:00:07. > :00:11.The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has been in the Midlands today,
:00:12. > :00:13.as more details were announced about the so-called
:00:14. > :00:19.The aim is to invest in areas such as skills and transport, to help
:00:20. > :00:25.One area which will benefit is in Coventry.
:00:26. > :00:29.Our reporter Kevin Reide is there now.
:00:30. > :00:44.Kevin, I understand a new apprentice centre is to be built there?
:00:45. > :00:46.Yes, Mary this is the Warwick maunufacturing Group
:00:47. > :00:49.at Warwick University and before too long this will be home
:00:50. > :00:51.to a new purpose built centre entirely for apprentices.
:00:52. > :00:53.Costing ?11 million it will draw together the best
:00:54. > :00:56.in manufacturing expertise and facilities and is just one
:00:57. > :01:03.of a number of measures being made to create the so called
:01:04. > :01:06.We've heard of the Northern Powerhouse and now for us
:01:07. > :01:10.here is the so called Midlands Engine.
:01:11. > :01:12.The Chancellor Phillip Hammond who was in Dudley
:01:13. > :01:14.local authorities from the Welsh border to Lincolnshire and promising
:01:15. > :01:16.investment: At present ?392 million has been allocated, those to benefit
:01:17. > :01:19.include The Black Country with 25 million to ease
:01:20. > :01:25.this is not a one-off. This is part of a programme to galvanise this
:01:26. > :01:32.economy. In Coventry and Warwickshire,
:01:33. > :01:37.11 million for the apprentice centre at Warwick University,
:01:38. > :01:39.and in Hereford, 8 million for a new hi-tech university to train
:01:40. > :01:44.the next generation of engineers. But one opposition politician says
:01:45. > :01:46.it should not just be about helping businesses,
:01:47. > :01:48.spending on infrastructure and apprenticeships,
:01:49. > :01:58.but about improving education The initiative is welcome but it
:01:59. > :02:03.does not recognise the scale of the issue presented to it. I am meeting
:02:04. > :02:06.head teachers across the borough to discuss the problem is that they are
:02:07. > :02:11.having with funding in schools and the barriers that that puts up to
:02:12. > :02:12.giving children the best possible start in life.
:02:13. > :02:14.10 million people now live under the area covered
:02:15. > :02:20.by the Midlands Engine, that's currently 13 per cent
:02:21. > :02:22.of the UK's annual output, which the government believes
:02:23. > :02:34.And there has been criticism from accountants
:02:35. > :02:37.Ernst Young who say by their calculations the Government
:02:38. > :02:39.is spending more on the so called Northern Powerhouse,
:02:40. > :02:41.but the chancellor has denied this saying there are further
:02:42. > :02:46.And while I'm here I must tell you Warwick University's Art Centre
:02:47. > :02:51.just a few hundred yards from where I am is also to benefit
:02:52. > :02:54.from a ?2 million cultural grant all as part of this
:02:55. > :03:00.There's a spring in the step here with all the daffodils behind me.
:03:01. > :03:03.More babies die before their first birthday here in the West Midlands,
:03:04. > :03:07.Health professionals are trying to reduce the numbers of deaths
:03:08. > :03:11.Maternity services are being overhauled
:03:12. > :03:13.and in Birmingham, Finnish-style baby boxes are being handed out
:03:14. > :03:15.to expectant parents for their babies to sleep in.
:03:16. > :03:17.But for some, help has come too late.
:03:18. > :03:27.It contains images some viewers might find distressing.
:03:28. > :03:29.Everything about her was perfect, just perfect.
:03:30. > :03:32.Callie lived for barely half an hour.
:03:33. > :03:36.But for three whole days, while she was in a special
:03:37. > :03:38.cold cot in hospital, her parents Matt and Krystal
:03:39. > :03:48.I'd, for the longest time, waited to hold a baby.
:03:49. > :03:54.Delivered by emergency C-section last June,
:03:55. > :03:56.Callie died from an intra-uterine infection, the doctors said.
:03:57. > :03:59.Matt and Krystal think that may not be the full story.
:04:00. > :04:01.They're still in shock, their world upside down,
:04:02. > :04:07.The West Midlands has the worst infant mortality
:04:08. > :04:16.rate in the country, 6.1 per thousand live births.
