08/01/2014 Midlands Today

from the BBC News at Six. So it's goodbye from me. On BBC One we now

join the BBC's news Hello and welcome to Midlands Today.

The headlines tonight: Unpalatable and unacceptable says the leader of

Wolverhampton Council, as cuts of ?123 million are confirmed over the

next five years. Look before you cut. You may be doing people who are

desperately in need and injustice. We'll be asking the where those cuts

will come and talk live to the city's only Conservative MP.

Also tonight: Get to emergencies quicker or risk being fined ?3

million. The stark warning to West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Stoke's rising obesity problem, what the city is doing to help the one in

three who are putting their lives at risk.

We meet the talented young musician and athlete who's setting her sights

on the Commonwealth Games. She also has a bobsleigh silver medal! I am

still only 19. I've hopefully got a long career ahead of me.

And if recent weather patterns are anything to go by, it's never stays

calm for long. After a day of rest, get ready for a night of rain.

Good evening. In the last hour, senior councillors have approved a

fresh round of multi`million pound budget cuts. The decision to cut

?123 million over five years from Wolverhampton Council's budget was

described by its leader as unpalatable and unacceptable. In a

moment I'll be talking to a senior Labour councillor in Wolverhampton,

and also the city's only Conservative MP, but first Sarah

Falkland's been gauging opinion in the city.

They want to cut, cut, cut. It's just disgusting really. Why? Why

have you got to cut everything? There's anger on the streets of

Whitmore Reans in Wolverhampton. Council cuts of ?123 million are on

their way. Unemployment here is more than double the national average and

over 10% of households are single parents. Peter Walker is one of

them. He says the cuts have gone too far. We all need a bit of help at

this moment. It's a bit too much, especially because no 1's got any

work. If we had work, it wouldn't be so bad. Sandra Grimme uses the

library for CDs books and twice. Under the current proposals library

opening hours be reduced from over 50 hours a week to just 15. What

they think and what is put in practice are two different things.

You cannot cut people down that have been used to access to things and

say you can only have so many hours a week. Over at the Lighthouse

Centre, they've learnt to cope with cuts. A vinyl night is one of the

many diverse attractions here apart from the draw of the cinemas.

They've had to be proactive specially as the council's

withdrawing half their grant and could now shut them out all

together. We have been working from hand to mouth in terms of budget

cuts and building our audiences to fill that gap. We just don't know

until we are told formally and it is a worry. Pensioners Ezra and Sylvia

Ricketts are beginning to wonder what they're getting for their

council tax. Only facilities we get our dump bins being emptied. They

say they might struggle to do that. Well... What do they do with the

money they are getting? The council would say that is the problem. The

government is not giving them enough.

Live now to Wolverhampton, and Councillor Andrew Johnson. Good

evening. How are you going to save this money? Well, we've taken a very

difficult decision tonight, to make even more cuts over and above those

that we have already been forced to make, because of the incredible

reduction in our government grant. Basically, we've lost over half of

the ground that the government gives us for council services between 2010

and 2015, 2016. That is a huge cut. It means we will have to take out

?123 million over the next five years out of the budget, which is

virtually impossible. Virtually impossible but you have to do it so

what effect will this have on the people of Wolverhampton and the city

itself? It is already having a dire effect. It is not something that we

want to do. I can completely empathise with the frustration of

the people you have interviewed today about the cutbacks. We have

already had announcements about libraries, much shorter hours, but

it will affect every part of the council's service. We simply cannot

make cuts of this magnitude without having service reductions which will

impact on the public. Will anything be protected? Well, we will

obviously protect statutory services we have to provide. For example, we

spend a great deal of money looking after children as is absolutely

necessary and morally right. We will protect those elements of the

service. But basically, in order to make cuts of this magnitude, every

part of what the council does will be affected. Do you accept that one

politician's cuts is one politician's savings. Cuts are being

made right across the country, not just at Wolverhampton City Council.

