:00:34. > :00:37.In the South West: A new idea to help first-time buyers. Cornwall
:00:37. > :00:40.Council says it can provide more affordable homes without spending
:00:40. > :00:50.any taxpayers' money. And should it be made illegal to keep a monkey
:00:50. > :00:50.
:00:50. > :37:24.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2193 seconds
:37:24. > :37:27.Plenty of parking and that is open for you. Buying a house for the
:37:27. > :37:30.first time here in the south west can be quite a challenge.
:37:30. > :37:33.average wage is low but house prices are high. To help people
:37:33. > :37:36.onto the housing ladder, the Government has a scheme called
:37:36. > :37:40.First Buy, which Matt Jardine from Redruth is using to buy his first
:37:40. > :37:45.home. Why I am a single man. I have the and child. He lives with his
:37:45. > :37:52.mother. And in the early years I did not think about getting a
:37:52. > :37:57.mortgage but now, I am getting on, I am 27, but it is very difficult
:37:57. > :38:01.to get a mortgage. He is lucky. The buyer purchases the majority share
:38:01. > :38:04.in a house but not the full cost. When they come to sell, the buyer
:38:04. > :38:07.keeps their share and their proportion of profit. He'll
:38:07. > :38:10.purchase the majority share of an affordable home, but not the whole
:38:11. > :38:13.cost. When he comes to sell, he'll keep his share and any profit
:38:13. > :38:15.associated with it. But Cornwall Council says the problem with the
:38:15. > :38:17.Government's scheme is that mortgage lenders are often
:38:18. > :38:20.reluctant to lend on so-called affordable homes because of
:38:20. > :38:22.restrictions attached to them. Also, smaller developers in Cornwall
:38:23. > :38:25.aren't involved because of the large number of houses required to
:38:26. > :38:28.make the scheme work. So, Cornwall Council is looking at its own
:38:28. > :38:31.scheme, which is designed to help more people get mortgages and
:38:31. > :38:36.involve more local developers. are trying to encourage developers
:38:36. > :38:41.across Cornwall to enter the scheme because it is a good way of making
:38:41. > :38:46.sure that we can have house in across Cornwall. We will never be
:38:46. > :38:49.able it with the current rates of building to building of houses for
:38:49. > :38:52.local people say about thinking outside the box, this is a pilot
:38:52. > :39:02.scheme is supported by the committee's agency and it will be
:39:02. > :39:09.the first in Britain to do this. can see the change as being a
:39:09. > :39:12.superb method of getting all the developers in Cornwall are on site.
:39:12. > :39:17.The small developer has been excluded to date but we can now
:39:17. > :39:21.offer products to the first-time buyer. He It's a similar idea, but
:39:21. > :39:23.the council will use the planning system to get a better deal from
:39:23. > :39:33.developers so the homes come with fewer restrictions and won't cost
:39:33. > :39:35.
