:00:19. > :00:24.We reveal what went wrong for Comet. We find out why we could all be
:00:24. > :00:34.left out picking up the bill. In just destroyed a family business.
:00:34. > :00:35.
:00:35. > :00:40.It seems far too easy for employers to say, you now in administration.
:00:40. > :00:48.Also, Hyde Council tour rustling up extra bands by increasing the price
:00:48. > :00:58.of everything from rat catching to cremation. It is a tax on the dead.
:00:58. > :01:01.
:01:01. > :01:05.The Revenue isn't being reinvested in the crematorium service.
:01:05. > :01:15.After a soaking summer, Paul investigates it we all have to get
:01:15. > :01:26.
:01:26. > :01:31.Tomorrow will see the Comet name disappear from our high street as
:01:31. > :01:36.the final stores close. The collapse of the retailer, which
:01:36. > :01:41.started in Hull, has left thousands of workers redundant and will leave
:01:41. > :01:51.the taxpayer with a multi-million- pound bill. We didn't all go so
:01:51. > :01:57.
:01:57. > :02:02.It is one of the biggest retail casualties on the high streets.
:02:02. > :02:07.is not just our family who are suffering, it is 6500 people who
:02:07. > :02:12.are suffering. Tomorrow will see the final closing-down sales as the
:02:12. > :02:19.stores are embodied of stock. don't understand how we could have
:02:19. > :02:24.been making profits, but then told we had to close. What went wrong?
:02:24. > :02:30.Why did Comet feel leading a massive bill for the taxpayers? I
:02:30. > :02:35.have come to a halt to the old Business Centre for Comet. I wanted
:02:35. > :02:45.to know what happens to that great Yorkshire brands that started here
:02:45. > :02:48.
:02:48. > :02:51.in Hull almost 80 years ago. Comet began life to cash in on a boom in
:02:51. > :02:55.wireless radio ownership set up by a man called George Hollingberry.
:02:55. > :02:59.Robb, why are we here in the middle this industrial area? In the 1930s,
:02:59. > :03:04.a couple but chaps got together and started to charge batteries for
:03:04. > :03:10.people. Everybody wanted a radio in the 1930s, but the National Grid
:03:10. > :03:18.wasn't very good. The equip the diversified, didn't they? They were
:03:18. > :03:22.great. Any opportunity that came along, be made the most of it.
:03:22. > :03:28.Hollingberry family are still entrepreneurs. Richard runs an
:03:28. > :03:33.organic farm. His grandfather set up Comet and his father ran its
:03:33. > :03:43.throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s. My father's idea was
:03:43. > :03:48.discounting and out of town shops. He took on a site out of town,
:03:48. > :03:53.bought Cloughton stacked high., was one of the first retailers to
:03:53. > :03:57.persuade shoppers to leave the High Street for the out-of-town stores.
:03:58. > :04:03.It was these discount warehouses that a Lord Alan Sugar described as
:04:03. > :04:06.changing the face of retail. Decades of innovation followed a
:04:06. > :04:16.Comet became a multi-million-pound business as part of the Kingfisher
:04:16. > :04:20.
:04:20. > :04:26.retail group. Then the recession hit. Looking at these adverts from
:04:26. > :04:32.the 90s, it was a tough time for Comet, wasn't it? It was. It was a
:04:32. > :04:36.tough time for all retailers to the recession. What Comet field to do
:04:36. > :04:42.was learn from that experience. Towards the end of the 90s, many of
:04:42. > :04:48.their competitors had internet sites and Comet were late to that
:04:48. > :04:54.game. My dear thing people stop going into the shops? Why would you
:04:54. > :05:00.go into Comet if he could get a cheaper online? Comet seemed to
:05:00. > :05:07.have lost direction. And 2011 did Jane made losses of nearly Mac --
:05:07. > :05:12.up nearly �9 million and its owner wanted rid of the brand. Last year,
:05:12. > :05:18.and its warranty business were sold. They were sold for just �1 each.
:05:18. > :05:25.They were bought by a private investment company called OpCapita.
:05:26. > :05:29.This deal went through in February. It was a deal that was closely
:05:29. > :05:34.watched in this city and the monks but financial journalists. OpCapita
:05:34. > :05:44.had a history. It is not the first time that we have seen OpCapita do
:05:44. > :05:47.
