:01:16. > :01:18.In the South East: We have one of the country's worst problems with
:01:18. > :01:28.ash dieback, but we're not considered a priority. Is Kent's
:01:28. > :01:28.
:01:28. > :33:12.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1903 seconds
:33:12. > :33:17.I'm Julia George. This is the Sunday Politics in the South East.
:33:17. > :33:20.Coming up: Should police commissioners be able to do
:33:20. > :33:23.whatever they like, even if their advisory panel doesn't approve?
:33:23. > :33:27.Who answers to whom when it comes to running Sussex Police. Joining
:33:27. > :33:29.me in the studio today to discuss this and other topics is Sussex-
:33:29. > :33:32.based Labour Political Commentator Paul Richards and Conservative MEP
:33:32. > :33:34.for the South East, Richard Ashworth. Welcome. Following UKIP's
:33:34. > :33:37.strong showing in the county council elections, speculation is
:33:37. > :33:40.rife about possible political alliances among the main parties to
:33:40. > :33:43.strengthen their current standings. In Kent, where UKIP is currently
:33:43. > :33:46.the official opposition with 17 councillors, a Labour/Lib Dem pact
:33:46. > :33:49.would freeze out Nigel Farage's party. And what about East Sussex
:33:49. > :33:57.where the Conservatives lost their overall majority, will they join
:33:57. > :34:01.forces with anyone or carry on with a minority leadership? I don't like
:34:01. > :34:05.doing deals with smaller parties but they have to listen to the
:34:05. > :34:13.electorate and reflect more views other than their own to get the
:34:13. > :34:20.budget through County Hall. Would you try a minority leadership?
:34:20. > :34:24.would. You have to remember they Iraq two or three independents who
:34:24. > :34:29.might support whatever to get through. There were two things they
:34:29. > :34:34.need to do. Get a budget past and get an annual programme agreed.
:34:34. > :34:37.When you have that, essentially the Cabinet will be largely made up of
:34:37. > :34:44.Conservatives and the leader has the opportunity to get on with
:34:44. > :34:51.business. In Kent, the cans -- Conservatives have an overall
:34:51. > :34:54.majority. UKIP won 17 seats. The Lib Dem spokeswoman seems
:34:54. > :35:00.disinclined to join up with another party to become the opposition.
:35:00. > :35:07.That is right, isn't it? Respecting democracy? I can't see why she
:35:07. > :35:14.would want to. In fairness to UKIP, they gained those seats and now
:35:14. > :35:17.they have to do the business. We shall see whether if policies stand
:35:17. > :35:21.the test of time and whether they're members stand the test of
:35:21. > :35:26.time. The public will be able to decide on that but I hope they do a
:35:26. > :35:30.better job than they do in Europe where they don't turn up on their
:35:30. > :35:36.policies don't stand the test. were talking about this before the
:35:37. > :35:45.elections, the role of council tax. The Kent League day is talking
:35:45. > :35:48.about keeping a frozen council tax. They, the Conservatives lost seats.
:35:48. > :35:54.What do we learn about the relationship between council tax
:35:54. > :35:58.and voting? We learned that if you freeze it, you have to make big
:35:58. > :36:04.cuts and so people see those cuts to services they value and they
:36:04. > :36:08.know there is a link between frozen council tax and fewer services.
:36:09. > :36:13.People recognise that link between the money they pay and the services
:36:13. > :36:17.they get. We will find out what they do this year with the council
:36:17. > :36:20.tax in Kent. Cases of ash dieback disease have more than tripled in
:36:20. > :36:24.Kent since November and, as ash trees come into leaf this month,
:36:24. > :36:27.we'll discover how many more have been infected by the fungus since
:36:27. > :36:31.then. The South East, along with East Anglia, has been worst hit by
:36:31. > :36:34.the disease since it appeared in the UK last year. The government
:36:34. > :36:38.has now announced a plan to limit the damage to the nation's ash
:36:38. > :36:41.trees, but it's labelled the South East a "low priority area". Does
:36:41. > :36:51.this mean our woodland will be abandoned? Lucinda Adam has this
:36:51. > :36:55.
:36:55. > :37:02.The south-east has the largest population of ash trees in the
:37:02. > :37:07.country, but ash dieback disease threatens to wipe out 97% of them.