Yes but Wolverhampton City Council has faced worse cuts than many other

councils that serve far wealthier areas of the country. Also, the

local government sector has faced bigger cuts than any other

government department. This is really unfair on the people we

represent. Thank you. Wolverhampton South West MP is our `` at our

Westminster studio now. Picking up on that last point, this is really

unfair on Wolverhampton. As in everything in life, there are two

sides to the story. Councillor Johnson there was talking about

expenditure and how it is the fault of central government. But if you

look at Wolverhampton council's own figures, their current day`to`day

spending is about ?250 million and what they are projecting to spend

over the next five to six years is ?312 million. That is an increase of

25%. The reason these figures look so bad is because no other

government department and no other body that I'm aware of is looking to

increase spending over the next five to six years. If anything, they are

just basically looking to stand still. That is what is making the

figures look so bad. You saying that councillors are crying wolf? ?123

million over the next five years... They say that will have a real

impact on services, all but the essential services. You can present

the figures and the statistics in a certain way. It is important that

everybody who is watching this today and everybody who is a Wolverhampton

resident gets the full facts and a real sense of what figures are.

Talking about the residence, you will have heard one word which kept

coming up time and time again: Why? The simple fact I would put out

there, Mary, and it isn't often publicised. I'm sorry Councillor

Johnson didn't refer to it. Wolverhampton City Council have

debts of over ?500 million. The interest on that debt is ?25 million

a year. That is the saving that the council are looking to make. What

makes it slightly worse than that, they are looking to borrow an

additional ?75 million this year. When you look at that debt

bombshell, for every household in Wolverhampton, that is a cost of

?5,000 around every household in the city. We are not just talking about

Wolverhampton. There are cuts and savings which have to be made in

various areas in the West Midlands. ?840 million in Birmingham, ?109

million in Staffordshire. What are you making sure to `` what are you

doing to make sure the West Midlands gets a fair deal? The prime Minster

came here a couple of months ago and spoke candidly about how we will

survive in the future. In the 21st century, it's not just government

that every household who is going to have to live within its means. The

reality is, we cannot shirk that responsibility.

Coming up later in the programme: One man's rubbish is another man's

treasure. An award for the recycling project raising funds for local

charities. West Midlands Ambulance Service is

at risk of being fined ?3 million for breach of contract because it's

arriving late to too`many emergency calls. Its Chief Executive, Anthony

Marsh, told staff a fine would take money away from front`line services,

affect the training of paramedics and the buying of new equipment.

This report from our Health Correspondent, contains flashing

images. There have been problems with

ambulance responses in rural areas for some time. The death of new born

Kate Stanton`Davies in Ludlow in 2009. Problems getting Thomas

Passant from Bridgnot to hospital in 2012. This Christmas day an

82`year`old waited four hours for an ambulance in Oswestry. Ray Salmon

who represents ambulance workers says its not their fault. The system

is simply under too much pressure. Everything contributes to demand on

the Ambulance Service. They are working as hard as they can. They

cannot do any more. It is a comeback... Taking this many of them

would be a disaster. It is so ridiculous. It's no laughing matter.

West Midlands Ambulance Service should reach 75% of Red one calls in

eight minutes. That's patients who cardiac arrest or stop breathing. In

the West Mercia area of Herefordshire, Shropshire and

Worcestershire, it reached 68% last year. But on bad days it was just

better than 50%. In Coventry and Warwickshire it was 73%. The trust

has nine minutes to reach Red two. That's all other life threatening

conditions, but in Birmingham just missed it last year at 74.5% and in

the Black Country it was around 73% last year. The chief executive told

staff in a weekly briefing that fines are a real risk. Nobody from

the service was able to go on camera. In a statement, the trust

said it hoped the commissioners would reinvest finds in the

Ambulance Service to ensure safe care for patients. But what simply,

the money back. One former ambulance boss has little sympathy. He says

the service isn't using its resources properly and needs to

restructure. The proper way to get a fast response is to look at your

history, look at where the calls come from, look at which our

life`threatening, look at how many ambulances you need to meet that

demand and then prioritise where you put the ambulances. West Midlands

Ambulance told staff that the fine would take money away from paramedic

training and new ambulances. And Michele joins me now.

