31/03/2017 Victoria Derbyshire

Hello, it's Friday, it's 9am, I'm Victoria Derbyshire -

A longer wait for routine operations in England.

NHS bosses say it's a "trade-off" for improvements in other areas.

There are a significant proportion of people

who don't need to be there, who don't want to be there,

and if we could get them out that would free up something like 2000

to 3000 beds in the NHS, which can be used more

effectively for providing quicker elective surgery.

Will tough new sanctions against adults who send explicit

messages to children be enough to stop the problem of grooming?

One woman tells us what happened to her.

I didn't want to cause trouble and, like, not be believed.

But yeah, I knew I had to say something.

And we'll have a special report on why some young voters in France

Hello, welcome to the programme, we're live until 11am this morning.

Are you waiting for a non-urgent operation?

If so, we'd love to hear from you this morning about how long

Are you one of the many people who've arrived at hospital only

to have your operation cancelled on the day?

Do get in touch on all the stories we're talking about this morning -

If you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate.

We are going to go and live now to hear from Donald Tusk, the president

of the European Council. You can see the podium there, he is waiting to

speak in Malta in the next few minutes, he will of course be

talking about those Brexit negotiations, so we will go back to

that live as soon as it happens, you won't miss anything at all.

Our top story today - patients will have to wait longer

for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements

as a "trade-off", so that improvements can be made in other

That's according to the Head of NHS England, Simon Stevens,

who says "choices have to be made" because of increasing patient demand

Iris Ram is 96 and is recovering from a recent illness.

Her GP called a local NHS service based in Nottinghamshire

to give her the right care in the right place.

The treatment at home has been absolutely wonderful.

Iris is well cared for - a priority for the NHS.

But it's acknowledged the system is under pressure, and tough

Today, NHS England leaders are taking stock of progress

since their five-year plan was published in 2014.

Aims set out in the new strategy include improving cancer survival

rates, increased access to mental health therapies and

But with limited resources it means the 18 week target for planned

operations is increasingly likely to be missed. Many of these procedures

are life changing, some are life-saving. We know that people

sometimes die on waiting lists, waiting for heart surgery. The

longer you wait, the more likely that is to happen. We know that

people are waiting for gall bladder operations, the longer you wait, the

more likely it is. Today is about setting out

what is possible with the money allocated by the Government

to the NHS in England. But, at a time of increased demand,

what is not addressed Let's go straight to Malta now where

Donald Tusk has begun speaking. As you know, the treaty gives us

only two years to reach an agreement. Allow me to outline the

main elements and principles of my proposal. We treat them as

fundamental and will firmly stand by them. Our duty is to minimise the

uncertainty and disruption caused by the UK decision to withdraw from the

EU for our citizens, businesses, and member states, as I have already

said in essence it is about damage control. We need to think of people

first. Citizens from all over the EU live, work and study in the UK. And

as long as the UK remains a member, their rights are fully protected.

But we need to settle the situation after the withdrawal with

reciprocal, enforceable, and non-discriminatory guarantees.

Second, we must prevent a legal vacuum for our companies that stems

from the fact that, after Brexit, EU laws will no longer apply to the UK.

Third, we also need to make sure that the UK offers all financial

commitment and liabilities it has taken as a member state. It is only

fair towards all those people, communities, scientists, farmers and

so on to whom we, all the 28, promised and Bob This Is Money. I

can guarantee that the EU, on our part, will honour all under

commitments -- all other commitments. Fourth, we will seek

flexible and creative solutions aiming at avoiding a hard border

between Northern Ireland and Ireland. It is of crucial importance

to support the peace process in Northern Ireland. These four issues

are all part of the first phase of our negotiation. Once, and only

once, we have achieved sufficient progress of the four can we discuss

the framework of our future relationship. Starting parallel

talks on all issues at the same time, as suggested by some in the

UK, will not happen. And when talking about our future

relationship, we obviously shared the UK's desire to establish a close

partnership between us. Strong ties reaching beyond the economy and

including security cooperation remain in our common interest. Let

me conclude by saying that the talks which are about to start will be

difficult, complex, and sometimes even confrontational. There is no

way around it. The EU 27 does not and will not pursue a punitive

approach. Brexit in itself is already punitive enough. After more

than 40 years of being united, we owe it to each other to do

everything we can to make this divorce as smooth as possible. This

is also why Prime Minister May and I have agreed to stay in close and

regular contact throughout this process. I intend to visit Theresa

May in London before the April European Union Council. As rotating

presidency, we see the guidelines that have just been submitted by

President Tusk as constructive. It will be a very tough negotiation, an

unprecedented negotiation for the European Union since previously, in

all such negotiations, it was about getting closer, not getting further

away from each other. It will be a tough negotiation, but it will not

be a war. At the end of the day, the two sides will need to remain close

to each other as friends, but it is obvious for the 27 that membership

of the European Union is the superior option. The priority, as

set out in the draft guidelines which will now be discussed and are

just now starting being discussed in Brussels, show very clearly that the

first priority is the settling of issues relating to citizens. We need

to make sure that our citizens, European citizens in the United

Kingdom and British citizens in the European Union, are not used as

bargaining chips by any side, so I do believe that there is a wide

ranging commitment to settle this issue as quickly as possible. As

President Tusk was saying, and has already declared in our initial

statements, the 27 see no room for parallel negotiations. First, there

needs to be an agreement on the principles of the United Kingdom's

orderly withdrawal from the European Union, but once those principles are

agreed, and before actually going on with those negotiations, once there

is sufficient progress that it will be determined by date European

Council alone, negotiations on a new phase, a new relationship, will be

able to start by council giving a mandate to the negotiator to do so.

It is imperative to stress that, while the European Union and member

states are showing flexibility in making it clear that they are ready

for transition periods as necessary, those transition periods need to be

governed by European institutions, since those are the institutions

that would be sovereign in taking decisions. Finally, the issue of

Northern Ireland is being given serious and special consideration by

the 27. We know the sensitivities that exist on the Irish issue, and

we are looking at creative and pragmatic solutions to see that

peace and stability on the Irish aisle are not ended. Thank you.

Chris Morris from the BBC. President Tusk, your document talks about the

fact there will be no separate negotiations between individual

member states and the UK. You have talked a lot about unity in the past

week, this makes it sound like you are worried that the UK will try to

pick of individual countries and have those negotiations. How can you

be sure that won't happen? Secondly, the document talks about not moving

onto the second phase of the negotiation involving trade talks

and future trade relationships until sufficient progress has been made

the initial phase, what does sufficient progress mean? Is it

simply the European capitals will to find that? And Prime Minister must

step, your thoughts on those issues as well, thank you. This is my first

divorce and I hope the last one. This is why I want to be very

cautious and precise. First of all, when it comes to our unity and

solidarity I have no doubt, especially after our summit in Rome

and the Rome declaration, that this is not only a declaration, this is

the truth, that all 27 will be united during the negotiations, and

I have no doubt this is our common interest but also in the interest of

the UK. If they want to achieve a constructive agreement, it means

that they should discuss and negotiate only with the 27 as a

union. This is the only way to achieve anything in this very

difficult process. From my side, it is obvious that the British

Government is in contact with all member states. I don't think that

there is any instruction from Brussels or any institution not to

have regular and normal relationship with our British counterparts, so we

will continue to engage with the United Kingdom, and I think all

member states will, but, and this is a clear demarcation line, when it

comes to negotiations on this issue, on Brexit and on future

relationships, there is a clear commitment by the 27 to have just

one point of contact, and that point of contact is Mr Barnier, that is

led exclusively from the European side and I do believe, as Donald has

just said, this is not something of a lip service but this is true

political commitment from each side. When it comes to your question on

sufficient progress, yes, we are seeing that sufficient progress is

determined exclusively by the European Council. Yes, I want to be

very clear and support Joseph. It must be clear that the EU as 27

decides it's sufficient progress has been achieved. Probably in the

autumn, at least I hope so. Robin amateur from Reuters.

