:00:09. > :00:14.A the Brighton will, the city's latest tourist attraction, offering
:00:14. > :00:19.you breathtaking views of the coastline. Tonight, we are asking
:00:19. > :00:24.what the economic View is like. Not just for this busy seaside town,
:00:24. > :00:28.but for the rest of the region as well. As the economy struggles to
:00:28. > :00:34.recover from recession, we will ask how can we encourage economic
:00:34. > :00:39.growth? Should we be making more things? Should we be selling more
:00:39. > :00:41.brought? Are we doing enough to help businesses prosper? Here at
:00:41. > :00:47.the Jubilee Library, we have gathered some of the biggest
:00:47. > :00:51.players in the region to ask them what they are going to do? Can the
:00:51. > :00:57.decisions made by those inside secured the future of Kent and
:00:58. > :01:07.Sussex. Tonight we are going to try to find out. Welcome to our economy,
:01:08. > :01:31.
:01:31. > :01:36.the South East debate. Hello, the loss of over 1000 jobs at Phizer,
:01:36. > :01:41.the building of a new bridge across the Thames, a huge new airport,
:01:41. > :01:44.High Street struggling to survive and rising unemployment. Kent and
:01:44. > :01:48.Sussex are facing some tough challenges. Members of the
:01:48. > :01:53.government, leaders of our local councils, businessmen and women and
:01:53. > :01:57.people directly affected by unemployment join us. Let us talk
:01:57. > :02:03.with Michael Fallon, from the Conservative Party. Your government,
:02:03. > :02:09.how worried argue? Ow a job is to rebalance the economy to, to get
:02:09. > :02:16.away from this over-dependence is on services, to back export-led
:02:16. > :02:22.businesses, manufacturing and the jobs of the future. This region has
:02:22. > :02:28.to compete, not just with other British regions, but regions across
:02:28. > :02:32.the world. That is the role for government, I think. To improve our
:02:32. > :02:37.education and training, above all, to provide the right infrastructure
:02:37. > :02:41.which has been neglected here. you have touched on all the things
:02:41. > :02:44.we wish to discuss in the next 40 minutes. Let us speak to Jeremy
:02:44. > :02:49.Birch, your area is one of the poorest in the country, certainly
:02:49. > :02:56.in the region. Is there any cause for optimism, economically
:02:56. > :02:59.speaking? In Hastings we are always optimistic in our visiting economy,
:02:59. > :03:03.creative industries and manufacturing. It is important to
:03:03. > :03:09.us, but I don't think the government has a growth agenda at
:03:09. > :03:13.all. They are cutting too quickly, too fast, going too far, even the
:03:13. > :03:16.IMF are warning that you need at some stage to look at the state of
:03:17. > :03:20.the economy and consider whether the austerity programme is really
:03:20. > :03:25.working. We need some investment in Bic physical infrastructure
:03:25. > :03:29.projects, some assistance for businesses which we are not getting
:03:29. > :03:33.in the South East have sufficiently, and we need money in the economy or
:03:33. > :03:37.we will all struggle. A that is it for now, we will talk to later.
:03:37. > :03:41.Many would argue that economic growth means more office buildings,
:03:41. > :03:45.roads and possibly more factories. But should business expansion come
:03:45. > :03:50.at the expense of our beautiful countryside. At least one person
:03:50. > :04:00.thinks so, this is the businesswoman and one of Alan
:04:00. > :04:00.
:04:00. > :04:09.Sugar's perspective former business leaders, Kate. The countryside here
:04:09. > :04:16.in the South East is absolutely beautiful. But, frankly, I don't
:04:16. > :04:21.give a toss. Green fields, not important, oak trees, not important.
:04:22. > :04:26.Rare insects, not important. I tell you what is important, people. That
:04:26. > :04:30.is what is important. People need jobs, and it never fails to
:04:30. > :04:36.astonish me that anybody wanting to build a factory or an office or a
:04:36. > :04:40.motorway is given a hard time by the planning system. Is it going to
:04:40. > :04:48.destroy some Green Belt, is it going to spoil the view? For God's
:04:48. > :04:52.sake. This is what we should be doing. These are new offices being
:04:52. > :04:57.built for American Express in the centre of Brighton to rehouse close
:04:57. > :05:02.to 3000 workers. If this was a small business in the countryside,
:05:02. > :05:06.imagine the difficulty they would have. The planning system really
:05:06. > :05:11.annoys me. For instance, take a look at all the planning
:05:11. > :05:15.applications last year for industrial buildings. More than
:05:15. > :05:20.�100,000. In East Sussex about a quarter were refused or not yet
:05:20. > :05:25.decided. In Kent's the figure is around a third. Don't get me wrong,
:05:25. > :05:35.I love a tree as much as the next person. But, they should not stand
:05:35. > :05:37.
