25/01/2012 Midlands Today

Welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines: two elected mayors for

Birmingham and Coventry if the voters say yes in a referendum.

You see what has happened in London and Scotland. There is not an

equivalent in Birmingham. Police are given more time to

question a man over the escape of a dangerous prisoner. The longer that

person is free, the more likely is they will leave a fingerprint as to

where they are. As a route double-dip recession

looms -- recession looms, warnings that the building industry will

continue to decline. One of the country's leading

dramatists has chosen this region Good evening. Tonight, Birmingham

and Coventry could have brand-new directly elected mayors before the

end of this year. The Cities Minister Greg Clark

announced that the government is fast-tracking plans for London

style mayors in 11 UK cities. It would mean referendums being held

on 3rd May, the same day as this year's local elections. If there is

a yes vote, the plan would be to hold votes for the new mayoral

posts on what is being called Super Thursday on 15th November. The

minister said he wanted to push ahead quickly to boost growth and

create jobs. It is Britain's second city and

today the scene of a showpiece government announcement. A horrid

to -- our intention is to hold the first mayoral election on 15th

November, the same day as the elections for the police

commissioners. A day that I hope will be a landmark day in the shape

of powers and influence from Whitehall to communities. Joining

him on the panel hosted by Birmingham's Chamber of Commerce,

two predicted -- political big beasts who think the mayors would

do a better job than council leaders. The way the structure

works does not give a platform of power to the locality. That is what

I think this issue is all about. is also about profile according to

this former Labour Transport Secretary. In London, virtually all

Londoners know who Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone are. In

Birmingham and Coventry, the leaders of councils are not nearly

so well known. They are barely known at all outside of the cities.

Do we know our council leader? I do not know. Mike Whitby? Ghosh,

is it might Whitby? It is. thank goodness I got that right. I

work for the council! On the streets of Coventry, another city

to vote on whether to switch to an elected mayor in May, we find a

similar response. I have not got a clue. I believe it is John Hutton.

The council leader in Coventry and his Labour led authority rejected

the idea of an elected mayor earlier this month. Hearing

Bermingham, Labour candidates have been lining up to throw their hats

into the ring. If there are some who think that putting too much

power into the hands of one person could be bad for democracy. I think

people will probably vote against it because they will not want the

corruption and concentration of power. Spicing up the image of

Birmingham is what this restaurant things they should do. A we want an

ambassador how they are promoting the City. We want it promoted as a

leisure and business destination and it would be fantastic.

business world does not get to decide. That is the people's job.

Let us talk to our correspondent from The Cube in Birmingham. Plenty

of support for politicians. Is there any sign the public want a

directly elected mayors? That is the key challenge, to get people

here in Birmingham and Coventry actually voting in a referendum as

to whether Ron not they want a directly elected mayor. -- whether

or not. Getting people interested in it is a bit of a challenge.

Birmingham Chamber of Commerce said to date it will be backing the yes

campaign hearing Birmingham. The no plant -- the no campaign will be

pushing for a no vote of course. remind us of the leading candidates.

We have already had a lot of people putting their names forward. Three

Labour candidates. Sean Simon, who stood down as an MP to take on this

role. Another current MP and the leader of the Labour group on

Birmingham City Council. Then we have some independents, the TV

presenter and some other candidates. In Coventry, Bob Ainsworth is the

only big name. No doubt, as we get closer to direct rent -- closer to

that referendum, a lot of people will put themselves forward.

We would love to know your thoughts on elected mayors. You can get in

touch through our Facebook page or by email. We will hopefully read

some of your pro -- comments later Later, Aston Villa, the next

generation, can the club's talented youngsters move closer to European

glory this evening? As the hunt continues bomb murder

suspect John Anslow police have been given more time to question a

44-year-old man about his escape. Anslow van Tipton in the Black

Country is still on the run after he was sprung from a prison van by

a gang with sledgehammers. He was heading to Stafford Crown Court

from Hewell Prison on doesn't -- on Monday. What is the latest? Police

have confirmed they have been given an extra 12 hours to continue

questioning a man from Tipton who was arrested on Monday evening. He

has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. They also

say they have executed search warrants at two homes in Tipton and

seized property. They hope all of us will help in the hunt for John

Anslow who was due to appear at court on Monday where he faced a

murder charge. A short distance from the prison where he was held,

the van that was transporting him was ambushed by a gang armed with

sledgehammers. The police have put up a �10,000 reward for any

information that could help them in their hunt. How important has

social media been in this investigation so far? Staffordshire

Police say that the appeal they have posted on Facebook has now

been seen by 2 million people across the country. To get a sense

of this investigation and what the police are looking at, I have been

speaking to a former police officer who now teaches policing and

forensics at Staffordshire University of. The longer that

person is free, the more likely that they will leave a fingerprint

or a trace of where they are, financially or by other means.

