. —— sima kotecha., soldiers, teachers, and we understand nhs workers will be exempt and some economists are saying if this pay freeze goes ahead the economy could save £15 billion over three years. we know that the public finances are in a very challenging position at the moment because of the pandemic. and we know that rishi sunak wants parity between the public sector and the private sector. the private sector has really been affected by this pandemic. fewer people working, profits and revenue down, and the letter that rishi sunak wrote in july is what the treasury is telling us july is what the treasury is telling us to look at this morning while reporting the story. that letter said, in the interests of fairness, we must exercise restraint and future public sector pay awards, ensuring that across this year and the spending review period public sector pay levels retain parity with the private sector. for some this will be difficult to digest because they will be people who feel this public sector wo

sima kotecha, bbc news.r being projected to win the vote in arizona. he's been widely congratulated by world leaders, including now the chinese government. president trump continues to refuse to concede, and people from both main political parties are saying his actions are hindering democracy. ros atkins has been looking at the continuing fallout from the presidential election. it is one more step in delegitimising notjust the incoming biden administration, but democracy generally, and that's a dangerous path. america is in uncharted territory. joe biden has won, but the president believes this... they are trying to steal an election, they are trying to rig an election, and we can't let this happen. and this is the secretary of state. there will be a smooth transition to a second trump administration. the president is not accepting defeat. so is american democracy in crisis? well, there's no shortage of people making the case. an article in foreign affairs magazine argues the problem is long—term, saying...

sima kotecha reports.‘ve still got the light and the fireworks. but you can‘t meet up with your family and you have to do it on zoom. that‘s ok, you at least get to see them, not face to face, but still like a bit sad because we actually want to, like, maybe hug them. their grandparents live just minutes away, but aren‘t in their bubble. they talk online, and tomorrow will be no different. but there‘ll be no exchanging of food and no dancing with cousins. normally, we would dance and perform at grandpa‘s house as you saw. so we‘d dance and sing. we do a big show! and we've practised online, we've got it all correct. and this year, perhaps, will be more poignant than usual. south asians have been disproportionately affected by coronavirus. the girls‘ grandparents lost a close friend to the virus. and so this diwali, they say, will have a somber tone. we are in close contact with his wife and of course, not very far from us, you know, being a good friend, but, of course, will be missed in that respect. that

sima kotecha, bbc news.going to be any different because of the lockdown, the fact they cannot see each other and the fa ct they cannot see each other and the fact that the exchange, they can't do it tangibly? i guess it is going to be done for many people in the post, perhaps, or perhaps through zoom, online. someone who is going to talk to me about the impact diwali and the restrictions in place have had on the gold industry is david crawford, the director of baird and coe. has it made an impact on your trade? yes, it has, typically we see 20—30% growth month on month during diwali. it is the most auspicious gold buying time in the hindu calendar and many indians buy gold during this time in order to secure financial prosperity for the following year. clearly, many families are unable to meet each other because of the current covid restrictions, and we have seen that directly impact the desire for customers to want to gift in absence of their being able to see their family members. so what you are saying i

with me is our business presenter, sima kotecha.r the last three months, but more restrictions in place before we saw the second lockdown. if you think about it that the lights were switched off during march, april, may, and they are now firmly switched back on again, but we don't know when they will be switched off again. to talk to me about the economic situation i am joined by the chief economist at standard chartered bank. what do you think, sarah, but what could enfold to unfold in the coming months, given the economic data? need to really think about where we are currently. a big rebound in the economy in the third car were which was very positive, helped to —— the third quarter, which was very positive, helped to an extent by government support. going into the fourth quarter we know some of the surveys are not so fourth quarter we know some of the surveys are not so strong, business and the confidence has fallen and coi'isuitiei’ and the confidence has fallen and consumer confidence... loss of sound we are not hearing you ver

good morning, welcome to breakfast, with sima kotecha and chris mason.e spread of anti—vaccine content. thousands of protesters turn out in washington, to support president trump's unsubstantiated claims of voterfraud. more money for green spaces in england to restore species and combat climate change. can ayone catch the world number one, dustinjohnson, who carries a four—shot lead into the final day of golf's masters at augusta? we have some

sima kotecha, our business presenter, thank you very much.annel of the chancellor's spending review, when it gets under way at 12:30pm, approximately, followed by interviews and analysis throughout the afternoon, so do join us for that. an inadequate stockpile of personal protective equipment in england before the pandemic and a surge in price because of a boom in global demand has cost the taxpayer around £10 billion. that's the findings of a report by the public spending watchdog, the national audit office. it says there was a particular shortage of gloves and aprons, and two orders for 75 million facemasks could not be used as they did not current pass safety standards. our special correspondent lucy manning reports. as nurses and doctors risked their lives to save others, they should have been protected. but a shortage of personal protective equipment left many feeling vulnerable. the report from the spending watchdog found in the early months of the pandemic, not enough ppe, huge increases in prices, and orders that failed to meet specif

