:01:33. > :01:37.In the south, the town centre redevelopment that is causing
:01:37. > :01:47.ructions in Dorchester. No replacement car-parking, but the
:01:47. > :01:47.
:01:47. > :37:28.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2141 seconds
:37:28. > :37:31.Welcome to Sunday Politics South. My name's Peter Henley. On today's
:37:31. > :37:34.show: The Charles Street redevelopment in Dorchester was
:37:34. > :37:37.meant to regenerate the town with a luxury hotel and new council
:37:37. > :37:45.offices, but halfway through the council's had to step in with �2
:37:45. > :37:55.million to keep it on track. Let's meet the politicians with me for
:37:55. > :37:56.
:37:57. > :38:02.the next 220 minutes. Caroline, still the reverberations from Ford
:38:02. > :38:06.pulling out have Southampton. You met with the chairman this week.
:38:06. > :38:09.Have you got to the bottom of whether they should or shouldn't
:38:09. > :38:14.have received this government grant just before they made it all those
:38:14. > :38:18.people redundant? We haven't really got to the bottom of that and there
:38:18. > :38:23.are still a lot of questions being asked in the house on that point.
:38:23. > :38:27.From my perspective, the most important thing that I can do is
:38:27. > :38:31.work with Ford, with the local agencies, to make sure there is
:38:31. > :38:34.support not just for the direct employees but for the contract to
:38:34. > :38:39.us and those in the supply chain. And it to look to the future to see
:38:39. > :38:44.what will happen to the site. it must have been inevitable and
:38:44. > :38:49.office to this government ministers handing over at taxpayers' money to
:38:49. > :38:54.Ford, that when Labour Cosworth third as British cast in Turkey and
:38:54. > :39:01.they did not have enough capacity, that was where the jobs were going
:39:01. > :39:05.to go -- labour costs? There were no discussions prior to those
:39:05. > :39:10.awards of public money. From my perspective we can analyse what has
:39:10. > :39:13.gone on previously. It's important that we do that. But it is also
:39:13. > :39:20.important to make sure there is the maximum support available for those
:39:20. > :39:25.employees. And also for getting new jobs in to Southampton. And that
:39:25. > :39:30.new jobs, Tony Page, in Reading, the employment rate is pretty good,
:39:30. > :39:36.but those are jobs for the future rather than those Ford drops. In
:39:36. > :39:41.this downturn, may be starting to pick up, do think employment is
:39:41. > :39:46.more resilient in the Thames Valley area? It has been although there is
:39:46. > :39:49.a major skills gap in the Thames Valley. Reading is grateful that we
:39:49. > :39:57.have been given the chance to work with the government on the City
:39:57. > :40:06.Deal and we have been one of the 20 authorities offered the prospect.
:40:06. > :40:10.It is not confirmed yet but the focus, it is around the skills gap,
:40:10. > :40:17.because we have more vacancies, a cohort of people who don't have the
:40:17. > :40:22.skills. The jobs are there, they can't be filled and we have got to
:40:22. > :40:27.get people skilled to fill those vacancies. That would make a major
:40:27. > :40:32.hit locally and it also reduce benefit payments and would also
:40:32. > :40:39.give people that opportunity to break out of an unskilled white
:40:39. > :40:44.staff. Tying a lot of things together. -- and unskilled at
:40:44. > :40:46.lifestyles. On Remembrance Sunday we're obviously thinking more about
:40:46. > :40:49.servicemen and women, and especially those who've been
:40:49. > :40:52.disabled. I'm joined now by Peta Wilkinson, from the charity the
:40:52. > :40:54.Enham Trust, based at Enham Alamein in Hampshire. It's a village that's
:40:54. > :41:04.been associated with disabled service personnel since just after
:41:04. > :41:08.
:41:08. > :41:11.the First World War. A remarkable place, where you are. It is. It was
:41:11. > :41:16.after the First World War that disabled soldiers first were given
:41:16. > :41:19.this opportunity to earn money, wasn't it? Absolutely. We were the
:41:19. > :41:25.first world war help their heroes and provided opportunities for
:41:25. > :41:35.people to have a home and work when they were returning from the wall,
:41:35. > :41:35.
