Transcripts For BBCNEWS Victoria Derbyshire 20170221

Well get reaction from Conservative Mps shortly. Also on the programme this is the House Of Lords. Brexiters the most important single issue which has faced the country for decades. We also have the terrible situation of losing an empire at the same time. How deep is oui grasp, empire at the same time. How deep is ourgrasp, if we empire at the same time. How deep is our grasp, if we are honest, of what is actually going on in the eu Machinery Operating below us . 800 unelected politicians get paid to sit here, but its been rocked by another scandal after claims that some members collect their Daily Allowance whilst contributing absolutely nothing. That is an allowance of £300. Well bring you the story. And this is the dramatic moment a crying girl was rescued from rubble after an air strike in syria. Well bring you the story. Hello. Welcome to the programme, were live until iiam. Throughout the morning well bring you the latest Breaking News and developing stories. After 10am well cross to the Court Of Appeal where a straight couple will find out whether the courts support their argument that Civil Partnerships should be open to heterosexual as well as gay couples. Well speak to the couple as soon as the decision is made. As always, really keen to hear from you this morning use the hashtag victorialive. Letters know if you are affected by the revaluation of Properties Around the revaluation of Properties Around the country and whether it means your Business Rates will go up, because to all be frozen. Be cut oi because to all be frozen. Be cut or be frozen. And if you text, you will be charged at the Standard Network rate. Our top story today most areas of england will see Hospital Services cut or moved under plans to save money and improve efficiency. Analysis by the bbc has also found that about a third of the proposals would see a reduction in the number of hospitals offering emergency care. The government says patients will receive better care in the community. Our Health Reporter Sophie Hutchinson has the details. Protests outside Horton Hospital in oxfordshire just a few months ago where there are concerns about bed closures and cuts to stroke and critical care. And its not the only place. Right across england proposals for big changes are afoot in the nhs. The bbc has analysed 44 of the transformation and sustainability plans. Two thirds include either Hospital Closures or moving treatments to a different site. More than a third involve cuts to the number of hospitals providing non emergency treatments and around one third plan to reduce the number of hospitals offering emergency care. Proposed closures to Hospital Beds have been heavily criticised by the think tank the kings fund. More generally, though, it says the plans are the best hope of delivering essential reforms to the nhs, but it says it cant be done without extra funding. Ideally there ought to be an earmarked fund for new investment, to strengthen and improve the out of Hospital Services, and to shore up adult social care, which is really in crisis at the moment. If those additional funds arent forthcoming, the government needs to be honest about the consequences for patients and what the offer to the public will be. The Department Of Health says its confident the nhs plans will help patients get better care, with improvements to Mental Health and Cancer Services and more access to gps. Our correspondent Kathryn Stanczyszyn is here with me now. These are big changes and people will face cuts . The sustainability and transformation plans are what has been keeping nhs bosses up at night recently as they try to make £22 billion worth of savings by 2020, meaning some pretty drastic changes on the cards. Some examples, the of two out of three a es in mid and south essex, a reduction of major hospitals in South West London from five to four, cutting the hospitals in leicester, leicestershi re hospitals in leicester, leicestershire and rutland from three to two. You could say it sounds like an obviously bad idea but the king s fund, which has been looking into it, says there is a case for it if done well and it im proves case for it if done well and it improves patient care. They believe there should be essential reform of there should be essential reform of the nhs away from Hospital Services but they say that the crucial thing is what it is replaced with, they need massive investment into Community Provision because if we dont get that we are heading for serious problems. Joanna is in the newsroom with a summary of the days news. The shortage of teachers in schools in england is getting worse, affecting key subjects like physics and maths, according to a report by mps. The Commons Education Committee says Recruitment Targets have been missed for five years in a row and there should be more focus on Keeping Teachers in the profession long term. Frankie mccamley reports. The actual sums are adding and taking. Maths class for these children with mr walton. But professionals like him are increasingly hard to come by, thats according to a group of mps, who say School Teacher shortages in england are getting worse. Im into my fourth year of teaching now. I know some have dropped out now. I think thats mainly due to workload and pressure and things like that. The Education Select Committee is calling for a Long Term Plan to recruit more teachers and a bigger emphasis to be placed on retaining them, warning many are leaving. Reasons include a lack of job satisfaction, Curriculum Changes and workload. Research has found teachers in england work nearly 20 more than they do in other similar countries, an average of nearly 50 hours a week. 20 of those are spent here in the classroom teaching. Mps say secondary schools are hardest hit in subjects like physics, maths, and computing. What weve got to get across is just how important teachers are to our society and to our economy. They need to feel valued, they need to feel trusted. The Department For Education says it is investing in Teacher Recruitment and development to make sure the best in the profession stay put. Profits at britains biggest bank, hsbc, fell by more than 60 last year. The bank has blamed slowing growth in the uk, which it has linked to uncertainty over brexit. Its also repeated a warning that it could move a thousand staff from london to paris. Five people have been killed after light plane crashed into a Shopping Centre in the australian city of melbourne. It suffered an Engine Failure and crashed into a Shopping Centre which was prepared to open. The impact sent a large fireball into the sky and sent debris onto the road nearby. Nobody on the ground is thought to have been injured. The american President Donald Trump has named general hr mcmaster as his new National Security advisor. He replaces general michael flynn, who resigned just three weeks into the job after misleading the Vice President over talks hed had with russian government officials. President trump has described his new appointment as a man of talent and experience. Iraqi forces say they are closing in on western mosul, the last major stronghold of so called Islamic State in iraq. A Military Spokesman said that Government Troops had entered the last town on the road leading to mosul airport, as the offensive to recapture the western half of the city continues. The chancellor Philip Hammond has assured Conservative Mps that hes listening to concerns about a Business Rate Revaluation in england and wales. The rates are being updated for the first time in seven years, and will leave more than a quarter of Companies Facing higher bills. Mr hammond is facing pressure to do more to help those affected. A heterosexual couple will find out today if they can have a Civil Partnership instead of a marriage. Rebecca steinfeld and Charles Keidan from london took their case to the Court Of Appeal following a defeat at the High Court Last year. They say its unfair that only same sex couples can have a Civil Partnership. Specialist police teams are digging up the gardens of two properties in swindon. One is believed to be the former home of Christopher Halliwell, whos serving a whole Life Sentence for the murders of two women, sian 0callaghan and becky godden. A man in new york had a lucky escape while shopping at a mini mart. The drama was caught on cctv. He was about to pay for his groceries when he returns to the shelves unaware of the imminent danger. A car smashed through the window of the mini mart, crushing him between the rows of shelves. Amazingly, no one was hurt in the accident. He and the driver were both taken to hospital but neither had any serious injuries. Thank goodness for that that could have been so much worse. Cheers, joanna. Do get in touch with us throughout the morning use victoria live. Listen, you are a bit cross about the story of the peer who apparently left a taxi running outside the House Of Lords while he went in for a moment to clock on in order to qualify for his £300 daily allowa nce, qualify for his £300 Daily Allowance, then nips back out to the taxi. Morag on twitter, peers who clock in and clear out without doing any work should pay the money back. Else but on facebook said £300 per day is double my weekly stately pension, it is a disgrace that this is being abused by those not financially struggling to heat homes oi financially struggling to heat homes or put food on the table, it is greed. Your views ill welcome, we will talk about that just after 9 30am. Your views are welcome. Lets get some sport. 0lly foster is at the bbc sport centre. Sutton did themselves proud . A terrific cup tie, 5000 fans, 105 places between Sutton United and arsenal. Arsene wenger did not underestimate the non league team, he put out a team that was just too strong, parents with a fairly lucky goal. 1 0 to the gunners. Theo walcott, a tap in, his Hundredth Goalfor the gunners. Walcott, a tap in, his Hundredth Goal for the gunners. He walcott, a tap in, his Hundredth Goalfor the gunners. He did not celebrate too much. Their manager was just shaking hands with arsene wenger, he says they have made £1 million out of the cup run this year but we still have one more non league team left in the cup, lincoln city, they came through over the weekend. They play arsenal in the weekend. They play arsenal in the quarterfinals, what a tie lets talk about the guy eating the pie at half time, is he in trouble . He probably will be, his name is wayne, he is a cult figure in sutton, 23 stone Reserve Keeper who does not play very much, he does more around the club. He did that in the second half. Spotted on camera in the 82nd minute. It is a fun picture but a betting company had put their Sponsorship Boards of everywhere, sponsoring Sutton United and they had got a fun bet on 8 111 wayne sure to be filmed eating up high. Afterwards, wayne shaw admitted some of his mates were in on itand admitted some of his mates were in on it and they had a flutter as well. Players are strictly not allowed to come he said he did not and one of the other players did. The fa regulations and gambling say that a player should not instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet the results, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an occurrence in a football match, and that covers eating pies. 0f occurrence in a football match, and that covers eating pies. Of course it does, they have made many macro out of it. Of course you are not allowed to bet on anything to do with the football match, but it seems slightly po faced. It is a bit cynical, i know the sutton manager was not happy about it at all and said it took the shine off what was a terrific occasion for the club. I am sure the fa will look into it. There was fighting and a Pitch Invasion towards the end, a bottle was thrown towards the dugouts, so the fa will have a bit to look at. You talked about the Funding Story Guest today for the various would be 0lympic sports, appealing to uk sport to get their money back heading into tokyo, none of them got it back . In our time, wheelchair by, it back . In our time, wheelchair rugby, we revealed they would get no funding. Fencing, weightlifting, Archery Badminton were funded for the four years leading up to rio, all five were unsuccessful in the appeals, badminton especially, because they hit their medal target of getting a medal in rio, are said to be staggered. Uk sport said there was no compelling evidence to make them change their minds. They can ta ke them change their minds. They can take another path, another Appeal Process , take another path, another Appeal Process, but it is a real long shot. All those five Governing Bodies were very, very upset. The head of golfs governing body, who makes the rules, there could good news from muirfield . Last year muirfield, an all male membership, voted against allowing female members to play. The rna, the governing body, threw them off the roads are for hosting the open championship, they have posted it over a dozen times recently they have hosted it. 750, the all male membership, are holding another ballot right now. The rna chief has given an interview and says he is delighted, they cant get involved in club matters but if it is a positive outcome the course will be reinstated very quickly right back onto the list of open venues, lots of players were very vocal when the vote ca m e of players were very vocal when the vote came to last year. Another interesting thing, brexit, we have spoken about that forever, but the head of the rna says it might consider paying the winner