12/05/2013 Sunday Politics North East and Cumbria

$$CLEAR $:/STARTFEED. $$CLEAR Hello and a very warm welcome to

your local part of the show. Coming up: Was there anything to get

excited by in the Queen's Speech? I will be asking the MPs for

Middlesbrough and Stockton. Also, as benefit cuts start to bite and

there's less money in people's pockets, what impact will it have

on local shops and businesses? I have been to Teesside to find out.

But let's start with the Queen's Speech. It only lasted seven and a

half minutes. Does that mean the Government has run out of steam? Or

are they focussing on what matters? But the devil will be in the detail,

but it was looking thin from where I was standing. Time will tell, but

I did not think there was a great deal in it. We will get into the

detail in a moment. It may have it may have been overshadowed somewhat

by the departure of a certain football manager, but the coalition

does believe the Queen's Speech will be welcomed by voters. Berwick

MP Sir Alan Beith said tougher rules on immigration showed the

Government had its priorities right. I believe the Government is making

steps and the right direction in this area. Critics point to what

was not in a speech, in particular a minimum price for alcohol and the

introduction of plain packaging on cigarettes. Labour's health

spokesman Andy Burnham was visiting Gateshead on Thursday and said the

failure to include such measures showed the Government wasn't taking

public health -- Public Health in places like the northeast seriously.

They are dancing to the UK option. I think this is a major mistake.

UKIP tune. The Government also promised a crime bill which

criminalises forced marriage and includes new laws on dangerous dogs.

Northumbria's police commissioner Vera Barid welcomed some aspects of

the bill, but said she had concerns two. I wish they were not getting

rid of the ASBO. I think they could have been improved instead of

scrapped. The government also plans a shake-up of probation. Other

significant bills will see the state pension age increase took 67

and a �72,000 cap introduced on social care costs. Are these

responses purely to the pressure from it you Cheb? I don't believe

they are. -- pressure from UKIP. I don't believe they are. I believe

the Government is responding to public concerns. We are reducing

immigration by one third already. More can be done. A Home Secretary

can tackle this important issue. Account imagined a constituent

talking about tobacco packaging. These are major problems in our

region. Driving up the cost to people for alcohol is not something

the Government should be doing at difficult times. Even if it helps

save lives? Are on tobacco packaging, there is not enough

evidence that this makes a difference. In Australia, it has

become a fashion accessory. It also makes a counterfeit cigarettes

easier to produce. The coalition has picked on things that it

believes constituents might be concerned about. We have seen crime

produce consistently since 1995. Long may that continue. I am not

sure that is a priority. What worries me is that deterioration of

economic circumstances. That is a real issue for us. You have touched

upon the immigration issue. What is a real concern to me is the

exploitation of migrant workers who are being exploited and wages are

being driven down. You can understand upset regarding wages

being driven down by that method. There is also upset regarding

health and housing. It makes an attractive story to a son that

people coming to this country seeking asylum or refuge, the red

carpet is rolled out for them and they're getting preferential

treatment. My discussions with those people, it could not be

further from that position at all. They are not treated in that way. I

met with people a fortnight ago in Middlesbrough for were struggling

so much to keep a roof over their heads and to keep food on the table.

It was a terrible story and one we should revisit of some intelligence

and compassion, instead of headline-grabbing. The economy is

the crucial issue. What does the Queen's Speech do about that?

of the big measures coming forward will be the employment allowance.

That will mean employers will have to pay less national insurance. It

is being brought in in 2015. The North East did extremely well with

the regional growth money. We are looking at rolling back red tape

and making it easier for people to do business. These are not

overnight fixes. But there are a number of important measures under

to show the government is serious about growing the economy. Jobs and

employment affect people every day. Do you accept that the Government

is serious about getting people back to work? The jobs crisis is

enormous. Her when they talk about the regeneration of this region and

the economy doing well, I look at that acid test of the number of

people claiming jobseeker's allowance and the figures do not

make happy reading. 14%. It is abysmal. Labour keep talking about

a jobs guarantee. That is for people who are unemployed for two

years. Where are these jobs coming from? It is about giving employers

a confidence to take people on knowing that it is properly funded.

It is not a jobs guarantee unless you can persuade employers it is

worth that? It is about guaranteeing funding for young

people and those who have been unemployed for over two years.

