:01:31. > :01:35.In the South West... The Conservative councillors putting up
:01:35. > :01:45.council tax. One Tory leader explains why his council has
:01:45. > :01:45.
:01:45. > :30:23.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1717 seconds
:30:23. > :30:26.Coming up on the Sunday Politics in the South West. The burger van man
:30:27. > :30:31.who says he may have to go back on the dole because the government
:30:31. > :30:34.scheme which helped start his business isn't good enough. And to
:30:34. > :30:42.discuss that and more, I'm joined by Plymouth Conservative MP Oliver
:30:42. > :30:46.Colville and Labour Peer Larry Whitty. We have seen Council
:30:46. > :30:51.deciding whether to put up council tax and the Government offered an
:30:51. > :30:54.incentive not to do so. Do you think this is a good idea or
:30:54. > :30:58.potentially stirring up problems? This is the right thing to do
:30:58. > :31:01.because families at the moment are feeling the pinch in Plymouth and
:31:01. > :31:06.we need to make sure that they will not be hit particularly badly and
:31:06. > :31:13.that is why we need to keep all the costs down to the basic minimum.
:31:13. > :31:16.Nobody wants to see the council tax go up? No, and people in the south-
:31:16. > :31:21.west pay very high council tax but there seems to be a basic
:31:21. > :31:28.contradiction in policy and I have said that we need to allow local
:31:28. > :31:34.government to make up its own mind. Whereas, Eric Pickles, in favour of
:31:34. > :31:37.localism, his overriding local autonomy and not allowing the local
:31:37. > :31:45.councillors to set their own budgets and be answerable to their
:31:45. > :31:48.electorate. A hold that thought. We welcome back to this. Welcome. This
:31:48. > :31:50.is the news that various local authorities have been deciding
:31:50. > :31:54.whether to increase council tax. Devon and Somerset Fire Authority
:31:54. > :31:56.voted to put up their share of the tax, joining a group of rebels in
:31:56. > :31:59.region defying considerable pressure from the government to
:31:59. > :32:02.freeze it. Opting for an increase means rejecting the offer from Eric
:32:02. > :32:05.Pickles of a one-off payment for the next financial year, equivalent
:32:05. > :32:08.to a 2.5% rise. Our political editor, Martyn Oates, has been to
:32:08. > :32:18.the South Hams to ask the council leader why he won't be accepting
:32:18. > :32:21.
:32:21. > :32:25.the government's money. Follaton House, the seat of local government
:32:25. > :32:30.in Devon and South Hams and in a knot is, Blair and Brown might have
:32:30. > :32:36.held the country in the group but here, the Tories waited and longed
:32:36. > :32:41.for a Conservative Prime Minister. It is a bitter irony that after all
:32:41. > :32:44.the hoping and campaigning to get you a lot on to the government
:32:44. > :32:50.benches, your own life as a local councillor can suddenly get more
:32:50. > :32:58.uncomfortable. There is a greatly heightened risk that you will be
:32:58. > :33:01.kicked out of power altogether over a protest vote nationally. Then,
:33:01. > :33:05.helpful suggestions from Whitehall as to how you should manage your
:33:05. > :33:09.financial affairs. Take the pronouncement from on high that all
:33:09. > :33:19.councils have a moral duty to accept the government's one-off
:33:19. > :33:24.payment and freeze council tax. Take the money and get costs down
:33:24. > :33:28.and recognise that a lot of people haven't had a big increase in their
:33:28. > :33:33.salary so show some respect to the population and stop trying to grab
:33:33. > :33:36.money from hard-pressed families. Despite receiving that
:33:36. > :33:41.characteristically forthright advice, this council has decided to
:33:41. > :33:48.say no to the Government's money and yes to that 2.5% hike in
:33:48. > :33:52.council tax. I talked to the council leader. The local
:33:52. > :33:56.government minister has joined his bus in saying that council tax
:33:56. > :34:01.increases like cures are a cake in the teeth for the taxpayer and they
:34:01. > :34:07.treat the local electorate with contempt. Do you think so? We don't
:34:07. > :34:12.believe so. We have taken a lot of consideration over whether to put
:34:12. > :34:17.up council tax or take the pay freeze and we believe for the South
:34:17. > :34:22.Hams, it is better in the long term to put council tax up and we
:34:23. > :34:25.believe this way, we can maintain the services for some time to come.
