:00:51. > :00:56.Every council in the North East has cut jobs except one. How have they
:00:56. > :01:06.done it? From cuts in schools sport too big
:01:06. > :01:06.
:01:06. > :04:45.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 219 seconds
:04:45. > :04:55.The event was organised by after as part of the royal visit to the
:04:55. > :04:55.
:04:55. > :40:31.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 219 seconds
:40:31. > :40:34.The warmest of welcomes to your local part of the show. The final
:40:34. > :40:39.one of the series. Six months ago, these youngsters
:40:39. > :40:43.were looking for a job. Did they find one? They had a big society
:40:43. > :40:46.idea to run their own cinema in Cumbria, if they could raise the
:40:46. > :40:50.money. We will find out later what happened.
:40:50. > :40:55.First, the warnings were dire. They would be a haemorrhage of council
:40:55. > :41:01.jobs across the North. So how bad is it proving to be for those
:41:01. > :41:05.working, or no longer working, in our town halls? We contacted every
:41:05. > :41:09.council in Cumbria and the North East to find that just how many
:41:09. > :41:17.redundancies there have been. The findings are surprising. Every
:41:17. > :41:20.local authority has cut jobs beside one, which is one of the biggest.
:41:20. > :41:27.Billingham Ice Rink, newly refurbished by the local council.
:41:27. > :41:33.Things are not only chilly for the skaters. Budget cuts are cold. They
:41:33. > :41:37.have been planned for, but 79 redundancies took place a new wave.
:41:37. > :41:42.When you have to get so much money out of the budget, redundancies
:41:42. > :41:44.will always take place. The main expenditure any cancel next is on
:41:44. > :41:54.staff. That is the picture across the
:41:54. > :42:12.
:42:12. > :42:16.Most of Gateshead's 967 redundancies were voluntary. This
:42:16. > :42:20.is Sunderland council. They rose �39 million budget squeeze here,
:42:20. > :42:26.too. Here is the thing, nobody has lost their job in the building
:42:26. > :42:30.behind me. Not a single compulsory redundancy, not a single voluntary
:42:30. > :42:35.redundancy. Around here, they call it the Sunderland way. So how does
:42:35. > :42:38.it work? Workers whose jobs disappear do not
:42:38. > :42:43.end up sacked. They ended on what is called the switch team, a
:42:43. > :42:49.waiting room for jobs, of a sort. If your job disappears, we would
:42:49. > :42:52.try and match you with another post somewhere in the council, or one of
:42:52. > :43:01.our partner organisations if possible. If that proves to be
:43:01. > :43:08.impossible, we will employ you him what we call these which team. --
:43:08. > :43:12.switch team. It is better for the city's economy and for the council.
:43:12. > :43:18.We believe it is a win-win situation for us stop while the
:43:18. > :43:28.council says on redundancy bills, 200 us so people are in deep sea
:43:28. > :43:32.which team, waiting for a new job. This former accountant runs the
:43:33. > :43:39.canteen, now. It is very different, walking
:43:39. > :43:42.around, familiarising myself with what this cafe brings to the public
:43:42. > :43:46.and workers. Unions say this should be a model
:43:46. > :43:50.for other councils. I do not understand why other local
:43:50. > :43:54.authorities are not doing it. It is working here. Other authorities
:43:54. > :43:57.need to take a close look at what we are doing here in Sunderland.
:43:57. > :44:02.Not everyone is convinced that the Sunderland we can actually save
:44:02. > :44:08.money. The worry is for the workforce. Whether the adjustments
:44:08. > :44:15.in public spending will be put forward in a sustainable way. The
:44:16. > :44:19.level of jobs at the council has to be adjusted in a way that will last,
:44:19. > :44:24.and not store up problems for the future.
:44:24. > :44:34.We will reach the end of this year within our budget. We will meet our
:44:34. > :44:35.
:44:35. > :44:42.savings targets. We have the agreement of the unions and the
:44:42. > :44:51.workforce to work towards Withe what we are doing. -- towards what
:44:51. > :45:00.they are doing. We have excellent, long-serving people here. We
:45:00. > :45:05.Avoiding redundancies at a time of cuts seemed like a neat trick, but
:45:05. > :45:09.there are still years of squeezed budgets head. Will the Sunderland
:45:09. > :45:19.way end up as a cautionary tale or a model for the council's?
:45:19. > :45:20.
