:01:36. > :01:38.In the North East and Cumbria, we talk to Liberal Democrat leader
:01:38. > :01:41.Nick Clegg. Also, can bus routes be saved from
:01:41. > :01:51.the axe by giving councils in Tyne and Wear more control over the
:01:51. > :01:51.
:01:51. > :35:17.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2005 seconds
:35:17. > :35:20.Hello, and welcome to your local part of the show. We are back every
:35:20. > :35:25.Sunday with all the latest political news and views from right
:35:25. > :35:28.across the North East and Cumbria. Coming up, as dozens of routes
:35:28. > :35:31.across the region face the axe, there is a battle for control of
:35:31. > :35:36.the buses. Would putting councils in the driving seat deliver a
:35:36. > :35:39.better deal for passengers? My guests here at the start of the
:35:39. > :35:42.party conference season are the North's longest-serving MP, Sir
:35:42. > :35:45.Alan Beith, and one of the rising stars on the Labour benches,
:35:45. > :35:48.Catherine McKinnell. Sir Alan, you are a former deputy leader of the
:35:48. > :35:52.Liberal Democrats. Has Nick Clegg done the right thing with his very
:35:52. > :35:58.public apology this week? Good morning. There has to be a first
:35:59. > :36:03.time, politician apologising. I think it was the right thing to do.
:36:03. > :36:07.The issue of the pledge was clouding out what we should do
:36:07. > :36:13.about higher education. The policy we have now got is better than what
:36:13. > :36:19.we had before. There are no upfront fees and part-time students benefit
:36:19. > :36:26.as well. That was all consumed by the fact that we made a promise and
:36:26. > :36:30.that promise was not kept. A lot of people would say that Labour have a
:36:30. > :36:35.lot to apologise for. Sue politicians apologise if they get
:36:35. > :36:43.things wrong? There are occasions when an apology is due and should
:36:43. > :36:49.be given, but it is hard to take seriously an apology from someone
:36:49. > :36:53.who promised us no VAT, just before the election, and then they
:36:53. > :37:02.delivered it in government. They pledged not to raise tuition fees
:37:02. > :37:05.and then Dave -- and then they did in government. I think this apology
:37:05. > :37:09.was a cynical ploy. Nick Clegg may be in apologetic
:37:09. > :37:11.mood but he still has a lot to do to win back disillusioned
:37:11. > :37:14.supporters in the North who have deserted his party since the
:37:14. > :37:18.general election. With the highest unemployment in
:37:18. > :37:23.the UK and further public spending cuts to come, the coalition has
:37:23. > :37:28.been accused by Durham's council leader of picking up where Mrs
:37:28. > :37:32.Thatcher left off. Nick Clegg trumpeted the National Growth Fund
:37:32. > :37:37.as part of the solution, but a recent report called it a
:37:37. > :37:44.scandalous failure. Then there is the idea of regional pay for public
:37:44. > :37:47.sector workers. Liberal-Democrat MP Tim Farron described it as an
:37:47. > :37:51.insult to workers in the north. Our correspondent met up with the
:37:51. > :37:54.Deputy Prime Minister this week and asked him to what extent he he
:37:54. > :37:58.agreed with the Cumbrian MP's comments. I certainly agree with
:37:58. > :38:03.the view that if what people have in mind by regional pay is
:38:03. > :38:11.something that will widen the North-South divide, I will flatly
:38:11. > :38:15.reject that, blocking it. Not least as a Sheffield MP with many people
:38:15. > :38:20.in the public service in my constituency. You say you will stop
:38:20. > :38:27.it, does that mean it is a red line, because we understand that George
:38:27. > :38:32.Osborne is very keen on it? Yes. We have asked independent pay review
:38:32. > :38:36.bodies to look at this issue. It is worth bearing in mind that the
:38:36. > :38:41.Labour government introduced at form of local market pay in the
:38:41. > :38:46.courts service. If they come up with conclusions which in my
:38:46. > :38:52.judgment would make the North-says divide worse, I will not support it.
