:01:45. > :01:51.In the North East: the Government's health reforms are being piloted
:01:51. > :02:01.here. Yet we cannot get GPs to tell us why they are working or why they
:02:01. > :02:01.
:02:01. > :30:34.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1713 seconds
:30:35. > :30:40.Coming up in North East and Cumbria: government health service
:30:40. > :30:47.changes are being piloted here. Yet doctors seem to have taken a vow of
:30:47. > :30:55.silence. What do people who used it NHS make of the tall? And looking
:30:55. > :30:59.ahead to the Budget are in North Tyneside MP, and Conservative peer.
:30:59. > :31:04.Businesses and holidaymakers would like to see the chance will scrap a
:31:04. > :31:09.plan to raise taxes on flying. Passenger duty is due to increase
:31:09. > :31:14.next month, a further hike in as many years. In fact it has trebled
:31:14. > :31:20.on some flights since 2007. Campaigners say it is damaging
:31:20. > :31:29.attempts to revive the North East economy. The rise will see the tax
:31:29. > :31:39.on economy flights to Europe -- increase. A bigger increase for
:31:39. > :31:41.
:31:41. > :31:45.flight to the US. And the larger one to Australia. -- largest.
:31:45. > :31:51.Horrendous. But it is the taxes which are the bulk of an air fare.
:31:51. > :31:57.It is quite something. If the Government want to get money out of
:31:57. > :32:04.Oz they will do. Everything has to be paid for but we do all want
:32:04. > :32:09.cheaper flights if we can. Travelling the world the way I do I
:32:09. > :32:19.can assume you this is one of the best country still have an. Some
:32:19. > :32:21.
:32:21. > :32:24.may be the taxes to don't do harm. -- the best country to live and.
:32:25. > :32:28.The greatest burden is on airlines and who may not come into the North
:32:28. > :32:33.East. If they put their airlines and other locations rather than
:32:33. > :32:40.hear that will weaken our competitiveness. Some argue that a
:32:40. > :32:45.tax is a small price to pay to help planet. It is a carbon tax designed
:32:45. > :32:49.to discourage a high carbon emitting form of transport.
:32:49. > :32:56.Although the medicine is painful the illness of climate change does
:32:56. > :33:01.far more damage to our national and global economy than a carbon tax.
:33:01. > :33:04.Of course if you run an airport you do not like these taxes and I'm
:33:04. > :33:12.sure that it director of Corporate Affairs at Newcastle Airport is
:33:12. > :33:16.about to tell me that! But surely you accept it helps the environment.
:33:16. > :33:22.The aviation industry has to work hard to move forward with environ
:33:22. > :33:26.mental performance and it is in its best interests to do so. So I think
:33:26. > :33:29.there will be action on fuel- efficient aircraft going forward.
:33:29. > :33:36.But are you really arguing that people will be put off flying by
:33:36. > :33:42.what is on paper a few Pounds extra? We find it has had a bigger
:33:42. > :33:46.impact on the regions. People have less money and are more price
:33:46. > :33:49.sensitive. Therefore demand has been impacted. That is why we're
:33:50. > :33:56.asked the Government to look particularly at the impact
:33:57. > :34:03.regionally. In effect you want an advantageous deal? Heathrow may
:34:03. > :34:07.have one type of tax and here, another? Yes. The most congested
:34:07. > :34:13.airports should have a higher rate of tax and then the less congested
:34:13. > :34:19.airports, I e, the regional airports, law. We think that will
:34:19. > :34:25.help to rebalance the economy. Coming back to be environmentally
:34:25. > :34:30.argument, that is not good. There must be action from a global point
:34:30. > :34:36.of view. All governments, on the environ mental issues of all forms
:34:36. > :34:43.of transport. That should be global, not a UK level. Are you telling me
:34:43. > :34:47.that airlines are not coming to Newcastle because of this barrier?
