:01:28. > :01:32.In the North East and Cumbria: How should Labour change its relations
:01:32. > :01:35.with the trade unions? And plans to allow mining deep under
:01:35. > :01:45.the National Park in North Yorkshire. Will it create jobs or
:01:45. > :01:45.
:01:45. > :38:46.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2220 seconds
:38:46. > :38:50.local part of the show, our final one before the summer break. Before
:38:50. > :38:55.we hand out the ice lollies, there is a busy political week to get
:38:56. > :39:01.through with my guests, North East Euro MP Hughes and Redcar MP Ian
:39:01. > :39:05.Swales. Coming up, 1000 jobs at stake as planners decide whether to
:39:05. > :39:09.allow mining deep under the North York Moors National Park. Is it an
:39:09. > :39:12.economic lifeline or could kill off tourism? We will also be talking
:39:13. > :39:18.about zero hours contracts in the NHS, are they a way of dodging basic
:39:18. > :39:21.employment rights? Let's start on this Miners' Gala
:39:21. > :39:25.weekend with Labour's relationship with the trade unions, Ed Miliband
:39:25. > :39:29.has promised big and historic changes. Stephen Hughes, you are a
:39:29. > :39:33.committed trade unionist. Do you agree there is a need to change
:39:33. > :39:38.Labour's relationship with the unions? It has opened peoples eyes
:39:38. > :39:40.to what goes on in the political parties. The stories we have seen
:39:41. > :39:46.coming out of Falkirk. We need to modernise the relationship. The
:39:46. > :39:50.links with the trade unions are vital. I think it is only right that
:39:50. > :39:53.the trade unions should not be automatically signed up, they should
:39:53. > :39:56.have the right to make choices as to whether they want their affiliation
:39:56. > :40:03.fee to go to a particular party or not. That is one thing that Labour
:40:03. > :40:05.has promised. And also the editor of primaries and selection of
:40:06. > :40:09.candidates where MPs are standing down, but my be a good positive
:40:09. > :40:15.development as well. I'd like unions wielded somewhat power over
:40:15. > :40:21.selection of a posse. -- policy. The relationship between the trade union
:40:21. > :40:24.and the Labour Party as was been positive. We have had a system of
:40:25. > :40:34.affiliation fees, unions balloting on is whether they want political
:40:35. > :40:35.
:40:35. > :40:38.funds or not. But the unions were able to influence the selection.
:40:38. > :40:44.need to revitalise the Labour Party and we need to make sure the trade
:40:45. > :40:53.unions want to sign up. One of the things he said was he wants to boots
:40:53. > :40:58.-- boost this, doing crib -- to increase considerably. Why should
:40:58. > :41:01.never be ashamed about being influenced by the very organisation
:41:01. > :41:06.that was there at the start of the Labour Party two -- why should
:41:06. > :41:12.Labour be ashamed. Time has moved on. In 2010, more people voted, more
:41:12. > :41:16.trade unionists voted Conservative or a Lib Dem band voted Labour. The
:41:16. > :41:20.relationship has been breaking down for a long time. And the public do
:41:20. > :41:25.not want to see vested interests involved in candidate selection or
:41:25. > :41:34.policy formulation, whether it is big business or trade unions.
:41:34. > :41:38.you perhaps get a chance for the union members to subscribe...
:41:38. > :41:48.agree with Stephen, I think somatic affiliation because you are in a
:41:48. > :41:49.
:41:49. > :41:56.trade union, but strongly need to be changed. -- automatic affiliation.
:41:57. > :42:01.In the Netherlands, there is a strong trade union movement there.
