take you | very much, andy verity. -- thank you very much, andy verity. —— thank you very much, andy and are struggling to recruit staff, with more jobs unfilled than before the pandemic, according to a leading industry body. the charity skills for care says the number of unfilled jobs fell at the start of the pandemic, but rose this year, as the economy opened up. they also said employers are finding it harder to keep existing staff. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt reports. the nurses have been up today, the bandages were too tight but they're all right now? yeah, they're fine. yeah7 good. this visit to 103—year—old margaret will help her with her lunch and personal care. she's recently returned home after a four—week stay in hospital. how do you feel about being home now, rather than being in hospital? oh, i am glad to be home. 0h, definitely. after four weeks away. mm—hm. the amount of support she needs has increased, but here in buckinghamshire, finding enough staff to cover all the demand for home care is now extremely difficult. it means care supervisor charlotte an

on that, here's the bbc's andy verity.— bbc's andy verity.l the family's wealth is held, and in the _ that all the family's wealth is held, and in the files, - that all the family's wealth is held, and in the files, she's. held, and in the files, she's identified _ held, and in the files, she's identified as _ held, and in the files, she's identified as the _ held, and in the files, she's identified as the owner i held, and in the files, she's identified as the owner of i held, and in the files, she's - identified as the owner of anonymous companies _ identified as the owner of anonymous companies braced _ identified as the owner of anonymous companies braced in— identified as the owner of anonymous companies braced in the _ identified as the owner of anonymous companies braced in the british i companies braced in the british virgin— companies braced in the british virgin islands. _ companies braced in the british virgin islands. bought- companies braced in the british i virgin islands. bought properties in 2015 and _ virgin islands. bought p

andy verity, one of those property owners as the wife of the retail tycoon sir philip green.ht, tine green, she - tycoon sir philip green. that is right, tine green, she is- tycoon sir philip green. that is right, tine green, she is the i tycoon sir philip green. that is i right, tine green, she is the wife of sir philip green, and it is in her name that the family's wealth is held. she is named as the beneficiary of anonymous companies held in the british virgin islands that bought properties in 2015 and 2016 just when the indebted to department store that they had sold was headed for collapse. you may remember that in march 2015, they sold bhs for £1, a nominalsum, to a former bankrupt businessman with no retail experience, and one year later it went bust with a huge hole in its pension scheme of more than £500 million. just a few months after off—loading bhs, we discovered that an offshore company owned by tina green bought a flat in mayfair for £4.5 million and year one of sir philip's favourite haunts, the dorchester hotel. then later they bought a town house for their d

i andy verity reporting.aterson could be suspended from parliament for 30 days after he was found to have broken rules on lobbying. he is accused of putting pressure on ministers and officials on behalf of two companies for whom he was a paid consultant. the commons standards committee said it was an egregious breach of rules but the mp for north shropshire says the findings are biased and unfair. let's get more on this from our political correspondent who has the latest for us from westminster.— us from westminster. that's right. the re aort us from westminster. that's right. the report that _ us from westminster. that's right. the report that is _ us from westminster. that's right. the report that is out _ us from westminster. that's right. the report that is out today - us from westminster. that's right. the report that is out today has . the report that is out today has found that owen paterson, the conservative mp and former minister, used his position as an mp to promote to companies that he worked for.

andy verity, bbc news.happened near a protest against an investigation into last year's huge port explosion. but as that we began to hear gunfire from a few streets away and things escalate very quickly. there is a cautious calm here in beirut at the moment but there's been bowling gunfire, the boom of rpg is for hours. you will see over my shoulder the lebanese army are all over the place at the moment. they've told people not to come out on the streets at the moment and overhear this is why, this was the front line area in beirut a couple of hours ago. you will see the broken glass and twisted metal. that was a guardmight hurt that was outside one of these residential buildings that was smashed and broken. motorbikes have been torched. there was heavy fighting here, heavy gunfire in the streets between the christian and sheer macro areas. what happens now is the leaders, the political leaders, the sectarian leaders, have called for calm. lebanon for a long time has been a country in frustration, the tensi

