:01:45. > :01:49.And in the Midlands, we all bailed out the banks and now they are
:01:49. > :01:59.bailing out of our rural communities. Come MPs reverse the
:01:59. > :01:59.
:01:59. > :35:20.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2000 seconds
:35:20. > :35:24.exodus from country towns or our Hello again from a Midlands. I am
:35:24. > :35:29.Patrick Burns. And our guests this week are marked Pawsey, the
:35:29. > :35:33.Conservative MP for the still Tory town of what could -- Rugby in
:35:33. > :35:36.Warwickshire -- Mark Pawsey. And Valerie Vaz, the Labour MP for
:35:36. > :35:40.Walsall South where Labour are hoping to form a minority
:35:40. > :35:45.administration. The Queen's Speech is still being picked over this
:35:45. > :35:50.week. The general consensus is that it is very, very thin. Your
:35:50. > :35:54.government is running out of energy after two years squabbling with the
:35:54. > :36:00.Liberal Democrats and nothing in there about growth. The Queen
:36:00. > :36:03.mentioned growth first. And I was delighted by that because there a
:36:03. > :36:06.lot of things the Government needs to get stuck into in the next
:36:06. > :36:09.session but nothing is more important than getting the economy
:36:09. > :36:16.moving and developing jobs and growth back into the system. I talk
:36:16. > :36:22.about squabbling, the Lords reform is a classic example. The word on
:36:22. > :36:26.the street of Rugby surely not Lords reform? A I agree but what
:36:26. > :36:29.was important is about jobs, the economy, getting grave back in
:36:29. > :36:33.again and that is why I think that will be the single most item of the
:36:33. > :36:38.Government must focus on. I suppose it is refreshing we have got a
:36:38. > :36:41.light, legislative prospect here because Labour had this fetish for
:36:42. > :36:47.legislation which led to things like home information packs and too
:36:47. > :36:51.much health and safety legislation. We have just come out of two years
:36:51. > :36:56.of intense legislation. A number of Bills including the Health and
:36:56. > :36:59.Social Care Act which is a very long act which basically
:36:59. > :37:03.reorganises the NHS. One of the major things that should have come
:37:03. > :37:10.out of it apart from growth is what will happen to social care. This is
:37:10. > :37:14.a huge issue. Fears have been expressed at the whole programme
:37:14. > :37:17.could be impaled on the hook of Lords reform. Would Labour co-
:37:17. > :37:22.operate as the Prime Minister hopes all parties might do on this?
:37:22. > :37:24.think we all need to look at it together. Obviously we as a elected
:37:24. > :37:31.House of Commons people were summoned to the House of Lords
:37:31. > :37:34.which we don't really like to do but we like to see them elected. We
:37:34. > :37:39.think there is room for all people to get together so the electorate
:37:39. > :37:45.feel that we are not just wasting our time on a minor issue. Coming
:37:45. > :37:49.up today. First of all it was a village post offices, then pubs and
:37:49. > :37:52.now banks are turning their backs on rural communities. Can MPs
:37:52. > :37:58.persuade them to keep their branches in country towns? Don't
:37:58. > :38:02.bank on it. Let's turn first to our top story this week. The continued
:38:02. > :38:06.overnight closure of accident and emergency services at Stafford
:38:06. > :38:10.Hospital. It shut, you will recall, because of patient safety fears and
:38:10. > :38:15.against the backdrop of have unexpected death rate. And not one
:38:15. > :38:18.but two public inquiries. Stafford's A&E has been open only
:38:18. > :38:25.for restricted hours since last December. Now we know that is how
:38:25. > :38:29.it will remain until October. Here's our health correspondent.