:37:07. > :37:12.We first noticed the ash dieback last summer. At this estate near
:37:12. > :37:18.Maidstone, spores of the deadly Chalara or funders have been
:37:18. > :37:24.carried on the wind from Europe. can see this bronze or brown
:37:25. > :37:32.coloured tree here and this bit has died but below the buds are
:37:32. > :37:36.breaking. How well the infection happen? The spores of the fungus
:37:36. > :37:41.comes in up through the leaves and down to the main stem. Will this
:37:42. > :37:47.treat be likely to die from this? Hopefully, one or two might survive
:37:47. > :37:52.but the answer probably is yes. Nearly 500 cases of doubt aqua
:37:52. > :37:58.found in the UK last year and most in Kent and East Anglia. Now, as
:37:58. > :38:03.spring breeze -- brings trees into leaf, experts are waiting to see
:38:03. > :38:08.how it has spread. The government says the south-east is at the
:38:08. > :38:12.highest risk of the disease but it has been made a low priority area
:38:12. > :38:18.for action. It says that because the disease is widespread here, it
:38:18. > :38:21.is not cost-effective to tackle it. So while other areas can apply for
:38:21. > :38:26.government grants to remove affected trees, the South East
:38:26. > :38:30.cannot. The Labour Party accuses the government of abandoning the
:38:30. > :38:35.region to the disease. The plan says that certain parts of the
:38:35. > :38:40.country are beyond the point of saving so they will have a minimal
:38:40. > :38:45.amount of money spent on them. Clearly, people in those areas will
:38:45. > :38:50.want ministers to explain why. the canteen known as the Garden of
:38:50. > :38:54.England, the The Kent Men of the Trees raises funds to plant and
:38:54. > :38:59.conserve cheese -- trees. It's chairman says Kent needs better
:38:59. > :39:05.protection. I have been studying diseases around the world all my
:39:05. > :39:09.professional life and I always have thought that if you have a focus -
:39:09. > :39:15.and if a disease is being spread rapidly - that is where you put in
:39:15. > :39:19.your effort. If Kent is an area such as that and there... I would
:39:19. > :39:23.have thought it would make sense to put effort and money into this area
:39:23. > :39:29.also. One thing the government is doing in the south-east is a
:39:29. > :39:34.research trial planting thousands of young ash trees. But it is a
:39:34. > :39:41.long shot. Scientists hope just 1% of these trees may survive and
:39:42. > :39:45.develop resistance. But with a budget of just �30 million for
:39:45. > :39:51.plant health research, compared to �450 million for animal research,
:39:51. > :39:56.there are calls for more investment. Would more money have helped save
:39:56. > :40:00.more ash trees in the south-east? It would have helped us plan for
:40:00. > :40:05.the future. Setting up these research plots a few years back so
:40:05. > :40:09.they would have already been set up. We need more staff and more
:40:09. > :40:15.research into looking at the disease is coming in from abroad,
:40:15. > :40:20.not just Europe but elsewhere. this commercial tree nursery in
:40:21. > :40:25.Ashford, �10,000 worth of ash trees that were grown here have ended up
:40:25. > :40:30.on the bonfire. A movement ban means they cannot be sold. Some
:40:30. > :40:36.growers say they are considering legal action for compensation.
:40:36. > :40:41.country, for its unique biodiversity, needs a strong and
:40:41. > :40:47.viable UK horticultural industry. I don't think the Government's
:40:47. > :40:51.response has been good enough. Too little, too late. All the nurseries
:40:51. > :40:54.and these small businesses are carrying the can at the moment.
