23/01/2014 Midlands Today

shaking your head. That is horrible. That is all from

Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight: Chocolate

giants Cadbury announce a new ?75 million investment in Bournville.

We are trying to create the next generation of manufacturing, and we

think it can only be good news for Bournville. But fears are emerging

tonight jobs could be lost ` we'll be live in Bournville.

Also tonight: Violence at a jail near Wolverhampton was a full`scale

riot, claims a prison officer. There were tables that has been

broken, iron bars lying around. Wires had become trip wires at a

lead level. A Staffordshire hospital begins

using a private company to look after patients at home, so it can

clear beds. Fears for the local economy over a

university's plans to close a campus and move 2,000 students.

And after a couple of pleasant days, don't be fooled, this rather wet

January is continuing with plenty more rain on the way as we head

towards the weekend. Your full forecast coming up.

Good evening. Cadbury, based here in Birmingham,

has announced a major investment in its Bournville headquarters. The

company said the ?75 million upgrade was the first significant investment

at the plant for 30 years. It would include replacing out`of`date

production lines and opening new ones.

Cadbury currently employs about 2,000 workers at Bournville and

union leaders have welcomed the investment. But tonight concerns are

emerging that jobs could go, despite this investment. In a moment we'll

be live in Bournville, but first this report.

Four new production lines within three years for the Cadbury factory,

where costs are high compared with competitors. Both unions and

managers have welcomed the planned investment ` it is one of the

biggest ever at the 135`year`old site. But there are hints the revamp

may lead to cuts in the 2000 strong workforce.

We have been open and honest with the workforce and say that there may

be a reduction in the number of jobs, but that is all up for

consultation. We have got to sit down with them. It is about how we

work and how we change the way that we work at Bournville. We are trying

to do the next generation of manufacturing. We think that the

investment can only be good news. The unions have already been

negotiating the redevelopment for two years. One leader sees today's

annoucement as a potential triumph for the region, comparable with the

resurgence of Jaguar Landrover. This is an acceptance that a lot of

the equipment here is outdated, and we cannot take any extra volume with

the equipment that we have. So we see it as positive, because we can

bring more product back into the site.

Whatever happens, it's clear another chapter is opening in the history of

the world famous chocolate maker. Cadbury's association with

Birmingham dates back to 1824, when John Cadbury opened a grocer's shop

in Bull Street. Among other things, he sold cocoa and drinking

chocolate. In 1879, John Cadbury's son George

drew up plans for the factory in Bournville. Production began in

September of that year More than 130 years later, the business was taken

over by American food giant Kraft in 2010.

At the time, there were concerns the company's new owners would run down

the Bournville site. But business leaders in Birmingham say today's

announcement shows serious commitment.

This is a long`term, sustainable strategy, not a short`term play.

This is a serious investment in their manufacturing capability, so

that they can reduce a state`of`the`art business based here

in Bournville. And Cadbury says this redevelopment will allow it to

compete with the best in the world. And our business correspondent is in

Bournville now. Peter, news tonight that this means jobs could go at

Bournville despite the investment? New technology often does mean fewer

jobs. Of course, machines are more efficient than people. What we are

hearing is that the investment involves the replacement of six old

production lines with four modern production lines, and irrespective

laid and that this could mean 60% of the walk force would go. That is a

worst`case scenario. Even the unions are saying that this is good news, a

potentially ?75 million investment in the Bournville plant. A

much`needed investment in an old plant that is very inefficient.

A senior government minister has been in the region today. What's his

reaction? Danny Alexander, the secretary of

the Treasury, was in the Midlands. He was visiting the Land Rover

plant. I asked him whether he felt it was right that Cadbury 's work

pegging the investment with changes in working practices.

Most workers in Britain want to work with companies to print `` improve

productive day, because that is the way that we will see living

standards increase. So the two things go together. I don't think

there is anything to fear from increased productivity and

investments. There were fears when Kraft took

over in 2010 that factories could close. Does this finally secure the

plant? I think it does mean much more

security for Bournville. Certainly, it is the second began best and that

we have seen here. The first saw Kraft bring in a Centre of

excellence from Switzerland. But many remember the Kraft of York,

where they kept factories open, then four years `` 12 years after the

takeover, they moved the production abroad. The investment here does

make that less likely at Bournville. You're watching Midlands Today.

Still to come: A warning that the horse meat scandal could happen

again. A prison officer has told the BBC

that a disturbance at the Oakwood prison near Wolverhampton earlier

this month was in fact a full scale riot. The officer said inmates set

up tripwires around the building and shouted threats from behind a

barricade. The company G4S, which runs Oakwood, says it was an

incident which was significant, but low`level.

Grey skies over HMP Oakwood, as a fresh testament cuts through the

murkiness surrounding events of January fifth.

