01/04/2012 Sunday Politics South

How about a little help with getting a mortgage from your local

council? Sounds good, but could schemes to help first-time buyers

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2166 seconds

end up leaving councils out of On today's programme: Are you have

been trouble getting a bit of that? If you are living in the right

place in the South, the council could give you a leg up on the

property ladder. I wanted to get on the property ladder for a long time,

and I could not do that because of the requirement for a deposit.

on that later. Let me introduce the two

politicians with me. When was the last time you had a pasty?! This

week has been remarkable, hasn't it? I am talking about jerry cans

in garages and so on. Has it not proved how out-of-touch some

politicians are? It is difficult. On the petrol issue, the government

thought, do we say something to the public and urge them to take early

action, orders that caused panic buying? In hindsight, it is

sometimes better do say nothing at all. Out of touch, do you think?

The combination of the Budget and the decisions announced a round

that, and the fact that such contradictory advice came up on the

government... It was not even a consistent message. If it had been

consistent, at least they could have held the line. But it fell

apart so quickly. One cannot blame people panicking. Certainly, in

Reading, we saw panic-buying. did you fill up? No, I hardly use

my car - I am a bike and a walker, and use public transport. Do you

blame people for filling up? People decided to respond, and that is

down to them. But it is on the need to be managed carefully.

government panicked because of what happened in 2000 - there was the

degree of panic. A strike had not even been announced, though. The

talks apparently start tomorrow. There is a way to go.

One and five of the adult population in the UK is

functionally illiterate, between 5- 8 million people. They have trouble

applying for jobs, all home loans. According to a survey, workers

would reading problems earned about 11% less than their colleagues, and

16% would avoid go for promotion. Not mention the impact on people's

social lives. For this mother, it had a personal cost. It all started

when I had bullying. I had problems spelling and reading certain things.

I would make up stop the did not make sense. It toque 15 years to

work out I was dyslexic -- it took. When you have children, it is

something that they do - bring because home. If you cannot read

books would them, it is a problem. But at Croke bring books home.

is a big, big thing for me - just to be able to do it myself. It will

open a lot of doors for me, such as job opportunities. I will be able

to prove to myself and people that I can do these things.

Joining us from our Oxford studio is adoptable stop -- is a doctor.

This country does not have a good international record, does it?

the at short literacy, and unsure and literacy level, have gone down.

Figures show that the country is losing it to 1 billion a year

through to people who cannot read and write. But we are proud of the

standards in our schools, aren't we? You are right. You would not

have had to at work a computer at work 20 years ago, but other

countries have been able to make this jump, and we feel that in

England, it can be done. It just need to take a different approach,

and possibly, we have to raise them at school leaving age, and we have

to set standards that students have to achieve before they leave school.

Can we get 100% literacy, or is that unachievable? I do not think

that has ever been the case in any country anywhere. But in this

country, it is attainable. One of the sad things to me is that the

millennium goals have not been achieved. If anything, things have

got worse. It is not just literacy. It is also things like gender. Boys

and girls do not get the same chances. We want to set a new set

of goals, at which we hope to call the Oxford declaration. We will

have another go at it heaving these goals. This will give us something

to aim for. As well as people from 50 countries, we have people from

local authorities and schools, all over this country, coming. I bet he

was say it will take more money, though. Everything takes money, but

I think the cost of not having is going on is far greater. The �81

billion it is costing us now, compared to what it would cost to

improve literacy, is not the big cost to pay.

Good luck with the conference. Tony, it is a bit like a disability,

though. We are making the world more difficult for people to deal

with. Should we not be using your website or something like that? --

fuel websites? The person in the wheelchair is clearly visible. A

lot of people we are talking about actually feel hindered in coming

forward, they feel embarrassed. We have to get to them. Local

authorities are in a good position in helping identifying and

assisting those people, along with other agencies. But there are our

governments and the education system, which have let down people.

It is intolerable in Britain in 20 top that we have millions of people

with this level of illiteracy. It is not something we should lightly

except. In this country, where we have so much knowledge, we cannot

seem to get basic reading and writing taught properly. It is

partly to do with standards, but some people, while they may have

been taught basic skills that schools, have not kept it in use

and practice for later in life. One think we pick up is that when

parents were keen to help -- their children, they can struggle to give

that support. Some of the lessons take place alongside children. That

is something that will make the difference. If children can get

support from their parents, that is concerning. If you want to find out

more about adult literacy, watch videos on the subject. Check out

the website on screen now. We all know that getting that first

foothold on the property ladder is very hard, more so now that banks

are all less willing to give a mortgage. The government announced

his scheme to help first-time buyers, but as Emma reports, some

local councils are well ahead of the game.

I have come to meet someone who has become a homeowner for the first

time, with a little help from the back and local council. This man

got a mortgage, using a loan provided by a Home Buy scheme. A

loan which he says allowed in to put down the be good to pause --

deposit. This has been a big step. It was very good, apart from when

the first deal came. I am part of most people who have a home. He is

one of many who would have struggled to buy without help, as

house prices in Oxford are some of the most expensive in the country.

