:00:09. > :00:21.The top stories this evening. Helping roughly this get off the
:00:22. > :00:27.shelter. A 15% rise in council tax shelter. A 15% rise in council tax
:00:28. > :00:29.being put to the vote. And drama only water as a fire breaks out on
:00:30. > :00:35.board a very. -- ferry. Government figures on homelessness
:00:36. > :00:38.show the numbers of people sleeping rough have more than doubled
:00:39. > :00:40.in the last six years. In times of austerity services
:00:41. > :00:43.which support some of those However in Hampshire,
:00:44. > :00:46.one council has taken the initiative to try to reduce the number
:00:47. > :00:48.of people sleeping rough. Basingstoke has just won government
:00:49. > :00:50.funding for specialist psychologists to work with homeless people -
:00:51. > :00:54.to try to turn their lives around. Pete has been sleeping rough
:00:55. > :01:08.in Basingstoke for as long as he can He will use the emergency night
:01:09. > :01:26.shelter that's been provided by It is getting the rough
:01:27. > :01:29.sleepers in, offering them Crowdfunding helped
:01:30. > :01:35.raise ?14,000 to open a For the volunteers, it
:01:36. > :01:38.has become obvious many rough sleepers have
:01:39. > :01:42.mental health problems. We can start to focus
:01:43. > :01:45.in on the mental health, getting that sorted,
:01:46. > :01:46.then that in ables them and
:01:47. > :01:54.equips them to move on. The Government has awarded
:01:55. > :01:56.Basingstoke ?250,000 to fund specialist psychologists to work
:01:57. > :02:01.with homeless people over To get someone to the point
:02:02. > :02:05.where they can live independently support is needed and we know
:02:06. > :02:08.there are real issues around mental health support at the moment,
:02:09. > :02:10.so they need If help was offered,
:02:11. > :02:20.with you take it? I won't say I would,
:02:21. > :02:28.I'd say probably. Figures show that the number
:02:29. > :02:31.of rough sleepers rose to 26, but the council,
:02:32. > :02:38.health services and volunteers despite financial
:02:39. > :02:48.pressures they are facing. We can cross to Steve now who is out
:02:49. > :02:57.in Southampton at a hostel for young, Ross leaders. Steve. -- rough
:02:58. > :02:59.sleepers. Yes, the Society of St James
:03:00. > :03:02.runs a couple of night shelters here in Southampton
:03:03. > :03:03.and another in Portsmouth. And on a freezing night like this
:03:04. > :03:06.they can be life savers. But they have been under
:03:07. > :03:08.massive financial pressure. Trevor Pickup from
:03:09. > :03:22.the society is with me. What numbers are we seeing? Yes,
:03:23. > :03:29.quite a lot. Resources are not an offer us to resolve this issue. Was
:03:30. > :03:35.unique? Funding. We would like more property as well. We need to address
:03:36. > :03:37.health issues, mental health issues, health issues, mental health issues,
:03:38. > :03:39.to address it in the first place. In Basingstoke they're going to get
:03:40. > :03:41.psychologists to work with rough sleepers -
:03:42. > :03:50.is that going to be Yes, I think that is a good idea.
:03:51. > :03:55.We've tried ourselves a number of years ago. Lots people really rather
:03:56. > :04:01.have got underlying issues that they have experienced, traumatic
:04:02. > :04:03.childhood and so on. Psychological help is very useful.
:04:04. > :04:08.What is your message to the government?
:04:09. > :04:14.A lot of emphasis on Brexit and a union American president. This is
:04:15. > :04:19.not a knot and will issue, I'm sure you want them to address it as well.
