:00:06. > :00:12.Good evening, welcome to Wednesday's Midlands Today from the
:00:12. > :00:15.BBC. On budget day - the region's bus
:00:15. > :00:23.and coach operators tell Chancellor George Osborne, "Your fuel duty is
:00:23. > :00:26.killing us." it is a big industry and we have a role to play in
:00:26. > :00:36.supporting rest of the manufacturing industry in the West
:00:36. > :00:37.
:00:37. > :00:41.Midlands. Bridging the skills gap - thousands
:00:42. > :00:46.of young people have a lift on to the career ladder.
:00:46. > :00:52.From this to this, how a motorcycle crash victim is fighting back to
:00:52. > :01:02.fitness. You know when Christmas is coming up and you're getting at
:01:02. > :01:06.
:01:06. > :01:11.present you wanted - it feels like that.
:01:11. > :01:15.Welcome to Midlands today. On Budget day, the region's bus and
:01:15. > :01:18.coach operators told the Chancellor, you're fuel duty is killing us.
:01:18. > :01:21.Here in the West Midlands, there are more than 60 coach and bus
:01:21. > :01:24.firms, employing up to 10,000 people. And each day across our
:01:24. > :01:27.region, more than 1.3 million passengers hop on a bus. But with
:01:27. > :01:30.the price of diesel continuing to rocket, some operators have told us
:01:30. > :01:35.they are now spending more than 25% of their income on fuel. Today, Mr
:01:35. > :01:38.Osborne ruled out a cut in fuel duty, so how tough is it right now?
:01:38. > :01:43.In our first Budget report tonight, Sarah Falkland has spent the day in
:01:43. > :01:47.Warwickshire. The school runs are over for the
:01:47. > :01:57.morning, Johnsons coaches are back at base in Henley in Arden. Time to
:01:57. > :01:59.
:01:59. > :02:02.fill up the tanks again. Last year this company spent 1.7 �5 million
:02:02. > :02:06.on fuel and this year the reckon it will be over �2 million. And that's
:02:06. > :02:09.why the boss is in the drivers' room listening to the budget. The
:02:09. > :02:12.Government has already said it's cutting the rebate on fuel duty for
:02:12. > :02:21.bus operators by 20% next month. Peter Johnson is now hoping for
:02:21. > :02:27.better news. I do not propose to make any further changes to the
:02:27. > :02:32.fuel duty plans already set out. But there is none. I am really
:02:32. > :02:36.disappointed he could not do more to promote bus travel. We are the
:02:36. > :02:40.solution, not the problem. We can deal with congestion and can take
:02:40. > :02:44.large numbers of people. In fact, the price of diesel is now at a
:02:44. > :02:47.record high in the UK. Even though some of the burden is passed
:02:47. > :02:52.directly to customers in higher fares, parts of the coach and bus
:02:52. > :02:56.industry are struggling. Fuel costs a killing coach operators. There is
:02:56. > :02:59.a major concern among some many companies because of the income it
:03:00. > :03:02.is taking to pay for the fuel. it's not just the bus companies who
:03:03. > :03:05.are suffering. By chance, the only petrol station in Henley in Arden
:03:05. > :03:08.was temporarily closed today. The next nearest is seven miles away.
:03:08. > :03:17.Local business people say they too are finding the high pump prices
:03:17. > :03:24.too painful. The cost of fuel was going to finish small businesses
:03:24. > :03:29.like myself, because we cannot afford to run the vehicles. We find
:03:29. > :03:34.no that we are facing prices because of the climate and we
:03:34. > :03:38.cannot afford to do so, cannot afford to get there. I put a full
:03:38. > :03:40.tank in this morning and it is already telling me I'm running out.
:03:41. > :03:46.And of course, there's still the leftover from Mr Osborne's last
:03:46. > :03:51.budget. A planned 3% hike in fuel duty in August. He knows how much
:03:51. > :03:57.money he is making and relying on that money because it is there and
:03:57. > :03:59.it is ring-fenced. Us poor people have to pay it. A budget for
:03:59. > :04:09.business? Critics say it's not enough to keep wheels of industry
:04:09. > :04:13.
:04:14. > :04:23.rolling. One �54.90 pence for diesel, I saw
:04:24. > :04:27.