this year in dollars because the pound has been hit so badly. It has knocked an awful lot of the value of the price money of the open if the pound continues to be as weak. Thanks, 0lly. Business rates are also being revalued in scotland and wales. In england, theres plenty of disquiet about how some big retailers wont be affected as much as smaller ones. This morning will the government come under pressure to soften the blow on Business Rate Rises . If you own a shop or business, chances are youre worried about it. Around a quarter of firms could see a rise in the amount they pay, with some facing rises of up to 500 . Business pay roughly half of the value of their annual rent in rates. In a moment, well talk to those affected, but first, Business Rates they are what Companies Large and small have to pay. Think of them as like council tax, but for companies. They are the charge on a Business Property and that charge is decided in proportion to the value of the land. The government has decided that the rates need to be revalued, which they are supposed to do every five years, but they didnt do it when they should have last time, so its been seven years since the last valuation. That seven year gap means that some companies are bracing themselves for a whopper of a rise, while others may see their rates stay the same. So the extra rates paid by an online retailer who owns a huge warehouse in the middle of the countryside will in some cases pay less than a cafe in london, and thats why were here. Alex is the manager and owner and it looks like his rates could double. Weve been here for 3h years. It was my fathers. He bought it when i was four. Its one of the now longest running businesses left in victoria. At the present moment, werejust shy of 11,000 and come april, ive been advised im going to be paying just shy of £22,000, which will be a 100 increase. And if you even go further back, three, four years ago, we were only paying about £7,000, so the rates have probably quadrupled now. Ministers and mps have been lobbied by businesses to either water down or scrap the increases, but the government says that the majority of people will see their rates on hold or decreased. The government believes around 520,000 ratepayers will see their bills increase as a result of the revaluation. While 920,000 will see their bills fall and 420,000 will see no change. But despite these assurances opposition to the upcoming changes isnt dying down and the changes kick in on 1st april. Business rates are also being revalued in scotland and wales. In england, theres plenty of disquiet about how some big retailers wont be affected as much as smaller ones. For instance amazons rates will increase by 0. 95 , miniscule compared to some of the increases across the country. 0nline fashion retailer boohoo. Com will see their rates cut by 13 . Fashion giant asos their rates will stay exactly the same. Whereas in southwold in suffolk the average business will see rates increases of 177 . Rebecca bishop runs a bakery there. Her rates are going up by almost 500 . Sheila tims owns a fancy dress shop in berkshire. Her rates are going up and she says shell have to close the shop as a result. Also with us two Conservative Mps who are campaigning against the rises. Grant shapps, mp for Welyn Hatfield and former Conservative Party chairman. Andrew bridgen is the Conservative Mp for Nw Leicestershire who was supporting the Business Rates rise until he met the chancellor Philip Hammond last night. Let me Hearfrom Rebecca let me hear from rebecca and let me Hearfrom Rebecca and sheila. You pay rebecca £2,000 a year in Business Rates. What will it increase to . Well, i did some sums yesterday after i quoted the figure, £2,000 and when i looked back at my rate bill, if you actually take off the business relief that i pay at the business relief that i pay at the moment, im only paying £835. 0k. With my transitional relief which im given at 12. 5 , next year i will be paying £4028 which is a 482 increase. And what impact will that have on your bakery . Its going to have repercussions, obviously next year is not the full increase. 0ver next year is not the full increase. Over the five years, it will increase year on year. Itll be affecting my expansion plans. It will be affecting my ability to recruit. The money represents probably at least two part time people. It will affect my ability to put money into training. Itjust is a damaging effect on all the businesses, all the independent businesses, all the independent businesses, in southwold. Sheila, you run a fancy dress shop, which i think you were looking to sell after 30 years, but the buyer pulled out when they found out about your rate rise . Thats correct. What do you pay at the moment and what will it go pay at the moment and what will it 9 up pay at the moment and what will it go up to . At the moment im paying £3300 a year. Its going up to £5200 this year, thats with the transitional relief and up to £8500. Can you afford it . No. What will you do . Were going to close. Seriously . We cant afford it. Weve already made the decision to shut because weve lost our buyer now, but i am still fighting this because this is my village and its the whole village thats suffering, all of the Business Rates have gone up, the actual value of the rateable value has gone up by 75 on every business here. Will other independent shops, do you think, have to close . Yeah, two have told me, im in a small parade of shops. Im not in a high street. There are 20 of us and two of the others have said if it cant be resolved they cant sustain the increases either. I know one shop thats got 1,000 increase. 1,000 , 0k. Thats got 1,000 increase. 1,000 , ok. I mean, if it wasnt so serious, this was absurd, what did the chancellor say to you when you met him last night and you relayed the concerns . Well, i gently reminded the chancellor and colleagues that something we should all remember is that all the wealth of our country that all the wealth of our country that pays for our Public Sector and those of us who work in the Public Sectors wages is generate from Business And Commerce. Weve already shifted huge amounts of burden on to business, youve got the National Living wage and huge Pension Provisions Going Forward and now weve got Business Rate Rises. At the end of the day were in danger of killing the golden goose of growth. What did he say . He said he was in listening mode, but the bills for the Business Rate Increase are going out next week, but we have time for a period of contemplation and discussion and we certainly need, where people are getting huge increases, we need a longer period for those to be phased in. Right. Would that be enough grant shapps . 0ne would that be enough grant shapps . One of the problems. Yes, it would be enough . Im not sure it would be. 0ne be enough . Im not sure it would be. One of the problems is this hasnt been changed for seven years. We had the same issue with domestic rates, thats council tax, it was i was the Local Government Minister and decided not to do the revaluation and just leave it because we knew it would be a disaster to try to do the revaluationsment we need to reform this and have a proper look at how Business Rates are done. You cant leave it five or seven years and suddenly have these increases because unsurprisingly, thats an enormous shock to smaller businesses. And the wider economy . As andrew says all money in this country is generated from Business And Commerce and this is going to really create a problem. I suggested to the chancellor in the same meeting last night that perhaps we should still do the same thing thats been done with the council tax which is just not to revalue them. The chancellor says thats not possible. The letters are going out next week. I think one of the problems here has been that rather than present this as what it really is, which is about another £1 billion collected for the economy, and lets face it, were still grappling with the deficit, we need to do those things, but be straightforward and say yes, we need to raise the money. Instead it has been presented as if somehow it was a cut to business. I received a letter saying that businesses in my constituency would pay less, but about 1. 4 less. In fact theyre going to pay more than 5 . How did that mistake happen . It looks like they have already factored in the fa ct they have already factored in the fact that so many people will appeal the rate bill that they get. And that some of those appeals will be successful and then some issues with inflation and in fact, it turns out that this is actually a rate rise in my area, not a cut. Cani my area, not a cut. Can ijust my area, not a cut. Can i just say my area, not a cut. Can ijust Say Something . Yes, go ahead . There needs to be a fundamental review of what constitutes a Small Business. This is the major flaw in this re evaluation. I was a Small Business. My rates were 7. 2 per year andl business. My rates were 7. 2 per year and i was eligible for Small Business rate relief and a recognition that a Small Business does need specific help. With this re evaluation, my rates have been moved to £25,000 a year and im classed as a medium business. My business hasnt actually changed. I employ the same amount of people. I have the same amount of sales and the same amount of foot fall and yesterday suddenly ive been moved out of any relief and any help and this is whats going to kill the high street and kill Small Businesses. The lack of recognition of what a Small Business means. Fair point . Absolutely. In my situation, it is similarto point . Absolutely. In my situation, it is similar to grants. The letter that came out at the weekend indicates 1. 3 average cut in Business Rates, but when i looked through the sectoral analysis, they are showing an increase and were going to end up with a 5 , 6 increase. Business in my seat, since 2010, Economic Growth, they have reduced unemployment by 75 in my seat and Youth Unemployment by almost 80 , i dont want to see that Economic Growth put at risk by these sort of punitive rises. Ok. If they close shops on the high street, people are going to lose theirjobs. There is going to be increased unemployment as a result of this. Sheila wants to come back in. |j unemployment as a result of this. Sheila wants to come back in. Ijust wa nted sheila wants to come back in. Ijust wanted to reiterate with regards what rebecca was saying about the Small Business relief. I got the Small Business relief. I got the Small Business relief because my ratea ble Small Business relief because my rateable value was £10,000, they have put that up to £17500, but the Small Business relief is only up to £15,000 so i dont constitute any Small Business relief. They havent moved president goal posts enough. They have moved them so slowly that we are not going, im still classed asa we are not going, im still classed as a Small Business because im under £18,000, but i dont get any relief whatsoever. Understood. Ok. So you andrew have suggested to the chancellor, a tapering of the rises so, you know, bring them in more gradually. Grant, what do you want to see . We need to look at the entire system again. But how does that help rebecca and sheila right now . I think what andrew and i and other colleagues are trying to do is say to the chancellor, look, there are businesses like theirs, other shops, restaurants, pubs, who are really going to suffer and potentially close which is not where i think potentially close which is not where ithinka potentially close which is not where i think a conservative government who should be very pro business wants to be or should be. So they need to resolve that in the short term through the budget. Probably altering the rate reliefs, it is crazy to have a system which we havent reviewed these for seven years, but that woor five years and any anything else you do every year. People know where they are. They can plan their Business Future rather than this coming out of the blue. Plan their Business Future rather than this coming out of the bluem there is no relief or help in the budget, would you consider voting against the budget . It is a single vote on the whole economic plan, it is difficult to vote against individual items. Would you vote against the whole budget if there is nothing to help Small Businesses . The way to do this is to ask the chancellor to look with a lot of interest and concern at businesses like that. He indicated thats what he will do. And then my further concern is to make sure we dont end up concern is to make sure we dont end up in this mess again, whether it is in myself years or what have you. We invited the Department For Communities And Local Government and the treasury onto the programme today, but both declined. A viewer says, my Family Business has been trading in the town for 165 yea rs. Has been trading in the town for 165 years. I wonder how much longer you can survive with such a huge rate rise coming of 185 this. Is horrendous. The smaller shops will disappear to be replaced by more Charity Shops and chain stores which crept in over the last few years pushing up rents to unsustainable levels. We pushing up rents to unsustainable levels. We will see what happens. Thank you very much for coming on the programme. Sheila and rebecca, thank you for your input. We will see happens over the coming weeks and on budget day. Your views are welcome. If you run a small shop, a medium sized business, tell what yous is happening with your Business Rates because some rates are being frozen. Some people are getting a rate