Browse content similar to 19/02/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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And in the north-east and Cumbria, when it beat Durham, Newcastle, or | 0:01:30 | 0:01:40 | |
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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1714 seconds | 0:01:40 | 0:30:15 | |
Sunderland, or investing to be the A warm welcome to your local part | 0:30:15 | 0:30:20 | |
of the show. A delight to see you. It could help create more | 0:30:20 | 0:30:24 | |
environmentally friendly businesses like this one, with no less than | 0:30:24 | 0:30:30 | |
four local bits, what chance do the North East have him becoming the | 0:30:30 | 0:30:40 | |
new green bank. With us, the Hartlepool MP and Lord Shipley. Art | 0:30:40 | 0:30:44 | |
and are councils being too heavy- handed with people who won't pay | 0:30:44 | 0:30:49 | |
council tax, taking court action against them or sending in the | 0:30:49 | 0:30:54 | |
bailiffs, is that a reasonable way of reclaiming debt. Some think they | 0:30:54 | 0:30:59 | |
are too quick and have accused private bailiffs of abusing powers. | 0:30:59 | 0:31:06 | |
Our reporter has met one woman and a man who has been accused of not | 0:31:06 | 0:31:11 | |
paying council tax. Citizens Advice had sent them a letter offering to | 0:31:12 | 0:31:17 | |
make a payment, they refused the offer to make the payment, saying | 0:31:17 | 0:31:23 | |
it must be paid in full. There is nothing I can do, all I can do is | 0:31:23 | 0:31:28 | |
wait to go to court. They will not take any payment from the unless it | 0:31:28 | 0:31:34 | |
is in full. You cannot have your windows open, so you feel closed in. | 0:31:35 | 0:31:39 | |
You must make sure nobody is out there before you shut the door. It | 0:31:39 | 0:31:45 | |
is quite complicated. When you walk back into your home, you are | 0:31:45 | 0:31:51 | |
looking to see if anyone is watching you. How common is that | 0:31:51 | 0:31:58 | |
sort of experience? We asked every council how many occasions bailiffs | 0:31:58 | 0:32:04 | |
were used to reclaim tax debts last year. Figures obtained by the BBC's | 0:32:04 | 0:32:09 | |
suggest different councils work differently, in Newcastle more than | 0:32:09 | 0:32:13 | |
25,000 court summons was issued by the City Council. That compares | 0:32:13 | 0:32:18 | |
with fewer than 10,000 from the Sunderland, a city with a bigger | 0:32:18 | 0:32:22 | |
population. Bailiffs got involved in Newcastle in more than 9000 | 0:32:22 | 0:32:29 | |
occasions, 6000 more than Sunderland. They say bailiffs are | 0:32:29 | 0:32:35 | |
only used as a last resort to protect the interests of taxpayers. | 0:32:35 | 0:32:40 | |
We signed up to the Association code of conduct, we told all of the | 0:32:40 | 0:32:44 | |
companies we use that we have high expectations when they are carrying | 0:32:44 | 0:32:49 | |
out their work. What we are trying to do is much more proactive | 0:32:50 | 0:32:53 | |
preventive support, working with families in difficulty so we can | 0:32:53 | 0:33:01 | |
support them and help them to plan how to pay the council tax. Rather | 0:33:01 | 0:33:06 | |
than sending in bailiffs. Newcastle council deputy leader | 0:33:06 | 0:33:14 | |
there. Let us speak to the vice chair of Newcastle council, how | 0:33:14 | 0:33:20 | |
widespread is this case and cases like this? Things are getting | 0:33:20 | 0:33:24 | |
harder, people are struggling with money, council tax debts are | 0:33:24 | 0:33:31 | |
getting bigger. A quite heavy- handed approach by bailiffs at | 0:33:31 | 0:33:36 | |
times? The legislation for Bayliss goes back to medieval times and we | 0:33:36 | 0:33:41 | |
think it is a brutal instrument. Granted the council must collect | 0:33:41 | 0:33:45 | |
council tax and people should pay it, but if people have mental | 0:33:45 | 0:33:49 | |
health problems and are struggling, it is very quick when they take | 0:33:49 | 0:33:53 | |
action, it builds up quickly and as the interviewer said, the charges | 0:33:53 | 0:33:57 | |
are sometimes as much as the original debt. People at home will | 0:33:57 | 0:34:02 | |
have little sympathy. They will say we pay council tax, they must | 0:34:02 | 0:34:10 | |
expect consequences if they don't. Yes, but the problem is that | 0:34:10 | 0:34:13 | |
