:00:00. > :00:16.Here, on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.
:00:17. > :00:19.The Chancellor has announced major tax cuts for the struggling oil
:00:20. > :00:23.and gas industry which has been badly hit by plunging oil prices.
:00:24. > :00:26.Delivering his budget at Westminster, George Osborne,
:00:27. > :00:30.said it demonstrated that Scotland was better as part of the UK.
:00:31. > :00:33.But Scotland's finance Secretary John Swinney said
:00:34. > :00:36.he wasn't persuaded of Mr Osborne's plans to reduce income tax
:00:37. > :00:41.Holyrood takes control of setting tax rates and bands from next April.
:00:42. > :00:46.Here's our Westminster correspondent, David Porter.
:00:47. > :00:49.Aberdeen harbour this morning and business as usual.
:00:50. > :00:55.They are still servicing the brakes but everyone
:00:56. > :00:57.They are still servicing the rigs but everyone
:00:58. > :00:59.here has noticed the downturn in oil.
:01:00. > :01:01.This industry and those who work in it are hurting.
:01:02. > :01:03.At Westminster, the message today was
:01:04. > :01:07.We hear what you're saying, and we want to help.
:01:08. > :01:09.I call the Right Honourable George Osborne,
:01:10. > :01:14.The oil price continues to fall, so we need
:01:15. > :01:19.I am today cutting in half, the supplementary charge on oil
:01:20. > :01:23.and gas from 20% down to 10% and effectively
:01:24. > :01:30.abolishing petroleum revenue tax as well.
:01:31. > :01:37.Backing this key Scottish industry and supporting jobs...
:01:38. > :01:39.Official figures show just how bad the downturn has been.
:01:40. > :01:43.Two years ago oil was around $100 a barrel.
:01:44. > :01:45.It is now a third of that and shows little
:01:46. > :01:52.From the Chancellor, a renewed commitment to freeze fuel
:01:53. > :01:54.duty and with one eye on Scotland, no extra
:01:55. > :02:07.What we have got is predictability, stability, that should boost the UK
:02:08. > :02:13.market, should boost the UK public finances as well.
:02:14. > :02:16.In the aftermath of a universal welcome for the new
:02:17. > :02:18.sugar tax but criticism from political opponents at the UK
:02:19. > :02:21.Again balancing his budget on the backs of the poor,
:02:22. > :02:27.Mates rates for corporation tax but cutting money
:02:28. > :02:34.He is more intent on getting into number ten
:02:35. > :02:38.than delivering a budget for the country.
:02:39. > :02:40.People in Scotland will suffer cuts to their disability
:02:41. > :02:55.The only good news is cuts and reforms.
:02:56. > :03:03.aside, this was an historic day. George Osborne is the last
:03:04. > :03:07.Chancellor to set income tax for the whole of the UK. Next year,
:03:08. > :03:13.ministers in Holyrood will be making six decisions for Scotland. An
:03:14. > :03:17.indication of different priorities. We're not persuaded this is the
:03:18. > :03:26.moment to reduce taxes for people on higher incomes. Tonight, the initial
:03:27. > :03:28.headlines have been written, but there will be more to be said about
:03:29. > :03:32.the Chancellor's handiwork. Our reporter John MacManus
:03:33. > :03:46.was in Aberdeen earlier to gauge As we have heard, big changes to the
:03:47. > :03:51.tax regime for North Sea oil. One tax the petroleum revenue tax,
:03:52. > :03:58.scrapped. The supplementary charge cut from 20, to 10%. But will it
:03:59. > :04:04.make a difference to in industry in crisis? To answer that question, I
:04:05. > :04:08.am joined by Sir Ian Wood. We have seen thousands of jobs lost in this
:04:09. > :04:12.industry, will these tax changes turn it around? There is nothing the
:04:13. > :04:16.Chancellor could have announced which would have had an immediate
:04:17. > :04:21.impact. But the Chancellor said a couple of beers ago he would follow
:04:22. > :04:26.a fiscal road map, which would reduce taxation. Now we have a
:04:27. > :04:31.serious price downturn, he is sticking to his word. Message of
:04:32. > :04:35.confidence both the operators and the banks. I think it will
:04:36. > :04:40.confidence both the operators and job losses. So much now depends on
:04:41. > :04:45.the oil prices over 12 months. If it shows signs of recovery later this
:04:46. > :04:51.year and next year, we will see the stopping of the job losses and a
:04:52. > :05:00.slow L. What about the exploration of new fields, can we encourage that
:05:01. > :05:01.now? The government has spent up to ?40 million on seismic and
:05:02. > :05:09.unexplored areas. Hopefully, the tax ?40 million on seismic and
:05:10. > :05:13.increases will also encourage more exploration towards producing new
:05:14. > :05:19.fields. Thank you very much. The industry body, Oil And Gas Uk
:05:20. > :05:24.welcome these industry body, Oil And Gas Uk
:05:25. > :05:50.government cannot deliver and that is a
:05:51. > :05:56.The Conservatives voted against, saying the plans were "rooted
:05:57. > :06:10.as health managers plan to close the Edinburgh unit and move
:06:11. > :06:13.Protesters argue the Edinburgh centre has better results
:06:14. > :06:15.than the clinic in Glasgow, a claim the NHS rejects.
