Saturday 8 December 2012

Roger backs Leveson Report



Roger Godsiff has given his full support to the proposals by Lord Leveson for independent regulations within a statutory framework of Britain’s press. 

Speaking after the Prime Minister had rejected the main findings of the Leveson Report Roger said: “The Leveson inquiry has been the most detailed and thorough investigation into the way the press, particularly the tabloids, currently operate in the United Kingdom.  It has rightly highlighted the abuses and dishonest tactics which some newspapers have indulged in and it has clearly shown that the current Press Complaints Commission, which is hand-picked by newspaper proprietors, is totally inadequate to bring about meaningful redress for those individuals whose lives are torn apart by inaccurate and untrue press allegations.  I deplore the fact that the Prime Minister, having set up the enquiry and promised that he would implement its findings has now back-tracked on these promises and seems to be taking the side of those owners and editors in the press whose actions and illegalities have been so ruthlessly exposed by the Leveson Committee.

Lord Leveson, by proposing independent regulation backed up by statutory legislation, has done a great public service and I for one will be supporting these recommendations.”

UN Vote for Palestinian State is symbolic but necessary.


Welcoming the decision by the UN General Assembly to give ‘non-member state’ status to Palestine within the UN Roger said “The overwhelming support for recognising a Palestinian state by the General Assembly is to be very much welcomed.  Although this vote will not change anything on the ground in the Middle East it is symbolic because when the UN took its historic decision to create the State of Israel it also proposed that a separate Palestinian state should be established.  This was originally rejected by the Palestinians and other Arab countries but the vote, in response to the call by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian authority, re-emphasises the desire of the world community including the Palestinian and Arab states to seek a permanent two-state solution.”

Monday 26 November 2012

Roger on Lord Leveson


Speaking from Westminster prior to the much anticipated release of Lord Leveson’s  first report into the press,  Roger said: “I am not in favour of self regulation for the press and, indeed, for any other bodies of professionals because, in my experience, the only one that does a good job of ‘self regulation’ is the British Medical Association.
 
I believe that there does need to be independent regulation of the media but this can only have the required powers if it is backed by statutory laws and that is what I will be supporting.”

Friday 23 November 2012


Roger Demands Urgent Investigation into Allegations of Unjustified Benefits Sanctions in Birmingham Jobcentres. 

Following a number of complaints from constituents, Birmingham MP, Roger Godsiff, has written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith MP, asking him to investigate, as a matter of urgency, the number of sanctions which are being handed out to benefits claimants at local Jobcentre Plus offices in Birmingham. 

Roger Godsiff said: “I am receiving an increasing number of complaints from constituents who have had benefits suspended for periods of up to 4 wks on the first occasion because Jobcentre Plus advisors believe that claimants have not been doing enough to find work even when they can show clear evidence of meeting the job search requirements. 

He continued: “Set against the background of rising unemployment, an increasing number of people being passed ‘fit for work’ by dubious and clearly flawed Atos assessments, cuts to housing benefits which have seen landlords automatically sending out eviction notices, the last thing claimants need is a ‘kangaroo court’ where their only lifeline of support is withdrawn. 

Again, the suspicion is that underlying all of this is that sanctions are being applied as an instrument in themselves to reduce benefits and I have asked to Secretary of State a number of questions including whether or not staff at Jobcentres have been given targets for applying sanctions and what recourse claimants have to overturn a decision if they feel that sanctions have been unjustly applied.  

Roger concluded: “Currently, there is growing lack of clarity on the delivery of new services and this includes Universal Jobmatch (UJM) which I understand is being rolled out to jobseekers attending the Kings Heath JobcentrePlus and will replace the notice boards on which vacancies are advertised.  Constituents are complaining that they are being ‘told’ to sign up for this new service but it is unclear whether or not to sign up is mandatory  and whether failure to sign will again incur sanctions.”
 
Birmingham job seeker, Cait Reilly, took the DWP to court after she was told by her local Job Centre in King's Heath , despite DWP rules to the contrary, that she would lose her benefits if she did not take a Poundland placement as part of the government’s Work Programme.



Thursday 22 November 2012


Roger welcomes Gaza ceasefire. 

Roger has welcomed the ceasefire negotiated by the Egyptian Government between the Hamas led Government in Gaza and Israel.  Said Roger “The carnage has left over 100 Palestinians and 5 Israelis dead and there have been no winners in this latest conflict.  It was obvious that the continuing blockade of Gaza by the Israeli Government was going to result in renewed conflict and I am pleased that the ceasefire agreement specifically refers to the need to end the blockade. “ 

He went on “The Palestinians living in Gaza want to be able to run their lives and businesses but this was never going to be possible while Israel strangled them through the brutality of the blockade from land and sea.  I very much hope that the blockade will be lifted which is what Western Governments, including the UK, have been calling for.”

