:00:00. > :00:00.Louise, thank you. That's all from the BBC
:00:00. > :00:09.Hello and welcome to the programme. The headlines tonight: 950 jobs to
:00:10. > :00:17.go in the Midlands as energy firm NPower closes sites in Stoke on
:00:18. > :00:20.Trent and Oldbury. We are looking at cutting costs and
:00:21. > :00:22.improving customer experience but there are a lot of people impacted
:00:23. > :00:25.by that. I'm live in Stoke, where unions have
:00:26. > :00:28.accused NPower of "serving up a Christmas nightmare".
:00:29. > :00:31.Also tonight, catastrophic failures at Walsall Hospital. Staff failed to
:00:32. > :00:42.follow basic child protection procedures which could have saved a
:00:43. > :00:44.baby's life. It seems the smallest mistake they have made and it had
:00:45. > :00:47.the biggest consequences. Breaking new ground ` the Swedish
:00:48. > :00:50.safety firm investing millions and creating new jobs in a technology
:00:51. > :00:53.park in Nuneaton. From the Sydney Opera House to the
:00:54. > :00:59.Regal Cinema in Evesham ` violin virtuoso Nigel Kennedy.
:01:00. > :01:03.And as shortlived as it was, it was nice while it lasted, but it's out
:01:04. > :01:05.with the mild now and back to the cold. But for how long? I'll have
:01:06. > :01:18.the answers later. Good evening.
:01:19. > :01:22.A major blow to the Midlands, as the energy firm NPower cuts nearly a
:01:23. > :01:26.thousand jobs. 950 employees will be made redundant at sites in
:01:27. > :01:30.Stoke`on`Trent and Oldbury. The company employs just over 2800 staff
:01:31. > :01:36.at ten sites across the region. Earlier this year, the firm cut 300
:01:37. > :01:40.jobs at Kingswinford. In a moment we'll be assessing the impact of
:01:41. > :01:44.today's news and I'll be speaking to a director of NPower. But our
:01:45. > :01:52.coverage begins with Liz Copper, who has been following today's
:01:53. > :01:55.announcements. Arriving at Fenton at first like to
:01:56. > :02:01.hear the news they had been braced for. 550 jobs will go here by June
:02:02. > :02:06.next year. Disappointing, but inevitable, I think. I think
:02:07. > :02:11.everyone expected it. That does not make it feel better. It would have
:02:12. > :02:18.been nice if it had been handled better. I am gutted. Out of work. It
:02:19. > :02:25.will be a hammer blow for the area as an economic entity. And at
:02:26. > :02:28.Oldbury, 400 more jobs will be lost with the closure of one of the
:02:29. > :02:34.country's three officers in the Black Country. The government is
:02:35. > :02:38.promising help. We need to work closely with NPower, understanding
:02:39. > :02:41.their proposals in more detail and then work with the local authority,
:02:42. > :02:46.local MPs and other agencies to make sure those affected can find job at
:02:47. > :02:52.it Jack `` job opportunities that are out there. This is where the
:02:53. > :02:56.jobs will go, outsourced to India. They say they hope to get better
:02:57. > :02:59.customer service. I find it hard to believe they will get better
:03:00. > :03:04.customer service in Bangalore than in Fenton when it comes to meter
:03:05. > :03:09.reading, helping customers, the kind of human conversations that we know
:03:10. > :03:12.customers want. But the company disagrees. It says the changes will
:03:13. > :03:18.drive more efficient customer service. We work in a competitive
:03:19. > :03:21.environment and our job is to keep energy bills low and improve
:03:22. > :03:25.customer service, which is why we are doing this. In Stoke`on`Trent,
:03:26. > :03:31.the economic intact will be keenly felt. Just weeks before Christmas,
:03:32. > :03:35.this is bound to lead to an uncertain festive period for workers
:03:36. > :03:41.and their families. Unions have been critical of the company's timing.
