Browse content similar to 13/01/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Here in the East, the end of council tenants having a home for | :01:20. | :01:22. | |
life, as fixed term tenancies are introduced. | :01:22. | :01:32. | |
:01:32. | :01:32. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2541 seconds | :01:32. | :43:54. | |
And MPs renewing calls for banks to Hello and happy new year to you all. | :43:54. | :43:57. | |
Welcome back to Sunday Politics East. I'm Etholle George. Coming | :43:57. | :44:02. | |
up... Your house, but not your home? An end to lifetime tenancies | :44:02. | :44:05. | |
will mean families in the future could be moved after only a few | :44:05. | :44:09. | |
years at the same address. We think it is important for tenants to move | :44:09. | :44:16. | |
into their homes securely and knowing this is their home or light. | :44:16. | :44:18. | |
-- for life. And MPs get bankers and businesses | :44:18. | :44:21. | |
together to see why so many firms are still struggling for funds. | :44:21. | :44:27. | |
cannot imagine how a start-up would get finance it looking to a bank. | :44:27. | :44:31. | |
But first, let us meet our guests for this week. Dr Therese Coffey, | :44:31. | :44:35. | |
the Conservative MP for Suffolk Coastal. And Tom Beattie, the | :44:35. | :44:39. | |
Labour leader of Corby Council. Let us start with news of that annual | :44:39. | :44:45. | |
price hike to rail fares. Above inflation for the 10th consecutive | :44:45. | :44:52. | |
year. Tom Beattie, the highest rise in the region is 4.7% in | :44:52. | :44:57. | |
Northamptonshire. I think it is difficult to justify them, putting | :44:57. | :45:07. | |
:45:07. | :45:09. | ||
a bigger burden on people travelling to work. I think it is a | :45:09. | :45:15. | |
significant amounts of money for someone to have from their salary. | :45:15. | :45:20. | |
I pick it is difficult to justify that. Therese Coffey, not all bad | :45:20. | :45:23. | |
news, though. �10 billion worth of investment for rail across the | :45:23. | :45:28. | |
region covering the period up to 2019. 1.4 billion will improve one | :45:28. | :45:33. | |
of the services. That is absolutely vital. We have seen increases in | :45:33. | :45:38. | |
people using the trains. But the track is not always standing up to | :45:38. | :45:42. | |
the stream. And also improving across the counties, which is to be | :45:42. | :45:49. | |
welcomed. Other important its infrastructure improvement on | :45:49. | :45:53. | |
Northamptonshire? I absolutely vital. The opening of the new | :45:53. | :46:00. | |
railway station really helped with economic regeneration plans. We | :46:00. | :46:05. | |
welcome particularly the proposal to elect replied that section of | :46:05. | :46:11. | |
the line between Kettering and Corby and also to have two rats. | :46:11. | :46:15. | |
Those infrastructure improvements will be vital to the success of | :46:15. | :46:20. | |
regeneration projects. Now to one of the biggest changes | :46:20. | :46:25. | |
for council tenants in generations. Next week is the deadline for our | :46:25. | :46:28. | |
local authorities to decide whether to end lifetime tenancies and | :46:28. | :46:31. | |
replace them with fixed terms. We can reveal a split among local | :46:31. | :46:36. | |
authorities in our region along political lines. We have found that | :46:36. | :46:38. | |
Labour-run councils are to retain lifetime tenancies for their own | :46:38. | :46:43. | |
housing stock. Only Tory-run Waveney will join them. While | :46:43. | :46:47. | |
Conservative and Lib Dem councils plan to move to five or even two | :46:47. | :46:51. | |
year tenancies. The Government hopes the change will free up more | :46:51. | :46:54. | |
homes for those on the housing register. But critics say the move | :46:54. | :47:02. | |
could create problem neighbourhoods in the future. | :47:02. | :47:06. | |
I had let years since my daughter was seven and she is denied that | :47:06. | :47:11. | |
the two. -- I have lived here. Maureen Connolly brought up her | :47:11. | :47:14. | |
family in this three-bedroomed Norwich house. She now has plenty | :47:14. | :47:19. | |
of space for visitors and grand children. I would Heat 2 move. But | :47:19. | :47:26. | |
I have said the only way I would leave his in a box, beat bards. -- | :47:26. | :47:29. | |
and would not like to move. Maureen's tenancy with Norwich City | :47:29. | :47:33. | |
Council means she can comfortably see out her days in this house, if | :47:33. | :47:36. | |
she chooses to. But soon new tenants in other areas will no | :47:36. | :47:39. | |
longer have the right to a home for life. We think it is important for | :47:39. | :47:44. | |
tenants to move into homes securely and knowing this is their home for | :47:44. | :47:48. | |
