MPS QUIZ POLICE CHIEF ON ABUSE CASE

Beleaguered South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner Shaun Wright will face questions from MPs about his knowledge of the Rotherham child abuse scandal.

Mr Wright, who was in charge of children's services in the town for five years before taking up his current post, is resisting fierce pressure to step down in the wake of a devastating report which found that at least 1,400 young people in Rotherham had been subjected to sexual abuse over 16 years.

He will appear before the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, which will also hear evidence from South Yorkshire's chief constable David Crompton, senior Rotherham Council official Joyce Thacker and NSPCC chief executive Sir Peter Wanless, who is leading a review into the Home Office's handling of abuse allegations.

TIMETABLE FOR NEW HOLYROOD POWERS

A detailed timetable will be unveiled today setting out how quickly new powers could be transferred to Holyrood if next week's referendum sees Scotland reject independence.

The leaders of Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in Scotland will join together for this morning's key announcement.

The pro-union Better Together campaign has denied the move is a panic measure to shore up support, although it increasingly appears as if the referendum contest is too close to call.

BANK CHIEF FACES UNION QUESTIONS

The governor of the Bank of England will face questions from trade union activists on unemployment and how the economic recovery is affecting workers when he addresses the TUC Congress today.

Mark Carney will become only the third governor to speak to the annual gathering of unions when he delivers a speech in Liverpool.

He has agreed to take questions from delegates after his address and is set to be asked about union warnings that pay is failing to keep pace with inflation.

LONDON CABBIES IN GO-SLOW PROTEST

London cabbies are staging a go-slow protest in the capital today against a decision by London Mayor Boris Johnson over taxi pollution.

The Cabbies Against Boris (CAB) organisation says Mr Johnson is wrong to have scrapped older taxis on pollution grounds.

CAB says research shows that new vehicles contribute more to pollution than older ones. The demonstration today seeks to bring central London to a halt.

BID TO REFORM TV LICENCE PENALTY

Culture Secretary Sajid Javid will question whether TV licence fee enforcement "is really working" in a speech today and announce a review of the present system which will pave the way for decriminalising non-payment.

The minister will tell the Royal Television Society (RTS) the Government is "committed" to changing the system.

He will say: "In 2012/13, almost 200,000 people ended up in court accused of not buying a TV licence.

BRITONS 'SPEND 315 DAYS HUNGOVER'

The average Briton spends almost a year of their lives nursing a hangover, a charity has said.

Macmillan Cancer Support has estimated that people spend 315 days of their lives battling with headaches and nausea caused by drinking.

The charity, which is running a Go Sober for October fundraising campaign, surveyed 2,000 British adults and found that one in 14 will have more than 3,000 hangovers in their lifetime. It calculated the figures by multiplying the average amount of time people spend hungover each month with their life expectancy.

SAFETY QUERIED BEFORE COPTER CRASH

Concerns about the safety of flying in the vicinity of a high-rise building in London were raised four years before a helicopter crashed into a crane at the site, an accident report has said.

The question of the effect of the then-proposed St George Wharf development on helicopter flights was put to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in 2009 by the operator of Battersea Heliport in south London.

But in a report into the crane crash in which the helicopter pilot and a pedestrian were killed, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the raising of the concerns "does not appear to have led to further discussion or action".

WARNING OVER E-CIG RISK TO CHILDREN

Health officials should be prepared for an increasing number of children accidentally exposed to concentrated nicotine thanks to the rising use of e-cigarettes, doctors have said.

In a letter published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, experts said there is a danger of children coming into contact with the liquid refills for electronic cigarettes - which could cause "severe symptoms" in youngsters.

In a letter published in the journal, the experts from Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham called for enhanced safety surrounding the items.

GLOBAL CLIMATE DEAL 'MUST BE FAIR'

A new global deal to tackle climate change must have "credible and fair" commitments from all countries to reduce emissions, Ed Davey said.

Unveiling the UK's vision for a new international climate agreement, the Climate Change Secretary said failure to secure a deal at talks in Paris next year would reduce the world's chances of keeping global warming to manageable levels.

But Mr Davey said key ingredients were in place for a "truly global deal", with businesses recognising the opportunities, growth in investment in renewables and support from activists, industry and investors.

'NEED FOR RUSSIAN GAS COULD BE CUT'

Europe could cut its dependence on gas from Russia with a major push on energy efficiency, a think-tank has urged.

If the European Union made improving energy efficiency the centrepiece of its strategy on energy, it could cut its reliance on gas by a third by 2030, equivalent to the proportion of the EU's gas demand met by imports from Russia.

A move to significantly boost energy efficiency in appliances, buildings and industry across Europe would also slash the EU's fuel bill by 500 billion euros (£400 billion) up to 2030, a report from think-tank IPPR said.