the toughest of times for the nhs — but a new report says funding is struggling to keep pace with demand. the promise of help from birth to old age — but more care for the elderly. you don't want to be in hospital if you don't need to be in hosiptal. i would far rather have capacity in the community in terms of nursing homes and care homes. inside the nhs — we have the second of our special reports. also tonight. take it or leave it — ministers promise a vote on the final brexit deal. what's it worth? the royal marine convicted of murdering an injured afghan fighter begins his appeal — the court hears new psychiatric evidence. ministers promise more homes and longer rental contracts to fix england's broken housing market. plans for a helping hand at the online supermarket ocado — but what happens to humans when the robots do the job? and in sport on bbc news.

premier league champions leicester city issue their "unwavering support" for manager claudio ranieri, despite being just one point above the relegation zone. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. tonight we bring you the second of our special reports on the mounting pressures facing the nhs in england. it comes as the latest economic forecast from the influential institute for fiscal studies says spending on the health service is struggling to keep pace with population growth and ageing patients. more on that in a moment, but first, bbc news has been given exclusive access to the royal blackburn hospital. it was built to serve a population of 300,000 people, but now looks after half a million. as our special correspondent

ed thomas reports, that is just one reason why doctors and nurses are pushed to their limits as they care for their patients. you may find some of the images in the report distressing. every bed on every ward. never know what is coming through the door. never. lives depending on the nhs. i wouldn't be here today but for them. for a week the bbc was allowed inside the royal blackburn hospital. a rare opportunity to see the every day pressures. it is a fight today for the beds. by monday morning the medical wards in a&e are full. . we can give that bed back. but in intensive care space must be found. so that gives one bed on the unit. every day operations are planned, and patients need to recover here. get that bed turned round as quickly as possible. that will be our only bed. we didn't get up this morning

to think we are going to ruin somebody‘s life but telling them they can't have their operation. we are trying tojuggle they can't have their operation. we are trying to juggle the beds. sometimes the staff laugh because i walk up and down like this and we are still spinning. at some point today the plates won't crash. that is the same today, hopefully today we will have enough beds for everybody. right now this means patients are waiting. steven has elective surgery, for throat cancer. he has been told if no recovery beds are available. . iam in he has been told if no recovery beds are available. . i am in him bow it might be cancelled. hopefully it is today. with cancer you have to take it out as fast as. staff talked about the challenges of finding beds all week. in theatre, with the operation nearly over, vascular surgeon robert gets a call from the a&e. 0n gets a call from the a&e. on his mind, beds. you are having

your hand on somebody‘s aorta is what you do. someone wants to go on the ward and you have another patient to do and you don't know if you are a bed, that stresses you. inmanagers later... he has come into hospital and his blood pressure has gone down. he is on his way to the emergency department. ronald is 84 and has clpsed —— collapsed. another elderly patient with an acute complex condition. another family desperate. how important is is this place to you? lifeline. a lifeline, because her mother, ronald's wife has been admitted on the same day. upstairs, waiting for an operation. betty has type two diabetes. she has been told she could lose her foot and with it her independence. so you are waiting for your operation and you are worried about your husband? yes, because he is blind and deaf, we can't do anything for himself. you

have to concentrate on your operation? i can't concentrate on that until i know he is all right. i don't want my foot gone and my leg because i won't be able to stay at home. i won't be able to walk. they will have to put me in a nursing home. i am will have to put me in a nursing home. iam not will have to put me in a nursing home. i am not going will have to put me in a nursing home. iam not going in will have to put me in a nursing home. i am not going in a will have to put me in a nursing home. iam not going in a nursing home. iam not going in a nursing home without my husband, that is not going to happen. they will put us in two different places. but this is the reality of the nhs today. today. increasing demands, inside and outside the hospital.m is not just bedding inside and outside the hospital.m is notjust bedding i am worried about. it is her husband, they have been with each other for 50 year, they co—depend on each other. it is dreadful. if you lock at bed capacity, cost, management of patients with ulcers it is enormous. type two diabetes. it is just, i can't even convey what a serious problem it is to society, the nhs, and us on the front line. and this is what the front line

