:01:29. > :01:39.In the Midlands... We will investigate the scourge of metal
:01:39. > :01:39.
:01:39. > :29:46.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1687 seconds
:29:46. > :29:51.theft and our report reveals the Welcome to Sunday Politics in the
:29:51. > :29:53.Midlands with me, Patrick Burns. Coming up. We reveal the results of
:29:53. > :29:57.a Sunday Politics investigation into metal thefts across our region
:29:57. > :30:00.and ask what's to be done about them. With me here today are James
:30:00. > :30:08.Morris, Conservative MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis. And
:30:08. > :30:12.Valerie Vaz, the Labour MP for Walsall South. This is the first
:30:12. > :30:16.programme at the start of a challenging New Year for the West
:30:16. > :30:21.Midlands. Job figures coming out this week. But more arguments from
:30:22. > :30:26.the opposition that government policies do not work. That has to
:30:26. > :30:30.be the focus for this year for the Government, to focus on growth in
:30:30. > :30:35.the West Midlands. We have challenges but we need to do all
:30:35. > :30:38.that we can to generate new jobs and support manufacturing, to make
:30:39. > :30:42.sure young people get the skills they need to take opportunities.
:30:42. > :30:47.There are big challenges and lots of evidence that we are making
:30:47. > :30:52.progress and we need to make more progress. Where is that evidence?
:30:52. > :30:57.18 months ago, we were elected to get the finances back on a stable
:30:57. > :31:01.footing, we're are investing in manufacturing, in schools and
:31:01. > :31:07.apprenticeships to improve the skills in the economy. How do you
:31:07. > :31:11.see the prospects for this year? Are you convinced? It will be very
:31:11. > :31:20.difficult and we are seeing some difficulties. I have 4000 people on
:31:20. > :31:24.Jobseeker's Allowance and we have the stage now our 8 million women
:31:24. > :31:28.are unemployed. We're now seeing bills being clogged up in
:31:28. > :31:34.Westminster with much work to do, all the bills run the House of
:31:34. > :31:40.Lords and on the welfare bill, the House of Lords has voted against
:31:40. > :31:44.some of the Government's proposals, and that is worrying. And also
:31:44. > :31:49.their health will his stock in the House of Lords. No doubt about the
:31:49. > :31:52.top story. -- the Health Bill is stock. Our top story this week has
:31:52. > :31:55.to be high speed rail. 14 years from now, you could be travelling
:31:55. > :32:00.from Birmingham to London in 45 minutes. The line will cost �17
:32:00. > :32:02.billion, your ticket, maybe not quite that much. The Transport
:32:02. > :32:05.Secretary, Justine Greening, celebrated with a visit to the
:32:05. > :32:14.Midlands on Wednesday. But opposition remains undaunted. Peter
:32:14. > :32:17.Plisner reports. So, in the opening round of the battle over HS2, it's
:32:17. > :32:20.those in favour one, those against nil. But with a scheme that's still
:32:20. > :32:23.potentially 14 years away, there's still lots to play for. Although
:32:23. > :32:25.most had predicted the shape of last week's announcement for some,
:32:25. > :32:35.including those who could lose their homes, it was still clearly
:32:35. > :32:36.
