mark drakeford. those exchanges came just before the news that a group of politicians, including the conservative leader, paul davies, drank alcohol on welsh parliament premises, days after a ban on serving it in pubs took effect. senedd authorities said they were investigating. finally, in an age of video conferencing, there are just some days when it all goes wrong. and prime minister's questions suffered a severe attack of the gremlins. first, the chamber lost connection with the snp westminster leader, ian blackford, as he was due to ask his second question. ian blackford. inaudible laughter i somehow think we've lost ian blackford. we'll come back to him. nicole richards. nicole? you're muted. press the mic. i'm not muted. can you hear me? speak. can you hear me? it's not working. the speaker did eventually go back to ian blackford and nicola richards for their questions, but another mp had to fight an all too familiar battle. mrspeaker, thank you... phone rings i'm so sorry. it's excellent that

and for talking to mark drakeford in about ten minutes. —— we will be talking to mark drakeford. the pressures facing some ambulance services during the pandemic are "off the scale", according the royal college of emergency medicine. the bbc has been told that last month in the south—east of england, ambulance waiting times at hospitals rose by 36% in december compared to the same month in 2019. people are also having to wait longer for ambulances to arrive when called. the australian city of brisbane will enter a snap three—day lockdown from today. it's after a single case of the new coronavirus variant was discovered. the city has been successful at containing the virus, with very few cases being detected beyond quarantined travellers since australia's first wave last year. it's 7.11. let's have a look at the weather picture across the uk. matt has got all the details. 0nly another 300 odd days until christmas. compare this morning looks like this, another covering of snow for some of you. even some snow further south across southern parts of inwood. the bulk of the snow at

mark drakeford mark dra keford there, mark drakeford there, first minister of wales, with his briefing. just a reminder of this afternoon's main stories. the r number in the uk has fallen to 0.8—1.0 , down from 1.2—1.3 police break up a wedding party with 400 guests being held at a school in north london. retail sales suffer their largest annual fall on record, because of coronavirus, with clothing sales particularly hard hit. the impact of brexit is gradually becoming clearer as the new trading relationship between britain and the eu beds in. some high street and luxury retailers in the uk are considering abandoning goods their customers in the eu want to return, with some even thinking of burning them, because it is cheaper than bringing them home. they say the new eu trade deal has put costly duties on online returns at a time when firms are already struggling. simon browning reports. scroll, choose, click, deliver. a seamless retail experience. before january the 1st, we could buy from anywhere in europe with ease and speed, and europeans could buy from our retailers also. but

what more did mark drakeford have to say? == what more did mark drakeford have to sa ? , ., , say? -- listening in? he was praising the _ say? -- listening in? he was praising the resolve - say? -- listening in? he was praising the resolve and - say? -- listening in? he was i praising the resolve and efforts say? -- listening in? he was - praising the resolve and efforts of the people of wales. if we go back to just before the 19th of december when the lockdown was introduced here, the rates in wales were the worst of anywhere across the uk. now we are in a position where rates are coming down, the number of people testing positive, is also coming down, the strain on the nhs is starting to ease and also now it appears as though wales seems to be leading the way in some vaccination statistics for the uk nations. this has meant the first minister and welsh government have made the decision that schools will be able to reopen, phase three opening, after half term. the youngest pupils first, those pupils with the spread of infection is lowest, and where the actual virus is the lowest t

wales first minister mark drakeford speaking there. celebrity chefs, charities and campaigners, including the footballer marcus rashford, are pressing borisjohnson to overhaul the provision of free school meals. in a letter to the prime minister, they call for a strategy to help end food poverty among children. this week mrjohnson admitted that some food parcels being sent to families in england were "inadequate" after pictures were widely criticised. jon donnison reports. the campaign over free school meals, led by marcus rashford, has already forced the government into several changes of direction. ministers have been accused of coming up with temporary, short—term measures to deal with a long—term problem. now, a number of celebrities, including jamie oliver and emma thompson, havejoined the footballer and over a0 charities and educational leaders to write to the government to call for change. we've signed the letter because the last few months have really shown up the cracks in our school food system. whether it's the use of fo

