:00:10. > :00:13.Welcome to Midlands Today. They headlines tonight: unemployment
:00:13. > :00:20.figures for the region are down, but it is tougher than ever for
:00:20. > :00:25.women to get jobs. I am used to going to work, talking to friends.
:00:25. > :00:30.Joy for some, despair for others as county schools find out which will
:00:30. > :00:34.close and which had been spared. The pain and human cost of life on
:00:34. > :00:38.the front line in Afghanistan. will not get a chance to go back to
:00:38. > :00:46.the UK for the funeral, so saying goodbye at the service was
:00:46. > :00:51.important. And tribute to a living legend - the finishing touches to a
:00:51. > :00:58.statue of the man who transformed the fortunes of Coventry City
:00:58. > :01:01.Football Club. Good evening and welcome to
:01:01. > :01:05.Wednesday's Midlands Today from the BBC. Tonight, good and bad news on
:01:05. > :01:09.the jobs front. Unemployment has fallen faster here than anywhere
:01:09. > :01:16.else in the country. The number of people out of work between March
:01:16. > :01:19.and May stood at 226,000 - a drop of 32,000. But the figures also
:01:19. > :01:24.show that men are finding it easier to get new jobs, with 94,000 women
:01:24. > :01:29.still unemployed. In Coventry that's an increasing problem, with
:01:29. > :01:38.women making up 78% of public sector workers. So what is being
:01:38. > :01:42.done to help women who are out of work?
:01:43. > :01:49.There are around 35,000 people in Coventry claiming unemployment
:01:49. > :01:54.benefits and a growing number of them are women. This woman, a human
:01:54. > :02:00.rights lawyer was made redundant last year after funding was cut for
:02:00. > :02:05.a project that aims, ironically, to get women back into work. The it
:02:06. > :02:15.has been nine months. I have been applying for jobs every day. I get
:02:15. > :02:25.no response, up or do to a high number of applications -- or due to
:02:25. > :02:34.a high number of applications, I am just not considered. This charity
:02:34. > :02:37.has seen an increasing number of women coming to them. I knew the
:02:37. > :02:41.recession was going to make things difficult, but I did not realise
:02:41. > :02:46.almost a year on I would still be looking for work. It is quite bad
:02:46. > :02:49.out there. Jane Niven work for years and the banking industry and
:02:49. > :02:56.sees this as an opportunity to leave the restrictive corporate
:02:56. > :03:04.world. Every day, answering to somebody else, being kicked when
:03:04. > :03:10.you do not do something right. I want something different. Sandra
:03:10. > :03:14.Garlick, an employment lawyer, has urged the Chamber of Commerce to
:03:14. > :03:19.set up a forum aimed at women. She believes there are distinct
:03:19. > :03:23.differences between the genders when it comes to unemployment.
:03:23. > :03:26.Women treat losing their jobs different leaf. They are more
:03:26. > :03:31.adaptable to change, probably because they have had to juggle
:03:32. > :03:35.careers with a work-life balance. They tend to look at the fact that
:03:35. > :03:41.they are losing their job as an opportunity to do something
:03:41. > :03:44.different. Coventry has a reputation for literally and
:03:44. > :03:48.metaphorically we building itself over the decades. All the women I
:03:48. > :03:53.have spoken to today said if someone cannot help them, they are
:03:53. > :04:02.more than prepared to help themselves and get them out of this
:04:02. > :04:06.employment crisis. En Westminster Coventry North West
:04:06. > :04:12.MP Geoffrey Robinson secured a special debate on the issues facing
:04:12. > :04:18.women in the City, focusing on pay and jobs. Coventry is a suitable
:04:18. > :04:24.place to use as a further test case for the examination of the impact
:04:24. > :04:31.of unemployment on women. In Coventry, the pay gap between men
:04:31. > :04:36.and women is 10 points higher than the national average. Later in the
:04:36. > :04:41.programme we will be switching from the female workers of today to the
:04:41. > :04:47.female workers of tomorrow at the Academy desperately seeking female
:04:47. > :04:51.engineers for the future. False calls in Shropshire had been
:04:51. > :04:55.recommended for closure as part of a plan to reorganise education in
:04:55. > :05:01.the county. But three other schools under threat had been reprieved.
