this is bbc news. the headlines at two o'clock: the commons speaker is facing condemnation from conservative mps after saying president trump shouldn't address parliament on his state visit to britain. the government announces plans for a million new homes by 2020 as ministers admit england's housing market is ‘broken‘. a warning the uk tax burden is set to rise to its highest level for 30 years, despite continuing cuts to public services. a jailed royal marine goes to court to appeal his conviction for murdering an injured afghan insurgent. also, a ten minute appointment with your gp. how the uk has some of the shortest doctor appointment times in europe. and how children as young as ten are feeling the pressure to look good in selfies. sometimes people get more likes than

you and you get a bitjealous. sometimes people get more likes than you and you get a bit jealous. i'd ta ke you and you get a bit jealous. i'd take about five before i pick one and thenl take about five before i pick one and then i post it. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. a growing number of conservative mps have criticised the speaker of the house of commonsjohn bercow after he publicly opposed the idea of president trump addressing parliament during his state visit. he told the house of commons yesterday that addressing mps "was not an automatic right, but an earned honour." it's prompted calls for him to consider his position with some conservatives accusing him of ignoring the tradition that the speaker should stay neutral. but the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, said it was the duty of the speaker to stand up for parliament. here's our political correspondent chris mason. the ultimate accolade on a state visit.

the red carpet and the chance to address both houses of parliament. so this is president trump might have got to stand and now he won't. it is the oldest part of parliament, westminster hall, dating back to the 11th century. critics say that the speaker's monts went too far. i don't think he wants to play politics, but that is how it is being interpreted. he prides himself on being able to speak for the whole house and remain neutral. i think this... statement that he made takes him away from that position and exposes him to the accusation of hypocrisy. i invite you, mr president, to address us. there was gushing words and the hand of friendship for the president of china, despite criticism of his

country's human rights record. but the speaker's view of president trump... our opposition to racism and to sexism... good on you say some mps, what you said was music to our ears. i was in the hall at the time and brilliant. respect to him. he did a fantasticjob and articulated the way the british people feel, not necessarily about the president of the united states, but the tones in which he has used in his campaign to become the president and i have not seen him roll back from that yet. sojohn bercow spoke on behalf of many of us. it has become traditional to keep an eye on president trump's twitter account. no response from him yet. but some of his allies have noticed. that is disappointing, if ever in recent years there have been a more pro british president of the united states it is donald trump. next up, this man, the lords speaker

will weigh in with his view. this row is not over yet. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster. as chris was think at the end of his report, john bercow opposite number in the house of lords will make his thoughts known in a little while. he has clearly got supporters and opponents in terms of what he said, hasn't he? that's right. the speaker hasn't he? that's right. the speaker has just been hasn't he? that's right. the speaker hasjust been on hasn't he? that's right. the speaker has just been on his feet again on the house —— in the house of commons answering questions. sir edward leigh has stood up and said he did not agree with whatjohn bercow had said and doesn't think he should have said that president trump can't

come and speak here. nevertheless he said that we must respect the office of the speaker. really making a point there that although john bercow had said he did not agree with some of the beazer president trump, maybe he'll respect the office of the american president. it's been pointed out that people in the past, like the president of china, have come here and been welcome. china, in terms of human rights, it's not something britain has always agreed with. john bercow used his own speech to point out that britain has a different view two point —— different view. there are many people who did applaud what john bercow said. they think he has done the right thing. all mps can do now if they disagree and if he has

overstepped the mark is to bring forward a no—confidence vote. i think he would win that, so they probably think there is no point pursuing that. moving away from that, more discussion of brexit this afternoon? that's right. ministers trying to head of a rebellion on their own side, particularly on the issue of what kind of said this place has went theresa may has done a deal with the rest of the eu. they are pointing out, many of them conservative, that the european union gets to look at the deal before it is signed off and surely displace should have the same right. they are trying to come up with a form of words, some tory mps looking form of words, some tory mps looking for a concession. the form of words is doing and throwing, trying to appease some of those on the tory side. if not, the government face difficulty if the other parties coalesce around the idea of a

meaningful vote at the end. also, if no deal is done by theresa may, what happens then? the tories won parliament to have a say in that scenario as well. thank you very much. meanwhile the latest round of donald trump's legal battle with the courts over his temporary travel ban continues today. a federal appeals court is due to decide whether to restore the president's 90—day ban on people from seven, mainly muslim countries, a decision that's led to protests in america and elsewhere. from washington richard lister sent this report. president trump returned to the white house with the fate of one of his signature policies still unclear. he wants to temporarily close all america's border to all refugees and to travellers from seven predominantly muslim countries, but his move has been blocked by the courts. earlier, he told members of military that controlling access to america was the key to its security. we need strong programmes so that people that love us and want to love our

