04/12/2013

:00:39. > :00:43.Morning, folks. This is the Daily Politics. It's George Osborne's big

:00:44. > :00:46.day tomorrow. As we speak, he's probably limbering up in front of

:00:47. > :00:50.the mirror, rehearsing his Autumn Statement. We'll be looking ahead to

:00:51. > :00:54.what the Chancellor might have in store for us under his hard hat, or

:00:55. > :00:57.maybe up his orange donkey jacket. And we'll be analysing the

:00:58. > :01:03.government's latest plans for Britain's infrastructure.

:01:04. > :01:07.No PM at PMQs today. It's the B team instead. Stay tuned for Nick Clegg

:01:08. > :01:11.versus Harriet Harman. What are the odds of George Osborne

:01:12. > :01:17.appearing with his new pet, Lola, tomorrow? If you fancy a flutter,

:01:18. > :01:21.we'll have our very own bookie on hand.

:01:22. > :01:28.And how do you deal with problem families? One police commissioner

:01:29. > :01:31.has a radical approach. I think these families should have

:01:32. > :01:35.an intensive programme of intervention, teaching them basic

:01:36. > :01:41.skills and making them positive members of the community.

:01:42. > :01:44.All that and more coming up in the next ninety minutes. A veritable

:01:45. > :01:50.warm-up act, an hors d'oeuvre, if you wish, ahead of tomorrow's big

:01:51. > :01:52.autumn statement feast. And joining us for the festivities, two amuse

:01:53. > :02:01.bouches, former Employment Minister, Mark Hoban, and Shadow Leader of the

:02:02. > :02:10.House of Commons, Angela Eagle. Welcome to you, both. You nearly

:02:11. > :02:13.made me German! I know, you've been promoted. And you can now join

:02:14. > :02:17.coalition with the social Democrats. Now without further ado, let's take

:02:18. > :02:20.a look at the big economic picture ahead of George Osborne's big day.

:02:21. > :02:26.He's delivering the Autumn Statement tomorrow, you know. Be live here

:02:27. > :02:29.from 10:45am on BBC Two and the news channel. -- it will be live. Jo's

:02:30. > :02:32.been up all night crunching the numbers and wondering what Brucie

:02:33. > :02:33.Bonuses the Chancellor might have up his sleeve.

:02:34. > :02:36.Not many of those! his sleeve.

:02:37. > :02:40.Not many George Osborne is gearing up for his very own generation game

:02:41. > :02:43.tomorrow so what will be the items shooting along the treasury's

:02:44. > :02:47.conveyor belt? Well, the Chancellor should be in pretty buoyant mood as

:02:48. > :02:51.growth has finally returned, with GDP likely to be up 1.4% this year

:02:52. > :02:54.and 2.3% next year. It means the UK is the fastest growing economy in

:02:55. > :03:01.the G7 group of developed countries, but that doesn't mean an end to

:03:02. > :03:05.austerity. The deficit hasn't even been reduced by half, and may not be

:03:06. > :03:08.eliminated until the end of the next parliament. So what is he likely to

:03:09. > :03:12.announce? Well, first up there are the green levies. The government is

:03:13. > :03:15.expected to announce that the cost of the Warm Homes Discount will come

:03:16. > :03:20.off people's bills and go into general taxation instead, at a cost

:03:21. > :03:28.of ?300m a year. -- 300 million pounds a year. Next, there's Nick

:03:29. > :03:31.Clegg's universal free school meals for Primary School children to pay

:03:32. > :03:34.for. That will cost the Treasury ?600 million a year from September

:03:35. > :03:41.2014. Then there's the marriage tax allowance promised by the Tories.

:03:42. > :03:44.Allowing couples to transfer up to ?1,000 of their income tax personal

:03:45. > :03:48.allowance from April 2015 will cost ?700 million a year. The Chancellor

:03:49. > :03:51.is also likely to cap business rates at 2% in England and Wales next year

:03:52. > :03:57.instead of being linked to inflation. That cap could cost the

:03:58. > :04:01.Treasury more than ?300 million next year. With all these extras to pay

:04:02. > :04:05.for, it means one thing we can be fairly sure of, there won't be any

:04:06. > :04:10.major tax cuts announced by George Osborne before the next election.

:04:11. > :04:17.Andrew, back to you. I'm not release apprised. --

:04:18. > :04:21.surprised. Thanks, Jo. There's really no need to tune in tomorrow,

:04:22. > :04:24.but you better, because we know where you live. And as if by magic

:04:25. > :04:32.we've been joined by a Liberal Democrat MP. Ian Swales, welcome. If

:04:33. > :04:38.this is a decent recovery that is getting going, why is business

:04:39. > :04:42.investment at 6% less than last year? It takes a while for business

:04:43. > :04:46.investment to work its way through. And for people to make decisions.

:04:47. > :04:49.What we have seen is business as being more optimistic. We have seen

:04:50. > :04:54.the products of that because more people are in work in the private

:04:55. > :04:58.sector has created 1.4 million jobs since May 2010. While business

:04:59. > :05:03.investment has fallen, we need to look at the broader economy. That is

:05:04. > :05:06.making progress and the announcement tomorrow will help to strengthen

:05:07. > :05:14.business confidence. You say broader economy, if you exclude business

:05:15. > :05:19.investment, but experts fell by ?3 billion in the last quarter.

:05:20. > :05:22.If you look at the survey that came out over the last few days, there is

:05:23. > :05:32.strong progress in construction and optimism around manufacturing. The

:05:33. > :05:37.underlying data is positive. That is why we have the fastest growing

:05:38. > :05:45.economy in Europe and in the G-7. And net bank lending is down. You

:05:46. > :05:51.have to recognise that businesses are looking at their balance sheets.

:05:52. > :05:54.Small businesses as well. Not many. If you look at what is happening in

:05:55. > :05:57.the real economy, the fact we're seeing more people in work and what

:05:58. > :06:08.jobs created is a clear signal that the private sector is growing and

:06:09. > :06:12.recovering. The two real features are that median pay is at what it

:06:13. > :06:16.was in 2003 and productivity is down 5%, that is the real economy, not

:06:17. > :06:24.taken sugar boom that is being stalked up. -- stalked up. You have

:06:25. > :06:31.to take out the private sector and gas from that picture. Why? Because

:06:32. > :06:40.they have distorted productivity in the past. But we're seeing tangible

:06:41. > :06:46.signs of growth and improvement. And we should welcome that. It is part

:06:47. > :06:50.of a long-term move that the government has taken to tackle the

:06:51. > :06:55.deficit. You must be proud of this country is now the fastest growing

:06:56. > :06:58.economy of the G7? It is good that growth has returned but we have only

:06:59. > :07:04.had one third of the growth that George Osborne promised in his first

:07:05. > :07:09.budget. What we have had is the slowest recovery from a recession in

:07:10. > :07:14.100 years. And it is now speeding up. And that is to be welcomed. You

:07:15. > :07:19.cannot stay in recession for ever. What we have had is a government

:07:20. > :07:24.that choked off recovery by cutting too much at the beginning of its

:07:25. > :07:30.time in office. And we now have to ensure that we have basis in a

:07:31. > :07:34.recovery. And we do that by looking at the cost of living crisis and

:07:35. > :07:39.wondering what people are not feeling better off. That is because

:07:40. > :07:42.they are worse off. We never had a recovery in economic history where

:07:43. > :07:48.people have not benefited from it. This recovery is distant. Hold off,

:07:49. > :07:54.how is household spending rising then? -- this recovery is different.

:07:55. > :08:01.Because of debt. But there is no evidence that the extra debt is

:08:02. > :08:09.anywhere near the explanation of 2.5% increase in house spending.

:08:10. > :08:13.There is no correlation there. We have a recovery that is not making

:08:14. > :08:22.people better offer. People are ?1600 a year worse off, on average.

:08:23. > :08:27.What is the mystery that? -- the measure of that. Prices have risen

:08:28. > :08:30.for 40 out of the 41 months that the government has been in power. That

:08:31. > :08:34.is part of the problem on the other part of the problem is that the

:08:35. > :08:40.employment recovery is in very low paid employment, or part-time work.

:08:41. > :08:44.We have a crisis of underemployment where one in five people in

:08:45. > :08:49.part-time jobs want to take on more hours. But they cannot find them. We

:08:50. > :08:55.often find that is the case. But you definition of living standards is to

:08:56. > :09:02.compare the rise in wages with the rising prices. That is whether or

:09:03. > :09:05.not people are better off. Prices are rising more than wages and that

:09:06. > :09:09.has been true for a while. But the broader measure of living standards

:09:10. > :09:14.is household disposable income, which takes into account everything.

:09:15. > :09:19.When you do it that way, in the broader measure, what happens to

:09:20. > :09:23.living standards then? If you have some figures, give them to me and we

:09:24. > :09:27.will talk about it. You do not have the figures for household disposable

:09:28. > :09:35.income? I do not know the entirety of the ONS figures. But the broad

:09:36. > :09:41.measure of littering standards is not -- living standards is not...

:09:42. > :09:46.Let me finish. I want you to answer. Wages not rising as fast as prices

:09:47. > :09:50.hurt people. That is clear. But there are other factors that

:09:51. > :09:53.determine household income. When you include all the factors, people had

:09:54. > :09:58.been taken out of tax altogether, low interest rates, and so one, the

:09:59. > :10:03.repayment for mis-selling from the banks, $80 million alone -- ?80

:10:04. > :10:13.million alone. If you remove that, what happens? You tell me. You don't

:10:14. > :10:15.know. I'm not a compendium of knowledge on every statistic.