mark drakeford. you're watching wednesday in parliament with me, david cornock. still to come, how covid—safe is the house of lords? british firms doing business in china will face fines if they don't do enough to show their products are not linked to forced labour in the country's xinjiang province. there's growing evidence that more than a million uighur muslims are being held in forced labour camps. the foreign secretary said businesses must make sure products from the camps were not ending up on british shelves. mps welcomed the measures, but some demanded dominic raab went further. he began by describing the situation in xinjiang. internment camps, arbitrary detention, political re—education, forced labour, torture and forced sterilisation, all on an industrial scale. it is truly horrific. barbarism we had hoped lost to another era being practised today as we speak in one of the leading members of the international community. mr speaker, we have a moral duty to respond. this package put together will help make sure that no british organisations, governme

nicola sturgeon and mark drakeford and arlene foster and mark drakeford and arlene foster and others in recent weeks. but this is the prime minister's own take on where we should be. it is a pivotal moment, he said, in terms of fighting the pandemic. we are in the last phase of the struggle, he said that in the context of vaccines that are coming on stream. but he did lay it on the line and said, look, this isa it on the line and said, look, this is a crucial time, when people should stay at home, obey the rules and not take any risks. otherwise getting on top of it will be even more difficult than it is at present. so a forthright message from borisjohnson present. so a forthright message from boris johnson and present. so a forthright message from borisjohnson and outside downing street for us, our deputy political editor. what was notable in that for you? it was another some per message and —— sombre message and boris johnson talking per message and —— sombre message and borisjohnson talking of the the light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccines, but the truth is he c

the conservatives pounced on mark drakeford's remarks. if it's your policy to get the vaccines into people's arms as quickly as possible, why on earth did you actually say that you wanted to roll out the vaccines over a period of time? because that is just a confusing message. and whilst the welsh government may be happy with its go—slow approach, the people of wales are farfrom happy — they want to see action and they want to see it now. the policy of the welsh government is to vaccinate as many people in wales as quickly and as safely as possible. that is how we've had 162,000 people vaccinated already here in wales. that is why the pace of vaccination will accelerate again this week. plaid cymru asked about the different vaccination rate compared to england or ni. my own elderly parents ask me — because they're in the _ position, they haven't| had a date at all, both are in their80s. my father, an 85—year—old ex—miner, has copd, he'sj in a clinically vulnerable - group — and yet he's had no communication yet to explain to

mark drakeford. meanwhile in the scottish parliament, nicola sturgeon announced that the lockdown was to be extended. most schools and nurseries will remain shut until the middle of next month. the first minister said there were some encouraging signs, but it was too soon to ease restrictions. we cannot afford to see the rate of infection start to rise again — which, from such a high baseline, it could all too easily do if we start to interact more with each other than we are doing right now. so it is for all these reasons that the cabinet decided this morning to maintain the restrictions which are currently in place. that means that the lockdown restrictions, including the strict stay—at—home requirement, will remain in place across mainland scotland and some island communities until at least the middle of february. you're watching tuesday in parliament, with me, alicia mccarthy. although the world's focus has been on coronavirus over the past year, climate change is still a more profound glob

mark drakeford. the government's confirmed it's delaying laws to protect nature due to pressure on parliament from the coronavirus pandemic. mps spent the afternoon debating amendments to the environment bill, but further scrutiny has been postponed until the next parliamentary session. campaigners are angry at the latest delay to a bill that was first launched under the previous prime minister, theresa may, back injuly 2018. the necessary changes we've had to make to our procedures in order to keep members of the public and staff safe have put extraordinary pressure on the parliamentary timetable. and i want to reassure all members that the government remains committed to getting this environment bill onto the statute book. and across all areas of the environment, the bill will drive improvement. cleanerair, greater bio—diversity, a greater emphasis on nature, less waste, healthier rivers, more recycling, restoration of our precious habitats, less deforestation, polluting plastic waste exports to

