:01:25. > :01:29.In the North East and Cumbria: And other benefits bombshell. The
:01:29. > :01:39.unemployed and low income families have to pay council tax for the
:01:39. > :01:39.
:01:39. > :43:54.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2535 seconds
:43:54. > :44:00.Hello and a belated happy New Year. Welcome to your local part of the
:44:00. > :44:04.show. Joining me around the table, the Labour MP for Washington and
:44:04. > :44:10.Sunderland West, Sharon Hodgson, and the Conservative MP for
:44:10. > :44:16.Carlisle. Coming up, did a �9 billion public health scheme really
:44:16. > :44:22.help people in Middlesbrough get any fitter? The decision to limit
:44:22. > :44:24.the increase in benefits for the next three years. Benefits like
:44:24. > :44:29.jobseeker's allowance, Working Tax Credit and maternity play would
:44:29. > :44:33.normally go up with inflation but now they will be capped to 1%.
:44:33. > :44:39.Sharon Hodgson, like most of the Labour Party he voted against these
:44:39. > :44:44.plans, but a lot of people believe it is right to cut the welfare bill.
:44:44. > :44:48.It is right to cut the welfare bill and we need to do that by getting
:44:48. > :44:52.more people into work and higher- paid jobs so that the tax credits
:44:52. > :44:56.Bill comes down, but it is the unfairness of it. It is much easier
:44:56. > :45:00.to swallow one % rise which is in effect a cut when you're working
:45:00. > :45:05.and getting a salary than it is when you are on benefit because you
:45:05. > :45:10.have no capacity within the benefits. You say it is easier to
:45:10. > :45:14.swallow but a lot of public sector workers face this pay cap and their
:45:14. > :45:20.taxes are going to pay for benefits which you wanted to see operated by
:45:20. > :45:25.3%. When you're working, you have that capacity, that bit more money.
:45:25. > :45:29.Not everyone would agree with you. If you are talking about you only
:45:29. > :45:35.have �70 a week and you have to take a cut on that to see if you
:45:35. > :45:39.have only got �300 a week, it is easier on �300 a week to swallow a
:45:39. > :45:43.cut down on 70. John, this is hitting the poorest people in the
:45:43. > :45:49.pocket for three years to come. have to accept the backdrop of this.
:45:49. > :45:55.We have a budget deficit that is huge. But you are picking on the
:45:55. > :45:59.poorest people, that is the accusation. We are back -- asking
:45:59. > :46:04.people in the public sector to take one % increase in the next three
:46:04. > :46:08.years. It is only reasonable to ask people on benefits to do the same.
:46:08. > :46:14.Those in benefits in the last few years have received a 20% increase
:46:14. > :46:21.whereas those in employment have only received a 12 % increase.
:46:21. > :46:24.lot of people who will be affected are not working. Those who are in
:46:24. > :46:28.work, what we have done with that is increased their personal
:46:28. > :46:32.allowance. For those 2 million people now are not paying income
:46:32. > :46:36.tax because of the increase in personal allowance, on top of that,
:46:36. > :46:40.those on the minimum benefit have seen their tax half. We will come
:46:40. > :46:44.back to the issue of benefits because another bit of a change is
:46:44. > :46:48.about to take place, the abolition of council tax benefit. That is the
:46:48. > :46:52.help make available to those who cannot pay their full council tax.
:46:52. > :46:57.There will be 10% less money from central Government to fund it. It
:46:57. > :47:01.is now up to local councils to decide who will qualify for
:47:01. > :47:04.exemptions. That could mean some unemployed people on low income
:47:04. > :47:07.families have to pay a share of their council tax for the first
:47:07. > :47:14.time. The Meadow Well Estate in North
:47:14. > :47:19.Tyneside, high unemployment, high dependency on benefit. So many
:47:19. > :47:23.people here do not pay council tax. From April that could change. The
:47:23. > :47:30.council is protecting that for every one of working age, they pay
:47:30. > :47:38.at least 20% of their bill, or �200 a year minimum. Do I am already
:47:38. > :47:42.struggling. As you can see, that is already worrying people who get
:47:42. > :47:46.council tax benefit. People like part-time worker Denise and
:47:46. > :47:50.unemployed single parents colic and Philippa. Everyone has to take
:47:50. > :47:56.their fair share but this feels like another thing. When is it
:47:56. > :48:00.going to end? What is next? It makes people feel very vulnerable.
