BBC transcripts
17:30 Friday 13th February 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
WILL FYFE: In the last half an hour, Peterborough City Council have announced they’re dropping plans for two proposed solar farms. The sites at Newborough and Morris Fen will no longer be considered, but they do want to do more research on a site at America Farm.
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09:23 Tuesday 10th February 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
PAUL STAINTON: When was the last time you had a payrise? Well never fear, because DC David Cameron is urging business leaders today to give their staff payrises. He will say that economic conditions have not been this good for such a long time. Well with us this morning to discuss what David Cameron has had to say about this is Darren Fower, LibDem Parliamentary candidate for Peterborough. Morning sir.
DARREN FOWER: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: We’ve got Daniel Zeichner with us as well. He’s the Labour Parliamentary candidate for Cambridge. Morning Daniel.
DANIEL ZEICHNER: Morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: And Vicky Ford, who’s the Conservative MEP for the East of England. Morning Vicky.
VICKY FORD: Morning.
PAUL STAINTON: He’s set the cat among the pigeons hasn’t he, DC this morning? We’re all going to get a payrise. I’m looking forward to it Vicky.
VICKY FORD: Oh well, it is the case that we are now the fastest growing economy in the Western world, and that’s all due to the Long Term Economic Plan working. And I think people would like to see pay rise, and this is the Prime Minister encouraging businesses to realise that the situation is looking better than it’s done for a while. And if they can afford to, let’s put some of that money back in people’s pockets.
PAUL STAINTON: Is he going to lead by example and put pensions up for pensioners,. give them a payrise?
VICKY FORD: This is looking at the private sector, not the public sector.
PAUL STAINTON: Oh right.
VICKY FORD: Because of course the public sector, you know, we still need to keep working on this debt and deficit, and correcting that mess that we were left behind by the last Government. So this is saying to the private sector, to businesses, growth is coming. They’ve done a good job. We’ve got two million more new jobs created by businesses. We’ve obviously given people a tax cut. 27 million people have benefited for that tax cut. That’s at the lowest end of pay.
PAUL STAINTON: But if things are so good Vicky, why doesn’t he practice what he preaches?
VICKY FORD: Well he is saying now it’s time for the private sector to also deliver on giving benefits. He has practiced what he’s preaching in that he has put the money through his low taxes into 27 million pockets. So your pay slip is looking better at the bottom line. But he’d like the businesses to start making it look better at the top line.
PAUL STAINTON: Good news Daniel, isn’t it, that the economy is doing so well? Good news that we can all afford as a small business, medium business, to give our employees a payrise apparently.
DANIEL ZEICHNER: Well the hypocrisy is just breathtaking, isn’t it? Cameron is the boss of millions of workers in this country, National Health Service workers for instance. And has he even followed the advice of his own independent pay review body? Not at all. So what he’s doing is he’s ambling out of his champagne reception from last night, wandering along to the Chambers of Commerce, and just basically saying to Britain’s hard working business leaders, you should do it. I’m not prepared to do it. And don’t forget that people are now something like £1600 a year worse off. This is going to be the first time that people have gone into a General Election worse off than at the last election. We’ve got 1.4 million people on zero-hours contracts. Frankly Cameron is not going to deliver on any of this. It’s just a pre-election speech, and I hope people will see through it.
PAUL STAINTON: We’ve spoken to the Chairman of Cambridgeshire’s Chamber of Commerce, John Bridge. He can’t come on this morning because he’s actually at the conference and just taking his seat. But he says he’d “prefer the Government to keep their opinions to themselves and focus on bringing in investment and developing growth. many businesses can’t afford pay rises at this time, so to recommend them isn’t very wise.” Darren Fower, where’s the LibDems? Stop him. I thought that was what you were doing. You were reining him in. Continue reading “David Cameron calls for pre-election private sector pay boost”
07:40 Thursday 29th January 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
DOTTY MCLEOD: An extra £38 million of Government money is coming to Cambridgeshire. It’s been granted to the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership, which helps promote the county’s economy. It will go towards building the Ely by-pass, improving the M11’s junction at Stansted Airport, and creating a new academy for civil engineering in Huntingdon. Neil Darwin is the Interim Chief Executive of the Enterprise Partnership. Morning Neil. Exactly how are you going to decide how this money is divvied up?
NEIL DARWIN: We’ve been working on that for quite some time. We’ve got a prioritised list, and as you’ve just read out, the ones that surfaced as being the most crucial are the ones that you’ve just mentioned. So we’ve been going through a rather long process with an extremely long list of projects from across the county, and those are the ones that we deem most necessary in the short term.
DOTTY MCLEOD: And how have you got hold of the money?
NEIL DARWIN: It’s though a process that the Government calls Growth Deals, and this is the second round. You may recall we had a round back last summer, where we received £70 million. And again, this is the second round of that process, with clearly a little less money nationally, but that fits where Government is at the moment. We’re very pleased to get our hands on what’s available.
