:01:20. > :01:30.And in the South East... Are the highest childcare costs in
:01:30. > :01:30.
:01:30. > :35:57.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2067 seconds
:35:57. > :36:00.the country preventing women with Hello, I'm Natalie Graham and this
:36:01. > :36:07.is the Sunday Politics in the South East. Coming up, it has started
:36:07. > :36:10.producing power, but will be London Array wind farm power up the local
:36:10. > :36:15.economy or simply line the pockets of its largely foreign owners?
:36:15. > :36:19.Joining me is the Conservative MP for Crawley Henry Smith and the
:36:19. > :36:24.Labour group leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, Gill Mitchell.
:36:24. > :36:28.Let's start with the threat to our native woodland. On Monday the
:36:28. > :36:32.government banned the import of ash trees to stop the spread of the
:36:32. > :36:35.deadly ash dieback fungus and on Friday at the first potential
:36:35. > :36:40.infected site in Kent was identified by the Forestry
:36:40. > :36:44.Commission. It sounds like too little, too late. It is very
:36:44. > :36:52.worrying. In Denmark they understand because they have lost
:36:52. > :36:56.nine out of every 10 ashtrays. I support the ban on importing ash
:36:56. > :36:59.trees and on Friday the government's Emergency Committee
:36:59. > :37:04.met to look at how to respond and they are setting up a special
:37:04. > :37:09.biological security action team to address the problem. But this is
:37:09. > :37:13.wind borne so it is hard to deal with. In Denmark they could have
:37:13. > :37:18.done more more quickly? I think a lot of research has been taking
:37:18. > :37:23.place but they have failed to deal with it in Europe so the biology
:37:23. > :37:27.seems to be against us. It is difficult when you have so many
:37:27. > :37:32.material coming into a country. but I think the government have
:37:32. > :37:37.been caught napping. It was identified in February and I think
:37:37. > :37:41.it -- I think 50,000 trees have been burnt since then and only now
:37:41. > :37:46.the government seems to be taking action. I very much support the ban
:37:46. > :37:50.on imports and there is now at last a public awareness campaign under
:37:50. > :37:56.way. Brighton and Hove is home to the largest collection of countries
:37:56. > :38:03.in the UK and we have seen what Dutch UN disease has done to those
:38:03. > :38:09.trees. -- Dutch elm. The nightmare is the same that happens to all of
:38:10. > :38:15.the other trees affected by various pests and diseases. It is worrying
:38:15. > :38:25.and as of the moment there is no cure for this fungal infection.
:38:25. > :38:26.
:38:26. > :38:29.Until a cure can be found, it is depressing stuff. The cost of pre-
:38:29. > :38:32.school child care in the South East is the highest in the country.
:38:32. > :38:36.Women from some middle-income families are finding the financial
:38:36. > :38:41.burden so prohibitive that they are opting to stay at home rather than
:38:41. > :38:51.work and they claim that government cuts to Clive -- to child benefit
:38:51. > :38:54.
:38:54. > :38:58.and relocation of nursery crimes are making things worse. -- re-
:38:58. > :39:05.allocation. Nikki Clark and her husband have
:39:05. > :39:09.two children. They live in West Malling in Kent. Until recently
:39:09. > :39:14.Nikki worked full-time in a professional job in London at --
:39:14. > :39:19.earning �30,000 but she has had to give it up. The high cost of
:39:19. > :39:23.childcare and other expenses member she was left with just �54 a month.
:39:23. > :39:27.Be it was hard because I have studied, I did a degree and
:39:27. > :39:32.postgraduate study. I have always been clear-minded and I am being
:39:32. > :39:42.forced to wait longer until the children go to school. Every year,
:39:42. > :39:44.
:39:44. > :39:48.child care prices are increasing. It is not good for any couple. You
:39:48. > :39:51.are forced to stay at the same level, which is frustrating. What
:39:51. > :39:57.was brought up to strive and develop myself and you just can't
:39:57. > :40:00.if you decide to have children. Life in the South East is expensive
:40:00. > :40:04.and many families say they need a dual income to afford a decent
:40:04. > :40:09.standard of living here but if both parents work it is childcare but
:40:09. > :40:13.could be the biggest cost of all. Britain now has the most expensive
:40:13. > :40:17.childcare outside Switzerland and in Kent, Sussex and Surrey we are
:40:18. > :40:22.paying a highest prices in the country. Child care costs have
:40:22. > :40:30.risen faster than inflation and wages in recent years so an average
:40:30. > :40:35.week at a childminder in the region now costs �110 for two to four
:40:35. > :40:41.year-olds and �119 for children under two. Child care can work out
:40:41. > :40:45.-- wipe out almost a third of the income of a family like Nikki's.