:32:36. > :32:38.upsetting. We have lived here for 27 years. A Enter the Transport
:32:38. > :32:45.Secretary, Justine Greening, with the promise of a new package of
:32:45. > :32:50.compensation. There are statutory laws and place for the situation
:32:50. > :32:54.and we will go above that and we will consult on this -- in the
:32:54. > :32:56.spring on final proposals. While protestors were disappointed that
:32:56. > :33:02.the controversial scheme got the ahead, the business community was
:33:03. > :33:06.overjoyed, although some supporters clearly wanted more. Can I ask if
:33:06. > :33:09.the discussions about extending the route to Scotland have included
:33:09. > :33:12.looking at bringing faster trains through Birmingham and into the
:33:12. > :33:18.black country? Although that seems unlikely, the announcement was also
:33:18. > :33:23.good news for Birmingham's run down Eastside. This is the proposed site
:33:23. > :33:27.for the high-speed railway station. The city centre is closed by, next
:33:27. > :33:31.to the main line and the sight is ripe for development. So there's a
:33:31. > :33:34.lot at stake when it comes to HS2, and still many years of legal and
:33:34. > :33:42.planning wrangles to go through before the line can become a
:33:42. > :33:46.reality. One thing is clear. It's not going to be easy. The battle
:33:46. > :33:52.lines have been John for many years. Peter Plisner reporting. Councillor
:33:52. > :33:57.Bob Stevens is with us. I heard suggestions that some colleagues
:33:57. > :34:04.and local government around the country, particularly those on this
:34:04. > :34:09.line, feel betrayed by Westminster? I don't think so, the local MPs
:34:09. > :34:14.have been very supportive, bearing in mind that the council and the
:34:14. > :34:19.districts voted unanimously against this scheme. And we have rigorous
:34:19. > :34:23.support from Conservative MPs. I am disappointed with Justine Greening
:34:23. > :34:27.in that she proposed the Heathrow airport, saying that local opinion
:34:27. > :34:34.should be listened to. There was talk of a legal challenge by local-
:34:34. > :34:38.authority is. What is going on? There is a group which covers the
:34:38. > :34:43.London boroughs, the shire counties along the line and the district
:34:43. > :34:47.councils, the Borough Council, and Coventry and Leicester, they can
:34:47. > :34:51.also see disadvantages. We will meet at the end of the month to
:34:51. > :34:55.decide. Are you convinced that Warwickshire would be at a
:34:55. > :35:01.disadvantage? The county isn't an island and it could benefit from
:35:01. > :35:05.any regeneration that does take place in Birmingham? A lot of
:35:05. > :35:08.people make their money in the City? The benefit to Warwickshire
:35:08. > :35:17.is very minimal, it goes from London to Birmingham, stopping
:35:17. > :35:21.nowhere. People realise that. Even the former transport minister said
:35:21. > :35:26.that there would be no gains for Warwickshire but a lot of pain.
:35:26. > :35:34.What is your concern about the business case? I think the business
:35:34. > :35:39.case is flawed from the word go. It has extremes in what it as soon as.
:35:39. > :35:46.And it is based over 60 years. Who knows, in 60 years, plus 20 years
:35:46. > :35:53.to build, what were the situation they? We have seen the real upset
:35:53. > :35:56.on the line of this route. What do you say? Bob has argued very
:35:56. > :35:59.cogently about his objections? understand his view but the
:35:59. > :36:03.Government had to make a decision about the long-term future of
:36:03. > :36:08.Britain's railways and we have problems with capacity from London
:36:09. > :36:11.to Birmingham and that line will be full by 2020 and money to invest in
:36:11. > :36:18.long-term infrastructure. Warwickshire gets nothing out of
:36:18. > :36:22.that? In the end, we need to invest in the future of the West Midlands
:36:22. > :36:27.economy and high speed rail will make a massive contribution to that
:36:27. > :36:32.by improving links to the north- west, it will help in the project
:36:32. > :36:36.of rebalancing the UK economy so it is a good decision, it is difficult
:36:36. > :36:42.but governments sometimes have to make those decisions in a long-term
:36:42. > :36:47.interests. Alaric, we do see this political alliance at Westminster
:36:47. > :36:53.with the three parties in support, probably? There was cross-party
:36:53. > :36:58.support but we are different with the Government in that when the
