:00:45. > :00:50.As the last ever edition of the In the South West, calls for a
:00:50. > :00:55.crackdown on second homes. We ask, is it time to end discounts for
:00:55. > :00:59.second-home owners. And the skipper has to fear at
:00:59. > :01:09.their lively mood it is going to get sung by new fishing policy. --
:01:09. > :01:09.
:01:09. > :40:33.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2364 seconds
:40:33. > :40:38.Welcome to the Politics Show in the South West. The subject of second
:40:38. > :40:43.homes is an emotive one in rural areas. Now the government is being
:40:43. > :40:48.asked to end the cancelled discount on second homes. Calls come from
:40:48. > :40:57.Cornwall, a county with one of the largest numbers of second homes in
:40:57. > :41:00.the country. They ate... He helped to set up his
:41:00. > :41:05.housing development of three years ago. The funding came from central
:41:05. > :41:11.government. Now he says the funding is drying up. That is why on
:41:11. > :41:16.Tuesday, to a soul Cornwall council, he proposed to abolish the 10 %
:41:16. > :41:20.council discount to second-home owners, and use that new revenue to
:41:21. > :41:25.provide homes for local people. is one of our main priorities, the
:41:25. > :41:30.delivery of affordable homes in Cornwall. There is a high level of
:41:30. > :41:36.deprivation, and the second home situation has exacerbated the
:41:36. > :41:39.prices of homes in Cornwall. And we need to do something about it. With
:41:39. > :41:44.government cuts, it is essential that we find another revenue source
:41:44. > :41:49.to provide these homes for local people. The law states councils
:41:49. > :41:53.must offer as second homes discount between 50 and 10 %, as no one
:41:53. > :41:57.lives there on a permanent basis. Local authorities have discretion
:41:57. > :42:01.to set the level. Most councils in the South West have chosen the
:42:01. > :42:06.minimum. Cornwall Council voted unanimously that second term
:42:06. > :42:10.discounts should be removed, and they have christened the Eric
:42:10. > :42:16.Pickles calling for change. If it gets the go ahead, owning a second
:42:16. > :42:20.property could cost the owner roughly another 100 to �300 per
:42:20. > :42:25.year in council tax. Probably the lack of affordable housing for
:42:25. > :42:28.people who have grown up in the area, I do not see why people who
:42:28. > :42:33.are lucky enough to be able to afford a second home should have
:42:33. > :42:43.the advantage of a subsidy. Local people cannot afford them, it is
:42:43. > :42:44.
:42:44. > :42:51.difficult. I am all for it. People who live locally do not have a
:42:51. > :42:57.chance to get at home. They should -- should they pay poll council tax
:42:57. > :43:01.if they are not here all the time? I do not know. There are currently
:43:01. > :43:06.nearly 14.002nd homes in Cornwall, this hamlet in the South West of
:43:06. > :43:11.the county has just over per -- 50 % of its houses owned a second
:43:11. > :43:15.homes. If they are also lead as holiday accommodation. It will also
:43:15. > :43:19.be difficult for us, but we support local people. I know it is
:43:19. > :43:25.difficult for them to get housing in the area. And I am sympathetic
:43:25. > :43:29.to that. I think there could be some reassurance that it would go
:43:29. > :43:34.to a pot that was for local people, if that was there I would have no
:43:34. > :43:38.problem. Are I would like to reassure second homeowners this is
:43:38. > :43:42.not about grabbing money, it is about using a potential source of
:43:42. > :43:47.revenue to provide a facility that we really need so badly here in
:43:47. > :43:52.Cornwall. I tried to find more second home owners, but it seems
:43:52. > :43:55.that most were away at their first home. At one resident he used to
:43:55. > :44:00.holiday in the area and has now retired and moved to her favourite
:44:00. > :44:04.spot for thinks more should be done to help the local community.
