:00:03. > :00:06.Welcome to Midlands Today, with Suzanne Virdee and Nick Owen. The
:00:06. > :00:11.headlines tonight: What will the Chancellor's Autumn
:00:11. > :00:14.Statement mean for us? Tonight business leaders give their verdict.
:00:15. > :00:18.One thing we were looking for was some sort of help or some sort of
:00:18. > :00:21.move to controlling inflation a bit better.
:00:21. > :00:25."We'll do it anyway", say defiant strikers told to stump up thousands
:00:25. > :00:28.or be banned from marching through a city centre. We've got teachers,
:00:28. > :00:31.social workers, dinner ladies, nurses who want to take part in a
:00:31. > :00:34.lawful, democratic protest and the council are putting obstacles in
:00:34. > :00:39.their way. A delicate operation to help
:00:39. > :00:43.thousands of salmon stranded because of the dry conditions.
:00:43. > :00:53.And what does it feel like to be a Paralympian? The children who got
:00:53. > :00:59.
:00:59. > :01:02.Good evening, welcome to Tuesday's Midlands Today, from the BBC.
:01:02. > :01:07.Tonight, what does the Chancellor's Autumn Statement mean for jobs and
:01:07. > :01:11.business in this region? One of the main headlines from George
:01:11. > :01:15.Osborne's speech was the boost for road-building projects. In this
:01:15. > :01:18.region, the busy Tollbar traffic island in Coventry will be rebuilt.
:01:18. > :01:22.There'll be a new bridge over the West Coast Main Line, to help
:01:22. > :01:25.improve roads around Birmingham Airport and the NEC. And a bridge
:01:25. > :01:28.at Evesham, in Worcestershire, will be rebuilt. Elsewhere, there was
:01:28. > :01:31.grimmer news, with a forecast that unemployment will continue to rise
:01:31. > :01:35.over the next 12 months in a region which already has a higher-than-
:01:35. > :01:38.average number of people out of work. Business leaders here
:01:38. > :01:41.welcomed the statement, saying they don't think there will be a return
:01:42. > :01:44.to recession in 2012. Our business correspondent, Peter Plisner, joins
:01:44. > :01:49.us now from the Heathcote Industrial Estate in Warwick, where
:01:49. > :01:57.we've been tracking the fortunes of companies there for Midlands Today.
:01:57. > :02:02.Are firms there confident about avoiding another recession, Peter?
:02:02. > :02:07.I think so. Certainly many have welcomed today's announcement.
:02:07. > :02:10.Tonight, we are at a haulage depot, where, as you can imagine, they
:02:10. > :02:16.will be pleased at the fact that they have scrapped the idea of
:02:16. > :02:21.increasing fuel duty next month. Today, I have spent the day gauging
:02:21. > :02:24.opinion on the Chancellor's statement.
:02:24. > :02:34.Surviving one of the toughest recessions in living memory. This
:02:34. > :02:34.
:02:34. > :02:42.firm and makes metal cases for balconies. It has thrown an
:02:42. > :02:46.incredible load on us, trying to basically stand still. Elsewhere,
:02:46. > :02:50.another firm which has weathered the economic storm. Dennis Eagle
:02:50. > :02:54.Ltd makes dustcarts and exports them all over the world. Although
:02:54. > :03:02.orders are up, long-serving workers like Tony Cowley are still
:03:02. > :03:10.concerned about the fragile state of the economy. Prices seem to be
:03:10. > :03:15.going up and up but our pay is not. Enter the Chancellor and his Autumn
:03:15. > :03:18.Statement. Something not to be missed for Dennis Eagle Ltd. Here,
:03:18. > :03:23.they have recently been recruiting but did the Chancellor to enough to
:03:24. > :03:28.persuade them to take on any more staff? We will be keen to help and
:03:28. > :03:31.participate in any way possible along those lines. We take on a
:03:31. > :03:34.regional number of apprentices now and we realise the importance of
:03:34. > :03:39.young people coming in, being trained up for the workforce of the
:03:40. > :03:44.future. With the state the economy is in at the moment, it is hardly
:03:44. > :03:48.surprising there are empty buildings here. We have been
:03:48. > :03:53.monitoring the system but it -- this estate for 12 months but here,
:03:53. > :03:58.it is not all doom and gloom. At this printing firm, they are busier
:03:58. > :04:02.than ever, with many orders coming from new businesses. There are a
:04:02. > :04:05.lot of people setting up new businesses, even in this
:04:05. > :04:10.environment, so with some other things I have heard today, they
:04:10. > :04:15.help to those who are setting up, it has got to be good for my
:04:15. > :04:18.business. But not everything announced today went down well.