:05:37. > :05:42.a new way of economic growth. The answer is obvious, put people first.
:05:42. > :05:46.That was the tree huggers, Katie Hopkins. She is in our audience
:05:46. > :05:53.tonight and so it is Caroline Lucas, the country's only Green MP. What
:05:53. > :05:56.did you make of that? I think it is a really unhelpful polarisation, on
:05:56. > :05:59.the one hand you have people and then the environment and they are
:05:59. > :06:04.in opposition. It is through investing in green technologies,
:06:04. > :06:08.for example, that we can create jobs. Look at what we were doing on
:06:08. > :06:15.solar jobs, for example, before the tariff that the government scheme
:06:15. > :06:18.came in. We had only four companies, now we have own earth -- over 30,
:06:18. > :06:21.but now the government looks to destroy that industry. I would
:06:21. > :06:25.really challenge the idea that there is some intrinsic
:06:25. > :06:29.polarisation between the environment and growth on the other.
:06:29. > :06:34.It is precisely through investing in green technologies that we can
:06:34. > :06:39.create jobs, for example, jobs in green energy, that area is far more
:06:39. > :06:45.labour-intensive than the fossil fuel economy. Let us put some of
:06:45. > :06:50.those questions to Katie. If it is jobs building polar -- solar panels,
:06:50. > :06:53.that is OK isn't it? It is polarised, people want to expand
:06:53. > :06:57.businesses right here. Prof percent say they are looking for new
:06:57. > :07:01.premises but cannot get hold of them. They would employ 2000 more
:07:01. > :07:05.people if they could. It is all very well to love the countryside
:07:05. > :07:09.and landscape, but the view has changed. The economy is not as it
:07:09. > :07:14.was and we need growth. It is time to change the way we think about
:07:14. > :07:17.the countryside and focus on jobs. Mike, you are a successful Suffolk
:07:17. > :07:24.businessman, what do you make of the planning laws as they are at
:07:24. > :07:30.the moment? There is a need for a balance. I am not for concreting
:07:30. > :07:34.over the countryside. It should be conserved, I am also sharing the
:07:34. > :07:39.view on so-called brownfield sites on town centres. The green lung of
:07:39. > :07:44.the City should be kept. There is a case for all towns of cities to
:07:44. > :07:49.grow, as they always have. There is too much emphasis put on, talking
:07:49. > :07:53.about what life, but on wildlife. We must think of humans, this is
:07:53. > :07:58.the human habitat. The towns and cities are the human habitat. That
:07:58. > :08:03.is my view. I know the planning process is something which
:08:03. > :08:08.frustrates many people. Leader of Kent County Council, here, that is
:08:08. > :08:12.your experience. Paul quarter. also a housebuilder and property
:08:12. > :08:18.investor in London. The planning system is far too protracted and
:08:18. > :08:22.complex. It needs to be simplified, and I hope the government, when
:08:22. > :08:25.they announce the plans for the planning framework, will have
:08:26. > :08:31.listened to the initial consultation and will streamline
:08:31. > :08:35.the process. In the South East and in Kent, there is a good supply of
:08:35. > :08:39.red and the available land, in Thames Gateway or East Kent, and
:08:39. > :08:42.almost advantages. It is the environment, the support from the
:08:42. > :08:49.banks which is needed to get things to happen. To make sure they
:08:50. > :08:54.planning conditions are not only us. We must develop sensible
:08:54. > :08:58.propositions, because, we need available office space in most
:08:58. > :09:04.parts. Be plans to overhaul the planning system are hugely
:09:04. > :09:07.controversial. Hillary, from the Council for Rural England, talking
:09:07. > :09:13.about individual planning applications, what about the
:09:13. > :09:18.overall view on the expansion and the South East? I would say that
:09:18. > :09:21.the public protection requires a robust planning system. If people
:09:21. > :09:26.are planning to invest in development, they must know the
:09:26. > :09:30.value of that will not be undermined a robust planning system
:09:30. > :09:37.which affects the development we need, to the places where it will
:09:37. > :09:44.do the most good and least damage, absolutely vital. I know many
:09:44. > :09:48.people would like to talk about planning. You are the leader of the
:09:48. > :09:54.county council in Hastings. His it is the centrepiece of our
:09:54. > :09:59.regeneration strategy. We are going to spend some �500 million, the
:09:59. > :10:05.link road is at the heart of that. What it will do, along with other
:10:05. > :10:10.projects, is create new jobs. New homes. It will provide a huge
:10:10. > :10:14.stimulus to the economy of our county. We want to liberate the
:10:14. > :10:24.businesses of East Sussex, so they can thrive on an environment where
:10:24. > :10:24.