:04:27. > :04:32.today. What is the verdict? This budget, so heavily leaked and
:04:32. > :04:37.trailed in advance, MPs I have spoken to in those famous corridors
:04:37. > :04:41.where Major to deliver that verdict even before the Chancellor stood up.
:04:41. > :04:47.Labour were absolutely scathing in the reduction of the top rate of
:04:47. > :04:50.income tax and Liberal Democrats equally celebrated the fact that
:04:50. > :04:58.those higher threshold on income tax will take some of the poorest
:04:58. > :05:02.earners out of the heaviest burdens of tax. Conservative celebrated
:05:02. > :05:09.business-friendly measures such as the changes to corporation tax.
:05:09. > :05:13.They will speak to the shadow business minister and to Karen
:05:13. > :05:17.Lumley, a former company secretary and Conservative MP for
:05:17. > :05:22.Worcestershire. One thing not on that list is any decision to
:05:22. > :05:27.reverse the scheduled increase in fuel duty. We have heard from a
:05:27. > :05:31.coach operator who said it is killing them. We had some difficult
:05:31. > :05:39.decisions to make. We inherited the bigger its deficit of any
:05:39. > :05:43.government cover. What could you have done instead? We have been
:05:43. > :05:45.pulling very strongly for a temporary cut to VAT which that
:05:46. > :05:50.have the immediate effect of bringing down the cost of fuel by
:05:51. > :05:53.three pence, and would also put �450 into the pockets of hard-
:05:54. > :05:56.working families up and down the country and kick-start the economy.
:05:56. > :06:02.That is what we should have seen from the government today but they
:06:03. > :06:08.have missed their chance. Is it really going to reach out to those
:06:08. > :06:16.who need it most, for example, are really small start-up companies?
:06:16. > :06:20.think they could benefit massively so by reducing corporation tax.
:06:20. > :06:24.We're trying to get private jobs and to this country and we cannot
:06:24. > :06:32.survive on public-sector jobs. We have to make Britain and the West
:06:32. > :06:36.Midlands are place that is a good for businesses. The government
:06:36. > :06:39.announces policies which are all well and good but then fails and
:06:39. > :06:43.the implementation of those policies. We have seen the business
:06:43. > :06:48.department failing to get credit ratings on track as they said they
:06:48. > :06:57.would. The number crunchers were all over might interpret the real
:06:57. > :06:59.subtext of this. From a business perspective, our correspondent
:06:59. > :07:02.Peter Plisner has spent the day in Warwick, on the Heathcote
:07:02. > :07:06.Industrial Estate, gauging reaction from companies there. And he joins
:07:06. > :07:15.us now. Peter, how has Mr Osborne's speech been received? Are they
:07:15. > :07:19.still worried about their futures? To make, we are with a company that
:07:19. > :07:23.makes dustcarts and exports and all offer the world. The changes in
:07:23. > :07:29.corporation tax have gone down well here. Elsewhere, it is mostly small
:07:29. > :07:32.businesses, where there has been a mixed reaction.
:07:32. > :07:36.Most small firms need for two copiers but despite that, this
:07:36. > :07:41.company which supplies them, has lost out because of cuts in
:07:41. > :07:46.government spending and reductions in bank lending. Today, they were
:07:47. > :07:55.hoping for help from the Budget. The government promised a reduction
:07:55. > :08:05.to red tape. We really cannot afford to employ people to going to
:08:05. > :08:10.the minutiae I have all the legislation that comes out.
:08:10. > :08:15.upstairs, the company's service manager had a bit different agenda.
:08:15. > :08:19.He was more interested enough in the Budget would impact on him.
:08:19. > :08:25.Improved personal allowances are stepper the right direction. That
:08:25. > :08:33.will benefit a lot of people. Tax avoidance issue, for a high earners.
:08:33. > :08:39.That is something that needed to be tackled. So will the Chancellor's
:08:39. > :08:43.budget help the fitness of small businesses on this estate. It for
:08:43. > :08:48.help this gem which moved here 12 months ago. Increases in personal
:08:48. > :08:51.tax allowance could be good news here, something of the gym's corner
:08:51. > :08:56.is looking forward to. allowance has gone up and people
:08:56. > :09:05.feel like they have more money in their pockets so we will see more
:09:05. > :09:08.members. Transport costs are high for this courier firm, and today,
:09:08. > :09:13.thousands of parcels passed through this depot. The Chancellor froze
:09:13. > :09:16.road tax for lorries but they wanted more. A it will help with
:09:16. > :09:22.the vehicles this size but we run a lot of small vehicles and they are
:09:22. > :09:27.not sure how it will affect them. What I would have really like to
:09:27. > :09:30.see his boring fuel tax. Although most firms expected more help for
:09:30. > :09:34.the Chancellor, there was the realisation today there was not a
:09:34. > :09:41.lot more that perhaps could have been done. A budget to remember?
