:01:32. > :01:42.In Yorkshire: We will -- investigate why the number of
:01:42. > :01:43.
:01:43. > :37:29.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2146 seconds
:37:29. > :37:32.children in care has risen to You're watching the Sunday Politics
:37:32. > :37:36.Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Coming up: We investigate why the number
:37:36. > :37:41.of children in care is at record level as across Yorkshire.
:37:41. > :37:44.Plus, we will be looking at the controversial use of unmanned drone
:37:45. > :37:51.aircraft, which will soon be controlled from a Lincolnshire
:37:51. > :37:55.airbase. Her guests are Kris Hopkins, the
:37:55. > :38:01.Tory MP for Keith Lee, the Diana Johnson Labour MP for Hull North.
:38:01. > :38:04.What has been a highlight of the week for you? It was Prime
:38:04. > :38:09.Minister's Question Time, when Ed Miliband expose that the cuts the
:38:09. > :38:15.Government are going to make to benefits will affect 60% of people
:38:15. > :38:19.in work. So, the people who get tax credits for women on maternity
:38:19. > :38:26.leave. That was the highlight for me. Exposing what the Government
:38:26. > :38:30.are doing. What has caught your eye, Kris Hopkins? The biggest fall in
:38:30. > :38:35.unemployment in over a decade, 2001 was the last time that more than
:38:35. > :38:41.82,000 people were back in employment. That is fantastic.
:38:41. > :38:44.First, figures obtained by the Sunday Politics Yorkshire and
:38:44. > :38:49.Lincolnshire reveal that there are more children in care across the
:38:49. > :38:55.region than ever before. We have discovered an average increase in
:38:55. > :38:58.15% over the past five years. One senior social worker has told us
:38:58. > :39:04.staff are under too much pressure because of so many high-profile
:39:04. > :39:10.cases where they got it wrong in the past. James Vincent has the
:39:10. > :39:17.support. Departments are stretched and
:39:17. > :39:24.social workers are stressed. There is a fear culture. Will be be the
:39:24. > :39:28.next Baby P? Baby P died in 2007 after social
:39:28. > :39:33.workers in Haringey failed to detect the severe physical abuse of
:39:33. > :39:38.the 17 month-old child. Two years later, at Edlington, two boys under
:39:38. > :39:43.supervision by soap -- social workers tortured and left for dead
:39:43. > :39:51.two other children. The fear of getting it wrong again is putting
:39:51. > :39:57.pressure on the people keeping children say.
:39:57. > :40:01.There are now 1,000 more children in care in Yorkshire, with the
:40:01. > :40:04.biggest rises in could Cleese, your car and called a deal. Is this down
:40:04. > :40:10.to the pressure on social workers or the fear of becoming the next
:40:10. > :40:15.Baby P? Or is it just that more children need to be looked after?
:40:15. > :40:24.We're being told it is all three. The first thing is, how do I keep
:40:24. > :40:29.the child alive? What job have I got to do to keep this child alive?
