:01:23. > :01:26.Mixed news for the region's jobseekers.
:01:26. > :01:36.And the new twist in the tale of one town's campaign against a major
:01:36. > :01:37.
:01:37. > :37:29.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2152 seconds
:37:29. > :37:33.Hello, coming upon the Sunday Politics in the South West...
:37:33. > :37:36.Remember the row about whether one South Devon town really needed
:37:36. > :37:41.another coffee shop? In new campaign group says it represents
:37:41. > :37:48.the silent majority who actually wanted a Costa in Totnes.
:37:48. > :37:53.And I'm joined by Lord Whitty and Sheryll Murray. Welcome, both of
:37:53. > :37:57.you. Let's begin with the encouraging news for the region's
:37:57. > :38:02.jobseekers. On Wednesday, the MoD announced that 300 jobs at
:38:02. > :38:06.Devonport dockyard would be secured to refit HMS Ocean. An informant
:38:06. > :38:10.figures show the first sign of a long-term fall in the number of
:38:10. > :38:13.people claiming jobseeker's allowance across the region. One
:38:13. > :38:19.analyst said this could be the beginning of private sector
:38:19. > :38:23.recovery in the south-west. Sheryll Murray was keen to make sure the
:38:23. > :38:27.Prime Minister noticed a good news. Will my Right Honourable Friend
:38:27. > :38:36.join me in congratulating my two young entrepreneurs who have taken
:38:36. > :38:41.the initiative to take -- start HGVs company -- start HGVs company
:38:41. > :38:45.in my constituency? Does the Prime Minister agree this is just the
:38:45. > :38:48.sort of business initiative we need to see?
:38:48. > :38:54.Lord Whitty, is this evidence that the Government is in fact putting
:38:54. > :39:04.things back on track? That is premature. I am glad to see there
:39:04. > :39:05.are new enterprises being set up. I must say, that the view I get back
:39:05. > :39:09.must say, that the view I get back from small businesses in the south-
:39:09. > :39:14.west and elsewhere is that they are still having problems getting
:39:14. > :39:20.credit from the banks and cuts in public expenditure are hitting them.
:39:20. > :39:23.We are not yet in a position to say there is serious revival.
:39:23. > :39:29.Unemployment 8% down year-on-year in the south-west? There is
:39:29. > :39:35.something going on there. It is not clear if the figures are consistent.
:39:35. > :39:39.We should wait and see before we start charging from the rooftops.
:39:39. > :39:43.The Autumn Statement growth figures had to be reduced, and yet we have
:39:43. > :39:48.got these unemployment figures which seemed to be screaming, yes,
:39:48. > :39:55.the private sector is growing. How would you balance that? When you
:39:55. > :40:01.look at it, a lot of people, like my constituents who have taken the
:40:01. > :40:05.initiative, and realised the country could not go one way if a
:40:05. > :40:09.public sector growing and being subsidised. People are taking the
:40:09. > :40:13.initiative to start businesses and help themselves. The government's
:40:13. > :40:17.message and the Conservative message is getting out there. If it
:40:17. > :40:22.continues, then hopefully we will see the economy grow in the way
:40:22. > :40:30.that we want. You mention public sector jobs. You have not seen
:40:30. > :40:33.public sector cuts and a bike that is going to cost. -- and the bike.
:40:33. > :40:39.Do you think growth in the private sector will offset future public-
:40:39. > :40:41.sector cuts? I have met people in my constituency, one particular
:40:42. > :40:49.lady in Gunnislake, who has left the public sector and started her
:40:49. > :40:53.own business, because she recognises that we cannot maximise
:40:53. > :40:58.credit cards to subsidise jobs, which we have seen over the last 12
:40:58. > :41:02.months. People are realising may need to help themselves and are
:41:02. > :41:05.taking the initiative. Is it enough to realise that we need to take the
:41:05. > :41:09.initiative, do you see that happening on the ground? Certainly
:41:09. > :41:13.people need to take initiative but the problem people have got is that
:41:13. > :41:18.the private sector will not revise -- revive unless there is a growth
:41:18. > :41:22.in demand in the economy. That demand a different economic
:41:22. > :41:27.perspective from the government in relation to timing their cots and
:41:27. > :41:30.so on. There is a problem with this being sustained. Hopefully, those
:41:30. > :41:34.companies will get off the ground but unless there is a total
:41:34. > :41:39.increase in demand and growth in the economy, that will not be
:41:39. > :41:41.sustainable. If you work for one of the region's
:41:41. > :41:45.councils you might well be worried about the prospect of joining the
:41:45. > :41:48.dole queue. Local authority leaders are faced with tough decisions
:41:48. > :41:52.about whether to cut staff to meet dramatic savings required by
:41:52. > :41:57.government and some fear the next funding settlement, due in the
:41:57. > :42:04.coming weeks, will put more pressure on their budgets.
