10/11/2011 Midlands Today

Hello, and welcome to Midlands Today with Suzanne Virdee and Nick

Owen. The headlines tonight... Boom-time at Jaguar Land Rover - it

is recruiting 1,000 new workers. The indicates the faith in the

partnership we have seen through the difficult times. -- bid to

vindicate so. -- it the indicates. Anger over plans for night time

shut downs at Stafford hospital's accident and emergency department.

How Olympic dreams for Coventry are turning sour as businesses fear

they could miss out on millions in revenue.

And a poignant link-up between the USA and a Herefordshire village for

Good evening, welcome to Thursday's Midlands Today from the BBC.

Tonight, a boost for the region's car industry, as Jaguar Land Rover

creates one thousand new jobs. All of them will be at the company's

Lode Lane plant in Solihull and recruitment is already underway.

Workers, unions and politicians were united today in welcoming the

news. The expansion comes in the wake of JLR's announcement in

September that it is to build a brand new engine plant near

Wolverhampton. Industry analysts say the growth of the Chinese

market has helped keep sales buoyant at a time when other car

makers have struggled. Here is our Business Correspondent, Peter

Plisner. Another good news day for Land

Rover's Solihull factory. Two years ago workers here feared they might

be facing unemployment. Now they are getting ready to welcome even

more new recruits to the workforce. It is good news for Birmingham,

great news. Long may it last. think it is great, the odds of

investment for us and will hopefully help people who may have

been out of work otherwise. It is good for the city, we have

got to be happy there will be more jobs. You have got to be cheerful.

So, how come JLR is doing so well when all around them the economy is

still in the doldrums? The answer lies in emerging nations like China,

now the world's biggest market for new cars. Here, JLR sales are up

60% this year. Because Range Rover and Land Rover

models are so popular in the far east, workers here cannot build

them fast enough to meet demand. Hence the reason the company needs

to recruit even more staff and quickly.

Today's jobs news comes just weeks after JLR's decision to build a new

engine plant at the i54 business park near Wolverhampton.

That has already meant the promise of 750 new jobs. Earlier this year

440 graduates and apprentices were taken on and well as 1,000

engineers. Now the company is looking for another 1,000 people,

including 200 engineers and 800 production workers.

I think it justifies the faith in the partnership we have seen

through the difficult times, between the management and

workforce at Jaguar Land Rover. It is absolutely brilliant news,

good news for the region. They do something that has been on the back

of the agreement we reached with the company that was forward-

looking and looked at jobs in the West Midlands. It will be jobs

filled by local people who need those jobs.

And people can already apply. We found agencies today taking online

application for jobs that pay more than �11 per hour. According to

JobCentre staff in the Midlands, there is no shortage of takers.

We have 1,300 people looking for these types of posts in the

Solihull a beer, -- the Solihull area, so we are ideally placed to

help these people move into these types of jobs.

Today's JLR announcement follows last weeks 200 jobs boost at

Birmingham Airport. For a region that has higher than average

unemployment, it could not have come at a better time.

And Peter is at the Lode Lane factory in Solihull now. What a

boost, Peter, in such turbulent times.

It certainly is, Nick. This company 18 months ago was losing �1 million

per day, now they're back in profit with global sales are rising and a

variety of new models in the pipeline. It has been a meteoric

rise from recession, but cannot continue? With me is a

representative from the manufacturing advisory service. Can

this rise continue? I think today's fantastic news

represents the return on the Investment Jaguar Land Rover have

made it in researching new products and training staff. As long as the

customers across the world continued to want to buy these

products, yes. But, is it sustainable?

Again, it goes back to the research and development, time and effort

and engineering. Customers want to buy a products that are more

advanced, more luxury with more gadgets, and Jaguar Land Rover are

providing those. What about jobs in the supply

chain? It is even better news, for every

single job created here at Solihull there are 3.5 jobs greeted in the

supply chain. -- created. There are always worries that jobs

could go on abroad in terms of the supply chain and manufacturing, but

we're seeing manufacturing expansion, does that rule it out?

The expansion is across the UK. The Jaguar Land Rover are actively

sourcing from local companies and encouraging them to invest, and the

Investment will maintain those jobs. The 1,000 new jobs here, Jaguar

Land Rover seems to be going from strength to strength.

Thank you very much indeed. Later in tonight's programme...

Building up for the big game - the brickie dreaming of FA Cup glory

The accident and emergency department at the much criticised

Stafford Hospital will shut overnight. The hospital says it has

had difficulty finding consultants because of the hospital's poor

reputation. A&E will close between 10pm and 8am seven nights a week.

It will start on the first of December and last initially for

three months. Our Staffordshire reporter, Liz Copper, has more.

