Browse content similar to 12/02/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Here in the east, the community Secretary hits out at out councils | :01:26. | :01:30. | |
for refusing to keep to a council tax freeze. How long can needy | :01:30. | :01:40. | |
:01:40. | :01:40. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1574 seconds | :01:40. | :27:55. | |
Would you like Rupert Murdoch to depart the shores? A I would like | :27:55. | :28:04. | |
him to stand up for clean You have a view on most things | :28:04. | :28:09. | |
Rupert Murdoch does. I just want him to take responsibility for his | :28:09. | :28:14. | |
company. So far, many people lower down the food chain have carried | :28:14. | :28:22. | |
the can. He needs to take his share of responsibility. Given the arrest, | :28:22. | :28:30. | |
his report Murdoch be fit and proper person? Know. I don't think | :28:31. | :28:40. | |
:28:41. | :28:41. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1574 seconds | :28:41. | :30:04. | |
We have Baroness Angela Smith, a former MP for Basildon, and Brandon | :30:04. | :30:10. | |
lowest, MP for Great Yarmouth. We have the committee secretary | :30:10. | :30:16. | |
throwing down the gauntlet over authorities refusing to stick to a | :30:16. | :30:21. | |
council tax freeze. More later. Let us have a quick word about the | :30:21. | :30:25. | |
health reforms, suffering defeats in the House of Lords. The question | :30:25. | :30:31. | |
mark hanging over the Health and Social Care Bill. Brandon, a | :30:31. | :30:35. | |
Conservative website now says three Cabinet ministers want the Bill | :30:35. | :30:42. | |
scrapped. Do you? No, I don't. I think we need the bill working for | :30:42. | :30:50. | |
the customer. Why do about Andrew Lansley, should he go? No, we have | :30:50. | :30:56. | |
good reforms. GPs in our area, with the pathfinder Group, are keen to | :30:57. | :31:04. | |
go ahead. Do you think Angela Smith's -- Andrew Lansley should go, | :31:04. | :31:12. | |
Angela? I don't think patients are customers. The Bill is deeply | :31:12. | :31:19. | |
flawed. It is hugely expensive, taking money out the NHS. The | :31:19. | :31:20. | |
taking money out the NHS. The taking money out the NHS. The | :31:20. | :31:24. | |
Government should publish the risk a register, about where the dangers | :31:24. | :31:33. | |
are in this Bill. The mostly government can hope for of the Bill | :31:33. | :31:38. | |
is that it continues its passage through Parliament. They are trying | :31:38. | :31:42. | |
to sweeten the pill for council tax payers. We can reveal that councils | :31:42. | :31:47. | |
in the east are having to save a quarter of a billion pounds. Most | :31:47. | :31:51. | |
are freezing council tax, but Eric Pickles has attacked the | :31:51. | :31:56. | |
authorities who are not. Saying they should have the guts to take | :31:56. | :32:03. | |
the issue to the electorate. Where Harlow council Leeds, they believe | :32:03. | :32:09. | |
others will follow. Pets corner, run by the council, is one of | :32:09. | :32:12. | |
several services which will be handed over to voluntary services | :32:12. | :32:17. | |
to save money. The this can be an example to other councils, Harlow | :32:17. | :32:26. | |
is keeping them open with in it are the solutions. -- innovative for. | :32:26. | :32:31. | |
After a tribute for the Jubilee, Essex County Council fine-tuned its | :32:31. | :32:36. | |
budget for the following year. The Conservative-run council says it is | :32:36. | :32:42. | |
on course to make savings of over �300 million by 20th March 13. But | :32:42. | :32:47. | |
they will no longer share the chief executive with Brentwood council, | :32:47. | :32:51. | |
as the partnership between the county and borough comes to an end. | :32:51. | :32:55. | |
county and borough comes to an end. county and borough comes to an end. | :32:55. | :33:00. | |
We need our TV executive to work full-time, we have a huge amount of | :33:00. | :33:08. | |
