:01:19. > :01:22.our services. We are the fastest-growing region in the
:01:23. > :01:32.country, but councils are left struggling to pay for new school
:01:33. > :01:33.
:01:33. > :32:48.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1875 seconds
:32:48. > :32:54.Politics. Pressure on services, why our councils are having to dig into
:32:54. > :33:04.their pockets to pay for more school places. We've just been up at 22
:33:04. > :33:08.
:33:08. > :33:13.million over the next couple of trunk road. Could one council's
:33:13. > :33:17.decision not to pay up threaten this massive project? We don't see the
:33:17. > :33:24.income coming to us from the improvements on the road and that's
:33:24. > :33:30.why it is very difficult to put any back in. Let's meet our guests,
:33:30. > :33:34.Andrew Lansley, former Health Secretary and Julian Huppert, local
:33:34. > :33:38.MP Liberal Democrat for Cambridge. Let's talk about Europe. Nothing in
:33:38. > :33:42.this weeks Queen's Speech about a referendum on UK membership of the
:33:42. > :33:46.EU but two of our Euro-sceptic MPs on the east are trying to keep it at
:33:46. > :33:51.the top of the agenda. Conservatives John Baron and Peter Bone have
:33:51. > :33:56.tabled an amendment to the Queen's Speech expressing regret at the lack
:33:56. > :34:03.of an EU referendum bill. There is expected to be a Commons vote next
:34:03. > :34:07.week. Let's talk about this, Andrew Lansley, do you support it? It's not
:34:07. > :34:11.a case of supporting it but it's not objecting to it because in a sense,
:34:11. > :34:15.from the Conservative party's point of view, I don't speak for the
:34:15. > :34:20.coalition as a whole, but from the Conservative party's point of view
:34:20. > :34:25.there is a sense of regret in establishing the legislative
:34:25. > :34:29.framework for what we're going to do. As a party, after the next
:34:29. > :34:33.election, following the negotiations in Europe, we intend to give the
:34:33. > :34:40.people of this country the opportunity to decide our future in
:34:40. > :34:45.this referendum. If they work, this side of the next election, it could
:34:45. > :34:54.be positive. We are part of a coalition, so if I put my coalition
:34:54. > :34:58.hat on, we weren't able to do it. Julian Huppert? I don't support it,
:34:58. > :35:02.the Conservatives have a history of being split by Europe. I think we
:35:02. > :35:06.are just seeing another. It's a great shame because there are far
:35:06. > :35:11.more important issues for this country. We need to get jobs and
:35:11. > :35:19.growth, and the protracted discussion about the EU is a
:35:19. > :35:23.distraction. What about the pressure this is putting on the coalition?
:35:23. > :35:29.hope Andrew will take a sensitive -- sensible line when the vote comes
:35:29. > :35:33.around. There are about 3 million jobs within the UK that rely on our
:35:33. > :35:38.trade in Europe. We wouldn't lose all of that but we would put that at
:35:38. > :35:47.risk and that's the wrong thing to do. Are you annoyed by this, Andrew
:35:47. > :35:53.Lansley? No I'm not. It's simply expresses something that clearly
:35:53. > :35:57.many conservatives feel. It's not in that sense objectionable. The point
:35:57. > :36:01.is we don't know at this stage whether it will be one of the
:36:01. > :36:07.amendments selected because eventually in the house amendments
:36:07. > :36:13.are selected on behalf of the official opposition. So you don't
:36:13. > :36:16.foresee it producing more rifts within your party? No because from
:36:16. > :36:22.my party's point of view there is a consensus, a consensus that we want
:36:22. > :36:26.to have a negotiation with Europe to get the new settlement leading to a
:36:26. > :36:32.referendum. At the point at which there is a referendum, there will be
:36:32. > :36:37.people who want to vote to be part of that reshaped Europe, others who
:36:38. > :36:40.don't. We will come back to you shortly.
:36:40. > :36:46.This week the Queen's Speech introduced measures to tackle
:36:46. > :36:50.immigration. It's one of the reasons why UKIP did so well in the local
:36:50. > :36:53.elections. In this region we seen an increase in migration which has put
:36:53. > :37:00.pressure on all our services, but schools have been hit particularly
:37:00. > :37:05.hard. Deborah McGurran has been to Peterborough to see of the scheme
:37:05. > :37:08.that replaced it is keeping pace with demand.
