16/11/2011 Midlands Today

Hello and welcome to Midlands Today with Nick Owen and Suzanne Virdee.

The headlines tonight: Unemployment in the region up again, there are

10,000 more out of work than last month. We are having above average

rises in unemployment and youth unemployment.

Anger over plans to close 12 police stations overnight across the West

Midlands. The bobby on the beat give security and peace of mind,

and that is what police stations open does.

Hundreds of passengers stranded on the way home from India as an

airline's hit by cash problems.. And how the authorities changed

their minds, so Matthew can live with his family now his home's been

Good evening, welcome to Wednesday's programme. Tonight,

unemployment in the region rises again. It's now equivalent to the

entire population of Stoke-on-Trent being out of work. The new figures

show that a total of 234,000 people are jobless in the West Midlands.

That's up by 10,000 on the previous total, meaning that 8.9% of the

working population here is currently out of work - higher than

the national average. Today's figures also show more than 50,000

young people are claiming jobseeker's allowance. Cath Mackie

She's 22, was unemployed for a year and has just got a job. On a day of

economic gloom, Jenna Webster is one of the lucky ones, having

suffered countless rejections. couldn't find work and I absolutely

hated it. I sent CVs to everywhere that needed people to work there. I

applied with telephone interviews and heard nothing back. Jenna's one

of 30 people taken on by the Accord Housing Group at a new factory in

Walsall making timber framed homes for social housing projects. Her

success has added to a slight fall in the numbers of 18-24-year-olds

in the West Midlands claiming jobseeker's allowance from 54,000

to 53,000. The competition for jobs is intense.

When they held a recruitment open day here at the Beechdale factory

people were queuing round the block. In all, 180 applied for work.

did not surprise me that we have had their industrial structural

decline over many decades so there is a very high level of

unemployment amongst traditional breadwinners. So where will future

employment come from? An ambitious commitment was made today of

100,000 jobs in the region's private sector by 2020, fronted by

Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership. One of the

things we are doing is really using our world connections to look at

how we can create opportunities for Birmingham businesses in the new

world economy and help us move forward, away from the problems

that Europe has at the moment. Hopes of more work would be

welcomed here. At Walsall's job centre, many were making their

regular visit. I have been working since I was 18, got a good CV, a

lot of good career history and there is nothing out there. You

have been 21 and out of work for how long? Three years. In and out

of work for years. What is it like? Horrible, no money. For we have got

to do is to get through to people that if you're not skilled, frankly

you have got a real problem and that is the key to the West

Midlands employment success. And for some, at least there are

positive headlines. Jaguar Land Rover's taking on 1,000 extra

people in the next few months. Monarch Airlines are hiring 200

more staff at Birmingham Airport, while Poundland based near Walsall

are hiring 2,000 people nationwide for Christmas. So more jobs are

being created but just not as many Our business correspondent Peter

Plisner joins us now. We've had more than 1,000 jobs created at

Jaguar Land Rover and Birmingham Airport but unemployment is still

rising, why is that? The simply fact is that more jobs are being

lost than are created at the moment. But there are some new jobs out

there. The latest figures show that manufacturing jobs have increased

by 5% equal to around 15,000 jobs across the West Midlands. But

there's a lot of people seeking work. It's been estimated that on

average, there are around seven applicants chasing each vacancy.

Often there are a lot more than that. You've been looking at the

detail behind the figures, is there any better news there? Every month

we see a whole raft of statistics published, many of which never see

the light of day. Some interest facts from today's release show

that between March and June this year, 111,000 public sector workers

lost their jobs across the UK but during the same period only 41,000

private sector jobs were created. Bad news for the Government which

had hoped the private sector would re-employ those losing their jobs

in the public sector. What everyone will want to know is this - is

there any suggestion we're through the worst or is unemployment likely

to continue rising? The straight answer is most expect unemployment

to continue to get worse. More public sector jobs will be lost and

there are still no real signs of strong recovery. Only today, the

Bank of England said the UK's economic outlook has worsened and

the economy could stagnate until the middle of next year.

There's growing unease this evening over plans to close a dozen police

stations overnight. West Midlands Police say they're hoping to save

�2 million by reducing station opening hours. But just 48 hours

into a two-week consultation period, there's increasing criticism at the

information available to the public. Joan Cummins joins us now from West

Midlands Police Headquarters in Birmingham. What more can you tell

us? You will remember that West Midlands Police have got to save

�126 million so they really have to pull in their belts. The way they

said they would do this is by restructuring. This is one of the

first schemes we have heard which will involve closing police

stations overnight. There was horror in the summer when

Handsworth Police Station in Birmingham was targeted by rioters.

