:01:27. > :01:31.In the south east: and how thousands of homeowners and flood
:01:31. > :01:41.risky areas could be left high and dry in a stand-off between the
:01:41. > :01:41.
:01:41. > :30:55.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1754 seconds
:30:55. > :30:58.I'm Rob Smith and this is the Sunday Politics in the South East.
:30:58. > :31:02.Coming up in the next 20 minutes: Vocational studies on the scrap
:31:02. > :31:05.heap. As an East Sussex skills centre looks set to close, we find
:31:05. > :31:11.out how the Government's new rules on school league tables will hit
:31:11. > :31:15.learning the South East. With me in the studio today are Hastings and
:31:15. > :31:19.Rye MP Amber Rudd and former MP for Gillingham and Rainham Paul Clark.
:31:19. > :31:23.We will get on to schools in a moment, and also take a look at a
:31:23. > :31:27.major row over flood risk and home insurance, but first Pfizer.
:31:27. > :31:30.It is a year since the company announced it was pulling out of
:31:30. > :31:33.Kent, with the loss of 2,500 jobs. It all looked bleak at the time,
:31:33. > :31:36.but now the site is showing signs of life. 650 Pfizer jobs are
:31:36. > :31:46.actually staying on the site, which is now called the Discovery Park,
:31:46. > :31:51.and about to be sold to new buyers. So all's well that ends well?
:31:51. > :31:56.and delighted that clearly 650 jobs will stay there, and a survey has
:31:56. > :32:00.shown that 1,000 out of the 1,500 made redundant have found other
:32:00. > :32:04.jobs. But none of us should underestimate the effect it has on
:32:04. > :32:13.families, individuals, knocking confidence and having to get
:32:13. > :32:18.through that. It is incumbent on all of us in positions to help.
:32:18. > :32:23.enough being done? My thoughts are that it is difficult to see that is
:32:23. > :32:29.the case when you have economic policies leading to even higher
:32:29. > :32:32.unemployment than before. These are very difficult times. This week we
:32:32. > :32:37.have had an announcement of another pharmaceutical company that is
:32:37. > :32:40.shedding a few hundred. Amber Rudd, it is a tough ask to
:32:40. > :32:46.bring top-end science jobs to Kent. Has the Government actually done
:32:46. > :32:53.enough? An enormous amount has been done. It was a devastating blow to
:32:53. > :33:03.the area when Pfizer announced this. But the Sun which task force came
:33:03. > :33:04.
:33:04. > :33:07.together, which has cross-party, and it has been very successful.
:33:07. > :33:17.And it is now under offer for expanding with another business.
:33:17. > :33:17.
:33:17. > :33:20.There is a lot of good news. Find. -- thank you. I mentioned that
:33:20. > :33:23.there is a major row brewing over flood risk and home insurance. In
:33:23. > :33:25.fact something of a stand-off between the coalition government
:33:25. > :33:28.and British Insurers has developed, which could mean that tens of
:33:28. > :33:32.thousands of homeowners in the region will be left without flood
:33:32. > :33:35.cover next year. A number may even lose the value of their homes or
:33:35. > :33:42.breach the terms of their mortgages. Helen Drew went to meet some of
:33:42. > :33:49.those likely to be affected. Flood seems 12 years ago in a
:33:49. > :33:55.village in Kent. A high water mark on the 16th century house is a
:33:56. > :34:03.subtle reminder of those floods. But for the owner of this house,
:34:03. > :34:07.memories are all too stark. started in 1999, Christmas Eve. It
:34:07. > :34:12.is etched in my memory. It is dreadful because you see the water
:34:12. > :34:17.coming in, and you cannot stop it. You have to just wait for it to
:34:17. > :34:27.Galway. And then you're left with half of a river inside your
:34:27. > :34:32.possessions. It may she very nervy, and you're constantly looking at
:34:32. > :34:42.the weather forecast. -- it makes you very nervy. One in six homes in
:34:42. > :34:44.
:34:44. > :34:47.England is at risk of flooding. Kent has the third highest risk...
:34:47. > :34:51.There is also the increasing problem of surface flooding which
:34:51. > :34:55.often happens in our urban areas where street drains are not able to
:34:55. > :35:01.cope with heavy rainfall. This offence Kent more than any county,
:35:01. > :35:05.with an additional 70,000 homes at risk. If things like this happen in
:35:05. > :35:08.the future, there is a chance that homes will not be insured. There is
:35:08. > :35:11.an agreement in place at the moment between the government and the
:35:11. > :35:15.insurance industry which means companies have to provide insurance
:35:15. > :35:22.for the vast majority of flood risk properties. In return the
:35:22. > :35:25.government provides love -- flood defences. The agreement ends next
:35:25. > :35:29.year. Insurers say they might not insure certain homes without
:35:29. > :35:34.government support, especially considering that spending on flood
:35:34. > :35:38.defences fell by 27% in the first year of the coalition government.