work to do. Where it was introduced it seemed to be one of the new | :33:08. | :33:12. | |
ideas, with a chief executive of all of the district councils. We | :33:12. | :33:19. | |
never thought it was possible. Council has across the East are all | :33:19. | :33:27. | |
having to make savings, up to 123 million in Essex. Across the region | :33:27. | :33:32. | |
councils are having to save in total more than a quarter of a | :33:32. | :33:36. | |
billion pounds. The government does not what -- want council tax to go | :33:36. | :33:41. | |
up so they are offering them a big increase. Council has are | :33:41. | :33:45. | |
effectively being put on a diet. Being told to lose weight or spend | :33:45. | :33:49. | |
less. Year after year the government is handing out smaller | :33:49. | :33:53. | |
and smaller portions of cash, but this year the government is | :33:53. | :33:58. | |
basically saying, we can see you are hungry, if you don't put up | :33:58. | :34:03. | |
council tax we will give you something extra. But it is for one | :34:03. | :34:07. | |
year only. And councils are worried when that gets taken away and the | :34:07. | :34:12. | |
portions are smaller again, it will just leave them feeling hungry | :34:12. | :34:17. | |
again. Chelmsford Borough Council is planning to reject the offer. | :34:17. | :34:21. | |
They believe it would be the right decision for residents in the | :34:21. | :34:27. | |
longer term despite pressure from the government. What they are doing | :34:27. | :34:32. | |
is comparing house with another council that perhaps is not as far | :34:32. | :34:38. | |
forward in making efficiency savings as we are. In many councils | :34:38. | :34:42. | |
it would be of benefit, but because we have done the efficiency stuff, | :34:42. | :34:50. | |
you cannot keep doing that. We felt we had to make a decision and | :34:50. | :34:57. | |
protect our residents medium to long term. They are not alone, four | :34:57. | :35:03. | |
councils in Cambridgeshire are looking to put up council tax, they | :35:03. | :35:07. | |
are all Conservative-run. I find it astonishing that the necessity to | :35:07. | :35:14. | |
increase council tax, just under the level to raise a referendum, is | :35:14. | :35:19. | |
the right amount. The overwhelming majority of councils are taking the | :35:19. | :35:27. | |
freeze. We are very grateful for that. It it is not so much about | :35:27. | :35:34. | |
Conservative councils as those needing their own control. | :35:34. | :35:37. | |
backbench councillor in Eric Pickles's own yard is putting | :35:37. | :35:43. | |
forward the idea of a lottery. have a situation where the coffers | :35:43. | :35:47. | |
are strained. We need to have different projects that we could | :35:47. | :35:52. | |
not do without the extra income. Councillors will look at details | :35:52. | :35:59. | |
like prizes later this month before deciding if, in times of austerity, | :35:59. | :36:04. | |
the only way is a lottery. Joining us his Royal Whitehead, the leader | :36:04. | :36:08. | |
of Chelmsford Borough Council. Eric Pickles is clearly angry with you | :36:08. | :36:13. | |
for not keeping to the freeze but also not taking this to the | :36:13. | :36:19. | |
electorate. We are in a situation where we had an election last year. | :36:19. | :36:24. | |
We, as Conservatives got a huge majority in comparison with our | :36:24. | :36:29. | |
previous majority. One of our pledges at this time was to keep | :36:29. | :36:33. | |
council tax rises low. We have done that. We are grateful to Eric | :36:34. | :36:37. | |
Pickles for his offer, but we believe he could use it better | :36:37. | :36:45. | |
elsewhere, whilst we put our council tax up by �4.10 per year, | :36:45. | :36:51. | |
8p per week. I don't think it will break the residents of Chelmsford. | :36:51. | :36:56. | |
Eric Pickles is blaming councils like cures of bad leadership. You | :36:56. | :37:01. | |
have overspent in the past. What do you say to that? As my colleague | :37:01. | :37:06. | |
