Skip to main content

tv   BBC News  BBC News  March 19, 2024 1:45pm-2:01pm GMT

1:45 pm
wales has a good reputation in the rest of the world. that's what he is offering to his successor. mark drakeford also had a good reputation during the pandemic, it was very popular with voters. what's the picture now that he is resigning? i think the peak of his popularity probably came during the pandemic where his very cautious approach particularly into lifting login restrictions was admired by many but not everyone in wales —— matlock town. certainly people thought he did a good job during the pandemic. since then maybe some of the shine has come off, certainly the scrutiny put on the pandemic last week in the covid inquiry didn't see every welsh, decision being made very well. slot urgency was the acquisition thrown at mr drakeford's administration. —— slot —like. and also ongoing issues such as the 20 mph speed restriction in wales, not
1:46 pm
universally popular. we also saw protest on the steps of the senedd a couple of weeks ago with farmers unhappy about the new dell they are being offered post—brexit. so i think a mixed picture photo —— a new deal. when we look at his reputation on leaving. but i think history will look at him as someone who certainly was prominent due to the pandemic, probably exercise more power over the lives of people in wales from day to day than any other first minister, therefore probably pushed forward devolution, he made much more of a marks in any of his predecessors.— more of a marks in any of his predecessors. and he said he wouldn't give _ predecessors. and he said he wouldn't give any _ predecessors. and he said he wouldn't give any advice - predecessors. and he said he wouldn't give any advice to i predecessors. and he said he | wouldn't give any advice to his successor, what do we know about vaughan gething and how he is likely to take on the role?— vaughan gething and how he is likely to take on the role? vaughan gething won the welsh _ to take on the role? vaughan gething won the welsh labour— to take on the role? vaughan gething won the welsh labour leadership, - to take on the role? vaughan gething| won the welsh labour leadership, the result announced on saturday. we expect him to be formally voted into the role of first minister tomorrow. provided he can unify the labour ranks. labourwasn�*t provided he can unify the labour ranks. labour wasn't unify coming
1:47 pm
out of that contest, inevitably leadership races to end with people in second place and more senedd members were keen to havejeremy myles become first minister. a big question hangs over him after the leadership contest, was his acceptance of a £200,000 donation from a company whose owner had been criminally prosecuted for failing to clean up illegal waste? says that issueis clean up illegal waste? says that issue is to be reviewed but he did everything by the book. he will need to persuade people within the labour ranks and certainly voters in wales that hisjudgment is ranks and certainly voters in wales that his judgment is clear and that it is good. he does have plenty of experience, he was the health minister in wales during the pandemic and health is by far the biggest brief within wales so he has seen how the money spent and where. there will be a lot more in his inbox, not the issue of farming or the ongoing row of the 20 mph, but other things on the horizon, for example potentially 2000 job losses
1:48 pm
coming with the end of last steel furnace making at the plant in port talbot. so plenty of challenges ahead for vaughan gething if he has chosen as first minister tomorrow whatsapp hywel griffith, thank you. we do also have a live page on our bbc news website if you want to follow mark drakeford's final fmqs. the cabinet secretary simon case will give evidence to the uk covid inquiry on the 23rd of may. his planned testimony had to be cancelled last year because of ill health. mr case is expected to face questioning about whatsapp messages he sent during the covid pandemic, which were critical of the government's response. more on the survey from a childcare charity that suggests the availability of nursery and preschool care is falling in england, scotland and wales, even while costs are rising. coram family and childcare suggests fewer than one in three councils in britain believes there is enough childcare provision for under—twos in all areas.
1:49 pm
in a moment, we will speak to ellen broome from coram, but first, people have been telling bbc radio 5 live's nicky campbell about their experiences with childcare. to take on a £10,000 loanjust to continue going to work, because i was paying full—time for my son to go to work, £1,200 a month. so that 10,000 loan didn't even cover one full year of his childcare. luckily, because i had gone, i had done a masters in law, so i work in financial services and investment banking. i knew i had a prospects and a career that would definitely be an increase in salary in the future. so i made that decision and it's a decision that i hope many people don't have to make because ijust had a relationship breakdown, so i was a single parent. so there's a lot of this. you know, what's the divorce rate in the uk at? is it 40%, 50%? it's pretty high. there is no kind of understanding that actually you might be single and have a young child who needs to go to nursery and still pay all your bills.
