31/10/2013 BBC News at One


31/10/2013

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The energy secretary announces plans to slash the time it takes to switch

:00:09.:00:25.

energy suppliers to help drive down prices. But Labour says action is

:00:26.:00:29.

needed now. Ed Davey tells MPs he is considering introducing criminal

:00:30.:00:32.

sanctions against any gas or electricity company which menace

:00:33.:00:34.

manipulates the energy markets. The trial of two former editors of

:00:35.:00:38.

the News of the world, Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, here's more

:00:39.:00:41.

evidence about phone hacking at the paper. Syria's ability to produce

:00:42.:00:48.

chemical weapons has been destroyed one day before the deadline. The

:00:49.:00:53.

first broadcast from inside a court in England and Wales. Cameras are

:00:54.:00:59.

allowed into the Court of Appeal. Hundreds of dangerous railway

:01:00.:01:03.

crossings will be closed or made safer. ?100 million is to be spent

:01:04.:01:09.

on rail safety. And more money is needed for regional arts projects

:01:10.:01:13.

admit the head of England's arts Council.

:01:14.:01:41.

Good afternoon. Households should be able to switch their energy supplier

:01:42.:01:53.

within 24 hours and proposals announced by the government. The

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energy secretary says he wants the main gas and electricity companies

:01:59.:02:02.

to reduce the time to a week and eventually one day. He is also

:02:03.:02:07.

considering introducing criminal sanctions against any company which

:02:08.:02:12.

manipulates the energy markets. The announcement is part of an energy

:02:13.:02:17.

review into competition and prices. Labour says the review that report

:02:18.:02:22.

next spring will do nothing to help with the soaring winter bills.

:02:23.:02:29.

Millions of households are facing higher energy prices this winter.

:02:30.:02:33.

There has been a raging political debate over how to help. In his

:02:34.:02:38.

annual statement to Parliament the energy secretary spelt out plans for

:02:39.:02:43.

a new competition test to ensure the energy market is working for

:02:44.:02:48.

consumers. I will be asking them to look in depth at profits and prices,

:02:49.:02:53.

barriers to entry and consumer engagement. This government has

:02:54.:02:57.

equipped regulators with strong powers to deal with unjustified

:02:58.:03:02.

barriers to competition if abuses are found. They must be addressed.

:03:03.:03:14.

That test will report in the spring. Before that the government wants to

:03:15.:03:17.

make it easier and quicker for customers to switch supplier. There

:03:18.:03:20.

will be a new probe into the account of energy firms and the prospect of

:03:21.:03:23.

criminal sanctions for those who try to manipulate the energy market. But

:03:24.:03:29.

the opposition was not convinced. It is excuses for why they are doing

:03:30.:03:34.

nothing about it, excuses for white each and every time they give the

:03:35.:03:38.

companies what they want and leave consumers to foot the bill. The

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government has been under pressure ever since Ed Miliband pledged to

:03:45.:03:48.

freeze prices at his party conference. Last week, the coalition

:03:49.:03:53.

finally responded, the Prime Minister announcing a competition

:03:54.:03:59.

test. This week the industry was under fire again over whether price

:04:00.:04:02.

rises really reflected wholesale energy costs. This pensioner from

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Hampshire is struggling to cope with his energy bill. He switched

:04:11.:04:14.

supplier many times, but the process does not help. It is not quick

:04:15.:04:20.

enough, it is not simple and the tariffs are unbelievably confusing.

:04:21.:04:25.

So it makes it a very difficult job. I have done it myself, but it

:04:26.:04:31.

is hard work. This competition test will not help families now, so

:04:32.:04:36.

pressure is likely to mount on the Chancellor to deliver on the pledged

:04:37.:04:40.

to roll back green levies next month. Our political correspondent

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is following all of this at Westminster. It is a political issue

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that is not going away. Is there a sense Ed Davey has done enough? The

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cost of gas and electricity is the red hot issue at the moment. There

:04:59.:05:03.

is a fierce battle going on between Labour and the government to channel

:05:04.:05:08.

the fury energy customers are feeling into popular, but coherent

:05:09.:05:12.

policies. Labour have set the pace on this politically. They said they

:05:13.:05:21.

would please prices -- freeze prices. That put the government on

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the back foot. This was a good day for Ed Davey and the Conservative

:05:26.:05:30.

party to show the voters that they understand how much annoyance this

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is causing people. The announcements we had worked pretty well trailed.

