this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 7. a senior government adviser on covid warns the uk could face another lockdown at christmas — and tells people they shouldn't wait for ministers to take action. do everything possible in your control to try to reduce transmission. don't wait for the government to change policy. and the sooner we all act, the sooner we can get this transmission rate down, and the greater the prospect of having a christmas with our families. the warning comes as two of the biggest teaching unions have called for tougher covid measures in schools in england to combat a rise in infections. a welcome from england's city regions outside london for an announcement of nearly £7 billion to improve their transport networks — but they say more money is needed. ministers promise half

a billion pounds to support families in the budget, but the labour party calls it a "smokescreen". court documents reveal that alec baldwin was told a prop gun was safe moments before he accidentally killed a crew member on a film set. a warning that dog owners are pretending their lockdown pets are strays in order to get rid of them. good evening and welcome to bbc news. a prominent adviser to the government on covid—19, is urging the public to do everything possible, to reduce transmission of the virus. professor peter openshaw,

says infection and death rates are currently "unacceptable" — and he's very fearful there could be another "lockdown christmas." the government maintains that at the moment, there's no need for stricter covid measures, and is encouraging all those who are eligible, to get their boosterjabs. yunus mulla reports from the wirral. as covid—19 infection rates continue to increase sharply in england and wales and remain a high across the uk, the heart of the uk and wales and remain high across the uk, the heart of the uk government plans to deal with covid—19 this winter is getting people vaccinated. at this clinic on the wirral in merseyside, resin in merseyside, raising infections is a concern. i lost my son—in—law last sunday because he did not have the vaccines. his life—support was taken off last sunday. it is important that everybody gets the first, second and the booster.

here, they're still trying to tell the others to get the vaccination jab who turned it down. the flip side of the coin is that if they are not vaccinated along the rest of the population, i think that poses a significant risk. ryan is getting a jab today for the first time. ijust don't really give it much thought, to be honest. - but she has, my partner's mentioned it a couple of times. _ the prime minister has launched an advertising campaign for booster job take up while trying to calm concerns over rising case numbers although the government is focusing on vaccinations. to deal with the pandemic, ministers under pressures with growing calls to go further and act sooner rather than later and introducing extra measures.

as hot spots emerge in south wales and southwest of england, one prominent government adviser urged the public to do everything possible to reduce transmission of the virus. do everything possible in your control to try to reduce transmission, do not wait for the government to change policy. the sooner we all act, the sooner we can get this transmission rate down and the greater the prospect of having a christmas with our families. average daily hospital admissions of people with covid—19 have climbed up to the highest levels in nearly 8 months. with the pressures such as flu, calls for government action may be difficult to ignore. the government's latest coronavirus figures show there were 44,985 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means on average, 47,638 new cases were reported per day in the last week.

there were 8,238 people in hospital with covid—19 as of thursday. 135 deaths were reported — that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive test. on average, in the past week, 133 deaths were announced every day. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are the sunday times education editor sian griffiths and the political correspondent from the daily mirror, aletha adu. teachers' unions are calling on the government to introduce tougher covid measures, in england's schools and to speed up the vaccination of children. the association of school and college leaders says the first half of the autumn term has left some schools "on their knees" as staff tried to stop the virus spreading among

pupils and teachers. pepe di'asio is the association's president. it's fair to say this has been the hardest half term that i have ever faced as a teacher and in my years as a leader, it's the most challenging. we have had a very long eight weeks that started back in august when we were doing mass testing and ended yesterday with us vaccinating another 200—300 students in the school and during that time we have seen an increase in the number of students absent from school and the highest infection rate of 12—15—year—olds infection rate of 12 to 15—year—olds and more staff off suffering with covid and long covid symptoms, so it has been tough to get through what is now our first half term and we look forward to a winter ahead where we are not really quite sure what is ahead. we just hope the vaccination is a way forward for our young people and our schools.

