:00:43. > :00:53.After the Tory's disaster showing at the sleeve by-election, David
:00:53. > :01:22.
:01:22. > :01:25.Cameron says there will be no lurch In the North East and Cumbria: New
:01:25. > :01:28.laws to tackle dangerous dogs. And why the Government says this
:01:28. > :01:38.family's house in Northumberland is too big for them and will cut their
:01:38. > :01:38.
:01:38. > :38:16.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2197 seconds
:38:16. > :38:19.Hello and a warm welcome to your local part of the show. With me to
:38:19. > :38:22.chew over the fat of this week's stories, Hexham MP Guy Opperman and
:38:22. > :38:25.Grahame Morris from Easington. Coming up: Why the Government
:38:25. > :38:31.believes this family's house in Northumberland is too big for them
:38:31. > :38:39.and says it will cut their benefits if they don't agree to move.
:38:39. > :38:41.Coming up: But let's kick off with
:38:41. > :38:44.controversial comments by Education Secretary Michael Gove. He's
:38:44. > :38:47.reported as saying that people can smell the sense of defeatism in
:38:47. > :38:51.some of the region's schools. And he named East Durham as a prime
:38:51. > :38:53.example of an area where there was too little ambition from the local
:38:53. > :38:57.authority. Grahame, has the Secretary of State got the perfect
:38:57. > :39:02.right to raise concerns if he has than? These are deeply offensive
:39:02. > :39:07.comments to parents, children, staff. He is absolutely wrong in
:39:07. > :39:13.terms of the levels of achievement and of improvements that have been
:39:13. > :39:18.achieved in its East Durham schools like the Science College and others
:39:18. > :39:21.were the results are far above the national average. Michael Gove has
:39:22. > :39:26.to take some culpability taking away its Educational Maintenance
:39:26. > :39:33.Allowance, tripling tuition fees, ending the Building Schools for the
:39:33. > :39:38.Future programme. I do not think the tuition fees affects the
:39:38. > :39:44.schools. In terms of ambition, it could. It was not how far language.
:39:44. > :39:47.He has been to the north-east many times and certainly I echo. We
:39:47. > :39:52.should be supporting our teachers and families and children who were
:39:52. > :39:55.doing a great job. In Northumberland, we have got a
:39:55. > :39:59.council who are not necessarily going forward and are penalising
:39:59. > :40:06.people trying to apply for academies. The point is legitimate
:40:06. > :40:11.the made that vocal authorities need to step up to the plate -- the
:40:11. > :40:19.point is a legitimate Lee made but for local authorities need to step
:40:19. > :40:22.Our top story this week is about new laws to tackle dangerous dogs.
:40:22. > :40:25.A quarter of a million people are attacked and injured by them every
:40:25. > :40:28.year. And the Government has agreed to tighten up the law including
:40:28. > :40:31.compulsory microchipping. That's in response to a campaign promoted by
:40:31. > :40:33.Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery. 14 people have been killed then dog attacks
:40:33. > :40:39.since 2005. Fate children and six adults. Hundreds of children have
:40:39. > :40:45.been attacked and received life- changing injuries and disfigurement
:40:45. > :40:51.in the same period -- eight children and six adults.
:40:51. > :40:54.Prosecutions remain low as do court penalties.
:40:54. > :40:57.Postal workers are among those who are most often victims of dog
:40:57. > :41:01.attacks. Paul Clay is from the Communication Workers Union which
:41:01. > :41:05.represents them. How big is this problem for your members? A massive
:41:05. > :41:09.problem. People laugh when you say you have been attacked by a dog.
:41:09. > :41:16.They do not realise the reality of being savaged by something that has
:41:16. > :41:21.got teeth that barmaid for ripping skin and flesh to bits. Very
:41:21. > :41:26.unpleasant. What are the government's plans to tackle this?
:41:26. > :41:32.It will help. The reality of what we are working with is that it
:41:32. > :41:38.might help after the attacks what it is not going to help -- but it
:41:38. > :41:41.is not going to help before. The biggest problem when we watched the
:41:41. > :41:46.debate in Parliament was when the minister got up, not when the MPs
:41:46. > :41:51.got up and said generous support, we should be making sure
:41:51. > :41:54.responsible dog ownership is at the front. When the minister got up and
:41:54. > :41:59.said he was going to work with the animal welfare groups fit did not
:41:59. > :42:06.make much sense to postal workers that have been bitten and chased
:42:06. > :42:09.down every street in the country. In terms of prevention,
:42:09. > :42:18.microchipping. I suppose the problem is irresponsible owners
:42:18. > :42:22.might not bother with it. Does it help at all? Of course it helps.