country and will end up loving our country are allowed in. not people that want to destroy us and destroy our country. this appeals court is due to hear arguments for and against the ban before making itjudgment. in motions filed by the two sides, the department ofjustice said the executive order is a lawful exercise of the president's authority to decide who can enter the country. but the states of washington and minnesota, which brought the case, argue the list of countries targeted by the order is intended to disfavour muslims, which is a breach of the constitution. when we first created the constitution, one of the things we said was there would be no religious tests for office. this goes even further and erects a religious test for entry. and that just goes beyond what the constitution has. this executive order was done in the bests interests of protecting

the america people and this is something that has broad support from american people from one coast to the other and we are going to continue to do what we have to do and this president's committed to making sure this country and it is people are safe. around 130 tech companies are also opposing the ban, arguing they need access to foreign talent. among then are two companies owned by elon musk — spacex and teslar. he has now chosen to resist the ban, despite being on the president's business advisory council. for now though the people that president trump wants to block are coming to america as fast as they can. all have been processed by immigration officers and have valid us visas and it may finally be that the supreme court will have to rule on how much power mr trump has to keep them out. richard lister, bbc news washington. and washington is just beginning what's expected to be another day of controversy. let's talk to our correspondent there, kim ghattas. a battle between the president and

the supreme court early a presidency? i mean, you couldn't make it up. we are not the quite yet, but it does look as though this is heading towards the supreme court and that is certainly not where donald trump expected one of his first executive orders to end up. what is going to happen later today is the ninth circuit court of appeals in san francisco will here be oral arguments of both sides. the lawyers from the states of washington and minnesota and from the justice department, washington and minnesota and from thejustice department, of course thejustice department, of course the trump administration, making the case that this executive order, the travel ban needs to be restored immediately for national security reasons. they seem to be making the case solely on national security concerns. even going as far as saying that not restoring the order

would cause irreparable harm to national security. now in the briefs filed yesterday lawyers from washington and minnesota said this was simply not plausible because that would assume that there had been irreparable harm done to the country preceding that executive order. of course the judge ‘s ruling later today, or hearing the arguments later today and will be making the decisions solely on the legality of the executive order, but theissue legality of the executive order, but the issue of national security is very much at the forefront of this battle. briefly, do we know if the president has ever heard ofjohn bercow? he probably has, but they have been no reaction from the white house so far to what mr bercow has been saying. we have heard a little bit of reaction from other members of the republican party, saying they we re very of the republican party, saying they were very disappointed and that this was a slap in the face of the republican party. thank you very much. england is being promised

a million new homes by 2020, under plans being published by the government this lunchtime. it's setting out its strategy for fixing what it says is a "broken" housing market in england. the plans include building more affordable homes, help for first—time buyers, and measures to make rental agreements more secure. duncan kennedy is in southampton. brownsite or greenbelt — just one of the grey areas in britain's complicated house—building mix. but how to fix what the government today calls a broken housing market? well, its white paper suggests the answers lie in getting the right homes built in the right places, meaning every council must come up with a long—term plan, speeding up house—building by giving councils new powers to put pressure on developers, and diversifying the market to get small independent builders back in and stop them being squeezed by the big players. prices are too high. we are not building enough homes,

and this white paper is a radical blueprint to change this once and for all. but the change required is massive. the government's target in all this isi million new homes by 2020 — that's 250,000 every year until then, the equivalent of 3000 developments like this. it's hugely ambitious. take this development in southampton — 350 homes on a brownfield site. sounds ideal? it is, but the developer he says it's taken to make years to get planning sorted, and they simply aren't enough brownfield locations around. brownfield in itself can't possibly sustain the long—term housing requirements of the uk. it can go an awful long way, but there needs to be a relaxation of some green belt to enable us to deliver the numbers that we are required to. but the government today rejected almost all green belt building, and says the housing solutions lie elsewhere. it's expanding

rent—to—buy schemes and supporting more shared ownership. four years ago, jennifer tristram started with a 50% share of this astor homes flat in bristol and has now increased it to 100%, but it's been a long struggle. when i was looking, i remember, there wasn't that much option out there for what i wanted and what i could afford, and i think, like, anybody who's in that same situation will probably be feeling that struggle, probably even more so than i did when i was looking. the government also thinks premade homes, or modules, could help. assembled in factories, transported by lorries, and erected in half the time. it's a young industry, but is it really the solution? let me throw it back. i mean, over the last 20 years, the volume house—builders and the housing associations haven't sorted the supply mess that we're in, so we're going to have to find new methods. the government also says older