:10:16. > :10:18.Household income is the key statistic and you do not know that.

:10:19. > :10:22.When you look at that, household incomes have been rising and that

:10:23. > :10:28.has to explain... Are you trying to claim, Andrew... ? That has to

:10:29. > :10:31.explain why consumer spending is rising. You are trying to claim that

:10:32. > :10:36.there is not a cost of living crisis? I am not saying that at all.

:10:37. > :10:40.Millions of people out there are worried about putting food on the

:10:41. > :10:47.table at the end of the month. You have exploded away in a statistic.

:10:48. > :10:52.I'd talk to my sedition is she went, and people are failing to address --

:10:53. > :10:56.I talked to my constituents out and about and the government is not

:10:57. > :11:00.addressing their robins. I am merely trying to explain why consumer

:11:01. > :11:08.spending is rising even at a time when wages are not rising in league

:11:09. > :11:11.with prices. Energy prices are hurting them particularly. I would

:11:12. > :11:17.be happy to send you the prices if it will help with your education. Do

:11:18. > :11:21.you support the idea of giving help to marriage through tax? First of

:11:22. > :11:26.all, it is important to note that we have at ?600 into the pocket of

:11:27. > :11:30.every basic rate taxpayer through the tax cuts which the Lib Dems have

:11:31. > :11:34.fought so hard for, which explains Tom Mack we have done that. Yes, but

:11:35. > :11:38.we did not specifically mention that. Marriage, the Liberal

:11:39. > :11:41.Democrats do not support that and we do not believe the government should

:11:42. > :11:47.get involved in incentivising different forms of lifestyle. Being

:11:48. > :11:55.part of the coalition, we will be supporting it through the house. Are

:11:56. > :11:59.you unhappy that so many people are being dragged into a tax bracket,

:12:00. > :12:04.40% bracket, which was never designed for them. As a simple

:12:05. > :12:10.mathematical thing, by increasing the threshold at the bottom, if you

:12:11. > :12:13.do not change the 40% threshold, you give more benefits to the better

:12:14. > :12:17.off. By pulling down the threshold, we give the same benefits to

:12:18. > :12:24.everybody and we feel that is the right thing to do. So now you only

:12:25. > :12:28.have to earned ?42,000 a year and you immediately faced a marginal

:12:29. > :12:32.rate of tax of almost 42% when you include national insurance? Are you

:12:33. > :12:38.comfortable with that? Clearly, the country has been in an economic

:12:39. > :12:45.miss. Giving money away on tax is a difficult thing to do. -- economic

:12:46. > :12:48.mess. The government has chosen to give the same amount to higher rate

:12:49. > :12:52.taxpayers but we have not given extra to them. Why is a Conservative

:12:53. > :12:56.led government more anxious to increase the threshold even further

:12:57. > :13:02.under Lib Dem pressure, as we understand, and do nothing for that

:13:03. > :13:08.squeezed middle? When you came to power, 3 million people were in the

:13:09. > :13:12.40% bracket. We have heard that real wages are not rising and yet that

:13:13. > :13:17.figure, it is not like people are getting paid more and being dragged

:13:18. > :13:21.into the 40% bracket, it is that you have frozen the bracket and by the

:13:22. > :13:27.next election, 5 million people will be in the bracket. What concerns me,

:13:28. > :13:33.how do people want low earnings prosper at the moment? And we have

:13:34. > :13:38.talked about it, we have cut taxes to improve disposable income. And

:13:39. > :13:41.they think it is right that we focus on cutting taxes for those on low or

:13:42. > :13:46.average incomes. The average income in my constituency is ?24,000 and my

:13:47. > :13:49.constituents have benefited from this increase. I think it is the

:13:50. > :13:54.right choice to make you have limited room to manoeuvre. You're

:13:55. > :13:58.comfortable with the idea that under your government, the number of

:13:59. > :14:03.people paying the 40% marginal rate has increased from 3 million to 5

:14:04. > :14:13.million. In the south of England, people on ordinary incomes are on

:14:14. > :14:16.40%. The average in my constituency is 40% and they have benefited from

:14:17. > :14:21.the decision to increase the personal allowance. The other thing

:14:22. > :14:25.that this government have done with the tax system is give a huge tax

:14:26. > :14:33.cuts to people at the very top. Today, we heard a message from China

:14:34. > :14:35.that there would be no tax cut for middle-class families by the end of

:14:36. > :14:40.this Parliament. That was the point I was making. But what they have

:14:41. > :14:45.done is cut taxes for those in the very top tax brackets, those earning

:14:46. > :14:51.130R says in pounds. Whilst everyone else is facing this incredible

:14:52. > :14:55.squeeze. It is a funny priority. You have to look at it in the round.

:14:56. > :14:59.Yes, we have cut the high rate but there are other other loopholes that

:15:00. > :15:05.we have closed down. Why? The reason was because it was very clear that

:15:06. > :15:08.people were suffering. -- it was very clear that the Labour

:15:09. > :15:13.government kept the rate during the time they were in office, and if you

:15:14. > :15:17.increase the higher rate, it does not have the impact on tax take that

:15:18. > :15:19.the Labour government thought. It is better to have a competitive rate

:15:20. > :15:29.that will get people investing. But the higher rate I'm not giving money

:15:30. > :15:32.back, and money is being taken from people on lower incomes. It seems an

:15:33. > :15:37.odd priority. If you look at the burden of fiscal responsibility. We

:15:38. > :15:41.are focusing on the highest income members of the government. This

:15:42. > :15:45.government has done a great job in taking more money from the rich in

:15:46. > :15:49.increasing capital gains tax and increasing the amount libel against

:15:50. > :15:54.pensions. Labour thought it was OK to put ?750,000 a year into a

:15:55. > :15:59.pension and get full tax relief. As far as the highest rate of tax is

:16:00. > :16:04.concerned, I agree. Labour left it at 40% except in their last months.

:16:05. > :16:07.It is now 5% higher than it was for the entire period of labour's

:16:08. > :16:13.offers, apart from the very last month. I think we have a taste of

:16:14. > :16:18.what is to come. But we're not going to leave it there.

:16:19. > :16:23.Worried about what to get your loved one for Christmas? Well, if you're

:16:24. > :16:26.feeling flush, the Government's selling more of the nation's assets.

:16:27. > :16:30.It's a stake in the cross-Channel rail firm Eurostar on offer, but be

:16:31. > :16:34.quick because the French and Germans are apparently eyeing it up. It's to

:16:35. > :16:37.help pay for ?375 billion worth of spending on roads, railways and

:16:38. > :16:41.other building projects. Here's what the Chief Secretary to the Treasury

:16:42. > :16:46.had to say a little earlier. As icy at, this plan is a blueprint for

:16:47. > :16:53.Britain from which we will literally build the foundations of our future

:16:54. > :16:56.prosperity. -- as I see it. Whether they are investors, project managers

:16:57. > :17:04.or engineers, getting behind it and helping to deliver it, as it is a

:17:05. > :17:08.plan that delivers for our long-term investment, as we have seen from the

:17:09. > :17:11.insurance sector, and ultimately, it is a plan that will lead to

:17:12. > :17:16.sustainable, long-term growth and help us build a stronger economy in

:17:17. > :17:20.a fairer society where everyone can get on in life. Danny Alexander

:17:21. > :17:26.talking about the infrastructure plan. Mark Hoban, isn't this just a

:17:27. > :17:29.revised list of aspirations that we heard about before? There are no

:17:30. > :17:38.firm commitments but it is just what he hopes to achieve. The

:17:39. > :17:44.announcement today has been to support the ?100 million we set out

:17:45. > :17:56.with very clear priorities set out today. Improvements to the A50 and A

:17:57. > :18:00.40. This is to tackle the infrastructure deficit we inherited

:18:01. > :18:07.from other governments. What it is just that your track record so far

:18:08. > :18:12.hasn't been very good? -- but it. They have put out a press release

:18:13. > :18:16.saying that but you did say you would get ?20 billion of investment

:18:17. > :18:22.from the pensions industry. How much has been pledged so far? 1 billion.

