15/12/2011 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

Good evening. Thank you for joining us. Welcome to the programme. Our

headlines - concern over former criminals working as taxi drivers.

Is the vetting tough enough? A special investigation. I think a

lot of people will be surprised to learn that the people who drive

taxies are not always completely honest. Some of them have got

criminal convictions. Not a lot, but many. The vast majority are

very trustworthy. You always get the rogue element in any trade.

Also, as customers look for bargains, businesses in the area

look for opportunities to compete. Treasure trove of memories -

thousands of films are given a new home in Lincolnshire. We have got

the answer to one of the most Googleed questions in Britain -

what is scampi? Ice could be a problem again tonight. Join me for

Good evening. BBC Look North has learnt that former criminals, with

convictions, including assault, burglary and affray, are being list

cepbsed to operate as taxi -- licences to operate as taxi drivers.

One operator has told us that he won't allow his daughter to travel

with a driver he doesn't know. But the police and council officials

insist that licenced taxies are still the safest way to get home

during the party season. We have this special report. Christmas

revellers enjoying the party season. They are taking their own safety

seriously and already planning how they'll get home. Taxi. Taxi.

are getting home by taxi. Taxi. Taxi. Taxi. What they probably

don't realise is that the taxi could be driven by a convicted

criminal, who has been licenced quite legal by Hull City -- Hull

City council. It will only grant a licence if they are satisfied that

the person is fit and proper. But this driver is concerned that some

drivers are far from fit and proper. If my daughter wants to go out, I

make sure I'm there to collect her, or make sure I know who will make

her up. I will not allow her to use taxi companies. I won't allow her

to hail black cabs. Our own investigations seem to bear out

some of the concerns. We have learnt that some licenced drivers

have criminal convictions spanning more than 20 years. Records show

that one licenced private hire driver has 32 separate convictions.

They are for offences including burglary, assault and sex with an

undergauge girl. Despite a recent conviction for affray, his licence

has still been renewed. Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act ex-

offenders can wipe the slate clean once a period of time has elapsed,

but taxi drivers are ex em -- exemp. While this driver couldn't do

school contracts there was nothing to stop him carrying children. You

could have picked up young boys or girls from the station? Yes. I did.

You did? I did, yes. You had to take up any fare, unless they were

known prostitutes, drunks or known to be violent. All taxi drivers are

subject to checks by the Crimial Records Bureau, but councils can

still knowingly and legally licence those who have offended in the past.

James Button is a solicitor specialising in taxi licencing law.

People do reform and change. People do recognise the error of their

ways. That's fine. As with all things, it's fine up to a point.

You do get people who are serial criminals and those are the people

who the system should and I emphasise should, prevent from

being licenced. This cab firm deals with around 15,000 passengers every

week. They insist the overwhelming majority of drivers are safe to use.

I would guarantee in our association that 99.9% of all

drivers are genuine drivers. If the public has any problems go straight

to the Public Protection Department and they'll deal with it. A view

echoed by Hull's Hackney carriage drivers, who launched a campaign

today. The vast majority of drivers are very trustworthy. You always

get the rogue element in any trade. Obviously, it doesn't concern me at

all. The Hackney carriage and the private hire industry are very safe.

This woman, though, has a different story to tell. She has recorded --

reported to police she endured 20 minutes of terror was a taxi driver

allegedly refused to let her out, because he wanted her phone instead

of the fare. He was going really fast on the main road, so I knew

there was no point in jumping off. We got to the junction and he

stopped and he was picking up speed and that was my opportunity then to

jump out. I was terrified. During the past two years, at least three

taxi drivers from Hull have been jailed. Two of them had sexually

assaulted their passengers, but Humberside police say the cases are

still very rare. The majority of the drivers in the city are law-

abiding and trustworthy in that respect. Where the issues lie is

when people get into vehicles that are not authorised to carry out

that journey. Despite these reassurances, concerns remain about

the licencing of ex-offenders. you think of people working with

the public like that and licenced by the council, that they would

have more stringent tests to ensure public safety. It's a concern not

just for our students, but friends or family members if anything

untoward were to happen to them, especially in the hands of somebody

who has been given a licence. Despite any concerns raised, the

official advice remains the same. It's much safer to take a licenced

taxi even if the person behind the wheel has a criminal record.

