12/02/2012 Sunday Politics North East and Cumbria

A rule North East, shed thousands of new houses be built here. If not,

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1700 seconds

or where? Battle-lines are drawn up A warm welcome to the local part of

the show. Coming up. 36,000 new homes but at what price to the

countryside? We hear from the critics and the council. Joining me

it is the blithe MP Ronnie Campbell. Let's start with the bowling number

of young people looking for work. We have had a report from this week

from the Commission on youth unemployment chaired by David

Miliband. He argues the government to take emergency action. What are

you seeing amongst the young people in your constituency? There has

been a 25% increase in young people unemployed and the last year which

is unacceptable. What is the cost of that? At is enormous. The cost

to them, they have to be kept by their families most of the time,

and that is just a waste of my young life. We have to get them

started and walk as soon as possible. It must be worrying for

anyone planning to leave school this summer with no jobs there?

This government did not invent youth unemployment. It has been

increasing since 2003 and have a problem the country. Even with a

booming economy, there was still on employment and you have to wonder

at the deeper causes and what measures we can take. I must say

that one of David Miliband's ideas about the effects of directly

elected mayors as a good one. will come back to that. The stats

do not make for good reading. David Miliband highlighted hot spots

where the numbers seeking Jobseeker's Allowance a double the

national average. How tough as it out there? Our reporter has been to

County Durham to make one young man looking for work. I am 20 p and

have been unemployed for three years. -- 23. I get good support

here. They have sat down with me and reassessed my CV. I have worked

more to put what I'll do that and not what I am not good at. I went

to college and study brickwork, passed the course and while I was

there, I was doing English and IT courses and passed them as well.

When I came out of college, it was bad timing for Brick Lane. There

was no work in their construction industries. It was hard to find

anything then. I am currently applying for any type of work,

general factory work. Most of the time I am not getting any response

at all. I am sending applications of and not heaving but anything

that from employers. I am being turned them down because I have got

no experience but nobody is giving me an opportunity to gain that

experience. Nobody is letting me have buffeted the door so it is a

vicious circle of how do I get employed if nobody gives me the

chance? What is the Employment Minister

say? Chris Grayling was here this week and he denies Labour's claims

of complacency and talks of Investment be made in the regional

economy. This is a part of the country we want to see succeed. It

has some pretty long lasting challengers, things that go back

years. We really want to help turn this region around and there are

some great business success stories here are already. People doing

wonderful things and some world beaters around here, but we want

more of them. He said unemployment started rising

before this Government came into office. What would you say to James

as jobs are not there, what can be done? A word of criticism here

about local labour. People I know who run businesses here cannot get

the right people, people with engineering skills. People are

being trained for the wrong things in our view. In the building trade?

Surely that is a scale we always beat. He did not choose wrongly.

is cyclical. There is a crisis there just now so somebody whose

team specifically and that is going to struggle whether he is young or

old. We had an opportunity and Darlington to Have I University

technical college specialising in Engineering which would actually

guarantee posts for suitably qualified young people which are

not there at the moment and it was turned down. There is a general

Work Programme which is showing encouraging trends but when

Government millions after a delay because of protectionism it will

not do. I do not know the details of that so cannot commit. The

government is doing what it can with work programmes and

apprenticeships. As far as I can see, most of the jobs they

government are producing lasts only a year. Is that not what Labour did

as well? Of course we get. We would not repeat that mistake. A lot of

companies are taking apprentices on and what we need to do is get these

lads into work and give them apprenticeships, some kind of scale

in the end. After that, we need to pick the economy up and what we

have always said is that we have to have growth. We will get nowhere if

we're going to stagnate. The answer is not what Labour has been

suggesting which is that we spend more? Are you do not spend more

because you get that money back because the Golan to other jobs and

they pay taxes and insurance. UK money in the long run. Isn't the

Government responsible for failing to invest in infrastructure in the

North East? We have just come out of a period of decades of huge

public spending and look where it has got us in terms of the broader

economy. When spending quite a lot, unemployment was at the lowest it

been for quite a while? You cannot just build houses. It is an

extremely complicated business involving planning, the state of

the economy, mortgages and all the rest. You cannot magic up houses

without huge borrowing. What we can do is train young people in things

that are more likely to gain employment in skilled engineering

and manufacturing. That is a success story in this region.

36,000 new houses on Tyneside, with around backwater been built on the

green belt. That is the plan. They will either swamp existing

communities or perhaps provide badly-needed homes for those who

cannot get onto the housing mother. First, I've been to meet some of

those fighting the development. You could be forgiven if a feeling

which are deep in the countryside. Goss was part nature reserve as the

Newcastle's green belt. To the astonishment of locals, Newcastle

council believes the field for next door are suitable for hundreds of

new homes. This is not a zoo. Wildlife needs that land to forage

for food. People have been very angry and upset and very

disbelieving in what the council is proposing. If they had their way,

the consultation period would have been over in the twinkling of an

eye. It is not just about the wildlife but about democracy and

people's rights to be able to say what they think about the area.

campaign won the support of their local MP. Their main concern they

raised was to do with the number of houses there are looking to develop

because people have very serious concerns that we are perhaps over

developing the city at the time of economic recession. Those houses

may actually not be needed and the long-term. Other rural idles at

risk as well. This could become part of a large new suburb of

Newcastle. These fields could be competed over. Goodbye to raising

cattle and hello to 6500 new homes. Should those concerns halt house

building in its tracks? One of the argument begins groups like the

cells is that we just do not want something on our doorstep. This

bland as a great resource for Newcastle and once it is built on,

that is lost forever. We shouldn't be going down this road. Their

plans stretch beyond Newcastle's boundaries. This is across the

border in Northumberland but thousands of new -- Newcastle homes

will now be on its doorstep. This could put extra strain on the roads

here in week to a shortage of places in local schools and because

of this, the local Conservative MP as dead against Newcastle's plan.

