:00:08. > :00:11.Good evening. The government says it's considering extending the
:00:12. > :00:16.motorway from London into Lincolnshire. It's refused to
:00:17. > :00:20.formally commit to the plan to extend the M11 from Cambridge but
:00:21. > :00:24.says it's one of a number of ideas being discussed for the next round
:00:25. > :00:32.of funding in six years' time. Simon Spark reports from Spalding.
:00:33. > :00:39.Lincolnshire's roads as we know them now. Many single carriageway, slowed
:00:40. > :00:42.by many lorries. No wonder that even the slightest possibility of
:00:43. > :00:48.extending the M11 into Lincolnshire has got people talking. It's bad
:00:49. > :00:54.enough on the rows right now without there being more lorries. Good idea,
:00:55. > :00:59.get down to London quicker! At the moment, the M11 runs from London to
:01:00. > :01:03.Cambridge. Extending it could see it running through Lincolnshire all the
:01:04. > :01:07.way to the Humber Bridge. This is only one idea with their proposed
:01:08. > :01:12.plans at present. But an extension is being considered as part of the
:01:13. > :01:16.next round of road funding beginning in 2020. The Department for
:01:17. > :01:19.Transport say they are currently working closely with local
:01:20. > :01:23.authorities and enterprise partnerships to study the challenges
:01:24. > :01:28.that exist across the road network. The first stages of these strategies
:01:29. > :01:33.will be published in 2014 with further details announced in 2015.
:01:34. > :01:38.Many think a motorway could have huge advantages, taking articulated
:01:39. > :01:43.lorries off the single carriageways. Others feel it would boost tourism,
:01:44. > :01:47.giving easy access to the east coast. Others say it would rip
:01:48. > :01:50.through the natural beauty of our rural county, something Lincolnshire
:01:51. > :01:57.has managed to preserve for so long. At this logistics forum in
:01:58. > :02:01.Spalding, where hauliers were meeting to discuss the problems of
:02:02. > :02:04.the road network, the benefits outweighed the consequences. With a
:02:05. > :02:08.new road infrastructure around and the volume of the calls we have
:02:09. > :02:14.going to this area, it would be a huge benefit. At the moment we are
:02:15. > :02:17.one of the areas that are saturated with produce companies. We have a
:02:18. > :02:24.huge number of lorries coming both in and out of South Holland at the
:02:25. > :02:27.moment, so anything to bring dual carriageways or even a motorway, as
:02:28. > :02:32.we are talking about in this instance, would be a huge benefit.
:02:33. > :02:35.Whether its many people want or not, it would be the backing of the
:02:36. > :02:44.County Council, which it doesn't have. It would be countryside people
:02:45. > :02:48.would be driving through. That is not good value for money. It would
:02:49. > :02:51.take another 10`year is before a motorway would be reality, with
:02:52. > :02:56.plenty of time for debate before then.
:02:57. > :02:59.Inspectors say there have been improvements at a hospital trust
:03:00. > :03:02.which was placed under special measures last July. The Care Quality
:03:03. > :03:04.Commission says standards are better at Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Goole
:03:05. > :03:07.hospitals. But the increased scrutiny from the government into
:03:08. > :03:09.the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Trust will continue.
:03:10. > :03:14.Petrol stations have reported a rise in the number of people stealing
:03:15. > :03:17.petrol and diesel from forecourts. Police say two van drivers are
:03:18. > :03:21.thought to be responsible for nearly 30 cases of fuel theft in the East
:03:22. > :03:25.Riding since the beginning of the year. Two men have so far been
:03:26. > :03:28.arrested and bailed but officers are looking for more.
:03:29. > :03:32.Unemployment has fallen across the country, but for thousands of older
:03:33. > :03:37.people in our area, the hunt to find work goes on. One job seeker in his
:03:38. > :03:41.50s says the government must do more to help people, his age and over,
:03:42. > :03:49.back into work. Gemma Dawson has been taking a closer look at the
:03:50. > :03:54.figures. The national fall in unemployment is
:03:55. > :03:59.echoed in our area. In Yorkshire and the Humber, 240,000 people are now
:04:00. > :04:04.out of work, that is a fall of 8,000 on the previous three months. In the
:04:05. > :04:08.East Midlands, which includes Lincolnshire, 162,000 people are
:04:09. > :04:13.unemployed, which is a drop of 4,000. While the figures show that
:04:14. > :04:16.more people are in work, for many, the struggle to find a job
:04:17. > :04:20.continues. He has spent hours improving his
:04:21. > :04:28.computer skills and has travelled to see a business advisor to help him
:04:29. > :04:31.set up his own bitter row each company but this man is hoping this
:04:32. > :04:34.job is fair in Lincoln will help him find part`time employment. I may go
:04:35. > :04:37.home and think that was a waste of time. On the other hand, I might get
:04:38. > :04:43.something positive out of it. I just spoke to one person, he said, yes,
:04:44. > :04:48.I'd like to employ you, but you are a bit too old. Stefan is in his 50s
:04:49. > :04:53.and he used to work in a hotel, and before that, as a care assistant,
:04:54. > :04:56.but he has been out of work for 17 years due to his epilepsy. He was
:04:57. > :05:02.declared fit for work more than a year ago so now needs to find a job.
