:00:15. > :00:20.Wales Report, the toll being taken on Welsh workers and why they find
:00:20. > :00:25.it so hard to make ends meet. And calls to re-examine Britain's
:00:25. > :00:29.relationship with Europe, but what would be the cost BT Wales? And what
:00:29. > :00:39.can we do to raise literacy and numerous week standards in Welsh
:00:39. > :00:42.
:00:42. > :00:44.schools? -- new .
:00:44. > :00:50.Welcome to The Wales Report. You find as high above the Rhondda
:00:50. > :00:55.Valley for the start of a series of programmes coming from different
:00:55. > :01:01.locations across Wales. It is also the start of a special season on the
:01:01. > :01:07.economy, called What Is Wales Worth? We will be looking at the
:01:07. > :01:13.issues behind the statistics. In the valleys, once the cradle of
:01:13. > :01:19.industry, we begin by talking about the world of work. A recent study
:01:19. > :01:24.found that one in ten of us would like to and might need to work
:01:24. > :01:34.longer hours but while there is a will there is often not the way. We
:01:34. > :01:41.
:01:41. > :01:48.have been examining the whole issue more in work than there were a year
:01:48. > :01:51.ago. The economy is growing. That is positive...
:01:51. > :01:57.Politicians' voices have been reverberating around the South Wales
:01:57. > :02:01.valleys for some time. A familiar tune. There is work for those that
:02:01. > :02:06.want it badly enough. Unemployment figures are dropping, so they argue
:02:06. > :02:11.that there is reason to be optimistic. But on the ground in
:02:11. > :02:16.Merthyr Tydfil and in many other places across Wales, ask anyone if
:02:16. > :02:22.you think those figures reflect the true picture, and nearly everyone
:02:22. > :02:27.will tell you the same answer. A resounding no. This woman does not
:02:27. > :02:32.want to be identified. She has a job in a call centre. As she puts it,
:02:32. > :02:41.she has half the job. 24 hours a week, to be exact. She has asked for
:02:41. > :02:43.more but she cannot get a longer contract or overtime. In an ideal
:02:43. > :02:48.world I would be working full time hours. Over time has been stopped.
:02:48. > :02:53.People want to do more hours. The wages do not correspond with what
:02:53. > :02:57.you pay out, the mortgage and the rising cost of living. There may
:02:57. > :03:02.well be jobs in Wales, but full-time work with wages that you can live
:03:02. > :03:05.on, those sorts of jobs are harder to come by, it would seem. That is
:03:05. > :03:13.backed up by this report, compiled by economists from Stirling
:03:13. > :03:19.University. In it, they find that of all the UK regions, Wales now has
:03:19. > :03:25.the largest net balance of desired longer hours. So more of us want and
:03:25. > :03:32.need many more hours. In fact, one in ten of our workforce is
:03:32. > :03:37.underemployed. And it is a growing problem, the report concludes. In
:03:37. > :03:47.2008, 6.8% of the working age population was deemed to be
:03:47. > :03:53.underemployed. In 2012, that figure rose to 11.3%. Of those workers,
:03:53. > :03:57.young people have been particularly badly affected by underemployment.
:03:57. > :04:04.David is 27 and he is one of them. He said his bar work in carefully is
:04:05. > :04:09.so a regular he never knows what his weekly wage will be. It would be
:04:09. > :04:13.nice to work a proper week, 30 hours, get a decent wage and afford
:04:13. > :04:17.a flat. It is tough not knowing exactly how life will be week to
:04:17. > :04:25.week. It would be nice to know that I am getting this number of hours,
:04:25. > :04:28.equating to this amount of money, so I can afford this. It would appear
:04:28. > :04:37.that job sharing, zero hours contracts, and diminishing shiftwork
:04:37. > :04:40.are commonplace in labouring, cleaning, catering and many other
:04:40. > :04:45.sectors. But employee representatives say that staffing
:04:45. > :04:48.decisions are not easy in this current economic climate. I am sure
:04:48. > :04:53.employers would like to give full-time jobs where that is
:04:53. > :05:00.possible. The number of these contracts is very small in the
:05:00. > :05:06.economy across the UK and in Wales. Ultimately it is better to be 50%
:05:06. > :05:12.unemployed than 100% unemployed. -- 50% employed. We would like people
:05:12. > :05:17.to be able to get meaningful jobs and contribute to the economy.
