brine from the hiv commission. it is world aids day to day, thank

you forjoining us. takudzwa mukiwa, what are you suggesting intensive meeting more testing? adult most people get hiv from somebody who does not know they have an infection. so we are suggesting that it had been buttigieg a tested and we cut the number of people living with undiagnosed hiv, then we stand a better chance at stopping hiv sooner rather than later —— so we are suggesting that if we increased testing. testing for hiv is done quite easily if you ask for it. hiv activists that buy elton john over many years have done so well to get to this point —— led by eltonjohn. what seemed like an epidemic that was going to overwhelm us, we have got to a very good point now, but to finish the job, and we had spent

over a year looking at this, talking to people and organisations who work in this field, we need a step change, that is why we need to move into opt out testing. there are so many ways people interact with the nhs all the time, and when take is that, we want to test them. we know it can be done, in maternity centres, any sensible, nonjudgemental way, just over 99% of munster br tested for hiv, which is why there is very little vertical transmission to newborns. in terms of where transmission is happening, why are most cases in the uk happening? in the hiv, -- in the uk, hiv affects different communities differently. gay and bisexual men are still one of the most affected groups, we still have people from black african heterosexual

communities being one of the most affected groups as well. however, i think it is important to note that black african heterosexuals will not account for about 37% of those diagnosed with hiv, we have this other 60% of people from different groups which is why it is important for us to look at opt out testing, because it becomes harder to try to find just a few people from specific groups. we need to be looking at expanding testing for everyone. wouldn't this be enormously expensive? we are in no doubt that there will be a cost, i have been there will be a cost, i have been the public health minister and there is always a cost, but we as government made this pledge, we want to be the first country in the world to be the first country in the world to do this, there will be a cost, without question.

next year we will probably get to the point where for the first time there are more heterosexual transmission of hiv than within the 95v transmission of hiv than within the gay community. that tells you a lot. the gay community is switched on, we have many, many treatments, we have prep, but once the switchover happens we will need to work harder to reach the groups who would not consider themselves to be at risk of hiv, but they are. there is a cost but it is not all about money, it is about tackling the stigma around hiv which has existed for 30 years, since i was a boy at secondary school, and i will be in a debate in the house of commons arguing both those points. globally, whereas most transmission happening? at the moment, things are working out really well in the uk, but still young women in particular are still facing significant challenges, so

for example in 2019, every week, just over 5000 young women aged between 15 to 2a were diagnosed with hiv. so globally the picture is quite heterosexual still, but we have key populations like gay men, like trans communities, they are more affected by hiv different countries. we are talking about ending hiv in the uk by 2030, but the effort needs to be global because in 2019 we still lost close to 700,000 people. steve, i do not know whether you have the answer, but has the fact we have had this very awful, peculiar year but where people are not supposed to be mixing, has applied to a fall hiv transmissions? —— has that led to? it is too early to say, there are so

many ghastly things we do not know yet about this year and the pandemic of covid, but you end on a positive, the three words you can take from this commission has been the bedrock of what we are saying it has test, test. if ever there was a time when we think there is a public mood to land this message, it is at the end of 2020. world aids day is a day of campaigning and focus, it is a day of sombre reflection for those we have lost at the best way we can honour than in the hiv community is to finish this, there's a they prepared to do that. it would be tremendous to end all cases by 2030. cani tremendous to end all cases by 2030. can ijust tremendous to end all cases by 2030. can i just asked, tremendous to end all cases by 2030. can ijust asked, will you vote for the tier system in the house of commons today? i think it is difficult for me to vote for them, i spent time yesterday and today speaking to pubs and restaurants at

my constituency who are end. rates are going through the floor in winchester, we went into a national knock—down in tier 1 winchester, we went into a national knock—down in tieri and we have come out in tier 2, i am struggling to answer questions as to how this will add up —— we went into a national lockdown. i will read the recommendations, set in the debate, ask the prime minister questions and thenl ask the prime minister questions and then i will make up my mind. steve brine and ta kudzwa then i will make up my mind. steve brine and takudzwa mukiwa from the terrence higgins trust, thank you both very much. india has the second highest number of covid cases in the world and november was the deadliest month for the capital, delhi. so what is the situation there? the city recorded 3,700 new covid—19 cases on monday, with 108 deaths. across the country, more than 31,000 new infections have been recorded in the last 2a hours. that brings the total number of cases in india to more than 9.4 million people. and the death toll there has now reached over 137,000 people after another 482 fatalities were reported. 0ur south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan has more.

it's been a dark month for delhi as the fires keep burning. these ancient funeral rituals are how many indians say goodbye to their loved ones. as a modern day virus claims lives, cremation grounds are overwhelmed. in india, it's custom to wear white at funerals, but sitendra never expected to be dressed like this for his mother's last rights. —— last rites. she was just 67 years old. in this home video, she jokes she was fitter than her son. she died of coronavirus. sitendra said he struggled to find her medical help. by the time he did, he believes it was too late. the main problem in delhi that we face, we are searching here, every hospital, there was nowhere.

in this nation divided by rich and poor, covid—19's become a leveller. even the city's wealthy are struggling to find beds. at this intensive care unit at one of delhi's private hospitals, they‘ re capacity, with a waiting list. with position in the cold weather driving up respiratory illnesses, its adding pressure to the health care system. and with beds at capacity, some patients are being kept here at the emergency ward as a way of getting treatment. anju singh's now past the worst of the virus. she had this warning for others in delhi. people aren't taking precautions. they are running around in the market, they are not wearing masks. they are careless and casual with things. and this is what many say careless looks like. markets which continue to be crowded. this corona rickshaw is urging shoppers to maintain social distancing.

with economic pressures making another lockdown unlikely, doctors are urging people to be vigilant. i think outside the hospitals, people have a feeling that this can't happen to me, i will not get this problem. it is most crucial that people understand that it is their own behaviour that determines how the disease goes in the next few weeks or the next few months. at the mortuary, anotherfamily prepares to say goodbye. cases are starting to fall, but a glimmer of hope for the future can't wipe away the pain of the past. a sailor who'd been reported missing at sea reported missing at sea has been found clinging to his capsized motor boat off the atlantic coast of florida. stuart bee spent a whole 11 hours clinging to his boat off the florida coast before being spotted

by a passing container vessel. the authorities were alerted on saturday after the 62—year—old failed to return to port. the coast guard have called it "a truly incredible outcome". you're watching bbc news. joanna will be here in 80 minutes. you can find me on twitter. —— joanna will be here in a couple of minutes. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. many central and eastern areas have started off with clear skies and a chilly start as well with a cloud already in the west pushing east through the day. behind it, turning colder and colder will be the theme for the rest of the week, as will turning more unsettled. this is the warm weather front moving from the west towards the east, taking cloud and patchy drizzle with it. behind it, we see a return to showers. some clear skies in central and eastern england, also for a time across the moray firth, around aberdeenshire, but the cloud will be moving across us through the day with some patchy drizzle and the sunshine lasted longest in parts of central

and eastern england and north—east scotland with a temperature range of 6—10. this evening, we see the cloud encroaching into the south—east and a new active weather front comes in with a narrowing band of rain pushing south—eastwards as well. behind that, some blustery showers with snow in the highlands down to about 500 metres and the potential for a touch of frost in some rural areas in parts of the south—east. here comes this cold front and you can see all the cold airfollowing behind, moving the milder air down towards the south—east before we eventually say goodbye to it here. a chilly start with some brightness early on in the south—east tomorrow but cloud coming south, along with the rain and behind that, sunshine and showers but a lot of the showers will be blustery, particularly with gusty winds across the north west and in the highlands, the snow level coming down a wee bit further,

down to about 300 metres. there goes that front wednesday into thursday and then you can see the isobars tightening up and we have another system coming our way on thursday that will bring some rain, heaviest in the south—west and the english channel where it will also be breezy, but still a plethora of showers coming into western areas and some of those will be wintry. down to about 150—200 metres in scotland and northern ireland, 400 metres in the pennines and north—west wales. but it will feel cold and you will notice that. that whips across us on thursday and on friday this system looks like it could bring some snow in from the east, heading to the west, most of it on the hills but some of us could see some at low levels.

this is bbc news. i'm joanna gosling. the headlines at 11... talks on a rescue deal for debenhams have collapsed putting 12,000 jobs at risk. at 11:30 this morning, we'll be answering your questions on what the liquidation of debenhams means for the high street and for you as a customer. dozens of conservative mps could refuse to back borisjohnson's planned new covid tiers for england when a vote is held in the house of commons later, opposition parties say they will abstain. the government is urging businesses to make their final preparations for brexit — a month before the transition period ends. scientific analysis suggests the paris climate agreement goals are now within reach — it comes as deforestation of the amazon rainforest in brazil reaches its highest level in a decade.

also coming up this hour, formula one world champion lewis hamilton will miss this weekend's grand prix in bahrain after testing positive for covid—19. debenhams is to be liquidated after talks about a possible rescue deal have come to an end without agreement. it follows administrators being called into sir philip green's arcadia retail group, which is the biggest holder of concessions at debenhams outlets. the last remaining potential buyer for debenhams, jd sports, has backed out of a deal. this morning administrators announced they are winding down debenhams in the uk, whilst continuing to seek offers for all,

or parts of, the business. they said, "all reasonable steps were taken to complete a transaction that would secure the future of debenhams. however, the economic landscape is extremely challenging and, coupled with the uncertainty facing the uk retail industry, a viable deal could not be reached," adding that they "deeply regret" having to make the decision to liquidate the company. debenhams is one of the uk's oldest department stores, with a 242—year history. it operates 124 stores across the country, employing about 12,000 staff, whose jobs are now at risk. our business presenter ben thompsonjoins me now. ben, ben thompsonjoins me now. devastating news for working ben, devastating news for everybody working at debenhams this morning. yes, absolutely. a bleak 24 hours for our high streets and some of our well—known retailers, arcadia group and in last night what everybody was

waiting for, confirming they were in administration. it is a different picture this morning for debenhams, because arcadia group is in administration, it will continue to trade and are hoping to find a buyer. the prospect may be good. of the brands, particularly the topshop name. but at debenhams, it is very different, because the last remaining buyer, jd sports, have pulled out. a couple of reasons, pandemic has meant physical schools have closed for a long time and the changing ways we shop, going to department stores less and going online more, but also because a number of the most popular concessions in debenhams stores where those of arcadia group brands. many brands had smaller outlets within a debenhams store, so if their future is within a debenhams store, so if theirfuture is in doubt, the whole of debenhams is in doubt. you are right in saying the liquidators will

