:01:23. > :01:26.In the North East and Cumbria: Labour moves towards a new goal of
:01:26. > :01:28.full employment. But is it possible?
:01:28. > :01:38.And the North Yorkshire villagers sending food parcels to
:01:38. > :01:38.
:01:38. > :37:26.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2148 seconds
:37:26. > :37:30.Middlesbrough. That's in half an Hello and a warm welcome to your
:37:30. > :37:34.local part of the show. This week: Can we ever get back to full
:37:34. > :37:37.employment in the North East and Cumbria? Labour thinks so but how?
:37:37. > :37:41.And are we becoming too reliant on these, food banks, and the
:37:41. > :37:43.volunteers who keep them going? That's two of the questions I'll be
:37:43. > :37:47.discussing with my guests, Newcastle MP Catherine McKinnell
:37:47. > :37:50.and Northumberland councillor Wayne Daley. And if you're wondering what
:37:50. > :37:53.we've done with Richard, we've given him the week off for good
:37:53. > :37:56.behaviour! But let's start with the week's big
:37:56. > :38:00.talking point, and a Teesside MP has thrust himself right to the
:38:00. > :38:03.centre of the debate over Europe. Stockton South's James Wharton is
:38:03. > :38:06.to put forward a backbench bill which could pave the way for a
:38:06. > :38:16.referendum to be held before 2017 on the UK's membership of the
:38:16. > :38:19.European Union. He says it's time to give the public a say. I hope
:38:19. > :38:22.when it is brought before Parliament that other MPs from
:38:22. > :38:26.other parties will be able to support it and agree with me that
:38:26. > :38:29.whatever you think about Europe and our relationship with it, the map
:38:29. > :38:32.and need to be settled and people need to be given a choice.
:38:32. > :38:34.The move hasn't gone down well with many North East Labour MPs, among
:38:34. > :38:37.them Gateshead's Ian Mearns and Sedgefield's Phil Wilson, who say
:38:37. > :38:44.that rather than debating Europe Parliamentary time would be better
:38:44. > :38:49.spent on measures to get people back to work. Wayne Daley, that is
:38:49. > :38:52.the point, isn't it? It is a distraction, rather than talking
:38:52. > :38:57.about stuff that people care about, jobs the health service and the
:38:57. > :39:02.economy, we have this Enders navel- gazing over Europe. We are talking
:39:02. > :39:06.about his jobs and the economy, that is the prime focus of the
:39:06. > :39:10.government, but it is legitimate that we make a decision over Europe.
:39:10. > :39:15.We joined in 19 to be five after a referendum, which I am old enough
:39:15. > :39:18.to remember, and we voted to join what we thought was a common market.
:39:19. > :39:22.Now we have a very different being. I think it is important that for
:39:22. > :39:25.once and for all, the British people have the decision as to
:39:26. > :39:29.whether we are part of the European Union or we go out on the road and
:39:29. > :39:34.trade with the rest of the world. That is an important thing. We've
:39:34. > :39:40.would not even be having these votes if the, some -- if the
:39:40. > :39:47.Conservatives were not terrified of losing votes to UKIP. Not at all.
:39:47. > :39:50.The local elections were a mixed bag, all the parties lost votes to
:39:50. > :39:56.UKIP. They have raised an issue which has been burning at the heart
:39:56. > :40:05.of British politics for decades. I support the decision. Why not give
:40:06. > :40:10.people a choice on Europe? Labour is not against a referendum in
:40:10. > :40:14.principle, it is just the wrong plan to focus on this. We should
:40:14. > :40:18.have all our efforts focused on the economy, getting jobs and growth
:40:18. > :40:25.which is the biggest concern that people had a. Isn't the real
:40:25. > :40:29.reason... It is a bad time to be talking about this because the
:40:29. > :40:34.discussion will destabilise this. But Labour are pretty conscious,
:40:34. > :40:39.with an array that the Poles are going, -- with the way that the
:40:39. > :40:42.Poles are going, you would lose any referendum. It is a bad time
:40:42. > :40:46.because we need to focus a discussion on reforming the
:40:46. > :40:49.European Union and getting things improved and a better deal for
:40:49. > :40:55.Britain. We acknowledged that, we need to go into Europe with a
:40:55. > :41:01.strong hand and go into reforming a new single market for us to trade
:41:01. > :41:05.in. We could talk about this all week.
:41:05. > :41:08.Now, our top story this week is the growth of food banks in the region.
