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Thousands of prisoners remain incarcerated on open-ended prison sentences under a now defunct scheme, known as IPP sentencing.

The no-maximum prison sentences, some of which were given to offenders of low-level crimes, have been compared to ‘psychological torture’.

On the Sky News Daily Niall Paterson speaks to Anthony Hipkiss who was in prison for 16 years despite only being sentenced to 15 months. He tells us how the strict licensing rules he has to live under for 10 years means he can’t even stay overnight at his partner’s. Plus, Ian Acheson, former prison governor speaks about how to fix a system of justice that keeps people indefinitely – even when they’re not a threat to society.

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Producer: Alex Edden
Podcast promotions producer: Jada-Kai Meosa John
Interviews producer: Melissa Tutesigensi
Editor: Wendy Parker

When it was first given the go-ahead back in 2012, Britain's new high-speed rail line connecting the south, the Midlands and the north of England was predicted to cost £32.7bn.

Now, after delays and inflation fuelled by Brexit, Covid and the invasion of Ukraine, this figure is closer to £100bn. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also avoided answering questions on whether the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the route will go ahead, leaving the future of the project shrouded in uncertainty.

So why was the initial cost estimate so different to what the final number will be?

On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson sits down with our business correspondent Paul Kelso to discuss the problems with the way the UK plans major infrastructure projects and asks whether any of these projects ever come close to what they are predicted to cost.

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Senior podcast producer: Annie Joyce
Interviews producer: Melissa Tutesigensi
Podcast promotion producer: Jada-Kai Meosa John
Archive researcher: Simon Windsor
Editor: Paul Stanworth

Scotland will be home to the UK’s first so-called ‘consumption rooms’ where drug users will be able to get their fix more safely.

Recent stats showed that despite a fall this year, Scotland still has the highest number of drugs-related deaths per million population in Europe.

Now, plans have been approved for a £2.3 million facility at Hunter Street Health Centre in Glasgow – despite opposition from Westminster.

On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by our Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies who talks about the unit itself and reaction to it. Plus, Niall speaks to Andrew Cowan, whose son Daniel died after taking a fatal drug concoction, and Annemarie Ward, from the charity Faces and Voices of Recovery UK.

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Podcast producer: Alex Edden
Interviews producer: Melissa Tutesigensi
Podcast promotion producer: Jada-Kai Meosa John
Senior podcast producer: Annie Joyce
Editor: Paul Stanworth

The Liberal Democrats conference in Bournemouth saw leader Sir Ed Davey hinting that his party would be prepared to do a post-election deal with Labour to prevent the Conservatives from forming a government.

Of the 91 seats in which the Lib Dems finished second in 2019, 80 are held by Conservatives. After recent by-election victories, could the Lib Dems be looking like kingmakers once more?

To answer this question, Niall Paterson is joined by Sky News deputy political editor Sam Coates who has been at the conference. And Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Dyke looks ahead to the next election after her big by-election win in Somerton and Frome.

Plus, Carol Vorderman talks about her message to the Lib Dem conference, where she called for electoral reform and tactical voting.

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Podcast producer: Emma Rae Woodhouse
Podcast promotion producer: Jada-Kai Meosa John
Editor: Wendy Parker

Ian Harrison is 33 and has spent his adult life on the streets. He's among more than an estimated 270,000 homeless people in England.

Sky News has been following Ian's journey as a government promise - to end rough sleeping by next year - looks in serious doubt.

It was a target set by the Conservatives in their 2019 election manifesto - but a report by the Kerslake Commission is warning it will be missed, blaming "chronic and unresolved" issues in the housing system as it reports a 26% rise in rough sleeping compared with last year.

The commission was set up in 2021 to learn lessons from the response to homelessness during the COVID pandemic - the same year, an estimated 741 homeless people died in England and Wales. Most were men and drugs, alcohol and suicide were the likely related causes.

On the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood speaks to our producer Sarah O'Connell, who first met Ian when he was a teenager, to find out about the challenges he has faced over the years.

Plus, Sally is joined by Emma Haddad, chief executive of the homelessness charity St Mungo's - the secretariat of the Kerslake Commission, as they discuss the wider problems and what they think is needed to end rough sleeping.

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Podcast producers: Soila Apparicio and Alex Edden
Senior podcast producer: Annie Joyce
Podcast promotion producer: David Chipakupaku
Editor: Wendy Parker

It seems everything is moving online these days, so it’s perhaps no surprise that kids TV is too. CITV, ITV’s children’s channel, is no longer; it’s moving to the company’s streaming service, ITVx. Its BBC equivalent, CBBC, is expected to also be online-only in the next few years. Many children now, though, just go to YouTube to watch their shows.

But with an ongoing decrease in funding for kids’ TV and the move to the less regulated streaming platforms there are concerns about the impact the quality of programmes and online safety.

On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson explores the issue with former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq, and Jon Hancock, who’s company Three Arrows Media makes shows for Sky Kids and BBC Childrens.

If you like your arts and entertainment, why not subscribe to the Backstage podcast?

And, if you're a parent, you can find Sky's ad-free, 24-hour Sky Kids channel on Sky Q, Stream, Glass, and NOW.

Podcast producer: David Chipakupaku
Interviews producer: Melissa Tutesigensi
Senior podcast producer: Annie Joyce
Editor: Wendy Parker