:40:45. > :40:53.Some say that coalition policies mean that the sums don't add up for
:40:53. > :41:00.women who want to get back to work. And tell the child care tax cuts --
:41:00. > :41:10.tax benefits were cut in 2011, child care was becoming more
:41:10. > :41:17.affordable. -- until the child care tax cuts. The government has to
:41:17. > :41:25.spend more money on benefits because people are not going back
:41:25. > :41:28.to work. The investment could prevent them having to pay much
:41:28. > :41:32.more. This week there were accusations
:41:32. > :41:37.that government plans to remove or reduce child benefit to parents
:41:37. > :41:41.earning more than �50,000 could be illegal, as it discriminates
:41:42. > :41:47.against better rough British parents compared to the European
:41:47. > :41:55.counterparts. -- better off. Councils provide �15 a week of free
:41:55. > :41:58.nursery care to young children. In order to pay for two-year-old
:41:58. > :42:03.children to get that as well, critics say the government is
:42:03. > :42:08.reducing the money it gives to each council by a �1 million a year.
:42:08. > :42:13.Councils are having to reorganise budgets in response. We understand
:42:13. > :42:17.the government's decision in trying to reduce the national debt and we
:42:17. > :42:21.are taking our fair share of that. We have set aside what we believe
:42:21. > :42:26.is enough money so we won't put pressure on services. What is the
:42:26. > :42:30.government doing to help families? A new minister, Conservative
:42:30. > :42:33.Elizabeth Truss, was appointed in September and the Child Care
:42:33. > :42:37.Commission she oversees will deliver a report later this year
:42:37. > :42:41.but with just two thirds of women it -- women working in Britain,
:42:41. > :42:46.trailing behind other European Union countries, should and the
:42:46. > :42:52.coalition be making sure that women can afford to work? -- shouldn't
:42:53. > :42:58.the coalition. If I take a higher position I am worse off than if I
:42:58. > :43:05.take a lower position. Joining us from our Hastings studio
:43:05. > :43:08.is Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye Amber Rudd. It is such a waste,
:43:08. > :43:13.educated women like Nikki making the decision not to work because
:43:13. > :43:18.they can't afford to. A massive waste for them and the economy of
:43:19. > :43:22.the country. We need to do more to make childcare affordable. The fact
:43:22. > :43:26.is that two-thirds of women who are mothers don't work and over half of
:43:27. > :43:31.them say they want to work. Child care under the last government
:43:31. > :43:34.doubled the cost of childcare and it is the highest in the world
:43:34. > :43:39.apart from Switzerland so I know that the new minister is working
:43:39. > :43:45.hard to see what we can do to reduce the costs. As we also heard,
:43:45. > :43:48.your government is to -- is cutting child tax credits, the writ -- the
:43:48. > :43:52.disparity between income and childcare costs is getting greater.
:43:52. > :43:56.We need to take action and one of the things I know the minister is
:43:56. > :44:01.most keen about is looking at the ratios but childminders have in
:44:01. > :44:04.order to legally look after children, child minders and nursery
:44:04. > :44:09.school teachers. We have some of the highest ratios in Europe and we
:44:09. > :44:12.need to address that so we can make childcare more affordable, allow
:44:12. > :44:17.professionals to look after more children and make the industry more
:44:17. > :44:20.professional. If we have more professionals they can look after
:44:20. > :44:24.more children and we can have confidence that we have a more
:44:24. > :44:30.professional organisation. points - many mothers will balk at
:44:30. > :44:35.the idea of their children being looked after by one adult among
:44:35. > :44:41.many other children. 6 % of childminders in the UK have degrees.
