simon gompertz, bbc news.d school are heading to wembley this afternoon, after he got them tickets to watch the fa cup semi—final. the england forward surprised students from ark elvin academy, by inviting them to watch manchester city's game against brighton. here's natalie pirks. it's pe as usualfor the pupils of ark elvin academy, but this has been no ordinary week. on thursday, ten of them met their school's most famous former student, and then 250 of them discovered that, thanks to raheem sterling's generosity, they were going home with a pair of tickets for today's semi. despite his success and the fact that he's moved out of london and he's playing for manchester now, he still remembers where he's from and he sticks close to his roots. and for our children to have that role model who thinks of them and still has his heart in our community, that means a huge amount to us, it's very special. well, this used to be copeland community school. and every day for a young raheem sterling there was a very visual

simon gompertz has the details. this is a tale of two hairdressers. enjoy doing things as you get older. and this is taneika, who‘s been blown out of the pension scheme after having a baby and coming back part—time. pensions are tricky for new parents to afford. i think once you've had a baby you are put how it is. you don't really have much say. it's like you've had a baby, you don't want to do this, you want a lower wage, and that's it. and then there‘s a danger you get a lower pension. yes. it‘s notjust the cost. employers aren‘t obliged to sign up people like taneika, who earn less than £10,000 a year. to be fair, it‘s a challenge to the boss as well. the business has to contribute a top up, which has gone up to 3% of pay. for the majority of small businesses it is an onerous burden that‘s just going to get worse and worse and worse. and i think something like 70% of people work for a small business in this country, so it‘ll have an impact on the employment of whether people will actually take people on. right now the challenge for savers like chl

simon gompertz, bbc news.autious optimism from both the conservative party and labour over brexit talks after they broke up last night without progress. the developer persimmon has announced an independent review into its housing quality at an increased concerns about the standard of its new—build properties. millions of workers will see more of their automatically diverted into a pension from today. minimum contribution rates go up from 3% to 5%. 200 jobs are set to go in birmingham after the announcement that gkn aerospace will close its kings norton factory. gkn was bought by the melrose group in a takeover last year. the plant, which manufactures windows and canopies for military and civil aircraft — is due to shut in 2021. in a statement, the company said the kings norton factory did not have a sustainable future. our business correspondent rob young has been looking at the story. what may confuse people who can think back a few months is that they thought the kings norton site was safe. the history of th

simon gompertz, bbc news.ly reducing production of 8737 airliner after two crashes. production will be cut from 52 planes a month to 42, while the firm works on changes to its max variant. it was involved in both crashes. the max 737 is currently grounded, after preliminary findings suggested it's anti—stall system may have been at fault. the demostrations are taking place just days after france's constitutional council struck down a measure that for another weekend of antigovernment rallies. the demonstrations are taking place just days after france's constitutional council struck down a measure that would have let authorities ban certain individuals from protesting, a key element of the government's plan to crack down on violence at "yellow vest" demonstrations. algeria's president abdelaziz bouteflika has stepped down after 20 years in charge, but the protesters who forced his resignation say it's not enough. they continue to fill the streets of algiers, demanding an end to the regime that stood behind him.

simon gompertz, bbc news.announcement that gkn aerospace will close its kings norton factory. gkn was bought by the melrose group in a hostile takeover last year. the plant, which manufactures windows and canopies for military and civil aircraft, is due to shut in 2021. in a statement, the company said the king's norton factory did not have a sustainable future. we can speak to the labour mp for birmingham northfield where the factory is based. what do you make of what has happened in this announcement? it is disgraceful and i think announcement? it is disgraceful and ithinka announcement? it is disgraceful and i think a gross breach of faith by melrose. it is only a year since they took over gkn. a lot of us were very worried about what that would be in at the time, but they were falling over themselves to say they would invest in british manufacturing and were committed to british manufacturing, and now we see this, a year on, they will sack over 170 workers and shift specialised work out of this country. it

simon gompertz, bbc news.ufacturer boeing says it's temporarily cutting production of its 737 airliner, following two crashes. production will decrease from 52 to 42 planes a month, while the firm works on changes to its max model which was involved in crashes in ethiopia and indonesia. the headlines on bbc news. there is cautious optimism from both the conservatives and labour over brexit talks after they broke up last night without progress. the developer persimmon has announced an independent review into its house—building over concerns about the standards of its new build properties. millions of workers will see more of their wages automatically diverted into a pension from today. minimum contributions are going up from 3% to 5%. sport now, and we have a round—up from mike bushell. it's grand national day, and there is one horse that stands out amid the a0 runners, one that could well make history because last year, tiger roll will again be written by dave russell and is favourite for repeat success, makin

simon gompertz, bbc news.t is cautious optimism from both the conservative party and labour over brexit talks, although they broke up last night without progress. the developer persimmon has announced an independent review into its housing quality after increasing concern about the standard of its new—build properties. millions of workers will see more of their weight is automatically diverted into a pension from today. there minimum contribution rate is going up from 396 contribution rate is going up from 3% to 5%. the aircraft manufacturer boeing said it is temporarily decreasing production of its airliner after two crashes. production will decrease from 52 to 42 planes a month, while the firm works on changes to its max model which was involved in crashes in ethiopia and indonesia. the defence secretary gavin williamson says he is appalled by claims ofan williamson says he is appalled by claims of an alleged attack against a teenage female soldier was sleeping. six army soldiers have been arrested and mr wi

