20/02/2017 Reporting Scotland

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me -

Cancer patients in our most deprived communities

are up to 98% more likely to die from some form of the illness

40% of us will have a cancer diagnosis in our lives and the

earlier that diagnosis happens, the more chance of treatment and now

We'll ask why some people aren't getting that early diagnosis.

Scientists say there could be reserves of oil

and gas in previous dismissed areas around Rockall.

We speak to the footballer fighting to save his career after betting

on his own team to lose games in which he played.

And, in rugby, struggling Edinburgh appoint a new head coach

A cancer survival gap is growing between people in the most wealthy

and deprived parts of Scotland depending on the type of cancer they

have. That's the warning from

Macmillan Cancer Support which says there needs to be better awareness

of screening in poorer In Govan this cafe for the local

community also doubles up as a drop-in centre for cancer patients.

Many people who come here do not have cancer, but for those who do it

provides support. This couple are both living with terminal cancer. If

you are feeling lost about what help is available, there are people who

are here who deal with every day. I didn't know what help there was. I

lost my job through cancer. That is where it became very important to

me. I knew there was somebody I could phone if I needed to. Local

informal services like this one seemed to be making a difference,

but across the country the analysis paints an alarming picture. McMillan

looked at cancer survival rates over a five-year period and found

startling variations for those living in poor communities compared

to those living in affluent communities. With prostate cancer

you are 98% more likely to die if you live in an area of deprivation

and with breast cancer that figure was 89%. I think they are shocking

and I am hoping the shock of it will help galvanise us do something and

proactive. These days lung cancer does not have to be a death

sentence. Adverts like this one are part of a targeted campaign. They

have been successful, but the government's National clinical

director says he is not surprised by the data. Late presentation is a

matter of life and death. Cancer will hit 40% of us. The earlier that

diagnosis happens, the more chance of treatment and now with modern

techniques, it is often curable. GPs say there can be complex reasons

that discourage people from poor area is seeking out help. Financial

resources, ability to make a GP appointment, communication issues,

education about what needs to be seen as important and perhaps even

the likelihood of pushing your GP for that appointment if you are told

there are none left. This cafe is a success story. 77% of its users come

from deprived areas, but the fundamental question is still not

answered. How to get people to seek help.

MPs are debating whether a state visit to the UK by Donald

More than 1.8 million people signed a petition arguing he wasn't wanted

but hundreds of thousands signed a counter petition arguing that

as America's president he's entitled to come.

I think it is difficult to know whether to be appalled at the

morality of this invitation or astonished at the stupidity of this

invitation. As an example of fawning subservience, the Prime Minister 's

holding hands across the ocean and visit would be difficult to match.

To do it in the name of shared values was stomach churning. We are

dealing with a president who is the first non-politician and the first

non-service man to be elected to the office. He is different. In an

exercise of pressing the right buttons to engage him, I think

dangling a state visit in front of a half Scottish president of the

United States whose mother had an attachment to the country was a very

successful use of the kind of soft power that the United Kingdom has.

Geologists say there could be reserves of oil and gas in areas

around Scotland's coast which have previously been dismissed.

A team has been studying rock formations around Rockall,

a tiny outcrop 300 miles off the Western Isles.

Our energy correspondent Kevin Keane has this exclusive report.

Go on, he is on the rock. It has been an attractive destination for

only the hardiest of adventurers and three years ago Nick Hancock broke

the record for the most time is spent on Rockall. But now the focus

is not so much on the rock above the water line, but on the ones below.

We hope author and Gas has been trapped. Geologist Nick Schofield

has been studying data from below the sea bed and has made a

surprising finding. Previous attempts to strike oil here have

almost all failed, but now he has concluded they are looking in the

wrong place. That is why you get one discovery of every four or five

wells that you drill. That led to the preconception of it not having

anything there, but we think the wells were not drilled in the right

place. His team has also been studying rock formations on sky

which are similar to the Rockall basin. With all the day-to-day now

conclude that volcanic activity may have pushed the odd away from the

rock itself, further away from where they previously drilled. We are

optimistic, but we are always very cautious and it is a very frontier

area and it is a challenging place to work and it is potentially in the

future going to be quite exciting, but I would not get too enthusiastic

just yet. The oil and Gas industry has long been looking for new

fields. Production has expanded into the harsh waters of the North

Atlantic, so there are challenges and opportunities. I am confident

there are companies looking at the information and there will not be a

Klondike rush, this is a very expensive area to play in, but with

the right companies, we will be looking hard at this. This is the

first significant discovery from a two-year seismic study. With two

years to go the geologists say there could be more surprises to come.

