15/04/2012 Sunday Politics West Midlands

And in the Midlands, unlocking the housing crisis. How councils can

make the most of what is on their own down steps. Make empty homes be

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1736 seconds

Hello again from the Midlands. I am Patrick Burns. During the run-up to

next month's council elections, we will hear from each party. It will

all balance up. We are joined by Mike Nattrass, the UK Independence

Party MEP for the West Midlands and by Susan Juned, a Liberal bowl -- a

Liberal Democrat member of Stratford-on-Avon District Council.

Mike, some of your opponents believe you are a part of a single

issue protest group. We are not, we have a range of policies and you

should know better than to say that. It is a question masquerading as a

joke. Your opponents say you do not get involved in serious decision-

making. Our manifesto at the General Election was bigger than

the other three parties. That is true. Size is not everything. Susan,

don't you hanker after the old days of the Liberal Democrats. Isn't it

difficult being in office? I think it is good to show we are capable

of being on the national stage. I have run as leader of the District

Council and do know how good it is to be actually able to put policy

into practice. And your seat is not up for re-election with poles

running at 11%-12%. You are colleagues could be in for a

pasting? I don't think so. Liberal Democrat run on local politics.

That is the record of local people that people will judge by.

Coming up later, waste not, want not is on our lips once again as we

look for answers to this shortage of affordable housing. Could

reclaiming empty homes help cut waiting lists with prices still

high and not enough new ones being built?

First, the top story this week with some distinctly off other shades of

green. When ambitious plans are launched on a major power station

to burn it wood pellets, you would think environmentalists have wood

celebrating. -- think environmentalists would celebrate.

Sustainable biomass fuels attract generous subsidies, but it is

opposed by greed and campaigners. Ironbridge power station will soon

moved from burning coal to burning wood. It is a controversial move.

And here is another fuel source. A Birmingham invention turning leaves

into logs to burn for homes, not power stations, but it could not

beat bureaucracy. We were soon put right and all that whilst leaves a

on trees, it belongs to the city's council. And some belong to

companies like Veolia, which is the contract of Four street cleansing.

We then had to negotiate with Veolia and that is where we had the

problem. Without being access to -- without being able to access leaves,

leaf logs removed from shops. It was a big issue dealing with the

rules and regulations. But even so moving up have to green ideas can

have unintended consequences. That brings us to Ironbridge. People

opposing the switch to burning wood are not happy the move will be

partially funded by green subsidy from the Government. The what

sustainable seems to be attached, but it does not work. It does not

work at all. It is looking a little greener as you for total

destruction in other parts of the wobbled. So we have ended up with

rules and regulations that seemed to see it is not possible to burn

our warned leaves here to Heger house, but we can import millions

of tons of North American Forest and pay subsidies for all of us to

do it. -- to heat your house. Birmingham City Council's waste

management company Veolia tell us their policy of composting leaves

is better for the environment and recycling them into leaf logs.

Which of those two Ventures strikes you, Susan, as more deserving?

Green subsidies are meant to help him mature technologies get into

the marketplace and address market failure. -- help in mature

technologies. The leaf log is not a mature technology, but Veolia are

using leaves for a good purpose, composting is used in a very

sustainable way, keeping it out of landfill. Often, the compost is

sold as well. So there is a product that has a contract. It is not as

simple as that story maintained. Maybe, but leaf lobbying seems to

be a new industry that needs encouraging. I do not object to

anything said, but we need more research and development into green

issues like this, because we ought to give more encouragement for news

ideas and techniques. That someone has a new idea, a chance should be

given to see how it moves and if it is sustainable and if it is

profitable. We keep being told the way ahead is in green technologies,

that this is a growth industry for the region. And that is the case.

With a Ironbridge, the Government is bringing in sustainable criteria

from April 2013, which will mean anyone using by a mass materials

for electricity purchases will have to demonstrate they are reducing

greenhouse gases by 60% and demonstrate the art of training

materials from sustainable sources. -- demonstrate the art of training.

That means not from rainforest or biodiversity areas. You are

shipping this material across the Atlantic, how can that be deserving

of any green subsidy? Should think it across the world cannot be.

can be, particularly if it is Forestry pfennigs. But

sustainability should be looked at and criteria should be looked at

over a number of years. The University of Birmingham have done

good work on making sure when decisions are taken that they are

be judged against a number of criteria and you should always look

at scenarios and what the future brings. But we need to look at ways

of keeping power stations like Ironbridge, which are nearing the

end of their life. And look at financial viability, such as wind

farms, to those make money? I do not think they do, it is a lot of

money wasted on generating electricity at a high cost. I would

also ask you to look at things not only sustainability, but energy

security, making sure people have affordable energy that can be

afforded and will keep's going. Some wide and fundamental questions.

