:00:09. > :00:25.The energy secretary announces plans to slash the time it takes to switch
:00:26. > :00:29.energy suppliers to help drive down prices. But Labour says action is
:00:30. > :00:32.needed now. Ed Davey tells MPs he is considering introducing criminal
:00:33. > :00:34.sanctions against any gas or electricity company which menace
:00:35. > :00:38.manipulates the energy markets. The trial of two former editors of
:00:39. > :00:41.the News of the world, Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, here's more
:00:42. > :00:48.evidence about phone hacking at the paper. Syria's ability to produce
:00:49. > :00:53.chemical weapons has been destroyed one day before the deadline. The
:00:54. > :00:59.first broadcast from inside a court in England and Wales. Cameras are
:01:00. > :01:03.allowed into the Court of Appeal. Hundreds of dangerous railway
:01:04. > :01:09.crossings will be closed or made safer. ?100 million is to be spent
:01:10. > :01:13.on rail safety. And more money is needed for regional arts projects
:01:14. > :01:41.admit the head of England's arts Council.
:01:42. > :01:53.Good afternoon. Households should be able to switch their energy supplier
:01:54. > :01:58.within 24 hours and proposals announced by the government. The
:01:59. > :02:02.energy secretary says he wants the main gas and electricity companies
:02:03. > :02:07.to reduce the time to a week and eventually one day. He is also
:02:08. > :02:12.considering introducing criminal sanctions against any company which
:02:13. > :02:17.manipulates the energy markets. The announcement is part of an energy
:02:18. > :02:22.review into competition and prices. Labour says the review that report
:02:23. > :02:29.next spring will do nothing to help with the soaring winter bills.
:02:30. > :02:33.Millions of households are facing higher energy prices this winter.
:02:34. > :02:38.There has been a raging political debate over how to help. In his
:02:39. > :02:43.annual statement to Parliament the energy secretary spelt out plans for
:02:44. > :02:48.a new competition test to ensure the energy market is working for
:02:49. > :02:53.consumers. I will be asking them to look in depth at profits and prices,
:02:54. > :02:57.barriers to entry and consumer engagement. This government has
:02:58. > :03:02.equipped regulators with strong powers to deal with unjustified
:03:03. > :03:14.barriers to competition if abuses are found. They must be addressed.
:03:15. > :03:17.That test will report in the spring. Before that the government wants to
:03:18. > :03:20.make it easier and quicker for customers to switch supplier. There
:03:21. > :03:23.will be a new probe into the account of energy firms and the prospect of
:03:24. > :03:29.criminal sanctions for those who try to manipulate the energy market. But
:03:30. > :03:34.the opposition was not convinced. It is excuses for why they are doing
:03:35. > :03:38.nothing about it, excuses for white each and every time they give the
:03:39. > :03:44.companies what they want and leave consumers to foot the bill. The
:03:45. > :03:48.government has been under pressure ever since Ed Miliband pledged to
:03:49. > :03:53.freeze prices at his party conference. Last week, the coalition
:03:54. > :03:59.finally responded, the Prime Minister announcing a competition
:04:00. > :04:02.test. This week the industry was under fire again over whether price
:04:03. > :04:10.rises really reflected wholesale energy costs. This pensioner from
:04:11. > :04:14.Hampshire is struggling to cope with his energy bill. He switched
:04:15. > :04:20.supplier many times, but the process does not help. It is not quick
:04:21. > :04:25.enough, it is not simple and the tariffs are unbelievably confusing.
:04:26. > :04:31.So it makes it a very difficult job. I have done it myself, but it
:04:32. > :04:36.is hard work. This competition test will not help families now, so
:04:37. > :04:40.pressure is likely to mount on the Chancellor to deliver on the pledged
:04:41. > :04:46.to roll back green levies next month. Our political correspondent
:04:47. > :04:52.is following all of this at Westminster. It is a political issue
:04:53. > :04:58.that is not going away. Is there a sense Ed Davey has done enough? The
:04:59. > :05:03.cost of gas and electricity is the red hot issue at the moment. There
:05:04. > :05:08.is a fierce battle going on between Labour and the government to channel
:05:09. > :05:12.the fury energy customers are feeling into popular, but coherent
:05:13. > :05:21.policies. Labour have set the pace on this politically. They said they
:05:22. > :05:25.would please prices -- freeze prices. That put the government on
:05:26. > :05:30.the back foot. This was a good day for Ed Davey and the Conservative
:05:31. > :05:35.party to show the voters that they understand how much annoyance this
:05:36. > :05:40.is causing people. The announcements we had worked pretty well trailed.