Thursday 15 November 2012

Corporate Whinge

Starbucks – doing you a favour by not making any money out of UK!! 

Speaking from Westminster recently, Roger said: “The astonishingly pathetic assertion by Starbucks Finance Chief to MPs that ‘the company makes no profit in Britain’ must rank as the joke of the year. 

Despite having 31% of the British market he asserted that Starbucks had only once turned a profit in 15 years despite the company telling it American investors that it was ‘very satisfied with the way its British operation was working!’ 

So, lucky Starbucks coffee drinkers, just be thankful that when you pay for your next cup of coffee at Starbucks remember you are being subsidised by the company - and not taken for a ride!” 

Kraft – or just krafty? 

Commenting on the furore swilling around regarding the revelations that companies like Starbucks, Amazon, Google and Facebook have paid just £30 million in Corporation Tax in the UK on sales of £3.1 billion over the last four years Roger said recently: “ I wrote to Kraft, who took over Cadbury’s, to ask how much Corporation Tax they had paid.  As you can imagine they were extremely guarded over their figures and said that they paid Corporation Tax ‘based on the laws of the countries in which we operate including the UK’. 

They also said ‘like most global businesses we pay most of our Corporation Tax in the countries where we have headquarters’.  Kraft is not headquartered in the UK and, neither for that matter, was Cadbury’s who were headquartered in Switzerland and operated through numerous different companies based in all parts of the world.
 
Of course Kraft trumpet that they employ 5,500 people in the UK and allegedly contribute £272 million to the local economy in Birmingham but the fact remains that Kraft pays far less in Corporation Tax on the profits it makes in the UK and the number of people it employs in this country is less than Cadburys employed – so what has been the benefit to Birmingham and the United Kingdom economy of the acquisition of Cadburys by Kraft.”

Saturday 10 November 2012

“You can judge a society by the way it treats its prisoners"


Roger calls for a: “little less judgement and a bit more humanity” in the cases of extradited Britains, Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan. 

 
Roger has written to Foreign Secretary, William Hague, concerning the conditions under which Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan are being detained in advance of their trial in October 2013. 

Roger said: “I have heard from constituents that these two British citizens are being held in extremely harsh conditions – solitary confinement - with no communication allowed with their families. Letters have been sent by family members but have not been passed onto the two men. Mr Ahsan has been clinically diagnosed as suffering from Asperger’s and assessed as being at risk of committing suicide. 

He continued: “Personally, I can see no reason why at the very least Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan should not be allowed contact and communication with their families. I have asked William Hague to ascertain what conditions they are being held under and if they have been offered consular services which is the basic right of any British citizen.
 
With the soaring rhetoric of President Obama’s acceptance speech not yet a distant echo and the resonance of a nation born in freedom and tolerance still fresh, I am reminded what one of the world’s most notorious prisoners said: “…. no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”― Nelson Mandela

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Roger calls for suspension of Atos assessments. “It’s just a benefits grab that destroy’s lives” he says.


Roger has added his voice to those calling for a suspension of Atos assessments following the death of Brian McArdle who died from a heart attack the day after his benefits were stopped.  

Mr McArdle who, having suffered a blood clot on his brain, was left paralysed on one side, unable to speak properly and blind in one eye and yet was summoned to an Atos work capacity assessment, before which he suffered a further stroke and was eventually informed he was to lose his disability benefits. 

Speaking from Westminster Roger said: “This wasn’t an accident waiting to happen, it was inevitable. I have never had any faith in the objectivity of the Atos medical procedure, it’s just a benefits grab.” 

Mr McArdle’s  13 year old son Kieran wrote to Atos to tell the company that their assessments `are killing genuine people like my dad’. 

Roger has signed Early Day Motion 687 and has joined other campaigners calling for 3rd December to be a day of remembrance for all Atos victims. 


·        More than 40 doctors and nurses working for Atos have been reported to medical regulators for professional misconduct.

·       One in five recommendations to find someone fully “fit for work” made by Atos is inaccurate according to new DWP statistics.

·       Employment and support allowance (ESA) appeals were up by 40% on the same quarter of last year, according to new Ministry of Justice statistics. 

Source: Disability Rights UK Updates Oct 2012

How to appeal the decision of an Atos medical in Birmingham:-
To complain about the way your Atos medical was conducted:-  

Write to or email: 

 Atos Healthcare, Customer Relations, Wing G, Government Buildings, Lawnswood, Leeds LS16 5PU or email customer-relations@atoshealthcare.com quoting your name, NI number and date of your medical examination.

