08/02/2017 BBC News at Six

The patients waiting more than a hundred days to be

The BBC reveals the depth of the crisis.

Hospitals in England under pressure, as councils struggle

It is probably the most worrying time in social care

that I've ever known in 20 years.

Eileen Kirton was lucky to get a place in care.

Otherwise she faced weeks more in hospital.

I thought, I'm never going to come out of there, and I was getting

A leaked text message that has Labour asking questions.

Is this evidence of a sweetheart deal between ministers and a Tory

Denise Brewster wins a legal battle on pensions that

The socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson is found dead in her flat.

People like you caused the plague in London.

Alan Simpson, the writer behind TV classic Steptoe and Son has died.

In the sport on BBC News, the Tinker man returns. Claudio Ranieri makes

changes for the game tonight. Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six. The BBC has uncovered fresh evidence

of the length of time some patients remain in hospital waiting to be

discharged, often because of a lack Half of the acute hospitals in

England told us about their longest delays in discharging

medically fit patients. Over the last three years,

130 patients spent a hundred days The longest delay was in

Mid-Yorkshire, where one patient And today a report by

the Government's spending watchdog has warned that plans to ease

pressure on the NHS by joining up health and social

care, aren't working. Our Social Affairs Correspondent,

Alison Holt, has been looking This is the road back to some sort

of independence for 85-year-old She's just spent more

than a month in hospital after I wasn't eating

and it took me all my time to drink because

I was frightened. The danger was she would be stuck

in an expensive hospital bed waiting for the care

she needed to cope at home. I was isolated in a little

room all by myself. I thought I'm never going

to come out of here. But she was moved

to this special flat with care on hand, without it

she could have been in hospital for council and the NHS locally are

working together to ease pressures. I feel as if they are helping me

to get my strength back. But North Yorkshire is a large rural

county with an ageing population. Despite investing in new services

like many authorities highlighted in today's

National Audit Office report, the council is struggling

with the sheer demand for care. And delays in getting people out

of hospital have increased. At Harrogate Hospital it is social

worker Carol Burdon who has to organise the community

support needed. There is a drive to get them out

as soon as possible, but then you have to do that

liaising with families, any community nurses

or anyone that needs to be it can be quite hard to coordinate

that care and find the care. The ambitions of the council plan

or all about better outcomes for all North Yorkshire residents

despite reductions in local It is North Yorkshire

councillors and officials who have to find the money to pay

for a lot of that care. They are raising council tax,

but this conservative and authority is adamant a long-term

solution has to be found. I am too greatly

disappointed that the government hasn't seen fit to

provide genuinely new money when it Seven years ago this

council spent about a third of its budget on providing

care and support for people who are But now the cost of adult

social care is heading towards half of its budget,

with demand still increasing. And that is at the heart

of the problems they We will continue to plan

ahead for the future. We will continue to

prioritise social care. Social care is a much

bigger proportion of our budget. But it is probably the most worrying

time in social care that I And at each stage the care system

is showing signs of the pressure. And of course we have got this

evening's handover at 7:15pm. At this Harrogate home

care provider they are arranging support

for new council funded clients. But on the wages they are

able to pay it can be a struggle to compete

with supermarkets for staff. You are driving from

place to place, you're in your own vehicle,

and it is easier to be in one place. Now, that might be

a nursing home or it might And I think the only thing,

you know, carers are not paid enough, you know,

for the service that And people like 62-year-old Jenny

Dent rely on those care workers. She is partially

paralysed with other The four visits she gets each day

means she can remain at home. Vital support which she says

needs recognising. Value your carers,

give them more money, give them more respect and provide

more carers and adequate care for people who want to live

in their own home. The Government insists people

are benefiting from health and care services working together and that

more money is being invested. But change takes time

and for those on the front line in the

pressure is here now. Alison Holt, BBC News,

North Yorkshire. Well, social care was also the focus

of Prime Minister's Questions today, with the Labour Leader,

Jeremy Corbyn, confronting Theresa May with what he said

were leaked text messages. He accused her government

of offering Conservative-run Surrey Council what he called a "sweetheart

deal" in exchange for dropping a planned council tax rise

to cover social care bills. Here's our political

editor, Laura Kuennsberg. The file under her arm, the Prime

Minister always properly prepared with her red government folders and

read government boxes. Maybe not this time. Theresa May on her way to

weekly Prime Minister's Questions into this time a good old-fashioned

ambush. The Tory's Surrey council called off a vote on increasing

council tax just yesterday. Why? Can the Prime Minister tell the House

whether or not a special deal was done for Surrey? The decision on

whether or not to hold a referendum in Surrey is entirely a matter for

the local authority in Surrey. Was it? He was armed with leaked text is

where the council leader wrote of a government deal. Is the same

sweetheart deal on offer to every council with social care crisis

created by her government? He comes with all sorts of claims. What you

get from Labour are alternative facts. Not quite what she was asked.