:40:29. > :40:34.And identify where the danger is, and the danger is very often from
:40:34. > :40:37.the parents, from those known to the children. Prisca version by
:40:37. > :40:43.local authorities after the Baby P Case played a part. But there have
:40:43. > :40:46.also been reduced in cases more rigorously, so children who have
:40:46. > :40:50.been drifting in neglect for situated -- neglectful situations
:40:50. > :40:54.for years are being helped more quickly. That has increased the
:40:54. > :40:58.number of cases social workers are looking at. We spoke to one of them
:40:58. > :41:03.who did not want herself for counsel to be identified, so words
:41:03. > :41:07.are being spoken by an actor. She laid bare the challenges of
:41:07. > :41:13.child protection in Yorkshire. Experience social workers can hold
:41:13. > :41:18.30 plus complex cases. You absolutely double all the time. If
:41:18. > :41:22.I am truthful about this, it is extremely busy. It have a very
:41:22. > :41:28.pressurised environment. Social workers are so overworked there is
:41:28. > :41:32.often only cause to respond to crisis. It is a crisis response led
:41:32. > :41:37.service at the moment. The pressure is immense. The biggest rise in
:41:37. > :41:40.care has come in the town that has had the most scrutiny over his
:41:40. > :41:44.children services over the past couple of years, Doncaster. The
:41:44. > :41:51.number of children in care has risen by 16% and it is costing them
:41:51. > :41:55.money. Doncaster council's children services department has overspent
:41:55. > :42:00.by �8 million this year alone. are striving to get better value
:42:00. > :42:03.for money. We have had too many children in residential placements
:42:04. > :42:07.and out of but. We believe generally the best place for
:42:07. > :42:13.children is in a family environment. We have to reduce the caseload, it
:42:13. > :42:18.is an issue in Doncaster. We have too many social workers that have
:42:18. > :42:23.high caseloads. We're going to invest in recruiting more social
:42:23. > :42:27.workers. All councils would say the welfare of the child is the most
:42:27. > :42:32.important thing, not how much it cost. But some social workers think
:42:32. > :42:36.the money can be a factor. Particularly if you are looking at
:42:36. > :42:43.me in a child into residential care, that is a very expensive package of
:42:43. > :42:47.care. It is not just about the cost, but the cost is significant. Most
:42:47. > :42:50.councils are struggling to recruit social workers, and pressures
:42:50. > :42:56.continue there is a worry that fewer people will want to carry on
:42:56. > :43:02.in the job. James Vincent with a report. Diana
:43:02. > :43:06.Johnson, how do you explain this huge rise in the number of care in
:43:06. > :43:10.recent years? In your package it was identified there is a number of
:43:10. > :43:14.reasons. Perhaps now social workers want to make sure that they are
:43:14. > :43:18.doing everything to protect a child if they feel they are at risk.
:43:18. > :43:21.Perhaps they are taking more children into care. I want to pay
:43:21. > :43:25.tribute to the work of the social workers because we ask them to do a
:43:25. > :43:32.difficult job, and often we do not know about the good work they do,
:43:32. > :43:35.only when things go wrong. My big concern about all of this is local
:43:35. > :43:39.authorities been under enormous pressure with the funding cuts from
:43:39. > :43:44.central government, and ultimately that means social workers and
:43:44. > :43:47.children, and what we asked -- what we are asking so sure workers to do
:43:47. > :43:53.is at risk. Are you happy that the local authorities have the budget
:43:53. > :43:58.to deal with these growing number of cases? I agree with what has
:43:58. > :44:08.been said for starters. The key thing is that the public demand
:44:08. > :44:08.
:44:08. > :44:10.that the children are cared for and looked after. I have to say, that
:44:10. > :44:15.being the Chair of Social Services in Bradford, I have got massive
:44:15. > :44:19.admiration for those people who worked extremely hard. This is not
:44:19. > :44:23.a job, it is a vocation. It is not about the money, it is about people
:44:23. > :44:26.genuinely caring and wanting to do the best. It is up to councils to
:44:27. > :44:31.make this a priority. There will be other things they can make choices
:44:31. > :44:35.about not spending money on, and if they believe that the care of those
:44:35. > :44:40.children is at risk because of lack of resources, they need to make
:44:40. > :44:45.those leadership choice is. Social workers say they are juggling up to
:44:45. > :44:51.30 cases at any time. That is a real problem. It is. I do not think
:44:51. > :44:56.it is new. There have been a number of key cases which has a greater
:44:56. > :45:01.burden on social services. There is a massive issue about recruitment,
:45:01. > :45:08.training and attention for councils as well, which need to be looked at
:45:08. > :45:14.and how it is promoted. The key thing about it for me is that there
:45:14. > :45:20.are going to make choices. In the case of Bradford, they have half a
:45:20. > :45:24.billion pounds spent their on a whole range of services. That is up
:45:24. > :45:29.to the chief executives to make the right call about the resources to.