How likely do you think this fine is?

It should happen. They are bound by contract law and I know some of the

commissioners are disgruntled but nobody today wanted to talk to me. I

suspect that they are embarrassed this has gone into the public

domain. They realise they cannot really enforce this fine. The

Ambulance Service said it needs an extra ?6 million. It wants ?2

million for Shropshire. I suspect the modern `` money will recycle it.

Is it right that ambulance targets can result in a fine?

A lot of it is out of their control. Turnaround times in hospital,

problems in terms of lead blocking and so on... Lots of people have

sympathy. Certain people think they should have restructured and they

have had extra money to do this sort of thing. They are still not meeting

the targets which have actually been debased to some extent. This is the

private sector coming in. If you do it right, you get paid. If you

don't, you won't. An investigation's underway after a

man died in a fire at his home in Worcestershire. Crews were called to

the house in the Charford area of Bromsgrove yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters attempted to rescue the man who was in his 40s, but were

unable to save him from what they describe as a severe blaze.

Environment Agency staff have installed temporary flood barriers

in the Worcestershire town of Bewdley. The removable barriers are

in place as River Severn water levels are expected to rise

overnight. The Cabinet Minister responsible for

Britain's prisons says the disturbance at Oakwood near

Wolverhampton at the weekend was the result of teething troubles. Up to

20 inmates were involved at the privately`run prison, threatening

staff and damaging cells. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling say Oakwood

was one of the best prisons in the country.

The problem of obesity has been described as reaching epidemic

proportions in Stoke on Trent. It's estimated it costs the NHS in the

city ?50 million a year. With the new year, comes a new drive to

tackle the problem. Nikki Brennan lost four stone in a

year. And thanks to a healthy lifestyle has kept the weight off.

It's had a transformational effect. Life changing, yes. For my children

as well. I mean, I started doing things from scratch, making fresh

food which has made the children learn how to cook things a healthy

way. It's been good for them as well. Some of the members of this

gym have been referred here after having heart problems. They're given

help by experts from a cardiac rehab team. There is no point in a patient

working with us for five weeks, doing fantastically well and

achieving what you set out to achieve and then going back to their

previous lifestyle. We are looking at a long`term change. It is all

about long`term behavioural change. But getting that message across

hasn't been easy. The scale of the problem's concerning, One in four

ten to 11`year`olds in this city is classed as obese. The figure for

adults is almost one in three. And the cost to the health service is

expected to rise. It is reckoned around one in ten deaths could be

avoided if people who live a sedentary lifestyle did at least

half an hour's exercise five days a week. For those who've made the

commitment to come to the gym, the effort's paid off. You've got to

want to do it and it's the same as cutting out the rubbish you eat.

Yeah, it is all that. You've got to want to come. It looks a lot harder

than what it is. It's a lot more enjoyable when you get here and

start doing it. The challenge is to persuade more people in the city to

see the benefits of exercise and to help rein in what's become a serious

problem in the Potteries. This is our top story tonight:

Wolverhampton City Council confirms cuts of ?123 million. A senior

councillor says it will be virtually impossible. Your detailed weather

forecast to come shortly with Shefali. Also in tonight's

programme: Already a bobsleigh silver medallist, now this talented

law student is aiming to represent her country in the long jump.

And walking in the air since 1993. The Snowman comes home to the

theatre where it all started. Many of us have things we no longer

need, but are too good to go to the tip. A Warwickshire based project

has taken advantage of this and won an award for it. Their recycling

scheme ploughs the profits into supporting local community schemes.