people could downsize to free up their homes, but only if they are offered alternatives. labour says the nation's housing policy remains in a mess. duncan kennedy, bbc news. i can speak now to rico wojtulewicz from the house builders' association. he's in our brighton studio. good afternoon. from what you have heard from the government, does it understand the market you face. good afternoon. i'm not entirely sure they understand the full capacity of they understand the full capacity of the house—building industry. the consultation document underlines some interesting issues about the wider house—building issue. u nfortu nately, wider house—building issue. unfortunately, in that it is clear that they don't understand how to deliver the appropriate type of supply. when you say delivered the

appropriate type of supply, what do you mean by that? if you look at the consultation document itself, the housing white paper, the national federation of builders, regional and local builders, we look at what is needed. there is nothing in the document that forces local authorities to list how many one, two, three bedroom properties they are building. that was something we used to do up until 2012. all local authorities would have to list those details and the statistics were collated by the department of local government. since that has stopped, it's difficult to know what is being delivered. it is notjust that. there is a mention of the small sites register and the fact we won't have a consultation on small sites. so is it difficult for the small and

medium—size businesses and builders to understand what is needed in the local market? is that what you are saying? no, we understand exactly what is needed, but policy doesn't support us and if policy does not support us and if policy does not support us and if policy does not support us or enable planning opportunities, it is difficult for oui’ opportunities, it is difficult for our guys to put a shovel in the ground. we have heard criticisms that sometimes profits come before housing considerations. is that something you think is the comment? i think for certain sectors of the market of course everything is a business model within the house—building industry, but actually, if you open up to the wider competition and open it up not just to our guys, small and medium enterprises, what you open it up to

the housing associations and cooperative homes, self build, custom—built, all the different people who need homes built. it's not just about traffic, it's about what you do live and we have members who will only build market homes. we have members in devon where there is not a lot of brownfield and they have set their own affordable limits to get the local authority on board because there is no agreement between all developers. if you have that agreement amongst the wider building industry, you can get a different model. as we saw last week, it's more to have a more diverse housing system. thank you very much. tax rises and spending cuts are set to continue into the next decade, according to leading economists at the institute for fiscal studies. the amount of national income raised

through tax is now at its highest level in thirty years. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity is here. how does this work? so many years of austerity and it doesn't seem to be paying off. cuts in public spending in 2010 and the hope was that you cut the government budget back and private sector investment comes in to replace it in the economy grows again. it has not happened. we still have a deficit which will be higher than in all but 13 of the 60 years. at this was there because there wasn't enough austerity in recent yea rs. wasn't enough austerity in recent years. george osborne retreated from ita years. george osborne retreated from it a little bit. 0thers years. george osborne retreated from it a little bit. others will say it is down to economic growth. if you don't have the tax money coming in, it it doesn't matter how much you cut a way of spending, you won't improve it. but they have been some improvements? it has been better than the gloomy forecasts so far,

but the consensus now, and be wary of the consensus, but the consensus says over the next couple of years inflation will bite. the pound's wea kness inflation will bite. the pound's weakness will come home, imported goods will become more expensive and that will put us off spending more money and that will have its effect. growth will only be 1.6% this year and 1.3% next year. well below the norm. so that era of austerity, was it pointless? some will say it has not worked. the government say they have succeeded in halving the deficit, but in terms of stimulating the economy, the government are taking a different approach. they are doing capital spending rather than hacking away at what we are spending day today. thank you very much. john bercow who has been criticised

and accused of not being neutral as this beaker in the house of commons —— as the speaker in the house of commons, has been defending his role. let's cross to our correspondent to is ata gp let's cross to our correspondent to is at a gp surgery in which the ball. here, they are about 20 miles away from the nearest a&e. they have

had to look at how they treat patients and how they can keep them out of hospital. there is a huge financial black hole and the population is rising all the time. men need to keep people out of hospital is imperative. —— the need. i'll contort now to a local gp. we're based in canterburyjust down the road. you are a gp, but you are here holding an ent clinic. we're trying to reduce the number of unnecessary referrals to the hospital so that specialists only need to see specialist problems. many of us have done some extra training to manage more complex problems, but in the community. this isa problems, but in the community. this is a good example here. we are based

that northgate in canterbury, but the patients locally, because we are keen to keep good quality care close to home, we come out of at the clinics here. i can see how that would engage gps more in the process in terms of trying to better integrate ground level nhs primary ca re integrate ground level nhs primary care with hospitals. yes, we are working with our consultant colleagues. we have consultants to join us in the clinics for the more complex cases. the patients they come to a familiar environment and they don't have to wait for hours. but also if they do subsequently need an operation, because we have oui’ need an operation, because we have our consultant colleagues working with us, they don't have to go to the hospital, it can be done through the hospital, it can be done through the clinic and it is an efficient system. government are looking at this as an example. the health secretary has been here and the big boss of the nhs is due here. as