go into those stores and try to recoup some money from them and try to sell off some stock. we are led to sell off some stock. we are led to believe that those will open to try and make the most of the christmas trading period. they will sell the stock there and any orders that have been made. there are then questions as to what will happen in the new year. administrators say if no buyer comes forward, injanuary the doors will shut for good. that brings to an end to hundred and 42 yea rs on brings to an end to hundred and 42 years on the high street, pulling down the shutters on 124 stores and leaving 12,000 people without work. if you add to that the number of jobs at risk at arcadia group, that ta kes jobs at risk at arcadia group, that takes the potentialjob losses numberfour takes the potentialjob losses number four retail to 25,000 takes the potentialjob losses numberfour retail to 25,000 injust the last 24 hours alone. by no means is this the first, but it will not be the last. many retail casualties

could be coming down the line and will start to get an indication of those closer to christmas and the start of the new year, because if retail cannot make money at christmas to get it through the rest of the year, the start of next year could be very bleak indeed. debenhams has been in difficulty for some time but has been staggering along. there have been big names on the high street that have gone through difficulty and they seem to get resurrected and they do notjust disappear. could debenhams just disappear. could debenhams just disappear now, is it really high end of the line potentially? administrators are hoping not and are still hopeful someone will come forward. but we all know that, given the state of the retail market right now, it is adapt or die. you are right, debenhams has been in administration twice this year already. it has managed to cling on and gotan already. it has managed to cling on and got an 11th hour deal. as far as debenhams is concerned, though, it

must look at its business model. it is competing with cheaper, more nimble rivals that do not have the sort of costs it has to endure. think of the debenhams on the high street near you right now paying a lot of money in rates and rent and has to pay staff to keep it open. even before people have gone through the doors, it is paying a lot of money. the likes of online rivals are paying much less. theyjust have to pay for big warehouses on the outskirts of towns and post things to people and use online delivery companies, therefore there overheads and no rain near the same. there are big questions over what taxes they pay as well and whether they have to pay as well and whether they have to pay big rates that big retailers pay too. in arcadia group's case, they are hopeful there will be a buyer. we are led to believe somebody like asus maybe interested. —— asos. it is hard to know what will be of

value in the stores. the stock is the thing that is most valuable right now. they are hoping to sell some of that in the run—up to christmas to get some money from it to pay any outstanding bills. but i think unless there is a buyer that comes forward, and i think the administrators have admitted that is looking increasingly unlikely, and u nless looking increasingly unlikely, and unless there is a buyer, the shutters welcome down injanuary and debenhams will end its 242 years on british high streets. richard lim is the chief executive of retail economics — a company which provides independent insight on consumer trends, online, retail sales and economic data. hejoins me now. was this an inevitable end once arcadia went down? yes, u nfortu nately, arcadia went down? yes, unfortunately, i think the reality is that debenhams had a number of different underlying challenges, even before the pandemic, that

weren't resolved and the reality was that they were burdened with huge levels of debt, they did not adapt to changing consumer behaviour, and a lot of that was that a shift towards online. at the same time, they have a legacy and business model that was dependent on too many stores and to much space. they have to deal with... stores and to much space. they have to dealwith... he has stores and to much space. they have to deal with. .. he has frozen u nfortu nately. to deal with. .. he has frozen unfortunately. to be able to pivot towards a new way that people shop. many of these underlying issues were not resolved and the pandemic has been a challenge to far for the retailer. richard, you went and came back. is there any chance that debenhams can be resurrected after this? the odds are stacked against debenhams being resurrected. they have been through this process of trying to find a buyer to salvage what is left of the business to

inject a bit more creativity and innovation and leadership within the business too, to emerge with a new business too, to emerge with a new business model that is fit for purpose going forwards. they have been unable to do that over the last few months. it seems like we are the end of the road the moment for the brand. it is very unfortunate for a number of people that work within the company. having conversations for a long time about the future of the high street versus online, and as you have been saying, the pandemic has really accelerated the consumer trends and buying online. do you think this is going to be the start of... ? how many businesses are out there which are very heavily weighted to stores around the country versus actually having an online footprint? it is the pace of change that is so challenging for the industry. we have seen the proportion shift to online and it

has happened at such a pace over the last few years, and actually, what we have seen throughout the pandemic and lockdown, is a step change in the proportion of sales going online. a lot of research we have done shows this will be a permanent change in terms of the behaviour from consumers. for many retailers, and we were saying before we had to money stores, —— too many stores. they are stuck with the structures and cannot pivot their business models to putting digital at the heart of their business, it is a significant challenge. the other thing to mention is that at this year has been enormously challenging for the sector. there are many retailers that remain in survival mode and are trying to preserve working capital by cutting costs, cutting back on the number of employees, number of stores, and just, really, trying to leveraged their online channels. these are some of the things we are seeing,

out towards next year as well. —— thank you very much. in 20 minutes, we will answer your questions about debenhams and also arcadia of course. they have gone into administration yesterday. those two businesses linked in that arcadia had the largest number of concessions in debenhams and that development on arcadia was what led to the collapse of talks for a deal to the collapse of talks for a deal to see the future of debenhams. we will answer your questions at 11:30am. if you work at those companies and have any questions about what it means for you, your employment rights, get in touch and will try to answer those questions and, if you are a consumer, what is on your mind about it. get in touch. the usual way is hashtag your questions on social media. mps vote later today

on the introduction of a new, stricter, three—tier system of controls for england to contain coronavirus when the current lockdown ends tomorrow. boris johnson is facing opposition from many of his own conservative mps. 55 million people will enter the two toughest tiers if the plans are approved. most will be in tier 2, meaning people are not allowed to mix with anyone outside their household or support bubble indoors, although they can socialise in groups of up to six outdoors. the toughest restrictions, tier 3, mean no mixing with anyone outside your household or support bubble indoors, or at most outdoor venues. a number of conservatives — led by mark harper, who chairs the covid research group — have criticised the restrictions, saying the "wheels are coming off the government's arguments" to impose them. but labour, the snp and lib dems will abstain in the vote — meaning the proposals are likely to pass. this is what sir keir starmer

tweeted late yesterday evening, after previously suggesting his party may support the government vote — the labour leader says... which is code for "my mps will abstain." let's go over to westminster now, and speak to our political correspondent helen catt. helen, the government looking increasingly beleaguered on it and the opposition making clear they will not vote for it. a number of mps within the party too unhappy and potentially going to voted against it. in the end, how do numbers come down? as you said, realistically this is going to pass. those tiers will pass and they will come into effect at midnight tonight and it will be bt or area was told to go in and you will go into midnight. how

can you be so sure. because of labour‘s decision to abstain. their mps will not vote. for it to be defeated, you would need more than half of the conservative party to vote against the government on these measures and that will not happen. we have seen a significant number of conservative mps in recent weeks expressing concerns about these restrictions, but we will not know until it shakes down later tonight exactly how many those will go on to vote against it. we know that the coronavirus recovery group chaired by mark harper, 70 mps from that to borisjohnson by mark harper, 70 mps from that to boris johnson last week expressing concern over the system. because of labour‘s decision to abstain, it will go through. here is the shadow chancellorjon ashworth explaining. they are necessary to save lives. but we will not break this virus on the backs of the poorest and the low—paid. we the backs of the poorest and the low— paid. we won the backs of the poorest and the low—paid. we won the feet this virus

by allowing —— we will not defeat this virus by allowing people to lose theirjobs. we need a financial package alongside it. this will mean that they will be accused of not backing it up. but borisjohnson's own mps... backing it up. but borisjohnson's own mps. .. government backing it up. but borisjohnson's own mps... government has made some concessions in the last few days and borisjohnson has said that mps will get to vote again in early february and the tiering system will be reviewed every two weeks in terms of which tear each place is in. there has been talked about that first review on december the 16th being a big moment. there have been those moves to quell fears. the government has had an impact analysis. there has had an impact analysis. there has not actually nullified some of the concerns. markov is not one over by this analysis. the whole tier

system is a holding mechanism in a way. the government hopes to get a vaccine rolled out, which should help to start making life returning to normal. there is talk this morning about the impact of that. the government has made it clear it will not be compulsory to be vaccinated, but there is talk of pubs and restaurants being able to say to people, you cannot come in if you have not had the vaccine or can if you have. he is what michael gove had to say about that this morning. the prospect of mass fascination is an strategy. it is a way out of a

situation which we find ourselves in. the most important thing is making sure that that vaccine is effectively distributed and available. that is the critical question. to give you a sense of parliament today, the debate will be opened around lunchtime and we expect a vote at 6:07pm this evening. thank you. let's speak to dr rob barnett, a member of the bma gp committee and deputy chair of the bma north west regional council — he's been a gp for 33 years. thank you. forjoining us. the government sites the pressure on the nhs as one of the primary pressures on the system. how do you see the pressure on the nhs compared to what would normally be expected at this time of year? the pressures are tremendous. the pressures on hospitals, and hospital beds being full, in the community and primary care, we are seeing problems build up

care, we are seeing problems build up in the community by people not actually being able to admitted without conditions over than covid. there are mental health issues or those suffering, as we have heard today, or will suffer today as result of closures of stores, and we have not got the capability of managing all of these in the community with the resources and workforce that we have got. it is not just workforce that we have got. it is notjust mental workforce that we have got. it is not just mental health workforce that we have got. it is notjust mental health issues. those with physical issues, if you need physiotherapy you cannot get it, if you have had problems with your joints and need a joint replacement, the waiting times for these are going up. this is happening across—the—board. going up. this is happening across-the-board. and is that because literally all resources are targeted at covid? is it because systems a re targeted at covid? is it because systems are being put in place and perhaps the resources aren't necessarily being used but that is

the way the system is skewed right now? 0r the way the system is skewed right now? or is that because people are staying away because they are afraid of covid or a mix of all? it is a mix, but what happened was is that ellie on in the pandemic people stayed away. in this, —— early on. in the summer people started coming back. they are coming back and it is not usual for people now to say they wa nt to not usual for people now to say they want to see their gp. we are clearly seeing more and more of them. but then, it is what we do in terms of getting investigations, getting tests, and getting them seen in hospital? patients are getting frustrated and that, actually, is also increasing the workload that we are seeing because it is notjust managing with their physical condition, but actually it is managing with the effects that that is having on them and the way they live. how do you view, then, the

balance between the measures being taken to save lives, to protect lives, versus the impact on life as a result of those measures?” lives, versus the impact on life as a result of those measures? i think the problem is wejust a result of those measures? i think the problem is we just have a look of the resources and we have not got people to try and help people through this. i think it is right we do our best to keep numbers down and, certainly in the north—west, we have seen how the measures can help with that. we have not got the capacity to manage people in the community. we haven't got enough people just to actually listen to people just to actually listen to people when they are not feeling right. we pride —— we are deprived of people to people service. so good and well to say we can talk to people online and over the phone,

for many people, they need time with another individual to combat the way they are feeling. yesterday, i was speaking to a gp who related a complaint at a consultation that morning with a patient who actually haven't spoken to anyone something like three months. they were just very grateful for a consultation with a gp. ifelt very grateful for a consultation with a gp. i felt terrible about —— they felt terrible about leasing the gp's time. we are seeing problems like this and —— about wasting the gp's time. we do not have the ability to cope with everything coming through. the government is right to try and save people's lives, but actually, we are storing up lives, but actually, we are storing up other problems in terms of their mental health issues. thank you very much forjoining us. we will have live coverage of that debate on the tier system in the house of commons here on the bbc

