29/01/2012 Sunday Politics West

In the West: Too small and not enough of them. Couples are

struggling to find a house they can afford that's bigger than a rabbit

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2025 seconds

hutch. Can our councils finally Welcome to the Sunday politics here

in the West. If you are thinking of buying a home in the West it will

cost a fortune if you can get a mortgage in the first place. Today

we are asking if you need to be building begat and more houses for

the growing need. We talk to one councillor he says we must build to

protect our children's future. Talking of houses, welcome to my

humble abode. Let me introduce my tenants. They are both grammar-

school boys. The Conservative MP for Tewkesbury. Donald used to be

on shaky ground in Bath, but in the last election he doubled his Lib

Dem seat. Now they are in government together. You are like

brothers, really, aren't you? A big debate I want to talk about this

week. The proposed cap of �26,000 on benefits. Don Foster, do you

think it is a good idea? I think it is a good idea. I think the public

at large except that it cannot be right for somebody on benefits to

be getting substantially more than a family that goes out to work. The

problem we have got is, how do we get from where we are now to the

imposition of the benefit cap. There will be a number of problems.

So Lord Ashdown is wrong when he says it should not be imposed? Yes,

I think it is wrong. The issue for me is transition arrangements. What

we have not had enough from the government is what they are

planning to do to resolve undoubted difficulties. There seems to be

large public support for this? is something that has been building

for decades and nobody has done anything about it. I get a lot of

letters from people saying they have worked all of their lives and

fought in the war and are so much worse off than people who have done

nothing and on benefits. A lot of people on benefits through no fault

of their own, but we have to make sure that nurses and teachers are

not worse off. Do you know rich people on benefits? It depends what

you call a benefit. Housing benefit is termed as a benefit so yes,

there are some. The important thing to remember is someone has to earn

�35,000 per year and, only 26,000. There are many teachers and nurses

that do not and that money. This is what the debate is about.

First, let's cut through estate agent will fall. If you want to buy

a new home it will cost a bomb and that is if you can get a mortgage.

For years, prices have been going up and rooms have been getting

smaller. Local councils are now trying to sort out this problem by

allowing new homes to be built. Jem and Gordon of first-time buyers.

Like many, they cannot get on the housing ladder. We were mainly

looking at two bedroom houses around �250,000. There are not many

of them and not in very good locations. I just don't understand

why they have to put them so that everyone is so on top of each other.

I feel that all of the new estate, you are literally living so close

together with no parking. From Whitehall to a village hall may you.

Councillors across the West are now deciding where over half a million

new homes will be built in a way region over the next 20 years.

People say, what does sustainability mean. It means many

things. The one thing it does mean is do not cheat on your children.

We do not have a robust plan and a cheating the children of the future.

We should not do that. For those living in villages where new

housing developments are planned, there are real concerns. We are not

NMB because what we are more concerned about is the potential

for such a development on these green fields throttling the life

out of Stroud town which is where we are all attached. We have had

from our couple. They are worried about the size and price of these

homes and this is something a former West MP is warning

councillors to think about when drawing up plans. We need homes.

There are people desperate to get into homes. The danger is, if you

go for a large-scale development, they are not popular and often you

are building the wrong sort of houses in the wrong places. I have

always been in favour of dispersal. We need to make sure that we get

housing for older people and younger people in the right place.

What we are being asked for our views on us and plums, chairman and

Gordon's search for their first affordable home goes on.

An experience shared by many couples. Derek Davies is there

councillor in charge in cheeks brief. At a stately age of 81, he

is one of our most senior politicians. What can you do to

help young couples in your area? They want a nice affordable house

and not too small. Yes, well it is a case of haves and have-nots. If

you live in a house, you are and how. If you are homeless, you are a

have not. What we are trying to do is cut down and build more housing.

The only way you can do that is by having a 20 year plans which we

have. We have been talking about this for years. Why has this not

happened? Perhaps you can blame previous governments. Not your

government? Our government has made amazing move so far. So far they

have taken 1000 pages of planning guidelines and scrap them and

replace them with about 50 pages. These guidelines are to give

planning permission. Very often it is difficult for local councillors

because there is a lot of local opposition. Not a lot. Few have not.

