:00:49. > :00:54.In the South West, chair of the Transport Select Committee tells us
:00:54. > :01:04.some white plans to cut cost card cover are seriously flawed.
:01:04. > :01:04.
:01:04. > :42:57.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2512 seconds
:42:57. > :43:03.And the remorseless spread of Welcome to the politics short in
:43:03. > :43:08.the South West. -- the Politics Show. The Government plans to
:43:08. > :43:10.revamp the coastguard service received a major blow this week
:43:10. > :43:16.will stop the transport select committee concluded changes would
:43:16. > :43:20.put lives at risk. They were not confident the coastguard service
:43:20. > :43:27.would be as good as it is no, let alone more effective, as the
:43:27. > :43:32.Government claims. -- as it is now. Last December, here in Westminster,
:43:32. > :43:35.the Government organised radical plans to change it the coastguard
:43:35. > :43:40.service. Under the plans, the number of coastguard stations would
:43:40. > :43:45.be reduced by half and the number of staff by almost as much. And the
:43:45. > :43:49.South West, that would mean the closure of two stations. The
:43:49. > :43:56.ministers insist these cuts along with the deployment of modern
:43:57. > :44:03.technology would provide a better, more resilient servers, but that
:44:03. > :44:06.has been hotly contested. -- more resilient service. The Transport
:44:06. > :44:10.Select Committee was in Falmouth last month collecting evidence for
:44:10. > :44:15.its own inquiry into the Government's plans. Ministers say
:44:15. > :44:25.they are prepared to amend them, but Wally up to a point. We will
:44:25. > :44:25.
:44:25. > :44:29.not deviate from the objective. -- but only up to a point back.
:44:29. > :44:35.We will try to work effectively with coastguards to deliver an
:44:35. > :44:39.effective 24-hour coastguard service, and I am sure the
:44:39. > :44:44.proposals we come forward with with the result of this consultation
:44:44. > :44:47.will fit with the 21st century. A meanwhile, Conservative
:44:47. > :44:51.backbenchers are fighting individual closures in their
:44:51. > :44:57.constituencies. This one has gone much further in demanding the
:44:57. > :45:04.Government abandoned it -- its plans altogether. I hope the
:45:04. > :45:13.Minister will take this message and realise this is his worst moment.
:45:13. > :45:17.The public, the users of the sea, the small vote sailors, the
:45:17. > :45:21.commercial fishermen, the people who bought in the front line, the
:45:21. > :45:27.coastguards and lifeboat men, and some Royal Naval Personnel, even up
:45:27. > :45:32.to the rank of Vice-Admiral, have all said to me that this
:45:32. > :45:35.consultation is wrong. With the consultation closed and
:45:35. > :45:40.Parliament's summer recess and beckoning, a decision is expected
:45:40. > :45:45.soon. In the meantime, the Transport Select Committee has
:45:45. > :45:49.given ministers plenty to think about. The committee says that no
:45:49. > :45:56.station should operate without night cover, and that is just for
:45:56. > :46:02.starters. It risks lives. It is a drastic reduction in the number of
:46:02. > :46:07.coastguard stations reducing 18 to just three, and it risks losing
:46:07. > :46:12.local knowledge and expertise come affecting the volunteer coastguard
:46:12. > :46:15.rescuers as well as the centres themselves. There are question
:46:15. > :46:20.marks about the new technology the Government is talking about and
:46:20. > :46:23.these proposals should be withdrawn. The Government argues that the new
:46:23. > :46:29.technology is crucial in making things more effective, but it also
:46:29. > :46:34.claims that, at the moment, some centres are under-used, and others
:46:34. > :46:38.are overworked, which suggests something needs to be changed.
:46:38. > :46:43.There is a case for change, and there is a need for new technology,
:46:43. > :46:48.but these proposals are drastic. They will not bring the right kind
:46:48. > :46:54.of change. The committee is also concerned about a related issue -
:46:54. > :47:01.the Government's decision to remove funding from emergency tug votes.
:47:01. > :47:05.We are concerned about plans to withdraw funding from these. They
:47:05. > :47:08.are important to stop major pollution incidents, and we are
:47:08. > :47:14.concerned the Government wants to withdraw funding before finding an
:47:14. > :47:23.alternative. The Government has also decided to remove funding from
:47:23. > :47:26.the national body which co- ordinates rescues. Our concern is
:47:26. > :47:31.that the Government wants to withdraw funding from coastguard
:47:31. > :47:37.centres, withdraw funding from the tugboats, and from the Specialist
:47:37. > :47:40.Fire Service. Combined with all of that, it will put lives at risk,
:47:41. > :47:45.and increase the likelihood of major pollution events.
