:01:21. > :01:31.In the East... Where does it all go? We all pay tax, so shouldn't we
:01:31. > :01:31.
:01:31. > :35:12.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2020 seconds
:35:12. > :35:18.And are housing benefit changes Welcome to Sunday Politics East.
:35:18. > :35:22.I am Amelia Reynolds. Coming up, as rents rise, local housing
:35:22. > :35:26.allowances are failing to keep up. It is leaving some families facing
:35:26. > :35:33.the prospect of losing their home. But first, let us meet this week's
:35:33. > :35:36.guests. On home turf, the Lib Dem MP for Cambridge, Julian Huppert.
:35:36. > :35:40.And Bob Blizzard, the former Labour MP for Waveney and its prospective
:35:40. > :35:46.parliamentary candidate. I want to ask about this week's
:35:46. > :35:53.growth figures or lack of them. The UK economy shrank by more than
:35:53. > :35:56.expected at the end of fleshier, with growth falling by 0.2% and
:35:56. > :36:04.debt topping a trillion Pounds. Are we heading for that double-dip
:36:04. > :36:11.recession? It is not encouraging. We have not managed to pick up from
:36:11. > :36:17.problems in 2008. But the East of England is doing relatively better.
:36:17. > :36:21.Cambridge won a big accolade. There was a study showing that 80 is a
:36:21. > :36:26.city doing the best across the country, still delivering, with
:36:26. > :36:33.unemployment coming down. Long-term unemployment and youth unemployment
:36:33. > :36:37.is going down. It is very good news. Bob blizzard, Labour said they
:36:37. > :36:43.would keep the cuts. So you would - - so we would still be in the same
:36:43. > :36:48.position if you were in charge. What we can see this week is
:36:48. > :36:55.absolutely clear. David Cameron has got it wrong. We are going through
:36:55. > :36:59.the pain of higher taxes and lower pensions and pay. We have record
:36:59. > :37:04.deck of a trillion pounds and we are not even an economy that is
:37:04. > :37:11.standing still, it is shrinking. The coalition has got it wrong,
:37:11. > :37:15.cutting too deep, too far. The is no getting away from the cuts or
:37:15. > :37:21.getting out of paying your taxes. But do we know what the taxes are
:37:21. > :37:31.spent on. One Suffolk MP has a cunning plan. He revealed all in
:37:31. > :37:33.
:37:33. > :37:43.the House of Commons this week. Around 26 million people pay income
:37:43. > :37:53.tax every year, but none of us know where it goes. Benefits, transport.
:37:53. > :37:56.
:37:56. > :38:02.Schools, hospitals. Maybe defence? Who knows? Would you like to know?
:38:02. > :38:09.Riding to the rescue, the MP for Essex. If he gets his way, we will
:38:09. > :38:15.all get a statement telling us higher taxes are spent. It would be
:38:15. > :38:20.a national water cooler moment. Instead of talking about the latest
:38:20. > :38:26.television, he believes week will be intrigued, amazed or even out
:38:26. > :38:36.raged at how taxes are spent. This is the sort of big round someone on
:38:36. > :38:41.
:38:41. > :38:51.�2,000 would go on benefits, just over �1,000 on NHS and over �800 on
:38:51. > :38:53.
:38:53. > :38:57.education. �92 on roads and �53 on You would not expect to know -- you
:38:57. > :39:03.would expect to know what you pay for in a restaurant. You should
:39:03. > :39:10.know what your taxes are spent on. It can be meaningless hearing about
:39:10. > :39:15.Chileans. But having a statement would make it more realistic. --
:39:15. > :39:23.meaning with hearing about trillions. This is just a puff
:39:23. > :39:31.piece. There is one MP that thinks this would be a waste of money, but
:39:32. > :39:36.it has been well received amongst many.