looks like. the davenport, waiting six hours in a&e. ready for the surgery. six hours in a&e. ready for the surgery. it seems to be the bed that is the problem. on the medicalwards we have used every possible bed available. daily meetings to find beds. senior nurse, trying to move people through the hospital. females aren't moving off here. there are no beds in the hospital. and some surgeons is and nurses left upset and frustrated. every year we have to make savings and most people are feeling like there is is not a lot of fat left on the bone and we still don't have enough to do what we need to do. there is not enough staff. too many patients coming in and out. its a too many patients coming in and out. itsa numberof too many patients coming in and out. its a number of thing, we go home deflated and upset because we feel can't can't do any more than we are doing. the chief executive here wa nted doing. the chief executive here wanted to show this pressure for beds, and the need for solutions, outside his hospital. we are trying to support staff, by looking at the

bed capacity we have, by trying to work with partners to keep people out of hospital, where they don't need to be in hospital. would you rather have another ward being built ora rather have another ward being built or a care home in the community? rather have another ward being built or a care home in the community7m has to be a care home in the community. you don't want to be in hospital if you don't need to be in hospital. i would fa rather have capacity any the community, in terms of nursing homes and care homes. everyone here is treated, no—one is turned away. and take betty, she was due to move to ca re and take betty, she was due to move to care home this week. together, with her husband ronald. and this is the moment a bed was found and steven got his cancer operation. what about that? couldn't have been timed better. are you ready? yes. life. inside the black i. inside the black i. so that is the picture in one hospital. but the pressures faced by staff there are felt throughout the nhs.

0ur health editor hugh pym has been looking at the funding available to the nhs and social care in england, and the the growing demands on that money. yes, george — does the nhs need a lot more money, how can you get health working more closely with social care, run by local authorities? what about more efficient use of resources and how much responsibility do we have as patients to do more to avoid lifestyle related diseases? these are all big questions in the search for long term solutions. health care is all about looking after the changing needs of the population. its growing and people are living longer. there are big demographic change, those are challenges facing the nhs, and the nations of the uk and health systems in leading economies around the world. new figures from the institute for fiscal studies illustrate the problem. health spending in england has risen well above inflation, for the last few yea rs. looking ahead it carries are on

rising, though it does tail off a bit ina rising, though it does tail off a bit in a couple of years' time. but spending per person adjusted for the changing age profile of the population has risen more slowly, and in the years ahead, it will actually fall back, and that will leave a £i.3 actually fall back, and that will leave a £1.3 billion short fall, on what is needed to get back to where it was a decade before. health spending is rising but the population is getting bigger, quite a bit bigger and the population is getting older, once you take account of the size and age of the population, actually health spending per person, taking account of their age, will be a bit lower by the end of this parliament, than it was back in 2010. something we have never seen in 2010. something we have never seen before. but some argue it is about more than money and there need to be new ways of working in health and social care as well as more efficient management in hospital, and across the nhs. there is huge variation in the way ca re there is huge variation in the way care is offered and the amount of medical care offered for example and in the outcomes of care to for

patient, so that the area to focus attention and that is outwith any funding level. prevention as well as cure is another part of the long term answer — with conditions like type 2 diabetes, linked to diet, taking up an increasing amount of the nhs budget. that's alljust a sketch of some of the challenges. there's lots more data, analysis and detail on our website, bbc.co.uk/health. both houses of parliament are to get a vote on the final brexit deal before it's put to the european parliament. it's the government's response to some mps who've been demanding a vote on the deal, and comes as the scottish parliament at holyrood staged its own debate on theresa may's plans. in a moment, we'll be speaking to our scotland editor, sarah smith, but first to our deputy political editorjohn pienaar. john, just how significant is this, imean john, just how significant is this, i mean some people are calling it a concession? well, this was always a

