:01:21. > :01:24.Here in the east: The changing face of our councils
:01:24. > :01:27.as they make millions of pounds of savings again this year.
:01:27. > :01:37.And the childcare costs that have risen higher here than anywhere
:01:37. > :01:37.
:01:37. > :41:58.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2421 seconds
:41:59. > :42:02.Hello, and a warm welcome to Sunday Politics East, I'm Etholle George.
:42:02. > :42:06.Coming up later in the programme: We reveal how much more council tax
:42:06. > :42:10.you're going to have to pay this year as our local authorities shave
:42:10. > :42:13.millions off their budgets. And changes to childcare, will more
:42:13. > :42:23.children looked after by fewer staff really make a difference to
:42:23. > :42:28.
:42:28. > :42:33.I am not knocking it down Number Ten's door because we do not get
:42:34. > :42:37.Tax Credits. The only way we can get back on our feet is a small
:42:37. > :42:40.people work. But first, let's meet our guests
:42:40. > :42:43.for this week. Andy Sawford, the recently elected Labour MP for
:42:43. > :42:45.Corby and Councillor Kilian Bourke, the leader of the Liberal Democrat
:42:45. > :42:49.group on Cambridgeshire County Council. Let's start with this
:42:49. > :42:53.week's 60th anniversary of the Great Flood of 1953. The storm
:42:53. > :42:55.surge claimed the lives of more than 300 people in this region as
:42:55. > :43:05.coastal defences were overwhelmed and sea water swept two miles
:43:05. > :43:08.inland. Since then, there has been millions
:43:08. > :43:11.of pounds spent on sea defences in this region, but it's still around
:43:11. > :43:20.a tenth of what Holland, who suffered the same surge, has
:43:20. > :43:25.prepared for. Is it enough? concern about flood defences in
:43:25. > :43:30.this country have, especially in constituencies like mine, is that
:43:30. > :43:34.we have not looked at all the evidence about how we are likely to
:43:34. > :43:40.experience increased flooding. We cannot always deal with one of
:43:40. > :43:48.events. We can look at what more can be done to prevent animal
:43:48. > :43:53.flooding. We cannot legislate for these natural disasters. The is no
:43:54. > :44:00.way that we can prevent a massive event. You cannot build a Great
:44:00. > :44:04.Wall of China along the coastline. Progress has been made. Instead of
:44:04. > :44:11.destroying marshland, we are building marshes on the coast. If
:44:11. > :44:19.there is flooding, it will be directed into those. I do not think
:44:19. > :44:23.we cannot prevent disasters. what we can expect in the council
:44:23. > :44:29.tax bills. Three-quarters of councils in the east have given us
:44:29. > :44:36.their figures. �338 million is to be shaved off council budgets in
:44:36. > :44:40.the East with the loss of at least 1230 jobs. 29th of our authorities
:44:40. > :44:46.of freezing their council tax, taking advantage of the
:44:46. > :44:55.Government's financial incentive. 8 the forehead teas are increasing
:44:55. > :44:57.their council tax. -- ate a authorities. -- 8. In December, we
:44:57. > :45:04.learn that the government was reducing the amount it was giving
:45:04. > :45:08.to almost every council in the east. Reducing services is a way of
:45:08. > :45:11.making savings. A growing number of councils in our region are trying
:45:11. > :45:21.to make up the difference by finding the ways of generating
:45:21. > :45:26.
:45:26. > :45:30.income. Local councils used to oversee
:45:30. > :45:38.local planning, or provide towns and election or rubbish is
:45:38. > :45:43.collected. The streets are kept clear of litter. Today's councils
:45:43. > :45:48.do much more. This is the right Comp Centre which is part-funded
:45:48. > :45:54.and owned by the local council. It provides office space for 55 local
:45:54. > :46:02.businesses. Councils have a wonderful opportunity to regenerate
:46:02. > :46:07.and bring goodness to the area. We are in a national economic crisis.
:46:07. > :46:10.�50 million of inward investment is expected to Qamar here this year.
:46:10. > :46:15.Renting out business units is not any good for the economy, it makes
:46:15. > :46:22.money for the cancelled so we can keep council tax alone. This is the
:46:22. > :46:27.latest money-making venture. 45 million new homes are being built.