:45:20. > :45:28.Have the job cuts really been necessary? Joining me now is the
:45:28. > :45:30.Conservative candidate for Berwick. If Sunderland can do this, why are
:45:30. > :45:34.other councils making so many redundancies? Should Sunderland not
:45:34. > :45:40.be the muddled? We need to be clear, all councils
:45:40. > :45:44.are currently doing their best in a difficult situation. The funding
:45:44. > :45:49.settlement and the cuts imposed from central government, on all
:45:49. > :45:54.councils, are a difficult challenge to face. The way it is being
:45:54. > :45:58.imposed, front loaded, with big cuts to be made in the first year,
:45:58. > :46:01.has put councils and a difficult position. Some are clearly managing
:46:01. > :46:05.better than others in Sunderland can do it without making
:46:05. > :46:10.redundancies. I think every council is doing it as best they can.
:46:10. > :46:14.Sunderland have used an interesting model. We have is a success. I
:46:14. > :46:17.think this is a deficit reduction plan, over four years. It is
:46:18. > :46:21.heavily front loaded and one of the big criticisms is that front
:46:21. > :46:26.loading it in this way, not going councils time to prepare, has left
:46:26. > :46:29.them in a position of being forced to make redundancies. It will cost
:46:29. > :46:37.more upfront than if they could have stretched the savings out over
:46:37. > :46:41.a longer period. A Labour councillor in Sunderland,
:46:41. > :46:45.delivering huge savings, without losing job. It is a very
:46:45. > :46:49.interesting scheme which I have just heard about for the first time.
:46:49. > :46:52.If they are able to bring in the savings without losing jobs, that
:46:52. > :47:00.is an excellent proposition. It reminds me very much of what you
:47:00. > :47:05.see in the private sector, where you need to make cuts across the
:47:05. > :47:09.board to bring budgets into line with deficit positions, they are
:47:09. > :47:13.agreeing to that and moving people into jobs that may well have lower
:47:13. > :47:17.salaries but the employers are staying within the organisation. --
:47:17. > :47:21.employees. If it works, that is fantastic. We have to be sure that
:47:21. > :47:28.budgets will be met by the end of the year. But I very much of it
:47:28. > :47:35.works. Have other councils got it wrong? I think as Catherine says,
:47:35. > :47:38.every council takes on a budget as best they can. The key is to have a
:47:38. > :47:43.council leadership which is flexible and can see where they
:47:43. > :47:48.need their frontline work to be kept, and where they can make back-
:47:48. > :47:53.office savings. Your government could have made it a lot easier by
:47:53. > :47:56.spreading the cuts over a longer period, rather than forcing
:47:56. > :48:01.councils to make deep cuts so early? It was the opinion of the
:48:02. > :48:05.Treasury that the state of our finances, ASLEF to us by Labour,
:48:05. > :48:14.was so perilous that he had to make it clear quickly how serious we
:48:14. > :48:18.were about bringing those numbers down. -- ASLEF to us. It is
:48:18. > :48:22.difficult for everybody, but we are close to being a bankrupt nation.
:48:22. > :48:27.We need to be clear and tough, up front. Everybody has had to make
:48:27. > :48:32.that judgment. If Sunderland's proposition eases the pressure on
:48:32. > :48:38.immediate redundancies, that is great. Most redundancies are
:48:38. > :48:42.voluntary, it is not as bad as we fear it. Only one in six
:48:42. > :48:49.redundancies are compulsory, does that mean Labour and the unions are
:48:49. > :48:57.crime will? I do not think so. There is a bigger picture at play.
:48:57. > :49:01.-- crying wolf? People are looking at services delivered... They are
:49:01. > :49:05.getting more efficient, as they should. Just this week, I have been
:49:05. > :49:09.speaking to Newcastle constituents, elderly residents, who are very
:49:09. > :49:12.concerned about the cuts imposed prior to this current
:49:13. > :49:16.administration being in place. They are delivering the cuts as
:49:16. > :49:22.established and it is putting elderly residents in a difficult
:49:22. > :49:26.position. The price has doubled for their care for. If you had listened
:49:26. > :49:32.to your party, it was going to be cataclysmic. This suggests it is
:49:32. > :49:35.not. It is not pain-free but neither is it a cataclysm. We are
:49:35. > :49:41.looking at a rising unemployment and we need to look as well at who
:49:41. > :49:46.is actually being targeted by this. We need to look at general fairness
:49:46. > :49:50.across the country. Our region and London and Manchester, and
:49:50. > :49:53.Liverpool, are suffering. The highest level of cuts in the
:49:54. > :50:01.country. This is storing up a serious problem, not just for now
:50:01. > :50:05.but for the future. Take Sunderland, who did avoid redundancies. They
:50:05. > :50:09.say they have had to keep 600 jobs vacant. This is not pain-free,
:50:09. > :50:13.those jobs which were doing something before were providing
:50:13. > :50:20.services. I am sure somewhere and we all knew this would be a painful
:50:20. > :50:25.time, we have to get our finances back on track. It is down to the
:50:25. > :50:29.local councils to use the reduced budgets which they have and spend
:50:29. > :50:33.them, if they can, on frontline services. It is down to the
:50:33. > :50:37.management and modernisation of services. In Northumberland, we
:50:37. > :50:43.have seen it difficult progress through modernising services in
:50:43. > :50:46.adult care, for instance. But that is what must be done. If financial
:50:46. > :50:51.constraints forced the councils into that position, from my point
:50:51. > :50:54.of view, that is a good thing. the financial constraints in
:50:54. > :50:59.Northern councils have been a lot worse than some of the leafy
:50:59. > :51:04.suburbs of the Home Counties. are differences across the country.