:34:48. > :34:54.It is a barrier. It is not a case of their planes queuing at the door
:34:54. > :35:01.to come to Newcastle, we knock at their door and then try to argue
:35:01. > :35:08.that the economy is large enough to support those services. Michael
:35:08. > :35:14.Bates, I know you have just written to from Greece. How should we look
:35:15. > :35:21.at this tax? It is a very environmentally friendly way to get
:35:21. > :35:28.from Athens, to walk! It is easy to say, let's not raise passenger
:35:28. > :35:37.duty... But we all say... It is about helping the environment and
:35:37. > :35:43.cutting the deficit. The key thing is that Newcastle is a terrific
:35:43. > :35:50.airport expanding its services. But last year we froze air passenger
:35:50. > :35:56.duty for the year. Unlike other countries there is no VAT on
:35:56. > :36:02.domestic flights. So I think that airlines can be helped but also we
:36:02. > :36:07.must have to take some of the pain to pay for the deficit. A study
:36:07. > :36:11.this week, albeit by the travel industry I admit, so that you scrap
:36:11. > :36:18.these taxes you can create 90,000 jobs. That outweighs the money
:36:18. > :36:22.going into the Treasury and makes economic sense, doesn't it? This is
:36:22. > :36:28.the balance. That is why the Labour government introduced this tax and
:36:28. > :36:36.we have only inherited it. We must balance goes to demands. But that
:36:37. > :36:43.is not happening. Newcastle Airport has additional services. It is
:36:43. > :36:49.dying on its feet. It is doing remarkably well and getting
:36:49. > :36:52.international trade. I think it is all there. Listen, it is not easy
:36:53. > :37:00.and there is never any popular way to help the environment of cut the
:37:00. > :37:03.deficit but I think we have got the balance about right. Do you agree?
:37:03. > :37:13.Record export levels so it does seem that the one thing these air
:37:13. > :37:17.
:37:17. > :37:25.passenger duties is not affecting as export. -- es export. And other
:37:25. > :37:31.tax -- this is another tax that. People doing things on their lives.
:37:31. > :37:35.�1 per flight to Europe? There are variations depending on where
:37:35. > :37:40.people are travelling. You referred to the report that has come out
:37:40. > :37:45.from the travel industry. It seems ludicrous that we could have over
:37:46. > :37:52.�4 billion worth of money in the economy as opposed to �2 billion in
:37:52. > :37:58.tax. The two things just do not weigh up. And the job as you, that
:37:58. > :38:07.is at an important one. But I feel strongly that we should import a
:38:07. > :38:11.world -- support our local airport. It is really important. The Green
:38:11. > :38:18.Party make the point that it is far more damaging to our economy to not
:38:18. > :38:24.have a decent air taxes. The end result will be climate change and
:38:24. > :38:30.disaster. We mentioned before improving the green credentials of
:38:30. > :38:33.air flights and putting money into that. But what message does it send
:38:33. > :38:40.out if you cut their duty just as soon as the travel industry put
:38:40. > :38:44.pressure on you? You are saying that ordinary people should not be
:38:44. > :38:48.able to use their planes to fly away on their holidays. How would
:38:48. > :38:51.they reach Australia or New Zealand? Trying to use this excuse
:38:51. > :38:55.of saying it is about the environment when there are things
:38:55. > :38:59.that can be done, and especially when it has been proven that we
:38:59. > :39:05.could make more money for the region by reducing the tax - it
:39:05. > :39:10.just does not add up. Thanks for that very much. The state of the
:39:10. > :39:13.economy locally is the subject of a special programme tomorrow evening
:39:13. > :39:18.on BBC One in which a studio audience will talk about how the
:39:18. > :39:22.crisis has affected them. There will also be details of new
:39:23. > :39:32.research into the prospects for economic growth in the region. That
:39:33. > :39:35.
:39:35. > :39:40.is tomorrow evening at 11:05pm. Now, GP commissioning will see family
:39:40. > :39:49.doctors handed picks laces of the NHS budget. Cumbria is already
:39:50. > :39:52.piloting the scheme. -- Devon large slices. You would think that
:39:52. > :39:58.doctors would be falling over themselves to tell us how good it
:39:58. > :40:04.is. As we report, they seem to be strangely silent. Doctors and
:40:04. > :40:08.nurses are familiar territory for these toddlers. Plans for a radical
:40:08. > :40:16.overhaul the NHS will almost certainly affect their future lives.
