that is not receiving the offer we have promised, please tell me, we will fix this. every household that is ready to talk has been offered temporary accommodation. the housing team will continue to work with families to make sure that the individual needs are met. as the prime minister said eve ryo ne are met. as the prime minister said everyone whose home was destroyed by the fire will be guaranteed a new home on the same terms as the one they lost. this means paying the same rent with the same level of security and in the same area. when it comes to permanent housing we have already announced a new block of social housing that will provide 68 new homes in kensington borough. we are working with a number of developers to secure a similar properties either in kensington and chelsea council any close to north kensington so families can stay in the same area. these negotiations

have not yet concluded and we need to work closely with the residents to work closely with the residents to make sure the sort of properties we are able to make available will match what they want. there are also 17 leaseholders who lost their homes and we are working with them to make sure they do not lose out financially because of the fire. i met financially because of the fire. i m et rece ntly financially because of the fire. i met recently with a group of the leaseholders and we are working with them individually to find the right solution for them. on my visits to the westway, heeding the harrowing accou nts the westway, heeding the harrowing a ccou nts of the westway, heeding the harrowing accounts of survivors has been the most humbling and moving experience of my life. the families that i have met have been through unimaginable pain. this is a tragedy that should never have happened. we are determined to do all that we can to make sure something like this never happens again. cani

happens again. can i welcome the minister to this dispatch box for his first oral statement in thisjob dispatch box for his first oral statement in this job and thank him for the copy of this statement? can i also add thanks from our site to the emergency response team as well as to the community organisations that are still supporting the survivors? the minister has had a testing first few weeks. i hope he knows now that whatever he says, it is the government's actions that count in getting grenfell tower residents the help and new housing the need, and then giving them and the need, and then giving them and the wider community the confidence that what is promised will be done. i have to say to him the government has been slow to act. it has been off the pace at each stage following this terrible tragedy. it is clear from the statement that in some ways it still is. after the fire in this

post the prime minister said, and i've caught, i have fixed a deadline of three weeks for everybody affected to be found a home nearby. the three weeks are up yet entire families who have lost everything are still owned hotels and hostels. and we weren't today that city, just three of the 158 families from g re nfell tower three of the 158 families from grenfell tower have moved into a fresh home, and these are only temporarily, not what the prime minister first temporarily, not what the prime ministerfirst surge. and only 11 others have been found somewhere that they feel they can see yes to. i have so few families been successfully match with fresh accommodation? isn't the case that some have offered accommodation with too few bedrooms, or then another tower block, or indeed with bizarre

conditions attached, including no overnight stay for family or friends? a hotel room is no home and temporary housing is no place to rebuild shattered lives. when will all those now homeless from the fire be offered a new permanent home? the minister mentioned the 68 homes in kensington row, in that development, they were already allocated for social housing, so how many extra social housing, so how many extra social homes as the government or the council meeting available in the borough? will the government guarantee the number of new social homes planned before the fire will be increased by at least the number needed no as a result of the fire? and what assessment has the government made with the mayor of london and the other london boroughs of the knock—on consequences for temporary accommodation, social housing, and counsel waiting lists

across the city? the minister mentioned the recovery task force for kensington and to see. this is the task force centred now to take over from the task force sent in three weeks ago. kensington and chelsea council a failing council. it has even failed to admit it is failing. the fundamental concern about this council is notjust capability, that is the total lack of trust that residents or anyone else has been it. the government concedes this by sending in the task force yet leaves the council in charge. we on this site once the task force to work, but note that it will. it can advise but that cannot act. it lacks the powers of decision 01’ act. it lacks the powers of decision or action the commissioners would bring. public confidence in this council will not be restored by replacing one set of leaders by

politicians from the same ruling group. what will be the tests for this task force? what will be the tests of further council feelings before ministers take the full work intervention steps needed as they have in other areas? and finally, the fears following the fire go well beyond grenfell tower as to the consequences. hundreds of thousands of people whose homes are in a high—rise blocks across the rest of the country wants to know their homes are safe. this means the entire building has been tested for fire safety, not just entire building has been tested for fire safety, notjust one component of the cladding outside, all replacement cladding and fire prevention works necessary to guarantee safety are done, and that no remedial action is delayed or not done because the council or housing association has not got the funding.