:39:36. > :39:40.And we are joined by Ben Gummer. Why do you think it is all
:39:40. > :39:46.important to know every last detail? Aren't there more important
:39:46. > :39:51.things to worry about? It is our biggest outgoing and we are told
:39:51. > :39:54.nothing about how much we pay and where it goes, meaning that or
:39:54. > :39:59.representatives like me and was then the studio, it makes it
:39:59. > :40:03.difficult to connect with voters to say where money is going and
:40:04. > :40:07.decisions made. It is utterly bizarre that we hand over thousands
:40:07. > :40:14.and thousands of pounds to the Government, get we have no
:40:14. > :40:20.explanation of how that is spent. The figures are interesting. About
:40:20. > :40:25.�2,000 goes on pensions and benefits if you earn �25,000. Isn't
:40:25. > :40:33.this going to fuel controversy, with people saying they do not want
:40:33. > :40:37.their money spent on that? Yes and I hope that happens. People might
:40:37. > :40:41.engage more with the ballot box. People do not vote because they
:40:41. > :40:45.feel no connection between what they do and what we do in
:40:45. > :40:55.Parliament. That will make cuts of more accountable and make voters
:40:55. > :40:59.more engaged. -- that will make us more accountable. If you take it as
:40:59. > :41:07.25p per itemised statement, or everyone working, we are looking at
:41:07. > :41:12.�5 million. I have given the maximum costs, which is unusual for
:41:12. > :41:19.politicians. It could be considerably offset, going out with
:41:19. > :41:25.existing revenue letters, or it could be sponsored by advertising.
:41:25. > :41:29.By that point, it will cost little. The return is amazing, because for
:41:30. > :41:35.the first time, you connect people with money which at the moment is
:41:35. > :41:42.expressed in billions and trillions and turn it into what it means for
:41:42. > :41:49.them. Let us bring guests into this. It is all about being accountable
:41:49. > :41:54.and value for money. It is a good idea, giving people more
:41:54. > :41:59.information. Some people could say we do not spend enough on some
:41:59. > :42:05.things. That could be good. It could also dispel myths. There is a
:42:05. > :42:10.lot of discussion about money going to be EU, which is tiny compared to
:42:10. > :42:14.other things. Councils do do this already, sending out a list of what
:42:14. > :42:23.is spent roughly. We could have informed discussions with people
:42:23. > :42:27.knowing more. This would be a way forward. It is important we help
:42:27. > :42:32.the public make a connection between taxes and what is received
:42:32. > :42:37.on it. My one worry about Ben Gummer's suggestion is that, with
:42:37. > :42:42.his personal itemised bill, people may look at the items they do not
:42:42. > :42:45.like, cross that out, and maybe tried to withhold money. That is
:42:46. > :42:50.what happened to councils when Margaret Thatcher said we had to
:42:50. > :42:54.itemise what was there for non- collection. People with help that
:42:54. > :43:02.amount of money and it was costly trying to recover these bits of
:43:02. > :43:10.unpaid tax. How would you answer that? Most taxpayers paid by Pay As
:43:10. > :43:13.You earn, so they cannot do anything. But a lot of people have
:43:13. > :43:20.self-assessment and have to be a balance. You will find some people
:43:20. > :43:26.saying they will not pay for that. That is what worries me. We are
:43:27. > :43:32.talking about 5% top tax payers. But let us engage people. People
:43:32. > :43:37.refuse to peeve their portion of the US expenditure during be
:43:37. > :43:42.Vietnam war. -- people refuse to pay. Some people went to prison as
:43:42. > :43:46.a result. Why not have the same things for people care about? The
:43:46. > :43:53.war in Iraq might have been more of a problem if people could see the
:43:53. > :44:02.cost it was causing. I voted against the Iraq war, not you
:44:03. > :44:07.saying I voted for it. Julian would like to make a point. I would like
:44:07. > :44:11.it if it identified things for people. I would love it both of you
:44:11. > :44:16.parties opposed spending money on Trident. It would be good for
:44:16. > :44:22.people to know. Then people can challenge things. I think there
:44:22. > :44:28.will be things where people will want more money. We would go back
:44:28. > :44:35.to the days or poll tax protests, which are a nightmare. We will have
:44:35. > :44:41.to leave it there. Thank you very much. We shall see what happens.
