21/02/2017 Spotlight

Good evening. for the news where you are.

Cornwall Council became the latest in the south west

to raise its Council Tax today with the leader John Pollard saying

The average household in Cornwall will have to pay an extra ?50

per year from April - alongside overall

It follows Devon and Dorset's approved increases of almost 5% -

Tamsin Melville has been following events in Truro.

It is becoming a bit like an annual production.

The same themes, largely the same characters and the plot seems to end

the same way for the people of Cornwall - bigger bills,

fewer services and this plea from the leader.

My message to the Government is they are not helping us.

My message to the Government is that austerity can only go on so long,

My message to the Government is please invest in adult social care.

This is a national issue and it is money that needs to come

directly from Government into that cause.

Since 2010 Cornwall Council has made savings of nearly ?200 million.

In the coming year there will be another ?33 million cut.

Not many areas of spending escape but off-loading libraries

and leisure centres is key to making savings this year.

Council Tax bills are going up again by ?1 a week

Half of this is exclusively for adult social care.

Personally I'm happy with that. I really am.

If it helps old people, that's really good.

They need to be looked after and not thought of as a nuisance.

A surge in the pit of my heart just thinking, more money, more money.

We can rob Peter to pay Paul as long as we like but not everyone

Councillors could have put another 1% on Council Tax for social care

but this was rejected, with some Conservatives themselves

We have to stand firm and canvas central Government

and say on social care, it is a nationwide problem

and they need to fund it from the centre.

And what will the ?5 million raised actually fund?

An awful lot of that will get sucked up through the increases

to the living wage, so the national living wage obviously implements

those hikes to the lowest paid, which I absolutely agree

So the 2% really will only just cover that off.

Today's vote also paves the way for around 300

Meanwhile the Government is insisting its financial

Well while setting their budgets for next year, councils in the south

west have been anxiously waiting to find out how much money they'll

That's due to be outlined to MPs in the Commons tomorrow but already

Devon County Council leader John Hart has said the settlement

totally fails to address the crisis in social care,

Here's our Political Editor Martyn Oates.

Many people frankly won't have been surprised that the government hasn't

decided to put money into rural councils like those across the south

west, but there has been a lot of lobbying behind closed doors

by the Communities Secretary and I'm told by the Prime Minister herself

from something called the Rural Fair Share

It seems, though, of course, that that lobbying has ultimately

failed and that has been greeted with condemnation by Council leaders

It is nowhere near enough for what we need, nowhere

We have to... And this year we are supporting

And on the basis of that, the government took ?23 million out

We have had to spend ?22 million over and above

I mentioned the lobbying that had gone on from

the Rural Fair Share group of MPs. At the moment, that is almost

completely led by MPs from Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

Earlier today, I spoke to one of its vice chairs,

the St Austell and Newquay MP, Steve Double.

Clearly, we've got to continue to make the case for funding

for rural areas, for local government and we are

The government is committed now, I just even met with the Minister

today and he confirmed again that the government is determined

to have this review of the cost of delivery services in rural areas.

So although we are disappointed with this year, we are fighting

the case and I am positive that we can get this extra

There have been calls for MPs in places like the south-west

to vote against the settlement when it comes before

Mr Double says he will wait and see how the debate unfolds but having

witnessed many of these before, I would be very surprised

if tomorrow sees many, if any, Conservative MPs

A fire at a leisure centre in Exeter is still going tonight, more

At its height, 120 firefighters were deployed to the Riverside Centre,

and dozens of swimmers were forced to flee the building.

Two people received minor injuries in the ballets which is believed to

have started in the sauna. I was told to leave everything and got

out. I grabbed my coat but everything else was left in there.

Obviously you are thinking of safety so you just get out. We will have

the latest on the fire in our breakfast bulletins tomorrow from

6:30am. Cornwall Council has confirmed it's

investigating a number of allegations made about the care

provided at a home for adults with Bowden Derra Park near Launceston

is currently caring for 70 people on site

with complex healthcare needs. The council says it's

suspended its placements for now. A spokesperson for the care

home said the health, safety and well-being

of its residents was its top priority and it was working

with Cornwall Council. Somerset is trying to recruit more

people to foster unaccompanied Eight have arrived in the county

since last summer, and another 60 are expected over

the next three years. Now for something which could ease

the pressure on housing Communal living is becoming

increasingly popular among some older people -

known as co-housing. Steve Harris has been to one scheme

in Dorset to see how it works. They live side-by-side

but they are not students. They get on well but some

have only just met. They eat together but this

is not a house-share. There are 14 separate homes here at

the Threshold Centre in Gillingham, each with their own front door,

but when it comes to gardening and cooking,

residents share the burden. They have one central

kitchen and dining room For them it is a greener

way of living, a more And they are there for each other

if they need support. Actually, what this was very

important for me was that my son stopped worrying about me,

because he knew there were lots of people around

who would look out for me. It's a message, really,

to other people that these things can be done and sustainability

is not just about the green aspects and the environment,

it's about people living together Co-housing is a microcosm

of humanity. You have exactly the same issues

that any group of people have, it's just that it's an intentional

community, so we intend to make the effort to get on with each other

and do things together According to the most recent

figures, there are 7 million And we all know about

the shortage in housing. Well, here in Bridport, 40 miles

away from the Threshold Centre, one local group are hoping another

co-housing scheme can The co-housing movement started

in Denmark in the 1960s. It is now growing in popularity

with other schemes near Totnes, In Bridport, they are now confident

work will begin here in the spring. We are looking at the sort of lives

we want to live in the future and the constraints we may face

on our lives in the future, and I think that co-housing

will answer many of them because it is flexible and people

can have as little or as much company as they need.

I suppose a real hermit would need somewhere else, you know,

they wouldn't like it. But for most people

there are benefits. Particularly single parents,

there is a distinctive benefit. The town is very supportive of us,

the sort of people that live here, a lot of people are interested

in what we are doing and interested The first residents will be

moving in to the Bridport For now, at the Threshold Centre,

there are chores to be done. Do you remember Archie the fire dog

who works for Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service? He was a guest on

the Spotlight studio last year and he is about to become a cartoon

star. Hello, my name is Archie and I am a trained fire dog. He is

appearing in the new animation with his sidekick would eat which tells

the story of a house fire. It is hoped dogs will be able to get the

message over about what parents and children should do in the event of a

fire. Time for the weather now -

how's it looking, Bee? It is looking dull and damp but

there will be a solid layer of cloud tomorrow. Rain fairly light and

westerly winds starting to pick up which would lift the cloud up in

places. At the moment, this weather front toward the north so you can

see westerly winds on that front sinking southwards. We can expect

some rain but most of it will be fairly light and patchy. Thursday,

this is actually stormed Doris, just been named, strong gale force winds,

40-50 gusts at the moment. A lot of clouds and drizzle out there, fairly

murky conditions. The rain mainly light and patchy but the

temperatures very mild. Many places falling to just nine or 10 degrees.

On Wednesday, further outbreaks of rain, a lot of mist, low cloud and

hill fog and a fairly mild day as well.

the Outlook toward the end of the week and then milder again from the

wheel them. More on storm Doris now with Matt Taylor.