:04:18. > :04:22.Plans to encourage the young unemployed back to work by
:04:22. > :04:27.threatening to remove benefits got a definite thumbs down. Would you
:04:27. > :04:33.want to employ somebody who has been forced to take a job? No, I do
:04:33. > :04:40.not think it is a good idea. It is like being a prisoner of war.
:04:40. > :04:44.most firms on the estate having business come to them, this did
:04:44. > :04:52.provide good news. But with economic growth will slow, the
:04:52. > :04:56.struggle for many firms is far from over. Joining me here at the depot
:04:56. > :05:00.are two people with views on the news heard today. You must be
:05:00. > :05:06.pleased that the fuel duty increase in January has been scrapped?
:05:06. > :05:09.We were very worried we were going to pass a psychological barrier
:05:09. > :05:16.because threepence would have meant the highest ever diesel price,
:05:16. > :05:20.which would have been dreadful for our industry. Did you think there
:05:20. > :05:24.was anything that could help you as a business? Not so much help but
:05:25. > :05:29.there was nothing that would hinder us. It means we will go ahead with
:05:29. > :05:34.plans in terms of some more recruitment, so another six jobs we
:05:35. > :05:39.will be putting out in January. Many thanks. Richard Butler, you
:05:39. > :05:44.are from the CBI. The Chamber of Commerce have said they feel what
:05:44. > :05:51.has been announced will stave off recession. Is that you're feeling?
:05:51. > :05:55.We hope so. It is a package for business that will help. There is
:05:55. > :06:00.some money for infrastructure project. The roads near the airport
:06:00. > :06:04.and the NEC. But they are hardly earth-shattering and they will
:06:05. > :06:10.hardly get the Midlands moving? many ways, they are not. The
:06:10. > :06:13.Government does not have much wriggle room. But there are some
:06:13. > :06:17.schemes, banking schemes for small businesses, which Rob very
:06:17. > :06:24.worthwhile. And also youth credit and encouragement to take on young
:06:24. > :06:28.people. What about unemployment blackspots? Is there anything in
:06:28. > :06:31.the announcements today to deal with those? I think there is. The
:06:32. > :06:35.enterprise zone mainly in Wolverhampton, there are some
:06:35. > :06:44.excellent tax credits that have been announced. Do you think we
:06:45. > :06:49.learned much today? Apart from how bad the economy is! As you say,
:06:49. > :06:54.there is much that has been leaked in the past couple of days. But
:06:54. > :06:58.there are some worthwhile things coming out. Thank you. Anything
:06:58. > :07:01.that helps deliver growth has to be a good thing, I suppose.
:07:01. > :07:04.There was some welcome news for motorists from the Chancellor today.
:07:04. > :07:07.Plans to increase fuel duty by 3p next month have been scrapped. The
:07:07. > :07:11.rise in rail fares will also be less than originally expected and
:07:11. > :07:14.pensions will also be going up. Our political reporter, Susana Mendonca,
:07:14. > :07:22.joins us now from the German Market in Birmingham. What have people
:07:22. > :07:26.there made of it? A lot of the people I have been speaking to
:07:26. > :07:31.around the bars here are very happy at the prospect of the fuel duty
:07:31. > :07:35.increase being delayed until the summer. But there is a lot of
:07:35. > :07:39.apprehension about what this will mean for growth and jobs here in
:07:39. > :07:43.Birmingham and across the West Midlands. We heard the Chancellor
:07:43. > :07:48.talking about how things could be far worse if the eurozone crisis is
:07:48. > :07:52.not solved, so we have come to our own little bit of Europe, here in
:07:52. > :07:55.Birmingham, to find out what people think. You cannot be overly
:07:55. > :08:00.optimistic at the moment. But you have always got to believe things
:08:00. > :08:05.are going to get better. Rather nervous. I don't know what is going
:08:05. > :08:10.to happen. Whatever they say, I am not sure what is going to happen so
:08:10. > :08:14.we have to wait and see. The price of bills and food are continually
:08:14. > :08:17.going up. I think it will be a struggle for a lot of people in the
:08:17. > :08:21.future if they don't do something about that.