life. It is more than a political stance. We believe people should | :47:48. | :47:54. | |
have the same rights to be able to live securely and make a life for | :47:54. | :47:58. | |
themselves and their families in a community around them. That is our | :47:58. | :48:08. | |
:48:08. | :48:14. | ||
priority. Orwell Housing, based in Suffolk, was among the first in the | :48:14. | :48:18. | |
UK to introduce Affordable Rent Tenures a year ago. Alex Fitton and | :48:18. | :48:21. | |
his partner Sapphira moved in three months ago. That was after a two | :48:21. | :48:25. | |
and a half year wait for their own flat. They're on a yearlong starter | :48:25. | :48:28. | |
tenancy which, all being well, should be extended for five more | :48:28. | :48:33. | |
years. Allied time Kinsey would not make a difference. We would not be | :48:33. | :48:39. | |
looking to stay. -- a lifetime tenancy. We would probably want to | :48:39. | :48:43. | |
move to a bigger house at some point. That's exactly the kind of | :48:43. | :48:53. | |
:48:53. | :48:55. | ||
move Orwell Housing says the shorter tenancy should prompt. It | :48:55. | :49:02. | |
is said that shorter tenses could cost more in the Long Run. Every | :49:02. | :49:06. | |
time you in the tenancy, you have to deal with administrative costs | :49:06. | :49:13. | |
and the loss of rent that inevitably occurrence -- at an | :49:13. | :49:21. | |
inevitably happen. That can cost over �2,500 on a very time we have | :49:21. | :49:24. | |
to let again. This month, councils are required to publish new tenancy | :49:24. | :49:27. | |
strategies as guidance for social landlords. Research by the Sunday | :49:27. | :49:30. | |
Politics shows Labour councils in the East favouring lifetime | :49:30. | :49:32. | |
tenancies. Conservative and Lib Dem authorities are likely to move to | :49:32. | :49:37. | |
the five year deal. What a lot of us, we have to think about job | :49:37. | :49:42. | |
prospects, we are we are going and it might add that somebody not | :49:42. | :49:47. | |
staying in a school for a full term, but children adapt and can change | :49:47. | :49:52. | |
and we have to change. Can you give guarantees to people they would not | :49:52. | :49:56. | |
be to work out that they did not want to go? They would be given | :49:56. | :50:03. | |
every support. It depends on every individual case. Or Maureen and all | :50:03. | :50:08. | |
existing social housing tenants, the changes will have no impact. | :50:08. | :50:12. | |
But for future generations, a rented home or like could be a | :50:12. | :50:16. | |
thing of the past. Well, earlier this week, political | :50:16. | :50:20. | |
correspondent Andrew Sinclair spoke to Brandon Lewis. He is Communities | :50:20. | :50:23. | |
and Local Government Minister and a Great Yarmouth MP. He defended the | :50:23. | :50:29. | |
changes. It gives an opportunity to make sure people have more | :50:29. | :50:33. | |
opportunity on appropriate housing. We do not want areas blog, giving | :50:33. | :50:37. | |
people the chance to move on to something more suitable. But you | :50:37. | :50:42. | |
are talking about people who want to move. The trouble with this | :50:42. | :50:47. | |
fixed tenancy is you will have to make people move. First of all, | :50:47. | :50:51. | |
people in a property at the moment are protected. This is for people | :50:52. | :50:57. | |
new to properties after April. every four or five years, made to | :50:57. | :51:02. | |
move? Not necessarily. It is giving flexibility on a local authority to | :51:02. | :51:07. | |
look at things, making sure people have the right housing. That does | :51:07. | :51:11. | |
not mean making people move every for five years. The landlord and | :51:11. | :51:20. | |
his fight to get a longer tenancy. -- the landlord can decide. It a | :51:20. | :51:26. | |
family of four meat at home, that is still needed. What will change | :51:26. | :51:30. | |
potentially its, its someone goes into a property as a family of four, | :51:30. | :51:37. | |
and then down the line, it their needs change, we can then make sure | :51:37. | :51:43. | |
that authority as the flexibility to get them into appropriate forms. | :51:43. | :51:48. | |
But isn't this going to undermine people's security. It can be | :51:49. | :51:54. | |
difficult to put down roots knowing you might be moved. There are a lot | :51:54. | :51:59. | |
of people in private accommodation move quite regularly. But choosing | :51:59. | :52:07. | |
to do that. A understand. We Assington local authorities that -- | :52:07. | :52:11. | |
I understand that. We are saying to local authorities that people's | :52:11. | :52:16. | |
circumstances change. And people might be less inclined to get | :52:16. | :52:20. | |
