Plans by the government to force energy companies to put customers on their cheapest tariffs have been criticised for being confusing. Research commissioned by BiS (Dept for Business, Education and Skills) is expected to show a fall in public support for animal testing for medical research. And also on the programme, Tarzan is celebrating his 100th birthday.
The Royal Society is holding a group "edit-a-thon" on Friday to try and raise the profile of women in science by improving Wikipedia articles about them. The event is one of a series held to mark Ada Lovelace Day (which was on 16 Oct) - named after the mathematician - which celebrates the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths. Dr Nathalie Pettorelli is a research fellow at the Institute of Zoology at the Zoological society of London highlights the importance of the event.
0709 The energy regulator Ofgem has published plans which it says will make the market simpler, clearer and fairer for customers. The proposals will force energy suppliers to provide more straightforward tariffs - and could even require firms to recommend that customers switch to an alternative supplier. Industry correspondent John Moylan outlines the significance of the proposals.
0712 Research commissioned by BiS (Dept for Business, Education and Skills) due to be published later today is expected to show a fall in public support for animal testing for medical research, after years of steady increase. There has been a fall in public support for animal testing in medical research. Professor Chris Higgins is Vice Chancellor of Durham University and Michelle Thew, chief executive of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, debate.
0715
Business news with Simon Jack. 0722 Chief executive of British Airways Willie Walsh told BBC Radio 4's The Bottom Line that he thought passengers in the UK should be able to use their mobiles onboard aircraft once planes had landed. Spokesperson and Assistant Director of Communications at the Civil Aviation Authority, Jonathan Nicholson, explains the reasons behind the current regulations.
0725 The latest sports news with Rob Bonnet.
0732 The Scottish National Party is facing a divisive debate over Nato membership and nuclear weapons today at its annual conference. The party leadership is proposing a change in direction as they try to win over voters in the run up to the referendum on Scottish independence in 2014. Angus Robertson, defence spokesman for the Scottish National Party, also SNP leader in Westminster and Sandra White, SNP MSP for Glasgow Kelvin join the Today programme from Scotland.
0738 A look at today's papers.
0741
Tourist numbers in Acapulco have dropped by half as it struggles to cope with the country's warring drug cartels and the bloody violence they have inflicted. The Today programme's reporter Tom Bateman has been finding out how life has changed for people there.
0748 Thought for the Day with Lord Harries of Pentregarth.
0751
Doctors' skills are to be reassessed every year to ensure they are fit to practise, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced. At present, doctors can go for their entire career without facing any formal assessment of their competency. But from December this year, doctors will be assessed to see if they are fit to stay on the medical register. Niall Dixon, chief executive of the General Medical Council explains the announcement.
0810 The energy regulator Ofgem has published plans which it says will make the market simpler, clearer and fairer for customers. The proposals will force energy suppliers to provide more straightforward tariffs - and could even require firms to recommend that customers switch to an alternative supplier. Ofgem's Ian Marlee and Angela Knight, chief executive of Energy UK (trade association for the energy suppliers), discuss the plans.
0818 A team of British police officers will begin a search on the Greek island of Kos today, for the remains of the toddler, Ben Needham, who disappeared more than 20 years ago. They're planning to excavate a mound of rubble near what was the family home. Tom Ingall reports from Kos.
0820
Tarzan is celebrating his 100th birthday. The jungle adventures by Edgar Rice Burroughs first appeared in the All Story Magazine 100 years ago this month. Ron Ely donned his loincloth in the 1960s and enjoyed the most screen time of any Tarzan actor, even more than the great Johnny Weismuller. Ron Ely has been speaking to Nicola Stanbridge.
0825 The latest sports news with Rob Bonnet.
0830
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt joins Justin to discuss the change in the rules governing doctors' assessments announced today.
0838 Business news with Simon Jack.
0841 Today the House of Lords will hear the second reading of a private members' bill introduced by the crossbench Peer Baroness Cox addressing the question of sharia courts and similar religious tribunals. The bill would make it a criminal offence for any individual or group to pose as a proper legal court, with the full sanction of prison sentences for those who contravene this law. Clive Coleman the BBC's Legal Affairs Correspondent explains the significance of the bill and Baroness Cox, joins secretary of the Islamic Sharia Council, Skeikh Suhaib Hasan, to discuss its implications.
0848 Peter Duxbury, strategic director for children and family services at Birmingham City Council, joins the Today programme to speak about the Ofsted report published this morning which concluded that vulnerable children in Birmingham have been put at risk, because of the failure of social services.
0852 Last week David Cameron declared that Britain should not fall behind in what he terms the "great global race". Today's edition of the Economist takes issue with th PM's rhetoric and sharply criticises the government's controls on immigration and calls on him to drop his target of reducing net immigration to less than 100,000 a year. Joel Budd Britain editor of The Economist and Charlie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, discuss.
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