:42:22. > :42:26.The legislation would move things forward. Compulsory insurance and
:42:26. > :42:33.making sure we can have behavioural orders and the police can end force
:42:33. > :42:36.them would make even better sense. It is obviously welcome the
:42:36. > :42:43.government is legislating on this but why is it taking so long to get
:42:43. > :42:50.it on the books? We are a nation of dog-lovers. I am not sure we all
:42:50. > :42:56.are! I was bitten in the last election by a dog, I assume. By a
:42:56. > :42:59.dog. I am sure it was a liberal dog. I had blood and everything and
:42:59. > :43:04.experienced what he has been through. It is wonderful news that
:43:04. > :43:11.the laws are coming in. It helps with traceability and also with a
:43:11. > :43:15.dog welfare. 6000 dogs are put down every year because they cannot be
:43:15. > :43:20.traced. That is a fantastic thing if we could stop that. It is
:43:20. > :43:26.fantastic but why not just get on and do it? You have got to consult
:43:26. > :43:29.and get the traceability in. By 2016, every dog will be chipped
:43:29. > :43:38.Andy will be in a position it will be sorted out by then. You cannot
:43:38. > :43:42.say to everybody tomorrow. Do you accept that explanation? My good
:43:42. > :43:46.friend and colleague in the video made some excellent points. The
:43:46. > :43:50.issue about private land and addressing that which the
:43:50. > :43:58.consultation has identified, timing is critical and 5000 postal workers
:43:58. > :44:00.a year are reporting incidents of dog attacks. Nurses, doctors,
:44:00. > :44:06.Communication Workers... The government needs to work with
:44:06. > :44:11.greater speed. Some people might soap, is it a priority to push this
:44:11. > :44:16.legislation through rather than any other? There is a cost to it,
:44:16. > :44:22.treatment from the NHS. People losing time to prove such injuries.
:44:22. > :44:25.I think the government can find time if they wish. They have found
:44:25. > :44:30.time for more controversial issues in recent months. I am sure they
:44:30. > :44:35.could if the will was there. There is the issue of the enforcement as
:44:35. > :44:41.well which is critical. Briefly, isn't microchipping a sledgehammer
:44:41. > :44:48.to crack a nut? What you've just going to end up prosecuting people
:44:48. > :44:52.rather than the ones who would not bother? The bottom line is this.
:44:52. > :44:55.Something must be done. We have consulted on this and it has cross-
:44:55. > :45:04.party agreement. I think it is a good thing that the government is
:45:04. > :45:07.finally sorting this matter up. Thank you very much for now.
:45:07. > :45:10.Almost half of all people in the North East living in social or
:45:10. > :45:13.rented accommodation are judged by the Government to be in houses that
:45:13. > :45:16.are too big for them. That's the highest number in England. The
:45:16. > :45:19.Government wants to encourage them to move to smaller properties. So,
:45:19. > :45:21.from April, working-age families will be assessed for the number of
:45:21. > :45:25.bedrooms they actually need and will have their benefits reduced by
:45:25. > :45:26.up to a quarter if they have too many extra rooms. Mark Denten
:45:26. > :45:36.reports. This family at home in their three-
:45:36. > :45:45.bedroom semi-. Two sons and mum and dad. You could not get two people
:45:45. > :45:50.in either bedroom unless there were on beds. The double bedroom is
:45:50. > :45:55.ideal for a married couple. We have not got a sitting room either.
:45:56. > :46:01.Officially they have an under occupied house. Because the boys
:46:01. > :46:06.are under 16, they should be sharing a room. From April, they
:46:06. > :46:10.face a housing benefit cut of �48 a month. It is no good starting to
:46:10. > :46:16.take everything off the lower incomes. I have found at least 20
:46:16. > :46:20.families the same as us who have got two children who are in three
:46:20. > :46:25.or four-bedroom houses and they are getting hit as well. From April,
:46:25. > :46:28.they will be among 50,000 people in the north-east affected by the
:46:28. > :46:34.government's new under occupancy charge. The critics call it the
:46:34. > :46:38.bedroom tax. The idea is to shave �23 billion off the housing benefit
:46:38. > :46:44.bill. How will it work? If people have won a spare room their housing
:46:44. > :46:49.benefit will be cut by 14%. If they have to spare rooms, 25% cut. The
:46:49. > :46:54.government is giving councils an extra �30 million to help people
:46:54. > :46:57.cope with the extra cost. That does not convince these people. These
:46:57. > :47:01.campaigners of pensioners and veterans of the poll tax protests.
