Afternoon Briefing Friday 29th August

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. Welcome to the Times Afternoon Briefing on Friday the 29th of August. NHS England will begin vaccinating all babies against chickenpox next year.

0:42The health service is facing a battle to increase uptake of childhood jabs. Data shows the number of children getting their MMR vaccine has collapsed to the lowest level for 15 years. Health Minister Stephen Kinnock has told Times Radio that at present, the only children who get the chickenpox jab are vulnerable or live with vulnerable people. We are now opening this up to all children to have it on the NHS. jab at 12 months, a jab at 18 months. And so that, by definition, will improve take-up because to get it off the shelf at Boots will cost you£150. The chickenpox jab's been used in the US and Australia for several years.

1:18Consultant at Bristol Children's Hospital Adam Finn has told Times Radio it's the right way forward for the UK. We've been able to see in the United States a complete disappearance of deaths, hospitalisations and cases of chickenpox during the course of the time that the vaccine's been used. If you talk to parents in the United States, they're completely puzzled by the fact that we're not doing the same thing and see this alongside whooping cough, podio, measles, diphtheria, tetanus as a disease of the past that we can forget about. Angela Rayner's been accused of avoiding£40 ,000 in stamp duty on her new flat in Hove in East Sussex.

1:59The Deputy Prime Minister reportedly told the authorities it's her primary residence. According to the Telegraph, if she declared it as a second property, the stamp duty would have been£70 ,000, while she's thought to have paid£30 ,000. The Times' political editor Stephen Swinford says it's a story of two halves. Technically, she's done nothing wrong, but it's a question of politically, how does that look? This is a government which is jacking up taxes left, right and centre. And in Angela Rayner's purview, she is overseeing major reforms to council tax, which will see wealthier areas pay more council tax, and at the same time they have increased that stamp duty surcharge.

2:36Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia's bombardment of Kiev shows Vladimir Putin wants to continue the war. Moscow launched its second biggest drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday night, killing at least 21 people, including children. The British Council building was among those hit. Colin McGiven is the director of Ukraine at the British Council, and he spoke to Times Radio from Kiev. I've just returned from the blast site this morning, visiting the Ukrainian police force and our security detail. We've been posted there overnight to secure the premises for us and it really is quite devastating for us.

3:13The buildings are out of use and will be for some time now. And you can follow the Times News briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online. This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC. AI is everywhere. In the news, in our hands, but return on investment, not so much. So how do you get beyond the hype and deliver AI that powers reinvention and growth across your business? Strong foundations unlock AI's potential. That's why PwC takes you further with tech, strengthening the data quality, processes and workflows that shape how well AI performs. PwC turns innovation into implementation so you can accelerate from experiment to scale.

4:01Discover more at pwc.co.uk. While every other channel is fighting for your customers' attention, podcasts are where they've already given it. No one accidentally listens to a podcast for 45 minutes. They choose to be here. They trust the voice in their ears. And when that voice talks about your brand, it doesn't sound like advertising. It sounds like a recommendation from a friend. Acast gives you that trust at scale. Digital precision, post-read authenticity, and performance data that proves it worked. Don't fight for attention. Buy it with Acast. Learn more by visiting acast.com slash advertise.