20/01/2013 Sunday Politics South East


20/01/2013

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And in the South East: Kent's children at risk are

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considered safer than they were two years ago, but is an "adequate"

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2301 seconds

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rating for social services by I am Natalie Graham and this is the

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Sunday Politics in the South East. Coming up later:

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As a parliamentary inquiry suggests all drugs should be decriminalised,

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we go to Brighton - the UK's drugs death capital - to get the views of

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those tackling substance abuse. Joining me in the studio today is

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an all female cast - our guests of the day are Amber Rudd, the

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Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye and the Labour Baroness Maggie

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Jones who lives in Hove. First, we have been warned that

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more than 100 jobs could be lost at Kent County Council as the

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authority tries to make a further �34 million worth of savings on top

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of the �60 million cuts it had already planned for next year.

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Brighton and Hove's ruling Green Party has already announced it

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wants to raise council tax to provide what it says are essential

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services in the coming year. So are local authorities being squeezed

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too hard by centrally imposed austerity measures? Amber Rudd,

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sounds like it. We have to spend less money in order to reduce the

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deficit. I think you will find most people agree with the starting

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position. We also have to protect children as well as we can, I am

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happy to see East Sussex County Council and managing to do that by

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applying the money they have too early intervention to make sure

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that children that get into trouble and not going to get into trouble

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as early on as they might have otherwise. We will talk about

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children services later. We do not know whether as a result of the

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cuts that service will still be judged good. I am confident of that

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because they have already been called outstanding. There one of

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the top and the here and I'm sure they will stay that way. The Green

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Party claim they need to increase council tax to provide essential

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services. We do not know that they might not be able to just become

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more efficient. There are too many demands on local councils to work

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through and implement further and further cuts. I do have some

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sympathy now with the Green Party in Brighton. They have already

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tried to hold the council tax down in previous years, but now what it

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has -- now it is at a point but they cannot. The electorate need

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protection up their front line services and of that is at stake

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than they have no choice. You're supporting the Green Party in

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raising the council tax? I have every sympathy with the situation

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they find themselves in. Local authorities the right the country

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have a disproportionate amount of the cuts but the Government are

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trying to make to save money. At the end of the day, at those

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services provided by local authorities, transport and social

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services, schools, all of those things really matter. The cost of

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living for people is so important and I think it is really

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irresponsible to put up council tax went Berwick Government is giving

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extra money to keep it level. they are cutting local authorities.

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There has been some good but -- has been some good news for Kent County

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Council this week. Inspectors have now rated Kent's Children's

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Services as "adequate" - that is the same as Brighton and Hove, but

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not as good as East Sussex where they are rated as "good". So how

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does Kent continue to improve its children's services, or will the

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planned budget cuts we have just discussed mean that "adequate" will

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have to do? Jenny Whittle, cabinet member for specialist children's

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services, joins me now. Ofsted say you have improved, but it has

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listed quite a few areas of concern. What are your priorities now?

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focus on the fact that we had reduced caseloads due adequate

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levels. But no child be found was seen to be unsafe. We need to pit

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investment into early intervention and reduce the need for bringing

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children into the care system which is highly expensive and not good

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for outcomes. There was quite a contrast -- there was quite a

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comprehensive list of criticisms. Ofsted mentioned that there were

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people -- children at risk not being seen by a social worker and

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the Sydney to focus more. Yes, there are people needing more

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attention. We need to keep them on our radar. Ofsted did raise a

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concern that perhaps we are pulling a week the rub too quickly. We want

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to make sure it that we are or providing support for as long it is

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needed. Given the size of Kent, we're at the second largest

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children's services department in the country, I am reassured by what

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I had. You have invested something like �10 million in order to get to

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adequate. And I presume you want to get it better. How will you do that

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with the budgets getting cut? of the additional investment has

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been spent getting us from crisis 0.2 years ago getting up to

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adequate and making sure children are safe. We have been overly

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reliant on agency social workers and now we're at adequate I am

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confident we will attract more a qualified social workers back to

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Kent, some of whom left a few years back. That way we will reduce the

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bell and provide a more permanent and stable work force for the

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children. That will reduce our costs overall. Or you have fewer

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people? What is happening to those temporary workers? But you have

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more social workers than you have had or fewer? We have a team of 400

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social workers, 50 of them are agency workers. If we can fill that

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with permanent staff that would reduce our bill. We can deliver the

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savings that we me through that. We will not reduce the number of

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social workers, we need them to support the children, as long as we

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have manageable caseloads for social workers we will keep

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children safe. That is our top rarity. I asked a similar question

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18 months ago on this programme, how long do you think it will take

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you to get a good or outstanding? said you before it would be a three

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you for your journey. The hardest point is going from Chris spied to

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adequate. We have invested a lot, we're halfway through the journey,

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and to increase remuneration we're competing effectively. We have put

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in place the basic measures needed. I am very hopeful over the next

