26/04/2012 Spotlight

A peaceful pasty protest. Bakers A peaceful pasty protest. Bakers

rally in London against a planned tax on their trade.

Good evening. We will hear from local protestors who have been in

Westminster today. $NEWLINE Also on Spotlight tonight:

No criminal conviction, but thousands of youngsters have had

their DNA taken. And hoping for a buyer. One of the

region's best known home improvement companies goes into

administration. Pasty makers from Cornwall have

been in London today to fight Government plans to put 20 % VAT on

the popular takeaway food. They've joined hundreds of other bakers

from all over the country, who say the so called pasty tax is unfair

and could affect their business. Our Cornwall reporter reports from

This can really affect your family business? Certainly. I can put my -

- I cannot put my price up by 20 %. The some bakers had hoped to take

to Downing Street, but after the police advised them that their

event might attack -- attract interest from entire government --

and the Government protesters, they decided not to. We have come here

with peaceful intentions but we are determined to fight to the bitter

end against this proposed tax that will have a devastating effect on

ordinary people who simply cannot afford to pay 20 % are more for

everyday food. After the protest, they delivered a petition to 10

Downing Street, with no less than half a million signatures. Then, a

special delivery. These were driven from Cornwall. Catch an MP when he

is hungry and you might get his support. She, nourishing and

filling lunchtime snack. -- cheap, nourishing and filling. If you are

going to give a tax cut to millionaires and put 20 % more on

the price of a pasty, it is not fair. I hope that the Government

will think again. The Chancellor says he is just trying to simplify

the tax system, but these figures sake the taxable make their lives

are more difficult. Joining me now is a Conservative MP, who unlike

the Cornish MPs, supported this ACAS attacks. Why are you for the

tax? -- VAT tax. Why are you for this tax? If you have a fish and

chip shop then you have to pay your 20 % VAT. If you want to pay a pie

to one other clients, you have to pay the 20 % VAT on that as well. I

think this is a matter of us trying to clear up an anomaly -- anomaly

that has been going on for 20 years. If you are a small company you will

not be doing it but if you are a large company you will end up

putting a 20 % tax on it. A lot of the companies are quite small and

they say that the VAT will make this product no longer affordable

for many people. I do not think we are talking about that. I suspect

that you actually pay VAT on your fish and chips as well. I do not

think that is going to be the issue. People who enjoy a pasty or a

sausage roll will continue to have it because that is what they enjoy

having. We are not talking about a large money. We are talking about a

small amount. Nevertheless, we have heard about one baker who has

actually put their staff on a three-day week because they are

finding things so tough. This tax seems to be making things more

difficult. There might be another reason why he had to do that. There

might be a problem with shoppers coming in and buying the things. I

suspect that as more likely to be the case. The government is in the

process on doing -- of doing a review of all of this. If people

feel so strongly about said they should write in. They should also

indicate whether -- where there should be a tax if it is not on the

price of a pasty. You cannot say that you are not going to have the

tax because it will just add to the bill. Shed a pasty be eaten hot or

cold? And should there be a tax on Devon and Cornwall Police are

taking and storing DNA samples from thousands of children who arrested

but never charged with any criminal offence. BBC Radio Devon has found

out that over a three year period more than 14,000 arrests were made

where the defendant was under s17. The Police currently have the right

to keep their DNA until they are 100 years old. But children's

rights groups say this "stigmatises youngsters for the rest of their

lives". This young man has a head for a

technology. At the age of 13 he was designing programmes for smart

phones. But he hacked into the school's computer system. He was

reprimanded by police but he was never charged. It was so scary, how

we wrote rushed to the back of the police station. I was sat up

against a white wall and have my photos taken. For any child that

has been arrested and have to go to a police station is processed in

the same way as an adult. The police can keep their DNA for a 100

years. The prospect of a me being on the system for my lifetime is

pretty scary. The Home Office says that juveniles charged with a minor

offence will not have their DNA taken unless they have been

convicted, and then it will be kept for five years. If they are charged

with a serious offence, the DNA will be kept for three years. If

they are convicted, it is kept indefinitely. When children's

charity says that the Government's plans do not go far enough. When

children come into contact with the police because of something they

have done because they are not fully matured, it should not affect

them for the rest of their lives. They should not be stigmatised for

the rest of their lives. Devon and Cornwall police do not want to get

an interview, but gave a statement saying that police did not

unlawfully collect DNA from anybody under the age of responsibility. In

the UK, that is anyone over the age of 10 that has been arrested for a

recordable offence. Right now a bill is going to permit that should

give new details about what information can be kept or removed.