:47:01. > :47:07.They will not be affected by the latest changes but so they have a
:47:07. > :47:13.duty to make young people aware of them. When they get the money in
:47:13. > :47:19.April, the children will be flawed. You cannot blame people if riots
:47:19. > :47:25.occur because sometimes that is the only way to get across how you feel.
:47:25. > :47:30.How can people cope with the loss of income? You have the right to
:47:30. > :47:33.live way you want to live. government supporters say changing
:47:33. > :47:38.the policy his fur. Too much emphasis has been placed on certain
:47:38. > :47:44.people claiming Hammett which it will cost and to stay in the house
:47:44. > :47:49.they are in -- claiming how much it will cost them. They are families
:47:49. > :47:53.in crowded accommodation. latest part of this debate is an
:47:53. > :48:03.MP's breakfast. Normally I'd cooked porridge with milk but this has
:48:03. > :48:04.
:48:04. > :48:11.been cooked with water. She has to spend a week living on �18. That is
:48:12. > :48:15.how much front of her constituents will be left with. It is completely
:48:15. > :48:21.impossible to eat a balanced diet. I ran out of money on Sunday. There
:48:21. > :48:27.was nothing left to eat. I would say to her that I wait for her to
:48:27. > :48:32.do something to assist families in overcrowded accommodation. Whose
:48:32. > :48:35.responsibility is that? It is the responsibility of the last Labour
:48:35. > :48:38.government. The ministers insist many
:48:39. > :48:43.overcrowded families will benefit but hard choices must be made when
:48:43. > :48:50.housing is limited. There is a hard choice for people like this family
:48:50. > :48:54.too. Pay extra or move out. It is easy to talk about people
:48:54. > :48:59.losing money. But you are less keen to talk about the people who this
:48:59. > :49:06.will help, the thousands of people in overcrowded accommodation.
:49:06. > :49:11.is an easy solution to that. Cap the rents and build more social
:49:11. > :49:16.housing. There is not enough. We are spending �24 billion on housing
:49:16. > :49:21.benefit and only �1 billion on building new social and affordable
:49:21. > :49:26.houses. There is a huge disparity there. Is it Labour's failure to
:49:26. > :49:31.build enough homes in the first place? I except it was a failure
:49:31. > :49:35.and we need to address it. This government have done nothing to cap
:49:35. > :49:39.dramatically increasing rents in the private sector. I have cases,
:49:39. > :49:43.1300 people affected in my constituency alone, they have been
:49:44. > :49:47.driven from effectively council housing from the social housing
:49:47. > :49:52.sector into the private sector, in two smaller accommodation which is
:49:52. > :49:57.more expensive. It is perverse that the government are forcing them to
:49:57. > :50:00.do this. Isn't the overcrowding argument a red herring? This is a
:50:00. > :50:07.cynical method of cutting the Housing Bill. Most people will not
:50:07. > :50:11.want to move. As you rightly highlighted, we inherited a housing
:50:11. > :50:14.crisis. There is not enough social housing and that is why we are
:50:14. > :50:18.trying to build more and we have reformed the planning laws and
:50:18. > :50:23.there is over a billion pounds going into social housing. We are
:50:23. > :50:27.addressing the lack of houses. I have 12,000 people in
:50:27. > :50:33.Northumberland, thousands in my own constituency, they are seeking
:50:33. > :50:36.social accommodation. If there are people with a 2, 3, four-bedroom
:50:36. > :50:42.houses and they are not using all of the bedrooms, those people have
:50:42. > :50:46.got a choice. Fever they pay the difference themselves -- either
:50:46. > :50:51.they pay the difference themselves or move. This is a circular
:50:51. > :50:55.argument. They are not enough homes but where will the people move to?
:50:55. > :51:01.All of the housing associations say, we have not got the stock to put
:51:01. > :51:04.people in. I spoke to the housing association that that family are
:51:04. > :51:08.concerned with and they are working with all of their local people and
:51:08. > :51:13.they say they have consulted with them and they are working with them.
:51:13. > :51:21.We have got �50 million of the local authorities... That is a tiny
:51:21. > :51:27.amount when you consider the thousands of houses. It is with the
:51:27. > :51:34.�390 million that came with the scheme. That is a discretionary
:51:34. > :51:40.thing. The money is there. accusation might be that your
:51:40. > :51:45.labour... Are you worrying people when there is help on hand if
:51:45. > :51:50.councils choose to lose it? There is not enough help and there are
:51:50. > :51:55.groups significantly disadvantaged. The disabled, elderly couples.
