brandon lewis was defending her this morning but boris johnson brandon lewis was defending her this morningjohnson has said things need to improve. for the moment, thank you very much. two advisers to the us vice president mike pence have contracted covid—i9. his chief of staff, marc short, has tested positive and is self—isolating, as is another aid. but mr pence himself has tested negative and will stick to his election campaign schedule. coronavirus infections are continuing to surge in the united states — with new record numbers in six states. countries around the world have continued to tighten anti—covid measures, as mark lobel reports. a flag for every death. this washington art installation capturing america's coronavirus casualties. just as six states suffer record numbers of infections. it was only three weeks ago that donald trump himself tested positive. he is fully back on the campaign trail, downplaying the dangers of the pandemic. now it is his vice president's health in the spotlight. mike pence's chief of staff marc short has tested positive, as well as another aide. but pe

brandon lewis talking about businesses that have been stepping in.itter feed about groups across england saying they will step in over half term to help feed the children eligible for free school meals. in terms of that council support, labour raising questions on how effective that will be because different councils may choose to do different things with the money they are being allocated. earlier we heard from tulip siddique. let me remind you that not every council has stepped up, which means it becomes a postcode lottery for some children. so some children will benefit from sitting and living in a council where they've decided to prioritise free school meals but other councils, for various reasons, mightjust decide that money needs to go elsewhere and those children will miss out. labour are saying they are at some point at recess next week, going to ring a vote to the house of commons again on the issue of free school meals and there are certainly disquiet on the conservative benches, some conservative mps saying the government should rethink th

brandon lewis was asked, no u—turn?, he said there is a package of support that we have. 0ne conservative mp i've been speaking to today was suggesting a possible workaround, this is doing the rounds, which is that it could they give more money to local councils and say, this is the best way to do it, but we understand we need to give more resource to councils going forward. look, i'm sure people have varying views on this debate, but conservative mps feel they are to some extent at odds with the wider public mood and marcus rashford does once again seem to have captured people's imagination. jessica parker, thank you very much. the welsh government has said a ban on very much. supermarkets selling non—essential items during the country's two—week lockdown is to be reviewed later this week. more than a4,000 people have signed a petition to be allowed to buy items such as clothes and electrical goods. ministers had said they wanted to be fair to retailers ordered to close. health minister, vaughan gething, says the welsh

brandon lewis said providing support through local councils was ‘the right way to do it.‘ pressure isnting on the government from many sides, including more than 2,000 paediatricians who have signed a letter saying england should follow scotland, wales and northern ireland in funding meals outside of term time. here's our political correspondentjessica parker. castle beach cafe in falmouth, cornwall, and owner fiona has said she will make free lunch bags this half term for any child who would normally get a free school meal. she says she's angry at the government's spending priorities. i know the country's under pressure, everybody‘s under pressure but we're a wealthy country and if we've got hungry children, i think it's obscene, frankly. under scrutiny, ministers insist they are providing support for low—income families, billions extra in welfare and over £60 million via local councils, and congratulate organisations and businesses who are stepping in to help feed children this half term. i think it's complementary to what we are doing as a government. we are supportive of that, we

brandon lewis said providing support through local councils was "the right way to do it."ter saying england should follow scotland, wales and northern ireland in funding meals outside of term—time. here's our correspondent fiona trott. i'll show you what i've got in the fridge. when planning ahead still isn't enough. so this is just what i've got to last me until payday. claire is a single mum of three and she says without free school meal vouchers, this week will be a struggle. i'm really anxious because i'm just like, "have i got enough that is going to last until i get that payment on the last day of the month when i can go and do my shopping?" you know, it is very stressful, very ha rd. there are parents like claire across the uk, and businesses who want to help. this cafe in cornwall is making free lunch bags for children — a community response to a political decision not to extend free school meals in england. it is complementary to what we are doing as a government. we are supportive of that. we support local authorities to do it — that is what the £63 million is th

brandon lewis was on the andrew marr programme this morning.d organisations that are putting these out there in the holidays to support families i think are doing a great thing for their community, i congratulate them for that and thank them for that. i've seen that in my own constituency in northern ireland, but i think it's complementary to what we're doing as a government. we are supportive of that, we support local authorities to do it, that's what the £63 million is there for and it's not just the £63 million, of course, andrew, it's on top of the hundreds of millions we've put into local authorities to support those most in need. so no sign of an imminent u—turn, but something that is doing the rounds as a possible way out for the government if they think they need a way out, views may vary on this, is because they give more money to local councils to provide more targeted support? that's what one conservative mp things can happen. let me remind you that not every council has stepped up, which means it becomes a postcode lottery for some