:05:47. > :05:53.this with the British brand. controversy was MFI a went into
:05:53. > :06:03.administration and it was OpCapita there were involved in this. Sure
:06:03. > :06:04.
:06:04. > :06:14.enough, the structure of Comet was almost identical to MFI. OpCapita
:06:14. > :06:16.
:06:16. > :06:20.picked the money for, -- the money for Comet into a parent company,
:06:20. > :06:24.Hailey Acquisitions. There was �50 million given by the previous
:06:24. > :06:32.owners, a �40 million loan and the money from the investors was 35
:06:32. > :06:42.million. OpCapita did not put the money directly into Comet. It put
:06:42. > :06:45.
:06:45. > :06:50.it into Comet into a parent company and loan that money to Comet.
:06:50. > :06:57.Healey acquisitions will receive almost �50 million, but this is
:06:57. > :07:02.significantly less than what it is owed, some �145 million. A bigger
:07:02. > :07:09.financial mess than any of the workers expected. It is like a
:07:09. > :07:16.bereavement, really. I am probably angry more than anything. My family
:07:16. > :07:21.can see that I'm upset and getting snappy. When OpCapita took over, it
:07:21. > :07:28.pledged to run Comet as a going concern for 18 months. It said they
:07:28. > :07:32.had a definite turnaround plan. were told you would be focusing on
:07:33. > :07:39.profit alone. Entry was said manager at a store in Halifax and
:07:39. > :07:48.he thought things were looking up. All stores were hit in this targets,
:07:48. > :07:54.this cash margin target and we were been told we were breaking even. I
:07:54. > :08:00.receive my last paycheck today, and that received -- that had a bonus
:08:00. > :08:04.attached to it because of my face seals. Greenfield it is far too
:08:04. > :08:07.easy for companies to be put into administration. All those people
:08:07. > :08:15.are now seeking alternative employment and they shouldn't have
:08:15. > :08:25.too. It seems far too easy for employers to say, right, now we are
:08:25. > :08:26.
:08:26. > :08:32.in administration. So why did, it - - so why did Comet end up in
:08:32. > :08:37.administration? It was performing on target. Comet was in a difficult
:08:37. > :08:42.part of the market and like-for- like sales were down. What OpCapita
:08:42. > :08:47.say went wrong is that when rumours emerged that Comet could be sold by
:08:47. > :08:51.them, the trade suppliers had tightened their terms. It meant
:08:51. > :08:58.that Comet could not call out and buy stock at a viable economic
:08:58. > :09:03.price. This meant that it wasn't were put in more money into Comet.
:09:03. > :09:09.Nobody from OpCapita it or Healey acquisitions wanted to do an
:09:09. > :09:13.interview. It in -- the did give us a statement, which include an
:09:13. > :09:18.apology to Comet workers. It goes on to highlight their efforts to
:09:18. > :09:22.revive the loss-making business including appointing a new highly
:09:22. > :09:26.experienced management team. Explains how, it -- it explains how
:09:26. > :09:29.Comet was unable to obtain credit on competitive terms. To trade at
:09:29. > :09:33.Christmas would have needed a very substantial further injection of
:09:33. > :09:38.capital and with no realistic prospect of obtaining it, the board
:09:38. > :09:41.had no option but to appoint administrators. The collapse of
:09:41. > :09:46.Comet will see the government picking up the bill for redundancy
:09:46. > :09:52.and could cost around �24 million. A solicitor representing the
:09:52. > :09:59.workers also believes they could be due additional compensation. We are
:09:59. > :10:03.advising them on their collective consultation rights. When more than
:10:03. > :10:09.20 redundancies are being made, they have the right to be consulted
:10:09. > :10:12.on. As far as we can tell, they have just been making the
:10:12. > :10:16.redundancies with no meaningful consultation. Honour contracts
:10:16. > :10:21.state you're meant to have a consultation period, 90 days notice.
:10:21. > :10:23.We haven't been given any of it. The administrators told us that
:10:23. > :10:29.sometimes decisions about redundancy have to be made quickly
:10:29. > :10:34.and, regrettably, it is not always possible to give advance notice to
:10:34. > :10:38.workers. If the tribunal finds in favour of the staff, it is likely
:10:38. > :10:42.this will again be compensation that comes from the public purse.
