:00:00. > :00:09.from the west That
:00:10. > :00:13.Hello and welcome to South Today from Oxford. In tonight's programme:
:00:14. > :00:16.Oxfordshire scrap yard staff are found guilty of handling stolen
:00:17. > :00:20.metal, but the operation to catch them is labelled a waste of money.
:00:21. > :00:23.Also coming up: 25 extra police officers to tackle child
:00:24. > :00:29.exploitation in our region after numbers of rape cases soar.
:00:30. > :00:32.And later: Sally Taylor will be live from Portsmouth, getting reaction to
:00:33. > :00:47.the hundreds of shipbuilding jobs cut today.
:00:48. > :00:53.Two people from an Oxfordshire scrap yard have been found guilty of
:00:54. > :00:56.handling stolen metal. But after a seven week trial, the undercover
:00:57. > :00:59.police operation which caught them has been labelled a waste of
:01:00. > :01:02.taxpayers' money. Simon Rogers part`owns the yard in Nuneham
:01:03. > :01:16.Courtenay and Martin Pace works there. Three other people were found
:01:17. > :01:24.not guilty of similar charges. May, 2012, and for officers launched
:01:25. > :01:30.in raids across the region. Part of a national initiative to tackle
:01:31. > :01:36.metal theft, Thames Valley Police used undercover detectives to visit
:01:37. > :01:41.this site near. They brought power and copper cabling and lead from a
:01:42. > :01:46.roof. The court heard how the accused men bought it, no questions
:01:47. > :01:54.asked. But the defence said it had been a slippy `` sloppy and careless
:01:55. > :01:57.investigation. It's a waste of taxpayers money. These are innocent
:01:58. > :02:04.men who have been repeatedly targeted. They have spent two months
:02:05. > :02:12.in cloud and wasted taxpayers money. There were no stolen goods found at
:02:13. > :02:18.the yard. The owner of the site was found not guilty of all counts
:02:19. > :02:24.against him. Likewise, staff members, also innocent. But Simon
:02:25. > :02:28.Rogers and Martin Pace were convicted on one count each of
:02:29. > :02:37.concealing, disguising the converting criminal property. Thames
:02:38. > :02:43.Valley Police has strived to tackle metal theft. We will robust leap and
:02:44. > :02:49.to those involved in the illegal trade. This case has lasted nearly
:02:50. > :02:52.ten months. The men convicted today say they were disappointed with the
:02:53. > :02:58.verdict and maintained their innocence. They went on to say they
:02:59. > :03:00.may well appeal their convictions and will be sentenced tomorrow
:03:01. > :03:03.afternoon. BBC South can reveal that 25 extra
:03:04. > :03:07.police officers are being deployed to tackle child abuse and
:03:08. > :03:10.exploitation in our region. Thames Valley Police say the number of rape
:03:11. > :03:16.cases it's dealing with has jumped by nearly 40% in the past year. In
:03:17. > :03:19.future, police will work side by side with social workers at special
:03:20. > :03:23.new hubs being set up in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes.
:03:24. > :03:32.Our reporter Emma Vardy is here with more. Emma, what's behind this? This
:03:33. > :03:38.move is because of the effect that the Jimmy Savile case has had and
:03:39. > :03:43.down to the fallout from the Oxford child grooming trial. As a result of
:03:44. > :03:49.these cases, it means Thames Valley Police has seen an increase in
:03:50. > :03:53.victims coming forward. Particularly well so because failings were
:03:54. > :03:58.exposed during that grooming trial. There were questions why the abuse
:03:59. > :04:01.was not picked up sooner, meaning the police are trying to show they
:04:02. > :04:08.won't let this happen again. A team has been set up in Oxfordshire. The
:04:09. > :04:09.force will also set up similar teams to tackle these cases in Bucks and
:04:10. > :04:27.Milton Keynes. Well this cost? The force is putting
:04:28. > :04:31.nearly ?500,000 into this and committing extra officers to it.
