so, makea so, make a decision quickly, robert halfon is saying and his committee, the education committeeom the exams regulator quual on wednesday so we exams regulator quual on wednesday so we might get a better idea what they are thinking by then. so we might get a better idea what they are thinking by thenm so we might get a better idea what they are thinking by then. it is not just westminster making the decisions, devolved nations are as well and they've previously not worked together which has put pressure on the government. worked together which has put pressure on the governmentm worked together which has put pressure on the government. it has and remember schools have already gone back in scotland and we saw what happened with exams in scotland repeated a short while later, in a matter of weeks later in england. and it's another complication, another very difficult situation because of the government to delay exams, that has a knock—on effect on university admissions, employers who need to get enough markers in place. there was a lot for the government to think about before they

so, make a decision quickly, robert halfon saying.or executives from quual, the exam regulator, on wednesday so we might get more ofan idea at that stage what they're thinking is. it's notjust the government in westminster looking at this and making decisions, there are the devolved nations as well and previously they've not worked in lock step which has put pressure on the government. it has and remember schools have already gone back in scotland and we saw what happened with exams in scotland repeated a short while later, just a matter of weeks later in england, and it's another complication, a very difficult situation because if the government to delay exams, that has a knock—on effect on university admissions, employers, they can get enough markers in place and there is enough for the government to think about any of the fence before they make that decision but what you heard robert halfon saying and labour are saying is whatever, make a decision quickly. the former head of the university admissions body ucas says a delay to exams

robert halfon, thank you very much indeed. the commons education select committee, there. a commercial flight has left israel bound for the united arab emirates — it's a first, after the two countries agreed to normalise relations. the word "peace" has been freshly painted on the side of the plane, in arabic, english and hebrew. an israeli delegation is onboard, as well as us aides who helped broker the agreement. president trump's son—in—law and middle east adviser, jared kushner, is one of the senior americans on the flight. here's what he said earlier. the first commercial flight in history between israel to a gulf arab country. while this is a historic flight, we hope that this will start an even more historicjourney for the middle east and beyond. i prayed yesterday at the wall that muslims and arabs from throughout the world will be watching this flight, recognising that we are all children of god, and that the future does not have to be predetermined by the past. this is a very hopeful time, and i believe that so much p

the government to think about any of the fence before they make that decision but what you heard robert halfon, make a decision quickly. tui says it has launched a full investigation into claims that its cabin crew didn't follow coronavirus guidelines on a flight that's been linked to at least 16 confirmed cases of covid—i9. the airline has insisted its staff are trained to the "highest standards." all 193 people on the flight from za nte to cardiff have been told to self—isolate with some other passengers now reporting symptoms. stephanie whitfield was a passenger on the flight, she spoke to bbc breakfast about her experience. it was quite scary, to be honest. as soon as we boarded we realised that many of the passengers hadn't really been educated about the wearing of facemasks. many of them were wearing them around their chins and underneath their noses. they were taking them off to talk to fellow passengers and walking down the aisle with their mask off to speak to others. and was anybody raising concerns about that on the flight, and what were the cabin crew doing? the cabin crew, obvious

robert halfon, had some critical words for the regulator.u d e nts system seeing hundreds of thousands of students received the calculated grade that enable them to progress to the next stage of their education or work and they wanted to build as much fairness into the appeal system as possible. over the weekend we still confusion over the appeal system as guidance was published quual by our unpublished are unpublished if you like around mock exams. professor tina isaacs said work needed to be done to build confidence. right now what is happening is the public is losing confidence in the system. and it is up to quual which i know has worked very hard, it is up to quual and especially the government to try to put in place something that will claw back some of that public confidence. i am afraid it will not be able to claw back all of it. i think while there has been citizens of quual —— criticism of quual that generated that algorithm i think will be criticism of ministers and why they did not pick up ministers and why they did not pick up on

you have got the chair of the education committee, robert halfon, saying that really, that decision byent and by quual in particular, the exam regulator, needs to be made by october. he is pretty pessimistic, he thinks there is only a 50—50 chance of exams going ahead at all next year because there is so much uncertainty, particularly because we don't know what will happen with coronavirus. and presumably as well, we have seen that hasn't been criticised for various u—turns so they don't want to bed in a position they don't want to bed in a position they will have to change in the coming months. know and they will say that they've got to get this right, that will be the argument and thatis right, that will be the argument and that is why george eustice argued todayit that is why george eustice argued today it is far too early. it is not just about delaying exams potentially. it is about making sure that the courses are right, that stu d e nts that the courses are right, that students get enough support, that the whole package is right and that is something i had heads of schools talkin