It absolutely goes against the grain for us to impose an increase in

taxation. The council leader seems to have thought he was having a

conversation with a government adviser. He wrote...

The numbers you indicated are the numbers I understand are acceptable

for me to accept and call of the art, the referendum. Really want to

kill this off. David Hodge. It is believed he sent them by mistake to

a Labour leader will stop a lot more awkward than text message finger

trouble. It is a Tory safe haven. Labour can claim central government

has done favours for friends. Yesterday, when the leader called

off the referendum, he hinted at a wider deal. Sometimes it is best to

say nothing. Sometimes I cannot say too much but I am much more

confident now about the future. I think the Government recognises that

adult social care is a national issue and we need to look at all

tentative ways of funding it. This meant to reason me was on the back

foot in the House of Commons. One senior council leader said it

smacked of the worst kind of political cronyism. It has turned

minds again to the pressing question of how we pay to care for the

elderly. Ministers say privately they are looking hard for a

solution. In public there is not much evidence yet. Without an

answer, the Government faces much more than a little local difficulty.

Alison Khalili have told the story of one macro council. This is a

national problem. The I saw in North Yorkshire and Surrey are ones you

will find again and again in authorities around the country. What

is interesting about these two authorities is they are Tory

heartlands. North Yorkshire prides itself on keeping a good budget and

investing for the future. They have an ageing population and they are

feeling the pain and are worried about the future. Today we have at

the National Audit Office saying the better care fund is not releasing

the fans it expected. There are concerns about the pressures that.

The Government says it is early days and it will work out. It also says

it is not just about money because some authorities do better than

others. We have looked at delayed discharges in England but different

systems elsewhere in the UK have made it difficult for us to make

direct comparisons with what is happening there. Thank you very

much. With the kind of evidence we have

broadcast today, is becoming more and more of a political problem? It

has come up the rails very fast. Not just because of pressure from local

government but more and more MPs are seeing direct evidence from their

constituents, members of the public who are seeing these issues upfront

and inside their own families and indifferent parts of the country.

That means this is now extremely pressing. When you talk to ministers

about it behind closed doors they say a lot of work is going on. There

are -- is a long-term hunt for solutions within the Cabinet Office.

I have heard the Prime Minister is prepared to be quite radical.