:38:52. > :38:57.Let's speak about the regional growth fund. You are in an
:38:57. > :39:05.apologising mood at the moment. Will you apologised for the delays
:39:05. > :39:09.in getting money from that fund? is very important for people to
:39:10. > :39:16.remember about the regional growth fund that while I was the person
:39:16. > :39:23.who created this fund in a sense, I want to see money out of the door
:39:23. > :39:26.as rapidly as possible. I am frustrated at the delays, but it is
:39:26. > :39:36.important to remember that the projects themselves start before
:39:36. > :39:43.
:39:43. > :39:48.the checked his -- before the cash checked his received from Whitehall.
:39:48. > :39:52.People do not need to wait for permission to start their projects.
:39:52. > :39:58.Private businesses need an assurance that the money is on its
:39:58. > :40:08.way. That is the reason why 50 % of the project have actually started.
:40:08. > :40:09.
:40:09. > :40:19.50 % is not a very good figure? am saying it is a lot more at --
:40:19. > :40:25.
:40:25. > :40:29.the projects that have got the regional growth fund money. I am
:40:29. > :40:33.afraid it is one of those things were we have set up a brand new
:40:33. > :40:39.growth fund that will create hundreds of jobs around the country.
:40:39. > :40:42.It is precisely designed to help regions like the North East that
:40:42. > :40:49.have been over-reliant on public sector employment. It is working
:40:49. > :40:53.and it will get faster and faster as time goes on. Enterprise zones,
:40:53. > :40:59.and other initiatives from the government, we have got them in the
:40:59. > :41:06.North East, but not in Cumbria. How soon until we get them in Cumbria?
:41:06. > :41:10.We need good proposals around the country. We have given money it to
:41:10. > :41:16.various proposals where it is obvious that they would help with
:41:16. > :41:25.growth. So they would not help Cumbria? Each place will have to
:41:25. > :41:29.justify why our regional enterprise zone it is good for that area.
:41:29. > :41:33.Remember what each zone is? There will be tax breaks, exemptions from
:41:33. > :41:40.planning rules, preferential treatment for businesses in those
:41:40. > :41:44.areas. He it is right for us in government to set the bar high.
:41:44. > :41:51.will not grant this status to everybody. The case has got to be
:41:51. > :41:55.proven. More bad news this week, 300 workers' jobs going at
:41:55. > :42:03.caterpillar in County Durham. What message do you send to people like
:42:03. > :42:07.that? There is a great deal of anxiety about the future in that
:42:07. > :42:14.situation. It is a personal tragedy and we will have to work to counter
:42:14. > :42:21.it. Sir Alan Beith, is it not obvious that paying regional pay,
:42:21. > :42:26.at teachers in the north last, it is going to damage the economy? Why
:42:26. > :42:32.does Nick Clegg not just say, we're not going to let this happen?
:42:32. > :42:37.is effectively the message we are delivering. We have got to listen
:42:37. > :42:43.to what the pay review body says. It is a reality that if you want to
:42:43. > :42:48.get some people in some occupations in London, you have to pay more.
:42:48. > :42:54.Any move to systematically pay teachers less in the North, we
:42:54. > :42:58.simply would not accept. Is there any harm in investigating this
:42:58. > :43:06.regional pay our idea? There are academics that say this would help
:43:06. > :43:10.people compete for Labour? And create more jobs? I am reassured by
:43:10. > :43:16.what Sir Alan is saying, but the worry is that a Liberal Democrat
:43:16. > :43:20.promise is not worth the paper it is written on. It is not true to
:43:21. > :43:25.suggest that with trying more money from the public sector in the North
:43:25. > :43:29.East will create private sector jobs. How do you know that? There
:43:29. > :43:35.is less money in the economy being spent by local people in local
:43:35. > :43:40.businesses. It is not just the Labour Party which is against this,
:43:40. > :43:43.but local businesses as well. I hope that what the Liberal-
:43:43. > :43:53.Democrats are saying, that they will block this in government, I
:43:53. > :43:54.