:10:42. > :10:45.As well as their money, many workers want the Government to
:10:45. > :10:50.investigate the collapse of the company. They want to know why the
:10:50. > :11:00.law allows investors to walk away while the taxpayer is left of that
:11:00. > :11:02.
:11:02. > :11:06.Still to come, a very wet ball huts and finds out why we might all have
:11:06. > :11:13.to get used to as some are soaking. If things can get out of hand very
:11:13. > :11:18.quickly. Making the pennies go further is a
:11:18. > :11:24.challenge for all bus and it is no different for your local council.
:11:24. > :11:28.They have had millions slashed of their budget. They are trying to
:11:28. > :11:34.rustle up further cash which means higher charges for everything and
:11:34. > :11:38.it means that what you pay depends on where you live. Times are tough
:11:38. > :11:43.in the town halls across the North, as our local councils feel the
:11:43. > :11:45.financial squeeze. As cuts start to bite, they have to make sure that
:11:45. > :11:50.they are making money where ever they can.
:11:50. > :11:56.You probably already think that you are paying enough for you council
:11:56. > :12:00.services. I will find out who are charging the most and the least.
:12:00. > :12:05.This is where I pulled it through. I pulled it round here and it ended
:12:05. > :12:12.up on the steps. A few weeks ago, up all have had some unwelcome
:12:12. > :12:15.visitors - rats. They are coming down the past. Their running all
:12:15. > :12:23.over, under the leaves and everything. You're frightened to
:12:23. > :12:28.open the door. I'm frightened of children coming to the house.
:12:28. > :12:33.lack -- rats were looking for a new home. There was more unwelcome news
:12:33. > :12:38.when all have phoned the council to get help. They said there was a �20
:12:38. > :12:42.charge. I said I do not think we should be paying for that. North
:12:42. > :12:49.Tyneside council introduced the charge in April as part of its
:12:49. > :12:56.budget and hap offered to give all of advice on a rat problem. I think
:12:56. > :13:02.this is something different. This is dirty. It is not nice. Maybe all
:13:02. > :13:06.of should move. Northumberland, Hull, Doncaster and Staunton will
:13:06. > :13:11.all sort out your rat problem for free. If it is three for them off
:13:11. > :13:16.why shouldn't it be free for everyone? All but that -- becomes
:13:16. > :13:20.the first person to receive the this Certificate from Inside Out. A
:13:20. > :13:25.month that the ten councils in England facing the biggest cuts, he
:13:25. > :13:32.will find Burnley, Barrow and Preston. Local authorities say they
:13:32. > :13:40.have no choice but to hike up the charges. It seems no council
:13:40. > :13:45.service is off-limits. Even in times of austerity, you would think
:13:45. > :13:49.that at least one council service would be sacred. But it seems that
:13:49. > :13:54.the fees charged for burials and cremations might be about to rocket.
:13:54. > :13:59.One of the worst places could be Merseyside. Here, at the dead need
:13:59. > :14:06.to be dead rich. The problem is that it should be a service to the
:14:06. > :14:10.bereaved from the council. It is not a commercial business. This
:14:10. > :14:19.Merseyside undertaker is severely unimpressed with plans to hike up
:14:19. > :14:25.commission fees from a �600 to �750. I believe in some ways that it is a
:14:25. > :14:30.tax on the dead. The Revenue is not being reinvested in the cemeteries
:14:30. > :14:35.and crematoriums, it is going into the council's black hole. What
:14:35. > :14:39.should they do instead? I think they can make cuts elsewhere. I do
:14:39. > :14:44.not think that to Max knifes the revenue from one particular service
:14:44. > :14:48.is the right way to go. Do not just take money because you can.