We do not understand why they are not building on brownfield sites.

Why they are not filling in the empty homes. They should be doing

that and not paving over green fields with executive homes that

are not needed. The government's proposed relaxation of planning

laws to make this much easier is changing the rules of the game.

is the government framework that started it all off and has started

a whole catalogue of proposals. Not just here but across the urban

fringe and that is threatening wildlife. We feel that we're

fighting battles that we one years ago. Although the focus is on the

Tyneside green belt today, similar battles will be fought all across

the North. With me now it is at Newcastle

councillor. You put together a Labour and Conservative MP with

serious considerations about your plans. Do you except you have got

this badly wrong? We need to change the plans and he will do that at

the end of the month. Some of the term is used in that bill were a

little misleading. This was always only the basis for consultation.

What we will come back with his a lot more plans to build on

brownfield sites. Why come up with these proposals to build next to a

nature reserve? Why did they come up and the first place. Their

counsel have to find more money elsewhere and borrow capital might

have used elsewhere. To build on brownfield site is more expensive

which is why it the end of the month we will announce a new fund

to push harder on to brownfield sites. The Government is making us

do that unless we can find ways to build on brownfield more. We are

arguing first for more money from government to develop brownfield

areas but we will need to use money to build on greenfield site for

more affordable homes. Offering housebuilders the carrot of open

countryside is what they want? need to find 21,000 new homes in

Newcastle before 2030. The bulk will be on brownfield sites. The

last thing I came into politics to do is build on fields. We'll try to

do it as little as we can. He had so we will make sure that where

possible we will push to build on brownfield sites. This we have

listened to the local MP and they agree with her. Ian Gow latterly,

the council has taken a lot of flak but this is down to government

proposals? They have removed some of the it sentence. We have

attention here between the need for housing and the push to build a

more affordable housing and that the same time it will cause a row

which is giving more power back to local people and communities. There

is conflict here. The people of Tyneside do not feel empowered.

you may well fed here that there is, like trade union negotiations, you

ask for more than expected get. MPs, as a trade secret, fight battles

they expect to lose. Who knows the outcome of this particular issue. I

do agree with you on brownfield sites. In the public sector, up

good building land has hoarded the and the biggest Borders are the

Royal Mail and the BBC. How dare you! They are now going to be

required to release some of that. A lot of that is not heavily

industrialised but it is brownfield that has been used very gently.

Before we accuse, we should or can our own backyards. I look forward

to moving families to the squalid conditions are my office. The first

thing you need to do is build on the brink filled six. You must do

that. Not everybody wants to live on brownfield sites. That is why

housing developers like these green field site because they can sell it

at a higher premium. I can imagine somebody wants to live in a lovely

place like Goss had parked but then again, up a lot of people want to

live where the work is which is in the town. She are you concerned by

a lot of the council's building large number of houses when there

is already quite a lot of empty homes. There is a problem with

empty homes and we cannot push that agenda. There are going to be a lot

of houses built their. Some of the communities like Blyth Ashingdon,

if the Blues and part of their population will that be a problem?

Sh I know where they are earned they are going to be built on land

that is my argument. My argument is let's go for the brownfield site

first and then decide, if Brownfield is all gone and there is

unavailable, you may have to start arguing about that. I know you look

forward to the next but of the show. It must be something to do with the

music. Here is the regular catch up on the week's political events and

At �21 million flood defence scheme is to go ahead and more to it. The

minister said it would help prevent a repeat of 2008 flooding.

The amount of subsidy given to offshore wind farms should be cut.

This was by one of 100 Tory MPs who have written to the Prime Minister

of the issue. The government had been encouraged

to carry out a national audit to find out how much asbestos is in

school buildings. There are 140 school teachers in a

died from asbestos-related illness and last 10 years. Finally,

passionate people, passionate places - he's up for sale. This was

lodged in 2005 but with -- the government wants all his assets

sold off including its famous slogan.

One thing not mentioned is the news about the RMT's Valley airport

which has announced the sale to peel Holdings. Is that good news?

The airport was staring administration in the face if this

did not happen so of course it is good news. Let's see what they

propose to do with it. It is a victory for common sense. Three or

four years ago, this company owned the airport and were accused of

running it down. How much faced the you have that the new owner is

serious? Their track record is less than great but they are the only

show and pounds a let's get behind them. MPs' pay mentioned there. You

work hard for so do you not want a pay increase? I don't think people

see it that way but you're right. Being a great trade unionist I

always demand a pay rise, I always have. Now they have to put my hand

up and actually voted against them if it does come in for us. I do not

think it well and I think we're being told we will not get it this

year. That will be two years running. We may get 1% in 2013.

That must be right at a time when other employees are having their

wages squeezed? I can hear people crying at home thinking about you!

You're saying to me, don't worry, take a wage freeze... Everybody is

getting a wage freeze. When is it going to be politically acceptable

for an MP to get a pay increase again? Abbot of purging has to go

on before the government -- the people look favourably on it. Their

government her new to the profession and are not the people

who got it into trouble. It will be a year or two yet. We will have to