kevin courtney, the general secretary of the national education union, said england needed to follow scotland's strategy in schools. at the very least, we would like to see the government in westminster following the government in scotland about mitigations in school. in scotland, six children in secondary school are still wearing masks and perhaps more importantly, if you're the very first contact, if your brother or sister test positive for covid—19, to stay at home and get a pcr test and only go back if you have a negative test. that is very unlike england, no mask wearing and if your brother or sister test positive, you're back in school the next day. we can see from the data that cases in scottish schools are falling all cases in english schools are rising and the

number of children in scottish schools is usually two thirds of the rate in england despite the fact that close contacts are staying off. there's got to be a better way. there's got to be a better way. there's less disruption, there is less cases, sweeping the government in england should do that straight away. there are some local authorities there are some local moving in that sort of direction and we think that is very sensible. double vaccination really helps, it really helps, but does not solve all the problems because children still have to stay at home if they are positive. and what we're finding is so many teachers and support staff, even though they are double vaccinated, picking the virus up from children, testing positive and then having to stay at home and that is causing enormous stress, enormous disruption to education and enormous stress

on the staff that are in school. what do you make of the government response, that the current rate of cases is within the range that they were expecting? i think they are not clear what range they are expecting and they were talking about cases going up to 100,000. double vaccination has really helped, but we all know that that when cases go up, hospitalisation goes up as well even though the death rates are much lower than they were. than they were, but if theyjust let cases go up like that, the nhs will fall over. it won't be able to deal with cancer patients, and everybody knows someone who is suffering from these long—term illnesses, and if the nhs cannot deal with them, then the government has to go to a lockdown. nobody wants that, and so they should be acting now and just following the scottish government on these mitigations that would really help. they also really need to improve on the vaccination in scottish schools.

they have now reached a point where half of the secondary students in the 12—to—15—year—old group are vaccinated and in england, that's only 20%. so they really need to improve on the vaccinations as well. they do need to look at ventilation and improving ventilation, investing in improving ventilation does not disrupt hesitation at all but it will help us get through all of this. the chancellor, rishi sunak, is promising nearly £7 billion to improve transport outside london in england's city regions. it's one of a number of spending pledges to be unveiled in wednesday's budget. he says a "transport revolution" will bring public services around the country, in line with the capital. labour says the government lacks a coherent plan to transform regional economies and to tackle the climate crisis. here's our business correspondent, katy austin.

whether it is for work or leisure, how easy is it to get about where you live? greater manchester is one area set to receive cash to spend on transport improvements, such as train upgrades such as tram upgrades and bus corridors. i think is going to be a great idea. it will save time on people using buses and trains. and be a proper good for the environment. i am not usually in bolton, but if there is a convenient tram from there to manchester, i would definitely consider it. it will be for regional authorities to decide exactly how the money is spent. this is not a day. for any negativity. it feels like a real breakthrough for levelling up today. - the government feels i as though it is listening and buying into the great manchester division. next week, the chancellor suspected

to confirm £5.7 billion for a range of projects in england's big city regions, one and a half billion more than has been anticipated. than had been anticipated. it is meant to bridge the gap between transport provision in the capital and other places. including the west midlands, at the cinema in birmingham, staff think better local links would be good for business. it will be a great help notjust for the customers but the staff as well that are coming from all over and it's an important job to the mill does make life a lot easier and a lot of the time theyjust have to get taxes on the things like that, whereas a tram would be great to kind of reallyjust simple but a bit of a cheaper solution. just over £1,000,000,000 will go towards introducing simpler affairs and fasterjourneys on local buses using london services as the model. that is part of the existing £3,000,000,000 promise. it's notjust much of that, but there are many areas across the whole country that feel

left behind and need levelling up. so, areas that have infrequent bus services, no services at all in the evenings and the weekends, and glaring gaps in current provisions the need to be addressed. in the lead—up to the chancellor outlining his spending plans in a few days' time, working to buy lots of these kinds of funding promises but rishi sunak has talked about monday to put the public finance unsustainable footing. we should find out more on how he intends to do that. labour has accused the government of lacking a coherent plan and said other projects like delivering this to leeds were also critical. but the government says modernising the transport network is central to its levelling up agenda. let's speak now with labour councillor liam robinson, the transport portfolio holder for livepool city region combined authority. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. i would like to get your

