:01:28. > :01:33.In the East. Housebuilding plumb it so leaving family's out in the cold.
:01:33. > :01:43.And from Leicester to this. It least save money but is it keeping
:01:43. > :01:43.
:01:43. > :31:50.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1807 seconds
:31:50. > :32:00.Good morning. It is getting harder to find somewhere to live in the
:32:00. > :32:10.East of England. Not enough houses are being built.
:32:10. > :32:10.
:32:10. > :32:20.Our guests at this week are Dr Theresa coffee and David Ellesmere.
:32:20. > :32:29.
:32:29. > :32:34.-- Dr Therese Coffey. One of the things that has happened
:32:34. > :32:44.is that the government in raising the tax threshold has lifted over 1
:32:44. > :32:48.
:32:48. > :32:53.million people out of paying income tax and most of those are women.
:32:53. > :33:03.the debate on Thursday in the House of Commons, it was fascinating to
:33:03. > :33:03.
:33:03. > :33:08.listen and interact to other women MPs on a variety of issues. Just
:33:08. > :33:11.tackling the things that do matter to women. Labour has talked a lot
:33:11. > :33:18.about getting and people apprenticeships, but what about
:33:18. > :33:21.getting women into the work place? I can understand why women are not
:33:21. > :33:27.happy with the government. The government appears to be hitting
:33:27. > :33:34.women hardest. If you look at the changes that are being made it to
:33:34. > :33:41.benefit, to taxes, to wage freezes, 70% of those are hitting women
:33:41. > :33:49.rather than men. Women's unemployment is at its highest rate
:33:49. > :33:54.since 1974 and is rising faster than men's. Let's move on to
:33:54. > :34:04.switching off street lights. It is claimed that money can be saved by
:34:04. > :34:07.
:34:07. > :34:17.doing this. Essex is rolling out plans to extend its switch off
:34:17. > :34:19.
:34:19. > :34:23.county-wide. Put that light out! The night-time
:34:23. > :34:32.of blackouts of the Second World War war may be the stuff of
:34:32. > :34:37.nostalgia, but Essex County Council has started putting its alight out
:34:37. > :34:44.between midnight and 5am. High streets and town centres will
:34:44. > :34:53.continue to be let all night and so will main roads like this one. --
:34:53. > :35:03.lit. But you may have to carry a torch if you are using side streets
:35:03. > :35:08.at night. Maldon it is a step ahead of the rest of Essex. What is the
:35:08. > :35:15.verdict from the ladies at the local keep-fit club? I think in
:35:15. > :35:21.light is too early. Perhaps 2 o'clock in the morning. When we
:35:21. > :35:29.were young, we just took torch is everywhere. But the town council
:35:29. > :35:39.wants the county council to push back the switch of time by one hour.
:35:39. > :35:41.
:35:41. > :35:47.We have a night-time economy. If they could have some of the lights
:35:47. > :35:52.are on, that would be better. it is estimated that switching of
:35:52. > :35:59.70% of that the street lights it will save almost �1 million a year
:35:59. > :36:04.for one Council. When we put that figure together, we were very
:36:04. > :36:14.conservative in our estimate. Since we came up with that figure, energy
:36:14. > :36:17.
:36:17. > :36:27.costs have gone up, we also save on carbon tax. If you look at what
:36:27. > :36:28.
:36:28. > :36:34.happened in other areas, we could be saving over �70,000 per year.
:36:34. > :36:44.Crime figures do appear to have dropped where lights have been
:36:44. > :36:53.
:36:53. > :36:58.switched off, but the fear of crime could be rising. Councils are now...
:36:58. > :37:01.What about concerns about safety? There are savings to be made.
:37:01. > :37:06.Suffolk County Council are expecting to sit about half a
:37:06. > :37:11.million pounds a year from this. There are concerned, and certainly
:37:11. > :37:15.people in Ipswich do have concerns out of the town centre. In
:37:15. > :37:21.particular, there is the fear of crime, but it is also about safety
:37:21. > :37:31.as well. Mothers are worried, not for themselves, but for their
:37:31. > :37:32.
:37:32. > :37:36.children who are working late at night and coming home. One report
:37:36. > :37:41.says that cuts to street lighting, female friends tell me that if you
:37:41. > :37:47.cannot afford a taxi and are you still walking around in safety, it
:37:47. > :37:53.does make a difference having a curfew imposed. There is certainly
:37:53. > :38:01.a lot of concern about it. People do not feel as safe as a result of
:38:02. > :38:06.this. The street maintenance budget has been cut as well so there are
:38:06. > :38:16.potholes as well. It is not just about crime, there is a fear of
:38:16. > :38:26.accidents. Do you disagree? I think most people I'm not think it is a
:38:26. > :38:27.