People may well bring the police or contact them and give them

information. That is why the police have circulated photographs of this

person because they need the assistance of the public. That

gives us a sense of how the police are approaching the case. They have

said that John Anslow is dangerous and that people should not approach

him but call the police immediately. Thank you. The building industry

will face a tough times for the next five years. The construction

skills Network survey predicts at work -- approach frump construction

will for by one by one the sense it -- 1.1% year by 2016. That

contrasts with the national figure which will see growth of 1.4%. The

fault is being blamed on the wait for large-scale projects such as

Birmingham's Eastside and the High Speed 2 rail link.

Dino Elbakkali has become a specialist in house extensions. He

has had to because all of his commercial work has dried up. He

says his building business cannot get a loan from the banks of stock

we have been struggling for the past three or four years and we got

used red and thanks to the domestic market that has kept us going.

it was not for projects like this, we would not be here today.

Today's report from Construction Industry Training Board makes for

grim reading. It says that construction output in the West

Midlands was rent by around one. -- 1% a year for at least five years.

There will be a skills shortage ahead of the three major building

projects according to the survey. Those projects include Sity Central

Shopping Centre in Stoke-on-Trent. Daniel Harvey is an apprentice with

the construction firm Carillion. He is learning his trade on site.

have learnt quite a lot. I like to think that in a couple of years'

time, I could be in a job like this myself. I would like to move abroad

and advance my skills. Apprenticeships are seen as crucial

for a skilled workforce. Although there will be around 5000 fewer

construction jobs by 2016 in the West Midlands, jobs in Architecture

and blazing are expected to increase. There will be a call of

traditional skills needed such as carpentry but there will also be a

huge breath of newer skills involved. This school is being

built as a prestige construction project. The big uncertainty arises

when these sort of contracts and, what will come next? The survival

of a small builder like Dino Elbakkali's has been tested further

by a young apprentices being lured away by big commercial players.

That could soon change if predictions of growth in the

private housing sector of realised. Earlier I spoke to Judy Lowe, the

deputy chairman of the Construction Industry Training Board. I asked

her what could be done to promote growth in the region's building

industry. I think the first thing to make clear is that although the

figures from our construction skills network report might look

quite grim for the best Midlands over the next five years, you

should really sit in the context of this being one of the 12 regions of

the UK that has been the most successful up until now in bidding

for hospital private projects and Building Schools for the Future

projects. There has been a 72% growth in public sector and on

housing, as it is called, investment in the West Midlands.

That is since 2007. You obviously going to come down from a highlight

back. You should see it as relative. It is not a that the area is in

terminal decline. It is that you are no longer going to be growing

at the rate you wear. Public projects are facing a dramatic

decline over the next few years? Public projects, nationally, public

sector housing is going to drop 25%. Schools, prisons and hospitals will

also drop. In the West Midlands, those figures are myriad. 20% drop

in public housing, 17% drop in public sector and on housing.

Inevitably, that is going to affect the overall figures.

In other news, workers are continuing to picket the Kingsbury

Oil Terminal. Around 30 oil tanker drivers are taking five days of

industrial action in a dispute with the delivery company Wincanton.

Members of the United union walked out yesterday and claims the firm

wants to cut their pay by 20%. The company says no changes will be

made without union agreement. A body has been found in a car in

Warwickshire. Police and firefighters were called away field

in Aston Cantlow near Alcester at around 7:30am. So far,

identification has not been possible.

Obesity levels in the West Midlands are among the worst in the country.

In some parts of the region as many as one in 10 young children are

severely overweight. Today youngsters from five inner-

city schools took part in a sports based project to fight back against

This is a type of football with the South American origins. Children

from inner-city schools in Birmingham were embracing it today.

But 10% off four two five-year-olds in Birmingham are obese, according

to the West Midlands Public Health Observatory. And events like this

one in Birmingham are tackling the problem head-on.

