02/04/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

brightness between the clouds. The outlook is mixed. Thank you.

brightness between the clouds. The Guernsey's government is told "needs

to get off its backside" and do more to encourage a new university in the

island. The States needs to get off its backside and do something. This

is far too important a project to just sit back and wait.

The new plan for to teach Jersey job`seekers computer coding to get

them back into work. Why people who suffer from a serious

eye condition will no longer have to travel to Southampton for treatment.

And find out why this cinema has been modified to mark World Autism

Day. Good evening. Guernsey's government

"needs to get off its backside" and do more to encourage a new

university in the island. That's according to the former Treasury and

Resources Minister Charles Parkinson. He's slammed the States

for dragging its feet and not doing enough to promote the potential

economic benefit of a university in the island. The States say they have

been working hard. Will the University of Guernsey ever

have its own prospectus? The first postgraduate students were supposed

to start in October, but that target looks likely to be missed. And now

the island's former Treasury and Resources Minister has slammed the

States for not doing enough to promote the potential economic

benefits and dragging its feet. I just think this is far too passive.

It is all very well having a committee meeting once a month and

waiting for Susan Jackson to tell you what will happen next time. The

States needs to get off its backside and do something. This is far too

important a project to sit back and wait.

This is where he thinks the new campus should go ` the Castel

Hospital and the King Edward VII Hospital. He thinks the States

should be doing more to improve the infrastructure and making the sites

available. But today as young people plan their

futures at a career show, the Commerce and Employment Minister

insists the States is working as hard as it can to encourage a

university. You have the Chief Minister, myself, the deputy chief

minister and a cheap officers sitting on this group. We could not

be doing more. All we are waiting for is for Susan to come up with the

funding. `` the chief officers. So, we've heard both sides of the

argument. The only one we haven't heard from is the company behind the

scheme. Despite repeated attempts by the BBC, no`one from Susan Jackson

Associates was available for comment.

Lots of thoughts on this one from you on the BBC's social media pages

today ` some looking forward to the prospect of a university in the

island. Bengt Warleby says, this is great

and can be even Greater. It can draw students from all of the EU.

Diane Ozanne says, It's a very good idea. It would keep the students on

island instead of training off island and not coming back.

But Maureen O Halloran posted this one. As I live in a student City `

Canterbury ` I fail to see how this will work in Guernsey. Not only

accommodation should be thought about, but the medical situation and

a host of other things, too. Thank you for those comments. Do keep them

coming in. Meanwhile in Jersey, job`seekers are

to be taught the basics of computer coding in the first scheme of its

kind in a bid to help them into the digital sector. More than 1,800

people are currently unemployed, according to latest figures The

States hopes the technology industry will flourish in the island. It set

up a body, Digital Jersey, with the aim of providing 2,000 extra jobs by

2020. The new scheme will run for six weeks, including a substantial

amount of hands`on work experience, as Sophie Sulehria reports.

Coding. Computer language that to most seems complex and complicated.

Yet it's something we use almost every day. Coding could be the

programming of anything. From the skeleton of a website like this, to

more complex systems. Now for the first time ever local

job seekers will be taught the basics of coding, with the help of

website designer Jordan Love. A lot of businesses that I have spoken to,

they often require some maintenance of that side of their business. If a

candidate has some web skills, they can help to maintain websites. In

this day and age you need to be multitalented, so getting into

digital is great. The six`week scheme was the idea of

former head teacher Richard Rolfe to help some of Jersey unemployed

people get into inline work. From his own experience, he thinks it's a

realistic prospect. Over Christmas I decided to teach myself how to code

because everyone was talking about it. I found it straightforward. I

thought, if I can do it, anyone can. Back To Work, the government team

helping islanders find employment, support the idea. They see a future

for coders. It will give them the confidence to be able to approach

employers and give them that foundation. It went teach them

everything about coding, but it will kill `` it will give them enough of

a background to help them with interviews and to get jobs in

different areas that are useful to them.

Following the week of training, delegates will have five weeks of

work experience. Digital Jersey, who are developing the island's

industry, say they welcome the scheme and that learning skills such

as coding is essential for growth in the sector.