:44:41. > :44:44.More from the both of you later. We are moving on to the Government's
:44:44. > :44:48.Welfare Reform Bill. It has suffered six defeats in the House
:44:48. > :44:54.of Lords, with the bishops launching the assault on the
:44:54. > :44:58.benefit cap of �26,000. Existing benefits for housing will be
:44:58. > :45:02.integrated into this existing credit and critics claimed children
:45:02. > :45:09.will be hardest hit the families have no where to bowl. Joseph Holt
:45:09. > :45:14.met one family facing that. -- know where to bowl. Many more may face
:45:14. > :45:19.them -- may find themselves in a similar situation with no where to
:45:19. > :45:25.For Kristel Hartup and her family, time is running out. They are
:45:25. > :45:31.desperately seeking accounts will house. Now my tenancy is ending, I
:45:31. > :45:37.am facing becoming homeless. The only help his temporary
:45:37. > :45:41.accommodation or privately renting, but I cannot afford that.
:45:41. > :45:48.family has been on a waiting list for two years, but there are many
:45:48. > :45:54.families like Harrods and not enough homes. When I am on my own,
:45:54. > :46:01.it is a frightening place to be. We may have to live an hour away from
:46:01. > :46:05.my mother. The council had said they will do all that the can, but
:46:05. > :46:11.a hostel can be a short-term reality. Jimmy's Night Shelter is
:46:11. > :46:19.home to Barry Griffiths. She had a job as a civil servant, a home and
:46:19. > :46:24.relationship. Government cuts saw the job go, the rest soon followed.
:46:24. > :46:29.Finding his own place again is his number one priority, but it is
:46:29. > :46:34.difficult. We looked around one property available, but there is a
:46:34. > :46:39.considerable shortfall between housing benefit and rental prices.
:46:39. > :46:45.It is pretty tough as an individual to get a house in Cambridge. There
:46:45. > :46:51.is a lot of demand for student population, or every other type of
:46:51. > :46:59.population, with a big competition from the city council to try and
:46:59. > :47:05.get places, especially if you are like myself. This is where the
:47:05. > :47:10.benefits cut hit hard and it has got worse. The benefit is
:47:10. > :47:14.calculated on a wide area, and the large part of the county,
:47:14. > :47:22.calculated on a percentage depending on the highest and low
:47:22. > :47:27.rents. That sets the local housing allowance to very low levels.
:47:27. > :47:33.allowance border two bedroom property is �575 per month. There
:47:33. > :47:38.are currently only 10 properties below �700. That is not likely to
:47:38. > :47:42.change unless there are more properties available. There are
:47:42. > :47:48.currently around 400 in the properties, like these. Around 100
:47:48. > :47:53.of them are talking to the council and could end up on council books.
:47:53. > :47:56.Given there are approaching 100 homeless households in the county,
:47:57. > :48:03.the council say this sooner they can get hold of these empty
:48:03. > :48:08.properties, the better. This property has been empty for five
:48:08. > :48:11.years. South Cambridgeshire District Council recognised the
:48:11. > :48:18.need for more stock, working alongside a company that manages
:48:18. > :48:22.homes, more properties like this could soon have tenants. A family
:48:22. > :48:26.in housing need will live here, perhaps one that has recently
:48:26. > :48:31.become homeless or has been living with relatives and been asked to
:48:31. > :48:37.leave. Perhaps someone already in a privately rented property and the
:48:37. > :48:45.landlord needs it back. Perfect for someone like Kristel. Sadly, she
:48:45. > :48:51.lives outside of the region -- of the area, so she has few options.
:48:51. > :48:59.do not know how -- I do not know what to do it.
:48:59. > :49:02.Kristl Hartup ending that report. Julian Huppert, you are campaigning
:49:02. > :49:09.over using empty properties like the one in the film. A nice idea.
:49:09. > :49:15.But there are just under 100 in Cambridge. We think there is more
:49:15. > :49:21.like 1,000. The council is doing work on 100. One thing I am keen to
:49:21. > :49:25.do is support a campaign, where you can report empty homes. If a home
:49:25. > :49:35.has been empty for more than six months, God took the website on
:49:35. > :49:40.empty homes. -- go to the website. We have a massive housing crisis.
