13/11/2013 BBC News at Six

Back on track - the Bank of England says the UK recovery has finally

taken hold. The Bank's Governor now says the economy will grow sooner

and unemployment will fall faster than expected. For the first time in

a long time, you do not have to be an optimist to see that the glass is

half full. The recovery has finally taken hold. We'll be asking whether

it all means interest rates could now go up sooner than had been

expected. Also tonight... Trying to keep the calm - the army has been

drafted in as the Philippine government admits it has been

overwhelmed by the scale of the typhoon. The hospital in Tacloban -

one of the worst-hit cities - is still without power, running water,

and they are low on supplies. And I will be reporting on how, six days

later, many still depend on the charity of their church. Dividing up

A - NHS bosses propose a two-tier system in England to try to ease the

pressure on emergency departments. And Oprah Winfrey talks to the BBC

about Barack Obama and claims he is disrespected not because he is

president but because he is black. Coming up in the sport, England's

injury list lengthens. They will be without Steven Gerrard and Kyle

Walker for Friday's match. Good evening and welcome to the BBC

News at Six. The Bank of England hasn't sounded this positive since

before the recession began in 2008 - but today, its governor announced

that the recovery has finally "taken hold". Mark Carney's comments came

as the Bank upgraded its growth forecast, suggesting the UK economy

could grow by up to 2.8% next year. And the latest unemployment figures

show another fall down by 48,000 to the lowest level for 2.5 years. So,

with the economy picking up at last, our chief economics correspondent,

Hugh Pym, looks at what it will all mean for interest rates.

We have heard some gloomy predictions from the Bank of

England, but today, the Bank was looking on the bright side, with

inflation forecasts revised down, and growth, up. The Governor was

clear in his assessment of where the economy is going. Jobs are being

created at 60,000 per month, the economy is growing at its fastest

rate in six years. For the first time in a long time, you do not have

to be an optimist to see that the glass is half full. The recovery has

finally taken hold. For many businesses, like this garden

supplier in Sussex, there is no more cutting back. It is quite the

opposite. The company is growing and is about to open a new site, which

means taking on more workers. Just this year, things have really

changed, they are getting a hell of a lot better, partly because of the

economy, but certainly because we are doing our job better, and it

leaves me very much more confident about the future. Mortgage payers,

savers and businesses will want to know what all of this means for

interest rates. Back in August, Bank unveiled a new policy which were

designed to provide reassurance that interest rates would stay low for a

certain period of time, so where does that stand now? The policy

focuses on the unemployment rate. Today, we learned it was 7.6% of the

workforce. The Bank says it will not consider raising interest rates

until unemployment falls to 7%. Previously that was forecast to

happen in 2016 at the earliest, but now the Bank says that could happen

at the end of next year. But the Governor says even if that did

happen, interest rates could still be held at their current low level.

We will not even consider raising interest rates until that 7%

threshold is reached, that is the first point. The second point is, at

that point, we are going to take an assessment, in the MDC, about the

degree of slack in the economy, degree of momentum in the economy,

and what that means for achieving our inflation targets and everything

else. The Chancellor welcomed the forecasts and the news of falling

unemployment, claiming it as further proof that his policies were

working. But Labour said that with wages lagging behind inflation, it

was still a cost of living crisis. Our deputy political editor, James

Landale, is in Downing Street. A growing economy is of course good

news, but an interest rate rise just before an election, if it does

happen - would it be good for the Government? I think there is a

paradox here. There is clearly better economic news for the

Government, allowing them to argue that their policies are working, and

allowing them to try to move the debate away from the cost of living

and energy bills, where they are struggling, and back to the broader

economy, where they are doing better. If you speak to people in

here and down at the Treasury, they are being very cautious. They know

that many people are not feeling any kind of recovery in their wage

packets. They know that any more bad news from the eurozone could change

these figures very much, so there can be no complacency. And even if

the economy does recover quicker than expected, there are potential

political problems. Any interest rate rise just before an election

would raise the cost of living for many people, just when the

government would not want it. Also, if there is this idea of a secure

recovery out there, many people in the government fear that some voters

might feel that they could take a risk on the other side, in other

words Labour, rather than sticking with the coalition to finish off the

job. So, there is a balancing act he has got to get a balance between

pessimism and optimism, which is why today he was not rejoicing about the

recovery, but reminding us of the risks which lie ahead.