:04:32. > :04:38.It's every and police are having to make cuts in other areas, so it's a
:04:39. > :04:43.mark of high power `` I hope I'll priority this is. The weaknesses
:04:44. > :04:46.exposed by the Jimmy Savile case in the child grooming trial means
:04:47. > :04:49.police had to boost public confidence and make sure the warning
:04:50. > :04:52.signs of child abuse are not missed again.
:04:53. > :04:54.The Great Western Hospital in Swindon is offering bonuses to
:04:55. > :05:00.nurses and other professional staff to work extra shifts during the
:05:01. > :05:04.winter. Payments of up to ?65 will be paid ON TOP of overtime rates in
:05:05. > :05:08.an effort to provide enough staff in the next few months. The Trust says
:05:09. > :05:15.it's also recruiting more staff and has taken on more than 250 nurses
:05:16. > :05:18.and midwives since April. A review of plans to build a
:05:19. > :05:22.shopping centre on the former Prodrive site in Banbury is being
:05:23. > :05:25.held at the High Court today. Cherwell District Council has given
:05:26. > :05:28.permission for the development but it's been opposed by the owners of
:05:29. > :05:33.the Castle Quay Centre and Banbury Cross Retail Park. They fear it'll
:05:34. > :05:39.take business and jobs away from them. The judicial review will last
:05:40. > :05:43.two days. It's been lying empty since March
:05:44. > :05:46.but today, for the first time since Didcot A Power Station was switched
:05:47. > :05:51.off, our film crew has been given access. Didcot A has generated
:05:52. > :05:56.electricity to millions of homes over the last 40 years. Demolition
:05:57. > :05:59.teams are now on site but it'll be several years before the famous
:06:00. > :06:07.cooling towers disappear from the skyline, as Jessica Cooper reports.
:06:08. > :06:13.Powering the nation from 1970 to 2013. Today Didcot A power station
:06:14. > :06:23.was eerily quiet. It was switched off in March because coal no longer
:06:24. > :06:29.met environmental standards. We are in the turbine Hall. This area used
:06:30. > :06:35.to produce 2000 megawatts of electricity. That's enough to power
:06:36. > :06:38.more than 3 million homes in the locality. Since this was turned off,
:06:39. > :06:46.it was turned off, is electricity/related? We have the
:06:47. > :06:50.Didcot a and did quit the site. It produces 1400 megawatts. These
:06:51. > :06:54.turbines will be taken apart and the metal will be recycled. If plans are
:06:55. > :06:58.approved, demolition will start next year. First to be knocked down will
:06:59. > :07:07.be three of the cooling towers, which will disappear from the
:07:08. > :07:12.skyline within seconds. The intention is to use the safest
:07:13. > :07:18.method which is the controlled use of explosives. But has the closure
:07:19. > :07:20.at Didcot left a gap in energy supply? The group, Low Carbon
:07:21. > :07:24.Oxford, says more communities are starting to generate their own
:07:25. > :07:34.power. At Cherwell School 70 solar panels produce 12% of its
:07:35. > :07:38.electricity. Anyone from the community can invest even a smaller
:07:39. > :07:42.big amount and they get a decent return on their investment over
:07:43. > :07:49.time. But also, the project generates a surplus. And that's used
:07:50. > :07:52.by a local group to fund more local projects. Energy experts say
:07:53. > :07:55.electricity demand is falling due to more efficient homes and people
:07:56. > :07:59.being more careful about how much they use. The power is off for good
:08:00. > :08:05.at Didcot A power station but it will still be dominating the skyline
:08:06. > :08:08.for few more months. The BBC Radio Oxford Big Tour of
:08:09. > :08:12.Didcot continues tomorrow when Phil Gayle will be live from Milton Park,
:08:13. > :08:15.one of the biggest business parks in Europe. Tune in from 6am for an
:08:16. > :08:20.exclusive announcement about its plans for the future.