:05:03. > :05:06.I always did say I could work. I am as capable of doing most jobs as
:05:07. > :05:12.anybody. Office work, factory work, but there needs to be more help with
:05:13. > :05:15.opening doors, getting into opportunities, maybe more help
:05:16. > :05:20.getting work experience, qualifications. I also feel there
:05:21. > :05:24.needs to be a little bit more hands`on training. Here, he gets the
:05:25. > :05:30.chance to get his points to the Lincoln MP. As the MP, I facilitated
:05:31. > :05:34.the jobs that because I want to put people together, people out of work
:05:35. > :05:38.with companies that are advertising. But some people say
:05:39. > :05:43.they are still struggling to find work. Either the positions I am
:05:44. > :05:49.looking at require experience of qualifications I haven't got, or
:05:50. > :05:52.they are looking for people without any qualifications. It's not easy to
:05:53. > :05:57.find work when you are older if the young ones are not getting the
:05:58. > :06:02.jobs. How are we going to get a job at nearly 60? As opposed the thing I
:06:03. > :06:06.would say that you could take heart from is the fact that employment
:06:07. > :06:11.rates for the over 50s have increased, the fact more people now
:06:12. > :06:14.have got into work, and that unemployment is falling. But for
:06:15. > :06:19.Stefan, his search for work continues.
:06:20. > :06:23.The Prime Minister says today's figures show the economy is moving
:06:24. > :06:27.forward but critics say that many of these jobs are low paid and
:06:28. > :06:29.part`time and, as we have seen, not everyone is finding it easy to get a
:06:30. > :06:31.job. Time to get the weather now with
:06:32. > :06:39.Keeley. After a pleasant day today, it is
:06:40. > :06:44.going to become more unsubtle Dover night, which is the theme for
:06:45. > :06:48.tomorrow as well. It is becoming breezy out there, becoming dusty as
:06:49. > :06:54.a band of rain pushes eastwards. The main band of rain moves away, so we
:06:55. > :07:01.have drizzly conditions. It is a mild night. It is windy as well. The
:07:02. > :07:05.winds continue tomorrow. Further spells of rain through the morning
:07:06. > :07:10.tending to turn showery in nature but we will see a good deal of dry
:07:11. > :07:15.and bright weather, with some showers heavy and thundery. The
:07:16. > :07:18.temperatures reflect the morning temperatures, tending to drop off
:07:19. > :07:22.into single figures through the afternoon.
:07:23. > :07:26.That's all from the late team. Newsnight is on BBC Two now. The
:07:27. > :07:29.latest on the truce in the Ukraine. We're back in the morning just after
:07:30. > :07:41.6:25am. Goodbye for now. Friday, a fine day. For the weekend,
:07:42. > :07:49.here is the BBC National weather. We have got rain and wind in the
:07:50. > :07:53.forecast, but the good news is that it is not severe. Over the next 24
:07:54. > :07:59.hours, some of us will get rain and the winds will be strengthening Not
:08:00. > :08:02.stormy at this stage. This is the satellite picture, you can see the
:08:03. > :08:06.low pressure in the North Atlantic shunting weather fronts in our
:08:07. > :08:12.direction. It has been raining heavily in parts of western
:08:13. > :08:17.Scotland. Tonight, the rain will be splashing its way across the UK The
:08:18. > :08:23.wind will be freshening as well particularly across western areas.
:08:24. > :08:26.Very breezy in land. Most of the rainfall will be across western
:08:27. > :08:31.parts of Scotland, maybe the hills of Wales, into the south-west. The
:08:32. > :08:39.further east you are, the least amount of rain will fall. A very
:08:40. > :08:42.mild night, seven, eight or nine degrees. After a cloudy and wet
:08:43. > :08:43.start tomorrow, the wind will blow