12/05/2013 Sunday Politics North West

North West: From bins to burials, parking to pitches, who is being hit

hardest by rising council charges? And joining me this week, the

Liberal Democrat MP for Southport, John Pugh. Newline Joe Anderson, it

has been a year since you took over as the directly elected mayor of the

city, what difference has that made? The difference is making sure

we deliver my pledges and manifesto commitments. I pledge to build new

schools and houses, new school -- a new school opens next September, and

we are in the �5,000 pledge we made, or we ought on site with 2500 in the

first year so we create more jobs and be the best business friendly

city in the UK, so we will meet those manifesto commitments.

John, you are a mP to the north, what difference have you noticed?

I fail to see how the difference would have been different had he

been a councillor with a council behind him, joint cooperation with

the police, I fail to see what having a mayor does to change

matters, I think Joe would have done just as good a job as a council

leader. We asked people outside Liverpool

town Hall for their views. I have not got a clue. It is the

same as it was a year ago when he came in. All right with the he has

got. Icon from the South East and compare it to worry Johnson. He has

done all right. Boris Johnson has done a good job and put London on

the map so if Joe Anderson can do that, fantastic.

Pick and go on what John said, has it may difference being mad and

council leader? -- picking up. course, I met with three senior

commissioners in Brussels in one afternoon talking about structural

funding for Liverpool and talking about transport issues and the

cruise liner, I believe I got those three meetings because I was mayor

of a modern city. Look across the globe, look at modern cities with

former governors were somebody is directly accountable -- formal

governors. It is good enough that Europe and America and states and

cities and for our capital in London, it is good enough for

Liverpool. People will have the chance to say yes or no in three

years time if we have been doing a good job but at least I am

accountable. It is a mistake to think London is a

lesson, London is very different, Boris Johnson has a lot more powers

and more resources and he can get more done. We should not pretend

regional mayors or anything like the London mayor or anything like the

power he has got. -- or anything like. Has the post of mayor enhanced

the city's profile? A year is not long to make an impact

but it is important to recall one of the used -- one of the reasons we

had no referendum was the idea of gaining competitive advantage and

other cities will have a referendum that will delay them having the

mayor, so the idea was to get in fast and make a difference and there

is no evidence that has happened. I have just come back from the

United Arab Emirates where we had a successful visit, people have been

over this week and coming next week. We have put ourselves on the

world stage and we went to a summit of city readers. We have the

international festival of business coming here with leaders from across

the globe. How is Manchester losing out by not having a mayor? I am not

particularly interested in Manchester, my interest is

Liverpool. Johnson dashed John is saying that Manchester is managing

without a mayor. -- John is saying. They have been working for a number

of years as a combined authority. Liverpool has a mayor in position

that is now accountable across the five constituencies. 60% of the

voters voted for me and in three years time, they will have a chance

to vote me out. The buck stops with me and they know who represents the

city. John, you have got some concerns

that having a mayor of Liverpool is taking the focus away from other

parts of Merseyside. There is a concern we will move to a regional

mayor so we will have people in charge of Saint Helens, Sefton and

Knowsley. It would destroy politics on Merseyside because the voice of

the areas around Liverpool would be lost and we would be dominated by a

Liverpool agenda, not a -- not an agenda for my constituency of

Southport for example. They would all be uncomfortable with it.