reduction. We must bear that in mind as well. Take a minute to watch this dramatic footage of the moment a crying girl is pulled alive from rubble following an air strike in syria. While the little girl was rescued we dont know what happened to her. The footage was released by syria civil defence, also known as the white helmets. It was apparently taken in damascus tishreen neighbourhood on sunday. Activists reported air strikes in two other neighbourhoods over the weekend. Still to come the House Of Lords faces questions after claims that some members collect their 300 quid daily allowa nce collect their 300 quid Daily Allowance whilst contributing nothing. We will get reaction from peers in the next few minutes. Joanna is in the newsroom with a summary of the days news. Most areas of england will see Hospital Services cut or moved under plans to save money and improve efficiency. Analysis by the bbc has also found that about a third of the proposals would see a reduction in the number of hospitals offering emergency care. The government says patients will receive better care in the community. There ought to be an earmarked fund for new investment to strengthen and improve the out of Hospital Services and to shore up adult social care. If you are concerned about nhs cuts, sending your questions. We will put them to chris ham, you havejust heard from, at 12 30pm. Contact details are on screen. The shortage of teachers and schools in england is getting worse, affecting key subjects like the six months, according to a report by mps. Months, according to a report by mp5. The house of Commons Education Committee says will group and targets have been missed for five yea rs targets have been missed for five years ina targets have been missed for five years in a row and once there should be more focus on Keeping Teachers in the profession long term. We had to get across just how important teachers are to society and our economy, they need to feel valued and trusted. Profits at britains biggest bank, hsbc, fell by more than 60 last year. The bank has blamed slowing growth in the uk which it has linked to uncertainty over brexit. Its also repeated a warning that it could move a thousand staff from london to paris. Benefits claimants face unacceptable variations in the number of payments being docked or removed entirely, depending on where in the uk they live, mps have said. The Public Accounts Committee said those penalised for missing job centre appointments or other failings often faced an appalling situation. Its urging the Department For Work And Pensions to monitor variations closely. Five people have been killed in a plane crash in melbourne. The Light Aircraft suffered Engine Failure and crashed into a Shopping Centre which was prepared to open for the day. It threw debris onto the road nearby. Nobody on the ground is thought to have been injured. There was a large fireball. Thats a summary of the news. More at 10am. Heres some sport now with 0lly foster. These are our sports headlines this morning. Sutton uniteds fa cup adventure is over. Theo walcott scores his 100th goal for arsenal in a 2 0 win that sets up a quarter final tie for them against another non league side, lincoln city. Newcastle are back on top of the championship after a 2 0 win against aston villa. Goals from Yoan Gouffran and an own goalfrom Henri Lansbury see them knock brighton off the top. Badminton are one of five 0lympic and Paralympic Sports to have had their Funding Appeals rejected by uk sport. The body that allocates National Lottery money says none of the sports had Strong Enough medal potential in tokyo 2020 and will receive no money at at all. I will be back after 10am with a full update. Thank you. This morning, claims that members of the House Of Lords collect their full Daily Allowance of £300 whilst contributing absolutely nothing. A former speaker of the lords has described how one peer left a taxi waiting outside so he could nip in for a sec to clock on in order to claim his 300 quid, before leaving immediately. Unlike the house of commons, which is made up of elected mps, the House Of Lords is made up of people who are appointed to the posts. There are over 800 of them, including 90 hereditary peers and some bishops. So what should be the sanction for a peer like this whos spending your taxes for doing nothing . If he was a benefit claimant, lets be honest, hed be called a benefit scrounger. The claims were made in a 3 part bbc two documentary. Here is a clip. To be in the lords you have to be punctual. Sometimes you have to literally slammed the door and somebodys face. Literally slammed the door and somebodys face. What right do they had to tell me about their Fashion Sense . And conduct yourself correctly . Can you control your bad language, otherwise you will be drummed out. To win on something as important at this is phenomenal. This is how we make laws. Another member of the so called second haas has described the House Of Lords as the best Daycare Centre for the elderly in london. He is a lib dem lord called lord taylor, the pa rtys lib dem lord called lord taylor, the partys spokesman on constitutional reform. Hejoins us. Katie ghose is Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform society Michael Cockerell is a bbc documentary maker. He did not make this documentary. Lord tyler, what do you think of some of your peers clocking in and to bring nothing but still taking home the £300 Daily Allowance . have worked for 15 years to try to make House Of Lords more democratic and accountable to the public, i welcome the opportunity for the public to see the weaknesses and the strengths of the House Of Lords that i question really whether it is a large number of peers who use the place in the way it is described. From the former Lords Speakers comments, ifind from the former Lords Speakers comments, i find them from the former Lords Speakers comments, ifind them entirely because she does not know whether the pier that is opposed to have kept the taxi running spent the rest of the afternoon there and was just coming back for their code. If she thought it was such a bad thing that so many peers were not doing the job that they were therefore, why did she do nothing about it . She did, she do nothing about it . She did, she says. We have invited her onto the programme, as you would expect, she did not want to join the programme, as you would expect, she did not want tojoin us but the programme, as you would expect, she did not want to join us but she will speak after the documentary goes out. She says she tries to try to raise it with various whips but nothing could be done because this gentleman turned up and clocked m, this gentleman turned up and clocked in, no sanctions could be placed upon him. What do you think should happen to him . I think she should have supported the Coalition Governments reform at the House Of Lords, which is a very effective reform and would have meant by now we we re reform and would have meant by now we were getting rid of people who could not really contribute to the work of the lords. The lords have a very important job, not least work of the lords. The lords have a very importantjob, not least with brexit, whether government is pushing something through with no proper mandate. The lords is an important part of our constitution and most peers take it very seriously indeed. I accept there is a minority. I understand you want to talk about reform but i want to talk about what you think should be the sanction for a pier that turns up the sanction for a pier that turns up to clocking just to get the £300 Daily Allowance of Taxpayers Money . The answer is that it should be for a full days work. The answer is that it should be for a fulldays work. The answer is what . For doing a full days work. And if no work is being done but the still being claimed, what should be the sanction . The answer is, of course, there are powers for the pier concerned to be told thank you, goodbye. Are there . baroness dsouza tells us, quote, i mentioned this behaviour regularly to the releva nt this behaviour regularly to the relevant whips whose responsibility it was handed weekly meetings we up any transgressions for the parties to deal with. Furthermore, the psu dashed in to get his tick was not infringing any rule, nothing says apia has to be in the chamberfor any particular amount of time. She could have supported more effective reforms are persistent, including the sanctions available. I entirely accept that it is a minority who make no contribution, but i think it is difficult for her after this experience to get away with saying there was nothing she could have done, she could have supported the major reforms there on the table in 2012. The House Of Lords got in touch to ask us to point out that parliamentary work is not limited to amending legislation and most of the members work would not leave a record in hansa rd, members work would not leave a record in hansard, which officially records debates in parliament. The statement said all members had to certify they have undertaken parliamentary work when claiming for the house. Where members are shown to have claimed when they have not undertaken parliamentary work the house can suspend them, as in the case of law tanning fields. The haas has a robust code of conduct. The house has. Katie, what do you think of this practice . These outrageous abuses of privilege happen because we have no accountability whatsoever, it is an appointed second chamber, not elected. We want the government to take action. This is absolutely shocking for people to see that members of the House Of Lords can claim £300 a day without doing any work, this has been going on for some time and is nothing new, we want concrete proposals from the government to move towards unelected House Of Lords. It is over 800 peers, the second largest Legislation Chamber in the world. To move towards an elected House Of Lords. A peer who has done this can be suspended, is that enough . Of course not, people are powerless because they cannot kick peers out of this kind of shocking behaviour because they are not elected, there is no accountability. Taking back control was such a big theme of the eu referendum, this is a fantastic opportunity for the government to do something where power lies and to modernise democracy by introducing a smaller, more effective and, crucially, an elected second chamber. Michael, you have made an cycle a nd chamber. Michael, you have made an cycle and thoughtful documentaries about the working of parliament, what do you think of this . Made insightful and thoughtful. Suppose that person with the taxi running was going to lunch and then coming back to do a full days work, not necessarily in the chamber but anywhere else, we dont know. Just because the taxi was running, we dont know what happened. Baroness dsouza seems pretty clear, she reported it to the relevant whips. She spent her whole time looking round in every nook and cranny of this extraordinary place, looking for this chap and he was not there . You are sceptical . The fact that the taxi was running is a wonderful anecdotes, but he could have come back from lunch and dinner full days work. Back from lunch and dinner fulldays work. Doesnt seem harsh to criticise her for raising this . Does it . To criticise her for raising this . Does it . Who is criticising her . It is up to how lord tyler wants to play it. Are resurgent couple of years ago shows that a huge amount of public money is going towards peers who do not do a days work, others work hard, this is an established practice. It is shocking how long it has gone on for, it is right that baroness dsouza has lifted the lid on the scandal. The time for talking is over, we are looking to the government to take concrete action to sort this out. Katie says about the time for action, i have been hearing this for all professional life and long before, 1909 when the peers throughout Lloyd Georges peoples budget, they said the House Of Lords should be amended or entered. For 100 years, governments have tried to reform the House Of Lords and failed. 