simon gompertz, bbc news.ancellor, philip hammond, says he's optimistic brexit talks between the government and the labour party can reach "some form of agreement". mr hammond said ministers had "no red lines", and an open mind. last night, discussions broke up with no progress. matt cole is our political correspondent. matt, both sides say they're talking, but they're not meeting. indeed. it's interesting. the chancellor said this morning he was optimistic an arrangement could be reached with labour but also it could lead to a positive outcome at wednesday's emergency eu summit. that claim that talks are continuing this weekend, well, labour have told me none are scheduled at all. philip hammond has been in bucharest meeting eu finance ministers. from there, he said the government is open to all ideas and has no red lines. labour says the lack of progress has been because the government won't compromise, they won't change. if no arrangement is reached, the prime minister will have to hope mps can vote for som

our personalfinance correspondent, simon gompertz, is here. of people wanting to go to eu countries? the first thing is the big package holiday companies are not having a good year so far, they see people are putting off their bookings for the summer because of uncertainty over for instance brexit. having looked at the numbers of thomas crook so far their latest figures, the show the number of people booking in known european destinations which don't use the euro has gone up to 47% saw almost half and that compares to 38% in last year at the same time. ten percentage point increase. big difference, thomas cook put it down to the pound having fallen against the euro so those destinations seem a bit more expensive but another influence is people arejust generally more keen on going further afield for the holidays. they are being more careful with their money in order to do that, choosing different times to change the pound into other currencies for instance. but they want to go further. what sort of places are we going to? having said that the mo

simon gompertz, bbc news.ft manufacturer boeing says it's temporarily cutting production of its 737 airliner following two crashes. production will decrease from 52 to 42 planes a month, while the firm works on fixing a fault on its max model which was involved in crashes in ethiopia and indonesia. a soldier who walked towards a bomb left on an underground train is being awarded the queen ‘s commendation for bravery. lieutenant colonel craig palmer was travelling to work when the device partially exploded a few carriages away at parsons green station. a fireball swept through the tube train injuring more than 50 people. colonel palmer took photographs of the smouldering bomb before contacting the police. and we'll be talking to colonel palmer after nine o'clock. hundreds of pupils from raheem sterling's old school are heading to wembley this afternoon, after he got them tickets to watch the fa cup semifinal. how exciting is that for them? and grab how exciting is that for them? and grab the england forward sur

simon gompertz, bbc news.ter 20 years in charge, but the protesters who forced his resignation say it's not enough. they continue to fill the streets of algiers, demanding an end to the regime that stood behind him. the mood among demonstrators is positive but the country's path ahead is still unclear. sally nabil reports. their long—time leader has resigned, but algerians continue to protest. it's the seventh week in they take to the streets. they say abdelaziz bouteflika has gone, but the regime is still in place. they accuse the ruling elite of corruption and repression, and they want to dismantle the entire system. the mood on the street is hopeful, and expectations are high. but underneath, there is a lot of anticipation for how to bring about a transition towards democracy. translation: we are all united here. what we need is change, absolute change. translation: we want the entire regime to leave. not just the president. for us, they are all the same. they're all corrupt. the youth have been the driving

simon gompertz has the details. this is a tale of two hairdressers.

bills and the cost of the tv licence are going up as well. 0ur personal finance correspondent simon gompertzout the minimum wage? those 2 million are on different levels of minimum wage according to their age. the biggest one for 25 years and over which is called the national living wage, that's going up by nearly 5% and it's going to end up at £8.21, which is an extra 38p an hour. below that level, 21—2a is an extra 38p an hour. below that level, 21 —2a yea rs is an extra 38p an hour. below that level, 21—2a years old, it's up by a.3% and you get to £7.70 an hour. unions are saying it should be that that group gets the national living wage, the higher amount. there are lower levels than that for younger age groups. so more money for people on the minimum wage but there will be higher bills. the big one is gas and electricity, and we've got an increase of £117 a year for nearly half of households. those are the ones on standard variable tariffs, which they could switch from. council tax is going up, in england it's going up by an average of a.7%. smaller increases in scotland, slightly more

our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, is here. so can you get your deposit back?t. it comes in those circumstances when there is an illness before the holiday or something comes up at work and you cannot go, and a lot of people and businesses assume that that deposit is non—refundable. and the competition market authority is saying that that is not the case and it has done some survey work to look behind this. for instance, it found that of the people who asked, 89% of them thought that it should be refunded, assuming that the company manages to resell the holiday, for instance. and of those people who had been through this, one in five say they were treated unfairly over the deposit, and that's not surprising given that the cma say 58% to businesses don't understand the rules. the deposit should be paid back, less expenses, assuming that the holiday has been resold. so in this situation how do you go about getting your money back? you badger the company or you go to citizens advice for help. in the final analysis, you could take them to court. it's not as hard as

