at table—topping liverpool. we'll hear about the women healing the scars of breast cancer, by getting a tattoo it's about being able to turn something, you know, a scar into a piece of art and making somebody feel beautiful. good morning. as we go through this week it will remain cold. they will be widespread for the risk of ice. further wintry showers and some rain. we have got the lot and we have got it all today. details coming up. good morning. it's monday, 6th january. the government has promised to cut the number of nhs patients in england waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment, by nearly half a million, by the end of march next year. reforms to enhance patient choice, as well as more access to community diagnostic centres

and surgical hubs, are part of the plan which ministers say will help them to achieve their promise, and go towards hitting a key labour election pledge. our health editor hugh pym reports. getting checks and tests closer to home, and more quickly. that's the aim of the network of community diagnostic centres in england. examples include scans and endoscopies. as part of the new plan to cut waiting lists, opening times will be extended to 12 hours a day, seven days a week, so more work can be done away from hospitals. the nhs app will be upgraded to allow more patients to book treatments and appointments. it will also make it easier for people to exercise their right to choose an nhs or private provider for their care. for the head of nhs england, amanda pritchard, it means more control over the process for patients and a more efficient health service. we are really ambitious about continuing the progress that we've made on reducing the longest waits for care now, to get to the place where we can deliver the 18 week standard

by the end of this parliament, and that is both about putting the additional capacity in place, and changing the way that we work. and that builds on the great progress that colleagues across the nhs have made over the past couple of years, particularly in tackling those longest waits. currently, about 59% of patients are getting their appointment or treatment, or being given the all clear, within 18 weeks. three million are waiting longer. the government said it wants to get to 92% by the end of this parliament. and as a first milestone, it will be 65% by march 2026. officials say that means a reduction in the longer waits of 450,000. ministers have already said they will deliver an extra two million appointments a year byjuly. they say measures in the new plan will add another 1.5 million after that. there's a level of respect that comes in there as well. the prime minister will today unveil what's billed as an elective reform plan. he says it'll deliver on the promise to end backlogs and offer

greater convenience to patients. some medical experts say they welcome the ideas in the plan, but have questioned what can be achieved. we particularly advocate the use of surgical hubs, we're supportive of one stop clinics, and we're also supportive of gps requesting investigations. whether or not this will achieve the government's aims to make sure that everybody, or 92% of the population, are seen within 18 weeks by the end of this term of government, remains yet to be seen. others have expressed concern that planned treatment is being prioritised at the expense of emergency care. ministers deny this, but the extreme pressure in most hospital a&e departments right now is certainly concentrating the minds of health leaders. hugh pym, bbc news. 0ur chief political correspondent henry zeffman joins us now from westminster.

mps are returning there today. the government keen to talk about reforming the nhs but there is lots more on as well? that reforming the nhs but there is lots more on as well?— reforming the nhs but there is lots more on as well? that is right. you will hear from _ more on as well? that is right. you will hear from keir _ more on as well? that is right. you will hear from keir starmer - more on as well? that is right. you will hear from keir starmer today i more on as well? that is right. you | will hear from keir starmer today in his first intervention of 2025 about the nhs. i think that shows you how they know at the very top of government for many voters the verdict on this government will be the extent to which they can improve the extent to which they can improve the nhs. it is actually the first of what we will see in the coming weeks as several events on each of the six milestones keir starmer unveiled late last year. an attempt to give people more of a sense of his governing agenda. but there will be a press conference after the speech today, and i think we all know, including keir starmer, that he will be asked about grooming gangs, which have been at the top of the agenda for many people over recent days, principally because elon musk, the richest man in the world and a close confident of donald trump, started tweeting about them. i would expect keir starmer will give a full

throated defence of his record on theissue throated defence of his record on the issue today when asked about it. he will talk about when he was director of public and to give the green light for the prosecution of those involved in grooming gangs in rochdale. more generally about how he reorganised the crown prosecution service to tackle grooming gangs. we actually heard on this issue yesterday from a campaign group. they said the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse reported in 2022 heard from over 7000 victims and survivors and provided a clear road map for action. none of its recommendations have been fully implemented two years later. the former chairman of that inquiry said, never mind new inquiries, they should be full implementation of her recommendations. i expect keir starmer to be asked about that too. you mentioned elon musk. friendship

