St. George’s Day Greetings.

I extend greetings Christians in my constituency on St. George’s Day on the 23rd April. St. George is the Patron Saint of England and among the most famous of Christian figures. The banner of St. George – the red cross of a martyr on a white background – was adopted for the uniform of English soldiers as far back as the reign of Richard I and later became the flag of England and White Ensign of the Royal Navy. Little is known about St. George himself but he is venerated in many countries of the world and I send my best wishes to all of my constituents who celebrate St. George’s Day.

Football's Minute of Silence for Lady Thatcher

In justification of football having a minutes silence in memory of Lady Thatcher Dave Whelan, the Chairman of Wigan Athletic is quoted as saying in today's Guardian: “Football was in a bad way when she was Prime Minister, we saw all the changes in her time and they should pay tribute to that”. Putting aside her destruction of the post war consensus; the closure of large swathes of manufacturing industry; the squandering of North Sea Oil wealth on 3 million unemployed; the selling off at knock-down prices of gas, electricity and water; and the deregulation of financial services which sowed the seeds of the 2008 financial crisis, what did Mrs. Thatcher do to address the problems of football in the 1980s? She forced football clubs to erect fences around pitches to pen in fans. In April 1989, 96 people were crushed to death at Hillsborough because these fences prevented people in the Leppings Lane end from escaping onto the pitch. Some legacy!!

Council’s should 'fight back' rising energy bills by negotiating on behalf of residents

Council’s should 'fight back' rising energy bills by negotiating on behalf of residents Following an initiative taken by a number of councils in London who have joined together to try and collectively force energy companies to offer lower tariffs to customers, Birmingham MP Roger Godsiff, has written to all of the local councillors in his Hall Green constituency suggesting that Birmingham City Council should consider a similar scheme. Roger said: "Birmingham City Council is the second largest council in the country with 1 million people and it could operate a similar scheme for the residents of Birmingham. All that Birmingham residents have to do is register their interest and then the council could then negotiate on their behalf to get the best deal." Roger went on to say: "Councils are having to make massive cutbacks right across the board and I would have thought that anything that they can do to' fightback' the seemingly endless rises in energy prices makes a lot of sense".

Roger's Postcard from Parliament January 2013

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_9TwqUlwHK6TVhnSGk2N1hCRUk/edit

Roger is urging travellers to book an ATOL-protected trip

Roger is urging Birmingham Hall Green residents to pack peace of mind when purchasing their holidays this year, by making sure they book an ATOL-protected trip.

The ATOL scheme is there to protect people against the risk of their travel company going bust: ensuring they can continue their holiday and return home safely if the company collapses whilst they are away; or providing refunds if they’re yet to travel. And with over two million ATOL-protected air holidays expected to be sold in the UK during January - the scheme will give holidaymakers in Birmingham Hall Green and across the country peace of mind that their hard earned holiday will not be lost.

During 2012, Parliament agreed two key changes to the scheme to widen protection and help people understand when they are protected. Holidays known by the industry as ‘Flight-Plus’ are now included in the scheme, as well as traditional package holidays. A ‘Flight-Plus’ booking is one that includes a flight plus accommodation and/or car hire, so long as these separate parts of the holiday are booked with the same company and within a day of each other.

The second change agreed by Parliament in 2012 saw the introduction of the ATOL certificate; offering consumers greater clarity on how their holiday is protected. Anyone who books an ATOL-protected trip will now receive an ATOL certificate from their travel company as soon as they make any payment. The certificate tells them what is protected, who is protecting it and what to do if something goes wrong.

The importance of booking with a travel agent who is covered by the ATOL scheme is particularly important for pilgrims travelling to the Hajj and Umbra celebrations in Saudi Arabia since there have been a number of cases where rouge travel agents not covered by the scheme have reneged on promises and left travellers high and dry and very much out of pocket.

Roger Godsiff said: “I would urge all Hajj & Umrah travellers in particular to book only with companies which are ATOL protected. It was only last year that Saleem Akhtar was prosecuted after trading standards officers received complaints from a couple who booked a Hajj trip to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The court heard a trading standards probe into Akhtar’s Alum Rock-based travel firm, Embassy Express Ltd, revealed he was flouting consumer protection rules by pretending he was covered by Air Travel Organisers Licensing, which protects travellers on package holidays.

He was found guilty of two counts of fraud, two of breaching package tour regulations, and seven of using the ATOL logo contrary to consumer protection from unfair trading regulations.

Anyone wishing to book an ATOL-protected air holiday can check if a company provides protection by looking for the ATOL logo on their promotional material, or searching the company’s name at www.packpeaceofmind.co.uk. More information about what’s covered by the scheme and how the ATOL certificate works is also available from this site."

Roger is also advising people booking trips not covered by the ATOL scheme such as those without flights or holidays booked directly with airlines, to seek alternative methods of protection such as insurance or paying with their credit card.

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.”