Nic Rigby
BBC News

The election debate for Buckinghamshire County Council drew to a close. 

As a final question, presenter Roberto Perrone asked the panel for their favourite part of the county.

Green Party representative Andy Capjon said Wendover Woods (pictured below).

Image source, Jarvis Docherty/Geograph

Conservative leader and leader of the council, Martin Tett, said Hambleden Valley and Aylesbury Vale.

Lib Dem leader Avril Davies said Pitstone Hill (pictured below) and Ashridge Bluebells.

Image source, Gerald Massey/Geograph

UKIP representative Jon Conway said Denham village.

Labour group leader Robin Stuchbury said north Buckinghamshire.

Nic Rigby
BBC News

Buckinghamshire has 13 grammar schools, but many of them are poorly funded. There is also a need for new school places, which allied to new homes in the county will put increased pressure on the county council. 

We asked for our panel's views on education.

Green Party representative Andy Capjon said: "We would start by getting rid of the grammar schools. There should be the same education for all children and that should be the best education."

Lib Dem leader Avril Davies said: "We don't support the creation of grammar schools, but while children are in schools across the county our priority is to improve standards for all pupils." 

UKIP representative Jon Conway (pictured below) said: "I have got a kid and he went to a state primary school and then a comprehensive and I have to say I was astonished at how good the facilities in our schools are. The biggest difference is the attitude of parents. Parents should be involved in their child's schooling."

Conservative leader and leader of the council, Martin Tett, said: "Looking at the expansion of schools, they are funded partly by developer contributions, partly by the council and partly by the government. 

"It would really help if houses were concentrated together rather than spread apart. The worst-funded schools are all the grammar schools." 

Labour group leader Robin Stuchbury said: "For every £1 you spend on a child before they are five years old, you get back £5 when they get older. Our grammar schools are not directly educating local people and the adjoining secondary schools are not that well-funded either."

Stuart Bailey
BBC News

BBC Three Counties receives more texts and emails about traffic in Aylesbury than virtually anything else - apart from Brexit. We know the state of the roads across the county is dire, but what are the panel's views on how to sort the problems out?

Labour group leader Robin Stuchbury said: "It's going to have to be funded through clever thinking, hard negotiating... there's no other way of resolving it. There's no money. We need a unitary to look at it, remove the politics from it and it's not going to happen overnight."

Image source, Jon S/Geograph

Green Party representative Andy Capjon said: "There is no easy solution. As new housing estates go up there is no thinking it through solidly so there are relief traffic roads. 

"Simple things would help such as making sure traffic light phasing works properly. You'd also need to look at getting people out of their cars and on to buses so there's less traffic."

Lib Dem leader Avril Davies (pictured below) said: "We do need a multi-layered approach. One of the things that infuriates me is that the state of the roads leads to the collapse of utilities, and whenever there are utility works nobody knows about it and there is complete mayhem. 

"The quality of roads, the routing of heavy good vehicles and the volume of traffic needs to be addressed."

Image source, Bucks County Council

Conservative leader and leader of the council, Martin Tett, said: "There is no magic solution that's going to solve this problem overnight. We're talking about a phenomenal amount of money to build a proper bypass, which is what it needs.

"I'm hoping in the longer term to convince the government that the new expressway between Oxford and Cambridge could possibly come around Aylesbury."

UKIP representative Jon Conway said: "I think the money is there... HS2. We should be fighting to say the lifeblood of our country is on the road and not HS2. We also need to be looking at more interesting and innovative ways of planning our road systems."

Stuart Bailey
BBC News

The state of the county's roads is a key issue on doorsteps across the Buckinghamshire. Potholes and congestions are big stories for people up and down the county.

Lib Dem leader Avril Davies said: "We need to borrow money to fix the roads because at the moment we're just filling a hole and the hole is emptying itself out. People are really fed up. Not only can they not get the roads mended but when they are mended they don't last."

Green Party representative Andy Capjon said: "One is repairing them and making them fit for purpose, but equally it's about reducing the amount of traffic on the roads by encouraging cycling, making cycling easier and safer for people, investing in public transport and getting people out of their cars."

UKIP representative Jon Conway said: "I've spoken to about 100 people in the past two or three weeks and 99% said 'those potholes, the roads'. People are paying quite a lot of council tax in most cases and they just don't think they're getting value for money."

Labour group leader Robin Stuchbury (pictured above) said: "We've got a reducing budget on the roads. The reality is that the government's taking money away from the councils. I don't believe the Transport for Bucks contract is fit for purpose - it doesn't deliver what it should for residents."  

Conservative leader and leader of the council, Martin Tett, said: "I've spoken to thousands of people on the doorstep and this is the top issue. 