the house of commons education select committee chairman, robert halfon, told bbc news he fears the government'sowed and well heeled. head teachers have attacked the last—minute change as "panicked and chaotic". it comes after ministers in scotland had to apologise before announcing an upgrade in results. our education correspondent dan johnson reports. with exam halls standing silent this summer, the life chances of a generation were instead to be determined by estimated grades, awarded by teachers but then moderated, standardised and potentially downgraded. listen to the worries of those who are expecting their results tomorrow. my biggest fears are that that grades i get will not be a representation of what i would have been capable of, had i sat the exams. because i'm not applying to university and having a gap year, that means i have limited opportunities and i'm concerned universities will not take me in. my independent ability is going to be underestimated by the standardisation method. what we want? fairgrades! scottish students protested after 75,000 had their results downgraded last we

joining me now is the conservative mp robert halfon, who is chair of the education committee in the housend it's going to affect so many young people is immediate future. what should the government do now? can ijust say i wish every student who has had the results, every good luck and success in their future and thank the teachers and the support staff for all the work they have done. i think three things need to be done. firstly, the education exam bodies to battery, needs to be clear how the standardisation model has worked, we made it clear in a report published in earlyjuly, that would have published that, it could have been subject to proper scrutiny, that did not happen, they need to go through it now line by line and explain to schools and colleges how it has worked and whether or not it has this advantage students at it appears to have done for some, not all. secondly, the appeals system must be widened, every student who feels they have got unfair grades should be able to appeal subject to it being signed off by their head teacher and that appeal should be turned around rapidly.

robert halfon, the conservative mp, also chair of the influential commons education committee, in theouble, too, from sp to 10p. it's part of a renewed government drive to be greener and cut unnecessary waste. our chief environment correspondent justin rowlatt has the details. at the moment, the 5p levy only applies to single use carrier bags in large stores, those employing more than 250 people. but, from next april, the charge will double and will apply in all shops. the government says the initiative aims to protect sea creatures by reducing plastic pollution in the ocean. it claims that since the charge was introduced in 2015, there has been a 95% reduction in plastic bags sales in major supermarkets. but environmental campaigners dispute that. they say we're just buying billions of thicker so—called "bags for life" instead. the environmental campaign group greenpeace says the government should go further and set targets for reducing all single—use plastics by supermarkets. this is just a small step when we should be taking big strides. we know the scale of our plastic pollution c

let's speak now to the conservative mp robert halfon, who is chair of the education select committee.it is incredibly important. we know that despite the effo rts important. we know that despite the efforts of schools and teachers, millions of children, for one reason or another, have not been learning and potentially we face an epidemic of educational poverty, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, so must get our children back to school and i welcome the measures taken by the teachers. i hope that the guidance is enough now for the schools, even though it has come some days before schools reopen next week. you will be aware that unions, head teachers, have already made the point that you referred to there, why is it on a friday evening ahead of a bank holiday, the week before the schools are opening, that they get this detailed advice they have been asking about for so long? well, i don't know why that decision was made. i am don't know why that decision was made. iam not don't know why that decision was made. i am not in government. it is better that it is there.

robert halfon, thank you forjoining us this morning. good morning.and make because we have high humidity. this is the band of cloud that will start to encroach on southampton, the bit of brightness will push energy into these showers are so they may start off relatively quietly but they could turn heavy and thundery even through the late morning but particularly this afternoon into the evening the showers look pretty nasty as they push into southern britain. the best sunshine, everyone get on the bus to scotland because it will be perfect. light winds, lovely sunshine across northern scotland, increasing cloud through the borders will bring showers, and for northern ireland. but the downpours to the south, rather like the ones we saw yesterday that materialised across essex, looked like they could be problematic. light winds means it does not move any great hurry, could be localised flooding, hail and thunder. the showers have a met office warning that covers them as they push further north as well through the evening and into overnight period. they