orform a friendship you mentioned elon musk. friendship or form a friendship with nigel farage is also under the spotlight. what is going on there? this farage is also under the spotlight. what is going on there?— farage is also under the spotlight. what is going on there? this is 'ust really embarrassing i what is going on there? this is 'ust really embarrassing for i what is going on there? this is 'ust really embarrassing for nigelh really embarrassing for nigel farage. nigel farage told sunday with laura kuenssberg yesterday morning how elon musk�*s support for reform i could make them cool with huge numbers of young people and he said elon musk was a hero. i was later elon musk posted in x, the reform party needs a new leader. arise does not have what it takes. in a series of posts later he started suggesting that rupert lowe, the mp for great yarmouth, might make a better leader of reform. all pretty embarrassing for nigel farage. but what it is all about is more important because it speaks to a serious strategic decision that nigel farage has made. he appears to have fallen out with elon musk, perhaps even jettisoned the possibility of a mega donation from elon musk, because nigel farage believes tommy robinson, in prison for contempt of court, should not be

part of reform uk, nor should anybody who support him. elon musk clearly disagrees. that has made for a very embarrassing morning for nigel farage. it is also a big call he has made about the future of the right and where its limits should be drawn. nice quiet day for you to start the term, henry. thank you very much indeed. we will speak to henry later. eight minutes past six. if you are going back to work this morning, back to school, you might have a challenge on your hands with the weather. yes, lots of snow around. further snow showers, ice and rain are set to cause more travel disruption today, with yellow met office weather alerts in place across much of the uk. the environment agency has also issued more than a hundred flood warnings for parts of england. nick garnett is in west yorkshire this morning. nick, how are things looking? we can still —— we can see it is still snowy? we can still -- we can see it is still snowy?— we can still -- we can see it is still snowy? yes, still snowy. it does not seem _

still snowy? yes, still snowy. it does not seem to _ still snowy? yes, still snowy. it does not seem to have - still snowy? yes, still snowy. it does not seem to have stopped still snowy? yes, still snowy. it- does not seem to have stopped since it started, i don't know how long ago now. it has kept coming down all the way through the night. the greater is to have been out. this is pudsey, a town not far from greater is to have been out. this is pudsey, a town not farfrom leeds city centre. it is coping. the roads are coping. the side roads, you can forget trying to get out of those or get into them. there is no way at all. in some ways this is the perfect storm because it is the start, for many people, of the new school term. people are going back to work for the first time since christmas. two weeks off the road almost and they are back into this. here in west yorkshire, on this side of the pennines, there is an awful lot of snout still. that is not melting. but over in north—west england and other parts of england, and in some parts of scotland as well, that snow is now thawing. it is causing localised flooding. the met office and the environment agency have put out more than 100 flood alerts. there are warnings all

over the place. the best advice is to try and take things slowly. airports say they should be running as normal today. rail services as well hope to be back to normal. there were some delays yesterday as well. but it is going to be an awkward drive to work this morning. as you can see, cars are getting past, cars are travelling, but it will be difficult. thank you very much indeed. we will keep you right up to date with the weather throughout the morning. a state of emergency has been declared across large parts of the united states, affecting more than 60 million people, as a major winter storm sweeps across the country. snow, ice and plunging temperatures have led to significant disruption on the roads, as well as thousands of delayed or cancelled flights and trains, as graham satchell reports. the snow is heavy, thick and relentless. this is stjoseph, missouri, where blizzard conditions have brought much of the state to a standstill. tens of millions of americans

are bracing themselves for what's predicted to be the heaviest snowfall and coldest temperatures in more than a decade. travel has been badly affected. this is louisville airport in kentucky. across the states, thousands of flights have been cancelled or delayed. conditions on the road have been described as treacherous, with snow and ice causing major problems. this roadway is very slick, very, very slick. so let me get some traction here and watch my feet. are you ready for this? that's what we're dealing with out here. and it's not getting any better, it's getting worse. the weather people are calling this a polar vortex, freezing conditions brought down from the arctic. in kansas, the temperature is forecast to get down to —29 celsius. when you get these subzero temperatures, these subzero wind chills, we know that it can have a negative impact not just on our workforce, but also our residents. and so we're making sure we address all of those issues.

in utah, the heavy snow caused an avalanche, caught on camera by a passing motorist. as you can see, he puts up his windowjust in time. graham satchell, bbc news. incredible pictures. justin welby is spending his final day as archbishop of canterbury. he announced his resignation last year because of his failings in the handling of a church of england abuse scandal. during evensong, he will lay down his bishop's crozier, a ceremonial long staff, in a symbolic act marking the end of his ministry. the fbi says a man who killed 1a people in new orleans was in the city for at least two days in the months before the new year's day attack. the fbi said shamsud—dinjabbar — a us army veteran — had used smart glasses to record videos of parts of the city. ukraine has launched a new offensive in the russian region of kursk.

