20/11/2011 The Politics Show East

In the East... With a year to go, the countdown to elections for

police and Crown Commissioners begins. The posters are open to all,

including your favourite stars. And farmers will have to leave more of

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2346 seconds

Welcome to the part of the Farmers are facing an uncertain

future. Europe is telling them to cut food production and believes

they should be greener. This is just a fact of life for us. In the

past few years, if the substances - - if we did not have subsidies, we

would not still be in business. But first, in one year, you will be

asked to elect a police commissioner. But do you know

enough about them? Did you no one could be a television star as

anyone can stand? One survey says three-quarters of people do not

even know they are on their way. Commissioners will be able to set

budgets, decide policing priorities and have the power to sack Chief

Constable its. Many candidates are likely to be backed by a political

party. It is feared the role could politicise policing.

In the cities Robert Chambers. He resigned nine months ago saying he

was considering standing as a police and Crown Commissioner. The

man who had a seat in appointing a chief constable for Essex did much

to swell police numbers. You are going to have 200 extra police

officers on the streets in Essex. It MS recently that his expenses

claims were under investigation by police. -- it emerged recently. The

Crown Prosecution Service decided there was and six sufficient

evidence has secured a conviction. -- insufficient evidence. I spoke

to him after he resigned as spoke with him, not least because we make

appointments to the police authority. Mr Chambers has now

repaid over 1,500 pounds and mileage claims he received from

Essex Police Authority. It took journalists weeks to establish he

was at the centre of a criminal investigation, because Essex Police

authority would neither confirm or deny it. Mr Chambers now says he

would like to consider standing as the police and Crown Commissioner.

The police investigation into his expenses claims was dropped. But

his interest in standing comes amid growing questions as to the

accountability and transparency of the role of Commissioner. Jessica

the Grazia is a former prosecutor in the United States. She says much

wrong in introducing these commissioners to England and Wales.

The checks and balances you find in America are not here. The downfall

of this law will be that the wrong people are put forward as

candidates. That the will abuse their powers. That injustice

results. Scandal results. And the law will be discredited. And then,

through the process of time, there will be amendments to the law or

changes to the law and we will have a different system of police

governance. It is up to the public to decide who is elected. That is

what happens in a democracy. Political party select candidates,

go through a process of scrutiny, but independence can stand and the

people will choose. There will be transparency and there will be a

free press that will examine pts. That is all to the good. My chief

constables are against commissioners, but will not speak

publicly. The former Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire says

her biggest fear is that a new commissioner would move to replace

the Chief Constable with some of their own choice. She says a good

commissioner will have an open mind and understanding and willingness

to understand the complexities of policing. But the authors of a

report on the new commissioners say candidates may need to have their

hand held. A number of candidates will be new to policing and

policing organisations are large and complex. Authorities and forces

need to think about how people are inducted, such that they can be

effective elite in their turn. Chief constables say there are also

concerns that police and Crown Commissioners could attempt to

interfere with operational independence, or objecting to

police forces helping other police forces or attempting to implement

the outcome of an investigation. have safeguards, there is a police

and crime panel, there are also formal complaint proceedings,

should there be wrong doing. If someone oversteps the mark, commits

a serious criminal offence, there are rules that relate to his

suspension and instant removal from office. The police panel has a

scrutiny role over the conduct and activities of the Police

Commissioner. How that works in practice in detail, I do not know

and I do not think anyone else does. Operational issues will need to be

resolved as we go through the process of setting the panel up in

the New Year. And critics of the plan are concerned that politically

appointed candidates with police and Crown panels largely made up of

members of the same party will potentially lead to a threat to

transparency and good conduct. With just one year to go before the

election of police and Crown Commissioners, it is clear the

Government has a great deal of work to do, much of the detailed yet to

be worked out. Senior police officers have boys can -- have

voiced deep concerns. And the public have yet to be won over, if

recent polls are to be believed. I am joined by Ben Gummer and Peter

Neyroud. His achievements include being a member of the sentencing

guidelines Council, Parole Board, National Policing Board, and the

counter-terrorism board. He is now researching crime Hull Cambridge

University. Are there are questions about the suitability of

candidates? We are one year to goal, and we have no idea of the

candidate range. And we have no experience of the people that might

come forward or will come forward. There is a big burden on the

parties to come up with good people and groom them for the process.