:38:27. > :38:33.safe -- most people final think it is our sensible idea. I would say
:38:33. > :38:37.that, of course, if you have concerns about your particular area,
:38:37. > :38:46.you can ask for the likes to be put on again. And I know that that has
:38:46. > :38:53.happened. In areas where it has happened, crime has gone down.
:38:53. > :39:01.what about the fear of crime? not know what research has been
:39:01. > :39:08.done by Labour women, but what people do feel that there is an
:39:08. > :39:13.issue, I believe at the County Council has kept those lights on.
:39:13. > :39:18.Is there enough public information about this happening? I think a lot
:39:18. > :39:25.of people are surprised when it does actually happen. But it is
:39:25. > :39:33.fight that a lot of people are not and about at these times, -- it is
:39:33. > :39:39.right that a lot of people are not out and about at these times. And
:39:39. > :39:43.light can be switched back on if there is a problem. We have done
:39:44. > :39:53.that on streets where there has been any crime. It is absolutely
:39:53. > :40:01.essential that people have to be aware of that. How far is this
:40:01. > :40:11.going to go? I would like to see it county-wide, and a nationwide, I
:40:11. > :40:11.
:40:11. > :40:16.think it makes sense. Light pollution is also an issue.
:40:16. > :40:24.The housing shortage now. We are the fastest-growing region in the
:40:24. > :40:30.country, but despite the will of consecutive governments to build,
:40:30. > :40:34.there is a crisis. Planning permissions are down by 25%. The
:40:34. > :40:41.social housing waiting list is up. And first-time buyers here now need
:40:41. > :40:45.a deposit of around �29,000. It is expected the government will
:40:45. > :40:51.announce his planning policy framework this month, but will it
:40:51. > :40:56.help? Colchester is expected to be the career with the largest number
:40:56. > :41:00.of people needing help. A after three difficult years, the
:41:00. > :41:04.building industry believes that things are starting to pick up. At
:41:04. > :41:12.this site in Colchester, homes are under construction. They will be
:41:12. > :41:18.ready by the summer and they are expected to sell fast. Things are a
:41:18. > :41:26.lot more positive. Because see changes in the planning system
:41:26. > :41:32.coming through. There are improvements in net mortgage market.
:41:32. > :41:42.Colchester needs more homes. 1400 need to be billed here every year
:41:42. > :41:47.
:41:47. > :41:52.for the next 20 years. -- needed to be built here. Jose needs are not
:41:52. > :41:57.being met. The number of new homes being built in the East has fallen
:41:57. > :42:04.by one-third in the last six years. Our region needs at 32,000 new
:42:04. > :42:09.homes every year for the next 20 years. But the report says that
:42:09. > :42:12.just 44% of the homes we need are being started. The federation it
:42:12. > :42:19.assess it is partly to do with the economy, but also the planning
:42:19. > :42:25.system. The planning system is between an old regime and a new
:42:25. > :42:29.regime that the government is introducing. Quite a lot of local
:42:29. > :42:36.councils have not felt the pressure that we would like to see to get on
:42:36. > :42:39.with positive planning. building federation has a vested
:42:39. > :42:45.interest, but those who work with almost say the problem is getting
:42:45. > :42:54.worse. We have 3000 people on the waiting list in Colchester. We are
:42:54. > :43:03.not producing the supply to meet that need at all. Cassey Clitheroe
:43:03. > :43:13.and Darrell Mole have just moved him to a new call you. They were on
:43:13. > :43:14.
:43:15. > :43:20.the council waiting list for three years. -- a new home. Everywhere we
:43:20. > :43:28.looked at, there was almost 20 people and front of us. It was a
:43:28. > :43:32.constant frustration. People stay at home longer with their parents,
:43:32. > :43:39.they share houses when children come a long. We are starting to see
:43:39. > :43:43.street homelessness again as well. The number of homeless in the East
:43:43. > :43:53.has increased by 28%. The government wants to see more homes
:43:53. > :43:57.
:43:57. > :44:00.being built. It has introduced a new Holmes bonus. -- homes.
:44:00. > :44:10.Ministers and the industry say there is a need for housing which
:44:10. > :44:11.