good morning, welcome to breakfast, with sima kotecha and chris mason. our headlines today: a call for social media companies to do more to stop the spread of anti—vaccine content. thousands of protesters turn out in washington, to support president trump's unsubstantiated claims of voterfraud. more money for green spaces in england to restore species and combat climate change. can ayone catch the world number one, dustinjohnson, who carries a four—shot lead into the final day of golf's masters at augusta? we have some heavy downpours and strong winds, especially in the south. strong went combined with a high tide means they could be the chance of flooding. all the details throughout this morning's programme. it's sunday the 15th of november. our top story this morning is a call for social media companies to face tough financial and criminal penalties if they fail to clamp down on anti—vaccine content. with a coronavirus vaccine on the way, labour wants the government to bring in emergency laws to deal with what they describe as dangerous online material

our business correspondent sima kotecha has more on this.was he asked lenders for £30 million so he could continue with his business, money was turned down and now there are questions over its survival. as you say, administrators could be sent in as early as monday. we understand arcadia is on the brink of collapse and that is putting around 13,000 people's jobs at risk. they have 500 stores across the country, belonging to its brands, incredibly worrying times. we now the high street was struggling before the pandemic, the pandemic made the situation worse. we got a statement from arcadia a little while ago and it says we are aware of the recent speculation surrounding the future of arcadia. the forced closure of our stores for sustained periods as a result of the covid—19 pandemic has had a material impact on trading across our businesses. as a result the arcadia boards have been working on a number of contingency options. as i said, we know that money it had asked for was not given to it. all eyes will be on what happens over the next few

with me is our business presenter, sima kotecha. that rate has slowed now. the economy grow only by 1.1% and as we tackled the months ahead, we know that there has been a lockdown, we know there have been tighter restrictions in place. prior to that lockdown in certain parts of the country, all of that is likely to see the economies drink or shrink. polly mcmaster, founder and chief executive, the fold, a women's workwear brand, which exports as well as sells in the uk. i think the context is really important because over the summer, we we re important because over the summer, we were coming back from extreme lockdown. so people being able to go out again, there was the eat out to help out scheme to get people moving and retail was able to open again, so and retail was able to open again, so for us as a retail brand, we have a store, we saw people coming back into store and we saw definitely this moment of buoyancy and certainly in september, when schools we re certainly in september, when schools were reopened and people were therefore being able to get bac

let's talk to our business presenter sima kotecha.of all, i have to admit that when i heard the news first of all, that feels a bit counterintuitive because we know how busy supermarkets have been throughout this year and food sales in general have been going up during lockdown is another measures, so what is happening there? well, yes, 3500 jobs are expected to go. we haven't had confirmation on that, but you are right. supermarkets have kind of been the winner during this pandemic. they have done well but they have had to make lots of expenses due to the pandemic, whether it involves hiring more staff are boosting their online operations, so there have been costs. these job losses are expected to come mostly from argos. you may recall that in 2016 sainsbury‘s bought argos are noticing that over the next few years it's going to be shutting 400 stores, so most of those jobs shutting 400 stores, so most of thosejobs coming from shutting 400 stores, so most of those jobs coming from there but some are expected to come from sainsbury‘s s

sima kotecha, thank you very much, our business presenter.who are considering taking the government to court over this. if you want to get in touch with us about this or about the industrial green revolution the prime minister is setting out a ten point plan on today or talk to us about loneliness, the report on loneliness we will be discussing soon, i will be talking to the minister for loneliness, soon, i will be talking to the ministerfor loneliness, do soon, i will be talking to the minister for loneliness, do get soon, i will be talking to the ministerfor loneliness, do get in touch with us. you can do that on twitter using the hashtag bbc your questions and we will try to read out your comments. leading doctors have warned that they don't want to see a situation where generations mix over christmas and some of the most vulnerable people in society become infected. the british medical association also said the lifting of the lockdown in england must be handled better this time round to avoid a surge in covid that could overwhelm the nhs.