:37:08. > :37:11.It's clear Nene Park Academy has seen better days with narrow
:37:11. > :37:14.staircases and in poor repair, the school is showing its age. It
:37:14. > :37:21.should've been rebuilt under Labour's loathing schools for the
:37:21. > :37:26.future programme which the coalition axed. We were disappointed because
:37:26. > :37:34.all the schools and the north of the city have been modernised, rebuilt
:37:34. > :37:40.refurbished. We were one of the two that got cancelled at the very end,
:37:40. > :37:46.so the school and the community here are known in catchment area so I
:37:46. > :37:50.understand why we've been waiting. In Peterborough, three school
:37:50. > :37:55.buildings were lost, 18 projects in Essex were cancelled, six were
:37:55. > :38:00.abandoned in Hertfordshire, 13 more in Luton and the same in Suffolk,
:38:00. > :38:03.and six went in Cambridgeshire. He rips Nene Park Academy there is a
:38:03. > :38:06.new �14 million building due to open in September and existing buildings
:38:06. > :38:12.have been refurbished since the school became an Academy two years
:38:12. > :38:17.ago. They've said they got a lot of new utilities for science
:38:17. > :38:21.especially, so looking forward to that. The art department is going to
:38:21. > :38:27.be a big studio with massive windows so there will be a beautiful view of
:38:27. > :38:32.the area. New technologies can help you learn and you can achieve better
:38:32. > :38:37.grades. The Council of had to pick up the tab for the developments
:38:37. > :38:43.here. We have been offered �22 million over the next couple of
:38:43. > :38:47.years which is really helpful. We need �108 million over the next five
:38:47. > :38:53.years. We are having to borrow it, it's as simple as that and there is
:38:53. > :38:59.a cost for that. You borrow a million, you've got to find money to
:38:59. > :39:07.do it. This school down the road is fortunate to have a former
:39:07. > :39:13.children's home being up graded. have an opportunity to become to
:39:13. > :39:20.form entry primary school, look at the new curriculum coming our way
:39:20. > :39:24.and look at how structures can help us do that in a positive way.
:39:24. > :39:28.pressure on school places is immense in Peterborough were the growth in
:39:28. > :39:34.population is the sixth highest in the country. There is predicted
:39:34. > :39:39.shortfall in school places of 8000 x 2018, and how many projects have
:39:39. > :39:44.been started under the new school building project, none. That's the
:39:44. > :39:48.same figure for the rest of the region. We've seen a growing
:39:48. > :39:53.population in recent years, and it's what we would consider to be a
:39:53. > :39:59.phenomenal wave of children coming through. What about the governments
:39:59. > :40:03.new project, the priority building programme? It's very welcome that
:40:03. > :40:10.the government has introduced more funding to support schools. We have
:40:10. > :40:16.put in requests to bid for money pot. They are not looking to start
:40:16. > :40:21.until September 2017, my immediate needs are known. The timing is not
:40:21. > :40:26.perfect for what we need to do. seems to be taking a long time to be
:40:26. > :40:32.getting going. There were a lot of bureaucratic procedure is
:40:32. > :40:34.reminiscent of the old systems to be honest. It tends to come in fits and
:40:34. > :40:41.starts, one minute everything is happening, the next minute
:40:41. > :40:44.everything goes quiet. But it is taking longer to move that one than
:40:44. > :40:48.it did when we started to move on with this building here with this
:40:48. > :40:52.building herewith the City Council. Peterborough councils borrowing
:40:52. > :40:57.looks set to continue. In the past five years they have created 5000
:40:57. > :41:01.spaces, in the next five years another 8000 are needed.
:41:01. > :41:09.Earlier I spoke to the Education Minister Elizabeth Truss and I put
:41:09. > :41:11.it to her that this new scheme is too little too late. We are spending
:41:11. > :41:15.�5 billion in this Parliament on new school buildings and half a billion
:41:15. > :41:20.of that is going to be in the East of England, so progress is being
:41:20. > :41:24.made but what we're doing is in a much more efficient way than the
:41:24. > :41:29.building schools for the future programme. Schools are being built
:41:29. > :41:36.across the East of England at the moment. As we heard, the timing
:41:36. > :41:39.isn't perfect and in the meantime councils are happy to fill the gap.