:51:55. > :52:01.know they are exempt. They are not exempt. That is not correct. There
:52:01. > :52:06.are groups serving in the armed forces... I think this is a huge
:52:06. > :52:09.issue. There are 34 protests and demonstrations across the country
:52:09. > :52:14.plan for 16th March including a couple in our region that I will be
:52:14. > :52:18.joining. Is this not just actually getting people on benefits to join
:52:18. > :52:23.the real world? If anybody not on benefits has to pay for a bigger
:52:23. > :52:26.house, they have to play a bigger price. Many of the people
:52:26. > :52:32.advocating this policy on the Conservative front bench don't know
:52:32. > :52:36.anyone who is unemployed or disabled. Someone on jobseeker's
:52:36. > :52:43.allowance on �71 a week faced with paying an additional �22 a week.
:52:43. > :52:48.How can they find that money? This is a social justice issue. Is this
:52:48. > :52:52.a poll tax moment? No. This is addressing a housing benefit that
:52:52. > :52:56.cost 20 Billy -- �23 billion which the Labour government accepted we
:52:56. > :53:02.have to deal with. Subsidies paid to people. We would like the money
:53:02. > :53:07.to be spent on more social housing, schools and hospitals. We will have
:53:07. > :53:16.to leave it there. I apologise. I am sure it is a subject we will
:53:16. > :53:19.come back to. Now, who should look after people
:53:19. > :53:21.who are on probation? In the past it's been the Probation Service.
:53:21. > :53:24.But now the Government wants to allow private firms and charities
:53:24. > :53:27.to supervise low and medium-risk offenders. If they manage to keep
:53:27. > :53:30.them out of trouble, they'll be paid for their success. It's the
:53:30. > :53:33.same model used in the Government's controversial work programme. But
:53:33. > :53:36.does it put public safety at risk? You do not want to take a backward
:53:36. > :53:40.step. You want to help yourself and maybe help your family, you have
:53:40. > :53:44.got to have somebody to talk to and somebody 2.2 in the right direction.
:53:44. > :53:49.This month spent time in prison after being charged with affray. On
:53:49. > :53:55.release, he came back to Carlisle to try and start again.
:53:55. > :54:01.probation service helped me secure somewhere to live. If you come out
:54:01. > :54:04.cold, you may fall back into the place you were before you went in.
:54:04. > :54:11.The government proposals would see the rehabilitation of people like
:54:11. > :54:15.this man passed to private firms or charities. That is 70% of cases.
:54:15. > :54:19.People who have repeatedly shot lifted to those who have been
:54:19. > :54:23.involved in domestic violence. The plans have been met with strong
:54:23. > :54:27.opposition from Cumbria's police and crime commissioner. He stood as
:54:27. > :54:33.the Conservative candidate in elections. He is also the former
:54:33. > :54:37.chairman of the county's probation trust. When I stood for election, I
:54:37. > :54:40.was led to believe I would be in charge of the commissioning of all
:54:40. > :54:43.services related to criminal justice in Cumbria. This appears
:54:44. > :54:48.not to be the case because the government has said it is going to
:54:48. > :54:52.commission services centrally. I ask the question, hype can I be
:54:52. > :54:57.held to account for criminal levels in Cumbria of a service which I
:54:57. > :55:04.have no part in the commissioning process? -- How can I be held to
:55:04. > :55:09.account? The plans have been described as dreadful over off.
:55:09. > :55:14.Another man says they are risky and flawed. The commissioner elsewhere
:55:14. > :55:17.says the reforms pose a major risk to public safety. In North
:55:17. > :55:23.Yorkshire, the commissioner has worries about the payment by
:55:23. > :55:27.results element. It comes after Chris grayling describe PCCs as the
:55:27. > :55:34.blue in his rehabilitation revolution. Is the revolution about
:55:34. > :55:41.to come unstuck -- the blue in the revolution. I do not think the
:55:41. > :55:45.scheme will put local delivery at risk. It should bring best practice
:55:45. > :55:49.in. People who are interested in getting reoffending down have
:55:49. > :55:53.nothing to fear. Probation trusts in the north-east and Cumbria so
:55:53. > :55:58.they do not fear competition and want to see fewer people committing
:55:58. > :56:03.crimes of course but they question the proposed methods of reducing
:56:03. > :56:07.reoffending. Our decisions are made on a basis of public interest and
:56:07. > :56:11.if the payment by results model is introduced, I am concerned the
:56:11. > :56:20.decisions may be made on a different basis. To make decisions
:56:20. > :56:27.in the public interest, you need to no you public. If it is run by a
:56:27. > :56:31.company that is down in London or event in Manchester, it is quite
:56:31. > :56:39.faceless. Cumbria it is a wide rural community. They do not know
:56:39. > :56:42.the ins and outs of it. This is a hare-brained idea.
