31/03/2017

:00:07. > :00:10.Longer waits for hospital operations in England as the health service

:00:11. > :00:13.is forced to make a tough "trade-off".

:00:14. > :00:16.The head of NHS England says treatment is no longer guaranteed

:00:17. > :00:19.in the 18-week target time but in return there would be quicker

:00:20. > :00:43.Also this morning: As Britain prepares for Brexit,

:00:44. > :00:46.today the EU will set out its plans for two years of negotiation.

:00:47. > :00:50.Trying to save the African elephant - today, China will close almost

:00:51. > :00:52.half of its official ivory carving factories and shops.

:00:53. > :00:55.A payrise for Britain's lowest paid staff.

:00:56. > :00:58.The national minimum wage goes up to ?7.50 an hour tomorrow,

:00:59. > :01:05.but is it enough, and what does it mean for businesses?

:01:06. > :01:08.In sport, Manchester City's women are into the last four

:01:09. > :01:12.Lucy Bronze scores to book City's place in the semi-finals after a 2-0

:01:13. > :01:20.aggregate win over Danish side Fortuna Hjorring.

:01:21. > :01:22.After "the most challenging railway repair ever," today

:01:23. > :01:24.the Settle-Carlisle train line reopens to customers.

:01:25. > :01:36.Grey skies and rain might greet the day for many of you but things will

:01:37. > :01:38.brighten up quite nicely - I have details coming up and a full weekend

:01:39. > :01:39.broadcast. Patients will have to wait longer

:01:40. > :01:44.for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements,

:01:45. > :01:48.as a trade off so improvements can That's according to the Head of NHS

:01:49. > :01:52.England, Simon Stevens, who is today setting

:01:53. > :01:55.out a new strategy for Iris Ram is 96 and is recovering

:01:56. > :02:08.from a recent illness. Her GP called a local NHS service

:02:09. > :02:14.based in Nottinghamshire to give her the right care

:02:15. > :02:19.and the right place. The treatment at home has been

:02:20. > :02:23.absolutely wonderful. Iris is well cared for,

:02:24. > :02:26.a priority for the NHS, but it's acknowledged

:02:27. > :02:28.the system is under pressure, and tough financial

:02:29. > :02:31.choices are needed. Today NHS England leaders

:02:32. > :02:34.are taking stock of progress. Since their five-year plan

:02:35. > :02:43.was published in 2014. Aims set out in the new strategy

:02:44. > :02:46.include improving cancer survival rates, increased access to mental

:02:47. > :02:49.health therapies and recruitment But with limited resources it's

:02:50. > :02:56.likely to mean longer waiting times for non-urgent operations and fewer

:02:57. > :02:58.people being referred The problem is made worse

:02:59. > :03:06.by a shortage of beds. There are a significant proportion

:03:07. > :03:10.of people who don't need to be there, who don't want to be there,

:03:11. > :03:13.and if we could get them out, that would free up something

:03:14. > :03:17.like 2000 to 3000 beds in the NHS, which could be used more effectively

:03:18. > :03:19.for providing quicker Today is about setting out

:03:20. > :03:28.what is possible with the money allocated by the government

:03:29. > :03:31.to the NHS in England but, at a time of increased demand,

:03:32. > :03:34.what is not addressed is the extra funding

:03:35. > :03:37.that is needed. We'll be speaking to guests

:03:38. > :03:40.about this throughout the morning, including the President

:03:41. > :03:42.of the Royal College of Surgeons, A group of MPs have said it's

:03:43. > :03:48."unacceptable" that residents who pay their own fees at care homes

:03:49. > :03:51.in England are charged on average 43% more than those

:03:52. > :03:54.funded by the state. The Communities and Local Government

:03:55. > :03:57.Committee blames a lack of funding, which it says is threatening

:03:58. > :03:59.the viability of adult The government says it's already

:04:00. > :04:07.given councils an extra ?2 billion. The President of the European

:04:08. > :04:10.Council, Donald Tusk, will issue draft guidelines this

:04:11. > :04:13.morning, setting out how the EU wants to handle the

:04:14. > :04:14.Brexit negotiations. The proposals will then be debated

:04:15. > :04:18.by the leaders of the 27 EU member states at a summit next month,

:04:19. > :04:32.as Marta Newman reports. First there was the latter. I choose

:04:33. > :04:40.to believe in Britain and that our best days of my head. Then the

:04:41. > :04:43.Repeal Bill. As we ex at the EU and seek Addae partnership with the EU

:04:44. > :04:49.we will be doing so from a position where we have the same standards and

:04:50. > :04:53.rules. But it will also ensure that it will deliver on the promise to

:04:54. > :04:57.end the supremacy of EU law in the UK as we exit. And now just two days

:04:58. > :05:01.after the Prime Minister fired the starting gun for Brexit, we will

:05:02. > :05:08.hear how the president of the European council wants negotiations

:05:09. > :05:10.to go. There has already been disagreement over whether

:05:11. > :05:14.discussions about trade can take place at the same time as the

:05:15. > :05:18.discussions about divorce. TRANSLATION: In the negotiations we

:05:19. > :05:21.first have to sort out how we can on tangle ourselves from one another.

:05:22. > :05:27.Only when that has been settled hopefully soon after we can speak

:05:28. > :05:30.about our future relationship. Donald Tusk will issue his

:05:31. > :05:36.guidelines today before they get debated by the 27 remaining member

:05:37. > :05:40.states. Setting the tone for two years of tough negotiation and

:05:41. > :05:45.efforts to finalise the deal. The document won't be finalised until

:05:46. > :05:48.the end of April at a special summit of EU leaders.

:05:49. > :05:51.Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has signed a letter

:05:52. > :05:53.to Theresa May, formally requesting a second independence referendum.

:05:54. > :05:57.In it, she reiterates her call for a vote within the next two years.

:05:58. > :05:59.The Prime Minister has already said it won't happen before

:06:00. > :06:06.There are warnings today of a recruitment crisis if Brexit

:06:07. > :06:08.leads to immigration being severely restricted.

:06:09. > :06:10.In the first major business intervention since Theresa May began

:06:11. > :06:13.the process of Britain's divorce from the EU,

:06:14. > :06:16.the British Hospitality Association has said the industry faces

:06:17. > :06:18.a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year.

:06:19. > :06:26.Our industry correspondent John Moylan has more.

:06:27. > :06:38.Here we go. They are gearing up for the summer season. Around 40% of

:06:39. > :06:42.staff are from outside the UK. The boss says they face a recruitment

:06:43. > :06:46.crisis if Brexit causes the supply of workers to be cut off. If the

:06:47. > :06:51.Tapie is turned off straightaway that would be very difficult. We are

:06:52. > :06:55.where we are at the moment. We rely on a third of the workplace from

:06:56. > :06:58.European employees. To be able to turn a straight off and replace it

:06:59. > :07:03.straight off would be very difficult. We are in the hospitality

:07:04. > :07:07.industry, the service industry. You have to employ people who like to

:07:08. > :07:11.serve people. Tourism and hospitality accounts for around 10%

:07:12. > :07:14.of the economy. Now a new report is reporting that restrictions on

:07:15. > :07:19.foreign labour could hit it harder than any other sector. The UK's

:07:20. > :07:25.hospitality sector employs around 3 million workers but it is highly

:07:26. > :07:28.reliant on overseas staff. 24% of the workforce are EU migrants. It

:07:29. > :07:34.could face a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration is

:07:35. > :07:40.tightly controlled. The industry wants to reduce its dependence on EU

:07:41. > :07:44.workers. Its new 10-year strategy includes recruiting more unemployed

:07:45. > :07:47.and all the workers in the UK. The government says that while it will

:07:48. > :07:50.end free movement as it is now it will design and new immigration

:07:51. > :07:56.system that is in the national interest.

:07:57. > :07:58.President Trump's former national security adviser has

:07:59. > :08:00.offered to give evidence about possible links

:08:01. > :08:03.between the Trump campaign and Russia, if he's given protection

:08:04. > :08:05.from what has been caled "unfair prosecution".

:08:06. > :08:07.General Michael Flynn was forced to resign in February

:08:08. > :08:10.after he misled the Vice-President over phone conversations he had

:08:11. > :08:14.His lawyer says he "has a story to tell."

:08:15. > :08:16.Israel has announced it's to build the first new settlement

:08:17. > :08:19.in the occupied West Bank in more than 20 years.

:08:20. > :08:22.Palestinian officials have condemned the plan and have called

:08:23. > :08:29.Half of China's existing legal ivory processing factories and stores

:08:30. > :08:33.will be permanently shut down today with the rest closed by the end

:08:34. > :08:36.The news has been welcomed by conservationists in their ongoing

:08:37. > :08:39.battle against the illegal trade in ivory.

:08:40. > :08:41.Despite a global ban on international sales,

:08:42. > :08:44.a surge in demand has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands

:08:45. > :08:59.And we are going to speak with a campaigner on that subject later in

:09:00. > :09:05.the programme. Fancy buying a second-hand space

:09:06. > :09:07.rocket? I've got one. Oh, you've got one already? Well, you could do.

:09:08. > :09:10.A Californian company has made history by launching rocket back

:09:11. > :09:17.Rockets are traditionally used only once before being scrapped

:09:18. > :09:20.but SpaceX has developed a way of landing its boosters safely

:09:21. > :09:22.on Earth, allowing them to be recycled.

:09:23. > :09:25.It's been described as "one small step for the company,

:09:26. > :09:29.but a giant leap in the search for cheaper space exploration."

:09:30. > :09:32.Which we have all been looking for. Oh, every day.

:09:33. > :09:38.You are looking at a rocket with a difference.

:09:39. > :09:41.Unlike the rest, it's fitted with a booster that has

:09:42. > :09:46.And now history, as it's successfully relaunched

:09:47. > :09:51.Boosters cost tens of millions of dollars, and are normally

:09:52. > :09:54.discarded and destroyed during an ascent.

:09:55. > :09:56.But the private Californian aerospace company SpaceX has found

:09:57. > :10:01.a way to eject them safely back to earth.

:10:02. > :10:04.After the successful launch, another key moment in the flight,

:10:05. > :10:07.to see if the second-hand booster can safely detach and fly back

:10:08. > :10:25.Rapturous cheers from the mission crew tell you it's a success.

:10:26. > :10:28.Minutes later, it's back on earth, an unprecedented double achievement

:10:29. > :10:30.of launching a reusable rocket, and recovering it

:10:31. > :10:34.This is gonna be, ultimately, a huge revolution in spaceflight.

:10:35. > :10:36.It's the difference between if you had aeroplanes

:10:37. > :10:39.where you threw away an aeroplane after every flight,

:10:40. > :10:50.versus you can reuse them multiple times.

:10:51. > :10:53.It represents a new era in the space race, where private

:10:54. > :10:55.enterprises compete against each other, instead of countries.

:10:56. > :10:58.This success will be a boost for a company with much more

:10:59. > :11:00.ambitious long-term goals, that includes sending two

:11:01. > :11:03.unidentified space tourists to the moon next year.

:11:04. > :11:12.Fancy that next holiday? A reusable rocket, why not? Never gonna

:11:13. > :11:19.happens. Let's check in with the sport. Morning, the Manchester City

:11:20. > :11:23.revolution continues. It is great to see, it was an amazing night for

:11:24. > :11:27.them. For the women's team of specially and we know how much money

:11:28. > :11:30.has been pumped in over the years into Manchester City and it is

:11:31. > :11:32.certainly paying off with the women's team, reaching the

:11:33. > :11:37.semifinals of the Champions League, laying Fortuna Hjorring from

:11:38. > :11:43.Denmark, winning 1-0, so it is looking quite rosy after the double

:11:44. > :11:46.last year. They are firing at the moment.

:11:47. > :11:54.It follows their victory over the Danish side in the first leg.

:11:55. > :12:01.A tough match to come, though, where they face the holders Lyon.

:12:02. > :12:04.We knew the FIFA World Cup was to be expanded from 32 teams

:12:05. > :12:08.But we now know how those additional places will be filled.

:12:09. > :12:14.Europe will have 16 spots at the finals, up from 13 nations.

:12:15. > :12:18.In a new move, two teams will have to qualify via a six-team play-off

:12:19. > :12:20.Johanna Konta's incredible run continues.

:12:21. > :12:24.She beat Venus Williams overnight to reach the final at the Miami

:12:25. > :12:32.Amazing to think she was just six years old when Venus won this

:12:33. > :12:38.It is an incredible run that she is on at the moment.

:12:39. > :12:41.England's Charley Hull is well in contention at the first women's

:12:42. > :12:43.major of the year, the ANA Inspiration in California.

:12:44. > :12:46.Shot of the day though came from South Korean teenage amateur

:12:47. > :12:58.And you know your luck is in, don't you, if you are producing shots like

:12:59. > :13:02.that. I love that, she looked more shocked than anyone, it was amazing.

:13:03. > :13:10.Mouth wide open. Watchers haven't? Yes. Thank you very much indeed. Is

:13:11. > :13:16.it golfing weather, Matt? Good morning, not quite. It will be later

:13:17. > :13:22.on. One thing to note, this morning it is incredibly mild for March.

:13:23. > :13:25.Temperatures in Dover 14 degrees, close to record-breaking. I don't

:13:26. > :13:30.think we will break records but it is very near. The downside I suppose

:13:31. > :13:34.is it is cloudy and bled for many of you. On the radar chart the heaviest

:13:35. > :13:41.rain in the Northern Ireland and western Scotland parts, thoroughly

:13:42. > :13:45.warm. Rainy for the Devon areas and Cornwall, clearing away, skies

:13:46. > :13:48.brightening before showers gather later on, so enjoy the dry morning

:13:49. > :13:51.commute, different on the way home. Rain will spread across the Midlands

:13:52. > :13:55.and south-east England though it should be dry for eastern England at

:13:56. > :13:59.the start of the day. Outbreaks of rain in Wales mainly in the west,

:14:00. > :14:02.north-west England too but Northern Ireland and western and

:14:03. > :14:05.south-western Scotland have wettest conditions at the moment. The rain

:14:06. > :14:09.will remain across Scotland for a good part of the day. It will ease

:14:10. > :14:13.away from Northern Ireland around the morning onwards. We will see the

:14:14. > :14:17.rain across England and Wales depart for a time, Sunderland will come

:14:18. > :14:20.out. One or two showers in eastern England in the afternoon and then

:14:21. > :14:24.showers return for Devon, Cornwall and western Wales and Northern

:14:25. > :14:27.Ireland. A breeze blowing across the country from the south-west but

:14:28. > :14:32.still temperatures not as high as yesterday but warm enough at 13- 17

:14:33. > :14:35.degrees with the sunshine in central, eastern England and

:14:36. > :14:39.south-east Scotland this afternoon. Into the night the windfall is a

:14:40. > :14:45.little bit lighter, we will see showers around, though, mainly in

:14:46. > :14:48.the west, eastern areas will be dry and cooler than in the last few

:14:49. > :14:52.nights with temperatures in most areas dropping to single figures.

:14:53. > :14:55.That will give us a chilly start to the weekend compared to this

:14:56. > :14:59.morning. As for the weekend forecast it is a new month, quite aptly,

:15:00. > :15:02.April showers on Saturday, chilly to take us on through the night but

:15:03. > :15:06.Sunday not looking too bad. Details on that - showers from the start of

:15:07. > :15:10.the day for the country, well scattered, some heavy with hail and

:15:11. > :15:14.plunder, slow-moving, sunshine in between, so some will have a largely

:15:15. > :15:19.dry day around some of the coastal areas tomorrow. Temperatures not

:15:20. > :15:22.quite as high as today. And showers gradually depart through the evening

:15:23. > :15:26.and into the night. I pressure builds in, that means a chilly start

:15:27. > :15:33.on Sunday morning, even a touch of frost around for one or two

:15:34. > :15:37.sheltered spots, but Soni for most. Showers few and far between, most

:15:38. > :15:40.will have a fun and dry day with some good, long sunny spells --

:15:41. > :15:44.sunny. We will talk to you again soon - it has been a lovely couple

:15:45. > :15:46.of days. It is sweaty and boiling this morning. Really?

:15:47. > :15:48.You're watching Breakfast from BBC News.

:15:49. > :15:56.Patients will have to wait longer for routine operations such as hip

:15:57. > :15:58.and knee replacements in what the Head of the NHS

:15:59. > :16:01.in England says is a trade-off so improvements can be made

:16:02. > :16:05.Details on how the EU plans to negotiate Brexit will be released

:16:06. > :16:08.later today by the president of the European Council,

:16:09. > :16:19.Let's have a look at the papers this Friday. We are joined by Ben. Good

:16:20. > :16:23.morning. And John with the sports papers. The front pages and then we

:16:24. > :16:27.will talk to you guys? Lots of papers talking about the story we

:16:28. > :16:33.just mentioned, changes in the NHS, the Guardian's front page says the

:16:34. > :16:41.NHS will axe a commitment to 18 week target for operations as we return

:16:42. > :16:47.to quicker and better diagnosis for cancer. The Daily Mirror also has

:16:48. > :16:51.the NHS story. The new government plan to be revealed today which will

:16:52. > :16:55.include even longer waiting times and not an extra penny to be

:16:56. > :16:59.invested. We are talking waiting times later this morning and how

:17:00. > :17:03.that will affect people waiting a long time for a knee replacement,

:17:04. > :17:07.hit replacement, that sort of thing. We've reported a lot over the last

:17:08. > :17:12.few weeks about the impact of NHS delays on social care and the Daily

:17:13. > :17:15.Mail front page refers to that, how care homes hit the middle classes,

:17:16. > :17:22.that figure we mentioned about people paying for their own social

:17:23. > :17:25.care in residential homes are charged significantly more than

:17:26. > :17:29.those being paid for in the same homes and sometimes by the council.

:17:30. > :17:32.The front page of the times has a different story, about a funding

:17:33. > :17:36.shortfall, they say military chiefs have begun a review to find at least

:17:37. > :17:40.?1 billion in savings per year in addition to the savings they are

:17:41. > :17:44.already making over the next decade. And that picture, you may not

:17:45. > :17:49.recognise her but you might know her name, Karen Millen, she used to own

:17:50. > :17:54.a huge chain of retailers on the high street, she has gone bankrupt,

:17:55. > :18:01.her receiving her OBEs here many years ago, but hit by a ?6 million

:18:02. > :18:05.tax bill. -- her OBEs. The Daily Telegraph looking at the Brexit

:18:06. > :18:09.negotiations, well, they have really started, but they're cut the red

:18:10. > :18:15.tape campaign, with the UK retraining the power to deport. And

:18:16. > :18:21.a picture or Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh last night. Very relaxed.

:18:22. > :18:24.This is the letter about a second independence referendum, they are

:18:25. > :18:28.comparing it with this picture of Margaret Thatcher on her sofa in

:18:29. > :18:32.Downing Street two or three decades ago penning a similar letter,

:18:33. > :18:38.similar pose. A lot of letter writing going on at the moment. Good

:18:39. > :18:43.days to be a postman! Exactly! Ben, what! Ben, what have you got? A lot

:18:44. > :18:49.of scrutiny over the way the pens are being used. It was an American

:18:50. > :18:54.company's pen, a Parker. A lot of concern about that. It's very

:18:55. > :19:01.important, the details! Let's pick up on Brexit, another word for our

:19:02. > :19:05.dictionaries, Brexodus, JP Morgan Chase overseas ball where it might

:19:06. > :19:11.base its offices and they are suggesting Dublin, Frankfurt or

:19:12. > :19:16.Paris -- for. Lloyds of London, this story at the bottom, will set up a

:19:17. > :19:21.subsidiary office in Brussels. It is easy to think of this as the big

:19:22. > :19:26.banks getting a bit sniffy about Brexit, but in JP Morgan's case,

:19:27. > :19:30.they employ 16,000 in the UK, the largest investment bank in Europe,

:19:31. > :19:34.they make a third of their money over in Europe. They say it is

:19:35. > :19:39.crucial for them to have an office there. I want to pick up on this,

:19:40. > :19:43.it's interesting which paper you read, the Lloyds of London story in

:19:44. > :19:47.the Telegraph, making a point that tens of employees are moving to

:19:48. > :19:51.Brussels in the case of Lloyds of London, so therefore not a huge move

:19:52. > :19:58.overseas but nonetheless important as the banks try to work out the

:19:59. > :20:02.future. John, what have you got? The Daily Telegraph have campaigned into

:20:03. > :20:08.research between the link between footballers suffering dementia...

:20:09. > :20:13.There you go. The FA have said it will set aside some money for

:20:14. > :20:20.research. Hopefully it is something they have been campaigning for...

:20:21. > :20:25.Basically heavy footballs through the 60s and the damage it has done

:20:26. > :20:30.to their brains. It looks like the FA will set aside money for that

:20:31. > :20:35.research. And the PFA have been involved? Yes. Remember we talked

:20:36. > :20:40.about this statue, turns out the guy that made it said Cristiano Ronaldo

:20:41. > :20:45.likes it. Of course he does. People said it looked nothing like him,

:20:46. > :20:48.apparently he likes it. He would like anything that shows him in this

:20:49. > :20:54.kind of vain! You're not wrong there! Let me bring you this about

:20:55. > :20:59.mapping, my favourite thing to do. Having a little nap in the day, a

:21:00. > :21:05.short one, makes you a happier person. -- napping. How long does it

:21:06. > :21:09.have to be? I know that more than an hour is bad, 30 minutes they are

:21:10. > :21:14.saying, you have to be disciplined to get up after 30 minutes. Then you

:21:15. > :21:18.are in a deep sleep and then there is no coming back. You wake up and

:21:19. > :21:24.you don't know who you are all where you've been! Apparently there are

:21:25. > :21:31.half a million more cats in the UK than a year ago. -- or. Do you know

:21:32. > :21:36.why? Because single men are buying cats. The idea of a little old lady

:21:37. > :21:41.buying a cat is untrue. Is that because they are lonely and they

:21:42. > :21:47.want a bit of company? Single men are fuelling the rise. That is a

:21:48. > :21:53.cute picture. Have you got a cat? No, not yet, I'm never home enough.