:41:35. > :41:39.injured and sick. And after the Second World War? Yes, a pivotal
:41:39. > :41:42.point in the Second World War and pivotal for our development.
:41:42. > :41:46.Pivotal for the Egyptian people who put a lot of money into the
:41:46. > :41:52.development. How did things move on and had good progress in terms of
:41:52. > :42:00.helping people with disabilities? From the Second World War, were
:42:00. > :42:03.provided a home, work, social integration, we then created a
:42:03. > :42:09.charity to provide key elements every aspect of disabled people's
:42:09. > :42:18.lives to the border committee. We provide homes, skills, education
:42:18. > :42:28.and work -- the disabled community. In the Independent such a gender,
:42:28. > :42:28.
:42:28. > :42:36.the last 10 years, it has really going to ground -- the
:42:36. > :42:39.Independents' agenda. Yes, the focus has to be on independence and
:42:39. > :42:47.transition and opening up choices. We have focused ball-retention are
:42:47. > :42:52.making sure we build appropriate homes for people -- focused all our
:42:52. > :42:56.attention. It is based on their own needs and aspirations. There is a
:42:56. > :43:03.threat that comes from some of the support from tax payers at the
:43:03. > :43:09.moment. Is that worrying people? is very worrying. If we look at the
:43:09. > :43:16.report recently produced under Baroness Thompson, we found that up
:43:16. > :43:22.to 450,000 people could be affected in a negative way. 100,000 children
:43:22. > :43:29.could be affected by up to �28 a week. 230,000 disabled adult
:43:29. > :43:36.thriller cut themselves could be effected between 28 and �58 a week
:43:36. > :43:46.and 116,000 disabled people in work, because their disability component
:43:46. > :43:50.
:43:50. > :43:59.is moving into the new system and it could be 55 up to �45 a week.
:43:59. > :44:05.-- 75 % of people get their allowance pro-life time. Perhaps
:44:05. > :44:13.they are more independent of modern technology and we could spend it
:44:13. > :44:17.when people need it more? We are focusing clearly on certain groups
:44:17. > :44:27.of people. We think for a government needs to protect the
:44:27. > :44:32.most vulnerable people in society - - we think the government needs to.
:44:32. > :44:34.Caroline, a lot of worry. You think it will become clear when the
:44:34. > :44:41.assessments start being made that this is going to the most
:44:41. > :44:45.vulnerable? That is certainly the intention. I'm very conscious from
:44:45. > :44:50.my own postbag as a Member of Parliament that people are worried.
:44:50. > :44:57.They're not sure what is going to happen yet. The government is going
:44:57. > :45:07.to make significant changes. The delay has not been reviewed accents
:45:07. > :45:08.
:45:08. > :45:16.1992 -- big deal out a. It is time we look at it very carefully. --
:45:16. > :45:21.the DLA. And a lot of these things are being farmed out to agencies,
:45:21. > :45:27.aren't they? Yes, and a lot is being offloaded on to local
:45:27. > :45:32.authorities. A range of benefits is being attributed to us and
:45:32. > :45:37.protecting the most vulnerable is going to be a challenge. With
:45:37. > :45:46.pension is being protected, it means the cut falls more heavily on
:45:46. > :45:56.the remaining -- pensioners. We are having to consult to allocate less
:45:56. > :45:58.
:45:58. > :46:02.money, effectively. The fear is, and Patrick Jenkins warned in the
:46:02. > :46:08.House of Lords only a few weeks ago that this was potentially a new
:46:08. > :46:15.poll tax. Local-authority is having to pursue people for perhaps as
:46:15. > :46:22.little as �2.50 or �3 a week, often consuming more resources in
:46:22. > :46:27.pursuing people than the total debt. There will only have to be a couple
:46:27. > :46:33.of examples of people who were of the disadvantaged, and terribly
:46:33. > :46:43.unfairly, but among the newspapers and they will be, this is a crazy
:46:43. > :46:43.