:41:09. > :41:12.New figures show a 500% increase in the number of visits to food banks
:41:12. > :41:15.in the North East and Cumbria. Most of them are run by volunteers or
:41:15. > :41:18.churches and rely on donations of food from local residents. Should
:41:18. > :41:21.the Government be embarrassed by the rise of the food bank or is it
:41:21. > :41:26.evidence of the big society in action? Political reporter David
:41:26. > :41:28.Macmillan went to find out. These ladies live 30 miles apart,
:41:28. > :41:33.one in a picturesque North Yorkshire village, the other in the
:41:33. > :41:37.heart of one of our biggest towns. They have never met but a vital
:41:37. > :41:41.connection has connect - develop find them -- between them. One is
:41:41. > :41:45.put in a food parcel together. It is not being sent overseas for a
:41:45. > :41:50.famine appeal or as a response to a natural disaster. I have just
:41:50. > :41:56.bought some non-perishable foods for Middlesbrough food bag. Mainly
:41:56. > :42:02.jars of pasta sauce and some rice and tinned vegetables. From the
:42:02. > :42:08.supermarket in the Thirsk the food is taken to a collection box
:42:08. > :42:14.outside a village hall for. surely we were shocked, it is a
:42:14. > :42:18.difficult for people, my experience is that people cannot help this. It
:42:18. > :42:22.is a situation they find themselves in. I understand that by the time
:42:22. > :42:27.they turn up at a food bank, they have often gone a day or more
:42:27. > :42:32.without food. It is really difficult for them. The collections
:42:32. > :42:35.are packed and sent up the road to the Middlesbrough food bank. Since
:42:35. > :42:41.April, up to 100 people have been coming through the doors here every
:42:41. > :42:46.week looking for help. Maria is one of them. By the time you have paid
:42:46. > :42:51.your electric, gas, your television licence, you don't have enough
:42:51. > :42:55.money left for food. If it was not for the food bag, I would not be
:42:55. > :43:00.able to afford to get along. Maria lost her job, she is about to lose
:43:00. > :43:05.her house. I had to go on jobseeker's allowance, and that
:43:05. > :43:12.money does not go anywhere. I was struggling to pay my mortgage.
:43:12. > :43:18.Without the food bank, and the support I have had from them, I
:43:18. > :43:24.don't know, I think I was really getting depressed. I think I would
:43:24. > :43:31.be very depressed. One difference has it made your ability to feed
:43:31. > :43:37.yourself and your grandchildren? feel a lot better, because I hate
:43:37. > :43:41.having empty cupboards. Even if you have got a bag of rice, you make
:43:41. > :43:45.something. I feel like I am begging sometimes, I have never had to do
:43:45. > :43:52.it before, I have always been in work. If there was not the food bag,
:43:52. > :43:55.people would be living on the street and begging. One community
:43:55. > :43:59.helping out another in a time of need, the Big Society in action or
:43:59. > :44:06.an indictment of government policy? And joined by Nigel Perrott, who
:44:07. > :44:11.runs the food and in that report. You are increasingly busy, why?
:44:11. > :44:14.are seeing far more people are not being able to put anything aside.
:44:14. > :44:19.So they are already on a low income, some people are on benefits and
:44:19. > :44:23.some people are just on the short contracts, hours, things like that.
:44:23. > :44:29.Basically, they just do not have anything to put by with an
:44:29. > :44:35.emergency Kip in. Big benefits changes, have there been any
:44:35. > :44:39.difference is? We have been seen an increase, some of that is due to
:44:39. > :44:42.the publicity of the food bank, but we have seen people coming through
:44:42. > :44:47.because of a benefit change or withdraw that has led for whatever
:44:47. > :44:53.we and, -- whatever reason, they have had a bill come in they have
:44:53. > :45:00.not been able to pay it, so it has been a case of eat or heat.
:45:00. > :45:07.head in that report, people not be able to eat for a few days, surely
:45:07. > :45:11.it is not that bad? Sa do, it is. We see people coming through the
:45:11. > :45:16.door who have not eaten for a couple of days. The help has been
:45:16. > :45:21.there for them but they have felt ashamed for coming into a food bag.
:45:21. > :45:24.What sort of situations are we seeing, that people in the 21st
:45:24. > :45:28.century, they have not got enough to eat a? Simply things like, if
:45:28. > :45:32.you have got to rent arrears for whatever reason, if you are paying
:45:32. > :45:35.extra for a spare bedroom or something like that, normally you
:45:35. > :45:40.would be able to pay VAT and suddenly at the end of the week you
:45:40. > :45:44.realise you have paid that and there is nothing left over. Those
:45:44. > :45:50.cupboards can soon disappear. you have got a big demand, how do
:45:50. > :45:55.you insure your giving food to the right people, you get people?