Our briefing was that the prisoners were armed and dangerous and that

they had completely taken over an entire wing of the prison.

The words of one of the so`called Tornado Team, the crack squad of

prison officers drafted in to regain control.

There were tables that had been broken, iron bars lying around,

wires had been strung up as trip wires at chest and neck level. These

were people who actively wanted to harm prison officers. As we were

waiting to go in, I heard the prisoners shouting, we are ready for

you, we are going to get you. The prison operators G4S had

previously denied it was a riot. Today, they said it Wwas a

significant event ` no surprise to people living in nearby

Featherstone. It is like a holiday camp. It is not

a prison, because they have all the facilities that they could have at

home. It scares me. I am scared that I live down the road and that

someone might get out. It's needs to be put right. The government needs

to spend more money on security. G4S say any problems at Oakwood are

teething troubles. In a separate development today, the firm said

less experienced staff will now go on exchange programmes to other

prisons and get a ?500 allowance in return. They say things are no worse

at Oakwood than anywhere else. It really can be very frustrating to

operate `` operators such as myself, to see incidents at Oakwood that are

magnified by observers in the media, far more than any incident that

would happen in a long established jail.

But why would inmates here riot? This woman's son is serving time

there on Cedar Wing where the violence broke out.

He is being locked up early. He was getting locked up too early, that is

why they decided to kick off. Apart from a highly critical report

last year from Her Majesty's Inspector of Prisons, there's very

little data on Oakwood. So it's difficult to know what's really

going on behind its walls. Just this week, the Ambulance

Service revealed that there had been hundreds of call`outs here to

Oakwood, twice as much as any other prison in the country.

And since the start of this month, there've been 36 requests for an

ambulance ` either there are lots of accidents here or there's lots of

illness. Or perhaps the truth is that Oakwood is a dangerous place?

And you can hear the full report on Oakwood Prison on BBC Radio four

tonight at 8pm. The Crown Prosecution Service has

said there is insufficient evidence to charge five serving or former

police officers over their roles in a murder investigation. Kevin Nunes

was shot dead in Staffordshire in September 2002. Five men jailed for

murder were freed on appeal after it emerged concerns over the

credibility of witnesses were not disclosed to the defence.

Stan Collymore has reactivated his Twitter account, after complaining

about receiving abusive tweets. His account had been deactivated

overnight after he was sent death threats. Staffordshire Police said

officers had spoken to a 14`year`old in the Liverpool area and a

15`year`old in Bedfordshire, but neither had been arrested.

A wildlife charity has criticised the government's badger cull for the

use of trapping and shooting methods, which it says were not part

of its objectives. Care for the Wild said that in West Gloucestershire

543 badgers were killed through controlled shooting in six weeks,

while 165 were cage`trapped and shot.

Pressure on hospital beds is top of the government agenda this winter

and hospitals are being forced to look for radical solutions. In

Stoke`on` Trent an ?8 million deal has been struck which will see a

private company looking after patients at home, freeing up beds on

wards. Andy Fallows had to have his hip

removed due to a drug resistant infection. He was in hospital for

four weeks, but thanks to this new system he's one of the first

patients to go home. I want my tea at 8pm, like I

normally do. I am not timed to certain times. I am not bored. If I

want to do something, I can do it. He's visited by nurses from health

care at Home, who give him antibiotics four times a day. It's

been trialled in Southampton and means beds which cost the hospital

?580 a day can be freed up. It has done amazingly well in

Southampton. We have currently 36 staff on the team in which we often

will have 42 patients out of the hospital on a daily basis. That

means you have 42 beds in a trust that can be used in different

people. University Hospital Stoke`on`Trent

says that it will be monitoring it very closely.

Patients who are at home are at less risk at home `` four, and of getting

hospital infection. Patients do not want to be sat in hospital if they

can have the same treatment at home. Winter bed pressures meant temporary

wards had to be rerfurbished before Christmas.

This building houses 34 patients, but eschewed to be demolished and a

jewel carriageway going through this. Healthcare at Home will

hopefully free up for two beds Although it has run in Southampton

for three years, this campaigner has concerns about safety and the way

the contract was awarded. And solve the crisis.

To me, it is an initiative that in fact is a loophole that means that

University Hospital North Staffordshire does not have to

tender this work out. Health care at Home will be judged

on whether there are beds available next Christmas.

MPs have voted to release secret papers relating to the conviction of

the Shrewsbury 24. The group included comedy actor Ricky

Tomlinson, who was jailed for his part in picket line disturbances

following a builders' strike more than 40 years ago. The government

said today the documents could be made available next year. MPs from

our region spoke on both sides of the debate.

The Stasi published their files after the burning wall came down in

1989. I think we can. Many constituents say that these people

have been tried and convicted by a jury and many constituents are the

world at that this debate has even been called.

