21/02/2017 Look East

and on BBC One we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.

Hello and welcome to Look East. In the programme tonight,

Dean Saunders killed himself in jail after being let down

Tonight, the Justice Secretary Liz Truss apologises

When we detailed Dean's case and pointed out

all the failings, Liz Truss said, "Yes, we agree."

Rising standards in Norfolk's schools.

How this wooden frame appears to be changing some people's lives.

And I am here in Northampton, where a multi-million

pound redevelopment of the museum has begun.

First tonight, the parents of a man who killed himself in prison

say they have been given an apology, at last, from the Justice Secretary,

Dean Saunders was mentally ill when he electrocuted himself

at Chelmsford Prison last January. A year later, the prison ombudsman

ruled he should have been treated in hospital.

Then, an inquest jury ruled both that there were serious failings

in both the mental health and prison systems.

Today, Dean's parents met the Justice Secretary

Robbie West reports from Westminster.

For the parents of Dean Saunders, today's meeting is what they wanted

since the day they found out their son was dead.

Before the meeting, the more wanting assurances that the prison system

would be reformed. I want to know why they have left this sort of. It

has been out of sight, out of mind. I want to not just going to be new

measures. Dean Saunders was

a stay-at-home dad. After a paranoid episode,

he attempted to take his own life. His father tried to stop him

and was injured in the process. Dean was arrested and processed

through the criminal justice system. Whilst in Chelmsford Prison,

he took his own life. The inquest discovered that neglect

contributed to his death. A jury said there were serious

failings in both mental health care The Justice Secretary announced

this week there will be up to a ?5,000 pay increase

for prison officers in London and the south-east, in an attempt

to boost numbers. Critics say that is

too little, too late. The parents went into the meeting

wanting more than money invested in the prison system. They wanted an

apology and an assurance that the mistakes which cost Dean Saunders

his life would not be repeated. She did apologise. When we detailed all

the feelings, she agreed. I want to see action. Anything that does

happiness come too late. But hopefully it will not happen to

anyone else's son. They hope the promises made in today's meeting

will change the prison system. Any other families going through the

same pain that they did. We wanted to contact the Justice Secretary on

this issue, but she declined. The family believe that if the promises

they were given at the meeting followed through and, it will

prevent a tragedy like this happening again.

Yesterday on this programme, we looked at the changes

to business rates which will be introduced in April.

In some places, where property prices and the cost of renting

are higher, there will be big increwases.

A managing director from Norfolk got in touch to say that

Our business correspondent Richard Bond reports from Reedham.

Handy for the blind and the partially sighted.

The company which founded them was formed by Dick Carey.

It employs 18 people in Reedham on the Norfolk Broads.

Having recently moved into larger premises,

it did expect its business rates to rise.

But not to nearly ?9,000 a year, as they will shortly.

We were anticipating that they may double,

but they have actually gone up more than three times.

The government may be claiming that business rates in this

area are going down, but that is certainly

not our experience. And I very much doubt

it is the experience of many other small businesses.

The business is in Reedham, which in is the Broadland

According to the government, businesses here should

see an average reduction in the business rate of 6%, come April.

So, what is the experience of other local firms here?

The Humpty Dumpty microbrewery in Reedham them supplies

The Humpty Dumpty microbrewery in Reedham supplies

It employs ten staff and will see a modest rise in its business rates.

We are currently paying ?2,870 in business rates.

Based on the valuations, I think it is going to

go up by a modest amount, to maybe ?2,900.

Reedham Ferry is a collection of businesses, including

a pub and restaurant, touring park and a car

It is another village business to see another small rise in

The cost for them is going up from ?17,000 a year to ?18,000.

We have been quite lucky here with the company.

But you look at other people and they are jumping up and

It is an unscientific survey of one village,

but in an area where business rates are supposed to be going down,

we could not find a single firm paying less.

Jackie Crisp is from Roche Chartered Surveyors in Norwich.

Earlier this afternoon, I asked her about the confusion over

the business rate changes. What was she seeing on the ground?

It very much depends on the sector that you are in.

Retail has been hit very, very badly.

Specifically, as you featured on the programme last

night, a couple of places that have seen tremendous retail rent and

But does it mean, in places like Southwold,

small independent stores are going to be

When we looked at a number of companies

going in and paying large rents, at that

time, with the rates set, it would have an affect

on the rateable value for the rest of the town.

So should this all have been predictable for

those businesses? Should they have seen this coming?

I do not think individual businesses could have

known about this piece of information.

We certainly knew it because we valued premises.

We valued specific premises in Southwold and that

alerted us to the fact that rent and rates were going to go up

substantially in those particular areas.

But that was not common knowledge, no.

This has comes as a big shock to a lot of businesses.

What are they supposed to do about it?

Up until April 1st this year, they can check check that the

Check the floor areas, check the use of the premises is correct.