:46:27. > :46:32.It is very important. Government grants are being squeezed. Council
:46:32. > :46:38.taxpayers paid too much tax. We have to raise income to subs detect
:46:38. > :46:41.-- subsidise the TEC council tax payer. With less public money
:46:41. > :46:48.available, councils have realised they have got to do the heavy
:46:48. > :46:51.lifting and find ways of creating income. The council here offers
:46:51. > :46:56.corporate membership at its leisure centres. But is also making money
:46:56. > :47:01.from renting out business units, a man via authority to freeze council
:47:01. > :47:06.tax for a 5th year and not cut frontline services. Half the say
:47:06. > :47:10.this -- half the savings it has to make will be offset by new income.
:47:10. > :47:15.It is about growing income. You have to think a measure of. We have
:47:15. > :47:19.got a programme of growing income wherever we can. That is not by
:47:19. > :47:24.increasing fears, it is by driving more people or more volume through
:47:24. > :47:30.the council, treating it as a business. South Norfolk is making
:47:31. > :47:35.money from the government's new homes bonus. So, too, is Uttlesford
:47:35. > :47:41.in Essex. The government wants to see more councils generating their
:47:41. > :47:44.own funding. But critics say it is not as easy as it sounds. It is a
:47:44. > :47:48.very important feature of local government that we are there to
:47:48. > :47:53.have a local approach, to meet the needs of our local communities.
:47:53. > :47:57.They will be different. The ability to generate income will be
:47:57. > :48:03.different. This council has found ways to generate extra income that
:48:03. > :48:08.says it will not be an up to avoid cuts the two services. If you were
:48:08. > :48:11.in a prosperous area, they -- they may not be the need for those
:48:11. > :48:18.authorities to have any support from government. There may be a
:48:18. > :48:22.continuing ability to generate even more income. The government wants
:48:22. > :48:26.to see councils play more of a role in encouraging local growth and
:48:26. > :48:30.wants them to be less reliant on the animal central grants. Some
:48:30. > :48:39.have found a way to make this work, others fear they are being left
:48:39. > :48:42.behind. I am joined by Brandon Lewis. Following on from the issues
:48:42. > :48:49.raised in the film comedy you accept that some councils will find
:48:49. > :48:51.it easier and to be more able to generate income than others? We are
:48:51. > :48:59.already seeing some local authorities moving forward in that
:48:59. > :49:05.way for a while. The forward- thinking councils take advantage of
:49:05. > :49:09.what we have done with a local Act to give them more power. They will
:49:09. > :49:15.get the most benefit and we will see more authority is looking at
:49:15. > :49:19.best practice around the country are bringing back home. It is about
:49:19. > :49:23.circumstances. Some councils do not have the space to build houses.
:49:24. > :49:28.They have more elderly people or more deprived areas. That is the
:49:28. > :49:31.reason you have to look at it as a whole package. We are moving into a
:49:31. > :49:35.realm where we want to change the way local government is financed.
:49:35. > :49:40.It is about what local authorities can do to help themselves. That is
:49:40. > :49:45.also why we have changed the finance to take into account growth
:49:45. > :49:54.in business rates. There is a incentive for local authorities
:49:54. > :49:57.there. A isn't there a danger that you are creating two Tia councils?
:49:57. > :50:02.All authorities have the same opportunities. Different
:50:02. > :50:05.authorities will take advantage of the opportunities in different ways.
:50:06. > :50:09.It is about giving the local councils the power for the people
:50:09. > :50:13.who know their communities to deliver the best products for their
:50:13. > :50:21.communities. What about the incentive to freeze council tax? IS
:50:21. > :50:25.that not a private -- bright? central government do our best to
:50:25. > :50:29.help the hard-working taxpayers. We are saying to people we have had a
:50:29. > :50:36.freeze in council tax. We have frozen it for two years. We're
:50:36. > :50:40.putting in place the opportunity for a freeze for a third year. We
:50:40. > :50:48.want councils to take advantage and help hard-working taxpayers in our
:50:48. > :50:52.communities. Andy Sawford, or your council has changed its mind. The
:50:52. > :50:56.proposed 2% increase has gone and they are going for a tax freeze.