:46:43. > :46:51.system. The welfare bill has increased enormously. The
:46:51. > :46:57.government has asked to look at that. The last thing I want is that
:46:57. > :46:59.they are vulnerable to be disadvantaged. If you've been
:46:59. > :47:02.through Dorchester recently you'll know that there's some building
:47:02. > :47:05.going on. Quite a lot of building, actually. It's all part of a �10
:47:05. > :47:08.million scheme to regenerate the town centre. Rather unusual in the
:47:08. > :47:16.current economic climate, but as Tristan Pascoe reports, it's the
:47:16. > :47:21.economic climate that's made it all rather controversial. There has
:47:21. > :47:28.been secrecy. There has not been transparency. It was never brought
:47:28. > :47:32.to the executive committee, never to the council meeting. Assurances
:47:32. > :47:36.it had been given are not worth the paper they were written on.
:47:36. > :47:40.just under �10 million, Dorchester was promised a revitalised town
:47:40. > :47:44.centre, new council offices and a county library. But halfway through
:47:44. > :47:48.cover the developers said the plans were unviable, so out goes the new
:47:48. > :47:54.hotel and crucially hundreds of underground car-parking spaces. The
:47:54. > :47:57.council has had to stump up another 2 million quid to keep on track.
:47:57. > :48:03.unfortunately, the council decided to place its new offices and the
:48:03. > :48:09.car park with 200 and we to six spaces, which is the equivalent of
:48:09. > :48:17.600,001 our parking opportunities per year. They have now gone.
:48:17. > :48:20.of our most established department stores is this one. Last month, the
:48:20. > :48:24.chief executive of this family run business wrote to the council
:48:24. > :48:28.warning that it is inconceivable that the new scheme would be viable,
:48:28. > :48:32.given the significant reduction in adjacent car parking spaces.
:48:33. > :48:42.Something the leader of the council reject. At the moment, our servers
:48:42. > :48:50.show there are a ticket -- our surveys show there is adequate car-
:48:50. > :48:57.parking space. These motorists disagree. I have spent 10 or 15
:48:57. > :49:02.minutes going round and round. It is very bad. Absolutely terrible.
:49:02. > :49:09.Especially when stays, everybody parks on double yellow lines. --
:49:09. > :49:13.especially under Wednesday's. is a hugely controversial scheme.
:49:13. > :49:18.93 % of our opposed to the council relocating to their new offices
:49:18. > :49:22.hair, and local traders say they are already feeling the effects of
:49:22. > :49:27.losing hundreds of town-centre car parking spaces. The impact was
:49:27. > :49:37.immediate for us. In the first 12 months of this development, we lost
:49:37. > :49:42.over 7,000 customers and �31,000 in trade. We rely on passing trade.
:49:42. > :49:46.Others say the council have bodged the scheme. They said, we will put
:49:46. > :49:50.our offices here and then we'll get the rest of the development. They
:49:50. > :49:55.have now said they will spend another �2 million, but still
:49:55. > :49:58.without a guarantee that we get the development. They're trying to work
:49:58. > :50:03.in an area in which they do not have the expertise, clearly the
:50:03. > :50:07.market forces aren't appropriate at this time. It is not a viable
:50:07. > :50:10.scheme. Leave it until things change. And some councillors say
:50:10. > :50:15.they were not given all the facts before they were asked to approve
:50:15. > :50:19.the revised scheme. At this stage, we now know that a viability
:50:19. > :50:22.assessment had been published the day before the council meeting and
:50:22. > :50:26.it was not presented to the council for consideration. That is where
:50:26. > :50:31.this whole process has been riddled with undone -- undemocratic
:50:31. > :50:38.decision-making. An auditor's report said the council and needed
:50:38. > :50:41.to be more transparent and open. Did you'd helical cap -- local
:50:41. > :50:48.taxpayers through your community link magazine that the second car
:50:48. > :50:51.park would be closed for 160 weeks during construction? I think it was
:50:51. > :50:54.absolutely clear. We have always said we were going to put in place
:50:54. > :50:58.measures to counteract the fact that those parking spaces were not
:50:58. > :51:06.available during the construction period. There has never been any
:51:06. > :51:13.lack of clarity and that. council says project will beat sub
:51:14. > :51:19.Dec two public scrutiny -- will be subject to public scrutiny. Where
:51:19. > :51:25.are the other me going to park? They will have no were. The outlook
:51:25. > :51:30.for these businesses is not very good. It is the transport issues as
:51:30. > :51:34.ever. Not enough car-parking spaces. Ready -- Reading is slightly
:51:34. > :51:40.different because there was a lot more transport than a rural area,
:51:40. > :51:44.but people still really care. And people seem to be care if
:51:44. > :51:54.politicians are spending money on their own office bays. Invading you
:51:54. > :51:56.
