:00:29. > :00:34.There's a call from backbench MPs in our region for the Government
:00:35. > :00:38.to rethink the changes in business rates.
:00:39. > :00:41.Some small firms here say they'll struggle to cope with steep rises.
:00:42. > :00:47.The changes are based on re-assessed property values,
:00:48. > :00:49.and while in most areas average rates will fall there
:00:50. > :00:52.are significant differences around the East.
:00:53. > :00:56.The biggest fall, an average of 13%, will be in Bedford.
:00:57. > :00:59.While Cambridge will see the biggest rise, with an average 2% increase.
:01:00. > :01:06.Mousumi Bakshi has been meeting some of the businesses affected.
:01:07. > :01:08.It's the start of another busy season for Jacqueline
:01:09. > :01:15.Deep in the Northamptonshire countryside, they are preparing
:01:16. > :01:20.Well, we have a family of three coming in.
:01:21. > :01:24.The tourism trade is notoriously fickle.
:01:25. > :01:26.With her annual business rates set to rise by over ?7,000,
:01:27. > :01:36.And it is frustrating, because I want to make sure that,
:01:37. > :01:39.when they open the door, they are impressed by what they see.
:01:40. > :01:43.I can't suddenly increase prices by, say, ?100 for a weekend,
:01:44. > :01:46.because it is going to stop people wanting to book.
:01:47. > :01:49.Any business which operates out of a property has to pay tax.
:01:50. > :01:53.The amount they pay depends on how much rent could be charged.
:01:54. > :01:57.And with eight cottages to let, Jane's bill will increase.
:01:58. > :02:09.Life is sweeter, however, in Bedford.
:02:10. > :02:11.The Arcadia sweet shop has been in Jan's family
:02:12. > :02:16.For the first time in years, her business rate is set to be slashed,
:02:17. > :02:17.saving her hundreds of pounds each month.
:02:18. > :02:19.It could help us keep on top of bills.
:02:20. > :02:23.Probably help us to source new supplies of stuff,
:02:24. > :02:27.which we find, because you are not given long to pay for your stock,
:02:28. > :02:31.We can only buy ours about four weeks before Easter.
:02:32. > :02:33.Like many small businesses, the Arcadia has to keep
:02:34. > :02:36.operating costs low at the same time as expanding.
:02:37. > :02:43.It is a dilemma faced by countless traders.
:02:44. > :02:46.75% of our members say that business rates is one
:02:47. > :02:48.of the top three issues facing their business.
:02:49. > :02:50.The concern for them is the cost of doing business going up
:02:51. > :02:54.and the average micro business, that is fewer than ten employees,
:02:55. > :02:56.says that their average amount they will be paying in business
:02:57. > :03:01.With her tax bill set to double, Jane's plans to expand
:03:02. > :03:10.Dreams of bigger profits now on the back burner.
:03:11. > :03:11.Our reporter Mike Cartwright is here now.
:03:12. > :03:19.Mike, what is the picture like across the whole region?
:03:20. > :03:29.Those figures don't tell the whole story there can be huge variations
:03:30. > :03:30.from street to street. One of our MPs has accused ministers of
:03:31. > :03:31.dishonesty. The truth is that, overall,
:03:32. > :03:33.across the country, it Quite a lot of that
:03:34. > :03:37.will come from our area. Yes, there are some places that
:03:38. > :03:40.will see reductions. There are some places that,
:03:41. > :03:42.unfortunately, will see rises. It would be much better
:03:43. > :03:48.to be upfront about that, rather than pretending that
:03:49. > :03:52.everyone's going to receive It just turns out
:03:53. > :04:11.not to be the case. If there is a U-turn those
:04:12. > :04:13.businesses that were expecting a hike will be happy but there will be
:04:14. > :04:16.an outcry. A Northamptonshire Police officer
:04:17. > :04:19.has appeared in court accused Northampton Crown Court heard PC
:04:20. > :04:23.Declan Gabriel was on duty in the early hours of the morning
:04:24. > :04:27.in September 2015, when he was called to deal
:04:28. > :04:30.with a 17-year-old girl who had been The prosecution said
:04:31. > :04:34.he took her away in his police car, sexually abused her and forced her
:04:35. > :04:36.to have sex with him. Five teenagers have appeared
:04:37. > :04:41.in court charged with the murder of 17-year-old Liam Hunt
:04:42. > :04:46.in Northampton last week. Liam was found on St George's Street
:04:47. > :04:48.in the town last Tuesday, Four boys aged 16 and 17,
:04:49. > :04:54.who can't be named, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court today,
:04:55. > :04:57.along with 18-year-old James Dodd, Next, would banning fast-food
:04:58. > :05:06.outlets from opening near schools help make
:05:07. > :05:08.children healthier? Well, Milton Keynes Council
:05:09. > :05:11.seems to think so. It's part of their new plan
:05:12. > :05:13.for the town, and tackling Tonight the council agreed to put
:05:14. > :05:19.the plan out to public consultation. Nicola Haseler has been finding out
:05:20. > :05:26.what children and parents think. As these children start their life
:05:27. > :05:30.in primary school at the age of four, one in five of them
:05:31. > :05:34.is already overweight or obese. But by the time they leave
:05:35. > :05:36.and join secondary school, that figure has risen
:05:37. > :05:41.to one in three. What are your favourite
:05:42. > :05:44.school lunches? Children cannot go
:05:45. > :06:07.there day in and day. Once a week for that
:06:08. > :06:10.type of food is fine. To have that every day
:06:11. > :06:14.is not a healthy diet. Down there is the primary school