President Tusk, in the guidelines there is envisaged some sort of

transition period in which Britain would continue to pay into the EU

budget and be under the jurisdiction of the ECJ. -- Robin Emmett from

Reuters. Both of these reasons why people voted to leave the EU, I

wonder why you included them? Let me say just one thing about

money and some impressions on both sides of the Channel. There is no

such thing as a Brexiter bill or penalty for leaving. If you want to

talk about finance and commitment I have no doubt that for both sides it

is really important to demonstrate that we want to be fair to reach the

chewing the negotiations. I will add to that that there is no, as someone

said, Brexiter bill. I think the letter that Prime Minister Mae has

sent acknowledges that the UK has commitments, so what we are setting

out in the draft guidelines, and I think there is a broad agreement on

the document that Donald has put forward, OK, some things might be

added and subtracted, but the essence is there. I do believe that

the idea is one which shows and says that those commitments must be

respected, and the idea is that we have to come up with the methodology

that shows and calculates those commitments and also what Britain

needs to take from European assets, as a balance sheet. I do believe

that this is very, very obvious. On the ECJ and other European

institutions governing transition period, in our books transition

period means that you are still Amber, or at used to have access --

are still a member or at least still have access to and Bishop situation.

If you have such access it goes without saying that the institutions

we have agreed upon need to government. We would obviously not

intrude on what happens afterwards within the United Kingdom. Then,

when it comes to a free trade agreement, we would have to have

negotiations, and those would then determine what type of institutions

will govern that new type of arrangement. REPORTER: One last

question. Television Malta, to date there has been concerned following

Prime Minister May's letter on the link between the trade agreement and

future security cooperation. Is this acceptable? Have you received any

concerns from member states about Prime Minister May's letter?

Know, especially after the terrorist attack in London. -- no, especially

after. It is to be clear that terrorism is our common problem and

security is our common problem. I know Theresa May well enough and I

know her approach to this issue. This is why I rule out this kind of

interpretation and speculation to be used as a bargaining chip. It must

be a misunderstanding. Our partners are wise and decent partners, this

is why I am absolutely sure that no one is interested in using security

cooperation as a bargaining chip. I would like to confirm that even

though it was something that hit the headlines and really and truly many

people, including ourselves, noted, we have had reassurances from the

British Government that this is a misinterpretation. We will take, at

least my Government, will take the word of the British Government. We

do believe that they are decent partners, people who will not

bargain on security of any of our citizens, and I do believe that we

will start negotiations in this spirit of sincere cooperation. Thank

you very much. STUDIO: That was the president of the European Council,

Donald Tusk, speaking with Maltese Prime Minister -- the Maltese Prime

Minister. They are talking about the Brexit negotiations. He outlined an

interesting number of points, he says there will not be

conversations, parallel conversations about trade and

commitments. That seek to Europe correspondent

Damian Grammaticas in Brussels. Interesting that he outlined those

four areas that he wanted to be sorted, Donald Tusk, before

contemplating a decision about trade. Take us through those? This

is what PE you site has identified as the most pressing issues to be

settled first of all in this Article 50 exit process -- this is what the

EU side has identified. There has been lobbying from citizens, it use

it as an living in the UK, UK citizens living in the EU -- EU

citizens living in the UK. Those people have rights to live, work,

study. What will happen to those rights in the future? The second

thing he talked about was preventing a vacuum of laws, that talks about

businesses, what certainty they will have, EU, the guidelines we have now

here talking about those benefiting from EU money, project extending

into the long-term. Backers into the third issue, the UK's financial

commitments, he says both sides must honour those. Donald Tusk made the

point that this is not a Brexiter bill, this is a settling of

accounts. -- this is not a Brexit bill. He said this is payment

promised to farmers, scientists, people that obligations have been

made to that must be met. The last thing was the Ireland/ Northern

Ireland border, we have seen a bigger effort by the Irish

Government to press this, it is identified as a key priority. There

was recognition that these could be difficult conversations, sometimes

confrontational, Donald Tusk said those words. Talking about security

cooperation, he said there was misunderstanding about the letter

from Theresa May? He said this is a common problem for priority to

tackle terror, that is something that must be done together. But I

think the take from this whole thing, this document, what we heard

Donald Tusk say, which is that the EUG side is very clearly setting the

agenda now -- the EU side. The timetable the EU was setting, saying

exit talks, there must be sufficient progress, we heard them in that

press conference saying it is the EU side, the 27, who will decide when

that has been sufficient, where they are happy that enough detail has

been nailed down on the Exeter agreement and they will move on to

the future relationship and the transition. -- on the exit

agreement. From the EU side, they made very clear if there is a

transitional period during which the UK continues to access the single

market, it will be on the EU's rules, they said. Payment into the

EU budget, rules of the Court of Justice applying, the EU laying down

its principles and we will see the EU trying to enforce what it sees as

how the negotiation must proceed. Donald Tusk very clearly said that a

person or people in the UK have been advancing the idea of parallel

negotiations on the future status for the UK, along with the

withdrawal agreement. The person advocating those is the UK Prime

Minister, Theresa May. He said absolutely that will not happen. A

very clear message from the EU who now, I think, will be in control of

a lot of the dynamic of this. Thank you very much, Damian.