:34:25. > :34:30.Is there not a conflict between this year and the Government
:34:30. > :34:35.because councils saying no to the government body is because it is a
:34:35. > :34:38.one-off payment and that means you must register council tax in years
:34:38. > :34:45.to come? Eric Pickles says the point of this is to reduce council
:34:45. > :34:47.tax? We are the people making decisions, not the Government. The
:34:47. > :34:52.Government are giving us an opportunity to do this in a
:34:52. > :34:57.different way but we have this black hole after one year, when the
:34:57. > :35:02.freeze disappears, how do we felt that? We asked Eric Pickles what he
:35:02. > :35:04.thought of authorities putting up council tax and he says that this
:35:04. > :35:14.is about councils lacking leadership and being controlled by
:35:14. > :35:14.
:35:14. > :35:20.their officers. That his former colleagues to say. Members here in
:35:20. > :35:24.the council work closely with offices and they give us the
:35:24. > :35:28.evidence and we make decisions. I would argue with Eric Pickles on
:35:28. > :35:33.those kind of points. It does look like the Council in Devon, which
:35:33. > :35:39.will increase council tax, is the council it shares its chief
:35:39. > :35:43.executive with you? On the face of it, you could say that that officer
:35:43. > :35:47.has a lot to say about that but in this case, each can some it's a
:35:47. > :35:53.decision and the officers give us evidence and members have come to
:35:53. > :35:57.this view. You are a conservative, as is Eric Pickles. Is it helpful
:35:57. > :36:04.for the Government to say you have complete freedom to do things like
:36:04. > :36:08.this but then to make it very clear what they think you should do and
:36:09. > :36:13.be rich in public for doing that? do not think that is right because
:36:13. > :36:17.if they give us freedom, let's get on and do it and if they wanted to
:36:17. > :36:21.control us like the previous government, so be it. They cannot
:36:21. > :36:25.have this both ways. There can be little disagreement that a freeze
:36:25. > :36:30.at Follaton House this year would tie the hands of councillors and
:36:30. > :36:35.future. It this council decided to accept the government's 2.5%
:36:35. > :36:38.payment, and then try to maintain that together with another 2.5%
:36:38. > :36:43.increase the following year, that would mean a demanding an increase
:36:43. > :36:47.of around 5% from the South Hams tax payer in one go. Under old
:36:47. > :36:52.rules, that would run the risk of capping from Whitehall but now the
:36:52. > :36:58.increase of anything more than 3.5% has to be subject to a local
:36:58. > :37:04.referendum. Which could well make it politically impossible. Martin
:37:04. > :37:07.boats reporting. Are you disheartened by this? To Tory
:37:07. > :37:11.authorities turning down the government offer of the incentive
:37:11. > :37:15.not to increase council tax and also the Farran authority in the
:37:15. > :37:21.region, clearly concerned that they cannot do as much unless there is
:37:21. > :37:24.more money. It is great that local people can make local decisions.
:37:24. > :37:29.But there has been pressure from the Government. There has been an
:37:29. > :37:33.incentive given to keep the council tax down and I am disappointed and
:37:33. > :37:38.I hope that in Plymouth, Plymouth City Council will make sure that
:37:39. > :37:44.they do not end up increase -- increasing the council tax because
:37:44. > :37:49.that will impact on hard-working families. The worry is that in the
:37:49. > :37:54.long term, this will impact anyway and if you make these cuts, in the
:37:54. > :37:58.long term you will have less services? There is a lot of
:37:58. > :38:02.evidence to suggest that whether budgets have been kept under
:38:02. > :38:08.control, what happens is the local authorities make sure that they
:38:08. > :38:13.took more with less money. That is a difficult argument but there is a
:38:13. > :38:17.large amount of evidence that it that works, but its work well.