:08:21. > :08:23.London Welsh rugby club is failing to attract the crowds to the Kassam
:08:24. > :08:27.Stadium since their relegation from Rugby Union's Premiership. The
:08:28. > :08:30.club's in its second season since its move to Oxford and the
:08:31. > :08:35.management admits that their identity is a barrier. The club says
:08:36. > :08:42.it's working hard to win the affections of Oxfordshire sports
:08:43. > :08:49.fans. It's a club that is prepared to move
:08:50. > :08:56.in a new direction. After 128 years in the capital, the Welsh X hours
:08:57. > :09:01.rights remain strong. The appeal of building a bigger fan base prompted
:09:02. > :09:04.the switch last year but management are concerned that would lead crowds
:09:05. > :09:10.are not only due to their relegation but because of their identity.
:09:11. > :09:15.Identity is critical. We are playing the Oxfordshire area and need to
:09:16. > :09:21.identify with Oxfordshire and yet not use `` and yet not lose that
:09:22. > :09:26.tradition. On the pitch, the team are on course for a return to the
:09:27. > :09:34.top flight. Club offices are set to move north and the team are set a
:09:35. > :09:35.new training base in the county. I understand the fact that people say
:09:36. > :09:46.that if we lived in Oxford, understand the fact that people say
:09:47. > :09:52.are a team that played Oxford. We have our home in Oxford. So whether
:09:53. > :09:56.I live in Twickenham Oxford, doesn't really matter. That is where I am
:09:57. > :10:01.playing my rugby and that's what we are related to and create something
:10:02. > :10:07.for the future. Home is where the heart is an while London Welsh
:10:08. > :10:10.continue to be reluctant to embrace Oxford in their name, will Oxford
:10:11. > :10:14.fully embrace them and their team? Big names, unsung heroes and a wide
:10:15. > :10:17.variety of sports are represented in the short list for the Oxfordshire
:10:18. > :10:20.Sports Awards announced today. The winners will be revealed at a
:10:21. > :10:25.ceremony on the 29th November. You can see the full list on
:10:26. > :10:29.bbc.co.uk/oxford. That's all from us. Now time to join
:10:30. > :10:32.Tony Husband for the rest of the region's news and Sally Taylor in
:10:33. > :10:33.Portsmouth for more reaction to BAE's job cuts
:10:34. > :10:35.later in the programme. We will be looking at the impact on the local
:10:36. > :10:49.economy here and also that city deal.
:10:50. > :10:54.520 jobs are at risk after pharmaceutical company Novartis
:10:55. > :10:57.announced it is to close its site in Horsham in West Sussex. The
:10:58. > :11:00.Switzerland based company employs 350 people there in research and
:11:01. > :11:03.development posts, together with around 170 contractors. Two years
:11:04. > :11:06.ago, the company cut more than 400 jobs at the site.
:11:07. > :11:10.Horsham District Council says it is shocked at news of the closure. It
:11:11. > :11:14.is one of the largest private employer is here, but not for much
:11:15. > :11:17.longer. Novartis halved its workforce here two years ago, but
:11:18. > :11:23.now it has started a consultation which could close the site next
:11:24. > :11:28.year. In the town, there was shocked at the news. I should think it will
:11:29. > :11:38.be a big blow, they must employ a lot of people who come into town. To
:11:39. > :11:44.get a job now here is going to be very difficult. It is a large blow.
:11:45. > :11:53.There is a lot of employment. The town has a strong economy, but this
:11:54. > :12:02.will take sometime to absorb. The company declined our request for an
:12:03. > :12:07.interview, but gave an interview to a newspaper. This decision is
:12:08. > :12:15.nothing to do with the quality of the work. Some of the work currently
:12:16. > :12:20.being done will be moved to other locations around the world. Horsham
:12:21. > :12:25.district Council says it is talking to Novartis about the future of the
:12:26. > :12:34.site itself and to try to find alternative employment for the
:12:35. > :12:39.workers who are losing their jobs. An inquest into the death of a three
:12:40. > :12:43.month old baby in Southampton has heard that he suffered a fractured
:12:44. > :12:45.skull, and that his father had a previous conviction for child
:12:46. > :12:49.cruelty, but the authorities didn't know. The coroner recorded an open
:12:50. > :12:53.verdict into the death of Nico Maynard, the fourth such verdict in
:12:54. > :12:57.three days of inquests into the deaths of four young children in the
:12:58. > :13:00.city. Tom Hepworth is here with the background to this, Tom.