:45:55. > :45:58.not have to rely on the kindness, we rely on the expertise of the 45
:45:59. > :46:02.different agencies to work with very closely in Middlesbrough,
:46:02. > :46:06.social workers, health visitors, housing associations and so on.
:46:06. > :46:10.They are seeing the need first hand and going into people's houses and
:46:10. > :46:19.seeing these families and individualss going hungry and they
:46:19. > :46:22.refer them to a us. Wayne Daley, it is a terrible indictment of your
:46:22. > :46:28.Government's economic record, that we need to have food bags like the
:46:28. > :46:31.one that Nigel runs? One of the reasons that food banks are
:46:31. > :46:35.increasing is because it was the coalition government he allowed
:46:35. > :46:41.food banks to be advertised in Jobcentres. The previous Labour --
:46:41. > :46:44.as the previous Labour government did not. It is problems that people
:46:44. > :46:49.have with the economic situation and the government the policy --
:46:49. > :46:53.the policies the Government has put in place. I think clearly what it
:46:53. > :46:57.is, it is the fact that they are much more widely publicised now
:46:57. > :47:02.they have ever been. People are aware of it. They will start to use
:47:02. > :47:06.it. There are issues that have come out of the use of food banks, the
:47:06. > :47:10.trust that operate the move indicates that one of the biggest
:47:10. > :47:14.reason that people need to use it is the delay in payment of benefits.
:47:14. > :47:18.That is what governments need to tackle because people, if they are
:47:18. > :47:23.paid benefits on time, can afford to be put cells. You are
:47:23. > :47:29.effectively, these are volunteers, they are not paid by the government,
:47:30. > :47:34.they get no government fat -- money for this organisation. Isn't it
:47:34. > :47:39.very dangerous when you have got people and a system that relies on
:47:39. > :47:44.volunteers to feed people? I take my hat off to these guys because I
:47:44. > :47:48.think we are doing a wonderful job. This is Big Society, of course it
:47:48. > :47:52.is. This is people have been other people at a very difficult time in
:47:52. > :47:57.their lives. The big picture of this is, we have got to turn the
:47:57. > :48:02.economy round and there are people out there who are hurting a lot. At
:48:02. > :48:05.these guys are helping. Agassi will say these food banks are there
:48:06. > :48:09.because of the government policies, you have got to applaud what they
:48:09. > :48:14.do, people helping each other in tough times come it is a co-
:48:14. > :48:22.operative movement. I very much applaud the work that they do, they
:48:22. > :48:24.are helping people out of a desperate situation. I find Wayne's
:48:24. > :48:27.response incredibly complacent about the role that government
:48:27. > :48:33.plays, because people's living standards are being squeezed to
:48:33. > :48:39.such an extent. I was looking at some figures, one in five mums are
:48:39. > :48:49.going without a map of Lille to feed their children, -- are going
:48:49. > :48:54.without eight meal to feed their children, food banks see a rush in
:48:54. > :48:59.the holidays. One a way you are not allowed them to be promoted? We did
:48:59. > :49:04.not have the squeeze that we have have. We did not have the bedroom
:49:04. > :49:09.tax. I think what they're doing is wonderful, but it is clearly there
:49:09. > :49:14.is a problem. There are government needs to take a more proactive
:49:14. > :49:19.approach to. -- but government is to take a more proactive approach.
:49:19. > :49:23.What does that mean? Turning the economy round to supporting jobs
:49:23. > :49:29.and growth, getting people into work where they can, and not
:49:29. > :49:38.slapping on taxes like the bedroom tax which is pushing people over
:49:38. > :49:40.the edge. Labour have said that... We must leave it there, we must
:49:40. > :49:43.move on. The number of people unemployed has
:49:43. > :49:53.fallen slightly in Cumbria this week, but gone up again by about
:49:53. > :49:54.
:49:54. > :49:56.1,000 in the North East. At 9.8% it's still the worst in the country.
