:00:06. > :00:10.Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North.
:00:10. > :00:19.The headlines tonight: "Serious Failings". - A report criticises
:00:19. > :00:22.financial management of a group of Lincolnshire academies. I believe
:00:22. > :00:26.the action plan is in place and I hope that the appropriate steps are
:00:26. > :00:32.going to be made. Cleaning up following the flood -
:00:32. > :00:37.now there are warnings of more to come. About nine inches of water
:00:37. > :00:39.inside. Luckily with the flood defence at the front, it stopped as
:00:39. > :00:43.being totally underwater. Warnings about a housing crisis
:00:43. > :00:52.because of a shortage of council homes in Lincoln.
:00:52. > :00:57.The new mural summing up the spirit of one of Hull's most famous roads.
:00:57. > :01:07.It has already been the wettest April on record across Yorkshire. A
:01:07. > :01:09.
:01:09. > :01:12.The Department for Education says there have been "serious failings"
:01:12. > :01:18.in the financial management of a federation of academies in
:01:18. > :01:23.Lincolnshire. The Priory Federation of Academies Trust runs four sites
:01:23. > :01:27.- three in Lincoln and one in Grantham. The chief executive
:01:27. > :01:32.resigned last month. Today the trust has said "mistakes and errors
:01:32. > :01:37.of judgements have been made" by two individuals. The police are
:01:37. > :01:39.also investigating. Phil Connell reports.
:01:39. > :01:41.Before his resignation, Richard Gilliland was the federation's
:01:41. > :01:48.respected chief executive responsible for four academy
:01:48. > :01:52.schools in Lincolnshire. Tonight, though, he's part of a police
:01:52. > :01:56.investigation into the mismanagement of school finances.
:01:56. > :02:02.A report for the Department for Education reveals: He spent �53,000
:02:02. > :02:04.decorating a school property for his own personal use. Employed his
:02:04. > :02:08.family - including his daughter as family - including his daughter as
:02:09. > :02:13.a �55,000 pound a year consultant. Had used the federation's credit
:02:13. > :02:16.cards to buy sex games and other items. Used company resources to
:02:16. > :02:19.buy training worth around �4,000 at an equestrian centre for his son.
:02:19. > :02:26.All public money with none of the All public money with none of the
:02:26. > :02:30.transactions being shown in any school accounts. The chief
:02:30. > :02:35.executive employed his wife, son and daughter. I could go on.
:02:35. > :02:39.Parents need to be assured that lessons have been learned here. We
:02:39. > :02:42.need many paid back, without doubt and we need to make sure this can
:02:42. > :02:44.never happen again. Today's report also cites the
:02:44. > :02:47.trusts former finance director Steve Davies, who retired last year,
:02:47. > :02:50.the report says he's currently away in the Caribbean. The trust has
:02:50. > :02:59.apologised to parents tonight some have been telling us of their
:02:59. > :03:04.concerns. We all thought it was mental when they said they were
:03:04. > :03:09.getting a polo team. And an equestrian centre. We could not
:03:09. > :03:12.really believe that he would be buying this stuff with school many
:03:12. > :03:15.when they are things already wrong in our actual school.
:03:15. > :03:17.In response to the government's report the chairman of the priory
:03:17. > :03:20.federation has today issued this three page statement in which he
:03:20. > :03:24.admits mistakes and errors of judgement had been made by two
:03:24. > :03:28.senior individuals. He said changes, though, had been put in place to
:03:28. > :03:38.their financial management and a new accountant had been appointed.
:03:38. > :03:38.
:03:39. > :03:44.He added from 85 previous audits no issues had been raised before.
:03:44. > :03:48.There is an action plan in place. They will take the actions that are
:03:48. > :03:51.needed and I believe there will be examined in depth again in four
:03:51. > :03:58.months' time to make sure that the action plan has been acted upon and
:03:58. > :04:02.these things don't happen again. With its shutter in France, the
:04:02. > :04:07.federation's expenditure has already been seen as controversial.