:05:01. > :05:07.Shropshire has nearly 3,000 fewer pupils than went to school in the
:05:07. > :05:11.county six years ago and that means �10 million less in government
:05:11. > :05:16.funding. Ben Godfrey is at one of the schools set to close. What has
:05:16. > :05:21.been the reaction? At this call, along with eight
:05:21. > :05:27.others, children and staff had been waiting to find out when they will
:05:27. > :05:34.close. Head teachers have told me the uncertainty has led some
:05:34. > :05:39.parents to pour their children out, just in case. Today, some clarity
:05:39. > :05:44.from the council. This school has been at the heart
:05:44. > :05:48.of the community for 80 years. There are only 41 children, but
:05:48. > :05:53.they all love it. A everyone knows each other and it is like a family.
:05:53. > :05:59.I like coming here and meeting my friends. If I went to a different
:05:59. > :06:05.school I would not be able to see them. This school will close in
:06:05. > :06:15.20th September 12, along with three others. No-one has been able to
:06:15. > :06:16.
:06:16. > :06:22.show us how children will gain. A lot of the money will go in
:06:22. > :06:26.transporting them to this course. Shropshire council say it falling
:06:26. > :06:33.LINK People numbers and a cut in funding has left it with no
:06:33. > :06:40.alternative. But a day three is the magic number. Three primaries found
:06:40. > :06:46.that they are not going to close. They have a future as a federation.
:06:46. > :06:52.What it does is allow possibilities between the schools. So if you have
:06:52. > :06:55.a couple of small schools, it could be on one day one of the schools
:06:55. > :07:00.literally transport some of their classes of children to another
:07:00. > :07:05.venue and they are taught jointly. Then maybe people watching this,
:07:05. > :07:10.screaming at the television and saying, closing at a local school
:07:10. > :07:14.rips the heart out of the community. How do you respond to that? There
:07:14. > :07:21.is no alternative. We are having to close schools and we will work hard
:07:21. > :07:24.with them and parents to ensure children get the best deal.
:07:25. > :07:30.picking up their children, parents at this school were disappointed.
:07:30. > :07:35.It will be of huge detriment to the village. My son has come on leaps
:07:35. > :07:41.and bounds since he has been here. But all is not last. There is one
:07:41. > :07:46.other option - academy status. application has gone in for academy
:07:46. > :07:50.status. That has gone to one committee and it is now with
:07:50. > :07:55.ministers, who will make the decision. By the end of turned the
:07:55. > :08:01.school is hopeful it will know for sure whether this Bell will keep on
:08:01. > :08:06.bringing. So academy status is a possibility here. Other local
:08:06. > :08:14.schools are considering free school status to cut ties with local
:08:14. > :08:19.authorities. They have to take action soon because come 2012, all
:08:19. > :08:25.these buildings behind the could be vacant.
:08:25. > :08:28.British forces have been fighting in Afghanistan for almost a decade
:08:28. > :08:37.with 300 serviceman and women paying the ultimate sacrifice. At
:08:37. > :08:43.the moment there are 9,500 service men and women fighting the Taliban,
:08:44. > :08:48.including many from other region. Louise Brierley is at Camp Bastion
:08:48. > :08:55.with the Mercian Regiment. This is Camp Bastion, the main
:08:55. > :09:00.place for troops. 20,000 people live here. It is here that I met
:09:00. > :09:04.soldiers from the Mercian Regiment just before they were about to
:09:04. > :09:09.board a plane to go home for three weeks. Tragically, one of them
:09:09. > :09:16.would not be joining them. Private Gareth Bellingham was shot dead by
:09:16. > :09:23.the Taliban was on patrol. I am gentamicin a lot. He was a good
:09:23. > :09:29.friend to me. We used to love to have a drink together. He used to
:09:29. > :09:33.come round to my house when we were on leave. I am going to miss him.
:09:33. > :09:43.For these men, they know the risks only too well, but after losing a
:09:43. > :09:45.
:09:45. > :09:53.friend, suddenly the reality of war comes crashing home. We were just
:09:54. > :10:00.gobsmacked. The regiment padre is the Christian minister of the
:10:00. > :10:04.Mercians. He led a service for Private Gareth Bellingham. In helps
:10:04. > :10:09.the grieving process, which is important for everyone out here.
:10:09. > :10:17.They will not get a chance to go to the funeral, so it is important to
:10:17. > :10:23.say goodbye at the service. British personnel have died since
:10:23. > :10:27.the war started in Afghanistan. 32 from out of region. This is where
:10:27. > :10:31.serviceman and women from Afghanistan pay their respects. It
:10:31. > :10:35.is the ultimate tribute for those who have sacrificed their lives for
:10:35. > :10:42.their country. But for now, these men and women have to put death
:10:42. > :10:45.behind them and get on with the job. And there will be more from Louise
:10:45. > :10:50.tomorrow on the BBC WM Breakfast Show, and she will be reporting
:10:50. > :10:56.from the frontline again on Midlands Today tomorrow night.
