09/12/2012 Sunday Politics North East and Cumbria

In the north-east and Cumbria, the private company brought in to

tackle youth unemployment into the north-east. Candy's methods stop a

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2125 seconds

Thanks Andrew and a warm welcome to the local part of the show for the

North East and Cumbria. Coming up: The private company brought in to

tackle youth unemployment on Teesside. Can they turn around

young lives? We've a special report. My guests are the Newcastle MP Chi

Onwurah who this week tore into the Chancellor accusing him of treating

people on benefits in the North East as "work-shy scroungers". Also

with me, Conservative councillor in Northumberland, Wayne Daley who as

far as I know didn't have a go at Mr Osborne. Welcome to you both.

Let's start with the Autumn Statement. Your starter for 10.

is not good for the north-east and Cumbria. The Chancellor is going to

a contract. It is not growing. In the north-east, we know that if we

are going to get Investment and the economy growing, as we had in the

past under the RDAs, but economic production is not going up. Let's

these that for the moment. When Daly, put the case for the defence.

Given the world economy, the Chancellor has done a tremendous

job in trying to pervert -- preserve the UK economy. There is

some good news in there for the north-east. This is something

people need to look at. �64 million investment in the A1. �64 million

of investment in the north-east. �17 million investment in brain

1,500 homes back into use in the north-east, which unsure Chi

Onwurah would support. I think they are things in particular which

corporation tax is going to help a lot of business. It is a difficult

time, it is a difficult world economy, but there just a has done

the best he can given a typical situation. More on that later. The

Chancellor did offer some investment in the A1. Faster proper

and in places like York. But most of it was about cutting spending.

The government of course as to convince voters that the pain will

be worth it in the end, and none of that is more true than in the

constituencies that the Conservatives must hold on to. We

go to Stockton South. When politicians go to the squeeze will,

there are a friend to couples like this. Amy Johnson is self employed

and a partner is a teacher. She says they have already lost �200 a

month in tax benefits. I am slightly confirmed -- concerned

about the 1% fee. Inflation is higher than that, so it is going to

be another price cut. They have been talking about stopping

paternity benefits and things like that. That is something we were

looking at, to have more children. But if we can't afford it, there is

going to be no extra support, be borne not be able to afford any

other children, and double BAA build shame. She is not convinced

the cuts are being made in the right places. At the end of the day,

we have to deal with this. They have been spending way beyond their

means for a long time. They have been a lot of promises and a lot of

contradictory stuff. What is being taken our way with one hand is

being given with another. I cannot seen - but I cannot see me being

Petrov any time soon. The charter says the economy are he -- the

economy is healing. Asked people in the constituency. It is very hard.

You do not know what is going to happen from one paid to the next.

At times they help the wrong people. They need to look at getting people

back into work, and support those, rather than penalise those that are

working. It is a difficult time for everybody, but the north-east seems

to be cursing from those thing. They are things happening in the

south but we do not get any benefit from. So art local businesses any

Big business has got its percentage of corporation tax, but that does

not affect the small business at all. I would like to have seen

something along the lines of national insurance tax, which is a

tax on employees, upward like to have seen that being looked at, but

as for a small business, absolutely nothing. Wayne Daley, you saw Amy

Johnson there. She says she has been hit in the pocket. One of the

things we need to understand is that the charter says we are all in

this together. I know you make a mockery of it! But her child

benefit is being cut. On those points, even under the Labour

manifesto in 2010, public sector salaries were at 1%. We are just

matching benefits to public sector pay settlements. You're not helping

the very people you said he would help. In north-east, 10,000 people

have been taken out of paying any tax whatsoever. This is really

important. Pensions are not on a 1% cap. They will go above the rate of

inflation. Back to me, why should pensioners be protected? Some of

them will be much better off, and yet working families, a lot of the

benefits affect them. Back to the families who are working, one of

the things we have also done his counsel that per three p increase

in fuel, which will save �40 a year on fuel bills. We have done a lot

of things to support families. On the issue of pensioners, we are

going to move towards... And it is absolutely right that people go

were doing the right thing should not be penalised. Those people who

could work and should work should pay the price of doing that as well.

