01/07/2012 Sunday Politics East

Here in the east, as CrossRail comes to Essex, concern grows over

plans for its hub station. And will the Olympic legacy deliver

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1686 seconds

Hello and welcome to Sunday Politics East. I'm Etholle George.

Coming up, CrossRail is coming to town. From Maidenhead to the west,

Essex is the home of its eastern terminus, but can this station cope

with the increase in passengers? But first, let's introduce our

guests for this week. Gavin Shuker, Labour's MP for Luton South, and

for the Conservatives, Councillor Stephen Castle, who is Essex County

Council's Cabinet Member for Education and the London 2012 Games.

Let's begin with a quick word about Barclays being fined �290 million

for manipulating the inter bank lending rate, a sort of baseline

that other interest rates are set from. This happened between 2005

and 2009 under a Labour Government, and you failed to regulate the

banks. I think there was a global failure of regulation. The big fear

at that time it was it that we were over regulating. You need to get

the regulation right. To say that there was no move by Labour on this,

it is not true. It looks like other banks could be involved. There is a

fresh scandal that we have featured before over businesses buying

interest rate swaps. What about this cultural shift in banking,

will that be enough to change things. I run a small business in

the region and we struggled with their less RBS made of electronic

banking recently. -- with that mess. Behaviours are unacceptable.

I want to talk about the Olympics. They are nearly upon us. Just 26

days until the curtain goes up on land and when did well. There

venues are ready and so are the athletes, but are we? At the

beginning of the bed, nine years ago, 2012 or was about the legacy

and what can be achieved by the power of sport? Will it really

inspire a generation? It is fast, it is furious, handball

is a cross between a rugby and basketball. Thanks to the Olympics,

there will be extra money to help support the sport and going towards

schools and supporting schools at grass roots. It is not just sports

clubs getting a boost, there are We will be here for a lot of

The finishing touches are being made to this massive Olympic

inspired a aquatics centre in Luton. It is to open in August. We cannot

wait to deliver programmes for the children and four adults and for

everybody in Luton. We want them all to get involved in sport.

date, more than �50 million has been invested in Olympic related

projects in the east. When I went to visit the momentum -- the

mountain biking, it is a popular sport in France and Belgium, so

they asked it to come out here. We have people from 17 different

countries. At a recent launch in Brussels, Amy -- MEPs were put

through their paces. Its is very popular. It was part of a promotion

to show how the East of England is playing its part in the Olympic

dream. The international athletes have been over as much as they can.

The venue is very accessible to them. Unlike in Beijing. At home,

there is still concern over their government's slashing of Labour's

schools partnership scheme which promoted a variety of sport in that

school. School ports medallist in two children and young people. --

school sports at meant it listening to children and young people. We

want young people to have a positive attitude towards sport and

physical education. Since the 1980s, obesity has increased threefold. In

the east, one in five children are obese by the age of 10. We have

seen children get excited about the Olympics, but it is what about what

happens next. Can be carry on? infrastructure should be a long-

term benefit to the region but questions remained whether the

Olympics will improve health and fitness? What is in no doubt is the

enthusiasm for the games with just a few weeks to go. Are you all

excited? Yes! Joining us now is Dr Gavin

Sandercock from the University of Essex. Our research shows that

children's fitness levels, their aerobic fitness, their ability to

run, is declining. We are looking at a 10% decline in the last 10

years. When we measure of their strength and ability to jump, that

is going down even faster. These are starker declines. That is

independent of how far they are. They are just getting less effect.

-- how fat they are. What about the Olympic legacy? There is some quite

shocking evidence from Sydney that people develop apathy. Having all

these amazing athlete in town discourages them. Other places,

with the exception of Barcelona are who had a huge infrastructure

investment following the games, have shown no real legacy. There

has been no evidence of an actual increase in public health or

physical activity due to the Olympics. What about the

infrastructure? We saw a great list of brand new infrastructure, that

will help? The infrastructure is fantastic and it is fantastic they

have put it out beyond the Olympic village. But it is not a case of

building it and they will come. Having something on your doorstep

does not mean they will be used. The people who can benefit most

from improving their physical activity and improving their

fitness just a little bit are the least active. In order to get very

inactive people to start, the need education, ongoing support, high-

quality physical education and leadership Ms Ward. -- in the sport.

Well at levels of sport used to be raised? Are a agree with what he

has said. We have to plan for the legacy. The London Games had a

legacy literally from the start. That legacy was as much about

getting people involved in sport, getting people physically active as

about building fantastic facilities. There have been programmes put in

place and that is unique. What about places like Luton? Are you

feeling the benefits? In that film, we saw the Olympic-sized swimming

pool that be built there. That will be great. I launched a report in

Parliament this week along with their sports think tank looking at

the benefits of sport. There are many benefits of sport, we should

value of sport on the basis of the joy that it brings us. Not

necessarily get economic or health benefits, because they are much

harder to prove. What do you make of what Stephen Castle has said,

there has been this plan in place? What about the study you will be

conducting? The active people survey showed his first drop in

sports participation for 10 years. Physical activity levels, or rather

for his levels have dropped. We have to be careful of that type of

survey. The work that we are doing in some of the Olympic boroughs is

testing children's fitness level using objective measures before and

after the Games. In some schools, we are going him and giving

children activity... Elite athletes are not necessarily good role

models. They need local role models. They need their parents to be

active. Thank you very much. Are you confident that there will

be a positive impact from all this? Yes, there is a positive impact

already through business and culture. But the sports and

physical activity impact has to be the most important from their games.