Now it's found itself on a list of 12 police stations across the

region that have been earmarked for reduced opening hours - basically

closed overnight. We absolutely know that when people are in

trouble, they want to go to a police station and when there are

changes, there will still be things that can summon us out. If this was

to go ahead, it would mean that there were 11 police stations open

24 hours a day within 12 miles of anybody living within the region.

They also say that neither West Mercia Bob or Warwickshire has any

24/7 police stations and they should say -- they say that

Staffordshire only has one. The controversy over this document has

arisen because the police authorities and self have not seen

the plan that the police want to impose. I recognise the police have

a responsibility to consult in broad terms. My concern is the

detail of the letter that is in the public domain is not shared with

the police authority in advance. Over the last two years, the

opening hours of Quinton Police Station were gradually reduced

until it was finally closed in September. The fate many fear it

will be repeated elsewhere. Police stations built up in the mind of

people served by the police, their security. It is like a safety

blanket. Father Seamus Hetherington is

disappointed at cuts to the police. As a resident of Quinton he was

burgled three times in as many weeks while he slept. The one thing

I think they should not have cut back on his police because it means

people are less protected and they have to be more on their guard

especially for a old people and they realise that there is no

protection on the street for them. The force say they do want feedback

but with a reduced budget, they're simply trying to stay as effective

and efficient as possible. Many of the shire forces have been

down this road and people watching this will save they do not have a

police station but as one person told me today, this is the second

city, it is a major city and it does need coverage. West Midlands

police say that they do want to hear the public's feedback on this

decision and they are hoping to implement it in January but the

police authority said they want to know more details before they are

prepared to agree with these Staff at BBC Birmingham have been

demonstrating against plans to close factual programmes and cut

radio departments at the Mailbox. The proposals are part of the BBC's

aim to make 20% savings from its budget over the next five years. If

the plans go through, it will mean shows such as Countryfile and Coast

will be moved to Bristol next year. Two of our biggest local

authorities have revealed this afternoon that their spending cuts

will have to go even deeper than they'd originally thought. Stoke-

on-Trent and Shropshire councils have both missed the targets set

out under the Government's funding formula. Our political editor

Patrick Burns joins us now from the newsroom. What's gone wrong? Rather

than saying what has gone wrong, it shows how difficult it is to budget

for large unitary authorities like Stoke and Shropshire which offer

the full range of local services, they are large and complex

organisations and budgeting for them is frankly anything but exact

science. The leader of Shropshire Council blames the higher-than-

expected inflation figures and of course there are the extra costs

associated with the settlement that was agreed with the unions over the

revised terms and conditions of their workforce. You will recall

this was the subject of a long, drawn-out campaign of strikes and

other industrial action earlier in the year. But to confirm the exact

figures, Shropshire has to find an extra �9.5 million of savings to

hit an overall target of �85.5 million. And then step they had set

themselves a target of �36 million of savings, and have to find an

What will they cut now? Shropshire say they will not make hundreds of

people redundant and they will go as far as they possibly can to

protect and preserve all essential frontline services and they are

talking about restructuring, greater co-operation with local

authorities and with outside organisations and both councils say

the measures will bring their budgets on course. To thank you.

There's more on that on BBC Radio Shropshire tomorrow morning. The

leader of the Council and the leader of Labour group will be on

there. Later in tonight's programme,

bouncing into town - you can see the world's best trampolinists in

Birmingham this week. Hundreds of passengers who've

travelled to India have been left stranded by their airline. The

Austrian airline Comtel Air began cheap flights from Birmingham

Airport to Amritsar via Vienna just last month. The airline found its

weekend service so popular it began Friday flights as well. But

passengers coming back to Birmingham have experienced

problems with some asked to hand over cash in Vienna after the

airline said it couldn't fund the last leg home. Our reporter Giles

Latcham joins us now from Birmingham Airport. What do we know

about Comtel? The service was successful but they have run into

many difficulties. Many tickets were bought, we went down to

Smethwick today and they were besieged, police had to be called

to keep the peace. The phone was ringing permanently, not a problem

of the travel agents, they were dealing with the aftermath. A

succession of customers not very happy a -- at all. We spoke to

people who said the company and the airline has run out of cash and you

have to stamp out of your own pocket if you want to get to

Birmingham. How many people are stranded abroad then? It seems that

at this stage there are about 600 and we wonder if that there may be

more than that, many are elderly and have a medical conditions, many

need to get home and run businesses, so a lot of stress everywhere. A

lot of attempts to contact Comtel Air have failed. We have been in

touch with the airport and they say they have no jurisdiction because

Comtel Air are Austrian and they cannot stop them operating flights,

they are deeply concerned for the passengers and their relatives and

they are investigating as a matter of agency. The Foreign Office are

familiar with the situation and so they are providing consular support

to their stranded in India but they say at this stage, the best advice

probably is to get in touch with your travel agent or tour operator.

