22/01/2012 Sunday Politics East Midlands

The Conservative council leader who is accusing the Government to tax

and local authorities to fund academies. Has he got out case?

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1767 seconds

Hello, I am Marie Ashby. Coming up: The Conservative council leader who

is accusing the Government of taxing local authorities to fund

his Academy's programme. In some sense -- some sense as bid talk to

the Secretary of State. We speak to the MP of Loughborough and poll

homes. Nicky was a solicitor before entering Parliament,. First,

trouble A1 of her presence. -- prisons. It is not just Nottingham.

Nicky Morgan, we have 80,000 prisoners and more violent ones

than ever before. Officers say they do not have the time to form any

kind of relationship with them. What are you going to do? It is

something the Minister of Justice will have to consider. People want

is the hardened criminals in prison. People in prisons who work there

need to work with them. Officers and their early twenties are having

to retire on medical grounds because of the injuries they have

sustained. Something has to be done. There are nasty criminals and there.

It is a nasty environment. We lock up more people than anywhere else

in Western Europe. The Government's changes to disability benefit have

also been in the news. The coalition have survived a number of

amendments by the skin of its teeth. 0.5 million people will not receive

it. If people need it, they should be given it. I feel the way that

the current situation now is, disabled people need more help than

ever before. I think the Government Sion it reduce it because disabled

people need it. -- should not. There are too many people using and

abusing the system when they should not be. People who are getting

benefits, those who should know, it is those issued Hett. Those with

disability does not compare with the number of tax dodgers in

business and banks that they raise. Are the Government's reforms

justified or are they just plain unfair. Sympathy For disability

claimants, but also a feeling that the system is being abused. A

system is being abused by a small number of people. The general

thrust of what the Government is doing well be a big step forward.

But penalising people on disability living allowance will takes about 5

million people of, that is not based on a national -- rational

need. -- 0.5 million. You have a proper assessment system. There are

people who have been on disability living allowance for a long time.

They have been asked, could you work? There are people who want to

work. They have not got the support to be able to do that. That is what

we are changing. It is about helping people to be as independent

as they can be. It seems incredible that many claimants do not have

that face to face contact to talk about the situation they are in.

is not a proper assessment system. They have said they're going to cut

of 20% of the Bill. That is before you do an assessment. If you do

proper fist of his assessments, -- if you do a proper face to face

assessments, do them. There were 60 presenter people who appealed

against their decisions. They take a few boxes and do not do a full

medical assessment are told. have heard that half of those who

were denied the new benefit have had a reinstated on appeal. If that

does not show the need to tread carefully, what does?

Government recognises there is a need to tread carefully. We have a

difficult economic situation. We know the benefits bill has grown

and grown. When I go out, people say to me, how is it that I am

working very hard and saving, yet the people down the road appear to

be getting money in and have a better lifestyle than me? There is

an and furnace at the moment. If we as people on low salaries, we have

to make sure that people are getting the benefits are entitled

to. It was shown to be working in some areas of the country. There

has been some refinements which looked at the benefit of people

with health and mental conditions. There is also -- or was going to be

changes. There is a need to attack the system. What is your advice to

the Government? If you are doing a proper assessment, why announce in

advance that you are going to find 20% of people who will no longer

get the benefit. You should do proper assessments. We had a very

good version. MH is a Lords tomorrow. We will be watching. --

it will reach the Lords tomorrow. Academies Act - it they are already

controversial. Now the Conservative leader in Leicestershire is

accusing the Government of taxing local authorities to fund them. He

is demanding action. It is a central plank of the

Government's education policy - persuading schools under the

control of local authorities to convert to academy status. State

maintained but independently run, academies have more freedom to

manage their own affairs. If Education Secretary Michael Gove

has his way, they will become the norm. We have lots of excuses who

do not believe in giving children a better education. It is time to

call them what they are - ideals. Change is coming and to those who

want to get in the way, I have just two words - hands off. But the old

system of council control schools seems to be serving Leicestershire

very well. The county has a higher percentage of outstanding schools

than anywhere else in the country. Leicestershire's Conservative

leader has announced reservations about the past and he backs the

idea and was so well but see it is concerned about the financial

implications. Effectively there is �100 tax a local authority for

every pupil that goes into an academy. That equates to about �10

million a year on a budget. In times of economic strength, that is

a lot of money. A 11% of schools and Leicestershire are academies or

applying to be. Academies are less popular in Derbyshire where the

figure is 6%. In Nottinghamshire 13% of schools are poor want to be

academies. And Lincolnshire has the highest proportion - around 20%.

Academy status is clearly a highly sensitive issue. We found it very

hard to pin their local authorities on what their official view is.

Individual schools are especially reluctant to peak -- speak out. One

head teacher told us academy status would be a tragedy for the pupils

of Leicestershire. But later pulled out of an interview he had agreed

to give us. But the Executive principle here at Melton Vale Post-

16 Centre has said he would speak to us. We have registered an

interest with the Department for Education which is the first that.

The governors have a meeting next week where they will be considering

where they want to take things forward. What is your own view of

academy status? I think it is a great shame. We were stronger by

being together. What the world has changed, the local authorities made

that clear that they can no longer fulfil that role. And we need to

become an academy. Do you feel as if you have been left with no

option? Yes, absolutely. challenge now is to ensure that

schools that prefer the status quo are not financially penalised.

Leicestershire council is working with local MPs to press the

Government for a fairer funding. Ian Lever from the National Union

of Teachers has joined us. You were one of the MPs who met David

Parsons this week. Has he got a kiss? A Yes, he has a case. Any

local authority... And that is what the MPs are there for her. There is

a lot of detail cut up in it. There is the underfunding of

Leicestershire Schools which is contributing to this problem.

it should be run the council should subsidise academies. That is right.

