this is bbc news. the headlines: warnings of a "very challenging" day for hospitals after a quieter than normal time during yesterday's ambulance strikes. railfares in england are to rise by nearly 6% from next march — even though ministers have capped the rise at less than inflation. brixton academy has had its licence suspended after a crush at a gig last week which led to the deaths of two people. firms are "banging their heads against the wall" two years after post—brexit trading began — according to a new report by a leading business organisation. we talk to david hockney about his new immersive exhibition.

health leaders have warned that disruption from yesterday's ambulance strike in england and wales, could make the next few days very challenging for hospitals. there were fewer emergency calls than usual in some areas, but nhs providers, which represents hospitals and ambulance services in england, says it expects a return to "very high" levels of demand. to underline the difficulties facing the nhs, latest figures for last week, show that thousands of ambulances, 1 in 4, waited for an hour or more, outside hospitals to drop off patients, the worst figures in a decade. our correspondent, robin brant, has the latest. the day after the strike, it's back to normal outside this a&e. i knew the strikes weren't on, but i was in walking distance, so i didn't need an ambulance today.

i managed to hobble here. but normal is increasingly bad, according to these new figures. 24%, that's more than 16,000 emergency ambulances, waited for an hour or more before they unloaded passengers last week. fair pay! when do we want it? now! yesterday's walk—out was the first in three decades. people were urged to only dial 999 if it was life—threatening. it seems they listened. it's been very busy in the last week or so, up about 20% here in wales on this time last year, but yesterday was quieter. demand was certainly kinder to us and it's possible of course that communities across wales have listened to the advice that was given and sought healthcare advice in other places. has she ever had a heart attack, or has she got angina? the concern now, and heading to the weekend, is of a delayed surge. we know that the pressure is going to mount over

the next couple of days, because there's very likely to be some knock—on impacts including those people who didn't come forward for treatment over the past couple of days and also rescheduling operations and outpatient appointments that couldn't take place during the strike days. hopes for a resolution, though, are nowhere to be found. some ambulance workers are due out again next week. tomorrow, the rcn is expected to announce further strike dates by nurses. all that as these new nhs figures suggest a system buckling, turning to uniforms not usually seen on hospital forecourts. it's a shortage of beds and increased demand that seems to be behind thejump in ambulance delays. the hour—long wait figures are the highest of any recent winter. robin brant, bbc news. damian grammaticas is at westrminster. what is at westrminster. do these new figures mean for the what do these new figures mean for

the government? the? what do these new figures mean for the government?— what do these new figures mean for the government? they add up to this icture of the government? they add up to this picture of what _ the government? they add up to this picture of what the _ the government? they add up to this picture of what the unions _ the government? they add up to this picture of what the unions would - the government? they add up to this picture of what the unions would say | picture of what the unions would say is a health service in crisis but the real pressures on the health service and the huge issues that underline the current issue that we see with the strikes, those issues about a stretched health service, the time of year, the mounting pressures, the unions would say that is a product of a decade of underfunding by conservative governments that needs to be addressed and that is why they say they are on strike. looking for pay increases they say that unnecessary because they point to the issue of staffing and conditions and they say there are not enough staff, 100,000 vacancies, pay levels have got to be good enough in the nhs to attract and retain staff and they say the opposite is happening. the government says it has been put in large amounts of money in and it has earmarked several billion more just

this year to deal with post—pandemic problems and to get the health service through the hangover from the pandemic. the difficulty you now haveis the pandemic. the difficulty you now have is a stand—off where the unions are saying that they need a pay rise and that has got to be this year, but what the government is saying that this year's pay is an issue that this year's pay is an issue that should be behind everyone and to look at next year, that is what the health secretary said, we know people close to him are telling us that he thinks that maybe things could be pressed along a bit quickly next year and there could be no delays. the unions say that is no good, he has to sit around the table now, and that is the only thing that will resolve the industrial action that we are seeing with the health service. . ., ., , regulated railfares in england, where prices are capped by the government, will rise by up to 5.9% from march. season tickets on most commuter journeys and some off—peak return tickets on long distance routes

will be affected. our business correspondent theo leggett has the latest. although inflation is very high, the cost of living is a problem for people. the government has stepped in and it has pegged the increase of ticket prices not to the retail prices index, which is the measure of inflation normally used, but to average growth in wages, on the principle that people can keep up with that. to give you an indication of the magnitude of what would have happened, the retail price index injuly, which is when the measure would normally be taken, was 12.3%. that would have seen the increase in ticket prices capped on average at 12.3%. that was considered to be too much for people and would probably have caused a fair amount of public anger, given the amount of disruption we have had on the railways with strikes and so on of late. so, instead, we have this figure of 5.9% but remember, that is just in england. wales may follow suit.

