it this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 12. patients in england may no longer be able to have some procedures that are deemed ‘ineffective or risky‘. new proposals mean treatments ranging from tonsil removal to haemorroid surgery will be offered to fewer people this is not financial. certainly from our perspective it is about safe and appropriate care of patients. tata steel, which owns the port talbot plant, has confirmed merger plans with germany's thyssenkrupp. one of the uk's largest water compa ny‘s urges people to conserve water, as it makes emergency deliveries during the heatwave. the army will extend its stay in saddleworth to continue to tackle moorland blazes which have been burning for six days. also coming up — the world cup moves into the knockout stages. france prepare to take on argentina for a place in the quarterfinals and portugal will meet uruguay later. and in click at 12:30... a robotic cheetah. low.

welcome. the nhs in england has set out plans to stop hundreds of thousands of patients receiving treatments which it says are useless or too risky. it's drawn up a list of procedures, including tonsil removal, breast reduction and surgery for snoring which will it's proposed be offered to fewer patients. jon donnison reports. nhs england says it wants to stop people from having treatments that are either ineffective or pose too many risks. it has drawn up a list of 17 procedures, including snoring and varicose veins treatment, knee arthroscopies for osteoarthritis, and steroid injections for non—specific backpain.

in all of these the health body says there is little evidence the treatments work or that the risks outweigh the rewards. but some doctors have questioned those beliefs and say patients will either miss out or will be forced to pay for private treatment that would actually give them some relief. the proposals are still to be put out to consultation, but nhs england says they could mean 100,000 fewer unnecessary treatments a year, saving around £200 million. it says the money could then be reinvested in front—line cancer care, mental health, and other critical services. jon donnison, bbc news. iamjoined by i am joined by sarahjarvis, agp based in london. what you make of this plan? i was quite surprised some of the procedures they

mentioned because they are already limited in my practice and many parts of the country. we have eyelid bumps that tend to disappear within six months. people want them removed. grommets for children, hearing gets better on its own. tonsils, there are risks to tonsillectomy procedures. in some respects i am not surprised as a doctor. and this will help us. they think it is us as gps who are stopping them having procedures.” stopping them having procedureslj saw stopping them having procedures.” saw a doctor who is expressing concerns today in an interview in the times that he is seeing where commissioning groups, effectively those people who hold the purse strings in the nhs are effectively saying they want hip replacement surgery saying they want hip replacement surgery done less frequently and that looks like a form of rationing for people. we have rationing, we

only have a certain amount of money in the nhs. for us as gps it is good because we have rationed for years, but the public did not know it was not us, it was the government. hip and knee replacements, important not to ration those but i hope that money saved from not doing unnecessary procedures is safe. this is about the nhs applying gentle pressure to people who make decisions on the front line, particularly in hospitals and maybe feel under pressure by patients to do something, to give them something, even if it is a scan for migraine. patients saying can you not give me something and they send them for a scan. and the doctor is terrified of being sued, what if they miss something? we know it is migraine but what if we miss

something and patients will say they will sue if we have got it wrong which is difficult to cope with. they have talked about exceptional circumstances. there are occasional cases but i am worried about patients turning themselves into the exceptional circumstances by shouting loudest. i was struck by figures that said senior doctors had suggested it could save up to £4 billion a year and the nhs are saying it will only save £200 million a year. do we have to be cautious about thinking there is a magical solution of more efficiency and changes like this that will automatically generate a great new amount of money to solve some of the problems the nhs is dealing with?” will admit there was huge waste in the nhs 20 years ago. we have made so the nhs 20 years ago. we have made so many savings. gps have been on the front line of making savings, of

this rationing, frankly, it is going to get harder and harder to make savings. a pleasure to speak to you. a march in support of the nhs is due to get under way in central london. the demo will be addressed byjeremy corbyn later and will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the health service. 0ur correspondent richard galpin is outside the bbc‘s broadcasting house. good afternoon. hello. the crowds are beginning to build up now. they have been gathering over the past hour. they are due to start marching down regent street to whitehall. they are billing it as a celebration. it is the 70th anniversary of the nhs, the first integrated free to use health system in the world when it was set up in 1948, but it has also been built, this march today, as being gay protest. 0rganisers accusing the

government of deliberately underfunding the nhs and therefore undermining the nhs, they said, pushing it basically to the brink, they say. as we saw early in the year during the crisis in the winter months. the protesters and marchers will go down to whitehall. we understand already a petition is being handed into downing street calling for further funding for the nhs. with me is the actor sally lindsay. why have you decided to spend your saturday afternoon in blistering sunshine on this march?” have brought my husband and children and friends because i am a passionate supporter of the nhs and believe it is massively underfunded and the treatment of the staff is horrendous. everything is right down to the bone. it is getting under safe now. this is the nhs that has