how much funding has the government set aside for these costs? has the treasury agreed access to the contingency fund ? will treasury agreed access to the contingency fund? will he td to get this reissue has two tower block residents make the clear commitment to co m plete residents make the clear commitment to complete upfront funding for whatever work is needed to make these high—rise homes safe? when ministers have rightly said you cannot put a price on people's wives, this is what it means. i thank the right honourable gentleman for his comments. perhaps ican take gentleman for his comments. perhaps i can take in turn the points that he has threes. in terms of actions, i think we have been clear, the prime minister has made clear that the initial response was not good enough and you said that at the dispatch box. my colleagues and i have been engaged in meetings with the community both on an individual basis and in terms of community meetings. at work will continue. the

three week offer that was referred to was to make sure that we offered people who were able to and wanted to, the temporary accommodation. he has talked about the numbers. as i have said, we are working with all the families that are involved and i would expect that number to rise. but i know that he will acknowledge and everyone in this house will acknowledge that does not up to government or any member in this host the pace at which families should move. that has to be up to them and we have to treat them them with sensitivity. that is what we are very much doing. he talked about whether people are being housed in tower blocks. that is not the case. there was initially some reporting about tower blocks. i believe that was in relation to emergency accommodation and hotels which are tower blocks. we responded to that.

he has talked about the affordable housing. can i just he has talked about the affordable housing. can ijust confirm that kensington raw was not originally dating at it as social housing, it was affordable increasing —— it was affordable housing, this is a net increase, we are aiming to provide a net increase in affordable homes in the social sector. he referred to the independent recovery task force that has no been appointed. this will report directly to my right honourable friend the secretary of state, and members, including the chairare being state, and members, including the chair are being identified and we should be able to announce further details of the coming weeks. i want to be clear, the focus of this recovery task force is going to be on housing, regeneration and community engagement. the right honourable gentleman talked about high price blocks and i do

understand that those living in similar blocks across the country will have concerns but that is why we acted immediately. we made sure that the informed local authorities and housing associations of checks they needed to do. we put in place a resume to send as the cladding materials on any building that they felt was suspect. that testing has been going on at peace. we have been very clear but local authorities and housing associations should do whatever is necessary to keep people safe. if there are issues to do with funding we will work with individual local authorities and housing associations but it is absolutely vital that we make sure that eve ryo ne vital that we make sure that everyone who lives in such a block is kept safe. he will also know, he talked about weight of tests, when we wrote to local authorities and housing associations on the 22nd of june we also asked to look at issues

related to insulation and to check that. the secretary of state has appointed on the 27th ofjune an expert panel to advise on these matters. the expert panel met on thursday 29th of june matters. the expert panel met on thursday 29th ofjune and agreed a range of matters that will look at, particularly to consider whether there are any immediate additional actions to be taken to ensure the safety of existing high—rise buildings. i know this is a subject that i wish we were not here having to debate, but what i would say, and i have found this in the discussions i have found this in the discussions i have had with colleagues around the house, this is a time for us to be working together. there is a public inquiry, there is a criminal investigation under way, they will apportion blame and they will leave no stone unturned, but this is a tie for us to work together so i see a game to colleagues including their right honourable gentleman, if there are any individuals that any of us

feels is not getting the right level of support please come to assist and help. it is very clear that the minister fully understands the very great challenges that the residents face. studio: we will pull away from that statement from the housing minister. but you can continue watching that debate on bbc one. 14 debate on bbc one. 1a offers of temporary accommodation have been accepted. three families have been accepted. three families have already moved in and he expects that number to increase but they had to respect the pace at which families affected by the grenfell disaster wants to move. the minister clearly very emotional as he said, talking to the families affected had been the most humbling experience of his life. responding for labour that shadow housing minister said what counted no where government actions, not words, and he said the government has been off

the pace at each stage of this tragedy. he said why have so few families been successfully matched with accommodation? he said that was one of the key questions that needed to be answered. we can talk no to oui’ to be answered. we can talk no to our correspondent who is at grenfell tower. but stark and horrific reminder behind you of what happened there. that is an important question. i have so few families in mash with accommodation that is right for them? —— so few families been matched with accommodation. the government says the offer has been fulfilled that they understand by families might wa nt to ta ke they understand by families might want to take time to decide. some of the families are in hotel

accommodation, it might not be the best, but at least they have a roof over their heads, and it only wants to move once, they want to spend some time finding the right place and then moved to a permanent home. some of them may be waiting to move into these 68 flats that we have heard are going to be available at the end of this month, or early next month. i think a lot of the families are hoping that they can make one move to new parents accommodation and that'll be there long term home. to what extent can you comment on those claims by the labour member that some accommodation had too few bedrooms, was then another tower block, or because there were bizarre conditions that they were not allowed to have friends or family stay with them? we have heard from some residents who have been made homeless, one speaking this morning said he was

