our overheads have increased, and unfortunately that funding amount has remained the same, and so that means that we are just in a deficit. we should not be having to close our doors, and we should not be leaving children without provision. this nursery is the victim of a nationwide problem. and one leading childcare charity says more than 5,000 providers have closed in the last year. i have never witnessed such a difficult time for parents to find a place for their child, and it will not get better, this will get considerably worse, unless there is adequate investment, make sure the infrastructure is strong, but it has never been this bad. in a statement, the department for education says it recognises the financial pressures faced by parents and providers. it says it has spent more than £20 billion over the past five years to support families with the cost of childcare and provided unprecedented support to protect all businesses from high energy prices. but it has not been
clear dark skies by night translate to blue sunny skies by day. it s not the start of the meteorological spring just yet but still some springlike weather watch pictures coming in. this one from the scottish borders, a touch of frost on the grass and some snowdrops basking in all of that sunshine we are seeing at the moment in leicester and it s across the central swathes of the uk were so for the midlands, wales, much of northern england, particularly north west england, as you can see from the satellite picture we have a bit of a sunshine sandwich going on so more cloud towards the nous, some cloud across southern counties as well. this cloud is set to retreat further southwards and eastwards through the afternoon, so the drizzle clearing up, brighter skies, rain moving into north west england pushing southwards and eastwards. these are round about the average temperatures for the time of year but it will feel a bit cooler than that with the added wind chill and we are expe
personal testimony from both sides of the conflict in a city pummelled by war. radford again. oh, what a goal! what a goal! and the voice of football for five decades john motson dies, aged 77. on bbc london: sadiq khan puts frees school meals at the heart of his budget but tories say his council tax is too much and coming up on the bbc news channel, a new independent regulator of men s football in england will be established for the first time, with the aim to make clubs more financially sustainable. good evening. three men have been arrested after an off duty police officer was shot multiple times in front of his son after a session coaching young people playing football in omagh, county tyrone. detective chief inspectorjohn caldwell remains in a critical condition in hospital and is said to be fighting for his life. northern ireland s political leaders issued a joint statement condemning the callous attack at the youth sports complex. our ireland correspondent emma v
between the us and china, with claims and denials of spying. some of the thousands of victims of the nhs infected blood scandal this afternoon, the long running inquiry into the disaster heard its final evidence. and a man armed with a crossbow who entered the grounds of windsor castle in 2021 has pleaded guilty to a charge of treason. coming up in sportsday later in the hour on the bbc news channel: we will look ahead to the start of the six nations championship. the first match is here in cardiff between wales and ireland. good evening. lancashire police say they believe that nicola bulley, who went missing while walking her dog last week, most likely fell into the river wyre. a major search for her continues, but no trace of her has been found. the partner of ms bulley has said he will never lose hope but he can not get his head around how she has vanished. danny savage reports. exactly a week on from when nicola bulley vanished, her friends staged a roadside appeal this
police say they believe nicola bulley, who s been missing for a week, fell into the river while walking her dog. the pope and british church leaders visit south sudan in an attempt to heal divisions in its civil war. have you caught him? and how will it end? millions of fans await the finale of the bbc s award winning drama happy valley. later on bbc london, the metropolitan police has apologised for inviting retired officers who were investigated for misconduct to rejoin the force. and coming up on the bbc news channel, britain s record signing enzo fernandez makes his debut for chelsea in the west london derby as fulham travel to stamford bridge. and coming up on the bbc news channel, britain s record signing enzo fernandez makes his debut for chelsea in the west london derby as fulham travel to stamford bridge. good evening. a diplomatic row has erupted between the us and china after a balloon was spotted at high altitude in the skies over america, which it says is being u