Roger signs up to ‘Save Birmingham Badgers from Culling’ campaign

Following on from Roger’s long-time opposition to the ongoing and extended badger cull, he has signed a petition calling for the ban of culls on council owned land and implementing local vaccination programmes.

Speaking from his Birmingham constituency he said: “The object of the petition is to ensure that Birmingham's badger population is as safe as possible from slaughter and that the already available injectable badger vaccine against btB is used in as many cases as possible”.

He continued: “There is already widespread concern that cull periods have been extended to meet targets and may have to be extended a second time in certain areas. It is widely known that badgers move to and from previously populated areas and that inadvertently they may be changing the goal posts in doing so. This petition is there to remind Birmingham City Council that it cannot just assume that council land is available to reduce the badger population.”

Roger Godsiff MP calls for investigation into political lobbying by the City of London

Roger Godsiff MP is among a group of MPs, academics and celebrities campaigning for the investigation of lobbying by the Square Mile. The group sent a letter to the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, calling for an inquiry into the City’s “unfettered and unmonitored” access to senior MPs through the City of London Corporation.

 The letter calls for an inquiry into the relationship between the City and politicians, and argues that a lack of openness and accountability enables Big Finance to exert too much power over the political and legislative process.

Copies of the letter were also sent to David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg. Other signatories include two other Labour MPs, Green MP Caroline Lucas, lead singer of Radiohead Thom Yorke and the actor Dominic West, as well as academics and charities.

 The letter argues that City UK, which lobbies on behalf of the City of London, promotes tax avoidance and also has too much access to ministers and civil servants. Roger said: “Politicians should be accountable to the citizens they were elected to serve, not to the financial industry which has caused such damage to the UK’s economy. I am also concerned that the City is linked to tax avoidance schemes which have an incredibly damaging effect around the world, particularly on the poorest countries.”

 Roger has previously campaigned for Government action on corporate tax avoidance, and tabled an Early Day Motion calling for a clampdown on the use of British Overseas Territories as tax havens. Speaking after signing the letter, Roger said: “It’s time for politicians to stand up to the City and take action for tax justice and a fairer distribution of global wealth.  A public inquiry is the first step, so that we can find out the full extent of the City’s influence on UK politics and legislation.”

You can read the letter here: www.theukgold.co.uk/letter, and the EDM Roger tabled here: www.parliament.uk/edm/2013-14/476.

Roger supports campaign urging drivers to turn off their phones

Roger backed a national campaign launched by the charity Brake which aimed to prevent appalling crashes caused by multi-tasking at the wheel.

The campaign appeals to drivers to turn off their phones or put them in the boot, and urges everyone to refuse to speak on the phone to someone who’s driving. It was launched almost exactly a decade after hand-held mobiles were banned at the wheel and is being supported by a week-long campaign of heightened police enforcement across the country targeting drivers on hand-held phones.

Distraction reduces hazard perception and increases reaction times in a similar way to drink-driving, making drivers much more likely to cause deaths and injuries. Drivers who think they can multi-task are mistaken: research shows that 98% are unable to divide their time without it affecting how they drive. Talking on a phone, even on a hands-free set, texting, emailing, adjusting sat navs, eating, drinking and smoking are all proven to increase drivers’ risk of crashing.

Roger said: “Staying focused is vital to ensuring driving safely, enabling you to spot hazards in time and react quickly in an emergency. If you’re using a mobile phone or any other gadget you’re more likely to crash, potentially causing very serious injury or even killing someone, as in the tragic case of a local schoolgirl in my constituency who was killed by a driver who was texting at the wheel.”

He continued: “These tragedies are entirely preventable, and happen far too often in our area and across the country. I’m urging everyone to back this campaign and pledge to avoid distractions at the wheel, to help prevent crashes and casualties in our community. If we all get behind this campaign, we can make a huge difference in making our local streets safer and stopping families suffering needlessly.”

Roger warns constituents about rogue companies failing to carry out Green Deal assessments

Roger has urged his constituents to take care when choosing a company to carry out a Green Deal assessment after cases came to light of people paying for services which they did not receive.

