it plans to massively ramp up zero carbon energy over the next six years. also, india is considering a temporary tax on imported steel, to counter cheap chinese import. cheap chinese imports. hello and welcome to business today — i'm lukwesa burak. britain's delivery service, the royal mail, has been fined £10.5 million by the regulator for failing to meet delivery targets for first and second class mail. it is the second year in a row the company has been fined by ofcom for poor delivery performance. the regulator said royal mail's poor service was �*now eroding public trust in one of the uk's oldest institutions'. let's get more now from our business correspondent, theo leggett. what's the background to this fine?

of course. you mentioned that the royal mail is one of britain's oldest institutions. it has been going for more than 500 years but times are changing. the company was privatised a little bit more than a decade ago and since then the volume of letters it has been delivering across the uk has declined, almost down to half of what it used to be. that's one of the financial pressures it is now facing. those financial pressures do also seem to have been affecting its performance. royal mail is supposed to deliver 93% of letters within one working day of them being sent. in fact, one working day of them being sent. infact, it one working day of them being sent. in fact, it is damn it has only achieved about 75%. second class letters which are supposed to be delivered within three days it has also fallen short of combat as well. so as you understand this is a problem for the company. —— fallen short of that target as

well. ofcom has the choice not to find the company if it has a good excuse. this time royal mail said it was because of its financial performance and delays of getting a vote on a pay deal with members of its workers' union but that had harmed its day—to—day performance. but ofcom said this simply wasn't good enough. these were notjustifiable these were not justifiable reasons. these were notjustifiable reasons. and therefore it has chosen to impose what is a quite significant fine on royal mail. ., ., , mail. theo leggett, as ever, thank you — mail. theo leggett, as ever, thank you very _ mail. theo leggett, as ever, thank you very much - mail. theo leggett, as ever, thank you very much for - mail. theo leggett, as ever, | thank you very much for that. more of course on our website. the british government has published plans to decarbonise the electricity grid over the next six years. it's being labelled a �*clean power action plan' — and drawn up to work towards a target of 95% clean power by 2030. the government claims the plans will improve energy security and lower energy bills — but their conservative opponents say we're looking

at an era of higher bills. let's cross live now to the chief executive of national gas — that's the company that run's britain's gas transmission network. jon butterworthjoins me now. jon is also the network emergency coordinator for gas supply. lovely to have you here in the business news. you are looking after gas. to what extent do you fit in these plans? what will it mean for your business? morning. i think what is really remarkable actually is this week there has been virtually no wind across the uk for the last few days, 70% of the electricity generation has been through gas and as we have been no on this call more than 64% of electricity generation is through gas and there is only

5% wind on the grid. it is a really great week to be talking about it. what we need to do is make sure our system when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine his resilient and organised in a way that it works differently going forward so that when the wind stops we can quickly respond and make sure we keep the lights on and keep the security of supply to our country which of course is so important. to our country which of course is so important-— so important. to what extent can we rely — so important. to what extent can we rely on _ so important. to what extent can we rely on this _ so important. to what extent can we rely on this report? . so important. to what extent l can we rely on this report? the target says 95% clean power so will the remainder of the 5%, is the government saying that will be for the likes of you, gas energy?— will be for the likes of you, gas energy? yes. to keep the liuhts gas energy? yes. to keep the li . hts on gas energy? yes. to keep the lights on it — gas energy? yes. to keep the lights on it to _ gas energy? yes. to keep the lights on it to be _ gas energy? yes. to keep the lights on it to be responsible l lights on it to be responsible we will drive so hard to use every drop of renewable energy we have got and as we build out

more when the wind doesn't blow, as of this week, we will use gas—fired power stations on standby ready to make sure everything is in good orderfor our country. what is important is we are starting to bring hydrogen into our system. we have done all the work ready for that. so that 5% when it is used, as we can bring hydrogen and blend it within the gas you will also have a lot lower c02 on that 5% in the days when there is no wind. so overall clean power 30 will start to bring those c02 clean power 30 will start to bring those co2 emissions down right across the country regardless of what energy sources being used. it is quite innovative and it is really exciting. it innovative and it is really exciting-— innovative and it is really excitina. , ., ., ., exciting. it is innovative and it's all about _ exciting. it is innovative and it's all about innovation - exciting. it is innovative and l it's all about innovation when we talk about clean energy because this is how it needs to because this is how it needs to be approached. i'm going to come back to hydrogen in a moment. let's go back to the statistic you mention, you are looking at an app and said at

the moment around 64, 66%, my producer checked a short while ago, to a 66% gas, the uk was being driven by 66% gas energy. around 20% is carbon zero. as we transition towards 2030, gas demand tails off. what does it mean for your business moving forward? because realistically forward ? because realistically that forward? because realistically that figure of the 60s today is going to tail off. what sort of forward planning have you got in place? our business we will use a lot of gas on the day is still there is no wind. but use a lot of gas on the day is still there is no wind.- still there is no wind. but it will be used _ still there is no wind. but it will be used differently. - still there is no wind. but it i will be used differently. there will be used differently. there will be used differently. there will be days when there is hardly any gas used at all. so our system needs to be adapted so it can be resilient on the days when there is no wind so we can bring gas in from lng terminals, sea, storage reservoirs so it will be able to ramp up quickly when the

