29/03/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Nine months ago, it was Sunderland which sent the first real signal

that Britain was about to vote to leave the European Union.

Today, the two-year countdown to Brexit began.

A region that voted for Brexit, but with strong

Our political editor, Richard Moss, has been speaking to two of our MPs

who were on different sides of the debate in the EU Referendum.

Employers see huge opportunities in this, but there's a huge threat,

isn't there, to the north-east economy in particular.

Big dangers in the process that started today.

First of all, I recognise it as an opportunity, as you mentioned.

We've set in train now a process, we are giving expression

to the will of the people - 60% of the people in the North

Today, we are making good that promise that that will happen,

and in time, we will have control over our laws, our court system,

It will mean nothing if people are losing their jobs,

I think, actually, you mentioned trade.

That's something which is a huge opportunity, and it's one

of the main reasons I was supporting the Leave campaign.

Of course the EU is important, but it's diminishing

The rest of the world is fast growing, and Europe historically has

been not very good at tapping us into the global economy,

and that's something that I hope we can capitalise on for the North

Helen Goodman - nothing to fear, plenty to capitalise on.

Well, a lot of people will obviously be pleased if they can control

immigration from this country, but we are the biggest exporting

region outside London, and we export ten times as much

to Europe as to the old Commonwealth, so it's really vital

that the Prime Minister prioritises tariff-free,

This was a vote that people in your constituency supported,

and the north-east could benefit from Brexit, if trade

Well, seeing is believing on the trade front.

I think people voted Brexit because they wanted

A Teesdale charity that helps farmers with EU paperwork says

the industry is facing massive uncertainty thanks to Brexit.

Farmers have been promised by the government that

their system of subsidies - currently paid by the EU -

But, after that, farming faces massive, but unknown, reform.

John and his family farm sheep and cows in Teesdale,

a life that alternates between idyllic

It is, though, helped by cash support from the EU,

On average, 60% of farm incomes come in the form of EU subsidies.

Little wonder, then, that John worries about the impact of Brexit.

We get quite a lot of support, because it's obviously

in the various schemes, with it being so high

up, and it contributes to our income as a farm.

The government has promised to match subsidies up

until 2020, but after that, it's promised nothing.

If we get the support from the government,

then we'll still be farming here, but if we don't get the support

from the government, we won't be able to be a farm.

Our business won't stack up, and John will have to go

This Teesdale charity helps farmers like John navigate their way around

the paperwork that needs to be filled in before subsidies are paid,

We are all heading towards leaving Europe with absolutely no certainty

of what's going to happen, what's going to replace

the relationship that we've had with Europe in the past,

and for farmers who rely on payments from the Common Agricultural Policy,

it's going to be very difficult to get through that,

and the disruption that such an alteration in our relationship

with Europe is going to cause to a community like this.

You wouldn't know it in the peace of Teesdale,

but a process that could change farming forever started today -

the momentous journey of leaving the EU, and where farming finds

itself in that post-Brexit world could dictate whether John

and his family will still have a place in it.

Well, one thing that's become clear since we voted to leave is that

Brexit means different things to different people.

So, now the process is under way for real, we've been gauging

These pro-EU protesters in the region today are clear

where they stand, but what Brexit should actually mean is still

On the streets, Brexit, it seems, is as contentious as ever.

I think we should have left it the way things were.

It's much simpler the way things have been.

I don't agree with paying ?50 billion to exit,

so that needs negotiating out of that.

Get out, get a good deal, and finish with it.

Here in Sunderland, they hope that by the time Brexit is confirmed,

they will be the UK's City of Culture.

It's a city that overwhelmingly voted for Leave, but those behind

the bid think it's time now to talk about something else.

The debate around Sunderland nationally has been very

monopolised by Brexit, and I think that's been very

It's told one story, and I think there are lots of other

stories about the city that we want to tell,

stories about investment, stories about culture.

