Hannah Richardson
BBC News education and social affairs reporter

Children's services in England are at breaking point and need a £3.1bn minimum funding boost by 2025, MPs say.

Many councils in the West Midlands, like others across the country, have made huge cuts to children's services budgets in the last decade.

Image source, Getty Images

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee said current funding levels in England were unsustainable.

Its report , externalsaid as services tried to respond to growing demand, amid severe funding pressures, many were reliant on the goodwill of staff.

The government said £494m of funding would help children and social work improvements would reduce demand.

The MPs said overall, England's local authorities had been grappling with budget cuts of 29% since 2010.

Aftab Rahman is taking part in an art project exploring waterways in Birmingham and Bangladesh.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Worcestershire are in One-Day Cup action today and have a tough match in prospect, away at group leaders Nottinghamshire.

Image source, Getty Images

The Pears have won three of their opening five games in this year's contest and are fifth but need to be in the top three of the group if they want to make it into the knock-out stage., external

You can follow coverage of the game via the BBC Cricket website and on local radio commentary.

A man has been charged with murder, after a 28-year-old father was shot in a Birmingham street.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Remal Hunt (pictured) was found with a gunshot wound to his chest in Church Street, Erdington, at about 12:00 on 18 April.

Keanu Bedward, 24, of Norfolk Road, Erdington, is to appear before Birmingham Magistrates' Court.

He was arrested at Manchester Airport on Monday night and charged with murder earlier this morning.

A man in his 30s was taken to hospital with injuries to his chest and legs, police said.

Stoke-on-Trent Live

From the Stoke-on-Trent Live website today, their top stories include:

• Family and friends in £40k appeal to erect statue in memory of Fenton fighter, external
• Judge jails monkey dust dealer who was caught with drug five times in four months, external
• Residents fight plan to turn £300k property into children's home, external

BBC Shropshire

We've had reports of the town centre in Telford, Shropshire, being evacuated this morning with some people on Twitter wondering what's going on.

Well, the emergency services tell us that it's "just a drill" and part of a regular schedule of evacuations.

A man has been knocked off his bike by a car and then stabbed in Coventry.

Image source, Google

The victim, in his 30s, was taken to hospital with wounds to his chest and legs following the stabbing on Armscott Road at about 17:25 on Tuesday.

The wounds were not thought to be life-threatening, West Midlands Police said.

There is a warning too many cases of abuse against older people are going unreported, after a man who plotted to dump a vulnerable American pensioner in England so he could be treated on the NHS was jailed.

Roger Curry (pictured), who is in his 70s and had dementia, was discovered in a Hereford bus station car park on 5 November 2015.

Worcester Crown Court was told Simon Hayes was part of the plot to "abandon [Mr Curry] so he could receive care from local health care providers".

Hayes, 53, of Henlade, Somerset, claimed he had found Mr Curry "face down" in a country lane.

Hayes has been jailed for two-and-a-half years, after admitting perverting the course of justice and a separate case of fraud, in relation to a false character reference.

Rachael Nicholson-Wright, the director of Action on Elder Abuse, says cases like this are not as rare as you might think.

BBC Shropshire

Shropshire Council has apologised to taxi and bus firms for failing to pay bills over several months.

Image source, Getty Images

They are thought to include school transport for children living over a certain distance away and also for those who have special educational needs.

At least 30 operators are meeting today to discuss what they might do next, with some saying online they might refuse to take on journeys until bills are settled.

The council says a new payment system has been brought in and it is experiencing delays in paying invoices and expenses.

Wolves head coach Nuno has been nominated for the Premier League manager of the month for the third time this season.

Image source, Getty Images

Wins over Arsenal, Manchester United and Watford in April helped the club to pick up 10 points out of a possible 15 during the month.

Wolves currently have a three-point lead over their nearest challengers for seventh place, Leicester, entering the final two games of the season, against Fulham at Molineux and Liverpool at Anfield.

Express and Star

Here are some of the stories making the early headlines on the Express & Star website:

• ‘Hitman’ tells court of £20,000 plot to murder businessman's wife, external
• Hundreds of extra patients pile pressure on Sandwell Hospital, external
• Debenhams workers facing redundancy could get other Mander Centre jobs, external

BBC Shropshire

The government will have the final say over whether to grant retrospective planning permission to Oswestry's British Ironwork Centre after several buildings were added without approval.

Yesterday, councillors voted unanimously to approve the plans, but the government is still to decide on whether to call it in.

Image source, Google

It is after someone wrote in asking for a public inquiry.

Chairman of the North Planning Committee Paul Wynn says action by the government to contact the council ahead of the planning meeting is unprecedented.

Warwickshire still have just one victory to their name this season, after they lost their latest One-Day Cup match to Derbyshire by five wickets.

Image source, Gareth Copley - Getty Images

Alex Thomson and Alex Mellor both made half centuries as the Bears reached 288-7 in their 50 overs before the hosts reached their target with 21 balls to spare.

Wayne Madsen (pictured) hit an unbeaten 119 for Derbyshire.

Warwickshire head coach Jim Troughton feels his side lost because they did not post a competitive total.

BBC Midlands Today

Events to mark Staffordshire Day take place later.

It was launched three years ago to recognise the county's history, traditions, food and people.

Events marking the day are taking place all across the county including at Lichfield Cathedral, Tamworth Castle and Trentham Monkey Forest.

Crews have been called out to another fire at an old cinema in Birmingham.

Image source, West Midlands Fire Service

Up to 50 firefighters dealt with a blaze that ripped through the 1930s Royalty cinema building on High Street, Harborne, in September (scene last year pictured above).

Firefighters from Ladywood, Woodgate, Bournbrook and Kings Norton were at the former cinema last night.

Some Persimmon and Bellway homes have potentially dangerous fire safety issues, the BBC has discovered.

BBC Midlands Today

A newtimetable should provide a benefit to the night-time economy in the West Midlands as well as benefiting passengers, a rail company says.

West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway launch a new timetable this month with trains running later and more direct services.

Tamworth player David Gilbert is on course to reach the semi-finals of the World Snooker Championship for the first time.

Image source, Getty images

He leads Kyren Wilson 10-6 in his quarter-final, needing three more frames to win this afternoon.

The match had been level after the first session at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, but Gilbert won six of the eight frames played yesterday evening to take control of the match.

The winner will play a former champion, either John Higgins or Neil Robertson, in the last four.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

This morning will be mostly cloudy with patches of light rain. Some bright or sunny spells will start developing during this afternoon but with the chance of heavy showers later on. Highs of 11 to 14C (52 to 57F).