:00:00. > :00:00.That's all from the team here in news where you are.
:00:00. > :00:07.Welcome to Tuesday's Look North. In tonight's headlines: spiralling
:00:08. > :00:10.clean`up costs ` an influential group of MPs describes the price of
:00:11. > :00:16.decommissioning Sellafield as "astonishing".
:00:17. > :00:19.A Northumberland coach company is accused of falsifying driver
:00:20. > :00:23.records. Searching for a safer net ` a new
:00:24. > :00:26.poll suggests some parents are out of touch with the dangers their
:00:27. > :00:29.children face online. And the region's oldest company is
:00:30. > :00:35.facing closure through lack of demand.
:00:36. > :00:39.In sport: we hear from Gus Poyet as Sunderland go in search of their
:00:40. > :00:41.first win at Manchester City in more than 30 years.
:00:42. > :00:43.And the unique link`up with Northern Ireland that's helping Team
:00:44. > :00:58.Northumbria climb netball's Superleague.
:00:59. > :01:02.An influential group of MPs has condemned the rising costs of
:01:03. > :01:05.de`commissioning at Sellafield as "astonishing". The Public Accounts
:01:06. > :01:09.Committee has been told that the cost to the taxpayer of cleaning up
:01:10. > :01:16.the nuclear site has risen to ?70 billion. It comes just a year after
:01:17. > :01:23.the same group of MPs criticised delays and over`spends at the plant.
:01:24. > :01:27.This is the third time the committee has looked at the spiralling costs
:01:28. > :01:30.of clean up at the nuclear site, and each time members have been highly
:01:31. > :01:34.critical. In one instance, the cost of one project almost doubled to
:01:35. > :01:45.?730 million in just over a year. MPs say it's just not good enough.
:01:46. > :01:50.The consortium of companies that were brought in to improve
:01:51. > :01:58.efficiency on the site have walked away with ?230 million and have not
:01:59. > :02:04.added to the efficiency. They have not project managed. They have
:02:05. > :02:10.brought in people from outside who earn an average of ?300,000 per
:02:11. > :02:13.year. That is a lot for this region. And yet the nuclear decommissioning
:02:14. > :02:19.authority has simply renewed their contract.
:02:20. > :02:21.In their defence these companies say that what we are dealing with at
:02:22. > :02:28.Sellafield is a unique and complex challenge. They say that in the past
:02:29. > :02:31.12 months, progress has been made since the last report by the Public
:02:32. > :02:39.Accounts Committee. The knowledge that the latest report suggests
:02:40. > :02:42.things must improve. The committee has now issued a string of
:02:43. > :02:58.recommendations to the NBA, including setting out how it will
:02:59. > :03:01.review the performance. `` N D a. People should have made arrangements
:03:02. > :03:08.for disposing of dangerous nuclear waste and that did not happen. We
:03:09. > :03:25.are now dependent on this organisation to get a grip and to
:03:26. > :03:29.improve its performance. So Mark, what happens if these costs continue
:03:30. > :03:31.to spiral out of control? 's Jeff, you've heard a few of the
:03:32. > :03:35.recommendations that Margaret Hodge and the Public Accounts Committee
:03:36. > :03:37.have made in the light of their report.
:03:38. > :03:40.Chief among them is this insistence that the contract that the NDA
:03:41. > :03:43.renewed with the NMP last year should be looked at again just 12
:03:44. > :03:47.months down the line. And Margaret Hodge is quite clear ` if problems
:03:48. > :03:51.persist, if costs continue to go uip, if NMP continue to make the
:03:52. > :03:54.kind of mistakes the committee has accused them of, then Margaret Hodge
:03:55. > :03:57.says the contract should be torn up. And earlier today, the Copeland MP,
:03:58. > :04:01.Jamie Reed said he welcomed this report and said "business as usual
:04:02. > :04:05.is NOT an option." So some pressure all round to get this under control
:04:06. > :04:07.` the NDA and the NMP told us in statements that they believe they
:04:08. > :04:19.will. A North East coach company is being
:04:20. > :04:22.being taken to court, accused of falsifying driver records. Howard
:04:23. > :04:25.Snaith Coach Travel runs a number of school bus services. The case is
:04:26. > :04:31.expected to go before magistrates next month.