:05:41. > :05:46.Another energy review by Ofgem, looking at shrinking the time it
:05:47. > :05:51.takes to change supplier. Ed Davey wants to get it down to 24 hours and
:05:52. > :05:56.is going to have discussions with the energy companies. There is a big
:05:57. > :06:00.question over how that will happen and what sanction the government
:06:01. > :06:07.will have two force them to do it. Labour remain unimpressed. They do
:06:08. > :06:12.not think Ofgem is equipped to look into the competitive problems there
:06:13. > :06:15.are in the market. It is an argument between whether the symptoms can be
:06:16. > :06:21.addressed by government or whether the whole structure of the market
:06:22. > :06:25.needs to change. The jury in the trial of two former editors of the
:06:26. > :06:28.News of the world has been hearing more about how hacking was carried
:06:29. > :06:33.out and the chain of command at the newspaper. Rebekah Brooks and Andy
:06:34. > :06:42.Coulson along with six other defendants deny the charges against
:06:43. > :06:47.them. This morning's prosecution submissions focused on the Andy
:06:48. > :06:50.Coulson era of the News of the World. The Crown believes it has got
:06:51. > :06:55.the evidence to make him an Rebekah Brooks, the editors at the top
:06:56. > :07:00.table, with the phone hacking operation on the ground. The jury
:07:01. > :07:04.was told about the role of this man, private investigator Glen Mulcaire,
:07:05. > :07:10.who has admitted hacking phones at the request of senior news editors.
:07:11. > :07:15.The prosecutor said he was a phone hacker and a good one. He was an
:07:16. > :07:20.accomplished black. The court heard a tape Glen Mulcaire are calling an
:07:21. > :07:25.O2 call centre. He uses a false name, James Cook, but a correct
:07:26. > :07:31.password, and he asks them to reset voice mail password on someone's
:07:32. > :07:34.mobile phone. That would allow him to target their voice mail
:07:35. > :07:40.messages, even though they thought they were protected. The prosecutor
:07:41. > :07:45.said Glen Mulcaire knows how it works and he knows the right things
:07:46. > :07:51.to say. He is chatty and the O2 employee does not seem worried. In
:07:52. > :07:56.2006, controversy surrounded the business affairs of Tessa Jowell and
:07:57. > :08:01.her husband David Mills. The prosecutor said he would produce
:08:02. > :08:05.phone records showing how in the newsroom the news editor got
:08:06. > :08:10.interested and then made calls to Glen Mulcaire, tasking him with
:08:11. > :08:14.hacking their phones. The record, he said, would show Glen Mulcaire
:08:15. > :08:19.accessing the voice mail and reporting back to Mr Edmondson, who
:08:20. > :08:25.denies phone hacking. As do Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson and Stuart
:08:26. > :08:32.Kuttner, who was not present today for health reasons. The jury is
:08:33. > :08:36.hearing this was all about the newspaper and the editor getting
:08:37. > :08:43.stories that the editor had confidence were true. That is right.
:08:44. > :08:48.The jury heard there was a frenzy to get big stories. It was a dog eat
:08:49. > :08:52.dog world of journalism and the editor had to note the stories were
:08:53. > :08:57.true. Phone hacking was not the only way they investigated stories, but
:08:58. > :09:03.it was a key way. Also evidence about the way payments were arranged
:09:04. > :09:07.at News of the World. She demanded maximum say over big spending at the
:09:08. > :09:13.paper and under Andy Coulson, Glen Mulcaire got a pay rise. Finally in
:09:14. > :09:20.the last few minutes we have heard Stuart Kuttner, the managing editor,
:09:21. > :09:29.demanded formal approval of 221 payments totalling ?430,000 to Glen
:09:30. > :09:33.Mulcaire. International inspectors say all of President Assad's
:09:34. > :09:39.declared chemical weapons production facilities have been destroyed. The
:09:40. > :09:43.announcement by the Organisation for the Prohibition of chemical weapons
:09:44. > :09:48.comes a day before the deadline was set. An estimated stockpile of more
:09:49. > :09:56.than 1000 tonnes of toxic agents and weapons has still to be destroyed.