What do you mean? What I mean by that is that if you ask anybody

that says we do not want these houses all sorts of various reasons,

I call those the haves. The weaker minority, and they are the minority,

they are homeless or without a satisfactory home, they do not have

a voice. I get it. Let's bring in the MPs here. You often the same

patch, how many homes do you think I needed? It is difficult to put a

figure on the next 20 years. I used to work with homeless people before

I went in Parliament. It is not a bad enough houses, it is about the

economy. What happened at to the credit crunch building societies

and banks lend far too much money. That had the effect of pushing up

the price of property to an unsustainable level. That is one of

the problems and needs correcting. Don Foster, how do you build houses

in Bath? One of the things that we have had is that the government has

provided additional financial support. We have already heard

about the support in terms of planning. They have also made

government land available so in Bath we are going to have three

disused MoD sites where a lot of housing, probably around 1500 homes,

will go there. We are developing Western Riverside as well. If you

go to a place like Bath, at the moment it will cost you 14 times

the average salary to be able to pay for the average price house.

That puts the finances out of the market. Let's bring you back him.

Is it that there are not enough houses or people cannot afford

them? Well, we have not built in of houses over the last 20 years. That

puts the price up and as a result, developers have been stagnant, that

is what we are taking on now, a stagnant position. What we have to

do is use innovative ideas on top of what the government has done.

someone complains about a housing estate on a green belt, are you

going to say on your bike? Or are you going to say yes, I support

she? Of course we have to build in the right area. Coming from

Tewkesbury and though the damage that can be done to the green belt

and the flood risk area. We had terrible floods four years ago

where people were living in caravans as a result. Derek is

right, the number of houses being built did drop off and it started

at the point of the credit crunch. There were no changes in planning

at that time, it was a change in the economy. That caused the

problem. Derek, you are right. We will leave it at that last word.

Thank you for coming in. For anyone angry anti-Europeans

meddling in our affairs, it has been a big week. David Cameron

toured Europe including a stop in Strasbourg to put the Court of

Human Rights in its place. At least that is one version of events.

They laid on a red carpet in Strasbourg this week even if the

visitor was threatening to give them a carpeting. David Cameron

spent two hours at the Council of Europe which controls the Court of

Human Rights. Some of his MPs were here all week. Joining

representatives from 47 countries which are members. These West

Country Conservatives are aware of sceptical views back in their

constituencies. We are just talking about press coverage in the UK.

pieces in the Mail and Telegraph. Bob water leads the British

delegation. He only started a year ago and reckons reform is overdue.

The cost of this place is astronomical. If you say to people

in Somerset or Bristol, what do you know about the Court of Human

Rights, the experience for them is pretty Honourable. You see clerics

who should not be allowed out, you see a lot of other things and think

it is mad. It all comes from here. The message that we have to put

across as the British is that this has to change. But Wednesday, David

Cameron was accompanied by Bob water his role is even more

significant at the moment. Prime Minister asked me to be

leader of the UK delegation. The important work that needs to be

done. Now with the British chairmanship, the important work

that is going to be done on the reform agenda. Britain is in the

chair for six months which is why David Cameron was here making his

big speech. The court should ensure the right and not act as a small

claims court. Some of those watching were not impressed.

Prime Minister has gone for a GP it. He has come here looking for

favourable headlines because we agree with the. He is making, but

it does not advance the agenda for human rights in our continent for

one single centimetre. But there was warm applause, not just from

West Country Tories. David Cameron's performance seemed to go

well because he talked about making things better and not pulling

Britain out. The government are talking to two

very different audiences. At home they want to sound tough, over here

it is about diplomacy -- diplomacy. Twilight in Strasbourg and Bob

water is among the big no trees in this service to honour the war dead.

This area was badly effected by World War Two. To help prevent

future conflicts, the country has resolved to work together.

Council of Europe brings together the whole of Europe and the whole

of Europe on the basis that we never want to see as having to

create war memorials like this a game. No one would argue with the

ideals, but there is disagreement with how best to achieve them.