:40:54. > :41:00.ash trees are lost from the south- east, its landscape and ecology
:41:00. > :41:04.will be lost for ever. With more being done elsewhere, is the
:41:04. > :41:08.government abandoning the south- east's ash trees? They are
:41:08. > :41:13.unimportant part of our ecosystem and represent a major tree crop in
:41:13. > :41:20.Britain, particularly the south- east. To lose there would be very
:41:21. > :41:29.Joining me from our Westminster studio is the UK's Chief Plant
:41:29. > :41:33.Health Officer Martin Ward. So, the south-east is considered
:41:33. > :41:38.high a risk but low priority. Does that make sense? We have to be
:41:38. > :41:43.careful how we understand the terms. It is high risk because it seems
:41:43. > :41:48.likely the disease has spread by aerial movement from the Continent
:41:48. > :41:53.by spores on the wind. The modelling we have commissioned at
:41:53. > :41:58.Cambridge University suggests the cost of intervention, like removing
:41:58. > :42:07.recently planted infected plants, the benefits of that will be higher
:42:07. > :42:11.in areas where there are very few environment cases all few -- or no
:42:11. > :42:16.wider environment cases. Potentially there removing recent
:42:16. > :42:19.plantings can reduce the rate of spread. Labour is right, you are
:42:19. > :42:25.abandoning the south-east because it would be too costly to do
:42:25. > :42:30.otherwise? It is about prioritising the intervention we can make and
:42:30. > :42:35.some of the research done, you mentioned the screening of trees
:42:35. > :42:39.for resistance. We are also looking at possible funders sidle
:42:39. > :42:44.treatments and those are of potential benefits to the area
:42:44. > :42:49.where the disease is most prevalent now. The experiment to look for
:42:49. > :42:55.disease resistant strains will not help the trees now. Before a bath -
:42:55. > :42:59.a vast swathes of Archie will be dead, what use is that and there is
:42:59. > :43:04.no guarantee that any of those trees will develop a resistance?
:43:04. > :43:09.Disease in mature trees develops slowly. There have been scare
:43:09. > :43:15.stories about 90% of ash trees in Denmark being dead but that is not
:43:15. > :43:19.true. A large proportion of trees are affected but it takes mature
:43:19. > :43:24.trees along time for the effect of other diseases, sometimes, to kill
:43:24. > :43:28.them off. It is a long-term problem and we are looking at long-term
:43:28. > :43:34.solutions, such as the at identification of a resistant
:43:34. > :43:38.strain. But it seems fatalistic to say, we cannot cure it so we will
:43:38. > :43:43.not spend money on looking for a cure. We are investigating possible
:43:43. > :43:47.cures but the disease has been spreading across the Continent for
:43:47. > :43:54.many years. There has been no indication from there that any
:43:54. > :44:00.magic cure will be available. though, the difference is that, in
:44:00. > :44:08.some countries, the ash tree is not so prevalent. We have more of a
:44:08. > :44:13.need here, don't we? Ash trees are significant in Denmark. There is a
:44:13. > :44:17.wide belt in northern Europe in which there is a significant part
:44:17. > :44:24.of the landscape with these trees. Finding cures for these diseases is
:44:24. > :44:34.difficult. A blind fund decides to trees, other than small numbers of
:44:34. > :44:34.
:44:34. > :44:39.particularly valuable trees -- a fungicide. To Richard as worth, we
:44:39. > :44:46.had the spread it on the Continent has been rapid. -- Richard Ashworth.
:44:46. > :44:51.Has enough being done? The this is symptomatic of climate change. It
:44:51. > :44:56.isn't just with plants and trees that we are getting new diseases.
:44:56. > :45:02.In livestock as well. Again, talking about ash trees, but there
:45:02. > :45:12.are many other insect pests, viruses and fund I'd beginning to
:45:12. > :45:14.
:45:14. > :45:18.appear in the south-east that have DEFRA at his right in that it is a
:45:18. > :45:22.variety of species in our would land that we want to protect. What
:45:22. > :45:30.would be bad news for some varieties is good news for others.