was heard to say earlier on, we started making reductions from the | :37:06. | :37:13. | |
moment we took over in 2003. From that time, we have made regular | :37:13. | :37:21. | |
reductions in our overheads and increased our work for services. We | :37:21. | :37:25. | |
brought back from fortnightly collections, weekly collections. | :37:25. | :37:32. | |
One of Eric Pickles favourite topics. Are you not being disloyal? | :37:32. | :37:38. | |
No, I don't think is -- that is the case. We predicted this would | :37:38. | :37:44. | |
happen. We are only getting a one- year subsidy, we are in a situation | :37:44. | :37:48. | |
with Greece, in the European Union, where they are trying to bail out | :37:48. | :37:52. | |
Greece, but it will make more mistakes the following year because | :37:52. | :37:57. | |
it has not balance its budget. we seeing a sea change in the way | :37:57. | :38:02. | |
that services are delivered by councils, this is a time of huge | :38:02. | :38:07. | |
transformation isn't it? It is. We reduced our back office staff when | :38:07. | :38:13. | |
I took over, we had 21 heads of service. I mentioned earlier, at | :38:13. | :38:18. | |
Essex County Council, we have a chief executive who works three and | :38:18. | :38:22. | |
a half days a week. We have reduced the head count even further at the | :38:22. | :38:28. | |
top. We are keeping people on the job, on the streets. Cleaning | :38:28. | :38:33. | |
streets, cleaning rubbish. In the snow we were dead on time | :38:33. | :38:37. | |
collecting things we have to do. From that point of view, the | :38:37. | :38:43. | |
residents are appreciative of rail services. A I want to bring the | :38:43. | :38:47. | |
guests in. Brandon, don't you think it is disloyal for other | :38:47. | :38:52. | |
Conservative councils to not be freezing council tax? I don't think | :38:52. | :38:56. | |
it is disloyal. They must do what they think is right, but it is | :38:57. | :39:00. | |
unfortunate that they cannot look at more shared services and other | :39:00. | :39:06. | |
ideas, and not keep it at zero. I am pleased my council is doing that. | :39:06. | :39:12. | |
What is the Labour view? I think they have got themselves in a | :39:12. | :39:18. | |
pickle. Reducing costs but putting up a marginal increase for services, | :39:18. | :39:23. | |
I understand that because they are losing so much money from | :39:23. | :39:29. | |
government year on year. The phrase, that is just a gimmick. The | :39:30. | :39:37. | |
council's need certainty. Why does it say about local democracy? | :39:37. | :39:42. | |
government set a limit, it is a bit rich of Eric Pickles now to say | :39:42. | :39:47. | |
have a referendum. But local people need a decision at the next ballot | :39:47. | :39:52. | |
box. It is very difficult for councils at the moment to try and | :39:52. | :39:56. | |
find ways to make so many cuts, these cuts are front loaded. They | :39:56. | :40:02. | |
never said we cannot make savings, just give us the time to do it in. | :40:02. | :40:07. | |
You are agreeing with a Conservative-led council? They are | :40:07. | :40:11. | |
trying to do what they can with an appalling relationship between the | :40:12. | :40:15. | |
government and themselves. We always had good relationships with | :40:15. | :40:20. | |
local councils. Eric Pickles's Commons seem to be to attack | :40:20. | :40:24. | |
councils. They may not be doing what he wants them to do but they | :40:24. | :40:29. | |
are doing their best. You lead an experiment to amalgamate roles, it | :40:29. | :40:35. | |
has been proven that that has not worked. In Essex it stopped working. | :40:35. | :40:39. | |
Quite the opposite. The reason things have moved on in Essex is | :40:39. | :40:43. | |
that it did work. We did the deal to get a particular set of | :40:43. | :40:50. | |
circumstances. The role has been done. Brentwood now does not need a | :40:50. | :40:58. | |
chief executive. That is another saving. The idea that there was a | :40:58. | :41:02. | |