:42:01. > :42:04.It used to be cool, but these days we are more likely to be digging not
:42:04. > :42:08.a of the ground, it used -- it is used to make fertiliser and what is
:42:08. > :42:10.believed to be the world's the guests supply lies deep beneath the
:42:10. > :42:16.ground in North Yorkshire. Later this month, planners will the site
:42:16. > :42:20.whether to allow a 1500 -- if 1500 metre deep mine shaft to be sunk to
:42:20. > :42:24.get it out. The development would create thousands of local jobs and
:42:24. > :42:30.bring some economic benefits to do so. But it's worth it will come at a
:42:31. > :42:34.high price to the environment and to tourism.
:42:34. > :42:38.There are plenty of opportunities around Whitby if you want to work in
:42:38. > :42:43.tourism for catering. If you want to work in science or engineering,
:42:43. > :42:50.opportunities are a little harder to find. Two island like to be a civil
:42:50. > :42:54.engineer. -- I would like to be a civil engineer. I would like to do
:42:54. > :43:01.engineering at University. I would like to go into a science -based job
:43:01. > :43:07.that I do not see it as being in this area. Without places to employ,
:43:07. > :43:12.it forces you to move away. scientists may soon be able to start
:43:12. > :43:16.their careers without leaving home. Baxter what is being found beneath
:43:16. > :43:25.the ground here at the North York Moors National Park. It is basically
:43:26. > :43:28.a form of fertiliser, the boost this could is, over 1000 jobs. The
:43:28. > :43:35.injection of over �1 billion in building this project. But would any
:43:35. > :43:39.jobs created be cancelled out by job losses in the tourist industry? We
:43:39. > :43:46.are standing about a mile and a half from the proposed site of the mine,
:43:47. > :43:49.looking across the moor land at the drilling rig. We have undertaken
:43:50. > :43:54.research on the impact of the proposed mine on the economy and it
:43:54. > :43:58.has revealed that could be as much as �35 million lost every year
:43:58. > :44:04.during the construction. That is over a period of up to four years.
:44:04. > :44:10.Aside from these fears that opening the mine would deter visitors, there
:44:10. > :44:15.are concerns about the impact it would have on the environment.
:44:15. > :44:20.Indisputable air, the last thing we want is a major industry, and
:44:20. > :44:28.intrusion of this size, just over 12 months ago, I asked the company how
:44:28. > :44:32.much excavate -- excavation would spoil the farm, and I was told it
:44:32. > :44:37.would be 200,000 tubing meters. The planning application went in, that
:44:37. > :44:42.was 600,000 tubing metres. Within a month, they made a correction of
:44:42. > :44:48.saying it was 1.2 million cubic metres of spoil. That is enough to
:44:48. > :44:51.fill Wembley Stadium to the roof. The company says those increases are
:44:51. > :44:55.made due to mistake by consultants working for them. They insist they
:44:55. > :45:01.will take care of the National Park. We have established a track record
:45:01. > :45:05.of looking at the moment. -- looking after the environment. The National
:45:05. > :45:10.Park is an important part of the country. It is something we are
:45:10. > :45:18.working to ensure that it is stronger and better, and it is
:45:18. > :45:21.getting a more vibrant economy. need to convince the park authority
:45:21. > :45:26.to allow them to bring heavy industry to this vast expanse of
:45:26. > :45:30.national beauty. The company will have to prove there is an
:45:30. > :45:37.exceptional national need to build a mine in the National Park.
:45:37. > :45:42.The local MP in the area where the miners plan is Scarborough and
:45:42. > :45:48.Whitby MP. I asked him if every job rated by mining, another could be
:45:48. > :45:52.lost in the tourism industry. I have was medically we cannot give
:45:52. > :45:56.potash mining and environmental blank cheque. But they have bent
:45:56. > :45:58.over backwards to make sure the impact on the environment in the
:45:58. > :46:03.North York Moors National Park is minimised. There has been some
:46:03. > :46:09.rather spurious figures published, that would say we would lose 20% of
:46:09. > :46:14.our tourists, that is ridiculous. I have yet to see anyone turn a car
:46:14. > :46:16.around when they passed the area. I'm -- I think it would be a shot in
:46:16. > :46:22.the arm for the local economy, particularly some of the villages,
:46:22. > :46:24.which I note dominated by second homes and holiday cottages. We will
:46:24. > :46:29.get some life into those communities. People who work in the
:46:29. > :46:32.mine will be able to live in the village, use the shop in the winter
:46:32. > :46:36.when it is often quite a struggle. It will have a positive impact on
:46:36. > :46:42.the communities and I think the impact on tourism will be minimal.
