02/04/2014 Spotlight

18 months in a Birmingham hospital, outlook is mixed. Thank you.

18 months in a Birmingham hospital, the campaign to get this little boy

cared for closer to home in Cornwall.

Good evening. Josh Wills has severe autisl.

Tonight there are growing c`lls for him to be looked after in hhs home

county. He needs to have a service designed for him, near his family,

so that they can have as much contact as the possibly can with

their son. And a new threats to librarhes. Why

more than half of Devon's m`y be forced to close.

It's the size of a small hotse and marks a three year labour of love

for this extraordinary artist. A 13`year`old boy from Cornwall with

severe autism has spent 18 lonths away from his family becausd he

can't be cared for in the county. Joshua Wills' self harming hs so

severe that it's considered life threatening. He's in a spechalist

unit in Birmingham. Almost 04,0 0 people have signed a petition asking

the authorities to bring Joshua home. The summer of 2012, and Joshua

looks like any other 11`year`old boy enjoying life. Perhaps the only clue

to his condition are his arls. Inside his coat and jumper, he is

trying to stop self harming. This shot of him was the last dax he had

a day out in Cornwall. His self harming is extreme. He bites his

lips and tongue and has pulled out forth teeth. His condition hs so

severe he spent the last 18 months in a special unit in Birmingham 260

miles from home. He absolutdly did need the specialized servicds of an

assessment unit at that timd him up but that period of time, yot know,

it is finished, and he needs to have a service designed for him near his

family so they can have as luch contact as they possibly can with

their son. Four weeks ago, they learned long`term arrangements were

being made for Josh away from home. They contacted a charity and started

a petition. 14,000 people h`ve called for Joshua to be looked after

in Cornwall. And pretty shocked to be dumped in a completely alien

environment. It has left hil quite traumatised. He kept saying, daddy,

daddy, which was his way of saying... I was trying to b`se his

shoes off and he was `` I w`s trying to base his shoes up and he was

trying to take them off. Tonight, the NHS told us that it recognised

the importance of bringing Josh home. It's that his exceptionally

high care needs means it is not possible at the moment, but they are

working towards that goal as quickly as possible. That has let hhs

parents to believe he may soon be once again enjoying the Cornish

countryside. More than half of Devon County

Council's libraries may be `t risk under radical proposals being

considered by senior councillors. BBC Spotlight has seen a brhefing

paper, listing 28 of the 50 public libraries in Devon, where council

support is being cut and colmunities will be asked to take over running

services. The library here is one unddr

threat, to the concern of those who use it. I would lay down and the

road and not let them do it. I'd just would not. It is very

important. It is a very busx library. The importance of books,

getting new books, and the excitement of reading, especially

this one, because she loves getting new books every couple of wdeks at

the library. 28 of the 50 lhbraries in Devon will seek their cotnsel

support cut. Instead, communities will be asked to help staff and run

them. It is a very difficult position to be in, but I'm confident

that we still have the support of the Council. I hope that each

locality will really think `bout how they want their library to be him

and to really do all they c`n to support us in giving them the

service that they need. The cuts are because of government funding

reductions. Devon's librarids are losing almost ?5 million. Btt here

there is concern about what the future may hold. Here in Sotth

Brent, there is an example of how a community run library can thrive.

This library is supported bx fundraising drives and volunteer

staff. It is fairly tough in the beginning because a lot of changes

have to be made. We have no funding at all and have never had any

funding. For us to mow we jtst started from very small beghnnings

and went on. A three`month consultation in the totals for the

libraries will begin this month These proposed cuts to the library

service in Devon are a striking reminder of the days of austerity

are still very much likely `` are still very much with us, despite the

strong signs of economic recovery. Joining me now is County Cotncillor

Roger Croad, who has responsibility for library services. Let's have

cards on the table. How realistic is it that these 28 libraries

identified on this list havd some sort of future? I am absolutely

confident that they have a future. We are going to have the

consultation, and we are expecting a raft of ideas coming back from the

communities, social enterprhses businesses. We think it is ` good

thing and an opportunity, btt recognising that some of our smaller

libraries are on about six hours opening a week, and I was t`lking to

a group yesterday who was thinking of moving the library into `

community building, which whll open up those six hours into 36 hours.

This is a future without thd County Council. It is a possibilitx. We are

not walking away. 28 librarhes in small communities and you are

expecting them all to find ways to be self`sufficient. Not enthrely.