:38:29. > :38:31.Campaigners hope and expected that after six months of overnight
:38:31. > :38:35.closures, their A&E department would be working full-time from
:38:35. > :38:39.next month. But there is to be a third delay, this time to make sure
:38:39. > :38:46.that new staff have time to bed in. Local GPs insist it is all about
:38:46. > :38:52.safety. The A&E department is safe but we think the new team need more
:38:52. > :38:56.time to work together and gel together before extending at what
:38:56. > :38:59.because we do not want to risk the progress made already. The people
:38:59. > :39:06.here are becoming increasingly concerned they are being led up the
:39:06. > :39:13.path. Three months after a consultation on downgrading the
:39:13. > :39:18.service to an agent -- urgent care centre should end at about the same
:39:18. > :39:23.time that A&E should reopen. People are confused about the use and in
:39:23. > :39:27.some instances, this has led to people losing lives. But the GPs
:39:27. > :39:34.who will pay for the service believe that they for A&E is no
:39:34. > :39:39.longer sustainable. The trouble for politicians he wants to see fewer
:39:39. > :39:44.A&Es is that even a place like Stafford which has had at most bad
:39:44. > :39:48.publicity, 25,000 people still signed a petition to keep it.
:39:48. > :39:52.fight to fully resuscitate A&E will go on but cannot possibly reopen in
:39:52. > :39:56.October? At the same time that the public inquiry will report on the
:39:56. > :40:03.hospital's catastrophic failings? Certainly an interesting accident
:40:03. > :40:07.of timing. Also with us today is councillor Matthew Ellis, the
:40:07. > :40:11.Conservative Cabinet member for health in Staffordshire. We keep
:40:11. > :40:16.getting these reassurances that overnight accident and emergency
:40:16. > :40:20.will be restored and now the third postponement, what on earth is
:40:20. > :40:24.going on? I am disappointed it has not open but I am reassured about
:40:24. > :40:29.the professionals on the ground and clinicians putting the safety and
:40:29. > :40:33.pragmatism that is needed ahead of pressure that is growing. The worst
:40:33. > :40:36.thing would be for it to open now and let's be clear, it is on the
:40:36. > :40:40.edge of being able to open. It is really improved. They is what we
:40:40. > :40:47.have been hearing for some time. Nearly ready, just a few staffing
:40:47. > :40:50.issues. I would not want to see it reopen and then find it has to
:40:51. > :40:55.close again for the same reasons. People are right that they get it
:40:55. > :41:00.right finally and open it soon. me put to you the point they
:41:00. > :41:05.Stafford MP made to me the other day. October really is his line in
:41:05. > :41:09.the sand, if I can put it that way. If it is only a few staffing issues,
:41:09. > :41:13.it should be ready for October. If not, there are fundamental problems
:41:13. > :41:16.and he will make a fuss. I agree with that. Jeremy and I talked
:41:17. > :41:21.about this a few days ago. I am confident it will open in October.
:41:21. > :41:25.It is right that the clinicians are making sure it is safe and it is
:41:25. > :41:33.right that they take their time and make it sustainable. But it is not
:41:33. > :41:38.just about the hospital. That is the whole health care centre. --
:41:38. > :41:41.health care system. In the longer term, there's talk that Stafford
:41:41. > :41:48.might get downgraded overnight to what is called an urgent care
:41:48. > :41:51.centre. Known locally as A&E Light. That is not very reassuring?
:41:51. > :41:55.think we must get local services right for local people. A
:41:55. > :42:05.consultation will take place about the future of that. What is
:42:05. > :42:07.
:42:07. > :42:10.important is there will be 247 activity going forward. -- 24/7.
:42:10. > :42:16.Mark, you have got one of these urgent care centres in Rugby. How
:42:16. > :42:19.has that gone down with your constituents? People want to have
:42:19. > :42:23.services as close to their home as possible and in Rugby we had a A&E
:42:23. > :42:27.which was downgraded and we have a full consultation about the
:42:27. > :42:32.possibilities of change. I have lots of representation of people
:42:32. > :42:38.preferring a full A&E service put it was not able to be the case and
:42:38. > :42:42.in this case, will politicians listened to clinicians? And often
:42:42. > :42:47.politicians hide behind clinicians. And now we have an urgent care
:42:47. > :42:51.centre. The whole point about A&E is that a large people going there
:42:52. > :42:57.are taken by ambulance services so the knows what to take people. What
:42:57. > :43:01.has happened over time in Rugby is people know when it is right to go
:43:01. > :43:06.to A&E and what kind of conditions can be dealt with locally in Rugby.
