:00:08. > :00:10.Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North. The headlines tonight:
:00:10. > :00:18.The controversial training programme for young people that
:00:18. > :00:23.costs thousands, but managers say it is saving taxpayers money.
:00:23. > :00:27.gives you a lot of confidence to go out there and apply for different
:00:27. > :00:30.jobs that you may be thought you couldn't do in the past.
:00:30. > :00:33.Worried about the future. Families of disabled and elderly people in
:00:33. > :00:35.Lincolnshire wait to find out if day centres could be saved from
:00:35. > :00:37.closure. Uncertainty for more than 300 staff
:00:37. > :00:40.as the electrical giant Comet considers closing its call centre
:00:40. > :00:43.in Hull. Three generations of musicians
:00:43. > :00:53.prepare to take perform in the biggest show on the planet. The
:00:53. > :00:53.
:00:54. > :01:03.opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
:01:04. > :01:04.
:01:04. > :01:08.Temperature levels today have been close to record levels for February.
:01:08. > :01:15.It was a project launched in a blaze of glory, hailed as a new way
:01:15. > :01:18.of getting young, unemployed people back into work. And today, three
:01:18. > :01:25.years after the start of the controversial CatZero scheme,
:01:25. > :01:33.organisers claim it has had a remarkable impact. It costs �3,000
:01:33. > :01:36.to put someone through the CatZero scheme. But managers say the number
:01:36. > :01:39.of youngsters who are now in work, education or training as a direct
:01:39. > :01:43.result of it has saved taxpayers millions. In a moment, I will be
:01:43. > :01:47.talking to the patron of CatZero, Alan Johnson, to ask him if it has
:01:47. > :01:52.been worth the money. First, this report.
:01:52. > :01:56.It is a project that has split public opinion and divided
:01:56. > :02:03.politicians. CatZero takes unemployed young people and teaches
:02:03. > :02:11.them to sail this �500,000 yacht, amongst other things. The idea is
:02:11. > :02:15.to motivate and inspire them. After months of unemployment, this man
:02:15. > :02:22.joined the scheme five months ago. He says it is beginning to change
:02:22. > :02:29.her sly. It is fun. It helps to get back into working as part of a team.
:02:29. > :02:34.It is a good thing to be on. So and so the scheme was launched, 416
:02:34. > :02:41.teenagers have taken part in the project. Of those, 285 now have
:02:41. > :02:49.jobs or have read -- restarted training Norwich occasion. These
:02:49. > :02:54.success stories claimed to have saved the taxpayer �60 million.
:02:54. > :02:58.Even the Prime Minister has questioned its ideology. If this
:02:58. > :03:01.extravagance had been published at the time for all to see online, the
:03:01. > :03:06.people who made this crazy decision would have had to justify it or
:03:06. > :03:16.scrap it. Three years on, those behind the project believe this has
:03:16. > :03:21.changed. New financial backing is being sought. But will it provide
:03:21. > :03:26.value for money and satisfy tax payers? Any project like that will
:03:26. > :03:30.do the local economy a lot of good. But you're just not getting what
:03:30. > :03:39.you should be getting out of something so expensive. Do you use
:03:39. > :03:46.the money on better things? And undecided. And confident with our
:03:46. > :03:50.results and the support from our partners. This man is one of the
:03:50. > :03:57.69% who have been on the scheme and been successful. He now has a full-
:03:57. > :04:00.time job with a telecoms company. It did you confidence to apply for
:04:00. > :04:08.it jobs that you thought you might not have been able to do in the
:04:08. > :04:16.past. Posture were on the course, you gain qualifications. These
:04:16. > :04:19.students are selling themselves like never before to find a job.
:04:19. > :04:22.Hull MP Alan Johnson is the patron of CatZero, and joins me now from a
:04:22. > :04:26.special event being held by the charity tonight. Isn't this scheme
:04:26. > :04:36.so preserving the few lucky ones and may be ignoring the wider
:04:36. > :04:37.