:04:20. > :04:22.They just need more property. We need specialist intervention from
:04:23. > :04:27.people who have underlying issues to help address the problems that they
:04:28. > :04:35.are facing. Thank you very much indeed. From the apostle here in
:04:36. > :04:37.Lambton, back to uni should give. -- from the possible here, back to you
:04:38. > :04:37.in the studio. Across the south, council budgets
:04:38. > :04:40.are being set for the coming year, and many local authorities
:04:41. > :04:42.are facing difficult choices. In Surrey, residents
:04:43. > :04:44.are being asked if they're prepared to have their council tax put up
:04:45. > :04:47.by fifteen percent. The Conservative controlled county
:04:48. > :04:49.council is going to hold It says it needs the extra
:04:50. > :04:53.money because of the A short while ago I spoke
:04:54. > :04:56.with our reporter Tim Yes, Surrey County Council
:04:57. > :05:01.has to make savings of about ?21 million,
:05:02. > :05:04.which could mean an average of ?190 multiple sclerosis and is in a care
:05:05. > :05:11.home in Thames Ditton Surrey. This afternoon, she told me how
:05:12. > :05:14.she'd used up all her savings and has now recently got
:05:15. > :05:16.help from Surrey County Council. It costs ?6,000 per
:05:17. > :05:28.month to care for her. I think the people of Surrey do need
:05:29. > :05:31.to dig into their pockets, as much as it pains me
:05:32. > :05:34.to come a begging bowl and I don't like to do so,
:05:35. > :05:37.but I'm doing it on behalf of all the disabled and
:05:38. > :05:41.vulnerable people in Surrey. No income tax rise looks
:05:42. > :05:44.to be planned by the Government at the moment but,
:05:45. > :05:47.of course, Surrey is now proposing this quite dramatic
:05:48. > :05:48.measure on council tax. What do the people in Thames Ditton
:05:49. > :05:51.didn't think about that? Social care is very important
:05:52. > :06:08.and I think, possibly, we should So, Tim, this is quite a decision
:06:09. > :06:13.for a council to take, isn't it? It's only happened once before that
:06:14. > :06:15.a council, Bedfordshire, has held a referendum
:06:16. > :06:17.about a council tax A lot of pressure on new
:06:18. > :06:29.leader, David Hodge. Will they trust me,
:06:30. > :06:36.and the Conservative council, to make this
:06:37. > :06:38.hugely difficult decision? Will they trust us and put
:06:39. > :06:41.their confidence in us? Because we cannot do
:06:42. > :06:42.anything else about it. The Government haven't
:06:43. > :06:45.got money, it will not The Government, of course,
:06:46. > :06:51.says it is providing some instant relief, making ?900 million
:06:52. > :06:54.available across the country. A lot of people far
:06:55. > :06:56.beyond Surrey will be Meanwhile, County councillors
:06:57. > :07:04.in West Sussex have been trying to decide how to close a 41 million
:07:05. > :07:09.pound hole in next year's budget. The plan is to raise council tax
:07:10. > :07:14.by nearly 4% and cut spending by almost ?17 million,
:07:15. > :07:16.though the council says many of the cuts are being
:07:17. > :07:18.offset by other measures. Nine million pounds will also be
:07:19. > :07:28.taken from the council's reserves. An investigation's underway
:07:29. > :07:30.into the cause of a fire 50 passengers were on board
:07:31. > :07:36.when a fire broke out on the bridge of this morning's nine o'clock
:07:37. > :07:38.Wightlink crossing, It was extinguished within minutes,
:07:39. > :07:41.before continuing into dock. I didn't see it actually
:07:42. > :07:52.start, but soon after. It was quite a small fire and then,
:07:53. > :07:59.within a few seconds, there was 18 feet of flames and huge
:08:00. > :08:14.black smoke next to it. A third day of talks between
:08:15. > :08:20.Southern and Aflef will be underway tomorrow. The two sides are said to
:08:21. > :08:30.have made good progress. They are nanograms union Mill stole held its
:08:31. > :08:33.strike on Monday. -- Aslef. -- RMT Union.
:08:34. > :08:35.Plans for a controversial beach-front tower block have been
:08:36. > :08:37.passed by councillors in Worthing tonight.
