Afternoon Briefing Friday 14th November

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwCWC. Staying competitive means getting ahead, not just keeping up. So how do business leaders cut through the noise and focus on what really matters. PwC takes you further with tech, from optimising the systems that put your data to work, to scaling AI from proof of concept to competitive edge. PwC helps you meet tomorrow's tech demands, so you can compete at a speed that rewrites the rules. Discover more at pwc.co.uk. Hello, this is your Times Afternoon Briefing for Friday the 14th of November with me, James Kitch. The Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, has told Times Radio that government preparations for the budget have not felt chaotic to ordinary people.

0:46It comes as Rachel Reeves has abandoned plans to raise income tax. The Chancellor had been expected to break Labour's manifesto pledge, but it's understood she's now ditched the proposals, amid fears they could anger both voters and backbench Labour MPs. The Times' business columnist, Ian King, says the uncertainty is damaging consumer confidence. This is an incredibly late budget, November 26th. We've had months and months of kite flight and speculation. And you're actually seeing in the real economy, this is doing real damage. You're seeing it most notably in consumer spending, for example. I mean, the Bank of England's regional agents noted only last week that consumer confidence right now is extremely fragile.

1:27You're seeing that in the retail sales data. Meanwhile, The Times reveals the Chancellor has also abandoned plans to impose a new charge on professionals, including lawyers and private doctors who use limited liability partnerships. The Culture Secretary also told Times Radio it's absolutely right that the BBC has apologised to Donald Trump over the misleading Panorama edit. The corporation called the film an error of judgement, but writing to the White House, the BBC's Chair Samir Shah said he strongly disagrees there's a basis for a defamation claim. Speaking to Times Radio Breakfast, Lisa Nandy said the BBC has rightly accepted that it didn't meet the highest standards.

2:06I think it's important to put this in context. The BBC produces thousands of hours of really top, high quality programming, news journalism and current affairs every year. And where mistakes are made, of course, it's absolutely right that they treat it with the utmost seriousness and they apologise when they've got it wrong. Health leaders are warning the NHS may have to cut frontline staff as well as appointments and operations if strikes by medics continue. Thousands of resident doctors in England have started another five-day walkout in their long-running pay dispute. The health secretary has called the strikes unnecessary and irresponsible.

2:45West Streeting wrote to union leaders last week offering a deal that would cover doctors' exam fees and give them priority for jobs over foreign medical staff. But the BMA's Deputy Chair, Dr Emma Ranswick, told Times Radio that's not good enough.

3:22can stay in the NHS. And MPs are warning the state of the prison system is damaging efforts to cut crime and rehabilitate offenders. In a report, the Justice Committee found factors such as overcrowding in jails and staff shortages were undermining aims to reduce re-offending. The committee's demanding ministers focus on purposeful rehabilitation programmes. The government says it's put measures in place to do so. And remember, you can follow The Times News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

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