Successive governments have struggled with this. With the cash

crunch for local authorities and the Democrat big crunch coming as well,

perhaps this government will have no choice but to confront it. --

demographic crunch. And for more in-depth analysis

on the pressures facing the NHS, go A woman, whose long-term partner

died without signing a form nominating her to receive his public

sector pension, has won a legal battle that could affect millions

of other unmarried couples. Denise Brewster argued

at the Supreme Court that she was the victim

of "serious discrimination". Our Ireland Correspodent,

Chris Buckler, reports. Denise Brewster had lived

with her fiance, Lenny, for ten years and they were making

plans for their future. When I look at this picture,

I think that's just how we were. He was a fun loving guy,

he had lots of friends. But in 2009, just days after

they got engaged, he died suddenly. It was such a difficult time and it

will always remain difficult for me. But I feel Lenny has

given me strength at For 15 years, Lenny worked

for Translink, which provides public transport in Northern Ireland and,

during that time, like many workers, he paid into a local

government pension scheme, which he thought would provide

some security for him But when he died, Denise

was informed she wouldn't benefit. Because Denise wasn't married,

she was told that she wasn't Her partner would have had to have

filled out this, a nomination form. She argued that that was a lawful

discrimination and today the Supreme Court ruled

in her favour. We say that she is entitled

to receive a pension and that the nomination requirement

should no longer be applied. It's a ruling that could benefit

the partners of some other public sector workers like nurses,

teachers and civil servants although that could depend

on the rules of each There are over 6 million

people across the country Many of them are in company

pension schemes, public sector pension schemes,

and they should be treated equally So I hope all pension schemes

will review their rules And the woman who fought this case

hopes it will provide greater At least I just had to defend

for myself and I had to take my hardships but,

when you have other families that have a young daughter or son

who are losing their daddy or their mummy, and then

they have the financial burden on top of that,

the inequality and the injustice And this is a judgment which perhaps

reflects changes to what the word Tara Palmer-Tomkinson,

the socialite and god-daughter of the Prince of Wales,

has been found dead The 45-year-old celebrity,

who rose to fame in the '90s, The 45-year-old celebrity,

was diagnosed with a brain Prince Charles said he was deeply

saddened by the news. Rebecca Jones looks

back at her life. Tara Palmer Tompkinson seemed to

have it all. Money, looks, and friends in high places. Here she is

at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The

goddaughter of Prince Charles, she went on holiday with the Royal

Family. Today he said he was deeply saddened by the news of her death.

She became a regular fixture on catwalks, red carpets come in gossip

columns and on magazine front covers. Known as an it girl, in 2002

she appeared on the reality television show I'm A Celebrity Get

Me Out Of Here. Where she played up her party image. Who is taking me to

dinner? But fame had a darker side. Tara Palmer Tompkinson had been

addicted to cocaine and at one point she spent ?400 a day on the drug. On

the same programme she spoke about her habit. In the last weeks of my

using it literally was over the toilet, you know. To the most sordid

you can have as a junkie. She finished second on the show and went

on to appear on other programmes including celebrity mastermind. Do

you remain an it girl when you have become one? Certainly not. After

being diagnosed last January with a brain tumour at public appearances

by this became less frequent. I'm not the person I was, she said. The

party world scares me. Tara Palmer Tomkinson who died at the age of 45.

Patients waiting more than 100 days to be discharged from hospital in

England as consul struggle to provide social care. And still to

come... How much do you want? Have you gone raving mad? We look back at

the life of the man behind the comedy classic Hancock 's half hour,

Alan Simpson, who has died. The funeral of Baroness Rachel

Heyhoe Flint has taken place today. The former England Women's cricket

captain and Wolves vice president MPs are set to approve a bill

in the next few hours giving the Prime Minister the power

to start Brexit negotiations in a major step towards the UK

leaving the European Union. The final vote is expected to be

at 8pm tonight as our Chief Political Correspondent Vicki Young

reports. It wasn't the government's

plan for Parliament to have a say on kick-starting

Brexit negotiations. Threatened rebellions have

melted away, but today there were still concerns

about the fate of EU I wonder if today she could reassure

all our constituents that those who were born elsewhere

in the European Union but settled here in the UK,

married or in partnerships with British citizens,

could be reassured that they will Theresa May is sympathetic,

but wants guarantees for UK I intend to make it clear that

I want this to be a priority for an early stage of negotiations

so we can address this issue and give reassurance

to people concerned. MPs have fallen into line on crucial

votes, but in five hours of debates so far today,

it is clear that many are deeply It just strikes me as bizarre

that we have given up extraordinary influence over a market

of 500 million people to sail off to negotiate free-trade

deals which will not be But to others Brexit

is a liberation. Courtesy of us leaving the EU,

sterling has fallen and manufacturing in this country

is having a field day as we can see And indeed the factory

output orders. But divisions among

Conservatives have been dwarfed Many of its MPs are struggling

to obey Jeremy Corbyn's order not It is my intention to do what's

right by my constituents and by my conscience

and whatever that takes. Also I have to think

about the Labour Party. The Labour leader could be facing

more resignations from his team tonight while Theresa May Seems

to have dodged trouble. MPs are about to vote on that issue.

Tonight the government is about to clear a massive hurdle, letting the

Brexit bill passed with the common unchanged which means when the

action moves to the House of Lords and a couple of weeks it will be

much harder for them to justify taking it all apart.

The government is to close a legal route for unaccompanied child

refugees to come to the UK from Europe - after 350

Ministers agreed to what's known as the Dubs amendment last year,

amid mounting political and public pressure, but didn't set a cap

The former entertainer Rolf Harris has been found not guilty

of three counts of indecent and sexual assault.