:18:23. > :18:26.But if you are saying these are proper commitments to spending, we

:18:27. > :18:31.have heard ?20 billion was going to come from the pensions industry and

:18:32. > :18:34.Angela Eagle is right. ?1 billion has been pledged that is a massive

:18:35. > :18:39.gap in terms of the money needed. How do you convince our view is that

:18:40. > :18:44.the money from anywhere is actually going to be signed and sealed and

:18:45. > :18:48.put on the table? Well, if you look at the plan we publish today, it

:18:49. > :18:52.takes us to 2030 and beyond. There are steps you need in place to

:18:53. > :19:00.release that investment. So, for example, ?1 billion guarantee an

:19:01. > :19:04.ounce today for work at a Battersea on the Northern line. That is

:19:05. > :19:09.guaranteed and I think it will help unlock investment from others. That

:19:10. > :19:13.is 1 billion but we have heard all this from the Government. In 2011,

:19:14. > :19:20.40 priority projects were announced but only a handful have been

:19:21. > :19:26.completed. That is right, isn't it? But 90% of the announcements made

:19:27. > :19:30.are on track. You cannot build major motorways overnight. It does not

:19:31. > :19:37.help... But you need to start them, don't you? We have 1 billion from

:19:38. > :19:45.the pension industry and we have a handful of the 40 prior projects

:19:46. > :19:49.which were priority projects. Only a handful of them, a small handful,

:19:50. > :19:53.has started. You talk about the revolution but where is it? You have

:19:54. > :20:05.to have planning permission is, you have to draw up lands... So are you

:20:06. > :20:10.being honest with you was? Yes. The ONS compared quarter three figures

:20:11. > :20:20.2013 with quarter three figures in 2012. New infrastructure fell by 7%

:20:21. > :20:24.and is 8% down on last year and fell 13% in 2012. You are going in the

:20:25. > :20:28.wrong direction? You are going back with! You cannot just conjure this

:20:29. > :20:38.up from thin air! What we heard was a very poor pipeline of projects and

:20:39. > :20:43.we have strengthens that pipeline. He is right on that. Over the last

:20:44. > :20:48.40 years, UK infrastructure has fallen behind the rest of the

:20:49. > :20:54.world, as was concluded, and Labour refuse to get to grips with such

:20:55. > :21:04.projects. We have actually invested a lot. How much? We put it up from

:21:05. > :21:10.1% up to about 3%. But capital spending is now higher as a

:21:11. > :21:16.percentage than in your time in office. We have a load of free

:21:17. > :21:22.announcements and this Government make a vain, glorious comic huge

:21:23. > :21:25.announcements about ?375 billion of capital investment and they hope

:21:26. > :21:33.nobly will notice none of it is actually there. -- glorious, huge. I

:21:34. > :21:38.think 1% of it, the announcements made last year by Danny Alexander,

:21:39. > :21:41.have started. If you look at the detail of this announcement today,

:21:42. > :21:45.most of what is announced is going to start in the next Parliament or

:21:46. > :21:49.future Parliament, so it hasn't properly been concluded yet.

:21:50. > :21:55.Government needs to stop issuing press releases and actually start

:21:56. > :21:58.delivering on the projects it keeps announcing and re-announcing just

:21:59. > :22:06.before the Budget or the Autumn Statement. What do you say to that?

:22:07. > :22:10.What you have to do for businesses, and people are prepared to invest in

:22:11. > :22:14.infrastructure projects, is to set out a long-term horizon so they can

:22:15. > :22:18.plan for it. They can make those decisions. So that is why if you

:22:19. > :22:22.look at what insurance companies have pledged, they want to know

:22:23. > :22:26.those project going to be there so they can see a path towards that,

:22:27. > :22:31.and what we're doing is providing in that direction about what our

:22:32. > :22:38.priorities are, and investment, not by just ensuring us, but also

:22:39. > :22:48.investment here in the UK. But they announced a cut to infrastructure

:22:49. > :22:52.investment... They cut our plans on infrastructure investment in 2010 by

:22:53. > :22:55.nearly 13 billion, so they cut a whole load of them, and then they

:22:56. > :22:58.realised they had made a mistake and have been trying to play catch-up

:22:59. > :23:04.ever since. It is not just me that says that, it is the CBI and a lot

:23:05. > :23:10.of... But, Angela Eagle, it is true, you did cut capital spending,

:23:11. > :23:16.didn't you? We are spending more in this Parliament than the previous

:23:17. > :23:20.government. How much was Alistair Darling cutting? We were going to

:23:21. > :23:29.make significant cuts. Pretty much what the Government is doing! But

:23:30. > :23:33.what they did when they came in was actually cut far too deep in

:23:34. > :23:36.infrastructure investment, realised they had made a mistake couple of

:23:37. > :23:41.years later, and they have never recovered momentum. You cannot have

:23:42. > :23:45.it both ways. You cannot say that you are going to make cuts if you

:23:46. > :23:50.were re-elected and then complain we have made cuts. You have spent

:23:51. > :23:53.several years trying to catch up with the mistakes you made in 2010

:23:54. > :23:56.and the result is we are falling behind with Emperor structure

:23:57. > :24:01.investment. It is going the wrong way and we are spending less this

:24:02. > :24:07.year. -- infrastructure. We have a load of very sort of huge PR

:24:08. > :24:13.announcements and virtually no activity. That's just talk about

:24:14. > :24:15.this. You say what businesses want its planning and consistency, a

:24:16. > :24:20.chance to make long-term investments. What about the A14?

:24:21. > :24:24.What happened to your consistent approach to that piece of

:24:25. > :24:27.infrastructure? Well, we have announced the improvements and what

:24:28. > :24:34.we have done is accepted that the taxpayer should pay the cost and it

:24:35. > :24:39.will not be through road tax. But you scrap the plans to expand in

:24:40. > :24:43.2010, saying the ?1.3 billion tag was too high. Then you said you

:24:44. > :24:48.would get 20% of the costs through tolls, then you said it wouldn't

:24:49. > :24:52.happen, and now you are going to get ?1.5 billion, as you say, so, more

:24:53. > :24:58.expensive than it would have been in 2010. What sort of consistent

:24:59. > :25:05.approach does that show? We need to look at the overall spending and

:25:06. > :25:08.future projects. There is huge commitment in the East of England

:25:09. > :25:13.and we are doing the right thing to build that road. We have got the

:25:14. > :25:23.details now, Ian, of a dramatically reduced subsidy for onshore wind

:25:24. > :25:26.farms. We have been saying for a while that offshore wind is where

:25:27. > :25:31.most of the powerful come from and I am pleased to see that it is

:25:32. > :25:36.rebalancing and we will see bigger subsidies. So it was wrong to have

:25:37. > :25:40.all those subsidies for that? Not wrong. Now we have the numbers we

:25:41. > :25:45.can see the different incentives needed and the balancing that needs

:25:46. > :25:49.to be done. I'm very concerned, particularly for energy investment,

:25:50. > :25:53.the inconsistency there and I'm concerned with politicians meddling.

:25:54. > :25:58.And since Labour have announced a price freeze, the National Grid says

:25:59. > :26:07.half projects are now on hold. -- half of project. You are doing this

:26:08. > :26:11.as a sop to them, aren't you? I think the way we have dealt with

:26:12. > :26:14.renewables and subsidies is to make sure we get a market started when

:26:15. > :26:19.that market gets going, it is right to let the market function as it

:26:20. > :26:23.should do by removing that subsidy. That is exactly what is happening on

:26:24. > :26:29.renewables here. It is good economically and politically as

:26:30. > :26:36.well. Enqueue. Look behind you! -- thank you.

:26:37. > :26:39.There's a man in Number 11 Downing Street who thinks we've turned the

:26:40. > :26:44.corner economically. Happy days are here again. The future's as fluffy

:26:45. > :26:47.as George's new pet puppy, Lola, a cute little "bishon frise" dog to go

:26:48. > :26:50.with your cute little "fuel-bill freeze". Well, whether you believe

:26:51. > :26:53.that's true or not, there is one thing to have you yapping with

:26:54. > :26:58.happiness. This week, we're busting our own budget and giving you not

:26:59. > :27:03.one but two - count them - two Daily Politics mugs. Is that my lipstick

:27:04. > :27:07.or yours? Double the joy for you and your significant other. You won't

:27:08. > :27:11.get that from the Autumn Statement! We'll remind you how to enter in a

:27:12. > :27:26.minute, but let's see if you can remember when this happened.

:27:27. > :27:36.# I'll be glad all over new sick macro glad all over.

:27:37. > :27:44.Within five years according to all of the most significant engineers,

:27:45. > :27:50.we should be travelling through the tunnels.

:27:51. > :28:00.# In the daytime # Girl, I want to be with you...

:28:01. > :28:09.# It's over # It's over.

:28:10. > :28:17.And here, touching that famous bag, comes Mrs Wilson. Welcome to BBC Two

:28:18. > :28:23.from where it all began here in studio A in Alexandra Palace.

:28:24. > :28:45.A stroll down memory lane! Well, for some of our guests, anyway!

:28:46. > :28:48.To be in with a chance of winning a Daily Politics mug, send your answer

:28:49. > :28:52.to our special quiz email address - dpquiz@bbc.co.uk. And you can see

:28:53. > :28:55.the full terms and conditions for Guess The Year on our website, at

:28:56. > :29:00.bbc.co.uk/dailypolitics. Looks pretty easy to me! The queue

:29:01. > :29:05.was Douglas Hume, and then Harold Wilson. One coming out, one going

:29:06. > :29:10.in. Don't make it easier! It's coming up to midday here - just

:29:11. > :29:16.take a look at Big Ben - and that can mean only one thing. Yes, Prime

:29:17. > :29:20.Minister's Questions is on its way. Well, not exactly Prime Minister's

:29:21. > :29:24.Questions. Deputy Prime Minister 's questions. If you'd like to comment

:29:25. > :29:26.on proceedings, you can email us at daily.politics@bbc.co.uk, or tweet

:29:27. > :29:33.your thoughts using the hashtag #bbcdp. We might even read some out

:29:34. > :29:42.after PMQs! And that's not all. James Landale is here. What have you

:29:43. > :29:48.got for us? I was looking at this energy story and it is clear there

:29:49. > :29:51.are going to be substantial cuts in subsidies for solar and wind. But we

:29:52. > :29:54.were told they would be a corresponding increase in support

:29:55. > :29:58.for offshore wind. I have had a look at all the figures and there is no

:29:59. > :30:07.change to the planned prices for the first four years. There is only

:30:08. > :30:13.support from 2018, 2019. For four years. But it doesn't look as if it

:30:14. > :30:22.is quite so much as Bill. If onshore wind doesn't get subsidy, doesn't

:30:23. > :30:26.that make it known economic? No. There will continue to be onshore

:30:27. > :30:28.wind farms and solar farms. We are reaching that point where a a lot of

:30:29. > :30:51.energy firms will think, frankly, Onshore wind is guaranteed at more

:30:52. > :31:02.than the market price. Is it going to get twice the market price? It

:31:03. > :31:15.will still be subsidised. Were not talking about anything else.

