15/01/2012 Sunday Politics East Midlands

Good afternoon and welcome to the very first edition of the Sunday

In the East Midlands, should local authorities accept a government

offer to freeze cancelled Cup -- council tax? Some council leader

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1683 seconds

say the coalition is setting them a Hello, I'm Marie Ashby and welcome

to the Sunday Politics in the East Midlands. Coming up:

Is it too good to be true? Why the leaders of two of our cities say

the Government's offer to freeze council tax is setting them a trap

With me throughout the programme, the Conservative MP for Broxtowe,

Anna Soubry, and Chris Williamson, the Shadow Communities Minister who

represents Derby North. Many of you will remember Anna from her days as

a reporter and presenter for Central Television in our region.

She then trained to become a barrister. Chris is a former

bricklayer and social worker. And he was a member of Derby City

Council for 20 years. Both of them entered Parliament for the first

time at the last election. You must be in a very small minority in the

Commons, Chris. A working-class MP! No, it is an incredible privilege

to represent my City as a Member of Parliament and it is true to say

that the number of MPs that are from a working-class background has

been falling over the last 50 or 60 years and I think all the political

parties have done a lot to increase representation from women and

people from minority backgrounds, but what we haven't done, but

parties are beginning to recognise this, is that if we are going to be

truly representative, we need more people from working-class

backgrounds. It is great to have the opportunity to represent my

city and coming from that background, I have got a better

ability to understand the concerns and issues of the people. Is this

really the job you've always wanted? No. To be honest, I didn't

really know what job I wanted! Things have just come along. I

think all MPs, the thing we share in, is a desire to make change,

that is why we get into politics, because we want to be empowered to

bring about those changes. It is how we do it is how we differ, so I

got involved in politics, and I was involved as a student, and then a

few years ago I got back to it because I felt very strongly about

things and I wanted to be a part of a change and make a difference. And

that is something I enjoy doing, especially when you can help

constituents out or stop and how I used settling in? I have tried to

find my feet, but you do get used to your working environment, which

is important because if you are going to be representing people,

you need to feel comfortable in your workplace, and it is an

important job that we are trying to do. And, so, yes, I can basically

find my way around. I have reached my office, so I am OK. And you?

I have got an office now. I enjoy it, the staff are extremely helpful

and kind, there is fantastic support services, whether it is in

the library, from your own party and own colleagues. And I like the,

Roderick and the banter, and members of the opposition, you

enjoy their company, and insult -- and enjoyed the insults on a joke

bases. Well, this week was an important

landmark in a case Anna's been taking a strong interest in. And

that's the horrific story involving a Stapleford mental health patient,

William Barnard, who killed his grandfather after stabbing him 50

times, and then seriously injured his grandmother when she tried to

protect him. An independent inquiry has identified serious failings in

the way his case was handled by his mental health team. They failed to

act despite Barnard refusing to open the door to them on several

occasions and despite the fact that he'd stopped taking his medication.

His uncle told East Midlands Today the report is a condemnation of the

health trust's failures. We would still have our father with us now

if any one of those many, many missed opportunities had been acted

Anna, You've been in regular contact with the family. They're

now calling for an inquest and they want the staff responsible for

those failings to be held accountable. Are they right? Very

much so. I think this must be the most damning report. Certainly,

Paul Bacon, who represented William Barnard, a unpaid, as a solicitor,

he says, and he has considerable experience in mental health cases,

this is the worst report he has seen and it is the worst one I have

seen. A damning indictment, a systemic failure and an absolute

outrage and scandal. My concern is that this report still doesn't not

tackle the questions that should have been answered. The strategic

health authority had not appreciated why these failings

occurred. And one of the things that really has caused me enormous

concern is that when William Barnard was taken out of hospital,

important information was not handed over to his new team. We

have the psychiatric nurses, if they had known that information,

they would have acted sooner. It is not missed opportunities but an

absolute failing to look after William, Corps went on to murder

his grandfather. -- who went on to murder. Do you think, Chris, that

we do enough in cases like this to bring those responsible to account?