:46:42. > :46:45.You cannot dismiss a National Park Service which suggested that this
:46:45. > :46:53.mine during construction could cost �40 million a year to the tourist
:46:53. > :46:56.industry. They asked people whether they would be put off going to the
:46:56. > :47:02.National Park if there was a mass of mine, and I think 14% said they
:47:02. > :47:05.might be. The evidence is not like that. If you go to the village at
:47:05. > :47:10.the top of my constituency, it is within sight of another mine, and it
:47:11. > :47:13.is still another vibrant tourist community. And we have the impact of
:47:13. > :47:19.the construction workers, who will be staying in bed and Breakfast in
:47:19. > :47:22.some cases, in local hotels, so they will be quite a positive impact on
:47:22. > :47:28.hospitality industry. We need to be careful we do not have too big an
:47:28. > :47:33.impact on the guesthouses -- and the ghettos as turnover to construction
:47:33. > :47:38.workers for six or seven months and then lose their tourism trade.
:47:38. > :47:43.Ian Swales, is it acceptable to put a potash mine in the National Park?
:47:43. > :47:46.I have been working closely with York Potash and what did not come
:47:46. > :47:53.from the film is the amazing design they have got which puts the mine
:47:53. > :47:58.are low ground. The top of the mine, it will be underground. All you will
:47:59. > :48:04.see is a building like a barn, and a car park. They have cleverly put it
:48:04. > :48:11.underground. All the mind material will be pipelined to Teeside for
:48:11. > :48:16.processing. I think they are bending over backwards on the environment
:48:16. > :48:19.and I think some of the scare stories are just that. There is
:48:19. > :48:25.concern that having a mine is not necessarily the greatest PR. As I
:48:25. > :48:31.say, I have seen scale models and photographs, you will barely know
:48:31. > :48:33.there is a mine. The processing will be done underground. You will not
:48:33. > :48:39.actually see the typical mining activities above ground. It is a
:48:39. > :48:42.very clever design. I think it is overwhelmingly positive, economic
:48:42. > :48:46.leader and I do not accept that people will not visit the North
:48:46. > :48:50.Yorkshire Moors because of this facility. Stephen Hughes, the North
:48:50. > :48:55.East has a history of mining, but it is history, does it lead mines for
:48:55. > :49:01.the 20th -- for the 21st century? Two we have always had a play-off
:49:01. > :49:11.between jobs and the environment. That has been so for many years.
:49:11. > :49:13.had a good environment and good jobs. One thing to take into account
:49:13. > :49:18.is the European habitats directive, in terms of environmental impact
:49:18. > :49:23.assessment. Other important issues might be visibility, but it might
:49:23. > :49:28.have an impact on the water table, he could have a profound effect on
:49:28. > :49:33.the flora and fauna and the habitat generally. It is hard to turn down
:49:34. > :49:38.that number of jobs. That is the dilemma. There might be some
:49:38. > :49:42.environmental concerns, but the jobs are very important. You have to bear
:49:42. > :49:48.in mind as well that this is an international interest. The flora
:49:48. > :49:53.and fauna, there are some rare flora and fauna in the North York is and
:49:53. > :49:58.we have a responsible to to protect them as well. Would you accept that
:49:58. > :50:02.this is a concern, even if they make it look fine, they could be an
:50:02. > :50:10.impact on the environment that we cannot sell that just for the jobs.