news channel and across our other platforms. it will. this afternoon at 12:45pm. —— it will start at 12:45pm. there's a month to go until the end of the brexit transition period — that's the amount of time given for the uk and eu to agree their future relationship. face—to—face talks between negotiators for both sides continue in london as future economic partnerships and trade deals are thrashed out. this is seen as a crucial week if an agreement is to be reached — but there are still differences between the two sides on elements including fishing rights. if no agreement can be reached, trade between the uk and eu will default to world trade organization rules, resulting in tariffs on goods crossing the channel and other trade barriers. with an agreement yet to be reached, there is uncertainty for businesses, but cabinet minister michael gove says there are lots of things that firms can do to prepare. whether or not we get a free trade agreement with the eu, we are definitely leaving the single market and customs union on the 31st of december come what may, so a lot

of what businesses need to do is the same whether or not we get a free trade agreement or not. no one is keener than i am to see this negotiating process conclude, but nevertheless there are lots of things that businesses have done and can do on what is called a sort of no regrets basis. there is no harm in doing these things because they will be necessary come what may. to guide us through where we are with the issues regarding brexit — i'm joined by our reality check correspondent chris morris. things are going to change anyway, i guess it is the question at this stage of what are the known unknowns of what can be prepared. for many businesses they will be a massive increase in bureaucracy. that is because trade between britain and the eu, exports leaving britain from the eu, exports leaving britain from the eu, exports leaving britain from the eu, they will be subject to full checks from the 1st of january. that

means food inspections, vat, you name it. this is going to happen for the first time in 50 years at this border and if you do not have the right documents in a lorry you will be turned away. the fear that could cause a lot of disruption means one thing the government has done is that things going in the other way, from the eu coming into the uk, they have delayed those checks until the 1st ofjuly. a six—month delay to allow businesses more time to get to grips with the complexity of the system. some things will still be checked, like alcohol and tobacco, but most checks will take place untiljuly. inevitably there is quite a lot of focus on areas of the country where things will come in from. yes, kent, because of the dover calais route and the channel tunnel, they handle 4 million lorries every year. one concern, though, is it is the same lorries

going back—and—forth every time. if you are delayed in one direction, will have delays in the other direction too. 85% of the volume of trade across that route is carried by european hauliers. european lorry drivers. they are paid by the kilometre, not the hour. so if they think they will be sitting in long queues all day, some of them for a shorter time may simply decide not to come. many in the industry think some trades not happen for a while. of the government is doing, it is setting up these lorry parks in kent, and there is also this access permit. lorries aren't even allowed to enter kent until they can prove that they have the right documentation. that should help avoid some congestion. 0ne documentation. that should help avoid some congestion. one of the problems is that it's for big lorries. it does not include vans. thousands of fans across the channel every week. many of them are supplying small shops and go to poland for example, fill up with stuff and make deliveries three or

four eastern european shops in this country. they could cause congestion if they do not the right documentation. and northern ireland. yes, that is the issue. they are more concerned about this than anything else. that is because it is being treated as a special case. under the terms of the northern ireland protocol, northern ireland will be treated differently. they are due to come into force on the 1st of january. no delays there at all. at the moment, people trading from great britain into northern ireland within the united kingdom have no idea how that trade will ta ke have no idea how that trade will take place in a month's time. they do not know if they will be tariffs on some of those goods, if they are at risk of moving on into the eu via the republic. they do not know that yet. they know there will be a new it system the customs which none of them have ever used before. i have spoken to a lot of people who are saying they are not ready to use it. the government is setting up an advice scheme to help them but say

they are not ready to do it yet because they don't know what they are dealing with. they also know there will be full checks on food of animal origin. huge amounts of food goes across every day from great britain into northern ireland. consignments of sandwiches going to supermarkets and each one of those will have to have the right certificate and a lot of them will have to be physically checked. that is an issue as well. because of these concerns, business groups in northern ireland are united in saying cannot do this and will not be ready now and have run out of time already. they are talking about an adjustment period. you cannot say transition because we have been told there is no further extension to the transition period. but it would be a transition period. but it would be a transition in all but name. a loosening of some of those rules, possibly for up to a year is they would like to see, to allow them to have time to get used to this new system. the problem is until negotiations are... in terms of a trade deal and separate talks on the

arrangements for northern ireland, they will not know if anything like that will be on offer. is a conceivable, then, if there is no deal, that they could be another not transition period, but a period where there is... ? no one has officially said that yet and there is the six—month delay in imports from the eu into britain, but on that route from northern ireland, business co—ops are pushing for that. sainsbury‘s and marks & spencer is and other supermarkets have said they cannot guarantee that food supplies will be as they should be we do not have a little bit of help. it does not mean people will run out of food, but they are saying they could be noticeable gaps on shelves is the system is not sorted out. is this the crunch week? last week and the last one before was. you can do the maths. we have a month left. pretty soon that ctrl

come. let's hear now from miles roberts — the group ceo at ds smith — the uk's biggest manufacturer of cardboard boxes and leading provider of cardboard in europe and the us. welcome. thank you forjoining us. tell us a little bit more about what your business does and how it could be impacted. good afternoon. sorry, good morning. it is wonderful to see that at our company we manufacture cardboard and corrugated packaging and we are the largest recital in europe. we pick up old cardboard and converted into a new paper and make that back into a box. 0ur converted into a new paper and make that back into a box. our business is really being transformed by taking it across europe and using all of the expertise we have built in the uk, exporting that to europe and now into the us as well. in the current environment, cardboard, the whole sustainability debate and

e—commerce, it has been a big boost for us. we are busy. what is your assessment of possible impact of brexit? we have been working on this for some time. like anybody, we are unclear as to what is going to happen. 0nly unclear as to what is going to happen. only a month to go. we have taken the government's advice and have done as much as we can in advance of this, and acted in a worst—case scenario, which is that ta riffs worst—case scenario, which is that tariffs come into position and there are quitea tariffs come into position and there are quite a few delays, particularly in movement between the uk and europe. we have had to build stock. that has cost quite a lot of money. we feel it is important to do that to protect our business. we have worked on the extensive administration of the new homes we have to fill in. there are still some gaps in this from the government. we still don't know exact what they want and how each system will work. we have put a lot of work in try and prepare ourselves

as much as possible in what i think is... they will girly be a bit of disruption. trying to get ahead of that in the first place. —— they will clearly be a bit of disruption. there are certain things thatjust will not be able to be clear until the point at which it is clear whether or not they will be a deal. 0n whether or not they will be a deal. on that basis, would you support what chris was saying businesses in northern ireland would like, which is that if there is no deal, maybe there is an extension period to allow everyone to get their heads around it? although we have already had the transition period. we are focused on supplying our customers and we are producing in england and we transport, we explored that in northern ireland. it is all part of the uk. today we do not know how going to be able to do that in the future. our concern is about our customers. our packaging is used to

package food and everyday essentials. we are really keen that we understand what is the system that we have to use. in the absence of that, if we want to avoid disruption, clearly they will have to be some period of grace that will allows to be able to supply to the same part of the united kingdom. we we re very same part of the united kingdom. we were very much same part of the united kingdom. we were very much encourage same part of the united kingdom. we were very much encourage the government to allow this period of grace, particularly as it is so close and it is really unclear as to what the regulations are going to be and the systems that we have to use. this you are a company that packs a punch, you are in the ftse100. have you had conversations with the government about an extension along those lines? not specifically on dance. this has been going on for many years now. we have plenty of

discussion. we have always talked about just how strong discussion. we have always talked aboutjust how strong our business has become in the uk because of access to the european markets, so we have obviously been very keen, for the sake of everybody who works for the sake of everybody who works for ds smith that we can continue to trade the best we can in the uk with europe. we have had conversations over the years, but we are where we are, there is no point arguing about that any more. we are very keen we are pleased to have a quota and tariff rearrangement, then we have to make the best of it. in terms of the specifics of where we are today, we are pushing through our various trade associations, putting our case about building strong manufacturing in the uk. that is good long—term close ties with our largest market, which for us as continental europe. miles roberts, thank you very much.

now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello, again. the weather this week is turning colder and more u nsettled. in fact, by the end of the week, there is a lot of uncertainty about the forecast, but some of us could well see some snow — most of it on higher ground, but potentially at lower levels. for now, the best of the sunshine today is going to be across central and eastern england, at times, across the moray firth and aberdeenshire. there is a lot of cloud around, producing some patchy drizzle, with wind easing down the norfolk coastline, with highs running between about six and 10 degrees. that cloud moves south through the course of this evening and overnight. some clear skies, we could see a touch of frost in parts of the south—east, and behind the weather front, blustery showers, with the snow level in the highlands standing at about 500 metres. now, that weather front continues to sink south, with all this cloud ahead of it, through the course of tomorrow. a lot of showers coming in across northern ireland and scotland in particular. gusty winds here, and the snow level

coming down to about 300 metres, but it will feel colder in the north than it will in the south. hello, this is bbc news with joanna gosling. the headlines: talks over a rescue deal for the department store chain debenhams have collapsed, putting 12,000 jobs at risk. dozens of conservative mps could refuse to back borisjohnson's planned new coronavirus tiers for england when a vote is held in the house of commons later. 0pposition parties say they will abstain. the government is urging businesses to make their final preparations for brexit a month before the transition period ends. more than 11,000 square kilometres of brazil's amazonian rainforest were destroyed between august of last year and july of this year. that is the highest figure in more than a decade. sport now and a full round—up

from the bbc sport centre. good morning. the seven—time formula one world champion lewis hamilton has tested positive for coroanvirus and will miss this weekend's race in bahrain. he had returned three negative tests last week, but woke up yesterday with mild symptoms and a new test revealed he had contracted the virus. hamilton is now isolating, but his team say he is fit and well. he has not missed a race since his debut in 2007 and must return a negative test before returning to the paddock, meaning he's a doubt for the season ending race in abu dhabi next weekend. mercedes say they will name his replacement for sunday's race later. it's another big night in the champions league. jurgen klopp's liverpool are in amsterdam and will reach the knockouts if they avoid defeat against ajax. they won the reverse

fixture 1—0 at anfield, but defender andy robertson knows his team will face a tough test tonight. the history is phenomenal and their tea m the history is phenomenal and their team just now is an excellent team, so we know what is at stake. we know if we win we will be through to the last 16 and that is always the aim. we wa nt last 16 and that is always the aim. we want to go far in this competition and by doing so we need to get through the group stages first and foremost and we have a chance to do that. manchester city are already into the last 16 having won their first four group games. however, manager pep guardiola says he won't be resting players tonight. a draw against porto in portugal will seal top spot in group c. we have 19 players fit, and all of them will travel to porto. it is a real difficult game and we need the

best players possible. a big night too ahead of the women's european championships in 2022. northern ireland, wales and scotland could still qualify for next year's finals. after a 3—2 win over belarus on friday, victory for northern ireland tonight at home to the faroe islands would see them seal a play—off spot. they have never reached a majorfinals. wales need to beat belarus and hope northern ireland drop points. scotland, meanwhile, have three matches to go and face group leaders finland later in a must—win game. billy burns and james lowe have been ruled out of ireland's autumn nations cup third place play—off with scotland this weekend. fly—half burns has failed to recover from a groin problem suffered in sunday's win over georgia, while winger lowe will be absent due to a similar issue. captainjohnny sexton and centre robbie henshaw should be back in the squad following their respective injuries. argentina's pablo matera has been stripped of the captaincy

and suspended along with two team—mates for "discriminatory and xenophobic" comments in historical social media posts. marta, guido petti and santiago socino posted comments which disparaged black people and people from other south american nations between 2011 and 13. the argentine rugby union say it "strongly repudiates" the comments. the trio were due to face australia on saturday. marta, who plays club rugby for stade francias, has apologised and said he is "ashamed". a reminder the bbc sport personality of the year nominees are being announced throughout the day across the bbc. you can keep up to date with all that across our website. that's at bbc.co.uk/sport.