:04:07. > :04:13.Tonight's report will cause fresh concerns as Lincolnshire Police
:04:13. > :04:16.begin their own investigation. The Schools Minister, Lord Hill,
:04:16. > :04:22.says he thinks this is a one-off case and doesn't undermine the
:04:22. > :04:25.academy ethos. I spoke with him earlier this afternoon. I think
:04:25. > :04:31.that as soon as concerns are brought to the attention of the
:04:31. > :04:37.department, feet wide P L A went in straightaway and carried out an
:04:37. > :04:40.investigation. We have taken swift action and the chief executive have
:04:41. > :04:46.gone so I do not think that shows there is a gaping hole in our
:04:46. > :04:50.system. Has the shaken the department because it is not great
:04:51. > :04:54.publicity for academies, is it. don't think that is right.
:04:54. > :05:02.Academies have actually got more rigorous systems of financial
:05:02. > :05:06.management. It doesn't sound like it with this, does it? I think that
:05:06. > :05:10.what the system has demonstrated, in this case we have identified a
:05:10. > :05:16.problem, it is certainly the case that you cannot have any system
:05:16. > :05:21.that is 100% guaranteed to work. To pick up if someone sets about to do
:05:21. > :05:26.wrong doing. You have systems that make sure that the financial
:05:26. > :05:32.reporting is as rigorous as it can be. If someone in the Academy or in
:05:32. > :05:36.any other school set about to do wrong doing, you cannot have a 100%
:05:36. > :05:40.secure system. Opponents of the academy system claim that they are
:05:40. > :05:46.not accountable enough. Hasn't this proved those fears absolutely
:05:46. > :05:50.right? I don't think that at all. I think it has proved that when the
:05:50. > :05:55.concerns are bought to the attention of the department, we at
:05:55. > :06:00.very swiftly to address them. The fact is that the reporting system
:06:00. > :06:04.and financial monitoring in place in academies are more rigorous than
:06:04. > :06:10.in maintained schools. These problems are fortunately very small
:06:10. > :06:15.in number, but they have happened just as they have been maintained
:06:15. > :06:19.schools as in this case. And your message for the parents? The four
:06:19. > :06:25.schools in this federation are excellent and the improvement in
:06:25. > :06:35.performance I really welcome. That is the thing to focus on. They are
:06:35. > :06:36.
:06:36. > :06:40.strong schools and should be confident in knowing that.
:06:40. > :06:43.I'd like to hear your thoughts on the issue of academies. Is your
:06:43. > :06:46.child at one or maybe due to start one in September? Maybe you're a
:06:46. > :06:56.pupil who's watching tonight? Do you think they're a good thing for
:06:56. > :06:57.
:06:57. > :07:04.our education system? Please contact us. I look forward to
:07:04. > :07:07.hearing from year. You can read more on this story on a website.
:07:07. > :07:13.In a moment: How cruise liners could help Hull to bring in more
:07:13. > :07:16.tourist money. Businesses in part of East
:07:16. > :07:20.Yorkshire have been clearing up after heavy rain saw the River
:07:20. > :07:24.Derwent burst its banks. There's been more than 40 millimetres of
:07:24. > :07:27.rain in some places over the last twenty four hours. The worst
:07:27. > :07:32.affected area was Stamford Bridge, where people staying at one caravan
:07:32. > :07:35.park were asked to leave for their own safety. Our environment
:07:35. > :07:45.correspondent Siobhan Robbins has spent the day there. Siobhan,
:07:45. > :07:46.
:07:46. > :07:51.what's the situation there now? It is actually just started to rain
:07:51. > :07:56.here, bad news for Stamford Bridge, one of the worst-hit areas in our
:07:56. > :08:00.patch. The water level has gone down a little. At lunchtime the
:08:00. > :08:06.level was about here, after a few hours of pumping it has gone all
:08:06. > :08:10.the way back to hear. It is quite shallow at the front and a little
:08:10. > :08:15.higher further back. Most of the flooding in Stamford Bridge seems
:08:15. > :08:19.to have been isolated to this area around the River Derwent and the
:08:19. > :08:24.caravan park behind me. Much of this morning was spent clearing up.
:08:24. > :08:28.This is the result of one of the wettest April as on record. After
:08:28. > :08:33.weeks of heavy rain, the River Derwent broke its banks in part to
:08:33. > :08:38.Stamford Bridge. Tenants at a nearby caravan -- caravan site were
:08:38. > :08:42.forced to leave. The warden came in at 8:30am and
:08:42. > :08:47.said they had been advised by the fire brigade to evacuate the site
:08:47. > :08:52.because in the next 12 hours it would probably end of the site.