a lwa ys boss of the nhs is due here. as always there is a financial? hanging over this, but it seems to be working here in this part of kent. thank you very much. the appeal has begun for a former royal marine who's in jail for murdering an injured afghan insurgent. sergeant alexander blackman was convicted in 20—13, and sentenced to life. his conviction was referred to the court of appeal to establish whether he'd been suffering from combat stress at the time of the incident. 0ur correspondent is outside the royal courts ofjustice. this is the second appeal. the case was referred back to the poor by the body that looks into potential miscarriages ofjustice. it has been heard in front of five seniorjudges who are sitting as the court martial appeal court. today during the hearing the court was shown graphic footage from a helmet camera, showing a seriously wounded insurgent lying on the grounds. he is then moved, he is dragged along

the ground and later footage shows he is shot in the chest at point—blank range. jonathan goldberg qc who is acting for alexander blackman told the judges that three experts had agreed that at the time he had been suffering from a mental illness known as adjustment disorder which would have impaired his ability to form a rationaljudgment 01’ ability to form a rationaljudgment or exercise self—control. mr goldberg said it was the impact of fresh psychiatric evidence that was that the hearts of this appeal. 0ne of the psychiatric experts has given evidence in person. professor neal greenburg said that in british troops between 20 and 25% would suffer from troops between 20 and 25% would sufferfrom mental troops between 20 and 25% would suffer from mental health difficulties at some point and adjustment disorders often mask the symptoms. he was asked about resilience of combat troops. he said that elite troops did have higher levels of resilience, but they could also develop mental health

difficulties. for the crown, also develop mental health difficulties. forthe crown, richard whitton qc said it was important to understand the appeal was confined to the question of diminished responsibility. even though there could be evidence that mental health could be evidence that mental health could have been a factor in the killing, they would have to consider video evidence. alexander blackman himself has not been in court. he is appearing by video link. his wife has been here and some of her supporters have been in the courtroom to hear the evidence. the cases listed for three days. thank you very much. time now to take a look at the weather. quite messy picture across the uk. we have had a lot of rain and heavy

showers. there has equally been good spells of sunshine. through this evening and overnight the skies were clear as a ridge of high pressure builds. a bit of mist and fog and maybe some ice as well. northern ireland is holding on to the cloud and rain. there will be some snow over the high grounds. the wednesday, a cloudy day. that weather front pushing its way with words. sunshine will be limited across sheltered western areas. quite a cold, messy, grey day. thursday, we pick up more of a cold easterly wind. there will be some brightness around. certainly north—west scotland parts of wales, but wintry flows will still be present. we will hold onto that until the end of the week. a bitterly cold easterly wind and there will be increasing snow showers, especially across the north and east.

hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: the commons speaker, john bercow, comes underfire from a growing number of conservative mps, after he says he doesn't want president trump to address parliament on his state visit later this year. he told mps he was acting on —— honestly and honourably. the government announces new plans to build affordable homes, tackle the high cost of renting, and offer more help to first time buyers — but critics say it will do little to provide genuinely affordable housing. tax rises and spending cuts will continue into the next decade, according to the institute for fiscal studies. doctors‘ leaders say average ten minute gp appointments, which are thought to be the shortest in europe, are "crazy", and plans to move more care out of hospitals will leave even less time for patients. we arejust

we are just hearing that mps and peers are to get a vote on the final brexit deal ahead of the european parliament. he suggests this is a key concession. there is a vote scheduled for later today. we will be live at westminster with more on that shortly. now let's get the sport. good afternoon. alastair cook has been speaking for the first time since stepping down as england test cricket captain. he says he can longer give the job 100 percent effort anymore, and feels sad to walk away. he's been speaking to our sports correspondentjoe wilson. it's a job you need to do at 100% and you need to be committed to everything. unfortunately, i've gone to the well a few times and i have to the well a few times and i have to be honest and look in the mirror. i couldn't do it any more. i could do 90% -- 94th -- 95%. i couldn't do it any more. i could do 9096 -- 94th -- 95%. what job

do 9096 -- 94th -- 9596. what job would joe root do with the team if he becomes the test captain? now i'm no longer involved in those decisions, wait and see. whoever gets thejob it decisions, wait and see. whoever gets the job it will be a very special time for him orfor them, whoever it is. they are very lucky because they have some very talented cricketers to drive forward. hopefully we can drive england forward and win a lot more games than we lose. leicester city manager claudio ranieri has been given a vote of confidence by the club. it comes with the champions dangerously close to the relegation zone. despite winning the tile last may, leicester have struggled to make any sort of impact this season. they haven't scored a goal in the league this year, and a run of bad results has left them just one point clear of the bottom three. the club though have released a statement offering their "unwavering support", saying that past success was down to stability. not only the players, i think the whole club, the staff, the fans and the players, we'll need to pull

