16/06/2013 Sunday Politics Wales

racing track in Gwent could create thousands of jobs, but opponents

fear its environmental impact. What should the balance be between the

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2339 seconds

Government tell us that they are braced for a tough deal with the

latest round of Treasury cuts. And opposition to a motor racing track

cash what should the balance be between the economy and environment?

I am joined by representatives from both Labour and the Liberal

Democrats. We will move onto those stories but beforehand the ongoing

row about police commissioners in Gwent. Questions needing to be

answered about the author retirement of Carmel Napier by the police

commissioner. There is a precedent. Yes. Boris Johnson did so in London.

Regards what has happened in Gwent, there are two issues. Scrutinising

what Ian Johnson has done, and the powers that he has. He had those

powers to appoint and dismiss chief constables. He is within his right

to use them. But that does not excuse them from scrutiny. But he

has those powers and is able to use them the same way Boris Johnson

that. I suspect you take a different view. In the Labour Party we had a

vetting procedure for candidates. The question is, what sort of

Maverick have we got in post? What controls have we got over what they

can do and what are the consequences of decisions they make take? Do you

think that those questions still need to be addressed? I think they

need to be scrutinised very carefully and will be interesting to

see the reaction of the panel, which has some say, but is very different

from the old lease authority. sure we will discuss it again. The

Welsh Government are braced for a tough deal in the latest round of

Treasury cuts. The Finance Minister is expecting choppier waters and has

given departments targets to reduce spending and save money. Battening

down the hatches. The cold wind of austerity. Just as the baby boomers

retire. A perfect storm heading our way. We are told that Wales is not

in great shape. This report looks at other small countries to see what we

can learn. Wales had the highest level of expending and the lowest

GDP. -- public spending. This is both an opportunity and a threat. It

is difficult in a time of austerity to look at public sector reform. But

many countries we investigated seat as an opportunity for a conversation

about what public services will be needed for the next three decades.

Later this month the Chancellor will unveil the spending review. The

Welsh Government believed the budget will shrink and 20% in real terms

over the course of the next ten years. Enough is enough. Further

cuts will be devastating for Wales. The people here did not cause the

situation we face but we are being asked to carry an unacceptable

burden. The Finance Minister has asked for planning about how much of

how little can be spent and the nightly meetings are being held. The

next budget will be placed in the autumn. -- fortnightly meetings.

are managing a very robust financial situation but we need to find cuts

next year which rise to 18 million. You can see, here or on year the

race lane has been cut. -- yield or an easier, the baseline.

Conservative opposition say that funding and the health service

should continue to rise in line with inflation. But that means cuts

elsewhere. It is because of the financial mismanagement of the

previous Labour government and the Welsh Government will have to make

tough decisions. Politics is all about choices. The Welsh Government

has that power to make those choices. Government ministers will

have to trim the ambitions of departments. Even before the here

the spending review announced by the Chancellor in June. -- Vesey. --

they hear. Everyone has to make cuts. While the Welsh Government

complaining? It is because of the banking crisis. Not according to

Paul Davies. That is why it is important to get that straight.

George Osborne as changing the goalposts every month. That is

unhelpful. The real difficulty is that many of the services that the

Welsh Government provide are the very things that people value so

much. The Finance Minister bracing for choppy waters. She says they

must identify savings. Is that not something they should be doing

anyway? Let's not pretend this would have been any different under

another government. If you look at the last budget and the projected

cuts of Alistair Darling, it is roughly the same as the coalition

now. And Ed Balls said he will stick to coalition spending plans. In

terms of the money, it really depends on where the UK government

make the cuts. Some departments are devolved. Others are not. If the cut

in northern devolved departments, we are slightly better off. --

non-devolved. Why are we being braced for cuts then? She is doing

her job. Scaremongering?At the end of the day, what happens in the

spending review is not about chopping and changing. The review

was scheduled anyway. How it impacts on the Welsh Government will be debt

the Colts to predict. -- difficult. As a Labour backbencher, are you

happy to see Ed Balls lead economic policy and the House of commons?

IMF have endorsed what he said three years ago. If you look at what the

Welsh Government are attempting to do, infrastructure, housing, that

creates jobs and homes. That is the type of thing we need to be doing. I

want to see more of it. Why David Jones as delaying, I do not know.