:31:16. > :31:20.As I was saying, I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Prime

:31:21. > :31:26.Minister who has been visiting China. I am sure the whole house

:31:27. > :31:30.will wish to join me in offering condolences to the family and

:31:31. > :31:37.friends of those killed following the helicopter crash in Glasgow on

:31:38. > :31:42.Friday evening. I visited the site yesterday and was able to see the

:31:43. > :31:48.recovery operation first-hand. I pay tribute to the outstanding bravery

:31:49. > :31:53.of all the emergency services involved. This morning I had

:31:54. > :32:02.meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. I shall have further

:32:03. > :32:07.such meetings later today. I would like to associate myself with those

:32:08. > :32:14.comments made by the deputy Prime Minister after the tragic events in

:32:15. > :32:17.Glasgow. Sunderland is facing cuts of ?42 million following cuts in

:32:18. > :32:26.health funding. Does the Deputy Prime Minister think it is right to

:32:27. > :32:35.divert NHS funding from areas of high need? NHS England is now in a

:32:36. > :32:44.position to make some of those big judgements. But to have questions on

:32:45. > :32:47.what money goes where in the NHS from a party that still does not

:32:48. > :32:55.agree with our protection of the initiates budget -- the NHS budget,

:32:56. > :33:04.we are putting 12.7 billion pounds of extra money into the NHS. I would

:33:05. > :33:11.be interested to know if her party agrees. With the Deputy Prime

:33:12. > :33:19.Minister John me in congratulating the London borough of favouring

:33:20. > :33:25.which has re-homed many overcrowded families as a result of the

:33:26. > :33:28.government welfare policy. I would like to join with my honourable

:33:29. > :33:32.friend to congratulate the borough of favouring for the excellent work

:33:33. > :33:40.they have done. Overcrowding is a real problem. Many families are

:33:41. > :33:44.living in overcrowded properties. And the party opposite has now

:33:45. > :33:55.answer to some of these fundamental problems. That shows the bankruptcy

:33:56. > :34:00.of ideas. I would join the deputy minister in conveying our deepest

:34:01. > :34:03.sympathy to the families of the nine people who lost their lives in a

:34:04. > :34:09.tragic accident in Glasgow. I've paid tribute to the brave work of

:34:10. > :34:13.the emergency services and the remarkable response of the people of

:34:14. > :34:18.Glasgow. Can the Deputy Prime Minister tell us compared to last

:34:19. > :34:31.winter, will this winter's household energy bills be lower or higher's

:34:32. > :34:36.Fain would be higher. -- they would be higher if we had not taken the

:34:37. > :34:47.action that we have. I would simply point out that her party's

:34:48. > :34:53.economically illiterate policy... In fact her energy spokesperson said

:34:54. > :35:00.just two days ago well, you cannot control energy prices. So there we

:35:01. > :35:05.have it. You do not need me to point out that your policy is a con your

:35:06. > :35:20.energy spokesman has done it for you. He has not answered the

:35:21. > :35:29.question. As always, we will get through however long it takes. He

:35:30. > :35:36.has dodged and not answered the question I asked. The truth is that

:35:37. > :35:44.household energy bills are not going down, they are going up. As for the

:35:45. > :35:52.measures, the ?50 they talked about, it is not enough to stop bills

:35:53. > :36:01.rising. But of the ?50 can he tell us the how much will come from the

:36:02. > :36:05.profits of the energy giants? I know her a piece of paper says I did not

:36:06. > :36:11.answered the question, but I actually did. Bills will on average

:36:12. > :36:18.be ?50 lower than they otherwise would be. That is pretty simple. We

:36:19. > :36:23.have done that by adjusting the policies whilst adhering to our

:36:24. > :36:27.green commit men's. Our government policy has an influence on energy

:36:28. > :36:38.bills. Her party's Wallasey is pure fantasy. -- policy. He said he

:36:39. > :36:43.answered the question but he has not. He has not stood up this

:36:44. > :36:47.dispatch box and admitted that as a result of his government's policies

:36:48. > :36:57.energy bills are going up. He has not admitted that. What he is trying

:36:58. > :37:03.to hide is that not 1p will come from the profits of the energy

:37:04. > :37:09.giants. They are tiptoeing round the energy giants allowing them to put

:37:10. > :37:13.up their bills. When it comes to standing up to the rich and

:37:14. > :37:21.powerful, this government is weak. But when it comes to hitting the

:37:22. > :37:26.most vulnerable in our society they have got no qualms at all. Last week

:37:27. > :37:32.at that dispatch box the Prime Minister said that disabled people

:37:33. > :37:38.are exempt from the bedroom tax. That is not true. Will the Deputy

:37:39. > :37:44.Prime Minister apologise and put the record straight. The honourable lady

:37:45. > :37:49.talks about standing up to vested interests. This in the week that we

:37:50. > :37:59.discovered that the great courage of the later leadership to stand up to

:38:00. > :38:08.their trade unions, guess what, all too difficult. -- Labour leadership.

:38:09. > :38:15.Order. This house should be the bastion of free speech. Neither the

:38:16. > :38:19.Deputy Prime Minister for the Right honourable and Leonard lady must be

:38:20. > :38:23.shouted down and we will keep going with this session as long as it

:38:24. > :38:30.takes for proper order to be observed. It should be the bastion

:38:31. > :38:36.of political parties free of vested interests. It is high time that the

:38:37. > :38:42.Labour leadership to what they say and stand up to their trade union

:38:43. > :38:49.paymasters. She should stand up to her bosses first. I suggest that he

:38:50. > :39:00.leaves it to us to worry about our party members. Especially as so many

:39:01. > :39:06.of them used to be his. Given that for over 90% of people hit by the

:39:07. > :39:14.bedroom tax, there just is not a smaller property for them to move

:39:15. > :39:21.to, what would he have them do this Mac -- what would he have them do?

:39:22. > :39:25.Under their government housing benefit to people in the private

:39:26. > :39:29.rented sector was provided only on the basis of the number of rooms

:39:30. > :39:35.needed. We apply exactly the same rule to those in the social rented

:39:36. > :39:40.sector. For the reasons we heard earlier at the same time we have

:39:41. > :39:43.many thousands of families in overcrowded properties and 1.8

:39:44. > :39:48.million households still on the housing waiting list. Like so many

:39:49. > :39:57.other things we are sorting out the mess that they left behind. He knows

:39:58. > :40:03.that there is no comparison between what we did and what he is doing.

:40:04. > :40:09.Our change was only for a new payments. Their bedroom tax hit

:40:10. > :40:12.people who have lived in their property for years, who cannot

:40:13. > :40:19.afford the charges and have nowhere to go. He stands there and always

:40:20. > :40:25.says that the Lib Dems are making a difference in government. They

:40:26. > :40:29.certainly are. Without the Lib Dems there would be no bedroom tax.

:40:30. > :40:34.Without the Lib Dems there would be no travelling of tuition fees.

:40:35. > :40:41.Without the Lib Dems there would be no top-down reorganisation of the

:40:42. > :40:45.NHS. He says he is a brake on the Tories but even I know the

:40:46. > :40:58.difference between the break and the accelerator. He is the very best

:40:59. > :41:09.deputy Conservative Prime Minister. Without the Liberal Democrats there

:41:10. > :41:28.would not be a recovery. Mr Speaker... We have our differences.

:41:29. > :41:35.Order. Order. The answer will be heard. We have our differences on

:41:36. > :41:42.this side of the House but the one thing that unites us is we would not

:41:43. > :41:46.have gone on a prawn cocktail charm offensive sucking up to the banks

:41:47. > :41:51.which created the problem in the first place. We would not simply say

:41:52. > :41:55.to our children and grandchildren, you can pay off the debts of this

:41:56. > :42:00.generation. No one on this side of the House would have broken the

:42:01. > :42:05.British economy in the first place. He talks about the recovery and

:42:06. > :42:11.there might be recovery for the rich but for everyone else there is a

:42:12. > :42:17.cost of living crisis. When it comes to being a loyal deputy to a Tory

:42:18. > :42:22.Prime Minister he will go to any lengths, make any promises and sell

:42:23. > :42:27.out any principles. The truth is if you want to freeze energy bills and

:42:28. > :42:32.scrap the bedroom tax it is not going to be the Tories, it is never

:42:33. > :42:39.going to be the Lib Dems, it has got to be the Labour Party. They're not

:42:40. > :42:43.a government in waiting and not even an opposition in waiting. It is a

:42:44. > :42:48.two month before the next general election. We still have no clue what

:42:49. > :42:55.the Labour Party would actually do. We know a few things, and energy

:42:56. > :42:59.coal which would see prices go up. No apology for crashing economy in

:43:00. > :43:05.the first place and a total failure to stand up to trade union bosses.