:08:38. > :08:39.This 21-storey building on the Aquarena site
:08:40. > :08:45.was rejected last year but developers returned
:08:46. > :08:47.with proposals for a 15-storey building with 141
:08:48. > :08:50.Opponents reject claims it'll regenerate the area saying its too
:08:51. > :08:54.high and will set a precedent for other seafront sites.
:08:55. > :08:56.Gosport sailor Alex Thomson has had to settle for second
:08:57. > :09:00.in the Vendee Globe round the world yacht race.
:09:01. > :09:04.The Frenchman Armel Le Cleach crossed the finish line off
:09:05. > :09:07.the coast of France just before four o'clock this afternoon.
:09:08. > :09:09.Just over 100 nautical miles ahead of Thomson,
:09:10. > :09:12.who had pushed him all the way in his bid to become the first
:09:13. > :09:16.Very happy for him, because he did a very good race.
:09:17. > :09:19.It was very, very difficult with him.
:09:20. > :09:23.I'm very happy to win and it's the best...
:09:24. > :09:46.That's all from the South Today news team this evening.
:09:47. > :09:49.We're back tomorrow with bulletins in BBC Breakfast and there's more
:09:50. > :09:56.It'll be another cold and frosty night to come with
:09:57. > :09:59.perhaps some freezing fog patches in the usual prone spots.
:10:00. > :10:01.During the early hours of the morning, the
:10:02. > :10:03.Temperatures will drop away to minus figures
:10:04. > :10:06.in the countryside and even in our towns and cities.
:10:07. > :10:09.low in the countryside of minus seven Celsius,
:10:10. > :10:12.Cold and frosty with perhaps some freezing fog patches
:10:13. > :10:15.for areas north of Berkshire, which may linger through the morning.
:10:16. > :10:16.Otherwise, it's another glorious day.
:10:17. > :10:19.Barely a cloud in the sky and, as a result, temperatures will
:10:20. > :10:25.There will be a good deal of sunshine on offer.
:10:26. > :10:27.Tomorrow night, once again, another widespread frost,
:10:28. > :10:28.particularly widespread, coastal counties.
:10:29. > :10:30.Cloud thinking southward and a high from the west, during the
:10:31. > :10:33.Saturday really is an east-west split.
:10:34. > :10:35.The further east you are, the more sunshine.
:10:36. > :10:37.The further south and west you are, more cloud.
:10:38. > :10:39.But there are sunny spells in between.
:10:40. > :10:43.more cloudy day with some bright and sunny
:10:44. > :10:44.spells here and there, but do
:10:45. > :10:46.enjoy the sunshine there tomorrow and Saturday.
:10:47. > :10:48.Those days will start on a frosty note.
:10:49. > :11:04.looks as though we can, a bit more cloud on Sunday. Now the national
:11:05. > :11:13.picture. Good evening, it will gradually get
:11:14. > :11:16.colder in the UK in the next few days, something we don't have to
:11:17. > :11:20.worry about in Australia at this time of year. Of course it's the
:11:21. > :11:23.Australian tennis open at the moment and there's a big storm moving
:11:24. > :11:28.through Melbourne at the moment. Hopefully it will have cleared
:11:29. > :11:33.through by the time of Andy Murray's match. We have high withers and
:11:34. > :11:37.light winds and some interesting contrasts despite things being very
:11:38. > :11:40.slow moving, with the sunshine to the south of the weather zone but
:11:41. > :11:43.stuck underneath the weather zone, it's been another miserably grey
:11:44. > :11:47.day. No doubt quite dreary with some patches of drizzle. This is how it
:11:48. > :11:51.looked in Staffordshire, under the weather front. In the sunshine,
:11:52. > :11:56.despite the Frosty start, a sparkling day and a fantastic sunset
:11:57. > :12:01.here in the Isle of Wight. Some areas, in parts of Northern Ireland
:12:02. > :12:02.that haven't seen much sunshine this week, actually saw