:00:00. > 3:59:59question is, will more competition deliver better programmes? That s
:00:00. > :00:09.Good evening. all
:00:10. > :00:10.Teachers, firefighters and refuse collectors
:00:11. > :00:13.are among the public sector workers who've been on strike in our region,
:00:14. > :00:15.in protest at Government pl`ns that would affect their pay,
:00:16. > :00:18.Across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Swindon,
:00:19. > :00:21.48 out of 88 fire engines wdre out of action because there werdn't
:00:22. > :00:26.And at least 135 schools and colleges were affected
:00:27. > :00:31.In terms of other council sdrvices, most local authorities have told us
:00:32. > :00:36.The Unions say they have public support.
:00:37. > :00:40.Katharine Da Costa sent this report from Swindon.
:00:41. > :00:44.It's time to end the pay cuts or we will be out together agahn.
:00:45. > :00:46.Angry at pay freezes, pensions and cuts, up to 100 workers
:00:47. > :00:49.from any of the large unions joined forces at the Cenotaph in
:00:50. > :00:58.We've been offered 1%, where is the fairness in th`t?
:00:59. > :01:03.I don't agree with the Government's ideas.
:01:04. > :01:06.I'm here about conditions as much as pay, really.
:01:07. > :01:08.We all should have decent pensions and pay.
:01:09. > :01:11.We are not being greedy, we're not asking for much, we are just asking
:01:12. > :01:16.Teachers, firemen, council workers, a whole cross range of socidty have
:01:17. > :01:19.gathered today with their own grievances, be that pensions or pay
:01:20. > :01:26.and conditions, but they ard united in their frustration at the
:01:27. > :01:30.Government and they demands to be taken seriously. We've had four
:01:31. > :01:33.years of no pay rises and a derisory 1% offer for this year.
:01:34. > :01:36.There's a cost of living crhsis people are 20% behind inflation
:01:37. > :01:45.Like other areas, Swindon h`s been hit by high youth unemploymdnt.
:01:46. > :01:47.Together with inflation and rising food and energy prices,
:01:48. > :01:51.families here say they've struggled to get by.
:01:52. > :01:54.But how much sympathy is thdre for those who chose not to go to
:01:55. > :02:03.I think it should be illegal for any public service workdrs to go
:02:04. > :02:06.There are enough people out of work in this country,
:02:07. > :02:09.they would be happy to take those jobs on conditions they havd.
:02:10. > :02:11.People are getting less and less wages, more and more work
:02:12. > :02:14.and they are not getting the rights they are entitled to
:02:15. > :02:16.The Government has described the walk`out and a huge disappohntment
:02:17. > :02:28.The unions claim they made their point loud and clear.
:02:29. > :02:30.Today's walk out was the 15th by fire crews.
:02:31. > :02:34.In Berkshire, the service is asking for volunteers to do some of the
:02:35. > :02:38.Bosses say it isn't an admission that they're struggling
:02:39. > :02:45.Good afternoon, Simon Smith speaking.
:02:46. > :02:48.The nerve centre here in Re`ding on strike day at Berkshire Fire
:02:49. > :02:54.Managers say 60 firefighters are on duty, about half the usual number.
:02:55. > :02:56.Some of them are answering emergency calls.
:02:57. > :03:01.It's a road traffic collision with four cars, one
:03:02. > :03:06.In Surrey, private contractors are being hired to perform the duties
:03:07. > :03:10.Eight volunteers are also working during the strike here in Bdrkshire,
:03:11. > :03:14.but the Fire Service wants to treble that number and is asking for lorry
:03:15. > :03:20.Professional crews would go in there first, deal with the incident,
:03:21. > :03:25.but there's a lot of clearing up to be done, a lot of work to bd done
:03:26. > :03:27.afterwards, and this is the work these crews will bd doing.
:03:28. > :03:30.They will also deal with low risk incidents, grass fires,
:03:31. > :03:36.Managers say the emergency volunteers will get 12 days
:03:37. > :03:41.I've spoken to some of the firefighters who didn't want
:03:42. > :03:44.to say this on camera, but they told me they have grave concerns
:03:45. > :03:51.They say basic firefighter training lasts 14 weeks, whereas
:03:52. > :03:53.the emergency volunteers will get around three days of training.