:51:56. > :52:03.have had a similar issue. -- their own office space. Yes, it buildings
:52:03. > :52:09.don't last very long. We have taken the decision to relocate to
:52:09. > :52:13.existing empty offices nearby, but we did have a scheme given planning
:52:13. > :52:18.permission about five years ago for a new office block. We decided
:52:18. > :52:22.after the recession that a politically, it was not viable to
:52:22. > :52:28.go ahead with the scheme. On paper, one could argue that it was better
:52:28. > :52:32.value for money, but politically it was simply not possible. We are
:52:32. > :52:40.relocating to an existing office block which isn't much better nick
:52:40. > :52:47.and what actually be accessible to members of the public -- which is
:52:47. > :52:50.in much better nick. But is the issue that it is the cancer was
:52:50. > :52:58.working and -- in an area where they haven't got expertise,
:52:58. > :53:08.property development, and those -- and they should stick to what they
:53:08. > :53:08.
:53:08. > :53:12.no? It strikes me that it might have been done that in a bit too
:53:12. > :53:16.close to a fashion in Dorchester. We had independent validation and
:53:16. > :53:26.experts assisting last. We used the services of Hampshire County
:53:26. > :53:29.Council, who have a very expert... Who have come under criticism, but
:53:30. > :53:34.they have a very skilled resource that we have drawn on to good
:53:34. > :53:39.effect. Do you think that the houses of parliament will ever get
:53:39. > :53:43.redeveloped? Not redeveloped, but there's an enormous amount of work
:53:43. > :53:53.to be done to them to make them safe, watertight, get rid of
:53:53. > :53:55.
:53:55. > :53:59.asbestos, and get rid of the Maes! -- but rodents. Not much longer now
:53:59. > :54:02.to make up your minds about who to vote for in the Police and Crime
:54:02. > :54:05.Commissioner elections on Thursday. Over the past few weeks we've heard
:54:05. > :54:07.from the candidates in Dorset and the Thames Valley. Today Alex
:54:07. > :54:12.Forsyth has a round-up of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight
:54:12. > :54:17.candidates. Hampshire on the edge of the Solent, home to Winchester
:54:17. > :54:26.Cathedral and of course the Hampshire hog. Here, police have
:54:26. > :54:36.faced budget costs. -- cuts. The force has balanced the books by
:54:36. > :54:40.
:54:40. > :54:44.posing police -- closing police stations. Using technology to save
:54:44. > :54:48.time. This chief constable has been at the head for four years, but he
:54:48. > :54:53.is leaving to head up the new National College of policing. The
:54:53. > :54:59.new PCC will choose the next top cop, and all six candidates are
:54:59. > :55:02.keen to get started. My natural interest in this job came out of
:55:02. > :55:07.the fact that my father with a policeman in Hampshire for 30 years.