This is an incredibly tragic case, and the report is pretty damning of

the way in which the perpetrator of this horrific crime was actually

handled. We do need to learn some lessons from this. And I think it

is... It is an indication of why we need to be so very careful in how

we handle the National Health Service and how we deal with

reorganisation because the last thing we need is a situation where

the transformation which is being proposed within the National Health

Service could actually make matters worse rather than better. But we

hear this so often that lessons have got to be learnt, but they

haven't, have they? What more should we be doing? They want to

make sure, the family, that all of these recommendations are carried

out. The real thing about this is this is not a party political point,

and not an issue, but mental health has been a Cinderella service and

the people that work in mental health, the people that looked

after William are often the most dedicated people and the the most

appalling circumstances and that is why they need to be properly

supervised and that is why communication needs to be better

and they need to have plans of action. The inquiry pointed out

that William Barnard did not have a history of violence and the attack

was not predictable. That is their due, but they are wrong because in

2002, when he was poorly for the first time, William disclosed to

his psychiatrist he thought people were going to kill him. He said he

had an axe, he probably didn't, those were her it -- his delusions,

but those were indicators of what might happen and those were the

risk factors that they spectacularly failed to make sure

to put there. The team didn't know that, and that is a complete

failure that really should be absolutely nailed and should be

understood, and it was a disgrace because John McGrath did not have

to die. Why don't we punish those responsible? The important thing is

not to demonise the mental health workers, who do an incredibly

difficult job, and I think Anna Soubry would agree. They have got

to have the adequate resources, training, supervision. So that they

avoid future tragedies. This report does not identify the supervisors

of the two most important key workers who, through no fault of

their own, could not give William the sort of care and attention they

needed. One of them was sick, in the most critical three-month

period, but nobody was supervising him. That is not in this report.

is an absolute tragedy and I know that you will have strong views on

our next story, too, the council tax.

I know you'll both have strong views on our next story, council

tax. The Government has offered councils a 2.5% increase in revenue

if they freeze the amount they charge you and me for the coming

year. But it's not quite that simple. Labour councillors smell a

trap, not least because they'll have to hold a referendum if they

reject the offer and increase rates by more than 3.5%. Here's our

political editor, John Hess. The relationship between national

government and our local councils can be a cat-and-mouse affair, so

who has got the cream, who feels rather trap? -- rather trapped up?

The annual budget round has become a craft that -- tougher game with

the Government wanting increases prison and is offering town halls a

cash incentive. Labour run Nottingham have rejected it. It is

a trap. If we take the money, it is going to cost us in great deal of

money further down the line. It will be a bit like taking out a pay

the loan and then paying about 40% interest per year. There is a

silver lining in those grey skies. Not an's council tax will rise by

3.4%. Accepting a freeze, Labour says, would mean it getting lower

funding the following year for benefit payments. We will lose

about a million pounds a year. that is big money? It has big

implications across services. And that is the crab. You will not hear

talk of a political trap here. County Hall in Nottinghamshire is

run by the Conservatives and they warm to the idea of a council tax

freeze. We have been given �7.7 million extra this year to put into

our budget and we have already taken that into account so we don't

have to make so many savings as we had expected to, so I am grateful

to the Government, and also there will be money there for next year

which means I do not have to ask the public to put the -- their

hands in their pockets. It would be wrong to but the council tax up,

especially when we have been offered money from the government

to keep it down. In Leicester, as in Labour Nottingham, the

Government's cash offer has been turned down. It's Labour mayor is

planning a 3.5% increase. The alternative, he says, is big cuts

to services and jobs. A1 % increase in the council tax produces �1

million. If we were to take the freeze Bob Grant, what it would do

is give us �2 million extra, but we would have to cut �3.5 million in

the coming year, and over the years to come a further �10 million in

three years. This grant is a trap. There is no other word for it.

is buried disappointing that Leicester City Council should take

that attitude. -- it is very disappointing. We are trying to

help hard-pressed families with their council to -- council tax

bills and all the surveys show that council tax is a concern. Coming

soon, the referendum game. Council tax increases over 3.5% will

trigger a referendum. The voters will have the final say. Who will

end up in the Mousetrap then a? So which way do you think councils

should jump? Joining us now, the Lib Dem leader of Hinckley and

Bosworth Council, Stuart Bray. What are you going to do? Are you going

to take the Government's money? we will freeze our council tax and

take the offer, which has about �105,000. Why? We think the people

of Hinckley and Bosworth are feeling the pinch right now, so we

have decided that it would be wrong we didn't take the offer. It would

be wrong and people are feeling the pinch. Well, this is the typical

Tory Lib Dem cynical gimmick, to give the impression is that they

are handling local government finances well. The truth is the

Government has singled out local government for the single biggest

reduction in funding of all public services. And, let's be clear,

local government is responsible for some of the most important public

services that defines the kind of society in which we live. And they

are being hammered. What is worse is that the areas like Nottingham,

Leicester, Derby, other cities and towns in the Midlands and the North

and some in London, they are bearing the biggest burden. And

more affluent parts of the country are seeing hardly any reduction at

all, so what we are seeing here is the poorest communities been

sacrificed on the altar of deficit reduction, whilst they are looking

after their friends in the Tory shire. So, you will take the money

despite that report, warning it will cost you more in the long run?

