andy verity, bbc news. kingdom. fiona trott is at a housing development in middlesbrough. is there evidence of investment going on there?— is there evidence of investment auoin on there? ~ ., ,, ., going on there? when you talk about levellin: going on there? when you talk about levelling up. — going on there? when you talk about levelling up. the _ going on there? when you talk about levelling up, the government - going on there? when you talk about levelling up, the government would i levelling up, the government would say this is a good example, affordable new homes, apparently, here at middlesbrough with specially designed workspaces so people can't base themselves from home, they don't have to commute and they want more new homes built like this, more quickly, in his zones that are designated protected, new or growth zones, streamlining that whole process and of course over there we have one of the eight new free ports announced, imports coming in will be exempt from some tariffs to boost manufacturing

andy verity, thank you.y by the british dental association suggests. over the past year, most non—urgent medical appointments have been postponed or cancelled. they say staff morale has been severely damaged by long waiting lists, frustrated patients, and the stress of having to use ppe. tomos morgan reports. over the last year, routine medical appointments, nonurgent treatment and operations have been plagued by restrictions, with dentistry also left in a hole. a study released today by the british dental association, seen exclusively by the bbc, suggests that almost half of all dentists surveyed are considering changing career all seeking early retirement if covid restrictions remain in place over the next 12 months in england. long hours working with ppe, coupled with a strained workload, has been chipping away at morale. people in the profession are quite disillusioned, and they are suffering from a lot of mental health problems. they have been exposed to an unprecedented level of abuse from patients who

andy verity, bbc news.ontinue online lecturing in the autumn term. students in leeds have started a petition, arguing there's no reason why they can't be taught in person when school children are and when people can visit cinemas and pubs. matt graveling reports. when you move in, you get along with your flatmates under part of the student lifestyle. you get lecture halls with lots of people, you get to use the big laboratories and fancy technology. it has not been that this year.— that this year. from's university exnerience _ that this year. from's university experience has _ that this year. from's university experience has not _ that this year. from's university experience has not quite - that this year. from's university experience has not quite gone l that this year. from's university | experience has not quite gone to plan. 0ne experience has not quite gone to plan. one year into her biological sciences degree and more than £9,000 spent, she is yet to set foot into a lab. i spent, she is yet to set fo

andy verity, bbc news. of violence between israel and palestinian militants. more than 212 people, including 61 children, have died in gaza; and 12 people, including two children, have been killed in israel — according to officials on each side. paul adams reports. gaza's punishment continues, more air strikes at dawn. israel says it is not over. it doesn't just want the rockets to stop, it wants its opponent crippled. it has been hitting the homes of hamas leaders and destroying as much of their hardware as possible. hamas still has plenty of rockets, but launchers are vulnerable. translation: the directive is to | continue striking terrorist targets. the idf is doing this very well. we will continue to take whatever action is necessary to restore peace and security to all residents of israel. international outrage is building over the civilian cost — almost 40,000 people have been displaced, the territory's only covid testing lab partially destroyed. this man says he got a call from the israeli army telli

our economics correspondent andy verity reports. thanks, ben.uickly the bank of england expects the economy to recover. after a calamitous drop in economic activity last year of nearly io%, the forecast before today was that it would roar by 5% this year and 7.25% next year, before dropping back the year after. now the forecast is growth of 7.25% this year, 5.75% next year and 1.25% in 2023. in february, the bank was predicting unemployment would peak at 7.75%, but now they are predicting it will not get above 5.5%. normally that would worry the bank of england about inflation taking off and thinking about raising interest rates. at the start of this chart, you can see what once used to be normal interest rates — around 5%. they were slashed to help the economy recover from the financial crisis. but before they could get back to normal, we had this even bigger crisis, and the bank's official rate dropped to a new record low — just 0.1%. so if you've been forced into borrowing your way through the pandemic — as many smaller companies and poorer h

