30/05/2014 BBC News at One

A significant change of direction for the NHS in England.

Its new boss talks of an end to mass centralisation

We'll assess what the changes mean for the Health Service.

A sharp rise in the numbers of illegal migrants reaching

Two teenage girls are gang raped and hanged from a tree

More pressure on Nick Clegg after a Lib Deb peer apologises to women who

And pressing delete - Google start allowing people to remove personal

A retired Metropolitan police officer appears in court accused

of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old boy in police custody.

And HMS Bulwark berths in Greenwich on its way to Normandy to

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

The new Chief Executive of NHS England has signalled a shift

in policy by saying that smaller community hospitals should play an

In an interview, Simon Stevens said the NHS must end

mass centralisation, and said too many patients are being

robbed of dignity and compassion because of a lack of local care.

Here's our health correspondent Dominic Hughes.

In recent years, the health service in England has emphasised the

benefits of its centralised services, so those suffering from a

stroke or heart attack might be taken to a specialist centre rather

than the local hospital. With only limited resources, the future of

smaller district general and community hospitals has been less

clear. Now the new chief executive of the NHS in England said they

should pay a and important part of providing care. He says they should

provide care for older patient who could be treated closer to home.

Simon Stevens says that we should learn from other countries were

smaller community care hospitals take care of local care.

For the body that represents community hospitals, the change in

emphasis is good news. I am delighted there has been refocusing

about the role of community, because they are so much an important part

of the community, both the patients who feel more at home, and relatives

who can get in more easily. But experts warn that smaller, local

hospitals still face some tough challenges. These hospitals will

have to look very hard at where they get their money from, and the income

they receive for treating particularly older patients will

have to increase to make them financially viable, because they are

very dependent on providing services rather than teaching and research,

on which big hospitals rely. And NHS England source said Mr Stevens was

not suggesting a return to cottage hospitals, nor was he saying there

will be no closures of local hospitals in the years to come.

Instead, smaller hospitals have a part to play in shifting services

into the community. Just how significant is this? I

think this is a significant shift. Simon Stevens clearly believes that

for too long, the NHS in England has concentrated on putting services

into these because bubbles, and now he is calling for a refocusing of

the debate on the role of the smaller community hospitals like the

one I am at here in Withington. Certainly it is good news for many

hospitals who feared that the axe might be hanging over them. Many

small community hospitals have closed across England over recent

years. If they are going to have a sustainable, viable long-term

future, he is mapping out a way for them to do that by being more

involved in bringing these services into the community.

And he is new into the job. What else is in his intro?

The biggest question he has to answer is how he will fund, meet

what many believe to be a ?30 billion funding gap that is opening

up over the coming years in the funding of the NHS in England, and

that is a very big problem that he will have to grapple with over the

coming years. He will outline his vision for the NHS in the autumn, a

five-year plan, and we will get more details then. Certainly the funding

gap is what he has to tackle first. Dominic, thank you very much.

The BBC has learned that there's been a significant increase

in the number of migrants reaching Europe in recent months.

Figures from the EU's border agency show the numbers attempting

to cross from North Africa have risen particularly sharply.

Our world affairs correspondent, Paul Adams, reports.

Dramatic pictures from across the EU this week.

In one of Spain's North African enclaves,

migrants celebrated after scaling the border fence in their hundreds.

In the French port of Calais, scenes of anger as the authorities moved

And all year, tales of terror and death as migrants try to reach

It is all part of a new surge of illegal migration into Europe.

Along the main route from Libya into Italy, more than 25,000

migrants arrived in the first four months of this year.

The Italian government says that number has now surged almost 40,000.

There are several other routes with smaller numbers, but the total

for this year is probably now in the region of 60,000.

At this rate, the numbers could rival 2011,

when tens of thousands of Tunisians and sub-Saharan Africans fled north

According to the EU's Borders Agency,

if the current trends continue, and with the summer months approaching,

there is a strong likelihood that the numbers will increase further.

So where are the migrants coming from?

A glance at the faces we saw this week gives you some idea.