:08:52. > :08:56.was going to say it -- stay on the best of the toilets my back up.
:08:56. > :09:02.Around the corner, the local pub had been hit, but the landlord was
:09:02. > :09:07.prepared. We are used to it by now. As soon as the pump start, half of
:09:07. > :09:12.this water will have gone. A couple of hours and hope the back to
:09:12. > :09:16.normal. Stamford Bridge has always been prone to flooding so many were
:09:16. > :09:24.not surprised. Norman Smith watched all morning as though water lapped
:09:24. > :09:28.up the drive of his home. First thing this morning it was running
:09:28. > :09:33.along the brickwork here and now it is going down very slightly. It is
:09:33. > :09:37.getting better. Proms have been pushing the water back into the
:09:37. > :09:41.will rebel all day and away from the town. The race is on to remove
:09:41. > :09:46.all of this flooding before there is more rain.
:09:46. > :09:50.As you can see, the river behind me is still quite high and this area
:09:50. > :09:55.is on a flood warning which means that action needs to be taken like
:09:55. > :09:59.the pumping that is happening there. Around the low-lying areas there is
:09:59. > :10:05.a flood alert which means the Environment Agency will be my
:10:05. > :10:08.knitting those areas and in Lincolnshire, the RAF are just
:10:08. > :10:12.three mm of their record rainfall level and there are concerns that
:10:12. > :10:16.if there is more rain on the weekend, situations like this could
:10:16. > :10:21.get worse. Thank you very much indeed. Paul
:10:21. > :10:24.will have the forecast in a moment. A man has been jailed for 12 months
:10:24. > :10:26.after he abandoned his car on a railway track during a high-speed
:10:26. > :10:28.police chase through Hull. This police footage shows the chase,
:10:28. > :10:32.which took place through residential areas at more than
:10:32. > :10:35.twice the speed limit. 41-year-old Gavin Steed drove onto the train
:10:35. > :10:45.line, an approaching train was only stopped after a police helicopter
:10:45. > :10:46.
:10:46. > :10:54.alerted the driver. Steed had admitted all the charges. A train
:10:54. > :11:02.travelling from Lincoln station has been derailed after a landslide. It
:11:02. > :11:06.is thought that a number of people have suffered minor injuries.
:11:06. > :11:10.A A �44 million reservoir is to be built near Lincoln. Anglian Water
:11:10. > :11:20.says it will supply homes and businesses in the city. It is
:11:20. > :11:22.
:11:22. > :11:25.suspected to be finished in the next two years.
:11:25. > :11:29.There's a warning this evening that a "drastic shortage" of council
:11:29. > :11:31.houses in Lincoln will lead to a crisis in the city. It's one of
:11:31. > :11:34.many issues being debated by politicians ahead of the local
:11:34. > :11:37.elections next week. Managers at the YMCA have told the BBC that
:11:37. > :11:39.unless there is more investment in housing stock the crisis will only
:11:39. > :11:42.get worse. Sherron Edwards reports. Been Clemence moved into the
:11:42. > :11:46.Lincoln YMCA a year ago after becoming homeless. He said he is
:11:46. > :11:52.now ready to move on but is stuck because of a lack of council
:11:52. > :11:58.housing. He has been warned that he could face a wait of three years.
:11:58. > :12:03.If I could move out now and free up the space and free up the support,
:12:03. > :12:08.I definitely would. Obviously circumstances are, I can't because
:12:08. > :12:13.of the waiting-list. The Lincoln YMCA offers more than a place to
:12:13. > :12:18.live, it helps people look for work and permanent accommodation. It is
:12:18. > :12:22.fall and has a waiting list. It is seeing more people stuck in the
:12:22. > :12:26.system waiting for a council house. If I were to use the word
:12:26. > :12:30.catastrophic, that would be a strong word in relation to the
:12:30. > :12:36.situation, but across the country there is a dire need to enable
:12:36. > :12:39.people to be able to move be moved from places like the YMCA.