sometimes they get a letter from the council and they just don't | 0:34:13 | 0:34:18 | |
respond. That is when bailiffs do have to get involved. Our approach | 0:34:18 | 0:34:22 | |
is to get in earlier with these cases and we are working with the | 0:34:22 | 0:34:26 | |
council. It costs money to get Baylis to do this work and we would | 0:34:26 | 0:34:30 | |
rather have this money kept for local people. I would suggest that | 0:34:30 | 0:34:35 | |
people need to get help quickly, don't ignore a letter from the | 0:34:35 | 0:34:38 | |
council and make sure you know what you must pay and pay it as soon as | 0:34:38 | 0:34:42 | |
you can. You can arrange payments with the council around the | 0:34:42 | 0:34:49 | |
bailiffs or get advice quickly. Thank you. Up till a year ago, John, | 0:34:49 | 0:34:53 | |
your party was in control. Summons and bailiffs were even higher at | 0:34:53 | 0:34:59 | |
that point, was there is a policy? Not a deliberate policy but the | 0:34:59 | 0:35:02 | |
Audit Commission had been critical of Newcastle's collection rates, | 0:35:02 | 0:35:08 | |
when we collected at. One of the consequences of that has been the | 0:35:08 | 0:35:12 | |
that people have been very keen to make sure that the council tax | 0:35:12 | 0:35:19 | |
returns and payments are... Overcame perhaps? A I think it is | 0:35:19 | 0:35:23 | |
possible that there has been an over-keen approach. You can | 0:35:23 | 0:35:27 | |
understand why. If people are paying council tax it is | 0:35:27 | 0:35:32 | |
unreasonable for them to be subsidising people who are not. We | 0:35:32 | 0:35:37 | |
should just say that the procedures are altering and there are fewer | 0:35:37 | 0:35:43 | |
incidents now. A huge discrepancy. Sunderland a city not hugely | 0:35:43 | 0:35:46 | |
different to Newcastle, they collected with far fewer | 0:35:46 | 0:35:52 | |
interventions with bailiffs. That is true, but while Newcastle has an | 0:35:52 | 0:35:55 | |
external bailiff service, Sunderland has an internal bailiff | 0:35:55 | 0:36:00 | |
service. They have six full-time staff. That says something to us | 0:36:00 | 0:36:05 | |
about how it works. I agree with what has been said, people need | 0:36:05 | 0:36:09 | |
help and advice. One of the things I hope will come out of this is | 0:36:10 | 0:36:14 | |
that councils will work closely with the voluntary sector in a | 0:36:14 | 0:36:19 | |
giving people could debt advice. This is not money counters can | 0:36:19 | 0:36:23 | |
write off, those who pay council tax probably have to make up for | 0:36:23 | 0:36:29 | |
those who don't. I think it is a fair approach, it is a case of | 0:36:29 | 0:36:34 | |
being sensitive to the economic needs but we have had unemployment | 0:36:34 | 0:36:38 | |
figures rising in the North East and we must be mindful of that. | 0:36:38 | 0:36:42 | |
What has been said is correct, there must be a sensitive approach | 0:36:42 | 0:36:50 | |
but much more of an emphasis on prevention. If you are trying to | 0:36:50 | 0:36:56 | |
identify people that is quite tough isn't it? If there are services in | 0:36:56 | 0:37:01 | |
place to make sure people don't put their head in the sand, from the | 0:37:01 | 0:37:05 | |
Citizen Advice Bureau and the council then it is important. I | 0:37:05 | 0:37:08 | |
understand Newcastle are announcing a Prix bailiff service to help | 0:37:08 | 0:37:15 | |
people, I think that is probably the right approach. Actually, | 0:37:15 | 0:37:21 | |
councils are going to want to collect his money, they need it. | 0:37:21 | 0:37:26 | |
Newcastle, as I understand it, the bailiffs are only called in after | 0:37:26 | 0:37:31 | |
seven or eight discussions of what attempts to contact a person. In my | 0:37:31 | 0:37:36 | |
own experience the summonses have been too quick, people can be a way | 0:37:36 | 0:37:41 | |
or sick. The council is something and then going to bailiffs, perhaps | 0:37:41 | 0:37:46 | |
more quickly than they should. On the other hand, it is important | 0:37:46 | 0:37:50 | |
that the tax is collected. Of all of the big cities in England, | 0:37:50 | 0:37:54 | |
Newcastle has the best collection rate. Thank you very much for now. | 0:37:54 | 0:38:01 | |
We have a new bank in the north- east, now called Virgin Money. | 0:38:01 | 0:38:09 | |
