13/01/2018 BBC Weekend News

Good evening.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats,

Sir Vince Cable, has warned

the Government it would send out

the wrong message if it bails out

the struggling construction company

Carillion using taxpayers' money.

It's feared the firm,

which has debts of £1.5 billion,

could collapse after creditors

rejected a possible rescue plan.

Carillion employs about 20,000

people in the UK and is one of

the Government's main contractors.

Our business correspondent

Joe Lynam reports.

This is Liverpool's newest hospital

under construction.

It will be the biggest single bed

hospital in the UK, and it is being

built by Carillion. Now there is

concern that projects like these

could be affected if the company

collapses. From prisons, hospitals,

schools and rail, Carillion is

responsible for some of the UK

plasma largest infrastructure

maintenance projects. So should the

Government bailed the debt-laden

company out?

What has to happen in this case, the

contracts have to be kept going and

supporting the supply

chain and the tens of thousands of

workers, that can be done by the

Government taking lots of this

in-house, or re-tendering in other

cases. The Government can just do a

financial bailout. The shareholders

and creditors, the big banks, had to

take a hit, they cannot just

off-load losses to the taxpayer.

Carillion is a major British company

with hundreds of contracts running

prisons, maintaining hospitals under

MoD facilities, with almost 20,000

employees here and tens of thousands

more dependent on the company.

But it has run up debts of £1.5

billion, including almost £1 billion

to its banks, whose patience has run

out.

Britain's biggest ever rail

infrastructure

project, high two, starts major

construction this year. Here at

Euston station, Carillion is meant

to build it, but given its mountain

of debt there is a very real chance

that the Government might have to

stop in and give those contracts to

other companies, or simply bail the

company out, with all the moral

hazards that comes with.

The RMT has called on the Government

to provide reassurance for thousands

of workers who could be affected.

Also caught in the crossfire,

hundreds of smaller companies who

carry out subcontracted work on

behalf of Carillion.

Potentially it could be devastating,

many are owed millions by Carillion

and if they do not get those monies,

of course they are at risk as a

business. The other thing is there

will be thousands of jobs,

potentially, lost as a result.

If Carillion cannot be saved are

restricted to, the consultants EY

have been put on notice to take over

as administrators, a precautionary

measure which the Government and

thousands of staff hope will not be

needed.

And Joe Lynam joins me now.

There is an enormous dilemma

here for the Government -

What is it likely to do?

There are

loads of meetings behind the scenes,

there were a view on Thursday and I

understand there will be meetings by

officials this weekend. Major

departments are involved, such as

the scale of the problem.

There is transport, the Treasury,

business, justice. It is chaired by

Cabinet Office officials, who have a

new minister, David Lidington. The

Government stresses they have

contingency plans in place which are

robust if the company should need to

go into administration. I have been

told this issue needs to be solved

in a matter of days, not weeks.

Thank you, Joe.

Consumers can no longer be charged

extra simply because they're paying

for something using a card.

From today, it'll be unlawful

to charge credit or debit customers

more than other customers.

Some retailers have already said

they will raise overall prices

in response to the change.

Adina Campbell reports.

They are the small fees

added at the very end

of the buying process.

In percentage terms it

may not be that much,

but these card surcharges add up.

Not any more.

Under new EU rules, retailers

on or offline can no longer charge

customers for paying with a credit

or debit card.

The Treasury says these

surcharges cost consumers

£166 million every year.

But some companies such as concert

venues can still charge

a booking or service fee.

No longer will they be

penalised just for paying

by credit or debit card.

Now with the end of surcharges

you are comparing like for like.

The price you see

is the price you pay.

You don't get a nasty

sting at the end.

But some shoppers are not convinced.

They can do it very sneakily,

can't they, and just hide that 2%

or whatever it's going to be

in the cost of what you're

going to purchase.

I don't see why we should have

to pay that for actually

using a means of payment that's kind

of, you know,

universally acknowledged.