:51:04. > :51:07.In education, in Northumberland, we have one of the fourth lowest grant
:51:07. > :51:14.allocations and the country editors in the case for 25 years. It needs
:51:14. > :51:17.to be reviewed and these are battles we need to fight. The North
:51:18. > :51:22.East should continue to fight if it feels it is no getting its fair
:51:22. > :51:27.share. In Surrey, they are able to manage the budget better, and if so
:51:27. > :51:31.we need to look at that. I have to object, I do not think it is about
:51:31. > :51:35.managing budgets better or worse. Here in the North East, we face
:51:35. > :51:40.particular challenges and we have done and things have improved. That
:51:40. > :51:43.is why budgets have been allocated to areas of deprivation, do try and
:51:43. > :51:48.tackle some of those fundamental issues and social problems which he
:51:48. > :51:53.to be addressed. I think we are in grave danger of all of the good
:51:53. > :51:57.work that has been done to put money and resources into these
:51:57. > :52:01.problems, but what will be reversed. We are storing up a bigger problem
:52:01. > :52:05.for the future. Ultimately, we are not reducing the deficit but
:52:05. > :52:11.increasing it. Because we are only going to increase the benefits bill
:52:11. > :52:15.and the NHS bills which will result. Thank you very much.
:52:15. > :52:25.If you visit my blood you can see the details of our survey and see
:52:25. > :52:29.how many jobs your local council -- my blog. It is our final programme
:52:29. > :52:36.of the series so what better time to catch up on some of the stories
:52:36. > :52:41.we have covered during a remarkable year. We will hear any moment from
:52:41. > :52:43.Durham campaigners fighting cuts and community projects. First the
:52:43. > :52:49.story of young job-hunters who appeared on a programme five months
:52:49. > :52:54.ago. They were under 25, from the North
:52:54. > :52:58.East, and desperate for full-time employment. Back in February, they
:52:58. > :53:06.had their message to the politicians. What it is, as soon as
:53:06. > :53:10.you walk into the JobCentre you become a number. It would be more
:53:10. > :53:15.helpful to be treated as an individual. What happens next to
:53:15. > :53:18.our trio of job-hunters? When we last spoke to Scott, he had lost
:53:18. > :53:22.his job in IT and set his heart on being a youth worker. Five years
:53:22. > :53:26.later, it has not happened, but there has been good news. I have
:53:26. > :53:33.been accepted for an IT apprenticeship which is really
:53:33. > :53:36.promising. It is full-time work, 35 hours, five days a week. Although
:53:36. > :53:41.it is an apprenticeship wagered is still great.
:53:41. > :53:50.Joe, a few months back, had to make do with a part-time job. Has his
:53:50. > :54:00.search for part-time work been successful? Know. -- full-time
:54:00. > :54:04.
:54:04. > :54:09.Work I have only found part-time work. Becky set her sights on
:54:09. > :54:14.photography, and is considering going back to college or more
:54:14. > :54:22.qualifications. In a year when spending cuts dominated debate, I
:54:22. > :54:24.plan to reduce funding for School sport proved controversial. We had
:54:24. > :54:29.complaints in November but less games like this one, in County
:54:29. > :54:32.Durham, would take place. Ministers insisted their aim was more
:54:32. > :54:37.competitive sport and ended up restoring some, but not all, of the
:54:37. > :54:43.money. There was more on the buses on direct funding to schools. But
:54:44. > :54:47.that has not reassured teachers. But we have gone from three full-
:54:47. > :54:51.time workers on a project to one and that is what will happen next
:54:51. > :54:54.year as well. This will mean, in practice, they would be less
:54:54. > :55:02.competitions and festivals for young people. There will be less
:55:02. > :55:07.money to bring coaches in And bless activities. From rugby balls to
:55:07. > :55:11.wrecking balls. End-October, reported on a plan to run --
:55:11. > :55:14.demolish a run-down housing in Middlesbrough and replace it with
:55:14. > :55:23.new builds. Huge delays led to complaints of dereliction and
:55:23. > :55:29.abandonment. What has happened since? Since last October, the
:55:29. > :55:35.ground has at least been grassed over to make it more pleasant.
