:00:00. > :00:21.First tonight, many of our most valued council
:00:22. > :00:24.services in the East Midlands are facing some of the biggest spending
:00:25. > :00:28.A new report says the budget squeeze is particularly noticeable on road
:00:29. > :00:33.The findings come from the Chartered Institute of Publhc
:00:34. > :00:39.Our political editor, John Hess reports.
:00:40. > :00:41.Protesters gathered outside the headquarters of
:00:42. > :00:50.They wanted their voices he`rd as councillors inside voted
:00:51. > :00:52.on big budget cuts to counchl services for the homeless.
:00:53. > :00:56.What this means in real terls is going from working with 400 young
:00:57. > :01:00.people over a year to actually 0, for the whole of Derbyshire.
:01:01. > :01:02.The protesters were invited to make their case.
:01:03. > :01:04.Our local politicians have been trying to make
:01:05. > :01:10.their case over what they s`y is the disproportionate impact
:01:11. > :01:13.Over four years on East Midlands Today,
:01:14. > :01:16.we have reported on the warning and impact of austerity budget cuts that
:01:17. > :01:18.have dominated the decision`making of our local councillors.
:01:19. > :01:22.For example, at County Hall, Nottingham, they've shed allost 800
:01:23. > :01:24.posts in recent years and this new report confirms the
:01:25. > :01:27.extent of the budget cuts and which services in particular right across
:01:28. > :01:35.Total spending is expected to fall by 4.1% this year,
:01:36. > :01:42.That compares with 2.9% in the West Midlands and what 1.8%
:01:43. > :01:46.Only the Northeast, at 5%, has a bigger cuts.
:01:47. > :01:51.The national average for England is 3.3%.
:01:52. > :01:54.But this is the big figure, 29. % ` when adjusted
:01:55. > :01:58.for inflation this is a redtction in local authority spending
:01:59. > :02:04.Leicester City mayor Sir Peter Soulby says it's time
:02:05. > :02:07.local councillors councils were less dependent on Treasury grants to
:02:08. > :02:14.Local authorities ought to have the flexibility to raise their revenue
:02:15. > :02:21.To be fair, we are generating more cash, but it
:02:22. > :02:24.is fair to say we are still in a difficult place with the Government
:02:25. > :02:31.It continues to expand and we need to continue to spend taxpaydrs'
:02:32. > :02:41.Police spending in the Midlands is down 2.4$.
:02:42. > :02:48.highways. Those potholes will take longer to repair.
:02:49. > :02:51.Police have released a photo of the seven`year`old girl who was
:02:52. > :02:53.found dead at a flat in Nottingham last week.
:02:54. > :02:56.Shanaye Walker's aunt has been charged with her murder.
:02:57. > :03:00.Our social affairs correspondent, Jeremy Ball, reports.
:03:01. > :03:04.A little girl barely old enough for primary school, posing hn pink
:03:05. > :03:10.But today she is at the centre of a murder inquiry.
:03:11. > :03:13.It's five days since her body was found here at Bestwood Park, a crime
:03:14. > :03:20.scene marked out with tributes for a victim who was only sdven
:03:21. > :03:26.Someone has left a doll next to these cuddly toys.
:03:27. > :03:29.Now it has emerged that her own aunt is under arrest on suspicion
:03:30. > :03:36.Kay`Ann Morris was due to appear at Nottingham Crown Court today
:03:37. > :03:38.She was not present for the hearing but her barristdr said
:03:39. > :03:45.She's been ordered to appear before a judge here in a fortnight's time.
:03:46. > :03:48.The investigation into Shan`ye's death is still at an early stage.
:03:49. > :03:57.The death of a girl who shotld have been enjoying her summer holidays.
:03:58. > :03:59.Children's heart surgery in Leicester could move
:04:00. > :04:04.Managers in charge of the city's hospitals say they now
:04:05. > :04:07.want to base all their paediatric care on ond site.