reaction to this expected announcement on wednesday. i think the reaction — announcement on wednesday. i think the reaction is — announcement on wednesday. i think the reaction is that _ announcement on wednesday. i think the reaction is that this _ announcement on wednesday. i think the reaction is that this is _ announcement on wednesday. i think the reaction is that this is a _ the reaction is that this is a really good first step in this type of significant move for infrastructure has been so successful in london and sell these for many decades and absolutely right that the big areas outside of london get a similar slice of the pie. but it is very much a first step and it does not need to be a one—off event, needs to be followed up one—off event, needs to be followed up in future entries we also need some that additional support for services, particularly bus services and it will be making sure that there is a commitment to the long distance transport and the powerhouse railing hs two. to what extent has the _ powerhouse railing hs two. to what extent has the region _ powerhouse railing hs two. to what extent has the region or— powerhouse railing hs two. to what extent has the region or will- powerhouse railing hs two. to what extent has the region or will the - extent has the region or will the region have in designating and deciding where and how that money will be spent? will you be told how to spend it? we will be spent? will you be told how to spend it?— to spend it? we have submitted a very detailed _ to spend it? we have submitted a very detailed list _ to spend it? we have submitted a very detailed list of _ to spend it? we have submitted a very detailed list of government l to spend it? we have submitted a | very detailed list of government as part of our bid and we have received almost the maximum funding that was

available for the liverpool city which we have received £710,000,000 and so the government noble we are going to spend it on but our understanding is that we will be able to make the decisions of exactly when we spend in the profile and i would crack on and deliver those things on the ground which were absolutely raring to do. i cannot wait to get that check into our bank account.— cannot wait to get that check into our bank account. what will it take, is auoin to our bank account. what will it take, is going to be _ our bank account. what will it take, is going to be enough _ our bank account. what will it take, is going to be enough money, - our bank account. what will it take, is going to be enough money, you | is going to be enough money, you cannot wait to get the money into your bank account, is a one to be enough because everyone is talking about acquiring a london style transport system. that being realistic and how are you going to get their? figs realistic and how are you going to net their? �* , ., realistic and how are you going to net their? �* , . , . realistic and how are you going to net their? ~ , . , . , ., get their? as a service, the start ofthe get their? as a service, the start of the item, _ get their? as a service, the start of the item, this _ get their? as a service, the start of the item, this is _ get their? as a service, the start of the item, this is a _ get their? as a service, the start of the item, this is a really - of the item, this is a really good first step and there is more infrastructure big mutes to be used ahead in net revenue package will support local services, particularly local bus services alongside the devolved powers to regulate networks in a similar way that is successful and london but i was like to talk

about the long—distance region and connections to make sure we can get to all the parts in the fast method on the rail network but crucially also free up capacity on the rest of the network on the long distance basis to help move areas around the country as well. and how we address the climate emergency and get our economy to bounce back after covid—19. economy to bounce back after covid-19. ., economy to bounce back after covid-19-_ economy to bounce back after covid-19. ., , ., , ., covid-19. lithium of the stories on the website. _ covid-19. lithium of the stories on the website, one _ covid-19. lithium of the stories on the website, one of— covid-19. lithium of the stories on the website, one of the _ covid-19. lithium of the stories on the website, one of the stories - covid-19. lithium of the stories on| the website, one of the stories has liverpool is in crisis, basin for another storm ? liverpool is in crisis, basin for anotherstorm ? bracing. after austerity, the city and its people are running at a place to turn, what is levelling up mean for liverpool city? is levelling up mean for liverpool ci ? �* , �* , is levelling up mean for liverpool ci ? �* , �*, ., , city? and levelling up it's not 'ust about transport, i city? and levelling up it's not 'ust about transport, i i city? and levelling up it's not 'ust about transport, i know in i city? and levelling up it's not 'ust about transport, i know in all h about transport, i know in all of those vital public services the local authorities like liverpool city council and all of our authorities deliver need significantly more amounts of funding and after ten years of austerity, our local authorities are talking about all those vital

services sweeping the streets and emptying the bends and providing social services and so many other things. the transport funding that we are getting is very welcomed, but obviously, we need significant investments in vital public services, particularly as we focus and bouncing back from covid—19. aha, and bouncing back from covid—19. a lot of people are concerned with transport, local transport but high streets, how does transport and building those local economies, those chains in the high street, fit in with your plan because we've had things like the towns fund, the levelling of funds, having made difference liverpool city? we haven't been _ difference liverpool city? - haven't been able to bank some of those cheques yet but there are number of locations that have been able to benefit from some of those friends and we see a lot of those transports packages and how we can link up all of those regional areas across the city regions as notjust by getting people out of the city

