:01:33. > :01:39.Coming up in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire: We find out why some
:01:39. > :01:49.of our local councils say they can negotiate cheaper energy bills on
:01:49. > :01:49.
:01:49. > :37:36.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2147 seconds
:37:36. > :37:42.Hello. You are watching the Sunday Politics for Yorkshire,
:37:42. > :37:48.Lincolnshire and the North Midlands. Coming up today: Could we soon see
:37:48. > :37:57.p end to rip off energy bills. Our local councils say they can
:37:57. > :38:01.negotiate cheaper gas and electricity prices on our behalf
:38:01. > :38:05.Phil stop --. Also, we investigate why the number of people IN work is
:38:05. > :38:13.at a record high in our part of the world, yet unemployment is still
:38:13. > :38:19.rising. We are going to be taking the temperature of the regional
:38:19. > :38:25.economy today. The you accept that there is some positive news coming
:38:25. > :38:29.through on the economy? We have been in the heart of these
:38:29. > :38:35.difficulties for nearly five years and I think at some point things
:38:35. > :38:41.will start to get better. There are some positive signs and some not so
:38:41. > :38:46.good. What we are seeing is that far too little is being done. It is
:38:46. > :38:52.the longest recovery ever from a recession already. People have been
:38:52. > :38:56.able to tighten their belts for sure for six months or 12 months
:38:56. > :39:01.but after five years people are not able to cut much more. We
:39:01. > :39:05.desperately hope things will get better but our view is that the
:39:05. > :39:11.Government are not doing nearly enough. Still more austerity to
:39:11. > :39:14.come? When I am talking to people, particularly businesses come up
:39:14. > :39:20.what they do not want is people talking down the economy and the
:39:20. > :39:25.region. We have to be positive about the opportunities. We are
:39:25. > :39:31.still in the economic crisis that was left by the last Government. If
:39:31. > :39:36.you look at the figures, there are 92,000 more people in work than
:39:36. > :39:41.this time last year. We are told there are now more people with jobs
:39:41. > :39:48.in the Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire than at any time since
:39:48. > :39:51.records began. And the number working for private companies is
:39:51. > :39:54.increasing more than in the public sector. That might come as a
:39:54. > :39:57.surprise to many of us, because we are still being told the economy is
:39:57. > :40:00.in the doldrums and the latest unemployment figures show the dole
:40:00. > :40:10.queues are still growing. Len Tingle has been looking at the
:40:10. > :40:14.
:40:14. > :40:19.conflicting evidence coming out of the job market. Things are on the
:40:19. > :40:28.up for this manufacturer of steel components for the oil industry.
:40:28. > :40:38.All these component parts are transported to clients throughout
:40:38. > :40:41.
:40:41. > :40:44.the world. It has expanded its component staff numbers do 120.
:40:44. > :40:51.challenge is finding enough skilled people to fill the posts we are
:40:51. > :40:56.going to be creating. This man is one they have found, 22 years'
:40:56. > :41:01.experience but being made redundant by his previous employer was still
:41:01. > :41:07.a real worry. I have got five children. I was concerned I would
:41:07. > :41:12.not be able to find a job quicker enough. This company is not alone
:41:12. > :41:22.in taking on workers. Latest Government figures show the number
:41:22. > :41:23.
:41:23. > :41:30.of people in work in this region by it last spring was 2.4 3 million.
:41:30. > :41:38.That had gone up to 2.5 one million by this year. It has not made a
:41:38. > :41:43.dent in those unemployed however. There are an additional 9,000 out
:41:43. > :41:49.of work between last year and this year in the same quarter. Where
:41:49. > :41:54.there has been expansion it has taken all the qualified people. It
:41:54. > :42:01.will take a number of years to get young people especially trained in
:42:01. > :42:06.be areas where there has been a sustained demand for jobs. This is
:42:06. > :42:15.a support unit for those looking for jobs. 800 have found work but
:42:15. > :42:20.that is still or only two out of every five who come here. If the
:42:20. > :42:25.Government say there are not enough jobs here, that is right in
:42:25. > :42:30.Barnsley. They are like gold dust. There is not a lot of work out
:42:30. > :42:35.there. Looking on the job sides there is nothing there at all.