We'll also get reaction throughout the programme, we are live until

11am. Another story we will talk about is

the NHS. Are you on a waiting list for a routine operation? Have you

had a routine operation cancelled on the day you have arrived at

hospital? You can get in touch with us on Twitter. We want to hear and

share your stories as ever. Across the country thousands

of children are groomed each year, and while the Government created

a law to make this illegal 2 years ago they never put it into force

in England and Wales. From Monday that will all change

and will mean any message sent by an adult to a child that relates

to sexual activity will be considered grooming

and therefore illegal. Earlier I spoke to to Molly,

which isn't her real name and wants to remain anonymous, who was groomed

when she was 15 years old, she's now 21, and Tony Stower

from the NSPCC who campaigned So, Molly, just start by telling us

how old you were when this began. And who was the person

who approached you, It was an adult, a volunteer

at a youth club I used to attend. Well, first off,

he befriended my dad. Then we used to go

round his house and stuff. Then we all added each

other on Facebook. And what were the sort of messages

that he was sending you? At first, it was just

normal conversation. How's your family, how's

your dad, all of that. Then it started getting more,

where he was using names for me, And then one morning

I got up for school, checked my Facebook,

as I used to do, and he messaged me, saying he was doing stuff

to himself, while his partner So, you know, I just closed my

laptop down and went to school. That must have been quite

frightening, at 15, to read that? But I just sort of closed my laptop

down and carried on with my day. Well, he got my number

through Facebook, off So I started getting

messages from him when I was He would text me, saying

he was outside my house in his car. He used to try to get me to go out

and meet him, outside my house. One time I had to get my sisters

to close my curtains, so I could crawl around

on the floor, so he But he would always do it

while my dad was out. Somehow he knew that

my dad wasn't home. At what point did you start

to feel uncomfortable, Pretty much from the

Facebook incident. But the last lot of texts that

I got, he was telling me he had feelings for me and stuff,

that he had to try Telling me that I looked

beautiful, the night before, when I went to the youth club,

stuff like that. I just said to him,

I don't want this. Telling him this is not what I want,

I don't want to be a part of this. I told my best friend at the time,

I let it slip to my brother. Between him, my best

friend and another friend, they all bullied me into telling my

dad what was going on. Did you realise you

should tell someone? Was it that you were frightened,

or you felt embarrassed? I just didn't want my

dad to lose a friend. You know, I didn't

want to cause trouble. This is a man who had children

the same age as you? So, you told your dad

and how did your dad react? He said I should have told him

sooner and he could have got But he was calm, he had

his head screwed on. He rang the child protection

of the youth club that I went to. They got us straight down

into the headquarters. They had a read through the messages

that I had saved on my phone. Then they advised us

to go to the police. How difficult is that,

when you are 15, you're worried about whether you're going to be

believed, showing those messages? And you went to the police,

and the police took your The day that we went to the police,

they took a recorded interview. Then I had to go back

for video interviews. They had all my logins

for my social media, What was that process

like, as a 15-year-old? Yeah, considering I was

going through my GCSEs and stuff at school,

it did have a knock-on I just cracked on with

what I had to do. At the end, was at the police

who said to you, we can't do Yeah, the CPS, I got a letter

from the CPS saying he's What reason did they

give you for that? Because there wasn't

enough evidence. I think they said they could have

got him done for harassment, but it had taken too long

for the police to go through all the phone

and my social medias. Tony, people listening

to this will be amazed that a story like Molly's,

where there is obvious It's astonishing to think that it's

still not illegal for an adult to send a sexual message to a child

in England and Wales, unlike in Scotland

and Northern Ireland, where this protection for children

is already in place. The NSPCC has been campaigning

for three years to change the law to finally make it illegal

for adults to send We are really pleased the Government

has finally listened. From Monday, children

will be protected, just Today, if somebody sends a sexually

explicit message to a child, The police just haven't got

the tools to step in, until the abuse progresses to be

something more dangerous. So, until an adult asks a child

to commit a sexual act, We're really clear that

waiting until that abuse Children need to be protected

from the moment that they go online. You say that this is currently

a crime in Scotland Do you have a sense of how many

cases have been prevented, how many children have been

protected from this? Certainly, in Scotland it has been

in operation for about five years. Over the time there, they have

recorded about 1500 offences. That means in England,

if we scale that up, we think maybe 4000 offences

could have been recorded That is 4000 cases that

could have been recorded, where the police could have

taken action earlier. How did you feel when the police

or the CPS turned around to you, Molly, and said,

When you'd been through all of that, the interviews,

I was heartbroken, really heartbroken.

Presumably that's the sort of thing you hear reasonably regularly

We know that it can be very distressing for children to get

That's exactly how online predators work, by building

a relationship of trust, sending increasingly sexual

messages with an aim of eventually meeting the child.

We need to make sure that the police have the tools and resources

so they can step in as early in the process as possible.

It's really clear that there are things that parents and children

can do to help protect themselves, by making sure they have the right

privacy settings, especially in their social media accounts

That is what Molly was saying, he got her phone

You didn't even realise he could access that?

There are steps that parents can take.

There's loads of advice on the NSPCC website about it.

If anybody's concerned about a child, they can always phone

the NSPCC helpline and we will talk them through how they can take steps

Molly realised this was wrong, she put a stop to it,

there were never any meetings or anything like that.

Are we doing enough, as parents, society, teachers, whatever,

Because it's an awkward conversation to have with kids, isn't it?

They are quite difficult conversations, about the risks

of online behaviour and how to protect yourself.

We are trying to support parents through the provision of the NSPCC

helpline to make sure that parents can have some of those

Where those relationships are built and parents can have those

conversations in advance, that is the way to help protect

children from these predators before the abuse escalates.

Because you don't want to frighten young people and say,

don't use social media, don't reach out to people.

But, from your perspective, Molly, what would have helped you before

so that you could have protected yourself better?

I mean, it's clearly not your fault, but you understand what I'm saying?

Did you feel you had enough information?

To recognise the signs of what is going on would

If anyone is watching this now, and they think this may

be happening to them, it may be in the early stages,

what would you say to that young person, or indeed to a parent

who may fear it is happening to their child?

It's that first step, isn't it, that's often the hardest, to say

And that's fantastic advice, actually.

If you, as a child, are concerned about any of this,

speak to a responsible adult and they'll help you take action.

Of course, any of these kind of sexual messages

from an adult to a child will be illegal from Monday.

It's really important they are reported to the police

so the police can step in and stop the abuse before it escalates.

How many children do you think this could potentially protect?

Is this law going far enough, in your view?

Well, this is a really big step forward and we are

As I say, we think about 4000 offences could have been recorded

But there is clearly more that we can do.

We're really pleased that the Government starting to take

action on relationships and sex education in schools.

And there are organisations, like the NSPCC, who can help

with some of the difficult online safety issues for

Well, it affected my school life and my GCSE grades.

At first it did, I was angry, I used to cry a lot about it and take it

But now I don't really think it's had that much of a knock-on effect.

Thank you both for coming on, I'm very grateful to both

Lots of you are getting in touch about the NHS, the changes which are

coming, the head of NHS England has been talking about a trade-off for

better facilities and reducing waiting times at A Road but that

means waiting longer for operations. Katz said, cancellation of my

aneurysm operation twice, I turned up and waited for seven hours and

then it was cancelled, my family had taken time off work to look after

me, I'm 88. Mark says, I've been waiting for a

follow-up appointment with a specialist since April 2016, it has

been put back to April 2018 committee-macro years.

This one says, my dad have been waiting for a second hip operation

the six years, NHS staff do a fabulous job on the ground but this

needs sorting out. Ahead of next month's French

presidential elections, the Front National has been

attracting increasing It's the country's main far-right

party, led by Marine Le Pen, who's been a divisive figure

in French politics for many years. James Reevell has been spending time

in northern France with young activists in order to gain

an insight into why they're drawn The contributors in this film

express some frank views Front National are

France's increasingly They have big hopes of winning next

month's presidential election. More and more they are

attracting young people, too. We spent a week in northern France

with those fighting for the FN, We've been invited out

on a protest with the FN's They're supporting the presidential

candidate Marine le Pen. Hi, I'm Christophe,

I'm 26, and I'm the head Christophe is part of the new

generation of activists all believing that the FN's future is

now mainstream. Over the last few years, the FN has rebranded itself.

They say they are not fascist or racist but realists, they claim the

fight is for everyone now. Christophe has taken to a school to

spread the message. Hello, I'm Camille, and 22 years

old, I'm a law student and I joined Front National more than two years

ago. Camille is one of the FN's rising stars, collected as head of

the area's youth division. Camille is off to show the area

around university, it is diverse, raw, and to her it symbolises what

is broken in France. But beyond this, what seems to

really resonate with Camille is the FN's widely discredited claim that

migrants get a better deal than white French people.

Say hello to a group of extreme far right activists. They like Front

National but think they are soft on Muslims. Their speciality is making

slick videos as they stormed public buildings and display provocative

banners. The citadel is basically an old

right white Power members cup. It opened in September. -- members

club. I just cracked on with

what I had to do. Orioli and is short on details of

his system. But it seems to boil down to getting Muslims to leave

France voluntarily. When you speak to them about the

election, you can feel the excitement. They clearly believe

that the FN and Marine Le Pen is their big chance.

Everyone I had spoken to so far had accused immigrants, and specifically

Muslims, of failing to integrate or to really embrace being French. I

decided to head to feel's largest Muslim neighbourhood. I wanted to

find out what it felt like to be told you do not belong. I am Marian,

I'm 25 years old, I am Muslim and I think France is becoming a racist

country. Marian was born to immigrant parents

in France. She is educated, works for a charity supports the French

national football team. We don't have to hide. French is the biggest

racist country in Europe -- Francis. They are making many laws against

the hijab, mainly against the Muslims. It is racist. The Front

National is an extreme party, racist. I don't have words. It is a

racist party who thinks that France belongs to the white, but it is not.

We used to just be friends, no matter our religion, but now the

first question, for example when we choose friends is what is your

nationality? Are you French? Face hello, I am William, I am 25

years old. I think the Government have forgotten the people. William

is a recent convert to the FN, joining two years ago. A pharmacist,

he has swiftly risen through the ranks and is the back-up candidate

for his area, a rule and industrial place where the party has always

done well. Migration is one key issue, despite the area being

largely white. We could be killed right now, it is a remote

possibility that it could happen. That is horrible. I don't want to

live in fear, I want everyone to be happy. Muslims, Christians,

whatever, I don't care. What has become clear after meeting

the FN is that their appeal is not just about Islamophobia or racism,

it is about loss of jobs, identity and hope. William wants to show me

his hometown, unemployment runs Haider and there is little positive

about the future. -- unemployment runs high. We are going to the

village where I live, it is a village of 1500 people. It is a

small village, as you can see, it used to be a place where lots of

people left, they were working in the textile industry.

This place is a former factory of textiles, textile factory. Long ago

they used to be lots of people were working here. You would have come...