centre but it's just about how we get people and out of places like st. helens and southport and all of those important regional centres across the area. and we look at the impact of austerity how difficult that has been for regions like ours, this needs to be part of a long—term process and it cannotjust be about some sticky plaster, he needs to be a significant investment notjust for transport but all of our public areas. that is vital to all of our communities.— areas. that is vital to all of our communities. ~ . , ., ., communities. which explained, would ou exect communities. which explained, would you exoeet to — communities. which explained, would you exoeet to get _ communities. which explained, would you expect to get the _ communities. which explained, would you expect to get the first _ communities. which explained, would you expect to get the first check? - you expect to get the first check? will be in with them on monday morning when we will, from our perspective, we will see it as soon as the money gets into the bank account and we will start spending in delivering the projects.- in delivering the pro'ects. thank ou ve in delivering the pro'ects. thank you very much _ in delivering the pro'ects. thank you very much for _ in delivering the projects. thank you very much for your- in delivering the projects. thank you very much for your time - in delivering the projects. thank you very much for your time and enjoy the rest of your evening. thank you. the chancellor is also expected to announce funding for a new network of so—called "family hubs" in next week's budget.

the plans are part of a £500 million package of support for children and parents across england, with devolved administrations set to receive an equivalent funding settlement. labour have described it as a "sticking plaster." vicky nevin from the nspcc welcomed the investment, but said much greater funding was needed for health visitors. it's a very important announcement, an acknowledgement that parents and babies need more support, especially regarding perinatal health. mental health during and after pregnancy. mental health during and after pregnancy. we need to make sure all parents can access these family hubs. so it is important that on wednesday the government also invests in core services, services like health visiting which can reach out to all families and make sure that every family has a fair start. we are calling for much greater

investment in health visiting and we want to see 33,000 more health visitors. the actor alec baldwin was told a gun was safe moments before he fatally shot a crew member on the set of his new film. that's according to new documents filed as part of the on—going police investigation into the killing in new mexico. 0ur north america correspondent david willis reports. emergency phone call: accidentally i shot on a movie set by a prop gun. i we need help immediately. that call to the emergency services, the first public indication of the tragic events that had unfolded in the foothills of northern new mexico. police arrived to find halyna hutchins, an up—and—coming cinematographer., dead, and the film's director, joel souza, badly hurt. their injuries inflicted by the film's star, alec baldwin who. the film's star, alec baldwin who,

according to court documents, was handed a gun he was told was safe to use, but which was in fact loaded with a live round. in a statement, alec baldwin said he was cooperating with the police investigation. this is not the first tragedy of its kind. nearly 30 years ago, on the set of the film the crow, brandon lee. the son of martial arts expert bruce lee, died after being shot by a gun firing blanks. safety standards have been tightened on film sets since then, but on the family twitter account, brandon's sister, shannon, posted the message, "no—one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set, period." unconfirmed reports suggest that several crew members walked off the set in new mexico only hours before halyna hutchins died, in protest at working conditions

and concerns about safety. as detectives comb the set for clues, the key question facing them is, how did a live round end up in a gun fired by alec baldwin? david willis, bbc news, los angeles. a man has been charged with the murder of a woman found dead in a house in kettering. pawel chmielecki, 38, is accused of killing marta chmielecka. her body was found at a house in wood street on tuesday. chmielecki is due before magistrates in northampton on monday. it's been estimated that uk households bought more than three million pets during lockdowns. but some dog owners than three million pets during lockdowns. but some dog owners are now abandoning their pets as normal life resumes. rescue charities say their shelters are being filled, and owners are pretending their dogs are strays in order to get rid of them more easily. jordan davies reports.

this is maggie. she is one and is believed to be a fake stray. maggie was brought in as a stray, and we had some messages from supporters showing screenshots that she was sold for £500, we do not know what happened in this 24 hours but we would certainly be concerned that she has not actually gotten loose from somewhere that she is a fake stray. not alone, workers say they have never seen as many owners pretending that their dogs are strays. they have to have simplicity for strays to go and that is for us. i did see many more examples. this is maggie for sale for £500 and this is the third day before she was brought into us as a stray.

