16/11/2011 Look East - East

compared with 8.3% nationally. The Government is working to bring down

youth unemployment by funding a big increase in apprenticeships. In a

moment, Mike Liggins has been moment, Mike Liggins has been

speaking to young unemployed people in Lowestoft, but first this from

our business correspondent, Richard The booming offshore wind is a huge

stimulus for the region's economy. Firms making work boats, for

example, taking workers to windfarms, are very busy. At its

yard in Great Yarmouth, this company sells to windfarms all over

the country. It has taken on for young apprentices this year, among

them this 19-year-old. Renewable energy, hopefully if that is the

way forward they will have orders coming in so there will be more

work and hopefully a job for longer. Last year 23,000 young people

started apprenticeships in the east, but this year it will be 38,000, a

60% increase. How do they work? The government pays for the training,

the employer just pays the wages, which can be as little as �2.60 an

hour. These engineering apprenticeships at college mostly

earn more than that and they are thankful to have jobs. I am getting

qualifications as well as earning money. Lurking -- working my way

into an industry. I'd just like doing things like this, doing

things with my hands. I couldn't sit in an office all day. I like

seeing what I'm making. Despite the expansion of apprenticeships, not

everyone can get one. At his college in Northamptonshire,

training places in construction are much sought-after. There are 50

applications for every apprenticeship place that we are

currently helping to advertise with employers. And apprentices are not

immune from the problems of the wider economy. In the construction

industry, we are finding there are still companies going into

liquidation and as recently as last week, an employer we worked with

for many years did in fact go into liquidation and that meant 11

apprentices lost their jobs. It is a very tough time to be starting a

working life. Apprenticeships are great, but they depend on real jobs

being created and sustained a in the private sector.

Behind the unemployment statistics are the real-life stories of people

who can't find work. Mike Liggins went to Lowestoft in Suffolk to

speak to some young people who are Can I interest you in a leaflet?

Philip is handing out leaflets for a charity shop. He is volunteering

to try to improve his chances of finding work. He was expelled from

school at 17 and hasn't had a job in the two years since. I have had

a couple of interviews, but they have turned me down because I had

no experience. How are my supposed to get experience if you don't give

it to me? Leaving the JobCentre in Lowestoft, Terry is looking after

her knees. She claims jobseeker's allowance, �106.90 every fortnight,

by she told me she does want the job because life without work isn't

exactly much fun. Seeing family, seeing friends, trying to find a

job. It is all I can do. Is it boring? Vary. I would rather be

working and earning money and doing something with my life. 19-year-old

Kelly is also a board. Her partner works, but she doesn't and she goes

to the shops just for something to do. She has a ten-month-old

daughter and when it comes to interviews, she says childcare is

an issue. I say I have a little girl and they must think, can she

come to work every day? She will have to rely on people to look

after her daughter and I think that puts them off a little bit. What do

you think a job would do for you? It would improve my life completely.

I would be working and getting paid, earning my own money. At the end of

the week I will have my own money. I can enjoy myself, by my own stuff.

Philip is on his way to sign on. He admits he has had a chequered past

but is hoping for a better future, with a job and some money. A future

without JobCentre plus. The economy is still the number one

issue in politics so what are our MPs saying about it and when do

they expect things to get better? Our political correspondent Andrew

Sinclair is here. How worried are the MPs? And they are all concerned.

One MP told me he was terrified and privately I think they will all

admit they think things are going to get worse before they get better.

But MPs in the government keep pointing out that compared to other

parts of the country, we are doing OK and they keep pointing out that

because we have these high-tech industries and green technologies,

we are in a good position to take advantage of the recovery. The

problem is there's not much of a recovery going on at the moment.

The Government's strategy is to use what little money it has for grants

to high-tech companies in the hope these will grow jobs. There's also

a lot of money going into creating apprenticeships. You have to put in

place things that will work at the root cause of the problem. I want

to see more apprenticeships, higher skills made available, and young

people taking those up so that they are ready to take on the jobs that

are out there. There are vacancies in the private sector, but we have

to help people to get into them. Labour say that is not good enough.

