:01:31. > :01:41.In the South West, the children caring for their parents. Pleading
:01:41. > :01:41.
:01:41. > :30:58.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1757 seconds
:30:58. > :31:01.with councillors not to cut the Hello. Coming up on the Sunday
:31:01. > :31:06.Politics in the South West: The controversial plan to cut the
:31:06. > :31:10.funding which supports young carers in Somerset. One MP says he is
:31:10. > :31:14.appalled by the idea and is calling on councillors to think again.
:31:14. > :31:19.To discuss that and much more, I am joined by the Conservative MP
:31:19. > :31:22.Sherryl Murray and by the Labour leader for Plymouth City Council
:31:22. > :31:26.Tudor Evans. Welcome to the programme.
:31:26. > :31:32.David Cameron was in Plymouth this week and mistakenly referred to the
:31:32. > :31:36.City as an enterprise zone. What you make of that? We had the recent
:31:36. > :31:43.announcement that Plymouth was going to see this Marine Energy
:31:43. > :31:48.Park, and I wonder whether that was the reason the Prime Minister made
:31:48. > :31:52.this mistake. It is undeniably needed, some kind of investment in
:31:52. > :31:57.Plymouth. Absolutely, but I would not want to talk businesses in
:31:57. > :32:03.Plymouth down. They provide a lot of employment for my constituents,
:32:03. > :32:07.and for people on this side of the Qamar. We have a lot of vibrancy
:32:07. > :32:10.businesses already in Plymouth which the Government is supporting.
:32:10. > :32:15.We are cut in corporation tax, providing help for apprenticeship
:32:15. > :32:22.schemes, and that sort of thing. would have been nice, wouldn't it,
:32:22. > :32:28.if it was an enterprise zone? Particularly because it is only a
:32:28. > :32:37.few months before the -- since they turned us down. Perhaps they got
:32:37. > :32:41.confused. But it is not the first gaffe he has made. He thought the
:32:41. > :32:47.Americans joined the Second World War in 1939. Or would you like to
:32:47. > :32:56.see happen in Plymouth? One of the things about the enterprise zone is
:32:56. > :32:59.that they incentivise rates. The Government are also planning to
:32:59. > :33:04.localised business rates without equalising them, meaning that areas
:33:04. > :33:08.like London, which generate a lot of business rates, can subsidise
:33:08. > :33:15.themselves a lot more, than can businesses in the Plymouth area. In
:33:16. > :33:20.fact, throughout the South West, we will be at a disadvantage. Sherryl
:33:20. > :33:24.Murray, will David Cameron be embarrassed by this gaffe? I think
:33:24. > :33:28.he will probably not having -- not like having made the mistake, but
:33:28. > :33:35.we have to remember, there is only a certain amount of money in the
:33:35. > :33:40.pot, and we could not go on the way we were before.
:33:40. > :33:46.Train passengers in the South West may be green with envy if they
:33:46. > :33:52.happened to be in an overcrowded, to a carriage and been reading
:33:52. > :33:59.about the massive investment in High Speed Rail elsewhere. The next
:33:59. > :34:09.contract is due to start next year in the South West. What incentives
:34:09. > :34:18.
:34:18. > :34:26.can Piers offer firms to improve It has not been the smoothest of
:34:26. > :34:34.journeys. Covering the Penzance to Paddington line, criticism of the
:34:35. > :34:37.current Great Western rail franchise has been widespread.
:34:37. > :34:42.Protests led to a management reshuffle, more services and extra
:34:42. > :34:45.carriages, but it came at extra cost to the taxpayer an operator.
:34:45. > :34:50.Trains like this Paddington to Plymouth service have been run by
:34:50. > :34:55.First Great Western since 2006. With the new franchise up for grabs,
:34:55. > :34:58.campaigners say lessons must be learned. First Great Western are
:34:59. > :35:03.opting out of their current deal next year. That is three years
:35:03. > :35:08.early. It has triggered a public consultation on how the new 15 year
:35:08. > :35:12.franchise should look. Chris Owen, a transport campaigner, uses trains
:35:12. > :35:17.every day, and he has clear views of what the Government needs to
:35:17. > :35:22.take on board. They need to look at performance and reliability. If
:35:22. > :35:27.trains do not run on time, people are stuffed. If you cannot get a
:35:27. > :35:31.seat, you get very upset. The third problem for us in the South West is
:35:31. > :35:35.journey time. The problem of getting where you want to go at the
:35:35. > :35:39.time of day you want to travel in a reasonable amount of time. He is
:35:39. > :35:44.worried that planned improvements to the line and only as far West as
:35:44. > :35:49.Bristol were are such -- isolate the far South West. We have got the
:35:49. > :35:54.worst a franchise deal of any part of the country. We need to make
:35:54. > :36:00.sure that this time round the franchise delivers things that we
:36:00. > :36:03.want. Experts like Chris predict a gap of around 100 million seats on
:36:03. > :36:11.mainline services over the next decade despite proposals to bring
:36:11. > :36:16.in more intercity express trains. Branch lines like Truro to a
:36:16. > :36:20.Falmouth break records for the numbers using them, and the
:36:20. > :36:24.Department for Transport are being pressured to introduce extra trains.