:03:42. > :03:45.Coming a few days before their prices to consumers are going up I
:03:46. > :03:52.over 10%, I feel gobsmacked by what they are doing. We had no idea they
:03:53. > :03:58.would offshore almost 1500 jobs across the UK to India in order to
:03:59. > :04:02.cut costs. The unions have missed helpful staff, who will be facing
:04:03. > :04:10.the New Year looking for new jobs. `` they have promised help for
:04:11. > :04:20.staff. Sarah Falkland is outside NPower's offers tonight. One man who
:04:21. > :04:24.lives just up the road has just said what has been happening today is out
:04:25. > :04:28.of order. I have spoken to some staff this evening. One woman said
:04:29. > :04:32.there were tears in her department and there is a lot of
:04:33. > :04:37.disappointment. But mostly, people did see this coming. Not scale,
:04:38. > :04:41.perhaps, but they saw job losses coming. They were hopes on the
:04:42. > :04:45.introduction of Project Atlas, the new computer system, but that was
:04:46. > :04:48.not to be. Nobody thought the entire call centre would shutdown, and the
:04:49. > :04:53.manner in which they were told has been the twist of the knife. They
:04:54. > :04:57.sat in front of a video message lasting 15 minutes this morning and
:04:58. > :05:00.that is how they found out. Unions say it is a slap in the face for a
:05:01. > :05:03.loyal British workforce. Stoke on Trent and the Black Country
:05:04. > :05:06.have been unemployment black spots for years. Currently 8.5% of people
:05:07. > :05:09.living there are unemployed, that's well above the national average of
:05:10. > :05:21.7.6%. So how can these areas recover? Ben Godfrey reports.
:05:22. > :05:25.Stoke`on`Trent and Oldbury were once the engine rooms of our region's
:05:26. > :05:31.Manufacturing growth. Today's job losses, in the service industry,
:05:32. > :05:34.remind us of its difficult demise. 950 staff are wondering what is next
:05:35. > :05:40.for their careers, and those of their bosses. You are the head of
:05:41. > :05:44.sight. Are you losing your job? I will be going through the same
:05:45. > :05:51.management restructure as the rest of NPower. Places like Oldbury and
:05:52. > :05:53.Stoke are industrial heartlands but they lost thousands of jobs in
:05:54. > :06:00.manufacturing over the last 20 years. It was the service sector,
:06:01. > :06:03.jobs like at NPower, that reinstalled a sense of confidence
:06:04. > :06:07.and employment. But people are worried the bubble is about to
:06:08. > :06:14.burst. We need to bring industry into the area, not services. It is
:06:15. > :06:20.going overseas. What can you do? It is hard to get into work. People
:06:21. > :06:25.will continue to work NPower at two other sites and Oldbury. Business
:06:26. > :06:29.leaders are trying to stay positive. It is bad news, but in the overall
:06:30. > :06:33.context we have an area that has created 2000 jobs in development,
:06:34. > :06:37.and more companies applying and succeeding in at light `` in
:06:38. > :06:45.applying for the regional growth fund. Recruitment companies are
:06:46. > :06:49.preparing for a busy few weeks. They should take heart that the job
:06:50. > :06:52.market has been picking up since August. We have seen a huge number
:06:53. > :06:58.of vacancies coming to the West Midlands. The West Midlands is the
:06:59. > :07:04.fastest`growing job market in the whole of the UK. So the employment
:07:05. > :07:08.landscape is changing again. NPower's restructuring has reignited
:07:09. > :07:11.a debate. Should an improved customer experience come at the
:07:12. > :07:18.expense of local jobs? Joining me now is NPower's
:07:19. > :07:24.Communications Director, Guy Esnouf. Good evening. Customer bills will go
:07:25. > :07:29.up I over 10% on Sunday. Not great timing. You are making more money on
:07:30. > :07:34.that and saving money on job losses. We have to put that in context.
:07:35. > :07:38.People are worried about bills going up, so this action will help to keep
:07:39. > :07:42.bills down. We only control a small amount of the bill, but we have to
:07:43. > :07:47.be responsible to get those costs now when we can. It will also help
:07:48. > :07:52.to improve customer service. I would like to correct a couple of things.