:04:08. > :04:08.It's part of their campaign to keep children's
:04:09. > :04:13.Instead it'll be based at the Royal Infirmary.
:04:14. > :04:17.The trust's decision follows new recommendations by NHS Engl`nd who
:04:18. > :04:22.are carrying out a UK`wide review into children's cardiac card.
:04:23. > :04:28.Now, you've probably seen the remarkable images today of thousands
:04:29. > :04:31.of ceramic poppies placed in tribute around the Tower of London.
:04:32. > :04:34.The World War One centenary display is the work of a team from Derby
:04:35. > :04:37.who've been busy producing the poppies around the clock.
:04:38. > :04:40.Designed by a Derbyshire artist each flower represents a soldier
:04:41. > :04:47.Our arts reporter Geeta Pendse reports.
:04:48. > :04:52.They've been working night `nd day since January to produce more than
:04:53. > :04:58.888,000 poppies designed by the Derbyshire artist Paul Cummhns,
:04:59. > :05:02.keen to involve the local community in Derby where he studied.
:05:03. > :05:05.The team range from art graduates to local tradesmen.
:05:06. > :05:08.Each of the poppies represents a British or colonial soldidr who
:05:09. > :05:14.Whilst it's a repetitive process, everyone here in the factorx has
:05:15. > :05:18.the mental attitude that thdy are making something that represents
:05:19. > :05:26.Once the poppies are moulded into place they are ready to be set.
:05:27. > :05:35.This is heated to about 1180 Celsius.
:05:36. > :05:38.The poppies are then taken out. They will then be glazed.
:05:39. > :05:42.At the moment they are prodtcing 30,000 poppies every week.
:05:43. > :05:45.Many of the raw materials are sourced from Derbyshire,
:05:46. > :05:49.and the red paint developed by a company in Coalville.
:05:50. > :05:53.This morning, the first instalment of poppies was viewed by thd royal
:05:54. > :05:57.family, a proud moment for `n artist who graduated just four years ago.
:05:58. > :06:00.For me it was really import`nt to get people together
:06:01. > :06:06.Once they got to know about it, once they started making thdm,
:06:07. > :06:11.they have then literally taken ownership of everything,
:06:12. > :06:15.down to realising if they break one it represents somebody's life.
:06:16. > :06:19.The last poppies will be pl`nted on Remembrance Day, a memorhal that
:06:20. > :06:32.has its roots in Derby but is now shared with the world.
:06:33. > :06:43.I leave you with the weather. A few showers around today but they
:06:44. > :06:49.were just the start of it. Tonight fairly and persistent rain pushing
:06:50. > :06:51.in. Most of it will clear ott of the way quickly tomorrow morning. Cryer
:06:52. > :06:56.and brighter as the morning progresses. Pushing into thd South
:06:57. > :07:00.West and Wales. Ahead of th`t a few showers at the moment but the main
:07:01. > :07:04.event pushing through tomorrow morning. In the early hours of the
:07:05. > :07:12.morning, the rain gets pershstent and heavy. A mild night. If you are
:07:13. > :07:18.up early tomorrow morning, there will be some rain around. It is
:07:19. > :07:23.clear through fairly quicklx. By the end of the morning it will have left
:07:24. > :07:26.all of us. There will be a couple of showers following on behind that
:07:27. > :07:40.generally brighter and drier with some sunshine. The outlook.
:07:41. > :07:45.There's been a fair bit of talk about what weather is heading our
:07:46. > :07:49.way for the weekend. We will touch on that at the end of the forecast.
:07:50. > :07:54.In terms of the weather here and now, it is a lot of rain on the way.
:07:55. > :07:57.So plenty of rain already affecting south-western parts of the country.
:07:58. > :08:03.That will sweep across the UK as we go through the course of the night.
:08:04. > :08:05.On top of that, it is not going to be wet, it will be a warm night