01/03/2017 Look East (West)

In the programme tonight: Tougher penalties for drivers

But not tough enough for a man who survived a multiple crash that

There's strong evidence to suggest the destruction caused by a phone is

equal to or more than the impairment caused by alcohol. I see no reason

at all whether punishment should not be on as well.

Councils struggle to offer all pupils their first choice

of secondary school, with rising student numbers

The two-day-old babies having innovative hearing tests

I am here in Luton town as Oxford take

Road safety campaigners in this region have welcomed tougher

But say penalties could go even further.

This comes despite three of our police forces

number of motorists caught with a phone at the wheel.

people were pulled over in Cambridgeshire,

Campaigners say that's not good enough.

nicknamed Smiler, seven-year-old Seth Dixon was a happy boy, he loved

singing and dancing and his mum Alice. In December 2014 she asked

him to post a letter across the road. He was hit by a car and died

two weeks later. There's nothing to compare it to. You just can't

believe it's happening. You can't believe... This is real. It's awful.

You just want to scoop him up and shake him and say no, come back to

life. There must be something you can do. But there isn't. The driver

of the car that hit Seth was talking hands-free on her mobile phone.

Since then, Alice has campaigned for a total ban on using phones while

driving. Today saw the launch of tougher new laws, six points instead

of three and a ?200 fine. New drivers caught within two years of

passing the test would have their licence revoked but Alice says

that's not enough to change attitudes. It's about the message.

The message is not, the message most people are taking from this is, if I

am distracted and have an accident, I will get fined. A lot of people

are saying to me, that means that if I am not a person who gets

distracted by making a phone call, I will not have an accident and will

not get fined. Adam Pearson from Milton Keynes was seriously injured

when a lorry smashed into the back of his stationary car at 50 mph, a

mother and three children in another car what all killed .- camera

footage showed the lorry driver changing music on his phone for at

least eight seconds before the smash. There is very strong evidence

to suggest the destruction caused by a phone is at least equal to or more

than that the impairment caused by alcohol. I see no reason why the

punishment should not be on part as well. This new HTV cabin will give

officers a better vantage point in catching offenders at the wheel of

larger vehicles. They say mobile phone use is the modern problem

facing the law enforcers. Back in the 70s, people were not wearing

seat belts, so we made it an sociable for people not to wear

them. Then we moved on to drink-driving, now we are in the era

of social media and Facebook etc. People are using their mobile phones

more. Seth's mum Alice says she will continue her campaign.

The Chief Executive of the Road Victims Trust.

It's a charity based in Bedford which supports victims

I asked him how much of a deterrent these new penalties

I don't think it will stop people completely. Unfortunately what we

have is a culture that people think it is OK to be on the phone while

driving. The answer to this ultimately will be a holistic

approach, that's around enforcement and education. It's about awareness

and culture, people thinking they should not be on their phones when

they're doing something as convex as driving and recognising the true

danger that the causes. How do you make something like using your phone

behind the wheel socially unacceptable? It is socially

unacceptable, entirely inappropriate and poor behaviour. I think what

happens around education and awareness and enforcement, is that

the message does get through. It does not get their overnight, you

only have to look at other changes that have occurred around

legislation. Think of drink-driving compared with how people view it

now. The actual legislation, increased deterrence and penalties,

we'll get through to people and hopefully that will start to change

people's minds. This is all about catching people using their phones

while on the road. How confident are you that the police have enough

resources to do so. I do not think the legislation changes all about

catching people, the enforcement element is. You would have too asked

the police about that. They have lots of priorities, they do a very

difficult job and I think they do it well. That's the enforcement part,

this is also about education. You work with victims of road traffic

accidents, what more would you like to be seen them? The charity I work

with, we support people whose lives have been devastated by Rose death.

The provision of support of that type of support, emotional and

practical via counselling, via help and people being there, that's not

available across the UK as a whole. I am to operate in counties where it

does operate, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. We know what we can

provide, supported by the police, can make a real difference.