Today we are joined by Caroline BT, then manager of Bristol refugee

rights. Why do we need the European Court

of Human Rights, do you think? think it is crucial to have some

kind of independent oversight of areas where the perceived national

interest might clash with the rights and freedoms are very

vulnerable people living in this country. There is a perception it

is used a lot. The Prime Minister talked about the European Court of

Human Rights in the tribunal. Is that your experience? Not at all.

It is very difficult to get a case to European Court. What is

important now is that immigration judges have a mind to the European

Court rulings and will make decisions ultimately to support

people with those rights. For instance, in the last quarter there

were two Rawlings to show that detentions of mentally ill people

was not only unlawful, but inhuman and degrading. That his article 3.

What people are concerned about is that human rights can become a

tyranny whether rights of the individual are looked after by the

rest of society has to lump it. The example of that is the cleric he

wants to cause damage but cannot be deported. It is a pity that people

see it like that. The point of human rights is that they should be

accessible to everybody. It is about freedom and safety for all.

Why does David Cameron launched this against the European Court of

Human Rights? I think he feels that it is involving itself in what our

individual and small cases that nobody would have an objection to

the articles in the original declaration. It was a noble aim.

But what has happened is that it has gone way beyond its original

remit. So we have all these cases which have been heard and they set

a precedent. It is very frustrating. In the original articles, there

were the rights of governments to determine their own policies.

Foster, how did you feel when David Cameron went to Strasbourg this

week and let loose at them? He was absolutely right to say that we

need to reform it. It has 150,000 case backlog. We need to have

higher quality judges. We need to give it more resources and would

probably need to have more cases dealt with in their own countries.

Having said that, nobody is saying we need to get rid of it. It is

crucially important we have a body covering 47 countries that ensures

we can do something, after all we invented the thing, it was

Churchill pushing for it, that we have something where countries less

good on Human Rights, foreigners since Russia and former Soviet

countries, can be held to account. The point is that if we say we do

not want to obey that particular role, when Russia breaks one, they

can say the same thing. The court was set up to oversee what was

going on. What has happened is it is getting involved in small

matters which it was not set up today. Nobody would disagree with

the original article, but it has gone way beyond that now. This

tends to happen. Don is absolutely right, it is to focus on what it is

there to do. It has 150,000 cases waited to be heard. They say they

are a victim of their own success. The third point is also enforcing

it. When it actually comes to decisions. That is another weakness

of present arrangements. Thank you for coming in and talking to us

today. So what has been the top of the

political charts this week? Here is our 62nd round up.

This is the West's own spaghetti Junction. It is getting and �90

million facelift. The government says it will make journeys safer

and shorter. These are some of the 13,000 campaigners who are against

a new nuclear power station being built in Somerset. They submitted

objections this week. Policing in Gloucestershire will be

pushed to a cliff edge if the force of forced to make more cuts.

risk is that it starts to impact on frontline policing.

The power of the Bristol Channel help generate energy of the future.

Companies in the West are being encouraged to lead the way in

designing new age technology. And politics is all about finding a

voice. We say a final farewell to Western's town crier. He won the

town crier complete tissue and with his distinctive voice. -- town

crier competition. Another hectic week. Let's talk

about one of those issues that came up there. Policing. That warning by

the Chief Constable, they are heading to the clifftop because of

cuts. You are the party of law and order, aren't you? We are. By meet

Tony regularly and he says what he said on the film. I say to him that

we have to make cut somewhere. I know Conservative politicians keep

going on about that, but it is a fact of life. What Tony has been

active in doing is making sure there are more police on the beat,

on the front line. He has been very successful. Don, people will be

cross if they lose visible policing. I think people will be cross if

they see crime rising. One important thing is that we try to

address the causes of crime. One thing I raised following the riots

with the Prime Minister on the floor of the House was that we all

know that a high percentage of crime is caused by totally

dysfunctional families. Instead of saying, yes that is true, and doing

nothing, the government has bought a vast amount of money in the to

work with various agencies to deal with that. We all suit need to do

more smarter policing. Half of the policing still does not have the