:41:39. > :41:42.Councils do have responsibility for funding capital for school. The
:41:42. > :41:47.government's programme is there to help and what this programme does is
:41:47. > :41:51.target schools most in need, those were the population is growing and
:41:51. > :41:54.those with poor maintenance at the moment. The previous government's
:41:54. > :41:59.programme was focused on things like educational performance, and wasn't
:42:00. > :42:03.targeting those schools in the most need. But at a time when councils
:42:03. > :42:09.are having to freeze their council tax, is it fair that they are having
:42:09. > :42:13.to find this money from elsewhere and pay expensive interest? There
:42:13. > :42:21.are schools being built at the moment, the Thetford Academy is
:42:21. > :42:25.building this autumn. This new programme will come into being
:42:25. > :42:28.soon, as you've heard there are going to be two schools in
:42:28. > :42:33.Peterborough already on that list and more schools across the East of
:42:33. > :42:37.England. It's important we get value for money from these programmes and
:42:37. > :42:40.the schools under our programme are going to cost 30% less to build, so
:42:40. > :42:44.we will be able to use the money more efficiently. We will also be
:42:44. > :42:47.able to build the school is quicker, so from an average time of three
:42:47. > :42:53.years to an average time of two years, which means places will be
:42:53. > :42:56.open sooner. I you concerned that we're creating a gap year? We heard
:42:57. > :43:04.that birth rate is going through the roof in areas like Peterborough and
:43:04. > :43:07.as we heard nothing is being done at least at one school until 2017, so
:43:07. > :43:12.what are the school is expected to do and the council is expected to do
:43:12. > :43:18.in the meantime? Peterborough Council is funding school building
:43:18. > :43:21.to take place so that those places can be provided for children. We are
:43:21. > :43:24.providing 5 billion across the country and have a billion in the
:43:24. > :43:28.East of England and it's very much focused on those areas that need the
:43:28. > :43:33.most resources and what we have done in Peterborough in particular is
:43:33. > :43:38.that the new figures coming through or more accurate about the growth in
:43:38. > :43:42.population, so Peterborough will get the funding it deserves. You're
:43:42. > :43:45.focusing your funding on the areas they need the most resources, you
:43:45. > :43:49.say, and without taking anything away from the north-east, why are
:43:49. > :43:55.you going to that area next when clearly places are needed right
:43:55. > :44:00.here, right now in the East? We are funding half a billion worth of new
:44:00. > :44:03.buildings in the East in this parliamentary session, so there is
:44:03. > :44:08.money going in across the East of England and new schools being built.
:44:08. > :44:12.The point is that our programme is entirely based on which schools need
:44:12. > :44:16.it from the point of view of the condition of the buildings and which
:44:16. > :44:22.schools need it because the birth rate is growing in the area. The
:44:22. > :44:25.previous programme was all over the shop. In hindsight, was right to
:44:25. > :44:31.scrap the building schools for future programme, as it was done in
:44:31. > :44:35.one fell swoop? Absolutely, it was one of the government's most
:44:35. > :44:41.wasteful programmes, it didn't work, it wasn't delivering schools quickly
:44:41. > :44:44.enough, that fitted requirements for local communities. Some of those
:44:45. > :44:49.schools on that programme are being built under this government but they
:44:49. > :44:52.are being built much more efficiently, so at least 30%
:44:52. > :44:55.reduction in the cost of those buildings. It was right to scrap
:44:55. > :45:02.that wasteful programme and look again at the real needs of towns and
:45:02. > :45:05.cities in these areas. Thank you very much indeed.
:45:05. > :45:10.If money for building schools is in short supply, you could say the same
:45:10. > :45:13.thing about roads. There is a claim that funding disputes are
:45:13. > :45:23.threatening an upgrade to our busiest and most congested trunk
:45:23. > :45:23.
:45:23. > :45:28.road the Alpha 14. -- the A14. Parts carry up to 80,000 vehicles a day.