What about checks and balances and accountability? That is the role of

the police authority at the moment. How will that work? That is

reasonably clear run the bill up and the final shape of the

legislation. But it relies heavily on the policing and crying panel,

which will be elected councillors for the area. If those are all the

same party, as you he said, it could create worries. There do seem

to beat areas with the Government does not have information. Do we

know if there is a way of removing a police commissioner? Yes, but we

have one here to goal and this is a new position, which I think is very

exciting. -- we have won the year to goal. I was surprised by the

policy announcement. Why were you surprised? It is a new idea and

ought to have a new democratic opposition. As I understand it as a

Member of Parliament, I can see a real place for someone representing

the public's concerns to the police. My own forces fantastic. One thing

they cannot do is communicate with the public in the way a politician

can. I hope this will remove one impediment to the police showing

how good they are. What about the levels of wages, salaries up to

�100,000? It has to be appropriate so someone will give up their time.

But we have to do it within the constraints of public spending.

Peter Neyroud, let us talk about dynamics and the relationship

between the chief constable and the crime at Commissioner. That will be

key. I think it is absolutely key, not just personally, but actually

house some of the detail of the Act works out. I re-read it again this

morning. If I were the chief, I would feel I was being relegated to

the sort of cheap operating officer. That is a different role. Are you

saying, in the battle between at chief constable and the Crown

Commissioner, crime commissioner would when? Every time. -- would

win? What about where the chief constable would goal if the an

unhappy about their treatment? there are some mediators, one of

which is the policing and crime panel. Another is a national

inspectorate. Like all new things, it will have to play out. What

about this whole new idea that there could be a lot of celebrity

candidates? No doubt it will happen somewhere. I am convinced the

public will take to this. It has not yet been publicised properly.

But as candidates come forward and people know the election will

happen, I think it will be enormously successful. People care

passionately about crime and anti- social behaviour. This is one way

to get them to reconnect with the police and the process of making

communities safer. At the moment, that does not really exist. Briefly,

do you believe the public and onside or can they be brought

onside? I would be happier if we were not trying to run a November

election. That does concern me. shall leave it there. Thank you

both very much. Now to Europe, where plans were

announced to reform the Common Agricultural Policy again. Let us

take you back to 1962 when it was introduced to create a stable

market and reduce Europe's reliance on imported food. Now agriculture

generates over 1.5% of GDP and employs only 5% of the population.

But last year, it cost 50 billion euros, 47% of the whole budget. The

new rules will freeze the level of funding until 2020. It also wants

to change the emphasis to move away from subsidising food production

and link payments to environmental improvements, which farmers and

there has regency could result in higher food prices. -- farmers in

this region say could result. Andrew Watts has been a farmer for

more than 30 years. He manages 2,300 hectares. He runs a mixed

farm, growing a variety of CD or crops for some livestock. Like many

farmers, he receives subsidies from the Common Agricultural Policy

budget. Subsidies are a fact of life. In the past, if this system

was not in place, we would not still be in business. As well is

using the land for crops and cattle, 4.5% to set aside for wildlife and

environmental projects. We have a wild bird feeding strap with a

variety of crops. He is paid �30 per hectare for the strip, which

encourages insects and the summer and provides food for birds during

the winter. Subsidies are important too many farmers, but changes are

on the horizon. The European Commission wants to reduce its

overall budget. It is planning on introducing new proposals to link

payments, not to food production, but environmental schemes. It

involves crop rotation to promote biodiversity and more set aside to

encourage wildlife. Crop rotation would see farmers having to grow at

least three crops but the largest taking up no more than 70% of the

land and the smallest no less than 5%. Farmers are also asked to take

7% of agricultural land out of production as part of a new scheme.