:10:24. > :10:28.real economic activity is growing. I know Jeremy Birch would agree. I
:10:28. > :10:32.know you cannot comment on specific issues, but having more roads and
:10:33. > :10:36.railways, you would support that, wouldn't you? Since the coalition
:10:36. > :10:41.government was formed almost two years ago, there has been a massive
:10:41. > :10:45.investment in transport. We realise that cutting carbon and increasing
:10:45. > :10:50.growth is vital. We have the biggest road building programme
:10:50. > :10:54.since Victorian times, we have got road building going on selectively
:10:54. > :10:59.across the country, why there is an unprecedented amount of money for
:10:59. > :11:04.local transport, and the bus network. We recognise transport his
:11:04. > :11:12.cave. It is also important for generating jobs. You are a keen
:11:12. > :11:17.cyclist, you always wanted the railway reopens didn't you? Jeremy,
:11:17. > :11:21.what difference would one little road make to your town? It is not
:11:21. > :11:25.one little road, the opportunity it would provide to open up the
:11:25. > :11:29.employment space and housing space is very important. Hastings is
:11:29. > :11:35.surrounded by areas of outstanding natural beauty by the saved. The
:11:35. > :11:39.only substantial area which has not got a designation for protection is
:11:40. > :11:44.this area to the north of Bexhill, you can only open it up through the
:11:44. > :11:49.link road. It is not a relief road, just to deal with traffic and
:11:49. > :11:53.congestion, it is a regeneration project. The irony is that those
:11:53. > :11:57.who are against it, which is legitimate, have come up with the
:11:58. > :12:03.alternative road. They have this alternative road, which will go
:12:03. > :12:07.right along the back of the properties. We have spoken about
:12:07. > :12:12.one road in East Sussex, but if we want to kick-start the economy, a
:12:12. > :12:16.huge airport would be brilliant wouldn't it? Why believe we should
:12:16. > :12:20.maximise the opportunities around existing airports. Property
:12:20. > :12:24.engineers and design should keep up with airport expansion. We must
:12:24. > :12:34.remain competitive on air travel, London being the central hub of
:12:34. > :12:36.
:12:37. > :12:41.mainland Europe we should do that. We would love to see Manston grown
:12:41. > :12:48.into a regional airport and we believe that this could happen. But
:12:48. > :12:52.let's look at this. As has already been suggested, we need the
:12:52. > :12:56.appropriate infrastructure with the roads, public transport network, to
:12:57. > :13:00.lead business to prosper in the economy. He mentioned
:13:00. > :13:05.infrastructure at the beginning, Michael, and the Government is
:13:05. > :13:08.introducing controversial planning reform, how will this help with
:13:08. > :13:13.growing the economy? This will simplify the system and make it
:13:13. > :13:17.more certain and speeded up. This is not about new airports or
:13:17. > :13:21.bridges, it is about helping businesses where they want to
:13:21. > :13:28.expand and adding a new unit sent businesses to make it faster to do
:13:28. > :13:32.so. People are not certain what will happen, local councils feel
:13:32. > :13:38.cut out of bed, that is what would be changed we hope in this week's
:13:38. > :13:43.Budget. A Caroline Lucas? We need a more balanced approach to the
:13:43. > :13:47.economy, the idea of this airport, we need to remember that aviation
:13:47. > :13:56.in this country is subsidised to the tune of �10 billion every
:13:56. > :13:58.single year, so each job created is being massively subsidised. If we
:13:58. > :14:03.invested in infrastructure and local jobs it would be a good way
:14:03. > :14:08.to increase in local economies. have to leave it there for now.
:14:08. > :14:11.What exactly is the state of the economy? The BBC has commissioned
:14:11. > :14:21.some research to find out and the findings have revealed some
:14:21. > :14:25.