:05:36.:05:40.

Another energy review by Ofgem, looking at shrinking the time it

:05:41.:05:46.

takes to change supplier. Ed Davey wants to get it down to 24 hours and

:05:47.:05:51.

is going to have discussions with the energy companies. There is a big

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question over how that will happen and what sanction the government

:05:57.:06:00.

will have two force them to do it. Labour remain unimpressed. They do

:06:01.:06:07.

not think Ofgem is equipped to look into the competitive problems there

:06:08.:06:12.

are in the market. It is an argument between whether the symptoms can be

:06:13.:06:15.

addressed by government or whether the whole structure of the market

:06:16.:06:21.

needs to change. The jury in the trial of two former editors of the

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News of the world has been hearing more about how hacking was carried

:06:26.:06:28.

out and the chain of command at the newspaper. Rebekah Brooks and Andy

:06:29.:06:33.

Coulson along with six other defendants deny the charges against

:06:34.:06:42.

them. This morning's prosecution submissions focused on the Andy

:06:43.:06:47.

Coulson era of the News of the World. The Crown believes it has got

:06:48.:06:50.

the evidence to make him an Rebekah Brooks, the editors at the top

:06:51.:06:55.

table, with the phone hacking operation on the ground. The jury

:06:56.:07:00.

was told about the role of this man, private investigator Glen Mulcaire,

:07:01.:07:04.

who has admitted hacking phones at the request of senior news editors.

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The prosecutor said he was a phone hacker and a good one. He was an

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accomplished black. The court heard a tape Glen Mulcaire are calling an

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O2 call centre. He uses a false name, James Cook, but a correct

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password, and he asks them to reset voice mail password on someone's

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mobile phone. That would allow him to target their voice mail

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messages, even though they thought they were protected. The prosecutor

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said Glen Mulcaire knows how it works and he knows the right things

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to say. He is chatty and the O2 employee does not seem worried. In

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2006, controversy surrounded the business affairs of Tessa Jowell and

:07:52.:07:56.

her husband David Mills. The prosecutor said he would produce

:07:57.:08:01.

phone records showing how in the newsroom the news editor got

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interested and then made calls to Glen Mulcaire, tasking him with

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hacking their phones. The record, he said, would show Glen Mulcaire

:08:11.:08:14.

accessing the voice mail and reporting back to Mr Edmondson, who

:08:15.:08:19.

denies phone hacking. As do Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson and Stuart

:08:20.:08:25.

Kuttner, who was not present today for health reasons. The jury is

:08:26.:08:32.

hearing this was all about the newspaper and the editor getting

:08:33.:08:36.

stories that the editor had confidence were true. That is right.

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The jury heard there was a frenzy to get big stories. It was a dog eat

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dog world of journalism and the editor had to note the stories were

:08:49.:08:52.

true. Phone hacking was not the only way they investigated stories, but

:08:53.:08:57.

it was a key way. Also evidence about the way payments were arranged

:08:58.:09:03.

at News of the World. She demanded maximum say over big spending at the

:09:04.:09:07.

paper and under Andy Coulson, Glen Mulcaire got a pay rise. Finally in

:09:08.:09:13.

the last few minutes we have heard Stuart Kuttner, the managing editor,

:09:14.:09:20.

demanded formal approval of 221 payments totalling ?430,000 to Glen

:09:21.:09:29.

Mulcaire. International inspectors say all of President Assad's

:09:30.:09:33.

declared chemical weapons production facilities have been destroyed. The

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announcement by the Organisation for the Prohibition of chemical weapons

:09:40.:09:43.

comes a day before the deadline was set. An estimated stockpile of more

:09:44.:09:48.

than 1000 tonnes of toxic agents and weapons has still to be destroyed.

:09:49.:09:56.