scotland may follow suit as well, but it's only regulated fares, meaning season tickets, any time day tickets around major hubs and some other tickets, but by no means everything. tickets for other times and other routes may go up by more than that. theo leggett, there. passengers on transpennine express are facing continued disruption, with a further 70 services cancelled today and other routes subject to changes. the train company — which operates across much of northern england and parts of scotland — suffered a serious technology issue yesterday, preventing it from matching the right crew to the right trains. the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, has given a defiant address to the us congress. he said continued american support for his country was the key to victory over russian aggression. he made the speech during his first foreign trip since the war began in february, insisting ukraine would never surrender. the kremlin has heavily criticised the us visit, describing the trip as evidence that america is fighting an "indirect

war" against russia. from washington, nada tawfik has sent us this report. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, was embraced by us lawmakers with a long standing ovation, as he entered the house chamber. wearing his trademark military fatigues, he came here on this, his first trip abroad since the start of russia's invasion with a clear mission — to secure america's continued support for the ongoing war in his country. as ukrainians brace for a potential new russian winter offensive, president zelensky told lawmakers the decisions of congress could save ukraine. financial assistance is also critically important, and i would like to thank you. thank you very much. thank you for both financial packages you have already provided us with and the ones you may be willing to decide on. your money is not charity.

it's an investment in the global security. before he left, he gifted congress a ukrainian flag from soldiers fighting on the front lines. the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, presented him with the american flag that flew over the capitol on wednesday. president zelensky�*s address comes just as us lawmakers prepare for another era of divided government. in less than two weeks, republicans will take control of the house of representatives, and some have already expressed opposition to what they call blank—cheque funding for ukraine. president zelensky no doubt had them in mind during his speech, hoping they wouldn't block the future flow of aid. for now, the aid is still flowing. during his meeting with president biden, 1.85 billion in additional funding was announced... 300 days, hard to believe, 300 days. ..along with plans to send ukraine the most advanced air defence weapon in the us�*s arsenal,

the patriot missile system. and us lawmakers are preparing to pass an additional $115 billion in emergency assistance — the largest amount yet. this year has brought so much needless suffering and loss to the ukrainian people. but i want you to know, president zelensky, i want you to know, and all the people of ukraine to know as well, the american people have been with you every step of the way and we will stay with you. we will stay with you. president zelensky is only the second wartime leader to address congress since winston churchill in 19111. he will return directly back to ukraine after this significant, if short, visit to prepare for the next phase of the war. nada tawfik, bbc news, washington. the brixton academy music venue has had its licence suspended. it follows a crush last thursday which led to

the deaths of two people. local councillors in lambeth took away the licence pending a full review in mid—january. we can get the latest from our radio1 newsbeat reporter charlotte simpson who is outside the o2 briton academy. what has been decided about the license? we have just heard we havejust heard in we have just heard in the last hour that the licence will be suspended until the 16th of january, when lambeth council will meet again for a full review of how the brixton academy operates. they took this decision because of a risk of serious disorder at the front doors here, it remains high at the venue was to continue operating as it did before. that is because of a lack of crowd control. they say new procedures may have to be put in place for the venue to stay open. they stressed that this decision should not be taken as an indication of what a full review may decide and they also passed on their condolences to the families of the

people who have died here. this review was done at the request of the police who also brought up an incident from february 2020 outside the front doors and they say there was a similar crush outside the front door and eight said last week's incident was not an isolated one. —— they said. we did not hear about that incident last week, though, as much of the meeting was held in private and that is because of the ongoing police investigation. what about the reaction from the venue? we what about the reaction from the venue? ~ ., ., ., , ., venue? we have not heard yet from the brixton — venue? we have not heard yet from the brixton academy _ venue? we have not heard yet from the brixton academy to _ venue? we have not heard yet from the brixton academy to this - venue? we have not heard yet from the brixton academy to this later. the brixton academy to this later decision. in the hearing of their lawyers said they are now cooperating with the police investigation. they had offered to voluntarily closed down for 28 days while the council review took place but the council agreed with the police that it should be forced to shut down. on the gig that i mentioned earlier, the academy said

it has changed its procedures since then and the account the police gave was not a fair representation of what had happened.— was not a fair representation of what had ha ened. ., ., ,, ,,., what had happened. charlotte simpson in brixton, thanks _ what had happened. charlotte simpson in brixton, thanks for _ what had happened. charlotte simpson in brixton, thanks forjoining _ what had happened. charlotte simpson in brixton, thanks forjoining us. - the uk economy shrank by more than originally thought between july and september. revised figures from the office for national statistics, show our economic output fell by 0.3%. meanwhile, more than three quarters of firms for whom the brexit deal is applicable say it is not helping them increase sales or grow their business. that's according to research by the british chambers of commerce. more than half of the firms said they face difficulties adapting to the new rules for trading goods. 0ur economics correspondent, dharshini david, told us that even though business may have picked up in the run up to christmas, the figures released today show a bleak picture. so the economy is not as good as we hoped?