day of central government not interfering is not the case. That | :41:02. | :41:09. | |
is not what I said. One of the services councils still seem to be | :41:09. | :41:16. | |
committed to our start centres, despite the ring-fencing being | :41:16. | :41:22. | |
removed in 2010. Started in 1999 by Labour, they were supposed to play | :41:22. | :41:26. | |
a crucial role for needy families. How are they faring in these | :41:26. | :41:31. | |
difficult times? Essex has lost �3 million from its Sure Start budget, | :41:32. | :41:39. | |
Suffolk losing 1.5 million, Peterborough 1 million. | :41:39. | :41:45. | |
Northamptonshire �500,000, and Luton �400,000. In total, �7.8 | :41:45. | :41:51. | |
million. Although no centres have been closed yet, services are going | :41:51. | :41:56. | |
out to tender in places like Norfolk. We visited one of the | :41:56. | :42:06. | |
:42:06. | :42:06. | ||
Lots of our families don't have qualifications. They have never | :42:06. | :42:11. | |
really had the opportunities or encouragement to stay on at school. | :42:11. | :42:18. | |
People are living on benefits for generations. At the Priory Centre | :42:18. | :42:23. | |
they talk about Great Yarmouth's hidden deprivation. It is not | :42:23. | :42:29. | |
always obvious, but it is there. Spending �850,000 a year at the | :42:29. | :42:33. | |
centre on a wide range of children's services. We have to do | :42:33. | :42:39. | |
it for the children, for the future. What kind of a society is that if | :42:39. | :42:49. | |
:42:49. | :42:50. | ||
we don't? The under-fives need the best but we can give them. Jade and | :42:50. | :42:56. | |
is one of the Trojan the centre helps. He is autistic. He cannot | :42:56. | :43:01. | |
talk, he struggles to communicate and often has tantrums. According | :43:01. | :43:07. | |
to his mother, these music therapy sessions have helped a lot. It took | :43:07. | :43:14. | |
a while, but he can express himself. He he can feel and touch things, he | :43:14. | :43:22. | |
plays the drums, he is a happy little boy. When it comes to levels | :43:22. | :43:26. | |
of child poverty, some areas of great charm are far more than twice | :43:26. | :43:31. | |
the national average. Alex, Jordan, and their son have had help from | :43:31. | :43:38. | |
the Priory Centre. The visits from a support worker, counselling and | :43:38. | :43:42. | |
parenting classes. Alex and Jordan are both unemployed and live life | :43:42. | :43:48. | |
on benefits, but they don't want it that way. We want to get money in | :43:48. | :43:53. | |
for the family, feel better about the family. It is very depressing | :43:53. | :43:59. | |
for me and the family. It does put strain on at times financially. | :43:59. | :44:08. | |
don't want to be on benefits? not at all. I hate it. The centre | :44:08. | :44:15. | |
it has put all services out to tender. The council says the �14.8 | :44:15. | :44:18. | |
million budget will be unchanged, but the Priory is facing an eight | :44:18. | :44:22. | |
per cent cut. With changes in the benefits system, services will be | :44:22. | :44:27. | |
under more pressure. I think families will struggle more and we | :44:28. | :44:32. | |
are likely to see an increase in child protection issues. There is | :44:32. | :44:37. | |
the possibility that there will be more family breakdown as a result. | :44:37. | :44:41. | |
Families will struggle, significantly more, over the next | :44:41. | :44:47. | |
few years. The work which began with a sure start goes on, some of | :44:47. | :44:54. | |
the most vulnerable in our society needs the most help they need. Less | :44:54. | :45:04. | |
money and more demand means things If you are proud of the Priory how | :45:04. | :45:09. | |
do you feel about it facing a cut of the eight per cent? They have | :45:09. | :45:15. | |
got a fantastic team, superb. It goes Biondi sure Start centre. They | :45:15. | :45:20. | |
will survive and be fine and move forward in a positive way. We are | :45:20. | :45:27. | |
in a tough economic time, we have got to fix the economy. I think | :45:27. | :45:32. | |
