06/11/2013 South Today

from the west That is all

End of an era. This was always inevitable as work comes to an end.

A sad day. The trade, let down. Political pawns in the coalition

game. We will have reaction from the dockyard and hear from MPs in

Westminster. "We're political pawns to save

Scottish jobs". The view of just one of the workers reacting to the

bombshell that shipbuilding is to end at Portsmouth dockyards. Welcome

to a special edition of South Today which is coming from a city reeling

from today's news. Let's have a look at some of the

headlines today. BAE Systems once to show `` wants to lose 1000 jobs.

3000 workers will remain to do maintenance work and training. And

Portsmouth is still home to the Navy. The Government says it will

spend more than ?100 million to cushion the blow but critics

question whether that's new money. A decision had been long awaited. It

has been discussed many times. In the end, the announcement was

brought forward because the leaks were coming out. Steve Humphreys has

been in ports all day. The grey miserable weather in

Portsmouth today has matched the mood of the city's shipyard workers.

A large number of highly skilled jobs are being lost and that's a

huge blow for the region's economy. Tonight many questions are being

asked about why Portsmouth is suffering the lion's share of the

job cuts. There has been a question hanging

over the shipyard for over a year . Some of the shipyard workers spoke

as they left the naval base. It is a sad day for the loss of work in the

South. It is a political decision. I have worked in this yard since I was

16, 26 years. First time this has happened to me. It would be

devastating. About six months work left. It is not unexpected. We knew

it was coming. BAe is cutting jobs across the country. As work on the

Navy's new aircraft carriers comes to an end, work will fall sharply.

But some of the aircraft work that Portsmouth was due to carry out will

now be switched to Scotland. We trade and let down. Political pawns

in the Tory coalition game. Shipyard workers in Portsmouth had been

hoping they would get contracts to build some of the Navy's new type 26

frigates. But all of that work will now be done on the Clyde in

Scotland. BAe says the decisions are based on industrial analysis, not on

politics. I understand the impact of the announcement in ports mouth and

Glasgow. `` ports mouth my job is to work to reduce the impact of these

announcement. Around 11,000 military and civilian personnel. Be employed

at Portsmouth. The government says another ?100 million will be

invested in the naval base to prepare for the arrival of the

aircraft carriers in a few years time.

The decision ends a tradition of ship building in Portsmouth

stretching back five centuries. It was King John who ordered the

construction of the dockyard 800 years ago. In 1495, Henry VII built

the world's first dry dock in Portsmouth. Henry VIII had his

flagship, the Mary Rose, built there. The yard's heyday was before

the First World War with super battleships like the Dreadnought.

But there was decline after the Second World War and the last

complete warship was finished there in 1967. A revival followed the

Vospers move from Southampton a decade ago. But that will end next

year. So shipbuilding being consigned to history. With me now is

Gerald Vernon Jackon, the city's Liberal Democrat council leader. If

Scotland becomes independent, the last war shipbuilding yard in

England will be shut down. We are the last place. Are you suggesting

that this was a political decision, not based on commerce? If it was not

a political decision, ministers have been hugely irresponsible. Scotland,

in one year, may be independent and then the boil Navy would have no

shipyard is left in England to build complex warships. That would mean we

would have to go with the Royal Navy to buy from abroad, from France or

Germany. Let's talk about closer to home. This was expected and talked

about two years ago. What are you doing at what have you done to

prepare for this day because you knew it was coming? We put pressure

on the government to keep the yard open until we knew the future of

Scotland. Unfortunately, ministers have turned a deaf ear to all our

suggestions. There is still 3000 workers here for BAE Systems, they

are still a big employer. Yes, it is a big employer, there are 11,000

jobs in the dockyard, now there are 10,000. Jobs sacrificed here for the

sake of the referendum in Scotland, you are saying? I do not know. I do

not know if that was the decision. The decision could have been put off

until we knew if Scotland was going to be independent or not. For the

Royal Navy to have to go to foreign countries to buy their ships, as me

know happen, is not the place the royal navy should be in. Thank you.

The debate has raged today about whether this announcement was a

political or economic decision. Let's cross to Westminster to join

our Political Editor Peter Henley. The unions say this as a political

game with ports mouth as the sacrificial lamb. But party leaders

are seeing it was and economic decision. We always knew there were

going to be jobs that would go because the aircraft carrier project

was so fast. But those new orders could have been done in Portsmouth.

Yes, but because of the disastrous contract signed by the last

government, there was not enough money. Was it your fault? This

problem has been coming for some time. In three years, they have done

nothing to get more jobs. They are taking work that was going to be

done in Portsmouth and sending it to Scotland. We have been sold down the

river. It does not mean it was a political decision, but ministers

have got their fingerprints all over it. The key to this is the jobs.

