today at 6:00pm, hopes of an end to the nhs pay dispute in england, with a new offer to hundreds of thousands of staff. after months of strike action by nurses, ambulance workers and other staff, the new offer involves a one—off payment and a 5% pay rise. it is a reasonable offer. it certainly isn't all that we would have asked for. but it is an offer that we can put to our members. the winter of industrial action has led to higher waiting lists, and health workers accuse the government of missing past opportunities. this agreement rightly recognises the fantastic work that our nhs workers — the fantastic work that our nhs workers like nurses, midwives and

paramedics— workers like nurses, midwives and paramedics do, whilst also being affordable for the taxpayer. the offer covers all nhs in england staff except doctors, who are on a different contract. also on the programme... the social media app tikto, kowned by a chinese company, is to be banned from uk government devices for security reasons. in eastern ukraine, a special report on the fighters in the trenches of bakhmut trying to resist the russian advance. gunfire. the russians are only 500 metres away. that's automatic fire. all along this line, grenade fire, automatic gunfire and tank fire. and, following the dry summer and winter, parts of england are facing a high risk of drought unless there's much rainfall in the weeks ahead. 0n bbc london... and coming up in sport on the bbc news channel... there's a surprise in the big race of the day at cheltenham as 33

to one shot sire de berlais wins the stayers hurdle. good evening. after months of strike action by nhs staff in england, there's hope that a new pay offer will put an end to the dispute. the staff, who include nurses and ambulance workers, are being presented with a deal negotiated over the past two weeks by trade unions and government. doctors are not included as they are on a different contract. the government and the nhs staff council — representing nurses, ambulance staff and other nhs workers — have completed negotiations and reached a final offer, a government spokesman has said. the offer is in two parts. first, a one—off payment for this financial year, to be paid within weeks,

starting with around £1600 for the lowest paid, rising to £3700 for senior managers. and second, a pay rise of 5% for the next financial year, starting in early april. some campaigers point out that the offer is significantly short of a rise above inflation, and in real—terms means a pay cut. but negotiators on both sides say it's the best deal they can produce, and most of the unions are likely to recommend the deal to their members. the winter of industrial action has seen thousands of nurses, ambulance staff and other nhs workers in england taking action, on pay and other working conditions. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports on the new nhs pay offer. cheering it was an unprecedented set of strikes in the nhs. what do we want? fair pay!

when do we want it? now! the royal college of nursing staging the most extensive action in its history. sirens. ambulance unions followed with walk—outs affecting all but the most urgent calls. 0ther unions including the chartered society of physiotherapists also went on strike over pay. it's hot off the press information. and today, a breakthrough after intense talks, the prime minister approving more money for nhs staff. well, today's pay agreement is fair for nhs workers. we want to make sure that we reward them and recognise the hard work they do, whether that's nurses, paramedics, midwives, but it's also fair for taxpayers, and this was important to us as well. it needs to be affordable. the biggest health unions

are ready to recommend the government's offer for england. now members will vote on it. having a pay rise earlier could have been _ having a pay rise earlier could have been useful— having a pay rise earlier could have been useful in stopping people leaving — been useful in stopping people leaving the health service elsewhere but people today will at least be -lad but people today will at least be glad they have an offer. it is a reasonable offer. it certainly isn't all that we would have asked for, but it is enough to put to our members. before the strikes, nhs staff in england, wales and northern ireland received an average pay rise of about 4%. in wales, ministers raised that to 7%, though this has been rejected by some unions. in scotland, a pay offer averaging 7.5% has been accepted by most unions. in northern ireland, no new deal has been proposed. all that's for this financial year, the government has now added a one—off payment in england, and there is a pay offer of 5% for the next year beginning in april. it began with strikes called by the royal college of nursing followed by other health unions. now it's got to the point of a pay