:04:17. > :04:21.That's 6 out of 1,000 babies not making it to their first birthday.
:04:22. > :04:25.When you compare it to the rest of the country you see
:04:26. > :04:33.The next worst region is East Midlands with 4.6,
:04:34. > :04:36.and in the South East the rate is three.
:04:37. > :04:39.But if you look in more detail, you can see some shocking anomalies.
:04:40. > :04:44.that's almost 1 in 100 babies in the city not surviving.
:04:45. > :04:46.Birmingham is 7.9, even Warwickshire and Worcestershire
:04:47. > :04:50.are way above the national average scoring around 5.
:04:51. > :04:53.No wonder that expectant mums were queueing up in Hall Green this
:04:54. > :04:59.In Finland, where they've been handed out
:05:00. > :05:05.by the state since the 30s, they're credited with reducing
:05:06. > :05:07.infant mortality from over 60 per thousand live births
:05:08. > :05:20.18,500 boxes will be distributed as part of a wider strategy to cut
:05:21. > :05:23.infant deaths in the Birmingham area by 20%. An audit is to be carried
:05:24. > :05:33.out into the deaths of all babies over the past few years. You use the
:05:34. > :05:37.information, what was the Mumbles McQuade, that she smoked, as she had
:05:38. > :05:42.a book an appointment, all of that information will gather.
:05:43. > :05:45.Callie will be among those babies whose stories are reviewed.
:05:46. > :05:47.Her parents say infant mortality rates for Birmingham are shameful,
:05:48. > :05:50.and that there needs to be more openness about the subject.
:05:51. > :05:58.It has to change, to change the rates as well.
:05:59. > :06:01.They're now thinking of setting up a charity in Callie's name,
:06:02. > :06:13.West Midlands Police have confirmed the identities of the two people
:06:14. > :06:15.who died in a stabbing incident in Wolverhampton.
:06:16. > :06:16.Melvin James fatally stabbed his sister Ann-Marie,
:06:17. > :06:23.Their mother suffered serious stab wounds and remains in
:06:24. > :06:28.The Independent Police Complaints Commission has launched an enquiry
:06:29. > :06:33.into how the West Midlands Force handled the incident.
:06:34. > :06:37.The Communist Party of Britain is to field a candidate
:06:38. > :06:39.in May's election for the Mayor of the West Midlands.
:06:40. > :06:41.Graham Stevenson, who's originally from Coventry,
:06:42. > :06:45.His policies include nationalising the M6 toll road
:06:46. > :06:53.and introducing a living wage of ?10 an hour.
:06:54. > :06:57.An annual award for the world's best female cricketer is to be named
:06:58. > :07:01.The former England captain, from Wolverhampton, died
:07:02. > :07:06.She played 22 tests and 23 one day internationals for her country.
:07:07. > :07:11.The International Cricket Council made the announcement at the launch
:07:12. > :07:16.of the Women's World Cup which takes place in England this summer.
:07:17. > :07:18.It's a story worthy of the Famous Five.
:07:19. > :07:20.A book lover, browsing through second hand
:07:21. > :07:23.shops in Hay on Wye - who buys a book for a pound.
:07:24. > :07:25.But she got more than she bargained for.
:07:26. > :07:27.Leafing through it, she discovered a handwritten note
:07:28. > :07:29.from the famous children's author, Enid Blyton.
:07:30. > :07:33.As Lindsay Doyle reports, the note was stuck to the inside cover
:07:34. > :07:35.of a copy of George Eliot's Silas Marner.
:07:36. > :07:41.Once upon a time in a little town on the edge of Herefordshire,
:07:42. > :07:44.a town known as the Book Town, there was a little book
:07:45. > :07:46.which held a secret, which was discovered
:07:47. > :07:51.I was literally browsing the shelves, and
:07:52. > :07:54.I don't know what drew me to this one apart from the fact
:07:55. > :07:59.but I picked it up and opened the front cover and there was
:08:00. > :08:02.this little piece of paper inside and as I opened it
:08:03. > :08:04.I instantly recognised the signature as Enid Blyton's signature.
:08:05. > :08:06.Glued inside a copy of George Eliot's Silas Marner
:08:07. > :08:09.is what appears to be a letter from one of the most famous
:08:10. > :08:20.It is written to Mary congratulating her on winning one of "my prizes".