the northern ireland secretary, brandon lewis, insisted that the government's decision to give £63 million councils so that they could provide was "the right way to do it". our political correspondent nick eardley reports. on the eve of the half term break, fiona crump is preparing food bags. these will be given to local children in falmouth in cornwall over the next few days. there are fears that with schools closed for the holidays and the pandemic hitting people's incomes, some families are struggling to put food on the table. i'll show you what i've got in the fridge. people like claire, a single mum of three who says the next few days will be a struggle. i'm really anxious because i'm just like, have i got enough that's going to last till i get that payment on the last day of the month when i can go and do my shopping? you know, it's very stressful, very ha rd. is there any cheese left? and the government is facing increasing pressure for not stepping in, like it did earlier this year. ministers have spent colossal sums in recent months to keep people in jobs and businesses open. but

brandon lewis said providing support through local councils was ‘the right way to do it.‘ pressure isand should follow scotland, wales and northern ireland in funding meals outside of term time. here's our political correspondentjessica parker.

minister brandon lewis insisted that the government's decision to give £63 million to local councilst way to do it". 0ur political correspondent nick eardley reports. 0n the eve of the half—term break, fiona crump is preparing meal bags. these will be given to local children in falmouth in cornwall over the next few days. there are fears that with schools closed for the holidays and the pandemic hitting people's incomes, some families are struggling to put food on the table. show you what i've got in the fridge. people like claire, a single mum of three, who says the next few days will be a struggle. i'm really anxious because i'm just like, "have i got enough that's going to last till i get that payment on the last day of the month when i can go and do my shopping?" you know, it's very stressful, very ha rd. is there any cheese left? and the government is facing increasing pressure for not stepping in, like it did earlier this year. ministers have spent colossal sums in recent months to keep people injobs and businesses open. but now they're facing claims that they're failing to pro

the northern ireland secretary, brandon lewis, described this as a "very good sign" that a deal couldanned in brussels from thursday. more than 300,000 visitors flock to cambridge's world—famous botanical gardens each year, but the pandemic has led it's conservationist curators down a more creative path. for the first time in its history, it's entire plant collection has been made available to view online, meaning researchers, horticulturalists and the public can all now access information about their rare species, from home. here's our science correspondent richard westcott. more than 8,000 species, collected over 250 years, from all over the world. with a surprise around every corner. these tiny little flowers may not be too showy, but they think this is the first plant species to ever flower on earth. so this is a really rare specimen! for the first time in its history, the cambridge botanic garden has put its entire collection online. sam, this is like the first data base? 1881 — fantastic entries here for the garden. and we move onto the modern database you have set up now. yep,

northern ireland secretary brandon lewis said the move was being looked into, but any final decisione led by science. china is lying out a new plan for economic growth this week in beijing. president xi jinping is holding a meeting to decide on the next five-year plan. it's expected to focus on technological innovation, economic self-reliance, and the cleaner environment. but the event is closed to the press. key decisions likely won't be cleared before it wraps up on thursday. an oil tanker in the english channel detained several people, ending in a suspected hijacking in the name andromeda. a police investigation will continue the reports the crew are safe and well. ship wasn't carrying any cargo. global news, 24 hours a day on air and on quicktake by bloomberg, powered by more than 2,700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. this is bloomberg. jon? jonathan: thank you. up next, cutting is halep. the cfo joining this -- cutting its outlet. the cfo joining us next. this is bloomberg. ♪ jonathan: 18 minutes away until the opening of equity futures, not looking pretty,

trump's senior medical advisor on the programme and here i am talking to the wells health minister, brandon lewisg. welcome to breakfast with sally nugent and ben thompson. here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news atjust after 7:30am. the government is facing mounting pressure over its decision not to extend its meal vouchers scheme for vulnerable children during the school holidays. more than 2000 doctors, including many leading paediatricians, have written an open letter to the prime minister calling for him to reverse the decision. the government says a further £1 billion has been made available to local councils to support low income families. the welsh government has said it will review its ban on supermarkets selling non—essential items following calls for the decision to be reversed. items such as clothes and toys were no longer available to shoppers when new restrictions came into force on friday. more than 40,000 people have signed a petition for the ban to be lifted. the isolation period for those who have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for coronaviru