:09:41. > :09:46.Probably not. What is the reaction here? What did
:09:46. > :09:51.you think of today's budget? It was a steady as you call budget. What
:09:51. > :09:54.we really need is consistency in government policy so we can plan
:09:54. > :09:57.their business. I am pleased with the reduction in corporation tax
:09:57. > :10:04.which means more money in the business for investment, so that is
:10:04. > :10:09.pretty good. Anything you expected to see that did not happen?
:10:09. > :10:12.particularly. The Government talks about reducing red tape and they
:10:12. > :10:17.mentioned it again, but with not a lot of detail and we are not seeing
:10:17. > :10:22.much underground. I would like to see more speed there. In terms of
:10:22. > :10:26.growth, the growth figures were revised. For you and other
:10:26. > :10:32.companies, that much be good for. The that always be good news for
:10:32. > :10:35.everybody. That is positive. Our business is effect is slightly
:10:35. > :10:38.different way because we sell to local authorities. Their spending
:10:38. > :10:48.has been reduced recently as people tighten their belts, but
:10:48. > :10:49.
:10:49. > :10:54.fortunately, now things are back to normal. Week... What about exports?
:10:54. > :11:00.It helped that it keeps the economy on a stable footing. The exchange
:11:00. > :11:04.rate is favourable for us at the moment. As with all budgets, it has
:11:04. > :11:09.to be said, the devil is in the details and that will only happen
:11:09. > :11:13.in the next few days. Peter, there's also some more
:11:13. > :11:16.positive news coming out of Jaguar Land Rover today isn't there?
:11:16. > :11:19.Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed it will be expanding to China. They
:11:19. > :11:21.have agreed a multi-billion pound joint venture with the Chinese car
:11:21. > :11:25.maker Chery. The agreement covers both building JLR vehicles,
:11:25. > :11:33.creating a research and development facility and sales. China is
:11:33. > :11:36.currently JLR's third biggest market.
:11:36. > :11:44.And for the Budget details and reaction to the Chancellor's speech,
:11:44. > :11:47.you'll find plenty of information on the BBC news website.
:11:47. > :11:53.A 15-year-old boy has died after collapsing during a rugby match in
:11:53. > :11:56.Worcestershire. Luke Chapman was a student at Haybridge High School in
:11:56. > :11:59.Hagley. He was taken ill during a game at Baxter College in
:11:59. > :12:06.Kidderminster. The air ambulance was called but he died in hospital.
:12:07. > :12:10.The head teacher of Haybridge read a statement on behalf of the school.
:12:10. > :12:20.We're all terribly shocked and upset by the tragic death of what
:12:20. > :12:21.
:12:21. > :12:24.Chapman. -- Luke Chapman. He was a much-loved friend and student and
:12:24. > :12:29.we will miss him very much. Our thoughts are with his friends and
:12:29. > :12:31.the staff at this difficult time and the school will offer all the
:12:31. > :12:34.support it can to those affected. The Lord Mayor of Birmingham had
:12:34. > :12:38.extra special reason to be proud today as she handed the freedom of
:12:38. > :12:41.the city to five army regiments. One of the 200 soldiers on parade
:12:41. > :12:44.was the son of Councillor Anita Ward. He was shot and seriously
:12:44. > :12:48.injured in Afghanistan 18 months ago. To complete the celebrations,
:12:48. > :12:58.today is his 30th birthday. Giles Latcham reports and there is some
:12:58. > :12:59.
:12:59. > :13:03.The odd man and her son prepare for a big day for Birmingham and their
:13:03. > :13:09.family in particular. -- de Lord Mayor.
:13:09. > :13:14.I am a mother of a serving Guardsman, so it is a big day for
:13:14. > :13:18.This was on parade today, carrying the silver box containing the
:13:18. > :13:24.scroll conferring the freedom of the city. Any vantage point will do
:13:24. > :13:28.when the Foot Guards I town. should be proud of our soldiers. I
:13:28. > :13:33.am. I think it is a brilliant day out.