:12:40. > :12:45.Lincoln? There is more accommodation required and
:12:45. > :12:49.currently there is a dry sticks shortage. There are around 2500
:12:49. > :12:54.people waiting for a property owned by the city council. The authority
:12:54. > :13:01.has seen its stock dwindle under the right-to-buy scheme. 20 years
:13:01. > :13:05.ago, it own 20,000 homes today, just 8000. Housing is one of the
:13:05. > :13:10.most important issues facing the authority which goes to the polls
:13:10. > :13:15.next week. One third of the seats are up for re-election this year.
:13:15. > :13:19.Currently Labour controls the authority with 17 seats. The
:13:20. > :13:23.Conservatives have 14. One Liberal Democrat and one independent.
:13:23. > :13:29.would look at all the empty properties around the city and
:13:29. > :13:34.bring those back into use. That would read it -- reduce our housing
:13:34. > :13:38.issue by a considerable amount. key theme for us has got to be
:13:38. > :13:44.helping people with the impact of the current recession and that
:13:44. > :13:48.means, essentially, addressing the housing crisis. There is no reason
:13:48. > :13:51.at all now the government has bought in a better policy for
:13:51. > :13:57.letting us keep council house rents that we can use that income to
:13:57. > :14:00.build more council homes. This week, the Lincoln YMCA moved five people
:14:00. > :14:04.from the hostel into this city centre house, but there are many
:14:04. > :14:08.other people waiting for the authorities to build enough homes
:14:08. > :14:11.all. They could be waiting a long time.
:14:11. > :14:17.And if you want more information on the local elections next week,
:14:17. > :14:20.there's much more on the website at bbc.co.uk/vote2012.
:14:20. > :14:24.Still ahead tonight: The little football club ready to join its
:14:24. > :14:34.bigger neighbours. The art work bringing back memories
:14:34. > :14:36.
:14:36. > :14:46.The Port of Hull has ambitions to become an important cruise ship
:14:46. > :14:58.
:14:58. > :15:07.Peter says, airport is spot on with his forecast.
:15:07. > :15:09.A goodness me, can I keep that? Do you want to read the forecast?
:15:09. > :15:15.Do you want to read the forecast? Watchet tonight! Let's have a look
:15:15. > :15:20.at the headline for the next 24 hours. It is a very unsettled one.
:15:20. > :15:27.Tomorrow will be the best day of the weekend with a lot of cloud,
:15:27. > :15:33.but hopefully brightening up after the weekend. Look what happens on
:15:33. > :15:38.Sunday, an intense low-pressure bringing heavy rain and strong wind.
:15:38. > :15:44.The Met Office have a warning in place already. Yorkshire has had
:15:44. > :15:49.its wettest April on record so far and Lincolnshire will follow. An
:15:49. > :15:54.incredible month. You can see the cloud but bought the rain today. It
:15:54. > :16:01.brightened up at times and has not been too bad. Overnight, the cloud
:16:01. > :16:07.will thicken with it some pieces of rain especially across Lincolnshire.
:16:07. > :16:14.Further north, a lot of drier weather to come. Temperatures
:16:14. > :16:21.around 5 or 6 degrees. The sun will rise in the morning at 5:31am and
:16:21. > :16:27.setting at 8:28pm. A largely cloudy start. I think there will be a
:16:27. > :16:32.little bit of patchy light rain across Lincolnshire. And in
:16:32. > :16:37.consider -- M insignificant amount. Skies brightening across Yorkshire
:16:38. > :16:42.with hazy sunshine coming through. Eight chilly wind coming in from
:16:42. > :16:52.the north-east. We will seek top temperatures around eight or nine
:16:52. > :16:52.
:16:52. > :16:57.degrees. Who might squeeze 10 Celsius further north. The early
:16:57. > :17:02.warning for heavy rain on Sunday from the Met Office. It looks to be
:17:02. > :17:07.a miserable day with gale-force wind in exposed places. They could
:17:07. > :17:16.be localised flooding to come, but next week shows a big improvement.
:17:16. > :17:20.Things settle down. I saw that coming. We got away with
:17:20. > :17:26.I saw that coming. We got away with that. Go a way!
:17:26. > :17:30.Have a nice weekend. It is hoped that the increase and the number of
:17:30. > :17:33.cruises in Hull could bring millions of pounds into the city.
:17:33. > :17:36.The liner Ocean Countess has been visiting the city to announce it is
:17:36. > :17:38.to increase the number of sailings. The ship's current destinations
:17:38. > :17:40.include Scandinavia, Northern France and the Channel Islands.