offer to be put to members. ministers had said before there was no more money available for this financial year, but now that has changed. the strikes have caused disruption — around 140,000 operations and appointments are cancelled. nhs leaders say they are now keen to get on with tackling the backlog. obviously, this signals the opportunity to do that and to avoid all other disruption that we've seen as a consequence of the industrial action, and, crucially, a fair deal for staff. chanting. claps don't pay the bills! but the junior doctors are not part of today's agreement. after three days of strike action this week, there is no sign of talks, let alone a deal. hugh pym, bbc news. this isn't the only dispute being talked about. there are other disputes on, so we can talk to employment correspondence zoe conway. what are the lessons of this deal if it goes ahead? i conway. what are the lessons of this deal if it goes ahead?— deal if it goes ahead? i think this health agreement _ deal if it goes ahead? i think this

health agreement could - deal if it goes ahead? i think this health agreement could act - deal if it goes ahead? i think this health agreement could act as i health agreement could act as something of a template in other industrial disputes, certainly other unions will be looking to it as a kind of benchmark and there are signs tonight that it is already starting to help unlock other disputes. union sources have told me that teaching unions could go into meaningful negotiations with the government about pay as early as tomorrow. when it comes to another dispute, the civil service, they have really struggled to get the same kind of attention and arguably public sympathy as the health workers, but their union, the pcs, will argue that a lot of their members are low paid and they deservejust as good members are low paid and they deserve just as good a deal as health workers so we will see what happens there. finally on the railways there are signs of significant movement towards a pay deal when it comes to maintenance and signal staff. it could be that the rmt membership get behind that deal in the coming days, so this health agreement really does have

ramifications far beyond the nhs dispute. ramifications far beyond the nhs dis - ute. ., ramifications far beyond the nhs disute. ., ., , dispute. zoe conway, very interesting, _ dispute. zoe conway, very interesting, thank - dispute. zoe conway, very interesting, thank you, . dispute. zoe conway, very| interesting, thank you, our employment correspondence. live to westminster and our political editor chris mason. when you look at the deal we are talking about today, and you look at the terms of that, where do you think the compromise has been most, is it on the government's side, the employer is' side or the side of staff? i employer is' side or the side of staff? ~' ., , , employer is' side or the side of staff? ~' . , , ., employer is' side or the side of staff? ~' . , , . . staff? i think there has been a fair dollo of staff? i think there has been a fair dollop of compromise _ staff? i think there has been a fair dollop of compromise on - staff? i think there has been a fair dollop of compromise on all - staff? i think there has been a fair| dollop of compromise on all sides. the government were originally saying there was no chance they would reopen pay settlements for this financial year. now they are accepting there will be this one—off payment, so that seems to me like a movement. from the unions' perspective we know plenty of them were making initial demands that were making initial demands that were way higher than where their leaderships are now willing in plenty of cases to settle, so there has been a movement there as well. staff are able to say, look, we have

made our case, those who went out on strike at considerable expense to them, now being in a position to say, now perhaps it's time to come to some sort of arrangement. how is this going to be paid for? that is a crucial question here, and there will be a mix of a combination of efficiency savings, as they are described, within the department of health, and additional money from the treasury. the government is promising those efficiency savings will not come from front line services, but what exactly is a front—line service? there is a bit of a wrinkle there. we should underline that members of trade unions will decide in the end whether to accept this, not their leadership. the prevailing wind might suggest we are getting close to resolutions in some disputes but we are not quite there yet. maw; we are not quite there yet. many thanks, chris _ we are not quite there yet. many thanks, chris mason _ we are not quite there yet. many thanks, chris mason with - we are not quite there yet. many thanks, chris mason with the - we are not quite there yet. many thanks, chris mason with the latest analysis at westminster. tiktok — the social media app used by more

than a billion people worldwide — is to be banned from mobile phones and other devices issued to uk government ministers and civil servants. the app was founded by a chinese company, and the decision is based on concerns about security following a review by the national cyber security centre. tiktok has strongly denied allegations that it shares data about its users with the chinese government. 0ur security correspondent gordon corera has more details. it's the video app that's gone from to everywhere, taking over the world. even mps and the ministry of defence have been using it. but it is now facing new restrictions. what's been announced? today, after growing political pressure, the uk government has followed the us, canada and the european union in new restrictions. government officials will no longer be to download the 3pp will no longer be to download the app and to work devices. we will no longer be to download the app and to work devices.- will no longer be to download the app and to work devices. we will do so with immediate _