:56:42. > :56:45.Trusting private companies with little or no experience to
:56:45. > :56:50.supervise sex offenders, perpetrators of domestic violence.
:56:50. > :56:53.I have written a book on this issue and I have spent 20 years working
:56:54. > :56:57.with probation offenders. I have prosecuted nine murder trials and
:56:57. > :57:03.seen the way probation work and they do a good job. But to so they
:57:03. > :57:08.cannot have some competition... of their cases. Seven out of 10
:57:08. > :57:12.people who leave prison reoffend. If you think that is a good
:57:12. > :57:15.statistic, I do not. I just want to pick up on the statistic because
:57:15. > :57:20.that includes people who have been sentenced to less than a year which
:57:20. > :57:24.probation have nothing to do with. Yes, they do. People who leave
:57:24. > :57:29.prison need mentoring. What they have not got at the moment is that.
:57:29. > :57:34.It should be provided, not just by probation, but by charities who are
:57:34. > :57:38.already working in the sector. Some do a great job providing literacy
:57:38. > :57:42.and the bridge between custody and real life outside. There is great
:57:42. > :57:47.scope for this to work and we talk about the two years to work through
:57:47. > :57:51.the proposals, there has been a consultation. As the probation
:57:51. > :57:57.service said, they do not fear competition. What is so great about
:57:57. > :58:00.the current system if the reoffending rates... I do not think
:58:00. > :58:04.there is no justification for privatising this. The probation
:58:04. > :58:09.service has won a national award. The Minister presented the award to
:58:09. > :58:13.them and spoke in glowing terms about their performance and their
:58:13. > :58:19.satisfaction of victims and the reduction of the reoffending rates.
:58:19. > :58:23.Why can't somebody do well or if not better? This is usually risky
:58:23. > :58:29.because they are talking about low and medium risk prisoners and that
:58:29. > :58:32.is people who are burglars, drug users, people involved in domestic
:58:32. > :58:36.violence. There something goes wrong as it has with the
:58:36. > :58:41.government's work programme that was piloted over the last year also
:58:41. > :58:45.and in fact be success rate has been about 3.6% getting people into
:58:45. > :58:50.work, severely criticised, very expensive, payment by results. It
:58:50. > :58:55.is unfortunate if someone cannot find a job, but if it is in the
:58:55. > :59:00.justice system, it is rather more dangerous. Answer that criticism.
:59:00. > :59:04.Payment by results introduced by the Labour government. Doncaster
:59:04. > :59:08.prison is the most successful payment by results prison in the
:59:08. > :59:13.country. They should be supporting it. This is a Frankenstein version
:59:13. > :59:22.of payment by results and it is extremely risky in terms of public
:59:22. > :59:25.safety. They run prisons. That is what they do. Thank you very much.
:59:25. > :59:27.Those of you old enough to remember Mrs Thatcher will certainly recall
:59:27. > :59:30.one of her most controversial policies - selling off council
:59:30. > :59:37.houses. David Cameron has revived the idea. With that and the rest of
:59:37. > :59:44.the week's political news, here's Mark Denten.
:59:44. > :59:47.A council is to reduce funding and asks volunteers to run five of its
:59:48. > :59:55.libraries. Civil suffer failures over the West Coast Rail contract
:59:55. > :59:58.will cost tax payers millions of pounds.
:59:58. > :00:04.The number of people buying their own council house under the right-
:00:04. > :00:08.to-buy scheme is at its highest since 2007. The government wants to
:00:08. > :00:13.encourage more sales. I am keen to ensure that whoever you are,
:00:13. > :00:18.whichever part of the country, if you want to do this, you should be
:00:18. > :00:27.able to and we will support you very strongly. Another council has
:00:27. > :00:31.scrapped plans to introduce parking charges. More than 2000 objections.
:00:31. > :00:36.The former Bishop of Durham has taken his seat in the Lords. The
:00:36. > :00:41.name of the new bishop is expected to be renounced in the summer -- be
:00:41. > :00:45.announced in the summer. That is about all from us. Next
:00:45. > :00:50.week, I will be reporting from Norway. Finding out if the