:10:56. > :11:00.Brockhill Prison in Redditch is to close. The government's announced
:11:00. > :11:03.it will shut in September as part of plans to save money. It's one of
:11:03. > :11:13.three sites that make up Hewell Prison and holds 170 inmates, who
:11:13. > :11:19.
:11:19. > :11:22.will be sent to other jails. Now, meet the little boy who was
:11:22. > :11:25.born the wrong way round, quite literally. Kian Hill had all his
:11:25. > :11:28.major organs on the opposite side and was missing a lung, his spleen
:11:28. > :11:30.and an appendix. He's spent almost his entire life on wards at
:11:31. > :11:34.Birmingham's Childrens' Hospital, but he's now made such a recovery,
:11:34. > :11:43.he's being allowed home tonight for the first time. He has endured
:11:43. > :11:47.operations and medical procedures on almost a daily basis. To date
:11:47. > :11:51.there there is cause for celebration. It is a big day for
:11:51. > :11:54.charred macro and his mum because having spent his entire life in a
:11:54. > :12:04.hospital bed like this one, tonight he would get to sleep in his own
:12:04. > :12:06.
:12:06. > :12:11.bed. It will be emotional. I am happy for him. At last, home to
:12:11. > :12:18.Sheldon. It is amazing to think we can have him here and start to live
:12:18. > :12:26.a normal family life. It has been a long journey. Last year doctors
:12:26. > :12:32.gave charred macro a 50 % chance of survival. He suffered two cardiac
:12:32. > :12:37.arrests and was clinically dead for 30 minutes. They said it bit happy
:12:37. > :12:44.-- they said if it happened again, there was a slim chance of him
:12:44. > :12:47.pulling through again. Lunch is and will be for some time in liquid
:12:47. > :12:56.form and given through a tube, and there is a cocktail of drugs to be
:12:56. > :13:03.administered. Hopefully he will grow up to be a normal toddler, a
:13:03. > :13:07.teenager, but no-one knows how that will pan out. They don't know
:13:08. > :13:13.whether he will always be Osidge in dependent on his ventilator in the
:13:13. > :13:23.evening. Next week, charred macro should be able to come home for
:13:23. > :13:25.
:13:26. > :13:30.good. Just in time for his birthday. Welcome home to Kian. Still to come
:13:30. > :13:35.- a legend cast in bronze. A fitting tribute to Coventry's Jimmy
:13:35. > :13:42.Hill. And we get a taste of summer tomorrow, but could it turned sour
:13:42. > :13:46.by the weekend. -- weekend? Find out later.
:13:46. > :13:49.Earlier, we reported on the lack of jobs for women. Well for some time
:13:49. > :13:51.now manufacturers have complained about a skills shortage and lack of
:13:51. > :13:54.engineers. And the problem's especially acute when it comes to
:13:54. > :13:57.encouraging girls to choose a career in engineering. As the JCB
:13:57. > :14:00.Academy nears the end of its first year, our Staffordshire reporter
:14:00. > :14:10.Liz Copper has been to see how a new programme could unearth the
:14:10. > :14:14.
:14:14. > :14:22.great female engineers of tomorrow. We need to make it as early as
:14:22. > :14:27.possible. Refusing to conform to expectations, the challenge of
:14:27. > :14:32.these 11 year olds is to build a crane. They have come to the JCB
:14:32. > :14:37.academy to get a taste of what engineering is about. Why did they
:14:37. > :14:47.think that girls are put off? in it is a boy's's job because you
:14:47. > :14:55.
:14:55. > :15:05.get dirty and it is mechanical. Boys's. This is the end of the
:15:05. > :15:13.
:15:13. > :15:22.Academy's first year and boys outnumber girls 9-1. Girls have got
:15:22. > :15:27.great skills and they need to be utilised. Laura Atkins's
:15:27. > :15:30.aspirations have taken her into leadership. Engineering and
:15:30. > :15:37.struggles with a skills gap. We do not have enough engineers in this
:15:37. > :15:43.country, but we have a lot of women who are good at maths at school.