I have been working in schools for 17 years. You see it every year,

the number of children who are overweight increasing. It is a

combination of diet and also exercise.

John runs a social enterprise which organised the event. It sends

health mentor's into schools to help children eat healthier

lifestyles. -- lead healthier lifestyles.

This teacher works at one of the worst schools in the country for us

-- social deprivation. We have found it has got worse with

under seven-year-olds. These are children who are playing games,

computer games, and don't get out on a Saturday or Sunday, going out

to the park and things like that. Never the less the health message

seems to be embedded in children we spoke to.

If you eat too much chocolate, you will get fat. What do you have to

do to make sure you don't get fat? Eat vegetables. Do sport. This

project is not the only one. Another scheme in schools tackling

obesity is headed by a senior public health lecturer at

Birmingham University. The emphasis is on academic

achievements. Schools are measured by that. Often, that is the focus

they have. Things to do with physical activity is often

sacrificed. Organisers of this event say they

are on a mission to promote health by stealth.

They seem to be loving it! Still ahead: Or the latest on the weather.

It is about to turn colder with a period of heavy rain before it does.

But be encouraged that it is not Six months after a famine was

declared in Somalia, one charity says it has had more donations from

people in Birmingham than anywhere else. Islamic Relief says the

crisis in East Africa is far from over and donations are still needed.

4,000 miles away from the Midlands, the fight to save lives in the

Somali capital Mogadishu goes on. It might seem far removed from here,

but it is work than in the West Midlands match has helped to people

caught up in the first famine of the 21st century. Tens of thousands

of items of clothing, unwanted in the Western world, are proving a

vital lifeline. The garments are delivered to this warehouse

belonging to the charity Islamic Relief. Some are sent to East

Africa, others sold to raise money. This may look like a jumble sale on

a massive scale, but this operation by Islamic Relief in the east

Birmingham area has contributed to providing life-saving food, water

and medical suppliers to 900,000 Somalis since the famine began.

The charity's director has just returned from Somalia, where he has

found out how the money and clothes donated up being used to help the

starving. I first visit was harrowing.

Traumatising. I saw thousands of people making their way across...

Those were the scenes I remember being my childhood. I had not seen

an exodus. I saw some organisation in the camps.

Officials say a quarter of a million people are still in danger.

It is estimated around 50,000 Somalis live in the West Midlands.

They are desperate not to see the relief effort diminish.

It is surprising, seeing de digital revolutions in the Middle East and

anywhere, that we can have people dying of a lack of food. It is

somewhat bizarre. Nonetheless, Islamic Relief is

delighted at how the public has rallied round. Nearly 500,000

tonnes of clothing has been donated to the charity by people living in

Birmingham alone. That is more than in any other city.

Bob joins us now from a charity shop in Birmingham.

Six months after the appeal, still a dire situation in Somalia. By

donations in fact shopping? They are to some extent. That

depends a clearer picture, I should ask the fund-raising manager for

Islamic Relief. What is the situation as far as donations are

concerned? Donations have naturally dropped as

a result of the fact that the media spotlight is no longer on the

crisis. Of course, �72 million has been donated by the British public

so far. So it is a case, though, that that is not enough?

The public have been fantastic. But this has been the worst crisis in

64 years. It is not the kind of thing that can be solved in six

months. We have got 4 million people reliant on aid and 250,000

people who are at AA real risk of starvation. What are you asking the

public to do? We ask the public to continue to

support us. They have been fantastic so far but we need their

support to continue with the food aid, providing water for drinking

purposes and sanitation, and to allow us with -- help us with

medical assistance. Thank you very much. Obviously the

East African situation is still a very fragile one, and the charity

has concerned that if we don't donate more money, that is, the

Western world, there will be a crisis there again.

