09/06/2013 Sunday Politics North East and Cumbria

In the north-east and Cumbria: is it time to set up our own local

banks? And doctors in rural areas say

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2135 seconds

surgeries may have to close if Hello and welcome to your local

part of the show. With me this week Hexham's crow Guy Opperman and

South Shields Emma Lewell-Buck just five weeks into the job. We are

discussing if it is time to set up our own local high-street banks.

And we are in North Yorkshire where doctors are warning changes to

government funding may lead to the closure of rural surgeries. Labour

started to set out what it would do to the welfare system if the party

gets into government. Child benefit will not be restored to high

earners and the winter fuel allowance will be cut for the

richest pensioners but another idea has gone down like a lead balloon.

Sir Arthur Shields, Labour territory for generations and after

a by-election last month it stayed that way. This place has been a

Labour for 80 years and while the party has fought off its

challengers here it has been under pressure to say what it would do

about the nitty gritty of the economy. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls

said winter fuel payments would be taken away from well off all the

people but how has that gone down here with just over 20,000 people

They should just carry on with it because a lot of people have made

their money through hard work. the man who would be Chancellor did

not only talk about pensions. He is also considering a lower benefits

for the North. A fare cap on household benefits which takes

account of housing costs in different parts of the country,

with an independent body advising on whether the caps should be

higher in high-cost areas like London but potentially low but in

other parts of the country. this senior Labour MP is have a

number of it. I am found it opposed to regionalisation of pay and

regionalisation of benefits. Four people seeking work in Newcastle

upon Tyne alone there are not enough to of jobs for people who

need them. Emma Lewell-Buck, where do you stand? My colleagues are

correct. They have been asked a question about regionalisation of

benefit rates. It would be unfair and costly. But what a Ed Balls was

talking about was should a review should look at the housing benefit.

He is talking about you would have different caps for benefits in

different parts of the country. So the cap could go up in London and

down in the north-east. It is unfair. Ultimately, we are a low

wage economy, we already have high levels of unemployment. You would

not want that. Does this not make sense? Benefits should reflect the

housing costs in an area. You know that we fought for nearly 18 months

working with the TUC to stop regional pay and that was a

campaign that we were successful with before and after the election.

I believe we should maintain the equal levels of pay across the

country and I find the pronouncements of Ed Balls and this

is the first Labour policy we have had in any shape or form, to tried

cuts to winter fuel but still provide free TV licences, it is

illogical. The principle of regionalisation of benefits? A I am

not in favour. I do not believe a nurse in a Surrey should receive

more than a nurse in Middlesbrough. There was also the stuff about

winter fuel payments. What do you think? We are talking about

pensioners in over 40 -- �42,000 a year. Those pensioners would not

suffer if the winter fuel allowance was cut. They'd normally spend

their winters abroad. But you are making the system more complicated

and also there is inconsistency here. In tis not taken away a

universal benefit because that was put into a dress fuel poverty. A

lot of people benefiting from of it are not suffering from fuel poverty.

We specifically looked at it and decided not to do it. No one has

committed anything beyond this Parliament. It is not a possibility.

I can guarantee you it is not our proposal nor would it be our

proposal in any way to make regionalised pay all benefits.