:06:15. > :06:17.where we have just been. At the end of this alleyway,
:06:18. > :06:21.the secondary school, right behind a fast-food shop
:06:22. > :06:24.that is full of schoolchildren It is places like this that will no
:06:25. > :06:30.longer be able to exist within 400 metres of any school
:06:31. > :06:33.if these plans go ahead. I think they shouldn't
:06:34. > :06:34.have fast-food centres It is not having a good
:06:35. > :06:38.effect on the children. I don't think it should
:06:39. > :06:42.be easy to step out But with seven out of ten
:06:43. > :06:51.adults in Milton Keynes being overweight, the council says
:06:52. > :06:55.it has to make changes. Milton Keynes has a higher than
:06:56. > :06:58.average obesity level in adults. We want to make sure our children
:06:59. > :07:03.are growing up healthy. The cost of obesity and diabetes
:07:04. > :07:06.and all of those illnesses associated with being overweight
:07:07. > :07:10.would be a massive challenge We have to put plans
:07:11. > :07:14.in place to make sure people have the option to make good
:07:15. > :07:18.choices in their lives. If the exclusion zone goes ahead,
:07:19. > :07:20.it won't affect fast-food Well, Milton Keynes' fast-food
:07:21. > :07:29.proposal has been welcomed Tam Fry from the organisation
:07:30. > :07:37.joined me to explain. A lot of boroughs in
:07:38. > :07:44.the East End of London started this trend
:07:45. > :07:47.about six years ago. The problem, however,
:07:48. > :07:49.is it is very difficult. Local councils find
:07:50. > :07:55.that very difficult. But ones like Milton Keynes
:07:56. > :07:58.who have made that decision should be encouraged
:07:59. > :08:00.to stick with it. Because in the end, it is a good
:08:01. > :08:03.decision they've made. Surely there is some work
:08:04. > :08:06.for the schools to do here, though? Why are children leaving school
:08:07. > :08:09.grounds to go and get unhealthy food, when surely
:08:10. > :08:12.there are options in school? The options so far have
:08:13. > :08:17.been pretty laggardly. But there has been great impetus
:08:18. > :08:20.to produce, if you will, a good meal The schools are now
:08:21. > :08:25.obliged, in my opinion, to produce food which will encourage
:08:26. > :08:29.children not to opt out of school, but to stay in and have their lunch
:08:30. > :08:32.with their colleagues in Good food perhaps needs
:08:33. > :08:42.a little help now and again. You need to have a cook or a
:08:43. > :08:45.head chef who really does think about what it is he or she is
:08:46. > :08:48.putting into the food. After a period of time -
:08:49. > :08:53.and it does take a little time - if it is good and
:08:54. > :08:57.nutritious and fun to eat, children There must be a lot of work
:08:58. > :09:02.for parents as well. Children take quite
:09:03. > :09:04.a lot of cues from them and eat a lot of meals
:09:05. > :09:07.at home, don't they? Of course, the home environment
:09:08. > :09:10.has to be sorted out. Also, there is evidence
:09:11. > :09:12.to show that the children are now taking the good
:09:13. > :09:14.messages home. Saying to parents, if you will,
:09:15. > :09:17."This is what we had at school. "We don't want the junk
:09:18. > :09:19.you normally serve us. "Will you serve us
:09:20. > :09:23.with good food at home?" There again you have
:09:24. > :09:25.the education of the parents being taught by their own children
:09:26. > :09:37.and getting the signals from them. The A6 around Brockwell is now
:09:38. > :09:45.likely to stay closed until the end of April. Problems were found on a
:09:46. > :09:48.bridge which takes it over the River and now more problems have been
:09:49. > :09:52.found on another bridge which takes it over a railway line. Diversions
:09:53. > :09:57.there will remain in place. I'll leave you with the weather
:09:58. > :10:03.from Alex, but from me, goodnight. It is staying mild
:10:04. > :10:08.overnight tonight. At the moment dry but the winds
:10:09. > :10:11.will pick up and an area of rain is expected to move through,
:10:12. > :10:14.arriving across northern counties But once again we are staying very
:10:15. > :10:20.mild, with an expected low tonight of nine Celsius,
:10:21. > :10:22.that wind picking up from the south-west
:10:23. > :10:25.by the end of the night. We start the day tomorrow
:10:26. > :10:27.with this cold front moving down from the north,
:10:28. > :10:29.which will bring a band of rain which may linger
:10:30. > :10:31.for much of the day, so expect a rather cloudy start
:10:32. > :10:34.with outbreaks of rain, and some of this could turn heavy
:10:35. > :10:37.as it moves through, but the weather front gets kind
:10:38. > :10:40.of stuck across the south, so for southern counties
:10:41. > :10:42.we could end up being rather wet Temperatures working up
:10:43. > :10:48.to double figures once more, despite the cloud and rain it stays
:10:49. > :10:51.very mild, and those winds will gradually ease,
:10:52. > :10:53.but it is expected that that rain The national weather is coming up
:10:54. > :10:58.but here is the outlook, and some stormy conditions expected
:10:59. > :11:00.on Thursday with very strong winds. Colder and calmer for
:11:01. > :11:03.Friday, and bright. really is going to be a gusty enter
:11:04. > :11:06.the day, particularly up towards the evening rush hour. It calms down on
:11:07. > :11:09.the Outlook toward the end of the week and then milder again from the
:11:10. > :11:11.wheel them. More on storm Doris now with Matt Taylor.