They want a Plan D, which does involve spending money. The Shadow

Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, was in court today. We set out an

alternative five-point plan for jobs and growth and that includes

Labour's proposal to have a banker's bonus tax that could put

billions of pounds into youth jobs. That would create jobs for these

young people so we don't have a lost generation again. Are there

any signs the government is considering a plan B? There is a

bit of that week going on but they will never call it a Plan B. We

have recently seen a lot of talk about investing in infrastructure

projects. And then the next few weeks we will hear more about

infrastructure projects, but the government doesn't have much to

play with. This uncertain picture will continue for some time. Thank

you. Travellers have moved back on to

the illegal part of the Dale Farm site in Essex, claiming they have

nowhere else to go. They were evicted last month and bailiffs

have finished clearing the plots where they lived. But now families

have taken their caravans back. Let's go live to Dale Farm and Alex

The council had to wait 10 years. They were victorious. The illegal

travellers were moved on. But tonight it seems that victory was

short-lived. Just as the clean-up operation

draws to a close, they have returned. Basildon council has

spent the last four weeks and millions of pounds a evicting

illegal travellers from the site at Dale Farm. It is easy to tell which

were the legal plots, they are marked by these craters. They were

aimed to prevent them from coming back. They have failed. On this

stretch of road alone, there are now 11 caravans. This access road

is owned by Patrick again. He has welcomed others back, inviting some

and to his front yard. The council were told to provide other places

to go and the council would not do it. Even a temporary place, the

council would not do it. Now they have got nowhere to go. Before the

28 day notices are Iraq, they will have to pull into car parks in the

area, or fields in this area. They are not leaving Basildon. So given

their return, was this the eviction or the money did cast to carry out

a wasted effort? There have been many threats made by the travellers

that they would move back, move into Tesco car parks and so forth.,

and move into my garden, where a parody I live in a mansion! News to

my wife. Up until today those threats have not been carried out.

We can't condone any more breaches of the criminal law. Local

residents in the settled community despair. People like Christine who

has run this neighbouring garden centre for the last 25 years.

just think it is horrendous. The money that has been spent. It gives

the area a bad name. If tonight, from those travellers who have

returned, a threat. They are only the first, they promise more will

follow. Tonight they have been more

developments. Four of the caravans were part further up the road in an

area subject to that original injunction. It meant the owners

could have been arrested. The authorities could have moved

quickly. Where they are mean -- now means if the council wants to move

them on, they have to restart the entire legal process. It seems

these travellers are playing a canny game of cat and mouse and the

council are playing catch-up. Still to come tonight:

If you want to cut the fuel bills, get on your bike.

And more on the metal thieves - the The police in Suffolk are cutting

300 jobs, including 100 police officers. They are trying to save

�13.5 million over the next four years. And the county council has

announced plans to save �50 million from its budget, including �15

A pledge from the Chief Constable. Community and neighbourhood

policing our say. But a 20% cut in government funding means jobs will

go. Among those at risk, traffic police, senior officers and

civilian staff. Today we were told �10 million in savings will be made

by sharing resources with neighbouring forces, notably

Norfolk. What we are looking to do is join up all have our support

functions so that we can drive out costs and that area as well as a

number of our operational functions, things like major crime, policing

the roads and our firearms teams, so we have a strong programme of

collaboration. Other savings will come from closing and relocating

stations like Ipswich and Woodbridge, and sharing premises

with local councils. Of course it's not just the police taking the

strain. A 28% cut in government funding means the county council

behind me are going to after make �50 million in savings over the

next two years. That is on top of a �43 million and cut their budget

this year. Some savings will be within the council itself. But

adults social care and children's services will be realigned, they

say, saving more than �18 million. It is a realignment so that early

intervention can provide a better service. Not a cut? Definitely not.