If you have a bank account the chances are it is with one of the

big high-street operators which control three-quarters of all

accounts but 70 years ago it was all different. That sort of choice

and competition is what many believe we need once more in the

banking sector and on Friday a conference was held to explore the

options for creating a new network of regional banks run by local

communities or even our councils. The government has heard it has

already legislated to make it easier for those who want to

establish a new back. We want to make it easier. People said

regulatory approvals were a nightmare. What we have said is

that if you are setting up something that is new, it should be

straightforward, you should have help getting, clearing those

hurdles and they should be lower for a bank that will be smaller. We

have done that so the conditions are now in place for people to come

forward and propose regional banks. The first new bank to set up on the

High Street was Metro Bank. Most of its branches are run London but its

founder was born and bred in the North East and is here now. There

is too much concentration in the big six banks which control three-

quarters of all current accounts, they have become very complacent,

they make bad loans, they are having to cut back on the lending

they are doing, all of which is to the detriment of people and to

small businesses. But to compete with the Barclay's Bank's and HSBCs,

do you not be their scale? Crap it is quite possible to create local

banks. Metro Bank has proved that. Over the last three years it has

grown over 180,000 customer accounts, almost �1 billion in its

balance streets -- sheets. government talked about what it has

done so far but what else needs to be done to make this happen? From a

regulatory perspective the government have done a huge amount,

they have reduced the amount of capital of the backs have to hold,

they have simplified the or the preservation process, so all of the

barriers we faced three years ago in launching have in effect been

removed. There is a tremendous political will to see this happen

throughout the UK. This is a personal crusade for you. You tread

that conference. Could it transform the north-east and Cumbria? Yes,

for too long people have felt the city of London banks are not

serving their constituents whether that is in South Shields or Hexham.

What we have tried to do is try to shake-up the banking system and

produce real competition and that competition would be a local or

regional banks working with the local community and you could have

towns all regions of 30, 40, 50,000 people have been a community bank.

If the Germans can do it, we can. Spain where some of those local

banks got into trouble had to be rescued. America did not stop the

sub Prime crisis. But the Spanish banks made the simple mistake of

expanding a wider and beyond the local crack recognition. What we

saw on Friday was a real charge for a university to set-up a bang, a

local authority to set up a bank, it can only be a good thing and I

would happily move away from Barclay's all Lloyd's to a local

regional bank. Where are Labour on this? We are fully supportive of

regional banks. It is a good way for small businesses to get credit.

People have lost faith in the big banks. What they would trust is a

local bank on their High Street which understood the region and

business. Deal applaud the Government's efforts so far? I just

want to get on and do it. One thing I would say is there was some

missed opportunities here. Northern Rock could have been this very

regional bank we talked about. You have not broken up the bank's you

alone. Talking is one game but actions suggest there is not that

much commitment. I spoke with the Chancellor on Wednesday this week

and discussed with him the progress we have made. We pass the Financial

Services Act of 2012, sorted out the regulators, encourage a new

entrance and it is not just neutralising or taking back to the

community big banks that exist, it is putting in new local

organisations. But the government chose to sell Northern Rock off

rather than turn it into a local operator? There would have been

able -- there would not have been... What we are talking about his local

entrants starting afresh and giving the sort of finance we need for

bank lending, houses and for small businesses. What would Labour do?

The idea that Ed Miliband has talked about is a British

Investment Bank raising the capital that would filter down to regional

banks. We do have that already with the regional bank Vince Cable is

doing. Or regional banks have to be created by people within the

regions, people who are part of the fabric of the local society, who

understand the businesses. But it certainly needs a level of

expertise as well? Absolutely but I have talked to a lot of business

people here and there is a real commitment and passion to create

new banks. They raised a lot of expertise to be called upon. I

would be pleased to offer the experience I have to support people

but the backs have to come from local communities. What are the

dangers hear of someone being over- generous? We have seen the problems

of over lending, lending to householders that cannot sustain

that level of debt and you get a collapse. One of the reasons we

have these problems was that banks were making loans back clearly were

not going to be paid because they did not know the people they were

lending to well. One of the advantages of regional banks is

they would have those relationships. The only caveat is aware that the

future will be in regional banks or banks based in regions? The idea

for 40,000 people is great but not realistic. The community needs to

be a little bit bigger and with the changes in technology, geographical

boundaries are disappearing. The fact that 60 % of all banking

transmissions will be done by mobile phones does away with the

whole issue of geography. When will this happen? I think within the

next 18 months you will see a bank being set up. I except entirely

that there may be a larger one based out of Newcastle, but in

Germany they have a much smaller local banks which service the

40,000 people, it takes organising but it is very durable and there is

great desire for this. It has been a busy week with

debates in Parliament on the East Coast main line and the new

emergency service telephone number 111. Here is the week in 60 seconds.