:21:54. > :21:55.That is very cute. A little bit of trivia from inside as well, which I

:21:56. > :21:57.know you all love! A few stats! They're known as education's hidden

:21:58. > :22:00.army, but BBC Breakfast has been hearing how eeaching assistants

:22:01. > :22:03.are facing challenges as a result of growing financial pressures

:22:04. > :22:05.across the education system. Unions also say teacher shortages

:22:06. > :22:08.and budget cuts mean too many are being left to teach

:22:09. > :22:10.classes on their own. Though the Department for Education

:22:11. > :22:13.says savings can be made Breakfast's Jayne McCubbin has been

:22:14. > :22:29.speaking to support staff John, not his real name, is not a

:22:30. > :22:33.real teacher, but he is frequently called in to cover a class when a

:22:34. > :22:38.real teacher is off. Originally it was only meant to be a few days.

:22:39. > :22:42.What it turned into what month after month. He said he is used as a cheap

:22:43. > :22:47.alternative to a substitute teacher with no qualification and no

:22:48. > :22:50.authority. Mis- behaviour meant you spend your time firefighting, that's

:22:51. > :22:58.what you're doing, you're controlling behaviour, you're not

:22:59. > :23:01.teaching. It can happen as well when the kids will have me looking after

:23:02. > :23:04.them in one lesson and in another lesson they'll have another

:23:05. > :23:08.unqualified member of staff from a different subject, so they could

:23:09. > :23:11.have two or three hours of this in the same date. I'm not dubious at

:23:12. > :23:16.the head teacher, the budget's just not there. In Scotland, only a

:23:17. > :23:20.qualified teacher can lead a class. In English and Welsh state schools,

:23:21. > :23:26.it's at the discretion of the head and all heads are facing financial

:23:27. > :23:31.pressures. Here in Burnage they value TAs more than most, because

:23:32. > :23:34.many students and speak English as a foreign language, many have special

:23:35. > :23:38.educational needs but even here they are increasingly used to full gaps.

:23:39. > :23:42.That added pressure is taken away from the role they have to do, which

:23:43. > :23:48.is incredibly valuable. It has the domino effect of one child is not

:23:49. > :23:51.understanding something, they then feel they can't cope within that

:23:52. > :23:54.situation, it then affects other children, it then affects the

:23:55. > :23:58.teacher, the whole environment is not one for learning. In other

:23:59. > :24:07.schools, financial pressures are more intense. Hilton Primary is

:24:08. > :24:11.?120,000 in the red. TAs like Jill Ange just filling gaps, they are

:24:12. > :24:17.being axed. A third of the 40 employed here have just received a

:24:18. > :24:22.redundancy notice. -- aren't just. It is very upsetting. The plastic

:24:23. > :24:27.now is as far as it is going to stretch. Losing these TAs is a

:24:28. > :24:35.disaster, it really is a disaster -- elastic. Three years ago -- seven

:24:36. > :24:40.years ago three in school... With a further ?3 billion of cuts ahead,

:24:41. > :24:43.that will get worse. The Department for Education told me they believe

:24:44. > :24:47.efficiencies can be made without having to cut staff without an

:24:48. > :24:52.impact on education. There was a time when we didn't have teaching

:24:53. > :24:56.assistants. Yes, in years gone by we had one teacher to teach a class

:24:57. > :25:00.full of pupils but now we expect more from our educational system and

:25:01. > :25:03.we are going to let a generation of pupils down if we don't provide this

:25:04. > :25:11.support for them. Parents' expectations might be for more, but

:25:12. > :25:14.in terms of funding, the reality is less. Head teachers will have to

:25:15. > :25:16.find how to strike a balance. Jayne McCubbin, BBC News.

:25:17. > :25:19.Don't be surprised if people seem a bit more friendly

:25:20. > :25:31.I hadn't noticed anything so far! Thanks, that's really kind!

:25:32. > :25:34.And a campaign's being launched for us all to

:25:35. > :25:40.do at least one random act of kindness.

:25:41. > :25:45.Whether it's paying for someone's bus ticket or buying

:25:46. > :25:58.And we've been to find out what good deeds people have done.

:25:59. > :26:05.Gone to the theatre and I saw there were some chaps wanting coffees and

:26:06. > :26:09.things, they wanted money really, I just thought, you know what, for the

:26:10. > :26:18.sake of another ?20 I would rather get them summing to eat. I went to a

:26:19. > :26:26.random homeless person and got them something. There was this lady

:26:27. > :26:31.carrying large luggage, so I carried her bag until she got down the

:26:32. > :26:36.stairs. A homeless person was sat outside Blackpool or station and we

:26:37. > :26:37.were getting off the train -- Blackpool or.

:26:38. > :26:49.All that kindness. -- Blackpool North. They are all very kind

:26:50. > :26:51.things! I am going to let you read the next big! This is what John was

:26:52. > :26:53.going to say! -- next bit. You can e-mail us at

:26:54. > :26:55.bbcbreakfast@bbc.co.uk or share your thoughts with other

:26:56. > :26:58.viewers on our Facebook page. And you can Tweet

:26:59. > :27:00.about today's stories using #bbcbreakfast or follow us

:27:01. > :27:09.for the latest from the programme. Let us know. I would like some

:27:10. > :27:14.ideas. What can I do for John and what can John do for me? You can get

:27:15. > :27:17.me another coffee, as many as you like! We've got a break now so maybe

:27:18. > :30:38.I'm back with the latest from the BBC London newsroom

:30:39. > :30:41.Now, though, it's back to Sally and Jon.

:30:42. > :30:46.Hello, this is Breakfast, with Sally Nugent and Jon Kay.

:30:47. > :30:53.We'll bring you all the latest news and sport in a moment.

:30:54. > :30:55.Also on Breakfast this morning: An estimated 100 elephants

:30:56. > :31:00.We'll find out why China's ivory ban could be a monumental move

:31:01. > :31:08.It's full steam ahead for the Settle to Carlisle railway as it reopens

:31:09. > :31:11.to the public, after what's been described as "the most challenging

:31:12. > :31:21.And before the end of the programme, we'll travel into the future,

:31:22. > :31:30.As we meet John Higgins, the man behind one of the most

:31:31. > :31:33.iconic characters in British comic books.

:31:34. > :31:43.But now a summary of this morning's main news.

:31:44. > :31:45.Patients will have to wait longer for routine operations,

:31:46. > :31:49.such as hip and knee replacements, as a trade off so improvements can

:31:50. > :31:53.That's according to the Head of NHS England, Simon Stevens,

:31:54. > :31:56.who is today setting out a new strategy for

:31:57. > :32:05.Iris is 96 and is recovering from a recent illness.

:32:06. > :32:09.Her GP called a local NHS service based in Nottinghamshire

:32:10. > :32:12.to give her the right care and the right place.

:32:13. > :32:21.The treatment at home has been absolutely wonderful.

:32:22. > :32:24.Iris is well cared for, a priority for the NHS,

:32:25. > :32:26.but it's acknowledged the system is under pressure,

:32:27. > :32:28.and tough financial choices are needed.

:32:29. > :32:30.Today NHS England leaders are taking stock of progress

:32:31. > :32:38.since their five-year plan was published in 2014.

:32:39. > :32:41.Aims set out in the new strategy include improving cancer survival

:32:42. > :32:44.rates, increased access to mental health therapies and recruitment

:32:45. > :32:50.But with limited resources it's likely to mean longer waiting times

:32:51. > :32:53.for non-urgent operations and fewer people being referred to hospital

:32:54. > :33:01.The problem is made worse by a shortage of beds.

:33:02. > :33:04.There are a significant proportion of people who don't need to be

:33:05. > :33:08.there, who don't want to be there, and if we could get them out,

:33:09. > :33:11.that would free up something like 2000 to 3000 beds in the NHS,

:33:12. > :33:14.which could be used more effectively for providing

:33:15. > :33:20.Today is about setting out what is possible with the money

:33:21. > :33:23.allocated by the government to the NHS in England but,

:33:24. > :33:26.at a time of increased demand, what is not addressed is the extra

:33:27. > :33:36.We'll be speaking to guests about this throughout the morning,

:33:37. > :33:39.including the President of the Royal College of Surgeons,

:33:40. > :33:46.A group of MPs have said it's "unacceptable" that residents

:33:47. > :33:50.who pay their own fees at care homes in England are charged on average

:33:51. > :33:52.43% more than those funded by the state.

:33:53. > :33:55.The Communities and Local Government Committee blames a lack of funding,

:33:56. > :33:58.which it says is threatening the viability of adult

:33:59. > :34:10.The government says it's already given councils an extra ?2 billion.

:34:11. > :34:14.The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk,

:34:15. > :34:17.will issue draft guidelines this morning, setting out how the EU

:34:18. > :34:23.wants to handle the Brexit negotiations.

:34:24. > :34:26.The proposals will be sent to the governments of the 27 member

:34:27. > :34:30.states and will help set the tone for the next two years of talks.

:34:31. > :34:33.It's thought Mr Tusk will try to break negotiations down

:34:34. > :34:35.into three phases - the terms of separation,

:34:36. > :34:37.a future trade partnership and the transition to

:34:38. > :34:40.a new relationship between Britain and the EU.

:34:41. > :34:42.Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has signed a letter

:34:43. > :34:44.to Theresa May, formally requesting a second independence referendum.

:34:45. > :34:48.In it, she reiterates her call for a vote within the next two years.

:34:49. > :34:51.The Prime Minister has already said it won't happen before

:34:52. > :34:54.Hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions have warned ministers

:34:55. > :34:56.of the possible consequences of restricting the movement

:34:57. > :35:04.The British Hospitality Association predicts a shortfall of 60,000

:35:05. > :35:06.workers a year if immigration is limited

:35:07. > :35:10.The government says it will design a new immigration system

:35:11. > :35:15.President Trump's former national security adviser has

:35:16. > :35:17.offered to give evidence about possible links

:35:18. > :35:20.between the Trump campaign and Russia, if he's given protection

:35:21. > :35:22.from what has been called "unfair prosecution".

:35:23. > :35:24.General Michael Flynn was forced to resign in February

:35:25. > :35:27.after he misled the Vice President over phone conversations he had

:35:28. > :35:37.His lawyer says he "has a story to tell."

:35:38. > :35:40.Israel has announced it's to build the first new settlement

:35:41. > :35:42.in the occupied West Bank in more than 20 years.

:35:43. > :35:45.Palestinian officials have condemned the plan and have called

:35:46. > :35:54.China will close almost half of its official ivory carving

:35:55. > :35:56.factories and shops today, with the rest due to close

:35:57. > :36:00.The news has been welcomed by conservationists in their ongoing

:36:01. > :36:03.battle against the illegal trade in ivory.

:36:04. > :36:04.Despite a global ban on international sales,

:36:05. > :36:08.a surge in demand has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands

:36:09. > :36:12.of African elephants in recent years.

:36:13. > :36:15.A Californian company has made history by launching rocket back

:36:16. > :36:28.How do you do that? Rockets, of course, traditionally used just once

:36:29. > :36:30.and then they are scrapped. But SpaceX has developed a way

:36:31. > :36:33.of landing its boosters safely on earth, allowing

:36:34. > :36:41.them to be recycled. This is going to be ultimately a

:36:42. > :36:45.huge revolution in spaceflight. It is the difference between if you

:36:46. > :36:49.have aeroplanes where you through a way an aeroplane after every flight,

:36:50. > :36:51.versus you could reuse them multiple times.

:36:52. > :36:58.That is a whole new level of recycling. It makes it cheaper, so

:36:59. > :37:05.anything is possible. I still don't think it is a bargain. Talking of

:37:06. > :37:09.which, Manchester City. It continues for the women's team especially at

:37:10. > :37:13.the moment, with a great run of form, a domestic double last season,

:37:14. > :37:16.and now the semi-final of the Champions League. This is just what

:37:17. > :37:21.the club wants as they look to build themselves as a sort of football

:37:22. > :37:23.superpower and they are certainly doing that at the moment as they

:37:24. > :37:25.reached the semifinals last night. Lucy Bronze scored the only goal

:37:26. > :37:28.in last night's second leg to seal a 2-0 aggregate win over Danish

:37:29. > :37:31.side Fortuna Hjorring. Next up for them, the holders,

:37:32. > :37:41.Lyon, in the semi-finals. We don't stop here. We are excited

:37:42. > :37:45.to move onto the semi-final. We know that Lyon are a very experienced

:37:46. > :37:49.team, and they have got a team full of world-class individuals. But so

:37:50. > :37:51.have we. It is going to be an exciting game for sure.

:37:52. > :37:53.Stoke City striker Saido Berahino says the eight-week drugs ban

:37:54. > :37:56.he served earlier this season came after his drink was spiked

:37:57. > :38:00.Berahino didn't play for former club West Brom between September

:38:01. > :38:11.For me to get banned for something that you really haven't done is hard

:38:12. > :38:16.to take. So it was spiked? Yes, definitely. Because if I was going

:38:17. > :38:21.together high, like talking about whether you wanted to get higher,

:38:22. > :38:25.maybe the numbers would have came higher, if it was found in my

:38:26. > :38:30.system. But it was really, really low, so why would you want to take

:38:31. > :38:34.something and not get a buzz off it? And that was the question. But

:38:35. > :38:36.because I am in the Premier League, the FA have to have zero tolerance.

:38:37. > :38:42.He believes there was such a small amount in his system he thinks it is

:38:43. > :38:43.clear that it wasn't intentional. And you can watch the full interview

:38:44. > :38:47.on Football Focus on BBC One FIFA have announced how the places

:38:48. > :38:51.will be allocated for the new larger It'll feature 48 teams

:38:52. > :38:55.and there will be a six team tournament to confirm

:38:56. > :38:57.the final two spots. They'll be more chance of seeing

:38:58. > :39:00.another European nation lift the trophy like Germany did in 2014

:39:01. > :39:03.too, as they'll be 16 European

:39:04. > :39:05.countries instead of the current 13. The proposals are expected to be

:39:06. > :39:08.confirmed by the FIFA Council Joanna Konta has become the first

:39:09. > :39:12.British woman to reach Konta beat Venus Wiliams

:39:13. > :39:16.for the third successive time to set up a meeting with

:39:17. > :39:17.Caroline Wozniacki. Konta was just six years

:39:18. > :39:20.old when Williams first won this Williams is one of Konta's all time

:39:21. > :39:25.heroes but there was no room for sentiment last night

:39:26. > :39:30.with Konta winning 6-4, 7-5. England's Charley Hull is two under

:39:31. > :39:33.after seven holes at the first women's major of the year,

:39:34. > :39:36.the ANA Inspiration in California. Hull and Scotland's Catriona Matthew

:39:37. > :39:39.were still out on the course Shot of the day, though,

:39:40. > :39:43.came from South Korean teenage amateur

:39:44. > :39:55.Seong Eun-jeong. And look at the surprise as well on

:39:56. > :39:57.her face. Amazing. What a feeling that must be.

:39:58. > :40:00.Salford Red Devils continued their impressive start to the season

:40:01. > :40:04.with a 22-14 win over St Helens to move joint top of Super League.

:40:05. > :40:06.This is the try that sealed it for Salford,

:40:07. > :40:09.four minutes from time, Ryan Morgan's mistake

:40:10. > :40:10.was capitalised on by Michael Dobson,

:40:11. > :40:14.to claim his second try of the night and put the game beyond Saints.

:40:15. > :40:18.The Red Devils have now won four of their last five matches.

:40:19. > :40:21.World number one Mark Selby is into the quarter-finals

:40:22. > :40:26.The defending champion edged out a tense final frame decider

:40:27. > :40:34.Judd Trump and Ding Junhui are also through.

:40:35. > :40:40.No Ronnie O'Sullivan, though, who has been knocked out. So, there we

:40:41. > :40:45.are. Manchester City women going well at the moment. How long is it

:40:46. > :40:50.going to be before Manchester United have a women's team? Yes, that is a

:40:51. > :40:54.surprise, isn't it? What are they thinking, maybe there are plans on

:40:55. > :41:00.foot? You would wonder, surely. The success of Manchester City's women,

:41:01. > :41:03.come on, that rivalry. More less likely, I am not sure. Good

:41:04. > :41:05.question, they should settle it on the pitch. So you later.

:41:06. > :41:09.Hundreds of African elephants are killed every year at the hands

:41:10. > :41:11.of poachers who feed Asia's insatiable appetite for Ivory.

:41:12. > :41:15.China accounts for 70% of the market.

:41:16. > :41:17.But, in a move welcomed by conservationists,

:41:18. > :41:21.the country says it will close half of its ivory factories and shops

:41:22. > :41:24.today, with a total ban by the end of the year.

:41:25. > :41:26.We'll discuss this in more detail in a moment,

:41:27. > :42:51.but first let's get a sense of the scale of the problem.

:42:52. > :42:56.Let's speak now to Heather Sohl, the chief advisor on wildlife

:42:57. > :43:06.Morning, thank you for looking and joining us today. Some of those

:43:07. > :43:10.figures I think will surprise people a lot, that the global statistics

:43:11. > :43:15.are pretty shocking. How much difference will this change in China

:43:16. > :43:20.today, the closing of half of the ivory factories and workshops, how

:43:21. > :43:23.much difference will it make? As you mentioned in your introduction,

:43:24. > :43:28.China is the country with the world's largest ivory market, that

:43:29. > :43:31.is where we see the greatest demand. So this change is going to make a

:43:32. > :43:37.real difference for African elephants. If we can reduce that

:43:38. > :43:41.demand, all law-abiding citizens will not be buying the ivory and

:43:42. > :43:45.that means people also won't be buying ivory for investment

:43:46. > :43:50.purposes, and that means that criminals who have this high demand

:43:51. > :43:55.won't be able to use these legal markets in order to launder the

:43:56. > :43:59.illegal ivory they are taking from the poaching of elephants. That

:44:00. > :44:02.assumes this ban is going to work, isn't it, so there is a risk it

:44:03. > :44:06.could be pushed underground and create a black market. Absolutely,

:44:07. > :44:10.they are not going to solve this problem. What we need to see is

:44:11. > :44:17.effective law enforcement to make sure that the officials are in

:44:18. > :44:20.shoring that there isn't going to be a growing underground trade because

:44:21. > :44:26.it is being driven away from the legal markets. So that is why it is

:44:27. > :44:30.important to have effective law enforcement, and also WWF and our

:44:31. > :44:34.partner organisation Traffic are working in China to make sure the

:44:35. > :44:38.public are educated about the ban, so they are not looking to purchase

:44:39. > :44:42.the ivory and also to make sure we understand the reasons why people

:44:43. > :44:45.want to conceal ivory and take the ivory and by the ivory and

:44:46. > :44:48.addressing those motivations and encouraging people to change

:44:49. > :44:52.behaviour and not seek out ivory any more. If that doesn't happen, if

:44:53. > :44:56.there is not an overall change, is there a genuine risk elephants might

:44:57. > :45:06.disappear from the planet. We have seen the gorgeous pictures, is it a

:45:07. > :45:10.real risk? In the last decade we have lost 1011 African elephants, so

:45:11. > :45:17.that dropped the population down to 415,000 elephants. The area where we

:45:18. > :45:21.have the greatest concern is central Africa, where it is haemorrhaging

:45:22. > :45:27.ivory from the poaching of elephants. So if we continue down

:45:28. > :45:31.this road and the trends in poaching continue, we could see the extension

:45:32. > :45:35.of elephants in Africa within our lifeline. We taught about China and

:45:36. > :45:39.what they are doing and what needs to be done in Africa, what about

:45:40. > :45:43.here in the UK, what you think charities and government can do in

:45:44. > :45:48.Great Britain? Well, looking at the ivory trade, here in the UK, while

:45:49. > :45:53.we are not a major contributor to the illegal market globally, there

:45:54. > :45:58.is some laundering of the illegal modern-day ivory as antiques, which

:45:59. > :46:02.currently are legal to trade here in the UK. And there is some illegal

:46:03. > :46:08.trade of ivory from the UK to markets in Asia, and so WWF and

:46:09. > :46:13.other organisations and other high-profile people are calling for

:46:14. > :46:18.a ban on the ivory trade here in the UK in order to ensure that we have

:46:19. > :46:21.absolutely no involvement in illegal ivory trade at the global level.

:46:22. > :46:25.Even when we talk about things that might be hundreds of years old,

:46:26. > :46:30.antiques, you know, those elephants were poached many years ago. Yes,

:46:31. > :46:34.well, there is evidence that buyers from Asia are coming to the UK,

:46:35. > :46:40.coming to EU markets in order to buy this legal antique, these legal

:46:41. > :46:45.antique items, then taking them back to China. Sometimes the larger

:46:46. > :46:48.pieces that are made completely from ivory are actually even reworked

:46:49. > :46:53.into different carvings and those are sought after in Asian markets as

:46:54. > :46:57.high status symbols, they are given as business gifts to show that you

:46:58. > :46:59.have the wealth to be able to afford these items. OK, thank you for

:47:00. > :47:09.joining us on Breakfast is morning. Lots of schools are no breakup

:47:10. > :47:11.today, some are next week. We have a bit of holiday time coming up, what

:47:12. > :47:19.does that mean for the weather? Next week not looking too bad for

:47:20. > :47:23.many, Sally and John, a lot of dry weather to come, a bit of rain, not

:47:24. > :47:28.as much as this morning, though, not a great start to Friday but it is a

:47:29. > :47:32.very mild one, warmest at the moment is Dover in the south-east, but even

:47:33. > :47:36.as far as Aberdeen, temperatures unusually high for this stage in

:47:37. > :47:40.March and this could be a day when we see sky is bright and.