together. ultimately everybody wants the same outcome. nobody wants a relegation. nobody wants to be down there at the minute. we don't want to be down there at the end of the season. if we're all pulling in the same direction at the same time, that will serve us well. iaaf president lord coe insists he did not mislead an mps' inquiry over what he knew about the state—sponsored doping program in russia. emails emerged that appeared to show he was aware of allegations of blackmail and failed drugs tests involving russian athletes, months before they became public. he denies the allegations, and has been speaking to richard conway. ididn't i didn't mislead them. i didn't mislead any select committee. i have a global sport to run across 214 countries. they have a report to write. i have furnished that

committee with every piece of information that they have asked of me. i appeared information that they have asked of me. iappeared in information that they have asked of me. i appeared in front of it for over three hours not that long ago. and this is a situation, for me, thatis and this is a situation, for me, that is very important, that i'm able to focus on all the things that we talked about, the timelines, the task force, the transfers of allegiance. i have to focus on that. seven—time paralympic swimming champion sascha kindred has announced his retirement after a 23—year career. the 39—year—old has been one of the leading figures in the sport since he made his international debut in 1994. last year, he won gold at the rio paralympics — his sixth games. kindred says the physical and mental demands to be an elite athlete are becoming too much for him. the new england patriots are back in boston following their incredible super bowl win on sunday. thousands of fans waited as the team buses arrived, carrying the players and the vince lombardi trophy. the patriots have now won the super bowl five times — just one short of the pittsburgh steelers. tom brady and company will parade through boston later. that is all for now. more in the

next hour. has the government made a major concession on the parliamentary role ina concession on the parliamentary role in a future brexit deal? vicky young is at westminster. what has happened? a number of tory mps were unhappy about the say that parliament would have the final deal. there are concerned theresa may would do the deal, the european parliament and of the european council would sign it off, and only then would this place get a say. they have called for a meaningful vote. there has been toing and froing for the last couple of days, with ministers trying to head off a rebellion. it seems like they have given a pretty major concession. the minister hasjust given a pretty major concession. the minister has just stood up given a pretty major concession. the minister hasjust stood up in given a pretty major concession. the minister has just stood up in the house of commons, saying there will bea house of commons, saying there will be a final vote before the european

parliament has their vote. not only will it be on the deal that theresa may gets, it will also be on the future relationship the uk has with the european union. now labour are about to make a big speech about what they wanted. it seems they have been granted this. there are some people, ken clarke, a long—time pro—european tory member, has said, let's not be too hasty, let's hear what they are talking about. but it does seem that a lot of tory mps who we re does seem that a lot of tory mps who were unhappy will certainly be much happier about this. i'm just looking at pictures of the house of lords. we're waiting for a statement from lord fowler along the lines of what john bercow said yesterday about a proposed speech by donald trump. what do we think lord fowler will say? there are three people in this place to get a say over who gets to address parliament at westminster hall. john bercow came out last

night without intervention. very unexpected. he said he would not be happy about inviting president trump here. the speaker the house of lords distanced himself from that. we will have to wait and see what he has to say. but effectivelyjohn bercow has vetoed the idea. we will have two seats. many people say this is premature anyway. the state visit is not for a few months. there is no itinerary. we don't know if president trump would have been invited here anyway. let's go and listen to lord fowler. the procedure by which permission is given to speak in parliament is long established. when the speakers receive a request to invite a head of state to invite parliament, they both have two agreed to issue an invitation after consultation. the whole purpose is to seek consensus, ensuring that both houses have the

opportunity to consider a request. yesterday in the commons, mr burke broke said he was opposed to the president speaking. i should make it clear i was not consulted about that decision. however, the speaker contacted me this morning. he told me that while he maintained his view on the issue, he was genuinely sorry for failing to consult with me. obviously i accepted that apology. my view is that i will keep an open mind and consider any request from mrtrump to mind and consider any request from mr trump to address parliament if and when it is made. i do not intend to argue the case for or against mr trump's visit. that is not my role as speaker. but allow me to say that i have spent the last 30 years campaigning against prejudice and discrimination, particularly forthe rights of the lb gt people and those with hiv aids. i would however like to make two further comments