:47:45. > :47:49.It has been said that this is literally inviting disaster.
:47:49. > :47:58.Withdrawing funding from those emergency towing vessels is
:47:58. > :48:03.inviting disaster. There is no evidence this can be done.
:48:03. > :48:07.expressed concern during the inquiry that the Minister prevented
:48:07. > :48:11.coastguards from giving evidence to the committee. The Minister said,
:48:11. > :48:18.the rules stop civil servants giving this kind of evidence, they
:48:18. > :48:24.are civil servants. The rule about civil servants is normally invoked
:48:24. > :48:27.for senior civil servants, and the Minister assured Parliament that
:48:28. > :48:30.serving coastguards could give evidence to the select committee, p
:48:30. > :48:35.yet when we wanted to call them in front of the committee they were
:48:35. > :48:40.told they could not come. We did find a way of talking to coastguard
:48:40. > :48:44.officers, some came to us and their union capacity and where -- we were
:48:44. > :48:49.able to visit coastguard centres. We were very upset because the
:48:49. > :48:54.Minister changed his mind. The Secretary of State has made it
:48:54. > :49:00.clear he will come back with different proposals, he will listen
:49:00. > :49:04.to alternative ideas and to amend his original proposals, but you
:49:04. > :49:11.seem to be suggesting he should tear up the original plan
:49:11. > :49:15.altogether for. We wanted to concentrate on saving lives. We
:49:15. > :49:18.agree that nationalisation can take place, but not the plans put
:49:19. > :49:22.forward at present. The Minister has told us consistently he is
:49:22. > :49:30.listing, and if he is listening properly he will withdraw those
:49:30. > :49:33.proposals. Thank you very much.
:49:33. > :49:36.Supermarkets have been spreading their tentacles far and wide
:49:37. > :49:42.throughout the region over recent years, bringing tempers to the boil
:49:42. > :49:47.in some places. One of Devon's MPs has lent his support to campaigners
:49:47. > :49:55.in Ashburton on the edge of Dartmoor, who are fighting plans to
:49:55. > :50:01.build a large Co-op. MP Mel Stride is backing those who think the shop
:50:01. > :50:08.will damage the town's town centre. There are those who think there is
:50:08. > :50:14.room for big shops to exist happily alongside small trainers. Our
:50:14. > :50:19.correspondent reports on the South West's latest supermarket row.
:50:19. > :50:22.The tone of Ashburton on the edge of Dartmoor has built up a
:50:22. > :50:26.reputation for its thriving independent sector, but some fear
:50:26. > :50:36.what would happen if and out of town supermarket is given the go-
:50:36. > :50:36.
:50:36. > :50:43.ahead. Like the owner of this shop. I am devastated. This town has been
:50:43. > :50:47.founded by a group of individuals like myself who have put everything
:50:47. > :50:51.they have worked for into creating this bespoke little place full of
:50:51. > :50:57.individual shops. The owner of the off-licence is not
:50:57. > :51:00.happy, either. People will head there to do their groceries, and I
:51:01. > :51:07.cannot see them making a second trip to come down into town when
:51:07. > :51:10.they can get everything under one roof. The Co-op already has a store
:51:10. > :51:16.in that Ashburton town centre, but it wants to open an additional one
:51:16. > :51:21.here, near the A38 Linhay Exit. The Co-op says this will create jobs
:51:21. > :51:25.and will not impact of the traders in the town centre. It will be
:51:25. > :51:33.around the size of a football pitch and have around 20 football --
:51:33. > :51:36.parking spaces. The call puts it -- the co-operative group is the
:51:36. > :51:42.fifth-largest food retailer in the country. It is looking to expand
:51:42. > :51:45.its business in the a rare -- in the area.
:51:45. > :51:49.Our store is top-up shopping for people who have forgotten a few
:51:49. > :51:54.items when they are cooking dinner. We do not compete with the stores
:51:54. > :52:01.in the town, and I do not Frank that people come to visit Ashburton
:52:01. > :52:09.because there is a quarter in the middle. -- There is at Co-op in the
:52:09. > :52:16.middle. People come to visit because of the shops. Some shoppers
:52:16. > :52:21.have mixed views. The would you use the Co-op? No.
:52:21. > :52:26.all choppier, we all that, and I think it will spoil the town. -- we
:52:26. > :52:30.all shop here. I steered clear of the big supermarkets and do all my
:52:30. > :52:33.shopping locally. Supermarket growth is spreading in
:52:33. > :52:40.the South West. Tesco has the strongest presence in the region
:52:40. > :52:44.out of the big four. Recent figures show retailers have their it -- the
:52:44. > :52:50.biggest retailer has made twice the number of planning applications
:52:50. > :52:54.than Sainsbury's, and nearly five times more than Morrison's. The big
:52:54. > :52:58.four supermarkets have given a our local authorities more than �5
:52:58. > :53:03.billion in the last few years to put towards community projects and
:53:03. > :53:13.infrastructure. East and the Devon received around �2.5 million each,
:53:13. > :53:16.and Torridge received around �250,000 for schemes in the area.