:42:35. > :42:40.have applied between six and nine per week and I have got knocked
:42:40. > :42:44.back for Lord's. I do not think there is enough for everybody.
:42:44. > :42:48.There are concerns over why there are statistically more jobs but the
:42:48. > :42:54.dole queues are still growing. there are more jobs around that is
:42:54. > :42:58.very pleasing for the economy and the people who live here. Our
:42:58. > :43:02.figures that may have research is slightly different. A lot of people
:43:02. > :43:10.are working under the hours that they want. A lot of people are
:43:10. > :43:14.working casual and part-time and even at 0 hours contracts. 16 to 24
:43:14. > :43:19.year-olds are bearing the brunt of the recession. Even with the well-
:43:19. > :43:23.earned success being demonstrated on shop floors like this one in
:43:23. > :43:31.Sheffield, there are significant M Wood sent to the jobless figures
:43:31. > :43:34.but it is likely to take years rather than months. You are the
:43:34. > :43:38.shadow minister for small business. Surely you expect it is a good
:43:38. > :43:44.thing that more new jobs are now being treated in the private sector
:43:44. > :43:49.than the public sector? It is the rate of course. A huge increase in
:43:49. > :43:54.private sector employment and new businesses being created is what we
:43:54. > :43:58.want but what we are seeing at the moment when you get down into those
:43:58. > :44:02.figures is a huge increase in part- time working, a massive increase in
:44:02. > :44:07.the number of people who are in work but falling into poverty. Lots
:44:07. > :44:13.of people who are working but working much less hours than they
:44:13. > :44:17.need. The picture is a very difficult one. The real tragedy is
:44:17. > :44:22.that this has gone on for a year after year. It is the slowest
:44:22. > :44:26.recovery ever from a recession. The scale of the challenge that the
:44:26. > :44:35.country faces was not nearly met by the measures put forward in the
:44:35. > :44:41.Queen's speech. Record numbers of huge new jobs are being created but
:44:41. > :44:45.how do you square the circle? I think we went agree is that we
:44:45. > :44:51.are still in a difficult economic situation. That is inevitable
:44:51. > :44:56.continuing the scale of the problem that was left do this Government by
:44:56. > :45:00.the last Labour Government. We have to focus on making every person,
:45:00. > :45:05.and there are people we heard in that last piece to a in difficult
:45:05. > :45:09.situations. Rather than politicians simply talking about things
:45:09. > :45:14.nationally and even regionally, every person is important. We want
:45:14. > :45:18.to get all those people into work. We have to accept that the
:45:18. > :45:21.coalition Government is getting it right through youth employment. It
:45:21. > :45:27.is not just temporary and part-time jobs but people with real skills
:45:28. > :45:30.who will have couriers for life. The figures nationally as well as
:45:30. > :45:36.regionally sure that youth unemployment is going down. That is
:45:36. > :45:40.very positive. Of course the Government is also investing in
:45:40. > :45:44.infrastructure, in real, something that at the time of the last
:45:44. > :45:48.economic boom that the last Government should have done and
:45:48. > :45:52.failed to do. Those are building blocks, they do not happen
:45:52. > :45:57.overnight, these things will happen and should have happened a long
:45:57. > :46:00.time ago. Is that a fair point being made? The Government
:46:00. > :46:07.investing in apprenticeships and infrastructure, what more could
:46:07. > :46:10.they be doing? It is a ludicrous point. Even Nick Clegg has admitted
:46:10. > :46:14.that the Government when the initially came in made far too many
:46:14. > :46:21.cuts to infrastructure. All these sorts of things like regional
:46:21. > :46:27.development agencies shutting down. What we should have had his back
:46:27. > :46:32.job for growth. The entire world had been in recession. These steps
:46:32. > :46:35.this Government took following George Osborne's advice, it has
:46:35. > :46:43.dampened down the demand and led to three years of a very static
:46:43. > :46:47.economy. Now we are seeing that the Tories and the Lib Dems decided to
:46:47. > :46:51.go in with the Conservatives has actually fallen apart so then we
:46:51. > :46:55.face at Queen's speech, the Lib Dems not letting the Tories do what
:46:55. > :47:01.they want to do, it is hard to see what the sense of purpose is for
:47:01. > :47:05.this Government. How worried were you by the comments made that
:47:05. > :47:11.people do not have the skills needed for many of these new job
:47:11. > :47:16.opportunities? The skills gap was one of the biggest failures of the
:47:16. > :47:22.last Labour Government. I would rather be blunt and tell it how it
:47:22. > :47:32.is. The simple reality is that we had a Labour Government for 30
:47:32. > :47:34.