:50:10. > :50:14.That these to be -- that needs to be properly assessed. I do not think
:50:14. > :50:18.there is the kind of impact that people might fear, for example,
:50:18. > :50:23.people who have seen opencast mining, this is nothing like that.
:50:23. > :50:28.We are talking about 1500 metres underground. And then up to just
:50:28. > :50:34.under the ground, then piped away. It will not the affecting the woods
:50:34. > :50:37.and moors around it at all. -- be affecting.
:50:37. > :50:41.The Prime Minister recently agreed a real terms cut in the European Union
:50:41. > :50:44.budget, that means inevitably there will be less you might share over
:50:45. > :50:50.the next few years. In the past, the European structural funds of hot
:50:50. > :50:52.paper project like the stadium might and the Baltic. But how much will
:50:52. > :50:57.the region get in the future? I have been finding out.
:50:57. > :51:02.You probably do not need me to tell you that this time along with buying
:51:02. > :51:06.any time soon. It is being recycled by a company based at Durham Tees
:51:06. > :51:12.Valley airport. The firm that would also have been grounded about almost
:51:12. > :51:17.�1 million of your money. -- you money. It has enabled us to invest
:51:17. > :51:23.in staff, we will have after completion of our funding, about
:51:23. > :51:27.eight full-time staff, probably about six subcontractors per
:51:27. > :51:32.aeroplane at any one time, that probably brings around 30 jobs into
:51:32. > :51:39.this building. More European funding is on the way. Between 2014 and
:51:39. > :51:46.2020, the area will get 406 to �5 billion. Tees Valley, 107 �5
:51:46. > :51:53.million. Cumbria, �78 million. Each will get a greater say over how it
:51:53. > :51:56.is spent. Crucial to those who are handing out the money. Locally
:51:56. > :52:00.delivered programmes can affect the particularities of the place where
:52:00. > :52:04.they are. That makes them much more appropriate for the businesses that
:52:04. > :52:09.are there, the entrepreneurs, the sorts of sectors being developed. It
:52:09. > :52:11.is critical in terms of the effectiveness of those businesses.
:52:11. > :52:15.The new funding might also follow the region to do more work like
:52:15. > :52:20.this. Welcome to what is gone to become a science centre in
:52:20. > :52:26.Newcastle, this 32 acre former brewery site is being transformed
:52:26. > :52:33.model of the biggest regeneration product and not a lovely guy. --
:52:33. > :52:37.products -- projects in the UK. But the part of EU money available could
:52:37. > :52:41.have been even bigger. The government has taken �675 million
:52:41. > :52:44.away from England's EU funding allocation and handed it to
:52:44. > :52:49.Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. That means all nations face
:52:49. > :52:54.a 5% cut in grants. Has that left a gaping hole in the deal? Not
:52:54. > :52:57.according to some. We have to make streaming well, we have actually got
:52:58. > :53:02.about the same sum of money that came in the last round. -- we have
:53:02. > :53:06.done extremely well. Considering the changes that have happened, and
:53:06. > :53:10.everyone says is the North East is the richer economic competitiveness
:53:10. > :53:13.in Europe, we have done extremely well. European money has already
:53:13. > :53:18.left a legacy throughout the region. Have we really got the best deal
:53:18. > :53:25.available? Hard hat and the high viz vest is
:53:25. > :53:29.now compulsory uniform for reporters. Stephen Hughes, you have
:53:29. > :53:35.said the North East will miss out in favour of Scotland, explain why.
:53:35. > :53:39.Like -- the test on whether a region get EU funding is a calculation of
:53:39. > :53:44.what proportion that region has the average wealth of the nation.