:45:30. > :45:34.It sounds like be... They have been abandoned. Ministers ignored advice
:45:34. > :45:40.from their own scientists and they waited for months through a false
:45:40. > :45:44.consultation process. As you have heard, they will abandon huge
:45:44. > :45:47.swathes of our woodland. This is what makes the South a beautiful
:45:47. > :45:53.part on the country and the government is turning its back on
:45:53. > :45:58.it. The ash it is an essential part of our would land. There are things
:45:58. > :46:02.you can do about it but if you cut the budget of the Forestry Kisha
:46:02. > :46:07.Nick -- Forestry Commission and the number that Deborah -- DEFRA, you
:46:07. > :46:10.haven't got the tools to do Further details emerged this week
:46:11. > :46:13.on why the Police and Crime Panel in Sussex initially opposed the
:46:13. > :46:16.hiring of a Deputy for Police Commissioner Katy Bourne earlier
:46:16. > :46:19.this year. Members had expressed concerns about the candidate, but
:46:19. > :46:22.the Commissioner went ahead anyway and hired West Sussex County
:46:22. > :46:26.Councillor Steve Waight at a salary of �45,000 a year. Police panels
:46:26. > :46:30.were set up to scrutinise PCCs and hold them to account, but if they
:46:30. > :46:33.have no real power, how effective can they be? Green Joining me from
:46:33. > :46:38.our Brighton studio is Conservative West Sussex County Councillor Brad
:46:38. > :46:43.Watson, Chair of the Sussex Police and Crime Panel.
:46:43. > :46:51.What do you think the panel is for and what do you think it can
:46:51. > :46:56.achieve? Hello. You have described what the panel is for. We act as a
:46:56. > :47:00.scrutiny for the actions of the Police and Crime Commissioner. A
:47:00. > :47:05.sort of critical friend. That is our role and we have been doing it
:47:05. > :47:11.effectively. I hear that term bandied around a lot in government.
:47:11. > :47:15.I'll have never understood what a critical friend is. You say the
:47:15. > :47:20.Royal is to act as a critical friend and continue to work closely
:47:20. > :47:24.with the Commission and respect any decision she makes. What exactly is
:47:24. > :47:30.a critical friend? Don't friends listen to each other when they make
:47:30. > :47:36.suggestions? Yes, they do and that is the whole point. If there is
:47:36. > :47:41.something you are concerned about, you voice it. It is a critical
:47:41. > :47:46.comment but not necessarily a criticism. But not much of a friend
:47:46. > :47:53.if she complete the ignores you, Ishi? The role of the panel was to
:47:53. > :47:57.look at the appointment. That is what the panel discussed. We
:47:57. > :48:01.interviewed and the panel was concerned that there was a time
:48:01. > :48:05.commitment he already had as a county councillor and borough
:48:05. > :48:11.councillor and a Cabinet member as to whether he could fulfil the role
:48:11. > :48:14.as deputy commissioner as a full- time job. I wonder whether that
:48:14. > :48:17.criticism would stand end employment law if you say to
:48:17. > :48:21.somebody, you cannot do this job because you are too busy doing
:48:21. > :48:27.civic things. Is it anyone's business what we do in our spare
:48:27. > :48:31.time when we applied for a job? this instance, we are looking at
:48:32. > :48:37.�45,000 of public money spent for the purposes of the deputy. Our
:48:37. > :48:44.role was to look at that and say is the money being right and fairly
:48:44. > :48:47.spent. Can the candidate fulfil the number of hours? Your
:48:47. > :48:53.recommendation to her was a complete and utter waste of time.
:48:53. > :48:58.The local government advice or Association's advice, and as I
:48:58. > :49:03.understand it, the legislation states you are allowed to consult
:49:03. > :49:08.and veto the appointment of a new police chief constable but you
:49:08. > :49:12.cannot allow - might you cannot veto their appointment of a deputy
:49:12. > :49:19.police commissioner so what was the point of all of this? The whole
:49:19. > :49:24.point of the panel is to raise issues and highlight points to the
:49:24. > :49:30.commissioner. It is up to the commissioner, of course, to accept
:49:30. > :49:36.what we say. In this instance, it is a personal appointment to have a
:49:36. > :49:42.deputy and that was our comments to her. She went ahead and appointed,
:49:42. > :49:48.but I feel that because we have highlighted our concerns, it is a
:49:48. > :49:52.notice to the commissioner that we are keeping an eye. I understand
:49:52. > :50:02.subsequently, he has subsequently stood down from the borough and
:50:02. > :50:04.
:50:04. > :50:11.that, in a way, probably at answers I wanted turned to our best. What
:50:11. > :50:15.you think? He is acting like an elected dictator. Power must be
:50:15. > :50:20.accountable to somebody and it should be accountable to the panel.