:53:16. > :53:21.Residents wrote this letter opposing plans for a Tesco store.
:53:21. > :53:27.And it, they warned it would severely undermine the vitality of
:53:27. > :53:32.the High Street, where most food shops used locally sourced food. I
:53:32. > :53:36.have come to find out what they think the impact has been. It is
:53:36. > :53:42.more vibrant than it has been for the decade I have been here.
:53:42. > :53:49.Dmitri runs a business from the high street and to six on the chair
:53:49. > :53:53.of the Chamber of Commerce. -- and sits on the chair. I do not think
:53:53. > :53:57.it is vibrant because Tesco has opened up. For some shopkeepers, it
:53:57. > :54:05.has been a big negative on their trading, but for others they have
:54:05. > :54:08.thrived for other reasons. Just this week, plans for a Tesco and
:54:08. > :54:12.Dawlish were rejected. Councillors have already given the go-ahead to
:54:12. > :54:16.a Sainsbury's, which will open later in the summer, and they felt
:54:16. > :54:19.another big store would be too much. Earlier this year, councillors in
:54:19. > :54:24.Cornwall throughout applications from Morrisons and Sainsbury's who
:54:24. > :54:29.wanted to build stores in Weybridge. They felt the stores would have an
:54:30. > :54:34.unacceptable impact on the town. Dartmoor National Park authorities
:54:34. > :54:43.say they will make a decision on the Co-op proposals in August.
:54:43. > :54:48.I asked Mel Stride earlier why he was sore against the plans for a
:54:48. > :54:52.supermarket in Ashburton. -- why he was so why against fulls of a
:54:52. > :54:57.Ashburton is a vibrant town in Dartmoor, and part of that success
:54:57. > :54:59.has been built upon the strength of its local retailers on the high
:54:59. > :55:04.street. There are a whole variety of shops
:55:04. > :55:09.there, specialist bakers, fishmongers, butchers, and the fear
:55:09. > :55:12.it is that, with a large supermarket appealing on the
:55:12. > :55:17.outskirts of Ashburton, that will take trade away and some of those
:55:17. > :55:20.traders will suffer. We may see a situation in the to -- in the
:55:20. > :55:24.future where the 10 said it was into decline, as I am determined to
:55:24. > :55:29.fight against that. It is true that it would offer more
:55:29. > :55:33.choice to people, with perhaps a cheaper selection of food. If you
:55:33. > :55:42.are a family in these times on a budget, it would be very useful.
:55:42. > :55:47.They are very important points, and I do not see any increase in choice.
:55:47. > :55:51.Independent retailers already provide a very high-quality service.
:55:51. > :55:59.Putting them out of business would not increase choice. The second
:55:59. > :56:03.point go you raise, there are supermarkets not far away, and
:56:03. > :56:09.there is free transport to take people from Ashburton to those
:56:09. > :56:12.shops. I do not feel that either of those points are pertinent.
:56:12. > :56:16.Back in April, Labour put forward an amendment to the Localism Bill
:56:16. > :56:22.which would require local planning authorities to adopt retail
:56:22. > :56:27.diversity schemes, they say, that would protect local shops and
:56:27. > :56:32.provide diversity. You voted against that. Was that a mistake,
:56:32. > :56:36.with hindsight? Not at all. The Labour Government abolished the
:56:36. > :56:41.means test, which the Conservative Government brought in, which placed
:56:41. > :56:45.a strong test for planning authorities to apply to to make
:56:45. > :56:50.sure these supermarkets do not damage traders in this situation.
:56:50. > :56:55.This Government has said they will look at that again, and I will
:56:55. > :57:02.support reintroducing that. The second thing is, the major push
:57:02. > :57:07.here in the localism agenda through Parliament, which will empower
:57:07. > :57:09.local communities... What about jobs, will?
:57:09. > :57:15.This supermarket will provide 15 jobs.
:57:15. > :57:20.A There is a big supermarket in Exeter, Sainsbury's, that is 450
:57:20. > :57:25.jobs, supermarkets bring jobs and people need jobs. In the case of
:57:25. > :57:29.Ashburton, the planet state and put forward by the Co-op has suggested
:57:29. > :57:33.there will be 15 jobs created. My question would become a 15 jobs
:57:33. > :57:38.would be good and welcome, but what about the jobs that will be lost in
:57:38. > :57:45.the middle of town? In that piece, we saw that Crediton
:57:45. > :57:54.has a supermarket and jobs have not been lost, shops have thrived. It
:57:54. > :57:58.does not mean that the two cannot co-exist, does it? A not at all.