:47:41. > :47:46.Brightening already to the south-west of a cloudy and wet night

:47:47. > :47:49.-- skies brightened. The same area of rain pushing across the Midlands

:47:50. > :47:52.to the south-east and East Anglia but before it arrives in the

:47:53. > :47:57.south-east, morning brightness for your commute, a few showers later, a

:47:58. > :48:01.wet start to the north and west of Wales, wet in Northern Ireland,

:48:02. > :48:04.parts of north-west England and the south and west of Scotland, rain for

:48:05. > :48:09.the morning commute. Some of that will be heavy. Blasting longest in

:48:10. > :48:13.Scotland, the rain clearing from Northern Ireland by around mid to

:48:14. > :48:17.late morning -- lasting. Skies brightening in England and Wales

:48:18. > :48:21.later, showers in eastern districts by the afternoon and then showers in

:48:22. > :48:29.Cornwall, west Wales and Northern Ireland later in the date. Wettest

:48:30. > :48:36.of in the far north of Scotland -- later in the day. 13-7 team

:48:37. > :48:42.expected. Tonight, showers in western areas, drying out in Orkney,

:48:43. > :48:46.Shetland and the Hebrides -- 13 -17. Cooler than last night, temperatures

:48:47. > :48:50.into single figures as we start Saturday morning. A cooler start to

:48:51. > :48:54.tomorrow compare to the past few mornings, a bit of sunshine here and

:48:55. > :48:58.there, especially in eastern areas but as we start the day, a

:48:59. > :49:02.scattering of showers around, most parts will see one shower through

:49:03. > :49:05.the day, some in England and Wales will be slow-moving, heavy and

:49:06. > :49:10.thundery. The coasts should stay dry and temperatures down on today, but

:49:11. > :49:15.not bad, 13-6 team. With high pressure building in, we clear the

:49:16. > :49:21.showers Saturday evening and dry to take us into Sunday morning -- 13 --

:49:22. > :49:26.16. Sunday the better day of the weekend with dry and sunny weather

:49:27. > :49:30.dominating, showers few and far between with temperatures around

:49:31. > :49:36.11-6 team. A weekend of two halves, the start of April, April showers

:49:37. > :49:40.coming our way -- 11- 16. The best of the weather on Sunday. For those

:49:41. > :49:45.starting your Easter break heading into Europe this weekend, what can

:49:46. > :49:50.you expect? Dry and sunny for eastern areas, not looking great for

:49:51. > :49:55.Italy, Corsica, the Balearics, but lovely in some parts of Spain and

:49:56. > :49:59.Portugal. Test whether this weekend will be the Canaries and I'm free if

:50:00. > :50:01.you need me to carry your bags -- best weather. Let's book that

:50:02. > :50:08.flight! That is just mean showing us those

:50:09. > :50:15.temperatures! It will be all right the next couple of here, though! --

:50:16. > :50:17.couple of days. Britain's lowest paid staff should

:50:18. > :50:19.get a pay-rise this weekend. From tomorrow the

:50:20. > :50:29.minimum wage goes up. goes up from ?7.20

:50:30. > :50:36.an hour to ?7.50 an hour and that's equivalent to ?281.25

:50:37. > :50:39.for a full time 37.5 hours a week. It's what the Government calls

:50:40. > :50:52.the National Living Wage. All businesses have

:50:53. > :50:56.to pay it or face a fine. But can businesses,

:50:57. > :51:10.especially small firms, I'm Janine, I am a company director

:51:11. > :51:14.at a nursery. We currently employ 68 full-time members of staff. For the

:51:15. > :51:19.staff, the staff are very valued and they're worth every penny and they

:51:20. > :51:25.deserve a pay rise and they deserve the money. We worked out figures

:51:26. > :51:29.yesterday and it's going to cost us an extra ?26,000 this year in the

:51:30. > :51:33.increases in wages alone, and that's without all the other increases

:51:34. > :51:36.coming in, like business rates and everything else that's coming our

:51:37. > :51:39.way as well. So it's going to have to come back on the families that we

:51:40. > :51:39.actually serve. Could be tough for businesses,

:51:40. > :51:42.but what about staff? If you look at the increase

:51:43. > :51:44.as a percentage the cost of living

:51:45. > :51:51.has risen by 3.2%. So that jump in the minimum wage

:51:52. > :51:54.for over 25s is still higher But, as ever, it's not

:51:55. > :52:00.quite that simple. Campaigners say the living wage

:52:01. > :52:03.needs to be much higher. They base their sums on actual

:52:04. > :52:06.living costs and say it should be So what would that mean

:52:07. > :52:21.back in South Wales? As a working parent with two small

:52:22. > :52:26.children, every little penny helps going towards childcare and everyday

:52:27. > :52:30.living expenses. It means you don't live on the breadline, day-to-day

:52:31. > :52:36.living, sort of, without living outside of our means and maybe be

:52:37. > :52:39.able to go on holidays as well. The rise in the National Living Wage

:52:40. > :52:43.would help me greatly, would help me pay for things like holidays, things

:52:44. > :52:52.like that. Help me out with my bills. Recently I've bought my own

:52:53. > :52:56.house so it would help with that. An extra ?500 a year would make a big

:52:57. > :52:57.difference with household bills, holidays, a bit of luxury money

:52:58. > :52:58.then. It's also worth bearing in mind that

:52:59. > :53:01.change only affects those over If you're between 21

:53:02. > :53:06.and 24 your wage will go up by 10p you get a 5p increase

:53:07. > :53:14.to ?5.60 an hour. And the same applies

:53:15. > :53:17.to those under 18 years old, So there really is a difference

:53:18. > :53:30.depending on how old you are. Apprentices get a 10p per hour pay

:53:31. > :53:38.rise to ?3.50. Very different depending on your age

:53:39. > :53:42.and what job you are in. And remember, those pay rates

:53:43. > :53:46.are your basic rights. So if you don't get

:53:47. > :53:48.the increase from tomorrow it's against the law

:53:49. > :54:05.and you should contact We need to get out for some fresh

:54:06. > :54:06.air! It's Friday, you had to think about that, didn't you?

:54:07. > :54:09.It runs through some of the country's most stunning

:54:10. > :54:16.scenery, along the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbrian Fells.

:54:17. > :54:22.But last year, a section of the Time now to get the news,

:54:23. > :54:25.was forced to shut when 500,000 tons of earth gave way

:54:26. > :54:29.Network Rail has described the line's repair as one

:54:30. > :54:31.of the biggest challenges it's ever faced.

:54:32. > :54:34.But today, the route is finally reopening and are reporter

:54:35. > :54:39.Allison Freeman boarded this morning's service.

:54:40. > :54:48.You have been on the train, you were on the very first one? That's right,

:54:49. > :54:53.Sally. Good morning. The sun is just coming up here and we've just got

:54:54. > :54:58.off that very first train to travel from Carlisle to Appleby fear in the

:54:59. > :55:04.beautiful Eden Valley since it shut just over a year ago -- here in. It

:55:05. > :55:07.was another victim of storm Desmond, those heavy rains really

:55:08. > :55:11.destabilised what was already a slightly unstable bit of track and

:55:12. > :55:15.it meant Network Rail had to undertake one of the biggest repair

:55:16. > :55:20.jobs they have ever done. Joining me to tell me more is Martin Frobisher,

:55:21. > :55:25.he is from Network Rail. Martin, tell me, this was a expensive drop,

:55:26. > :55:30.how much did it cost to get it all going? ?23 million to repair the

:55:31. > :55:35.track. It was an incredibly complicated job. When we first

:55:36. > :55:39.looked at it we had half 1 million tons of earth slipping down a gorge

:55:40. > :55:44.into the Eden Valley on a moped hillside in Cumbria. It's beautiful

:55:45. > :55:49.countryside here but that brings challenges. -- remote. What kind of

:55:50. > :55:52.challenges did you go through to clear the area before you got

:55:53. > :56:00.started? We had to clear the area but then to derided we needed to

:56:01. > :56:06.drill down steel piles into the bedrock of the Eden Gorge -- them to

:56:07. > :56:14.drive it. Then we built the railway abrupt. -- them to drive it. --

:56:15. > :56:17.railway above -- then to. A few passengers, why is it so exciting

:56:18. > :56:21.for people to have this line-backer open again? This is such an

:56:22. > :56:29.important artery for the region. -- Leinbach open. It supports tourism.

:56:30. > :56:32.-- line back open. It is an important freight railway, it

:56:33. > :56:36.carries aggregate, coal and all sorts of freight services around the

:56:37. > :56:41.country. It is vitally important. Tell me about the celebrations,

:56:42. > :56:45.there's a special visitor today? Absolutely, we have the Flying

:56:46. > :56:52.Scotsman locomotive bringing a train across the line Carlisle at

:56:53. > :56:55.lunchtime today. That's a really special occasion. Word ??D ELWORD

:56:56. > :57:02.it's taken a year but we can well and truly. It's taken a year but we

:57:03. > :57:08.can well and truly say that the Carlisle to line is back on track!

:57:09. > :00:28.Excuse line is back Hello, this is Breakfast,

:00:29. > :00:36.with Sally Nugent and Jon Kay. Longer waits for hospital

:00:37. > :00:38.operations in England, as the health service is forced

:00:39. > :00:41.to make a tough trade-off. The head of NHS England says

:00:42. > :00:44.treatment is no longer guaranteed in the 18-week target time,

:00:45. > :00:47.but in return, there would be quicker cancer diagnosis

:00:48. > :01:05.and emergency care. Good morning, it is

:01:06. > :01:08.Friday 31 of March. Also this morning: As Britain

:01:09. > :01:11.prepares for Brexit, today the EU will set

:01:12. > :01:13.out its guidelines for two The private spaceflight company

:01:14. > :01:23.SpaceX has made history by successfully flying a rocket that

:01:24. > :01:29.has already been to space. In sport: Manchester City's women

:01:30. > :01:31.reach the semi-finals Lucy Bronze with the goal,

:01:32. > :01:37.as City reach the last four, after 2-0 aggregate win over Danish

:01:38. > :02:01.side Fortuna Hjorring Will you be A homeless person was sat outside

:02:02. > :02:07.Blackpool North Station, and I had a jacket, so gave it to him.

:02:08. > :02:10.On National Kindness Day, we will hear about plans to make

:02:11. > :02:20.My idea of kindness is to offer you brighter skies later on. Wet for

:02:21. > :02:25.some of you, mild out there, but the weekend forecast does show some

:02:26. > :02:25.promise. I will have all the details in 15 minutes.

:02:26. > :02:29.Patients will have to wait longer for routine operations such as hip

:02:30. > :02:31.and knee replacements, as a trade-off for improvements

:02:32. > :02:35.That is according to the head of NHS England, Simon Stevens,

:02:36. > :02:38.who is today setting out a strategy for the next few years.

:02:39. > :02:40.Let's join our health correspondent Sophie Hutchinson,

:02:41. > :02:44.who is outside St Thomas's Hospital in Central London.

:02:45. > :02:58.Well, as you say, it is two years since this transformation plan was

:02:59. > :03:02.launched by the NHS. It is a five-year plan. Today we have had an

:03:03. > :03:06.update on the progress that they are making. The chief executive, Simon

:03:07. > :03:10.Stevens, has described it as an honest assessment, but he wouldn't

:03:11. > :03:14.comment on whether he felt the NHS had been given enough money to carry

:03:15. > :03:19.out the full plan. What he said they are working towards is quicker

:03:20. > :03:25.diagnosis for cancer care, extending GP opening times, and also speeding

:03:26. > :03:29.up weights at A But he said there had to be a trade-off somewhere, and

:03:30. > :03:33.he said that could mean longer waits, more patients waiting longer

:03:34. > :03:38.than 18 weeks for non- urgent operations. Now, those are things

:03:39. > :03:42.like cataracts, hip and knee replacements. He also said that GPs

:03:43. > :03:46.would be asked to review the number of patients that they are referring

:03:47. > :03:50.on for treatment in hospitals, and they would be asked to look instead

:03:51. > :03:54.for some of those at things like physiotherapy, so patients instead

:03:55. > :03:58.of going to hospital for treatment might get a treatment outside

:03:59. > :04:02.hospital instead. Well, as you can imagine, there has been some

:04:03. > :04:07.positive comments for some parts of the plans, but concerns from

:04:08. > :04:10.organisations about the more negative side of the plans. The

:04:11. > :04:15.Royal College of surgeons has said today's announcement means patients

:04:16. > :04:19.will wait longer and in more pain before planned surgery. It said we

:04:20. > :04:24.risk returning to the days of unacceptably long waits for elective

:04:25. > :04:27.surgical treatment. And the British Medical Association said achieving

:04:28. > :04:33.one delivery promise by missing another one is a textbook example of

:04:34. > :04:34.rationing access to care. Thank you very much indeed.

:04:35. > :04:37.We will be speaking to guests about this throughout the morning,

:04:38. > :04:39.including the president of the Royal College of Surgeons,

:04:40. > :04:43.A group of MPs have said it is unacceptable that residents

:04:44. > :04:47.who pay their own fees at care homes in England are charged on average

:04:48. > :04:49.43% more than those funded by the state.

:04:50. > :04:52.The Communities and Local Government Committee blames a lack of funding,

:04:53. > :04:54.which it says is threatening the viability of adult

:04:55. > :05:04.The Government says it has already given councils an extra ?2 billion.

:05:05. > :05:07.The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk,

:05:08. > :05:10.will issue draft guidelines this morning, setting out how the EU

:05:11. > :05:11.wants to handle the Brexit negotiations.

:05:12. > :05:15.The proposals will then be debated by the leaders of the 27 EU member

:05:16. > :05:28.Dan, it is all quite procedural today, isn't it?

:05:29. > :05:35.I guess we begin to get a glimpse of where the EU wants this to head.

:05:36. > :05:39.Yes, that is what we should get later today but the rules matter

:05:40. > :05:42.here in Brussels and the diplomats and politicians who are leading the

:05:43. > :05:46.negotiation from this side think it is very important that they are

:05:47. > :05:51.stuck to and that the process plays out. Today the focus will be on

:05:52. > :05:54.Donald Tusk, he is one of the main players in the European Union, the

:05:55. > :05:58.president of the council. He represents the other leaders around

:05:59. > :06:03.Europe, the 27 member nations, and he has to co-ordinate what they want

:06:04. > :06:06.to be the important priorities in this negotiation. So today he will

:06:07. > :06:11.send them a letter saying what he thinks the right guidelines should

:06:12. > :06:14.be the best negotiation. Now, he is not publishing that letter, we will

:06:15. > :06:18.not see the full detail, he will give a press conference so we should

:06:19. > :06:22.get some idea about what he thinks is the best way forward and what the

:06:23. > :06:25.priorities will be. The BBC understands that he is going to

:06:26. > :06:28.suggest that they should first be a phase which talks about how Britain

:06:29. > :06:32.should leave the EU, then another phase of talks which deals with a

:06:33. > :06:34.trade relationship in the future, then a third phase which deals with

:06:35. > :06:37.exactly what the transitional arrangements would be as Britain

:06:38. > :06:41.leaves and six that new relationship. That is different from

:06:42. > :06:45.what the British government wants, so already we can see that there are

:06:46. > :06:52.going to be disagreement even about the best way to start those talks.

:06:53. > :06:55.Not the only Brexit related story, you will be surprised to hear. Not

:06:56. > :06:57.too much, don't want to put everybody off.

:06:58. > :06:59.Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has signed a letter

:07:00. > :07:02.to Theresa May formally requesting a second independence referendum.

:07:03. > :07:06.In it, she reiterates her call for a vote within the next two years.

:07:07. > :07:09.The Prime Minister has already said it won't happen before

:07:10. > :07:12.There are warnings today of a recruitment crisis if Brexit

:07:13. > :07:14.leads to immigration being severely restricted.

:07:15. > :07:16.In the first major business intervention since Theresa May began

:07:17. > :07:19.the process of Britain's divorce from the EU,

:07:20. > :07:21.the British Hospitality Association has said the industry faces

:07:22. > :07:25.a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year.

:07:26. > :07:29.Our industry correspondent John Moylan has more.

:07:30. > :07:40.They are gearing up for the summer season.

:07:41. > :07:44.Around 40% of staff here are from outside the UK,

:07:45. > :07:47.and the boss says they face a recruitment crisis if Brexit

:07:48. > :07:51.causes that supply of workers to be cut off.

:07:52. > :07:53.If the tap was just turned off, straightaway

:07:54. > :07:55.that would be very difficult.

:07:56. > :08:01.We rely on a third of the workplace from European employees.

:08:02. > :08:05.To be able to turn that straight off, and replace it straight off,

:08:06. > :08:08.We're in the hospitality industry, the service industry.

:08:09. > :08:11.You actually have to employ people who like to serve people.

:08:12. > :08:13.Tourism and hospitality accounts for around 10% of the economy.

:08:14. > :08:17.Now, a new report is reporting that restrictions on foreign labour

:08:18. > :08:19.could hit it harder than any other sector.

:08:20. > :08:21.The UK's hospitality sector employs around 3 million workers

:08:22. > :08:26.but it is highly reliant on overseas staff.

:08:27. > :08:29.24% of the workforce are EU migrants.

:08:30. > :08:32.It could face a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration

:08:33. > :08:41.The industry wants to reduce its dependence on EU workers.

:08:42. > :08:44.Its new ten-year strategy includes recruiting more unemployed and older

:08:45. > :08:49.The Government says that, while it will end free movement

:08:50. > :08:52.as it is now, it will design a new immigration

:08:53. > :08:56.system that is in the national interest.

:08:57. > :08:59.President Trump's former national security adviser has offered to give

:09:00. > :09:01.evidence about possible links between the Trump campaign

:09:02. > :09:04.and Russia, if he is given protection from what has been

:09:05. > :09:07.General Michael Flynn was forced to resign in February

:09:08. > :09:10.after he misled the Vice President over phone conversations he had

:09:11. > :09:24.His lawyer says he has a story to tell.

:09:25. > :09:26.China will close almost half of its official ivory carving

:09:27. > :09:29.factories and shops today, with the rest due to close

:09:30. > :09:33.The news has been welcomed by conservationists in their ongoing

:09:34. > :09:35.battle against the illegal trade in ivory.

:09:36. > :09:37.Despite a global ban on international sales,

:09:38. > :09:40.a surge in demand has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands

:09:41. > :09:44.of African elephants in recent years.

:09:45. > :09:47.A Californian company has made history by launching a rocket back

:09:48. > :09:51.Rockets are traditionally used only once, before being scrapped.

:09:52. > :09:54.But SpaceX has developed a way of landing its boosters safely

:09:55. > :09:56.on Earth, allowing them to be recycled.

:09:57. > :09:59.It has been described as one small step for the company,

:10:00. > :10:02.but a giant leap in the search for cheaper space exploration,

:10:03. > :10:16.You are looking at a rocket with a difference.

:10:17. > :10:19.Unlike the rest, it is fitted with a booster that has

:10:20. > :10:26.And now history, as it is successfully relaunched

:10:27. > :10:30.Boosters cost tens of millions of dollars, and are normally

:10:31. > :10:34.discarded and destroyed during an ascent.

:10:35. > :10:38.But the private Californian aerospace company SpaceX has found

:10:39. > :10:43.a way to eject them safely back to earth.

:10:44. > :10:49.After the successful launch, another key moment in the flight,

:10:50. > :10:53.to see if the second-hand booster can safely detach and fly back

:10:54. > :11:03.Rapturous cheers from the mission crew tell you it's a success.

:11:04. > :11:06.Minutes later, it is back on earth, an unprecedented double achievement

:11:07. > :11:08.of launching a reusable rocket, and recovering it

:11:09. > :11:14.This is gonna be, ultimately, a huge revolution in spaceflight.

:11:15. > :11:16.It's the difference between if you had aeroplanes

:11:17. > :11:20.where you threw away an aeroplane after every flight,

:11:21. > :11:28.versus you could reuse them multiple times.

:11:29. > :11:31.It represents a new era in the space race, where private enterprises

:11:32. > :11:33.compete against each other, instead of countries.

:11:34. > :11:36.This success will be a boost for a company with much more

:11:37. > :11:38.ambitious long-term goals, that include sending two

:11:39. > :11:40.unidentified space tourists to the moon next year.

:11:41. > :11:47.Let's return to our top story, and patients in England

:11:48. > :11:50.are being told they will have to wait longer for some routine

:11:51. > :11:53.operations, such as hip replacements, as part of a trade-off

:11:54. > :11:55.for improvements in other areas, like A

:11:56. > :11:58.The boss of NHS England, Simon Stevens, is today setting

:11:59. > :12:01.out his strategy for the NHS for the next two years.

:12:02. > :12:03.Let's get the thoughts on this of Clare Marx,

:12:04. > :12:12.who is president of the Royal College of Surgeons in England.

:12:13. > :12:22.Good morning to you. Good morning, Sally. First of all, your initial

:12:23. > :12:27.reaction to what he is going to say today? We understand NHS England

:12:28. > :12:31.have some difficult is because we know that demand for healthcare has

:12:32. > :12:35.gone up and up in the resource we have in terms of money and staff has

:12:36. > :12:39.not kept pace with that. So there are some good things in this report,

:12:40. > :12:43.and I am very pleased that we are going to be able to look at the way

:12:44. > :12:47.we can provide plant care for surgery more effectively in the

:12:48. > :12:54.centres which specialise in planned care. But clearly, from the public's

:12:55. > :12:57.point of view, they are going to be wondering what exactly this means

:12:58. > :13:02.and how it will impact on their ability to get planned surgery when

:13:03. > :13:07.they need it. Sorry to interrupt, but what is life like for people who

:13:08. > :13:12.are on a waiting list, perhaps waiting for hip or need surgery?