app and to work devices. we will do so with immediate effect. _ app and to work devices. we will do so with immediate effect. mr - so with immediate effect. mr speaker, this is a precautionary move. we know there is already limited use of tiktok across government but it is also good cyber hygiene. 50 government but it is also good cyber h i iene. ., ., government but it is also good cyber h uiene. . . . hygiene. so what are the concerns? one of the reasons _ hygiene. so what are the concerns? one of the reasons tiktok - hygiene. so what are the concerns? one of the reasons tiktok is - hygiene. so what are the concerns? one of the reasons tiktok is so - one of the reasons tiktok is so successful is because it is so good at understanding its users. it can collect lots of data about their contacts and location. what's different about tiktok is that it was founded in china. tiktok is collectina was founded in china. tiktok is collecting a _ was founded in china. tiktok is collecting a huge _ was founded in china. tiktok is collecting a huge amount - was founded in china. tiktok is i collecting a huge amount of data, which is relatively similar to all social media platforms, but i think the problem is who they may be sharing it with. it's not proven who they are sharing it with and if they are, but it's that collection of data that could be sensitive that could cause risks to countries should it be shared with the incorrect people.— should it be shared with the incorrect people. what does the com an incorrect people. what does the company say — incorrect people. what does the company say about _ incorrect people. what does the company say about this? - incorrect people. what does the j company say about this? today, tiktok told the bbc that there is no evidence of it having done anything

wrong. we evidence of it having done anything wronu. ~ . evidence of it having done anything wron~.~ . . wrong. we are disappointed. we believe this _ wrong. we are disappointed. we believe this is _ wrong. we are disappointed. we believe this is based, _ wrong. we are disappointed. we believe this is based, this - wrong. we are disappointed. we| believe this is based, this change of heart is based more on geopolitics than anything else. we ask to be judged geopolitics than anything else. we ask to bejudged not geopolitics than anything else. we ask to be judged not on the fears people have put on the facts. should i delete it from _ people have put on the facts. should i delete it from my _ people have put on the facts. should i delete it from my phone, _ people have put on the facts. should i delete it from my phone, people i i delete it from my phone, people might ask. the government is not advising the general public to stop using tiktok, just government officials who might have more sensitive information on their phone. there is no sign of a wider ban but the growing controversy over tiktok is a sign of deepening tensions between the west and china. gordon corera, bbc news. the key measures in yesterday's budget, to encourage people back to work by boosting free childcare and changing the rules on pension savings, may not be cost effective, according to the independent body the institue for fiscal studies. new analysis has also raised concerns that freezing income tax bands will have a have big impact on the cost of living

for many households. 0ur economics editor faisal islam is here with his thoughts. a day on from the budget, that historic squeeze on households is mostly driven by an effective tax rise from the freezing of the thresholds where tax rates start. high inflation drags many millions into higher tax brackets. but at the same time many benefits are about to go up by a double digit amount to account for inflation. the net effect of all the changes over this parliament is that average incomes for the poorest fifth will be up by £417 a year. but those in the middle have been hit by £738 per year, the richest fifth are down by over £2000 a year. most are facing tax rises, driving this multi—decade high in the tax burden. you see it here as a share

of the national economy and it is at a 70—year high. that's the key problem for the prime minister and chancellor. however, goverment independent experts, the 0br, said this trend is pretty universal. taxes are on average rising across the eu and the other seven richest nations. and that reflects the fact that governments are doing more, especially since the pandemic. for example the budget yesterday announced... a 3 billonn one—off payment for energy bills. 3 billion more on defence spending. that's because of what's happening in ukraine. and the new childcare package, costing a further £5 billion — described as the beginning of a new branch of the welfare state today by independent research body, the ifs. although there are talks about tax cuts, there is less about whether the state should do less. those all have to be paid for. i think it's the right thing to do, to get through these difficult periods, but we have to be honest with people. it means that for a while the burden of tax is going to be higher, but conservatives cut taxes when we can. family incomes are going to fall