they will be fine. Are you surprised it has been backed by the | :45:32. | :45:36. | |
coalition government? David Cameron made a pledge to back it and | :45:36. | :45:41. | |
improve it. He accused the Labour Party of scaremongering. It has | :45:41. | :45:45. | |
illustrated the kind of cuts they are facing now. The government | :45:46. | :45:50. | |
tells the public we have given councils money for Sure Start, then | :45:50. | :45:55. | |
tells councils you have got 20 per cent less money. Money for an early | :45:55. | :46:01. | |
intervention, but it is something you can spend. On what you want. | :46:01. | :46:05. | |
The centres are doing tremendous work, as Brendan said. But they | :46:05. | :46:11. | |
will lose out. We mentioned earlier about a sea change and what the | :46:11. | :46:17. | |
services can deliver. What is happening is real localism. Central | :46:17. | :46:23. | |
government is not telling councils how to do it. It is letting | :46:23. | :46:28. | |
councils make decisions on what they need in their area. We are | :46:28. | :46:34. | |
increasing spending generates. have seen cuts across the country, | :46:34. | :46:39. | |
the thing about Sure Start, it was not just for children with problems, | :46:39. | :46:46. | |
it was for any child and their parents. For every criteria it has | :46:46. | :46:51. | |
been issued success. It worries me that if it fails and we see this | :46:51. | :46:56. | |
constant chip away, the community as a whole loses out. Is this small | :46:56. | :47:01. | |
government by the fault and not by people's choosing? It is because of | :47:01. | :47:06. | |
the economic inheritance, but this is about localism. Local | :47:06. | :47:10. | |
authorities making decisions for their residents. A the economy is | :47:10. | :47:16. | |
getting worse now, that is the problem. Now, time for our round-up | :47:16. | :47:20. | |
of political highlight over the last seven days. What a sparkling | :47:20. | :47:30. | |
:47:30. | :47:35. | ||
This week the Queen was honoured by children in north up on her diamond | :47:35. | :47:43. | |
jubilee. It is a little-known fact that the household member is a go- | :47:43. | :47:47. | |
between for the Queen and Parliament. Mr Speaker, a message | :47:47. | :47:54. | |
from her Majesty the Queen. leader of UKIP revealed a secret on | :47:54. | :47:57. | |
his visit to Great Yarmouth where he made a admission that he once | :47:58. | :48:04. | |
voted Green. Peter Bone made no secret of his disapproval at a | :48:04. | :48:09. | |
children's minister, who failed to support the government. On occasion | :48:09. | :48:13. | |
I have spoken against the government, but I am not a | :48:13. | :48:20. | |
government minister. Why is she still a government minister? Royal | :48:20. | :48:24. | |
favourite horse racing was a subject of a new Bill, following a | :48:24. | :48:29. | |
change in the gambling laws. A man who can demonstrate his credentials | :48:29. | :48:39. | |
:48:39. | :48:40. | ||
A quick word on the diamond jubilee. Lifting people's spirits at a | :48:40. | :48:45. | |
difficult time.. It did it shows off what we are brilliant at. | :48:45. | :48:49. | |
Something really exciting for everybody this summer. I think | :48:49. | :48:55. | |
people will enjoy it. I think most MPs and peers will be there. It is | :48:55. | :49:02. | |
something children will remember. When they are four or five, now, | :49:02. | :49:06. | |
they will remember this in 20 years' time. The Olympics coming to | :49:06. | :49:14. | |
your doorstep? I have to confess I am not that sporty, I don't know if | :49:14. | :49:19. | |
I will be there. But people will want to be there. I have always | :49:19. | :49:22. | |
thought the Olympics were a fantastic opportunity to show off | :49:22. | :49:28. | |
this country, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I hope to get there | :49:28. | :49:33. | |
and I think it is a great thing for our country. Thank you both. That | :49:33. | :49:39. |