Wellsbourne tip was threatened with closure two years ago under council

savings, a charity stepped in and with the help of volounteers and a

small workforce the site has now been praised by Downing Street. The

system is simple. People dump their rubbish, they're helped to recycle,

which in turn raises cash to keep the centre running. The scrap value

of small appliances is worth about ?150 per tonne. They are getting

around 20 times a month and the money from that helps pay for staff.

David Cameron wasn't recycling his Christmas waste today but there were

plenty of others grateful for a local resource on their doorstep.

More local involvement more personal responsibility. I think it's

excellent. I hope it encourages other people to bring things along.

It is important that every time `` town has a facility like this. We

get income from wealthy cycling and items we resell in the shops. The

business pays for itself essentially. The re`use shops offer

more than just bargains. Cash raised here will go to local charities and

it offers opportunities for volunteers. It is a feeling that

you've done something and contributed to the community. When

you are driving out grants of ?500 to ?1000 to a small group, that

money can actually make a really big difference. There are thousands of

community groups throughout Warwickshire which are under the

radar. Now almost in a full recycling circle the volunteers are

going to decide which local charities should benefit from the

profits of our rubbish. Time for sport now and Ian has news

of one football club who've got a new manager and one who are still

looking. Good evening. Just 24 hours after

sacking Steve Burr, Kidderminster Harriers have named Andy Thorn, the

former Coventry City manager, as their surprise choice to take over

at Aggborough. Thorn has been scouting for England since leaving

Coventry 18 months ago. His first job is to halt a dismal run of four

defeats in five league games. Harriers have slipped from second to

seventh in the Conference Premier. But still no sign of a new

appointment at West Bromwich Albion, more than three weeks after the club

sacked Steve Clarke. The latest bookies' favourite for the job is

the German Thomas Schaaf. He spent 14 years as manager of Werder

Bremen. His impressive CV has five major trophies including one

Bundesliga title. In League one, Shrewsbury Town lost

again, their fifth defeat in a row at home, beaten 2`0 by Leyton

Orient. Shrewsbury missed a few decent chances to go in front. But

they fell behind just before the half hour mark. And a late header

sealed the Shrews' fate. And lifted Orient above Wolves into the

automatic promotion places. Two years ago, Jazmin Sawyers jumped

into a bobsleigh and won a silver medal at the Winter Youth Olympics

in Austria. Now, Jazmin is bidding to compete in the long jump at this

Summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. 2014 could be a big year

for the versatile young athlete from Stoke`on`Trent, who's possibly the

busiest, most talented teenager I've ever met.

Nine months ago, Jazmin Sawyers had never played a single chord. Then

she spotted a guitar in a charity shop, taught herself online, wrote a

few songs and now and now she's playing gigs with an EP out soon.

There's no doubt about it, Jazmin's got talent. And not just for music.

Because first impressions don't begin to tell the full story, about

the university law student with a passion for sport. I am ridiculously

busy. There is barely a free moment but I prefer it that way. It is

manic but it works. Midlands Today first met Jazmin when she was only

13. Competing in the high jump at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium. The

rain poured down, but her star potential was on the up and up.

Three years later, she was competing at the Winter Youth Olympics in

Austria. Touching 70 miles an hour in the bobsleigh. She was thrilled

to bits to win a silver medal. Unbelievable. There are no words.

Honestly, it's the best feeling I've ever experienced. But this is where

Jazmin's true love really lies, in the long jump. And her sights are

firmly set upon the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer. What

is the connection between Bobsleigh and long jump? People ask that. They

are similar. With both use print and jump. One is nice and you are

pushing something. But the skills that you need are really similar.

You've got speed and power. To qualify for the Commonwealth Games,

Jazmine must add an extra seven centimetres to her best jump before

the team is announced in June. But she's confident she'll deliver in

time. We've got the Bobsleigh, the long jump, your music, your law

degree, your part time job. What do you do in your spare time? There

isn't any spare time. I make sure there isn't any! You are buzzing

about 2014, aren't you? And excited. I feel myself constantly excited at

the moment. I got so much to be excited about and what a great way

to be. With guitar in hand, her stage name is Jazmin Jayne. But in

the athletics arena, it'll be the long jumper Jazmin Sawyers, who's

bidding to make a name for herself in Glasgow.