For weeks now specialist international inspectors have been

:09:57.:10:02.

visiting Syria's chemical weapons factories. They have tagged and

:10:03.:10:06.

sealed equipment so no more chemical weapons can be made. The Syrian

:10:07.:10:11.

government did much of the actual destruction, which meant smashing up

:10:12.:10:16.

containers and pipework. Resident Assad is delivering on his

:10:17.:10:21.

commitment, given intense American and Russian pressure. The inspectors

:10:22.:10:24.

are confident they have met their first deadline. They are not now in

:10:25.:10:34.

a position to conduct any further production or mixing of chemical

:10:35.:10:41.

weapons as far as they disclosed. But the inspectors were not able to

:10:42.:10:46.

visit all 23 of the production facilities. They got to 21 of them.

:10:47.:10:52.

Two are in areas being fought over in the Civil War, but the head of

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Field operations says they found a way round that problem. The two

:10:57.:11:02.

sites we did not visit were in areas that were considered to be too

:11:03.:11:08.

dangerous, but the content of that site were moved to other sites that

:11:09.:11:14.

we did visit, so we have visited and seen the destruction of all Syria's

:11:15.:11:18.

declared chemical weapons capability. But now the inspectors

:11:19.:11:25.

face the challenge of destroying or existing stocks of chemical agents,

:11:26.:11:32.

including sulphur mustard and sarin. That is due to be completed by the

:11:33.:11:37.

middle of next year. None of that will stop Syria's Civil War where it

:11:38.:11:41.

is conventional weapons that kill the vast majority of victims. Some

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see the chemical weapons issue as a sideshow and claim President Assad

:11:49.:11:51.

is gaining international influence and claim President Assad is gaining

:11:52.:11:58.

international influence ahead of possible peace talks.

:11:59.:12:01.

The family of a man who was stabbed to death in Sheffield as he

:12:02.:12:04.

delivered his last piece in order before starting a new job have said

:12:05.:12:07.

they are devastated by his death. 25-year-old Thaveesha Peyris, seen

:12:08.:12:11.

on the right, was found dead in his car on Sunday. Speaking from their

:12:12.:12:16.

home in Sri Lanka his parents has said his murder has left them with a

:12:17.:12:22.

broken heart. It has been a criminal offence to fill in court in England

:12:23.:12:26.

and Wales for nearly 90 years, but today television cameras have been

:12:27.:12:31.

allowed inside the Court of Appeal. Senior judges and broadcasters have

:12:32.:12:36.

opened the move as a sign of transparency.

:12:37.:12:44.

This is history. For the first time cameras capturing a hearing at the

:12:45.:12:50.

Court of Appeal. I do not disagree he was a prime mover in the custody

:12:51.:12:58.

and the distribution. Aleksandra Cameron QC is arguing that his

:12:59.:13:02.

client, Kevin Fisher, imprisoned in May for seven years on

:13:03.:13:07.

counterfeiting charges, was given an excessively harsh sentence that

:13:08.:13:13.

should be reduced. Since 1925 it has been an offence to film or take a

:13:14.:13:17.

photograph in a courtroom in England and Wales, with the exception of the

:13:18.:13:23.

Supreme Court in 2009. Scotland has allowed filming in its court since

:13:24.:13:28.

1992, but only with the consent of all the parties. Now appealed

:13:29.:13:35.

against sentences and conviction and appeals in civil cases can be

:13:36.:13:41.

broadcast to millions. Today's case represents an historic departure

:13:42.:13:45.

along the road to televising chords, but it is also a cautious first step

:13:46.:13:51.

with the strict limitations and restrictions built in. Only the

:13:52.:13:56.

judges and lawyers can be filmed. Appeals against conviction cannot be

:13:57.:14:00.

shown if there is a risk of a retrial and graphic details and bad

:14:01.:14:05.

language are banned. Broadcasters who have campaigned for decades for

:14:06.:14:11.

the change are delighted. It will be the first time audiences will be

:14:12.:14:16.

able to see what goes on inside the Court of Appeal and that is good for

:14:17.:14:20.

enhancing people's understanding of how justice is administered. But

:14:21.:14:25.

will the advent of cameras change the court process? Not according to

:14:26.:14:30.

this recently retired Court of Appeal judge. They should set out

:14:31.:14:37.

the facts, the conclusions and the arguments. If this first experiment

:14:38.:14:43.

goes well, it could be extended to the judge's sentencing remarks in

:14:44.:14:52.

the Crown Court. Our top story this lunchtime: The energy secretary

:14:53.:15:00.

announces plans to slash the time it takes to switch energy supplier and

:15:01.:15:04.

says he is considering criminal sanctions against companies that

:15:05.:15:12.

manipulate the energy markets. And we are hearing from migrants who

:15:13.:15:15.

make a treacherous journey to Europe that ends in tragedy.