now on bbc news, your questions answered. you've been sending in the questions on the closure of high street department store debenhams and the future of retail giant arcadia. here to answer them is consumer journalist harry wallop and bbc business presenter, ben thompson. welcome both of you. lots of people getting in touch. harry, a question from eve. lots of people are asking a similar question. she said she ordered three items from debenhams, the last one on saturday, 28th. she asks if the goods will be delivered. yes, very much so. debenhams insist they are operating as normal, though

they are operating as normal, though they are operating as normal, though they are entering a form of liquidation. they are carrying on trading, taking payments and very much doing deliveries. all things being equal, you should receive your parcel as normal. ruth asked a similar question. what happens to all the goods everyone has bought over black friday, will these be delivered? yes, absolutely. you have entered into a contract with the retailer by handing over your money and the item should be delivered. if you have bought stuff online you have extra rights. in normal circumstances need to have the right to cancel within 14 days and get your money back if you get cold feet. i think you should be pretty confident that you should get these parcels because both companies, both arcadia, which is an administration which is slightly different to the slightly more drastic liquidation

that's debenhams is in. will the shops be open and selling, as well? as harry says, we are told by debenhams that it is business as usual. we are told that those stores will reopen and i will try to sell the stock — — will reopen and i will try to sell the stock —— sell the stock that is in there. they want to cash in on this lucrative pre—christmas period to try and shift some of that stock. they have already bought from their suppliers, it is sat in their stock rooms and they want to get it out on the shop floor and get it sold to make some money. that is what liquidation means. it is about earning that stock into cash, and that cash will be used to pay any creditors, suppliers, landlords that need paying. there will be trying to get as much money for that stock as they can to make sure they can pay some of their bills. they are trying to find a buyer still for the whole business, but it doesn't look

likely. if they don't get to pirate the shutters will come down in january or february. what they will do until then a stay open, get people through the doors and try to sell as much of that stock as they can. this is awful for anyone working at the company, but for consumers it is already a pretty competitive time with lots of sales out there. we'll debenhams just do whatever kind to get rid of that stock, in other words, whatever kind to get rid of that stock, in otherwords, bargains? yeah, potentially. this is why they have the everything must go type sales when retailers are in similar situations. they will try to make as much money from that as they can and now is the time of year they can sell those things. all retailers find it very difficult to make any money injanuary, find it very difficult to make any money in january, february or march because we are less willing to go out and spend. now coupled with the looming recession, people losing their jobs, looming recession, people losing theirjobs, some of us working fewer hours, some of the churning much

less, the start of next year for retail looks difficult. they will be trying to get as much money as they can now go for the end of the year to make the most of that stock, because they will abort that stock already, it will be sat in the stores, so rather than extend that they want to sell as much of it as they want to sell as much of it as they can and make money to pay creditors. doreen in in leicestershi re creditors. doreen in in leicestershire says, she is expecting a delivery and she was unable to contact debenhams in any way whatsoever, or can she do?|j way whatsoever, or can she do?” understand this is very frustrating. she should hold out hope that the parcels will arrive. the company contacted me just a few moments ago to insist they were operating as normal. if she is worried, she could cancel. she would be within her rights to cancel those orders and get your money back. that is part of the rules of online trading, you

have 14 days to make a cancellation and it doesn't matter if there's anything wrong with the goods or if they are absolutely fine, you're within your rights to cancel that order. then, mark asks why won't arcadia take the offer of financial support from mike ashley? he was looking to do some sort of deal to save debenhams, then he offered that £50 million loan to arcadia. why won't arcadia take it? yeah, people may know mark ashley has been the boss of sports direct, which changed its name to fraser group. he was trying to buy debenhams, but he thought the £300 million price tag, he balked at that. he offered £50 million to arcadia. that was rejected. the company did not give a

reason for rejecting that, but what we have to remember is that there are a lot of big egos at play in retail, a lot of people who have been doing this for a long time and they are all keeping a close eye on each other's fortunes. it seems that arcadia did not like the strings that may be would be attached to that may be would be attached to that loan of £50 million. also at the same time, arcadia said if it wasjust about the same time, arcadia said if it was just about £50 million we could find out. they are not short of that sort of money. a sort of suggest there is a more fundamental problem with retail, with the debts that these firms may be in and the way that we are all shopping. what arcadia has said is it is open to find a buyer for some of the brands. it could be the plants themselves that are valuable in the case of arcadia, not necessarily the way that they are sold. it could be that stores are too expensive, the staff are too expensive, the rent and

rates is too expensive, so the lucrative valuable bit is the name, the topshop, dorothy perkins, miss selfridge. they could be snapped up by online retailers. even if mike ashley is offering that £50 million, that might not be enough to solve some of those problems that traditional retailers are having to pay out every single day even before they get anyone through their doors. harry, another popular question. this is from rosemary dennis. she asked what happens if you have bought christmas prep —— christmas presents at debenhams or any of those other arcadia stores and you wa nt to those other arcadia stores and you want to return them after christmas? i would implore everyone to buy on a credit card so you can take up the issue with a credit card provider if there are any problems. if you buy something on a debit card there is

something on a debit card there is something called a chargeback. there is no legal requirement for the debit card provider to get your money back, but there is a recent tradition that the debit card providerfights for your tradition that the debit card provider fights for your money back from the compa ny‘s provider fights for your money back from the company's bank accounts, in this case debenhams or arcadia, and most consumers find that a successful way. whatever you do, don't buy any gift cards from these retailers because you will find yourself very far down the queue when the companies if they cease trading fully, you will be low down on that list of creditors to get your money back. matt brown asks at tangential question but a relevant one, asking how can shops stay open 24 74 christmas shopping, but hospitality cant open at all? this

has prompted so much anger from the hospitality industry, that say they are unfairly penalised, that shops are unfairly penalised, that shops are being allowed to open in this run—up to christmas but they are not. they are in a similar position when they come to needing to make money now to tide them over for the re st of money now to tide them over for the rest of the year. a few things work in favour of retailers that may be done for hospitality. the fact that you might nip into a store for a brief period of time and then leave. there is an idea that those spaces might be bigger, better ventilated and you are able to keep your distance to a certain extent. the idea of them opening for 24 hours a day over a full week means there will be reduced crowds gathering into stores for peak hours, whereas in hospitality you have the idea that the peak hours are around lunchtime or dinner time when a lot of people may be in there, maybe you are spending much longer in there, two or three hours rather thanjust

nipping into a shop, so your exposure would be greater. the hospitality industry has absolutely refuted the evidence that the government is presenting as long as the transmission rate in hospitality venues the transmission rate in hospitality venues is concerned, but i think they think that the government always highlights here is that once we have all had a drink or two, and this is why alcohol has been banned in wales from this week, from the weekend, it means we are less likely to obey to social distancing rules, we get too close to people and the transmission rate could go up. it is a real range of different factors. retail price they can stay open because there will be more time, it isjust nipping in, very quick. hospitality has been told to close in some circumstances because maybe we are spending a bit longer in there and it is less ventilated. thank you both.

a leading breast—feeding charity in the uk says it's in "a desperate situation" trying to support mothers who have given birth in lockdown. between april and september, the national breast—feeding helpline answered 125% more calls than they did in the same period last year. the restrictions in place meant that face—to—face professional and peer support was cancelled and simple procedures like tongue—tie operations were severely restricted. ellie costello reports. yeah! this is baby zora and her parents, divinia and aaron. divinia decided she wanted to breast—feed zora when she was born in may but her tongue tie made it almost impossible. ifelt like a failure, i can't imagine something that was supposed to be so natural to feel... to have this indescribable pain. tongue tie is where the strip of skin connecting the baby's tongue to the bottom of their mouth is shorter than usual, making latching on to the breast

difficult for the baby. in the uk, a medical professional can cut the tongue tie in just a few seconds. the first lockdown meant face—to—face professional and community support for breast—feeding was cancelled and research suggests 27% of new mothers struggled to get any support during that time. mums with difficult living circumstances or from black and minority ethnic backgrounds were more likely to find lockdown challenging and stop breast—feeding. zora's tongue tie was missed on three occasions. it was eventually operated on at four months, after a referral was made privately. do you think it would have been noticed sooner had it not have been for the lockdown circumstances? definitely, because i would have been going into those breast—feeding cafes, i would have been sitting with the breast—feeding support councillors. they would have been able to really look at zora. we would have had more time. we put some money aside for things

that we might need for zora. if we didn't do that, we probably wouldn't have been able to afford to see a private lactation consultant. between april and september, the national breastfeeding hotline answered 125% more calls than they did in the same period last year. the mums they spoke to felt isolated and alone and their breast—feeding journeys were painful and frustrating. i have seen babies that have been in quite big trouble. i have seen a five—month—old baby that was only three ounces over birth weight because of a tongue tie. and that baby had been completely missed because there hadn't been any health district clinics to get the baby weighed at, the mum had had very little contact with anybody. and this issue had just gone on and on. so when the baby is coming to the breast, try and remember to plant the chin and the top lip isjust going to be tipping over... emma pickett is the chair of the association of breast—feeding mothers. the research is really clear that

if you wanted to breast—feed and it doesn't end up happening, you are at massively increased risk of having postnatal depression. feeling like a failure, when that is the last thing you are. you have been failed by the system — you have not failed as a parent. for me, my wife is a wonder woman, she is a super woman and, you know, i reallyjust wanted to be that support. so, what is divinia's advice for parents in the same position? try and get some help and also, don't blame yourself. ellie costello, bbc news. we can talk to laura burgess, whose son was born in lockdown with tongue—tie. matthew was born with quite a significant tongue tied. at that stage week at the peak could have a cat, and they said they could refer him toa cat, and they said they could refer him to a clinic but it was suspended