made an offer that was not suitable but he did not go into any details about why it was not suitable. there are fears that they may have to pay higher rents. the conservative minister said that is not the case. also, these rumours about residents being offered accommodation in other tower blocks, again the government and esther said that is not the case. initially they may have been offered hotel rooms in tower blocks but these new homes he said will not be in tower blocks. again he said that these bizarre conditions that the labour member had been talking about, he said if anybody is not happy with the accommodation that they have been offered those families should get in touch with him personally and he said the government will set it right. thank you. theresa may this lunchtime appeared to be sticking to the government's

pay cap of 1% on public sector workers, despite growing pressure from members of her own cabinet to relax it. at prime minister's questions, the labour leaderjeremy corbyn accused her of exploiting the goodwill of thousands of teachers, nurses and other employees. earlier the fire brigades union said its members had been offered a 2% pay rise. mrs may said the government had to be fair to public sector workers — and to those who pay for them. let's speak to our assistant political editor, norman smith. she was on fighting form. she was under pressure. let us be honest. there has been growing criticism of the public sector pay cap notjust from labour but within her own cabinet. boris johnson and from labour but within her own cabinet. borisjohnson and michael gove have flexed their muscles suggesting that the pay cap needs to be eased and it can be done about tax rises and without any so—called fiscal pressures. today what we saw was theresa may trying to go stone that entire momentum that there is going to be any early movement on

that public sector pay cap, stressing the need to make tough decisions to live within one means, saying the alternatives would mean going down the road of greece, all this after labour leaderjeremy corbyn accused the government of flip—flopping and floundering over pgy- wages are rising by 2.1% while inflation is nearly 3%. 6 million workers already earned less than the living wage. what does the prime minister think that tells us about seven minister think that tells us about seve n yea rs minister think that tells us about seven years of a conservative government and what it has done to the living standards of those people on whom we all rely to get our public services, our health services delivered to us? striking that theresa may also echoed some of the words we heard from the chancellor of the other day

in his cbi speech when he tried to push back against the idea the government might ease off on austerity and might claim down on its pay cap any time soon. she used exactly the same phrase about leading to strike the right balance between taxpayers and public sector workers. that is not fair to refuse to take tough decisions and to hold debts on our children and grandchildren for the future. it is not fair to bankrupt our economy because that leads to people losing theirjobs and losing their homes. and it does not bear to go out and tell people that they can have all the public spending they want without paying for it. in many ways it seems the key development on public sector pay has come at this announcement that firefighters are to get a rise of up to 3%, well above the 1% pay cap,

and inevitably there will be other public sector unions thinking, they have got 3% why can we not have 3%? interestingly the conservative councillor in charge of the body which negotiates play with fire fighters has said in effect they deserved a bigger increase. that is the conservative councillor, and that a time when we know up to 2.9% it is going to be very difficult for the government to resist that mounting pressure to give an over the pay cap. hip and knee replacements were once considered routine operations, but the british medicaljournal says that in england they're increasingly being rationed. the journal obtained data showing a sharp rise in doctors resorting to special appeals to get these and other once—routine treatments for their patients. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. helen is a busy woman, running her boutique hotel is a demanding job, but when her eyesight started

to fail, she needed a cataract operation. imagine her dismay when she was told the nhs would only pay for one eye to be fixed at a time. i did not want to wait another year. to have one eye... the imbalance it causes, difficult, it impacted on my life. i have got to be busy, i have to be able to see to function. a growing and ageing population is placing increasing demands on the nhs and that in turn is ramping up the pressure on finances, so to save money in some areas, funding for common treatments is being withdrawn. when that happens, gps could make individual requests on a case—by—case basis, and an analysis shows that overall these have increased by 47% in the past four years and there has also been a rise in requests for hip and knee operations over the same time period. and the number of

cataract operations for which funding has been sought has also increased. decisions on which nhs services are funded in england are made by local clinical commissioning groups, the national body that represents them says that given a limited budget they have to make difficult choices. demand increases, the population increases and there is a finite amount in the budget and we have to make difficult decisions. if there was more money we could have a broader sense of how we spend it, but with loads more money in the system we should still be making appropriate choices for the patient. doctors say all health leaders need to be honest with patients about the decisions they are having to make. year after year, we have seen a lack of investment and so local areas are making these really difficult decisions and ultimately in many areas rationing services. the report today suggests more and more patients are finding procedures that were once considered routine are becoming harder to access. dominic hughes, bbc news. with me is our health editor, hugh pym.