it first carried out a surprise incursion there five months ago. the russian military has played down the scale of the latest attack, saying efforts to repel the advance are continuing. confidence among uk firms has slumped, as more than half expect to put up prices in the next three months. that's according to the british chamber of commerce, which represents about 50 thousand companies. it says its members are facing a pressure cooker of rising costs and taxes, as our business correspondent esyllt carr reports. at this manufacturer in county down they make everything from hairbrushes to aircraft parts. around 250 people at work here and the boss says the rise in national insurance contributions, along with a higher national living wage, will cost the company over £700,000. he says that will mean more automation, not taking on more staff, and passing on some of the costs too. where we can apply price increases on our consumer products, we will unfortunately have to do that.

it's something we don't want to do. we like to give our consumers and customers value. but it is impossible to avoid those circumstances whenever you have been hit with such substantial cost increases. inevitably some of that is going to end up back the shelf for the consumer. many firms are facing a pressure cooker of taxes and costs, according to the british chambers of commerce. in its survey of 4,800 businesses towards the end of last year, nearly two thirds said they were concerned about tax, up from just under half on the previous quarter. 55% said they were expecting to increase prices in the next three months. and just under half expect their turnover to go up next year, the lowest level of confidence the business group says it has seen in more than two years. we really hope the chancellor is listening. we need the government to recognise the impact the budget has had on businesses. all of our businesses are telling us that. and we need the government to act quickly. relook at business rates, support export, and accelerate infrastructure.

the treasury says the budget delivered stability for businesses and that more than half of employers would see a cut or no change in their national insurance bill. the government has said growth is its priority. some businesses say they will need more support to achieve it. esyllt carr, bbc news. tributes have been pouring in forjames lee williams, better known as drag queen the vivienne, who has died aged 32. the vivienne won the first series of rupaul�*s drag race uk in 2019, as well as going on to appear in many musical theatre and tv productions. the show paid tribute to the star's legacy saying it will live on as a beacon of creativity and authenticity. here's the vivienne speaking in 2019 after the series win. it's just absolutely crazy, isn't it? a dream come true. um, 12 years of working in dive bars and everything like that has all come to fruition,

and now i've got a crown. drag royalty, isuppose! two films emerged as the big winners at the golden globe awards — the first major honours of hollywood's awards season. your english? no, i am your english? no, lam not your english? no, i am not english. why? _ your english? no, i am not english. wh ? ., , , your english? no, i am not english. wh? ., ,, your english? no, i am not english. wh? ., , ., your english? no, i am not english. wh? ., ., ,, the musical thriller emilia perez, which tells the story of a mexican drug lord who changes gender, won four prizes in total, including best supporting actress for zoe saldana. the brutalist, which tells the story of a holocaust survivor who chases the american dream, also won three awards. and we'll have more on how the whole event unfolded at ten to seven. and think we need to catch up with the weather. if you're opening your curtains

round roundabout now you might be getting a fright in some part of the country. carol can tell us more. , carol can tell us more. good morning- — carol can tell us more. good morning- we _ carol can tell us more. good morning. we have _ carol can tell us more. good morning. we have seen - carol can tell us more. good l morning. we have seen some carol can tell us more. good - morning. we have seen some heavy snow or overnight. the other thing to watch out for this morning if you're heading out is ice untreated services. as we go through this week you can expect ic starts, widespread frosts, it will remain cold, and we have further wintry showers. as well as all of that we have also got some rain. you can see what has been happening, where we have had the snow in the last couple of hours, colleagues have had problems getting in to north wales this morning through greater manchester. worth bearing in mind if you are travelling. rain further south. as we go through the course of the day we go through the course of the day we will continue with wintry showers across northern scotland, the southern uplands, northern england, northern ireland, especially with height. we will also see some wintry showers in wales, into the midlands, possibly into the south—west as well. some of those easing off as we

go through the course of the afternoon. but they will be accompanied by gusty winds. this is what you can expect inland, around the north sea coast, we are looking at gales as well. a lot going on. it will feel cold. these are the temperatures you will see on your thermometer. two in aberdeen to about seven in st helier. but when you add on the wind chill, it will feel colder than those temperatures suggest. as we had on through the evening and overnight we still have this keen northerly wind. so again, we are to see further wintry showers across northern scotland, 1436 00:17:37