:42:04. > :42:10.It is a turbulent time in local government. It is two months since
:42:10. > :42:17.Iraq over controversial privatisation proposals led to the
:42:17. > :42:20.ousting of Alec Robertson. motion has been carried... West
:42:20. > :42:24.Somerset council is teetering on the brink of becoming a skeleton
:42:24. > :42:28.body commissioning services from other authorities. West Somerset
:42:28. > :42:33.council does not have enough finance to fund what it is doing at
:42:33. > :42:38.present. There have to be savings. Things are not likely to get easier
:42:38. > :42:42.any time soon. Councils are biting -- battling with cuts from
:42:42. > :42:47.Whitehall amounting to more than 30% and they are predicting another
:42:47. > :42:52.20% in next spending round, from 2015. With the government making it
:42:52. > :42:56.clear that a local authorities are going to have to make do with less,
:42:56. > :43:00.councils across the south-west are grappling with how to keep their
:43:00. > :43:05.heads above water. This week, councillors in Cornwall voted
:43:05. > :43:09.through a much slimmed-down version of a partnership with BT and the
:43:09. > :43:13.NHS. Things like IT systems and technology monitoring people's
:43:13. > :43:17.health in their homes will stay but supporters of the original deal say
:43:17. > :43:24.the compromise puts more jobs at risk. It is a smaller scheme and
:43:24. > :43:31.the potential is not as great. What I believe it means is that those
:43:31. > :43:34.services within the council are going to have to make significant
:43:34. > :43:38.servings -- savings in the coming years and it will be a challenge.
:43:38. > :43:42.Councillor Double says the council was to get new ways of working. The
:43:43. > :43:49.man who now leads the council thinks days like this are too risky
:43:49. > :43:54.in the current financial climate. There has been a survey of
:43:54. > :44:00.authorities in England and they say that this year, 12% of authorities
:44:00. > :44:04.will really struggle to balance their books and next year, 25% of
:44:04. > :44:09.authorities will be in the same position. The government really
:44:10. > :44:13.must come to the conclusion that there is a limit to what local
:44:13. > :44:21.government can expect to do. Local Government Association echoes
:44:21. > :44:27.this morning. This is the so called graph of doom illustrating a
:44:27. > :44:31.funding gap by 2020. No more is this squeeze being felt more than
:44:31. > :44:35.by England's smallest council facing budget cuts of 1.5 million
:44:35. > :44:39.over three years. Crisis meetings have been held this week but the
:44:39. > :44:43.government minister sent to help is not reaching for the chequebook.
:44:43. > :44:46.they can get the right structure in place, it is not a matter of
:44:46. > :44:51.financial handouts. That is not what West Somerset have been asking
:44:51. > :44:55.for. They are looking for a sustainable solution.
:44:55. > :44:58.possibility of a big hike in council tax in West Somerset is
:44:58. > :45:03.still on the table. The rise is not been ruled out in Cornwall either
:45:03. > :45:06.and the outlook is bleak. Councils are braced for the details of their
:45:06. > :45:16.next financial settlement before Christmas and there is not much
:45:16. > :45:16.
:45:16. > :45:23.We are joined by the vice chair of the Local Government Association.
:45:23. > :45:26.Not much hope of festive cheer. We have a council that has run out of
:45:26. > :45:34.money, a council having to privatise core services, what does
:45:34. > :45:44.it mean? Councils are going to be under huge pressure. There has been
:45:44. > :45:44.