:04:37. > :04:42.issues in this in a vacuum mac -- in this area? We have a problem
:04:42. > :04:51.here with young people not getting training. We heard some stories
:04:51. > :04:57.today about those involved. One youngster who spent his life in
:04:57. > :05:03.care. These kids have a lack of seaweed -- self-esteem and
:05:03. > :05:13.confidence. All the traditional methods which cost taxpayers money
:05:13. > :05:18.have failed. Let's look at some of the figures. 69% have gone into it
:05:18. > :05:22.education or training. That leaves a lot of unsuccessful people. Is
:05:22. > :05:26.that value for money? Government would consider this to
:05:26. > :05:35.be one of the best value for money schemes we have ever had. The usual
:05:35. > :05:39.drop-out rate is something like 16%. CatZero's target was to get 50%
:05:39. > :05:46.back into education, employment or training. The fact they have had
:05:46. > :05:51.almost 70% is extraordinary. I want to bring Iain Duncan Smith here to
:05:51. > :05:55.look at this. This chairman said that we make these people ready for
:05:55. > :06:05.work. When we were teenagers, there were not schemes to get as ready
:06:05. > :06:07.
:06:07. > :06:14.for work. Plenty of these -- plenty of the people in our region had to
:06:14. > :06:21.be ready for works themselves. There were difficult jobs for
:06:21. > :06:26.people of Europe age. The jobs you can access without qualifications
:06:26. > :06:31.now are far less. They're getting less all the time. It is estimated
:06:31. > :06:36.there will only be 600,000 jobs you can access without qualifications
:06:36. > :06:41.in eight years' time. Everyone agrees that these schemes are
:06:41. > :06:46.important. We have found a blueprint here. Briefly, much of
:06:46. > :06:51.the funding is running out. If this scheme was so great, wouldn't the
:06:52. > :06:55.Government come forward to run it across the country? They may be.
:06:55. > :07:05.That is why am asking Iain Duncan Smith to come here to look at it.
:07:05. > :07:05.
:07:05. > :07:14.Already, this scheme has won at two national awards. I believe the
:07:14. > :07:18.private sector will contribute even more now they have seen the success.
:07:18. > :07:21.Do get in touch with us on this. Do you think this is the right
:07:21. > :07:25.approach to getting some of our young people into work of training?
:07:25. > :07:34.Or is it spending too much money on too few? Maybe you have seen first
:07:34. > :07:38.hand how it can work? In a moment:
:07:38. > :07:40.Hailed as a wonder drug to help you stop smoking, but one East
:07:40. > :07:50.Yorkshire man is campaigning for more clarity of the medicine's
:07:50. > :07:52.
:07:52. > :07:55.possible side effects. 31 day care centres in Lincolnshire
:07:55. > :07:58.could be saved from closure. The county council says it plans to
:07:58. > :08:02.keep the buildings open, but only if it can find private businesses
:08:02. > :08:05.to come in and run the service on its behalf. And that has left the
:08:05. > :08:15.families of disabled and elderly people worried about the upheaval
:08:15. > :08:15.
:08:15. > :08:20.that change could cause. This man is returning home from his
:08:20. > :08:25.day centre that he visits five times a week. He has severe
:08:25. > :08:29.epilepsy and learning difficulties. His family are worried that if his
:08:29. > :08:33.day centre is run by different staff, it will set him back.
