:01:31. > :01:34.In the North East and Cumbria: We talk to Labour leader Ed Miliband.
:01:34. > :01:44.Plus, the rural schools that could lose out on tens of thousands of
:01:44. > :01:44.
:01:44. > :36:59.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2115 seconds
:36:59. > :37:05.pounds because of a new Government Hello, and a very warm welcome to
:37:05. > :37:09.your local part of the show just for the North East and Cumbria.
:37:09. > :37:12.Coming up: Why some schools in Cumbria fear they could lose up to
:37:12. > :37:15.a THIRD of their budget if a new Government funding formula is
:37:15. > :37:19.introduced. My guests this week are two Teesside MPs - Hartlepool's
:37:19. > :37:22.Iain Wright and Stockton South MP James Wharton. Well, Stockton is
:37:22. > :37:25.just one of the many places where residents have been flooded out of
:37:25. > :37:28.their homes this week - it's been the same awful story, of course,
:37:28. > :37:38.for people living in Morpeth and many parts of County Durham,
:37:38. > :37:41.
:37:41. > :37:44.Teesside and North Yorkshire. It is painful for people, isn't it?
:37:44. > :37:52.A local beck cricket banks and people had to sleep overnight in
:37:52. > :37:58.the local swimming baths. -- broke its banks. It has a huge impact on
:37:58. > :38:01.individuals. Before we get into the meat of this, have all politicians
:38:01. > :38:07.been a bit guilty with failing to grapple with the enormity of this
:38:07. > :38:13.problem? What you will see, with volatility and climate change, is
:38:13. > :38:17.more and more of these extreme weather conditions. It might not be
:38:17. > :38:19.considered particularly glamourous but getting to grips with
:38:19. > :38:23.infrastructure when it comes to flooding is something all
:38:23. > :38:27.politicians of all parties need to tackle. Well, in Morpeth, of course,
:38:27. > :38:29.it's a repeat of the flooding of 2008. But four years on, the flood
:38:29. > :38:32.defences that would have saved people's homes haven't yet been
:38:32. > :38:39.built. Our correspondent Mark Denten asked the local MP Ian
:38:39. > :38:43.Lavery what he could do about it. It is essential that we investigate
:38:43. > :38:47.every means possible to try and bring forward a new system before
:38:47. > :38:50.2014. The last thing in the world we want is this to happen again
:38:50. > :38:55.before we even start the construction of the new flood
:38:55. > :39:01.defence system. But the system was in place, the finances were in
:39:01. > :39:04.place, but the coalition government decided to cut the budget for the
:39:04. > :39:08.third defence systems in 2010, which meant we had to find the
:39:08. > :39:13.finance. The local authority came to the rescue so the financial
:39:13. > :39:17.package is there and the planning is there. Everything is there now
:39:17. > :39:22.to start this system, which is a Rolls-Royce system. My view is that
:39:22. > :39:29.we should be seeking to ensure that this is brought forward. It never
:39:29. > :39:34.mind waiting until 2014. We should start at A S A P two ensure the
:39:34. > :39:38.best interests of the people here in Morpeth. You pulled the plug on
:39:38. > :39:43.this funding as part of your cuts. The people who paid the price are
:39:43. > :39:48.the people who have had their homes flooded again. It is just not the
:39:48. > :39:54.case that one government is failing to invest in flood defences. The
:39:54. > :39:58.government will be spending over the next four years... There was
:39:58. > :40:01.uncertainty over government funding. The flooding that caused the
:40:01. > :40:05.investigation of the scheme was in 2008 and it does take time to bring
:40:05. > :40:10.these things in. A minister was in Morpeth the other day and made it
:40:10. > :40:12.very clear that scheme will go ahead. We have seen a huge increase
:40:12. > :40:16.in the amount the government is going to be spending on flood
:40:16. > :40:19.defence schemes in the north-east. It is not a moment too soon because
:40:19. > :40:26.we can see that, increasingly, we are having communities that suffer
:40:26. > :40:29.from these problems with the erratic weather and heavy rainfall.