tell us more about the data, the evidence for this. it was one look at this overall story that some are saying is rationing, postcode rationing in some parts of england, and what the png data uncovered is this quite sharp increase in individual requests which a lot of patients did not know about. a lot of people take for granted that the nhs will provide routine gear including hip and knee replacements, cataract operations, but what is clear is that in some parts of the country gps or consultants are having to refer to the local health commissioning groups for permission to actually go ahead. more than half of them are approved but it does result in delays with these decisions and in some cases patients are having to wait longer. tell us more about that. what has

happened to these patients who might otherwise have expected to have this routine operation or treatment? in some cases they are waiting longer and eventually although granted, waiting longer can provide a lot of our provision for the patient. one patient we spoke to needs medication that has to be approved each time, there is all that uncertainty. sometimes at the request was refused then it will eventually be given the green light six months later but another delay has been incurred. what commissioners are saying is this is all part of the nhs at the moment, with demand rising faster than the supply of funding, difficult decisions have to be made, but they are adamant that patient care is a lwa ys are adamant that patient care is always their main concern. but the will only go so far. there is demand for treatment the entire time on these decisions are having to be made by these local health

commissions. avon and somerset police repeatedly failed a disabled refugee who was beaten to death bristol four years ago. that's the conclusion of the independent police complaints commission, who say officers ignored bijan ebrahimi's pleas for help for years. mr ebrahimi, originally from iran, made dozens of calls to police from a number of addresses over several years, to report racial abuse and threats to his life. jon kay reports. bijan ebrahimi. he told police dozens of times that his life was in danger. to just do whatever you can... what part of "be quiet" do you not understand? shut up! now, a report says that, over several years, the iranian refugee was repeatedly failed by avon and somerset police, treated as a nuisance, not as a victim. in 2013, he was beaten to death by a neighbour outside his flat and his body set on fire. the independent police complaints commission says there were systematic failures in the way he was dealt with. today's report runs to hundreds

of pages and it says this whole case has laid bare what it calls the disrespect, the prejudice and even contempt with which some officers and staff treated bijan ebrahimi in the days before he was murdered here. reading that report, it was devastating. bijan's sisters told me the list of failings published today had shocked them. it was so hard to see bijan all these years had been suffering. and his voice never listened to. he always thought he was in a country where the police was there to protect people. and he couldn't see anything beyond that. last year, pc kevin duffy was jailed after being found guilty of misconduct. the jury was played tapes of him responding to one of bijan's calls. it's just bijan ebrahimi on the phone asking for you. no, i've no intention of taking any calls from bijan ebrahimi. community support officer

andrew passmore was also jailed. pcs leanne winter and helen harris were cleared by the jury, but were later sacked by a misconduct hearing. his sisters have raised questions about racism within the force. there isn't evidence of institutional racism because we did not investigate the force as a whole, but there are some hallmarks of discrimination that could be construed as race hatred. avon and somerset police say they have improved the way that they deal with vulnerable people as a result of this case. we accept that we failed bijan ebrahimi at his time in greatest need and throughout that time he was respectful and he had confidence and trust in the police and we let him down, and for that we are sorry. his sisters have welcomed the apology and the changes.

they are still waiting for the local council to issue its report. the us and south korea military have jointly warned north korea that war cannot be ruled out following pyongyang's test of a missile with a range that could extend to alaska. tensions continue to escalate just two days ahead of the g20 summit of world leaders in hamburg. with china's president, xijinping already in germany and president trump arriving on thursday, the un security council will discuss the crisis later on wednesday. russia and china oppose any move to resolve it by force. for the latest on reaction in the us, let's speak to gary o'donoghue in washington. we have some area action from the president from twitter. yes, he is calling china out this morning. he says trade between north korea and china has grown 40% in the first quarter of this year and he goes on to see so much for china working with us but we had to get that a try. suggesting he is losing

some sort of patients with china. the reason he is singling out china is because china is the only country that has any leverage over north korea. that is a sense here that a milestone has been reached in terms of north korea's military capability. doing this missile launch as america celebrated one of its most important holidays of the year, declaration of independence, 4th year, declaration of independence, 11th ofjuly, and the north korean news agency seeing this was a gift for the american as they said it. the politics of this, the irony of this is that went between south korea and the united states is something china is quite concerned about. the irony as you have got china backing north korea and wanting south korea and the united states wanting to back off a bit. north korea is an important buffer

zone right on china's border. the last thing the chinese want to see isa last thing the chinese want to see is a united korean peninsula because that would put a friendly state to the us right on south—eastern border. they are keen on north korea remaining as it is but having said that they don't much like the instability that north korea represents. they have gone some way in the past to try and rain pyongyang end, it does not always work, sanctions imposed by the un year after year have done almost a thing to slow the progress that north korea has made. ten or 11 yea rs north korea has made. ten or 11 years after they conducted their first nuclear test they have an intercontinental missile which does seem to have had some success in its ability to weave the atmosphere of the earth and re—enter it. whether they are yet at the point where they can get the nuclear weapons to fit in the nose cone of the rockets we