:44:11. > :44:16.is not being met. Why is housing it so slow? What is
:44:16. > :44:23.the real problem here? I think part of the problem is the planning
:44:23. > :44:28.system. It is a tortuous process. There is a mixed message coming
:44:28. > :44:33.from the presumption for development and the government
:44:33. > :44:41.saying to local community groups, you can store development in your
:44:41. > :44:49.area. -- stop development. Local authorities are in the middle tried
:44:49. > :44:53.to build the homes we need for people that want them. 1400 houses
:44:53. > :44:57.needed to be built every year for the next 20 years, how many are we
:44:57. > :45:04.getting at the moment? About half of that. Before the recession, we
:45:04. > :45:13.were building about 1000 homes a year. We are doing pretty well, but
:45:13. > :45:19.we are not meeting either need. What about social housing?
:45:19. > :45:24.waiting list is around 5000, we are just scratching the surface of it.
:45:24. > :45:28.When the new developments are built in Colchester, we insist on 35% of
:45:28. > :45:35.that being social housing. But it is not having a good effect because
:45:35. > :45:41.there are so many people coming on to the list. But is it moving now?
:45:41. > :45:47.Yes, there does seem to be a bit of movement this year. Development is
:45:47. > :45:55.picking up a little. We have got to be confident and optimistic because
:45:55. > :46:02.if we are not, things will never improve it. Should he be
:46:02. > :46:07.optimistic? Is the government's planning policy going to meet that
:46:07. > :46:14.need? Planning has always had a presumption in favour of
:46:14. > :46:23.development. This chargeable give greater freedom to councils in how
:46:23. > :46:31.they decide what building has to be done. The there will not be
:46:31. > :46:35.prescriptions about parking places and other issues such as that. They
:46:35. > :46:41.will be able to decide the shape and feel of the communities they
:46:41. > :46:50.wish to see. They will also be able to say where they do not want it.
:46:50. > :46:54.The that is not true, they cannot do that. The district and but
:46:54. > :46:59.development councils set their areas for development. That
:46:59. > :47:05.information has not got across. This Government has been saying
:47:05. > :47:11.that we needed to build more houses, they are giving incentives to build
:47:11. > :47:18.new houses and introducing, for first-time buyers, a home start
:47:18. > :47:25.programme. David Ellesmere, we had targets under Labour, but we did
:47:25. > :47:32.not meet them. The scrapping of targets is causing problems. What
:47:32. > :47:36.we are seeing is councils under pressure because people do not want
:47:36. > :47:41.to see development in their own backyard. We should not blame are
:47:41. > :47:49.the planning system entirely. In Ipswich, we are finding that the
:47:49. > :47:56.real problem is that the government has cut the housing budget by 60%
:47:56. > :48:01.and developers are not coming forward because they cannot find
:48:01. > :48:09.social housing developers. there is also freedom for the
:48:09. > :48:15.housing associations to be charging 80% rather than 60%. They can
:48:15. > :48:20.spread the burden. What do you need in order to get those houses built
:48:20. > :48:29.in Colchester? The slashing of the funding to the homes and
:48:29. > :48:34.communities agencies has had a real effect. If you have 80% of the
:48:34. > :48:44.market based in Colchester, that is an affordable for most people. They
:48:44. > :48:47.can afford a 60%, but 80% takes it out of the range of many people. We
:48:47. > :48:57.need to be able to give the money to housing associations so that
:48:57. > :49:05.they can afford to build the houses that people can afford to let him.
:49:05. > :49:08.-- to live in. Housing will always be a controversial topic. �400
:49:08. > :49:15.million is being given to developers at the moment to get the
:49:15. > :49:23.schemes going, to build housing, but we also have to get into houses
:49:23. > :49:33.into this game as well. This week saw the loss of one of
:49:33. > :49:42.
:49:43. > :49:52.almost colourful politicians. -- our most. Lord St John Has died.
:49:52. > :50:02.was a great man, a great parliamentarian and a great wit. He
:50:02. > :50:05.
:50:05. > :50:15.called Margaret Thatcher Attila the Hen! That deadlock or down too well
:50:15. > :50:19.
:50:19. > :50:28.at all. -- that did not go down too well. Douglas Carswell took great
:50:28. > :50:38.pleasure it in goading the Prime Minister. It is because of the
:50:38. > :50:44.constraints of coalition or because of the Whitehall machine? Would you
:50:44. > :50:47.like to see those conservation zones on the Suffolk coast? I think
:50:47. > :50:56.they are pretty controversial. I can understand why they want to do
:50:56. > :51:02.it, but it is where tourists goal sort I am not so keen on the idea.
:51:02. > :51:07.Should wildlife come first? It is absolutely right that our natural
:51:07. > :51:12.environment should be protected from exploitation. But much of our
:51:12. > :51:19.landscape has been shaped by humans. If humans are working their,
:51:19. > :51:25.fishing and so on and tourism, so long as there is not too much of it,