An MP is tonight urging the board of governors at Staffordshire

University not to close its campus in Stafford. The town's Jeremy

LeFroy believes the potential relocation of more than 2,000

students to Stoke`on`Trent would have a "substantial impact" on the

local economy. A final decision will be announced a week today.

The campus at Beaconside in Stafford's seen an increasing number

of students enrolling on courses over the last few years. But

Staffordshire University's carrying out a review of its buildings and

that could mean it moves out of this campus.

Currently, I don't want to move. I am settles and it is a lovely town.

I like the shops and the people, I don't want to move out.

It is further away than where I live. You have to sort out

accommodation again. It is just an annoyance.

It will probably cripple Stafford, because it will take all the

students away. I think it is a really bad idea.

The university's considering moving more students here, to its base in

Stoke`on`Trent. But leaving Stafford would be a mistake, according to the

town's MP. What I am saying to the university

is thinking long term. Don't take a short`term decision. Stafford is an

incredibly strategic position for a university to be in. We are near the

airport and the M6. It is at the heart of the UK.

The university says any changes won't have an impact on second or

third year undergraduates, although first years could potentially be

affected. The university declined our request

for an interview, but said that it is aware of students concerns and

has held meetings to discuss the future. It said it did not want to

pre`empt a decision of its Board of Governors.

Ahead of that decision, what's the feeling in Stafford town centre on

the plans? I benefit, because I am a taxi

driver. I take a lot of students around. Plus, they come into town

and do their shopping. As far as we can see, the students are happy

there and Stafford needs the University.

The university will announce its plans next week, when students will

be told where future investment will be made. It is 6:45pm.

This is our top story tonight: Chocolate giants Cadbury announce a

new ?75 million investment in Bournville, but jobs could be lost.

Brace yourselves for a watery weather forecast from Rebecca.

And also in tonight's programme: Exodus to the capital. Coventry City

set to be roared on by 5,000 fans in tomorrow night's FA Cup tie at

Arsenal. And celebrating 30 years: the

theatre group set up to tell women's stories.

It's 12 months since the horse meat scandal erupted into the headlines.

Shocking revelations followed one after another as major retailers

discovered their beef, pork or lamb actually contained traces, or worse,

of horse. But for some in the Midlands the scandal was actually

good for business. Our Rural Affairs Correspondent David Gregory`Kumar

has been investigating. So David who's done well out of all

this? People like this butcher. Now this

shop near Wolverhampton is part of a farm shop. You can buy the sausages

and steaks and see the pigs and cattle from the windows of the shop.

The owners call it a one link food chain. You can't get more certain

about where your meat has come from when the horse meat scandal broke,

we had a surge in meat sales, because people lost faith in

supermarkets, and decided to go to farm shops where they knew the meat

came from. And sales are still up. They've held onto half their new

customers. So what about the rest of us? This is the change in what we're

eating. As you can see frozen pork, beef and ready meals are all down.

But look at frozen burgers. That's where the horse meat scandal started

and sales are down by just 1%. That's thanks to heavy promotion and

discounting. If it's cheap enough, we'll still eat it.

So who's testing this food? Well not Trading Standards. For example, in

Birmingham Trading Standards have stopped testing for horse meat. They

told us since they didn't detect any further incidences of contamination.

One other reason Trading Standards stopped testing, increasing testing

by food companies themselves. Though of course that does carry a cost.

It is a bit of a business, because it's ?126 per analysis, and if you

can imagine, we take delivery of meat once a week, that means it

would cost ?25,000 a year just to check meat coming in is what it

says. A year after the horse meat scandal

many of us have gone back to buying meat based purely on how affordable

it is. But for a good proportion of shoppers knowing exactly where our

meat has come from is much more important than it was 12 months ago.

This time tomorrow, 5,000 Coventry City fans will be making a bee`line

for North London. They're hoping to witness a big upset in the FA Cup

fourth round. The Sky Blues maybe 55 places below Arsenal, who are

currently on top of the Premier League, but the Coventry camp

remains quietly confident. Training hard for the toughest task

in the round draw. Coventry away to Arsenal sitting pretty on top of the

Premier League. Realistically, Coventry know that they do not stand

a chance, but if Arsenal was to take their foot off the brake, then the

Sky Blues have players. Players like Franck Moussa, who has

30 goals and more to come. Last season, he took his debut when

Arsenal won`1. It is a great opportunity to play football.

Everybody knows about the FA Cup, anything can happen. We have to give

our best shot and go that expecting to get a result out of that. We will

see what our best will give us. I was hoping for Liverpool, but I will

not complain about going back to the Emirates. We have to believe that we

can get something out of the game. There will be cheered on by 5000

fans, but the boss, Steven Pressley, is determined there will have a

night to remember. If you are going to draw this, there

is no better side than Arsenal. It is one of location. We have to go

there with the right mentality. We cannot just go there to make the

numbers up. My players do have an opportunity. Have boots, do travel.