:13:01. > :13:05.The first inquest, held on Monday, was that of Blake Fowler. He died in
:13:06. > :13:09.2011 from a head injury. He was seven. The coroner said it was
:13:10. > :13:12.difficult to know exactly how he died, but his parents were guilty of
:13:13. > :13:16.an appalling and disgraceful failure to prioritise his needs. A serious
:13:17. > :13:20.case review will now take place. On Tuesday, the coroner looked into the
:13:21. > :13:24.deaths of brothers Bradley and Jayden Adams in 2011. Aged four and
:13:25. > :13:27.two, they died three months apart. Four weeks before Jayden's death
:13:28. > :13:31.their neglectful mother had begged for the children to be taken into
:13:32. > :13:34.care because she couldn't cope. They weren't. The coroner recorded an
:13:35. > :13:38.open verdict. No`one was prosecuted and there'll now be a serious case
:13:39. > :13:42.review. Today, the court heard about three`month old Nico Maynard who
:13:43. > :13:45.also died in 2011. He had a fractured skull. His father had
:13:46. > :13:49.previously been jailed for child cruelty and social workers described
:13:50. > :13:51.him as a massive risk to young children, but authorities in
:13:52. > :13:54.Southampton didn't know this. Again no`one was prosecuted. A serious
:13:55. > :13:58.case review published last week recommended a new national register
:13:59. > :14:04.of those with a history of child violence. It brings the number of
:14:05. > :14:07.serious case reviews into how Southampton City Council handled
:14:08. > :14:11.child protection cases over the last year to five. Earlier I spoke to
:14:12. > :14:14.Keith Makin, the chairman of the Southampton Safeguarding Children
:14:15. > :14:17.board. I asked him whether the public can have any confidence in
:14:18. > :14:24.child protection measures in the city after these deaths.
:14:25. > :14:34.There was a concentration at that point in time. But I am not reading
:14:35. > :14:42.into that any indication that there is a systemic problem in the area. I
:14:43. > :14:49.don't think we can reflect on that that there is some inherent issue in
:14:50. > :14:53.Southampton that is different from anywhere else. Each of these cases
:14:54. > :14:58.were different in nature and that is not a connection between them. Five
:14:59. > :15:05.Serious Case Reviews over a 12 month period, a lot of people would read
:15:06. > :15:13.into that that there is something seriously wrong. I do not know if
:15:14. > :15:17.that is the case. The purpose in looking into all these cases very
:15:18. > :15:27.thoroughly is to establish whether there could have been some factors
:15:28. > :15:31.that led to some difficulty. To what extent did a relatively high
:15:32. > :15:36.proportion of agency workers have a bearing on these cases? Whether that
:15:37. > :15:51.was a factor at the time, I don't know. It is something I will want to
:15:52. > :15:56.look into. There is a partnership across all the agencies who will be
:15:57. > :16:04.interested in any connection between staffing levels and outcomes. Does
:16:05. > :16:09.that have ramifications on the recruitment and retention of social
:16:10. > :16:17.workers? I think it could. But the evidence is that Southampton at the
:16:18. > :16:24.moment is being very successful in recruiting well`qualified, able
:16:25. > :16:28.social work staff. West Berkshire Council has set out
:16:29. > :16:32.how it will save ?10 million over the next two years. Support for
:16:33. > :16:36.vulnerable young adults will see its funding reduced by a third. Nearly
:16:37. > :16:40.half a million pounds will be taken from care budgets and bus subsidies
:16:41. > :16:43.will also be affected. The Conservative`run council said it had
:16:44. > :16:46.to deal with significant cuts to its budget.
:16:47. > :16:51.It's Children in Need next Friday, November the 15th. All this week,
:16:52. > :16:55.we've been taking a look at where your money has been spent. Today,
:16:56. > :17:02.Sarah Farmer visits the Eastleigh Young carers.