After being under intense scrutiny, this will now be Midlands's only

part time Accident and Emergency department. More than 200 people

had packed into the extraordinary meeting of it was agreed to shut

the Department here overnight for three months.

We have taken this difficult decision on grounds of safety, and

that is the only reason. The announcement follows continuing

concerns from the independent health regulator, the Care Quality

Commission. In June, inspectors warned the hospital to take action

for over staffing. In September, there were two unannounced visits

to Accident and Emergency, when inspectors found the department

shop staffed. By October, it issued a formal warning saying that the

trust must make improvements. Health campaigners have welcomed

the decision. Of course, it is nice to have an

Accident and Emergency department on your doorstep, but if it is not

safe it will need to close. I believe this decision should have

been taken a long time ago. A elsewhere in Stafford, there is

opposition. Please support your local NHS,

please support at Stafford hospital. Members of the Labour Party have

started a position campaigning against the closure. -- a petition.

Like every other hospital that works really well, we will have a

good hospital. There has also been concern in

neighbouring hospitals, including the University Hospital in Stoke-

on-Trent, that they could face closure.

The board says this book should aid be -- training and recruitment.

They aim to make sure that an minimum of cases are diverted to

other hospitals. If a patient was suspected of

having a stroke or heart attack, generally they are already taken to

Wolverhampton or the University Hospital, because having centres of

expertise with more staff leads us to better patient outcomes.

In spite of today's decision, some families remained to be convinced.

Ed looks certain there will be a concerted campaign to reinstate the

24-hour service. Joining us now is the Conservative

MP for Stafford, Jeremy Lefroy. What's your reaction to this?

Good evening. I am extremely disappointed that the board has had

to take this action. By think they had no option today, but it is

obviously very disturbing for the people of Stafford and surrounding

area would depend on it. They have had to close it on

grounds of safety. What can you do about that?

The safety comes from the lack of consultants, which is both a

nationwide problem, there are too few A&E consultants available, and

we're not the lonely hospital suffering from that, but there is

also the specific difficult to we have in recruiting to Stafford.

First of all, I would like to acknowledge the incredibly helpful

support from the Ministry of Defence that has provided us with

some consultant and nursing staff, but I am working with that the

trust to support them in recruiting the staff we need to get our be any

open again full-time as soon as possible. -- our department open

again. How soon do you think it will be

possible? The board said today it would be

three months. Obviously it would be better if it was sooner than that,

but we will have to wait and see. There is a national problem with

the shortage of staff, but I want to support them in whatever way I

can, because we need this department open 247 for the people

of Stafford and the surrounding area, and clearly there will be

pressure on other local hospitals have we continue to be closed at

night. What is being done about this

national problem of a shortage of consultants?

I have raised it with ministers, I think we're talking about a long-

term problem that goes back many years, where in this country we

have not trained enough doctors. The last Government began to remedy

that by opening new medical schools, but we have to begin to train more

of our own doctors and rely less on people coming from overseas.

Thank you for talking to us. Police are appealing for witnesses

after a teenager was killed in a road accident. 13-year-old Hope

Fennell died after she was hit by a lorry on King's Heath High Street

in Birmingham on Monday just after five in the afternoon. Anyone with

information is being asked to call the police.

More pictures of people thought to be involved in the August riots

have been released by police. They want help to identify suspects.

Yesterday 70 officers raided addresses in Wolverhampton and

Birmingham in connection with the disturbances. 15 people were

arrested. West Midlands Police have now arrested 686 people in

connection with the riots. If we can identify new, which you

can see today we can do that, not only locally but people outside the

West Midlands Police area, one in Staffordshire today, and one in

west Devon, we will come to get you, we will a rescue and piggy in front

of the court. -- and puts you in front of the

court. News International Chairman James

Murdoch has publicly apologised to the West Bromwich East MP Tom

Watson after he was spied on by the News of the World. Mr Murdoch told

the Commons Media Committee that he had not been told about it, and it

was not acceptable. Mr Watson was on a list which also included the

Birmingham Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood and her predecessor, Clare

Short. I am aware of the case of Sir

availing Mr Watson, and again under the circumstances I'd apologise

unreservedly for that. It is not something I would condone, not

something I had knowledge of, and not something I think has a place

in the way that we operate. The third public hearing into

proposed changes to parliamentary constituencies has been taking

place in Warwick today. Under the Boundary Commission's plans, the

number of MPs in the region will be cut by five, from 63 to 58.

Hearings have already been held in Birmingham and Ludlow, with another

planned next week for Stafford. The public consultation ends on

December 5th. Business leaders in Coventry say

they are concerned they could miss out on millions of pounds in

revenue because of ticketing arrangements for next years

Olympics. The city is hosting 12 football matches at the Ricoh Arena.

