:01:35. > :01:38.In the North East and Cumbria: As thousands turn out to welcome the
:01:38. > :01:48.Olympic torch, what benefits will the region get from the billions of
:01:48. > :01:48.
:01:48. > :28:53.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1624 seconds
:28:53. > :28:59.pounds spent on the London games? Hello and a very warm welcome to
:28:59. > :29:02.your local part of the show on this Olympic weekend. And as the torch
:29:02. > :29:05.makes its way through the North East - cheered on by tens of
:29:05. > :29:09.thousands of people along the route - we'll be asking what the London
:29:09. > :29:11.Olympics means to us here in the North. With me to discuss that are
:29:11. > :29:14.the Labour MP for Wansbeck Ian Lavery and Yorkshire Euro-MP
:29:14. > :29:17.Timothy Kirkhope. Also coming up: Will government plans to let big
:29:17. > :29:19.stores open for longer on Sundays during the Olympics damage our
:29:19. > :29:21.smaller corner shops? First: it's travelled from Berwick in
:29:21. > :29:24.Northumberland through Bamburgh, Ashington and Morpeth. It crossed
:29:24. > :29:26.the River Tyne in spectacular fashion via zip wire on Friday
:29:27. > :29:29.night in Newcastle - wowing the crowds watching down on the
:29:30. > :29:32.Quayside. And this morning it left the historic centre of Durham where
:29:32. > :29:37.cricketer Paul Collingwood - flanked by a guard of honour -
:29:37. > :29:40.carried the torch on the next leg of its journey through the county.
:29:40. > :29:43.The Olympic torch is the most visible sign of the London games
:29:43. > :29:46.which are due to begin in exactly 40 days' time. It's now on its way
:29:46. > :29:56.to Teesside and our reporter Luke Walton joins us from its latest
:29:56. > :30:06.
:30:06. > :30:12.I am in Hartlepool where the Olympic torch has arrived. There is
:30:12. > :30:17.lots of cheering. The torch is around the corner on the Historic
:30:17. > :30:23.Quay and the entourage around it is taking a lunch break. We have had
:30:23. > :30:29.lots of music and an appearance by a highly Paul's own Olympic hopeful,
:30:29. > :30:35.the female boxer. Someone not in line for a medal but joins me is
:30:35. > :30:40.the town's elected mayor. What does today mean in terms of extra
:30:40. > :30:46.business for shops and the economy? Fantastic. Thousands of people are
:30:46. > :30:53.lining the route. Everybody is out. I am sure people will go out and do
:30:53. > :30:59.some shopping and a boost for the economy. And good for the image.
:30:59. > :31:03.Absolutely. The pictures are going out around the world. It is our
:31:03. > :31:08.moment in the sun. There has been a complaint to much of the investment
:31:08. > :31:14.has gone up to the south-east, what are the wider economic benefits to
:31:14. > :31:21.this area? We are quite a distance from London. The ripple effect is
:31:21. > :31:27.taking effect. We have one company which won a contracts worth half
:31:27. > :31:37.million pounds to do some work on the stadium. The major benefit is
:31:37. > :31:40.two members in Team GB. A real gold medal chance. There is this wider
:31:40. > :31:47.question of sporting participation. Will the Olympics encourage people
:31:47. > :31:54.to take up sport? I hope so. Our hopefuls are on this page today. It
:31:54. > :31:58.will inspire people to take part in activities and I hope after the
:31:58. > :32:01.Olympics the government will seriously think about the legacy
:32:01. > :32:06.and make money available for grassroots facilities because we
:32:06. > :32:12.need him. Has that happened or do you hope it will happen in the
:32:12. > :32:17.future? Four years ago, the lottery money was made unavailable, but was
:32:17. > :32:23.only put into the Olympics. Hopefully there will be money
:32:23. > :32:28.available for local authorities, we need better sporting facilities.
:32:28. > :32:33.The Olympics will help the government to think of the strategy.
:32:33. > :32:37.Thank you. As you heard, in terms of the permanent legacy of the
:32:37. > :32:42.Olympics, there are many questions but the short-term benefits and a
:32:42. > :32:47.procession, lots of enthusiasm and excitement. The torch will set off
:32:47. > :32:49.south to Billingham and beyond. Thanks Luke. And the torch relay
:32:49. > :32:52.this afternoon travels through Bishop Auckland, Darlington and
:32:52. > :32:54.onto Middlesbrough for the lighting of the cauldron. Look North will be
:32:54. > :32:57.live from Centre Square just before 6:20pm here on BBC1.
