Teresa Pearce MP

The Unite Parliamentary Staff Branch is urging the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) to create an Interns Fund to help MPs comply with National Minimum Wage (NMW) law and pay interns a Living Wage or London Living Wage. The campaign is backed by 65 MPs who have signed Early Day Motion 569 which calls for the establishment of the fund, including new MP for Erith and Thamesmead Teresa Pearce – a former Inland Revenue staffer and tax advisor.

IPSA’s original rules required all those engaged in Parliamentary work to have a contract of employment in order to comply with NMW law. Unfortunately this approach was not backed up by a dedicated fund and instead MPs’ staffing budgets were cut. Following consultation, IPSA has today backtracked and ruled that MPs will now be able to submit claims for incidental expenses of interns out of their reduced staffing budget if they have a signed agreement.

The union branch believes this is a backwards step for Parliament given that in practice many parliamentary interns are expected to work certain hours and perform certain tasks. This means they are defined as ‘workers’ and should be paid at least the NMW. Websites such as W4MP provide ample evidence of MPs from all political parties advertising for long term internships with set tasks and responsibilities. The union branch has also referred IPSA to the Reading Judgement in December 2009 against London Dreams Motion Pictures, which found that workers engaged on an expenses-only basis are entitled to payment at least in line with the NMW.

Erith and Thamesmead MP Teresa Pearce said:

“House of Commons guidance provided to MPs in the past made it clear that interns who are obliged to perform certain activities in accordance with the employer’s instructions are likely to be considered ‘workers’ under the law and should be paid at least the National Minimum Wage.

“IPSA needs to get tough on unpaid parliamentary internships by adhering to this guidance and giving the new IPSA Compliance Officer the power to audit internship advertisements and placements for compliance with the law. But MPs also need the funds to pay interns and the current staffing limit is not adequate – it has already suffered a significant cut under IPSA. A dedicated Interns Fund that allowed MPs to pay interns a living wage would go a long way towards making Parliament a model place of employment.”

Max Freedman, Chair of the Unite Parliamentary Staff Branch, said:

“We know that parliamentary interns have been laxly monitored by the House authorities in past years and that many have been exploited. IPSA needs to recognise that there is a standard three-month unpaid internship model adopted by MPs that is considered a prerequisite to getting a paid job in Parliament and for which National Minimum Wage law should apply.

“An Interns Fund is necessary because at the moment only those who can afford to work for free for months on end have the opportunity to work in Parliament. IPSA says one of their principles is ‘not unduly deterring representation from all groups of society’. This should apply as much to Parliamentary interns as it does to MPs.”

There is a report on the back page of today’s News of the World which has a headline “TAXMAN GOES TO WAR ON FOOTBALL” .

The truth of this story is that HMRC who are public servants are going to get the tax owed to us ( the public) from the clubs.

The article itself is a fairly written piece by Dan King which sets out the ways that Football Clubs currently avoid paying their fair share to the country’s coffers.  I could not agree more.

Some clubs have always made sure that the directors, shareholders and players get paid in full whilst the money they hold in PAYE deductions or in VAT from sales to supporters has been used as cash flow instead of paying to the treasury which in turn helps fund the schools and hospitals used by the rest of us.

Some of the comments about this story added on the NOTW’s website seem to be saying that HMRC are acting totally unfairly and its a terrible way to treat the clubs. Well that would be true only if you think paying VAT, PAYE and National Insurance is optional.

In reality the taxman has been pushed around by football clubs for years and is now pushing back. Never happy about clubs’ habit of using the taxes due as an interest-free overdraft, HMRC lost its “preferred creditor” status with the introduction of the 2002 Enterprise Act.  Previously HMRC had a right to be paid out before any other creditors when a company went into administration by right of the Crown Preference Act. This right was abolished by the 2002 Enterprise Act which meant HMRC had to join the scrum behind “football super creditors” when a club went bust often only geting around 5-10% of the debt due.  This is not company law but is a football rule set by the Football Association, the Football League and the Football Association Premier League and it means millionaire players, shareholders and other clubs get paid first and the the taxman ( which in reality means you and me) goes to the back of the queue.

This issue is back in the news because HMRC lodged an appeal against Portsmouth FC coming out of administration. I am not sure if this tactic is the right one but HMRC have taken it to protect the £13million they believe is owed to the Treasury by Portsmouth and  we can not blame them for that. It may be that Portsmouth is no worse than some other clubs and that HMRC are singling them out “pour encourager les autres” . If so lets hope it has the desired effect.

If we are all in this together and public services and the unemployed have to feel the pain of cuts then I can not see why the Football Industry should not pay what they owe like the rest of us do.

There is a good article in the Morning Star, wish I had written it myself as it sums up what I having been saying, to anyone who will listen, for the past two weeks. Ken puts it better than I did though.

