:00:42. > :00:44.Coming up: Communities Secretary Eric Pickles looms large over the
:00:44. > :00:48.North's town halls - but are his cuts really fair?
:00:48. > :00:58.And this could be the site of the first new free school in the North
:00:58. > :00:58.
:00:58. > :38:04.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2226 seconds
:38:04. > :38:11.East. But a teacher warns it could Ali Noor's councils been unfairly
:38:11. > :38:21.treated? And I am finding out why parents are planning to build a
:38:21. > :38:23.
:38:23. > :38:29.Eric Pickles has accused Labour running councils in the past of
:38:29. > :38:33.making cuts to services just to make a political point. But now
:38:34. > :38:43.there are claims that the North is being unfairly targeted by his
:38:44. > :38:48.
:38:48. > :38:58.government. Some of his critics put their 0.2 Eric Pickles. -- put
:38:58. > :39:06.their point to. These days their grander buildings are still here
:39:06. > :39:10.but it seems that over councils are all about cuts. Cabinet minister
:39:10. > :39:15.Eric Pickles looms over it all. He believes councils should become
:39:16. > :39:24.more efficient and stop moaning. But does the North have any points
:39:25. > :39:31.for Ham? The leader of Cumbria council, headache Martin, has just
:39:31. > :39:38.pushed through �44 million worth of cuts. But he has few good words for
:39:38. > :39:43.Eric Pickles. And he is a Conservative.
:39:43. > :39:49.I thought I was up against a steam roller. A monumental wall in front
:39:49. > :39:55.of me which I could not get to the other side of. It is the lack of
:39:55. > :40:02.empathy which frustrates me. It makes you feel impotent when you
:40:02. > :40:06.are attempting to get a message across.
:40:07. > :40:13.The last thing which we get from central government is a
:40:13. > :40:22.psychological Hogg. And I have 10,000 incredibly talented staff.
:40:22. > :40:29.They feel bruised and battered. A few months ago this diversity
:40:29. > :40:37.officer on Hartlepool council lost her job. Was she not a perfect
:40:37. > :40:47.example of Eric Pickles's biggest gripe, the council none the job?
:40:47. > :40:54.
:40:54. > :40:58.I do not understand what he means by that. A non-job? I believe we
:40:58. > :41:07.build the infrastructure to go into these communities but now it has
:41:07. > :41:14.completely crumble. So I wonder how the big society can be established.
:41:14. > :41:16.And this a union leader questions the fairness of the cuts.
:41:17. > :41:25.Councils like South Tyneside have been asked to make cuts in the
:41:25. > :41:34.region of 9%. N Eric Pickles's own constituency in Essex cuts are only
:41:34. > :41:38.been made of 1.3 %. And then that there are people like
:41:38. > :41:44.Steve has a local leisure centre is threatened with closure as the
:41:44. > :41:50.council attempts to save �125 million.
:41:50. > :41:53.I do not know what kids will do if this place is closed. What worries
:41:53. > :41:59.people as that Eric Pickles has a dismissive attitude and is not
:41:59. > :42:09.willing to listen. He is the manner many an hour town
:42:09. > :42:18.
:42:18. > :42:25.halls will love to hate. -- the man many of our town halls love to hate.
:42:26. > :42:35.I asked Eric Pickles what he thought of it a marked him's
:42:36. > :42:41.
:42:41. > :42:45.criticism. -- Eddie Martin. My a job was to deliver something
:42:45. > :42:49.for the public. We knew the cuts were on the way it because Alastair
:42:49. > :42:55.Darling told us all about it and sensible local authorities were
:42:55. > :43:00.already preparing for the process. But at the same time I am
:43:00. > :43:05.delivering local authorities more freedom, responsibility, and power.
:43:05. > :43:11.I confess I am in a hurry. But perhaps I should be given a little
:43:11. > :43:19.bit more luck at the future. We talked to one Hartlepool council
:43:19. > :43:24.worker who claimed that her job was a vital part of the bed society.
:43:24. > :43:31.That is a decision for the local council. I take no pleasure in
:43:31. > :43:35.seeing some body be made unemployed. But the cuts were necessary to
:43:35. > :43:40.protect even more people from being unemployed and facing the kind of
:43:40. > :43:48.consequences that local authority workers face in Greece, Portugal,
:43:48. > :43:57.and Ireland. So this was about saving jobs, not pushing them out.
:43:57. > :44:01.I hope that person gets another job. Council leaders in the North East a
:44:01. > :44:05.critical. They believe the region has been unfairly picked out whilst
:44:05. > :44:10.relatively wealthy southern councils are having been made to
:44:10. > :44:16.ensure fewer cuts than, for example, South Tyneside.
:44:16. > :44:21.The level of the quarter through this region is a much smaller. We
:44:21. > :44:29.have actually ensured that the wealthy areas pay a bigger cut.
:44:29. > :44:39.Sorry, is that true? Newcastle get something like �600
:44:39. > :44:44.per head of population. Down south it is �170. So the money is already
:44:44. > :44:52.been moved across. I have made the system more progressive by giving
:44:52. > :44:57.more weight to relative need rather than per head of population. And I
:44:57. > :45:04.have introduced transitional relief which would not have been available
:45:04. > :45:08.under Labour. So I have gone out of my way to help this region.
