25/11/2012 Sunday Politics West Midlands

The into what became of our former Development Agency's land. Is it

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2255 seconds

What became of our development agency's land? That coming up in

the Midlands. Hello once again from the Midlands. I'm Patrick Burns.

And we are joined by two of our region's distinguished elder

statesman today, with more than 60 years of parliamentary experience

between them. Bill Cash is the Conservative MP for Stone in

Staffordshire, famously combative Euro-sceptic of course, and

Geoffrey Robinson is the Labour MP for Coventry North West. In a

former life, he was Jaguar's chief executive. This after a week in

which Coventry City Council warned it would have to shed 800 more jobs,

on top of the 800 already announced, to balance its books next year.

Jeffrey, you and the council's Labour leaders blame the council

for making more cuts than originally thought. We know what is

going to be in the Autumn Statement, a complete collapse of the

Government economic policies and more cuts will certainly follow. It

is a great tragedy that we are seeing deep cutting out of haul

services now. It is true the end of local Government as we have known

it, it is a tragedy. There you are. Didn't we have a great proud

history of local Government in this country? I do not run inn with that.

There was a great deal of austerity throughout the country as a halt.

The real question is talking about the positive side like generating

enterprise and growth. It is small and medium-sized businesses which

pay for the amount of money that will go to the public sector.

us remind ourselves what Coventry's leader had to say about this.

will be using our fundamental services review programme. Yes,

there will be some services that will be going. It is inevitable. We

just cannot maintain the services at the level that we are.

worrying thing is that it is the most vulnerable people in society

that are relying on the sort of services that are being cut. It is

by reducing the amount of taxation on the small and medium-sized

businesses by cutting the red tape that you give them the oxygen to be

able to prosper and pay for the public sector that we went to see

survive. Small businesses are still not getting the money they need to

expand. The fact is that the Government's economic programme has

failed. We will learn that on 5th December when the autumn statement

is announced and they have to announce they are abandoning the

programme. Local authorities need to work smarter and more

efficiently, what about that? sure they can, I am sure that is

the only thing that can follow the Autumn Statement. If Universal

Credit does come in next April we will see the real cuts. To be

continued. For the moment, thank you. Coming up, amid all these

worrying developments on jobs, whatever became of that vision of

our regional development agency, set up under new Labour, to promote

economic regeneration here? Advantage West Midlands owned

property worth many millions of pounds when it was scrapped by the

coalition. The asset trail shows tax payers even bought one plot of

land twice. And the loss of over 500 jobs with the closure of the

Hovis bakery at Garrets Green in Birmingham does nothing to relieve

the gloom. It's been a major employer there for half a century.

But the parent company, Premier Foods, say the loss of a contract

to supply Co-op supermarkets is the killer blow, as our political

reporter explains. This is where corporate decision-making just

doesn't wash. The firm say they are building value in their bread

business. Tell that to Michaela. She lost her job at another local

firm one year ago. So she sells goods from home, but for much less

money. Now her husband's losing his job at Hovis. It has been on my

mind all morning. I have not thought about anything else. I have

got two children and two grandchildren. You have to just

live each day as it comes and cope as best as you can. The companies

say they had no option. -- But the company say they had no option. The

local MP he isn't prepared to see it go without a fight. The reality

is that people will still be eating bread, they can still make bread.

It's just the latest in a grim roll-call of recent job losses. The

closure of Tarmac's Wolverhampton headquarters puts 500 jobs at risk.

Shutting Royal Mail sorting offices in Gloucester and Shrewsbury will

affect 700 jobs. And at the Coventry taxi maker LTI, now in

administration, there have been 156 redundancies. Now with Hovis set to

pass nostalgically into our cultural history there needs to be

some autumn cheer in the autumn statement in a few weeks' time a

law here it feels more like a bleak midwinter. I suppose that goes some

way to explain how or hour region's unemployment figures remain UN

changed despite the creation of new jobs. The Government majors on job

creation in the private sector but we keep seeing hits of jobs lost

here or under threat the year. Indeed, I have seen the situation

regarding Hovis very similar to the situation we have just had with

Cadbury's as well. 900 jobs going is a serious problem. The key to

the answer of this question lies in the regeneration of private

enterprise. That is the key we have to follow through, the means by

which we can restore the prosperity that the region requires. There is

increasing evidence that we are selling much better into South East

Asia and countries of that time. Our local economy is starting to

look out from local markets. Even though it is painful, our region

has a great rise in exports to China for example? Compared to what

the Government put out in its original plan, exports are down,

investment is down, and without growth in the private sector of

which we are not getting at the rate we meet, we are going to have

more unemployment. The small businesses to which bill refers are

not going to feel the benefit. would you do about it? From money

at the problem? No one wants to throw money at the problem, that is

the whole thing. We should be getting the bank lending under way.