:08:33. > :08:39.knows the current staff and has wonderful things there. He is
:08:40. > :08:43.worried things will not be the same. That would devastate them if he is
:08:43. > :08:49.pit in a chair and just told to sit there. These private companies
:08:49. > :08:53.promise the earth and then it disappears. The recommendation to
:08:53. > :08:59.keep day centres like this one Open comes after hundreds of people
:08:59. > :09:04.campaigned to save them. There are 31 day centres like this one across
:09:04. > :09:09.Lincolnshire. There used by almost 700 people. The county council is
:09:09. > :09:13.no longer going to pay to run them itself. Instead, it will give cash
:09:13. > :09:18.directly to elderly and disabled people to spend on the services
:09:18. > :09:22.they want. If those services happen to be at day centres like these, it
:09:22. > :09:27.says it will find private businesses are groups to run them
:09:27. > :09:31.for it. Four that vast majority of these services, we already have
:09:31. > :09:35.people saying they want to carry on these services. There is our
:09:35. > :09:42.handful where no one has come forward yet. But we're working on
:09:42. > :09:46.that. This is very early days. The hand full could still close if no
:09:46. > :09:53.one comes forward. We will work with people who use those services.
:09:53. > :09:57.The ease proposals need to get approval from councillors next
:09:57. > :10:05.month. But this family worry whether their day centre will stay
:10:05. > :10:08.just the way it is. And BBC Lincolnshire will be having
:10:08. > :10:18.a special hold to account debate on the issue of care provision and so-
:10:18. > :10:19.
:10:19. > :10:22.called personal budgets tomorrow morning between 9am and 11am.
:10:22. > :10:24.More than 300 jobs are under threat tonight after Comet announced it is
:10:24. > :10:30.considering closing its Hull-based call centre. The electrical
:10:30. > :10:38.Bristol. All the affected staff have been told. Our correspondent
:10:38. > :10:43.has this. It is 2008 and Comet's call centre
:10:43. > :10:46.in Hull is part of an electrical giant celebrating its 75 birthday.
:10:46. > :10:56.Four years on and this call centre is threatened with complete closure,
:10:56. > :10:57.
:10:57. > :11:01.jeopardising 316 jobs. Clearly, this is not good news. Comet had
:11:01. > :11:06.been struggling for a while. But they have started a consultation
:11:06. > :11:10.process here and in Bristol. We will continue to work with them.
:11:10. > :11:14.They started and the City so we have had at many regular meetings
:11:14. > :11:19.with them. We will do all we can to help support them and hopefully
:11:19. > :11:22.keep their jobs here. The company blames a tough economic climate. In
:11:22. > :11:25.six months last year, they announced losses of �22 million and
:11:25. > :11:31.were sold for just �2 in November. Now managers must chose whether to
:11:31. > :11:39.save the Bristol site or Hull one. The electronics sector has been
:11:39. > :11:43.under huge pressure for many years. Obviously the kind of things that
:11:43. > :11:52.consumers are cutting back on other big-ticket items that stores like
:11:52. > :11:55.Comet are known for. White goods and televisions. Comet has suffered
:11:56. > :12:00.because they are a major player in those categories. The consultation
:12:00. > :12:04.will run for three months. But almost 80 years after Comet was
:12:04. > :12:08.launched in Hull, its presence in the city could be diminished.
:12:08. > :12:13.Behind these stores over the next few months, there will be lots of
:12:13. > :12:19.conversations as to how these jobs can be saved. That could even be
:12:19. > :12:23.staff relocating to Bristol. With 80 people chasing every vacancy in
:12:23. > :12:33.this city at the moment, there is no more daunting time to be made
:12:33. > :12:39.
:12:39. > :12:42.redundant. The family of a grandmother and her
:12:42. > :12:45.six-year-old grandson who both drowned in a pond in Lincolnshire
:12:45. > :12:48.has described their deaths as leaving a hole in our lives which
:12:48. > :12:50.can never be filled. Dawn Mullany, who was 71 and from Castle Bytham,
:12:50. > :12:56.and six-year-old Laurence Mills were found at Holywell near
:12:56. > :12:59.Stamford last week. Today, the inquest into their deaths was
:12:59. > :13:05.opened and adjourned. Our reporter was there and he joins me now. What
:13:05. > :13:11.happened this morning? Well, this was a very brief
:13:11. > :13:15.preliminary heat -- hearing and lasted five minutes. The coroner
:13:15. > :13:19.heard that Laurence Mills had been staying overnight with his
:13:19. > :13:28.grandmother. His family raised the alarm after they were unable to
:13:28. > :13:34.contact her. They finally found her car near the pond in Holly Wells.