From West Africa to South Asia, they come from far and wide.

The largest groups all from Syria, Eritrea and Afghanistan.

Experts say we shouldn't be surprised or alarmed.

As long as we have these major conflicts in Syria, now Ukraine,

Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, Nigeria, now Egypt, you name it.

As long as these numbers won't go away, a very small number,

surprisingly small number of people will need to seek shelter.

Small numbers in relative terms, but it seems too much for Europe to cope

with. Bitterly complained it is spending almost ?250,000 a day

patrolling its patch of the Mediterranean. -- Italy complained.

And in this Spanish enclave, the authorities are putting up new tents

in an already overcrowded immigration centre. The police keep

a night on new hopefuls. Some of Europe's most economically

challenged countries are bearing the brunt of this new wave of migration.

And it is at a time when election results suggest that Europe is less

tolerant of migration. The family of two teenaged girls who

were gang raped and hanged from a tree in northern India have

accused police of ignoring They say it took officers 12 hours

to respond when they reported Police have now arrested three men,

including a policeman accused Our correspondent Divya

Arya sent this report. It was a heart-wrenching scene. One

that the village did not expect to wake up to. Two teenage cousins who

had gone missing the night before were found dead. Their bodies were

hanging from a mango tree. The girls were aged just 14 and 15. Offices in

the north Indian state of utter predation so the girls were attacked

by three men -- Attar Pradesh. The father of one of the victims spoke

to the media at the village. He said, we were ready to go to the

police station, the police officer came to me and said that the girls

are hanging from a tree. The policeman at the local outpost

shooed him away when he asked for help in locating the missing girls.

His complaint has now landed one policeman in jail, and the search is

on for the other. TRANSLATION: Whatever happened, it was very

wrong. We are fully prepared and we are with Victors' family. We will

take action against the culprit. Insensitivity of the police towards

victims of rape remains a huge problem in India. Political parties

even came together to bring stricter anti-rape laws after the brutal

murder of a Delhi student two years ago, but the issue has fallen off

their agenda since. Since the attack, the number of reported cases

of rape and sexual assault in Delhi has gone up sharply. The latest

figures from the National crime records bureau show that the roots

of almost doubled, from 706 to 1330 cases, and reported cases of sexual

assault have almost quadrupled, from 700 to seven to 2844 in the years

since the brutal attack. The official figures say that a rapist

reported every 22 minutes, but that is likely to be the tip of the

iceberg, because there is such huge stigma and fear for women attached

to reporting rate in that country. The focus of the media is firmly on

this case. News trucks have descended on the village, and the

people hope that this will help them to inch forward on the long road to

justice. There's further pressure

on the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, to decide whether or not

to readmit Lord Rennard following his apology to four women who

accused him of sexual harassment. Lord Steel, a former Lib Dem leader,

has entered the row, saying Lord Rennard's suspension

should now be lifted. Let's speak to our political

correspondent Carole Walker. A terrible week for Nick Clegg, and

now more pressure on him? Yes, this makes it even harder for him to end

the turmoil in his party. What has happened is that Lord Rennard has at

last said that he would like to make a sincere apology to four women who

complained of sexual harassment. He said he may well have encroached on

their personal space, although that would have been inadvertent. As he

said, supporters like Lord steel, and former Liberal leader, said that

he should be back into the party. But the women are not happy with the

tone of his apology and say that he should be thrown out. So you have to

directly conflicting views within the party, and a row that will

rumble on. And when should we expect of this vision on this? Part of the

problem for Nick Clegg is that this is really out of his hands. I am

assured that this is all down to one of the Lib Dems' disciplinary panel

to decide what will happen to Lord Rennard, and the leadership has no

say in it. There is no indication so far of how long this is game to

take, and while that does continue to be unresolved, it just makes it

even harder for Nick Clegg, who is already coping with the aftermath of

diet election results, the attempt to an seating, the attempted coup,

that by Lord Oakeshott, and it makes it harder for him to be build the

shattered morale and reputation of his party. Thank you very much.