It's been a nail-biting day for parents, waiting

And many will have been disappointed with rising

populations and in places, a shortage of school places.

Some councils are struggling to provide every child

In Cambridgeshire nearly 93% of pupils received a place

But in Milton Keynes that figure drops

to just below 85% and in Hertfordshire it's below 79%.

If you're a parent of a year six child, the chances are today has

been a stressful one. Not least in Hertfordshire. I know I'm not

getting my results were another couple of hours, but it is

nerve-racking. Worrying time. My daughter who started at secondary

school last year when bit of an ordeal, we applied for four schools

and we were given an unranked school, which means a school that we

hadn't chosen. It was upsetting and daunting. The demand for school

places has never been higher. Particularly in Northamptonshire.

This is what park free school, it opens in September last year in an

attempt to reduce the scramble for places. We've had a huge amount of

interest, we are oversubscribed now for year seven next year. Numbers

are strong. There is a demand from the people to have a local school

that is delivering a high quality education. We will grow year-on-year

until we are 1260 in total. Making sure we offer that quality education

that young people in this area deserve. As the county council

knows, it needs many more schools just like this one. They weren't

able to tweak to us today, but in the past they have told us that the

County's booming population is creating unprecedented demand for

school places. By 2020, Northamptonshire will need an extra

25 primary schools and an extra six secondary schools. Such is the

pressure to find out if school choices have been successful, the

county council's website crash this morning. Thousands of parents logged

on. Prompting this apology. We are deeply frustrated

but that still leaves Northamptonshire lagging behind.

Perhaps this year's School report for the county and several other of

our councils could well be improving, but could do better.

A team which helps to test the hearing of babies who are just

a few hours old has been named as best

in the region and second best in the country.

Staff at Peterborough City Hospital have made it their mission

who want to learn from their success.

Little Lottie, just two days old. One of thousands delivered in

Peterborough every year. Already she is having a simple, painless test

which has become routine. We put a tiny earpiece into her ear, and it

makes a clicking, vibrating noise. Down to the middle of the ear. We

wait for a response. In years gone by, hearing tests were carried out

by health visitors, often months later. Here, they pride themselves

on testing most babies before they leave hospital. It's very

reassuring. Nice to know everything is good and as it should be.

Peterborough City Hospital has been praised for screening more babies

than the national average, despite growing pressures on the health

service. There is a reason we are doing so well. It is because the

team worked so hard to make sure they don't miss any babies. We have

some really important fail-safe processes in place. To make sure

every baby is offered a screen. One or two babies in every thousand have

some kind of hearing loss, and while it might not be a huge figure, it

can have a big impact. By diagnosing babies early, it can reduce problems

later in life. One-year-old layer has been wearing a hearing aids and

she was just two months old. Her mum says being treated early has made a

huge difference. When we got the hearing aids, she completely changed

in my eyes. Watching TV, listening to sounds, she didn't even sleep for

a whole day. She wanted to listen to everybody, to see everybody, hear

the sounds of the TV and the dog. Her brother. At such a young age,

the children get fitted with hearing aids, there were no life without it.

They've always had them. They tend to get used to them a lot quicker.

Now hospitals around the country are contacting Peterborough to see how

they can help more children. I'll be back with the late

bulletin at 1030 this evening. First to Susie for the rest of the

programme, plus Julie will be here with a full forecast.

These are busy times for the Justice Secretary

As the head of the judicial system, she's tackling trouble in prisons,

the threat of strikes by staff, and a big new row over

She is still trying to mend bridges with judges

after being accused of failing to support their independence.

Today, she appeared before a House of Lords Committee.

Our political correspondent Andrew Sinclair is at Westminster now.

