Morning briefing Thursday 17th September

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwCWC. Staying competitive means getting ahead, not just keeping up. So how do business leaders cut through the noise and focus on what really matters? PwC takes you further with tech, from optimising the systems that put your data to work, to scaling AI from proof of concept to competitive edge. PwC helps you meet tomorrow's tech demands, so you can compete at a speed that rewrites the rules. Discover more at pwc.co.uk This is Times Radio's Morning Briefing on Thursday the 17th of September. A government review of mental health conditions will recommend that people with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, should not automatically be offered a formal diagnosis.

0:51It will also warn that children and adults are incentivised to seek a diagnosis, as it is seen as a so-called gateway to financial support. The review was ordered last December by the then health secretary Westreating amid concern about the increase in diagnoses of mental illness, autism and ADHD, which had become the most common reasons for sickness benefit claims. Cat Brown is a journalist and author whose work specialises in mental health stigma. When people sort of actually tot up what you're getting, and this includes PIP, which is to support people with the additional costs of being disabled, it's really not that much money at all.

1:29But when we think about people being incentivised, of course you're incentivised to go to the doctor. You want a treatment. You want to get better. The US Central Bank has raised interest rates for the first time in more than three years. Summarising the rationale behind the increase, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Walsh, said inflation fuelled by the war with Iran is too high and has been for too long. That's despite opposition from President Trump, who says rates should be 1 % or lower. Katie Balls is the Washington editor for The Times and The Sunday Times. You can't really get away from the Iran war.

2:03Walsh did have some positive things to say about the US economy too. But of course, the headline news is rates going up and the stock market not reacting particularly well to that. And then US politicians concerned that this is going to put even greater strain on lots of Americans who are already struggling to make ends meet. And the Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, despite accelerating price rises when the Monetary Policy Committee announces its decision at midday. Patients in England with a specific type of incurable breast cancer can now access a life-extending drug on the NHS, two years after it was deemed too expensive.

2:41Enhetu has been available on the NHS to women in Scotland since 2023, but the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ruled it was not good value for money. From today, doctors in England are able to prescribe it, with Wales expected to follow shortly. Buckingham Palace has rejected claims made about the king by the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales. Earl Spencer's memoir, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, claims that Charles showed contempt for Diana after her death in 1997 and said the world would soon forget her. And the Manchester United manager Michael Carrick says he takes full responsibility for his side's 3-2 defeat by Brighton in the Carabao Cup.

3:23United led 2-0 after just ten minutes but Brighton hit back to become the first team since 1976 to overturn a two-goal deficit and win at Old Trafford. Carrick is now demanding a reaction from his players in Sunday's Premier League match at Fulham. I totally take responsibility. We can't put ourselves in that position after being ahead in the game and the game finishing like it did. So there's a lot of frustrating and disappointment and we need to flip that and start winning games again. And there's more on these stories throughout the day on Times Radio. This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC.

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