Part of a hotel in Londonderry has been badly

damaged by a fire bomb which went off while an army bomb disposal team

The device was thrown into the reception area of the

Police say quick thinking by hotel staff helped prevented a tragedy.

Guests have been taken to other hotels in the city.

The children's charity the NSPCC says there's been a 50% increase

in the number of emotional abuse cases that it's referring to police

It says more than 8,000 people contacted its anonymous helpline

about emotional neglect and abuse over the past year.

Our correspondent Ben Geoghegan reports.

When a child is screened out for spilling a drink, or is the victim

of years of verbal attacks from a cruel parent, it is emotional rather

than physical abuse. The NSPCC says its helpline has seen a big increase

in calls from adults who have witnessed such behaviour. What the

in calls from adults who have parents are saying is they are using

foul language, language I parents are saying is they are using

at a football match even, parents are saying is they are using

strong language. It is the tone of the voice, and that is the severity

of the shouting, and it is the shouting at them and in their faces.

It really is a verbal battering. The charity's anonymous helpline

offering advice to adults worrying about a child has this year helped

more offering advice to adults worrying

about a child than 8000 people who suspected child might be suffering

from emotional neglect and abuse. Almost 5500 of those reports were

judged so serious, they were referred to local authorities.

That's an increase of almost 50% compared with 3600 cases the year

before. I think it is difficult to say that there is more emotional

abuse about now than there was five or ten years ago. I think that the

awareness and understanding of the mental health and well-being and its

importance is rising, and we are talking about it more. The NSPCC

says the outrage but abuse of children like four-year-old Daniel

Pelka, starved and beaten by his mother and her boyfriend for months

before he died, may have raised awareness and triggered the big

increase in calls. The Government is considering a change to the law so

that the mistreatment. Child protection

experts say the changes necessary in order to deal with parents who

consistently deny their children love and affection.

Our top story this lunchtime: a significant "change of direction"

for the NHS in England - the new boss talks of an end to "mass

centralisation" and an expansion of local services. And still to come:

for the love of the game - after four years away from cricket,

Freddie Flintoff is back playing for Lancashire. Later on BBC London:

former England captain Steve Borthwick plays his last game of

rugby, but could Saracens see silverware after disappointment in

about his many years in the business.

The formal campaign period for Scotland's independence referendum

has begun. Four million voters will decide on 18th September if they are

to remain part of the United Kingdom. From today, spending limits

will be imposed on both sides, and broadcasters will have to observe

strict impartiality. Our Scotland correspondent, Lorna Gordon, is in

Yes, these final 16 weeks of campaigning in Scotland will be

tightly regulated. The limits on campaign spending are

extremely strict. It has already been quite a free bra atmosphere

here from both sides in this debate, those who believe in the union -- it

has been a feed bra atmosphere. And the argument is likely to be more

heated. In areas like Fife, every single vote will be hotly contested.

There has never been anything quite like this before, a referendum

on whether Scotland stays in the UK or becomes independent.

Campaigning on both sides is already up and running.

The arguments have occasionally been heated and often high profile.

There have been ads in national newspapers

Up till now, there has been no limit on the amount being spent,

but today the formal rules kick in and campaign finance limits apply.

We want to make sure the process is well run, the debate is good

and people keep within the rules, and therefore the voter can vote

on 18th September with confidence that it has been a fair process.

People living in Scotland are eligible, as are Scots

in the armed forces overseas, but who are registered to vote at home.

Scots living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are not

For the first time in any UK poll, Scots aged 16

The question being asked is, should Scotland be an independent country?

The voting options are straightforward, yes or no.

More than a dozen organisations have already

registered with the electoral commission, the lead campaign groups

as well as political parties and activists from both sides.

They will now be bound by their rules, required to show

the source of their campaign money and account for how it is spent.

This is now the final 16 weeks of the referendum campaign.

Well, if the count goes smoothly, 16 weeks today, we will find out which

direction Scotland will take, whether the electorate has decided

Scotland should become independent or whether the electorate has

decided that Scotland should remain as part of the union. Today, the

Scottish parliament's presiding officer, a neutral figure, said

Scotland is proving an inspiration to other countries in the way this

debate is being handled. She also said the country will come together

after the referendum regardless of the result.