Could we get another one? That is a view shared by Sunderland, Durham, | 0:38:09 | 0:38:12 | |
Newcastle are monks others, for a new investment bank. White vans | 0:38:13 | 0:38:16 | |
don't normally have a reputation for being green but these will be | 0:38:16 | 0:38:20 | |
as they are fitted with electric engines. This firm in Washington is | 0:38:20 | 0:38:25 | |
at the forefront of the low carbon revolution. As it looks to expand | 0:38:25 | 0:38:31 | |
it could be handed a new green investment bank with �3 million in | 0:38:31 | 0:38:37 | |
cash somewhere nearby. Innovations need to move forward quickly, our | 0:38:37 | 0:38:41 | |
business would see access to Green Investment made more simple and | 0:38:41 | 0:38:45 | |
straightforward by this location in the north-east. The good news for | 0:38:45 | 0:38:49 | |
the company is there is a big push to bring the Green Investment Bank | 0:38:49 | 0:38:53 | |
to the North East. Some are making the case that they should be on | 0:38:53 | 0:38:58 | |
this firm's doorstep in Sunderland. It is easy to understand why | 0:38:58 | 0:39:02 | |
Sunderland once the bank. It will employ around 80 people but it will | 0:39:02 | 0:39:05 | |
also make Wareside a more attractive place for new green | 0:39:05 | 0:39:09 | |
businesses and jobs. One of the reasons that the City believes the | 0:39:09 | 0:39:14 | |
bid should be taken seriously. have the highest unemployment in | 0:39:14 | 0:39:18 | |
the country and bringing any jobs to an area like the north-east and | 0:39:18 | 0:39:23 | |
in particular Sunderland, would be a good thing. Any investments the | 0:39:23 | 0:39:28 | |
government decides on, investment must be a factor. Sunderland is | 0:39:28 | 0:39:32 | |
facing fierce competition however, no less than 32 places, from | 0:39:32 | 0:39:36 | |
Cornwall in the south to Edinburgh in the north, competing to be the | 0:39:36 | 0:39:40 | |
location for the Green Investment Bank. Sunderland even has | 0:39:40 | 0:39:44 | |
competition in the north-east, because there are rival bids from | 0:39:44 | 0:39:49 | |
Teesside, County Durham and Newcastle. Teesside's bid is based | 0:39:49 | 0:39:53 | |
on the way of industry set up in the area already. This site in | 0:39:53 | 0:39:57 | |
Middlesbrough is set up by a firm which turns rubbish into thermal | 0:39:57 | 0:40:02 | |
energy. They believe the bank will be right at home. They want | 0:40:02 | 0:40:06 | |
expertise in finance which we have in this area, they want support | 0:40:06 | 0:40:10 | |
from professional firms to understand green energy, green | 0:40:10 | 0:40:14 | |
activities, so we think we are extremely well placed. The most | 0:40:15 | 0:40:20 | |
important thing is that we have had that sort of industry here, a low | 0:40:20 | 0:40:26 | |
carbon future. Teesside's growing businesses are keen on the bank | 0:40:26 | 0:40:32 | |
moving in. The businesses are struggling to get cash, money, for | 0:40:32 | 0:40:36 | |
lots of good reasons. They are looking for the investment bank to | 0:40:36 | 0:40:41 | |
open up that flow of cash and if it is here and then it will be good | 0:40:41 | 0:40:44 | |
for the businesses it but also for investments because they have | 0:40:44 | 0:40:51 | |
expertise around them and projects around them. With four North East | 0:40:51 | 0:40:57 | |
bids, some feel it may have diluted its case and left the road clear | 0:40:57 | 0:41:04 | |
for others. There may be a separate argument for bids from Teesside and | 0:41:04 | 0:41:08 | |
County Durham, but to have a a whole set of bits coming in from a | 0:41:08 | 0:41:13 | |
single labour market is daft. You are up against other areas which | 0:41:13 | 0:41:17 | |
are much better organised. It will be difficult and it looks | 0:41:17 | 0:41:21 | |
fragmented. And a decision about where the Green Investment Bank | 0:41:21 | 0:41:25 | |
will go is expected at the end of the month. If it came to the north- | 0:41:25 | 0:41:29 | |
east it could help supercharged the economy, but has the region given | 0:41:29 | 0:41:34 | |
itself the best possible chance of winning? | 0:41:34 | 0:41:40 | |
ERM, where do you stand on this, do you a broad this? The kind of | 0:41:40 | 0:41:46 | |
businesses Teesside wants to encourage. I think it is a welcome | 0:41:46 | 0:41:51 | |