Hoping that tomorrow night is not the end of the road for them. Good

luck to them. And tomorrow we'll be with

Kidderminster Harriers as they prepare to face Premier League

Sunderland in the fourth round on Saturday A memorial

A memorial service will be held in Wolverhampton next month to honour

the Wolves and England goalkeeping legend Bert Williams The

93`year`old, who died on Sunday, made more than 400 appearances for

Wolves in a 14`year career that spanned the club's most successful

era in the 1950s. The service will be held at St Peter's Church in the

city on Wednesday February the fifth.

Have you heard of the popular comedy character Barbara Nice? Well, not

only does she make us laugh, but, in real life, her less manic persona

Janice Connolly is a founding member of the Women Theatre group, which

tackles difficult and often taboo topics. This year the group's

celebrating its 30th birthday. Are you ready now? A stinging start

to this week's comedy class in Wolverhampton. This is one of

thousands of projects that Women Theatre have devised for ordinary

people. It is all devised theatre, so we are making it up ourselves. We

wanted to find stories that were not already been told and, initially, it

was women telling their stories, but now we have men as well. But that is

how it started in the beginning. Three decades on, and Janice

Connolly is still going strong. You have caught me going through my

cupboards. You might be thinking, what are you looking for, Barbara? I

am looking for Anglo`Saxon gold. She is best known as her, the altar ego

Barbara Nice, who was in Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights.

Everyone who does the course will not end up being a performer, but

some people will. People enjoy themselves, and it is good for

well`being. You cannot beat the arts for coming out of yourself and

feeling better when you go home. The odd comedy, Women Theatre have

created work to challenge our perceptions.

I was standing outside the club, trying to pluck up the courage to go

into the disco to find women like me.

Here, stories of a hidden gay past. Homosexuality was seen as a form of

madness. This data is now part of the

cultural identity. They have employed 300 artists and workers.

They have had workshops, reaching out to thousands of people, many

have been empowered and entertained. Rachel is one of the many people who

has attended workshops. It has really boosted my confidence. I have

never done comedy, I was wanted to do it. It came along at the right

time. I have made new friendships, and onwards and upwards for more

comedy nights. At a time when many arts organisations are trying to

make ends meet, Women Theatre are a success story and have 20 to laugh

about. Happy birthday to them. Here is the

weather. Yes, unfortunately, the weather is deteriorating as we go to

the weekend. I will talk about rainfall totals, because we have

significant rainfall in the next few days. We could see ten to 20 minute

metres, then `` millimetres, then the showers on Saturday could be

heavy, and we could have up to 25 millimetres of rain on Sunday. There

are flood alerts in the region, and they could go up. We have had some

showers today, but we will see those moving off, then it is a clear

night. Cabbages will fall away under those

clear skies to begin with, but then we start to see cloud head of the

next band of rain. `` temperatures will fall away. We could see some

icy stretches. In Staffordshire, there is a yellow weather warning

for ice. Tomorrow morning, we will see the

rain sticking with this, temperatures really struggling.

Around three Celsius under that. It will feel cold tomorrow, it will be

breezy. There will be a few clear periods in that rain, but it will

not go anywhere. Eventually, there will be mild air, but we could get

up to eight Celsius where we have been recently. And the rain stays

with us right the way through Friday night. It will get heavy at times,

eventually heading away as we head into Saturday. We will get some mist

and fog patches developing, because there is quite a lot of moisture in

the error was well. It will not be too cold on Saturday, and Saturday

will be the best day of the weekend, but it still will not be a

great day, because although it starts off dry, we get some sunny

spells. Then we have the showers moving through. They will clear away

again, it will be a very cold night as we head into Sunday. Then we have

this area of low pressure moving in. It will have strong guts of wind up

to 40 miles an hour, 25 millimetres of rain. The forecast could change,

but it is not looking good. Tonight's headlines from the BBC.

Some hospital waiting time figures in England can't be relied upon,

according to an official watchdog. And guilty of throwing acid in the

face of a friend ` the woman who disguised herself in a Muslim veil.

Chocolate giants Cadbury announce a new ?75 million investment in

Bournville. There are some fears tonight that 60% of jobs could be

lost. And recent disturbances at a jail

near Wolverhampton amounted to a full scale "prison riot", according

to an officer working there. That was the programme. I will be

back at 10pm with the latest of the Cadbury 's announcement. We will

have more analysis of what this could mean for jobs, and we expect

to hear whether the striker has admitted all denied a football

Association charge about an A star will be born

on The Voice 2014!