:53:44. > :53:50.take the south of this region, Durham and the Tees Valley, it is
:53:50. > :53:54.less than 75% of the national average wealth. Scotland, 90%, so
:53:54. > :53:59.they should be getting much less. But the Secretary of State has
:53:59. > :54:03.creamed off part of the money from the English regions to distribute to
:54:03. > :54:08.Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland. As you have heard, almost
:54:08. > :54:12.200 million going to Scotland, when it is considerably better off in
:54:12. > :54:20.wealth terms than the North East. But those nations are facing 30%
:54:20. > :54:26.cuts. If you look at the level of wealth, the North East as a whole,
:54:26. > :54:29.including Tyne & Wear, has just over 75% of the average wealth of the
:54:29. > :54:33.nation has a whole. That is considerably less than Scotland. We
:54:33. > :54:40.have done a good job using European money, but we do need more. The job
:54:40. > :54:44.is not finished yet. This money could have been extremely useful.
:54:44. > :54:50.you share those concerns? I do, but you can see why the Government has
:54:50. > :54:55.decided to make those cuts. I think we should, as one of your reporters
:54:55. > :54:58.said, we should look on the price they, the North East has the most
:54:58. > :55:02.money in the country after London and Cornwall. -- look on the bright
:55:02. > :55:06.side. The Tees Valley has about the same as Sheffield or Liverpool.
:55:06. > :55:09.These are huge sums of money, recognising the needs of our area.
:55:09. > :55:17.The central Government is only taking 5% of the top of these
:55:17. > :55:20.amount, whereas the previous Government to 50% off the top.
:55:20. > :55:25.about the money to Scotland, it seems that of a coincidence with an
:55:25. > :55:27.independence referendum in the offing. It is only a confidence
:55:27. > :55:32.because they have done exactly the same prep in them, Scotland,
:55:32. > :55:35.Northern Ireland and Wales. The percentage cut is the same in all
:55:35. > :55:40.four nations. People want to spin that story about the effect is the
:55:40. > :55:42.same cut everywhere. You cannot pretend this isn't a good deal for
:55:42. > :55:47.the North East in terms of the amount of money coming year compared
:55:47. > :55:51.to other parts of England and the UK. Given our relative poverty, we
:55:51. > :55:56.should have had more. The only reason we are going to get any money
:55:56. > :56:01.at all is because we got transitional region status. Our own
:56:01. > :56:07.Government did not support that. They opposed it. A settlement was
:56:07. > :56:10.reached at European level. But the majority were in favour.
:56:10. > :56:13.At least 6000 people in the North East including many shopworkers are
:56:13. > :56:17.on what is called zero hours contracts. That is where the
:56:17. > :56:21.employee is not guaranteed any work but is effectively on-call. This
:56:21. > :56:25.week, Sunderland MP questioned the rise in the number of such contracts
:56:25. > :56:34.within the NHS. With that, and the rest of the week's little news,
:56:34. > :56:39.here's Mark Denten. Proposals are 21,000 new homes in
:56:40. > :56:43.Newcastle by 2030 Abbey published in a plan. 6000 will be built on the
:56:43. > :56:45.green belt. There will be a public enquiry next year bottle by
:56:45. > :56:48.deliveries in Gateshead have been taken over by volunteers of the
:56:48. > :56:55.council said it cannot afford to run them. The council has also scrapped
:56:55. > :56:59.plans to compensate... Thousands of NHS are losing out on climate rights
:56:59. > :57:03.because they are on zero hours contracts. Julie Elliott told the
:57:03. > :57:07.debate it had a detrimental impact on the lives of many workers. Like
:57:07. > :57:10.the disruption to family life is a result of frequent short notice
:57:10. > :57:14.requirements to work. It makes so many things, from arranging
:57:14. > :57:18.childcare to doing the weekly shopping, nearly impossible to
:57:18. > :57:22.plan. North East MPs are calling propulsive to resolve the dispute on
:57:23. > :57:27.the Tyne & Wear Metro, they will -- the one staff to be given up living
:57:27. > :57:37.wage. And Lord Campbell savours is to be greater on the colour of the
:57:37. > :57:39.