:48:00. > :48:05.I am a single parent with one child and that is asking not just me to
:48:05. > :48:11.live on less than what I am physically able to live on, but
:48:11. > :48:16.asking my child to do the same. People will struggle to pay and end
:48:16. > :48:21.up going to court and all the areas they will have to pay mean it is
:48:21. > :48:25.extra money on top of that. But the council says it needs to find a way
:48:25. > :48:28.of bridging the gap between the benefit bill and the money given it
:48:28. > :48:33.by the Government. It says unless everyone contributes, including
:48:33. > :48:39.those who have never played before, there will have to be cuts to
:48:39. > :48:43.services. There is a �1.8 billion gap to be found. If it does not
:48:44. > :48:49.come to this -- from this scheme it will have to come from other
:48:49. > :48:52.services. We have already done a lot of work to save money and
:48:53. > :48:56.responses from residents indicated that the majority feel people
:48:56. > :49:00.should make some contribution and a higher percentage felt that there
:49:00. > :49:04.should be a scheme which fits within the finances that are
:49:04. > :49:07.available. North Tyneside will not make a final decision on their
:49:07. > :49:11.council tax benefit regime until the end of January but others are
:49:11. > :49:15.looking at other solutions. Hambleton and Richmondshire in
:49:15. > :49:18.North Yorkshire are looking for residents to pay a minimum of 8.5 %,
:49:18. > :49:22.as are Newcastle, but other councils still believe they can
:49:22. > :49:27.prevent the poorest from paying any council tax. That includes Durham.
:49:27. > :49:31.It is managing to protect people who qualify for council tax benefit
:49:31. > :49:37.by removing discounts for second- home owners and raising the charge
:49:37. > :49:43.to 150 % on some empty hands. used to receive �55 million in
:49:43. > :49:46.grant funding from the Government. We now have a short for. If we pass
:49:46. > :49:52.that on to the working age households, they will have to find
:49:52. > :49:56.an average of �250 a year. This is money they have not got. So we
:49:56. > :50:00.thought for the first 12 months we would protect them. The council
:50:00. > :50:04.says it can only guarantee that support for one year and with many
:50:04. > :50:07.expecting even less Government funding in the future, it seems
:50:07. > :50:11.likely that more and more of the poorest will be asked to pay more
:50:11. > :50:17.and more council tax. Monica Burns is from the National
:50:17. > :50:21.Housing Federation which represents housing associations, many of the
:50:21. > :50:26.tenants of which will have to pay council tax in the future. If they
:50:26. > :50:31.do, what sort of impact will that have? Huge. We are talking about
:50:31. > :50:36.people whose incomes are already really stretched. It is actually
:50:36. > :50:41.the lowest paid, some are working, on benefits, but they really do not
:50:41. > :50:46.have much disposable income and flexibility within that. This is
:50:46. > :50:50.yet another thing that is asked of them. It is on top of the bedroom
:50:50. > :50:56.tax which we are very concerned about, which is going to be a huge
:50:56. > :51:01.thing for a lot of people. People in over occupancy of homes, three
:51:01. > :51:07.bedrooms when there is only one of them. Court Two bedrooms when there
:51:07. > :51:12.is only two of them. That is deemed to be under occupying. People are
:51:12. > :51:17.asked to pay extra per room. reality is the Government needs to
:51:17. > :51:22.save money and we need to share the pain, that is what they say.
:51:22. > :51:26.Exactly, and we feel that people are being asked to share too much
:51:26. > :51:31.of that pain. We have talked to many people. People are talking
:51:31. > :51:35.about going without food, heating, a lot of people are already relying
:51:35. > :51:39.on food banks and that is before these cuts to come in. So we are
:51:39. > :51:43.very concerned about the impact. Does it worry you that this will
:51:43. > :51:48.vary from place to place, different schemes and different councils. In
:51:48. > :51:52.neighbouring areas you can have one place where you pay council tax and
:51:52. > :51:56.another way you do not. Yes, and it will be difficult for housing
:51:56. > :51:59.associations to get on top of it as well because they may have stock in
:51:59. > :52:03.different areas and people in different areas will be eligible
:52:03. > :52:09.for different amounts of money. It will be difficult for us to
:52:09. > :52:16.manipulate. John Stevenson, this really is yet another cut to some
:52:16. > :52:21.of the poorest people, effectively. The councils have to try to take
:52:21. > :52:28.the flak. There are two issues, localism and the financial aspect.