:04:32. > :04:34.This family run company has been accused of falsifying their driver
:04:35. > :04:36.records. The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency has been
:04:37. > :04:39.investigating their tachograph charts. It's understood the charges
:04:40. > :04:42.relate to how many consecutive days drivers have been behind the wheel.
:04:43. > :04:46.And how many rest days they've taken. Northumberland County Council
:04:47. > :04:52.has 60 school transport contracts along with six public bus services
:04:53. > :04:56.with Howard Snaith Coach Travel. The company has been operating since
:04:57. > :04:59.1971. They started out as a one man operation before buying more and
:05:00. > :05:02.more coaches. They run trips to places such as Harrogate and
:05:03. > :05:07.Edinburgh. Along with their school bus services. The owners say they
:05:08. > :05:10.are appalled by the allegations. Rather than answering questions they
:05:11. > :05:19.would only read out a brief statement.
:05:20. > :05:23.We deny any wrongdoing. The first hearing is some weeks away and so
:05:24. > :05:29.far we have not been served any evidence. This is all I can say
:05:30. > :05:32.right now. You cannot tell us how you feel?
:05:33. > :05:36.No comment. VOSA tell us the case is due before
:05:37. > :05:37.Newcastle Magistrates on the fourth March.
:05:38. > :05:38.Howard Snaith Coach Travel's solicitors say they strongly deny
:05:39. > :05:47.any wrongdoing. The A1 was closed in both directions
:05:48. > :05:50.in North Yorkshire today as emergency services dealt with a
:05:51. > :05:53.lorry fire. It happened at Dishforth, near Junction 49. Smoke
:05:54. > :05:59.from the blaze blew across both carriageways and diversions were put
:06:00. > :06:01.in place. No`one was hurt. The new head teacher of one of
:06:02. > :06:05.Workington's troubled secondary schools left his last job at an
:06:06. > :06:08.academy in North Tyneside after just four months. David Dawes became head
:06:09. > :06:13.teacher of failing Stainburn School yesterday. It's in the running to be
:06:14. > :06:16.turned into an Academy with Southfield Technology College. Mr
:06:17. > :06:20.Dawes led the controversial merger of a private school with a primary
:06:21. > :06:23.to create the King's Priory Academy in North Tyneside. He stood down at
:06:24. > :06:28.Christmas over what were called "vision differences".
:06:29. > :06:31.More than ?4 million is to be spent on flood prevention schemes in
:06:32. > :06:34.County Durham over the next 14 months. The areas earmarked for the
:06:35. > :06:36.cash have been identified following significant flooding caused by
:06:37. > :06:40.extreme rainfall in 2012. Eleven schemes have been approved and work
:06:41. > :06:47.on two of them will start as early as next month.
:06:48. > :06:50.Parents are still out of touch when it comes to the dangers faced by
:06:51. > :06:54.children and teenagers using the internet. That's according to a BBC
:06:55. > :06:57.poll, out today, in support of Safer internet day. Almost one in five
:06:58. > :07:00.children who use tablets or smartphones said they'd been upset
:07:01. > :07:06.by something they'd seen online in the last year, and half were worried
:07:07. > :07:09.by sexual content. Stephanie Cleasby joins me in the
:07:10. > :07:18.studio now. So many parents are unaware of the negative impact that
:07:19. > :07:24.the internet can have on children. More than 4000 adults and children
:07:25. > :07:27.were spoken to and almost one in five children who have used tablets
:07:28. > :07:31.or smartphones said they were upset by something they had seen online.
:07:32. > :07:38.Half of them were worried by sexual content. This is double the figure
:07:39. > :07:43.that parents thought. The majority of children are using devices and
:07:44. > :07:47.supervised. Some schools are making tablets part of the learning
:07:48. > :07:57.process. I went to one school in Newcastle to talk to some children
:07:58. > :08:05.there. Mostly today we have learned about the dangers on the internet.