saved all my family. i had a difficult twin birth and they saved me and my children and i am passionate about coming out and fighting for it because i could not turn round in 20 years, when my children are paying for medical care through insurance and credit cards and say i'm sorry, your mum and dad did nothing about it. that is why i'm here. your experience in the nhs has been positive? it is not perfect, it cannot solve every answer to every medical problem but i have so many friends in america who say for one day, one week, live ina who say for one day, one week, live in a country without the nhs when you are ill and then come back and complain about it. we do not know we are born and we have to save the julian the crown of this country. the government has announced a significant increase, billions they say by 2022, an extra £20 billion a year, which is a significant

increase. absolutely and i welcome mat but my thoughts are it is a bit too little and a bit too late because i think the government has for the last ten years, they have been chopping away into privatisation, by the back door. very slightly to the point where we are getting bills and prescriptions and they have different names on them and we are not told. it is not theirs sell. to franchise out is denigrating the nhs. it is too little too late. we will be following the march right the way through the day as they progress towards downing street. it looks a lively crowd. thanks. several people have been injured after a collision between a car and a taxi in leeds. the crash happened in the horsforth area of the city. police say enquiries are currently ongoing into what happened on the a6120 and that the road

will remain closed for some time. the future of britain's largest steel plant in port talbot has become clearer after the german firm thyssenkrupp approved a merger with the plant's owner tata steel. the merger would create europe's second largest steel—maker and follows a year of negotiations. but the firms have previously warned that thousands ofjobs could be lost, as tomos morgan reports. it has been a turbulent two—and—a—half years for tata steel's uk workforce. the uncertainty began with over 1000 jobs that were cut across wales, the majority at the port talbot steel production plant. then it looked like the whole of tata's british business was at risk as it put its uk operations up for sale. but then current and former employees agreed to a cut in their pension package to try to secure jobs and tata offloaded the old pension responsibility in the process. in the background, tata has been working on negotiations with german steel giant thyssenkrupp and in securing the pension agreement with workers, a key milestone was reached

in the next stage of this mega steel deal. tata's port talbot plant has been seen as the flagship for the business. it employs almost half of the company's 8000—strong workforce. both tata and thyssenkrupp have said they are committed to the south wales factory. unions have been seeking reassurances about the site, including a potential refit of one of the blast furnaces. this deal would bring together a few large steel production plants across europe and experts have warned this raises longer—term questions about possible cost—cutting in the future. tomos morgan, bbc news. a little earlier our business correspondent came into the studio andi correspondent came into the studio and i asked if it was a positive move. it creates the second—largest player in europe and it

prepares them for a pan—european entity that might be better able to withstand the global headwinds that are coming. two years ago we had a total collapse in steel prices and and tata steel said they would sell the entire business but now they have decided to merge. as donald trump imposes 25% tariffs on steel going into the us. which is the largest consumer in the world. it puts a moat around the companies to prepare them well, but it does not mean they will create a single newjob. 4000 voluntary redundancies will be required for the deal to go ahead, half in the uk and half in germany and the netherlands. there will have job losses but it is a safeguard measure. will much change in the way the business operates, or will it be distinct — port talbot does its stuff and germany does its? they have to get rid of overlaps. management call it synergy. if you have management in the uk and germany and netherlands,

a lot will be scrapped and they will be based in amsterdam. they will have a bv, a dutch company entity that helps for tax reasons but it is also halfway between germany and the uk for political reasons. the boss of tata steel was — i was listening on the conference call — and he was asked about brexit and if the uk cannot get a decent deal and he said he wants to be able to easily move products and people across borders. he was asked if he did not get that. he said that would be a sorry state of affairs, which is a diplomatic way of putting it, if brexit does not work out. add in donald trump and his worry there, steel that was due to be sold in the us, now it is too expensive and it will potentially be moved to europe and force down prices here.

steel dumping again. chinese made steel and asian made steel heading for the us but diverted to europe and sold below the home market. water companies across the uk are warning customers to urgently reduce how much they use, amid increased demand during the current heatwave. the first hose pipe ban to be introduced in northern ireland in 25 years came into force last night, while united utilities has warned a ban could follow in north—west england. peter ruddick reports. as the mercury rises, the water flows. however, it is the scale of the increased demand during the recent heatwave that is beginning to seriously worry utility companies. in rugby, bottle stations opened up temporarily as a precaution amid fears a nearby water storage facility could have run dry this weekend. customers are being asked to conserve supplies and it is a story being played out across the country. severn trent says people are using about one third more water than usual. it has led to several disruptions and outages already and they are asking everyone to act neighbourly. in the north west, united utilities says it needs urgent help or they may be forced