We're now seeing people who have contributed all their lives due tax

and national insurance who are perhaps in the 50s and now they are

out of work. It is not realistic. Labour have come out with a raft of

measures that would cost nearly �30 billion. The bridge either borrow

more or increased taxes. We need to deal with the debt problem and

bring the deficit down. This government has done that year on

year since they came into power. They are properly funded. We are

looking at sharing the load fork -- sharing the load more fairly. Four

up him to suggest the economy is in a healthy position, debt is

increasing and increasing. credits, child benefit, the new

under-occupancy charge. These are all ways in which the Government is

cutting the welfare bill to try and control public spending. And that

inevitably means there is less money in some people's pockets. How

much less? Well, research by Sheffield Hallam University

suggests by 2015 the northeast's economy will lose �940 million a

year. I went to Middlesbrough to find out what impact that might

have,. This woman was a chef until recently. Since April, she has lost

�30 from her housing benefit because the government say they

have spare bedrooms. I am having to cut back on gas and electricity. I

can only afford to do one load of washing each week. The price of

food has gone up. The way things are going, I think I will be

evicted. I cannot afford this any more. She is not alone. Thousands

in Middlesbrough have seen benefits Cup since April. For every pound

lost from benefits in Middlesbrough, that is �1 fewer to be spent in

local businesses. Some here believe they are already seeing the impact

of VAT. Takings in this newsagent are down �2,000 from the same month

last year. They believe welfare changes are making customers spent

less. We have seen a decrease in our sales regarding alcohol and

things which people would class as luxury items. People are having to

pay the bills. That comes first. have more changes to come, local

businesses could take more hits. The Sheffield Hallam University

study estimates welfare reform will take billions of pounds out of the

UK economy over the coming years. Middles Brough is predicted to lose

�720 million a year -- �720 for every working adult. There are

similar figures for other parts of our region. For shopping areas like

this, that could be lethal. A There are a lot of businesses in a small

area here. If one does not have much business, the other want. If

the pub does not have many people in, that affect us because they

come here for cigarettes and crisps. The Government insist welfare

reform will help not harm the economy, by encouraging people off

benefits and into work. This man has already made that move. He now

has an apprenticeship. It is fantastic. I am planning a holiday.

Before, I was on the dole and I only had limited money. You

couldn't do anything. Now I am working here, I go out with friends

and do whatever I want. There are Job Centre referred him to a local

training company. Their boss is convinced that getting people to

earn their own money is the key to economic revival. We all need money

in our pockets to spend time with family and friends. That gives

people hope. Thousands of others in the North East remain a out to work

and on benefits. If that has not changed, hundreds of millions of

pounds will disappear from an economy that is already flat lining.

I am joined now by Professor Steve Fothergill from the Centre for

regional, economic and social research at Sheffield Hallam

University which has been looking at the impact of benefactor -- of

benefit cuts on the local economy. How do we compare with the rest of

the UK? 19 bn in total is likely to be taken out of the UK economy by

these benefit reforms. There will be a big difference across the

country because clearly the numbers on benefits are much larger in some

parts of the country than in others. For those who are in work and on

benefits, it is those on low pay in some of the weaker local economies

we are talking about. It is predominantly the old industrial

regions that face the biggest hits. Part of South England will escape

rather lightly. There has been a lot of publicity in recent weeks

about the so-called bedroom tax. That is just a small part of the

jigsaw. The really big ones are reforms to capacity benefits. They

will come in over the next three years. Reforms to the disability

living allowance. Often the same people claim of benefits. Those

will have a huge impact because we have huge numbers of out of work

adults on sickness and disability benefits. Once this be compensated

by people been encouraged to go out to work? If we were in an economy

that was burning and the Rules of jobs, then increasing the incentive

you would think would move more people into work. But that is not

the national situation. The big hits in terms of benefit reforms

are going to be in places where it is hardest to find work. Places

like Middlesbrough are, Hartlepool, Sunderland and South Tyneside. This

will simply intensify the scramble for the few available jobs. Do you

believe this is a mistake? What is the alternative? We are not setting

out in this report to say whether these reforms are a good or bad

idea. In principle, I would suspect the best way to get the benefit

bill Brown is to get jobs to be created in the labour market so

that we don't need to support so many people on out of work benefits.

There is short-term pain here, but there could be long-term game if

this incentivising his work. -- if this is incentivising people to

return to work. We want work to pay. Everyone would agree with that.

That has to be the target. This excellent report points out that we

are a way of getting people into that position just now. There are

not the jobs for people to go to. This is the damage being caused to

them in the local economy. �12 million is being taken out of the

economy every year in my region. The work programme to get people

back into employment is simply not effective. It is not just the

impact on the people, but also businesses that is important.

cannot use this in a vacuum. �1 spent less on benefits is being

kept in the pockets of people paying tax. The challenge we face

is that welfare need to pay. Under Labour, people were paid more to

remain on welfare than in work. It was running out of control under

Labour. The cannot make these changes that incentivising work if

the jobs are not there. It is a cycle, the way the economy works.

The reality is well for a spending is out of control and needed to be

reformed. Labour might oppose that reform, but I think the vast

majority of people support it. It will ensure that work always pays.

This money would have to be taken out of the economy in other ways.

It was taxpayer money. Any welfare regime has to be reviewed to

continually. There is opposition because the Conservative-led

government are standing up for the wrong people. Where are other

priorities? It is not with the poor and vulnerable people. It is not

about getting jobs going. Every time a Conservative government

comes into power, they favour the rich and condemn places like the

North East of England to to poverty. Nobody from Labour has said which

ones would be reversed if they came into government. We would not have

introduced the bedroom tax. If you think it is immoral, you would say

that you would not do it? Were we're not in government. We're

saying this is not an effective way of addressing welfare reform. It is

grossly unfair. The Queen's Speech was about a fairer society. I am

yet to see any evidence of that. Shh didn't you be standing up to

some of your colleagues? Your constituency will have -- will be

affected by this and parts of the South of England will not. A I want

to help. If we do not reform welfare, it will become

unaffordable. We have had years and years of welfare spending going up

and up in places like Middlesbrough are and not seeing any benefit from

it. The economy has not healed. This is about creating a system

that is fair when at work will always pay. Labour will not reform

or repeal any of this. It has been an exciting week for a

former social worker from South Tyneside. With that and the rest of

the political news here is the week in 60 seconds.

The team reviewing high death-rate in hospitals across England has

turned its attention to Cumbria. The NHS Trust in that region is

under review, along with 13 others. The first woman to represent the

seat of South Shields has been sworn in. Councils in Teesside and

Durham are all over �70 million in unpaid council tax. Durham comes

off worst. Stockton is owed just under �4 million. A memorial to the

Bevin Boys has been unveiled. That is all from us. There is lots

more on my blog on the BBC website. And on Twitter you can choose to