:39:35. > :39:39.the taxpayer anything. And with less restrictions, the mortgage
:39:39. > :39:45.lenders are very willing to lend because the property maintains its
:39:45. > :39:49.real price. People can still pull on a discounted rates so there will
:39:49. > :39:54.still own the property and when it is sold, they will have their share
:39:54. > :40:01.so if it makes money, it makes money and the council can pass on
:40:01. > :40:06.to the up and market the discounted house to the next buyer. The buyers
:40:06. > :40:11.have to be new builds and you must be local. And that is a problem for
:40:11. > :40:14.someone like Robert from Penzance. He and his family rented home and
:40:14. > :40:17.the Black to take advantage of this scheme but have homes are being
:40:17. > :40:22.built in neighbouring towns and not your own, if there is nothing you
:40:22. > :40:27.can do. It is a good idea because they need housing in different
:40:27. > :40:35.areas with different people and local people should come first. But
:40:35. > :40:40.if they are not building in Penzance, I don't have a connection
:40:40. > :40:44.with other parishes. I do not know anybody who lives there. And that
:40:44. > :40:48.is quite restrictive. Unless you happen to live in the parish would
:40:48. > :40:51.be a building developments... Cornwall scheme is trying to get
:40:51. > :40:55.more people onto the latter but some experts are concerned that the
:40:55. > :41:00.focus should not be on owning property but making sure everyone
:41:00. > :41:04.has somewhere to live. I would like to see landlords being given more
:41:04. > :41:09.incentives and more long-term rights. Look at social housing,
:41:09. > :41:13.about accommodation and lifetime tenancies, these are the ideas the
:41:13. > :41:18.widespread society will benefit from. This is a good initiative but,
:41:18. > :41:23.frankly, it will only get a few hundred people heart. Shelter also
:41:23. > :41:27.welcomes anything that helps. But with around 20,000 people on the
:41:27. > :41:32.housing waiting list, it describes the plan as like putting a sticking
:41:32. > :41:34.plaster on a broken leg. John Ayres reporting. Ed Miliband addressed
:41:34. > :41:38.the issue of affordable housing rather controversially in his
:41:38. > :41:40.conference speech last week. The Labour leader said that when it
:41:40. > :41:44.came to social housing we shouldn't treat people who contribute to
:41:44. > :41:47.society in the same way as those who don't. Our first duty, he said,
:41:47. > :41:49.should be to the person who shows responsibility and he said every
:41:49. > :41:52.council should recognise the contribution that people are making.
:41:52. > :42:01.I asked him exactly what that meant. Was he saying Labour would force
:42:01. > :42:05.councils to prioritise people who had jobs, for instance? What it
:42:06. > :42:09.means is we say, councils should recognise the need and that is
:42:09. > :42:13.important but also the contribution and higher councils to that is a
:42:14. > :42:19.matter for them. We have some councils recognising people who
:42:19. > :42:24.work and are giving them extra points. The problem is that the one
:42:24. > :42:29.thing that has not taken account of his, are you volunteering or making
:42:29. > :42:34.some contribution? That is one part. The other is, we must get more
:42:34. > :42:39.houses built. And one of the things we have said is let's use the bank
:42:39. > :42:43.donor's tax to halt construction, cut VAT and get the industry moving.
:42:43. > :42:48.Those are important ways that we think we can make a difference to
:42:48. > :42:52.the chronic housing shortage. isn't just an issue of
:42:52. > :42:56.differentiating? This idea of the deserving and the undeserving
:42:56. > :42:59.homeless is a little bit Victorian. If people have housing and
:42:59. > :43:04.financial problems, they will be less likely to make any
:43:04. > :43:10.contribution to society? Councils like Manchester have shown
:43:10. > :43:16.practically how this can work. This is part of a bigger argument.
:43:16. > :43:20.Across the economy, the to in the welfare state, we have to have a
:43:20. > :43:25.system that rewards the right values. Something for hard work.
:43:25. > :43:28.That does not happen at the moment. We have to address this and I am
:43:28. > :43:32.determined we address this and that is what I have been talking about.