:50:56. > :51:00.How are services going to be maintained? I have always
:51:00. > :51:04.understood we were looking at a freeze because we recognise that
:51:04. > :51:09.times are very tough for people. You have got to put these changes
:51:09. > :51:19.into wider context. Lots of people are being charged to receive cancel
:51:19. > :51:23.services. School transport costs more money. Social care services
:51:23. > :51:27.are charging people. I do not think we should be taken away with the
:51:27. > :51:33.Tory propaganda that they are helping ordinary people. The
:51:33. > :51:36.poorest people in our country are suffering most, because of the
:51:37. > :51:41.council tax benefit reduction, it is them that are going to be paying
:51:41. > :51:46.the price for the Tory's failure to get the economy getting going and
:51:46. > :51:52.keeping our services going. Let's talk about Cambridge are having to
:51:52. > :51:57.make savings of �32 million. It looks set to cat 99 jobs. By you
:51:57. > :52:05.looking to freeze cancel tax? council has already committed to
:52:05. > :52:09.increasing council tax. I would say that the offer on the table from
:52:09. > :52:15.central government is not a bribe, it is a con. The money that is
:52:15. > :52:20.being offered, the equivalent of a 1% council tax increase this year
:52:20. > :52:27.would disappear the following year. That is not how finances work. You
:52:27. > :52:31.have to keep providing services. you want to come back on that?
:52:31. > :52:37.that last statement, that is wrong. We have made it very clear that it
:52:37. > :52:45.will not go after a year. It is there for the next few years. There
:52:45. > :52:48.is a real issue. There are hard working people for we need to help.
:52:48. > :52:52.The council tax freeze recognises that people are having tough times.
:52:52. > :52:57.It is very good to be able to say that we are freezing council tax.
:52:57. > :53:01.We had big rises under the last government and we have given all
:53:01. > :53:06.the local authorities the chance to freeze it for a third year. Let's
:53:06. > :53:14.talk about councils to what raising the council tax to a percentage
:53:14. > :53:19.point just shy of the 2% that requires a referendum. Eric Pickles
:53:19. > :53:23.this week has described the councils as democracy dodgers and
:53:23. > :53:27.said they are treating residents with contempt. Do you agree? WHAT
:53:27. > :53:32.he was referring to was more than that. They are rather a few Labour
:53:32. > :53:38.authorities in the north shore are using a very technical system of
:53:38. > :53:43.levies to avoid it and go at about 3.5% in reality and avoid a
:53:43. > :53:51.referendum. That is simply not acceptable. With a authorities who
:53:51. > :53:55.are looking at the opportunity to go at 1.95%, these people know that
:53:55. > :54:03.at 2%, you have to have a referendum. If you are that close
:54:03. > :54:13.to 2%, you are trying to dodge a referendum. This is a hypocrisy
:54:13. > :54:13.
:54:13. > :54:17.from central government. They do not have a referendum. They have
:54:17. > :54:21.cut working tax benefit in my constituency. There is one role for
:54:21. > :54:28.local councils, cutting them any year after year by huge amounts
:54:28. > :54:32.with huge consequences for services, but then this little bribe, I agree
:54:32. > :54:37.with Kilian Bourke, this is a con. What about the general principle?
:54:37. > :54:43.What about the councils to what are raising council tax just below that
:54:43. > :54:48.2% level? If central government says you cannot increase council
:54:48. > :54:51.tax by a 2% or more without a referendum, that means that you
:54:51. > :54:57.what I'll be allowed to increase council tax by a slightly lower
:54:57. > :55:02.than that to raise funds. And to start attacking of authorities for
:55:02. > :55:07.doing that is a complete nonsense. We need to take account of the
:55:07. > :55:09.particular circumstances of different local authorities.
:55:09. > :55:15.Cambridgeshire county council, Labour and Conservative
:55:15. > :55:23.Administration voted for the best project. As a result, we are �70
:55:23. > :55:27.million out of pocket. That will wipe have -- that will wipe out
:55:27. > :55:32.half of the council tax increase. That is a great example of public
:55:32. > :55:39.transport where people are paying more. In my constituency, people
:55:39. > :55:42.are paying a fortune. This week has seen Norfolk MP and
:55:42. > :55:47.charter minister Liz Truss announce plans for nurseries and commanders
:55:47. > :55:51.to be allowed to look after more children as part of Coalition
:55:51. > :55:55.efforts to cut child care costs. Nursery cost in the east are higher
:55:55. > :56:05.than the national average. The most striking increase is in shocker
:56:05. > :56:10.