The government in the Philippines has admitted it has been overwhelmed

by the scale of the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan. Millions

of people are still without vital supplies. In some of the worst-hit

areas, frustration has started to boil over. George Alagiah has

managed to reach the city of Tacloban, which was flattened by the

typhoon. Good evening - I'm in Tacloban, the

city at the heart of the Philippines typhoon disaster. More relief planes

have been landing here today - and there are, finally, signs of an

organised response to a crisis that has left hundreds of thousands of

people homeless and millions more needing help. But there is little

sign that the aid is getting out to the 600,000 people who have been

made homeless, and the Melli millions more who need help. But

around the city, there are growing signs that the survivors of last

Friday's typhoon disaster are becoming more desperate - troops

have been deployed in greater numbers than ever before. Our first

report tonight is from Rupert Wingfield-Hayes. At Tacloban

Hospital, this 13-year-old girl has been brought in badly injured and

deeply traumatised. For six days she was trapped in the ruins of her

home. The bodies of her whole family were lying around her. The only

thing she has been able to tell nurses is her name, Rebecca. The

doctor immediately sets to work cleaning her badly infected wounds,

but he only has the most basic supplies. We have no stocks, as you

can see. We have no equipment. The big problem is, we do not have

medicines. We need your help. Outside, others are not waiting for

help, they are helping themselves. At first glance, it is hard to tell

exactly what is going on here, until you realise this is a petrol

station. So, down here, this is diesel in this tank underground, and

ingenuously, they are putting these things down and filling up their

bottles. Is this for your car, for your motorcycle? For the

motorcycle, you have run out of fuel? OK. If this is looting, then

it is very patient and well ordered looting. The truth is, it is the

only way for people to get fuel here. These are strange days in

Tacloban. At noon, the streets empties and suddenly, soldiers

appeared. It took on the appearance of a war zone. With the rumour mill

in overdrive, several people told me the city was about to be attacked by

communist rebels. It is not clear what is going on. The Army have come

in to reassert control, and now they say they have some sort of

government down this street pinned down. We never did find out, but the

Army does appear to be here in force now. Back at the hospital, it is

little consolation. They are short of everything. These people are

waiting for operations they cannot have. This baby has a high fever and

diarrhoea, or even the drinking water she so obviously needs has to

be carefully rationed. In time, Rebecca's physical wounds will heal,

but for her and for so many here, there will be life before and after

the typhoon. The government here has been

defending its response to the crisis. A senior politician came

here and described it as the biggest logistical operation the country has

ever had to mount. With the government struggling, local

institutions have had to step in to do what they can, and as I found

out, local churches have been playing their part. My report does

have some images which you may find disturbing. A place for prayer, now

a place for sanctuary. Super Typhoon Haiyan blew open the doors of the

church, and the parishioners walked in, grieving and homeless. This is

now the space they call home. The Father is like the good Shepherd

with his flock. He never doubted this was what he should do. Not only

do we do the sacraments, but we have to save the lives of people. Six

days on, he has not seen any official aid here. He does not blame

his parishioners for what many have described as looting. For me, what

they did was moral, it was not immoral, because that is their basic

need. When they are looting the shops, the groceries, they want to

live. For me, it is not a sin. In total, there are more than 300

families here, nearly 2000 people. Unlike some of her neighbours, no

correct's family, three generations of it, survived the typhoon intact.

They described how they learn to each other on a neighbour's roof.

All around them, there are families with similar stories. Tita said she

would take me to her home, just a five-minute walk away. She had lived

in the house for 20 years, and in the area for more than double that.

So, your house was just behind the big house? TRANSLATION: We felt all

alone in that time after the water came in. We were asking and asking

but it seemed nobody was around to help. We needed help with our

children and our house. Were no doctors around, and there was no

food. There will be four masses this

Sunday, as usual. That is one thing that has stayed the same, although

all around them, the world is upside down. Now, one last thought, there

is a continuing argument here about just how many people have died. The

government here says it could be anything between 2000 - 3000, and

the United Nations has gone up to 10,000. The truth is, I think it is

very difficult for anybody to know. You have only got to walk around the

city to see that very little of it has been systematically cleared or

surveys. The truth is, what is important now is the survivors. As

you saw in my report, some people have not had aid for six days, and

if that aid does not get to them, and quickly, they are going to be

weaker, they are going to be sick, which could lead to even more

deaths. If you want any more details, you can go to our website.

