10/10/2013 Midlands Today

Welcome to Midlands Today. Stopping forced marriages. Police officers

are given specialist training. It has highlighted some of the issues

around forced marriages. We hear from a former victim who tell us not

enough is being done. Also, following the death of Daniel

Pelka, a senior judges appointed as special adviser to Coventry City

Council. This is a critical friend of a huge amount of experience with

all things judicial to do with children.

The redevelopment of Birmingham Children's Hospital mental health

unit. And the after—school club where they

are building an aeroplane. And the weather. There are warnings

for torrential downpours in the East. Join me

Good evening. Police officers based at Birmingham Airport are being

given specialist training to try and spot young people who're being flown

abroad to be forced into marriage. Last year there were almost 1,500

known cases of forced marriage in the UK, though the real figure is

thought to be much higher. 16% of those cases took place here in the

West Midlands. And a third of them involved people under the age of 16.

But tonight, a former victim of forced marriage who now works to

support young people is alleging that some Asian police officers are

unwilling to tackle the problem. Our special correspondent Peter Wilson

has this exclusive report. Birmingham Airport — gateway to the

rest of the world, but for some, the journey is a nightmare leading to a

forced marriage. Outside of London, the West Midlands has the highest

number of such cases in the country. The main terminal at Birmingham

Airport is the last opportunity for the police to intervene. In some

cases, females have even hidden metal objects in their clothing

knowing that security staff would stop them and prevent them from

leaving the country. Arranged marriages are part of many cultures

and acceptable when choice is involved. But a forced marriage

means emotional duress and often violence. West Midlands Police

officers at the airport are now being trained to help intervene,

even at the last moment. It is really highlighting some of the

issues around forced marriage that the officers were not aware of

before. It has given them extra information so that they can look

out for from rubble people and provide assistance to protect them

—— vulnerable people. Kelly Kaur knows all about forced marriage. At

15, she was expected to marry a man from India. She ran away from her

home in Walsall. You have mixed feelings. You are a bit scared, and

at the same time, you do not want to hurt your parents. She now runs a

project helping to support young people, but claims not all police

officers want to help. When you have got your own community working in

the police force who do not agree with what we are doing... You are

saying some Asian police officers are reluctant to get involved? Some

will help but a majority of them really think that it should not be

happening because it is a tradition, a cultural thing. They

think you should just go ahead and get married. There was a lot of

violence, domestic abuse. Back at the airport, the police training is

provided by Karma Nirvana, a charity set up to confront issues about

forced marriages. A father holding a gun at the back of his daughter's

head who did not agree to a marriage. That can be the

consequence, death. It can be quite extreme. To intervene in any

domestic situation takes courage and training. Next year, the Government

will make forced marriages a criminal offence.

Joining me now is Superintendent Clare Cowley. Good evening. 1,500

known cases. Any idea of the true figures of forced marriages? That is

really hard to quantify. We know that one in six of the national

numbers take place within the West Midlands but we know from partners

who receive significant numbers of calls over and above that so we

believe the problem is more widespread. We heard from Kelly Kaur

who believes that the majority of Asian officers are unwilling to get

involved in intervention. How seriously will take that

allegation? I would be very concerned not taking allegations ——

very concerned by an officer not taking these allegations seriously.

The work we are doing that has led to the training of the airport

officers has been about making sure front line officers are fully

informed of the latest position, of the risks, even perhaps ones that

they may not have been thinking about. Clearly, if any victim of

honour —based violence or forced marriage does not feel that they are

being taken seriously, talk to police but also ask partners like

the charity in the report and they will help. Arranged marriages are

perfectly acceptable in many cultures though. There is a world of

difference. The key is how willingly the individual is going into the

marriage. A very delicate issue. How confident are you that the training

is appropriate and will take effect? It is something we need to

constantly reinforce. This is a four—month also operation to raise

awareness in a range of areas of vulnerability including domestic

abuse, making sure we constantly revisit the messages with our staff

so that they understand the risks. And if you have any concerns about

forced marriage, there's more information and contact details for

the charities featured on our Facebook page.

Coming up later in the programme: The 56—year—old who's been told he

has to move from his lifelong home because the council needs the space.