But with just eight months to go anybody using the official short

break provider won't be able to book for Coventry and instead are

likely to be offered events and hotels in London. Kevin Reide has

The Ricoh arena in Coventry is one of few venues outside London where

Olympic events will be held - in total a dozen football matches with

the potential for more than 250,000 fans. But with just eight months to

go, booking a hotel and ticket deal for Coventry through the official

short break provider, Thomas Cook, is not possible.

Good afternoon. Can I book a ticket for Olympic football for Coventry,

please? And a BBC Coventry and Warwickshire investigation has

discovered those inquiring for Coventry deals are likely to be

offered London instead. I called Thomas Cook on three

occasions, they told me there was nothing available for Coventry,

instead I could book to see a match at Wembley and book into a hotel in

London. It is a frustrating situation for

those hosting the games. Although people say they want the

Olympics to come to regions outside of London, in practice making that

happen has proved more challenging, whether it is through bureaucracy

or commercial agreement. The Ricoh, which has its own hotel,

has now reached a deal to sell its own packages. But for other hotels

no such luck. They are not allowed to use the Olympics to advertise

rooms, and instead will have to wait to see if Thomas Cook selects

them. I think it is very unfair. The

Olympics were up to benefit of the country, and all the people very

much needed, I might say. Unfortunately, it is being kept in

London and I don't think it is fair. The opportunities are tremendous.

But many people will go from different countries to sports

venues in different parts of the world. When they get there, not

only do they want to experience what they have gone to see, they

want to experience the area, as well. If they are not going to be

stopping in Coventry, we stand a chance of living �100 million into

the economy. Thomas Cook's area meeting Olympic

officials in December and said they hope to pick hotel and ticket deals

for commentary on sale them. The weekend is just around the

corner. We will be told later exactly what to expect in the

weather. After a week dominated so far by

cloud, drizzle and rain, you would be forgiven for thinking the

weekend was to follow suit. But, The Government is facing legal

action on plans to have the subsidy paid to owners of winter bines and

solar panels. It says so many people are taking advantage of the

scheme it has to make changes. Companies here say that sudden

changes will cost jobs and jeopardise future business. Our

Environment Correspondent has been investigating and looking at the

cost of the subsidy. In South Herefordshire, this energy

company is still trying to take and the News of the Government's recent

cuts in subsidy for solar power and other renewables.

We will probably have to make redundancies and hope that

customers will not have an immediate reaction and feel too

insecure from the Government's behaviour.

There is a scramble to get systems installed before December when the

new tariffs are introduced. We have spent seven days in

complete turmoil, so we are trying to service to customers on our

orders at the moment, to work out what to do going forward to look

after these jobs. It is the huge increase in the

installation of solar panels that has led the Government to change

the rules on feed in Paris once again. How much is the subsidy

costing us? We all pay for it owner energy bills. If the average bill

is around �1,300, �100 goes to support green measures and energy

efficiency programmes, and �1 goes to support the feeding carrots.

Is it still worth installing solar panels? This Kidderminster from

says yes. He waged a war to get someone to

fitted within the next six weeks. You may, it is always worth a phone

call, however you may find the quality may be compromised as a

result of people doing things have really quickly. If you go to a

reliable installer, they will be able to offer you something still

attractive from December onwards. Saw, the month -- next month may be

a busy one for these companies, but what happens next?

What happens next, then? To it will be a bit of a scramble, to be

honest, because everyone is going to try to beat this mid-December

deadline. The baddies for those going ahead,

it is not enough to put the solar panels up, they have to be

registered with your local energy company. That is bureaucracy and

can take some time, so it is a real rush at the moment.

Why does the Government so concerned about this? The argument

is that �1 may become �25 in a few years' time, and more than that, it

says even then it would not generate enough money because so

many are installing solar panels to take advantage of this.

Longer term, I think the except the subsidy would drift down and

disappear. It is these sudden reverses that makes it hard for the

companies to plan long-term. The head of the CBI is tonight going to

call this the latest in a string of own-goals on energy policy for the

Government. It really is a bit of a mess, to be honest.

The first round proper of the FA Cup kicks off on Saturday, putting

full-time professionals against the part-timers of non-League football.

They include the likes of Stourbridge's poll. He was rejected

by Wolverhampton and got work as a builder, but on Saturday helped to

knock out Plymouth Argyle. But the season of mists and mellow

fruitfulness? Certainly mistake, but if there is one thing that can

take Paul Mackie's own's mind of the drizzle that is the thought of

playing Plymouth for the FA Cup. It is an absolute claim massive

Ford Stourbridge. There is plenty more bricks to lay

between now and then. Paul plays for Stourbridge, semi-professional.

He nearly made it as a professional, serving two years as a youth player

at Wolves. He was released aged 18, but now is far from bitter.

