08/03/2017 South Today

The Prime Minister denies the government struck a secret deal

A big increase in the number of people with mental health

problems left at A as fewer are sent to police cells.

And after the gloom of today, spring will certainly be back

I'll have your full forecast later in the programme.

Jeremy Corbyn has again demanded that the government tells the truth

over what he alleges was a "sweetheart deal" struck

The Labour leader's described correspondence obtained today

Emails shows the government promised the council it

would not be any worse off, if it agreed to scrap

controversial plans to increase council tax by 15%.

Our political editor's been following developments.

What is the latest? These explosive documents Jeremy Corbyn is talking

about were obtained far information request by the BBC, put online this

evening by Surrey County Council. We knew they lobbied hard to get more

cash, threatening a referendum on the 15% rise. And with so many

senior ministers in the in the county the suspicion has been they

were given favourable treatment, that is what Jeremy Corbyn put to

the Prime Minister today at Prime Minister 's questions. Could the

Prime Minister explain the difference between a sweetheart deal

and a gentleman's agreement? The substance of what he's asking is has

there been a particular deal with Surrey County Council that isn't

available to other councils? And the answer to that is no. So, these

letters released tonight make it clear the council leader was pulling

every string he could to try to get more money. He wrote to the Prime

Minister asking her to support a plan for more cash, saying... It

does look from these documents are deal was being drafted. An offer to

allow them to be the first council piloting 100% business rates

retention. Whatever happens, you won't be worse off. That deal hasn't

gone through partly because they were worried about the way it would

look with so many conservatives in the area, and that's frustrated

Surrey's MPs. One MP wrote... What is the government saying

tonight? They say we discuss all sorts of things with councils of all

types. But Labour are saying Theresa May needs to come clean, we need

full disclosure of the terms and reassurance all councils will be

treated the same way, they say, not just the lucky few who are favoured.

Thank you. The Chancellor Phillip Hammond

had to follow that row at Prime Minister's Questions

with his budget. By most reckoning, it was modest,

with no major surprises. Business rates have been

revalued this year. Those that stood to lose out

are being promised extra cash. And one particular industry

got a small boost. That's why our reporter

Sean Killick is in a pub. Good evening. This pub was taken

over by husband-and-wife team three years ago. They've transformed this

place. They have got the title of Worthing Pub of the year. Successful

businesses like this one I worried about the business rates. The

average restaurant in Worthing is seeing a 13% increase. Next door in

shawm, there's a 13% decrease. The Chancellor tried to smooth over such

problems announcing those losing out would have the increases capped at

?50 a month. He also announced ?1000 one-off discount in the business

rates, especially for pubs. The landlady here, what's your reaction

here? It's lovely they are giving us ?1000 but when they are increasing

your taxable rates every year, like last year and this year, ?1000 is a

drop in the ocean. It isn't enough, but it is better than nothing but it

isn't going to make a huge difference to anybody. You're also

concerned about the National Insurance increase. It is a bit of a

double whammy for you. Being self-employed, ours is going to

increase. 80% of our customers are all self-employed so they won't have

the money to come to the pub which will affect more pubs, closing down

and not being able to afford these rates. Unless money to spend,

potentially. Thank you. There was some good news for publicans such as

engine. The beer duty isn't going to go up more than the planned

increase, which is to be on a pint of beer.

Another of Phillip Hammond's announcements was an extra

?2 billion for social care but also money to help next winter by putting

more GPs into accident and emergency departments for patients who don't

That scheme's already been trialled in Portsmouth.

I asked our Health correspondent how if it was working.

It's been going pretty well, actually, Tom.

They've had a GP next to the A Department here

They come in at ten o'clock in the morning, they work

until ten o'clock at night, seven days a week,

and they are looking after patients who are not emergencies,

so they're caring for things like colds, sprains,

It might not sound like much but I think it does take

a lot of the pressure off the A departments.

The Chancellor clearly thinks so because he is committing

?100 million to schemes like this all over the country.

