:00:07. > :00:11.Business leaders in the Midlands have begun the push for more
:00:12. > :00:13.investment in infrastructure across the region, to make sure
:00:14. > :00:16.they can compete once the UK leaves the European Union.
:00:17. > :00:19.Since the referendum vote last year, there have been mixed fortunes -
:00:20. > :00:21.with some firms winning new contracts, while others have
:00:22. > :00:27.Here's our Business correspondent, Peter Plisner.
:00:28. > :00:29.A recipe for success, or a disaster for the economy?
:00:30. > :00:32.Views on Brexit are still mixed and so is the picture on
:00:33. > :00:36.At this Walsall cake-maker they have seen a big
:00:37. > :00:41.They have gained a bigger slice of the
:00:42. > :00:43.market, because of changes in the exchange rate
:00:44. > :00:45.It's made their products cheaper than
:00:46. > :00:50.We are extending that right towards the end.
:00:51. > :00:55.This whole warehouse is going to be shifted out into the car park.
:00:56. > :00:57.They're now so busy that they have brought
:00:58. > :00:58.forward plans to build a new
:00:59. > :01:02.production line, as retailers turn to UK suppliers.
:01:03. > :01:10.That majorly impacted on the whole supply chain.
:01:11. > :01:13.So they needed to turn to UK manufacturers for this reason, but
:01:14. > :01:15.also the other uncertainty as well with imported goods, any tariffs
:01:16. > :01:22.that may be implicated in that process.
:01:23. > :01:24.But not all companies are feeling a Brexit boost.
:01:25. > :01:27.At this South Birmingham advanced engineering firm, they have noticed
:01:28. > :01:29.a drop off in sales since the referendum
:01:30. > :01:32.last year, but not only that, some of the foreign
:01:33. > :01:34.firms they work for appear to have pressed the pause
:01:35. > :01:37.button when it comes to investment in big projects.
:01:38. > :01:39.And that, according to management, has
:01:40. > :01:47.meant laying off some contract staff and trying harder to find new work.
:01:48. > :01:50.We have gone from about a one in five inquiry to sales conversion
:01:51. > :01:56.So what we have had to really do is put our foot down
:01:57. > :02:00.on the gas to get a lot more inquiries to get the conversions.
:02:01. > :02:02.But despite Brexit concerns, experts maintain the Midlands economy isn't
:02:03. > :02:08.Actually the West Midlands economy seems to be
:02:09. > :02:10.outperforming the national economy and again we're faced with capacity
:02:11. > :02:13.The region would be looking at more infrastructure
:02:14. > :02:15.expenditure, particularly into the road and rail infrastructure
:02:16. > :02:24.Like it or loathe it, Brexit's here to stay and
:02:25. > :02:33.the business as usual attitude appears to be paying dividends.
:02:34. > :02:35.Two people have been arrested after a raid by counter-terrorism
:02:36. > :02:37.police in the Alum Rock area of Birmingham.
:02:38. > :02:40.A 21-year-old man and a woman who's 23 were detained after police
:02:41. > :02:43.Police say today's arrests were intelligence-led
:02:44. > :02:52.and are not connected in any way to last week's Westminster attack.
:02:53. > :02:54.A 30-year-old man arrested in Birmingham in connection
:02:55. > :02:56.with the terror attack in Westminster remains in custody,
:02:57. > :03:00.a 58-year-old man was released today without charge.
:03:01. > :03:02.Parts of the Midlands came to a standstill this afternoon,
:03:03. > :03:04.to pay tribute to the victims of the Westminster attack
:03:05. > :03:07.in which four people were killed a week ago.
:03:08. > :03:09.Taxi drivers, civic leaders and people from all faiths
:03:10. > :03:12.were among those who gathered at this vigil in Balsall
:03:13. > :03:19.Prince William was at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire
:03:20. > :03:23.today, where he laid a wreath in memory of PC Keith Palmer.
:03:24. > :03:26.The officer was killed in the terror attack at Westminster a week ago.
:03:27. > :03:29.The Duke of Cambridge also opened a new remembrance centre.
:03:30. > :03:35.A warning, Liz Copper's report does contain some flash photography.