Making sure that jobs are protected. There are still 11,000 jobs in the

dockyard, we need to make sure they are protected. Is there enough help

coming from the government? We will see when the city deal comes

forward. BAE Systems had been the provider of skills for the whole of

southern England and we have got to replace that somehow. A lot of

people who went to work in Portsmouth on the promise of

long`term jobs, they are not long`term now. We will have more

later in the programme. We will be looking at the impact on the local

economy here and also that city deal.

520 jobs are at risk after pharmaceutical company Novartis

announced it is to close its site in Horsham in West Sussex. The

Switzerland based company employs 350 people there in research and

development posts, together with around 170 contractors. Two years

ago, the company cut more than 400 jobs at the site.

Horsham District Council says it is shocked at news of the closure. It

is one of the largest private employer is here, but not for much

longer. Novartis halved its workforce here two years ago, but

now it has started a consultation which could close the site next

year. In the town, there was shocked at the news. I should think it will

be a big blow, they must employ a lot of people who come into town. To

get a job now here is going to be very difficult. It is a large blow.

There is a lot of employment. The town has a strong economy, but this

will take sometime to absorb. The company declined our request for an

interview, but gave an interview to a newspaper. This decision is

nothing to do with the quality of the work. Some of the work currently

being done will be moved to other locations around the world. Horsham

district Council says it is talking to Novartis about the future of the

site itself and to try to find alternative employment for the

workers who are losing their jobs. An inquest into the death of a three

month old baby in Southampton has heard that he suffered a fractured

skull, and that his father had a previous conviction for child

cruelty, but the authorities didn't know. The coroner recorded an open

verdict into the death of Nico Maynard, the fourth such verdict in

three days of inquests into the deaths of four young children in the

city. Tom Hepworth is here with the background to this, Tom.

The first inquest, held on Monday, was that of Blake Fowler. He died in

2011 from a head injury. He was seven. The coroner said it was

difficult to know exactly how he died, but his parents were guilty of

an appalling and disgraceful failure to prioritise his needs. A serious

case review will now take place. On Tuesday, the coroner looked into the

deaths of brothers Bradley and Jayden Adams in 2011. Aged four and

two, they died three months apart. Four weeks before Jayden's death

their neglectful mother had begged for the children to be taken into

care because she couldn't cope. They weren't. The coroner recorded an

open verdict. No`one was prosecuted and there'll now be a serious case

review. Today, the court heard about three`month old Nico Maynard who

also died in 2011. He had a fractured skull. His father had

previously been jailed for child cruelty and social workers described

him as a massive risk to young children, but authorities in

Southampton didn't know this. Again no`one was prosecuted. A serious

case review published last week recommended a new national register

of those with a history of child violence. It brings the number of

serious case reviews into how Southampton City Council handled

child protection cases over the last year to five. Earlier I spoke to

Keith Makin, the chairman of the Southampton Safeguarding Children

board. I asked him whether the public can have any confidence in

child protection measures in the city after these deaths.

There was a concentration at that point in time. But I am not reading

into that any indication that there is a systemic problem in the area. I

don't think we can reflect on that that there is some inherent issue in

Southampton that is different from anywhere else. Each of these cases

were different in nature and that is not a connection between them. Five

Serious Case Reviews over a 12 month period, a lot of people would read

into that that there is something seriously wrong. I do not know if

that is the case. The purpose in looking into all these cases very

thoroughly is to establish whether there could have been some factors

that led to some difficulty. To what extent did a relatively high

proportion of agency workers have a bearing on these cases? Whether that

was a factor at the time, I don't know. It is something I will want to

look into. There is a partnership across all the agencies who will be

interested in any connection between staffing levels and outcomes. Does

that have ramifications on the recruitment and retention of social

workers? I think it could. But the evidence is that Southampton at the

moment is being very successful in recruiting well`qualified, able

social work staff. West Berkshire Council has set out

how it will save ?10 million over the next two years. Support for

vulnerable young adults will see its funding reduced by a third. Nearly

half a million pounds will be taken from care budgets and bus subsidies

will also be affected. The Conservative`run council said it had

to deal with significant cuts to its budget.

It's Children in Need next Friday, November the 15th. All this week,

we've been taking a look at where your money has been spent. Today,

Sarah Farmer visits the Eastleigh Young carers.

This project as children the opportunity to leave behind the

day`to`day chores and stresses and just be children. We were fortunate

to receive ?66,000 from children in need. They go on trips and

activities, meet others in a similar situation. It's nice to forget all

my worries. My mum can't take me swimming and they can. To be a

normal child, really, and be free. To actually get some time out to be

a kid, leave worries behind for a little while and have some fun. That

is the best gift you can give, really. This group helps give

disadvantaged, homeless young people the tools to live independently. It

works with young people who might have experienced difficulties in

their life. The money from children in need is brilliant. We got ?30,000

over a three`year period to part fund one of our training

coordinators. It helps my self`esteem and confidence. I am in

college, which I did not think I would have got without this place.