:14:25. > :14:29.The research shows that we have a lot of businesses compared to the
:14:29. > :14:34.rest of the country, so surely we should be optimistic about the
:14:34. > :14:38.future of the economy in the south- east? But it suggests we may not be
:14:38. > :14:45.as well placed to grow fast, to create new jobs, as some of the
:14:45. > :14:49.places around us. Researchers say that some of the growth in the next
:14:49. > :14:53.few years would be in finance, media, professional services like
:14:53. > :14:57.law firms and accounting. Our problem is that the places around
:14:57. > :15:03.us like London and elsewhere in the South are stronger in these sectors
:15:03. > :15:08.than we are. If you look at the top 50 local authorities across England
:15:08. > :15:12.employing people in those kinds of businesses, not a single one of
:15:12. > :15:16.them is here in the south-east. Also, although we have a high
:15:16. > :15:22.number of businesses compared to many areas of the country, a reason
:15:22. > :15:26.for optimism, new business growth is higher in the regions around us.
:15:26. > :15:31.If you take the top 50 areas for the whole of England for new
:15:31. > :15:36.business growth, we only have one place in this list of top
:15:37. > :15:43.performers and that is Dover. Perhaps surprisingly, despite being
:15:43. > :15:47.the region close as to where we export the most, Europe, only a low
:15:47. > :15:50.proportion of business here sells abroad. If you look at the top 50
:15:50. > :15:56.areas and the country for proportion of businesses selling
:15:56. > :16:01.abroad, only Crawley in our region makes the grade. So, our economy
:16:01. > :16:06.with its sizable number of private enterprises, is possibly well
:16:06. > :16:10.placed to do just fine, but there is little here to suggest a spur to
:16:10. > :16:19.be a growth and lots of new jobs are coming any time soon. Unless of
:16:19. > :16:22.course, our leaders decide to do something to change that.
:16:22. > :16:27.We have several of these leaders to choose from now, but I would pick
:16:27. > :16:31.on one of them, Paul Carter, we're just a chugging along at the moment,
:16:31. > :16:35.should we be picking one sector and going for it? That was a bleak
:16:35. > :16:43.picture that does not represent the three fact of the Kent and East
:16:43. > :16:47.Sussex economies. -- the true facts. In the south-east, significant
:16:47. > :16:51.parts of east Kent and East Sussex do suffer from significant
:16:51. > :16:56.deprivation, but we must play to our strengths and the unique
:16:56. > :16:59.opportunities in the Thames Gateway as London expands down the estuary.
:16:59. > :17:03.Massive opportunities for commercial growth as well as taking
:17:03. > :17:09.some of London's housing growth in the Thames Gateway and the plans we
:17:09. > :17:13.have for coastal renewal in Essex, Kent and East Sussex, really can
:17:13. > :17:17.play to their strengths and it comes to infrastructure again. The
:17:18. > :17:23.opportunity of getting high speed trains into East Kent in under one
:17:23. > :17:29.marriage gives the virginity to work and live in east Kent. -- in
:17:29. > :17:33.under 16 minutes gives us the opportunity to work. Do you think
:17:33. > :17:40.we should go for one sector over another when it comes to looking
:17:40. > :17:44.for growth? Governments have a bad record of picking winners. If you
:17:44. > :17:48.look back at the 1970s and the pickings certain sectors and really
:17:48. > :17:53.backing them, and I would like to see the Government fostering the
:17:53. > :17:59.right conditions for enterprise to flourish. To do that they need to
:17:59. > :18:05.review the tax system and simplify it. Investing in Key Infrastructure
:18:05. > :18:10.which links the small businesses together over time. You think the
:18:10. > :18:19.Government should back winners? Should not back winners. Would you
:18:19. > :18:23.think growth will come from? -- where do you think? You need a
:18:23. > :18:31.balanced economy, so I have one sector struggles, another can pick
:18:31. > :18:35.up the slack. You want to build on the strengths that exist here, but
:18:35. > :18:40.that you regulation is a red herring. The problem with many
:18:40. > :18:45.businesses across Kent and Sussex has a lack of demand in the economy
:18:45. > :18:50.so the Government needs to stimulate demand and growth.
:18:50. > :18:56.teacher Carol, I know you were known as a campaigner for fuel tax,
:18:56. > :19:02.you are also a proponent of exporting more. -- Peter Carroll.
:19:02. > :19:08.week to not make things in this region. -- we do not make things.