:03:36. > :03:38.The Arboretum is a place where dedication to duty is honoured and,
:03:39. > :03:41.a week on from the attack at Westminster, Prince William laid
:03:42. > :03:43.flowers in tribute to PC Keith Palmer, who lost his life
:03:44. > :03:50.The message on the wreath read, "Your legacy is
:03:51. > :03:57.For a member of the Royal Family to come and want to
:03:58. > :04:00.lay a wreath for policing, to remember that a police officer's
:04:01. > :04:03.given his life to protect the people in this country, is important to
:04:04. > :04:06.The Duke of Cambridge is patron of the
:04:07. > :04:08.appeal which funded the ?15.7 million new centre.
:04:09. > :04:14.Earlier, he met children from All Saints Primary School.
:04:15. > :04:17.He asked us if we had been to the Arboretum before and I have
:04:18. > :04:20.been to the Arboretum before with my Gramps, because my Gramps
:04:21. > :04:25.has got dementia and I think it's a really nice place for him to come.
:04:26. > :04:27.Not a lot of people realise what the war was really
:04:28. > :04:30.like and we need places like this for people to come
:04:31. > :04:38.The Duke also met veterans from each of the armed forces in the
:04:39. > :04:42.Arboretum's newly-built Heroes' Square.
:04:43. > :04:45.It's such a nice peaceful place and it's just nice to come and
:04:46. > :04:47.just to reflect and remember shipmates that are no longer
:04:48. > :04:53.Every day of the year, in public and in private, there are acts of
:04:54. > :05:04.Telford's Accident and Emergency department could close overnight
:05:05. > :05:09.A report going to the NHS board which runs hospitals
:05:10. > :05:11.in Shrewsbury and Telford suggests they should start drawing
:05:12. > :05:13.up plans now, to deal with serious staffing shortages.
:05:14. > :05:15.Our reporter, Nicola Beckford, is in Telford.
:05:16. > :05:25.So what are hospital bosses saying Nicola?
:05:26. > :05:27.Well, the chief executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford
:05:28. > :05:30.Hospitals NHS Trust, Simon Wright, says that
:05:31. > :05:33.unless the Trust can recruit more doctors for A,
:05:34. > :05:36.the emergency department here at the Princess Royal will have
:05:37. > :05:49.The Trust has been trying to recruit two consultants without any success.
:05:50. > :05:57.Tomorrow, a board meeting of the Trust will consider that
:05:58. > :05:59.a proposal to start planning for that closure.
:06:00. > :06:02.Mr Wright says the Trust needs to plan now before it
:06:03. > :06:04.reaches what he describes as "a crisis point."
:06:05. > :06:11.What has been the reaction to the proposal? The leader of Telford
:06:12. > :06:13.council said he is hoping to get the local community to put pressure on
:06:14. > :06:18.the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. It's an NHS in crisis
:06:19. > :06:21.and it is not just about A, it's about women and children's
:06:22. > :06:23.unit, every midwife-led unit across Shropshire under review
:06:24. > :06:25.and - heavens sake - a couple of months
:06:26. > :06:35.ago I they couldn't afford to put The trust says this is not a
:06:36. > :06:39.downgrade by the back door of the hospital and Simon Wright says no
:06:40. > :06:43.final decision will be made within the next six months. Thank you.
:06:44. > :06:46.The families of some of the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings
:06:47. > :06:48.travelled to Westminster today to hear the Labour MP
:06:49. > :06:49.Andy Burnham introduce a ten-minute bill
:06:50. > :06:52.which would make it a criminal offence for members of a public body
:06:53. > :06:54.to cover up wrongdoing within their organisation.
:06:55. > :06:56.It would also give families the same resources as public
:06:57. > :07:00.bodies to pay for legal representation at inquests.
:07:01. > :07:02.Since the Hillsborough verdict, the families
:07:03. > :07:03.of those who died in the
:07:04. > :07:06.1974 Birmingham pub bombings have - quite wrongly and unbelievably -
:07:07. > :07:13.There are thousands of other hidden individual cases where bereaved
:07:14. > :07:15.families are denied legal representation, while the public
:07:16. > :07:25.bodies they are up against in court spend public money like water.