all those tills are ringing on the high street for the is panic buying ahead of christmas, but don't be fooled because behind the scenes, alarm bells are ringing. the office for national statistics, the ones who do our official numbers for us, originally thought the economy contracted by 0.2% over the course of the summer. that gdp figure has more information now from businesses across the country. they now think that figure is more like 0.3%. that is how much we have gone into reverse. we are worse off than we thought. and they have looked even further back and it now thinks our economy is still 0.8% smaller than it was prior to the pandemic. so we have a lot of catching up to do and you can see why this pain is so bad. the higher prices are crippling our ability to spend and frankly, it is notjust that because as you say, the british chambers of commerce are warning that almost two years after the new rules around trading with the eu were introduced, some firms are still struggling with the extra formalities, which means higher costs for them. they are urging the government to do more. the government says it is helping exporters. the bcc says even more needs to be done and the clock is ticking. as we are sitting here right now,

economists say it is likely we have already gone into recession. things are likely to get worse before they get better. getting back on our feet may take some time and some work too. dharshini david, there. let's speak to simon spurrell of the cheshire cheese company. you did own the company but you sold it? i you did own the company but you sold it? ,., you did own the company but you sold it? _, a, c, y you did own the company but you sold it? a, c, y , , it? i sold the ma'ority stake in my business the — it? i sold the majority stake in my business the cheshire _ it? i sold the majority stake in my business the cheshire cheese - it? i sold the majority stake in my - business the cheshire cheese company to a large organisation. the overriding desire for this was that we completely lost the eu market after the transition. we needed an opportunity to grow again because we have stagnated because we are trapped on a small island trying to fish in the same pond at the moment. the organisation is a third—generation cheshire cheese

maker so it was an obvious chance to do —— obvious choice to align ourselves with them and to regain ourselves with them and to regain our direction. ourselves with them and to regain our direction-— ourselves with them and to regain our direction. why was the business attract? we — our direction. why was the business attract? we lost _ our direction. why was the business attract? we lost our _ our direction. why was the business attract? we lost our consumer - attract? we lost our consumer market, our— attract? we lost our consumer market, our website _ attract? we lost our consumer market, our website sales, . attract? we lost our consumer market, our website sales, to| market, our website sales, to europe, because you now need a health certificate whether you are shifting a tonne of cheese or even a slice of cheese, it the same regulation which is a certificate issued by a veterinary surgeon. shortly after that it became commercially unviable to ship wholesale because costs increased from around 400 up to £1200 which is a small business we just could not absorb and our partners in germany, and france, they said, i'm sorry, you are too difficult to deal with because of all the new paperwork. if thatis because of all the new paperwork. if that is the case for you as a relatively small company, with that

apply to many others operating under similar circumstances on your scale? yes, it does. i would say the backbone of british business is the small business and as small businesses we have struggled massively to increase trade after brexit because you have to have an importer and exporter involved and the company i'm aligned with are a much bigger organisation which means they have a german entity, a business in germany, that buys their stock from the british side of the entity, and it can then distribute it in a commercially viable way. small businesses cannot afford that complexity and the cost of doing that. it is the economy of scale. large organisations have not suffered from brexit at all, but it is the sacrificial lamb of the small

business that has with brexit because we were not catered for and we are not looked after that nobody is listening to us about the problems we have had for the last two years. problems we have had for the last two ears. ~ problems we have had for the last two ears. . , ., problems we have had for the last two ears. . ,, ., two years. when you speak to government — two years. when you speak to government ministers - two years. when you speak to government ministers they i two years. when you speak to | government ministers they are two years. when you speak to - government ministers they are still insistent that it is just a case of getting yourself organised to deal with the paperwork. it is getting yourself organised to deal with the paperwork.— getting yourself organised to deal with the paperwork. it is the cost. the increase _ with the paperwork. it is the cost. the increase in _ with the paperwork. it is the cost. the increase in cost _ with the paperwork. it is the cost. the increase in cost is _ with the paperwork. it is the cost. the increase in cost is massive, . with the paperwork. it is the cost. i the increase in cost is massive, the increase in paperwork is a small part of it. all of the costs increase because of the complexity of trying to trade as a third country. a third country shipper. you cannot get rid of that, the paperwork is only rests and there is no improvement in the transition period on that. i have spoken to the then agriculture minister, in 2020