A public enquiry in candle has heard the case for extending the

boundaries of the late Christopher national parks -- Lake District

Where does the political accountability for the 111 system

like? Annie Macdonald wants the East Coast main line to be kept in

public ownership. And UKIP has become the official opposition to

Labour in South Tyneside after sitting three independence join the

party. There is a warning this week that

doctors' surgeries may be forced to close in rural areas because of a

reduction in funding. The government says it wants to ensure

money going to practices reflects the number of patients they serve,

but local doctors fear that could have an impact on remote well what

areas. The West Dales, 700 square miles

with scores of different bird species, tens of thousands of

pounds and hundreds of thousands of sheep. There were also 4,500 people

here served by two GP surgeries. Dr Pam West is the senior partner at

the Central Belt practice, it covers a vast area. We are an hour

and a quarter's drive from the nearest hospital with an accident

and emergency department. We provide a minor injuries service,

we deal with people who are walking casualties, all our visitors as

well as looking after our own patients. The main surgery is in

The main income is worth about �78,000 a year. Without that money

we would have to close one of out to a surgeries making all the stuff

that that surgeries redundant. My concern is that when I come to

retire, and I need my reward GP, they will not be a practice there.

In the Dales village, the monthly lunch club is being held. These

villagers are among those who rely on the surgery. I have been having

treatment for none Hodgkinson's lymphoma and they have acted in

taking a my blood samples to send off to the hospital. I have been on

medication for a long time which necessitates going to the doctor

sometimes as much as once a week, so if there was any suggestion of

closing down the surgery, I would be pretty upset. The lower call MP

is William Hague. He has written to the Health Secretary to raise his

own concerns about the changes. In his reply, the Health Secretary

says the plan is to move towards a more Urquhart will practise

He has referred in his letter to fairness to GPs and I am asking for

fairness to patients. There is deprivation, their last single

parent families, elderly Pope Paul who do not drive. �78,000 here will

spread out here. Eight government says X three directing NHS money

where it is most needed. You're the party is supposed to be

the big supporter of rural communities, why are you insisting

on these changes? They are not necessarily at risk. What we are

doing, I have met with my GPs who serve equally a well what airier

and they accept that there is a difference but what we are doing is

making the case that there has to be a rural element that goes with

the GP practices in truly rural situations. We are still

negotiating with the Department of Health and NHS England and the

point was raised with me so I have exactly the same problems. There is

the point being made by a number of MPs representing well what areas. I

made my case and was the candidate for the Friends of Bellingham

surgery who sued the Health Trust to get a greater part or all

funding. My mother was a matron in an age NHS facility in rural Wales.

What you see is part of the process of us making the case for the

Department of Health. Potentially South Shields may benefit from this

so do you have any sympathy for these will practices? What this

shows its once again the Tories and the coalition cannot be trusted

with patient care. They are spending nearly �2 million in the

north-east on a top down reorganisation at the same time as

talking about cutting GP services. M R's constituents would end up

with more funding. The a would not. There is a crisis in the health

service because of your government. Labour looked at phasing this

payment out in 2008 said this is not a new proposal. It was always

supposed to be a temporary measure. It needs to be connected to the NHS

because it is about patient care ultimately. In his Emma saying she

would increase the health budget to take care of this? It so, why are

they committing less money to the NHS. We should be supporting

patients but we need to find some element of compensating GPs like

the one in the film for the will of Parliament that goes with such a

practice. What would Labour do different need to protect GP

services? It goes back to what I said earlier, they risk a lot of

money being spent on we organisation in the NHS. We do not

know what the situation will be like if we come back into

government but we have always been the party of the NHS. What you can

see it is that it is incomplete crisis at the moment. Your

government has done a lot of GP bashing this week. I have nothing

but support for GPs. It is not easy, Beryl problems. But we are sorting