is up for the people of Saint Helens and Sefton and Wigan. I am not

denying anybody a say. My job as mayor of Liverpool is to promote

Liverpool and to get the best deal and that is what I intend to do. If

the other authorities want to look at a regional mayor, that is for

them. Moving on. And two months ago,

14-year-old Jade Anderson was killed by dogs in a friend's home in

Atherton near Bolton. Her death followed that of John Paul Massey in

Liverpool four years ago. Well, in the Queen's Speech this week, plans

were announced to tighten the law on dogs on private property. But will

it help prevent attacks, and will any new law actually see the light

of day? Claire Hamilton reports. Staffordshire bull terriers like

this have a bad press, the most recent dog attack on a child on

Merseyside involved one. Nicky trains dogs with behavioural

problems. Every dog is capable of biting and it is up to us as

humans, we are their carers, to make sure they are educated as we would

our children. The families of macro-1 and John Paul Massey, both

killed by dogs on private hoppity, have campaigned for a change in the

law -- Jade Anderson. Jade 's MP says what is happening is not

enough. There is no timetable and it is something we frightened they

could kick into the long grass. It is they are talking about changing

legislation to make attacks on private property prosecutable, but

we need to prevent the tragedy happening. Jade was one of six fatal

dog attacks in homes since 2007. 210,000 people each year are taxed

by dogs in England alone, including 4000 postal workers. They welcome

the change. The smaller cases or a nip or scratch but serious cases

members taking time off work. One member had to retire from the job at

32 because the injury was so bad. Experts say the law may change but

the cat -- but the key to well-behaved dogs is responsible

owners. I would bring in compulsory Basic dog training, minimal stuff to

ensure the dog is safe and so is everybody else. The government says

there will be no bit action for trespassers like burglars who are

attacked by a dog. -- protection. John, is this new legislation going

to do anything to prevent attacks? I hope so, there are underdressed

problems, the problem of badly behaved dogs on their own land. And

there is a problem of trophy dogs and people reading dogs they do not

know how to bring up. I will press the government to take action. It is

not easy to see the right solution at I am sure we will get a better

result and fewer fatalities and accidents. But previous legislation

has not worked very well, has it? was a knee-jerk reaction to a couple

of issues involving particular reads of dogs and we were going down the

wrong road. -- reads. We have learned from that. As mayor, Joel,

you are aware there is a real problem and that you get a lot of

people who use dogs as a weapon -- Joel Anderson. We are concerned

about that. A short while ago, John Paul Massey in Liverpool was killed

and I welcome the new laws. But we could have gone a lot further. I

would like to have seen for instance microchips of dogs and licensing of

dogs, people going out and spending �500 on a dog and we argue it is

against the Civil Liberties to force them to have a licence. That is

absurd! In Liverpool, we have dog control orders trialling in three

wards. We are not allowing dogs to go into parks or into cemeteries

where we have had particular problems, and we tell people dogs

have to be on reads or with a muzzle if they are often reads. -- leads.

Have you got the resources? We have got people who can see where there

is abuse and we have got CCTV and things. And it gets reported to us

because clearly it is signposted that this is a protected area or a

designated area, so people will report that and we will send people

along to make sure that is enforced. But I believe the

government could have gone further than this and I believe those issues

that dog licenses and microchips brings up is important. You wanted

microchip Inc, John, didn't you? will have some legislation and

members interested in this. We will have amendment and changes. This is

not a closed door, it is about a progressive piece of legislation to

be improved by Parliament and not to be a party political matters.

We mentioned about resources of looking after dogs. From bin

collections to burials, local councils across the North West are

looking for ways to make up the shortfall in their budget.

Manchester City Council is looking at parking charges, and in

Blackburn, the cost of funerals has gone up. And in one local authority,

there are accusations the ruling party is hitting opposition voters

hardest. Elaine Dunkley reports. How to make savings is a

multi-million-pound question for councils. In Sefton, proposals to

increase the fees for football pitches were met with protests. Now

the council is looking at parking charges to raise an extra �350,000 a

year. I come into a couple of shops but

that is it and if parking charges go up, it is not going to attract

people. It is supposed to be a tourist

resort, so if you want tourists to come into the town, you should offer

them the facilities they need. The Vincent is an award winning

restaurant and hotel in Southport. Owner Paul Adams believes the town's

economy will suffer if the parking price hike goes ahead.

I believe as it is, I have seen an improvement in trade in this area.

We are doing well and other businesses are doing well in the

town and I think putting up the charges by a couple of pounds will

make a difference. People feel Southport is being picked on.

council is also looking at charging �46 a year to collect garden waste.

Some councillors feel more affluent areas such as Southport are being

unfairly targeted to clean up messy budgets.

We have got the wheelie bin tax for green waste collection. That will

hit Southport disc portion of the hard because people have always had

gardens -- dish -- disproportionately. Southport has

been singled out. It is an easy hit and there are no members of the

ruling party from Southport, it was too easy for them to pile the costs

on to us rather than face up to some of the hard decisions they could

have taken instead. And it is not just the cost of

living that has gone up, so has the cost of dying in Sefton. Cremations

and burials have gone up from �600 to �750. The Leader of the Council

says tough decisions need to be made.

When you have Sefton Council with a gap in its budget over a 4-macro

year period of a, the consequence is that you are not concentrating money

in one area -- a four-year period. You are spreading it across the

whole of the council and it is difficult. I do not say we have made

all the right choices but we have tried to do it as fairly as we can.

Elsewhere, over in Wirral, across the garden hedges, similar arguments

are growing. From June, Wirral residents will have to pay for their

garden waste bins. It is the thin end of the wedge and

if we pay this charge, what is the next extra that is going to come

along in addition to the council tax we already pay?

They have increased the council tax and transparent about this and let's

see what the people of Wirral want. We pay in off in council tax as it

is. I pay 1000 pounds a year -- we pay enough.

It is against everything the country is about, recycling and green

energy. As reluctant residents shoulder the

shortfall. The burden of balancing budgets is no doubt a conundrum for

many councils. John, you are a former leader of

Sefton Council, two councils have any alternative other than putting

up charges? I recognise that all local authorities, particularly in

the north, have a difficult financial situation. In Sefton, it

is like a North Korean authoritarian style readership whereby we are not

allowed to look fully at the budgets -- leadership. We have priorities

chosen by a closed group and a budget in adequately scrutinised and

the public are not satisfied and they fear groups in people -- groups

in areas that do not vote Labour are being punished.

