03/12/2013 BBC Channel Islands News

Good evening. The headlines this from the BBC's News at Six.

Good evening. The headlines this Tuesday night: In BBC Channel

Islands: This is a budget designed to get economic growth, cut taxes

and plan for the longer term and I think it's a good budget for Jersey.

And, making virtual into reality ` how Alderney plans to cash in on a

global online currency. And, after raising tens of thousands of pounds

volunteers from Guernsey head to the Philippines to help victims of

Typhoon Haiyan. Politicians in Jersey have spent today debating the

island's budget for 2014. The Treasury Minister believes his

financial plan will help most taxpayers who've been struggling

through the recession. It includes an income tax reduction for most

islanders, but rises in duty on tobacco, alcohol and fuel. Christina

Ghidoni reports. On the face of it it's a good news Budget from the

Treasury Minister, tax cuts for 40,000 households, almost ?300

million for new hospital, ?250 million for social housing and ?75

million to deal with the island's sewage. While politicians debate the

Budget inside, outside here in the Royal Square it's the annual soup

kitchen. Despite the warm feeling this soup and the apparently good

news Budget might give you, inside the Treasury Minister faces

challenges. They include convincing politicians to dip into the

emergency rainy day fund for the first time to pay for the new

hospital and borrowing money for housing. The Jerseyman and woman is

not keen on debt historically but debt is an appropriate thing to fund

housing. We have all seen the fact that our social housing fabric

perhaps hasn't fared well when competing with other projects such

as the hospital. It's just the appropriate thing to do. Meanwhile,

moves in the budget to increase duty paid by drivers, drinkers and

smokers has been described as an unfair easy hit to raise cash that

won't put people off smoking or drinking. People who drink silly

dangerously are people who abuse alcohol. They don't care what the

price is. They'll borrow it, they'll steal it. Or they will hobbing

themselves to pay for it. Some changes to the Budget such as taking

goods and services tax off food and heating have already been thrown out

today. With many hours of Budget debate to go the Treasury Minister

may not be able to fight off all of the challenges.

Those plans are subject to change. What has changed and what remains in

place. Our political reporter joined me earlier. We have had the debate

on the amendment to get 5% taken off food and heating. That didn't get

through. It was put forward by a St Helier deputy who wanted to try and

change the Budget. He offered it as an either/or option on whether tax

breaks or low and middle income earners should be included in the

budget. That's one of the main things the Minister wants to push

through with this. The deputy was offering this as an alternative so

it would help lower income earners by not paying tax on food. That

didn't get through. We haven't really got much further with the

Budget. There's been technical changes they've been discussing

today. Tomorrow we get to the debates about duty increases on

alcohol and tobacco and fuel for cars. That's due to come tomorrow as

are the debates on whether they should borrow money to pay for

social housing over the next decade and use reserves for paying for the

new hospital. We will have more on those on Breakfast on BBC RadioIersy

from 7.00 am. Representatives from Guernsey and

Jersey are in Westminster today to discuss restoring tax`relief on

goods exported to the UK. They're meeting MPs and Peers to lobby for

the return of Low Value Consignment Relief for local produce. The scheme

allowed goods under a certain value to be sent VAT free but was scrapped

by the British Government in April 2012.

Alderney is hoping to capitalise on a booming virtual currency by

becoming the first jurisdiction to mint physical Bitcoins. It's been

revealed the island's Finance Committee Chair ` Robert McDowall `

has been in talks with the Royal Mint about producing the coins.

We'll have an exclusive interview with Mr McDowell in a moment, but

first Louise Walter explains how the virtual currency actually works.

What is a bit coin? It's a virtual currency existing entirely on the

internet. It was created in 2008 in somewhat mysterious circumstances by

a man, a name thought to be an alias. The currency is exchanged

independently of any Government or bank. You can create a bitcoin by a

process called mining. Essentially using a lot of computing power to do

some very complex maths. But mining gets harder over time. This means

there will be a limit to how many bitcoins are in circulation.

21 million is thought to be the maximum. Most people buy a bitcoin.

They're then stored. The network is controlled by all bitcoin users

around the world. No one can force a change in the

bitcoin protocol because the virtual currency can only work correctly if

there's a consensus amongst its users. The price of a bitcoin can

unpredictably increase or decrease over a short period of time due to

its economy, nature and sometimes illiquid markets.

