:01:30. > :01:34.In the Midlands: What should be our Olympic legacy? The torch is here
:01:34. > :01:44.right now, in Evesham. But in the long run, how precisely will it
:01:44. > :01:44.
:01:44. > :29:46.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1682 seconds
:29:46. > :29:50.Hello again from the Midlands. I'm Patrick Burns. And with us here
:29:50. > :29:55.today: Philip, now Lord, Hunt of Kings Heath, is Labour's Deputy
:29:55. > :30:03.Leader in the Upper House. And Karen Lumley is the Conservative MP
:30:04. > :30:08.for Redditch. Lord Hunt, we have been talking about Lords reform.
:30:08. > :30:11.Call yourselves a progressive party? You are putting all sorts of
:30:11. > :30:18.roadblocks in the wake of this, and not signing up to the government's
:30:18. > :30:22.timetable. Not at all. I'm in favour of reform, happy to stand
:30:22. > :30:26.for election. Whether this is the right time to do it, the country
:30:26. > :30:30.faces his huge problem with the National Health Service, the
:30:30. > :30:34.economy, it wouldn't be my main priority. I would certainly let the
:30:34. > :30:40.people decide. If we are dithering about a referendum in Europe, wire
:30:40. > :30:45.and it can we not have won about the Lords reform? Karim, your party
:30:45. > :30:50.is at sixes and sevens as well. Your Prime Minister says now is the
:30:50. > :30:54.time to get on with this, where do you stand? I stand here with Philip.
:30:54. > :30:58.I think people do not want me to be talking about House of Lords reform
:30:59. > :31:02.in these difficult and challenging times. I am facing a dilemma next
:31:02. > :31:05.week when the Bill comes before the House, whether to buy it for a
:31:05. > :31:09.second reading or not. At the moment I'm listening to what people
:31:09. > :31:13.have to say, and I'm not finding much encouragement for it in
:31:13. > :31:18.Redditch. But surely if major reform is desirable, there is no
:31:18. > :31:23.time like the present? We reform the Education Act when we were at
:31:23. > :31:28.war! We may have done, but this Bill is ill-thought out. They have
:31:28. > :31:32.not sorted out what the power to be between two elected chambers, there
:31:32. > :31:37.is a real risk of gridlock. I think it would be better to do a proper
:31:37. > :31:41.job, then put it in a referendum to the people rather than spend 12
:31:41. > :31:47.months in Parliament when we should be debating the health service and
:31:47. > :31:52.the economy. Is your party divided? We are, some of us think we should
:31:52. > :31:55.be talking about more important issues like the housing and the
:31:55. > :31:59.health service, I think the electorate may not forgive us for
:31:59. > :32:01.having another layer of politicians. Coming up a little later: what's
:32:01. > :32:04.guaranteed to give most local politicians sleepless nights?
:32:04. > :32:12.Protests over hospital cuts. Why yet another accident and emergency
:32:12. > :32:16.department could go. Our top story this week: what will be the real
:32:16. > :32:25.Olympic legacy here in the Midlands? The torch is in our part
:32:25. > :32:33.of the country, right now. These are the latest pictures coming in.
:32:33. > :32:35.This was from Redditch, this morning. The relay left Birmingham
:32:35. > :32:40.just before six this morning, waved-off by crowds including
:32:40. > :32:43.members of the city council. Jackie Kabler was there as well.
:32:43. > :32:48.5.30am on a Sunday, and the party had already started in Birmingham's
:32:48. > :32:55.Victoria Square. A dry sunny morning brought around a thousand
:32:55. > :32:59.people out to see the torch. think it is great, it but to
:32:59. > :33:04.Birmingham on the map. We are hosting the Jamaican and American
:33:04. > :33:07.teams as well. It is really good, I'm glad everybody has come out to
:33:07. > :33:09.support everybody, these wonderful people who have got the chance to
:33:09. > :33:12.carry it. The first torchbearer today, 18-year-old Birchfield
:33:12. > :33:21.Harriers athlete Melissa Hanson, a 2016 Olympics hopeful, nominated by
:33:21. > :33:28.Birmingham City Council for her dedication to athletics. This is
:33:28. > :33:32.day 44 of the torch relay. It has travelled 99.95 miles, carried by
:33:32. > :33:36.157 torch bearers, through 17 communities, including Birmingham,
:33:36. > :33:42.Warwick, Evesham, Stratford upon Avon and Coventry. But what do
:33:42. > :33:46.events like this mean for the region? What will be the legacy?