Because of those problems in our prisons, Liz -- Elizabeth Truss

doesn't have much of the chance to talk about her other role as Lord

Chancellor. Perhaps in an attempt to mend bridges, she said one of her

main priorities is to improve morale among judges and make them feel

valued. The office of Lord

high Chancellor... She is the country's first

woman Lord Chancellor. Her job, to defend the rule of law,

the independence of the courts and to bang the drum

for our judiciary. Our judiciary are independent,

incorruptible and world-renowned. Liz Truss was being questioned

about her job by members She spoke about the challenge

of Brexit, a proposed bill of rights, and reforms to legal aid,

but one of her main concerns was about staff

morale and the difficulty I have to say, speaking

to individual judges, that isn't necessarily reflected

in the views of the judiciary themselves, so I think

there is a question about how It is a real concern

within the profession. According to a recent survey,

just 27% of judges feel valued Only 2% feel valued

by the government. They regard themselves as not

sufficiently respected by the government, perhaps even

by the public, and certainly And after a while, they just think,

"I don't need this, I don't want to do this job," and it is much

more difficult to recruit people for this vitally

important public service. When judges were criticised over

Brexit, Liz Truss stayed silent, Can we look forward to you and your

ministry robustly defending judges against that kind

of abuse in future? She said she did support

the independence of the judiciary but she also supported the freedom

of the press. I think it is dangerous

for a government minister to say this is an acceptable headline

and this isn't an She said she will look again

at the pay of judges, ?180,000 a year, and at working

conditions inside courts, but Liz Truss warned

it is going to take time Andrew, the Ukip MP for Clacton,

Douglas Carswell, insisted today that he's still committed

to the party, despite another row with Nigel Farage and calls

for him to be expelled. It concerns a revelation that

Douglas Carswell refused to lobby ministers to get a knighthood to

Nigel Farage, not surprising when you consider they don't get on very

well. This outraged Nigel Farage who called this week for Douglas

Carswell to be thrown out of the party. A night of third supporter

said he would stand against him in an election and Douglas Carswell was

summoned to the party. Douglas Carswell is telling people this

evening that he has not come to be thrown out and he still supports

Ukip, and that there would not be a by-election because he would just

sit as an independent. It is a battle in Ukip about the future

direction of the party. People like Douglas Carswell won't the party to

be more inclusive, less harsh in his words, and other members want to

have harsher policies. Expect him to be in trouble again soon at some

stage! In football, Luton Town are just one

game away from a Wembley final. Tonight they host Oxford United

in the semifinals of Ironically, the Hatters were fined

for fielding under-strength sides in the earlier stages

of the competition. James Burridge has just sent this

from Kenilworth Road. Kenilworth Road, full of

expectation. Conditions are damp. There is a huge irony about the

semifinal. Because of the finds the club received earlier in the season,

5000 actually paid for by the fans. Let's look at the action from the

football. Peterborough manager Grant McCann

says his side were undone by a lack of concentration as they lost 1-0

at Millwall in League 1. The key moment came when Lee Gregory

burst into the box but was tugged back by Posh midfielder Anthony

Grant. Gregory picked himself up and scored

the spot kick to leave Posh now five MK Dons are steadily improving

under Robbie Neilson. They made the running

at Valley Parade, twice On loan Stuart O'Keefe put the Dons

ahead early on thanks City hit back before

Dons regained the lead. George Williams with the cross that

somehow found the net. Bantams striker Charlie Wyke denied

Dons all three points, though. Nielson happy enough with a draw

against a promotion-chasing side. Northampton Town are now looking

over their shoulder, The Latics went in front and led

for the majority of the match before John-Joe O'Toole brought Sixfields

to life late on. Cobblers should have held

an but Lee Erwin won it for Oldham. Northampton just four points

above the drop zone. In Two, Stevenage were the big

winners and into the play-offs on thanks to a 4-1 win over

struggling Leyton Orient. Ben Kennedy gave Borough the lead,

followed by a second from the penalty spot,

Matt Godden with goal Orient then hit back before two more

goals lifted Darren Sarll's side into the top seven at the expense

of Colchester, who dropped to ninth The Ewes' highlight, Vose smashing

a long-range against the post. The Mariners won it though,

through Sam Jones, to lead Finally, Cambridge could have

shocked leaders Doncaster but Luke Berry blazed

his penalty over. Donny then raced into a three-goal

lead before George Maris let fly late on with a contender for goal

of the season. Berry then made it 3-2

but the Ewes drop to 12th. The difference tonight is that a

Wembley final is at stake and Luton Town bring back crowds when Wembley

is calling. There was a huge irony about the fact that you were fined

for this competition. You must be having that last laugh. We would if

we got the prize money! We are grateful to the supporters,

particularly the supporters club who covered a lot of the finds.