:44:04. > :44:07.think people should contribute more to helping the true local people,
:44:07. > :44:14.he cannot afford a housing because there are so many second owners and
:44:14. > :44:19.that has raised the prices. I would say may be over the odds, more than
:44:19. > :44:23.the normal council tax, would not come amiss, especially in an area
:44:23. > :44:28.like this that is struggling financially. In Devon, the
:44:28. > :44:35.suggestion that of a higher charges is not higher -- enough for some
:44:35. > :44:40.councillors. I would like to take more steps, raised it to 200 %,
:44:40. > :44:46.raised in the region of �8 million. With that, you can invest in rural
:44:46. > :44:51.public transport, buses, local hospitals, and also in affordable
:44:51. > :44:58.housing for young, working families. Removing the discount is
:44:58. > :45:02.complicated. Without it, councils risk losing second home owners. It
:45:02. > :45:06.could also cause them to claim business rates instead. Off all
:45:06. > :45:09.council has sent a strong message to the government this week, but it
:45:09. > :45:14.may take a lot more than that to persuade Parliament to change the
:45:14. > :45:20.law. At Westminster, I caught up with
:45:20. > :45:27.Alison Seabeck and Oliver Cole bill. Asked Alison Seabeck about the
:45:27. > :45:32.labour's changes to the log. I wanted to know why it had not given
:45:32. > :45:38.the power to scrap it altogether. Do labour government pitched up
:45:38. > :45:43.their council tax from 50 % to 90 %. The 10 % was there as an incentive,
:45:43. > :45:51.because frankly, the 100 %, you would find people coming up with
:45:51. > :45:55.all kinds of dodgers. It was Amin's and a mechanism of ensuring as many
:45:55. > :46:02.people as possible were actually almost about the fact that they
:46:02. > :46:08.owned a second home. And if you raised it to 100 % there is a
:46:08. > :46:12.gemConcern -- genuine concern, people are adamant that 10 % oz
:46:12. > :46:19.make a difference to the fact that people owned up and to pay. We
:46:20. > :46:29.pitched it up by 40 %. But we needed the 10 % to encourage people
:46:29. > :46:32.to own up. That seems persuasive of. I think local authorities are under
:46:32. > :46:38.a huge amount of pressure financially, and I think they will
:46:38. > :46:41.be looking to make ends meet however they can. I suspect there
:46:42. > :46:46.will be some pressure on them doing it, and I think we should be
:46:46. > :46:50.allowing them to decide what they want to do themselves. That is all
:46:50. > :46:55.part of the local authority agenda, the more powers we can give them
:46:55. > :46:59.which are discretionary, the better decisions they can make. Ultimately,
:46:59. > :47:03.it is up to the local people when they vote to save what they have --
:47:03. > :47:07.whether they are happy with what they have ended up with or not. I
:47:07. > :47:10.do not think it is a very big problem. What I think local
:47:10. > :47:16.authorities should be doing is trying to make sure they develop a
:47:16. > :47:20.more coherent and bigger business days. There are measures coming up
:47:20. > :47:25.where they will be able to keep some of that money. So they should
:47:25. > :47:29.be able to get rid of the discount? Yes, if it is what they want to do.
:47:29. > :47:36.But I think there will be a case where the local up what -- the ball
:47:36. > :47:42.may not be happy with that. Even if it makes it difficult to identify
:47:42. > :47:46.second homes? It should not be difficult to do so. That is the way
:47:46. > :47:51.in which we should allow local authorities to make up their own
:47:51. > :47:56.minds. Another way of identifying second homes would be to increase
:47:56. > :48:05.their council tax. Some Liberal Democrats are calling for that.
:48:05. > :48:08.increase it to 100 %? To double it? We are into localism, aren't we.
:48:08. > :48:12.Local authorities will have to make decisions about the things they
:48:13. > :48:18.want to do. However, the government has been clear that they do not
:48:18. > :48:28.expect council tax to rise. So local authorities are damned if
:48:28. > :48:34.they do and damned if they do not! Is issued is a lot more about the
:48:34. > :48:37.housing crisis than second home owners. You are government has
:48:37. > :48:42.abandoned house building targets, it has cut the social housing
:48:42. > :48:47.budget. But you still have ambitions? We are using the carrot
:48:48. > :48:51.rather than the stick approach. Central government under the labour
:48:51. > :48:57.Party set targets that local authorities had to try to achieve.
:48:57. > :49:00.That did not work. The problem therefore is how we get the local
:49:00. > :49:04.authorities to bring forward housing development. And by
:49:04. > :49:08.allowing them to retain more of their council tax taking from the
:49:08. > :49:14.new homes, I hope that that is going to work well, and people will
:49:14. > :49:18.be encouraged to do so. In Plymouth, my constituency, there has been a
:49:18. > :49:23.large amount of campaigning to make sure they develop more housing in
:49:23. > :49:28.this city. I very much hope local authorities will take the incentive
:49:28. > :49:36.to meet some of the expenditure they need to make. It is a big
:49:36. > :49:43.ideological issues. Did you a stick approach fail, where their cat --
:49:43. > :49:48.carrot approach can work? We did not fail, we got a lot of housing
:49:48. > :49:52.development, it was going in the right direction. It has now dropped
:49:52. > :50:00.completely, partly because of the recession but partly because of
:50:00. > :50:06.measures this government have taking. They have continued to
:50:06. > :50:10.decline, Eric Pickles -- Eric Pickles's own letter showed quite
:50:10. > :50:15.clearly he did not expect to build the number of homes they had
:50:15. > :50:19.anticipated. I think that is damning. It is not just labour,
:50:19. > :50:22.other people are concerned that you will not get these houses built.