:35:38. > :35:42.We have to be clear that if no agreement is put in place, there
:35:42. > :35:52.could be 200,000 people across the country, including many in Kent and
:35:52. > :35:56.south-east, he struggled to access insure and -- on acceptable terms.
:35:56. > :36:01.Insurers to have to price risk as accurately as the camera will find
:36:01. > :36:04.it difficult to produce premiums which are affordable to people and
:36:04. > :36:14.at the highest risk of flooding. Insurers have to make a profit, and
:36:14. > :36:15.
:36:15. > :36:22.have to charge prices that affect This house has been flooded twice
:36:22. > :36:25.in the last 12 years, at a cost of �130,000. Its owner, who has since
:36:25. > :36:29.joined the National flood for them, was insured, but she is worried
:36:29. > :36:33.what would happen if she could no longer get cover. It would be a
:36:33. > :36:37.real worry in many ways. First of all I would feel very vulnerable if
:36:37. > :36:44.the house for the -- flooded. How could we call with putting it back
:36:44. > :36:49.together? That in itself is a very serious worry. But there are other
:36:49. > :36:53.implications. Our mortgage requires us to have buildings insurance in
:36:53. > :37:02.place, but if we do not have it in place, have we defaulted on the
:37:02. > :37:05.lending terms? What would it mean if we want to sell the home? One in
:37:05. > :37:08.six homes are at risk of flooding, and it could have a huge impact on
:37:08. > :37:13.the whole property market. The end of the existing insurance agreement
:37:13. > :37:16.could mean a growing torrent of people cannot claim for fun --
:37:17. > :37:20.flood damage. Or worse than that, they may be in breach of their
:37:20. > :37:29.mortgage terms without an insurance policy. If the Government prepared
:37:29. > :37:34.for this? Joining us is the MP for Dartford,
:37:34. > :37:39.Gareth Johnson, who has over 300 floods -- flood risk homes in his
:37:39. > :37:43.constituency. Who should cover the risk of flooding? There is a
:37:43. > :37:47.collective responsibility here. The government has his role to
:37:47. > :37:51.negotiate. I understand the negotiations are ongoing with the
:37:51. > :37:59.Association of British Insurers, so a deal that can be found between
:37:59. > :38:03.insurance companies and governments will be can insure people living in
:38:03. > :38:06.flood risk areas. There is no reason at we cannot make sure there
:38:06. > :38:10.is affordable insurance available for each of the households. How can
:38:10. > :38:16.you do that? We could come to an agreement with insurance companies.
:38:16. > :38:26.We are working with private companies with local councils and
:38:26. > :38:35.
:38:35. > :38:40.the environment agency to make sure these things are in place. You
:38:40. > :38:46.mentioned Pfizer, and they are investing �30 million in Kent on
:38:46. > :38:51.flood defences. But this is a private company. There is a
:38:51. > :38:55.collective responsibility. There is opportunity for Pfizer to
:38:55. > :38:57.contribute, which they have decided to do with the Kent County Council,
:38:57. > :39:02.and central government who are putting in the lion's share of this
:39:02. > :39:05.amount of money. It should be public money that under rates all
:39:05. > :39:08.this. I have always taken the view that there is a collective
:39:08. > :39:12.responsibility when it comes to flood defences. We will have a role
:39:12. > :39:17.to play. I accept the central government has the lion's share,
:39:17. > :39:20.and that is why we are putting in the lion's share of money. Why is
:39:20. > :39:27.there an impasse at the moment? Could the government just trying to
:39:27. > :39:29.save some money? The Association of British Insurers and answerable to
:39:29. > :39:38.the insurance companies. The Government is trying to do the best
:39:38. > :39:41.for householders, and that is what we want to concentrate on. There
:39:41. > :39:45.are negotiations going on, and we are optimistic that an agreement
:39:45. > :39:51.will be reached in those negotiations. We are hopeful that
:39:51. > :39:54.it can be reached by the spring. There should be some sort of
:39:54. > :40:00.protection to householders on living flood plains, and we have to
:40:00. > :40:04.make sure we're able to have some sort of security in their hands.