At the end of the day,

they'll end up passing

it onto the consumer,

so it doesn't make that much

difference, to be quite honest.

Traders could feel the effects, too,

because card companies will still

charge for their services,

but can no longer pass

that fee to customers.

Vin runs a group of small businesses

and is also president of

the British Independent Retailers'

Association.

Nearly 63% of our sales

are by credit card and debit card

so it will affect us

in the long-term if rates

and increased rates do go up.

For retailers like this

hardware store, today's ban

throws up several options.

They may decide to suck up

the cost of processing

a debit or credit card.

Alternatively, they could simply put

up their prices or they may decide

to re-brand these fees

as a service charge.

One business that's already been

criticised is the delivery company,

Just Eat, which has said it

will impose a new service

charge for card payments.

There are now calls

for the new changes to be closely

monitored to ensure consumers

are not punished for

paying by plastic.

Adina Campbell, BBC News.

A young male model -

described as an inspiration

to young black men -

has died after being stabbed

in a street in west London.

Harry Uzoka, who was just 25,

was signed to one of the world's top

modelling agencies and had recently

done a photo shoot with GQ Magazine.

Two men, aged 27 and 28, have been

arrested on suspicion of murder.

Dentists have accused the Government

of not doing enough to tackle

tooth decay in England.

New figures indicate

there were nearly 43,000 operations

to remove children's teeth last year

- a 17% increase on four years ago.

The British Dental Association says

England now provides

a second-class service compared

to Scotland and Wales.

Our health correspondent

Dominic Hughes has the story.

Tooth decay in children is

distressing, painful and avoidable.

Dentists say sugary snacks

and drinks are the biggest cause.

British children drink more soft

drinks than anywhere else in Europe.

And the number of multiple

extractions, which have to take

place in hospital under general

anaesthetic, is continuing to grow.

Figures compiled by the Local

Government Association showed

there were nearly 43,000 multiple

tooth extraction is among under 18s

in England last year.

That's around 170 every day

of the working week.

Overall, there's been an increase

of 17% in just four years.

Dentists say children in England

are suffering and are being offered

a second-rate service when compared

to Scotland and Wales.

The Department of Health in England

says the introduction of a tax

on sugary drinks was part

of its plan to reduce

the number of extractions.

We very much welcome the sugar tax,

but we need the Government

to focus on other areas,

for example like price

promotions or those discounts,

and the level of marketing

on unhealthy products.

All those colours and animations

are always enticing children

to prefer those products,

making the job of eating healthy

products and healthier diet much

more difficult for parents.

With proper oral hygiene,

good brushing and avoiding high

sugar snacks and drinks,

thousands of children could be

saved from experiencing

the pain of a rotten tooth.

Dominic Hughes, BBC News.

To rugby union and Premiership

champions Exeter Chiefs

have beaten Montpellier

in the European Champions Cup -

it means a win in their final

pool match will put them

through to the quarter finals.

-- could put them through.

Ulster have also kept their hopes

of progressing on track,

as Adam Wild reports.

Sandy Park is where you find the

cheats, and this was certainly an

occasion for leaders. Top of the

English league, Exeter against

Montpellier, top of the French. They

cross channel challenge with plenty

at stake. Defeat for Exeter would

end European hopes. This first try

keeping them alive. Tense, tied, not

much space, but with Olly Woodburn

on the wing, you don't always

needed.

That was brilliant, his second,

perhaps, even better. This secured

the bonus point which might yet

prove crucial in the fight was

second in their group.

The cheats are back in charge. In

Ulster, a battle to lead pool one,

that is well shall have been for

most of the competition. The French

side once appearing unbeatable, now

seemingly reachable. Tries either

side of half-time and four Ulster

Micro, who now go top with just one

game to go.

Adam wild, BBC News.

There's more throughout the evening

on the BBC News Channel,

we are back with the late

news at 9:15pm.