:08:06. > :08:09.My parents check my Facebook everyday.
:08:10. > :08:16.You have to be careful who you talk to. People can send you messages and
:08:17. > :08:23.you don't know who they are so you need to be careful who you are
:08:24. > :08:32.talking to. My mum and dad use the same websites at home.
:08:33. > :08:35.What do the experts say? With children spending more time
:08:36. > :08:40.online than ever before for education, playing games or
:08:41. > :08:57.socialising, lessons in internet safety are now more important than
:08:58. > :09:03.ever. An expert at this conference today believes that the online world
:09:04. > :09:07.needs to be better policed. You need to be a celebrity to get protection
:09:08. > :09:13.these days. If you are being bullied online. If you are just some child
:09:14. > :09:18.at school, then you suffer in silence. That is not good enough and
:09:19. > :09:22.there needs to be a better solution. It is time for parents to do more
:09:23. > :09:32.but also for this Government to sit up and take notice.
:09:33. > :09:36.The message is that for young people they should feel safe online and
:09:37. > :09:39.report anything that upsets them. Also that parents should feel
:09:40. > :09:49.confident to discuss internet with children.
:09:50. > :09:52.They've been educating children in the countryside for hundreds of
:09:53. > :09:55.years, but many small village schools have received a stark
:09:56. > :09:58.warning: change the way you operate or face possible closure. In North
:09:59. > :10:01.Yorkshire alone, nine rural schools have closed in recent years against
:10:02. > :10:04.a back drop of council cuts and falling pupil numbers. Plans are now
:10:05. > :10:07.being considered by North Yorkshire County Council that would see every
:10:08. > :10:18.school sharing their expertise and even head teachers. It may be a
:10:19. > :10:24.small village school but there are few with views like this. Kellbank
:10:25. > :10:30.School has been teaching children for 200 years. It is reliant on just
:10:31. > :10:34.to surrounding villages for its pupils.
:10:35. > :10:41.I like it here because everybody welcomes you with open arms. If you
:10:42. > :10:45.get something wrong able help you. Kellbank School is one of 75 schools
:10:46. > :10:50.in north Yorkshire with fewer than 50 pupils. How does a small school
:10:51. > :10:57.like this survived when faced with cuts and pupil numbers rising or
:10:58. > :11:02.falling? For the last few years, Kellbank School has had a secret
:11:03. > :11:11.weapon. This woman is a business manager.
:11:12. > :11:17.It has worked for us. It is a model that seems to have made a
:11:18. > :11:22.difference. We can direct the resources where we need to.
:11:23. > :11:26.Across this region, many village schools have not been so fortunate.
:11:27. > :11:30.In Cumbria, five village schools have been lost in recent years.
:11:31. > :11:39.Across the North East, other schools have also gone. Nine village schools
:11:40. > :11:44.have been lost in North Yorkshire. Here in the Yorkshire Dales, this
:11:45. > :11:48.small school has taken steps to secure its own long`term future. The
:11:49. > :11:57.school has developed a working partnership with the nearby
:11:58. > :12:04.secondary school. To make financial savings, this man has been appointed
:12:05. > :12:08.headteacher of both schools. He travels between them two or three
:12:09. > :12:12.times a week. The partnership means that both schools can share teaching
:12:13. > :12:18.expertise and save thousands of pounds.
:12:19. > :12:24.I think the days of very small schools having just one headteacher
:12:25. > :12:28.and working in isolation are gone. Through working in partnership we
:12:29. > :12:35.can not only sustained education in the area, but improve it as well.
:12:36. > :12:39.Some small schools have struggled to attract headteachers or qualified
:12:40. > :12:45.teachers, given the uncertainty over their future. This has potential to
:12:46. > :12:49.guaranteed education and make sure that is of highest quality.