:44:41. > :44:45.On the Continent it is 60 %. What parents prefer professional
:44:45. > :44:49.childminders or one who go into it when it is so low paid? I think a
:44:49. > :44:53.lot of parents just want to know that their child is in the best
:44:53. > :44:58.possible hands. Maybe having fewer children to look after it would
:44:58. > :45:01.help. I wouldn't underestimate the value of qualifications. Under the
:45:01. > :45:06.last government the number of child minders was cut by half because
:45:06. > :45:09.they weren't getting enough out of it. We want to increase the
:45:09. > :45:13.professionalism of childminders and nurseries and the way to do that is
:45:13. > :45:16.to allow them to earn more. If that is one of the recommendations that
:45:16. > :45:23.the minister comes up with, the other question that needs to be
:45:23. > :45:27.answered is how is that going to cut the cost of childcare? If you
:45:27. > :45:31.allow them in terms of the ratios to look after more children you can
:45:31. > :45:37.earn more apt to be at. But we are looking at it -- we are putting
:45:37. > :45:40.more money into childcare. When we going to Universal Credit next year
:45:41. > :45:45.we are putting another �300 million into childcare and you will be able
:45:45. > :45:51.to get assistance with childcare costs when you earn less than...
:45:51. > :45:55.You also taking child benefit our way. The squeeze Middle was
:45:55. > :46:00.personified by Nikki. You need to win those people over to win the
:46:00. > :46:03.next election. Yes, but we will win them over by having a more sound
:46:03. > :46:09.economy and better physical standards and I hope she will
:46:09. > :46:17.understand but if you learn over �50,000 and certainly over �60,000
:46:17. > :46:21.we can't afford to pay out child benefit. -- that if you earn.
:46:21. > :46:25.of the other casualties is from graduate women, who have had a lot
:46:25. > :46:30.of taxpayers' money spent on education, who have to decide
:46:30. > :46:36.whether it is worth going back to work. It is just not worth some
:46:36. > :46:42.women having ambitions, ladder they can climb Korea Wise. No, and we
:46:42. > :46:47.have to change that. It is absurd that our childcare is almost the
:46:47. > :46:51.most expensive in the world. But the government also makes one of a
:46:51. > :46:56.highest contributions. It is the net cost of childcare that has got
:46:56. > :47:01.out of hand. We have to work with schools so that you have an earlier
:47:01. > :47:05.start to the day, later finished at the end. There are lots of step we
:47:05. > :47:11.will be taking in order to help women get back to work. -- lots of
:47:11. > :47:14.steps. Amber Rudd, thank you. Gill Mitchell, what d'you think of
:47:14. > :47:20.the suggestion that making childcare more professional will
:47:20. > :47:25.make things easier? I totally disagree. It will increase costs
:47:25. > :47:30.and lower quality. Good-quality affordable childcare, enabling
:47:30. > :47:34.women to work, has to be seen as underpinning the economy, and the
:47:34. > :47:38.big debate at the moment is about growth and growing the economy.
:47:38. > :47:44.This type of thing is a totally retrograde step. She also mentioned
:47:44. > :47:47.that the government is putting �300 million into providing free nursery
:47:47. > :47:52.places for two year-olds in disadvantaged areas. That is coming
:47:52. > :47:57.from the early intervention grant. Brighton and Hove City Council is
:47:57. > :48:01.losing �3 million because of this change from its other child care
:48:02. > :48:06.services. A sure start budget is being slashed, the Youth Service
:48:06. > :48:13.budget is being slashed, projects for disabled children. Hard to
:48:13. > :48:17.defend, day it -- Henry Smith. we saw with the previous government
:48:17. > :48:21.is childcare costs doubled and the number of child minders heart so we
:48:21. > :48:27.are starting from a very difficult situation. And you are starting by
:48:27. > :48:30.taking away tax benefits and child credit? We have the historically
:48:30. > :48:35.highest deficit this country has ever had in peacetime as a result
:48:35. > :48:38.of the legacy of the last government's reckless spending and
:48:38. > :48:42.so some very difficult choices need to be made that I am not
:48:42. > :48:47.comfortable with. One of those choices is that higher rate
:48:47. > :48:51.taxpayers, those earning over �50,000, no longer should get child
:48:51. > :48:55.benefit. I am not happy that that is a necessity but... But we heard
:48:55. > :49:01.from people earning less than that. The squeezed middle. They are
:49:01. > :49:06.feeling the pinch. They will not be losing child benefit. But it is not
:49:06. > :49:10.worth their while going back to work. This is one example of women
:49:10. > :49:15.and children and low-income families bearing the brunt of your
:49:15. > :49:20.Government's policies. It is dressed up in a cloak of austerity
:49:20. > :49:25.but you are targeting low-income families, very often families in
:49:25. > :49:29.work. You are hitting them with increased charges and new taxes.
