:00:16. > :00:19.Further signs that the region's economy is on the mend.
:00:19. > :00:24.Good evening. Welcome to Spotlight. Unemployment is down but there's
:00:24. > :00:33.still concern over the quality of some jobs. A fifth of workers at one
:00:33. > :00:38.of our biggest councils are on zero-hours contracts. The problem is
:00:38. > :00:41.that there are hardly any employment rights. One week, you can have no
:00:41. > :00:44.aisles, the next week, 60 hours. Tonight, we'll find out why the
:00:44. > :00:46.arrangements are so controversial and assess the strength of the
:00:46. > :00:49.region's recovery. Also tonight: The deadly disease
:00:49. > :00:52.affecting our woodland. Why the farmer at the centre of an outbreak
:00:52. > :01:00.in mature trees says it's far worse than originally feared.
:01:00. > :01:03.And how a trip down memory lane is helping people living with dementia.
:01:03. > :01:07.There are further signs tonight that the region's economy and job
:01:07. > :01:10.prospects are improving. There's been a marked fall in unemployment
:01:11. > :01:14.in all areas, although there are still many challenges. Younger
:01:14. > :01:17.people are still struggling to find work, others are on reduced hours
:01:17. > :01:19.and it's emerged that a fifth of staff at Torbay Council are on
:01:19. > :01:25.so-called "zero-hours contracts", where there's no guarantee of
:01:25. > :01:28.income. We'll be taking a look at that issue in a moment. But first,
:01:28. > :01:32.I'm joined by our business correspondent, Neil Gallacher, to
:01:32. > :01:36.assess the encouraging signs from today's job figures. It's not the
:01:36. > :01:41.first time this year that we've seen falls in all parts of the region.
:01:41. > :01:45.What's special this time? It's the fifth month on the trot that it's
:01:45. > :01:48.happened. That alone tells you something. It tends to drop as you
:01:48. > :01:51.go into the summer, but the really encouraging thing is when you
:01:51. > :02:01.compare these latest figures with exactly the same point 12 months
:02:01. > :02:01.
:02:01. > :02:06.ago. That comparison is now very respectable indeed. It's falling
:02:06. > :02:09.faster than it's done for about 2.5 years. So how does it look, place by
:02:09. > :02:15.place? Firstly, a background figure for you. The overall UK unemployment
:02:15. > :02:22.rate, going by the claimant count, 3.5%. Cornwall's equivalent figure
:02:22. > :02:27.is down to 2.2%. Devon's is down to 1.6%. Dorset's is down to 1.4%, the
:02:27. > :02:31.lowest in the region. Somerset's is down to 1.9%. The urban unitary
:02:31. > :02:40.areas we've got have rates more like the national one. Plymouth's latest
:02:40. > :02:44.rate is down to 3.1%. Torbay has the highest rate here, down to 3.6%.
:02:44. > :02:47.pretty much everywhere below the national rate. But Facebook messages
:02:47. > :02:50.we've been getting today suggest plenty of people here think the
:02:50. > :02:52.reality is not that simple! isn't. We have serious
:02:52. > :03:01.under-employment problems, where people aren't claiming benefit but
:03:01. > :03:04.just work fewer hours than they want. Enormous issues in the South
:03:04. > :03:07.West with low earnings levels, our classic problem. We went to Torbay
:03:07. > :03:12.to talk to one 18-year-old school leaver, Laurie Matthews, who's been
:03:12. > :03:15.doing voluntary work while waiting for her A-level results tomorrow.
:03:15. > :03:25.She's pinning her hopes on going to university, partly because she knows
:03:25. > :03:26.
:03:26. > :03:33.the Torbay labour market is so limited. Pretty grim. You look in
:03:33. > :03:43.the paper and it's mostly cleaner jobs and nursing home assistance. A
:03:43. > :04:00.
:04:00. > :04:06.lot of the jobs are not somewhere I can see myself progressing. These
:04:06. > :04:10.figures are another sign that we have turned a corner, even if the
:04:11. > :04:14.reality is far from rosy. You have to start somewhere and we are in the
:04:14. > :04:19.middle of the longest recovery in probably 100 years after a
:04:19. > :04:29.recession. It's bound to be slow to start with. The signs are
:04:29. > :04:32.