:12:50. > :12:54.It is a format which the council says could transform the way that
:12:55. > :12:57.education is delivered. A working partnership that would also throw a
:12:58. > :13:07.lifeline to many of our rural schools. Now, it's the region's
:13:08. > :13:10.oldest business but its days are coming to an end. Peter Hutchinson's
:13:11. > :13:14.tailoring company in the tiny North Yorkshire village of Westow was
:13:15. > :13:17.founded 326 years ago. It once employed 30 people, but the hunting
:13:18. > :13:23.jacket maker today has just one employee.
:13:24. > :13:29.Peter Hutchinson is an eighth`generation tailor. His
:13:30. > :13:32.business more than 300 years old. He's also the last tailor in the
:13:33. > :13:38.North handmaking hunting jackets ` or pinks as they're called ` whether
:13:39. > :13:50.scarlet, blue or black. It's an industry whose influence ` and
:13:51. > :13:57.workers ` he's seen wither away. We had thousands of people in the
:13:58. > :14:03.past. But now all work is diverted abroad. So for Peter, now 80, and
:14:04. > :14:08.his assistant Anne, this is a way of life drawing to a close.
:14:09. > :14:17.So what next for a business started in the reign of James II?
:14:18. > :14:25.I will just run it for as long as I can. Once upon a time there were
:14:26. > :14:35.proper tailors in every town. But now that is all gone. Everything now
:14:36. > :14:38.comes from large department stores. It is a shame. Small companies are
:14:39. > :14:42.dying out. But when Peter sews his last, his
:14:43. > :14:45.ledgers will remain. This one from 1918 when his father was away
:14:46. > :14:56.fighting in the Great war, the writing his grandfather's.
:14:57. > :15:00.Jacket, best and trousers costing ?4 and ten shillings. Peter will now
:15:01. > :15:13.stitch and sew away the time until the last pink is made and his
:15:14. > :15:16.tailoring days are over. Still to come tonight: disappointing
:15:17. > :15:20.news for a Cumbrian figure skater. A Durham housing estate is the
:15:21. > :15:26.temporary home for a bird who should be wintering in the Caribbean.
:15:27. > :15:47.And a full weather forecast coming up. Snow and ice tonight.
:15:48. > :15:50.It divided communities up and down the country. And in the coming
:15:51. > :15:53.weeks, people involved in the miners' strike will be remembering
:15:54. > :15:56.its 30th anniversary. To mark the milestone, a theatre company is
:15:57. > :15:59.taking a special production of the stage play Brassed Off to York and
:16:00. > :16:03.Darlington and around the country. It tells the story of a colliery
:16:04. > :16:07.facing the threat of closure, through the eyes of the community
:16:08. > :16:11.brass band. Scenes like these will be etched into the memories of
:16:12. > :16:15.people on both sides of the picket line. This year, those who were not
:16:16. > :16:22.even born when the strike happened are helping to mark the anniversary.
:16:23. > :16:29.She plays the lead in a special anniversary tour of Brassed Off.
:16:30. > :16:41.I am named after a small mining village. That is where my mother
:16:42. > :16:50.grew up. It is a college town. `` eight colliery town. I am looking
:16:51. > :17:02.forward to doing this. I will be very proud.
:17:03. > :17:08.After York, Brassed Off takes the story further north to Darlington
:17:09. > :17:13.Civic Theatre in March. Memories came flooding back for some of those
:17:14. > :17:20.who lived through the real thing. The divisions that caused among
:17:21. > :17:31.people, some were in favour and some were not. We were told there were
:17:32. > :17:36.years of work and then told we only had five years left. They made
:17:37. > :17:46.redundant in a matter of weeks. It is amazing how relevant it still
:17:47. > :17:52.is. Everyone is still so emotional about it. The recent death of Mark
:17:53. > :17:57.Thatcher has brought a lot back. There is no danger of the strike 's
:17:58. > :18:00.leading into distant memory. A new generation are keen to learn about
:18:01. > :18:08.what happened. It is personal interest, why I came to hear about
:18:09. > :18:13.the strike. My family were involved. I wanted to find out more.
