The Briefing Room

The capture of two Londoners accused of brutal crimes in Syria has again raised questions about the viability of so-called Islamic State. The two men - El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey - face an uncertain future. Britain has stripped them of their citizenship and has said it doesn't want them to come back to the UK to face trial and so it's unclear what will happen to them. Many countries are now grappling with the issue of what to do with the young men and women who return home from Syria. In fact, data shows that relatively few terror attacks that have taken place around the world in recent years have been conducted by returnees from Syria - although the devastating series of attacks in Paris in November 2015 were perpetrated by people who'd been to Syria. Given the defeat of IS on the battlefield, its loss of territory in the Middle East and the loss of the cities of Mosul and Raqqa we assess the continuing threat IS poses. CONTRIBUTORSFiona de Londras, Professor of Global Legal Studies at Birmingham Law SchoolRichard Barrett, former head of counter-terrorism at the British foreign intelligence service MI6Dr Elisabeth Kendall, Senior Research Fellow in Arabic, Pembroke College, University of OxfordCharlie Winter, Senior Research Fellow, International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR), King's College, London

Child services in Northampton are under pressure - and it's partly due to where long-distance lorry drivers choose to take a pee. In fact, Northampton County Council as a whole is under huge financial pressure and earlier this week seven MPs from the county called for government commissioners to take over after the council announced that it would not be able to balance its budget by the end of the financial year - leading it to put a block on any new expenditure. In this programme, David Aaronovitch explores the causes of financial pressures on local authorities (including what lorry drivers have to do with it) and how widespread the financial crisis is throughout England.Where have councils had money cut? Which areas have received increased funding? And what does this ultimately mean for the future of local services? CONTRIBUTORSSam Read, Politics Reporter for BBC Radio NorthamptonRob Whiteman, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and AccountancyJennifer Glover of the Local Government Information Unit - a think tank paid for by local authorities Colin Copus, Professor of Local Government at De Montfort University

Theresa May has been in Beijing this week at the head of a large British trade delegation. China is an important partner for Britain, especially given the UK's imminent departure from the EU. In particular, Beijing is keen for Britain to support its huge infrastructure project initially dubbed the New Silk Road, but now more generally known as the Belt and Road Initiative. China is spending unprecedented sums on building physical infrastructure; roads, railways, ports and even whole cities, not only in its own hinterland, but in many neighbouring countries. But to what end and what is the potential cost for these countries? Should Britain get involved? David Aaronovitch hears eye witness accounts of vast construction projects in Central Asia and Pakistan. And he invites the expert witnesses, Professor Steve Tsang from the School of Oriental and African Studies, Dr Yu Jie of the London School of Economics and James Kynge of the Financial Times to explore Britain's relationship with an increasingly powerful China.

As Turkey launches a new offensive over the border into north-east Syria, David Aaronovitch and guests examine what Turkey, Russia, Iran and the US want from the war in Syria. Which country stands to gain the most? And what is President Bashar al-Assad's calculation? Guests include: Suat Kiniklioglu from the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Stockholm. Anna Borschchevskaya from the Washington Institute Seyed Ali Alavi from the London School of Oriental and African Studies Steven Heydemann from Smith College in Massachussetts Lina Khatib from Chatham House.

How does the Parole Board decide whether to release offenders on licence? Should it be more open, especially since the decision to release serial sex offender John Worboys?Nick Hardwick, the Chair of the Parole Board for England and Wales wants its workings to be more transparent in order to boost public confidence. And he thinks we can learn from Canada.David Aaronovitch is joined by a panel of experts to discuss the Parole Board amid public anger over the release of a prominent sex offender. He'll hear, among others, from a former inmate and a current Chair of a Parole Board panel, and will ask whether lifting the lid on the organisation's workings might appease its critics.CONTRIBUTORSDanny Shaw, BBC Home Affairs CorrespondentBen Gunn, former prison inmateLucy Gampell, independent member, Parole Board for England and Wales Mary Campbell, retired Director General, Corrections & Criminal Justice, Department of Public Safety Canada.Professor Nicky Padfield , Director, Cambridge Centre for Criminal Justice.

In its 70th year the NHS is in a winter crisis again. Many people working in the NHS argue successive governments have failed to address what is arguably the biggest problem: funding. David Aaronovitch asks if the public would pay more for the NHS. Is there now a case for a hypothecated tax? Can public support for the NHS withstand a tax rise?CONTRIBUTORS:Dan Wellings, Senior Policy Fellow, The King's Fund Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research and Economics at the Health Foundation Sally Gainsbury, Senior Policy Advisor, The Nuffield Trust Sir Julian Le Grand, Professor of Public Policy at the London School of Economics Producer: Serena Tarling.

Twenty people have been killed and hundreds arrested after a series of protests in Iran this week - but what's behind these demonstrations? Iran is a strategically important country and so when protests happen, the world takes notice - but who are the protesters and what do they want? And how will the Iranian government and the outside world respond? CONTRIBUTORSRoham Alvandi, Associate Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political ScienceBehrang Tajdin and Jiyar Gol, reporters for the BBC Persian ServiceHassan Hakimian, Director of the Middle East Centre at SOAS, University of London. Azedor Moaveni, Iranian writerProducer: Jim Frank

A group of senior BBC journalists forecast what is likely to happen in 2018 in a discussion chaired by Owen Bennett Jones.Last time they got together they were firmly predicting that Marco Rubio would become the Republican presidential candidate - and that Britain was likely to vote to stay in the EU. So, as the saying goes, making predictions is a tricky business - especially about the future. Yet our experts can at least lay out the parameters for what is likely to happen in the spheres of geopolitics, economics and society more widely - and give us essential tips on what and who to look out for in 2018.CONTRIBUTORSCarrie Gracie, BBC China EditorKevin Connolly, BBC Europe CorrespondentYolande Knell, BBC Middle East CorrespondentJames Robbins, BBC Diplomatic Correspondent James Naughtie, BBC Special Correspondent

A year on from their shock defeat in the US presidential elections, David Aaronovitch asks how the US Democratic party is responding to Donald Trump's Presidency and assesses some of the challenges which lie ahead. What new policies is the party developing? Who are the potential presidential candidates waiting in the wings? And can the college-educated elite which dominate the party win back support from America's white working class who gravitated towards Donald Trump in such significant numbers? CONTRIBUTORSJon Sopel, the BBC's North America EditorDr Larry Sabato from the University of VirginiaJoan C Williams, author of the White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America

Has President Trump delivered on the promises he made on the campaign trail?This programme cuts through the White House soap opera which has dominated headlines and asks what has the President actually achieved? David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts look back at some of the pre-election pledges made on a broad range of issues such as tax cuts, the economy, immigration, foreign policy and justice to reveal where the president has made progress - and where and why his plans have stalled. CONTRIBUTORSDonald Marron, director of economic policy initiatives at the Urban Institute in Washington DCJoseph Gagnon, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics Leslie Vinjamuri, associate fellow with the US and the Americas Programme at Chatham HouseMarie Price, professor of geography and international affairs at George Washington University and President of the American Geographical SocietyJudge Shira A. Scheindlin, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (retired).