uncertainty around brexit is causing continuing anxiety for business — let's speak our correspondent simon gompertzat is grabbing attention today is the uk boss of the german engineering company siemens, a very important investor here, who wrote to mps yesterday encouraging them to sort something out and has been speaking to the media today, and saying that britain is at risk of trashing it's a fabulous reputation with the rest of europe. now, they are german however they employ 13,000 people here, have sales of £5 billion, invested a lot, and he says if he took a big investment project to berlin for approval, it would simply be rejected as things stand. we are wrecking our reputation as an economic powerhouse, he says. if a solution is found, then the investment is returned. so it adds to the picture of stalemate in parliament and near standstill in the economy. the confederation of british industry is saying that it's desperately disappointed by what happened last night, small businesses saying similar things, and both worried about the renewed possibility of no deal. the pound, though, a little

simon gompertz, bbc news. next hour and it is estimated more than 600 million people around the world will watch the race. the favour by a long way will be the irish horse tag are all attempting to become the first went back—to—back national since red rum 45 years ago. in the scottish premiership, there was a win for hibs over hearts in the edinburgh derby — but as patrick geary reports the game was overshadowed by the behaviour of some fans. it is the issue that is clouding scottish football. for the second time in a week, a flare is thrown onto the pitch in a scottish premiership match, delaying kick—off in the edinburgh derby. the scottish police federation says supporter behaviour is driving the game to a crisis and when peter haring headed hearts in front, the red mist descended once more. a similar incident happened after celtic scored against st mirren on wednesday. more followed. three minutes later hibernian equalised. during daryl horgan's celebrations, another aberration. this time a coconut was thr

simon gompertz, bbc news.anufacturer boeing says it's temporarily cutting production of its 737 airliner, following two crashes. production will decrease from 52 to 42 planes a month, while the firm works on changes to its max model which was involved in crashes in ethiopia and indonesia. a soldier who walked towards a bomb left on an underground train is being awarded the queen's commendation for bravery. lieutenant colonel craig palmer was travelling to work when the device partially exploded a few carriages away at parsons green station. a fireball swept through the tube train, injuring more than 50 people. colonel palmer took photographs of the smouldering bomb before contacting the police. and we'll be talking to colonel palmer shortly. we will be hearing more about that remarkable story. hundreds of pupils from raheem sterling's old school are heading to wembley this afternoon, after he got them tickets to watch the fa cup semi—final. the england forward surprised students from ark elvin academy, by invi

our correspondent, simon gompertz has been explaining what the increase means for those on the minimum system is age—related. the biggest one is called the national living wage. that is for people aged 25 and over. it's going up by nearly 5% to £8.21 an hour. so it's an increase of 38p. and the lower age leveljust below that, 21 to 2a, is also going up by a bit less, just over 4%. it will be £7.70 an hour. the tuc unions are saying that lower level should be the same as the higher level, but of course, teenagers and apprentices have even lower minimum wages. they will be seeing some increases as well. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is brexit. british mps are attempting to break the deadlock on brexit with new votes on alternatives to theresa may's brexit deal. another day in westminster, another crucial moment for brexit. chris mason is in central lobby for us. i let you down a couple of minutes ago by being on my own, so i thought i would find someone to talk to to meet the billing you gave me, so here he is, phil wilson, labour meet the billing you

here's our personal finance correspondent simon gompertz. two hairdressers. 0ne, chloe, full—time and ready to have 5% clipped off her wage for her work pension after today's increase. i just think that a little bit of money that i don't see, you know, it goes straight out of my wages before i even see it, and ijust think, well, for the future you may need it. cos you won't be working. and you'll need to top up for your old age and enjoy doing things as you get older. and this is taneika, who's been blown out of the pension scheme after having a baby and coming back part—time. pensions are tricky for new parents to afford. i think once you've a baby you put kind of it to the side and that's how it is. you don't really have much say. it's like you've had a baby, you don't want to do this, you are on a lower wage, and that's it. and then there's a danger you get a lower pension. yes. it's notjust the cost. employers aren't obliged to sign up people like taneika, who earn less than £10,000 a year. to be fair, it's a challenge to the boss as wel

our personal finance correspondent simon gompertz is here.the minimum wage? it depends how old you are, because the minimum wage syste m old you are, because the minimum wage system is age—related. the biggest one is called the national living wage. that is for people aged 25 and over. it's going up by nearly 596 25 and over. it's going up by nearly 5% to £8.21 an hour. so it is an increase of 38 p. and the lower level before that, 21 to 24, is also going upa level before that, 21 to 24, is also going up a bit less, byjust over 496. going up a bit less, byjust over 4%. it will be £7 70 an hour. the tuc unions are saying that lower level should be the same as the higher level, but of course, teenagers and apprentices have even lower minimum wages. they will be seeing some increases as well. but those higher bills will eat into any increase. yes, the most important one is the increasing energy prices, because people who are on something called a standard variable tariff, which is about half of households, they are seeing an increase of £117 a y