:00:00. > :00:10.The Prime Minister denies the government struck a secret deal
:00:11. > :00:14.A big increase in the number of people with mental health
:00:15. > :00:17.problems left at A as fewer are sent to police cells.
:00:18. > :00:20.And after the gloom of today, spring will certainly be back
:00:21. > :00:31.I'll have your full forecast later in the programme.
:00:32. > :00:35.Jeremy Corbyn has again demanded that the government tells the truth
:00:36. > :00:37.over what he alleges was a "sweetheart deal" struck
:00:38. > :00:42.The Labour leader's described correspondence obtained today
:00:43. > :00:47.Emails shows the government promised the council it
:00:48. > :00:49.would not be any worse off, if it agreed to scrap
:00:50. > :00:53.controversial plans to increase council tax by 15%.
:00:54. > :01:01.Our political editor's been following developments.
:01:02. > :01:10.What is the latest? These explosive documents Jeremy Corbyn is talking
:01:11. > :01:14.about were obtained far information request by the BBC, put online this
:01:15. > :01:19.evening by Surrey County Council. We knew they lobbied hard to get more
:01:20. > :01:23.cash, threatening a referendum on the 15% rise. And with so many
:01:24. > :01:26.senior ministers in the in the county the suspicion has been they
:01:27. > :01:31.were given favourable treatment, that is what Jeremy Corbyn put to
:01:32. > :01:34.the Prime Minister today at Prime Minister 's questions. Could the
:01:35. > :01:38.Prime Minister explain the difference between a sweetheart deal
:01:39. > :01:47.and a gentleman's agreement? The substance of what he's asking is has
:01:48. > :01:49.there been a particular deal with Surrey County Council that isn't
:01:50. > :02:01.available to other councils? And the answer to that is no. So, these
:02:02. > :02:05.letters released tonight make it clear the council leader was pulling
:02:06. > :02:08.every string he could to try to get more money. He wrote to the Prime
:02:09. > :02:12.Minister asking her to support a plan for more cash, saying... It
:02:13. > :02:19.does look from these documents are deal was being drafted. An offer to
:02:20. > :02:24.allow them to be the first council piloting 100% business rates
:02:25. > :02:27.retention. Whatever happens, you won't be worse off. That deal hasn't
:02:28. > :02:30.gone through partly because they were worried about the way it would
:02:31. > :02:36.look with so many conservatives in the area, and that's frustrated
:02:37. > :02:55.Surrey's MPs. One MP wrote... What is the government saying
:02:56. > :03:01.tonight? They say we discuss all sorts of things with councils of all
:03:02. > :03:07.types. But Labour are saying Theresa May needs to come clean, we need
:03:08. > :03:10.full disclosure of the terms and reassurance all councils will be
:03:11. > :03:13.treated the same way, they say, not just the lucky few who are favoured.
:03:14. > :03:16.Thank you. The Chancellor Phillip Hammond
:03:17. > :03:18.had to follow that row at Prime Minister's Questions
:03:19. > :03:20.with his budget. By most reckoning, it was modest,
:03:21. > :03:22.with no major surprises. Business rates have been
:03:23. > :03:24.revalued this year. Those that stood to lose out
:03:25. > :03:26.are being promised extra cash. And one particular industry
:03:27. > :03:28.got a small boost. That's why our reporter
:03:29. > :03:43.Sean Killick is in a pub. Good evening. This pub was taken
:03:44. > :03:47.over by husband-and-wife team three years ago. They've transformed this
:03:48. > :03:53.place. They have got the title of Worthing Pub of the year. Successful
:03:54. > :03:59.businesses like this one I worried about the business rates. The
:04:00. > :04:05.average restaurant in Worthing is seeing a 13% increase. Next door in
:04:06. > :04:09.shawm, there's a 13% decrease. The Chancellor tried to smooth over such
:04:10. > :04:14.problems announcing those losing out would have the increases capped at
:04:15. > :04:19.?50 a month. He also announced ?1000 one-off discount in the business
:04:20. > :04:24.rates, especially for pubs. The landlady here, what's your reaction
:04:25. > :04:29.here? It's lovely they are giving us ?1000 but when they are increasing
:04:30. > :04:34.your taxable rates every year, like last year and this year, ?1000 is a
:04:35. > :04:37.drop in the ocean. It isn't enough, but it is better than nothing but it
:04:38. > :04:41.isn't going to make a huge difference to anybody. You're also
:04:42. > :04:46.concerned about the National Insurance increase. It is a bit of a
:04:47. > :04:51.double whammy for you. Being self-employed, ours is going to
:04:52. > :04:55.increase. 80% of our customers are all self-employed so they won't have
:04:56. > :05:07.the money to come to the pub which will affect more pubs, closing down
:05:08. > :05:09.and not being able to afford these rates. Unless money to spend,
:05:10. > :05:20.potentially. Thank you. There was some good news for publicans such as
:05:21. > :05:21.engine. The beer duty isn't going to go up more than the planned
:05:22. > :05:24.increase, which is to be on a pint of beer.
