:01:19. > :01:21.I'm here in the North East and Cumbria as council budgets are
:01:21. > :01:31.squeezed with the elderly and vulnerable priced out of using
:01:31. > :01:31.
:01:31. > :35:18.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2027 seconds
:35:18. > :35:22.vital services. Hello. The warmest of welcomes to
:35:22. > :35:27.Sunday Politics in the North East and Cumbria. Coming up, how a
:35:27. > :35:32.squeeze on council budgets means the elderly and vulnerable having
:35:32. > :35:38.to pay more or lose out altogether on vital services. A special report.
:35:38. > :35:41.Giving us their views about that and the rest of the week's
:35:41. > :35:46.political news are Washington MP Sharon Hodgson and North East Euro
:35:46. > :35:50.MP Fiona Hall. First, is the health gap between
:35:50. > :35:56.north and south are back to widen? This region has already some of the
:35:56. > :36:02.worst problems of childhood obesity, heart disease and alcohol-related
:36:02. > :36:12.deaths. Now Labour says richer areas in the South are benefiting
:36:12. > :36:14.
:36:14. > :36:22.from the way the Government allocates money.
:36:22. > :36:28.Seven stops on Newcastle's matcha system but years away in life-
:36:28. > :36:33.expectancy. In South Gosforth, a man cannot expect to live to 81 but
:36:33. > :36:40.here it is just 71. That is compared to the national average of
:36:40. > :36:44.almost 78. I have mainly worked in Brehme areas and what I see is that
:36:44. > :36:49.patients who come to see me Barbara. I know that about them from their
:36:49. > :36:53.lives. They tell me. -- they are poorer. They are more ill at an
:36:53. > :36:59.earlier age. I see people whose material deprivation has translated
:36:59. > :37:06.into words health, compared to people who live a few miles away.
:37:06. > :37:10.This week MPs debated health equality. It has changed the
:37:10. > :37:14.funding formula, reducing the component designed to address
:37:15. > :37:19.health inequalities. I have been in Parliament for 19 months and I have
:37:19. > :37:24.raised this question directly with the minister's four times, not
:37:24. > :37:32.counting written questions. Would that accusation that Gregory has
:37:32. > :37:37.will get less, there is debate. -- that poorer areas will get less.
:37:37. > :37:41.will change, improve the chances of people, change their lives. We will
:37:41. > :37:47.do that by ring-fencing public money, which will be happening for
:37:47. > :37:52.the first time. With me now is Martin White, professor of public
:37:52. > :37:55.health at Newcastle University. We know there is some kind of health
:37:55. > :37:59.divide north side and even within the regions but where are we in
:37:59. > :38:03.terms of health inequalities in your vista? Health inequalities in
:38:03. > :38:09.Britain are some of the wild -- widest in the world, certainly in
:38:09. > :38:13.developed countries. They have widened over a prolonged period.
:38:13. > :38:19.The North East has some of the poorest health in Britain, as he
:38:19. > :38:23.have said, and that situation does not seem to be getting better.
:38:23. > :38:28.However, there is some positive news. If you look at, for example,
:38:28. > :38:32.rates of current heart disease, those appeared to be going down in
:38:32. > :38:37.the North East, bucking the trend elsewhere in the country. So it is
:38:37. > :38:44.a complicated picture and there are some positive bits of news. There
:38:44. > :38:50.is his political tram over funding and Labour say funding is cut in
:38:50. > :38:53.areas like the North East. -- this political row. It is really
:38:53. > :38:59.important part funded for public health is not clubs and that the
:38:59. > :39:04.total amount of budget remains as large as it has been. One of the
:39:04. > :39:08.key difficulties is that public health, it has been close that is
:39:08. > :39:15.moving to local Government. When you get any kind of we are
:39:15. > :39:19.organisation there is huge cost associated. -- the reorganisation.
:39:19. > :39:26.We cracked down on smokers and that has made some difference in the
:39:26. > :39:35.North East. Do we need to take the same approach on fast food and
:39:35. > :39:39.alcohol? This legislation help? ten people what to do does not work.