0ne reform the House Of Lords and failed. One way or another, it will probably end up in the sand. Why have so many governments failed . Partly because the house of commons does not want to see a reformed House Of Lords that is elected, because it is the most damning thing you can say about the House Of Lords, these unelected, and representative people. If they were elected then there would be two elected then there would be two elected houses, which one has power over the other . That is one of the things that successful governments have struggled with. Tony blair, to his credit, got rid of most of the hereditary peers, because that was complete nonsense, and there have been the reforms in the past when they invented life peers, which brought a really new life into the House Of Lords. The House Of Lords is quite a nice place in a lot of ways, it is amazingly civilised, even get nursery food, bread and butter pudding. It is very courteous, unlike the house of commons. Interestingly, when theresa may went yesterday and sat on the steps to send a message to the House Of Lords, dont mess with me, she looked around that House Of Lords and there were no former Prime Minister is there. There used to be as many as five former Prime Minister is, they used to go. M is not enough of them, £300 a day. The House Of Lords, there is a register of members interests and of to declare your earnings now. A succession of recent Prime Ministers have not wanted to declare their earnings so they havent taken the peerage that they could have taken. Thank you very much. We will see how this debate develops. Thank you very much for coming on the programme. Coming up just after 10am, Benefit Sanctions have increased in severity in recent years and can have serious consequences, according to a group of mps. Well speak to some of those affected. Ukip leader, paul nuttall, has said he has been the victim ofa smearcampaign. It folts the regular ig nations of two party members. His comments come after the resignations yesterday of two ukip Party Chairmen in merseyside furious over false claims about hillsborough published on mr nuttalls website. Mr nuttall has now apologised that the claim that he lost Close Friends at hillsborough ever appeared, but its cast a shadow over his campaign to win the stoke by election, which takes place on thursday. Stoke was a strong brexit voting area and mr nuttall is hoping he can become ukips second mp. But labour have held this seat for nearly 70 years and is fighting hard. Dont rule out the conservatives, they have a local candidate and Prime Minister theresa may visited the constituency yesterday in a bid to show this isntjust a two horse race. 0ur reporter Gillian Hargreaves was born and brought up in stoke. Shes returned to her home town to talk to people there. Music plays. What i like about stoke is that i think it is a really friendly place. You can guarantee that people are going to be welcome wherever you go. Yeah, itsjust a happy place. I like coming home. Its a friendly place to live. Hopefully, touch wood, theres not much trouble, where i live anyway. People talk to you. Theyre so friendly, but they are fiercely proud and outspoken and id say that kind of covers myself as well. Im quite an outspoken person and im proud to be from stoke. The Sense Of Community and the fact that everyone has a real passion for the city that they live in. It doesnt matter how tough things get, everyone still sticks together and helps everybody out. Thats a good thing about stoke. This is all that weve been left with. For me, stoke is home. Its where i was born and brought up. My dad worked in a factory further along the canal here. When i was a child i used to come down here and hundreds of people worked in the factory behind me. Look at it now. Its desolate. We cannot underestimate the importance of this by election. Labour is desperate to hold on to stoke central, a seat its held 67 years, but in a city where the majority of the people voted to leave the european union, the stakes couldnt be higher for ukip either. Kellys dad runs he and she Hair Fashions in stoke. Shes worked here for 22 years. Honestly, im to the point where i dont know who to vote for because nothing ever changes. No matter who is in, everything is always, it always stays the same. Youre promised a lot of things and they never happen, so you get to the point where you think, whats the point in bothering . And youve got real examples, havent you, with your children of services that have just gone completely . Yeah. Ive got my oldest where ive had to appeal for him to get into a high school. My youngest, hes seven months and ive noticed they are closing the Childrens Centres since ive been trying to take him out. So the politicians arent listening to you . No, theyre not listening to anybody, no. They need to come out in the real world and see what its like for us really. Everywhere needs brightening up. All these Old Buildings need filling up. Nicejobs for people. Everyone happy and just getting about their life, whereas at the moment you drive past everywhere and buildings are empty, theyve got smashed windows. Ukip and labour both have a good chance of appealing to voters, but both have managed to court controversy. Ukips candidate and leader, paul nuttall, full screen claimed a personal loss in the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster and hes not from stoke. Theres been a scandal here about him using an address for political gain. Labours candidate gareth snell has been in trouble for tweeting offensive comments aimed at women. And dont rule out the Conservative Party. They insist they are taking this by election very seriously. Jack brereton is their choice and hes a local. Linda, what is it about ukip that appeals to you then . What they say appeals to me more than what labour says. What sort of things . What do they say that. . Its notjust about immigration and things like that, its before we had the referendum, i felt as if though they spoke more about what i felt than anybody else did. Because it is awkward talking about immigration, isnt it . If you have a conversation with people, theyll often say, im not racist but. You darent not say anything really about colour or creed or religion now. All these politicians just say what they want you to hear and then when they get elected, they forget about you. You cant miss ukips Campaign Headquarters in the centre of the shopping precinct. They are throwing everything at this campaign. Nigel farage likens it to be triple in football. To the triple in football. First there was brexit, then there was trump, now theres stoke. Although ukip would have to do exceptionally well to overturn labours majority, theres a strong sense that labour is complacent and failed to do itsjob. When i was a child this street was full of shops. What you see here is probably a failure of politicians to bring wealth and prosperity to the city. This street is called hope street. Dancers page and ben should be in the political spotlight. After all, they are the future for stoke, but does labour have a future here, too . In the past 20 years a share of the vote in the city has fallen by 27 . Dawn has voted labour in the past, but she is frustrated. Theyve let us down, i think. The regeneration of the buildings, theres never been any help. If you try to get anything with the of outside of buildings, theyre quite an eyesore in stoke. Nothings being done. Ive got a young son who is on a gifted and talented register, but the schools that way looking at for Higher Education in our Catchment Area are both underperforming. For my thoughts its that if you are an mp that cares about the next generation and youre going to see opportunities then the only way to regenerate the city really is to look at the younger generation, put the quality into the Teaching Environment and actually that generation will grow with the city, make it a city to be proud of and thats where your glory should come from. I think the reason im not going to vote is because if i voted, i dont think anything is going to change. It doesnt matter if i vote for labour, ukip, i mean i dont know a lot about it because i dont follow politics, but i dont think nothing is going to change. I think were still good to be living in poverty. It will be sad. I think the poor stay the poor, the rich stay rich. Do you feel well off at the moment . No, not at all, no. Everything, like i said, wages are staying as it is. Food, beer, cigarettes. Everything is going up . Everything, but wages down. Tahir is an electrician. He came to live in stoke 12 years ago from pakistan. At the moment hes kitting out a local mosque with new washing facilities. The cuts were suffering, the poor people, the poorfamilies, like me, im an electrician, working very hard, eight to ten hours a day, but we still have to pay a lot of things. The elite people are getting richer and richer and who is it affecting because of these cuts, or the circumstances . The poorfamilies. People like you . People like me. People like, you know, my kids. People who cant afford to buy a house. Im living in a rented property. What do you want for your children . What do you want politicians to give your children . Peace, and try to take the, you know, my children are half caste now. They are half white, half pakistani and nowadays, his name is a muslim name. Ibrahim, arabic name. As soon as his name comes up, i want people not to think anything else apart from hes a person. So you dont want prejudice because he has a muslim name, an arabic name . Of course, i dont. I want some sort of culture or system that gives me the satisfaction that my child is going to have the full rights as any other person. Theres no doubt that stoke is a poor city. The average weekly wage here is £424, thats £100 less than the national average. 17 of People Living in stoke central will have been educated to degree level. Nationally its more like 27 , and this is one of the cheapest places in the country to live. But there are plenty of people fighting back, trying to do their bit to restore prosperity. Georgie is the kind of entrepreneur any city would want. A self starter Running A Pizza Business in the potteries called clay. Has been a problem with the reputation of the city . I think sometimes, yeah. I remember a few years back nick griffin and the bnp called us the jewel in the bnp crown, was something that really disheartened me because i know thats not the case and i know theres a lot of people in this city who are so accepting and so welcoming of anyone. For someone to come along from any Political Party and tar us with a negative brush, or use our city in their own kind of agenda to get into westminster, i find that quite offensive because thats not what were about at all. We need to make an attractive city so that all these other Companies Come in, they open up Job Opportunities and then the regeneration continues to spread. Id love investment so i could open up the top floor which would then me create even more jobs. I mean us alone, weve created ten jobs, which might not seem a lot, but if every single business on this street can do that, you know, hopefully by the end of this year we could have 200 workers, just in this street alone. Chris was born and raised in stoke. Hes a new dad and runs a craft beer business. I caught up with him over lunch. Im a major labour voter myself. I always vote labour in the elections and probably world time, but im worried that some people have seen the amount of work and effort that ukip have put into taking the seat and yes, it does concern me that we might see a ukip victory. What do you need the politicians to do now to make this a great city again . I think investment in local infrastructure and local economy. Small businesses are the future. Local people bringing localjobs, so the local market and putting back into that local economy. I think thats absolutely vital to the redevelopment of stoke on trent. Chris, what do you want for anoushka . What do i want for anoushka . Id just like an upward, Progressive Mobile Society for her to be raised in. Not one thats based around fear. Id like to have hope and have dreams and that have a realistic chance of being achieved. Id like to want more for herself than ive had and i hope that she can achieve that. This is an exciting time for stoke, but whoever wins, people dontjust want soundbites and empty promises. They need well paid jobs, good schools, decent housing, and a sense that this once glorious victorian city, my home, has a future. The by election in Stoke On Trent Takes place on thursday. Heres a full list of the candidates taking part, and this list is also available on the bbc news website. Lets get the latest Weather Update with phil avery. Minister is, they used to go. M is not enough of them, £300 a day. Good morning. Grey, mild face of february at the moment. The air streaming in from the atlantic made it so mild yesterday, another mild day for many but it is turning increasingly wet across wales, part of the south west and eventually into the north west of england, wetter this afternoon for Northern Ireland and the rain quite extensive across a good part of scotland, perhaps in parts of the east you will get away with the dry afternoon. Try in the eastern side of england, temperatures pretty spectacular for the of england, temperatures pretty spectacularfor the time of england, temperatures pretty spectacular for the time of year. 0vernight, The Rain Will Drag Down Across Scotland and Northern Ireland eventually. South of that, very mild overnight. A fresher look to proceedings under really windy start for the north of the mainland, the northern isles, gusts of possibly 80 mph and a bright and showery dave the northern britain. Further south, you still have the Weather Front, so murky, mild and pretty damp but at least temperatures are in double figures. Hello, its tuesday, its ten oclock. Im victoria derbyshire. The governments under pressure to soften the blow on Business Rate Rises. Shop owners weve spoken to say it will have disastrous effects on their businesses. It will affect my ability to put money into training and itjust is a damaging effect on all the businesses, all the independent businesses, all the independent businesses in the area. Also on the programme this is the House Of Lords. The most reported single issue which has faced the country for decades. And we also have the terrible situation of having to live with losing an empire at the same time. How deep is our grasp, if we are honest, of what is actually going on in the eu Machinery Operating at the moment . 