:05:17. > :05:22.Analysts say that and implement can have a terrible effect on society. A
:05:22. > :05:29.few hours and less take-home pay means that people will have to
:05:29. > :05:33.borrow and get into debt, or just stop spending. Currently employers
:05:33. > :05:37.are not offering people longer hours, so they are taking a cut in
:05:37. > :05:41.living standards. Some individuals have taken up to a 10% cut in their
:05:41. > :05:47.living standards, even though they are still in work, because prices
:05:47. > :05:52.have increased at three or 5%, with wages increasing by 1% if they are
:05:52. > :05:57.lucky, or not at all. Looking forward is rather grim for many
:05:57. > :06:07.people. Nobody pretends there is a short-term easy solution to hand.
:06:07. > :06:08.
:06:08. > :06:09.But most accept that the official figures mask the growing financial
:06:09. > :06:11.struggle that many families currently face.
:06:11. > :06:16.Well, we asked the Welsh Government minister charged with tackling
:06:16. > :06:21.poverty to take part in this programme. He was not available.
:06:21. > :06:26.Joining us now is Owen Smith, the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales,
:06:26. > :06:31.and the Labour MP for Pontypridd. Thank you for joining us. Do you
:06:31. > :06:36.recognise that image of Wales as being a low income, part-time
:06:36. > :06:41.economy? Well, it is a reality that we have the lowest minimum wages in
:06:41. > :06:46.Britain in Wales, and we know that we have significant underemployment
:06:46. > :06:49.and part-time employment. There are perhaps 11% of people working in
:06:49. > :06:56.Wales that are underemployed, not working as many hours as they could
:06:56. > :07:02.do all would like to do. We have to recognise that reality. Who is
:07:03. > :07:06.responsible? I think the broader economy and the history of Wales is
:07:06. > :07:15.in part responsible? But who will do something about it? The Welsh
:07:15. > :07:20.Government is trying to do something. Jobs toggle macro -- we
:07:20. > :07:25.are doing something about getting more jobs but we clearly need to do
:07:25. > :07:28.more. We know about our history and we lived with our history, but the
:07:29. > :07:34.Labour Government has really not done as much as you claim it has
:07:34. > :07:38.over the last decade or so. Many of the jobs that you referred to are in
:07:38. > :07:45.fact, as we have shown, low-grade jobs. People working in call
:07:45. > :07:48.centres, who are actually underemployed in many cases. I think
:07:48. > :07:53.we need desperately to do more to recognise that we need more jobs and
:07:53. > :07:57.better jobs and decent wages, which is why I am so pleased that the
:07:58. > :08:02.Labour Party across Britain, led by Ed Miliband, is saying that work in
:08:02. > :08:06.the living wage and decent quality jobs have to be at the heart of the
:08:06. > :08:13.next Labour Government's efforts. And it will be the central plank of
:08:13. > :08:17.the next Labour manifesto, if you like. The GDP in Wales is way behind
:08:17. > :08:20.the rest of the UK, meaning it is largely dependent economy. There is
:08:20. > :08:24.not enough energy and enterprise going on here and the Welsh
:08:24. > :08:30.Government has not done enough over that period to generate that
:08:30. > :08:35.enterprise, and to bring in real jobs. That is what people want.