:43:06. > :43:10.If they cannot manage to come up with some sensible policies, if they

:43:11. > :43:21.cannot manage their own party, why should anyone think they can manage

:43:22. > :43:24.our country? This weekend is a small business Saturday and I will be

:43:25. > :43:31.supporting local firms in my constituency. I welcome the

:43:32. > :43:34.reduction introduced in terms of corporation tax and national

:43:35. > :43:43.insurance contributions but what more can be done to reduce business

:43:44. > :43:48.rates? My honourable friend should wait for the autumn state in. Small

:43:49. > :43:54.business Saturday is a worthwhile event. Of course the last government

:43:55. > :44:01.planned to end small business rates relief. We reversed that. Another

:44:02. > :44:08.example of this side of the House standing up for small businesses let

:44:09. > :44:12.down by that side of the House. Tenants, councils, housing

:44:13. > :44:18.associations, welfare charities and disabled groups are against it. Lib

:44:19. > :44:24.Dem party policy is against it. Even Danny's dad is against it so why is

:44:25. > :44:31.the Deputy Prime Minister the last man standing in defending the

:44:32. > :44:37.bedroom tax? A policy as unpopular as Margaret Thatcher's poll tax?

:44:38. > :44:41.Everyone except that when you make a change from one system to another

:44:42. > :44:44.there are hard cases that need to be dealt with compassionately. That is

:44:45. > :44:52.why we have travelled the discretionary housing payment. Could

:44:53. > :44:56.he have a word with his welfare spokesperson who recently declared

:44:57. > :45:00.that the Labour Party would be tougher on welfare than the

:45:01. > :45:13.Coalition. Yet they opposed ?80 billion worth of welfare savings. As

:45:14. > :45:22.you will know more than many, they have failed to provide and have

:45:23. > :45:27.created a lamentable failure. Today, they are holding a road show to tell

:45:28. > :45:29.my constituents about phase two of their proposal. Will my right

:45:30. > :45:35.honourable friend work with his colleagues in government to assure

:45:36. > :45:45.that HS2 provide decent information and compensation to everyone

:45:46. > :45:49.affected as quickly as possible? I know he has strong views on this.

:45:50. > :45:53.I'd agree with him that not only for compensation should be available,

:45:54. > :45:57.but also the right level of information provided, and the phase

:45:58. > :46:07.to root consultation that started in October is due to end in January,

:46:08. > :46:13.and there are some 36 places where people can make their views known.

:46:14. > :46:19.-- says two of the root consultation. It is a very important

:46:20. > :46:24.part of the wider revamping and modernisation of our infrastructure

:46:25. > :46:27.on which the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will be speaking shortly.

:46:28. > :46:34.There are more young people out of work in the Black Country, so will

:46:35. > :46:43.he extend the use scheme to that part of the country? And if he will

:46:44. > :46:54.call an urgent meeting to get the deal scheme sorted out, too? I agree

:46:55. > :46:59.and we are working flat out to do so. But the principle idea of making

:47:00. > :47:04.sure less power is in Whitehall and more power and resources and freedom

:47:05. > :47:06.to use resources are allocated to local communities and Local

:47:07. > :47:08.Enterprise Partnerships and authorities is something we are

:47:09. > :47:19.determined to push through in his part of the country as elsewhere.

:47:20. > :47:32.Can I welcome any reduction in the incentive after within our total

:47:33. > :47:39.commitment for renewables? As he knows, and achieve secretary to the

:47:40. > :47:44.Treasury will confirm this, we have adjusted the prices as far as they

:47:45. > :47:48.apply to onshore wind and solar panel installation is because we

:47:49. > :47:53.believe it is viable now to do so. But it made it more attractive for

:47:54. > :47:56.further investment in the offshore industry in which we are already a

:47:57. > :48:01.world leader and must maintain our world lead, not least for benefits

:48:02. > :48:08.to parts of the country like the north-east, all of which, by the

:48:09. > :48:11.way, would be blighted by an illiterate energy policy. Is he

:48:12. > :48:15.aware that on average women working full-time have seen their earnings

:48:16. > :48:21.fall by nearly ?2500 since the election? And does he think the

:48:22. > :48:25.married man's tax allowance is the best way to help women who are

:48:26. > :48:30.paying the price of his government? The honourable lady knows the

:48:31. > :48:34.respective views in the coalition on the so-called marriage tax paid, at

:48:35. > :48:42.I would point out to her... I would point out that it is this Government

:48:43. > :48:46.which has ended the injustice of women being short-changed in the

:48:47. > :48:56.pension system, it is this Government raising the point that --

:48:57. > :49:00.at which people pay income tax and it is this Government that is

:49:01. > :49:03.finally providing more affordable childcare places which weren't

:49:04. > :49:09.provided over the last 13 years under Labour. The ruble equivalent

:49:10. > :49:17.of waiting for Godot is waiting for high-speed broadband! -- the rural

:49:18. > :49:21.equivalent. 82% of promises in my constituency will be connected by

:49:22. > :49:25.the end of 2016, so we have been assured. The sad fact is that over

:49:26. > :49:30.8000 properties will not be and will be in the so-called lost 10%. So

:49:31. > :49:35.will he now commit the funds which have been set aside to be deployed

:49:36. > :49:39.to finish the job? We don't want complex bidding systems, we don't

:49:40. > :49:47.want to match funding and we just want the job done. Mr Speaker, we

:49:48. > :49:51.are investing, as he knows, ?3 million already and extending the

:49:52. > :49:56.coverage of superfast board banned in Devon and Somerset as part of the

:49:57. > :50:00.current rural broadband programme. Over 10,000 promises are expected to

:50:01. > :50:05.be covered by the project by the end of the year and 74,000 by next July.

:50:06. > :50:13.On his point, the so-called final 10%, we announced a quarter of ?1

:50:14. > :50:17.billion to extend coverage further by 2017 and hear what he says and

:50:18. > :50:25.the plans will be set out in further detail shortly. Two companies who

:50:26. > :50:30.are major investors in the north-east of England have said that

:50:31. > :50:36.if we leave the EU, it will be of great damage to investment. Would he

:50:37. > :50:41.agree with me that leaving Europe is bad for business and for jobs? I am

:50:42. > :50:50.sure I speak for most people on all sides of the House that it would he

:50:51. > :50:55.is -- a spectacular act of suicide. By some estimates, over 3 million

:50:56. > :51:02.jobs are dependent one way or another in this country on our

:51:03. > :51:07.membership of the European Union. People have welcomed the

:51:08. > :51:17.Government's brave decision to raise the cap on benefits but when their

:51:18. > :51:21.earnings are 23,900 before tax, they understandably still feel you can be

:51:22. > :51:24.better off on benefits than in work. Will my right honourable friend look

:51:25. > :51:28.at lowering the overall benefits cap or regionalising it so that it

:51:29. > :51:36.always pays to work wherever you live? We have not taken an approach

:51:37. > :51:39.of regionalising the benefit cap. I now that is advocated by the party

:51:40. > :51:43.opposite, though very few details have been provided from them so

:51:44. > :51:49.far. So we have taken a national approach and we therefore set it at

:51:50. > :51:55.a national average, ?26,000, if you like, after tax, equivalent to

:51:56. > :51:59.35,004. The vast majority of people in the country think that is fair.

:52:00. > :52:03.That you should not be able to see benefits more than if you were to

:52:04. > :52:07.work. I would be very interested to know whether the party opposite

:52:08. > :52:12.supports or does not support this highly popular measure? The

:52:13. > :52:18.Government has been pushed into action on business rates by

:52:19. > :52:22.Labour... But just as energy bills will still rise this winter,

:52:23. > :52:27.business rates must still go up why an average of ?250 next year. Does

:52:28. > :52:31.the Deputy Prime Minister agree that nothing less than Labour's planned

:52:32. > :52:38.cuts and a freeze to business rates will do? The only thing this

:52:39. > :52:44.coalition government has been pushed into, which is what she said, by the

:52:45. > :52:48.party opposite, is rescuing the economy after the disastrous state

:52:49. > :52:52.it was in! We had to pull the economy back from the brink because

:52:53. > :52:56.that is where they left it. We have had to do emergency surgery to the

:52:57. > :52:58.banks because they sucked up to the banks, we have had to fill the

:52:59. > :53:08.black: The public finances because they created it. -- the black hole.

:53:09. > :53:15.IMO is anxious to be helpful! So in the spirit of friendly corporation,

:53:16. > :53:20.I have given advance notice of my question. -- I am always anxious.