involved in community activities because of the possibility of | :52:20. | :52:26. | |
moving. I do not think so. People doing that want to be involved in | :52:26. | :52:36. | |
:52:36. | :52:36. | ||
their communities. People who want to be part of their humanity will | :52:36. | :52:41. | |
always do that. People who move home rejoice are getting older will | :52:41. | :52:47. | |
still take a choice about getting involved and usually do. Shelter is | :52:47. | :52:52. | |
very critical of this, saying short-term finances could | :52:52. | :52:58. | |
destabilise communities. I just do not accept that. People want to be | :52:58. | :53:03. | |
part of their humanity. People can still be choose to be part of the | :53:03. | :53:09. | |
community and get involved. I am not sure that us that end of impact. | :53:09. | :53:15. | |
What about the argument that this causes more -- that this cost more | :53:15. | :53:20. | |
when looking at the negotiating and letting properties out again? | :53:21. | :53:25. | |
not buy into that. We need to make sure we use housing stock to the | :53:25. | :53:31. | |
best ability for residents. Tom Beattie, why are you not | :53:31. | :53:37. | |
changing things? We believe that tenants require security and that | :53:37. | :53:42. | |
is widely countenances are the best. I also take the point about | :53:42. | :53:46. | |
destabilising communities that stop people stewed up the choice to move | :53:47. | :53:55. | |
and began of a bat. -- people should have the choice. These | :53:55. | :54:02. | |
changes an increase in security. People feel insecure in their jobs. | :54:02. | :54:08. | |
What about this will show fabric of these communities? I think a point | :54:09. | :54:12. | |
was well made by Brandon Lewis that people do want to be involved get | :54:12. | :54:16. | |
involved anyway. If you were guaranteed somewhere to live for | :54:16. | :54:21. | |
five years, that does not stop you becoming a school governor of | :54:21. | :54:27. | |
becoming involved with local schools. But if you are only there | :54:27. | :54:30. | |
for a couple of years, but you key in as much about the property and | :54:30. | :54:37. | |
maintaining it? -- what you care as much. I know one council is | :54:37. | :54:42. | |
proposing a two-year tenancy bring young people under the age of 25. I | :54:42. | :54:47. | |
think that is sensible. When I do not agree with Tom is there are | :54:47. | :54:52. | |
waiting lists. I think it is right that councils and housing | :54:53. | :54:56. | |
associations have the appropriate tools we have there is an | :54:56. | :55:00. | |
assumption people will stay in their homes. But when you no longer | :55:00. | :55:05. | |
need three bedrooms, I think it is fair to say that we need this | :55:05. | :55:12. | |
family home for a family that is growing. What about children moving | :55:12. | :55:21. | |
schools. Is it be at the she did that? I think that is unlikely. | :55:21. | :55:29. | |
is it fair that children should add that? I know in London there is a | :55:30. | :55:33. | |
member of parliament it is in social housing. That is quite a | :55:33. | :55:38. | |
change. He has been an MP for quite a long time. Should the council be | :55:38. | :55:46. | |
able to say to him it is time to move? That will not up and on that | :55:46. | :55:51. | |
individual, or the people in the film, being existing tenants, but | :55:51. | :55:56. | |
it will change for new or tenants. What about being up much-needed | :55:56. | :56:03. | |
social housing stock? I be there is the need for more housing. That is | :56:03. | :56:08. | |
a demand for more housing. Rather than attempt to moving people on | :56:08. | :56:13. | |
against their will. The notion of social housing only been available | :56:13. | :56:18. | |
to people with low ink comes or vulnerable its dangerous. I grew up | :56:18. | :56:24. | |
on a council estate. Those were very mixed communities back then. | :56:24. | :56:27. | |
You could be up at any work and living next door to a school | :56:27. | :56:34. | |
teacher. -- you could be a factory worker. This drives communities | :56:34. | :56:40. | |
into nothing more than sink estates. I do not agree. We have seen how | :56:40. | :56:46. | |
social housing has changed. What you want to see from councils, | :56:46. | :56:52. | |
working with housing developers, is a greater mixture of housing. | :56:52. | :57:00. | |
Surely this will cost more? Administration? And on local- | :57:00. | :57:05. | |
authority reviewing every two years will cost a lot of money? | :57:05. | :57:09. | |
necessarily. Some people could be in unsuitable accommodation at the | :57:09. | :57:14. | |