There's been almost a five`fold increase in benefits fraud in

Jersey, according to figures revealed by the States. Over the

last five years the total amount of money identified as incorrectly or

falsely claimed has gone up from just under ?100,000 in 2009 to more

than ?450,000 last year. Some claims have been made in genuine error, but

there have been 20 successful prosecutions in that time.

It'll soon cost you a penny more to buy a stamp in Jersey. It's the

first price increase in two years. The price of sending letters to the

UK and within the island will increase to 56 and 46p

respectively.The cost of posting small parcels will stay the same or

reduce to help small businesses. Jersey Post say it's due to rising

costs and falling postal volumes. People from Guernsey who suffer from

a serious eye condition will no longer have to travel to Southampton

for treatment. New equipment and staff have been employed to help

patients suffering from Age`related macular degeneration. And as Mike

Wilkins reports, despite it being a new service, it'll actually save

taxpayers' money. This is what age`related macular

degeneration or AMD does to your eyesight. The blurred vision will

never go away. In fact the condition is the leading cause of blindness.

People from Guernsey have to travel to Southampton for treatment, but

not anymore. This machine and two specialists mean that patients can

now be treated on island. Nick Le Poidevin has suffered from macular

degeneration for just over three years. He told me he's had to fly to

Southampton 30 times and won't miss the travelling. I had one occasion

when I broke my leg at the end of 2012 and this doctor said I had to

continue the course of injections and they have two be done between

four and six week intervals. So there I was in January included on

to the aeroplane in a cargo lift with my leg in plaster. It was not a

pleasant experience, but it shows the inconvenience people have in

having to go to Southampton. Now this is great news for the

patients and their families, but at a time when the HSSD is trying to

trim its spending, how can it introduce a new service? This week

we have been paying Southhampton for the treatment and Social Security

have been paying people for the travel assistance grant. By doing

this on islands, we are saving around 50,000 pounds `` ?50,000.

There are about a hundred people who currently stand to benefit from this

new arrangement with 30 new cases each year. And as our population

continues to age the staff here could become a lot busier.

A Jersey hotel's been turned into a special cinema tonight for young

islanders with autism. 11 to 25`year`olds will be able to watch

the Oscar winning film Frozen in specially adapted surroundings. It's

to mark World Autism Day, which hopes to raise awareness of the

condition which can cause problems with social interaction and is

thought to affect more than a 1,000 islanders. We sent Jen Smith to find

out more. Welcome to the Grand Hotel in

Jersey, or the Grand Cinema for one night only. This area will later be

filled with young islanders who have autism, and the screening's been

adapted to make it autism friendly. Joining me are three youngsters to

tell me a little bit more about it. Christie, what is it like to

normally go to a cinema? I don't normally go. Why is that? Because it

is noisy. There will be people we know and the seating is more

comfortable. Tell me, what is autism? It's a developmental

condition that affects how a person relates to the world. It can cause

anxiety and communication issues. Tell us, why is this evening

important? We are encouraging everyone to do something for autism.

It is a chance to get together, have a good evening and raise awareness

of autism. This screening is for one night only, but there are autism

friendly screenings in Jersey once a month. Time now for the weather.

Now, we have seen a lot of dust coming up from the Sahara. We

affected here? There has been a lot of fine dust

lifted out of the desert and deposited around the country. The

pollution is less of an issue for us. I looked at the two reported

sites across Jersey and they are registering quite low. Any rain will

wash away the pollution so we don't need to worry. There is rain

tomorrow with patchy rain. It will be misty. Becoming brighter at the

end of the afternoon. The low pressure will give us a view

headaches over the next couple of days. Lower temperatures,

increasingly unsettled and the risk of some rain. That is the weather

system that will be across us tomorrow. Once that moves away, we

will get westerly winds. With it it will bring fresh conditions. To

night, some breaks in the clouds, but the rain nor come in later in

the night. A wet start to the day tomorrow. Temperatures around 10

Celsius. The rain will be around for a good part of the morning before it

disappears during the afternoon. Winds will eventually become

westerly of the temperatures up to 13 Celsius. Here are the coastal

waters. Here are the times of high water. Not much for our servers, but

it does pick up over the next few days. It will be up to a couple of

feet and quite choppy. Friday should be a fine day with lots of sunshine.