:40:29. > :40:34.As the government allowed to too many homes to be built on flood
:40:34. > :40:39.plains? I think it is important that homes and buildings are built
:40:39. > :40:43.in appropriate areas. I have to take issue with what James said. We
:40:43. > :40:49.have seen a 27% cut in flood defences. It has been incredibly
:40:49. > :40:54.short-sighted. Ian Lavery was spot- on when he said they had cut and as
:40:54. > :40:58.a result, people's homes had been flooded. A we are not going to get
:40:58. > :41:03.agreement on the figures. This general principle is that if you
:41:03. > :41:09.had not built as many homes in vulnerable areas, they would not be
:41:09. > :41:11.flooded. What you need to do - and I looked at this closely as a
:41:11. > :41:15.former housing minister - is to make sure there are appropriate
:41:15. > :41:21.schemes in place. We need more homes for the population of our
:41:21. > :41:27.country. You need to mitigate the risk with appropriate defences and
:41:27. > :41:37.infrastructure. It costs a fortune. So, what do we do? Have to we
:41:37. > :41:39.
:41:39. > :41:44.abandon York because it is going to be flooded every year? unsure
:41:44. > :41:51.government's planning policies going to make this was? -- on to
:41:51. > :41:55.York. A lot of the places where we are seeing problems, those houses
:41:55. > :41:59.have been there for a long time. This is a changing weather pattern.
:41:59. > :42:03.We can avoid making it worse. have to invest in it and that is
:42:03. > :42:10.what this government is to ring. It is going to spend more every year,
:42:10. > :42:14.in this tough environment, than Labour spent in 13 years. We have
:42:14. > :42:17.got change in weather and we have to get value for money when
:42:17. > :42:23.investing in this sort of project. Clearly there is a real need for
:42:23. > :42:29.that investment. We will see it in Morpeth, with those defences start
:42:29. > :42:38.very soon. You can always do more and we have to continue to campaign,
:42:38. > :42:41.to be sure they get the priority they need. We cannot abandon York
:42:41. > :42:45.but then maybe some smaller communities where it has to be
:42:45. > :42:49.ensured that because of the defences is not going to be worth
:42:49. > :42:52.more than the value of their homes. A one of the things the last Labour
:42:53. > :42:57.government did was to come to an agreement with insurance companies,
:42:57. > :43:03.whereby people at risk of flooding had appropriate, in -- affordable
:43:03. > :43:08.insurance premiums. The government is very late in coming to the
:43:09. > :43:12.negotiating table. Thanks very much. Now, the Labour conference gets
:43:12. > :43:16.under way this afternoon. And the party goes into it with a decent
:43:16. > :43:19.lead in the opinion polls. But Labour is facing scrutiny of their
:43:19. > :43:23.economic policies. The government accuses Ed Miliband of attacking
:43:23. > :43:28.the austerity programme without explaining where Labour's cuts
:43:28. > :43:38.would fall. Ed Miliband made friends at this year's minors'
:43:38. > :43:40.
:43:40. > :43:50.Taylor in Durham but he has to answer whether supporting...
:43:50. > :43:53.
:43:53. > :44:03.Billions of pounds... When I met Mr Miliband this week, we started by
:44:03. > :44:03.
:44:04. > :44:06.talking about the economy. If Labour won the next election would
:44:06. > :44:11.he consider setting up a new version of the development agency
:44:11. > :44:15.One North East? We are going to set up a youth jobs task force because
:44:15. > :44:19.the biggest priority I have is to get the ball back to work. That is
:44:19. > :44:22.what day one for me as Prime Minister will be about. We are
:44:22. > :44:27.going to wear with councils to ask how we can do it even before we get
:44:27. > :44:30.to government. I understand that and that helps the country. But our
:44:30. > :44:33.region has the worst employment rate in the country. If you will
:44:33. > :44:38.not commit to a regional development agency, what specialist
:44:39. > :44:42.help can you offer? Youth jobs - I think that is the big priority.