:06:16. > :06:29.What have you done at school this morning? Home from school for lunch.
:06:30. > :06:33.Later uses sign language. He was born with cleft lip and palate and
:06:34. > :06:41.has had several operations. Plans to close one of Scotland's two centres
:06:42. > :06:46.have been met with opposition. I don't think they are listening to
:06:47. > :06:49.our concerns and it is not just about travel. We have concerns about
:06:50. > :06:56.getting the best surgical outcome for our kids. They used to be three
:06:57. > :07:01.centres for cleft surgery in Scotland. The one in Aberdeen close
:07:02. > :07:05.to Kabul beers ago. Another plan is to shut the one here in Edinburgh
:07:06. > :07:08.and move all of Scotland's cleft surgery to the new in Glasgow. This
:07:09. > :07:13.retired specialist surgery to the new in Glasgow. This
:07:14. > :07:19.big mistake, arguing Glasgow has 44% normal speech for five years old,
:07:20. > :07:24.while Edinburgh achieves 77%. It is about what is best to try and make
:07:25. > :07:31.sure we can get 70% of about what is best to try and make
:07:32. > :07:38.normal at five years of age. The NHS insist it is not a cost-cutting
:07:39. > :07:40.exercise, arguing the changes needed because the
:07:41. > :07:42.exercise, arguing the changes needed Edinburgh is not sustainable. The
:07:43. > :07:45.evidence Edinburgh is not sustainable. The
:07:46. > :07:50.Scotland is safe and in line Edinburgh is not sustainable. The
:07:51. > :07:54.differences when you look at the different measures. In some of the
:07:55. > :07:59.outcome measures, the Edinburgh service is better and in others, the
:08:00. > :08:01.Glasgow service has better outcomes. Nearly 100 babies are born every
:08:02. > :08:09.year with a cleft can transform their lives. The
:08:10. > :08:12.decision of whether to close Edinburgh specialist centre will be
:08:13. > :08:14.taken by the Health Secretary this summer.
:08:15. > :08:18.Just two weeks ago, Para-cyclist David Smith had life
:08:19. > :08:20.saving surgery to remove a tumour from his spine,
:08:21. > :08:23.but he's already talking about getting back on a bike and how
:08:24. > :08:26.he dreams of one day again wearing a British Team jersey.
:08:27. > :08:28.The 37 year-old from Aviemore has allowed our cameras
:08:29. > :08:30.in to the hospital where he's starting his recovery,
:08:31. > :08:34.The scar from his life-saving surgery is starting to heal,
:08:35. > :08:40.but David Smith knows he is facing a long road to recovery.
