METRO BITES

■ FUNDING of bus services needs reform, say MPs. The transport select committee said three in five journeys in 2017/18 were by bus but routes are being axed and passenger numbers are in decline.

■ UP TO 4,000 children under five die needlessly from sepsis every year amid delays in an agreed checklist of symptoms, nursing leaders say. A ‘fragmented’ NHS in England has led to ‘very slow’ progress in finding a solution.

■ VLADIMIR PUTIN is joining the BBC – as ‘a 3D digital cartoon’ with its own live-action chat show. Two 12-minute pilot editions of Tonight With Vladimir Putin are expected to air on BBC Two next month.