:04:32. > :04:35.encouraging. While the latest job figures do show
:04:35. > :04:38.a fall in unemployment, there is renewed concern about the quality of
:04:38. > :04:41.some work. New figures show one of the region's biggest councils is
:04:41. > :04:45.employing nearly a fifth of its staff on controversial zero-hours
:04:45. > :04:50.contracts. Torbay Council says they help provide cover for seasonal
:04:50. > :05:00.work, holidays and peaks in demand. Our reporter, Hamish Marshall, has
:05:00. > :05:01.
:05:01. > :05:05.been in Torquay, and earlier, I asked how zero-hours contracts work.
:05:05. > :05:12.It's when someone isn't guaranteed hours. They are offered shifts on
:05:12. > :05:17.them ad hoc basis. They have the option to say yes or no.
:05:17. > :05:23.Nationally, it is estimated 300,000 people are on these types of
:05:23. > :05:29.contracts in the social care industry alone. Under a Freedom of
:05:30. > :05:39.information request, the council said it had 214 call staff on these
:05:39. > :05:42.contracts out of a total of 1213. You can add to that 251 people
:05:42. > :05:48.working in schools in Torbay. have these squat on track so
:05:48. > :05:53.controversial? Unions don't like them because of lack of certainty
:05:53. > :05:59.over hours and employment law. They say staff don't get a good deal out
:05:59. > :06:03.of them. You can be asked to work at short notice. Staff are unwilling to
:06:03. > :06:09.complain in case they get their hours cut. If you sign a contract
:06:09. > :06:13.with nothing written on it, you can be sent anywhere, be asked to do
:06:13. > :06:19.anything. How will you have a life that you can move around a contract
:06:19. > :06:29.that says, I'm not going to get any money this week? Who's going to give
:06:29. > :06:34.you a mortgage or loan? What's the council saying? The council says it
:06:34. > :06:39.uses these contracts to manage peaks and flows in work. It can be people
:06:39. > :06:49.working in libraries and other industries like theatre. In a
:06:49. > :07:03.
:07:03. > :07:06.review to check whether these contracts are the best way of
:07:06. > :07:09.operating. Have you ever been employed on a
:07:09. > :07:13.zero-hours contract? Let us know about your experience of them. Well,
:07:13. > :07:16.as we've seen tonight, the region's economy is improving, but of course
:07:16. > :07:19.it's not the first time it's suffered from the effects of a
:07:19. > :07:22.recession. In the early 1980s, we featured the problems facing
:07:23. > :07:26.Ilfracombe in North Devon. 30 years on, we have been back to find out
:07:26. > :07:34.what happened to one of the people featured in the original report.
:07:34. > :07:40.Simon Clemison delves into our film archive.
:07:40. > :07:46.The wheels of the economy spin continuously. It's just at times,
:07:46. > :07:54.they are running at fast forward, and at others, they are rewinding.
:07:55. > :07:59.The local job centre offers only 17 vacancies for the 1200 people
:07:59. > :08:08.looking for jobs. In the early 80s, parts of Devon were hit hard by
:08:08. > :08:11.unemployment. The jobless rate still rose and has not recovered. In 1982,
:08:11. > :08:20.we looked at the perilous state care and heard from the manager of a
:08:20. > :08:28.small factory. What happened to the people you had to make redundant?
:08:28. > :08:38.There were 25, 26 of us in total. I would estimate that no more than
:08:38. > :08:44.
:08:44. > :08:52.four or five at present found -- found alternative employment.
:08:52. > :08:58.pretty dark day in 1982 for you, but you weren't beaten for it? It was a
:08:58. > :09:03.dark day for everyone. It was terrible for the staff. In the end,
:09:03. > :09:10.most found work. Tom wanted to stay in the area that he needed an income
:09:10. > :09:14.to do that. I've always been fairly enterprising. I thought this was an
:09:14. > :09:21.opportunity to actually see what I can do. If I can't make any money on
:09:21. > :09:26.this, I'm an idiot. Little by little, he raised the funds to buy
:09:26. > :09:36.the factory. I was always positive. I was determined to stay in North
:09:36. > :09:41.
:09:41. > :09:49.Devon. There's no way I would want to move away. Three decades on, this
:09:49. > :09:53.is the factory? It still is!Tom says his heart goes out to people
:09:53. > :10:02.who lose their homes or livelihoods, but he believes others can succeed
:10:02. > :10:05.with a bit of will. If you put your mind to it, anyone with any
:10:06. > :10:10.resourcefulness will do well. government is trying to rebalance
:10:10. > :10:15.the economy so it is less reliant on certain sectors, but this
:10:15. > :10:20.businessman believes the south-west has already diversifying. It sounds
:10:20. > :10:27.like you think the recessions have less of an impact as time goes on.