The council that was heavily criticised for failings which led to

the death of Daniel Pelka has appointed a retired High Court judge

as a special advisor on child protection issues. Four—year—old

Daniel was murdered by his mother and her partner in March of last

year. Sarah Falkland has been following events for us. Sarah, tell

us more about the council appointing this judge. His name is Donald

Hamilton and he will be starting his first day tomorrow morning. He is a

retired High Court judge with years of experience of family matters and

family law. He is coming as a special adviser particularly to the

council leader who says he is coming at a modest cost and he is confident

his contribution will be invaluable. He is here as a critical

friend with a huge amount of experience in all things judicial,

to do with children, adoption. He will be for me I am sure a very

sensible and safe sounding board. He will have authority to go anywhere

and ask any questions. What else was agreed at the special meeting? They

agreed to push the government to set up a particular Commons select

committee looking at safeguarding children. They want there to be more

national debate. They will be writing to all of the city's MPs

involved tomorrow. They are also changing the make—up of the

safeguarding board to include two members. There were a few protests

outside today. What point where they meeting? There were several groups.

Prevent Child Abuse said the protest up. They are linked to another group

called Justice for Daniel. These are ordinary people from all around the

country who want to make their voice known about what happened to Daniel.

One woman from Hampshire said she cried for a fortnight after reading

about what happened to Daniel. The woman who set up Prevent Child Abuse

says she wants a change in the law so that parents, when they say that

their children are ill or underweight, they are not believed.

If a child has an illness, the parents need to prove it, either by

a letter from the GP or hospital. It would stop it ever happening again.

One woman who trained social workers said that it would make a real

difference if social workers were allowed to way children. They have

to get a health visitor in at the moment. With all of these horrible

cases, what is central is that they lose weight dramatically.

Plans have been unveiled for a £9 million redevelopment of Birmingham

Children's hospital's mental health unit. It's the only NHS inpatient

unit for children in the Midlands and one of the largest in the UK.

Bob Hockenhull has been finding out why the new facilities are needed.

Sophie Flanagan is 11 and knows what it's like to have mental health

problems. I was depressed and not eating because I had problems at

home with my family. Sophie spent several months being treated by

Birmingham Children's Hospital. We used to go into town and sit in the

park and talk. Sophie's problems aren't uncommon. The charity Young

Minds says there's been a 68% increase in young self—harmers being

admitted to hospital in the last ten years. When you ask a ten or

11—year—old years ago, they never had a care in the world. Now there

is so much responsibility and pressure on them, it has changed an

awful lot. Mental health is becoming more common. With demand for

treatment increasing, plans were unveiled today to rejuvenate mental

health services for the young. Existing facilities at Parkview

Clinic in Moseley will be expanded, providing a better healing

environment and more en suite bedrooms for patients from across

the region. Mental health is such an important park of what we do at the

Children's Hospital. We absolutely need to invest in it if the same way

we would if it was a cancer centre or a heart centre. The patients have

said that they hate long corridors and bland colours. The new centre

will have vibrant social areas and bright colours. It'll be four years

before the revamp is complete. In the meantime, the hospital's

increasing its home visiting team so youngsters like Sophie get the

support they need. A knife amnesty will be held in Birmingham following

a series of recent stabbings. The police Commissioner announced this

following talks earlier today. Five people were stabbed to death in

Birmingham in the last six months. A 19th century Birmingham church

destroyed by a fire has been removed from the English Heritage At Risk

Register. St Barnabas Church in Erdington was left in ruins after it

was burnt down by arsonists six years ago. Meanwhile, Coventry's

14th—century charterhouse has been added to the register. The grade—one

listed former monastery has been empty for several years, but plans

are under way for a major restoration.

Colin Davies has lived in the same council house all of his life. But

after 56 years and the death of his mother, he's now been told he must

leave because Dudley Council say they need it for a larger family.

Friends and neighbours say that he should be able stay in the three—bed

property he's always called home. We'll have some of your thoughts in

a moment, but first here's Giles Latcham.

It's the only home he's known and Colin Davis isn't going without a

fight. This is where I live now and this is where I was born. In this

three—bedroom terrace, he was raised with his two brothers and here he

nursed his mother Edith until her death in July. Her name was on the

council tenancy and now she's gone the council says he has no right to

remain. To me, I die here. Why should I go out of the area, to

think I have all of my family close, the neighbours are wonderful. I know

everyone. They are all with me. And they were with him outside Dudley

Council House today along with members of UKIP protesting on

Colin's behalf. The council though is not for turning. It is always sad

when someone's mother or parent dies. Currently, Mr Davies is under

occupying a three—bedroom house that we desperately need for families

with children. There are 6,000 people on Dudley's housing list. In

Wolverhampton, 8,800. In Birmingham, 27,000. The estimate for the whole

of the West Midlands, 79,000. In anyone's language, a huge backlog.