andy verity, bbc news.chancellor rishi sunak will be short on money due to growing spending on the nhs and an economy that's smaller than projected pre—pandemic. this is despite plans for the biggest rise in taxes for more than 25 years. g20 leaders are holding a virtual summit today to discuss afghanistan after the taliban's takeover there. leaders, including us presidentjoe biden, will be exploring ways to stop afghanistan again becoming a base for international terrorism, and how they can prevent a humanitarian crisis there with food prices and unemployment sprialling. yogita limaye is in kabulfor us. two months after the taliban takeover, what is life like for people that? it takeover, what is life like for people that?— takeover, what is life like for --eole that? .,, , . people that? it was difficult even before august — people that? it was difficult even before august the _ people that? it was difficult even before august the 15th, - people that? it was difficult even before august the 15th, we - peo

andy verity is with me. there are another... andy verity is with me.male donors it's her personal— another... one of the leading female donors it's her personal wealth - another... one of the leading female donors it's her personal wealth from | donors it's her personal wealth from her husband, who is been financially linked to people close to the kremlin. she has given more than £2 million to the conservatives. her lawyer says she's a british citizen and is entitled to do as he wishes with her money. this comes from the document we've been talking about, the pandora papers. she has given £2 million nearly to the conservatives, which has bought her time with three tory prime minister 's, including borisjohnson. they show her wealth boris johnson. they show her wealth comes from borisjohnson. they show her wealth comes from her husband. 0ne email describes her as financially supported by her husband. another is a housewife. her husband is vladimir, who is a ruston financial mentor — — russian finance minister, and he's continue to do business with peopl

andy verity, that is robabl taking up to. andy verity, that is probably the _ taking up to.earest way to see it, isn't it? thank you very much. let's get some reaction from around the country. we'll be in bristol in a moment, but first let's go to northumberland. in an... they like what they hear from the chancellor, this optimism a from the chancellor, this optimism —. new chapter, like many market towns across the country, they have seen lots of shops on the high street close during a pandemic, but they are also cautious. in this region, high rates of unemployment, the highest child poverty rates, so they welcome the changes to the universal credit taper in, many people being able to keep more money, the scrapping of the public pay freeze, the... all these things impact on the... all these things impact on the cost of living, but they are telling us they still don't feel levelled up. they need to help will be people who have helped us out during this pandemic, they need some more money for what _ pandemic, they need some more money for what they _ pandemic, they need some

andy verity has been looking at the contents of these papers and finding out how far-reaching the allegations. here is his report. reporter: the offshore dealings of presidents, prime ministers and royalty were revealed in almost both million files obtained by the international consortium of investigative journalists. they reveal the sects of world leaders from the king of jordan to vlamir putin to tony blair. before he came to power, they then labor leader attacks the -- would tax the off shore allowing -- >> pensioners pay vat on fuel. offshore trust get to actually file homeowners pay vat on insurance premiums. we will create a tax system that is fair, which is related to ability to pay. [applause] reporter: years later, in 2017, tony and sherry blair bought this townhouse in central london for 6.40 5 million pounds. but rather than by the house as you or i would, they bought the offshore company that owned it, saving more than 300,000 pounds. >> that doesn't look great. it partly doesn't look great because most people cannot do the same thing. even if what the players did was perfectly le

let's get more on this with our economics correspondent, andy verity. so, andy, morning to you.test data? well, annita, this isn't really _ latest data? well, annita, this isn't really the _ latest data? well, annita, this isn't really the end _ latest data? well, annita, this isn't really the end of- latest data? well, annita, this isn't really the end of this - latest data? well, annita, this. isn't really the end of this surge in the cost of living that we have seen recently, more a temporary respite. a 3.1% rise in the consumer prices index, is slightly less than previous figure of 3.2%. the main reason is what you're comparing it with. in august, we were comparing it with the august before, in 2020, when we had eat out to help out, the prices in restaurants and hotels were artificially depressed by the government subsidy. and now we're comparing it with september, when that scheme had finished, and there for, there is less of a contrast with last year. and therefore the big rise in prices is slightly less in restaurants and hotels. but there are still huge upward pressures