wind drops away and supporting clean power 30 —— of the north sea. clean power 30 -- of the north sea. ., . �* clean power 30 -- of the north sea. ., ., �* ., sea. from what i'm hearing, in our sea. from what i'm hearing, in your mind. _ sea. from what i'm hearing, in your mind. gas _ sea. from what i'm hearing, in your mind, gas still _ sea. from what i'm hearing, in your mind, gas still has - sea. from what i'm hearing, in your mind, gas still has a - your mind, gas still has a future in the uk, jon. let's just go back to hydrogen. innovative, yes, but we know the government in the past have been very reluctant about taking on hydrogen. what is that? and why would they change moving forward? i that? and why would they change moving forward?— moving forward? i think there's been lots of — moving forward? i think there's been lots of innovation - moving forward? i think there's been lots of innovation in - moving forward? i think there's been lots of innovation in this l been lots of innovation in this space. the national gas system which we operate, we can re—purpose part of that, so that no new pipes, no new destruction of any landscape, because we will use the pipes we have got. we will have a methane system that will be able to operate when the wind doesn't blow. but alongside that you'll have a hydrogen system as in existing pipes.

all that testing of science has been done and we have proven we are ready to go on that. what that will do is supportjobs in heavy industry and also allow power stations to use hydrogen bringing c02 power stations to use hydrogen bringing co2 emissions down. 0k, jon butterworth, chief executive of national gas, thank you for sharing your vision for this clean energy plan 2030. thank you. the uk economy shrank for the second month in a row in october after official figures showed a 0.1% drop. the economy had been expected to return to growth following a fall in september. but the office for national statistics said that activity had stalled or declined, with pubs, restaurants and retail among the sectors reporting �*weak months'. let's hear now from katharine neiss, chief european economist at pgim fixed income.

hello, katharine neiss. unexpected. just how unexpected? unexpected. just how unexpected ? is unexpected. just how unexpected? is this bad news? 0ras unexpected? is this bad news? or as you would expect in terms of what we saw after the budget? the reaction after the budget. i budget? the reaction after the buduet. ~ , , ., budget. i think firstly we do need to say _ budget. i think firstly we do need to say these _ budget. i think firstly we do need to say these are - budget. i think firstly we do i need to say these are monthly data, they do tend to be volatile, affected by things like weather and bank holidays. so they do need to be seen alongside other indicators. that said, it was a weaker than expected monthly figure and it is consistent with other indicators we look at, things like surveys of firms. this is pointing towards a weaker end to the end of this year than what we saw at the beginning. and the general trend, what are we expecting, or what is being forecast? i we expecting, or what is being forecast? ~' , , forecast? i think if we step back, his _ forecast? i think if we step back, big picture, - forecast? i think if we step back, big picture, and - forecast? i think if we step back, big picture, and if. forecast? i think if we step| back, big picture, and if we think about that recovery coming out of the pandemic, really for the last couple of

years the uk economy has been underperforming, and that's been pretty broad—based across manufacturing and services. and we are expecting that weak growth picture really to continue into 2025, possibly pick up a little bit. but i think the good news is we are not forecasting or expecting an outright recession in the uk economy. outright recession in the uk economy-— outright recession in the uk econom . . . ,, . economy. katharine neiss, chief euroean economy. katharine neiss, chief european economist _ economy. katharine neiss, chief european economist at - economy. katharine neiss, chief european economist at pgi - economy. katharine neiss, chief european economist at pgi m i european economist at pgi m fixed—income, thank you. this weekend britain joins the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans—pacific partnership — or cptpp for short. i don't know which is easier to say! from now, it will be able to trade, tariff—free, with japan, singapore, chile, new zealand, vietnam, peru, malaysia and brunei. australia is due to join the bloc later this month. let's now turn our attention to india. the world's second largest

steel producer has said it is considering imposing a temporary tax on imported steel, as the country sees a surge in cheap chinese imports. 0ur india business correspondent, nikhil inamdar, has the latest. speaking at the sidelines of an event on thursday, india's steel minister has said the country is weighing a decision to impose a safeguard duty, or a temporary tax, on steel. this comes as imports of steel have surged to a seven—year high in the first seven months of this year, according to reuters data. a particular worry has been chinese dumping. steel imports from india's larger neighbour have climbed some 35% year on year in the first seven months. local industry leaders have been complaining about this for a while, as it has hit their pricing power and taken the utilisation of production capacity to a four—year low. the quantum of the duty likely to be imposed isn't yet known, however, reuters has reported it could be 25% for two years

on flat steel products. this comes amid a looming trade war between the us and china, who are both india's largest trading partners. nikhil inamdar, bbc news, mumbai. and a quick bit of news before we go. china's top leaders have pledged further measures in an attempt to boost consumption, as concerns grow about the potential impact of trade tensions with the incoming trump administration. beijing has pledged higher debt issuance and looser monetary policy — as the country braces for the impact of tarrifs on exports. that is your business news. martine croxall is with you next.

i want to bring you some news from france where we are hearing that president emmanuel macron has appointed his new prime minister francois bayrou, the centrist leader. there had

been speculation mounting over who he would choose in an effort to try to end months of political turmoil. of course his government fell last week after the french mps as prime minister in a no—confidence vote. emmanuel macron has said that a replacement would be appointed by the end of thursday. however, as the hours pass there was no confirmation that francois bayrou was being given the job. we that francois bayrou was being given thejob. we now have news that the 73—year—old centrist leader francois bayrou has been appointed. let's speak to our correspondent. how popular will this be? , . ., ., this be? this will come down with a lot _ this be? this will come down with a lot of _ this be? this will come down with a lot of questions. i this be? this will come down with a lot of questions. he i this be? this will come down l with a lot of questions. he was the main contenderfor with a lot of questions. he was

the main contender for quite some time. we know that