do not know but we are a step closer to the us being in direct line of fire from north korea and that is something that will require some kind of different response from washington this time around. you've got this meeting between president trump and his chinese counterpart. yes and how the atmosphere has changed. if you remember back in april when they met in florida, there was a lot of warm talk, there was a pretty quick trade deal done after that that allowed american beef producers to export beef to china. at that time president trump, some qualified praise for china turning back shipments of north korean coal. now the atmosphere seems to have changed again and clearly they are blaming beijing in part for not slowing this escalation. the problem is, simon,

that the military options are com pletely that the military options are completely limited. south korea and the us demonstrated a bit of muscle yesterday, as you would expect, but while america could easily take out north korea's military capability, the difficulty is of course in those heights across the demilitarised zone, the north koreans have tens of thousands of artillery pieces embedded into those hills, within 35 mile striking distance of 25 million people in seoul. the americans know that even if they started a strike, tens of thousands of people in the south could die before it was over. thank you very much indeed. time now for the weather forecast. summer has returned across the uk. it is glorious out there for most of us. certainly for england and wales it is beautiful. we have some

stubborn cloud across northern england and scotland. it is good a you're disappointing here. the far north of scotland seeing some glorious blue sky and sunshine. elsewhere a promising day. in comparison to yesterday, it will be warmer. we will see highs of around 18 degrees. the potentialfor some thundery downpours across the southeast first thing in the morning. showers easing in scotland. through the afternoon it will be a dry day, quite hot. the potential of some sharp thundery downpours. top temperatures of 30 degrees likely in the south. we could see 21 in scotland. you're watching bbc news. the headlines: theresa may and jeremy corbyn have

clashed over the cap on public sector pay. the prime minister is under growing pressure from members of her own cabinet to relax the 1% limit on wage rises. the government has ordered a taskforce to take over the housing department at kensington and chelsea council. it comes after grenfell survivors expressed their frustration over housing plans. report has found avon and somerset police repeatedly failed a disabled refugee who sought their help before he was beaten to death and set on fire outside his home. the institute for fiscal studies has found students from the poorest backgrounds could leave university with debts of nearly £60,000. time now for the sport. all about the tennis these days.

it's day three of wimbledon and we're into the second round of the singles. defending champion andy murray faces a tricky test against the unpredictable dustin brown of germany. johanna konta is in action now, but there's already been a great win for a british player today — and katherine downes, who's at wimbledon, can tell us all about. it is turning into a right slog fest on centre court for—macro one. it is a replay for her from the final in nottingham a few weeks ago. last time it was a bit of a shock for johanna konta. let's go live to the pictures there now. she took the first set on a tie—break. but she is a breakdown in the second set against vekic, she started off with against vekic, she started off with a tour winnerjust the age of 17. she is 21 now. she must have taken a

lot of confidence from that win against konta in nottingham. a massive win for a british player first of all this morning. heather watson. a great performance from her. she beat sevastova. she is the 18th seed. heather watson sail through the first set, a bit trickier in the second. but a straight sets win and she is through to the third round at wimbledon for the third time. she is in brilliant form and the defending men's champion, andy murray, takes on dustin brown this afternoon. yes, dustin brown, such a popular character at wimbledon. remember, yes, dustin brown, such a popular characterat wimbledon. remember, he knocked out rafael nadal a couple of yea rs knocked out rafael nadal a couple of years ago and became a bit of a folk legend with those long dreadlocks,

the dramatic trick shots. he is such an entertaining character on the court. andy murray has been playing pretty well so far. we have all been keeping an eye on that tape. a straight sets win for him in the first round. look at that, just a bit of ginger nuts in that walk. the odd grimace as he was out on the practice court earlier today. dustin brown will certainly have andy murray with those trick shots and flair, he will have him running around on centre court. that will really test him. let's hope the defending champion and world number one can make it through easily. yes, absolutely. thank you very much for now. konta just about to break backin for now. konta just about to break back in the second set. england's women have been in brilliant form in their latest match at the cricket world cup against south africa. while they lost opener lauren winfield for 2h, tammy beaumont and sarah taylor piled on the runs for the hosts.

both of them getting their centuries. to men's cricket and england will go with two spinners for the first test against south africa at lords tomorrow. that means a chance for liam dawson. in his first test as captain, joe root has confirmed he'll bat at four, with gary balance at 3 and johnny bairstow at 5. full—back liam williams is the british and irish lions‘ only injury worry ahead of saturday's deceiding test against new zealand in auckland. the welshman is struggling with what the lions camp call tightness in his leg. leigh halfpenny is the likely choice as cover. warren gatland will name his side at 8 o'clock tonight. that's all the sport for now.