:08:21. > :08:25.There we have a flavour of what people in the German market think
:08:25. > :08:31.of the Chancellor's announcement. I am joined by a couple of people
:08:31. > :08:36.with their own views. I have Allen, who runs the cider store, and also
:08:36. > :08:40.Michael Ward, who runs the Chamber of Commerce. There were a lot of
:08:40. > :08:44.announcements for small businesses. For you, what difference do you
:08:44. > :08:48.think today's announcement will make? A lot of things announced
:08:48. > :08:53.were good for us. The apprentice scheme, we will probably take
:08:53. > :08:57.advantage of that in the new year. The only cloud on by horizon for us
:08:57. > :09:01.is, if the Chancellor has reduced the tax take up on petrol, he is
:09:01. > :09:06.going to look for somewhere else to make it up, and I suspect we will
:09:06. > :09:11.be hit with some alcohol of duty, which happens every year. That is
:09:11. > :09:17.my only concern. I know the Chamber of Commerce says we will not have a
:09:17. > :09:21.recession. The OECD figures we had yesterday were not looking good. Do
:09:21. > :09:25.you think the West Midlands has what it takes to come out of this?
:09:25. > :09:30.All the figures are showing that we expect there to be growth in the
:09:30. > :09:35.economy, albeit less than 1%, so it will feel relatively flat but it is
:09:35. > :09:40.not a recession, it is growth. And in terms of the proposals from the
:09:40. > :09:46.Chancellor, he is addressing the issues around increasing finance.
:09:46. > :09:52.Thank you. We must leave it there. That is a flavour of how people in
:09:52. > :09:57.Birmingham city centre of feeling about the statement. Thank you. We
:09:57. > :10:00.will be joining Patrick Burns later to get the political take from
:10:00. > :10:03.Westminster. Good to have you with us this
:10:03. > :10:07.evening. Later in the programme, we'll be meeting a former Olympic
:10:08. > :10:11.marathon man who could become this year's Unsung Hero.
:10:11. > :10:15.A man's been killed after a car and lorry collided early this morning.
:10:15. > :10:18.It happened on the A49 near Preston Brockhurst, in Shropshire. The
:10:18. > :10:23.lorry jack-knifed and caught fire, blocking the road for several hours.
:10:24. > :10:26.The lorry driver wasn't injured. A march by thousands of striking
:10:26. > :10:30.public sector workers through the streets of Birmingham will go ahead
:10:30. > :10:33.tomorrow. Unions have accused the City Council of trying to erode
:10:33. > :10:37.democracy after they demanded thousands of pounds to pay for road
:10:37. > :10:41.closures. A senior councillor today accused the unions of acting
:10:41. > :10:44.irresponsibly, as Sarah Falkland reports.
:10:44. > :10:47.It's a fight to save pensions from government cuts. But unions in
:10:47. > :10:51.Birmingham have had another battle - with the City Council over a
:10:51. > :11:01.proposed march. The last time unions marched through the city,
:11:01. > :11:03.they paid just a few hundred pounds. They marched on a weekend. But the
:11:03. > :11:06.City Council said loss of revenue from on-street parking, combined
:11:06. > :11:14.with road closures, would mean tomorrow's march would cost them
:11:14. > :11:18.�8,000. Only a few weeks ago, we have the racist thugs of the EDL
:11:18. > :11:22.protesting in the city centre and they did not have to pay a penny.