Chi Onwurah, let's deal with the benefits. You said he would vote...

We have no details of what is going to be in the benefits of proposals.

What this government does repeatedly is to take things that

there is cross-party consensus on, changing the competition law for

example, and adding to those bills and things but we are strongly

against. Would you personally be against these caps on benefits?

am very much in favour of benefit reform, which ensures that it pays

to work, and on and ensure -- by in... It is Goadby people in work

that is going to be hardest hit by this. If you are not in this... We

need to see what is in it. We need see what the details of the changes

are. But taking �3 billion away from benefits in order to give �3

billion in tax cuts to the very most wealthy, that is unfair, and

we definitely oppose that. But on the other side of that, under these

new tax regimes, there is one million more people in the 40 % tax

band. To say that we are somehow giving... But those people are

strivers. You are giving �100 -- �100,000 to people who own a

million, and you are taking away from people who are on just enough

to get by. They were not be taxed at all. We are getting people in...

If you were so vehemently opposed to it, won't she say you won't vote

against it? Star but a pen something towards it. If people are

A wanted to bring it back to business. You mentioned corporation

tax. As you heard in that film, for the vast majority are small

businesses, the backbone of the economy, it makes no difference. In

its defence took Martin axils. not the Chancellor, --

multinationals. It was one of Labour's brilliant ideas Turk put

National Insurance Cup. I think we could do more for those small

businesses. One of the things we can do is to create an economy that

is flourishing, and that is what we need to do. The danger here is that

you have lost the big argument, because a lot of people have bones

with individual cuts, but they broadly agreed. And absolutely, and

that is what we said before we went into the election. We are going to

cut the deficit over two terms, and George Osborne said that it had to

be done over five years. They cut massively out of a our economy.

They took billions in order to get it been want Parliament. But are

they achieving it, no. One example for businesses. They cut

manufacturing capital allowances. They have now brought bad back.

The economy will never get back on track as long as tens of thousands

of young people are languishing on the dole. But how to get them into

training or work when they've left school, often with no

qualifications, and with little self-esteem? Well the Government's

Youth Contract aims to tackle that - by using private firms to target

the young unemployed and get their lives back on track. I visited one

company in Teesside to find out more.

It starts today 10am Cole. Hi-tech, it is Lehane calling. It is just to

let you know that day, our driver, will be picking you up at 10:45am.

From the office, they are making sure the people are getting out of

bed. They are targeting people with no qualifications and no jobs.

These people are not going back into the classroom -- classroom.

They are going climbing. We need to find innovative methods to engage

with them. We can use sport, the media, whatever we can do to engage

with people. It is is not just to tempt the young people in. It is to

help their confidence climb. Part of the training, what we are

delivering is to get rid of the shyness and for you to build your

self-esteem. Small steps bed with a big encouragement. Get one hand on

here. Now it has jumped up. Yes, well done! Good effort. There are

other cheerleaders. Young people who were unemployed ones but are

now employed our role models. come down to their level, and for

them to understand. They can understand me, and know that they

can trust me. I am just trying to show that it can be done, that is

their routine. Is the getting there rooting, bacon just get in a better

life just by helping themselves. this will not rather cosy? Is the

changing their lives? It could be seen as a reward for failure. The

government -- the company says it can put in some other messages.

There is an element of tough love. If you do not engage with

programmes and training, they are more likely to be committing crime,

the more chance there is of growing up on benefits. And the children

growing up on benefits. The summer the are people here, that is

hitting home. I have no DCS seize on anything. This has given me the

way forward. Maybe it can get the qualifications and work. I am going

forward in life. Others badly behaved. I turned myself around,

came here, got work. There is a mountain to scale. One in five

The End goal has to be an employment. It should be gauged

towards a road of employment. So far, private companies have not

been a runaway success. Targets have been missed. It is too early

to say whether the use contract will be more successful. If these

young people's do not find jobs, the company does not get paid.

Let's get a trade union perspective. You should be applauding this?