our economics correspondent andy verity reports.lockdown, a brewery. a drop in economic activity of 1.5% over three months would be a very worrying performance in normal times, but this is a pandemic and activity picked up in march, giving some cause for hope that we are now emerging from a second economic contraction. i emerging from a second economic contraction-— contraction. i think actually committed _ contraction. i think actually committed a's _ contraction. i think actually committed a's figures - contraction. i think actually| committed a's figures show contraction. i think actually - committed a's figures show our economy is clearly getting sunak back on track and crucially that our plan for jobs back on track and crucially that our plan forjobs is working. now, of course, many businesses and families are still facing tough times and thatis are still facing tough times and that is why our support is continuing.— that is why our support is continuing. that is why our support is continuinu. , ., that is why our support is co

andy verity, bbc news.als?_ you make of the government's --roosals? ~ .., ., . proposals? welcome as ever, what we are caettin proposals? welcome as ever, what we are getting is — proposals? welcome as ever, what we are getting is big _ proposals? welcome as ever, what we are getting is big promises, _ proposals? welcome as ever, what we are getting is big promises, but - proposals? welcome as ever, what we are getting is big promises, but the i are getting is big promises, but the reality is much thinner. so the lifetime skills guarantee and the premise of loans to enable people to have adult or further higher education, this loan arrangement won't come in until 2025. the support is only available through the guarantee forjobs in certain sectors, not in retail, not in hospitality, sectors that have been hit hard by the pandemic. if you've got two a levels already, you are not going to get access to support forfurther training, and we know to that if you need to borrow money, you are not supported with your

andy verity, bbc news.a million in the year leading into the global pandemic. experts say the pandemic should be a wake—up call to people as being overweight is one of the most significant risk factors for severe covid. here's our health correspondent sophie hutchinson. just nice to move your body, isn't it, outside? a path to a healthier life, a walk on the wirral for patients, prescribed and led by a local gp. this is a great location. this part of the north—west has one of the highest levels of obesity—related hospital admissions in england. oh, the sun's come out now. lovely. in the year to march 2020 as the pandemic hit, hospitals in england had seen a record 1 million admissions for obesity—related problems. they'd actually told me if i'd caught covid, that there's every chance that i would die. being significantly overweight like phil is a huge risk factor for getting dangerously ill with covid—19. at his heaviest, he was 25 stone. when he caught the virus, he ended up in intensive care. my wife, we

let's talk to our economics correspondent, andy verity — how does one and a half percent compare withs last month, but it's only back where it was in march last year. and about half of what it was back in 2017, for example. if you ask "what's fuelling inflation?", you've already answered your own question. last year lockdowns meant far fewer goods and people moving around and oil and gas companies were producing far more fuel than the world needed — so the price plummeted. a year on from that, economies around the world are re—opening and the oil price has bounced back — along with other commodities like metals. so because of that, manufacturers have to pay more for raw materials — also known as input prices — which are up by nearly 10% on a year ago. but the bank of england has been anxious to calm fears that that could lead to an early rise in interest rates to stop inflation getting out of control. you do hear stories about an increase _ you do hear stories about an increase of prices, but we are not seeing _ increase of prices, but we are not seeing strong evidence of price rises

andy verity, bbc news.med at better integrating the nhs and social care systems. but campaigners say the speech failed to give details of long—promised plans to "fix" the crisis in social care provision in england. let's discuss this with chris hopson, chief executive of nhs providers, the organisation which represents health trusts in england. good afternoon. good afternoon. it is bein: good afternoon. good afternoon. it is being pointed — good afternoon. good afternoon. it is being pointed out _ good afternoon. good afternoon. it is being pointed out that _ good afternoon. good afternoon. it is being pointed out that social- is being pointed out that social care as one big omission in the queen's speech. do you agree? i completely agree. i'm going to be quite tough on this, i think our political class failed us. we have had prime minister after prime minister, tony blair, gordon brown, david cameron, theresa may, all of them and now borisjohnson, all of them and now borisjohnson, all of them promising tha

our economics correspondent andy verity reports. 1.5% over three months would be a very worrying performance in normal times, but this is a pandemic and activity picked up in march, giving some cause for hope that we are now emerging from a second economic contraction. i think actually today's figures show our economy is clearly getting back on track and crucially that our plan forjobs is working. now, of course, many businesses and families are still facing tough times and that is why our support is continuing. his hosts also want to be upbeat about the future. but they are also conscious about the lasting economic damage the lockdowns have done. we are optimistic, but if the recovery is not strong, people that_ have had to borrow to see themselves through might find it is getting tough again. it is worth mentioning we have lost 10% of our customers who closed their doors for good. this chart shows you the roller—coaster ride the economy has been on since the pandemic. this chart shows you the roller—coaster ride the economy a huge