:39:39. > :39:43.They are all kinds of roses people have to make in regard to their
:39:43. > :39:46.behaviour but the evidence we have suggests that behaviour is very
:39:46. > :39:52.much determined by social environment in which people live
:39:52. > :39:56.and we have to make positive steps to try to influence that
:39:56. > :40:02.environment to help people make healthier choices. Thank you. Let's
:40:02. > :40:06.put this to our politicians. Fiona Hall, you cannot dispute that the
:40:06. > :40:11.Government has cut the waiting list on public health which benefits
:40:11. > :40:17.areas like the North East like -- with lower life expectancy. That
:40:17. > :40:21.will not help the North-South divide, with it? That money going
:40:21. > :40:25.to local authorities will be ring- fenced. Our problem is the issue of
:40:25. > :40:29.equality has gone on for a long time and despite the fact there was
:40:29. > :40:33.money put into the NHS under Labour, they eat more back for a long time.
:40:33. > :40:37.There are criticised by the Audit Commission for having not tackle
:40:37. > :40:40.the question of inequality. By ring-fencing the money and giving
:40:41. > :40:44.it to local authorities it is a means of actually coming in at the
:40:44. > :40:50.grassroots and doing something. this adjustment, which means that
:40:50. > :40:57.the waiting has changed, so that potential, those in the staff might
:40:57. > :41:07.do better. But if the money is coming in bandages ring-fenced,
:41:07. > :41:09.that is money we can use for that. -- the South might be better.
:41:09. > :41:17.do not put the money in for Prevention, we will have a huge
:41:17. > :41:27.problems later on and continue to have inequality. Sharon Hodgson,
:41:27. > :41:28.
:41:28. > :41:35.the money is being ring-fenced and the Conservatives say Labour cut
:41:35. > :41:39.the money. What the Conservatives have done is a change how the money
:41:39. > :41:45.will be shared out, and the North East will get less than his son
:41:45. > :41:51.would have done under Labour. will get more than last year.
:41:51. > :41:55.necessarily, they are giving be money to the local authorities but
:41:55. > :42:00.they do not ring-fenced everything else in local authority budget,
:42:00. > :42:06.like the money for Sure Start and the local -- early intervention
:42:06. > :42:13.grant. That money went to things like and rage pregnancies and
:42:13. > :42:16.under-aged drinking. The councils have less money. Do your
:42:16. > :42:25.constituents really not know that drinking too much, eating the wrong
:42:25. > :42:31.kind of food, harms your health? suppose they do put none of the
:42:31. > :42:41.bodies... Like Cabot Circus afresh. It is paid for by a BBC Tees but
:42:41. > :42:48.PCT is have been abandoned. -- like the organisation Fresh, paid for by
:42:48. > :42:54.PCTs. More people in the North East die from smoking than other
:42:54. > :42:57.regions... We must move on. Fiona Hall, where did you stand on this?
:42:57. > :43:02.The Health Minister said individuals have to take
:43:02. > :43:07.responsibility for your own health. For that to happen they need help
:43:07. > :43:12.and they need good local schemes and that is what this money going
:43:12. > :43:16.into local authorities will help to do. I agree we have had some good
:43:16. > :43:21.pilots in the North East and now local authorities have the
:43:21. > :43:27.opportunity to put money behind them. As Martin White said, do we
:43:27. > :43:33.need more legislation, or stopping people smoking, drinking and eating
:43:33. > :43:38.too much? It is a combination. You cannot do it just by legislation.
:43:38. > :43:42.There are some things we can do at a legislative level but a lot of it
:43:42. > :43:46.is about the personal, face-to-face contact with people on the brand
:43:46. > :43:52.and that is why the money going into local authorities is important.
:43:52. > :43:56.Almost two-thirds of local councils are put in their social care budget.
:43:56. > :44:00.That is according to a survey published by the Commons health
:44:00. > :44:10.committee this week. They all said and that charges are rising for
:44:10. > :44:14.vital services. -- they also said. Norma and Jean are on a regular
:44:14. > :44:18.trip. They both look on their own in Darlington. Sometimes they can
:44:18. > :44:22.go weeks without seeing anyone but today is a good one because they
:44:22. > :44:27.are making a trip to see friends at a day centre. It is very important
:44:27. > :44:31.because otherwise I would not be getting out. But coming here is
:44:31. > :44:36.getting more expensive for Norma and Jean. Both are now paying their
:44:36. > :44:46.council more for use of the centre. A few months ago, Jean was paying
:44:46. > :44:47.
:44:47. > :44:52.nothing. Now she has to stump up �60 a month. Can you tell me why?