:03:54. > :03:56.They also say they won't be able to use specialist equipment,
:03:57. > :03:59.and these deficiencies in training, they say, will only become `pparent
:04:00. > :04:06.Next week, members of the Fire Brigades Union will strike
:04:07. > :04:10.Berkshire Fire and Rescue will be hoping it can
:04:11. > :04:20.The man accused of murdering Didcot teenager Jayden Parkinson h`s told a
:04:21. > :04:24.Ben Blakeley, from Reading, admits killing his ex`girlfriend in a field
:04:25. > :04:27.He's told the jury he relives what happened
:04:28. > :04:39.One of Oxfordshire's councils is planning to do without any part
:04:40. > :04:41.of a Government grant worth almost ?4 million.
:04:42. > :04:43.Cherwell District Council s`ys it's working on the basis it won't
:04:44. > :04:47.The Government has dismissed that as "pure speculation".
:04:48. > :04:52.Our political reporter Helen Catt has the story.
:04:53. > :04:56.It's money that helps fund this this and even this.
:04:57. > :04:57.But in recent years the revenue support
:04:58. > :05:04.Now Cherwell says it will plan to do without it at all from 2017,
:05:05. > :05:07.even though the Government hasn t said it's going to stop it.
:05:08. > :05:10.Whoever wins the election next spring, atsterity
:05:11. > :05:13.Britain is going to be here to stay for at least five years.
:05:14. > :05:17.A responsible council simplx plans ahead how best to meet that.
:05:18. > :05:20.Bicester might be blooming but it doesn't seem to be growing `ny money
:05:21. > :05:22.trees, so where would Cherwdll find ?3.84 million, more than
:05:23. > :05:35.It thinks money can be saved in back`office functions and admin.
:05:36. > :05:37.And it hopes not to raise council tax,
:05:38. > :05:43.My wages don't rise, why should theirs?
:05:44. > :05:46.As long as it wasn't too much, I wouldn't be too concerned.
:05:47. > :05:48.Sometimes there's a need, everything is going up.
:05:49. > :05:51.I would expect council tax to go up eventually.
:05:52. > :05:54.If they get some more money, all well and good to them.
:05:55. > :05:56.They won't be giving anything back, will they?
:05:57. > :05:59.It will get government cash for new businesses moving in and all
:06:00. > :06:09.Anything else, it says, will be a bonus.
:06:10. > :06:12.A lack of carers willing to look after older children is becoming
:06:13. > :06:15.a major issue in Oxfordshird, according to a fostering agdncy
:06:16. > :06:17.Of around 300 children in foster care in the countx,
:06:18. > :06:21.Social workers at Fosterplus in Bicester say families prdfer to
:06:22. > :06:27.take on younger children rather than teenagers.
:06:28. > :06:30.Changes that you can make to a child of that age are phenomenal.
:06:31. > :06:34.A lot of people have a preconception that they won't be able to lake any
:06:35. > :06:36.effective change with a child who is, say, ten or older,
:06:37. > :06:40.when in fact there is a hugd amount of work that can be done to help
:06:41. > :07:02.But most of us tonight it is a dry affair. Just a couple of brdaks in
:07:03. > :07:07.the cloud, some clear spells, but we do have a few of us seeing some
:07:08. > :07:12.dampness. We have cloud spilling across a working its way in from the
:07:13. > :07:19.east. There, we do see some wet weather on the eastern fringes. West
:07:20. > :07:24.is best for brightness first thing tomorrow morning. Some decent sunny
:07:25. > :07:27.spells, the cloud, though, spilling across. The rain easing awax, some
:07:28. > :07:29.of us could see some more wdt weather through the course of the
:07:30. > :07:44.morning. Into the weekend, Good evening. We had stark contrasts
:07:45. > :07:51.in our weather today for most of us we had sunshine and it was warm 25
:07:52. > :07:58.in Glasgow, 27 Attlee on Solent Just 14 under this cloud back. We've
:07:59. > :08:02.had quite a brisk breeze and torrential rain at times.
:08:03. > :08:08.Thunderstorms across East Anglia, Essex and Kent. Parts of London
:08:09. > :08:13.That's meandering at the moment It is edging into Lincolnshire, parts
:08:14. > :08:17.of Yorkshire. It is going to bring further downpours throughout the
:08:18. > :08:22.evening. Nasty conditions on the roads with spray and warm. Elsewhere
:08:23. > :08:28.bar the odd shower, a drier, clearer night. Mist and fog around. A chilly
:08:29. > :08:33.in the Scottish glens. Fog for the East Coast. Sea fog could plague
:08:34. > :08:40.eastern areas tomorrow. More cloud as the rain slowly eases away. It is
:08:41. > :08:41.quite dry, but by the end of