:13:33. > :13:39.The mayor's son was shot in Helmand 18 months ago. He is still
:13:39. > :13:42.recovering. But he is determined to return to service. People can say,
:13:42. > :13:47.after what you have been through, wouldn't you prefer to finish it
:13:47. > :13:54.there? I think the first thing you get is an immense amount of pride
:13:54. > :13:59.from seeing everybody help you and how everybody reacts. You just want
:13:59. > :14:03.to continue to be part of that. Elements of the Irish, Welsh and
:14:03. > :14:11.Scots Guards, as well as Coldstreamers and gut -- Grenadiers,
:14:11. > :14:16.marched. As she took the salute, the Lord Mayor became tearful.
:14:16. > :14:23.60% of the recruits are from the West Midlands.
:14:23. > :14:30.A lot of people came to see it, and were happy about it. He has gone to
:14:30. > :14:35.Birmingham with the freedom of the city. I'm quite proud. It is nice
:14:35. > :14:39.to be on home turf. Some of the soldiers will provide
:14:39. > :14:45.pomp and ceremony for the Queen's Jubilee and the Olympics. Others
:14:46. > :14:50.are soon to deploy to Afghanistan. For the Foot Guards, 2012 holds
:14:50. > :14:52.many challenges. An emotional and special day.
:14:52. > :14:57.Tonight it has been confirmed that a soldier from the second Battalion,
:14:57. > :15:01.The Mercian Regiment has been killed in Afghanistan. He died
:15:01. > :15:06.after an explosion from an improvised device in Helmand. His
:15:06. > :15:11.family has been in Frome. -- informed.
:15:11. > :15:18.On our economy debate on Monday, Lord Digby Jones once again
:15:18. > :15:21.highlighted the employment skills gap. Looking at record youth
:15:21. > :15:28.unemployment in the nation and in the West Midlands, every business
:15:28. > :15:34.you go to, they would always say their problem is they don't have
:15:34. > :15:37.enough skilled people. So what is being done? 4,000 people aged 15-24
:15:37. > :15:43.are attending a skills event in Birmingham ending tomorrow. It
:15:43. > :15:47.offers an insight into what is needed to launch a career.
:15:47. > :15:51.The Skills Fair has been held annually for a number of years but
:15:51. > :15:57.is increasingly important for young people in a shrinking jobs market.
:15:57. > :16:01.Fifteen-year-old Sophie already has a fair idea of what she wants to do.
:16:01. > :16:06.But she has come to look at other options. I want to go to college
:16:06. > :16:10.and I think I want to go into teaching, possibly. But we will see
:16:10. > :16:20.what happens when I get older. There are more than 50 exhibitors
:16:20. > :16:21.
:16:21. > :16:24.here today, offering advice on many carriers. -- Koreas.
:16:24. > :16:30.This is you go to school, you find something you like and then you
:16:30. > :16:40.find a way of getting into it. So there's plenty for Sophie to see
:16:40. > :16:40.
:16:40. > :16:48.- including motor sports! Or maybe not. This is hard. It just went
:16:48. > :16:51.wrong after the first 20 seconds. So, time for a sharp exit. At the
:16:51. > :17:00.next stall, a number of surprising things to learn.
:17:00. > :17:03.It is different, being in the army. I did not know you could be a
:17:03. > :17:07.teacher in the army. A If you fancy one of the creative
:17:07. > :17:13.industries, there's plenty to see here, even if you need a strong
:17:13. > :17:17.stomach. Just adding some special effects.
:17:17. > :17:22.Quite a lot of opportunities out of there, in television, theatre,
:17:22. > :17:26.photographic work, magazine work. Has there been anything to change
:17:26. > :17:28.Sophie's mind? There are other options, but I'm
:17:28. > :17:34.going to stick with teaching at the minute.
:17:34. > :17:40.4,000 youngsters will visit this Skills Fair, and while may -- many
:17:40. > :17:46.may see a scary feature, others have things to smile about.
:17:46. > :17:50.That wound was realistic! Still ahead: The junior footballers
:17:50. > :17:53.celebrating after finally getting a pitch to call their own.
:17:53. > :18:03.And there's one day this week standing out above the rest. But
:18:03. > :18:06.