Thursday 25 October 2012

Birmingham MP calls for Director of Housing to resign over alleged cover-up

Birmingham Hall Green MP, Roger Godsiff, will today raise in an adjournment debate in the House of Commons, the issue of the treatment of this constituent, Nicola Shipley, and the way individuals in the Housing Department in Birmingham ‘conspired’ to deliberately  withhold information about the anti-social behaviour of one of their tenants who subsequently became a ‘neighbour from hell’ and made Ms Shipley’s life a misery. 

Mr Godsiff said: “In essence, certain officers in the Housing Department dumped this problem on the Housing Association by omitting to tell them the true facts –while wrecking the life of this young lady and causing misery to her and her neighbours. I am calling on the Director of Housing to resign over this alleged cover-up.”

He went on to say: “The officers who approved the transfer deliberately and wilfully conspired to ignore the Council’s own ‘mutual transfer procedures’ and did not tell Moseley & District Housing Association about previous appalling record of this particular tenant despite the fact that this information was in the public domain.  These officers knew that Moseley & District Housing Association would not have allowed the transfer to proceed had they known – and the Housing Association have made this abundantly clear to me.”

Nicola Shipley said:  “I am a homeowner and had previously lived peacefully and quietly in this respectful family community and neighbourhood for five years.  Since October 2010 I have felt unsafe, vulnerable, harassed, intimidated and threatened in my own home.  The constant extreme noise from the playing of loud dance band music, the intimidation and anti-social behaviour has severely affected my quality of life and those of my neighbours.”

Ms Shipley has lived at her current address for the last five years and her problem neighbour moved in under ‘mutual exchange’ arrangements where tenants exchange properties. Housing officers are however required to check out the housing file of prospective tenants to ensure that there is not a history of rent arrears or any breach of tenancy conditions – such as anti-social behaviour.

Sunday 21 October 2012

Obama or Romney – or does it matter?

When asked recently if the US Presidential Election really matters Roger said:  “There was huge optimism when Barack Obama was elected that there would be a change in direction of America policy both domestically and internationally.  Sadly this has not happened and many of his strongest supporters now feel disappointed and disillusioned. 

This is understandable not least because many of his problems have been caused because he has tried to reach consensus with an ever more right wing Republican Party. 

Nevertheless if anybody thinks it doesn’t matter who is elected President they might like to tune into Fox News – which I have done recently – and see their take on the American Election.  Fox News is the Murdoch owned mouthpiece of the religious, fundamentalist and Tea Party factions in America who are beating the drum for Romney and launching daily broadsides against Obama and the Democrat Party while masquerading as a ‘news channel’.  These people really are scary!”

Friday 12 October 2012

Roger Godsiff slams British Gas for raising gas and electricity prices – yet again.


Commenting on the news that British Gas intended to increase both its gas and electricity prices by about 6% from the 16th November – adding about £80 a year to the average fuel bill – Roger Godsiff said: “Typical!!  The power supply companies have been ripping off their customers ever since privatisation of gas and electricity and here they go again.  British Gas last raised its tariffs in August 2011 when gas prices went up by 18% and electricity prices by 16% and then, surprise surprise, in January 2012 it cut its electricity prices by 5%.  Big deal!

All of the power supply companies will be increasing their tariffs this winter and the average duel fuel bill now comes to more than £1,300 a year.  More and more people are under huge economic pressure either by having no job; working part-time; or are in fear of losing their jobs while many retired people are feeling, according to Age UK, ‘extremely anxious’ about their heating bills.  These facts are of no consequence to the ‘fat cats’ in the power supply companies whose profits are huge and whose executives have no worry themselves about paying for their gas and electricity because their salaries and bonuses are so generous.  So called competition amongst energy supply companies is a ‘joke’ with tariffs so confusing that you would need a degree in mathematics to work your way around them.”

Squabble over Lloyds profits of £800million

Following media reports that seem to indicate that there is a dispute between the senior management at Lloyds Bank and its regulators at the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority over what to do with Lloyds profits, Roger Godsiff has written to Greg Clark MP, Financial Secretary, to the Treasury to seek clarification.

He has sort assurances that the Government will not tolerate Lloyds Bank paying out dividends to its shareholders while the tax payer owns 43% of the shares and is sitting on considerable losses on the original price paid for the shares.

Mr Godsiff said: “The report suggests that the management of Lloyds want to use the profits – estimated at £800million- to pay dividends to shareholders whereas the regulators, quite rightly in my opinion, are arguing that because the tax payer had to bail out the bank in 2009 the profits should be retained within the bank and used to bolster the bank’s capital. 

He commented further: “I am of course aware that Lloyds has also benefited from the Government’s provision of additional liquidity and the Quantitative Easing programme initiated by the Monetary Policy Committee. 

“Bearing in mind that Lloyds Bank is 43% owned by the state who had to bail it out to prevent it collapsing it would, in my opinion, be totally improper for any temporary profits to be distributed to shareholders which will, of course, benefit senior management who have share options and get bonuses based upon enhanced share value.”