:08:35. > :08:39.do and they are right to want that. This is not a quick fix. We have a
:08:39. > :08:43.100 year decline in the reason for the communities like the one we are
:08:43. > :08:52.sitting in right now being here. These communities were here because
:08:53. > :08:58.of coal. That is gone and our economy has changed there. We cannot
:08:58. > :09:03.magic jobs out of nowhere. So we do not have the energy or enthusiasm or
:09:03. > :09:06.drive? I did not say that. We need a Government that sets itself
:09:06. > :09:10.targets. The Labour Government would set a target of full employment and
:09:10. > :09:15.would create living wage loans to make sure that their wages that
:09:15. > :09:21.people are ringing, irrespective of the work, were ample to meet their
:09:21. > :09:28.needs. The reality is that we have got a bottom heavy, if you like,
:09:28. > :09:30.London and South East focused British economy. There is a
:09:30. > :09:34.long-running deep-seated well-established pattern of regional
:09:34. > :09:38.inequality and poorer jobs the further away you get from London.
:09:38. > :09:41.Successive governments have recognised that. Do I think we have
:09:41. > :09:45.done enough? Do I think the last Labour Government did enough to
:09:45. > :09:53.change it? Clearly not because we still have a problem but the next
:09:53. > :09:56.one will, you mark my words. Well, you mentioned Ed Miliband, and he
:09:56. > :10:00.told us only this week, because this is a largely dependent economy as we
:10:00. > :10:07.have heard, that he will put a cap on benefits. But the main thing in
:10:07. > :10:13.that speech, if you have read it, was work. We are Labour, and the
:10:13. > :10:18.clue is in the name. The party of work and not welfare. The party of
:10:18. > :10:22.support? Of course but we want to get people working. There are many
:10:22. > :10:27.vulnerable people and you have had a lot to say about them, particularly
:10:27. > :10:33.on the subject of the bedroom tax. Would you scrap that? I would love
:10:33. > :10:39.to turn around and get rid of it. To do that today, two years outside the
:10:39. > :10:41.election, without knowing what the economy will look like... I cannot
:10:41. > :10:48.commit to scrapping the bedroom tax. You have said historically that we
:10:48. > :10:51.should. I think we ought to. There is no question in my view that the
:10:51. > :10:56.bedroom tax is iniquitous and is punishing the most vulnerable people
:10:56. > :11:00.in our society. I would love when we get to the election in two years
:11:00. > :11:06.time for us to pledge to reduce or get rid of the bedroom tax. But you
:11:06. > :11:14.cannot promise that you will get rid of it? I am not the leader or the
:11:14. > :11:19.Chancellor, so I could not promise it even if I wanted to. But even if
:11:19. > :11:22.I was, I could not guarantee to keep that promise two years out from the
:11:22. > :11:29.election. So what are you going to do that is significantly different
:11:29. > :11:33.from what Wales has seen from Labour so far? We will have living wage
:11:33. > :11:37.loans, we will incentivise businesses to pay higher amounts of
:11:37. > :11:41.money, we need to work harder to encourage business, incentivise
:11:41. > :11:46.business to move out of London and the South East and in two parts of
:11:46. > :11:52.Britain like Wales in particular South Wales and the valleys, in
:11:52. > :11:55.order to provide better jobs. Ultimately we need a much more
:11:55. > :12:02.active industrial strategy, with the Government working in partnership
:12:02. > :12:06.with business, in order to try and create jobs. So Labour have to be
:12:06. > :12:11.the businessman's friend in the future? It have to be the Government
:12:11. > :12:14.that works with business and understands that industry and
:12:14. > :12:18.Government is far more intertwined than the current Government would
:12:18. > :12:22.have us believe. The current Government believed they could cut
:12:22. > :12:25.the public sector and the private sector would flourish. Instead it
:12:25. > :12:29.was a fundamental economic mistake on their part and unfortunately we
:12:29. > :12:36.are reaping the rewards in higher unemployment and public sector job
:12:36. > :12:39.losses in Wales and elsewhere. you very much indeed. Now it is time
:12:39. > :12:42.to talk about relationships and in particular our relationship with the
:12:42. > :12:46.European Union. The Prime Minister has been coming under increasing
:12:46. > :12:52.pressure recently to give the go-ahead to a referendum on
:12:52. > :12:58.Britain's future within the EU. Many MPs say we should opt out. Others
:12:59. > :13:03.say that we should stay in. But what would this mean for Wales? We asked
:13:03. > :13:07.Doctor Martin O'Neill from Cardiff University, who works with projects
:13:07. > :13:17.across Wales funded by the European Union, to tell us what the EU has
:13:17. > :13:30.