So just how will Alderney be able to turn a virtual currency into an

economic reality? Robert McDowell has been speaking exclusively to the

BBC about the proposals. Emma Chambers reports. The chairman of

the finance committee has proposed a plan to mint a commemorative coin

based on the srir the virtual currency. The first jurisdiction to

do so. I would expect there to be more subscribers to this than the

conventional coin, in addition to those who collect coins I would

imagine people in the computer business and technology business

might buy these for novelty purposes. In order to go ahead this

idea has to be approved by all ten states members. One of which says it

would damage the island's reputation. We have a shared economy

with Guernsey and this sort of thing is very damaging when your economy

is dependent upon your worldwide reputation for having a premier

finance industry. Today the Royal moint confirmed they were approached

with the plans but at this stage it remains nothing more than a concept.

It seems there's still some way to go before this virtual idea turns

into a reality. Hundreds of Channel Islanders queued

up for a liquid lunch today at the annual soup kitchens. Thousands of

cups of soup were sold to raise money for local charities in

Guernsey and Jersey. Last year the events raised more than ?14,000.

And staying with charity work, a team of volunteers from Guernsey are

en route to the Philippines to help survivors of Typhoon Haiyan. The

local charity Bridge2Philipines has so far raised tens of thousands of

pounds to help the country. They left the island this evening, but

before they did they spoke to the BBC's Penny Elderfield.

So this bag we have a little list in here... Pretty much the first time

Sarah says she sat down in weeks and she's still working to get ready for

a trip she hopes will make a big difference. With the supplies packed

she's heading to the Philippines with a team of volunteers to help

those affected by the recent typhoon there. The devastation it caused is

clear and it's thought it will take up to five years to rebuild areas

like this. I woke up on the Friday morning and realised that it had

made landfall and it was devastating. Looked at the pictures

and thought I will raise the money for one shelter box. We had raised

enough for 33 boxes. Since then dozens more and it wasn't long

before she knew they had to do more. A couple of days later the

Philippines women gravitated towards my house and the phone rang and some

news came that wasn't good and I thought I have to go. And a team of

them headed off ready to provide medical care and support wherever

they're needed. I have been with Sarah before and she always finds

lots to do. Always finds what needs to be done and gets on with it. We

will be able to make a difference. These were donated by a little

girl... Grateful for the generosity people have shown, now it's up to

them to make sure the people that need their help get it.

And good luck to them for the long journey. We wish them well. We will

let you know how they get cannot get our maths wrong second

time around. So I am looking forward to a simpler system. Thank you. The

consultation on this ended last week and the government will very quickly

chew over the results of this consultation and they will reach a

decision before Christmas. There's been a sharp rise in the

number of motorcyclists killed on the roads in the Avon and Somerset

Police Force area this year. The fatalities have more than doubled,

despite falling in other parts of the country. Scott Ellis has been

finding out who is most at risk, and why.

The worst part of his job is telling families

Thursday is a fine day. A bright, dry day. It's breezy but we should

see some sunshine. The gloom, though, returns as we move into

Friday and Saturday. Have a nice evening.

Thank you very much. It's certainly getting colder. Apologies about the

few technical issues there. We will be back with the headlines at

8.00pm. Bye. fixed speed cameras to be switched

back on to improve road safety. Coming up, the community taking

direct action to deal with graffiti. Plus the unsung hero who's dedicated

more than 50 years to helping youngsters learn judo.

And something to ruffle a few feathers, the champion chicken

washer. There are calls tonight for the

government to demonstrate more commitment to wave energy. Millions

of pounds have already been invested in the region to trial various wave

energy technologies. More money has been announced today but the

industry has been struggling to attract capital investment. Our

environment correspondent Adrian Campbell reports.

This is the life`saver device which has been undergoing tests in

Falmouth. It is a Norwegian prototype which turns wave energy

into electricity. The design has relied heavily on research,

development and manufacture in the south`west. Today's announcement of

around ?800,000 to help with further development has been welcomed by

those involved. It has come from small beginnings. We are delighted

to see it has managed to get the growth funding to take the next step

and grow to where we have full`time staff actually operating now and

facilitating developers coming out to the site in a more active way.

Developers may soon have some good news to celebrate. The European

Union's regional development fund is closed awarding another ?2 million

to fledglings schemes in the south`west. These are the devices

which it is expected will soon tie up to wave hub of Hale for further

testing in tougher waters. But some within the industry say there is

uncertainty about this government's commitment to renewables which is

unsettling private investors. Any issue, rolling back of green taxes,

for example, dense confidence, it is one of those factors that can affect

confidence. Has the government made a mistake going down that road

recently? I think it didn't have a choice. This test site has proved

that there is plenty of potential for energy generation. The problem

for the industry is that there isn't enough investment. Now to the

subject of graffiti. Some people say it's art, or a form of expression

that has been used since the Roman Empire. But many more say it's an

eyesore, or, in fact, vandalism. Well, this week in Exeter, community

groups are helping clean up their neighbourhood with graffiti removal

kits provided by the City Council. Scribbled, scratched or sprayed,

graffiti is a big problem too many city councils. In Exeter, they've

been handing out special graffiti removal kits to volunteers from

community groups like this one in St David's to help clean up the city.

