27/11/2013 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today with Anne Davies and me, Dominic Heale.

Tonight ` anger over an Ofsted blitz on schools in Nottingham. The

coordinated wave of classroom inspections prompt applet `` prompts

a political row. I feel it is probably overdue because Nottingham

has been so far down the league tables for quite a while.

Also tonight, the council control orders that mean life is no walk in

the park for this man and his dog. Plus our bank is accused of pushing

this family run firm to the brink of collapse. You wake at 2am in the

morning worrying about it. And Townhall tweeting. A council

warns its staff about the perils of social media.

`` town Hall. Good evening. First tonight,

teachers' leaders in Nottingham are warning of a slump in staff morale,

after a coordinated 0 warning of a slump in staff morale,

after a coordinated wave of inspections at several city schools.

One Labour politician has described the Ofsted checks as "destructive,

crude and crass". Meanwhile the Education Secretary

Michael Gove has accused Labour local authorities, like Nottingham,

of turning a blind eye to failing schools. Let's get more from

Westminster and our Political Editor John Hess. John, this is developing

into quite a political row, isn't it? It certainly is, because of

state has considerable cloud these days, it can make or break the

career of a headteacher. `` Ofsted. That is why the swoop by Liz on a

secondary schools has caused such concern. The same has happened in

Lambeth in south London, Norfolk Suffolk, other education 0

Lambeth in south London, Norfolk Suffolk, other education areas where

Ofsted for the education performance was under par. My understanding is

that these are the Nottingham schools that Ofsted inspected us on

a school that is yet to be identified. They include City

Council run schools plus academies. One senior Labour source has already

described Ofsted's inspections as a One senior Labour source has already

described Ofsted's inspections sort of bullying, but a city conservative

says the Ofsted inspections are long overdue.

In recent years the number of Nottingham schools have been under

the spotlight. In the recent GCSE league table, six out of the city's

14 state secondaries were in the bottom 6% of the country's schools.

With eight schools targeted in the latest inspections, the focus was on

the education of thousands of pupils who according to can `` Conservative

Councillor Eileen Morley are the real victims of the city's

struggling schools. The important people are the young children. If we

are not helping them to realise their full potential, we are failing

them. Some of the schools had already been

warned they need to improve. This school was worried `` told by

Department of Education officials last November but the `` that the

standard of pupils `` formance was unacceptably low on the school was

told it requires improvement. But tonight the education watchdog

has been criticised by unions in Nottingham.

Ofsted is supposed to be open and transparent, but we feel it is being

used more and more as a political tool. A lot of schools in Nottingham

have decided they want to remain with the local authority, which is

fine, but it does not suit the Government's policy that every

school should become an academy. Ofsted will not comment until the

results are published. But this councillor is under no illusion as

to what may be needed to finally drive up standards. If it takes

special measures to get the best education for our children, and I

think that actually has to happen. Sadly, but yes.

Councillor Eileen Morley. With me is the Nottingham East MP Chris Leslie.

Surely she's right ` given Nottingham's historic poor education

performance, you would expect Ofsted to spring on those schools to find

out 0 0 0 0 to spring on those schools to find

out why? Ofsted have a programme of visits

and they have to focus on schools standards, and parents and teachers

want the best for their children, we all want to focus on school

standards. But none of us have seen the Ofsted report, it is unfortunate

that it is leaking out, so we have to look at what they are saying and

look at the evidence. The Education Secretary is hardly going to be

sympathetic, because the other week he was accusing Labour local

authorities of turning a blind eye to underperforming schools. I hope

this will not become a party political football. The most

important thing is that we are all working together to focus on what is

`` it is that makes the difference to good quality teaching, is it a

resources issue... And leadership and what can be done. There in mind

though that some of those schools as Mac there in mind that some of these

schools are in the control of local authority, some are academies. But

if some of those city schools go into special measures, will that be

a short painfully `` short term pain for a long`term gain. I hope that we

can work with Ofsted to work `` get to the bottom of this, but some of

the Education Secretary's reforms, more unqualified teachers, I am not

sure that if the answer. We should get that Ofsted report

next month. Investigators believe a house fire

in Derbyshire which killed two women and two young brothers was caused by

faulty wiring. It happened on Williamthorpe Road in

North Wingfield a week ago today. Josie Leighton and her sons Tyler

Green, who 0 Josie Leighton and her sons Tyler

Green, who was nine, and older brother Jordan were killed in the

fire. Josie's friend Claire James also died. A seven`year`old girl who

escaped from the fire has now been discharged from hospital and is

being cared for by relatives. Fire officers are trying to

establish the cause of a large fire at a barn in Derbyshire which closed

a major road. Firefighters say the blaze in

Spondon involved 750 tonnes of hay. They were called to Dale Road

between Spondon and Ilkeston late last night. The road was closed for

a time, and firefighters didn't leave until this afternoon. Traffic

on the nearby A52 was also affected by drifting smoke.