Mr Godsiff concluded: “I am also mindful of the fact that already, in the three years from 2008 to 2011 Lloyds paid out massive amounts in bonuses which vastly exceeded the £2 million that it clawed back from former executives who presided over the failure of the bank.”

Wednesday 10 October 2012


Birmingham City Council will utilise the full £6.1m Discretionary Social Fund grant from the Government to support vulnerable people in crisis.

Roger Godsiff has welcomed the news today that Birmingham City Council will utilise the full £6.1m grant from the Government to support vulnerable people in crisis even though this money will not be ring fenced when local councils take over its administration from 1st April 2013 under the new welfare reforms.
Speaking from Westminster Mr Godsiff said: “With the Conservatives promising even more raids on the wallets of the poor and vulnerable at their party conference and a further £10billion in welfare cuts, it is good news indeed that Birmingham City Council will use all of this money for the purposes that it was originally intended when it’s administration falls under their control.”
“This money is not ‘ring-fenced’ so in theory local councils can spend in anything to plug a hole in any budget that is under pressure politically or otherwise” continued Mr Godsiff.
The provisions of the Welfare Reform Act will mean that from April 2013 that Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans will be replaced by locally based provision delivered by Councils through local schemes.
The news came in a response to a letter that Mr Godsiff had sent to Stephen Hughes, Chief Executive of Birmingham City Council, on this matter which also asked about the impact on council employment levels of the introduction of the Universal Credit.
The administration of a number of benefits including housing benefit would cease to be administered by the council when Universal Credit is introduced but Mr Hughes was not able to offer any clarification on this particular issue.

Monday 8 October 2012

New Code of Practice for Parking on Private Land

Sent on behalf of Patrick Troy, Chief Executive, British Parking Association

The New Code of Practice for Parking on Private Land

 

Dear colleague,

PARKING ON PRIVATE LAND

You may have heard that, as of the 1st October 2012, under provisions contained in the Protection of Freedoms Act, clamping and towing away on private land is now unlawful (unless a landowner or their agent can demonstrate lawful authority). This means that many operators who manage parking on private land will rely on the issue of parking tickets to deter motorists from breaching terms and conditions that may apply on their land.

At the government's request the British Parking Association has established for England and Wales an independent appeals service for motorists who receive such tickets and may feel the ticket is unfair. This service was also introduced on the 1st October and will apply to parking incidents occurring from that date (though not before).

If one of your constituents receives a ticket issued after this date and they feel it was given unfairly they should first write to the company who issued it. If the company rejects the motorist's case they must provide details of the independent appeals service. This process is similar to that which applies in car parks run by local authorities.

The service is provided by the same organisation that runs the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS) for motorists who receive parking tickets from the London Boroughs. It is free to the motorist and decisions are binding on the operator. The service applies to all operators who are members of the BPA.

While the new service - known as POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals) - provides additional redress for motorists, BPA members must also comply with our Code of Practice for parking on private land and we have and will apply sanctions – which can lead to expulsion - where a contravention of the Code is proven. It should be noted, however, that POPLA will only apply to tickets issued by BPA members. Motorists who receive tickets from companies that do not belong to an Accredited Trade Association will not have the right to appeal through independent adjudication.

We have produced a new guide for consumers to help them understand both the change in the law and what they can expect when they park on private land. I attach a copy of the guide which also sets out how motorists can help themselves in avoiding receiving parking tickets.

Please accept my apologies for the round robin nature of this letter but I am very happy to both provide you with additional information and meet you to help clarify any of the information regarding the development of the private parking sector. If you would like to meet please contact my PA Vicky Harris on 01444 447304 or reply to this email.

Yours sincerely,

Patrick Troy


Patrick Troy
Chief Executive
British Parking Association
Tel:      01444 447 306
Web:   www.britishparking.co.uk

Roger condemns YouTube video 'Innocence of Muslims' as gratuitous.


Roger said: “This film has already been condemned, in the strongly possible terms, by the American President and Hillary Clinton, his Secretary of State, and I share their condemnation.”

He went on to say: “I deplore gratuitous attacks on anybody’s religious beliefs but it is quite obvious that the makers of film wanted to be as controversial as possible in order to maximise their financial gain from the resulting publicity - which their nasty little film was guaranteed to evoke.  It would have been much better if the video had been totally ignored by everybody because the makers would have failed in their objectives of getting publicity and financial gain from it.

Mr Godsiff concluded: “Because the video was produced in America the British Government has no powers to take action against the makers of the video but if a similar one was made in this country then there might well be powers under the laws against ‘inciting racial hatred’ for the authorities to initiate proceedings.”
Roger Godsiff  talks about his support for speech and language therapy.