indefinitely. feeding was ok in hospital. in the first week it became excruciatingly painful. matthew had weight loss. he also had jaundice. it became a very difficult situation very quickly. i search the internet high and low to try to find a tongue tie clinic that was operating. i would a tongue tie clinic that was operating. iwould have a tongue tie clinic that was operating. i would have travelled anywhere in the north—west, but nowhere was open. it was just a local facebook mums page that said that a hospital on the other side of manchester to where we live was doing a clinic. i've phoned them and pleaded my way in. i think i sensed the in my voice. and he was two or three weeks old we eventually managed to get a cat. it sounds like it was so difficult for you to navigate that. when you have had a new baby you are already struggling with just adapting anyway to that. absolutely. it is a really difficult

time. having a new baby is a big change for any family. having a baby during the pandemic was such a hard time. then to have these difficulties with breast—feeding, it was so difficult, it was so hard.” know that you have an older child as well, so matty is your second. how different is this experience fell to the first time around? worlds apart. it has been so different in every possible way. in some ways it will quite fortunate that matthew was my second child, particularly in terms of breast—feeding because i knew i could do it, i had done it before, and you what to do and i due supports i needed. if matthew had been my first baby the breast—feeding would have been very short because i wouldn't have had

the confidence in my own ability. we are joined the confidence in my own ability. we arejoined now by the confidence in my own ability. we are joined now by amy brown, the confidence in my own ability. we arejoined now by amy brown, a professor of child health. what are your thoughts on this? 0bviously professor of child health. what are your thoughts on this? obviously we have heard throughout lockdown about the difficulties for new mothers, not just when they the difficulties for new mothers, notjust when they go into hospital, but subsequently. how concerned are you about what is happening and the impacts on the babies and the pa rents ? impacts on the babies and the parents? we have been very concerned over this. our research shows that while some others might be having a better experience, other mothers are really struggling to get the support that they need. for reasons that if they had had the right support they would have been able to continue for longer. do you think that things could have been done differently? we have been in unprecedented times. could have been done differently? we have been in unprecedented timesm is easy to look back and say that things could have been done very differently, but i think removing a lot of the face—to—face support from others made a big impact on the

difficulties they were experiencing. we know that support is really important when you're getting to grips with breast—feeding or any challenges that come up. that was taken challenges that come up. that was ta ken away from challenges that come up. that was taken away from a lot of mothers and they ended up having all these different challenges that they would necessarily have had. thinking about the impacts if the mother is stressed for whatever reason, does that potentially have a longer term impact on the baby and mother? we know that woman because my feeding experiences stay with them for a very long time. our research also shows what a negative impact it can have on women's mental health if they struggle with breast—feeding, particularly if they have to stop before they are ready. that can last for a very long time. we have women talking to us many years down the line about the difficulties they experienced. sorry, we are out of time. amy brown, laura burgess, thank you very much indeed. laura, i

wish you all the very best. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello, again. the weather this week is turning colder and more u nsettled. in fact, by the end of the week, there is a lot of uncertainty about the forecast, but some of us could well see some snow — most of it on higher ground, but potentially at lower levels. for now, the best of the sunshine today is going to be across central and eastern england, at times, across the moray firth and aberdeenshire. there is a lot of cloud around, producing some patchy drizzle, with wind easing down the norfolk coastline, with highs running between about six and 10 degrees. that cloud moves south through the course of this evening and overnight. some clear skies, we could see a touch of frost in parts of the south—east, and behind the weather front, blustery showers, with the snow level in the highlands standing at about 500 metres. now, that weather front continues to sink south, with all this cloud ahead of it, through the course of tomorrow. a lot of showers coming in across northern ireland and scotland in particular. gusty winds here, and the snow level coming down to about 300 metres, but it will feel colder in the north

than it will in the south. this is bbc news. the headlines... talks on a rescue deal for debenhams have collapsed, putting 12,000 jobs at risk. dozens of conservative mps could refuse to back borisjohnson's planned new covid tiers for england when a vote is held in the house of commons later. 0pposition parties say they will abstain. the government is urging businesses to make their final preparations for brexit — a month before the transition period ends. scientific analysis suggests the paris climate agreement goals are now within reach — it comes as deforestation of the amazon rainforest in brazil reaches its highest level in a decade. also coming up this hour, formula one world champion lewis hamilton will miss this weekend's grand prix in bahrain after testing positive for covid—19.

debenhams is to be liquidated after talks about a possible rescue deal have come to an end without agreement. it follows administrators being called into sir philip green's arcadia retail group, which is the biggest holder of concessions at debenhams outlets. the last remaining potential buyer for debenhams, jd sports, has backed out of a deal. this morning administrators announced they are winding down debenhams in the uk, whilst continuing to seek offers for all — or parts of — the business. they said, "all reasonable steps were taken to complete a transaction that would secure the future of debenhams. however, the economic landscape is extremely challenging and, coupled with the uncertainty facing the uk retail industry, a viable deal could not be reached," adding that they "deeply regret" having to make the decision

to liquidate the company. debenhams is one of the uk's oldest department stores, with a 242—year history. it operates 124 stores across the country, employing about 12,000 staff, whose jobs are now at risk. our business presenter ben thompsonjoins me now. thank you very much. what a dreadful day for the closer to 25,000 staff employed across these two businesses who face a very uncertain future coming now right before christmas. you are right, there are two distinct stories emerging. arcadia falling into administration late last night. it is operating as normal and hopes to sell parts, if not all, of the business to a new buyer. we suspect some of some of its online rivals will snap up its

brands, successful brands but not perhaps the stores, they are expensive in terms of staffing costs and rent and rates. at debenhams, a very different story. it feels like it is the end of the road for the retailer which has been on british high streets to engine 42 years. it has been in administration twice this year. —— 242 years. we thought the buyer was going to bejd sports but it has pulled out saying it can no longerfind value in but it has pulled out saying it can no longer find value in the business. there could be for a number of reasons, not least because the pandemic has meant it has been shut for a long period of time, particular in this valuable run—up to christmas. also because many of the successful concessions in the department store with those of arcadia. topshop, burton. they were successful and we are led to believe that could have been the final straw in making debenhams no longer an attractive proposition. we are told

that those stores will stay open. they will try and liquidate the stock. that is to say, sell it off to raise money before the shutters come down in january. to raise money before the shutters come down injanuary. they are still hoping they may find a buyer, but as you discussed, debenhams has been in trouble for a long time. it seems very unlikely they will be a new buyer forthcoming. thank you, ben. thank you, ben. paddy lillis is general secretary of the shop workers union usdaw, which has about 450,000 members. hejoins me now. welcome. thank you forjoining us. what your thoughts today on what is happening with debenhams and the impact on workers? this demonstrates the scale of the problem in retail. as you say, devastating for those employees. no easy time, but coming up employees. no easy time, but coming up to christmas, the uncertainty and 2021, i really do feel for the individual employees and their families. the devastation it will cause on the high street as well,

the scarring of the high street with empty stores. it's because the communities we were within. this is a crisis which has been going on now for some time. covid has made it 1000 times worse. we really do need a joined 1000 times worse. we really do need ajoined up 1000 times worse. we really do need a joined up approach to look at the future of retail going forward. that means governments starting to listen to what is told. it is something discussed for a long time, free coronavirus —— free coronavirus. what could the government practically do right now to help these businesses which have been struggling and covid has brought an extra dimension to that? we have been calling for a restorative strategy for retail for a number of yea rs. strategy for retail for a number of years. this is not new for the retail sector. ten years ago, around 2009, there was a big iconic chain, woolworths, toys " r"

2009, there was a big iconic chain, woolworths, toys "r" us, bhs, many names have gone under. we need to look at the structural issues, the business rates. they are out of date and archaic and from a different era. they need to be looked at. they area era. they need to be looked at. they are a cause of untold misery to retailers. the online tax rates we have been calling for, to level playing field with the bricks and mortar, high street retailers, with the online, it is really fundamental needs looking at. car parking charges, the way live. they are massive things are can be done to look at what the 21st—century looks like in terms of retail. you cannot fight the tide. as you say, this is something that has been going on for a long time in the process of change has really been accelerated because of covid. shoppers are changing their habits. i spoke to a retail a nalyst their habits. i spoke to a retail analyst earlier who said that as far as they are concerned and from their research, those changes are here to

stay, with shoppers going online. do you realistically believe that the high street can be salvaged in the way you would like to see?” high street can be salvaged in the way you would like to see? i think that the british public like the opportunity to go shopping. it is much more than just a transaction. it isa much more than just a transaction. it is a community event as well. for us, we can see some really good retailers out there who have got a bricks and mortar on online. it is going to look different and feel different and there will be less space about. i get that. but a very ahead and the sand and just let market forces —— but to bury your head in the sand and just say that people can lose theirjobs. nearly 2000 people have lost there jobs people can lose theirjobs. nearly 2000 people have lost therejobs in retail. that is not even looking at other sectors of the economy. 20,000 have closed. another 10,000 in

debenhams and another 600 stores closing. it cannot continue and there needs to be government intervention and the need to be a collaboration with employers, local authorities and trade unions working within the communities to see what can be done. it cannot —— it can be salvaged. we cannot bury our heads and hope this problem will go away. it has been with us for some time. covid has accelerated that by another ten years. going back to the point you made at the start, about the timing of this before christmas, there will be many people worried out there, 12,000 facing losing theirjobs at debenhams. what will theirjobs at debenhams. what will their right me at this point? we are seeking meetings with illustrators now to ensure those who are going to lose theirjobs —— administrators. and they get the support from other retailers. the retail sector is

continuing to employ an is doing well. there are still opportunities out there. we will do everything we can to work with our members and employers to do whatever can be done. as devastating. every single job is devastating. —— it is devastating. they will have to rely on benefits if they can't get work and the taxpayers and we will pick up and the taxpayers and we will pick up the bill. why do we not support the high street and support putting in an online tax and making sure corporation tax is fair and rents and rates systems are fair for the employers? that will keep people in work and give them the training for the new skills economy coming towards us. thank you. mps vote later today on the introduction of a new, stricter, three—tier system of controls for england to contain coronavirus when the current lockdown ends tomorrow. boris johnson is facing opposition from many of his

own conservative mps. 55 million people will enter the two toughest tiers if the plans are approved. most will be in tier 2, meaning people are not allowed to mix with anyone outside their household or support bubble indoors, although they can socialise in groups of up to six outdoors. the toughest restrictions, tier 3, mean no mixing with anyone outside your household or support bubble indoors, or at most outdoor venues. a number of conservatives — led by mark harper, who chairs the covid research group — have criticised the restrictions, saying the "wheels are coming off the government's arguments" to impose them. but labour, the snp and lib dems will abstain in the vote, meaning the proposals are likely to pass. 0ur political correspondent, helen catt, told me how the parliamentary numbers stack up for the government's hopes of winning this evening's vote. realistically, this is going to pass. those tiers will pass and they will come into effect at midnight tonight and it will be the tier your area was told to go in and you will go into it at midnight. how can we be so sure? because of labour's

decision to abstain. their mps will not vote. for it to be defeated, you would need more than half of the conservative party to vote against the government on these measures, and that will not happen. we have seen a significant number of conservative mps in recent weeks expressing concerns about these restrictions, but we will not know until it shakes down later tonight exactly how many those will go on to vote against it. we know that the covid recovery group, chaired by mark harper, 70 mps from that wrote to boris johnson last week expressing concern over the system. because of labour's decision to abstain, it will go through. here is the shadow chancellorjon ashworth explaining why labour is choosing not to vote. we support public health restrictions. they are necessary to save lives. but we will not break this virus on the backs of the poorest and the low—paid. we will not defeat this virus by allowing people to lose theirjobs. we need a financial package alongside it. this will open labour up to claims from borisjohnson that they do not back these mesaures up when asked.