suggestion, I am disappointed it is too little too late. The government | 0:41:51 | 0:41:54 | |
has admitted that role borrowing powers will not be in place until | 0:41:54 | 0:41:58 | |
2016 at the earliest. In terms of having the injection for growth I | 0:41:58 | 0:42:02 | |
fail to see how it can help. Having said that, I think it is extremely | 0:42:02 | 0:42:07 | |
important. Teesside could be the centre of excellence for new low | 0:42:07 | 0:42:10 | |
carbon green technologies. We have seen that already. If you think | 0:42:10 | 0:42:13 | |
about the criteria by which the investment bank location will be | 0:42:13 | 0:42:16 | |
judged, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that his side is a | 0:42:17 | 0:42:21 | |
very strong fit. Would it matter that much if it is in Teesside or a | 0:42:21 | 0:42:25 | |
few miles up the road in Newcastle? I think it sends out a positive | 0:42:25 | 0:42:30 | |
message. Just a theory is important. Like-minded industries with a | 0:42:30 | 0:42:34 | |
supply chain close by. It can be a really important way by which | 0:42:34 | 0:42:38 | |
wealth and job creation can be carried out. I will come back to | 0:42:38 | 0:42:42 | |
the principle in a minute, but with four bits from the north-east is | 0:42:42 | 0:42:48 | |
ridiculous, isn't it? Wells has one bid. Is it not diluting our chances. | 0:42:48 | 0:42:54 | |
Yorkshire has Sheffield and Leeds. A much bigger region... That is | 0:42:54 | 0:42:59 | |
true, but I don't subscribe to the idea it should not have been four. | 0:42:59 | 0:43:03 | |
There is a suggestion that we can demonstrate breath and strength of | 0:43:03 | 0:43:10 | |
the offer in green energy and it is a good story to tell. I think some | 0:43:10 | 0:43:15 | |
are stronger than others. Durham were say one possible location is | 0:43:15 | 0:43:21 | |
the see him, could they not have got a a bid together? There is an | 0:43:21 | 0:43:26 | |
argument for saying that they should each have come together, but | 0:43:26 | 0:43:31 | |
I do think the Newcastle bid contains a lot about the importance | 0:43:31 | 0:43:36 | |
of Tees Valley. As long as a decision to locate the Green | 0:43:36 | 0:43:40 | |
Investment Bank is made for the north-east, the strength of people | 0:43:40 | 0:43:45 | |
working together on the ground afterwards, seems to me to be fine. | 0:43:45 | 0:43:49 | |
I don't subscribe to the view that it isn't known goal. Although I | 0:43:49 | 0:43:53 | |
have no role in it, in this decision, it seems to demonstrate | 0:43:53 | 0:43:59 | |
the strength of our region. We will see if that is true. Ian Wright | 0:43:59 | 0:44:04 | |
says it is too little, too late and it will not make a difference. | 0:44:04 | 0:44:10 | |
are doing it and it has to be set up. There are rules and finances in | 0:44:10 | 0:44:16 | |
the legality, it will be back on stream in about... A few months' | 0:44:16 | 0:44:23 | |
time, I don't really subscribe to it. It is important we know what it | 0:44:23 | 0:44:29 | |
is for, it is less for the No carbon side than for waste and | 0:44:29 | 0:44:34 | |
offshore wind technology and so on which the region is very strong in. | 0:44:34 | 0:44:39 | |
Ian Wright, isn't this just addressing a problem of pre- | 0:44:40 | 0:44:43 | |
existing banks not lending money. Nobody needs public lending if they | 0:44:43 | 0:44:49 | |
have a good business plan. What we need in this country is a co- | 0:44:50 | 0:44:52 | |
ordinated industrial policy, other countries like Germany and South | 0:44:52 | 0:44:58 | |
Korea have got that. Didn't you have 13 years to do that? UK and | 0:44:58 | 0:45:01 | |
argue that but we need to look to the future and what we need to do | 0:45:01 | 0:45:05 | |
in this country in the 21st century to be in the Premier League of | 0:45:05 | 0:45:08 | |
developed nations. Why can't the banks lent to these businesses like | 0:45:08 | 0:45:18 | |
businesses were always fancied? have had some confusion, there is | 0:45:18 | 0:45:26 | |
not real clarity in terms of what the Green Investment Bank will do. | 0:45:26 | 0:45:30 | |
We want it backed up by public money to help Labour in the private | 0:45:30 | 0:45:37 | |
sector money. Thank you. The Commons has not been sitting this | 0:45:37 | 0:45:40 | |
week but plenty has gone on including a flying visit to the | 0:45:40 | 0:45:44 | |