One of the leading charities representing survivors of child sex

abuse has been told it hasn't been granted official representation

at the inquiry set up by the Scottish Government.

Wellbeing Scotland says it's concerned more than 1,000 victims

which it has helped will now be deterred

Our Social Affairs Correspondent, Reevel Alderson joins me.

Reevel, what does this mean for abuse victims?

Well be in Scotland formerly operated as an open secret and it

said it is not being granted core participation status in this. It has

appealed against it, but it allows an organisation and its members to

receive financial and legal assistance and to cross-examine

witnesses in the inquiry. The charity says it is the largest

organisation in Scotland dealing with historical allegations of child

sex abuse and has helped 1058 people. It says it was concerned new

guidelines which meant any perpetrator named in the inquiry

would then be told that had happened, they feel that could deter

many survivors from coming forward and therefore it was imperative that

it is a charity should be able to take part fully in the inquiry. It

pointed out another organisation has got core participation status.

Well-being Scotland says it has been left wondering whether the size of

the organisation meant that it would cost a lot more and perhaps elongate

the inquiry which is due to report in late 2019. The inquiry itself

said that well-being Scotland had not met the stringent criteria for

organisations to play a significant role, but that was being reviewed.

to play a significant role, but that was being reviewed.

Floral tributes and messages of sympathy have followed the death

of a two-year-old boy, whose body was recovered

from the River Ericht at Bridge of Cally ,

The child was reported missing yesterday morning from a property

He was found just over an hour later by a fire and rescue crew

Police have been searching the roadside near an Aberdeenshire

village as part of an ongoing investigation into the murder

The 67-year-old was found beaten to death with a "heavy

weapon" in his home in Rothienorman on the 12th of March last year.

Police say the search is not in response to new information.

A footballer says he's fighting to save his career, after admitting

betting on his own team to lose games in which he played.

Dean Brett is currently suspended by Cowdenbeath and is to be charged

by the Scottish Football Association for placing thousands of bets.

The player - who's come through recent personal tragedies -

Dean Brett at home with his dog Maisie. It has been a rough couple

of years in the Brett has sold with the death firstly of a baby daughter

and just a few months later Dean's partner died of cancer. It has just

been tough moments and when you see something that reminds you of it, it

is really tough. Anniversaries, birthdays, events that happen in

other people's lives that can relate to you. You get upset about that and

it is tough. Even before those tragedies Brett had made no secret

of betting on football despite knowing it was against SFA rules.

The social media posts eventually came to the authorities' attention.

He had to answer charges that he plays 2000 bets on a total of 6369

matches. Cowdenbeath say most concerning for them either figures

of 65 of their matches, eight of which were Dean Brett played in five

of those games. Since I went home on Thursday I was just thinking what

happens here? I do not want to leave Cowdenbeath. I have had the

opportunity before, but I have always wanted to stay with them. Now

that I have let them down, for them to release me I will not accept it.

What I have done is not acceptable, and if that is the way they go, fair

enough. Of the other players who have fallen foul of the SFA rules on

gambling, only Ian Black had bet against his own team. He served a

three match ban and was fined ?7,500. None have bet on as many

games as Brett who faces a disciplinary tomorrow. None have

faced the personal drama Brett has, not an excuse, but a poignant twist

to a tale of human frailty. A reminder of tonight's top story:

Cancer patients in our most deprived communities are up to 98% more

likely to die from some forms of the illness than those

from affluent areas. And still to come: The research

into the cells in our bodies that could transform the treatment

of diseases like diabetes. Campaigners for disability rights

continue to raise concerns about the way the Department

for Work and Pensions has tried Some claimants of Disability Living

Allowance say they're losing out But the DWP says more people are now

receiving the higher rate of support than before the changes

were brought in. The Scottish Government

is about to take control of social security and, as Ian Hamilton

reports, it says it will take Maureen has been on disability

benefits for 25 years. I cannot walk too far, it restricts me for a lot

of things I can do in the house, like showering and basically getting

about. She is currently being reassessed by the Department of Work

about. She is currently being and Pensions as she is transferred

from disability living allowance to personal independence payments. The

transition has been tough. You had your letter for the PIP, what has

been happening since then? I went to the assessment, I have waited eight

weeks to be told that I had been dropped from 12 points down to ten

on the mobility side which takes my cart away. On the care side for

getting help I got six points instead of eight, so I did not

qualify for anything. The Department of Work and Pensions told me that

under PIP over a quarter of climbers are now receiving the highest rate

of support. Anyone who disagrees has the right to appeal. The Scottish

social security minister says they want to have a fairer system when

they take over. What is clear just now is that that whole procedure the

people need to go through with a lengthy application form that you

can only access digitally, which makes it very difficult for many,

the medical assessments conducted in assessment centres, which are

costly, all of that I think is unnecessary in the system that we

can design which will still be evidence -based in terms of medical

evidence and social care evidence. Disability campaigners welcomed the

Scottish government proposals, but they are concerned about the

timescale. We would like cross-party agreement to implement a moratorium

on assessment in Scotland until such time as we have power. Secondly, to

put into place a system whereby if a disabled person can demonstrate

through medical evidence that they're in him and has not improved

or has remained the same, the government should step in and

mitigate those cuts. In a few years the Scottish government will be

looking to control this, what would you like them to do differently?

They can treat everybody a wee bit more compassionate, speak to people

and try to understand what is going on and what is wrong with them. Take

a bit more time. The Scottish government have been criticised for

not introducing welfare reform sooner. They say they want to get it

right and that takes time. Exports of single malt Scotch

whisky topped ?1 billion The United States remained

the biggest market by value, while France was the

biggest by volume. And there was a significant increase

in the amount bought by India. Police Scotland say plans to double

the penalty for driving while using a mobile phone or tablet

will come into force The Department for Transport

announced last year that it was planning to increase

the points from three to six, and the fine from ?100

to ?200 across the UK. A look at other stories

from across the country. Edinburgh is set to benefit

from a jobs boost from It's creating 5,000 full-time

jobs throughout the UK, and an undisclosed

number will be in the capital. A 25-year-old man has appeared

in court accused of causing Dean Yeats from Forfar is alleged

to have started the blaze at a water He made no plea or declaration

and was released on bail. Fishing access should not be traded

away during the Brexit talks. That's the message industry leaders

in Shetland delivered to Scotland's Rural Affairs Secretary,

Fergus Ewing, as he announced public funding for the sector

on a visit to the islands. The signs are that the UK Government

seems to be ready to trade away permanent access, to trade away that

sea of opportunity, as part of a wider Brexit negotiation, and that

they seem to be ready to sacrifice the European market which is so

important. 80% of the fish processed here go to Europe.

There's concern school children on Mull could face lengthy journeys

for dental treatment when an island dentist retires

NHS Highland has re-advertised for a dentist to take over

from Chris Price, who also drives the island's mobile surgery.

But it's feared that when he leaves there'll no longer be

Sumburgh Airport in Shetland has been refurbished at a cost

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf unveiled a specially-commissioned

Improvements include larger security screening areas and upgrades

For the last two and a half or three years, we have invested a little

over ?23 million into the facility, and it is very important for the

island, the community and for the oil industry that we support.

A project combining biophysics and mathematics is challenging

existing theories about some of the most important

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University believe it could have

implications for future treatment of diseases like diabetes.

This from our science correspondent, Kenneth Macdonald.

If you are well, this is going on inside you right now. It is a cell

of the kind that creates the hormone insulin. The moving dots are bubbles

that carry those substances to where they are needed. Until now, there

was something wrong with the picture. Most of biology knows that

these things move on railroads. You can see them moving around inside

the cell. When they get to the cell surface, we found we could not find

these railroads any more, so it seemed there was something missing.

This is setting of 100 different particles... What the researchers

found was that on the cell's surface, these were avoiding

molecules. It needed a lot of advanced maths. We have shown that

these vesicles move between these other molecules, and they will do so

with some randomness. It took seven years of treating the cells, looking

through some of the world's most powerful microscopes, and using an

enormous amount of data. Maths and data had to speak the same language.