:15:16.:15:29.

And this 25-year-old from Enfield has become this prize winner of this

:15:30.:15:31.

year's Mercury prize. It's almost a month since 366

:15:32.:15:44.

migrants died trying to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa. But now

:15:45.:15:48.

it's Greece as well as Italy which is becoming one of Europe's key

:15:49.:15:52.

immigration frontiers. Until last year, 90% of illegal immigrants

:15:53.:15:57.

entered Europe through Greece. The numbers are falling, but the Greek

:15:58.:16:00.

government says it is still shouldering a huge burden in the

:16:01.:16:06.

midst of a deep economic crisis. So far this year nearly 4,500

:16:07.:16:09.

people, many of them fleeing the war in Syria, have squeezed into

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overcrowded dinghies to make the perilous journey to the Turkish

:16:12.:16:14.

mainland, from where they travel the six miles to the Greek Island of

:16:15.:16:22.

Lesbos. Mark Lowen has been to meet some of those who survived the

:16:23.:16:30.

crossing. It is a beautiful, stunning scene

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behind me. This is the capital of Lesbos. This is an island that has

:16:37.:16:40.

the desperate stories of migrants who are trying to enter the EU.

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Beyond its beauty, Lesbos is becoming known as a key frontier in

:16:46.:16:48.

the European Union's fight against illegal immigration.

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The vast agency, where the hopes of reaching Europe still burn bright.

:16:55.:17:01.

We are on patrol with the Greek coastguard, combing the EU's

:17:02.:17:03.

south-east border for illegal immigrants. It is a key gateway and

:17:04.:17:09.

a perilous journey but numbers are soaring. I hope and I will ask for

:17:10.:17:15.

more support from EU member states. That doesn't mean we are going to

:17:16.:17:21.

stop if this assistance doesn't come. We have to protect our country

:17:22.:17:27.

from the criminal networks. It is a familiar scene, overcrowded boats

:17:28.:17:31.

docking here recently. They are the lucky ones who made it. Plenty

:17:32.:17:34.

don't. Croesus of Europe must do more. This year alone, almost 4500

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migrants are tried to cross these waters into Lesbos. Since police

:17:42.:17:48.

increased patrols on the border, to the islands bearing the brunt. And

:17:49.:17:53.

Greece, in the middle of its worst crisis in memory, with resources

:17:54.:17:56.

stretched, is struggling to cope with the influx. We were not allowed

:17:57.:18:03.

to enter the centre where the arrested are taken. Syrians I held

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briefly and then given six months in Greece. Others are detained for

:18:08.:18:09.

longer and must leave within a month. I feel desperate. They talk

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to us about the problems they have. I feel very angry. I believe we can

:18:21.:18:26.

change something, and we don't. Most of them, they are like us. They are

:18:27.:18:31.

going away from a difficult situation and they just need to be

:18:32.:18:37.

supported. At an NGO can, we met this Afghan mother and her children.

:18:38.:18:43.

She talks of hopes dashed, her husband arrested and how her

:18:44.:18:49.

youngest almost died. It wasn't worth it, she says. Europe wasn't

:18:50.:18:54.

worth it. Many do drown on the way, ending up here, and only a few are

:18:55.:19:00.

identified. Before leaving for Europe, they have lives and names.

:19:01.:19:06.

Now they are reduced to this. On the four -- ferry to Athens, we met some

:19:07.:19:10.

young students. They paid hundreds of euros to get to Europe. My family

:19:11.:19:19.

say, go out, go out from Syria. Look for a free life. To be myself first

:19:20.:19:30.

and going to Syria. All they have is one bag and their dreams. How many

:19:31.:19:35.

more will follow in their wake before the tide of immigration is

:19:36.:19:39.

stemmed? Greece is asking Brussels for more resources partly to fund

:19:40.:19:45.

the border agency of the EU. But they know here that they may be

:19:46.:19:49.

looking at a closed door. As one official put it to me, in the rich

:19:50.:19:52.

countries of northern Europe, it is hard to imagine what it's like to

:19:53.:19:56.

have the bodies of migrants washing up on your shores.