:53:21. > :53:23.Given the Deputy Prime Minister is only at the dispatch box today

:53:24. > :53:28.because the Prime Minister is in China drum and up more orders for

:53:29. > :53:33.British business, can the Deputy Prime Minister please tell the House

:53:34. > :53:38.what was the common market share of world trade when the UK joined in

:53:39. > :53:47.1973? And what is the EU share of world trade today? The EU share of

:53:48. > :53:53.world trade today is around 20%. I would merely say to him in an

:53:54. > :53:57.equally friendly spirit, in which I know the question was intended, was

:53:58. > :54:02.that the Prime Minister has been advocating a new EU-China trade deal

:54:03. > :54:05.precisely because the European Union remains, notwithstanding all the

:54:06. > :54:11.other changes in the world, a very powerful trading block on the world

:54:12. > :54:17.scene. Last week, Goldman Sachs placed a value of Royal Mail shares

:54:18. > :54:22.at 600 and 10p each but just two months ago, they advised the

:54:23. > :54:28.government that investors would walk away if they sold that more than 300

:54:29. > :54:34.and 30p. Does he believe he has secured value for money for

:54:35. > :54:37.taxpayers? Is my right honourable friend has explained, this is

:54:38. > :54:42.another example of us doing something which they worked while

:54:43. > :54:47.they were in government. -- which they avoided. The price of sale was

:54:48. > :54:51.independently recommended to us and was actually at the highest point of

:54:52. > :54:58.the range, which was provided to us by independent advisers. Two weeks

:54:59. > :55:04.ago, Harrow Council officers closed down an unlicensed HMO with 11

:55:05. > :55:10.unrelated adults living in a three bedroomed property, each paying ?160

:55:11. > :55:14.a week in rent to a rogue landlord. It is now investigating a further

:55:15. > :55:17.100 cases. Would my right honourable friend not agree that it is time we

:55:18. > :55:24.criminalised rogue landlords to protect the vulnerable? I am

:55:25. > :55:28.appalled to hear about that example, yet again, of rogue

:55:29. > :55:32.landlords behaving unacceptably. Local authorities, as he knows,

:55:33. > :55:36.including in Harrow, have strong powers to tackle rogue landlords and

:55:37. > :55:43.we expect them to make full use of those. We have put forward a

:55:44. > :55:48.commitment to look at property conditions in the private rented to

:55:49. > :55:52.and we will shortly be announcing which local authorities will receive

:55:53. > :55:58.a share in ?3 million of funding to help them tackle rogue and criminal

:55:59. > :56:02.landlords. Thank you. When he signed the coalition agreement, with its

:56:03. > :56:06.commitment to giving more power to parents and pupils to choose a good

:56:07. > :56:09.school, did he ever envisage it would lead to a situation where

:56:10. > :56:11.Conservative controlled Hammersmith Conservative controlled Hammersmith

:56:12. > :56:17.Fulham Council is currently threatening to close a successful

:56:18. > :56:21.and popular Sullivan primary school rated good white Ofsted against the

:56:22. > :56:25.overwhelming opposition of the parents, governors, pupils and local

:56:26. > :56:30.residents in order to have the site over for a free school? My right

:56:31. > :56:35.honourable friend, the Secretary of State for education, is here, and I

:56:36. > :56:40.am sure he will want to write to you on that specific case. But one of

:56:41. > :56:44.the things this Government has done is remove the bureaucracy and

:56:45. > :56:53.centralisation of our school system to make sure the parents and

:56:54. > :56:58.teachers of free to teach in the classroom and parents have a greater

:56:59. > :57:01.running in the role of our schools. With the reference back to the

:57:02. > :57:07.recent question from the honourable gentleman, perhaps not my honourable

:57:08. > :57:13.friend on this issue on Bury North, with the Deputy Prime Minister not

:57:14. > :57:16.agree that the coalition is concerned on Europe, actions

:57:17. > :57:20.actually speak louder than words? And would he agree that the

:57:21. > :57:24.Chancellor's decision sometime back to assist the Irish economy, the

:57:25. > :57:29.Foreign Secretary's very sensible conduct on the European internal

:57:30. > :57:35.government or of you, and the Prime Minister's own words this week in

:57:36. > :57:38.China, that he wants to recommend we stay in, that this is a great boost

:57:39. > :57:47.of confidence for people like him and me? Down the line, Liberal

:57:48. > :57:53.Democrat pro-Europeans? It is always a joy to hear the mischievous wit

:57:54. > :58:01.and wisdom of my right honourable friend, and, as he knows, we are as

:58:02. > :58:04.one of the European issue. We need to, of course, reform the European

:58:05. > :58:07.Union and strip away bureaucracy where that can be done and make it

:58:08. > :58:11.more transparent and more efficient, but we'll so need to

:58:12. > :58:16.continue to exercise British leadership in the European Union. --

:58:17. > :58:24.we also. Figures from the National Health Service show that an

:58:25. > :58:27.additional 600 thousand people used Accident Emergency departments

:58:28. > :58:37.last winter, an increase of 11% since 2010. And it looks set to get

:58:38. > :58:40.much worse this winter. Why? I don't think it is very helpful to the

:58:41. > :58:53.millions of people working in the NHS to talk down there and -- there

:58:54. > :58:56.are -- their admirable efforts. He might be interested to know that the

:58:57. > :59:04.last time the right honourable member sitting over there, when he

:59:05. > :59:11.was secretary of health, the average waiting time was 77 minutes and we

:59:12. > :59:15.have cut that in half to 33 minutes. Last week, the NCA arrested six

:59:16. > :59:20.individuals around the allegations of match fixing in the English or

:59:21. > :59:24.league. Can my right honourable friend assure me and the House of

:59:25. > :59:34.every possible measure been taken by the three bodies, the FA, the

:59:35. > :59:43.Gambling Commission and the NA, to look at the gambling situation? Yes.

:59:44. > :59:46.It is a rather good example of the work of the NCA and it is exactly

:59:47. > :59:53.why it was established. To look at these complex cases and work with

:59:54. > :59:57.different agencies across different jurisdictions and make sure any

:59:58. > :00:03.suspicion of corruption in that game was removed. The Deputy Prime

:00:04. > :00:10.Minister will be aware of the case I am raising with him now and it is a

:00:11. > :00:15.matter of liking to address. A woman fled violent and abusive

:00:16. > :00:19.relationship in Italy. She is now in Wales and since then, the High Court

:00:20. > :00:27.had ruled that she is to return to Italy on Monday. Given that, they

:00:28. > :00:31.ask the Prime Minister -, sorry, the Deputy Prime Minister to make sure

:00:32. > :00:36.that the authorities realise that arresting her would be proportionate

:00:37. > :00:41.and it would be little short of a bomb -- abominable to take that boy

:00:42. > :00:51.into care pending the outcome of proceedings?

:00:52. > :00:59.It is a desperately sad case. I would love to be able to pronounce

:01:00. > :01:03.on it on a human level but ministers cannot comment or intervene in cases

:01:04. > :01:08.that have been before the courts whether in this country or abroad.

:01:09. > :01:16.I'm sure that the foreign and Commonwealth office will be able to

:01:17. > :01:24.provide consular assistance to the woman including providing details of

:01:25. > :01:27.English speaking local lawyers. It may surprise the Deputy Prime

:01:28. > :01:32.Minister to learn that the Liberals have a reputation of advocating a

:01:33. > :01:40.European referendum but not following that through. Will he now

:01:41. > :01:46.put that right by encouraging his liberal colleagues in the House of

:01:47. > :01:53.Lords to support our EU referendum? He and I joined forces in a lobby

:01:54. > :01:58.back in July 2011 to legislate for the first time for a referendum

:01:59. > :02:03.which for the first time guarantees in law that if the rules of the

:02:04. > :02:09.European union change, if there is water transfer of sovereignty --

:02:10. > :02:15.more transfer of there will be a referendum. That is our guarantee in

:02:16. > :02:20.law to the British people that a referendum will take place when

:02:21. > :02:28.circumstances determine. I understand his party is having a

:02:29. > :02:32.debate to change that position. My honourable friend for Glasgow North

:02:33. > :02:38.wanted to know whether the British taxpayer got value for money on the

:02:39. > :02:45.sale of the Royal Mail. Yes or no? Our judgement is yes. Easy though it

:02:46. > :02:54.might be to make snaps. -- snapshot judgements about the value of the

:02:55. > :02:58.company on any one day, we are determined to take a long-term view

:02:59. > :03:07.and not score short-term political points. As the acting Prime Minister

:03:08. > :03:11.not been outstanding today? If you are listening on the radio you might

:03:12. > :03:17.have thought he was the right honourable member for Whitney. I

:03:18. > :03:26.think he is turning into a Tory. Can I test that theory? One of the

:03:27. > :03:28.immigration bills was signed by 60 MPs calling for the transitional

:03:29. > :03:36.arrangements for Romania and Bulgaria to be continued. Does he

:03:37. > :03:39.agree with that? I am glad he has not raised his morbid obsession with

:03:40. > :03:46.the early demise of the Prime Minister! I want to thank him for

:03:47. > :03:51.his next double-edged, amid just there. The Prime Minister and the

:03:52. > :03:56.whole government made a series of announcements last week where we are

:03:57. > :03:59.tightening up the access to benefits of those migrants coming from other

:04:00. > :04:05.parts of the European union to this country. I believe we should detect

:04:06. > :04:09.and defend the principle of the freedom of movement. But the freedom

:04:10. > :04:18.to move to seek work is not the same as the freedom to claim. That is the

:04:19. > :04:26.distinction where now making. And prime ministers questions comes

:04:27. > :04:34.to an end. The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Berg stood in front the Prime

:04:35. > :04:40.Minister. So Harriet Harman stood in for Mr Miliband. The exchanges began

:04:41. > :04:49.with a clash over energy prices. Not unusual! And then quickly descended

:04:50. > :04:58.into straight abuse about the respect of the merits of the Labour

:04:59. > :05:04.Party and the Lib Dem 's. Some professional, in a second. First we

:05:05. > :05:12.can hear from the voters. It was entertaining and lively! It was very

:05:13. > :05:18.lively. One said it was refreshing to say Nick Clegg and Harriet Harman

:05:19. > :05:23.for a change. Another said that Harriet gave the deputy minister

:05:24. > :05:31.some stick, she was great. Saying that Harriet Harman smacked blaming