:45:08. > :45:15.That is not the perception of council leaders. They are certainly
:45:15. > :45:21.not saying that. The in the private some of them
:45:21. > :45:27.have a recognised this. -- in private. I am here to work with
:45:27. > :45:31.them on the regional growth fund. To look at the possibilities for
:45:31. > :45:36.ambitious programmes coming up with regard to enterprise. So I am here
:45:36. > :45:43.to be as helpful to this a rare which at one time was the engine
:45:43. > :45:47.room of the United Kingdom and the engine room of the world.
:45:47. > :45:51.The Government is giving parents, teachers and charities the chance
:45:51. > :45:56.to set up their own schools outside a local authority control but so
:45:56. > :46:01.far none have been approved in the North East. That seems certain to
:46:01. > :46:06.change however. In at least eight parts of the region that the
:46:06. > :46:11.Politics Show has learnt there in the pipeline. But that has meant
:46:11. > :46:17.warnings from some teachers that it could force the closure of existing
:46:17. > :46:23.schools. The morning routine at this household. Mum has something
:46:23. > :46:29.on her to do list. She and other parents want to set up their own
:46:29. > :46:39.secondary school. Showing me around the site earmarked for the school
:46:39. > :46:40.
:46:40. > :46:48.she explains why. Existing schools are just not bad enough.
:46:48. > :46:52.-- big enough. The children miss out on after-
:46:52. > :46:57.school activities and time with their friends. It is important for
:46:57. > :47:02.us that children develop a sense of community spirit.
:47:02. > :47:06.With the best will in the world, you are a parent. Are you qualified
:47:06. > :47:14.for setting up and running a school?
:47:14. > :47:22.No. And qualify for setting up the school but we are in partnership
:47:22. > :47:26.with many others. This has won the backing of the man
:47:26. > :47:31.behind the idea for three schools. Michael Gove has been to Teesside
:47:31. > :47:37.it to meet campaigners and give them encouragement. But other
:47:37. > :47:42.schools are far less supportive. One of those unhappy neighbours as
:47:42. > :47:48.this school which has some of the best results in the North East but
:47:48. > :47:52.300 of its pupils currently come from Ingleby Barwick. If they go
:47:53. > :47:58.elsewhere of the Head Master worries about the consequences. --
:47:58. > :48:02.headmistress. This will have an impact right
:48:02. > :48:06.across Stockton and the school along with possibly even to others
:48:07. > :48:12.will be forced to close because there simply will not be enough to
:48:12. > :48:19.fill the schools. -- two other schools. So there is not a
:48:19. > :48:23.financial argument to set these schools up.
:48:23. > :48:28.20 schools so far have provisional approval from the government but
:48:28. > :48:34.monarch from the North East Cumbria. However, eight separate groups in
:48:34. > :48:38.the area are making plans. In Northumberland, parents and
:48:38. > :48:42.teachers have drawn up plans for a new primary school in Cramlington
:48:42. > :48:52.and in the penny well area of Sunderland and existing private
:48:52. > :48:53.
:48:53. > :48:57.school also wants to join the state system as a free school. Staff here
:48:57. > :49:02.at a Sunderland school claimed that the idea has struck a chord because
:49:02. > :49:06.it means they can stop charging fees and raised in numbers. Parents
:49:06. > :49:11.are also supportive. It would open at the school to
:49:11. > :49:16.people with in this region of Sunderland who would not normally
:49:16. > :49:22.have access to this type of educational provision. No fees, and
:49:22. > :49:26.no other barriers to entry, such as an entrance exam.
:49:26. > :49:36.Is this a victory for Parent Power or a rash experiment with public
:49:36. > :49:38.
:49:38. > :49:42.money. Many are unconvinced? Schools are that desperately needed
:49:42. > :49:46.refurbishing and needed their buildings renewed and refreshed and
:49:46. > :49:50.even in new schools to replace those crumbling ones, all those
:49:50. > :49:55.schools will suffer through something which is untried and
:49:55. > :49:59.untested. Ministers insist no free school bad
:49:59. > :50:04.will get the go-ahead without showing local support and a
:50:04. > :50:11.dedication to quality. But proving that this step will support the
:50:11. > :50:16.wider school population could be a tougher goal.