"I understand the roads are not in the state that most residents expect. But the reality is that roads cost a fortune to repair and resurface. Without a massive infusing of money from government, we are never going to get the roads to the standards people want."

Stuart Bailey
BBC News

Controversy surrounds the multimillion-pound high-speed rail link HS2, which will run through Buckinghamshire.

The government's rail scheme, from London to Birmingham and then on to Manchester and Leeds, is set to go ahead despite opposition from Buckinghamshire County Council. 

We asked the panel's view on it.

Image source, HS2

Green Party representative Andy Capjon said: "The cost of HS2, which I believe is approximately £50bn, also happens to match the same amount we might end up paying for Brexit. So maybe HS2 isn't as done a deal as originally thought."  

UKIP representative Jon Conway said: "The deal is done but the railway isn't built yet, and I think it's two or three billion that's been committed so far. I think as we get closer and closer and the bill goes up and up, there may be a re-think and I think it's important to keep campaigning for the things we believe in."

Labour group leader Robin Stuchbury said: "We have to look at the impact on the environment, the social element and what we're going to get out of it - not a lot in Bucks as you can't get on it - so we need to look at what infrastructure can be collected from it."  

Lib Dem leader Avril Davies said: "The deal we're going to get for the economy of Bucks is massively increased capacity on the West Coast Mainline that everyone's forgotten about through this whole fight. Milton Keynes is an economic hub and the amount of rail capacity released there should be enormous."

Conservative leader and leader of the council, Martin Tett, (pictured above with presenter Roberto Perrone) said: "I've always argued that the business case for HS2 doesn't stack up. This issue of congestion on the West Coast Mainline is an issue of commuter capacity and you could increase commuter capacity far more cheaply than spending £50bn on HS2."  

Nic Rigby
BBC News

The population of over 65s in Buckinghamshire is set to grow - a story we're all too well aware of. We asked the panel (pictured below with presenter Roberto Perrone, standing) what their concerns were on this issue.

Lib Dem group leader Avril Davies said: "About 50% of the council spend is on adult social services and children's services. It is a large amount of council tax going to make sure we live in a decent society. There are more and more old people to be cared for."

Green Party representative Andy Capjon (pictured) said: "It is a huge problem. We need to come up with radical solutions. The council needs to work better with the National Health Service and health staff. Passing off responsibilities to the private sector would be a huge risk."

UKIP representative Jon Conway said: "One of the frustrations is the fact that people are getting older should not be a surprise to people in government! All county councils are being starved of money by central government. We have to put pressure on politicians to spend more money. We should not spend so much on overseas aid."

Conservative leader and leader of the council, Martin Tett, said: "The population of people aged over 65 in Buckinghamshire is increasing and will continue to increase. Fundamentally there needs to be a solution by central government. We want to keep people in their homes, which is one solution in the short-term."

Labour group leader Robin Stuchbury said: "More integrated planning is needed and work has to be done on finding savings somewhere."

Nic Rigby
BBC News

Buckinghamshire County Council, based in the market town of Aylesbury (pictured), was established in 1889. 

It runs transport, education and social services across the county with the exception of Milton Keynes, which became a unitary authority in 1997.

Image source, Steve Cook/Geograph

The authority is made up of 49 councillors and at present is run by a Conservative administration.

At the last election in May 2013, the Conservatives took 36 seats (six down from 2009).

The UK Independence Party, which had no seats in 2009, won six seats, while the Liberal Democrats went down two seats to five. Labour and an independent each took one seat.

In 2013 the Conservatives took 41% of the vote, compared to 49.2% of the vote in 2009.

The Lib Dem vote went from 28.1% in 2009 to 14.9% in 2013.

The beneficiary was UKIP, which saw its support rise from 13.5% to 27%.

County councils are hugely important - they make the decisions that affect our everyday lives.

They run many of the services that we rely on, whether that's looking after vulnerable people, safeguarding children, libraries - and 70% of the roads are maintained by the council.

Image source, Getty Images

These decisions are not made by MPs in Westminster, but decided by county councils.

It's a difficult job - there are reduced resources along with increasing demand in some areas, such as adult social care and children's services.

Grants from central government are repeatedly cut, and the government's intention is to phase out central government funding entirely by 2020. 

So by then, local government will be entirely financed by money it raises locally... primarily business rates and council tax.

Nic Rigby
BBC News

Good morning and thanks for joining us as we bring you highlights of the BBC Three Counties Radio debate aired yesterday evening, with representative of parties contesting the election for Buckinghamshire County Council.

Presented by Roberto Perrone, the panel included the Conservative council leader Martin Tett, Lib Dem leader Avril Davies, Labour leader Robin Stuchbury, UKIP representative Jon Conway and Green Party representative Andy Capjon.