There are some big challenges we are facing, there are some big

opportunities we are facing, and we want to get on and tell that

story, and not be monopolised by the Brexit debate.

As the Brexit negotiations begin, our random and unscientific survey

found it's the young fearing they have the most to lose.

I think the EU has offered a lot of benefits to us over the years,

particularly in the north, which I think a lot

I think it's going to be a mistake to leave.

I don't think it was fair that 16 and 17-year-olds weren't allowed

It's going to affect us the longest, and we haven't had

A hospital trust in Cumbria has been taken out of special measures

after the Care Quality Commission said it had made

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust serves 320,000 patients,

and was put into special measures four years ago.

Damian O'Neil reports from the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

11 trusts around the country were put into special measures

in 2013, as part of a review into high mortality rates,

and North Cumbria is the last of them to be returned

There's still work to be done - the Trust now has an overall rating

But, for the staff, today is a very good day.

Well, I think we have a huge amount of pride in the staff,

and the staff are very pleased today, and feel that,

after a lot of hard work, their efforts have been recognised.

It's important to say that throughout this period of time

when the trust has been challenged, the ratings have always been good

for our staff, caring staff, and staff showing compassion.

A longstanding recruitment problem at the Trust is often linked with it

being in special measures, although not everyone was put off

So I worked as a registrar here about five years ago,

and then joined as a consultant as the hospital went

into special measures, and that was a challenging time,

but I think we've seen huge improvement over the three years

that I've been here, and I'm very proud and satisfied

that we've managed to get out of special measures.

But a former surgeon at the West Cumberland Hospital,

who's led a campaign to protect hospital services, says there

The most important aspect of this coming out of special

measures is recruitment, but there are other things,

like cancelled operations, the cancelled outpatient clinic,

the heart patients still need to travel to Carlisle, which is

The Trust has rarely been out of the news for very

long in recent times, but for the wrong reasons.

Now, although there are still things to be done, the decision to take

the Trust out of special measures is a big one, and it hopefully gives

a platform from which they can move forward to a better future,

where the negative headlines are very much a thing of the past.

This is Damien O'Neill for BBC Look North at the

The owner of a York care home - where an elderly resident died

after jumping from an upstairs window - has been found guilty

of failing to assess the risks that she faced.

Dora Strickland, who was 90, committed suicide at Red Lodge

The Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust was found not guilty of failing

The Trust is due to be sentenced tomorrow.

Now it's time for the weather with Paul Mooney.

Outbreaks of rain. That rain will tend to fizzle out during the night.

Very mild, with temperatures in double figures, thanks to that cloud

and a brisk south-westerly breeze. There will be more rain around

tomorrow. Cumbria and the Scottish orders will bear the brunt of the

more persistent rain. The rain that makes it further east will be

lighter and more intermittent. If you hang on some sunshine, could see

some reasonable temperatures. Always a bit cooler further north and west

with the thicker cloud. A brisk south-westerly wind again, and that

continues for a time as we head towards the end of the week. That

cold weather front finally clears on Friday, introducing some fresh

weather in from the West. And improving picture as we head towards

the weekend. Friday, any early rain will clear and things will dry up

and brighten up. Quite a windy day, with a gusty south-westerly breeze.

As we head into the weekend, Saturday is a day of sunshine and

showers. Some shells could be thundery, but some

far. The outlook for the next few days, temperatures coming down a bit

but staying decent for this time of year. Here is Darren Bett with the

national weather. The warm air coming up on a

southerly breeze all the way from Iberia and across France into

England and Wales. To achieve the high temperatures we need to get

into some of this dryer air and sunshine. Even with the cloud today,

17 degrees. Not just about the temperatures, let's not forget there

is some rain around as well. Quite wet in Pembrokeshire for much of the

day. More rain overnight tonight, some rain and drizzle in northern

and western areas. Wetter weather moving northwards across Scotland.

Some rain in the south-west, shuffling towards the Midlands.

Overnight, a lot of cloud around. It is going to be very mild