Only one thing's for sure, the next few months will be even busier than

normal for Jazmin. Good luck! You saw her here first.

Seen by over one million people worldwide, the stage version of the

Snowman is back in Birmingham to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The

live version of Raymond Briggs' children's classic was created at

the Birmingham Rep. The magical tale of a young boy's

adventures when his snowman comes to life on Chrismas Eve. This stage

version was created in 1993 at the Reperatory Theatre in Birmingham. It

is very much about that. It is associated with the stage version so

when we take it to London, it plays in London's West End every

Christmas. It's Birmingham 's name that is up there. It has been to

Japan, Holland, career, all those people around the world have seen

what was made in Birmingham and exported from the Wrap. `` Rep. The

show's music is well known. Walking in the Air reached number five in

the UK charts in 1985 when Aled Jones sang it. But the additinal

music for this show was composed right here backstage. They are

starting to rehearse the cast and I'm going to write new dances on

things so it would be great to try it. I will adjust them and I can be

there. It was fun and it works brilliantly actually. I'm very fond

of this theatre. The Birmingham trademark is all over this show. All

the costumes are handmade here in the wardrobe department, taking the

workmanship right across the world. Now, there are 60 costumes per show

and 11 snowman costumes each taking a week to make. They are made out of

11 miles of white net. And it's not just costumes made here. The

original boy was from Solihull. This is the first place that I was on

stage. This is Birmingham. This is the way I remember it, Birmingham,

and the fact it was the first place to show the Snowman, is quite an

honour. And for the next ten days, the Snowman is back where it

started. As we saw earlier, flood defences up

in Bewdley. Shefali, that suggests more heavy rain tonight?

Warning from The Met office for this evening, tonight and running into

tomorrow morning for Herefordshire and Shropshire. They will be heavy

rain. That will not only add to current problems but lead to a delay

in recovery. At least today gave us a breather and there is more dry

weather to come. Focusing on the positives, this is how it is looking

for the dry weather over the next few days. It is dry tomorrow and

dryer on Saturday. This is when we have the rain arriving. It will

arrive tonight and it is this crossbow feature coupled with low

pressure that is pushing it through. After that, under the front will

come through on Friday. This one could also have some heavy rain

along it. It is followed by high pressure which settles things down

for Saturday. What we cannot project onto in this current run is the rain

that will arrive later on Sunday and into the start of next week. What we

also see towards the weekend and also into next week is temperatures

dropping and it becoming a lot colder. For this evening, we had

this rain leading into the West earlier on today. It has now

stretched across this reason `` region. It is not all light rain. In

fact, a lot of it will be heavy. Particularly so for the western half

of the region. It will clear during the early hours but will be followed

by fairly lively, heavy showers as well. Temperatures will be down to

six or seven Celsius. Still on the mild side. These should clear by

tomorrow. If you clipping the extremities of the North. On the

whole, they will be dry, bright and fairly sunny and places. Just a few

dotted around the north eastern half of the region through the day. A lot

of dry weather to be had in highs of seven to eight Celsius. Tomorrow, we

sense things becoming a lot colder. It is dry, we have clearing skies

and the temperatures will be near freezing with a touch of Frost. Rain

later on Friday. Try on Saturday. Tonight's headlines from the BBC: It

was the death that sparked riots in London and beyond. A jury decides

Mark Duggan was lawfully killed by police A US military helicopter

crash in Norfolk `` four people died when the aircraft came down last

night Wolverhampton City Council confirms cuts of ?123 million must

be made over the next five years And get to emergencies quicker or risk

being fined ?3 million. The stark warning to West Midlands Ambulance

Service. That was the Midlands Today. I'll be

back at ten o'clock with more on the likely impact of those cuts in

Wolvehampton. Have a great evening. Goodbye.