tricky, even a dangerous moment for theresa may's brexit process, but mps theresa may's brexit process, but m ps start theresa may's brexit process, but mps start voting in about five minutes type and it looks as if that danger has passed. why is this because potential tory rebels have backed away, and ministers are standing firm against the rest. the government has promised that parliament will have a vote on the final brexit deal but that will be a ta ke final brexit deal but that will be a take it or leaf it deal. a choice been saying yes, and accepting the best deal the government can do, or saying no, and falling back on international trading rules which would mean new tariffs and rules on experts and imports and few mps want that. it looks as if the government not parliament will work on the final brexit deal. there will be more votes tomorrow. labour is as split adds ever, that will help theresa may. then i is go [el reluctant to goagainst'the'witbof ;:: house reluctant to gcraga'rnat'the'witbcf aéfi— house of commons. so tlie elettee f'e'ee’e’et eehfifiehee’eee fi stan, the elettee f'e'ee’e’et ee'h’hhehe’e’eee fi stan, george, the elettee f'e'ee’e’et ee'h’hhe’he’e’eee fi stan, george, it looks as if things stan, george, it looks as if the government will get to the start of the long hard brexit talks on

schedule in a few weeks' time. sarah scotland doesn't have a veto on this, so what was today's debate there about? well, you are right. the scottish parliament can't delay or prevent the triggering of article 50 but the scottish government hope an overwhelming vote at holyrood, 90 msps against 34 against the trigger of article 50 will send a serious message to westminster. the snp want to increase the pressure on the prime minister, to try to get her to sore us loy consider their plans for a separate brexit deal for , ee sinle market. e ee sinle market. new .. the ‘ and the during the debate labour and the tories both accused the snp of trying to stoke up grievances against westminster, to try and further their agenda of independence. the snp do want it to be known they are perfectly serious about calling a second independence referendum, if they cannot find a way to protect scotland's place

inside the eu single market, scotland's brexit minister said that time is running out to try and agree a joint time is running out to try and agree ajoint uk time is running out to try and agree a joint uk approach to the brexit negotiations, before the end of march. the commons speaker, john bercow, has been defending his position after saying that president trump shouldn't be allowed to speak to parliament on his state visit later this year. he's been criticised by a number of conservative mps, who say he's jeopardised the neutrality of his position. mr bercow‘s counterpart in the house of lords, lord fowler, e the royal marine serving a life sentence for murdering an injured taliban fighter in afghanistan in 2011 is appealing against his conviction. alexander blackman, previously known as marine a, is arguing that he was suffering from combat stress at the time of the incident. 0ur defence correspondent, jonathan beale, reports from the royal courts ofjustice. this video, filmed on a helmet camera by one of the marines

on the patrol, shows the moment an apache helicopter opens fire and then sergeantrblackmanrandrene— the insurgent who'd been wounded. the court refused an application by the bbc to release the clips of the next moments, when he was dragged across the field and then shot by blackman. in 2013 a military court found alexander blackman, also known as marine a, guilty of murder. but today his wife arrived at court at the start of a fresh appeal to have that sentence quashed and substituted with manslaughter instead. blackman himself listened to the proceedings by video link from the wiltshere prison where he is serving an eight—year sentence. his new defence team argued to a panel ofjudges that he was suffering a mental illness at the time

he shot the insurgent. in court, blackman was described as very reserved, a john wayne—like character who downplayed his mental health problems at the time of his original trial. but giving evidence three psychiatrists said he was in fact suffering from an adjustment disorder that impaired his ability to make rationaljudgments and that led to a loss of self—control when he shot the insurgent. but were these the words of a man who didn't really understand what he was doing? and then after he fired the shot. the prosecution argued that blackman knew what he was doing, even making sure he couldn't be seen by a helicopter above. marine a's supporters will be back tomorrow to hear more evidence but his defence has to prove that his symptoms were both substantial and significant. jonathan beale, bbc news, at the royal courts ofjustice. our top story this evening:

the toughest of times for the nhs in england — a new report says funding is struggling to keep pace with demand. and still to come... you shop online, the robots do the work — a peek into the future of the retail business. and in sportsday on bbc news: alastair cook speaks for the first time since stepping down as england cricket captain, saying he could no longer give his all to the role, but wants to continue breaking records for the side. "fixing the broken housing market in england" — that was the pledge from the government today as it set out new plans to build 1 million new homes by 2020. the new strategy includes putting more pressure on councils and better deals for people who rent. labour says the measures are "feeble beyond belief". from manchester, our home editor mark easton reports. this part of england could be seen as a test—bed for central