:52:28. > :52:32.I welcome the decision because localism is important, allowing
:52:32. > :52:36.local authorities to decide what is right for their own communities. It
:52:36. > :52:40.is interesting to hear that innovation is coming from Durham
:52:40. > :52:44.council compared to the other councils. It is up to individual
:52:44. > :52:49.councils to decide what they do. It is up to the councils to decide
:52:49. > :52:52.what their priorities are. They can move resources if they wished so
:52:52. > :53:00.that there is no change or they can do other things. The road has been
:53:00. > :53:04.pulled from under them by a cutting the funded by 10%. For a lot of
:53:04. > :53:09.councils there is no choice, that either cut services or they start
:53:09. > :53:16.to raise council tax on the very poorest people in society. There is
:53:16. > :53:20.a variety of things they can do. Some councils are increasing second
:53:20. > :53:25.home council tax. In Carlisle, they have decided to retain the present
:53:25. > :53:31.system but they are increasing the council tax for second homes. So it
:53:31. > :53:35.is up to individual councils to decide. The reality is actually
:53:35. > :53:39.that when North Tyneside asked people, they said they thought it
:53:39. > :53:43.was right that people made a contribution, whatever their income.
:53:43. > :53:49.I am sure some people would think that but I cannot help but think
:53:49. > :53:54.what a mess this is, to be honest. It has Eric Pickles all over of it.
:53:54. > :53:58.-- all over it. I am sure he must not speak to Iain Duncan Smith at
:53:58. > :54:03.all because my understanding was we would get universal credit which
:54:03. > :54:08.would put all benefits under one system. For some reason they have
:54:08. > :54:13.left council tax benefit out of it. They have set to councils, we are
:54:13. > :54:17.going to give you a grand but only 90% so you have to find 10% from
:54:17. > :54:20.council tax. But they can find other ways of doing it. When you
:54:20. > :54:24.talk about the layering of the effect of all these changes on
:54:24. > :54:28.people, the poorest people, there is also the same effect on the
:54:28. > :54:33.council. They have had huge cuts to their budget and this is another
:54:34. > :54:38.one on top. It is also ludicrous. For the last two years we had
:54:38. > :54:41.something called a council tax freeze. They said, we are not
:54:41. > :54:48.putting the council tax Cup, to help people. Now they are putting
:54:48. > :54:53.it up 10%. Different councils doing different things. Sunderland, a
:54:53. > :55:00.Labour council in your area, will charge a quick 5% minimum. Another
:55:00. > :55:03.council says people should pay 30%. It is just going to be confusion.
:55:03. > :55:08.Your viewers watching this today probably have not heard that this
:55:08. > :55:13.was going to happen. They might have heard about bedroom tax and
:55:13. > :55:19.universal credit. For some it will be the first they have heard of it,
:55:19. > :55:22.and the panic that will ensue. People will think, shall I move?
:55:22. > :55:32.For full Cannes people who do not have that option, what will they
:55:32. > :55:38.do? There will be some big problems for councils. They are asking for
:55:38. > :55:43.money from people who are likely to default. It is up to local councils
:55:43. > :55:47.as to what they want to do. There is an argument to suggest that if
:55:47. > :55:51.people are making a contribution to council tax, however small, they
:55:51. > :55:55.will take a much greater interest in the day-to-day activities of
:55:55. > :55:59.that council and want to see the services of that council improved.
:55:59. > :56:04.In this case, why has the Government decided to exempt goal
:56:04. > :56:14.that people from this, who seemed to keep their benefits almost all
:56:14. > :56:14.
:56:14. > :56:19.the time. -- exempt all the people. We have said that elderly people
:56:19. > :56:25.will be protected. Why are they more vulnerable than a single
:56:26. > :56:31.parents? They are elderly and have different issues. But for people in
:56:31. > :56:36.work, we are helping those and at the lower end it is up to councils
:56:36. > :56:40.to decide what is the right policy for their area.