DOTTY MCLEOD: A lot of these projects were going to happen anyway. I’m thinking of the Ely by-pass which has been decided. It will happen no matter what. So how much difference will this really make?
NEIL DARWIN: It’s simply the money. They have been decided. We know they’re necessary. But the missing link is always the money. So again we’ve been working with local partners, the county, the district, to ensure that we can get the money into some of these necessary improvements.
DOTTY MCLEOD: I’m remembering a story that we did last week Neil about the Fletton Parkway in Peterborough, where it’s going to cost £4 million more than the Council thought to complete that widening work. Is there going to be any spare coin for there? Continue reading “Local Enterprise Partnership secures further Growth Deal cash for Cambridgeshire”
10:25 Friday 23rd January 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
PAUL STAINTON: A scheme that could see money from the Chinese government invested in Peterborough has been called in now by city councillors. The Peterborough Liberal Democrats have objected to the deal, because they say the country’s human rights record just isn’t good enough. The scheme would see foreign money from China used to develop parts of Peterborough. Well the Tory Cabinet called it a unique idea that would help regenerate the city when money was at a premium. And according to Amnesty International, China has the worst human rights record in the world. But in these austere times, can we afford such morals? Nick Sandford is the Leader of Peterborough’s Liberal Democrat party. He’s also standing for Parliament in North West Cambridgeshire. Morning Nick.
NICK SANDFORD: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: What’s your beef?
NICK SANDFORD: Well I think one of the things you said. This scheme that Peterborough City Council has signed up to is unique. As far as I know there is no other council in the country that has entered into a partnership with an overseas regime, in order to bring money into Peterborough. And the concern mentioned, I think it was a couple of years ago that Amnesty International mentioned that China had the worst human rights record in the world. I understand, to be fair to them, it has improved slightly, but looking this morning at some figures from Amnesty International, over 500,000 people in China are currently enduring punitive detention without trial. There’s widespread use of torture, harassment, surveillance, house arrest, the suppression of a whole range of religious and ethnic minorities, the suppression of people with disabilities, homosexuals, a whole range of different things. I think we really have to question. This is not a private company in China entering into an arrangement. It’s a company that the Chinese government wholly owns.
PAUL STAINTON: But when it comes to investment, when it comes to money, when it comes to improving the city of Peterborough, can we afford morals like that?
Continue reading “Council partnership with Chinese government called in for scrutiny”
07:20 Friday 23rd January 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
DOTTY MCLEOD: An extra £4.5 million will be needed to complete the widening of the Fletton Parkway in Peterborough. It’s after soil contamination was discovered under the carriageway. The City Council will be asked to approve the additional funding at a Cabinet meeting on 2nd February. It would take the total for the project to £18 million. Roadworks to widen this carriageway started last February, and are scheduled to finish in May. The extra money will pay for the increased cost of dealing with contaminated soil, repairs to drainage, and some will also be spent on the protection of Great Crested Newts. Critics though say the problems could have been foreseen. Let’s say hello to David Harrington, who is an Independent councillor for Newborough in Peterborough. What do you think of this then David?
DAVID HARRINGTON: Good morning Dotty. Well I’m very concerned and frankly amazed that PCC have allowed themselves to be placed in a position where there appears to be no third party contractual obligations, and therefore it appears that the Council bear all of the risk on this scheme.
DOTTY MCLEOD: So just explain what you mean by that, what you think they should have done.
DAVID HARRINGTON: Well they should have appointed an overall contractor to make sure that all the preliminary investigations were done, site surveys. And that contractor should have been under obligation to make sure these things were done. And therefore, had there been any problems, it would have been down to the contractor to put these things right, rather than the City Council. I just find it amazing they’ve allowed this kind of contract to be signed.
DOTTY MCLEOD: This kind of contamination problems though, we understand very unusual.
DAVID HARRINGTON: Well frankly it’s unbelievable, given the history of that particular area, which we all know is adjacent to what was the biggest brownfield site in the whole of Peterborough, adjacent to the former Orton brickworks. That issue of contamination does not appear to have been factored in in any of the preliminary site surveys, or any initial soil analysis. The extra cost to the taxpayer seems to be around 30% of the cost of the whole scheme, which cannot be justified on the premise that the problem was totally unexpected, and couldn’t be foreseen. It just isn’t acceptable.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Well let’s talk to Andy Tatt, who’s the Head of Peterborough Highway services. David, do stay on the line though. We’ll come back to you in a minute. Andy, it’s not acceptable. That is the claim from David Harrington. What do you say to that? Continue reading “City announces massive cost overrun on infrastructure project due to unforeseen circumstances”
10:23 Tuesday 13th January 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
PAUL STAINTON: We’re also talking about congestion in our city centres, in Peterborough and Cambridge, and asking whether you’re being put off venturing into both cities because of the terrible traffic. Does it put you off? Yesterday Margaret in Peterborough got in touch with us about the traffic along Bourges Boulevard in Peterborough. She had this to say.