Towards the end of my two years, it was not really enjoyable, I was

sitting on the bench and not playing, just training Monday to

Friday and not playing on a Saturday. At Stourbridge I am

playing week-in, week-out and enjoying football.

His boss now is not Mick McCarthy, it is his dad. Paul senior is also

a big fan. On Tuesday he travelled to Kendal to watch him, and he will

be among 700 Stourbridge fans at home on Saturday.

It is an achievement he has never done and it will be great for

parents and fans to walk and watch their local clean -- local team.

Three divisions separate Stourbridge and Plymouth, but

Plymouth are bottom of League Two, having won just twice all season.

After a narrow victories in the first two qualifying rounds for

Stourbridge, they thrashed two team's 5-0. Paul may be a part-time

footballer, but he is still hoping to be in the FA Cup long after the

last apple has fallen from the Yes, we hope he will be, too.

But this is one of the great days at this season, or where the non-

League side to play league sides. It is such an exciting time.

Players have such hunger to beat them. And it is a good time to play

Plymouth Argyle, because they are teetering a bit.

It is the eve of the 11th day of the 11th month, 2011. A time when

we all remember war dead, and one village will pay tribute to 10 more

men than usual. They were American airmen who lost their lives in a

plane crash. Thanks to the painstaking research of two men,

some of the relatives will travel from America this weekend to pay

silent tribute. An autumnal day in the village near

Hereford, but this spot was the scene of carnage in August, 1944.

An American B24 bomber it crashed, killing all 10 crew members, aged

20-25. This is roughly the same location

as this one here. Much of their story remained a

mystery, until two amateur historians who now live nearby a

delved into the past. We have managed to get in touch

with the families of seven of the airmen. We know that three of them

are married. We believe one of them had a child, a daughter, who be

have been able to trace. We knew there were from all different

backgrounds, some farmers, some from university. They came from all

four corners of the US, as well. The American bomber was on a

training exercise at the time, but the men will all members of the

secret 406 night leaflet Squadron. The they used to fly out on their

own at night with no fighter export -- escort.

The planes would be painted black and they would drop propaganda

leaflets over Europe, or supplies to the Resistance, and also agents

behind enemy lines. John was just 16 when he saw the

aftermath of the crash. There were bits and pieces

scattered around. I do remember one thing minus one of the engines had

come adrift and landed a couple of hundred yards away.

On Remembrance Sunday, relatives of one of the men who died will join

villagers who remember the crash to unveil a plaque next to the

Cenotaph here in Burkill. When silence falls at 11 o'clock,

they will be remembering men from the village, and 10 from thousands

of miles away. It seems fitting that, as the

deaths were a result of where it -- as a result of war, whatever the

circumstances it was because of war and the died in our village and

should be remembered. Research at suggests that engine

failure caused the crash, and, pointedly, it appears that this was

the young servicemen's first How dreadfully poignant. A really

emotional day, the family coming in from America, as well.

Let's find out what the weather is going to be doing for the next few

It has been mild so far this week, but to look at it has not been

great. On that front, things will improve. It will become drier,

brighter and stay quite mild. But, we have a double whammy for low

pressure. The first one will bring in rain in the next 24 hours, heavy

rain, and the second arrives during Sunday. And the interim, it will be

quite quiet over the weekend. We saw some breaks through today, with

some bright this, but the cloud will fill-in again today, but

staying largely dry. Where the cloud is lowest over the hills we

could see some mist and fog patches developing. The cloud does stay

mild tonight, temperatures around nine or ten Celsius. Everything

else much the same, quite dull with some rain Kieron Dyer. Waiting in

the wings we have heavier rain, spilling eastwards through tomorrow

evening and overnight. Quite a narrow strip of rain, so we should

not last too long in any one place, but temperatures tomorrow up again

around 13 or 14 Celsius, but winds will be a little brisker. Tomorrow

night, the rain heading eastwards, there are heavier bursts in there.

Another mild night with lows around ten Celsius. The legacy of the rain

tomorrow night is a few showers on Saturday morning, but it should

stay dry for much of the weekend, and the best of the sunshine will

be on Saturday. Highs of 14 Celsius. A look at tonight's main headline

stored mac heading for another recession in Europe - a stark

warning from the EU's proper economy official.

And it is boom time at Jaguar Land Rover - it is recruiting 1,000 new

Rover - it is recruiting 1,000 new workers.

Before we reviewed tonight, neck has some news about why he was not

here last night. I was at an awards dinner in London

for the Association for International Broadcasting, and

Midlands Today was nominated for a sports programme we did.

How did we do? We were highly commended. We got

this wonderful award, and we were up against problems from Australia,

Russia, India, programmes that at Wimbledon in 3D, and the judges

said the BBC provided a thorough insight into the life of a city and