Certainly, it is very positive. It is good see young people taking

early to in other young people. We do not know if it is going to be

working. Work programme has been a disaster. The statement in the

House of Commons this week, but unemployment is going to go up for

the next two years. It is going to come down after that. It may get

higher. The taxpayer cannot Mulhouse. If there is good work, it

is rewarded, and if it doesn't... That is one aspect. The problem

with youth contract is that there is too little, and employers...

so brilliant pounds. But it is delivering. -- �1 billion. It is

not making the slightest dent of youth unemployment. The Autumn

Statement revise the Peter how far unemployment. He said it was going

to go up by a certain extent, but it's just that this is working.

see that as a strategy failing. But we are going seek high unemployment

for the next two years. I would rather see a different method in

place. Using Prime -- private companies did not deliver. Why

should we believe this will be any better? Private companies have been

delivered for number of years. Debra Brazil by the previous Labour

government. But this only started in April. So it is very, very early

days to seek success. The one... is not hard to read what is

happening in the work programme. If I can just answer that up. The

issue about the work programme is that that was started at a time

when there was a massive downturn in the economy. By definition, then

they didn't quite reach their targets. You have rightly

identified that unemployment will not be catfight. Going back to the

issue, it is important that the feature on the -- focus on the

Select Committee, said that the use played is a good idea. It is a good

start. But we need to do more. I agree, but we needed invest in our

young people. They are given a chance that they were never be

given. But the government are backing quite a liberal approach

here. What the government is doing here, and firstly, the use contract

may have started in April, but we can get a good idea at the level of

the sex from the work programme. And I support innovative solutions

to get young people into work, but this is no need -- by no means an

Nath investments. But payment by results does not allow those who

have the funding and the backing to wait two or three years to see what

the results are. We have very little details on these contracts.

We saw what happened with the work programme. This is just the funding

but the last government put in for jobs and for young people, and it

may be a big difference. It cost a lot less. Is it all about the

money? The future jobs funk. Unemployment was rising quite a lot.

It is not all about money, but we need an approach that looks at

education and the support that it needs. The thing with youth

unemployment is that that unemployment having early in the

Korea, that is the most devastating impact. The costs continue in our

economy for decades to come, so this approach is not enough to help

our young children. Now: there's a bit of a retro feel to the

political news this week with the miners' strike again making the

headlines. With a round-up of the week's events in 60 seconds here's

Mark Denten. A man whose still got his 80s collection of Human League

and Kajagoogoo singles but not unfortunately his full head of hair.

unfortunately his full head of hair. A campaign has begun to crush the

criminal convictions of many striking miners. Men arrested on

that people -- picket line were not criminals, according to this man.

They have not done anything wrong. They be doing their jobs and paid a

heavy price. Jamie Reid has welcomed the creation of jobs at

Sellafield. He said that West Cumbria was at centre of global

excellence. Good news it in Sunderland, where this factory --

back using sun and, by this factory is closing. I swear by Almighty God

but I will be swearing true allegiance to at her Majesty's

He took the oath with two other winners of recent elections. -- by-

elections. I wanted to ask you about some of

the miners' strike confrontations. A if he feels that there is enough

evidence for the convictions to be evidence for the convictions to be

quashed, I have apps in no problem supporting it. What we have seen

under the judicial system that we have seen the bloody Sunday Review,

the Hillsborough repute. I think if there has been a miscarriage of

justice, we need is the natural justice take place. There has to be

a review, and any conviction that is unsound and wrong is to be

overturned. I have no problem supporting him. Is it really worth

the time and effort to open all of these cases? You are absolutely

right to consider the money it cost, but the miners' strike but was

really critical in present regional history. What has emerged from the

queue up to us back Hillsborough inquiry is that there is a

deliberate effort to criminalised the striking miners, partly to get

them out of picketing, but also just to get them out of the media.

That is an abuse of power on the part of the police, and it is

important. There's a lack of confidence. Are there police

officers that should be prosecuted? That is a difficult question. When

a police officer who deliberately sought to criminalise something --

someone who was innocent, that is a preacher public trust. I would

certainly support the call for an inquiry. Robert support the call

for those who may have been adversely affected by this. Whether

his responsibility, I do think people are answerable. Chi Onwurah,

Wayne Daley, thank you very much. And that's about if from us. Much