02/08/2013 Look East - West


02/08/2013

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programme tonight: The threat to jobs across the region dash more

:00:22.:00:25.

than 100 redundancies are announced in Milton Keynes as thousands of

:00:25.:00:34.

workers clock off for the last time. Could police stations be closed and

:00:34.:00:37.

officers operate from supermarkets to save money?

:00:37.:00:44.

The risky life of a football manager - average job expectancy, less than

:00:44.:00:47.

18 months. Flying across the sands, the extreme

:00:47.:00:57.
:00:57.:01:05.

Good evening and welcome. The fight for jobs across the region as around

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1000 workers are made redundant. To date the pet care factory -- Petcare

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factory in Peterboro closed. Owned by miles, it's relocating its

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pedigree pet food operation to Europe. More than 80 jobs have been

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lost. In Harlow, the company Tesco distribution centre officially

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closed for good today. 800 workers laid off there. And 118 people have

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also been made redundant today at a rail maintenance company in Milton

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Keynes which has gone into administration.

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It was the news many of them were expecting, but hoping not to hear.

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118 workers, almost half the workforce facing unemployment. The

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union says this could have been avoided if the government had

:01:55.:02:00.

stepped in with an emergency loan. Others disagree. The first thing I

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did was ask the government for a loan. That wasn't the only solution.

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Anyone who thinks that would have solved the problem is, is naive. We

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need to look fundamentally to make sure this company is a going

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concern. The company repairs trains with specialist work, so why has it

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run into difficulty? A German company was meant to take it over

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but the deal fell through. But the union says the government is to

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blame because of a delay in awarding contracts to companies to run train

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services, uncertainty which the union says, are stopping companies

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placing orders. It is more of a government made problem. The work

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stream this company does is related to refurbishing trains. Because the

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franchise Asian fiasco got changed and put back, it has created

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difficulties for the work stream for this company. What are the future

:02:58.:03:08.
:03:08.:03:14.

prospects for the 140 staff room who at the site today. I try to speak to

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some of them, but none of them wanted to talk on camera. It is a

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difficult and worrying time for them, especially for those who are

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facing an uncertain future. The announcement is a bitter blow, but

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especially for this town built around the works. This year, it is

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175th birthday, but today there will be few celebrating.

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Now to Harlow, where the MP has accused Tesco of deeply damaging the

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local community by closing its distribution centre.

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Tesco have not wasted any time in stripping the Harlow site. Exits

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blocked, the warehouse emptied. Distribution is a thing of the past.

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The sign said, treat people how we like to be treated. But the local MP

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says workers have been let down. has had a huge impact on our town,

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not just individuals, but their families and friends, and the

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businesses around, shops that sell food and taxi companies. It has had

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a massive impact and Tesco has deeply damaged the community. The

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decision was announced in February, part of a major restructuring.

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the 800 people who work here, 500 were local from Harlow. Only 100

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workers are moving to the new depot in Dagenham - a move that has been

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criticised by the unions saying they will be working for poor wages and

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worse working conditions. Effectively, it is a new job, new

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contracts were offered. The Dagenham terms and conditions in pay alone is

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roughly a third less than the Harlow pay. So many of the warehouse

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people, it is a �9,000 a year drop. We asked Tesco to speak to us, but

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they declined. Earlier this year a spokesperson said they were helping

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workers find jobs elsewhere in the company. The priority is to keep as

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many people in work as possible and there is a job within Tesco for all

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at Harlow if they wanted. Tesco have thanked the workers for the

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continual hard work. This comes after the soft drinks company,

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Britvic is closing its factory in Chelmsford, and Lloyds banking group

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is closing its call centre in Southend. It brings the total number

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of job losses in Essex to more than 2000.

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Next, every police station in Bedfordshire could be closed to help

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the four save money. The Police and Crime Commissioner told us today the

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buildings cost around �3 million to run and the costs had to come

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somewhere. But how will the idea go down in the country? This police

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station was built in 1855. Luton is a bit more modern. But could the way

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we access the police in the future change? One idea is we could find

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them, not at a station, but based in supermarkets instead. The Beds

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Police and Crime Commissioner is asking the public what they think.