:13:13. > :13:16.Well, patients waiting for the poor knee surgery are a great deal of

:13:17. > :13:20.discomfort, usually. But our concern is not only for hip and knee surgery

:13:21. > :13:24.patients, but patients who perhaps I waiting for heart surgery. And for

:13:25. > :13:30.them, sometimes waiting for surgery may be part of the pathway where

:13:31. > :13:34.they may have a heart attack while they are waiting, or maybe they are

:13:35. > :13:39.waiting for brain surgery, or maybe they are waiting for gallbladder

:13:40. > :13:44.surgery, and all of these are extremely serious matters, and still

:13:45. > :13:49.fall within the whole remit of plant surgical care. So for hip and knee

:13:50. > :13:54.replacement, very painful, very demoralising, and after many years

:13:55. > :13:58.of waiting to get into planned surgery, there are people clearly

:13:59. > :14:03.who don't want to have to wait more than 18 weeks. But as we all know,

:14:04. > :14:07.cuts are coming, and more cuts are coming down the line. The NHS has to

:14:08. > :14:11.prioritise. Are you suggesting they have got their priorities wrong

:14:12. > :14:15.here? I don't think we should really be setting any particular group of

:14:16. > :14:18.patients against another group of patients, but I think this is a

:14:19. > :14:23.wake-up call for the public in general. People are going to have to

:14:24. > :14:27.realise that they will take more care of themselves. There are things

:14:28. > :14:30.people can do to try and prevent the need for heart surgery, like not

:14:31. > :14:34.smoking and not being overweight, and unless people are willing to

:14:35. > :14:38.take more active part in their own care, that is going to present us

:14:39. > :14:42.with an increasing stream of people wanting to have this sort of

:14:43. > :14:45.surgery. There are things that we can do to try and streamline the

:14:46. > :14:49.process is in the health Service, and there are things we can do in

:14:50. > :14:53.the community to try and make sure that every bed that we have in

:14:54. > :14:57.hospitals is occupied in the way we wish to be occupied, by people who

:14:58. > :15:00.either have emergency care or need planned care, rather than people who

:15:01. > :15:04.should be in the community. But I think this particular report tells

:15:05. > :15:11.us very clearly that we can no longer expect there to be an

:15:12. > :15:15.ever-increasing amount of money and resource within the health service.

:15:16. > :15:23.. Be done differently? We need to make the best of every penny we've

:15:24. > :15:26.got and the public need a good debate with the politicians about

:15:27. > :15:29.what it is they want from their health what should be done

:15:30. > :15:33.differently? We need to make the best of every penny we've got and

:15:34. > :15:36.the public need a good debate with the politicians about what it is

:15:37. > :15:39.they want from their health service -- what should be done differently?

:15:40. > :15:44.Clearly this is not something that we can cure with a

:15:45. > :16:01.The more staff on putting more staff on the frontline. Things are really

:16:02. > :16:04.laudable aims and I welcome all of all of those things are really

:16:05. > :16:08.laudable aims and I welcome all of them. Are facing is a clear what we

:16:09. > :16:18.are facing is a clear message who are having who are having an honest

:16:19. > :16:22.account and people... It is an honest account and people have what

:16:23. > :16:32.that means. Can be associated with increased

:16:33. > :16:36.death rates. So it is very important that people understand the

:16:37. > :16:41.importance of not completing planned surgery within an 18 week target. We

:16:42. > :16:45.have done fantastically well over the last ten years. We have had huge

:16:46. > :16:49.investment, and it is a real tribute to the Health Service that we have

:16:50. > :16:54.managed to deliver so much in such an efficient way. I am sorry to

:16:55. > :16:58.interrupt, but would you admit, we are talking about waiting times

:16:59. > :17:02.being basically the idea of a definitive and to waiting times at

:17:03. > :17:05.this point being thrown out the window. But in fact the practical

:17:06. > :17:09.waiting times are nowhere near as bad as they were ten years ago.

:17:10. > :17:13.Absolutely the waiting times are not as bad as they were ten years ago,

:17:14. > :17:17.when 60% of people managed to get their surgery within 18 weeks, and

:17:18. > :17:23.now we are looking at about 90%. But in some branches of surgery, like

:17:24. > :17:29.neurosurgery, it is 85%. And we have seen a deterioration in that level

:17:30. > :17:34.of waiting times for people over the last few months, and that is a 1-way

:17:35. > :17:38.process. So we know that people are going to start seeing a

:17:39. > :17:43.deterioration in the amount of time that they have to wait on waiting

:17:44. > :17:46.list, and that is obviously going to be extremely concerning for those

:17:47. > :17:50.people who are already in the system and needing surgery. We are not

:17:51. > :17:54.talking about frivolous surgery, we are talking about serious surgery

:17:55. > :17:58.for long-term conditions such as hips, and arthritis, where people

:17:59. > :18:02.are markedly affected in their quality of life. We are talking

:18:03. > :18:06.about serious surgery for heart operations, where people's life is

:18:07. > :18:12.being impacted by not been able to get that surgery. I am sorry to

:18:13. > :18:19.interrupt you, we are very much out of time there. Clare Marx, president

:18:20. > :18:21.of the Royal College of Surgeons, talking to us from our London studio

:18:22. > :18:22.this morning. You're watching

:18:23. > :18:24.Breakfast from BBC News. for routine operations such as hip

:18:25. > :18:31.and knee replacements in what the Head of the NHS

:18:32. > :18:35.in England says is a trade-off so improvements can be made

:18:36. > :18:37.elsewhere in the system. Details on how the EU plans

:18:38. > :18:40.to negotiate Brexit will be released later today by the president

:18:41. > :18:47.of the European Council, Quite a lot of schools breaking up

:18:48. > :18:49.for Easter today, still a couple of weeks away, but let's see what Matt

:18:50. > :18:57.has got, nice blue skies? Not quite! They will be on the way

:18:58. > :19:02.and this weekend not looking too bad, although a few showers on

:19:03. > :19:07.Saturday. Today, skies like this for a few, quite wet at the moment but

:19:08. > :19:11.if you're stepping out, not cold. The warmest, Preston, 13, even as

:19:12. > :19:18.far north as Edinburgh and Belfast, double figures. The rain clearing

:19:19. > :19:22.away from Devon and Cornwall from overnight, soon returning to the

:19:23. > :19:26.Isles of Scilly later, brightening up quickly along the Channel

:19:27. > :19:30.Islands. Quieter in the western half and middle part of England,

:19:31. > :19:35.spreading eastwards, patchy rain, eastern England dry and brighter for

:19:36. > :19:39.the morning rush hour. Wales, cloudy, wet in the Isle of Man and

:19:40. > :19:42.the north-west of England, Northern Ireland particularly damp with

:19:43. > :19:45.outbreaks of rain and that's the case in many western parts of

:19:46. > :19:49.Scotland. The north-east should start dry. The rain is going north,

:19:50. > :19:57.clearing away from Northern Ireland for a time before showers return

:19:58. > :20:00.later. Rain eases away from northern England, brightening up by lunchtime

:20:01. > :20:03.and much of England and Wales will see sunny spells into the afternoon,

:20:04. > :20:09.as will Scotland, but Northern Ireland, west Wales and Cornwall

:20:10. > :20:13.will the showers returning. 13 to 17 degrees this time of year is above

:20:14. > :20:16.where it should be, feeling pleasant in the sunshine and out of the

:20:17. > :20:20.breeze. Tonight, temperatures dropping further than last night.

:20:21. > :20:25.Showers throughout in western areas, eastern areas should start dry but

:20:26. > :20:29.into the weekend, a bit cooler to start with than we've had over the

:20:30. > :20:33.past few days. What about the weekend? A new month and with it a

:20:34. > :20:37.change to April showers, in fact we will see heavy and thundery showers

:20:38. > :20:41.around. Chilly conditions to take us into what will be a drier and

:20:42. > :20:47.brighter Sunday, so Sunday is the better of your two days. Let's look

:20:48. > :20:51.at Saturday, sunshine around, especially in eastern areas. Showers

:20:52. > :20:57.becoming widespread, heavy and in places thundery with hail, slow in

:20:58. > :21:01.eastern Wales. One or two will avoid showers altogether, some coastal

:21:02. > :21:05.districts best favoured for that, so you should do well if you're heading

:21:06. > :21:12.to the coast. Showers baiting through the evening, high pressure

:21:13. > :21:15.builds then on Sunday and with that temperatures could drop down to

:21:16. > :21:19.produce a touch of frost early in the morning but most places will

:21:20. > :21:23.have a fine day with sunny spells and temperatures of around ten to 16

:21:24. > :21:27.degrees. If you're heading further afield and starting your Easter

:21:28. > :21:32.break this weekend, some of the best places to go are the likes of Dubai

:21:33. > :21:36.and Mexico but even in Mexico, a few showers on Sunday and in New York,

:21:37. > :21:41.warming up after what has been quite a chilly few days. Good news, Matt.

:21:42. > :21:44.We end with greatness but a lovely picture! He keeps teasing us with

:21:45. > :21:45.holidays! Not fair! They're known as education's hidden

:21:46. > :21:48.army, but BBC Breakfast has been hearing how Teaching Assistants

:21:49. > :21:51.are facing challenges as a result of growing financial pressures

:21:52. > :21:53.across the education system. Unions also say teacher shortages

:21:54. > :21:56.and budget cuts mean too many are being left to teach

:21:57. > :21:59.classes on their own. Though the Department for Education

:22:00. > :22:01.says savings can be made Breakfast's Jayne McCubbin has been

:22:02. > :22:05.speaking to support staff John, not his real name,

:22:06. > :22:11.is not a real teacher, but he's frequently called

:22:12. > :22:15.in to cover a class when a real Originally it was only

:22:16. > :22:24.meant to be a few days. What it turned into

:22:25. > :22:26.was month after month. He said he's used as a cheap

:22:27. > :22:29.alternative to a substitute teacher with no qualification

:22:30. > :22:31.and no authority. Mis-behaviour meant you spent

:22:32. > :22:33.your time firefighting, that's what you're doing,

:22:34. > :22:35.you're controlling behaviour, It can happen as well when the kids

:22:36. > :22:39.will have me looking after them in one lesson and in another lesson

:22:40. > :22:42.they'll have another unqualified member of staff in a different

:22:43. > :22:46.subject, so they could have two or three hours of this

:22:47. > :22:48.in the same day. I'm not furious at the head teacher,

:22:49. > :22:51.the budget's just not there. In Scotland, only a qualified

:22:52. > :22:55.teacher can lead a class. In English and Welsh state schools,

:22:56. > :22:58.it's at the discretion of the head and all heads are facing

:22:59. > :23:08.financial pressures. Here in Burnage they value TAs more

:23:09. > :23:11.than most because many students speak English as a foreign language,

:23:12. > :23:14.many have special educational needs but even here they are

:23:15. > :23:22.increasingly used to fill gaps. That added pressure is taken away

:23:23. > :23:26.from the role that we have to do, It has the domino effect of one

:23:27. > :23:30.child is not understanding something, they then feel they can't

:23:31. > :23:33.cope within that situation, it then affects other children,

:23:34. > :23:36.it then affects the teacher, the whole environment

:23:37. > :23:38.there is not one for learning. In other schools, financial

:23:39. > :23:44.pressures are more intense. Hilton Primary is

:23:45. > :23:47.?120,000 in the red. TAs like Jill aren't just filling

:23:48. > :23:52.gaps, they are being axed. A third of the 40 employed here have

:23:53. > :23:57.just received a redundancy notice. The elastic now is as far

:23:58. > :24:11.as it is going to stretch. Losing these TIAs is a disaster, it

:24:12. > :24:16.really is a disaster. Seven years ago, three

:24:17. > :24:18.in ten secondary schools Now the National Audit Office say

:24:19. > :24:23.it's more than six in ten. And with a further ?3

:24:24. > :24:25.billion in cuts ahead, The Department for Education told me

:24:26. > :24:29.they believe efficiencies can be made without having to cut staff

:24:30. > :24:32.without an impact on education. There was a time when we didn't have

:24:33. > :24:35.teaching assistants. Yes, in years gone by we had one

:24:36. > :24:39.teacher to teach a class full of pupils but now we expect more

:24:40. > :24:42.from our education system and we're going to let a generation of pupils

:24:43. > :24:46.down if we don't provide this Parents' expectations might be

:24:47. > :24:50.for more, but in terms of funding, Head teachers will have to decide

:24:51. > :25:10.how they strike a balance. We are talking about one particular

:25:11. > :25:14.thing today. Kindness. Why? When you leave the house today you might find

:25:15. > :25:19.people being more generous and nicer to you, it is National Kindness Day,

:25:20. > :25:25.people have been getting in touch with us to tell us about what they

:25:26. > :25:28.have experienced. What have you got? Alex said my eight-year-old daughter

:25:29. > :25:32.one Easter eggs in the school raffle, she gave one away to her

:25:33. > :25:37.classmate that didn't win anything, a lovely thing to do, we are very

:25:38. > :25:41.proud. Nancy was going to Ben Nevis, wanting to go to the summit, parked

:25:42. > :25:46.the car, didn't have money for the parking metre, asked for some change

:25:47. > :25:51.and two or three people helped her, paid her ?5 and she got to the

:25:52. > :25:57.summit for free. Lovely. This is from Melanie, today I'm buying a

:25:58. > :26:01.bunch of flowers and leaving them in a random spot with a happiness

:26:02. > :26:04.kindness card and a pass it forward message, hopefully that will

:26:05. > :26:08.encourage someone to do the same. Janet, if you're going to the

:26:09. > :26:13.supermarket today you want to be there at the same time as her, if

:26:14. > :26:18.she has a trolley and someone else's nearby with a few items, she always

:26:19. > :26:24.let's them go first. Always, Janet, really? This is my favourite from

:26:25. > :26:28.Martin, a lady gave me 5p for a bag in Tesco last year. Which is kind,

:26:29. > :26:34.unless Martin works behind the checkout and that is just his job!

:26:35. > :26:40.And he was just paying for it! Let us know what you have done and what

:26:41. > :26:43.kindness you have received on National Kindness Day. I'm going to

:26:44. > :30:05.make John a tea. Know you're not. Hello, this is Breakfast,

:30:06. > :30:21.with Sally Nugent and Jon Kay. Waiting times will be longer

:30:22. > :30:23.for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements,

:30:24. > :30:26.as a trade-off for improvements That is according to NHS England,

:30:27. > :30:31.which will today set out a strategy The body says increasing patient

:30:32. > :30:35.demand and the growth in new treatments mean

:30:36. > :30:37.choices have to be made. Clare Marx from the Royal College

:30:38. > :30:40.of Surgeons told Breakfast People are going to have to realise

:30:41. > :31:01.that they will have to take more There are things people can do

:31:02. > :31:05.to try and prevent the need for heart surgery, like not smoking

:31:06. > :31:07.and not being overweight, and unless people are willing

:31:08. > :31:10.to take more active part in their own care, that is going

:31:11. > :31:14.to present us with an increasing stream of people wanting to have

:31:15. > :31:17.this sort of surgery. A group of MPs have said

:31:18. > :31:19.it is unacceptable that residents who pay their own fees at care homes

:31:20. > :31:23.in England are charged on average 43% more than those

:31:24. > :31:26.funded by the state. The Communities and Local Government

:31:27. > :31:28.Committee blames a lack of funding, which it says is threatening

:31:29. > :31:31.the viability of adult The Government says it has already

:31:32. > :31:36.given councils an extra ?2 billion. The President of the European

:31:37. > :31:38.Council, Donald Tusk, will today issue draft guidelines

:31:39. > :31:41.on how the EU intends to negotiate The proposals will be sent

:31:42. > :31:48.to the governments of the 27 member states, and will help set the tone

:31:49. > :31:52.for the next two years of talks. It is thought Mr Tusk

:31:53. > :31:55.will try to break negotiations down into three phases, the terms

:31:56. > :31:58.of separation, a future trade partnership, and the transition

:31:59. > :32:00.to a new relationship Scotland's First Minister,

:32:01. > :32:07.Nicola Sturgeon, has signed a letter to Theresa May formally requesting

:32:08. > :32:10.a second independence referendum. In it, she reiterates her call for

:32:11. > :32:14.a vote within the next two years. The Prime Minister has already said

:32:15. > :32:16.it won't happen before Hotels, restaurants and tourist

:32:17. > :32:25.attractions have warned ministers of the possible consequences

:32:26. > :32:28.of restricting the movement The British Hospitality Association

:32:29. > :32:31.predicts a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration

:32:32. > :32:34.is limited from the EU. The Government says it will design

:32:35. > :32:36.a new immigration system President Trump's former national

:32:37. > :32:51.security adviser has offered to give evidence about possible links

:32:52. > :32:54.between the Trump campaign and Russia, if he is given

:32:55. > :32:57.protection from what has been General Michael Flynn was forced

:32:58. > :33:00.to resign in February, after he misled the Vice President

:33:01. > :33:03.over phone conversations he had His lawyer says he has

:33:04. > :33:08.a story to tell. Israel has announced it is to build

:33:09. > :33:12.the first new settlement in the occupied West Bank

:33:13. > :33:14.in more than 20 years. Palestinian officials

:33:15. > :33:16.have condemned the plan, and have called for

:33:17. > :33:18.international intervention. China will close almost half

:33:19. > :33:20.of its official ivory carving factories and shops today,

:33:21. > :33:23.with the rest due to close The news has been welcomed

:33:24. > :33:27.by conservationists in their ongoing battle against the illegal

:33:28. > :33:29.trade in ivory. Despite a global ban

:33:30. > :33:31.on international sales, a surge in demand has resulted

:33:32. > :33:35.in the deaths of tens of thousands of African elephants

:33:36. > :33:40.in recent years. A Californian company has made

:33:41. > :33:43.history by launching rocket back Rockets are traditionally used only

:33:44. > :33:47.once before being scrapped, but SpaceX has developed a way

:33:48. > :33:50.of landing its boosters safely on Earth, allowing

:33:51. > :34:04.them to be recycled. This is going to be, ultimately,

:34:05. > :34:07.a huge revolution in spaceflight. It's the difference

:34:08. > :34:09.between if you had aeroplanes where you threw away

:34:10. > :34:12.an aeroplane after every flight, versus you could reuse

:34:13. > :34:21.them multiple times. is there a lot of interesting reused

:34:22. > :34:26.rockets, second-hand rockets? It means we all have a chance of doing

:34:27. > :34:30.to space. No, it doesn't. It means one rocket is going to be used

:34:31. > :34:37.again. I don't think it is a great idea. John is here with the sport,

:34:38. > :34:41.and big celebrations at Manchester City. Yes, they look to turn

:34:42. > :34:44.themselves into a football superpower, and the women's team

:34:45. > :34:53.benefiting from all that investment. They have assembled a fantastic

:34:54. > :34:56.team, with Carli Lloyd, and now they are into the semifinals of the

:34:57. > :34:58.Champions League after domestic double last season.

:34:59. > :35:02.Lucy Bronze scored the only goal in last night's second leg,

:35:03. > :35:06.And that follows their victory in the first leg.

:35:07. > :35:09.They face the holders, Lyon, in the semi-finals,

:35:10. > :35:19.and their captain, Steph Horton, is clearly excited by the challenge.

:35:20. > :35:23.We are excited to move onto the semi-final.

:35:24. > :35:26.We know that Lyon are a very experienced team, and they have got

:35:27. > :35:28.a team full of world-class individuals.

:35:29. > :35:35.It is going to be an exciting game for sure.

:35:36. > :35:37.The Stoke City striker Saido Berahino served an eight-week

:35:38. > :35:41.doping ban earlier this season, and he says it was because his drink

:35:42. > :35:45.He didn't play for his former side, West Brom, between September

:35:46. > :35:47.and January, as he served his suspension.

:35:48. > :35:50.But he says there was such a small amount in his system,

:35:51. > :35:53.it proves he couldn't have taken the drug intentionally.

:35:54. > :35:56.For me to get banned for something that you really haven't done

:35:57. > :36:02.Because if I was going to get high, like talking about whether you

:36:03. > :36:05.wanted to get high, maybe the numbers would have came higher,

:36:06. > :36:11.But it was really, really low, so why would you want to take

:36:12. > :36:19.But because I am in the Premier League, the FA have

:36:20. > :36:27.And you can watch the full interview on Football Focus on BBC One,

:36:28. > :36:33.We know how a larger World Cup in 2026 is going to look.

:36:34. > :36:35.It will feature 48 teams, up from 32.

:36:36. > :36:38.And there will be more chance of seeing another European nation

:36:39. > :36:42.lift the trophy, as Germany did in 2014, too, as there will be 16

:36:43. > :36:44.European countries, instead of the current 13.

:36:45. > :36:47.And there is going to be a new six-team play-off tournament

:36:48. > :36:59.She has become the first British woman to reach the Miami Open final.

:37:00. > :37:02.She beat Venus Williams, and that means she will play

:37:03. > :37:11.Amazing to think Konta was just six years old when Williams first won

:37:12. > :37:16.Konta has said she is one of her all-time heroes.

:37:17. > :37:19.No room for sentiment, though, last night, as the British number

:37:20. > :37:24.England's Charley Hull is well-placed at the first women's

:37:25. > :37:27.major of the year, the ANA Inspiration, in California.

:37:28. > :37:31.No doubt what the shot of the day was.