:05:25. > :05:25.Another of Phillip Hammond's announcements was an extra
:05:26. > :05:29.?2 billion for social care but also money to help next winter by putting
:05:30. > :05:32.more GPs into accident and emergency departments for patients who don't
:05:33. > :05:34.That scheme's already been trialled in Portsmouth.
:05:35. > :05:37.I asked our Health correspondent how if it was working.
:05:38. > :05:38.It's been going pretty well, actually, Tom.
:05:39. > :05:41.They've had a GP next to the A Department here
:05:42. > :05:45.They come in at ten o'clock in the morning, they work
:05:46. > :05:47.until ten o'clock at night, seven days a week,
:05:48. > :05:49.and they are looking after patients who are not emergencies,
:05:50. > :05:51.so they're caring for things like colds, sprains,
:05:52. > :05:59.It might not sound like much but I think it does take
:06:00. > :06:01.a lot of the pressure off the A departments.
:06:02. > :06:04.The Chancellor clearly thinks so because he is committing
:06:05. > :06:09.?100 million to schemes like this all over the country.
:06:10. > :06:13.Is the extra ?2 billion for social care going to be enough?
:06:14. > :06:22.How to get these elderly patients, who are in hospital beds,
:06:23. > :06:26.out and home safely, and what's usually stopping them,
:06:27. > :06:31.of course, is the lack of proper social care.
:06:32. > :06:34.And today health charity said that although the money was welcome,
:06:35. > :06:39.the problem was so huge it probably wouldn't solve it.
:06:40. > :06:43.We've seen huge reductions in the number of people particularly
:06:44. > :06:46.vulnerable older people who can't get care, and that is impacting
:06:47. > :06:53.Many of them are low income pensioners, living on their own,
:06:54. > :06:59.Of course, it's not just about the money.
:07:00. > :07:05.Something like 24 authorities are responsible for more than half
:07:06. > :07:08.of the so-called bed blockers in the country.
:07:09. > :07:11.So, clearly, some authorities do a better job than others and I think
:07:12. > :07:14.the government and the health service are going to be looking very
:07:15. > :07:17.closely at those authorities to see how they can improve.
:07:18. > :07:24.South Today has discovered mental health patients are being placed
:07:25. > :07:29.into overstretched A departments, as police crack down on the number
:07:30. > :07:32.locked up in the cells for their own safety.
:07:33. > :07:35.Across the south, there's been a big fall in those
:07:36. > :07:38.held in police custody, down by more than 800 in two years.
:07:39. > :07:41.But the numbers taken to casualty or mental health units rose by more
:07:42. > :07:44.Guidelines state patients should only be brought
:07:45. > :07:46.to hospitals by police if they have a physical injury.
:07:47. > :07:48.Our home affairs correspondent Peter Cooke reports.
:07:49. > :07:49.Strained, stressed, a system under pressure.
:07:50. > :07:51.A departments say they are increasing resources
:07:52. > :07:53.to deal with a rise in mental health patients.