Still to come ` is solar energy all it's cracked up to be?

Some householders, like Claire Marsh, believe salesmen are making

misleading claims about the financial benefits of solar panels.

Another complaint now about the Royal Bank of Scotland. A couple

have accused RBS of driving their family business to the brink of

collapse. At one point they had to borrow

?5,000 from relatives and friends to pay staff wages because the bank had

frozen their account. The bank's now holding its own inquiry into its

business methods. Mike O'Sullivan reports.

This fencing manufacturer employed 19 people two years ago, now just

two. The near collapse of the company is being blamed on their

treatment by the RBS bank. One low point, being as to `` being forced

to ask family and friends 0 point, being as to `` being forced

to ask family and friends to chip in to pay the wages. None of these men

are on high money, they have families to support and food bills,

and knowing you cannot pay the bills is so distressing.

Last night we reported claims that the RBS had seized a ?27 million

luxury flats complex from a Nottingham businessman after forcing

his company into administration. The Leicestershire company says the bank

suddenly froze its bank account after withdrawing from a financial

arrangement it had set up for them. Charging ?20,000 in fees.

The company is referring its allegations on to Lawrence

Tomlinson, the Government adviser who has claimed in a report that the

RBS put it and viable companies into default so that it could make more

profit. That whole issue is being referred to city investigators. We

just virtually collapsed overnight, we could not pay suppliers,

customers could not pay us could `` because we could not finish

contracts. It causes arguments, it has split the family, you wake up at

2am in the morning worrying about it. It is just with you 24 hours a

day. The RBS will not comment on

individual cases. It is holding its own inquiry as to how it has treated

its business customers. My, how is the story developing?

Well, this evening I've spoken to Kevin Riley who's the businessman

from Nottingham whose luxury apartments were seized by the RBS.

He's now saying he was a victim of the so`called GRG, part of the RBS

that's at the centre of the allegations unearthed in the

Tomlinson report, saying they destroyed good businesses. Mr

Riley's had a reply back from Mr Tomlinson, who he knows personally.

He's told Mr Riley this affair is getting bigger and bigger, and he's

due to see the boss of RBS next week. Now, I've also spoken to Mr

Tomlinson's people. They say he feels that a lot of business people

feel more comfortable going to him with their concerns because he

understands the issues. Certainly the family I spoke to tonight felt

their complaints about RBS have previously been ignored including by

the Financial Ombudsman, who wouldn't take a look at it because

of the size of the company. In the end, they gave up.

A man who's blind is facing a fine for exercising his guide dog, even

though they're usually exempt from most rules concerning our

four`legged friends. Rules ` yes. But not so`called

"control orders" which are being increasingly used by our councils.

From Newark in Nottinghamshire, Simon Hare reports. Gemma is a

working guide dog. Every day all walks her alongside this disused

well `` railway line. But here, dogs are meant to be kept on a lake.

There is nothing within walking distance that is can parable for

opportunities to exercise her, it is all I have got. `` can parable.

Yesterday a council official threatened him with a fine. I feel

permanently terrified. With these sort of Gestapo tactics which the

council are using. The council says on this occasion it

will not prosecute, but it stands by its policy. I think most people

perceive guide dogs as being some thing a person keeps on a lead. He

lets it roam free and throws balls for it 0

lets it roam free and throws balls for it into the lake. Anglers get

rather upset. Paul has received support from other

dog owners. It is a terrible state of affairs. I have seen this

gentleman for years down here, he is no trouble. These people are so

anti`dog. And to pick on a blind man! How sick can you get? I have so

many sleepless nights worrying about what will happen next. If I have to

pay the price for the rights of other guide dog owners, I do not see

what choice I have. The guide dog for the Blind `` the

guide dogs for the Blind Association say they are willing to work with

poll to find alternative venues nearby for Gemma to get the

exercise. `` to work with Paul. A high court judge has said he's

concerned that the children have been forgotten in a row over the

management of a Leicester junior school.