:19:08. > :19:13.We have got to lawyers, accountants, retail, we have got infrastructure,
:19:13. > :19:19.when you travel on high-speed Bamber won at 100 mph, this is a
:19:19. > :19:23.Japanese train. -- high-speed number one. Turbines are brought in
:19:23. > :19:26.from Italy and Germany, why are we so frightened to say that we need
:19:26. > :19:32.to do what some of the most advanced economies have done in the
:19:32. > :19:38.world and start to build things and be proud of them. And he went like
:19:38. > :19:42.to answer that? Suzanne would? make things, I do not sell that
:19:42. > :19:50.many abroad, but we have got many opportunities abroad because we're
:19:50. > :19:57.close to the rest of Europe. We hope that it would be nice to see
:19:57. > :20:07.the economy growing by exporting, but some of us to make things. --
:20:07. > :20:11.do make things. The rep companies across East and West Sussex, and a
:20:11. > :20:19.new company that started 10 years ago has just won a concession to
:20:19. > :20:23.make badges for the Olympics. You have that American Express here. We
:20:23. > :20:28.have got some of the best manufacturers in the world. We do
:20:28. > :20:33.not employ lots of people, we do the clever stuff and generate
:20:33. > :20:37.wealth that generates tax to pay for the public sector. We need to
:20:37. > :20:43.get regulation out of the way and speed up the planning system so
:20:43. > :20:49.that we can get those people back to work. A lot of consensus on this.
:20:49. > :20:54.Katie Hopkins. We need to focus on tactical things. People, small
:20:54. > :20:58.business owners will be saying, that's all very well, but tomorrow,
:20:58. > :21:03.what city-wide due to make my business grow? We need people have
:21:04. > :21:08.been people to say this is how you can export tomorrow. Just because
:21:08. > :21:17.we live near Europe doesn't mean anything. I live near my mother-in-
:21:17. > :21:23.law, I do not want to see her! agree that weekend talks this down
:21:23. > :21:27.unnecessarily. We are creating the right conditions for investment,
:21:27. > :21:32.interest rates are low, the economy is more stable than other countries
:21:32. > :21:36.and we are deregulating where it is sensible to do so. There is a lot
:21:36. > :21:41.of money going into capital projects and we are concentrating
:21:41. > :21:47.on renew will be a energy, so we are doing the right things, I think.
:21:47. > :21:54.-- on renewable energy. Some people harp playing it down unnecessarily.
:21:54. > :22:01.Are we doing enough, Tom? No, the future of the economy rests larger
:22:01. > :22:05.with speech smaller and the biker businesses. We have found we're
:22:05. > :22:10.going around talking to people and they are worried about business
:22:10. > :22:15.rates, they are worried about the VAT rate and fuel costs. You can
:22:15. > :22:19.talk about growing through employing apprentices, but they do
:22:19. > :22:24.not have the time to nurture these people. If we look at the banking
:22:24. > :22:29.system and finance, you might get some money, but on what terms? What
:22:29. > :22:34.happens if it goes wrong? There is not enough and regulation is far
:22:34. > :22:39.too high. We have discussed business expansion, infrastructure
:22:39. > :22:46.and were to find growth, but in the end, for many people, this is about
:22:46. > :22:51.jobs. Can you get one? Can you keep one? What happens when you lose 1.
:22:51. > :22:57.In January in Sheerness, the steel company went bust making many
:22:57. > :23:04.people redundant. My name is Mark Jones and I worked at 10 steel for
:23:04. > :23:09.nine years. -- town's steel. This is my part that we had been
:23:09. > :23:14.together for 10 years. I found out on the Times and Guardian website
:23:14. > :23:17.that it was announced that we were closing down. In the space of seven,
:23:17. > :23:24.eight weeks, on the verge of losing everything and possibly going
:23:24. > :23:30.bankrupt at the moment. Just on the mortgage itself, and you onto
:23:30. > :23:36.ground, just on that, but with everything else, it could be close
:23:36. > :23:41.to 10 grand. -- new year on the two Grande. When we have run out of gas,
:23:41. > :23:48.we take the children up to our Nance to have a bath because we
:23:48. > :23:51.have no hot water. Clearly his four and Callum is seven, and they do
:23:51. > :23:55.not really know what is going on, but the older one is noticing
:23:55. > :23:59.things going missing around the house. We're sitting there one
:23:59. > :24:04.night, and then Kalen came down with his money box and gave it to
:24:04. > :24:14.me and said I could have it. He said, you can have that, but this
:24:14. > :24:21.guy back on, because he likes TV. You have a Turin you ride because
:24:21. > :24:27.he does it with the cheeky smile. - - you have a tear in your eye
:24:27. > :24:33.because he does it. I would like to know and can have with my situation
:24:33. > :24:41.in trying to get this mill back Open and who is responsible for
:24:41. > :24:45.helping people out? I do not know who to turn to.