I was not born, you would have come 40 years ago, there would have been

a lot of people right here in the city. Look now, it looks like it is

a dead place. That is sad. The village is dying. I really think

that what I'm doing is good for me, it is good for my family and friends

and the people of France. I do it for a better future. What happens if

that future does not come? Well... I think that politicians, most of them

are here to give us hope. Because I think without hope we would be

drowning in sorrow. We need hope, the human mind needs hope. To think

of a good future, a brighter future. NHS bosses warn of delays to routine

operations in England - We could see improvements in other

areas like Cancer care is waiting times for A We will get the

reaction from patients and doctors. Workers on the Government's National

Living Wage will see their pay go up Over two million people currently

receive the National Living Wage. At the moment, if you're over 24

years old, you get ?7.20 an hour. From tomorrow, that will go

up to ?7.50 an hour. The National Minimum Wage will also

increase for those under 24 and it could boost the earnings

of a typical full-time worker by ?600 a year,

which some low paid workers say With us now are Catherine Chapman,

director of the Living Wage Foundation, Sarah Steel,

director of a small business and Solomon Smith, a youth worker

on the National Living Wage. Solomon, just explain the difference

this increase will make. It is 30p an hour, will it be significant? It

is 30p and hour, you know? At least there is a bit of a change. But

there still needs to be more. Even though a lot of people will be like,

you know, the money has gone up, it will not really go up as people

think it is. You have children, explained the struggle? I have two

kids, once payday comes it comes and goes straightaway. How do you get

by? Just learning what to pay for, you know? I pay my rent, I pay my

school fees. I have been living on the red Koran two years. I want to

bring in Sarah, she is an employer. Is this 30p an extra -- extra per

hour challenging? It hurts some sectors really hard. We would not

doubt that our stuff the King Arthur and educating young children deserve

a higher wage. There are two issues, one is about keeping the

differential, although we will be moving everybody up to meet the

living way, it is important that people who have done more

qualifications, we can keep the pay differential between the unqualified

and well-qualified. For nurseries, lots of income comes from Government

funding for three and four-year-olds, the Government

effectively price fixes that, local authorities tell us what they will

pay, they will not pay what it costs us. So when the living wage goes up,

in order to pay staff more we have to pass on the Costa parents because

government will not pay a so the fees go up. That has a knock-on

effect. And it will not help people like Solomon... It ends up not worth

going to work, it is a complicated system. You are at the other

rendered you need the money but it is challenging for employers?

Definitely, I have lots of friends who own businesses. I spoke to a

friend yesterday and said this is going to absolutely kill my pocket

-- and he said. Even though people want more money, the umpires had to

pay more. It is a knock-on effect on both sides. -- the employers had to

pay more. This is what you have campaigned for, you want a national

Living Wage that is sensible. 30p an hour, it is enough of an increase?

It is great that there is an increase, it will benefit low paid

workers, but for millions of low paid and please the increase is not

enough. We calculate a real living way completely separate to this

minimum wage, based on what it actually costs to live, that is

currently ?8.45 an hour in the UK and ?9.75 an hour in London. That is

different to ?7.50, the difference of about ?45 a week in the UK and

?95 in London, which makes a huge difference to those on low incomes.

We already work with thousands of businesses who are choosing to go

forward than the Government minimum wage, this is to the absolute legal

floor, you are not breaking the law with this increase. We have

employers choosing to go further because they want to make sure that

everyone working for them has enough to live on. We have heard it is a

challenge and nurseries so how can some businesses say they will pay

more? We are increasingly hearing about some of the business benefits

of paying better wages, some research tomorrow has fantastic

statistics. When people are working for an employer that pays them well

and they feel valued, motivation goes up, staff retention rates

improve, absenteeism and sickness rates go down, real business

benefits as well as being good for stuff, so it can be a win-win for

business and society. -- being good for staff. We have seen real

movements recently in low paid industry. A few years ago people

thought paying the living weight would be really difficult on retail,

for example. IKEA had signed up, we have added around 3000 of their

co-workers. There is scope for further growth and to pay these

higher wages. That is not realistic in your business, Sarah? I would say

lots of nurseries already pay... We pay lots of our staff more than the

living way. In order to push everybody up and keep those pay

differentials, in some areas it is not realistic, in some areas it is.

Maybe in nurseries and health care, social care, it is very difficult.

For as it is about getting fair funding from the Government, that

would make the difference. I agree about the benefits of treating your

staff well and wanting them to stay with you. In nurseries, early years,

retention of good stuff is a real issue. We pay better, we get better

people and they want to stay with us, but it is very hard trying to

put that as a blanket across everybody. One size will not fit

all. What difference would ?9.45 an hour

make to your lifestyle? Are to be absolutely fantastic. Despite me

having a degree and a Masters, I never think about degree and Masters

wages, I just think about real wages. Can it pay my rent? Just so I

can just look into my bank account and I am not in the red. That will

be mind blowing. Doing everything I am doing and still feeling like

where I am now is absolutely not a good feeling. Sometimes I might go

to work and I am just like... You know? Where is the motivation? One

of the main things is about motivating staff. I run a homeless

organisation and we are strictly on all volunteers. Because I know I

can't pay my staff I will do other things, even if it is benefits like

the cinema, doing little things like that, you start to see how your

staff treat you. Imagine if I could start paying them, you know? It is

good for me who experiences this knowing that this is what I would

not want for my stuff. But presumably it is dreamland to pay ?9

45? That is the London living wage. But Solomon lives in London.

Absolutely. We have seen real growth in London living wage and players.

Thousands of those small businesses, small independent firms choosing to

pay the higher rate. They want to make sure that people work for them,

not having to worry about these challenges you just mentioned. They

have the time to devote to the job, nothing to worry about paying the

bills all the school uniform at the start of term. It is great to see an

increase in the minimum wage, but there is further to go.

I am sure it is a conversation that lots of people will get in touch

about. Matthew Taylor has the weather.

A grey, damp start boss. The rain is soon to depart. It will rain for

much of the day in Scotland, showers will arrive later in Northern

Ireland, West Wales and Cornwall. Not as warm as the 22 Celsius saw

yesterday but pleasant enough for this stage in March. Showers

tonight, mainly in the West. Eastern areas will be dry, fairly clear and

cooler than recently. Temperatures into the start of the weekend into

single figures. A slightly fresh start than over the past few

moorings. Morning sunshine for quite a few of view but showers in the

West initially will develop more widely through the day, lighter

winds so slow-moving, could be heavy inventory, particularly across parts

of England and Wales. Between the showers we will see sunshine, in

that sunshine temperatures still in the mid to high teens at the very,

very best. Cooler through Saturday into Sunday,

a chilly start to the second half of the weekend, but much, much drier,

showers few and far between, most with sunshine.

The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk,

rejects Theresa May's request for Brexit negotiations to run side

by side with talks on the UK's future relationship with the bloc.

Starting parallel talks on all issues at the same time, as

suggested by some in the UK, will not happen.

We will get the Government's reaction and be live in Malta for

the fallout there. A longer wait for routine

operations in England. NHS bosses say it's a "trade off"

for improvements in other areas. We will get the views of

professionals and those on the waiting list in the next hour.

And the schoolgirl code breakers taking the cyber

Find out why they're poised to become the next James Bonds

The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, has been

outlining how the EU intends to carry out Brexit negotiations.

Speaking in Malta he warned the talks would be complex and sometimes

confrontational, and he said negotiations on future trade

relations can only began after sufficient progress has been made on

disentangling Britain from the obligations of its 44 year

membership of the EU. Only once we have achieved

sufficient progress on the withdrawal can we discuss the

framework of our future relationship. Starting parallel

talks on all issues at the same time, as suggested by some in the

UK, will not happen. And when talking about our future

relationship, we obviously shared the UK's desire to establish a close

partnership with Europe. Strong ties reaching beyond the economy and

including security cooperation remain in our common interest. Let

me conclude by saying that the talks which are about to start will be

difficult, complex, and sometimes even confrontational. There is no

way around it. The EU 27 does not and will not pursue a punitive

approach. Waiting times will be longer

for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements,

as a trade-off for improvements in A performance and better

treatment in other areas. That's according to the Head of NHS

England, Simon Stevens, who is unveiling a strategy

for the NHS over the next two years. He says increasing patient demand

and the growth in new treatments MPs say it's unacceptable that

residents who pay their own fees at care homes in England are charged

on average 43% more than those The Communities and Local Government

Committee blames a lack of funding, which it says is threatening

the viability of adult The Government says it's already

given councils an extra ?2 billion. Hotels, restaurants and tourist

attractions have warned ministers of the possible consequences

of restricting the movement The British Hospitality Association

predicts a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration

is limited from the EU. The Government says it will design

a new immigration system That's a summary of the latest BBC

News - more at 10:30am. Lots of you getting in touch with us

this morning about routine operations being delayed, cancelled.