:43:06. > :43:12.If Valerie is a member of the local health service committee. We have
:43:12. > :43:15.seen in the report that 25,000 people signed a petition for round-
:43:15. > :43:19.the-clock A&E, nothing short of that and yet the clinicians are
:43:19. > :43:25.talking about something which is lighter than that. Absolutely, I am
:43:25. > :43:29.quite surprised about this new turn of events because the man a
:43:29. > :43:33.hospital has... There was an impact when Stafford was closed because
:43:33. > :43:37.there was an impact on our Manor Hospital and there was a discussion
:43:37. > :43:42.and we managed to absorb some of the steady increase in patients
:43:42. > :43:46.that we were taking in our A&E but after discussion. We have got a
:43:46. > :43:49.social worker who is now based in the manner hospital soap there is
:43:49. > :43:54.co-operation between the two but at the time, no mention of an urgent
:43:54. > :43:57.care centre. As far as we were concerned, that A&E would open, we
:43:57. > :44:05.thought March but now it has been extended until October and that is
:44:05. > :44:11.when the Frances report comes out. Funny coincidence, that. Is it a
:44:11. > :44:14.way of hiding bad news? No, this is not. It is pragmatism. We must look
:44:14. > :44:18.at the whole system as must the rest of the country. We have
:44:18. > :44:22.developed the biggest community health care trust in the UK and
:44:22. > :44:25.that will help Stafford Hospital going forward. Nothing underhand
:44:25. > :44:29.here, at there is a consultation taking place and it will be a real
:44:29. > :44:33.one, not a rubber stamp. People will have their so but we must be
:44:33. > :44:38.led by what clinicians advising. And what are they take a dim view
:44:38. > :44:43.of the idea of a full-scale A&E? Why did they keep going for these
:44:43. > :44:46.lower versions of it? Cost, saving money? I think we must do what is
:44:47. > :44:52.right for a particular area. Stafford Hospital is not as busy at
:44:52. > :44:56.night as it is doing the day. As long as the services are there 24/7,
:44:56. > :45:00.people can get the care that they need by walking in, not making
:45:00. > :45:04.appointments, I think that we need to understand what the demand is an
:45:05. > :45:08.meat that with the best possible services. Politically, hospital
:45:08. > :45:12.issues are lethal because they cut right to the heart of a local
:45:12. > :45:19.community. We saw it in where Forest, it did Labour no good in
:45:19. > :45:24.Staffordshire in the last election. In his right that politicians
:45:24. > :45:29.listen to what people say but we must have a safe NHS that make sure
:45:29. > :45:31.that every available proceed is possible. We are moving towards
:45:31. > :45:39.areas on increased specialisation and it is not possible for every
:45:39. > :45:45.service to be available at every hospital. In a word, can people be
:45:45. > :45:49.reassured? No, 25,000 double what the A&E. Thank you and the key to
:45:49. > :45:52.Matthew for joining us. And to our other big talking point, what price
:45:52. > :45:56.country life when village pubs and post offices are closing all the
:45:56. > :46:01.time and now role banks are going as well? The countryside campaign
:46:01. > :46:04.group tells us 15 Midlands rural communities are down to the last
:46:04. > :46:12.bank and seven of them are at risk of losing theirs altogether. But
:46:12. > :46:16.why should loss-making rural branches remain in business? BBC
:46:16. > :46:21.commentary and Warwickshire reporter looks at it -- BBC
:46:22. > :46:26.commentary. Will -- will come to Kineton. That
:46:26. > :46:29.might be a picture postcard, but many places like this are down to
:46:29. > :46:35.their last bang. And with learning 1030 miles away, that concerns
:46:35. > :46:38.those who rely on it. It is time to count the church collection at St
:46:38. > :46:45.Peter's but with only one back to choose from, people worry about
:46:45. > :46:49.what it would mean if the branch did closes doors. If we have to
:46:49. > :46:53.change to a different bank, we would have to sort out a load of
:46:53. > :46:57.work, new accounts, and as well as the inconvenience of travelling so
:46:57. > :47:01.it is very convenient for us that it is here and we feel blessed.
