We told you earlier Birmingham City Council leader Ian Ward wrote to the government calling for urgent action to equip front-line social care workers with protective equipment.

Mr Ward, Labour, feared workers would run out of PPE within a fortnight, and his concerns were echoed by Conservative MP for Sutton Coldfield, Andrew Mitchell.

The government this morning said it was "looking to introduce a smarter supply system" over PPE,

"We have today responded to Birmingham City Council, making clear that we recognise the vital work it, and all other councils, are doing to support their communities during the pandemic," a spokesperson said.

"We have delivered over 38m items of [PPE] to local resilience forums in England since last week, including the West Midlands. We are also looking to introduce a smarter supply system to improve further the delivery chain for this important kit."

BBC News Education

Grades for cancelled GCSEs and A-level exams in England will now be published on their original planned days, the Department for Education has announced.

Image source, PA Media

Grades are going to be decided by teachers' assessments - with an initial suggestion that results could be issued earlier than usual this year.

A-level results will be published on 13 August and GCSEs on 20 August.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said it would give pupils and families some "reassurance and clarity".

After schools were closed by the coronavirus, exams due to be taken this summer were cancelled.

As a replacement, exam boards are gathering assessments from teachers about what they expected pupils to achieve and these predictions will be moderated so the overall national results and shares of grades are in line with previous years.

BBC WM

A Sandwell police officer says it's been "amazing" to see her paramedic father again after their professional paths crossed during social distancing.

Ian Heatherley had just taken a patient to Sandwell hospital when he spotted his daughter PC Emma Heatherley on patrol, but there was to be no hug and chat like normal.

Instead, there was an "emotional hello" from 2m away, said the West Midlands force.

Image source, @SandwellPolice

She said: "It was amazing obviously [to see him]... It was nice to see that he's keeping himself safe and how his colleagues are keeping each other safe. So it felt good to see him."

BBC News England

Rubbish tips should reopen to curb an increase in fly-tipping during the coronavirus lockdown, politicians have said.

Image source, Tameside Council

Many waste facilities closed in March after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people should stay at home, except for “essential travel”.

MPs and councillors are calling for tips to be accessible again, but with measures to allow social distancing.

One council leader said fly-tipping during the crisis was "reprehensible".

Fly-tipping is punishable by a fine of up to £50,000 or 12 months imprisonment.

Dom Sibley got his England Test career off and running with a century at Cape Town - but how long before he can impress again?

Follow the latest developments on the pandemic from across the region.

National League clubs are split on whether to vote to end the regular season without playing games that were scheduled up to 25 April.

Kay Perry said levels of PPE were "astoundingly low" at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

Michelle Carless did not want patients to be without while they are not allowed visitors.

Child psychologist Kate Mason gives tips while children offer their insight into the pandemic.

Sue Essery says her dad Bob Dunbar, who has coronavirus, has been "written off" by medics.

Nineteen West Midlands Police officers and staff were found to have a case to answer for misconduct.

West Midlands Ambulance Service's chief executive says the "appalling incident beggars belief".

Birmingham City Council Leader Ian Ward says supplies are "running desperately low".

Comedian John Bishop has taken to social media to defend a visit to his parents after facing criticism online.

The Scouse comic faced angry responses after posting a picture of himself visiting his parents, despite the shot clearly showing he was observing social distancing rules.

Reposting the picture, he responded to criticism and said he had only visited them as he had been travelling nearby while en route to his father-in-law's funeral.

He said during the brief visit, he "followed all the guidelines and obviously I would not break any rules that would affect the NHS or frontline workers".

He added:

The Duke of Cambridge uses video link to officially open the site on the edge of Birmingham.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis

Bin lorries are being tailed by vans in Coventry to keep staff safe and allow them to follow social distancing rules.

The move allows two staff to be in the bin lorry's cab with a third in the support van.

Image source, Coventry City Council

The city council's using more than a dozen vans alongside minibuses that are no longer used by schools so crews can access toilet and handwashing facilities.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Colleagues will remember a nurse who died of suspected coronavirus during this week's "Clap for Carers" tribute to NHS staff.

Image source, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

Sister Leilani Dayrit, 47, who was based at St Cross Hospital in Rugby, had been self-isolating at home for seven days, her daughter said, before she died.

The University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said , externalshe was a "passionate and proud nurse" and they would be giving her a round of applause at 20:00.

"Clap for Carers" has become a weekly event every Thursday in the UK with people saluting NHS staff and other key workers.

BBC Business News

The first new medical ventilator to treat people with severe symptoms of Covid-19, built by Airbus at Broughton near Chester, and F1 has been approved in the UK.

Image source, Ventilator Challenge UK

Hundreds of the Penlon Prima ESO2, which is an updated version of an existing model, are expected to be built for hospitals over the next week.

It is hoped about 1,500 can be made each week by the start of May.

The government has said it needs to increase ventilator stocks from 10,000 to 18,000 to cope with the pandemic.

But some have cast doubt on whether it can meet this goal fast enough.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Green bin collections are going to be restarted in Warwick after being suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Image source, Warwick District Council

Many parts of England had suspended their garden bin and recycling pick-ups to give priority to household and clinical waste.

We told you earlier in the week garden waste collections had restarted in Worcester, external.

Warwick District Council says theirs will be back from Monday 20 April., external