:45:28. > :45:34.The government announced a �1.5 billion improvement scheme last year
:45:34. > :45:40.for the stretch between Huntingdon and Cambridge. Part of it will be
:45:40. > :45:43.told. Work should start in 2018. But business leaders have claimed the
:45:43. > :45:47.upgrade in Cambridgeshire is being hampered by political infighting.
:45:47. > :45:51.Under current proposal some of the money would have to come from local
:45:51. > :45:55.councils because of the economic benefits the road will bring.
:45:55. > :46:00.Cambridge city councillors refusing to pay up. The Cambridgeshire
:46:00. > :46:08.Chamber of Commerce is unhappy, it says A14 congestion costs the local
:46:08. > :46:14.economy �12 million every month. terms of the city council, we don't
:46:14. > :46:19.see the income coming to us from the improvements on the road. That's why
:46:19. > :46:24.it's very difficult to put any backing in. We want everybody be to
:46:24. > :46:30.-- to be together because of we want the government to improve the road
:46:30. > :46:34.we need to have a united front and everybody going together. Julian
:46:34. > :46:40.Huppert, the Liberal Democrats accused of jeopardising this
:46:40. > :46:44.project, why don't they just pay up? That is simply not true. The key
:46:44. > :46:49.issue is where the money comes from, Cambridge City Council doesn't get
:46:49. > :46:53.any benefit from growth in new buildings outside the city
:46:53. > :46:59.boundaries, the city is already quite full with housing. The city
:46:59. > :47:04.council doesn't get the �5 million in cash that it is being asked to
:47:04. > :47:09.put into. I would like to see the road improves, I've campaigned for
:47:09. > :47:17.that since I was a young County Council. The viaduct at Huntingdon
:47:17. > :47:24.is well past its design life. The City Council doesn't get the �5
:47:24. > :47:27.million back to put into it. What about this lost money? It is
:47:27. > :47:31.absolutely right that national government should be putting money
:47:31. > :47:34.into this. I don't think the City Council, it doesn't get the money
:47:34. > :47:39.back, you'd have to take a huge amount out of what the City Council
:47:39. > :47:43.is currently doing for people. It should be funded nationally and I
:47:43. > :47:46.had people during the recent elections asking me why is it that
:47:46. > :47:51.people within Cambridge are expected to pay for it through their city
:47:51. > :47:58.council tax, County Council tax, through a toll and through NAT --
:47:58. > :48:02.and not through national funding. Andrew Lansley, how have local MPs
:48:02. > :48:10.done enough to back this? We have seen MPs working really hard in
:48:10. > :48:13.other areas, has enough being done for this road? We have worked very
:48:13. > :48:19.closely with the County Council and local authorities to make sure that
:48:19. > :48:23.it is backed firmly on the agenda. Going back to the national
:48:24. > :48:29.infrastructure plan that the government published. The A14 was
:48:29. > :48:32.the number-1 on that plan. It is essential we do it but the point is
:48:32. > :48:39.that money is very tight, to make this project run, we're going to
:48:39. > :48:45.have to do calling. That will bring in more than the �340 million that
:48:45. > :48:50.is needed. From the Local Enterprise Partnership and local authority.
:48:50. > :48:57.We're not asking the council to be the only council to contribute, it's
:48:57. > :49:03.a regional wide commitment. Do you think there could be a domino effect
:49:03. > :49:08.of one council doesn't pay, what about the others? It depends how
:49:08. > :49:12.that works. There were talks between the City Council and the County
:49:12. > :49:18.Council... The then leader of the County Council wanted to have a
:49:18. > :49:20.political fight over this. The City Council is happy to look at ways of
:49:20. > :49:24.helping the public transport environments, to make sure that it
:49:24. > :49:28.does work and I hope we can reach a sensible arrangement. It is
:49:28. > :49:34.unreasonable to expect a council which doesn't get the cash back to
:49:34. > :49:38.pay a sum equivalent to almost its entire annual budget. Can I take
:49:38. > :49:44.issue with this notion that came at city doesn't benefit. Remember this
:49:44. > :49:50.is not just rebuilding the A14 on its existing track, it's also
:49:50. > :49:53.including putting it alongside the carriageway. Right across the city
:49:53. > :49:59.from the northern bypass all the way out through my constituency to
:49:59. > :50:09.Huntingdon, we get a much better local road network, so commuting in
:50:09. > :50:11.