Showers possible on Saturday and more persistent rain returns on

Sunday. Notice the change in the temperatures. It is much cooler and

it continues in the same vein as we move through the next few days. For

us though, no problems with Saharan dust pollution. That is it from us

for now. Still to come on Spotlight: The

labour of love which has taken three years. We'll meet the artist who

created this spectacular mural at Buckfast Abbey.

And say the dogs who've taken up the social media craze of selfies.

A number of businesses in the South West have agreed to pay their staff

the so`called living wage. Latest figures from the TUC suggest around

one in four people in Dorset is paid below the living wage which which

tries to go beyond the nationally set minimum wage. Simon Clemison

reports. Government advertisements from 15 years ago may not seem

dated, but look closely at the rate the minimum wage was set at when it

was first introduced, and 1999 can appear a long time ago. The wages

now getting on for double that and it was. It is currently more than ?6

for people over 21. In October, it will rise by another 19p, and

increase ministers are proud of, but even those who created the original

benchmark think it is a blunt instrument and some employers could

afford more. There are now calls for ?7 and 65p to reflect the cost of

living. I think the minimum wage is not enough. The cost of living wage

would be more appropriate. I am on the minimum wage for an 18`year`old.

It is OK. It is survivable but it could be better. And some businesses

are now choosing to give all staff at least the higher amount, although

many earn more. This property maintenance Company based in Dorset

says it wanted to treat its workers well and not drive up prices ``

prices as a result and has found a way to do both. We do maintenance

and repairs so we need to compete, but we are confident that we can do

it and paid a living wage. Our nurse working in this counsel get the

same... An argument campaigners say is familiar. A lot of people say

that if the national wage comes and there will be job losses and that is

not true and it is not true for the living wage. Some businesses are

really struggling in terms of cash flow, but the situation is

definitely improving, so the ability of firms to embrace the living wage

has got to increase. There is a will if they can find a way. Where does

that leave the minimum wage? There's growing concern over the

future of a number of shelters for desperate and vulnerable women. It's

been confirmed that Devon County Council has withdrawn funding from

three key centres in Exeter. It's all part of a rethink on the way

services are provided. This 27`year`old woman is one of 18

residence at eight homeless hostel that has lost funding. She is losing

what she has come to call home. I've got no other options. I've got

nowhere else to go. It all depends on what happens, but I'd don't have

anywhere that ICANN go and stay, so at the moment `` that ICANN go and

stay, so at the moment but do not know what to do. We have been

thinking of anything we can do, like fundraising, anything we can do to

raise money to try and get the funding. What ever we could have

done we would have never have raised enough money to have been able to

get the funding also we would do anything to save this place. For 15

years, a safe place has been provided for women between 16 and

59, often with social issues alongside their homeless

predicament. Another casualty is this centre, a

supportive housing project for women and their babies. In a statement,

the group said... It is all down to a culture change

in the way services are provided, with much more emphasis on outreach

and community. After 37 years, this week saw the end of the road for

this refuge for women must with its funding having been withdrawn. There

are serious concerns. Jeanette is a survivor of abuse and now a

volunteer. I really hope that this is not the case. This is not the

reason why people sit up and take note. Let's try and prevent that.

Accommodating displaced residents has meant more pressure on an

already overstretched housing authority. I am not saying this is

comfortable. We are as cut and is devastated by government funds as

anybody. But we will do our best to cope with it. No`one from Devon

County Council was available for interview, but a statement said that

the new providers would continue to support those who needed it him and

expected to help more people than the previous providers were able to

because of the change. The Council also stressed that funding has been

cut, merely transferred. A mural the size of a small house

has been unveiled at Buckfast Abbey in South Devon today. It's the

creation of Mother Joanna Jamieson, a former abbess and it tells the

story of how monks rebuilt the abbey a century ago. It is the culmination

of three years of work, one leading art critic has described it as

stupendous. Our reporter Anna Varle has been to take a look.

An abbey which has stood the test of time and was built by the hands of

the monks who lived here three centuries old stop today, their

craftsmanship is commemorated in a mural stretching many feet. There is

a saying that... In other words, every small thing makes a large

thing. And a large painting it certainly is. It has taken the

artist years to complete, and this is the first time she had seen all

panels come together on one board. It is an extraordinary experience.