1:50 pm
i struggle to get staffing. i've just given all my staff over 10% pay rise to keep them and that's still not enough. and i can't actually run to full capacity because of the shortage of staff. and i know several other nurseries in the area have actually closed rooms because of the same reason, they can't get the staff to supply the places. my wife is a registered childminder land also her sister's a registeredl childminder and they both both live i in the same street and they both. recently gave it up in the last two iyears to take a job in a factory. i and it wasn't the job they didn't like. - they love looking after the kids. one of your callers just said that they sit in front - of the tv and watch the switch all day. i they didn't do that. _ they were out all day with the kids. they would take them on . nature walks and do pictures and did lots of interesting things with them. - but there's so many regulations on childminders these days -
1:51 pm
that most of them are giving it up. in our area in south wales, i they have regular inspections. they're notjust inspections, they have somebody who will sit with you all day _ and scrutinise every little thing you do. i let's speak to ellen broome, the managing director of coram family and childcare. thank you so much for your time, we really do appreciate it. to those stories echo a lot of what you've been hearing as well as the challenges you are aware of? absolutely. a report that is out today paint quite a bleak picture for parents. they are facing, i think all the colours they are shared that with us, they are facing a double whammy this year are both dramatic drops in childcare availability and also above inflation rises in childcare costs. as you said, only a third of councils, three in ten councils think they have enough childcare for parents working full—time and four children under two, so some in the
1:52 pm
market. i children under two, so some in the market. ., ., ., market. i want to redo something from the department _ market. i want to redo something from the department for - market. i want to redo something l from the department for education. they have said that 150,000 children are set to benefit when the teen hours of free childcare a week will be offered to two—year—olds of eligible working parents. that's from april to do you think that's enough? i from april to do you think that's enou~h? ~ . from april to do you think that's enou~h? ~' . . .., enough? i think the extra childcare fundin: enough? i think the extra childcare funding that _ enough? i think the extra childcare funding that was _ enough? i think the extra childcare funding that was announced - enough? i think the extra childcare funding that was announced last i enough? i think the extra childcare l funding that was announced last year by the chancellor has the potential to be a bit of a game changerfor parents, many of whom have been facing to the high childcare costs. but i would also say that it is in addition to a really complex system thatis addition to a really complex system that is buckling a little bit under the strain already. i think our findings around high price rises and drops in availability raise some really clear questions about the ability of the current system to deliver that extra childcare for children and families and my concern is that unless this policy is properly supported and properly funded, it could have the opposite
1:53 pm
effect than what we want to see, with parents unable to access or for the child care they need to go to work and children will be missing out on the opportunity for some higher quality child care that we know really boosts their life outcomes. know really boosts their life outcome— know really boosts their life outcomes. ., ., ., ., outcomes. so, more on that, how important— outcomes. so, more on that, how important is— outcomes. so, more on that, how important is this _ outcomes. so, more on that, how important is this sort _ outcomes. so, more on that, how important is this sort of— outcomes. so, more on that, how important is this sort of childcare | important is this sort of childcare to children, their development and their futures?— their futures? absolutely, i think chuck is one _ their futures? absolutely, i think chuck is one of— their futures? absolutely, i think chuck is one of the _ their futures? absolutely, i think chuck is one of the best - their futures? absolutely, i think - chuck is one of the best investments a society can make, it allows parents to go back to work which we know it's really important to make sure that parents are welcome it matters to the long—term income into their pensions, and man —— it matters to the taxpayer, but it's also absolutely key to children, who, particularly children from disadvantaged areas or backgrounds who can really benefit from some high—quality early education. who can really benefit from some high-quality early education. ellen, thank ou high-quality early education. ellen, thank you so _ high-quality early education. ellen, thank you so much _ high-quality early education. ellen, thank you so much for— high-quality early education. ellen, thank you so much for your - high-quality early education. ellen, thank you so much for your time, i | thank you so much for your time, i really do appreciate it. an original pair of ruby slippers
1:54 pm