:55:07. > :55:13.My brother is currently in a policeman, so I have got a natural
:55:13. > :55:17.interest in that aspect. That gave me the interest. I have also got
:55:17. > :55:21.the skills to actually do it. come from a background of business,
:55:22. > :55:26.and in these times of austerity, policing is very much going to be
:55:26. > :55:31.dictated by the Budget. I'm used to looking at balance sheets and
:55:31. > :55:36.making these decisions. Those skills will be very useful. In this
:55:36. > :55:40.election, I'm the only candidate who has ever walked the beat,
:55:40. > :55:45.warned a police uniform and carried the police warrant card. Turnout
:55:45. > :55:49.was not a problem at this recent hustings in Winchester. In fact,
:55:49. > :55:53.people were turned away. With the perfect chance for candidates to
:55:53. > :55:58.convince voters of their credentials. I have been
:55:58. > :56:03.responsible for a police force before. After that the fact that I
:56:03. > :56:08.have kicked around for a long time so we know my way around government
:56:08. > :56:14.-- so I know my way. Her will have all the right connections to be
:56:14. > :56:18.able to come to the right decisions. I believe I'm the only person with
:56:18. > :56:22.on-the-job experience, having been on the police authority for 16
:56:22. > :56:28.years. I have real on-the-job experience. I have no agenda have
:56:28. > :56:35.passion about policing. As well as candidates from four political
:56:35. > :56:39.parties can the two independents are in the race. A I have practical
:56:39. > :56:46.experience. I have got contacts from my old days. Angrily be
:56:46. > :56:55.motivated to do should the job. I'm Hampshire -- I'm very much
:56:55. > :56:58.motivated to do the job. I believe that party politics shouldn't enter
:56:58. > :57:04.into the remit. I believe I have got sufficient experience to
:57:04. > :57:09.undertake the role. I'm currently chairman of the Crimestoppers
:57:09. > :57:14.charity for Hampshire and Omagh past chairman of Hampshire Police
:57:14. > :57:22.opera to -- and I am a past chairman. Come November 15th, it
:57:22. > :57:25.will be up to you. Don't forget, if you'd like to see
:57:25. > :57:35.details on any of the candidates in the election, there's a special BBC
:57:35. > :57:38.website. There's the address on screen now. There will be a regular
:57:38. > :57:44.look at all of the candidates throughout the rest of the next
:57:44. > :57:54.week. Now our regular round-up of the political week in the South in
:57:54. > :57:56.
:57:56. > :58:02.The Co-op at cowls was the appropriate place for the launch of
:58:03. > :58:07.Isle of Wight milk. Farmers hope processing on the island will
:58:07. > :58:12.produce a better price. Dorset campaigners celebrated the decision
:58:12. > :58:20.to reject four industrial wind turbines Nick Gillingham.
:58:20. > :58:28.And Sussex MP and former minister and the cabinet warned people not
:58:28. > :58:35.to return to bad planning. Biting council is complaining it
:58:35. > :58:38.has been stitched up over finances. -- Brighton council.
:58:38. > :58:45.Bournemouth council finally yielded to local pressure, starting
:58:45. > :58:49.demolition of the hated IMAX building on the seafront. But the
:58:49. > :58:59.surf reef is again in troubled waters, as the builders have gone
:58:59. > :59:04.bust. On the wind turbine story,
:59:04. > :59:09.Hampshire County Council is proposing to ban wind farms, not
:59:09. > :59:14.single turbines from its buildings. It is a bit of a theme about his
:59:14. > :59:21.best placed to take these decisions. Many of them spent on IMAX and the
:59:22. > :59:25.surf reef, and the public hated certainly IMAX. It is very
:59:25. > :59:28.difficult for a politician to have all the expertise they need. It is
:59:28. > :59:33.better to have on some of these decisions out? I think local
:59:33. > :59:37.accountability is what really matters. If local authorities have
:59:37. > :59:42.good offices and councillors are well-advised, then of course they
:59:42. > :59:47.are the best people to take this. But they are not the experts all
:59:47. > :59:54.the time. They can take advice from all sorts of people. Transparency,
:59:54. > :59:58.Tony Page? Yes, I agree entirely with Caroline. If you want experts,
:59:58. > :00:01.you don't necessarily have democracy. You can go to some
:00:01. > :00:05.countries in Europe where experts have been appointed to run the
:00:05. > :00:09.government and they don't necessarily make better decisions.