:32:57. > :33:00.Many of the towns and villages the torch passes through have had their
:33:00. > :33:04.slice of Olympic excitement. But what about the more tangible
:33:04. > :33:07.economic benefits of the London games? Well, the biggest winners
:33:07. > :33:11.have been companies in the South of England who took around 2 billion
:33:11. > :33:15.pounds-worth of Olympic contracts. But 112 firms in the North East
:33:15. > :33:18.also benefited, winning 123 million pounds of new business. They
:33:18. > :33:21.include this one - Sotech in Peterlee - which made specialist
:33:21. > :33:31.roofing and cladding materials for the aquatics centre and athletes
:33:31. > :33:32.
:33:32. > :33:40.village. We expanded the business, and within the first year the
:33:40. > :33:47.recession started. So, we made 11 people redundant and within the
:33:47. > :33:55.following year the Olympics work came in. On the Aquatics Centre a
:33:55. > :34:01.complicated work is the face in. We were asked to do the work because
:34:01. > :34:07.of the technical abilities and 3D manufacturing. Later in the scheme
:34:07. > :34:09.of things, we did some stainless steel cladding on one of the
:34:10. > :34:16.athletes blocks. We knew the workers coming which gives you
:34:17. > :34:22.confidence to keep going. It did help tremendously.
:34:22. > :34:26.Let's talk about the wider legacy. I know you support the Olympics in
:34:26. > :34:32.general and of seeing the impact of the torch but you are not short the
:34:32. > :34:39.north-east is getting a fair slice from the Games. It is fair comment.
:34:39. > :34:43.The London Games, it is a London Olympic and Paralympic Games. I
:34:43. > :34:46.hope it is a tremendous excess and it will be of great benefit to the
:34:46. > :34:52.economy as a whole but when you look at how it will benefit the
:34:52. > :34:57.regional economy, I am not sure how it will. Despite what you had said
:34:57. > :35:01.on the report earlier, looking at the statistics, 0.17 % of the
:35:01. > :35:05.contracts have been awarded to people in the North East region.
:35:05. > :35:10.That is hardly a trigger to boost the local economy in jobs and
:35:10. > :35:14.growth. This was supposed big gains that would benefit the whole of the
:35:14. > :35:19.UK but it will be the South rather than the north of the reaps the
:35:19. > :35:23.rewards. This is awarded to a city, the gains and the City is London
:35:23. > :35:31.and inevitably geographically it would have an emphasis on the
:35:31. > :35:35.economy of that part of the UK. As far as I am aware, they did look at
:35:35. > :35:39.the contracts carefully and many have been placed in the north. And
:35:39. > :35:45.also on top of that considerable numbers of people engaged in
:35:45. > :35:49.construction and other skills have gone and worked on the Olympic site.
:35:49. > :35:55.Admittedly they have had to go and do it but it brings the money back
:35:55. > :35:58.into the region. Also, we have benefited from the involvement of
:35:58. > :36:03.the region in providing facilities for training and various other
:36:03. > :36:08.things. There is a knock-on effect. Not as great as we would like but
:36:08. > :36:13.there has been won. There are football games at St James's Park
:36:13. > :36:21.and training facilities here. There is a limit as to what can be done.
:36:21. > :36:28.Well, seven and �9 billion for the Olympic Games is fine but as a
:36:28. > :36:34.region we have to analyse how we have benefited or not benefited. If
:36:34. > :36:40.there are night football games at St James's Park, will it really
:36:40. > :36:45.benefit the economy and the people in the north-east? That is all we
:36:45. > :36:50.have got, that is all we have in the region. We need jobs and growth.
:36:50. > :36:56.We should have more opportunity to participate, the construction of
:36:56. > :37:05.the Olympic village. Many of that decisions have been taken. Can
:37:05. > :37:09.something be taken now to correct the imbalance? There is an
:37:09. > :37:14.underspend of �400 million. There was a danger the Minister for Sport
:37:14. > :37:18.said the money would go back to the cherish -- Treasury. The money has
:37:18. > :37:24.been drained from charities, community groups in regions like
:37:24. > :37:27.the north-east who needed finance for grassroots projects. I am
:37:27. > :37:31.appealing and continue to appeal for the money to be put back into
:37:31. > :37:35.the lottery so local authorities and charity groups and other
:37:35. > :37:41.organisations can access the money and develop the grassroots projects
:37:41. > :37:49.which are currently under stocked. People think damage has been done
:37:49. > :37:53.by diverting the money. The money has not been diverted. It has taken
:37:53. > :37:56.away from the big lottery fund. it was a legitimate use of the
:37:56. > :38:01.money. Hosting the Olympics is a good thing for the country and
:38:01. > :38:07.London. You cannot be clearer about what the tangible effects are for
:38:07. > :38:13.the region. The key question is should the money underspent go back
:38:13. > :38:18.rather than to the Treasury? I do not know where the money will go.