Ultimately, you cannot have a three—bedroom property being used by

one person when you have a family down the road who have four or five

children crammed into two bedrooms. It is difficult but it is the right

decision and fell on taxpayers, the people playing. The council tells me

there are thousands of families looking for properties. This is not

about statistics and number crunching. This is about simple

humanity and decency. But unless he can convince the council he's an

exceptional case, Colin will soon be forced to quit the home he loves.

This has got you talking on our Facebook page. Louise said, although

it is unfortunate, I tend to agree with the council, they must make the

most of the housing they have to suit the people they have requiring

it, even if it means moving people around. Her view is echoed by Carl

James. He says, if he only rents and doesn't own, he should move on and

allow a larger family in there. He can always privately rent a

three—bed house if that's what he wants. But Geoff Paddock says, his

house is his home, we should have enough housing stock available that

old timers can live their lives as they wish. Thank you very much

indeed for all of your comments. This is our top story tonight:

Stopping forced marriages — officers at Birmingham Airport given

specialist training to spot young people travelling against their

will. And the unusual after—school club

that's about building more than just confidence. The detailed weather

report is also to come shortly. Also in tonight's programme: Back in the

Midlands and here in the Mailbox, we're chatting to Speedway World

Champ Tai Woffinden. Bee populations across the world are

in trouble and here in the UK numbers have crashed. One reason

might be disease and for the first time, scientists at the University

of Warwick have built a computer model of an outbreak of one very

nasty bee disease called American foulbrood. It could be vital in

helping ensuring our bees have a brighter future. Our science

correspondent David Gregory—Kumar is here. David, what is foulbrood?

Well, it comes in two varieties — American and European foulbrood. It

causes very nasty problems for the larvae, the young bees, killing off

entire colonies. This is an infected hive. Inside these cells, the bee

larvae is dead, but there are millions of foulbrood spores ready

to spread the disease further. Stopping these spores spreading

means burning the entire infected hive. So what the researchers set

out to do is model how this disease behaves and spreads. We are trying

to use the data we have showing when and where the disease was spotted to

work out how the disease is spreading and how it is getting from

place to place. Once you understand the methods of transmission, you

have a better idea of can —— control strategies that will be effective to

diminish the size of the epidemic. It may look a bit basic, but this is

the real research. It's based on data from an actual outbreak on

Jersey, but this a simulation. These dots are hives and these lines are

beekeepers moving between them. This model shows the two most important

factors in the spread of the disease — how close the hives are and the

beekeepers because the beekeepers can spread the disease as they move

around the island. The model shows that what the Government and

beekeepers actually did in the real world was the right thing to do. But

the scientists say confirming what we already know is a useful result.

It is always nice if you can have something that says, we should have

done this. But from a practical point of view, it is very reassuring

to know that what was done was the correct thing. It leads to more

confidence in the industry and the ability of them to control things.

This is 20 years of data on outbreaks of foulbrood on the

mainland. And now the team at Warwick have the maths to understand

what happened on Jersey scientists can use the same tools to get to

grips with this and other bee diseases. All of which is good news

for bees, farmers and those of us who like honey.

Indeed it is. Interesting stuff. Hundreds of homeless people from

across Britain have been taking part in a football tournament in

Birmingham with a bit of help from England's most capped player. Peter

Shilton made 125 appearances for his country, but this afternoon, he was

inspiring footballers who are using the game to help rebuild their

lives. Nick Clitheroe reports. From every corner of the land, they

had come to the shadow of Spaghetti Junction. Men young and old, women

too, who've all found themselves homeless and in need of a fresh

start in life. People like Shaun who spent 17 years as a heroin addict

but has been clean for more than a decade thanks to the Salvation

Army's Vale Street Lifehouse in Stoke on Trent. I owe a lot to them

because otherwise I would still be on the streets. Obviously, whenever

I have a chance to give anything back, I will do. Stewart was a

professional footballer back home in Zimbabwe, but never made it beyond

non—league in England. Now he lives at the Harnall Lifehouse in

Coventry. It means a lot. I cannot even put the words... It means a

lot. It changes a human being's life. The lifehouses are not just

about a roof over their heads and food. They also give residents the

chance to learn skills or get qualifications. But one of the

biggest problems they face after time on the streets is a lack of

self—confidence. That's why Peter Shilton, England's most capped

goalkeeper, was on hand to give them a penalty shoot out masterclass with

belief as one of his key lessons. Confidence in life is about

achieving by trying to better yourself and having a goal to work

for. People who have problems have lost sight of that. They feel

sometimes that there is nothing to work for. Sport gives you that.