:07:53. > :07:56.Whenever you are in NPower customer and you ring up, you will still get
:07:57. > :08:01.someone in Britain when you call. Firstly, all British voice calls
:08:02. > :08:05.will be from here. Secondly, it whole lot of companies already do
:08:06. > :08:13.this sort of model that we have got. BMW, Marks Spencer, The National
:08:14. > :08:17.Trust, they have exactly this model. But we need to concentrate on the
:08:18. > :08:20.impact on people working for you in the Midlands. We heard some of the
:08:21. > :08:25.employees saying it could have been handled better. Your employees heard
:08:26. > :08:30.they were going to lose their job in a video. We are a major Midlands
:08:31. > :08:36.employer. After this we will still be that all stop we will have 500
:08:37. > :08:43.people in Oldbury. 950 people will have lost jobs. Yes, sadly. That was
:08:44. > :08:48.a hard decision because that is part of our heartland. We wanted to get
:08:49. > :08:52.everybody together today. We are such a diverse company, which has
:08:53. > :08:58.been one of the problems. We needed to get a uniform message. Today,
:08:59. > :09:01.what matters is clarity. There was so much speculation yesterday and a
:09:02. > :09:07.lot of what was said was wrong. We thought we needed absolute clarity.
:09:08. > :09:11.We have a huge unemployment problem in the areas of the black country
:09:12. > :09:15.and in Stoke. Should improve customer service, which is the
:09:16. > :09:20.message you are keen to put out, come at the expense of local jobs
:09:21. > :09:23.and supporting the local economy? Improving customer service is one of
:09:24. > :09:29.the reasons. The other one is keeping down energy bills. We have
:09:30. > :09:32.to balance the interests of customers and employees. That has
:09:33. > :09:35.been hard to do. One of the reasons it has taken so long is that we
:09:36. > :09:41.wanted to make sure we got it right and it did improve that experience.
:09:42. > :09:43.We are still a major employer in the Midlands and we are proud to be.
:09:44. > :09:49.This will actually help that continue. Is there support you can
:09:50. > :09:53.offer these people? We will definitely be helping them. Those
:09:54. > :09:58.who can move to another location in the company, we will certainly help
:09:59. > :10:01.them do that. We can start working with job centres. The government has
:10:02. > :10:04.already said they will be rallying round to try and help and we will
:10:05. > :10:07.play our part where we can. Thank you.
:10:08. > :10:10.And there's more on the NPower job losses and what it means on the BBC
:10:11. > :10:13.News website. Coming up later in the programme:
:10:14. > :10:16.Sentenced to eight years, the former Gloucestershire coroner who stole
:10:17. > :10:22.nearly ?2 million from vulnerable clients.
:10:23. > :10:26.An independent investigation is to be opened into the death of a
:10:27. > :10:30.16`month`old baby, following catastrophic failures at a Walsall
:10:31. > :10:34.Hospital seven years ago. Kyle Keen's father was never told that
:10:35. > :10:40.staff failed to follow basic child protection procedures, which could
:10:41. > :10:46.have saved his life. Michele Paduano reports.
:10:47. > :10:50.Robert Keen says he is over protective of his daughter, Larissa,
:10:51. > :10:55.and there's an empty space they can never fill. Kyle died from a brain
:10:56. > :10:58.bleed after being abused by his stepfather. But Mr Keen was never
:10:59. > :11:01.told that the hospital had found suspicious bruising on Kyle's back
:11:02. > :11:08.and shoulder, but failed to report it to social services. I don't want
:11:09. > :11:13.anybody to go through what I have had to go through, me, my daughter,
:11:14. > :11:19.my family. We do not want anybody else to have to go through this. We
:11:20. > :11:22.want the hospital to follow the procedures and stick to them.
:11:23. > :11:25.It might have made a difference. Mr Keen had also seen bruises on
:11:26. > :11:28.Larissa and baby Kyle. Instead, Tyrone Matthews was sentenced to
:11:29. > :11:35.four and a half years for manslaughter. It started with
:11:36. > :11:47.bruising on his face, all over his head. His arms, his legs. I took
:11:48. > :11:50.pictures. Why did you do anything at the time? I didn't know who to go
:11:51. > :11:53.to. A junior doctor at Walsall Manor
:11:54. > :11:56.Hospital warned a consultant on two separate occasions that Kyle should
:11:57. > :11:59.have been referred to social services the week before his death.