The Government’s Green Deal scheme aims to help people improve the energy efficiency of their homes by installing green technology without up-front costs. Instead, they take out a loan which is then repaid through the savings to their energy bill over a period of time. However, some unscrupulous companies have taken advantage of people’s concern about skyrocketing energy bills and have charged people for “Green Deal” services which have not been provided.

Roger was contacted by constituents who had paid for assessments which were never carried out. He commented: “The Green Deal was a good scheme but, unfortunately, it has become a hunting ground for rogue companies who are out to scam people. Such companies take down payments of several hundred pounds for assessments to be carried out. They then excuse the failure to actually carry out the assessment by saying that there is a shortage of Green Deal accredited assessors. It is completely unacceptable for my constituents to be ripped off in this way.”

Roger has written to the Minister of State for Climate Change, Gregory Barker MP, to point out the exploitation of the Green Deal scheme by unscrupulous companies. He highlighted the problems caused to his constituents by one company in particular, Becoming Green UK Limited. This company claim to offer a “managed service”, and took money allegedly in order to pay an accredited Green Deal assessor. However, the company failed to actually arrange the assessment and instead provided only excuses. One constituent was even left without heating for a significant period of time due to the company’s ineptitude.

Speaking after meeting constituents who have been caused problems by companies’ exploitation of the deal, Roger said: “I urge people to be cautious when paying upfront for a Green Deal assessment to be carried out. Sadly, what could have been a very useful scheme has been damaged by its association with companies which are either deliberately dishonest or simply inefficient.”

Becoming Green drew public criticism in summer 2012, when it came to light that it had been bussing in prisoners and paying them £3 per day to work in its call centre, following which it sacked paid members of staff.

Roger condemns “mandatory reconsideration” of ESA claim appeals

Roger is concerned about the effects the Coalition’s introduction of “mandatory reconsideration” for Employment and Support Allowance claims will have on his constituents. Under new rules, ill or disabled people who are told that they can no longer claim ESA will have to undergo a mandatory reconsideration of their claim before they are permitted to appeal. However, no time limit has been set for how long the reconsideration process will take, and people will not be able to receive the allowance while it takes place.

Roger said: “I am extremely worried that vulnerable people, who may be seriously ill or disabled, will have the ESA to which they are perfectly entitled, and on which they depend in order to survive, stopped for a length of time to which no limits have been set. This seems to me to be grotesquely unfair, and I am concerned that it is nothing more than a penny-pinching exercise by the Department for Work and Pensions.”

Previously, ESA claimants could continue to receive the allowance while their appeal was being considered, but they will now have to either claim Jobseeker’s Allowance or try to survive without any income. However, as JSA is only available for people who are well enough to work, ESA claimants may not be eligible for it or they may be vulnerable to sanctions if their condition worsens and they are unable to search for jobs.

Roger has written to Birmingham City Council to set out his opposition to severely unwell or disabled people’s only source of income being cut off for an indeterminate time period. He commented: “I am worried that some of my constituents might fall between the two benefits, and be told that they are not ill enough to receive ESA but not well enough to receive JSA, with the result that sick and disabled people are left with no income at all.”

“I am also concerned that, if people who were claiming ESA are forced to claim JSA to keep from starving or becoming homeless, despite not actually being well enough to work, the fact that they have claimed JSA may be used as evidence against them when their ESA appeal is heard.”

Roger has called on the Government to provide more clarity about how people in this situation are expected to survive. He has tabled Parliamentary Questions asking whether people on ESA will be able to apply for any benefit other than JSA during the mandatory reconsideration period, whether the outcome of someone’s appeal will be affected if they apply for ESA, and whether the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions will consider introducing a maximum time limit for the mandatory reconsideration process.

Roger said: “I will keep up pressure on the Government to provide full clarity about what people’s options are if they are forced to undergo mandatory reconsideration. I will also continue to challenge the Coalition’s vindictive, unnecessary and counter-productive attacks on people who are not well enough to work.”