:57:58. > :58:05.As a Conservative, my very being feels that competition is important,
:58:05. > :58:10.but not unrestrained where it has these social consequences. You
:58:10. > :58:16.mentioned Crediton, and speeding two traders there, there are many
:58:16. > :58:20.traders who believe it has had an effect on their business.
:58:20. > :58:23.The Government is calling for mortgage lenders to back a self-
:58:23. > :58:30.build revolution by lending more to people who want to build their own
:58:30. > :58:36.homes. The Government's community right to build proposal is part of
:58:36. > :58:39.the Localism Bill, but will it have a solid financial foundation? Our
:58:39. > :58:45.correspondent has been visiting one success story in Cornwall.
:58:45. > :58:51.I looked out the window the other day come at the average price now
:58:51. > :58:59.is 900,000. That is three times your income. This, as you know,
:58:59. > :59:07.will save me. It is a nice little place to start. 25-year-old David
:59:07. > :59:13.has lived in Rock all his life, he is a carpenter by his -- by trade
:59:13. > :59:19.and is building his own home. He is taking advantage of a community
:59:19. > :59:24.scheme which enables people to build a home for around �95,000.
:59:24. > :59:28.It is as -- it is a self build. I think if you were building them --
:59:28. > :59:32.if they were built and you were buying them, I think they would be
:59:32. > :59:35.fine. But they did not know what was going to go on, when getting a
:59:35. > :59:42.mortgage. This is the second House to be
:59:42. > :59:51.built by the St Minver Community Land Trust. 12 Houses were built in
:59:52. > :59:55.-- since 2008. The value of builders' Labour was taken on, but
:59:55. > :59:58.now it is no longer valued by mortgage providers.
:59:58. > :00:08.There is only two companies that have been providing that, one is
:00:08. > :00:08.
:00:08. > :00:12.the Halifax and the other is Ecology. There is very little on
:00:12. > :00:17.self-build. With conventional mortgages, a lump sum is
:00:17. > :00:20.transferred by the lender at the point of sale. With most self build
:00:20. > :00:24.mortgages, the lender transfers to to the borrower in blocks as
:00:24. > :00:28.different stages of the buildings are completed, providing they are
:00:28. > :00:33.happy with an inspection. Some lenders may be put off by the
:00:33. > :00:36.planning restrictions associated with affordable homes. For instance,
:00:36. > :00:41.the Houses at St Minver can only be sold to buyers with a certain
:00:41. > :00:50.criteria. For others not involved in community projects, there are
:00:50. > :00:55.options out there. Many plots tied builders into two hears so they are
:00:55. > :00:58.unable to switch to a cheaper rate which building is complete.
:00:58. > :01:03.I think the Government could be doing more, and lenders could be
:01:03. > :01:08.doing more come up to come up with the forms of mortgage that will
:01:08. > :01:15.make sure we create a flourishing sector across the country, in the
:01:15. > :01:19.way the scheme in Rock has done for that community. This is all about
:01:19. > :01:24.sustaining village life, maintaining the numbers in school
:01:24. > :01:28.and keeping local organisations going. That is what is so important.
:01:28. > :01:32.One of the first to move into the new estate was Charlie. He believes
:01:32. > :01:37.other could -- others could benefit from similar schemes.
:01:37. > :01:41.This works. It is a blueprint for other projects to happen. It is all
:01:41. > :01:46.very well to come up with different ideas, we could do this, we could
:01:46. > :01:50.do that, you do not need to. This works, it can get people into
:01:50. > :01:54.Houses now. But, if the self build revolution
:01:54. > :02:01.is to start here, some say greater investment is needed to get
:02:01. > :02:03.projects like this off the ground. What we need is a couple of million
:02:04. > :02:07.pounds floating around the county for two schemes to be running in
:02:08. > :02:12.parallel and in the 12 months the money gets paid back, then it can
:02:12. > :02:16.move onto the next parish that wants to build a dozen Houses. I
:02:16. > :02:19.honestly think we would get of the Houses we needed. If it worked in
:02:19. > :02:23.this country, I cannot see why it would not worked in every county in
:02:23. > :02:28.England. The price of land is still a major
:02:29. > :02:32.barrier to many self builds. If the farmer had not sold his land at a
:02:32. > :02:36.knock-down price, then crops would be flourishing, instead of a local
:02:36. > :02:41.community. That is all we have time for today,