:36:24. > :36:28.But the fears that of mistakes could be repeated made his way to
:36:28. > :36:32.the House of Lords this week. of most crowded trains are in
:36:32. > :36:36.government statistics on First Great Western. They pledged there
:36:36. > :36:42.will be more carriages. The doubt remains whether the ministers will
:36:42. > :36:47.take the right track. My concern is that in 15 years, passenger numbers
:36:47. > :36:54.could go up dramatically. The new franchise has to be incentivised by
:36:54. > :36:57.the Government to want to change. Back at Exeter St Davids, it is all
:36:57. > :37:03.about getting a seat. There are people standing in first class and
:37:03. > :37:08.it is always packed. During the commuter hours, there is never
:37:08. > :37:13.enough seats. It would be nice if there weren't more seats on the
:37:13. > :37:20.busier journeys. There is two months to go until firms bid for
:37:20. > :37:25.the new contract, due to start in April 2013.
:37:25. > :37:29.Joining us from a Exeter studio we have Dr David Boughey, rail experts
:37:29. > :37:35.from the University of Exeter Business School. People pay a lot
:37:35. > :37:40.of money for rail tickets. Fares are still going up. Yet the biggest
:37:40. > :37:44.gripe is that they cannot even get a seat. Do you think that this new
:37:44. > :37:47.franchise means there will be improvements for Allah service?
:37:47. > :37:52.think expectations are likely to be incredibly high with a new
:37:52. > :38:01.franchise. Why wouldn't they be, given the circumstances that
:38:01. > :38:04.passengers are experiencing? But I am afraid that it will be until
:38:04. > :38:09.2017 until there is substantial improvement on the line. What kind
:38:09. > :38:14.of improvement might we see by then? When we get to that point,
:38:14. > :38:17.the new InterCity Express programme should have started delivering the
:38:17. > :38:22.new trains across the network, meaning that we will see some of
:38:22. > :38:26.those new trains heading towards Exeter and the displacement of
:38:26. > :38:31.other trains that currently run on other lines also in this direction,
:38:31. > :38:34.which should bring more capacity and faster journey times. And what
:38:34. > :38:42.kind of government incentives make a big difference to customers? What
:38:42. > :38:50.could be offered G as part of the consultation process, customers are
:38:50. > :38:55.invited to say what matters to them. We have heard about the speed of
:38:55. > :38:59.the journey, but there are other elements around catering, retailing,
:38:59. > :39:03.space of seeds and luggage space, and all of these can be built into
:39:03. > :39:06.contract arrangements as part of the franchise. Sherryl Murray, you
:39:06. > :39:12.travel back and forth between Cornwall and Parliament every week.
:39:12. > :39:16.You must want see some improvement. Should there be more in reticent --
:39:16. > :39:21.Investment? Colleagues and I took part in a debate in Westminster
:39:21. > :39:28.Hall last week, and what we called on the minister to include in the
:39:28. > :39:36.new franchise was the retention of the sleeper service, improved
:39:36. > :39:39.capacity, because I have travelled from Plymouth down to Liskeard on a
:39:39. > :39:46.carriage train when it has been absolutely trapped, and they
:39:46. > :39:50.pointed out then that the amount of luggage could even impact on safety.
:39:50. > :39:54.And that is not necessarily good for the economy either? Certainly
:39:54. > :40:00.not. Tudor Evans, should we be looking to other countries where
:40:00. > :40:10.there are better models for train services? I have not made a great
:40:10. > :40:18.study, although I have been on the Japanese railway system, and the
:40:18. > :40:25.argument would be about taxpayers' money and subsidies. On the NHS to
:40:25. > :40:31.debate -- High Speed Rail debate, the Government has just spent �500
:40:31. > :40:38.million to make sure the line does not go through one Tory MP's
:40:38. > :40:42.constituency. I understand what David are saying by Exeter, but
:40:42. > :40:46.there is a lot of railway after Exeter which would not be suitable
:40:46. > :40:54.for the new trains. What we need to look at for the franchise is an
:40:54. > :40:59.improvement. I think the problem is we have got three our journeys to
:40:59. > :41:03.Plymouth, and we need more of those. With Cornwall, because Brunel build
:41:03. > :41:08.the railway would be sweeping bends, some of the high-speed trains
:41:08. > :41:12.cannot actually travel at speed. That is an argument for more
:41:13. > :41:17.investments, then, surely. Absolutely.
