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tv   BBC News  BBC News  March 4, 2024 1:45pm-2:01pm GMT

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a tory spokesman said labour has an "abysmal" record on youth employment. let's speak to shadow employment minister, alison mcgovern. what did you mean when you said there is no option of a life on benefits for young people under a labour government? we will not leave anybody behind. too many of our young people are getting off track. we know that covid had a massive impact on young people. there is not been enough attention of what you need to do as attention of what you need to do as a country to help those young people have a decent start in life. all the evidence is that if you start your working life with a period of unemployment that has impacts on you and your earnings for the rest of your life. what we mean by, no option, is that every young person must have a clear chance, an
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opportunity, to have an apprenticeship, orto opportunity, to have an apprenticeship, or to get into work, or to be in education, so that they are getting the best start in life. how are you going to pay for that? we have already set out how we will invest money that we will get into ending that non—dom tax break, into increasing the number of mental health professionals that are available for talking therapies, thatis available for talking therapies, that is an important way of helping young people move into work. but we want to add to that. we want to make sure that employment support as part of that health, brought together in youth futures hubs, so that young people know there is some how they are for them in their community where they can get help and support. if you are a young person and you can't get a job and you are not going into further education, are you going to compel people to take a job, or indeed withdraw any benefits they might be on if they don't take
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thatjob? they might be on if they don't take that “ob? , ., ., , they might be on if they don't take that “ob? , . ., , , that “ob? there is already rules in the that job? there is already rules in the system _ that job? there is already rules in the system at _ that job? there is already rules in the system at make _ that job? there is already rules in the system at make sure - that job? there is already rules in l the system at make sure everybody has the responsibility to take up good opportunities. the problem is that that should be matched by an equal responsibility from the uk government to offer a genuine support help, and that is what is feeling right now. because of the crisis in our nhs, because of the tick box culture and ourjob centres, that mean that people don't get the help that they deserve. that responsibility from government is being failed. if we put that right young people will embrace new opportunities. i know from my own constituency in merseyside that young people are ambitious, they want a chance, but they have been through a lot, and the deserve more than they have been given. just see you are a young graduate with a university degree and you can't get a job that you particularly want, would you then say to them that they have to take any job that they are offered?
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say to them that they have to take anyjob that they are offered? i think that particularly for graduates there is a wide range of vacancies available. one of the things it is going wrong at the moment in ourjob sentences there is so much focus on what we call the tick box culture, just having people in four short appointments, not giving real help. there is so much focus on that there is not enough support to help people intojobs in the new economy. for example, someone is a graduate i will be thinking, whatjobs are available, the creative economy, a growing area. job centres need to be thinking more about areas for our economy is growing and we have the most vacancies. they don't do that at the moment and they should in the future. ., ., , ., at the moment and they should in the future. ., ., ,, . ., at the moment and they should in the future. ., ., , ., . ., ., at the moment and they should in the future. ., ., . . ., future. how would you change that so that “ob future. how would you change that so that job centres _ future. how would you change that so that job centres to _ future. how would you change that so that job centres to offer _ future. how would you change that so that job centres to offer that - thatjob centres to offer that advice on those opportunities that you want? figs advice on those opportunities that ou want? �* , advice on those opportunities that ou want? ~ , ., you want? as i said, we need an end to the tick box culture _
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you want? as i said, we need an end to the tick box culture where - to the tick box culture where people come in, they are ticked off a list, and turned around. what we want is to have job centres the real centres. bringing together employment support. what are the real shortage areas? and the health service, to create opportunities for young people, to get into that new economy. the thing that i would change would be, as i said, an end to the tick box culture, and make it local and specific to that place where young people are, and i think we can improve the quality of the health quite radically. shadow employment minister, thank you forjoining us. the covid inquiry has heard how the chief medical officer for wales thought there was an "omnishambles" in how information was shared between the uk's four nations, during the pandemic. if handwritten note