:50:11. > :50:19.a note is better -- commuting in and out. We've got to provide houses for
:50:19. > :50:24.people to work in Cambridge and if we don't have the A14... You're
:50:24. > :50:29.conflating the benefits from the city. I've campaigned for it for
:50:29. > :50:34.over ten years, but the city council finances don't get that money.
:50:34. > :50:42.need to have a unitary council and much more local control. Without the
:50:42. > :50:48.cash coming in you cant pay it. this whole model going to work? The
:50:48. > :50:56.M6 toll road has lost money in the past six years. Is this a good
:50:56. > :51:02.model? It is a good model. If you know the M6 toll well, people make
:51:02. > :51:09.the judgement that they don't need to use the tool because they can use
:51:09. > :51:12.the main M6 without paying anything. We're talking about a piece of toll
:51:12. > :51:20.road which for freight traffic in particular will be the only road to
:51:20. > :51:26.use, whereas local people in my villages like Long Stanton, they'll
:51:26. > :51:34.be hoping to get onto the local road and not necessarily pay a tall.
:51:34. > :51:37.sceptical about it. But I am pleased that there is action on the A14.
:51:38. > :51:42.About 12 years ago I was arguing we need to sort out some of the
:51:42. > :51:49.junctions. This government has found money to do very quick things,
:51:49. > :51:59.improve some of those junctions. are very short of time, 2018, is
:51:59. > :52:00.
:52:00. > :52:04.that soon enough? I hope of we all pitch in we can. These small schemes
:52:05. > :52:09.these small schemes can start any moment.
:52:10. > :52:19.To our round-up of the week. A Conservative MP having paid the
:52:20. > :52:22.
:52:22. > :52:28.price for jetting off to the jungle. She did the crime, she served the
:52:28. > :52:38.time, known Dean Doris has the Tory whip again. She was let back in so
:52:38. > :52:39.
:52:39. > :52:44.she wouldn't be wooed back by UKIP, it's not. -- it's got.
:52:44. > :52:51.leadership only knew that because they knew me. Nick Clegg came to
:52:51. > :52:57.Essex to bang the drum for free child care. And our plans for a
:52:57. > :53:04.controversial new waste incinerator in Kings Lynn falling apart --
:53:04. > :53:09.Labour warned that taxpayers could lose out by millions of pounds.
:53:09. > :53:16.need to try and find it from somewhere. The taxpayer may be
:53:16. > :53:19.landed with it. And with Tesco closing their warehouse, this man
:53:19. > :53:27.has been fighting for workers rights to make sure their terms and
:53:27. > :53:36.conditions are not affected. Well, Andrew Lansley, Nadine is back
:53:36. > :53:42.in the fold, causing trouble for David Cameron again it seems or do
:53:42. > :53:46.you disagree? There are lots of Conservative MPs who agree with her
:53:46. > :53:50.about that issue. She was elected as a conservative, she is a
:53:50. > :53:56.conservative. It's important she served in Parliament as a
:53:56. > :54:05.conservative. Julian Huppert, where you stand on this? You happy that
:54:05. > :54:08.she is but back in the caller should. -- back in the coalition?
:54:08. > :54:12.Well she is certainly not a liberal, she is very much for the
:54:12. > :54:18.Conservative party. It does exempt of either splits in the Conservative
:54:18. > :54:27.party if this amendment is selected. It was only about not been elected
:54:27. > :54:31.to vote. We both know there was a longer history to it than that!
:54:31. > :54:37.that a concern, not only about Nadine, but about other Conservative
:54:37. > :54:42.MPs as well? All I know as MIDI herself said she was disappointed,
:54:42. > :54:50.she wanted to have the whip back. That seems to me to be absolutely
:54:50. > :54:55.fine. How worried are you, Julian, about people defecting to UKIP?
:54:55. > :54:58.would be alarming to see it happening from either Labour or the
:54:58. > :55:05.Conservatives. UKIP of a few messages but they don't have solid
:55:05. > :55:11.policies. In our region, at the last European Parliamentary elections,
:55:11. > :55:15.David Cameron band UKIP from being a member of the European Parliament,
:55:15. > :55:20.but he has defected from UKIP to the Conservative party and I would be