government's housing ambitions. local councils recently produced a joint plan for the new homes they say must be delivered if greater manchester is to become the engine for a northern powerhouse. creating the jobs that will drive the growth will need, councils estimate, another 220,000 homes in the next 20 years. some on greater manchester's green belt. the ink was barely dry on the draft plan before the protests began. demonstrations have been held across the region in recent weeks. at least nine of the local mps, both labour and tory, have come out against the proposals. today's white paper demands councils come up with realistic plans for delivering the houses their area needs. four this side and four that side. but these campaigners don't think greater manchester's plan is realistic in the slightest. the campaign to save bury‘s green belt is adamant the proposal to turn

farmland into a new residential community based on faulty logic. i know we need housing, but use the brownfield first. there's 11,000 empty homes in greater manchester, get them filled up and then start looking at greenfield. but those looking to restore greater manchester's industrial greatness say it can't grow unless it builds. we are not in the business of tearing up the green belt. we believe we have looked at the brownfield land supply all across the conurbation and that we cannot accommodate our growth without taking a small part of green land into account as part of the future development of the city region. and people like gerard saint—etienne, who struggles to pay his rent — never mind get on greater manchester's housing ladder, says a realistic plan from his point of view means an affordable home in a prosperous city. i'd like to see them put people before profit, so i'd like it to be more attainable for the working man because it seems to be like the working man has been pushed aside. the government says affordability

is at the heart of its strategy, both with homes for rent and to buy, but will developers deliver? we know that greater manchester needs around about 4,800 new affordable homes every year. in the past the area has been delivering around 2,000 so we know there is a big demand for affordable housing out there. as an industry, we are keen to meet that demand through appropriate development. today's white paper promises radical action to mend england's broken housing market, but when it comes to a realistic plan to deliver enough affordable homes where people want to live, there are questions as to whether that can be done without some development on the green belt. now central government has decided to dodge that fight, but here in greater manchester its game on. they are going ballistic. they just won't accept it. in high lane near stockport, locals are preparing for battle, determined to halt plans for new houses in their village. people think you are nimbys, you know that? they can think whatever they want.

we're not nimbys, we're not opposed to new housing, but we need it to be done in a balanced and structured way and using brownfield sites first. but you don't want it in your back yard. no, i'm not saying we don't want new houses in high lane, we do, but we don't want mass development. so, who will decide who's right? the question at the heart of today's housing plan is whether it changes the balance of power between development and local opposition. mark easton, bbc news, greater manchester. the man accused of murdering the children's writer helen bailey at her home last year has told

a jury he was not the killer. ian stewart said he'd had no knowledge of her death until her body was found at their hertfordshire home last april. ben ando reports from st albans crown court. ian stewart was accused of drugging his fiancee, helen bailey, with sleeping tablets prescribed to him, then leaving her body with that of her beloved pet dachsund boris in a cesspit below the garage of the home they shared in royston, hertfordshire. the jury has already heard that forensics experts could not be sure that she was dead when she was put in the pit. for four weeks, ian stewart has listened silently in the dock as the prosecution outlined the case against him. today he arrived at court knowing it would be his turn to speak. as he took the stand in his own defence, he was asked directly by his barrister, simon russell flint, "it is alleged you murdered helen bailey, did you do so?" "no," he replied. mr russell flint continued, "did you play any part in her death?" "no," he replied. mr stewart also denied fraud,

preventing lawful burial, and lying to the police. ian stewart broke down several times while giving his evidence and had to be handed a box of tissues as he described the death of his wife diane in 2010. it was via an online forum for widows and widowers that he met helen bailey, whose husband had just had died. earlier the court had heard that late in 2015, helen bailey had exchanged online messages with a friend, saying she was unhappy and had finished by saying, "shall we alljust run away, change our names and start again?" ben ando, bbc news, st albans. who will do yourjob in the future? will it be another human or will it be done by a robot? these are questions worth asking because companies are using ever more advanced automation to stay ahead of their competitors. rory cellan—jones gained exclusive access to one firm who say there is no choice but to let the robots do more and more. in a warehouse in hatfield, a very complex operation is under way,