:50:16. > :50:20.We will now talk to one Labour MP and one Conservative MP. This is
:50:20. > :50:25.about giving more parents more power and more choice. Is that not
:50:25. > :50:30.a good thing? My Government did not just talk
:50:30. > :50:34.about it we actually delivered. I would certainly not want to play it
:50:34. > :50:39.down the importance of parent power or failed to harness what we see
:50:39. > :50:43.coming through but there are important questions which need to
:50:43. > :50:49.be answered. What will freeze schools do for the level of
:50:49. > :50:55.achievement? There is a? Against that. It is very important that we
:50:55. > :51:01.ask bit serious questions. The three school you are in favour
:51:01. > :51:08.of in your constituency means that there might be an impact on other
:51:08. > :51:12.schools, catastrophic, isn't it? Let me be clear. I passionately
:51:12. > :51:16.support the work towards a new free school and that community. But on
:51:16. > :51:20.the other hand I would not support what is happening in Ingleby baric
:51:20. > :51:24.if I thought there was any realistic chance of other schools
:51:24. > :51:28.been closed. So why are neighbouring schools
:51:28. > :51:33.concerned? You showed a clip their with their
:51:33. > :51:37.head teacher who so far as I am aware has never given a public
:51:37. > :51:42.interview in which she has supported a Conservative Party
:51:42. > :51:48.policy and is a well-known supporter of the Labour Party. You
:51:48. > :51:52.presented that as an independent... Know, she is the head teacher of
:51:52. > :51:57.that school. You presented her as an independent
:51:57. > :52:05.there party. She is the Head Mistress of that
:52:05. > :52:08.school. There are already too many children
:52:08. > :52:13.in some of these schools which are struggling because they are not bad
:52:13. > :52:19.enough. I understand what you are saying,
:52:19. > :52:23.she may be a member of Labour, I do not know. But the point is that
:52:23. > :52:32.there are plenty concerned about this. We heard from others claiming
:52:32. > :52:42.that the danger of frieze schools as they will make other schools
:52:42. > :52:46.
:52:46. > :52:52.unstable. -- free schools. You cannot have your cake and eat
:52:52. > :52:58.it. They council cannot claim that they were upgrades to schools but
:52:58. > :53:04.they will not allow another school to enter.
:53:04. > :53:09.If a school is good enough, surely it will survive?
:53:09. > :53:14.During the Queen's Speech there was a lot of scepticism towards three
:53:14. > :53:22.schools. And they were not all Labour apparatchiks like James is
:53:22. > :53:28.suggesting. If parents want this, what is wrong
:53:28. > :53:34.with that? Well you need to provide the
:53:34. > :53:43.evidence. We have taken a lead from Sweden but the actual evidence
:53:43. > :53:49.there is that three schools in that country to have not succeeded. We
:53:49. > :53:55.do not want policy based on the dinner-party tables of west London.
:53:55. > :53:59.They are taking advantage of a situation. It is the only way some
:53:59. > :54:03.parents feel they can get a decent school in the region but if some of
:54:03. > :54:07.the other schools had been given funding through building schools
:54:07. > :54:13.for the future, for example, perhaps that capacity would already
:54:13. > :54:18.have there been there. Building as schools for the future
:54:18. > :54:22.could not deliver in Angle Bay. They looked at every option.
:54:22. > :54:27.But the point is that the money will come into new schools instead
:54:27. > :54:32.of existing schools which could benefit students.
:54:32. > :54:38.There is a rigorous process which parents must go through it to show
:54:38. > :54:41.there is the demand and that there will not be a negative impact.
:54:42. > :54:47.Dozens of schools whose buildings are falling apart, will be a
:54:47. > :54:53.benefit? That is on related.
:54:53. > :54:59.But is that public money being sucked away.
:54:59. > :55:06.It as a different pot of money. Building schools for the future was
:55:06. > :55:11.incredibly wasteful and it failed to deliver.
:55:11. > :55:14.Building schools for the future did not deliver what was required so at
:55:14. > :55:19.least this gives the appearance a chance at a new school.
:55:19. > :55:23.I have not had a single parent saying to me they would like to set
:55:23. > :55:27.up a school. What they have said is that they are worried that their
:55:27. > :55:32.child cannot attend university because of tuition fees, they're
:55:32. > :55:37.worried about coalition cuts, and they wish they had building schools
:55:37. > :55:42.for the future because they wanted the best schools for their children.
:55:42. > :55:48.Instead that money has been put into three schools. We have
:55:48. > :55:51.mentioned a number which might open but let's face it, most of them are
:55:51. > :56:01.in the better areas of the south and that is where the money will go
:56:01. > :56:01.
:56:01. > :56:06.to school. We have got to see what happens and
:56:06. > :56:11.judge it on the outcome but if selective schools are believed they
:56:11. > :56:19.can access taxpayers' money in order to bring a selection into
:56:19. > :56:25.pale local a and then... Well, let's just see what happens. Of all
:56:25. > :56:32.the projects that the Secretary of State is minded to support, only
:56:32. > :56:36.two of them are in the 10% of most deprived areas.
:56:36. > :56:43.The allegation is pushy middle- class parents will succeed but
:56:43. > :56:49.areas which really need a new schools will be overlooked.
:56:49. > :56:54.This election is not based on wealth or academic ability.
:56:54. > :56:59.But let see it well that gets with the Secretary of State.
:56:59. > :57:04.I think the parents of Ingleby would resent being called pushy
:57:04. > :57:10.middle-class. It is wealthier than other parts of
:57:10. > :57:15.the country. Nobody is saying they are pushy
:57:15. > :57:19.middle-class but what about parents in other regions? You must make a
:57:19. > :57:24.judgement about the choice available in other areas.
:57:24. > :57:30.There is no reason to suggest this would reduce choice for parents and
:57:30. > :57:33.other areas at all. Next week we will be looking at