Morning briefing Wednesday 16th September

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. This is Times Radio's morning briefing on Wednesday the 16th of September. I'm Darrell Jackson. The Times is warning that the upcoming budget will need to fill a hole in public finances of£10 billion.

0:47That could mean tax rises or spending cuts are on the horizon. John Healy, the Chancellor, has said he wants a focused budget, but economists suggest the government's fiscal headroom has fallen. Michael Jacobs, professor of political economy at the University of Sheffield, told Times Radio that something will have to give. Because of that uncertainty and volatility in the Middle East, there is going to be less money than Rachel Reeves had planned for in her budget. She had planned for a so-called headroom, that's the kind of leeway between what's coming in and what's going to be spent, of about$24 billion.

1:23And it looks likely that half of that has gone and the government has already committed to a bit of spending. So something's got to give. Andy Burnham's set to meet US President Donald Trump for the first time next week in New York. The Times is reporting that the meeting is expected to take place at the United Nations General Assembly. Jim Townsend, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO policy, told Times Radio this is going to be really important. In the next six months, we're going to really need each other. Our midterms could be just chaos. And of course, we're going to have to see what the Russians do during the winter with NATO and with the NATO allies.

2:02So having the U.S.-U.K. shoulder-to-shoulder is going to really be important, and this meeting will help do that. Meanwhile, Andy Burnham's said to be weighing up sending military aid to Saudi Arabia to assist against the Iran-backed Houthis, which have made significant territorial gains along the Red Sea coast. A small team of military advisers have been deployed already to assess options and help defend against strikes on the region's oil infrastructure. But former UK ambassador to the Middle East Nicholas Hopton told Times Radio that any British military escalation against the Houthis in the Red Sea would be unwise.

2:38The Prime Minister would be wise to listen to clear advice coming from countries in the region which are also very important allies of us, such as the Qataris, who are saying that escalating in the Bab al-Mandab against the Houthis militarily is going to lead to a catastrophe for the global economy. A group of advisers is warning the expansion of Heathrow Airport can't go ahead unless the aviation industry is forced to clean up its climate emissions. The Climate Change Committee says the cost of international flights might have to increase by hundreds of pounds by 2050 to pay for the industry to cut its carbon pollution to zero.

3:15Last week, the Chancellor, John Healy, said the government had given the go-ahead to the proposal to build a third runway. The estimated cost is£33 billion. And complaints to the watchdog about water companies have seen their largest ever annual increase. The Consumer Council for Water says complaints are up 84%, the biggest year-on-year rise in the watchdog's 20-year history. The increase has been primarily driven by growing concerns and confusion over rising charges, with complaints made to firms about billing increasing by 72 % during the same period. The regulator Ofwat has allowed firms to put up bills by 36 % between 2025 and 2030.

3:57And you can hear more on all of those stories throughout the day on Times Radio.

4:06This 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 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. Discover more at pwc.co.uk

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