:47:01. > :47:06.only bank left in Kineton is HSBC and his says it has no plans to
:47:06. > :47:13.close the branch but this is because it signed up to a pledge to
:47:13. > :47:18.promise it will always be here. Meet Mary Wheeldon, she has lived
:47:18. > :47:23.here for 60 years. This is more than just a bank. The shops will
:47:23. > :47:29.lose out, the facilities will lose out and it is the heartbeat of the
:47:29. > :47:33.village. It is a no go, we cannot lose it, that is for sure.
:47:33. > :47:37.According to Campaign Group, 15 communities in the Midlands
:47:37. > :47:40.countryside are down to their last bank and another 13 have just two
:47:40. > :47:46.banks and only eight villages are protected by the pledge that will
:47:46. > :47:48.not leave them without a bank at all. So why are branches closing?
:47:48. > :47:51.HSBC and the British Banking Association could not give us an
:47:51. > :48:00.interview but they insist that branches will only shut if they are
:48:00. > :48:03.It means that pressure groups will want to see the launch of so-called
:48:03. > :48:08.community banking where a number of high-street names share a single
:48:08. > :48:12.building. This branch of Barclays in Bishop's Castle in Shropshire is
:48:12. > :48:16.about to face the axe and the local MP is concerned. This is very
:48:16. > :48:21.distressing, the second bank closure in three months that we are
:48:21. > :48:26.having in the rural part of my constituency. We had an HSBC
:48:26. > :48:29.closing Craven Arms and now Barclays announce their closure in
:48:29. > :48:35.June in Bishop's Castle which will leave both towns, just one bank
:48:35. > :48:40.only left. Back in Kineton, people are praying they do not lose their
:48:40. > :48:45.only bunch despite more and more of us deciding to back on line. The
:48:45. > :48:54.Church may have been here since 1315 but how long will it bank
:48:55. > :49:04.I bet the Church Atlas the bank. Mark, I am sure there is something
:49:05. > :49:05.
:49:05. > :49:09.in many of us that if the taxpayer has stumped up �15 billion, they
:49:09. > :49:13.must show some responsibility? not think that governments should
:49:13. > :49:23.set a mandate for banks. Whether badgers are well supported, they
:49:23. > :49:24.
:49:24. > :49:27.will remain and I think there is a sense of a use it or lose it. For
:49:27. > :49:33.many communities, there remain post offices which we fought hard to
:49:33. > :49:35.keep in rural communities. Pubs are an important part of the community
:49:35. > :49:38.and libraries are as well and communities and a coming together
:49:38. > :49:43.to provide some sort of community service. Something like the "big
:49:43. > :49:47.society"? Yes, communities can come together and decide what is best
:49:47. > :49:52.for their community. We can have communities building these bodies.
:49:52. > :49:55.A vote of confidence in the "big society", and that is in nobody's
:49:55. > :49:58.interest of the banks not to be profitable. No, but they should run
:49:58. > :50:02.a public service and they have got our money and they should run a
:50:02. > :50:07.public service for people. If you look at the internet collections,
:50:07. > :50:10.people say about internet banking is there but it is not that good in
:50:10. > :50:14.rural areas. And you think of the other people, elderly people for
:50:14. > :50:20.example, they must get used to it. And rural bus services are being
:50:20. > :50:24.cut. Yes, but it is more than that. Rural Post Offices are where people
:50:24. > :50:29.gather and meet. We want more of that. And rural Post Offices,
:50:29. > :50:37.sometimes integrated with pubs. If that is the case, why not banking?
:50:37. > :50:40.Let's bring banking into that. Some people fear the loss of communities,
:50:40. > :50:44.and there would be a serious issue but I do not think that is the case.
:50:45. > :50:51.I want to see as many facilities remaining in communities as
:50:51. > :50:54.possible but we inherited the banks and we have got them by default,
:50:54. > :50:58.those should be returned to the private sector and I do not want to
:50:58. > :51:03.see government mandating that banks should... And think what can be
:51:03. > :51:07.done with the Post Office. There is no reason why the Bank cannot sit
:51:07. > :51:11.alongside the Post Office and have kiosks. You could have two
:51:11. > :51:16.different tellers from different banks. People can have the choice.