:41:17. > :41:23.Children in Somerset to care for a family member are facing a 50% cut
:41:23. > :41:28.to the money which funds their support network. There are 300 come
:41:28. > :41:32.-- young carers registered in the county. Somerset County Council is
:41:32. > :41:36.the only authority in the region proposing these kinds of cuts. An
:41:36. > :41:42.MP has called it appalling. Councillors say they wish to make
:41:42. > :41:47.things easier for children by relieving them of responsibilities.
:41:47. > :41:54.What are we having a 40 tonight? Mashed potato and beans. After a
:41:54. > :41:59.full day of school, Jasmine Searle gets the tee on.
:41:59. > :42:03.Her dad mark suffers from severe arthritis, which makes walking
:42:03. > :42:12.painful and slow. Some days he cannot even get out of bed, so the
:42:12. > :42:18.bulk of the household chores fall on Jasmine. Do you enjoy cooking?
:42:18. > :42:23.It gives me and Dad some quality time together. It is good to so --
:42:23. > :42:27.because Wenham older I'll know what to do. Also growing up fast is her
:42:27. > :42:31.nine-year-old brother Kelson. Both children are supported by the Young
:42:31. > :42:35.Carers Project funded by Somerset County Council. They have a project
:42:35. > :42:39.worker they can talk to and confiding. But the council wants to
:42:39. > :42:43.make savings and is looking to cut the number of project workers and
:42:43. > :42:46.replace them with volunteers. Mark thinks that will not work. I don't
:42:46. > :42:54.think there is going to be continuity mayor, which is very
:42:54. > :42:59.important for the young people. have just one woman who comes every
:42:59. > :43:04.week. I talked to her sometimes about Dad and things, but Eddie not
:43:04. > :43:07.think I would be able to talk to anyone else. Fighting their corner
:43:07. > :43:12.is Carole Paterson, who helped develop the service. She is
:43:12. > :43:15.troubled by the council's desire to extricate young carers from their
:43:15. > :43:25.caring responsibilities, because she thinks it ignores the real
:43:25. > :43:26.
:43:26. > :43:30.problem. These children, they live in the summer, -- these families,
:43:30. > :43:35.it is their world. You need to give them support, give them a break.
:43:35. > :43:38.These kids are so proud of what they do. Somerset County Council
:43:38. > :43:43.insists it is only trying to make the lives of the young carers
:43:43. > :43:47.better. What I want to do is relieve the burden. If I can do
:43:47. > :43:56.that in any small way by working with social services you have a
:43:56. > :44:00.duty to assess the family. What we want them to do is to come in and
:44:00. > :44:05.help the young people and the adults provide the proper care, so
:44:05. > :44:09.that young people may have more free time so they can enjoy other
:44:09. > :44:14.parts of their lives. One local MP is calling on the council to review
:44:14. > :44:18.the scale of the cuts. To remove overnight half of the funding for
:44:18. > :44:23.actually quite a small service that is supporting already 350 young
:44:23. > :44:27.people between the age of eight and 18, it seems to me to be beyond the
:44:28. > :44:32.pale. I would appeal to the county council to go back and look at
:44:32. > :44:42.these decisions. Somerset County Council says it is due to make its
:44:42. > :44:43.
:44:43. > :44:46.final decision on 15th February. Tudor, we heard the leader of the
:44:46. > :44:50.council there say that he is hoping to relieve children of their
:44:50. > :44:56.responsibilities. That is one of the most harmless things I have
:44:56. > :44:59.ever heard. That is a family that is coping, a family that is doing
:44:59. > :45:08.their best, a family that has worked out between the three of
:45:08. > :45:13.them how to run their lives. That kind of patronising behaviour
:45:13. > :45:17.belongs to a Victorian system of social services, not one of the
:45:17. > :45:23.21st century. Did I hear the word consultation? Has anybody ask the
:45:23. > :45:27.children what they think? No. The truth is that it is a money-saving
:45:27. > :45:32.exercise, it is nothing to do with improving the lives of those kids
:45:32. > :45:36.or their father. Is this the Big Society gone wrong? We heard they
:45:36. > :45:41.are going to bring in volunteers. I wonder whether David Cameron would
:45:41. > :45:46.like the thought that a Big Society is being used to defend cuts to
:45:46. > :45:51.vulnerable children. Let's face it, what they have said is that they
:45:51. > :45:58.want to give the children more free time. Nobody wants to see their
:45:58. > :46:08.child become their carer. I think there is a very fine line to be
:46:08. > :46:08.