:33:46. > :33:51.The Jamaican and athletics teams will be here, there is a lot to
:33:51. > :33:53.come. I think the legacy of that will be long-lasting. The Olympic
:33:53. > :33:58.flame had spent the night in Birmingham after the cauldron was
:33:58. > :34:01.lit in Cannon Hill Park. Today the youngest torchbearer in the entire
:34:01. > :34:03.relay got his turn - 12-year-old Dominic MacGowan, who represents
:34:03. > :34:07.his school in football, swimming and badminton, carried the flame
:34:07. > :34:10.along Stratford Road. In total, it'll have visited 73 communities
:34:10. > :34:12.across the West Midlands, shining a spotlight on some of the region's
:34:12. > :34:15.finest cultural destinations and bringing with it an undoubted feel-
:34:15. > :34:18.good factor. The question now is will it leave a lasting legacy. And
:34:18. > :34:22.the torch will be in Coventry for tonight's big celebration. Jackie
:34:22. > :34:25.is now in the city's War Memorial Park for us. You gave us a flavour
:34:25. > :34:33.of the excitement in Birmingham this morning. How is the build-up
:34:33. > :34:38.going there in Coventry? certainly has started. The torch is
:34:38. > :34:42.due to arrive here just before 7:00pm. You can see the stage,
:34:42. > :34:46.where they are gearing up for a music and dance extravaganza. If we
:34:46. > :34:50.see anything like the crowds we saw in Birmingham and Solihull, it will
:34:50. > :34:55.be quite a night. But are we going to see some long-term benefits? I
:34:55. > :35:00.am joined by David Moorcroft. And also the leader of Coventry City
:35:00. > :35:05.Council. David, which can T the short-term benefits, everyone
:35:05. > :35:11.having a great time, what about the long-term legacy, is there one?
:35:11. > :35:15.think Ferriter. As an immediate boost to the West Midlands economy,
:35:15. > :35:18.�531 million worth of contracts, the biggest figure outside of
:35:18. > :35:23.London and the south-east has been that immediate boost. But the
:35:23. > :35:29.repetition of those companies is enhanced. They believe now they can
:35:29. > :35:34.compete on the world sporting stage. World and European events, it is a
:35:34. > :35:37.growing business. These companies are perfectly placed to carry the
:35:37. > :35:44.irritation through in the way the Australian companies did after the
:35:44. > :35:50.Sydney Games. Locally here, are you seeing an impact? We are already
:35:50. > :35:55.seeing an impact, some of the public roadworks has encouraged
:35:55. > :35:58.massive investment in the city centre, there is a �50 million
:35:58. > :36:06.project teaches start, some of the shops in the City centre will be
:36:06. > :36:14.having a revamped as well. More importantly, the prestige that the
:36:14. > :36:19.City gets from this. We are the only city outside London that has
:36:19. > :36:23.had alone... So far there has been 33,000 downloads from across the
:36:23. > :36:27.world, from over 100 countries. That is the kind of publicity you
:36:27. > :36:30.could never get anywhere else. Thank you so much. If you could
:36:30. > :36:34.bottle the feel-good factor, we would all be on a winner. Thank you
:36:34. > :36:36.Jackie. And you'll be able to watch BBC Coventry and Warwickshire's
:36:36. > :36:46.coverage of the Olympic Torch arriving in War Memorial Park, live
:36:46. > :36:52.