:13:34. > :13:44.Both the bodies were discovered in the pond. A post-mortem confirmed
:13:44. > :13:52.
:13:52. > :13:56.that both had drowned. Their family The coroner adjourned the inquest
:13:56. > :14:06.until a later date and took the opportunity to convey his sympathy
:14:06. > :14:06.
:14:06. > :14:14.There's been a rise in exclusion rates in North Lincolnshire schools.
:14:14. > :14:19.Eight pupils were expelled in the 2009, 2010 school year. This rose
:14:19. > :14:23.to 77 pupils expelled in the 2010, 2011 year.
:14:23. > :14:27.A local charities calling for the Holy Trinity Church -- the Holy
:14:27. > :14:30.Trinity parish church in Hull to be converted to a minster. It is
:14:30. > :14:35.believed it would attract more visitors to the area.
:14:35. > :14:40.Ministers are under renewed pressure to fund an upgrade of the
:14:40. > :14:44.A63 rd in Hull. The Transport Minister has promised to consider
:14:44. > :14:54.the proposal after it was raised by Karl Turner.
:14:54. > :14:55.
:14:55. > :15:00.Thank you for watching. Still to come: Imagine all the way
:15:00. > :15:09.to the Olympic opening ceremony. -- marching all the way to the
:15:10. > :15:13.Olympic opening ceremony. And from temperatures of -16 to
:15:13. > :15:18.temperatures better than the Mediterranean. How people in
:15:18. > :15:23.Lincolnshire are coping with the weather. Also coming up, some
:15:23. > :15:33.serious gloating and smug faces in a moment. Before we get to him,
:15:33. > :15:38.
:15:38. > :15:42.Good evening. Were what a lovely day, Peter!
:15:42. > :15:48.I got in there first and beat you to it.
:15:48. > :15:52.Under the radio, you said you would admit that I got it right!
:15:52. > :15:55.Yes, make a note of the date in your diary because it will not
:15:55. > :16:05.happen again! Let's have a blow to us how high
:16:05. > :16:14.
:16:14. > :16:20.the as temperatures have been. -- let's have a gloat as to how high
:16:21. > :16:28.those temperatures have been. There will be a little patchy rain among
:16:28. > :16:34.the middle of the day tomorrow. The conditions look quite nice for the
:16:34. > :16:40.weekend. A dry weekend. You can see on the satellite picture that
:16:40. > :16:47.Lincolnshire and much of East Yorkshire played up nicely.
:16:47. > :16:52.Lincolnshire, -- Lincolnshire's has had a lie in's share of sunshine.
:16:52. > :17:02.Variable amounts of cloud and not dropping below nine of 10 Celsius.
:17:02. > :17:09.
:17:09. > :17:14.Nine is 48 Fahrenheit. In Hull, 11 degrees tonight. A dry start to the
:17:14. > :17:24.day. Possibly quite bright at times around the Wash, but cloud will
:17:24. > :17:26.
:17:26. > :17:32.thicken from the north-west. NIE's end to the day. A breezy day a game.
:17:32. > :17:42.Temperatures not as high as today, but we are looking at around 12 or
:17:42. > :17:46.
:17:46. > :17:53.possibly 13 Celsius. It is looking This is a day to remember. Accurate
:17:53. > :17:57.forecast and serious gloating! I am not want to gloat.