:14:48. > :14:51.fact is that we have to try and make savings. We have to make
:14:51. > :14:58.increases in charges and that is one of the many charges that has
:14:58. > :15:04.been increased. What about other areas? In Cumbria, they are
:15:04. > :15:08.proposing up to 15 % rise in fees. The cheapest is a Cheshire West and
:15:08. > :15:14.Chester, St Helens and Durham. These are financially the best
:15:14. > :15:19.places to die. I am afraid you are getting an Inside Out hard times
:15:19. > :15:25.award. In these hard times, if you thought you could save a few
:15:25. > :15:29.pennies by growing your own, I am afraid not. And at the moment, for
:15:29. > :15:37.a plot this size, we would pay �24 down as rent and that is going to
:15:38. > :15:44.be going up to �65, about a 170 % increase. I appreciate the have to
:15:44. > :15:47.do some saving, but that is a phenomenal rise. Sheffield council
:15:47. > :15:52.disputes this calculation and says that Government cuts and protecting
:15:52. > :15:57.other services has forced it to raise these. It is an easy way for
:15:57. > :16:02.the council to raise money. Sunderland is a good place to live
:16:02. > :16:08.as it has one of the cheapest allotments in the north for just
:16:08. > :16:13.around �10. But in at Bury and regions size plot will set you back
:16:13. > :16:19.well over �100. Phil reluctantly accepts the insight it hard times
:16:19. > :16:22.ought. So we are being hit in the pocket and some people think
:16:22. > :16:28.councils should be looking hard at their peril before they put up
:16:28. > :16:32.their charges. We're talking about middle managers being paid up to
:16:32. > :16:36.�60,000 a year or more and they need to cut back on that sort of
:16:36. > :16:41.bureaucracy. No one wants to see people made redundant for the sake
:16:41. > :16:46.of it but at the same town councils are not employment exchanges. They
:16:46. > :16:51.have to cut their cloth to suit their needs. I another way councils
:16:51. > :16:56.are looking to raise cash is through sponsorship. Leeds City
:16:56. > :17:03.Council of this sponsorship on their payslips. For �3,000 plus VAT
:17:03. > :17:06.you can average-sized your wares on roundabouts. You can sponsor a
:17:06. > :17:11.flowerbed in Lancaster's. In Newcastle, you can get your company
:17:11. > :17:16.name on a litter bin. Our councils are us stuck for cash but they
:17:16. > :17:21.could be sitting on assets like this temple to convenience. It is a
:17:21. > :17:25.public toilet in the -- public toilet that is up for sale. Six
:17:25. > :17:29.potential buyers have been sniffing around, including one who would
:17:29. > :17:39.like to turn it into a bar. A whole array of goods are up for sale by
:17:39. > :17:45.our councils. Newcastle's state carriage. �80,000. �12,000 worth of
:17:45. > :17:52.old books sold by Manchester City Council on eat it. Up for sale,
:17:52. > :18:00.Eden council's Mansion House, yours for one. Will -- �1.1 billion. This
:18:00. > :18:03.it wedding venue is for sale by Wakefield Council. There is no
:18:03. > :18:08.doubt that there are tough times and choices ahead for local
:18:08. > :18:13.authorities. The difference in charges is stark. Why? And is it
:18:13. > :18:19.fair? It is not unfair. Local authorities have their own
:18:19. > :18:23.priorities and their own way of making their own budget. They also
:18:23. > :18:29.have their own contexts in which to make those decisions. Each has to
:18:29. > :18:32.cut its cloth accordingly. If people feel it is unfair in there
:18:32. > :18:40.are various ways they can participate and have their say,
:18:40. > :18:42.like the ballot-box Orok citizens' panels. Balancing books as
:18:43. > :18:48.certainly going to be tough for Northern councils. Some will say
:18:48. > :18:51.that they must make money for the can. As we cannot use will be get
:18:51. > :18:59.air services from, it is no wonder that we looked enviously at those
:18:59. > :19:04.in neighbouring areas who may be peeing a whole lot less. -- peeing
:19:04. > :19:09.at less. You do not need me to tell you that
:19:09. > :19:14.there is something strange going on with the weather. This year we had
:19:14. > :19:17.a drought and then one of the wettest summers on record. Paul
:19:17. > :19:22.Hodgson has discovered that there is increasing evidence that
:19:22. > :19:27.miserable summers could become the norm.