:36:52. > :36:56.Everybody we have been hearing from, they are all saying there is a long
:36:56. > :37:00.lasting legacy, but are you convinced? There are fears that
:37:00. > :37:04.sport particularly at grass roots level, and among young people, may
:37:04. > :37:10.suffer as a result of investment at the top? The reason the last Labour
:37:10. > :37:15.government pushed his bid so hard was because of the end people,
:37:15. > :37:21.encouraging them to dissipate young people in sport. We have seen an
:37:21. > :37:26.increase, 90% of youngsters now spend over two hours participating
:37:26. > :37:28.in sport every week. My concern is the latest cutbacks in education,
:37:29. > :37:33.particularly in school sport, main impact on that. That would be a
:37:33. > :37:38.great pity. The more young people take part in sport, it is a real
:37:38. > :37:41.foundation for their future life and health. You have been watching
:37:41. > :37:46.a celebration to in Redditch. Is there a sense that you're part of
:37:46. > :37:50.the world is going to get a long- term benefit? We have companies in
:37:50. > :37:54.Redditch making things for the Stratford Park, seating companies...
:37:54. > :37:59.But it is all a drop in the bucket compared to east London?
:37:59. > :38:03.Olympics have to be somewhere, I think this shows the world that
:38:03. > :38:07.Britain is open for business. It shows that we are able to compete
:38:07. > :38:11.at the highest level, able to produce a stadium on time, on
:38:11. > :38:14.budget, and that shows the rest of the world that we can compete in
:38:14. > :38:19.the global market. I think that is good for British businesses in
:38:19. > :38:22.these Economic times. Thank you very much for the moment. Our other
:38:22. > :38:26.main talking point this week, the threatened closure of Accident and
:38:26. > :38:31.Emergency services at Redditch. Fears of hospital departments being
:38:31. > :38:37.shut are the stuff of nightmares for any community, and its MP.
:38:37. > :38:40.That's exactly what's hanging over Karen Lumley's constituency. Bosses
:38:40. > :38:49.at Worcestershire's three main hospitals need to save �50 million,
:38:49. > :38:56.as BBC WM's Political Reporter Elizabeth Glinka explains: The
:38:56. > :39:03.Alexandra Hospital in Redditch could lose... It is all part of a
:39:03. > :39:06.review... Massive changes to a hospital in was to share in a bid
:39:06. > :39:13.to save money... There are certain things guaranteed to upset the
:39:13. > :39:19.British public. Summer downpours, penalty shoot outs, and it seems,
:39:19. > :39:23.meddling with the local NHS. In Redditch savings proposals which
:39:23. > :39:33.could see the town lose its A&E - have given rise to a petition with
:39:33. > :39:33.
:39:33. > :39:39.over 13,000 names in just 2 weeks. In the round of cuts stay working
:39:39. > :39:43.at, if they had gone ahead, leaving them with no maternity, our second
:39:43. > :39:46.child would have been born on the M5 somewhere. That is unacceptable
:39:46. > :39:50.to me and to the people of Redditch and North Worcestershire. The
:39:50. > :39:53.closure of Redditch A&E is at the more extreme end of six proposals
:39:53. > :39:56.being put forward by the Worcestershire Acute Trust. On
:39:56. > :40:01.Wednesday these people in Bromsgrove were amongst the first
:40:01. > :40:07.to attend a meeting where managers explained the options. I don't want
:40:07. > :40:13.to hear political speak. I want to hear something I can understand. I
:40:13. > :40:18.want to try and get a solution. That is what I am saying. People in
:40:18. > :40:23.this area would have to travel to Worcester for urgent treatment.
:40:23. > :40:26.They could be dead by the time they get there. Unfortunately health
:40:26. > :40:33.managers said they didn't want us to film the meeting. And they're
:40:34. > :40:36.certainly in a difficult position. As a London Hospital was threatened
:40:36. > :40:39.with administration this week, one local health chief's was on Twitter
:40:39. > :40:45.warning campaigners the same could happen here if savings aren't made.
:40:45. > :40:49.Back in Redditch there's only one story in town. We have been here
:40:49. > :40:52.before, we knew what was coming, we knew the Alex was under threat, we
:40:52. > :41:02.have always been prepared to fight for our local hospital, and that is
:41:02. > :41:03.
:41:03. > :41:06.what people are doing again. In the late 90's a similar campaign to
:41:06. > :41:08.save Kidderminster A&E saw the area's MP swept from power by a
:41:08. > :41:14.local doctor who has his own prescription for the current
:41:14. > :41:17.crisis: Start again. The current budget is 900 million. Go through
:41:17. > :41:22.that with a tooth comb. I can't believe that a significant amount
:41:22. > :41:29.of that 900 million across the whole county could be saved before
:41:30. > :41:35.we even consider what out -- what are draconian cuts. Those
:41:35. > :41:39.responsible must know THIS case will be under close observation.