:40:04. > :40:10.Let us turn to the guests and the studio. The last thing people need
:40:10. > :40:14.is uncertainty over what is going on. Of course. But we also cannot
:40:14. > :40:19.be pushed around by the Association of British Insurers, they are a
:40:19. > :40:26.lobby group. We do not want the taxpayer just rolling over
:40:26. > :40:30.effectively and saying, OK, we give in, the it is absolutely right that
:40:30. > :40:40.the government should negotiate and be cautious with taxpayers' money.
:40:40. > :40:42.
:40:42. > :40:48.But if you wait too long and looked at Lewes, it cost �80 million to
:40:48. > :40:54.put right, but it only cost 3 million to put the flood defences
:40:54. > :41:03.of. We are not rushing into an agreement with the lobby group in
:41:03. > :41:07.order to appease everyone. We are going to get the best deal. I agree
:41:07. > :41:13.that government should rightly negotiate and agree on a statement
:41:13. > :41:18.of principles that we introduced with the insurance industry, back
:41:18. > :41:22.in 2009. Of course I should be negotiated, but you cannot cut and
:41:22. > :41:32.make cuts that go too deep and too quickly, because that is what this
:41:32. > :41:39.
:41:39. > :41:45.is about. The Environment Agency, the Government's own body, in 2009,
:41:45. > :41:49.said that they would need and 9% increase between 2011 and 2015 to
:41:49. > :41:53.maintain the flood defences that are required to protect the
:41:53. > :41:56.household you are talking about. Let us go back to Gareth Johnson.
:41:56. > :42:01.Ultimately, whether it is through taxation or higher premiums we are
:42:01. > :42:06.going to have to pay extra to sort out this problem? The Environment
:42:06. > :42:09.Agency has said they can continue particularly with the capital
:42:09. > :42:13.programme that they're going to be able to protect householders. The
:42:13. > :42:16.government has a duty of care to those people who do not live and
:42:16. > :42:21.flood plains, who do not want to subsidise those households that do
:42:21. > :42:24.live there. We need to have a balanced approach to ensure the
:42:24. > :42:31.government is playing its role, and have to ensure that the taxpayer's
:42:31. > :42:41.interests are looked after, a whether they come from flood plain
:42:41. > :42:49.
:42:49. > :42:52.a real sorry elsewhere. -- areas or elsewhere.
:42:52. > :42:54.In the week Education Secretary Michael Gove announced that more
:42:54. > :42:56.than 3,000 vocational qualifications will no longer count
:42:56. > :42:59.towards school league tables, the Sunday Politics South East has
:42:59. > :43:02.learned that Wealden Skills Centre which provides vocational training
:43:02. > :43:04.for a group of schools in East Sussex, faces closure through lack
:43:04. > :43:07.of funding. Is the Government right to focus on academic performance
:43:07. > :43:09.over practical achievement? And what impact will this change of
:43:09. > :43:11.emphasis have on education in the region?
:43:11. > :43:13.Paul Clark, we do not need educational facilities closing at
:43:13. > :43:20.the moment. Absolutely not. No one is arguing that there should not be
:43:20. > :43:25.a review or revaluation of this. Their head teachers I have spoken
:43:25. > :43:29.to agree. But what this message sent out is that actually the
:43:29. > :43:33.courses that many of the young people are doing today are going to
:43:33. > :43:39.be sitting exams and being assessed for, are worthless. That is what
:43:39. > :43:45.the Government is saying. In all the coverage, I saw things like
:43:45. > :43:49.fish husbandry picked on. I had a quick look to see how many fish
:43:49. > :43:53.farms there are in Kent. There are 15, they are providing jobs,
:43:53. > :43:56.employment, sustainability, environmentally and hands and. I'll
:43:56. > :44:02.be going to throw all of those out? Those are worthless, according to
:44:02. > :44:10.the Secretary of State. He is trying to go back to a 1940 sh
:44:10. > :44:14.vision of what education should be. Absolutely not. It is what it is.
:44:14. > :44:24.It is not GSEE equivalent when it something says it is. Let's call
:44:24. > :44:26.
:44:26. > :44:29.GSEE -- GCSEs what they are. Fish husbandry is not equivalent to
:44:29. > :44:34.three GCSEs. But if you want to employ someone as a nail technician,
:44:34. > :44:39.you do not worry too much of they have a fine grasp of Tudor history,
:44:39. > :44:42.you want them to be trained in what they're going to do if. But you
:44:42. > :44:52.must be expecting them to have English or maths the stock no one
:44:52. > :44:57.is suggesting that English or maths should not be there. We're saying
:44:57. > :45:01.you cannot send out the message to people studying in those areas.