(TAPE)
CALLER: Bourges Boulevard is not as good as it used to be. You could go down Bourges Boulevard, be into town in a few minutes. Now you’re just sitting in queues of traffic. The journey down from Werrington to Queensgate shopping centre on a Saturday afternoon, it was awful. I caught the Delaine bus. I felt quite sorry for the driver really. We got to B&Q just over the roundabout and it was two lanes of traffic. Luckily the bus driver turned off at the Toys ‘R Us roundabout and went round the back street, and he must have only had about five minutes before he then had to drive the bus back to Stamford. With the roadworks, there’s too many traffic lights. I’m just wondering whether the Council seem to be deterring people, deterring them from coming into the shopping centre, because it will be a little while before I go down there again. It’s awful.
(LIVE)
PAUL STAINTON: Well that was Margaret on the Show yesterday. But it’s not just Peterborough of course. Cambridge experienced some of the most congested traffic it’s ever seen just before Christmas. And joining me now is Andy Campbell. He’s Managing Director of Stagecoach in the East. Morning Andy.
ANDY CAMPBELL: Morning.
PAUL STAINTON: How difficult is it in Peterborough and Cambridge for your bus drivers at the moment?
Continue reading “City centre congestion in Cambridge and Peterborough a cause for concern”
07:27 Thursday 27th November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
DOTTY MCLEOD: Nearly £5 million has been restored to the coffers of Cambridge City Council. It’s part of the £9 million that was lost in the collapse of the Icelandic banks in October 2008. The City Council has been working over the past six years to get it back, and has now sold part of the debt. Lewis Herbert is the Labour Leader of Cambridge City Council. So Lewis, explain exactly how this deal has worked to get the money back.
LEWIS HERBERT: Well we’ve been working hard to get money back from the £9 million as you say. 2008, invested because it was getting a high interest rate, an over-big risk by the then council, because that was a large proportion of our reserves. Two halves: half of it is in England, half of it is in Iceland. Increasing risks in Iceland, and all of the local authorities nearly, and all of the Dutch local authorities have basically been doing a deal whereby people who want Icelandic krona, we’ve got very little use for them, and want to have this particular financial opportunity to recover the money themselves, want to pay us a reasonable amount of money for that. So basically they pay us a very high percentage of our original sum, including for the interest that was due on this money, and we get the money back. And then we can invest it much better, because this money basically Dotty has been frozen for six years. In that period of time that money should have returned 40% or 50% return on top of the £9 million.
DOTTY MCLEOD: So why is it that you can’t get back all of the money?
Continue reading “Icelandic bank debt – Cambridge City Council recovers a very high percentage of the original sum”
07:45 Friday 21st November 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
DOTTY MCLEOD: Yesterday there was a big meeting of Peterborough City Council’s Employment Committee. They were discussing the wages of senior officers. Some of them earn as much as £140,000 a year, and some top council staff received pay increases of up to 30% earlier this year. They were taking on new roles. The decision to award these increases has now been revisited. Nick Sandford is the Leader of Peterborough’s Liberal Democrats. Nick, what happened at the meeting last night?
NICK SANDFORD: Well just to put the context, earlier this year back in February there was a private meeting of the Employment Committee, at which these very large pay rises of up to 33% were pushed through. When this became public at Full Council there was complete outrage, and it was decided to refer it back to the Employment Committee. I proposed at the Employment Committee not that we try and unpick all these increases, but that we ask each of the senior officers earning over £100,000 to take a small reduction in their salary.
DOTTY MCLEOD: So when we say small, how big?
NICK SANDFORD: I wasn’t really concerned. I quoted a figure of around about 15%, but it could be 10%, it could be only 5%. But that was rejected by the Committee.
DOTTY MCLEOD: OK. Why are you so worried about these wages? Do you just think it’s too much money?
NICK SANDFORD: We’ve currently got a situation where senior officers, some of them earn up to £170,000. And as I said earlier, some of them had increases of 20% and 30%. One actually had the increase backdated for a three year period, so got £30,000 on top of that. That’s at the same time that the Council is cutting its adult social care budget by 16%. People who are receiving council tax benefit are going to have that reduced by about 40%. So I think all that I was saying was these senior officers on these really high salaries, we should ask them to share in just a small amount of the pain that people on the smallest incomes are having to feel.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Let’s bring in councillor Wayne Fitzgerald who is Peterborough City Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care. Councillor Fitzgerald, why did you reject this idea?
Continue reading “Council in crisis awards large payrises to top staff”