Author: BBC

The Health Secretary has admitted the NHS is “falling short” on meeting demand for adult autism and ADHD diagnosis.Speaking to BBC Radio Oxford, he was responding to a question about adult referrals having been paused in Oxfordshire since 2024.But he said it was a national issue that he was “very worried about”.When asked if it was an epidemic the government was failing to cope with, he responded “in a nutshell, yes”.Streeting said: “We’re trying to, as a government, understand what’s driving this increase.”Is it simply awareness and a positive awareness that means that people who would have just gone unsupported…

Katy AustinTransport correspondentGetty ImagesPassengers at Britain’s biggest airport, Heathrow, can leave liquids in containers up to two litres in their bags while going through security, after it finally completed the rollout of new high-tech CT scanners.Electronics such as laptops can also be left in luggage, while clear plastic bags for liquids no longer have to be used.Heathrow said it was now the biggest airport in the world to have the new equipment fully rolled out across all its terminals.It said the scanners, which provide better images of cabin bags, could service “thousands of passengers an hour with significantly greater efficiency,…

Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, says it will launch more than 5,400 satellites to create a new communications network.Named TeraWave, it will offer continuous internet access around the world, with the ability to move large amounts of data much more quickly than rival services.But even after launching thousands of satellites, Blue Origin would still have far fewer in orbit than Elon Musk’s Starlink, which currently dominates the satellite internet market.Starlink – part of Musk’s rocket firm SpaceX – also offers internet and phone services to individual customers, while Blue Origin says TeraWave will be…

Kate MorganWales community correspondentDandelion & Rose PhotographyChloe, pictured after she began medication for her extreme sickness, could not face another pregnancyA woman who almost terminated her second pregnancy because of severe sickness says sterilisation is now her best option due to difficulties accessing treatment.Chloe, 26, said she couldn’t face another pregnancy because of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), which causes prolonged severe nausea and vomiting that may last until birth.Plaid Cymru MS Lindsay Whittle has called for better access to Xonvea – an anti-sickness medication which is not routinely available in Wales.The Welsh government said it recognised the debilitating impact extreme pregnancy…

UK government borrowing was significantly lower last month, due to more income from taxes and higher National Insurance Contributions outweighing spending, figures show.In December government borrowing – the difference between public spending and tax income – was £11.6bn, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.It is down £7.1bn – 38% – from the previous December, and lower than what many economists had predicted, but still higher than that borrowed in the same month in 2023.Tom Davies, Deputy Director for the ONS public service division, said the fall was a result of “receipts being up strongly on last year whereas spending…

Snapchat’s parent Snap has settled a social media addiction lawsuit just days before the landmark case was due to go to trial in Los Angeles.Terms of the deal were not announced as it was revealed by lawyers at a California Superior Court hearing, after which Snap told the BBC the parties were “pleased to have been able to resolve this matter in an amicable manner”.Other defendants in the case include Instagram parent Meta, ByteDance’s TikTok and Alphabet’s YouTube, none of which have settled.The plaintiff, a 19-year old woman identified by the initials K.G.M., alleged that the algorithmic design of the…

Michelle RobertsDigital health editorDiabetes UKThanks to the study, Imogen, who is 12, is now receiving medication to help delay her diabetesAll UK children could be offered screening for type 1 diabetes using a simple finger-prick blood test, say researchers who have been running a large study. Currently, many young people go undiagnosed and risk developing a life-threatening complication called diabetic ketoacidosis that needs urgent hospital treatment.Identifying diabetes earlier could help avoid this and mean treatments to control problematic blood sugar levels can be given sooner. Some 17,000 children aged three to 13 have already been checked as part of the…

Esme Stallard,Climate and science reporterandJustin Rowlatt,Climate EditorAndrew Aitchison/Getty ImagesAn air source heat pump mostly powered by solar panels on a building in East AngliaHouseholds will be eligible for thousands of pounds’ worth of solar panels and other green tech to lower their energy bills, the government has announced.The long-awaited Warm Homes Plan promises to provide £15bn to households across the UK over the next five years, as well as introducing new rights for renters. The government has said it wants to create a “rooftop revolution”, tripling the number of homes with solar, and lifting one million people out of fuel…

David SilverbergTechnology ReporterGetty ImagesThe US has fewer but more “tech dense” farms according to a government reportJake Leguee is a third-generation farmer in Saskatchewan, Canada.Since his grandfather bought the 17,000 acres in 1956, the Leguee family has grown canola, wheat, flax and green lentils.As a child, he watched his father and grandfather spending hours riding their tractor to sow seeds and spray crops. Sweat would coat their shirts after those long, hot days.”It was a lot less efficient back then,” says Leguee. “Today, technology has vastly improved the job that we do.”To keep his farm competitive, Leguee has made several…

Nick Triggle,Health correspondentandDaniel Wainwright,BBC VerifyGetty ImagesNearly a quarter of hospitals in England have seen waiting times worsen since the government published its plan to tackle the backlog a year ago, BBC analysis shows.Hitting the 18-week waiting target for treatments such as knee and hip operations was Labour’s key manifesto pledge for the health service, and last January it set out how it would get hospitals on track.While nationally progress is being made, 31 hospital trusts have gone backwards and another 17 have made little progress out of the 129 services examined.The hospitals struggling the most said they were facing a…