That is why the figures have got to be looked at. If it is part of a

bigger debate. Here we are in a position a change, or only 40% of

Leicestershire Schools are academies. We are in that

transitional period. That is why the Secretary of State will want to

hear the argument. Should Michael Gove give Leicestershire and other

councils the money they are losing? He will do because that is the aim

of the programme, to get schools to compete with one another. To do

that is to get along some. Why it a Conservative council is surprised

by that I do not know. One schools opted out in the 1980s, that is

what they were based UN. That is what academies are based on now. -

back based on. What do you think? share the view that it is baffling

to me that this is some surprise. If you encourage schools to leave

the local authority, Take That lump of money with them, the local

authority has less money left. is simple mass! Every teacher will

tell you that the best teaching is done by teachers working together.

The best schools are those the work with other schools in the area and

have the support of a local authority that is properly funded

so it is able to supply all the support it needs. If you take-away

the money when budgets are being cut anyway, they will not deal to

afford it. They're all saying you are missing something on this one.

They should have seen this coming. They have hysteric underfunding. --

historical. That is one issue. We have to check the 50 pound figure

that David Parsons has used. We are waiting for details of that. I was

whether Ian up until he was worth it has to be under local authority

control. My schools are working collaborative, they are working on

curriculum. They have converted most of them and their working well.

It is a positive thing for pupils. It was mentioned twice in the film

as well and it is bandied around the whole time. Schools are not

under local authority control. Schools receive support from local

authorities. One of the big carrots for schools to be able to opt out

of local a 30 control, what they're doing it is moving away from the

support that the local authority offers them. We need to try and

move away from that terminology because it does not hold any water.

Does not hold any water. I am not sure about that. When the money has

come from the local authority, they have got control. The schools can,

we have to look at whether the local authority can provide support

which the schools can buy back from a local a 30. My schools are saying

they can get things cheaper from another provider. -- local

authority. It is not just the local a 30, one person sitting in an

office deciding how money will be allocated. -- and authority. There

are groups sitting together who decide how the money is allocated.

There is Nahla -- accountability there that is not there. You will

have a free-for-all where all schools do what they our doing --

do what they want to do and there is no control. If you are competing

together a working together they can raise standards. We have the

head teacher more in control in terms of teaching and discipline

and the curriculum. My schools are saying they can offer a broader

curriculum because they can work together. This is nonsense. When I

was first working in Derbyshire in the 1980s, the local education

authority left to make a manager schools. That ended in the 1988

Education Act. Michael gold manages was schools are doing not local

authorities. -- Michael Gove. In Sweden where they have gone down

this road, they found that they have had a drop in attainment. If

you have schools competing in a free-market which the ideological

approaches, then you have winners and losers instead of a

collaborative approach. Academies are shown that standards are going

up. No, academies have not shown this. There is no truth in that it

off. You cannot say local authorities control schools are

Michael Gove does. You cannot have it both ways. You cannot say there

system we had was perfect and now we are have not got one there is.

There is the danger year there once schools have elected to become

academies, there is no going back. So ever goes back, it goes wrong

beg. There is no going back and that is deliberate. They do not

want people to go back. One of the other points that was touched on,

schools could still buy these local a authority services. Local

authority Kate's back eight per 10% of the money to provide services

for Deaf children, that sort of thing. If you have a school in a

Naphill an area that has long it took -- special educational needs

and has no problem pupils, that money will not be there. It is a

very divisive process. One thing that does worry people is what does

happen in a situation when something goes wrong. Say an

academy has financial problems, you could end up with a horrible

scenario like the crisis of the Southern Cross old people's homes.

Then the Government came men. They would come in, would work with

management and centre in a school improvement team. That is what the

CFE would do. Which was the money which the council used to provide.

There is no great enthusiasm for this and Leicestershire. There is

no enthusiasm from parents. A lot of it is rushed through and it was

speeded up by Leicestershire County Council were saying you need to go

for it now because if there will be not any services provided for you

and 12 Munster. Our some principles they used on a report, they feel

they have no option but to become academies. They are being pressured

into it. There is strong encouragement. Leicestershire

County Council does encourage it. They have an option, they can just

say no. It is up to the governing bodies. They work with the head

teachers at the end of the day. It is the right way to go. I can say

locally it is an exciting time for my local schools, in terms of the

way they are running themselves. I am delighted. It is great to be

working with them. They are taking education forward. Deeply insulting

to hear Michael Gove saying that those of us who have been teachers

for many years not caring about the education of children. That is very

insulting. Thank you for joining her debate. Time For A round-up of

the political weaken the East Midlands in 60 seconds. --

political week in their East Midlands.

Fry's Crimestoppers now a group of Leicestershire residents wants the

Government to help -- set up health cover so people can voice their

concerns about feelings and the NHS. Shopping ways -- shopping around

for ways to have revitalise our eyes streets. Some people say we

should converter NT shops and housing. Patients should be allowed

access a new cancer drug. She says it is the biggest breakthrough for

treating advanced melanoma has in the last 30 years. Dennis Skinner

wanted to know when the Prime Minister will be giving evidence to

the Levenson acquire it. Doesn't he agree that the British people

deserve an answer as to why he appointed one of Murdoch's toddler

tenants, Andy Coulson, to the heart of the British Government. --

lieutenant. As I say to my children, do not go to the museum to see a

dinosaur. Come to the House of Commons.

Ouch! He's in trouble again about being ageist. I think he was a

clear that attitude. It was nice to see a politician to say what he

thinks. PMQs is not representative about the whole of the weekend

Westminster. A bit of fun? Dennis Skinner's views have not changed

since the miners' strike. He cannot take offence because it is what he