:11:22. > :11:26.We have teachers, social workers, dinner ladies and nurses who want
:11:27. > :11:30.to take part in a lawful, democratic protest, and the council
:11:30. > :11:36.is putting obstacles in their wake. The council points out that none of
:11:36. > :11:40.the EDL actually marched and that the fees are standard practice. On
:11:40. > :11:46.the eve of the march, they are going ahead anyway, without paying
:11:46. > :11:52.the council is single penny. Tomorrow, this car park will be
:11:52. > :11:58.full with the cars of union members, going to the arena. They are acting
:11:58. > :12:01.irresponsibly, encouraging this to take place, having not followed the
:12:01. > :12:05.criteria. Unions say even without the council's co-operation, the
:12:05. > :12:09.march will be well-managed and safe. We will have hundreds of stewards
:12:09. > :12:14.said the demonstration will be absolutely safe. Whether there of
:12:15. > :12:21.road closures or not, it will be saved. A magnificent demonstration
:12:21. > :12:27.took place on 30th June and nobody was hurt whatsoever. Up to 5,000
:12:27. > :12:29.people could join in. One union leader has said
:12:30. > :12:34.tomorrow's strikes could be the biggest walk-out since the General
:12:34. > :12:38.Strike of 1926. Our reporter Giles Latcham joins us.
:12:38. > :12:42.What's the impact likely to be in this region, Giles? It's going to
:12:42. > :12:45.be big for employers, of course, and for those trying to run council
:12:45. > :12:48.services. It's going to be a testing day for many parents. By
:12:48. > :12:50.our reckoning, just over 1,270 schools, academies and colleges
:12:50. > :12:53.across the Midlands will close. That figure incorporates
:12:53. > :12:57.Gloucestershire and it's for complete closures. Others will be
:12:57. > :13:00.partially closed. In Birmingham alone, 160 are shutting, a third of
:13:00. > :13:08.the city's schools. We went to one in King's Heath this afternoon at
:13:08. > :13:12.picking-up time, to ask parents what they think of the strike.
:13:12. > :13:17.think they should have turned around and got everybody to vote
:13:17. > :13:20.first before they actually turned around and decided to go on strike.
:13:20. > :13:24.I've been some other public sector staff, if they were really aware of
:13:24. > :13:28.how the private sector staff got paid than their pension
:13:28. > :13:32.contributions, I think it is more similar than people realise. It is
:13:32. > :13:35.horrendous, what is going on in the public sector, and I think it is
:13:35. > :13:39.right they should stand up and strike. It just means I get to
:13:39. > :13:42.spend an extra day with him! How well supported do they think
:13:42. > :13:45.the strike will be? It's difficult to predict, but according to the
:13:45. > :13:48.public sector unions taking part, they have about 10,000 members in
:13:48. > :13:51.the Birmingham area. In Staffordshire, the council is
:13:51. > :13:54.expecting just under 3,500 to strike. That's out of a workforce
:13:54. > :13:57.of 28,000. Interestingly, there are professions taking part who haven't
:13:57. > :13:59.gone on strike before. Headteachers, for example, and some health
:14:00. > :14:04.specialists. So appointments will be cancelled and hospitals like
:14:04. > :14:11.Warwick and Stratford expect to run limited services. In Shropshire,
:14:11. > :14:14.they're likening it to what you'd expect on a bank holiday.
:14:14. > :14:23.And you can keep in touch with all the details about what the strikes
:14:23. > :14:27.mean where you live on your BBC A race is on to try to save
:14:27. > :14:30.hundreds of salmon trapped in the River Teme because of low water.
:14:30. > :14:33.It's been the driest year in the region since records began. The
:14:33. > :14:36.Environment Agency have been working to help the fish reach
:14:36. > :14:39.their spawning grounds. Joanne Writtle has been watching rescue
:14:39. > :14:43.operation. These fish are facing a crisis
:14:43. > :14:47.brought on by nature. The Atlantic salmon need to work their way 50
:14:47. > :14:51.kilometres north of here in Ludlow to spawn. But they now barely have
:14:52. > :14:59.the energy to leap upstream. The River Teme is too low for them to
:14:59. > :15:04.make their journey. If they don't get upstream of here, they will not
:15:04. > :15:08.be able to lay their eggs, and if they can't do that, that is the
:15:08. > :15:18.future progeny of this would have gone. They will lose their eggs and
:15:18. > :15:22.