but of more concern to him will be his own party and mps bringing down the number and voting against this. the government has made some concessions in the last few days and borisjohnson has said that mps will get to vote again in early february, and the tiering system will be reviewed every two weeks in terms of which tier each place is in. there have been talks about that first review on december the 16th being a big moment. there have been those moves to quell fears. the government has had an impact analysis published, as mps asked for yesterday. that has not actually nullified some of the concerns. mark harper is not won over by this analysis. the whole tier system is a holding mechanism in a way.

the government hopes to get a vaccine rolled out, which should help to start making life return to normal. there is talk this morning about the impact of that. the government has made it clear it will not be compulsory to be vaccinated, but there is talk of pubs and restaurants being able to say to people, "you cannot come in if you have not had the vaccine or can if you have." he is what michael gove had to say about that this morning. it is up to any individual pub owner or licensee to decide who they will admit and on what basis. they are private businesses. i'm not sure thatis private businesses. i'm not sure that is what people are concerned about. they are concerned about whether we are managing the infection effectively and the new tier system will reduce the rate of infection overall and that we are in position to deliver the vaccine and the prospect of mass vaccination is an exit strategy. it is a way out of the situation that we find ourselves

in. the most important thing is making sure that vaccine is effectively distributed and available. that is the critical thing. in parliament today, the debate will be opened around lunchtime, we expect the vote to come at around 6pm seven this evening. —— or 7pm this evening. will have live coverage of that debate on the bbc news channel and the crossover platforms and it is due to start in half an hour. new scientific analysis, seen by the bbc, suggests the goals of the paris climate agreement are coming ‘within reach'. the climate action tracker study looks at the latest promises from countries including china, as well as the plans of the us president—electjoe biden. matt mcgrath has more. from the uk's wettest february on record to raging wildfires in california. the fingerprints of climate change linked to human activities have become increasingly clear this year.

but efforts to curb greenhouse gases, the root cause of global warming, has so far had limited impact. when countries signed the paris climate agreement in 2015, they undertook to limit the rising temperatures to well below 2 celsius this century. when scientists added up all the pledges made to cut carbon, they amounted to around three degrees of warming by 2100, with potentially disastrous consequences for the planet. however, the last three months have seen some significant changes. china surprised the world by announcing at the un they would aim for net zero carbon emissions by 2060, while president—elect joe biden has promised the us will achieve the same goal ten years earlier. taken together, these steps would limit warming to 2.1 degrees, much closer to the paris goal. the scientists, who have carried out this analysis, say it's a significant step. you can argue about the exact figures but the trend is very clear, we are moving in the right direction, and we can clearly see

that more and more countries are taking it seriously and put very serious targets on the table. researchers say there are still many difficulties, particularly the absence of short—term plans from governments that reflect their long—term promises. but, after many years of bad news, this new forecast suggests that the efforts to tackle climate change are beginning to bearfruit. matt mcgrath, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... talks over a rescue deal for the department store chain debenhams have collapsed, putting 12,000 jobs at risk. dozens of conservative mps could refuse to back borisjohnson's planned new coronavirus tiers for england when a vote is held in the house of commons later. 0pposition parties say they will abstain. the government is urging businesses to make their final preparations for brexit — a month before the transition period ends.

covid—19 could be causing lung abnormalities still detectable more than three months after patients are infected. a study of ten patients at oxford university used a novel scanning technique to identify damage which is not picked up by conventional scans. the researchers now plan a larger study to see how widespread the condition is. heading up the study was professor fergus gleeson, whojoins me now. welcome. thank you forjoining us. what damage we picking up? the patients had all been hospitalised for a short period of time and three months after they had been discharged, their scans were normal on ct, which is the conventional way of looking at a normal chest x—rays, and we saw a leg holes where your oxygen normally crosses your lungs into the bloodstream and it was showing that it was not getting there. —— we saw holes where your

oxygen. we concede wasn't working as it should. what impact does that have on the patient? there is an explanation for why they are short of breath, which is clearly good. they worried no one quite knows what is wrong with them. it also means we can potentially look to see how much damage there is, how long it will last, and when it is getting better. and if it does not, and it may well get better, lungs are good at healing, it may take a long time with covid, there is the potential to try therapy and see if it is working. that is what i was wondering. many will be wondering, is it fixable once you identified or is it fixable once you identified or is it fixable once you identified or is it mostly a matter of time?” is it fixable once you identified or is it mostly a matter of time? i do not know. we have only scanned patients at three months. we do not know if these patients had six months or 12 months will be better. we wa nt months or 12 months will be better. we want to know that answer too, because we want to know whether you need to intervene orjust say to the

patient, you are right, there is a reason why you are short of breath, feel terrible, but you will get better. this is brilliant you have got the technology to identify this, but it is for a really small number of patients. it can be... the knowledge will obviously impact on others, but what is the practical implication of this, actually? what we would like to do, we have only scanned 12 patients now. we plan to scanned 12 patients now. we plan to scan more. we plan to start a study if we can get appropriate funding in the new year in patients that were not admitted to hospital that have long covid to see if the same changes are made. what we are planning to do is see if we can do some immune profiling orfind other blood tests that now we know they have long damage, we scan say, they have long damage, we scan say, they have long damage and therefore these blood tests go with that and then

you can roll blood tests out more widely within the nhs. that is the plan. stay in touch and tell us how it goes, it is fascinating. i am sure people affected by long covid will be very happy to hear you are at least able to identify what is going on in some of these patients. professor gleeson, thank you. there's been a landmark ruling at the high court over the medical treatment of children who are said to want to change sex. the judges have said that it's highly unlikely that children 13 or under would be competent to give consent to taking puberty—blockers — that's cancer drugs which are prescribed off—label to prevent the production of sex hormones. the court also said it was doubtful that children of 15 and under would be able to understand and weigh up the long—term risks. and they said they had to be able to understand the nature of the treatment before they can consent. the case was brought by ciaran bell,

who was prescribed puberty blockers. more on that later. it's a month to go until the end of the brexit transition period — that's the amount of time the uk and eu have to come up with a deal on their future partnership. talks between the two teams are continuing in london to try and resolve differences. the timeframe is tight. there will be changes to way the uk trades, regardless of the outcome of these talks. earlier i spoke to our reality check correpondent chris morris, who explained what we know so far. from januray 1st, for businesses that trade across the border, there will be a massive increase in bureaucracy. that is because trade between britain and the eu, exports leaving britain from the eu, they will be subject to full checks from the 1st of january.

that means customs, declarations, checks on product standards, food inspections, new vat regime, you name it. and, for the first time in 50 years, this is going to happen at this border and if you do not have the right documents in a lorry, you will be turned away. because of the fear that that could cause a lot of disruption — one thing the government has done is that things going in the other way, from the eu coming into the uk, they have delayed those checks until the 1st of july. a six—month delay to allow businesses more time to get to grips with the complexity of the system. some things will still be checked, high—risk things like alcohol and tobacco, but most checks won't take place untiljuly. inevitably, there is quite a lot of focus on areas of the country where things will come in from. yes, kent, because of the dover—calais route and the channel tunnel — between them, they handle four million lorries every year. 0ne concern, though,

is it is the same lorries going back—and—forth every time. if you are delayed in one direction, you will have delays in the other direction, too. 85% of the volume of trade across that route is carried by european hauliers — european lorry drivers. they are paid by the kilometre, not usually paid by the hour. so if they think they will be sitting in long queues all day, some of them, at least for a short time, may simply decide not to come. many in the industry think some trades will not happen for a while. one of the things the government is doing, it is setting up these lorry parks in kent, and there is also this access permit. lorries aren't even allowed to enter kent until they can prove that they have the right documentation. that should help avoid some congestion. one of the problems is that it's for big lorries. it does not include vans. thousands of vans cross the channel every week, many of them supplying small shops, many go to poland, for example,

fill up with stuff, come back and make deliveries to three or four eastern european shops in this country. they could cause congestion if they do not the right documentation. ——do not have. and northern ireland. yes, that is the issue. they are more concerned about this than anything else. that is because it is being treated as a special case. under the terms of the northern ireland protocol, northern ireland will be treated differently. those terms are due to come into force on the 1st of january. no delays there at all. at the moment, people trading from great britain into northern ireland within the united kingdom have no idea how that trade will take place in a month's time. they do not know, for example, there may be tariffs on some of those goods, if they are at risk of moving on into the eu via the republic of ireland. they do not know that yet. they know there will be a new it system for customs which none of them have ever used before. i have spoken to a lot of people

who say they are simply not ready to use it. the government is setting up an advice scheme to help them, but say they are not ready to do it yet because they don't know what they are dealing with. they also know there will be full checks on food of animal origin. and huge amounts of food goes across every day from great britain into northern ireland. consignments of sandwiches going to supermarkets, and each one of those will have to have the right certificate and a lot of them will have to be physically checked. that is an issue as well. because of all these concerns, business groups in northern ireland are pretty united in saying they cannot do this and will not be ready now, and we really have run out of time already. they are talking about an adjustment period. you cannot say "tra nsition," because we have been told there is no further extension to the transition period. but it would be a transition in all but name. a loosening of some of those rules, possibly for up to a year is what they would like to see, to allow them to have time to get used to this new system. the problem is, until the

negotiations between the uk and eu, both in terms of a trade deal and separate talks on the arrangements for northern ireland, they will not know if anything like that will be on offer. 0ur ireland correspondent — chris page — joins us now from belfast. very interesting hearing about the view there that they would like an extension, effectively, to the transition period, although it is not being called that. tell us more about perspective from there. northern ireland has been in so many ways the short end of the brexit process and it feels that way once more with just process and it feels that way once more withjust a process and it feels that way once more with just a month to go until the end of the transition period. plenty still to be worked out, as chris was saying. for example, northern ireland's ports, including the one just across the water there, new border control posts will need to be built to carry out checks on, for example, products of origin leg animal origin, eggs, milk, dairy