:47:34. > :47:39.years which relied on the Square Mile with in the city of London
:47:39. > :47:45.will stop. This Government will put more investment into the always
:47:45. > :47:49.than this last Government did in 30 years. It is a priority. We also
:47:49. > :47:53.have to remember there are people who are finding it tough, all the
:47:53. > :47:58.workers, particularly those finding it tough, they want extra help.
:47:58. > :48:04.That is more difficult. The investment infrastructure is
:48:04. > :48:10.happening. It did not happen under Labour. Why are you supporting
:48:10. > :48:15.bigger rises in welfare payments? We are not. If there have been
:48:15. > :48:20.significant cuts to welfare. If you are on �66 per week you cannot
:48:20. > :48:25.afford to just tighten your belt and find it easy to come out. You
:48:25. > :48:30.are in poverty already. The Government are saying you are in
:48:30. > :48:33.poverty already and we are going to make you poorer. Could cheaper gas
:48:33. > :48:35.and electricity bills be on the way courtesy of your local council?
:48:35. > :48:37.Some local authorities in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire say they've
:48:37. > :48:41.negotiated cheaper deals with the big energy suppliers, with the
:48:41. > :48:44.savings passed on to thousands of households. The government believes
:48:44. > :48:54.more town halls should be promoting energy-switching schemes. Nick
:48:54. > :48:57.
:48:57. > :49:03.Morris has the full story. Whenever it was time to pay de energy bill
:49:03. > :49:13.this woman used to dread what would land on her doormat. Nowadays she
:49:13. > :49:16.
:49:16. > :49:20.is one of 6.5000 people switched up to a local scheme. The idea is to
:49:20. > :49:26.make energy companies compete for our business instead of us handing
:49:26. > :49:30.it to them on a plate. It is a concern that it is going up and up
:49:30. > :49:34.every month it seems. The other concern is that we seem to have
:49:34. > :49:40.longer winters so you are having to have your heating and lighting on
:49:40. > :49:46.for periods of time. My specific savings are going to be �106 per
:49:46. > :49:50.year. Energy companies must take you? They probably do but we are
:49:50. > :49:55.here and we want a better deal for our energy so they have got to take
:49:55. > :50:00.notice of us now. Local authorities are also using the same group
:50:01. > :50:04.buying system to get energy companies competing. East Riding of
:50:04. > :50:10.Yorkshire council says it has been overwhelmed by interest. Thousands
:50:10. > :50:14.of people say the one the local authority to organise a 12 month
:50:15. > :50:19.fixed price for local gas and electricity supplies. We have been
:50:19. > :50:24.taken aback by how many people signed up for this scheme.
:50:24. > :50:32.Somewhere in the region of 15,000 households, one in 10 for the East
:50:32. > :50:36.Riding area. Over in Leeds the scheme is a lean and mean operation.
:50:36. > :50:42.Or only to people in this office are actually employed by the
:50:42. > :50:50.company. The idea is minimum input, maximum power. By helping those who
:50:50. > :50:55.are elderly, and vulnerable we are helping the as consumers become
:50:55. > :51:02.more empowered. Is it too soon to start casting off those extra
:51:02. > :51:05.Willie jumpers? Some customers have actually received higher bills.