A judicial review is looking at whether the city council's decision

to replace the governors at Uplands Junior School is lawful. It's after

teachers went out on strike earlier this year in response to a decision

to get rid of a number of teaching assistants. A decision is expected

on Friday. Derbyshire's mobile library service

could be scrapped as part of the council's budget cutbacks.

The County Council says the service currently costs ?720,000 a year.

It's trying to save ?157 million from its budget over the next five

years. The council will discuss the matter next week, before people are

asked for their views on any possible changes.

Next ` selling energy from the sun. There's a warning tonight about the

behaviour of some solar panel salesmen who promise householders

far bigger financial returns than the systems can actually deliver.

Nottinghamshire County Council has revealed that this year they've had

a 97% increase in complaints about the possible mis`selling of solar

energy panels. James Roberson reports.

For Clare, the solar panels should be making her money, instead, she is

going to be paying to a finance company 100 pounds per month for the

next eight years. I feel very upset and very cheated.

This April, she and her husband were contacted by a firm which offered

them social panels on finance. `` solar panels. They said it would

generate ?150 per month, and the finance would be ?94. So that seems

to be a very good will for you? Yes, we would make ?40 per month. We

agreed and signed up straightaway for it.

The solar panel firm promised they would make over ?22,000 in nine

years, but since April they have made just over ?200. That rate will

not possibly cover the ?7,000 they have signed up for. Nottinghamshire

's County Council is backing the couple. They have seen an increase

in complaints this year about civil mis`selling of solar panels by

various companies. `` possible mis`selling. We are asking people to

ensure that they get free quotes, if they are unsure what they are being

told, to ring the consumer advice service and ask them to run through

everything. I thought I had sorted everything out, but these people can

go to the elderly and so the product to them and get them into severe

financial difficulties. Did you know that last year across

the planet 175 million tweets a day were sent? Most probably by Anne.

Tweeting allows us to tell total strangers what we had for Breakfast

` and what we really think of the boss.

And there's the problem. The etiquette of tweeting is still

evolving ` along with the legal consequences of telling the planet

exactly what you think. Perhaps no surprise, then, that one

of our local authorities is now issuing Twitter guidelines to its

councillors. Sumeer Kalyani reports. We can now send our thoughts

worldwide in an instant. The social media revolution has paved the way

for people to communicate at any time from any place to just about

anywhere. But with it comes a warning as well. There are students

who take it too far, and they step over that area and make a mistake

and say the wrong thing that could really damage their university

career and future employment. We can say just about anything we like at

the touch of a screen 0 say just about anything we like at

the touch of a screen via social media. Most of it is harmless, but

it is the "anything" that is getting people worried. I do not really

worry about it. I have never said anything I should not. I think some

people use it in a negative way. You read of other people `` other

people's statuses and think you will regret that.

This is what has prompted Leicestershire City Council ``

Leicester City Council to issue guidelines to its elected members. I

think 0 guidelines to its elected members. I

think Leicester, given we are a large local authority with a

significant number of members and given that the future direction is

that we are going to have more and more councillors using social media,

we felt it was the right time. Social media experts say it is

difficult for people to separate the public life from their private. With

Twitter or Facebook or any other social media tools, you just need to

be careful that whatever you publish if you like, you are putting into

the public domain, and I think that is where people can sometimes fall

foul. With more and more of us joining

social media networks, there is no real push to make people think about

what they share. Still to come ` it's a cracker.

How do you stop moles from digging underground? I don't know. Find out

later. Here is Natalie with the sport.

First, the players at Nottingham Forest say they would like to get

promotion this season for captain Chris Cohen. Chris suffered a bad

knee injury on Saturday and has been ruled out for the rest of the

campaign. Here's striker Simon Cox. Hopefully we can keep performing for

him and be up there towards the end of the season so that he can look at

how well we have been doing. Into League One and Notts County are

still bottom of the table, but manager Shaun Derry has won his

first point since taking the job three weeks ago.