:56:10. > :56:17.cost four under two euros. -- to read year old. We spoke to someone
:56:17. > :56:20.facing those costs. Francis Camps has two children under the age of
:56:20. > :56:24.four and used to work in financial services but had to give up work
:56:25. > :56:28.because of the cost of childcare. went back to work full time after I
:56:28. > :56:34.had my first child and put him into a mystery because the cost of one
:56:34. > :56:38.was not too bad. It has about �45 a day. But when I had my second child,
:56:38. > :56:43.it was too much at once. I was trying to get two children are
:56:43. > :56:48.ready in the morning and getting them to nursery. I interviewed a
:56:48. > :56:53.couple of nannies, considering taking that approach, but the cast
:56:53. > :56:58.is so much higher. It was never going to happen. -- cost. It was
:56:58. > :57:04.not worth doing it. We thought we would end up being divorced if we
:57:04. > :57:09.went down that path. After much discussion, we decided one of us
:57:09. > :57:16.had to take a step back from full- time work. I am more than happy to
:57:16. > :57:19.pay for our own children. That is perfectly valid. As a tax payer, I
:57:19. > :57:27.have contributed a lot to society and some of my taxes would have
:57:27. > :57:33.gone to other services where people needed help. Now, maybe it is my
:57:33. > :57:38.turn to have some help. Under the new plans announced by Liz Truss,
:57:38. > :57:42.in nurseries from September, one adult will be allowed to look after
:57:42. > :57:46.four babies under one instead of three. All six 2 euros instead of
:57:46. > :57:51.four. But any of their qualifications meet new standards.
:57:51. > :57:56.I spoke to her a little earlier. The idea of reducing the ratio of
:57:56. > :57:59.carers to children has caused consternation to many parents.
:57:59. > :58:03.the moment, we have a situation where parents are paying the
:58:03. > :58:11.highest cost in Europe and staff in nurseries are paid six than 60 an
:58:11. > :58:15.hour on average which is only just above the minimum wage. -- �6.60.
:58:15. > :58:18.We can get better quality by moving to a system like they have in
:58:18. > :58:26.countries like France where they give nurses more flexibility but we
:58:26. > :58:31.also get better paid, highly qualified staff. The outcomes are
:58:31. > :58:34.beneficial for children. That is the direction I want us to move in.
:58:34. > :58:39.Nursery say it will not save money. You have said just add that these
:58:39. > :58:44.people are not by any means highly paid. I think it is important that
:58:44. > :58:49.we also need to raise quality. At the moment, there is patchy quality.
:58:49. > :58:53.Some places are very good, others are not. It is not very good in
:58:53. > :58:59.deprived areas. We need to make it more available for parents. But the
:58:59. > :59:06.moment, it can be difficult to find a full-time nursery place. Our
:59:06. > :59:11.plans are about improving the quality and availability. Britain
:59:11. > :59:16.spent the same as France does on early years care. They have better-
:59:16. > :59:21.paid staff, higher ratios, higher satisfaction and parents are paying
:59:21. > :59:24.half the cast. We can do it better. By have spoken to a lot of
:59:24. > :59:27.nurseries for are keen to take this approach. They are keen to at
:59:27. > :59:31.school their staff to operate in different ways to look at the way
:59:31. > :59:39.they do on the Continent. When parents say that, they will be
:59:39. > :59:43.encouraged. Tu understand that families like the Kemps think it is
:59:43. > :59:46.their turn to get support. We did announce in the mid-term review
:59:46. > :59:49.that we want to help working parents with childcare. Along with
:59:50. > :59:54.this reform to improve the efficiency of our system and
:59:54. > :00:00.improve the quality, we are looking at helping working families. When
:00:00. > :00:06.will we know what the government plans to do for tax breaks to help
:00:06. > :00:10.with a child care costs? We will announce our plans soon. But the
:00:10. > :00:13.moment, I am making sure we get value for money for the �5 billion
:00:13. > :00:19.that we spend. Compared to other countries, we are spending as much
:00:19. > :00:22.money, but we are finding that nursery workers are underpaid for
:00:22. > :00:29.the important job they do and that families are paying too much. We
:00:29. > :00:34.must be able to get better value for money. At least this is an
:00:34. > :00:38.attempt to reduce the problem. You must welcome it. Sometimes, I
:00:38. > :00:45.wonder. These ministers, you show them announce these policies and
:00:45. > :00:48.say that everybody supports them. If Liz Truss can show me any
:00:48. > :00:52.childcare organisation that has not come out about this, I would be
:00:52. > :00:59.gobsmacked. Everyone thinks it is a bad idea. She cites international
:00:59. > :01:02.evidence. The most comparable but - - example is Holland where they
:01:02. > :01:06.changed the ratios and it was a democratisation of child care which
:01:06. > :01:09.pushed the costs about go at quality. But better qualifications
:01:09. > :01:14.for people working in the industry must be a good thing. It is
:01:14. > :01:21.important that people providing childcare have good qualifications.
