0:00:00 > 0:00:00Here on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.
0:00:03 > 0:00:04On Look East tonight:
0:00:04 > 0:00:06A Brexit bombshell for Milton Keynes, kicked out
0:00:06 > 0:00:09of the competition to become an EU Culture Capital.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12But why wait until today?
0:00:12 > 0:00:14The shift in policing which could see an end
0:00:14 > 0:00:16to community support officers.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18And it's turning much colder again.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22Join me at the end of the programme for the latest weather.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34First tonight, just a week before the winner was due to be announced,
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Milton Keynes has been kicked out of the competition to be
0:00:36 > 0:00:39the European Capital of Culture in six years' time.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43The title brings great economic benefits, and Milton Keynes
0:00:43 > 0:00:46was one of five places in the UK under consideration.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49But today the European Commission has told them they'll no longer
0:00:49 > 0:00:50be allowed to continue because of Brexit.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Mike Cartwright reports.
0:00:55 > 0:01:04Celebrations for MK's 50th, a party that they hoped would carry on.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Milton Keynes, short listed for European Capital of Culture
0:01:06 > 0:01:152023, a title putting culture at its centre.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Celebrating what's already here and what's to come.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21£150,000 spent on the bid.
0:01:21 > 0:01:22But after months of planning and excitement, today,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25learning they would no longer be considered because of Brexit.
0:01:25 > 0:01:26For the council, a bitter blow.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29It's hugely disappointing, I think there was a real desire
0:01:29 > 0:01:31in the city and the people were quite excited about
0:01:31 > 0:01:33bidding and becoming European Capital of Culture.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37And it's a loss to the city, all that economic development
0:01:37 > 0:01:38it would bring in.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43All the investment and all the jobs it would have created.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46MK's bid going along with five other British entries.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Tonight, anger from all of them about the decision to ban them now.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55Why has the commission waited 17 months to let people know?
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Because that public money would clearly not have been invested
0:01:57 > 0:01:59if people had known, well, there's no point
0:01:59 > 0:02:01in putting a bid together because the European Commission
0:02:01 > 0:02:03is going to say, "You can't enter."
0:02:03 > 0:02:06A fallout from Brexit the council here say they never expected.
0:02:06 > 0:02:13Now, not withdrawing their bid, hoping a compromise can be found.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15And Mike's here now.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Obviously, the timing of this is really the problem -
0:02:17 > 0:02:21but did it really come out of the blue?
0:02:21 > 0:02:27Yes and no. Of course, councils are now asking when it allowed UK
0:02:27 > 0:02:31entries if they were going to be thrown out a week before announcing
0:02:31 > 0:02:35the winner. But this goes further back. In 2014, before the
0:02:35 > 0:02:40referendum, it was decided in 2023, a British city would become culture
0:02:40 > 0:02:45capital. But in December 2016, the UK Government said the competition
0:02:45 > 0:02:49would run as normal but they did one bidder is that there may be subject
0:02:49 > 0:02:54to Brexit negotiations. So it looks like councils were worn but pressed
0:02:54 > 0:02:56ahead anyway. But it does seem rather late in the day for the
0:02:56 > 0:03:01decision. Did the commission leave it late on purpose? Critics would
0:03:01 > 0:03:06say yes, probably.Of course. But £150,000 for effectively competition
0:03:06 > 0:03:12entry, it sounds like a lot of money. Is it wasted no?It is a lot
0:03:12 > 0:03:16but MK Council say it's not a waste because it paves the way for them to
0:03:16 > 0:03:19develop art and coach there. But they do feel they have missed out on
0:03:19 > 0:03:23an opportunity to selling here abroad. And they have lost out
0:03:23 > 0:03:31financially. The culture capital 2008 cost the city 170 million to
0:03:31 > 0:03:37win the bid but it generated £750 million, four times what they spend.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41So was it a gamble worth taking's they would say yes.Thank you very
0:03:41 > 0:03:44much indeed.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47A man from Luton who planned to fight for Islamic State in Syria
0:03:47 > 0:03:49has been jailed for six years.