David Jones has said in an interview to be heard later this evening that

he has been in discussions with the Treasury. He claims he has reached a

deal on cuts to the Welsh budget. He said he had to do so because of the

mess left by the government. That mantra is not going away. They are

trying to hide behind it. The public fully understand that the yanks

caused this. And they understand that they need to make money before

pay at back. -- that the banks caused this. Does George Osborne

finally need to ditch plan A? modified his plan. He has extended

the date by which point cuts must happen. That was inevitable.So it

is not because he has failed to get control of it? Adjustments are being

made to compensate for how the economy is going. Let's not pretend

this is only about the banks. Yes, they collapsed. But the fact that

there will no controls on then caused the problem. Not every

country had the problem because some of them kept an eye on what their

banks were doing. We now must make sure that what we do as sensible,

proper, and gets the economy back on track. A final response? It is clear

that the banking crisis began in the USA. We must be happy that we do not

get in the same situation again. -- the tearful. The important thing

right now is to get growth and investment going. That is why the

coalition are legislating on the banks. What a �215 million trace

tyke, developers say that they suck it of Wales project will bring world

class motor racing to Gwent. -- �250 million price tag. It may take some

imagination but the developers claim that this place will be transformed

into the Circuit of Wales. High class and businesses working in the

motor sport sector. Cycles like this one tailing round the track,

competing for world Championships. -- tiering. -- tearing. But others

want to put the brakes on the project. Natural resources wheels

with -- natural resources Wales consequences on the environment.

do not oppose this because we are against development, but we are

standing up for when. It is our charitable objective. -- wildly. --

wildlife. I would question the figures of the proposal. They seem

optimistic, which is an understatement. There must be other

ways to create jobs in Gwent that do not have a catastrophic effect on

green space. The developers declined to comment on opposition. There is

no doubt that jobs are needed in this area which has a high

unemployment rate and low wages for those lucky enough to be in work. No

surprise that millions of pounds of investment and the jobs are welcomed

by many here. 6500 jobs once it is there, let alone the creation of

jobs for the wider area. The excitement, and the fact that people

believe that Gwent is worth something again, that is something

to be enthusiastic about. In our business meetings there has not been

one trader who is not excited about the prospect, the foot fall,

enthusiasm being brought back to Gwent. This position is well

located, close to centres of population, and the developers have

a vision for the area which will be interesting to see through to a

completion. Natural resources Wales say that they can see a future for

the project but only modifications are made to the plans. The

application will be considered later this month. Peter, I know that in

your own area there are plans for a Swansea lagoon. Environmentalists

are not quite so keen but developers are. These ongoing battles between

the environment and economy, how important is it, in a country where

we need more jobs? Is there a trace to pay? It is a difficult balance to

strike. But you have to strike that balance. You have to balance the

impact on the environment and landscape, against the benefit in

terms of reducing carbon monoxide and dioxide. I was looking at old

photographs of the Swansea Valley, which is now the liberty stadium.

You look at the concentration of factories, the things that they were

spewing out into the air, and imagine about the jobs dependent on

that industry. If somebody try to replicate that now, with a promise

of jobs, that poses a very difficult questions to politicians. We had a

promise of 25 early in pounds worth of investment. -- 25 billion.

key thing is to look at this carefully. Many of the things that

you can see, late when turbines, they can be dismantled at the end of

their life. -- like when turbines. Then there is the ozone layer,

pollution, Rovers, land, not obvious to the eye when you start off. So we

need to be cheerful about that. There is a balance to be struck. --

cheerful. -- careful. Nobody would ever live up there if it was not for

the cold mains. But at the end of the day, manufacturing can up sticks

and go off to other countries. was a sense, common in all areas,

the lady from the business forum, commenting, it shows that somebody

is interested in the area. Absolutely. I would love that in my

constituency but I have been told that it is too far away. I wish them

every success. There will be spin-offs. Some of the technologies

developed in the racing world are actually being translated into more

efficient cars for all of us. So there are spin-offs. I know that the

universities nearby are interested in the tape of work. Time for a look

at the political stories of the week, and 60 seconds. The first

minister publicly rebuked a cabinet member over a campaign to protect

services at a hospital. All references to the Labour Party had

been removed from your website protesting plans for A&E there. -- a

website. Nick Smith raised concerns about payday loans after figures

showed people were borrowing more than 100 thousand pounds pay a month

from a single provider. He worried about spiralling off high interest

loans. And uncertainty over scientific evidence and calls for

more research into the Polynesian IDs. -- pollination by bees.

model their is a very important debate about Keller robots. --

killer. We need to sign up for international talks. We are moving

one generation on from a drone. Autonomous robotics that can make

decisions themselves to kill. That is one step further. And I think it

is extremely frightening technology. We know that it is being developed

and there is lots of secrecy about it. We need to get international

agreement. For example, blinding lasers were banned before the ever

came into use. That is what we need to be looking at. You are calling

for a moratorium? The American government has already introduced a

moratorium. The United Kingdom must work with other countries to achieve

a worldwide ban. It is quite frightening. It is like the

terminator movies come to life. I do not want that sort of world. The UK

government should sign up to an international agreement. Tell us

about your Private members Bill. There are 92 mobile home sites in

Wales and quite a lot of abuses that go on in terms of people blocking

sales and intimidation of residence. We are introducing a new licensing

scheme. Hopefully when it becomes law later in the year we will have

it properly resourced licensing regime. Most importantly, the people

managing those sites will have two pass a fit and proper person test.

What are the implications if somebody is not? There can be quite

substantial fines. -- if somebody does not. We must guarantee proper

enforcement and resources for local authorities and impose substantial