It has it's own life. It is going to speak to people in its own language.

The mural tells the story of how it took a team of monks 32 years to

rebuild the Abbey a century ago. Picking this has been hugely

significant `` I think this is usually significant, and it is

in this type of environment. It is in this type of environment. It is

all part and parcel of our family. Today, many came to see it unveiled,

including a television star. I have seen work in progress on these

panels. It is an extraordinary achievement. I'd just think it is

absolutely wonderful. The mural were `` the mural will celebrates the

upcoming millennium year. Some fantastic work there, isn't the

question at `` isn't it? You can see all of the detail. Lots more

pictures on our Facebook page. Now, the rise of the so`called

'selfie' has been evident all over social media. You may have seen the

recent no make`up selfies to raise money for a breast cancer charity.

To give you a bit more of an idea, here are some we prepared earlier

for you at Spotlight. These are members of the team who work behind

the scenes and took these pictures on their mobile phones. Well, the

selfie concept has been taken to a whole new level as our North Devon

reporter, Andrea Ormsby's been discovering.

This woman is on her way back from work. As well as being a

physiotherapist, she is a keen volunteer for a local charity. I'm

sitting at home on a Sunday evening and we were winding down and my

phone was plaguing me about alerts from friends about their no makeup

selfies. It gave her an idea. Good boy! Selfies of Charlie and paper

were soon online. Come in for a close`up. The boy! We thought, why

should humans have all the five `` all the fun? We took the photographs

and posted our selfie and renominated our family and friends

who were dog lovers as well to post their pictures on Facebook and on

the website and to donate ?3 to our charity and we were staggered by the

response that we got. Within an hour, there were nearly 50

dog selfies, all raising crucial funding. We have raised just over

?400, which saves a dog for a month. It puts a dog safe for a month. That

is absolutely fabulous. Even more so, it gets people hitting the

website, hitting Facebook, so they see all of our dogs that need homes

as well, which is just brilliant. And they have a bit of fun at the

same time. There may be a few of you who say this cannot really be called

eight selfie. But who is Paul's really are that nimble?

Very cute. They had a bit of help there. They loved it, didn't they?

Time for a look at the weather with David.

there. They loved it, didn't they? Time for a You take a quick selfie

well of `` what I'd get Around. That is the setup really for

the next couple of days. Cloudy conditions and rain at times. It is

somewhat cooler as well. A bit of a change. We are getting Atlantic air

from the east or South East, and now the area of low pressure is going to

take charge. That stripe of clouds covering most of Britain, giving us

a few showers. A weather system is just rippling across the South West

of England. This is lunch time tomorrow. Think by Friday that will

be be best date before we see outbreaks of rain settling in.

Incidentally for us, there has been no air pollution problems today.

There might have been a bit of dust on the cars I'm move right across

the South West, lots of reports of it being low. The rain has now

petered out but there is more to come later on this evening. This was

earlier on this evening. Clouds in the sky, a bit blue here and there,

but actually, quite nice along the north coast of Devon. The north

coast of Somerset has had some good weather as well, with the highest

temperatures being 17 or 18 degrees. It still looks quite pleasant there.

Change is afoot. The surf has been a bit disappointing over the last two

days. It will pick up as we head into the weekend. Some bright

weather around tomorrow morning, but for most of us, it will be a wet

start to the day tomorrow morning. The rain peters out for a wild, but

returned towards dawn tomorrow morning. Overnight temperatures come

up quite mild, really. Tomorrow, a wall of blue. It is wet for much of

the day for most of us. The rain band will begin to peter out

eventually for parts of Devon and Cornwall. Temperatures will probably

get up to 12 or 13 degrees here. Further east, 13 or 14 will be the

top temperature we can expect tomorrow. After some patchy rain in

the morning for the Isles of Scilly, it will be bright and dry in the

afternoon. Times of high water. The surf will pick up. Two feet

clean on the north coast morrow afternoon. The coastal waters

forecast. Patchy rain with moderate visibility. More clouds and drizzle

on Saturday. Persistent rain on Sunday. Have a good evening. Back to

you. Some rain in the forecast, but there is some very cheerful spring

photographs from you and the spotlight Facebook page at the

moment. Have a look at those. They will cheer you up. Tonight.