:10:27. > :10:34.We are very fortunate in North Devon. Lots more opportunities than
:10:34. > :10:40.what they were in the 60s. If you think of the South West, from
:10:40. > :10:45.agriculture, it became just tourists, and now, Plymouth, Exeter
:10:45. > :10:54.and other places, as well as having wonderful educational
:10:54. > :10:59.establishments, there are always lots of businesses. 30 years on from
:10:59. > :11:05.that moment, how does it feel to see the factory in operation today?
:11:05. > :11:15.Absolutely brilliant! It was a success story for myself. But I had
:11:15. > :11:19.to get the loan and the money and pay it back to the bank! But I did!
:11:19. > :11:24.Not a formal economic analysis but the experience of one man who has
:11:24. > :11:27.seen it all and survived, portrayed through the lens of history.
:11:27. > :11:37.Still to come in Spotlight tonight: A little old-fashioned service to
:11:37. > :11:44.help people with dementia. And our summer series continues with
:11:44. > :11:46.a visit to a surprising garden in Cornwall.
:11:46. > :11:50.A hard-hitting campaign's been launched across the South West,
:11:50. > :11:53.warning about the dangers of hand-rolling tobacco. The public
:11:53. > :11:55.health agency Smokefree South West says although it's often marketed as
:11:55. > :12:02.less harmful than manufactured cigarettes, it carries the same
:12:02. > :12:08.serious health risks. New figures show the region has a higher
:12:08. > :12:12.proportion of smokers rolling their own than anywhere else in the UK.
:12:12. > :12:16.The farmer at the centre of a big outbreak of ash dieback in mature
:12:16. > :12:19.trees says he's devastated to find it's spread even further. John
:12:19. > :12:29.Greenslade, who farms close to Bickleigh in the Exe Valley in
:12:29. > :12:31.
:12:31. > :12:39.Devon, says 1,500 young ash trees have already had to be felled.
:12:39. > :12:42.These are the Woodlands were Ash dieback was identified earlier this
:12:42. > :12:52.summer. The Forestry Commission confirmed the disease at the time
:12:52. > :12:57.and since then, it has been closely monitoring the area. But now, Ash
:12:57. > :13:04.dieback appears to be spreading. When you scratch around under these
:13:04. > :13:12.trees, you come across these spores. They then blow up, explode, and the
:13:12. > :13:16.wind picks up, birds picked them up, and that is the spread of it.
:13:16. > :13:21.the things that the Forestry Commission has told us is it intends
:13:21. > :13:26.to place small traps close to John 's farm so it can monitor how this
:13:26. > :13:31.disease is spreading. However, the ash tree is the third most popular
:13:31. > :13:36.tree, and it will be very difficult to stop this disease from taking
:13:36. > :13:40.hold. The Forestry Commission says it will continue to monitor this
:13:40. > :13:47.latest outbreak. It's inevitable that the Hardy Bulow, the more you
:13:47. > :13:53.are likely to find it. That infection has been there for 12 - 15
:13:53. > :13:57.years. It takes time to establish itself and for the symptoms to show
:13:58. > :14:01.for us to start noticing it. number of hotspots within the
:14:01. > :14:10.valley, close to John 's farm, have been identified as having the
:14:10. > :14:14.disease. 12 months ago, this was a canopy. John is devastated to learn
:14:14. > :14:17.Ash dieback is more widespread than he first thought. The Forestry
:14:17. > :14:25.Commission wants to hear from anyone who thinks they have seen other
:14:25. > :14:28.cases. A care home in Cornwall has created
:14:28. > :14:31.a 1950s style shop to help residents with memory problems. It's stocked
:14:31. > :14:41.with well-known items from the time. Boiled sweets are sixpence a
:14:41. > :14:57.
:14:58. > :15:07.quarter, apples a penny each and a daily newspaper costs a few coppers.
:15:08. > :15:10.
:15:10. > :15:18.The average weekly wage for a man is �9 five and 11, half for a woman.
:15:18. > :15:27.It's all bringing back memories for resident Sylvia. I feel it empowers
:15:27. > :15:34.them. They become the teller instead of being told. They become the
:15:34. > :15:39.teller. It empowers them and makes them feel important. All this stuff
:15:39. > :15:46.has come from online auction sites, the residents families and the
:15:46. > :15:51.Co-op, supplying 1950s packaging. gentleman happened to notice a
:15:51. > :15:57.packet of cigarettes. He said, I used to get them from my father.