:37:32. > :37:34.Have a look at this from South Korean teenage amateur

:37:35. > :37:54.When you are producing shots like that you know your luck is in.

:37:55. > :37:57.What a turnaround for Super League club Salford Red Devils.

:37:58. > :37:59.They only just avoided relegation last season.

:38:00. > :38:02.This season, they are joint-top of the table, after ten games.

:38:03. > :38:09.A poor bit of defending, as St Helens lost the ball.

:38:10. > :38:11.And Salford were in, Michael Dobson receiving this pass

:38:12. > :38:13.to claim his second try of the night.

:38:14. > :38:16.The Red Devils have now won four of their last five matches.

:38:17. > :38:19.World number one Mark Selby is into the quarter-finals

:38:20. > :38:23.The defending champion edged out a tense final-frame decider

:38:24. > :38:33.Judd Trump and Ding Junhui are also through.

:38:34. > :38:39.No Ronnie O'Sullivan, he was knocked out in the early rounds. Great to

:38:40. > :38:44.see Manchester City women doing well. They are benefiting from all

:38:45. > :38:49.that investment, the incredible facilities they have on the site,

:38:50. > :38:54.the success of the men's and women's teams, and as I say, Carli Lloyd,

:38:55. > :38:58.two-time Player of the Year in their ranks, and they are reaping the

:38:59. > :39:04.benefits, into the semifinals of the Champions League. I tell you what,

:39:05. > :39:11.go out there now, so back and relax and put your feet up. You deserve

:39:12. > :39:14.it. Thank you so much for the sport, it is absolutely excellent. A rare

:39:15. > :39:16.moment of being nice to John. If people seem friendlier today,

:39:17. > :39:19.it could be because it is But, just in case you need a little

:39:20. > :39:24.more encouragement to do a good deed, a campaign is being launched

:39:25. > :39:27.with the aim of making The Diana Award charity,

:39:28. > :39:31.set up in memory of Princess Diana, wants to inspire 20,000 acts

:39:32. > :39:33.of kindness during 2017, so we have been asking some

:39:34. > :39:46.of you to share your experiences. Going to the theatre,

:39:47. > :39:49.and obviously there were some chaps wanting

:39:50. > :39:53.coffees and things, I just thought, you know what,

:39:54. > :39:57.for the sake of another ?20 I would rather get

:39:58. > :39:59.them summing to eat. I had a huge pot of coins once,

:40:00. > :40:03.I mean it was massive, I just went to a random

:40:04. > :40:06.homeless person. There was this old lady,

:40:07. > :40:12.she was carrying large luggage. There was a lift, but

:40:13. > :40:14.she couldn't see it. So I carried her bag

:40:15. > :40:17.until she got down the stairs. A homeless person, and he was just

:40:18. > :40:21.sat outside Blackpool North Station. We were getting off the train,

:40:22. > :40:34.and I had a bar of chocolate I am trying to think of the last

:40:35. > :40:39.time I did something that night. I am struggling. I could say ten

:40:40. > :40:45.minutes ago when I made a cup of tea. And yourself a cup of the! --

:40:46. > :40:46.cup of tea. Joining us now from London

:40:47. > :40:49.is Tessy Ojo who is the chief And with us here on the sofa is cafe

:40:50. > :40:54.owner Simon Whitter, who spends much of his time

:40:55. > :41:00.volunteering with vulnerable people. Simon made the headlines, because

:41:01. > :41:03.you made Christmas dinner. Talk us through what you did. The first year

:41:04. > :41:09.we did 170 breakfasts. In the year just gone, we started off to do 300

:41:10. > :41:15.on the day, we ended up doing 1000 across ten events. A thousand people

:41:16. > :41:21.across the city? Yes. And we know how grateful they will be forgetting

:41:22. > :41:25.the kind of service and food that we are showing on the pictures that you

:41:26. > :41:29.filmed, but what do you get back on return from it? What does it make

:41:30. > :41:33.you feel to help people in that way? I don't think it is about getting

:41:34. > :41:37.anything back from it. It is doing it because you can do it. I don't

:41:38. > :41:39.need anything back from it. There are people out there that do

:41:40. > :41:43.actually need... I don't know, support, that little bit of

:41:44. > :41:49.kindness. It is as simple as that, it is kindness. It changes moods, it

:41:50. > :41:55.changes so much about lives. As chief executive of the Diana Award,

:41:56. > :42:00.this is very much Molk on something that the late Princess of Wales

:42:01. > :42:05.spoke about. There is a great quote, carry out a random act of kindness,

:42:06. > :42:08.with no expectation of reward, and the knowledge that someone might do

:42:09. > :42:12.something nice for you. It is picking up on her own words, isn't

:42:13. > :42:18.it? Absolutely, and just like Simon said, giving and receiving a kind

:42:19. > :42:22.act has the Mendis impact on both the giver and the receiver. We know

:42:23. > :42:25.either during or receiving a kind act improves your mental well-being.

:42:26. > :42:33.We know that it also improves your self-esteem. And research shows it

:42:34. > :42:37.helps reduce depression. So just like Princess Diana carried out lots

:42:38. > :42:41.of acts, we know that everyone has value and ever and has the potential

:42:42. > :42:45.to give back. So today is about encouraging us. We want to inspire

:42:46. > :42:53.at least 20,000 people across our country to be kinder. We are pretty

:42:54. > :42:57.kind already, aren't we? We are, actually, because research we also

:42:58. > :43:02.have released today shows that as Brits we are very kind people, but

:43:03. > :43:06.we can do much more. We also know from the research that unfortunately

:43:07. > :43:10.men are less likely to get random acts of kindness so today is really

:43:11. > :43:14.about saying, look, we can do a bit more. There is so much more room.

:43:15. > :43:18.One of the things that we know is that we live increasingly less

:43:19. > :43:23.connected lives. We live increasingly quite insular lives,

:43:24. > :43:27.and today is about saying be a wet, think about the person next to you,

:43:28. > :43:31.think about what servers can you give? You know, Princess Diana was

:43:32. > :43:35.all about service and compassion, and this is the 20th anniversary of

:43:36. > :43:40.her death, and therefore we are saying, if you feel connected to

:43:41. > :43:46.Princess Diana, if you want to walk in her shoes, be that little bit

:43:47. > :43:50.kinder today. But also forever. It is interesting, isn't it? Not just

:43:51. > :43:55.today, also on every other day of the year. Well, you have got to try.

:43:56. > :44:00.Interesting that men are less likely to receive an act of kindness. Is

:44:01. > :44:05.that something you have experienced? Yes and no. I don't think... I mean,

:44:06. > :44:10.I do it because I like doing it, I have never received a random act of

:44:11. > :44:16.kindness, as such. No one has ever given you an act of kindness? No, I

:44:17. > :44:20.don't think so. Despite all your efforts for other people? It is not

:44:21. > :44:24.about me, it is about other people. Today might be the day when that

:44:25. > :44:28.kindness comes back to you. That is the point, it is like a chain

:44:29. > :44:33.letter, if you like, it goes from one person to the next. Absolutely,

:44:34. > :44:37.and sad to hear that Simon has never, so I encourage the public to

:44:38. > :44:41.give Simon an act of kindness today. We are leading incredibly insular

:44:42. > :44:45.lives, and it is about reaching out. We could all be that little bit

:44:46. > :44:49.kinder, so we are encouraging the public, but also do an act of

:44:50. > :44:53.kindness, and we want to register your act of kindness, we want to

:44:54. > :44:57.showcase it at the end of the year and show that Brits are quite cool

:44:58. > :45:02.people and they are also quite kind. Thank you very much indeed, and

:45:03. > :45:05.Simon, I hope this is the day. If you see Simon out on the street,

:45:06. > :45:09.help him, give him something in return after everything he has done.

:45:10. > :45:13.Thank you very much indeed. Lots of you have been in touch, Gena has

:45:14. > :45:18.said yesterday a work colleague was kind and gave me a lift home, I am

:45:19. > :45:23.getting her chocolates to repay the kindness today. And says she was at

:45:24. > :45:28.the doctor 's surgery, and the five door is heavy, difficult to open,

:45:29. > :45:32.and the young lady laptop and open the door for her. It is those things

:45:33. > :45:36.we used to automatically, we didn't have a day for it, but they clearly

:45:37. > :45:42.make a difference, and she says it really her date. And one

:45:43. > :45:46.correspondent said she has a day of kindness on the first day of each

:45:47. > :45:46.month. The rest of the month, not at all!

:45:47. > :45:48.You're watching Breakfast from BBC News.

:45:49. > :45:51.The main stories this morning: Patients will have to wait longer

:45:52. > :45:53.for routine operations such as hip and knee replacements

:45:54. > :45:57.in what the Head of the NHS in England says is a trade-off

:45:58. > :45:59.so improvements can be made elsewhere in the system.

:46:00. > :46:03.Details on how the EU plans to negotiate Brexit will be released

:46:04. > :46:05.later today by the president of the European Council,

:46:06. > :46:10.As we look ahead to the weekend, Matt is here to brighten our moods

:46:11. > :46:18.this morning. Aren't you? It's not that bad, I promise! This

:46:19. > :46:22.image from one of our Weather Watchers in south-east Wales sums up

:46:23. > :46:27.the day, some clouds but brightness on the horizon. If you're going out

:46:28. > :46:30.shortly, you may notice that it is incredibly mild, warmest at the

:46:31. > :46:36.moment is Preston in Lancashire, even as far north as Aberdeen we

:46:37. > :46:40.have ten at present. There are some dark clouds around, they have

:46:41. > :46:43.cleared away from the south-west, sunny spells developing over the

:46:44. > :46:47.next few hours. We'll see that into the south-west of Wales, lots of

:46:48. > :46:57.cloud in the rest of Wales, outbreaks to the north, cloud

:46:58. > :46:59.spreading from the Midlands to the south-east, affecting Cumbria,

:47:00. > :47:02.Cumbria especially wet in southern areas, eastern England dry with

:47:03. > :47:05.sunshine, wet in the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, southern Scotland,

:47:06. > :47:08.it will take a long time view clear that rain from western Scotland. In

:47:09. > :47:11.Northern Ireland the rain should clear by mid-morning. Lorraine

:47:12. > :47:16.clears from north Wales, hitting other parts of northern England

:47:17. > :47:20.until early afternoon -- the rain. A few showers in eastern areas and

:47:21. > :47:24.returning to Northern Ireland, west Wales and Cornwall. For most, the

:47:25. > :47:28.afternoon dry and brighter than this morning, more sunshine around. Not

:47:29. > :47:34.as warm as 22 yesterday but for this stage of the year, 13 to 17 degrees,

:47:35. > :47:38.there should be no complaints. Tonight, the showers we have in the

:47:39. > :47:41.west will develop more widely in western areas, many eastern part of

:47:42. > :47:46.Scotland and eastern England will stay dry. Also tonight, a bit colder

:47:47. > :47:51.than last night, temperatures back into single figures, nowhere unusual

:47:52. > :47:54.for this stage of the year. But into Saturday, we will the showers get

:47:55. > :47:58.going quickly, already in the west are to begin with, developing

:47:59. > :48:02.elsewhere in the UK, you be hard-pressed to completely avoid

:48:03. > :48:06.them, some slow-moving, heavy and thundery, England and Wales

:48:07. > :48:11.especially, but not a washout of a date, some will see more sunshine

:48:12. > :48:16.and showers and in the sunshine, feeling reasonably pleasant. Cooler

:48:17. > :48:19.to take us into Sunday, a ridge of high pressure generally means dry

:48:20. > :48:24.weather and that's the story for Sunday, a fine day for the majority.

:48:25. > :48:29.A few isolated showers, the vast majority will see good sunny spells

:48:30. > :48:34.and highs of around 11 to 16. A bit cooler than it has been recently. As

:48:35. > :48:38.Sally and John have mentioned, some may start your Easter holiday this

:48:39. > :48:43.weekend and if you're heading into Europe, this is what you can expect

:48:44. > :48:47.on Sunday, the driest and sunniest weather in eastern parts, not

:48:48. > :48:51.looking great in Italy, though, Corsica and Sardinia. But if your

:48:52. > :48:55.act of kindness is to take your friendly local weatherman to

:48:56. > :48:57.southern Spain, Portugal, Tenerife or the Canary Islands, I wouldn't

:48:58. > :49:06.object, looking sunny and hot! Any of those would do! And I fit

:49:07. > :49:07.into the overhead locker as well! Get me out of here!

:49:08. > :49:10.Big tax changes are on the way for your car from tomorrow.

:49:11. > :49:14.Its designed to simplify the system, but it could mean many motorists

:49:15. > :49:20.Ben has nipped outside to have a look at the changes.

:49:21. > :49:27.It looks like in this random act of kindness he has got us all a car! I

:49:28. > :49:32.should be doing a game show this morning, I am channelling my inner

:49:33. > :49:39.used-car salesman. Big changes to car tax come into force tomorrow. It

:49:40. > :49:44.is designed to make it more simple but is it? Let's go through some of

:49:45. > :49:48.the details. This only applies to new cars bought from tomorrow, not

:49:49. > :49:55.existing cars or second-hand cars, keep an eye on that.

:49:56. > :50:01.First up, the easiest to remember change is that the annual tax bill

:50:02. > :50:11.Cars emitting zero carbon, electric vehicles,

:50:12. > :50:17.from gas guzzlers to a little run around

:50:18. > :50:21.pay a flat rate of ?140 a year.

:50:22. > :50:28.Shall we just be really kind to Ben and rescue him from that? Sorry,

:50:29. > :50:33.everybody, some technical problems, we might try and see if we can fix

:50:34. > :50:38.them but I know it was all going a bit wrong. We can go from all over

:50:39. > :50:41.the world, pictures from the International Space Station, but

:50:42. > :50:45.outside the front door, having problems this morning. Let's see if

:50:46. > :50:49.we can go back to him. We lost you for a moment but we have got you

:50:50. > :50:54.back. Nothing like shoving a cable out of the window! Jim Holder is

:50:55. > :51:01.with me, explain some of the changes, I was halfway through and

:51:02. > :51:05.we lost the line, it is all designed to make it more simple but it's not

:51:06. > :51:09.quite that simple, is it? The fact you were struggling to explain it

:51:10. > :51:13.shows how complicated it is, we once had a system where you bought a car,

:51:14. > :51:17.you knew what you are going to pay, now you have to pay attention to

:51:18. > :51:22.three things, the first year rate, across 13 different bands, then the

:51:23. > :51:26.supplementary years to-6 rates, a flat ?140 or most beer goals apart

:51:27. > :51:38.from hybrid and electric, then you have to be careful around the

:51:39. > :51:46.?40,000 threshold. -- most vehicles. You get a proper dashboard, but if

:51:47. > :51:49.that takes you over ?40,000 you are liable for a bigger tax bill?

:51:50. > :51:53.Absolutely, the tax will be worked out on the cost of the car plus

:51:54. > :51:58.options, you could take a ?10 option box that puts it over ?40,000 and

:51:59. > :52:03.then you could triple your tax bill, taking it from a few hundred pounds

:52:04. > :52:07.a year to over ?1000 a year so you have to be careful when you are

:52:08. > :52:14.inspecting a car on the cusp of that threshold. Why now? As we're told,

:52:15. > :52:18.it is meant to make it more simple and this only applies to cars that

:52:19. > :52:23.are new, bought from tomorrow, if you want to get in, do it today. You

:52:24. > :52:26.can beat the tax change by doing it today. The government has brought it

:52:27. > :52:32.in because of taxation, they want more money. The cars producing less

:52:33. > :52:36.than 100 g per kilometre of CO2 were free from tax, and around a quarter

:52:37. > :52:39.of all cars were being bought at that rate so they weren't earning

:52:40. > :52:43.enough. They've changed the rules to get more money for the larger

:52:44. > :52:54.vehicles and more expensive vehicles. What happens if you get

:52:55. > :52:57.this wrong? All of the process of the taxation should be automatic but

:52:58. > :53:01.if you have tipped yourself over the edge and bought a ?41,000 car, any

:53:02. > :53:05.comeback? Not really, you're in trouble if you make a mistake. Look

:53:06. > :53:08.at the dealer, they should be able to help and advise but they aren't

:53:09. > :53:13.obliged to, do your own homework, if you make a mistake you're committed

:53:14. > :53:16.to the car and you have to pay the new rate. Always good to see you,

:53:17. > :53:20.Jim Holder. I hope you managed to stay with us through that. It's a

:53:21. > :53:24.bit more complicated than many people would perhaps like. But big

:53:25. > :53:28.changes coming in. Whether you've got a little runaround or a bigger

:53:29. > :53:32.car, big changes in how much tax you pay, those changes come in from

:53:33. > :53:38.tomorrow. More from the later if we can get the line working! Thanks

:53:39. > :53:45.very much. It worked in the end, we persevered and it worked in the end!

:53:46. > :53:48.How do you think we prepare for really big interviews? The Prime

:53:49. > :53:53.Minister or a tough Brexit interview? Some homework? Let's see

:53:54. > :53:57.what David Dimbleby does for Question Time. This is what they

:53:58. > :54:01.make me do to try and get you to watch Question Time, if you like

:54:02. > :54:06.politics you watch Question Time, if you don't then you don't watch it.

:54:07. > :54:12.They are asking you to do it again. Who are? All the people online. Do

:54:13. > :54:18.you want to do it again? Let's do it one more. Look, if you have one shot

:54:19. > :54:23.all one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted, in one

:54:24. > :54:36.moment, would you capture it or just let it slip? Play! We've triggered

:54:37. > :54:41.Article 50, May's why is nifty, are we going to have to be thrifty with

:54:42. > :54:46.a recession in 2050, rather than doom all gloom, the economy could

:54:47. > :54:50.boom as Fox's thousands of trade deals loom. With terror threats,

:54:51. > :54:55.Merkel frets and will we decide to pay our debts? There's immigration,

:54:56. > :55:02.vexation and questions from the nation, Theresa May's premiership

:55:03. > :55:09.is... What does Britain think, are we on the brink of a bright new dawn

:55:10. > :55:17.or might we sink? Emceed Dimbleby wrapping a bit of Question Time. --

:55:18. > :55:22.MC. Channelling a little bit of Eminem. What his father would think

:55:23. > :55:28.of that! You're watching Breakfast on BBC News. Still to come This

:55:29. > :55:34.Morning programme... It's full steam ahead for the Settle

:55:35. > :55:38.to Carlisle railway as it reopens Our reporter Allison Freeman

:55:39. > :55:46.is on the route for us this morning. We were on the first train to travel

:55:47. > :55:50.along the tracks, the tracks that have been shut for well over a year

:55:51. > :55:53.between Carlisle and Appleby on this iconic line. They have been shut

:55:54. > :55:56.because back in December of 2015 we have the rains and heavy storms, who

:55:57. > :56:02.could forget, which undermined the tracks and caused around 500,000

:56:03. > :56:06.tons of earth to be a landslide and to come away. That has caused

:56:07. > :56:11.Network Rail to carry out what they've described as their biggest

:56:12. > :56:15.repair job ever, its cost them ?23 million to build what has been

:56:16. > :56:22.described to me as an underground viaduct. Later on to celebrate the

:56:23. > :56:26.reopening of the line we're going to see the Flying Scotsman coming along

:56:27. > :59:45.this stretch of track. More on that much

:59:46. > :00:12.Hello, this is Breakfast, with Sally Nugent and Jon Kay.

:00:13. > :00:15.Longer waits for hospital operations in England as the health

:00:16. > :00:18.service is forced to make a tough "trade-off".

:00:19. > :00:20.The Head of NHS England says treatment is no longer guaranteed

:00:21. > :00:25.in the 18-week target time, but in return there would be

:00:26. > :00:41.quicker cancer diagnosis and emergency care.

:00:42. > :00:44.Good morning, it's Friday, 31st March.

:00:45. > :00:49.As Britain prepares for Brexit, today the EU will set

:00:50. > :00:52.out its guidelines for two years of negotiation.

:00:53. > :00:55.Trying to save the African elephant - we'll hear how they're

:00:56. > :00:57.cared for in Nairobi, and speak to campaigner

:00:58. > :01:15.In sport, Manchester City's women reach the semi-finals

:01:16. > :01:18.of the Champions League, Lucy Bronze with the goal as City

:01:19. > :01:21.reach the last four after a 2-0 aggregate win over Danish

:01:22. > :01:26.The private spaceflight company SpaceX has made history

:01:27. > :01:32.by successfully flying a rocket that has already been to space.

:01:33. > :01:45.Grey skies and rain may greet the day for some of you, but it will be

:01:46. > :01:48.getting better, brighter skies later and a weekend forecast that does

:01:49. > :01:49.contain a fair bit of sunshine as well. Details in the next 15

:01:50. > :01:52.minutes. Patients will have to wait longer

:01:53. > :01:59.for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements,

:02:00. > :02:03.as a "trade-off" for improvements That's according to the Head of NHS

:02:04. > :02:09.England, Simon Stevens, who is today setting out a strategy

:02:10. > :02:11.for the next few years. Our health correspondent

:02:12. > :02:21.Sophie Hutchinson is outside one You have been looking at the plans,

:02:22. > :02:26.the strategy, what does it mean for us as patients?

:02:27. > :02:30.It is two years since the NHS began a five-year transformation plan.