:45:29. > :45:35.I do not think that you can completely say it is down to local
:45:36. > :45:38.authorities. In my own counsel, we are facing �163.50 per head cuts in
:45:38. > :45:46.the Budget this year. If you compare that to somewhere like West
:45:46. > :45:49.Dorset, they are about �2 per head cut. The money that is available to
:45:49. > :45:55.local councils, that is a real issue for government and the
:45:55. > :46:00.Conservatives and Liberal Democrat. They're making hour bid
:46:00. > :46:04.announcement on council funding. Yes, if you compare North and South
:46:04. > :46:09.Yorkshire, there would be other variations. I think the thing for
:46:09. > :46:14.me is that, in Bradford, we recognised it was costing �4,000 a
:46:14. > :46:18.week to have a child looked after in care, and we had to send an
:46:18. > :46:21.outside the district, so be invested in five new children's
:46:22. > :46:26.homes, making sure we got promotion -- provision to look after those
:46:26. > :46:32.children. That is not the ideal solution but it is important that
:46:32. > :46:38.you invest capital and resources long-term, not just knee-jerk
:46:38. > :46:44.response is. You need to be invested and supporting parents
:46:45. > :46:53.early on. That is not happening. Let us move on, because we are told
:46:53. > :46:57.they play an important role in the so-called War on Terror, but the
:46:57. > :47:07.use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, is coming under scrutiny
:47:07. > :47:11.
:47:12. > :47:16.To the west there are -- there are provisions remained used to cut out
:47:16. > :47:21.the cancer of extremism, to others their indiscriminate and illegal.
:47:21. > :47:25.Now the British courts are being asked if those operating unmanned
:47:25. > :47:31.drones are complicit in the murder of innocents.
:47:31. > :47:36.When you have over 100, possibly 150 children who have died, the
:47:36. > :47:40.argument falls apart. -- the argument falls apart that those
:47:41. > :47:44.killed are militant. There used by the US and the UK to
:47:44. > :47:51.strike targets in countries like Pakistan. To the increasing anger
:47:51. > :47:54.of many, they say civilians are being killed. Papers filed with the
:47:54. > :48:00.High Court in London claimed that the British intelligence services
:48:00. > :48:04.could be complicit in what opponents say as murder. This
:48:04. > :48:08.Bradford-based solicitor is involved in the anti drone campaign.
:48:08. > :48:12.The long-term aim has to be to hold the government to account if
:48:12. > :48:19.civilians are killed overseas. It is only fair and it is only right
:48:19. > :48:24.and more will that those people have some sort of access to justice.
:48:24. > :48:26.Otherwise we have a system where we have children, and women killed in
:48:26. > :48:35.another part of the world due to the action of civilians in this
:48:35. > :48:42.country, and there is no accountability.
:48:42. > :48:49.Men with help in Yorkshire, one of the largest spy bases. There is
:48:49. > :48:56.evidence the base uses its use cheap eavesdropping capacity -- its
:48:56. > :49:01.future eavesdropping capacity and then deploy his drawings. This is
:49:01. > :49:06.home to a new squadron which will soon be operating drones abroad.
:49:06. > :49:10.Personnel working here will be the first drawn operators based in the
:49:10. > :49:16.UK. The new legal challenge centres on whether intelligence gathered in
:49:16. > :49:23.the UK was passed to the US, which then used it to plan and drawn
:49:23. > :49:26.attack in Pakistan, in which civilians were killed. Neither
:49:26. > :49:33.unitard involved in the case but there are those who say that they
:49:33. > :49:38.could be impacted by the outcome. The impact on the staff here and at
:49:38. > :49:41.Waddington, who will be remotely controlling British Joan -- British
:49:41. > :49:48.drones in Afghanistan issued because it deals with the moral and
:49:48. > :49:58.ethical implications of whether the strikes can be justified and what
:49:58. > :50:01.process we can have to ensure that war crimes are not being committed.
:50:01. > :50:06.There is public and political pressure on the US and UK
:50:06. > :50:13.governments over the use of drones. Earlier this year members of the
:50:13. > :50:19.Pakistani community in Bradford marched against them. The United
:50:19. > :50:24.Nations is going to exam in their use.
:50:24. > :50:34.There are those who say that drones keep a safe at night. I hear the
:50:34. > :50:35.
:50:35. > :50:39.argument that civilian loss of life is unacceptable, but that is a fact.
:50:39. > :50:45.You cannot change that. If we were doing this 20 years ago, to get to
:50:45. > :50:49.the same people mean enough harm, he would have had far less waste to
:50:49. > :50:55.do it, so it would have been more in terms of loss of life.