products, that come here from the rest of the uk. but at the moment it looks like those border control posts will not be ready by the 1st of january and may not be fully constructed until well into next year. that is one issue. in regards to businesses and how they are feeling, this is the biggest change in trade between here and great britain there has ever been. if there is a free trade agreement, it will lessen the impact. at the moment, goods that are deemed to be at risk of coming here from the rest of the uk, across the land border into the republic, they will have tariffs. the thinking is they could pass into the eu single market. and the eu customs union. if there is a comprehensive free trade agreement, no tariffs from the uk to the eu, those tariffs on goods coming across the irish sea would not be due. what would still be happening is checks on goods to ascertain whether they comply with the rules of the eu

single market, because northern ireland would still be in the single market in effect. that is worrying people here involved its food supply chains, for example, big supermarkets like sainsbury‘s or marks & spencer and they have said it could affect the rate of what products they could have on the shelves in northern ireland because of delays on goods being shipped here from the other side of the sea. so they are feeling —— the flexibility in the process in the joint committee, as it is called, which is working out arrangements specifically for northern ireland. there is some talk that could be some choreography under way, maybe by the end of this month, because once they do hear clarity on the new trading arrangements, they will never be ready to fully implement everything required of them by the 1st of january. that is why they say they need this grace period, a transition period, really, in all

but name, to enable them to phase in the new arrangements and help everything run smoothly. thank you, chris. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello again. the weather this week is turning colder and more u nsettled. in fact, by the end of the week, there is a lot of uncertainty about the forecast, but some of us could well see some snow — most of it on higher ground, but potentially at lower levels. now, the best of the sunshine today is going to be across central and eastern england, at times, across the moray firth and aberdeenshire. there is a lot of cloud around, producing some patchy drizzle, the wind easing down the norfolk coastline, with highs between about six and ten degrees. that cloud moves south through the course of this evening and overnight. some clear skies, we could see a touch of frost in parts of the south—east, and behind the weather front, blustery showers, with the snow level in the highlands standing at about 500 metres. now, that weather front continues to sink south, with all this cloud ahead of it, through the course of tomorrow. a lot of showers coming in across northern ireland

and scotland in particular. gusty winds here, and the snow level coming down to about 300 metres, but it will feel colder in the north than it will in the south.

hello, this is bbc news with joanna gosling. the headlines: talks over a rescue deal for the department store chain debenhams have collapsed, putting 12,000 jobs at risk. dozens of conservative mps could refuse to back borisjohnson's planned new coronavirus tiers for england when a vote is held in the house of commons later. 0pposition parties say they will abstain. the government is urging businesses to make their final preparations for brexit, a month before the transition period ends. more than 11,000 square kilometres of brazil's amazonian rainforest were destroyed between august of last year and july of this year. that's the highest figure

in more than a decade. new scientific analysis suggests the global climate change picture is looking more positive, with the goals of the paris accord "within reach". let's get more now on the coronavirus tiers restrictions and that house of commons debate that's due to begin shortl. the conservative mp for devon central and chairman of the influential treasury select committee, mel stride, is with us. thank you very much forjoining us. will you vote with the government today? i will be, because will you vote with the government today? iwill be, because to will you vote with the government today? i will be, because to poach a will effectively mean bringing in new measures and i will effectively mean bringing in new measures and i think there is certainly is sufficient evidence of this spiking infection rates and hospitalisations etc, although that has started to turn down, to suggest that some kind of tiered approach is

the right way to go. you describe the right way to go. you describe the analysis of the impact of the tier system, by tory mps who wanted to make our proper assessment of the second system, as a tip —— a disappointing analysis. you said you are voting with the government because you think measures need to because you think measures need to be in place, but are you voting happily with the government?m be in place, but are you voting happily with the government? it is with a heavy heart. i believe i am many of my colleagues will be voting without being fully informed with the analysis the government has. if you look at this stage minutes on the 23rd of november, they were looking into economic impacts of covid. we believe there has been a meeting at number ten were government suggested going into tier 3 would lead to half a million spike in unemployment. we know from a report in the times today that there

isa report in the times today that there is a dashboard of information looking at different sectors and different parts of the country, looking at the impact of the virus. that is updated regularly. we have a minister of the record apparently stating that there is a lot of detail that wasn't in the assessment there was provided yesterday, but is out there. all of that seems to point to a lot of analysis and a lot of data that members of parliament are not being presented with, and i think that is quite a big issue. so then why are you putting with the government, would voting against the government, would voting against the government is not actually make the government is not actually make the government potentially reconsider and have to come up with a strategy that everybody was happy with? well, no, because i think any member of parliament needs to look at the data thatis parliament needs to look at the data that is available and formed their bestjudgment based that is available and formed their best judgment based upon that is available and formed their bestjudgment based upon that information. that is the conclusion i've come true. may be others in a

different situation, if that information was provided to change the way they voted. when making very important big decisions like this, it is important that we have as much releva nt it is important that we have as much relevant and appropriate information available as possible so we can all ta ke fully available as possible so we can all take fully informed decisions. that leads to better outcomes. so what do you think is going on? there are reports in the papers of this apparent secret dossier that has much more detailed analysis relating to 40 areas in particular. if it exists, why isn't it out there? well, we don't know, but what we do know is that the government has the ability to respond and tell us whether there is a dashboard that is being regularly updated, to provide the details of that. if looking at it it is nothing more than publicly

available information that is just people together for convenience, thatis people together for convenience, that is one thing. one suspects that there is a lot of analysis that accompanies that information. that analysis is what i believe members of parliament should be privy to win being asked to take these extremely important and difficult decisions. what do you think this goes to the public, seeing this very important bill going through which will have an enormous effect on people's lives, and hearing that some mps are supporting it with a heavy heart, and all the opposition parties are abstaining? i think it is a good point. what i assume the public would expect is that members of parliament are taking fully informed decisions on these important matters. where information and analysis is not being provided, then you just don't have that fully informed decision—making process. i

think both in terms of the decisions that parliamentarian state, but also in terms of the confidence of the public in this process, that information needs to be as transparent as possible. so what you are saying is that mps are voting on this not fully informed.” are saying is that mps are voting on this not fully informed. i think particularly on the economic area, thatis particularly on the economic area, that is the case. there is a lot more information around the epidemiology and the progress of the virus, there is a lot out there on the economic impacts of these measures and of not taking these measures, there is not enough information and i believe there is more information out there that could be provided. mel stride, thank you. there has been a landmark ruling at the high court over the medical treatment of children who are said to want to change sex. the judges have said that it's "highly unlikely" that children 13 or under would be competent to give consent to taking puberty—blockers — that's cancer drugs which are prescribed off—label to prevent the production of sex hormones. the court also said it was doubtful that children of 15 and under would be able to understand

and weigh up the long—term risks. they said they had to be able to understand the nature of the treatment before they can consent. the case was brought by keira bell, who is now detransitioning after being prescribed puberty blockers and cross sex hormones. i'm delighted at the judgment of the court today. it is a judgment that will protect vulnerable people. i wish it had been made for me before i embarked on the devastating experiment of puberty blockers. my life would be very different today. this time last year ijoined this case with no hesitation knowing what i knew about what had and has been going on at gender identity clinics. my going on at gender identity clinics. my hope was that outside of the noise of the culture wars the court with china light on this harmful experiment on vulnerable children and young people. these drugs seriously harmed me in more ways than one and they have harmed many more, particularly young girls and women. thisjudgment more, particularly young girls and women. this judgment is

more, particularly young girls and women. thisjudgment is not political, it is about the protection of vulnerable children. please read it carefully. it exposes a complacent and dangerous culture at the heart of the national centre responsible for treating children and young people with gender dysphoria. with a vaccine for covid—19 now well on the way, there are increasing concerns that mis—information circulating online could turn some people against being vaccinated. the who says the world is not only fighting the pandemic, but also an "infodemic" where false information about vaccines and covid in general continues to spread widely, particularly online. the bbc‘s global health correspondent tulip mazumdar reports. ever since this pandemic started, we have all been faced with a barrage of information about covid—19. it can lead to confusion, distrust and in some cases protests against proven public health advice. now with vaccines well on the way, there isa with vaccines well on the way, there is a fresh push to separate fact from fiction. i spoke to trainee

solicitor 0skar, who is taking part in the vaccine trials at imperial couege in the vaccine trials at imperial college london, production designer nina about new covert vaccines. making sense of all of the different scientific opinion and the results that are recently coming out is incredibly difficult. i think it is quite convoluted at the moment, there are quite a lot of opinions flying around, on twitter, on instagram, tick—tock. flying around, on twitter, on instagram, tick-tock. i would like to be vaccinated because i think it is one of the only ways of the situation. i have quite mixed feelings. i am situation. i have quite mixed feelings. lam not situation. i have quite mixed feelings. i am not sure situation. i have quite mixed feelings. lam not sure how situation. i have quite mixed feelings. i am not sure how much i trust the vaccine yet because it has happened so quickly. we feel that many people actually currently are making a decision not based on the good information, but based on some information they have seen on social media or elsewhere and they believe it's because they have not had access to the right information in the right format. so the who, along

with governments, have teamed up with governments, have teamed up with big social media companies to come up with better ways of getting accurate information to people, like this whatsapp feed that anyone can sign up to. facebook is introduce notification screens tagging false information before people choose to share it, but it can still be shared. a number of studies looking at people's attitudes toward vaccine vaccine —— covid—19 vaccine are under way. preliminary data from 17 countries suggest that people in ethiopia, india and saudi arabia are most confident about taking one, with 85% said they would be immunised. there was no scepticism in countries including germany, france, the us and also in the drc, we re france, the us and also in the drc, were fewer than 50% of people said they will take a vaccine. the science ones have more of a negative impact than the ones that are questioning the motives of people. professor heidi lawson has been studying people's attitudes to

vaccines for more than two decades. what we need to focus on is building... filling that space. you canjust building... filling that space. you can just take away pieces of misinformation. 0ne can just take away pieces of misinformation. one of the big anxieties and safety, so we can talk about the fact that safety process are being followed carefully. we are sure cutting other parts of that long development process. scientists are taking to social media themselves to try and get accurate information out there. the battle against covid camping in hospitals and science labs alone. part of this fight needs happen online. india has the second highest number of covid cases in the world and november was the deadliest month for the capital, delhi. so what is the situation there? the city recorded 3,700 new covid—19 cases on monday, with 108 deaths. across the country, over more

than 31,000 new infections have been recorded in the last 24 hours. that brings the total number of cases in india to more than 9.4 million people. the death toll there has now reached over 137,000 people, after another 482 fatalities were reported. 0ur south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan has more. it's been a dark month for delhi as the fires keep burning. these ancient funeral rituals are how many indians say goodbye to their loved ones. as a modern day virus claims lives, cremation grounds are overwhelmed. in india, it's custom to wear white at funerals, but sitendra never expected to be dressed like this for his mother's last rites. she was just 67—years—old.