And another one, our housing market is broken. So say the National

Housing Federation, representing social landlords right across the

region. Despite economic conditions, property prices remain high and so

does a demand for affordable housing. Waiting lists here have

risen by 64% in ten years and local authorities want to bring thousands

of empty homes back into use. Hazel Poulton has clipped in her

Redditch family home for 39 years. But for the last 10, this is what

she has lived next door to. It has been broken into, all been boarded

up and it just looks horrendous. is the mother in Kidderminster,

with neighbours seeing the Arc at their wits end. -- it is the same

in Kidderminster with neighbours at their wits end. No one -- we are

having problems because of the condition of this. In

Worcestershire, there are 2475 empty homes. There are 2361 in

Shropshire and 5274 in Birmingham. That is within 28,000 homes that

have been sitting empty. At a time when house prices are nine times

the average annual salary. It has led to the Government offering a

cash incentive to councils under the New Homes Bonus. At Wychavon

District Council, they have made a good start by getting 178 empty

homes back onto the market in four years. Well -- it is intensive,

with staff putting all efforts into getting homes back into use, but it

is worth that. The Government is not abandoning

building new homes, far from it. Councils can get substantial grants

for every new home. For every pound Wychavon races in council tax from

these 130 forms, the Government will give the same amount back for

six years. Shared ownership and right-to-buy schemes are also all

options, but for a captain who lives in this council house, the

thought of owning her own property deals like impossible. -- but for

Katherine. We would like to have our own property, but it is too

much to do at the moment, banks asking for up to �60,000 for a

mortgage. The National Housing Federation said be built less than

50% of the houses needed in the West Midlands.

Also with us to be his Gemma Duggan from the National Housing

Federation, representing the housing associations who are trying

to help people like happened -- people like Katherine Hutchins

there to get started on the property ladder. How did you just

have by saying the market is broken? It is broken at all levels

and statistics prove it. We have increased homelessness, the highest

in this region than anywhere in the country. Everyone knows someone who

is experiencing problems getting on to the housing ladder, rental costs,

whole families living in one bedroom houses or bed and

breakfasts, because they cannot get homes in private or social sectors.

We have had the New Homes Bonus, local authorities try to free up

empty homes, those should be welcomed? Very welcome, but just

part of the picture. New Homes Bonus just give you the equivalent

of council tax for six years, about �6,000 per house and �120,000

builds a house. It is great to see encouragement and that the

Government wants new homes built, but we must invest more money in

housing and affordable housing to solve the current crisis. Why are

as many as 74,000 houses standing empty in this region? Is that the

owners wanting the market to increase before seeing what they

can get? It does seem that, when you have this chronic need, it is

really serious. It is and it is a range of situations. Once a house

is empty, it is expensive to bring it back to use and owners cannot

afford that. In others, we can have some investment work from

Government, some of which is cut. And we are hearing of serious

market forces which militate against thousands of people on

waiting lists. We have thousands of people on waiting lists because we

have a population that is too high, reflecting in housing, hospitals,

schools, roads, infrastructure, even water. But we cannot re-

engineer the population. We should control who comes into the country,

not allowing millions to come in through the door. It should be

controlled in the right way. Government has passed this to local

committees, so it is over to you, could that be seen as devolving the

blame? It has been an argument. Quite honestly, local authorities

do have to step up to the plate and are capable of doing so and have

done so well in the past. I would like to seek new homes bonuses and

other incentives genuinely used for the purposes they are meant to be.

Do you think the numbers are appreciable? Getting the empty

homes back into use his only a small amount, it only addresses

some of the problem, but it is a great advantage to use that money.

Let me raise one comment that came in from my blog this week. It is

about a shared ownership schemes. Much favoured by some of your

housing associations. 3 Para four points. People trapped in a scheme

cannot sell, pay 100% of the cost and rents are rising. -- 3 Para

four points. It has been called a scam. -- powerful points. Shared

ownership can be a problem. You can be trapped in negative equity for

many reasons. If you want to sell, housing associations give you help.

If you are struggling, the rest of the share can be bought off you.

You are then in a better position and can live in a village you may

not have been able to before. from my blog, more homes are needed,

which means planning policy allowing enough homes to be built.

So planning policy should affect meat. It has to. -- planning policy

should be related to need. I would give everyone who came along a

lease of nine years, saying you have a right to buy every three

years. These are this stepping- stones. Should planning policy

reflect need as well as environmental issues? It has to

reflect that. And what local people also want. One of the problems we

have had in this region, many councils, is we have had a change

of national policy for planning. But many councils have not kept up

with planning their own local plants. Some councils are now way

behind and as a result actually been trapped by planning appeal

policy. That is not helpful. must leave it there. Thank you. Now

for the regular Marwick -- now for the regular round-up in the

politics this week. Four Midlands and MPs had their

constituencies targeted by campaigners angry they are backing

the so-called pasty tax. Chains like Greggs do not have to pay VAT

at the moment on hot takeaway foods. At Dillwyn in Herefordshire, it was

drinks all round as they prepared to reopen the local pub. The parish

council has taken out a loan to buy it. Families and Gloucestershire

are checking their flocks for Casey's of the Schmaullenberg virus.

There have been two reported cases so far. And then RAF Cosford in

Shropshire, staff are looking at expanding their training offered to

get more private business. Deals are in the air at Severn Trent

Water, offering to sell any surplus to Anglian Water to ease the

drought. We are looking to cut the costs, make a profit, and it is a

useful way to move water around and help VAT bills.

I suppose if it helps keep bills down, I suppose that is good. But

what of the Midlands becomes a drought zone? And these will become

more frequent in years. The fundamental question is, do we have

enough water and what do we do to manage it? We need to do more.

seems fanciable when we heard about what a trading, but it is

apparently a reality? There is more like rain and lakes in other parts

of the country. It is a national asset. Why not? We should be using

it as a national asset and have one system. We are wrong in having

privatised water, but that is not part of this problem -- this

programme. And we could be water exporting. That is where we have to

leave it in the West Midlands. My thanks to Mike Nattrass, Susan

Juned. Next week, guests will be Margot James, Conservative MP for