:50:22. > :50:29.got elected on a promise that we would allow local authorities to
:50:29. > :50:33.make much more decisions. And we were clear as to how we would do
:50:33. > :50:38.that, I very much hope it will work and we just need to make sure that
:50:38. > :50:43.it does happen. We will have to leave it there. Thank you very much
:50:43. > :50:46.for your time. Fisher men from around the South
:50:46. > :50:50.West are warning that plans to reform the inshore fishing fleet
:50:50. > :50:53.could force them out of business. Owners of small boats are worried
:50:53. > :51:01.about the introduction of a new quota system which they say could
:51:01. > :51:05.see them lose out to bigger vessels. They pride themselves on their
:51:05. > :51:09.traditional way or fishing. Using small boats, they catch fish within
:51:09. > :51:14.a small distance of the shore. The size of their vessels mean that
:51:14. > :51:17.today, they are unable to go out to sea. They were freed from
:51:17. > :51:22.government restrictions, but planned reforms will mean quit his
:51:22. > :51:27.which they say could finish them. We believe that the way fishing is
:51:27. > :51:32.carried out here secures long-term future is, it is highly sustainable,
:51:32. > :51:37.and we see no reason for quotas to impinge on small boat Fischer's
:51:37. > :51:41.like this. Overfishing is not in question. What is in question is a
:51:41. > :51:46.way of life for a community, and all that that means to people here
:51:46. > :51:51.and in similar places around the coast. Under the plans, the
:51:51. > :51:55.government wants small vessels to have a new quotas. The idea is that
:51:55. > :51:59.the Community quotas are set up and decided on at a local level, the
:51:59. > :52:03.aim being to enable local businesses do manage their overall
:52:03. > :52:08.quotas flexibly, and to provide opportunities to swap and purchase
:52:08. > :52:14.them. But the basis for deciding the quota will be the individual
:52:14. > :52:19.track records of what each boat caught between 2007 and 2010. As
:52:19. > :52:24.system which smaller Fisher men at the same is not fair, because it
:52:24. > :52:29.will restrict them to match. day, we might be for three or four
:52:29. > :52:35.different species. For some of those do not come under the quota
:52:35. > :52:40.system at the moment, and some do. What we are concerned about is that
:52:40. > :52:45.the reference period which is being taken, some of us will not have
:52:45. > :52:50.enough of the species which come under the quota do actually make a
:52:50. > :52:54.sustainable living when they come in. This Fisher men feel
:52:54. > :53:00.politicians in Westminster do not understand the way they work. But
:53:00. > :53:03.the Fisheries Minister says they will try to come up with a solution.
:53:03. > :53:08.Fisher men were encouraged to diversify away from the pressures
:53:08. > :53:12.stocks, those which are under pressure. As many of them did. We
:53:12. > :53:16.want to make sure that they are not penalised under this system,
:53:16. > :53:20.because they are now going into fishing for shellfish or other
:53:20. > :53:23.stocks that are not so environmentally under pressure. So
:53:23. > :53:29.we have a very difficult calculation to make. But if we get
:53:29. > :53:35.it right, we believe that at the smaller fleet will be able to
:53:35. > :53:41.access more fishing opportunity. Bass is really important. St Ives
:53:41. > :53:45.MP Andrew George is worried about the changes. He has met with Fisher
:53:45. > :53:49.men from around his constituency, and is hoping to take a delegation
:53:49. > :53:54.to see this fishing minister. He is keen to highlight the differences
:53:54. > :53:59.between the bigger and smaller boats. You have the problem of what
:53:59. > :54:03.are known as a rule beaters, the very powerful bodes that I just
:54:03. > :54:07.within the length, and those needs to be taken out of the system as
:54:07. > :54:11.treated quite differently. That is on the basis of their power and
:54:11. > :54:16.their size. Then you have to ensure that there is reasonable
:54:16. > :54:20.flexibility, so that the insurer industry can operate in a manner
:54:20. > :54:25.which is actually able to catch the fish that passed by their front
:54:25. > :54:31.door, as it were. But the minister insists reform is needed to give
:54:31. > :54:38.the inshore fleet a fairer deal. the moment, we have a situation
:54:38. > :54:43.where the inshore fleet fish out of a pool of quota of. So effectively,
:54:43. > :54:46.they get the scraps from the system. We want to treat them like every
:54:46. > :54:51.other fish are Man by giving them the opportunity to hold a quarter
:54:51. > :54:56.in their own right, and still exploit more opportunities to fish.