:38:18. > :38:25.There is an argument for it going back into the Lottery Fund and also
:38:25. > :38:30.be distributed around the country. The minister said the underspend
:38:30. > :38:36.would go back to the Treasury. It is tantamount to money laundering.
:38:36. > :38:46.A lot of people might agree but is in the big benefit the inspiration
:38:46. > :38:46.
:38:46. > :38:48.to young people whether in or Wansbeck or Axminster? It has been
:38:48. > :38:56.fantastic seeing community champions and celebrities, it's
:38:56. > :39:00.been brilliant and it has brought tears to my eyes. However, we have
:39:00. > :39:07.40 days until the Olympics, this is our part of the Olympics. When the
:39:07. > :39:11.Olympics starts we are so far away, it's unimaginable. The one sadness
:39:11. > :39:14.is the North of England, the north- east and Yorkshire, there is a
:39:14. > :39:21.percentage of young people who will be encouraged to be involved in
:39:21. > :39:26.sport. We have to look generally at increasing interest in sport and
:39:26. > :39:30.sporting activity in the North of England. We must leave it there.
:39:30. > :39:33.Thank you. Now the Olympics may boost the economy in other ways too.
:39:33. > :39:36.For eight weekends starting in July, the Government has suspended the
:39:36. > :39:39.existing Sunday trading laws. That means for the first time big
:39:39. > :39:43.supermarkets will be able to open all day. Good news if you want to
:39:43. > :39:46.grab a few beers while watching the athletics or get the burgers in for
:39:46. > :39:52.your Olympic-themed barbecue. Not so good perhaps if you work on the
:39:52. > :39:57.supermarket checkout. Fergus Hewison reports.
:39:57. > :40:02.It is morning at this garden centre. The staff are as busy as bees.
:40:02. > :40:10.Sunday is a big day for a place like this but this tour can only
:40:10. > :40:18.open for six hours. Our current trading hours are 10:30am to 6:30pm.
:40:18. > :40:22.We shut at 4:30pm. People can shop until 5pm. Martin believes greater
:40:22. > :40:27.flexibility would bring rewards for all. It will give staff an
:40:27. > :40:33.opportunity to earn more money and they will come in when they want.
:40:33. > :40:39.It will reduce retell congestion. There are many benefits for
:40:39. > :40:44.unrestricted hours on a Sunday. the moment, stores can only open on
:40:44. > :40:48.Sunday the six hours. The six hours must be some time between 10am and
:40:48. > :40:52.6pm. Shopworkers have the right to opt out of working on Sundays but
:40:52. > :41:00.during the Olympics the Sunday trading laws are being suspended
:41:01. > :41:06.eight weekends. Workers legal protections remain in place. Keirin
:41:06. > :41:10.can open his newsagent for as many hours as he wants. This gives him
:41:10. > :41:15.an advantage over supermarkets, especially on a Sunday when the
:41:15. > :41:18.opening hours are limited. What happens after the Olympics?
:41:18. > :41:23.worry is the supermarkets will see how much extra money they can make
:41:23. > :41:29.and put more pressure on government to make it permanent. We saw in
:41:29. > :41:37.Scotland when they open all day on Sundays which they do now, they had
:41:37. > :41:44.a bigger market share. Any move to relax Sunday trading laws would be
:41:45. > :41:49.a disaster. I would see a massive drop in turnover. Milk, bread and
:41:49. > :41:54.confectionery, if people are not coming for the newspapers I will
:41:54. > :41:59.not see them. Unions have concerns about any relaxation could mean for
:41:59. > :42:03.workers. Longer working hours and trading hours mean our members work
:42:03. > :42:10.early Sunday morning and late Sunday night. Whilst our members to
:42:10. > :42:13.work unsociable hours, they do not want to work any more. Sundays to
:42:13. > :42:16.Christians and others is special and there is anxiety more shopping
:42:16. > :42:26.were hit family life. I am dealing with people that are suicidal
:42:26. > :42:31.because of debt or in depression, we are placing financial issues of
:42:31. > :42:35.pressure on married couples and families and says what we're saying
:42:35. > :42:43.is let's open it up so people can spend more but there is a
:42:43. > :42:46.spiralling downwards of family life because of that. Some estimates say
:42:46. > :42:51.relaxing the laws during the Olympics could bring tens of
:42:51. > :42:54.millions into the economy. Smaller traders say they will lose out to
:42:55. > :43:00.the tune of tens of millions of pounds. If the experiment is
:43:00. > :43:03.successful, they may be calls for relaxation of the current rules to
:43:03. > :43:11.revive the sluggish economy and a fresh battle over whether Sunday
:43:11. > :43:18.special. How much do you share the concerns of the unions about the
:43:18. > :43:26.concerns on workers? I was part of the House of Commons in 1994 than