to introduce a hosepipe ban on monday. they have asked people not to wash their cars or take baths this weekend. a ban is already in place in northern ireland. it came into effect on friday evening and it is the first to be imposed in the nation for nearly a quarter of a century. the problem is not a lack of water. many reservoirs are actually nearly full after a rainy spring. however, huge spikes in peaktime demand mean companies are struggling to treat the water quick enough, so it is ready to be supplied to our homes. the problem we have got is people are watering gardens and using so much more water that it is going out of the pipes as fast as we can get it in. some of the pipes are enormous, loads of them going down to probably about that size, serving an individual street. that size will not get bigger and we can only get so much

water down it. with hot and dry conditions set to continue into next week, both weather and water warnings could be here to stay. peter ruddick, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... patients in england may no longer be able to have some procedures that new proposals mean treatments ranging from tonsil removal to haemorroid surgery will be offered to fewer people. tata steel, which owns the port talbot plant, has confirmed merger plans with a plant in germany. one of the uk's largest water companies urges people to conserve water, as it makes emergency deliveries during the heatwave. staying with the unintended consequences of the heatwave now. the army will stay on saddleworth moor in greater manchester throughout the weekend and into next week, to help keep control of moorland blazes that have been burning for six days. 0n winter hill in lancashire, where grass fires broke out on thursday, a man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. 0ur correspondent kevin fitzpatrick sent this update

from winter hill in lancashire. the firefighters have done a fantasticjob in the last couple of hours to get a grip of this blaze. a while ago there were plumes of smoke across the valley. 0ne front line of a fire raging on both sides of winter hill in bolton and this front of it goes up for about two miles. you can see further up the hill, even though they have the flames down, there are still big flames and smoke coming from further up there. that is the situation in bolton where 80 firefighters are dealing with this. 30 miles to the east in saddleworth, that is the fire that has raged since sunday and a bit of good news — they believe they have got control of that. the army arrived on thursday to give it exhausted fire crews an extra lift and even though it spread across a huge area, seven mile square, they believe

they have got on top of it. at any moment though, because the grass is burned and there is peat underneath, at any moment they fear pockets of fire could reappear. but the focus today for fire crews in the north—west is winter hill and they have been ferrying water up and down. it is isolated and will be a big job to keep on top of it and prevent it spreading too far. kevin fitzpatrick. there's been a big rise in the number of uk citizens taking on the nationality of another eu country since the brexit referendum. figures obtained by the bbc reveal almost 13,000 britons claimed citizenship of one of the 17 member states which responded to a freedom of information request. fewer than 2,000 did so in 2015. the figures don't include most people who are already entitled to an irish passport, as our political correspondent chris mason reports. cheering and applause. it is two years since this moment, the eu referendum and victory for the leave campaign. since then, there has been a big rise in the number of uk citizens

getting a new nationality. the figures obtained by the bbc were collated from the european union and individual national interior ministries or statistics agencies. they show that seven times more british people took up the nationality of another eu country in 2017 after the referendum than in 2015, the year before it. it is really a sense of still having the door open and being able to get up and go if you really want to. most of the people we know who are getting citizenship in other european countries have no intention at all of living there, it is just knowing the fact that they have the citizenship in their back pocket. so, let's look at the statistics more closely. in 2017, 12,994 uk citizens obtained the nationality of one of the 17 eu member states from which the bbc has received figures. this compares with 5025 in 2016 and 1800 in 2015.

the most frequent new nationality was german, with a 12—fold increase between 2015 and 2017. french was the second most popular nationality and then belgian. meanwhile, here in brussels, negotiations trundle on between the uk and the eu before brexit happens at the end of march next year. chris mason, bbc news. the armed forces day is being held in north wales. parades will be hosted across the uk. it is held on the last saturday ofjune and commemorates the service and sacrifice of britain's military. the

defence secretary gavin williamson said government is committed to increasing defence spending. we are committed, every year the government has said extra money will be spent on defence. also what we have seen is just this year the government commit to an extra £800 million of spending for the armed forces and this an unprecedented increase in spending that few departments had been able to benefit from outside a fiscal event such as a budget or spending review. it underlines the government's commitment to the armed forces and as we look around the globe, britain is not stepping back, but very much stepping up with naval ships of the pacific, the royal navy was the first navy to start to enforce sanctions against north

korea. actually making sure what the un and united nations had said that needed to happen, we were delivering on it. we have seen troops serving and ensuring afghanistan has the opportunity for peace and stability and we see the work in iraq and syria. gavin williamson, the defence secretary speaking on armed forces day. virgin atlantique said it will no longer work with the home office to forcibly deport illegal immigrants. it is after the treatment of windrush generation. virgin atlantic has informed officials it will no longer play a pa rt officials it will no longer play a part in the forced deportation of anyone deemed to be an illegal immigrant adding it was in the best interests of customers and staff. a great white shark has been spotted near spain's balearic islands. there