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couple of years we will get up to good if not outstanding. It does

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have a particular problem, we have a lot more children are coming into

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the county. But the road is at the same level there. Yes, as the

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Monroe report reported, there are large numbers of children's homes

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around the coastal towns. Other local authorities are sending

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unattached young people to them. I have sympathy with Kent, it puts

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added pressure on their local services. It is something that

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needs to be dealt with. It makes more sense for children in

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children's homes to be near their friends and family. A lot of

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problems with gel its quotation have been because these places have

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a reputation were have - but for having Honourable young girls and

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then attract certain types. It is something the Government is to get

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a grip of. Local authorities cannot just dump their it and wanted cases

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to another local authority. It has gone on for many decades. I hope

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this Government will deal with it. It is important to get away from

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agency workers and that is important as part of the solution.

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You need to have good people working permanently. It is not

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necessarily an extra cost to a permanent workers, it does cost

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less. And sure that is but the reason you have had success.

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thing the Government have been guilty of it is not talking up

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social work and have to talk about what a valuable contribution they

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are making. It is an unsung role, no matter what you do you cannot

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get it right. To you agree with that? I think Michael Gove has been

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very prolific about the social work first programme. We're trying to

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reflect on how successful that has been in bringing in bright young

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graduates into social work. I think the media could help us out a lot

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as well because all we hear a bad stories about social workers. We

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would like to hear a lot more positive stories about her be keep

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children safe from harm. We need to promote the good work that is being

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done. There was a complaint made about Michael Gove this week that

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Michael Gove had no interest in gel predicted services at all. It was

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said he had radio silence. We need to move on.

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Now, Brighton still has the unfortunate title of the nation's

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drugs death capital - although the number of fatalities there as a

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result of substance abuse has been falling. A new report into legal

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highs by a cross party group of peers has recommended that all

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drugs should be decriminalised to make sure that users can identify

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exactly what goes into them. But is there a danger that such a policy

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could backfire? Lucinda Adam went Brighton is known for its youth

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culture, liberal attitudes and exciting nightlife. Under the

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surface lies the dark reality. Britain has the highest rate of

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drugs-related deaths in the country. 32 people died from drugs last year.

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That is one every 11 days. Now a legal highs or adding to the city's

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problems. 150 people a month were admitted to hospital due to them.

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The commission set up to investigate into them, has just

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said that they think it should be legalised and put behind the

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counter. It has been suggested before I'd be Green Party member

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for Brighton. And also for at their chief superintendent. People argue

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that it would make substances safer for users, and reduce crime. But

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there are concerns that decriminalising ecstasy, heroin,

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cannabis and others could make the problem worse here are not better.

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More people using more drugs are more combinations. This man runs

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the largest drug and alcohol treatment centre in the city.

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fundamentally disagree with that decriminalisation approach. I think

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it would give a respectability to drugs. It would give the green

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light for people who might otherwise not try drugs to try them.

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And I think that we would see a massive increase in drug use. They

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remain a lot of questions unanswered. At what point would

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Roxby equalised. Would be decriminalised them for 14-year-

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olds, 14-year-old in Brighton are using heroin and other drugs.

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trial of decriminalisation in the City would not be a first. Police

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tried turning a blind eye it took cannabis in Brixton in at 2001 and

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the truck was decreed it to Class C in 2004. Both moves were reversed

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after a rise in addiction. Graham Cox has become a Conservative

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councillor in Brighton. Decriminalisation is a huge risk. I

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have not seen compelling evidence that making drugs legal, that is

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what it is, but that would lead to dress -- less drug use. The point

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about it being a legal is that because it is a legal it is the

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only way to compel people to get treatment. If it is not a legal do

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cannot compel people that are rejected into treatment. The city

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already has projects that help heroin Addicks use methadone in a

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safe environment. David Cameron favours treatments that get people

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off drugs. This is one of the trial areas where it Addicks are kept in

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intensive support. People here who have struggled with drug abuse say

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decriminalisation would not be a good move. I do not see it working,

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all the people I knew who took a lot of drugs we just take more

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because they were easily available. If we legalised heroin or crack I

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think no matter what drug users would continue and be affected.

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Their use will increase. Addiction would become worse. People who have

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done a lot of cannabis and cocaine and heroin, anything like that, a

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lot of them have ended up in hospitals. It is al ready been easy

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to get. It is not difficult at all. Something has to be done to tackle

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the drug problem that priests -- that plagues Brighton and Hove. But

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would decriminalisation be too much of a risk to take.

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Lucinda Adam reporting. Joining us from our Westminster studio is

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Baroness Meacher, Chair of the all Party Parliamentary Group which

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recommended that drugs should be decriminalised. We have just heard

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lots of arguments against decriminalisation. Why exactly did

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I certainly will. What we are are suggesting is that

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decriminalisation a position and wrists -- and use but not supplied.