:12:00. > :12:02.In 2007, after Kyle's death, the hospital's board minutes wrongly
:12:03. > :12:05.suggest bruising was due to sepsis. In 2009, the findings of a
:12:06. > :12:09.safeguarding review did show the consultant overruled nurses. But it
:12:10. > :12:18.wasn't until 2013 that the hospital finally obtained the complete
:12:19. > :12:22.safeguarding report. The Chief Executive, Richard Kirby,
:12:23. > :12:27.was in it `` not here at the time. He said recommendations were acted
:12:28. > :12:30.upon. The new review is to better establish how this incident was
:12:31. > :12:32.dealt with and whether there are further lessons that can be learned.
:12:33. > :12:36.Dr David Drew was clinical director in the children's department and
:12:37. > :12:38.treated Kyle on the day of his death. He says a second
:12:39. > :12:41.investigation into the whole children's department was carried
:12:42. > :12:48.out in 2010 by the Royal College of Paediatricians, but he was the only
:12:49. > :12:52.doctor allowed to see it. Kyle never figured in their report and we have
:12:53. > :12:57.never been able to find out why, because six months after the review
:12:58. > :13:02.reported, it was suppressed. The trust board was never allowed to see
:13:03. > :13:04.it. And we have now found out that the whole panel was made to sign
:13:05. > :13:07.gags. Robert Keen hopes this independent
:13:08. > :13:13.review will finally establish what happened and whether the trust was
:13:14. > :13:16.sufficiently open. A Coventry man has been jailed for
:13:17. > :13:20.life for stabbing a family of four to death at their home in April
:13:21. > :13:23.2011. 54`year`old Anxiang Du, who also owned a business in Birmingham,
:13:24. > :13:28.was convicted of murdering the Deng family at their home in Northampton.
:13:29. > :13:31.A court was told he'd carried out the attack after losing a ten`year
:13:32. > :13:44.legal case against them. He's been ordered to spend a minimum of 40
:13:45. > :13:47.years in prison. The former coroner for
:13:48. > :13:50.Gloucestershire has been jailed for eight years for stealing nearly ?2
:13:51. > :13:52.million from weak and vulnerable clients. The judge said Alan
:13:53. > :13:57.Crickmore's crimes were the worst case of dishonesty he'd ever seen in
:13:58. > :14:01.a solicitor. Giles Latcham reports. Once a pillar of the Gloucestershire
:14:02. > :14:06.community, Alan Crickmore arrived at Southwark Crown Court, his disgrace
:14:07. > :14:10.complete. Court heard that at his solicitor's practice in Cheltenham,
:14:11. > :14:16.targeted elderly and infirm clients, habitually overcharging and
:14:17. > :14:19.plundering their estates. He built personal relationships with some
:14:20. > :14:24.victims, exchanging birthday cards and gifts. He would bring them back
:14:25. > :14:27.gifts from holiday. Little did they know that they had paid for his
:14:28. > :14:33.holiday with money he had stolen from them. He pilfered nearly
:14:34. > :14:38.?900,000 from a trust set up by a wealthy pensioner to benefit his
:14:39. > :14:42.family after his death. He became a personal friend to the family and we
:14:43. > :14:45.thought he was up standing as a solicitor and County coroner of
:14:46. > :14:50.Gloucestershire. When this came to light, it is horrendous. From the
:14:51. > :14:56.estate of a Polish war veteran, you stole ?25,000, the money funding a
:14:57. > :15:01.luxurious lifestyle. Expensive holidays, fine wines and food.