and she me if i was setting up an entity within the eu —— and she said i should look at setting up as an entity within the eu, and i said, you have asked me to leave as a citizen by now you are asking me to set up there is a business but they could not answer me, they could not give me any options.— give me any options. simon, thanks for “oininr give me any options. simon, thanks forjoining us- _ give me any options. simon, thanks forjoining us. we _ give me any options. simon, thanks forjoining us. we are _ give me any options. simon, thanks forjoining us. we are hearing - give me any options. simon, thanks forjoining us. we are hearing from | forjoining us. we are hearing from downing street that sir laurie magnus has been appointing as the new independent adviser on ministers interests for the prime minister. he is currently the chair of historic england and has said it is an honour to be asked to carry out the role and a significant responsibility. there has not been such an adviser in quite a while because boris johnson did not replace lord geidt

and liz truss did not do either, maybe she did not have time, but rishi sunak has been asked about when he would have a new person in place for this role but now we know it will be sir laurie magnus who chairs historic england but the previous resignation of lord geidt which happened, when was it, early in the year, around june of this year, oversix in the year, around june of this year, over six months ago, and he resigned because he said it was reasonable to suggest that boris johnson had broken the ministerial code over the so—called partygate scandal. borisjohnson's conduct being still examined and we are waiting for the result of that

inquiry being made public. we will come back to that. our correspondent is getting assembled. she cannot hear us at the moment. we will get back to her shortly. a final vote in the scottish parliament, on legislation making it easier for people to legally change their gender, is expected this afternoon. msps have for the past two days, been considering numerous amendments to the proposed law. critics argue the propopsals could be abused by predatory men, but supporters say there's little evidence of that. let's go live now to our scotland correspondent, james shaw, who's inside the scottish parliament at holyrood. it has been a big order getting through this piece of legislation with 150 amendments put forward? you are riuht. with 150 amendments put forward? ml, are right. but we are getting towards the end of that process and i think we are probably about half an hour away from when the final vote is scheduled to take place. the

scottish government minister in charge of this process and in charge of the legislation, as they said, the journey started six years ago when they started thinking about the fact that they wanted to have legislation to make it easier for someone to change their legally recognised gender. we are about half an hour away. there is a debate happening at the moment but really msps are stating their case as clearly and generally as they can. there are some very heartfelt contributions from people in favour of this legislation and also those against it but what it shows you is that people on both sides of the debate, people who think it is right to give trans people an easier passage into their preferred identity, their preferred gender, feel that very strongly, but also that those who are against it worry about the safety of women in single sex spaces and also young people, 16

and 17, who will be able to get a gender recognition certificate, so it is a very complex set of issues that they are talking about this afternoon. , ., , that they are talking about this afternoon. , . , ., ., afternoon. james, for the moment, thanks forjoining _ afternoon. james, for the moment, thanks forjoining us. _ afternoon. james, for the moment, thanks forjoining us. let's - afternoon. james, for the moment, thanks forjoining us. let's return . thanks forjoining us. let's return to the appointment of the new adviser on ministers interests. the ost has adviser on ministers interests. the post has been _ adviser on ministers interests. tue: post has been vacant adviser on ministers interests. tte: post has been vacant since adviser on ministers interests. "tte: post has been vacant since the previous adviser on ministerial interests lord geidt resigned under borisjohnson, and that interests lord geidt resigned under boris johnson, and that attracted interests lord geidt resigned under borisjohnson, and that attracted a lot of attention at the time, and the post had not been filled since then. rishi sunak made a point during his leadership campaign in the summer about the need to appoint a new ethics adviser ministers and he said that would be a top priority so he was facing a lot of pressure to appoint somebody, shortly, given

he has been in the post for some time at the post has been vacant. there was a spotlight drawn on the vacancy recently when the deputy prime minister dominic raab faced accusations of bullying which he denied and it was not anybody independent to investigate them. but that case they have appointed a senior lawyer to investigate those allegations but this new appointment will mean there is now a permanent person who is responsible for making sure that any government ministers and the prime minister follow the ministerial code, the set of rules ministers have to follow by law otherwise they will be potentially sacked. what is interesting about this appointment, it seems as though the terms of which he will be taking his position are pretty similar to the last one, essentially investigations into ministers behaviour will still have to be initiated by the prime minister and the prime minister will ultimately be the person who can decide whether or not to accept the recommendations so that is something which has