entirely on process. first, there will be other leaders coming to this country who may also be controversial. the procedure as it stands means that either mr speaker or myself can effectively veto any proposal for a visiting leader to address parliament, at least as far as westminster hall is concerned. i think it is for parliament to consider whether there is a better way in which such decisions can be made. second, for the way in which such decisions can be made. second, forthe time being, there may be a situation where one of the speakers decide he cannot agree. before we reach this point, there should be, at the very least, some effort to reach consensus and a serious discussion on what the decision should be. i hope that we can now return to that previous practice. i thank the lord is speaker for the

clarity of his statement and ask leave to ask the question set down on the order paper. construction of the a1 scheme is expected to commence in 2020. this is subject to completion of such a true planning processes. and continuing to demonstrate value for money. the programme will also... let's pull away. i don't know lord fowler very well. he's clearly not happy and had to accept an apology from john bercow this morning? yes, john bercow clearly recognises he should have consulted with his opposite number. i think what was interesting is that there was a lot about process. but he is confirming that effectively the idea of an address to both houses by donald

trump has been vetoed byjohn bercow. interestingly, he has made his personal views known. he is not too far away from john bercow when it comes to his views. socially liberal. pointing it out about his yea rs of liberal. pointing it out about his years of campaigning. clearly this has not been conducted in the way he would like. john bercow says he is reflecting a large amount of disquiet in the house of commons. there are others who say you don't speakfor the there are others who say you don't speak for the whole house. and again, did he speak to mps about it before he answered that question yesterday? the question now is, will that request come forward from the government? will they say they want to invite donald trump to speaker? it probably seems unlikely after all of that. thank you. let's get more now on one of our main stories. opposition mps say government plans to reform the property market in england will do little to provide genuinely affordable housing. ministers say they will offer extra help for first—time buyers, ensure councils address local housing need and provide more

stability to those renting. joining me from our westminster studio is labour's shadow housing minister, john healey. good afternoon. you said we were promised a white paper. we were presented with a white flag. it's surely not as bad as that, is it? there are some proposals. it is. it is no plan to fix the country's housing crisis. the millions of people struggling month—to—month with the cost of housing they face will be disappointed —— deeply disappointed by what they have heard today. there's very little they can look to as helping their circumstances over the next couple of years. fundamentally, what is this white paper missing in your opinion? it's missing virtually everything. there is no serious plan to build thousands more affordable homes to both rent and buy, which

are needed. there is no plan to bring infair are needed. there is no plan to bring in fair rights for private renters. including longer tenancies tied to, perhaps, capped rent rises during that time and basic standards. and there is no plan at all to deal with the spiralling homelessness problem in this country. so there is a huge gap between the rhetoric of ministers and their record on housing, or any prospect of that changing in the next few years. let's look at the first of those points. there is a plan to force councils to produce an up—to—date plan for housing demand in theirarea. to up—to—date plan for housing demand in their area. to encourage builders in their area. to encourage builders in their areas to get on and build houses. surely that is a start? how many times have we heard this? hundreds of times over the last few yea rs. if hundreds of times over the last few years. if the government can say

they think we need a proper conversation about housing need, i tell you, this is feeble beyond belief as a plan to deal with the housing pressures we face. is a passing the buck to the councils, do you think? they are not using the councils as they should. only one year since the second world war we built 200,000 new homes without councils building at least a third. councils do stand ready of the government gives them the backing to do so. my money, notjust conventional council housing, which is needed, but also some councils like manchester or warrington are offering mortgages to local residents. and labour birmingham council is building homes for council rent and also homes for birmingham residents who cannot afford to get into the housing market itself. that is the sort of plan we need. john healey, thank you very much. voters in west cumbria

will go to the polls in just over two weeks for a by—election. it follows the resignation of labour mp jamie read. richard moss is in whitehaven. yes, labour has held this seat for more than 80 years. there are parties who think they can ta ke there are parties who think they can take it off them. i am with two candidates. trudy harrison from the conservatives and fiona mills from ukip. one of the big issues is nuclear power. sellafield is in the constituency. there are plans for a nuclear power station. there seems to be some doubt. 20,000 jobs to connect —— connected to that. what would you do about that?” connect —— connected to that. what would you do about that? i would be working to make sure we secure the investment for the essential project. one of the other big issues is the hospital. plans to transfer services, eternity services,

potentially, which may see pregnant woman having to travel 40 miles to carlisle under straitened circumstances. the prime minister said she had no problems with the plan. we can't expected to fight that, can we? the prime minister was misquoted. i was born at that hospital. i oppose the regime. i will be doing everything i can to support the services. isn't your party concentrating on stoke? we have a really good chance here. we have a really good chance here. we have lots of people campaigning with me. i'm looking forward to meeting them tomorrow and friday. me. i'm looking forward to meeting them tomorrow and fridayfi me. i'm looking forward to meeting them tomorrow and friday. b nuclear power station, exit from the european union is causing problems. i'm sure that is not an issue at all. we need to ensure the investment for this one way or another. hopefully those 20,000 jobs will go to local people. we need