:38:17. > :38:21.you think these councils can do more with less money? They had a
:38:22. > :38:28.lot of time under Labour wildly spending money. Now this is coming
:38:28. > :38:33.down. There must be some room for cuts to be made? There can be
:38:33. > :38:38.efficiencies achieved in local government and it is obvious that
:38:38. > :38:43.every council has to assess their own services and what they can --
:38:43. > :38:47.their income base can take. But there seemed to be contradictions
:38:47. > :38:54.that if you are really moving towards greater localism, you
:38:54. > :38:58.cannot have Whitehall saying no further. And then finding other
:38:58. > :39:03.money to compensate for obeying Whitehall. That seems to be a
:39:03. > :39:08.contradiction in terms, it isn't localism or is it saving money.
:39:08. > :39:12.this? It is an incentive, encouraging the authorities to make
:39:12. > :39:16.sure that they do not go out and spend lots of money and make sure
:39:16. > :39:21.that the end up keeping their council tax down and that is
:39:21. > :39:25.actually what people want to see happen. Are you worried about the
:39:25. > :39:30.fact that the Farrah Prunty rejected this? One so again, this
:39:30. > :39:33.is a local decision. I am sad at the fact they have made this
:39:33. > :39:37.decision but the other point is that over the years we have
:39:37. > :39:42.expected local-authority used to do more and more. What I hope we can
:39:42. > :39:46.start doing is allowed them to get on with things and not keep telling
:39:46. > :39:51.them all the time what to do. does appear like that? I don't
:39:51. > :39:59.think so. We're giving them an incentive to do this, if they want
:39:59. > :40:04.to go down that route. If not, they have the right to say no. But don't
:40:04. > :40:07.increase it too much, or they will face a referendum. Stay with us. On
:40:07. > :40:09.Monday, we were told the banks had failed to meet targets for lending
:40:10. > :40:13.to small businesses. On Wednesday, unemployment figures went up again
:40:13. > :40:17.across the South West. Now small business leaders in the region say
:40:17. > :40:20.the Government should be doing more to help people without a job set up
:40:20. > :40:23.on their own. There is a scheme designed to encourage the
:40:23. > :40:26.unemployed to turn themselves into entrepreneurs. It's called the New
:40:26. > :40:36.Enterprise Allowance. But critics say it's often too little, too late.
:40:36. > :40:37.
:40:37. > :40:39.Tamsin Melville reports. Business is not exactly sizzling for Stephen
:40:39. > :40:43.Capewell. After spending eight months unemployed, he had high
:40:43. > :40:45.hopes for this snack van near Truro. With a �1000 loan under the
:40:45. > :40:51.Government's New Enterprise Allowance, or NEA, he set up in
:40:51. > :40:58.November. But the winter months have been tough and he's struggling.
:40:58. > :41:05.I just do not see how �1,000 today, how you can set up any viable
:41:05. > :41:11.business on that. It used to be �5,000 and that has been cut. And
:41:11. > :41:13.it is the main thing that should be helping people get back into work.
:41:14. > :41:19.At its launch, critics said this scheme wasn't flexible enough.