is a much more difficult to store which be staggered. —— mark drakeford. and that was partly the stop vaccinated standing around for the rest of the month, with not much to do. yesterday there was a lot of serious paddling amongst members, trying to recast his comments to stop wastage rather than away staff time and mark drakeford went back then on twitter last night to assure people in wales that are the vaccine system can take is being supplied and to follow up today by the pledge that all, 70% of 80—year—olds will have had the vaccine by the end of the weekend coming and the west government say they are on track to make sure that the four key groups of vulnerable and elderly people will all have been offered a vaccine by mid february. —— a welsh government. by mid february. -- a welsh government.— by mid february. -- a welsh government. ~ ., ., �* , government. we gather that there's an investigation _ government. we gather that there's an investigation under _ government. we gather that there's an investigation under way - government. we ga

mark drakeford. _ back in school as well. mark drakeford, first _ back in school as well. mark drakeford, first minister- back in school as well. mark drakeford, first minister of| back in school as well. mark - drakeford, first minister of wales, thank you. so that's the situation in wales. let's take a look at when pupils could be returning to school across the uk. schools in england will not fully re—open to all pupils until long after the february half—term. the prime minister said the process will start from monday 8th march at the earliest. the same goes for northern ireland, where the executive has said that pupils will not return to school until the 8th of march at the earliest. as we've just heard, there could be a phased return for some pupils in wales from the 22nd of february, as long as covid cases continue to fall. and it's likely that schools in scotland will remain closed to the majority of pupils until at least the middle of february. there will be a review on the decision early next week. let's speak to a couple of teachers now. jacqueline gray works

mark drakeford mark dra keford there. withjust hours now untiljoe biden becomes the 46th president of the united states, the 45th president is clearly not going quietly. with mounting speculation about his choices for presidential pardons — last night donald trump ordered travel bans to be lifted for visitors from most of europe and brazilfrom next week. joe biden's spokeswoman countered immediately that that would not be happening. here's our washington correspondent, nomia iqbal. america's capital city is eerily quiet, and so is its president. mr trump has been largely silent after twitter permanently banned him. but there is some last—minute business. he announced a covid—19 travel ban on much of europe would be lifted. the incoming biden administration plans to reverse it, though. in a tweet, the incoming press secretary says in fact they will strengthen it. one thing they will not be able to stop are mr trump's pardons. like all outgoing presidents, he plans to use his last bit of power to grant clemency to mor

mark drakeford, meanwhile, the first minister in wales, has said also that there are supply limits, but he said there was enough pfizer vaccine to get through until february but it could not all be used at once because vaccinators, he said, would because vaccinators, he said, would be standing around doing nothing. that provoked a tax immediately from opposition parties and the british medical association. later on he clarified, let me be completely clear, nobody is holding back vaccines. having done about 300,000 a day across the uk of the first doses, that has slipped back a bit, the daily rate, although it could be the daily rate, although it could be the weekend effect. let's be clear, more than 4 million doses administered is pretty much in line with plans. and the uk is still well ahead of other european countries, relative to population, and the us, forgetting vaccines administered. ministers say it won't be easy but they still seem confident they will hit their targets.— they still seem confident they will hit their targets. hugh pym, many thanks, hit their targets. hugh pym,

first minister mark drakeford told the welsh parliament many over—80s did not feel it was safe to attend appointments in the snow and ice. the data is still coming in, but the figures we have show 72% of people living and working in care homes have already been vaccinated — that's not an offered vaccination, that's already been vaccinated. we will not reach the 70% for over—80s because of the interruption to the programme of vaccination that happened on sunday and on monday morning. i won't have people over 80 feeling pressurized to come out to be vaccinated when they themselves decide that it is not safe for them to do so. he was facing questions from the newly—installed welsh conservative leader, andrew rt davies, who returned to the job after paul davies resigned in a row about drinking alcohol four days into a ban on drinking in licensed premises. you missed your target, that's straightforward, people understand that. yesterday, for example, i could tell the uk government had four out of five 80—year—olds at vaccinated, 80%. they'd hit their target. what we are seeing const