:24:46. > :24:52.That was Mark Jones and he is here with us now, and you have got some
:24:52. > :24:58.family news for us? My wife has found out she is pregnant.
:24:58. > :25:02.would normally be celebrating, how are you feeling? OK, we will get
:25:02. > :25:12.through it, it is not perfect timing. You're happy about the
:25:12. > :25:16.pregnancy. A Yes. Congratulations. This is heartbreaking. Yes, and it
:25:16. > :25:19.is the Government's job to have done then at the Department of
:25:19. > :25:23.Business and the local MP has been looking to see what help can be
:25:23. > :25:27.provided at the site. A good example at what Kent County Council
:25:27. > :25:33.does to get more investment into the Pfizer side when that company
:25:33. > :25:37.was closed. Still a lot of people lost their jobs. Yes, but the
:25:38. > :25:40.Government went in with a task force to see what they could do to
:25:40. > :25:45.attract more investment and secondly, the Government has to
:25:45. > :25:49.come along and see what we can do to retrain people and improve
:25:49. > :25:53.prospects in the labour market. is not just people that have lost
:25:53. > :25:59.their jobs, it is be bowled trying to get on the job ladder and the
:25:59. > :26:04.first place. -- it is people trying. Laura, who graduated recently, what
:26:04. > :26:09.is your situation? I graduated in 2010 and I went to work abroad in
:26:09. > :26:14.America working very hard, and I came back and I could not find any
:26:14. > :26:18.job that is sustainable without the odd temporary call-centre work here
:26:18. > :26:21.and there for Christmas slack and retail and being told you're over
:26:21. > :26:26.experienced to work in retail but you do not have enough experience
:26:26. > :26:32.to work in the industry that you want to, so it is a vicious circle.
:26:32. > :26:36.I cannot seem to get anywhere. you regret going to university?
:26:36. > :26:42.and No, it was a great opportunity, but I did not have I any other
:26:42. > :26:47.option. I was told to go to school, get your great, good university, I
:26:47. > :26:53.never had the option of, hole, what about a career? He did not want to
:26:53. > :26:59.work in a call centre but that is what you ended up doing. No. Call
:26:59. > :27:08.centres, a big success in Hastings, it is not going to employ everyone
:27:08. > :27:13.in Hastings, not the answer for a There is nothing wrong with call
:27:13. > :27:18.centres, we have Hastings Direct, we have businesses the we want to
:27:18. > :27:22.develop, and you can get accreditations and skills.
:27:22. > :27:28.Recognised qualifications. But they are not for everybody, we want
:27:28. > :27:33.higher quality skills and jobs, but every redundancy, every redundancy
:27:33. > :27:38.is a personal tragedy. Across Sussex we have got 8000 youngsters
:27:38. > :27:42.unemployed. 8000 young people, with the future jobs front of the
:27:43. > :27:46.previous government, they were the accountable body for it, a very
:27:46. > :27:51.successful project, six months' paid employment for young people to
:27:51. > :27:57.give them a real taste of employment. I would like to get an
:27:57. > :28:04.employer's perspective on getting loads of people chasing jobs.
:28:04. > :28:06.Suzanne, is this your experience? think that what people are lacking
:28:06. > :28:12.coming from university is practical experience and skills which would
:28:12. > :28:17.make them employable. We need to be looking at, too late for Laura
:28:17. > :28:25.perhaps, but looking at developing skills from 16, so people more
:28:25. > :28:30.employable. Are our expectations wrong? Probably yes. A I think
:28:30. > :28:35.people like this lady are fantastic, they are determined. If you are
:28:35. > :28:43.determined and a worker, and none of the shirkers, which I cannot
:28:43. > :28:49.stand, she needs to get out there, put her own job out there.