bbc business presenter sima kotecha has more.at the data we are seeing today is showing us, that has happened in the pandemic. 0ne survey suggest 12% of apprentices were made redundant in 0ctober alone. going forward, we know fewer businesses are operating at the moment because of lockdown, and we know the businesses operating, a lot are struggling financially. what does this mean for young people who are adamant they wa nt to young people who are adamant they want to be train, they want to get new skills so they are more attractive to the job market? to help me talk about this and answer the questions is tracy mattis, assistant principal of apprenticeships milton keynes colleges, how grim does it look for young people today?” colleges, how grim does it look for young people today? i think it is particularly difficult for young people. exactly as you say, you have apprentices partway through their apprenticeship who are losing their jobs. you also have a whole swathe of young people who thought they we re of young people who thou

with me is our business presenter sima kotecha. they have been left behind and not supported by the government, that they simply don't have enough cash in their pockets. that is because some of them have not qualified for government support. they have not made the threshold of having started thejob by made the threshold of having started the job by previous state. and someone the job by previous state. and someone who has experienced this difficulty is tim smith who joins me now. he is a chef who has been made redundant and does not qualify for furlough. for you, life redundant and does not qualify for furlough. foryou, life has redundant and does not qualify for furlough. for you, life has been pretty tough, hasn't it, tell me about that? yes, it has been pretty bad. i started my newjob on the 8th of march at the beginning of the year, that was before borisjohnson said pubs, clubs and restaurants should close down before lockdown and any of the chance a's schemes but because i was paid after march the 19th, i missed the cut—off da

that was sima kotecha talking to gareth davies from the national audit office.ere generations mix over christmas and some of the most vulnerable people in society become infected. the british medical association also said the lifting of the lockdown in england must be better handled this time around to avoid a surge in covid that could overwhelm the nhs. the bma has created a blueprint with suggestions as to how a new system should look. it includes replacing the "rule of six", with a two—households restriction to reduce social mixing. the government says its infection control guidance is under constant review. the chair of the bma council, dr chaand nagpaul, spoke to bbc breakfast earlier and said that the priority has to be stopping the spread of the virus now and that the next few weeks will be crucial. what we must be guided by is the safety of our nation. i think it's very hard at the moment to make predictions on what will be the case in december, which is why we're saying we need to have those measures put in place now and the public need to understand wh

with me now to discuss this is our business reporter, sima kotecha. hi. ithink hi. for businesses? that means less revenue, because there is, as i said, fewer people going in to buy things. they might make some headway from online sales, but some businesses are very worried that that won't be the case. one business that won't be the case. one business thatis that won't be the case. one business that is particularly worried and joins me now is the managing director nora tennyson mbe of jojomamanbebe. how are you feeling and the impact it might have on your business? obviously our teams at jojo are really despondent by this latest lockdown. since july when we reopened, we have been trading our stores, albeit well down on a like—for—like basis compare to last year, but nonetheless, we have been that as part of our communities to offer support and advice to pregnant women and new parents. and we find that our teams are really depressed because they know our customers want us because they know our customers want us to stay open, we want to stay open, they don't want to g

sima kotecha, has more.a statue of their hindu deity. 0m shanti, shanti, shanti. like christmas and other religious festivals, diwali brings gifts, songs and traditional food. although the sisters are excited about its imminent arrival, they know this year won't be the same. we've still got the light and the fireworks. but you can't meet up with your family and you have to do it on zoom. that's ok, you at least get to see them, not face to face, but still like a bit sad because we actually want to like, maybe hug them. their grandparents live just minutes away, but aren't in their bubble. they talk online and tomorrow will be no different. but there'll be no exchanging of food and no dancing with cousins. normally we would dance and perform at grandpa's house as you saw. so we'd dance and sing. we do a big show! and we've practised online, we've got it all correct. and this year, perhaps, will be more poignant than usual. south asians have been disproportionately affected by coronavirus. the girl's grandpare

let's get more from our business presenter, sima kotecha. sam smith from the fawcett society, a equality campaigning group. it's 2020, and we are still talking about pay equality. it is that they? well, it says that progress has been incredibly slow. we have any really static picture for the last 50 yea rs. static picture for the last 50 years. this year, the gender pay gap has narrowed, so any face of it that looks like a good new story. but we know that the data we is incomplete. so it is a bit skewed by the impact of the pandemic. until we... next year, we will not really know until that point what the picture is. we also have other data that suggests women are having a bad experience during the pandemic in terms of labour market participation. they are more likely to be furloughed. that means a cut in pay, down to 80% of their earnings. it means they are also more likely to be made redundant, because they are working in shutdown sectors, like retail, tourism, beauty, and so on. that puts them at risk. and then we have the significant and