north-east by the Prime Minister. Our reporter has packed the | 0:45:44 | 0:45:53 | |
political week into 60 seconds. Unemployment in the north-east fell | 0:45:53 | 0:45:57 | |
by 4000 in the last quarter in 2011. It is still 11.2 per cent, the | 0:45:57 | 0:46:03 | |
highest in the UK. In Cumbria the jobless total went up by 800. David | 0:46:03 | 0:46:06 | |
Cameron says tough action is needed to tackle binge drinking. He was | 0:46:06 | 0:46:10 | |
speaking during a visit to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in | 0:46:10 | 0:46:14 | |
Newcastle. Police can Stevin, it is against the law to sell to people | 0:46:14 | 0:46:18 | |
who are drunk, to sell to people who are underrate and you can close | 0:46:18 | 0:46:23 | |
down bars. We must look at the issue of pricing and how we can | 0:46:23 | 0:46:28 | |
stop this. Good news for Cumbria motorist with the opening of the | 0:46:28 | 0:46:33 | |
Carlisle Relief Road, the five MAR link will help cut congestion and | 0:46:33 | 0:46:40 | |
improve journey times to and from West Cumbria. Finally, after a 3000 | 0:46:40 | 0:46:46 | |
mark walk, Lord Bates has arrived back and the UK. Just about one out, | 0:46:46 | 0:46:50 | |
my second pair of boots, which is probably just means I am light on | 0:46:50 | 0:47:00 | |
my feet. There is a man who deserves a rest. John Shipley, | 0:47:00 | 0:47:04 | |
prime minister talking about our goal this week. Was it just a photo | 0:47:04 | 0:47:11 | |
opportunity? An extremely important issue. Did he adds to the debate? | 0:47:11 | 0:47:17 | |
On alcohol I think he did address the debate. We need minimum pricing | 0:47:17 | 0:47:21 | |
has gone and is proposing to do. I thought his visit was extremely | 0:47:21 | 0:47:25 | |
helpful. He went to school and afterwards and was discussing a | 0:47:25 | 0:47:28 | |
whole range of things around independence which would impact on | 0:47:28 | 0:47:32 | |
our region to. Also the RBI has experience on this and he picked | 0:47:33 | 0:47:36 | |
one of the cities in the UK with some of the worst problems for | 0:47:36 | 0:47:41 | |
hospital admissions because of alcohol. Ian Wright, where are you | 0:47:41 | 0:47:46 | |
on this? The problem, minimum pricing, which John Sibley supports, | 0:47:46 | 0:47:55 | |
it does not really help poor people who just want a drink does it? | 0:47:55 | 0:47:59 | |
could be part of a package but if you are trying to address long-term | 0:47:59 | 0:48:03 | |
cultural issues, I think you need a range of responses of which minimum | 0:48:03 | 0:48:08 | |
pricing might be one. I would want to make sure it does not penalise | 0:48:08 | 0:48:13 | |
moderate drinkers. I don't think the Prime Minister added to the | 0:48:13 | 0:48:19 | |
debate, it was a PR stunt. Was 24 hour drinking a mistake? I think | 0:48:19 | 0:48:26 | |
the? Is there, but the idea was a laudable one, to have the cafe | 0:48:26 | 0:48:31 | |
culture. Did it happen? Some elements of Hartlepool, on the | 0:48:31 | 0:48:36 | |
marina, are very European in terms of drinking culture. But it failed | 0:48:36 | 0:48:40 | |
to address the 10 pints down the Net culture which is there. We need | 0:48:40 | 0:48:45 | |
to look at what is actually quite a complex and difficult issue in a | 0:48:45 | 0:48:50 | |
much more responsible and holistic way. I must say the fact he is | 0:48:50 | 0:48:55 | |
cutting police officers from the forces does not help address crime. | 0:48:55 | 0:49:00 | |
It is a bit rich to talk about looking more drum people up and | 0:49:00 | 0:49:05 | |
targeting this when police numbers are falling, isn't it? The most of | 0:49:05 | 0:49:08 | |
those are in back-office jobs, so the solution is to stop people | 0:49:08 | 0:49:12 | |
getting drunk in the first place. Minimum pricing would help with | 0:49:12 | 0:49:22 | |
0:49:22 | 0:49:23 | ||
that. You could get the... You could could seem the limit for a | 0:49:23 | 0:49:32 | |
man for a week on four or �5. If it was at twice that level it may stop | 0:49:32 | 0:49:38 | |
some, I believe it would. Scotland is talking about 45 pence per unit, | 0:49:38 | 0:49:44 | |
why not the same for us. The BBC Inside Out programme has a special | 0:49:44 | 0:49:49 | |
report on homes for Cumberland this week, a fairly organisation which | 0:49:49 | 0:49:52 |