under investigation the three government staff gatherings that took place while coronavirus restrictions were in force on meeting indoors. the health secretary insists that the government hasn t lost credibility as it announces tighter restrictions in england to prevent the increasing spread of the omicron variant. if it carries on at that rate you could have a million infections through community transmission by the end of the month. we ll be hearing reaction to the new rules. also this lunchtime: delays to many hospital treatments in england are the worst on record nhs leaders say patients are being put at risk. the conservative party s fined nearly £18,000 over the prime minister s downing street flat refurbishment. anyone under the age of 1a in new zealand will face a lifetime
£18,000 of the prime minister s downing street flat refurbishments. and tighter restrictions are announced in england. 249 additional confirmed cases of the 0micron variant has been reported across the uk. they health secretary insists the government has not lost credibility. delays to many hospital treatments in england are the worst on record. nhs leaders say patients are being put at risk. the snp s finance secretary delivers the scottish budget. kate forbes insists it will provide people with stability and support as the country seeks to recover from coronavirus. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here s gavin. yes! thanks very much. thejockey robbie dunne has been banned for 18 months the last three suspended after being found guilty of bullying and harrassing rival bryony frost. an independent disciplinary panel found dunne guilty of four charges, of conduct prejudicial to the reputation of horse racing
for the welsh nhs are due out shortly. in recent months waiting times have reached record levels, with waits for ambulances, accident and emergency and other hospital treatments growing since the start of the pandemic. the welsh ambulance has told the bbc he s concerned about pressures on the service moving into the winter. nicola hidden ryan s mum elaine died three years ago in north wales. an inquest found an ambulance took over an hour to arrive after three calls to 999. her family believes the wait contributed to her death. the welsh ambulance service said that even if paramedics had arrived sooner, there was little they could have done to help her. let s talk to nicola now. nicola, just laying out their the context of
than prepandemic levels. there were also issues with the waiting times for ambulances in the most urgent cases, as our health correspondent anna collinson reports. treating more than half a million covid patients in the uk has come at a cost. in england alone, those waiting for hospital treatments like hip and knee operations has reached a new record high. that s 5.6 million people living with prolonged pain. this afternoon, the health secretary was at moorfields eye hospital. where he was shown new technology which could help reduce waiting times. there s some 7 million people who haven t come forward in the normal way because of the pandemic. now waiting lists will go up before they start coming down again, and that s because i want those people who stayed away to come forward and not to feel they can t. the nhs is there for them.
providing, they question why the nhs and local authorities are still buying such services, and they, it calls for tougher regulation. thank you. thank you. the number of people waiting for routine operations in england has hit another record high. at the end ofjuly 5.6 million people were waiting to start treatment. the latest figures also show the number of patients waiting more than a year has fallen slightly to under 300,000, but remains far higher than pre pandemic levels. there were also issues with the waiting times for ambulances in the most urgent cases as our health correspondent anna collinson reports. treating more than 500,000 covid patients in the uk has come at a cost. in england alone, those waiting for hospital treatments, like hip and knee operations, has reached a new record high. that s 5.6 million people living with prolonged pain.