A jury at Southwark Crown court was unable to reach verdicts on four

The allegations in this trial spanned a 40 year period

What happens to him now? The prosecution has already asked for

seven days to go and consider whether or not it wants to ask the

court whether it can have a retrial on those cars that you just

mentioned. Whether juries simply could not reach a verdict. In the

meantime Rolf Harris issued a statement in which she thanked the

jury for the care and consideration and deliberations and for clearing

him of three counts of indecent assault today. Rolf Harris has

protested his innocence throughout the trial but he did not walk out of

court today a free man. Instead he is heading back to prison because it

is there that he is already serving a sentence for indecently assaulting

four other women and girls and remember that trial was back in

2014. The Tunisian inquest has heard

that the gunman who killed 30 Britons could have been stopped

but for the negligence of the local Seiffedine Rezgui, an Islamic

extremist, was high on drugs and his phone contained instructions

on how to maximise casualties during Sarah Campbell reports

from Royal Courts of Justice. When he started shooting,

armed police were minutes away Holiday-makers stood no chance

against the gunman who had both Unchecked, he managed to cover

a distance of more than a mile. Walking from the beach,

through the hotel, and back again. According to evidence gathered

by the Tunisian judge and read out in court today,

one of the two Marine guards first on the scene did follow

Rezgui to the pool area. The guard had a gun but terrified,

he fainted and then hid A police officer said his quad bike

was slow and incapable That is why a five-minute journey

took over half an hour. And then the inquest heard

today there was the head of the tourist police in Sousse,

he was in a patrol car with three officers, armour and weapons,

just minutes away from the hotel when the call came that

the attack had started. But instead of going straight there,

he went back to the police headquarters, he said to pick

up more weapons. By the time he did get to the hotel,

the attack had finished, Every minute been vital -

one Tunisian security to intervene amounted

to simple cowardice. A Brigadier from the National Guard

said the death toll could be traced back to the negligence

of first responders. For the families and survivors,

today has provided a more detailed picture of the ways

in which they and their Sarah Campbell, BBC News,

at the Royal Courts of Justice. The comedy scripter Alan Simpson -

responsible for co-writing the hits Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe

and Sons - has died The Bafta award winner

was famous for his writing The pair developed ground breaking

sitcoms in the '60s, and wrote for the likes

of Frankie Howerd and Peter Sellers. Rebecca Jones looks

back at his life. I thought you came here to give

us some of your blood! It may be just a smear to you, mate,

but it's life and some poor wretch! The work of Alan Simpson

and Ray Galton. I don't mind giving a reasonable

amount, but a pint! And it had all begun

in Milford Chest Hospital. Alan Simpson had met Ray Galton

while recovering from TB. They started to write

for hospital radio and then sent Eventually they got

the attention of a comic. We decided what we would like to do

with Tony would be a half-hour. You know, a half-hour,

what is now called sitcom but in those days, you know,

that was an American We just call them, you know,

the half-hour, you know, storyline. Look, you can see it

going round in there. After Hancock came a one-off comedy

playhouse, The Offer, In the 60s it was so popular the BBC

were contacted by the then Labour He was worried the voters

wouldn't turn out if it was Harold thought that we wouldn't get

a turnout of the Labour voters. He wanted the BBC to put it

out after nine o'clock There was a time when their scripts

might have lasted a music hall Or as the right wing word

jugglers prefer to call it when they are in power,

a petty trade recession. Thus avoiding any

unpleasant memories... The partnership, apart

from one venture in the 90s, was essentially over

by the late 70s. It can't be much good if you've

done it that quickly! But their brand of comedy, rooted

in class and thwarted ambition, I'll be 110 by the time

you've finished! Alan Simpson, a pioneer

of the British sitcom. The scriptwriter Alan Simpson -

who's died at the age of 87. Time for a look at the weather,

here's Louise Lear. We're not done with yet. Add to the

west we had glorious sunshine today and double digit temperatures but

further eased a lot of cloud and nagging easterly wind making you

feel really cold. And that wind will win out over the next few days. Cold

air driving in some cloud and actually feel. So any showers across

the east coast through the night tonight could lead to stop icy

patches first thing in the morning. Elsewhere a cold night with a frost

brightly as well. We might just see a little glimpse of sunshine further

west in the morning but that is not going to last as more cloud moves

in. Western fringes clinging onto some sunshine but further eased it

is a different story. The wind driving in showers, Jenny wintry

across higher ground. It will fall as rain and sleet to the coast but

also some wintry flurries to the east of the Pennines and maybe even

towards the Home Counties as well. So a cold day across the east, two

or three degrees at best. Further west around four, 7 degrees. And it

is going to continue to stay cold with some sleet and snow showers

pushing further inland Thursday into Friday. Primarily on higher ground

but some even perhaps that lower level. Friday is a cold day with the

wind really digging in. A lot of cloud and a scattering of showers.

So we could see a few centimetres across higher ground but perhaps

even at lower levels of light dusting to come as well. Winter not

over yet. That's all from the BBC News at Six

- so it's goodbye from me -