:54:56. > :55:01.And this requires accurately assessing what they have done in
:55:01. > :55:06.recent years, and apportioning it in a fairway. Hopefully, if we get
:55:06. > :55:09.this right, they will be able to catch more fish. His department is
:55:09. > :55:16.evaluating responses to a recent consultation, with a view to
:55:16. > :55:21.bringing in changes next year. Ben Bradshaw challenge the MP --
:55:21. > :55:24.the Prime Minister it is weak over the takeover of BSkyB. He
:55:24. > :55:28.questioned assurances that the Government was following the
:55:28. > :55:33.correct legal process at a time when News International says
:55:33. > :55:37.allegations of phone hacking. simply not the case that the
:55:37. > :55:42.government has followed the normal process in relation to the News
:55:43. > :55:45.Corporation takeover of BSkyB. Wider as the believe the assurances
:55:45. > :55:50.that News Corporation executives have given are any more credible
:55:50. > :55:54.than the assurances they gave over phone hacking? The point is that we
:55:54. > :55:58.have followed the correct legal processes, and if you do not follow
:55:58. > :56:02.them he will be judicially reviewed, and all the decisions you would
:56:02. > :56:08.like to make from a political point of view will be struck down in the
:56:08. > :56:12.courts. You look pretty for one day but useless for a week. Adrian
:56:13. > :56:15.Sanders added his voice to those questioning the ability of the
:56:16. > :56:20.Press Complaints Commission to regulate the newspaper industry. It
:56:20. > :56:26.was part of a wider concern over the way that a hacking scandal has
:56:26. > :56:29.been handled. At 2007 inquiry elicited a response from News
:56:29. > :56:37.International that they had carried out a full inquiry themselves and
:56:37. > :56:43.were satisfied that the case was isolated. This was patently untrue.
:56:43. > :56:48.Our second inquiry came across more obstacles. They refused to present
:56:48. > :56:51.evidence. What was more worrying was the attitude to all Scotland
:56:51. > :56:57.World -- yard. I come back to the point I made today, but we cannot
:56:57. > :57:06.have confidence in the Metropolitan Police investigating this. We can
:57:06. > :57:11.only have confidence in a full judicial inquiry was adjudged he
:57:11. > :57:15.can take promises under oath, as questions under oath, and seek
:57:15. > :57:19.papers and witnesses. We desperately need that inquiry.
:57:19. > :57:25.The plight of Plymouth Argyle Football Club was also raised in
:57:25. > :57:28.the Commons. The club has a new owner, but MPs want to prevent
:57:28. > :57:32.other clubs falling into administration and not being able
:57:32. > :57:36.to pay their staff. Plymouth Argyle are hoping to get
:57:36. > :57:40.back to normal with their new owner and new players. But MPs want
:57:40. > :57:46.lessons to be learned. I do not want to see another club go through
:57:46. > :57:50.this. And I'm sure there best-known supporter, Michael's that, will be
:57:50. > :57:54.turning in his grave. In deed, I am pleased he is not here to see what
:57:54. > :58:01.has happened as the misery that has been heaped on loyal staff and
:58:01. > :58:04.supporters. Their employees should never have been put in a position.
:58:04. > :58:08.The directors behaved in an irresponsible manner. They thought
:58:08. > :58:12.they could use their club to make money for themselves through a
:58:12. > :58:17.property deal. Staff and players have not been paid since the club
:58:17. > :58:21.got into financial difficulty. One proposal local MPs would like to
:58:22. > :58:26.see taken on is an insurance policy, paid into by the clubs. It would
:58:26. > :58:30.pay wages when a club hits a financial crisis. I do find it
:58:30. > :58:37.astonishing that, given the amount of money which circulates at the
:58:37. > :58:41.top of that ball, clubs which in some cases use the lower division
:58:41. > :58:45.clubs as a nursery, that some contribution could not come from
:58:45. > :58:49.them to support the ground staff when this kind of circumstance
:58:49. > :58:57.arises. The Minister felt it was for the football authorities to see
:58:57. > :59:00.whether rules should be titled. -- tightened. Clubs have to take
:59:00. > :59:03.greater responsibility, and supporters should not have to bail
:59:04. > :59:13.out the club because of bad financial management by owners and
:59:13. > :59:18.directors. So, the stark reality is that, for any company or
:59:18. > :59:23.organisation, not least a Football Club, emerging successfully from
:59:23. > :59:26.administration will be both painful and difficult. The focused must be
:59:26. > :59:30.on doing all it is possible to avoid clubs getting into that kind
:59:30. > :59:35.of problem in the first place. The hope and expectation is that, as
:59:35. > :59:38.part of the wider process of the inquiries and recommendations, the
:59:39. > :59:43.football authorities will take steps to deal with such challengers
:59:43. > :59:48.themselves. MPs say they will be watching closely to make sure that
:59:48. > :59:54.happens. Some parliamentary news from
:59:54. > :00:03.Brussels, where Giles Chichester has been elected a vice-president
:00:03. > :00:06.of the European Parliament. As well as chairing debates, he will have
:00:06. > :00:14.special responsibilities in several areas. He says he thinks he will
:00:14. > :00:18.take on many of the same roles his predecessor held. That is all from