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from sir frank atherton — what did he tell the inquiry? perhaps it suggests what he was really thinking are supposed to what he said publicly in the pandemic. sir frank atherton, chief medical officerfor sir frank atherton, chief medical officer for wales, experienced sir frank atherton, chief medical officerfor wales, experienced dr and public official would often front the press conferences in wales practically when it came to explaining why some decisions were being made, on what medical and scientific grounds. certainly he stuck to the script then. but in the background, according to this handwritten note, he thought that things were not clear, and confusing for members of the public. project when you think back to summer of 2020 when restrictions were starting to be lifted. we went into lockdown lockstep, restrictions were lifted at different times around different parts of the uk. when it came to giving the rationale for that, even
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though the sites was the same, may be the excavation is different. that was part of his frustration that came through in this handwritten note. he was also questioned about not making facemasks compulsory at the same time as in england. yes, and that was a key part of wales different decision—making. we think back to the pandemic, wales being far more cautious, much slower and easing restrictions, but wales was the last place to make facemasks mandatory shops and supermarkets. in summer 2020, mandatory shops and supermarkets. in summer2020, sir mandatory shops and supermarkets. in summer 2020, sir frank atherton said, he was worried about the impact on the supplies of ppe. he was worried that maybe people would be encouraged to risky behaviour, facemasks may be allowing some people with symptoms to think they could roam free songs they had amassed with them. that seemed to be the rationale for wales holding out in terms of making facemasks mandatory, while england and scotland went for it in shops, way
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to northern ireland, wales held out until september 2020 before insisting on facemasks within shops and supermarkets, and to that legislation longer than the rest of the uk. he accepted there was some confusion. in retrospect he thought it would have been better to align with the rest of the uk. something lots of members of the public really done were confused by at the time, clearly was on his mind also. thank you. you can follow the covid inquiry on bbc iplayer. former coal mining areas are falling further behind the rest of britain decades on from pit closures, a charity has warned. it comes as a bbc survey in former coalfield areas across england, scotland and wales has found nearly three quarters of people said they d seen little or no progress towards levelling up their area. the government said it was spending millions of pounds to regenerate former coalfield areas. bbc yorkshire s political editor james vincent reports from south yorkshire.
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the miners strike isjust a memory for people now, but pit closures are still having an effect on those coalfield communities that were left behind. a0 years ago, they were giving out food parcels during the strike, and they're still doing it today. we get 50 people through these doors each week, it picks up the people in need without them having to make themselves on show to to the public of i need a food bank or i need help. this is open every day. we know that we've got people in need and they feel much more comfortable. i hate waste. my dad was one of six miners, so i've been brought up from that generation. we don't waste whatever we bring from here. i always make sure that we make something special with it. so if it's loads of bread, i'll make a bread pudding
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or something like that. i'm a retired teacher so i can tick over, but i'm not eligible for pension and i'm not eligible for any of the benefits. it's been nearly a decade since there was any deep coal mining here in yorkshire, but a0 years on, since the miners strike, the legacy of this industry still looms large. we have a lower healthy life expectancy in barnsley than we would in somewhere like richmond upon thames in surrey, for example. so their men can expect to live for 71 years in good health, whereas in barnsley it's only 57 years. reducing inequality was one of the big promises of the 2019 general election. levelling up got the conservatives into former pit villages here that they'd never have dreamed of winning before. but our survey suggests 73% of people in coalfield areas think there has been little or no progress in levelling up their part of the world. the government told us we're supporting everyone everywhere in the uk, including those in former coalfield communities, to improve their everyday lives through our £15 billion levelling up programmes. but in the survey for the bbc, nearly half of people living
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in coalfield areas told us there were not many opportunities for them there and 8% said there were no opportunities at all. there simply aren't enough jobs in the coalfields that people who live here have to commute out. so educational attainment is broadly similar to national averages now, but the young people can't find jobs in these areas, so they commute out. those pitjobs are now warehouse jobs. anna's got one and getting there on the bus is fine, but there's no bus on the way back. i'm getting taxis back, which is costing me a roughly around 11 to 12 quid a night. it's a little bit ridiculous, i will say, but you've got to do what you've got to do. you've got to be able to get home safe. a0 years is half a lifetime ago. but if you live in a former coalfield area, the quality of your life still doesn't match other parts of the country. james vincent, bbc news.