:02:31. > :02:34.This is the progress update, if you like, and the chief executive of the

:02:35. > :02:38.NHS, Simon Stevens, described it as an honest assessment, though he

:02:39. > :02:42.would not go into details about whether he felt the NHS had enough

:02:43. > :02:44.money to carry out the plans. But he did say, given the limited

:02:45. > :03:04.resources, there needed to be some trade-offs, one of those, he said,

:03:05. > :03:06.would be around the 18 week target for non-urgent operations. He said

:03:07. > :03:08.that some patients would wait longer, that is for things like

:03:09. > :03:10.cataracts or hip and knee surgery. In addition, he said the other

:03:11. > :03:13.trade-off would be around GPs, that they would be asked to look at the

:03:14. > :03:15.numbers of patients they were referring to hospitals for

:03:16. > :03:18.treatment, and instead of referring them on to possibly look at other

:03:19. > :03:23.solutions such as physiotherapy instead. He said that was important

:03:24. > :03:28.for them to make progress in other areas, for example to extend GB oh

:03:29. > :03:32.pounds, to speed up cancer diagnosis, and also to make it

:03:33. > :03:40.quicker for patients when they come to A, so he said they were

:03:41. > :03:45.necessary trade-offs to improve the system in other ways. Interest to

:03:46. > :03:49.those, the positive aspects, they have been full of praise but there

:03:50. > :03:52.are concerns about the more negative aspects. The Royal College of

:03:53. > :03:57.Surgeons said it means more patients will make longer and in more pain

:03:58. > :04:03.before surgery, we risk returning to the days of unacceptably long waits

:04:04. > :04:07.for elective treatment. The British Medical Association said achieving

:04:08. > :04:11.one delivery promise only by missing another is a textbook example of

:04:12. > :04:13.rationing access to care. OK, for now, thank you very much

:04:14. > :04:16.indeed. We've been talking about this story

:04:17. > :04:19.all morning, and after 8.30am we'll get the thoughts of Niall Dixon

:04:20. > :04:22.from the NHS Confederation. A group of MPs have said it's

:04:23. > :04:26."unacceptable" that residents who pay their own fees at care homes

:04:27. > :04:29.in England are charged on average 43% more than those

:04:30. > :04:32.funded by the state. The Communities and Local Government

:04:33. > :04:35.Committee blames a lack of funding, which it says is threatening

:04:36. > :04:37.the viability of adult The Government says it's already

:04:38. > :04:46.given councils an extra ?2 billion. The President of the European

:04:47. > :04:54.Council, Donald Tusk, will issue draft guidelines today

:04:55. > :04:56.setting out how the EU wants The proposals will then be debated

:04:57. > :05:01.by the leaders of the 27 EU member Chris Morris is in Malta, where

:05:02. > :05:12.European Leaders have been meeting. I know Mr Tusk is due to hold a

:05:13. > :05:15.press conference shortly and when we have seen him speak over the last

:05:16. > :05:20.couple of days about Brexit he was actually quite emotional, wasn't he?

:05:21. > :05:26.He was, I suspect we will see a more businesslike persona this morning.

:05:27. > :05:29.He is due to have sent the draft guidelines in the last couple of

:05:30. > :05:34.minutes to the 27 other national capitals, and they will set the tone

:05:35. > :05:38.for the two years of tough negotiations and deal-making ahead.

:05:39. > :05:42.In the next hour he will be coming to the building behind us, the Prime

:05:43. > :05:46.Minister's office in Malta, and he will have a press conference in

:05:47. > :05:49.which some of the details will be released. I understand the

:05:50. > :05:52.guidelines will be six or seven pages, starting with general

:05:53. > :06:05.principles. A lot of them will set out the way the EU thinks the

:06:06. > :06:07.negotiation should be structured, which means starting off with trying

:06:08. > :06:10.to get some agreement on the terms of divorce, and only then moving on

:06:11. > :06:12.to talk about a future trade agreement. The UK wants to talk

:06:13. > :06:14.about trade straightaway because those future trading relationships

:06:15. > :06:17.are absolutely critical, but if the other 27 countries agree with these

:06:18. > :06:22.guidelines it will be difficult for the UK to change their minds. That

:06:23. > :06:25.is one of the big things that has changed this week. Until Theresa May

:06:26. > :06:31.triggered Article 50 on Wednesday, she was in control of the timing and

:06:32. > :06:35.the process. Now a lot of that control passes to Brussels.

:06:36. > :06:40.Chris, thank you very much indeed. That press conference due to happen

:06:41. > :06:41.in the next 35, 40 minutes, we will bring you the latest if anything

:06:42. > :06:44.arises. Scotland's First Minister,

:06:45. > :06:46.Nicola Sturgeon, has written to Theresa May,

:06:47. > :06:48.formally requesting a second Here she is signing the letter,

:06:49. > :06:53.in which she reiterates her call for The Prime Minister has already said

:06:54. > :06:59.it won't happen before There are warnings today

:07:00. > :07:06.of a recruitment crisis if Brexit leads to immigration

:07:07. > :07:09.being severely restricted. In the first major business

:07:10. > :07:16.intervention since Theresa May began the process of Britain's

:07:17. > :07:17.divorce from the EU, the British Hospitality

:07:18. > :07:19.Association has said the industry faces a shortfall of 60,000

:07:20. > :07:21.workers a year. Our industry correspondent

:07:22. > :07:27.John Moylan has more. At Butlins in Bognor Regis,

:07:28. > :07:34.they are gearing up Around 40% of staff here

:07:35. > :07:37.are from outside the UK, and the boss says they'd face

:07:38. > :07:39.a recruitment crisis if Brexit causes that supply

:07:40. > :07:42.of workers to be cut off. If the tap was just turned

:07:43. > :07:44.off, straightaway that We rely on a third of our workplace

:07:45. > :07:53.from European employees. To be able to turn that straight

:07:54. > :07:56.off, and replace it straight off, We're in the hospitality industry,

:07:57. > :07:59.the service industry. You actually have to employ people

:08:00. > :08:03.who like to serve people. Tourism and hospitality accounts

:08:04. > :08:10.for around 10% of the economy. Now, a new report is warning that

:08:11. > :08:13.restrictions on foreign labour could hit it harder

:08:14. > :08:15.than any other sector. The UK's hospitality sector employs

:08:16. > :08:18.around 3 million workers, but it's highly reliant

:08:19. > :08:20.upon overseas staff. 24% of the workforce

:08:21. > :08:25.are EU migrants. It could face a shortfall of 60,000

:08:26. > :08:27.workers a year if immigration The industry wants to reduce

:08:28. > :08:35.its dependence on EU workers. Its new ten-year strategy includes

:08:36. > :08:38.recruiting more unemployed The Government says that,

:08:39. > :08:44.while it will end free movement as it is now,

:08:45. > :08:46.it will design a new immigration system that is in

:08:47. > :08:53.the national interest. President Trump's former

:08:54. > :08:56.National Security Adviser has offered to give evidence

:08:57. > :08:58.about possible links between the Trump campaign

:08:59. > :09:00.and Russia, if he's given protection from what has been called

:09:01. > :09:02."unfair prosecution". General Michael Flynn was forced

:09:03. > :09:05.to resign in February after he misled the Vice-President

:09:06. > :09:08.over phone conversations he had His lawyer says he "has

:09:09. > :09:34.a story to tell". Australian authorities have

:09:35. > :09:44.ordered 40,000 people to evacuate to higher ground

:09:45. > :09:47.as flash flooding in the aftermath The storm hit Queensland's most

:09:48. > :09:50.populous region on yesterday after pummelling the north-east

:09:51. > :09:52.coast for two days. The state's capital, Brisbane,

:09:53. > :09:54.was hit with 20 centimetres More than 2,000 schools have been

:09:55. > :09:58.forced to close as tens of thousands A Californian company has made

:09:59. > :10:02.history by launching a rocket back Rockets are traditionally used only

:10:03. > :10:05.once, before being scrapped. But SpaceX has developed

:10:06. > :10:14.a way of landing its boosters safely on earth,

:10:15. > :10:16.allowing them to be recycled. It's been described as "one small

:10:17. > :10:18.step for the company, but a giant leap in the search

:10:19. > :10:21.for cheaper space exploration" - You are looking at a rocket

:10:22. > :10:24.with a difference. Unlike the rest, it is fitted

:10:25. > :10:27.with a booster that And now history,

:10:28. > :10:30.as it is successfully Boosters cost tens of millions

:10:31. > :10:34.of dollars, and are normally discarded and destroyed

:10:35. > :10:35.during an ascent. But the private Californian

:10:36. > :10:37.aerospace company SpaceX has found a way to eject them safely

:10:38. > :10:40.back to earth. After the successful launch,

:10:41. > :10:43.another key moment in the flight, to see if the second-hand booster

:10:44. > :10:46.can safely detach and fly back Rapturous cheers from the mission

:10:47. > :11:01.crew tell you it's a success. Minutes later, it's back on earth,

:11:02. > :11:03.an unprecedented double achievement of launching a reusable rocket,

:11:04. > :11:06.and recovering it for This is gonna be, ultimately,

:11:07. > :11:11.a huge revolution in spaceflight. It's the difference

:11:12. > :11:13.between if you had aeroplanes where you threw away an aeroplane

:11:14. > :11:15.after every flight, versus you could reuse

:11:16. > :11:20.them multiple times. It represents a new era in the space

:11:21. > :11:23.race, where private enterprises compete against each other,

:11:24. > :11:28.instead of countries. The success will be a boost

:11:29. > :11:31.for a company with much more ambitious long-term goals,

:11:32. > :11:33.that include sending two unidentified space tourists

:11:34. > :11:46.to the moon next year. They are looking for two space

:11:47. > :11:51.tourists? Shall we do it? Not for me! What about you?

:11:52. > :11:54.I'm busy. We would be terrible!

:11:55. > :11:56.It's estimated there are fewer than half a million

:11:57. > :11:58.elephants left in Africa, and poaching remains the biggest

:11:59. > :12:01.But now, in what's been described by conservationists

:12:02. > :12:03.as a game-changing move, the ivory trade's biggest

:12:04. > :12:07.market, China, is calling a halt to the practice.

:12:08. > :12:17.By the end of today, almost half of the country's

:12:18. > :12:24.government-approved factories and shops dealing

:12:25. > :12:26.with ivory will have closed their doors for good,

:12:27. > :12:28.with a total ban by the end of the year.

:12:29. > :12:31.A global ban on international sales is already in place,

:12:32. > :12:33.but does this go far enough in tackling the problem?

:12:34. > :12:35.Let's get the thoughts of chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall,

:12:36. > :12:37.who presented a BBC documentary about the ivory trade,

:12:38. > :12:40.and also Kirsty Smith, who joins us from the David

:12:41. > :12:46.Good morning to you both. Kirsty, I will continue first of all, can you

:12:47. > :12:55.first of all described where you are and the work that goes on with the

:12:56. > :13:01.elephants that are with you now? I'm at the Nairobi nursery of the David

:13:02. > :13:05.Sheldrick wildlife trust in Kenya. You can see some of the elephants

:13:06. > :13:10.behind me, someone whom are victims of poaching, their mothers killed

:13:11. > :13:16.for their ivory. It is a bright sunny day here in Nairobi. Can you

:13:17. > :13:21.tell me what a difference the news from China will make on the ground

:13:22. > :13:25.where you are? It is going to make a colossal difference, China are the

:13:26. > :13:29.biggest importers of ivory and already they're commendable work has

:13:30. > :13:34.made a difference so far. We have seen the price of ivory dropped more

:13:35. > :13:38.than two thirds since 2014, which is brilliant, but it is a step in the

:13:39. > :13:42.right direction but many other countries can now follow suit. Even

:13:43. > :13:47.the UK, who used to be at the forefront of combating wildlife

:13:48. > :13:49.crime, China is at the forefront now and many other countries can learn a

:13:50. > :13:55.lesson from this and take this forward. We will come back to you in

:13:56. > :13:59.a moment, let's just go to Hugh in Bristol, you don't have any

:14:00. > :14:03.elephants behind you under the Clifton suspension Bridge, but you

:14:04. > :14:09.have seen this trade up close for a BBC documentary. Remind us what you

:14:10. > :14:12.uncovered? What we uncovered was the classic route of ivory, one of the

:14:13. > :14:17.biggest problem places in the world at the moment is Mozambique, which

:14:18. > :14:22.is where we started our story. We saw the ivory going up across the

:14:23. > :14:27.border into Tanzania, up to the port of Mombasa. We found out that

:14:28. > :14:35.Mombasa is a pretty Lee Kee port and ivory is regularly getting out of

:14:36. > :14:39.there, often in shipments of tea. Unfortunately the poaching levels

:14:40. > :14:43.are still sky-high right now. What is happening in China is, as we just

:14:44. > :14:48.heard, fantastic news, but it won't be enough on its own. What is needed

:14:49. > :14:52.is concerted global effort and the UK definitely has to play its part

:14:53. > :14:57.in that, and a big part of our investigation was to try and find

:14:58. > :15:01.out what contribution, either knowingly or unwittingly, the UK

:15:02. > :15:05.ivory trade is making to the problem, and unfortunately it is

:15:06. > :15:14.considerable. A lot of UK ivory pieces are being exported to China,

:15:15. > :15:16.other countries in Asia, where the market remains robust. China is

:15:17. > :15:20.great news, but Vietnam and Laos still have robust markets. We have

:15:21. > :15:24.had a promise from the Government now for two election manifestos in a

:15:25. > :15:28.row to shut down the UK ivory trade, we need to see it delivered. It is

:15:29. > :15:32.great in countries where the trade has been so historic and massive

:15:33. > :15:37.they are taking action, but we should not forget we were probably

:15:38. > :15:43.the worst culprits for, between 1860 and 1920 we imported to the UK the

:15:44. > :15:48.ivory of over 1.2 million elephants. But a lot of people will say that is

:15:49. > :15:50.history, that goes back over a century, and we are talking today

:15:51. > :15:57.about maybe antiques being tackled and banned, people asking on social

:15:58. > :16:03.media, is that really relevant in 2017, does it make a difference?

:16:04. > :16:09.Yes, because we know for a fact that many of those antiques are being

:16:10. > :16:16.systematically brought a pencil to Asian dealers and exported. Over

:16:17. > :16:22.2000 people... Pieces of UK ivory arrived in Hong Kong in 2014, border

:16:23. > :16:28.force made 150 seizures last year. One packet destined for China had

:16:29. > :16:34.over 22 kilos of carved ivory pieces from the UK. These UK pieces go to

:16:35. > :16:38.prop up the market in Asia, they perpetuate the desirability of

:16:39. > :16:43.ivory. China has taken an incredible step in the last human is to say we

:16:44. > :16:48.no longer want to value carved ivory as an object, but it is no good just

:16:49. > :16:58.the Asian countries doing it if we will perpetuate the sense in the UK

:16:59. > :17:00.that carved ivory is something to be cherished with real value, something

:17:01. > :17:03.you can sell and profit from. It is absolutely the wrong message

:17:04. > :17:06.globally and we have to step in line. If we want to call ourselves

:17:07. > :17:12.leaders in global conservation, we have to do it. Kirsty, you deal with

:17:13. > :17:16.lots of tourists, what is the prevailing attitude of people who

:17:17. > :17:21.come to your camp about the ivory trade? Most to visit the orphanage

:17:22. > :17:26.are obviously very shocked, but not a lot of people understand the full

:17:27. > :17:31.consequences of it yet. They always come away extremely emotional.

:17:32. > :17:36.Obviously we do our best to put across the message of the damage of

:17:37. > :17:43.the ivory trade on the elephant population, Africa is losing 80

:17:44. > :17:46.elephants a day to poaching. Through our Foster And Often programme we

:17:47. > :17:53.try to spread the word through social media pages, just to put

:17:54. > :17:57.awareness out there and help people to spread the word. -- through our

:17:58. > :18:03.Foster an Orphan programme. People can't believe how many orphans we

:18:04. > :18:06.have, we have rescued 12 this year. Due to poaching and other matters,

:18:07. > :18:11.human wildlife conflict, the drought that Kenya currently faces, the

:18:12. > :18:19.shortage of water. There are many issues to be dealt with. Our boots

:18:20. > :18:24.on the ground, as Hughes said, they are not feeling the effects of this

:18:25. > :18:29.great change yet but we hope to in the future, it is a step in the

:18:30. > :18:32.right direction, but boots on the ground and strict penalties towards

:18:33. > :18:40.poachers and anyone breaking the law in regards to the ivory trade and

:18:41. > :18:44.rhino horn. Kirsty, if you would not mind, could you tilt down your

:18:45. > :18:49.laptop screen and moving to the side so we can see where you are. It is

:18:50. > :18:57.not often that we get a view like this. There we go. That is

:18:58. > :19:01.fantastic. These are with their keepers, they're human family who

:19:02. > :19:08.are now replacing the motherly role that these elephants have lost. Can

:19:09. > :19:12.you see them? Really clearly, that is a fantastic view and done a

:19:13. > :19:20.pretty miserable, grey morning in the UK that is a fantastic site to

:19:21. > :19:24.enjoy and see behind you. We see those lovely pictures, Hugh, I know

:19:25. > :19:28.elephants excite and intrigue everybody. Could you see a time in

:19:29. > :19:34.our lifetime that they could potentially be extinct, is that a

:19:35. > :19:37.realistic threat? Extinct is a very finite and depressing concept. I

:19:38. > :19:41.think there is a real danger that if we do not take action the

:19:42. > :19:47.populations will be tiny pockets scattered in a very few safe zones

:19:48. > :19:52.around Africa. As a truly wild species with its own dynamic on the

:19:53. > :19:56.planet, that is not far off extinct. We are heading in that direction.

:19:57. > :20:01.The replacement birth rate does not make up for poaching and we need to

:20:02. > :20:06.reverse this, we need to do it collectively, a global movement. The

:20:07. > :20:11.UK don't have a great deal to do next step to step up to a pledge

:20:12. > :20:15.that they made some time ago. -- except to step up to. Let's see a

:20:16. > :20:21.turnaround in the fortune of the African elephant. Thank you very

:20:22. > :20:25.much Hugh, and big thank you to Kirsty Smith from the David

:20:26. > :20:31.Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the baby orphan elephant nursery. Thank

:20:32. > :20:36.you to Kirsty and her guests. They are gorgeous. Thank you. A beautiful

:20:37. > :20:49.sunny morning and blue skies in Nairobi. What is the weekend have in

:20:50. > :20:53.store in the UK, Matt? -- what does? Grey skies and cloudy conditions for

:20:54. > :20:59.many, like here in Aberdeenshire. The temperatures are high for the

:21:00. > :21:03.time of year, about ten in Aberdeenshire, 13 Baha'i in Preston

:21:04. > :21:09.in Lancashire. London is not too far behind. Some rain across some areas.

:21:10. > :21:14.-- 13 is the high in Preston. Lots of gloating North Wales, outbreaks

:21:15. > :21:17.of rain. Light and patchy rain in the Midlands, heading towards

:21:18. > :21:23.eastern England. It will not affect everyone but it will take away some

:21:24. > :21:26.of the sunshine. Wet in Cumbria and the Isle of Man, in the next few

:21:27. > :21:31.hours the rain should clear away for Fermanagh in the south-west of

:21:32. > :21:35.Northern Ireland. It has been very wet in Northern Ireland. In Scotland

:21:36. > :21:40.are just turns wetter, rain heavily foremost through the morning, dry in

:21:41. > :21:43.the north-east corner. It will linger across the Hebrides, the

:21:44. > :21:48.Highlands into the afternoon. Parts of Scotland will brighten up, most

:21:49. > :21:53.places see sunny spells for a time. Isolated showers in eastern England,

:21:54. > :21:57.showers in the afternoon, returning to Northern Ireland after dry

:21:58. > :22:01.spells. Not quite as warm as yesterday but highs of 13 to 17,

:22:02. > :22:05.pleasant enough for the time of year. It should be a fine evening

:22:06. > :22:09.across many eastern areas but tonight the shallots become more

:22:10. > :22:18.abundant in the West, some of those a little heavy. Compared to recent

:22:19. > :22:24.nights, a bit cooler. Some sunshine on Saturday Times, eastern areas and

:22:25. > :22:28.elsewhere. We will see Shell is developing quite widely, some

:22:29. > :22:31.slow-moving, heavier century. Typical April showers for the

:22:32. > :22:34.Newman. The showers Arts-Loi was moving across the heart of England

:22:35. > :22:42.and Wales, here they last the longest. The sunshine is still

:22:43. > :22:47.pleasant at 13 to 16 degrees. A ridge of high pressure builds, we

:22:48. > :22:51.move off the showers and brings cool conditions to start Sunday. For

:22:52. > :22:55.most, Sunday should be dry with sunny spells and feeling pleasant

:22:56. > :23:00.enough, even if a bit cooler than of late. With the start of the Easter

:23:01. > :23:05.holidays for some, not all, some of you may be heading further revealed.

:23:06. > :23:09.Looking great in the Canaries, Dubai and parts of Mexico. New York much

:23:10. > :23:13.like ourselves, we are probably a bit warmer.

:23:14. > :23:20.I wish you would stop doing that, it is not helping our mood!

:23:21. > :23:28.Never mind the weather, do you like a steam train? We will be talking

:23:29. > :23:29.about the most incredible railway across the Yorkshire Dales and the

:23:30. > :23:34.Cumbrian fells. to Carlisle railway line was forced

:23:35. > :23:39.to halt journeys on its tracks more than a year ago due

:23:40. > :23:41.to a 500,000 tonne landslide. Network Rail has described it as one

:23:42. > :23:44.of the biggest repair challenges And today, after much anticipation,

:23:45. > :23:47.the line has reopened. Our reporter Alison Freeman boarded

:23:48. > :23:50.the inaugural service at 5:50 this morning,

:23:51. > :24:00.and joins us now from On time or not? We were on time, the

:24:01. > :24:08.second train to come along it, about an hour or so ago, also one time.