:13:30. > :13:35.European funding is that we are in media that used to produce call, we
:13:35. > :13:41.used to provide you look with iron and steel. We are no longer in that
:13:41. > :13:45.position. When you look at some of the communities here in relation to
:13:45. > :13:51.poverty and health, we are suffering some of the biggest problems in the
:13:51. > :13:57.whole of Europe. As you can see, this is an sorry state of disrepair.
:13:57. > :14:03.The Lydall has attracted money from European funding which will make a
:14:03. > :14:08.difference to the way people experience it. -- the outdoor
:14:08. > :14:12.swimming pool. Part of the community of year, if we would lose something
:14:12. > :14:18.like that, it would make a significant difference to the way
:14:18. > :14:24.people live here everyday lives. European funding is very abstract,
:14:24. > :14:28.what it means to people, they ask what it means. This is what it
:14:28. > :14:35.really means to people, being able to come out and enjoy time in the
:14:35. > :14:37.park, having decent housing and decent roads. It is that European
:14:37. > :14:46.funding which really makes a difference to the basic quality of
:14:46. > :14:49.life. One of the things that makes a difference is when people ask what
:14:49. > :14:57.the European Community has done for us and we see the development going
:14:57. > :15:01.on, the little blue flag with the cold stars on it. We think of the
:15:01. > :15:09.number of people who are employed in European projects or projects which
:15:09. > :15:14.have some from Paul and in European funding. It is local businesses that
:15:14. > :15:20.benefit a lot of the time, that is the real difference it will make. If
:15:20. > :15:27.Wales wasn't part of the EU it with the utter disaster. I can state that
:15:27. > :15:31.strongly enough. The whole argument against being part of the EU strikes
:15:31. > :15:37.me as Jonny Fordham argument. When you look at the practicalities,
:15:37. > :15:42.things like this project here and the development of infrastructure,
:15:42. > :15:50.the road networks, the towns, they would be in a lot worse state
:15:50. > :15:58.without European funding. Now I am joined by the reader of Plaid Cymru
:15:58. > :16:08.and the conservative MP for the Vale of Glamorgan. Wales with the inner
:16:08. > :16:11.terrible mess without European money? I do not accept that. I would
:16:11. > :16:21.like to remain a member of the European Union under the right
:16:21. > :16:24.
:16:24. > :16:31.terms. The terms in which the UK is a member right now is not the best.
:16:31. > :16:40.With the EU without this investment which has been a huge positive thing
:16:40. > :16:44.for the valleys? It is our money, it just comes back, but it comes back
:16:44. > :16:51.with conditions. There was a desperate need for infrastructure
:16:51. > :16:55.projects in large parts of Wales, particularly the Valleys. The
:16:55. > :16:59.conditions that came back from the European Union at that time was that
:16:59. > :17:08.they did not want money to go into infrastructure but other community
:17:08. > :17:12.type projects. He has got a point, there is money coming in but it is
:17:12. > :17:21.not being spent wisely, we need to spend it in a way that helps create
:17:21. > :17:27.jobs and the economy. I accept that has not happened but I do not have
:17:27. > :17:35.much faith in the UK government to redistribute wealth within the rest
:17:35. > :17:41.of the UK. I do not think that is going on now like it is in the
:17:41. > :17:46.European Union. The whole point of these convergence and structural
:17:46. > :17:51.funds was to try to spread wealth throughout the European states. If
:17:51. > :17:55.you look at what happened when the Wall came down between the two
:17:55. > :18:01.German states, there was a deliberate plan to the distribute
:18:01. > :18:07.wealth across the two countries, to reunify them as one and now we can
:18:07. > :18:14.see the success coming from there. Do you really want to make that
:18:14. > :18:24.comparison? Germany is the European powerhouse, what they have done is
:18:24. > :18:24.