andy verity, bbc news.ion. good afternoon. i wonder if you could update us on the later situation at the ports as you understand it.— situation at the ports as you understand it. ., . ~ understand it. good afternoon, thank ou for understand it. good afternoon, thank you for having _ understand it. good afternoon, thank you for having me. _ understand it. good afternoon, thank you for having me. i'd _ understand it. good afternoon, thank you for having me. i'd like _ understand it. good afternoon, thank you for having me. i'd like to - understand it. good afternoon, thank you for having me. i'd like to start i you for having me. i'd like to start by saying we don't have any magic�*s it solutions but the situation is looking better now, actually. so as your news feature very well described, a number of factors have come together to create this particular situation, but we do have a lot of uk ports and there is a lot of resilience in our supply chain, so we are finding that new routes are emerging, ships are b

andy verity reports.re revealed in almost 12 million files obtained by the international consortium of investigativejournalists. they reveal the secrets of world leaders, from the king ofjordan to vladimir putin, to tony blair. before he came to power, the then labour leader attacked the offshore system that allowed wealthy people to to gain tax advantages unavailable to most of us. millionaires with the right accountant pay nothing, whilst pensioners pay vat on fuel. 0ffshore trusts get tax relief while homeowners pay vat on insurance premiums. we will create a tax system that is fair, which is related to ability to pay. years later, in 2017, tony and cherie blair bought this townhouse in central london for £6.45 million. but rather than buy the house as you or i would, they bought the offshore company that owned it, saving more than £300,000 in stamp duty. that doesn't look great, and it partly doesn't look great because most people cannot do the same thing, and so even if what the blairs did was perfec

0ur economic correspondent andy verity is here with more.f the leaky budgets i can remember and i have covered dozens of them. all the announcements we have seen already amount to billions, as you have been reporting already so what do we know? let's have a look at a few of the measures that have been preannounced. 0ne the measures that have been preannounced. one of them is that we are going to get national insurance rising. that was the big move which was announced a few weeks back and the 1.25% extra national insurance, we will all pay to pay for social care will kick in in april, as are the other moves like the national living wage which is not really a government measure, it is employers' money but we know that will go up to £9.50 per hour. you will get no vat cut on energy bills, even though some people thought the government might do that to help people with rising bills. we have also heard the public sector pay freeze introduced last year is going to end. so we can expect that to go up again, public sector pay in april next year some

andy verity, bbc news. i'm joined now by our global trade correspondent, dharshini david. people have applied. how on earth the products get to our shelves? the things we're used to seeing? shelves? the things we're used to seeinu ? , ., , ., , ., seeing? these are questions we have not had to ask _ seeing? these are questions we have not had to ask before. _ seeing? these are questions we have not had to ask before. it _ seeing? these are questions we have not had to ask before. it has - seeing? these are questions we have not had to ask before. it has been - not had to ask before. it has been compounded by the global factors, there are shortages in factors in china, microchips for electronics, energy shortages over there. making the goods is hard enough. then you ship them across around the world. we are an island. because shipping containers are piling up, in the wrong places, apparently one in 12 are satin ports. normally that figure would be half as much. you can see the kind of congestion going on and we had the additional problem here of having the labour to actuall

andy verity, bbc news.ies has warned there's no room for big spending announcements in this month's budget. the think tank said that chancellor rishi sunak will be short on money, due to growing spending on the nhs, and an economy that's smaller than projected pre—pandemic. it's despite plans for the biggest rise in taxes for more than 25 years. the uk will set out its demands for changes to the northern ireland protocol today when the brexit minister, lord frost, makes a speech in lisbon. the protocol, agreed by both sides, prevents a hard border on the island of ireland by keeping northern ireland in the eu s single market for goods. our reality check correspondent chris morris is here. where we always start, what is the background? the where we always start, what is the background?— background? the northern ireland -rotocol background? the northern ireland rotocol is background? the northern ireland protocol is the _ background? the northern ireland protocol is the northern _ background? the northern ire

let's get more analysis from our economics correspondent, andy verity, who's here.orst of inflation, or is this just a blip in the figures? i think probably the short answer to thatis i think probably the short answer to that is yes, for now. the subsidence in inflation in the last month is really down to statistical factors. for example in august last year you had eat out to help out, which artificially depressed prices at restaurants and hotels, and comparing that with august this year, inflation was 3.2% but when you get to september, the figures today, that has dropped out of the equation so you don't have such a big impact ? equation so you don't have such a big impact? my comparison, and inflation looks like it has dropped back but opera is pressures on inflation are very much still dark, and you can see that in what we call producer rises ? my producer prices, so if you look at what they are paying for raw materials, the so—called import prices, they are up 11.4% over the last year, things like petrol, metals, then if you look at the output prices, what they