:15:02. > :15:07.Throughout the enquiry, he continued to draw his ?60,000 per year
:15:08. > :15:10.coroner's salary. It was very frustrating. It does not do any help
:15:11. > :15:15.to my budget to pay someone for three years not to work. He
:15:16. > :15:20.eventually admitted the theft and another court hearing is planned to
:15:21. > :15:24.establish whether assets owned by his family can be sold to compensate
:15:25. > :15:28.victims. A new scheme to help women who would
:15:29. > :15:33.have been sent to prison has been given extra funding to expand its
:15:34. > :15:36.service. More than half the women in prison last year served sentences of
:15:37. > :15:40.less than six months, but now there is an alternative, as rehabilitation
:15:41. > :15:45.courses are being offered for the first time in England and Wales at a
:15:46. > :15:52.farm near Bridgnorth. Liz Roberts has more.
:15:53. > :15:56.Just four weeks ago, Donna was facing a prison sentence. A homeless
:15:57. > :16:01.alcoholic, she had breached the terms of the license. But instead of
:16:02. > :16:04.custody she was brought to Willowdene Farm. You get therapy
:16:05. > :16:09.twice a week, pretty intense therapy. I have done quite a few
:16:10. > :16:14.courses, and I have certificates to take away. It has given me
:16:15. > :16:19.confidence. I have done my CV, so it has been really good. The farm has a
:16:20. > :16:23.history of providing training and rehabilitation from male offenders,
:16:24. > :16:26.but this is the first time a residential course has been offered
:16:27. > :16:31.for women to keep them out of was an altogether. The majority of female
:16:32. > :16:36.offenders also have children. This enables us to work with them,
:16:37. > :16:39.addressed the issues with therapeutic resources and break the
:16:40. > :16:42.generational effect of offending which gives the children a hope of
:16:43. > :16:46.living a better purposeful lifestyle. The majority of women
:16:47. > :16:50.offenders pose no risk to public safety, and a prison sentence is
:16:51. > :16:57.frequently an ineffective response. So far, just ten women have gone
:16:58. > :17:00.through the programme. It has now been awarded ?48,000 by West
:17:01. > :17:05.Mercia's police and crime commission, so it can double in
:17:06. > :17:07.size. It is down to a partnership with West Mercia probation trust,
:17:08. > :17:11.but there are fears that local expertise could be lost when
:17:12. > :17:16.government plans to privatise the service are brought in next year. It
:17:17. > :17:19.has taken three or four years for us to develop to the point that we have
:17:20. > :17:26.this women's residential programme. It is really making a difference. I
:17:27. > :17:29.will hope whoever wins the contract and succeeds the probation trust
:17:30. > :17:34.want to continue this, but we simply do not know if they will want to, or
:17:35. > :17:38.if it will fit their business plan. The funding will increase capacity,
:17:39. > :17:42.enabling up to 30 female offenders to come here each year. The hope is
:17:43. > :17:52.that this will continue to give more women the chance of a better future.
:17:53. > :18:00.Our top story: 950 job losses/ energy firm NPower
:18:01. > :18:05.is to close site. The weather shortly for the Midlands. Also
:18:06. > :18:09.ahead, nearly six decades at the track`side, Barry, the loyal money
:18:10. > :18:15.to an Harriers member is up for an unsung hero award.
:18:16. > :18:26.Boarded up and abandoned, the sin are now swirling with the sound of
:18:27. > :18:31.Nigel Kennedy. `` the cinema. This is the motor industry research
:18:32. > :18:35.Association near Nuneaton, which is slowly expanding. Today, Swedish
:18:36. > :18:40.firm Haldex announced it is setting up a technical centre on site. The
:18:41. > :18:49.enterprise is expected to grow until 2020, creating new jobs.