:09:57. > :10:02.For weeks now specialist international inspectors have been
:10:03. > :10:06.visiting Syria's chemical weapons factories. They have tagged and
:10:07. > :10:11.sealed equipment so no more chemical weapons can be made. The Syrian
:10:12. > :10:16.government did much of the actual destruction, which meant smashing up
:10:17. > :10:21.containers and pipework. Resident Assad is delivering on his
:10:22. > :10:24.commitment, given intense American and Russian pressure. The inspectors
:10:25. > :10:34.are confident they have met their first deadline. They are not now in
:10:35. > :10:41.a position to conduct any further production or mixing of chemical
:10:42. > :10:46.weapons as far as they disclosed. But the inspectors were not able to
:10:47. > :10:52.visit all 23 of the production facilities. They got to 21 of them.
:10:53. > :10:56.Two are in areas being fought over in the Civil War, but the head of
:10:57. > :11:02.Field operations says they found a way round that problem. The two
:11:03. > :11:08.sites we did not visit were in areas that were considered to be too
:11:09. > :11:14.dangerous, but the content of that site were moved to other sites that
:11:15. > :11:18.we did visit, so we have visited and seen the destruction of all Syria's
:11:19. > :11:25.declared chemical weapons capability. But now the inspectors
:11:26. > :11:32.face the challenge of destroying or existing stocks of chemical agents,
:11:33. > :11:37.including sulphur mustard and sarin. That is due to be completed by the
:11:38. > :11:41.middle of next year. None of that will stop Syria's Civil War where it
:11:42. > :11:48.is conventional weapons that kill the vast majority of victims. Some
:11:49. > :11:51.see the chemical weapons issue as a sideshow and claim President Assad
:11:52. > :11:58.is gaining international influence and claim President Assad is gaining
:11:59. > :12:01.international influence ahead of possible peace talks.
:12:02. > :12:04.The family of a man who was stabbed to death in Sheffield as he
:12:05. > :12:07.delivered his last piece in order before starting a new job have said
:12:08. > :12:11.they are devastated by his death. 25-year-old Thaveesha Peyris, seen
:12:12. > :12:16.on the right, was found dead in his car on Sunday. Speaking from their
:12:17. > :12:22.home in Sri Lanka his parents has said his murder has left them with a
:12:23. > :12:26.broken heart. It has been a criminal offence to fill in court in England
:12:27. > :12:31.and Wales for nearly 90 years, but today television cameras have been
:12:32. > :12:36.allowed inside the Court of Appeal. Senior judges and broadcasters have
:12:37. > :12:44.opened the move as a sign of transparency.
:12:45. > :12:50.This is history. For the first time cameras capturing a hearing at the
:12:51. > :12:58.Court of Appeal. I do not disagree he was a prime mover in the custody
:12:59. > :13:02.and the distribution. Aleksandra Cameron QC is arguing that his
:13:03. > :13:07.client, Kevin Fisher, imprisoned in May for seven years on
:13:08. > :13:13.counterfeiting charges, was given an excessively harsh sentence that
:13:14. > :13:17.should be reduced. Since 1925 it has been an offence to film or take a
:13:18. > :13:23.photograph in a courtroom in England and Wales, with the exception of the
:13:24. > :13:28.Supreme Court in 2009. Scotland has allowed filming in its court since
:13:29. > :13:35.1992, but only with the consent of all the parties. Now appealed
:13:36. > :13:41.against sentences and conviction and appeals in civil cases can be
:13:42. > :13:45.broadcast to millions. Today's case represents an historic departure
:13:46. > :13:51.along the road to televising chords, but it is also a cautious first step
:13:52. > :13:56.with the strict limitations and restrictions built in. Only the
:13:57. > :14:00.judges and lawyers can be filmed. Appeals against conviction cannot be
:14:01. > :14:05.shown if there is a risk of a retrial and graphic details and bad
:14:06. > :14:11.language are banned. Broadcasters who have campaigned for decades for
:14:12. > :14:16.the change are delighted. It will be the first time audiences will be
:14:17. > :14:20.able to see what goes on inside the Court of Appeal and that is good for
:14:21. > :14:25.enhancing people's understanding of how justice is administered. But
:14:26. > :14:30.will the advent of cameras change the court process? Not according to
:14:31. > :14:37.this recently retired Court of Appeal judge. They should set out
:14:38. > :14:43.the facts, the conclusions and the arguments. If this first experiment
:14:44. > :14:52.goes well, it could be extended to the judge's sentencing remarks in
:14:53. > :15:00.the Crown Court. Our top story this lunchtime: The energy secretary
:15:01. > :15:04.announces plans to slash the time it takes to switch energy supplier and
:15:05. > :15:12.says he is considering criminal sanctions against companies that
:15:13. > :15:15.manipulate the energy markets. And we are hearing from migrants who
:15:16. > :15:29.make a treacherous journey to Europe that ends in tragedy.