They venues we have got will motivate people. If there is one

thing you want to do in terms of legacy, it is to welcome a group of

people were you will get out -- square and you will get the most

Tomorrow, more than 40 MPs are expected to gather at Liverpool

Street station to set out the region's first rail manifesto. On

the wish-list is a new track around Chelmsford which will allow faster

trains on the InterCity line to London. An upgrade of the Ely North

junction which could lead to more frequent services to Cambridge and

London. And improvements to the Ipswich to Peterborough or lime.

All the local authorities are coming together to describe their

vision for the railway for the next 20 years. No one has done it before.

That is why we have got this Cinderella service and we are not

exploiting our economy as fully as we could do. People in the region

do not have the kind of benefits from a good rail service that they

should have. Meanwhile, the biggest rail project in Europe is moving

closer to Essex as cross rail -- as cross rail links Maidenhead to the

West with Shenfield to the east. But there is dismay at the lack of

upbraid work -- upgrade work planned for the station.

Shenfield station on a Monday morning. Busy now, and passenger

numbers are likely to increase when CrossRail arrives. A new Line a

platform will be built here but there will be no major upgrade to

the station facilities. CrossRail is the biggest infrastructure

project in Western Europe at a cost of �14.8 billion. Trains will run

directly under central London, lending Maidenhead in the West with

Shenfield in the east. But look at these two stations at either end of

the line. Maidenhead with two entrances, Shenfield with one. A

white platform in Maidenhead, Shenfield with a much more narrow

one. But according to initial plans on the cross rail website, it is

Maidenhead a walk that most of the upgrade work. -- Maidenhead will

get most of the upgrade work. I am not happy about the current plans.

That is why I have organised a meeting with the town council, the

District Council, the county council and with CrossRail. I felt

somebody had to bring these organisations together. So while

Maidenhead gets a makeover, are people in Essex are being short-

changed? They are not getting a raw deal. Every station is getting what

it needs. The people getting a raw deal are the people using the

station in Maidenhead. Maidenhead need some more money is spent on it.

What people in Essex will get is a lot of disruption. Local traders

are concerned. The message to small business owners here is one of

reassurance, but Network Rail and CrossRail have not said exactly

when the construction work will take place. That uncertainty is

worrying traders. Just after Easter, we had three weeks of serious

disruption and saw a 40% drop in football in the town because

customers could not park. -- foot fall in the town. Not worked real

says it has listened to local concerns and has revised the plants.

But they will not reveal what has changed, saying the new plans will

be published in the next few weeks. One of the criticisms has been that

the County Council has not been communicating with the borough

council, what do you say to that? disagree with that. We have been

working with cross rail to try and ensure that the best month that is

needed goes in there. -- that the investment. We have seen the

facilities at the station, what about this wider platform, this

extra 80,000 people? That is what we have been talking to CrossRail

about. It is not just about entrances to the station. It is

about the impact of people travelling to Shenfield in

different ways. Are you confident that it will be fit for purpose?

think it will. It is a huge project. The implications of it is something

we are working on now and we are developing the data to tell us how

much more needs investing. Often, as the usage of the facility, like

Stansted Airport, determines what happens next. Do you agree that

there needs to be more investment to boost are standing here?

economy is not growing. You need to invest in infrastructure. If you

are investing in infrastructure, real is the number one priority. --

for rail. There is some progress in terms of putting money into the

projects. Written station is one of the 10 worst stations in the United

Kingdom. The government cancelled the Grad that was going to it. We

have old fashioned facilities. -- cancelled the grunt.

Now it's time for Deborah McGurran's weekly roundup with fuel

for thought. And all in 60 seconds. Workers at Coryton oil refinery

heard this week that they will lose their jobs as the plant in Essex is

to close. And fuel hit the headlines as the Government U-

turned on the planned rise in duty this summer, which delighted

campaigning Essex MP Robert Halfon. I am over the moon for the millions

of motorists across the East of England. This is the number one

issue affecting my constituents. Treasury Secretary and Norwich MP

Chloe Smith was sent to defend the decision, which had taken

Westminster by surprise. When was the decision taken? It has been

under consideration for some time. When it was the decision taken?

When we you talk? It is no wonder she said this. While the fallout

from Miss Smith's interrogation dominated the blogosphere, we can

all rest easy now Louise Mensh has promised her new social media

website is safe, phew! The government has done more U-

turns than a stunt driver, the budget's in tatters, it makes the

government look incompetent. The budget is in tatters. Does it make

the coalition look incompetent? think it is a case of responding to

what is happening on the ground. The economic situation is changing.

It is much worse than we thought when we came into power. The global

failure has been bigger than we expected. Any measures to help the

taxpayer has got to be the right thing to do. If it is right to

change, that is the right thing to do. The government was following a

Labour's plans. Recalled for a reduction in the price of fuel and

we have got it. -- 0 recalled. The number of U-turns power crucially

undermining our fiscal... But you are following the Labour plans.

would not be in this position where there is no growth at all. We

should have grown 3.7%. We have actually shrunk. The plan is not

working and all those U-turns do not help. We have to leave it there.