:24:09. > :24:13.Things are going well. -- also on time. This is an iconic track which

:24:14. > :24:17.takes in the beautiful Eden Valley in Cumbria, travelling through to

:24:18. > :24:21.North Yorkshire over the Ribblehead viaduct, people will surely

:24:22. > :24:26.recognise it, its iconic arches. Last month it had a tornado travel

:24:27. > :24:30.across it just in preparation for the fact that this day was coming,

:24:31. > :24:37.the Carlisle to Settle line was going to fully reopen once again

:24:38. > :24:42.after a year or so of closure. Back in December 2015 we had all the

:24:43. > :24:46.heavy rain, those terrible storms. The railway line was yet another

:24:47. > :24:51.casualty. Around half 1 million tonnes of earth was part of

:24:52. > :24:56.landslides beneath the line. Network Rail had a mammoth task of trying to

:24:57. > :25:01.repair that. They have created what has been described to me as an

:25:02. > :25:06.underground viaduct it. Concrete pillars which will keep the railway

:25:07. > :25:12.line standing even if the rest of it falls away. We have some 23 -- it

:25:13. > :25:17.cost ?23 million. But today everybody got back on the first

:25:18. > :25:23.train at 5:50am, I chatted to some of the excited passengers.

:25:24. > :25:26.Apart from the ungodly hour, it is really quite exciting because, for

:25:27. > :25:33.the first time in 13 months, we have a direct train from Carlisle through

:25:34. > :25:38.to Leeds. It is a great engineering feats and I wanted to be on the

:25:39. > :25:41.first train that passes over this structure.

:25:42. > :25:49.I was on one of the trains on the last day of August in 1970, so I

:25:50. > :25:54.felt it was appropriate to be at the reopening. It is the most

:25:55. > :25:58.spectacular train ride in England. I like railways anyway but it is an

:25:59. > :26:06.historic roots, an iconic route and it is nice to let last see the

:26:07. > :26:10.railway line reopened. As part of the celebrations there

:26:11. > :26:13.will be a very special visitor today, it will be the Flying

:26:14. > :26:18.Scotsman travelling at around lunchtime. A little train fact, do

:26:19. > :26:22.you see those pump on the left? That would be used to develop the

:26:23. > :26:28.Scotsman's water supplies if it was travelling on that side of the

:26:29. > :26:32.trucks -- would be used to fill up. For people living in the area it is

:26:33. > :26:38.fantastic for them that they will get this line back onto the first

:26:39. > :26:41.time in over 30 months. Alison, it looks beautiful.

:26:42. > :26:44.Lucky Allison. 13 months is a long time to wait for a train, I think I

:26:45. > :26:52.have done that in the past. More news on the BBC News Channel

:26:53. > :26:56.through the morning. All the weather and sports coming up and

:26:57. > :26:57.developments from Europe on Eno negotiations. But first the news,

:26:58. > :30:18.travel and weather where you are. will be back just after 9am, for

:30:19. > :30:29.now, Sally and John, see you soon. Hello this is Breakfast,

:30:30. > :30:39.with Sally Nugent and Jon Kay. waiting times will be longer

:30:40. > :30:42.for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements,

:30:43. > :30:45.as a "trade off" for improvements That's according to NHS England,

:30:46. > :30:50.which will today set out The body says increasing patient

:30:51. > :30:53.demand and the growth in new treatments mean choices have

:30:54. > :30:56.to be made. Clare Marx from the Royal College

:30:57. > :30:58.of Surgeons of England told Breakfast the changes will be

:30:59. > :31:06.a wake-up call to the public. People are going to have to realise

:31:07. > :31:10.that they will have to take more care of themselves, there are things

:31:11. > :31:17.that people can do to try to prevent the need for heart surgery, like not

:31:18. > :31:20.smoking, not being overweight. Unless people are willing to take a

:31:21. > :31:24.more active part in their own care, that will present us with an

:31:25. > :31:29.increasing string of people wanting to have this sort of surgery.

:31:30. > :31:31.A group of MPs have said it's "unacceptable" that residents

:31:32. > :31:35.who pay their own fees at care homes in England are charged on average 43

:31:36. > :31:37.per cent more than those funded by the state.

:31:38. > :31:39.The Communities and Local Government Committee

:31:40. > :31:42.blames a lack of funding, which it says is threatening

:31:43. > :31:43.the viability of adult social care providers.

:31:44. > :31:45.The government says it's already given councils

:31:46. > :32:03.The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, will today

:32:04. > :32:06.issue draft guidelines on how the EU intends to negotiate Brexit. The

:32:07. > :32:09.proposals will be sent to the governments of the 27 member states

:32:10. > :32:11.and will help set the tone for the next two years of talks. It's

:32:12. > :32:14.thought Mr Tusk will try to break negotiations down into three phases

:32:15. > :32:16.- the terms of separation, a future trade partnership and the transition

:32:17. > :32:26.to a new relationship between Britain and the EU. A couple of

:32:27. > :32:30.lines from that right now, there will be an orderly withdrawal, the

:32:31. > :32:34.leaders will decide when sufficient progress has been achieved to allow

:32:35. > :32:38.negotiations to proceed to the next stage. Theresa May has said that she

:32:39. > :32:42.wanted to deal with both things at the same time, separation and new

:32:43. > :32:44.relationship, the EU is saying you have to deal with separation first

:32:45. > :32:47.and then move on. Interesting. Scotland's First Minister,

:32:48. > :32:49.Nicola Sturgeon, has written to Theresa May,

:32:50. > :32:56.formally requesting a second Here she is signing the letter, in

:32:57. > :32:58.which she reiterates her call for a vote within the next two years. The

:32:59. > :32:59.Prime Minister has already said it won't happen before Brexit is

:33:00. > :33:03.complete. Hotels, restaurants and tourist

:33:04. > :33:05.attractions have warned ministers of the possible consequences

:33:06. > :33:07.of restricting the movement The British Hospitality Association

:33:08. > :33:09.predicts a shortfall of sixty thousand workers a year

:33:10. > :33:11.if immigration is The government says it will design

:33:12. > :33:15.a new immigration system President Trump's former

:33:16. > :33:28.National Security Adviser has offered to give evidence

:33:29. > :33:31.about possible links between the Trump campaign

:33:32. > :33:32.and Russia, if he's given protection

:33:33. > :33:34.from what has been called General Michael Flynn was forced

:33:35. > :33:39.to resign in February after he misled the Vice-President

:33:40. > :33:41.over phone conversations he had His lawyer says he "has

:33:42. > :33:57.a story to tell." Israel has announced it's to build

:33:58. > :34:00.the first new settlement in the occupied West Bank in more than

:34:01. > :34:02.twenty years. -- 20 years. Palestinian officials have condemned

:34:03. > :34:14.the plan and have called for international intervention.

:34:15. > :34:18.China will close almost half of its official ivory carving factories and

:34:19. > :34:20.shops today, with the rest due to close by the end of the year. The

:34:21. > :34:22.news has been welcomed by conservationists in their ongoing

:34:23. > :34:24.battle against the illegal trade in ivory. Despite a global ban on

:34:25. > :34:27.international sales, a surge in demand has resulted in the deaths of

:34:28. > :34:33.tens of thousands of African elephants in recent years.

:34:34. > :34:37.In the last hour the government has announced it's raised over 11

:34:38. > :34:37.billion pounds from the sale of mortgage loans bought during the

:34:38. > :34:42.financial crisis. The mortgages were originally issued

:34:43. > :34:44.by Bradford Bingley, a buy-to-let provider,

:34:45. > :34:46.which had to be bailed out by the government

:34:47. > :34:48.during the financial crisis. The Treasury said the insurer

:34:49. > :34:54.Prudential and buyout firm, Australian authorities have ordered

:34:55. > :34:56.40 thousand people to evacuate to higher ground - as flash flooding in

:34:57. > :35:03.the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie worsens.

:35:04. > :35:06.These pictures show one of the worst hit areas

:35:07. > :35:13.Yesterday, 20 cm of rain fell in just two hours

:35:14. > :35:17.More than 2,000 schools have been forced to close and tens

:35:18. > :35:19.of thousands of people remain without power.

:35:20. > :35:27.What you do with an old rocket? Sell it? We cycle it? Use it again! A

:35:28. > :35:30.California company has made history by launching a rocket back into

:35:31. > :35:32.space. Rockets are traditionally used only once before being

:35:33. > :35:35.scrapped, but SpaceX has developed a way of landing its boosters safely

:35:36. > :35:40.on Earth - allowing them to be recycled.

:35:41. > :35:46.Ultimately, this will be a huge revolution. Difference between if

:35:47. > :35:49.you have aeroplanes where you threw away an aeroplane after every

:35:50. > :35:59.flight, versus using them multiple times. It makes perfect sense.

:36:00. > :36:01.Cheaper all-round, I suppose cheaper is relative, when it comes to space

:36:02. > :36:07.travel! LAUGHTER Coming up here on

:36:08. > :36:09.Breakfast this morning. Ben will be on our makeshift

:36:10. > :36:11.Breakfast forecourt this morning as he investigates the link

:36:12. > :36:13.between carbon Would you buy a used

:36:14. > :36:22.car from that man? LAUGHTER

:36:23. > :36:25.Harmless person, he was sitting outside Blackpool North station, and

:36:26. > :36:29.we helped him as best we could. We're told a good deed

:36:30. > :36:32.is it's own reward, so why the need for a campaign to make

:36:33. > :36:34.the country kinder? We'll find out in around

:36:35. > :36:36.ten minutes' time. And before the end of the programme,

:36:37. > :36:39.we'll travel into the future, As we meet John Higgins,

:36:40. > :36:47.the man behind one of the most For anyone who does not know, that

:36:48. > :36:51.is... Judge Dredd. We would talking this morning about 2000 AD and how

:36:52. > :36:55.that seems rather retro! No longer in the future. Growing up, it was

:36:56. > :36:57.like an idea of the impossible to reach. Showing my age.

:36:58. > :37:08.Manchester City's ladies team. They are flying, into the semifinals of

:37:09. > :37:11.the Champions League, and it just goes to show, they are reaping the

:37:12. > :37:15.benefits come huge amount of investment has gone on there, not

:37:16. > :37:19.only the men's team, the facilities they have at the training base, but

:37:20. > :37:27.on the field as well, the women's team. Fantastic squad. The thing

:37:28. > :37:30.they have done... They have the luxury of cash, but they do have a

:37:31. > :37:35.proper stadium for people to go and watch them in, it is a great

:37:36. > :37:45.experience to go, young kids can go, families can go. They are into the

:37:46. > :37:52.semifinals of the Champions League, this is how they did it, the only

:37:53. > :37:58.goal scored by Lucy Bronze, 1-0, the Final Score, against the Danish

:37:59. > :38:02.side, Carli Lloyd grabbed the first goal in the first leg. Tough match

:38:03. > :38:13.to come, they face the holders, Lyon. The Stoke City striker Saido

:38:14. > :38:16.Berahino says the reason he failed a drugs test earlier this season, was

:38:17. > :38:18.because his drink was spiked in a club. He served an eight week ban

:38:19. > :38:22.whilst still with his former team West Brom. He said there was such a

:38:23. > :38:23.small amount found in his system, it proves he couldn't have taken the

:38:24. > :38:31.drug intentionally. For me to get banned for something

:38:32. > :38:36.that I really have not done is hard to take. So, it was spiked? Yes,

:38:37. > :38:39.definitely, if I was going to get high, like they said, you would have

:38:40. > :38:44.taken an amount where you want to get high. The numbers would have

:38:45. > :38:49.been higher, that they found in my system. It was really low. Why would

:38:50. > :38:54.you want to take something and not get a bus from it? That was the

:38:55. > :38:57.question. But because I am in The Premier League Show the FA have to

:38:58. > :39:09.have zero tolerance. -- have to. And you can watch the the full

:39:10. > :39:12.interview on Football Focus on BBC One on Saturday from 12:00. What a

:39:13. > :39:14.run Joanna Konta's on. She became the first British woman to reach the

:39:15. > :39:25.Miami Open final last night. Amazing to think, Konta was just six

:39:26. > :39:29.years old when Williams first won Konta's always said that she's

:39:30. > :39:32.a player she admires, but there was no room for sentiment

:39:33. > :39:42.out on court as the british number -- was not able to settle it first

:39:43. > :39:46.time around but second time around was able to, I am so pleased to be a

:39:47. > :39:50.part of the last day of the tournament. And England's Charley

:39:51. > :39:52.Hull is going well in the first women's golf major of the year - the

:39:53. > :39:55.ANA Inspiration in California - she's three shots off the lead. Shot

:39:56. > :39:58.of the day though went to the South Korean teenage amateur Seong

:39:59. > :40:07.Eun-jeong. She made a hole in one at the fifth.. All 182 yards, dropping

:40:08. > :40:12.straight in. When you are producing shots like that, you know that your

:40:13. > :40:18.luck is in! Cannot believe it. It is a rare thing. Cannot all be

:40:19. > :40:22.multitalented. Just imagine. Some time sitting on the sofa, too many

:40:23. > :40:28.talented people, people walk in and you think, harsh! I need to be

:40:29. > :40:32.trying a bit harder. Talking of which, we have another one. We do

:40:33. > :40:38.mean you, Andrew! We will explain why Andrew is joining us.

:40:39. > :40:48.It's as quintessentially British as the Queen or a nice cup of tea. And

:40:49. > :40:50.this weekend the Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge universities

:40:51. > :40:53.returns to the Thames. On Sunday, crowds will cram along the rivers'

:40:54. > :40:55.banks, for the 163rd clash of the academic titans. Let's speak to

:40:56. > :40:57.Andrew Triggs Hodge who's an Olympic gold medallist and former member of

:40:58. > :41:02.the Oxford team. Do you love this weekend, the boat race? We get is a

:41:03. > :41:05.rowing in one of the best forms across the world, we have the

:41:06. > :41:10.Olympics, we see that once every four years, I've every year, we have

:41:11. > :41:14.the boat race. 15 million people watch it and it is bonkers, why do

:41:15. > :41:18.people do it? They come back in droves every year, lining the banks,

:41:19. > :41:23.it produces an amazing atmosphere. What is it like to be involved in?

:41:24. > :41:29.To row it is unique, nothing else like it, normally you are on

:41:30. > :41:38.courses, straight to UK, no avenue to get close together, no clashing,

:41:39. > :41:42.and... It is on a river, winding, a lot more going on. The crowds on the

:41:43. > :41:49.banks, all the way down, absolutely phenomenal. We train, very focused

:41:50. > :41:54.for the six months beforehand, absolutely committed to beating the

:41:55. > :41:58.opposite crew. And when you cross the line like that, it is... There

:41:59. > :42:03.is a release of a lot of passion, a lot of effort has gone into that,

:42:04. > :42:07.but the camaraderie, in the boat, walking down the boat there, you can

:42:08. > :42:11.see, absolutely, I am still best friends with those eight guys. What

:42:12. > :42:16.that boat has given me in my life is something I will never forget and I

:42:17. > :42:21.am very honoured to be part of that. You can see that from the pictures.

:42:22. > :42:23.How does that compare in the list of achievements, three gold medals that

:42:24. > :42:27.you have one at the Olympic Games, winning the boat race, where would

:42:28. > :42:33.that rank alongside those achievements? It is a difficult

:42:34. > :42:37.question to answer, for the Olympics, you put in four years and

:42:38. > :42:43.it is hard. It is a full-time employment, engagement, you

:42:44. > :42:48.sacrifice so much to do it. And then to get to the Olympics, to show at

:42:49. > :42:53.your absolute peak, physical peak, technical peak, mental peak, to

:42:54. > :43:00.produce that on Monday, it is an incredible achievement. A great

:43:01. > :43:03.position to be in. For the boat race, you give equally but it is

:43:04. > :43:10.only those six months. However, the feeling is no less... Is no less, to

:43:11. > :43:14.cross a line, to be part of the group, the bonds that you form,

:43:15. > :43:17.something really special. One of the reasons I am proud to be a roller

:43:18. > :43:22.and recommend running to people because of what it does give people.

:43:23. > :43:27.-- proud to be a rower. London, 2012, you went to Rio as well,

:43:28. > :43:33.having said that you did not fancy it. What happened there? I did not

:43:34. > :43:36.have anything better to do(!) LAUGHTER

:43:37. > :43:41.Well, I decided to carry on after London, London was a fantastic four

:43:42. > :43:47.years up to that point, it was tough, I decided to carry on because

:43:48. > :43:51.I thought, still an opportunity. Tough four years getting to Rio de

:43:52. > :43:56.Janeiro, had to take a year off with glandular fever and the year before,

:43:57. > :44:06.leading up to Rio, the question mark hanging over every

:44:07. > :44:11.everything, the boat was phenomenal, I cannot describe the feeling of

:44:12. > :44:15.being a length up at halfway, watching the rest of the field at

:44:16. > :44:19.the Olympic Games... I am lost for words. It was incredible. You

:44:20. > :44:22.mention your health, one of the things you have spoken about is you

:44:23. > :44:27.wonder what damage you have done to your body over the years. You do,

:44:28. > :44:34.anything to access is bad for you... This is excess. Prolonged access,

:44:35. > :44:37.yes. This is not normal. In the same vein, if you are working in a

:44:38. > :44:41.high-powered job and you cause yourself a lot of mental stress,

:44:42. > :44:46.physical stress, same with full-time athletes. You have got to be aware

:44:47. > :44:50.that when you go into something so hard, you have to take care of

:44:51. > :44:55.yourself. That is part of my decision, I am 37, two great kids,

:44:56. > :45:02.wonderful wife at home, also a doctor with her own life, and, you

:45:03. > :45:05.know, you have to take these things in measured. Now, Rio is done,

:45:06. > :45:09.looking forward to the future. Hopefully, repair some of that

:45:10. > :45:13.wonderful damage I have done to my body. Do you think that rowing has

:45:14. > :45:18.done enough to retain the big names, the key individuals? Looking at

:45:19. > :45:22.Brazil, we know that some people have already, in their mid-20s, top

:45:23. > :45:28.runners, have retired and walked away from the sport, do you think

:45:29. > :45:31.there needs to be more to retain the big names? British rowing is doing a

:45:32. > :45:37.lot to orient itself around making it more of a sustainable sport, it

:45:38. > :45:42.struggles with a number of things, perception... There is more state

:45:43. > :45:47.schools getting involved in rowing. The team has got more state school

:45:48. > :45:51.kids than private school kids. But still, you know, we have two survive

:45:52. > :45:55.off the notoriety and the success that the sport brings, which is

:45:56. > :46:00.fabulous for the country. I think that our sport needs to understand

:46:01. > :46:05.the difference between an amateur sport and a professional sport, they

:46:06. > :46:08.are getting there. We have a management team in place, they are

:46:09. > :46:13.trying really hard. Hopefully they will learn the lessons. And make

:46:14. > :46:16.this board kind of what the boat race does on an annual basis and

:46:17. > :46:17.what it can achieve on a more national basis for the World

:46:18. > :46:27.Championships. Do you want to know what the weather

:46:28. > :46:40.is going to be like? For sure. Not desperately windy but there will

:46:41. > :46:46.be some showers towards the London area and you could get gust of wind.

:46:47. > :46:51.Not as bad as it has been through recent years. A bit of rain around.

:46:52. > :46:59.Starting great but blue skies coming through. Wherever you are it is

:47:00. > :47:04.mild. Temperatures 13 degrees in some parts. North-west England one

:47:05. > :47:10.of the warmest places at the moment. Wet weather here for some. After the

:47:11. > :47:13.overnight rain across south-west England, South Wales have sunny

:47:14. > :47:18.spells developing. Coming into the Midlands and southern England.

:47:19. > :47:20.Patchy rain after a bright start towards eastern England but wait

:47:21. > :47:25.across North Wales and that will clear by mid-morning. It may be the

:47:26. > :47:29.end of the morning before the start of face seasonings turned riot in

:47:30. > :47:34.the north of England. Drier in Northern Ireland after a wet day so

:47:35. > :47:39.far. Further rain in Scotland. It has been wet in the west. That

:47:40. > :47:43.spreads to other parts through this morning and will linger across the

:47:44. > :47:50.Hebrides, Caithness, Orkney and Shetland. Lunchtime will be sunny

:47:51. > :47:56.for Northern Ireland. Showers returning across western Wales and

:47:57. > :47:59.Cornwall. Eastern Wales, England, southern Scotland, a fine afternoon

:48:00. > :48:05.with sunny spells. Not as warm as yesterday. 13 degrees not to

:48:06. > :48:11.complain about. Showers will continue on and off in the west.

:48:12. > :48:15.Eastern areas will stay dry. Tonight, cooler. Not desperately

:48:16. > :48:19.chilly but temperatures into single figures together is a fresh start on

:48:20. > :48:24.Saturday and the weekend. There will be showers in the west initially and

:48:25. > :48:28.they will become widespread through the day, some heavy and punditry.

:48:29. > :48:40.Slowest moving across England and Wales. A showery day. Some people

:48:41. > :48:44.will avoid them altogether. Still pleasant enough where you get the

:48:45. > :48:52.sunshine. Saturday into Sunday the showers fade away. A dry day on

:48:53. > :48:58.Sunday. Sunday is the driest and brightest day of the weekend. After

:48:59. > :49:02.a chilly start some good spells of sunshine and temperatures 11-16. If

:49:03. > :49:07.you are starting your Easter break this weekend, the good news is next

:49:08. > :49:12.week, apart from rain in northern and western areas on Monday, the

:49:13. > :49:22.week is looking dry. Carol is back on Monday. Have a good weekend.