:01:21. > :01:24.That is why they think it is absolutely wrong that the county
:01:24. > :01:28.council and they are cutting the funding that is provided for people
:01:28. > :01:33.who provide a child-minding to get the qualifications they need. The
:01:33. > :01:38.other thing is that just the other day others were four local children
:01:38. > :01:41.centres talking about what they do. That is a great legacy of the last
:01:42. > :01:45.Labour government that made a great difference to the quality,
:01:45. > :01:51.availability and affordability of childcare. Can the government
:01:51. > :01:56.afford to help families? POPE fully. I think the government is doing
:01:56. > :02:03.something good by looking very seriously at soccer as an issue.
:02:03. > :02:07.From 20th April 13, there is going to be free childcare. -- child care
:02:07. > :02:11.as an issue. There will be free childcare available to poor
:02:11. > :02:15.families. They are redressing the issue of childcare. More widely,
:02:15. > :02:21.there is the issue of the squeezed middle. If both parents have to
:02:21. > :02:26.work, especially in affluent areas, like Cambridge, then we have to
:02:26. > :02:30.provide local accessible and affordable childcare. But it is a
:02:30. > :02:35.government that you are supporting that is cutting child tax Credits,
:02:35. > :02:40.Child Benefit. All sorts of ways that we help working families to
:02:40. > :02:45.pay for shocker and meet the other cost of raising children. -- pay
:02:45. > :02:49.for child care. We will have to leave it there. Now for our
:02:49. > :02:59.political round-up of the week. Someone found themselves on the
:02:59. > :03:04.naughty stuff. -- step. It is unfair that sixth-form
:03:04. > :03:08.colleges are forced to pay VAT when schools do not have to according to
:03:08. > :03:12.this MP. Will my Friend agree to investigate whether this can be
:03:12. > :03:16.corrected so they can be a level playing-field for sixth-form
:03:16. > :03:20.colleges? RICHARD Bacon complained that many countries are still using
:03:20. > :03:29.illegal methods of reading cakes and called for a ban on the import
:03:29. > :03:33.of the meat from parts of Europe. - - and Derwyn Jones. So I'll us do
:03:33. > :03:37.not think they will benefit from the downgrading of the coastguard
:03:37. > :03:41.station at Great Yarmouth. It is the anniversary of the
:03:41. > :03:45.reorganisation of this hospital which was taken over by a private
:03:45. > :03:53.healthcare company one year ago. It has missed its financial targets by
:03:53. > :03:57.of the �3 million. John Birt Coe's rabbit did not miss its mark. You
:03:58. > :04:04.would not behave like that in the courts. Do not behave like that in
:04:04. > :04:09.this chamber. What you make of the fact that some of the pig industry
:04:09. > :04:12.in Germany and some of it in Portugal are simply not compliant?
:04:12. > :04:17.The key point to make is that the legislation has only become
:04:17. > :04:26.effective this month. The European Commission has already issued finds
:04:26. > :04:32.in the process -- finds to the countries that are not compliant.
:04:32. > :04:35.Those who do not comply. Is that why people are opposed to Europe?
:04:35. > :04:38.ABSOLUTELY right. But there are rules that Britain is following,
:04:38. > :04:43.other countries should be made to. That is why we need a powerful
:04:43. > :04:49.government with a powerful Prime Minister who has influence across
:04:49. > :04:51.Europe. That's all for now. You can keep in