:45:44. > :45:48.a 30% cut in councils' funding over the last few years. We have to look
:45:48. > :45:52.at the most vulnerable people in society, children care, the elderly,
:45:52. > :45:57.people with disabilities, so on all our services will get cut deeply
:45:57. > :46:04.over the next three years. Something like at a 90% cut for
:46:04. > :46:09.planning, transport, community wardens and safety, all of those
:46:09. > :46:12.things will be cut to the bone and beyond. We did speak to the
:46:12. > :46:19.Department for communities and local government. Given that cancer
:46:19. > :46:23.has account for one quarter of government spending it is vital
:46:23. > :46:29.they contribute. -- given that councils. The country cannot live
:46:29. > :46:33.outside its means. You cannot keep borrowing and borrowing. Consuls
:46:33. > :46:39.are probably the most efficient part of the government's service
:46:39. > :46:43.and yet, we're having the biggest cuts. I do not think we government
:46:43. > :46:48.understands how vital some of the services are that councils up and
:46:48. > :46:52.down the country provide two really vulnerable people and the services
:46:53. > :46:57.that people need every single day of the week. We're going to put bat
:46:57. > :47:02.to one of our guests. Has the government gone too far west these
:47:02. > :47:10.cuts and it is too much too fast? For 10 years before I got elected I
:47:10. > :47:16.was a local councillor. I sat on Cornwall County Council and
:47:16. > :47:20.Carriden District Council. Councils assumed they were going to get the
:47:20. > :47:26.same increase your round year when they looked at their future
:47:26. > :47:33.planning. -- year on year. They took that into account. We have got
:47:33. > :47:36.to a stage when the country cannot afford to give councils this
:47:37. > :47:42.increase in funding. At the end of the day, what the Government is
:47:42. > :47:46.doing is giving local councillors the opportunity to control their
:47:46. > :47:51.own budgets. The what we are hearing here, and from the Audit
:47:51. > :47:55.Commission as well, they say that next year, 25% of councils will be
:47:55. > :48:00.in the same boat as the two we have mentioned. One is facing bankruptcy
:48:00. > :48:04.and the other has lost its leader over privatisation measures because
:48:04. > :48:09.they believe these services should be protected. One of the things we
:48:09. > :48:12.have had for 12 years his local councillors being told how to spend
:48:12. > :48:17.their money and what to do. They have forgotten how to manage
:48:17. > :48:21.budgets. What the government is now saying is, they know best how to
:48:21. > :48:26.deliver local services on the ground, but they do have to manage
:48:27. > :48:32.those budgets and stick to them. the past, local councils have had
:48:32. > :48:36.too much money and it is time to cut back and tighten your belt?
:48:36. > :48:41.nation clearly does have to tighten its belt and councils have to play
:48:41. > :48:44.their part, absolutely, but the Government has targeted cancels
:48:44. > :48:49.much more than central government departments and is allowing much
:48:49. > :48:53.more waste in central government. Even central government says
:48:53. > :48:58.councils are the most efficient part of the public service, so why
:48:58. > :49:03.not let us do more? The real problem here is we have to look
:49:03. > :49:08.after the most vulnerable people and the cuts have gone too deep.
:49:08. > :49:17.The West Somerset cards or has a proposal to put up council tax by
:49:18. > :49:21.49%, �50 per has sold. What we do say? -- �50 per household. But
:49:21. > :49:26.government has taken decision- making power away from councils and
:49:26. > :49:30.we are not allowed to think about things like that, because central
:49:30. > :49:34.government makes decisions were cancelled. Lord Whitty, what do you
:49:34. > :49:40.think? Is there fat to be cut and what about the increase proposal in
:49:40. > :49:44.West Somerset? I agree with Gerald that councils ought to make their
:49:44. > :49:51.own decisions in what ever budgets they have got. We are of one mind
:49:51. > :49:53.on that. Behind that, the government have embarked on a
:49:53. > :49:58.course of cutting public expenditure which we can argue
:49:58. > :50:02.about the totality of, but in this context they have put aged him out
:50:02. > :50:05.of the burden on the public authority up -- they have put a
:50:05. > :50:11.huge amount of the burden on the public authorities. Local budgets
:50:11. > :50:16.have been cut more than three times. That is not the right sense of
:50:16. > :50:23.priorities. What ever there is at the macro level, that is wrong.
:50:23. > :50:26.Cornwall and West Somerset are some of the poorest authorities in land.
