:01:34. > :01:38.End the West: We meet Steve Wyatt the Minister of the key to you and
:01:38. > :01:48.fireman plans. Is there any chance to the days where factory workers
:01:48. > :01:48.
:01:48. > :30:38.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1729 seconds
:30:38. > :30:42.can expect their gold plated Good afternoon from the team here
:30:42. > :30:47.and the West Country. Today we're asking how are we going to pay for
:30:47. > :30:53.our old age? In the good old days, workers here enjoyed great pension
:30:53. > :30:58.rights from the company that looked after them. Now many are facing
:30:58. > :31:05.huge uncertainty about how we will pay for the golden years. I am
:31:05. > :31:15.shocked -- joined by Steve Webb, there Pensions Minister in the
:31:15. > :31:16.
:31:16. > :31:20.coalition Government. Welcome to you. The Chancellor expressed a
:31:20. > :31:26.shock this week were that wealthy people are not paying tax in some
:31:26. > :31:33.cases. Do you share that astonishment? I think there is
:31:33. > :31:39.confusion between tax avoidance and tax evasion. The Government sets up
:31:39. > :31:44.schemes that allow people... Some of the rich people are really
:31:44. > :31:54.paying 10% tax. There is no indication that they are doing
:31:54. > :31:56.
:31:56. > :32:00.anything illegal. Steve Webb? is why you have to ask if these are
:32:00. > :32:08.right. If you pile them all together, people are not paying
:32:08. > :32:12.their fair share... Are you shocked? I wasn't entirely startled.
:32:12. > :32:16.I think putting a floor under all these exemptions so that people are
:32:16. > :32:21.paying a fair share is the right direction to go end. One to our
:32:21. > :32:26.main story this week: Pensions. Young people are given a job today
:32:26. > :32:30.will find it almost impossible to get employment with a nice index-
:32:30. > :32:34.linked pension. The public sector is cutting back benefits and most
:32:34. > :32:40.private employers have closed their own schemes, which leave employees
:32:40. > :32:46.with envious schemes. Dave Harvey has been looking at the crisis in a
:32:46. > :32:52.pension funds. They urge drawing the generous
:32:52. > :32:58.company pension. Only 500 people work for that tobacco industry
:32:58. > :33:03.today. It is the same story and dozens of firms. N is a day, this
:33:03. > :33:09.company employed well over 10,000 people. Today, less than half that
:33:09. > :33:13.number work there. And that is the problem. On the balance sheet of a
:33:13. > :33:19.typical company pension fund, the number of people paying and is
:33:19. > :33:26.falling fast, Meanwell the army of pensioners -- people needed to keep
:33:26. > :33:31.up these funds are growing. Male expectancy was 65. Not one penny of
:33:31. > :33:36.that pension may be paid. The average man now list is 78, drawing
:33:36. > :33:41.his pension now for 13 years. The balance sheet is bust. Experts say
:33:41. > :33:47.there is a total deficit of �2 billion in West Country pension
:33:47. > :33:54.schemes. Edge in a worse. There should be a third way and that
:33:54. > :33:58.should be state pensions. State pensions to �300 a week like in
:33:58. > :34:07.Scandinavian countries and in Germany. On that basis we would not
:34:07. > :34:12.be interested in what business was doing from Monday to the next. By
:34:12. > :34:16.making a serious point. solution is simple, close the door.
:34:16. > :34:19.Already many final salary schemes have been closed to new members.
:34:19. > :34:26.Companies replacing them with schemes that are both less generous
:34:26. > :34:32.and less predictable, relying instead on the stock market. While
:34:32. > :34:37.the accounts may be having combat workers are not. -- while the
:34:37. > :34:43.accountants may be happy, the workers are not.
:34:43. > :34:46.Steve Webb, a lot of people do not have a company pension. Others at
:34:46. > :34:50.been switched to schemes that pay nothing. The public sector is
:34:50. > :34:54.reducing benefits. Millions of us are facing a miserable old age.
:34:54. > :34:57.we do nothing, that is right. There are three strands to what the
:34:57. > :35:03.Government is doing. First the state pension. We're trying to
:35:03. > :35:08.nature it is simpler. It will never be a king's ransom. The second is
:35:08. > :35:13.to get millions more people into a pension saving for the first time.