:15:22. > :15:26.dive. There is not enough spawning in the River here for them. -- and
:15:26. > :15:28.die. We used an underwater camera under the supervision of
:15:28. > :15:31.Environment Agency experts, to avoid disturbing the fish. Some
:15:31. > :15:35.weigh up to 30lbs and may have travelled from Greenland. Some of
:15:35. > :15:38.the females are carrying up to 10,000 eggs. The Environment Agency
:15:38. > :15:44.has made temporary modifications to two weirs to try and help the fish
:15:44. > :15:49.through. The salmon crisis has attracted many onlookers. We have
:15:49. > :15:54.been watching them nearly get up but then falling back. They have
:15:54. > :15:59.wanted to get up into the upper reaches of the river. I have never
:15:59. > :16:02.seen the river as low as it is now. This was the River Teme on the
:16:02. > :16:06.Herefordshire-Shropshire border in May, looking more like a farm track.
:16:06. > :16:10.It dried out earlier this year than in the hot summer of 1976. This
:16:10. > :16:13.weir in Ludlow was restored by a charity. The Teme Weirs Trust is
:16:13. > :16:19.backing the temporary work being carried out to two other weirs by
:16:19. > :16:24.the Environment Agency. It is a huge crisis for the future of
:16:24. > :16:30.salmon in this river. And it really needed to be seen to straight away
:16:30. > :16:34.and we have done everything we can to help the Environment Agency
:16:34. > :16:37.progress with the alteration of the weirs. Along with work to help them
:16:37. > :16:39.continue their journeys, the salmon are under 24-hour surveillance, to
:16:40. > :16:49.avoid illegal fishing, though they are unsuitable for eating at this
:16:49. > :16:52.stage in their life-cycle. But there is a twist in detail. It
:16:52. > :16:56.might be raining now but the temporary modern -- modifications
:16:56. > :17:04.can only work if there is significant rainfall to allow the
:17:04. > :17:07.fish to get through. That is an incredible rescue
:17:07. > :17:10.operation. A miserable day, but for the salmon
:17:10. > :17:14.there was some of that much-needed rain. Shefali, what's in store for
:17:14. > :17:17.tomorrow? Unlike today, it's a much drier picture, but that's not to
:17:17. > :17:24.say there isn't more rain on the way. A lot more in fact. I'll tell
:17:24. > :17:28.you when later. 200 school children in Birmingham
:17:28. > :17:32.enjoyed a games lesson with a difference today. They all got the
:17:32. > :17:35.chance to have a go at a Paralympic sport. It's hoped that one of the
:17:35. > :17:39.lasting legacies of 2012 will be to encourage more youngsters to play
:17:39. > :17:42.sport. Ian Winter has been to the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham
:17:42. > :17:46.to find out more. Warming up for a new sporting
:17:46. > :17:50.experience. 200 children from 16 special schools across the region,
:17:50. > :17:54.all set for a big surprise. They'd come together to have a go some
:17:54. > :17:57.Paralympic sports. And everywhere you looked, the youngsters were
:17:57. > :18:00.having fun, encouraged by some exceptional role models. Gymnasts
:18:00. > :18:02.like Sarah Whitehouse, from Wolverhampton, who won gold and
:18:02. > :18:12.silver medals at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in
:18:12. > :18:18.
:18:18. > :18:24.Athens just a couple of months ago. This really means a lot. My mum
:18:24. > :18:28.nominated me to go there. I get to carry the Olympic Flame. When do
:18:28. > :18:32.you find out? Next month. Spend a couple of minutes in Sarah's
:18:32. > :18:36.company and her passion for sport comes shining through. And the same
:18:36. > :18:39.applies to Paul Jacobs. Two years ago, Rifleman Paul was left blinded
:18:39. > :18:43.by a bomb whilst on patrol in Afghanistan. He won a George Medal
:18:43. > :18:49.for bravery. And now, he's become a big fan of goalball, a popular
:18:49. > :18:53.Paralympic sport for the visually impaired. Sport for me has been on
:18:53. > :19:00.top of my agenda. As a soldier, you have routine, and once you have
:19:00. > :19:05.been thrown out of that, it is difficult. For me, going into sport,
:19:05. > :19:09.swimming, whatever it may be, it has been a top, top thing. You just
:19:09. > :19:13.look at them and see the joy on their faces as they experience
:19:13. > :19:17.something new. As they carry on, that could do a lot of good and
:19:17. > :19:21.take them to new places. You will feel proud you are part of that.