moment. These are balanced. I do not think the reason for having to | :57:14. | :57:19. | |
sign a new tenancy agreement of the five years is a reason not to have | :57:19. | :57:25. | |
this policy. What about it children have moved on, should people still | :57:25. | :57:29. | |
live in a family-sized house? can do things to encourage people | :57:29. | :57:34. | |
to downsize and already do that, but it is someone's choice and we | :57:34. | :57:40. | |
have to recognise and respect that choice. Use of the woman in Norwich | :57:40. | :57:45. | |
who has lived in that house for probably most of her life. She is | :57:45. | :57:50. | |
probably comfortable there. It seems harsh to ask her to move. | :57:50. | :57:54. | |
Isn't it localism that has given you as accounts of the chance to go | :57:54. | :57:59. | |
your own way? Yes. We were asked if he wanted to make changes to | :57:59. | :58:08. | |
housing strategy and if we wanted to adopt lits -- adopt fixed and | :58:08. | :58:12. | |
penances and be said no. We want to provide tenants with the security | :58:12. | :58:20. | |
wanted. I respect the decisions for councils to make these decisions. | :58:20. | :58:26. | |
Those will be voted on by the public. I have a lot of people | :58:26. | :58:30. | |
asking why bother saving to buy their house when they could have | :58:30. | :58:36. | |
just got a council house. My answer is you have the choice of where you | :58:36. | :58:41. | |
live. Often, when the state provides for you, ultimately you | :58:41. | :58:47. | |
end up losing choices. This is not tended to be punitive, but about | :58:47. | :58:52. | |
saying we do need to make sure housing stock is used to its | :58:52. | :58:59. | |
maximum capacity. We shall leave it there and stay with finances. In a | :58:59. | :59:02. | |
bit of a groundhog day moment, MPs from Norfolk and Suffolk have been | :59:02. | :59:06. | |
holding their second annual banking summit. They met with senior | :59:06. | :59:09. | |
figures from the banking industry, and more than 100 business people, | :59:09. | :59:12. | |
to try to help kick-start the economy of this region. Despite new | :59:12. | :59:15. | |
figures showing a small increase in lending, many firms are finding it | :59:15. | :59:20. | |
tough to get affordable finance. A similar conference was held last | :59:20. | :59:24. | |
year. But small businesses, across the region, like this one in Harlow, | :59:24. | :59:28. | |
still insist that banks aren't doing enough to help. | :59:28. | :59:34. | |
We make bespoke kitchens, furniture, fitted furniture and various other | :59:34. | :59:43. | |
things. We started in 2006. It was just my partner and myself. The | :59:43. | :59:51. | |
group from a small workshop to this place. We have about five employees. | :59:51. | :59:56. | |
We decided to refinancing and looked around for a bank loan. We | :59:56. | :00:01. | |
then discovered that the banks were not lending money easily and look | :00:01. | :00:08. | |
elsewhere and bound Foundation Easts. That is a not-for-profit | :00:08. | :00:11. | |
organisation in this region that lends money to small businesses. | :00:11. | :00:19. | |
The rate was higher than the banks, but the banks were not interested. | :00:19. | :00:25. | |
At best, it was difficult. At worst, it was downright obstructive. The | :00:25. | :00:33. | |
banks are looking for a sure bet, not a safe bet or good lane -- plan. | :00:33. | :00:40. | |
They are looking for something so 100%, why would I want to borrow | :00:40. | :00:44. | |
money it by did not need to borrow it? I was looking to borrow to | :00:44. | :00:48. | |
expand rather than prop up a business. I would dread to think | :00:49. | :00:53. | |
about it would be on a start-up business. I was established, trying | :00:53. | :01:00. | |
to borrow to expand. I cannot imagine how a start-up would get | :01:00. | :01:07. | |
financing it looking to a bank. Therese Coffey, you would hosting | :01:07. | :01:11. | |
this summit. What did it hoped to achieve? It was about bringing | :01:11. | :01:17. | |
accountability, everything together to talk about problems. We also had | :01:17. | :01:22. | |
success stories. I think it was a positive day. Undoubtedly, there | :01:22. | :01:27. | |
are still issues in terms of making sure that businesses get access to | :01:27. | :01:35. | |
appropriate finance to stop that you had to have a second one? | :01:35. | :01:40. | |
rather sad you had to have a second one? I think it was successful and | :01:40. | :01:44. | |
we are planning another one next year. Foundation East, amongst | :01:44. | :01:50. | |
others, are getting equity. There are also start-up schemes, | :01:50. | :01:54. | |
particularly for young people. The latest one has been extended to | :01:54. | :02:01. | |