An e-mail, I was the victim of a hit-and-run accident in January,

left with a double fracture of the collarbone and four broken ribs. The

hospital sent be home the same day and told me to come back the next

day to see if a bed was free, there was still no bed the next day.

An anonymous text, my son has been waiting for an operation at

Birmingham Children's Hospital for two years, he was ready for the

operation this week only to be told it was cancelled less

than 24 hours before it was due to start because they had no sterile

equipment to use in his operation. Keep those coming in, your

experiences of routine operations being delayed, we will talk more

about that in the next few minutes. If you text, you will be charged

at the standard network rate. What a couple of seasons it's been

for Manchester City Women. They did the league and cup double

last year, now they're through to the semifinals

of the Champions League Lucy Bronze headed home

the only goal of the match against Fortuna Hjerring,

to give them a 2-0 aggregate win Next up City face the

reigning champions Lyon. And their captain Steph Horton

is excited by the challenge. We don't stop here, we're excited to

be involved in the semifinal, we know that Leon are a very

experienced team and they have a team full of world-class

individuals, but so have weak, and it's going to be an exciting game

for sure. A shocking claim from Stoke City

striker Saido Berahino. He served an eight week doping ban

earlier this season whilst at his former club West Brom,

but he says it was because his drink Berahino insists that there was such

a small amount in his system, it proves he couldn't have taken

the drug intentionally. For me to get banned for something

that I really haven't Because if I was going to get high,

like talking about whether you wanted to get high,

maybe the numbers would have came higher,

if it was found in my system. But it was really, really low,

so why would you want to take But because I'm in the Premier

League, the FA have And you can watch the the full

interview on Football Focus clubs feel aggrieved at the lack of

recognition for their community work according to Richard Scudamore. He

was speaking at the launch of an event to provide resources to

thousands of primary schools. We have a power that motivates

people, motivate young people particularly, and therefore because

we can, we should, and that is what it is about and why we are doing it.

The campaign above the line is to make sure schools engage and begged

the programme a success, and hopefully hearts and minds will

alter in terms of some of the perceptions towards some of the

things the Premier League stands for.

Tennis now. Joanna Konta continues to impress -

she's become the first British woman Konta beat Venus Williams

and will now play Caroline Amazing to think Konta was just six

years old when Williams first won Konta has said Venus is one

of her all time heroes, but dispatched her opponent

in straight sets. I'm very happy to have come through

that, I wasn't able to serve it out the first time but the second time

around I was able to, so I think, yes, relief and obviously excitement

that I get to be part of the last day of the tournament.

England's Charley Hull is in contention at the first

women's major of the year, the ANA Inspiration in California.

But the woman grabbing the headlines is this golfer,

South Korean amateur Seong Eun-jeong.

And she made a hole-in-one at the fifth.

What about that? She is only 17, look at her reaction. Brilliant,

fabulous to see that from her. That is all the sport by now, I will be

back with a headline that about 10:30am.

Talks between the EU and UK on Brexit will be difficult and

sometimes confrontational according to the president of the European

Council, Donald Tusk. He has said there is no desire to punish Britain

and has said that parallel negotiations can only begin once

sufficient progress is made in the divorce proceedings.

Citizens from all over the EU live, work and study in the UK, and as

long as the UK remains a member, their rights are fully protected.

But we need to settle the status and situation

after the withdrawal with reciprocal, enforceable,

Second, we must prevent a legal vacuum for our companies that

stems from the fact that, after Brexit, EU laws will no

Third, we will also need to make sure that the UK honours

all financial commitments and liabilities it has

It is only fair towards all those people, communities,

scientists, farmers and so on, to whom we, all the 28,

I can guarantee that the EU, on our part, will honour

Fourth, we will seek flexible and creative solutions aiming

at avoiding a hard border between Northern

It is of crucial importance to support the peace process

These four issues are all part of the first phase of our negotiation.

Once and only once we have achieved sufficient progress of the four can

we discuss the framework of our future relationship.

Starting parallel talks on all issues at the same time,

as suggested by some in the UK, will not happen.

And, when talking about our future relationship, we obviously share

the UK's desire to establish a close partnership between us.

Strong ties reaching beyond the economy and including

security cooperation remain in our common interest.

Our political correspondent Iain Watson is in Westminster.

Is this a rebuff to Theresa May? The language from Donald Tusk is

firm, rather than anything else, but we heard from him saying, look, at

times the talks would be confrontational. When it comes to a

rebirth, remember this, this is what Theresa May asked of the European

Union Council, of which Donald Tusk is president, with the letter

triggering Article 50. She said, we believe it is necessary to agree the

terms of a future partnership alongside those of our withdrawal

from the EU. Today, Donald Tusk has said, almost in terms, no chance,

there will be no parallel negotiations. He said the first

phase would be the untangling of the relationship with the rest of the

EU, and only then would move onto a second phase, which would be looking

at the future relationship with trade and so on. But the people who

will decide whether that second phase will be triggered will be the

European Council themselves, not some independent body, not the UK,

but the European Council. No final trade deal will be until Britain has

left the European Union, and in addition to that, if there is any

transitional arrangement, Britain would have to accept a supervisory

role as they do currently as a member, these are not things that

Theresa May is in favour of, she wants to leave the European Court of

Justice and what's negotiations to run in parallel, and Donald Tusk is

very clear that will not happen. In the last few minutes we had Downing

Street's reaction, a statement following that press conference by

Donald Tusk and following the publication of the draft guidelines.

In it they say, effectively stressing these are draft

guidelines, we look forward to beginning negotiations once they are

formally agreed by the 27 remaining members of the European Union.

Downing Street goes on to say, it is clear both sides which to approach

the talks constructively and as the Prime Minister said this week we

wish to ensure a deep and special partnership between the UK and

European union, so Downing Street doing nothing at this stage to fan

the flames. They say, in effect, this is a negotiation, this is the

opening salvo but we hope to move onto more constructive talks later.

To be further, there is some constructive progress, both sides

clearly want to sort out the status and rights of EU citizens, they

recognise the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of

Ireland require special attention, but that the issue, can you have

talks on trade going alongside if you like the divorce settlement, the

bill we have to pay to leave the European Union, they are in two

different places, Theresa May want it to happen together, Donald Tusk

and the European Council clear today that they do not. Ian, thank you.

Our correspondent Chris Morris is in Malta.

You were in the press conference with Donald Tusk, we saw you asking

a question there. The tough talk has really started now, hasn't it?

Yes, it has. Cast your mind back two days, when Donald Tusk appeared in

Brussels with Theresa May's letter, he sounded emotional, genuinely

upset. Today it about all about business, this is our response and

it will be tough. Clear indication from this press conference, the big

thought is that the EU now believes it is in control of the process. For

nine months, since the referendum, Theresa May had the timing in her

hands, it was her decision went to trigger Article 50. Now that it has

been done, it is the EU which says, we are going to set the tone, we

will spend another month debating the draft guidelines then have the

summit of the 27 leaders to approve them, possibly slightly amended,

then they have to be turned into a form of the associated directive,

and only then will negotiations start, and they have to start on our

terms. The UK could say, we don't accept that, but if the other 27

countries are united in sailing, divorce and separation first then

when sufficient progress is made, and they will judge what that means,

then we talk about the future, and only when we have made progress on

that will we talk about transition from one to the other. That is the

EU saying, this is our process, our treaty that the process is being

done under, and we are considering things in a cooperative way, very

polite and constructive, as a third country with which we are

negotiating -- we are considering you in a cooperative way.

The woman who found out she was autisic at 45.