:43:32. > :43:38.And showing how we can cut tuition fees as well rather than going
:43:38. > :43:42.ahead with tax cuts. The main thing is building more houses. Planning
:43:42. > :43:46.is key to that? The Government has a proposal to make it easier to
:43:46. > :43:52.build houses and they say it's through the planning guidance. You
:43:52. > :43:55.or opposed to that? But the Government could... Labour spent a
:43:56. > :44:01.long time trying to get the plan... You want to force councils to build
:44:01. > :44:06.a certain amount of houses? To take the responsibility, for a certain
:44:06. > :44:08.number of houses in each area. The Government says we will play that
:44:08. > :44:12.off completely and you will see a massive drop in the number of
:44:12. > :44:20.planning permissions granted. We are going backwards on house
:44:20. > :44:23.building and it is very well at the Government... The presumption is
:44:23. > :44:27.tenable development but everybody is setting back the building of
:44:27. > :44:30.affordable housing. They are going the wrong direction. They have
:44:30. > :44:35.massively cut the budget for house building and had made the wrong
:44:35. > :44:40.decisions about planning and I feel what will happen in this country
:44:40. > :44:44.under this Government is that. want businesses to make
:44:44. > :44:47.contributions to society and one to recognise small businesses as the
:44:47. > :44:51.life blood. One of the contributions you want businesses
:44:51. > :44:55.to make is to offer apprenticeships but you would not offer a major
:44:55. > :45:00.government contracts to businesses to did not. That cuts out small
:45:00. > :45:06.businesses? Major government contracts because most small
:45:06. > :45:10.businesses do not get those. What I said about small businesses is they
:45:10. > :45:14.must have a better deal from the banks. A better deal from not just
:45:14. > :45:18.central government but local government and when I talk to small
:45:18. > :45:23.businesses in Britain, we had this that the Q&A session yesterday,
:45:23. > :45:27.there was a sense that they are not being served by the larger interest
:45:27. > :45:30.on the private sector. Warm smile businesses that the banks, let's
:45:30. > :45:34.have more competition so we start to deliver for small business
:45:34. > :45:42.because at the moment, small business is being let down by the
:45:42. > :45:45.actions of the banking system. Thank you very much. Some of the
:45:45. > :45:47.South West's head teachers say they're effectively being bribed
:45:47. > :45:50.with cash incentives to turn their schools into academies. One of
:45:50. > :45:52.Somerset's highest performing state schools says it won't give into
:45:52. > :45:56.pressure to follow the government's flagship policy, as Ruth Bradley
:45:56. > :46:02.reports. This is Heathfield Community School in Taunton. The
:46:02. > :46:06.best performing school in Somerset. 93% of Heathfield's students got
:46:06. > :46:09.five good GCSEs this year. But while most of Somerset's secondary
:46:09. > :46:14.schools have become academies in the last year, Heathfield won't be
:46:14. > :46:16.one of them. Because of this man. Elliott Furneax is a big believer
:46:16. > :46:26.in state education and says the Coalition's academies programme is
:46:26. > :46:30.
:46:30. > :46:33.immoral. I cannot stand up in an assembly and talk about being a and
:46:34. > :46:39.decent citizen and then take the decision of which massively
:46:39. > :46:44.advantages us as an already outstanding school against schools
:46:44. > :46:50.and families and Young people who will be very disadvantaged. Even
:46:50. > :46:55.though I do not think for sure that is what the Government intends.
:46:55. > :47:02.Unfortunately, the outcome will be very different to what they hope.
:47:02. > :47:08.He says if the school became an academy, he'd resign. Difficult to
:47:08. > :47:12.the point where in three years we were not the leading school, I hope
:47:12. > :47:17.that long before that, if I had anything to do with Academy funding,
:47:17. > :47:22.but I would have gone. If we get to the point when it is necessary, you
:47:22. > :47:27.won't have to come with men in white coats and take me. I will say,
:47:27. > :47:30.I cannot leave this because I do not agree with that. Academies get
:47:30. > :47:35.all their money straight from the Government, including the cash the
:47:35. > :47:38.council would have spent on things like IT and special needs. The head
:47:38. > :47:42.says this school would have been an extra half a million pounds better
:47:42. > :47:46.off, on top of their money from the council, by becoming an academy
:47:46. > :47:53.this September. These students can do the sums. That's �416 more for
:47:53. > :47:57.each of them. The government says schools shouldn't convert just
:47:57. > :48:05.because of the money. But head teachers are saying they've got no
:48:05. > :48:09.choice. I think that the vast majority of schools, if not all of
:48:09. > :48:15.them, in Somerset in the secondary sector who have become academies
:48:15. > :48:18.have done so for financial reasons. The sense in which we wish to work
:48:18. > :48:25.in partnership with each other remains as strong as it ever has
:48:25. > :48:27.done. The vast majority of Somerset secondaries are now academies or on
:48:27. > :48:35.their way. At this rate, Heathfield Community could become the last
:48:35. > :48:38.school standing. Ruth Bradley reporting. Our request for an
:48:38. > :48:48.interview with a Schools Minister was declined, but in a statement,
:48:48. > :48:49.