:36:58. > :37:02.hybrid Bill goes through, they should include a wider parts, going
:37:02. > :37:08.up to Yorkshire and Manchester. Just tinkering suggests there could
:37:08. > :37:12.be progress on that? I would just say to people in Warwickshire, this
:37:12. > :37:16.is about something much broader than local issues. We have to think
:37:16. > :37:20.about the good of the country and there is cross-party consensus on
:37:20. > :37:24.what is happening. But for the people of Warwickshire, they can
:37:24. > :37:31.actually get to Paris, people in West Midlands can get to Paris in
:37:31. > :37:35.three hours. This is like buying a new sports car. I would like to
:37:35. > :37:41.have it but we cannot afford it and we would do much better with the
:37:41. > :37:46.money if we spent it on improving the infrastructure and the end this
:37:46. > :37:52.railway is going from the middle of London to one mile outside
:37:52. > :37:56.Birmingham, this is a new station and that is it. It will not even
:37:56. > :38:01.benefit your own constituencies? Some local businesses can move
:38:01. > :38:09.goods quicker. I have businesses in my constituency that take work back
:38:09. > :38:13.from places like China. The central point is you can make a decision to
:38:13. > :38:16.patch up the railways in order to improve capacity for a good, long-
:38:16. > :38:21.term decision in the interests of the country at to improve capacity
:38:21. > :38:25.by investing in the most appropriate technology and HS2 is
:38:25. > :38:34.that. You both our MPs in the back country. Not everybody is jubilant
:38:34. > :38:40.about this? We are looking at connectivity. I think the black
:38:40. > :38:44.country will benefit from the improvements to the line. It will
:38:44. > :38:48.take capacity out of the existing network and make sure that we can
:38:48. > :38:54.develop better infrastructure in the Black Country and there will be
:38:54. > :38:58.long-term benefits. Bob, the final word, are you in danger of putting
:38:58. > :39:06.your local parochial interests in front of the bigger picture? I do
:39:06. > :39:09.not think so. There will be more freight on the other lines, less
:39:09. > :39:15.trains on the other lines because they but get passengers on to the
:39:15. > :39:21.HS2. You talk about the cost of rail fares, �158, return from
:39:21. > :39:25.Birmingham to London. Allowing for inflation, that will be nearly �300.
:39:25. > :39:31.To Steen Tinning says that she wants a value-for-money and it must
:39:31. > :39:36.be accessible to large amounts of people? If you read the report, it
:39:36. > :39:39.says it will only be low value for money. That sums it up. To be
:39:39. > :39:42.continued... Next up... An investigation by this programme has
:39:42. > :39:52.revealed �35 million of metal has been stolen across the Midlands
:39:52. > :39:52.
:39:52. > :39:56.over the past four years. Victims have told us the time has come for
:39:56. > :40:03.the law to get tough and MPs will be debating it this coming week.
:40:03. > :40:11.Susana Mendonca has this exclusive report. Metal - crushed in the
:40:11. > :40:16.Black Country and destined for places like China. And there are
:40:16. > :40:19.huge amounts of money to be made. A ton of copper, for example, would
:40:19. > :40:27.sell for almost �5,000 on the metals market. Steel would go for a
:40:27. > :40:36.lot less - �340 a ton. And a ton of lead would rake in just under
:40:36. > :40:41.�1,300. No wonder, then, that thieves took the lead off the roof
:40:42. > :40:44.of this Birmingham school while no one was in. It's been replaced with
:40:45. > :40:51.a substitute material but staff want to know why scrap yards aren't
:40:51. > :40:56.asking more questions. They seem to be able to strip down and building,
:40:56. > :41:01.turn up at the scrapyard and presented as something they have
:41:01. > :41:03.got legally. Without too many questions. Figures released to this
:41:03. > :41:07.programme under the Freedom of Information Act show that there
:41:07. > :41:10.have been almost 30,000 metal thefts across the region since 2008.
:41:10. > :41:14.The vast bulk of them dealt with by West Midlands Police. West Mercia
:41:14. > :41:20.saw metal thefts rise by 95%. And the largest theft Staffordshire
:41:20. > :41:23.Police reported was to the tune of �100,000. MPs behind a private
:41:23. > :41:33.member's bill before Parliament this week say the answer is a ban
:41:33. > :41:34.