:57:39. > :57:42.University of Canberra. -- Cumbria. Ian Swales, we can talk but the zero
:57:42. > :57:47.hours contract, hospitals and Sunderland, Gateshead, Hartlepool,
:57:47. > :57:51.both Cumbria, they are among those using them. They say it is about
:57:51. > :57:55.being as flexible as possible -- as possible. It needs looking at. The
:57:55. > :58:00.previous Government looked at it and concluded they should not do
:58:00. > :58:03.anything. There has been a gross and I think it is time to look at it
:58:04. > :58:09.again. I cannot say I have had a single constituent raised the issue
:58:09. > :58:12.with me although I have had care workers raised the issue of reach of
:58:12. > :58:15.the minimum wage regulations in terms of not being paid for their
:58:15. > :58:21.travel time between calls, that is something I have taken up with the
:58:21. > :58:28.minister. Is it a way of avoiding honouring workers' writes two that
:58:28. > :58:31.is what needs looking at. Let's member, some people want these, this
:58:31. > :58:38.kind of flexibility because it sees their lifestyle, students for
:58:38. > :58:41.example. One key question is, is the flexibility to way, or are people
:58:41. > :58:46.actually being abused, because they are expected to be factual but do
:58:46. > :58:49.not have the effect that might flexibility in return two I cannot
:58:49. > :58:52.imagine you are a great fan of this, but this is the real world for
:58:52. > :59:01.many workers. It means they get work when perhaps they would not do
:59:01. > :59:05.otherwise. We need to regularise all forms of contract. We introduced the
:59:06. > :59:11.directive on part-time work, fixed term contract work, agency work. My
:59:11. > :59:17.own government opposed them, I have today -- I have to say. The UK
:59:17. > :59:21.Labour market and to devise a body is going to hell and handcart. This
:59:21. > :59:23.is a major source of abuse of these workers. I have had workers come to
:59:23. > :59:27.me who are required to be there early in the morning, stayed till
:59:27. > :59:33.late at night, eight times during the day unpaid, that is in breach of
:59:33. > :59:39.the minimum pay regulations. -- break times. Is this happening
:59:39. > :59:43.across Europe? We are seeing various forms of flexibility emerging in all
:59:43. > :59:48.of the markets. I think it is part of the rest of the body, it has to
:59:48. > :59:51.stop. People deserve a decent contract of work. I think in the
:59:51. > :59:56.health service, this is causing major disruption, dislocation in the
:59:56. > :00:04.care of patients. They do not know who has gone to turn up to take care
:00:04. > :00:07.of them. Some of these arrangements are already illegal. The thing that
:00:07. > :00:13.keeps them asleep at night if they know a lot of the members are
:00:13. > :00:17.actually breaching the minimum wage regulations. I think it is really
:00:17. > :00:23.important that people who feel abused in that way report the
:00:23. > :00:30.situation. What can the Government do? Can they stop it happening? A
:00:30. > :00:34.lot of these contracts are not illegal. There are many types of
:00:34. > :00:38.contracts out there, some will be fine, some, people will want. But
:00:38. > :00:42.there are others which you could argue are a form of reviews. For
:00:42. > :00:47.example, having to be on-call at home and disrupt life without
:00:47. > :00:51.knowing whether you are going to get work or not. Or being told that you
:00:51. > :00:56.have a job and then finding it in a whole week you do not earn any
:00:56. > :01:00.money. Would you accept it is better to do these contracts and save money
:01:00. > :01:05.for the NHS to spend on patients rather than staff? You have to bear
:01:05. > :01:10.in mind, the rights of the people working in these jobs as well. They
:01:10. > :01:14.have a right to a decent contract, decent life. They have been deprived
:01:14. > :01:21.of that. That is unacceptable. you very much.
:01:21. > :01:24.That's about all from us, but before we leave for the beach, a reminder
:01:24. > :01:29.of my blog and Twitter address on the screen now. The you can keep