the first minister mark drakeford has also warned some measures may need to be strengthened. he said that unless there was a "significant" drop in cases soon, school and college students were likely to continue their education online until the february half—term. officials say the number of people with coronavirus in hospital in scotland is now higher than it was at the peak of the first wave in april. the total is 1,530, compared with 1,520 last spring. the number of deaths registered yesterday is 93, the highest daily total during the second wave of the virus. in northern ireland new lockdown restrictions have come into force, forbidding people from leaving home for non—essential reasons. people can be ordered home by the police if they do not have a "reasonable excuse" for being out. the law's in place until february the sixth, but will be reviewed later this month. two women have been describing how they were surrounded by police in derbyshire, and fined £200, after they drove five miles for a walk by a reservoir. current guidance says you can travel for exercise in

mark drakeford said we should be sticking to what the jcvi recommended. a 13—year—old boy has been taken to hospital after being stabbed in an attack by four men in greater manchester last night. the attack took place in the car park of the asda supermarker in longsight — south east of the city centre. the boy was taken to hospital with serious injuries and is in a stable condition. four men — described as carrying large bladed weapons were said to be dressed in all black with hoods. police are appealing for information. the headlines on bbc news. more than a thousand arrests as protests take place across russia in support ofjailed opposition leader alexei navalny , his team say his wife yulia has been detained in moscow. uk international trade secretary liz truss tries to dampen the row over vaccine nationalism — saying she wants to help other countries get the jabs they need. a new visa scheme giving millions of people from hong kong greater opportunities to live and work in the uk comes into force. investigators from the world health organiza

first minister mark drakeford told the welsh parliament many over—80s did not feel it was safe to attend appointments in the snow and ice. the data is still coming in, but the figures we have show 72% of people living and working in care homes have already been vaccinated — that's notjust offered vaccination, that's already been vaccinated. we will not reach the 70% for over—80s because of the interruption to the programme of vaccination that happened on sunday and on monday morning. i won't have people over 80 feeling pressurized to come out to be vaccinated when they themselves decide that it is not safe for them to do so. he was facing questions from the newly—installed welsh conservative leader, andrew rt davies, who returned to the job after paul davies resigned in a row about drinking alcohol four days into a ban on drinking in licensed premises. you missed your target, that's straightforward, yesterday, for example, i could tell the uk government had four out of five 80—year—olds vaccinated, 80%. they'd hit their target. what we are seeing constantly is targets being mis

the first minister, mark drakeford, has also warned that some measures may need to be strengthened. he said that unless there's a significant drop in cases soon, school and college students are likely to continue their education online until the february half term. hywel griffith reports. shops closed, companies kept in hibernation. wales went into lockdown ahead of christmas. the new year has started with an all too familiar theme, staying at home remains the rule for at least another three weeks. the new strain is undoubtedly adding a new, dangerous dimension to the public health crisis. the lockdown will continue for another three weeks, to the 29 january, when it will be reviewed again. on monday, schools we re reviewed again. on monday, schools were told to prepare for pupils to return on january 18, were told to prepare for pupils to return onjanuary18, but were told to prepare for pupils to return on january 18, but today that has changed to learning from home for the rest of the month. and probably until february half term, u nless probably until february half term, unless t

the first minister, mark drakeford, has also warned some measures may need to be strengthened. he said that, unless there was a significant drop in cases soon, school and college students were likely to continue their education online until the february half term. officials say the number of people with coronavirus in hospital in scotland is now higher than it was at the peak of the first wave in april. the total is 1,530, compared with 1,520 last spring. the number of deaths registered yesterday is 93, the highest daily total during the second wave of the virus. in northern ireland, new lockdown restrictions have come into force forbidding people from leaving home for non—essential reasons. people can be ordered home by the police if they do not have a reasonable excuse for being out. the law's in place until six february but will be reviewed later this month. this is bbc news, the headlines: twitter has permanently suspended president donald trump days before the end of his presidency, saying that allowing him to continue would risk further incitement to violence. democrats