:17:40. > :17:43.Tourism bosses say cruise ships have the potential to significantly
:17:43. > :17:48.contribute to Hull's local economy. Here's our Business Correspondent
:17:48. > :17:53.Paul Murphy. Cruising is a multi-million-pound
:17:53. > :17:57.industry and Hull wants a slice of the action. 700 passengers were
:17:57. > :18:03.returning from a week-long cruise this morning. The first time we
:18:03. > :18:07.have been on a cruise and it was wonderful. Out of this world.
:18:07. > :18:12.are a lot of people that have come on this simply because it was easy
:18:12. > :18:17.to get to. The industry is more readily associated with ports like
:18:17. > :18:23.Southampton, but interest in sailing from Hull has been growing.
:18:23. > :18:31.This year, around 15,000 passengers are expected to travel through a
:18:31. > :18:40.hole but the ambition is to do things on a big gap scale. Just
:18:40. > :18:47.today we are turning around 1500 passengers, 70 -- 700 this morning,
:18:47. > :18:52.700 this afternoon. All of which I using local facilities in the towel.
:18:52. > :18:58.And across the Pennines they have already shown how cruise ships can
:18:58. > :19:03.transform an economy. Welcome to be sunny city of Liverpool! Here, much
:19:03. > :19:08.larger vessels carry up to 2000 passengers each. The industry is
:19:08. > :19:13.worth millions. You get people coming to stay for one or two
:19:13. > :19:17.nights before. You also get the opportunity for maritime industries.
:19:17. > :19:21.But something needs looking at, maintenance on the ship,
:19:21. > :19:28.potentially feed supplies, there are other areas that will benefit
:19:28. > :19:32.from those kinds of things. That is why in Hull they have been giving
:19:32. > :19:36.serious thought to the idea of the best boat cruise terminal close to
:19:36. > :19:42.the city centre will. The cruise sector is a massive growing
:19:42. > :19:49.industry in the UK. We have got longer term aspirations for a city
:19:49. > :19:56.cruise terminal. In the meantime, we are starting small. We seem to
:19:56. > :20:01.be having success. Tonight, another 700 passengers were boarding the
:20:01. > :20:08.ocean Countess. This is a local industry in its infancy, but one
:20:08. > :20:12.with big ambitions. Hull City manager Nick Barmby says
:20:12. > :20:15.he wants up to six new players in his squad for next season. The
:20:15. > :20:17.Tigers just missed out on the play- offs this season despite this win
:20:17. > :20:23.against Nottingham Forest last weekend and Barmby believes the
:20:23. > :20:29.squad will have to be strengthened this summer. A good four or five
:20:29. > :20:35.editions, we need to be stronger. It caught up on us in March with
:20:36. > :20:38.the amount of games, so we know our targets and we know how strong the
:20:38. > :20:41.squad needs to be. Well, of all our teams, it's
:20:41. > :20:44.possibly Gainsborough Trinity who are facing the biggest and most
:20:44. > :20:48.important tomorrow. The non league side need just one point from their
:20:48. > :20:50.game at Altrincham to qualify for the promotion play offs. It means
:20:50. > :21:00.they could be facing neighbours Lincoln City and Grimsby Town next
:21:00. > :21:00.
:21:00. > :21:04.season, as Simon Clark reports. Gainsborough, a humble ground for a
:21:04. > :21:11.humble team, but could it now be hosting clashes against its
:21:11. > :21:14.neighbours Lincoln City and Grimsby Town? Promotion seems an accessible
:21:14. > :21:21.when Brian Little was sacked weeks into the season after a poor start,
:21:21. > :21:26.but since Steve took over, there has been a transformation. The
:21:26. > :21:30.former Scunthorpe United player found the winning formula. I took
:21:30. > :21:37.over the reins as a caretaker and it was a joy because I live in
:21:37. > :21:43.Gainsborough. Everything felt right for us. We were on a great run and
:21:43. > :21:49.only lost once in 11 games to start with. Trinity needs just 11 points
:21:49. > :21:53.in a dramatic race for promotion. This is no collection of butchers,
:21:53. > :22:01.bakers and candlestick makers. Local talent is sprinkled with
:22:01. > :22:05.League experience like shame Clarke and X tiny gap Ryan Williams.