:41:39. > :41:43.Since that report was completed, the Save the Alex campaigners tell
:41:43. > :41:47.me their petition has now attracted well over 14,000 signatures. They
:41:47. > :41:53.will no doubt be hoping for even more at a rally tomorrow afternoon
:41:53. > :41:58.in Redditch, which Karen Lumley will be at. Philip Hunt is a former
:41:58. > :42:04.health minister. Wouldn't a better solution be to look for a county-
:42:04. > :42:10.wide solution to this, rather than put red lines around A&E in
:42:10. > :42:18.Redditch? I think we will have to, but the trust itself has put itself
:42:18. > :42:25.in financial difficulties. They have got to get their books in
:42:25. > :42:30.order. They have got to get their house in order, this is about two
:42:30. > :42:35.things - saving the money, which we have got to do, and making sure
:42:35. > :42:38.that our services are safe, wherever they are. This review has
:42:38. > :42:43.been led by a commission to and doctors. I think it is important
:42:43. > :42:48.that we listen to them. We have had all sides of the Aardman. As a
:42:48. > :42:52.former health minister, what is the way out of this as far as you're
:42:52. > :42:56.concerned? What is tragic is that the health service, two years ago,
:42:56. > :43:05.it was in good shape. Waiting times have come down, many new hospitals
:43:05. > :43:09.were being built. PFI cost about 1% of all expenditure in the NHS.
:43:09. > :43:12.in Worcestershire it doesn't. has also brought lots of new
:43:12. > :43:18.hospitals. Now, the real problem that Worcestershire and other
:43:18. > :43:21.places space is the government is taking a �20 billion out of NHS
:43:21. > :43:25.expenditure over a four year period. That is his huge amount of money,
:43:25. > :43:30.and that is forcing places up and down the country to have to make
:43:30. > :43:35.savings. I thought health spending was being ring-fenced? We pledged
:43:35. > :43:41.18 million into health. But the PFI was built in the wrong place,
:43:41. > :43:45.should have been built in Droitwich. The negotiations, the contract, it
:43:45. > :43:49.wasn't good enough. Now the people in Redditch are expected to be
:43:49. > :43:54.paying for a PFI contract for a hospital that is 20 miles away. To
:43:54. > :43:59.be frank, there is a red line as far as I'm concerned, about the AMD
:43:59. > :44:04.Inn at Redditch. But at the end of the day, will people go to
:44:04. > :44:07.Worcester if they are poorly? Will they come into Birmingham? There
:44:08. > :44:12.may be a case for looking at it differently, from saying that
:44:12. > :44:16.Redditch is good for maternity, Kidderminster is good at elective
:44:16. > :44:20.surgery. Is it that the answer? There is always a way for looking
:44:20. > :44:25.at how you provide services, can they be more efficient? But you
:44:25. > :44:29.also have to look at the impact on Redditch if you close their A&E.