They will still be part of the library service, they just will not

be run by County Council st`ff. Will they get money from the County

Council? A will indeed. We `re not pulling away from libraries. What

did you say to many of the communities, these are small

communities by their very n`ture. They will argue they have lost the

post office, bus services, but they are being penalised once ag`in. I do

not think they are being penalised. This may well be an opportunity We

did a review three years ago, the first time it had ever been done by

the County Council, and we reduced opening hours by 70%. I am not about

to go down that path anymord and I am not reducing anymore opening

hours for rural libraries. We are looking to actually enhance the

opening hours. In three years, how will the library look like, what

will it be doing that is different now? I cannot say at the molent I

will work on the consultation. When we get those reviews back from the

residence, we will have a fdw then, either to leave the library where it

is, but there might be an opportunity to move it somewhere

else. Council tax in Devon has gone up by nearly 2%. How can yot justify

putting council tax up and laking people do more for themselvds while

being paid less? You cannot go on asking the public to pay more and

get less. Certainly not. In my opinion, once we come to thd end of

the consultation period, thdy will not be getting less. It will be

getting more in many instances. Thank you very much for joining us.

The BBC has learned the Prile Minister is to visit Somersdt this

week to discuss the fall`out of the flooding. It comes just a fdw days

into the start of dredging work he ordered on the Rivers Tone `nd

Parrett. The water has all but gone now but the damage it caused will

take many months to repair. Our Somerset Correspondent Clinton

Rogers has been back to the village of Moorland eight weeks on from the

emergency evacuation there. Wherever you look here, thex are

stripping plaster, pulling down walls, rebuilding homes that were

four foot deep in water. Right now there is an army of builders here.

These houses are all in and have `` I inhabitable, and are likely to

remain so for many months to come. It is why there is a high vhsibility

lease presence here, and th`t night, there is a roadblock that checks

everyone coming in and out of this village. `` police presence. Picture

postcard from the outside, but step inside John's home, and you will see

exactly what the flood recovery means. Pretty much starting from

scratch. I've purchased it hn 1 88. It looks quite reasonable compared

to the inside. Coincidentally, the builder here, a former counsellor,

is one of those who will be meeting the Prime Minister in Somerset

tomorrow night. What will you say? David Cameron, what are you going to

do and he will be accountable? 30 homes destroyed. Families dhsplaced.

Is somebody going to be held accountable? They are not stre if

David Cameron will visit flood victims while he is here, btt if he

comes here... I would make him a cup of tea F I had a kettle. It is

probably in the skit. We whdre podcasting live today and hdaring

moving stories of the mental effect of the flooding. This mother says

her children are still suffdring. Nightmares in the middle of the

night, not knowing where thdy are when they are waking up. We have

just been sacrificed in favour of the town, while they are left high

and dry, we are left to drown. John has taken to first to express his

view that the town was deliberately flooded to save the main town of

Bridgewater. The Environment Agency says that is simply not trud, and

that excessive rain caused the flooding. From the air, you can see

that the area is now drying out but here, they are calling for ` public

inquiry to determine why thd floods came so quickly and lasted so long.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Environment Agency today adlitted he

should have pushed harder for dredging before the Somerset floods.

Our Political Editor followdd his appearance before the Commons

Environment Select Committed this afternoon and joins us now from

Westminster. Was this a significant admission?

Yes. Bear in mind that this committee told the government in no

uncertain terms back in Julx, so long before the floods, that they

should start dredging rivers. The chairman of the moment agency said

today that dredging almost certainly would not have stopped the flood,

but it would have made it clear it `` easier to clear the water away

afterwards. There was admission that more should have been done to make

dredging happen. The problel at the stage was there was a limitdd amount

of money that is able to be on the table. What I'd probably should have

done him a and thinking abott lessons to be learned, I should have

pushed a lot harder at that point. I did. `` at that point then H'd get.

He also said that the Environment Agency should have pushed h`rder to

get flood defenses. That was another key recommendation which thd

committee made to the government way back in July. The Environment

Secretary also appeared to date What did he say? The fair `` the

chair of the committee tried to pin down whether or not the govdrnment

would commit more money to maintenance and future, but he was

having none of it. He was vdry keen to talk about all of the details of

the repair work which is taking place, and the amount of money that

the government announced ovdr the last few weeks. Other MPs wdre

trying to get an idea of thd longer`term plans to deal whth flood

risk and how to pay for it. Lord Smith might have quite a fight on

his hands. He is standing down in a few days anyway.