Google has set up a service which allows people living in Europe to

ask for online links relating to their personal life to be removed

from search results. The European Court of Justice ruled earlier this

month that links to outdated or irrelevant data should be erased on

request. Google has said it will comply with the decision, but has

warned that it could damage innovation. Well, with me is our

technology correspondent, Rory Cellan Jones.

Just explain how this will work? This form is already online. You

have to say who you are and prove your identity with a passport

picture or something. Give details of the links you want removed, and

why. Google has made it clear that there will be severe limits on what

can be removed. If you have been involved in a fraud, it will not

look kindly on that. I have spoken to somebody who is already filling

in the form. He says he lost his job when his employer googled and found

a previous drink-driving conviction. He wants that erased,

although he accepted that it was unlikely to happen. But he says this

gives people like him a second chance. Potentially, it is an

enormous task, isn't it? Absolutely enormous. Google already had

thousands of requests for this form went up, and I am sure there will be

many more. A huge bureaucratic problem. How do they decide, and if

a decision goes against the person asking, they can then take it to

their local data protection person, in our case the information

Commissioner, who may then issue for rulings. So it is a great big

bureaucratic process which some say will not deliver for much for people

in the long run. There's been a big increase in the

number of households in England and Wales falling into debt because

they're paying back tax credits given to them by mistake. Citizens

Advice says overpayment problems have affected nearly 30,000

households, a rise of 14%. But HM Revenue and Customs says many errors

are because people haven't told them about a change in their

circumstances. Our Local Government Correspondent, Mike Sergeant

reports. Maureen Grosvenor's husband

walked out two years ago. The tax credits were always paid

into his account, but the authorities weren't told

about the change in family circumstances, and last year she

received a shock bill for over Revenue and Customs accepted

a mistake had been made, and cancelled most of the debt,

but only after months of worry. I was depressed and everything,

I didn't know which way to turn. I was going out

of my mind with worry about it. I just couldn't afford

to pay them back. I thought, they'll have

to send me to prison. Working Tax Credits are designed to

boost the earnings of those on lower incomes who clock up

a certain number of hours. Depending on their circumstances,

those with dependent children may Citizens Advice says it has seen

a sharp increase in the number who were paid too much

and then find themselves with Tax credits are intended to help

people with a bit of financial support, but we are

finding it working the other way, tax credits being overpaid to

families and then they get But the Government say that many

debts happen because people fail to tell the authorities of changes

in circumstances. Revenue and Customs says it offers

support online and on the phone for extra support making a claim. Mike

Sergeant, BBC News. New guidance is to be given to

teachers in England and Wales on how to tackle homophobic bullying in

schools. The Crown Prosecution Service is providing an educational

pack which will teach students about the impact bullying has on people.

The move comes after a survey showed that more than half of lesbian and

gay pupils experience bullying. The coffin of Stephen Sutton, the

teenager who raised millions of pounds for the Teenage Cancer Trust,

will be removed from Lichfield Cathedral today for a private burial

service. Last night, thousands of people gathered to celebrate the

life of the 19-year-old fundraiser. Our correspondent Jenny Hill

reports. It has become a mark of respect, and

a symbol of hope. The thumbs up gesture, used so often by Stephen

Sutton, the teenager who set out to raise ?10,000 for charity and made 4

million. Perhaps this public gesture comes as no surprise. In the words

of one tribute, Stephen's attitude to cancer and indeed to life

inspired and motivated more people than we can count. But they have

come in their thousands to say goodbye, queueing last night for the

chance to reflect and remember a young man who it was said chose to

light a candle, not curse the darkness. One young friend told us,

Stephen was always ready to listen. It was about two months after we

found out his cancer was terminal, and about a week after I lost my

father. He spent the day with me and did not mention his cancer once. He

was just so supportive and lovely. I can imagine him smiling at all the

fuss being made. Yeah, I don't think he wanted all the fuss, he just

wanted to he wanted all the fuss, he just

tough times. I am working to he wanted all the fuss, he just

nurse, so I work with a lot of patients that are dealing with

cancer everyday. It is nice to pass on his story to them, help them get

through it. For now, the vigil continues. Stephen's funeral will be

held in private this afternoon. Jenny Hill, BBC News, Lichfield.

