:00:25. > :00:28.In the East Midlands: A Tory leader attacks councils for diverting
:00:28. > :00:31.Government money meant for housing. And the lawyer who's taking the
:00:31. > :00:41.Government to court over its decision to halve what consumers
:00:41. > :00:41.
:00:41. > :32:26.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1905 seconds
:32:26. > :32:27.are paid for selling renewable Welcome to the part of the
:32:27. > :32:30.Welcome to the part of the programme especially for everyone
:32:30. > :32:33.here in the East Midlands. And we've got value for money very much
:32:33. > :32:36.in mind. We report on the growing campaign against the Government's
:32:36. > :32:39.plans to halve what consumers get for selling renewable energy to the
:32:39. > :32:42.grid. Mandy Nunn isn't impressed. We can reveal that a Derbyshire
:32:42. > :32:45.lawyer is preparing to take the Coalition to court over the issue.
:32:45. > :32:47.Plus: You'd think the Government's new homes bonus was meant to be
:32:47. > :32:50.spent on housing. But a Tory council leader accuses local
:32:50. > :32:53.authorities of diverting it into other areas of their budgets.
:32:53. > :32:55.For councils at a time like this to leave money in the Budget is wrong.
:32:55. > :33:03.They need to use it in the committee and help people renege
:33:03. > :33:06.helping. And does the latest news from the European Commission offer
:33:06. > :33:09.any hope of saving 1,400 jobs at Bombardier?
:33:09. > :33:12.First, can the Coalition justify halving the amount new customers
:33:12. > :33:14.get for selling solar energy to the national grid? Not very Green, you
:33:14. > :33:24.might think. Our political editor, John Hess, reports
:33:24. > :33:32.
:33:32. > :33:42.The feed-in tariff was introduced by the last Labour's government
:33:42. > :33:45.
:33:45. > :33:48.Energy and Climate Change Secretary: a certain Ed Miliband.
:33:48. > :33:56.The scheme's been popular.Infact so popular, some say it's become a
:33:56. > :34:00.victim of its own success. We did a lot of research, I was a training
:34:00. > :34:06.again. I invested a lot of money to get into this industry. It has
:34:06. > :34:11.taken off at the fantastic. Is the winter light starting to be in the
:34:11. > :34:18.feeding bonanza? The government is about to pass the cash the energy
:34:18. > :34:23.firms have to pay to feeding tariff consumers. It has caused a row, and
:34:23. > :34:28.people think ministers have been leant on. I think there is a lot
:34:28. > :34:34.more behind this that they are not telling us. This couple will not be
:34:34. > :34:40.affected by the cuts. They beat the deadline. They paid �12,000 to
:34:40. > :34:46.install 11 solar power would -- panels. I will be getting a hundred
:34:46. > :34:54.pounds and one hand -- between �100 and �1,000 through the tariff. It
:34:54. > :35:01.is a good incentive to be a little bit green. His tone is one of 7,000
:35:01. > :35:10.in the East Midlands to have solar panels installed. He is going green,
:35:10. > :35:18.with -- and he gets 43 p per kilowatt of -- kilowatt hour up of
:35:18. > :35:24.energy he creates. The lower the tariff, the wider the money can be
:35:24. > :35:34.spread. It can only go to a few people otherwise. Another big
:35:34. > :35:34.
:35:34. > :35:38.tariff, it is basic maths. This man is a Fijian tarragon player. He
:35:38. > :35:42.persuaded the last government to back the idea. The Politics Show
:35:42. > :35:49.went with him to Munich, where did in Paris have taken off in a good
:35:49. > :35:53.weight -- in a big way. You have 700 members of the Solar Club with
:35:53. > :35:57.25 Solar size they have set up. Of course it is environmentally
:35:57. > :36:02.sustainable, and there is a real feel-good factor, but it is a money
:36:02. > :36:08.machine as well. My knee people on the estate in his constituency have
:36:08. > :36:12.solar panels. They he is angry at the tariff cuts. In this scenario,
:36:12. > :36:18.if the cuts go ahead, the losers will be half of the 25,000 people
:36:18. > :36:24.who found jobs in the sector, and whose jobs would full the air --
:36:24. > :36:29.for off the edge of the cliff in December. The next big losers will
:36:29. > :36:35.be the 4 million people who are under the level of fuel poverty.
:36:35. > :36:41.There's now a race against time to install panels on 1,400 homes.
:36:41. > :36:51.were going to do that over a four week period. We have a big job to
:36:51. > :36:52.