:51:16. > :51:21.They have choice and competition. I think it is the Royal Bank of
:51:21. > :51:25.Scotland and Nat West, actually people can facilitate their bank
:51:25. > :51:29.accounts through the post office. If we will that out across other
:51:29. > :51:33.rural Post Offices, I think that could really work. And we are
:51:33. > :51:36.seeing generally the high street is changing dramatically so I suppose
:51:36. > :51:40.we are seeing the rural communities following that as well? Absolutely,
:51:40. > :51:44.we must make sure that the people on low incomes who are not used to
:51:44. > :51:48.using banks currently, elderly people who might not want to use
:51:48. > :51:53.the internet, have a facility they can use. I know that banks are
:51:53. > :51:56.working hard on telephone banking. The Government is rolling out �500
:51:56. > :52:01.million of rural broad band to make certain that those who will use
:52:01. > :52:08.internet banking can do so effectively. Let's move on for our
:52:09. > :52:10.round-up of the political week in the Midlands in just 60 seconds.
:52:11. > :52:12.BBC WM's political reporter Elizabeth Glinka begins with
:52:12. > :52:15.updates on two stories we've been following.
:52:15. > :52:18.The Midlands drought has been rained off - for now. Record April
:52:18. > :52:21.showers and persistent downfalls so far this month have increased river
:52:21. > :52:26.levels. Staff at Jaguar Land Rover in
:52:26. > :52:28.Castle Bromwich have rejected plans to change working practices. Indian
:52:28. > :52:38.owners Tata want to improve productivity with Saturday working
:52:38. > :52:41.and compulsory alcohol and drugs tests. Workers will be reballoted.
:52:41. > :52:46.We are confident that we will be able to resolve the situation and
:52:46. > :52:49.we would get the working proposals agreed and investment into the plan.
:52:49. > :52:52.The Olympic flame has been lit in Greece ahead of its relay around
:52:52. > :52:54.the UK. The Birmingham firm that makes the torch's internal burner
:52:54. > :52:58.is flat out manufacturing parts for 10,000 models.
:52:58. > :53:01.Ey up, duck! Did you know the family of the new Lord Mayor of the
:53:01. > :53:05.City of London is from the Potteries? David Wooton says he'll
:53:05. > :53:07.be talking about the ceramics industry all over the world.
:53:07. > :53:17.And thousands of Midlands public sector workers went out on strike
:53:17. > :53:22.
:53:22. > :53:25.in an ongoing row over changes to Seeing there the public sector
:53:25. > :53:30.workers, Labour did a bit of a twist because it plays badly in
:53:30. > :53:33.public opinion terms but you cannot distance yourself too far from your
:53:33. > :53:43.union paymasters. We saw how equivocal Ed Miliband was during
:53:43. > :53:44.
:53:44. > :53:47.the debate. Public service workers must... Well, unions are your
:53:47. > :53:51.paymasters. 3% extra they must pay out of their wages. Most public
:53:51. > :53:55.sector workers including MPs have had a pay freeze so effectively
:53:55. > :53:59.they have had a pay freeze for the last five years and some of them,
:53:59. > :54:05.longer. Those on low incomes are protected but people are having to
:54:05. > :54:10.pay extra for food, fuel, utilities and they will have to find, in some
:54:10. > :54:13.cases, �200 a month extra. Mark, does your government have no
:54:13. > :54:18.sympathy for them very hard working public servants to have been forced
:54:18. > :54:21.to take this action? I think the Government has recognised the
:54:21. > :54:26.action of hard working people but the country recognises as a whole
:54:26. > :54:30.that the agenda has moved. The average 16-year-old this 10 years
:54:30. > :54:36.older than the equivalent person in the 1970s -- the average 16-year-
:54:36. > :54:43.old. It is not possible for people to have the size of pension -- the
:54:43. > :54:47.average 60-year-old. Can I give you equip statistic? NHS pensions, �2
:54:48. > :54:54.billion has accrued from people playing in and the benefit payment
:54:54. > :54:57.is a lot less than that. Money is there. And people are suffering now
:54:57. > :54:59.in the public's it as they are in the private.
:54:59. > :55:02.My thanks to Mark Pawsey and Valerie Vaz. Next Sunday, our