The former England cricket captain Andrew Flintoff is returning to the

game after a five-year absence. Lancashire say the 36-year-old will

play in this season's T20 tournament, and could make an

appearance in next Friday's match against Yorkshire. Our sports

This report contains flash photography.

It was one of the defining images of England's glorious ashes of 2005,

Freddie Flintoff leading the celebrations after helping end his

country's 19 year wait to lift the urn. He was the heartbeat of the

side. His wickets and runs turned England around. They lost the Ashes

under his captaincy, but he defied the medics to win them back in 2009,

before surgery to his knee finally forced him to retire, or so he

thought. I am 36. People say it is a brave call, it is not. I am playing

cricket, I am not in Afghanistan with the troops. I am not battling

illness. That is brave. TV game shows and celebrity lifestyle have

consumed Flintoff for the past shows and celebrity lifestyle have

years. He has tried to satisfy his competitive drive away from

cricket. He fought as a heavyweight only 18 months ago, winning on his

professional boxing debut, but that was a

professional boxing debut, but that dwindled as his love of the game. It

has been five years and is Flintoff dwindled as his love of the game. It

lasts one a bat or bowl. He says he cannot be sure how he will perform,

but he can be sure that when he steps out here with his Lancashire

team-mates next week, there will be plenty of fans here who want to know

if he has got it. So is this just a marketing ploy to help sell tickets?

We wanted to see that the cricketing quality would be there before we

embark on this. If it brings a few more people into the game and adds

more interest, that is great, more people into the game and adds

is cricket that is at the top of the list. Lankan shirt -- Lancashire

says Dent and list. Lankan shirt -- Lancashire

in selection is Flintoff looks to reconsider -- recapture the old

magic. A wildlife park

in China has been showing off three It is thought there are

less than 100 worldwide. They have made a close friend

already at the park in Hangzhou, a Manchurian tiger cub who was born

just a day after the lions. Time for a look at the weather. As

it turned? Well, this morning in northern Scotland, we saw clear

skies. It was really quite cold in Balmoral. But clear skies overnight

mean lots of sunshine through the day. There is confirmation of the

Sunni story in the north of Scotland. But as you can see,

inland, there is a lot of cloud. Essentially a dry story for many. It

should brighten up along the eastern coast of England. It is a dry day,

with light winds. In the north of Scotland, we keep a good deal of

sunshine. Along the eastern coast, just that it fresher. Northern

Ireland is doing well for the afternoon. More cloud across

northern England and generally across England and Wales, but some

spells of sunshine down the eastern coast. Even if you are quite cloudy,

you might get the odd spot of drizzle, but that is the exception

rather than the rule. There are some showers moving through, but not the

thundery ones we saw yesterday. In the evening, most places will be

fine and dry. Some eastern parts of England have holes in the cloud, so

temperatures will dip into single figures. But most of us have double

figures and stay dry. And it is looking quite for the weekend. High

pressure is the dominant feature, so we are dry for the most part. The

best of the sunny spells will be across northern Scotland. There will

be a breeze coming in from the water, so a bit cooler around the

immediate coast. But for most of us, despite the cloud cover, it will be

warmer than today. The second part of the weekend is also looking good

for most of us. There was a slight complication in the north-west with

this weather front moving through. But the bulk of the UK should have a

decent day. You might catch a shower across eastern parts of England

through Sunday afternoon, but many places are looking at a couple of

decent days through the weekend. Some spells of sunshine, but also a

bit of rain. The rain on Sunday will be confined to the far north and

west. Most of us will get a couple of days over the weekend.

A reminder of our top story: A significant change in direction for

the NHS in England. The new boss talks of an end to mass

centralisation and of an expansion of local services.

That is it from all of