mark drakeford. two weeks after the uk left the eu's rule book, one third of the scottish fishing fleet is tied up in harbour — that's according to the snp�*s westminster leader, who said some boats are landing in denmark, rather than scotland, to avoid brexit bureaucracy. he raised the issue during prime minister's questions. my constituent, a producer and exporter of shellfish, is experiencing his worst nightmare. after loading a lorry of fresh local seafood on monday as he has done for 35 years, his driverfaced bureaucracy and delays. brexit red tape now means that £40,000 of his fresh high—quality produce is lost, unable to be sold. mr speaker, that 40,000 to produce is income for over 100 localfamilies and many remote and fragile communities. can the prie minister tell my constituent where is the sea of opportunity that he and his scottish tories promised? well, mr speaker, we are putting £100 million into supporting the fishing industry in scotland and across the whole of the uk. and it

the first minister, mark drakeford, has also warned some measures may need to be strengthened. he said that, unless there was a "significant" drop in cases soon, school and college students were likely to continue their education online until the february half—term. officials say the number of people with coronavirus in hospital in scotland is now higher than it was at the peak of the first wave in april. the total is 1,530, compared with 1,520 last spring. the number of deaths registered yesterday is 93, the highest daily total during this wave of the virus. new lockdown restrictions stopping people from leaving home for nonessential reasons have come into force across northern ireland. police can order people home if they do not have a "reasonable excuse" for being out. from next week — anyone entering the uk — whether you live here or not — will have to have tested negative for covid—19 no more than three days before arriving here. children under 11, lorry drivers and travel from ireland will be exempt, but passengers from countries not on the uk's approved list wi

the first minister, mark drakeford, said he hoped to take advantage of lower transmission rates in wales and get children back to school as soon as possible. the level four lockdown will remain in place for the next three weeks. 0ur wales correspondent hywel griffith reports. after several weeks of silence, these corridors may soon come bustling back to life. there are a few key worker children come roath park primary at the moment. after half—term, if the covid numbers keep falling, the school can bring back all three to seven—year—olds, who struggle most with learning at home, but do they feel ready? there are fears about the new variants of coronavirus and how quickly that spreads among staff. the first minister has told us that younger children do not transmit the virus as much as older children, but there is still a risk there and we have to make sure as school leaders that our staff have confidence in the safety to bring them back into school. when the vast majority of older pupils return hasn't been spelt out. the first minister is keeping to his customary caution. i wish i

drakeford has said. here he is speaking at the welsh government briefing earlier this afternoon... the new strain is undoubtedly adding a new, dangerous dimension to the public health crisis. wherever there's mixing, wherever people come together, the new strain is spreading. it is highly contagious and spreads very quickly from person to person. this is the background against which we have carried out the three—weekly review of the current restrictions. the outcome of that review will not be a surprise against that background, and it is that the lockdown will continue for another three weeks, till the 29th of january, when it will be reviewed again. scotland's first minister has also been holding a news conference. international travellers to scotland will soon be required to show a negative covid test result when entering the country. nicola sturgen has explained how that will work. the risks of international travel are, of course, particularly acute at the moment as new strains of this virus emerge

mark drakeford said he should be sticking to what the jcvi recommended. some breaking news. a 13—year—old boy has been taken to hospital after being stabbed in an attack by four men. greater manchester police said officers were called to reports of a stabbing in the car park of asda on stanley grove, longsight, shortly after 7.10pm on saturday. the boy was taken to hospital with serious injuries and is in a stable condition. we will bring you more on that as it comes in. the manchester united footballer, marcus rashford, has revealed he's suffered online racist abuse after his side's goalless draw against arsenal. on twitter, the 22—year—old said he was subjected to "humanity and social media at its worst". over the past week, the game has seen a series of incidents which have reignited calls for social media companies to tackle discrimination. former england player ian wright is calling for more to be done. as long as the powers that be will continue to let people like that feel like it's something they can do, because it seems to be the fad now. a black player play