:56:40. > :56:44.This week, the Government announced an increased budget for public
:56:44. > :56:52.health, badly-needed despite good progress in reducing smoking and
:56:52. > :56:57.other long term illnesses. Four years ago the Labour Government
:56:57. > :57:07.thought it had part of the answer. It launched an initiative to try to
:57:07. > :57:19.
:57:19. > :57:25.change behaviour, but what long- The a core is the cruellest month,
:57:25. > :57:31.then January is surely the toughest, forcing gardeners out when it is
:57:31. > :57:40.dead cold. This garden sits in the middle of an Easter side housing
:57:40. > :57:46.estate, created through the healthy town programme. It helps me keep
:57:46. > :57:51.involved. It is a social thing as well. It gives me a lot of self-
:57:51. > :57:56.esteem. There are vegetables at the end of the day. We harvest and,
:57:56. > :58:02.sell them on. The difference is phenomenal. In terms of physical
:58:02. > :58:06.health, they are getting out doors, fresh-air, different activities. In
:58:06. > :58:11.terms of mental health, well-being the increases. Without this
:58:11. > :58:16.programme we would not have had the resources. Along with the fresh
:58:16. > :58:19.fruit and vegetables produced on an urban farm like this, money from
:58:19. > :58:27.the scheme is also used to great sporting opportunities in
:58:27. > :58:35.Middlesbrough. �3,472 helped create a fencing club. A roller hockey
:58:35. > :58:40.club got �5,000 worth of equipment, and �750,000 bills a cycling centre.
:58:40. > :58:46.This cycling club was the star prize in the programme. It is a
:58:46. > :58:51.place where ordinary cyclists can come and exercise safely and elite
:58:51. > :58:57.cyclists can stop their quest to compete at the next Olympic Games.
:58:57. > :59:03.But Middlesbrough's most recent Hulk report card show that the town
:59:03. > :59:08.still has high rates of obesity, smoking, drug and alcohol abuse and
:59:08. > :59:11.death from a stroke. So does the council think that spending
:59:11. > :59:16.millions on a health promotion scheme has been value for money?
:59:16. > :59:23.The cost of surgery for the City for one person can run into many
:59:23. > :59:27.thousands of pounds. Treatments for diabetes, high blood pressure,
:59:27. > :59:33.heart disease that you get as a result, and diabetes. All these
:59:33. > :59:39.things add up. It is a very good expenditure of money. It is what we
:59:39. > :59:44.should be spending money on. Back at the bike track, the councillor
:59:44. > :59:49.responsible for the programme says it was �9 million well spent. But
:59:49. > :59:54.it may be some time before its true legacy is realised. Without the
:59:54. > :59:58.scheme we would be in a much worse place than we are at the moment. It
:59:58. > :00:04.was the precursor of helping people to change their eating habits,
:00:04. > :00:08.exercise habits. We have a way to go. We have to prepare to be in it
:00:08. > :00:15.for the long term and not take our foot off the pedal.
:00:15. > :00:25.Sharon Hodgson, the skin has clearly helped some people -- the
:00:25. > :00:25.
:00:25. > :00:30.scheme. But it may not immediately help the problem of obesity. Yes,
:00:30. > :00:35.and one of my new year's resolutions is to lose weight. I am
:00:35. > :00:38.aware that I am slightly larger than I should be. One of the areas
:00:38. > :00:42.I cover is school food and I really believe that is where we have to
:00:43. > :00:47.start. Something called the Food For Life partnership works across
:00:47. > :00:52.some of our schools and it is so amazing that I would ask any
:00:52. > :00:57.cancels out there when they are spending their money to look at
:00:57. > :01:02.this partnership. They do cooking, growing food, exactly what we have
:01:02. > :01:08.seen, in school, and healthier school meals. It transforms the
:01:08. > :01:12.eating habits of those children. Isn't it time, forgive the pun,
:01:12. > :01:18.that this is all carrot activity to lure people in but don't you
:01:18. > :01:23.actually need to tax unhealthy food? I know they have entered into
:01:23. > :01:29.all of these responsibility deals with the McDonald's of this world
:01:30. > :01:33.and Coca-Cola and Pepsi. I do not think they are working. Andy
:01:33. > :01:37.Burnham this week launched a campaign saying we should do just
:01:37. > :01:43.that and put some targets on how much salt they should be in things,
:01:43. > :01:50.and sugar and fat. That would be a start. If people are going to eat