:18:14. > :18:23.It was early in 1984 when strikes were called here, followed a few
:18:24. > :18:29.days later by the Durham miners. For thousands of families across the
:18:30. > :18:33.region, there was devastation. There is no doubt that the memories of
:18:34. > :18:43.what happened will be told for years to come.
:18:44. > :18:52.Brassed Off was a great film. It should be a good stage play.
:18:53. > :18:55.Sunderland go looking for their first top`flight win at Manchester
:18:56. > :18:59.City tomorrow for 32 years. The Black Cats will be without defender
:19:00. > :19:03.Wes Brown who begins the first of a two`match ban for his red card in
:19:04. > :19:06.Saturday's home defeat to Hull. But otherwise there are no new selection
:19:07. > :19:10.worries. And although a trip to the Etihad will be seen as the most
:19:11. > :19:13.daunting of outings ` manager Gus Poyet is taking confidence from his
:19:14. > :19:16.side's current run of six unbeaten Premier League games on the road.
:19:17. > :19:20.We need to be solid, strong, make good decisions and be brave enough
:19:21. > :19:25.to pass the ball and attack and try to put Man City on the back foot.
:19:26. > :19:29.There are plenty of things I want to do well. The main thing is that for
:19:30. > :19:34.whatever reason so far this team has been feeling more comfortable away
:19:35. > :19:37.from home. In League One, Carlisle, who're just
:19:38. > :19:40.one point above the relegation zone, have a crucial game against Bradford
:19:41. > :19:43.tonight at Brunton Park ` boss Graham Kavanagh could hand a first
:19:44. > :19:48.start to on`loan Wigan midfielder Daniel Redmond.
:19:49. > :19:51.Team Northumbria has linked up with an international side in a unique
:19:52. > :19:54.partnership which they hope will make their netball team more
:19:55. > :19:57.competitive in the Superleague. The deal will also help Northern Ireland
:19:58. > :20:01.as they prepare for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow by giving them the
:20:02. > :20:05.top competition they can't get at home and it already seems to be
:20:06. > :20:08.working. Team Northumbria's netballers came
:20:09. > :20:11.bottom of the Superleague last season. But now with Northern
:20:12. > :20:14.Ireland players on board and new signings on the roster, they hope it
:20:15. > :20:18.will be their most competitive season yet.
:20:19. > :20:20.It's just looking at how we delivered over the last few years,
:20:21. > :20:24.it hasn't been particularly successful. We've looked at how we
:20:25. > :20:27.can change it and who we can work with, how it benefits the franchise,
:20:28. > :20:30.how'd ultimately benefit women's sport and netball. Ultimately we'll
:20:31. > :20:39.become more competitive, get better staff, and better people coming to
:20:40. > :20:41.the North East and Newcastle. Northern Ireland called Kate
:20:42. > :20:44.Carpenter takes over as head coach from Lisa Stanley Craig, who becomes
:20:45. > :20:47.her assistant. The Northern Ireland girls train in Belfast during the
:20:48. > :20:51.week while the Northumbria half of the team go through their paces in
:20:52. > :20:53.Newcastle. The team comes together only on match days.
:20:54. > :20:56.It's working quite well at the minute. We've done a few pre`season
:20:57. > :21:00.tournaments, Northern Ireland for three days, that was good. It's hard
:21:01. > :21:03.with a small training group, but what we do is concentrate on more
:21:04. > :21:13.individual things. And when the team comes together it gels really well.
:21:14. > :21:16.So far so good and under new captain Darcie Worsdale, they followed up a
:21:17. > :21:19.narrow defeat to champions Bath with victory over Celtic Dragons and drew
:21:20. > :21:23.with Yorkshire Jets last night. We've got a new dynamic and it's
:21:24. > :21:27.exciting to be at the forefront of the bunch of girls who want to train
:21:28. > :21:29.as hard as they can and are always working for each other. It works
:21:30. > :21:44.really well. At the Winter Olympics there's been
:21:45. > :21:47.disappointment this evening for the Cumbrian figure skater David King
:21:48. > :21:52.with his partner and fiancee Stacey Kemp. Sadly the duo struggled in the
:21:53. > :21:56.pairs short programme at Sochi. This tumble meant the pair ended up with
:21:57. > :21:58.a lower than hoped mark from the judges and were facing elimination
:21:59. > :22:09.from the tournament with the competition still in progress.