:19:27. > :19:31.It has been another of record- breaking year. The wettest summer
:19:31. > :19:35.for a century and a distressing time for many. Now climate
:19:35. > :19:39.scientists in Yorkshire are investigating whether something
:19:39. > :19:43.significant is underway and are focusing their attention on what is
:19:43. > :19:46.happening high above us. The jet stream is of a been of a really
:19:46. > :19:50.strong winds high up and the atmosphere and has formed because
:19:50. > :19:54.of the temperature contrast between the cold towards the Arctic and the
:19:54. > :19:59.warmth towards the equator. The Jetstream decides what kind of
:19:59. > :20:03.weather we have in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It is to the north
:20:03. > :20:06.was weather will be warm and settles but if it is to the south
:20:06. > :20:13.of us it will be cold and wet. That is what happened this summer,
:20:13. > :20:17.bringing us more extreme weather. All our houses were flooded. A lot
:20:17. > :20:21.of people at the time were left with their businesses and their
:20:21. > :20:25.homes and liveable. It didn't matter very where he would be
:20:25. > :20:30.affected. For the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire is no stranger to
:20:30. > :20:36.flooding. This summer at locals were left reeling as one month's
:20:36. > :20:46.worth of rain fell in at day. and mud meant stock at this
:20:46. > :20:51.furniture store was ruined. June was the wettest on record. The
:20:51. > :20:56.rainfall was intense and fell in a short space of time. You can see,
:20:56. > :21:00.looking at the ballet, it is very steep with sides sloping up.
:21:00. > :21:04.Rainfall gathers and flows quickly down to the River Calder in the
:21:04. > :21:10.bottom. You can visualise how things would get out of hand
:21:10. > :21:14.quickly. Even living high on the hillside offered no protection. The
:21:14. > :21:21.use are the steps that have flowed down and it flowed for an hour and
:21:21. > :21:26.a half or so. This is how high the what Therese. We all saw the
:21:26. > :21:31.pictures on television. What was it like? It was scary. You realise you
:21:31. > :21:36.cannot stop it. You start thinking other stuff that is going to get
:21:36. > :21:43.damaged. There is nothing you can do. We just had to wait for it to
:21:43. > :21:46.end. It was the eerie and soul- destroying and for the first couple
:21:46. > :21:56.of days you were living on adrenalin because there are lots of
:21:56. > :21:58.
:21:58. > :22:03.stuff happening but then it hits you. And down the valley, is this
:22:03. > :22:09.man Stewart also felt the full force of nature. Can you describe
:22:09. > :22:13.to us what the weather was like? had about 48 hours of rain and then
:22:13. > :22:17.at about 11 o'clock there was a cloudburst in the airier and the
:22:17. > :22:22.river got up to about a foot below the height of the wall, which is
:22:22. > :22:27.normal, but once the cloudburst started in Rosewell of the wall
:22:27. > :22:31.here for the first time in 30 years. The with the enclosed a rogue banks
:22:31. > :22:37.unable to cope, water poured into the furniture factory costing
:22:37. > :22:45.millions of pounds worth of damage. Describe what you saw? Disaster. We
:22:45. > :22:50.had about 12 inches of water in this area. All the sewing machines
:22:50. > :22:53.were damaged. The whole heart of the couple's two factory is a
:22:53. > :22:58.sewing room and we cannot do anything without sewing machines.
:22:58. > :23:05.That was a disaster. The company is now back on its feet and taking
:23:05. > :23:10.steps to build a high wall to stop the river flooding again. And it is
:23:10. > :23:16.not only the Calder Valley that suffered. The summer floods in Hull
:23:16. > :23:20.and Sheffield in 2007 caused chaos and widespread damage. For those
:23:20. > :23:24.who gather Sheffield's daily whether it Statistics, these events
:23:24. > :23:30.appear to show something significant is happening. It is one
:23:30. > :23:35.of the longest data sets in the whole country. 130 years but.
:23:35. > :23:40.seems some things do not change in Sheffield. Continuous rain! You
:23:40. > :23:49.have something interesting there. This letter contains our coldest
:23:49. > :23:58.ever recorded temperature. The 8th February in 19 -- 1885, it was 5.8
:23:58. > :24:03.degrees Fahrenheit, that is minus 14.6 degrees Celsius. Sir you look
:24:03. > :24:07.through their records and it is obvious we have had extremes
:24:07. > :24:12.throughout the period. Have you noticed anything of interest in the
:24:12. > :24:15.last few years. Absolutely, specifically with rainfall. We have
:24:15. > :24:22.noticed that we are getting more of those cloudburst events where you
:24:22. > :24:26.are recording up to 70 ml of rainfall in a single day. If you
:24:26. > :24:31.look back over the record that we have here as a whole, we perhaps
:24:31. > :24:36.got to were three of those events prior to 1970, and then in the last
:24:36. > :24:41.ten years we have had my be four or five of these events. There does
:24:41. > :24:45.seem to be a change. Flash floods are nothing new. But are they
:24:45. > :24:50.happening because of the weather 2000 miles away in green and?