You have got a spare room as well? Yes. I could not good on the

property ladder for a long time. I could not get a flat or house to

the council, so I was on the list. Years later, they came up with this

scheme. Thanks to the Shared Equity Scheme, buyers can afford a

property on the open market. So, for a house costing �200,000, the

council will cough up a maximum of �50,000. Buyers are put down a

relatively small deposit, in this case, and �10,000. They take a

mortgage out on the rest - in this case, they would borrowed �140,000

on the bank. But what is in it for the council? Return for the loan,

the council retained an equity share in the home. When a property

is sold, the council get its share of profits. By taking part in the

scheme, giving up some of the profit is the trade of buyers have

to make. Schemes like this have become popular with councils.

of the complaints people have is the young people cannot afford to

get on the housing ladder. This is a weight the local council can help

families get on the ladder. council gets people of their

housing list. If the council can get people off the list by

providing them with the loan, which ultimately they may make a profit

on, that is a relatively cheap way for them to provide housing. This

is a gamble, though. It houses sell at a loss, the council will also

lose money. The Vale of White Horse District Council is about to start

its own scheme. It says it is a risk it is willing to take.

risk is minimal. If you look at the return we will be making, it is a

safer investment. People are desperate to try to get their own

homes. Any opportunity we have got to help, we should take. But there

is no doubting the opportunity the scheme has offered people like this

man. People have a look and say, you got a nice house. I am feeling

part of his big thing, you know. A community.

It is a question of the housing market, what it will do. I can see

why the council is doing it. There are many things local authorities

have to do the present risks. It is something we may not look to do. We

have other schemes by getting people into more affordable housing.

But each area has different ways of approaching this. Those schemes

have all sorts of rules and regulations - they have to be

administered. You hand over the cash, and the person can choose for

themselves. In Some Like the Vale of White Horse, it may work very

well. What do you think of it? Reading's priority is to provide

more social housing. We will not be going down this route. The worrying

thing is that the government is looking at selling off more council

houses, and we are faced with a depleting council house stock, and

therefore, the top priority is to use any resources to generate more

social housing. That is what people in Reading want. We will be pressed

to deliver this. It was a Labour- run initiative for many years.

Still, all those people on the housing waiting list. But Shared

Equity does not mean the local authority has to put in equity.

Banks and building societies are not playing their part - they

should be lending more. The figures illustrate the extent to which

banks and building societies are retracting. When I bought my first

house, it was a 10% deposit, and 90% commitment on the building

society. But is not what we are seeing now. The funds are there,

but they're not playing their part. You have got to start kicking,

David. Yes, but shared ownership is not up to be through the local

authority. I must disagree with Tony on the issue of council houses

being sold off. The opportunity for people to buy their how council

house, to own their own property, can happen successfully again now.

I recognise that it depletes the stock, we need to look at that. But

at the same time, give people the opportunity to earn their own home.

When Margaret Thatcher came in, we were given a commitment that the

proceeds would be completed -- completely reinvested. With so many

things, many people were overawed by the Iron Lady. The Chancellor

snaffled the proceeds. In Reading, but we went from 15,000 to 8,000

houses. The same will happen again. That is why we have the new homes

bonus. Local authorities can be an cent devised to help housing

building taking place. It is a drop in the ocean, David. It contribute.

We can determine locally what our housing needs are. We are over

delivering on houses as well, but forcing the sale of council houses

is not the solution. Our round-up of the week in South

in 60 seconds. With petrol panic and the price of

pastis, be talking point of the week, and a government minister

could be forgiven for wanting to get away from it all.

Love Europe was launched near Winchester.

You cannot escape those queues, even in hospital. Queues of over an

hour were reported at accident and emergency departments.

No point queuing at this police station - closed due to budget cuts.

Police stations are closing, police officers are going, and the local

police have no choice - this is the scale of what the government is

doing. But there were cheers for the end

of this building. The IMAX will be demolished to reveal the Seaview

again. It should be pulled down. Now!

That is the voice of the people! Is there at one building in Reading he

would like to see got rid of? Plaza next to the station. The area

is being redeveloped, and the Pink Elephant as it is known should go.

It is a shocking Eighties colour, that! I hope it will go. We are

pulling down the buildings opposite, and I would like the Pink Elephant

to go. And that will be popular? think so. What about on the island?

If we were starting from scratch, I would scrap the modern part of our

county hall. But we are upgrading that to be more modern of the space

for the future. So we can't do that. There are a number of things -

cinema buildings, the example. It doesn't meet the character of

Newport. It is darker side! Yes, but the outside structure is not

appealing. It is a modern building that we do not like. The station

building is my top priority, but they are due to go. I am giving you

a building not due to go. But it is those 1960s and Seventies buildings

that often need to go. A were civic offices in Reading will be

demolished soon. How many people would vote to get rid of their

local council officers?! Thank you so much. That is all for the Sunday