:40:16. > :40:22.But do parents know any more than the toddles do? If something is
:40:22. > :40:32.broken, you fix it. But if it is not broken there is no need to
:40:32. > :40:39.change something completely. Really silly. Personally I am happy. I
:40:39. > :40:42.suppose they will do whatever they are going to do anyway. Family
:40:42. > :40:46.doctors hearing Cumbria have already been piloting the proposals.
:40:46. > :40:52.GPs control most of the local NHS budget and decide on where to spend
:40:52. > :40:56.the money to buy care for their patients. This GP was keen to talk
:40:56. > :41:01.last year about why the system works so well. He even went to
:41:01. > :41:06.London to meet David Cameron for the launch of the reforms. But now
:41:06. > :41:11.our requests for an interview are being turned down. The primary care
:41:11. > :41:15.trusts say that he will not be available until the outcome of the
:41:15. > :41:19.bell is more clear. Other GPs who have approached say that they will
:41:19. > :41:25.not speak either. But one senior professional has spoken out about
:41:25. > :41:30.his opposition. What is very disturbing is that this paves the
:41:30. > :41:40.way for private health insurance and to have two tears of healthcare
:41:40. > :41:43.side by side in the same hospital. Private beds and public beds.
:41:43. > :41:47.Cumbria doctors and nurses who have declared their support for the
:41:47. > :41:53.changes are now proving hard to track down. But the Government is
:41:53. > :41:58.bullish about their silence. They have given strong support in the
:41:58. > :42:02.past. I am not sure where you're coming from. I believe that the GPs
:42:02. > :42:06.in North Cumbria at the forefront of these reforms. I cannot comment
:42:06. > :42:12.on what the Primary Care Trust are saying but that doctor was a strong
:42:12. > :42:16.supporter of our proposals. these mothers remain aware that
:42:16. > :42:26.changes to the NHS are on the way but how they will affect day-to-day
:42:26. > :42:26.
:42:27. > :42:30.access to doctors and hospitals is Let's deal with the fact that we
:42:31. > :42:34.cannot talk to these doctors. I do not expect you to have a detailed
:42:34. > :42:40.idea of why not. But surely it is a sign the reforms are not
:42:40. > :42:48.progressing as well as hoped. not know why oh why people will not
:42:48. > :42:53.speak. But I am looking at the big picture. Everybody appreciates that
:42:53. > :42:59.the health service needs to be reformed. The number of people over
:42:59. > :43:02.the age of 85 is going to double in the next number of years. Clearly
:43:03. > :43:06.we are seeing an number of things - the Labour Party already recognised
:43:06. > :43:11.there had to be reform and introduced a private contribution
:43:11. > :43:15.to the health service in the last parliamentary term. The realised
:43:15. > :43:19.you need to cut bureaucracy and give more power to doctors to
:43:19. > :43:23.commission services. So many ways we're saying, there is reform, but
:43:23. > :43:29.there is also an element of protecting funding and we want to
:43:29. > :43:37.make sure that things are free at the point of access. You say
:43:37. > :43:43.everybody accepts the need for reform. But does mother's did not.
:43:43. > :43:48.Why fix it if it is not broken? Because we had a ridiculous
:43:48. > :43:51.situation where bureaucracy was expanding. Six managers for of the
:43:51. > :44:00.doctor. We today money to the people in need it, like the people
:44:00. > :44:07.in your film. These people will not benefit from this wealthy? Your
:44:07. > :44:11.scaremongering is irresponsible. -- they will not benefit, while they?
:44:11. > :44:20.These are scarce resources and should be directed to actually
:44:20. > :44:24.doing things that improved people's health. But when you think about it,
:44:24. > :44:31.what Labour did was improve the health service and -- enormously.
:44:31. > :44:35.We cut waiting times. We had more staff in hospitals. New hospitals.
:44:35. > :44:39.And whatever people say about Labour there was a commitment. Yes,
:44:39. > :44:44.we know that reform must continue but the way the Government are
:44:44. > :44:54.doing it, a few years' time, those same women may be ruing what the
:44:54. > :45:01.Government has done. But all that happened with Labour reforms - and
:45:01. > :45:06.you cannot put privatisation back in the box - you introduced it.