apprenticeships as well. and the hospital? phuket policies were implemented, we wouldn't have the problems we have now. we need to train more and stop the bureaucracy, then we would have more funding. we have said we will use the foreign aid budget to support the nhs as well. on the issue of nuclear power station, do you accept brexit is causing problems? no, absolutely not. we have the opportunity to become a worldwide export knowledge and products from the nuclear supply chain, to become that area of nuclear excellence. thank you both very much. there seven candidates standing. we shall be talking to more of them later. unfortunately, the labour candidate is not available this afternoon. there is a full list of the candidates on the bbc website. you are not wrong. and there it is. the full list. you can

keep up—to—date with developments. we will return to that by—election site later. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour. but first, the headlines on bbc news: speakerjohn bercow is facing mounting criticism for suggesting he'll prevent president trump addressing parliament, during his state visit later this year. he has defended his comment that donald trump should not be allowed to address parliament, telling mps he was acting honestly and honourably, carrying out his responsibilities. the government is setting out measures to help people rent or buy their own home in england, in a bid to fix what it calls the "broken" housing market. the uk's tax burden is set to hit its highest level in 30 years, despite the longest and deepest cuts in public spending on record — according to a leading economic think tank. hello. in the business news today, 4 million customers on prepayment

energy meters should save about £80 a year after a prize cup was announced. the temporary cap starts in april and will be updated every six months. it's expected to stay until 2020 when smart meters will be rolled out. lloyds banking group will review all business customers affected by criminal activities linked to two corrupt former bankers who were jailed last week. yesterday mps were urging hbos to pay compensation to victims of the fraud, which saw money siphoned off from struggling businesses. bp has reported an annual loss of £808 million for 2016, although an increase in the oil price helped it enjoy an improvement in the last three months of the year. a barrel was priced at less than $28 injanuary 2016 — but today it's around $56. the number of workers without guaranteed hours or basic employment rights has soared by more than 660,000 in the past five years. that is according to the tuc. care home workers and waiters are

vulnerable. joining me now is frances o'grady, general secretary of the tuc. is it not just is it notjust a case of people wa nted is it notjust a case of people wanted to choose jobs with greater flexibility, and so therefore they are opting for insecure jobs by choice? flexibility is a great thing if it is a two—way street. but it can't just be about if it is a two—way street. but it can'tjust be about working according to the terms of the bosses. insecurity is a massive problem now for millions of people in britain. and it's time the government took action. lots of people find it really hard to plan their childcare, their finances or their childcare, their finances or their lives, unless they have a steadyjob their lives, unless they have a steady job they their lives, unless they have a steadyjob they can build their life on. ok, but our conditions worse than a year on. ok, but our conditions worse thana yearago? on. ok, but our conditions worse than a year ago? i'm afraid the problem is getting much worse. we have seen an increase in the number of people on zero hours contracts in hospitality and the care sector. we

are not just hospitality and the care sector. we are notjust talking about minimum wagejobs. education is driving this rocketing in the numbers of insecure contracts at work in britain. what can the government do? we have the living wage. they are clamping down on zero hours contracts. r&a? we would like to see the government guarantee every work of the right to guaranteed hours at work, but critically, the right to basic rights like maternity and sick pay. and currently, of course, because of what the government has done, a worker now has to find over £1000 to ta ke worker now has to find over £1000 to take a case to an employment tribunal, to get the rights that should belong to every worker. we have seen it at uber, at sports direct. we need a government that recognises too much power has moved into the hands of some bad employers. maybe they should be supporting unions getting stronger in those workplaces, giving us the right to organise inside the workplace, so that we redress the

imbalance of power. but is it not a case of changing conditions and terms of the labour market, so we have automation determining the different types of jobs have automation determining the different types ofjobs available for people? also, a decrease in the manufacturing sector, people moving towards retail. is that not a larger determinant? this is notjust about new technology. as you will see from the figures today, with the doubling of insecure contracts in the care sector and injobs of insecure contracts in the care sector and in jobs like wagering, bars and restaurants, that is not to do with new technology. so yes, on the one hand we do have the likes of uber, whether through union legal action we have been able to show they are not genuinely self—employed. they should have the same rights that workers enjoy. but we're also seen the spread of insecurity into white—collar work. not necessarily minimum wage work but often very insecure work.