:49:29. > :49:33.think what has hit people across our country is the fact that this
:49:33. > :49:37.country has been left in the worst financial stake we have ever seen
:49:37. > :49:42.and that is why we need to look at new ways of providing childcare,
:49:42. > :49:46.that is why a new minister has been appointed to look at this
:49:46. > :49:50.specifically so we can get back to have been better childcare, and
:49:50. > :49:54.another thing that Amber Rudd mentioned is that those people are
:49:54. > :49:59.receiving Universal Credit. Now they will have to be working 16
:49:59. > :50:04.hours or more to receive childcare credit but they will now receive it
:50:04. > :50:09.however many hours they work. London Array wind farm off Ramsgate
:50:09. > :50:18.has generated its first powerful stock -- London Array. It aims to
:50:18. > :50:24.serve for just under half-a-million homes and it has been welcomed by
:50:24. > :50:30.Laura Sandys, who says it is great for a local economy, but is it?
:50:30. > :50:35.Joining me is the UKIP MEP and wind farm sceptic, Nigel Farage. They
:50:35. > :50:40.are generating power, aren't they? -- generating. They do, but not
:50:40. > :50:44.when you needed. In the winter they produce absolutely nothing. -- when
:50:44. > :50:49.you need it. They produce intermediate -- intermittent power
:50:49. > :50:54.so you have to back them up full- time with conventional power
:50:55. > :50:59.stations. They are vastly expensive, offshore been even more expensive,
:50:59. > :51:04.and who makes the money? Would be onshore wind farms people like
:51:04. > :51:12.David Cameron's father-in-law gets paid �1,000 a day for having them
:51:12. > :51:15.on his land. -- with the onshore wind farms. �2 billion worth of
:51:15. > :51:21.foreign investment in British industry, isn't that to beat
:51:21. > :51:26.welcomed? We will hear about Queen jobs from Laura Sandys and her type.
:51:26. > :51:30.For every job created in the green sector up to four have been lost in
:51:30. > :51:36.conventional manufacturing in Britain because we are paying to
:51:36. > :51:40.subsidise the wind farm stupidity. Every single person watching this
:51:40. > :51:45.come -- this programme is paying a 12 % surcharge on their fuel bills
:51:45. > :51:55.to pay for stupidities like this. I fought -- I almost forgot, they are
:51:55. > :51:56.
:51:57. > :52:00.paid ugly as well. -- pig. Surely generating energy from renewable
:52:00. > :52:03.sources is something to be welcomed? It is because we have
:52:03. > :52:07.signed an agreement with Brussels and the British government says we
:52:07. > :52:11.should stay with it. I am not against renewable energy but it has
:52:11. > :52:16.to be at the right price and through a means of delivery that is
:52:16. > :52:21.reliable and not intermittent. Wind is a disaster. It is the biggest
:52:21. > :52:26.scam I think I had seen in my lifetime, with his grip -- is huge
:52:26. > :52:31.transfer of money from poor people to rich people. We have too many
:52:31. > :52:38.eggs in this basket. If people think that up to a 5th of our
:52:38. > :52:44.energy is going to come by 2020, we are looking at power blackouts.
:52:44. > :52:51.Tidal power is at least consistent, solar power, though expensive,
:52:51. > :52:55.works. Wind farms are a complete disaster. Nigel Farage, thank you.
:52:55. > :53:03.Henry Smith, I imagine Nigel is rather enjoying the coalition
:53:03. > :53:09.discomfort when it comes to wind farms. Ed Davey said that he is
:53:09. > :53:13.enthusiastic about wind farms but a Conservative member of parliament
:53:13. > :53:19.said that enough is enough. At we need a mix of energy provision in
:53:19. > :53:28.this country. Some of that will be wind. I agree that tidal and solar
:53:28. > :53:34.resource is are in important part of the West -- the mix, as our
:53:34. > :53:38.nuclear, coal and gas. To say no to wind farms is ridiculous. You are
:53:38. > :53:42.not saying enough is enough like John Hayes. I think wind has a part
:53:42. > :53:47.to play in renewable energy along with the other sources of renewable
:53:47. > :53:52.energy. At there is a big wind farm planned of the short Brighton. If
:53:52. > :54:01.it is not creating enough jobs and not even creating power, what are
:54:01. > :54:06.we doing? I don't accept Nigel Farage's fantasy figures. A 12 %
:54:06. > :54:13.subsidy? Ofgem are quoting 2 % on a jewel filled bill for a year.