by 6% over the next couple of years, and yet the only permanent tax change that the chancellor announced yesterday was to help the top 1% of people save even more into their pensions. when these things can not be squared, other spending gets squeezed. and this quite interesting, while you heard a lot about investing in a high tech future, this is now the path for actual public sector investment revealed in the budget, that's spending on buildings, hospitals schools, roads and rail. and look at the big promises made in the first budget of the parliament — more like 3% spending. at a time when there is a global race over this. so, political pressure to decrease taxes, plenty of other pressures to increase spending, no space within self—imposed limits on debts. very tricky. and if you want more analysis of what the budget means for you, along with useful tips and information, there's a special section on the bbc website, called tackling it together. find it at bbc.co.uk/news.

our top story this evening... hopes of an end to the nhs pay dispute in england, with a new offer to hundreds of thousands of staff. and of thousands of staff. coming up, the story of one racing's and coming up, the story of one of racing's tallest jockeys. and coming up, the story of one of racing's tallestjockeys. he has taken to coming up in sportsday on the bbc news channel at 6:30... brentford's uncapped striker ivan toney is named in the england squad for their forthcoming european qualifiers — two weeks after he accepted breaching the fa's betting rules. in eastern ukraine, the battle for the city of bakhmut is proving to be the longest of the conflict so far, and the stakes

are high for both sides. let's talk a little bit about bakhmut. it is a key hub in donetsk province, which is now surrounded by russian troops, under orders to capture the entire region — one of four which moscow annexed unlawfully last year. ukrainian troops are in trenches, resisting the russian advance, with huge casualities being reported. two ukrainian brigades are defending the city's southern perimeter, and they gave the bbc access to their positions. 0ur correspondent quentin sommerville and camera operator darren conway sent this special report. in war�*s uncertain journey, fates are decided in the unlikeliest of places. ukraine has drawn a line in the mud, and that line is bakhmut.

no matter the hardship, the enemy must not pass. this ground must be held. winter has given way to early spring. they hope it might slow russia's advance. the thing is, it complicates the job for both parties. the enemy has difficulty attacking, because nothing moves in the mud. nothing except tank tracks... ..and army boots. the mud's unreal. it pulls you this way and that way. it's a trap for men, for vehicles. it makes moving around this battlefield almost impossible. and for the soldiers of the 3rd separate assault brigade, it means going the long way round.

moving as fast as the territory allows. they're in range of russian guns. we're told to keep low. stop, stop! there's a russian outpost around here. these trenches are new, but warfare along this front is antiquated. below ground, these are dugouts that their grandfathers would recognise. but by digging in, they've tied up russian forces here and held bakhmut longer than many expected. but it isn'tjust the conditions that are basic. this is a 21st—century war, being fought with i9th—century weaponry. it's a maxim machine—gun.

120 years of history of killing russians. a weapon from the first world war, used in the third world war. sporadic gunfire. right, we are heading right to the very forward position. we can hear shelling right now and automatic gunfire. more shelling. they get attacked here on a daily basis. translation: there are the enemy positions, so let's move very fast. i 0k. almost every day, some shells from artillery. we can see the craters all around here. there is a fresh crater, right there. we've got to go, we've got to go. there's hardly any tree cover here, the men are exposed. gunfire.