:17:03. > :17:06.This project as children the opportunity to leave behind the
:17:07. > :17:21.day`to`day chores and stresses and just be children. We were fortunate
:17:22. > :17:26.to receive ?66,000 from children in need. They go on trips and
:17:27. > :17:35.activities, meet others in a similar situation. It's nice to forget all
:17:36. > :17:45.my worries. My mum can't take me swimming and they can. To be a
:17:46. > :17:50.normal child, really, and be free. To actually get some time out to be
:17:51. > :17:55.a kid, leave worries behind for a little while and have some fun. That
:17:56. > :18:08.is the best gift you can give, really. This group helps give
:18:09. > :18:16.disadvantaged, homeless young people the tools to live independently. It
:18:17. > :18:20.works with young people who might have experienced difficulties in
:18:21. > :18:27.their life. The money from children in need is brilliant. We got ?30,000
:18:28. > :18:32.over a three`year period to part fund one of our training
:18:33. > :18:39.coordinators. It helps my self`esteem and confidence. I am in
:18:40. > :18:45.college, which I did not think I would have got without this place.
:18:46. > :18:52.Children In Need really does help local projects in the local
:18:53. > :18:58.community. We will focus on more charities
:18:59. > :19:04.helped by Children In Need tomorrow. And now the weather.
:19:05. > :19:15.Some pretty wet weather to come and some strong gusty winds as well. We
:19:16. > :19:25.could see gusts along the coast of 60 mph. There will be some heavy
:19:26. > :19:31.bursts of rain in the. But that band of rain will easily and drier
:19:32. > :19:37.conditions follow. That cloud is easing away tomorrow morning. Once
:19:38. > :19:42.we get rid of that weather, it looks like a decent day with bright and
:19:43. > :19:52.sunny spells, perhaps a few showers. It looks like we will have
:19:53. > :20:01.a fairly decent day, but still some brisk and blustery winds. A few
:20:02. > :20:15.showers first thing on Friday morning, temperatures down to 56
:20:16. > :20:20.degrees. `` five or six degrees. For the most part, it will be dry on
:20:21. > :20:27.Friday. A similar picture on Saturday as well. We have got some
:20:28. > :20:32.wind, but it will ease off on Friday and Saturday. But a front arrives on
:20:33. > :20:41.Sunday bringing cloudy conditions with damp outbreaks of rain and
:20:42. > :20:50.drizzle. The weekend will be unsettled with bright `` some bright
:20:51. > :20:54.and sunny intervals. Here is your summary for the coming days. We
:20:55. > :20:57.start with the cloud and dampness first thing tomorrow morning.
:20:58. > :21:03.Brighter skies developing. On Friday and Saturday, a few scattered
:21:04. > :21:10.showers with sunny intervals. Sunday looking cloudy.
:21:11. > :21:22.Thank you. Now let's join Sally who's in Portsmouth tonight with
:21:23. > :21:25.more reaction to today's news about the end of shipbuilding at the
:21:26. > :21:29.city's dockyard, Sally. Welcome back to Portsmouth, a city
:21:30. > :21:33.struggling to come to terms with the news that Navy shipbuilding will end
:21:34. > :21:38.here next year. And with it, 1,100 jobs will go. Repair and maintenance
:21:39. > :21:43.of the Navy's ships will remain here, and the city will still be the
:21:44. > :21:47.home to the surface fleet, including the two new aircraft carriers. We
:21:48. > :22:04.asked people on the streets of Portsmouth for their reaction to
:22:05. > :22:10.today's news. Absolutely awful. It is all to do with money. They make
:22:11. > :22:16.all these big decisions about things and then it all goes down the pan.
:22:17. > :22:27.Add dockyard has gone back hundreds of years.
:22:28. > :22:33.What will there be from the government? The Government says it
:22:34. > :22:37.will give infrastructure grants and set up a maritime task force to help
:22:38. > :22:41.cope with the loss of shipbuilding. An announcement is also expected
:22:42. > :22:44.shortly on a City Deal for the area as Alex Forsyth explains.
:22:45. > :22:48.A City Deal would give Portsmouth more economic power over its future.