You saw the pictures in Smethwick, it is not an easy matter.

A 49-year-old man has been remanded in custody charged with the kidnap

and sexual assault of a 10-year-old boy in Oldbury. Michael Jackson,

from Oldbury, appeared before Warley magistrates following the

alleged kidnapping on Sunday morning. He is also charged with

child abduction in connection with a separate allegation involving a

11-year-old girl back in September. A van driver's been describing how

two brothers, killed during the August riots, helped him the night

before they died. He'd been attacked and robbed and needed to

get to hospital. Shahzad Ali and Abdul Musavir were killed by a car

in Winson Green in Birmingham the following day. The brothers' family

have also been speaking about their grief and how proud they are of

them. Our special correspondent, Peter Wilson reports.

Three months ago the country held its breath as three young men were

killed during the August riots. Haroon Jahan, Shahzad Ali and Abdul

Musavir died while protecting businesses in Winson Green. Their

deaths, instead of sparking violence in Birmingham, saw peace

Summer has faded and so have the flowers but the men who died here

will always be remembered. How a man how has come forward that two

brothers, Shahzad Ali and Abdul Musavir, came to his rescue when he

was injured during the riots. A van driver has now told the family how

both brothers aided him the day before they died. They took me to

the police station and then the police called the ambulance.

van had been stolen and he'd been dragged out and beaten. My face was

leading and Abdul Musavir helped me wash my face. This week he met the

older brother for the first time. It was nice to see him coming to

the car-wash and saying thanks. Knowing that my brothers went to

that extent in the late night after hours was good. To lose one son is

hard, Ghazanfar Ali's family have lost two. We have had lots of help

from the communities, we have had prayers in the mosques, churches,

gurdwaras. Their prayers are helping us come through this.

is hope ahead. There is hope ahead. Shahzad Ali's wife was pregnant

when he died. It is depressing that the child will never get to know

his uncle or father but I said to my sister in law, we will always be

here for Hugh. The brothers grew up together and also worked together.

And you can read more detail about that on the BBC Birmingham website.

A severely disabled man who's had to live away from his family for a

year, has at last been allowed to return home. A row over funding for

specialist care meant Matthew Leadbitter had to stay in

residential care, 30 miles away from his parents who've looked

after him all his life. More now from Bob Hockenhull.

Back at last in the only home he's shared with his parents all his 34

years. Matthew Leadbitter has the life-limiting condition Duchenne

muscular dystrophy. But this was Matthew when we filmed him in May

in residential care 30 miles away from his home in Bedworth near

Coventry, desperate to come home. don't like it really, I would like

to go home. That is where I need to be, I think. Now after a year, he

has got his wish. I want to be home with my family, really. I feel a

lot better here mentally. It was a very, very long time to be a wave.

You can't imagine. A year does not sound very long but when it is your

own son away from it all that time, it is wrenching. Matthew developed

pneumonia last November. He needed a tracheotomy to help him breathe.

It meant he needed specialist care at home. But his parents were told

it wasn't available. It has been tough for Matthew not been at home

but tough for his parents as well have coughed up 10,000 miles --

clocked up 10,000 miles to visit him.

They have won a carer of the year award as the campaign has resulted

in NHS Warwickshire providing the specialist care needed. But they

say they know people in other areas who have struggled for the funding.

There must be a postcode lottery, different Primary Care Trust

allocating how they spend their Budge. But the Primary Care Trust

insist Matthew would have been treated the same wherever he lived.

There is no postcode lottery. We work within a department of health

framework which has eradicated that. We had to get the package of care

correct and make sure it was safe. Whatever the arguments, at least

Matthew is now back with his parents that he loves.

We're joined from London now by the chief Executive of the Muscular

Dystrophy Campaign, Robert Meadowcroft. Thanks for joining us.

The PCT denies this was originally a case of postcode lottery, what do

you say? We are firstly really pleased that Matthew is back home.