:44:52. > :44:57.If it goes a penny more I am afraid I will have to stop coming. Things
:44:57. > :45:03.could be a bad to get even more expensive. Many councils used to
:45:03. > :45:08.have weekly which emits -- weekly limits for services but that is
:45:08. > :45:13.changing. Darlington, Middlesbrough and North Yorkshire have already
:45:13. > :45:17.scrapped their care -- pack on day- care charges. As council budgets
:45:17. > :45:23.are squeezed, other councils want to follow suit. Cumbria Council
:45:23. > :45:28.wants to remove the cap in the next three years. I think it is a false
:45:28. > :45:33.economy. In the long run, the councils will end up and the PCTs
:45:33. > :45:37.will end up paying more. People will be isolated, lonely... They
:45:37. > :45:42.expect everything to be cradle to the grave and do not understand why
:45:42. > :45:47.they are having to pay for what they thought was help. What Peter
:45:47. > :45:52.does not understand is why his charges have gone up 400 %. He
:45:52. > :45:56.looks after his wife, who has Alzheimer's. Two years ago, the
:45:56. > :46:02.couple were paying �10 to Darlington Council for a session at
:46:02. > :46:06.the local day centre. Now it is �50. The councils look at us as the easy
:46:06. > :46:11.option. We all know panels are trying to save money but if they
:46:11. > :46:17.only stopped to think for a minute how it alters people's lives, going
:46:17. > :46:24.from �10 to �50 in six months, it is an average. But at the local
:46:24. > :46:26.council, they are facing large cuts. They say they have no choice but to
:46:26. > :46:32.increase charges because the Government is not giving them
:46:32. > :46:37.enough money. The money that has come from Government would keep us
:46:37. > :46:42.standing still. They are not making allowances for increased demand. We
:46:42. > :46:46.have people with very complex needs. They want people to remain in the
:46:46. > :46:53.community, in their own homes and as Boris possible, prevent them
:46:53. > :46:58.from going into hospital. Well, there is a cost to that. But the
:46:58. > :47:04.Government's says... The Government specifically committed over the
:47:04. > :47:09.life of this Parliament to put an edition -- additional �7.2 billion
:47:09. > :47:14.in to help social care. Always to help the quality of service and
:47:14. > :47:19.reduce the cost of service. Everyone agrees services like this
:47:20. > :47:25.are important. The question is, how do we continue to pay for them?
:47:25. > :47:32.Sharon Hodgson, the dangers appear to be finding ways of raising extra
:47:32. > :47:36.money by charging some of the most vulnerable people? I would hope
:47:36. > :47:43.councils are not using people as easy targets. The reality is
:47:43. > :47:48.councils have lost 25 %, in most cases, of their budget. Councils
:47:48. > :47:53.have this money. They have had huge cuts and are having to make these
:47:53. > :47:57.decisions. I would hope my cancer will not be doing things like this
:47:57. > :48:00.aren't I will be looking closely at that. But a lot of people would say
:48:00. > :48:05.there are lots of things you could tackle rather than increased
:48:05. > :48:09.charges. The Government is putting in �7 billion. But at the same time
:48:09. > :48:13.they have taken so much out on other budgets, so when the
:48:13. > :48:18.councillors are looking across the whole budget it is how they can
:48:18. > :48:24.make everything add up. It is robbing Peter to pay Paul all the
:48:24. > :48:28.time so I would wish that this was not the situation. I think it is
:48:28. > :48:31.incumbent upon all politicians to work and look closely at their
:48:32. > :48:36.local council to ensure it is not the most vulnerable people who are
:48:36. > :48:40.suffering. So this is a product of Government cuts rather than
:48:40. > :48:47.councils making these decisions? Councils have motorways? What you
:48:47. > :48:52.can see is different local authorities are approaching this in
:48:52. > :48:59.different ways. One has put a cap on daily charges for people below a
:48:59. > :49:07.Downley -- a certain income. Below about Ready �3,000. So the poorest
:49:07. > :49:11.people, those least able to be able to cope with our charges... But the
:49:11. > :49:16.majority of councils are putting charges up. Councils need to look
:49:16. > :49:21.at how, in very difficult times, with cuts we would not want to have
:49:21. > :49:25.put have to have, and all parties agree, we would make sure these
:49:25. > :49:29.people least able to cope on the one that of protected. So in
:49:29. > :49:33.schemes like Northumberland, where they make sure that the least well
:49:33. > :49:40.off people are not the ones who suffer at the big charges. We are
:49:40. > :49:45.all having to pay more for all sorts of things. Some older people
:49:45. > :49:50.probably can afford a bit more. That is what Fiona is saying, as
:49:50. > :49:54.long as these charges are means tested to the certain extent and
:49:54. > :50:00.the most vulnerable or poorest have the smallest proportion to pay, I
:50:00. > :50:05.think we would say that was fair. But is that happening? I do not
:50:05. > :50:10.know. We have do go away and make sure it is. The main problem is we
:50:10. > :50:14.are all living longer. As a society and a Government, we need to look
:50:14. > :50:17.at this grisly for the future going forward. In 20 years' time there
:50:17. > :50:23.will be another 2 million pensioners requiring social care
:50:23. > :50:28.and... Nobody has wrestled with this problem. We tried in this last
:50:28. > :50:33.Parliament but the talks broke down, as we know, famously, between the
:50:33. > :50:40.three parties. The Tories did those all for billboard posters with
:50:40. > :50:44.tombstones... That is the key point, but we need answers because this is
:50:44. > :50:48.the problem but will continue. is why it is so good that some
:50:48. > :50:52.councils are being innovative in the way they are tackling this.