the first minister, mark drakeford, said he hoped to take advantage of lower transmission rates in wales and get children back to school as soon as possible. the level 4 lockdown will remain in place for the next three weeks. our wales correspondent, hywel griffith, reports. after weeks of silence, these corridors may soon come bustling back to life. only a few vulnerable and key worker children come roath park primary at the moment. after half—term, if the covid numbers keep falling, the school can bring back all three to seven—year—olds, who struggle most with learning at home, but do they feel ready? there are fears about the new variants of coronavirus and how quickly that spreads among staff. the first minister has told us that younger children do not transmit the virus as much as older children, but there is still a risk there and we have to make sure as school leaders that our staff have confidence in the safety to bring them back into school. when the vast majority of older pupils return hasn't been spelt out. the first minister is keeping to his customary caution. i wish i

well, mark drakeford was praising, really, the resolve and the efforts of the people of wales. if we just go back before the 19th of december, when the lockdown was introduced here, the rates in wales were the worst of anywhere across any of the four uk nations, but now we're in a position where rates are coming down, the number of people testing positive is also coming down. the strain on the nhs is starting to ease. also, now it appears as though wales seems to be leading the way in some of the vaccination stats of all the uk nations. this has meant that the first minister and the welsh government have made that decision, that schools will be able to reopen, a phased reopen, from after the half—term. it will be the youngest pupils first, those where the spread of infection is lowest and where the actual virus is of lowest threat to them. there will be consideration in the coming weeks on when to introduce those of exam grades, on vocational courses, but the first minister did say in his press conference that this would all be caveated, if the trends still go in this same di

the first minister, mark drakeford, said he hoped to take advantage of lower transmission rates in wales and get children back to school as soon as possible. the level four lockdown will remain in place for the next three weeks. 0ur wales correspondent hywel griffith reports. after weeks of silence, these corridors may soon come bustling back to life. only a few vulnerable and key worker children come to this primary at the moment. after half term, if the covid numbers keep following the school can bring back all three to seven—year—olds, who struggled most with learning at home, but do they feel ready? there are fears about _ home, but do they feel ready? there are fears about the _ home, but do they feel ready? there are fears about the new _ home, but do they feel ready? ii—ii” are fears about the new variants of coronavirus and how quickly that states amongst staff. the first minister has told us younger children do not transmit the virus does much as older children so there are still a risk and we have to make sure our staff have confidence. itruiheh sure our staff have conf

the first minister of wales, labour's mark drakeford said that he would be sticking to what thejc vi recommended. would be sticking to what the jc vi recommended.— investigators from the world health organization have arrived at a seafood market in the chinese city of wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected. some chinese diplomats and state media have said they believe the wet market is not the origin of the outbreak. 0ur china correspondent steve mcdonnell sent this from wuhan. well, it's a very big day, at least symbolically for the who investigation team in wuhan because they are here at the huanan market. people will remember that it's here where, before it was closed down, we saw the first clusters of coronavirus emerging. and because of that, and the fact that there are lots of exotic animals being sold previously in the market, there was a theory that possibly, it was right here that the coronavirus jumped from one of those animals into human beings. however, it also possible that this really was just a place where the coronavirus spread, because it's just a crowded

first minister mark drakeford said there was "significant evidence" the virus is being spread in stores. ever since the new variant of covid emerged in the uk, there've been questions about its impact on children and whether they are more likely to get it or help spread it. as our science correspondent, rebecca morelle, explains, the new variant is no more harmful to children than before. children have been one of the pandemic�*s biggest puzzles, with the young less likely to get the virus than adults, but does the arrival of the new variant change this, and is it affecting children more? initial data was analysed for all ages, and something stood out. this red barfor ten to 19—year—olds suggested the new variant was particularly infectious for this group, compared with the old one, in blue. but this was during november's lockdown, when much was closed apart from schools, and this may explain that bump. the latest evidence shows the new variant is 50% more infectious, but not especially for children. it's just that it's better at infecting everyone across every age group. is the n