One of the biggest challenges of my Ph.D.. Learning a different language

to speak with mathematicians! Ph.D.. Learning a different language

findings of implications for medicine are more. If you have

certain conditions, like diabetes, something has probably gone wrong

with the movement of these vesicles inside yourselves. We don't know

what. This new work gives us a strong starting point to try to

investigate. This approach is going to be used not just for this model,

not just for this biology. It is going to be used in finance, in

astronomy, all over the place. The research shows that mathematics

underpins all of the rest of science. It is helping us look at

things that even the most powerful microscopes cannot see.

Edinburgh Rugby have appointed a new head coach.

He's the former England international and Leicester

coach, Richard Cockerill, and will start his

Interim coach Duncan Hodge stays on, returning to the backroom staff,

as the capital club try to improve their fortunes.

This has been a familiar scene for Edinburgh fans. Defeat to Leinster

at the weekend leaving them ninth in the league. Despite a European

quarterfinal tie ahead, this season, like many others in recent times,

has failed to ignite. They are hoping this man can change that.

Richard Cockerill played 27 times for England. He enjoyed great

success as coach of Leicester, leading them to European Cup final.

He left their earlier this season and is now a consultant at the

French giants Toulon. The powers that be here at Murrayfield were

keen to install a coach of proven quality, and they believe that

Richard Cockerill is a major coup for Scottish rugby. This is a big

statement of our intent and our ambition. We recognise where we want

the club to go, and we wanted to be a successful club, and emulate and

surpass where Glasgow have been in the past years. An exciting

appointment for Edinburgh. We have an underperforming group of players.

We need somebody who can put a rocket under them and make them

perform better. Duncan Hodge has been inconsistent, but he will

remain at the club to work with the new man in charge. It is great that

Richard Cockerill has been brought in. He is an experienced coach, and

has won at the highest level. Both him and Hodge will be a good mix. So

I think it is a good thing. An appointment to excite the Edinburgh

fans, but a big challenge for Cockerill to get the club back on

track. Let's get the weather

forecast from Kawser. Thank you. It was a blustery day,

but also quite mild, especially during the course of the morning. By

the afternoon, it was colder for all during the course of the morning. By

of us. By the end of the day, some lovely spells of sunshine. As we

head into the evening, there will be some clear spells, especially for

eastern areas, but showers continuing. These are from the

north-west, and can be quite wintry on the hills. Elsewhere, clear and

dry. Temperatures dipping to around five or six Celsius, so cold

compared to last night. For some rural areas in the sheltered East,

dipping close to freezing. Tomorrow morning, a lot of dry weather to

start across central and eastern areas, but across the north-west,

thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain, and across the west coast as well,

and strengthening south-westerly winds. If you are heading out in the

afternoon, it will be quite wet. Some persistent, heavy bursts here.

Further to the east, it will be drier, but cloudy in the afternoon,

temperatures around 10 Celsius. Lower than today. Tomorrow evening,

a wet evening in store, as that rain band moves further east, and the

winds start to strengthen, perhaps reaching gale force winds.

Wednesday, quite a blustery start to the day. Some of those showers could

be blustery. Some fleet conditions, and temperatures on the cooler side,

back to average for the time of year. On Thursday, there is a lot of

uncertainty. A deep area of low pressure will head towards us,

bringing the prospect of some snow for southern Scotland and northern

England. But a lot of uncertainty about this. The wind coming in from

the north, so cold for most of us. We will keep you updated.

Thank you. Now, a reminder of

tonight's main news. Cancer patients from the most

deprived communities in Scotland are up to 98% more

likely to die from the illness than those from affluent areas,

depending on the type That's the warning from

Macmillan Cancer Support, which says there needs to be better awareness

of screening in poorer The House of Lords has begun

debating the bill which will pave The legislation passed

the Commons with no amendments, but the government doesn't

have a majority in the Lords. Opposition and crossbench peers

are seeking guarantees about the rights of citizens

from other EU countries Two senior officials have resigned

from Ukip in Merseyside, saying that senior party figures have shown

crass insensitivity about the Hillsborough disaster. Paul Nuttall

has admitted that claims he had lost close personal friends in the

disaster were inaccurate. I'll be back with the late bulletin

just after the Ten o'Clock News. Until then, from everyone on the

team, right across the country,