assembling 0cado customer orders from 50,000 potential items. it still requires plenty of people but if the online supermarket is to make money from something shoppers used to do themselves, this must get ever more automated. that's why there's a robotics lab in the corner of the warehouse. this robot arm designed to pick up fruit without damaging it is one of their creations, though it is some years away from being put work. but in another warehouse in andover, 0cado says the future is already here. swarms of robots move across a grid, collaborating to collect groceries from crates beneath them. it's a huge investment but the firm says there's no alternative. if the uk is to remain competitive on the world stage, then there is no option but to invest in not only automation but in this increasing move towards robotics because that is the only way we will be competitive. there is no choice.

all kinds of businesses that want to prosper over the next decade are going to have to use artificial intelligence and automation to make themselves more efficient. the question is just how many people are going to see theirjobs taken by robots and what's going to happen to them. at london science museum, a new exhibition traces the history of robots and shows how they are now encroaching on tasks once restricted to humans. 0ne academic has a startling forecast. 35% of current uk employment is at high risk of being replaced by robots or similar technology by the year 2030. truck drivers, taxi drivers, processing things like invoices. but there's a more optimistic view, that ourjobs are becoming more creative and complex and we will be able to keep ahead of the robots. some of the best skills you can have are adaptability, ability to switch between tasks, emotional intelligence

and the ability to deal with change. those kind of things should protect our children for the labour market of tomorrow, whichever direction the robots take. the lesson of the past is that new technology usually creates more jobs than it destroys, but along the way a lot of people can end up losing out. rory cellan—jones, bbc news. when your lastjob was being one of the most powerful politicians on the planet, what do you next? barack 0bama, now the former us president, has been enjoying his new found freedom by kite surfing with the virgin boss richard branson. the pair were competing to see who could surf for longer — a challenge which the 44th president of the united states won. and the big smile proves it, i think. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker. i bet you're not going to forecast any of that kind of weather.

if only! i'm ready for spring but it doesn't look like it will arrive any time soon. the sun is starting to feel stronger now, it won't be long before the daffodils are coming out. a nice picture from one of our weather watchers in essex, some beautiful weather about. at least it is better than it was yesterday, yesterday with the pouring rain and wind. we have clearer whether developing, a touch of frost tonight but still the remnants of some of that wet weather and windy weather we had yesterday dotted around across some of these northern areas. a relatively quiet night tonight, not desperately cold, but fairly chilly in some of these western areas. belfast close to freezing, some mist and fog in the morning. that process continues tomorrow when things turn colder, easterly winds start coming in and particularly the

north sea coast will feel chilly so anywhere from aberdeenshire to east anglia. 0nly anywhere from aberdeenshire to east anglia. only three degrees in norwich. wednesday night into thursday will be quite frosty across the uk so real nip in the airfirst thing in the morning on thursday. then that colder airfrom scandinavia and eastern parts of europe well and truly establishes itself across the uk and we will start to see some of those perhaps snow flurries already arriving on thursday, initially eastern areas of the uk and mostly across the hills. look at these values, and the temperatures will keep on dropping. we are not predicting a massive deepfreeze but it will feel cold nonetheless. to or three degrees at best and that temperature only peeks briefly in the afternoon, most of the day it will be lower than that. a cold easterly wind coming in, cloudy most of the time so we are

not expecting an awful lot of sunshine, and those snow showers. the time to watch will be friday night into saturday, there could even be covering over the hills in yorkshire for example. thank you. a reminder of our main story tonight. the toughest of times for the nhs story tonight. the toughest of times forthe nhs in story tonight. the toughest of times for the nhs in england, a new report from the ifs says funding is struggling to keep pace with population growth and ageing patients. that's all from the bbc news at six so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. hello. this is bbc news with chris rogers. the headlines. the government has defeated amendment to the final draft brexit

bill. the commons speakerjohn bercow says he was right to speak out against the speech in parliament by donald trump. but some conservative mps have criticised his comments. a jailed royal marine goes to court to appeal his conviction for murdering an injured afghan fighter — the court hears new psychiatric evidence. the government announces plans to fix england's ‘broken' housing market — with a promise to build a million new homes by 2020. in breaking news,