:15:30. > :15:31.And this 25-year-old from Enfield has become this prize winner of this
:15:32. > :15:44.year's Mercury prize. It's almost a month since 366
:15:45. > :15:48.migrants died trying to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa. But now
:15:49. > :15:52.it's Greece as well as Italy which is becoming one of Europe's key
:15:53. > :15:57.immigration frontiers. Until last year, 90% of illegal immigrants
:15:58. > :16:00.entered Europe through Greece. The numbers are falling, but the Greek
:16:01. > :16:06.government says it is still shouldering a huge burden in the
:16:07. > :16:09.midst of a deep economic crisis. So far this year nearly 4,500
:16:10. > :16:11.people, many of them fleeing the war in Syria, have squeezed into
:16:12. > :16:14.overcrowded dinghies to make the perilous journey to the Turkish
:16:15. > :16:22.mainland, from where they travel the six miles to the Greek Island of
:16:23. > :16:30.Lesbos. Mark Lowen has been to meet some of those who survived the
:16:31. > :16:36.crossing. It is a beautiful, stunning scene
:16:37. > :16:40.behind me. This is the capital of Lesbos. This is an island that has
:16:41. > :16:45.the desperate stories of migrants who are trying to enter the EU.
:16:46. > :16:48.Beyond its beauty, Lesbos is becoming known as a key frontier in
:16:49. > :16:54.the European Union's fight against illegal immigration.
:16:55. > :17:01.The vast agency, where the hopes of reaching Europe still burn bright.
:17:02. > :17:03.We are on patrol with the Greek coastguard, combing the EU's
:17:04. > :17:09.south-east border for illegal immigrants. It is a key gateway and
:17:10. > :17:15.a perilous journey but numbers are soaring. I hope and I will ask for
:17:16. > :17:21.more support from EU member states. That doesn't mean we are going to
:17:22. > :17:27.stop if this assistance doesn't come. We have to protect our country
:17:28. > :17:31.from the criminal networks. It is a familiar scene, overcrowded boats
:17:32. > :17:34.docking here recently. They are the lucky ones who made it. Plenty
:17:35. > :17:41.don't. Croesus of Europe must do more. This year alone, almost 4500
:17:42. > :17:48.migrants are tried to cross these waters into Lesbos. Since police
:17:49. > :17:53.increased patrols on the border, to the islands bearing the brunt. And
:17:54. > :17:56.Greece, in the middle of its worst crisis in memory, with resources
:17:57. > :18:03.stretched, is struggling to cope with the influx. We were not allowed
:18:04. > :18:07.to enter the centre where the arrested are taken. Syrians I held
:18:08. > :18:09.briefly and then given six months in Greece. Others are detained for
:18:10. > :18:20.longer and must leave within a month. I feel desperate. They talk
:18:21. > :18:26.to us about the problems they have. I feel very angry. I believe we can
:18:27. > :18:31.change something, and we don't. Most of them, they are like us. They are
:18:32. > :18:37.going away from a difficult situation and they just need to be
:18:38. > :18:43.supported. At an NGO can, we met this Afghan mother and her children.
:18:44. > :18:49.She talks of hopes dashed, her husband arrested and how her
:18:50. > :18:54.youngest almost died. It wasn't worth it, she says. Europe wasn't
:18:55. > :19:00.worth it. Many do drown on the way, ending up here, and only a few are
:19:01. > :19:06.identified. Before leaving for Europe, they have lives and names.