let's cross to wales, mark drakeford is speaking. the new strain of the virus has taken a firm foothold in north wales, where we are seeing cases of the virus rising rapidly. we expect the virus rising rapidly. we expect the new strain will become the dominant form of the virus in the south wales as well. cases of coronavirus remain high in wales, as you can see on this slide. there has been a fall back from the very high levels which we saw before christmas and before the alert level for restrictions were introduced. and you can see that on the right—hand of the slides, the effects of the actions we have taken. but over the last few days, that fall has stalled and rates have begun to creep up again. on monday of this week, they we re again. on monday of this week, they were around 440 cases for every 100,000 people in wales, and today, thatis 100,000 people in wales, and today, that is 20 points higher. it is still the case that around one in four tests is positive for coronavirus, and all of that it demonstrates that we still hav

the first minister mark drakeford has also warned that some measures may need to be strengthened. he said that unless there's a significant drop in cases soon, school and college students are likely to continue their education online until the february half term. all visitors to the uk from next week will have to have proof of a negative covid test before they're allowed to travel. anyone arriving by air, rail or sea — including uk nationals — will have to take a test up to 72 hours before departure, and people arriving from countries that aren't on the travel corridor list will still have to quarantine for up to 10 days once they arrive. 0ur transport correspondent caroline davies reports. until today's announcement the uk has not required anyone arriving in the country to show that they recently tested negative for the coronavirus. but things are about to change. international arrivals including uk nationals travelling to the uk to the uk will need to show that they have a negative covid—19 tests ta ken up to 72 hours before they travel. it applies to everyone arriving by

the first minister mark drakeford has walked into a bit of a row over the ptizer— has walked into a bit of a row over the pfizer vaccine, or supplies not expected — the pfizer vaccine, or supplies not expected to come to come to wales until the _ expected to come to come to wales until the beginning of february and the first _ until the beginning of february and the first minister says as a consequence, the doses have to be spaced _ consequence, the doses have to be spaced out — consequence, the doses have to be spaced out at mass vaccination centres — spaced out at mass vaccination centres to— spaced out at mass vaccination centres to avoid them running out and leaving vaccinated standing around — and leaving vaccinated standing around with nothing to do. those comments — around with nothing to do. those comments have been sharply criticised _ comments have been sharply criticised by many, including the former_ criticised by many, including the former welsh secretary stephen crahh, _ former welsh secretary stephen crabb, who says it is a sign of a go slow— crabb, who says

first minister mark drakeford said there was "significant evidence" the virus is being spread in stores. a charity is calling on children and young volunteers to help cheer up vulnerable people in care homes with a video call. some residents have been unable to spend time with family and friends for almost a year. the charity is encouraging teenagers to connect with them online in a scheme that brings something for everyone involved, as sian lloyd reports. there you go. he's lovely. saying hello to benny the guinea pig. 87—year—old mary is connecting with children and their pets. this is dot. we got her from father christmas. mary is supported by her carer jackie, but hasn't felt able to leave her room in the care home since april. video calls are a highlight of her week. i can't wait to see them. whenever the kids have come on and animals it's beautiful. i really love it. from their homes, young people with an interest in volunteering are able to make a virtual visit to an elderly person who is isolated by lockdown. mary, i went on a drive on christmas eve to look at the lights. di

the first minister mark drakeford has also warned that some measures may need to be strengthened. he said that unless there's a significant drop in cases soon, school and college students are likely to continue their education online until the february half—term. hywel griffith reports. shops closed, companies kept in hibernation. wales went into lockdown ahead of christmas. the new year has started with an all too familiar theme. staying at home remains the rule for at least another three weeks. the new strain is undoubtedly adding a new, dangerous dimension to the public health crisis. the lockdown will continue for another three weeks to the 29th of january, when it will be reviewed again. on monday, schools were told to prepare for pupils to return injanuary 18th, but today that has changed to learning return on january 18th, but today that has changed to learning from home for the rest of the month and probably until february half half—term, unless there is a significant drop in covid cases. ahead of the lockdown, wales had the highest covid case rates in the uk. those nu