:17:57. > :18:01.See you tomorrow. Some of her that as a wonder drug,
:18:02. > :18:05.but others claim it is dangerous. Lea Margeson from East Yorkshire
:18:05. > :18:10.says taking Champix caused him to have seizures. He has convinced the
:18:10. > :18:14.DVLA that the drug was behind is fit, and has just got his driving
:18:14. > :18:19.licence back. The drug companies say there is no reliable evidence
:18:19. > :18:26.it causes adverse reactions. Lea is calling for more research into is
:18:26. > :18:30.possible side-effects. There have been times when Lea
:18:30. > :18:34.Margeson wondered whether he would ever work again. The sudden onset
:18:34. > :18:39.of seizures made his driving job impossible. He has convinced the
:18:39. > :18:44.DVLA that his figures were likely to have been caused by Champix,
:18:44. > :18:51.taken to help him stop smoking. kept on fighting and fighting.
:18:51. > :18:55.Eventually, the DVLA took the evidence and made the right
:18:55. > :19:02.decision. Pfizer, the manufactures, listed range of side-effects
:19:02. > :19:12.associated with the drug, but Segers are not among them. Lea's
:19:12. > :19:15.
:19:15. > :19:19.neurologist from Hull Royal The Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle
:19:19. > :19:29.has raised concerns about the drug with a health tsar thrush -- with
:19:29. > :19:33.
:19:33. > :19:37.the Health Secretary. It does say that the drug can cause seizures in
:19:37. > :19:41.certain circumstances. But there are thousands of smokers who are
:19:41. > :19:45.used Champix without problems. There is no doubt that Champix can
:19:45. > :19:51.be an effective tool. Early trials showed that 44 % of smokers had
:19:51. > :19:55.quit by the end of it well we cause, compared to around 30 % for the
:19:55. > :19:59.drugs. It prevents the reward feelings of inhaling smoke. Pfizer
:19:59. > :20:02.has issued a statement, saying it takes the safety of all his
:20:02. > :20:07.medicine seriously, and that there is no reliable scientific evidence
:20:07. > :20:13.to demonstrate that Champix causes adverse effects. 100,000 people in
:20:13. > :20:18.the UK die every year due to smoking. The European medicines
:20:18. > :20:26.agency has concluded that the benefits of Champix outweigh its
:20:26. > :20:29.risks. Lea and many others are not convinced.
:20:29. > :20:32.Hull City equalled a 104-year-old record last night after their
:20:32. > :20:36.goalless draw with Brighton. It is now six games since their last
:20:36. > :20:44.conceded. Despite efforts from Cameron Stuart and Aaron McLean,
:20:45. > :20:49.the score means that the Tigers at two points off the play-off places.
:20:49. > :20:53.A big response to our story about Lincolnshire Police signing a deal
:20:53. > :20:56.with private security firm G4S to run one of its stations. The
:20:56. > :21:01.contract was announced yesterday, and will include a new purpose-
:21:01. > :21:11.built police station that will be run by the private firm. Just a few
:21:11. > :21:34.
:21:34. > :21:37.And two Fall of theirs. Three generations of a family from
:21:37. > :21:43.Spalding will be performing in front of their biggest audience yet
:21:43. > :21:47.at the opening and closing ceremony of the Olympics. Around a billion
:21:47. > :21:57.people are expected to watch the events. Among the performers will
:21:57. > :22:01.
:22:01. > :22:09.be the Brights. Practising for the biggest gig of
:22:09. > :22:15.their lives. Five members of the Spalding Marching Ambassadors will
:22:15. > :22:18.perform at the opening and closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in
:22:18. > :22:22.London. There was a global audience of a billion for the Beijing
:22:22. > :22:29.Olympics opening ceremony, and the same number is expected to watch
:22:29. > :22:33.London 2012. So no pressure, then! Is is an adventure. It is exciting.
:22:33. > :22:37.I have always wanted to be involved with something big. I have always
:22:37. > :22:42.wanted to be involved with one of these big bands you see in America.