Supporters feel quite strongly that the competition was a -- set up to

promote young talent and we have a great academy here and young players

who need gametime so we decided to play them even though we knew it

would attract a fine and they have done great. For you to be mixing it

and beating teams has done a lot for Luton Town. It is sometimes like men

and boys but our young lads like men as well. We have to give them credit

for putting us in the position we are now, just touching Wembley, and

they will still be in that process. We will get a crowd of approaching

8000 or so, still some tickets available. There is the plug! What

about the manager Nathan Jones? How far off are you getting lit and back

were -- Luton Town backer they belong? He is keen on making

something happen tonight. Nathan is a special coach as well. A real

technical coach, and also someone who has a great deal of passion and

desire to win the game and it makes him one of us a little bit. We have

great ambitions at the football club and Nathan is very much part of

that. We will have the result on the West version of the programme

tonight. Coffee sales overtook tea back

in 1998, but the English Today, one of the region's stately

homes put on a tea tasting session The man hosting the event

was an official tea master. facade of Audley end. Today Audley

End held a celebration of the humble cuppa. The waiter leaves or smells

and examined to see if the colour is right and then tasting begins. A

nice, ladylike job. This is a key test at work in the 1950s. Today

there was a tasting as well. Overseen by a true tea master. Let's

go back five founders and -- 5000 years to China when they discovered

tea. Stephen Twining represents the tenth generation of the Twining

expertise. I asked him about my favourite brew. Are you familiar

with the concept of Elder 's -- builders tea? Very strong. I want

everyone to have a great cup of tea so if it hasn't been made properly

then that is not good. But elders tea -- builders tea will have some

big bold elements. And chamomile tempted the fans away from English

breakfast. Any that you particularly like? No. I liked the minty on.

Chamomile was very delicate and I found the perfume incredible. The

range of tea will all be sold in Audley End's Cafe. Mr Twining's

advice is switched their cattle off just before it boils.

I am with him on builders tea. What about you?

No thank you. I could do with a car -- cup of tea right now.

Today to start the day in Stowmarket, blue skies and sunshine.

Temperatures were generally over 2 degrees above the average. The next

photograph is from Essex when there was a bit more cloud but dry skies.

Essex in February was the driest county in the country, only 28.2

millimetres of rain on average, just over an inch for the entire month.

Today, as this weather front moved towards us, it was one of the few

places that saw some rain. Last night I was saying we are uncertain

how far north of the rain would spread. For the north of the region

it has been tried but I think that will change overnight, most of us

will see some rain, some heavy, but it will eventually be confined to

more northern parts. We expect the winds to pick up. Even at this

point, uncertainty as to when they will be strongest. We expect at the

end of the night a fresh to strong west to south-westerly 40-50 mph.

Windy Tousart but this should ease away -- to start. The further north

you are, wet as well. But it should become dry with some long sunny

spells. By the afternoon, the wind should ease down. We finished the

day on a drying out with a lot of clear sky and hopefully those winds

continuing to ease. On Friday another bit of rain from the South,

I think we will have cloud through the day, which could have some rain

on the heavy side. The wind will be fresh and blustery on Friday.

Saturday, perhaps some early rain which should give way to heavy

showers but not for everybody, and showers and longer spells of rain on

Sunday. I heard of the programme team cheer

when you said Spring! Goodbye. I think my political beliefs are

really quite straightforward. I believe that our country needs to

work for everyone. Not just for the rich,

not just for the privileged, not just for those who know

the right people or who've got the loudest voices, but a country

that really works for everyone, has the opportunity to be

who they want to be. In order to make sure that the

country works for everyone,