our economics correspondent, andy verity, explains. how quickly the bank of england expects the economy to recover. after a calamitous drop in economic activity last year — nearly 10% — the forecast before today was that it would roar back by 5% this year and 7.25% next year, before dropping back the year after. now, the forecast is growth of 7.25% this year, 5.75% next year and 1.25% in 2023. now, in february, the bank was predicting unemployment would peak at 7.75%. now they are predicting it won't get above 5.5%. now, normally with that sort of growth in prospect, the bank of england would be getting worried about inflation taking off and thinking of raising interest rates. at the start of this chart, you can see what used to be normal interest rates once of about 5%. now, they were slashed to help the economy recover from the financial crisis, but before they could get back to normal, we had this even bigger crisis and the bank's official rate dropped to a new record low, just 0.01%. so if you've been forced into borrowing your way

— here�*s our economics correspondent andy verity.. because of that, manufacturers have to pay more for raw materials — also known as input prices — which are up by nearly 10% on a year ago. but the bank of england has been anxious to calm fears that that could lead to an early rise in interest rates to stop inflation getting out of control. you do hear those stories about input prices, but we are not yet seeing strong evidence. you do hear those stories about input prices, but we are not yet seeing strong evidence. but i can assure you we will be watching this extremely carefully. and we will take action when we think it is appropriate to do so, no question about that. with the government, small businesses and poorer households deep in debt, a rise in interest rates would make it harder to afford their repayments. but many economists think that won�*t happen any time soon. markets are expecting an interest rise next year. markets are expecting - an interest rise next year. markets are expecting _ an interest rise next year. an intere

our economics correspondent, andy verity, is here.at could lead to an early rise in interest rates to stop inflation getting out of control. you do hear stories about rising prices _ you do hear stories about rising prices but — you do hear stories about rising prices but we are not yet seeing strong _ prices but we are not yet seeing strong evidence that that is passing on to— strong evidence that that is passing on to consumer prices but i can assure — on to consumer prices but i can assure you _ on to consumer prices but i can assure you we will be watching this extremely— assure you we will be watching this extremely carefully. and we will take action when we think it is appropriate to do so, no question about— appropriate to do so, no question about that — with the government, small businesses and poorer households deep in debt, a rise in interest rates would make it harder to afford their repayments. but many economists think that won t happen any time soon. the markets are starting to expected interest _ the markets are startin

our economics respondent andy verity has more.nners in the back of shot during live broadcasts. peter mills put the question: well, we have asked bbc managers about that before and we may do so again on a future programme. finally, the week began with a promise that some more physical contact could be just around the corner. hugging. we're expecting the prime minister later to give us the go—ahead to hug friends and families from next week — sort of. careful cuddling if you will, keeping them short and selective, not hugging lots of people, and avoiding face—to—face contact. just a proper hug. not, no, i couldn't — it's not a hug. a hug's a hug, it's not a push them away sort of thing. but it was all a bit much for some, including liz bailey, who asked: the coverage was continuing on friday, prompting carl to beg on twitter: thank you for all of your comments this week. if you want to share your opinions about what you see or hear and bbc news, on tv, radio, online and social media, e—mail newswatch or you can find us on twitter.

i'm joined now by our economics correspondent, andy verity.£91; billion more to play with if you like or at least less debt. the numbers wobble around so much you have to take a big step back and say ok, what does all this mean? is this debt manageable? that is the key point. in spite of the fact borrowing has ballooned in terms of amount, the service cost of that, the monthly payment on the mortgage, that has actually got a lot cheaper. the reason household analogies are dubious because government finances a lot like this out —— household. there is no limit on what they have to borrow so when we hear from the government that it can fold something we are not really hearing anything objective. the government can simply issue currency and effectively borrow from itself. most of the money that has been borrowed since the pandemic began is owed to the bank of in. if you are borrowing from yourself a bailiff is not going to bang down your door. so that's one reason why this debt is manageable and judgments about what is affordable and not affordabl