:45:01. > :45:05.There are 3,000 of them which have been wiped off the face of
:45:05. > :45:11.importance for young people and for the country, and not important as
:45:11. > :45:15.much as studying with its ancient history on economics. Half of the
:45:15. > :45:19.schools in my constituency, less than 10% of the young people do a
:45:19. > :45:22.modern language. I want to see that going back up. History and
:45:22. > :45:27.geography have fallen off the cliff, and we have to be clear that these
:45:27. > :45:30.are more rigorous subjects that people could benefit from. But if
:45:30. > :45:35.you make vocational qualifications seem worthless, people will not
:45:35. > :45:42.want to do a them. No one is saying they are worthless. But that is the
:45:42. > :45:46.message. It is a message you keep on saying. It is a message that
:45:47. > :45:54.keeps on being sent out, and I have spoken to teachers who say that the
:45:54. > :45:58.message going out to both them as professional people to youngsters,
:45:58. > :46:02.is that doing these are worthless. In the eyes of the government, you
:46:02. > :46:06.will not recognise them in any shape or four. They are not
:46:06. > :46:09.recognised when going on to college or university, and some people have
:46:09. > :46:15.to wake up to the truth at that stage. We need to be honest with
:46:15. > :46:24.them that what they're getting could give them a career, but not
:46:24. > :46:29.College. How do you differentiate between academic and vocational?
:46:29. > :46:32.Some people are not academic. not agree with that. Even if you
:46:32. > :46:36.want to going to fish husbandry, you need to make a good curriculum
:46:36. > :46:39.vitae, you need to have good maths or French or German. You need to
:46:39. > :46:43.aim higher for the young people even if they wanted want to
:46:43. > :46:47.vocational training. But that is another point put to me. There does
:46:48. > :46:53.seem that as far as the Secretary of State is concerned, if you
:46:53. > :46:58.cannot actually have a written test on a subject or that is not the
:46:58. > :47:03.prime way of testing, then it is not of any value. It is not because
:47:03. > :47:13.we know that many people are best judged through continuous process
:47:13. > :47:13.
:47:13. > :47:17.and practical exercise. That is as important as it is in having an E
:47:18. > :47:27.grade GCSE in modern history, economics or what to do. I do not
:47:28. > :47:32.
:47:32. > :47:38.agree with that. At GCSE in history or geography is more valuable.
:47:38. > :47:45.is not when you are contributing to the coffers of our country. This is
:47:45. > :47:55.an argument we can keep coming back to! Let us get a 62nd round-up of
:47:55. > :48:00.
:48:00. > :48:04.events in the region. -- 60-second. Amber Rudd praised her local
:48:04. > :48:10.council's housing policy. Even though it isn't done by the
:48:10. > :48:13.opposition. They are encouraged to tackle derelict buildings, which we
:48:13. > :48:23.are doing well, despite having a Labour council.
:48:23. > :48:29.
:48:29. > :48:39.No such loving among some of the members of her own party. What
:48:39. > :48:49.exactly has he vetoed? Another MP thanked him for saving
:48:49. > :48:49.
:48:49. > :48:59.Pfizer. After a complaint this beer was
:48:59. > :49:07.
:49:07. > :49:11.Amber Rudd, you gave some unusual praise to your label councillors
:49:11. > :49:17.the stock yes, it followed someone else talking about the Conservative
:49:17. > :49:20.council. I have been pleased that the weary council has taken the
:49:20. > :49:27.opportunity to get funds for the new homes bonus, which is paid when
:49:27. > :49:36.you bring old homes back into use. In Hastings we have been doing that.
:49:36. > :49:42.I am delighted that Amber has seen the importance of Labour council.
:49:42. > :49:45.Will there be a Labour conservative coalition? I do not think so!
:49:45. > :49:52.Mark Reckless was talking about the Brussels treaty. What did you make
:49:52. > :49:58.of that? He had his great leader coming back just before Christmas
:49:58. > :50:04.to say, I have told the European leaders exactly what I think we're
:50:04. > :50:07.going to veto proposals, there are not going to use institutions, and
:50:07. > :50:15.they're not going to happen. One month later he came back to say,
:50:15. > :50:22.with an agreement that has signed up by 25 countries, the European