:35:13. > :35:18.10 million workers who do not have a pension, will be placed into work
:35:18. > :35:23.placed pensions. They will be free to opt out but only after they have
:35:23. > :35:28.been going. And also to see if firms are want to do more, can
:35:28. > :35:32.offer schemes that will give workers some certainty, not in
:35:32. > :35:38.previous days, but some certainty to what their pensions will go.
:35:38. > :35:42.want to sign workers up to the private scheme. There is no
:35:42. > :35:46.guarantee lot benefits will be? That is their issue. Having a
:35:46. > :35:51.pension is a start and it could be great, it could be quite small.
:35:51. > :35:55.depends on how much you pretend. The firm is putting money end as
:35:55. > :36:00.well. All that period of time, these things can go up and down. In
:36:00. > :36:05.time you are putting money end, that firm are putting money in, you
:36:05. > :36:11.will get a return on that. But you could get less? But in the long run
:36:11. > :36:17.you will get more. Tom, you have been running -- you have been
:36:17. > :36:22.listening. The policy that was put in place by the previous Government,
:36:22. > :36:26.is absolutely the right thing to do. The starting point is not -- we do
:36:26. > :36:30.not have enough people saving for retirement. This will kick-start a
:36:30. > :36:36.solution to that. It will bring millions of people into the culture
:36:36. > :36:40.of saving. When people need every penny they need to get by, if you
:36:40. > :36:46.are 20 years old and you want a pension of �15,000 when you're 65,
:36:46. > :36:50.how much do you have to be to ride every month? I can give you an
:36:50. > :36:56.answer now which would be something around 10 to 15% of your salary.
:36:56. > :37:00.But that will change with time. The stock market will move interest
:37:00. > :37:08.rates will move, circumstances will change, so the message is don't
:37:08. > :37:12.just start saving now, but monitor your savings of a time. And try and
:37:12. > :37:22.work towards a case where Enya 60s you have saved enough to retire.
:37:22. > :37:26.
:37:26. > :37:31.But it is a huge pot that you need. -- when you are in your 60s. If you
:37:31. > :37:35.assume that in the next 20 years as people come towards retirement,
:37:35. > :37:39.interest rates normalise, that amount will also go down. There is
:37:39. > :37:46.some potentially good news on the stockmarket. The index is still
:37:46. > :37:49.about 20% below its 2000 peak. This is unusual. The stock market's 10
:37:49. > :37:53.to go up rather than down so we could be at a point were
:37:53. > :37:58.stockmarkets are stronger, interest rates go up, and there are pension
:37:58. > :38:04.saving becomes much easier. Unfortunately, the Government, has
:38:04. > :38:08.been putting in the right policies so we are prepared to. In the
:38:09. > :38:14.meantime, the public are at the mercy of the stop market. That is
:38:14. > :38:19.why it is important that Government is putting in the minimum floor.
:38:19. > :38:24.Some people have a minimum standard of living without means testing.
:38:24. > :38:33.have got some of the lower state pensions and Europe. We have and
:38:33. > :38:41.partly because someone mentions Scandinavia. In Scandinavia people
:38:41. > :38:49.fall for a much higher taxes. People will vote for that.
:38:49. > :38:52.union man mentioned a pension of �300. No other state help for
:38:52. > :39:02.pensions, why can we do that then we would not have to bother with
:39:02. > :39:02.
:39:02. > :39:06.all this? A because we would have to pay higher taxes quest --. I
:39:06. > :39:12.think we will see a state pension of 70 before very long. We cannot
:39:12. > :39:19.afford to give generous state pensions and you're early 60s, it
:39:20. > :39:27.is simply too expensive. retirement age of 70, can you see
:39:27. > :39:30.that, you are the person who decides when we retire? What the
:39:30. > :39:35.Government has said as people are living longer, that will be kept
:39:35. > :39:40.under review. There is nothing beyond 60 it that is being told
:39:40. > :39:44.about. The good news is that people are on average living for 20 odd
:39:44. > :39:49.years in retirement. Their parents look for maybe 10. We have to
:39:49. > :39:53.adjust to that. If things do not improve, then people will retire --
:39:53. > :40:02.reach retirement age and they will be very poor. And nearly people
:40:02. > :40:09.they will come to Farnell will be the state. Many people will want to
:40:09. > :40:12.work the and 65 -- beyond 65. You want it remarked -- encourage
:40:12. > :40:20.people to remain active and continue earning an income. Thank
:40:20. > :40:24.you very much indeed. Remember David Cameron's dream of a
:40:24. > :40:28.people power "big society"? 5,000 organisers are now being hired to
:40:28. > :40:38.turn that off came into a reality. Some are being trained in the West.