I think it is completely wrong. Being expelled from school was the

hardest part. The young man says he has learned his lesson but he does

not want a teenage prank to affect his future, or have his DNA remain

on file. We are joined now in our London

studio by Frances Crook, who is the Chief Executive of the Howard

League For Penal Reform. What do you think of children who

have not been convicted, or indeed charged in many cases, having their

DNA kept on a police database? It is extraordinary that children

are being a stigmatised like this. All of the research shows that once

children come into contact with the criminal justice system, they are

more likely to spiralled down hill and their behaviour, so we should

keep children out of conflict with the police -- contact with the

police. I would be horrified if my daughter or any of your reviewer's

children had their DNA taken when they had not done anything wrong.

But DNA can also prove that someone is innocent. But we are talking

about young children here and misbehaviour. The police are tying

up resources at a time when they are having to cut staffing levels

and having to cut their resources and they are using this to deal

with small children who are a nuisance and who are not criminals.

Many of them are innocent, of course. But the police say this is

a lawful. In many cases, criminality starts

in the teenage years, so why shouldn't the police use a tool

like this to try to deter a young person from turning to a life of

crime? Wasting public money -- they are wasting public money. These are

children and they have not done anything wrong. I would appeal to

your viewers to ask that if their children have been in touch with

the police in any way to get in touch with the police and have them

removed their DNA. It is not right that the police are keeping the DNA

of innocent children for up to 100 years. But if you have not done

anything wrong, surely there is nothing to fear. Why should you

have your DNA capped by the police? There are legal rights and

protections for children. -- kept by the police. Perhaps the police

should be concentrating on real crime instead. Thank you for

joining us. One of the region's best-known home

improvement companies has gone into administration. Launa Windows,

based at Newton Abbot, has made 60 staff redundant. The family firm is

still trading for now and it's hoped it will be sold as a going

concern. Our Business Correspondent joins us now from their base in

Newton Abbot. It was en 1974 that Launa Windows started trading,

pretty much at the dawn of the double glazing Era. They did build

a huge region wide reputation, partly through incessant

advertising. The 60 employees who have lost their jobs today leave 11

employees still in the business and a team of external sub-contractors

-- sub-contractors who will have fully carry on working on

installations for existing contracts. Extremely worrying for

the staff, but presumably, a lot of fearful customers as well.

current order book is valued at half a million pounds, but the

anxiety out there should be limited by the fact that Launa Windows did

not generally require customers to pay up front. It is the size of the

order book that raises the hope that Launa Windows will be sold on.

The administrator was telling me there is every hope of that as long

as he can find a buyer for them before those customers simply

decide to turn elsewhere. The one thing that Launa Windows had in its

favour was a very large of its turnover came from personal

recommendation from very satisfied customers in the past. I am hopeful

that we can get some benefit from that. And we have to hope that the

business can be sold on and perhaps people re-employed, because South

Devon is not a great place to find yourself unemployed. Torbay have

the highest unemployment in the region. We have just gone back into

double dip recession and we have ourselves with a high-profile

victim already here. Managers at North Devon District

Hospital have apologised after a swab was left inside a woman after

surgery. It's the second time it's happened in the last year. The

woman had undergone a routine procedure but found the swab eight

days later. The hospital says it was removed without the need for

surgery and the patient suffered no ill effects. Managers insist

People concerned about sewage being discharged into the sea at Combe

Martin are expected to pack out a public meeting tonight. Campaigners

claim it could leave their beach too contaminated if the practice

continues during times of heavy rain. South West Water, the

Environment Agency and local councils are expected to attend to

discuss improving the quality of Coming up:

As one charity says we have a lot to learn from the older generation,

we put it to the test. Keep working, keep paying your taxes, and keep

paying your pensions. That is what we want!