:18:50. > :18:53.A specialist in safety systems for heavy goods vehicles, Swedish firm
:18:54. > :18:57.howled X was showing off its latest breaking system. The test tracks and
:18:58. > :19:04.technology make this an ideal site or its future growth. We took a
:19:05. > :19:07.global decision to consolidate our facilities and the UK was high up
:19:08. > :19:12.there because of the services offered on site, and the second
:19:13. > :19:15.point is the quality of the engineers within the region, of
:19:16. > :19:21.which we have managed to secure several. Famous for its role in
:19:22. > :19:26.testing new cars, this site is getting an additional role, helping
:19:27. > :19:29.create new jobs. Costing around ?300 million over the next ten years, the
:19:30. > :19:34.site will be developed and is set become one of Europe's leading
:19:35. > :19:40.research and development sites for the automotive industry. We have
:19:41. > :19:45.created 242 so far, high`tech jobs, highly skilled jobs. It also brings
:19:46. > :19:50.on apprenticeships and graduate training programmes, so ringing in
:19:51. > :19:55.young people and giving them skills. Enterprise zones are designed to
:19:56. > :19:57.attract business to an area by offering things like reduced
:19:58. > :20:02.business rates and a streamlined planning process. Here, they are
:20:03. > :20:07.expecting to create 2000 jobs by 2020. Some have already been created
:20:08. > :20:10.and more will follow as a result of today's announcement. Yet more
:20:11. > :20:14.inward investment for the West Midlands, promising new jobs and
:20:15. > :20:22.helping the region maintain its position as a centre of excellence
:20:23. > :20:26.for advanced automotive engineering. He has been a loyal member of the
:20:27. > :20:31.Nuneaton Harriers for almost 60 years, and during that time, Barry
:20:32. > :20:36.has coached hundreds of athletes. Now he is one of five finalists in
:20:37. > :20:45.our search for the BBC Midland sport's unsung hero.
:20:46. > :20:49.It is fine and dry, cold and crisp, perfect for Barry's training night
:20:50. > :20:53.at Nuneaton Harriers. This evening, the focus is on the 400 metres and
:20:54. > :21:01.the eager bunch are champing at the bit. Got it? He was only 15 when he
:21:02. > :21:07.first ran for the Harriers. He finished last in a four mile road
:21:08. > :21:10.race and nearly threw in the towel. But a club member persuaded him to
:21:11. > :21:18.carry on, and so he did, for the next 59 years. He is my hero because
:21:19. > :21:23.he does everything for the club. He does not think about himself, it is
:21:24. > :21:32.just for the members. He is great, like royalty of the track. Everyone
:21:33. > :21:38.loves him. The stadium is Barry's second home. Five days a week, over
:21:39. > :21:41.59 years, equals countless happy hours spent coaching, cleaning,
:21:42. > :21:47.painting and pushing athletes to achieve their potential. Now the
:21:48. > :21:53.club resident, Barry simply cannot see what this unsung hero fuss is
:21:54. > :21:57.all about. There are times when I think, I have to go down again
:21:58. > :22:01.tonight, oh, no, but when I get here, it is different. There is
:22:02. > :22:06.always a lot of answer, as you might have noticed. Friends that I have
:22:07. > :22:11.made in the sport since being involved with the club, all over the
:22:12. > :22:18.country. Unsung until now, but unappreciated, never. Barry's
:22:19. > :22:23.lifetime of loyal service guarantees the future of Nuneaton Harriers will
:22:24. > :22:28.run and run. We will meet the remaining finalist
:22:29. > :22:32.tomorrow. As one of the world's most famous
:22:33. > :22:36.classical musicians, Nigel Kennedy is more used to performing at huge
:22:37. > :22:41.concert halls, so you would not expect to play in a small cinema in
:22:42. > :22:48.Worcestershire. But that is what he has been doing this week.