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We're not suggesting legalising drugs. 15 European countries have

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been steady at and a report from that shows absolutely clearly that

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the probability of a used in the previous month is reduced by 79% in

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those countries that have decriminalised the possession and

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use of drugs. The fact is, tough legal penalties, it is strange but

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true, lead to greater use of drugs and in particular, of hard drugs.

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What happens is, some young person goes for a little bit of weed and

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the drug dealer says they have something more exciting for them.

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Before they know what they have bought heroin or cocaine. In a

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decriminalise country like Portugal, the use of drugs and the abuse of

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drugs is seen as a psychological problem. This is not something that

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young people Bragg about. They do not want to be seen as someone with

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the psychological problem. If you tried those problems into at deep

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understanding of how young people work and how mental processes work

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you begin to make some progress. What has happened in Portugal is

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that money has been switched from prison places to treatment and it

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is not as soft option. Young people are required if they are addicted

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to go for treatment. It is like alcohol consumption on the

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Continent. Things that work at what do not necessarily work here. That

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experiment in Brixton did not work at all, in fact it failed. Can I

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put that right? When cannabis was put down to class C, the trend in

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cannabis use was already going down and it continued to go down well

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cannabis was placed at Class C. For some absolutely bizarre reason the

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Home Secretary of the time panicked and said I think we will put it

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back up to Class B, that Home Secretary has recently said it was

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a mistake and she very much regrets it. The fact of the matter is,

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lower legal penalties or better still, administrative penalties,

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we're not talking about selling these things in shops or on the

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high street or anything like that, the fact is, decriminalisation of

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use and focusing on treatment and focusing on it as a psychological

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problem, it is it is a health problem, does reduce use of drugs.

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One last question. David Cameron made it clear that he will not

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entertain discussion of your suggestions. But you think it is so

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politically unpalatable? I think there has been a lot of

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misunderstanding and media confusion and hype about the

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subject which has been very unhelpful. I have been very

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encouraged this week by the media coverage of this subject. There

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seems to have been a lot of good factual material going out into the

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media. In time, we know privately all the politicians in all the

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different parties agree with us, that these take a realisations

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would be a good idea. Regulation of the least harmful drugs would be a

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good idea. They'll all say that privately but at the moment there

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are not ready to do it. I'd be very much for joining us. David Cameron

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said that he agreed on the home affairs committee but now he will

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not suggest it, things changed. cannot comment about what he said

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in 2002, what I can say is that I disagreed with everything we just

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heard. It is not true that politicians are saying one thing in

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private and another in public. sure there are a lot of things

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politicians say in private they do not in public. Politicians are not

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going around saying that we must decriminalised but not saying it in

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public. Many politicians agree entirely West the man who said that

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if we decriminalise we encourage it and drugs ruin lives and families.

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I think to send out the wrong signal and a life easier access,

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which all the people in Britain are saying, would be completely wrong.

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She sounded incredibly reasonable though. I think what she was saying

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about getting to young people was the key issue. We have to bring

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about the education aspect of it. To educate at an early age about

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the damage that drugs can do. I do not think this Government is put in

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enough time and effort into teaching children about social and

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health issues. They're only dealing with the academic subjects. The

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Health and well-being of children is an important issue. We will have

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more from both of her guests and a moment but it is already time for

:00:02.:00:12.
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our round-up of the week's Bailiffs came in to arrest

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protesters. If we had ten people digging it their own tunnels we

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could have turned it around. Police and Crime Commissioner says that

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her plan for or extra staff will cost the council tax payer less

:00:38.:00:43.

than a penny at the. Campaigners working to reverse the

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decision at Hastings hospital met with Jeremy Hunt to call for a

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Government review. Drivers will have to slow down in

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Brighton and Hove. A 20 mile an hour zones beat Len it was agreed

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for or central roads. People are more likely to walk and people are

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more likely to survive a collision. A but no slowing down for the

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tourism trade. Despite the recession and the

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unpredictable weather it has enjoyed a boom for the last two

:01:11.:01:21.
:01:21.:01:23.

The campaigners had been affected is that the last we will hear from

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them? I certainly hope so, it is their right to protest but it is

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our right to build that road. It is going to be good for the area and I

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am glad it is going ahead. A lot of coverage the what especially of the

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women taking part in protest. It has been interesting, hasn't it?

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Yes, I do not know why so many women were in the protest but women

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do like to be outspoken, look at us today. Talking about roads, Maggie

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Jones, it has been controversial, but hard to argue with the Green

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Party on this one, isn't it? Yes, it and it is back -- and it is

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exactly what the Labour Party discussed years ago. We do need a

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more sensible speed limit. On the a Rhodes b do need to be more sense

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to do it. I know that some people on buses are or worried about it.

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We need to have another look at it but certainly in residential areas.

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A Jew like to see more in Hastings? Yes, I think it is very good,

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anything that makes it safer it is good.

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