:49:56. > :49:59.The Government says policies like the Regional Growth Fund are
:49:59. > :50:02.helping private firms create hundreds of new jobs. While Labour
:50:02. > :50:05.this week called for a new target, full employment. But is that even
:50:05. > :50:09.possible? I went to find out. Business secretary Vince Cable at a
:50:09. > :50:13.clothing factory in South Shields this week. He came not just with an
:50:13. > :50:19.interest in jackets but with money from the regional growth fund. It
:50:19. > :50:23.will help create over 130 jobs. This company is a brilliant British
:50:23. > :50:28.company, expanding and selling all over the world, a famous brand --
:50:28. > :50:32.brand and employing local people. The regional growth and walk help
:50:32. > :50:36.them expand further with a factory and as gills academy which is
:50:36. > :50:41.training the next generation. are taking on machinists and other
:50:41. > :50:46.schools to expand capacity so we can export and go into areas such
:50:46. > :50:50.as Asia. The other jobs are within warehouse and customer services as
:50:50. > :50:54.we expand online as well. While any job creation is welcome, this week
:50:54. > :51:04.we also had bad news. The unemployment figures for the region
:51:04. > :51:05.
:51:05. > :51:09.are up, still the highest in the country. Once upon a time,
:51:09. > :51:15.sometimes just 3% of people were unemployed. Those days have gone
:51:15. > :51:17.for good, haven't they? This man does not think so. The shadow work
:51:18. > :51:21.and pension Secretary Liam Byrne was in red car, looking at the
:51:21. > :51:26.scheme training young unemployed people to drive. He has a jelly in
:51:26. > :51:33.mind as well, not just a spin around the block. -- A journey in
:51:33. > :51:41.mind. The what a national strategy to take us to fall in employment --
:51:41. > :51:48.We need to put the something for something back into the so crucial
:51:48. > :51:51.security system so people who pay in get more back out. It is a
:51:51. > :52:00.national task. We have done this before, we did it in the 1940s, it
:52:00. > :52:05.is how we rebuilt Britain after the war. We did it in the late 1990s,
:52:05. > :52:08.we rebuilt the public services. We need to pay down the debt faster,
:52:08. > :52:14.changed social the kitty for the better, you need to get the country
:52:14. > :52:18.back to work. Getting jobs back to the factories may be easier said
:52:18. > :52:28.than done. The closest the north- east has come to full employment
:52:28. > :52:31.
:52:31. > :52:35.was in April 1924, 3.7 -- April 1974, 3.4%. It was then January
:52:35. > :52:41.2005. This week's figures show it live at 8% and one in the region.
:52:41. > :52:45.While the government has its own job-creation policies, like the
:52:45. > :52:48.regional growth fund, Labour has a jobs guaranteed. People who have
:52:48. > :52:56.been out of work for two years would get part-time work. The
:52:56. > :53:00.government would pay them a minimum wage, and it would be up two-thirds
:53:00. > :53:03.to pay for the training. This boss likes the idea. They have taken on
:53:03. > :53:09.for operation ship -- apprentices. The jobs guarantee might mean they
:53:09. > :53:13.take on other workers as well. of the opportunities is you can
:53:13. > :53:18.road-test the person, you get a chance to size them up and vice
:53:18. > :53:24.versa. If it fits, you can consider longer term in front. One is the
:53:24. > :53:34.chance of getting full employment in the north-east? What is -- it is
:53:34. > :53:43.
:53:43. > :53:48.a fantastic challenge. My personal view is it is a pipe dream.
:53:48. > :53:54.One of your party's ideas is to create jobs, isn't it an idea it to
:53:54. > :54:02.-- isn't it just creating artificial jobs which would only be
:54:02. > :54:11.there for six months as like we want to put in a guarantee that
:54:11. > :54:19.in... -- we want to put in a guarantee paid for by a bank Leddy.
:54:19. > :54:23.If you leave people out of work for two years, it can become entrenched.
:54:23. > :54:28.So this would enable businesses to invest and grow up because they
:54:28. > :54:33.invest in their workforce, they are able to grow and expand and those
:54:33. > :54:37.jobs to become permanent. I know this jobs guarantee is not a policy
:54:37. > :54:42.yet, we do not know whether it will be in the manifesto even. Would
:54:42. > :54:47.people of that scheme be forced to take jobs that they were given even
:54:47. > :54:51.if they were not qualified for them or had no experience? Do they have
:54:52. > :54:59.to like it or lump it and lose benefits? We have got a very clear
:54:59. > :55:05.line on this. It has to work both ways. People take work and if they
:55:05. > :55:11.refuse it it will be sanctions. a chef could be asked to work in a
:55:11. > :55:16.factory? I will not go into that much detail. The point is, it is a
:55:16. > :55:19.real job for someone out of work. I know that the people who talk to be,
:55:19. > :55:21.if they are not in work, and they have never worked, they are
:55:21. > :55:25.desperate for work experience because that is what they need to
:55:25. > :55:30.get into the jobs market. If they have been unemployed for two years
:55:30. > :55:36.or more, people would happily take any job on offer to fund their
:55:36. > :55:41.families. It is a really important scheme, why did he commit to it and
:55:41. > :55:47.say that you are going to do it if you are elected in 2015? We are
:55:47. > :55:52.saying that the government could could be doing this now. Let's be
:55:52. > :55:56.honest, the benefits bill is going up and not down. The government is
:55:56. > :56:02.seeing an increase and that is why their borrowing is going up, they
:56:02. > :56:05.are borrowing to a double to �5 billion more than they Plaid.