:44:42. > :44:46.When you go round and talk to people and see what has happened to
:44:46. > :44:49.long-term youth employment in the north-east, that needs to happen.
:44:50. > :44:54.don't understand what you are going to do specifically for the north-
:44:54. > :44:59.east. We are going to levy a banker's' bonus tax and use the
:44:59. > :45:02.money to put young be back to work. We are going to say to employers
:45:02. > :45:06.that we will give the money for wages but they have to provide
:45:06. > :45:10.training. When you see the astronomical increase in youth
:45:10. > :45:14.unemployment brighter across the north-east, it is such a priority
:45:14. > :45:18.for people. It is the right thing to do and people will ask why we
:45:18. > :45:23.are leaving young people languishing on the dole. You will
:45:23. > :45:26.have met quite a few public sector workers recently. They have had to
:45:26. > :45:31.endure a pay freeze, which you supported for the last couple of
:45:31. > :45:38.years. Will we see more pay freezes if you are in office? We will make
:45:38. > :45:42.that judgment at a time of the election. Let me explain. We will
:45:42. > :45:47.make the judgments about what we can afford, including pay
:45:47. > :45:50.settlements in the public sector, at the time of the election. When
:45:50. > :45:54.we know what the public finances are like, at the time of the
:45:54. > :45:58.election, we will set out our place. We have announced nothing about
:45:58. > :46:03.what we will do in government at about pay and you would at expect
:46:03. > :46:08.us to do at this stage. It is the top position to say, let's put jobs
:46:08. > :46:11.ahead of pay now in this Parliament. I understand why people are upset
:46:11. > :46:14.about that. We have got to be realistic about the choices we
:46:14. > :46:18.would be facing if we were in government now. The difference
:46:18. > :46:22.between us and this government is that we would make sure it was fair,
:46:22. > :46:26.so it was not a 1% pay increase right across the board about we
:46:26. > :46:30.treated the low-paid much better than the high paid. Second, we will
:46:30. > :46:33.not be going down the road of regional pay. The government is
:46:33. > :46:36.saying they want regional pay with people in the North paid less than
:46:36. > :46:41.in the South. But is totally wrong and a Labour government is not
:46:41. > :46:46.going to go down the road of regional pay. You are looking for
:46:46. > :46:50.new ideas, I am sure. Nick Brown has a new idea - cancel Trident and
:46:50. > :46:54.spend the money on tuition fees. Would you support that? We have set
:46:54. > :46:59.out how we would lower tuition fees. We would put a gap of �6,000 on
:46:59. > :47:04.them. You could make them even lower if you cancel Trident. We are
:47:04. > :47:08.looking at the issue of defence spending and what will happen to
:47:08. > :47:16.Trident. I am not for a unilateral disarmament. We should have a
:47:16. > :47:21.multilateral approach. A new nuclear power station for Cumbria -
:47:21. > :47:24.will you come into that even if it means spending taxpayers' many?
:47:24. > :47:29.am in favour of nuclear power and we showed in government how we can
:47:29. > :47:33.make nuclear power happen. It is not so much about taxpayers' money.
:47:33. > :47:37.There is not an easy answer. I think it is part of the solution.
:47:37. > :47:41.It is not the only solution but part of the solution to the
:47:41. > :47:47.problems we face. Iain Wright, you and your colleagues have gone on
:47:47. > :47:55.and on about the demise of One at North Beast. Are you disappointed
:47:55. > :47:58.he would not bring it back? In my role as shadow industry minister at,
:47:58. > :48:02.what businesses do not want is this that in new terms from government-
:48:02. > :48:08.to-government. You have criticised the government wants. You have a
:48:08. > :48:13.chance to reverse it. Let's see what the local economic
:48:13. > :48:17.partnerships are doing. One in the Tees Valley is doing well. The last
:48:17. > :48:21.thing businesses want to have is more uncertainty, which means less
:48:21. > :48:25.investment. We need to try to provide as clear a cause as
:48:25. > :48:29.possible. It is a question of seeing what works, rather than just
:48:29. > :48:32.committing to overturn everything a previous government does. That is
:48:32. > :48:36.not proper politics and businesses do not want to see that. James
:48:36. > :48:40.Wharton, maybe your government will not introduce regional pay but as
:48:40. > :48:46.long as it is on the table, it is pretty toxic for your party in this
:48:46. > :48:52.region. I would be very surprised if we saw regional pay introduced.