Check that all the basic facts are correct.

They can contact the valuation office and they will

hopefully take into account people's views and rectify the situation.

After April 1st, you can actualy challenge the value

If you cannot agree with that valuation, valuation, you

Does this always happen when that there is a

restructuring and a look again at the business rates?

The last time this happened was in 2010.

We are seven years down the line and that is what has

created the majority of the problems, yes.

The Buttermarket shopping centre in Ipswich has been sold

It was bought by The National Grid Pension Fund.

The previous owners bought it two years ago for just over ?9 million.

Beccles Hospital has reopened to in-patients today,

A meeting has been held tonight about the closure of two clinical

groups. A petition against the closure has 3000 signatures.

Beccles Hospital has reopened to in-patients today,

to help tackle the problem of bed blocking at the

?1.5 million pounds has been spent on the refurbishment of

There are still 20 beds, but there are more

The focus is on rehabilitation and getting people back home.

It has been designed to be dementia-friendly.

including therapists and social workers.

Before this, the hospital took referrals from GPs.

Now, it will take them from the Paget.

Schools in Norfolk are getting better,

according to new figures released by the council.

For years, they have been criticised for

But now the percentage of schools classed as either good

or outstanding has reached 89%, which is equal to

I need someone to be the decimal point.

A year four mathematics class at this Scarning

Once rated as "requires improvement", Scarning is now rated

It has been helped by the school improvement

I think, as a school, it's given us a lot of direction and

focus and it's allowed us to tailor things to suit the school,

which we have then been able to feed back to the staff,

which has then had a direct impact on children.

Better To Best provides schools with help from anything, ranging from

preparing for a visit from Ofsted to a piece of work on school values,

which year six at the school have been looking at.

Whenever we are stuck in lessons, the teachers

We have got this box that we put tokens into, so when people

are helpful and friendly to each other, they get a prize.

It was the former head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw,

who came to Norfolk and gave headteachers a good telling off.

And it worked. Because schools here

are now improving. Today, headteachers

were at the launch of the new Viscount Nelson Education Network,

a not-for-profit organisation which will now run the programme.

The idea always was from Norfolk County Council,

that within a period of time, they would stop pushing school

improvement from the centre of the county council and that it

would go back to the schools and they would be leading it themselves.

Of course, three or four years ago, we weren't in a position for schools

to feel strong enough to do that thing and now we are.

It is approximately ?3,000 a year to buy into.

You can also top up for extra things that you want.

We feel, as a school, that it is extremely

good value for money. We have got an awful lot out of it.

240 schools across Norfolk are now part of the

Better To Best programme. At Scarning and elsewhere,

across Norfolk, they are proud of the improvements they have made.

But also remain aware that there is much more to do.

Still to come tonight, Alex will be here with news

And "the train that floats in the sky".

Rare pictures of a space-age railway with a test track in the Fens.

It is nearly three months now since free range poultry flocks

were shut indoors, to try to prevent the spread of bird flu.

Next week, birds in some places will be allowed out,

while others in so-called high risk areas will have to stay inside.

Today, an expert in bird migration told Look East

that the risk of bird flu could continue all through the summer.

But first, our environment reporter Richard Daniel reports.

It is an industry which has been in lockdown since December. Thousands

of prods potentially at risk from the strain of bird flu kept indoors.

If they had to stay indoors, many producers fear they will lose a lot

of stock. It is not going away. Last week, confirmation of the first case

in the region. Some vets believe that firearms closest to the water

remain at the greatest risk. Why is that? It attracts many whale barbs.

