04/12/2012 BBC News at Six

George Osborne is preparing a �5 billion investment drive in

tomorrow's mini budget. But the Chancellor will get the money by

making extra cuts in spending. The Government says the savings will be

spent on building projects. Let's put that money into things that

will make a difference in our economy - more roads, more school

buildings, more infrastructure. is welcome that they have admitted

that they are deep cuts, particularly to Building Schools to

the future in 2010 with the wrong decision.

Also on tonight's programme: William makes another visit to see

Kate in hospital. Today, confirmation that there will be a

new law on succession. Putting the compassion back into

care - a new campaign to improve the way NHS patients are looked

after in hospitals. Police in the Egyptian capital fire

tear-gas after protesters march towards the presidential palace -

has last year's revolution lost its way?

A big jump in the number of people sleeping rough - we spend a night

with some of those made homeless in the economic downturn. It is crazy.

It is not good. And Where does all our money go? A new

study says we are spending more on food and cutting back clothes and

furniture. And I will be here with Sportsday

on the BBC News Channel, including the last game of the Champions

League this season for Man City, but will they qualify for the

Hello and welcome to the BBC News at Six. George Osborne is planning

a multi-billion pound investment drive to boost growth, but the

money will come from further cuts in government spending in England,

with knock-on effects in Scotland and Wales. In his Autumn Statement

tomorrow, the Chancellor is expected to say that �5 billion

will be spent on new schools and other infrastructure projects as

ministers try to boost economic growth. Labour said the move shows

that ministers were wrong to cut their own building plans in 2010.

Here is our political editor, Nick Robinson.

Tomorrow is a day the Chancellor is not looking forward to. It is the

day he will unveil official forecasts showing borrowing and

debt both going up, the day he will announced deeper cuts and more tax

rises. So, on the morning before that bad news to come, the Prime

Minister and his deputy went to school to unveil some better news.

We are delighted to be here to see this great school. They invited the

cameras to see this classroom and to announce a billion Banbridge to

the school building programme. point of going on TV is not just to

appear on TV, it is to try to explain to people what we are doing.

What they are doing is spending over �5 billion more on investment

and paying for it by making deeper cuts to day-to-day spending.

Government departments are not actually spending up to their

budgets, so we can say to them, you have got to cut back some

unnecessary spending, and let's put that money into things that will

make a difference in our country, more roads, more school buildings,

more infrastructure. The Chancellor and his deputy are only told the

Cabinet this morning that they would be taking cash from some

departments like the Home Office to give more money to others. Today's

announcement is significant, but overall, government spending,

around �700 billion next year, will not increase. The Treasury is

simply taking �5 billion from current spending and switching it

to investment, or so-called capital spending. The result is that

Department of budgets will be cut by an extra 1% next year, although

the budges for the NHS, schools and overseas aid are still protected.

We welcome the fact that they have partially reversed their decision

of two years ago to success -- cancelled the successful Building

Schools for the Future programme, which build new schools in

communities across the country. But the education budget is shrinking

because of decisions made by this government. If today's announcement

was meant to be the good news, that is because here in the Treasury,

they know that bad news will be unveiled tomorrow by the Chancellor.

Official forecasts show borrowing going up, debt going up. The result

is that he will miss his targets, have to increase taxes and cut

spending further. It is all a long way from the Tories' election

promise to cut the debt for the next generation. And this early

pledge by the Prime Minister. five years' time, we will have

balanced the books. Will he have balanced the books in those five

years? The plans had to be revised. The outlook for the economy has

worsened. It looks likely that the Chancellor will have to announce

further spending cuts and delay balancing of the box until 2017.

short, George Osborne is about to deliver a statement he never wanted

or expected to make. Our economics editor Stephanie

Flanders is here. We have had one piece of the jigsaw today. What

else are we likely to get tomorrow? As Nick said, we have had at some

partial good news today, but that is because the Chancellor knows

there is bad news coming tomorrow. It will be centrally around growth

and boring, the two things that were at the Central the

chancellor's policies which are not going very well. If you think about

his first fiscal rule, which says he has to balance the books in five

years, it may mean that he has to have another year of austerity well

into the next Parliament to meet that rule. And he may have to

abandon the other well, the one that says the total stock of debt

must be falling in 2015. I think we will get a lot of fleshing out of

the implications of that tomorrow for future welfare cuts and tax

rises. And the Chancellor will be trying to show that he can do

something to support growth without further damaging his credibility.

But the more he goes down that road, the more the opposition will say,

why didn't you do it before? You can find out more on what to

expect from the chancellor's Autumn Prince William has spent most of

the day at the King Edward VII Hospital in central London, where

Kate is being treated for a severe form of morning sickness. This

afternoon, the Government confirmed that a new law will be passed soon,

ensuring that their baby will be third in line to the throne

regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl. Our royal correspondent,

Nicholas Witchell, is outside the hospital.