Is the extra ?2 billion for social care going to be enough?

How to get these elderly patients, who are in hospital beds,

out and home safely, and what's usually stopping them,

of course, is the lack of proper social care.

And today health charity said that although the money was welcome,

the problem was so huge it probably wouldn't solve it.

We've seen huge reductions in the number of people particularly

vulnerable older people who can't get care, and that is impacting

Many of them are low income pensioners, living on their own,

Of course, it's not just about the money.

Something like 24 authorities are responsible for more than half

of the so-called bed blockers in the country.

So, clearly, some authorities do a better job than others and I think

the government and the health service are going to be looking very

closely at those authorities to see how they can improve.

South Today has discovered mental health patients are being placed

into overstretched A departments, as police crack down on the number

locked up in the cells for their own safety.

Across the south, there's been a big fall in those

held in police custody, down by more than 800 in two years.

But the numbers taken to casualty or mental health units rose by more

Guidelines state patients should only be brought

to hospitals by police if they have a physical injury.

Our home affairs correspondent Peter Cooke reports.

Strained, stressed, a system under pressure.

A departments say they are increasing resources

to deal with a rise in mental health patients.

Police forces say custody isn't a suitable place for those people

but often there aren't enough places in mental health units so emergency

The emergency departments have become the default setting

because the police are under a lot of pressure to not detain

mental-health patients in cells, which is fine, but there hasn't been

consistent commissioning across the country to provide

Surrey police now provide facilities called safe havens for people

experiencing a mental health crisis but admit A is sometimes

We also recognise that shifting the demand from custody to a place

of safety to A Department isn't always helping the person in crisis.

In 2014, Barry Branden's wife Martine was arrested for carrying

a knife in easterly and died in Southampton custody

And Independent Police Complaints investigation found four staff had

committed misconducts linked to the case.

The rules at the time said if she had a weapon,

she had to be arrested and not taken to a place of safety,

which is what the police commissioner said at the inquest,

that, you know, it would have been dealt with differently if they'd

The government says one in four people has a mental disorder at some

point in their life, and has promised more funding

But mental health trusts in England say they are still

We're back with a bulletin tomorrow morning. Now, Sarah Farmer is here

with your forecast. It has been a damp and dreary day today. We've

still got some patchy rain through the course of this evening and

tonight but it should clear through and by tomorrow things are looking

more promising. That rain tends to come and go, not too heavy, and

there will be drier spells, particularly the further north you

are. Overnight temperatures down to 8-9, so a mild night on the cards.

It looks like it'll be a dry starred first thing tomorrow morning. That's

rain band nudging away and we will see some bright spells into the

afternoon. And nice bright spells particularly the further north you

are. Temperatures 12th - 14, possibly 15, so doing very well for

this time of year. As we look ahead to Friday, we will start to see the

cloud building from the south-west as we work our way through the

mourning period and it'll be quite grey and damp with misty and murky

conditions at times, perhaps some light rain and drizzle coming and

going with a few breaks in the cloud are generally quite acquired

picture, nothing too heavy to worry about. Let's take a look at the

summary for the next few days. Tomorrow, fine, a decent day,

cloudier on the coast and the Isle of Wight but further inland, some

good brightness. A gloomy day on outlook, staying mild and Nick has

the bigger picture across the UK. Hello. Spring is in the air with

temperatures reaching 14 or 15 in a few spots today as they will again

over the next few days. Very pleasant in the sun. The daffodils

were loving that in York. More places under blue sky tomorrow and

dry. Tonight heavy showers moving across Scotland on strong to gale

force winds, some may clip Northern Ireland. It's a mild night in

southern England and South Wales but damp and drizzly, misty with coastal

and hill fog elsewhere. Temperatures in between and dry: This damp

weather hangs on from parts of the Channel Islands, to Cornwall.

Elsewhere, it's getting brighter in South Wales and southern England. In

England, Wales and Northern Ireland some sunny spells around from the

word go. The further north there is a stronger wind initially. Showers