:18:06. > :18:11.you will have to wait until later Last night, being reported live
:18:11. > :18:18.from Shrewsbury Town to see if they could extend their unbeaten run to
:18:18. > :18:22.20 games. And the answer is... Yes! The rock solid fortress repels all
:18:22. > :18:27.invaders, including Cheltenham Town. But while it was good news in Leek
:18:27. > :18:37.2, there was bad news for the Blues in their bid to make the
:18:37. > :18:51.
:18:51. > :18:56.who dominated the first half. Nine minutes after the break, Chris
:18:57. > :19:00.Maguire made it 1-1, and the game was turned on its head. This
:19:00. > :19:05.challenge brought a second yellow card for David Murphy, and he was
:19:05. > :19:10.not the only one to see red. Chris Hughton was left fuming. He said
:19:10. > :19:15.the referee's performance changed the game. Portsmouth took full
:19:15. > :19:19.advantage and scored three in the last half an hour. A defeat for the
:19:19. > :19:23.Blues, leading them in the play- offs, but only just, on goal
:19:23. > :19:30.difference. Any later rivals will have mist
:19:30. > :19:40.strode the town's first goal. -- late arrivals. And early in the
:19:40. > :19:41.
:19:41. > :19:46.Our home form has been outstanding. The results have been excellent. We
:19:46. > :19:49.have got to start doing it right away from home. We have turned up
:19:49. > :19:53.the tempo tonight and we have to take that into the away matches.
:19:53. > :20:01.One late goal from Marc Richards gave Port Vale three points against
:20:01. > :20:06.Hereford. Better not be lost to an even later goal against Northampton.
:20:06. > :20:12.-- Burton Albion. Spare a thought for Walsall. They scored first
:20:12. > :20:19.through Jon Macken, and with 17 minutes left, they were leading 2-1.
:20:19. > :20:22.But then a last-minute equaliser denied them victory. It leaves them
:20:22. > :20:28.in the relegation quicksand. Wolves said they are disappointed
:20:28. > :20:32.that sales of early bird tickets are down by 18%. Just over 12,000
:20:32. > :20:36.fans have committed to next season, compared to almost 15,000 at this
:20:36. > :20:40.time last year. Meanwhile, the former manager Mick McCarthy has
:20:40. > :20:44.given his first interview since getting the sack last month. He
:20:44. > :20:48.says he would love to see his friend Terry Connor keep Wolves in
:20:48. > :20:54.the Premier League. If he had left and they had a point
:20:54. > :20:59.is somebody knew, I would not have had such a vested interest in it.
:20:59. > :21:04.But he is a close family friend now, himself and his wife. They are
:21:04. > :21:10.great pals. I have that even more of an interest in it, watching it,
:21:10. > :21:13.and just wishing him well. For the past 12 years, the
:21:13. > :21:17.Eccleshall Eagles have been flying high, but home games have always
:21:17. > :21:21.been a problem. The young footballers have never had a pitch
:21:21. > :21:26.to call their own. But now, thanks to the National Lottery, the Eagles
:21:26. > :21:31.have landed, and they are said to build a permanent nest.
:21:32. > :21:38.-- set to build. Celebrating after winning �50,000
:21:38. > :21:44.for three new pitches. Eccleshall Eagles have almost 200 players, and
:21:44. > :21:48.there are 14 teams, four boys and girls. They are all excited at the
:21:48. > :21:55.prospect of better facilities. It is brilliant because we are
:21:55. > :22:00.going to have new pitches that we can play on, and there will not be
:22:00. > :22:03.tractors going over them. We have to keep transporting the
:22:03. > :22:09.goals backwards and forwards all the time. It means we can get
:22:09. > :22:12.better goals and stuff. It is going to help the club. It
:22:12. > :22:18.will give us better pitches and the pitch we play on the moment is a
:22:18. > :22:23.bit bumpy. It won't have the lumps in it.
:22:24. > :22:29.These teams are among 13 groups in the West Midlands are sharing more
:22:29. > :22:32.than �500,000 from the National Lottery Fund. The money has been
:22:32. > :22:36.made available to make sure the Olympics has a lasting legacy. The
:22:37. > :22:45.funding will help to bring this used to playing fields back into
:22:45. > :22:49.use and create more sports pages. - - unused playing fields.
:22:49. > :22:53.The team has been playing on rented sides until now.