I am not going to come here and tell Graeme and Peter and others

have to run their council finances, that is their decision, and they

will have to answer to their electric. From our point of view,

we are taking �105,000, because it is the right thing to do, and we

will adjust our budget accordingly. We are losing 25% of our Grant ever

the first two years, but we are making savings and we have been

able to do that. Well, you have made your decision. Is there a

trap? They are allowing very well run and responsible local

authorities like the one Stewart leads to do the right thing. The

simple and reality is we are bust. We do not have any money. We have

reached the limit on our credit card. If anybody like that lives

like that, you have to make cuts. And Labour... Hang on, because you

had a good save. Labour will be doing exactly the same thing. And

we now know that if you get elected in 2015, you will continue to make

a cuts. Because of the deficit. Let's be clear. You're failing to

acknowledge the fact that George Osborne has had to borrow an

additional hundred �58 billion, which came out in the Autumn

Statement. -- an additional �158 billion. We should be investing in

growth. Remember, local government workers all pay tax. They are being

sacked in their tens and hundreds of thousands. We will not be

sacking anybody! They all pay tax and national insurance. I would

like to be clear on this, too. will not cut public service.

Impacts on the wider economy. Private sector organisations,

construction industries, that is on its knees. What will you Cup?

result of it -- the cuts... What would you cut? On Nottinghamshire's

figures, the taxpayer would save the grand total of �30 a year.

Don't knock it. I am not knocking it, I am telling you. That is

roughly �2.50 a month. For some people, that is a lot of money if.

It is a pint of beer. Is it really worth cutting more services?

some people, that is an awful lot of money in difficult times. There

are people not only having their pay frozen, they are finding they

are having overtime cut, these are difficult times. We are investing

in growth. You are not! We are having these enterprise zones.

are rearranging the deckchairs! These are proper investments we

need to see for growth. The reality is where we are. Kate cuts identify

is that she has a moral obligation when the government is helping her

counsel in the way it is, in the long-term, like Stuart Bray's

Council, helping to make sure that we are running our governments are

efficiently. What happens there year after? You're deficit X mac

what happens in the following year? What happens then? What is Labour's

solution? The government has been warning local authorities that if

they put up the council tax by more than 3.5%, they will have to put it

to referendum. Is that a step too far? I have got mixed reviews.

Years, you are sitting quietly in a corner. I would like to say about

the enterprise zones. Hinckley and Bosworth, that is not a gimmick.

This is bringing in thousands of jobs which my administration has

been helping to facilitate. On the referendum, I do have mixed views.

It is right the Government should be sent to councils, in tough times

keep the levels of council tax down but I think there are a couple of

problems. First, the cap level which is 3.5%. A lot of inflation

is running wild, probably 1% higher than that, so that is a cut or

local authorities. The second point, in my own authority, 1% of our

council tax rises about �44,000. My officers have advised me to run a

referendum, it would cost �100,000, so we would put our council tax up

to have a referendum, which is double standards in Government,

because we are not having a referendum on income tax. So, it is

not the time for a referendum? Myself as a local politician, I am

accountable two Electric. Thank you. -- accountable to my electric.

a round-up of the political week in the East Midlands with John Hess.

Good news for Tory leader of North West Leicestershire Council and

independent candidate has dropped an election court case with him.

When he announced he was quitting as an East Midlands euro MP, he

wanted Rupert Matthews to be his successor. It seems conservative

head office is worried he is too much of a maverick, even more than

Roger, clearly. Latest child poverty figures shows that

Nottinghamshire is the 9th was deprived authority. It underlines

the need for early intervention. Loughborough's Nicky Morgan wants

more help for children in rural areas. The Conservative MP is

worried cuts in school bus services are forcing some pupils to walk

along dangerous row at the stop at PMQss, Liz Kendall highlighted the

plight of 14-year-old Bethany Nicol Bird, who desperately needs a bone

marrow transplant. David Cameron agreed more needs to