:43:54. > :44:00.hope they will deliver that. There is no sign of the serious economic
:44:00. > :44:05.revival. Does the Government have anything else? There is no sign of
:44:05. > :44:13.a serious economic revival across the world. Changing the world is
:44:13. > :44:18.difficult. But there are things you can do? Yes, and I want you to
:44:18. > :44:20.recognise that that is a key factor in the present situation but the
:44:20. > :44:24.North East manufacturing industry is doing well compared to other
:44:24. > :44:30.parts of the country, and the Government wants to encourage that
:44:30. > :44:34.with things like the development of offshore wind technology. It takes
:44:34. > :44:39.time to get some of this money through, but I think Nick Clegg is
:44:39. > :44:44.right, we should not be paying out money without being sure that it is
:44:44. > :44:48.delivering the jobs and expansion that we want. Properly targeted
:44:48. > :44:53.money to help things like infrastructure could help.
:44:53. > :44:56.money is not being spent on infrastructure? They are is a
:44:56. > :45:02.completely different set of measures to spend money on
:45:02. > :45:08.infrastructure. It is making improvements in this county. There
:45:08. > :45:11.are also apprenticeships. Catherine McKinnell, with the recent falls of
:45:11. > :45:16.unemployment in the North East, perhaps the Government's strategy
:45:16. > :45:21.is working in the North East? think these figures are worrying
:45:21. > :45:26.and we should not misinterpret what is being said. Long-term
:45:26. > :45:31.unemployment is rising and youth unemployment is rising and we are
:45:31. > :45:38.stockpiling a massive problem for the future. I worry for young
:45:38. > :45:43.people coming into the job market today. The EU see any signs of the
:45:43. > :45:47.Government's strategy working? of the improvements in the North
:45:47. > :45:50.East are because of the work the previous government did. The
:45:50. > :45:57.regional growth fund was put in place and the previous scheme was
:45:57. > :46:02.abolished. 37,000 jobs were promised, but only 5,000 have been
:46:02. > :46:08.delivered. That is a massive worry for the people who are being made
:46:08. > :46:13.an implied and two are looking to join the workforce. Your party has
:46:13. > :46:17.continued to lose councillors in the North East and Cumbria. Will
:46:17. > :46:23.you have to console the people at the Liberal Democrat conference?
:46:23. > :46:30.Some places have done very good indeed. A Newcastle, we did
:46:30. > :46:34.significantly better than the one before. It will take us time to
:46:34. > :46:38.rebuild now we are party of government. When you are in
:46:38. > :46:43.government, people will take a dislike to the things that happen
:46:43. > :46:46.and they get frustrated. But you will get back to the point were
:46:46. > :46:55.people realise that what he did was the right thing and they will
:46:55. > :46:59.support you. -- that what you did. More than 1,500 people have signed
:46:59. > :47:02.a petition set up by a Wearside MP demanding a change to the the way
:47:02. > :47:05.our buses are run. They are supporting a London-style service
:47:05. > :47:08.called a quality contract. It would pass control of routes and
:47:08. > :47:11.timetables from the bus operators to councillors from the five local
:47:11. > :47:14.authorities in Tyne and Wear. The idea has been fiercely opposed by
:47:14. > :47:16.the local bus companies. But would it do anything to keep unprofitable
:47:17. > :47:21.routes open or cut fares? Fergus Hewison visited North Tyneside to
:47:21. > :47:26.find out. Buses, you wait for one, and then
:47:27. > :47:31.they cancel the service. This is where people who live in this
:47:31. > :47:35.village could once get the service straight to Newcastle. But the
:47:35. > :47:39.service was re-routed. The bus company say that the rate was
:47:39. > :47:49.under-used. We have got to go to a different village to get in
:47:49. > :47:56.Newcastle. It is the walk down to the village in the rain and the
:47:56. > :48:01.snow and the wind. You are probably are out of the house for an hour
:48:01. > :48:04.longer because it takes longer to get home. I have to go to the
:48:04. > :48:14.Freeman Hospital to get treatment and I do not know how I will get
:48:14. > :48:15.
:48:15. > :48:19.there. I will have to get a taxi. My wife cannot walk. It is tempting
:48:19. > :48:22.for bus companies to reduce services where there are no
:48:22. > :48:29.passengers, but this is a scheme that could see those routes stay
:48:29. > :48:33.open. It is called a quality contract. Companies would be
:48:33. > :48:39.awarded contracts to run buses on certain routes and be paid money to
:48:39. > :48:48.do so. The local authority would make up any shortfall between the
:48:48. > :48:53.fares from the passengers and the amount of money required. A similar
:48:53. > :48:59.system operates in London. We need a system that is more comprehensive,
:48:59. > :49:05.that is easier to use and understand. We need a comprehensive
:49:05. > :49:10.network, not just as series of individual measures. We need is to
:49:10. > :49:13.deliver value for money for taxpayers. Bus companies dismiss
:49:13. > :49:18.comparisons with London and most want a partnership agreement
:49:18. > :49:23.between them and the councils instead. The bus companies also
:49:23. > :49:27.believe that this could leave a big hole in the public finances.