As you said, William left the hospital a couple of minutes ago.

We can show you the pictures of him leaving. There is flash photography

here. He has been at the hospital for more than six hours today. When

he left, he looked more relaxed this evening than he was this

morning and certainly last night. My impression is that Kate's

condition has settled down today. We may get further guidance on that

shortly. Whatever the accuracy of that, the fact is that this is not

playing out in anything like the way that the couple themselves

would have wanted. It is an essentially private moment

being played out very publicly. William joined his wife at her

bedside. The hospital said absolutely nothing, yet in the

street outside, there is an international news media in

overdrive. We saw Prince William arrive here. The few facts there

are having to go a long way. From ones are of the club to be other,

this pregnancy is headline news. Prince William just arrived at

Kate's bedside after the huge announcement that a Royal Air is on

the way. At a rather more stately pace at Buckingham Palace, the

Queen was doing what she always does, carrying on with business as

usual. Today it was an investiture. But privately, she will be being

kept in touch about Kate's condition. One important piece of

news for the couple today - the government confirmed that it will

be moving quickly to pass a law ensuring that if their first child

as a girl, she will definitely be third in line to the throne. She

will not be passed over by any younger brother. The old-fashioned

rules where only a boy could become making and if his elder sister was

not allowed to, those rules are being swept aside. There will be an

updating of the rules that many will welcome. By at at a hospital,

royal gynaecologist Alan Farthing, on the left, was spotted. He is

leading the treatment of the acute nausea that Kate is experiencing.

Others who have had the same condition say it can be extremely

debilitating. It is one of the worst things I have ever gone

through, bar none. It puts your body through limits you never

thought you had. There were times when I felt like my body had been

poisoned. So for William, but particularly for Kate, these are

testing days. But they will know they have the support of their

families, each other and millions of people they have never met.

Just to recap, William left the hospital tonight just before 6

o'clock, looking more relaxed than he was before. Are still no

guidance, though, on how long the A crown court judge has been

officially reprimanded after he told a burglar during sentencing

that his crimes took "a huge amount of courage". Judge Peter Bowers

made the comments at Teesside Crown Court in September. David Cameron

at the time said that burglars were Police in the Egyptian capital,

Cairo, have fired tear-gas after protesters broke their lines and

marched towards the presidential palace. There have been several

demonstrations in Egypt over the last week involving supporters and

opponents of the country's president, Mohammed Morsi. It

follows a new decree which gives the President a raft of new powers.

Jon Leyne is in Cairo now. Is all the hope of last year fading away

now? There are certainly a lot of very angry people in Egypt. This

confrontation happened at a demonstration by opponents of

President Morsi. They say he has become a dictator like President

Mubarak, by taking sweeping new powers and trying to rush through a

new constitution. As they marched on the Palace this afternoon, they

broke through the police lines and broke through some barbed wire. And

the police seemed to be losing control. They fired tear-gas at a

crowd of demonstrators converging on the palace. At one point, the

demonstrators even commandeered a police car and drove it up and down

the street outside. To put this in perspective, we never saw scenes

like this even during the revolution against President

Mubarak. I never saw the Palace come under siege like this. The

difference now is that the country is deeply divided between

supporters and opponents of the president.

Within the past hour, NATO has approved Turkey's request for

Patriot anti-missile systems to bolster its defence against strikes

from neighbouring Syria. The US built missiles, officials say,

would be programmed so that they could only intercept Syrian weapons

that have crossed into Turkey's airspace. Inside Syria itself,

there was more fighting between government forces and rebels. Syria

has been warned that any use of chemical weapons would be met with

an international response. Syria has said it would never use them

against civilians. The chief nursing officer for

England has called for greater compassion within the NHS in

response to worries about neglect and abuse at some hospitals. Jane

Cummings is starting a campaign to try to reassure the public, and

described patient neglect as a betrayal of the nursing profession.

Providing compassionate care should be one of the most basic functions

of the National Health Service, but a series of critical reports have

highlighted that there are still too many places where the quality

of care is poor or even unsafe. Maria and her family have seen the

results of poor care first hand. Four years ago, her father was

admitted to hospital with a suspected broken hip. But after

just a few weeks on the ward, his condition had deteriorated and he

was dying. They let us down. For once in his life, he needed a bit

of help, and they did not give it to him. He was not ready to die, my

father. He was fit as a fiddle. He used to walk about, go on holiday.