in this home video, she jokes she was fitter than her son. she died of coronavirus. sitendra said he struggled to find her medical help. by the time he did, he believes it was too late. the main problem in delhi that we face, we are searching here, every hospital, there was nowhere. in this nation divided by rich and poor, covid—19's become a leveller. even the city's wealthy are struggling to find beds. at this intensive care unit at one of delhi's private hospitals, they're at capacity, with a waiting list. with pollution and the cold weather driving up respiratory illnesses, its adding pressure to the health care system. and with beds at capacity, some patients are being kept here at the emergency ward as a way of getting treatment. anju singh's now past the worst of the virus. she had this warning

for others in delhi. people aren't taking precautions. they are running around in the market, they are not wearing masks. they are careless and casual with things. and this is what many say careless looks like. markets which continue to be crowded. this corona rickshaw is urging shoppers to maintain social distancing. with economic pressures making another lockdown unlikely, doctors are urging people to be vigilant. i think outside the hospitals, people have a feeling that this can't happen to me, i will not get this problem. it is most crucial that people understand that it is their own behaviour that determines how the disease goes in the next few weeks or the next few months. at the mortuary, anotherfamily prepares to say goodbye. cases are starting to fall, but a glimmer of hope for the future can't wipe away the pain of the past.

the headlines on bbc news: talks over a rescue deal for the department store chain debenhams have collapsed, putting 12,000 jobs at risk. dozens of conservative mps could refuse to back borisjohnson's planned new coronavirus tiers for england when a vote is held in the house of commons later. 0pposition parties say they will abstain. the government is urging businesses to make their final preparations for brexit, a month before the transition period ends. children around the world are being affected by coronavirus lockdowns and england's chief inspector of schools says the lack of monitoring and support of vulnerable children should be a matter of national concern. in her annual report, amanda spielman warns of a legacy of neglect of children in england, who become invisible to services when they were not at school.

here's our education correspondent elaine dunkley. so we've had a few issues last week. for some of the most vulnerable children, school isn'tjust a place to learn, it's a safety net. so are you happy that you've got some support now, and things are a little better? schools are often where the first signs of abuse or neglect are picked up. it's the tension, a loss of love... but with more children away from classrooms because of the pandemic, there's concern that those at risk are not getting the help they need. there's a range of different vulnerabilities going right from poverty, just through to not being safe at home due to circumstances that they're living with within their household. the welfare and wellbeing aspect of it is huge, especially when students are at home. here at birchwood community high school in warrington, this new centre opened in september, to help students with wellbeing and mental health. and there has also been a big increase in home visits.

if we had a concern over a student we'd just nip out in our cars and just stay in the garden and have a quick chat and just say, you know, we're here for you if you need us. we're seeing a few rumbles in students who are struggling, and we know that. but i think, you know, once this pandemic is over for us, the aftermath will be clear and we'll have to deal with that. i think we've not seen the start of it yet. every aspect of education has been impacted by the pandemic. the report by 0fsted warns of a legacy of neglect for children most at risk. the department for education says local authorities have been provided with £3.7 billion to meet additional demands, including within children's services. a leading breast—feeding charity in the uk says it's in "a desperate situation" trying to support mothers who have given birth in lockdown. between april and september, the national breastfeeding helpline answered 125% more calls than they did in the same period last year.

the restrictions in place meant that face—to—face professional and peer support was cancelled, and simple procedures like tongue—tie operations were severely restricted. ellie costello reports. yeah! this is baby zora and her parents, divinia and aaron. divinia decided she wanted to breast—feed zora when she was born in may but her tongue tie made it almost impossible. ifelt like a failure, i can't imagine something that was supposed to be so natural to feel... to have this indescribable pain. tongue tie is where the strip of skin connecting the baby's tongue to the bottom of their mouth is shorter than usual, making latching on to the breast difficult for the baby. in the uk, a medical professional can cut the tongue tie in just a few seconds. the first lockdown meant face—to—face professional and community support for breast—feeding was cancelled and research suggests 27% of new mothers struggled to get any support during that time.

mums with difficult living circumstances or from black and minority ethnic backgrounds were more likely to find lockdown challenging and stop breast—feeding. zora's tongue tie was missed on three occasions. it was eventually operated on at four months, after a referral was made privately. do you think it would have been noticed sooner had it not have been for the lockdown circumstances? definitely, because i would have been going into those breast—feeding cafes, i would have been sitting with the breast—feeding support councillors. they would have been able to really look at zora. we would have had more time. we put some money aside for things that we might need for zora. if we didn't do that, we probably wouldn't have been able to afford to see a private lactation consultant. between april and september, the national breastfeeding hotline answered 125% more calls than they did in the same period last year. the mums they spoke to felt isolated and alone

and their breast—feeding journeys were painful and frustrating. i have seen babies that have been in quite big trouble. i have seen a five—month—old baby that was only three ounces over birth weight because of a tongue tie. and that baby had been completely missed because there hadn't been any health district clinics to get the baby weighed at, the mum had had very little contact with anybody. and this issue had just gone on and on. so when the baby is coming to the breast, try and remember to plant the chin and the top lip isjust going to be tipping over... emma pickett is the chair of the association of breast—feeding mothers. the research is really clear that if you wanted to breast—feed and it doesn't end up happening, you are at massively increased risk of having postnatal depression. feeling like a failure, when that is the last thing you are. you have been failed by the system — you have not failed as a parent. for me, my wife is a wonder woman, she is a super woman and, you know, i reallyjust wanted to be that support. so, what is divinia's advice

for parents in the same position? try and get some help and also, don't blame yourself. ellie costello, bbc news. let's return to talks over a rescue dealfor the department store chain debenhams collapsing and putting 12,000 jobs at risk. we can talk to ruby — not her real name — who works at debenhams. this is obviously devastating news for you. how are you feeling now?” think it is alljust a bit of shock, really. it is... it hasn't set in. it is struggling with the uncertainty, working on an uncertain high street is quite devastating. how did you find what was happening? we found out via conference call this morning which were arranged. what have you been told? just that

u nfortu nately what have you been told? just that unfortunately there is no buyer available at the moment and the buyer we did have has pulled out so u nfortu nately buyer we did have has pulled out so unfortunately it has resulted in us having to close the business and in the early stages of next year, the first quarter, that is all we have been told for now, but we anticipate all of the questions will be a nswered all of the questions will be answered in due course. in the meantime, are you expected to keep going into work? yes, we were go into work, trade christmas, hopefully do really well. our pay isn't suffering. we are all of furlough now, we are back in the store getting ready to reopen tomorrow. it has been raised in the house of commons, the labour mp ruth jones said she is concerned about

the threats to thousands ofjobs... i'm so sorry, we need to go to the house of commons right now because that debate on the covid tiers is just starting. i paid a visit to a vaccine plant yesterday in north wales where i saw for myself the vials of one of seven vaccines back to the uk government that could turn the tide of her struggles against covid, not just the tide of her struggles against covid, notjust in this country, but around the world. it is the protection of those vaccines that could get our economy is moving again and we can then reclaim our lives. at one plant in wrexham could produce 300 million doses a year. yesterday was the momentous day when it began to manufacture the oxford astrid —— astrazeneca vaccine. i talk to one of the brilliant young scientist there and she described

the extraordinary moment for her in her life to be part of an enterprise that she thought was truly going to offer humanity are routes out of the suffering. mr speaker, we have to be realistic. no vaccine is here yet. while all the signs are promising, and almost every scientist i have talked to, that breakthrough will surely come, we do not have one that has gained regulatory approval, and we can't be completely sure when the moment will arrive. until then, we cannot afford to relax, especially during the cold months of winter. the national measures which are shortly ending in england have eased the burden on the nhs and begun to reverse the advance of the virus. today the r number is back below one

and the 0ns survey showing that signs of the infection rate are levelling off. imperial college london has found that the number of people with covid was fallen by a third in england since the 2nd of november. while the virus has been contained, it has not been eradicated. the latest 0ns figures show that out of every 85 people in england, one has coronavirus, far more than in the summer. between the 24th of november and yesterday, 3222 people across the uk lost their lives. despite the immense progress of the last four weeks, our nhs remains under pressure with hospitals in three regions, the south—west, the north—east and yorkshire all treating more covid patients now than at the peak of the first wave. i give with —— i give

way. he talked about the virus being eradicated, but only one virus in history has been eradicated. containment may be the only option open to us. he is completely right. containment is the objective of the tier scheme, that i hope the opposition benches will support tonight, despite the hearing that they are going to abstain, which makes no sense to me. we can't allow the current restrictions expire for the reasons he gives with no replacement whatsoever. with the spread of the epidemic bearing across the country, there remains a compelling case for regional tiers in england, and the necessity for regional tiers. i give

way. we went into tier1 and came out of tier2, way. we went into tier1 and came out of tier 2, in my constituency. my pubs and restaurants are in the worst of all worlds. in asking us to support these regulations tonight, what hope can the prime minister gave to people in hospitality stop injusta gave to people in hospitality stop in just a moment gave to people in hospitality stop injust a moment i will be coming to what we will do for pubs and restaurants and everybody in the hospitality sector, whose anguish and difficulties i think everybody in this chamber understands and appreciates. i hope the house is clear in what i am not asking for today. this is not another lockdown, nor is this a renewal of existing measures in england. the tiers that iam measures in england. the tiers that i am proposing would mean that from

tomorrow everyone in england, including those in tiers, will be free to leave their homes for any reason and when they do they will find the shops open for christmas, the hairdressers open, the nail bar is open, james, leisure centres, swimming pools will be open.” is open, james, leisure centres, swimming pools will be open. i give way. my constituency sets entirely within the borough of allerdale where rates have declined to a point ofjust over 70. we are currently in tier 2. will he commit to a more local system of tiering so the hard work of my constituency is rewarded? yes, indeed, mr speaker. i know this isa yes, indeed, mr speaker. i know this is a point that many of my honourable and right honourable friends had made to me with great force and eloquence over the last few days. we do want to be as granted as possible to reflect the

reality of the epidemic and to human geography of the epidemic, and we shall. what i can say, from tomorrow, mr speaker, is that across the whole country, as i say, not just gyms and leisure centres and some impulse, but churches, synagogues, mosques and temples will be open for communal worship, organised outdoor sport will resume and in every tier you will be able to meet other people in parks and public gardens, subject to the rule of six. every one of those things has been by necessity restricted until today. everyone of them to be allowed again of course i accept that this is not a return to normality. i wish it was so. but it isa normality. i wish it was so. but it is a bit closer to normality than the present restrictions. what we can do is lift all of the

restrictions