:54:13. > :54:22.London Array, as I understand it, will power a quarter of inner
:54:22. > :54:27.London homes and will reduce carbon by over a million tonnes. Four
:54:27. > :54:31.conventional jobs lost every one created. About �1 million gets
:54:31. > :54:37.spent on every job in this industry and most of the money is foreign.
:54:37. > :54:40.There is nothing coming in to our economy as a result. We have to
:54:40. > :54:44.invest in renewable energy and actually I am in danger of agreeing
:54:44. > :54:49.with Henry here that we have to have a range of energy sources,
:54:49. > :54:54.otherwise what do we face? We face fuel bills climbing ever upwards as
:54:54. > :55:00.traditional sources, oil and coal, dry up and cost more to extract and
:55:00. > :55:03.import. The other thing many people are happy about is the subsidy
:55:03. > :55:07.arrangements. The taxpayers are footing the bill, not the Treasury
:55:07. > :55:11.subsidising these foreign countries investing in our wind farms.
:55:11. > :55:18.think this country can be at the cutting edge of renewable energy
:55:18. > :55:20.and we are in a very good place to be in that position. We were
:55:20. > :55:24.leaders in the industrial revolution and I think we can be
:55:24. > :55:29.leaders when it comes to renewable energy as well. Therefore I think
:55:29. > :55:37.that investment in renewable energy, a country that is rich in the
:55:37. > :55:41.natural resource in terms of the weather that we have, it is a good
:55:41. > :55:45.step. Do you have any principled stance when it comes to Upshaw as
:55:45. > :55:54.opposed to onshore wind farms, which offend many of your
:55:54. > :56:04.Conservative colleagues? -- off shore. Wind farms can be ugly but
:56:04. > :56:08.
:56:09. > :56:14.so can generate a plants. -- Cole and oiled generators. -- oil and
:56:14. > :56:19.coal. So several South East MPs helped
:56:19. > :56:25.inflict a government defeat in the Commons in a vote over the European
:56:25. > :56:30.Union budget. When you have seen taxes go up and up to pay more to
:56:30. > :56:36.the European Union budget, enough is enough. A man charged by the
:56:36. > :56:42.government would recommending future airport policy said all
:56:43. > :56:47.expansion plans for back on the table. He will publish his findings
:56:47. > :56:56.in 2015. A multi-million-pound project to widen the A1 N West Kent
:56:56. > :57:00.took a step closer. -- in west Kent. The Conservative Party may be
:57:00. > :57:04.divided over European issues but a portrait has been unveiled of the
:57:04. > :57:10.man credited with saving Europe. A portrait of Winston Churchill has
:57:10. > :57:14.gone on display at the National Gallery. He has been called the
:57:14. > :57:20.greatest Prime Minister of all time. Perhaps something for today's
:57:20. > :57:24.politicians to aspire to. Henry, you will one of those
:57:24. > :57:28.Conservative MPs who rebelled on Wednesday. It was not a binding
:57:28. > :57:38.vote, it is a bombing opens saw in your party. What did you achieve by
:57:38. > :57:42.voting the way you did? -- a Running opens off. We need to
:57:42. > :57:46.reduce contributions from the UK going to the European Union. We are
:57:46. > :57:54.involved -- making the Prime Minister go to those negotiations
:57:54. > :58:01.and say that domestic budgets in the European Union are having to
:58:01. > :58:05.reduce their budgets so be you should do the same thing. -- so the
:58:05. > :58:10.European Union should do. I think the British people had set aside --
:58:10. > :58:14.a clear message that the European Union needs to reduce its spending.
:58:14. > :58:19.Winston Churchill, I don't know what he would make other Green-run
:58:20. > :58:24.council like Brighton and Hove. Could we do with more like him?
:58:24. > :58:28.don't think we could do more with - - I don't think we could do with
:58:28. > :58:34.more green councils, but I think he would be on board with the wind