:40:38. > :40:40.
:40:40. > :40:43.We send our man to a "big society" bit camp and Bath. -- boot camp
:40:43. > :40:47.these are the latest recruits and the Prime Minister's "big society"
:40:47. > :40:52.army. Their mission - to help communities
:40:52. > :40:59.in austerity Britain to help themselves. Their target - to
:40:59. > :41:05.listen, really listen to the views of 500 different people. Community
:41:05. > :41:10.are organiser Danny brothers as patrolling his beaten Bath. Hello,
:41:10. > :41:16.my name is Stan Lee. I am here to talk about your area. Do you feel
:41:16. > :41:21.you have a say in the way it is run at all? As he listens, he learns as
:41:21. > :41:27.resident is unhappy with the lack of parks and public toilets. And he
:41:27. > :41:30.is a lot, she volunteers to tackle the issues head-on. When you want
:41:30. > :41:37.to do something, you are frustrated because you do not know where to
:41:37. > :41:44.start. They are scarce you the chance to help out and say, yes, I
:41:45. > :41:50.am willing to do it. I am ready to fight I go out and do it all.
:41:50. > :41:57.have become part of the "big society". How much do you know
:41:57. > :42:03.about the "big society" at the moment? A nothing. Nothing Atul.
:42:03. > :42:08.what does it mean for the street where you live? -- nothing at all.
:42:08. > :42:16.Here in Bath, it is early days, but in some areas, the work of these
:42:16. > :42:23.community are organisers is starting to bear fruit. This estate
:42:23. > :42:26.has seen fly-tipping stop and crime followed by 80%. And here they have
:42:27. > :42:29.set up the run Arts Club. But is David Cameron tried to sculpt
:42:29. > :42:33.something out of nothing? If in practice these local projects are
:42:33. > :42:38.often difficult to get off the ground and there can hardly fill in
:42:38. > :42:43.the gaps left by huge cuts to public services. What is more, does
:42:43. > :42:49.anyone have the time to spare? have got increasing working hours,
:42:49. > :42:57.job insecurity making people less likely to spend time. Things like
:42:57. > :43:03.childcare commitments. It is very difficult to find the time when you
:43:03. > :43:13.are committed unmotivated. For the recruits, it is back to barracks
:43:13. > :43:19.for their weekly training session. How many people have you spoken to?
:43:19. > :43:23.600 people. Each community and organiser is being paid �20,000 for
:43:23. > :43:28.one year of listening. But the key test for this will be Gething can
:43:28. > :43:32.persuade others to pay their way when the money runs out. Likely
:43:32. > :43:40.sponsors say they are already being squeezed by the Kaplan tax relief
:43:40. > :43:48.for donations. And without proper funding, they could be forced to
:43:48. > :43:52.disband. -- by the cap on. The man in charge for training the
:43:52. > :43:57.volunteers is here for us now. It is costing �20,000 to do this
:43:57. > :44:03.training. Is it worth it? I think it is absolutely worth it. The
:44:03. > :44:06.whole concept a sculpting something out of nothing, actually there are
:44:06. > :44:10.hidden assets and every single community. The solution to most
:44:10. > :44:14.problems is just sitting there waiting, all we need to do is stop
:44:14. > :44:17.to people and asked them how they feel about the future of the
:44:17. > :44:22.communities, whether or not they want to take action and they will.
:44:22. > :44:26.We will volunteers for only be used to plug gaps in state provision?