:48:52. > :48:56.It is something that we may well see forgotten but time will tell.
:48:56. > :48:59.The Treasury is right to look at all options. It is damaging because
:48:59. > :49:03.it gives the possession -- perception that people in the north
:49:03. > :49:06.are worth less than people in the South. A I accept that that is an
:49:06. > :49:10.argument the Labour party will try to put forward but it is not one in
:49:10. > :49:14.which we should engage. I do not think it is likely to happen so the
:49:14. > :49:18.idea that we need to spend a great deal of time worrying about it...
:49:18. > :49:22.It is just not going to come. For all the questions you asked, I do
:49:22. > :49:26.not be you got any answers. Watching Ed Miliband, he just did
:49:26. > :49:33.not look like a future prime minister. But Labour Party got the
:49:33. > :49:37.wrong Miliband. At least the government has got a regional
:49:37. > :49:40.policy. It has the regional growth fund and the local economic
:49:41. > :49:46.partnerships. What is Labour's policy? We need to rebalance the
:49:46. > :49:49.economy, not just in terms of the sectors. The north-east has huge
:49:49. > :49:54.potential when it comes to rebalancing. I don't hear anything
:49:54. > :49:59.different and James would probably say. We need an industrial strategy,
:49:59. > :50:03.in close conjunction with business, with industry, to ensure we can
:50:03. > :50:08.exploit our strength in manufacturing, in growth sectors
:50:08. > :50:12.like the automotive industry and energy on Teesside. We need a clear
:50:12. > :50:17.framework of policy to allow that to happen. We do not have a
:50:17. > :50:20.certainty. Public sector workers are very angry about what you'll
:50:20. > :50:26.leader did in terms of the pay restraint. It sounds like there may
:50:26. > :50:30.be more in the future. We are three years away from a general election.
:50:30. > :50:34.Public finances are deteriorating markedly. We do not know what we
:50:34. > :50:37.would inherit and 2015 so it is perfectly reasonable for the leader
:50:38. > :50:45.of the Labour Party not to be able to commit three years away from it
:50:45. > :50:53.general election. I know workers in my own constituency are suffering...
:50:53. > :50:56.Group briefly, how wrong could keep pay freeze last? It was initially
:50:56. > :51:03.introduced to four two years. We would like to see it removed as
:51:03. > :51:06.quickly as it is practical to do so. Now, rural schools often face a
:51:06. > :51:09.struggle for survival. But now there's fears that a change to the
:51:09. > :51:11.way the Government allocates money could force some of them to cut
:51:11. > :51:14.staff or close down altogether. In Cumbria, almost a hundred schools
:51:14. > :51:20.could lose out - although others would gain from the changes. Our
:51:20. > :51:26.Cumbria political reporter Megan Paterson went to find out more.
:51:26. > :51:30.The more precise the measurements, the better the result. A few more
:51:30. > :51:34.drops of alkali to make it neutral. But when it comes to school budgets,
:51:34. > :51:38.it is hard to reach the bear-pit solution. A national funding
:51:38. > :51:41.formula is designed to make the allocation of money between a
:51:41. > :51:48.school simpler. But schools and Cumbria believe it will cost them
:51:48. > :51:53.precious resources. At this school, they stand to lose more than
:51:53. > :51:56.�250,000 - a third of the Budget. If they were to go ahead as has
:51:56. > :52:00.been suggested, that would have a very detrimental effect on my
:52:00. > :52:04.school and all the other small secondary schools in Cumbria. It
:52:04. > :52:09.could potentially close them. One family comes down from a farm on a
:52:09. > :52:13.Land Rover, are picked up by a village minibus, and that brings
:52:13. > :52:22.them to the pub car-park and then the school bus picks them up. They
:52:22. > :52:27.are already doing a journey of an hour to school. I think three
:52:27. > :52:31.Allison a bus is a long time for children. All schools, regardless
:52:31. > :52:36.of size, it would be given the same lump sum of cash under the plans.