:36:52. > :36:57.make sure it happens. It is part of a scheme with E.ON. There is
:36:57. > :37:00.concern over similar schemes in future. It is going to be a bit
:37:00. > :37:06.difficult to stack up. As one of the worries that we have. For many,
:37:06. > :37:12.the low income tenants on this estate, they can save �20 a month
:37:12. > :37:16.on winter fuel bills. They are saving the money. A lot of people
:37:16. > :37:21.are having them on the estate. I thought I would give it ago. It has
:37:21. > :37:25.made a lot of difference, and I never had the file on so much.
:37:25. > :37:31.coalition is also considering a visit -- restricting the scheme to
:37:31. > :37:39.those that make -- those homes that need new energy targets. His they
:37:39. > :37:45.are at future for a fee in tariff? It is a threat to the market.
:37:45. > :37:49.will make me think twice. winners in this would be this six
:37:49. > :37:53.energy companies to continue to have the lock on prices. The
:37:53. > :38:03.coalition says it is new -- planning a new green deal. He will
:38:03. > :38:06.
:38:06. > :38:09.get the winning hand? The consumer or energy companies? So where do we
:38:09. > :38:12.go from here? Well if Derbyshire lawyer, Edward de la Billiere has
:38:12. > :38:15.anything to do with it, the Coalition is going to have to
:38:15. > :38:18.defend its actions in court. He joins me now. How far have you got
:38:18. > :38:24.with this? We have asked to have to apply for leave in the High Court
:38:24. > :38:31.against a consultation. The next stage in the process is to be given
:38:31. > :38:39.leave by the court, and we are waiting for it to be decided.
:38:39. > :38:42.it is the largest solar installation company in the UK,
:38:42. > :38:47.called Solar Century Holdings. are particularly affected by this,
:38:47. > :38:53.because they have a business plan that has been predicated on the 1st
:38:53. > :38:58.April change, and now it has all changed, in an unexpected and
:38:58. > :39:05.unfair will wait. Are you going to represent more companies? We are
:39:05. > :39:09.talking to other companies about possibly joining our application,
:39:09. > :39:15.and we wait to see how that progresses. He described it as
:39:15. > :39:19.unfair, but what grounds do have? The government has made it very
:39:19. > :39:26.clear that any changes to the feeding tariff, but they said there
:39:27. > :39:36.will be, will not be in debated before the 30th April, 1920 12. --
:39:37. > :39:42.
:39:42. > :39:44.implemented before the 1st April 2012. They will be backdated to PV
:39:44. > :39:51.installations to 12th December, and we think that is unfair and
:39:51. > :39:55.unlawful. There seems to be growing opposition. Even E.ON has told us
:39:55. > :40:01.that the government has to learn the lessons from policy
:40:01. > :40:07.mismanagement if we are to deliver community schemes in the future.
:40:07. > :40:15.Tough talk. They very much so, and it is affecting people throughout
:40:15. > :40:23.the country from top to bottom. We had been in -- in now today from a
:40:24. > :40:27.pensioner who has just installed a system. But it will be no longer
:40:28. > :40:32.work of -- worth a while and she would have lost her investment to
:40:32. > :40:41.date. The government has failed to realise that PV systems are
:40:41. > :40:45.generally not installed overnight. There's often a lead-in process
:40:45. > :40:50.before you install it, as people who are part-way through the
:40:50. > :40:58.process are affected. government declined to take part in
:40:58. > :41:03.our discussion, because they said there would be no point waiting
:41:03. > :41:07.until April if the money is going to run out before then. That is an
:41:07. > :41:11.economic point but I do not want be drawn on. The point is that the
:41:11. > :41:16.government has said that they will not retrospectively applied any
:41:16. > :41:20.cuts, and they are now beginning to do so. How and when will you find
:41:21. > :41:25.out when it is going? I we expect to hear within a week also whether
:41:25. > :41:35.we have been granted leave of Appeal, and we would hope that the
:41:35. > :41:37.
:41:37. > :41:40.hearing would be shortly thereafter. Next: The Conservative Leader in
:41:40. > :41:42.Leicestershire, David Parsons, has told the Politics Show that he's
:41:42. > :41:44.disturbed about how councils in our region are spending the
:41:44. > :41:52.Government's New Homes bonus. Not on housing apparently. This
:41:52. > :42:00.exclusive report from Eleanor Garnier
:42:00. > :42:05.The New Homes bonus Normally the clue is in the name. No not a clue.