Still to come on Spotlight: The labour of love which has taken three

years. We'll meet the artist who created this spectacular mural at

Buckfast Abbey. And say the dogs who've takdn up the

social media craze of selfids. A number of businesses in the South

West have agreed to pay thehr staff the so`called living wage. Latest

figures from the TUC suggest around one in four people in Dorset is paid

below the living wage which which tries to go beyond the nationally

set minimum wage. Simon Clelison reports. Government advertisements

from 15 years ago may not sdem dated, but look closely at the rate

the minimum wage was set at when it was first introduced, and 1899 can

appear a long time ago. The wages now getting on for double that and

it was. It is currently mord than ?6 for people over 21. In October, it

will rise by another 19p, and increase ministers are proud of but

even those who created the original benchmark think it is a blunt

instrument and some employers could afford more. There are now calls for

?7 and 65p to reflect the cost of living. I think the minimum wage is

not enough. The cost of livhng wage would be more appropriate. H am on

the minimum wage for an 18`xear`old. It is OK. It is survivable but it

could be better. And some btsinesses are now choosing to give all staff

at least the higher amount, although many earn more. This property

maintenance Company based in Dorset says it wanted to treat its workers

well and not drive up prices `` prices as a result and has found a

way to do both. We do maintdnance and repairs so we need to compete,

but we are confident that wd can do it and paid a living wage. Our nurse

working in this counsel get the same... An argument campaigners say

is familiar. A lot of peopld say that if the national wage comes and

there will be job losses and that is not true and it is not true for the

living wage. Some businesses are really struggling in terms of cash

flow, but the situation is definitely improving, so thd ability

of firms to embrace the livhng wage has got to increase. There hs a will

if they can find a way. Where does that leave the minimum wage?

There's growing concern over the future of a number of sheltdrs for

desperate and vulnerable wolen. It's been confirmed that Devon County

Council has withdrawn funding from three key centres in Exeter. It s

all part of a rethink on thd way services are provided. This

27`year`old woman is one of 18 residence at eight homeless hostel

that has lost funding. She hs losing what she has come to call home. I've

got no other options. I've got nowhere else to go. It all depends

on what happens, but I'd don't have anywhere that ICANN go and stay so

at the moment `` that ICANN go and stay, so at the moment but do not

know what to do. We have bedn thinking of anything we can do, like

fundraising, anything we can do to raise money to try and get the

funding. What ever we could have done we would have never have raised

enough money to have been able to get the funding also we would do

anything to save this place. For 15 years, a safe place has been

provided for women between 06 and 59, often with social issues

alongside their homeless predicament.

Another casualty is this centre a supportive housing project for women

and their babies. In a statdment, the group said...

It is all down to a culture change in the way services are provided,

with much more emphasis on outreach and community. After 37 years, this

week saw the end of the road for this refuge for women must with its

funding having been withdrawn. There are serious concerns. Jeanette is a

survivor of abuse and now a volunteer. I really hope th`t this

is not the case. This is not the reason why people sit up and take

note. Let's try and prevent that. Accommodating displaced reshdents

has meant more pressure on `n already overstretched housing

authority. I am not saying this is comfortable. We are as cut `nd is

devastated by government funds as anybody. But we will do our best to

cope with it. No`one from Ddvon County Council was availabld for

interview, but a statement said that the new providers would continue to

support those who needed it him and expected to help more peopld than

the previous providers were able to because of the change. The Council

also stressed that funding has been cut, merely transferred.

A mural the size of a small house has been unveiled at Buckfast Abbey

in South Devon today. It's the creation of Mother Joanna J`mieson,

a former abbess and it tells the story of how monks rebuilt the abbey

a century ago. It is the culmination of three years of work, one leading

art critic has described it as stupendous. Our reporter Anna Varle

has been to take a look. An abbey which has stood thd test of

time and was built by the h`nds of the monks who lived here three

centuries old stop today, their craftsmanship is commemoratdd in a

mural stretching many feet. There is a saying that... In other words

every small thing makes a l`rge thing. And a large painting it

certainly is. It has taken the artist years to complete, and this

is the first time she had sden all panels come together on one board.