. _ let�*s get some more analysis on what the budget means from our economics correspondent andy veritycentral london where the institute for fiscal studies have been holding their regular briefing that they always do after a big fiscal event. what they are saying put numbers on what nick was just saying. this will go down as the year, they say, when a conservative chancellor took the size of the state to its highest level since the 19705 and the tax burden to its highest level since the early 19505. over the past year, he has raised taxes by £40 billion and has also had a benefit from a faster than expected economic recovery due to the vaccine. but rather than give some of those tax rises back from earlier in the year, he has decided to bank them and also raise some more. that is not so much to do with the pandemic, it is more to do with the pandemic, it is more to do with the fact there are demographic pressures. the ageing population requires more spending on health and social care that it means all this windfall benefit he�*s got from the better—than—expected recovery won�*t get thr

let's get more analysis from our economics correspondent, andy verity who's here.e the 2% target. way above but also you — way above the 2% target. way above but also you shouldn't _ way above the 2% target. way above but also you shouldn't mistake - way above the 2% target. way above but also you shouldn't mistake that l but also you shouldn't mistake that for the end of the rise in the cost of living we have been seeing recently. it's much more likely to be a statistical blip. i say that because it is what you are comparing it with. 3.2% from last time was comparing august with august 2020 which had eat 0ut comparing august with august 2020 which had eat out to help 0ut. comparing august with august 2020 which had eat out to help out. by comparison, a year later, it looked like a biggerjump. that has all fallen out of the equation by september, so there was less of an effect from eat 0ut september, so there was less of an effect from eat out to help 0ut, september, so there was less of an effect from eat out to help out, but you see price pressures coming through

richard bilton, bbc news. 0ur correspondent andy verity is with me.y donations called victor fed secretive russian whose businesses have backed 3a conservatives mps, he was involved in a russian corruption scandal. that is also included in the bbc investigation. his lawyers told the bbc there is no evidence whatsoever that viktor fedotov behaved improperly. the revelations come from those pandora papers, a leak of 12 million offshore documents. andy, what more do we know about this man? viktor fedotov has very close connections to the conservative party, he has donated more than £700,000 through his businesses, including donations to a dozen tory mps. now the link between him and the conservatives is controversial, because later this month the government will decide whether to approve his company's plans for £1 billion undersea energy link between the uk and france. now, working with the uk and france. now, working with the consortium, international consortium of investigative genitive is in the guardian, bbc panorama has found documents that show how

let's look at some more of the detail of today's announcements — our economics correspondent, andy verity the savior by rishi sunak. also expanding their tax burden to its highest level since the 1950s. just to look at some of those measures bit by bit, you've got one of the biggest measures which was increasing spending for no austerity even for unprotected departments. boosting departmental spending by £24.8 billion. the universal credit measures that we've been talking about, that's improving the taper where you take money away from people when they are in money and also boosting the amount they can earn before you withdraw the benefit, that cost £2.2 billion. and the other measure business rates for hospitality businesses £1.9 billion. the reason that is all possible is because of the economic contacts if you have a look at this chart, if the economy were measured by richter scale that's the earthquake there. we bounce back since then. 6.5 economic growth better than expected largely because the vaccines enabled the economy to reopen. you can see there that it's going to slow down aga

our economics correspondent andy verity has been looking at the figures.e seen recently, more a temporary respite. a 3.1% rise in the consumer prices index is slightly less than the previous figure of 3.2%. the main reason is what you're comparing it with. in august, we were comparing it with the august before, in 2020, when we had eat out to help out, and prices in restaurants and hotels were artificially depressed by the government subsidy. and now we're comparing it with september, when that scheme had finished, and therefore, there is less of a contrast with last year. and therefore the big rise in prices is slightly less in restaurants and hotels. but there are still huge upward pressures on inflation, mainly from the cost of fuel, petrol prices, we didn't actually have the queues at the pumps which featured at the end of september, they aren't priced into these figures, because these figures were conducted on 15th september, rather than after, when the queues started to form, but nevertheless, big upward pressures. so, although we have had a slight e