:42:05. > :42:12.It is something that I should know about? Is it about the property
:42:12. > :42:17.ladder? It sounds like a home- buying scheme. The New Homes Bonus
:42:17. > :42:21.is a government grant. It rewards councils for increasing housing in
:42:21. > :42:24.their area, by giving authorities tax incentives and cash handouts.
:42:24. > :42:26.This is how the Government would like the money to be spent.
:42:26. > :42:29.Leicestershire County Council has been given a grant of �530,000 for
:42:29. > :42:36.building homes like these and for bringing empty properties back into
:42:36. > :42:38.use. The Conservative Leader of Leicestershire County Council David
:42:38. > :42:41.Parsons says instead of spending Homes Bonus on housing, many
:42:41. > :42:51.councils are using it for other things or putting the money
:42:51. > :42:52.
:42:52. > :42:57.straight into their reserves. think that is disturbing. For
:42:57. > :43:01.councils to leave money in their bank accounts is wrong, and they
:43:01. > :43:06.should go out and be proactive in the community, and help people who
:43:06. > :43:11.need a helping. I think the Government's needs that. That is my
:43:11. > :43:14.view as well. We are in consultation spread developers.
:43:14. > :43:17.Fellow Tory, Philip Hickson, who's leader of Derby City Council is one
:43:17. > :43:20.of those David Parsons has in his sights. His authority has put more
:43:20. > :43:28.than one million pounds of New Homes Bonus into its overall
:43:28. > :43:32.revenue budget. It is up to local councils, and local politicians, to
:43:32. > :43:35.decide how they should be applying money in their local areas. I think
:43:35. > :43:43.the government is moving away from central diktat about how money
:43:43. > :43:47.should be spent. If he was to spend it differently, that's a matter for
:43:47. > :43:49.his counsel. It's the same story in Leicester where the Labour-
:43:49. > :43:54.controlled Council received just under one and a half million pounds
:43:55. > :43:59.of New Homes Bonus. It put all the money into its general budget and
:43:59. > :44:07.as a result wasn't able to tell us what it had been spent on. There is
:44:07. > :44:11.no way that budgets can be reinvested. Inevitably, we are
:44:11. > :44:17.going to have to make difficult choices about our budgets. If the
:44:17. > :44:25.government is genuinely committed to regenerating our cities, it
:44:25. > :44:29.should look at what it is doing. And our inquiries reveal a similar
:44:29. > :44:32.picture across the East Midlands: In Derbyshire - Amber Valley
:44:32. > :44:34.Borough Council told us they're using their two hundred thousand
:44:34. > :44:35.pounds of Homes Bonus to meet other pounds of Homes Bonus to meet other
:44:35. > :44:38.spending priorities. North East Derbyshire District Council are
:44:38. > :44:42.using their Bonus of over one hundred and sixty thousand pounds
:44:42. > :44:46.on efficiency savings. Harborough District Council have put over half
:44:46. > :44:48.a million pounds of Homes Bonus into their general budget. And in
:44:48. > :44:58.Nottinghamshire Bassetlaw District Council is using its two hundred
:44:58. > :45:01.
:45:01. > :45:05.thousand pounds to offset I am not happy. They need to be
:45:05. > :45:10.proactive in society. They need to build houses incorporation with one
:45:10. > :45:13.another, if you like, to enable people to be able to stay in the
:45:13. > :45:17.villages that they had been brought up all the towns they have been
:45:17. > :45:22.brought up, and afford decent housing. You cannot blame local
:45:22. > :45:25.authorities at times like this, with the budgets being -- budget
:45:25. > :45:30.cuts been so severe. In a choice between social care and key
:45:30. > :45:34.services on the ground and more social housing, you can see what
:45:34. > :45:44.choice local councils are going to make. If the Government wanted the
:45:44. > :45:45.
:45:45. > :45:51.new homes bonus for social housing, it needed to ring-fence it for that
:45:52. > :46:01.purpose. In the East Midlands, it is a vital that we invest in new
:46:02. > :46:07.
:46:07. > :46:10.homes. It is a real mismatch. one thing everyone is agreed on -
:46:10. > :46:13.house building has reached historic lows. The question - will the
:46:13. > :46:15.government's New Homes Bonus help to reverse that trend?