:01:50. > :01:56.that food, making less fattening. That is the point, isn't it? If we
:01:56. > :02:06.are treated obesity like cigarettes we would wrap up the tax? No one
:02:06. > :02:09.seems to have the appetite to take on these food companies. There are
:02:09. > :02:14.some new ideas and innovation within local authorities. On the
:02:14. > :02:19.issues you are talking about, Government has a role, industry has
:02:19. > :02:24.a role. But most importantly, the individual has a role. We have to
:02:24. > :02:30.take responsibility for our own lives. Parents have a role, and the
:02:30. > :02:36.education system does. Also, people smoke perhaps more when it was
:02:36. > :02:43.cheaper. They did. That is one possibility, to go down the
:02:43. > :02:46.legislative rich. I would be inclined not to. I think it is
:02:46. > :02:50.through education and personal responsibility that you can improve
:02:50. > :02:53.the health of a nation. The move to public health going into local
:02:53. > :02:57.authorities I think is a good way of encouraging local authorities to
:02:57. > :03:04.come up with good ideas that can improve the health of their local
:03:04. > :03:10.authority. Are they doing the right thing here? The move to public
:03:10. > :03:17.health and local authorities? Yes. I hope they use it wisely. They
:03:17. > :03:24.might not have as much many -- money to spend as they would like
:03:24. > :03:31.to. I have already broken my new year's resolution to be kinder to
:03:31. > :03:37.MPs. I cannot help it. I hope you are faring better. We persuaded our
:03:37. > :03:43.correspondent Mark to go on a cheap seat regime but now he insisted
:03:43. > :03:47.instead this year's new year's resolution would be to squeeze even
:03:48. > :03:52.more political stories in 260 Seconds.
:03:52. > :03:58.The number of Sure Starts centres is falling. Darlington, Gateshead
:03:58. > :04:00.and Redcar are among centres where they have been merged or shut down.
:04:00. > :04:05.Protests were held in Newcastle against the plans to close
:04:05. > :04:10.libraries. A local MP says the level of cuts face by Newcastle is
:04:10. > :04:14.unfair and disproportionate. All I am asking is that they treat
:04:14. > :04:17.Newcastle City Council and my constituents with the respect they
:04:18. > :04:22.deserve and act urgently upon these concerns. It should be made easier
:04:22. > :04:26.to switch to an elected mayor, according to a Cumbrian MP. He says
:04:26. > :04:31.too many voters have to sign a petition before a referendum can be
:04:31. > :04:37.helped. At present this is 5% of the electorate, a barrier that is
:04:37. > :04:42.too high. And a big hole in the Government -- not in the
:04:42. > :04:46.Government's coffers but here, where the road has collapsed. Danny
:04:46. > :04:55.Alexander was there to announce superfast broadband for the town.
:04:55. > :05:01.He promised to look into it. He hasn't got any new jokes for
:05:01. > :05:04.2013 but Sharon Hodgson, why do you think Sure Starts centres have been
:05:04. > :05:08.closed by its some local authorities, whereas Lib Dem and
:05:08. > :05:15.Conservative councils in some places have managed to keep theirs?
:05:15. > :05:18.The basic answer is the cuts. Huge budget cuts that start at around
:05:18. > :05:22.40% across nearly all local authorities. And difficult
:05:22. > :05:28.decisions. It is localism but it puts the cuts that central
:05:28. > :05:32.Government has given to local Government and it blows the blame
:05:32. > :05:38.on local Government and it is the biggest broken promise that Cameron
:05:38. > :05:48.has made, when he said that he would protect Sure Start. The issue
:05:48. > :05:50.
:05:50. > :05:54.of mayor's. It surprises me that people are still flocking this.
:05:54. > :05:58.Heseltine's solution for improving growth in the region is the unitary
:05:58. > :06:03.authorities and strong local leadership. I think people should
:06:03. > :06:08.get the choice. That is all I am saying. I want to see more
:06:08. > :06:13.petitions, the threshold reduced from say 5% to 1%. But then it is
:06:13. > :06:18.up to the local area to decide if they want an elected mayor. Then we
:06:18. > :06:27.will see is people can be offered again. Thank you Berry much. That
:06:27. > :06:32.is it from us. There is more about the council tax changes on my block.
:06:33. > :06:38.-- blog. Or you can follow me on Twitter. Next Sunday we will be