:05:32. > :05:38.of Nick Clegg for allowing Conservative policies to go through

:05:39. > :05:45.will hit home. Another saying, loved it, more of them both at the end

:05:46. > :05:52.use. -- at prime ministers questions. One tweet saying as the

:05:53. > :06:00.Speaker been given an early Christmas present? He cannot top

:06:01. > :06:12.purchased that tying himself. -- he cannot have. Hewlett-Packard have

:06:13. > :06:17.announced that they are cutting 1100 jobs in Bracknell, Sheffield and

:06:18. > :06:21.Warrington. So even with the recovery some companies are still

:06:22. > :06:31.cutting back. On this energy proposition, Labour has been selling

:06:32. > :06:41.the terms of trade. A clear retail offer of just freezing prices should

:06:42. > :06:47.he get into power. Are they still missing something? There is this

:06:48. > :06:51.idea that bills will now not arrive as quickly as they would have done

:06:52. > :07:04.because we know these are being taken off. Green levies are being

:07:05. > :07:07.taken off. What happened was in the process of trying to agree a deal of

:07:08. > :07:11.precisely how much money they could take off energy bills, there was

:07:12. > :07:17.discussion with energy firms about what that would mean in the future

:07:18. > :07:23.for prices. Some energy firms took that to mean, are you asking us to

:07:24. > :07:28.make a pledge. But the government said we are looking for you to say

:07:29. > :07:37.we will not raise our prices as a result of these particular green

:07:38. > :07:46.levies. If you talk to ministers about this they do not expect the

:07:47. > :07:51.?50 less than you might have expected to trump the Labour policy.

:07:52. > :07:55.They hope it will neutralise it is a political issue so that they can

:07:56. > :08:01.move on and shift the debate that to the economy. So they can say all

:08:02. > :08:07.well and good to talk about prices and that is an issue but there is a

:08:08. > :08:14.broader issue about the economy. And this is what the government have

:08:15. > :08:22.said, what are Labour are going to say? So it is an attempt to shift

:08:23. > :08:26.the debate. But if you vote Labour you would get an energy price freeze

:08:27. > :08:37.and vote Conservative, prices would still go up? Well I think the Labour

:08:38. > :08:43.price freeze is a bit of a con. Ed Miliband and his energy spokesman

:08:44. > :08:50.have both said that energy prices could still go up. We have said that

:08:51. > :08:57.we will cut the part of the energy Bill that government can control.

:08:58. > :09:02.Everyone has announced an investigation into it and everyone

:09:03. > :09:06.agrees the energy market is not working properly. There is something

:09:07. > :09:13.wrong with the way in which the big six are able to put up prices. What

:09:14. > :09:20.is wrong with saying, it will take us about 20 months to sort out this

:09:21. > :09:25.market. Everyone agrees that it is a mess. And during that 20 months we

:09:26. > :09:30.will just freeze the prices. What is wrong with that? You have got to

:09:31. > :09:36.invest in energy infrastructure and capacity. But what we do need to do

:09:37. > :09:45.is make sure the energy market is competitive. Under Ed Miliband's

:09:46. > :09:50.watch you saw him move from a competitive energy market dominated

:09:51. > :10:00.by the big six, we need to get more challengers coming into the market.

:10:01. > :10:08.We need a more competitive market. Labour's price freeze is a con.

:10:09. > :10:12.Why? Ed Miliband speaks about the price freeze but he has said if

:10:13. > :10:20.international wholesale prices go up, you can expect prices to go up.

:10:21. > :10:30.He said if there was a major shock to energy prices, and of course that

:10:31. > :10:35.is a prudent thing to say. All bets would be off in that case. But

:10:36. > :10:40.within a normal fluctuation of the market, they would be frozen. What

:10:41. > :10:45.is wrong with that? And if the energy companies rushed to put up

:10:46. > :10:52.their prices before the freeze, that just shows that they have got too

:10:53. > :10:58.much power? I think that is why we need this competitive energy market

:10:59. > :11:06.rather than one dominated by these six players. Well you have been in

:11:07. > :11:14.power for four years, you're taking your time it. It is part of a

:11:15. > :11:20.problem, the way that privatisation was done by the previous

:11:21. > :11:27.Conservative government. It is now clear that having what is known as

:11:28. > :11:31.horizontal and vertical integration, that you have companies that

:11:32. > :11:37.generate and sell to themselves as retailers, that is what needs to be

:11:38. > :11:42.dealt with. It is why Caroline Flint has said that in that 20 months we

:11:43. > :11:46.will look at how we can make the industry more competitive by forcing

:11:47. > :11:53.energy companies to sell into a central pool. So there will be much

:11:54. > :11:56.more competition in prices. We have got to look at how all of that is

:11:57. > :12:00.done and 20 months price freeze gives us the chance to reset the

:12:01. > :12:09.energy market so we can improve competition. Well your energy

:12:10. > :12:16.spokesman has said he will not wake them up. Why not? We think at the

:12:17. > :12:20.moment that having the energy pool is a good way of creating more

:12:21. > :12:26.competition in the market more quickly. If things change we made

:12:27. > :12:29.need to look at other policies. Our intention at the moment is to have

:12:30. > :12:37.this price freeze, to recognise for example, they have put up prices by

:12:38. > :12:44.10% this year on average. It is not 10% on average. EDF brings it down.

:12:45. > :12:54.But it is a lot. A lot more than wages. It is a lot and the point is

:12:55. > :13:16.there is no good taking of green levies. He had done that. And what

:13:17. > :13:21.Nick Clegg would not admit today was at Chile that even after all the

:13:22. > :13:26.announcements they have made, prices are going to be ?70 higher next year

:13:27. > :13:31.on average for consumers than they would have been. During the time

:13:32. > :13:37.when the, was going to buy the Lloyds bank branches, how many times

:13:38. > :13:43.did you meet with the people at the Co-op? Well I have no recollection

:13:44. > :13:53.of meeting the Reverend Flowers, for the record. I met, twice in that

:13:54. > :13:59.period. How many phone calls did you have with him? Based on the

:14:00. > :14:04.records, about ten phone calls. People think you basically where a

:14:05. > :14:13.cheerleader for the Co-op getting these branches. We had an interest

:14:14. > :14:18.in that transaction but the decision was made by both Lloyds and, and

:14:19. > :14:23.where the responsibility of the boards of years. You said you had an

:14:24. > :14:29.interest, was that your interest that if the banks agreed to do it,

:14:30. > :14:34.you wanted that to go ahead? Well it was a decision that the two banks

:14:35. > :14:38.had to take. Where you are in favour of the Co-op getting these

:14:39. > :14:46.branches? Mode and the Co-op made their choice that they wanted to

:14:47. > :14:54.sell both branches to the Co-op. So you were? Ultimately what happened,

:14:55. > :15:03.before when the Co-op brought Britannia, in this case the deal did

:15:04. > :15:09.not go ahead. The thing that struck me most about today was little talk

:15:10. > :15:32.about the economy, very little about the autumn statement. It was all

:15:33. > :15:37.slightly retro. Very fashionable! Well, how should the Government

:15:38. > :15:38.tackle the most difficult families in Britain? This Police and Crime

:15:39. > :15:52.Commissioner has an idea. This isn't just about economic

:15:53. > :15:59.poverty, it is about a poverty of ambition. Grandmothers in their 30s,

:16:00. > :16:05.sons and daughters who know nothing different, children ingrained

:16:06. > :16:09.increment amity. These families are in and out of

:16:10. > :16:13.prison. They bounce around the court system generation after generation.

:16:14. > :16:17.The kids graduate into drugs, crime and then fail at school. These

:16:18. > :16:23.families cost us dear financially and emotionally.

:16:24. > :16:30.I think these families should have an intensive programme of engagement

:16:31. > :16:34.and intervention. Teaching them basic life skills, have to be a

:16:35. > :16:37.positive member of their community. This would be done over a

:16:38. > :16:41.deliberately long-time friend, sending people to residential

:16:42. > :16:45.centres. This will be better and cheaper than sending people to

:16:46. > :16:53.prison over and over again. -- long time frame. We have got to do more

:16:54. > :16:57.than sending social workers into people's homes to get them out of

:16:58. > :17:04.bed. Prison hasn't worked, so what are we going to do? There is an idea

:17:05. > :17:10.that takes people out of their local environment into residential centres

:17:11. > :17:13.for more intensive engagement. These families are going to go through a

:17:14. > :17:17.daily, highly structured new routine. This routine will help them

:17:18. > :17:27.break the habit of offending and hopefully the habit of a lifetime.

:17:28. > :17:33.There is something about discipline. Doing it in a different

:17:34. > :17:40.place, having a fresh start. Trying again. I these families to have a

:17:41. > :17:44.better life. They need to break some habits, drugs, anti-social

:17:45. > :17:47.behaviour, definitely crime. This is an opportunity for them to start

:17:48. > :17:52.again and I'm really mean it. They need to move on. -- I really mean

:17:53. > :18:02.it. And Adam Simmonds joins us now.

:18:03. > :18:06.Welcome. You say prison hasn't worked in the cases you are talking

:18:07. > :18:11.about what you are proposing sounds similar to prison. What makes you

:18:12. > :18:15.think your idea will work? I think what we have to in this country is

:18:16. > :18:19.that police arrest people, they go to prison and they come out, and if

:18:20. > :18:24.you are on an order, you reoffend. Reoffending is too high. We have

:18:25. > :18:35.looked in Northamptonshire at families who go into prison but then

:18:36. > :18:39.go back when they come out. But you are putting them into an army boot

:18:40. > :18:43.camp where they will be told not to smoke, not to drink. Isn't that just

:18:44. > :18:49.like prison, which you have admitted has failed? It is not like was on.