:15:57. > :16:03.Little things like that, continuously. Shaking the Swedes,
:16:03. > :16:06.because they are stuck together, now that brings back memories for me!
:16:06. > :16:11.The papers are full of the conquering of Everest and
:16:11. > :16:17.preparations for the Queen 's coronation. The next plan is to
:16:17. > :16:27.build a 1950s pub. With beer a bob a pint, looks like I have enough for a
:16:27. > :16:33.
:16:33. > :16:38.round! How important are the sorts of initiatives? Very important
:16:38. > :16:43.indeed. It's not about taking somebody back to the past. These
:16:43. > :16:47.opportunities, by triggering memories, can trigger conversations,
:16:47. > :16:57.interactions and help people regain a sense of who they are. Quite a
:16:57. > :17:02.simple scheme in essence. What's the value of that? Because of the impact
:17:02. > :17:07.dementia has upon someone's memory, very often, one of the most
:17:07. > :17:11.difficult consequences of it is people 's own sense of identity and
:17:11. > :17:16.self and helping to maintain that is hugely important. Little examples,
:17:16. > :17:23.such as this, where people can really engage with their past
:17:23. > :17:27.memories, but through that, be able to interact. We heard someone saying
:17:27. > :17:31.it empowers them to be able to express their own feelings. That is
:17:31. > :17:37.tremendously important. The more this example can be spread through
:17:37. > :17:43.the community, it should be seen is a very positive way of helping
:17:43. > :17:48.people regain a sense of who they are. Is the scope there to extend
:17:48. > :17:55.that scheme into other areas, perhaps outside care homes?
:17:55. > :18:00.Certainly. There are a number of initiatives around the country. A
:18:00. > :18:04.museum has introduced a section supporting people with dementia.
:18:04. > :18:09.Where there are resources that enable people to think back to their
:18:09. > :18:14.past, but through that, to be able to re-engage with themselves as a
:18:14. > :18:17.person and with others around them, we should be looking to expand that
:18:17. > :18:21.throughout the community. treatment and helping people with
:18:21. > :18:31.dementia is moving all the time. This is one of the elements that
:18:31. > :18:32.
:18:32. > :18:38.could be a help. That's absolutely true. While progress will be made,
:18:38. > :18:42.in terms of addressing neurological causes of dementia, the impact that
:18:42. > :18:51.it has upon people 's sense of self and their relationships can be
:18:51. > :18:55.addressed in the number of different ways.
:18:55. > :18:58.Now it's time for the third in our summer series where members of the
:18:58. > :19:01.Spotlight team and presenters from BBC local radio visit part of the
:19:01. > :19:04.region they've never been to before. For BBC Radio Cornwall's Tiffany
:19:04. > :19:08.Truscott, that place was Tregothnan. And she's not alone, since the
:19:08. > :19:12.private estate near Truro is only open to the public once a year. We
:19:12. > :19:15.weren't allowed to film the family home, but in a rare TV interview,
:19:15. > :19:19.Tiffany talks to the Honourable Evelyn Boscawen about life on the
:19:19. > :19:24.estate. It's just three miles from where I
:19:24. > :19:34.work and have done for quite a few years now, and yet, I have always
:19:34. > :19:51.
:19:51. > :20:00.wondered what is behind those gates. You live on an amazing state that is
:20:00. > :20:09.very well-known and yet, you and your family remain private. That is
:20:09. > :20:15.a million-dollar question! Shyness, I suppose. Once a year, it's the
:20:15. > :20:22.biggest garden opening in the country. That must be completely
:20:22. > :20:30.different, to have so many people here. It's quite exciting. We can
:20:30. > :20:40.get up to 5000 people. My parents started to do it in 1960. This year,
:20:40. > :20:40.
:20:40. > :20:44.we were thrilled to give a check of �20,000 to shelter box. We raised a
:20:44. > :20:52.large sum of money for very important organisations. Doing that
:20:52. > :21:02.in Cornwall has been part of our ambition for years. I am a customer
:21:02. > :21:10.Dian. You do have a responsibility to follow one. But it depends how
:21:10. > :21:20.you look at it. I grew up with it. Now I have met him, I am heading off
:21:20. > :21:25.
:21:25. > :21:33.to explore some of the estate. First stop, the new Himalayan valley.