:08:21. > :08:23.The name written inside Silas Marner is of a Mary
:08:24. > :08:27.Gillian and Imogen don't have to wait for the next Enid Blyton
:08:28. > :08:30.They can read it as it comes off the typewriter,
:08:31. > :08:35.for their mother, Mrs Darren Waters, is Enid Blyton.
:08:36. > :08:38.This was only ?1 this book, it was in the bargain book shelf thing.
:08:39. > :08:42.And so I hid it behind the shelf and we both ran back to our hotel
:08:43. > :08:46.room and I grabbed my purse and ran back down to the stall and found it
:08:47. > :08:51.again and kind of held onto it as if my life depended on it!
:08:52. > :08:55.Lashings of luck, but rather rotten for the bookstall!
:08:56. > :08:58.When I first heard I thought, oh, boy, that's a real mistake.
:08:59. > :09:00.And then I thought, when I had time to think
:09:01. > :09:03.about it, I thought, well, no, it's a great story and I'm
:09:04. > :09:06.really pleased for her and I'm glad she's happy to keep her purchase.
:09:07. > :09:09.During the 50s and 60s schoolchildren were invited
:09:10. > :09:13.A winning composition would win a classic novel,
:09:14. > :09:16.like Silas Marner, and also a letter from a children's author.
:09:17. > :09:30.Enid Blyton's signature is one of most famous literary history, and
:09:31. > :09:35.it's not surprising. She would write 10,000 words a day, she published
:09:36. > :09:41.753 books, 600 million of which were sold worldwide. Hundreds and
:09:42. > :09:45.hundreds of letters. They tell me what looks they like and what they
:09:46. > :09:48.will read next, and the books they like best of all.
:09:49. > :09:51.That's all from me, I'll be back with Midlands Today
:09:52. > :10:01.I'll leave you with the forecast from Rebecca.
:10:02. > :10:07.Good evening. It certainly was a pleasant day today. Lots of lovely
:10:08. > :10:12.sunshine. Temperatures managed to make it up to the mid teens. As we
:10:13. > :10:17.head towards tomorrow things are going to change. It will be a cloudy
:10:18. > :10:24.day, thick enough at times to get some drizzle. But it will largely
:10:25. > :10:27.dry. Still dry out there tonight, with some clear spells. Temperatures
:10:28. > :10:34.initially falling away but starting to recover with an area of cloud
:10:35. > :10:40.working its way in from the west. Temperatures holding up between
:10:41. > :10:44.5-9dC. Tomorrow, I pressure still in charge, but steadily it is being
:10:45. > :10:47.pushed out of the way. We can see that warm front up against it so
:10:48. > :10:52.that will give us the cloud. We're still in that air. Cloudy day with
:10:53. > :10:56.some drizzle, but some brighter spells to the Lee of high ground and
:10:57. > :11:01.where we get those, temperatures back up into the mid-teens once
:11:02. > :11:03.again. The national forecast is coming up but I will leave you
:11:04. > :11:10.day. On Sunday, cloudier, maybe spots of rain.
:11:11. > :11:17.Good evening, in the spring sunshine we saw temperatures as high as 17.5
:11:18. > :11:21.Celsius. Not as warm or Sonning on Friday. Still a lot of dry, settled
:11:22. > :11:25.weather in the forecast for the next few days. This was the sunset
:11:26. > :11:28.captured by one of our Weather Watchers. Clear skies there. We have
:11:29. > :11:31.had increasing amounts of cloud moving in from the West. Through the
:11:32. > :11:35.remainder of tonight we will continue to see that cloud across
:11:36. > :11:38.the south-west of England, the Channel Isles, weaving in across
:11:39. > :11:42.Wales, Northern Ireland and western Scotland. Bringing with it some
:11:43. > :11:46.outbreaks of drizzly rain, particularly around the coast and
:11:47. > :11:49.the hills. Further east, clear skies and the coldest temperatures. We are
:11:50. > :11:53.likely to see frost across eastern parts of Scotland by Friday morning.
:11:54. > :11:57.The west of Scotland will see the cloud moving in, bringing spots of
:11:58. > :12:01.light, drizzly rain. A similar picture for Northern Ireland. Fairly
:12:02. > :12:06.cloudy and grey. A bit of hill fog here and there. Into the north of
:12:07. > :12:08.England as well. The central and eastern parts