Morning briefing Wednesday 29th October

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 the Times Morning Briefing on Wednesday the 29th of October. It's claimed Labour's on course to miss its promise to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of the decade.

0:45The Times has seen a letter developers have sent to the government's budget watchdog saying demand is sluggish. They also say the costs associated with meeting environmental and safety standards aren't helping. Rico Vodstulovic is from the National Federation of Builders. He's told Times Radio it's impacting the whole economy. People think of it as house building. Well, that's correct. but house builders also contribute to the roads and other infrastructure locally, schools, hospitals. So if they're not building, you're not getting the money for that. But they also deliver all the skills for civil engineering, for the commercial buildings, for the education facilities.

1:18So when you're impacting the house building industry, you're impacting the broader construction opportunities. The government says it's determined to bring about the biggest era of house building in British history. There's flash flooding in parts of Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa hit, with rescue teams struggling to reach some stranded families. Around 15 ,000 people have spent the night in emergency shelters as wind and rain continues to batter the island. Matthew Samuda is the country's environment minister. He's in the capital, Kingston. He's been asked whether the government has invested enough to keep people safe from weather events like this.

1:52I assure you the UK would have significant challenges dealing with 185 mile-an-hour winds, 17-foot storm surge and nearly two metres of floodwater. Drains simply aren't engineered to accommodate that amount of water. Roads aren't meant to remain intact with that amount of rainfall in such a short period of time. And modern infrastructure isn't meant to face 195 mile an hour winds. Israeli strikes on a neighbourhood in the south of Gaza City have reportedly killed nine people and injured another four. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of attacking troops in Rafa. His spokesperson, Shosh Pedrosian, told Times Radio it was a breach of the US-brokered ceasefire.

2:37Hamas committed to a plan. They must follow through. If they were committed, our hostages would have been released 15 days ago. 13 of our deceased hostages are not yet home. Hamas has failed here and violated the agreement. Figures show the number of immigration enforcement visits are at their highest level since comparable data began in 2011. According to the Home Office, around 22 ,000 in-person checks were carried out in the year to September. That's up from 16 ,000 in the previous 12 months. Ministers say they're cracking down on people working illegally in the UK. And the morning after pill is now available free of charge in pharmacies across England.

3:16NHS bosses say it's a game changer in making reproductive healthcare more accessible for women. You can follow The Times News Briefing on Spotify and listen live to Times Radio online.

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4:38We'll be right back. through 7-8 while supplies last. Selection varies by location.