:19:07. > :19:10.Now they are reduced to this. On the four -- ferry to Athens, we met some
:19:11. > :19:19.young students. They paid hundreds of euros to get to Europe. My family
:19:20. > :19:30.say, go out, go out from Syria. Look for a free life. To be myself first
:19:31. > :19:35.and going to Syria. All they have is one bag and their dreams. How many
:19:36. > :19:39.more will follow in their wake before the tide of immigration is
:19:40. > :19:45.stemmed? Greece is asking Brussels for more resources partly to fund
:19:46. > :19:49.the border agency of the EU. But they know here that they may be
:19:50. > :19:52.looking at a closed door. As one official put it to me, in the rich
:19:53. > :19:56.countries of northern Europe, it is hard to imagine what it's like to
:19:57. > :20:05.have the bodies of migrants washing up on your shores.
:20:06. > :20:08.Rescue workers in Niger have found the bodies of 87 people, believed to
:20:09. > :20:11.be migrant workers, who died of thirst after their vehicles broke
:20:12. > :20:14.down in the Sahara Desert. Most of the victims were women and children.
:20:15. > :20:17.It's not clear whether they were attempting to travel to neighbouring
:20:18. > :20:24.Algeria or go further afield to Europe in search of jobs.
:20:25. > :20:27.More than ?100 million will be spent on closing about 500 level crossings
:20:28. > :20:30.and improving safety at others considered to be high risk. The
:20:31. > :20:34.money is part of a ?21 billion package to be spent on the railways
:20:35. > :20:37.over the next five years. As part of the deal, tough new punctuality
:20:38. > :20:40.targets are being introduced, which means the majority of trains across
:20:41. > :20:51.the country are expected to be on time 90% of the time. Jeremy Cooke
:20:52. > :20:58.is in Ormskirk. What we're looking at is a
:20:59. > :21:02.generation of super safe level crossings. This one is control,
:21:03. > :21:07.would you believe, by radar. We expect over the next few years to
:21:08. > :21:11.see many more of these. We will also see hundreds of crossings being shut
:21:12. > :21:14.down because they are regarded as too dangerous. This is all part of
:21:15. > :21:18.this bigger, multi-billion pound blueprint for the future of the rail
:21:19. > :21:25.industry, agreed today between the regulator and Network Rail. It is
:21:26. > :21:31.all about setting the direction of travel for the network for the next
:21:32. > :21:33.five years. The regulator has today confirmed its targets about
:21:34. > :21:39.infrastructure improvement and efficiency savings. But there is
:21:40. > :21:45.also the question of safety. Nine people died at level crossings last
:21:46. > :21:49.year. Until now, 500 of the most risky will be closed, hundreds more
:21:50. > :21:55.improved, with funding adding up to ?109 million. Where people are
:21:56. > :22:00.required to use level crossings, there is always a risk. With more
:22:01. > :22:04.people using crossings, more cars on the road, there is an increasing
:22:05. > :22:10.risk and danger. We need to continue to invest and continue to improve
:22:11. > :22:17.safety. For some, the changes, of course, come too late. Olivia was
:22:18. > :22:23.killed on a crossing in Essex in 2005. Her parents now campaign for
:22:24. > :22:28.safety improvements. It will not be possible to close everyone. But
:22:29. > :22:33.safety measures must be taken at everyone. I would definitely like to
:22:34. > :22:38.see them get rid of half barriers where people can weave around them.
:22:39. > :22:43.We have seen recent examples of people who have gone very close to
:22:44. > :22:46.death. Earlier this year, in Cambridgeshire, a reminder that
:22:47. > :22:51.crossings can still be dangerous. A lucky escape. But while much
:22:52. > :22:57.attention is on safety, there's also fresh focus on punctuality. The
:22:58. > :23:00.regulator is telling the rail industry that overly much of the
:23:01. > :23:07.country aged eight to get nine out of trains running on time. The other
:23:08. > :23:11.message from Network Rail is it must do better at predicting problems and
:23:12. > :23:19.fixing them before they cause disruption.