Everybody is stretched, so it is an opportunity for the community to

step up. I'm actually an admirer of good graffiti, I have to say. I

really do recognise it as a nod. What we are looking at mainly is

tagging. This is really just an egotistical trip for people to put

their tag on. Residents already pay for a cleaning service within their

council tax but Exeter City Council say they want to empower communities

to be able to deal with the graffiti problem. The council has the

graffiti team that go around the city. There's probably more graffiti

than what they can deal with. Sometimes, too, if there are people

within the community who are willing to come out and help, I think it

creates a certain bond within that community and people showing that

they take pride in the area where they live. It is a criminal offence

to leave graffiti and Exeter are offenders are often made to remove

theirs. Graffiti has been a problem over the last few months. We have

had some good successes with five people being put through the

criminal justice system in relation to the graffiti they've caused in

Exeter. What this is about now is getting a blank canvas to assess how

bad that problem is and make Exeter a great place to live. The police

say they will be watching for any return of graffiti to the cleaned

areas. Now, how well prepared are you to

deal with whatever weather this winter throws at us while you're out

driving? December is officially the beginning of winter so now is the

time to consider how you'd cope in snow and ice. The Highways Agency

estimates that a quarter of motorists don't do cold weather

checks on their vehicles, and don't carry the right equipment. Clare

Burton reports. January 2010. Hundreds of drivers

are caught out by a snowstorm in Devon. Some were stuck for hours.

With nothing to eat or drink and nothing warm to wear. And they are

not alone. According to the Highways Agency, a court of us make no winter

checks on our cars and they want that to change. We've been planning

for a long time for this winter. But what we need people to consider is

what they do. So we are ready to power the roads and grit and deal

with it, but they need to be considering what they are doing, so

planning ahead, making sure the equipment they've gotten their

vehicles is appropriate, make sure they've got water, food, warm

clothes. And sense, really. As well as checking the forecast and

planning your journey, items to carry include...

So, are the motorists prepared? No. I'd be stuck. I normally have a warm

coat but that is it. With enough warning, the Highways Agency can

treat the roads before temperatures fall. And if the white stuff is

coming, they want drivers to do the right things.

Good advice, and David's here with the weather in a few minutes to see

if we'll be needing our flasks and fleeces this week. We probably won't

have any snow or ice all winter! But we will be prepared.

All this week we're finding out about the people you have nominated

as the unsung sporting hero of the south`west. It's a celebration of

the people who give up huge amounts of their own time to help others

enjoy sport in the region. Tonight we meet Alan Kimber, who has been

serving the region's biggest Judo club for more than half a century.

John Ayres reports. Judo's not for the faint`hearted.

Alan Kimber is the chairman of this club. He joined 56 years ago and at

the age of 19 he was already treasurer. In his younger days, he

missed out on Olympic selection, but he has spent his time coaching and

mentoring thousands of children over the years, so what drives him? Judo

is one of those sports that gets in the blood. Once you've done it, you

can't really leave it be. I don't think there is a week on by all my

life that I haven't been involved with judo. These day, he referees

and coaches. He is also chairman of judo in the county. His dedication

has served his club in good times and bad. Most sports clubs will have

had trouble, lack of numbers etc, two different sports coming in. He's

always been there, he's made lots of effort keep the club going. He is

the club, really. He has coached competitors. Alan was

awarded his belt a couple of years ago. You have to be awarded this

belt is due to services you provide for the British judo Association.

I've been teaching is so long, parents bring their kids and they

say you taught me when I was a little boy. It's very nice to hear

that, but it makes me look in the mirror and think, how long have you

been doing it? People believe that without Alan, this club would not

have kept going for so long. This is his legacy. It is hard to believe he

has been involved more than 50 years.

More from our unsung heroes series tomorrow and you can find out who

the winner is in Spotlight on Friday.

Some sports news and Yeovil Town take on promotion`chasing Blackpool

tonight at Huish Park. The Glovers recorded one of the best results in

the club's history at the weekend beating Watford 3`0 away. But

they're still in the Championship relegation zone with just three wins

from seventeen matches. `` from 17 matches.