:22:49. > :22:52.It could directly profit from local business taxes and make decisions on
:22:53. > :22:54.growth and investment with less government involvement. Projects
:22:55. > :22:56.that could benefit include the Northern Quarter shopping and
:22:57. > :22:59.housing complex and the redevelopment of Tipner, where work
:23:00. > :23:03.has already started. But this isn't new. Portsmouth and Southampton put
:23:04. > :23:11.in a joint bid for this status in January. Today, the Government said
:23:12. > :23:15.negotiations are close to conclusion, keen to soften the blow
:23:16. > :23:19.of the loss of shipbuilding. It also announced a new maritime forum to
:23:20. > :23:22.advise local business on promoting the industry, and ?100 million worth
:23:23. > :23:25.of investment in Portsmouth's infrastructure to help it to host
:23:26. > :23:29.the new aircraft carriers. The local council claims this isn't new money,
:23:30. > :23:36.while the government wants to show it is supporting the city. With
:23:37. > :23:45.Beano is the chief Executive of the Hampshire chamber of commerce. It is
:23:46. > :23:53.a huge blow to the economy. This stretches further as well. Yes, it
:23:54. > :23:57.is a blow for the city. We ought to remember it is a huge blow
:23:58. > :24:01.personally for those who found out today that they will lose their
:24:02. > :24:07.jobs. We have known about the fact that there will be job losses for
:24:08. > :24:12.some time. To find out the extent of that in Portsmouth was the news we
:24:13. > :24:18.did not want to hear. But it does go wider than that. How much further?
:24:19. > :24:22.How many jobs will be lost or companies in trouble because of
:24:23. > :24:30.this? I have heard figures. What sort of figures? 3000 secondary
:24:31. > :24:35.jobs. But that is difficult to assess. There is a supply chain that
:24:36. > :24:40.works with shipbuilding. That will probably suffer. But some of those
:24:41. > :24:45.people will be involved in ship repair. What is your view of this
:24:46. > :24:51.100 million that the government is giving? It is not new money in that
:24:52. > :24:59.it is not directly related to today's news. It is money that has
:25:00. > :25:05.been allocated to help the dockyard adapt and be able to receive the two
:25:06. > :25:10.new carriers. It is not tied in to today. Do you think shipbuilding has
:25:11. > :25:17.gone for good from Portsmouth? We know it has gone as far as this time
:25:18. > :25:26.frame has concerned `` is concerned, but the capacity to build ships will
:25:27. > :25:30.remain. Thank you. Let's return to Westminster and get
:25:31. > :25:38.a summary of what is being talked about the.
:25:39. > :25:49.It is worth wondering what if? What if Portsmouth had remained open and
:25:50. > :26:02.one of the yards in Scotland was closed? Would there be more than the
:26:03. > :26:04.city deal? Much of that money has already been allocated in the
:26:05. > :26:12.Portsmouth area. Thank you. Steve Humphreys has been
:26:13. > :26:15.a Portsmouth dockyard for most of the day. A difficult day for
:26:16. > :26:21.workers. Yes, the warship building industry
:26:22. > :26:28.has always been notorious for having peaks and troughs. To build the new
:26:29. > :26:32.aircraft carriers, people always knew there would be paying at the
:26:33. > :26:37.end of that project because of the lack of orders coming after. Simply
:26:38. > :26:42.not enough to keep the shipyards going around the country. The reason
:26:43. > :26:48.for that is the size of the Royal navy fleet. At the time of the
:26:49. > :26:55.Falklands, the Royal Navy had 60 frigates and destroyers. Right now,
:26:56. > :26:58.there are 19. A very badly far as shipbuilding is concerned, but at
:26:59. > :27:08.least we will store around 11,000 jobs at the naval base.
:27:09. > :27:23.Thank you. If you want to get in touch, let us know what you think.
:27:24. > :27:30.Our colleagues in BBC local radio have a special programme tomorrow
:27:31. > :27:35.morning. This is a very difficult day for Portsmouth. A city defined
:27:36. > :27:40.by its history. Today, it learned that ship building will become part
:27:41. > :27:43.of its past. Hundreds of staff have gone home tonight and certain of
:27:44. > :27:47.what their future holds. Good night.