And as the countdown to the Olympics continues; people of all

abilities get a chance to try something new.

The movie War Horse is one of many films which have used the South

West as a backdrop. The region has a long tradition of movie making.

It's worth �40 million a year to the local economy and there are

hopes that a recent budget proposal could provide the media industry

Making feature films is big business. Dark were made a perfect

setting for Steven Spielberg's epic War Horse, and the crew spent

millions of pounds here, that is before you calculate the benefits

that tourism could be worth. At the other end of the scale, there is a

weekend retreat, a film edited in Cornwall, but the Treasury could

soon be lending a hand to such creative efforts. The Chancellor

announced plans for a film tax credit, where companies can write

off of the expenses of a film, into the wider media world, such as

video games and TV production. The director of this film has just won

an award at the London Film Festival. I think it is a great

thing if this happens in Cornwall. Sometimes you feel that you are

quite isolated from things like that happening. If it does happen

and it raises interest in Cornwall, I think that is great. Any help you

can have to make a film is much appreciated, I can tell you that

from experience. These could be the animators and television makers

from tomorrow -- of tomorrow. These students are working on a film

about a man who thinks he is a bird. The staff here say that a little

bit of investment could pay dividends. There is a huge amount

of talent, and in the past, you would have finished your course and

then gone on to the workplace. More often than not they left Cornwall.

We have nurtured his talent and then it is gone. Traditionally,

films have always been centred around a small area of London. Now

we can offer everything that is offered in London, with the space

and facilities and the expertise and talent. There is no reason why

they should not be a studio in Cornwall. A recent survey valued

television production in the South West at �153 million per year.

These students will be happy with a tiny share of that success.

Understanding finances and the value of money has become more

crucial than ever in recent years as the UK economy struggles in and

out of recession. So it seems it's never too early to get to grips

with pounds and pence. As Spotlight's Johnny Rutherford

reports, pupils at one school in Plymouth are getting a valuable

lesson in managing budgets. I am putting in 55p. What are you

saving up for? Eight Nintendo games system. This is a school banks. At

the school, they believe in encouraging children to save their

pennies. Last year they won at a national award for personal finance

education, and this year they have teamed up with another school to

run a special money class. Today is about children really learning and

applying some of the skills they have learnt in numeracy and other

subjects to find out more about how to save and spend money wisely.

That includes learning about When you are buying a mobile phone

you have to save -- choose which one will save you the most money.

And how much does it cost to make a packed lunch? I was so surprised

that our parents spend so much on this. It is so wicked. Children in

schools today are very aware of the current economic climate and they

know what it means to their parents and their families and how it

affects them. They can talk to their teachers about that, and that

is why we are here. The question was asked, if you found �10 lying

in the street, what would you do with it? I would spend it on my

sister's birthday present. I would save it for a laptop. I would give

it to my mum. I would spend it on sweets! Well, I would have as a

kid! Most of the children understood the lesson and the risks

involved with a knowing just what With only 125 days to go until the

start of the Paralympic Games in London, students in Plymouth have

been getting to grips with some of the sports that will be on show.

The aim of the day, to raise awareness and give people of all

abilities the chance to try something new. We went along to see

Some of these sports might look easy enough, but try having a go at

playing basketball in a wheelchair and it is a different story. That

is exactly what these students did. They made up teams with children

and -- students who are wheelchair users and others who are more able

by eight. The aim was to raise awareness about Paralympic sports.