0:03:49 > 0:03:5122-year-old Mubashir Jamil was arrested after this raid
0:03:51 > 0:03:52at his home in Belmont Road.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54The former straight-A student had also considered carrying out
0:03:54 > 0:03:56a suicide attack in the UK.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59The judge said a mental health disorder was only partly to blame
0:03:59 > 0:04:02for his actions but he will be treated in a secure hospital
0:04:02 > 0:04:03until he's fit for prison transfer.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Next tonight - the shift in policing which could spell the end
0:04:06 > 0:04:07for community support officers.
0:04:07 > 0:04:1015 years ago, PCSOs were hailed as the way to put more
0:04:10 > 0:04:11bobbies on the beat.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13But they were controversial.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14Lacking the powers of arrest or interrogation,
0:04:14 > 0:04:19critics called them "plastic police" - a cheap alternative.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Now, the force in Cambridgeshire says with a rise in complex crime,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27what they actually need is 50 more fully trained police officers,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30but it means losing 46 PCSOs.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33And it's a trend being echoed in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37which have seen PCSO numbers halve over recent years.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Emma Baugh has the story.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42PCSOs were originally brought into have more visible policing,
0:04:42 > 0:04:47with officers on regular patrols.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50But now all that is changing.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52With pressures on budgets, in Cambridgeshire, they say
0:04:52 > 0:04:57the money is better spent on regular officers.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00We are really focusing on recruiting police officers next year.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02We have the highest number we've recruited into the force for many
0:05:02 > 0:05:04years, that's really good news.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06And PCSOs, we will obviously need to revisit that at some
0:05:07 > 0:05:08stage in the future.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10But at the moment, our focus is on recruiting
0:05:10 > 0:05:11warranted police officers.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14So was it a mistake to have so many in the first place?
0:05:14 > 0:05:17It was absolutely right thing to do to bring them in then.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Crime changes and people and societal issues change.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22We need, I need, warranted police officers in some parts of the county
0:05:22 > 0:05:25now to do things that PCSOs aren't legally entitled to do.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Community support officers like these aren't much cheaper
0:05:28 > 0:05:32to employ them regular police constables, but unlike them,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35they can't make arrests, investigate crimes respond
0:05:35 > 0:05:42to incidents in the same way.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44But in Huntingdon today, some were not convinced
0:05:44 > 0:05:46that the plans are good idea.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49I think it's really sad because they're always helpful.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52My brother has been lost a few times in town and they helped
0:05:52 > 0:05:53bring him back to us.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55I think it's a good idea, because obviously, the PCSOs
0:05:55 > 0:05:57can't enforce anything, whereas police can.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Solving the crimes is what I'm looking for,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02rather than a visible presence.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07The Police and Crime Commissioner says they have to prioritise.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09If we had more funding, we can tackle criminality.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11It's the low-level stuff, sometimes, that people feel
0:06:11 > 0:06:13really passionately about, the things that affect them
0:06:13 > 0:06:18that are becoming less of a priority for policing.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20And I think, again, you will see less of that,
0:06:20 > 0:06:25perhaps, in the future, because of the funding constraints.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28From April next year, you will see fewer of these PCSOs
0:06:28 > 0:06:31patrolling town centres, but more officers
0:06:31 > 0:06:39investigating serious crimes.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Now to the councils criticising the Chancellor for ignoring them
0:06:42 > 0:06:45in yesterday's budget.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Leaders in Northamptonshire, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire had
0:06:47 > 0:06:49been campaigning hard for fairer funding
0:06:49 > 0:06:52to take into account the huge surges they've seen in population
0:06:52 > 0:06:54and demand on services.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56They were hoping that the budget would bring them good news.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59But it brought them no news at all.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Our political reporter Tom Barton explains.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Do you need to take your inhaler?