:22:53. > :22:58.Frequently, when you get bad weather, the pitch is bad and the
:22:58. > :23:02.match is cancelled. In terms of playing on poor quality surfaces,
:23:02. > :23:07.it is chalk and cheese. It just allows more matches to carry on. It
:23:07. > :23:11.also means you get a better run. Work on the new Peters will begin
:23:11. > :23:19.within six months. It is hoped they will inspire many successful
:23:19. > :23:24.seasons for the Eagles. Good luck to them, not to mention
:23:24. > :23:28.Stoke City, away at Tottenham Hotspur tonight. All the action is
:23:28. > :23:32.on your BBC local radio station. The thank you.
:23:32. > :23:35.You may recall back in January that we told you about John Parsons, the
:23:35. > :23:39.motorcyclist from Stoke-on-Trent who had been left semi paralysed
:23:39. > :23:42.after a hit-and-run incident. We are delighted to say he is
:23:42. > :23:48.making excellent processed -- progress at a specialist hospital
:23:48. > :23:52.in Shropshire. Getting out of his hospital bed and
:23:52. > :23:58.into a wheelchair is a major breakthrough for motorcyclists John
:23:58. > :24:04.Parsons. Last time we saw him was two weeks after a hit-and-run
:24:04. > :24:06.driver left him for dead. He spent seven weeks lying on his back at
:24:06. > :24:10.the Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries in Oswestry, paralysed
:24:10. > :24:15.from the waist down. One more go, then.
:24:15. > :24:21.Now he has learnt to stand with the help of a physiotherapist. He has
:24:21. > :24:24.been told he may progress to being able to walk across a room.
:24:24. > :24:29.I have gone from thinking that I would never walk again and that I
:24:29. > :24:38.would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, to being able to
:24:38. > :24:42.walk short distances. I have got a goal, which is to walk out of here.
:24:42. > :24:47.When you are little Christmas is coming and you are getting it
:24:47. > :24:53.presents you want, it feels like that. You get the same excitement,
:24:53. > :24:57.the same drive to do more than you should.
:24:57. > :25:03.John's therapy has been imperative from the start as he learns to cope
:25:03. > :25:08.with the dramatic changes to his muscles since the accident.
:25:08. > :25:14.Staffordshire Police says several witnesses to the accident on the
:25:14. > :25:19.A500 in January have come forward. But they have yet to chase the --
:25:19. > :25:21.trace the driver. After breaking his spine, John faces longer in
:25:21. > :25:25.hospital as he continued to make progress.
:25:25. > :25:28.None of us know where we are going to get to, but the future is
:25:28. > :25:34.looking good, because he is still knew logically improving.
:25:34. > :25:38.His positive attitude has captained focus. He says if he knew the
:25:38. > :25:42.driver was coming four, he would finally have closure.
:25:43. > :25:48.finally have closure. -- was coming forward.
:25:48. > :25:53.Fantastic news! Now the weather. A lovely day-to-day. It will
:25:53. > :25:58.continue. It looks like we are into some sunny weather, and we can
:25:58. > :26:05.offer you some rain as well by the looks of things. The beginning of
:26:05. > :26:09.the week has been looking decent, with some sunshine and dry weather.
:26:09. > :26:15.Respectable temperatures for the time of year. Really it is tomorrow
:26:15. > :26:25.that is going to surpassed all others. To give us a head start,
:26:25. > :26:28.
:26:28. > :26:38.tomorrow we are looking at a cold Otherwise, not too cold. Lows of
:26:38. > :26:46.five or six Celsius, and then we have got the sunshine burning
:26:46. > :26:53.through, across the region. It will go up to 15 or Celsius, which is
:26:53. > :26:57.high for the time of year. The wind will continue through tomorrow.
:26:57. > :27:04.Higher -- however, the cloud is going to thicken. That will bring
:27:04. > :27:09.in some rain. Not a lot heading up from the south. Hardly any until
:27:09. > :27:15.the middle part of tomorrow night. But all the cloud will keep it mild.
:27:15. > :27:18.Compared to tonight, it is going to be mild. Friday itself is going to
:27:18. > :27:21.be brighter with sunny spells. The be brighter with sunny spells. The
:27:21. > :27:27.same applies for the weekend. Highs of 14.
:27:27. > :27:31.A look at tonight's main headlines: A tax cut for Britain's top earners
:27:31. > :27:36.in the Budget. The rate for them will go down to 45p.