I find it liberating. It is my first experience doing this in a

wheelchair and I found it amazing, actually. It is difficult. More

difficult than I anticipated. But it is pretty good. Tennis,

badminton, basketball and Bob Crow were on hand today, and it was a

safe - a rare chance for all of the -- end it was a chance for

everybody to give it a go. It gives a glimpse into the challenges that

the assembled students face. -- that disabled students face. There

are so many people out there who want to achieve and have a go at

things. It is just fine to get people to realise what is out there.

We are just 125 days away from the Paralympics, and there is still

plenty of time for the students to have a go at more of the sports on

offer. We all know that times are tough,

money's tight and the weather's foul. But there is a group of

people who have seen it all before and beaten the odds. And now a

charity says that the younger generation should be tapping in to

the experience and wisdom of older Older people know what it's about

life. They have been there, done it and bought the cardigan. -- know

lots about life. I used to put the tin in front of the fire. My family

would have to wait until there was enough money to have a spin dryer.

Then you had to really do your shopping and washing once a week.

It did not stop them. Our elders succeeded and that life, paying the

gas bill and not getting into debt. Petra broke succeeded in life.

what you spend every day -- succeeded and led life, paying the

gas bill and not getting into debt. Now, they think they can answer

people that young people struggle with. It is time it to share a bed

of wisdom, because maybe, things are not so bad. Every generation

thinks that they invented the world. Everybody thinks they are doing

something for the first time. In fact, pretty much all of it has

been done before. Do you ever ask older people for advice? Quite

often, yes. I see what they think and look at what their outlook on

things are. Have you ever acted on it? Sometimes, yes. Do you think it

is harder now than it was then? think people have got it pretty

easy now. We moan about things like the internet, not things like bombs.

And perhaps some advice is taking with a pinch of salt. Keep working,

keep paying your taxes, and keep paying our pensions. That is what

we want! We must tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older

wisdom and knowledge of older people. With that in mind, here is

the weather! It was a get, I am sorry!

Good evening. We have some more showers to come over the next few

days and then a batch of wet weather. The nature of these

showers we have seen this week are pretty potentially very heavy, and

we are likely to see them every night tonight as well as tomorrow.

This stripe of cloud shows you where the area of showers will be

over the next 24 hours. There is the low pressure. It does not move

very far. By midday tomorrow we will have at this line up showers

right through South West England. They will go through parts of

Dorset and Somerset. As we move into Saturday, it is still

producing a few light showers. Perhaps Saturday is the better off

the two days of the weekend, because there is an area of low

pressure that could potentially bring us more wet weather as well

as windy conditions for a good part of southern Britain. You can see

there are some showers still dotted around and some heavy downpours

left behind. Although they become more isolated in the night, the

showers just keep on coming. They might not have the same potency of

the showers we have seen today, but by dawn tomorrow morning, we will

wake up to a mixture. Briefly some sunshine, but it will be milder

than it has Ben. Here come the showers tomorrow. They will be

gathering and developing through the day. The focus will be on

central and southern Davin up in two parts of Somerset. It is here

that we could have some heavy downpours of rain. Parts of

Somerset and Cornwall may get away with a largely dry day, but quite a

lot of cloud around. Temperatures are ranging from a leg in 214

degrees Celsius. -- From E Levin -- from 11 up to 40 Celsius. When

players are changing direction. -- 14 Celsius. Winds or changing

If you're heading for the beach to do a spot of surfing, the surf will

clean up quite nicely on the south coast. Much lighter winds, and they

will be coming in from the east and increasing tomorrow night. Tomorrow

night will bring showers with mainly good visibility. That brings

us to Sunday. We have a new area of low pressure and this one is

developing in the Bay of Biscay. It means not only will we see heavy

rain on Sunday, but we will also see a lot of wind, with South or

south-easterly winds that could reach gale winds. Sunday looks like

it could be quite a wet day. Friday, tomorrow, a few showers dotted

around, and most of us having a dry day. It will be wet and windy on

Sunday, and then, you guessed it, showers for the early part of next

showers for the early part of next week. Have a good evening.

The top stories tonight: Campaigners have taken their fight

against the pasty tax to Westminster and anger over police

keeping DNA from thousands of children in the region even though