We have to take RBS and make it a national bank that could lend. Do

what the Germans do, take a long- term view and invest for the long

term. I think the answer does turn on the fact of our strategy in the

European Union. We are running a trade deficit with the other 26

member states of over 30 billion per year. We actually have a

massive surplus in relation to other parts of the world, including

South East Asia and the Americans. We need to refocus our enterprise.

I have people I have been talking to in and around my constituency

who have been to China 47 times, India 43 times, their profit is up

by 46%. That is where we get movement and profits. We will see

what happens but for the moment, thank you. Now for that special BBC

Midlands investigation, by this programme and Inside Out, into what

became of the vast property portfolio, acquired with public

money, to turnaround the Midlands economy. It belonged to the former

development agency, Advantage West Midlands. Now, having scrapped AWM,

the Coalition Government appears to have clawed back many of its assets

as well. It's a story that's taken us months to uncover, and yet, as

Giles Latcham explains, much of it remains unclear. Meet Jaswinder.

Jaswinder lives in Birmingham. But in a couple of weeks time she'll be

moved out of her home so the developers can bulldoze it. We have

got a lovely house here, we are living happily here. Jaswinder

lives on a site earmarked for a supermarket and hotel. Yet there's

no timescale for when building work will start. What price can they

give for my memories here in this house. I met my husband here for

the first time. This is my children's first home. It's land

that was once identified for regeneration by the Regional

Development Agency Advantage West Midlands. For 13 years AWM existed

to secure investment and create jobs. Taxpayer funded, it spent

millions buying landmark sites. They were bought to establish

technology corridors, science parks, business gateways, creating 10,000

jobs and bringing in an estimated �328 million a year. When it shut

in March, AWM owned 38 properties outright and had a stake in over a

100 more. A flash-sale of some land made �26 million. Money that went

straight to the Treasury. Incredibly, the Government is

unable to give us complete records of the sales. So in most cases we

don't know who bought the land. And there's more. We've discovered

Advantage West Midlands owned a second much bigger portfolio of

property that wasn't sold. Instead it was seized by Whitehall for

control by central government. And the value of that holding, �64

million. I'd have liked to have seen it stay local and stay under

local control where there are local authorities so that they can

actually develop that in our interest and help them kick start

the economy rather than going back to London. So what's the government

doing with this land? We've been given a document which shows for

the first time exactly what's happening. And it revealed

something else. We've brought you to this patch of land particularly

because of plot A as it's referred to Bilston urban village. What that

is saying is that originally this land was bought by the regional

development agency, paid for by local taxpayers, it was transferred

back to London and now it's been bought again by Wolverhampton city

council so local taxpayers have actually paid for this twice.

cost second time around, half a million pounds. We met the

government agency now responsible for managing former AWM land at a

site in Birmingham. When the land is sold, the money goes into a

national pot and that money is then redistributed out into regeneration

of sites across the country depending on where a need is.

Bilston village it looks rather like the tax payers of

wolverhampton have had to pay twice for that patch of land. Well I

certainly don't know about them paying twice. Certainly, when you

look at the whole of the plans for Bilston urban village, actually the

benefit for Wolverhampton tax payers will be at least five times

more than the cost of that land. The government now has other ways

to channel regeneration cash. But while trying to establish how many

millions this region's lost, we uncovered a path shrouded in

confusion. As a result, we've had to rely on newspaper cuttings and

old parliamentary reports for limited facts. But based on our

research our best guess is that the West Midlands handed over �107

million of land and property, the most of all the regions bar one -

the south east. We've lost the money paid to develop these sites.