:22:49. > :22:57.For the people of Evesham, it was hard to comprehend. It is unheard of
:22:58. > :23:01.before today. This is the first time we have had anything so big here. We
:23:02. > :23:05.are delighted it has been refurbished, and to have such great
:23:06. > :23:11.names is a brilliant opportunity. Forget the Royal Albert Hall, this
:23:12. > :23:19.week, Nigel Kennedy is performing at the Regal Cinema. Fantastic
:23:20. > :23:24.atmosphere, a beautiful, warm audience. It is lovely to be close
:23:25. > :23:29.to the people. It is unusual to be closer to the balcony than you are
:23:30. > :23:34.to the stalls. Five years ago, the Regal Cinema was set to be turned
:23:35. > :23:39.into flats. It now attracts 20,000 people each month, with more than
:23:40. > :23:43.half coming from outside the town. It is the best thing that has ever
:23:44. > :23:46.happened here. It is proof that it was all worth while and if you get
:23:47. > :23:52.your act together, you can create something exceptional. Nigel Kennedy
:23:53. > :23:55.has proved that is possible tonight. But it is not just the fact that
:23:56. > :24:02.they are attracting people like Nigel Kennedy. It is also giving
:24:03. > :24:11.Evesham a much`needed boost. During the four concert run, nearly every
:24:12. > :24:17.hotel in town is full. Nigel is performing at the Regal Cinema until
:24:18. > :24:21.Saturday. Sounding as good as ever. It has
:24:22. > :24:25.been a big day for our former colleague K Alexander, officially
:24:26. > :24:29.made an MBE by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. She was a
:24:30. > :24:35.familiar face on Midlands today for more than 30 years, until her
:24:36. > :24:38.retirement last year. The award is for her services to broadcasting and
:24:39. > :24:42.for her charity work. Let's turn to the weather. At the
:24:43. > :24:43.beginning of the programme you warned that cold weather is coming
:24:44. > :24:48.back. warned that cold weather is coming
:24:49. > :24:52.The shrine and I was not lying. The way that it felt today is how it
:24:53. > :24:55.should feel for this time of year. If you felt the cold recently, it
:24:56. > :25:04.has not been your imagination. We have provisional figures for
:25:05. > :25:07.November and they bear out that it has been colder than normal but also
:25:08. > :25:14.sunnier than usual, for the Midlands at least. But it has also been quite
:25:15. > :25:18.dry. As I said, the cold is making a comeback in the next couple of days.
:25:19. > :25:25.At the same time we should finally get rid of some of the cloud. What
:25:26. > :25:30.is doing this for us is a rush of north`westerly wind that is flowing
:25:31. > :25:35.in behind this incoming cold front. Being a cold front, it would also
:25:36. > :25:39.bring colder air. We will see the changes occurring tonight. The wind
:25:40. > :25:44.will mix everything up. Because we have the cold front passing through,
:25:45. > :25:48.it will introduce more cloud and some light outbreaks of rain or
:25:49. > :25:51.drizzle. But it is not going to amount to much. Under the cloud
:25:52. > :25:59.temperatures will remain above freezing, well above freezing. The
:26:00. > :26:04.wind is also partly responsible for keeping temperatures up. But a lot
:26:05. > :26:08.of the cloud will overlap into the morning, so a fairly dull start to
:26:09. > :26:13.the day. Why the afternoon, the wind will start to take effect and we
:26:14. > :26:16.will see sunshine breaking through. `` by the afternoon. The range
:26:17. > :26:19.should be out of the way but we will see showers flowing in through the
:26:20. > :26:28.Cheshire cat and clobbering the north of the region. Some of these
:26:29. > :26:31.could be heavy. You will find that tomorrow night, everything changes,
:26:32. > :26:37.and into the start of the weekend it will turn cold.
:26:38. > :26:44.Our top story ` the loss of 950 jobs here in the Midlands. Energy firm
:26:45. > :26:49.NPower is to close sites in Stoke`on`Trent and Oldbury. Sarah
:26:50. > :26:55.Falkland is in Stoke`on`Trent. What is the future for the workers? In
:26:56. > :27:01.the short`term, unions will meet with management on Monday. What can
:27:02. > :27:03.they salvage? I don't know. Stoke City council have announced this
:27:04. > :27:09.afternoon that they are launching an emergency task force to help
:27:10. > :27:12.workers. Somebody has launched a Facebook site urging people to
:27:13. > :27:17.boycott NPower if they are angry with the outsourcing to Mumbai. If
:27:18. > :27:22.you are a commuter into Stoke, have a look at the road behind me. It is
:27:23. > :27:26.a very busy road. You could say the writing has been on the wall for a
:27:27. > :27:30.while, because this building always used to carry it illuminated job
:27:31. > :27:34.vacancies. That disappeared a few weeks ago. I did not want a new
:27:35. > :27:40.staff, and sadly they did not want any staff. `` they did not want new
:27:41. > :27:46.staff. I will be back at 10pm. There is
:27:47. > :27:47.plenty more on the BBC News website. Have a good evening.