There was no fairy tale ending as the teams from Coventry and Stoke

both went out in the quarterfinals. Instead, the trophy headed down the

M5 to Bristol. Congratulations to the Dudley

Heathens who won their first national league speedway title last

night. They beat Kings Lynn 47—46 in Norfolk to take the grand final

100—86 on aggregate. But they're not the only Midlands speedway winners

this week. Dan Pallett's with the new world champion Tai Woffinden

who's back home after winning the title in Poland. Tai Woffinden,

world champion. Are you getting used to that? It has been pretty crazy.

Doing a lot of press stuff. I was in the hotel and someone said, I was

watching you on TV this morning. Really looking forward to the rest

of it. The question I keep getting asked is, how is your collarbone?

You have broken it twice and you road with it broken in the last

Grand Prix. When your adrenaline gets going, it helps. I just raced

through it and dug deep and it paid off. Tell us about some of the

sacrifices you and your family had to make. We came out in 2006 and the

first three years we were in a caravan. My parents have given up a

lot to give me a shot at it and to finally win it is an awesome

feeling. It means a lot to your mum because of losing your dad three

years ago to cancer. Definitely. I would have loved him to be here but

that is life. I am sure he is watching from up there. You are the

youngest ever world champion at 23. Have you got fire in your belly to

go on and do more? I have won it once and I want to repeated as many

times as I can. A few more meetings in England and when that is done, I

will worry about my collarbone then. One of those meetings is in

Wolverhampton a week Tuesday. It is going to be a good meeting. We will

go out there and have a bit of fun and celebrate with the fans. Not

everyday you get to see a world champion in action, a week on in

Wolverhampton, you can see Tai Woffinden, world champion.

If we say after—school club, you'll probably think of chess or maybe a

sport. How about building one of these? Pupils from a school in the

Black Country have been set the task of building a Boeing aeroplane as

part of an aviation challenge. But the skies of Wolverhampton won't be

seeing a jumbo jet taking—off anytime soon. Instead, teenagers at

the city's North East Academy are constructing a much smaller model

from a kit worth £50,000. Laura May McMullen reports.

It is not every day you get to build a plane, an actual two seater light

aircraft that will eventually take to the skies. But that is exactly

what pupils from this school have got the chance to do. Being involved

in this project is one of the best things that could ever happen to a

young student like me. It is going to make me look like I have tried to

get out there and prove myself. You get to have more experience about

how to build an aeroplane. Also, I want to be an aeroplane designer so

I can get more experience. It improves communication skills and

helps you work together as a team. It will help in work life because

you need those skills. The school is one of six in the country who won

the competition from Boeing to get real hands—on experience. It is to

inspire and encourage the next generation of engineers. The country

is crying out for more engineers so the whole idea is that these young

people get interested in it and look to develop the skills. We have had a

couple of students going from the project getting jobs. It has been

really successful. The aim of the project is to reach around 2000

young people and it is hoped in the next 18 months these pupils will be

able to fasten their seat belts ready for take—off. Then there is

just the small matter of finding a pilot.

Looks like they will have plenty of volunteers for that! A definite

change in the air today. There is speculation of warmth

returning by the end of the month. But that is not likely this week. We

were lucky to get the high pressure and dry conditions with today. Over

the weekend, we will be contending with cold and strong winds and rain

at times. We are hoping we will not get as much rain as the south—east.

There will be torrential downpours there. Anywhere that is on the cusp

of that, parts of Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, they could get a

knock—on effect. To be honest, the amounts will be small. This evening,

we start with clear skies across the region. The winds will ease and

temperatures will plummet. In rural parts particularly. With the lighter

winds, I think we could see a touch of ground frost. Later on, the cloud

will come in from the north—east, introducing rain macro. The winds

will pick up again from the north—east through the morning and

perhaps draw in and take some of the rain to the west of the region. It

will start all and very damp. Compared to today, it will be dollar

through the day and the region. The rain will die a way through the

afternoon —— it will be dull. Temperatures slightly higher, Nero

to normal for the time of year. The winds will temper the value.

Tomorrow evening, it bears all the hallmarks to tonight except for the

clear skies to begin with. Because of that, temperatures may be

slightly higher. Again, you see the rain affecting eastern fringes. As

advertised, the weekend, it is looking cold, breezy, dry but the

possibility of rain for the south—east to begin with and then

the north—west on Sunday. The headlines: The weather is

turning cold and we face higher energy costs.

Officers at Birmingham Airport get specialist training to spot young

people being forced into marriage. I will be back later with more on

the specialist adviser being appointed to Coventry City Council

following