We've lost the money to be made from selling them. How much of it

we'll ever see again we may never know. We asked D records department

why so few of deep records of sales were available. They said they were

responsible for their own assets. We are also joined today by the

regional secretary of the Unite union and he served on the board of

Advantage West Midlands and tell the winding up process in 2011. --

until. Give us a sense of how you interpret the events we saw in that

report. It is a disgrace that blame is being put back on the regional

development agencies. We legitimately documented of the land

sales. That was forwarded on to the overseeing department. We were

praised by the National Audit Office for the way we conducted

that closure. You are seeing that what you handed over to central

Government was in order but perhaps it was just the sheer volume? --

saying. That is right, there was a huge amount of detailed documented

but the response of the Government was shambolic at the time. Almost

as shambolic as the replacement for Regional Growth Fund. This was

public money that was intended to promote regional regeneration in

our part of the country. Did you complain about it being clawed back

into Whitehall? Absolutely. We said the assets should remain in the

West Midlands, it was brought together for the benefit of people

in the West Midlands but central Government was of the view that

they should be used for funding, regeneration and deficit reduction.

I think it is actually the latter that this has gone too. Doesn't it

indicate as well that there was just too much money sloshing around

in the Government agency? Absolutely not. For every pound of

public money spent, �8 was generated in the economy. It was

handled very, very well. It is difficult to arrive at a judgment

if we do not know in the final analysis what the calculation

really is. What is the answer as fun as you can see? What should the

Government do now? Firstly, I do not disagreed there is a very

strong case for managing money in the West Midlands. What does amaze

me is that it is all smoke and mirrors about where this money

seems to have gone. I am left really in a State of complete

uncertainty as to exactly how it all worked out. The report you have

produced suggests there is something amiss. Indeed, and is

there anything you think can be done? We need to have an

investigation. If records had been handed over in such a shambles the

organisation would have been pulled before the national records office.

The shambles was greeted by your Government. There was no

preparation for planning. It was Government at its worst. I do not

agree with that. I am quite sure there is quite as strong case for

reopening this issue to make sure we can find out through the Public

Accounts Committee exactly what has happened. A lot of this money

appears to have come from regional funds. You would seek no fear that

anyone in your organisation has done anything wrong? Absolutely.

The progress that was made in making sure the information was

documented was absolutely spot on but I would say it is right that

this money should return to the West Midlands. In terms of the

documentation process, that is being hidden behind to stop the

money returning here. The money was taken from the West Midlands and

not invested here while it was designated for it here. An example

is the big Wolverhampton engine plant for a Jaguar. That land was

prepared for that specific project, it was taken over by Jaguar and is

now being used, it would not have got there in time if it had not

been for Advantage West Midlands. think there is a case for having a

very close look at this, to look again and made sure the money has

been properly accounted for. We must make sure there is some way of

restoring the money back to the West Midlands. At the moment it

appears that there are the powers of investigation available, I will

ask for it to be looked at. What do you think the verdict will be in

the end? I think the verdict will be very strong in terms of the

Development Fund. In terms of getting investment sides ready and

investing in the station, the list goes on and on. My concern is that

the regional growth fund only has eight projects in funding after 18

months, it is at disgrace. Thank you very much. Now our political

round-up of the Midlands in 60 seconds. Day one of the new era. It

may have been smiles and handshakes at West Midlands HQ but the new

Police Comissioner, Labour's Bob Jones, delivered a knock-out blow

to plans to bring in a private company to help deliver services.

38 years to the day and relatives of those killed and injured in the

1974 Birmingham pub bombings want West Midlands police to re-open the

case. A vigil was held outside the city's cathedral. There is a

massive hole in our hearts where my sister should be and she is not.

public inquiry's heard families' concerns about plans for 12 mile

power lines from north Wales to Oswestry in Shropshire. Scottish

Power say the work is vital. Monarch Airlines plan to build a

giant hangar at Birmingham Airport creating up to 300 jobs. It'll be

used to repair and maintain aircraft. And the luxury car maker

Jaguar Land Rover is to start making vehicles in China. It's part

of a �1 billion deal. And with that promise comes also the promise of a

new vehicle specifically for the Chinese market. There is a worry

that this could threaten the home market if they can produce them

more cheaply and efficiently the air. It is designed for that market.

If you want to sell in volume there it has to be a joint venture with a

company over there. I think it is a sign of the strength of Jaguar. It

is only one model. I think it is a sign of their strength at the

moment they are able to do it. Mercedes and BMW have been at it

for you. -- E years. You do have to look to south-east Asia in order to

do a great amount of growth and all sorts South America. We cannot

simply rely on the European Union, it is like dealing with a bankrupt

company! I would not go that far but as far as making Europe the

obsession for our exports is wrong, the rest of the world is a huge

markets. 17 billion of our deficit in Europe is in fact with Germany

itself. My thanks. I will leave you with a reminder that you can see