:49:27. > :49:31.Quality contracts are very expensive and they rely on
:49:31. > :49:36.passenger growth. The ratepayer will have to subsidise the
:49:36. > :49:42.difference. Such is the anger, legal action may be looming from
:49:42. > :49:47.the bus operators. The business would be at risk, and we cannot
:49:47. > :49:51.afford to lose another business in the North of England. This fighting
:49:51. > :49:57.cock has alarmed some people, among them one councillor who belongs to
:49:57. > :50:02.the region's transporter authority. This will lead to a war between the
:50:02. > :50:10.transport authorities and the bus companies. It will end up hurting
:50:10. > :50:14.the passengers in terms of the taxpayers and the cost. I cannot
:50:14. > :50:18.see the bus companies taking this lightly. The Transport Select
:50:18. > :50:23.Committee accused bus companies in the North East of running a non-
:50:23. > :50:29.aggression pact, not competing with each other in some places. It is
:50:29. > :50:35.something that they deny. The bus companies receive almost half of
:50:35. > :50:39.their income from the taxpayer already. That will not change, but
:50:39. > :50:45.the system will deliver greater transparency about how the money is
:50:45. > :50:50.being spent. The passengers have to wait for the outcome of this war on
:50:50. > :50:57.the buses. Catherine McKinnell, with cuts as they are, whoever runs
:50:57. > :51:02.this, the councils are the bus service, there will be cuts. What
:51:02. > :51:07.difference will this make? It is dead are stating for the people who
:51:07. > :51:13.are affected by their routes being cut. I have had this problem in my
:51:13. > :51:17.own constituency. They are being cut back because they are not
:51:17. > :51:22.profitable for the bus companies. You can take an overall view of the
:51:22. > :51:27.requirements of the people within the vicinity and how can the bus
:51:28. > :51:33.routes the best directed to those people. These are some of the most
:51:33. > :51:37.vulnerable people that are losing their routes. Elderly people. The
:51:37. > :51:42.routes are being pulled overnight and it is very difficult for
:51:42. > :51:49.vulnerable people to accept. Alan Beith, it is not affecting
:51:49. > :51:54.your area, but should it do? does, because in rural areas the
:51:54. > :51:57.bus services are subsidised. Local authorities are deciding what
:51:57. > :52:03.routes there should be and subsidising the bus companies to
:52:03. > :52:07.provide them. But they are not always the routes that people want.
:52:07. > :52:12.I have had the same experience as Catherine McKinnell, routes been
:52:12. > :52:18.cancelled. People get very angry and upset when they lose access to
:52:18. > :52:24.buses. Is this not part of the problem caused by cuts introduced
:52:24. > :52:29.by your government? Part of the problem is money. There is not
:52:29. > :52:35.limitless money available. It seems mad to cut services that help the
:52:35. > :52:39.environment and people? That is why there is a significant bus subsidy.
:52:39. > :52:44.Local authorities do have a role to play. There is scope for some kind
:52:44. > :52:50.of partnership. I would be appalled if the bus companies went to court
:52:50. > :52:54.and the local authorities spent lots of money on legal fees.
:52:54. > :52:59.Effective partnership between local councils and bus companies would be
:53:00. > :53:05.worthwhile. If this leads to a battle in the courts, that will not
:53:05. > :53:15.help passengers? Nobody wants that, the cost, the time wasted on
:53:15. > :53:19.battling this out. I think Bridget Phillipson summed it up well. This
:53:19. > :53:25.gives a stronger voice to the taxpayers who are subsidising the
:53:25. > :53:29.services, and local people who really rely on these services.