On the postcode lottery thing, we are all aware that 30 miles away

another man in a similar condition who had the same operation returned

home to his parents and did not have a year away in expensive care

so on the evidence, there appears to be a postcode lottery.

difficult is it for your campaign at the moment was but we face real

pressures. We do not get any grant or funding. Our support for

families like the Leadbitters, eight times as many cases so

resources are stretched and rely on our supporters to support us

through this. At the same time you have to be mindful that charities

have to make the difficult decision between varying debilitating

conditions, they cannot please everyone? Yes indeed, these are

difficult times indeed but specialist care saves lives and

money as well. Here's a case where a man wanted to go home to his

parents to provide a support package and it must be better all-

round including financially. Of all the Olympic sports coming to

Britain next year, trampolining is one of the crowd pullers. And this

week some of our top gymnasts have the chance to secure their place at

London 2012. The World Trampoline Championships start tomorrow, at

the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. Ian Winter's been to

watch today's final practice session.

If your kids fancy a trampoline for Christmas, this is where they might

end up. We are the British trampoline team and we love

Birmingham! So watch and learn from the very best in the business. Over

there, that's Kat on the mat. And she's about to leap 30 feet in the

air to show you exactly what it takes to become the world number

one. I have always feared that if somebody told you how high that is,

you would think about it too much so I just get on and jump.

Over the next four days, Kat is competing alongside more than 600

of the world's finest trampoline gymnasts. I am Emily Smith from

Canada. This week, Birmingham is the focal

point of their trampoline dream. 47 nations from Algeria to Uzbekistan.

Hopefully this will encourage people to visit Birmingham in the

future so it is important to get that her a bath.

Cygnet made its trampolining debut for the Olympics. -- trampolining

was debuted in Sydney. These girls have been doing fantastic. We have

had different goals in the top eight in all the World Cups this

year so it could be any one of us who goes to the games it makes it

exciting for us. And when the World Championships

end on Sunday, 1,200 juniors will bounce into Birmingham next week.

British trampolining is clearly on That is slightly impressive, do not

try that on your garden trampoline. A school says help from BBC

Children In Need has proved to be vital in allowing it to continue

its work educating children who need extra help to learn. In the

past year the charity has given more than �2 million to good causes

in this region. As Joanne Malin reports, some of that money is

being used to help children, who might otherwise drop out of school,

stay in education. Some of the pupils from Mount

Gilbert School in Telford on an summer activities course. The idea

is to build relationships, positive relationships with staff and that

has a knock-on effect when they go back to school in September.

Mount Gilbert is a secondary school for pupils with behaviourial and

emotional difficulties from across Shropshire. These problems mean

mainstream school are out of the question and most holiday schemes

are inappropriate too. In the last three years, we have not had to

worry about looking elsewhere for funding, we have been able to say

the money is there. And then we have booked activities. About 46 of

the students here... 14-year-old Tom, my guide today,

used to hate school, but he's really flourished since he's been

at Mount Gilbert and he loved the holiday activities funded by

Children In Need too. It was fun. I have never known a better

experience in a boat. Staff at Mount Gilbert are trying hard to

teach some of the hardest children to educate and with the money from

Children In Need that teaching can continue during the long school

holidays. For Children In Need to donate the weeks they have donated

to the school for Thomas, that has made a big difference in his life

because he is able to go out and chat with other children during the

summer. What I say to anybody that donates his thank you. It is the

Great stuff. Money does really go to good causes.

And Joanne will be presenting BBC Children In Need night from this

region this Friday, here on BBC One. There're all sorts of fundraising

going on this week, including this. Last night hundreds of you joined

in with a special sing-along screening of the film Grease, at

cinemas in Shrewsbury, Birmingham and Cheltenham. The night was

hosted by BBC Local Radio. And if you're raising money for

Pudsey, then please tell us all about it. You can send us details

Not long before we are lifted out into the sunshine and tomorrow will

be a turning point. It is looking good for Children In Need and the

weekend is not bad either. Before that, the small matter of getting

through some rain working its way in from the West. It will we

headiest in the west of the region but you can see as it moves

eastward, it weakened significantly. You may not get any at all in the

east of the region tonight. We will be left with mist in its wake

because of the underlying moisture but it is also quite mild with the

cloud and the rain, temperatures a minimum of seven degrees. By the

time those in the West wake up tomorrow morning, some glorious

sunshine will be there. That will dig into eastern parts through the

morning and into the afternoon soap really a cracking day for November.

Temperatures between 11-13 Celsius in sunspot so quite mild for the

time of year. That is a combination of the sunshine but also the south-

westerly winds dragging in drier air and helping to break up the

cloud. Tomorrow night we have got the cloud thickening again from the

West, that will be ahead of another band of rain which will friends

into western parts but getting their further than Birmingham. That

dies away by Friday morning, a bit grey to start with but it will be

dry for the day and the sunshine breaking through during the

afternoon. And the weekend also A look at tonight's main headlines:

A record number of young people are out of work raising fears of a lost

generation. And here in the Midlands the number of people out

of work rose by 10,000 to 234,000. That's all from us this evening,