:19:57.:20:05.

Rescue workers in Niger have found the bodies of 87 people, believed to

:20:06.:20:08.

be migrant workers, who died of thirst after their vehicles broke

:20:09.:20:11.

down in the Sahara Desert. Most of the victims were women and children.

:20:12.:20:14.

It's not clear whether they were attempting to travel to neighbouring

:20:15.:20:17.

Algeria or go further afield to Europe in search of jobs.

:20:18.:20:24.

More than ?100 million will be spent on closing about 500 level crossings

:20:25.:20:27.

and improving safety at others considered to be high risk. The

:20:28.:20:30.

money is part of a ?21 billion package to be spent on the railways

:20:31.:20:34.

over the next five years. As part of the deal, tough new punctuality

:20:35.:20:37.

targets are being introduced, which means the majority of trains across

:20:38.:20:40.

the country are expected to be on time 90% of the time. Jeremy Cooke

:20:41.:20:51.

is in Ormskirk. What we're looking at is a

:20:52.:20:58.

generation of super safe level crossings. This one is control,

:20:59.:21:02.

would you believe, by radar. We expect over the next few years to

:21:03.:21:07.

see many more of these. We will also see hundreds of crossings being shut

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down because they are regarded as too dangerous. This is all part of

:21:12.:21:14.

this bigger, multi-billion pound blueprint for the future of the rail

:21:15.:21:18.

industry, agreed today between the regulator and Network Rail. It is

:21:19.:21:25.

all about setting the direction of travel for the network for the next

:21:26.:21:31.

five years. The regulator has today confirmed its targets about

:21:32.:21:33.

infrastructure improvement and efficiency savings. But there is

:21:34.:21:39.

also the question of safety. Nine people died at level crossings last

:21:40.:21:45.

year. Until now, 500 of the most risky will be closed, hundreds more

:21:46.:21:49.

improved, with funding adding up to ?109 million. Where people are

:21:50.:21:55.

required to use level crossings, there is always a risk. With more

:21:56.:22:00.

people using crossings, more cars on the road, there is an increasing

:22:01.:22:04.

risk and danger. We need to continue to invest and continue to improve

:22:05.:22:10.

safety. For some, the changes, of course, come too late. Olivia was

:22:11.:22:17.

killed on a crossing in Essex in 2005. Her parents now campaign for

:22:18.:22:23.

safety improvements. It will not be possible to close everyone. But

:22:24.:22:28.

safety measures must be taken at everyone. I would definitely like to

:22:29.:22:33.

see them get rid of half barriers where people can weave around them.

:22:34.:22:38.

We have seen recent examples of people who have gone very close to

:22:39.:22:43.

death. Earlier this year, in Cambridgeshire, a reminder that

:22:44.:22:46.

crossings can still be dangerous. A lucky escape. But while much

:22:47.:22:51.

attention is on safety, there's also fresh focus on punctuality. The

:22:52.:22:57.

regulator is telling the rail industry that overly much of the

:22:58.:23:00.

country aged eight to get nine out of trains running on time. The other

:23:01.:23:07.

message from Network Rail is it must do better at predicting problems and

:23:08.:23:11.

fixing them before they cause disruption.

:23:12.:23:19.

Youth unemployment in the Eurozone has increased again. Nearly a

:23:20.:23:23.

quarter of people under the age of 25 who are available for work are

:23:24.:23:26.

now jobless. And in some of the struggling economies, that figure is

:23:27.:23:29.

a lot higher. In Italy, where theres about 40% youth unemployment, many

:23:30.:23:32.

feel they have no alternative but to join the black economy, with

:23:33.:23:34.

unofficial jobs, Our chief economics correspondent, Hugh Pym, reports

:23:35.:23:54.

from the Lazio region near Rome. Officially, youth unemployment in

:23:55.:23:59.