The Magpies drew 1`1 at Bradford City last night. Bradford are in the

top six and Notts showed a lot of heart to get a point. Gary Lidl gave

them a first half lead. In the second Mark Yeates got the Bantams'

equaliser on 69 minutes. And even though Notts had a player sent off,

they hung on. Derry believes the fighting spirit his players showed

will have a lasting effect. In League Two Mansfield Town manager

Paul Cox says it is time his players show their true character and put an

end to their slide. Stags lost at Burton Albion last

night by a goal 2`0. That's a fifth straight defeat for Mansfield, who

are down to 17th in the table now. 2013 is going to be a year

Nottinghamshire's Chris Adcock will never forget. The badminton star

married childhood sweetheart Gabby White, and was reunited with her as

a mixed doubles pairing. And less than a year after being back

together on the court, they've climbed up the world rankings and at

the weekend won a major title in Hong Kong. Kirsty Edwards reports.

A perfect match on and off the court. Chris and Gabby are only the

second English player to win a prestigious super series title. The

pair are now back home and reunited with their other love in life. A

chance to let their achievement sink in. If somebody would have said you

are going to win a super series and then be up to five in the world, it

is something that we are really happy about. To finally do it, I am

still in disbelief. The wind comes just a couple of

months after the pair got married. There has barely been time to settle

into married life. Being a professional badminton player means

living out of a suitcase, with weeks on end away from home. Still got the

medal in the bag. There is not much time to archly unpack and spend more

than three or four nights at home. Dutch map `` actually unpack. But it

is well with it when you win and achieve your goals. We keep looking

at our trophies, and it is quite a surreal feelings. You are moving

house soon, will you have a big trophy Cabinet? That will be nice.

That would be ideal. We got a taste of success last week, and standing

on the top of the podium is a feeling that you cannot explain. If

we could get back that and what into the Commonwealth Games or the

Olympics with the same feeling, that would be a dream come true.

And finally from me, some very sad news. England's oldest surviving

test player and former Nottinghamshire cricket captain Reg

Simpson has died at the age of 93. Reg was one of the biggest sporting

stars in his day. He played 27 test matches for England as an opening

batsman, while in domestic cricket he scored more than 30,000 runs. His

career was disrupted by the war, where he was a pilot, and after his

playing days served the Nottinghamshire committee from for

37 years. Our thoughts are with his family tonight.

Do you groan at terrible cracker jokes every year? Well, they could

be getting better this Christmas because some have been written by

children here in the East 0 because some have been written by

children here in the East Midlands. Yes, pupils at a school in

Sutton`in`Ashfield in Nottinghamshire have had their

rib`ticklers accepted by a national chain of shops. Simon Ward's been to

see them for a bit of a laugh. How does Bob Marley like his

doughnuts? With jam in! The children at this school are hard

at work thinking of more funny lines. The jokes they have written

are now inside Wilkinson's crackers. How do you stop moles from digging

underground? Hide the spades. What you call fish with no eyes? `` Fsh!

. On Christmas morning when they open

their crackers, thousands of people will be reading their jokes. It is

really funny to see how many kids actually write jokes and stuff like

that. People are going to like them, because the children have worked

really, really hard to get different jokes. Why can't a card 0

really, really hard to get different jokes. Why can't a card playful all

`` look out for them in the future. In the meantime, they would just

like to say, `` have a Merry, Merry funny Christmas!

Why did the turkey cross the road? It was the chicken's day of!

High`pressure remains with us, tomorrow is generally drive but

there will be much of a expecting we will not have a sunrise like this.

The 0 will not have a sunrise like this.

The high pressure is sitting out to the west of us, it has been with us

since the weekend and looks to have `` stay with us through the weekend.

But cloud is increasing as we go through this evening. `` that cloud.

It might produce the odd spot of drizzle, but on the whole a dry

night. Where you get the clear spells, you might get a bit of fog

tomorrow morning. Temperatures holding up out `` underneath all

that cloud. But Ford may take its time to clear tomorrow morning, and

you will be lucky to see a few spells of brightness. Thursday

should be mostly dry, temperatures about what they should be for this

time of the year, a high of eight degrees. On Friday this cold front

will sink southwards. The winds will be increasing and turning

north`westerly. Calder feel once that pushes through, feeling a

little bit chilly. `` a colder feel.

Saturday is looking like the best day of the weekend.

We will be able to do our Christmas shopping!

I will be back with the late news. Join me then.