:23:20. > :23:23.Youth unemployment in the Eurozone has increased again. Nearly a
:23:24. > :23:26.quarter of people under the age of 25 who are available for work are
:23:27. > :23:29.now jobless. And in some of the struggling economies, that figure is
:23:30. > :23:32.a lot higher. In Italy, where theres about 40% youth unemployment, many
:23:33. > :23:34.feel they have no alternative but to join the black economy, with
:23:35. > :23:54.unofficial jobs, Our chief economics correspondent, Hugh Pym, reports
:23:55. > :23:59.from the Lazio region near Rome. Officially, youth unemployment in
:24:00. > :24:03.Italy is running at 40%. But that includes many like Stella, who is
:24:04. > :24:08.working on the black market at a call centre. He is training to make
:24:09. > :24:15.pizza so she can find a legitimate job and hopefully get a mortgage and
:24:16. > :24:18.start a family. How can I grew up a child if I don't have a good job? We
:24:19. > :24:23.don't have any future in this moment. From now to the next ten
:24:24. > :24:30.years, it is impossible here to have something good for you. I am 28 and
:24:31. > :24:36.what am I going to do for the next ten years? The Italian economy is in
:24:37. > :24:41.a difficult place. The unofficial world of work remains a problem. On
:24:42. > :24:46.some estimates, the Italian black economy is worth the equivalent of
:24:47. > :24:49.more than a fifth of the country's official national output. It has
:24:50. > :24:53.long been a problem for the authorities. The police say they are
:24:54. > :24:59.cracking down. This police chief told me that in raids on businesses
:25:00. > :25:04.they had discovered thousands of illegal workers last year.
:25:05. > :25:09.TRANSLATION: It is very important. It hurts the state and the national
:25:10. > :25:12.budget because it means taxes are not paid. Our purpose is to protect
:25:13. > :25:16.honest businesses. Those that comply with the law suffer and fair
:25:17. > :25:25.competition from other companies who can sell their services at lower
:25:26. > :25:30.prices. -- unfair competition. Here, they are often up against a lack of
:25:31. > :25:34.openings because employers find it too costly to hire people. Italian
:25:35. > :25:45.regulation is seen as an article. Another reason young people are
:25:46. > :25:49.pushed towards illegal jobs. TRANSLATION: Before it was a bridge
:25:50. > :25:53.between education and a permanent job that gave you a chance to start
:25:54. > :25:57.a family and make a future for yourself. Now more young people are
:25:58. > :26:02.finding it is the only option open to them. For Stella, the black
:26:03. > :26:06.economy option is a necessity. She and other trainees hope their new
:26:07. > :26:10.skills will be a pathway to work even if it is a long way from
:26:11. > :26:20.Italy, where the recipe for legitimate jobs still doesn't seem
:26:21. > :26:23.to be working. England have announced their team
:26:24. > :26:26.for the first of the Autumn rugby internationals against Australia at
:26:27. > :26:31.Twickenhan, on Saturday. Our sports correspondent Dan Roan is at the
:26:32. > :26:35.England training ground in Surrey. This feels like a unique case of
:26:36. > :26:39.sporting sibling rivalry. England have been training here this
:26:40. > :26:43.morning, as you can see. The squad they have announced to play
:26:44. > :26:52.Australia on Saturday contains not one but two pairs of brothers. First
:26:53. > :26:56.of all, the British and Irish Lions. Then there is the young brothers who
:26:57. > :27:03.pay for Leicester. Tom stars as hooker, and Benjamin is at
:27:04. > :27:07.scrum-half. -- starts. If he comes on, it would be the first time in
:27:08. > :27:12.100 years and all been on at the same time. There is also Joel
:27:13. > :27:18.Tomkins, who was playing rugby and then switch to rugby union. He will
:27:19. > :27:22.start for his debut in the centre. Remarkably, even though his brother
:27:23. > :27:26.is not playing with him, Sam Tomkins is in fact playing for England's
:27:27. > :27:33.rugby team in the World Cup against Ireland at Huddersfield. Bear in
:27:34. > :27:39.mind, England's rugby team contains three Burgess brothers, all of whom
:27:40. > :27:47.pay in trailer. -- all of whom play in Australia.
:27:48. > :27:51.Funding for English museums, galleries and theatres is heavily
:27:52. > :27:54.skewed towards London, according to a new report. Three senior arts
:27:55. > :27:57.figures say their research shows that central government spending on
:27:58. > :28:00.arts and culture in the capital amounted to nearly ?70 per resident
:28:01. > :28:07.in the last financial year compared with less than ?5 per person in the
:28:08. > :28:13.rest of England. Sian Lloyd reports. Technical rehearsals from the
:28:14. > :28:19.Birmingham rat. The theatre has commissioned a contemporary version
:28:20. > :28:23.of this classic comedy as part of its 100th birthday celebrations.