:28:49. > :28:54.might not find the job she wants. Fine, but small and medium-sized
:28:54. > :28:59.businesses are nervous, she can convince them. I will stay by your
:28:59. > :29:06.business, take me on. Don't sit at home in your pyjamas e-mailing out
:29:06. > :29:10.CVs, that will not work. His it is good advice, I go out as much as I
:29:10. > :29:15.can and tried to get experiences, I have done internships, the odd
:29:15. > :29:20.thing in the sector I want to go into, which is fantastic. You do
:29:20. > :29:23.all the little jobs, why not a sustainable job? I don't really
:29:23. > :29:31.have the choice, it is rate difficult and it is disheartening a
:29:31. > :29:35.lot of the time. It is hard. What advice would you give, Norman?
:29:35. > :29:39.advice is "stick with it", it is the Government's job to make sure
:29:39. > :29:43.the conditions are right. We must build for the future. Investing in
:29:43. > :29:49.jobs which will be there in the future, rather than propping up
:29:49. > :29:55.want which will disappear. We can compete, but people were rather
:29:55. > :30:01.sniffy about media jobs, or call centre jobs, but they are important.
:30:01. > :30:07.Similar to green energy jobs, we are not going to be able to work
:30:07. > :30:11.without these jobs in the future. Ryan, nodding your head, are due in
:30:11. > :30:17.agreement? A I am, but you must ask about the barriers in taking people
:30:17. > :30:20.on. You must look at costs, contributions in tax, and
:30:20. > :30:26.employment law. Are there risks associated with taking people on,
:30:26. > :30:30.is it easy to move people in and out of jobs to match their skills?
:30:30. > :30:39.John, you are here from the night, representing many workers. People
:30:39. > :30:42.have touched on the regulation, is relaxing these issues the answer?
:30:42. > :30:46.If it were the case, then German and Dutch and French employers
:30:46. > :30:51.would flood into Kent and Sussex to establish their workplaces here.
:30:51. > :30:55.The fact is they are much more regulated, more job security, and
:30:55. > :31:01.people have more of a sense of ownership of the company. The
:31:01. > :31:06.problem with Britain is that it already is very easy to get people
:31:06. > :31:13.to find it very quickly. The idea that we need less regulation is a
:31:14. > :31:20.complete misnomer. Okay. You are making Katie very cross. We have
:31:20. > :31:24.respect, that is a nonsense. We are well over regulated. Young people
:31:24. > :31:27.are led to believe if they get a qualification they will become a
:31:27. > :31:31.brain surgeon, or something. It would be no good for many of us to
:31:31. > :31:35.be trained as a brain surgeon, we need to promote education but we
:31:35. > :31:41.need to promote two young people how apprenticeships in
:31:41. > :31:46.manufacturing to. A great shortage for that in the south. I would like
:31:46. > :31:51.to talk to Steve Langley, a teacher. Talking about employment prospects
:31:51. > :31:56.for those in education. As a teacher what is your perspective?
:31:56. > :32:04.First of all, every single student I teach has a right to be employed.
:32:04. > :32:10.They need money to earn a the right to live. The gentleman over there,
:32:10. > :32:20.it is a tragedy he has lost his job. He had the right to have that
:32:20. > :32:21.
:32:21. > :32:27.education, as teachers we then have to provide that. We have to really.
:32:27. > :32:31.You must make sure people are choosing the right dream, though.
:32:31. > :32:35.Exactly. I work with in the creative arts, as we mentioned
:32:35. > :32:39.before, I think all aspects of education are equally important. We
:32:39. > :32:43.talk about vocational qualifications, people need to be
:32:43. > :32:47.trained as carpenters, labourers but we need academics as well. We
:32:47. > :32:55.must produce well-rounded individuals from education to allow
:32:55. > :33:00.them to gain the skills for the jobs they want. It is right,
:33:00. > :33:04.absolutely. We don't yet know the jobs that our children will do.
:33:04. > :33:08.Some of those jobs have not been invented. What we have to think
:33:08. > :33:15.about is how to create a person who is ready to enter the workforce.
:33:15. > :33:18.They may lose their job, therefore, what skills do they have to enable
:33:18. > :33:22.them for work. We must give them the gift of knowledge. They can
:33:22. > :33:27.take experiences they have got, take their skills and put them into
:33:27. > :33:30.the workplace. Whatever that turns out to be. We do not yet know.