:43:26. > :43:29.the legislation -- went it was introduced. Certainly we had
:43:29. > :43:35.support from the union with the reassurances that people would be
:43:35. > :43:39.protected if they did not want to work. I see my colleagues voting
:43:39. > :43:43.again on a new Bill which is a limited bill of eight weeks to
:43:43. > :43:52.allow an extension of trading on Sundays in big stores during the
:43:52. > :43:56.period. There is no way this should be permanent. You are happy for a
:43:56. > :44:01.temporary introduction? Yes, and I am happy with the overall position
:44:02. > :44:08.that we currently have but anything further, it would be controversial
:44:08. > :44:12.and I am sure the House of Commons will be concerned. The unions have
:44:12. > :44:21.concerns but there would be many people desperate for more hours or
:44:21. > :44:24.delighted? It's a shame the argument has been put forward, we
:44:24. > :44:27.have 55.5 people seeking each JobCentre vacancy, I am not
:44:27. > :44:35.suggesting they should be delighted to work all the way through the
:44:35. > :44:38.Olympics on Sunday. Isn't any work better than men? People might say
:44:38. > :44:47.that but if you are in a desperate position and can only get
:44:47. > :44:50.employment on a Sunday, in Alice allocated by the big stores... The
:44:50. > :44:56.little retailers will suffer greatly, that is not what we are
:44:56. > :45:03.after. We want sustainable jobs and decent working terms and conditions,
:45:03. > :45:10.not just on Sundays. Why aren't you satisfied with a temporary measure,
:45:10. > :45:16.a way of making sure the shops near the Olympic Park are open. It is a
:45:16. > :45:19.temporary measure, it is a Trojan horse to extend the temporary de
:45:19. > :45:26.regulation into permit the regulation. That is the ultimate
:45:26. > :45:30.objective, it is ideology from the coalition. If it is to try and
:45:30. > :45:34.assist people in the Olympic village and in London to allow them
:45:34. > :45:38.to access shops are more readily and easily at different times,
:45:38. > :45:48.there might be an argument for that but it is not an argument for the
:45:48. > :45:48.
:45:48. > :45:54.massive stores to be open. temptation is to change the law.
:45:54. > :46:02.was a comparatively controversial area in 1994 and is still is. I do
:46:02. > :46:05.not see is becoming a permit issued. If it delivers economic growth for
:46:05. > :46:12.example in this period, the temptation for the government to
:46:12. > :46:17.carry on... In Scotland they can open any hours a like. Other
:46:17. > :46:21.European countries have different approaches. Our approach, which win
:46:21. > :46:24.again seated in the 90s with the unions, is the right balance to
:46:24. > :46:32.approach allowing a flexible approach and allows people to
:46:32. > :46:36.worship and have a special time on Sunday. Thank you. You can comments
:46:36. > :46:39.on my blog. Now: to keep in the spirit of the Olympics, our
:46:39. > :46:42.reporter Fergus Hewison ran the length of Cumbria and the North
:46:42. > :46:46.East this week holding aloft a torch. He didn't attract any crowds
:46:46. > :46:56.but he did gather some juicy bits of political news. So here he is -
:46:56. > :47:00.
:47:00. > :47:02.a little out of breath with the The defence minister has blamed BAE
:47:02. > :47:06.Systems for failing to win orders which would have kept the Newcastle
:47:06. > :47:16.factory open. The local MP said the government should take
:47:16. > :47:20.
:47:20. > :47:24.responsibility for the loss of their jobs. He says there's no
:47:24. > :47:30.economic argument for introducing the changes. I do it except paying
:47:30. > :47:35.public sector workers less will boost private sector work.
:47:35. > :47:40.Conservatives have chosen a former detective as the candidate for the
:47:40. > :47:43.election in November. Labour will announce its candidate tomorrow.
:47:43. > :47:52.the bill comes to the house without amendments somebody might be
:47:52. > :47:58.tempted... Rehearsals are under way for a play based on former
:47:58. > :48:01.Sunderland MP's diaries. It transfers to London tomorrow.
:48:01. > :48:03.And one other bit of news this weekend concerns Workington MP Tony
:48:03. > :48:09.Cunningham who has received a knighthood in the Queen's birthday
:48:09. > :48:12.honours. Our congratulations to him. And that's about all from us on our
:48:12. > :48:15.special Olympic show. And in case you think our MPs just talk about
:48:15. > :48:18.sport and don't do it, take a look at this. Here's Hexham's Guy
:48:18. > :48:22.Opperman at Westminster enjoying a game of cage cricket. He was
:48:22. > :48:26.joining a campaign to promote the sport - a sort of street version of
:48:26. > :48:29.our national game. And as it's summer it was of course in the rain.