:28:24. > :28:25.According to this report, the arts in places like Birmingham lose out
:28:26. > :28:31.to London because of financial favouritism. It found central
:28:32. > :28:37.government spending in the capital added up to almost ?70 per person in
:28:38. > :28:44.2012-2013, compared with ?4 60 for the arts in the rest of England. We
:28:45. > :28:48.are all having to cope with funding cuts, both in London and the
:28:49. > :28:54.regions. But when the regions are much lower than London, it is harder
:28:55. > :29:01.to observe that matter absorb the cost. London is recognised as the
:29:02. > :29:05.jewel in the nation's crown. At the Capitol's dominant in cultural life
:29:06. > :29:08.is described as unhealthy. Arts Council England, which distributes
:29:09. > :29:19.public money, admits more needs to be done. The arts Council has just
:29:20. > :29:27.published its 10-year strategy. That sets out what the arts council can
:29:28. > :29:32.do, including for the regions. That includes what we can do more. The
:29:33. > :29:36.curtain goes up here tomorrow night on one of the theatre's flagship
:29:37. > :29:39.productions, which are partly funded by public money. They are already
:29:40. > :29:43.working on their funding programme for the next three years and hope
:29:44. > :29:48.that as a result of this report there could be more cash available.
:29:49. > :29:54.Because it suggests a new ?600 million investment programme.
:29:55. > :30:02.Whether that happens will depend on whether the thinking is acted on.
:30:03. > :30:06.Time for a look at the weather. Some words of caution coming up. If you
:30:07. > :30:12.have a bonfire party plan on Saturday, we will get to that. First
:30:13. > :30:16.of all, Halloween. Some of us it is more tricks than trade. Without we
:30:17. > :30:20.started the day with rain and it is pulling away, look to the North
:30:21. > :30:29.West. The heavy showers are coming in for the rest of the day. Strong
:30:30. > :30:33.winds, too. Some gales on the coast. At about 5pm, some heavy showers
:30:34. > :30:37.with hail and thunder running in across Scotland, Northern Ireland
:30:38. > :30:44.and some fringing north-west England. We can further south, and
:30:45. > :30:49.this is just more general cloud and rain in two parts of south Wales and
:30:50. > :30:54.south-west England. Again, it will not further east as the afternoon
:30:55. > :30:58.goes on. If you are heading out, you may get caught in a heavy downpour.
:30:59. > :31:02.There will be some brisk winds around, too. For the rest of the
:31:03. > :31:07.night the windy weather stays with us. Elsewhere in Scotland, for
:31:08. > :31:12.Northern Ireland and England, a clearer spell. The wind is easing a
:31:13. > :31:18.touch. There could be a touch of Frost in places. To the south, we
:31:19. > :31:21.keep outbreaks of rain. All of that tomorrow is go to edge its way
:31:22. > :31:27.further north. Some uncertainty about its northern extent. But where
:31:28. > :31:31.you have got it, it will make for a damp day. Further shells in
:31:32. > :31:35.north-west Scotland, where it will be windy. Elsewhere, there could be
:31:36. > :31:39.some bright weather to be had. Going further south into the rain band, it
:31:40. > :31:43.will be heaviest tomorrow across southern counties of England and
:31:44. > :31:49.into the south-east, where we could see 30 millimetres in places. With
:31:50. > :31:54.rain falling saturated ground, it has been so wet, there could be some
:31:55. > :31:59.local flooding. Thankfully, the weather stumbles away on Saturday.
:32:00. > :32:02.Do we get a break? No. Another one comes in from the Atlantic during
:32:03. > :32:07.Saturday. It may start quite on Saturday but then more wet and windy
:32:08. > :32:12.weather comes in. It may be further north than this. We will keep you
:32:13. > :32:18.updated. Going into Saturday evening, well concern about some
:32:19. > :32:28.very strong winds. Well concern. Keep watching the forecast. -- we
:32:29. > :32:32.are concerned. On Sunday, that has clear. It is still windy. There are
:32:33. > :32:39.more showers coming into southern areas late in the day. We need to
:32:40. > :32:40.watch out on Sunday night. If you want quieter weather, book a