our economics correspondent andy verity explained what this could mean in real terms for public sector over the past year, they have had a real terms pay cut, and even as we see inflation go up, that pay freeze means the spending power, the amount of goods they can buy, has gone down, and that is in the context of ten years that have been some of the worst in the rising living standards for same 200 years. nurses are paid 5% less than they were ten years ago, teaches 8% less, senior civil servants in ii% ago, teaches 8% less, senior civil servants in 11% less, nhs dentist 32% less, all because they wages have not been keeping up with inflation for ten years, so they will be looking for more than inflation in the coming year but even that may not be enough to compensate for what they have lost in recent years. joining me now is stuart richards, who is the senior organiser with responsibility for public services at gmb union. what would it mean in real terms for your members in the public sector if the pay freeze is, the different sectoral independent pay review bodies and said, all righ

andy verity reports.hile homeowners pay vat on insurance premiums. we will create a tax system that is fair. which is related to ability to pay. years later, in 2017, tony and cherie blair bought this townhouse in central london for £6.45 million. but rather than buy the house as you or i would, they bought the offshore company that owned it, saving more than £300,000 in stamp duty. that doesn't look great, and it partly doesn't look great because most people cannot do the same thing, and so even if what the blairs did was perfectly legal, perfectly legitimate in the business world, it feels instinctively really unfair because they got access to an advantage — or potential advantage — that the rest of us don't have. cherie blair told the bbc they didn't request to structure the transaction this way, and that after purchase they had brought the property under uk tax and regulatory rules. a spokesman added the couple will be liable for tax on capital gains on resale. the files also reveal how a prominent to

let's speak now with our economics correspondent andy verity.ctions could not get hold of the building materials they need to meet their orders. so they have a healthy order book but they cannot reach it. another reason is a lack of skilled workers. that is partly down to brexit. the same applies of course to haulage drivers, just talking a few minutes ago about logistics, some of it is down to global supply, but some of it is down to simple practicalities. if you do not have enough lorry drivers you cannot get goods from a to b. that has been affecting quite a few firms who haven't been able to grow as they would like to simply because they can't get the supply that they need. this will continue to hold back the recovery if we are not careful. if that shortage of lorry drivers is not overcome, for example. lorry drivers is not overcome, for examle. �* , . .. lorry drivers is not overcome, for examle. �* , . lorry drivers is not overcome, for example-— lorry drivers is not overcome, for examle. . , ., ,, , . example. andy, thank you very much fo

our economics correspondent, andy verity, is at the instititue for fiscal studies. over to you.rs for fiscal stuff that we�*ve had over the last years. we have seen a really big increase in tax and a pretty big increase in tax and a pretty big increase in tax and a pretty big increase in spending. to be fair, a lot of this was an eventual and inevitable final recognition of all the pressures and increases leading to an increased spending on health, the fact we knew the wheels was coming off the justice system and health system and all those sorts of things. overthis health system and all those sorts of things. over this period, the chancellor has said let�*s ramp up taxes and ramp up spending and take us toa taxes and ramp up spending and take us to a new place, a place we haven�*t been before. us to a new place, a place we haven't been before.- us to a new place, a place we haven't been before. that's because of democratic _ haven't been before. that's because of democratic pressure _ haven't been before. that's because of democratic pressure really, i haven't been before. that

slowdown in the recovery, as global supply chain woes take their toll. 0ur economics correspondent andy veritybefore the pandemic, then it is really good growth. 0.4% in a month that translates to four or 5% over the year. that would be faster growth than we have had for decades, outside of the pounds back from the pandemic, but we had remember, these are exceptional circumstances. if you look at what is happening, what has happened to the economy over the last 18 months. we have a chance here you can look at. you can see it is like a precipitous roller—coaster, write only the beginning with the lockdown of suppressing economic activity and then right back up, but now you can see it has levelled off and we are not quite back up to the level we were pandemic stop and in fact, if you look at the figure forjuly, the revised figure, it shows the economy shrank slightly injuly, said about some slight signs that this recovery is not as fast as the bank of england anticipated when it said there would be great of a 7% this year and a big there would be great of a 7% this yearand a big part there would