Here is link 

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/92305

It’s the Erith Forum AGM on Wednesday night at 7.00 pm at the Vets Club in Park Crescent. I would encourage Erith residents to go as it’s a friendly informative meeting which discusses the future of our town.

 Below I list some things you may not know about Erith’s past.

Twelve things you may not know about Erith 

1. Erith is a saxon word. 
2. The Anglo Saxons settled this area after winning the Battle of Crayford in the year 457. 
3. Erith played a part during the reign of Henry VIII (1509 – 47) Henry is believed to have spent a night here on his way to France . 
4. Part of his naval dockyard was founded at Erith showing the importance of the area. 
5. Henry’s famous warship, Henri Grace à Dieu or ‘Great Harry’, was fitted out here in 1515. 
6. Erith was famous in the 17^th & 18^th centuries for smuggling. 
7. Erith played a big role in the famous 18^thcentury importer and exporter the East India Trading Company. The company docked its ships at Erith to load and unload cargo before setting out on its trips to the far east and before returning  to London with the remainder of their goods. 
8. The reason there are roads in Erith called Friday, Crusoe and Selkirk is because the real life mariner Alexander Selkirk ( upon whom Robinson Crusoe was based ) came back to UK after his shipwreck arriving at Erith on 14 October 1711.  
9. During the First World War Erith was an extremely important area for the manufacture of guns and ammunition, largely due to the presence of the larrge Vickers works in the Fraser Road area. In the Second World War, Erith found itself in the thick of the conflict, being directly on the German bombing routes from Europe to London, and also because of the nearby armament factories. 
10. The inventor Edward Butler lived in Erith and invented a three-wheeled car called the Butler Petrol Cycle in 1884, considered by many to be the first British car. 
11. Linda Smith (29 January 1958 – 27 February 2006) was an English  stand up comedian and comedy writer. She was born in Erith and was a regular Radio 4 panellist, being voted “Wittiest Living Person” by listeners in 2002.  
12.  Wendy Cope (born 21 July 1945) in Erith is an award-winning contemporary English poet.

Today is the last day of the campaign.

The last 18 months have been very strange indeed . I have met some great

people and made some new friends and I have realised the following things.

1. People can be very kind and helpful and with the personal  bereavements I have had over the last year the kindness of strangers is a wonderful thing.
2. Some people will email you abusive messages but these people always remain anonymous. I think these people are sad as if they are willing to say something to me they should not be ashamed of putting their name to it.
3. People will lie for political advantage
4. Many people do not understand the electoral system
5. My family are even more wonderful that I realised
6. I need a new car
7. Letterboxes come in very many shapes and sizes
8. Never approach a Rottweiler
9. There are lots of great primary schools in Erith & Thamesmead
10. I would nt have missed this experience for the world.

Thanks to all my friends and family, I wish my Dad were still here.

A number of people have asked if I live in Erith & Thamesmead. They said its not clear from the website. So let me make it clear. Yes I live here. I live in Bexley Road, in Erith. My children went to St Fidelis School and also to St Catherines, Townley Grammar and Woolwich College. I have lived here for 25 years , before that in Carlton Road North heath and even earlier in lower Belvedere. So yes I am local and that’s why I am standing here for Parliament. I have never stood anywhere else and never will.

I was pleased to read Jackie Ashleys article  ” Post offices can kickstart Labour’s radical agenda” in today’s Guardian.  Back in November I met with with Pat McFadden MP, Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to discuss which services the Post Office could offer in the future. I spoke with him about how Post Offices are a great British institution that have been part of our communities for over three hundred years and are trusted by the people.

I know how deeply people in Erith and Thamesmead care about the future of our Post Offices , so I want to see them offer more financial service.  It will give people in  access to a full range of banking products at an institution we trust and value. In Thamesmead their is currently no banking facility AT ALL. None.

And at a time when some banks and financial services companies are seeking to reduce face to face contact with customers, the Post Office stands out. It offers a trusted brand, and has more branches than the high street banks combined. It is ideally placed to bring banking services back to the heart of people’s communities.

Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business Began a consultation on what people want  and need from their Post Office.Information about the consultation was made available in all of the network’s 11,500 branches and consultation closed at end of February.

I have high hopes that there will be announcement on this in the Budget this week. Among the proposals are

1. Post Office Current Account
2. Post Office Children’s Savings Account – an account designed to encourage children to save through visits to their local Post Office.
3. Post Office Business Bank Accounts – currently the Post Office offers access to business accounts from a few High Street banks. It could offer increased access to business accounts from other providers, as well as its own business account.
4. A weekly budgeting account – many low income households are unable to take advantage of the savings that can be made by paying for services by direct debit. One way to tackle this problem is by offering a simple account that could ring-fence a proportion of income each week, and then pay out bills by direct debit on a monthly or quarterly basis.
5. A closer link between the Post Office and credit unions – it can be difficult to access credit union accounts when people are not in their local area. The local nature of the Post Office makes it ideally placed to allow credit union savers to access their accounts across the country.
6. Working to ensure all banks’ current accounts can be accessed at a Post Office – currently 60% of current accounts (around 25m accounts) can be accessed at Post Office branches. The Government wants more banks to allow their current accounts to be accessible at the Post Office.