:52:36. > :52:40.That would be topped up based on factors like the number of pupils
:52:40. > :52:46.and levels of deprivation. But overall, councils will have far
:52:46. > :52:51.less power to direct funds to schools in greater need.
:52:51. > :52:54.problem with a national formula is, obviously, it means every local
:52:54. > :52:59.authority has to allocate funding in the same way, with very limited
:52:59. > :53:04.discretion. At the moment, we have greater discretion to target the
:53:04. > :53:09.funding that Cumbria has to the areas we think are a priority. In
:53:09. > :53:13.future, our hands are going to be tied. Based on Cumbria County
:53:13. > :53:21.Council's figures, 98 Schools here will lose money under the new
:53:21. > :53:28.formula, with reductions ranging from 1% to 30%. By 132 schools will
:53:28. > :53:32.gain with increases between 6% and 25%. In a statement, the Department
:53:32. > :53:35.for Education said the government was firmly committed to rural
:53:35. > :53:38.schools and recognise that the challenges they face. It believes
:53:38. > :53:43.the new funding formula still gives local authorities the power to
:53:43. > :53:47.protect small schools. In rural areas like Cumbria and
:53:47. > :53:54.Northumberland, there is greatest concern. MPs in Colombia are
:53:54. > :53:57.hopeful they can get ministers to adapt the formula. -- Cumbria.
:53:57. > :54:02.is very serious but is easily fixed if we can get the county council
:54:02. > :54:08.and the government to agree. All that needs to happen is that a
:54:08. > :54:13.separate fund could be used to flexor be top of the schools that
:54:13. > :54:18.could potentially close. -- flexibly. It needs to be crude but
:54:18. > :54:22.into the current formula. But not everyone is convinced that
:54:22. > :54:26.campaigning will make a difference. I do not think in recent years we
:54:26. > :54:31.have had much evidence that local issues have been taken into account.
:54:32. > :54:36.In education, the agenda now from Michael Gove is for academies and
:54:36. > :54:43.central control of a cannabis, not about local schools. -- of
:54:43. > :54:49.academies. Whatever the outcome, teachers are hoping their pupils
:54:49. > :54:54.will be the winners. Whatever the details of this
:54:54. > :54:58.formula, it takes some spectacular mismanagement for the government to
:54:58. > :55:01.turn its own supporters against its own policy. It would have that was
:55:01. > :55:05.actually the case. One of the problems the government is trying
:55:05. > :55:08.to address is that under the current complex system, two similar
:55:08. > :55:12.schools of similar size is with similar challenges have different
:55:12. > :55:15.levels of funding. That needs to be ironed out but in doing that, we
:55:15. > :55:20.have promised there will be a minimum funding guaranteed. Some
:55:20. > :55:27.schools will be winners and some less successful but no school will
:55:27. > :55:31.lose more than 1.5% per pupil funding, which is a pretty high cap.
:55:31. > :55:35.These schools are saying up to 30% budget cuts. The schools say there
:55:36. > :55:45.is no way they could survive. don't be we will see schools get
:55:46. > :55:46.
:55:46. > :55:51.that sort of funding cut. - but don't think. There will be a cap to
:55:51. > :55:55.ensure no school loses more than 1.5% per pupil and many, many
:55:55. > :55:59.schools will do better out of this. There will always be winners and
:55:59. > :56:05.losers in any change to a formula for stop it is up to councils to
:56:05. > :56:08.use common sense, isn't it? I am in favour of a system that is less
:56:08. > :56:13.burdensome but I was speaking to some schools in my constituency
:56:13. > :56:16.this week. I mentioned I was going to be on here talking about a
:56:16. > :56:22.national funding formula. They were incandescent about it. It is not
:56:22. > :56:26.just a rural areas. It seems across the board in Hartlepool, in a
:56:26. > :56:31.relatively deprived area that has had good educational standards,
:56:31. > :56:36.pupils will miss out. This is not fair and we will support any system
:56:36. > :56:41.that is simpler but much fairer. Michael Gove is not listening.
