The @BBC has announced huge cuts to @BBCNewsnight as part of just released savings & digital reinvestment plans. The show will be shortened to 30 mins and become an “interview, debate and discussion show”. Reporter and other roles are being axed. BBC also announcing One O’clock news moves to Salford & becomes 1 hour-long. A new BBC News Investigations Unit is being created. More focus will be put on digital storytelling, TV packaging will be reduced.

Sometimes you uncover a story that you have to keep rechecking because you can't believe it's true. That was the case when we started to investigate our series on unregulated children's homes. Could it really be right that vulnerable teenagers in care were being put in them? These homes (called supported/semi-supported accommodation) are supposed to help older teens transition to independence. Though some are good quality, we uncovered too many cases of children being let down, preyed on by criminal gangs, groomed by paedophiles, left to fend alone

Can people afford to self-isolate? If they can't, breaking covid chains of transmission is all but impossible. So what is the data saying? We've been looking into Self Isolation Support Payments - latest piece @BBCNewsnight tonight - the upfront £500 for people who must isolate The eligibility criteria to get the money include needing to be receiving in-work benefits, employed or self employed & asked to self isolate by NHS Test & Trace or its equivalents. Our figures from councils who administer the scheme show many applicants are being turned down

Thoughts for what's it's worth on mass testing after a day or two in Liverpool. Our story on @BBCNewsnight tonight reveals that the testing pilot is failing to reach the poorest communities in the city. In some parts, only 4% of residents have turned up to be tested @DanCardenMP the MP for Walton, a deprived part of the city, relays his belief that people can't afford to self-isolate so don't want to find out they may have the virus. He says the criteria for the Gov's self isolation grant are too tough & 80% of applications are rejected

Tonight on @BBCNewsnight we're reporting on @Calderdale local Covid test & trace system, set up in mid-August after an outbreak in central Halifax. At that point the national NHS Test & Trace was only reaching 2/3 of positive cases in this part of West Yorkshire. The local scheme gets details of cases once the national one (run for the NHS by private contractors) hasn't reached them for 24 hours. It's got successful tracing up to 95% with a combination of local knowledge, making calls from local nos not 0330 & boots on the ground