:46:08. > :46:13.drawn between imposing on a child and providing support for them.
:46:13. > :46:18.What I would like to see is the council talk to these children to
:46:18. > :46:22.find out... But whereas the money coming from? It is a Tory council
:46:22. > :46:27.proposing to make these cuts, so where is the money coming from to
:46:27. > :46:31.relieve those responsibilities? That is the biggest decision. As a
:46:31. > :46:35.government, we have given local councillors the responsibility to
:46:35. > :46:40.be able to do their job as a councillor without dictating to
:46:40. > :46:45.them, like the last government. The councillors have to make their
:46:45. > :46:49.choice. Tudor, some of these services have expanded over the
:46:49. > :46:57.years, and it is true that cuts are necessary. It it just one of those
:46:57. > :47:05.things where services have to contract? This is the week when
:47:05. > :47:09.Eric Pickles has been pushing again his �250 million gift to local
:47:09. > :47:13.councils that will only do what they are told. It is about
:47:13. > :47:17.priorities. Politics is the language of priorities, and in the
:47:17. > :47:21.case of Somerset, they have got their priorities quite badly wrong.
:47:21. > :47:31.Thank you. Our regular round-up of the
:47:31. > :47:36.
:47:36. > :47:42.South West water bills are to go up by nearly 5% in April. A
:47:42. > :47:46.spokesperson told customers that it could have been worse. Any price
:47:46. > :47:50.rise is unwelcome, but it is less than the rise in other parts of the
:47:50. > :47:54.country. Art courses in Falmouth are bearing
:47:54. > :48:00.the brunt of the tuition fee rise. A study has revealed that nowhere
:48:00. > :48:07.else in the region has suffered a bigger drop in applications.
:48:07. > :48:11.The tax Expos at Cornwall Council continues. The Lib Dem leader was
:48:11. > :48:14.asked to explain why all four councillors who failed to pay their
:48:14. > :48:18.council tax were I in his party. is something that people are very
:48:18. > :48:24.upset about and I would rather it had not happened.
:48:24. > :48:29.MPs warned that cuts to the defence budget appeared in homes at risk.
:48:29. > :48:35.And the Eden Project is going head- to-head with Torbay in a race to
:48:35. > :48:39.become home of the Government's Green Investment Bank.
:48:39. > :48:44.That was our week in 60 seconds. Sherryl Murray, the water story
:48:45. > :48:49.there. The Government has announced �50 for every customer pay year off
:48:49. > :48:52.South West Water's bills. But in the same week, we have seen water
:48:52. > :48:58.bill rises. Isn't that giving with one hand and taking away with the
:48:58. > :49:02.other? I do not want to mislead anyone. It is �50 from next year.
:49:02. > :49:08.It is South West Water that have increased the charges. We do have
:49:08. > :49:14.the biggest coastline to clean up. We do have a very large capital
:49:14. > :49:18.programme. I will be speaking to them to find out whether there are
:49:18. > :49:23.any savings, because nobody wants to see any further increases from
:49:23. > :49:33.water bills. I will be working with other South West MPs, I am sure, to
:49:33. > :49:39.
:49:39. > :49:42.look at things like subsidising other authorities. At least the
:49:42. > :49:49.coalition is doing something to mitigate the bill rises? Labour did
:49:49. > :49:52.nothing. I think you'll find that the bills have gone up to their
:49:52. > :49:56.highest ever level under the Coalition Government. I think
:49:56. > :50:01.you'll find that the report that George was born based at his
:50:01. > :50:07.promise on, a 50 pence reduction, is actually a commission from the
:50:07. > :50:13.last Labour governments and championed by the previous MP for
:50:13. > :50:17.Labour in Plymouth. I honestly think you'll find that actually the
:50:17. > :50:21.reduction is down to Labour. The difficulty we have at the moment is
:50:21. > :50:28.that with BBA tea, with all these other price rises since the
:50:28. > :50:33.coalition has been in power... have to say, Labour had 13 years to
:50:33. > :50:36.deal with the excessive water charges, and they did nothing. I