i'll have more in the next hour. the former southampton football coach bob higgins has been charged in connection with an investigation into non—recent child abuse within the footballing community. these offences relate to allegations involving teenage boys and are alleged to have happened in the 1980s and 1990s. earlier, i spoke to our sports correspondent, richard conway. bob higgins has been charged with 65 cou nts bob higgins has been charged with 65 counts of indecent assault, that is what hampshire police are telling us. these are historical allegations. it is a total of 23 alleged victims. hampshire police saying these are alleged to have happened in the 1980s and 1990s. a little on the background, he worked with southampton football club in the 1980s, he has also worked with clu bs the 1980s, he has also worked with clubs like peterborough. he ran his own football academy. he has been

described as a kingmaker. he discovered players like alan shearer and matthew le tissier. but we should make abundantly clear there is no connection with those players and these allegations. he is due to appear in southampton magistrates‘ court on the 20th ofjuly. students from poorer families in england will graduate with nearly £60,000 of debt, according to a report by the institute for fiscal studies — because interest rates on student loans are now at over 6%, and those from the poorest backgrounds are likely to borrow more. the government says those from poorer students are now going to university at a record rate. sean coughlan reports. cheering. it is hats that are going up for students. costs are, as well. tuition fees are going up in the autumn, to £9,250 per year. and interest rates on loans are going up to over 6%. the poorer students could now leave university with debts of over £57,000. and the average student will have run up almost £6,000 in interest charges before they have even graduated. so, do students think they are paying a fair price for a good investment? yes, i think it is quite

expensive for what it is. i do not think it needs to cost nine grand a year, really. you don‘t get that much for it. the student loan system is a pretty good system to have, but i do not necessarily agree with the amount that tuition fees are at the moment. according to the institute for fiscal studies, raising the cost of these has given universities 25% more funding per student. but the cost has been put on the shoulders of individual students. they are graduating with the highest debt in the developed world. an average of around £50,000. with those coming from the poorest backgrounds graduating with the highest debts of around £57,000. the government has defended the tuition fee system as allowing students from any background to be able to afford to go to university. without any upfront costs for fees. this is a unique financial products, the government is making no money on this, it is making a substantial investment in it. and that is to enable more people to go to university, more people from disadvantaged

backgrounds than ever before. you are 43% more likely to go to university if you are from a disadvantaged background today than in 2009—10. this has also become a political battle, with labour pursuing the youth vote with calls to completely scrap fees. but in the short—term, at least, higher education is going to mean higher costs. hannah morrish joins us from the student room, in brighton, a social media platform that provides education and careers advice for young people. iamjust i am just wondering, the calls that you get, i think you get something like 7 million visitors to your website every month, how much... what percentage of those calls are simply about the cost of going to university? we are saying a lot of

discussion around the cost of going to university and it it —— is it worth it? we did a survey and found that 61% of students that didn‘t wa nt to that 61% of students that didn‘t want to go to university, those respondents were most concerned about being saddled by debt and this is actually an increase on 55% last year. and of course it's notjust stu d e nts year. and of course it's notjust students who complete their education at university, but those that duck out, they leave without qualifications and debt. yes, that is completely true and actually there was some research last week that shows those from the poorest backgrounds are actually more likely to drop out of university and so they are not competing and they are not graduating with any kind of qualification. and what about those courses that in the past have offered some sort of bursary, like the nhs, what is happening to courses in midwifery, courses like

that? courses like midwifery, nursing and actually physiotherapy will often oversubscribed, they were all provided with an nhs bursary and they were very competitive courses. this year we have seen a drop in nursing applications which is really concerning and actually with clearing places announced today, a number of courses are interfering, so courses like physiotherapy, midwifery and nursing are all in clearing so there has been a fall in applicants. which is surprising because the government is suggesting actually those from poorer backgrounds, 43% more likely than in previous years. is that backed up by your experience? yes, i mean, there has been a really strong initiative across the uk around encouraging those students from poorer backgrounds to access higher education, which is very, very positive but what we are finding is that actually when they get to

university, even though there is support, there is investment made by universities into students that are up universities into students that are up from poorer backgrounds, something is follow —— not following through. those students are least likely to actually drop out. the average level debt is a bit like £50,800. but looking at the figures from the fiscal studies institute, they say that by the time you leave, you have accrued £5,800 in interest rates alone. that seems steep. yes, i think rates alone. that seems steep. yes, ithinka rates alone. that seems steep. yes, i think a lot of students don‘t realise that when they begin their university journey, realise that when they begin their universityjourney, when they actually get that first initial loan instalment paid into their bank account, they immediately start accruing interest. it is from day one, not from when they finish their studies. i suppose the question people renew and asked directly is isa people renew and asked directly is is a university education value for money? i think if... students