Vicky is in the centre of Hull right now. What have the City

Council had to say about this? They've declined the opportunity to

be interviewed by us, but they have issued a statement saying perm

safety is of paramount importance and if they discover that any

driver has been convicted or charged with any criminal activity

then they'll have to appear before the city's committee and

appropriate action will be taken. Now, if we had been able to

interview them we would have liked to have asked them how robust the

wetting procedures are. While our report ha centred on Hull, I must

stress that this situation is quite common across the country and in

many ways, Hull's more proactive in some of the procedures. For

instance, they insist on the annual licencing of their taxies. This is

recently been taken up by East Lindsey council, who is following

suit. Another thing I have to point out is that a tax on tax I --

attacks on taxi drivers are much more common than the other way

round, and the safest way during this party season is by licenced

taxi, rather than any bogus or other cabs at all. Thank you.

We throw this one open to you tonight. Do you think the law

surrounding taxi drivers needs to be toughened up? Do you think they

have served their time and should be allowed to get on with earning a

living? Maybe you are a driver More news. Plans to move the Red

Arrows from RAF Scampton near Lincoln to RAF Waddington have been

put on hold. The previous Government had announced the base

would be closing, but that was suspended because of the Spending

Review and operations in Libya. Today the Ministry of Defence has

said it will be reviewing the decision to move the Reds. It'll

publish its findings in the new year. Former Scunthorpe MP, Elliot

Morley, has been ordered to pay more than �56,000 in costs, after

being convicted of fiddling his expenses. Morley was jailed in May

after admitting fraudulently claiming around �30,000 of

Parliamentary expenses. Today an order's been made by a judge in

London for him to repay his Legal Aid and prosecution costs. Snow and

ice caused problems for drivers this morning. The A163 in Holme on

Spalding Moor in East Yorkshire was closed for several hours after a

three-vehicle accident. No-one was hurt. The name of a man who died in

this crash near Caistor yesterday morning has been released. Mohamed

Azzabi was 43 and from Nettleton near Market Rasen. Four children

and a woman who were in his vehicle are still in hospital with serious

injuries. The MP for Brigg and Goole has been leading a debate in

Parliament on his proposals to introduce compulsory money

management lessons in schools. Andrew Percy wants young people to

get the training to try and stop them getting into debt later in

life. More than 100,000 people have also signed a online petition

backing his report. It's not about moralising about debt. It's not

about that. It's not about educating people never to be in

debt, but providing people with the appropriate skills. Still ahead -

painstaking work to preserve the past. The film archive that's come

to Lincolnshire. I don't know what scampi is. I've had it in

restaurants. It's very nice. Not a clue what it is. Yes, scampi update,

all will be revealed. The photograph tonight is from Horn see

Mere. Several people have been writing

this afternoon from South Yorkshire saying that they want an apology

tonight. What about your feature on scampi? No, about the fact that

last night's forecast was a bit - what's the word I'm looking for,

what's the word I'm looking for, wrong? I suppose we had a bit of

snow in Sheffield. It is snow in December, but we didn't get that

one right. We did forecast widespread ice. I'm sure you were

going to point that out to your millions of viewers. He has gone

quiet. You're on your own. excited about the scampi piece.

We'll look at the warning. It's in place. We could have icy patches

once again on untreated surfaces. There is the nasty looking area of

low, which will push way to the south. The interesting thing is the

northern edge of that rain could fringe into the extreme south of

Lincolnshire. A bit of sleet towards the end of the night.

Actually, we have ended the day with plenty of clear weather.

Temperatures will drop away quite smartly. A risk of one or two

showers from the west. Then the wind switches to the east. To the

end of the night, watch the extreme south. It would bring rain or sleet

and patchy, light snow. Elsewhere, watch out for ice on untreated

surfaces. Temperatures around It looks like tomorrow will be

quite cold, a bit windy and any sleet and snow with rain pushing

away south from south Lincolnshire and quite cloudy skies. There is a

risk of a scattering of showers. Mainly of rain. Perhaps a little

sleet. Even a bit of wet snow, but chiefly over the top of the moors.