And you can hear full commentary on Yeovil Town versus Blackpool on BBC

Somerset on 95.5 FM from seven o'clock tonight.

Over the next few weeks, many people will be spending a lot of time in

the kitchen preparing for Christmas. But in one kitchen in Cornwall,

they're busy in a very different way. We've been to meet Clive

Stephens who has just won one of the country's top trophies for his work.

Spotlight's Eleanor Parkinson explains.

Clive Stevens has been breeding and showing poultry for more than 40

years and has won many trophies. He's just returned from the National

portrait exhibition where he scooped a top award, the supreme champion.

So, what is his secret? At this time of year, you'll find him in the

kitchen a `` in the kitchen with the washing up liquid, washing his

birds. You can get into trouble with mites and that type of thing. This

makes sure they are completely clean, right through. You think they

are not dirty, but when you see the water one I tip it away, although I

keep them pretty clean all the time, it just gives them that little bit

of extra. People think I'm washing the dishes and all of that. Then

they looked down and they think I'm crazy! She is clucking away, is she

happy? Yes, she is quite contented. What does his wife think of him

taking over the kitchen? I was a bit flabbergasted the first time when I

realised what was happening in the kitchen. But I have got used to it

over 30 years. After a rinse, the band to Ms placed on the board to

dry off. So your technique is just use the towel? Yes. Have you used

her drivers? Yes but it drives them a bit too quick and they tend to be

a bit frizzled. So I don't bother with that. I just go like this. I

give them a mass of. Actually it will take 24 hours for this tend to

dry out completely, so she will be placed in a box next or warm

radiator. Clive has another showing this week so he will be busy in the

kitchen. That's great, isn't it? That chicken

was enjoying it! I think I've seen it all.

We will now look back before we look forward.

Good evening, we will look back at the weather for the month of

November. Not particularly dramatic in terms of statistics. Let's start

by having a look at the rainfall amounts. The average is 100

millimetres and we are not far off at 91.3. Sunshine, we are down.

Generally a lot of cloud around. We should see and hundred hours, but we

are down to 77 hours. It was a cloudy month. And temperatures,

nothing too outstanding in the daytime temperatures. The night`time

average is 6.1 degrees but we are below that. So it has been colder

during the night. And the last two weeks we've noticed that a lot.

South`west water reservoir levels, this time last year they will almost

fall, and at the moment we are shy of 80% full. Not too much to worry

about this we have a very dry winter. But look at the details for

the forecast. We have a change tomorrow. After two grey and dull

days, it brightens up and we should see some sunshine. We have sunshine

in the afternoon and by the end of the day, feeling just a little bit

colder. The colder air floods in. That is the great stripe of cloud.

There is a nice clearance the other side of that well have some well

broken cloud. We do have front bringing in cold air syncing across

the country. Not quite getting to the Channel Islands but for most of

south`west England, the afternoon is much brighter and that will see the

sunshine. The time we get to Thursday, it is a breezy day, the

winds from the north`west becoming strong through the afternoon and we

might see a few showers towards the end of the day but nothing compared

to other parts of the country, which could be very windy indeed. There is

that cloud structure from early on, not much brightness. Our cameraman

Jeff tried to find some sunshine in the sky but he wasn't fortunate

enough to find any at all. A grey day. Very calm seas, though, so for

our date voters, good fishing weather. `` for our day boaters.

There is a breeze developing tomorrow into Thursday, so perhaps

these calm scenes won't be mirrored moving towards the end of the week.

Overnight tonight, the cloud is stubborn, it doesn't shift, and

thick enough for some rain now and then. Nothing to worry about,

though. Tomorrow morning, grey and misty with a fair amount of cloud.

Overnight temptress, a few degrees above freezing in Somerset, for most

of us well above freezing. Tomorrow is a cloudy morning with outbreaks

of rain at quickly into the afternoon it will brighten up nicely

with the sunshine popping out and temperatures probably up at nine or

ten. They are falling through the day as that breeze continues to

freshen coming in from the north and drawing in cold air all the time.

Slow to clear, that were the front, for the Isles of Scilly. Patchy rain

into the afternoon. The times of high water.

Surfing has been very disappointing. There is slightly more of a wave

tomorrow. Up to three feet and choppy on the north coast. The winds

will be mainly from the north, three to four, picking up to force five

moving into the evening. Thursday, a breezy day, no doubt. Some sunny

spells with the risk of some showers. Then high pressure comes

back into the weekend and it all quiet and is down again. Have a good

evening. Don't forget, commentary of the

Yeovil match on the radio in a few minutes time. And we will be back at

6:30pm tomorrow evening. From all of us, goodbye.