Find out how the diagnosis changed her life and what's

she's doing now to deal with her condition.

Waiting up to 18 weeks for surgery, often in pain,

But now NHS patients in England are being warned they may have

to wait longer for routine operations such as hip and knee

replacements, cataract removal, hernia operations and laparoscopies.

Speaking to Today on Radio Four, Simon Stevens, the head of NHS

England, says it is a "trade off" for improvements in other areas,

such as the four hour A target and better cancer care.

He says increasing patient demand and the growth in new treatments

mean that radical choices have to be made.

The NHS has made huge strides over the course of the last ten or 15

years in cutting long waits for operations, and we are

So people, I think, would be surprised to remember that,

15 years ago, you might be waiting 18 months for your hip

or your knee operation, now nine out of ten people it is 18

weeks, the average wait for an operation is ten weeks.

What we're saying is that, over the next couple of years,

we want to have more funded operations on the NHS,

but we recognise that the rate of growth is probably going to have

to be a little bit slower than it has been at points in the past,

because we also want to make big improvements in cancer care,

in GP services, and in mental Health Services as well.

But you will know that Claire Marks of the Royal College of Surgeons has

said that there is a risk that you will have unacceptably long

waits, a return to that, and suggesting that the 18 week

target has now effectively been jettisoned.

The reality is that there are pressures right

across the health service, they are well known,

and under those circumstances we have to make a start on sorting

out particularly those pressures in A departments which we've seen

It's right that we start with the most urgent

and pressing problems, but then over the course of the next

several years we want to be able to expand or continue to expand

the amount of surgery that's being done so that waiting times

The fact is that we are already looking

after, providing 5000 more operations a day now

than we were in 2010, and we've got one of the lowest

waiting times for routine nonurgent operations of any

Under the current NHS guidelines, 92% of patients with non-urgent

conditions should be treated within 18 weeks of

The maximum waiting time for suspected cancer is two

If a hospital or service cancels your appointment at the last minute,

they should offer another date within 28 days.

WE were hoping to speak to Hugh Pym, who is not with us now. We can speak

to Christine Moon, she is on an NHS waiting list for a single coronary

bypass. And we can speak to Tim Briggs, an orthopaedic surgeon and

the NHS National clinical director for efficiency and quality.

Christine, what is your situation? I saw my cardiac surgeon last

November. I was told 18 weeks. At the end of the 18 week period I

phoned the hospital to try to find out when I might be admitted and was

told they could give me no idea at all, they were completely

backlogged, people in critical care beds were blocking beds and I was

told nobody in the hospital could give me any idea when my operation

was likely to take place. So you just sit and wait for the hospital

to give you a date? I have decided to go privately because I just

cannot carry on my life waiting for this to happen. It is like having a

sword hanging over my head. Are you feeling unwell or is it the simple

logistics of feeling like you are in limbo? It is feeling I am in limbo,

I am taking six tablets a day to alleviate my systems. I guess lots

of people are in much worse position than I am, they have probably been

waiting longer than me. 18 weeks means absolutely nothing. I want to

bring in Tim Briggs, you are a consultant orthopaedic surgeon. I

guess many of your patients are the very people who might be affected by

this announcement today? If you look at what the NHS has done in the last

50 years to bring down waiting times to the historical lows of the

moment, it has been an amazing job by many people. If you look at the

National joint Registry founded in 2003, when there were 47,000 joint

replacements registered in one year, last year it was over 200,000, it

shows you the rising demand, and with the ageing population and the

demands on the health service. I think the health service should be

congratulated on the actual work it has done in the last few years to

bring the waiting times down to the historical lows that we see now, and

patients, in terms of quality, timing of the operation is not the

only aspiration. It is also getting the best quality outcome. It is a

mixture of the two components that produces the best result for

patients. That does not help the likes of Christine, she is pulling

faces and shaking her head, clearly disagreeing with what you are

saying. Lots of people have got into it talking about the delays they are

facing already, this will get worse. For people in pain it is no comfort

at all. We had to look at what is happening

at the moment in the accident and emergency departments, they are

under huge pressure. More patients are being admitted to hospitals,

delayed transfers of care which I hope has been resolved with the

Chancellor's announcement in the budget of the ?2 billion. This means

there has been a lot of pressure on beds. If we are going to provide a

sustainable health service going forward, to provide excellent,

timely care for patients, we have to free up those beds, and we do that

by increasing the discharge rates of patients from hospital which has

been announced in the Budget with increased funding of ?2 billion for

social care, but we also have to sort out the front end of the

hospital A departments, reducing the number of patients coming to

hospital, to A, the number of patients admitted, sometimes not

necessarily. And we have to resolve that to have the bed capacity to

provide elective care for the patients. I welcome the report in

many ways, I'm an orthopaedic surgeon at the front line, I treat

patients, I think patients will understand that we had to try to

sort out the system so we can maintain the frequency at which we

can deliver the 18 week target for patients, I don't believe it is

being jettisoned, actually. What we are trying to do is sort out the

system to maintain it as we go forward. Professor Briggs, I would

def Chris Dean understands. You say most patients will understand this,

Christine, feel free to speak to Tim Briggs. -- Professor Briggs, I

wonder if Christine understands. I don't understand, you say you are

trying to sort out problems and A, in the area where I live I

understand that A is under immense pressure. There is a walk-in unit

being established in Corby which I read with absolute horror is now due

to close due to lack of NHS spending. Why? To respond to that, I

have been in the privileged position in the last two years of visiting

every single hospital in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern

Ireland, overall the pressure on A departments is huge, they have had

huge pressure over the winter months, as we all know. We had to

try to resolve that, because the more patients coming through the

front door and getting admitted to hospital with delays of transfer

means there are not the beds available to do the collective

planned surgery. Over the next 24, 36 months, we need to try to resolve

that issue. Simon Stevens said today that no one is jettisoning the 18

week targets, we want that to be the norm for patients, but we have to

sort out the service at both the front and back end is to mean that

we have got the elective capacity and the beds in order to get these

elective cases done. I think you should not inform

patients about this magical waiting time when clearly it means nothing.

I would rather be told you might have your surgery in a year, if we

can bring its -- forward we will. Why not be honest upfront? Why not

say 18 weeks, when it means nothing? What I would say to that is that I

work, as I say, in a provider hospital, all the NHS staff are

working tirelessly and very hard to try to make sure that they maintain

the elective servers as efficiently and effectively and as high-quality

as they can. But we have been under a lot of pressure and we have to

have a bit of a breathing space and time to sort out the front and back

end of the hospital to free up these beds. I do not want to see, and what

will not happen, is going back to historical times of the past when

people were waiting three years, 18 months for surgery, but I believe we

need breathing space in order to sort out the system so that we can

maintain the elective capacity to do elective surgery at the appropriate

time, that is what we are trying to do. Thank you, Professor Tim Briggs,

and Christine, best of luck. That look the best of luck in getting a

date. The NHS says it wants to stop

children and young people having to travel far from home to get mental

health care. Let's talk now to Marjorie Wallace

of the mental health charity Sane. Sally Burke's teenage daughter

Maisie was admitted to ten hospitals in the last three years and none

of them near her home. Sally, I want to come to you first.