800 unelected peers get paid to sit here but its been rocked by another scandal after claims that some members collect their 300 quid Daily Allowance whilst contributing absolutely nothing. What sanction should they face . Lots of you getting into. 0ne text said the lords should be ashamed of themselves. Your views are welcome as always. Should there be tougher sanctions for lords doing that . We will also look at claims that people on benefits sanctioned for not coming into interviews have been put in an appalling situation, we will speak to those affected shortly. And a heterosexual couple who went to the Court Of Appeal after being told they could not have a Civil Partnership have lost their case. We expect to hear shortly from Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan, who have lost their appeal. They wanted to form a Civil Partnership and cannot because that is only available to same sex couples in law. They argue that discriminates against them but they have lost their appeal here. Good morning. Time for the latest bbc news with joanna. Most areas of england will see Hospital Services cut or moved under plans to save money and improve efficiency. Analysis by the bbc has also found that about a third of the proposals would see a reduction in the number of hospitals offering emergency care. The government says patients will receive better care in the community. There ought to be an earmarked fund for new investment to strengthen and improve the out of Hospital Services and to shore up adult social care. And if youre concerned about nhs cuts, send your questions in. Well put them to chris ham, who youve just heard from, at 12 30pm. You can text 61124, email askthis bbc. Co. Uk and tweet using the hashtag bbcaskthis. In the last few minutes, the Court Of Appeal has rejected a heterosexual couples legal bid to be allowed a Civil Partnership instead of a marriage. Rebecca steinfeld and Charles Keidan from london, took their case to appeal Court Following a defeat at the High Court Last year. They claimed it was unfair that only same sex couples can have a Civil Partnership. We will hopefully hear from Rebecca Stei Nfeld we will hopefully hear from Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan from the Court Of Appeal in the next few minutes. The shortage of teachers in schools in england is getting worse, affecting key subjects like physics and maths, according to a report by mps. The Commons Education Committee says Recruitment Targets have been missed for five years in a row and there should be more focus on Keeping Teachers in the profession long term. Five people have been killed in a plane crash in melbourne. The Light Aircraft suffered Engine Failure and crashed into a Shopping Centre, which was preparing to open for the day. The impact sent a large fireball into the sky, and threw debris on to the road nearby. No one on the ground is thought to have been injured. The chancellor Philip Hammond has assured Conservative Mps that hes listening to concerns about a Business Rate Revaluation in england and wales. The rates are being updated for the first time in seven years, and will leave more than a quarter of Companies Facing higher bills. Mr hammond is facing pressure to do more to help those affected. For example, this local Business Owner who faces a huge increase in rates. With my transitional relief which is given a 12. 5 , next year i will pay £4028, 482 increase. Moore at 10 30am. James anyon mel says the main way to stop lords Fiddling Expenses is to make it volu nta ry. Fiddling expenses is to make it voluntary. James on e mail. Another person says that the media should stop attacking the House Of Lords, they are an important part of the democratic process with many experts reviewing legislation. Mps are not always special as standard is crucially important for watchdog to oversee potential impact of legislative procedures. Leslie says these peers are getting almost two weeks worth of my pension in one day, except my pension in one day, except my pension has been put back by five yea rs one pension has been put back by five years one month. James says it is not just years one month. James says it is notjust going on in the lords, meps We Re Notjust going on in the lords, meps were outed years ago and that may still be happening. Thank you for those. Do get in touch with us throughout the morning use the hashtag victorialive. If you text, you will be charged at the Standard Network rate. Heres some sport now with 0lly foster. The Arsenal Manager was full of respect for Sutton United last night. He described them as astonishing. The gunners did win, though, it was 2 0at Gander Green Lane with a goal in each half. Lucas perez with a fortuitous first and theo walcott with his 100th for the club. 105 places separate the two sides through the leagues. Arsenal will face another non league side, lincoln city in the quarter finals. For sutton its back to their Relegation Battle in the national league, but they have made £1 million out of their cup run. I think the players have been absolutely magnificent. So have the volunteers. They have given up sundays to sell the tickets, eve Ryo Ne Sundays to sell the tickets, everyone is a volunteer, we are not lea k two everyone is a volunteer, we are not leak two club in the national league, we are rich additional non league club. Lincoln and certain houston competition very, very proud to lincoln and sutton have done the competition very, very proud. I hope lincoln have their day in the sun like we had today, it is one of the best experiences you will ever have. Newcastle are back on top of the championship this morning after a 2 0 win against aston villa. Goals from Yoan Gouffran and a mistake from Henri Lansbury on the villa goal line see them move above brighton by a point. The Chief Executive of uk sport, liz nicholl, says sports can have no excuses for the failure to look after the welfare of athletes. Report into alleged bullying, sectors and discrimination in British Cycling is expected to be published in the next month. Liz nicholl says they were never given the full details of the 2012 internal review into cycling but might have highlighted some of the Current Issues being investigated. It is no excuse for not actually addressing duty of care responsibilities to athletes, no excuse to not putting them first, they are the greatest assets, the ones that will deliver the medals. Every programme should be trying to ensure they have happy and successful athletes. There probably has not been enough attention given in sport, if i am honest, about how they do things. There is a lot of focus on operational delivery, probably not enough on leadership, management and communication. The Chief Executive of the rna, martin slumbers, says they are considering awarding the prize money at the open in golf in dollars rather than pounds after the weakening of the pound following the brexit vote and other circumstances. Since that, The Open Prize Fund has fallen significantly behind the us 0pen. Henrik stenson won over £1 million last year, but the prize money has decreased in dollars over the past two championships. It is very important for our game, for golf in the uk, that the open is viewed as one of the world was my great sporting events. As part of that it great sporting events. As part of Thatitis Great sporting events. As part of that it is important that we get the right framework, the right structure in place. This is a professional game and the players play for money. Dollars is one option. Could be a couple of hundred thousand dollars difference, victoria. Live to the Court Of Appeal to get more on the straight couple who have been fighting to have a Civil Partnership. They have lost their case in the last few moments. Daniel boettcher is there, tell us about the case and why they lost . Rebecca steinfeld and Charles Keidan wa nt to Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan want to form a Civil Partnership, they cant because under the law as setup in 2004 it is only available to same sex couples. Since 2014, same sex couples can get married in england, scotland and wales. The couple this appeal say because they dont have the option of a Civil Partnership they have been discriminated against and they argue that it discriminated against and they argue thatitis discriminated against and they argue that it is incompatible with their right to private and family life under the European Convention of human rights. They first brought this case to court to just over a year ago, they lost, they brought it back to appeal, that was heard in november, two day this judgment. They have lost their appeal. It is slightly more nuanced because all threejudges accepted slightly more nuanced because all three judges accepted there was a potential breach of their human rights, but one of the three judges, Ladyjustice Arden, accepted that time had run out for the government to address the issue of discrimination. The governments wait and see policy, they start looking at the take up of same sex Civil Partnerships, was found by Ladyjustice Arden not good enough to address discrimination faced by heterosexual couples. What happens next . The couple has indicated they will seek leave to appeal to the highest court, the Supreme Court, we will have to wait and see in the light of this judgment, which as i said is slightly more nuanced, what the government plans to do, whether it will look again at whether this should be changed. We hope to hear from the couple that brought the appeal shortly, but i cant tell you exactly how long that will be at the moment, but they have lost. We will come back to you, daniel, as soon as we will come back to you, daniel, as soon as the couple emerge. Benefit sanctions have increased in severity in recent years and can have serious consequences. Thats according to a group of mps who say those who see their benefit reduced or stopped altogether for missing jobcentre appointments often face an appalling situation, leading them into debt, rent arrears and sometimes homelessness. More than a Million People who claim Unemployment Benefits are expected to meet certain conditions in order to get those payments such as showing they are looking for work. Around 400,000 sanctions were imposed in 2015. We can speak now to gill thompson. Her brother, a former soldier, died weeks after his benefits were stopped. Hed missed two appointments with the governments work programme. Charlotte hughes daughter was sanctioned after she turned down going to an interview when 23 weeks pregnant. Bob blackman is a Conservative Mp for harrow. He supports the work the government is doing to encourage people back into work. Welcome, all of you. Gill, your brother was on jobseekers allowa nce, brother was on jobseekers allowance, he missed a two meetings. What was his sanction . He was sanctioned totally, he lost all the money, he was left penniless. He was an insulin dependent diabetic, and the dwp were aware of this. He was left destitute. He had no money . No money, no food, he could not chill his insulin and he died with no food in his stomach. Obviously we invited a member of the dwp to come on the programme, they gave a statement saying our sympathies are with your family, decisions on sanctions are not taken family, decisions on sanctions are not ta ken lightly, family, decisions on sanctions are not taken lightly, there is a chain of processes we follow before a sanction comes into effect, including taking every opportunity to co Nta Ct Including taking every opportunity to contact the claimant several times. People can appeal if they disagree. Your brother did not appeal or ask for a reconsideration or apply for a hardship payments. David would not have been eligible for a hardship payments. It has been looked into. We have looked at all the paperwork and he probably would not have been eligible for a hardship payments. David was a very quiet and private person, he never moaned and would not have complained. Plus, as well, a letter was received on the 15th saying that david was going to be sanctions. David was going to be sanctions. David was going to be sanctions. David was found dead on the 20th. Do you say there is a link between the two . You say there is a link between the two . David died with no food in his stomach, he died in the middle of a benefit sanction. Diabetes is a serious condition where you need food and insulin, he was sanctioned until the 9th of august. I feel that they should have, before sanctioning him, looked at his medical condition more. And taken advice, because it is not. It is a serious condition. I feel that sanctioning him when they did, they put him at risk. Asa as a Conservative Mp, a labour mp says sanctions are a blunt instrument that this government has been using. Do you agree . Well, i think we should recognise that the level of employment now is at a re cord level of employment now is at a record level. The numbers of people that are disabled, women, young people, in work, are now at an all time high, what we were elected to do was to make sure that work always pays and people should be encouraged to work. However, when we come on to situations like this. Individuals . Individuals. Real people. What should happen is clearly sanctions should only be applied in the most extreme circumstances. This seems to me a case obviously, each individual case is very difficult to deal with, where a sanction was a blunt instrument was completely wrong. What is important, i think, is people who are in this position should approach their mps. If they are submitted to sanction, they should approach their councillors fore help and advice. In the meantime, what do they live off . A sanction means the money is stopped or reduced while they are appealing or reduced while they are appealing or writing a letter or waiting for a reply, what do they live off . They should seek advice straightaway. What do they live off . The clear position is they should seek advice and help. That doesnt give them