Children In Need really does help local projects in the local

community. We will focus on more charities

helped by Children In Need tomorrow. And now the weather.

Some pretty wet weather to come and some strong gusty winds as well. We

could see gusts along the coast of 60 mph. There will be some heavy

bursts of rain in the. But that band of rain will easily and drier

conditions follow. That cloud is easing away tomorrow morning. Once

we get rid of that weather, it looks like a decent day with bright and

sunny spells, perhaps a few showers. It looks like we will have

a fairly decent day, but still some brisk and blustery winds. A few

showers first thing on Friday morning, temperatures down to 56

degrees. `` five or six degrees. For the most part, it will be dry on

Friday. A similar picture on Saturday as well. We have got some

wind, but it will ease off on Friday and Saturday. But a front arrives on

Sunday bringing cloudy conditions with damp outbreaks of rain and

drizzle. The weekend will be unsettled with bright `` some bright

and sunny intervals. Here is your summary for the coming days. We

start with the cloud and dampness first thing tomorrow morning.

Brighter skies developing. On Friday and Saturday, a few scattered

showers with sunny intervals. Sunday looking cloudy.

Thank you. Now let's join Sally who's in Portsmouth tonight with

more reaction to today's news about the end of shipbuilding at the

city's dockyard, Sally. Welcome back to Portsmouth, a city

struggling to come to terms with the news that Navy shipbuilding will end

here next year. And with it, 1,100 jobs will go. Repair and maintenance

of the Navy's ships will remain here, and the city will still be the

home to the surface fleet, including the two new aircraft carriers. We

asked people on the streets of Portsmouth for their reaction to

today's news. Absolutely awful. It is all to do with money. They make

all these big decisions about things and then it all goes down the pan.

Add dockyard has gone back hundreds of years.

What will there be from the government? The Government says it

will give infrastructure grants and set up a maritime task force to help

cope with the loss of shipbuilding. An announcement is also expected

shortly on a City Deal for the area as Alex Forsyth explains.

A City Deal would give Portsmouth more economic power over its future.

It could directly profit from local business taxes and make decisions on

growth and investment with less government involvement. Projects

that could benefit include the Northern Quarter shopping and

housing complex and the redevelopment of Tipner, where work

has already started. But this isn't new. Portsmouth and Southampton put

in a joint bid for this status in January. Today, the Government said

negotiations are close to conclusion, keen to soften the blow

of the loss of shipbuilding. It also announced a new maritime forum to

advise local business on promoting the industry, and ?100 million worth

of investment in Portsmouth's infrastructure to help it to host

the new aircraft carriers. The local council claims this isn't new money,

while the government wants to show it is supporting the city. With

Beano is the chief Executive of the Hampshire chamber of commerce. It is

a huge blow to the economy. This stretches further as well. Yes, it

is a blow for the city. We ought to remember it is a huge blow

personally for those who found out today that they will lose their

jobs. We have known about the fact that there will be job losses for

some time. To find out the extent of that in Portsmouth was the news we

did not want to hear. But it does go wider than that. How much further?

How many jobs will be lost or companies in trouble because of

this? I have heard figures. What sort of figures? 3000 secondary

jobs. But that is difficult to assess. There is a supply chain that

works with shipbuilding. That will probably suffer. But some of those

people will be involved in ship repair. What is your view of this

100 million that the government is giving? It is not new money in that

it is not directly related to today's news. It is money that has

been allocated to help the dockyard adapt and be able to receive the two

new carriers. It is not tied in to today. Do you think shipbuilding has

gone for good from Portsmouth? We know it has gone as far as this time

frame has concerned `` is concerned, but the capacity to build ships will

remain. Thank you. Let's return to Westminster and get

a summary of what is being talked about the.

It is worth wondering what if? What if Portsmouth had remained open and

one of the yards in Scotland was closed? Would there be more than the

city deal? Much of that money has already been allocated in the

Portsmouth area. Thank you. Steve Humphreys has been

a Portsmouth dockyard for most of the day. A difficult day for

workers. Yes, the warship building industry

has always been notorious for having peaks and troughs. To build the new

aircraft carriers, people always knew there would be paying at the

end of that project because of the lack of orders coming after. Simply

not enough to keep the shipyards going around the country. The reason

for that is the size of the Royal navy fleet. At the time of the

Falklands, the Royal Navy had 60 frigates and destroyers. Right now,

there are 19. A very badly far as shipbuilding is concerned, but at

least we will store around 11,000 jobs at the naval base.

Thank you. If you want to get in touch, let us know what you think.

Our colleagues in BBC local radio have a special programme tomorrow

morning. This is a very difficult day for Portsmouth. A city defined

by its history. Today, it learned that ship building will become part

of its past. Hundreds of staff have gone home tonight and certain of

what their future holds. Good night.