:51:05. > :51:09.that is the first time you have ever switched you might well see
:51:09. > :51:14.some significant benefit but if you have been switching before you
:51:14. > :51:18.might well have already got that benefit so I think that is one
:51:18. > :51:28.point that people need to have a think about. East Riding of
:51:28. > :51:31.
:51:31. > :51:38.Yorkshire has become the place for local authorities to see the price
:51:38. > :51:42.will stop. Can people genuinely save money by switching suppliers?
:51:42. > :51:48.People say that a few months down the line they are paying full price
:51:48. > :51:58.for their gas and electricity again. What is positive is this selective
:51:58. > :52:04.
:52:04. > :52:08.switching idea. I pay credit to councils of all colours. They are
:52:08. > :52:13.all putting these schemes into place. It is a great way of using
:52:13. > :52:16.their ability to get more bang for your buck, to give consumers a
:52:17. > :52:21.better deal. That has been an issue that is quite rightly being
:52:21. > :52:26.addressed. A many people, particularly the elderly are not in
:52:26. > :52:32.a position to switch supplies, they might not have broadband access or
:52:32. > :52:36.whatever, do you think the market really works? Not at all. We have a
:52:36. > :52:40.three-step plan to radically change the energy market. People are sick
:52:40. > :52:44.and tired at a time they feel ripped off that there is a record
:52:44. > :52:49.low number of people switching because they have no faith in the
:52:49. > :52:53.market. What should they be doing? Well this link between people would
:52:53. > :52:58.generate the electricity and sell it to us has led to a very opaque
:52:58. > :53:01.system. We are calling for the electricity generating companies to
:53:01. > :53:07.pool all their resources and put that on the market to encourage
:53:07. > :53:14.more people onto the market and create proper competition. That is
:53:14. > :53:18.what we were promised when these were privatised. Also to guarantee
:53:18. > :53:24.anyone over the age of 75 that they will be on the very best tariff.
:53:24. > :53:28.That will be real change. It is a welcome initiative but it is
:53:28. > :53:33.scratching on the surface. It is the responsibility of local
:53:33. > :53:36.Government to have taken this far more seriously. David Cameron
:53:36. > :53:45.brought in legislation that energy companies have to provide the
:53:45. > :53:48.cheapest tariff for consumers, do think that is possible? He failed
:53:48. > :53:52.to say that the energy bill is going through Parliament to ensure
:53:52. > :53:58.that consumers are getting a better deal. This is the biggest concern
:53:58. > :54:01.longer term, that we have a sustainable energy supply that the
:54:01. > :54:11.last Labour Government did virtually nothing about. We need to
:54:11. > :54:12.
:54:12. > :54:17.except we do not have a supply. We need more renewables. Wind energy
:54:17. > :54:26.is expensive. That is why the energy bills as Amex of energy
:54:26. > :54:32.which is absolutely essential. -- app next. It is disingenuous to say
:54:32. > :54:37.that renewable means wind farms. We need a clearer but more secure
:54:37. > :54:42.energy supply. We are reliant on some pretty unsavoury regimes
:54:42. > :54:49.around the world. Labour have done nothing in 13 years to tackle the
:54:49. > :54:54.energy crisis. You will not do so by causing higher bills for poorer
:54:54. > :54:59.people. The contingency was keeping the power on in your years of power.
:54:59. > :55:04.The answer to a here is that Labour should have done this in 13 years,
:55:04. > :55:13.that is wearing thin now. People are starting to look at this
:55:13. > :55:18.Government. Things are happening now we as Labour did nothing about
:55:18. > :55:24.this. The lights would have gone off. The reality is we need radical
:55:24. > :55:28.change. The energy market is clearly not working. The energy
:55:28. > :55:33.bill is bringing forward. All that will do is if people are on their
:55:33. > :55:42.raids that are no longer offered, they will have to be moved. It does
:55:42. > :55:48.not actually insists you are on the best tariff. The most significant
:55:48. > :55:53.thing is this pooling of egg to split up energy generation and
:55:53. > :56:03.electricity retailing. It will stop when the wholesaling prices go down.