:41:34. > :41:38.on cash sales. The key point is the system, it is the only industry
:41:38. > :41:42.that basically has an exemption to deal almost exclusively in cash and
:41:42. > :41:46.that is wrong and most of the industry also thinks this is wrong.
:41:47. > :41:51.It is just a few rogue traders laundering stolen at netball for
:41:51. > :41:54.cash and that needs to be investigated. -- stolen at metal.
:41:54. > :42:01.But the association representing scrap dealers, like this one in
:42:01. > :42:05.Smethwick, favours photo ID. That will produce the answer is that we
:42:05. > :42:09.want, the trail and the traceability. Every try to band
:42:09. > :42:13.cash, this will just drive the business underground, into illegal
:42:13. > :42:18.operations. And potentially will encourage the growth of organised
:42:18. > :42:20.crime. The stakes are high. After all, this is an industry that
:42:20. > :42:30.generates around �6 billion nationally, around �1 billion of
:42:30. > :42:31.
:42:31. > :42:38.that right here in the West Midlands. The sheer scale of the
:42:38. > :42:41.problem it revealed by Susannah. And following our investigation,
:42:41. > :42:44.the Home Office tell us that, for the first time, police forces will
:42:44. > :42:49.be told to log metal thefts as part of national crime-counting data
:42:49. > :42:58.from this April. Alaric, as a former district judge, will that
:42:59. > :43:02.help to produce at targeted response? We have seen public
:43:02. > :43:10.broadcasting at its best, we have found these figures and have
:43:10. > :43:14.shown... The sheer scale of this? It is outstanding. We have seen
:43:14. > :43:20.barbara's sculpture being stolen, 10 thefts every day from churches
:43:21. > :43:28.and the insurance going up by 70%. The key is enforcement and I agree
:43:28. > :43:33.with some of my colleagues, who actually have called for no cash in
:43:33. > :43:37.the system. It is surprising, given the amount of money passing through,
:43:37. > :43:45.that there is this exemption that allows this cashless environment
:43:45. > :43:49.with no questions? And no trail to establish what is legitimate?
:43:49. > :43:53.is a legitimate argument for some licensing regime, including
:43:53. > :43:58.cashless payments, for scrap metal. We also need to be careful that
:43:58. > :44:02.that does not drive this further underground. I would agree that we
:44:02. > :44:06.need to look further at your systems because the problem has got
:44:06. > :44:09.out of control and my own constituency, there was a church
:44:09. > :44:12.that was stripped and some schools had been affected so we need to
:44:12. > :44:17.take action. We also need to make sure that the police are using the
:44:17. > :44:20.existing powers and will also get new powers to solve this problem.
:44:20. > :44:27.Isn't enough being done with what we have already? Do we need to get
:44:27. > :44:30.tough? I have a fantastic example in Walsall, we had Operation Steel,
:44:30. > :44:36.with multi- disciplined partnerships going together and
:44:36. > :44:40.targeting certain areas and it seems to be in the North. And
:44:40. > :44:44.basically, we had the Housing Group and the police and the council, all
:44:45. > :44:51.getting together and targeting people and we need people on the
:44:51. > :44:55.ground and that is the main concern. Looking to the future, it is
:44:55. > :44:59.important to license the 33 scrapyards in this area so that we
:44:59. > :45:04.know what is going in and out. This is a huge problem for companies,
:45:04. > :45:08.various things like smart water, where we can spray people and you
:45:08. > :45:13.can see and pinpoint what is happening to each piece of metal.