:46:15. > :46:20.With me now, Derby Conservative leader, Philip Hickson, one of
:46:20. > :46:23.those criticised by David Parsons in our report. It is all very well
:46:23. > :46:28.that is saying that it is up to politicians to spend his money. But
:46:28. > :46:35.it is called a new homes bonus. The close in the name? It is. If I
:46:35. > :46:39.thought that no own building activity was going on, I would be
:46:39. > :46:44.alarmed. It is a government fund. It is not ring-fenced. Are you
:46:44. > :46:50.spending some of it on housing? Indeed. It is not just building new
:46:50. > :46:56.houses. We have to look at site and infrastructure. You need to bring
:46:56. > :46:59.empty and abandoned homes back into use. If that was not being fed in,
:46:59. > :47:06.some of that activity would cease, and that would worsen the position
:47:06. > :47:11.further. When house building is at an all-time low, you are spending
:47:11. > :47:15.it on other areas too. How can you justify that? With the government
:47:16. > :47:20.wanted to ring-fence it and apply for a specific purpose, then they
:47:20. > :47:27.would do so. We get lots of grants from government. They going to our
:47:27. > :47:32.revenue, and we set our priorities. There is activity going on in terms
:47:32. > :47:35.of bringing disused homes back into beneficial use. We are also
:47:35. > :47:41.preparing site and encouraging and stimulating housebuilding. It is
:47:41. > :47:45.all part of that. A are you saying that the any way the government can
:47:45. > :47:51.trust you to get spend the money how they wanted to is to get it
:47:51. > :47:58.ring-fenced? The government has to trust locals politicians to make
:47:58. > :48:05.the decisions for their area. I heard David Parsons criticise me
:48:05. > :48:09.then, but we have to move on. They should leave these choices to local
:48:10. > :48:14.politicians. You say that, but isn't this exactly the sort of
:48:14. > :48:18.thing that brings politics into disrepute? The government announces
:48:18. > :48:25.with great triumph, this bonus, and councils are spending at how they
:48:25. > :48:30.want. The criticism is in the title of the grant. It is called a new
:48:30. > :48:40.homes by Oasis, and to the man and woman in the street, -- new homes
:48:40. > :48:41.
:48:41. > :48:45.bonus. It is bringing abandon homes into use. It is providing
:48:45. > :48:49.infrastructure for new homes and things like lighting, and all the
:48:49. > :48:59.things that go with building. It is not just new homes. Thank you for
:48:59. > :49:03.
:49:03. > :49:06.explaining that. Let's turn to the threat to bombard year. Fourteen
:49:06. > :49:08.hundred jobs are at risk because Siemens was awarded the Thameslink
:49:08. > :49:10.contract. The European Commission has told Labour Member of the
:49:10. > :49:13.European Parliament, Glenis Willmott, that the Government CAN
:49:13. > :49:16.take the social impact into account - something the Coalition has
:49:16. > :49:19.always denied. Is this good news for Bombardier and its workers?
:49:19. > :49:26.think it's got to be good news. It is the stars are we have always
:49:26. > :49:29.taken in the city. There is no reason why they can't look at an
:49:29. > :49:34.economic assessment, and we have been told but that can't be done,
:49:34. > :49:40.because EU law present -- prevents it. Now the European Commission is
:49:40. > :49:43.saying they could go back. I accept the Government's position they
:49:43. > :49:48.going back would cause a delay copper diving that is a price worth
:49:49. > :49:57.paying, and I think the public would accept that we should go back,
:49:57. > :50:02.tender it again and see what happens. And risk legal action?
:50:02. > :50:06.think the have take these things in context. I'll be seen as the saying
:50:06. > :50:10.that Siemens is going to take legal action against the government when
:50:11. > :50:16.they want to bid for future contracts? There is a lot to play
:50:16. > :50:26.for here. Bombarded it is the last remaining train maker in the
:50:26. > :50:36.
:50:36. > :50:40.country. Bombardier. Tomorrow, we have got the minister coming to
:50:40. > :50:44.Derby, and we will be discussing this new information. We will also
:50:44. > :50:52.be meeting tomorrow at the new number two at the company, and we
:50:52. > :50:56.will be talking to him, because we want him to make his plans very
:50:56. > :50:59.clear. We need to put this new information that has come from the
:50:59. > :51:03.European Commission to the minister and see whether that changes the
:51:03. > :51:08.position. I sincerely hope it does, because there is a prize worth
:51:08. > :51:15.gaining here, and that is saving our last remaining train maker. It
:51:15. > :51:20.also saves the jobs in Derby from being lost. Are you saying that the
:51:20. > :51:26.government could really do something to say people's jobs in
:51:26. > :51:31.Derby? I have always believed that is the case, and if this was a
:51:31. > :51:35.little -- local contract decision, I would be causing -- are be
:51:35. > :51:40.calling my chief executive and telling them to change it. The
:51:40. > :51:46.Prime Minister, could still change things with a stroke of a pen, and