:50:20. > :50:26.Shouldn't it be accountable to the people who elected her? Just
:50:26. > :50:34.because she is doing what she wants to do, she has a prerogative. The
:50:34. > :50:39.point is, and no disrespect, there is an electric he who can decide at
:50:39. > :50:43.the end of her term whether they wanted to carry on. But with that
:50:43. > :50:47.much power, in between elections you need checks and balances. The
:50:47. > :50:51.panels are supposed to be that and within weeks they have been well
:50:51. > :50:54.Dover and are now useless. Part of the panel should be directly
:50:54. > :51:01.elected and then you would have some democratic accountability at
:51:01. > :51:05.the bottom. Do we need more elections? It is probably a bit
:51:05. > :51:08.unfair to the system. Police and crime commissioners are independent
:51:08. > :51:13.people who need to be scrutinised because they spend public money and
:51:13. > :51:19.that is what the panel is doing. It is fair to say the panel has
:51:19. > :51:23.limited powers. They have one strong power which is they can go
:51:23. > :51:28.public and that is what they have done. They are drawing the public's
:51:28. > :51:33.attention to something they are not happy about. It has happened in
:51:33. > :51:38.Kent and in Sussex. These are early-day his but I don't think we
:51:38. > :51:43.should condemn it too early. It is a new system and commissioners are
:51:43. > :51:52.finding their way. It has only been there six months so give it a
:51:52. > :51:56.chance. Lots of people are critical about policing being criticised.
:51:56. > :52:01.The Commission and her deputy and so are you Conservatives. So are
:52:01. > :52:07.many others. Nobody could at argue that policing in Sussex isn't
:52:07. > :52:14.politicised, could they? If you asked a question about a councillor
:52:14. > :52:19.when you collect, you would get that. It is the way you stand for
:52:20. > :52:24.election. When they, you get on and do the job. I don't agree it is a
:52:24. > :52:28.politicised system. The big difference now between a Commission
:52:28. > :52:33.and the old police authority is very much a public role. Her
:52:33. > :52:36.responsibility is to reach out, talk to people and discuss in a
:52:36. > :52:41.public way much of what she plans to do and that hasn't happened
:52:41. > :52:51.before. Thank you for joining us. Now a round-up of the week's events
:52:51. > :52:54.
:52:54. > :53:02.It has been holes of verses goes this week in a battle over played
:53:02. > :53:07.and -- playing fields. The education wants to use as a school.
:53:07. > :53:14.We are against this. It will take up greenfield space and they should
:53:14. > :53:19.be other sides. Beatings in Margate and Hastings could be closed --
:53:19. > :53:23.beaches. Could be close to two swimmers as Tidewater regulation
:53:23. > :53:28.comes in in 2015. Plans for the Thames St airports
:53:28. > :53:33.should be abandoned according to a select -- track -- Treasury Select
:53:33. > :53:37.Committee. In Brighton, There are plans to
:53:37. > :53:41.accommodate a transgender community. It is a good thing because there
:53:41. > :53:46.are alternative people around, particularly in this area. That is
:53:46. > :53:56.why Brighton council wants to change its online application forms
:53:56. > :53:58.
:53:58. > :54:05.and transgender people could choose Paul Richards, free schools. Where
:54:05. > :54:10.do you put them? I'm not against the idea. Andrew Adonis dreamt it
:54:10. > :54:17.up but they are supposed to have local and parental support. If they
:54:17. > :54:20.do not, as in this case, what are they doing? What about airports? We
:54:20. > :54:25.heard there about the recommendations of the select
:54:25. > :54:30.committee. We have been trying to get Boris Johnson on local radio
:54:30. > :54:34.for three years and this week he came on and said this is a colossal
:54:34. > :54:40.opportunity for Kent. We had always thought he was only interested in
:54:40. > :54:48.London. Is anyone coming onside with Boris Johnson? A I don't think
:54:49. > :54:53.the findings of the panel... The cost of the island is prohibitively
:54:53. > :55:02.expensive and date agree. Live with what we have. People want to go to
:55:02. > :55:08.Heathrow. You can develop it was still using it. In Brighton. Are
:55:08. > :55:12.they being a bit Brighton? Or is it a good thing? People identify
:55:12. > :55:16.themselves and their gender and there are a lot of people in the