had been rumours of sharks basking in the area but this is the first sighting since one was caught in 1976. going to the theatre is supposed to be an immersive experience but a new production in south wales has taken the idea to another level. it is called splish splash, designed for children with learning needs. at this special school in wales is a special theatre. accompanied by a grown—up, theatre. accompanied by a grown—up, the children are taken on a treasure hunt. along the way there is music and miss chief, designed to stimulate and surprise. with the

swimming pool giving freedom to children's whose movements outside water are restricted. every child is different, sometimes you will get somebody smiling and you can see their carer going, come over here to see them smile. maybe it is something that does not happen often. something that does not happen ofte n. eve n something that does not happen often. even just something that does not happen often. evenjust splashing something that does not happen often. even just splashing the water. the show has been developed with national theatre wales to travel to special schools and hospital hydrotherapy swimming pools. it is completely immersive, the water is notjust a stage for the water is notjust a stage for the actors but a comfortable space where children can experience the magic of theatre. this child has complex learning needs and is supported in the water by her teacher. she was really excited. the arching back, the smiles, really

beautiful. you could tell she was enjoying it? everything to the raspberry blowing she does is a sign she is happy. she really enjoyed it. two by two children get to experience the show and it's fabulous floating instruments. experience the show and it's fabulous floating instrumentsm sounds better wet. that is why i turnit sounds better wet. that is why i turn it upside down to play it. it sounds a bit like this... it is a rare opportunity for these children to enjoy theatre. for over 30 years, they have pioneered this type of production and its founder has witnessed the work having a dramatic effect. we are not therapists, we are theatre people. we would not make any claim other than, i think in ourshows, we make any claim other than, i think in our shows, we make life seem more joyful, more beautiful, more interesting, more funny for a while. in the water they have found a

treasure at journey‘s in the water they have found a treasure atjourney‘s end. as the show prepares to move onto more swimming pools across the country. proof that theatre really is for everyone. 0lympic diver tom daley and his husband the film—maker dustin lance black have become pa rents. dustin lance black have become parents. they dustin lance black have become pa rents. they revealed dustin lance black have become parents. they revealed news in the times with the announcement of the song, robert ray. they announced they would have a child by surrogate mother on valentine's day. time for the weather. hello there. the heat wake —— heatwave is going to continue. plenty of sunshine to ta ke to continue. plenty of sunshine to take is through the afternoon with temperatures lifting. a fresh feel in eastern parts. the hottest weather in south—western england and

wales. 0vernight it will be clear initially, maybe some cloud in eastern areas of scotland and england later in the night and also perhaps for northern ireland but a dry night. tomorrow, subtle changes in the forecast. south—easterly winds drawing in increasingly humid air across england and wales and the risk of thundery downpours in the south—west that could be heavy but otherwise another hot day, probably one of the hottest days of the year so far in southern england with temperatures in the low 30s. patients in england may no longer be able to have some procedures that are deemed ‘ineffective or risky‘.

new proposals mean treatments ranging from tonsil removal to haemorroid surgery will be offered to fewer people a march in support of the nhs is due to begin soon in central london. the demo will be addressed byjeremy corbyn and will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the health service. tata steel, which owns britain‘s largest steel—making plan at port talbot, has confirmed merger plans with a german industrial group. one of the uk‘s largest water firms warns people to conserve supplies as it makes emergency deliveries during the heatwave. sport now. hello. 21 of england‘s 23 man squad took part in full training this morning at their world cup base in repino. the only players missing were ruben loftus—cheek who trained on his own, but isn‘t considered to be an injury doubt for their first knockout game against colombia on tuesday, and fabian delph, who has flown home to be at the birth of his 3rd child. gareth southgate is expected to revert back to the same team that

beat tunisia with deli alli returning to the side. the knockout matches begin later today, with argentina against france at 3pm. argentina will again be looking to lionel messi to inspire them to victory. the two nations have never faced each other in a world cup knockout match. france manager didier deschamps is expected to recall some of the players he rested for theirfinal group game against denmark. and after messi, we‘ll see ronaldo, as portugal take on uruguay. portugal finished second in their group with a win and two draws. they‘ll be hoping for more of the same from ronaldo today if they‘re to go through against a uraguay team who are yet to concede a goal in the tournament. the winner will play either france or argentina in the quarter finals. and here‘s where you can follow those games. sebastian vettel has set a new lap

record in practice ahead of qualifying for the austrian grand prix. he guided his car around the circuit ahead of lewis hamilton who was quickest on friday. max verstappen‘s car came to an unexplained halt towards the end of the session. britain‘s former olympic champion christine 0huruogu has announced her retirement from athletics. she‘s 34 now, and she said a combination of her studies and a niggling injury had restricted how much training she‘d been able to do this year. the highlight of 0huruogu‘s career was 400 metre gold in beijing in 2008 and she retires with four 0lympic medals and five world championships medals to her name.