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What do the people here make of it all? It does not make sense shutting

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down police stations because there will be less police on the roads,

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but crime is going up. Police stations are long established and

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that is where people expect to see the police. As long as they come

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when you need them. It is all down to money full --. The force has to

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identify �7.5 million worth of savings over the next two years. It

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is looking at various options and can understand people are attached

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to their police stations. Bricks and mortar do not catch criminals,

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police officers do. I think people do understand, given the choice we

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do need to protect the front line. He argues many of us choose to

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contact the police on the phone or online, but critics say that simply

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does not suit everyone. More importantly is the ability for

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members of the public to walk off the streets and interact with a

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police officer and explain what the problem is. Face-to-face dialogue.

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By setting up in supermarkets, the police would be going the way of the

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Post Office. Some may not like the idea, but how many currently use

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their local police station? They have raised more than �1

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million and some have been working there for 30 years. But now

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volunteers at Hincingbrooke Hospital have been told their shop is no

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longer required. It sold second-hand goods and the proceeds went towards

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new medical equipment, but the shop does not look into the hospital's

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new retail area. Between them, Brenda and Barbara

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have devoted 20 years to Hincingbrooke Hospital. It has

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helped refurbish wards and bought a scanner. But today they are here to

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finalise its closure. It is upsetting. Upsetting, don't know

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what is going to happen to the stock. We have been walking through

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these doors for a lot of years now. Sometimes every day for seven days a

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week. How do you feel you have been treated? Badly. Badly.At a few days

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ago, a new shop was part of the plans, but then a change of heart.

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They sort of mentioned it wasn't the look he wanted the public to see as

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they came through the door. They wanted the public to see copy shops

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and whatever else they decide to put in. We have really slaved and worked

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our socks off to make money for that. The hospital will not let us

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inside the new look reception area to see for ourselves the changes,

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but I have been in there without the camera, and it is clear that has

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been a huge amount of redevelopment, including a new cafe and a new copy

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shop. But the hospital says the decision not to reopen the charity

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stall inside the reception area, is not to do with saving space. Instead

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they say it is about seeking a more creative means of fundraising and

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improve the patient experience. The hospital also says other volunteers

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have welcomed this reorganisation. But for Brenda and Barbara, they

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think the hospital is losing a vital source of funding, and is in danger

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of losing the loyalty and goodwill of the local community.

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In the past few minutes it has been confirmed Coventry City will be

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allowed to continue playing in the football league despite being on the

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verge of liquidation. It means that plans to play games at Stadium macro

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:10:18.:10:19.

will go ahead. What is the latest? -- Sixfield Stadium. We have heard

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the news many, including Northampton town were waiting to hear. Coventry

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City's new owners have been granted a golden share, which is a right to

:10:28.:10:32.

play in the football league despite being on the brink of liquidation.

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It means they will kick off the new season away at Crawley tomorrow,

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followed by a home game at Northampton town a week on Sunday.

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But this stadium share has never been popular with Coventry fans, has

:10:45.:10:51.

it? That is right, they only sold around 300 season tickets. They

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would normally expect to sell several thousand of them if they

:10:54.:10:58.

were playing in Coventry. The football league do want to try to

:10:58.:11:01.

get Coventry back to playing at Coventry, and they are dismayed it

:11:01.:11:06.

has come to this. Northampton town stand to learn lots of money out of

:11:06.:11:12.

this, which will help them be, --, because they are struggling

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financially. But they don't want their name attached to what is

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turning out to be a messy story. Bees are being fitted with tiny

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radar by scientists to understand why their numbers are falling. It is

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part of BBC Two's Horizon programme which focuses on the work of Dr

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Stephan Wolf and his team at Rothamsted Research Centre. The

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gadgets mean the bees' flight activity can be tracked. You can get

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an accurate map of the flight with this ability of radar. Hincingbrooke

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