Give us a sense of how difficult that has been for you, coping with

Maisie being in so many places around the country? It is

horrendous, as a family we have not been able to support Maisie at her

most vulnerable. It has been very difficult as a parent to know that

your child needs you but is at least an hour away, some of the photos I

have had from Maisie or the police or the unit I read it difficult to

deal with and not be able to take part in trying to help her through

that -- some of the phone calls I have had. Presumably you had to

travel each time, there is a cost indication? Always a cost. What

about the cost to Maisie of being in so many places, was that problematic

for her? Absolutely, each admission has caused more problems, none has

been helpful in helping her get over her problems. She has become

homesick, lost touch with friends in the community, it has had a knock-on

effect on all of the aspects in her life including school. Marjorie, you

are nodding, is this just about more money, more beds, more units so that

people like Maisie can be treated closer to home? Lots of it is but it

is about attitude to mental illness as well, so it is treated with the

same seriousness as physical illness. We are hearing about

waiting times of 18 weeks, in Melton -- in mental illness it is sometimes

years and sometimes there are no beds available at all. Sometimes

there are no local beds available, we have lost half the number of

psychiatric beds 2000. 25,000 beds have been closed down. That means a

person who becomes critically ill, like Maisie was, who is self harming

and suicidal, they go to A and sent home and it is on a wing and a

prayer that the community mental health team comes. Sally, how did

you access that care for Maisie? Sometimes we have had to wait up to

two weeks for Maisie to be admitted to a bed, it has just been cope at

home, if you are not coping, ring the police, that has a knock-on

effect because the police are not happy because it is a mental health

problem. Really, I have had to fight every system is apparent, challenge

every decision. It is not just more money, sending Maisie away to a bed

costs a lot more than if they provided proper care at home and

supports to keep her at home in the community with the right support and

care that she needs. What support and care which you need to stay at

home in the community? Experience, trained staff working around the

clock with her. At the moment to get her to a steady ground so she can

reintegrate back into routine and life. Marjorie, would that be

cheaper than sending Maisie to a unit? Not necessarily, you have to

have an intensive investment in that person. We are finding again and

again at Sane, we get so many calls, people are not admitted to the

hospital or units and they are put under the care of the crisis

resolution teams, the rate of suicide amongst mental health

patients under these teams has trebled in 13 years and is three

times as much as in hospital. These community teams, they are having

cutbacks, it is not just the closure to beds but the cutbacks in the

teams, they don't have the time to spend with people. It puts people

who need that time at risk. For you, Sally, what difference will

be the extra beds and units make to Maisie if there is another situation

where she needs to be admitted? If there was a Bedene. Home, what

difference would it make to you and your family? -- a bed near your

home. It would mean people could visit her daily, she could come out

into the community, take part in a family event instead of feeling

isolated and lonely, she could access school, so her routine would

continue. Plus, the people in her care when she didn't need a bed

would be in our community, so that experience and those professionals

would always be at Maisie's doorstep. How is she now? She just

came out of a unit last week, she is trying to transition back into

normal life, she is up and down, very sad at the moment. Sally, thank

you for coming on, best of luck to Maisie, and thank you also Marjorie

for joining us. We had an e-mail from healthy about

the NHS, I live in Northern Ireland and suffer from glaucoma which could

lead to blindness if not managed properly. I was due to see my

consultant in December 20 for a once a year checkup. When I rang this

morning to see why I have not received an appointment, I was told

the consultant had retired and no-one had been put in place to take

over the running of the clinic. I was told to consult my GP if I had

any further with my eyesight. We have no sitting Government in

Northern Ireland at the moment because the elected representatives

will not sit down with each other to talk about running the country. My

problem is minor but there are others not getting treatment with

greater need. Thank you very much, keep those

e-mails coming. Diagnosed with autism at 45 -

we'll talk to a woman who struggled with the condition for most

of her life, without knowing why. And the young girls shaping

the future of cyber Find out how their codebreaking

skills are impressing the GCHQ The President of the European

Council, Donald Tusk, has been outlining how the EU

intends to carry out Speaking in Malta, he warned

the talks will be 'complex and sometimes confrontational'

and he said negotiations on future trade relations can only begin

after 'sufficient progress' has been made on disentangling

Britain from its 44-year Once and only once we have

achieved sufficient progress on the withdrawal can we discuss

the framework of our Starting parallel talks

on all issues at the same time, as suggested by some in the UK,

will not happen. The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson

has been giving his reaction. The UK's commitment to the defence

and security of this region of Europe is unconditional, and it is

not some bargaining chip in any negotiations that may be taking

place elsewhere in this capital. We may can unconditional commitment to

the defence, to the security of Europe, because we profoundly

believe it's in the interests of stability and prosperity of the

whole transatlantic area. Waiting times will be longer

for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements,

as a trade-off for improvements in A performance and better

treatment in other areas. That's according to the Head of NHS

England, Simon Stevens, who is unveiling a strategy

for the NHS over the next two years. He says increasing patient demand

and the growth in new treatments MPs say it's unacceptable that

residents who pay their own fees at care homes in England are charged

on average 43% more than those The Communities and Local Government

Committee blames a lack of funding, which it says is threatening

the viability of adult The Government says it's already

given councils an extra ?2 billion. Hotels, restaurants and tourist

attractions have warned ministers of the possible consequences

of restricting the movement The British Hospitality Association

predicts a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration

is limited from the EU. The Government says it will design

a new immigration system China is closing almost half

of its official ivory carving factories and shops today,

with the rest due to close The news has been welcomed

by conservationists in their ongoing battle against the illegal

trade in ivory. Despite a global ban

on international sales, a surge in demand has resulted

in the deaths of tens of thousands of African

elephants in recent years. That's a summary of the latest

news, join me for BBC Lots of your comments still coming

in about the NHS and those delays which are going to occur to routine

operations. An e-mail from Linda, I was diagnosed with severe arthritis

in both knees almost 15 months ago, I am in constant pain and still

waiting. I will be 70 in June and have been paying income tax and

national insurance since I was 15, I have owned the rights to better

treatment. Instead I get the feeling it is my fault for living so long.

Kathy says, waiting times could be met if

patients who are not accident or emergency were diverted to their GP.

Blocked beds are due to closing down care of the elderly which allowed

people to be discharged and allow rehab to take place.

Let's get some sport now with Jessica.

Manchester City's women are through to the semi-finals

of the Champions League after beating Fortuna Hjorring.

Lucy Bronze headed home the only goal of the match.

It followed their 1-0 victory over the Danish side in the first leg.

Big match up next in the last four, reigning champions Lyon.

Johanna Konta's incredible run continues.

She beat Venus Williams in straight sets overnight to reach

Amazing to think she was just six years old when Venus won this

Konta will play Caroline Wozniacki in the final.

England's Charley Hull is in contention at the first

She was 2-under-par through seven holes before high winds

stopped play at the ANA Inspiration in California.

Shot of the day though came from South Korean teenage

She made a hole-in-one at the fifth.

And world number one Mark Selby is into the quarter-finals

The defending champion edged out a tense final frame decider

Judd Trump and Ding Junhui are also through.

That is all the sport for now, I will see you soon.

Laura James was 45 with four kids, a loving husband and great career

when a surprise diagnosis changed her life.

She was told she had autism, and suddenly she felt she had

answers after spending years, as she describes it,

"trying to hide her weirdness from others."

From rigid routines like lining up nail polishes in order of colour

to struggling with bright lights, many things Laura had come

to think of as normal were suddenly explained.

And now she's written about her diagnosis in a new book.

alongside Tom Purser from the National Autistic Society.

Do you think, saying you were spending years covering your

weirdness, did you have an inkling? No, I was unbelievably surprised

when autism was diagnosed. I had spent so long trying to work out why

I was different, wondered whether I had a mental health problem, it was

because I was adopted, I wandered all sorts of things, but eventually

life takes over and work happens, kids happen, so I just worked hard

every day to try and appear to be nearer typical, really. I read that

you found life generally confusing? I think I had to work three times as

hard to get through the day as neurotypical people. I didn't

understand what people meant when they were not clear about what they

were saying, so vague things that happen, when people say, we might do

that on Wednesday but we might not, I find that incredibly, incredibly

hard to get my head around. Or just other things like having to do

boring things like go round the supermarket, it always left me

feeling utterly exhausted and completely confused. I was so

confused by the sheer array of choice, looking at washing powder,

hundreds of them, it overwhelms me. Something like doing the weekly

shopping would just completely take it out of me and make me feel

utterly overwhelmed and confused, and as if I was failing because

surely that is a simple thing everyone can do easily. And things

like scenes of socks would come out and feel very prominent to you? Yes,

I have a think about clothing, I have to wear very comfortable

clothes otherwise I cannot concentrate on anything other than

the irritation the clothing is causing. As he said, on the outside,

married, four kids, successful career, were people surprised when

you got the diagnosis, for example your husband? I think he was

initially surprised, lots of people in my life were as well, but I think

that is because, lots of people are aware of autism now but we don't all

understand what it means. I thought it was very much the stereotype, the

boy with his trains, it did not occur to me someone who is a

journalist, who communicates for a living, could possibly be autistic

but once I started meeting of the autistic women online, reading more

about it, it was just so obviously me, as if they had written a

description of me, and I think my husband came to terms with it after

he read more about it as well. You wrote that it was like -- he broke

that it was like coming on the same first aid for 20 years, constantly

getting to know you. Yes, he says that, I think I am very easy to

know, but because I'm not a neurotypical person and most people

are used to neurotypical people, I think he finds me a bit confusing.