:22:10. > :22:15.Now, if you think the North East weather has been a bit miserable of
:22:16. > :22:18.late, spare a thought for a very special visitor to the region which
:22:19. > :22:20.should have been enjoying the sunshine thousands of miles away.
:22:21. > :22:23.This Yellow`rumped Warbler from North America was spotted during the
:22:24. > :22:30.RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch two weeks ago. Its location was kept quiet at
:22:31. > :22:34.first ` but it was revealed at the weekend that the warbler had set up
:22:35. > :22:35.home on a housing estate outside Durham. Soon the twitchers were
:22:36. > :22:44.flocking. It should be sunning itself in the
:22:45. > :22:51.Caribbean but instead this North American Yellow`rumped Warbler is
:22:52. > :22:54.wintering in County Durham. The bird is thousands of miles from home `
:22:55. > :23:02.but these twitchers have travelled some distance too.
:23:03. > :23:09.We set off at 5:15am and got here just in time for the bird to show.
:23:10. > :23:29.Brilliant views. We came from Essex this morning. This is the first time
:23:30. > :23:32.we have seen this bird. We are all bird`watchers and when something
:23:33. > :23:39.like this comes on the news, we travel around the country. We were
:23:40. > :23:42.able to see the bird this morning. Enterprising birders have attracted
:23:43. > :23:48.the bird out of its favoured garden with a feeding station in a nearby
:23:49. > :23:53.hedge. It was a delicate location. It was
:23:54. > :23:59.on a housing estate and we had negotiations over the last ten days
:24:00. > :24:05.with the lady whose garden was frequented by the bird. Kindly, she
:24:06. > :24:13.has allowed bird`watchers to learn of the presence of the bird.
:24:14. > :24:21.Such a sighting is not am president. That might not unprecedented.
:24:22. > :24:27.Another similar bird was found in a housing estate in Kent a few years
:24:28. > :24:30.ago. People living here are hoping that this bird will keep a lower
:24:31. > :24:52.profile. Good evening. If you have been
:24:53. > :25:06.waiting for snow to arrive, you may have seen some. As we head into
:25:07. > :25:13.tonight, snow and ice are the things to watch out for. Clear spells in
:25:14. > :25:20.between. You could see icy patches even if you do not see snow. The
:25:21. > :25:26.rain and hills now cleared away eastwards and there was some sun but
:25:27. > :25:31.then this band of showers came in at tea`time. The showers will become
:25:32. > :25:41.less frequent as we head through the evening. Watch out for icy patches.
:25:42. > :25:47.Temperatures down to minus one Celsius. Wins are fairly light
:25:48. > :25:58.overnight. Tomorrow, many places drive. The dry weather does not last
:25:59. > :26:11.long. Most of the snow will be restricted to high ground tomorrow.
:26:12. > :26:20.Exceptionally gusty winds to come. 70 mph. Perhaps even stronger. That
:26:21. > :26:31.could do some damage. Difficult travelling conditions. It will stay
:26:32. > :26:37.and settled over the next few days. More strong wind on Thursday. Some
:26:38. > :26:42.blustery showers. Things quieten down on Friday. But on Friday night
:26:43. > :26:53.we have this weather system heading our way. Some rain at times in
:26:54. > :27:01.Cumbria and hills now, gusty winds and again on Thursday. Drier on
:27:02. > :27:10.Friday before that next low area of pressure spreads in for the weekend.
:27:11. > :27:16.Thanks. Finally tonight, a look at the
:27:17. > :27:19.headlines: an influential group of MPs has condemned the rising costs
:27:20. > :27:29.of de`commissioning at the Sellafield plant in Cumbria as
:27:30. > :27:30."astonishing". That's all from us, have a good
:27:31. > :27:38.evening.