The most important thing is to allow farmers the freedom to grow

and produce what their land is best that. When you tell them what they

have to grow and do not have to, their land may not be suitable for

biodiversity crops, whatever it might be. Let us grope what we are

good at growing. Conservationists white Simon Tonkin of the RSPB are

also worried. These measures do work when deployed right. But what

we're seeing is a cut to that budget. We must ensure farmers who

have already stepped up and doing their bit and not penalised by

those sorts of proposals. pressure to feed a growing world

population without depleting or damaging its natural resources is

huge. One or agriculture can withstand these challenges with

reduced financial support is another matter up. -- whether

agriculture. Lobbying is now underway with new roles expected to

come into force on the 1st January 1920 14.

Earlier this week, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and

Rural Affairs attended an EU meeting in Brussels. We asked

Caroline Spelman what she made of the plans for the reform.

I am disappointed with what the commission are proposing. I do not

think that what they are proposing faces up to the challenges. Those

were quite rightly identified with the problems of food security and

rising prices. And we have the impact of climate change. I do not

think what is proposed matches up to the challenge. One of the things

discussed is the idea of crop rotation, leading one field by law.

That means for farmers they have less land available. -- leading one

field fallow. Do you agree with that? This is what we do in this

country as good practice, happening since the Middle Ages. It is not

new. That measure is directed at European member states that have a

monoculture, would be a growing this same crop on the same piece of

land year after year. Once again, it is an example of something that

does not work very well for the UK. But farmers will be required to do

three things to receive direct payment. Leave pasture permanent,

which we do, ripped hook -- rotate crops, which we do, but also to set

aside 7% of land. One of the points I have made is that farmers in the

UK already take some of their land out of production for the

Protection of the environment. We have won an early concession from

the Commissioner that we will not be asked to set aside another 7% on

top. A lot of farmers in the East are quite large farms, benefiting

from economies of scale. Are you not worried that those could

suffer? I am and I will put up a very tough fight on their behalf.

There is a plant to cap the size of farms that could receive these

payments. It is set at a level that more closely reflects the small

farms of the Continent and makes no sense in that far as you would

simply be broken up to qualify. That would make them less

competitive and less productive and less efficient. That would

ultimately lead to increasing the price of food. Is this cap on the

Common Agricultural Policy funding going to stay? I am pretty

confident we will get the cap on the cut lifted, because we are in

an alliance of member states. This cap on the size of farm receiving

payments simply will not work. Or it will have adverse a corn -- at

this consequences and there will be many affected by that that we can

block it will stop Ben Gummer is joined by William Martin, a local

farmer. Ben Gummer, you must welcome these

measures as they will cut the bill for the Common Agricultural Policy.

That is the one good thing. But we have a commission again with a

ludicrous proposal we have to fight. Good luck to the Minister for doing

so. Each of the ministers out -- each of the measures outlined we

are already doing or they will damage farmers. The owner Martin,

the UK have some of the most efficient farmers in Europe, so why

are you not welcoming what appears to be a move to ease the reliance

on subsidies? -- William Martin. is not the subsidy element that is

worrying us to stop it is the unintended consequences of some of

the specific measures. On my own farm, I already goal four mac crops,

but I grow old two or three of those at quite small amounts. -- I

already go role four crops. But I am said that I must abandon some of

those crops to get my third crop up to the 5% threshold. It is going

against what we want to do, producing the kind of food I am

good at producing and the market wants. That is a blunt instrument

not achieving the end. What about the idea of 7% Lang fallow? Is it

important to encourage diverse wildlife or feeding the population?

But we are already doing that, and what this does is impose a state is

Stalinist view from Brussels that that you can decide how the whole

European farming landscape will look. It is not the right way ahead.

This proposal fails three friends, not looking at the real challenges

in the future feeding the world population, not looking at America,

where American farmers are subsidised higher, and thirdly, the

tax payers need good value and they are not getting this. What about

the idea that larger farms could end up being broken up as a result?

Will that happen in this area? think it will inevitably happen. If

you have a system that says, if you have a farmer in his eyes, you will

get more money if you divide it by 50%, what you think will happen.

How are you going to police things? I am personally not affected, but

what if you had to divide a business? I do not think it will

reduce the amount of money coming out. Some could go to professional

advisers advising people how to get themselves into a structure to meet

the criteria up. It would just create work and bureaucracy. What

can the Government do? We have to get those parts out of the proposal

like the cap, which is ludicrous. We need to be able to understand

what British farmers like William are already doing to help the