Italy is running at 40%. But that includes many like Stella, who is

:24:00.:24:03.

working on the black market at a call centre. He is training to make

:24:04.:24:08.

pizza so she can find a legitimate job and hopefully get a mortgage and

:24:09.:24:15.

start a family. How can I grew up a child if I don't have a good job? We

:24:16.:24:18.

don't have any future in this moment. From now to the next ten

:24:19.:24:23.

years, it is impossible here to have something good for you. I am 28 and

:24:24.:24:30.

what am I going to do for the next ten years? The Italian economy is in

:24:31.:24:36.

a difficult place. The unofficial world of work remains a problem. On

:24:37.:24:41.

some estimates, the Italian black economy is worth the equivalent of

:24:42.:24:46.

more than a fifth of the country's official national output. It has

:24:47.:24:49.

long been a problem for the authorities. The police say they are

:24:50.:24:53.

cracking down. This police chief told me that in raids on businesses

:24:54.:24:59.

they had discovered thousands of illegal workers last year.

:25:00.:25:04.

TRANSLATION: It is very important. It hurts the state and the national

:25:05.:25:09.

budget because it means taxes are not paid. Our purpose is to protect

:25:10.:25:12.

honest businesses. Those that comply with the law suffer and fair

:25:13.:25:16.

competition from other companies who can sell their services at lower

:25:17.:25:25.

prices. -- unfair competition. Here, they are often up against a lack of

:25:26.:25:30.

openings because employers find it too costly to hire people. Italian

:25:31.:25:34.

regulation is seen as an article. Another reason young people are

:25:35.:25:45.

pushed towards illegal jobs. TRANSLATION: Before it was a bridge

:25:46.:25:49.

between education and a permanent job that gave you a chance to start

:25:50.:25:53.

a family and make a future for yourself. Now more young people are

:25:54.:25:57.

finding it is the only option open to them. For Stella, the black

:25:58.:26:02.

economy option is a necessity. She and other trainees hope their new

:26:03.:26:06.

skills will be a pathway to work even if it is a long way from

:26:07.:26:10.

Italy, where the recipe for legitimate jobs still doesn't seem

:26:11.:26:20.

to be working. England have announced their team

:26:21.:26:23.

for the first of the Autumn rugby internationals against Australia at

:26:24.:26:26.

Twickenhan, on Saturday. Our sports correspondent Dan Roan is at the

:26:27.:26:31.

England training ground in Surrey. This feels like a unique case of

:26:32.:26:35.

sporting sibling rivalry. England have been training here this

:26:36.:26:39.

morning, as you can see. The squad they have announced to play

:26:40.:26:43.

Australia on Saturday contains not one but two pairs of brothers. First

:26:44.:26:52.

of all, the British and Irish Lions. Then there is the young brothers who

:26:53.:26:56.

pay for Leicester. Tom stars as hooker, and Benjamin is at

:26:57.:27:03.

scrum-half. -- starts. If he comes on, it would be the first time in

:27:04.:27:07.

100 years and all been on at the same time. There is also Joel

:27:08.:27:12.

Tomkins, who was playing rugby and then switch to rugby union. He will

:27:13.:27:18.

start for his debut in the centre. Remarkably, even though his brother

:27:19.:27:22.

is not playing with him, Sam Tomkins is in fact playing for England's

:27:23.:27:26.

rugby team in the World Cup against Ireland at Huddersfield. Bear in

:27:27.:27:33.

mind, England's rugby team contains three Burgess brothers, all of whom

:27:34.:27:39.

pay in trailer. -- all of whom play in Australia.

:27:40.:27:47.

Funding for English museums, galleries and theatres is heavily

:27:48.:27:51.

skewed towards London, according to a new report. Three senior arts

:27:52.:27:54.

figures say their research shows that central government spending on

:27:55.:27:57.

arts and culture in the capital amounted to nearly ?70 per resident

:27:58.:28:00.

in the last financial year compared with less than ?5 per person in the

:28:01.:28:07.

rest of England. Sian Lloyd reports. Technical rehearsals from the

:28:08.:28:13.

Birmingham rat. The theatre has commissioned a contemporary version

:28:14.:28:19.

of this classic comedy as part of its 100th birthday celebrations.