:50:55. > :50:59.Drones have become a symbol of moral questions raised by a warfare,
:50:59. > :51:05.questions over whether the collateral damage as murder or
:51:05. > :51:12.whether sometimes the end justifies the means.
:51:12. > :51:21.Chris, can you understand why many people in Bradford and he's late R
:51:21. > :51:24.Anglian -- angry about the dawn attack? -- the drone attacks?
:51:24. > :51:31.has issued a bout of misinformation about what is going on. There are
:51:31. > :51:40.no deployments of unmanned vehicles outside the Afghan theatre. They
:51:40. > :51:44.are all in Afghanistan, none in Pakistan. That is a fact. There are
:51:44. > :51:50.two different types. One vehicle excise surveillance and trips on
:51:50. > :51:57.the ground, and another one can deploy weapons. There are something
:51:57. > :52:01.like 360 deployments of munitions on to specific targets which were a
:52:01. > :52:05.threat to our allies and forces of which there has only been one event
:52:05. > :52:11.in which civilians were injured. That is when a vehicle full of high
:52:11. > :52:16.explosives was hit, and two insurgents were killed, and four
:52:17. > :52:20.other individuals were killed. That is very sad, but the idea that 150
:52:20. > :52:25.children have been killed by British forces, that they are out
:52:25. > :52:28.of control,... Some would say the American forces and British
:52:28. > :52:34.intelligence officers being complacent. There are claims of
:52:34. > :52:38.that but there is no evidence. I have as robust questions of the
:52:38. > :52:43.ministers I serve, and I have no evidence. Diana Johnson, does it
:52:43. > :52:51.bother you that six times as many drawn attacks have been launched by
:52:51. > :52:55.President Obama and President Bush? President Obama takes the view that
:52:55. > :52:58.he is in a state of conflict with Al-Qaeda, and as I understand it in
:52:58. > :53:02.northern Pakistan where the drawn attacks have taken place is where
:53:02. > :53:12.the intelligence led him to believe that Al-Qaeda are operating and
:53:12. > :53:15.training, and more importantly, are getting prepared to come to the
:53:15. > :53:18.streets in this country to cause terrorist attacks. I agree with
:53:18. > :53:23.what Chris said about loss of civilian life which is something
:53:23. > :53:29.that we all did read. I know the military do their very best to
:53:29. > :53:32.ensure that their attacks are pinpointed and they use the best
:53:32. > :53:39.intelligence they can. It is incredibly sad when civilians lose
:53:39. > :53:44.their lives. Human rights lawyer say that military personnel should
:53:44. > :53:50.be held to account for what has been happening in Pakistan. Do you
:53:50. > :53:55.fear that we could get RAF personnel in court? There is no
:53:55. > :54:01.deployment of British forces outside of the Afghan theatre.
:54:01. > :54:06.Every single officer out there, they have to comply with the Geneva
:54:06. > :54:09.Convention. There is a lawyer present on every single based which
:54:09. > :54:15.can be called in, so if there is any question about the targets,
:54:15. > :54:20.they get past for advice. I am very confident we are doing the right
:54:20. > :54:26.thing, saving British lives on supporting allies. Let us get more
:54:26. > :54:36.of the political news. Len Tingle has the round-up and 60 seconds.
:54:36. > :54:38.
:54:38. > :54:41.Yorkshire is the Tour de France winner. It will start here in 2014,
:54:41. > :54:46.and Yorkshire tourism bosses say hundreds of thousands of fans will
:54:46. > :54:49.come to watch it. It is a great boost to the economy at this stage.
:54:49. > :54:56.It will be where it -- very well can.