our business presenter, sima kotecha, has been investigating the impact of all of this on businessesntil the end of march. meaning that it will have been in place for a year and the government says it will reassess the government says it will reassess the economic situation here in the uk injanuary to see if the scheme can continue, if it needs to continue what the situation is like for businesses that have been forced to close down as a result of these restrictions. businesses today are asking questions as to how long these restrictions are going to be in place because the fact the chancellor has said the furloughs scheme will go on until the end of march has made people think, are these restrictions going to be in place until then? yesterday the prime minister told the cbi that that would not be the case, that the restrictions would only stay in place until december two and that is something rishi sunak reiterated in the commons today. as you say the self—employed have also had some news today. there has been criticism in the past that the self—employed haven't had as much support,

our business correspondent sima kotecha can tell us more.ooker prizewinner. many congratulations. that was quite impressive. if only. thank you. yes, grim news i'm afraid today for some young apprentices. we have had some figures from the bbc today that have shown that around 12%, that's what one survey suggests, lost their apprenticeships in october, that's because young people have been very vulnerable during this pandemic. if a business struggles, sometimes the apprentice is the first to go and somebody who can speak to us about their experience is ryan anderson who was an apprentice, was made redundant but the good news is he has a newjob now. explain to us what happened to you.” has a newjob now. explain to us what happened to you. i got furloughed at the start of covid. i was on furlough for about five months and got called in for a meeting where i got made redundant along with another colleague. i was just shocked, completely shocked. and then you are lucky enough to get another apprenticeship. tell me about that. how did that come ab

sima kotecha joins me now. goodman, joanna. and we know that heathrow has made a £1.5 billion loss in the first nine months of this year. to talk to us about this, we are joined by the ceo of heathrow on the line. good to see you, john. news of a vaccine, we saw on monday that the markets were voting because of this news. tell me what it could mean for you and your industry. well, the vaccine is the only thing that will bring this terrible pandemic to an end and so the announcement that there is a viable vaccine that will be available soon is fantastic news. but it will take some time before this really takes effect and we see the full impact and we take the uk alone, there is a massive challenge to vaccinate a million people a week, but even at that rate, it will ta ke week, but even at that rate, it will take one year and you the entire population. of course, we are a global hub airport, we had a global passenger base and the recovery of heathrow's business and the economic role be pay for the uk will depend a lot on how the

let's get the thoughts of our business presenter, sima kotecha.years, whether he will try to be ambitious with this spending review? i think he has got to be tactical, it's probably the sensible word. and we know a lot of what he is going to announce today because it has been trailed, said 3 billion extra for the nhs, 16.5 billion extra for the nhs,16.5 billion extra for the nhs,16.5 billion for defence, and yesterday'sannouncement, 4. 6 billion for defence, and yesterday'sannouncement, 4.6 billion for the unemployed, to try to help them get back to work. but the backdrop is so concerning and challenging. we know that debt levels are obscene. the country is facing a 2.8 trillion debt. we are also seeing the economy get smaller, 10% smaller than it was at pre—pandemic levels, and we are also expecting today from the chancellor, the lbr's for cats, the office for budget responsibility, the government's official forecaster. and what rishi sunak is said to his cabinet this morning is that that forecast will be a sobering read. we are expecting unemplo

let's get more from our business presenter, sima kotecha.erhaps behaving anyway they might not have previously. today's stats show a .2% increase in retail sales in october. economists do fear that will go down in november because of lockdown. remember, people aren't going out as much, not going on trips or out to dinnerand much, not going on trips or out to dinner and perhaps that would have had an impact on football in stores and the fact that they are staying home and perhaps on furlough, not working, that means fewer cash in their pockets, but it is worth saying that october's figure is higher than many analysts expected. talk to me about all of this is jack duckett, who is on the line now, the associate director of consumer lifestyle research at mentone and thanks for coming on, you have done some of your own research about consumer habits and shopping, tell us what you found out. so looking at our research numbers across this year, there have been some encouraging moments this year, but when we look at the grand picture we can see enor

our business presenter sima kotecha joins me now. it is quite an ambitious pledge. absolutely.actical? is this feasible? yes, absolutely. all the experts say it is achievable however it is ambitious. what has to happen is a huge amount of investment and a huge amount of detailed planning in order to realise that ambition. i think thatis to realise that ambition. i think that is what is crucial here. we have a line in the sand and we have a very clear goal that the automotive industry must aim for. but there must be intentions to achieve that goal. they must make the cars themselves appealing enough and affordable enough for people to wa nt and affordable enough for people to want to buy them when the time comes. because, gym, having spoken to some experts, they are saying that infrastructure is not in needs to be in place. what you say to that man who was in devon or rural devon where there are no electric charging points? but they want to be environmentally friendly. that is a challenge. what we have to remember is that this is a timeline that begins in ten years time. there w