:50:26. > :50:30.-- in Milan. If they are having to make decisions which affect their
:50:30. > :50:36.people it is because the Treasury have decided local authorities will
:50:36. > :50:40.bear the brunt. With this rise in council tax, if West Somerset
:50:40. > :50:44.council wanted to increase council tax for specific purposes, of
:50:44. > :50:54.course they can do it. They just have to ask their council tax
:50:54. > :51:01.payers by way of a referendum if they wanted. They can put it up for
:51:01. > :51:06.specific purposes according to the Localism Act. They have to axe --
:51:06. > :51:12.asked the tax payers if they wish them to do this. Will the same
:51:12. > :51:16.applied to George Osborne? In October, Costa Coffee was
:51:16. > :51:20.apparent -- forced to abandon plans to open up in Totnes after a
:51:20. > :51:23.protest campaign. The move was held up as an example of big business
:51:23. > :51:29.listening to the people but it has emerged not everyone in the town
:51:29. > :51:33.was happily about it decision. -- happy about the decision. There are
:51:34. > :51:38.questions about how democratic the campaign really was.
:51:38. > :51:43.Totnes, one of the region's most flourishing market towns, famed for
:51:43. > :51:48.its beauty and independent spirit, held up by government ministers as
:51:48. > :51:54.a pioneer of localism. What Totnes does today the rest of the country
:51:54. > :52:00.will do tomorrow. We are taking the spirit of Totnes around the country.
:52:00. > :52:05.A few months ago, Totnes was deemed to be leading the way once again.
:52:05. > :52:10.Campaigners in Totnes are claiming victory after they forced a
:52:10. > :52:18.multinational coffee giant to scrap plans to set up a shop in the town.
:52:18. > :52:22.It followed a protest petition. An MP got involved. Along with
:52:22. > :52:28.representatives from the town, she met the company in October.
:52:28. > :52:32.wanted cost up to visit Totnes and show them the impact this would
:52:32. > :52:35.have and that we did not want a clone high street. One of the
:52:35. > :52:42.reasons people were coming to Totnes was because there was a
:52:42. > :52:47.different offer. Her intervention came after the local authority
:52:47. > :52:51.approved plants backing the cafe. Six district councillors voted
:52:51. > :52:55.against the plan, 17 voted in favour. Costa Coffee's last-minute
:52:55. > :53:00.decision not to set up shop left some stunned and wishing they had
:53:00. > :53:06.voiced support. Hindsight is a lovely thing. A lot of people
:53:06. > :53:10.didn't really do anything because they thought it inevitable. They
:53:10. > :53:15.got their planning permission, we thought it was going to happen. We
:53:15. > :53:21.didn't think because it was such a small number of people protesting
:53:21. > :53:25.that it would have any effect. Then suddenly, it did. In fact, the
:53:25. > :53:31.campaign had collected over 5,000 signatures, but there have been
:53:31. > :53:35.questions raised about how representative it was of the local
:53:35. > :53:40.population. A counter group has been set up by Matt, which he says
:53:40. > :53:45.has more than 400 supporters. of people I spoke to did not feel
:53:45. > :53:49.they were represented had -- represented. A lot of people didn't
:53:49. > :53:57.really mind and they did not feel represented. It was only be people
:53:57. > :54:00.who had protested against it who had been covered in the media and
:54:00. > :54:04.eight were perceived to represent the views of the majority. What has
:54:04. > :54:08.happened in Totnes has been seen as a victory for people power but has
:54:08. > :54:14.also led to questions about which people had the power and what it
:54:14. > :54:19.all means for those not on the winning side.
:54:19. > :54:23.It was unusual to see an MP getting so involved in a planning
:54:23. > :54:28.application for a shock. If it was in your constituency, which you
:54:28. > :54:31.have done the same thing? Bear in mind that I have been a local
:54:31. > :54:39.councillor so I have been involved in the planning process. I know
:54:39. > :54:42.that an MP does not have any power when it comes to planning decisions.
:54:42. > :54:46.Westminster have in the past been very dominant, and that is why we
:54:46. > :54:51.have changed the planning law so that local people and local
:54:51. > :54:57.councillors take those decisions. That is wary -- where they should
:54:57. > :55:01.be taken. But it was the pressure group with the most say, but 17
:55:01. > :55:06.councillors had voted in favour of the application, against six.
:55:06. > :55:09.I would have done under those circumstances is every
:55:09. > :55:14.representation of that concern with regard to a planning application
:55:14. > :55:19.into my office, I plus they wanted the local planning department.
:55:19. > :55:24.you would not have got involved? Probably not in this instance.