:18:24. > :18:28.investing jobs. That is what should be happening in Wales. It can happen
:18:28. > :18:35.with investment from the European Union. We can use that money better
:18:35. > :18:45.but without it we would be in dire straits. That is a point, it is a
:18:45. > :18:50.largely dependent economy? The only way the German model exists is on
:18:50. > :18:58.trade and I want to Europe in relationship that exists on trade,
:18:58. > :19:02.not one that comes with the inhibiting rules that it comes. We
:19:02. > :19:08.have a better understanding in Wales and Westminster of what the UK and
:19:08. > :19:17.Wales needs rather than bureaucrats in Brussels who are putting
:19:17. > :19:22.conditions on our on money. Who are we in this case? I will speak and
:19:22. > :19:28.Plaid Cymru will always speak in the interest of wheels. It is a
:19:28. > :19:34.different Europe and we received the funds we get not just through that
:19:34. > :19:40.but through the agricultural industry. What will happen if
:19:40. > :19:50.Scotland votes to stay in Europe against the lead -- the rest of the
:19:50. > :19:54.UK? Scotland have talked about joining Europe off their own backs
:19:54. > :20:03.if they get independent but some have said they might not want
:20:03. > :20:07.Scotland to be a member of the European Union. This is a UK, this
:20:07. > :20:17.happens before demolition of an existent. The point is quite clear
:20:17. > :20:21.
:20:21. > :20:26.it is not a UK government. Let on that point to Leanne. If the rest of
:20:26. > :20:31.us decide to stay in Europe we should not allow a no vote in
:20:31. > :20:38.England to get us out. In all likelihood it would cost us an awful
:20:38. > :20:48.lot more. We would still be bound by many rules without having a sea. We
:20:48. > :20:53.
:20:53. > :21:02.would have less of a C. -- say. could become the gateway for all
:21:02. > :21:09.these international investors. want us to stay in Europe and the
:21:09. > :21:15.Prime Minister does so why are we having this conversation? I want to
:21:15. > :21:21.be primarily focused on trade which is why we joined in the 1970s.
:21:21. > :21:26.will leave it there. The Welsh education service has come under
:21:26. > :21:32.criticism with services in five local authorities in special
:21:32. > :21:40.measures. He then the Valleys some local schools have failed to meet
:21:40. > :21:46.the great with shocking statistics showing four out of ten children in
:21:46. > :21:52.Merthyr are functioning illiterate. From seven Ember literacy and new
:21:52. > :21:56.Morrissey will form the basis of all lessons, not just English, Welsh and
:21:56. > :22:02.maths. We went to a school in Cardiff where the head teacher was
:22:02. > :22:10.recently voted the Welsh head teacher of the year, to see what she
:22:10. > :22:15.and they are doing to improve standards. All children who come
:22:15. > :22:19.here are expected to work to the best of their potential. We will
:22:19. > :22:26.track a child from a very young age, from starting nationally we analyse
:22:26. > :22:33.the data and test scorers and try to help and support the children with
:22:33. > :22:35.their particular needs as they arise throughout the school. What new
:22:35. > :22:45.Morrissey skills can you use today to help solve this particular
:22:45. > :22:48.
:22:48. > :22:52.Robson? We use it to thrive, we want the children to thrive. We cover the
:22:52. > :22:57.same points as the child progresses through the school. I feel this
:22:57. > :23:02.could help schools but it does depend on the leadership of the
:23:02. > :23:12.schools as to how they manage to support their staff and framework.