:49:23. > :49:24.The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk,

:49:25. > :49:27.will issue draft guidelines this morning setting out how the EU wants

:49:28. > :49:40.Donald Tusk is speaking there this morning. I believe you have the

:49:41. > :49:44.guidelines in your hand. On my phone. They were sent about three

:49:45. > :49:48.quarters of an hour ago to the capital of the 27 other member

:49:49. > :49:53.states and this is the draft negotiating guidelines which will

:49:54. > :49:58.set out the tone for two years of negotiation to come. It sets out

:49:59. > :50:02.core principles and emphasises the UK is still a member of the European

:50:03. > :50:08.Union for the next two years and has rights as well as obligations. One

:50:09. > :50:10.sentence, preserving the integrity of the single market excludes

:50:11. > :50:15.participation based on a sector by sector approach, which means that

:50:16. > :50:20.one idea that have been floated by members of the government in the

:50:21. > :50:23.past, perhaps the car industry could stay in the single market while

:50:24. > :50:30.other bets leave, this document rules that out pretty explicitly. It

:50:31. > :50:36.says a non-member of the European Union does not enjoy the same

:50:37. > :50:41.benefits as a member. Most of the document talks about a phased

:50:42. > :50:45.approach to negotiations. The EU is insisting the first phase has to be

:50:46. > :50:48.about the terms of separation, the divorce. Only when they are

:50:49. > :50:53.convinced that sufficient progress has been made on that, it does not

:50:54. > :50:59.set out what that might be, only then is the EU prepared to move on

:51:00. > :51:03.to discuss issues like a future trading relationship. It talks about

:51:04. > :51:07.a potential third phase, talks about a transition from now, so

:51:08. > :51:12.membership, to a different relationship in the future. This

:51:13. > :51:17.reminds us that until article 50 was triggered Theresa May had their

:51:18. > :51:21.timing in her hands and now it rests with the European Council and the

:51:22. > :51:31.heads of the other 27 governments. Well done for gathering all that and

:51:32. > :51:37.explaining it to us so clearly. Donald Tusk goes on to say that

:51:38. > :51:42.Michael what he goes on say will be on the news channel.

:51:43. > :51:45.More on our top story now as the head of the NHS in England

:51:46. > :51:48.says patients will have to wait longer for some hospital

:51:49. > :51:50.operations, as a "trade off" for improvements in other areas

:51:51. > :52:04.Waiting time targets for things like knee and hip surgery will be

:52:05. > :52:07.scrapped and GPs are being asked to cut back on the number

:52:08. > :52:10.of patients they refer to hospital, so more money can be spent on A

:52:11. > :52:14.With us in the studio is the Chief Executive

:52:15. > :52:16.for the NHS Confederation, Niall Dixon.

:52:17. > :52:16.And Dr Aisha Awan, who is a GP based in Manchester.

:52:17. > :52:19.If you are waiting for a knee operation or something like that

:52:20. > :52:23.what difference could this potentially mean for you? It could

:52:24. > :52:29.mean you have to wait a little longer. It is worth remembering that

:52:30. > :52:33.17 years ago people used to have to wait 18 months and longer, not 18

:52:34. > :52:40.weeks, so enormous progress has been made by members on the NHS over that

:52:41. > :52:44.period of time. We are going back. There was a lot of money going into

:52:45. > :52:48.the health service in those days and there is less money going in at the

:52:49. > :52:54.moment. Inevitably something has to give. It is no use NHS single and

:52:55. > :53:00.saying we should be doing this or that, they have had to acknowledge

:53:01. > :53:04.the NHS cannot do everything and it was inevitable that some performance

:53:05. > :53:07.targets on another was going to have to give because you cannot say to

:53:08. > :53:12.people keep working hard, we are not going to give you the money, the

:53:13. > :53:16.rising demand is unprecedented what the services having to deal with.

:53:17. > :53:21.The government would say there is more money going in, it is just

:53:22. > :53:23.having to do more. NHS England are acknowledge is the health service

:53:24. > :53:29.has gone through a period of austerity. They may say that is

:53:30. > :53:33.justifiable alongside other public services but the difference in the

:53:34. > :53:38.health service is the levels of demand people are having to deal

:53:39. > :53:42.with, particularly the number of elderly people having not just

:53:43. > :53:46.healthy extra life years but also unhealthy extra life years and this

:53:47. > :53:53.is what doctors are having to deal with on a daily basis. GPs are being

:53:54. > :53:58.asked to cut back on the number of patients being referred. What does

:53:59. > :54:02.that mean in practical terms? Patients are not going to like it.

:54:03. > :54:07.We are running and national illness service. Doctors and nurses on the

:54:08. > :54:10.back foot trying to deal with massive demand and doing reactionary

:54:11. > :54:18.medicine rather than preventative care. It has come on the back of

:54:19. > :54:23.this document five year forward fear for the NHS and we are two years

:54:24. > :54:28.through that the vision is that all of these people unnecessarily going

:54:29. > :54:32.to see GPs are taking care of in the right place in a timely manner by

:54:33. > :54:37.the person most appropriate to see them. For example, somebody is

:54:38. > :54:42.playing football and goes to A at 6:30pm because they think their GP

:54:43. > :54:49.is closed, they have walked in, not in a huge amount of pain, beige or

:54:50. > :54:55.not have gone to A That person in the future would be able to call up

:54:56. > :55:00.their GP and see a physio. It's part of the problem people's

:55:01. > :55:03.expectations? The Royal College of Surgeons saying we are going to have

:55:04. > :55:08.to take more responsibility for our health and look at people who smoke,

:55:09. > :55:11.people who are obese perhaps, and they are going to be told to do

:55:12. > :55:17.something proactively about their health. Yes. There's an element of

:55:18. > :55:25.that. The way in which services have to change, doing more things in the

:55:26. > :55:27.community and changing the way that those services are delivered, is

:55:28. > :55:33.essentially the way forward. That means we are seeing two people who

:55:34. > :55:38.are suffering long-term conditions that they have to manage their care

:55:39. > :55:43.and they are often the expert more than the doctor in their individual

:55:44. > :55:47.care. The big challenge for the health service is how to move from a

:55:48. > :55:51.system that was designed in the 20th-century for a different set of

:55:52. > :55:55.patients to adapt to this new set of patients who need managing in the

:55:56. > :56:01.community, and doing that while money is tight and the pressure is

:56:02. > :56:05.heavy in the hospital sector. Do you think you're going to have to have

:56:06. > :56:08.frank conversations with your patience and say in the past you

:56:09. > :56:14.would have had the surgery but you cannot know because the money is

:56:15. > :56:18.going towards A and cancer diagnoses? Is that a realistic frank

:56:19. > :56:26.conversation Asians are going to have to get used to? We have been

:56:27. > :56:31.having those conversations for years -- patients. We will not know where

:56:32. > :56:34.that money is going. We will be seeing you will have to wait longer

:56:35. > :56:40.and that will put additional strain on practice. Those limited GP

:56:41. > :56:45.appointments we have will be used by those people coming in because they

:56:46. > :56:48.have an increased amount of pain and having social care problems which is

:56:49. > :56:53.another area of massive underfunding. We are in a

:56:54. > :56:59.transformative stage trying to shake the NHS for the future but trying to

:57:00. > :57:03.do it alongside the situation where demand is outstripping resources. It

:57:04. > :57:09.is a difficult time. We have to balance those two agendas. Is the

:57:10. > :57:13.NHS being reshaped for the future? It is happening. We have to be

:57:14. > :57:20.careful about not raising expectations about how quickly this

:57:21. > :57:23.can happen. What is being demanded. Organisations have to stop thinking

:57:24. > :57:27.like an organisation and start thinking about the whole system.

:57:28. > :57:33.Divisions between general practice and hospitals have to be mended and

:57:34. > :57:38.we have to start redesigning caso it is the patient and how the patient

:57:39. > :57:43.moves through the system. The system is very fragmented between local

:57:44. > :57:47.authorities and the NHS, hospitals and community, GPs and hospital

:57:48. > :57:53.doctors. These breaks in the system need to be mended. To NHS single's

:57:54. > :57:58.said that is what they are attempting to do. We as patients

:57:59. > :58:04.have higher expectations than ever as it is becoming more difficult to

:58:05. > :58:08.deliverables. Absolutely. Patient expectation is something we have to

:58:09. > :58:14.manage. Everybody has a deep love of the NHS and people do want it to

:58:15. > :58:18.succeed. People understand sometimes they have to wait and on the hole

:58:19. > :58:25.they will be OK and Corp. For the time being. They do not want this to

:58:26. > :58:34.be the direction of travel for the next ten, 15, 20 years. Thank you.

:58:35. > :58:37.From April 1st, those buying a new car will pay a new vehicle tax

:58:38. > :58:39.and although it only has three simple bands, many motorists

:58:40. > :58:59.Tomorrow are big changes to the way that car tax is calculated. It only

:59:00. > :59:01.applies to new cars. It is designed to make the process more simple but

:59:02. > :59:05.that could cost you more. With me now is Jim

:59:06. > :59:12.Holder from What Car? This process is designed to make

:59:13. > :59:17.things easier but in some cases it is anything but. In most cases it is

:59:18. > :59:22.anything but. You have to consider our first case tax rate across

:59:23. > :59:29.different bands according to the amount of carbon dioxide Europcar

:59:30. > :59:34.produces. Typically ?140 for most cars but zero emission and hybrid

:59:35. > :59:38.cars will have tax-free status or a slight reduction for hybrid

:59:39. > :59:41.vehicles. You have to consider that if the card will cost over ?40,000

:59:42. > :59:44.and if so it will cost ?310 extra. point, ?310 a year surcharge for the

:59:45. > :59:52.car for five years of ownership. , point, ?310 a year surcharge for the

:59:53. > :59:57.car for five years Located! -- complicated. What difference will it

:59:58. > :00:01.make for people in cars like this. On the end, begin die, that is a

:00:02. > :00:05.small engine petrol car, it would have cost 40 to ?60, two tags over

:00:06. > :00:12.three years, now it will cost well over ?400. -- Hyundai. In the

:00:13. > :00:17.middle, the Seat, it is a diesel car, lower CO2 emissions. It is

:00:18. > :00:22.cheaper to tax but it is the same height, from ?40 up to ?450. -- to

:00:23. > :00:28.tax. This one on the end, premium car, getting up to ?40,000, this is

:00:29. > :00:32.the crucial part that can make a big difference. If you get your options

:00:33. > :00:35.pricing wrong here, you could triple your tax bill, you have to be really

:00:36. > :00:40.careful to stay under ?40,000 threshold, even when adding the

:00:41. > :00:43.options onto the base price, otherwise you will be hit by the

:00:44. > :00:51.surplus charge. Options, things like leather seats, nicer interior, alloy

:00:52. > :00:56.wheels, if it goes over ?40,000, you could find yourself with a big tax

:00:57. > :01:01.bill. Even a small options box, a couple of hundred pounds, if it

:01:02. > :01:05.takes you over ?40,000, it will cost you thousands. Thank you for

:01:06. > :01:10.explaining all of that. Big change, comes into force tomorrow, a bit of

:01:11. > :01:16.time today if you want to nip out and buy one. Only applies to new

:01:17. > :01:25.cars, not second-hand, and not the vehicle that you already own.

:01:26. > :01:31.Taxation aside, people may be more nice today because it is national

:01:32. > :01:36.kindness day. You gave somebody a bottle of perfume, I think that was

:01:37. > :01:42.nice. But I did not know that it was national kindness day!

:01:43. > :01:47.Well, today is National Kindness Day, and the Diana Award charity

:01:48. > :01:57.aims to inspire 20,000 acts of kindness throughout the year.

:01:58. > :02:00.60 million of us, 20,000, we can do it!

:02:01. > :02:03.We've been to find out a few of the good deeds people have done.

:02:04. > :02:05.Gone to the theatre and obviously there were some chaps

:02:06. > :02:07.wanting coffees and things, they wanted money really.

:02:08. > :02:10.I just thought, you know what, for the sake of another ?20

:02:11. > :02:12.I would rather get them something to eat.

:02:13. > :02:16.I had a huge pot of coins once, I mean it was massive, this huge bag.

:02:17. > :02:18.I just went to a random homeless person.

:02:19. > :02:20.There was this old lady carrying large luggage.

:02:21. > :02:22.There was a lift but she couldn't see it.

:02:23. > :02:24.So I carried her bag until she got down the stairs.

:02:25. > :02:27.A homeless person and he was just sat outside Blackpool North Station.

:02:28. > :02:30.We were getting off the train, and I had a bar of chocolate

:02:31. > :02:45.One of the nicest things about this morning, you at home have been in

:02:46. > :02:48.touch to tell us about the acts of kindness you have been a part of,

:02:49. > :02:53.maybe you have been on the receiving end. Helen said, I was in Singapore

:02:54. > :02:57.for a year, broke my foot, single mother in a foreign country, a taxi

:02:58. > :03:00.driver drove me to several hospitals late at night, once we found the

:03:01. > :03:06.right place, after several hours, got me off and refused payment. I

:03:07. > :03:10.was in so much pain, I could not even insist at the time. Worldwide

:03:11. > :03:15.kindness, International Day of kindness. Kindness seems to happen

:03:16. > :03:19.in supermarkets, for some reason. And on buses. Jane says, I was in

:03:20. > :03:23.the supermarket last week, saw a lost little girl, he had lost her

:03:24. > :03:26.month, took her to customer services, waited with her until her

:03:27. > :03:31.mother and friends turned up, could not thank me enough, she would have

:03:32. > :03:34.been so upset. And in the supermarket again, if she has a

:03:35. > :03:39.trolley and somebody has a couple of items, she will let them go in front

:03:40. > :03:42.of her. This is from Erica, I have paid bus fares for people when their

:03:43. > :03:47.Oyster card is not working, I say, this is a random act of kindness,

:03:48. > :03:51.now you need to do three further random acts of kindness, if everyone

:03:52. > :03:54.does something like that, we will all notice the difference! She lets

:03:55. > :04:00.them go through? She will pay for them. She will pay them if their

:04:01. > :04:02.card is not working. And she says, go on and spread that kindness

:04:03. > :04:09.around. Lots of people talking about car parks, deck to the car park, in

:04:10. > :04:12.a hurry, does not have enough money for the machine, Nancy said that she

:04:13. > :04:16.was in that situation, people came to her aid and she got her parking

:04:17. > :04:20.for free. Do it today. Sometimes it is nice to smile at someone, Amy

:04:21. > :04:25.that can be your random act of kindness for the day! LAUGHTER

:04:26. > :04:31.See! Probably have nightmares after that. In a moment, the commit

:04:32. > :04:35.artist, John Higgins will be speaking with us about an exhibition

:04:36. > :04:40.of his work, which he hopes will inspire future generations of

:04:41. > :04:42.illustrators. Let's be kind to him. We'll be speaking to him in a moment

:04:43. > :06:26.but first let's take a last Some of the biggest movies of recent

:06:27. > :06:28.years have been based around super-heroes who first came to life

:06:29. > :06:30.in comic books. But a lot of fans would say

:06:31. > :06:33.the definitive version of their favourite character

:06:34. > :06:36.is the one they see on the page. Well our next guest is the man

:06:37. > :06:39.behind one of the most recognisable characters,

:06:40. > :06:40.Judge Dredd. With a career spanning four decades,

:06:41. > :06:42.illustrator John Higgins has also worked for giants of the comic world

:06:43. > :07:04.including DC and Marvel. You're hoping that a new exhibition

:07:05. > :07:08.will inspire the next generation. The most exciting thing for being

:07:09. > :07:19.displayed in Liverpool, Victoria Gallery Museum, it is my hometown,

:07:20. > :07:22.and what I would like to get across is that anybody can do what I do

:07:23. > :07:28.with a bit of a talent and ability. You just go for it. I don't believe

:07:29. > :07:31.you, I don't believe that just anyone can do that! The nice thing

:07:32. > :07:37.about the exhibition, I have never had it curated, I have had them

:07:38. > :07:40.around the world, but this has been curated, Matthew Clarke, he was one

:07:41. > :07:45.of the people that approach me first four years ago, and believe it took

:07:46. > :07:50.that long to get it on, but the exhibition has been placed in a way

:07:51. > :07:53.I have never seen a placed, usually, everything placed, squares, frames,

:07:54. > :07:57.but now, it is like, they have grouped them, I have not seen that

:07:58. > :08:02.done before in a graphic novel exhibition. In the gallery, such a

:08:03. > :08:08.wonderful way of presenting the work together. We see some of the

:08:09. > :08:11.pictures, how did you get started? One of those strange things, bit by

:08:12. > :08:17.bit, you build up a life and a career, best way to describe it, it

:08:18. > :08:20.is a jigsaw, your life becomes a jigsaw, you start off, I went to art

:08:21. > :08:24.college, you don't necessarily have to go to art college to become a

:08:25. > :08:28.comic book artist, it is not one of those things that you can ask your

:08:29. > :08:38.teacher about, probably the second person behind a reality show style

:08:39. > :08:42.wannabe, nobly would consider it as a career, telling stories, drawing

:08:43. > :08:45.everyday, that is what I love doing it. Judge Dredd, your most

:08:46. > :08:53.significant character, probably, but... He is behind you! Look at

:08:54. > :09:00.that chin. Is it easier to draw bad guys? Yes! The great thing about

:09:01. > :09:04.science fiction, which is the reason I got into comics in particular,

:09:05. > :09:09.2000 A.D. Started more or less the same year that I got into the

:09:10. > :09:13.business, as an illustrator, so that was 1977, which I cannot believe, 40

:09:14. > :09:17.years has passed in the blink of an eye. If you told me 40 years ago,

:09:18. > :09:22.that this is what I would be doing, 40 years later, I would not have

:09:23. > :09:28.believed it. When I was growing up, reading your comics, the idea of

:09:29. > :09:33.2000 AD... ... Felt so far away, that we would never get there! Now

:09:34. > :09:39.it is retro! You have a difficult position. It is strange, like 1984,

:09:40. > :09:46.George Orwell, still stands for a dystopian future, Big Brother, the

:09:47. > :09:54.number the future is behind us all right. -- the nominal closer. Do you

:09:55. > :09:58.go to the conferences, they are a huge industry. Are you mobbed when

:09:59. > :10:06.you go to these things? Unfortunately I am not, I'm a small

:10:07. > :10:10.part of the industry. It seems so strange that movies have been made

:10:11. > :10:13.on the characters that I have worked on, the big Marvel characters on

:10:14. > :10:18.screen, Judge Dredd, batsman, Superman. -- nomenclature. You feel

:10:19. > :10:22.quite touched when you see something you have worked on on the big

:10:23. > :10:26.screen. -- Batman. The stars, who interpret the characters, they are

:10:27. > :10:31.the people who are mobbed, quite rightly, I am at the back of the

:10:32. > :10:35.queue, mobbing them as well! Have you seen your influence in the

:10:36. > :10:39.movies? The nice thing is, a lot of the people now who are producing

:10:40. > :10:43.movies and directed them, Zacks Naidu, who directed watchmen, he's a

:10:44. > :10:50.huge fan of it, he thought he would not want to do it because he did not

:10:51. > :10:57.want to do it wrong. -- Zack Snyder. That was in his mind. But I thought

:10:58. > :11:00.that he did a brilliant job, and he used the basis of my colouring,

:11:01. > :11:06.which is what I was known for, it is part of that, on the screen, that is

:11:07. > :11:10.really nice. If summary had said to me, you will meet the artist behind

:11:11. > :11:14.Judge Dredd, I would have thought it would be a very loud, perhaps an

:11:15. > :11:19.American man, and yet you seem very unassuming and modest. Very quiet. I

:11:20. > :11:27.cannot see the connection between you and some of these brutal bold

:11:28. > :11:32.characters! You are getting a side of yourself out...? Every nightmare

:11:33. > :11:36.I have turns up on the page, I don't have nightmares, everything I do

:11:37. > :11:40.appears on the page. I eat cheese especially to have nightmares(!)

:11:41. > :11:44.great thing is what I have on my mind, I want to book on the page.

:11:45. > :11:49.The great thing about Judge Dredd, created in Britain, he is the

:11:50. > :11:52.biggest British character subsequent to Dan Dare, Dan and there was

:11:53. > :11:56.before him, the biggest British character, the great thing about

:11:57. > :11:59.Judge Dredd is that he is international, known all around the

:12:00. > :12:02.world. I have been invited to big conventions all around the world, I

:12:03. > :12:08.have been to Moscow, Australia, on the basis that I am one of the many

:12:09. > :12:13.artists that does Judge Dredd. What are you working on now? I'm excited

:12:14. > :12:17.about possibilities... We have looked at creating your own

:12:18. > :12:22.character, working on licensed characters, like Judge Dredd,

:12:23. > :12:27.Superman, Batman is very exciting because I am a fan but I have

:12:28. > :12:31.created my own character, Razorjack, and my character is going to be

:12:32. > :12:36.working with Judge Dredd. Michael Cowell, who collaborated, one of the

:12:37. > :12:39.great things is elaborating with very talented people, and we are in

:12:40. > :12:43.the process of creating a story with Judge Dredd and my character, which

:12:44. > :12:48.is going to come out that the end of the year. Me, that is the holy

:12:49. > :12:53.Grail! My favourite character, my own creative character. It is worth

:12:54. > :12:59.sticking with it, as you said, that stickability! Set it in 3000 AD

:13:00. > :13:05.instead! LAUGHTER That is the future indeed. Wonderful

:13:06. > :13:11.to meet you. The exhibition Beyond Dredd

:13:12. > :13:13.Watchmen: the Art of John Higgins is on at Liverpool University's

:13:14. > :13:21.Victoria Gallery and I would say stickability and some

:13:22. > :13:23.talent! Not just anybody can do what John has done!

:13:24. > :13:28.That's all from Breakfast this morning.

:13:29. > :13:30.But now on BBC One, Bill Turnbull, remember him?