:55:24. > :55:28.you think she had a lot of sway? am not sure what sort of power a
:55:28. > :55:33.member of parliament has and we have to remember that we all deal
:55:33. > :55:42.with things in a different way. I personally would have made sure
:55:42. > :55:46.that I had accounted for the silent minority in this instance, and I
:55:46. > :55:51.think it is my position in my constituency as the Member of
:55:51. > :55:55.Parliament to take a passive role as often as I can. What does this
:55:55. > :56:00.tell us about localism, local pressure groups having so much
:56:00. > :56:05.power? And yet another local groups saying, we did not want you to have
:56:05. > :56:09.that say. At the end of the day it needs to be the decision of the
:56:09. > :56:14.council. It is quite frequently that those who shout loudest are
:56:14. > :56:19.not representative of the total number. At the end of the day the
:56:19. > :56:24.council should take the decision. At least Costa Coffee pay their
:56:24. > :56:31.taxes! When they came to my little town in Dorset, they actually
:56:31. > :56:37.transformed. We now have more independent cafes. This is not all
:56:37. > :56:44.one-way. Were you interested to see a Tory MP standing up against Free
:56:44. > :56:52.Enterprise? It is an unusual take. There may have been some pressure
:56:52. > :56:55.from the independent traders. I think this is a planning issue and
:56:55. > :57:00.the council and other people should have taken the decision. You are
:57:00. > :57:05.not worried that local pressure groups are getting too much power?
:57:05. > :57:08.If they are not representative then they are. The council needs to make
:57:08. > :57:18.that judgment. It is time for the round-up of the
:57:18. > :57:18.
:57:18. > :57:23.political week. Train passengers were told fares
:57:23. > :57:29.will rise above inflation next year. The First Great Western boss said
:57:29. > :57:32.it was for ministers to explain why, not him. We think we provide value
:57:32. > :57:34.for money. Coastguard cuts means important
:57:34. > :57:39.local knowledge will be lost according to a report from the
:57:39. > :57:42.Transport Select Committee. South West dairy farmers are
:57:42. > :57:46.unhappy about the price they get for their milk were told they could
:57:46. > :57:52.get money from the taxpayer. The government will help them negotiate
:57:52. > :57:55.with processors and supermarkets. There is a much brighter future for
:57:55. > :57:59.milk production than there has been for a very long time.
:57:59. > :58:03.Oliver Colvile asked the Prime Minister why that city of Plymouth
:58:03. > :58:07.had missed out on super-fast broadband. I am sure he will be
:58:07. > :58:10.glad to know that Devon and Somerset has been allocated �33
:58:10. > :58:13.million to deliver super-fast broadband.
:58:13. > :58:16.Cornish nationalists were encouraged by census figures
:58:16. > :58:24.showing the number of people who call themselves Cornish has more
:58:24. > :58:29.than doubled. Do you call yourself Cornish?
:58:29. > :58:33.I do. I do not speak Cornish, and neither did my grandmother or
:58:33. > :58:38.mother. I recognise, as someone who travelled across the border into
:58:38. > :58:42.Plymouth to work for a number of my early years, but there is an
:58:42. > :58:48.economic benefit from our neighbours in Devon. Whilst I think
:58:48. > :58:53.our heritage is very important, we have to be realistic with regard to
:58:53. > :58:56.the economic situation but Cornwall finds itself in. I want to ask you
:58:56. > :59:00.about the Coastguard issued, as someone with in the fishing
:59:00. > :59:04.community. What is your reaction to the select committee report which
:59:04. > :59:09.says that it is talking of low morale amongst Coastguard, a loss
:59:10. > :59:13.of skilled workers and skilled knowledge with these cuts? I have
:59:13. > :59:18.always maintained we must not lose their local knowledge. I was
:59:18. > :59:28.heartened when I heard the Minister confirm that the new National
:59:28. > :59:29.
:59:29. > :59:38.Centre would not close any local centres, on Nairn -- unless there
:59:38. > :59:41.was absolute sureness that the National Centre could cope. I need
:59:41. > :59:47.to see the evidence. The new national co-ordination Centre has
:59:47. > :59:54.only just got up and running. The jury is out. Let's wait and see.
:59:54. > :59:59.Brixham has not closed yet. We have not got long left. What is your
:59:59. > :00:07.take on this? I think the government may be right that some
:00:07. > :00:12.rationalisation is sensible. If you get rid of the local offices, you