:45:06. > :45:11.is probably the opposite. When we brought in the opportunity for
:45:11. > :45:16.privatisation it was not on the same scale. It was to help of the
:45:16. > :45:22.capacity Barton of the health service. That reduced when the
:45:22. > :45:32.capacity built under Labour created a completely different ball game. -
:45:32. > :45:34.
:45:34. > :45:41.- the capacity warden. The point is that you have not taken the medical
:45:41. > :45:44.profession of patients with you. Why not, if things are so good?
:45:44. > :45:54.Speaking as a member of the House of Lords it is always difficult to
:45:54. > :45:57.
:45:57. > :46:03.see the need for reform from the inside. We have put a cap of 49% on
:46:03. > :46:09.it. We are crucially taking money away from administration and
:46:09. > :46:13.bureaucracy and giving it to people know how it ought to be spent. That
:46:13. > :46:21.is something that Labour supported and did before the last election
:46:21. > :46:27.and now they are opposing it. was different circumstances. Not an
:46:27. > :46:35.unlimited cap. There were Foundation trusts. And the issue
:46:35. > :46:43.about the private patients money being more for the opportunity of
:46:43. > :46:47.private treatment, it was about 2%, the cap at the time. So Labour did
:46:47. > :46:52.not actually going to privatisation in the same way that the
:46:52. > :47:02.opportunities being created now. will not get you to agree so we
:47:02. > :47:04.
:47:04. > :47:14.will leave it at that. Thank you. Time for my colleague to cram the
:47:14. > :47:16.
:47:16. > :47:20.political week into 60 seconds. It was bad news for the 450 workers at
:47:20. > :47:27.this pharmaceutical company Newcastle whip -- coup were told
:47:27. > :47:33.that the company was closing. Gateshead and Middlesbrough failed
:47:33. > :47:38.in their attempt to win city status. The Conservatives are widening the
:47:38. > :47:42.net in their search for Durham Police Commissioner candidates. But
:47:42. > :47:49.it was the policing of the Liberal- Democrat conference that helped put
:47:49. > :47:57.Nick Clegg on the spot. I sincerely hope that the Deputy Prime Minister
:47:57. > :48:03.enjoyed our famous North East hospitality. Could he now tell the
:48:03. > :48:09.House when the 3,000 extra police he promised at a general election
:48:09. > :48:19.will be in their posts? And this new earth sculpture has been
:48:19. > :48:21.
:48:21. > :48:24.The search for police commissioner of candidates - his membership of
:48:24. > :48:31.the Conservative Party so bad that you have to drag people off the
:48:31. > :48:36.streets? We're just trying to open it up to people with no background
:48:36. > :48:39.in politics. People want a breath of fresh air. These are new posts
:48:40. > :48:44.in a new system which will connect policing with the local community.
:48:44. > :48:50.As we have seen with elected mayors, sometimes having people who are
:48:50. > :48:53.fresh, come from a new perspective, can bring dynamism to the post.
:48:53. > :49:00.Labour-run the other hand seemed to be clinging to a former MP and lots
:49:00. > :49:03.of councillors. We want people with a knowledge of their region and to
:49:03. > :49:08.think we conserve their region in a different way. Giving people a
:49:08. > :49:13.choice of somebody who is absolutely new and has no political
:49:13. > :49:20.links is fair enough. In the end people will make a vote, let's just
:49:20. > :49:23.hope that the party's produce good candidates. Budget next week, what
:49:23. > :49:29.is what the one thing the Chancellor should do for the North
:49:29. > :49:35.East and Cumbria? Corporation tax and keeping the success we are
:49:35. > :49:39.having in manufacturing. Something that people are asking me about is
:49:39. > :49:45.the cost of fuel. People are concerned and would like to see it
:49:45. > :49:55.go down. Especially a lot of our businesses. Do you think either of
:49:55. > :49:55.
:49:55. > :50:05.you will get you wish? I think I might have a bit more luck! I would
:50:05. > :50:05.
:50:05. > :50:11.hope so, as part of the Government! 50% tax rate? To yes or no. Wealth