:48:50. > :48:53.the Department for Education told Our long-term ambition is that
:48:53. > :48:56.academies will be the norm in the schools system. And it insists: No
:48:56. > :49:05.one is putting a gun against any school's head to convert to
:49:05. > :49:08.academies. A Cornish MP is stepping up her campaign to make it illegal
:49:08. > :49:11.to keep monkeys as pets. Sheryll Murray, the MP for South East
:49:11. > :49:14.Cornwall, is calling for a ban after being inspired by a monkey
:49:14. > :49:17.sanctuary in her constituency. But the Government says existing animal
:49:17. > :49:21.welfare legislation is sufficient. We'll be hearing from Sheryll
:49:21. > :49:27.Murray after this report from Tamsin Melville. This is the
:49:28. > :49:30.Plymouth home of Tay2 and Rattler, cotton-eared marmoset monkeys.
:49:30. > :49:35.There's growing pressure on the Government to tighten up the law
:49:35. > :49:40.governing primates as pets. But at the moment this kind of thing is
:49:40. > :49:46.legal and the owner of this pair says he's doing nothing wrong.
:49:46. > :49:52.feel I have given I have given quality of life. They have a gin
:49:52. > :49:58.Mary and built on the ceiling. -- gymnasium. I feel I am the
:49:58. > :50:02.custodian of these for the future generation. And they trust me
:50:02. > :50:05.enough to share MySpace. Under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, certain
:50:05. > :50:09.species of primate need a licence. But marmosets like Tay2 are not
:50:09. > :50:18.included. It's just this sort of set-up campaigners want to see
:50:18. > :50:21.stopped. Primates are wild animals. They have never been domesticated
:50:21. > :50:25.and they struggle with captive environments and it to provide
:50:25. > :50:29.anything, it must be highly specialised. And somebody's back
:50:29. > :50:33.garden will never do that. No matter how much they care for that
:50:33. > :50:36.animal. Campaigners like Rachel say it's nothing short of a total ban
:50:37. > :50:39.on keeping primates as pets that will prevent a story like that of
:50:40. > :50:47.Grips, now happily living at the Wild Futures Sanctuary, but with a
:50:47. > :50:52.troubled past. The monkey enclosure was dilapidated and it was stripped
:50:52. > :50:56.bare of any enrichment. Localised and largely ineffective heating
:50:56. > :50:59.meant the monkeys were extremely cold and most worryingly, on
:50:59. > :51:03.monkeys were showing physical signs that they might have suffered from
:51:03. > :51:06.diabetes. This campaign video shows Grips' rescue from a private home
:51:06. > :51:10.in Essex. Of the 28 monkeys being looked after at this sanctuary in
:51:10. > :51:13.south east Cornwall, most of them came from private homes. And
:51:13. > :51:18.experts think across the UK there are around 5000 primates being kept
:51:18. > :51:21.essentially as pets. Under the current regulations it is down to
:51:21. > :51:25.local authorities to issue licences where needed and critics say many
:51:25. > :51:28.are unable to do the job properly. Campaigners estimate there's up to
:51:28. > :51:36.a 90% non-compliance rate, with only two licences known of at the
:51:36. > :51:40.moment across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset. Meanwhile,
:51:40. > :51:47.there are calls for a Code of Practice introduced in 2006 to be
:51:47. > :51:52.toughened up. With no enforcement, there is little purpose to it. At
:51:52. > :51:57.the moment, the Government says it is a voluntary code but if it isn't
:51:57. > :52:02.being enforced, it isn't being used, then people are being left to their
:52:02. > :52:06.own devices up and through neglect and mostly through lack of
:52:06. > :52:08.understanding and ignorance, there is a lot of suffering going on.