It is a change in the way you spend money and if you can save money but

provide a better service that improves people's quality of life,

it is a very good thing. Realignment means changes in the

way adults social care works, but there is this transition period in

which we don't know what is needed in the community. We don't know

what organisations like ourselves will need to do you. I'm very

concerned that people may drop through the cracks. Such cuts are

not confined to suffer, police forces and councils across the East

have some very difficult decisions A school bus and a car have crashed

at 4:30pm this afternoon. A 25- year-old man was heard. Three of

the children were placed in neck collars and all are being treated

at Colchester General Hospital. A decision on whether to base the

RAF's new Joint Strike Fighter at Marham in Norfolk will be made in

the spring of next year. The new date is far earlier than was

expected. This decision will be confirmed next spring. The day it

emerged after a meeting was held this afternoon. In that meeting was

the MP for South West Norfolk, alongside the minister for defence

equipment, support and technology. This decision will be key to the

future of Marham. This time last year, a successful campaign to save

it was lodged. When the tornado is eventually phased out, it is hoped

the base will be home to the Joint Strike Fighter instead. It is seen

as a direct replacement to the Tornado. That should be phased out

by the year 2020. If it is based in Marham, it will secured the best's

long term future. The MP is trying to persuade ministers of the

importance of citing this new aircraft in Norfolk.

BBC East and Norwich City have settled a dispute over a transfer

story on the Late Kick Off football programme. The BBC has apologised,

saying it accepted that aspects of the story should have been handled

differently. A contract has been awarded to

remove asbestos from the former nuclear power station at Bradwell

in Essex. The work will start in the next few months. It's part of a

�300 million project to clean up the first generation of nuclear

power stations across the country which are being decommissioned.

Villagers have stepped in to save a country post office in Essex. The

customers have agreed to pay for the post office at Henham near

Bishop's Stortford rather than see it close. They'll pay monthly

direct debits towards the running costs. This woman has been post

mistress here for 13 years. The posters was closed three years ago

but reopened with the help of council funding. Now, the threat of

closure has resurfaced. This time, villagers have put their hands in

their pockets to save it. Families pay a subscription of a minimum of

�1 above. I think it is a brilliant idea. It is not always about money.

It is providing a service for people. We do a lot of custom for

eBay people. They come in with many parcels. The nearest other poster

this is a bus ride away, making life difficult for pensioners and

those without transport. But the service costs �12,000 a year. Today,

Royal Mail said it was to be used the local community had identified

a local -- a solution. It shows a level of interest and concern in

the village to retain its posters. But it is not satisfactory, really,

that a local community should have to find all the money to pay for

the privilege of being linked to the national postal system.

Post Office is the Henham's second success story. The village store is

run entirely by a college -- volunteers. Now, the Post Office

have been saved and is open three We had a big response to our report

last night on the growing menace of cable and metal theft. It all

started with the soaring cost of copper. It's costing us millions of

pounds and it's got some of you very hot under the collar. Let's go

live to Hertfordshire and Kim Riley. I am in St Ippolitts, alerted by

Look East viewer Ted Pay. I am looking for this, a cone. It is

marking the spot where they should be a heavy drain cover. Around here,

there is not just one: Along the side of the road. They seem to be

everywhere. More than a dozen of these drain covers have disappeared

into thin air or maybe been hustled into the back of a white van, who

knows? Quite the operation as the cones are very heavy. They have

been taken from the side, quite busy roads, causing worry to the

locals about danger and expense. is terrible. Look what it is

costing the ratepayers to replace these. The council tax goes up,

just through somebody wanting to be greedy because that is all it is.

You've got a lot of children playing on the road on their cycles

so it is very, very dangerous. of your stories.

John Glenet, from Higham Ferrers. Nigel Richards farms at Moulsoe

near Newport Pagnell. He says sentences are far too light. Peter

Cottee, from Gislingham in Suffolk. He says they have lost their

broadband service because Martin Beale from Dunstable. He bought a

pub and twice, it was broken into and copper has been taken Samantha

Bryce, from Harleson in Norfolk. A friend had been renovating a house

and as a retired police officer, she was shocked the crime of theft

was not investigated. We are used to thefts from church roofs but at

this church in mental Keens -- in metal bash in Milton Keynes, part

of a memorial was stolen. That is the kind of thing these thieves are

getting up to day-by-day. Thanks to all of you who got in

touch. You can always call with a touch. You can always call with a

touch. You can always call with a story. E-mail us. Or go to Facebook

and search for bbclookeast. Don't forget to leave a contact telephone

forget to leave a contact telephone number.