:56:05. > :56:14.government has their own schemes which are not working, unemployment
:56:14. > :56:22.is going up. They are working, with Vince Cable we have announced jobs
:56:22. > :56:26.being created, 450 jobs created which is going to be invested in
:56:26. > :56:31.the north-east. The regional growth fund is designed to protect jobs.
:56:31. > :56:36.In my area of Northumberland, we have been awarded �12 million to
:56:36. > :56:41.protect jobs and attract inward investment. Sir why it is it not
:56:41. > :56:45.falling? The north-east has benefited from the highest falling
:56:45. > :56:50.rate in the country. We have seen in the latest figures an increase
:56:50. > :56:54.of 1000 which is terrible, it absolutely is. I do not like it. If
:56:54. > :56:59.we were sitting in Spain now, they would be looking at us saying, why
:56:59. > :57:05.are you arguing? We have got 52% of young people unemployed. On the
:57:05. > :57:09.regional growth fund, it is handing out money, but it seems to be the
:57:09. > :57:16.big boys getting it. It is Pirelli and Barbara. The message seems to
:57:16. > :57:20.be, we will support the big firms, the small firms can go hang.
:57:20. > :57:25.need two more for business start- ups and we need to do more for
:57:25. > :57:30.those smaller businesses. When Vince Cable came up and we promote
:57:30. > :57:35.the regional growth funds, we need to get more of those businesses
:57:35. > :57:43.getting something out of it. He had been in since 2010, why has it not
:57:44. > :57:50.happened before? It has not been happening them. We need to get that
:57:50. > :58:00.going. Your party has a special for for an implement, it is totally
:58:00. > :58:02.
:58:02. > :58:07.unrealistic? -- a fall employment? Is have to be an aspiration, it is
:58:07. > :58:13.the only way to power this company back into -- country back into full
:58:13. > :58:17.work, one of the other sucking statistics is that the majority of
:58:17. > :58:21.people going to food back -- shocking statistics is that
:58:21. > :58:25.majority of people going to food banks are in work, they just cannot
:58:25. > :58:34.afford food. Have you been abandoned the idea of for imply
:58:34. > :58:37.that? Absolutely not, we need to create an economy which is dynamic.
:58:37. > :58:39.The Government has unveiled plans to make it easier for victims of
:58:39. > :58:43.asbestos-related cancer to claim compensation even when the
:58:43. > :58:48.companies they worked for no longer exist. But the Bill, contained in
:58:48. > :58:58.the Queen's Speech, hasn't satisfied some campaigners. Here's
:58:58. > :59:03.
:59:03. > :59:05.more on that and the rest of the Cumbria County Council is to be run
:59:05. > :59:10.by a Labour or Liberal Democrat coalition after a deal was hammered
:59:10. > :59:19.out between the parties. Japanese company Hitachi has signed a
:59:20. > :59:29.development contracts in the area which should create 700 jobs. A new
:59:29. > :59:34.Bill designed to con the disasters of grey does not go far enough.
:59:34. > :59:37.the Deputy Prime Minister agree with me that it is wrong and unfair
:59:37. > :59:41.that the leeches in the insurance industry who are bankrolling the
:59:41. > :59:44.Tory party are getting away with millions and millions when working-
:59:44. > :59:49.class people who have been negligently poisoned by their
:59:49. > :59:55.employers are getting away with nothing? Finally, a small
:59:55. > :59:58.independent tour should be given the same business rates relief as a
:59:58. > :00:02.charity shops according to a local MP, who says the move would boost
:00:02. > :00:05.high street trade and create jobs. And that's about all the time we
:00:05. > :00:09.have for this week. There's no Sunday Politics next weekend. But
:00:09. > :00:12.Richard will be back in this seat on June 2nd. In the meantime you