Like what? I don't really know! And he is not here to answer the

question! It was a line that I wrote in the Telegraph a couple of years

ago and people keep asking me, and I keep asking him, and he said he

can't put his finger on it, but I think we should make him answer the

question! You also talked about school being a confusing time for

you, trying to understand how to behave as a girl? Yes, I found other

girls really confusing because there were all of these unwritten rules,

they would be really nice to one person, then she would wander off

and they would be really mean about her, and I just couldn't get my head

around that sort of thing, I didn't understand the games girls wanted to

play, I am not competitive so I didn't understand wanting to win, I

didn't get the sporty girls. I couldn't understand wanting to play

with dolls or make-believe because it seemed really bizarre because it

is not the real world, so I didn't want to do that, and I couldn't

understand why everybody in the playground wasn't sitting in the

corner reading a book, like I was. Did you feel isolated grubbing up? I

did, but I am self-contained so I did not feel it in a hurtful way but

I know other autistic women struggle with that, feeling that they wanted

to belong. It was less important to me. When people were bullying at

school, if it was scary and I thought they might punch me then it

was a big deal, but if they were just being mean to me I was lucky

that somehow, I could know if it is autism or a personality thing, but

somehow I was quite protected from that, I just wanted to be away from

them. You said you always had your head in books when you were growing

up but you'd used an interesting author to learn about human

behaviour? Jilly Cooper is my favourite author, I adored her, she

is the first person I ever interviewed, which was awesome, but

I genuinely believed her books were a handbook for life! What did you

think we were all doingLAUGHTER. Did you find it helps to understand

people's behaviour better? She is a brilliant writer, if you read her

work you learn an awful lot. I learned about poetry from reading

her book, a book about a TV station, and one of the presenters was making

the documentary and I learned so much about poetry, she sparked a

real passion, but I also learned about human behaviour and

relationships, but I think it was confusing because obviously they are

not balls and they are grown-ups. My 14-year-old self thought that

someone would come in on a horse to rescue me! -- obviously they are

novels. You have written about meltdowns that you had and it was

actually one of those meltdowns that was in some way what led to the

diagnosis? Yes, I have a genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos

syndrome which often occurs with autism, it is starting to be seen,

and I was having tests for that and the tests were really quite invasive

and difficult and it was the hottest day of the year in London, I

couldn't eat for 24 hours before the tests. I went to my room and it was

really claustrophobic, there was meant to be a tuna sandwich, the

famous tuna sandwich, waiting for me because I had not eaten for so long

and it was very bright, there was a child crying, it was just an massive

sensory overload and I had an epic meltdown and burst into tears and

kind of got, needed to get out, so I announced to the nurse that I was

leaving and she said, we should have sorted it out, I'm so sorry, we see

a lot of autistic people here and this is not good enough, we should

make it better. I thought it was like that thing where you go into

hospital and they mistake you for someone else, so I just left it and

had the tuna sandwich when it arrived, but I had to stay overnight

so I started googling, as you do, googling autism and there were a few

things that sort of raised flags with me, but I googled autistic

women and it was like finding myself, every description was so me,

and I found some online groups on Facebook and talked to some women,

and it became completely apparent that was the case with me. Lots of

them have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome as well and our experiences were so

similar. Tom, how unusual is it for a woman

to get to her mid-40s before being diagnosed with autism? Not that

unusual, at the National Autistic Society we have more women coming to

us, and, like Laura said, finding each other online sharing

experiences, because many are coming to diagnose this very late in life.

Partly that is because of an increase in awareness in autism, an

increase in the ability of diagnostic services but also because

women tend to have been missed at a younger age and have tended to be...

Have been misdiagnosed with other things throughout their lives as

well. Is it a case that women may be better at masking it than men? There

is still a lot of research needs to be done around women and their

experiences, we know the experiences of autistic women and girls are

different to those of boys and men. That masking element and that

learning some of the social rules from sources like the novels of

Jilly Cooper, for example, it is a perfect example of what girls are

good at, perhaps Bob serving some of the social rules and being able to

mimic them, masking their behaviours and learning to hide them. The

impact of that can be huge for women and girls because they are trying to

keep it inside, trying to fit in and they don't necessarily understand

why they feel different to others and why it can be so challenging.

How has the diagnosis helped you, your relationship with your husband

and children? Has it changed anything? It has changed me because

I always felt that I was failing, now I don't any more. I felt like a

failing your typical woman, now I feel like a successful autistic

woman. We are all quite eccentric so I think we all muddle along, my

children, but I think it has helped my husband understands me, I can be

difficult at times and I think it has given him a reason, he can pin a

reason onto why I behave sometimes and it has made it easier for him.

He realises that if I seem for not engaged, it is not to do with him

but it is because I am in my head. Thank you ever so much for coming

in, it has been lovely to meet you both, Laura and Tom.

Laura's book, Odd Girl Out, is out next Thursday.

Lots of comments on the NHS, Valerie says I returned home and choose stay

from a six-week period in hospital with a badly broken leg. I am

receiving carers three times a week. My observation of the system is as

follows. Excellent medical care, very kind staff, cleanliness and

sufficient medication. But a lack of consistency, a lack of

communication, a lack of quarter nation, inefficiency, poor

management skills, weaker language skills, constant monitoring to catch

people out, no praise when the job is done well. It is a clear maxim

that you need to say well done ten times to make one criticism

effectively otherwise resentment and a lack of involvement quickly set

in. Please keep your comments coming in.

From Spooks to James Bond, we're fascinated by the secret world

Well, GCHQ, the Government's electronic intelligence unit,

is now on the look-out for staff in the real world.

They're encouraging more women to consider a career in cyber

security and recently held a code-cracking competition

Out of the 8000 who entered, it was a team of three girls

from Lancaster Girls Grammar School who won the coveted prize.

And here they are now - Evie Smith, Lauren McHugh

and Emily Shackleton, along with their teacher

Gareth Hamilton, and Nicola Hudson from the National Cyber Security

-- along with their teacher, Gareth Hamilton. And then we will speak to

the people involved in the competition as well. Explain what

you had to do? To begin with, and online round of the competition

involving solving lots of different puzzles. I think we all really

enjoyed that because we got to see your progress as we were doing that.

Once we got through to the final it came -- we came down to London on

Monday to participate with nine other schools, where we had to

discover different clues about the hacker of a fictional school

website. A few puzzles, I think you slightly underplay it. What were

they? Four categories in cryptography, logic and coding,

cyber security and networking. What is cryptography? Ciphers and codes.

I don't understand any of this. You got through that and got down to

London, and in London, are you nervous or worried at this point? I

think we were slightly nervous but thought we would do our best and see

how it went. What did you had to do? Find out who had hacked this school

website. Find out and details about them, their phone number, their

address. How do you go about that? Where do you start? First of all we

looked at the page for the normal school website. Then we looked at

the hacked page left there by the hacker. We looked at things like the

source code and the hackers' Twitter, try to make connections

between the hacker and their personal Twitter account. We looked

at some of the details like the domain name of the website and how

it had been registered, that told us things. Do you learn this all at

school or outside of school? We learned parts of it at school, but

the competition was a lot harder than what we were used to, we were

learning as we went along. Gareth Hamilton is head of computing from

Lancaster Girls Grammar School. You must be very proud, they are

slightly underplaying... Yes, as a teacher this is the stuff of dreams.

It is important to get young people into coding, especially girls? They

are massively underrepresented in the UK workforce at the moment, and

in places like GCHQ, so place is putting the subject area on the map

are important with. Nicola works for the National Cyber Security Centre,

party GCHQ. Good that you are a woman, promoting this. Are there