:41:19. > :41:23.Stephen's case seems to prove their point. My payments will finish in
:41:23. > :41:31.10 weeks and if I am then back on benefits, that cost them hundreds
:41:31. > :41:38.of pounds each week so what does not make sense. I do not understand
:41:38. > :41:41.why. The DWP says it doesn't currently have any plans to raise
:41:41. > :41:49.the amount provided by the NEA scheme. But it says it is
:41:49. > :41:53.monitoring it and welcomes any feedback. So is what's on offer
:41:53. > :41:56.really enough to keep people out of the job centre for good? As well as
:41:56. > :41:59.the �1000 loan, the NEA offers a �1,275 allowance over 26 weeks and
:41:59. > :42:04.mentoring support. But the voice of small businesses in Cornwall
:42:04. > :42:09.believes it's what happens next that's the key. We are not saying
:42:09. > :42:15.that this is a bad scheme but it does not go far enough. And that is
:42:15. > :42:18.the thing. The danger is that that public money could be wasted on a
:42:18. > :42:23.lot of very good businesses that just need more help and I think it
:42:23. > :42:25.is looking up at next step which is important. And it's only available
:42:25. > :42:32.to those claiming Jobseekers Allowance for six months or more,
:42:32. > :42:37.which some finance experts say is the wrong approach. Let's get this
:42:37. > :42:43.started sinner, let's catch those people who are prepared to take the
:42:43. > :42:48.risk. Offer this on day one when somebody has become redundant work
:42:48. > :42:51.cannot find a job. Say that we have this package of support. The owner
:42:52. > :42:55.of this new shop in Tavistock says it wouldn't have existed if it
:42:55. > :42:58.wasn't for the NEA. But crucially, he's also put in his own money and
:42:58. > :43:00.got a charitable grant. And those administering the scheme in Devon
:43:00. > :43:05.and Cornwall say they've helped create more than 100 local
:43:05. > :43:12.businesses over a year. And with dozens more in the pipeline,
:43:12. > :43:18.there's bound to be mixed results. The �1,000 is a catalyst which has
:43:18. > :43:22.enabled lots of businesses to start. I am sure that a lot of businesses
:43:22. > :43:30.would value more money. But �1,000 is enough to enable them to get off
:43:30. > :43:33.the ground. Inevitably, there will be failures. Because a number of
:43:34. > :43:37.businesses that start, significantly, a large amount of
:43:37. > :43:40.them fail. The Government wants to see the creation of up to 40,000
:43:40. > :43:49.new businesses under the NEA by 2013. Back at the snack van,
:43:49. > :43:52.there's some doubts. �40,000. That's a big number. But without
:43:52. > :43:58.the support, I cannot see this happening. Previous governments
:43:58. > :44:01.have tried similar schemes to turn the unemployed into entrepreneurs.
:44:01. > :44:08.Whether this one will work for people like Stephen remains a
:44:08. > :44:15.matter of debate. You had the man, �2,000 isn't enough to get even a
:44:15. > :44:18.business like a burger van off the ground and he needs more money.
:44:18. > :44:22.Remember, the country's public finances are in a bad state and we
:44:22. > :44:25.don't have lots of money to throw around. The fact that the
:44:25. > :44:27.Government is doing this is a positive sign because what we need
:44:28. > :44:33.to do is make sure that there is growth in the private sector
:44:33. > :44:37.because that is where the growth welcome from and we have seen in
:44:37. > :44:43.Plymouth that the public sector has had to take quite a big cut. We
:44:43. > :44:47.need to make sure that the private sector has been incentivise. And
:44:47. > :44:52.anything that can do that is important. Would it be a better
:44:53. > :44:57.idea to offer less businesses more money? No, you need to spread the
:44:57. > :45:00.core and all over the place. And let's remember that the budget is
:45:00. > :45:04.taking place next month and that will have a very real impact
:45:04. > :45:08.because it will be part of a package of activities that the
:45:08. > :45:13.Government will be trying to do. Loughry, it is basically a good
:45:13. > :45:20.idea? The burger van was struggling but the shop was doing well. It is
:45:20. > :45:25.a good saying, this is needed? principle, yes. So is the loan
:45:25. > :45:29.indemnity. I support both of these. But this isn't enough, it is part
:45:29. > :45:32.of a bigger problem that there is no wonder coming forward to new
:45:32. > :45:35.businesses and small businesses in general from the banks. Your first
:45:35. > :45:39.point was that the banks have failed to meet their targets,
:45:39. > :45:44.particularly small businesses. And of the banking system was working
:45:44. > :45:47.properly, and we then provided the money, and yes, they had indemnity
:45:47. > :45:51.from the Government but not lot of public money, so I think the real
:45:51. > :45:56.problem is that banks and their attitude to small businesses.