:21:33. > :21:38.the top two leaves from the Bard. This will make the best tea. It's
:21:38. > :21:44.good for the tea bush. These are only four years old, so well ahead
:21:44. > :21:51.of themselves. In 400 years time, he will be able to see how successful
:21:51. > :21:57.you were! That's a cup of tea already. There's pots and pots of
:21:57. > :22:03.tea here. How long before that becomes tea we can drink? Not that
:22:03. > :22:13.long. 36 hours. You pluck these now. By lunchtime tomorrow, we will
:22:13. > :22:18.
:22:18. > :22:24.have a lovely cup of tea for you. have come into the wood yard to ask
:22:24. > :22:32.Abby about the family. It's well known the family are really flash --
:22:32. > :22:35.passionate about introducing new species of plants and flowers.
:22:35. > :22:43.camellias and rhododendrons were first introduced to England through
:22:43. > :22:46.the family. They started here in 1335 and has continued through. We
:22:46. > :22:56.are really lucky to grow so many rare varieties of plants and trees
:22:56. > :22:56.
:22:57. > :23:03.and flowers. A lot of it is down to hard work. If a flower doesn't like
:23:03. > :23:10.it in one part of the estate, it can be moved elsewhere. That is true.
:23:10. > :23:20.There are lots of farms, so always experimenting with different flowers
:23:20. > :23:35.
:23:35. > :23:40.and plants. It is trial and error. What do I think of my first visit? I
:23:40. > :23:45.have met the family, picked some tea, seen beautiful flowers and I
:23:45. > :23:48.get to travel round in style. I don't think I'm coming home!
:23:48. > :23:58.And tomorrow, I will be exploring the uninhabited island of Samson in
:23:58. > :24:08.
:24:09. > :24:14.We may have to wait for a couple of days before things start to improve.
:24:14. > :24:18., high pressure is back. At the moment, we have got a lot of low
:24:18. > :24:26.cloud around and that will be a problem again tomorrow. Quite a
:24:26. > :24:30.humid feel to the air and a little bit of sunshine every now and then.
:24:30. > :24:40.That's how it looks through the evening. Quite a lot of cloud around
:24:40. > :24:45.but it should keep us drive. Cloud lower than it was last night. A mild
:24:45. > :24:55.night as well. Temperature is no lower than 17 or 18 degrees. All
:24:55. > :24:58.this cloud really is rain that is heading towards us. This weather
:24:58. > :25:03.system will introduce fresh air once it moves through and that gives us a
:25:03. > :25:08.bit of a headache because there are ripples developing along that line
:25:08. > :25:15.of rain, meaning its progress eastwards is erratic. Notice how it
:25:15. > :25:22.develops a few bumps. The possibility of further outbreaks of
:25:22. > :25:28.rain. It's fresher, clearer air, cooler conditions. Sadly, though,
:25:28. > :25:35.this area of low pressure will arrive on Saturday, so Saturday
:25:35. > :25:40.could be a wet and windy affair. It is producing spits of rain now, but
:25:40. > :25:44.tonight, much of that will fade away. This was earlier today in
:25:44. > :25:50.Torbay were just a hint of brightness in the sky. Even though
:25:50. > :25:56.the clouds were fairly extensive, it didn't stop people getting out and
:25:56. > :26:00.enjoying the beach. C temperature is around 17 or 18 degrees. Clearer
:26:00. > :26:06.skies in the distance but not a great deal of that today. A hint of
:26:06. > :26:11.the sunshine trying to get through. Let's look at the detail for
:26:11. > :26:15.overnight. Any drizzle will tend to fade away. Largely dry through the
:26:15. > :26:21.night. Overnight temperatures unusually high. For many of us,
:26:21. > :26:29.temperatures no lower than 17 degrees. Hill fog and coastal
:26:29. > :26:34.temperatures, 17-18. For tomorrow, then, not a bad day. Quite a warm,
:26:34. > :26:44.Mikey, humid feeling day. A risk of the few showers but most of the day
:26:44. > :26:48.
:26:48. > :26:53.largely dry. Tomorrow is the one day that will be largely dry. 22 or 23
:26:54. > :27:03.degrees the top temperature tomorrow. A warm feel for all of us.
:27:04. > :27:06.
:27:06. > :27:12.We do keep quite a lot of cloud and a brisk south-westerly breeze. For
:27:12. > :27:17.our servers, messy. The surf will be up to three or four feet. For the
:27:17. > :27:23.coastal waters forecast, the winds are south-westerly four,
:27:23. > :27:31.occasionally five, and patchy drizzle around. I mentioned Saturday