No-one needs reminding how expensive it is to fill up our cars

these days, and yesterday we covered the Commons debate led by

the Essex MP Robert Halfon which called on the Government to cut

fuel duty. But there is a cheaper, healthier alternative. It involves

two wheels, not four, and already, we are beating the national trend.

Across the country 3% of people cycle to work. Here, it's 5%. And

in Cambridge, it's 23%. This special report from Richard Daniel.

Jane Thomson used to drive to work but now she has swapped four wheels

for two. A six-mile drive from her home in Colchester has become a

four mile bike ride on and off road. It is only a chore if it is raining.

I did have to bother going to the gym. As a busy mum of two, I don't

have the time. So I fit this into part of my working life. She saves

more than �3 a day in petrol and parking charges. At the running

cost of a car and the real figures are much higher. They call him the

cycling champion. In three years, Richard Monk has 3,000 people back

on bikes in Colchester. Lottery- funded, his charity organises a to

format provides every week, come rain or shine. I've really look

forward to coming for my rights. I would really miss it if I couldn't

make it. It is not just the health benefits. It is the feeling of

confidence people get. The feeling of meeting other people and

socialising and the opportunity to open up and stretch out.

Cambridge, they are light years ahead. Here, they even text on two

wheels. And in the city where even -- where one in four cycle, sales

of electric bikes are up. Initially, we were selling to the over-fifties

but we have noticed that the commuting market has expanded and

more and more people are looking for ways to get to work without

getting sweaty. People like Alex frost. Lots of people do the same

cycle on a normal bike but I have far too lazy for that so I got

myself an electric bike and it makes it easier to get on it in the

mornings. After half-an-hour in the saddle, Jane Thompson arrives at

work. For her and a growing band of commuters, there is no going back

to the car. It's two days to go until Children

In Need and all this week, we've been meeting some of the people who

were helped by the money you donated last year. Tonight, we have

Dan's story. He's a young man whose life has been turned around, thanks

Parkour is trying to get around obstacles by the quickest means

possible, usually by jumping, climbing or running. It taught me

there was more to life than crime. Most people who do crime do it to

get a kick out of it, the adrenalin rush. But I gets more of a rush out

of parkour because you're constantly testing yourself. Dan's

story is typical of many teenagers to get in with the wrong crowd.

was in all sorts of trouble, basically. Shoplifting, fighting,

general theft. Things reached ahead when he found himself living on the

streets. I was 16, I was homeless for three months. Wood has held me

develop, it has given me a lot of cobblers. -- parkour. I am in a

good place now because I have met a lot of friends beach -- through

parkour. I got my job through parkour and this is the first job I

have had in over two years. 70,000 -- the �75,000 grant will

help people like Dan stay on the straight and narrow. I need a lot

of self-control. It has given me a lot of integrity, a lot of respect.

Before, I thought that everyone owed me a favour but now I think

that I owe everyone a favour. liked to keep fit. You should have

a go! I don't think I would be very a go! I don't think I would be very

good and bad. Let's get the weather. It has been a chilly start to the

dead. What we have got going on at the moment is an area of high

pressure centred over Poland that is essentially blocking these

Atlantic weather systems that are trying to bring in their wet

weather. They are bring in some in to the South West. But it is a

little bit cloudier for us tonight. There are clear spells to start

with but we will get the odd mist or fog patch. There might be the

odd spot or two of light rain or drizzle but for most of us, dry and

not as cold. Tempters between four and seven Celsius. -- temperatures.

The winds tone more southerly. Around the Norfolk and Suffolk

coastline, a moderate breeze. Into tomorrow morning, a gloomy start,

some mist to clear up. The cloud could linger for parts of Norfolk,

Suffolk and Essex, particularly along the coastal areas. The West

will get most of the sunshine. By 2pm, the doubt -- the cloud would

have thinned. Temperatures up a little bit tomorrow. The south-

westerly wind is working in some milder air. We are expecting a high

of 13 Celsius. It stays dry. A bit more sunshine for the east towards

the end of the day. Generally, a clear start to denied. For the next

few days, it is all about these areas of high pressure that will