:15:43. > :15:48.Back at the Crane making, have any of the girls been persuaded that a
:15:48. > :15:53.career in engineering could be for them? Yes, I would like to be an
:15:53. > :15:59.engineer. A I might. Now that we have experienced it, it seems like
:15:59. > :16:03.fun. Yes, I'd definitely be an engineer. As they test their
:16:04. > :16:13.creations the hope is these girls will not be held down by the burden
:16:14. > :16:15.
:16:15. > :16:20.of stereotypes and will consider a career in science.
:16:20. > :16:23.Most of them looked enthusiastic. Results from one of the UK's
:16:23. > :16:26.biggest trials of electric cars have been announced. It took place
:16:26. > :16:27.here and involved 50 cars. Although there was much scepticism over
:16:27. > :16:32.whether they could replace conventional vehicles, results
:16:32. > :16:35.appear to show that for the majority of journeys they can. Our
:16:35. > :16:45.Transport Correspondent Peter Plisner joins us now. I am a bit
:16:45. > :16:49.sceptical myself, Peter. Are we all going to go electric?
:16:49. > :16:54.These cars will not be ideal for everyone, especially if you are
:16:54. > :16:59.making a long journey. But a lot of people make short ones and this
:16:59. > :17:09.trial was designed to see how easy it would be to go electric. They
:17:09. > :17:14.
:17:14. > :17:21.are small and are becoming a regular sight. A small number of
:17:21. > :17:26.people were asked to give up their petrol fuelled cars and go electric.
:17:26. > :17:34.The trial also saw the installation of more charging points. Birmingham
:17:35. > :17:40.and Coventry now has a network of more than 30 of them. The Midlands
:17:40. > :17:50.is becoming a centre of excellence for electric cars. The Indian
:17:50. > :17:57.company Tata has recently set up a new company -- new factory to
:17:57. > :18:01.produce their car Tata EV. We are told that 77 % of journeys were
:18:01. > :18:08.less than 20 minutes in duration, which is perfect length for
:18:08. > :18:18.electric cars. In the survey most of the cars were parked four Oct 23
:18:18. > :18:24.
:18:24. > :18:29.hours a day and the cost was under �1. I have someone with me he took
:18:29. > :18:35.part in the trial. It was great. You need to plan your journey
:18:35. > :18:45.carefully so you do not run out of electricity. With me also it is
:18:45. > :18:49.
:18:49. > :18:59.Neil Bodger from the CABLED project. These cars can do 70 miles per hour.
:18:59. > :19:06.They go 100 miles between charges. Well electric cars catch on? They
:19:06. > :19:14.are more expensive to buy, but they are cheap to run. Vehicle Leasing
:19:14. > :19:18.will come into play in the future, so they can balance of the purchase
:19:18. > :19:28.price with the running costs. you want more information about the
:19:28. > :19:38.results of this trial, there is more information on a website. --
:19:38. > :19:50.
:19:50. > :20:00.on our website. A small Midlands charity is selling
:20:00. > :20:01.
:20:01. > :20:07.or water back to us to help the situation in Ethiopia.
:20:07. > :20:17.This 25-year-old finance train they get stuck into his latest project -
:20:17. > :20:21.
:20:21. > :20:28.Walter -- bottled water it. -- aid. A percentage of the profits will go
:20:28. > :20:33.to funding water suppliers in Ethiopia. You can also find out
:20:33. > :20:39.exactly who you helped. In this case, a farmer who has to travel
:20:39. > :20:44.for an away up to get clean water. By personalising the bottled water,
:20:44. > :20:54.we hope people will feel more attached to the people they are
:20:54. > :20:55.
:20:55. > :21:03.helping. Each bottle sold provides one Ethiopian with clean water for
:21:03. > :21:08.a year. And the return to his old school to make a pitch to their
:21:08. > :21:17.fund-raising committee. -- Andy. think it is a great idea. You can
:21:18. > :21:23.find out exactly who you helped. People can help others instead of
:21:23. > :21:33.buying the water at they normally buy. It is a hit here and as for
:21:33. > :21:35.
:21:35. > :21:37.the reception in Ethiopia, they are grateful.
:21:37. > :21:40.In football, delight for Wolves, but disappointment for Birmingham
:21:40. > :21:43.City. Central defender Roger Johnson says he has moved to
:21:43. > :21:45.Molineux from St Andrew's to keep alive his Premier League career. He
:21:45. > :21:48.has signed a four-year contract after completing the �6 million
:21:48. > :21:58.deal this morning. Wolves boss Mick McCarthy says he has been waiting
:21:58. > :22:00.