:52:08. > :52:17.Back in Plymouth, Pete Powell insists his monkeys are leading
:52:17. > :52:20.happy lives. I cannot see why there should be a total band. I can
:52:20. > :52:26.understand with larger monkeys because they can be aggressive.
:52:26. > :52:28.What the right care, these can be lovable, like children. DEFRA says
:52:28. > :52:31.the existing legislation is adequate and also says anyone
:52:31. > :52:33.owning a primate should comply with the Animal Welfare Act. Campaigners
:52:33. > :52:39.say they remain optimistic and are hopeful this Government will
:52:39. > :52:42.address the issue. Tamsin Melville reporting. Earlier, I spoke to the
:52:42. > :52:47.MP for South East Cornwall, Sheryll Murray, who wants to make it
:52:47. > :52:54.illegal to keep a monkey at home. I asked her if she had any sympathy
:52:54. > :52:59.for Mr Powell, who we saw in the film with his pet monkeys. Clearly,
:52:59. > :53:06.he does not realise the that he could be making those monkeys
:53:06. > :53:11.suffer. Is he? You could argue that form queues that smile, he is
:53:11. > :53:19.providing similar facilities to those that the century provides for
:53:19. > :53:24.bigger monkeys? Well, those monkeys are in a home environment and
:53:24. > :53:32.didn't really know what diet they are being given. It isn't just
:53:32. > :53:36.where you keep them, it is the diet they're fed. You heard at Wild
:53:36. > :53:43.Futures, some of the animals go on to develop diabetes because they
:53:43. > :53:50.are being fed the wrong things. I just feel that if somebody really,
:53:51. > :53:54.really cares for the Primate, they should let them live in an
:53:54. > :54:01.environment where it is like their natural environment. It isn't right
:54:01. > :54:06.to keep them in a home. No matter how many ropes they have got and
:54:06. > :54:12.feed them on things that perhaps isn't their natural diet. The only
:54:12. > :54:17.way that we can overcome this is by introducing a total band because
:54:17. > :54:20.clearly, we... A you could not just tighten the regulations? They have
:54:20. > :54:25.not worked because it is up to local authorities to enforce them.
:54:25. > :54:32.He could make sure that they do? There are a lot of local animal
:54:32. > :54:40.welfare officers who have no idea how to look after primates. They
:54:40. > :54:46.have no idea how to conduct the proper checks. And it is an area of
:54:46. > :54:52.expertise that would take a lot of money and education in all the
:54:52. > :54:59.authorities throughout the country for us to get right. And it has
:54:59. > :55:05.been going on for a very long time. He if you could see Joely, at the
:55:05. > :55:12.Wild Futures Sanctuary, he was kept in a cage and he was continually
:55:12. > :55:17.rocking from side to side. All day. This was a real sign that he was
:55:17. > :55:20.psychologically damaged. In terms of higher domesticated you might be,
:55:20. > :55:27.Wild Futures said that the Prime Minister said they had a strong
:55:27. > :55:32.case but that does not seem to be filtering through? If he does?
:55:32. > :55:38.need to keep on. The Member of Parliament who introduced the wild
:55:38. > :55:46.animals in circuses debate recently put forward a private member's bill
:55:46. > :55:52.during the last session to and it did not get anywhere. They say it
:55:52. > :55:56.will strengthen regulations? It is only through education. I but like
:55:56. > :56:02.to see it every MP speaking to the experts at Wild Futures to learn
:56:02. > :56:06.about this because I am absolutely certain that if a Minister for and
:56:06. > :56:11.the Members of Parliament realise the psychological damage that was
:56:11. > :56:16.being imposed on keeping these animals in captivity and feeding
:56:16. > :56:21.them on the wrong things, there would certainly be a big change of