:55:35. > :55:38.There have been no new builds. The community has set up their
:55:38. > :55:42.Community Land Trust. At the end of the day it means the community
:55:42. > :55:47.coming together and hopefully in future, having full consultations
:55:47. > :55:52.with Middlesbrough Council. Local people getting involved in
:55:52. > :55:55.refurbishment themselves? Yes, if that is the way we have to go, and
:55:55. > :55:59.look for funding to redevelop the area, I am in favour of.
:55:59. > :56:04.People power was the name of the game in the Cumbrian town of
:56:04. > :56:10.Penrith. In January, we heard why locals there were determined to
:56:10. > :56:16.save their cinema from closure. Maybe we are in with a chance to do
:56:16. > :56:20.something. The idea of the Society working together... Maybe we can do
:56:20. > :56:25.that. And do what they did. After street
:56:25. > :56:31.demonstrations and the raising of tens of thousands of pounds, the
:56:31. > :56:35.campaign has finally can pay the dissimilar's owner -- persuaded the
:56:35. > :56:41.cinema's owner to extend the lease and give cinema-goers the happy
:56:41. > :56:47.ending they want. Let's talk about those three young
:56:47. > :56:51.unemployed people. Two still looking for permanent work. The
:56:51. > :56:58.government is not live record for those young people are as it?
:56:58. > :57:05.excited to find that one of them has found an apprenticeship. The
:57:05. > :57:09.North East has had a good record of finding apprenticeships. That get
:57:09. > :57:14.people into long-term career is. lot of people remain on the scrap
:57:14. > :57:18.heap? Yes, but the private sector is starting to grow again in small
:57:18. > :57:27.business terms in the North East. Have you evidence that it is
:57:27. > :57:33.growing? We have run a study over the last 12 months. New jobs, over
:57:33. > :57:36.22,000, have been announced. What is Labour's big idea to get
:57:36. > :57:44.youngsters back into work? Youth unemployment soared under Labour,
:57:44. > :57:48.to. We have recently launched an idea for a bank bonus tax, it is
:57:48. > :57:52.about time the bankers paid us back for some of the chaos they created
:57:52. > :57:58.in the financial crisis. Some of that money will be allocated
:57:58. > :58:03.towards a youth job fund, which is a follow on lengths to the future
:58:03. > :58:08.jobs fund. If it was down to the private sector to create those jobs,
:58:08. > :58:12.what difference for that may? also fun for apprenticeships which
:58:12. > :58:19.I fully support and have done significantly through the bell. --
:58:19. > :58:28.a fund for apprenticeships. -- the bill. It is about the government
:58:28. > :58:37.working with businesses to create opportunities by providing funding.
:58:37. > :58:40.We saw the big society in action to save Penrith's cinema. The title
:58:40. > :58:44.has that day caused entertainment and difficulty in the media. It is
:58:44. > :58:49.empowering people to do that, legislation is coming through in
:58:49. > :58:52.lots of areas where people will be able to do things more easily. I
:58:52. > :59:02.have a seven Cr be checks for the seven organisations I am involved
:59:02. > :59:04.
:59:04. > :59:06.in and they only need one. -- CRB. I want more parents involved in
:59:06. > :59:11.community sport and so on, and we have to make it easier and much
:59:11. > :59:18.more difficult. That is what the big society is about, having the
:59:18. > :59:21.minimum legislation, to encourage people. Community housing trusts
:59:21. > :59:26.set up in Middlesbrough, community action, they cannot afford to do it
:59:26. > :59:36.in the counsels us something is doing - when been the latter by the
:59:36. > :59:36.
:59:37. > :59:44.Is it not good for people to take on responsibilities the council
:59:44. > :59:47.cannot? Yes. As far as I can tell, David Cameron is trying to take
:59:47. > :59:51.credit for the hard work of these communities and community
:59:51. > :59:56.associations up and down the country, as being his great idea.
:59:56. > :00:02.It is ridiculous. The funding which is being cut is making the
:00:02. > :00:08.society's small and not the bigger. That is it from us. We are off on
:00:08. > :00:13.our summer holidays. My thanks to all our guests and you for watching.