:07:54. > :07:59.Police forces say custody isn't a suitable place for those people
:08:00. > :08:03.but often there aren't enough places in mental health units so emergency
:08:04. > :08:13.The emergency departments have become the default setting
:08:14. > :08:19.because the police are under a lot of pressure to not detain
:08:20. > :08:20.mental-health patients in cells, which is fine, but there hasn't been
:08:21. > :08:20.consistent commissioning across the country to provide
:08:21. > :08:22.Surrey police now provide facilities called safe havens for people
:08:23. > :08:25.experiencing a mental health crisis but admit A is sometimes
:08:26. > :08:31.We also recognise that shifting the demand from custody to a place
:08:32. > :08:36.of safety to A Department isn't always helping the person in crisis.
:08:37. > :08:39.In 2014, Barry Branden's wife Martine was arrested for carrying
:08:40. > :08:43.a knife in easterly and died in Southampton custody
:08:44. > :08:49.And Independent Police Complaints investigation found four staff had
:08:50. > :08:53.committed misconducts linked to the case.
:08:54. > :08:55.The rules at the time said if she had a weapon,
:08:56. > :08:59.she had to be arrested and not taken to a place of safety,
:09:00. > :09:02.which is what the police commissioner said at the inquest,
:09:03. > :09:06.that, you know, it would have been dealt with differently if they'd
:09:07. > :09:12.The government says one in four people has a mental disorder at some
:09:13. > :09:14.point in their life, and has promised more funding
:09:15. > :09:18.But mental health trusts in England say they are still
:09:19. > :09:35.We're back with a bulletin tomorrow morning. Now, Sarah Farmer is here
:09:36. > :09:41.with your forecast. It has been a damp and dreary day today. We've
:09:42. > :09:44.still got some patchy rain through the course of this evening and
:09:45. > :09:48.tonight but it should clear through and by tomorrow things are looking
:09:49. > :09:53.more promising. That rain tends to come and go, not too heavy, and
:09:54. > :09:58.there will be drier spells, particularly the further north you
:09:59. > :10:02.are. Overnight temperatures down to 8-9, so a mild night on the cards.
:10:03. > :10:06.It looks like it'll be a dry starred first thing tomorrow morning. That's
:10:07. > :10:13.rain band nudging away and we will see some bright spells into the
:10:14. > :10:18.afternoon. And nice bright spells particularly the further north you
:10:19. > :10:24.are. Temperatures 12th - 14, possibly 15, so doing very well for
:10:25. > :10:27.this time of year. As we look ahead to Friday, we will start to see the
:10:28. > :10:32.cloud building from the south-west as we work our way through the
:10:33. > :10:36.mourning period and it'll be quite grey and damp with misty and murky
:10:37. > :10:40.conditions at times, perhaps some light rain and drizzle coming and
:10:41. > :10:45.going with a few breaks in the cloud are generally quite acquired
:10:46. > :10:48.picture, nothing too heavy to worry about. Let's take a look at the
:10:49. > :10:57.summary for the next few days. Tomorrow, fine, a decent day,
:10:58. > :10:57.cloudier on the coast and the Isle of Wight but further inland, some
:10:58. > :10:59.good brightness. A gloomy day on outlook, staying mild and Nick has
:11:00. > :11:09.the bigger picture across the UK. Hello. Spring is in the air with
:11:10. > :11:14.temperatures reaching 14 or 15 in a few spots today as they will again
:11:15. > :11:21.over the next few days. Very pleasant in the sun. The daffodils
:11:22. > :11:26.were loving that in York. More places under blue sky tomorrow and
:11:27. > :11:30.dry. Tonight heavy showers moving across Scotland on strong to gale
:11:31. > :11:34.force winds, some may clip Northern Ireland. It's a mild night in
:11:35. > :11:45.southern England and South Wales but damp and drizzly, misty with coastal
:11:46. > :11:50.and hill fog elsewhere. Temperatures in between and dry: This damp
:11:51. > :11:53.weather hangs on from parts of the Channel Islands, to Cornwall.
:11:54. > :11:56.Elsewhere, it's getting brighter in South Wales and southern England. In
:11:57. > :12:01.England, Wales and Northern Ireland some sunny spells around from the
:12:02. > :12:03.word go. The further north there is a stronger wind initially. Showers