That is it from Tacloban. Back to you.

The Government has strongly criticised a report that said the

death of a four- year-old boy starved to death by his mother could

not have been predicted. Hamzah Khan's body was found in his cot

almost two years after he died. Amanda Hutton was jailed for 15

years last month, after being found guilty of manslaughter and cruelty.

Hamzah Khan was starved to death. Amanda Hutton hit the abuse from all

the agencies and for 21 months, kept her son's lifeless body in her home.

The death of any child is a tragedy. Those behind the review, said the

four-year-old was invisible but did not accept lame. Concerns were

raised by neighbours and lease. Is this a credible document? -- police.

My whole career is dependent on my independence. One report in the

government said the report is rubbish.

The father of Hamzah Khan, separated from Amanda Hutton, believes that

the authorities failed. Why were the children not picked up? They failed,

big-time. Nobody chased anything up. Amanda Hutton was jailed for 15

years for starving her son. The filth in the home has been cleared

but the horror cannot be scrubbed away. Inside their home, Amanda

Hutton would close the door on Hamzah Khan and leave him in a dark

room as punishment. Next door, neighbours could hear children

crying and shouting, but outside of these walls, this report shows that

police, social workers and health visitors failed to notice that the

four-year-old was dying. Because of that the government wants another

investigation. The child that waited for help that never came. The top

story: The UK recovery has taken hold according to the Bank of

England. Still to come: everybody sit down! I did not mean to make fun

of your hero! Oprah Winfrey talks politics and the president. Coming

up, Alex Ferguson's first-team coach has joined Fulham. He said they

share the same vision of how football should be played.

If you think you're already paying too much to heat your home we're

being warned that consumers face price rises for many more years to

come. And that's because more money is needed to fund new

infrastructure. The National Audit Office says energy and water bills

are set to rise faster than inflation for the next 17 years.

That would mean our combined energy and water bill could go up by 20% to

nearly ?2,000 by 2030. Our Industry Correspondent, John Moylan, reports.

We are facing years of rising bills to upgrade gas and electricity

networks. According to the spending watchdog, the government does not

know how high the bills will go and whether we can afford them. We are

calling for the government to become better informed about the likely

cost and to do work to consider affordability. The considerations

they make should be well informed. Our utility bills are rising to pay

for upgrading our national infrastructure - new power plants -

gas pipelines and reservoirs. That will all cost around ?310 billion in

the coming years. The majority of that, more than two thirds, will be

paid by all of us through our bills. For energy alone we'll be paying at

least 18% more by 2030. Campaigners warn that could have a serious

impact on those with low incomes. The alarm bells are starting to ring

in government, but it horrifies me that here we are with bills having

gone up so much, 140% since 2005. We are now hearing that the government

is not aware of the affordable implications of this. The government

insists that energy efficiency measures will keep costs down and

that the energy prices are amongst the lowest in Europe was there is no

denying that will rise. We have not seen investment in the

infrastructure and we need to replace power stations, transmission

and distribution lines. This is essential investment, it is not

luxurious investment. That will come at a cost. That cost could be

higher. This week, a report said tariffs could rise by 50%. The

racing pundit John McCririck has lost his age discrimination

employment tribunal case against Channel four. The 73-year-old who

had appeared on Channel four Racing for 29 years argued that he was

sacked by the broadcaster because of his age. But an employment tribunal

panel unanimously ruled against him, accepting the broadcaster's argument

that its aim in replacing Mr McCririck was to bring horse racing

to a wider audience. Emergency care services in England could undergo

major reforms which would see the introduction of a two-tier accident

and emergency system. The review, by NHS England, proposes the biggest

accident and emergency departments deal with heart attacks, strokes and

major trauma. Smaller hospital units would treat less serious conditions.

There are also plans to enhance the role of paramedics and the 111 phone

service as our health correspondent Dominic Hughes reports.