is a university education value for money? ithink if... students need to think about their investment is university. my personal opinion is it isa university. my personal opinion is it is a really strong investment. based on department for education statistics around employment, those that are graduating, those finishing their postgraduate studies last year, were more likely to be in employment in comparison to those not employed and of course salaries over a lifetime are still looking to be higher than those that have not come into university. but obviously having a degree is not enough any more when so many young people have got a degree so really you need to think about if you are applying to university or going to university this year, reconsider yourfall university experience and that means to look to up skill in other areas, not just to look to up skill in other areas, notjust doing your degree, volunteering, working, doing an internship, doing a year in industry, to make sure that makes you a lot more employable when it comes to graduation. thank you very

much for your time this afternoon. victims of harassment and stalking in england and wales are being left at risk because of failings, according to a report. both the inspectorate of constabulary and the crown prosecution service inspectorate found that crimes weren‘t being recorded, investigations were poorly recorded and legal protection was not offered to another victim. an attack by a stalker that could have been prevented. helen pearson suffered neck and face wounds when her neighbourjoseph lewis stabbed her with a pair of scissors. it was the culmination of a five—year stalking campaign that involved vandalism and graffiti. helen made 125 reports to devon and cornwall police about her stalker‘s escalating violence, but she wasn‘t taken seriously and the force has now apologised. we would report this to the police and it was like, it was almost like they didn‘t want to know, they didn‘t take me seriously. and then, we later learned that they... i always felt that they weren‘t believing me, but we laterfind out that it is worse than that,

they thought i was doing it to myself. so, they didn‘t really believe you? no. and how did that make you feel? hopeless. desperate. a new inspection report, living in fear, says police and prosecutors are failing to deal with stalking and harassment at every stage of the criminal justice process in england and wales. it found that allegations weren‘t being recorded by police. in some forces, there were no risk assessments of the threat posed to victims and police were giving official warnings to offenders rather than carrying out for investigations. both stalking and harassment occurs as a result of really pernicious and persistent offending. and officers and prosecutors were missing that, which meant that victims were left at risk.

in response to the criticisms, the national police chief‘s council said it is contacting forces to make sure officers improve the way they use their powers to tackle harassment and stalking. the crown prosecution service says it will make sure every prosecutor undergoes training. danny shaw, bbc news. a change of gear now. we will take you straight to berlin. angela merkel and president xi of china are looking at the pandas. the pandas have been loaned to the zoo. they are tucking into the bamboo. on public display in their new compound in berlin zoo, china has loaned the pandas to the zoo for $1 million a year.

they seem quite happy. they have settled in. we brought you those pictures just because we can. the panda diplomacy on show. panda specialists have accompanied the panda, along with a ten of bamboo. yes, on thejourney, they panda, along with a ten of bamboo. yes, on the journey, they slept a bit, munched on bamboo and then pulled —— nibbled on cookies. it is hoped the pandas will forge closer ties between the two countries and the focus of attention on this trip by president xi to germany. ina germany. in a moment, we will have a summary

of the business news this hour that first the headlines. the government has ordered a task force to take over the housing department at kensington and chelsea council. theresa may rejects calls to abandon the 1% pay cap on public sector pay rises. jeremy corbyn has accused the government of recklessly exploiting the goodwill of public servants. a disabled refugee beaten to death and set on fire outside his home was repeatedly failed by the police, according to a new report. time now for the business news. productivity felony first three months of this year. the first decline since late 2015. output per hour fell in the first quarter of this year. productivity has still not recovered to levels before the

recession. volvo is going electric. it will be the first traditional car—maker to shift to pure electric and hybrid production. it says it is signalling the end of the internal combustion engine. every model made from 2019 onwards will have an electric motor. and middle eastern airline emirates say the cabin ban on laptops no longer apply on flights to the united states. we have had confirmation that world pay has accepted a bid said to be worth £9.1 billion. we can go straight to the new york stock exchange. this deal has gone through finally. they are describing it as a merger.