:33:30. > :33:36.Caroline. This Government's policies are making this crisis
:33:36. > :33:39.worse. This is a government which are has ruined jobs for millions of
:33:39. > :33:44.public sector workers, then they think the private sector will
:33:44. > :33:48.miraculously fix it. The government needs to change direction, also,
:33:48. > :33:53.crucially, they need to with the small and medium-sized enterprises,
:33:53. > :33:58.the backbone of this country, we need to change things like
:33:58. > :34:00.procurement. I have spoken to a lot of small businesses in Brighton and
:34:00. > :34:05.Hove who say it is difficult for them to bid for contracts because
:34:05. > :34:09.they are quite small. Let's look at ways to involve them more. Centres
:34:09. > :34:16.for apprenticeships as well, money for the companies for
:34:16. > :34:20.apprenticeships. Peter Jones. we have been trying to do it is
:34:20. > :34:24.reorganise the economy to give people the skills they need for the
:34:24. > :34:29.modern industry and commerce. That means giving them the mass of IT
:34:29. > :34:33.skills for the digital age. We have restructured their lot of our
:34:33. > :34:37.cooling system, brought higher education into places like Hastings
:34:37. > :34:42.and supported the creation of relevant colleges. That is how you
:34:43. > :34:48.provide opportunity. The there have been some great things said about
:34:48. > :34:53.education, grinning people for jobs, but what creates the jobs is demand
:34:53. > :35:01.in the economy. I appeal to the government, you have got to put
:35:01. > :35:07.demand back in. I will give you one example. The job I represent, they
:35:07. > :35:13.need fuel duty cut, you will create 175,000 jobs if you do that. You
:35:13. > :35:17.know what, there is the frustration, you are just not listening. Norman,
:35:17. > :35:21.you are in government but not listening. We are investing heavily
:35:21. > :35:24.in job creation. Whether it is through exports, to regulate the
:35:24. > :35:29.banking industry properly and getting them to lend to small
:35:29. > :35:33.businesses, we have seen in the last 12 months under this
:35:33. > :35:36.government, whether it is a capital project across transport we are
:35:36. > :35:40.investing. We must recognise as well there is a big problem in the
:35:40. > :35:45.wider world which is causing us difficulties, because of problems
:35:45. > :35:49.with other European economies which are part of the major export market.
:35:49. > :35:55.We have a great example here of a young person who is doing it all
:35:55. > :36:00.himself. Not asking the government or his mother or anybody. I am
:36:00. > :36:04.running a record Labour, I am employing people around colleges to
:36:04. > :36:09.give them experiences. I had a meeting with my college about
:36:09. > :36:14.trying to give experience, so they could so do photography, they could
:36:14. > :36:19.play, they could put posters up. I am not allowed to do that so I have
:36:19. > :36:27.not got a C R be checked, but what is that in terms of giving people
:36:27. > :36:32.experience. What you think about what you have heard? Some of his is
:36:33. > :36:39.positive, but, we were told that there would be training for us. I
:36:39. > :36:43.have only had a two phone calls, one from an agency, and one was a
:36:43. > :36:47.meeting where somebody did not turn up. I know everybody here hope you
:36:47. > :36:51.get good news on the work front soon. Going back to the politicians
:36:51. > :36:56.we started with, Jeremy Birch, after what you have heard, are you
:36:56. > :37:00.any more optimistic? A I am an optimistic person, always
:37:00. > :37:05.optimistic. We have an opportunity with the budget for the government
:37:05. > :37:10.to give a lot of optimism. It is incumbent on them not to cut the
:37:10. > :37:15.top rate of income tax. We get cut up about whether it is 50p, but
:37:15. > :37:22.back and put money into the economy. We need to see the government
:37:22. > :37:26.giving out optimism. Only a couple more days to wait. Michael Fallon,
:37:26. > :37:30.what would you take back to government? I will take back Laura
:37:30. > :37:35.and James, that is what this debate is about, making sure they have
:37:35. > :37:40.jobs. A third of unemployed in this region are under 25. We inherited a
:37:40. > :37:43.lot of this, people without the right skills yet to cannot get into
:37:43. > :37:47.the labour market. We must cut some red tape to get people through to
:37:47. > :37:52.the college campuses. That is a good example of how you do get
:37:52. > :37:56.through. We must be competitive, to make sure jobs really laughed. We
:37:57. > :38:05.must get the economy right, sort out the public finances, to make
:38:05. > :38:14.sure we have the infrastructure to support people. You can take Katie
:38:14. > :38:18.back with Dyche, she would sort out -- with you. There is so much we
:38:18. > :38:22.have not been able to discuss, the debate continues tomorrow morning