money. An mp can be in a position whereby they can help and get advice and get this sanction overturned provided. How quickly . Well, it can be very quick indeed. How quick . Well, it depends on the circumstances and what has led to the position. Weeks, months . No, it can be a matter of weeks. A matter of weeks . I understand the circumstances. They could have been dead. I understand the circumstances and clearly the medical conditions ofa and clearly the medical conditions of a claimant should be taken into account fully before any sanction should be applied. The other thing from the report today, it suggests that some jobcentres are referring twice as many people for sanctions as others in the same area and it is com pletely as others in the same area and it is completely inconsistent. That is a Postcode Lottery that clearly is unacceptable. And it has to be addressed. Let me bring in charlotte. Your daughter was 23 weeks pregnant when she was sanctioned. What was the impact on her . It was devastating and she has never got over t she was ill at the time, but we didnt realise, youve got to rememberwhen time, but we didnt realise, youve got to remember when youre sanctioning a pregnant lady or anybody, she was feeding an unborn child, 0k. Anybody, she was feeding an unborn child, ok. So there wasnt only her life, there was a babys life and when she told this and she said to the advisor, look, youre notjust sanctioning me, youre sanctioning my sanctioning me, youre sanctioning b. Sanctioning me, youre sanctioning they sanctioning me, youre sanctioning my baby. They said, tough. Get on with it. My baby. They said, tough. Get on with it. Those my baby. They said, tough. Get on with it. Those words were noted. She came out of the jobcentre crying, they had no sympathy. She has never actually mentally re cove red has never actually mentally recovered from that and i dont think she ever will do. We have claims today of a peer in the House Of Lords clocking on, while his taxi is waiting outside in order to claim his £300 Daily Allowance and doing no work and yet we have stories of people who are trying to survive on not very much to start, £70 a week, having their money cut off if they miss a meeting. There are double standards. Clearly, thats unacceptable and i would never defend that. Can you see that there are double standards here . Well, there are double standards being applied. 0ne there are double standards being applied. One of issues that were trying to deal with is a very complex set of Welfare Conditions and reforming it so people apply once and they are properly assessed and they get the been fits theyre due. The fact is people who have medical conditions, as were hearing here, should not have sanctions applied. The medical staff who obviously they are assisted by should be in a position to help and advice those making those decisions. Do you agree with this recommendation from the public Accou Nts Recommendation from the Public Accounts Committee report. There should be a trial of warnings rather than sanctions for the first sanctionable offence . Absolutely. I com pletely sanctionable offence . Absolutely. I completely agree with that. I think its right and when they get a verbal warning then, thats the time when they can go to the doctor, they can go to get their mps help, a councillors help, they can get the advice they need so they can make sure that the dwp staff are informed of the problems and particularly medical problems, that people face. I have every sympathy with people in this position and weve got to make sure that it is right and people get the help they need and people are not sanctioned in a completely unacceptable way. There are a lot of criticisms of the sanctions, the inconsistencies and the fact they have increased in severity. It points out sanctions do encourage some people into work. Well, ive heard different. Ive heard and seen different reports. You know, making people destitute and in such a state, how that can be encouragement . I mean they say sanctions are issued as a last resort. We have seen two meetings, is that a last resort . No and thats the point i would be making. is that a last resort . No and thats the point i would be making. I dont understand that. Plus as well, david didnt have an inquest when he died because he died of a fatal diabetic condition. I asked for an inquest into davids death. It has been refused because they say there is no connection with his death and the benefits. It is going to be judicial review and im just hoping by doing this that showing that you know, what happened to david, you know, the sanctions didnt help and i hope that this will help to get prevention of future deaths. Thats all im asking for. I have another statement from the department of work and pensions. 0ur Sanctions Guidance is the same right across the uk and the fact is the number of sanctions has more than halved in recent years. Sanctions are an important part of our benefits system, and are only used in a very small percentage of cases as a last resort when people dont fulfil their commitment to find work. A quick final word. There has been reports from the trussell trust, the foodbank saying that their report showed that a lot of whats happening with the foodbanks was due to benefit problems and you know, its still going on. People are still dying and people are still suffering and this shouldnt be happening. Were meant to be, the fifth richest country in the world and people are dying. Ijust, ijust think it should stop and you should just look at, you know, all i want is for them to look at the guidance, you know, weve now produced professional medical reports from diabetes specialist. There was an independent review asked for in 2015 at the select Committee Inquiry and that was refused. That was refused. Thank you for coming on the programme. Well follow your progress and your fight on behalf of your brother. Thank you. Thank you to charlotte as well. A quick word. Can ijust thank you to charlotte as well. A quick word. Can i just say, there is no evidence to prove that a sanction encourages people into work. In fa ct, encourages people into work. In fact, it does the opposite. encourages people into work. In fact, it does the opposite. I quote that had from todays report, but i appreciate your point, thank you. Youre not a minister yet, youre a Conservative Mp. Im piloting my Homelessness Reduction Bill which im proves Homelessness Reduction Bill which improves the position for people who are homeless and face some of these problems. It shouldnt get to this stage, but im taking action to make sure the law is changed so the local authorities will provide the help and the assistance people in this vulnerable position need. Thank you. Still to come, the stand off in a Hungarian Village between its mayor who is banned muslim traditions such as the call to prayer and the Central Government which says his action is illegal. Well have the latest. Last night gary barlows new play the girls opened in londons west end. It is a musical based on the film Calendar Girls Which starred helen mirren and julie walters. Its the real life story of a group of yorkshire women who raise money for Cancer Research by selling a calendar with nude pictures of themselves after one of them lost their husband to leukaemia. Gary barlow and tim firth, who wrote the play, spoke to our entertainment reporter chi chi izundu. It has been five years work this and ive realised now that one of the nicest things has been working on this. To think that now it is just managing what is on the stage. It was taking your hands off the wheel and just saying, we have done all we can, you set sail. You are not on your own, but you have to make it your own now. That was strange, its like letting our child run in the park, to sort itself out. Whose idea was it initially . Well, the film and the play were already in existence. When i was writing the play, you could feel that there were areas in it that wanted to be musicals. I was writing speeches that were longer than i would normally write because these characters had something that they need to say, it felt like a song. I collared him and said, come to milton keynes, and we will watch the show. It was interesting, because i thought it was just showing me as work, because tim would always tell each other what we were doing, and in the break, he said, i want to make it into a musical. Then when i was watching act two, i could hear the music, it was so strange, what it should sound like, how we should keep it very english. So we began the journey literally five years ago. How nice was it to have the children of the man that lost his life see the production tonight . We constantly keep in touch with the calendar girls, they come to the workshops, its so important. Its a living story, it has been important for us to know that they like the way they are being portrayed. But this was the first time we have seen those guys at the show. Theyve never come onstage before, it was quite a thing. Its a living story because every performance of the musical earns money for the charity, and they will be out now, there will be people outside collecting with buckets, so in many ways its a living story for them and for the legacy of their dad. Joanna is in the newsroom with a summary of the days news. Most areas of england will see Hospital Services cut or moved under plans to save money and improve efficiency. Analysis by the bbc has also found that about a third of the proposals would see a reduction in the number of hospitals offering emergency care. The government says patients will receive better care in the community. If youre concerned about nhs cuts, send your questions in. Well put them to chris ham, who youve just heard from, at 12. 30pm. You can text 61124, e mail askthis bbc. Co. Uk and tweet using the hashtag bbcaskthis. The Court Of Appeal has rejected a heterosexual couples legal bid to be allowed a Civil Partnership instead of a marriage. Rebecca steinfeld and Charles Keidan from london, took their case to appeal Court Following a defeat at the High Court Last year. They claimed it was unfair that only same sex couples can have a Civil Partnership. Five people have been killed in a plane crash in melbourne. The Light Aircraft suffered Engine Failure and crashed into a Shopping Centre, which was preparing to open for the day. The impact sent a large fireball into the sky, and threw debris on to the road nearby. No one on the ground is thought to have been injured. A british man is to be convicted of Group Assault resulting in the death of an Indonesian Police officer. Prosecutors are calling for david taylor to be convicted of Group Assault leading to the death of a police mr taylor, who performs as dj nutzo, is originally from halifax, and admits hitting the Police Officer with binoculars and a beer bottle. The singer and actor David Cassidy has revealed he is suffering from dementia. He made the announcement after he forgot his words during shows in california at the weekend. Cassidy, whos 66, rose to fame in the tv series the Partridge Family before becoming a teen idol, and recording a string of solo hits in the 19705. Thats a summary of the latest news, join me for bbc Newsroom Live at 11am. These are our headlines this morning. Non League Sutton united are out of the fa cup. Theo walcott scored his 100th goalfor arsenal at Gander Green Lane last night. They won 2 0 to set up a quarter final tie at home to another non league side, lincoln city. Newcastle are back on top of the championship after a 2 0 win against aston villa. Goals from Yoan Gouffran and an own goalfrom Henri Lansbury see them knock brighton off the top. And 0pen golf prize money could be paid in dollars rather than pounds this year. Its because of the falling value of sterling following the brexit vote. Thats all for now, ill be back with the sport on the bbc news channel for the rest of the morning. Thank you. Lets go back to the Court Of Appeal. We will in a few minutes. Before that, officers have begun searching the garden of a home in wiltshire once owned by a convicted murderer in wiltshire. Becky godden was just 20 years old when she was murdered in 2003. Last year taxi driver Christopher Halliwell was given a rare Life Sentence for her Murder Meaning that he will never be released from prison. Wiltshire police say the excavation is related to new intelligence. Will glennon is in swindon with more. What is happening . The whole alleyway is sealed off behind me at the back of a row of Terraced Houses here on broad street in swindon. Police are working at the back of those houses, drilling away, we can hear them this morning, they sound like they are trying to break through concrete. If you look behind the tarpaulin you can see two white Police Scenes of crime tents at the back. Police have given a statement, wiltshire police, saying specialist officers are carrying out excavation work within the gardens and garages are two properties, an investigation by the Major Crimes Team which they say relates to intelligence the force has. They say there are no plans to search inside the properties and People Living there at the moment have no involvement with the investigation. Police have not told us what intelligence they have and what exactly they are looking for but they say the surge could last for five days. As you mentioned, it is very significant, this is whether convicted double murderer Christopher Holley well lived between 1996 and 2000. Tell is becky godden and the background . Tell us about becky godden and the background . In