and the russians found them. 0k, move, move. you can go in the car, because there is a little bit of water here. gunfire. the russians are only 500 metres away. that's automatic fire. all along this line there's grenade fire, automatic gunfire and tank fire. translation: it's really dangerous there, bullets are flying everywhere. that kind of fire is every day here. seven months, more than seven months into this battle, it's created a wasteland. this is the longest

battle of the war so far. to the north, and to the east, and here in the south, russia's been making gains. but it's costing them. the ukrainians say that for every one soldier they lose, russia loses seven. but still they hold on here. and bakhmut is a town that no—one believes has strategic value. but to russia and ukraine, it matters in this war. translation: this is not| a strategic question for us. we are just ordinary soldiers. but this is our land. if we lose here, then do we retreat to chasiv yar, to sloviansk, then all the way to kyiv? however long it takes, two, four, five years, we have to fight for every piece of ground. so, every tiny step of land needs to be defended, even as they toil under waves of attack from russian prisoners sent by wagner group.

translation: we were in combat every two hours. l as far as i understand, they were wagner. we were fighting them, and without over estimating our achievements, i would say a single company was killing 50 of them in a day. we checked the figures, they are awful numbers. they are outgunned and outnumbered but, for now, unyielding. in bakhmut, like in the rest of this war, they have grown used to the odds being against them. quentin sommerville, bbc news, on the outskirts of bakhmut. the pentagon has released a video which shows a russian militaryjet coming very close to a us military drone over the black sea on tuesday. the us military says it shows fuel being dumped from the plane, and then after that, the video shows a

damaged propeller on the drome, after the incident. the footage has been edited by the us military for reasons of security. russia has denied the us claim that its jets acted recklessly. in the race to be the new leader of the scottish national party, two of the three candidates are calling for an independent auditor to supervise the vote. kate forbes and ash regan have raised concerns about the integrity of the process. this afternoon, after much delay, the snp agreed to reveal the latest number of party members, which stands at 72,000, a significant reduction in the membership at the time of the independence referendum in 2014. 0ur scotland editorjames cook joins us from edinburgh. i suppose you could say, james, that this dispute tells us that whoever

wins this contest will have quite a job to do to unite people? film. job to do to unite people? oh, that's for— job to do to unite people? oh, that's for sure. _ job to do to unite people? oh, that's for sure. this _ job to do to unite people? oi, that's for sure. this has job to do to unite people? ©“i, that's for sure. this has not been a good day for the scottish national party. first, the membership numbers. they peaked in 2019, more than 120,000. as you say, the day that nicola sturgeon announced her resignation, they were down to 72,000. that prompted the former first minister alex salmond, now leader of the rival alba party to comment that it takes decades to build one per day is to destroy a political party. kate forbes and ash we have expressed nonspecific concerns about the integrity of the process, which has been rejected by nicola sturgeon herself, who told us that she has 100% confidence and integrity of the system. as if that wasn't all bad enough for the snp, third candidate, humza yousaf, has been criticised for telling a group of ukrainian women in edinburgh this afternoon, jokingly asking them

where are all the men? after some pretty embarrassed laughter, they replied that many of their male relatives were fighting in the war against russia.— against russia. james, many thanks for the latest _ against russia. james, many thanks for the latest in _ against russia. james, many thanks for the latest in edinburgh. - following the abnormally dry winter, parts of england are facing an increased risk of drought, unless there's sustained rainfall in the weeks ahead according to the uk centre for ecology and hydrology. they say the south west of england and east anglia could be worst hit, after studies showed rivers in some parts of england and wales at their lowest ever levels in the month of february. 0ur correspondentjonah fisher has more details. the soil is dry on andrew's farm in suffolk. last month, just 2 mm of rain fell. he normally expects 50. with water levels low and the outlook for spring uncertain, his plans to plant vegetables have had to be scaled back.

the lack of water through this last winter has meant that our reservoirs haven't been able to be filled as full as we would like them at this time of year. so as a consequence of that, the people that we work with here with irrigated root crops, we've reduced the cropping area by 25%. east anglia's water problems have been mirrored in southwest england. the water levels this year, already, i've noticed that they are lower than they should be. and it's complicated the management of marshes in somerset, where they need to capture fresh water in the winter and then release it to keep the visiting birds happy. having the winter rain not only provides fantastic habitat for our wintering birds, but the wetlands act like a sponge, so it gives us a sort of, almost a safeguard against the drought. it gives you that resilience. there's been a lot of rain around in the last week, but the figures from february are striking, with england and wales receiving less than a quarter of the amount of rainfall than they normally receive.