One of the country's top dramatists has chosen this region to film his

latest big TV production. Set in the 1930s, Dancing On The Edge

tells this story of a black jazz band. It is from the pen of writer

and director Stephen Poliakoff. It is being are found in some rather

unusual locations. Seen by many as a genius, Stephen

Poliakoff, on location in Birmingham. He is responsible for

many television dramas, and his new production, Dancing On The Edge, is

his first five-part drama. He we are at the early 1930s, just

before the rise of fascism. It is a fascinating time in the world, with

the great financial crash and mass unemployment. It was a time of

great change, and a worship of the new. The explosive drama stars

Anthony Head. The Imperial Hotel in London. It is

the 1930s. Dancing On The Edge tells the story of a black jazz

band which initially shocked polite society. But gradually it achieves

fame with the help of progressive socialites. But I'm told there's A

murder. The location, Birmingham city

council house, may not seem obvious, but the set has an incredible

attention to detail. It looks very convincing. It is

recreating a hotel, the Cecil Hotel, the biggest in the world at the

time. It fell on hard times and was nearly demolished.

Dancing On The Edge is the latest drama to be brought to the Midlands

by From Birmingham, who were responsible for the BBC's Hustle.

responsible for the BBC's Hustle. Figures show that Birmingham has

It is hotels, food, locations... They also imply local crew. --

employer. That is where the money is spent. The hotels and clubs of

the time were enormous. I have tried to recreate that, not on the

same budget, but to give an epic look on a small budget. Two feature

films are rumoured to be happening here. With much of London being

sealed off for the Olympics in the summer, Birmingham is attractive

for the film industry. I'm very excited about this. A

friend of ours, Dave, whose day job is a painter and decorator, is

starring in this. He is dancing in a ballroom scene somewhere. Not

much help to you lot, but I will There's a long interview about the

prospects of the film industry on the BBC Birmingham website.

Any Aston Villa fan will tell you that 1982 was their finest hour. 30

years after lifting the European Cup, the club's talented youngsters

are closing in on their own European final. The NextGen Cup has

attracted 16 top clubs, and tonight, then a's youth academy are at home

to Marseille in the quarter-finals. -- Villa's youth academy.

Tension is mounting here. The children are expecting two VIP

guests, and so are the teachers. But they are not sure who - until

all is revealed. It is Marc Albrighton and his team-

mate Gary Gardner. They have just popped in to lodge Aston Villa's

new scheme to give free tickets to schools.

We are not trained to speak in front of 360 kids. It is harder

than playing in front of 40,000 people.

At 22, Marc is to all to play in it tonight's game. But Gary, who is 19,

believe nothing is to be feared for their love.

I have played in every game to get to the quarter-final, and now I

want to go all the way. It will be really special for us.

Has Gary mentions the hat-trick he scored against Ajax? A couple of

times! Those goals helped Aston Villa make

the last eight and caught the eye of Alex McLeish, who decided he was

old enough and good enough to make his Premier League debut. Tonight

the new generation of Aston Villa players are hoping to beat

Marseille, cheered on by the next generation of Aston Villa fans into

the semi-finals of the NextGen Cup. And there's commentary on the game

And there's commentary on the game on BBC WM. Kick-off is at 7pm.

Now the weather. It has been a week so far and we

have had peaks and troughs, quite literally. We had warned today and

after that we have got a cold front to come tomorrow. That is going to

lead to a trough, which will leave us with showers on Thursday. Then

we have the peak of high pressure coming from the south-west by

Friday. So it is all go at the moment. It all amounts to it being

colder and,, and also drier and sunnier. That is a bonus. -- holder

and drier. For tonight we have got a band of rain going through. It is

going to be a heavy bag of rain, producing in the region of 10-20 mm

of rain. Behind it we had got clearer skies, and it is going to

turn colder. Temperatures are down to a minimum of two Sell Sears. We

could see some ice there. Those clearer skies in date from the West

tomorrow morning, so because of those we wake up to a lot of

sunshine. We have got scatter showers across the region, which

could turn wintry. But a top temperature of around six or seven

Celsius. Still quite breezy from the south-west. A cold night, but

the south-west. A cold night, but as I say, by Friday it is going to

turn drier and sunnier. A look at tonight's headlines: That

shrinking feeling - the UK economy went into reverse at the end of

last year. And there could be elected mayors

for Birmingham and Coventry before the end of the year if voters say

yes in a referendum. On that note, a lot of comments on

this coming in from you all. Thank you very much for them. Paul says a

male would do great things for the city. In the days when politicians

are celebrities, it would be a good thing.

But most seemed against. The Shaun Harrison says giving one person so

much power will be a bad. Another person says where is the

money going to come from two done this extra layer of government?

Another says who is going to pay the staff and costs? This is the

end of democracy. Geoff Woodward, a Coventry