rescue workers say these are desperate to make places like this, people who bought dogs to the lockdown either won't or can't look after them. and the pressure on places like this across wales has consequences. workers fear the dogs are being put down because there's noticed for them at rescue centres. the fake strays that are taking the space of dogs in need are abandoned. unprecedented strain on centres like this for years to come. ahead of next week's crucial climate summit in glasgow, the environmental activist, greta thunberg, has called for honesty from world leaders, about where they're falling down on combatting climate change. her comments come as saudi arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, says it's aiming to reach net—zero carbon emissions, by 2060. greta has been speaking from her home in sweden,

to our science correspondent, rebecca morelle. it was a video that went viral. greta thunberg's surprise performance of rick astley�*s �*80s hit. it was to launch the climate live concerts taking place ahead of the un climate talks in glasgow. # we're no strangers to love... so what does greta thunberg want to tell politicians who are attending cop26? be honest about where you are, how you have been failing, how you are still failing us, how they spend their time. instead of trying to find solutions, they seem to spend their time trying to come up with loopholes. greta thunberg says the climate meetings are all talk but no action. this was her last month. there is no planet b, there is no planet blah. blah blah blah, blah blah blah! you've accused politicians ofjust saying "blah blah blah". aren't you just saying "blah blah blah" to some extent?

yeah. but that's the role of an activist, to organise marches, to have speeches, to organise events. it's not ourjob to be politicians. what does greta think about becoming the face of climate activism? i don't think people would recognise me in private if they met me. i appear very angry in the media, but i'm not, i'm too silly in private. too much maybe. so, will she ever go back to normal life and stop campaigning? i don't see myself as a climate celebrity, i see myself as a climate activist. after the cop, i don't know. i will go home, go back to school. and of course you can't say this is the point where i will stop being an activist. it's not black and white like that. she'll be busy for a while yet, as she prepares to join world leaders and head to glasgow in the coming days. rebecca morelle, bbc news. we'll have extensive coverage of the un climate change conference, cop26, here on the bbc news channel.

and as we look ahead to the summit, we'll be getting some of your questions answered on monday morning at 11:30. what do you want to know about the whole of issue of climate change and what will be discussed? we'll be joined by two leading academics, kate crowley from the edinburgh climate change centre and michael grubb from ucl. send an email to yourquestions@bbc.co.uk or post your question on social media using the hashtag bbcyourquestions. three fathers who lost their daughters to suicide have raised more than £500,000 for charity by completing a 300—mile walk.

andy airey, mike palmer and tim 0wen walked between their homes in cumbria, greater manchester and norfolk to raise money for the suicide prevention charity. holding pictures of their daughters, the three dads crossed the finish line with cheering crowds around them. alison freeman has more. three dads who'd walked 300 miles between their three homes. after 15 days, their epic challenge was finally over. tim, mike and andy all lost a daughter to suicide and this was wanting to raise money for suicide prevention, they want to make it so people found it easier to talk about. throughout the walk, people have opened up to the dads. there's been some a people we talk to that have lost their children, notjust recently this type of thing carries on for decades.

we've always got a hole in our lives that are our girls but it has been fantastic to share some time with a lot of people. and their story has caught the imagination not only of the nation, but also of celebrities like nicole kidman, daniel craig, who both donated £10,000. it's incredible to know that people out there that famous are looking at our story and looking at the stories and something must've affected them, caught hold of them and also we're really grateful. we've got some from schoolkids putting their change into poor old andy's back. so, just the small donations, anything is fantastic. the aim has stayed the same throughout, to save lives. we do hope we are playing our part in changing that and raising - awareness of this and letting - in people know that there is hope. awareness of this and letting _ in people know that there is hope. young people know that there is hope. you can carry on and fulfil your life. - the men started the walk with the aim of raising £3000 each

but with their combined total well over, they know they are truly helping to save lives. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. hello there. it is very cloudy across the country with temperatures slowly coming up tomorrow it will a bit milder in those because we'll have more sunshine around and will be some showering bursts, this weather front will bring bring in some very wet weather to northern ireland in central and western scotland to this evening and overnight but it will slowly move its way eastwards and eventually by the night, reaching parts of western england and wales and we should see clear spells and showers following behind of northern ireland and ahead of it for much of england and wales will be dry,