-- are not being punished. I am sure they would disagree if they were sat

here, being compared to a Soviet style dictatorship. The great and

about them is they use misleading statistics. You heard the statistics

cut from the Sefton budgets, I saw it was about �215 million manage all

-- manageable budget, smaller than that. So what he is saying is that

Sefton, half the budget is gone that is not true! Everybody comes up with

completely different figures. does not help with the argument. It

is a fact of life. But under these circumstances, what specifically can

you say is being done wrong? Let me put it to Joe Anderson. You are in

the thick of this. Have you any alternative other than putting up

charges? Every authority is different and

will have to do things specifically to meet their budget deficits. Let's

be clear. Every council in the North is going to face severe problems.

The idea that the leader of Sefton is making up these figures is

nonsense. Why would he? The idea that he wants to cut areas of

Southport and protect areas... What he wants to do is make his budget

work in the same way that Liverpool has. We are asked by central

government to do more with less. They are passing on

responsibilities. And I noticed with John and the Liberal Democrat leader

of Sefton, what they did not come up with was any solutions, what they

did was criticised the leader of Sefton. I am happy to sit down with

Sefton and look at their budget. They gave up publishing their budget

if you years ago and have not resumed, it even though I have

asked. -- if you years ago. There are �6 million of social service cut

unallocated in Sefton and how they got that through, I do not know.

John talked about North Korea, his political spin is as good as

there's! Of course he can scrutinise the budget, so can everybody.

Liberal Democrat colleagues in Merseyside should tell the

government how unfair cuts to the north and they should demand more

support, rather than trying to attack us. I am very happy to do

that. I never hear it. You hostile to the Wirral plans we saw? Are they

wrong? -- you hostile. I believe the North is getting a bad deal and

Metropolitan boroughs also, there is a spending round coming up, I am

happy to talk to the government about this and to indicate we need a

far better deal. I am not happy about the public getting misleading

statistics and given Labour priorities. I am sure Peter would be

happy for you to scrutinise the figures, as I am. Eric pickles can

scrutinise Liverpool's figures! -- pickles. I do not believe anybody is

trying to cut services. It is a lovely invitation on Peter's behalf.

And, Joe, it is still a tense time in some of our town halls. We had

the news this week that Marie Rimmer, who has been the leader of

Street Helens Council on and off since the 1980s, has been ousted and

replaced by Barrie Grunewald. It sounds like a pretty divisive power

struggle. You know Marie well. Do you welcome the new arrival? She was

doing a fantastic job and it is none of my business what et al and the

Labour group do to elect their leaders, and I would not expect them

to interfere with Sefton all Liverpool. -- what they do. I am

sure she will do a good job in the future. A competent politician, I

have worked with her. Time for a round-up of the rest of

the week's news now. Here is 60 Seconds. Stop speeding - an Isle of

Man coroner says the absence of a national speed limit is putting

lives at risk. His comments followed the death of motorcyclist there. --

a motorcyclist. Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans is

temporarily standing down as Deputy Speaker of the Commons, after his

arrest for rape and sexual assault. He denies wrongdoing.

Betrayed by the system. Now campaigners are calling for a

government apology for what they say was a post-war policy of forced

adoption for unmarried mothers. It is something you would expect

from maybe even the Middle Ages, it is Draconian! No, it's not just me,

our mayors actually are getting younger.

21-year-old councillor George Hayes took the reins at Congleton Town

Council this week. And Manchester MP John Leech tabled

a parliamentary motion praising United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. The

City season ticket holder called Fergie's 27 years at Old Trafford an

"outstanding contribution to I am not sure we have heard enough

about Sir Alex Ferguson this week! David Moyes, he has been running it

Everton for 11 years, will he be a big loss to Liverpool? -- running

Everton? It is great for Liverpool's economy for all clubs are doing well

and it is a big boost for the sector in terms of hotels and trades and

bars and restaurants. David Moyes has done a great job for Everton, I

believe. And you are a fan of the club! From my point of view, it is

the pinnacle of a manager's career to be in that kind of position.

Would you want anything more than that? I would not stand in his way.

No manager is bigger than Everton football club and I am sure the club

will go from strength to strength. What about sending Alex Ferguson to

the Lords? If he did not get the vote right, he would act -- he would

ask for extra time. Is it a good idea? He has something to contribute

but I do not think it would be to his liking, that environment,

because he is more consultative and less directive. I would like to see

some members of the Lords get the hairdryer treatment to wake them up!