attracted controversy in the past with some arguing that there is not necessarily anything forcing the prime minister to accept what these independent ethics adviser is decide upon. independent ethics adviser is decide u on. ., , independent ethics adviser is decide u on, ., , , independent ethics adviser is decide u on. . , , , , , independent ethics adviser is decide u on. ., , , , , , ., upon. there has been pressure on rishi sunak _ upon. there has been pressure on rishi sunak now _ upon. there has been pressure on rishi sunak now for _ upon. there has been pressure on rishi sunak now for a _ upon. there has been pressure on rishi sunak now for a few - upon. there has been pressure on rishi sunak now for a few weeks l upon. there has been pressure on | rishi sunak now for a few weeks to make this announcement. that rishi sunak now for a few weeks to make this announcement.- make this announcement. that is riuht. make this announcement. that is right- this _ make this announcement. that is right- this is _ make this announcement. that is right. this is partly _ make this announcement. that is right. this is partly because - make this announcement. that is right. this is partly because the l right. this is partly because the post has been vacant now for quite some time and he did stress during the leadership campaign that this would be a priority and he has repeatedly stressed he wants to govern with integrity and he wants his government to be free of some of the scandals around ministerial behaviour that we saw under boris johnson. in his letter he said he is pleased to appoint sir laurie magnus to the role, and he said in his letter responding to rishi sunak thatis letter responding to rishi sunak that is the chairman of historic england he has had experience working with lots of ministers and officials and other public servants which he says will put him in a good position to do this role. but there was pressure to appoint somebody in

light of the fact that just weeks into that post as prime minister, rishi sunakfaced questions over into that post as prime minister, rishi sunak faced questions over not having an ethics adviser when his own deputy dominic raab faced allegations of bullying from people throughout the civil service. for the moment. — throughout the civil service. for the moment, thanks forjoining us. a pilot project could see 2,000 households in cheshire, swap their exisiting gas appliances, for hydrogen powered models. the uk is looking to phase out the use of natural gas, from 2035. however, the proposals are causing concern for some residents, who are worried about safety and costs. 0ur climate and environment correspondent, jonah fisher, has the story. "you have been asked to be part of a pioneering proposal to switch from natural gas supply to hydrogen." have you been asked? no. not at all. we've not been asked.

you are it! whitby could become the first part of the uk to turn off natural gas completely and become what's being called a hydrogen village. all our methane gas boilers are due to be phased out from 2035, and this pilot project is the government exploring options for what happens next. hydrogen's big advantage is that it doesn't release the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide when it burns, but you do need energy to make it, and currently, less than 1% is made using renewable energy, with the rest coming from — you guessed it — fossil fuels. the people who live here are being told that by swapping to hydrogen, they'll be doing their bit to cut carbon emissions and fight climate change. but critics, and there are plenty of them, say using hydrogen for heating is a bad idea and that this is a desperate last ploy by gas companies and the fossil

fuel industry to try to hold onto their business. hydrogen is both more leaky and combustible than natural gas. but the gas companies supporting the trial say with some adjustments, it can be made safe. they don't know. we could all blow up. not everyone is convinced. some residents say they feel they are being forced to take part in a dangerous experiment. i wake up in the night thinking about it, and it is very worrying. it's horrendous, the stress. that is all that's getting talked about in my house. in our hydrogen experience centre... if the proposal goes ahead, residents will be given either free hydrogen appliances like these, or their electric equivalents. we are all going to need to make this choice on a certain day to move to a different type of heating technology. this project is bringing that decision to life right now for whitby, but it's coming for all of us

in the near future. if we're to hit our climate targets, all of our old gas boilers will soon have to be turned off. how we heat our homes in the future and who profits is being decided right now. jonah fisher, bbc news, in whitby. he's one of the most popular and influential artists of our time. now david hockney is pushing the boundaries once again, of what's possible in art. he's created a new immersive experience of his work, so visitors can see the world through, his eyes. our culture editor, katie razzall has been to meet him. david hockney gets a first glimpse of his new show. colour is a joyful thing. i want my art to be joyful. we're on an immersive journey, as the final

tweaks are under way, with one of britain's best—loved artists. water is a surface that is elusive, in a way. all the patterns that you see are just on the surface. the show�*s called bigger & closer, not smaller & further away — 60 years of his life and art. have you just always been better at looking than the rest of us? i do look closely at things. i can look at a puddle and get pleasure out of them. most people think it's just raining, don't they? hockney has been painting on his ipad in recent years, most famously the arrival of spring in his home in normandy. this year we discovered he was back painting on canvas when this self—portrait was revealed, and there's much more work still unseen. i have been doing paintings. how many? well, about 40.

i painted my cook, the man who comes to do my feet,