:56:41. > :56:45.odd thing about this is that not just in Hartlepool but in Cumbria,
:56:45. > :56:55.some of the schools are in relatively poor urban areas. He
:56:55. > :56:59.
:56:59. > :57:03.goes against the idea of the Bupa premium. -- people a premium.
:57:03. > :57:07.you have a net benefit overall, it brings a lot of money in. In any
:57:07. > :57:11.change, there will be those who do better and those who do less well.
:57:11. > :57:14.What is important is that the Government listens and local MPs
:57:14. > :57:20.make the cases, where there are anomalies, to make sure it is done
:57:20. > :57:25.right. No schools are going to lose out to the levels that has been
:57:25. > :57:29.talked about in the predictions. The guarantee will kick in and
:57:29. > :57:34.protect their funding. To do you accept they raise this safety net
:57:34. > :57:38.guarantee? Grip were nine mentioned I was coming on here, head teachers
:57:38. > :57:48.said to me that their pupils would lose out and their education would
:57:48. > :57:48.
:57:48. > :57:52.suffer. Are you saying teachers are wrong? Teachers will legitimately
:57:52. > :57:56.have concerns about any change. When this is implemented, it will
:57:56. > :58:01.be seen to be a better and more straightforward and understandable
:58:01. > :58:05.system and will be fairer, across the board, for young people. Does
:58:05. > :58:09.it matter if schools close? In an age of austerity, isn't bad going
:58:09. > :58:12.to happen? Of course it matters. Schools will sometimes have to
:58:12. > :58:18.close because of local circumstances but a change of
:58:18. > :58:21.funding formula should not directly lead to schools closing. Thank you
:58:21. > :58:24.both for your contributions. I'm sure you've been glued to the
:58:24. > :58:28.party conference coverage this week. I don't know about you, but I just
:58:28. > :58:31.can't get enough of those Lib Dems. If so, you may just have missed
:58:31. > :58:38.some of the other political goings- on this week. But never fear - Mark
:58:38. > :58:43.Denten is here, with his regular round-up of the week in 60 seconds.
:58:43. > :58:47.The decision to move printing of a local paper out of the area with
:58:47. > :58:50.the loss of 81 jobs has been condemned by the Bishop of Durham.
:58:50. > :58:54.He said it was bad news for Sunderland and a north-east but
:58:54. > :58:58.welcomed the prospect of new jobs at Rolls-Royce. The outgoing Chief
:58:58. > :59:03.Constable of Durham expressed his reservations about any police and
:59:03. > :59:08.Crown Commissioners, who will be elected in November. I have
:59:08. > :59:11.concerns about the rationale behind them and about some of the dilemmas
:59:11. > :59:16.that may be presented between the chief constable and a police and
:59:16. > :59:22.crime commission a. A one-to-one relationship does away with some of
:59:22. > :59:26.the checks and balances that the police authority has now. The party
:59:26. > :59:31.-- Labour Party chose its candidate to fight for Carlisle in the next
:59:31. > :59:34.election. She is currently eight city councillor. It will be
:59:35. > :59:39.farewell to Stephen Hughes, who has announced he will not stand again
:59:39. > :59:42.at the next election, having served 30 years in the European Parliament.
:59:42. > :59:45.And that's about it from us. Next week we'll be looking at the
:59:45. > :59:48.growing campaign against the closure of local banks. I'll also
:59:48. > :59:51.be speaking exclusively to Prime Minister David Cameron. So do join
:59:51. > :59:55.us from 11am next Sunday for that. In the meantime you can follow me