:28:20.:28:23.

According to this report, the arts in places like Birmingham lose out

:28:24.:28:25.

to London because of financial favouritism. It found central

:28:26.:28:31.

government spending in the capital added up to almost ?70 per person in

:28:32.:28:37.

2012-2013, compared with ?4 60 for the arts in the rest of England. We

:28:38.:28:44.

are all having to cope with funding cuts, both in London and the

:28:45.:28:48.

regions. But when the regions are much lower than London, it is harder

:28:49.:28:54.

to observe that matter absorb the cost. London is recognised as the

:28:55.:29:01.

jewel in the nation's crown. At the Capitol's dominant in cultural life

:29:02.:29:05.

is described as unhealthy. Arts Council England, which distributes

:29:06.:29:08.

public money, admits more needs to be done. The arts Council has just

:29:09.:29:19.

published its 10-year strategy. That sets out what the arts council can

:29:20.:29:27.

do, including for the regions. That includes what we can do more. The

:29:28.:29:32.

curtain goes up here tomorrow night on one of the theatre's flagship

:29:33.:29:36.

productions, which are partly funded by public money. They are already

:29:37.:29:39.

working on their funding programme for the next three years and hope

:29:40.:29:43.

that as a result of this report there could be more cash available.

:29:44.:29:48.

Because it suggests a new ?600 million investment programme.

:29:49.:29:54.

Whether that happens will depend on whether the thinking is acted on.

:29:55.:30:02.

Time for a look at the weather. Some words of caution coming up. If you

:30:03.:30:06.

have a bonfire party plan on Saturday, we will get to that. First

:30:07.:30:12.

of all, Halloween. Some of us it is more tricks than trade. Without we

:30:13.:30:16.

started the day with rain and it is pulling away, look to the North

:30:17.:30:20.

West. The heavy showers are coming in for the rest of the day. Strong

:30:21.:30:29.

winds, too. Some gales on the coast. At about 5pm, some heavy showers

:30:30.:30:33.

with hail and thunder running in across Scotland, Northern Ireland

:30:34.:30:37.

and some fringing north-west England. We can further south, and

:30:38.:30:44.

this is just more general cloud and rain in two parts of south Wales and

:30:45.:30:49.

south-west England. Again, it will not further east as the afternoon

:30:50.:30:54.

goes on. If you are heading out, you may get caught in a heavy downpour.

:30:55.:30:58.

There will be some brisk winds around, too. For the rest of the

:30:59.:31:02.

night the windy weather stays with us. Elsewhere in Scotland, for

:31:03.:31:07.

Northern Ireland and England, a clearer spell. The wind is easing a

:31:08.:31:12.

touch. There could be a touch of Frost in places. To the south, we

:31:13.:31:18.

keep outbreaks of rain. All of that tomorrow is go to edge its way

:31:19.:31:21.

further north. Some uncertainty about its northern extent. But where

:31:22.:31:27.

you have got it, it will make for a damp day. Further shells in

:31:28.:31:31.

north-west Scotland, where it will be windy. Elsewhere, there could be

:31:32.:31:35.

some bright weather to be had. Going further south into the rain band, it

:31:36.:31:39.

will be heaviest tomorrow across southern counties of England and

:31:40.:31:43.

into the south-east, where we could see 30 millimetres in places. With

:31:44.:31:49.

rain falling saturated ground, it has been so wet, there could be some

:31:50.:31:54.

local flooding. Thankfully, the weather stumbles away on Saturday.

:31:55.:31:59.

Do we get a break? No. Another one comes in from the Atlantic during

:32:00.:32:02.

Saturday. It may start quite on Saturday but then more wet and windy

:32:03.:32:07.

weather comes in. It may be further north than this. We will keep you

:32:08.:32:12.

updated. Going into Saturday evening, well concern about some

:32:13.:32:18.

very strong winds. Well concern. Keep watching the forecast. -- we

:32:19.:32:28.

are concerned. On Sunday, that has clear. It is still windy. There are

:32:29.:32:32.

more showers coming into southern areas late in the day. We need to

:32:33.:32:39.

watch out on Sunday night. If you want quieter weather, book a

:32:40.:32:40.

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