this is a massive deal. it allows them to go a little bit more global. it isa them to go a little bit more global. it is a dominant player in the united states. but not so much globally. this merger will really allow them to get access to uk markets. vantiv actually trades on the new york stock exchange. trade was halted because of the news of this merger. and companies seem to have been queueing up to put in a bid for worldpay. why is it so attractive? here is the thing, mobile payments, payment systems, this is the new big thing. more and more people are moving away from using cash and they are using cards but more often now what really people want to do is they want to be able to use their phones and that is really what this is all about. gaining some dominance in the mobile

payments fear. there are lots of competitors. there is paypal, other kinds of competitors. apple. it is a really competitive market. so to really competitive market. so to really become more global i mean, thatis really become more global i mean, that is really the goal for these kind of companies. vantiv while trying to get into the uk. can you tell us more about that company. we have not really heard about them. there were two companies that were vying for worldpay originally. jp morgan was somewhat interested but they later said they are not interested. and then vantiv came out and said they were definitely interested and the deal has been confirmed. they are the dominant player when it comes to any sort of payment systems in the united states. it is not a household name because it is more of a back system. but it is the dominant player. this isa but it is the dominant player. this is a great move for vantiv. thank you forjoining us.

some numbers out from the online food retailer ocado. a little disappointing, with profits down 18% in the first half of the year. but the shares are climbing. investors are still excited that it might be bought up by a bigger player, after amazon bought whole foods in the us. london remains europe‘s number—one hub for technology investment, despite brexit. the mayor of london‘s agency, london & partners, say that in the first half of 2017, private equity investment in the capital‘s tech sector totalled a record £12.2 billion. coming in at number two is berlin. a stalwart of the kitchen cupboard, spam, is 80 years old today! this is not the irritating rubbish you get in your inbox the supreme court has found in favour of hmrc in its fight with rangers over the club‘s use of a controversial tax avoidance scheme between 2001 and 2010. over £47 million was paid out to employees in tax—free loans, but hmrc has always argued the payments were earnings and should be taxable. the decision is not expected to have any material or financial impact on rangers now as the club is owned by a different company.

a stalwart of the kitchen cupboard, spam, is 80 years old today! this is not the irritating rubbish you get in your inbox but the real thing — canned cooked meat. it‘s short for "spiced ham". first introduced in 1937, a staple during the second world war and beloved of generations of british schoolchildren served with everything from brussell sprouts to fried eggs. more than 7 billion cans have been sold. let‘s have a look at the markets before we go. worldpay shares down slightly. tesco‘s deal to buy book is awaiting approval. but is it from me. i will be back in one hour with more businesses. we are going to sneak in some pictures. we want to go back to berlin zoo to show you the pandas. look at that timing. that is angela

merkel and president xi of china. they have just handed over the giant pandas to berlin zoo. yes, they are the two pandas burl insua paying around £800,000 a year to host them. china has had huge success with breeding programmes and perhaps the same might happen in berlin. proving to be a huge hit already. you can floss with bamboo as well. i never knew that! live pictures of pandas on bbc news. time now for the weather forecast. good afternoon. it is a quiet story and conditions are hotting up. a glorious day and temperatures

quite widely into the mid—20s. disappointing through the north—east. some cloud sitting across the north—east coast. some drizzle. but for many, it is a good slice of sunshine on offer. a very nice day indeed. perhaps feeling a bit too hot in the south—east but the good news is it is a warm day in prospect for scotland and northern ireland fan yesterday. highest values in the southeast 28 or 29. as we move through the evening, temperatures are not going to fall away temperatures are not going to fall r temperatures are not going to fall away very far. it will be a warm night. we could see the potential for some sharp thundery downpours to break out across the channel coast. some of these could be heavy and widespread for a time. they will continue to move south and east during the early hours of thursday morning. hopefully easing away before play

gets underway at wimbledon. a good slice of sunshine generally through england and wales. some showers for scotland. those showers will start to ease away as we go through the day. an improving story and we will see a good deal of dry sunny weather. temperatures are really set to respond. the showers will ease away in the morning. temperatures climbing quickly but that could trigger off some thunder storms. if you catch one, you will really know about it. we could see highs of 30 degrees. even in scotland, highs of 21 sources. that is thursday. by friday, a quiet story with a good slice of sunny weather. maybe through northern ireland, clouding over just maybe through northern ireland, clouding overjust a touch. the arrival of a weather front through friday night into the start of the

weekend. that will bring some rain but it will also bring fresh conditions for the start of the weekend. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm. the government promises that no resident of grenfell tower will be forced to move into a home they don‘t like — and says the "pace" at which the families want to move has to be respected — only 1a so far have taken up accommodation offers . hearing the harrowing accounts of survivors has been the most humbling and moving experience of my life. the families that i‘ve met have been through unimaginable pain. the police say 250 investigators are now working on this enquiry. they say it is one of the largest and most complicated in the history of the met police. they say the search and

recovery phase won't be over until the end of the