:50:52. > :50:56.you mention Northumberland again I may have to stop you! There are
:50:56. > :51:00.councils looking into ways of keeping people in their own homes,
:51:00. > :51:10.looking a long and hard at some of the facilities which were under-
:51:10. > :51:12.
:51:12. > :51:22.used and seeing that they can help people better. What else has been
:51:22. > :51:26.
:51:26. > :51:30.Sunderland has come but some of the league table for new business
:51:30. > :51:37.start-ups. Four times as many businesses were started by a person
:51:37. > :51:43.in London and on the Weir. The verge of a Lords committee wants to
:51:43. > :51:46.avoid repeated scenes like these. North East firms are doing a bit
:51:46. > :51:51.for the Olympic Games according to the Culture Secretary, in Gateshead
:51:51. > :51:59.this week. Companies in the North East have been entrepreneurial. If
:51:59. > :52:06.you take some of our most iconic Olympic venues, in the stadium, the
:52:06. > :52:09.group was kept from a company in Newcastle. Elections for
:52:09. > :52:14.Newcastle's a new city mayor have been brought forward to November
:52:14. > :52:18.15th but first they have to be a yes vote in the referendum. And
:52:18. > :52:28.motorists in the North East are frustrated by the failure to draw
:52:28. > :52:32.
:52:32. > :52:36.the A1. They are told to take the Sharon Hodgson, have any companies
:52:36. > :52:41.in your constituency managed to get any work out of the Olympics?
:52:41. > :52:46.is certainly one from Sunderland, handsome building products. There
:52:46. > :52:56.is one from Gateshead, International Paint. They have
:52:56. > :52:57.
:52:57. > :53:03.supplied the paint for the aquatic centre. Is it enough? Nowhere near.
:53:03. > :53:11.It is only �100 million worth of contracts out of �16.2 billion.
:53:11. > :53:16.Fiona Hall, the allegation is that we are not really getting... It is
:53:17. > :53:21.crumbs on the table. It is a big event and we need to look at the
:53:21. > :53:27.big picture. Until now I have kind of turned my back and thought, this
:53:27. > :53:31.is all happening in London, but I was there on Monday and it is
:53:31. > :53:36.impressive and I think it will boost the image of the country as a
:53:36. > :53:40.whole and that is good for North East businesses as well. It is not
:53:40. > :53:46.all happening in London. There are football matches up here. But there
:53:46. > :53:53.are places where there are concerns that rather than their being a
:53:53. > :53:58.tourism bonanza, it will put people off. I think it might be people of
:53:58. > :54:03.going to London. Let's hope they come to the North East instead.
:54:03. > :54:07.Really? Isn't the reality that if you go to London you go to the
:54:07. > :54:11.Olympics? Some people are not sporty at all and probably will go
:54:11. > :54:15.to other parts of the country but I think the vast majority of people
:54:15. > :54:22.going to London will stay in London and not venture anywhere else.
:54:22. > :54:27.you got tickets? Not yet. I had to get some through the resale prices.
:54:27. > :54:31.I am trying to ban the resale of tickets on the secondary market.
:54:31. > :54:34.have heard the top tip is applied for tickets for the Paralympics
:54:34. > :54:40.because there was still some of those available.
:54:40. > :54:49.Thank you. I have got tickets. I am not
:54:49. > :54:55.looking to smoke, and why? Did take a look at my blog. More on elected
:54:55. > :54:58.mayors and other issues. You can also follow me on Twitter. My blog