:19:21. > :19:25.Mickey Bushell is one of Britain's best medal hopes at London 2012.
:19:25. > :19:28.The wheelchair racer from Telford is off to Australia in the New Year.
:19:28. > :19:31.There's a lot of hard work ahead if he's to go one better than the
:19:31. > :19:37.silver medal he won at the 100 metres in the Beijing Paralympics
:19:37. > :19:42.three years ago. The ultimate goal is gold. I guess it is for
:19:42. > :19:45.everybody. I have to make sure I am the one that is there. Only the
:19:45. > :19:52.chosen few will win medals at London 2012. But today everyone
:19:52. > :19:55.enjoyed their first taste of the Paralympics in Birmingham.
:19:55. > :19:58.That was inspirational! 1.5 million tickets are still
:19:59. > :20:02.available for London 2012 Olympic football matches. They include the
:20:02. > :20:05.12 games being staged at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, which is being
:20:05. > :20:09.re-named for the Olympics as the City of Coventry Stadium. Coventry
:20:09. > :20:13.is understood to be the second most popular venue outside London.
:20:13. > :20:17.They've sold more than 80,000 of their 250,000 allocation.
:20:17. > :20:20.All this week, we'll be revealing who our five finalists are for this
:20:21. > :20:23.year's BBC Midlands Sports Unsung Hero Award. It recognises those
:20:23. > :20:27.unpaid individuals who devote countless hours and energy to
:20:27. > :20:31.helping others take part in sport. And first up is former Olympic
:20:31. > :20:34.marathon runner Bill Adcocks. Since injury forced him to retire from
:20:34. > :20:37.competition, he's spent more than 50 years as a coach and
:20:37. > :20:45.administrator with Coventry's Godiva Harriers. Kevin Reide's been
:20:45. > :20:48.to meet him. It's hard to quantify Bill Adcocks'
:20:48. > :20:51.contribution to grass-roots sport. But when you consider he's been
:20:51. > :20:58.helping to run Coventry's Godiva Harriers since the age of 18, you
:20:58. > :21:04.start to get the picture. Even so, his response to be nominated is
:21:04. > :21:09.humbled. You have these schemes and you look at what people have put in,
:21:09. > :21:15.you think, well, obviously somebody thinks that of me, and it is very
:21:15. > :21:18.gratifying. It is amazing to think that Bill has been active here for
:21:18. > :21:24.more than 50 years, and in that time, he has literally helped
:21:24. > :21:28.thousands of athletes. He likes things to be done right and he
:21:28. > :21:35.knows people are putting a lot of effort in, and so does he, so he is
:21:35. > :21:39.a great person to have in your corner. A marathon runner himself,
:21:39. > :21:41.for 35 years he held the record time racing from Marathon to Athens,
:21:41. > :21:48.and came second in the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica.
:21:48. > :21:52.Harriers friend and colleague is David Moorcroft. He is one of the
:21:52. > :21:56.most outstanding marathon runners Britain has ever produced. He left
:21:56. > :22:01.no stone unturned, and as a young athlete, it was wonderful to have
:22:01. > :22:04.somebody like him to look up to. Back at the track, the night may be
:22:04. > :22:08.over for those training, but for Bill, work is just beginning. First
:22:08. > :22:10.there are meetings to attend. Then at home, more dedication, as he
:22:10. > :22:18.spends hours keeping the website up-to-date with literally thousands
:22:18. > :22:22.of race results. I have to sort of call him if I want him! Or and
:22:22. > :22:28.looks through the hatch when it is time for coffee. He is always on
:22:28. > :22:35.there. -- or I look through the hatch. I want to be involved in
:22:35. > :22:42.trying to create an environment where people do things to help, and
:22:42. > :22:45.if they do that, that is payment enough.