:45:56. > :45:59.important to get the bank's lending money and finding ways to make that
:45:59. > :46:05.happen. But at the end of this, the Government is doing its part by
:46:05. > :46:08.making sure that there will be this incentive to encourage people to go
:46:08. > :46:12.out and develop their businesses. wonder if a lot of these businesses
:46:12. > :46:17.which will be set up under the scheme will be service businesses,
:46:17. > :46:23.burger vans, shops, and what is actually needed his investment in
:46:23. > :46:27.education for things like high-end skills which will bring more
:46:27. > :46:32.economic growth to erase in general? So that people can buy
:46:32. > :46:36.their Burger? I had an interesting number of days in my constituency
:46:36. > :46:40.and I first went to see the JobCentre here, and they were very
:46:40. > :46:49.positive about what it is that we can do to try to turn ourselves
:46:49. > :46:56.around. I then that a local person who was a local cook and he told me
:46:56. > :47:01.about taking on an apprentice. Apprenticeships? They are important.
:47:01. > :47:06.It is part of... Loughry, what do you make of this? Training is
:47:06. > :47:11.important. Some apprenticeships are not actually sufficient in quality
:47:11. > :47:19.to give you any way to set up your own business so unit to be
:47:19. > :47:24.encouraged as an opera -- as an entrepreneur and also go to schools.
:47:24. > :47:27.Now our regular round-up of the political week in 60 seconds. The
:47:27. > :47:37.Eden Project's Tim Smit spoke out against the Government's decision
:47:37. > :47:38.
:47:38. > :47:40.to cut subsidies for geothermal power. It is a total disgrace. It
:47:40. > :47:43.is a betrayal of British technological power. Anti-nuclear
:47:43. > :47:48.protestors occupied the site of the proposed Hinkley C reactor in
:47:48. > :47:56.Somerset. A new anti-wind turbine protest group has been set up in
:47:56. > :48:00.Cornwall. Is it right to put so much reliance on went when there
:48:00. > :48:02.are other forms of renewable energy shortly going to be available?
:48:02. > :48:09.Councillors in Torridge reckon they can manage without a chief
:48:09. > :48:12.executive and say others should do the same. In some councils there
:48:12. > :48:14.will be a need for a Chief Executive and in others, there is a
:48:15. > :48:17.possibility that they could run without one. School leavers in
:48:18. > :48:20.Cornwall have been told they could get a pioneering council bursary if
:48:21. > :48:24.they stay in education. And figures from St Petroc's reveal the number
:48:24. > :48:34.of people sleeping rough in Truro has more than doubled in the last
:48:34. > :48:37.
:48:37. > :48:41.year. That Was the Week in 60 seconds. Lots of stories on energy.
:48:41. > :48:48.We had 10 Smith from the Eden Project says the Government isn't
:48:48. > :48:52.investing enough in geothermal energy. Should more be done? I do.
:48:52. > :48:55.I am a very big supporter of all forms of green energy and it is the
:48:55. > :49:01.biggest challenge for this generation of politicians worldwide
:49:01. > :49:07.and if we get this wrong, the world isn't a pretty bad state. He is
:49:07. > :49:14.right on geothermal. I do not like blanket opposition to wind farms,
:49:14. > :49:18.although there will be some sites and support for Mika energy as well.
:49:18. > :49:21.Anything that isn't fossil fuel, we should encourage. In terms of the
:49:21. > :49:26.market environment and in government support. Why is the
:49:26. > :49:29.Government not doing more? They do a significant about. By according
:49:29. > :49:34.to terms with. We can't do enough for everybody but in the last
:49:34. > :49:40.couple of weeks, if you remember, the climate change Minister came to
:49:40. > :49:45.Bristol and announced that we would be the area for a number of marine
:49:45. > :49:50.science parks as well. I thoroughly agree with Barry. We have got to
:49:50. > :49:56.find an alternative way. German is investing heavily in its
:49:56. > :50:00.geothermal? Should we not get in their early? There are a series and
:50:00. > :50:05.a package of energy issues we need to do and we have to be very
:50:05. > :50:07.careful because we need to reduce energy... We must stop you. That's