Used to do gardening, visit his sons and daughters. They let us all

down. And there are many more cases. So, to address the criticism, the

Government has launched an official response, compassion in practice, a

three-year strategy for nursing in England. It includes new ways of

measuring patient feedback, getting trusts to review their culture of

care and staffing levels and concentrating on the values held by

staff, not just their technical skills. In some places, nurses are

working under huge pressure. In other places, there are extra

demands. It is about looking at what we know works well in some

organisations and spreading that good practice. Sir what is it that

makes a good nurse and can values like compassion be taught? Here at

Salford Royal, they have been consistently praised for the high

quality of care they provide. How are they getting it right when

others fail? Ward matrons like Charlotte play a vital role,

setting an example, providing leadership, developing skills, but

mainly simply caring. Always remember that a patient is a real

person. That could be your neighbour, your colleague, your

relative. Treat them as if they are precious. The new plans will affect

nurses, midwives and care staff across England, but the Royal

College of Nursing says the key is having the right number of trained

staff. You need the infantry, the people on the ground, to do the job.

If you don't, it will fail. ageing population with more

complicated health problems plus tight finances is straining the

health service, buff but there is also pressure for good quality,

compassionate care in all parts of Our top story: George Osborne is

preparing a �5 billion investment dries in tomorrow's mini budget.

Coming up: Newspaper editors at a Downing Street summit is -- are

told that the clock is ticking. Government says it will change the

way that money is raised to finance public projects. And at TUI Travel,

billion pounds profits but no Homelessness in England has risen

by almost a quarter according to new figures. The economic squeeze

and a shortage of housing are contributing to more people

sleeping rough and seeking housing from local authorities. That is

according to the charity Crisis. They say young people have been

In London, there is plenty for tourists to see. But some sites go

largely ignored. Bundled up for the night, the homeless population of

the capital. They are here because they cannot find anywhere else to

live. They say, have you got a place? At it, move on from there.

according to a new report, the number of people sleeping rough in

London has increased by 23% over the past year. The Homelessness

Monitor says there are over 5500 people sleeping on the city streets

last year. The economy has been a major factor and there are concerns

about the numbers growing. We are particularly worried about the

suggestion from the Prime Minister himself that they are going to take

away housing benefit for young people under the age of 25. That is

going to be disastrous, frankly. Not everyone made homeless ends up

on the streets, needing support to properly feed and clothe them.

jacket is falling apart. But in the economic downturn, charities are

worried about the safety net of benefits, particularly for young

people. You are right to flag up that under 25s, particularly those

from broken homes, we do need to address that and we are looking

carefully to see we get that right. But we have to help everybody

around here and that means thinking carefully about the causes and not

just lack of accommodation. Alan volunteers of this church in

Romford, helping the homeless. But he found himself on the streets

after losing his job and a marriage breakdown. I lived in a cardboard

box. It's a vicious circle, if you can't get a home then you can't get

a job. If you can't get a job, you can't find somewhere to live. It

spirals. Trying to find a job in this climate is very hard. There is

real pressure Ron services and need for more housing. Over the last

year, there has been a marked increase in the number of

households accepted as being homeless by councils in England.