worn byjudy garland in the wizard of oz are to go on a world tour before being sold at auction. the shoes — one of four surviving pairs used in the film — previously made headlines when they were stolen from a museum in 2005 — before being recovered 13 years later. they will go on display in cities, including london, new york, and tokyo before being sold in december. if your week hasn't had the best start, well, just remember you're not the only one. this cctv video shows the moment a ferrari driver lost control of his car and crashed into some bike racks in norwich. police had to close the road while they investigated the incident, but they said no—one was injured and no further action would be taken. before we leave you, we just want to go back to wales, these are the live pictures of the first minister mark drakeford, these are his very final fmqs. people will tender his
1:55 pm
resignation to the king later this afternoon. he said he has no specific guidance to pass on to his successor, that he is leaving him with a country that has a good reputation around the world. there is a live page on our website that is a live page on our website that is following the ins and outs of the first minister's final fmqs so if you want to follow along, please do go check out our bbc news website and arrap. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello again. for most of you, the weather is cheering up quite nicely and the afternoon promises some decent spells of sunshine. so far, some of the best breaks in the cloud have been across wales with these sunny skies spotted earlier in north—west wales. but it's not the only place that's seeing sunshine today. northern ireland, scotland, northern england also seeing increasingly sunny skies. it's across east anglia and south—east england where we'll probably keep a lot of cloud. it's a mild day, 13 degrees for belfast and aberdeen, 15 or 16 in the mildest spots
1:56 pm
in england and wales. one or two isolated showers knocking around, yes, but for many of you, it stays dry. that's not the case, though, overnight, because low pressure's set to move in. and with that, we're going to see some fairly persistent outbreaks of rain pushing in, particularly to northern ireland, wales and northern england. a mild night, though, with temperatures 9 or 10 celsius for england and wales. 0n into tomorrow, the wettest weather, starting off the day in northern ireland will swing eastwards. so wales and northern england, probably having rain for most of the day. might well start off dry across south—east england. but i wouldn't rule out a bit of rain arriving here through the afternoon. mild across the south—east, brightening up for scotland and northern ireland. but here it will be a cooler kind of day with temperatures around 8 to 11 celsius. and that cool slice of weather won't last long. heading into thursday, we'll get some milder air pushing in off the atlantic behind this warm front, and so temperatures will be climbing. however, it is going to work out being quite a wet and windy day, particularly in scotland, where
1:57 pm
across northern areas we'll get gusts of wind running into the 50s of miles an hour. rain likely to be quite persistent for western scotland for much of the day, sinking southwards to give some wet weather into northern ireland through the afternoon. relatively mild, though. 1a in belfast, highs reaching 16 degrees towards the south—east of england. all change again through friday. a cold front sweeps its way southwards, introducing much cooler air. with that, there'll be a band of rain pushing southwards across england and wales. the skies then brighten up with sunshine, but there'll be lots of showers across the north—west of the uk. some of those are likely to be heavy with some hail and thunder mixed in and temperatures are coming down. we're looking at highs typically between 9 and 12 celsius, so close to average for the time of year. it stays showery into the weekend with some quite chilly winds around and it will be cold enough for a little bit of snow over the tops of the scottish mountains.
1:58 pm
1:59 pm
the us warns israel and assault on rath would be a mistake as the top diplomat in america says gazans are in desperate need.— in desperate need. 100% of the population _ in desperate need. 100% of the population of— in desperate need. 10096 of the population of gaza _ in desperate need. 10096 of the population of gaza is _ in desperate need. 10096 of the population of gaza is as - in desperate need. 10096 of the population of gaza is as severe | population of gaza is as severe levels of acute food insecurity. that's the first time an entire population has been so classified. hong kong passes yto security law.
2:00 pm
authorities say it is necessary but critics more freedoms. haiti descend into anarchy with winding gangs controlling large part of the caribbean nation. and the princess of wales is seen for the first time since her surgery out shopping with prince william. hello, i'm lucy grey. welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. benjamin netanyahu benjamin neta nyahu has benjamin netanyahu has said there's no way to defeat hamas over there a ground incursion. talks are continuing. both sides are under fire to stop fighting and secure the release of hostages. antony blinken has urged israel to prioritise allowing a den, saying the entire population of gaza is suffering.
2:01 pm
anna foster reports from jerusalem.

48 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on