:53:29. > :53:34.you get politicians involved in this, do they not take their
:53:34. > :53:43.favourites? They will look at who is working and Wear, and they will
:53:43. > :53:51.decide that is the bus rate they will bother about? No, they will
:53:51. > :53:54.focus on the needs of people. It is mostly elderly people in my
:53:54. > :54:00.constituency that need to stay connected with their local
:54:00. > :54:05.community, to get to the doctor. It is unrealistic to put that burden
:54:05. > :54:09.on people at the moment. The quality contract provides a good
:54:09. > :54:17.opportunity to rationalise the services. For a
:54:17. > :54:21.What an amazing summer it was with the Jubilee and the London Olympics.
:54:21. > :54:25.-- what an amazing summer. But I guess you may have been left
:54:25. > :54:28.feeling a little flat once it all finished. But do not worry because
:54:28. > :54:32.there is something to cheer us all up to as the nights draw in. 60
:54:32. > :54:35.Seconds is back and so is our very own champion sprinter, Mark Denten.
:54:35. > :54:39.On your marks, get set, go. The West Coast rail line through
:54:40. > :54:46.Cumbria should be renationalise the according to the union that
:54:46. > :54:49.describes the franchising process as costly and shambolic. More than
:54:49. > :54:54.1,200 residents in Sedgefield have signed a petition opposing cuts to
:54:54. > :54:58.the opening hours of their library. Mothers to be in Northumberland are
:54:58. > :55:03.facing a gruelling journey to give birth after the suspension of
:55:03. > :55:09.services at Berwick maternity unit. This announcement caused great
:55:09. > :55:14.distress to much-respected midwives locally. It caused fury in the
:55:14. > :55:20.local community where we have had a large rally, and habitation, with
:55:20. > :55:25.names being added to it minute by minute. In Newcastle, City Deal to
:55:25. > :55:30.speed up regeneration was approved, followed swiftly by �6 million of
:55:30. > :55:35.government money for faster broadband. After a three-year
:55:35. > :55:44.campaign, county councillors voted down a plan to set up a brand new
:55:44. > :55:48.council in Durham. The maternity unit in Berwick,
:55:48. > :55:53.there have been protests and you had the debate in the House of
:55:53. > :55:57.Commons. What happens next because the maternity unit remains closed?
:55:57. > :56:02.There is a review taking place and it needs to come up with plans to
:56:03. > :56:07.enable the majority of mothers to have their babies in Berwick. They
:56:07. > :56:11.will have the back-up and the safety that they need. That can be
:56:11. > :56:17.achieved by giving midwives wrote opportunities to serve in busier
:56:17. > :56:27.units. There will always be some birds that have to take place at a
:56:27. > :56:29.
:56:29. > :56:33.bigger centre because there are risks involved. -- births. Do we
:56:33. > :56:38.not have to accept in a world where money is short, and where this is
:56:38. > :56:43.about medical expertise, that you have to concentrate some services
:56:43. > :56:46.in bigger hospitals? Yes, and we have seen that occur with the
:56:46. > :56:51.children's heart unit recently, where they were rationalising those
:56:51. > :56:56.services, but what is deeply worrying is where it is an
:56:56. > :57:01.economically driven change, where the cuts are purely driven by money.
:57:01. > :57:06.Before the election, David Cameron promised 3,000 brand-new midwives
:57:06. > :57:09.and none of those have been delivered. It is worrying that
:57:09. > :57:13.midwives services and the importance start in life for a
:57:13. > :57:21.newborn baby could be undermined or they could be put in danger by
:57:22. > :57:27.these cuts. No MP it ever wants to support the reduction in services,
:57:27. > :57:35.but does some of this not go back to the previous government? It is a
:57:35. > :57:39.difficult issue. Sometimes MPs are not clear enough. Where safety
:57:39. > :57:45.requires services to provided elsewhere, in a centre with more
:57:45. > :57:55.back-up, but you cannot carry that to the extreme, childbirth and out
:57:55. > :57:58.
:57:58. > :58:02.with 50 miles. -- childbirth outwith a 50 mile region.
:58:02. > :58:05.And that is about it from us. Do join us again next week at our new
:58:05. > :58:08.regular time of 11 o'clock when MPs for Hartlepool and Stockton will be
:58:08. > :58:11.among my guests. We will also be hearing from Labour leader Ed
:58:11. > :58:13.Miliband in the second of our party leader interviews. There is more