:08:41. > :08:57.Two weeks on from his nine-hour operation, he cannot move the left
:08:58. > :09:00.side of his body, but in his hospital room in Oxford, some gentle
:09:01. > :09:08.reminders of the past, for motivation. I would love to be able
:09:09. > :09:15.to move the left side of my body. I can move my hand a little bit and
:09:16. > :09:19.get my fingers going. So my goal is to get the left side moving, get out
:09:20. > :09:27.into the rehab, get back onto a bike and just get back into full fitness,
:09:28. > :09:31.good health. The 37-year-old was diagnosed with the tumour in 2010
:09:32. > :09:39.and two out, one man has been by his side. When you stand, you are still
:09:40. > :09:43.wobbling around. His consultants performed David's first surgery and
:09:44. > :09:46.the other three that followed. He even delayed his retirement so he
:09:47. > :09:52.could carry out this month's operation. He just takes this in his
:09:53. > :09:57.stride. He comes back with more determination, a new plan. He has
:09:58. > :10:03.fantastic support by the physio and the coaching teams around him. And
:10:04. > :10:09.he responds to that and he delivers. That is what is quite amazing about
:10:10. > :10:14.him. His fighting spirit has been well documented. As a rower he won
:10:15. > :10:18.gold medal at the London paramedics. The two years later, medical issues
:10:19. > :10:22.saw him switch to cycling, where he pushed himself to the limit. Last
:10:23. > :10:27.year, his tumour returned. And despite initial plans to delay
:10:28. > :10:31.surgery until after Rio, the tumour grew and surgery was essential.
:10:32. > :10:36.Sometimes through the day I will have a little thought and said,
:10:37. > :10:43.nothing is really moving. What if it doesn't. As soon as that thought
:10:44. > :10:47.comes in, I don't get angry. I just go, you know what? It is OK.
:10:48. > :10:51.Acknowledge it. If you have something you can hold onto it will
:10:52. > :11:00.stop it if she is the strength to channel your energy in. His doctor
:11:01. > :11:01.talks of a big journey ahead and it is one this athlete is starting to
:11:02. > :11:05.take. Albeit, slowly. Football and there
:11:06. > :11:08.were two games tonight. In the Scottish Cup
:11:09. > :11:10.quarter final replay, it's Hibs who go
:11:11. > :11:12.through to the semifinals after beating Inverness
:11:13. > :11:14.2-1 in the replay. Hibs will play Dundee United
:11:15. > :11:16.in a month's time. And in the Scottish Premiership St
:11:17. > :11:19.Johnstone and the new League Cup Now, let's get a look
:11:20. > :11:32.at the weather. Mixed fortunes with the weather. If
:11:33. > :11:38.you had the sunshine, a beautiful day. If you had the cloud, it was
:11:39. > :11:42.great at times. High pressure is the culprit. Firmly in charge overhead,
:11:43. > :11:49.keeping things dry and saddled. But denying the sunshine the many. As we
:11:50. > :11:53.look tomorrow morning, it'll be a dry, cloudy start Ansah mist and fog
:11:54. > :11:58.around North Sea coasts. Try and brighter towards the south with
:11:59. > :12:02.early sunshine. Central, southern Scotland, probably a grey start. It
:12:03. > :12:08.should improve later on. The cloud big enough for light rain or
:12:09. > :12:14.drizzle. Generally it is dry. Further north, a bright start but
:12:15. > :12:18.around the coast it will be cloudy, cool and murky at times. Through the
:12:19. > :12:23.course of Thursday, it should improve for many, particularly if
:12:24. > :12:28.you had the grey skies today. More in the way of sunshine. As we head
:12:29. > :12:32.towards the afternoon, the central belt starting to improve. Across the
:12:33. > :12:36.UK as a whole, plenty of sunshine for England and Wales and
:12:37. > :12:39.double-digit temperatures. Northern Ireland in proving as well and
:12:40. > :12:46.inland, we could see temperatures up to the low, maybe mid-teens. Towards
:12:47. > :12:53.Thursday evening, the cloud and low cloud reforms and moves inland. The
:12:54. > :12:57.high pressure is still in charge, but slowly it is moving west. It is
:12:58. > :13:02.important because the wind direction changes coming in from the which
:13:03. > :13:05.will bring light rain but the Northern as, the north and
:13:06. > :13:10.north-east. Rest of the brighter weather in the West to Wales and the
:13:11. > :13:15.south-west of England. The south-western England, light rain or
:13:16. > :13:20.drizzle. Into the weekend, the high pressure is still with us moving
:13:21. > :13:23.west. Fairly cloudy conditions in the north. Generally dry but the
:13:24. > :13:25.further south you are, the best of the brightness. That is the forecast
:13:26. > :13:28.for now. Our next update is at
:13:29. > :13:30.6:25am tomorrow morning.