Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Thursday 29 Oct 2015

1. Kids Company 'was given £46m despite concerns'

The National Audit Office says that defunct charity Kids Company was given at least £46m of public money even after concerns were first raised in 2002 about how it was being run. A pet project of David Cameron's, the charity has been accused of financial mismanagement, strongly denied by former boss Camila Batmanghelidjh.

Kids Company was handed £46m despite six warnings

2. Teenager charged over Aberdeen school stabbing

A 16-year-old boy has been charged over the death of Bailey Gwynne, stabbed to death at Cults Academy school in Aberdeen yesterday. He is expected to appear at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Friday. Gwynne, also 16, was taken by air ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary but died shortly after arriving. A candelit vigil was to be held in Aberdeen today.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Aberdeen school stabbing: teenager charged over death of schoolboy

3. MI5 boss: IS planning mass casualty attacks in UK

Andrew Parker, the head of MI5, has warned that Islamic State (IS) members are planning to carry out "mass casualty" attacks on UK soil. He says the terror threat is the highest it has been in his career after more than 750 British extremists travelled to Syria to join the fundamentalist Sunni fighters, and with Al Qaeda still a threat.

IS planning 'mass casualty' attacks in UK, says MI5

4. US Republican fight gets nasty in TV debate

The gloves came off last night in the latest TV debate between the wannabe Republican candidates for the White House in 2016. Jeb Bush turned on his friend and rival Marco Rubio, saying his low voting record meant he should resign from the Senate. Front-runner Ben Carson was attacked for his plan to base taxes on biblical tithes.

Trump travel ban: Judge expands definition of relatives

5. Average London home £500,000 as divide widens

The geographical divide in house prices in England has yawned even wider, with the average London house price now £500,000 while in the northeast the average house costs just £100,000. The Land Registry also said property prices in England and Wales rose by one per cent last month to reach an average price of £186,553.

The Business: UK betting income rockets as terminals grow

6. Chilcot report expected in summer of 2016

Sir John Chilcot's much-delayed report into the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath will not be published until the summer of 2016. The report, which now runs to two million words, will be finished in April but publication will be held up by national security checks. The Iraq Inquiry began in 2009 and Prime Minister David Cameron called the latest delay "disappointing".

Chilcot: Tony Blair 'not straight' with nation over Iraq

7. Antiques Roadshow values item at more than £1m

Experts on the TV show Antiques Roadshow have come across an item that they valued at more than £1m - the highest-ever valuation in the programme's 38-year history. The item was discovered in Harrogate and was described by producers as "a world famous piece owned by a sporting institution". The programme featuring the antique will not be aired until April next year.

8. UK population to exceed 70 million in 12 years

The population of the UK will rise to more than 70 million over the next 12 years according to government predictions. There are currently 64.6 million people in the country this will rise to 70 million by 2027 and by 9.7 million over the next 25 years. The population will also get older, with 29.5% of people aged over 60 by 2039 - up from 23.2% this year.

9. Briefing: ministers promise to raise 'tampon tax' in Brussels

Ministers have promised to lobby Brussels over the so-called tampon tax in order to avoid a rebellion in the House of Commons. Women in the UK are currently forced to pay a 5 per cent levy on tampons and other sanitary products because they are regarded as "non-essential luxury items" under EU tax laws. Eleven eurosceptic Tories had joined Labour and other opposition parties to demand government action to lift the tax.

Tampon tax: ministers promise to raise issue in Brussels

10. China to abandon one-child policy

China is to end its controversial one-child policy, which was introduced in 1979 in order to slow population growth. It is claimed the policy has prevented 400m births. It has also been blamed for abortions, infanticide and a growing gender imbalance in China. The policy has been relaxed in recent years and is now set to be scrapped as China's population ages.

Why China finally scrapped its controversial one-child policy