their peak. What about Corby, anything you can do? We try to work | :02:01. | :02:06. | |
its closely with businesses. The whole approach as a council is | :02:06. | :02:10. | |
about economic development. That runs like a thread through all the | :02:10. | :02:15. | |
stuff we do. We do not have a specific development department, | :02:15. | :02:20. | |
but make sure that economic development and access to finance | :02:20. | :02:26. | |
is taken seriously. At a practical level, how can you help that? | :02:26. | :02:33. | |
can work with developers to make available land. We are not a bank | :02:33. | :02:41. | |
and cannot lend money. I have come from a meeting with my local | :02:41. | :02:46. | |
strategic partnership where we were talking about this issue. That was | :02:46. | :02:52. | |
in relation to the Northamptonshire Chambers of Commerce to have called | :02:52. | :02:57. | |
on a business bank. It is the difficulty here that businesses are | :02:57. | :03:02. | |
not getting access to needed money. Those tend to be small businesses | :03:02. | :03:12. | |
generally. The big companies have money and find it easier. There is | :03:12. | :03:18. | |
a lot of positive action, but not much happening. Net lending is up | :03:18. | :03:22. | |
in the region, which is good news, are being used to help companies | :03:22. | :03:32. | |
:03:32. | :03:33. | ||
grow. There is still more we want to do and try to do it was that are | :03:33. | :03:36. | |
aspects -- and try to do. One thing to do is help with business | :03:36. | :03:44. | |
planning. You are not blaming the businesses or lack of lending? | :03:44. | :03:50. | |
businesses are operating in their overdraft. Others are nervous about | :03:50. | :03:54. | |
investing when they could get finance. We shall leave it there. | :03:54. | :03:57. | |
Now, just time for our political round-up. Commuting by train | :03:57. | :04:01. | |
resumed for many of us this week. But not, it seems, for the Rail | :04:01. | :04:08. | |
Minister. Deborah McGurran reveals in 60 seconds. | :04:08. | :04:11. | |
A special BBC investigation by Inside Out found hundreds of cases | :04:11. | :04:21. | |
:04:21. | :04:22. | ||
of abuse against elderly people in care homes. It is intolerable and | :04:22. | :04:26. | |
we should all feel confident when a loved one goes into a care home | :04:26. | :04:29. | |
that they should be safe and well looked after. | :04:29. | :04:31. | |
And Julian Huppert, MP for Cambridge, finds it intolerable | :04:31. | :04:36. | |
that the county's funding per pupil is one of the lowest in the country. | :04:36. | :04:39. | |
Cambridgeshire school children will suffer from underfunding fought | :04:39. | :04:42. | |
even longer unless action is taken now. | :04:42. | :04:45. | |
Now the Corby by-election is over, cross party consensus breaks out | :04:45. | :04:51. | |
over the future of Kettering Hospital. We want to keep the vital | :04:51. | :04:54. | |
acute health services in the north and Northamptonshire. | :04:54. | :04:57. | |
Rail Minister Simon Burns faced criticism for using a ministerial | :04:57. | :05:01. | |
car to get to London instead of travelling by train. | :05:01. | :05:04. | |
And Derek Murphy, the leader of Norfolk County Council, is stepping | :05:04. | :05:07. | |
down temporarily to face his critics. It is while he's | :05:07. | :05:12. | |
investigated by the council's standards committee. I have to put | :05:12. | :05:21. | |
forward a very effective case to defend my position. | :05:21. | :05:26. | |
More shortfalls in elderly care. What more needs to be done? | :05:27. | :05:31. | |
Care Quality Commission was criticised for being unclear about | :05:31. | :05:38. | |
their remit. I think they are clear. Care should be of the best quality. | :05:38. | :05:43. | |
I welcome their instant inspections. I am meeting them next month, | :05:43. | :05:48. | |
because there are some homes in my part of the region that a not doing | :05:48. | :05:53. | |
what they should be. I am also following up with the county | :05:53. | :05:56. | |
council to see how be an inspecting. Vital that people in Kear need to | :05:56. | :06:04. | |
be looked after properly. -- care. It is terrible people in care are | :06:04. | :06:09. | |
being treated this way? Absolutely. You would expect you are elderly | :06:09. | :06:14. | |
relatives, when going into care, to be looked after well. The elderly | :06:14. | :06:19. | |
and very young are the two most vulnerable groups and will deserve | :06:19. | :06:24. | |
the best. We need to do what we can to make sure that happens. We shall | :06:24. | :06:28. | |
come back to this on another day. Thank you both very much for | :06:28. | :06:32. | |
joining us. That's all for now. Keep in touch | :06:32. | :06:36. |