:18:50. > :18:53.It is deliberate and controlled. You take them out of their community who

:18:54. > :19:00.finds them difficult to cope with and into this centre. Not every

:19:01. > :19:08.family is a criminal but they have a son or daughter who needs help to

:19:09. > :19:18.break that cycle. Michael Howard set up boot comes in 1977 and Colchester

:19:19. > :19:25.closed after a year. It was claimed a failure. We're not proposing to do

:19:26. > :19:30.that. Deals with the Government's current agenda have a few strands,

:19:31. > :19:34.and one of those was to take individuals and families out of an

:19:35. > :19:38.environment and put them into a much more controlled environment where

:19:39. > :19:44.they have a regular routine and they have wraparound services, social and

:19:45. > :19:49.education services. But how can you do it? How can you lock up an entire

:19:50. > :19:55.family, which is essentially what you're doing? Is it legally allowed?

:19:56. > :19:59.This is not about locking people up... You are still removing them

:20:00. > :20:04.from their home forcibly and putting them somewhere else. How can you do

:20:05. > :20:11.that? Part of it might be a magistrate 's licence, so this is

:20:12. > :20:18.part of your condition, for example. My issue with trouble families is

:20:19. > :20:21.that sometimes it is very easy to get 50% of them back into work and

:20:22. > :20:25.they were not really trouble families in the first place. The

:20:26. > :20:28.people we have the most problem with are those who have a lifestyle

:20:29. > :20:35.ingrained increment our tea, and that is what we need to break. -- in

:20:36. > :20:39.criminality. You have said it will be cheaper than prison but the

:20:40. > :20:43.glasshouse, the one in Michael Howard's scheme, was dubbed the Home

:20:44. > :20:51.Office Hilton, posit cost people ?850 each week, more than a luxury

:20:52. > :20:58.hotel. -- because it cost people. It is a very expensive way of doing it.

:20:59. > :21:09.It is a different decade and we are going to do things differently. We

:21:10. > :21:13.are having a cost per family and right now we are sending young

:21:14. > :21:17.people to young offenders institutes and they get the stigma and don't

:21:18. > :21:21.necessarily come out any different than when they went in. The whole

:21:22. > :21:25.point of this is to save lives and change people's direction of

:21:26. > :21:32.travel, and, in the long-term, that makes the community safer. But in

:21:33. > :21:35.the long-term, is removing them from their communities and dumping them

:21:36. > :21:44.on to an army base really the way to turn them into contributing member

:21:45. > :21:50.'s of society? Because if you look at it what was being done by one

:21:51. > :21:57.woman, she is dealing with them in their homes? It is about taking

:21:58. > :21:59.individuals out of their local environment and putting them into an

:22:00. > :22:04.environment where they have a much more controlled regime, as we do

:22:05. > :22:08.with drug addicts right now, and it is about working with them. But the

:22:09. > :22:12.difference with this is it is done for maybe two years. So you wrap

:22:13. > :22:20.services around for a long time and see the change.

:22:21. > :22:23.I am not against having this support to break generational habits and

:22:24. > :22:29.families but it is very expensive upfront, although it saves money if

:22:30. > :22:35.it is successful over the long-term. It may work for some and it might

:22:36. > :22:41.not work for others. You have to try it and see what works. Is that there

:22:42. > :22:47.has been so many cuts to local services by this Government, where

:22:48. > :22:54.we have 15 thousand fewer police officers. A lot of this prevention

:22:55. > :22:58.work and into community work is being taken away because of costs

:22:59. > :23:02.and by local police force say they are worried they are becoming just

:23:03. > :23:06.an emergency service. There had to cut the number of people they can

:23:07. > :23:10.get out on the beat, neighbourhood policing is beginning to be

:23:11. > :23:14.destroyed. All of that kind of effect of these huge cuts we have

:23:15. > :23:20.had makes that kind of work even harder. Isn't prevention better than

:23:21. > :23:24.cure? What is is talking about is using a fairly blunt instrument to

:23:25. > :23:31.deal with a problem that could be prevented. Isn't that the way to go?

:23:32. > :23:37.Let's not forget that crime is falling. One thing that strikes me.

:23:38. > :23:41.I have been to project where you take people out of their

:23:42. > :23:45.communities, and I've visited a project in Winchester where they

:23:46. > :23:49.took somebody who was a persistent offender out of their community and

:23:50. > :23:52.did a lot of work to rehabilitate them and change that person's life

:23:53. > :23:57.and turned it around. So what I think Adam is talking about strikes

:23:58. > :24:02.accord with many projects out there where you work with an individual

:24:03. > :24:04.but the challenge is, how do you do it with a family?

:24:05. > :24:08.What would happen if George Osborne wore a polka-dot pink bow tie for

:24:09. > :24:12.tomorrow's Autumn Statement? Or if his new puppy, Lola, joined him at

:24:13. > :24:16.the dispatch box? Well, for one thing, somebody would make a lot of

:24:17. > :24:20.money. Because it seems you can bet on anything these days. Some of

:24:21. > :24:24.these bets are frivolous but some can give you a bit of an insight

:24:25. > :24:27.into a speech with more than a little riding on it. Alex Donohue,

:24:28. > :24:36.from the bookmaker Ladbrokes, will be following events. He's on College

:24:37. > :24:42.Green now. Tell me, what are you looking for tomorrow? We have a big

:24:43. > :24:47.list of phrases from, as you say, the serious to the not so serious,

:24:48. > :24:52.and people will be looking at the odds and ticking them off. I think

:24:53. > :25:02.if he says Belinda that any time, a lot of people will be making a lot

:25:03. > :25:06.of money! -- Bullington club. It is not going to happen! But we do know

:25:07. > :25:14.he will definitely use the word deficit, won't he? Yes. You have to

:25:15. > :25:19.stake for pounds just to win a Pound back so very short odds. China is

:25:20. > :25:22.another one. Hard-working families. The interesting thing here is that

:25:23. > :25:26.in recent years, the odds are that term used to be a lot shorter but

:25:27. > :25:31.perhaps as times are changing, the odds are changing as well, and we

:25:32. > :25:34.don't think years is likely to say hard-working families as in recent

:25:35. > :25:45.times. -- we don't think he is as likely. What about Ed Balls? How

:25:46. > :25:52.many times as he going to say" cost of living"? Ah! Where do we start

:25:53. > :25:58.to?! You have to stake ?10 to win one. I think that looks like the

:25:59. > :26:06.bank of the day that Ed Balls will say that. If he says living

:26:07. > :26:11.standards, does that count? I think enquirer Ewood be the word there.

:26:12. > :26:17.What odds are you going to give me on George Osborne being replaced

:26:18. > :26:29.before the next election? This puts him in fairly safe standing, 5-1. We

:26:30. > :26:33.think you will probably be OK. And what odds will you give him on

:26:34. > :26:46.wearing a blue tie? The favourite, 6-4. The odds on no tie is 100 to

:26:47. > :26:55.one. I think he will stick to his trusty blue or purple. He likes

:26:56. > :26:58.purple as well. But his 3-1. He is obviously not going to appear with a

:26:59. > :27:02.little dog at the dispatch box but what sort of odds would you give me

:27:03. > :27:06.on him finding a way to appear with it at some stage during the day?

:27:07. > :27:11.That is the picture everybody wants to get but we think you probably

:27:12. > :27:15.won't bring the dog into play. It is very cute and would make a lovely

:27:16. > :27:23.picture but 50-1. A bit of an outsider that the dog shows its

:27:24. > :27:26.curly head tomorrow! Well, know, he wants good pictures, doesn't he?

:27:27. > :27:31.Years guaranteed to get on the front page with a lot of puppy dog like

:27:32. > :27:38.that! There might be a terrible mistake happening! Flashlights! Are

:27:39. > :27:45.a lots of people going to bet on this tomorrow? Probably ?5,000

:27:46. > :27:49.worth. Average stakes is ?5 to ?10, so nothing major and nothing that

:27:50. > :27:56.will make or break us. It is just a bit of fun! It is less than Jo's

:27:57. > :28:02.hourly rate! Thank you so much! Are you going to have a flutter

:28:03. > :28:07.tomorrow? I might get odds on how many U-turns there will be by the

:28:08. > :28:15.end of the year. But that is a subjective thing, whether the dog is

:28:16. > :28:23.there or not! I think it is a good bank on hard-working families.

:28:24. > :28:27.Now, it's time to put you out of your misery and give you the answer

:28:28. > :28:32.to Guess The Year. 1964 was the correct answer. Mark, press that big

:28:33. > :28:38.Red Button there. OK, that's all for today. Thanks to

:28:39. > :28:42.our guests. The One o'clock News is starting over on BBC One now. We'll

:28:43. > :28:45.be back tomorrow at 10:45 - yes, 10:45 - for live and uninterupted

:28:46. > :28:48.coverage of George Osbnorne's Autumn Statement. We'll have the build-up,

:28:49. > :28:52.the big announcement and all the reaction. So get your pork pies,

:28:53. > :28:56.your sarnies and your pack of Irn Bru in for our three-hour-plus epic!

:28:57. > :29:02.Goodbye.