:07:26. > :07:27.Every year, supermarkets and food manufacturers throw
:07:28. > :07:32.away 270,000 tonnes of perfectly good food.
:07:33. > :07:35.The charity, Fareshare, have spent the last ten years
:07:36. > :07:38.putting some of that to good use, by giving it to community groups.
:07:39. > :07:41.In that time they reckon they've saved enough for ten million meals.
:07:42. > :07:46.Look at all this food in a warehouse in Birmingham - donated by
:07:47. > :07:50.supermarkets and manufacturers who would otherwise throw it away.
:07:51. > :07:53.Reasons include over-production, or it may have a short shell of life.
:07:54. > :07:54.The charity, Fairshare West Midlands,
:07:55. > :07:56.gives it to groups, including domestic violence refuges and
:07:57. > :08:09.It just gives me such a good feeling to
:08:10. > :08:13.know that we have helped so many people each day and it's a
:08:14. > :08:17.270,000 tonnes of food is wasted by shops and manufacturers every year
:08:18. > :08:26.That's enough to provide 650 million meals.
:08:27. > :08:28.The Birmingham Support Group's one of
:08:29. > :08:30.150 in the West Midlands to benefit and this
:08:31. > :08:38.We take it up to a soup kitchen in Albert Street every
:08:39. > :08:44.Wednesday and we distribute it to the homeless and the needy.
:08:45. > :08:46.Next to load up the Brasshouse, which
:08:47. > :08:47.provides services to people in Smethwick.
:08:48. > :08:50.In Smethwick, the workers waste no time in turning food that
:08:51. > :08:57.would have been wasted into nutritious meals.
:08:58. > :08:59.I've made a chicken and mushroom curry with rice
:09:00. > :09:01.and we feed the local community, so anybody
:09:02. > :09:06.in need of a meal, anyone in
:09:07. > :09:09.our area, is welcome to come and have a meal with us.
:09:10. > :09:11.We have lots of families, lots of different
:09:12. > :09:18.The charity makes free lunches on Fridays, today is an
:09:19. > :09:20.extra, because the Fairshare warehouse is celebrating its tenth
:09:21. > :09:31.He has had a spell of being homeless, but now lives in a flat.
:09:32. > :09:33.It's OK coming to the community centre to meet a friend
:09:34. > :09:40.and have a chat and other than being on your own and lonely.
:09:41. > :09:42.For people like Tony, the mountain of
:09:43. > :09:49.food saved from landfill is invaluable.
:09:50. > :09:51.That's all from me for now, I'll leave you with
:09:52. > :10:04.It was disappointing today, we had varying shades of grey and a enough
:10:05. > :10:11.rain to draw out the snugs and snails. We should be lucky tomorrow
:10:12. > :10:14.with a slight adjustment in the wind direction to southerlies and that
:10:15. > :10:19.will draw up warm air from the continent. Temperatures could fall
:10:20. > :10:24.into the high teens, making it the warmest warmest day of the year so
:10:25. > :10:29.far. You will feel the warmth through tonight with that southerly
:10:30. > :10:33.taking effect. We have got a bit of cloud and some light rain which
:10:34. > :10:38.should die out in the early hours. But temperatures up to 12 Celsius.
:10:39. > :10:45.Quite a mild start tomorrow. And that cloud and rain will eventually
:10:46. > :10:50.clear away to the north. By the afternoon some sunshine that will
:10:51. > :10:55.help boost values further. So into the high teens, between 16 to 18
:10:56. > :10:59.Celsius and a noticeable breeze, but it should be a warm breeze. The
:11:00. > :11:06.national forexas is next. far. The outlook for the next few
:11:07. > :11:08.days, temperatures coming down a bit but staying decent for this time of
:11:09. > :11:14.year. Here is Darren Bett with the national weather.
:11:15. > :11:20.The warm air coming up on a southerly breeze all the way from
:11:21. > :11:23.Iberia and across France into England and Wales. To achieve the
:11:24. > :11:28.high temperatures we need to get into some of this dryer air and
:11:29. > :11:32.sunshine. Even with the cloud today, 17 degrees. Not just about the
:11:33. > :11:34.temperatures, let's not forget there is some rain around as well.