:23:12. > :23:13.
:23:13. > :23:18.What was your favourite? This.There are still differences in the way
:23:18. > :23:24.teachers assess ripples so we hope that by having the new national
:23:24. > :23:34.literacy framework it will be a sharper and tighter form of
:23:34. > :23:38.
:23:38. > :23:42.assessment. Just one page. Just one page. Just like any new initiative
:23:42. > :23:47.the tests will have to be evaluated, perhaps this year when people have
:23:47. > :23:54.been through the cycle once or next year after they have had time to go
:23:54. > :24:02.through the framework. We have two insure it gives the best possible
:24:02. > :24:09.life chance to every child. Joining me now is a leading academic and
:24:09. > :24:12.adviser to the Welsh government. In these valleys minders used to walk
:24:12. > :24:22.behind banners that said knowledge is power, he understood the benefit
:24:22. > :24:23.
:24:23. > :24:27.of education. What has gone wrong? think when devolution started
:24:27. > :24:34.everybody was very complacent about education. There was a great test of
:24:34. > :24:38.the of love and idolatry of education in the Valleys. People
:24:38. > :24:47.thought we were OK because we were doing better than England but we got
:24:48. > :24:53.a shock in 2007 with the first national survey and in 2010 we were
:24:53. > :24:58.much worse. We started to ask ourselves see these questions. It is
:24:58. > :25:02.not that we do not know how to educate children in Wales, we have
:25:02. > :25:07.good schools, quite good local authorities, wonderful teachers.
:25:07. > :25:14.What we do not yet is get the knowledge around about what they did
:25:14. > :25:20.people do to all our parts of the system. Have we worried too much
:25:20. > :25:25.about added value over the years rather than the basics? I think
:25:25. > :25:34.working around the world we have missed many tricks in the 2000 is.
:25:34. > :25:36.The skills developed capacity among the teachers to teach. Scotland did
:25:36. > :25:42.literacy and new Morrissey programmes so every teacher got
:25:43. > :25:50.trained. If you look at Australia, Canada, most American states, most
:25:50. > :25:55.countries resourced the teachers and see that the best thing for the
:25:55. > :26:03.children is when the teachers teach well. We did not do that. We slept
:26:03. > :26:10.on the international league tables. -- slight down the international
:26:10. > :26:14.league tables. Now what we are trying to do is ensure everybody
:26:14. > :26:21.knows what is good practice about teaching, how to run schools and
:26:22. > :26:26.local authorities. It is the same administration that has largely been
:26:26. > :26:36.in charge of that time, how can we have confidence they can fix a
:26:36. > :26:46.problem that has caused such kiosks in our education system? -- caused
:26:46. > :26:48.
:26:48. > :26:55.such chaos. There is certainly no complacency now. One point that the
:26:55. > :27:05.Labour government want to pursue in Wales is that certain groups are too
:27:05. > :27:06.
:27:06. > :27:12.small. Two very small local authorities are providing
:27:12. > :27:21.educational services. We have lots of bitty education authorities that
:27:21. > :27:24.do not necessarily have the knowledge in depth. Across the piece
:27:24. > :27:32.we have not necessarily got the talent there in depth to help
:27:32. > :27:36.schools. We do not know what is coming out next week but I am sure
:27:36. > :27:41.there are changes coming to local authorities in an attempt to make
:27:41. > :27:50.them better and better. Bigger with be better in the case of our local
:27:50. > :27:55.authority. Thank you very much indeed. Next week we will be in
:27:55. > :28:01.North Wales where we also hope the sun will be shining. I will be back
:28:01. > :28:05.before then on Tuesday night on BBC One in Wales where this week we will
:28:05. > :28:15.be examining the controversy surrounding Gypsies and Travellers,
:28:15. > :28:24.