:22:42. > :22:45.I think this will be even better than that. Jim is not the anyone in
:22:45. > :22:55.his family vault. His daughter Catherine and grandson Tristan will
:22:55. > :23:02.join him. That is three generations of the same family. You can count
:23:02. > :23:09.over imagine the grand scale of how it will be. Exactly how it will be,
:23:09. > :23:17.you cannot imagine. It is unbelievable. The miners will Bay,
:23:17. > :23:20.I do not know! -- the noise will be, I do not know. Let's not forget the
:23:20. > :23:26.other band members with a part to play on the beat Gayle -- on the
:23:26. > :23:32.big day. I am really excited to do it. By M excited, but nervous,
:23:32. > :23:36.because they do not know what we are doing yet. They really do not
:23:36. > :23:44.know what they will be doing. But in auditions, they had to Drome,
:23:44. > :23:48.dance and even do some drama. One thing is for sure. London has there
:23:48. > :23:57.not to live up to have. In May, rehearsals for the big event will
:23:57. > :24:02.begin in earnest. For now, it is back to basics in Spalding.
:24:02. > :24:09.Fantastic stories. Could look to the Spalding Marching Ambassadors.
:24:09. > :24:12.As we heard LEA, today has been one of the warmest February days for 14
:24:12. > :24:16.years. We reached highs of 18 Celsius. That would have been felt
:24:16. > :24:20.in Holbeach a Lincolnshire, where less than a fortnight ago, it was a
:24:20. > :24:30.call this place in the country, recorded overnight temperature of -
:24:30. > :24:34.
:24:34. > :24:42.Just a few days ago, our weather was cold. And then all of a sudden,
:24:42. > :24:48.like someone had flicked a switch, the sun is up. Less than two weeks
:24:48. > :24:54.ago, Holbeach was recorded as the coldest place in the country, with
:24:54. > :24:59.temperatures of -16 degrees. I would have been in my attic head
:24:59. > :25:05.gear and thermal plants. Today, temperatures could reach as high as
:25:05. > :25:12.18 degrees. That is like -- that is equivalent to make temperatures.
:25:12. > :25:18.Such a dramatic change was the talk of the town on Holbeach's market
:25:18. > :25:27.day. Warmer today! It is. Working with globes, thick globes, your
:25:27. > :25:31.hands were still cold. Today, no jacket. It is a very warm. I had to
:25:31. > :25:37.take my cut-off. When I get home, I will sit on my deckchair and drink
:25:37. > :25:42.a glass of champagne. It is beautiful today. Make the most of
:25:42. > :25:46.it. In the surrounding fields, it when the daffodils could thrive
:25:46. > :25:51.again. But some had Friday bit too early. These daffodils were
:25:51. > :26:01.flowering nicely, but then we had the extreme frost, which has
:26:01. > :26:01.
:26:01. > :26:06.damaged the crop. I have never seen this before. Within less than two
:26:06. > :26:13.weeks, we have had a Betty Ford degree Celsius difference, and that
:26:13. > :26:17.is pretty remarkable. -- a 34 degrees Celsius difference. Today's
:26:17. > :26:27.temperature of 18 degrees is 10 degrees higher than it should be,
:26:27. > :26:31.so do not expected to last too long. Let's have a recap of the headlines.
:26:31. > :26:34.Abbey s announces losses of nearly �800 million, the same amount it
:26:34. > :26:40.has paid out in bonuses. The controversial training programme
:26:40. > :26:48.for young people which managers claim has saved millions. Cloudy
:26:48. > :26:58.start with patchy rain. It will get back to through the afternoon.
:26:58. > :27:00.
:27:00. > :27:05.Response coming him on the scheme we were talking about earlier.
:27:05. > :27:11.Somebody from Christopher's -- something from Christopher's mother.
:27:11. > :27:15.She said, it was a godsend for him. It was worth every penny. John says,
:27:15. > :27:23.you said that when we were young, there were no schemes to make us
:27:23. > :27:28.work ready. There was, it was called school. Graeme said, if it