Birmingham Post

Pounds 1m a Week ; What It Would Cost the Government to Keep Ldv Alive

LDV needs pounds 1 million a week of Government money for up to two months to keep creditors at bay and safeguard all 850 jobs at the factory and thousands more in the supply chain. The urgent need for a Government backed loan to keep the Birmingham van-maker afloat was spelled out by LDV bosses yesterday as the battle for survival reached a critical stage.

Winner Modec has Plans to Expand

Pounds 500 Million Write Off for Bradford & Bingley ; in Association with Lloydstsb.Com/Corporatemarkers

Nationalised lender Bradford & Bingley said it was writing off more than pounds 500 million in mortgage loans turned sour. B&B is taking the charge of pounds 507.7 million to reflect estimated arrears at the end of 2008 and the impact of further house price falls ahead. The hit compares with a pounds 22.5 million provision for the previous year. The firm said 4.6 per cent of its pounds 41 billion mortgage book was three months or more in arrears, or repossessed.

Brown Shrugs Off Critics of Building Society Takeover ; in Association with Lloydstsb.Com/Corporatemarkers

Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday branded Dunfermline Building Society an "author of its own mistakes" as the Government stepped in to lead a rescue sale and break-up of the ailing mutual. Nationwide Building Society will take on the core parts of Dunfermline under the deal, brokered at the weekend to save the society from collapse.

Think-Tank's Relief Rate Pub Plea

More than 500 West Midlands pubs have been forced out of business by cutprice supermarket beer and unfair taxes, a new study warned today. Traditional community pubs should be eligible for rate relief and charitable grants, according to the Institute ofPublic Policy Research, a leading thinktank.

M6 Mayhem Caused by Huge Oil Spillage

Motorists faced nightmare journeys home yesterday after a huge oil spillage caused mayhem on the M6. Some commuters endured three hour delays and tailbacks almost seven miles long after the northbound carriageway between Junctions 4a and 7 was restricted to one lane for several hours following the freak incident.

Wheelchair Blockade Over Waiting Lists

A crucial meeting has been arranged after members of a civil rights action group formed a blockade outside the city council's social services department in Birmingham. About 20 members of the Disabled People's Direct Action Network stopped people from entering Louisa Ryland House in Newhall Street by chaining together their wheelchairs to form an immovable barrier in a bid to highlight what they say is a failure of the authority to take their needs seriously. They claim the council has not be...

Cannabis Factory Found at House

A cannabis factory was discovered at a rented home in a leafy village near Kenilworth. The six-bedroom detached house in Cromwell Lane, Burton Green, had been kitted out with plant growing equipment including lighting and irrigation.

Rethink Over Pounds 100 Million Shirley Development

A pounds 100 million project to transform a Midland town centre is going back to the drawing board after the recession has left developers fearing its viability. The Parkgate development to transform Shirley, near Solihull, includes an Asda superstore, dozens of other shops, cafes and restaurants and 200-plus apartments, but developers Shirley Advance yesterday admitted plans were being revised in light of the economic downturn. Robert Birch, head of the scheme, said plans to build retail sho...

Trust Sorry After Woman Was 'Fobbed Off' by Gp

A Dudley mother has won a five-year battle for an apology from doctors after a routine smear test failed to diagnose deadly cervical cancer cells. Investigations found that dangerous abnormal cells on mother-of- two Cheryl Field'ssmear testweremissed in November 2001.

Midland Nurses Are Urged to Say 'G'day' to Australia

Psychiatric nurses from Birmingham are being enticed to swap Midland wards for sunny Sydney in a recruitment drive by Australian health chiefs. NewSouthWalesDepartment ofHealth, in Australia, is recruiting 150 registerednurses for a new forensic hospital in Sydney and wants to hear from qualified British applicants.

Bonfire Led Police to Finding Pounds 25,000 Worth of Stolen Vehicle Parts

Police officers who decided to lend a helping hand to a man struggling to control a fire at his Birmingham home discovered his carwas packed full with stolen vehicle parts worth over pounds 25,000 belonging to Land Rover. Judge Salmonsen said: "Land Rover is a company that is struggling following the credit crunch where there are redundancies and where every pound makes a difference.

Worcester Discard Gaza Twin City Idea

Review Targets Solution to Alarming Teen Birth Rates ; Education

A major shake-up of sex and relationships education Is needed In Birmingham's schools If the city Is to tackle the problem of Its alarming teenage pregnancy rate. That Is the finding of a review carried out In Birmingham by the city's own young people, which was presented during an event at the Council House In Victoria Square yesterday.

Newman Principal Taylor to Retire ; Education

The principal of Birmingham teacher training college Newman University College In Bartley Green has announced her retirement after more than ten years at the higher education institution. Pamela Taylor will retire at the end of 2009, having become principal In 2000 following almost three years as vice principal. She managed Newman's evolution to university college status In 2007, which allows It to award Its own degrees. Student numbers grew by 112 per cent between 2000 and 2008. Newman has e...

Credit Crunch Threatens School Trips ; Education

The credit crunch is in danger of causing children to miss out on vital school trips. An education survey has revealed that nine out of ten teachers say the current economic climate would make it harder to arrange school trips in the future.

Grant Allows Students to Teach Orphans in Thailand ; Education

Students from the University of Worcester will put all thoughts of lectures to one side as they plan to spend time at an orphanage In Thailand this summer. The first-year students have each received pounds 350 from the university's Scholarship Panel to fund half the cost of the ten-day trip to help teach the orphaned youngsters.

Special Reward for Excellence ; Education

Promising students at the University of Wolverhampton have received special scholarship awards In recognition of their excellence. A total of 40 students received Excellence Scholarships of up to pounds 2,000 In the categories of sports and International.

Smith's Pounds 157,631 Expense Bill Exceeded by Farrelly ; Politics

Embattled Home Secretary Jacqui Smith received pounds 22,948 from the taxpayer to help pay for her "second home" in Redditch last year, new House of Commons figures have revealed. The Worcestershire MP claimed pounds 157,631 in expenses, including travel costs and the cost of running her office.

Remove Fear From Nhs Staff ; Politics

The NHS must change. When two constituents came to see me about the state of the hospital in which they work - not Stafford - complete with a dossier of photographs, they were terrified to leave it with me as they believed their jobs would be in jeopardy. It left me impotent to take any action. When I raised this matter in the House of Commons, I asked the health secretary: "What sort of ethos exists in the health service if people like that can be afraid of revealing the truth?"