:44:29. > :44:32.The Worcestershire authority make assume they will go to Worcester,
:44:32. > :44:36.but what happens if they come to Birmingham? Although it has to be
:44:36. > :44:40.looked at. What is tragic is that while this is going on, the
:44:40. > :44:44.government is reorganising the NHS yet again. All the effort that has
:44:44. > :44:50.been put into sorting this out is being spent in a bureaucratic
:44:50. > :44:54.change. A couple of points arising from my latest blog post, saying
:44:54. > :44:57.that this is aimed at both government. In the last decade we
:44:57. > :45:02.have seen advances that require a huge capital investment, sadly,
:45:02. > :45:08.ministers have failed to grapple with these questions are we have
:45:08. > :45:11.seen a widespread failure of basic care and the organisation. I don't
:45:11. > :45:16.really agree. We have seen huge investment, lot of my hospitals,
:45:16. > :45:21.new staff, waiting times have come down. Instead of trying to improve
:45:21. > :45:25.it, we have gone backwards, because of the cutbacks, and his wretched
:45:25. > :45:31.reorganisation, which is taking so much attention away from improving
:45:31. > :45:38.services. Another e-mail here, successive ministers of failing to
:45:38. > :45:42.keep up with the successive pace of health services. I take a different
:45:42. > :45:47.view. We were the only party went into the election promising to put
:45:47. > :45:50.more into the health service. It was our party they did that, and
:45:50. > :45:57.I'm actually pleased that this review is being led by clinicians
:45:57. > :46:00.in Worcester, because it is them... One commission says it should be a
:46:00. > :46:05.line-by-line examination of the entire �9 million health economy of
:46:05. > :46:11.Worcestershire. Isn't that the answer? Dr Taylor was saying that I
:46:11. > :46:16.was wrong to try and save the A&E, now he is changing his mind. I say
:46:16. > :46:20.there should be a red line at the Alex, and I say the commissioners
:46:20. > :46:24.and the doctors we're going to introduce to the commission will
:46:24. > :46:28.want to commission services in Redditch. But remember, before the
:46:28. > :46:33.election, Mr Cameron said no A&E closures. What I would do is stop
:46:33. > :46:37.this stupid reorganisation and concentrate on services. That may
:46:37. > :46:40.be for another programme. Now our regular round-up of the political
:46:40. > :46:47.week in the Midlands in 60 seconds with BBC Radio Stoke's political
:46:47. > :46:49.High Court judges have been asked to save the lives of badgers.
:46:49. > :46:59.There's opposition to a government cull in Gloucestershire as part of
:46:59. > :47:01.
:47:01. > :47:04.plans to reduce TB in cattle. You can expect more delays on the
:47:04. > :47:07.M6 with the start of a �120 million roadwork scheme. It'll be the
:47:07. > :47:09.fourth bit of the motorway to use the hard shoulder.
:47:09. > :47:12.Staying with roads, and has the Leek roundabout story finally
:47:12. > :47:15.stopped going round in circles? Protestors who want to keep the
:47:15. > :47:18.town landmark have been moved off ahead of building work on a new
:47:18. > :47:23.supermarket. Flash floods hit the region. The
:47:23. > :47:27.emergency services dealt with thousands of calls. But there's a
:47:27. > :47:31.warning about how they will cope in future. These are things we could
:47:31. > :47:36.easily deal with. You ask me about how all this will be in two years
:47:36. > :47:41.after the cuts come it will be different. And could the council
:47:41. > :47:45.bin-round become a thing of the past? A local government conference
:47:45. > :47:52.in Birmingham warned by the end of the decade, councils may only have
:47:52. > :47:56.enough cash to pay for social services.
:47:56. > :48:01.As a former councillor yourself, Karen, had you feel about local
:48:01. > :48:07.services potentially being pared down to the bone? I don't see it
:48:07. > :48:12.like that, I talk to my councils and they are having to save money,
:48:12. > :48:16.but they are protecting front line services. This is overdrawn, surely.
:48:16. > :48:21.We all know that in the real world, the outlook for local authorities
:48:21. > :48:25.is not as gloomy as that suggests. I think it is tough. If it takes
:48:25. > :48:30.social services, hospitals are under great pressure to discharge
:48:30. > :48:35.patients more quickly than they now do. But to do that you need good
:48:35. > :48:40.social services, providing support in the community. My concern is
:48:40. > :48:43.that support is not going to be there. In the meantime, the chief
:48:43. > :48:46.fire officer appears to have a graph of doom of his own. He is
:48:46. > :48:51.warning that an emergency like we have seen in the past week will be
:48:51. > :48:57.difficult to cope after the cuts he will have. I spoke to the Chief
:48:57. > :49:03.Constable of West most here, who gave a fairly upbeat... A fairly
:49:03. > :49:12.upbeat assessment. So there are difficult times ahead, there is a
:49:12. > :49:19.lot of money to be saved, we were left in a bad situation. We left
:49:19. > :49:26.the economy with a 2% growth, we didn't... My thanks to Karen Lumley
:49:27. > :49:29.and Lord Philip Hunt. We'll be back in a couple of weeks, with another