:45:13. > :45:18.It is a sign of the times? The value of metal, especially in the
:45:18. > :45:23.Far East, his height. I was told by somebody who would know, the number
:45:23. > :45:29.one most lucrative export to China isn't Jaguar cars or Landrovers or
:45:29. > :45:34.JCB trucks, it to scrap metal. have quite a thriving business and
:45:34. > :45:37.scrap metal. There are legitimate businesses, so there is an argument
:45:38. > :45:41.that we need greater licensing but we also need to make sure that were
:45:41. > :45:46.there is legitimate business, they can go about their legitimate
:45:46. > :45:50.business. Car and we get to the bottom of this? There is consensus
:45:50. > :45:55.across the parties and across organisations and even companies
:45:55. > :45:59.that we can do something about this and the scrap metal act, which the
:45:59. > :46:02.Government is thinking about Updating, will help. Next up... Now
:46:02. > :46:05.for the first in what will be a regular roundup of the political
:46:05. > :46:14.week in the Midlands in just 60 seconds! Have we spotted two
:46:14. > :46:17.examples of the Big Society at work? Here's Katie Rowlett. In
:46:17. > :46:22.Warwickshire, 16 libraries due to shut because of council budget cuts
:46:22. > :46:27.will now be run by volunteers. This one in Kineton will open two days a
:46:28. > :46:30.week. It's the case of the cardboard cutout in Shropshire. An
:46:31. > :46:34.end to cardboard recycling by the council led to a charity stepping
:46:34. > :46:43.in to help give fresh life to all those boxes left over from
:46:43. > :46:48.Christmas. This isn't about green issues and hippies, it is about
:46:48. > :46:51.ordinary people who are used to recycling and wanted us something
:46:51. > :46:54.about it. Problems in the Eurozone have been blamed for a profits
:46:54. > :46:58.warning at the Coventry-based makers of black cabs. London Taxis
:46:58. > :47:01.says customers are stuggling to get bank loans. The Attorney General
:47:01. > :47:04.will look at the decision to sell off Stoke-on-Trent's Wedgwood
:47:04. > :47:08.collection. The High Court had ruled the �18 million treasures can
:47:08. > :47:10.be sold to plug a pensions black hole. And Sandwell Hospital, which
:47:10. > :47:20.was failing in patient care, has finally passed watchdog inspections
:47:20. > :47:23.
:47:23. > :47:27.at the third time of asking. There we are. Cardboard isn't just for
:47:27. > :47:31.Christmas. And on the evidence of what is going on with the cardboard
:47:31. > :47:37.story in Shropshire, those volunteers and Warwickshire, David
:47:37. > :47:42.Cameron was right all along! Big Society is ready and waiting.
:47:42. > :47:48.volunteers, the trouble is that we have people who might not have the
:47:48. > :47:51.time in the future. But it is important that we focus on what is
:47:51. > :47:55.happening in the House of Lords and the Claudy knot of the bills and
:47:55. > :48:05.for me, I it will be going to Torbay to model to look at joined-
:48:05. > :48:09.up thinking on health and social care. The other former Chief
:48:09. > :48:13.Executive of this localism agenda, you must be celebrating Big Society,
:48:13. > :48:18.but it is driven by desperation? accept that local government is
:48:18. > :48:22.under pressure but we can see were there Israel civic action making a
:48:23. > :48:27.big difference, it isn't little authorities having a monopoly on
:48:27. > :48:32.the delivery of services. It is important that we create the space
:48:32. > :48:36.for Voluntary organisations to pack up and drive forward community
:48:36. > :48:41.activities. Are they doing their jobs as well as voluntary? How do
:48:41. > :48:46.they do they? The Big Society route -- exists and we have to galvanise
:48:46. > :48:50.this. People are busy working I'm looking after their families.
:48:50. > :48:55.they had the passion, we should give them this opportunity. And the
:48:55. > :49:00.problems with the taxi company in Coventry, are we not seeing the
:49:00. > :49:05.chilling effects of the eurozone crisis? A that is right and the big
:49:05. > :49:08.challenge that we have is continuing to support manufacturing
:49:08. > :49:12.and will a difficult situation but it isn't all doom and gloom across
:49:12. > :49:20.the area, there is good manufacturing exports and we need
:49:20. > :49:25.to build upon that. Gloom and doom? It is, economically, but people are
:49:25. > :49:33.so economic -- optimistic, that we will see everybody pulling together
:49:33. > :49:37.this year. We shall see. Thank you but very much for being with us. --