if there is a dry winter, it makes drought and restrictions that much more likely come the summer. this was last year, when record—breaking temperatures led to drought and hose pipe bans. so, are we facing the same again? we've had a very dry winter, and it was dry last summer and the winter before. so the accumulated effects of this are quite serious indeed. and we could be looking at drought restrictions in many parts of the country unless we get a significant amount of rain. this is colliford in cornwall, the reservoir half full. devon and cornwall are still officially in drought. without a very wet spring, other parts of the country could join them. jonah fisher, bbc news. before we go, the story of the man

who is said to be the tallestjockey in the world. jack andrews is six foot four and he towers above his fellow riders who stand at an average of five foot two. the 24—year—old amateur is riding in his first cheltenham festival today, and it's against his sister. lizzie greenwood—hughes went to see how he got on. at six foot four, jack andrews should be more suited to basketball than horse racing. instead, he is a paid—up member of the andrews racing dynasty, a family of amateurjockeys with several festival wins. i suppose my ambition isjust with several festival wins. i suppose my ambition is just to with several festival wins. i suppose my ambition isjust to ride as many winners as possible. a winner here would be nice, trying to prove my point that i'm notjust a good writer that is tall, i am just a good writer in general. it has definitely crossed my mind, if it is the right thing to do. hopefully, yes. the right thing to do. hopefully, es. , , . ~' the right thing to do. hopefully, es, . ., . " , the right thing to do. hopefully, yes. jack is already a winner, but he has had _ yes. jack is already a winner, but he has had to _ yes. jack is already a winner, but he has had to make _ yes. jack is already a winner, but he has had to make plenty i yes. jack is already a winner, but he has had to make plenty of i he has had to make plenty of sacrifices to get there. lip he has had to make plenty of sacrifices to get there. up towards the line- -- —

sacrifices to get there. up towards the line... probably _ sacrifices to get there. up towards the line... probably had _ sacrifices to get there. up towards the line... probably had quite i sacrifices to get there. up towards the line... probably had quite a i sacrifices to get there. up towards | the line... probably had quite a sad life, the line... probably had quite a sad life. compared _ the line... probably had quite a sad life, compared to _ the line. .. probably had quite a sad life, compared to other— the line... probably had quite a sad life, compared to other people. i i life, compared to other people. i don't go out too often and i try to keep my diet pretty regular everyday. i still have the old cheat day now and again. it works well for me, anyway. jack day now and again. it works well for me. anyway-— day now and again. it works well for me, anyway. jack might be called an amateurjockey, but _ me, anyway. jack might be called an amateurjockey, but he _ me, anyway. jack might be called an amateurjockey, but he is _ me, anyway. jack might be called an amateurjockey, but he is a - amateurjockey, but he is a professional horseman, running a point—to—point racing yard with one of his famous sisters, gina. point-to-point racing yard with one of his famous sisters, gina.- of his famous sisters, gina. people alwa s of his famous sisters, gina. people always associate _ of his famous sisters, gina. people always associate jockeys _ of his famous sisters, gina. people always associate jockeys with i always associate jockeys with being very small. i think flat jockeys obviously _ very small. i think flat jockeys obviously are very small because they have — obviously are very small because they have to make such lightweights. but national hunt jockeys, they have to make such lightweights. but national huntjockeys, there are a good _ but national huntjockeys, there are a good that are well over five and a half feet— a good that are well over five and a half feet tall. but obviouslyjack is the _ half feet tall. but obviouslyjack is the exception. half feet tall. but obviously jack is the exception.— half feet tall. but obviously jack is the exception. well, it wasn't to be for the andrews _ is the exception. well, it wasn't to be for the andrews family - is the exception. well, it wasn't to i be for the andrews family today, but jack has another chance at the festival tomorrow, to show the world his height isn't his only claim to fame. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. not the tallest weather presenter,

i'm afraid, chris fawkes was not available this evening. northern