Politically, ducks. They believed docs are one of the most important

characters -- carriers. From the end of the month, certain to certain

conditions, barbs will be allowed out once again if they are in the

wake area on this map. Those on the red areas will have to remain

indoors. But many farmers are unconvinced. They see that no media

is completely safe. -- area. Dr Andy Musgrove is from

the British Trust for Ornithology. Late this afternoon,

I asked him which wild birds Most of the whale barbs that have

been found to have it in the United Kingdom have been water-based barbs,

like ducks, geese and swans. But that is maybe because only larger

birds are more likely to be detected. So it is not likely to be

songbirds, the smaller ones? That is not thought likely. He did not give

phone carrying disease. It is mostly thought to be more prevalent in

water birds. These are large barbs which are congregating in large

numbers. These other situations in which evaders can multiply. A lot of

things going to change over the next few years? It is a disease which has

been with us for many years. It is simply that the strain of it has

changed, in the same way as the strain of the likes of influenza

virus changes. It is not going to go be any time soon. People treat

industry is really going to have to think about what this means. Thank

you very much for joining us. A simple wooden frame that allows

people with multiple It costs just a few hundred pounds,

but some people say it has At the moment, the frame is not

available on the NHS. So, a physiotherapist from Norfolk

is setting up a national trial Our health reporter Nikki Fox

visited one patient, A simple frame, but one which is

read a real difference to Linda and Robert. She was diagnosed with MS

six years into the marriage. That was 30 years ago. Last year, she

could not walk, but the addition of this wooden frame has made all their

change. I am able to feel my body again, not just been swamped in a

cheer. You do not realise what you lose. It has made me feel a normal

person again. The frames cost ?500 and are used in the national rail

service for patients with spinal problems. But for them to be made

available to MS sufferers, they have to be proven to be effective. That

is why a clinician is doing a project involving 70 sufferers of

MS. We want to use interventions which have been effective. The only

way we can do that is to conduct a random trial. The couple travelled a

lot in the marriage. The weather was so bad. Last year, the council do

cruise because Brenda could not manage it. But thanks to the frame

improving muscle strength, the cruisers once again on the cards. It

is amazing the difference between this time last year. She has a

totally different person. Just a simple piece of equipment like that

can do so much. The trial still needs more volunteers. If results

show the difference is noticeable, they could be available for

sufferers of MS on the national Health Service.

When Northampton Borough Council decided to sell an Egyptian

statue called Sekhemka, the story made headlines

They may have made ?8 million, but they had broken the golden rule

of museums - never sell off your prize exhibits.

But the council ploughed on regardless

and is reinvesting a lot of the money

to build an extension to its museum and art gallery.

While the work is carried out, the museum is being packed up,

to keep everything safe. This from Louise Hubball.

Packing away more than 12,000 shoes. These include Queen Victoria 's

shoes from 1840. In more recent additions from the film Kinky Boots.

The museum is about to go on a ?14 million refurbishment programme. It

will of the new extension. This piece will be larger and brighter

and more of a journey through time. It is how the council raise the

money to pay for it which was controversial. It sure -- sold off a

4000 -year-old Egyptian statue, attracting widespread condemnation.

They lost the arts Council accreditation in process. How far

has the reputation of the museum been damaged? It has been. We are

trying to improve the relationship again. Obviously, that what we're

doing, they Babel CBI reinvesting the money. It will be a real asset

for the tone. Everyone is focused on getting the museum packed up so the

extension work can begin. The Stone Age and Roman section is top of the

list for being catalogued. I have got the number. Coming along with

Adam is his support worker, I get to support his rule being involved with

the objects and the history of Northampton. They are looking for

more volunteers to help with the move. It is expected to reopen to

the public in automotive X year. -- autumn of next year.

The Swinging Sixties were an age of change.

The Hovertrain was dubbed "the train that floats in the sky" -

a space-age passenger vehicle that would eventually take people

It was tested in the Fens until the government withdrew funding.

Now, archaeologists at Cambridge University have made

a film about this very strange project.

It is a little rough around the edges, but that is a certain majesty

about the Hovertrain. It was hot news in the 1960s. It was tested on

he may track on the Fens. Built in the swinging 60s. There was a great

advances in technology. The idea was gay did land transport, which was

going to be the future. The vision was that the Hovertrain would run

alongside the normal railway. See separate routes had been calculated.

150 people were working on the project, some of them the best

scientists in the country. The government through ?5.5 million at

the project. But costs spiralled as the support structure was unable to

keep up. The story captured the imagination of local archaeologist,

Christopher. It was almost like nature fighting back. Something is

probably could've been resolved with a more effort. But it all added to

the suspense. Everyone was very excited. When they heard it was

going to close, everyone involved and it was in tears. At the cost of

?6,000, it was brought to Peterborough. A team of volunteers

are doing their best to care for the landmark carnage. I wonder we're

everyone would set? You did not get a chance to go in it? Not at the

tame. -- tame. Good evening. Despite the

predictions of a lot of cloud, there was a bit of sunshine alone. Changes

are under way. The cloud stand too patchy rain and drizzle for of us.

Mainly dry for most of us this evening, however. It temperatures

for this time of year, again, very mild. The wind building for

tomorrow. This will bring a band of rain across the region. It could

remain for much of the day. Quite windy, particularly in the morning.

Some of that rain could be a Navy side. Some parts may be lucky enough

to avoid it altogether. Despite all that, temperatures still comfortably

in double figures. 12-13 C. As you may have here, Storm Doris is

heading, really on Thursday. That means strong wind across much of the

country. There will be a yellow warning across our region. It could

be some serious disruption because of the wind. Northants, Norfolk and

parts of North Cambs. Keep up-to-date in the next couple of

days, there could be gusts of up to 70-80 mph. So, very mixed bag for

all this week. Expect some rain associated with a low pressure on

Thursday. Things are becoming much more calm on Friday. A court date

falling on Friday. Thing is beginning to turn slightly more mild

come the weekend. Did you make it into the 60s? Just buy one week.

Nawal El Saadawi, the world-renowned Egyptian author