september last year he was convicted of the murder of becky godden, a Young Swindon woman who disappeared in 2003. Her body was found in 2011 in a Rumoured Field In East Leach in gloucestershire. Christopher halliwell received a whole Life Sentence in september for the halliwell received a whole Life Sentence in septemberfor the murder of becky godden because he was already serving a Life Sentence for the murder of another Young Swindon woman, sian 0callaghan. She disappeared in 2011 and was last seen after a night out in old town in swindon getting into the taxi belonging to Christopher Halliwell, her body was later discovered in nearby woodland. There are eight yea rs nearby woodland. There are eight years between those two murders, becky disappeared in 2003, sian in 2011, there is significant speculation that there may be more victims that Christopher Halliwell may be responsible for killing more women. Wiltshire police have not linked into any more crimes but have appeal to halley wells conscience and asked him to come clean and tell them all. Have appealed to halliwells conscience. A straight couple have lost their battle for the right to enter into a Civil Partnership at the Court Of Appeal. They were challenging the ruling that they could not have a Civil Partnership because they were not same sex, they claimed it was discrimination. Daniel boettcher is with the couple. They argue that a Civil Partnership is not available to them because when the law was set up in 2004 it stipulated that Civil Partnerships we re stipulated that Civil Partnerships were between two people at the same sex, in 2014 in england, scotland and wales, Same Sex Marriage was made available, so same sex couples have the choice of marriage or Civil Partnership, they do not. They argue thatis partnership, they do not. They argue that is discriminatory and incompatible with their right to family and private life. That is what the court has been deciding on, they have lost that appeal. Lets speak to them. Firstly, explain why a marriage, whether in a church or registry office, is not something that you want . Marriage, we recognise it as a body blow and meaningful institution for many, just not for us. We see ourselves as partners in life and want to be partners in life and want to be partners in life and want to be partners in law, many thousands of others be the exactly the same way. There are over 3 million non married couples, the Fastest Growing family type, they lack financial and Legal Protection and Civil Partnerships would improve the stability of family life in this country. happened to land some of the points that the court has considered, but what is at the bottom of your legal action, innocence . I underlined some of the points. We are being treated unfairly based on our sexual orientation. We lost today in court, it was a Split Decision from the judges, 2 1. 0n it was a Split Decision from the judges, 2 1. On many points the judges, 2 1. On many points the judges agreed with each other and is that we are being treated differently because of our sexual orientation, it impacts on our private and family life and it is an unsustainable difference in treatment. The government needs to act now and extensible partnerships to everybody so the 3 million cohabiting couples that charlie with 02 can have the legal and financial protection they deserve. That charlie referred to. What happens now . It depends on the government, if the government response to the fa ct if the government response to the fact that 72,000 people had signed our petition, thousands are supporting our efforts and they recognise that it is time for parliament to catch up with where society isnt introduced a measure in the queens speech, none of this will be necessary any more. If they are not willing or able, and we hope thatis are not willing or able, and we hope that is not the case, we will continue to the Supreme Court and solicitors have filed for permission to do that. In samesex marriage was introduced, the number of Civil Partnerships has fallen since Same Sex Marriage. Do you think there is a danger that the end result is that Civil Partnerships will be ruled out that everyone . Possibly, but it would be retrograde. A significant minority of same sex couples want to form a Civil Partnership, the majority have not converted them to a marriage. Given that they exist, why not say eve ryo ne given that they exist, why not say everyone is welcome, should their conscience mean they want one . Many thanks. Although this appeal has been lost, this is not the end of the story, the couple say that the ball is in the governments chords and if the government does not indicate there will be change, it could go to the Supreme Court. We will see what happens. This morning claims that members of the House Of Lords collect their full Daily Allowance of £300 whilst contributing absolutely nothing. A former speaker of the lords has described how one peer left a taxi waiting outside so he could nip in for a sec to clock on, in order to claim his £300 before leaving immediately. Another member of the so called upper house has described it as the best Day Care Centre for the elderly in london. Its inevitably led to more claims of reform of the lords and not for the first time. 0ur political guru norman smith has been looking at how the chamber works. There are so many, over 800 . Welcome to the longest running parliamentary show in town, House Of Lords reform, it has been running on darfur more than 100 years. What you need to know about the House Of Lords . Lets start with their lordships and lady ships. There are just under 800 of them, around a quarter of which women. Most of the lords had been appointed as life peers that almost 90 are still classed as hereditary peers. How much do they cost . Most dont get salaries but they can get around £300 a day for turning up. With a total cost of the lords running to nearly £90 million. Lloyd george first got the ball rolling on House Of Lords reform, but another liberal leader had the latest attempt, nick clegg. His efforts, predictably enough, like any other effort, ended in total defeat and disarray. What was in the clegg package of reforms for the House Of Lords . He wanted to cut the number of peers in half, to 450. He wa nted number of peers in half, to 450. He wanted to ensure 80 of them were elected and he wanted to bar peers from serving more than 15 years. But will this latest controversy spark renewed calls for reform . With every memberof spark renewed calls for reform . With every member of the House Of Lords entitled to £300 a day, tax free, just for showing up, that puts the cost per peer at £118,000. That is a lot of money, and with more appointments on the way, more political appointments, that is a lot more Taxpayers Money being spent on people not accountable to them. For all the good walk work that the House Of Lords does, it is undermined by the size and cost, which is out of control. Thats Darren Hughes from the Electoral Reform society. Lets speak to the Deputy Speaker of the House Of Lords, lord mcfall, and lord pearson who was the former leader of ukip between 2009 and 2010. Welcome, both of you. What do you make of these fresh claims, lord mcfaul . There is the reform of the House Of Lords and the issue with the alleged peer who was claiming money. 0n the latter point there is a code of conduct and an independent commissioner who oversees this issue. If any member has an issue and a complaint, it should go directly to her, she investigates it com pletely directly to her, she investigates it completely independently from the House Of Lords. In the case of baroness dsouza, what surprises me is that as the Lords Speaker at the time she did not take the opportunity to refer it to the right place, namely the independent commissioner, who has investigated a number of complaints over begins. 0nly last year she investigated a complaint by lord hanningfield, who was suspended from the parliament until the end of that session. Now that code of conduct has been toughened up undergoes haitians between the commission and the House Of Lords, and we have the penalties of lords, and we have the penalties of exclusion if need be. It is very important that the nolan principles established in the 19905 following the scandal of the expenses in the house of commons is adhered to. it is still happening, what do you think about it . If it is still happening then the avenue is to the independent commissioner. What do you think if one of your peers i5 doing this . I think it is wrong, com pletely doing this . I think it is wrong, completely and utterly wrong. By the way, in my position i engage with the crossbencher5, with the official oppo5ition, labour, with the conservatives. Tomorrow i will be speaking to the liberal democrats and will reinforce that very point. If they feel there is any problem, go straight to the commission. Lord pearson, do you hear of this going on . No. Do you see it . Ithink pearson, do you hear of this going on . No. Do you see it . I think what we on . No. Do you see it . I think what we have to be careful of here is you cant measure the value of a peer to the nation by how long he actually spends in the chamber. Well, it helps, it is part of the measure. Of course, there may be a few peers who are doing unacceptably little and taking the Daily Allowance. I think you will probably get that in any organisation of 800 people or so on who are largely self regulating. Into this conversation i would like to reject the idea that lots of peers go into the chamber not for very long, but they are doing a lot of work outside the chamber for charities, where lots of peers are involved, Work Overseas and so on. It is not a simple black and white one. Nevertheless, iagree it is not a simple black and white one. Nevertheless, i agree that if there are a few scroungers then we should put irresistible pressure on them to resign or mend their ways. It is interesting. Sorry to interrupt, it is interesting you use the word scroungers, that is the word that some of our audience watching, taxpayers who pay the £300 Daily Allowance, they point out that if it was then, a benefit claimant, who had broken the rules, they would face really harsh penalties. In your case. Face really harsh penalties. In your case. They face really harsh penalties. In your case. They are not breaking the rules, is the trouble as i understand it. Lord mcfall is shaking his head in disagreement. Is a peer breaking the rules if they simply clerk in without doing any thing and leave in order to claim the allowance . I think that is to lord mcfall . They are breaking the rules because they had to engage in parliamentary work. Lord pearson makes the point that it can be a range of parliamentary work, maybe not recorded in hansard. Yesterday 191 peers spoke on the House Of Lords, starting at 2 30pm and finishing at midnight, starting at 11 oclock today and finishing at midnight. There was an overflow of people speaking and there is an element of peers who are listening. I would consider that parliamentary work because it is a very important issue and peers are in there. They can be in committees and delegations, they can be meeting Interest Groups coming along who hope to involve themselves and influence legislation. The main point is they have to do parliamentary work. Why is it £300 a day, viewers are saying that that is two weeks worth of my pension. think that was set in 2011. two weeks worth of my pension. think that was set in 2011. I wonder why. Does it strike you as being a lot . For quite a number of peers it includes attendance in the house and overnight allowance in london. When you consider that it could be a hotel bill, lots of that could be taken up with the subsistence of the overnight stay in london. Some of us are working absolutely full time for the lords. Ithink are working absolutely full time for the lords. I think i am probably one of the more active backbench peers, but for ten years now i have been doing very little, 12 hours a day, trying to get as to the brexit position. I speak more and ask more questions than i would think possibly any other backbench peer. But i still completely understand and support those peers, and some of them are really doing a first class job, but they dont turn up in the chamber all that much, so we have to sort out the sheep from the goats. I leave it too lord mcfall and the prefects of the situation to deal with the situation appropriately, those who bring a Bad Reputation to the lords. The lords are doing far worse things than that, we have a two day debate going on now where peers in receipt of an eu pension can lose it if they do not support the eu, they dont have to declare them. That is a far bigger scandal. You mentioned nick cleggs proposed reforms. The liberal democrats actually have 62 more peers than they ought to have according to their own principle of getting the lords to represent the votes cast in the previous general election and yet they propose to use those excess peers to vote down an act of parliament and the referendum of the british people. Thats a real scandal. Not what youre looking at now. There are a number of scandals. 0k, thank you. Now. There are a number of scandals. Ok, thank you. Those are two bad situations. This one isnt all that bad. I think its wrong and i think the powers at be should look into it and do something about it. Thank you very much. This morning warnings that small shops, pubs and businesses could be forced to close when Business Rate Rises are introduced in april. Around a quarter of firms could see an increase in the amount they pay. What are Business Rates . 