:24:50. > :24:53.Recent summers have been warmer, drier and sunnier. We would
:24:53. > :24:57.normally expect parts of the massive price cut is all in summer,
:24:57. > :25:02.but this year there has been a record melt and for those who have
:25:02. > :25:07.regular visitors to green land, like this polar explorer, the
:25:07. > :25:13.change has been obvious. So that put loss of ice, or what does that
:25:13. > :25:17.mean on the ground here? I have been working on the west coast on
:25:17. > :25:22.this science project. When I went in a few years ago with Mike bits
:25:22. > :25:26.on, I got out their helicopter to walk three kilometres out onto the
:25:26. > :25:30.ice cap and I got there and there was so much water that I had to get
:25:30. > :25:35.back in their helicopter, flew back and bought fishing waders so that I
:25:35. > :25:42.could weed out to have a metre of water to Messiaen's site.
:25:42. > :25:45.Everywhere I go there is more water, more rock and a lot less ice.
:25:45. > :25:50.climate scientists now believe that what is happening thousands of
:25:50. > :25:55.miles away is having an impact on a weather. A loss of sea ice and more
:25:55. > :26:00.heat over the Arctic appears to have weakened the speed and pattern
:26:00. > :26:05.of the Jetstream, making it meander. It has meant more at low pressure
:26:05. > :26:09.over Britain and more unsettled summer weather. I know only too
:26:09. > :26:14.well the long-range forecasting is the most difficult part of my job.
:26:14. > :26:18.But I am about to meet someone who thinks he has made a breakthrough.
:26:18. > :26:22.Dr Edward Hanna is a jet stream expert and his team has studied its
:26:22. > :26:27.movement your last six years, a period that has coincided with our
:26:27. > :26:32.summer washouts. We have noticed a striking change in the last six
:26:32. > :26:38.years. You can see that in the last six years, but circulation has been
:26:38. > :26:42.much more wavy and meandering, compared with the average for the
:26:42. > :26:46.longer period of the last 30 years, of which is in the middle there.
:26:46. > :26:52.Which should mean weather patterns are the become entrenched and last
:26:52. > :26:55.for longer. So if you have a theory is correct and that scientists are
:26:55. > :27:01.correct, what are the implications for a summer's across Yorkshire and
:27:01. > :27:06.Lincolnshire? We might get more of these colder, wetter summers, but
:27:06. > :27:10.there is going to be more variation in weather conditions the
:27:10. > :27:17.experience. I think we're going to have to get used to a lot of cold,
:27:17. > :27:20.wet weather. More research at Sheffield is underway, but their
:27:20. > :27:25.work suggests that although there will be the occasional scorching
:27:25. > :27:30.summer, we should get ready for more of the same. And with what a
:27:30. > :27:35.lot crops and higher food prices, we are all likely to feel the pinch.
:27:35. > :27:43.Back in the Calder Valley, sandbags have become a way of life. But what
:27:43. > :27:48.about the future? Historians know that in the Calder Valley, we have
:27:48. > :27:51.had these sort of floods for the last two when the cheers. This one
:27:52. > :27:56.has been extreme and possibly there has been nothing like it in the
:27:56. > :28:05.last 50 years, but we cannot take the chance. We do not what this to
:28:05. > :28:10.happen again. Are we could have years of this to come. How does
:28:10. > :28:20.that make you feel? It needs to be raced up the agenda so that all the
:28:20. > :28:23.
:28:23. > :28:29.agencies that can work together see it as a higher priority. That is
:28:29. > :28:36.all for tonight. Paul Hodgson will be back with a special programme
:28:36. > :28:44.about this year's wild weather on Sunday 30th December. Have a merry