Frosty at night. Wintry showers to Frosty at night. Wintry showers to

come. Dotdot The high streets are struggle in the run-up to Christmas

according to figures out today. Retail figures have fallen despite

Retail figures have fallen despite heavy discounts. In the third part

of our series on the economy, our business reporter looks at how

shoppers are spending less and also shoppers are spending less and also

shoppers are spending less and also shoppers are spending less and also

searching for a bargain. company

company behind this pound shop is now opening a new store at the rate

of one a week. Here, they are hoping for record Christmas sales.

Our Christmas is going to be our best-ever Christmas, but generally

speaking people are being very careful in what they are spending

and where they are spending it. Poundland's latest store is opening

in Lincoln. It's a relatively affluent city, but habits are

changing. What is clear, it's rarely been so competitive on the

high street and the rise of the pound shop perhaps tells us that

shoppers are more than ever seeking value. Also, that there's less

money to spend. This shop is a successful independent business,

but recently it's been surrounded by discount stores, where

sandwiches can cost as little as �1ment It has pushed up to up our

game and open a night-time shop next door. We took over that and

started to do late-night food. Sales, discounts and offers - shops

are working hard to try to bring custom in. Will you spend more this

year or less than last year? Less than last year. Why? Because I

haven't got it. I feel as though I should look after what I've got.

You are cautious? Yeah. With thrift on the agenda, the stores selling

the big-ticket eye Emms know they'll have to work hard for their

money. People are searching round for the bargain and value out of

the product. There's no doubt about that. There are smaller items being

sold. Different kinds of a feel to this year. In east Yorkshire and

Lincolnshire average salaries are continuing to be outstripped by

inflation and the high street is just one place where the pain is

continuing to be felt. Paul's been following this story all week. It's

been a pretty grim week of economic news. Is there any cause for hope?

You are right. It's been gloomy. We have seen inflation at 4.8% and

average annual salaries are falling and unemployment is going up here.

If there is a glimmer, it's the Christmas shoppers, because the

high street has rarely been as competitive as it is. Every shop is

undercutting the next. Some of the discounts out there now are

unbelievable. The problem is they are unsustainable too. Many

retailers are going to have a very tough time if they don't shift

their produce in the run-up to Christmas. Thank you.

Thanks to every who -- everyone who got in touch about a new shopping

centre to be built on the outskirts of Scunthorpe. There were a -- an

equal number of votes yesterday. I'm thrid for Scunthorpe, bringing

money back -- thrilled for Scunthorpe, bringing money back

into the area. People will be able to come into town and get the rest

of their shopping and it will be jobs and money in our area.

traffic is unbelievable, so with them being there it's terrible.

It's disgusting. We have both sides on the radio earlier today and

again, a huge response. Thank you for the messages after last night's

programme. Just a few. First, John Because of the response, we'll have

more on this tomorrow lunch time on the radio, if you can join me.

Plans for a �50 million development in Mablethorpe have been turned

down by councillors. Developers had wanted to build 180 new homes,

together with a supermarket, garage and pub and restaurant, but

campaigners had argued it would increase the chance of flooding.

BAe Systems say they are more optimistic about their future,

after a meeting with David Cameron. Staff from the site in Brough

arrived back in east Yorkshire last night, after going to see the Prime

Minister about plans to mothball the site. David Cameron said he

would put pressure on the company to rethink its proposals, to make

almost 900 people redundant. Hull City boss, nick Barmby, says

he hopes the few days off will make the players feel refreshed. They

recovered before their game this weekend. Barmby has now won four of

his six games since taking charge. City are fifth in the championship.

That is their highest position since falling from the Premier

League. Then we have the Leicester game and Birmingham and then

Coventry, as in the way they play and got the ball forward, that was

quicker. Then the big teams and two centre forwards, so it's been a

demanding week. They deserve a couple of days off. They've rested

and done the right things and been looking sharp. We'll have

commentary of the match on Saturday on the radio. Lincoln City FC has

been spreading Christmas cheer at the county hospital. The squad

visited the children's wards to meet some of the youngsters and to

hand out gifts. The manager, David Holdsworth, says that getting into

the community is important for the club and the players. It's a very

pleasant surprise. It's very nice. Enjoyable. It's very nice. It was a

big surprise. We recognise we are in a community and to give just a

tiny little bit back to the community means a lot. Something to

listen out for on your own BBC local radio in the morning, when

you get a chance to put questions about key local services. Stephen

Parnaby, the leader of East Riding of Yorkshire council, will be on

radio and Kieron Nelson of Anglian Water will be taking your questions.