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figures n from home office on the number of migrants that came in. french coastguard said the child had been travelling with her mother and siblings in a boat carrying 16 people. home office said they recorded 327 people coming into the uk after making a journeys in a boats. hello there. the weather isn't looking that bad this week. actually, compared to last week, we should start to see a lot of dry weather around with increasing amounts of sunshine, particularly wednesday onwards. in the short term, we do have low pressure nearby. so there will be a little bit of rain, a few showers dotted around.
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now, this first low pressure system will bring a band of rain and stronger winds into southern and western parts of the country. as you move through the course of the day, the rain pushing across south west england, south wales, up in towards northern ireland, a bit more cloud generally across western edges. but after that chilly starts with the frost and the fog, most of the country should have a fine afternoon with plenty of sunshine around. temperatures lifting up to around 11 degrees, i think in the warmest spot now through this evening and overnight, that cloud, the wind and the rain push its way slowly northwards and eastward. you see a few showers running in behind across south west england through the channel islands. but while the skies are clear, then it's likely we'll see a touch of frost, maybe a little bit of fog again. but where we hold on to the cloud, the rain across northern and eastern areas, it'll be less cold here. tuesday, we've got that weather front slowly pushing northwards and clearing the east of the country later in the day. but further weather fronts will tend to push into northern ireland, western scotland as we head through the day. eventually that weather front i think will clear eastern areas, but it might take its time.
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in fact it could be quite grey and does appear quite breezy. but elsewhere across the country, after a fine start through the morning variable cloud, there should be plenty of sunshine into the afternoon. top temperatures up to around 12 degrees, but a little bit cooler than that where we have the breeze and the cloud in northeast scotland. and then as we head into wednesday, this area of high pressure, this blocking high across scandinavia, begins to exert its force across the country, pushing the weather fronts out towards the atlantic. so i think a largely fine day to come for many of us. it could be a bit cloudy across eastern scotland, eastern england, whose north sea coasts affected by the southeasterly wind, maybejust one or two showers out west. but for much of the country, it should be dry, settled, plenty of sunshine, temperatures up to 12, maybe 13 degrees in the southeast for thursday and friday. that area of high pressure keeps those weather fronts at bay. it should be mostly dry southeasterly breezes and plenty of dry and sunny weather at times as well, particularly on thursday. friday could start to see a bit more cloud just edging into western areas later in the day. but these temperatures are what we expect this time of year.
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live from london, this is bbc news. a state of emergency is declared in the capital of haiti after armed gangs carry out majorjailbreaks, freeing thousands of prisoners. us vice president kamala harris calls for an immediate ceasefire in gaza as israel says it will not attend truce talks in cairo. the detective who led the sarah everard inquiry tells the bbc of her shock at discovering the killer wayne couzens was a police officer.
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france is to become the first country in the world to put the right to abortion in its constitution. we will be live in versailles, on the israel— gaza border, and around the world. and the royal national lifeboat institution celebrates 200 years after being foundered in a tavern in london. the charity says it has saved almost 150,000 lives. welcome to bbc news. we will start in haiti. thousands of prisoners have escaped from jail is there. it is thought the latest number is 3700. there has been violence and armed gangs on the streets, and now armed gangs on the streets, and now a 72 hour state of emergency in the capital, port 0 prince. night curfews are in
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capital, port 0 prince. night cu rfews are in force capital, port 0 prince. night curfews are in force until wednesday. gangs have attacked two

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