:49:40. > :49:46.There are about 7,000 people in Cambridge waiting for housing. It
:49:46. > :49:52.is upsetting to see all these houses sitting empty. Are you
:49:53. > :49:57.taking this to the house? I will ask a question on Monday. We need
:49:57. > :50:04.to build housing, have more affordable housing. But also use
:50:04. > :50:08.the stock we have already. It can make a huge difference. Labour were
:50:08. > :50:15.on the road to welfare reform and to support a benefit cap affecting
:50:15. > :50:19.housing benefit. The problem we have is we have something like
:50:19. > :50:25.30,000 people in the country, their total amount of benefit is greater
:50:25. > :50:34.than what people would regard as an average working wage. What do we do
:50:34. > :50:39.about that? The Government's CAB will save �270 million, -- cap. But
:50:39. > :50:47.it will make 20,000 people made him less and been to bed and breakfast.
:50:47. > :50:52.-- made homeless. So it does not balance? We need to make sure that
:50:52. > :50:58.people who can work are better off by working. I am upset when people
:50:58. > :51:03.who fell into the benefit trap come to see me. People find, starting to
:51:03. > :51:07.work ended up with less money. That is not right. You have to make sure
:51:08. > :51:15.there is the incentive to work. People getting so much from
:51:15. > :51:23.benefits... You will not help them by putting council association
:51:23. > :51:27.rents up. That will put more people on to housing benefit. That is a
:51:27. > :51:35.different issue. Housing -- council housing prices are not going up
:51:35. > :51:42.like that. Let us talk about high rents. Cambridge is a property hot
:51:42. > :51:46.spot. What could be done for more affordable rents? The high rents
:51:46. > :51:51.are fuelling the amount of housing benefit. The public does not like
:51:51. > :51:57.to see that amount of money spent on benefit. If you cut housing
:51:57. > :52:01.benefit while rents stay high, you put people into poverty. We have
:52:01. > :52:10.started building more council houses, which did not happen under
:52:10. > :52:14.Labour, we have already built more social housing. We have... If I
:52:14. > :52:20.could finish. We have built more social housing and happened and 13
:52:20. > :52:25.years. I spoke to a housing association yesterday. Those people
:52:25. > :52:31.would normally put up houses per year, which is decreasing because
:52:31. > :52:35.their grant is being cut by more than 50%. We have to leave it there,
:52:35. > :52:45.because I want to squeeze in the one minute round-up of this week's
:52:45. > :52:46.
:52:46. > :52:50.stories. And sisters have been doing it for themselves.
:52:50. > :53:00.This end he started the week by calling for more female faces at
:53:00. > :53:01.
:53:01. > :53:11.the BBC. This MP -- this MP. And this is being fought for by another
:53:11. > :53:13.
:53:13. > :53:18.woman MPs. These are relatively easy successes in real terms.
:53:18. > :53:25.how much have attitudes changed to extra-marital affairs? There was a
:53:25. > :53:34.new study from the centre of integrity. And the collapse of a
:53:34. > :53:44.company providing services for the council. 1 MP spoke out. This
:53:44. > :53:54.raises questions about how contracts are dealt with. And a
:53:54. > :53:57.
:53:57. > :54:06.Let us pick up on that Centre for Integrity at the University of
:54:06. > :54:16.Essex. Bob, do you tell the odd white lie? When people talk about
:54:16. > :54:17.
:54:17. > :54:23.politicians, it is said, the local is OK, it is all the others. MPs,
:54:23. > :54:31.journalists, bankers, we have all taking and knocking. Do you feel
:54:32. > :54:35.that our integrity in people's views have changed? We do see
:54:35. > :54:41.issues and politicians need to regain trust. Lots of other groups
:54:41. > :54:45.need to do that. I think one of the things that study says is how much
:54:45. > :54:52.people feel they are part of our society. When people knew everyone
:54:52. > :55:02.in a village, people were honest. We need to go back to that. Would
:55:02. > :55:03.
:55:03. > :55:07.you pick up �10 if you found it on the street? Yes. Thank you. That is
:55:07. > :55:10.all for now. You can keep in touch through our website, where you will