Tomorrow, many of us will be going to the polls to vote for a new county council. Traditionally turnout is low - about half that of a general election.

Highlights will begin shortly.

That's it for our rolling coverage of the latest news, sport, weather and travel for Beds, Herts and Bucks. 

Stay tuned to this page overnight for any breaking news, but we'll be back with the latest rolling updates again from 08:00 tomorrow.

See you then.

Adam Jinkerson
BBC Local Live

Almost 9,000 calls were made to the East of England Ambulance Service over the three-day Bank Holiday weekend.

Demand was up in Essex, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, while there was a reduction in 999 calls in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Suffolk, compared with the same period last year.

Sunday was the busiest day of the weekend with more than 3,100 calls received. The service sent a response to 2,305 incidents that day.

Image source, East of England Ambulance Service

Robert Morton, chief executive, said: "Whilst many people in the East of England were enjoying an extended weekend, our managers, staff and volunteers were working hard to provide the best possible care to our patients.

"I'd like to pay tribute to them for their efforts and dedication on what was another busy weekend."

Here's the county-by-county breakdown of calls this weekend, compared with 2016 in brackets.

Bedfordshire: 869 (938) Cambridgeshire: 1,200 (1,185) Essex: 2,932 (2,772) Herts: 1,400 (1,559) Norfolk: 1,454 (1,400) Suffolk: 1,142 (1,182)

Alex Dolan
BBC Look East weather

This evening will be rather cloudy across the BBC East region, with some patchy light rain at times.

It will continue to be cloudy and mild overnight, with lows of 6C (43F).

We're due more of the same on Wednesday, although it'll feel chilly in easterly winds.

Top temperature: 11C (52F).

Get more on the forecast where you are from BBC Weather.

Sarah Jenkins
BBC Local Live

All eyes are on the skies this week as the world's longest aircraft, Airlander 10, is set to fly again very soon.

The 302ft (92m) long aircraft, which is based in Cardington, has been granted permission to take to the skies by The European Aviation Safety Agency, external after a crash-landing last August.

Image source, South Beds News Agency

The aircraft's developer, Hybrid Air Vehicles, says there is no set date for the flight as it is dependent on the weather.

But do keep your eyes peeled if you spot the aircraft, dubbed the "flying bum", in the skies and let us know by email, Facebook, external or Twitter, external. 

Sarah Jenkins
BBC Local Live

Let's have a look at what some of our local papers are reporting today:

• The Watford Observer, external says Anthony Joshua received a good luck phone call from former Watford chairman Elton John on the eve of his fight against Wladimir Klitschko
• Bedfordshire on Sunday, external reports on a haul of rubbish, including shopping trolleys and a wheelbarrow, pulled from the Great Ouse
• St Albans & Harpenden Review , externaltells the story of a roofer who saved his boss's life after donating one of his kidneys

Sarah Jenkins
BBC Local Live

Earlier we mentioned that a car crashed into a house in Hemel Hempstead last night.

Hertfordshire Police has now revealed a 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of taking a motor vehicle without consent.

He remains in police custody.

BBC Weather

There will be some cloud across Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire this afternoon, with scattered showers expected. 

Some pleasantly warm sunny intervals are also possible, mainly in the west. 

Maximum temperature: 16C (61F).

For the full forecast where you are, visit BBC Weather.

Dave Solomon crosses the finish line of a half marathon in three hours and 14 minutes.

Sarah Jenkins
BBC Local Live

Bedford's Paula Radcliffe says she's "disappointed" by European Athletics' proposal to re-write records following doping scandals in the sport. 

The plans say athletes should undergo multiple tests months before competitions and their samples kept for 10 years. 

Blood and urine tests have only been stored since 2005, which means any records set before that date are at risk.

Image source, Getty Images

Under the plans, Radcliffe's 2003 marathon world record would be wiped out.

Ms Radcliffe said: "To do anything as broad treating as this you have to be at the point where the testing is good enough to guarantee that every cheat is being caught - and I don't think we're there yet." 

European Athletics taskforce chair Pierce O'Callaghan apologised to affected athletes, saying: "We never intended to damage their reputation and legacy. It is intended to give the public belief and credibility in what they are watching in the sport."

European Athletics set up a taskforce to look into the credibility of world records in January. 

Its ruling council has now ratified the proposals put forward by the taskforce and it wants the sport's world governing body, The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), to adopt the changes it sets out.

Buckinghamshire County Council had sought to take Effie Stillwell into care.

Sarah Jenkins
BBC Local Live

Police in Aylesbury have tweeted about this frightening discovery in a hedge in Haddenham.

They've asked the owner to get in touch and explain why it was left there...