:22:45. > :22:48.Now back to our main news tonight, and major road construction
:22:48. > :22:51.projects across our region are set to benefit from the national
:22:51. > :22:53.infrastructure plan unveiled today by George Osborne. There's also a
:22:54. > :22:56.significant tax break for new businesses setting up in the Black
:22:56. > :23:01.Country enterprise zone. Our political editor, Patrick Burns,
:23:01. > :23:08.has been watching developments at Westminster. How well have we done
:23:08. > :23:11.here in the Midlands out of this mini Budget? To judge by the number
:23:11. > :23:17.of times the Chancellor mentioned the West Midlands, you would think
:23:17. > :23:22.we had done rather well. He pointed out that, incidentally, employment,
:23:22. > :23:27.and that should have been going down during the boom years with
:23:27. > :23:33.this strategy and the road building projects. But the problem is, where
:23:33. > :23:38.is the money coming from? The �5 billion the Government is putting
:23:38. > :23:46.into it is coming from elsewhere in their current spending plans. I am
:23:46. > :23:53.joined by Shabana Mahmood, the Labour MP, and Sajid Javid, the
:23:53. > :23:57.Conservative MP. You are just storing up yet more paint in years
:23:57. > :24:03.to come for the sake of these road- building schemes and other
:24:03. > :24:07.projects? That is not right atoll. We are bringing forward capital
:24:07. > :24:12.spending projects that were already there and finding savings elsewhere
:24:12. > :24:15.and using it for these projects, both in the West Midlands and
:24:15. > :24:20.elsewhere. At a time like this when we are facing an economic challenge
:24:20. > :24:24.and the rest of the world is facing an even bigger one, it is important
:24:24. > :24:29.we do what we can to boost growth. Infrastructure projects is
:24:30. > :24:36.something we can do. We also have local enterprise partnerships and
:24:36. > :24:42.local enterprise zones. You have got a welcome all this. The schemes
:24:42. > :24:47.just mentioned, it gives 100% capital allowances for firms to
:24:47. > :24:53.locate into the zone. That is good news? And of course bringing
:24:53. > :24:59.forward long-term investment projects, that is part of our plan,
:24:59. > :25:04.so I am glad to hear this. But it does not go to any way to say this
:25:04. > :25:08.is a reckless economic policy and is having a devastating impact on
:25:08. > :25:13.hard-working families up and down the country. Briefly, talking to
:25:13. > :25:17.some bankers, they say business does have a lot of money in their
:25:17. > :25:22.accounts. It just lacks the confidence to release it into new
:25:22. > :25:25.opportunities and job creation. What can you do about that? We need
:25:25. > :25:33.to boost confidence. We have a lot more in Britain than in any other
:25:33. > :25:37.country in Europe. The Government needs to focus on growth. OK, more
:25:37. > :25:42.about that roll-out of high-speed broadband in rural areas tomorrow.
:25:42. > :25:51.Thank you, Patrick. It's been a really dank, dark day.
:25:51. > :25:56.Shefali, what's in store for After today's rain, we will see
:25:56. > :26:00.further rain later this week. The wind is quite prominent and the
:26:00. > :26:04.temperature will start to drop as we head into December. More
:26:04. > :26:14.particularly, Thursday night into fried it will be quite a busy
:26:14. > :26:15.
:26:15. > :26:19.picture. -- in to Friday. You can see the cloud is already breaking
:26:19. > :26:25.up and we are seeing a cluster of showers to the north of the region.
:26:25. > :26:30.Later, they will move south. Not an entirely dry picture and there will
:26:30. > :26:37.be bricks in the cloud, so temperatures will fall down to four
:26:37. > :26:42.or five degrees Celsius. Tomorrow, a chilly start to the day, or a
:26:42. > :26:47.chillier start than today. A lot drier than today and sunny as well,
:26:47. > :26:53.with a few showers just dotted around, but they will fade away,
:26:53. > :26:59.leaving it much drier in the afternoon. A colder day than today.
:26:59. > :27:04.Slightly less of a breeze as well. It is through tomorrow night that
:27:04. > :27:08.we see this heavy band of rain spilling out from the South and it
:27:08. > :27:16.will become patchier as it moves north. But a few hours of heavy
:27:16. > :27:23.rain, with things feeling quite breezy. On Thursday night, we get a
:27:23. > :27:26.A look at tonight's main headlines: More years of pain. Britain's debt
:27:27. > :27:29.is bigger, its growth lower. A grim warning to families across the UK