I have my fingers crossed firmly that this weeks Budget will bring good news for Thamesmead and they can at last access the banking services they need.

Mr Foot still canvassing in his 80s

I was at a breakfast meeting in The City last week discussing the Banking Crisis and when stiffer regulation was mentioned the usual  cry of  ” oh we cant discourage top people or they will leave” went up.  I believe that is a mainly empty threat.  Of course if business was made impossible  then business would relocate.  But in recent years when business has been given a pretty free hand they have still restructured for tax purposes to put offices and contracts offshore so it seems the back scratching only goes one way.  People who want to make money will stay where money is made and money is made in London.

So it pleased me to read this quote from Mr Foot who died yesterday.

Quote from Mr Foot “We are not here in this world to find elegant solutions, pregnant with initiative, or to serve the ways and modes of profitable progress. No, we are here to provide for all those who are weaker and hungrier, more battered and crippled than ourselves. That is our only certain good and great purpose on earth, and if you ask me about those insoluble economic problems that may arise if the top is deprived of their initiative, I would answer ‘To hell with them.’ The top is greedy and mean and will always find a way to take care of themselves. They always do.”

Well said and true. Rest easy Mr Foot.

Boris Johnson today resigned as chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, reportedly through lack of time – but no sign of him giving up his £250,000 second job on the Daily Telegraph….isn’t it time he put Londoners first? You can not just walk away when you get bored.

He also published his budget which at Page 6 point 5.16 he admits that police numbers are to be cut.  ( I reproduce the section below). In plain laguage they are to recruit 900 civilians to do work currently done by police officers releasing 550 to front line service but LOSING the other 450 altogether. So thats a cut in Police Numbers.  But when asking for you vote he said this

“I will provide strong leadership by taking responsibility and chairing the Metropolitan Police Authority and using my influence to tear up red tape and needless form-filling, so we can get more police out on the streets.”

and:

“It is important for the Mayor to take a public lead, so I will chair the Metropolitan Police AuthoritI will provide strong leadership by taking responsibility and chairing the Metropolitan Police Authority and using my influence to tear up red tape and needless form-filling, so we can get more police out on the streets.”

EXTRACT FROM BUDGET

5.16 Police officer numbers are to remain broadly unchanged over the forward planning period to 2012-13 with a forecast small decrease of 455 officers being offset by an increasing frontline presence through the Operation Herald scheme. This scheme involves recruiting 900 civilians to undertake the routine work in custody suites thereby allowing 550 officers to be released to frontline duties over the next three years.

Hi there!!!

Not had time to write on here for ages as life has that habit of turning all your plans to dust. What’s that saying…” when men make plans , the gods laugh”. That is very true as it seems easy to think ” next week I will do this and do that” but then events take a different turn.

November has been hectic. I had planned to write to all the voters in the constituency go canvassing twice a week, finish my article on Fairtrade and finally get some blinds put up in the bedroom. BUT then there was a terrible murder of a young man in Thamesmead at the end of October which meant a total refocus of meetings and a number of community visits to try to address  the fears and concerns that such a tragedy brings to the forefront of our minds.

Then my partners 88 year old Mother had a fall which was very upsetting for her and all the family as it was the tipping point where she decided that independent living was no longer a real option for her. Its a situation that families up and down the country face every week and it makes for some heart breaking decisions. The knee jerk re action is to say ” come and live with us” but that’s not always a realistic answer and my Mum in Law dismissed that option straight away. She has enough self knowledge and wisdom to know that although both her sons were sincere in offering her a place to live, she would have hated it and in time it would have been the worst of all worlds.

So today she moves a few doors away into the nursing home that is just around the corner. She decided on this solution herself as its a place that’s familiar to her as she has been there over the years to place the piano for the residents and when she went for a day visit last week she met  number of old friends who already live there. Today she goes in for a two week respite stay to see how she gets on and if she likes it then a permanent place will be found there for her.  Its sad but I am hopeful that it will greatly improve her quality of life and that she will have the company and care that she needs.

Of course all this was made so much easier as she has financial independence which means we have more choices open to us. Care of the elderly is something that every family has to face at some point and I am hopeful that the Personal Care at Home Bill will become law next year and help all the families facing these difficult decisions by giving the the real option of the family member who needs care staying in their own home and receiveing that help.

Right…. now on with those 20,000 letters………