:22:00. > :22:07.two years to get his man. For me it was all about getting back to the
:22:07. > :22:17.Premier League. Relegation was heartbreaking, but I had to do what
:22:17. > :22:17.
:22:17. > :22:27.I needed to do. He plays in the same position that manager Mike
:22:27. > :22:29.
:22:29. > :22:35.McCarthy played. -- Mick McCarthy. He is terrific, a good defender. He
:22:35. > :22:42.is vocal on the pitch as a leader. That is what I wanted and that is
:22:42. > :22:48.what I have got. Before interviews with Roger Johnson and Mick
:22:48. > :22:51.McCarthy up on Our Facebook page. Stoke City have Sir Stanley
:22:51. > :22:54.Matthews, Wolves have Stan Cullis and Billy Wright and very soon
:22:54. > :22:56.Coventry City will have Jimmy Hill. We're talking about statues. In a
:22:56. > :23:00.couple of weeks time the former Sky Blues manager will officially
:23:00. > :23:10.unveil his own bronze outside the Ricoh Arena, and Ian Winter has had
:23:10. > :23:11.
:23:11. > :23:16.exclusive access to Jimmy's statue. Fire up the furnace, turn up the
:23:16. > :23:22.heat and prepared to pour the molten metal. Deep inside the
:23:22. > :23:29.Bronze Foundry in London, her Majesty keeps an eye on it football
:23:29. > :23:34.legend. But before Jimmy Hill was transferred to bronze, he was
:23:34. > :23:38.enshrined in a clay. Nicholas Dimbleby talks with his hands and
:23:38. > :23:43.because Jimmy is an old friend of the family, this commission has
:23:43. > :23:48.been a labour of love. On the stone plinth his name will be carved and
:23:48. > :23:58.at the base there will be a seat said that the statute he's a
:23:58. > :24:01.
:24:01. > :24:11.meeting place as well as a tribute -- said that the statue is a
:24:11. > :24:11.
:24:11. > :24:16.tribute as well as a meeting-place. Under Jimmy Hill of the Sky Blues
:24:16. > :24:23.was transformed. He got the fans singing and smiling and that is why
:24:23. > :24:30.so many chipped in to pay for the statue. Joe Elliott ran the
:24:30. > :24:36.campaign to raise �100,000 of the statue. We talking to see how it
:24:36. > :24:44.was taking shape. What will Jimmy make of it? He will be delighted.
:24:44. > :24:50.I've been there will be at Tear in his eye. He loves Coventry. --
:24:50. > :24:58.Bates here in his eye. I am sure he will be over the moon.
:24:58. > :25:06.challenge was to make an iconic image and to make it personal to me.
:25:06. > :25:12.What about Jimmy's Ching? It is not as big as you might think. --
:25:12. > :25:17.Jimmy's chin. I am not a great football fan. I will leave that to
:25:17. > :25:23.the critics. Jimmy Hill will be 82 next week, so don't expect him to
:25:23. > :25:28.be sprinting across the pitch. He will be content to unveil his
:25:28. > :25:38.statue, welcoming the next generation of Sky Blues fans to his
:25:38. > :25:41.
:25:41. > :25:49.beloved football club. -- sky-blue. A remarkable man. And now for the
:25:49. > :25:53.weather. We are going through this transitory phase will we get a
:25:53. > :26:03.slice up summer and then it is displaced by eight what you would
:26:03. > :26:18.
:26:18. > :26:28.not want. At least is the - that Tonight, a good deal of cloud. It
:26:28. > :26:28.
:26:28. > :26:38.will be fairly warm. Temperatures down to 9-12 Celsius. Tomorrow,
:26:38. > :26:41.
:26:41. > :26:50.fairly dry, apart from the odd fleeting shower were. On balance it
:26:50. > :26:56.will be quite sunny. -- fleeting showers. We have a light north-
:26:56. > :27:01.westerly breeze. Friday, things start to turn. It will be cloudier
:27:01. > :27:07.and rain will arrive from the mid- afternoon onwards. It will be light,
:27:07. > :27:15.but over the weekend we will have prolonged periods of rain. The
:27:15. > :27:21.winds will increase. Temperatures will take and knock back by a
:27:21. > :27:25.couple of degrees. Before we leave, a look at the main
:27:25. > :27:29.headlines: Rupert Murdoch has withdrawn the News Corporation
:27:30. > :27:33.bitter takeover BSkyB. And in the Midlands unemployment is down and