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Yes.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Margaret and Ted Walton are both 87 years old.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Ted has lung disease and recently spent time in hospital with sepsis.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18Most couples in their position would get daily help at home,
0:07:18 > 0:07:23but Margaret provides almost all of Ted's care herself.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28She's able to do so because after he was released from hospital,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Cambridgeshire County Council provided support designed
0:07:31 > 0:07:33to help her look after him.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37It's the confidence, I suppose, to know that you can do it.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Because it's a very worrying thing, really, at first,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42when you think about...
0:07:42 > 0:07:45the responsibility you have.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Very important.
0:07:47 > 0:07:48COUGHS.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Because I have got utter, utter faith in Margaret,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53which you can't have with a stranger.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57If you know what I mean.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02It's a service that can be good for older people,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05but is also good for the council.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Instead of having a care package and that care
0:08:07 > 0:08:10package being maintained, we take an enabling approach.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12So, as Margaret explained, we listen to individual people,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15we work with them and actually manage to reduce the amount
0:08:15 > 0:08:21of care that they receive.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Cambridgeshire County Council says it wants to provide more
0:08:24 > 0:08:27of this sort of support.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29But demand for care services is growing faster than funding.
0:08:29 > 0:08:35And they don't have the resources to grow innovative services like this.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37But there was no solution for council leaders
0:08:37 > 0:08:40in yesterday's budget.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43I was disappointed by the fact that we didn't
0:08:43 > 0:08:46move towards announcing a new needs-based formula.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49This is the way that our funding will be rectified in the future,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51it's desperately overdue at this present point in time.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56It cannot be fair that a resident of inner London has
0:08:56 > 0:09:01£1190 spent on them, when I have to make do with £650.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04The Government says it is listening.
0:09:04 > 0:09:05We are committed to fairer funding.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08It's something I've talked about and I think it's
0:09:08 > 0:09:09a perfectly reasonable request from local council.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12This hasn't been looked at, how funding is distributed hasn't
0:09:12 > 0:09:14been looked at by governments for more than a decade.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17It's about time we looked at it again and I will...
0:09:17 > 0:09:21The process has already started to get us there.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Back in Burwell, Margaret is working with Ted to get him fit again.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28As for the councils which support older people,
0:09:28 > 0:09:32their finances aren't so healthy.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34The big question they face is where the funding
0:09:34 > 0:09:40will come from in future.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42The A14 has been closed in both directions near Cambridge tonight
0:09:43 > 0:09:46after several separate incidents.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48It began with a multi-vehicle crash westbound at junction 34
0:09:48 > 0:09:51for Fen Ditton, but was soon followed by a crash on the eastbound
0:09:51 > 0:09:53side at the same point.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Within an hour, police also closed the road just
0:09:56 > 0:09:58a few miles along at junction 32 because of another problem.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02They say traffic is still very heavy.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04That's all from us for now.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Now, let's get the weather.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08Hello, there.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Cold weather on the way and it is going to turn much
0:10:11 > 0:10:12chillier overnight tonight.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14There could be some outbreaks of rain coming in across Southern
0:10:14 > 0:10:17counties during the course of the night but a lot of dry
0:10:17 > 0:10:19weather across the north with some clear spells,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21so temperatures potentially down at 1-2 degrees,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23bringing the risk of frost and icy patches.
0:10:23 > 0:10:24This is the pressure pattern for tomorrow,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27we have got this weather system close by but essentially,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30a lot of fine weather on the way.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33A bit of a cloudy start in one or two spots and there
0:10:33 > 0:10:36could be an isolated shower, but for most places it stays dry
0:10:36 > 0:10:38with some good spells of sunshine.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40But it is going to feel very cold.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42There will be light winds through tomorrow but certainly,
0:10:42 > 0:10:44despite the sunshine, temperatures not getting higher
0:10:44 > 0:10:46than around 7 degrees.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48It's expected to stay fine for the afternoon.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51National weather is coming up but here is the outlook.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54And a freshening wind from the north-west into the weekend
0:10:54 > 0:10:56will make it feel bitterly cold.
0:10:56 > 0:10:595-6 degrees our high.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Some sharp frost on the way but there will be some
0:11:01 > 0:11:04good spells of sunshine.