:00:15. > :00:19.And now the news for the East Midlands, I'm Maurice Flynn. The
:00:20. > :00:23.problem of scarlet fever is still increasing ` with more cases of the
:00:24. > :00:26.infection in the East Midlands than anywhere else in the country.
:00:27. > :00:29.Nationally, concern is growing about its spread. According to Public
:00:30. > :00:32.Health England, almost 900 new cases were reported last week ` that's the
:00:33. > :00:43.highest weekly total for scarlet fever in 30 years. Amy Harris
:00:44. > :00:47.reports. It is the right rash that gives
:00:48. > :01:00.scarlet fever its name. `` red rash. It is the most in the
:01:01. > :01:05.country, beating numbers in the West Midlands and even London. We were
:01:06. > :01:10.the first part of England to recognise this, so we wrote to GPs
:01:11. > :01:15.seem, we think there is scarlet fever about. Please look for it and
:01:16. > :01:20.tell us, and they have. We work with GPs to make sure the treatment is
:01:21. > :01:24.right, we work with schools and nurseries to make sure that infected
:01:25. > :01:32.children are excluded until they are on antibiotics. The figures given
:01:33. > :01:38.indication as to where the cases are. Derbyshire has the most cases
:01:39. > :01:43.and Leicester has the least. Scarlet fever is a bacterial illness and
:01:44. > :01:50.symptoms take two to five days to appear after initial symptoms of
:01:51. > :01:56.sore throat, headache, high temperature and rash. In most cases,
:01:57. > :02:01.it can be treated with antibiotics. If you think your child has scarlet
:02:02. > :02:08.fever, take them to the GP, get the antibiotics. The good news is
:02:09. > :02:13.children with the disease make a quick recovery. They can be back in
:02:14. > :02:18.the playground soon after starting treatment. Before antibiotics, they
:02:19. > :02:28.were kept in isolation for weeks or months. Italy is spotting scarlet
:02:29. > :02:33.leave early and treating it quickly. `` the important thing is spotting
:02:34. > :02:35.scarlet fever early and treating it quickly.
:02:36. > :02:39.Business leaders are warning growth in the East Midlands' economy could
:02:40. > :02:42.be choked ` by a shortage of skilled workers. They say some school
:02:43. > :02:45.leavers may not even qualify for apprenticeships, because they lack
:02:46. > :02:48.basic maths and reading skills. Our political editor John Hess reports
:02:49. > :02:50.on one scheme backed by the Government which matches expanding
:02:51. > :02:53.businesses with young workers who have the right training and skills.
:02:54. > :02:57.Repairing cracked pavements and filling in potholes is unglamorous
:02:58. > :03:01.but essential work, and for a 19`year`old Adrian, it is a job
:03:02. > :03:08.opportunity through a new apprenticeship scheme. It gives me a
:03:09. > :03:13.new set of skills and hopefully I will get a career out of this. The
:03:14. > :03:18.rate of youth unemployment in the East Midlands stands at 20%, but
:03:19. > :03:24.more significant is the number of young people neither in education,
:03:25. > :03:28.employment or training, which stands at 74,000. That has gone up by 3000
:03:29. > :03:39.since the Coalition Government came into power. This bit of kit is also
:03:40. > :03:43.used for oil. This company makes adulteration equipment that cleans
:03:44. > :03:47.up fuel and they plan to expand, but a lack of engineering skills and the
:03:48. > :03:55.local jobs market, especially in basic maths and science is becoming
:03:56. > :04:05.a headache. It is tricky. People are out there, but it is hard to find
:04:06. > :04:11.them. A former civil servant be offered a solution. His programme is
:04:12. > :04:17.creating an alternative job centre for firms needing skilled staff. We
:04:18. > :04:25.need to do the right thing right now to impeach young people. As the
:04:26. > :04:28.regional economy hots up, the Warriors now if we have enough
:04:29. > :04:31.skilled workers ready for the revival.
:04:32. > :04:34.Well, the Education Secretary Michael Gove was in Leicestershire
:04:35. > :04:37.today and he acknowledged that the skills gap is a big problem. Here's
:04:38. > :04:42.our Chief News reporter Quentin Rayner.
:04:43. > :04:46.For a man who is used to making sparks fly, you might think a lesson
:04:47. > :04:52.on electricity was appropriate for Michael Gove. He was visiting a
:04:53. > :04:56.number of schools today, including lime harassed Academy in
:04:57. > :05:06.Loughborough. He is aware of the concerns of business leaders over
:05:07. > :05:10.the shortfall in literacy skills. I spoke to Chamber of Commerce members
:05:11. > :05:15.and I said eradicating lack of literacy in humidity was my number
:05:16. > :05:19.one priority. We have come a considerable way and the quality of
:05:20. > :05:23.schools is significantly better than it was for five years ago. Last
:05:24. > :05:29.month, he condemned education leaders in Nottingham for a toxic
:05:30. > :05:36.lack of ambition after schools were placed in special measures. In an
:05:37. > :05:39.open letter he was called on by union leaders to work with them to
:05:40. > :05:46.improve the schools rather than criticising from the sidelines. We
:05:47. > :05:51.are investing money, backing rate head teachers. The people carping
:05:52. > :05:56.from the sidelines are at the councils. It is a pity there are
:05:57. > :05:59.some people of the local authority, instead of acknowledging the skill
:06:00. > :06:07.of the problem, want to shoot the messenger. With further strike
:06:08. > :06:11.action threatened by teachers this summer, the Education Secretary is
:06:12. > :06:15.bracing himself for a further opposition to his reforms.
:06:16. > :06:19.And the Sunday Politics for the East Midlands is taking a closer look at
:06:20. > :06:21.our skills shortage. That's from 11 o'clock this Sunday with Marie
:06:22. > :06:25.Ashby, here on BBC One. And in football, tonight's result at
:06:26. > :06:27.the King Power Stadium could see Leicester City promoted this
:06:28. > :06:30.weekend. They beat Sheffield Wednesday 2`1. The Foxes still need
:06:31. > :06:34.other results to go their way tomorrow. That's your news and sport
:06:35. > :06:36.` I'll have more for you over the weekend. So goodbye from me ` here's
:06:37. > :06:46.Anna Church with your weather. Equality has been improving and with
:06:47. > :06:51.the help of greenery from the Atlantic this weekend, it will
:06:52. > :07:07.continue to improve. It looks like a cloudy weekend and you should be
:07:08. > :07:11.prepared for rain. Those of 70 Celsius tonight. Some patchy rain
:07:12. > :07:18.first thing tomorrow and then it looks like it's fairly dry for a
:07:19. > :07:29.while. Some dry spells, just very little brightness and highs of 14
:07:30. > :07:30.Celsius. On Sunday, more rain. Saturday is definitely the better
:07:31. > :07:32.day. In a few moments, well. The national weather forecast
:07:33. > :07:35.comes from Peter Gibbs.