It's the feature we call Hot Seat. If you are concerned about council

tax in east Yorkshire or worried about your water bill in

Lincolnshire then listen in: Lincoln has become home to a huge

archive of films. Thousands of items from across large parts of

the country. The collection based at the university, aims to preserve

films like this one, from Skegness in the 1960s, for generations to

come. Phil has the story. It's a treasure trove of memories. Films

which tell family stories and remind us of days gone by.

first call was alSkegness weather station, where we could watch the

weather recorded as it happens. Of course, it was a beautiful, sunny

day. It always has good weather. This family's memories were filmed

for the council. The year is 1961 and shows many sites still around

today. Here we are driving along South Parade, around the clocktower

to the Embassy Ballroom. It's not always so much what is happening in

the foreground. I think this is what people need to understand.

They think it's not going to be of interest to anybody, but them, but

it's Whapping behind, which gives us so much information about --

what is happening behind and which gives us so much information about

what is going on. The university has 70,000 films, the oldest of

which dates back 114 years. Handling these films is of course a

delicate job. As we can see here, many arrive in the poor state of

repair. For the team responsible, there's often weeks of work to make

sure they survive. People who haven't seen the films maybe since

they shot them and if they had a projector and they haven't seen it

since then, it's a great thing to get a note back from a depositer,

saying how happy they are that they've got to see the films.

centre already receives around 20 new films a week and today this

lady brought in her collection. don't know what they are. The fill

pldz are believed to have recorded life at Stoke-on-Trent's theatre

and could have early performances from two well-known actors.

actors were a young Ben Kingsley and Robert Powell. They were in the

documentary plays at the theatre. They may well be here in more

scenes that have never been seen. lovely garden here and lot of roses.

All the films stored here can be viewed by the public, so if you've

got treasured memories in the loft, donating them cob the -- could be

the best idea and ensuring their survival for future generations to

enjoy. As advertised, out of all the questions typed into Google

this year, this the second-most popular - what is scampi? No-one

seems to know why so many people want to know, but what we do know

is that half of all the UK's scampi is produced right here in east

Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The Royal Wedding, celebrity gossip and

cheap flights. All popular topics that internet users have been

gooingling this year, but the second-most -- gooingling this year,

but the second-most asked question was about scampi. Scampi is

Langersteen and it can be known as Norwegian lobster and it's a hard-

shelled crustation. They don't realise it's the Langersteen tail.

Scampi was developed during World War II. German U boats and a

shortage of trawlermen means that they became popular. Now, thousands

of tonnes of it are produce inside Grimsby. It's an industry worth 62

million a year. 50% of squam my is produced here. -- scampi is

produced here. The question is, do people know. Yes, it's very nice,

but I've not a clue what it is. Fish and it's in batter. It's a

fish. I'm not quite sure. I'm quite ashamed. The most popular question

asked was what is AV, but Google says it was closely followed by

what is scampi? It also surprised us a lot. To be honest, we don't

know why it is that interesting. It's really unusual. It may be a

popular choice on today's menu, but across the country many still

aren't exactly sure what it is. Norwegian lobster in a basket. A

recap of the main national and regional news - more than 13,000

troops are drafted in to provide extra security for the Games in

London. Concern over former criminals working as taxi drivers.

A special investigation looked at whether vetting is tough enough.

The weather for Friday - cloudy at times and further showers of rain

and sleet. Some snow possible over higher ground. A response coming in

on the subject of taxi drivers, after that report from Vicky

Johnson earlier. One here, "Surely it should depend on the nature of

their offence. Violent crime is a no-no, but non-payment of tax is

less of a problem." And this from Morgan, "Once a criminal, always a

criminal. They'll not change. This is an exact reason why I am

frightened of taxies." This from Sheila, "You should make sure there

is more than one person in a taxi. Especially if living near each

other." This from George, "Any taxi driver prosecuted for serious

offences should have their licence taken away for life." Just finally,

this from Kerry, "If they have a criminal record then I think no,