:56:03. > :56:08.
:56:08. > :56:13.We will get more or in the political news in 60 seconds now.
:56:13. > :56:18.There trouble for the Tories as 12 Yorkshire and Lincolnshire MPs were
:56:18. > :56:23.among the rebels who voted against their own Government this week.
:56:24. > :56:29.They say the referendum on Europe is not good enough. If this was
:56:29. > :56:39.such an important issue why are we not having a referendum now?
:56:39. > :56:42.
:56:42. > :56:46.the former TV journalist who became the Police And Crime Commissioner
:56:46. > :56:52.has come under fire for at getting rid of his own chief constable.
:56:52. > :56:58.Frankly it was a mess. Now no replacement of the deal between
:56:58. > :57:00.Government and insurers to provide affordable cover for businesses in
:57:00. > :57:05.Flood Risk area is. Now the Association of British Insurers
:57:05. > :57:11.says it will keep it running on an extra month to allow more time to
:57:11. > :57:15.reach an agreement. Do you think we will eventually seek this much-
:57:15. > :57:20.needed deal between the insurance companies and the Government to
:57:20. > :57:27.make sure that flood hit residents are going to be insured? Yes,
:57:27. > :57:37.absolutely. It is frustrating it is taking the time it is. A deal will
:57:37. > :57:42.be reached. If not, there will be questions. Let's hope it can be
:57:42. > :57:47.reached. On the subject of flooding, prevention is better than cure.
:57:47. > :57:51.That is why I was delighted to be part of a cross-party campaign of
:57:52. > :57:56.MPs in Leeds to push for flood defences. Now we have had an
:57:56. > :58:04.announcement that the Government will spend considerable amounts of
:58:04. > :58:11.money to give the public in Leeds city centre better protection.
:58:11. > :58:14.had serious floods in Chesterfield in 2007, in Brampton, I am already
:58:14. > :58:18.confronted by people who feel that their houses are basically
:58:18. > :58:24.unsaleable because new people coming in will not be able to get
:58:24. > :58:29.insurance. It is really important we get this deal. I am not entirely
:58:29. > :58:32.sure how we can do that but it needs to be negotiated. We had a
:58:32. > :58:38.deal in place with the previous Government. We had to make sure
:58:38. > :58:42.this Government can get a deal that really protects those people.
:58:42. > :58:46.the time we have left, you're two parties are the only two parties at
:58:46. > :58:52.Westminster going into the next election, not promising a
:58:52. > :58:56.referendum on the EU, is that a vote winner? That is not true. The
:58:56. > :59:01.Lib Dem position and this became the current Government policy is
:59:01. > :59:06.that if there is any new treaty in Europe that has any transfer of
:59:06. > :59:13.powers, there will be a referendum. That is now enshrined. That was the
:59:13. > :59:18.Lisbon Treaty and it never happened. That is enshrined in law. Of course
:59:18. > :59:22.there will be a referendum at some stage. It should not be now, I know
:59:22. > :59:27.that some Conservatives think that, what you have seen is the majority
:59:27. > :59:34.of the Houses of Commons up to the interest of the economy first. I
:59:34. > :59:39.would welcome that at the right time. That time is not now. Will Ed
:59:39. > :59:44.Miliband changed his mind and offer a referendum in Labour's manifesto?
:59:45. > :59:50.He will decide on what he decides on. I think setting a date a
:59:50. > :59:53.considerable amount in the future creates tremendous uncertainty for
:59:53. > :00:00.people like the manufacturer we sob previously who relies on those
:00:00. > :00:04.exports. We need some real certainty. David Cameron has
:00:04. > :00:10.created uncertainty with the policy he has got and now his party is not
:00:10. > :00:16.happy. Euro-sceptics will never be happy. And I want to check, have