:54:56. > :55:00.Controversially, our own government sports minister back Scotland to
:55:00. > :55:04.win it. Humberside's new police
:55:04. > :55:09.commissioner appoints fellow Conservative councillor as his
:55:09. > :55:12.�45,000 a year deputy. Lincolnshire County Council has
:55:12. > :55:17.become the first local authority to call for a referendum on Britain's
:55:17. > :55:20.membership than the EU. They called on the Prime Minister to hold it in
:55:20. > :55:27.24 team. Threatened legal action has started
:55:27. > :55:30.in a hikes -- the High Court over last summer's GCSEs. The council
:55:30. > :55:36.says the examination board unfairly demanded higher marks for the
:55:36. > :55:40.grades awarded. Diana, in your shadow Police
:55:40. > :55:44.Minister role, I should ask you about cronyism involving police
:55:44. > :55:48.commissioners. If John Prescott had won the election in Humberside, he
:55:49. > :55:51.would have to have appointed a deputy. I do not know who he would
:55:52. > :56:00.have appointed, but he would have had a good choice of people he
:56:00. > :56:03.could have appointed. So it would have been balanced if it was a
:56:03. > :56:06.politician and someone with practical police knowledge, but
:56:06. > :56:11.Humberside has got two local authority councillors from the same
:56:11. > :56:16.local authority, two white men. It might have been better to have a
:56:16. > :56:23.balanced ticket, perhaps someone from the south of the Humber,
:56:23. > :56:29.summoned with policing experience, or working with victims. It is very
:56:29. > :56:31.strange, two local council this. Do you worry about the spiralling
:56:31. > :56:39.costs of Police and Crime Commissioners? They have got
:56:39. > :56:48.officers, deputies and all the trimmings that go with it.
:56:48. > :56:53.might have to come to terms with a lap -- the fact you lost. You put
:56:53. > :56:58.your best man up but he lost. did when first past the post, which
:56:58. > :57:06.is what most people accept is the usual way we win elections.
:57:06. > :57:10.Great news that the Tour de France is coming to Yorkshire in 2014.
:57:10. > :57:14.Have you heard that the Sports Minister backed the Scottish bid?
:57:14. > :57:20.did not know that, it is a great part of the Union, but after a
:57:20. > :57:24.great summer of sport, the idea we have more to come, and in Yorkshire
:57:24. > :57:29.we will have some of the most amazing individuals, and clean
:57:29. > :57:34.cycling. Hopefully Mr Williams will -- Bradley Wiggins will be out
:57:34. > :57:38.winning for us again. When we had the Olympic torch coming through
:57:38. > :57:43.the county, that was great. But also, I think we need to have
:57:43. > :57:47.things like the Green Investment Bank. Why is that not in Yorkshire?
:57:47. > :57:51.That has gone to Edinburgh and London. We should have had a branch
:57:51. > :57:57.of that in the orchard area. Big government departments and
:57:57. > :58:03.organisations to, please. I want to touch and a marriage, which has had
:58:03. > :58:12.a few interesting ripples in Europe party. -- I want to touch on gay
:58:12. > :58:19.marriage. I am a very strong supporter of it. I think it is the
:58:19. > :58:24.right thing to do. Society has moved on, and we need to offer
:58:24. > :58:28.marriage to everyone out there. We have put some safeguards in place
:58:28. > :58:32.proposing the bill, and of course there will be tensions, and some
:58:32. > :58:36.very interesting debates, but it is the right thing to do. Diana, you
:58:36. > :58:43.are confident that your views consistent with your constituents
:58:43. > :58:46.question markets, and I could -- I agree with what Chris has said, if
:58:46. > :58:56.two people want to have a loving relationship, they should be
:58:56. > :58:56.
:58:56. > :59:00.allowed to get married. I am not happy about the Church of England
:59:00. > :59:07.approach, because it was not discussed with the Church of
:59:07. > :59:16.England before that was announced. It is that time of the year again.
:59:16. > :59:18.Can I hear the music? It is the last programme of 2012 so
:59:18. > :59:23.we thought it would be right for you to give us your Christmas
:59:23. > :59:28.message. To my constituents, a very peaceful
:59:29. > :59:32.and prosperous new year, and to the viewers as well. One of your guests
:59:32. > :59:42.can't be here today, we are very sad that George could not join us.
:59:42. > :59:47.George Galloway. If he does not get you, mayor I wish him a very happy
:59:47. > :59:50.Easter! I have some breaking news that the coalition have had to
:59:50. > :59:55.cancel the nativity play this year because they have not been able to
:59:55. > :00:00.find three wise men. Alongside that I want to wish everyone a very
:00:00. > :00:04.Happy Christmas and a great 2013. I would like George Galloway to
:00:04. > :00:10.reflect on the fact that he won the award of sexist of the year, so
:00:10. > :00:15.perhaps we will talk about that next time. He was washing his hair