frances o'grady, general secretary of the tuc, thank you. in other business news, if you like a bargain, then you might be interested to know that aldi is now the uk's fifth biggest grocer, overtaking co—op. that's according to the latest figures from retail consultants, ka ntar world panel. among the big four supermarkets, morrisons was the fastest growing last year, and increased its market share for the first time since june 2015. toymaker hornby has said its turnaround plan is "on track", but that full year revenue will be down. lastjune, the train set maker said it would cut the number of toys it makes after profits plunged. and have you ever been in traffic and thought, i wish this car had wings? well you might not be dreaming in vain — ride—sharing app uber has hired a former nasa engineer to help it research flying cars. mark moore will become the compa ny‘s director of engineering for aviation. in october, uber published a white paper outlining the potential for "on—demand aviation" to transform the daily commute. a quick look at the markets before

we go. the bp share price was down a few percentage points this morning. that is it from me. more business in an hour. thank you. householders who have pre—payment meters are to have their energy prices capped. it's a change that could save them up to £80 a year. around four million homes have the pre—payment meters. and despite the fact that they're often households on low incomes, the charges they face are higher than other tariffs. here's john moylan. for pensioner maggie leach, energy is a big part of her household budget. to avoid unexpected bills, for years, she's been paying over the odds for gas and electricity using prepayment meters, so she thinks this price cut is long overdue. i don't think it's fair that we should pay more because we've got a prepaid meter. it's good they've given a reduction, but over the year, it's not really a lot.

the new prepaid price cap will benefit around 4 million households. depending upon where they live and their energy use, they should save around £80 a year. importa ntly, they'll also be protected from sudden price rises, but won't a price cut for some mean a price hike for others? an efficient supplier should be able to meet this price cap without having to cross subsidise from any other area of the market, so if a company comes along and says, i have to raise my other prizes because of this, i think that is frankly rubbish. here in south london, at this tower block, the vast majority of residents use prepayment meters, and campaigners have long argued that these sorts of households get a raw deal when it comes to their energy, so the question they're asking today is whether an £80 saving goes far enough. people on prepayment meters are amongst the most vulnerable, and they should not be paying more than any other customer. in fact, many people think they should be paying less because

they are paying in advance. the price cap is meant to be temporary, but it will protect maggie until at least 2020. by then, it is hoped that the energy market will have changed to make it easier for everyone to get a better deal. john moylan, bbc news. a 14—year—old indoor skydiver has been crowned the world's fastest flyer in one of the world's biggest competitions. she competed in the winter games in catalonia, spain at the weekend. she was not only among the weekend. she was not only among the few females who took part but she was also one of the youngest. that's incredible. it's great fun. you do it every weekend. there is no engine on earth that will keep me up! a big mixture weather today. we have

heard some pleasant sunshine across a good swathe of england and wales. a scattering of heavy showers. across scotland, a messy mix of rain, sleet and snow over high ground. when the weather in the northern isles. through the early pa rt northern isles. through the early part of the evening those showers will slowly fade out. a rigs of high pressure will move into northern ireland. still some heavy showers of in coastal wales, south—west england. a bit try for central and southern parts of england. cloudy and damp on eastern coastal areas. a lot of cloud in scotland. outbreaks of rain. we'll see season settling snow on the grampians. wendy, cold and wet for the northern isles. that windy and wet weather continues here overnight. the showers across the west tending to fade out overnight.

still some coastal ones. under clear skies for northern ireland, it will turn cold. we could see some ice we re turn cold. we could see some ice were showers have fallen. northern and eastern parts of the uk remain cloudy and wet with further snow over the high ground. as that weather front continues to work its way west, the sunshine will become confined to western parts of the uk. elsewhere, spots of rain. maybe the odd snowflake. when trueness of high ground in eastern scotland, north—east england. it is this area of high pressure that will be with us of high pressure that will be with us into next week. it will bring cold airfrom us into next week. it will bring cold air from the east across our shores. rushing all—weather france towards the atlantic. it will be a grey day on thursday. lots of cloud trapped into that cold easterly breeze. temperatures, twos and threes. any brightness in the west,

67 degrees. by friday, another grey and cold day. we will continue to see some damp weather in eastern areas with snow flurries. it is cold towards the end of the week. it will be rather cloudy. the best of sunshine in sheltered western areas, an increasing risk of snow showers into the weekend. settling slow —— snow across higher ground in north—east england and north—east scotland. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm. government say both houses will get a vote on the brexit deal. we intend that the vote will cover not only the withdrawal arrangements but our future relationship with the eu. the lords speak at lord fowler says he would keep an open mind about the

view to letting president trump address parliament. view to letting president trump address parliamentlj view to letting president trump address parliament. i would consider any request by mr trump to address oui’ any request by mr trump to address ourlament ifand any request by mr trump to address our lament if and when it is made. —— our parliament.