:44:26. > :44:32.do not think that is right at all. We have been working at this for
:44:32. > :44:36.the last 20 years. During that time we have found people end their
:44:36. > :44:42.homes who have not known how to get involved in anything and they have
:44:42. > :44:48.ended up setting up projects. One dance company now employs people in
:44:48. > :44:53.Poole, a centre end Salford. There is a worry that as the cuts take
:44:54. > :44:59.effect, there will be gaps where volunteers are expected to sell
:44:59. > :45:06.those gaps. I think people want to. People want to take responsibility
:45:06. > :45:11.for their communities. There is nothing new there. When I hear
:45:11. > :45:18.about the "big society", I am reminded of John May's there's
:45:18. > :45:22.Citizen Charter. -- John Major's. In my own constituency, you see a
:45:22. > :45:28.huge number of committees to want to do something but they want
:45:28. > :45:34.guidance on how to do it. How to unlock the doors to what they want
:45:34. > :45:40.to do anyway. Is asked what David Cameron means? -- is this what
:45:40. > :45:43.David Cameron means? When he started talking about this, I could
:45:43. > :45:49.hear the groans from the delegates. He does not know what he is ducking
:45:49. > :45:51.about. In are the summer to that it is very clear, it is the village
:45:51. > :45:59.communities and our communities getting together to improve the
:45:59. > :46:05.environment in which the 11th. -- in which they live again. I think
:46:05. > :46:10.it is very exciting. If we train more volunteers, they will need
:46:10. > :46:17.donations to pay for that. The Government is clamping down on big
:46:17. > :46:27.charity donations. So how is it going to be affordable? It is worth
:46:27. > :46:32.keeping perspective. This has not happened yet. A lot of this is
:46:32. > :46:38.fairly small-scale funding. One person for a year and then tried to
:46:38. > :46:42.get themselves sustainable. In my constituency, they have got a
:46:42. > :46:47.village shop going and bubble stuff was going. They got some money to
:46:47. > :46:51.keep that going. Communities can do that. Sometimes they need that
:46:51. > :46:56.extra help, someone coming in, someone who knows how to access
:46:56. > :47:02.funding. Have you got a view on this? What you think about the big
:47:02. > :47:06.donors losing their tax relief? What is crucial is that in most
:47:06. > :47:09.committees reworking, most people are prepared to do the work for
:47:09. > :47:17.themselves. They can do that in small ways and they can also build
:47:17. > :47:21.up a sense of belonging. We looked at the example in one area where
:47:21. > :47:25.people have put money in themselves. They have put money in themselves
:47:25. > :47:29.to us all some of the issues. There they hold a lottery every month and
:47:29. > :47:34.the raise funds and the use those funds to develop work. They have
:47:34. > :47:37.also developed a small business there and they generate income. So
:47:37. > :47:41.there is a sense of power right in the heart of the community and that
:47:41. > :47:44.is important for us. Thank you very much indeed for coming in.
:47:44. > :47:54.Time now to take a look at some of the other political stories making
:47:54. > :48:01.the headlines this week. We have done it in just 60 seconds.
:48:01. > :48:07.It was the shock defeat of the 1992 General Election. This is a moment
:48:07. > :48:15.the Lib Dem MP beat the then Conservative Chris Patten. He
:48:15. > :48:19.celebrated 20 years as an MP this week. Prisoners have been asked to
:48:19. > :48:23.be given the right to vote. Involving offenders and anything
:48:23. > :48:27.they can be possibly means they are represented and there for the
:48:27. > :48:32.country it is focused on addressing the needs of offenders and reducing
:48:32. > :48:37.offending in the future. This Post Office will stay open thanks to a
:48:38. > :48:46.new rural communities fund. It is in Somerset. Other villagers are
:48:46. > :48:56.being encouraged to vote -- apply for money. There is a competition
:48:56. > :49:00.
:49:00. > :49:08.to find the green city of Europe. Another busy week. Let's pick up on
:49:08. > :49:18.one of those stories. Prisoner should have the right to vote. Is
:49:18. > :49:18.
:49:18. > :49:24.that Lib Dem policy? It is. Most prisoners are in for a short period
:49:24. > :49:31.of time. I have three prisons in my area. When we go inside a prison
:49:31. > :49:36.Smidt, if we all have an interest that of how prisons work. We could
:49:36. > :49:41.have a brighter at the prison system. Do you say yourself going
:49:41. > :49:48.around a prison saying, vote for me? If they had the right to vote,
:49:48. > :49:53.I would have no problem done that. Most importantly, it should be
:49:53. > :50:00.decided by the UK Parliament, not by an overseas court. But the
:50:01. > :50:05.argument is that they have been removed from society and therefore
:50:05. > :50:11.that means you are excluded for some time. Our prison system does
:50:11. > :50:18.not work. Reoffending rates are high. Politicians do not engage
:50:18. > :50:25.what goes on inside a prison is as much as they should. They would not