Helping those that end up sleeping rough can be complex. Some have

addictions, others mental health problems. All face the harsh

reality of winter. It's freezing. You wake up in the morning, it's

not good. In Scotland, new legislation is giving everyone made

homeless through no fault of their own the right to accommodation. But

getting people out of cardboard and into houses is a major channel --

challenge everywhere. The Prime Minister has told the

editors of Britain's leading newspapers that the clock is

ticking and they must set up an independent regulator in the wake

of the Leveson Inquiry. Lord Leveson said any new system had to

be backed by a law, something that the editors are against. Culture

Secretary Maria Miller said that the industry would be reporting

back with a new plan in two days. They don't show themselves to the

cameras often, but these are the men and women who run our national

newspapers. Today, they were summoned to Downing Street to be

told to get their house in order. If they don't come up with a new

independent press watchdog, the Government will use the law to set

one up itself. They've got to do it in a way that after that he meets

the requirements of raw Justice Leveson's report. That means

million-pound fines, proper investigation of complaints,

prominent apologies, a tough independent regulatory system. They

know, because I told them, that the clock is ticking for this to be

sorted out. After less than an hour inside they left, saying that they

have got the message. We are going to get an independent system of

self-regulation that is going to be tough. The basic message to us was

to get on with it. They told us to go away and come up with that

constructive plan. How can the public have confidence that the

editors, together, will actually deliver this? Because it is

endorsed by Parliament. It's no use asking us to come up with proposals

on our own. The press backed the Leveson plan for a new independent

regulator with a tough code of conduct and the power to impose

fines and apologies. But they say a separate watchdog to oversee the

press regulator must be independent of government and they say

legislation is not needed to underpin the system. Much of today

was pure theatre. The Prime Minister wanted to show he is

cracking the whip, the editors wanted to show they are willing to

act. It is now clear that some kind of press watchdog is going to be

set up. Yes, there are still differences over who will sit on it,

how they will be chosen, who will pay for it, but all sides insist

those can be overcome. For campaigners outside Downing Street

and victims of the press meeting the Labour leader, that is not

enough. What the victims are saying is that we have heard good

intentions before but they have essentially drained away and we

have ended up back where we started. They have suffered abuse and they

want to see real legislation which can ensure that we have independent,

self regulation, it guaranteed in law. The editors meet again

tomorrow and are promising detailed proposals by Christmas. But they

and David Cameron will be judged not by they propose but by what

In Scotland, MSPs have also been discussing press regulation. Alex

Salmond said that he believed the press should set up its own body,

but that it ought to be underpinned by Scottish legislation. Press

regulation is a responsibility of this Parliament. There have been

victims of press malpractice in Scotland and there is a separate

legal framework that operates in Scotland that Lord Justice

Leveson's set out in the first paragraph of his report. That is

surely unarguable. We require to make in Scotland, using the

expertise that we have in terms of Scots law, a significant response

to his recommendations. Let's talk about that to allow Scotland

Correspondent Lorna Gordon. Is there any chance of a cross-party

consensus in Scotland? The debate at Holyrood this afternoon was

unusually subdued and thoughtful. Certainly, the words of cross-party

working, the theme of cross-party consensus was bandied around. It

was a common theme. I think it will prove rather more difficult to

achieve. Alex Salmond talks of a self-regulated body with a

statutory underpinning. But he sees it very much as a Scottish solution,

partly because press regulation is devolved to Scotland. Secondly

because, as he sees it, Scots law is very, very different. The

problem is that the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats would like to

see a UK-wide body. The Conservatives are still holding out

for a voluntary code. Some way to go before consensus is reached.

Do you know how much your family spends every week and on what? The

latest figures suggest that average spending hit �488 per week last

year, a record amount. It is �10 per week more than household

spending in 2010 and is largely down to the rising costs of fuel,

food and housing. Catherine Bright has two children

and a husband who is a teacher. Last year, a typical family spent

�483 per week, up �10 a week on the year before. When you heard that

figure, what did you think? I think that is quite a lot to be spending

each week on your household budget. I don't think we would spend that

much money. We would try to cut back, I think. Housing, fuel and

power now costs �63.30 a week, �2.90 on the previous year. Energy

bills have risen as well. In this house it means cutting back on a

lot to pay for vital things. have to be careful what we spend on

food. Petrol prices, running a car, we had to get rid of our second car

because we couldn't afford to run two. Heating the house, we had to

turn the temperature down. We had to be more careful about how hot we

had the house to keep our bills down. The problem is that wages

have not kept pace with inflation. Spending may be going up, but I

don't think people are getting more for their money. What is happening

is that they are simply having to spend more to keep still, to have

the same things they have always had. That is about inflation and

costs rising. Entertaining then aged four might not seem too

expensive. But recreation and culture costs just under �64 per

week, an annual rise of �5.80. Getting around in his voluntary

church group might not be too pricey, but out in the real-world

transport is up 80p, to �65.70 a week. Even buses and things like

that, they seem to be regularly hiking up the cost of tickets.

You've got to be a bit more careful. I do walk more now. Food and non-

alcoholic drinks are also costing more. The weekly bill is now on

average �54.80. It's all and welcome financial burdens,

especially at this time of year. -- unwelcome financial burdens.

Crisp sunshine tomorrow, but between now and then a cold night

with Frost and problems with ice. Wet weather to come overnight, rain,

sleet and snow. In Scotland, a band of sleet and snow working south,

following on with heavy snow showers in western Scotland. Hail

and then there is moving through England as the evening continues.

This area of sleet and snow is working through England and Wales

later in the night. Temperatures close to freezing, that is why we

are concerned about ice tomorrow morning. Let's take a look at

things for early risers across parts of Wales, central and

southern England. A lot of cloud around and this messy mixture of

sleet and snow is moving south. Don't be surprised if you drive

through some of this, especially on the elevations. There might be some

slight slushy accumulations. To the north of all of that, after the

overnight wet-weather with Frost, also the ice. That will be pretty

widespread into the morning. Snow showers in north and north-east

Scotland. On the hills we could see five or 10 centimetres. The wintry

showers run-down England during the day. Inland, the North York Moors,

the wintry showers reach down into Norfolk. By the afternoon, glorious

sunshine as that clears away. But it is cold. After dark tomorrow it

will turn really cold. Temperatures will plummet. Cold air in play,

wet-weather coming in from the West on Thursday. Running into that,

some sleet and snow on this leading edge for a time before turning into

rain in the north. In the south, rain with a strengthening wind.

There are weather warnings in force from The Met Office. More details

Tonight's main news: George Osborne is preparing a �5 billion

investment drive in tomorrow's mini budget. And Prince William has