The A at Bradford Royal infirmary is one of the busiest in the country

with 400 patients name average day. Like every emergency department,

attendances are increasing. The starting point is to treat people

closer to home with an enhanced 111 phone line which can issue

prescriptions and make appointments. There should be more highly skilled

ambulance crews. If it is more serious, you may be advised to go to

an urgent care centre. If you require hospitals, you may need to

go to an emergency centre. If you are seriously ill, suffering a heart

attack for example, you will be sent to a major emergency centre. The

frail and elderly make up a majority of patients being admitted to A

across the country. In Bradford they are trying new ways to deal with

older patients. The key issues are too rapidly diagnose what the

problem is and then inshore that those who need to stay will stay. --

N Shaw. This review of emergency care warns there is no simple

solution to the crisis but that kind of ideas they are trying in Bradford

to relieve pressure on hard-pressed emergency departments and the good

for as well. This is the kind of scheme that the review wants to see

more of. A team from Bradford come to see this 88-year-old and his wife

in their home, keeping him out of hospital. You do not get that

special care, especially with the nurses coming in. They are

wonderful, 24 hour care. These are reforms that will take five years to

implement and senior doctors are warning of a system in crisis right

now. If we do not address this crisis in the UK then we will not be

able to continue to provide safe and effective care. This will be the

most far reaching reorganisation of NHS services in many years. The

current system may not be broken but it cannot go on.

This painting by Francis Bacon of his friend and fellow artist Lucian

Freud has become the most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction.

It fetched ?89 million after just six minutes of bidding at Christie's

in New York. It eclipses the price paid for one of Edvard Munch's

series of paintings called "The Scream" which HAD been the most

expensive painting sold at auction after it fetched ?74 million last

year. She's the most powerful black woman in the world and now the

American broadcaster and actress Oprah Winfrey has accused some of

President Obama's detractors of not just 'disrespecting' him but also

his office because of the colour of his skin. The media mogul is in the

UK to promote her new film The Butler in which she plays the wife

of a White House butler played by Forest Whitaker. She's been talking

to our Arts Editor Will Gompertz. Are you political? No, sir.

Forest Whitaker is a character who becomes a butler to a president. His

wife is played by Oprah Winfrey. You are? I am well. She told me that

taking on the role was a risk. I did not want to embarrass myself. I was

going through lots of criticism and I could just hear, you know, in my

mind, people saying that I should have kept my day job. So I was

worried, to an extent, not being able to measure up to the moment.

Oprah Winfrey has been a supporter of Obama and thinks that he has been

treated with contempt because of the colour of his skin. There is a level

of disrespect to the office that occurs, and that occurs, in some

cases, because he is African-American. There is no

question about that. It is the kind of thing that nobody says that

everybody is thinking it. The film is set against the political

backdrop of the American civil rights movement. Is it a story that

needs to be told today? Well, I think that the word important does

not define it. I think it is essential that the world understands

what the history and legacy of slavery and the civil rights

movement is and what it has meant to African-American people. We saw a

wonderful movie the other night that reminded me of you. She has made

aliens as a media mogul but says acting brings her pleasure. She

suggests that this will not be her final performance.

Time for a look at the weather... Here's Darren Bett. We are not

expecting a frost and that is because there will be some wet

weather around to expecting a frost and that is

because there will be some wet night which is being driven around by

lively winds. The winds will turn more westerly as the night goes on.

Showers will fall, heavy and prolonged for a while. Gales are

likely in the North West, possibly severe gales. Because of the

stronger winds, temperatures will not feel as low. Some sunshine

around tomorrow, and the showers blowing in off the westerly winds.

As we went through the afternoon, the showers tend to fade away more

and more and there is a good chance of staying dry across south Wales

and the south-west of England. It should dry off through the Midlands

and we will have sunny spells across East Anglia and the South East of

England. Much of northern England will be dry and sunny. Some showers

across Northern Ireland and the West Coast of Scotland, and they could be

wintry showers. Those showers are fading away in the afternoon as we

find this ridge of high pressure building in. Where we have the

showers, there is a risk of a touch of frost on Thursday night. A chilly

start to Friday with eastern areas generally dry. Further west, there

will be more cloud while the rain comes into northern Scotland. Nine

or 10 degrees and we will keep those temperatures through the weekend.

Outbreaks of rain on Saturday in Scotland, sinking slowly southwards

on Sunday, but ushering in cold air week with snow mainly in the north.

That's all from the BBC News at Six so it's goodbye from me and on