:22:05. > :22:10.them to come here, it would be fantastic for the town and great
:22:10. > :22:16.for the football club. I think it is something they can be proud of.
:22:16. > :22:20.Peter Swan bankrolls the club and he has done the maths. We had a
:22:20. > :22:25.good result earlier in the season and it is in our hands. If we win
:22:25. > :22:29.the match or draw the match, we are in the play-offs. We don't have to
:22:29. > :22:34.rely on anyone else. Preparations for this game have been far from
:22:35. > :22:38.ideal. Last night, an artificial service in the town was the only
:22:38. > :22:41.patch of ground these hopefuls could find.
:22:41. > :22:46.There's full commentary of Gainsborough's big match tomorrow.
:22:46. > :22:48.The match at Altrincham will be on BBC Lincolnshire. The game kicks
:22:48. > :22:50.off at 3om. Before that, fans of Lincoln City
:22:50. > :22:53.can listen to the Imps game against Ebbsfleet.
:22:53. > :22:55.On BBC Radio Humberside there will be coverage of Hull City's match
:22:55. > :22:59.against West Ham. And Scunthorpe United's home game against
:22:59. > :23:05.Bournemouth. Saturday Sport will begin at noon
:23:05. > :23:09.with Grimsby Town's match against Southport.
:23:09. > :23:13.A mural showing the life and times of one street in Hull is almost
:23:13. > :23:17.finished - 20 years after it was first started. This huge painting
:23:17. > :23:23.is aimed at capturing the spirit of Hessle Road - which was once the
:23:23. > :23:33.very heart and soul of the city's fishing industry. Simon Spark has
:23:33. > :23:34.
:23:34. > :23:39.been along to see the final touches. It is an idea thought of 20 years
:23:39. > :23:44.ago, but only now or is it getting its finishing touches. It is aim to
:23:44. > :23:53.capture the spirit of one of the most famous roads in Hull, has all
:23:53. > :23:57.road. Once the heart of Hull -- Hull's fishing city and most
:23:57. > :24:05.importantly its people. A History George Michie thought was too
:24:05. > :24:10.important to forget. I just wanted to capture the spirit of the road.
:24:10. > :24:17.Hessle Road was a separate community and it is a shame if
:24:17. > :24:21.everything about Hessle Road is forgotten. We remember Lou blocker,
:24:21. > :24:27.she voted for the rights of the trawler men to get better
:24:27. > :24:36.facilities. But there is still one more face to paint and that will be
:24:36. > :24:42.of Jack Harrison, that legendary X Hull FC player who scored 52 tries
:24:42. > :24:48.in one season. He was killed in World War One, but was awarded the
:24:48. > :24:52.Cross for bravery. It is a bit of a challenge trying to paint from a
:24:52. > :24:59.black-and-white with the Tote's -- with no tones and skin colours, but
:24:59. > :25:04.an enjoyable challenge. We were there to see it take shape. It is
:25:05. > :25:10.absolutely great. Brilliant. It may be finished much later than they
:25:10. > :25:15.had hoped, but the memories painted here will keep the spirit of has
:25:15. > :25:18.all rode a live for many more years to come. The man who thought of the
:25:18. > :25:22.idea will be there too. -- Hessle Road.
:25:22. > :25:25.Let's get a recap of the national and regional headlines:
:25:25. > :25:29.A report find serious failings in the financial management of a group
:25:29. > :25:31.of Lincolnshire academies. Outlook for tomorrow: Most places
:25:31. > :25:41.dry with some sunny intervals although one or two light showers
:25:41. > :25:42.
:25:42. > :25:48.are possible. Maximum temperature 10 Celsius.
:25:48. > :25:53.That Academy story, an interesting e-mail here. I am a teacher and I
:25:53. > :25:57.would like to express my dismay at the findings today. It is never
:25:57. > :26:01.could -- negative publicity where staff and students give everything
:26:01. > :26:06.to achieve good results. It is clear our results have improved
:26:06. > :26:11.since becoming an academy. That is from a teacher.
:26:11. > :26:16.From a 12 year-old: The Priory has supported me through my GCSEs and I
:26:16. > :26:20.cannot fault the school and its teachers for the outstanding