0ur reporter Ashley John Baptiste explains. Business rates they are what Companies Large and small have to pay. Think of them as like council tax, but for companies. They are the charge on a Business Property and that charge is decided in proportion to the value of the land. The government has decided that the rates need to be revalued, which they are supposed to do every five years, but they didnt do it when they should have last time, so its been seven years since the last valuation. That seven year gap means that some companies are bracing themselves for a whopper of a rise, while others may see their rates stay the same. So the extra rate paid by an online retailer who owns a huge warehouse in the middle of the countryside will in some cases pay less than a cafe in london, and thats why were here. Alex is the manager and owner and it looks like his rates could double. Weve been here for 34 years. It was my fathers. He bought it when i was four. Its one of the now longest running businesses left in victoria. At the present moment, werejust shy of £11,000 and come april, ive been advised im going to be paying just shy of £22,000, which will be a 100 increase. And if you even go further back, three, four years ago, we were only paying about 7,000, so the rates have probably quadrupled now. Ministers and mp5 have been lobbied by businesses to either water down or scrap the increases, but the government says that the majority of people will see their rates on hold or decreased. The government believes around 520,000 ratepayers will see their bills increase as a result of the revaluation. While 920,000 will see their bills fall and 420,000 will see no change. But despite these assurances opposition to the upcoming changes isnt dying down and the changes kick in on 1st april. Our Business Correspondent emma simpson is here. Weve heard claims this morning that some people say their rates are going up by 500 , but in fact there is a gap. There is devolution so scotland, wales and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements what were talking about is england. So there are winners and losers. But these rates are being phased in. It is called transitional relief. So if youre a winner or a loser this will all be phased in over five years. So it all comes down to Property Values. So if you have a large ratea ble values. So if you have a large rateable value of £100,000, then your cap rateable value of £100,000, then yourcap in yearone rateable value of £100,000, then your cap in year one is 42 . What does that mean . No one in england will see their rates bill go up by more than 42 in year one. So why are some people saying im going to get my bill in april and im expecting a 500 rise, a 24 rise, a 64 rise . The information people have, they can go on the website and look at their rateable values and Business Rates are based on Property Values largely. It is what a property can be rented out at any one particular date for the whole year and theyre looking at the ratea ble year and theyre looking at the rateable values which in lots of cases have rocketed and people are scrambling to figure out what their rates bills are. So it is complicated . It is hugely complicated . It is hugely complicated and the more you look into it, the more complicated it gets, but if youre a Small Business with a rateable value of i think its somewhere around above £15,000 a year, youre going to be capped at 596 in a year, youre going to be capped at 5 in year one. In fact, if you have got a rateable value of £12,000, then you will be taken out of Business Rates altogether. So it is staggered, but no one will face Business Rate Increase of more than 42 in year one and that affects the largest premises. And what about the end of the parliament . You say. But whats the cap in four years time . Well, it changes year by year. Its time . Well, it changes year by year. Its phased in. So you dont feel the full brunt of the increase until you reach the end of that five year period. Right. Equally, for the winners and lets not forget, that lots of ha rd pressed winners and lets not forget, that lots of hard pressed businesses in towns like hull, rochdale, stockton who have been paying over the odds in Business Rates for sometime because their Property Values have plummeted then they will have to wait to get the benefit. Over the yea rs. Wait to get the benefit. Over the years. Over the years. You may not know the answer to this, emma, apologies in advance, do you know if in five years it is possible for a Small Business owner to be receiving a 500 increase . I havent heard as much as 500 , but certainly, you are going to see some businesses who will face some eye watering rises and this is because Business Rates have not been revalued for seven yea rs. Have not been revalued for seven years. The government decided to delay the last revaluation by two yea rs delay the last revaluation by two years in which time Property Values have changed dramatically so youre going to get these huge swings for economically thriving town centres and of course, london which will be clobbered because you get these huge swings. So for some people, the rate rises will be huge, but they will be phased in. Ok. I dont know if that will be a consolation. Emma, stay with us. You maybe able to help in the conversation with various people. Pamela houghton runs a nursery in bolton, joel adebayo who runs two clothing shops in london, Simon Butterworth who runs a tech company in crowthorne and two people who are seeing a rate cut rita balogun who owns a hair salon in london will see her rates go down, as will elainejiggins who runs a restaurant in essex. Simon you think your rates will go up simon you think your rates will go up by simon you think your rates will go up by1,000 . It is simon you think your rates will go up by 1,000 . It is 128096. Simon you think your rates will go up by1,000 . It is 128096. How simon you think your rates will go up by 1,000 . It is 128096. How have you got that figure . Our current ratea ble you got that figure . Our current rateable value is £6500. 0ur ratea ble rateable value is £6500. 0ur rateable value is £6500. 0ur rateable value is £6500. 0ur rateable value is £6500, our new ratea ble rateable value is £6500, our new rateable value is £6500, our new rateable value is £6500, our new rateable value is £15195. We pay £262 a year which is great. Dont mind that. According to the website, were going up to £3369 a year and thats were going up to £3369 a year and thats 1200 were going up to £3369 a year and thats 1200 increase. Were going up to £3369 a year and thats 120096 increase. Ok. Were going up to £3369 a year and thats120096 increase. Ok. Emma. What really concerns me is the valuations and how theyre done. This part of our village, we have been rated at £450 per square meter. Around the corner with the shops and lidl and co op and the butchers and the brilliant shops weve got in the village, theyre mixed out at £350 per square meterment for some reason, this part of the village which is quiet is mayfair and the strong stretch which has the car parks and the footpaths, theyre park lane. Can i make one point on that . We have got a business above us that . We have got a business above us which is a chartered surveyors. They have had a rates increase from £4800, under the same footprint as us, £4800 to £5,000. They have gone up us, £4800 to £5,000. They have gone up by us, £4800 to £5,000. They have gone up by £200. Weve gone up by over £9,000. Emma, there must be a cap, mustnt there . £9,000. Emma, there must be a cap, mustnt there . Im sure he wont face that increase all in year one. Although the point being is even with the transition, you know, youre going to have a lot of Small Businesses who havent been prepared for this, that even, you know, a 5 increase is going to hit and then you have to think well, thats year one. Year two, year three, year four, year five, one. Year two, year three, year four, yearfive, for one. Year two, year three, year four, year five, for any one. Year two, year three, year four, yearfive, for any Small Businesses any increase is tough because there are lots of other costs for Small Businesses with the National Living wage and apprentice levy. Pamela, hello, nursery in bolton. What difference is this going to make come aprilfor you . Bolton. What difference is this going to make come april for you . My current rateable value is £26500 and i pay current rateable value is £26500 and i pay £13500. Current rateable value is £26500 and i pay £13500. It current rateable value is £26500 and i pay £13500. It is going up by £42250. Wow. It means, yes, it will be about £24,000. But not this year, or definitely this year . Well, im quite surprised when they are saying about the transitional relief and you will end up paying it in four years, you are still going to pay it in four years. Years, you are still going to pay it in fouryears. Were years, you are still going to pay it in four years. Were a nursery. Years, you are still going to pay it in fouryears. Were a nursery. In bolton. The nursery rates go between £25 a square meter to £120 a square meter which is my nursery. Its massive. Were regulated by ofsted. At the moment, the government are bringing in the 30 hours of funding which they are saying is free. Theyre actually paying us £4 an hour to educate children. theyre actually paying us £4 an hour to educate children. I have got a minute left of the programme and ive got three people to talk to. So i will apologise now. Joel, whether it is in four years time, it is a hit, is that your belief . It means we hit, is that your belief . It means we cant grow. We might have to let a staff member go. I mean, we cant support new designers and you know for us in shoreditch it means were being punished for a value of property going higher and higher being punished for a value of property going higherand higherand we property going higherand higherand we dont even own the property which is sad. Elaine, youve got a rate cut coming, is that right . Yeah, thats right. Cut coming, is that right . Yeah, thats right. Happy days for you . Well, yeah. But with the transitional relief, we wont see that in the first year. Understood. For the first few years thats down. The stance ive always had is i believe it is an outdated tax. I think everybody thats been on your programme this morning has shown that they are Small Businesses and the Business Rates just dont seem to reflect the turnover or the profits that these Small Businesses actually have. Let me bring in rita, sorry, because youre agreeing with elaine there, rita . Ifeel like its an outdated tax. Why are you complaining because your rates are staying the same . Youre right, theyre staying the same, so thats great, but at the same time it is like why are we having to pay this anyway . As a Small Business. Why are you having to pay it at all . As are you having to pay it at all . As a Small Business, we dont want to stay a Small Business forever. We wa nt stay a Small Business forever. We want to hire more people, but if we have the costs, why do we have to pay it anyway . I understand as you grow, but as a Small Business i feel like there should be a limit. would love to have given you more time. I wish you all the best with your businesses. Thank you for coming on the programme. Were back tomorrow. Have a good day. See you at 9am tomorrow. Were still seeing the mild face of february across all parts of british isles, but it comes at a price. Sunshine is in short supply. The cloud is thicker out towards the west and the rain will become prevalent and heavier too across Northern Ireland, western scotland, down through the north west of england and dribbling away towards hampshire and the isle of wight. Further east, dry, yes, just about. Top temperature around about 15 celsius. 0vernight, we will push the Weather Front southwards across the british isles. It stays mild further south. It turns chilly further north and windy too, 80mph gusts there on and windy too, 80mph gusts there on a really blustery day for the northern half of britain. Some sunshine, but showers, it is mild further south with that front providing rain, drizzle and some hill fog as well. There is a warning about thursday and with good reason because wind is one of the problems. There will be heavy rain and some snow as well. Take care. This is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at 11. Yet more cuts to nhs services in england nearly two thirds of local plans to Reform Services involve closures or downgraded hospital facilities. A heterosexual couple who went to the Court Of Appeal after being told they could not have a Civil Partnership have lost their case. My my overall conclusion is that the opponents are right, those are the words of the justice and opponents are right, those are the words of thejustice and yet opponents are right, those are the words of the justice and yet we opponents are right, those are the words of thejustice and yet we lost here today. Chancellor Philip Hammond says he is listening to concerns about the impact of higher bills some businesses will face from april due to Business Rates adjustments. A day after declaring a famine in south sudan, the United Nations has warned that other countries could see similar crises. Also, five people have been killed in a plane crash in the australian city of melbourne. The Light Aircraft suffered Engine Failure and crashed into a Shopping Centre, which was preparing to open for the day