mark drakeford mark dra keford they mark drakeford they are in wales giving the daily briefing, he was talking about the flooding as well, the amount of people affected there. but also on the coronavirus situation, being questioned about the vaccination programme, also saying they are going to get 200 million for business support. and we know from the ons numbers that the numbers across the uk are still very high at this stage of the lockdown. we will bring you more details on that as soon as we can. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello. river levels will continue to respond to this week's rain in some parts of the country this weekend but overall, a lot more in the way of dry weather around and certainly this afternoon, plenty of sunshine across the central and eastern half of the country. more showers in the north and west, sleet and snow increasingly across scotland and northern ireland, but largely rain showers towards wales and the midlands, as well as the south—west. some of those heavy with a rumble of thunder and a bit wintry over higher ground, and

first minister mark drakeford says that although coronavirus case rates have fallen since the lockdown was introduced in december, some measures may need to be strengthened. the numbers of people falling ill with coronavirus in wales are still too high. numbers in some parts of wales are rising where the new variant has taken hold. and the number of people in our hospitals continues to be beyond the levels that we saw earlier in 2020. so for all those reasons, we need to continue the regime we've had here in wales since before christmas, and where we can, to intensify it even further. our correspondent mark hutchings is in cardiff for us. i can't ican‘t imagine i can't imagine anyone in wales is surprised by the news. no, i think it's a conclusion that had foregone written all over it, really. the first minister referring their to the hospital figures and also a concern, particularly in north—east wales where this new variant seems to have been transmitting rather sharply. there is no real surprise, either, i don't think, about the decision on schools, as unwelcome as it might be f

the first minister mark drakeford has walked into a bit of a row over the pfizer vaccine. more supplies of those are not expected to come to wales until the beginning of february, and mark drakeford says as a consequence of that, the doses have to be spaced out at mass vaccination centres to avoid them running out and leaving vaccinators standing around with nothing to do. now, those comments have been sharply criticised by many, including the former welsh secretary stephen crabb who says it is astonishing and a sign of a go—slow process, denied by the welsh government who insist they will meet their targets. well, the early pace of the vaccine programme here in northern ireland has led the first minister of the devolved government arlene foster to say that northern ireland is one of the top—performing places in the world. so far, upwards of 110,000 people have received at least one dose. more than 20,000 have also received their second dose. so that means in a place with a population of about 1.9 million, we are talking about more than 6% of the population have receiv

the first minister mark drakeford has walked into a bit of a row over the pfizer vaccine. more supplies of those are not expected to come to wales until the beginning of february and mark drakeford says that as a consequence of that, the doses have to be spaced out at max vaccination centres to avoid them running out and leaving vaccinated is standing around with nothing to do. criticisms... they said it is a sign of a go slow process, denied by the welsh government to insist they will meet their targets. the the welsh government to insist they will meet their targets.— will meet their targets. the early ace of will meet their targets. the early pace of the _ will meet their targets. the early pace of the vaccine _ will meet their targets. the early pace of the vaccine programme l will meet their targets. the early i pace of the vaccine programme here in northern ireland has led the first minister of the devolved government arlene foster to say that northern ireland is one of the top performing places in the world. so far, upwards of 110,000 people have received at least

mark drakeford said that more than 212,000 people have had their first vaccine and that as supplies of the vaccine increase in wales, the vaccination programme has really picked up speed. two weeks ago, i set out our plans for increasing the number of mass vaccination centers and gp practices offering vaccination. since then, we have exceeded all those plans. we have more clinics than ever providing vaccinations, more gp practices are offering the 0xford—astrazeneca jab, and almost 1000 care home residents a day are being vaccinated in wales. and that is because vaccination is our number one priority. we are on target to hit our first milestone of offering vaccination to the first four priority groups by the middle of february. and there is, as you can imagine, a massive amount of work going on in wales to make this happen. and of course, i understand that everyone is eager to have theirjab, and not everybody will be vaccinated in the first couple of weeks. for those who are waiting, i thank you for your patience. and if you haven't been vaccinated yet, you will soon hearfrom the nhs