It is an extraordinary experience. It has it's own life. It is going to

speak to people in its own language. The mural tells the story of how it

took a team of monks 32 years to rebuild the Abbey a century ago

Picking this has been hugelx significant `` I think this is

usually significant, and it is wonderful to see an artist working

in this type of environment. It is all part and parcel of our family.

Today, many came to see it tnveiled, including a television star. I have

seen work in progress on thdse panels. It is an extraordin`ry

achievement. I'd just think it is absolutely wonderful. The mtral were

`` the mural will celebrates the upcoming millennium year.

Some fantastic work there, hsn't the question at `` isn't it? Yot can see

all of the detail. Lots mord pictures on our Facebook page.

Now, the rise of the so`called 'selfie' has been evident all over

social media. You may have seen the recent no make`up selfies to raise

money for a breast cancer charity. To give you a bit more of an idea,

here are some we prepared e`rlier for you at Spotlight. These are

members of the team who work behind the scenes and took these phctures

on their mobile phones. Well, the selfie concept has been takdn to a

whole new level as our North Devon reporter, Andrea Ormsby's bden

discovering. This woman is on her way back from

work. As well as being a physiotherapist, she is a kden

volunteer for a local charity. I'm sitting at home on a Sunday evening

and we were winding down and my phone was plaguing me about alerts

from friends about their no makeup selfies. It gave her an ide`. Good

boy! Selfies of Charlie and paper were soon online. Come in for a

close`up. The boy! We thought, why should humans have all the five ``

all the fun? We took the photographs and posted our selfie and

renominated our family and friends who were dog lovers as well to post

their pictures on Facebook `nd on the website and to donate ?3 to our

charity and we were staggerdd by the response that we got.

Within an hour, there were nearly 50 dog selfies, all raising crtcial

funding. We have raised just over ?400, which saves a dog for a month.

It puts a dog safe for a month. That is absolutely fabulous. Even more

so, it gets people hitting the website, hitting Facebook, so they

see all of our dogs that nedd homes as well, which is just brilliant.

And they have a bit of fun `t the same time. There may be a fdw of you

who say this cannot really be called eight selfie. But who is Patl's

really are that nimble? Very cute. They had a bit of help

there. They loved it, didn't they? Time for a look at the weather with

David. there. They loved it, didn't they?

Time for a You take a quick selfie well of `` what I'd get

Around. That is the setup rdally for the next couple of days. Cloudy

conditions and rain at times. It is somewhat cooler as well. A bit of a

change. We are getting Atlantic air from the east or South East, and now

the area of low pressure is going to take charge. That stripe of clouds

covering most of Britain, ghving us a few showers. A weather system is

just rippling across the Sotth West of England. This is lunch thme

tomorrow. Think by Friday that will be be best date before we sde

outbreaks of rain settling hn. Incidentally for us, there has been

no air pollution problems today There might have been a bit of dust

on the cars I'm move right `cross the South West, lots of reports of

it being low. The rain has now petered out but there is more to

come later on this evening. This was earlier on this evening. Clouds in

the sky, a bit blue here and there, but actually, quite nice along the

north coast of Devon. The north coast of Somerset has had some good

weather as well, with the hhghest temperatures being 17 or 18 degrees.

It still looks quite pleasant there. Change is afoot. The surf h`s been a

bit disappointing over the last two days. It will pick up as we head

into the weekend. Some bright weather around tomorrow morning but

for most of us, it will be ` wet start to the day tomorrow morning.

The rain peters out for a whld, but returned towards dawn tomorrow

morning. Overnight temperattres come up quite mild, really. Tomorrow a

wall of blue. It is wet for much of the day for most of us. The rain

band will begin to peter out eventually for parts of Devon and

Cornwall. Temperatures will probably get up to 12 or 13 degrees here

Further east, 13 or 14 will be the top temperature we can expect

tomorrow. After some patchy rain in the morning for the Isles of Scilly,

it will be bright and dry in the afternoon. Times of high water.

The surf will pick up. Two feet clean on the north coast morrow

afternoon. The coastal waters forecast. Patchy rain with loderate

visibility. More clouds and drizzle on Saturday. Persistent rain on

Sunday. Have a good evening. Back to you. Some rain in the forec`st, but

there is some very cheerful spring photographs from you and thd

spotlight Facebook page at the moment. Have a look at thosd. They

will cheer you up. Tonight.